Let's look at how the 57 NFL Pundits we are tracking fared with their preseason predictions for the division winners. First, here were their collective predictions:
Originally published on Pundittracker
| NFC(E) | NFC(N) | NFC(S) | NFC(W) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24: NYG | 48: GB | 46: ATL | 29: SEA |
| 16: WAS | 06: CHI | 09: NO | 28: SF |
| 16: DAL | 02: MIN | 02: TB | 00: STL |
| 01: PHI | 01: DET | 00: CAR | 00: ARI |
| AFC(E) | AFC(N) | AFC(S) | AFC(W) |
| 57: NE | 39: CIN | 49: HOU | 56: DEN |
| 00: BUF | 15: BAL | 08: IND | 01: KC |
| 00: MIA | 03: PIT | 00: TEN | 00: OAK |
| 00: NYJ | 00: CLE | 00: JAC | 00: SD |
The pundits collectively whiffed on the NFL South, with only one pundit (Adam Schein) picking the Eagles in the NFC East and only eight picking the Colts in the AFC South.
Now here are the results on an individual basis, sorted by Yield (the average return had you bet $1 on each of the picks at Moneyline Odds).
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| Pundit | AFC East | AFC North | AFC South | AFC West | NFC East | NFC North | NFC South | NFC West | Hit Rate | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 57/57 | 39/57 | 8/57 | 56/57 | 1/57 | 48/57 | 0/57 | 29/57 | 4/8 | $0.97 |
| Ben Goessling | NE | CIN | IND | DEN | WAS | GB | ATL | SF | 5/8 | $1.35 |
| Bill Williamson | NE | CIN | IND | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SF | 5/8 | $1.35 |
| Peter King | NE | CIN | IND | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SF | 5/8 | $1.35 |
| Albert Breer | NE | CIN | IND | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SF | 5/8 | $1.35 |
| Kimberly Jones | NE | CIN | IND | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SF | 5/8 | $1.35 |
| Colin Cowherd | NE | PIT | IND | DEN | DAL | GB | NO | SEA | 5/8 | $1.26 |
| Adam Schein | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | PHI | GB | ATL | SF | 4/8 | $1.22 |
| John Clayton | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | ATL | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| David Fleming | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | ATL | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| KC Joyner | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | DAL | GB | ATL | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| Adam Schefter | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | DAL | GB | ATL | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| Rich Cimini | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | DAL | GB | ATL | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| Terry Blount | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | NO | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| John Keim | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | NO | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| Phil Sheridan | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | ATL | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| Nick Wagoner | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| Don Banks | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | DAL | GB | ATL | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| Ben Eagle | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | DAL | GB | ATL | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| Doug Farrar | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | NO | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| Tom Mantzouranis | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | DAL | GB | ATL | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| Jim Trotter | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | TB | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| Elliot Harrison | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | ATL | SEA | 5/8 | $1.19 |
| Gil Brandt | NE | CIN | IND | DEN | DAL | DET | ATL | SF | 4/8 | $1.14 |
| Austin Murphy | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | DAL | CHI | ATL | SEA | 4/8 | $0.98 |
| Bucky Brooks | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | DAL | CHI | ATL | SEA | 4/8 | $0.98 |
| Mike Silver | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | DAL | CHI | ATL | SEA | 4/8 | $0.98 |
| Bill Simmons | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | NYG | CHI | ATL | SEA | 4/8 | $0.98 |
| Mike Reiss | NE | BAL | IND | DEN | NYG | GB | NO | SF | 4/8 | $0.97 |
| Jeffri Chadiha | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | ATL | SF | 4/8 | $0.90 |
| Rick Reilly | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SF | 4/8 | $0.90 |
| Scott Brown | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | NO | SF | 4/8 | $0.90 |
| Tania Ganguli | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SF | 4/8 | $0.90 |
| Mike Rodak | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | NO | SF | 4/8 | $0.90 |
| Mike Wells | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SF | 4/8 | $0.90 |
| Dan Graziano | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | DAL | GB | ATL | SF | 4/8 | $0.90 |
| Michael C. Wright | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | DAL | GB | ATL | SF | 4/8 | $0.90 |
| Pat Yasinskas | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SF | 4/8 | $0.90 |
| Jeff Darlington | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | ATL | SF | 4/8 | $0.90 |
| Judy Battista | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SF | 4/8 | $0.90 |
| Ashley Fox | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | ATL | SEA | 4/8 | $0.82 |
| Mike Sando | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SEA | 4/8 | $0.82 |
| Matt Williamson | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | NO | SEA | 4/8 | $0.82 |
| Jamison Hensley | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SEA | 4/8 | $0.82 |
| James Walker | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SEA | 4/8 | $0.82 |
| Rob Demovsky | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SEA | 4/8 | $0.82 |
| Chris Burke | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SEA | 4/8 | $0.82 |
| Daniel Jeremiah | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | DAL | GB | ATL | SEA | 4/8 | $0.82 |
| Adam Teicher | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | DAL | CHI | ATL | SF | 3/8 | $0.69 |
| David Newton | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | NYG | MIN | NO | SF | 3/8 | $0.69 |
| Ian Rapoport | NE | CIN | HOU | DEN | DAL | CHI | ATL | SF | 3/8 | $0.69 |
| Bill Barnwell | NE | PIT | HOU | KC | NYG | GB | TB | SEA | 3/8 | $0.66 |
| Kevin Seifert | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SF | 3/8 | $0.52 |
| Seth Wickersham | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SF | 3/8 | $0.52 |
| Michael DiRocco | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | WAS | GB | ATL | SF | 3/8 | $0.52 |
| Paul Kuharsky | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SF | 3/8 | $0.52 |
| Jeff Legwold | NE | BAL | HOU | DEN | NYG | GB | ATL | SF | 3/8 | $0.52 |
| Todd Archer | NE | PIT | HOU | DEN | WAS | MIN | ATL | SF | 2/8 | $0.31 |
No pundit got more than 5 of the 8 divisions correct. Those with the best yields generally picked the Colts, as Vegas pegged their odds to win the AFC South at just 28% (Texans were the overwhelming favorite). The Eagles were given an 18% probability by Vegas, which makes it surprising that only Schein made that pick, while the Panthers were 15%.
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To see what these pundits collectively picked for the conference winners and player awards, see our preseason recap post.
There is still time to make your own picks for this week's Wild Card games and see if you can move up our User Leaderboard. Head over to our Sports Section to do so.
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PunditTracker's mission is to bring accountability to the prediction industry by cataloging and scoring the predictions of pundits.
Original images via Getty
