Earlier this week, Jason Kelce, the popular ESPN pundit, gave an unconvincing pregame pick ahead of Monday night’s playoff game that saw the Minnesota Vikings clash with the Los Angeles Rams.
“They Told Me To”
The analyst was part of the Monday Night Countdown crew. Each of the participants made their choice on ESPN Bet prop bets ahead of the playoff game. Starting with Kelce, Scott Van Pelt asked him to make his prediction about touchdown passes for Matthew Stafford, the famous professional football quarterback with the Rams.
Asked by Pelt “what’s the number,” Kelce responded with 2+, adding “because they told me to.” The pundits laughed for a while and when Kelce had the chance to continue, he explained that he didn’t like picking touchdowns. The ESPN pundit included further details as a part of his explanation.
Kelce added that he likes Stafford’s performance, saying that the Rams’ quarterback is his “guy.” In addition, the pundit said that Stafford had plenty of time to recover and is expected to perform well. Kelce then reiterated the initial prop bet take of 2+ touchdowns for the player on Monday night’s game.
“I’ve got 2+ (touchdowns) because they told me to. I don’t like picking touchdowns. But listen, Matthew’s my guy. I think he’s gonna get 2+ touchdowns… I got him 2+ touchdowns on the Monday playbook,“
said Jason Kelce
After Kelce’s pick, Ryan Clark made his prediction for the game. “I’m going Kyren Williams, 80+ rushing yards,” Clark said. In addition, he joked around with Kelce’s pick, saying that they chose Williams with 80+ rushing yards “Not because anybody told me to. But because I believe it.”
Despite the unenthusiastic prediction made by Kelce, the Rams won against the Vikings at Monday night’s playoff game. In fact, the pundit’s prediction turned out to be true, considering that Stafford scored two touchdowns and played a key role in his team’s victory.
Online Users Share Their Concerns with the Prediction
While Kelce’s pick turned out to be true, the way he presented it captured the attention of bettors and sports aficionados alike. One user wrote on “X,” formerly Twitter, “Embarrassing,” while another one wrote “Yikes.”
Others were more critical of the whole model of offering picks ahead of sports competitions. One user nicknamed Ben Grieser claimed that such predictions should be banned, especially in the context that they may be offered by people who are not gamblers themselves. The online user argued that predictions are usually made by individuals who are fed information from third parties, likely sportsbooks.