Fifth Down

I’ve watched a lot of Super Bowls in my 43 years of life. Here are the 10 I enjoyed the least.

10. Super Bowl XX: Bears 46 Patriots 10

This is the first Super Bowl I remember watching. I was 6 years old. The Chiefs were not good back then so you sort of found other teams to cheer for too. My older brother was a big Bears fan so I of course cheered against them. The Championship games were Rams @ Bears and Patriots @ Dolphins. I was cheering for the Rams and Eric Dickerson because he wore goggles and I thought it was cool and I was of course cheering against the Bears. I also cheered for the Dolphins because Dan Marino was good and I liked Dolphins. I went 0-2. The Dolphins were the one team to beat the Bears all year so that might have been a good game. But instead the Patriots got rolled. Also, the Bears made a super bowl shuffle video well before making it to the super bowl. That is top notch arrogance. Anyway, the game was boring and they didn’t even let Walter Payton score a td. Instead they handed it off to the Fridge. My brother was happy so I wasn’t.

9. Super Bowl XLVIII: Seahawks 43 Broncos 8

You might be surprised to see a beat down of the Broncos on the list but remember I am married to a Broncos fan and happy wife, happy life. This game was rough from the start and never got better. The very first play was a snap too early with the ball going into the end zone for a safety. It was all downhill after that. Danielle tried to have a good attitude about it but this was a rough one. And honestly, it was just a bad game all together. Unless you were a Seahawks fan or really hated the Broncos this was not an entertaining game.

8. Super Bowl XXVII Cowboys 52 Bills 17

The Cowboys were young, loud and annoying. They are still those things but back then they were good. The Bills were back again for their 3rd straight super bowl. I was feeling sorry for the Bills at this point. And I have never liked the Cowboys. The Bills had a lot of players I liked, Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, etc. They were easy to cheer for. But unfortunately there wasn’t much to cheer for because this was a beat down. The best thing that happened for the Bills was when Don Beebe ran down Leon Lett who had recovered a fumble and was about to score but instead Beebe knocked the ball out of his hand it rolled through the end zone. When that is your best play, it is a rough game.

7. Super Bowl XXX Cowboys 27 Steelers 17

Nothing is worse than two teams you don’t like playing in the super bowl. And that is what this was. I was sort of cheering for the Steelers because they were the underdogs and Bill Cowher seemed like a good guy who had never won the big one. Well, he didn’t win this one either. Some guy named Larry Brown won MVP for being in the right place at the right time and getting a couple of interceptions.

6. Super Bowl XLII Giants 17 Patriots 14

You might be surprised to see this on the worst list since it was a great game. Also, most of you probably hate the Patriots so I am sure you were happy they lost. But there is one reason this game is on here. The 72 Dolphins. I hate the 72 Dolphins. They went undefeated when the season was 14 games long and there were like 16 teams. But yet they are the only team to not lose a game. They go so far as to celebrate together whenever the last undefeated team loses. What a lame tradition to celebrate other people’s defeat just so your stupid record remains. Most teams and players are happy for those who come after but not these jackasses. Anyway, the Patriots were so close to pulling off the perfect season but fell just short because somehow Eli Manning avoided a sack and some dude caught a ball on his helmet. If the Patriots would have won they would have not only become the second team to go undefeated but also would have won 2 more games. And they wouldn’t have thrown a party when other teams lost because no one would want to hang out with Belichick.

5. Super Bowl XXIX 49ers 49 Chargers 26

I was always team Montana so I was never a Steve Young fan. He was real good though and so was this team. Jerry Rice, Ricky Waters and others led an explosive offense. And the defense even had Deion. The Chargers on the other hand were not good. Stan Humphries was playing quarterback for goodness sakes. This is one of those games you knew was going to be a blowout and it was. It was never close and I am not sure how the Chargers even scored 26 points. You sort of have to feel sorry for the Chargers as this is the only Super Bowl they have ever been too. But don’t worry, they will be lots of people’s preseason favorites for next year.

4. Super Bowl XXXV Ravens 34 Giants 7

The Giants knocked out the NFC team I cheered for at the time, the Vikings but I didn’t really like the Ravens either. This was another boring beat down. The Ravens had Trent Dilfer behind center who quite possibly could be the worst quarterback ever to win a super bowl. But that defense was real good. Anyway, this game was not fun in anyway. I am pretty sure Ray Lewis either shot a guy before or after this game (allegedly) but because he is Ray Lewis everyone just ignored it.

3. Super Bowl XXXIII Broncos 34 Falcons 19

This was pre marriage and I hated the Broncos. They had knocked us out of the playoffs the year before. The Falcons had beat the 15-1 Vikings (the first 15-1 team not to make the super bowl). Stupid Gary Anderson picked the worst possible time to miss his first kick of the season. That Vikings team was so much fun and it could have been a great game. Instead, it was pretty much over from the start. So I had to watch the team that always beats my favorite team beat the team who just beat my second favorite team. Horse face got his second ring. The only good news is he retired after that.

2. Super Bowl LII Patriots 13 Rams 3

Zzzzzzzzzzzz….boring. Yes, you are reading that score right. After one of the best AFC Championship games ever we got this snooze fest. The Chiefs were so close to making the super bowl and they had already played the rams in a 54-51 thriller. But instead, the Pats beat the Chiefs and the Saints got hosed on quite possibly the worst no call in sports history against the Rams. Any combination of games could have been good but instead we got this dud. I somehow watched the whole thing even though hardly anything happened.

1. Super Bowl LV: Bucs 31 Chiefs 9

It is always exciting when your team makes the Super Bowl…right up to the point they get rolled. Apparently the Bucs talked to the refs before the game and said that our defensive backs were real grabby. Carl Cheffers and his team dropped a solid 11 penalties against us. I mean our guys were grabby but they had been grabby all year so it is hard to change now. I was worried going into the game because we had like 3 guys on the offensive line playing different positions then they usually played. It did not go well. To make matters worse, both Tyreek and Darrell Williams dropped touchdowns and Pat spent most of the game running for his life while dealing with turf toe. The Bucs were the better team and deserved to win but even the halftime show commentators were like the refs are controlling the game. Let’s hope it is a different story on Sunday when Cheffers and the gang call the game.

Tune in tomorrow for my top 10 favorite Super Bowls.

Kelce Post game and Parade Speeches:

No matter who wins, we all win because regardless of the outcome, a Kelce is going to win. Travis is always ready to grab the mic especially when they are trying to interview Pat. Which leads to my favorite Meme ever which combines two of my favorite things, the Chiefs and the Muppets.

Jason is just as good on the mic and even came out in a costume for the parade and gave one of the most epic super bowl parade speeches of all time. So no matter what happens we will be in good hands with a Kelce speech.

Awkwardly watching the halftime show with your kids:

You remember a few years ago when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl and J-Lo and Shakira did the halftime show? They weren’t wearing much clothing and it was all sexual and Shakira I believe even had a rope for some reason. You don’t remember that? Yeah, me neither…anyway…

Well I am guessing Rhianna will probably not be wearing a lot of clothes either, and will be singing about inappropriate things. I’ll be taking in the game with my 10 year old daughter, 14 year old son, wife and sister. So I am sure that won’t be awkward at all. Hopefully Timberlake doesn’t show up to “accidentally” create a wardrobe malfunction.

The only way this half time show can be saved is if Shy Ronnie shows up.

Drinking Game material:

I am not personally a drinking game guy or recommending it. But if that is your thing, boy are you in luck because there is so much material to use. Here are some suggestions of when you could take a drink if you were going to play.

• Every time they show Donna Kelce.
• Every time they mention the first time 2 black quarterbacks have started the super bowl.
• Every time they mention Pat’s ankle.
• Every time they show Pat walk and zoom in on his legs.
• Take a drink every Chiefs possession until Kadarius Toney gets hurt. Don’t worry it won’t be a lot.
• Every time they mention Andy Reid coached the Eagles.
• Every time they mention Nick Sirianni coached for the Chiefs.
• Every time they show the rocky statue.
• Every time they mention cheeseburgers and Andy Reid in the same sentence.
• Every time they bring up that Travis and Jason are brothers.
• Every time AJ Brown gets emotional.
• Every time a Chiefs fan complains online about Referee Carl Cheffers.(Actually don’t do this one, you won’t remember the game at all)
• Every time someone at the party brings up conspiracies and says it is all rigged.
• Every time they mention Tyreek Hill.
• Every time Andrew Wylie does something dumb.
• Every time a Kelce Bro dances.
• Every time they show Pat getting frustrated that the next play isn’t coming in fast enough.
• Every time they show a side by side of Andy coaching in Philadelphia and coaching in KC.
• Every time the Eagles run a QB sneak.
• Stop drinking if the Chiefs run a QB sneak. You have had to much and what you are seeing isn’t really happening.
• Take a drink every time the Chiefs have the ball on 3rd and 1 to prepare for the disappointment.
• Every time they talk about Mahomes and Kelce’s connection.
• Every time they mention that Tom Brady retired.

That’s just off the top of my head. Again, not recommending just saying…lots of material.

Commercials, Food…Commercials about Food:

Even if you hate football, you got to like the Super Bowl. First of all, there are funny commercials that entertain the non football fans. They aren’t what the used to be (what happened to the Bud Bowl?) but they are still pretty good. Plus you got all the delicious food. We are doing a Taco/nacho/dip theme this year. I convinced my wife to make her amazing guacamole (not sure why she stopped making it to begin with but it needs a comeback). My sis is bring homemade salsa and we will have plenty of other snacks too. Plus desserts and drinks…the whole nine yards. Everyone goes out for this game. The food is always great even when the game isn’t. Remember Rams vs Patriots a few years ago…woof. But I remember the food being good.

Watching Pat Mahomes do Pat Mahomes things:

Look not everyone likes the Chiefs or likes Pat. I get it. Some will argue he isn’t the best in the league and that is fine. They are wrong, but it is fine. But deep down, everyone sort of likes Pat. I mean dude does things no one else does. Even when we got blown out by the Bucs there were some throws you were like…did that just happen? He threw an incompletion while basically being parallel to the ground and it might be the most talked about play from that game. He will do something at some point in the game that you will want to watch over and over again to see how he did it. And he is tough as nails. Plays through everything. I have no idea who will win the game but I know it will be fun because Pat is playing.

Look out next week for a couple of special blogs followed by predictions on Friday. It’s the last week of the football season so Fifth Down is going to go all out!

Wow…what a game. What an emotional roller coaster. I went 1 for 2 with my picks but I am happy with which one I got right. Here are 10 reactions from the weekend, my rankings of the teams left and one reason for hope for the losers.

1. It’s real hard to win in the league without a quarterback. Look, the Eagles are good and they might have won anyway but when your 3rd string quarterback gets hurt on the first drive and your 4th string quarterback gets concussed it is really hard to win a conference championship. I personally would have went wild cat as opposed to rolling Purdy out there to handoff in random ways. Earlier in the year I said Kyle Shanahan can win with anyone at quarterback but apparently he does need that person to at least be able to throw the ball.
2. Eagles have a really solid team. They don’t have any glaring issues. AJ Brown has been one of the best offseason pick ups. Devonte Smith has been excellent. They have a great stable of running backs. Hurts is obviously talented and their defense is solid at every level. They haven’t played the toughest of schedules but they have proven they are for real.
3. Things were chippy from beginning to end. The Eagles and 49ers got into it before the game started because Jimmy Ward walked through the Eagles as they were warming up and AJ Brown took offense. Then towards the end of the game some players wouldn’t stop wrestling over a ball even though the refs blew the whistle 47 times (I counted). Then Trent Williams tossed an Eagle guy to the ground like a rag doll. Then an Eagle threw a punch. This was literally the most exciting thing that happened in the game because the 49ers didn’t have a guy who could throw a 5 yard slant.
4. Redemption game. First of all, we finally beat the Bengals after 3 straight losses. But the way we did it was amazing. Skyy Moore dropped 3 punts earlier in the year, but due to multiple injuries he had to return punts again. He not only handled all the punts but had a great return to set up the final score. MVS had been quiet all year to the fact that many thought he wasn’t good and was a bad pick up. He was amazing all game. The same rookie corners that got toasted earlier in the year by multiple teams both had picks. The D-Line that couldn’t get Burrow the first 3 games sacked him 5 times. And Butker who had struggled all year, hits the game winner from 45 yards. It was all wonderful.
5. Who Dey got excuses. There are literally bad calls every game. But all the talk after every close game that the NFL is rigged is ridiculous. There were bad calls and missed calls on both sides. The Bengals fans and people who are tired of the Chiefs are blaming the refs and saying it is rigged over and over again. To be fair, there were Chiefs fans doing the same thing last year but lets take a look at some of the so called controversial calls. First there is the play that happened but didn’t happen. They started the game clock when they shouldn’t have. It was loud and so no one heard the whistle or saw the guy running in. They had to replay the down and if we had thrown a 40 yard completion the same would be true. This is just basic rules. It looked bad and was confusing. But it was the right call. Also, we punted like 3 plays later so it had little to no impact on the game. So called roughing the passer calls that should have been on Joe Burrow. Most of the time he got hit, he had just released the ball. There was one where it was clearly gone and Frank Clark gave him a little bump with the arm and Burrow flopped. He probably gets that call in week 3. He is not getting it in a conference championship game. Intentional grounding on Burrow. I mean, it was pretty much intentional grounding. It was at his linemen’s feet, not the running back. I sort of hate this rule in general because when you spike the ball to stop the clock…shouldn’t that be intentional grounding? But based upon what is normally called, it was a legit call. People are comparing it to a later call when Mahomes threw to Kelce and it hit the ground far in front of him but Mahomes got hit in the arm leading to the ball coming out short. Burrow didn’t get hit while throwing. Block in the back during the last punt return. This is the closest one in my opinion. Darius Harris does make contact but he holds up and pulls his hands back. It was borderline and could have gone either way. Holding by Orlando Brown on Mahomes last scramble. Brown’s hands are inside and by the letter of the NFL law isn’t holding. If the refs called holding everytime someone grabbed a little bit of jersey, it is all the game would be. Here is a great article detailing why it wasn’t holding. https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/chiefs-bengals-holding-penalty-patrick-mahomes-scramble/cy0lh6ltloanuskgnpc8kuiy All that to be said…stop crying and take your L. You, your city and your players all talked smack all week and you lost. Deal with it.
6. Cockiest, mouthiest team that has never won anything. That’s the Bengals. As JuJu said early in the week the Bengals have always been a “rah, rah” team. Which is a nice way of saying they talk a lot of trash. But they never win anything. They have 10 playoff victories ever. They are 0-3 in Super Bowls. And even this team that is really good, hasn’t really won anything. And then the Mayor even got involved in one of the dumbest and most cringe worthy video/moments I have seen stating they wanted Burrow to take a paternity test to see if he was Mahomes daddy. As you all know, that did not go over well.
7. Chris Jones was a monster. Dude was so dominant all game. After never getting a post season sack, he had 10 hurries, 5 QB hits and 2 sacks. And some tackles for loss. Dude was a game wrecker.
8. Mahomes is a legend. All week long we heard from players about how much a high ankle sprain hurts and how much you can’t play on it or at a minimum won’t be the same. But that is how it goes for regular humans. Pat is not human. Mahomes has already done this before. He played through turf toe. He also had his knee cap on the side of his leg and was back and playing 3 weeks later. Dude is not normal. He wasn’t perfect but he was awesome. Because of all the injuries, he is out there throwing completions to Marcus Kemp for goodness sakes. He is the best quarterback in the league. Everyone but Skip Bayless agrees.
9. Mike “burrowhead” Hilton had a rough day. I am not saying they were picking on him…but they were picking on him. Mahomes was 8-9 when targeting him and should have been 9-9 if Toney would have caught that touchdown on the first drive. When targeting MVS against him, he was 5-5 with a td. Hilton is a good player but would be wise to keep his mouth shut before next year.
10. They won for themselves, they won for Arrowhead, they won for Kansas City. Every Chiefs fan I know was emotionally invested in this game as much as any game probably since the first super bowl against the 49ers. We all wanted to win before all the smack talk but after that, we really wanted to win. In a lot of ways this was our Super Bowl. I mean, sure I want to win next week but this is the game that really mattered. We all wanted this win. And our Chiefs came through like champs. When the game ended, I wasn’t even really thinking about the Super Bowl. All I could think was “Suck it Cincy!”

Rankings of who is left:

1A. Eagles: They have a better overall roster. Better skill guys. Better defensive guys. Probably better overall O-Line. But…

1B. Chiefs: We have Mahomes

Hope for teams that lost:

49ers: Great season. Great future. I mean come on, what are the chances that 4 quarterbacks get hurt for you next year? Don’t answer that.

Bengals: You don’t deserve hope

Keep your eye out for the 5 for 5 later today or this weekend.

Here are 5 predictions followed by my picks for Championship Weekend.

1. Robbie Gould misses a kick. Gould has been super clutch in the playoffs and has literally never missed a kick. Every time they roll him out there, the announcers mention this. This of course is the ultimate jinx for any player and the odds are that he will miss one at some point. This week might as well be it.
2. We will hear about how if the Bengals beat the Chiefs then Joe Burrow is better than Mahomes 87,000 times before the game starts. Look Burrow is amazing and the Bengals have our number. But part of the reason they have our number is because he is handing off to Joe Mixon and throwing to Chase, Higgins and Boyd. As Marcus Spears on ESPN said the other day, if Mahomes was throwing to those 3 guys he would throw for 7,000 yards. To make matters worse, if the Chiefs do lose, we will have to hear about this all off season long.
3. Chris Jones will get a sack. One of the odder stats is that Chris Jones has never recorded a post season sack. Now he has impacted games in different ways including batted balls and forcing the quarterback into other people’s arms. The Bengals created a whole plan to stop him last time we played and it worked. But their line is beat up and our D line has gotten better so I think Jones gets Burrow to the ground at some point.
4. Jalen Hurts scores multiple times in multiple ways. The 49ers defense is great but Hurts is a different sort of player. I believe he throws two touchdowns and runs it in for two touchdowns.
5. Butker kicks every kickoff into the endzone. Our defense actually played pretty well last week. They only really gave up one long td drive. However their first td came on a short field after a big return. They almost scored again when Butker had to make a td saving tackle. Then the same returner fumbled at the 4 other wise the Jags would have had another td on a short field. To make matters worse, we released one of our best special teams guys and the Bengals picked him up. There is no reason to mess around with this. Kick it out of the end zone every time and make them go 75 yards. There is no reason to kick it short just to try to make them go 80 yards instead, especially when the result could be that they only have to go 30 or 40 yards.

It should be an amazing weekend of games. The only result that would surprise me is a blowout in either game. These are clearly the 4 best teams which should lead to 2 great games. I am cheering for a Kelce bowl in the Super Bowl but we will see what happens. Anyway, here are my picks for this week.

Purdy vs the Birdie: 49ers @ Eagles

Both of these games should be exceptional. I am not putting a lot of weight into the Eagles beat down of the Giants. I never thought the Giants were that good and they beat a Vikings team that finds ways to lose. They only thing that really stood out is Hurts is pretty healthy which is a really good thing for the Eagles. I do put more weight in the 49ers small margin of victory against the Cowboys. Purdy was pressured often and didn’t handle it great. But he made enough plays to get the job done. He will have to make a lot more plays to win this one. Both coaches are solid and these are two of the better rosters in the league. Both teams are loaded with weapons and it will be whichever QB can get the hands into those weapons most efficiently that will win. I think the one difference is Hurts mobility. The 49ers must pressure yet contain him. The 49ers o-line also must limit pressure from a team that sacks the quarterback more than any other. I think this may be a little more high scoring than a lot of people think. I think both teams will get some turnovers and some short fields. The Eagles were the best team for the first half of the year. The 49ers have been the best team for the second half of the year. I have gone back and forth on this one but if all things are equal, I usually go with the home team. But I like Kyle Shanahan’s experience in this one. After missing a kick earlier in the game, Gould hits the game winner as time expires.

49ers 30 Eagles 28

The team I hate vs the the team I love: Bengals @ Chiefs

And so it comes to this. All my logic says to pick the stupid Bengals. Here are just some of the reasons.

They are 3-0 against the Chiefs in the last 13 months.

They have a better roster than the Chiefs.

A road favorite is 9-0 in Championship games (they were only road favorites for a day so I don’t know if this counts)

The Chiefs are awful against the spread, 7-11 overall and 1-7-1 at home.

The Bengals D has always given a healthy Mahomes fits.

Joe Burrow has played his best football against the Chiefs.

There has been 37 touchdowns outside of the pocket in the last 5 post seasons, Mahomes has 15 of them. His lack of mobility is an issue.

Everyone is picking the Bengals.

We can’t sack Joe Burrow for some reason.

Our corners are all basically rookies and their receivers are really good.

We gave up over 7 yards on the ground last week against the Jaguars.

The Bengals are super cocky and talk a lot of smack but always back it up.

You put all that together and you have to pick the Bengals right? Well, there is always one other factor that I look at when I am making picks and specifically when I pick the Chiefs and that is my gut. My gut isn’t always right but it is pretty good when it comes to the Chiefs. For instance, I felt good about the 2019 season and even predicted we would win it all and even got the score right in the Super Bowl. I didn’t feel great in the second super bowl due to our o line being a mess and Tampa having a good pass rush. My concern obviously became truth. Most recently, my gut told me that Henne was going to lead us on a 98 yard touchdown drive. So what is my gut saying about this one?

Well it has been battling my logic all week, despite all signs pointing towards the Bengals. Part of the reason is we have been so close all 3 times. We lost all 3 games by 3 points. We led in the 4th quarter in all 3 games. These games were so close and really we gave two of the games away by playing awful in the second half and could argue all 3 if you count Kelce’s fumble when we were clearly driving again. The Bengals have given us a little extra motivation with all their talk and calling Arrowhead, Burrowhead. The Bengals actually do respect us, unlike how they feel about most teams. But even when they are respectful, they sort of aren’t. Joe Burrow earlier in the week said “They are still the team to beat, and we’re coming for them.” Thanks, I guess.

I think the team wants this win as bad as any win since the first super bowl. They will be motivated and focused. Mahomes is different than he was in years past. He doesn’t have to run around as much. Joe Thuney wasn’t playing last time we played them. We didn’t have Toney or Hardman last time we played them. We will have Toney for sure, and maybe Hardman and maybe Fortson and maybe CEH. It seems like all hands are going to be on deck and everyone seems laser focused.

Every great one has a team they struggled against. Manning had the Patriots. Jordan had the Pistons. Brady had the Giants in the Super Bowl. John Elway couldn’t win the Super Bowl. Steve Young couldn’t get to the Super Bowl. LeBron had the rest of the league so he went to Miami to create a super team. You know they all had struggles, something to overcome. Mahomes has the Bengals.

I think Pat will start off looking healthy and play great but will aggravate the ankle at some point. He will play through in a Willis Reed sort of way. He will make the winning play and will get carried off the field by his teammates. We will talk about this like the Jordan Flu game which really should probably be called the Jordan “hung over” game.

My brain is telling me Bengals but my gut says “how about those Chiefs!” We finally beat these guys and the universe is right again.

Chiefs 31 Bengals 28

Well, as I predicted, the games were not as exciting this week as last year. Which isn’t really a surprise because last year was epic and perhaps the greatest weekend of football of all time. The Chiefs were rolling until Mahomes got hurt and still took care of business. A late field goal made it seem closer than it was. The Eagles demolished the Giants. The Bengals were dominant against the Bills and the Cowboys choked away any chance of victory like only they can. I was 4 for 4 with my picks so I have that going for me…which is nice. Here are reactions from last week.

1. Hennething is possible! With Mahomes hurt, our defense forced a punt which landed near our goal line. I texted my friend Dave and said, Time for Henne to lead us on a 99 yard drive. I was way off because the ball landed on the 2 so it was only a 98 yard drive. And I wasn’t joking. I had full confidence that Henne would do just that. Why? Well first of all, we relied on the run game which we are actually quite good at when we want to be. Secondly, I knew everyone would focus more and do everything just right because they knew they had to. When Pat is in, everyone seems to relax a bit because they know Pat’s got it. And finally, everyone loves Henne and plays hard for him. Now could he have done this for the rest of the game…not likely. He only threw for 23 yards and he was helped by a 15 yard penalty and a 39 yard run by Pacheco but it sure was fun. And for a drive or two, Henne is solid.
2. What happened to the Bills? At the beginning of the year, the Bills looked like the best team in the league. But over time it seems like they just wore down. They had a lot of injuries on the defensive side of the ball. But it also seems like Josh Allen has regressed and isn’t nearly as good as he was last year. He is reckless at times and even though they have 2 or 3 good running backs they refuse to run the ball consistently. Maybe the Damar Hamlin situation wore on them too but they just didn’t look like a good football team the last few weeks. Honestly, it seems like they get real excited to beat the Chiefs and after that it is all down hill.
3. Worst last play of the game ever. The Cowboys got the ball down by a touchdown with around 3 minutes left. They quickly went 3 and out and punted back to the 49ers which I wouldn’t have done. The 49ers are really good at running the ball which serves them well in their ability to run out the clock. The Cowboys did eventually get it back but with around 40 seconds and no timeouts. Then their tight end, Dalton Schultz made two terrible plays. The first was when he nonchalantly didn’t drag his second foot and was out of bounds for an incompletion. The second was when he caught it but didn’t go forward before going out of bounds and so the clock didn’t stop. The Cowboys should have spiked it at this point but instead they ran a play that didn’t work. Why teams do this so often is beyond me. There is so much time wasted lately in close games at the end. Anyway, this led them to run a play where all their linemen were lined up outside and Ezekiel Elliot would snap the ball to Dak. Elliot got flattened immediately after the snap and might still be on the ground and then instead of throwing outside to where potentially the O line could block for someone Dak threw it to a guy that was all by himself besides the defender who tackled him before his feet even touched the ground. It was one of the weirdest and worst plays I have seen in a while. On a side note, did anyone notice how quickly John Lynch got down to the field? I have never moved that fast in my life. Even my son, Walker was like, “how did he get down there so fast?”
4. Bengals are the loudest, most arrogant team since the 90’s Cowboys. These teams have some similarities. Both are full of young talented, flamboyant players who like to talk a lot. They are confident, cocky and not shy about it. To be fair they do back it up. And I am sure if you aren’t a Chiefs fan, you are probably cheering for them this weekend. But as a Chiefs fan I find them extremely annoying. Also, if you think you are so good, why are you always playing the disrespect card all the time. Why do you need this sort of motivation? Also, some of the things you claim are disrespectful aren’t anything out of the normal. For instance…
5. Ticket issues. Mixon and Chase said it was disrespectful that the league was selling tickets to Atlanta. Joe Burrow was asked after the game and said “better get your refunds.” Well, Joe, you know who already got refunds? All the Bengals fans who bought tickets in case the Jaguars beat the Chiefs. That’s right, literally every team who could possibly host the next round sales tickets before the games happen. The only teams that weren’t doing that were the Jags and the Giants because there was no way they could host the Championship round. The reason they were selling tickets in Atlanta was because that was one of the potential options of where the game could be. Of course CBS knows this but instead of pointing out the facts they played along and even asked Joe Burrow the dumb question. And all the studio guys talked about it like it was a big deal. This proves my theory once again that all media sucks and is more about creating drama then reporting truth. The Bengals are literally selling Super Bowl packages on their website now. This is the dumbest non story that is somehow a story that I have seen for a while.
6. Bonus reaction…Did you see the size of the mountain lion that Derek Wolfe killed? Apparently there was a mountain lion harassing a small mountain town here in Colorado. It had killed some dogs and was hiding under people’s porches, etc. I am not here to argue that it was right or wrong for them to kill the Mountain Lion. But I am here to argue that it is the biggest mountain lion I have ever seen. Derek Wolfe is a very large man and the picture is insane. You can check it out here: https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/former-broncos-derek-wolfe-kills-large-mountain-lion-in-colorado
7. Final Reaction: The 4 best teams are left. I don’t think you can argue anything else. These should be great games on Sunday. They will be battles. All 4 teams have great teams that are battle tested and are full of grit and determination. I don’t see any of these teams being drastically better than the other. This should lead to great games on Sunday and a great Super Bowl.

Rankings of most likely to go to the Super Bowl:

1. Bengals: They looked like the real deal. I hate them but they are very talented. They have beaten the Chiefs 3 times in a row and always make all the right plays. Burrow who is already really good, plays even better against us. Their defensive schemes slow down and at times even stop Mahomes when he has two good legs. They are arrogant and awful. But they are also awfully good. And now they are road favorites. Road favorites in Conference Championship games are 9-0. They have a better roster and with Mahomes hurt, they are the safest bet to make it to the big game.
2. Eagles: The Eagles were dominant against the Giants while the 49ers struggled to eek out a victory over the Cowboys. That doesn’t mean a whole lot but I give the Eagles the edge for a couple of reasons. First they are at home. That is a long trip from San Fran. Secondly, Hurts is better than Purdy. Purdy is good QB but he struggled when he was pressured on Sunday. The Eagles lead the league in sacks. So slight edge in the rankings to the birds.
3. 49ers: They have arguably the best roster in the league. They have one great running back and one good one, two excellent receivers and a great tight end. Did you see that crazy catch by Kittle? They are well coached and have the best defense. Can Purdy handle the pressure and win on the road? We will see.
4. Chiefs: Well, you can’t argue that I am biased. Look, I love our team and think we have really overachieved. Our young players are playing better and if anyone can win this game it is Pat and Andy. But we don’t match up well against the Bengals. We are 0-3 against the Burrow led Bengals and Pat has an injury that at best is going to limit him. 5 AFC Championships in a row is impressive but I also think we might be a year away. Which is a funny thing to say, but might just be true. We shall find out on Sunday.

Hope for the Losers:

Jaguars: You should legit be hopeful. You overachieved this year and got to the playoffs a year ahead of schedule. Lots of young talent and a coach who knows how to win. You are the team in the AFC South now.

Giants: Ouch…that was a rough one but hey, no NFC East division winner has repeated since 2004. So you have a shot next year.

Bills: Next year is our year! Also, at least you got your butt kicked and didn’t lose in some crushing way like last year.

Cowboys: You choked in the second round instead of the first round. Good job.

Last year’s divisional round was perhaps the most exciting weekend of football in NFL history. The first 3 games all ended with a game winning field goal as time expired. Then the Chiefs vs Bills said, hold my beer as they played one of the greatest games of all time (unless you like defense) and after a 13 second drive to kick a field goal to tie it, the Chiefs won the coin toss and the game in overtime. This led to a change in the overtime rules despite the exact same thing happening to us a couple of years earlier when we were on the wrong end of the coin flip and no one cared. For years Bills fans had “wide right” to focus on. Now they have 13 seconds and a coin flip to focus on instead. You’re welcome.

I cannot imagine this weekend coming close to comparison but you never know. In the AFC the top 4 seeds and division winners will compete and in the NFC as we all expected, the NFC East has 3 of 4 of the teams playing. This is the beauty of the NFL. The worst division in the league two years ago now has 3 teams in the divisional round. That is parody my friends. Anyway it should be some good football this weekend. Let’s dive in.

The Undefeated on Saturday Game: Jaguars @ Chiefs

The Jags advanced to round two after erasing a 27-0 deficit against the Chargers. The Chiefs got a bye because they won the most games and because the Bills and Bengals didn’t finish their game. Trevor Lawrence is 37-0 on Saturdays including high school, college and the NFL. There is no mention of flag football or pee wee football…so is he really undefeated on Saturdays? Mahomes is 4-0 on Saturdays in the NFL. So something has to give here. This is another rematch of an earlier game as the Chiefs beat the Jags by 10 giving them their first loss by more than one score. JuJu also got knocked out in this game. The Chiefs looked at their best the last game of the season but it was against the Raiders. The Jags are coming off a high and I am sure have a “nothing is impossible” vibe going. Andy Reid and Doug Pederson obviously know each other well and both have had a great year coaching. It might snow on Saturday to add to the fun. Lawrence made the decision to say that he didn’t think Arrowhead would be any louder than their stadium last Saturday. He was probably just trying to give a shout out to his fans and say that he can handle the noise. But of course our obnoxious fan base is like, “challenge accepted”. They were already going to be fired up but now they will be extra loud. You add in that this might be our only home playoff game and it should be extra rowdy. Plus, Lil Jon is playing at halftime. Are the Chiefs going to win? “Yeeaaah!” I think these four teams are the teams to beat in their divisions for the next 5 years and you are going to see them run into each other a lot in the playoffs. The Jags will keep it close for a while. But as Mahomes once said, he is a snow guy and I think the Chiefs pull away and get the weekend started off with a win.

Chiefs 31 Jaguars 20

New York Strip vs Philly Cheese steak: Giants @ Eagles

The food has nothing to do with the game really…they are just two of my favorite foods and I didn’t have anything else clever to call the game. This is the 3rd meeting of these two teams. The Eagles demolished the Giants in New Jersey in the first game. But then the Giants JV team kept things close with the Eagles in Philly the last week of the season. The Eagles had some late season injuries that derailed the end of their season. Hurts and Lane Johnson are the most notable ones. They are healthier…but are they healthy? Can the Eagles regain their momentum and return to their form of earlier in the year?

On the other side, the Giants have been playing some of their best ball since their shellacking from the Eagles in week 14. They just beat a good Vikings team…one that chokes a lot…but still. Daniel Jones is playing his best ball and Brian Daboll can flat out coach. The Giants will be ready and bring their A game. Also, the Giants have a weird pattern going. They either lose in the first round of the playoffs or they win the Super Bowl. Nothing in between. And they didn’t lose in the first round…so…

I think the Eagles will come out and play well. They are rested and the more talented team. Despite all the Giants success, I still can’t name a receiver on their team. The Eagles have too many weapons and will “soar” to victory. Yes, I went there.

Eagles 38 Giants 24

The “To Be Continued” Game: Bengals @ Bills

Do we get to start this game where the other one ended? 7-3 Bengals leading with a few minutes left in the 1st quarter? It’s the least we could do for the Bengals who got hosed in the whole neutral site playoff debacle. I don’t like the Bengals but I can be honest that they got the short end of the stick. While there was great concern that the Bills would not lose home field advantage because of the game being cancelled, there was little to no concern when it came to the Bengals. If the Bengals had beaten the Bills, they would be playing at home this week. But instead, they head to Buffalo. I’d feel sorry for them, but I don’t like them. They are also trying to play the disrespect card a little much. Joe Mixon seems to be the ring leader of complaining. He says they are disrespected because tickets are being sold for the neutral site game in Atlanta. Literally every year tickets for the championship games are sold at this time to season ticket holders. This is not a new thing. But whatever motivates you, I guess. If I were the Bengals I would be less worried about being disrespected and more worried about having enough offensive linemen.

On the other side, the Bills seem a little off. Josh Allen is turning the ball over a lot. Their defense doesn’t seem as solid as it once did. In short, they have some issues. The Damar Hamlin story is inspiring but it really hasn’t inspired the Bills to play any better. They are at home and it will be cold with a chance of some light snow. But the Bengals are used to all that. If the Bills had Von Miller against that beat up offensive line, I’d feel better about them in this game. Both teams have a ton of weapons. If Josh Allen remains turnover free, I think the Bills will win. But that is a big if. I think he turns it over multiple times and the Chiefs get another shot at the team I hate.

Bengals 27 Bills 24

Battle of teams that used to be great when I was a kid: Cowboys @ 49ers

I remember watching these teams battle it out in what seemed like NFC championship after NFC Championship. They took turns winning super bowls and had two of the best rosters in the league. The 49ers were the team of the 80’s and the Cowboys were the team of the 90’s. Of course all of this happened before I graduated high school. To be fair to the 49ers they have made a couple of super bowls since then and been close a few other times. The Cowboys on the other hand…not so much. With their win on Monday night, the Cowboys are 4-10 in the playoffs since I graduated high school a few years ago. But both teams looked great during wild card weekend. Could this be a return of this great rivalry?

This will be Brock Purdy’s biggest test. He is playing a team that can put up a lot of points and has an opportunistic defense. On the flip side, Dak has choked in close games. These two teams played in last year’s playoffs when a sea of red rolled into Cowboys stadium. There was some terrible playing calling and clock management that cost the Cowboys the game. Will they get their revenge?

No matter who wins, the real winner is Fox who will get huge ratings as these are two of the most popular teams in the nation and it is the second game on Sunday. The 49ers have the better overall roster but the Cowboys roster is solid and they both have a lot of weapons.

I have gone back and forth on this one. I think the 49ers have the better team but the Cowboys have enough talent to put up points on them. And I sort of have a gut feeling that the Cowboys are going to win. But I am basing some of that feeling on their performance on Monday night that while it was great, they were playing the Bucs and the Bucs have sucked all year. Whenever I am undecided about a game, I look to the coach and quarterback to help me decide. I don’t trust Dak or McCarthy at all. On the other side, Brock Purdy, although young and inexperienced, hasn’t shown me any reason not to trust him up to this point. And Kyle Shanahan usually doesn’t choke until the super bowl. Give me the niners in a close one.

49ers 35 Cowboys 31

Well, Wild Card weekend was wild but the outcomes still were pretty predictable. I was 4-2 on my predictions and I should have stuck to my guns on the Giants but I let myself talk me out of picking them. There sure were some interesting moments throughout the weekend. Here are my top 5 “wild” things that happened in this weekend’s games.

1. Tom Brady did not look good. First of all, anytime you throw 66 times, that is probably not a good thing. He threw a redzone interception and honestly, just looked old back there. His stat line wasn’t terrible but sometimes stats don’t tell the story. I think Brady will have to be actually terrible for him to retire and I know people are always saying this is the end and then he comes back and wins a super bowl or whatever. But it sure looks like it is time for him to hang it up. This is the worst I have seen him play in the playoffs in a long time.
2. 4 missed extra points??? It turned out to not matter, but my goodness. He looked like I do kicking the ball on the all madden level. I know he is their guy and he has been pretty clutch all year but I have never seen anything like it. I mean a guy missing several field goals is one thing but missing 4 extra points in a row is a whole new level.
3. Miami kept it close. I thought this game would be over in the second quarter. It sure looked that way early. But those pesky Dolphins weathered the storm, tied it up and kept it close the rest of the game. They were helped by some Josh Allen turnovers but when Skylar Thompson is your quarterback, I wouldn’t have expected that to matter.
4. Piss Poor Clock management and strategies. Miami took a delay of game on 4th and 1 with the game on the line. Baltimore let about a minute run off the clock and was huddling up down by a touchdown late in the game. Nothing they did on that last drive made any sense and they still almost won the game. Kirk Cousins threw a 3 yard pass on 4th and 8. Well, that one really isn’t that surprising. Any of these games could have swung the other way if their coaches and quarterbacks had done a better job managing the clock and down and distance.
5. The Jags/Chargers game. Trevor Lawrence threw 4 interceptions and they were down 27-0. Then he threw 4 touchdowns and they were up 31-30. It truly was a game of two halves. Early on it was a dud but it turned out to be the wildest game of the bunch. Congrats to the Jags but this is also what the Chargers do. Chargers going to Charger…I guess.

Rankings of most likely to reach the Super Bowl after this weekend

1. 49ers: Look, they are really good all the way around and were really the only team besides maybe Dallas that looked like a contender this weekend. But I don’t trust Dallas. Purdy looked a little off in the first half. He missed a couple of throws and had the wrong reads a few times. But he rallied and had a great second half. The only thing we haven’t really seen Purdy have to do is come from behind from a couple of scores against a quality opponent. The way they are playing, he might not have to.
2. Chiefs: Perhaps the biggest winners of the rankings were the Chiefs who didn’t play. Both the Bills and the Bengals played down to their competition and barely won. That is to be expected with the Chiefs but not with those two. The Chiefs are healthier than the Bengals and less turnover happy right now than the Bills.
3. Bengals: I still think the Bengals might have the best roster in the AFC. But they keep losing offensive linemen. That is going to catch up with them sometime but it might not be until the super bowl.
4. Eagles: They didn’t play but they get to host the Giants who they are very familiar with. The Giants are a great story and Daboll should probably be coach of the year but the Eagles are better and rested.
5. Bills: If Josh Allen doesn’t turn the ball over, the shoot to the top of the list. But Josh Allen is turning the ball over…a lot. If he keeps it up we won’t have to worry about a neutral site conference championship.
6. Cowboys: If the Cowboys play their “A” game like they did on Monday, they have as good as shot as anyone. But we all know the Cowboys can’t bring their A game 3 weeks in a row.
7. Jaguars: They have an experienced coach and a young talented roster. They had one of the greatest comebacks ever so never say never but I can’t imagine them beating the Chiefs this week and then beating the Bengals or Bills the following week.
8. Giants: Great story, great coach but it is still Daniel Jones and it is still this hodge podge group of receivers. I don’t see them winning 3 in a row.

Reason for Hope for the Losers:

Seahawks: Russell Wilson still won’t be your Quarterback next year.

Chargers: Last year you blew making the playoffs. This year you made the playoffs and then blew one of the largest leads in playoff history. See…you are making progress.

Ravens: Hey, Harbaugh still has a timeout left heading into the offseason. So you have that.

Dolphins: You are a concussion free quarterback away from being a contender.

Vikings: You are at least a year away from your next playoff disappointment. And the way the Packers and Lions finished the season you might not make the playoffs which means, no playoff disappointment. Yay!

Bucs: It might only take 7 wins to win your division next year.

Look for my Divisional round predictions on Friday.

It’s Wild Card Weekend! And it used to be truly wild. You didn’t know what upset might happen. But since they added the unnecessary 7 seed, things have gotten less wild. The 7 seed is 0-4 the last two years. And there has really only been one significant upset two years ago when the Browns beat the Steelers. Typically the home team or favored team has won the last two years. To make things even more boring, all these games are rematches from earlier in the year and 3 of the games will be teams playing for the 3rd time. I mean, I am still going to watch, but I am less excited about it. Let’s see if this weekend will truly be wild again.

The Rain Game: Seahawks @ 49ers

The Seahawks limped into the playoffs with a 9-8 record. They did win their last two game over the Jets and a beat up Rams team. Before that they had lost 3 in a row. This will be the 3rd rematch of these two teams with the 49ers winning both match ups. The 49ers are arguably the hottest team in football after rattling off 10 straight wins. The got super cool and collected Brock Purdy at QB who is the 3rd string Quarterback but also apparently their best QB. This will be the biggest stage he has played on but not much seems to matter to him. Maybe he is that cool under pressure or maybe he is just too young to understand the magnitude of the situation. Either way he has been great and lifted the 49ers to the next level. There is supposed to be some weather involved in this one which is my main purpose of watching. If it is not raining and windy, this game will not be very entertaining. Geno Smith is a great story and I find it funny that the Seahawks made it to the Playoffs without Russ. But Russ was actually the X factor against the 49ers. He barely ever lost to them. It is like these games are the only time Seattle misses Russ. I am going to assume there is weather and that slows everything down and makes this a little closer and little more low scoring than it would be normally. I’ll I am cheering for in this one is heavy rain.

49ers 23 Seahawks 13

The Battle of the Hair: Chargers @ Jaguars

This is the game I am most excited to watch. And not just because my hair is thinning out and these two quarterbacks have lovely locks. This in my opinion is the most evenly matched game of the weekend. The Jags are riding high winning their first division title in a few years. The Chargers are probably just happy to actually be in the playoffs. Both teams have very good and mobile quarterbacks. They have solid defenses and enough weapons to make this a fun one. The Chargers have the overall better roster but it will be a little bit limited this weekend. Despite the Ravens losing and the Chargers being completely unaffected as far as playoff seeding whether the won or lost in week 18, Brandon Staley rolled out his starters and made them play most of the game against Denver. We didn’t see Chase Daniel until the 4th quarter which is a tragedy, because you can’t see enough of Chase playing. Several Charger players went down including Mike Williams who has been injured off and on for most of the season. He was hurt so bad that he isn’t playing this weekend. Staley’s excuse was you only have so many guys. Which makes absolutely no sense because they have played like half their games without Williams. To add insult to injury (literal injury), the Chargers lost the game to the lowly Broncos. Staley has shown himself to not be the best decision maker over the last couple of years. In an evenly matched game, give me the coach who has won a super bowl over the guy who can’t even bring his whole team to Jacksonville because he is an idiot and plays injury prone players for no reason.

Jaguars 27 Chargers 24

The “Do we have to?” Game: Dolphins @ Bills

Really, do we have to play this game? Honestly the 7 seed is pointless. Lets go back to 6 and give the 2 seed a bye. And this is coming from a guy who always wants to watch more football. Look if Tua was playing this might be fun. But I have seen nothing from Skylar Thompson that makes me think he can help the Dolphins even keep this close. My favorite thing about Skylar is that he is a Missouri boy from Independence but we all know that Missouri Quarterbacks are only good at being back up quarterbacks not starters. (We see you Drew Lock and Blaine Gabbert!). They have absolutely no hope in this game. Tyreek is obviously good at making all quarterbacks look better but not even he could help Skylar look good against the Jets.

Meanwhile, the Bills have all the motivation in the world. They were already probably the most motivated team in the league after the coin toss game last year. And now they are playing for Damar. I think it is fair to say that this game will not be close. The Bills are better than the Dolphins with Tua. They are certainly better than the Dolphins with Skylar.

Bills 38 Dolphins 10

The Obvious One Score Game: Giants @ Vikings

The Giants have definitely over achieved. Brian Daboll should probably be coach of the year. He has this team in the playoffs and has made Daniel Jones a functional quarterback. On the other side Kevin O’Connell could also claim the spot taking a troubled Vikings team to a 13-4 record. These teams of course, already played. Shockingly to no one that has followed the Vikings, it was a close game. The Vikings did finally win a second game by more than one score in week 18. But it was against the Bears…without Justin Fields. Meanwhile, the Giants, unlike the idiot Chargers, rested their starters and were still competitive against the Eagles.

The Vikings have Kirk Cousins who is terrible in big moments. But they also have Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson. The Giants have Saquon Barkley and…and…and…I guess that is it. I follow football pretty closely but I had to google Giants receivers to come up with this awesome list, Darius Slayton, Richie James, Isaiah Hodgins and the infamous Kenny Golladay. Boy did he turn that one good year in Detroit into a rip off of a payoff.

I actually really like the Giants and was leaning towards picking them. But while typing this I have talked myself out of it. The Vikings have a big play late to Justin Jefferson of course and win a close one.

Vikings 31 Giants 28

The Unlikable game: Ravens @ Bengals

I don’t like these teams. I don’t like these players. I don’t like this game. This is another 3rd time matchup game. This one is the worst one of the bunch. Both teams have won one. But the Ravens won with Lamar. They have been awful and boring since Lamar got hurt. Unfortunately, their defense is playing better which means they will likely slow down the high powered Bengals offense to make this game even more of a drag. Harbaugh is actually 6-0 in road playoff games on Wild Card Weekend. It’s an odd stat for sure. If they had Lamar then I might give them a shot. But right now they aren’t even sure if Tyler Huntley is going to be able to play. Meanwhile the Bengals are all pissy like always. The coin flip thing made them mad. Joe Burrow is cocky, Joe Mixon got fined for flipping a coin in the end zone, they got screwed by a hypothetical playoff scenario that didn’t actually happen, blah, blah, blah. I am sure the Bengals will win big. That is all I have to say about this one. It is too boring to write anything else about it.

Bengals 34 Ravens 16

The Choke vs the Goat: Cowboys @ Bucs

We end wild card weekend with the Monday Night game, another change with the added 7 seed. The 12-5 Cowboys, who all the media want me to believe are good head to Tampa to face the 8-9 Bucs. Nothing better than a team with a losing record hosting a playoff game. It is right up there with a tie during the regular season. Anyway, we get Joe Buck and Troy Aikman or you can watch the Manning Cast. I got to say Eli is underrated. Not as a Quarterback but has a funny person. Dude, is sly and hilarious. Best part of the Manning cast.

The Cowboys are known choke artists. Dak throws a ton of interceptions and Mike McCarthy is a disaster in the playoffs. It is hard for me to cheer for Brady but there is nothing better than a media meltdown when the Cowboys lose in the playoffs. Plus, I always love when Skip Bayless has to talk about “my Dallas Cowboys” in a negative light. I am as big of a Chiefs fan as it gets. And even I sometimes slide into the “we” talk. Like we need to win this game or we need a new right tackle. As if I am actually part of the team and have any influence at all. But I would never say “My Kansas City Chiefs” like I own the team. And certainly wouldn’t do it as a national commentator that is supposed to be unbiased. Yet another reason to hate Skip.

Anyway, on the other side you have Todd Bowles who is pretty good at coaching defense and Tom Brady who is the greatest playoff quarterback of all time. The Bucs roster is better than their record and they might be getting a few guys back. Plus, I mean, it’s Brady…at home. Is he really losing this game? I don’t think so. I’ll take the Goat over the Choke for the win.

Bucs 27 Cowboys 20

Doing things differently this week. As each playoff team is ranked by the best chance to win followed by a little something hopeful for each non playoff team. Let’s get started.

America’s Team for the next few weeks: Bills

Everyone who doesn’t have a team in the playoffs, wants the Bills to win. I have even seen multiple posts on Facebook from fans saying if their team doesn’t win it, they are all in on the Bills. This is what happens when a player on your team has cardiac arrest and a whole nation (besides a few grumpy fantasy football managers) rallies around you. Damar seems like a great human being and is doing much better. Also, the Bills are real good. Good defense, good quarterback, good weapons, good coaching. You name it, they have it. My money was always on whoever won the Bills vs Bengals game to win it all. Since that game never ended, I’ll go with the team that will get to host the other team in the playoffs.

The team I can hate again: Bengals

I stopped hating the Bengals for a solid 3 or 4 days. Then they played on Sunday, did their dumb little coin flip thing and of course beat the Ravens and their 3rd string quarterback. Burrow was asked something about a super bowl window and he said his super bowl window is as long as he is playing. This sort of arrogance can only be liked if he plays on your team. Burrow is the like a villain from a Batman Movie or something. He’s entertaining and you sort of respect his game but you are real excited to watch him get pounded. Anyway, the Bengals are real good too.

As long as we got Pat: Chiefs

Look, I think the above two teams have better rosters. They have better weapons. They have good coaches. And both teams have proven they can beat the Chiefs. But I literally go into every playoff game assuming we will win. This is the complete opposite of how I felt before we had Pat. After many brutal losses in the playoffs, Pat has flipped the script. Both times he has lost in the AFC Playoffs, it has been in overtime. He has never not made it to the AFC Championship game. I just got a feeling we are going to win it. I mean I firmly believe the above two teams are better overall and I won’t be shocked if we lose. But something tells me Andy and Pat got a few tricks up their sleeves.

In Brock We Trust?: 49ers

The 49ers have arguably the best roster in the league. They have the best defense in the league. But do we trust Brock Purdy to win it all? I mean he has done everything right up to this point. But can he hang in a shoot out with the above teams. Also, lets be honest, he is due to make a mistake. When will that happen? This weekend? Divisional round? Championship? Super Bowl? Next year? Time will tell.

Hurts still hurt?: Eagles

If Hurts is back to his old form, the Eagles can win it all. But they looked bad in their second showing with Gardner and didn’t look much better last week with Hurts against the Giants back ups. This team will go how Hurts goes. Hopefully, with the bye, we will see the best version of the Eagles again.

They aren’t going to win it…but they have Tom Brady…so…: Bucs

I mean, they have been bad all year. Underachieved constantly and can’t run the ball at all. But Tom Brady is Tom Brady. Are you betting against him? I am not. Dude can still sling it. I don’t think they will make it far but I would put money on Tom over any of the teams besides the 5 already mentioned.

The Hair Club: Jags and Chargers

I view the Jags and the Chargers as the same. Talented young rosters. Enough weapons and good enough defense to make some noise. And good quarterbacks on the rise with flowing hair. I think either of these teams could pull an upset in the divisional round but I don’t see them making it to the big game.

The Choke Artists: Cowboys and Vikings

The question isn’t if, it is when will they choke. I’ll give my predictions in the next couple of days. But neither of these teams can win 4 in a row on the biggest stage. It is just not who they are.

Congrats you made it: Seahawks and Giants

Two great stories of teams that really improved and played hard all year to get here. Congrats on making the dance. It is going to be a short one.

You are starting who at Quarterback?: Dolphins and Ravens

If Tua wasn’t concussed, I still wouldn’t like their chances. But they started Thompson last week and they managed a whopping 3 field goals against the Jets who had nothing to play for. Pretty sure 9 points isn’t getting it done against the Bills. We don’t even know who is starting for the Ravens. But we know it isn’t Lamar, who likely played his last game with the Ravens about 6 weeks ago.

A Reason for hope:

Lions- You finished the year strong and look like a legitimately pretty good football team. Hey, maybe you can win with Jared Goff

Packers- Lots of young talent and your defense pulled it together the end of the season. Rodgers will be back after he manifests his return.

Bears- Justin Fields doesn’t suck…at least at running. And hey, you got the #1 pick for the first time since 1940ish.

Rams- I mean…you got to be healthier next year…right?

Cardinals- You can’t lose any more games this season.

Commanders- You can get a new quarterback in the offseason who won’t work out. But at least it won’t be Carson Wentz.

Falcons- You finished by beating the Bucs…backups.

Saints- umm…your defense wasn’t terrible…and umm…Chris Olave seems pretty good, I guess.

Panthers- You can run the ball real well which means less stops of the clock because of incomplete passes. This means the games are shorter and we don’t have to watch you for as long.

Browns- You get a whole session…I mean season…with Watson next year. Assuming he can keep his creepiness in check.

Steelers- Seriously, you should be hopeful. Strong finish.

Jets- Zach Wilson won’t be your quarterback. I mean it is unlikely anyway. I mean surely that won’t be the case. Poor Jets.

Patriots- Tom Brady is coming back. At least that is what wishful thinking Patriot fans believe.

Colts- It can’t get worse…can it? Please, please hire Jeff Saturday permanently…please! Also, I think Carson Wentz will be available.

Titans- The Titans had to use the most amount of players in back to back seasons due to injuries. Can they make it 3 years in a row?

Texans- I’m sorry. There is no hope for you. You are awful.

Broncos- Hey the last two weeks looked pretty good. Good enough to give you false hope all off season long.

Raiders- Raiders gonna raider…but just not with Derek Carr leading the way.

This was obviously a weird week in the NFL. I didn’t know if I would post at all. Typically I work on these posts a little at a time but with what happened to Damar Hamilton, I didn’t know if it would be appropriate to post anything and honestly I was more concerned about him than writing. Amazingly in a matter of a few days he is awake and talking to his teammates. He seems like a great person and the medical staff from the moment it happened to now has done an incredible job. It appears he is going to be okay and that is the most important thing.

The situation did create sort of a mess for the NFL being so close to the playoffs. There were 3 logical options on what to do with the game. Give the Bengals the win because they were winning when the game was postponed, call it a tie, or let them finish the game and push the playoffs back a week. The NFL of course decided on none of these options and called it a no contest. They then decided not to follow their own rules that are in place that are supposed to rank the teams by winning percentage for the playoffs and instead created a wide variety of potential scenarios for the AFC championship game. You can google it but my favorite is the fact that the Bengals have won the division but could have their home playoff game taken away by coin flip. More on that in a bit, but needless to say the Bengals are not super pumped about it. All of this has lead to this weekend’s of games still being exciting but also a little weird. So let’s dive in.

The Rivalry: Chiefs @ Raiders

Since I was a little kid, the Raiders game has been the won I have wanted to win the most. Sure, there were other teams I didn’t like. I hated John Elway and the fact that he would always beat us. But I never disliked the Broncos like I did the Raiders. We have had a lot of good battles with the Chargers but I never really disliked them. (Besides Keenan Allen, I don’t like him and he is the one player I refuse to draft in fantasy football every year). Heck, I even remember when the Seahawks were in our division but also never minded them much. Other non division teams like the Steelers and Cowboys can be annoying but nothing is like the Raiders. I hate the Raiders. And honestly, so does most everyone. Danielle and I awkwardly and quietly watch the Broncos vs Chiefs games. But 4 games out of the year we cheer loudly for each other’s teams, when either of our teams play the Raiders. But this game feels a little odd. First, it will be the first game played since the Damar incident. Secondly, after the Damar incident everything feels a little different like I should care a little less and shouldn’t hate anyone. But I will find a way because it is still the Raiders. If we win we get the #1 seed…sort of. We do get a bye and that is good. As my brother said, you can’t lose the game you don’t have to play. However, if the Bills win on Sunday and we meet in the AFC Championship it will be played on a neutral site, sort of like a bowl game. This is part of the weird creation that the NFL came up with. Indy was the natural choice because it is almost exactly half way between the two cities. But apparently Indy is out because they have an amateur volleyball event going on.

Anyway, this should be a good game. The Raiders have lost 9 one score games. The Chiefs don’t play games that aren’t one score games. So this is set up to be a close one. The Raiders looked good last week without Carr. They put up a ton of points and yards against a very good 49ers team. They have Davante Adams who is pretty much unguardable and Jordan Jacobs who is maybe the best running back in the league this year. The Chiefs d is playing a little better and our offense is playing a little worse. Chiefs will miss a kick or two to make us nervous and frustrated but I am sure the Raiders will do something late to screw things up. Chiefs win a close one…again. Mahomes goes to an insane 16-0 in road division games.

Chiefs 30 Raiders 24

Two teams going in opposite directions: Titans @ Jaguars

Saturday night is the AFC South Championship. The Titans at one point were 7-3 and looked like they had a clear path to the playoffs. Since then they have lost 6 in a row. This is the longest losing streak in the league tied with the Colts and Cardinals. Not exactly great company. the Titans roster was great to begin with but they have had so many injuries that I have never heard of half the guys playing now. Joshua Dobbs gets the start at QB tonight. I am not sure he was even on an NFL roster a couple of weeks ago. They do have Derrick Henry so that is something. But they have been bad for several weeks and have to play on the road.

The Jaguars on the other hand are playing some of their best football. Just a few weeks ago they were 4-8 and I thought they would win the division…next year. Then they rattled off 4 straight wins and tonight will be looking for their 5th. There is a scenario where they could lose and still get in the playoffs. If they lose but the Patriots, Dolphins and Steelers all lose then the Jags would still get in. But I am sure they would prefer to just go ahead and win tonight. Trevor Lawrence is becoming a star and not just because of his golden flowing hair. They have a really good football team that came together faster than anyone expected. They are going to be a problem for the rest of the AFC the next few years and are going to be a problem for the Titans tonight.

Jaguars 27- Titans 16

The Coin Flip Game: Ravens @ Bengals

The Bengals host the Ravens and will likely host them again next week. If the Bengals win that will be the exact scenario. If they lose to the Ravens however, and the Chargers win, then the league will flip a coin to decide if they go to Baltimore or stay in the Natti. This may seem odd but here is why. Going into the Bills game, the Bengals needed a win or a tie to clinch the division. If they had lost to the Bills then they would be playing the Ravens for the North division. But because it was ruled a no contest the Bengals won the division by basically doing nothing because they mathematically can’t have as many losses as the Ravens. So this is the factors that made the league come up with the coin flip thing. Again, if they had called the game a tie then this wouldn’t be an issue. The League tried to make an unfair situation fair which is impossible. The only fair way would have been to finish the game at some point. It is sort of funny that the Bengals are the only ones upset. They even tried to get other teams to vote no. They did win the division without having to do anything the last two weeks.

I do love odd scenarios so I am of course cheering for the Ravens to win and this to come down to a coin flip. There is one problem with that happening though. The Ravens are not good. They are okay on defense and used to be pretty good on offense. But even before they lost Lamar and certainly since losing Lamar, they have been bad offensively. I don’t see anyway that a Huntley led offense scores enough points to beat the Bengals. And then we will all get to watch this exact same game next week. Woohoo! I do think if Lamar is back for the playoffs they could sneak away with an upset next weekend. But Tyler Huntley is not pulling it off this weekend.

Bengals 28 Ravens 10

Somebody’s got to win: Jets @ Dolphins, Steelers @ Browns and Patriots @ Bills

One of these teams is going to make the playoffs as the 7 seed, assuming the don’t all lose. The Jets and Dolphins both looked like playoff teams a few weeks ago but then Zach Wilson happened and the Dolphins played some good teams. This is likely going to be a battle of 3rd string quarterbacks with Joe Flacco battling some guy I don’t remember for the Dolphins. Meanwhile, the Bills host the Patriots. If the Patriots win they are in and would turn around and go right back to Buffalo and play them again. Meanwhile, the Steelers refuse to have losing records. In the last 256 games under Tomlin they have played exactly 1 game where they were already eliminated from the playoffs which is an insane stat. The Steelers have won 3 and row and 4 of their last 5 to go from terrible season to likely a winning one. They play host the to Massage boy and the Browns. So who wins and who loses. It’s hard to imagine the Bills losing after a zoom call with Damar. If that isn’t motivating I don’t know what is. I refuse to pick a team led by Joe Flacco to win. Now Shane Falco I can get behind, but Joe Flacco, no way. Finally, I will never bet against Tomlin having a winning record. Dolphins and Steelers win and Dolphins get into the playoffs.

Dolphins 20 Jets 10

Bills 31 Patriots 17

Steelers 20 Browns 17

My Prediction comes true: Lions @ Packers

The regular season comes to an end with the Packers hosting the Lions. The Lions are a fun story and very likable. But they don’t have a lot of success at Lambeau. I had a hard time all year believing the Packers were as bad as they were playing. After they beat the Bears and had a bye, I looked at their schedule and thought…I think they are going to win out. My son, who loves the Packers looked skeptical but I told them this is going to happen and to believe. I like to think that Rodgers and I manifested this together…although I did nothing. But they have a good roster and it was only a matter of time before this thing came together. Now if they win, they are in. I am hoping the Rams beat the Seahawks so that this is a true play in game. I am sure the NFL is hoping for that as well.

Goff is much better indoors but his last outside game he actually put up a lot of big stats. But they still lost because they could not stop the Panthers who ran for like a thousand yards against them. The Packers have two good backs and playing at Lambeau is a little different then playing at Carolina. It will be a crazy atmosphere. Walker and I were there for a night gam last year it is rowdy and a blast. This will be even more rowdy with everything on the line. I think Rodgers plays well and the Packers are too much for the Lions. The Lions are a great story and headed in the right direction. This will be an interesting division next year. But I think the Packers are the better team and will manifest one more win to get in.

Packers 31 Lions 21

I thought about not posting at all this week with what happened to Damar Hamlin. But then I thought maybe what we all needed were a few laughs. I was watching when it happened and it was a very scary and weird moment. I am sure we all had a lot of emotions and opinions about what should be done. My dad is a journalist and so I was raised to collect all the facts before making a judgement. The information of what happened and why it happened will slowly be revealed. What I do know is tragedy can bring out the best and worst in us. I saw many people tweeting about how the game needed to be finished because of their fantasy football teams. I also saw many tweets that they should cancel the whole season, which is less unreasonable than worrying about your fantasy team but still an unreasonable response. This proves my theory once again that there are a lot of dumb people on twitter. But most of the country was focused on Damar. Millions of dollars have been donated to his charity and many more prayers have been lifted up for him. He has a long ways to go but there are lots of positive signs as he has opened his eyes, squeezed hands, and seems to be neurologically intact. This is all great news. Also a big shout out to the medical staff at the game and at the hospital. Finally, I thought the ESPN staff did the absolute best they could in a completely unimaginable scenario. Let’s all keep Damar in your thoughts and prayers and hope for a full recovery. With that, lets have a little fun and dive into this weeks rankings.

Super Bowl Contenders: Eagles, 49ers, Bills, Bengals, Chiefs

The Eagles really struggled without Hurts this week. Can they recapture their magic when Hurts is reinserted into the lineup? I think they can but it is yet to be seen. Hopefully we will see it this weekend. The 49ers and Chiefs battled teams that looked like what most thought they would look like before the season started. The Raiders and Broncos both looked like functional football teams. More on them later. Purdy apparently is playing injured (no one is shocked that a 49er player is injured) which may be effecting his accuracy. Mahomes apparently can’t throw a deep ball..at least not to MVS. He missed two easy touchdowns that would have made the game a lot less close. Of course so would not fumbling a punt and missing a FG and an extra point. I left the game thinking Mahomes didn’t play well. He completed 70% of his passes for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns and 1 pick. This is a bad game for him. The bar is so high for him, it is sort of ridiculous. He joins Brady and Brees as the only 3 players with 2 seasons of over 5,000 yards passing. This is his 5th season as a starter. I have nothing snarky to say about the Bills and Bengals this week. They are two very solid teams that clearly have a shot at winning it all. I think these 5 teams are clearly the best teams when Hurts is playing and one of them will likely win it all.

Could be dangerous: Chargers, Cowboys, Jaguars

I don’t think any of these teams can make the Super Bowl but I do think they can all win a game or two. They have talented skill players, solid defenses and confidence. The Jags still have to beat the Titans to get in but it sure looks like that is going to happen. The Jags are playing their best ball and host the Titans Saturday night. One week after saying the Chargers aren’t putting up a lot of points they drop 31 on a pretty good Rams defense. I don’t think anyone would be shocked if the final 4 in the AFC is the Bills, Bengals, Chiefs and Chargers. The Chargers will likely play the Jags if they both win this weekend. So that would certainly be an interesting game. The Cowboys have a ton of talent that they can overcome their inconsistent QB and choke of a coach to win one or two games.

I have Tom Brady: Bucs

My niece joined our family fantasy league this year. She knows nothing about football nor does she care. As commissioner I try to help the new players out and so if she needed to make a change to her lineup, etc. I would let her know and her response was always “yeah, but I have Tom Brady.” That hasn’t really worked out well for her or the Bucs for most of the year but the Tom Brady we saw on Sunday against the Panthers sure looked pretty good. I am still rooting for the Bucs to rest their starters this week so they can finish 8-9 because losing teams in the playoffs is funny. But I am not ready to write off Brady and a bunch of veterans from making a run.

As I predicted…: Packers

Wow, I thought the Packers would win close but they weren’t messing around with the Vikings that are 11-0 in one score games. The Packers were up 14-3 at one point and had -1 passing yards after a kick return for a td and a pick 6. They did not look back. The Packers D has really turned it around and they completely shut down the best receiver in the league. If they beat the Lions at home then they go to the playoffs as I predicted and could be dangerous. Rodgers is always better as the underdog than the favorite in the playoffs.

In the playoffs and that is pretty good: Vikings, Ravens, Giants

Look, I have given these teams a hard time but hey they are in the playoffs and that is a pretty good accomplishment. I mean a lot of teams don’t make it. The Ravens are not very good anymore and will likely be one and done. The Vikings and Giants are probably going to play each other so I guess one of them will win at least one game in the playoffs but they won’t make it farther than that. The Giants apparently need to win by two or more scores otherwise give it to the Vikes.

Still in it and fun: Lions and Seahawks

The Lions and Seahawks are fun teams. They are fun stories. The Seahawks traded Russ and replaced him with journey man Geno Smith. Smith has played admirably and the Seahawks have been competitive in almost every game. They need to beat the Rams and the Lions to beat the Packers to get in. The Lions started the year 1-6 and now are 8-8 in one of the great turn arounds of any season. They need Seattle to lose to the Rams and then have to win in Lambeau, something they haven’t done since 2018. These are great stories but I think they end this week.

Won’t go away: Patriots, Steelers, Dolphins, Titans

The Patriots and Titans control their own destiny. The Titans have lost 6 in a row. Amazingly if they beat the Jags on Saturday night they will host a playoff game. Unless you live in Nashville you are probably cheering against that. The Patriots beat the Dolphins and now control their own destiny if they beat the Bills in Buffalo. The Steelers just simply won’t go away. If they beat the Browns they will finish with a winning record again, keeping Tomlin’s streak alive. The Dolphins continue their free fall dropping their 5th in a row. The Dolphins season has looked like this: 3 wins, 3 losses, 5 wins, 5 losses. They need to beat the Jets and have the Pats lose and then they still get in. Who knows what happens but at least one of these teams is playing in the playoffs.

Ruined good starts: Jets, Commanders

There was a lot of hope for these teams. But they fell apart down the stretch. The Jets had to play Zach Wilson and it turns out Mike White might not be that good either. They keep the longest playoff drought alive. They haven’t been since 2010. The Commanders made the switch back to Carson Wentz which lead to an embarrassing performance against the Browns. Speaking of embarrassing, have you seen the Commanders new mascot? It’s worth a google.

Irrelevant but not terrible: Browns, Panthers, Saints, Falcons, Rams

None of these teams really had a shot this year. I mean, I guess the NFC South teams did because the Bucs didn’t play well for most of the season, but it wasn’t because they were good. But they all won some games and were competitive at times. Besides maybe the Rams if they can stay healthy, I expect them all to be pretty much in the same boat next year.

Raiders gonna Raider: You know who

The Raiders switched quarterbacks and it actually worked. Their offense came alive which isn’t a great look for Derek Carr. And they were playing against one of the top defenses in the league. They battled all game and tied it with less than a minute to go. The 49ers drove down but then missed a FG attempt which led to OT. The Raiders got the ball first and were driving until their new QB threw a pick that was returned inside the 10 and that is all she wrote. It was a classic Raiders loss and their 9th loss by one score which eliminated them from the Playoffs.

They played this week? I thought they had a bye: Cardinals

How bad are the Cardinals? I had to look up to see if they played this week. That is how irrelevant they have become.

No Longer fun: Bears

Fields can really run. The problem is he can’t really throw. And he doesn’t have anyone to throw to. Or block for him. Or play defense against their opponent. They are a bad football team.

A Better Ride Next Year?: Broncos

The Broncos minus Hackett looked functional. They played hard, didn’t make any terrible decisions and were competitive for four quarters. Of course it could be because they were playing against the Chiefs who always play down to their competition. Also, although I didn’t think this would be the case the interim coach obviously gave them a boost. Russ wasn’t great but he wasn’t bad. Which is a huge improvement. Of course this could all be a way to give Broncos false hope for the offseason. Sort of like when Drew Lock won 4 of 5 to end a season. Or when they traded for Russ to begin with. But either way, I am sure I will hear about how good the Broncos will be next year for the next 6 months on the local radio station. Their misguided optimism is consistent every offseason.

Houston we have a problem: Texans

This team is not good. They organization is worse and the Quarterback play may be worse than that. They will probably beat the Colts next week so they don’t even get the #1 pick. That would be a classic Texans move. It doesn’t really matter though because they will just screw up the pick anyway.

Should have hired me: Colts

Since Saturday was hired, they beat the Raiders and then proceeded to lose 6 in a row, including a total collapse in the 4th quarter against the Cowboys and losing the biggest lead in NFL history against the Vikings. They then switched to Nick Foles at quarterback and somehow got less competitive. I am pretty sure I could have done what Saturday has done. He has clearly ruined the chances of guys with no coaching experience of getting NFL coaching jobs. Thanks a lot, Jeff Saturday. Now I have to keep my day job and just keep blogging.

I took last week off as I was busy running around wrapping up things for Christmas. But we are back at it this week. There are some interesting games in week 17 with big implications so let’s get started.

An Awkward way to start the new year: Broncos @ Chiefs

I mentioned a few weeks ago the awkward way Danielle and I have to watch these games. To add to the awkwardness we have to do it in a four week span and it is the very first day of 2023. So we are going to literally start the new year by barely talking to each other. While this might seem like the norm or a blessing for some marriages, Danielle and I actually like each other and prefer talking to one another…at least most of the time.

The last time the Broncos beat the Chiefs was week 2 of the 2015 season on September 17th. And even that was a game we really had no business losing. The next time we played them, Manning threw 5 interceptions and it was basically the end of Manning’s career even though he would go on to win the super bowl behind their incredible defense. Since that game we have rattled off 14 straight victories and it is hard to imagine us not getting a 15th.

The Broncos are amazingly in even worse shape than the last time we played them. They just fired their disaster of a coach. Also, the Broncos apparently have to pay Hackett 80k a week for the remainder of his contract as long as he doesn’t have an NFL job. So he could go get a gig at a college and still collect his 80k from the Broncos. If he does get an NFL job but doesn’t make 80k a week then the Broncos have to make up the difference. I always thought back up QB was the best job in the NFL but apparently fired coach is the way to go. The Broncos now have an interim head coach coaching his first game ever. A lot of times the interim head coach gets a boost from the team that has been looking for new leadership. But I doubt the team is real excited to rally around the guy who was doing clock management last week. He doesn’t seem to have the same misguided confidence as Jeff Saturday did when he got the job so he probably won’t be able to fire up the troops for a win like Saturday did. He also isn’t playing the Raiders.

Mahomes made just about every mistake you could make last game against the Broncos. Pat isn’t perfect but he seldom screws up in the same way against the same team as long as that team isn’t the Bengals. The Chiefs still have a lot to play for and the Broncos have basically nothing to play for. Russ seems more disconnected from the team as ever and I think everyone is pretty much done over there. I think their d will keep it from being a blood bath but also our d will play better this go around and there won’t be as many turn overs to set up the Broncos for success. #15 gets #15 in a row.

Chiefs 31 Broncos 13

Which loser gets to host a playoff game?: Panthers @ Bucs

I know the Panthers are a feel good story in that after firing their coach and trading their best player they can still win the division if they win this week. However, lets not make this sound like this is some sort of massive accomplishment. I mean, they are 3 games under .500. The only reason this feel good story even exists is because the rest of the division sucks too. When the season started I thought the Bucs had one of the easier paths to winning a division but I assumed they wouldn’t be terrible when thinking that.

The Panthers have a pretty good defense and they run the ball over everyone. They ran for 320 yards last week. That is like the same amount of rushing yards the Chiefs get in a month. They ruined the Lions day last weekend and have already beat the Bucs once. The Bucs on the other hand play average to below average football for the first 3 and half quarters every week but hang around just long enough for Tom Brady to do his thing in the last 5 or 6 minutes to lead them to victory. They don’t do this against good teams, mind you. They only do this against bad teams. So you have to decide…are the Panthers a good team or a bad team? I vote for bad. Yes, they are a nice story. Yes, Steve Wilks has done a nice job. But Sam Darnold is still their starting QB and they are still the 6-9 Panthers playing on the road where they are 1-5 on the year. Same story, different game for good old Tommy. He leads them down for the winning td to clinch the South for the Bucs.

Bucs 17 Panthers 16

A game without fans: Rams @ Chargers?

I put a question mark because if you are playing at the stadium that you play your home games at, are you really the away team? The better question is will any fans show up? Typically when either of these teams play, the opposing teams fans fill up half the stadium…sometimes more than half. The Rams don’t have many fans of their own and they are the popular team in LA. Why the Chargers decided to leave beautiful San Diego to play second fiddle in their own stadium to the Rams is beyond me.

The Rams may be the worst returning Super Bowl team ever. But they are salvaging that a little bit by playing like they have a pulse the last few weeks. Just as we all expected, all they needed was Baker Mayfield to show up. And unlike most bad teams there is no reason to keep losing because the Rams don’t have any draft picks anyway. While the Chargers are clearly the better team and I don’t get to say this a lot, also the healthier team, the Rams do have some fight left. They came from behind against the Raiders, like everyone does. They were competitive at Green Bay and they just hung 51 on the Broncos in a game they didn’t have to punt.

The Chargers on the other hand have won 3 in a row. They haven’t put up a ton of points but there has been lots of oooing and ahhhing at the throws Justin Herbert makes. And lots of comments about how good they are now that they are healthy. They have sort of an odd arrogance about them for not winning anything of significance. This seems like the sort of game that the Chargers would typically lose. Once they give people hope, they like to immediately take it away. The Rams are suddenly scrappy and Baker is a fun story even though he is sort of an idiot. And the Rams have the better coach. This is my upset special of the week. The non home, home team in a close one leading to both Charger fans going home in tears. Also, look out for Sofi field who is undefeated against ACL’s. Look for someone important to go down in this game.

Rams 24 Chargers 20

The should have been the Sunday Night flex game: Vikings @ Packers

This is the game I wanted to see flexed to Sunday night. Instead we get the Ravens @ Steelers snooze fest. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still watch that one too, but I would have preferred not to. I can only assume that CBS wasn’t letting go of this one as it is one of the rare NFC only games they get each year. And it should be a good one. The Vikings are the luckiest team in the league winning 11 games by one score or less. They have one win by more than 1 score and that was week 1 against the Packers. They are 12-3 and the Packers are 7-8, yet the Packers are 3.5 point favorites. The home team typically gets 3 points so this game is basically a push in the eyes of Vegas.

The Vikings do have some weapons including the best receiver in the game in Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook is pretty good too. Cousins has played well for the most part and has been unusually clutch as long as it isn’t a primetime game. Although this won’t be technically a night game, I think it will have that feel to it. The Packers actually have a good roster and are playing much better as of late. Rodgers has had a goofy grin at the end of the last 3 games that says hey we are going to win out and get in like he knows something the rest of the world doesn’t. If you are one of those conspiracy guys that thinks the NFL is rigged then this team and this game is for you. Certainly the Packers and Rodgers in the playoffs makes for better ratings than say the Commanders and either Wentz or Henicke as well as the Seahawks and Geno, even though Geno is a nice story. I think this will be a back and forth game that will stress my son out and make him make a lot of loud noises. (He is a huge Packers fan). This will send my wife upstairs to watch Netflix on her new Ipad that I got her for Christmas. (husband brag, your welcome honey). The Packers will have a slight lead to set up another close victory for the Vikes but a controversial call will go the Packers way to seal the game and really give conspiracy guy something to tweet about.

Packers 30 Vikings 27

The time I cheer for the team I hate?: Bills @ Bengals

Have I mentioned that I hate the Bengals? They almost blew a 22 point lead to the Patriots last week in a trap game but survived. I am sure they are running around the Natti with their smug little faces and making their smug little comments. I can’t stand Burrow and his gelled up hair looking like what Macauley Caulkin should have grown up to look like. Well he won’t be home alone on Monday because the Bills are coming to town and they are looking to hang onto the #1 seed. Every logical part of me says I should be a Bengals fan just this once. If they win, and the Chiefs take care of business we get the #1 seed, a bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. This sounds pretty dang good doesn’t it? So I am cheering for…nope, I can’t do it. Look the Bills beat us sometimes too but they are likable. Their city is likable. Their fans are likable. I mean, they jump on tables. How fun is that? What’s to like about the Bengals? So I am joining Bills mafia for this one. I know I shouldn’t but it is time for the Bengals to get knocked down a peg. Also, I think the Bills are better. They have the better overall team and they will show the world that on Monday night. And you never know, they could go and screw things up the following week against the Patriots. That sounds like something the Bills would do. Josh Allen out plays Kevin McCallister and makes his win streak disappear ruining his holiday season. There will be no old man with a shovel to knock out his opponent this time. By the way, Home Alone is one of my favorite Christmas movies. I used to watch it every Thanksgiving with my family and now we do the same. But can we pause to reflect on the ending. After everything Kevin does to them over a 20 minute span they just keep getting up. They even swing into a brick wall for goodness sakes. But they still get up. Then a 70ish year old man hits them over the head with a minimal swing from a snow shovel and they are down for the count? It’s almost like they didn’t even think about the realism of that movie.

Anyway, the Bills win and I think they win out overall. They keep the #1 seed. I think this is the playoffs of things Patrick Mahomes hasn’t done yet. First he will finally beat the Bengals in the divisional round. Then he will head to Buffalo, the worst possible set up for his first ever road playoff game and he wins. Then he goes to the super bowl and doesn’t throw any interceptions for the first time. League MVP, Super Bowl MVP and silence the critics once and for all…boom! Except for Skip Bayless because that idiot will never quit.

Anyway Bills win by a solid margin.

Bills 30 Bengals 20

I really do appreciate the reads and the comments. This has been a fun way to end the last few weeks of 2022 and I am excited to keep it going into 2023. I hope you all have a wonderful 2023 and wish you much success and happiness. Also, Go Chiefs! Happy New Year everyone!