Fifth Down

We are 13 weeks from the start of the NFL season which seemed like as good of time as any to bring back Fifth Down. Over the next few weeks I’ll be doing a top 10 position by position. I am doing of my life time, so basically 1980 on. So greats like Unitas, Starr, and Stabauch won’t be on the list. It’s not that they aren’t deserving, I just don’t think I can properly judge them since I never saw them play. I’m basing my list on the following criteria, stats, winning, opinion of other players and the always important eye test. Let’s dive in to the list.

On the right track but not in the conversation yet: Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Jalen Hurts

Honorable Mention: Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Aikman, Jim Kelly, Dan Fouts and Warren Moon

10. Steve Young

Young had to wait his turn sitting behind Montana, but once he took over he was named a Pro Bowler 7 times and was 91-33 for the 49ers. He led the league in completion percentage 5 times including 4 years in a row. He led the league in tds 4 times, won MVP twice and a Super Bowl. The real knock on Young is that he only really started 8 years in the league and was throwing to Jerry Rice most of the time. But if you saw him play you know he was legit and was a dual threat guy before it was cool. Plus I had to get a fellow Lefty on here somewhere.

9. Brett Favre

Brett currently has some issues/challenges off the field but on the field he was a bad dude. He was an 11 time pro bowler and won MVP 3 times in a row! He’s a super bowl champ and came close to winning back to back. After leaving Green Bay he struggled a bit with the Jets but then had a great year with the Vikings coming so close to the Super Bowl. The knock on Favre is simple…too many interceptions. In fact so many that he has the record for most in a career.

8. Drew Brees

There is an argument for Brees to be higher. After all, he threw for over 5,000 yards an insane 4 times. He led the league in passing 7 times. And this is during peak Manning and Brady time. He’s a 13 time pro bowler as well. There’s not much to dislike about Brees either, as he seems like a genuinely nice guy. But he is just 9-9 in the playoffs with 1 super bowl appearance and win. It’s the same reason I’m not as high on Sean Payton as other people are. If you get there that many times, you got have a little more hardware to show for it. He also has no MVPs which is a voting game so I don’t knock him for that as much as others. But pretty much everyone else on the list has at least 1.

7. Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers hasn’t done himself any favors the last few years as he has either not played due to injury or not played that well. He’s also just drama and kind of annoying. But the dude has over 500 touchdowns and only 116 interceptions. His Int % is the lowest in history. He’s a 4 time MVP and a super bowl champion. Much like Brees, he has come up a bit short when it matters most. But when you hear players talk about who the best quarterbacks of all time are or the best they played against, Rodgers name always comes up. That gives him the slight edge ahead of Brees.

6. John Elway

It pains me to even put John on this list as he is on my top 5 list of most hated players of my lifetime. But to show that I am only slightly biased, here he is on the list. There is a strong argument to put him at #5 but I just couldn’t stomach that. But to be fair to John he was awesome and clutch. He was the guy you wanted with the ball if it was close at the end. He tortured me as a kid breaking the hearts of Chiefs fans everywhere over and over again. He went to 5 super bowls including winning back to back championships. He also went to 3 out of 4 in the late 80s, getting blown out in pretty much all 3. The reason I am comfortable having him at #6 is that his stats where good but rarely led the league in anything. He has just 1 MVP. He is here because he was clutch in close games and went to 5 Super Bowls. And winning back to back is a rarity.

5. Dan Marino

When you ask defensive players from the 80s and early 90s who the best quarterback was, most of them say Marino without hesitation. He threw for over 5,000 yards in his second year in the league in 1984 when it was unheard of to throw for that many. He was the one guy to beat arguably the greatest defense of all time in the 85 Bears. He led the league in passing 5 times and threw for over 40 tds twice. That doesn’t seem like much now but back then that was a real accomplishment. He’s a 9 time pro bowler and went to one Super Bowl. The problem was they just could never seem to put a good team around him together. A lot of the time it felt like he was dragging the team into the playoffs. But as a kid watching him play, you could tell he was different. With the rules the way they are now, I have no doubt Marino could throw for 6 to 7,000 yards.

4. Peyton Manning

Manning is arguably the greatest regular season quarterback of all time. He won 12 or more games a ridiculous 10 out of 11 years as a starter from 2003 to 2014. He was the MVP an amazing 5 times. He had probably the greatest season ever in 2013 when he threw for nearly 5,500 yards and a ridiculous 55 touchdowns. He has some blemishes including throwing 28 picks as a rookie. And he is just 14-13 in the playoffs. He made it to 4 super bowls with 2 wins, although the defense did most of the heavy lifting in the second victory. And he got blown out in one of the Super Bowls. But he is one of the smartest players to ever play the position. And again, when players are asked who is the best to play the position, his name always comes up.

3. Patrick Mahomes

I bet a lot of you thought I’d be a homer and have Mahomes at number 1. But here he is way back at number 3. It is harder to judge someone who is still in the middle of their career. That’s how good Mahomes has been that just 8 years in, he is not only on the list but number 3. Mahomes has 2 MVPs and 5 Super Bowl appearances. He is a ridiculous 17-4 in the playoffs and has never not made the conference championship as a starter. He has never lost an AFC playoff game in regulation. He’s thrown for over 5,000 yards twice in 7 years. His 17 game average of yards is 4,911 and 37 tds. The guy has just been ridiculously good. He’s been bad in 2 and half football games. Unfortunately for Pat and Chiefs fans, those came in two super bowls and in the second half of the AFC championship game in 2021. But it is hard to hold that against him too much since he is just in year 7 as a starter and pretty much everyone on this list was getting their butts kicked in divisional round games at some point instead of super bowls. Also, Pat has made 5 out of the last 6 super bowls and even though they got their butts kicked, he was the first QB to win back to back super bowls and then make the super bowl in the 3rd year. He still has the ability to move up or down the list as his career continues but putting him lower than 3rd doesn’t make sense as of now.

2. Joe Montana

Joe Cool is the epitome of the quarterback position. He is a perfect 4-0 in super bowls and never even threw a pick in the big game. He’s a two time MVP with 3 Super Bowl MVPs and arguably should of had a 4th. And he won back to back Super Bowls and almost made it to a 3rd in a row before getting crushed by the Giants defense. He won two of those Super Bowls without Jerry Rice. If he hadn’t gotten hurt, he likely would have won more Super Bowls. And he even almost got the then cursed Chiefs to the big game throwing to the likes of Willie Davis and JJ Burden. He’s ahead of Mahomes due to his unblemished Super Bowl record and having one more championship than him. Also, I just love the story where they are in the huddle in the super bowl getting ready to go on the winning drive against the Bengals and he looks in to the crowd and says, “Hey, that’s John Candy.” He also once used the sideline phone to call his wife which is hilarious. His calm and cool composure just oozes greatness.

1. Tom Brady

Look, you don’t have to like Tom. But 10 Super Bowl appearances with 7 victories is all you have to say here. Tom also is the career leader in pretty much every passing category known to man. He led his team to the most victories in a row without a loss in a season with 18. He’s a 3 time regular season MVP and a 5 time Super Bowl MVP. And again…7 championships. In 2007 he threw for 50 tds and just 8 interceptions. In 2021 he threw for 5,316 yards…at age 44! I threw my back out bending over to pick something up off the ground at 44. Mahomes is the only one with any sort of chance to catch him and he has a very, very long way to go.

Let me know what you think of the list? Who’d I miss? Who shouldn’t be on there? Who should be higher or lower?

Tune in next week as I present the top 10 running backs of my lifetime.

It’s the final Five for Friday of the season! Since I obviously don’t have 5 games to predict, I instead broke down the game into 5 categories with 5 things under each category. It should be a great game, so lets dive in!

5 Things I know:

1. Tom Brady is going to talk a lot. Tom is like your friend who has a lot of knowledge about a topic that you really care about but he talks so much about it, that you began to care less and less about it and just hope he finally shuts up.
2. It will be a close game. Both teams are great with good players and coaches. But that doesn’t even really matter. The Chiefs only play close games. It doesn’t matter if they are playing the best team in the league or the worst team in the league, it is always close. This game will be decided by 1-10 points.
3. This is a historic game. Win or lose, the Chiefs have made it farther than any other team that won back to back championships in the Super Bowl Era. Saquon Barkley also has the chance to rush for the most yards in a season including post season. History will be made on Sunday.
4. 22/53. As I evaluate this game, I believe that the Eagles have the better starters or the top 22. They aren’t the best at every position. But if you went position by position, the Eagles would have a higher number of players that would be ranked a head of their Chief counter part. At the same time, I think the Chiefs have more depth and their non starters are better than the Eagles. So it sets up for an interesting game, the best 22 in the league vs the best 53 in the league.
5. Complaints about the refs. I guarantee if you are a Chiefs fan, at some point one of your non Chief fans buddies is going to text you or post on social media that the Chiefs are cheaters or it is rigged because of some controversial or poorly timed call. You can bet on it.

5 Things I Think I know:

1. Kareem will score a td. Kareem Hunt has scored a td in every playoff game he has ever played in. I don’t see a reason for that to end now. Especially since we don’t get a lot of big plays.
2. Trick Plays. Every Super Bowl, one or both teams pull out some trickery and unleash something they have saved all year. I don’t foresee that changing this year.
3. There will be a Tush Push for a TD. It’s unstoppable. It’s annoying. It’s inevitable.
4. Travis Kelce will be wide open. At some point during the game, probably in a crucial moment, Kelce will catch a pass where he is wide open and everyone at home will question how any team lets that happen.
5. Passive aggressive tweets from Tyreek. No matter what happens, win or lose from the Chiefs, Tyreek will tweet something about it. It’s like a real life break up. One party moves on to a happier life and great success. The other party pretends to be overly happy early on but the happiness is short lived and then he is jealous from a distance. Stalking them on Facebook. Just hoping they will one day pine for him too. Sadly, there will be no pining.

5 Keys for the Eagles:

1. Don’t give up on the run. The Chiefs will make a strong attempt to stop the run. They may even do so early on. But the last thing the Eagles want to do is be one dimensional.
2. Attack the middle of the field. The Chiefs defense is very, very good. But their weaknesses is their linebackers and one of their safeties, are not great in coverage. The middle of the field is where to attack them when passing.
3. Have sound special teams. The Chiefs are very solid in this area so the Eagles need to avoid giving up any big punt or kick returns. Jake Elliot has been a little shaky lately too. A missed extra point or easy field goal could cost them.
4. Don’t let Kelce beat you. I feel like we say this every year and every year Kelce beats people. And the Chiefs have other people who can, just ask the Bills. But the easiest path to the Chiefs success is through Kelce.
5. Don’t give Pat the ball last. It will be a close game. It always is. You want to have the ball last because if Pat has the ball last, we all know what happens there.

5 Keys for the Chiefs:

1. Stop Barkley. The Eagles have a lot of weapons that can beat you. But the most obvious one is Saquon and it all runs through him. You can’t stop him completely but if you don’t give up any massive runs you got a shot.
2. Protect Pat. The O line has had issues all year but has gotten better since moving Thuney to tackle. But our inside guys will have their work cut out for them against very good defensive tackles. But if they can protect Pat, the Chiefs should be in good shape.
3. Run the Ball. The Chiefs also need to have good balance. Getting 3 or 4 yards is good enough. So don’t give it up. The RPO game has been strong lately but it only works when the defense believes you might actually run.
4. No Turnovers. The Eagles are a ridiculous plus 10 in the turnover battle in the playoffs. And they have zero turnovers in the playoffs. The Chiefs are 34-1 the last 3 years when they tie or win the turnover battle. If they lose the turnover battle, they are still 14-9 which is good but not 34-1 good.
5. Win on 1st and 2nd down on defense. 3rd and short leads to a tush push and if they don’t get it, that leads to another tush push on 4th down. And the Tush Push is impossible to stop.

5 Predictions:

1. D-Hop has a big game. Hopkins hasn’t made a big impact since the first few weeks after he joined the team. But guess what, he is due. The Eagles play a lot of zone and I am sure they will be paying attention to Kelce. That leaves room for D-Hop to get open. And doesn’t feel like they have been saving him for something special? Is there is nothing more special than the Super Bowl.
2. A QB will be MVP. If the Chiefs win, Pat will be MVP. He is always MVP. I don’t think the Chiefs will let Barkley beat them, which means in order for them to win, Hurts will have to have a big game. And most of the time the MVP goes to the QB.
3. Dallas Goedert has a big game. The Chiefs will try and stop Barkley, AJ Brown and Smith in that order. That means Goedert should have a good game. As a bonus the Chiefs are awful at guarding tight ends…literally last in the league.
4. Kelce has a TD. On the biggest stage, Kelce shines the brightest. He finds the end zone in this one.
5. Barkley is held under 100 yards. I think he will be solid and get involved in the passing game. But in 18 playoff games that Spags has coached for the Chiefs, no running back has ever rushed for 100 yards.

Final Prediction:

This should be a great game. I think this is a 50/50 game where either team could win. In the end, I just trust Pat and Andy and Spags over the Eagles. They always do just enough to win. Whatever it takes from the offense, defense and special teams. Give me the Chiefs for the 3-peat in one final ridiculous close game.

Chiefs 31 Eagles 30

Yesterday I convinced you that the Eagles would win the Super Bowl with 10 reasons. Today I flip the script and give you 10 reasons why the Chiefs will win the Super Bowl. Let’s dive in.

10. The Chiefs are wearing white jerseys.

Since 2005, the team wearing White Jerseys have won 16 of 20 Super Bowls. Ironically the Chiefs have won twice in red contributing for half of the 4 victories for the non white jersey gang. The Eagles also won wearing the dark jerseys back in 2018.

9. The Eagles lost to Kirk Cousins

No team since 2016 has lost to Kirk Cousins in the regular season has ever won the Super Bowl. Who knew a week 2 loss would cost them a championship.

8. The Chiefs haven’t given up a 100 yards to a running back this year.

To add to it, a Spags run defense has never given up a 100 yards to a running back in the playoffs. When the whole thing runs through Barkley this could be a problem.

7. Half the team doesn’t know how to lose.

There is a good portion of this team that got drafted and has never not one the Super Bowl. Why would that change this week?

6. Mahomes is 8-0 against Vic Fangio

The Eagles defense is really, really good. And Fangio has slowed down Pat at times. However, for whatever reason, Pat still always wins.

5. Pat is 3-0 against the number 1 pass defense in the playoffs.

Sticking with the theme, the Eagles are the best pass defense in the league. Which should be good news…but Pat never loses against that. If only the Eagles gave up a few more yards and fell to number 2.

4. Pat is 15-0 in domes.

If the ceiling is shut, Pat wins. He has only lost in places with a retractable dome if it is open and if it doesn’t retract, then Pat leaves intact…with a win.

3. It will probably be close.

These are two great teams. I won’t be shocked no matter who wins. But the Chiefs only play close games. And they are ridiculously good in close games. They have won 17 straight one score games including 12 this year. If it is close, the Chiefs win. And it is always close.

2. It’s a rematch of quarterbacks and head coaches

This will be the 5th time that two head coaches have met in the Super Bowl for a second time. Whoever won the first match up, won the second one the first four times including Reid against Shanahan last year. There has been 3 rematches of quarterbacks in the Super Bowl and whoever won the first one, won the second as well.

1. Patrick Mahomes

Look, I am not saying he is the greatest ever. And honestly, he is yet to play 4 good quarters in the Super Bowl. He is not perfect. But what he does do is win…a lot. He isn’t 30 yet and is second all time in playoff wins. He is 17-3 and has one loss in regulation. He is 7 for 7 when he has the ball with a minute to go needing a fg or td to tie or take the lead in the playoffs. The rest of the league is averaging 40%. He is the most clutch quarterback I have ever seen. If the Chiefs win, he will be a big reason why.

We got two great teams that will battle it out on Sunday. But who has the edge? I help clear things up with 10 reasons the Eagles will win. And then I will muddy the waters tomorrow when I give you 10 reasons the Chiefs will win. But don’t worry, I’ll clear it up for you on Friday with my final prediction. But for now let’s dive into why the Eagles will win.

10. 3 peating is real hard.

It’s so hard, that no one in the Super Bowl era has ever done it. The Chiefs have made it farther than anyone else, but that doesn’t mean they can complete the journey. This helps the Eagles.

9. Turnover kings

The Eagles are plus 10 in the playoffs. Which is just ridiculous. This is extra important since the Chiefs are 34-1 when they win or tie the turnover battle.

8. Great defensive tackles

This normally wouldn’t be a strength against the Chiefs because the middle 3 is the best in the league. But because the left tackles suck, they had to move Thuney to left tackle and now are playing an undrafted free agent at left guard. Not ideal.

7. The Eagles are flying west.

For whatever reason when teams are traveling different directions to get the game, the team traveling east always loses and the team traveling west always wins. Advantage Eagles.

6. The Chiefs are terrible against tight ends and the Eagles have a real good one.

I know Kelce is arguably the goat, but Dallas Goedert is legit. And the Good news for Dallas and the Eagles is that you don’t have to be legit to do well against the Chiefs because they are dead last in the league when it comes to covering tight ends.

5. Luck has to run out sometime…right? Right?

The Chiefs have won 17 straight one score games. But no one wins 18 straight one score games, right?

4. There is more pressure on the Chiefs.

The Eagles seem focused and ready to go. But there isn’t a ton of pressure. They are the underdogs and are just trying to win a Super Bowl not win 3 of them. So in theory they should be looser and focused on winning just this game instead of trying to make history.

3. They have the MVP

Have I mentioned that Barkley is real, real, real good. Because he is amazing. He is tough to bottle up and can score every time he has the ball.

2. The stupid Tush Push

I hate this play and have always thought it was dumb that they changed the rule many years ago to allow teammates to push each other forward. But I have no issue with the Eagles taking advantage of and mastering the art of it. If the Eagles do okay on 1st and 2nd down and get it to 3rd and short, it’s basically a first down. It was a big advantage the last time these two teams played in the Super Bowl. I don’t see that changing on Sunday.

1. It’s Saquon’s Birthday!

The Super Bowl lands on Barkley’s birthday. What a better story than the guy who should have been MVP winning Super Bowl MVP on his birthday? It seems almost too good to be true. Sort of like a 3 peat.

Yesterday in tribute to the two teams making the Super Bowl, I listed 10 Eagles you may have forgotten about. Now we honor the Chiefs with 10 guys you may have forgotten about. This list was tougher to shrink down as I know a lot more Chiefs than Eagles growing up as a fan. I recruited my brother to help by asking him who his favorite Chiefs were when he was a kid. We came up with a lot of names but I have shrunk it down to these 10 heroes. Here we go!

10. Willie Davis

Willie played for the Chiefs from 1990 to 1995. This was the best run of Chiefs history prior to the current run. To put things in perspective, we made one AFC Championship during that time and lost by 18. We always had a hard time beating the Broncos and never won in Denver. Until Joe Montana brought us back from behind and threw the game winning td to…guess…who…Willie Davis. Oh and guess what, Willie has been working from the Chiefs since 2006.

9. Barry Word

Everyone talks about Christian Okoye, the Nigerian Nightmare. Everyone remembers him. But we had another bruising back around the same time in Barry who in 1990 had over thousand yards. He had over 600 yards rushing the next two years. He did all of this as the back up to Okoye.

8. Steve DeBerg

When I first started watching, Bill Kenney was the Chiefs quarterback. There were other guys along the way and more known guys after like Joe Montana and Dave Kreig. But the winning started with DeBerg. He led us to our first playoff game that I remember in my lifetime against Dan Marino. DeBerg played with a broken pinky like a champ. They lost by a point but then the following year, he led the team to the first playoff victory since the Super Bowl run in 1969!

7. Dino Hackett

Dino was a good not great player that started a bunch of games from the mid 80s to early 90s. I don’t have a bunch of notable info or stories on him. But I can say that I always remember him and so does everyone else my age if for no other reason, his name was Dino.

6. Dan Saleaumua

The 90’s Chiefs D was one of the best groups ever. Probably the best defense ever to not win anything significantly. While sack artist like Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith got the credit and the highlights. But in the middle was good ole Dan. Dan held down the fort in the middle was great against the run and allowed Neil and DT to do what they do best. Dan even made the pro bowl in 95.

5. Keith Cash and Jonathan Hayes

Alright, I’m gonna cheat a little bit here. But before Tony G and Travis Kelce there were two other tight ends. Hayes was mister consistent. Always a solid contributor to the team. Keith Cash gets mentioned too if for nothing else, for throwing a ball at a Buddy Ryan picture in the playoff game at Houston when Montana and the gang beat the Oilers. It was an iconic moment that is engraved in my memory forever.

4. Deron Cherry, Kevin Ross and Albert Lewis

This might be a stretch because all of these guys were pretty awesome and well known. But these guys deserve some love because they were the bright spot in an overall not so great teams. Cherry was a great safety. Ross was a great corner and later moved to safety. Lewis was a pro bowl corner who seem to block a kick every other game. I know he didn’t really but that is what it felt like as a kid.

3. Tamarick Vanover

Before the human joystick, Dante Hall or the cheetah, Tyreek Hill, there was another threat to return kicks for touchdowns and big plays. Vanover was feared and rightfully so. In 5 years for the Chiefs he returned 8 kicks for touchdowns.

2. Kimble Anders

Kimble was a great Fullback for us during the run of Marty Ball and our best success since the 60s. Kimble was great pass catcher, blocker and a solid runner. Unfortunately, he is often remembered for dropping a pass towards the end of the half of the AFC championship game against the Bills. It would have been a touchdown and we would have been down by only 6 going into the half. Instead it was intercepted and we lost 31-13. The ironic part was that Kimble was so sure handed. But alas, that was the luck of the Chiefs prior to Patrick Mahomes.

1. Dale Carter

I loved Dale Carter. He was my favorite Chief as a kid and is still one of my top favorite Chiefs of all time. Top 10 for sure and maybe top 5. Dale had some off the field problems. Dale was a pro bowler 4 years in a row and an amazing corner. He could cover but also wasn’t afraid to tackle and hit too. On top of that, they would occasionally put him at receiver and even handed off the football to him a few times. He also returned punts sometimes and even returned a couple for touchdowns. Dale could do it all. Unfortunately, he also did it all off the field too which got him in trouble. But as a kid, there was no one on the Chiefs I enjoyed watching play than Dale.

In honor of the Eagles being in the Super Bowl, we go back on memory lane to remember some Eagles greats you might have forgot about. Enjoy!

10. Eric Allen

Allen was a great cornerback that was super consistent year in and year out. Allen played for a couple of other teams but got his start with Philly and was a 5 time pro bowler with them. In 1993 Allen had 6 interceptions and returned an amazing 4 of them for touchdowns.

9. Keith Byars

Keith was the dual threat running back before it was cool to have dual threat running backs. While he never had a thousand yards rushing or receiving he had over a thousand total yards pretty much every season.

8. Chris Carter

All he does is catch touchdowns! This was never more true in 1989 when he led the Eagles with 11 touchdowns. But Chris had drug problems and Buddy Ryan knew he needed a change so he cut him. Carter joined the Vikings and after a couple of okay years he took off on his hall of fame career. But it all started in Philly.

7. Jerome Brown

Jerome was part of one of the best D lines of my youth joining Reggie White, Mike Golic and Clyde Simmons. Brown, sadly died in a car crash. RIP.

6. Clyde Simmons

Clyde had a long career with multiple teams. But he was most impressive with the Eagles and led the league in sacks with 19 in 1992 and accrued 76 sacks in 8 years with the Eagles.

5. Mike Quick

Mike was indeed quick. He was quick enough to lead the league in receiving yards in 1983 with over 1400 yards. He went to the pro bowl 5 years in a row.

4. Fred Barnett

Fred didn’t have a long career but when he was healthy and playing, Fred was a baller. He had a thousand yards two different times. Ironically, his cousin Tim Barnett played for the Chiefs.

3. Seth Joyner

Seth was a very talented linebacker who made plays everywhere. He was a good tackler, got sacks, interceptions and created fumbles. He was a key to the Eagles defensive success for many years.

2. Mark McMillian

Mighty Mouse was undersized in the NFL at 5’7. But he overcame his size to be a valuable contributor to the Eagles D. Mighty Mouse could have made either list as he played for the Chiefs later in his career and one year with the Chiefs he had 8 picks and 3 touchdowns.

1. Keith Jackson

This is not the famous sports announcer. Instead, Keith was a very talented tight end. He was a pro bowler 3 out of the 4 years he played for the Eagles. His career was short but he played well for the time he was in the league. I distinctly remember watching him trying to catch passes in the famous fog bowl.

Tune in tomorrow for 10 Chiefs you might have forgot about.

Yesterday I gave you 10 reasons the Eagles are in the big game. Today we move on to the Chiefs. They are headed to their 3rd in a row in case you didn’t know and their second against the Eagles.

10. Taylor Swift Voodoo

Look what you made me do. Blaming Taylor’s popularity for the Chiefs success. You need to calm down. I don’t want us to have Bad Blood over this, so Don’t blame me. I don’t know why so many are afraid of little old Taylor. Her relationship with Travis has turned the Chiefs into Anti-hero’s. I guess it is just Karma. I knew you were trouble when you started to blame Taylor for the NFL wanting the Chiefs to win. Regardless of whether there is any truth to any of it, I will say what the Chiefs are accomplishing is beyond my wildest dreams. And now the Chiefs are on the verge of a 3 peat. Are you ready for it?

9. Trading Tyreek

Tyreek is an incredible talent and will always be a Chiefs hero for helping us win the Super Bowl. But in 2021, he got a little selfish. He complained about not getting the ball enough even though he had more targets than ever before. In the offseason he wanted to be the highest paid receiver and really wanted to be the main guy. He knew that would never happen with Pat and Travis in the picture. So he left for Miami where he was the focal point and he had an epic season. Meanwhile the Chiefs used the draft capital to build a defense and went on to win back to back Super Bowls and is heading back to their 3rd in a row. At least Tyreek isn’t bitter. Oh wait…

8. Post training camp pick ups and trades

Right before the season, the Chiefs signed JuJu and Perine. Both played important roles during the season in certain games. Pacheco got hurt and so they got Kareem off the couch. When the passing game wasn’t going great, they went out and traded for Hopkins who didn’t do anything in the playoffs but made some big plays during the season especially early on. In some of the biggest moments in the biggest game last week, these guys came through. Kareem had a touchdown and led the team in rushing. JuJu had 2 catches on 3 targets for 60 yards and 2 first downs. And Perine didn’t do anything until he caught the game clinching catch and gained 17 yards when we needed 9. Veach’s ability to get guys who don’t have to be stars but can help us when it matters most, is incredible.

7. The Refs

Yup, it is all about the refs. We wouldn’t be here without them. Sure we were in the middle of the pack in penalties this year. But who cares about facts. Sure, we wouldn’t have beat the Ravens if the refs hadn’t called Isaiah Likely out of bounds in game 1. Oh wait, they called it a touchdown and reviewed it and then called him out because you know…he was out of bounds. But then the next week in the Bengals game, the refs were cheating for the Chiefs obviously. That’s why on a big 4th down late in the game, they called a penalty…on the Chiefs for illegal hands to the face which negated a first down for the Chiefs. Then when they replayed the down, they called an obvious pass interference on the Bengals. Because you know…it is rigged. The refs shouldn’t call obvious penalties on the opposing team. Total favoritism. Later against the Falcons the refs did miss a PI call in the end zone against us. Refs never miss calls on other teams, just ask Sam Darnold and his facemask against the Rams. The worst part of that Falcons missed call was it was the last play of the game. Wait, no it wasn’t. But it was the last time the Falcons touched the ball. Wait, no it wasn’t. In fact the very next Falcons drive, they were aided by a terrible pi call against McDuffie. But they didn’t score so obviously it is rigged for the Chiefs. But Jeff, all that happened in the regular season. The Refs really cheat for the Chiefs in the playoffs. That is why they called those two terrible penalties in the Texans game. Sure they looked like hits to the head in full speed. But keyboard warriors at home watching from multiple angles saw that they clearly weren’t. Well, I mean there was minor contact to the head. But it was weak so it shouldn’t be called. Troy Aikman was upset about it so we should all be upset about it. And that is why the Texans lost. It had nothing to do with giving up 8 sacks, missing 3 kicks and only scoring 1 touchdown. Then last week, the refs rigged the game for the Bills. They called the Xavier Worthy play a catch when the ball clearly hit the ground. I mean, by rule it is a catch because he had control and the ball didn’t move but who cares about that. Also, the Chiefs would have had a first down anyway and the Bills at this point hadn’t shown much chance of stopping them and the Chiefs probably would have ran a lot more clock while scoring and then the Bills wouldn’t have been able to score their td right before the half. But hey, its rigged. Then later in the game the Bills had a 4th and short and they ran the Allen sneak that really hadn’t worked well all game the 4 times they ran it earlier. From one ref’s angle it didn’t look like he got it. And from the other it looked like he did. But they went with the guy who’s viewpoint he didn’t look like he got it. And then they reviewed it and didn’t overturn it. Rigged! Cheaters! And on the very last play of the game too. Oh wait, there was 13 minutes left and the Bills got the ball twice more and scored a td but then got stopped on a 4th and 5 and then couldn’t stop the Chiefs when it mattered most. The refs made that happen. Never mind the fact that the refs missed a face mask on Hollywood on our first drive of the 3rd quarter that would have put us in easy field goal range or on our next drive they called a terrible false start that made it 3rd and 15 when it was clearly offsides which would have put us at 3rd and 5. But hey, we get all the calls and stuff. I can’t wait to see what the refs do to win the game during the Super Bowl.

6. Special Teams

No team is better at all 3 phases. The Chiefs block kicks, rarely miss field goals, punt the ball well and consistently have good returns. All 3 phases is why they have arrived at their 3rd straight championship.

5. In Spags we trust!

Spags has had a great run with this defense. They aren’t perfect but he seems to dial up the exact right call at the exact right moment. He’s been awesome. As Mina Kimes on ESPN said, someone might have to take one for the team to and hire Spags as their head coach so the Chiefs stop winning.

4. One Score games

Almost all Chiefs games are close. Which is great for them. They are 12-0 on the year in one score games. And have won 17 in a row one score games. They get everyone’s best shot but they have answered the call time and time again.

3. Embrace the Chase but don’t focus on it

The Chiefs know what is at stake with the opportunity to be the first 3 peat. At the same time they have built a culture that is great and focuses on one game at a time. They don’t run from the greatness but they know what it takes to be great is to do the job that is right in front of you. They have one more job to do.

2. Andy Reid

Andy is one of the greatest coaches of all time. As of late, he seems to always pull the right play call at the exact right time. Whether it is running the option play we haven’t run all year to get Kareem a td in the first quarter and then turning around and running it again to get Pat a td in the 4th quarter. Or saving their number 1 got to have it play for the game clinching play when they threw it to Perine on 3rd and 9. Andy dials it up time and time again.

1. The Patrick Price

Pat is the greatest quarterback in the league and always gets better as the season goes on and is at his best in the playoffs. He is 17-3 in the playoffs second only to Tom Brady in wins. He has only lost one playoff game in regulation. And everyone knows when you go against the Chiefs…you got to pay the Patrick Price.

It is Super Bowl Week! If you have been reading my blog the last few years, you know that Fifth-Down always goes big for Super Bowl week with a blog Monday through Friday. Well since the Chiefs are going for a 3 peat, I thought I’d go big as well with a couple of extra blogs. We will have top 10 lists Saturday through Thursday, my prediction and final thoughts on Friday and then something special on Saturday before the big game. So get ready for a Super Fifth-Down over the next week as we get ready for the Super Bowl. We start first with 10 reasons the Eagles are in the Super Bowl.

10. The Tush Push

No one can stop this stupid play. I remember as a kid it being a penalty when you pushed your teammate while he was carrying the ball. This seems fair to me because it puts the defense at a real disadvantage. Somewhere along the way they got rid of this rule and teams used it occasionally. Enter the the Eagles who a couple of years ago decided to master the art and now use it on every short yardage play they have. It’s pretty much unstoppable and real, real annoying.

9. “I go where Saquon goes!”

One of the best NFL commercials at the beginning of the season was about NFL fans and towards the end of the commercial a bunch of Giants fans are getting ready to watch a game and a little girl walks out in an Eagles Saquon jersey. Everyone yells at her and she yells back “I go where Saquon goes!”. It’s cute and hilarious and brought good mojo to the team right away.

8. Nick Sirianni limited the crazy.

Sure he said some dumb things and yelled at his own fans and got in a fight with Zach Ertz after they lost to the commanders and is kind of an idiot in general. But he didn’t do very many dumb things during the game to mess up the Eagles run.

7. Not going for the record.

There were many in the press that the Eagles and Saquon didn’t go for the all time rushing record. Saquon left it up to the coaches. Sirianni after consulting some “people” as only Sirianni can, decided he wouldn’t play to the joy of Lane Johnson. While it would have been cool, it showed that this team had greater aspirations than personal achievement.

6. Inner Excellence

Maybe AJ gave everyone a copy of the book he reads during the game and they all channeled the inner excellence.

5. Squats

Did you know Hurts and Barkley both squat like 900 pounds each. I’m not sure how many pounds it actually is but I am sure the Fox team will remind us.

4. Savi is a fan.

As you all know, I am a huge Chiefs fan. My wife is a huge Broncos fan. Many years ago, my son got tired of the in fighting and picked his own team the Packers. Back during the 2017 season, my daughter decided to pick her own team. She conveniently picked the Eagles who were in the Super Bowl against the Patriots. She chose wisely as they won the big game. My team beat her team a couple of years ago, now she gets her rematch.

3. The Giants are idiots.

The Giants are trying to win their own championship of being the worst run team in the NFC. There are just too many terribly run teams in the AFC for them to compete for the title of the whole NFL. But they are locking things down in the NFC. They signed Daniel Jones to a big contract and then they really couldn’t or wouldn’t sign Barkley to another deal because they needed to spend money around Jones. Even the GM’s kid knew this was a terrible idea. Literally a child is a better GM than the Giants actual GM. Anyway, Barkley went to the Eagles and seemed to do alright. Meanwhile, the Giants released Jones in the middle of the season because he was so bad. They were on a destination trip to get the number 1 pick in the draft. Enter my boy, Drew Lock who went off the second to last game of the season to ruin that dream. It’s truly what the Giants deserve.

2. They are just really good.

This is arguably the best team in football top to bottom. They have no real weaknesses. They have arguably the best o-line and starting receivers. They have without question the best running back. Their tight end is great. They have the number 1 defense in the league. And although I would hardly say Hurts is the best QB in the league, he definitely doesn’t suck.

1. They have the real MVP.

The writers/media that vote for this will probably vote Lamar the winner. Some will go with Josh Allen. But the real MVP is Barkley and it’s not close in my book. Lamar had a fine season but it was hardly historic. And winning when it matters should count for something. Allen is a fine choice and he has never won it. You know what else he has never won? Against the Chiefs in the playoffs. His stats are fine but nothing to write home about. Meanwhile Barkley is in the Super Bowl, ran for over 2,000 yards and carried his team all year long including in the playoffs. He is the clear MVP and if he doesn’t win it, they should just change the name of the award to MVQB.

There you have it. Tune in tomorrow for 10 reasons the Chiefs are in the Super Bowl.

We are down to 4. After going 5-1 during wild card weekend, I dropped to 2-2 in the divisional round getting both AFC match ups right and missing the two NFC matchups. I guess I picked the wrong upset. Still 7-3 through the playoffs isn’t too shabby. This week brings on two intriguing match ups with the winners heading to New Orleans. Let’s dive in.

Rookie of the year vs the MVP: Commanders @ Eagles on Fox at 1 PM Mountain time:

Jayden Daniels has exceeded all expectations and has put together the greatest rookie season for a quarterback in NFL history. He went to Tampa and won. He went to Detroit and won big (although he was aided by 5 Lions turnovers). Can he go to Philly and complete the road masterpiece? Several rookie quarterbacks have gotten to the conference championships like household names, Mark Sanchez and Shaun King. But they were led by great defenses. Jayden is the leader and the engine. And they have a ton of momentum going in to this game. And they beat the Eagles a few weeks back. Every team that has won 3 road playoff games in a season has won the Super Bowl so if they can pull this off, look out.

On the other side, you have the MVP of the league. I know they are probably going to give it to Lamar…again, but they shouldn’t. No one has been not only more impactful and statistically stronger than Saquon. Not only that, he did more to lead his team to this point than Josh Allen did last week and Lamar is going to be in Cancun watching. But it is a quarterback league, blah, blah, blah. Regardless Barkley has been amazing. The Eagles defense has been great as well. When the Commanders last beat the Eagles, Jalen Hurts got hurt in the first quarter. Hurts is hurt again but is going to play. How effective he is could be the difference in the game. Don’t worry, the Eagles staff will still have him run and do bootlegs despite whether he can walk or not. But his mobility is what makes this team dangerous. It would also help if AJ Brown read a book on how to catch on the sideline.

This is a tough game to pick. I think the Eagles are the better overall team but with Hurts injured and their secondary a little banged up it evens the playing field a little. Bottom line, I have picked against Jayden twice and been wrong twice. Fool me once, shame on Jayden, fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me a third time and well I don’t know what happens but I am not going to find out.

Commanders 31 Eagles 27

The Mafia vs the Kingdom: Bills @ Chiefs on CBS at 4:30 PM Mountain time

It’s the Bills vs the Chiefs in the playoffs yet again. Can Josh finally get over the hump? Or will Patrick ruin his season when it matters most once again? Will the evil kingdom fall or will the Chiefs ruin the majority of the nation’s Sunday? Does playoff Kelce make back to back appearances? Does playoff Pat make his first appearance? Does Josh Allen run wild? Or does a healthy Chiefs defense finally contain him? Who will be sitting in Taylor Swift’s box? All these questions and more will be answered tomorrow.

The Bills have been a solid team all year and are the only team to beat the Chiefs starters this year. Josh Allen has eliminated a lot of the mistakes and is playing some of his best ball. They have a great running back and solid weapons. Their tight ends make me especially nervous because not only are both Kincaid and Knox solid, we are terrible at covering tight ends. Their defense is not great but solid but they will be missing a starting safety and maybe a starting corner as well. But they do have good pass rushers and we all know about the Chiefs problems at tackle. I am sure the Mafia will have a good representation at the game as well. Apparently they have a plan to start singing Bright Side at some point. They are in for a surprise when all the Mizzou fans join in and then start chanting f ku.

The Chiefs on the other hand are as healthy as they have been all year. Especially on defense where they got Jaylen Watson and Charles Omenihu back. The Chiefs haven’t turned over the ball in a record 8 straight games. But the Chiefs are facing some historical challenges. No team that has won back to back championships has made it past this game. Only one other team has won more playoff games in a row. It is a challenge to keep winning and they are playing a very good Bills team.

The other story is the refs that of course are for the Chiefs even though our record with this particular crew isn’t very good. This crew also leads the NFL every year in penalties called so look for this game to take a while. I also think there is a very good chance that the crew overcompensates due to all the negative press of the refs favoring the Chiefs. Just wait to see everyone show their true colors when terrible calls go against the Chiefs. Everyone will celebrate and say it is fine because they deserve it proving that no one really cares about the integrity of the game or fairness and they instead just hate the Chiefs. Mob mentality especially on social media is one of the worst parts of our country but I digress.

Look, I think the Chiefs have the more complete team. Pat has never lost this game in regulation and the Bills have some injuries and the Chiefs don’t. But it does feel like it is finally the Bills time. Despite what everyone says, I believe the league would prefer we don’t win. They love parody. And especially after Troy Aikman acting like a child on the broadcast and firing up every Chiefs hating keyboard warrior they would prefer the Chiefs lose. Even respectful and calm commentators like Dan Patrick and Rich Eisen have fallen into the trap. Got to keep the social media mob happy.

It is Chiefs fans and swifties vs the world. I’d like to say the Chiefs take care of business and win comfortably but we all know that’s not gonna happen. But I also can’t fully buy into the Bills winning this game. After all, the Bills like to lose things in fours. I think it is a close game that goes down to the wire. Pat throws a pass late which is clear pass interference to anyone with a brain but the mob still yells about how the Chiefs get bailed out again. Butker kicks the game winner and the Evil Empire that has really done nothing evil except win a lot moves on.

Chiefs 24 Bills 23

There you have it. A Super Bowl for the ages, either a Rookie Quarterback wins it for the first time or the Chiefs become the first team to win 3 Super Bowls in a row. By tomorrow night, we will know if I am right. Regardless of the outcomes, enjoy these games. We only have 3 of them left until we have to wait until all the way until September to watch football again.

3 games left in the season! 2 on Sunday. Here are the top 10 things to look for this weekend.

10. Can Jalen Hurts walk? He looked pretty rough after getting hurt last Sunday. My biggest concern with picking the Eagles besides Nick Sirianni is the health of Jalen.

9. Do the Chiefs receivers show up? Last week’s game plan made sense due to the Texans corners and the fact that the middle of the field was wide open. But to beat the Bills they are going to need at least one of Hollywood, D Hop or Justin Watson to show up and have a big game.

8. Who turns the ball over. All 4 teams that are in the conference championships were turnover free last weekend. The teams who keep it going will likely end up winning.

7. Josh Allen running. The Chiefs defense has been playing great. But they have not been able to contain Allen running the last few games. If Josh Allen runs a lot successfully, the Chiefs will be in trouble.

6. Scary Terry living the dream. McClaurin has been great over the years but he has never experienced this and neither has the rest of the team. But win or lose this has been the best season any of these guys have had.

5. Saquon going off. Barkley has been just phenomenal all year long. And he was incredible last week. If he goes off, the Commanders are toast.

4. Kelce makes history? Travis has been phenomenal in the playoffs. He has most of the receiving stat records and is behind Jerry Rice, the greatest receiver of all time. He is two touchdowns and around 200 yards behind him for every playoff record. I have no crazy belief that he can pull it off this weekend but if the Chiefs win he could have a shot at getting it done in the Super Bowl.

3. Can the Bills not do Bills things? The Bills have been good a lot over the years. But what they haven’t done is win it all. 4 Super Bowl losses in a row and if they lose on Sunday, 4 losses in a row to the Chiefs in the playoffs. Can Josh and the gang break the trend?

2. Can Jayden keep rolling to the greatest rookie season ever? He’s been phenomenal. No moment seems too big. It is already arguably been the greatest rookie season ever. But no rookie quarterback has ever lead their team to the Super Bowl. He could be the first and cement this as the greatest rookie season ever.

1. The return of Playoff Pat. Mahomes has been incredible in the playoffs. But last week he struggled at times and then also had two controversial calls towards him and flopped on the Sideline. But when things look grim, he becomes the grim reaper. And he is going to have to step up his game to win on Sunday.

We are down to the final four! The Divisional round is over. It was a great and fun weekend with a big surprise win by the Commanders. Before I dive into the rankings, let’s address the thing everyone is talking about, the Refs. And specifically the Refs during the Chiefs game. There were two questionable calls that have everyone who isn’t a Chiefs fan or a person who watches many football games every week all upset. There are three issues here. First the actual calls in questioned, second the officiating across the NFL and third the reactions by everyone. Let’s dive in.

If you watched the game you saw a roughing the passer call and then later on an unnecessary roughness call. Both of these were on defenders who made contact to Patrick Mahomes. First of all, I am a massive Chiefs fan so I am not completely unbiased. But the truth is none of us are. Most if not all of the people who are really upset and think these are horrible calls hate the Chiefs. My dad watches Fox News all the time. Shockingly, he is not a big Biden fan. I have other family members who watch CNN or MSNBC all the time. Guess what, they are not big Trump fans. We tend to agree with and watch things that already side with our opinions. While I am a die hard Chiefs fan, I try to be as unbiased as I can. I can say I didn’t like either call. I thought they were both borderline at best and probably shouldn’t have been called. But in full speed before we watched the instant replay over and over again in slow motion, they both looked like fouls. This is the view the refs have. Full speed. In both cases there was contact to Mahomes head area although minor and not that forceable. On the first play, there is contact to Pat’s face mask. It is minor and not that forceable. Pat did sell it to some extent and looked up at the ref to see if a flag would be thrown. This is what smart quarterbacks do in the league. Everyone’s current favorite NFL son, Josh Allen is one of the best at doing this. This is partially why he leads the league in Roughing the passer calls. Pat is in the middle of the pack. I understand the Texans frustration on this one, as it was 3rd and 8. And it led to a first down and an eventual field goal. But everyone is acting like this is the PI call that didn’t get called in the Saints game a few years back. It wasn’t that bad of a call. They even reviewed it but the rule is if there is contact to the head area it cannot be overturned. Which is why the play stood because there was contact to the head area. The second penalty was worse but more of the same. Troy Aikman made a big deal about how it is unfair the way that quarterbacks are sliding late. I completely agree. However, this wasn’t why they called a penalty. The problem was not that they hit him while sliding. The problem was the defender lead with his head and made contact with Pat’s head. Again it wasn’t minor and not forceable and I don’t think it should have been called. But again at full speed it looked like he hit him in the head more forceable than he did. The defender actually was helped out by his fellow defender who ran into him. I didn’t like the call. But a couple things people are ignoring. First of all on first down, there was a terrible hold call on Trey Smith. The guy basically just fell down and Trey got called for holding. Troy Aikman glazed over that call because it didn’t fit his narrative for the day. Pacheco ran for 9 or 10 yards on the replay of the first down. Than Mahomes scrambled for 4 yards and then slid. Without the penalty it would have been like 3rd and 5. Hardly something that the Chiefs couldn’t have overcome. So sure they got a few extra yards out of it but hardly the end of the world. And again, this wasn’t the most awful call in the world. Pat didn’t help things by flopping on the sideline later on. Which is too bad because while he does play up the stuff in the pocket at times and definitely plays the tight rope on the sideline but he is not usually a flopper. Again, Josh Allen is the king of flops. In fact Jets and Patriots fans have made montages of clips of him flopping. Bottom line, these weren’t great calls but they were hardly the worst calls in playoff history or anything. Much of this has been exasperated by Joe Buck and Aikman who spent more time talking about these two plays than Mahomes throwing a td while basically being parallel to the ground. Or the fact that “washed up” Travis Kelce was going off. Buck is always annoying and terrible. But Aikman is very passionate about the rules being too soft on quarterbacks. I’m sure this has something to do with things being different in his day. I get it. I love 80s and 90s NBA basketball for the same reason. Brady says the same things as Troy. The difference is that they changed all the rules for Brady and not for Aikman. I think Aikman got caught up in that and lost his professional edge and let the broadcast get away from him. He will probably not agree with that or admit that and that is fine. He’s a grown man he can say what he wants. The other thing that exasperated this was the Texans complaining after the game and saying they knew it would be this way going in. Their coach even said they knew it would be them against everyone. Well if they knew this, then why weren’t they prepared for it? This is a loser’s mentality. And part of why they lost. The other reasons they lost were the fact that they gave up 8 sacks, only scored 1 touchdowns and had horrendous special teams throughout. And for some reason they decided not to cover the greatest playoff tight end of all time. But sure, they lost because the refs got two calls wrong.

Here’s the deal, officiating is hard in every sport. It’s even harder when it comes to the pros. Everything moves faster. NFL officiating is not great but I do not think it is the worst in all sports. That title goes to college basketball. But they need to improve. I understand being upset about poor officiating. That I would get. But that’s not what this is. This is about hating the Chiefs. There were two horrendous calls in the other AFC divisional game as well. The first was a terrible Defensive PI call on the ravens that led to an easy Bills TD. I was chatting with two friends who hate the Chiefs. They both thought it was an awful call but they were unphased by that one. Later on Lamar got tackled like 5 yards out of bounds and nothing was called. Tony Romo handled both calls like a professional and acknowledged that they were questionable. But he didn’t lament on them through the rest of the game. That along with people liking the Bills and hating the Chiefs have made everyone basically ignoring these two calls that were both worse than the two calls in the Chiefs game.

But the Chiefs get all the calls! Well not actually. They are one of the more penalized teams. They aren’t getting all the calls. Facts don’t care about your feelings. What is true is they have less penalties in the playoffs. And less than their opponents every game…for 11 straight playoff games. I’m not saying that the Chiefs don’t get the benefit of a doubt here or there. That’s what great teams do. Jordan and the Bulls got calls. Kobe and the Lakers got calls. Brady and the Pats got calls. In fact, in Pat’s first AFC championship game there were two calls that impacted the game. The first call was an awful roughing the passer on Chris Jones when he hit Tom Brady in the chest with his arm. It was obviously not the correct call and was more horrendous than either call on Saturday. Then on a Brady interception, Dee Ford got called for being offsides. Typically a guy gets a warning and this is a call they miss all the time. And to top things off, it went to overtime and then the Chiefs never got to touch the ball. The same thing happened a few years later when the Chiefs beat the Bills and they changed the rules. Was it rigged for the Patriots? Did the league really want to force us all to watch them win the most boring Super Bowl in our lifetime? Or was it just a bad call by the official on the Jones rough call? And also, maybe because the Chiefs are good team and really well coached, they get better from a penalty standpoint in the playoffs.

What’s most funny to me is many in the media embracing the mob mentality and giving in to the notion that the Chiefs are cheaters, the league is rigged, blah, blah, blah. Rich Eisen who I like, said that every roughing the passer call needs to be reviewed. Rich is usually a calm and reasonable commentator. But even he has gotten sucked into this nonsense. First of all, it was reviewed and they let the play stand. And remember that year that teams could challenge pass interference? It was a complete disaster and nothing ever got overturned and everyone hated it and they took it away the following year. The same thing would happen here. And for all those who call the Chiefs cheaters…that is the dumbest thing ever. There is no deflated balls. There is no spying on other teams. This is just simply a resilient team that finds a way to win in all sorts of circumstances. They are in other teams heads and now in the heads of all NFL fans across the country. And for those that think things are rigged, why would they rig it for a small market team in the middle of the country and why do big market teams like the Giants and Jets suck every year? The NFL doesn’t want us to win. They are a league built on parody. And there is parody in the league. Different teams get to lose to the Chiefs every year. During this run we have beaten every team in the AFC playoffs besides our divisional opponents who we have won the division over the last 9 years and the Jets and the Patriots. The Patriots beat us and then haven’t done anything since and the Jets haven’t made the playoffs in like 22 years. So I get it. I’d hate us too. So if it helps you sleep at night to call us cheaters or say it is rigged, that is fine. But I appreciate greatness. I never hated the Patriots even after they beat us. I never thought the league was rigged even after their cheating scandals. I saw a team that found a way to win. I didn’t hate the Bulls. I hated the Yankees but I hated the Yankees in the middle of the 80’s and early 90s when they weren’t winning anything. But I understand that I am unusual. So hate on my friends. But don’t hate too much. It’s not good for you and you just might miss something special and historic while you are hating…like a 3 peat.

Now here are this week’s rankings:

4. Team of destiny: Commanders

The Commanders are doing things with a rookie quarterback that no one thought was possible. They are incredible. They went into the Lions Den and dominated. They are ranked 4th because I just don’t see how they can keep this up and I don’t trust their defense. But I sure do trust Jayden Daniels and I will no longer be shocked or surprised by anything he does.

3. Fly Eagles Fly: Eagles

I don’t trust their coach or coaching especially after calling a bootleg with their quarterback who only had one good leg when they should have been running the clock out with the best running back in the league. But all these guys do is win. They are probably the most talented team left. And their defense is better than the Commanders so they get the slight advantage here.

2. In Josh we trust: Bills

Everyone who isn’t a Chiefs fan is trusting in Josh to beat the Chiefs. They look good and just might be the team to do it. If they do, I like their chances in the Super Bowl. My main hesitation is they are still the Bills. And until the beat the Chiefs when it matters, it is hard to believe they will.

1. Haters gonna hate, hate, hate: Chiefs

The hate is real. But so is a team that has won back to back super bowls and 16 games this year. Until they lose, they deserve to be number 1.

Tune in tomorrow for the top 10 things to watch during the conference championships!

It’s time for Five for Friday! I love the divisional round. It’s my favorite weekend of all sports weekends. I went 5-1 in Wild Card weekend. If Baker hadn’t fumbled, I likely would have finished 6-0. But 5-1 is pretty good. Let’s see if I can keep it going in the Divisional round.

Houston we have a problem: Texans @ Chiefs on ESPN at 2:30 PM mountain time

The Texans are coming off a big win over the Chargers and of course the media is hyping them up, especially their defense. But let’s keep in mind that they were playing the Chargers…in the playoffs. And Chargers are gonna Charger. The Texans are a pretty good team but they are missing a lot of guys on offense and more importantly they are playing the back to back defending champs who have been as healthy as they have been all year and have been resting since Christmas. There will be lots of talk about them being rusty and they should have played their guys and blah, blah, blah. This is the Chiefs. They know what they are doing. Andy Reid is a ridiculous 32-7 following a bye. And you know what is better than playoff Pat? Saturday Pat. He has played 7 games on Saturday in the NFL. He is 7-0 with 9 tds and zero interceptions. There is lots of talk about the Texans D but you know who else has a good defense? The Chiefs. If you take away the game that the JV Chiefs played, we gave up an average of 18 points a game. Also, the Chiefs haven’t had a turnover in 7 games. Bottomline, the Texans are pretty good but the Chiefs are real good and on a mission. And whenever the media talks bad about the Chiefs, the Chiefs answer. Also, the cold temperatures and a rocking and rowdy Arrowhead won’t do the Texans any favors. The Chiefs win and finally break the 30 point mark that is so important for all the stupid media people.

Chiefs 31 Texans 20

Daniels in the Lions Den: Commanders @ Lions on Fox at 6 pm mountain time

Jayden Daniels has had a ridiculous rookie season. If he wins this one it will be arguably the greatest rookie season of any quarterback ever. The kid is the real deal and seems unfazed by the moment. The Commanders are good for sure. And aren’t going anywhere any time soon. They have Scary Terry and some other weapons too. The Commanders showed that they could step in in big moments last weekend but this is a whole new task. The Lions are very good and even better at home. Jared Goff is playing his best football in his life. Gibbs is an incredible running back. Montgomery is back. They have good receivers and tight ends and arguably the best offensive line in the league. And they play in a stadium that can be very loud when they aren’t the worst team in the league. Can Daniels calm the Lions enough to survive? Or will the Dirty Detroit get to host the NFC championship game? This should be a fun one but I just don’t see the Commanders stopping the Lions enough to win.

Lions 41 Commanders 28

The Philly Not So Special?: Rams @ Eagles on NBC at 1 PM on Sunday mountain time

Even when the Eagles win they find a way for you not to feel good about them. AJ Brown is usually the reason. He likes to find his inner excellence during the game while reading a book. He is the reading rainbow of the NFL. “I can do anything, take a look…it’s in a book, reading AJ!” The Eagles defense is very good. And Saquon Barkley is exceptional. Jalen Hurts gets a bad rap…mostly because of AJ Brown. But they have a good team. They have won a bunch of games. And it will likely be snowing which probably means more running. Which favors the Eagles. But something just doesn’t seem right in Philly. Maybe it is the AJ Brown thing. Maybe it is the fact that Jalen Hurts didn’t look great last week. Maybe it is the fact that Nick Sirianni is there coach. But something seems off. Meanwhile the Rams are coming off a great win with their city needing hope. McVay can coach. Stafford can quarterback. Their defense has been playing lights out and something tells me they will have a plan to not give up 250 yards again to Saquon. This should be a close one between two good teams. But how can you bet against guys named Cooper Kupp and Puka? Give me the Rams to keep my preseason Super Bowl prediction alive.

Rams 23 Eagles 20

Sorry Mr. Jackson…Bills are for real!: Ravens @ Bills on CBS at 4:30 PM on Sunday mountain time:

This is the game everyone is excited about which is why they put it last. It’s a battle of the two MVP favorites and two quarterbacks that have come up short in the playoffs. They have both made it to one conference championship. They both lost to the same team. I can’t seem to remember who that team was…hmm. The Ravens on paper have the better team. They beat the Bills badly early on in the season. And Lamar arguably had the better season. Plus they have Derrick Henry who has his own case to be MVP. Their defense has been playing great and they match up well against the Bills. The weather is supposed to be bad which usually favors the Bills but the Ravens are no strangers to cold weather. Although they have been practicing inside because the ground was too cold and hard. And even while practicing inside, they have been pretty bundled up. But bad weather often means more running which favors the Ravens as well. I was feeling good about picking the Ravens. But then I was watching First things First which I do regularly and Chris Broussard brought out this Ravens super fan person or something. She was the most annoying thing I have experienced in some time. I’m talking Skip Bayless level annoying. I’d tell you to google it or watch it on YouTube. But I like you and don’t want to punish you. Look, I know I just made a great case for the Ravens. But the Bills don’t suck. They are healthier than they were the last time they played the Ravens. They run the ball very effectively now. Josh Allen is very tough to stop. Plus it would be fitting for the Chiefs to avenge the one loss that the varsity Chiefs had this year. The Ravens are good but the Bills seem like a team on a mission to not lose until they play the Chiefs. Plus I cannot handle anymore of that annoying fan. Josh leads them down in the final seconds for the win.

Bills 34 Ravens 31

The Luck of the Irish runs out: Ohio State versus Notre Dame at 5:30 PM on Monday, Mountain time:

I don’t like either of these teams so I won’t say much. But bottom line is Ohio State seems like the best team in the Nation. Well besides when they play Michigan. I don’t like them or their coach. Or their coach before that coach. Or their coach before that coach. But they are good and there is no denying it. I do like Notre Dame’s coach even though I don’t really like them. It doesn’t seem like they should be here. But I do find it funny that Brian Kelly left because he didn’t think he would get to play for national championships at Notre Dame. I’ll be cheering for Notre Dame but I don’t like their chances.

Ohio State 38 Notre Dame 20