The Buffalo Bills have always lacked a top notch defense in eras where they have had top notch Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Josh Allen to me looks like a sure thing Hall of Fame quarterback as he is still presently playing and about to turn 30 years of age. Back in the 1990’s, the Bills went to 4 Superbowls with Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. The results were no rings and zero Superbowl titles for wing city. The Bills in the 90’s had the big names like Bruce Smith. Cornelius Bennett, and Darryl Talley on those defenses. In present day the Bills defense has some solid names like Ed Oliver, Matt Milano, Cole Bishop, and Christian Benford. Both defensive units in both eras shared a mentality of bend don’t break styles and feast on turnovers. In both eras the Bills got the better defense in regular season than in post-season. Except this last season I did not like how the Bills were gutted like a house up the middle with the opposing teams running game. Very embarrassing. In the 1990’s the Bills defense played better in the AFC post-season than fall apart in the Superbowl. In three out of the 4 Superbowl games, the Bills were blown out. The Josh Allen era the defense has never had that big game in the later rounds of the post-season. They never shut down any of those Chiefs teams and even faltered with 13 seconds remaining in one of those playoff meetings with the lead and lost in OT. The Bills turned over the ball multiple times in the AFC Divisional round recently and lost even though they put 30 points on the scoreboard. This is why things had to change in Buffalo after that loss to the Broncos. Can the new hire at defense, a former Bills player Jim Leonhard, change the script on defense?

The Bills decided to fire their long tenured head coach Sean McDermott and replaced him with an in-house candidate, the young brilliant offensive coordinator Joe Brady who is only 36 years of age. The Bills decided to keep things young on Brady’s coaching staff and sign one of the hottest names to be the next solid defensive coordinator in the NFL in 43 year old Jim Leonhard. As a player, Leonhard was undrafted from the University of Wisconsin. He started his 10 year playing career with the Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played for the Bills in two stints of 4 seasons. He also suited up for the Jets, Ravens, Browns, and Broncos. He played defensive back along with special teams and played in 142 total games. He tallied up 332 tackles while sacking the quarterback 4.5 times. He had 14 interceptions. He was not all-pro as a player. He was a football player that gave you everything and played hard every play which is the definition of a guy making it into the NFL after not being selected in the draft.

The last two seasons Jim Leonhard has worked on Sean Payton’s staff in Denver. He has spent two seasons in Denver working under defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. He started as a defensive backs coach and pass coordinator in 2024. Last year he was the assistant head coach on the Broncos staff as defensive pass game coordinator. The Broncos defense was one of the best units in the league the last two seasons. The Broncos were one of the best at getting to the opposing team’s quarterback. In 2024 the Broncos defense tallied up 63 sacks. Last season they beat that with 68 sacks. Before coming to Denver Leonhard got started in the coaching world at his alma mater Wisconsin as he was hired on there as defensive backs coach in 2016. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2017 and kept the same job until the end of 2022. He finished the 2022 season being the interim head coach while still calling the plays on defense. He finished the season with a 4-3 record under his guidance.

Right now and the last few seasons, the Buffalo Bills has had one of the top offenses in the league. Since Joe Brady took over, the Bills offense has ran like a well-oiled machine. Back when Jim Kelly played he was running the K-Gun offense that he had humming in the late 80’s and into the 1990’s as that Bills offense was one of the best in the league. Kelly only played 11 seasons in the NFL and he shattered all the Bills quarterback records when he played. Kelly started his professional football career in the USFL after college. He played in 160 NFL games all with the Bills and had was 101-59 as a starter. He completed 60.1% of his passes. He tallied up 35,467 passing yards while throwing 237 touchdown passes. He had 175 interceptions. Allen’s numbers are even SICKER. Allen will break all of Kelly’s records sooner than later. Allen has played in 128 game all with the Bills as he completed his 8th season. He is 88-39 as a starter. He has a higher completion rate of 69.3% than Kelly’s 60.1%. It was a different game back then in Kelly’s era compared to present day. Allen has already tallied up 30,102 passing yards. He is really closing in on Kelly’s 35,467 passing yards. Allen has 220 touch down passes compared to 94 interceptions. Let’s not forget Allen has 79 rushing touchdowns. If any franchise had these two quarterbacks at any time, you would expect at least one Superbowl title or more from either guy. You would think they would win a Superbowl with the defenses they had as well. They have not been terrible. Just unreliable in the big games on the biggest stage.

If I could pick one defense in Bills history to pair with either Josh Allen or back in the day with Jim Kelly, it would have been the 2014 unit. It was a one year wonder when Jim Schwartz was defensive coordinator. That unit led the league in sacks with 54. Schwartz went with a 4-3 defensive scheme. It was a aggressive unit of high pressure attack style. When the running back or receiver caught the ball, they swarmed to make the tackles as a team. It looked like a mugging. Or Rodney King beat down without the clubs. They were 3rd in the league in forcing turnovers. They finished the season 4th overall. The team finished 9-7 that season and just missed the playoffs. Then Rex Ryan was hired the very next season and ruined that defense they had in place. Mario Williams and his red terminator eyes was the reincarnation of Bruce Smith as he was a one man wrecking crew on the edge. Schwartz did not get the Cleveland head coaching job after what he did for that Browns defense last season. I thought a reunion could be in the works bringing the Schwartz back to Western New York. Can Jim Leonhard bring this kind of shenanigans to the table with his new defense?

“We’re going to be an attacking defense up front and in the back end. We’re going to attack the football.”

Some of the words by the new Bills defensive coordinator. Brings back memories of the 2014 defensive unit.

“We are going to be aggressive and fly around. We are going to force them to react to us, I don’t like the counter punch.”

Jim Leonhard’s press conference gives any Bills Mafia members goosebumps up and down their arms and shoulders. With words like AGGRESSIVE AND ATTACK.

I feel like Jim Leonhard could use former Giants Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor’s motivation crazed dogs speech in his new Bills style of attack defense. Leonhard plans to change the Bills 4-3 scheme to a 3-4 scheme. He will have to figure out what guys he has currently that he can use and hope they have the skill set for that defense. He will need to draft some pieces to this master puzzle he has in the works. The Bills front office might need to bring in some free agents to make this work. Right now Leonhard is the key master in this entire thing. If his defense succeeds and the Bills will get over the playoff humps and bumps they have been dealing with. If Allen has a top defense, the Bills team can erase mistakes that were made in that Denver game. Allen’s stupid fumble right at the end of first half. Then the James Cook fumble that changed momentum in that game as the Bills could have gone up 14-3 at that point vs Denver. Look at the Superbowl match up. Seattle’s defense is nicknamed the DARK SIDE because they allow a league low of 17.2 points per game. Allen in most games can score 20 points before halftime. The Patriots defense is also a pretty good unit as well. I feel like as a Bills fan I will not have to pray and pray harder for the Bills to get the turnover to stop the drive. I think we will see way more 3 and outs by the Bills defense next season. The turnovers will come as well. Stopping the run will be the gate master out of this entire thing that unfolded after the loss to Denver. I think the young minds of football like Sean McVay and Ben Johnson are proof in the pudding that it works. The Bills right now have two of those great young football minds on both sides of the ball with Joe Brady and the new guy Leonhard who is actually the old guy age-wise. Defense in Buffalo!!! With Allen and Cook. Give Allen a solid receiver in there. Whoa, Jimmy!!! Now you just have to roll out this master plan on the field next season in the new stadium. Very exciting!!!

The NFL script is not shy about letting certain teams collect Superbowl trophies in long stretches. We finally exterminated the Patrick Mahomes & Travis Swift dynasty and the annoying Kansas City Chiefs in last year’s Superbowl. I had to become an Eagles fan last February. The Eagles beat down of the Chiefs was well worth it. The Chiefs could not even make it to the post-season this year. The Chiefs probably will be back at some point with an aging pop singer sitting in the stands rooting for the meathead tight end she is going to marry. Now the Patriots are back in the Superbowl. Already? It did not seem too long ago the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick dynasty was over. The Empire had fallen. History seems to always repeat itself as we remember Brady in his first ever Superbowl in 2001. He was drafted in the later rounds while the Patriots had that underdog story going to the heavy favorite St.Louis Rams. No way they were going to beat Kurt Warner and the greatest show on turf. We did not know Belichick was a peeping tom filming other teams’ practices. We did not know about scandals coming such as deflate gate or spy gate. Along with Patriots owner Robert Kraft getting busted with a hooker. Let’s not forget the murderer tight end they had a few seasons.It always seems like the NFL is setting up the greatest, cutest little script here. Drake Maye in his second year in the NFLas the starting quarterback has guided his Patriots to a perfect record on the road. The Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel could make history winning a Superbowl as the coach for the same franchise he won with being a player in the first dynasty. Seattle is favored in this game. We also rooted for the Chiefs to beat Brady and company before Kansas City was stuffed down our throats with no end in sight.The Seahawks could certainly end this rebirth of the Patriots and stop it. Prevent the next dynasty from getting off the ground and save the world from another hostile takeover. You have to be a Seattle fan this year. To stop the madness before it lingers on for years to come like some kind of plague.

This will be the 12th Superbowl the New England Patriots have gotten to. The Patriots have won six Superbowls. The previous Empire dynasty went to 9 title games. Tom Brady & Bill Belichick went 6-3 in those 9 Superbowls. Brady went on to win his 7th Superbowl title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With those six wins, the Patriots are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Superbowl wins of all-time. The city of Bean Town already has the NBA with the Celtics with the most titles in that league. Do we need the Patriots to have the NFL record to themselves by the end of the weekend as well? We’d rather have the results of the first two ever Superbowls the Patriots were in. In their first Superbowl, New England were crushed by the Bears in the 1985 season.

The Patriots quarterbacks Steve Grogan and Tony Eason had no chance with that Bears defense that swallowed those guys up. It would take the Patriots over 10 years before we saw them back for their second title game which was the 1996 season. I rooted for the Patriots that year in hoping their quarterback Drew Bledsoe would take out Brett Favre and the hated Packers. Bledsoe was not very good in that title game as he had 4 interceptions and Favre would win his only Superbowl of his career as Packers won 35-21. It did not take the Patriots that long to get to their 3rd Superbowl in 2001. The season Bledsoe got hurt during the regular season season and Tom Brady took over, the dynasty officially began.

If you look back at the first Superbowl run by the Patriots, they got the break of a lifetime in the divisional round against the Raiders. The fumble by Tom Brady in a snowstorm could have been Raiders ball and a win on the road for Oakland who was visiting New England. The fuck tuck rule that the Patriots benefited from in that one got them the ball back. The referees said Brady’s arm was going forward and it was an incomplete pass. Did the current Patriots get a break of the lifetime facing the Broncos second string quarterback Jarrett Stidham in the AFC Championship game? Yes, they did. In a blinding snowstorm as well, as Stidham started off well in that game filling in for Bo Nix who was injured in the Bills game a week before in the AFC divisional round. Nix has a season-ending injury with a broken ankle. Stidham did not really do much after the first quarter. His mistake set the Patriots up for an easy touchdown. Their only touchdown of the game.The Broncos defense kept the team in the game as Drake Maye did not have a great either. Why did Sean Payton elected to go for 4th down in the first quarter of that game instead of kicking the easy field goal. The Broncos lost to the Patriots 10-7. The Broncos could have been up 10-0 with the blinding snow in the forecast. Can a break like this be history repeating itself for the Patriots? In 2001, the Patriots had to get by a power house team like the Rams from the NFC West to win their first ever Superbowl. Now this new regime of the Patriots will face a power house team from the NFC West in the Seahawks who have to be favored by a touchdown or more.

The Seattle Seahawks won their first ever Superbowl vs the Broncos in 2014. It was Superbowl 48 as they slaughtered the Broncos 48-3. Then the Seahwaks could have won back-to-back Superbowls as they had a ten point lead on the Patriots in Superbowl 49 in 2015 in the second half. Tom Brady and the Patriots offense came back in that game to give New England the lead. The Seattle offense got the ball where they wanted it for a game winning touchdown with a time out in their back pocket. It was the Patriots with the goal line stand that secured the game for New England. The Seahawks chose to pass the ball instead of giving the ball to BEAST MODE Marshawn Lynch, Seattle’s stud running back to run it for the score.

They had a time out & they could have ran the ball twice with chances to knock off New England. Instead Malcolm Butler gets the interception on the slant play Seattle tried to throw. Now Seattle has to figure how to slay the demons that haunts this franchise from the past. They have a chance to slay those demons and prevent a hostile takeover for years to come with this Patriots franchise.

These Patriots are not the feel good underdog story people should be rooting for. You still have the sexual predator as the owner in Robert Kraft this go around. The offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can’t hold down a head coaching job in this league so he is one of those A-Holes from the last regime. Throw in the Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and his two car garage he has as a nose. He played for the old regime. If you look at the month of December’s police blotter you will see a few Patriots players from this team pop up on the list. The Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs strangled his chef. What, she did not cut the crust off the bread? Then a defensive lineman threw the mother of his two year old son to the ground. Sure you can say he was practicing his tackling skills off the clock. These two will play in the Superbowl. They will have their day in court coming up after the season concludes. You can either hate the Drake Maye or like the Drake which is a debate in an episode of Seinfeld. That was about Drake coffee cake. The Patriots took advantage of one of the easiest schedules this season to win the AFC North and clinch the number two seed in post-season. Things are aligned right for them in another take over of the NFL galaxy. A Superbowl win by the Patriots this season & the script will have them once again in the thick of things playing the reborn Chiefs in next years AFC championship. If Seattle wins, the Patriots might fall into a million pieces and not be able to pick themselves up all over the galaxy.

It may be hard for them with a difficult schedule next season. The Superbowl hangover by losing teams is for real. Ask the Chiefs. From my eyes watching the post-season, Seattle is the better team. Maye has a hurt shoulder. Seattle’s story is better with a guy labeled as a first round bust in Sam Darnold who could win the Superbowl. He was drafted by the Jets. He was horrific or infected by the Jets coaching staff. Darnold did very well with the Vikings last year. The Vikings did not make the post-season letting Darnold leave for Seattle and giving the keys to the car to JJ McCarthy. If you were going to tell me Darnold would be the first QB from the class of 2018 draft to make it to the Superbowl and perhaps win it, many would say you are crazy. Bake Mayfield, Josh Allen, or Lamar Jackson are three guys you would put money down on when it came to the 2018 NFL draft class. I like the Seattle script. They slay their old demons from Superbowl 49 and prevent the Empire taking over the NFL galaxy once again which is a win/win. They have a defense that is called the Darkside that will be out to blow up the Death Star and take down the Evil Empire’s resurrection. Why not give the ring to a guy that was considered a first round bust? That is what I call the underdog story in this NFL plot.

The NFL Championship games are here and it’s going to be like War of the Worlds here. LA coming into Seattle with their aerial invasion. In every battle you must have a group of personnel that think they are Patriots.

New England will invade Denver. Do we know who Jarrett Stidham’s father is from the Evil Empire that created him in the NFL draft? Stidham is with the Rebel alliance with the Broncos infantry. Could Matthew Stafford and Sean Payton get back to the Superbowl and seek their second ring? What kind of Superbowl would have Stidham vs Darnold? Is Drake Maye the second coming of May Day Malone in Boston sports?

We will dissect it all including both championship games. We may find out who is the real Sean McVay.

I had a feeling the Rams’ brilliant mind was from another planet. We have two predictions after the dissection of each match up.

Our predictions are, “Danger danger Will Robinson,” and others who look to us for the 411. Last week in the divisional round we got one match up correct. The Wild Card round we bombed as well getting two correct. Gives us a 3-7 record in 10 match ups so far. The good news is we are due for a perfect 3rd round if you believe that. Take your own, risk but be aware!!!!

ROUND THREE POST SEASON (CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS)

SUNDAY GAMES

AFC TITLE GAME

#2.NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (16-3) AT #1.DENVER BRONCOS (15-3)

REGULAR SEASON HEAD TO HEAD: Did not play each other.

PLAY OFF HISTORY: Broncos (4-1) Patriots

1987 AFC Divisional Broncos won 22-17

2006 AFC Divisional Broncos won 27-13

2012 AFC Divisional Patriots won 45-10

2014 AFC Championship Broncos won 26-16

2016 AFC Championship Broncos won 20-18

Broncos 2-0 Patriots in AFC Championship game all-time

SUPERBOWL RECORDS

Patriots (6-5), Broncos (3-5)

The Broncos will be riding on a quarterback that has only made 4 NFL starts in his career to get them to the Superbowl.

The Broncos starter Bo Nix is out for the rest of post-season with a broken ankle he suffered against the Bills. Who is Jarrett Stidham and does he stand a chance vs the new order of the Empire in the New England Patriots? The Patriots defense last weekend made CJ Stroud look like a guy who only started 4 games. The Patriots picked off Texans QB Stroud 4 times and put out the flames of a very hot team entering the divisional round. The interesting thing about Stidham is he was drafted by the Patriots back in 2019. He has played for the Raiders as well and the Broncos for the last few seasons. He is 1-4 as a starter. He has thrown 8 touchdown passes along with 8 interceptions.

The Patriots defense is very solid against the run which most likely Jarrett Stidham will have to throw the football to win this game. The Broncos defense is facing Drake Maye who will be making his first playoff start on the road. The Broncos feature the best defense in the red zone. The Patriots can run the ball as the team has been averaging 156.1 yards per game in the last 7 contests. Both defenses can make that one play that can change the momentum of the game.

The head coaching in this AFC Championship will be one of the best chess games of all-time. Sean Payton is 10-9 in the post season along with 1-2 record in the championships. Payton has that Superbowl ring as a head coach with the Saints. Then Mike Vrabel is 2-0 in the post-season as the Patriots head coach in his first season. He has a 4-3 record as a head coach which goes back to his Titans days. Vrabel is 0-1 in conference championship games. In 2019, Vrabel’s Titans beat the Patriots & then the Ravens but could not beat the Chiefs on the road in the conference championship game.

Without Bo Nix playing in this match up, for sure on paper Jarrett Stidham is the weakest link. The last time a QB has made their first start of the season in a conference championship game you have to go back to 1972 when Roger Staubach did it. However back up QB’s have prevailed and taken their teams through this pivotal game and beyond. Nick Foles of the Eagles slayed the Patriots in the Superbowl playing for the Eagles. During the 1990’s Jeff Hostetler did it for the New York Giants. Let’s remember Sean Payton is a very good playcaller in the NFL. He has kept Stidham around for a reason. Just in case, break glass here. History is not on the side of the Patriots or Mike Vrabel. It’s tough to win in Denver with the altitude. I bet against the Patriots each round and they have made me look foolish. I’m going 3rd time a charm as the Denver Broncos defense creates enough havoc to lighten the load for Stidham and the Broncos offense. Maye will have his first playoff mishaps and Broncos will be once again going back to the Superbowl.

OUR PICK: BRONCOS

NFC TITLE GAME

#5.LA RAMS (13-5) AT #1.SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (15-3)

REGULAR SEASON HEAD TO HEAD: Both teams split the 2 game series

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Rams (2-0) Seahawks

2005 NFC Wild Card: Rams won 27-20

2021 NFC Wild Card: Rams won 30-20

SUPERBOWL RECORDS

Rams (2-3), Seahawks (1-2)

The Seattle Seahawks this post-season will only play division rivals. Last round the Seahawks murdered the 49ers. Now they face the Rams and last time they played LA in Seattle, it was a Thursday night game that was epic. High scoring affair which came down to the end in OT. The Rams you have to give credit because they went on the road to a colder climate in Chicago and came away with an OT victory over the Bears. The Rams beat the Panthers in Carolina in the wild card round. Here we go again!!!

Matthew Stafford vs Sam Darnold has been a great match up at the QB position. Look at the numbers both QB’s have accomplished this season. Darnold has 25 touchdown passes while Stafford threw 46. Darnold won his first playoff game last weekend vs the 49ers. His only loss and his first ever playoff game he played in, was against these Rams last year. Darnold was with the Vikings at the time. Darnold had a bad game that day. He also had a bad game in the first meeting of regular season between the Rams and Seahawks throwing multiple picks. Stafford has a career playoff record of 7-5 all-time. He is 7-2 all-time with the Rams as three losses were tagged on him from his Lions days. Stafford has done well in both meetings versus the Seattle’s defense named the Darkside. Both offenses are well-balanced. Both teams can run the ball well. Both teams rely on play action passes.

Sean McVay is one of the masterminds in the NFL as head coach. His post-season record is 10-5 which includes two trips to the Superbowl. He is 2-0 all-time in championship games. On the other side we have second year man Mike Macdonald who won his first ever playoff game as a coach last week vs the visiting 49ers. Macdonald has been through the post-season more than once with the Baltimore Ravens as the Defensive Coordinator. He has an idea on what it takes to win at this level. Can the Rams win their 3rd straight post-season game on the road? And in a place like Seattle which is very hard for visiting teams.

The Seattle Seahawks defense is the best unit in my opinion left in the final 4. Some could argue that the Broncos have that niche. Seahawks defense has played lights so far in the post-season. In a game three of the series where both teams know each other well, I like the adjustments on this side of the ball. Matthew Stafford did not look crisp last week in Chicago. In the first meeting between the teams, Sam Darnold had a bad game with multiple interceptions. Seattle almost won that game. It’s hard to win three straight road games. The Rams aerial game is one of the best in the NFL. The Seahawks are very good in their own airspace. I like the chances and odds of Darnold executing the Seahawks offense on that Rams defense. This will be a close game. I give this one to the home team. THE 12TH MAN!!!

OUR PICK: SEAHAWKS

In life, history seems to always have a tendency to repeat itself. In the NFL world, it seems to happen more often. On Sunday this will not be the first time the LA Rams will meet the Chicago Bears in the post-season. The first time the Rams and Bears met in the post-season was in 1950. I was not alive then when the Rams would prevail in the NFL Divisional title game. That game was played in the LA Memorial Coliseum, obviously in LA. On Sunday this is not the first time the Rams will be facing ice in Chicago during the post-season. The ice that I’m talking about is not Donald Trump’s goon squad named ICE. The conditions in Chicago are close to below zero with frigid conditions and winds coming off the lake which is coined Bears weather. In 1986 the Rams came into Soldier Field for the NFC Championship. On Sunday the Rams will be visiting the Bears in the divisional round. Both times the Bears had quarterbacks with ice in their veins. If history repeats itself, the current Bears will head to the NFC Championship if they win. The Bears in 1986 won that NFC Championship and then went to the Superbowl. You know what happened then. The Bears won their only Superbowl trophy as they beat up the New England Patriots in New Orleans and did it in grand fashion. The Refrigerator Perry run in Superbowl XX to this day was one of the coolest things to happen in Chicago sports history.

On January 12th of 1986, Mike Ditka the head coach of the Bears referred to the Rams as the Smiths. He referred to his Bears team as the Grabowski’s. That game was almost 40 years ago. The Rams offense featured Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson. Their quarterback was Dieter Brock who probably had more success playing in the CFL (Canadian Football League) than the NFL. The Bears had the best ever running back in the history of the game in Walter Payton. They also had a quarterback who had ice water in his veins, Jim McMahon.

I compare McMahon to Jimmy Garoppolo, a guy who found ways to win games at a high rate but could not avoid the injuries. If he stayed healthy, he probably would have been the best Bears quarterback ever to this point. Not counting what Caleb Williams is doing now or what his future will be. McMahon versus the Rams in that championship tossed a touchdown pass to his favorite speedster wide receiver, Willie Gault. He also ran for a touchdown himself. He was nicknamed the Punky QB. Williams has earned the nickname Ice Man in present day. The Bears defense has to be mentioned here. As they played with ice water in their veins and may have been one of the best defensive units of all-time. They smothered Eric Dickerson on that cold day grinding him to pretty much nothing in the running game. The famous play in that game was Richard Dent blowing up Dieter as he forced a fumble. The ball was picked up by linebacker Wilbur Marshall as he had the scoop score with the big boy, the Fridge, downfield blocking. The Grabowskis that day put on a clinic over the Smiths. A 24-0 shutout. You could tell the California team was very effected by the cold conditions of Soldier Field located by the lake that day.

The present day Rams coming to Soldier Field are not going to be like the Smiths. I don’t think you can call the Bears the Grabowskis in this one. Neither team has a defense like they had in 1986. This game features two of the brightest young offensive minds in the game with the Rams’ Sean McVay and the Bears’ first year head coach Ben Johnson. The two players that are being talked about the most are the quarterbacks. Matthew Stafford is definitely not Dieter Brock. Stafford has won a Superbowl. Stafford has been in the MVP conversation most of the year. The Rams have two solid wide receivers in young Pua Nacua and a future Hall of Famer in Davante Adams. Stafford was originally drafted by the Lions who play in a dome. He has played in Chicago once a year suiting up for the Lions. Stafford has never played in a game under 20 degrees. He has played in some snow games. The Rams are coming from 80 degree weather, and the Bears weather has a cold advisory in effect on game day. Plus, this game is being played at night.

For the Bears it has been all about the ICEMAN!!! The number one draft pick in the 2024 NFL draft, Caleb Williams has flourished in year one under the guidance of first year head coach Ben Johnson. In the wild card round, he had an epic comeback against the arch-rival Green Bay Packers. Yes, Williams should be noted he has slayed the Bears arch-rival cheeseheads. This after decades of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers torching the Bears for sport. Like some annual hunting deer trip, instead the cheese heads would add a Bear head every season to their den. Nice bearskin rugs by the fire place. Williams who played his college ball on the west coast at USC, which is probably not far from Rams country, has blossomed into a well-oiled machine in the cold weather. Many Bears fans would like to see him start off stronger as the Bears become hot in the second half of all these games that Williams had made a living taking over late and winning. Williams is a league leader this year in game winning drives and comeback wins.

The only other sports legend in Chicago sports that had the nick name ICEMAN was Hall of Fame basketball player George Gervin. However, Gervin earned that nickname long before he suited up with the Chicago Bulls. Gervin started his career in the ABA (American Basketball Association.) Then the leagues merged & he played 14 seasons in both leagues combined. He was a 12X All-Star and won 4 scoring titles. He played his last season of his decorated NBA career with the Bulls which was the 1985-86 season. He played one season with Michael Jordan who was in his second NBA season at the time. That season Jordan only played in 18 games because of a broken foot. You could say the true Iceman of Chicago Spots belongs to Caleb Williams. We know Air Jordan may still be the most clutch player in Chicago sports history after Williams career concludes as we don’t know how it will turn out. Beating the Rams will build up the ICEMAN legacy.

You could say with looking at both the Rams and the Bears, LA has the better team. If these teams played on a neutral field, the Rams would probably win 7 out of 10 match ups. In cold conditions especially, teams coming from warmer climates don’t really do well. Looking at both rosters right now you have a few names that would be considered Hall of Famers. If we skip ahead to like 40 more years into the future, we may have all sorts of players from both rosters in this game that make it to Canton. The Rams and Bears players that faced off in 1986 have a ton of names from that game in Canton. This has been one magical season for Chicago and it may not end in a Superbowl like the ’85 team. The Bears are a number two seed. If they win they will have to play Seattle in the NFC Championship which will not be a easy task. The Rams could adapt in the cold weather and pull this game off. When history seems to always repeat itself, this go around it could be the Johnson’s over the McVays. LA has fallen victim to the Chicago icy conditions before, so why not again on Sunday. Maybe it will not be the Iceman that wins it for the Bears. Maybe some Bears linebacker makes the play and rewrites Wilbur Marhsall’s scoop and score play back in ’86.

Probably the best play in the NFL in a divisional round was the Immaculate Reception by the Steelers versus the Raiders in 1972. Where Steelers running back Franco Harris catches the ricochet right before it hits the turf and runs it a far distance for a big Pittsburgh touchdown. Round two of this current post-season could have some diabolical play like that. Can the the Iceman turn into Superman & pull off another epic outcome? In this divisional round some defense will make their stand. Last week we did a very poor job at picking the winners as we went (2-4) in the wild card round. We are looking for that Immaculate Reception in the second round to redeem ourselves as we served up only jokers in the wild card round. We crunched the numbers. We drank a few shots. Followed that hard work up with some chasers to come up with 4 solid winners for the Divisional round.

ROUND 2 NFL PLAYOFFS

NFL DIVISIONAL ROUND

SATURDAY GAMES

AFC

#6.BUFFALO BILLS (13-5) AT #1.DENVER BRONCOS (14-3)

REGULAR SEASON HEAD TO HEAD: Did not play each other this season.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Bills (2-0) Broncos

1992 AFC Championship: Bills 10-7 Broncos

2025 AFC Wild Card round: Bills 31-7 Broncos

This game between the visiting Bills and Broncos is a rematch of the first round wild card game from last post-season. That game was played in Buffalo and the Bills won it. The key to a Denver Broncos win is how Bo Nix does. Will Bo be Bo or will he be Nixed by the Bills defense? Will Bo have his old green Oregon University jersey on under the orange Broncos representing the color of kryptonite? Josh Allen last week put on the cape and took his Bills on the road to win his first ever playoff game on the road in Jacksonville. Kryptonite may be needed. The Broncos are well rested being the number one seed as they had a bye last week. Allen will face a tough defense by the Broncos. The Broncos can get to the quarterback as they are one of the top units in the league at sacking the quarterback. They are the best defensive unit in red zone efficiency in the league. The Bills weakness on defense is their run defense. Will the Bills defense make RJ Harvey look like a Hall of Fame running back? I liked how the Bills defense has played the last few weeks. Look for Joey Bosa to have a big game for the Bills. The Broncos are familiar with Joey playing all those years with the Chargers. Sean Payton will have tricks under his sleeve as he has pulled off plenty in post-season games as a head coach. Can the Bills head coach Sean McDermott unravel Payton’s evil genius plot?

The Broncos have a problem finishing drives and settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. In two of the 3 games the Broncos lost this season, the opponents rushed over 100 yards. The Bills are one of the best running teams in the league. James Cook won the rushing title. I think the Bills will have a better day at running the ball unlike last weekend versus the Jaguars who are a top run defense in the league. This game will be close. The Broncos have racked up the most NFL defensive pass interference penalties in the league. That can come into play in this match up. I think the Bills can hang with the Broncos most of the game until Allen puts the cape on. It will be cold. Being from the Fortress of Solitude, Allen and the Bills will get back to the AFC championship game stealing another road win from another top seed in the AFC.

OUR PICK: BILLS

NFC

#6.SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (13-5) AT #1.SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (14-3)

REGULAR SEASON HEAD TO HEAD: Both teams split the 2 game series.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Each team has won 1 meeting against each other in post-season.

2014 NFC Championship: Seahawks 23-17 49ers

2023 NFC Wild Card round: 49ers 41-23 Seahawks

In the last meeting between these two division rivals, it was all about the DARKSIDE!!! The Seattle defense held the 49ers to three points and 173 total yards in week 18. It was the last game of the season between both teams, but everything was on the line which included the NFC West title and the number 1 seed. Seattle won that 13-3. The Seahawks are rested having a bye last weekend. Their quarterback Sam Darnold injured his oblique in practice but is expected to play. The 49ers went on the road last week and knocked off the defending champs from last year. The 49ers lost their star tight end George Kittle in that win in Philadelphia. The 49ers will have their star offensive line back for this game Trent Williams who missed week 18 vs Seattle. Can the 49ers get another road victory with all the injuries they are dealing with against another top team in the NFC? The Darkside defense will limit Christian McCaffrey and that 49ers run game. It will be up to Brock Purdy to slay the Seahawks dragon here. Purdy usually has a clean game as Seattle is a top scoring defense. I think Darnold is lucky not facing this 49ers defense full strength with his injury. The 49ers injuries consist of the important pass rushers that get after the quarterback. Seattle’s running game will eat the clock up putting pressure on Purdy to throw the ball more which is not good as he needs a running game behind him. This will be a close game. The battle will be won in the trenches which goes to the Darkside. I like Seattle defending their home turf to move on to the NFC Championship game.

OUR PICK: SEAHAWKS

SUNDAY GAMES

AFC

#5.HOUSTON TEXANS (12-5) AT #2.NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (15-3)

HEAD TO HEAD REGULAR SEASON: Did not play each other this season.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Patriots (2-0) Texans

2013 AFC Divisional: Patriots 41-28 Texans

2017 AFC Divisional: Patriots 34-17

I feel like it’s hard to believe that we are still talking about the New England Patriots. They won the AFC East. They come into post-season as the number two seed in the AFC. They win their first game versus the LA Chargers and Justin Herbert in the wild card round.

Drake Maye if you’re following the Evil Empire is Kylo Ren as Tom Brady was Darth Vader. Maye like Vader and every evil dictator or villain out there or in the past, gets the easy kill in their first go round which was the Chargers. The Chargers only gave up 16 points versus the Patriots. I think the challenge now is how does Kylo Maye take on an actual Jedi which is not CJ Stroud? Will Anderson Jr. be unleashed on Ren and the Patriots offense? They were not very kind to Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers last week. I would say this will be a defensive game in cold weather which did not bother the Texans last week. The Patriots defense should be able to keep Stroud in check most of the game. Stroud has 5 playoff games under his belt. He will not have his number one weapon in this match up, Nico Collins, who suffered a concussion last week versus the Steelers. The Patriots have one of the top aerial games of teams left in the tournament. The Texans defense has been very good at shutting down the passing game.

Ole Chucky Gruden said weeks ago he liked the Texans and Seahawks in the Superbowl because of the talent they have on the defensive side of the ball. This Texans defense is a different animal than Maye has ever seen this season. The Texans are red hot which will melt the cold and snow away. They will score more points than the Patriots in a low scoring affair and come away with a crucial road victory.

OUR PICK: TEXANS

NFC

#5.LA RAMS (13-5) AT #2.CHICAGO BEARS (12-6)

HEAD TO HEAD REGULAR SEASON: Did not play each other this season.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Both teams have won 1 meeting against each other.

1950 NFL Divisional: Rams 24-14 Bears

1985 NFC Championship: Bears 24-0 Rams

I think the only thing in Chicago to bring people together is the DA Bears!! Caleb Williams may have played his college ball on the west coast painting his fingernails in warm weather at USC. They call him the Ice Man because he has ice in his veins as he led another epic comeback as he slayed the Packers last week in the wild card round. Meanwhile the LA Rams who have not played outdoors much this season are coming to a ice cold environment in Soldier Field where it will be cold as ice at game time. Matthew Stafford has had an incredible season as he has been in the MVP conversation all year. Stafford used to play in Detroit, but the Lions played in a dome all those years. He is familiar playing in Chicago coming to Soldier Field once a year with Detroit. The Rams had a difficult time getting past the Panthers. The Bears were a no show in the first half with the visiting Packers. Both defenses are very vulnerable. Especially in the secondary. The Bears defense needs to get takeaways to thrive. While the Rams defense thrives when they get pressure on the quarterback. Both teams can run the ball well. This is a well-balanced offense squaring off in this match up. Will the cold temps effect the passing game? The Bears will have the advantage on special teams with the kicking game. Bears kicker Cairo Santos has been masterful kicking using the winds like he’s playing golf. The Rams encounter Harrison Mevis who grew up in cold weather in Northern Iowa. Kicking in Chicago is a different animal for first timers. Which offensive genius will have the better game plan? Ben Johnson of the Bears or Sean McVay? They are two young brilliant football minds playing chess against each other’s defenses. Most of the league is playing checkers while they are playing chess.

In a cold game I think the scoreboard will be lit up. Stafford has never played a game under 20 degrees. Coming to these conditions after being in 80 degree weather is a shocker to your system. I think the first half will start off slow since Williams is a slow starter. Stafford will need a half to adjust. In the end the Ice Man Sub Zero being played by Williams freezes out Scorpion who is being played by Stafford in a mortal ice sculpting thriller. The Rams have not been playing well for weeks now. I think it catches up to them here.

OUR PICK: BEARS