How does a NFL player become homeless and have to live life on the streets? It probably happens more than you think as players run through their money quickly, especially if making it to the NFL poor. How many times have you heard the story about professional athletes spending all their money on hookers, blow, and fast cars? What about the players that are always on the bubble in the sport fighting tooth and nails trying just to make a roster spot and being paid the minimum. In the game of football, how many concussions can mess with your brain after playing the rough sport for decades? How many military soldiers take on life after war on the streets suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)? When former Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Kevin Johnson came to those crossroads in his life after football, he had to live the lonely life on the streets hoping you can find 3 square meals a day or a cot to sleep on if you were lucky. Many times you have used up all your lifelines at this point like family or friends. For the homeless, a good day may be finding that cot at a church or mission to crash on. Especially a cold night. Is death a good way to get out of living life on the streets? I think nobody wants to end things by being stabbed and taking a lump on your head with some kind of make shift weapon. This is what happened to Kevin Johnson, found dead in a homeless encampment along the LA River, most likely under the bridge. Most common sense suggests a homeless person has nothing worth taking. Police detectives think Johnson has been a victim of a serial killer. In the same area the police have found other homeless people with the same MO being stabbed to death along with blunt head trauma.

Kevin Johnson was killed this year in the month of January in LA where he grew up. He went to college & played football at Texas Southern. Johnson played along side Michael Strahan at Texas Southern who would have a Hall of Fame career with the Giants. Johnson had to have been a pretty good player to be drafted in the 4th round of the 1993 NFL draft 86th overall by the New England Patriots. Just because you were drafted does not automatically benefit in the big pay day. Johnson was not a first round pick which teams will give multiple chances rather than be picked later in the draft. Johnson did not make it on the Patriots as he was cut. He did not give up on his NFL dream as he tried to latch on to the Minnesota Vikings practice squad. He was eventually cut by them and the Oakland Raiders after that. It took Johnson until 1995 to play a game in the NFL as he was picked off waivers by the Philadelphia Eagles. In ’95 he played in 11 games and started 1 of those games. He tallied up six sacks & 19 tackles. He forced a fumble. Had a fumble recovery for his only touchdown of his career which was for 37 yards.

In the same season he played in two preseason games for the Eagles. He registered a tackle and assisted on another one. Johnson returned to the Eagles in his second season and played in 12 games in ’96. He started 5 games in year two with the Eagles. The Eagles would cut ties with the big massive specimen. In 1997 he played for the Raiders and saw action in 15 games. By 1998 he was released by Oakland. He finished his NFL career with 54 tackles and 7 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and the fumble recovery for his only touchdown.

Do you remember when quarterback Kurt Warner used Arena Football as a stepping stone to get into the NFL? This was not quite the case for Kevin Johnson as he still needed to eat and pay the bills after his NFL career at the time came to an end. He landed a team in Arena Football called the Orlando Predators in 1998. Back then it was an Ironman style of football where you played both ways. Johnson had to adapt to playing offensive line and then play his normal defensive position. Then adapting to Arena Football is another challenge for players. Playing football inside on half of a normal 100 yard style field you played on your entire career from Pop Warner and beyond. In his first season, Johnson’s Predators won the Arena Bowl vs another Florida power house called the Tampa Bay Storm. In 1999 the Predators would lose in the Arena bowl vs the Albany Firebirds. In 2000 he would sign with the LA Avengers and then he suffered a season ending injury. In 2001 he would come back to the Avengers and have the faith in another trip to the injured reserve. By July of 2001 Johnson was suspended by the league & the reason for the suspension has never been released.

I do not know what happened next in Kevin Johnson’s life after the gridiron came to an end. Football injuries could linger which means popping pain medication becomes your new sport during the day. The countless nights you probably can’t sleep. What was going on inside his mindset? Could have been dark & twisted with depression setting in. Thoughts about what happened in his entire life just flashed by him. Add concussions to the mix as some of these players can’t adapt to life after football just because their head is not right. On January 21st, the LA County medical examiner rules Johnson’s death a homicide. Being stabbed in your sleep is just a guess and being hit in the head to see the outcast of society by the world living together is you last thing you see on Earth. Terrible!! In the location in LA where it occurred on the 1300 block East 120th street from October of 2025 to this year, the police have counted 4 bodies. Four victims living in these encampments found dead stabbed to death. Imagine this is not the work of a serial killer like Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy. Those were guys that planned well and lived in society hidden from their demons and acted like normal citizens. You would think the suspect would be another homeless person dealing with all kinds of mindset problems. The world can be a horrible place. How people get there you would think could have been prevented like Johnson’s death. The signs are usually there. The male species is stubborn in general as many will not ask for help. It sucks people go down these roads. People that have plenty of opportunities in life but just don’t fully take advantage of them. When the mindset becomes unhinged, these things can easily happen. It is hard to slay your inner demons. Hopefully a story like that can prevent guys like Johnson from going down the same path. Hopefully the LA Police department can find this killer and put them behind bars where they belong. Homeless people should not be easy prey even though it could be one of their own.

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

The NFL playoffs have arrived and the first round offers some thrillers for the Wild Card weekend. Many of these match ups could go either way. Most of the regular season was a crap shoot week to week. Many headscratchers leaving many people without any hair.

Maybe your girl lost her hair watching yourself rip it out in chunks. That is the way the NFL wants Any Given Sunday that anybody can beat you, me, and the moose. No Kansas City Chiefs. No Baltimore Ravens. Three teams come into post-season red hot. Can the Eagles defend their title from last season? The league has their oldest rivalry going at it. Everything shapes up like it will be a barn burner every game. I will throw my darts pick out of the hat or maybe pick the better helmet out of each match up. I’ll pick each winner out of each match up. Not promising you I will do a great job. You do not know if I’m drunk right now. I will roll out the Wild Card picks in the first 6 post-season games of the tournament. Grab the big canister of cheese balls at Menard’s and enjoy!!

ROUND 1 NFL PLAYOFFS

NFL WILD CARD WEEKEND

SATURDAY GAMES

NFC

#5.LA RAMS (12-5) AT #4.CAROLINA PANTHERS (8-9)

REGULAR SEASON HEAD TO HEAD: Panthers beat the Rams in week 13, 31-28

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Panthers (1-0) Rams

The Panthers ended the Rams’ greatest show on turf dynasty back in 2003-04 in the NFC divisional round.

The cool thing for the Carolina Panthers is their quarterback Bryce Young will get his first taste of playoff action. Which could be a learning experience because I don’t think Carolina will win this game. The Panthers backed into post-season as they lost their last two games which included a week 18 match up versus the Buccaneers. They needed help from the Falcons to get into the doggie door of the post-season tournament. The Panthers running game has vanished their last two games. In the first match up, Matthew Stafford threw three interceptions. I don’t see that happening this go around. Sean McVay will be well prepared for this rematch. The Rams will be getting Davante Adams back on the field who has been out with a hamstring injury since week 15. I feel the Rams defense could force Young into some stupid throws. Stafford is 5-5 post-season all-time as the Panthers become another notch on his MVP season. The Panther by far are the worst team in this post-season, and they even come in with a losing record. The playoff experience the Rams have coming into this game makes this a very easy pick.

OUR PICK: RAMS

NFC

#7.GREEN BAY PACKERS (9-8) AT #2.CHICAGO BEARS (11-6)

REGULAR SEASON HEAD TO HEAD: Split the two game series

December 20th Bears won in OT 22-16 over the Packers in Chicago.

December 7th Packers beat the Bears 28-21 at their place

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Split the two post-season meetings

1941 Western Division playoff game, Bears won at Wrigley Field 33-14

2010 NFC Championship, Packers won 21-14

The last time Jordan Love was on the field was the December 20th game versus the Bears when he was knocked out of that contest. He has been out with a concussion ever since and will suit up and play this one. These two teams already played each other twice in the month of December. It’s the NFL’s oldest rivalry. I could see some more head hunting in this match up by both teams because they already have some bad blood that happen in the last two games. The Packers come into the playoffs losing the last 4 games. Last week they rested their guys as they were locked in at the number 7 seed. The Bears were playing for the number two seed. They have lost two straight coming into this game. If the Commanders did not beat the Eagles, this match up would not be happening this round. The Packers have the playoff experience over this Bears team. Ben Johnson has been involved in the playoffs with the Lions as the offensive coordinator. Can Caleb Williams get off to a fast start? The Bears’ slow starts coming from behind in the 4th quarter is much more difficult to do in the post-season. The Bears won that OT game with a lucky on side kick they recovered to send that one into overtime. In both games the Bears running game had the Packers defense on the ropes gasping for air trying to stop Chicago’s two-headed monster they have at the running back position. How will Love respond coming back against the team that knocked him into tomorrow land? That is the biggest question in a match up that can go either way. The Bears defense worries me. If they do not get takeaways they really are not stopping teams. The history of this rivalry does not favor Chicago. I think the Bears will not be the big cheese in this game.

OUR PICK: PACKERS

THE SUNDAY TILT

AFC

#6.BUFFALO BILLS (12-5) AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (13-3)

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

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Jaguars (2-0) Bills

1996 Wild card game Jaguars 30-27 Bills

2017 Wild Card game Jaguars 10-3 Bills

This may not be a great match up for the Buffalo Bills in this first round. The Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the league’s hottest teams coming into the post-season as they have won 8 straight games. The Bills closed out Rich Stadium in the last regular season there as they are moving to a new stadium next year. The Bills handled the Jets and rested many of their starters who have been banged up. This game features the top run defense in the game the Jaguars have. The Bills offense features James Cook who won the NFL rushing title. Here are some of the important facts we have. The Bills head coach Sean McDermott has a 0-5 record on the road in post-season which included a loss in 2017. The Bills did not have Josh Allen that game as he was drafted in 2018. With McDermott 0-5 on the road, that means Allen has a 0-4 record on the road. However Allen is 2-1 in regular season vs Trevor Lawrence, the Surf Nazi who Must Die in this match up.

Allen has won at least 1 playoff game in the last 5 consecutive seasons the Bills have made it to the post-season. The Bills defense on the road give up 33.5 points per game. While at home it’s a different story with 19.8 points per game. The Jaguars could exploit the Bills run defense which has been very leaky this season. The Jags have the history behind them 2-0 all-time versus Bills in playoffs. However history can change as the Bills have much more playoff experience than the Jaguars. I expect Josh Allen to put on his Superman cape, notch his first playoff win on the road, and really change the dynamic of the post-season in the Bills’ favor. No Chiefs in the post-season. I like that it’s the last season for former Jaguar, Gabe Davis, to have his moment. Big Game Gabe will get a touchdown in this one.

OUR PICK: BIILS

NFC

#6.SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (12-5) AT #3.PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (11-6)

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

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Split between both teams in two games

1996 Wild Card game 49ers 14-0 Eagles

2023 NFC Championship Eagles 31-7 49ers

The Eagles are the defending champions from last season and are ready for their first title defense with the 49ers coming to play in cold weather. The interesting match up here is the 49ers offensive mastermind of Kyle Shanahan vs the defensive guru of Vic Fangio of the Eagles. Both teams coming off losses last week. The Eagles had a chance for the number two seed and lost to the Commanders. The Eagles rested their starting quarterback Jalen Hurts. The 49ers had a chance at the NFC West title which the number 1 seed came along with it with Seattle. The Seahawks defense held the 49ers to 3 points in that loss. The 49ers are dealing with multiple injuries which seems like always the case. Brock Purdy will play but suffered a shoulder stinger and hurt his thumb in that loss to Seattle. The Eagles defense will be a problem for the 49ers. Purdy is 4-2 all-time in post-season. Hurts has a 6-3 record all-time. I think the Eagles will be able to get productive yardage from their star running back Saquon Barkley as Seattle gashed the 49ers for multiple big chunks of yardage. I think the Eagles can generate more points on the 49ers defense than San Francisco’s offense on that stout Philly defense which is the key to this Wild Card game. This game will be a low scoring affair. In the end the Eagles’ first title defense is successful in Philadelphia. The 49ers looked like they could have had the number one seed the way they were playing. Those injuries mean that defense will not cut the mustard against this Eagles team.

OUR PICK: EAGLES

AFC

#7.LA CHARGERS (11-6) AT #2.NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (14-3)

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

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Patriots 3-1 Chargers All-time

1961 AFL Championship, Chargers 51-10 Patriots

2007 AFC Divisional, Patriots 24-21 Chargers

2008 AFC Championship, Patriots 21-12 Chargers

2019 AFC Divisional, Patriots 41-28 Chargers

This is an interesting game to pick from with two solid coaches going against each other. Mike Vrabel for the Patriots who has them winning the AFC East snapping the Bills run of the last 5 seasons. They have the number two seed. Then Jim Harbaugh’s second season with the Chargers he has them in the post-season in back to back years. Harbaugh’s first NFL coahing job he took the 49ers all the way to the Superbowl. Vrabel’s first NFL head coaching gig his Titans derailed the team he used to play and head coach for, which was Bill Belichick and the Patriots in 2020. Vrabel has a 3-5 record as head coach in the post-season. While Harbaugh has a 5-4 record as a head coach in the post-season. This is Drake Maye’s first ever post-season start. Justin Herbert is looking for his first playoff win in his career. Is the 3rd time the charm for Herbert? Can the Chargers protect Herbert as their line could be a weakness for the Patriots to exploit? The Chargers defense is very good against the pass. Will the Patriot missiles in the aerial attack turn into scuds?

How will the Chargers do in cold weather? Along with a long flight from the West coast to the East? The Patriots are coming into the post-season winning three in a row and has a chance for the number one seed but Denver won. The Broncos beat the Chargers who took a knee in this game and rested players including Herbert who fractured his hand in week 17. The Chargers could have played for a higher seed in the AFC brackets. Instead they dropped to a seven. Is this what Harbaugh really wanted in this first match up in the AFC? The Patriots had most of this season played a easy schedule. They were perfect on the road, but their 3 losses come at home. Harbaugh may look like a mad genius here. I like the Chargers defense. I think the Chargers offense can get enough points to pull this out on the road and give the AFC conference another shocker in the wild card round.

OUR PICK:CHARGERS

MONDAY NIGHT

AFC

#5.HOUSTON TEXANS (11-5) AT #4.PITTSBURGH STEELERS (10-7)

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

PLAYOFF HISTORY: First ever playoff game between the two teams.

Will Anderson Jr. along with Danielle Hunter means Aaron Rodgers is a dead duck. The Texans can kill the quarterback.

The Texans defense is one of the best or the best unit in the post-season. It took a wide right field goal by the Ravens kicker to get the Steelers the AFC North title and into the dance. The Ravens are another team that comes into the post-season red hot winning 9 straight games. The Steelers have lost six straight playoff games as they have been one and done is their pattern. The difference is Aaron Rodgers is why the Steelers signed him. All the playoff experience. He is 12-10 all-time in the post-season. This may be his last moment in the post-season. If he goes out with a whimper, he will run and hide before coming out of the darkness retreat & hanging up the spikes. The Texans CJ Stroud has a 2-2 record in the post-season. He’s done well in the wild card round. Can the Steelers line protect the old man from being knocked into tomorrow land?

The Steelers will get back Rodgers’ number one receiver DK Metcalf who was suspended two games for punching the fan in Detroit. The Steelers are the fastest team at getting rid of the ball at 2.62 seconds which will keep Rodgers in one piece. I like the Steelers offense being able to get the points they need. The Steelers defense will find ways to get Stroud and that offense to turn over the ball. The Steelers luck continues as they outlast the Texans in the cold in a close one. In like a 21-20 nail biter.

OUR PICK: STEELERS

LAST WEEK’S RECORD: (10-6)

Last week the Lions, Rams, and the Buccaneers laid a turd out there on the field costing me half my losses. Seeing the Ravens come to life in Green Bay was impressive but a loss. The Ravens should start Tyler Huntley this weekend and have him just hand the ball off to King Derrick Henry instead of trying Lamar Jackson. A guy who many by now should be soured on. Josh Allen should have converted the 2 point conversion on the Eagles & then I would have won that match up.

SEASON RECORD:(166-90)

NFL WEEK 18 STRAIGHT PICK-EM

Which villain in the final week of the NFL regular season will cause the most havoc? Will their plots be spoiled by the good? We will trot out the GOOD, BAD AND UGLY for week 18……..

SATURDAY GAMES

CAROLINA PANTHERS (8-8) AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (7-9)

This game is for the dreaded NFC South title. I think most people would rather see the Saints or the Falcons represent this division in the post-season than either of these teams. The Buccaneers have lost 7 out of 8 games. They lost to a bad Dolphins team last week. They lost to this Panthers team two weeks ago. The Panthers have been very good at winning games after coming off a loss. They lost to Seattle last week but hung in there for most of the game until the Seahawks put them away in the second half. Can Baker Mayfield pull out one of those gutty performances and put on the cape? The Buccaneers have more experience in these games. Bryce Young will be facing a blitz at him which will include everything including the kitchen sink. I think Young will falter with the game pressure and the blitz, especially if the Buccaneers stop the running game. I have to bet on Baker coming up big here & then finding a way to knock off a team in the wild card round after this weekend.

OUR PICK:BUCCANEERS

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (13-3) AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (12-4)

This game has a lot riding on it. The winner will get the number 1 seed in the NFC and a first round bye along with the NFC West title. Sam Darnold a few seasons back was the back up for the 49ers starting QB Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy. This game reminds you of the Legion of Boom defense Seattle used to back when these two teams would mix it up being the two superior teams back then in the NFC and in present times. I have to give Seattle the nod at having the better defense. Purdy won a shootout versus Caleb Williams and the Bears last week as the 49ers defense did not look very good. The 49ers have the better offense even though Seattle can score. Seattle is not far off from the 49ers scoring machine. If Darnold has a bad game, I like the 49ers in this one. Let’s remember the Seahawks came close to beating the Rams the first time this season with a 4 interception day from Darnold. I like great defense over great offense as on any day. Seattle will hold on to the number 1 seed with a huge win on the road to get the bye for next week.

OUR PICK: SEAHAWKS

THE SUNDAY TILT

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (6-10) AT ATLANTA FALCONS (7-9)

For the Saints, is this the last time we see aging players like Taysom Hill, Demario Davis and the great Cameron Jordan suiting up for New Orleans? The Saints have marched to their 4th straight victory while the Falcons are flying high winning their 3rd in a row. The Falcons shocked the Rams on Monday night. The Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Slough has been impressive 3 straight games with at least 250 passing yards and zero interceptions. Slough will have to play this one without his number 1 guy, wide receiver Chris Olave, who has a blood clot in his lung. Kirk Cousins is playing better. The Falcons have Drake London getting back to his old self who has a few games in from his injury that sidelined him for weeks. I’d like to see the Saints win this one. This game could go as a coin flip. My gut is telling me Atlanta as Cousins has the big game, delivers the decisive blow, and ends the Saints winning streak.

OUR PICK: FALCONS

TENNESSEE TITANS (3-13) AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (12-4)

Game show question involving Jaguars quarterbacks for 100 dollars. You would think a guy like Trevor Lawrence will have a very easy time rewriting all the Jaguars QB records. Sometimes we find some unique ones. Lawrence has accounted for 35 touchdowns this season. He has thrown 26 and rushed for 9 scores. He needs two more whatever combo he chooses to tie the Jaguars legendary Blake Bortles, who set the franchise record of 37 back in 2015. The Titans have been playing much better down the stretch as Cam Ward is starting to look like a keeper. The Jaguars need a win to win the AFC South. If they do not win, they need Houston to lose to the Colts. The Jaguars have won 7 straight games. They have won the last three meetings against the Titans. This is a division rivalry as both teams dislike each other. It will be close until the Jags pull away in the second half. Lawrence and that Jags offense have been lighting up the scoreboard and I don’t think the Titans will be able to match the score at this time.

OUR PICK: JAGUARS

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (8-8) AT HOUSTON TEXANS (11-5)

This match up has both these teams going into different directions. The Texans have won 8 straight game and need to win this with a Jaguars loss, then they would win the AFC South. If the Texans can accomplish the division title, it would be their 3rd straight. The Colts have imploded losing six straight games in the second half after starting off 8-2. Indiana’s Daniel Jones got hurt. The Colts brought back Phillip Rivers out of retirement and he could not save their season losing all 3 of his starts. The Colts will give their rookie QB his first ever start in the NFL. Riley Leonard, a 6th round draft pick from Duke and Notre Dame, has played in 4 games this season. He has not really done well completing only 54.5% of his passes while tallying up 145 passing yards with two interceptions. The Texans defense is dangerous. Especially for rookie QB’s. I think the Texans will be quick and painless as Houston will put down the Colts like a horse heading to the glue factory after a long race while being a long shot having problems getting out of the gates.

OUR PICK: TEXANS

DALLAS COWBOYS (7-8-1) AT NEW YORK GIANTS (3-13)

This game does not mean much for either team. The Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka got his first NFL win last week versus a bad Raiders team. The Cowboys with a win would not finish the season with a losing record. A Cowboys win would also give them a 5-1 record in their own division. The Giants will be playing all their starters to give the Giants rookie QB Jaxson Dart ending his rookie season on a high note. The Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has something to play for. Coming in he leads the NFL in passing yards. No Dallas QB has ever finished leading the league in passing yardage as Prescott would like to be the first. I can’t see Dart matching Prescott here in scores. Should be a close one. In the end, the Boys get the W.

OUR PICK: COWBOYS

CLEVELAND BROWNS (4-12) AT CINCINNATI BENGALS (6-10)

The Battle of Ohio subplot has the single season sack record on the line. Myles Garrett tied TJ Watt’s and Michael Strahan’s record at 22 sacks but has not been able to get that final notch to be the king of the season. Joe Burrow is one of the guys along with Lamar Jackson Garrett who has sacked the most in his career. I like Garrett getting the record with his 23rd sack on Burrow. Both teams are coming off victories last week. I like the Bengals getting the victory as Burrow will get the last laugh in a big day over the Browns defense to win the battle of Ohio which does not really mean much these days.

OUR PICK: BENGALS

GREEN BAY PACKERS (9-7) AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS (8-8)

The Packers have already locked up the number 7 seed in the post season. This last game does not mean anything for them as they can’t move up and better themselves with a win. A Vikings win would give them a winning record for the season. Former Houston University and Arizona Cardinals draft pick Clayton Tune will get his second career start. He’s a QB that has not been tuned in so far in his career. In 14 games with one start which he lost, he is only completing 55.65 of his passes. He has tallied up only 78 passing yards and has thrown 3 interceptions. JJ McCarthy will start at QB for the Vikings. His number one wide receiver Justin Jefferson is 53 yards shy of 1,000 receiving yards. The Packers will rest many of their starters. The Vikings defense will play the great Clayton Tune that will turn into a folk song somewhere on the ice in Minnesota waters while ice fishing.

OUR PICK: VIKINGS

DETROIT LIONS (8-8) AT CHICAGO BEARS (11-5)

How would you like to be a Lions fan right now? The Lions have lost three straight games and will not be making it to the post-season. Your division rival poached your talented offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and now he has the Bears in post-season and with a chance to get the two seed in the NFC. In week 2 the Lions blew the doors off the Bears defense in 52-21 massacre. Last week Detroit laid a turd on the field as Jared Goff had his worst game as a Lion. The Lions lost to a rookie quarterback making his second start versus the Vikings. The Bears hung with one of the cream of the crop teams in the NFC, the 49ers. Johnson has created the best QB in Bears history as Caleb Williams needs 270 passing yards to be the first Bears QB to ever reach 4,000 passing yards. The Lions are dead in the water thinking about their off-season plans. Playing outside with the Bears will not help get them tuned into this game. Johnson will execute a nice game plan for his team to win this one, and I think the Bears will feast off Goff as his turnover problem will linger into this contest.

OUR PICK BEARS

ARIZONA CARDINALS (3-13) AT LA RAMS (11-5)

The Rams are playing their starters in this one. They are playing for seeding. If they win week 18 with help from Seattle beating the 49ers, they would get the 5th seed. If Rams lose and the 49ers lose versus Seattle, then they would get the 6th seed. The Rams have lost two straight games. Most of the season everyone was talking about Matthew Stafford as MVP. He laid an egg on Monday night versus the Falcons throwing three interceptions. The Rams want to get the bad taste out of their mouths and go into the post-season on a high note. The Cards will help with that as they have lost 8 straight games. They have no division wins this season. The Cards defense has been horrible. They will play the role being that girl that helps men after break ups. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am.

OUR PICK: RAMS

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (6-10) AT (2-14) LAS VEGAS RAIDERS

Raiders vs Chiefs is one of the best rivalries in the NFL. Coming into this one both teams combined have lost their last 15 games. This could be Travis Swift’s last game as a Chief. This could be the last game of his NFL career. Can you imagine no more Taylor Swift sightings? No more bone-headed responses in interviews by the Meathead Kelce. The silver and black fans can have a week without watching Geno Smith as their quarterback. The Raiders will give Kenny Pickett playing time as he was 0-1 in the only start he had this season. However, they get back their 3rd year guy Aidan O’Connell who has been out most of the year with a wrist injury. He will get playing time and could be the X-factor in this match up. O’Connell has a 7-10 career record in two seasons as starter in the NFL. The Chiefs without Patrick Mahomes will roll with Chris Oladokun who lost his only start of his career vs Denver last week as he tallied up only 66 passing yards in that one. The Chiefs should just let the Raiders win to knock them out of the running for the number one draft pick while improving their own draft status. This game will be an ugly one. The Chiefs in their last 4 games had had either 1 touchdown or zero touchdowns. I like the Raiders in this one especially O’Connell showing me he is the best available QB still standing on both teams. COYOTE UGLY SPECIAL!!!

OUR PICK: RAIDERS

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (4-12) AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (11-5)

The Eagles gave the Commanders a beat down two weeks ago.

I suspect we will see another beat down here. The Eagles have something to play for. They need a win and a Bears loss to take the number two seed in the NFC. However the Eagles will be resting some of their guys like their quarterback Jalen Hurts. The Commanders will be without 11 projected starters in this one as veteran Josh Johnson will get another start behind center for Washington. He has only 1 career win in the NFL which goes way back to the 2018 season where he suited up at that time for the Washington Redskins. The Eagles will give 25 year old Tanner McKee his second start in his NFL career. He was drafted by the Eagles in the 6th round from Stanford back in 2023. In 5 games so far in his NFL career, he has completed 68.8% of his passes and thrown 4 touchdown passes with no interceptions. He won his first career start in the NFL and should have no problem against a bad defense Washington has. Maybe this one will not be a beatdown. The result will end up in a Eagles win.

OUR PICK: EAGLES

LA CHARGERS (11-5) AT DENVER BRONCOS (13-3)

The Chargers don’t care about this game versus the Broncos. That’s why they will start Trey Lance in this one and rest Justin Herbert who has been dealing with an ongoing wrist injury. The Chargers have a wild card and don’t care if they drop in the seedings. They want to do their best to be healthy in the post-season whoever they face. The Broncos have something to play for. A win means they will clinch the number one seed in the AFC Conference. Lance, the former North Dakota State Bison, has 5 NFL starts and has won two of them. He has completed 56.4% of his passes while throwing 5 touchdown passes to 4 interceptions in 15 total games. The Broncos got a kneel down last year versus the Chiefs in the last week to win the game that got them in the post-season. They will get another easy kneel down game from the Chargers that will give them the top seed in the tournament.

OUR PICK: BRONCOS

MIAMI DOLPHINS (7-9) AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (13-3)

The Patriots are beating up women and their opponents this season. Two Patriots that may be charged with a felony starting with wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who beat up his chef and did not pay the bill for her cooking. Then defensive lineman Christian Barmore beating up his girlfriend which is the first time this happened. The Evil Empire is going down the same road as the last dynasty. The visiting Dolphins will probably turn into freeze pops playing in the cold here. Quinn Ewers was impressive for the Dolphins last week vs the Buccaneers in his second career start as he is 14-22 for 172 passing yards and threw two touchdown passes. The Patriots do have a shot in a way at the number 1 seed. The Chargers are giving the Broncos the grand prize pretty much laying down in that game. I think the Cons will prevail over the Dolphins in this one. Miami will make it interesting, but will eventually think about getting back to the palm trees in Florida as the cold will doom them once again.

OUR PICK: PATRIOTS

NEW YORK JETS (3-13) AT BUFFALO BILLS (11-5)

This will be the last regular season game at Highmark Stadium for the Buffalo Bills. It has had multiple names and opened up back in 1973. The Bills will wear the old 1990’s helmet that Jim Kelly wore when he led those great teams to 4 straight Superbowls. The Jets come in projected to get the number two draft pick. The rookie Brady Cook will get his 4th start for the Jets. The Bills come in as the 7th seed as they took a tumble with the loss to the Eagles last weekend. They could improve their status if they win this game, and the Chargers lose, and even the Texans lose. It would mean they could jump two spots by the end of the weekend. Will Josh Allen play as he’s dealing with a lower leg issue? The Bills could probably beat the Jets with their back up quarterback Mitch Trubisky. I can see Allen playing some of this game to get the Bills off to a solid start and end the old stadium in regular season on a high note. James Cook is going for a rushing title. The Jets’ Cook has not been stellar so far in his 3 starts. The Bills defense played very well in the second half versus the Eagles last week. I think we will see them do the same thing in this one and give Cook a bad day at the office as the Bills’ Cook will do most of the cooking this weekend.

OUR PICK: BILLS

THE SUNDAY NIGHT GAME

BALTIMORE RAVENS (8-8) AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS (9-7)

What will hurt each teams’ chances of winning this last game of the year for all of the marbles? Yes, the winner goes to the playoffs while loser goes home. The AFC North is at stake. The Steelers really missed their number one wide receiver last week as DK Metcalf was suspended two games for punching a Lions fan a few weeks back. For the Ravens, if Lamar Jackson gets the nod behind center will his back up hold up? The Ravens played one of their best games last week with their back up QB Tyler Huntley feeding the ball to his beast running back, Derrick Henry. The Steelers looked like they cared more about preventing Myles Garrett getting the sack record than the overall game versus the Browns. The Steelers won the first meeting a few weeks back. Can Aaron Rodgers be that guy and take the Steelers to the post-season? The Steelers will have TJ Watt back in the fold. I think Jackson will blow over like a house of cards. Rodgers will have a gritty performance. The Steelers defense will contain Henry for the win and the AFC North title.

OUR PICK: STEELERS