There were some excellent NFL Playoff games during the Divisional Round last weekend, but the biggest story seemed to be the perceived officiating bias benefiting the Kansas City Chiefs.

The perception that the league and its officials intentionally benefit the Chiefs has been going around for a while among fans of the game during the Chiefs’ successful run that has seen the team in seven consecutive AFC Championship Games.

This is the kind of thing that you’ll often see among sports fans when a team is on a significant run—we’re seeing it right now in baseball with fans claiming the Los Angeles Dodgers are ruining or breaking baseball with their free agent signings, despite the fact that the Dodgers have only won two championships in the last 30 years.

Sports fans tire of dynasties quickly and sometimes refuse to give credit where it’s due for a team’s success. Critics of the New England Patriots dynasty were/and still are quick to bring up things like Spygate and Deflategate for that team’s success. Since the Chiefs haven’t had any real scandals, fans must make up their own and have come up with the idea that the team benefits from rigged or at least biased officiating, especially when it comes to plays involving its star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.

But if you simply look at the facts, which are easy to do in the world of sports, because sports keep statistics for damn near anything, you’d see this isn’t the case.

According to The 33rd Team, the Chiefs have gotten the least amount of help from NFL officials since Mahomes became the team’s starting quarterback in 2018.

Since 2018, the Chiefs have ranked first in total penalty yards, meaning the team has literally had more penalties called on it than any other team in the league. The team ranks 21st (of 32) in total penalty margin. It’s dead last (32nd) in offensive penalties committed and 31st in defensive penalties committed.

If you want to shorten the sample size, as Sharp Football Analysis did, and go back to 2021, the Chiefs have had fewer penalties than their opponent in 52.9% of games – so not outrageously in the majority. That number has been more lopsided in the postseason. In 11 postseason games since 2021, the Chiefs have only had more penalties than their opponent once. But wouldn’t you expect a team in the postseason year-in-and-year-out and with three of the last five Super Bowl titles to be, I don’t know, the better team when it comes to penalties?

According to the Associated Press, the Chiefs have been penalized 147 more yards over the last three seasons than their opponents, including the postseason.

Do you think the team gets preferential treatment in the game's biggest moments? The AP also shows this hasn’t been true. During Mahomes’ tenure as QB, the Chiefs have the seventh-worst penalty differential in the fourth quarter and overtime in the league. They have also received 20 fewer first downs via penalty than their opponents in the second half of games in that span.

Then there are the people complaining about how Mahomes can’t be touched without the defensive team receiving a roughing the passer penalty, which happened twice in the Divisional Round last weekend against the Houston Texans (and both were explained by the league afterward).

When it comes to roughing the passer calls on quarterbacks per 100 pass attempts, a stat I didn’t realize was tracked until this week, Mahomes only has the seventh-highest percentage among active NFL starting quarterbacks. Statistically, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (who will face the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday) receives the most roughing-the-passer calls against him. Both Mahomes and Allen started their careers as starting QBs in 2018. Allen has had 38 roughing-the-passer calls on hits on him. Mahomes has had 31.   

The problem is that people don’t care about facts these days. They care about perception, groupthink, what memes say and what they believe in their minds. They don’t want to do research or read articles about it. They want to cry, “The league is rigged! The refs are on the Chiefs’ payroll!”

If you want to think NFL officials give the Chiefs preferential treatment, go ahead. Just know it’s all in your head.

JS: The Kansas City Chiefs are on their way to the team's seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game, the second most in NFL history, following the 23-14 win against the Houston Texans on Saturday. The Chiefs completely took that game over in the fourth quarter but it seems all anybody wanted to do after the game was talk about the officials having a pro-Chiefs bias. Do you think there's anything to this, or is it just the biggest conspiracy theory in sports at the moment?
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EF: The officiating for this game and the late game last night was not good. The two calls against the Texans, you can probably say one of them for sure, were incorrect, and if there was a better replay system for questionable calls, I don't think it would have changed the final score, but at least it was human error. There is a conspiracy theory because people are tired of the Chiefs winning.

JS: Exactly. There is no actual bias - prove it if there is. You can't. It's just that fans get tired of great teams, and they make excuses as to why they're winning. The officials didn't get C.J. Stroud sacked eight times, and they weren't the reason Ka'imi Fairbairn couldn't put the ball through the uprights. That's why the Texans lost. I'm so over this dumb conspiracy theory. What should've been the big story of the Chiefs/Texans game?

EF: How good the Chiefs defense is. They sacked C.J. Stroud eight times and held Houston to 12 points. Yes, the Texans scored a meaningless safety, but after what Houston did last week, I thought Kansas City's defense was excellent.

JS: The second game on Saturday provided perhaps the biggest surprise of the NFL Playoffs thus far, with the Washington Commanders taking out the NFC's top-seeded Detroit Lions with a high-scoring 45-31 victory. How surprising was this?

EF: Very surprising performance by both teams. First for the Commanders, WOW! 45 points on the road in a short week. One of the most impressive performances by a team I can remember in recent years. Jayden Daniels is amazing. He is the next great one. The Commanders defense was excellent. Forcing five turnovers.

JS: How does Detroit look at this season? Is it a failure?

EF: It is a failure with all the high expectations coming into the season. They won 15 games, which is great, but they had many injuries, including losing Aidan Hutchinson for most of the season. Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn will likely get head coaching jobs very soon [Ben Johnson has since been hired by the Chicago Bears]. It will be a very interesting off season in Detroit.

JS: Saquon Barkley absolutely owns the Los Angeles Rams. 200-plus yards and two touchdowns against them in the regular season and 200-plus yards and two touchdowns against them in snowy conditions in the playoffs. For weeks, I’ve heard nothing but Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen for the NFL MVP. Saquon Barkley ran for over 2,000 yards this year and dominates the game. How is he not even in the conversation?

EF: If I could vote for NFL MVP, I would pick Saquon Barkley. Think about it: he went to an already good division rival, from the Giants to the Eagles, and made the Eagles better than they were last year, maybe better than what they were two years ago.

JS: The Rams still had a shot at this game in the end. What went wrong?

EF: They could not make the big plays when they had the chance. It was a valiant effort to make it a game late, but they needed someone to make one more play.

JS: The biggest divisional round matchup was the Buffalo Bills vs. the Baltimore Ravens. The game lived up to the hype coming down toward the end. And I hate to put too much on one athlete but it kinda felt like with his big fumble (only the second of his career) and dropping the 2-point conversion attempt that would’ve tied the game late that Mark Andrews blew the game for Baltimore.

EF: I agree with you. Both of us had a hard time picking this game. It was such a classic that lived up to the hype as you said. It is a bummer that one of these team's seasons was going to end tonight. It was the Ravens' season that ended. Mark Andrews lost the game but the Ravens had three turnovers and the Bills did not. Josh Allen's stats do not wow you, but still he did not have a turnover in the game.

JS: And so the Bills get to face the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game for the fourth time in the last five years and they have fallen to the Chiefs every time. Will the Bills fall to Kansas City again or is it finally their year?

EF: The Bills probably are the most confident when it comes to playing Kansas City because they have beaten them before. However, the Chiefs have won all the most important matchups of the season. It is hard for me to finally think Buffalo is going to win this game. But Kansas City really wants to win this three peat. I think we are going to see history this year.

JS: I think this is the year the Bills get it done. They're the only team to truly beat the Chiefs all season, given that the loss to the Broncos at season's end was a gimme with KC resting starters. KC has played so many close games this year and put teams away late. I just don't think you can do that against the Bills. I feel like we'll see bigger numbers from Bills quarterback Josh Allen than we did in the team's win over the Ravens. I've said before I can't pick against the Chiefs until I see them get beat but I'm going against that this time. Bills take this one in an attempt to when the franchise's first Super Bowl. That game is Sunday, January 25 at 5:30 p.m. (CST) on CBS.

The NFC Championship game, which is Sunday, January 25 at 2 p.m. (CST) on Fox will be the inner-division matchup of NFC East rivals Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders in Philly. It'll be the third matchup of these teams this season. They've split the regular season series 1-1. The Eagles won 26-18 in week 11 in Philly. The Commanders won 36-33 in week 16 in Washington. How do you see the third meeting playing out?

EF: Should be another close game between these two division rivals. I love the season the Commanders are having. No matter what happens in this game, they deserve a round of applause for a great season. New ownership, new front office, new head coach, and new quarterback. This is not the same Washington team we have seen for decades. It is a new leaf and we all love to see it. Having said that, I think Philly has been on a mission to get back to where they belong. Last year left a bitter taste in their mouth and getting Saquon Barkley was the start. I think the Eagles will take this one in a close but fun game.

JS: Yes, Washington has already clinched a great season no matter what happens the rest of the way. Few, if any, expected they'd be this good and go this far this season and here they are. I think it'll be a close game, but I agree with you that the Eagles will pull it out and make their second Super Bowl appearance in three years. This team is better than the one that narrowly lost to the Chiefs in 2023. Saquon Barkley looks like a man on a mission and I wouldn't want to be a defense tasked with trying to stop him at the moment.

​We are now down to the College Football Playoff Championship Game to conclude the 2024 season. Many people thought either Ohio State or Notre Dame would be in the game coming into the season. However, no one would have seen it coming by how they arrived. Neither team was ranked in the top five at the start of the playoffs. Both teams had shocking losses to unraked teams at home during the season. Neither team played in their conference championship game (Notre Dame is independent). However, for one of these teams, the season will end by becoming a national champion.

Let's start by talking about offense for both teams.

The Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish each have transfer quarterbacks in Will Howard (Ohio State) and Riley Leonard (Notre Dame). Each played well and overcame a lot of pressure from their fan bases this season. The key to the game will be who is able to make the biggest play and also who makes fewer mistakes.

You have Jeremiyah Love for Notre Dame against Ohio State's dynamic duo of Treyveon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins at the running back position. I think the Irish defense will have a tough time against the running duo for Ohio State. 

In the wide receiver spot, the Buckeyes have a talented freshman in Jeremiah Smith, who looks like he will be the next great wide receiver once he turns pro. I think Ohio State has too many offensive weapons for Notre Dame to stop. I am giving the Buckeyes the edge on offense.

Defense will be a massive factor in this matchup.

I like Ohio State's defense, led by defensive end Jack Sawyer, who is the leader on the team. He led the Buckeyes in tackles and made a key play in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl against Texas to clinch the title game for the Buckeyes. Also, Ohio State will have JT Tuimoloau, a fantastic linebacker, and Alabama transfer Caleb Downs, the leader in the defensive backfield. For Notre Dame, look for Rylee Mills, who led the defense in sacks (7.5) and tackles for loss (8.5). In the defensive backfield, Jack Kiser (85) and Xavier Watts (75) are the two leading tacklers for the Irish. The biggest thing for me is who can make that extra play on defense that can help their team win the game. I believe Ohio State will play the better defense of the two.

Special teams will play a key role in this game too.

Mitch Jeter for Notre Dame has struggled for much of the season but has kicked well recently. Ohio State's Jayden Fielding has the better field goal percentage of the two, at 73%. Both kickers will probably make their field goals and extra points, but I will also give the Buckeyes this category.

The coaching matchup in this championship game is excellent. Both Ryan Day (Ohio State) and Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame) are excellent head coaches, and it is good to see that one of them will become a national champion head coach. It has been a while since these two great powerhouses in college have won a national championship. Ohio State has been looking for its first title since 2014 when head coach Urban Meyer led it. Notre Dame has been looking for its first title since 1988 when head coach Lou Holtz led it. I am rooting for Marcus Freeman. The reason is that Freeman is already the first black head coach to lead an FBS team to the national championship, and now he is looking to win it all on what happens to be Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

I am excited about this game. Both teams played well and earned their spot in the championship game. I think Ohio State has more talent on the field, and I think their key players will be the difference in this one, leading them to victory. 

by Eric Fulton & Julian Spivey

*This conversation has been edited for grammar and clarity. ​

Julian Spivey: Let’s discuss some of the NFL Wild Card round games. It’s a new year, new coach, but the Chargers are evidently the same old Chargers based on their loss to the Houston Texans, something neither of us predicted. But are you surprised?

Eric Fulton: I am not surprised the Chargers lost the game, even though I picked them to win. However, I am astonished that they lost by 20 points. Justin Herbert played his worst game of the season. The Chargers' defense kept the team in the game, forcing multiple turnovers, but the Texans played exceptionally well in the second half. I thought CJ Stroud was great. The touchdown Houston scored just before halftime was the game's turning point.

JS: Yeah, Herbert threw more interceptions in this one game (4) than he had thrown all season (3). It’s outrageous. Has Herbert lost the right to be considered a top-tier QB in the league?

EF: I would put Herbert at the top of the second tier as far as quarterbacks. He is not better than the four AFC QBs still playing in the playoffs. He is probably not better than at least four or five QBs in the NFC. So, he is probably anywhere from 10-12. But with Coach Harbaugh on his side, he will get better. I would not sell Herbert's stock just yet.

JS: Well, I can’t believe in that guy until I see him win a playoff game.

EF: To finish your point on Herbert, I believe he will win a playoff game under Jim Harbaugh. The Chargers will improve their team in the offseason. So, we shall see what happens going forward.

JS: The Steelers looked like a dead team walking toward the end of the season, losing four straight. They didn’t have anything for Baltimore in Saturday night’s game. We both predicted the Ravens would win. Did anything surprise you from that game?

EF: No surprise with the Ravens-Steelers game. The message in Pittsburgh is stale and getting old. It is time for a new voice. Mike Tomlin is a good head coach, but he has not coached a winning playoff game in a long time, and the Steelers need a new voice. 

JS: The Bills/Broncos matchup wasn’t much of a game. However, I don’t think many expected it to be. The Broncos were the biggest longshot of the weekend, and though they came out quickly and scored, it was all Broncos the rest of the way. Was there anything about Buffalo’s performance that worries you?

EF: The only concern I have is that their receivers need to step up a little more, but I think they will play much better than they did when they played Baltimore earlier in the season.

JS: I was hoping things would be a bit closer in the NFC Wild Card games, but in the first, the Green Bay Packers just seemed too beat up to really keep up with the Philadelphia Eagles, even though the Eagles didn’t play their best game of the year. What did you think about this game?

EF: I am not surprised that the Eagles won. They are a good team. I will say Green Bay did play well on the defensive part. Jordan Love was not good. He had an elbow injury which did not help him. Saquon Barkley was great. Jalen Hurts is just coming off a concussion, but he should be fine for the next game.

JS: The second game on Sunday was the closest game of the first two days of the playoffs. The Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels went to Tampa Bay and beat the Buccaneers. It’s Washington’s first playoff win in 20 years. Did this surprise you?

EF: This was the hardest game to pick out of all the games because these were two evenly matched-teams. I knew Washington would play better than they did in week one. I am not surprised Washington won the game. I am glad the Commanders are back to being good.

JS: It’s nice that Los Angelenos had something to celebrate and cheer for after such a horrific week of wildfires on Monday night with the Rams’ dominant performance over the Vikings.

EF: I agree with everything you said. Great performance by the Rams all the way around.

JS: The Vikings have to be the worst 14-3 team in NFL history, right?

EF: I don't know if I would say the worst, overrated for sure.

JS: So, who would you give Player of the Week honor to for the Wild Card round?

EF: Lots of choices. Not easy to pick. I know the stats probably don't wow a lot, everyone, but Jayden Daniels is to win his first playoff game on the road for a franchise that has not won a playoff game in a generation. He has instantly put Washington back to the respect category in the NFL.

JS: My answer for Player of the Week is cheating because I'm going with the entire Houston Texans defense. I just did not see them doing to the Chargers what they did. They made Justin Herbert look like the worst QB in the league. Four interceptions! He didn't even throw that many all season.

JS: All right, we've reached the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs. I feel like right now there are five serious contenders to win the Super Bowl: Kansas City, Detroit, Buffalo, Philadelphia and Baltimore. At least one of those teams will go home this week. The first game this weekend will be the Houston Texans (do people in Houston all go to bed at 8 pm? Why are the Texans ALWAYS the early game?) @ the Kansas City Chiefs. That game is on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3:30 p.m. (CST) on ESPN/ABC. Do the Texans have another surprise in them, or do the Chiefs come off the bye week rested and ready for the win?

EF: Houston played well in Kansas City in Week 16. I thought they would have a chance to upset the Chiefs, but it did not happen. I said it many times last year, and I will repeat myself. I will not bet against Kansas City in the playoffs. When Andy Reid has an extra week to prepare with Patrick Mahomes, Travis KelceSa and Chris Jones to rest and prepare their bodies for this grueling and challenging gauntlet in the playoffs, it is tough on the opponent. The Chiefs will be a little rusty out of the gate, but they will come through and rise to the challenge late and pull away with the win.

JS: If there’s any year when the Chiefs look gullible in the postseason, it’s this year, which is wild considering they won 14 games, and one of their two losses was basically given away due to resting players in the final week. They play close, one-possession games nearly every week, it seems and often pull out wins in their final drive. If the Texans let them hang around, I’d fear KC doing it again. And that’s kind of what I expect. KC to keep it close and pull out the W at the end.

JS: The second game on Saturday has the Washington Commanders going to Detroit to play the 15-2 Lions coming off the bye. This game will be at 7pm (CST) on Fox. How do you see it playing out?

EF: This will be a wild, fun game. I believe this will be the first these two teams have played each other in the playoffs since 1991-92. But I am fired up watching this game. I do believe this is going to be a shootout. Washington is going into this with a ton of confidence and momentum. Detroit is coming into this rested but banged up. Both teams will be aggressive and go for it whenever they can. Having home field for the Lions is huge. I like both teams but I am going with the Lions to win a close, fun, exciting game.

JS: Yeah, I’m going to agree with you on everything you said. I think it’ll be a close, fun game and the Commanders may surprise some folks by keeping it close until the end. But the Lions have to pull this one out. A one-and-done playoff appearance in what’s been the team’s greatest season, at least of the Super Bowl era, would be devastating. The Lions win a close one.

JS: The first Divisional Round matchup on Sunday, Jan. 19 sees the Los Angeles Rams traveling to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles. That game will be on NBC at 2 pm (CST) and will be streaming on Peacock. The Eagles beat the Packers rather easily last weekend despite not looking their best. The Rams didn’t have much trouble with the Vikings. How do you see this one playing out?

EF: The Rams' defense has been the story lately. They have played really well lately after giving up over 40 points against the Bills. But I don't know if the Rams' offense can match the play of the Eagles' offense. LA is now just a lot of Stafford/Nakua and not much else, while Philly has Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, and A.J. Brown to go along with a great offensive line. This could be the blowout of the weekend. I have Eagles big in this one.

JS: I’m not sure I’m as sold on it being a blowout as you are. I think the Rams are playing for more than just themselves right now, which might account for something. I still don’t think it’ll lead them to an upset. I don’t know what it is, despite Detroit having the better record. I’ve felt all season that Philly is the team to beat in the NFC. Maybe it’s they have more success in the postseason? But Philly wins against L.A.

JS: The final game of the divisional round is Sunday at 5:30 on CBS/Paramount+ between the visiting Baltimore Ravens and the home team Buffalo Bills. Earlier, I said I felt like five teams could win the Super Bowl and at least one would be eliminated this week. Well, this is that matchup. This is the game of the weekend, no doubt, and I’m struggling to pick who I think will win. Let me hear your pick first and the reasoning, and maybe it’ll sway me.

EF: This game is the hardest pick ever. These are two excellent teams, and it is a shame that they are only meeting for the right to go to the AFC Championship game. It is too hard.

JS: Well, it doesn’t seem like you’re all that ready to make a pick either. I know that the Bills had the better season overall. But the Ravens just seem to have the better squad with their league-leading nine Pro Bowlers. I’m going to take Baltimore on the road in this one.

EF: The Ravens did beat the Bills earlier in the season in Week 4. It was a 35-10 decisive win for Baltimore. I expect this game on Sunday to be much closer than that. The Ravens' defense had some trouble stopping teams earlier in the season, but they have improved greatly, and I think the pressure is more with the home team in this game. Two great quarterbacks. Two great running backs. Strong defenses. What more could you want? So far, the two of us have picked the three home teams. But I am going to agree with you and pick the Ravens to win.

by Eric Fulton
We are down to four teams in the first College Football Playoff in the Football Subdivision (FBS). And the remaining teams are all bedrock teams in college football. Two more common things that the final four teams have are none of the teams won their respective conference, and none were in the top four seeds going into the playoff. While I’m happy that four blue bloods are looking to win the national championship, the surprise is that the top four seeds are already out. I picked Texas, Penn State and Ohio State to win their games in the previous round. Even though Georgia was starting a backup quarterback, I thought they would still find a way to win the Sugar Bowl. Notre Dame was the better team that evening and they move on to the semifinals.
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Now, it is time to look at both matchups. 

​No 7. Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Penn State - Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, Fla.) - Thursday January 9th at 6:30 PM (CST) on ESPN

Notre Dame and Penn State meet in the first semifinal game of the College Football Playoff. Both teams feature a strong running game and a stingy defense. This is shaping up to be a low-scoring affair in which the team who has the ball last with the lead wins the game. Quarterback play will be critical in this game. Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard and Penn State’s Drew Allar are not the top quarterbacks in college football, but they can be effective when they work with the lead. What I do love most about the game is the coaching matchup. Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Penn State’s James Franklin have succeeded during their South Bend and Happy Valley tenures. Now, one of them will guarantee themselves to coach in the National Championship game on January 20th, in which if they win the Championship game, they will become the first Black head coach to win the FBS National Championship. It will be a close game, but I am leaning toward Notre Dame advancing to the National Championship game.

No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 5 - Texas Goodyear Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas) – Friday, January 10th at 6:30 PM (CST) on ESPN

The Longhorns and Buckeyes are scheduled to meet on August 30th to kick off the 2025 College Football Season. But first, they will meet for a spot in the National Championship game. This has the potential of being a high-scoring affair at AT&T Stadium. Quarterbacks Will Howard (Ohio State) and Quinn Ewers (Texas) occasionally make mistakes, but when they get things going, many points can be scored. Texas had to come back to beat Arizona State in double overtime in the Peach Bowl. I don't think they have a defense that can stop Ohio State's excellent offense. Meanwhile, Ohio State's defense is playing their best football through the first two games of the playoffs. We've seen Texas' offense struggle against good teams (twice against Georgia). I can see this game going two ways: a shootout or one team dominating from kickoff to the end. Either way, I am going with Ohio State with all of the momentum they have been carrying during this playoff run. 

Julian Spivey: The NFL Playoffs are set!

The postseason begins this weekend with the Wild Card round. The Kansas City Chiefs won the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and the Detroit Lions won the No. 1 seed in the NFC, so they each have byes for this weekend.

The opening round of the playoffs kicks off on Saturday, Jan. 11, with the Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) traveling to Houston to take on the AFC South champion Texans (10-7). The game can be seen on CBS and Paramount+ at 3:30 p.m. (CST).

Eric, who do you give the edge in this matchup?

Eric Fulton: It is a tradition for us to talk about the NFL playoffs in this dialogue. It is also a tradition that the Houston Texans are opening the NFL playoffs. It is always great to talk about the playoffs. I am excited about it. I am unsurprised that the L.A. Chargers are in the playoffs in coach Jim Harbaugh's first year. The Chargers have always had good players but have not been able to put it all together. Maybe it has taken the right coach to get there? I will not say they are my pick to win the Super Bowl. However, they are going in the right direction. This is a good draw for the Chargers in the first round against a reeling Texans team that has lost two of its top wide receivers due to injury. Yes, they won the division, but the AFC South is the worst division in football. With their injuries and the massive target on their backs, I think Houston will lose at home. The last time we saw Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert in the playoffs, he and the Chargers lost a considerable lead. I don't see it happening again. The Chargers are playing with a ton of confidence, and I think the confidence will pay off in this game.

JS: I agree with you. I see the home team going down in the first game of the postseason. The Texans feel like a team that made the playoffs mainly because someone in the AFC South had to. Half their wins came in their own division this year, meaning they were only a 5-6 team outside the division.

The second game on Saturday is one of the greatest rivalries in the NFL - if not the greatest active rivalry - Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens - with the Steelers traveling to Baltimore. The Steelers, a Wild Card, were 10-7 this season. The AFC North champion Ravens were 12-5. These teams have matched up twice already this season, splitting the series. The Steelers won 18-16 in mid-November, and the Ravens won a few weeks back 34-17. The Steelers have been struggling mightily over the last portion of the season after a hot start, losing their last four games of the season. The teams know each other very well, which will help Pittsburgh, but I think Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, running back Derrick Henry and co. will be too much for them to handle. I have Baltimore here. How about you?

EF: I agree with you. The Ravens are the better team in this matchup. Since this is one of the better rivals in the NFL, I believe it will be a battle late until the end. The Steelers will hang around, but I think Jackson and Henry will take over afterward, and the Ravens will pull it out late.

JS: That Steelers/Ravens game is on Prime Video at 7 p.m. (CST). It's the first playoff game to be streamed on Prime Video, I believe.

There are three games on Sunday. The first sees the AFC Wild Card Denver Broncos (10-7), the last team into the playoffs, traveling to Buffalo to take on the AFC East champion Bills (13-4). The game is on CBS and Paramount+ at Noon (CST).

Will this one even be close, Eric?

EF: I think the Broncos will hang in there early, but afterward, I fully expect Buffalo to finish strong and pull ahead to win. The Broncos making the playoffs under rookie quarterback Bo Nix is a great story. It's hard to believe this is Denver's first playoff appearance in nearly a decade. It is good to see them back in the playoffs, but all the pressure in this game is on Buffalo, and I think the Bills will rise to the challenge.

JS: Yeah, this is the game during Wild Card weekend that I think could be in blowout territory. Bills win.
The second game on Sunday will have the NFC Wild Card Green Bay Packers (11-6) go to Philadelphia to take on the NFC East champion Eagles (14-3). That game will be broadcast on Fox at 3:30 p.m. (CST). The Packers had some injuries in the season's final game that might impact this game, including quarterback Jordan Love. Love suffered an elbow injury and had to leave that game. Wide receiver Christian Watson ended his season with a torn ACL. He was the team's third-leading receiver. I think the Eagles were probably going to win this game anyway, but that certainly doesn't help Green Bay.

How do you see this game playing out?

EF: These two teams met in week one in Brazil in a game won by the Eagles. Philadelphia has some injury concerns on its own. Quarterback Jalen Hurts has been dealing with a concussion and missed the last two weeks of the season, but the Eagles didn't need him as they clinched the NFC East. You mentioned the injuries that Green Bay is dealing with, and I think there are some major concerns. The Packers have lost their last two games, and I think that with the returning Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley at full strength for Philly, the Eagles will move on pretty easily.

JS: Yeah, I think the Eagles' only real competition in the NFC will be the Lions.

The final game on Sunday is between the Washington Commanders (12-5) and the NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7) in Tampa. That game will be on NBC and streaming on Peacock at 7 p.m. (CST). The Commanders have been one of the season's pleasant surprises, led by rookie quarter Jayden Daniels, who might have a tight Rookie of the Year vote with Nix of the Broncos. Daniels does have some leg soreness, and you always wonder how a rookie will do in the postseason - it's something you don't often see – but I'm going to take Washington here. It should be a close game.

What do you think?

EF: This is another matchup that happened back in week one. Tampa Bay controlled the game that day. I fully expect Washington to play with a better effort this time around. It was Daniels’ first professional start, and he played OK. For the Bucs, quarterback Baker Mayfield had a career year, and it helps when you have a great receiver like Mike Evans. Bucky Irving is an excellent young running back. This is going to be a shootout and probably going to be the best game of the weekend. This is our first disagreement. I am taking Tampa Bay at home. Daniels is a great story. He likely will win Offensive Rookie of the Year, but the Mayfield-Evans matchup will be enough for the Buccaneers to come out on top.

JS: That leaves us with the Monday Night Football game of Wild Card weekend - aka my least favorite time of the week to watch football. But I digress. This game sees the 14-3 Minnesota Vikings forced to travel to Los Angeles to play the 10-7 Rams, who won the NFC West. That seems wild, but those are the perks of winning your division. I don’t suspect home-field advantage will help the Rams much this week. The Vikings have been the better team all season, and I think they will be this weekend too.

What do you think?

EF: I don't like how the Rams have played down the stretch. Yes, they won the NFC West, but something is off about them. We will have another matchup of teams that met during the regular season. The Rams beat the Rams in Los Angeles on a Thursday night. It’ll be a fairly good game, but Minnesota is the better team. They will be motivated to win this game and possibly get revenge on the Lions should they meet in the divisional round. I will take the Vikings on the road.

JS: Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold will certainly have to look more like he did most of the season than he did on Sunday night with the NFC North on the line.

That game, by the way, is on ESPN Monday at 7 pm (CST).

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was up to his usual bullshit as the NFL’s regular season came to an end on Sunday (Jan. 5) with the Cowboys playing the Washington Commanders in a meaningless game for both teams. The Cowboys had already been eliminated from the postseason, and the Commanders had wrapped up an NFC Wild Card berth.

It wasn’t a meaningless game for Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush, though. Rush, who took the quarterback position over earlier in the season when starting QB Dak Prescott went down with an injury, had a stipulation in his contract that he would receive $500,000 in incentives if he played 55 percent of the Cowboys offensive snaps this season.

Going into Sunday’s game, Rush had played 52.5 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. Had he played most of the game, he likely would’ve eclipsed the 55 percent mark. He had already earned an extra $250,000 for reaching the 45 percent mark.

Rush had played in 12 games this season and started eight following Prescott’s season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9. There was no reason to believe Rush wouldn’t be the starter for the season's final game. But come Sunday, he was benched in favor of his backup, the team’s original third-string QB, Trey Lance — the same Lance who threw seven passes all season in mop-up duty at the end of two blowouts.

There’s little doubt as to why this change took place at quarterback. The Cowboys and Jones found a way to save themselves $250,000.

Yes, Jones, who’s worth a reported $16.1 billion, according to Forbes, apparently became the billionaire he is by being a cheap bastard. His team, valued as the most valuable sports franchise in the world at $5 billion by Forbes, apparently felt the need to save that minuscule amount when in the grand scheme of what it’s worth.

The worst part of it all is the lying bullshit Jones told reporters after the game on Sunday when asked about Rush’s contract incentives.

“I didn’t even know about it,” Jones said. “I didn’t even know about it until I read about it, so nothing at all.”

Does anybody believe this?

Keep in mind that Jones isn’t merely the owner of the Cowboys. He’s also the team’s general manager. It would seem incredibly unlikely for a general manager not to know the terms of a contract for one of the team’s players, as among the duties of a GM are managing free agent transactions, contract negotiations and team finances.

So, not only does Jones and the Cowboys look cheap by intentionally keeping a player from a bonus, but Jones also comes off as a liar, or at least someone ignorant of things he should be knowledgeable about.

Maybe Jones can spend the offseason reviewing the ins and outs of the team’s contracts and finances. He’s going to have all this extra time, after all.  

According to Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, running back Saquon Barkley is one of the Philadelphia Eagles starting players listed as doubtful for Sunday’s regular-season finale against the New York Giants.

The Eagles (13-3) have already clinched the NFC East and the No. 2 seed in the conference and have little to nothing to play for in the season finale.

Barkley, however, did have something to play for. He is 101 yards shy of breaking the NFL single-season rushing record, set by Eric Dickerson with the Los Angeles Rams in 1984.
Sirianni told the press: “It wasn’t the easiest decision to go through.”

It’s likely a tough decision for Barkley, but it's wise for the organization to ensure the health of its best player going into a postseason in which the team has a good chance of winning the second Super Bowl in franchise history.  

I’m thankful the Eagles have made this decision because the idea of Barkley breaking Dickerson’s record in one extra game—the league now plays 17 games a season, compared to the 16 in Dickerson’s era—didn’t sit well with me.

I hate to be that curmudgeon, but I prefer things to be fair and equal, and having an extra game to accomplish something doesn’t fit those parameters. It’s not Barkley’s fault, but it doesn’t mean I have to sit back and root for the record to be broken.

Many will tell you that records are meant to be broken, and I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment when things are equal. But I believe in the sanctity of sports records and Barkley breaking the record, which he very likely would do if he played on Sunday – he’s averaged 125 yards per game this season, and the Giants are one of the worst teams in the league – wouldn’t feel much like a record merely an athlete who benefited from a different set of rules.

Barkley’s 2,005 yards and eighth place all-time in a single season in NFL history feels like his rightful place.

I know everybody reading this is thinking: “O.J. Simpson rushed for 2,003 yards in a 14-game season in 1973.” Yes, and that’s a valid point. If you want to claim that Simpson is the true single-season rushing king, I don’t know that I have much of a leg to stand on in arguing against it.

My biggest issue is with the NFL and other sports leagues. The changes they make for money or to build an audience have major impacts on the history of sports. Because of this, records could become extinct in pro sports. Eventually, all NFL records will likely be broken because of the extra games players today and in the future will have over those in the past.

And the NFL isn’t even the most significant issue. Other sports, like Major League Baseball and the NBA, are considering the prospect of shortening seasons, ensuring that no single-season records are ever broken again (and would make career records hard to achieve).

Times change. There’s no denying that. But one of the most incredible things about sports is being able to watch the pursuit of records – both in a single season and all-time. I worry that those times are coming to an end. So, for now, I’ll be glad to see Dickerson hold on to one of the most outstanding records in sports for at least another year.