Ohio State Wins National Championship

Ohio State repeated history winning another inaugural playoff bracket, only this time outlasting 12 teams instead of 4. The Buckeyes fielded one of the best rosters in college football all season were seemingly written off after a huge upset loss to the Michigan Wolverines. I myself thought they may lose to Tennesse and surely the #1 seed, Oregon. However, all the returning seniors made sure to leave their lasting mark by shining brightest when it mattered most. People, including myself, must give credit where credit is due, Ryan Day is a championship level head coach and will be for a long time going forward.

Deion Sanders to Cowboys?

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has reportedly spoken with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones regarding their head coaching vacancy and while this would certainly bring some juice, I’m not sure if it is the right fit. Sanders has only coached at small programs – an HBCU in Jackson State and an irrelevant program (until 2 years ago) – the University of Colorado. Sanders is also known for his bring personality and many wonder if that will clash with the ego of owner and general manager, Jerry Jones. Adding Sanders would be a great way to get everyone excited and talking about the Cowboys, I’m not sure if that translates to wins.

Vikings Season Ends Abruptly

Just two weeks ago, Sam Darnold was being doused in water by teammates as they celebrated him for throwing for 370+ yards against the Packers. A week later, the Vikings would be blown out by the Lions and were slotted into the #5 seed in the NFC. A week later, the Vikings were again blown out, this time by the Los Angeles Rams and were eliminated from the playoffs. A remarkable season for the Vikings was led by the resurgence of Sam Darnold, who many thought was be relegated to a career back up. Darnold, who was on the verge of receiving a Tier 1 quarterback contract, will now most likely get a Tier 2 quarterback contract.

Chargers Fall Apart to Texans

Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers’ season has come to an end at the hands of the depleted Houston Texans in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs. The Chargers lost 32-12 with Justin Herbert throwing 4 interception – more than he had all season. Most thought the Chargers would be able to roll to a big win with how the Texans have been playing and their lack of receiving help, yet the multiple turnovers did not yield that result. Justin Herbert has been compared to the top NFL quarterbacks consistently yet, he has not made an AFC championship, has not won an MVP, nor even won a playoff game. He cannot be elevated to the class of Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, and Jackson until he completes at least one of those feats.

Fighting Irish Fight Back to Advance to Championship

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have silenced many of their doubters who said they couldn’t win a playoff game by securing their spot in the National Championship game on January 20th. The Irish, who were down 10 points in the 2nd quarter rallied back to tie the game 10-10 before going touchdown for touchdown with Penn State. With just 30 seconds remaining in the game, Drew Allar made the cardinal sin of throwing over the middle, and the ball was intercepted by Notre Dame. The Irish capitalized on their field position and kicked the game winning field goal with just seconds remaining. With the loss to Notre Dame, Penn State and James Franklin once again lose to elite, top 10 teams, and they must be asking how are we going to get over this hurdle.

Falcons Have Seventh Consecutive Losing Season

The Atlanta Falcons have missed the playoffs and finished with more losses than wins for the seventh straight year in a row. While they had little chance to make the playoffs, most thought the Falcons would at least finish the season with a win over the dreadful Carolina Panthers. Instead, the Panthers scored 44 points and won in overtime. The offense played well enough scoring 38, yet when the offense is doing well, the defense isn’t, and vice versa. Between the number of coaches, quarterbacks, and players who have been with the team throughout the last seven seasons, the one consistency has been ownership and perhaps that needs to change.

Falcons Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

The Atlanta Falcons won an ugly game over the now 2-12 Las Vegas Raiders, intercepting the Raiders last chance Hail Mary. It should never have even been a chance for that to happen, but the Falcons finally get back in the win column after losing their last four games and Kirk Cousins finally threw a touchdown pass albeit throwing another interception as well. Cousins, who is coming off an Achilles injury from last year, has not looked like himself at all his season and it must be asked whether there is something still nagging him from the injury or if he’s just showing his age at 36. The Falcons need to win out their next three games – all of which are winnable, while hoping that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can drop one of their next three. Help the Falcons out, Cowboys!

Bills Should be Super Bowl Favorites

Yesterday’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions might very well be a preview of this year’s upcoming Super Bowl. While the Lions may have been considered favorites all season long, after yesterday, that title should belong to the Bills. Josh Allen has now scored 10 total touchdowns in his last two games and the Bills have scored 30+ points in their last eight games. The Bills will most likely be the 2nd seed going into the AFC playoffs and I think this is year they get over that hump of the Kansas City Chiefs and advance to the Super Bowl. Much of their success needs to be attributed to the fact that Josh Allen has really cleaned up his turnovers and now is just playing with the raw talent we all know he possesses.

Rams Getting Hot at Right Time

The Los Angeles Rams followed up their 44 point performance last week by only scoring 12 points last night, yet both games yielded the same outcome – a victory. In a game which could possibly decide the NFC West, the Rams scraped the falling San Francisco 49ers, by kicking more field goals. The 49ers have looked out of sync all season and seem to be on their last legs trying to do anything to get to the playoffs. The Rams on the other hand, started out the season 1-4 and now sit at 8-6. Matthew Stafford, who may just be the best quarterback in the NFC, is hitting his stride and has started playing some of his best football of the season as all his receivers and running backs are finally healthy. If there is a sleeper team that can win the Super Bowl, it would be the Los Angeles Rams.

College Football Playoff Flawed

The inaugural 12 team College Football playoff has been released and to say it has some kinks that need to be worked out is an underestimate. The first big issue is that the number one seed, Oregon, has arguably the hardest path to the finals. They would have to play either Ohio State and Tennessee and then most likely Texas. It seems wrong to that the number one team is not rewarded by matching up against a more favorable matchup like their opponent in Big 10 Championship, who they beat, Penn State. Penn State gets a home game against a lucky story team in SMU and then plays Boise State on a neutral field. So, at the very least Penn State will be in the semifinals. The third biggest issue is that a non-conference schedule does not seem to matter anymore as evidenced by teams playing an easy schedule, getting 11 wins and then being fielded into the playoffs. Hopefully these problems will be noted and fixed next year.

Lions Secure Playoff Berth

The Detroit Lions won a thrilling game with a walk off field goal against the Green Bay Packers last night. The Lions have now won 11 straight games and are once again headed the playoffs. They will most likely hold on to be the #1 seed in the NFC and have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Packers on the other hand played much better and closer than their first encounter with the Lions earlier this season. The Packers now sit at 9-4 but should still finish the season as a wild card team and will be a tough out in the playoffs. Throw in the Minnesota Vikings who will also be in the wild card spots and you may have to say that the NFC North is the best division in football.

Another Year, Another Missed Playoffs

The Aaron Rodgers Jets signing has been anything but a success – from missing all of last season with an injury to now sitting at 3-8 and no playoffs in sight. Yesterday, the Jets parted ways with their general manager, who just like their former head coach, was let go a little earlier than expected. There are now reports swirling that Jets owner, Woody Johnson, wanted to bench Aaron Rodgers after Week 4. With multiple players just wanting to finish out these next 6 games and get to the offseason, everyone must be wondering what and who this team will be in 2025.

Cowboys Season Is Over

The slim hopes that the Dallas Cowboys would be able to somehow make a playoff run are all but over. They are the only team in the NFL without a win at home this year and have trailed by 20 or more points in all their home games. However, should anyone have expected a run from this team this year? They have no running game at all, only one trustable pass catcher, and a bad defense. You mix in a coach who is on the hot seat and an owner who is more interested in making more revenue than wins and you end up with a bad team all around. Once again it seems the lights are too bright for America’s Team.

Bengals Lose Close Again

What seems to be becoming a trend for the Cincinnati Bengals reared it’s ugly head again as the Bengals completed the comeback only to fall short to the Los Angeles Chargers in another closely contested one possession game. Joe Burrow, who is having his best year statistically, threw for over 350 yards and 3 touchdowns and brought life back to the Bengals in the second half. Unfortunately, his kicker missed two field goals in the 4th quarter which would have put the Bengals ahead. It is disappointing to the see the Bengals wasting one of Burrow’s prime seasons, yet as a Falcons fan, this reminds me all too much of many of Matt Ryan’s later seasons.

Dolphins Poised for Playoff Run?

It may be a one score game, but the Miami Dolphins shut down the high-flying Rams offense all of last night. The Los Angeles Rams were held without a touchdown for the first time in two years and could not protect quarterback Matthew Stafford from the Dolphins pass rush. The Rams, who were on a three game win streak and had not allowed any sacks in the last few games, seemed like they would be able to keep pace with the 49ers and Cardinals in their division, but are now in third place. The Dolphins, who sit at 3-6, would most likely be favored in 5 of their next 8 games, but will even if they win those, would that be enough to secure a Wild Card playoff spot?

Ole Miss Upset Georgia

If you watched Ole Miss’s first drive of the game, you’d think that Georgia was about to blow them out. And the rest of the game occurred. On a wet and rainy day in Oxford, MS, The Georgia Bulldogs could do absolutely nothing on offense for the entire game. They cannot run the ball and the receivers either drop ball or Carson Beck does not have enough time to make the throws. The Ole Miss defensive line looked like what the Bulldogs used to be. The defense once again kept us in the game, holding the Rebels to several field goals, yet the Georgia offense could not score any points to break into their lead. In a year which began with title aspirations, it seems as though almost every single offensive position has regressed and become a shell of what it was the last three years just as the team now has two losses this season, the same as the last three years.

Chiefs Win Streak Hits 8

It wasn’t as high scoring as when they played in college, but last night’s game between Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes had just as much drama. The Buccaneers drove 70 yards to tie the game and as a shock to many played for overtime and kicked the extra point. They would lose the end coin toss and Mahomes and the Chiefs scored the game winning touchdown on their opening drive. I believe that the Buccaneers made a huge mistake by kicking the extra point instead of attempting a two point conversion and going for the win. The Bucs are down their top two receivers and have just driven it down the field against the reigning two-time Super Bowl champions. This is not where you try to play for overtime and hope for a stop – this is where you roll the dice and try to run out with a win. The Bucs are now two games behind the division leading Falcons and could fall even more with a touugh slate of upcoming games.

Dawgs Win Dog Fight

The #2 ranked Georgia Bulldogs won a slugfest with Florida 34-20. While the score may indicate a strong performance, the actual gameplay would suggest anything but that. Carson Beck struggled again throwing 3 interceptions with all the throws being made into heavy defensive coverage. UGA has been struggling to run all the ball all season, thus forcing the offense to become more pass oriented. However, this allows defenses to be able rush on more downs and sit back in coverage more. The UGA defense continues to be the difference maker as they kept us in and won us another game, the offense must be able to match that level if the want to win multiple games in January.

J-E-T-S Get W-W-W-W!

The New York Jets finally get the big win they needed and played the way we all thought they would play this season. Jeff Ulbrich got his first win as interim head coach as Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams finally connected on their first touchdown since 2021. Garrett Wilson made the catch of the year for the Jets to take the lead on a completely worn out Houston Texan team. The Texans, now down both their top two receivers, played just as you would expect them to. CJ Stroud had an unusually low completion percentage and faced constant pressure most of the night. If there is one quarterback who can run the table, it’s number 8 on the Jets who did something similar in 2016.

Big Flop in the Big Apple

It’s time to officially end the Daniel Jones era in New York. Jones is now 1-15 in primetime games as the Giants fell to Steelers in a competitive game, 26-18. Jones fumbled the ball on the Giants second to last drive of the game and threw a game ending interception on their final drive. Jones continues to make mistakes first and second year players make and the Giants need to make amends and cut ties with a QB who is continually costing them games and wasting Brian DaBoll’s offensive game plans. Maybe the Yankees can turn things around for NY sports fans and get back into the World Series.