Broncos VS Bills:

The 6th seed Buffalo Bills went out west Saturday, Jan. 17, to take on the 1st seed Denver Broncos. The Broncos played a strong regular season, winning 11 games in a row to get a 14-3 in the regular season, which was enough to clinch the first overall seed and a bye week to immediately go to the divisional round. The Bills, on the other hand, were not able to clinch their division, forcing them to go on the road and pull out a surprise win against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild-card round. This was a very close game, as neither team could settle it in 60 minutes, forcing the first overtime of the playoffs. Unfortunately for the Bills, they could not finish the game in overtime, losing to the Broncos 33-30. In all honesty, this is a classic Broncos game. This year, they have been known to win close games, especially when they have the advantage of the thin air in Denver. Unfortunately, Denver quarterback Bo Nix broke his ankle in this game, making him unavailable for the rest of the season. This significantly lowers their Super Bowl chances, but hopefully, they can keep the AFC Championship game competitive and get back to the championship next season. As for the Bills, this seems to be their fate every year. Since Sean McDermott became the head coach in 2017, they have gone 8-8 in the playoffs and have never made it to the Super Bowl. While McDermott is clearly a good coach, he was not capable of getting the Bills over the hump, which is presumably what made the Bills fire him on Monday, Jan 19. I personally was surprised by this move, as the coaching market is wide open this year, with 8 head coach openings remaining across the league now that McDermott is gone. While I personally would have waited a year so there was a smaller market, hopefully this move will take the Bills forward, not backwards, so they can at least make it to the Super Bowl in Josh Allen’s prime.

Seahawks VS 49ers:

The 6th seed San Francisco 49ers travelled north Saturday, Jan 17th, to challenge the 1st seed Seattle Seahawks. In retrospect, this seems like it was a waste of their time, as in the first 13 second of the game, Seahawks wide receiver and kick returner Rashid Shaheed took the opening kickoff all the way to the end zone for a touchdown, which was all Seattle needed to win the game, as the 49ers only scored 6 points, for a final score of 41-6. The Seahawks completely dismantled the 49ers in all three phases of this game, forcing 3 turnovers, only punting twice and not allowing the 49ers to punt once. This game is another example of how dominant this team is, especially on defense. While the 49ers were very injured throughout this season and in this game, the result of this game should be embarrassing for everyone in the organization. Unless the 49ers make significant changes to how they deal with injuries, I expect them to continue their lackluster performances for a while. But now that the Seahawks have dominated the 49ers for the second game in a row, they are only one game away from going to the Super Bowl, giving them the opportunity to hoist the Lombardi trophy in the 49ers’ house, as the Super Bowl will be hosted in Santa Clara, California. The Seahawks are, in my opinion, the best team in the league without a doubt, and now all they have left to do is prove it.

Patriots VS Texans:

The 5th-seeded Houston Texans rode east this Sunday, Jan 18th, for a snowy showdown against the 2nd-seeded New England Patriots. The Texans have managed to get this far on the back of their defense, which has been elite this season, making up for a fairly lackluster offense. The Patriots, on the other hand, have been a surprise team this season, managing to win 10 more games than they did last season, and were able to clinch their division with a strong complementary team. While the Texans’ offense was capable enough to get the job done in most of their games, it was not enough this time. The Patriots managed to get into Texans quarterback CJ Stroud’s head, managing to pick him off four times. Houston’s defense tried to keep the game close and managed to stop the Patriots a few times, getting three fumble recoveries along with an interception and five sacks, but they just couldn’t keep up with the New England offense. Drake “Drake Maye” Maye threw for 179 yards and three touchdowns in this game, while the Pats’ defense stayed stingy throughout the game, ending it with a final score of 28-16. While a lot of people have said the Patriots were frauds for having a very easy schedule this season, they have very clearly proven that they can compete with the best of them, and look to continue doing so as they punch their ticket to Denver to try and get to the Super Bowl. As for the Texans, they have a lot of self-reflection to do. This is the third straight year they have lost in the divisional round of the playoffs, mostly due to their issues on offense. Their defense is elite, and is right up there with the Seahawks’ Dark Side, but their poor offensive line play and lack of weapons make it very hard to win come playoff time. Due to their bad offensive line, they struggle to establish the running game, which in turn makes it harder for CJ Stroud to pass the ball. While they were not successful this season, I think with a good offseason with several hits in free agency and the draft, there could be a lot more wins coming to H-Town.

Bears VS Rams:

The 2nd seed Chicago Bears hosted the 5th seed Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Jan 18th, in a freezing cold fight in the historic Soldier Field. The Bears, like the Patriots, have also been a bit of a surprise team this year, managing to go from a 5-12 season in 2024 to an 11-6 record this season with rookie head coach and offensive mastermind Ben Johnson. The Bears have been known to take games down to the wire, and this game was no different. Both teams were tied 10-10 at the half, and were both unable to score until the Rams got the go-ahead touchdown with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. But in typical Cardiac Bears fashion, they were able to rally back and score a touchdown with only 18 seconds left in the half, forcing the game to go into overtime. But unfortunately, to the behest of Bill Swerski and the other Bears Superfans, Chicago was not able to hold strong, and ultimately fell to the Rams with a score of 20-17. While this is a devastating way to be eliminated from the playoffs, fans of the Bears should hold their heads high, as this was a very good season for the Windy City. Ben Johnson looks like he is the guy for Chicago, and quarterback Caleb Williams seems poised to be a franchise QB. The Chicago defense also kept them in this game, making the Rams quarterback unable to complete even half of his passes and sacked him four times, which is another thing to be proud of. As for the Rams, they may have won the battle, but I highly doubt they will win the war. They now have to go to Seattle, where not only will they have to contend with the best defense in football, they also have to contend with the noise of the 12s and the rains predicted for Sunday, which teams that play in domes like the Rams are known to struggle against.