NFL (2025 Season)

[thspfc]

7) Chargers defeat 2) Patriots
3) Jaguars defeat 6) Bills
5) Texans defeat 4) Trash Mountain 1
7) Packers defeat 2) Bears
3) Eagles defeat 6) 49ers
5) Rams defeat 4) Trash Mountain 2

1) Broncos defeat 7) Chargers
5) Texans defeat 3) Jaguars
1) Seahawks defeat 7) Packers
5) Rams defeat 3) Eagles

5) Texans defeat 1) Broncos
5) Rams defeat 1) Seahawks

5) Rams defeat 5) Texans

Dismal 2 for 6 this round but I still like my final four and Super Bowl picks to hold up.

Got 3 of the final 4 but not the AFC champion.

[Max Rockatansky]

The Rams/Bears game was a slog until late in the 4th quarter.  Turned into a classic the rest of the way to the end in overtime. 

[Great Lakes Roads]

Rams-Seahawks for the NFC Championship...
Patriots-Broncos for the AFC Championship...

Based on these matchups, I am taking:
Seahawks for the NFC Championship over the Rams
Patriots for the AFC Championship over the Broncos

Seahawks-Patriots for the Super Bowl!
And I am betting on the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl!

[Max Rockatansky]

Whoever wins the NFC is probably going to be a heavy favorite in the Super Bowl.  I don't see how the Broncos overcome the Patriots without Bo Nix.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Bears threw three picks and were 3/6 on 4th down. That won't win most close games.

[ModernDayWarrior]

I have a terrible feeling this season is going to end with Roger Goodell handing the Lombardi Trophy to Stan Kroenke again. Two of the most punchable faces in all of professional sports.

Please, one of the other three teams, prove me wrong.

[jgb191]

For next year I predict the Houston Texans will once again make it to the Divisional Game and lose to the Tennessee Titans and fall to 0-8 in the Divisional Round.
The following year I predict the Texans will lose to the LV Raiders in the Divisional Round and fall to 0-9.
The year after that I predict the Texans will lose to the NY Jets in the Divisional Round and fall to 0-10.

You want to see your team get a guaranteed spot in the AFC Championship Game, face the Texans in the Division Round; we'll help you get there....even if you spot our team a 24-point head start in the second quarter, we'll still get you there regardless.

[thenetwork]

Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott is Buffalilo Bills coach no more...

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/bills-reportedly-fire-head-coach-sean-mcdermott-after-9-seasons-142034639.html

[Ted$8roadFan]

Something like 18 of the 32 NFL teams have changed head coaches since the end of the 2024 season. Crazy times.

[thspfc]

Just saw a stat: 6 3 coaches have been in their current position since 2017 or earlier.

Andy Reid - 3x SB champion, 5x conference champion
Sean McVay - 1x SB champion, 2x conference champion
Mike Tomlin - 1x SB champion, 2x conference champion
John Harbaugh - 1x SB champion, 1x conference champion
Kyle Shanahan - 2x conference champion
Sean McDermott -

Better win your conference at least once (actually, twice) a decade if you wanna keep your job.

With Belichick, Carroll, Tomlin, Harbaugh, McDermott no longer in their longtime spots, all the great 2000s drafted quarterbacks essentially gone except maybe Stafford (2009), and recently great teams needing to rebound (Chiefs, Ravens, Lions, Bengals, even 49ers and Bills to some extent with the Rams maybe to follow), I think 2026 will unofficially begin a new era in the NFL.

[webny99]

Wow... big if true. Nothing official from the Bills yet. In fact, nothing at all on their X account since, perhaps ironically, this tweet from Saturday night, over 36 hours ago and counting:

https://x.com/BuffaloBills/status/2012712969256214887

[webny99]

Also, I find it funny that you think that Fairbairn won't kick a field goal tomorrow. Bro is going to get at least 3, watch.

Well done 

[webny99]

Wow... big if true. Nothing official from the Bills yet. In fact, nothing at all on their X account since, perhaps ironically, this tweet from Saturday night, over 36 hours ago and counting:

https://x.com/BuffaloBills/status/2012712969256214887

And within 10 minutes of this post...
https://x.com/BuffaloBills/status/2013272815428845993

[kphoger]

And within 10 minutes of this post...
https://x.com/BuffaloBills/status/2013272815428845993

I wonder how much money there is in being a copy editor.

"Sean has done an admiral job..."

[webny99]

And within 10 minutes of this post...
https://x.com/BuffaloBills/status/2013272815428845993

I wonder how much money there is in being a copy editor.

"Sean has done an admiral job..."

First thing I noticed, then immediately wondered if there was a non-zero chance that admiral was correct, though it would be a rather odd grammatical choice.

[kphoger]

then immediately wondered if there was a non-zero chance that admiral was correct

I'm not alone, then.

[hotdogPi]

I don't see the reason for firing. Made the final 8, and the loss was extremely close (we don't actually know that the Bills were the worse team of the two).

[Ted$8roadFan]

It's crazy that Mike Vrabel is now the longer-tenured head coach in the AFC East.

[webny99]

The Bills Mafia got WHACKED!

Wasted opportunities, Heartbreak And Controversy Keep Ending Dreams. WHACKED indeed.

Seven straight seasons of brutal playoff losses including three overtime losses and net zero Super Bowl appearances will almost certainly never be topped. Mind you, this is the same franchise that lost four straight Super Bowls in the '90's, but I genuinely think this run is worse.

[webny99]

I don't see the reason for firing. Made the final 8, and the loss was extremely close (we don't actually know that the Bills were the worse team of the two).

I have many disorganized thoughts about this, but I tend to agree overall. Even though this is about much more than just the Denver loss, firing McDermott means they have to actually find an upgrade, which is a very challenging and potentially irresponsible thing to do when you have an MVP QB in his prime, especially this late in the coaching cycle, when multiple top candidates are already gone.

It's also undeniable that the GM (Brandon Beane) bears significant responsibility for the lack of talent on the roster, so I tend to agree with those saying that keeping Beane while firing McDermott is ill-advised. Especially since this loss specifically was more about the lack of playmakers and the turnovers on offense, neither of which the head coach has direct control over. Still, giving up a touchdown right before halftime and again when up by 4 points with under two minutes to go was yet another high-profile failure of McDermott's defense.

I get that something has to change, but I have serious reservations about keeping the GM and trying to upgrade at coach. I just have a gut feeling that this move, ending almost a decade of stability, lowers the long-term chances of the Bills ever winning a Super Bowl.

[thenetwork]

I don't see the reason for firing. Made the final 8, and the loss was extremely close (we don't actually know that the Bills were the worse team of the two).

I have many disorganized thoughts about this, but I tend to agree overall. Even though this is about much more than just the Denver loss, firing McDermott means they have to actually find an upgrade, which is a very challenging and potentially irresponsible thing to do when you have an MVP QB in his prime, especially this late in the coaching cycle, when multiple top candidates are already gone.

It's also undeniable that the GM (Brandon Beane) bears significant responsibility for the lack of talent on the roster, so I tend to agree with those saying that keeping Beane while firing McDermott is ill-advised. Especially since this loss specifically was more about the lack of playmakers and the turnovers on offense, neither of which the head coach has direct control over. Still, giving up a touchdown right before halftime and again when up by 4 points with under two minutes to go was yet another high-profile failure of McDermott's defense.

I get that something has to change, but I have serious reservations about keeping the GM and trying to upgrade at coach. I just have a gut feeling that this move, ending almost a decade of stability, lowers the long-term chances of the Bills ever winning a Super Bowl.

Could it have been pressure by Bills ticket holders who are still on the fence about investing in more expensive tickets (and PSLs?) in their brand new stadium next season?

[Henry]

Now I know for sure that I want the Seahawks to win the NFC, and I'm also rooting for the Broncos in the AFC.

[webny99]

Could it have been pressure by Bills ticket holders who are still on the fence about investing in more expensive tickets (and PSLs?) in their brand new stadium next season?

I don't think so. The Bills are in little danger of being noncompetitive at home for as long as they have Josh Allen.

If anything it seems like many players, former players, fans, and media are coming out in defense of McDermott and questioning whether the wrong guy was fired. There was pressure to change something, but ownership might have overstepped or simply misjudged what the "it" was.

[jgb191]

If I were Josh Allen I would have had enough of the Bills and request a trade, and I hope he mentions Houston as his preferred new home.  The Texans are in dire need of a QB upgrade.  Unlike Buffalo, the year-round climate is far more attractive living in Houston....certainly never have to worry about a blizzard conditions there.

His reaction look in the post-game says it all:  if he could, he'd trade almost half his wealth for a Vince Lombardi trophy.

[Max Rockatansky]

If I were Josh Allen I would have had enough of the Bills and request a trade, and I hope he mentions Houston as his preferred new home.  The Texans are in dire need of a QB upgrade.  Unlike Buffalo, the year-round climate is far more attractive living in Houston....certainly never have to worry about a blizzard conditions there.

His reaction look in the post-game says it all:  if he could, he'd trade almost half his wealth for a Vince Lombardi trophy.

Don't be too sorry for the guy.  He makes an appearance sometimes with his super attractive movie star wife at the Firebaugh Pizza Factory.