4-2 last weekend, losing only the coin flip game between Washington and Tampa and the game everybody lost, Los Angeles at Houston. (Where the hell did that Justin Herbert performance even come from?) Still, a very good start to the postseason and my quest to make some money off the NFL in 2025.

Saturday January 18th – 4:30 PM ET

Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs (-8.5)

I’m going to lay the points because I think the Chiefs have spent the entire season preparing for this game and what they did in the 2024 regular season is not particularly relevant. I expect Mahomes to look like Mahomes, Kelce to look like Kelce, and Chris Jones is going to make it impossible for CJ Stroud to mount any kind of comeback. It is January. The Chiefs will Chief.

Saturday January 18th – 8:00 PM ET

Washington Commanders at Detroit Lions (-9.5)

Since the Hail Maryland, which I was lucky enough to witness in person, these are the score differentials of the Washington games: 5, 1, 8, 8, 23, 1, 3, 6, 4, 3. Since November, they rarely win big, and they rarely lose big.

I think Detroit will win this game, and ultimately win the NFC, but this strikes me as game wherein Washington could either (a) score early and keep it close, or (b) score late for the backdoor cover. Because I’ve got multiple working scenarios, I’ll take the points.

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The search for this coach,

Inspires nothing in me.

The haikus suffer.

Huge THANKS to our buddy @dabearsblog for joining the podcast this week! ️

You NEED to hear Jeff’s exclusive take on Ben Johnson and why he’s the favorite for the #DaBears job this offseason!

Don’t miss out—catch the full episode on YouTube NOW:
… pic.twitter.com/3Lywvv5Ly1

— Irish Bears Network (@IrishBearsShow) January 14, 2025

An early morning at Staples. Cathy and Jake are pacing back forth down the overcomplicated printer aisle.

JAKE: I love you, Cathy.

CATHY: You should.

JAKE: But I hate being here.

CATHY: There are too many printers.

JAKE: A lot.

CATHY: They all do different things.

JAKE: They do.

CATHY: What are we looking for?

JAKE: What?

CATHY: What’s most important?

JAKE: Printing.

CATHY: They all print, ass.

JAKE: Do they all print well?

CATHY: How the fuck am I supposed to know how they print. They’re sitting on a shelf. We buy one, we take it home, we connect it, it prints. That’s when we learn how they print.

JAKE: We could read reviews.

CATHY: From who?

JAKE: Whom.

CATHY: Fuck you.

JAKE: Reviews from people. On the internet.

CATHY: Do you think we should really be trusting the kinds of people who review printers on the internet?

JAKE: The way I see it –

CATHY: See what?

JAKE: Let me finish.

CATHY: Okay.

JAKE: The way I see it, we have two options. We can buy one of these reliable guys. Nothing exciting. You hit print; they print. You know what you’re getting, in standard black and white.

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Sunday 4:30 PM ET

Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5)

Packers are 7th against the run.

Eagles are 10th against the run.

But I would argue it is far more important for the Packers to establish the run in this game than it is for the Eagles. Jordan Love is not a great quarterback. He’s not going to be able to drop back 40 times Sunday and dice up this Philly secondary without being harassed by their deep front.

Vic Fangio is usually great in these spots; he’ll show Love looks he hasn’t shown another team this season. I wish the line was 2.5, but it’s not. I’ll survive. Lay the points.

Sunday 8:00 PM ET

Washington Commanders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3)

The hardest game for me to predict this weekend.

Tampa just needed to beat a lifeless Saints team Sunday to win the division title, and they struggled mightily. Jayden Daniels has been good in 2024, but he’s still a rookie quarterback starting a playoff game on the road. This feels like the game with the widest range of potential outcomes.

I’m looking to the same stat as I did in the previous game to choose a winner. Tampa allows 97.8 yards per game on the ground, fourth in the league. Washington allows 137.5 yards per game on the ground, 30th in the league. Bucky Irving is the most talked about player this wildcard weekend. Lay the points.

Monday 8:00 PM ET

Minnesota Vikings (-1.5) at Los Angeles Rams 

This game is entirely about Sam Darnold.

A week ago, the talk around the league was Minnesota committing long term to Darnold and dealing J.J. McCarthy to the highest bidder. But after Darnold laid an egg versus Detroit in arguably the biggest game of his career, will that narrative continue if he lays another in L.A. on Monday night in what is inarguably the biggest game of his career?

I’m rooting for the Darnold career resurgence, but I think he’s going to struggle with serious pressure in this spot. Take the points.

Saturday 4:30 PM ET

Los Angeles Chargers (-3) at Houston Texans

Serious question: who would you want as your starting quarterback in September, CJ Stroud or Bryce Young? It’s very clearly a debate worth having now, as Stroud struggled in year two and Young looked every bit a franchise QB down the stretch of this season.

I don’t see any reason to believe this Texans team will win a playoff game. They don’t do anything particularly well. Lay the points, even on the road.

Saturday 8:00 PM ET

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (-10)

The instinct for gamblers will be obvious. Since most of these Steelers/Ravens games are like 16-14, take the Steelers and that pile of points.

But right now, the Ravens are one of the best teams heading into the tournament and the Steelers are, quite possibly, the worst team remaining.

Is Russell Wilson is going into Baltimore and outscoring the Lamar Jackson/Todd Monken juggernaut? How? Lay the points.

Sunday 1:00 PM ET

Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills (-8.5)

There used to be an old gambling maxim when it came to the NFL postseason: never bet the shaky quarterback on the road.

Bo Nix is going to be a good player, especially if he sticks with Sean Payton for the duration of his career. But he’s still a rookie, entering one of the league’s most hostile environments, facing a terrific defensive coaching staff.

Denver getting to the playoffs is a massive achievement in 2024. Their season ends in Buffalo. Lay the points.

Instead of just stringing together social media posts, I figure why not use my own website to collect all my thoughts concerning the head coaching searches in Chicago, and around the league.

• The whole “leader of men” cliche really needs to be retired. Men, football players, follow their leader when they win. That’s the long and short of it. If you show your program is successful, players will gravitate to your leadership. Do you think Bill Parcells and Bill Walsh had much in common besides their ability to win football games? Is anybody inspired by Bill Belichick’s personality? (The answer is no.) Find a winner. The players will follow him.
• The offensive options, as I see them:
  • Ben Johnson is going to be the top choice. But Johnson is going to bring baggage to the interview process, including demands in the personnel department. Will the Bears view him worthy of those concessions?
    • One source told me that Ryan Poles covets Johnson, while others in the building (Warren, especially) are looking for established program builders.
  • Liam Coen is the wildcard in this process, and I think he’s been every bit as impressive as Johnson this season. Is he ready to be a head coach? Nobody knows, but Coen would be a quarterback-centric hire.
    • Coen’s work with both the running game and tight ends in Tampa have been something of a revelation in 2024.
  • Todd Monken would certainly be an interesting hire, and he has certainly paid his dues at both the NFL and collegiate levels. Monken is also an Illinois native, so it’s likely a job he’ll covet.
  • Joe Brady. Beware of hiring coordinators of great quarterbacks. None of Peyton Manning’s or Tom Brady’s ever became a successful head coach in the league. Josh Allen is a great player but he’s also a unique one. Brady is going to be able to bring very little from Buffalo to Chicago.
  • Kliff Kingsbury. Unless Caleb seriously goes to bat for him, Kingsbury would be a risky choice. Some guys are just coordinators. That’s how K.K. profiles.
  • Drew Petzing is an interesting coach to interview, and he’s almost certainly going to be a head coach in the next five years. (He’s not an actual contender for this job.)
  • Mike Kafka. I saw a lot of fans getting worked up over this interview. But sometimes personnel guys give their friends head coaching interviews to raise their profiles. That’s what is happening here.
• Defensive options, as I see them:
  • Everybody will now be shocked if Mike Vrabel doesn’t end up in New England, but the job will likely have some appeal for Ben Johnson due to the presence of Drake Maye.
  • Vance Joseph, Brian Flores, Aaron Glenn, and Anthony Weaver are all solid, well-respected coaches. But they will arrive will major questions on the offensive side of the ball, including how they’ll manage the quarterback position. If you’re the Bears, why not allow the coaching rotating door to move to the other side of the ball for once?
• Program builders, so to speak:
  • Mike McCarthy is a good head coach. But this is not the time for the Chicago Bears to try and hit singles.
  • David Shaw is a coach I desperately wanted the Bears to consider a cycle or two ago, but I worry about guys who have not actively coached in the league for a number of years.

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