1. I’ll admit, I’ve repeatedly cast side-eye at the Seattle Seahawks’ chances of winning it all because I simply couldn’t get behind trusting Sam Darnold, despite his come-up from his early days with the New York Jets. His mid-season spluttering seemed to justify that skepticism, and thrashing a beat-up 49ers defense in the Divisional Round didn’t really do it for me. In the same way, picking on the Rams’ secondary isn’t necessarily the most world-altering feat. But at some point, you have to acknowledge that Darnold has simply been playing lights-out so far in these playoffs. It’s not just about the defense anymore. He’s been legitimately good. He was good last year, too, and Minnesota might well be kicking itself for letting him leave town. His career revival has been a hell of a story, and there’s no reason the Seahawks shouldn’t win the Super Bowl in two weeks with him at the helm…
2. Except for this: Drake Maye has been rough so far in these playoffs, and the Patriots have still been winning. It’s not just about the quarterbacks they’ve played, either, though it doesn’t hurt to have CJ Stroud turn the ball over 18 times in one game and then get to face a rusty Jarrett Stidham in the conference championship. This defense has been moving different since getting Milton Williams, their superstar defensive tackle, back from injury. They hit hard, and they play sound, smart football. Plus, if there’s one guy in the league I think could legitimately follow Jaxon Smith-Njigba around anywhere he goes and not get lost, it’s Christian Gonzalez, whose smooth movement skills at cornerback almost perfectly mirror what JSN does offensively. And their off-the-wall coverages might be enough to have Darnold see a few ghosts on the big stage. Don’t count New England out just yet.
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3. Also, for as bad as Maye’s numbers are in these playoffs, the dude keeps finding a way to do enough to win. His gutsy, impromptu naked bootleg to seal the win with a game-clinching first down shows how tough he is to keep down. His biggest problem right now is learning to take what defenses give him and just cut his losses. But if he gets his comfort level back, he could put on a show that could shock the country. And don’t underestimate this: Josh McDaniels has been here a lot in his career, and he will have this offense—and this young quarterback—ready to play. If the Patriots pull this off, I don’t care what anyone says about their path to a Super Bowl: going from 4-13 to a title, and doing it by going through the three best scoring defenses in football, will be insanely impressive. I have absolutely no reason to believe this will happen, but I’m going to throw it out into the universe anyway: I think the Patriots will win. Somehow, someway.
4. Speaking of McDaniels and Maye, I absolutely love the theatrics of the two of them calling that bootleg for the win and not telling the rest of the offense it was coming. It could’ve backfired, of course, because a bunch of Maye’s offensive teammates were so stunned to see him with the ball they almost forgot to block for him, leaving Maye to beat Broncos linebacker Jonah Elliss to the corner himself. On the flip side, their lack of knowledge that Maye was keeping the ball was honest, and the Broncos bought the fake, giving Maye just enough space to race around the edge. That play’s going to be talked about a long time in the lore of those two, whether they win it all or not.
5. Boy, that’s got to be tough for Brian Daboll. In a battle between which offensive coach Josh Allen loves the most and wanted promoted, offensive coordinator Joe Brady won out over Daboll for the Buffalo Bills’ head coaching job, the many who helped Allen ascend to MVP status before getting the New York Giants job. Buffalo was likely Daboll’s only shot at a head-coaching gig, and now will reportedly take the Titans’ offensive coordinator job unless the Raiders offer him their head-coaching gig. The New York Giants really can ruin anybody’s life.
6. The Chicago Bears didn’t make the NFC Championship game because it simply wasn’t their time. They made too many mistakes, and the Rams made none in the Divisional Round. So it goes. But there’s no doubt about this: they’re more than good enough to be back in that game and make it further next season. As Olin Kreutz said, they might just be one player on their roster away from getting to the Super Bowl themselves.
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7. That might not quite be true, though, and the Bears would be wise to observe some of the defenses that made it further than they did in the playoffs. Specifically, what do these two Super Bowl defenses have in common? They paid really good defensive linemen in the offseason—Williams for the Patriots, DeMarcus Lawrence for the Seahawks—shored up the linebacking corps with affordable options that fit their schemes, and thrived by putting teams perpetually in third-and-long situations. Stopping the run and controlling the line of scrimmage still matters, and the Bears need to make sure they do that next year.
8. Can we normalize not asking players about their futures right after they win or lose the biggest games of their lives? I know—having worked for news organizations—that editors expect you to ask that question so that they can get a quote one way or another. And I know that, being a journalist, you’re expected to ask the question, and that players expect you to do it, too. “Even if they don’t answer, you still have to ask.” But when has asking guys like Matthew Stafford if they plan to retire or if they expect to be playing for another team right after a game ever resulted in a worthwhile answer? The journalist in me gets it, but the fan in me is over it.
9. I’m gonna need Velus Jones and his practice-squad elevatee, 42-total-scrimmage-yards, I-fumbled-and-fell-over-every-five-minutes self to quit subtweeting the Bears like he did something aside from run cardio at practice. Let us know when you get over 1,000 scrimmage yards for your whole career.
10. Having gotten our last bit of Tom Brady commentary for 2025-26, I must say: his second-year improvement in the booth was probably about as massive as the improvement he had from Year 1 to Year 2 of his NFL career. Last year, he felt like he was trying too hard. This year, not only was he having a good time, but he was dropping exactly the kind of knowledge and insight we expected from the greatest quarterback of all time. Now, excuse me while I go watch JSN highlights and copy his every move after Brady rightly pointed out that his shoulder level never dips on his routes. Flag football season is almost here, and I’m on a revenge tour after not winning any championships for the first time in four years. Pray for my opps.