Patriots, Seahawks Advance To Super Bowl LX

The New England Patriots are going back to the Super Bowl for the first time in seven years and the Seattle Seahawks are also going to Super Bowl LX after winning at home, 31-27 against the Los Angeles Rams. 

The Patriots beat the Denver Broncos, 10-7 for the road win as quarterback Drake Maye (pictured left) ran for a six-yard touchdown in the second quarter and kicker Andy Borregales made a 23-yard field goal in the third quarter to make the difference. The Broncos had a 7-0 lead after a first quarter six-yard touchdown pass from reserve QB Jarrett Stidham (starting in place of injured QB Bo Nix) to wide receiver Courtland Sutton. 

The game was tied 7-7 at halftime and then the snow started coming down heavily in the second half along with strong, swirling winds that affected field goal attempts by both teams, who each missed two field goals. For the game, New England gained 206 yards, including just 65 passing yards as Maye was sacked five times. Meanwhile, Denver only had 181 total yards in offense (79 rushing yards, 102 passing yards) and Stidham was sacked three times and threw one interception. When the clock ran out, the Patriots found themselves heading back to the Super Bowl for an NFL record twelfth time.

In Seattle, the Seahawks held off the Los Angeles Rams for the 31-27 win and got back to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2014 season with quarterback Sam Darnold (346 passing yards) throwing for three touchdowns and running back Kenneth Walker III (62 rushing yards) scoring on a two-yard run. In addition, the Seattle defense came up with a huge fourth down stop in the final minutes of the game to keep the Rams in check before running the clock down and then moving on as time ran out for the Rams.

 

Sam Darnold (number 14) and the Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl bound.

 

Los Angeles had a brief 13-10 lead in the second quarter when running back Kyren Williams hauled in a nine-yard scoring pass from QB Matthew Stafford, who had three touchdown passes and 374 passing yards as the Rams totaled 479 yards in offense. The Seahawks battled back for a 17-13 halftime edge as Darnold threw a 14-yard TD pass to wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who had ten receptions for 153 yards. Seattle increased the lead to 24-13 following a fumble recovery on a punt that led to Darnold throwing a 17-yard scoring strike to Jake Bobo with 12:02 left in the third quarter. 

The Rams cut the Seattle lead to 24-20 when WR Davante Adams (four receptions for 89 yards) caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Stafford with 9:41 left in the third quarter. The Seahawks then answered back with 4:52 left in the third quarter on a 13-yard TD pass from Darnold to WR Cooper Kupp. The Rams had the last score in the game when Puka Nacua (nine receptions for 165 yards) made a spectacular grab and tumbled into the end zone for a 34-yard score with 2:04 remaining in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was scoreless and the Seahawks punched their ticket to play in the Super Bowl in two weeks. 

 

 

 

 

Enemies Of The State

So called U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi (pictured right) seems to think her job is to be the personal defense attorney of Donald Trump, the so called President of the United States. 

Like Trump, that wretched woman has violated her oath to the U.S. Constitution countless times as have practically all members of the presidential cabinet that is supposed to serve We The People of the United States of America. But these craven, vindictive idiots seem to think that only THEY and their interests matter. 

To hell with the millions of people who live in this country. 

They will get their comeuppance legally speaking when they are out of power and it will happen. 

Count on it. 

The recent events in Minneapolis (murdering of U.S. citizens by ICE criminals and thugs) and elsewhere in this country (a man was also murdered in a Chicago suburb last September by ICE) are appalling and against the law. The courts have so far been pretty instrumental in curtailing some of the rabid behavior by the masked outlaws disguised as federal agents and led by the evil one known as Kristi Nome, who is the so called head of the department of homeland security. 

The SCOTUS actually ruled against Trump with his desire to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago. So at least there is that. 

There are countless others (Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel, etc.) that kiss Trump's ass and allow this bullshit to continue.

Who knows what the U.S. Supreme Court will decide when they get involved. Depends on which way the (money) winds are blowing, and that is especially true with justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, appointees of George Bush, Sr. (Thomas way back in 1991) and George Bush, Jr. to the SCOTUS. 

People in my age range are on the "back nine" of life, so it is up to the younger generation in the United States to decide what kind of country they want to live in and raise their children. If they choose the direction things are headed under this current regime, well - GOOD LUCK! 

Trump and his minions (especially Chief of Staff Stephen Miller) are not good people and that has been shown time and time again with the actions they take as so called leaders of this country. In fact, Trump and many other "high rollers" are in the Epstein files and Bondi and her cohorts are doing all they can, including breaking the law, to conceal those files. 

The cover ups never end with these folks. 

May God have mercy on their souls after they are long gone. 

Simply put, the United States is not in a good way with these idiots leading the way and Americans need to decide which way they want to go when the congressional mid term elections take place in November. And they will happen because the individual states run them. Trump and company (Elon Musk comes to mind) will do all they can to try and steal the elections next fall so there won't be a check on his abilities to grift and cause more chaos to suit Vladimir Putin, his master and the sinister people of the Heritage Foundation, who brought us the evil pans of Project 2025. 

Steal from the poor and give it to the rich.  

Hopefully, the people of this country (especially the younger ones) will do what is in their own best interests and get rid of the enablers of Trump and the evil regime currently in power in this country. 

In the meantime, may God bless the United States of America. 

Americans deserve better. 

 

 

 

NFL PLAYOFFS - AFC and NFC Championship Game Previews

It's down to four teams in the NFL and on Sunday as the AFC and NFC championship games take place to decide which two teams go to Super Bowl LX in two weeks. 

The Seattle Seahawks will host the Los Angeles Rams for the NFC title while in the AFC, the surprising New England Patriots (4-13 a year ago) will travel to Denver to face the Broncos, who will be looking to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time in ten years. The Patriots last made the Super Bowl following the 2018 season, when (Coach) Bill Belichick and (quarterback) Tom Brady were still dominating the league. 

Here is a look at each game this weekend with predictions for the outcome of both games. 

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS at DENVER BRONCOS 

The Patriots manhandled the Houston Texans last Sunday in their home win in the divisional round with quarterback Drake Maye throwing for three touchdowns, but also throwing an interception and losing another fumble leading to five turnovers in the two playoff games. The Patriots defense has been tremendous, registering six sacks against the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild card win and forcing five turnovers against the Texans last week. On the other side, the Broncos keep doing enough right things in their games to win. Last week against Buffalo, they forced five turnovers and pressured Bills QB Josh Allen throughout the game with the pass rush. Denver led the NFL with 68 sacks during the regular season. 

New England Head Coach Mike Vrabel has been very successful in getting the team to buy into what he wants from them, having seen the team improve by ten games from a year ago. The offense was second in the league in scoring and the defense has steadily improved all season long. The Broncos are led by veteran head Coach Sean Payton, who is looking to get back to the Super Bowl for first time in 16 seasons after winning it all back in 2009 with the New Orleans Saints. The Broncos will be without starting QB Bo Nix, who suffered a season ending ankle injury last week. Jarrett Stidham will be the starting quarterback for the Broncos in this game and he hasn't seen a whole lot of action in the last few seasons. In fact, he did play with the Patriots for two seasons (2019-2020) in a backup role. The key will be avoiding mistakes against a stingy Pats defense and getting the running game going. Whichever team avoids the turnover bug will win the game. 

LOS ANGELES RAMS at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 

These teams know each other very well having faced each other twice as NFC West division foes. Both games were tight (Rams won 21-19 and Seahawks won 38-37 in OT) with the home team winning each time. The Rams led the NFL in scoring this season (30.5 PPG) while the Seahawks had the best scoring defense, allowing just 17.2 points per game. 

The Rams won a tight one in OT against the Chicago Bears last Sunday night following a three-point win at Carolina in the wild card round. The Seahawks crushed the visiting San Francisco 49ers, 41-6 last weekend while seeing their running game dominate with Kenneth Walker III scoring three touchdowns and QB Sam Darnold avoiding mistakes that haunted him last year (with Minnesota) in the playoffs. Seattle will be without Zach Charbonnet (knee injury) for the rest of the post-season, leaving it up to Walker to carry the load for the rushing attack. The Rams have the likely regular season MVP in Matthew Stafford at quarterback and he has been there and done that before, having led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory four years ago. The L.A. passing attack is very formidable and Seattle has seen that already, so they know what to expect. This game should be another close one for sure and could go to overtime again. 

The Heftyinfo picks for the AFC and NFC Championship Games   . . . . . (home teams are listed in bold) 

New England over Denver 

Seattle over L.A. Rams  

Last Week's Record - 2-2

PLAYOFF RECORD - 5-5 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indiana Hoosiers Win College Football Championship

The Indiana Hoosiers completed their Cinderella story season with a 27-21 win over the Miami (Florida) Hurricanes to complete a 16-0 season and win their first ever football national championship. 

How about that? 

 

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS to the INDIANA HOOSIERS - 2025 COLLEGE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS!

NFL PLAYOFFS - Divisional Round Recap

Broncos QB Bo Nix and Bills QB Josh Allen meet up after the overtime playoff game. 

On Saturday, the Denver Broncos were the recipients of late penalty flags that kept a drive going in overtime, which led to a game winning 24-yard field goal by Will Lutz in a 33-30 decision over the visiting Buffalo Bills. The officials decided to drop the flags after letting the players decide the action for most of the game until a very questionable pass interference call put the ball at the Bills 36-yard line. The Bills were also their own worst enemy, committing five turnovers (three fumbles, two interceptions) in the loss. The Broncos will host the AFC Championship Game next Sunday, but will be without starting quarterback Bo Nix, who suffered a season ending ankle injury on the next to last play in the game.

As far as the action in the game, it was back and forth throughout and the Broncos were able to go ahead, 30-27 late in the fourth quarter when Nix threw a 26-yard TD pass to wide receiver Marvin Mims, Jr. with 1:01 left. The Bills drove downfield and tied the game with a 50-yard field goal by Matt Prater with just five seconds remaining to force the overtime. For the game, Nix finished with 279 passing yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Bills QB Josh Allen had 283 passing yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions and also lost two fumbles, one of which happened in his own end of the field late in the first half that gave Denver a 20-10 halftime lead when Lutz kicked a 50-yard field goal as time ran out. That proved to be the difference in the final outcome. 

The Saturday night game in Seattle was all Seahawks as they demolished the San Francisco 49ers, 41-6 and it all started on the opening kickoff, taken back by Rashid Shaheed 95 yards for a touchdown and 7-0 lead before the fans had even settled into their seats. Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III rushed for three touchdowns and 116 yards on 19 carries while QB Sam Darnold had a scoring pass and the defense forced three turnovers. The 49ers were never in this one as they managed just two field goals by Eddy Pineiro in the second quarter prior to Walker's first TD run (seven yards) as they trailed 24-6 at the break. In the second half, Seattle added another field goal by kicker Jason Myers and two more Walker scoring runs to wrap up the rout. 

 

The New England Patriots defense dominated the AFC divisional game against the visiting Houston Texans and that led to an easy 28-16 win as Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was intercepted four times, including a "pick six" interception return of 26 yards by Marcus Jones in the second quarter that swung the game for the Patriots. The Pats defense had three sacks and held the Texans in check throughout the game after grabbing the 14-10 lead  following the interception by Jones. Patriots QB Drake Maye (pictured right) passed for 179 yards and had three TD passes and one interception in the win. He also was sacked five times and lost two fumbles. Meanwhile, Stroud had 212 passing yards with one touchdown pass and the four interceptions in defeat. 

The NFC divisional game in snowy Chicago went to the Los Angeles Rams, 20-17 in overtime on Sunday evening as kicker Harrison Mevis made a 42-yard field goal to send the Rams to the NFC Championship Game in Seattle next week. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams threw a 14-yard TD pass to tight end Cole Kmet with 18 seconds remaining to tie the game at 17-17 and force the overtime. Rams running back Kyren Williams (87 yards on 21 carries, two TD) ran for the go ahead score from five yards for the 17-10 lead with 6:02 remaining in the fourth quarter. The game was tied 10-10 at the half and the second half was a defensive struggle with both teams seeing drives stall. Rams QB Matthew Stafford had 258 passing yards while Bears QB Caleb Williams (257 passing yards, two TD, three INT) threw his third interception in the game in the overtime and the Rams took over at their own 22-yard line and eventually on a third-and-six play, Stafford hit WR Puka Nacua for a 16-yard gain to the Bears 27-yard line. Three plays later, the winning field goal propelled the Rams to the NFC title game. 

 

DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF ROUND RESULTS 

Denver 33, Buffalo 30 (OT)  

Seattle 41, San Francisco 6  

New England 28, Houston 16

L.A. Rams 20, Chicago 17  (OT) 

 

 

NFL PLAYOFFS - Divisional Round Previews

It's on to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs this weekend and it starts on Saturday in Denver where the number one AFC seed Broncos face the Buffalo Bills. On Saturday evening in Seattle, the Seahawks, the top NFC team, will take on the San Francisco 49ers. Just two weeks ago, the Seahawks knocked off the 49ers, 13-3 in a defensive dominated game. 

On Sunday, the New England Patriots host the Houston Texans and then the "prime time" Sunday night game will conclude the weekend's action as the Chicago Bears host the Los Angeles Rams. The Patriots defense dominated a low scoring affair against the Los Angeles Chargers in a 16-3 win last week while the Bears completed their seventh comeback win last Saturday night, 31-27 against the Green Bay Packers. 

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17 

Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos - The Bills feature one of the best quarterbacks in pro football in Josh Allen, who pretty much did it all in last week's road victory against Jacksonville. The Broncos tough defense, which led the NFL in sacks this season, will present a stiff challenge. Buffalo can run the ball and running back James Cook led the league in rushing during the regular season, going for 1,621 yards and twelve rushing scores with 14 overall touchdowns. The Broncos have second year QB Bo Nix, who had an up and down season but passed for 3,931 yards with 31 touchdowns and eleven interceptions while also running for 356 yards with five touchdowns. This game will most likely be decided by which ever team protects the football. Look for the Bills to circle the wagons again in crunch time and get it done in the Mile High City to advance to a second consecutive AFC Championship game. 

San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks - The teams split their two games this past season. The 49ers won the season opener on the road, 17-13 while the 'Hawks pummeled the San Francisco offense and won, 13-3 in the season finale. Both games were very low scoring, so that stands to reason this one will be a high scoring game, right? Not so fast . . . Both teams play strong defense and the key for the Seahawks will be QB Sam Darnold not turning back into the proverbial pumpkin like he did last year with Minnesota in the post-season. On the other side, 49ers QB Brock Purdy must avoid turnovers. He was able to get by throwing two interceptions last week against Philadelphia, but the Seahawks defense is better and will not allow as many scoring chances. These two teams know each other very well and the call here is Seattle winning in another close, low scoring game. 

SUNDAY, JANUARY 18 

Houston Texans at New England Patriots - Two solid defenses going at it in this tilt, but the Texans definitely rate the edge in that area. New England's defense has steadily been better as the season progressed, while the Texans were already solid and have been nothing short of dominant in recent weeks. If the Texans can rattle Pats second year QB Drake Maye, they will have success in shutting down the NFL's number two scoring offense. Houston QB C.J. Stroud has had some success in the post-season in his first three seasons, but has never advanced beyond the divisional round. Playing at home, the Patriots are tough and the weather could be a factor as the Texans are a dome team. This game will probably be a low scoring one and the Patriots should do just enough to scrape by and advance to the AFC Championship for the first time in seven years. 

Los Angeles Rams at Chicago Bears - Two good offenses will be playing on the chilly shores of Lake Michigan at Soldier Field and the talk has been about how the weather could affect the warm weather climate Rams.

 Phooey!

 The "Bears weather" talk went out the window 37 years ago when the (California team) 49ers blasted the Bears in Chicago in bitter cold in January (1988 NFC Championship Game) in dominating fashion. Rams QB Matthew Stafford had an MVP type season with 46 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions while they led the league in scoring, averaging 30 points per game. The Bears defense has been porous most of the season, but they do get turnovers and led the NFL in takeaways this season. The Rams must figure out a way to thwart a Bears second half comeback effort as Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams has engineered seven such efforts this season, including last week against Green Bay when they scored 25 points in the fourth quarter. Look for a tight game, and once again the Chicago Bears pull it off and reach the NFC title game for the first time in 15 years. 

The Heftyinfo picks for Divisional Round playoff games  . . . .  (Home teams are listed in bold)

Buffalo over Denver 

Seattle over San Francisco 

New England over Houston 

Chicago over L.A. Rams   

 

Last Week's Record - 3-3 

Playoff Record - 3-3 

FINAL SEASON RECORD - 176-95-1  

NFL PLAYOFFS - Wild Card Round Recap

Bears QB Caleb Williams celebrates the huge comeback win over Green Bay. 

They did it again! 

The improbable Chicago Bears came back from a 21-3 halftime deficit as well as a 15-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Green Bay Packers, 31-27 at Soldier Field in Chicago on Saturday night in the NFC Wild Card playoffs. Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams (361 passing yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions) saved the best for last once again as he and the Bears completed their seventh come from behind victory by scoring 25 points in the final quarter. 

The Packers rolled out to a 21-3 lead thanks to QB Jordan Love (323 passing yards, four TD) who threw scoring passes to three different wide receivers, including Romeo Doubs, who hauled in eight receptions for 124 yards. The Bears cut the lead to 21-9 early in the fourth quarter as kicker Cairo Santos made two field goals before Williams and company, along with a better defensive effort, took over. Following a six-yard scoring run by Bears running back D'Andre Swift and the fourth TD pass in the game by Love (this one to rookie WR Matthew Golden), Williams threw TD passes to WR Olamide Zaccheaus and then to DJ Moore, a 25-yard strike for the 31-27 lead with 1:43 remaining in the game. 

The Bears defense held the Packers out of the end zone and advanced to the divisional round with their first post-season win since the 2010 season. The Packers hurt themselves as kicker Brandon McManus missed an extra point kick and also missed two field goals, including a 44-yard attempt with a 27-24 lead late in the fourth quarter. 

Earlier on Saturday, the Los Angeles Rams survived a nail biter against the host Carolina Panthers, 34-31 as QB Matthew Stafford (303 passing yards, three TD, one INT) threw a 19-yard TD pass to tight end Colby Parkinson with 38 seconds left in the game. The Panthers had forged ahead twice in the fourth quarter on a three-yard scoring run by RB Chuba Hubbard and a seven-yard scoring pass from QB Bryce Young (264 passing yards, one TD, one INT and one TD run) to WR Jalen Coker with 2:39 remaining in the game. 

The Rams raced out to a 14-0 lead thanks to a TD reception and run by wide receiver Puka Nacua, who had ten receptions for 111 yards in the win. The Panthers clawed their way back in with the late score in the first half on Young's touchdown run and trailed, 17-14 at the break. The teams exchanged field goals in the third quarter prior to the fireworks and drama in the fourth quarter that saw four lead changes. With the win, the Rams advanced to the divisional round for the second straight year. 

 

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills got it done on the road to advance in the AFC playoffs.

On Sunday in Jacksonville, the Buffalo Bills circled the wagons when it mattered most and scored on a one-yard touchdown run by QB Josh Allen (273 passing yards, one pass TD, two rush TD) with 1:04 remaining for a 27-24 victory against the upstart Jaguars. Following that, Bills safety Cole Bishop intercepted Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence to seal the game. It was Buffalo's first road playoff win since the 1992 season when they beat Miami in the AFC Championship Game. The game went back and forth with the Bills ahead 13-10 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, Lawrence (207 passing yards, three TD, two INT) threw two scoring passes while Allen threw a 15-yard TD pass to Austin Kincaid before scoring the game winning touchdown to advance his team against the Denver Broncos next week. 

The San Francisco 49ers knocked off the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-19 for a playoff road win as quarterback Brock Purdy (262 passing yards, two TD, two INT) threw the second touchdown pass of the game to running back Christian McCaffrey with 2:54 left to play. The Eagles led 19-17 after Jake Elliott made a 33-yard field goal with eight minutes left. The 49ers took a 17-16 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter when wide receiver Jauan Jennings tossed a 29-yard TD pass to McCaffrey. In the first quarter, the 49ers took a 7-0 lead when Purdy hit WR DeMarcus Robinson (six receptions for 111 yards) on a two-yard scoring pass. The Eagles came right back with tight end Dallas Goedert scoring on a one-yard run, but the extra point kick was missed and that factored in late in the game when Philadelphia came up short having to score a touchdown in the closing minutes. The 49ers lost tight end George Kittle for the rest of the year with an Achilles injury. 

On Sunday night, the New England Patriots won a hard fought game, 16-3 against the Los Angeles Chargers as Patriots QB Drake Maye (268 passing yards, one TD, one INT and lost fumble) hit tight end Hunter Henry on a 28-yard scoring pass early in the fourth quarter for the only touchdown in the game. The game was tied 3-3 late in the first half when New England sacked Chargers QB Justin Herbert, but no late hit was called and the Chargers had to punt, which led to a Patriots 35-yard field goal by Andy Borregales and a 6-3 halftime edge. The second half was more of the same as the defenses on both sides held things in check until the Patriots touchdown for the 13-point lead. It was the first playoff win for New England since their Super Bowl title following the 2018 season as they sacked Herbert six times while the Chargers defense sacked Maye five times in the loss.  

The Houston Texans dismantled the host Pittsburgh Steelers, 30-6 on Monday night to advance to the divisional round as their defense scored twice (33-yard fumble return by Sheldon Rankins and 50-yard interception return by Calen Bullock) and quarterback C.J. Stroud (250 passing yards, one TD, one INT, two lost fumbles) threw a six-yard TD pass to Christian Kirk (eight receptions, 144 yards) and running back Woody Marks (19 carries for 112 yards) scored on a 13-yard run. Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers lost a fumble and threw the "pick six" interception as the Steelers faded in the second half after trailing by just 7-6 at halftime. The Texans outgained the Steelers by a margin of 408 yards to 175 yards and their defense had four sacks. 

  

NFC Wild Card Results

L.A. Rams 34, Carolina 31 

Chicago 31, Green Bay 27 

San Francisco 23, Philadelphia 19

AFC Wild Card Results

Buffalo 27, Jacksonville 24

New England 16, L.A. Chargers 3 

Houston 30, Pittsburgh 6