Inside The Star
Say what you want about the Divisional round of the 2025 playoffs. They were anything but boring.
Even the beat down the Seahawks put on the 49ers was fun.
Unless you are a 49ers fan and quite frankly, too bad, it was fun to watch.
The final four teams are in. And can someone explain to me how the Patriots keep getting these kinds of breaks in 2025?
The softest schedule in recent memory, if not the entire history of the NFL.
Then they draw a weakened Los Angeles Chargers team in the wildcard round.
As if that wasn’t bad enough they get a Texans team missing it’s top receiver. And a quarterback that throws four first-half interceptions.
C.J. Stroud in less than 30 minutes of play erased Dak Prescott’s back-to-back two interceptions in the first half of playoff games and is now the biggest choke artist among quarterbacks in playoff history.
While the Texans begin shopping for a new quarterback, the Patriots will travel to Denver for the AFC title game. Where the Broncos will be missing their starting quarterback, Bo Nix.
Seriously, who breaks an ankle on a kneel down play?
And they say the NFL doesn’t have a script?
The NFC Championship game is an all-NFC West affair. The Rams and Seahawks split the season series with Seattle winning at home in overtime the last time the teams played.
One wrinkle to consider, three of the possible matchups for the Super Bowl would be rematches.
In Super Bowl 48, the Seahawks routed the Broncos. A Rams-Patriots championship game would be a rematch of Super Bowls 36 & 53.
New England won both of those games.
A Patriots-Seahawks matchup would be a rematch of Super Bowl 49, also won by New England. The Rams and Broncos have never met in the Super Bowl.
Here’s how the two games should play out to determine who plays in Super Bowl 60.
New England at Denver
2 p.m., CBS
Let’s get one thing clear. The Patriots didn’t beat the Texans on Sunday. Stroud beat the Texans last Sunday.
With Denver being without its starting quarterback, it seems the stars are aligned for an easy path to the Super Bowl in Santa Clara next month.
However, as Lee Corso might say, not so fast, my friend. Denver’s defense is just as tough .
Look for Sean Payton to have some surprises in store on offense as well.
Plus, this game is in Denver.
The Broncos are 4-0 all time at home against New England. They are 2-0 against the Patriots at home in the AFC title game.
Prediction: Broncos 23, Patriots 21
Rams at Seahawks
5:30 p.m., FOX
It will be an all-NFC West NFC Championship game. The last time that happened was back in 2021.
The Rams hosted the San Francisco 49ers and edged them by three points.
Los Angeles went on to win the Super Bowl over the Bengals two weeks later.
The Rams...
