RedState Sports Report: Don’t Look Now, but the NFL Playoffs Are Here

Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below decks of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken have been blazing balls of fire, pounding out the stories …

Well, pounding down the fish crackers.

Anyway, the NFL postseason draws nigh, and with it, the green manalishi with the two-pronged crown cleverly disguised as the three-pronged announcement of who plays who next regular season, who drafts where in 2025, and who’s looking for a new job. I’ve long found it amusing how the NFL and assorted media trumpets thereof (*coughespncough*) make such a massive deal out of the schedule reveal each spring when it’s been known for months who will be playing whom in the upcoming season, with the only mystery being when. Apparently, we are supposed to overlook how a win or loss in September had the exact same effect on the standings as one in December. But it fills air time, so there’s that.

The 2025 draft this year will be held in balmy Green Bay. It will be a three-day extravaganza of young men trading a pay cut from their collegiate NIL deals to play in the NFL, lots of hugging moms, and even more players hugging phones as they ask their agents why, unlike college, they can’t go to any institution of their choosing at the end of the season, so they are stuck playing in Tennessee for the next three years. It is also a time during which one wonders why Mel Kiper, if he is as knowledgeable about college players and their fit in the pros as he portrays himself to be, never gets an offer from an NFL team to help with their draft selections. You’d think he was Taylor Swift giving dating advice or something.

And yes, there are real live playoff games to discuss. We start the slate of six on Saturday, January 11, when the San Diego Los Angeles Chargers travel to Texas for a tilt with the Houston Texans in a game of intense interest to pretty much no one, as the chances of either team getting past the second round are slim to none and Slim just left town. Saturday’s second game is the “You AGAIN?!!” Bowl, wherein the Pittsburgh Steelers will stumble into Baltimore for the third meeting this year between the Steelers and the Ravens. Pittsburgh has been on an extended vacation effort-wise since clinching a playoff spot, while Baltimore has been playing with purpose the past few weeks. However, as great as he has been in the regular season, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has struggled in the postseason, so we shall see who shows up for either team.

Sunday, January 12, starts with the Denver Broncos visiting the Buffalo Bills on Denver’s way to starting their winter vacation. Next, we have an intriguing matchup with the Green Bay Packers headed to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles. With Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts still questionable in terms of whether he can play as he recovers from a concussion, should he be unable to go, it will place even more of Philadelphia’s offensive onus on Saquon Barkley’s capable shoulders. On the flip side, Green Bay can and has torched opponents through the air, and Packers quarterback Jordan Love thrives in the spotlight. This game should be competitive, which, by the fact I dubbed it as such, doubtless means the final score will be 38 to 3. Hey, I’m realistic about my prognostication skills, specifically the lack thereof. The day concludes with a matchup between the Washington Redskins Commanders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, neither of which figure to advance far in the playoffs, but between Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield figure to put on a wildly entertaining show.

Things draw to a close on Monday, January 13, when the Minnesota Vikings’ longships sail into Los Angeles Harbor for a matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. For a team playing to be the #1 playoff seed last weekend, the Vikings looked distressingly subpar against the Detroit Lions. Meanwhile, the Rams have butted their way into the playoffs behind a solid defense and an offense that runs hot or cold. Los Angeles handed Minnesota one of its three regular-season losses back in October when the Rams were scuffling, so given that they’ve since put it together, it could be a long night near Long Beach for the Skol society.

Enjoy the games, everyone.

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