FROM THE COUCH 18:
Mike Leitao ~ 01/21/2025
Wow, we have officially made it to 18. Like a parent watching their kid all grown up and driving off to college, it brings a tear to my eye to see From the Couch all grown up. Just kidding. That would be lame. I do think it’s funny though as we hit 18 that we are also happening to hit the time where football is in the playoffs and the grown ups (aka real teams) are playing. We got 4 divisional playoff games over the weekend giving us our final four combatants for the Super Bowl, along with crowning our first ever National Champion of College Football since the playoff expanded to 12 teams. Just cause there are fewer games on doesn’t mean it’s any less exciting to be a sports fan. Alright that’s enough filler intro bullshit out the way, like a kid smoking their first cigarette time to lite this bitch up.
Texans vs Chiefs:
I’m gonna assume that out of the 4 games played, this one was watched the least. It makes sense, it’s a Saturday afternoon game between the team everyone hates and wants to lose and the team everyone thought was gonna lose in the first round since they made the playoffs because their division is shit. Those people who decided to skip and spend their Saturday afternoon doing literally anything else made the right call. The game was boring, nothing exciting happened for either team other than the Chiefs taking an intentional safety at the end of the game. The only real thing that was somewhat relevant from this game was the bullshit refs and the bullshit flopping from Mahomes. Not only did he get multiple roughing the passer calls that were so weak I’ve seen kids hit harder, but he then flopped out of bounds to try and draw another call. It's pretty embarrassing, guys like Brady were not out here flopping to draw calls, they just benefited from calls for being stars of the league. Whenever you hear a Chiefs fan say it’s us vs the world, ask them who was on the team before 2017, and then tell them to kill themselves.
Commanders vs Lions:
Damn, Washington was on fire this weekend. First the Commanders get rid of the Lions, then the Government gets rid of Tik Tok. One of them came back after 15 hours, and it ain’t the Lions. This was supposed to be the year for the Lions, and they lost in their first playoff game. Fair play to the Commanders, mainly Jayden Daniels, they played great and kept up offensively with the Lions. But man, this game shines a light on the fact the Lions honestly have some holes. The simple ones are the fact they have no defensive line depth so when Hutchinson went down they lost a lot of pass rush. Add in the fact the secondary isn’t that good, and you have a defense that can get dicey and force the offense to be in shootouts. Normally for the Lions it’s not a big deal with the offense they possess. Unfortunately, their QB is Jared Goff, who has never been elite. I don’t care about his perfect game he had or any of that bullshit, bro is a system QB, not a game elevator. He showed that this past weekend with a shitty game that led his team to losing. With the Lions expecting to lose both their coordinators, it will be interesting to see if the Lions potential window is closing sooner than they thought it would.
Rams vs Eagles:
I don’t care what anyone says, snow games are fun. Yes, the weather adds an extra dimension to the game and a team that usually plays in a dome will be at a distinct disadvantage in the snow compared to the team that has played many games in the elements. My response is simple, don’t care, play better. The game was honestly a pretty boring one with neither team having great offense. The Eagles struggled to be consistent with a few explosive Barkley plays being most of their offense. The Rams struggled too, but unlike the Eagles they also turned the ball over a lot which led to their demise. On one hand, if the game wasn’t played in such trash conditions, it’s unlikely the Rams make such costly turnovers which means they would’ve had a much better point swing which would have led to a win. On the other hand, the same could be said about the Eagles, who would be able to rely on the passing game more which could’ve opened up lanes for Barkley. Playing hypothetical is a can of worms I simply don’t care enough to open. Besides, Commanders vs Eagles is a way better matchup than Commanders vs Rams, and anyone who tells you otherwise is just probably a hater of Philly.
Ravens vs Bills:
The game of the playoffs so far. Taking the two front runners for MVP who both are looking for some playoff success finally in their careers facing off against each other. The game was, as expected, very good. Although the Bills offensively weren’t amazing, they did what they had to do against an overrated Ravens defense. The Ravens played a stronger offensive game, but played a less clean game with 3 turnovers compared to the Bills none. No one stood out as a clear MVP of this game so fans hoping to see one of these QBs dominate and prove they are the best will have to keep waiting. We do however have a LVP (least valuable player). Congratulations Mark Andrews for choking for your team once again. Ravens fans may remember a time when they went for two to beat the Steelers but Andrews dropped the pass and they lost. He decided that stage wasn’t big enough, so he had to do it to lose a playoff game and waste one of the last elite years of Derek Henry and another incredible year of Lamar Jackson. I don’t care if the pass was a little behind him, you are in the NFL and considered one of the best of your positions, I expect you to make the catch. We now get to see a story play out again that has played out so many times, Mahomes vs Allen. Most of America is rooting for Allen and the Bills, and that includes me. Though I can’t lie, a small part of me thinks him losing to Mahomes for the 4th time in a row in the playoffs when the Bills are the team that lost four Super Bowls in a row would be very funny.
Ohio State vs Notre Dame:
This was a game of two halves. Before I talk about that, let me just say this was a nightmare game for me. My hate for Notre Dame is well documented at this point, and with lots of family and friends from Penn State and going to a school that had a bum ass football program I have adopted Penn State as my College Football team so I’m obviously not happy about Ohio State. That being said, even I can’t lie and pretend like with the way these teams have played in the playoffs, they don’t deserve to be here. Now, for the actual game. Ohio State did what many expected early, to dominate Notre Dame defensively to stop any offense while scoring points at will. Notre Dame scored first, but then they were practically nonexistent for the rest of the first half as Ohio State just bullied them the way I bully children. Ohio State brought it into the second half, but midway through the third quarter I guess Notre Dame remembered this game was important and decided to start playing again and all of a sudden we had a game. Two very good Notre Dame drives brought them to within one score and truthfully I thought they were going to tie it up. But like most sports, one play changed that whole narrative when Ohio State connected on a 56 yard pass on a 3rd and long to basically end the game. As a conclusion to the College Football season, I would say this game was a success. Although a more back and forth game throughout would’ve been better, it was entertaining the entire game and as much as I don’t like Ohio State, saying they are the best football team in College Football doesn’t feel wrong. With that all being done, we turn to wrapping up the NFL season and then all the stupidity that comes with the NFL draft, and I for one can’t wait.
