FROM THE COUCH XXVIII
Mike Leitao ~ 12/23/2025
Although this is week 9 of From The Couch, we have officially hit the point in the season where multiple teams are either clinching their post season ticket or confirming they will be sitting at home in the winter. With that being said, we can focus less on making stupid puns around the number 9 and focus more on the actual football being played, even if it was mostly shit.
Rams vs Seahawks:
The most important game of this week came on a Thursday night, so you know it was either going to be awful or great. We got the latter, as we got an exciting OT game with the Seahawks performing a comeback for the ages. The win makes the Seahawks look like the safe bet for the NFC crown while the Rams will be stuck beating the shit out of the NFC South winners. This was a Rams team that was missing a big piece of their offense in Adams though and they still looked dangerous, even as a wildcard team they would be my pick to win the NFC still.
Eagles vs Commanders:
Saturday football action? Exciting, right? Just kidding, it is the Commanders so you know the game was boring. Eagles win and clinch the division, even as they look like a second tier NFC team of late I would still look at them as one of the bigger threats in the NFC that are not the two teams above.
Packers vs Bears:
Saturday night football action? Exciting, right? Actually yes this time. The Packers were looking to prove that they were still a great team even with the injuries, and then they went and lost. It seems likely the Packers will still make the playoffs, most likely as the NFC 7 seed, and they could make noise especially against a team like the underperforming Eagles or the very new Bears. Even with that though, this feels more like a team that should start to prepare for next year to have backup plans in place in case of injuries like this, and not a Super Bowl contender. Also the Bears are still frauds, calling it now they lose in round 1 of the playoffs.
Buccaneers vs Panthers:
Another pivotal NFC division matchup except no one cared about this one. You either get the underperforming Buccaneers who everyone stopped caring about after Mike Evans got hurt or the wildly inconsistent Panthers who could win or lose every game by 30 and I wouldn’t be shocked. Ultimately, we got the better result with the Panthers winning as unpredictability is better than mid. Bring back the Winston Buccaneers, they may not have been good but they were at least fun which is more than the current team could say.
Bills vs Browns:
I went into this game thinking this would be a nothing game where the only potential story coming out of it would be around Myles Garrett and the sack record. Instead, I watched the Bills try hard to lose this game, but the Browns try even harder and end up losing. Sanders is still ass, he had a good game from a completion percentage but still showed he has poor pocket awareness and ball decisions. The Browns keep losing and I am sure they will refuse to spend their first round pick on a QB and instead endure another year of really bad QB play and being the center of attention because of it.
Chargers vs Cowboys:
I know I should care about this game, but I just don’t. The Cowboys are not making the playoffs and the Chargers are looking like an average playoff wildcard team so these two teams matching up just feels boring. The game was mid and that is really all that can be said about it.
Jets vs Saints:
I love a good ole fashion tank bowl. Two teams who are complete trash playing each other where everyone watching knows that the real winners are the losers of the game. The Saints need to go back to tank bowl school, because they clearly lost the plot. They spanked the Jets around and made a game that was supposed to be fun because of two bad teams playing, become a boring one sided game. Do better Saints.
Vikings vs Giants:
The “Wait is JJ McCarthy actually decent” train keeps on running. Another win for the Vikings where McCarthy went full game manager mode throwing barely over 100 yards with no TDs. Every game we see is one more film session anyone with a brain could use to prove this guy blows and while at his best he is nothing more than an average backup game manager. Meanwhile the Giants have a perfect tank going as they are looking close to locks for the first overall pick, meaning they can either add an elite talent or trade back and load up on picks to a team that wants that top QB. Of course, the Giants would need to make competent moves in the offseason to work towards becoming a threat, so we don’t have much to worry about.
Chiefs vs Titans:
You know I don’t care about Titans games already, now you got them playing an injured Chiefs team? I did not watch this game, all I know is the Chiefs looked bad, Minshew got hurt, and Cam Ward actually looked like you would expect out of a top pick. Anything else that happened was clearly irrelevant and will be treated as such.
Bengals vs Dolphins:
Quinn Ewers season is here and he did not disappoint. Just kidding he was fully mid against one of the worst defenses in the NFL. The Dolphins are in full no man's land and that is most likely where they will stay for a while. Unless they have a truly elite draft they are a ways away from contending again and really do not have many young elite pieces. The Bengals dominated which I guess is cool for them, their season has been over for a while so who really cares. Bring back when Joe Burrow was acting like he was going to retire, that was fun.
Falcons vs Cardinals:
We saw contenders face off, we saw a tank bowl, now we have the mid off. These teams are both not in the tanking category yet, whether due to being just mid in general or trading away your first round pick in the upcoming draft, these teams are battling to be middle of the pack. The Falcons won, mainly on the back of their RBs, which is probably the best case for both teams as the Cardinals get a better pick and the Falcons can try and feel better about not having a pick.
Jaguars vs Broncos:
Well, the Jaguars are starting to look scary. They are playing very well versus all competition and just dropped 34 on one of the better defenses in the league. Trevor Lawrence is really starting to look like that guy again and Liam Coen should probably be towards the front of the running for coach of the year. The Broncos continue to be a confusing team, they feel like they are elite and a Super Bowl favorite but if they lose in the playoffs early I also would not be fully shocked. Bo Nix is still that guy though, don’t you forget it.
Raiders vs Texans:
The fact that the Jaguars were stomping one of the best teams in the AFC on the road while the Texans only beat one of the worst teams in the league at home by 2 shows the real gap between these teams. The Texans offense is okay at best and they are very reliant on their elite defense. The second a game even starts getting into best offense wins the Texans are practically done for. An elite defense is always scary, but if the offense can never elevate themselves, they become a lot less threatening of a team.
Steelers vs Lions:
I went into this game fully expecting the Lions to dominate. Fighting for their playoff hopes at home against an average Steelers team I expected them to come out swinging and destroy the Steelers. Instead, I watched Jared Goff look like an actual disabled person trying to play football and the entire Lions team just decided they played enough football this year and gave up. Multiple penalty calls on their last drive is the only reason they even had a shot to win at the end, but with the way they played they did not deserve the win, they deserve to miss the playoffs. The Steelers have all but clinched their destiny as a 9-8 or 10-7 team who will host a playoff game as a division winner and lose to a better AFC team (probably the Bills or the Chargers) and once again nothing will change. The Steelers mid streak continues to live on and it feels like it may never end.
Patriots vs Ravens:
After the Steelers won, the Ravens needed a win to keep their playoff hopes truly alive. They were playing a good Patriots team, but they were at home and should have a chance to win. Nope. All that happened in this game was Lamar got hurt again, the Ravens fumbled their playoff chances as they fumbled the football seemingly as often as possible, and the Patriots won to keep their lead in the AFC East. The battle between the Patriots and Broncos for the top seed while also trying to hold off division rivals to not have to be a road wildcard team should keep the AFC playoff picture exciting through the end of the season, or at least another couple weeks.
49ers vs Colts:
The GOAT, old man Rivers, was unable to come out of this one with a win. Even though the Colts are taking a nosedive from a standings standpoint, you have to be impressed with Rivers. He has not played in 5 years and comes back and through 2 games has almost 400 passing yards and 3 TDs. In no way is he some god-tier QB anymore but those types of stats would honestly be welcome by multiple teams. Unfortunately, we will most likely not be seeing Philip Rivers get to play in a playoff game this year, but he has been enjoyable to watch and honestly that is all you can ask for from a literal grandfather playing at the highest level of football right now.
