Strap on those leather helmets, you NFL nuts, the playoffs are here.
Round 1 includes Wild Card Weekend, kicking off Saturday and continuing through Sunday and Monday night. In the mix are the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles trying to get back to the big dance while the AFC will crown a new champ after the Kansas City Chiefs missed the post-season party for the first time since 2014.
Here are your fearless Czech Points Wild Card Weekend predictions:
RAMS at PANTHERS
The experience of veteran Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford will trump the talented Carolina young gun, Bryce Young. Stafford has thrown the third-most career post-season touchdown passes of the remaining pivots in these playoffs with 19, behind Aaron Rodgers, 45, and Josh Allen, 25.
Winner: Rams.
PACKERS at BEARS
You’ve got to love this Black-and-Blue Division clash between ancient rivals Green Bay and Chicago. Some believe the Bears are a year ahead of their projected progression from a five-win season 12 months ago but Chicago should sideline a banged-up Pack in this classic matchup. Bears QB Caleb Williams tossed 15 TD passes at home this season against only a pair of interceptions.
Winner: Bears.
BILLS at JAGUARS
Jacksonville seemingly flew under the radar all year and wound up winning a tough AFC South Division with a sparkling 13-4 slate and are a sexy underdog pick in these playoffs. Many pundits, however, believe this is Buffalo’s year and it has to start here.
Winner: Bills.
NINERS at EAGLES
Questions abound about the San Francisco defence and Philly is always hard to beat at home. Both of these clubs have looked great at times and not so great at other times. I look for Mr. Relevant, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, to out-duel Eagles signal-caller Jalen Hurts in an oh-so-close contest. Hurts is 5-and-0 in the playoffs at home; Purdy boasted a 111 passer rating on the road this season.
Winner: Niners.
CHARGERS at PATRIOTS
What’s not to like about New England QB Drake Maye who is in the MVP conversation this season while never having made a playoff start? Weather could factor in for Los Angeles which makes the always difficult cross-country trek from sunny California to Boston. The hometown Pats defence will likely go after Chargers QB Justin Herbert with great gusto. He was sacked a career-high 54 times this season.
Winner: Pats.
TEXANS at STEELERS
Sorry, but the feel-good Aaron Rodgers Comeback Show ends here against a staunch Houston defence. Texans ride into the playoffs on the crest of a league-best nine-game win streak. Of note, the 42-year-old Rodgers makes his first playoff appearance in five years.
Winner: Texans.
NEED TO KNOW: The last time a Wild Card team won the Super Bowl was in 2020 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers advanced to the NFL title tilt and defeated Kansas City 31-9 in Tampa.
“MR. GOALIE” DEAD AT 94
Any conversation involving the top-three NHL goaltenders of all-time must include Glenn Hall. And, on any list, he could easily be No. 1.
Hall, who holds an NHL record that will never be broken, died in Alberta on Wednesday. He was 94.
Hall’s streak of 502 straight starts as an NHL netminder will surely stand the test of time. Including playoffs, Hall’s streak stretched over an amazing 552 straight games from 1955-1963.
And Hall did it without wearing a mask, which were few and far between in those days.
Hall might also have been the first-ever NHL goalie to implement the butterfly style, which some 70 years later is de rigueur among virtually all modern puck-stoppers.
Ten of Hall’s 16 NHL seasons were spent with the Blackhawks in Chicago where he was a teammate of Belleville natives Bobby and Dennis Hull. He later joined the expansion St. Louis Blues in 1967 and helped establish the new club as a solid big-league franchise.
Hall is one of only five players to ever win the Conn Smythe Trophy as a member of the losing team in a Stanley Cup finals. A seven-time All-Star, Hall posted 407 wins and 84 shutouts over the course of his illustrious 906-game NHL career.
LOCALS MAKE ALL-STAR SQUAD
The Tweed Oil Kings host the 2026 Northern Premier Sr. A Hockey League’s Capital Group All-Star Game on Saturday, Jan. 17.
The Western Conference team features three players apiece from the Oil Kings and Deseronto Bulldogs while the Prince Edward County Royals have placed two skaters on the squad.
Western Conference captain is Deseronto sniper Luc Brown, currently second in league scoring with 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points. He’ll be joined by fellow Bulldogs forward Jason Shaw and Deseronto defenceman Jonny Hill.
The three-man Tweed contingent is led by defenceman Jakob Brahaney, who leads all league blueliners in scoring with 31 points (six goals, 25 assists) in 15 games. D-man Brody Morris and forward Dawson Ellis will also represent the host Oil Kings.
PEC scoring leader Calvin Wojtaszak (11-10-21) and Royals rearguard Kenny Murduff have also been named to the Western Conference team.
The All-Star festivities, with the West taking on the best from the Eastern Conference, includes skills contests and everything starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17 in Tweed.
Heading into the new year, Deseronto is 9-0-1 in its last 10 games and leads the Highlands Division with an 11-3-2 record. Tweed is currently second in the Heritage Division at 10-5-1 while PEC brings up the rear in the Highlands Division at 3-12-1.
