It’s one of the best days on the sports calendar – Conference Championship Sunday – yet the AFC game is hardly compelling without Bo Nix for the Broncos. Outside of his parents and friends, no one else wants to see Jarrett Stidham pilot a team in a game of this magnitude.
In the NFC, we get the matchup of what I have considered the two best teams all season – the Seahawks and Rams. L.A. got extremely lucky after being outplayed in the wicked Chicago conditions last week. Matthew Stafford is going to have to be a heck of a lot better or he won’t fulfill my pre-playoffs prophecy.
2025-26 Playoffs: 6-4
2025-26 Regular Season: 180-91-1 (66%)
2025-26 Overall: 186-95-1 (66%)
2024-25 Regular Season: 180-92 (66%)
2024-25 Playoffs: 10-3 (77%)
2024-25 Overall: 190-95 (69%)
With two excellent defenses and Denver starting a backup quarterback, I just can’t see this one turning into a Broncos-Bills type of shootout. My top play is the Under 40.5, give or take. I would probably play it down to 38.5 as I have a hard time seeing either team score more than 24 in this one. While I would’ve probably leaned Denver at home with a healthy Bo Nix, it’s hard to imagine Jarrett Stidham pulling a Jeff Hostetler (see the 1990 Giants) and leading his team to the Super Bowl. Whereas the NFC game will likely be exciting to watch from an offensive standpoint, expect just the opposite here. Both of these teams have skated by with relatively easy schedules this season. This time, the Nix injury benefits New England significantly. The thing is, Drake Maye doesn’t have to play well for New England to win. If the Patriots can run the ball effectively like Buffalo did last week, Denver is toast. And that’s exactly what will happen.
Patriots 21, Broncos 13
Dating back to 2024, Sam Darnold has faced the Rams four times. His teams are 1-3 in those games, with the one win being a large blown lead by Los Angeles and won on a two-point conversion (in December 2025). He’s thrown six interceptions against L.A. already this season and is once again likely not to be 100% on Sunday with an oblique injury. Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford hasn’t thrown an interception against Seattle this season (5 TDs, 0 INTs). Though Stafford hasn’t been at his best this postseason, I can’t possibly pick Darnold over him in a big game. I saw these two face off in person last January (in a playoff game moved to Arizona) and if it was a prize fight, they would’ve stopped it in the third round. While I’m not expecting Rams star wide receiver Puka Nacua to post a 225 yard, two touchdown performance against Seattle like he did in Week 16, I’m also not sure that the Seahawks have an effective answer to slow him down. In yet another playoff thriller, Los Angeles moves on to the Super Bowl for the second time in five seasons
Rams 27, Seahawks 23
On another note, rough way to end the CFB season on here. While I got the number at Under 48.5 on SportsLine, I wasn’t so lucky in my picks on Cohen’s Corner. Tough season but hope to be a heck of a lot better in 2026! The bowl season was particularly awful to me and cost me around 10 units.
And yes, what Curt Cignetti did at Indiana is the greatest coaching job I’ve ever seen for a full season in any sport. Beyond belief. What a genius.
CFB Best Bets
Last Week: 0-1 (-2.2u)
Final Record: 49-62-1 (-22.42u)
For my golf picks this week and going forward, check out Early Wedge each week on the SportsLine YouTube page!
Cohen's Corner 
Once again your reasoning sounds good; however, I’m going with the Seahawks. 🤷♂️
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