STONE COLD LOCKS- WILD CARD ROUND

Stone Cold Locks 

By Bob Gaughan

2025 record 44-46

2024 record 67-44-1

2023 Record 82-71-3

2022 Record 68-41-2

2021 record 62-49

2020 record  52-52-4

2019 Record  62-41-2

2018 Record 72-50-3

Total: 507-393-15=56%

MR. OVER/UNDER: 7-point Teaser: Rams -3.5/Bears-GB Under 52.5

Boy did San Francisco let me down last week. There’s no doubt injuries have hurt the 49ers, and now they have to travel almost 3,000 miles to play an early Sunday game. Advantage Philly. How many of you are tired of Pittsburgh making the playoffs and losing in the first round?  Well here’s an interesting fact I’m sure you’ll hear about during their game. The Steelers have won 23 consecutive Monday night games since 1992. Yet Houston has won their last nine games. Time to make it 10-in-a-row. The Packers are the first #7 seed to be favored since 2020. Beware of the odds changing before Saturday. And I’m not saying it will happen, but if you’re looking for an upset this weekend, I like the Chargers.

Which playoff game could be the most fun to watch this weekend? If you like scoring, it should be Bills/ Jaguars. The Bills are tops in rushing, but the Jags are #1 in run defense. While the Bills have lost to two teams with losing records like Atlanta & Miami, the Jags have beat five playoff teams. Maybe you’ve heard of Cam Little, the Jags kicker? He has the two longest fields goals in NFL history. So what happens if the Bills can’t run against Jacksonville? Will Josh play hero ball with interceptions, 18-yard sacks and fumbles? Or will the Bill’s defense shock Duval county with 2 interceptions? BTW, in my opinion, Jacksonville has the worst stadium and worst stadium location in the league.

At the beginning of the year I picked the Rams to win the Super Bowl. It looks like their QB, Stafford will be the MVP. DaVante Adams returns this weekend, which may be why this game has the largest spread. Carolina is the only team that comes into the playoffs with a losing record, yet they get a home game. Last year the highest scoring Wild Card game totaled 44 points, as teams have a tendency to lean conservative, at the start of the playoffs. The Bears and Packers have played each other twice this year. Once totaling 49-points, the other 38-points. It’s Teaser Time. The Rams will win, but 10.5 is a lot in a playoff game. The Bears & Packers know each other well enough to make it difficult to score a lot. So, let’s go with the Saturday games and a 7-point teaser parley with the Rams giving up 3.5 and the Bears/Packers under 52.5

Man in Stripes: Chargers +9.5/ Texans +3.. (6 point teaser)..

Its wildcard weekend in the NFL, with some great games!! Let's go with a couple of road teams ,and start off 2026 with a winner, in the last 2 games of the weekend!!

First off, the Chargers / Pats.. Jim Harbaugh vs. Mike Vrabel, and Justin Herbert vs Drake Maye..We will.go with  experience here!! Its been an incredible season for the Patriots, winning the AFC East, Maye probably going to be the MVP , that said the Chargers  are live here.. Have enough weapons and a QB/ HC combo  that have been here.. LAC do have some injuries on their OL, but the Pats are bottom 3rd in pressure/ sacks, and their sack leader, Harold Landry , is questionable , and the Chargers keep this one close enough.. 

As for Texans/ Steelers.. Someone get the 4 leaf clover from Aaron Rodgers..!!! Sorry, the best unit on this field  by a wide margin is the Houston defense,  I feel. CJ Stroud will be able to lead Houston to enough points to win this game.. Rodgers hasn't been throwing the ball much down field, and against this defense that WILL NOT WORK.. 

A few others for the weekend:

Indiana -4

Packers -1.5

Bills ML

Eagles -4.5

Enjoy the games  and good luck!!

MONO: Carolina +10.5 over Rams

Going with the Panthers +10.5 in the Super Wildcard Weekend opener. The Rams are the more talented team, with the (in my opinion) MVP under center. Davante Adams is back from his hamstring injury which may be reason for their slip up the finish the year. These 2 teams met earlier this year, on this same field and Carolina kept pace with the Rams and walked away with their biggest win of the season. They put up 31 points in that game and turned Matthew Stafford over 3 times. Everything tells me that the Rams win and probably cover, but 10.5 is a lot of points in January. 4 of the 5 losses for LA came on the road, games in which Stafford had 7 total turnovers. I think the Panthers feed off the crowd in Charlotte and stay competitive for the entirety of the game. If they can force a turnover or 2, I think they’ll actually have a shot to win it. Yes, the Panthers are 8-9 and hosting a playoff game… I have to take the points on principle. You don’t go on the road in the NFL and win by double digits. Take the Panthers +10.5. 

Brutal:  #5 Oregon @ #1 Indiana (-3.5) 

  Last week we hit it big on the NFL and three of the four College Playoff games. The one we missed of course, ..... was of course, ........ our Stone Cold Lock.  Texas Tech QB Morton had his worst game as a college professional and the Red Raiders went down because their excellent defense was on the field for the entire game and finally became exhausted.   Mr. Morton seemed somewhat distracted with sugar-plum fairy dreams about the transfer portal and some big NIL contract coming his way.  Well, within a week of this loss, he is now gone and Texas Tech has paid the QB from the University of Cincinnati $3.5 million for his services next year.  Whew! that was fast! ..... nothing like some West Texas Oil Money! 

  We have ridden this Hoosier train several times this year.  We called on the Hoosiers to destroy Oregon in Eugene early in the season, ...... and they did.  There is no good reason that they will not beat them even easier in this rematch at a neutral site in downtown Atlanta.  You don't need analytics to tell you that Indiana and their Heisman winning quarterback should be favo

red by at least 6.5.  We are getting a bargain, .... coach Cignetti and company are on their way to the College Football Final. 

  We are taking the university that gave us Venus Williams, Mark Cuban, Booker T. Jones and gave an honorary degree to America's greatest modern author, Kurt Vonnegut Junior.

  We are taking the alma mater of QB Trent Green, RB Tevin Coleman and the one and only Swiss Army Knife:   ........Antwaan Randle El (currently the wide receivers' coach of the Chicago Bears who will beat the Green Bay Packers on Saturday). 

 To paraphrase the words of R. Dean Taylor:  "Indiana wants Me and I Want Indiana!" 

 Indiana (-3.5)

Bob: Double down: Indiana -3.5 over Oregon

You have to decide which is the real Oregon defense. The team that gave up over 500 yards and 30+ points to James Madison or the defense that shutout Texas Tech last week. I think of course the answer is somewhere in between. Indiana has the better offensive and defensive lines. Indiana humiliated Alabama last week. I’ve never seen Alabama get physically dominated like that. Alabama was held to under 200 yards of offense.  Let’s face it this isn’t your father’s Indiana team. Earlier this year Indiana won at Autzen stadium by 10. Oregon got the benefit of a pick six in that game. The Hoosiers out gained Oregon by almost 60 yards. The Indiana defense is allowing only 10 points per game and teams are gaining 110 yards less against Indiana than their yearly average. We believe in Cignetti as the best coach in college football and maybe all of football.