The Josh Innes Show - If The Playoffs Started Today

Episode Date: December 19, 2025

Let's take a look at the NFL playoffs if the season ended today. I stand by this...the Rams are winning the Super Bowl. That said, there are teams who are currently struggling who would get major matchup advantages in this post season scenario. Let's take a look. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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picture with the season, if the season ended today, all right? So let's take a look at that after last night's game, because things are getting very interesting as we head down to the final three games of the year. There's three teams that have currently locked up playoff spots. Denver, Seattle, L.A. Those are the three teams. Everybody else could be bounced, may not be bounced. I mean, so they could get in.

They could not. Now, there's some teams that are obviously going to get in, but. Let's see here. Also, I love that we've got two games tomorrow. I hear people bitch about the number of days of week their NFL games. There will never be a time that I bitch about, you know, games being on a Saturday or a Sunday or a Monday. I love watching football. I love people that bitch about this.

Oh, there's too many games. Not for me. I mean, yeah, like tomorrow, you mean to tell me tomorrow we get the Bears and the Packers tomorrow night with the division on the line? That's sexy as hell. And in theory, this Philly Washington matchup should have been a good one if last year we're in Indie. Cater, so I see why they scheduled it the way they scheduled it. You wouldn't have thought that the, you know, commander skins would fall off a cliff the way they have and have Marcus Marriote out there. But, hey, shit happens.

You would have thought Philly would have been better and Washington would have been better. So that matchup is what it is. But tomorrow night, Green Bay, Chicago, a huge game. I mean, the ratings in Detroit are going to be through the roof for that. Anyway, let's play a couple commercials and let's get into it. All right. So if the season were to end today, this is the current bracket, all right? Let's start with the NFC.

So the Bears, this is what's great. This is obviously not going to be the case. So it's not fair, I guess, to look at it this way. It's kind of like when you look at the college football playoff and you get the rankings every week and all that shit. But if the season ended today, the Bears would play the Packers. Now, and the Packers would be the road team, the Bears would be at home. And I guess that would sort of remain the same then if Chicago were to. win this week as well. So not much would change. Maybe they'd flip positions with someone, maybe

the, you know, the, I don't know, a team like the Lions. The Lions are really the only other team in the NFC that's got a legit shot of climbing into a wildcarts spot and they're currently on the outside looking in. So Seattle's got the buy. You've got Chicago Green Bay. You've got Philly, San Francisco. And you've got Tampa, L.A. It's amazing how things fall, man. L.A. goes from being the number one overall seed down to the five. And I think they would smoke Tampa, by the way. I think Tampa's a joke. Like, I think that

Baker, it's amazing. We used to, and dude, I was one of them, so I'm guilty. But we talked about Baker being, you know, a guy who could win the MVP and oh my God, look at what they're doing. They're a fucking mess. Their coach looks like he's on the verge of just breaking down. Their defense isn't as good as

it was. Their offense isn't as explosive as it was. They've dealt with injuries. Baker hasn't been as good. Like, the Rams, if they were to get that matchup, and that's what's amazing is. L.A., the biggest thing is not that they're just the five-seat. L.A. goes from being home field throughout the whole thing to on the road facing Tampa. Now, there are worse places to go for road games, by the way. You know, Tampa, like you'd rather go to Tampa in December and January than go to Philadelphia, for instance.

They learned that last year in the snow. So you'd much rather be down in Tampa, 75, 70 degrees, 65 degrees, whatever. you'd much rather be down in Tampa. So as far as things go, if you're going to get bounced from the postseason, home field advantage spot, you'd much rather be down in Tampa than say Green Bay or Chicago or Philly or San Francisco. Like Tampa would be the ideal spot if you're not going to get back into that number one spot and have home field advantage, which who knows at this point?

Like you're fighting with Seattle. What does the rest of Seattle's schedule? Who does Seattle have left, right? Seattle's got the Panthers and the Niners. Those are two games that are loseable. I don't see them losing them, but they could. They're both on the road. You've got to go to Carolina.

Carolina season is going to be on the line. The 49ers are fighting for their playoff lives, although the 49ers are in a spot right now where I think they feel pretty good about where they are in terms of being in the postseason, but I don't know. They're currently a 10-win team. They can max out at 13, obviously. They can finish 13 and 4. Again, the only team in the NFC that has another shot at,

them is currently the Lions. So if they fall off a cliff, I mean, you look at what they've got coming up, right? You look at the remaining schedule for San Francisco. They've got Colts. I don't know if you'd say the Colts are better than they were two weeks ago with Philip Rivers. They didn't look great. But Colts, Bears, Seahawks, their schedule's tough too. Like, could they, in theory, lose out?

Sure. Like, that's the reason why, if you're a Lions fan, you're at least looking at this going, we have a shot. if we do our job and your schedule's manageable. That's the perk you have if you're the Lions right now. Like the 49ers are fighting to get in the playoffs. They have to face Colts Bear Seahawks. Those aren't easy games. They're games they could lose.

They could win. But they're there. Like if you're San Francisco, it's a tough schedule for Seattle. It's a tough schedule for the Bears. The Bears have the toughest remaining schedule of anybody. You've got the Steelers who are very beatable. You've got the Vikings who you should beat if you're at all worth of shit, although you've already lost to them, and then you end the season against the bears.

So if the Lions do their job and win their three games, they're going to be in. But anyway, none of that really matters. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out. But just looking at it, if the season ended today, looking at the wild card, we're going to start in the NFC, I would take Green Bay to beat Chicago. I would take Philly to beat. See, yeah, at home. San Francisco's fascinating because I don't know that there are.

any good, but they just keep winning games. That's what's funny about the Eagles. We've talked about them and how bad the offense is and how no one believes in them. It's amazing. They're going to get a home playoff game. They're going to face San Francisco, and they will be favored to beat San Francisco on a playoff

game at home, and they would beat them. And then you'd have a road team in L.A. going to Tampa, and I think they'd smoke Tampa. I don't think Tampa would have much of a chance in that game, because I don't think Tampa's any good. I mean, Tampa, these sons of bitches, I know you have your own issues, but I need Tampa to find two wins in the last three freaking weeks so I can win

my parlay. I need one more win from the Lions, two more wins from Tampa. Tampa has now blown two games against two shitty teams, and it's really effing my day up. Again, I know you have your own issues. So we need to, if you like me at all, and you want me to win 500 bucks, let's pull for Tampa to win twice and the Lions to win one more and I'll win that. And of course, if the Lions make the playoffs, then I'll have a big $1,000 hit. There's a potential 1,500 bucks on the line on a grand total of like $130 in bets. So just remember that. On the AFC side of things, New England and Houston, would you feel that it's a

guaranteed lock that Houston loses in the first round on the road to New England? I don't. Their defense is great. Their defense is elite. New England's fine. I think they're well coached. I think what we've proven with New England is that Vrabel's a solid freaking coach. When he got whacked in Tennessee, you're like, how good of a coach is Vrable, right?

Like, I mean, was he really that good? Let's see him do it somewhere else. Now he's in New England and they were kind of left for dead. And now they're in New England. And, you know, he's done it there too with Drake May. So he's good. I think the Texans have a good coach. You're going on the road.

You'd be an underdog. You'd have to have offense. And I don't know if they have enough offense to beat them. But I could see a scenario where Houston beats New England in a first round game. Jacksonville and Buffalo, I would take Buffalo to win that, even though they're going on the road. I don't believe in Buffalo at all. It's fascinating to me that Buffalo is currently in the spot they're in, being that this should be the year for Josh Allen, and Josh Allen can clearly sling it. And what he's doing with the junk he has at receiver is pretty remarkable, but I don't believe in them.

But I certainly don't believe in Jacksonville, even at home. So Buffalo would win that game. Boy, you want to talk about a game that I, like, I would assume the Chargers would win this, but Chargers, Pittsburgh, if it came down to that, Aaron Rogers in a home playoff game, Chargers having to make a road trip across the country to play at Pittsburgh, miserable weather more than likely, Justin Herbert with a bad offensive line. I think I'd take Pittsburgh. I don't think Pittsburgh's any good, but the Chargers haven't shown anything to show me

they're worth a shit the last couple of weeks. Their offensive lines got issues. they haven't been as good defensively. They've been fine, but they haven't been as good. So if this is the way it's shaped up, which obviously things are going to change, and Denver's got the buy, I'd go, I may take the Texans. If you would have told young Josh when he was in Houston back in 2010, 11, 12, that there would come a day where the Texans would play a road playoff game against New England

and that you would believe that the Texans as a wild card would go to New England. Again, you don't know that Tom Brady's not there in this hypothetical. But if you would have told young whippersnapper, young radio guy Josh, that the Texans would go to New England. And I don't think they'd be favored, but I don't think they'd be a massive underdog in that game. Obviously, it's a road playoff game. You're traveling to probably a cold weather environment more than likely. So there'd be a lot of factors. But I don't think they'd be a massive underdog.

I mean, if you give a team three points for home Maybe you give another point and a half to New England Maybe New England's favored by three and a half, four Would be my guess I don't have a futures thing out in front of me But like probably like I don't think New England Would be a massive favorite in that game And I wouldn't be shocked if Houston won

Buffalo Buffalo would probably go into a game on the road Against Jacksonville I would guess They'll get a lot of credit I think there'll be somewhere in the neighborhood of four and a half or a five-point favorite against Jacksonville, because I don't think Jacksonville's any good. Might even be higher than. I don't think Buffalo is very good either for what it's worth.

And then Pittsburgh in L.A., I'd say Pittsburgh would be favorite in that game at home. They'll get the three points just for being at home. So I would say Pittsburgh would probably be, I mean, it'd be probably three and a half, three and a half, four and a half somewhere in that neighborhood. Because the Chargers, while they've got the better quarterback, well, I mean, not. historically, obviously, but I think quarterback play if Herbert's healthy. I think he's a better option than Aaron Rogers right now. Pittsburgh's running game is

nothing special. There's nothing special about Pittsburgh. Their defense isn't very good. But for whatever reason, playoff game at home, Pittsburgh in that scenario, Chargers not playing very good football, I think Pittsburgh would be favored, and I think they'd win.

If it was Bears, Chicago Green Bay in that wild card game and that game were in Chicago, I still think Green Bay's favorite in that scenario. Green Bay is probably favored by a point and a half, maybe. Eagles are probably favored. I think the Eagles would be favored by more than you'd think at home. For whatever reason, I think the Eagles would be favored by five, five and a half at home against San Francisco. And I think the Rams would be a big-time favorite, not like a double-digit favorite against Tampa because it's road, it's playoff game, whatever. I think the Rams would be favored in that game by a touchdown.

If not more? Because I just don't think Tampa's any good. Tampa's got to get in, first of all. As right now, they stand in that spot. That could be Carolina. And if L.A. had to go to Carolina, I think L.A. would be favored by more than 10 points in that game. On the road, they'd be favored. Tampa, I think, gets a little credit because I think they've got playmakers.

For whatever reason, and maybe I'm giving Tampa too much credit based on what they were doing earlier in the year. I think Tampa wouldn't be as big of an underdog. Carolina, if somehow Carolina ended up winning that division, I could see a scenario where Carolina is a double-digit underdog. Not full-on two touchdowns, but they'd be a double-digit dog in that game. But again, all that's going to change. I mean, you look at this weekend, and I haven't even looked at the point spreads. I haven't even looked at any of the spreads for the games this weekend. We can guess those spreads here in a little bit, too.

But actually, we can do that here coming up. Let's do that. So there's a look at what the current playoff field looks like. And if you told me, again, this kind of goes back to the whole talk about the Rams and whether or not you think the Rams are cooked or if the Rams are still the best team. The Rams are the best team in the league. I would take the Rams over anybody right now. All right, more to come.