The Ringer NFL Show - AFC Wild-Card Round Predictions, Plus Dolphins Fire Mike McDaniel!

Episode Date: January 9, 2026

Sheil and The Ringer’s own Austin Gayle start the pod by sharing their instant reactions to the news of the Miami Dolphins firing head coach Mike McDaniel. They then analyze all of the AFC matchups in this weekend’s slate to determine what story lines will have the NFL media buzzing when the final whistle has been blown on the wild-card round of the playoffs. (00:00) Predicting the AFC wild-card round headlines (1:42) Miami Dolphins fire Mike McDaniel (6:58) Bills-Jaguars (12:13) Chargers-Patriots (18:50) Steelers-Texans (25:04) The Ringer 107 The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit ⁠www.rg-help.com⁠ to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Sheil Kapadia Guest: Austin Gayle Producer: Chris Sutton Video Editor: Stefano Sanchez Social: Kiera Givens and Brian Waters Production Supervision: Conor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Ringer NFL show. I am your host, Shield Capadia. Today we are talking about the AFC playoff matchups, bills at Jaguars, Chargers at Patriots, and of course Monday night, Texans, at Steelers. What are the headlines or the storylines that are going to come out of those games? We're going to predict them.

We'll also talk about the Mike McDaniel firing here at the top of the show. Our guest today is my friend from the ringer, Austin Gale. Let's take a break. We come back with Austin. Talk Mike McDaniel and AFC playoffs. The Ringer NFL show is presented by Fandul. FanDul's got it all. Same game parlays, quick bets for jumping in live and your way so you can build the bet that fits your play. Plus, don't miss out on the NFL playoffs all month long. Download the Fandul app or head to fandul.com slash ringer NFL to get started. 21 plus and present in select states or 18 plus and president. in D.C., Kentucky or Wyoming, gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gand-Gandler,

or visit RG-HALP-HELP.com. Call 1-88-7-8-8-7-7. or visit cCPG.org slash chat in Connecticut. All right, we are back here on the Ringer NFL show with Austin Gale. We're going to talk about the AFC playoffs,

Austin, but before we do that, coach firing, we always got to talk about the coach firing if there's a coach firing, and we're recording in Mike McDaniel, days after the dolphin season ends. They didn't do it immediate. they had some meetings according to the reporting and a certain prominent coach became available.

I want to know if you thought that had anything to do with it. But the Miami Dolphins fire Mike McDaniel. So let's start here. What do you think actually is happening in Miami? Is this linked to John Harbaugh becoming available? There's been a lot of reporting that their owner, Stephen Ross, is infatuated with John Harbaugh. Or do you think this is one where they just said, all right, we were on the fence. We thought about it because that does happen.

And we decided to move on from Mike McDaniel. I think it has to be a part of the conversation because I don't think you fire Mike McDaniel at this point, you know, belatedly, it kind of feels like if you don't look at the head coaching candidate pool and how it's affected by bringing in John Harbaugh. Then there's all this stuff with like Stephen Ross is like one of the biggest donors in Michigan football history. He's a big Harbaugh fan. Like you could see it make a ton of sense for for them to kind of want to go get John Harbaugh. But there's also been some reporting today that has come out about how the GM search is more important than even how they're feeling about the head coaching search. and they want to figure that out too. And if you're Harbaugh, and you're going to probably have your pick of any of the vacancies,

I think a lot of the teams are going to be looking for Harbaugh to come in, I think the GM hire that they do make is going to be a big piece of this, right? So I do think with Mike McDaniel, they felt like it was maybe time to move on. They're looking for a change of pace in terms of how that locker room is led and how the team is led overall. Yeah, the thing with McDaniel is I think everyone agrees great offensive coach, or at least very good offensive coach. He's kind of proven himself there.

And if you just sat back four years ago and said, here's what his roster is going to be, they're going to go 35 and 33 and go to the playoffs twice, you'd be like, that kind of sounds to me like he probably did a pretty good job. Like it's hard to make the case that another coach would have done so much more with that talent on Miami. I don't believe that to be the case. Now, I do think while he was a great offensive schemer, I'm not sure about him in terms of the other stuff that comes along with being a head coach, the leadership, the culture,

the players, the staff. Remember, they let Vic Fangio go, who's now just like the reason why the Eagles are winning games over the last two years. So there's that stuff that I'm not sure about. The film grinders, Austin, are just very excited about where is Mike McDaniel going to go. And I'll be honest, there are some exciting spots. You know, does he get paired with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens? Does he go to Washington with Jade and Daniels? They let Cliff Kingsbury go.

He's got a relationship with Dan Quinn. Mike McDaniel does. The Lions, I thought, would. be interesting. They let John Morton go. I mean, he's playing indoors with Jared Gough and that talent. That had to be a little bit excited. What was your most exciting? Like, oh, this would be really fun if Mike McDaniel went here, spot. Baltimore and Washington, because they have, you know, two very athletic quarterbacks. Namar Jackson, two-time MVP, Jane Daniels, I think, can be that if healthy. And, like, just seeing the kind of offense Mike McDaniel would create for a quarterback

that can move with their feet, it's not what he had into a tongue of Iloa. And, like, two things that you mentioned there, I think the biggest dings on Mike McDaniel and his head coaching was his decision to really commit to Tuotung of Iloa and just not being able to make it work with Vic Fangio. And I think moving forward, like how he makes decisions on the personnel and how he can build his staff are going to be important kind of evaluating pieces to whether he gets another head coaching job. As for an offensive play caller, I think he made everyone better in Miami and kind of broke people's brains. Remember when he initiated the cheat motion and every coach is like, oh my God, I need to add that to my playbook. I still think he has that in his bag. And like, that's where like I like Washington.

I like Baltimore. I think the other teams that make sense as well. Houston, Philly, I think Tampa Bay, Nick Carter, I think formerly of the Backstreet Boys, he might still be in there. I don't know, is saying that he's going to go to the Buccaneers. I don't know how much you buy Nick Carter's reporting in 2026. Where did you come across this information?

When you said Nick Carter, I thought you were going to be like. It's a tweet. Okay, I thought you were going to be like offensive line coach. And I'm like, oh, man, I haven't heard of this guy. No, it is the Nick Carter that I know. No, Nick Carter is hearing that Mike McDaniel is going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I think that's not likely at all. I think Houston is probably.

one of the destinations that I think is legit. I think it's a team we're going to talk about soon. The D'emico Ryan's pairing, I think they haven't been able to figure out the offense really since C.J. Stroud's rookie season. I think Houston would be a very interesting landing spot for him. Like I said, I like Washington, I like Baltimore. And then Detroit, like you said,

Detroit is another one where he comes in. Does he immediately elevate the offense to where it was with Ben Johnson, Jared Gough, and all that stuff before? Yeah, it's like, what does he want? Because we all watch that Miami offense and we're like, this is incredible what he's doing with Tua. Imagine if he had a more talented quarterback I was trying to get Dak Prescott traded there like two off seasons ago.

Like get him to Miami. So is that what he wants? Is it like I want somewhere where I can establish myself and then get a head coaching job? You know, like Philadelphia, Detroit, those are stable, good organizations that if you go there and the team wins big next year, you're going to be looked at next year. So certainly, man, what an off season we have ahead of us. We were talking before the show. We love the off season. And the coaching drama right now is maybe as big of a story in the NFL as the playoff game.

are, but there are playoff games, Austin. And we love this time of year. We're talking about the AFC playoffs, the three games coming up this weekend. We are predicting headlines. What do we think is going to happen? First AFC playoff game, Sunday afternoon, bills at Jaguars. Jaguars are one and a half point home dogs. You start us off. I can't wait because I can't decide on this game. I change my mind every 30 seconds. So I want to see where you're going with it. What is your headline or storyline that's going to come out of this game. When I was writing my playoff predictions and trying to get to my Super Bowl, I really do think I flipped it like three or four times. But to

start with the Bills, I'm choosing chaos this postseason. Just like how we've had a lot of chaos in the regular season, the Chiefs aren't in it. Jared Gough and the Lions are out. No Lamar Jackson, no Joe Burrow. It's been a crazy regular season. I think that maintains in the playoffs. My headline, Bill's Fire Sean McDermott. Zero in on John Harbaugh. That's coming in next week. And now,

I don't know if this is going to happen. I think there's a really good chance to bills win this game too. But But just throw the chaos out there. John Harbaugh is not interviewing with teams until next week. There's been little breadcrumbs of reporting, little shots of reporting that the Buffalo Bills with Sean McDermott and the Green Bay Packers with Matt Lafleur, which I don't really understand. I understand the McDermott one more than I understand the Lafleur one.

But there's been reporting that maybe they're interested in Harbaugh, now that he's become available, and if they do lose this week, maybe they're starting to look at it. I'm just throwing this into the mix that if the bills go into this one, a playoffs where there's no Mahomes, everyone said it. There's no Mojones. There's no Joe. Jackson. This is Allen's time to shine. This is his Super Bowl to go take. I know they're going to be on the road because of the fifth seed. And he, I do think they're running into a buzzsaw with this Jacksonville Jaguar's team. It's one eight in a row. They're playing the best football of their lives. Cohen Lawrence looks like an absolute home run. The defense is really good, specifically in the front seven. And the bills, I think, have holes everywhere outside of kind of how they've been able to run the football with this, you know, two, three tight end sets. And obviously Josh Allen being the super hope, but he's banged up. The defense is banged up. They can't stop the run. It's a tough matchup going to Jacksonville. I think. they could lose this one now. Do they fire McDermott? Who knows, I'm kind of throwing it crazy out there.

But if they lose this game and Harbaugh's not interviewing, I don't know. I think there's going to be serious consideration. Listen, I think it's in play with McDermott because it kind of is like the hardball situation. I mean, these two teams came into the season and they're at that horrible spot where if you're a fan, you want to enjoy every week, but you're kind of like, we have to win the Super Bowl this year. We have to win the Super Bowl. We haven't gotten to the Super Bowl. We have a great quarterback. We haven't gotten there. And that's the situation they've both been in. And for Josh Allen and the bills, it's like, he might have more at stake than any other player in the playoffs, I think. Because I was thinking about this earlier.

And I don't even know if it's fair because the team around him is probably the weakest team he's had in Buffalo, I would argue. And yet these other guys are out of the playoffs. And so it's like, can you beat Trevor Lawrence? You know, can you beat Bo Nicks? I know it's not quarterback first quarterback. I understand it. But you know what the narratives are going to be here. And so he's got a lot at stake.

here. He's got to feel like he's got a great chance. We know the bills want to run the football. Jaguars are very good at stopping the run. And then the other side of the ball, this has not been a good Bill's defense. However, they're better at stopping the past than stopping the run. And the Jaguars have not been a reliable run game all season. So I flipped my pick to Austin. And at the end of the day, I have Allen's late game heroics keep Bill's Super Bowl hopes alive. I can never quit the bills. Listeners of this pod, no, I can't quit the bills. I don't know. I won't be surprised if the Jaguars beat him, even beat him handily,

but I'm not betting against Josh Allen right now. Honestly, it's a coin flip game, right? It's a one and a half points spread. I think it could go either way. I think if the bills do win, it's going to be, they have to abandon the run game. Trevor Lawrence is having success against the defense and Josh Allen has to put the cape on. And if he does, right, and like you said,

maybe he has the most pressure on, I don't think he does. I think it's McDermott. I think McDermott going into this game does have a lot of pressure on him. And if this defense, right, like I think, you know, they're, it's, it's kind of easy to see maybe the Jacksonville Jaguars being able to put points on this team, even though they haven't been able to run the ball successfully, really since the first half of the season. It is kind of crazy how bad this Bill's run defense has been over the second half. And now they've been a better passing attack. Have they run into

what Cohen, Lawrence, Parker Washington, Jacoby Myers, and Brian Thomas Jr. or even Brent Strange. Like this, this passing offense has like three, four legit weapons, a quarterback that's playing the best football of his career and one of the best offensive coaches in the NFL. And then on the other side, like, yes, this Jagger's, where his defense is a little bit noisy and maybe turnover dependent. I do believe in the front seven. I do think they can stop the run. And if Josh Allen kind of has to be everything for this team,

when he doesn't have the pass catchers, they really needed to lean on James Cook. It's a game at home for Jacksonville that I do see them having. I think in the situation that McDermott gets fired, I think it's a bad defensive performance, right? It's Trevor Lawrence walking them up and down the field. Josh Allen has to put up 30, 40 points just to stay in the game. And I think that's the situation that I feel is most likely if the Jags do end up winning.

Well, history tells us that when the bills lose in the playoffs, that's really what it's been. I mean, their defensive performances, they've been like Ds and Fs. If they could have got to C plus in some of those games, they would have already been to the Super Bowl. So you might not be wrong there. I mean, this could be a, there could be wild ramifications from just the wild card round with some of these games. Let's take a break. We come back. We'll get to the other wild card games.

All right. We're back on the Ringer NFL show. Next game here, Austin Sunday night, Chargers at Patriots, Patriots, three and a half point favorite. I'll give you my headline first. Again, changed it a million times. Yes.

May goes toe to toe with Herbert as Patriots get first playoff win since 2018. Wow. Listen, there's been a lot of talk about May and the Patriots. Is it a soft schedule? Are they frauds? The MVP stuff with Stafford. I kind of think their offenses,

reliable as an entity as we have in the playoffs. I mean, every week they seem to figure it out, regardless of O-line situation, regardless of a wide receiver situation, regardless of whether they can run the ball. I do believe May has been that good. I do believe he's ready for the moment, even against a very good Chargers team. And I'm watching the explosive play because that's really what he's feasted on. You know, their first and explosive pass play rate and the Chargers, I think, are top five defensively. This is what the Chargers do.

They want to take away those. explosives. And I think May said it to reporters this week, like, I can't get bored with just having an efficient game here. And so I think that's going to be the test. Does he get a little aggressive and does he make that mistake that the chargers are waiting on? Or can he just play that efficient style? I think he's going to play really well in this game. And I think the Patriots are going to win this game. What do you got? They should win this game, right? They're three and a half point favorites. They have the best offense in the NFL by success rate and by EPA. That's for the full season and for the second half of the season. I think a lot of people going into the

playoffs, look at weeks 9 through 18, that second half of the season to see how you're going in. They've been the best offense all year. Now, they've also faced the worst defenses by DVOA this year. And like some of that is that. But I think you are going into this game feeling very confident that the offense, specifically Drake May can get things done even against good defenses. Now, even because they haven't played good defenses, everyone's kind of throwing that question out.

But like, Drake May has played an MVP level this year. That said, my headline, maybe next year. Bring him back, Drake, maybe. Wow. Why I feel like the Chargers are live in this game, and I think everyone's going to point out to, they have the worst offensive line in the NFL right now, and it's not close.

It is terrible. They've battled injuries all year. I think they've had almost 30 different five-man offensive line rotations this year. Their tackles specifically are terrible. Going against the Patriots, who I think middle of the pack rushing the passer this year, I don't think they get threatened like they had when they're going against Denver or they're going against Houston

or if they had to place Seattle in the Super Bowl. the Patriots pass rush, I don't think, is there to really take advantage of it. And I also think that the Chargers can run the ball on this team. I think the Chargers have kind of shocked people with how they've been able to run the football over the second half of the season. And Herbert, when shit hits the fan, right? And I think that the way the Patriots win this game is shit doesn't hit the fan. They're able to stay on schedule.

They get out to an early lead and they're able to kind of lean on it. And Herbert, then that offense has to become one dimensional. And the offensive line gets just too much, right? too much work. If shit hits the fan, I trust Herbert Harbaugh and the defensive coordinator for the Chargers mentor to get things done better than I do necessarily with the past. And I think it's because of how much I just really believe in how Herbert has played this year. All right, let's expectation set for Herbert because this is a narrative time. I mean, these playoffs games, depending on who win or loses, you know what the conversation is going to be. So Herbert, you mentioned it. 25, I think I read

in the athletic, 25 different five-man O-line combinations has been hit 120, times the second most for a quarterback. This is from Daniel Popper at the Athletic. Second most for a quarterback since 2000. So there's no denying it. What you said, absolutely, Bowline has stumped. This Patriots defense is not close to a juggernaut. Maybe mediocre.

That might be being generous. They're actually 27 in pressure rate here. You got to, you know, again, you look at their depth chart. You're not like, oh, man, this guy's going to really make a player. This guy's tough to block. their pass rush, whatever, any level you want to look at. What should a fair set? Let's say the Chargers lose this game.

Justin Herbert should be able to do what, given his circumstances and given the Patriot circumstances. I feel like Justin Herbert should be able to play well and we should be coming out of this game, even if they lose, we should be like Justin Herbert played really well. He made great place with his arm. He made great place with his legs. They wouldn't have even been close to in it without him. It should be that kind of game from him.

And if that's the case, then we don't need to talk about he's never one of playoff game. We can accept the circumstances and tell it for what it is. But I do think he should be able to play really well under these set of circumstances. Yeah, I think that it comes down to kind of what we've seen in the last few weeks when the offensive line has been decimated by injuries. It's just like not turning immediate pressure into sacks and somehow either turning those into not negative plays, throwing the ball away or just getting out or turning them into big plays and scrambling outside the pocket and pushing the ball downfield. But I think Herbert in those situations, I think specifically moving off a play. action and trying to get the ball out on schedule is where he needs to be. And it's going to be this Chargers run game that kind of has to unlock it. Like, I think they need to be able to run

the football to win this game successfully so that they are just like a little bit two-dimensional and they don't have to, you know, even as, you know, middling as this Patriot's pass rush is, if they're able to just kind of pin their ears back because they're up 10 and they have to throw the ball all the time because they haven't able to run the football, I really hate this script. Again, I think there's ways for this to flip towards the Charger side. I think it's why it's a very popular bet, like, listening to the ringer gambling show and just like reading a kind of like betting previews for this game. A lot of people like the Chargers at the plus three and a half at the plus three

because they feel like there's a way for the Patriots defense to become one-dimensional. It would be a hard, hard game for. Is this the best defense Drake May has faced this year? Maybe you can include the Browns, but somehow the Browns don't really count because the offense just isn't there. But like, this is one of the best defense he's played all year. Yeah. I mean, if he doesn't play well and their offense doesn't play well and they allude to the

chargers, it's just going to be like, what, you know, were they frauds? season. Did they just beat up on a hard schedule? And now going into next year, they face a first place schedule and what do they really have and how much tweaking do they have to do to the personnel around Drake May? So, yeah, they're certainly... And that's why you too, you have to give a lot of credit to the Patriots if they win this game, right? Like, their favorite by three and a half, they are at home. The Chargers have a bad offensive line. Like, if the Patriots win this game, I'm not like just writing up like, oh, like, yeah, it was an easy win. They should have won. Like, this is a tough opponent. Like, I think there are a lot of other hard AFC opponents and

maybe this is the easiest one because the Chargers have such a big weakness with the offensive line. But like, if the Patriots win this game and specifically the offense looks good, then I'm really buying them as a deep postseason threat. Because I think this is a big prove-it game for them, just given where Minter is and how good the Chargers defenses. Yeah, I love it. I'll change my mind 10 more times on this game before we get to a Sunday night. All right, last one here, Austin. I feel like you and I, every pod we talk about these two teams. We do. We do. Texans at the Steelers. Steelers plus three here. I'll go first again. What the heck? Rogers Tomlin.

undecided on future after another Steelers playoff loss. Okay. I like the Texans here. I understand I'm wrong about, I've been wrong about the Steelers like 17 different times this year. I can't get a handle on them. It's been such a wild season from the Fire Tomlin chance to the Ravens missed field goal.

And here we are. There are one win away, a home win where they're only three point dogs from playing in the freaking divisional round. But I think it ends here. I think that the Texans defensively, this is just one of those games where their speed, athleticism, physicality versus Steelers offense is really going to show up. I know you've mentioned to me a million times about this Steelers offense and how they throw

the ball five yards downfield. You know, that's just what they average. It's a league low for the entire season. And you know who has the best EPA on short passes in the NFL. It's this Houston Texans defense. So I just feel like the matchup works in their favor. Do I say it with any confidence? Of course I don't.

I've learned my lesson with the Tomlin voodoo this year, but I do like the Steelers. I mean, I'm sorry, I do like the T. He just got to me. He got inside my head. I do like the Texans in this game, Austin. Are you with me or are you on the other side? For my headline here, I tried to think of something Mike Tomlin would say, some crazy quote that no one really understands.

And I just ended up going with what is dead may never die. And I'm on the Steelers this week. I've been very adamant on this podcast, That's how I, the defense is the worst of the Tomlin era. The offense is fraudulent because they don't throw the ball on field, blah, blah, blah, blah. All that said, it's a, it's a home game on Monday night and no one is, no one is believing in the Steelers. And it's just exactly what Mike Tomlin does. Like, this is how Mike Tomlin wins football games.

He wins football games by motivating his team to convince them. No one believes in us. We're dogs again at home in a night game. He's won what, like 23 Monday night games in a row at home. This is a crazy stat. It's a crazy stat. It's a crazy stat. Everyone's going around.

I can't believe it. They haven't lost on Monday night in decades or whatever it is. You give them a little extra time to convince the entire locker room that no one believes in us and everyone just comes out with an edge. And you said the Texas defense is arguably the best in the NFL. Yet, styles make fights. And I kind of feel like the Steelers offense specifically because it's designed to get the ball out so quickly, Aaron Rogers has the fastest time to throw up his career and of any

quarterback this season. And I think they've been able to find some success running the football with Kenny Gainwell and Jalen Warren as well. It's going to be very hard against. the Texan defense. If there's something I know about this defense, they have very good edge players specifically at defending the run. I think it's going to be hard for the Steelers to find success there, but still, for some reason, I think that the pay, the, the, the, uh, sorry, the Steelers offense is going to be able to kind of do their dumb dink and dunk short thing and then shock them with a couple

explosive plays, a couple explosive shots to D.K. McKaff, now that he's back from the two game suspension. And on the other side of the ball, and I don't think the Steelers are going to put up a ton of points in this game. The total, I think, is the lowest of any of the wildcard games this week. I think that on the other side of the ball, we've said it all year, this Houston Texans offense is extremely consistent. I think they're going to be looking for an OC again in the offseason, maybe Mike McDaniel, and they specifically can't run the football. And if you're able to kind of keep this Texans team one-dimensional, like they kind of have been all year, I don't necessarily trust them to score a lot of points, even if the Steelers defense has been getable this year. And then just throw in this, if I had to bet which team is going to get some fluky fumble, some ridiculous tips, you know, like a batted at the line, interception, or some special teams blunder. and it's going to go their way, it's going the Steelers way.

I just believe that in my heart. And I think this game's going to be close enough down the stretch that the team that ends up getting that kind of fluky bounce that they don't deserve ends up winning it. And if there's a team that gets that this week, I think it's going to be the Steelers. You're not real. As you were just painting the picture,

I can just see it in my head, especially, you know, T.J. Wad and Herbig and Highsmith and Hayward against this Texans offensive line. Like you mentioned, the Texans can't run the football. they don't have that going for them. And then I will say this. Let me paint this real quickly. Let me paint this for you real quick.

Yeah, go ahead. The game starts and the Steelers are up 3-0 at the start of the second quarter. Who do you think is winning that game? You're just like, okay, Steelers winning. It's like the Texans have to come out hot and you have to feel their dominance defensively and like they're striking hot offensively for them.

They need to like get the Steelers completely out of this game so they can win it. And it's like it's because I think this game is going to be close that I think the Steelers end. ended up coming out with it. Sorry, I cut you off. No, you're right, though, because as you're saying it, the Texans offense isn't good enough to just, like, step on your throat, you know? They're not going to just be scoring on every possession where it's like, oh, this is getting out of hand. Like, even if it is something, it's going to be like, all right, well, we know they can't run the

ball. So are they going to add on to that? Or is it, oh, there's a special team's play, and there's a Steelers field goal. And now all of a sudden, there's eight minutes left, and it's 10-3. And the Steelers have the ball like that. This is what happens. And I'll say this for Rogers, like, before Metcalf had the suspension, he was playing good. Rogers was playing well. And he was finding DK Metcalf downfield. And they looked a little bit more explosive than they had for most of the season. So I'm not saying that they can't do that.

And your point about Rogers, the way he plays is a great one, too. I mean, what's the thing that annoys pass rushers the most when they're like, we face a quarterback who gets rid of the ball in two seconds. And it's like, we can't do anything here. And that's how Rogers plays every week. So it's not like he's got to go into his bag and say, I got to change things up. That's how he wants to play. Anyway, it's just a matter of, can they create the yards after the catch?

Can they win on special teams? And we all know the Steelers can Steelers it up. Man, the Steelers and what if we have the Steelers in the divisional round and no Alan Mahomes, Burrow, Jackson? I mean, that would just reinforce what a weird season this has been. And it's really not that crazy for it to happen. I love this. We agree too much on the show.

We are on opposite sides of every one of these games. So listen, if you're a fan of one of those teams, You can't say, oh, you guys are picked. No, we each picked one of them. We didn't plan it. We didn't tell each other beforehand. All right, his name is Austin. Gail, Austin, thank you so much for joining me, my friend.

All right, I'll be right back with the Ringer 107. All right, today's Ringer 107 is brought to you by Fandul. The rules for this round are we pick five of the six games. Guess what? I'm sitting out, Bill's Jaguars. We talked about that one earlier. I want no part of it. So I'm picking the other five games, starting with the Panthers.

plus 10 and a half, mostly a contrarian pick, big home dog. I think there's a chance they're good enough offensively to at least score some points. And then maybe they win on special teams or get a takeaway. Listen, could they get blown out? Obviously, but I'm going to take the points with the big home dog. All right. Second game, give me the bears. Plus one and a half.

Tough game to pick. I like both offences. I like both play callers. I don't like either defense. It's a coin flip game. I'm going to take the home dog there as well. Sunday afternoon, Philadelphia, I'm taking the Eagles minus four and a half. They're rested.

They're healthier. They're more talented. It's possible that their offense just lays an egg. But you know what? I just see such an advantage on up front on both sides of the ball. So I'm taking the Eagles minus four and a half. Sunday night just talked about this game. I like the Patriots.

Austin likes the Chargers. I'm taking the Patriots minus three and a half. Just trust their offense every single week. Let's see if they can be reliable in the playoffs. and then Monday night, you heard me say, give my pick there. Texans minus three. I'm scared as I even say it out loud because of that Steelers voodoo, but I'm going to stick with the Texans minus three.

All right, today's Ringer 107 was brought to you by Fandul. Odds subject to change. Thank you to everyone for listening. Thank you to Christopher Sutton for producing, Stefano Sanchez, on video, Kiera Givens on social and additional production supervision by Connor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgopal. We're going to come back Saturday night. It's the playoffs.

We're coming back Saturday night after the first two games there. We'll talk about those. Then we'll do Sunday night as well after those three playoff games. And Monday after the last one. So we got a lot of pods coming up covering all the playoff action. Appreciate you listening. Enjoy the weekend. Talk to you next time on the Ringer NFL show.

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