🏈 NFL Divisional Round & Natty Preview + Blitz Farewell

Happy Friday, Blitzers!

Some sad news to share. For the last five months, our focus has been on getting the Morning Blitz out the door every morning to our community. We are incredibly proud of the community we've built, and we hope the Morning Blitz has made your mornings a little bit better.

This isn’t goodbye, but this will be our final letter until further notice. We are working hard behind the scenes to ensure the future of the Morning Blitz meets the demands of our readers. Please bear with us as we take some time to revamp and revitalize the product. We will be back in touch with updates and announcements as they become available.

We sincerely appreciate your continued support.

On a lighter note, we have a great weekend ahead!

WTF Stat: This isn’t so much a "WTF stat" as it is a petition for my favorite player growing up, Kenny Lofton. Mr. Lofton deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. I just saw him talking about it on MLB Network. Lofton is hurt because he got a late start (called up when he was 24) and he wasn’t a power hitter. He started late in the MLB because he was busy being a standout athlete, helping the University of Arizona reach the Final Four in basketball. He is one of only two players to have participated in both a college basketball Final Four (1988) and an MLB World Series.

Once he got called up, his number speak for themselves. Lofton ranks 10th all-time in WAR for center fielders, and 18 players with a lower WAR have already been inducted into the Hall of Fame. While he didn’t have the same hype as someone like Ichiro, Lofton posted comparable stats:

He was a player who got on base, stole bases, and played stellar defense at one of the most important positions on the diamond. Unfortunately, he played during an era where hitting home runs and taking steroids seemed to matter more. If you’re not going to vote for Barry Bonds, then at least reward the players like Lofton who were unfairly hurt by that era.

⚾️ Bob Uecker, the beloved broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers, has passed away at 90. Known as "Mr. Baseball," Uecker became a legendary figure in baseball despite a brief playing career. He was most famous for his colorful personality, humor, and distinctive broadcasting style, which made him a fan favorite in Milwaukee and beyond. Uecker spent decades as the voice of the Brewers, starting in 1971, and won the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. Obligatory clip:

🏈 Houston Texans RB Joe Mixon is listed as questionable for Saturday's divisional-round playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs due to an ankle injury. He missed practice on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday. Mixon has dealt with ankle issues earlier in the season, missing three games after an injury in Week 2. If he can't play, backup RB Dameon Pierce will take on a larger role.

🏌️ The PGA Tour is relocating the 2025 Genesis Invitational due to devastating wildfires in California. Originally set for February 13-16 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, the event will now be played at an alternate site, with the new location to be announced soon. Possible venues include La Quinta Country Club, Torrey Pines, TPC Scottsdale, and Shadow Creek Golf Course.

Monday Night - National Championship Game - #7 Notre Dame vs. #8 Ohio State

Monday 7:30 PM (ESPN)

Spread: OSU -8

O/U: 45.5

How Notre Dame Wins: Will Howard. Penn State was the better all-around team in the Orange Bowl, but it was Drew Allar’s folly that doomed the Nittany Lions and lifted the Irish. If the Irish can stick around, Will Howard has the tendency to crumble/disappear in key moments. He was the reason Texas had a shot in the waning moments of the Cotton Bowl. This does put extra pressure on the Notre Dame running game to keep Ohio State off the field. Additionally, the Irish front seven has to stop the Buckeye ground attack and force Will Howard to make the key plays.

How Ohio State Wins: TreyVeon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. Both of these dudes are destined for the NFL next year and are the best tandem in the country. At any moment either Henderson or Judkins can make a house call as we saw in the Cotton Bowl. Texas showed a blueprint for how to stop superstar freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith, but the Buckeyes still have future NFL receiver Emeka Egbuka to pick up the slack. Ohio State doesn’t want this game to be close for reasons mentioned in “How Notre Dame Wins,” so look for them to come out firing like they did against Tennessee and Oregon.

The Pick: Ohio State -8 - I wish the championship game would be more evenly matched and maybe it will be. I think this game will be akin to Georgia vs. TCU. The ND run was fun and this match-up proves the playoff was necessary, but Ohio State has too much fire power and ND got too banged up throughout the playoffs.

NFL Divisional Round

Houston at Kansas City - Saturday 4:30 PM (ESPN)

The View: In the immortal words of Michael Keaton, “You wanna get nuts? Let’s get nuts.” The Texans are going to win this game. You know why? The Chiefs aren’t that good and they’re coming off a three week lay off. Momentum matters. Nobody gave the Texans a chance against the Chargers and they made mincemeat of them. I still have my doubts about the offense led by CJ Stroud, but he does have the tendency to rise to the big moments. Unless after three weeks, Hopkins and Kelce found the fountain of youth, the Chiefs offense is going to sputter. I do think the Texans can win this game…or at least keep it close.

Pick: Texans +8

Washington at Detroit - Saturday 8:00 PM (FOX)

The View: How much fun are the Commanders? QB Jayden Daniels is an absolute DAWG. Dan Quinn has done a heck of a coaching job (maybe let go too soon Atlanta?). However, this is where the road ends. Even with all the injuries, Dan Campbell, Aaron Glenn, and Ben Johnson have this team clicking on all cylinders. RB David Montgomery is back to complete the backfield tandem with Jamyr Gibbs, which should allow Johnson to pull all the strings he wants on offense. QB Jared Goff may not even have to throw more than 15 passes. Detroit will win this going away.

Pick: Fighting Dan Campbells -9.5

LA Rams at Philadelphia - Sunday 3:00 PM (NBC)

The View: The Eagles won, but it was ugly. Outside of Saquon being Saquon, the Eagles offense couldn’t get anything going and benefitted from the Packers losing every decent offensive weapon to injury. On the other hand, the Rams look to be peaking at the right time. That defense looked ferocious against the Vikings (Darnold may require years of therapy). Rookie DE Jared Verse is poised to be a superstar and the secondary is fast and mean. Real mean. Unlike the Packers, the Rams are healthy. Their hopes of an upset lies on the shoulder of QB Matthew Stafford because the Eagles do not give up a lot of yards on the ground. I don’t love the vibes of the Eagles and I put money on the Rams winning the Super Bowl. Plus, teams tend to rally around a tragedy (see: New Orleans after Katrina). Rams win.

The Pick: Rams +6.5

Baltimore at Buffalo - 6:30 PM (CBS)

The View: Both of these teams barely broke a sweat in the Wild Card round. Just when people started to think that RB Derrick Henry was running out of gas… Yeah, that was wrong. Baltimore ran all over Pittsburgh. That was the theme when these two teams met earlier in the season. Henry rushed for 199 yards and the Ravens defense shut down

. However, that was early in the season and it was in Baltimore. The Bills only have one loss at home this season. It’s hard to pick against the Jackson/Henry duo, but I’m going to.

Pick: Bills ML

NBA Top Games

Thunder 134, Cavaliers 114: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to a dominant 134-114 victory over the Cavaliers, scoring 40 points and dishing out eight assists in just three quarters. The win, which handed the Cavaliers their worst loss of the season, tied both teams at 34-6 records.

Kings 132, Rockets 127: DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points and Malik Monk added 28 points with nine assists to lead the Kings to a 132-127 win. The Kings improved to 21-20 with their eighth win in nine games.

Pacers 111, Pistons 100: Myles Turner scored 28 points, including 8-of-11 from 3-point range, and Pascal Siakam added 26 to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 111-100 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Tyrese Haliburton contributed 17 points and 8 assists as the Pacers won their seventh game in eight.

See full NBA scoreboard NBA here and standings here.

NHL Top Games

Capitals 1, Senators 0: Alex Ovechkin scored in overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 1-0 victory, marking his 874th career goal. The goal broke a league record as Ovechkin became the first player to score against 179 different goaltenders, surpassing Jaromir Jagr's record of 178.

Maple Leafs 4, Devils 3: William Nylander scored his second goal of the game at 1:10 of overtime to give the Maple Leafs a 4-3 victory. Auston Matthews also scored twice for Toronto, while Mitch Marner and Jake McCabe each added two assists.

Oilers 6, Avalanche 3: Evan Bouchard scored a go-ahead goal with 6:55 left in the third period to lift the Oilers to a 4-3 victory. The Oilers, playing on the second night of a back-to-back, overcame a three-goal deficit, extending their winning streak to four games and eight wins in their last nine. Connor McDavid contributed a goal and an assist, while Viktor Arvidsson and Brett Kulak also scored.

See full scoreboard here and standings here.

On this day in 1988, The Denver Broncos beat Cleveland Browns if the AFC Championship game, 38-33 in “The Fumble” game. Browns' Earnest Byner fumbled the ball at Denver 3-yard line with 1:12 remaining, which ended up costing the Browns a trip to the Super Bowl.

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

Who was the first NFL QB to throw for more than 4,000 yards?

A) Joe Namath - Namath was the first to accomplish the feat in 1967. No other would eclipse 4,000 yards until Dan Fouts did it in 1979. Things have changed as six players passed for over 4,000 yards this year.