Saturday, 4 a.m.
This is the point where you can drop the nicknames. From now on, the NFL is about the surnames of the quarterbacks. Nothing else matters.
You know, the Buffalo Allens are going to play the Baltimore Ravens. The Kansas City Mahomes will try to step toward a third title against the Houston Strouds. The Detroit Goffs play the Washington Daniels. Then there are the Los Angeles Staffords against the the Philadelphia Hurts.
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The rest of the players on the field? They’re the support cast. Someone may take over a game — Saquon Barkley or Derrick Henry come to mind — but the trend lately has been that the better the quarterback, the better the team.
The Chiefs have won because Patrick Mahomes has been a better playoff quarterback.
Can he be again? Can Lamar Jackson make his post-season as impressive as his regular season for a change? Can Josh Allen hold up?
That’s the fun of the game, isn't it? When the games matter, when the quarterbacks matter, it is the NFL at its finest.
So how will this weekend’s games go?
NFC
Detroit 31, Washington 21.
Philadelphia 28, L.A. Rams 20.
AFC
Kansas City 29, Houston 22.
Baltimore 28, Buffalo 27.
And in the NCAA title game:
Ohio State 33, Notre Dame 24.