Best of The Week on The Herd

Thanks for riding with The Herd—hour two loaded, 49ers on deck, Blazing Five coming, and yes, the college football playoff chatter is loud, but the regular season has to matter; get the best teams in and let’s enjoy the next seven games.

Where I felt right: New England as a surprise playoff team, Tomlin stacking another winning year, Sam Darnold driving a big‑play offense, Kalen DeBoer proving he’s big‑time, and Miami’s defense being fast, nasty, and real.

Where I missed: I bailed on Trevor, then he heated up; Giants fans should still consider drafting a top quarterback; and Carolina steadied—Bryce Young’s composure and efficiency have climbed.

Herd Hierarchy time: the gap from the third team to the tenth feels razor‑thin, and I’m skeptical of Buffalo’s health and run defense, bullish on Jacksonville’s situational ball, Philly’s red‑zone balance, Chicago’s turnover edge with a dynamic young quarterback, the Rams’ yardage avalanches, and Seattle’s terrifying ceiling despite giveaways.

Nick Wright joins—why’d you pivot to the Bills this year when I see red flags?

They have an elite quarterback in his prime, a solid line and tight ends, a real run game, and with Mahomes’ and Burrow’s teams out, the AFC is wide open; the résumé isn’t perfect, but the quarterback advantage is, and my Jags are the wild card if Trevor keeps this run going.

I love how the Jaguars look, but I don’t trust them on a long road trip—why do you?

I’m not all the way there, but the coaching is sharp and Trevor kept the wow throws while cutting the disasters; they’re winning by big margins, alive for the one seed, and playing with a chip.

Here’s my Chiefs worry: if Andy steps away soon and they retool, is the best stretch already behind Mahomes?

Duplicating seven years like that is unlikely for anyone, but they’ll still enter seasons as a perennial favorite because he’s the best quarterback; I expect multiple more Super Bowl trips and a couple more wins, though they must refresh the offense—especially the backfield—and his absence showed how much he carries.

Caleb Williams is a unicorn and a lightning rod—unique style, big moments, and some uneven layups; how do you see the personality and the fit with the Bears?

The aesthetics stuff was nonsense—locker rooms follow production; missing some easy throws is fixable, while his rare traits aren’t teachable, and after starting behind schedule last year he’s now ahead, with clutch flashes like that fourth‑down dart and the overtime rip.

As long as he plays, teammates will ride with him; the rest is noise.

The Bears aren’t built to win four straight in January, but nobody will want them; one nit: the play‑caller can get too cute on fourth and short.

I left the Chargers at eleven and jammed Buffalo in—where would you slot the Chargers?

I’d put them ahead of Houston right now because the Texans’ offense might be the weakest unit in the AFC playoff field, even though their defense is legit; and get ready, the Brock Purdy war is getting revived.

Great stuff, Nick—now let’s blaze: I’m taking Texans plus the points over the Chargers, Panthers grabbing the number at home vs Seattle, Eagles plus the number in Buffalo, Bears plus the number vs San Francisco, and the over in Cardinals‑Bengals.