Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts - NFL Wild Card Round Preview, Top NFL Head Coaches, Lamar Jackson’s Decline

Chargers–Patriots is interesting, but Bills–Jaguars jumps out: Buffalo by a point on the road feels off. I like Jacksonville by a touchdown at home—Trevor’s clean, the staff’s sharp, and this line just disrespects them; what say you?

They’re rolling and Trevor looks the part, even if it was the Titans. Momentum, coaching, and balance make the Jags a live AFC winner if they get past a Bills team that can be great in bursts when Josh goes nuclear.

Buffalo starts slow and that’s a bad recipe on the road against a scripted, fast-starting offense—I’d even like Jags first half. Texans next: I think they’d control Baltimore or Pittsburgh and be small road favorites; you with me?

Houston’s defense and mindset translate anywhere, and the Steelers wouldn’t keep up; the Ravens are tougher but beatable. As wild cards go, the Texans sit with the Jags as no-surprise AFC finalists.

Byes can cool young, fast teams; I think Seattle and Denver would rather play through. Denver’s real edge is altitude, wind, and cold against warm‑weather visitors like Jacksonville or Houston—there’s a couple points hiding in that.

Denver’s one of the few true college‑level atmospheres with weather and noise you can’t simulate, but something still feels off with them. The crowd’s elite; the juice on offense isn’t.

NFC: Seattle gets the bye; Rams head to an under‑.500 Carolina, which is wild. I favor the Rams but hate laying double digits on the road, and they do start slow for a team with McVay, weapons, and Stafford.

They looked flat and leaky before Arizona fell apart, and that defense isn’t scary. Also, sub‑.500 division winners hosting is absurd; we need to fix that.

With a non‑mobile quarterback, stalled series pile up once the script runs dry, and the Rams’ back end can get picked on. Long term, they need a mover; the backups don’t run either.

When that red‑zone ace is out, Puka carries too much and the whole thing tightens. If he’s right, they’re dangerous after Carolina; if not, even a weird cold day could make it dicey.

Niners at Eagles: if Pearsall and Trent are back, San Francisco’s live, but Philly can rush without blitzing and that speeds Brock up. Since midseason, elite defenses have bothered the Niners more than people admit.

They want a track meet; they’re lost in a slugfest and that defense is bad, plus they lost two linebackers. If Philly just stays competent, the Niners can’t stop them, and Fangio can slow Kyle enough.

Bodies are gone and Philly rested, so I don’t think San Francisco has the ammo.

Kyle will have wrinkles and if it’s tight at half that crowd will turn quick. The pressure’s on Sirianni after they blew a shot at the two seed.

My rankings never know where to put Philly—I love the talent and don’t trust the operation.

All the heat’s on them, and it feels like a Sunday‑night showcase.

Bears–Packers is a pick’em and I lean Chicago. They looked a little casual today, then Caleb and Colston Loveland flipped the switch late; I’d ride that connection.

Tough draw for a two seed—like Philly getting San Francisco. Chicago’s defense leaks yards, Green Bay’s banged up, and that sets up an everyone‑picks‑the‑Bears game that can get weird fast.

Their secondary scares me against elite wideouts, but they can stack quick drives and Caleb controls chaos when he moves. I still like Chicago.

That place is going to shake, and they’ll need points because the front seven isn’t built to carry them.

Danny Parkins joins: my take is ugly weather actually helps the Bears—better run game, better line, and Caleb can go make one. My strongest plays are Jacksonville and Chicago, with a Tomlin lean on Monday.

Cold should bother Caleb less because the arm is rare, and Green Bay’s defense has cratered—no rush, no takeaways, lots of points allowed—while the Bears lead the league in takeaways. I even texted you about lunch before I head into the elements; I’m fired up to freeze behind the Bears bench and maybe watch the rivalry flip for the first time in my life.

Cold‑weather teams win this sport, and Ben Johnson built Chicago to live under 16 yards with line, tight ends, and backs. I’m still big on Jacksonville, big on Chicago; what’s your favorite number?

Chargers plus three and a half—key number—because New England’s schedule masked a soft pass rush, and that’s the matchup L.A. needed with two tackles out. Herbert won’t be staring at the sky all game, and they can run on them.

On Lamar and Baltimore: 18 years is a long run for a coach, Lamar’s beloved and expensive, and hyper‑athletic quarterbacks don’t age like statues. I think you get two more elite years; what’s your outlook?

Short‑term he’s still a top‑ten guy who can win it, but his passing efficiency is tied to the threat of his legs, so that’ll dip as the burst fades. It’s a great job and the next coach has to mesh with Lamar’s evolution more than overhaul the culture.

Exactly—they don’t need a culture fixer, they need a Stefanski‑type who grows the offense as Lamar’s game changes.

Last one: take Andy out of it—stack the coaches until we hit Ben Johnson.

McVay at the top, Shanahan right there, Harbaugh wins everywhere, and I’ll start stumping for Ben sooner than people think. He calls it, designs it, and I wouldn’t trade him for Vrabel.

I ding Shanahan on second‑half comebacks, then have Peyton, Vrabel, and Mike Macdonald in that next cluster; I slot Ben around seven with DeMeco right behind and Tomlin in the mix.

Macdonald just squeezed Kyle to three points and 174 yards in a must‑win—fewest of the Shanahan era—so he’s my Coach of the Year over a deep field. The volume.