Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below the main deck of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken assure me they have been hard at work during my unscheduled absence, bringing you non-stop coverage of the latest developments in sports …
Something tells me I am going to have to involve HR one of these days.
Anyway, glancing at the headlines today (January 3, 2026 — in case you’re out of the loop, there’s been some action in Venezuela) reminds me of a t-shirt I saw once at a NASCAR race. It featured the silhouette of an American soldier and bore the inscription, “They risk their lives so we can run our mouths.” Truer words one would be hard-pressed to find.
Sports, when approached properly, can be fun. They are not a matter of life or death, although I have had it confirmed by some Boston Red Sox fans I know that they are far more important than that. Particularly when the New York Yankees are in town.
With the above in mind, a look at the NFL. While the playoffs do not officially start until the weekend of January 10, for all practical purposes, they start January 3 with the Carolina Panthers visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Should Carolina triumph, they win the NFC South and host a first-round playoff game next weekend, while Tampa Bay books a tee time for the same time period. If the Buccaneers win, all eyes turn to Georgia. Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes — again, if they beat Carolina today; should they lose, their postseason plans enter the postmortem stage — rest on the New Orleans Saints beating the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday, January 4.
Here’s where we break out the math. Should the Buccaneers beat the Panthers on January 3 and the Falcons beat the Saints on January 4, Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Atlanta will all finish the season at a robust 8-9. (Slight tinge of sarcasm there.) The Panthers would then win the division because they beat the Falcons twice and the Buccaneers once during the regular season, thus having the best record against the other two teams. However, if Tampa Bay and New Orleans both win, the Buccaneers win the division because they have a better record against common opponents than the Panthers. Glad we could clear that up for you, although I am now in dire need of an aspirin.
Okay, putting the slide rules aside, there remains a game to contest. The Panthers do just enough to win half of the time, while the Buccaneers are reeling under a spate of injuries, with quarterback Baker Mayfield more beat up than most other teams’ entire roster. This game is anyone’s guess.
The other Saturday, January 3, 2026, game of playoff implication notoriety takes place in San Francisco Santa Clara, California, where the Seattle Seahawks come calling on the San Francisco 49ers. The winner claims the NFC West crown and the number one seed in the playoffs, thus earning a week off next weekend.
Each team is riding a six-game winning streak. That said, Seattle has been the more impressive of the two squads, with the 49ers’ most recent outing requiring a last-gasp goal-line stand to thwart the Chicago Bears, who, up to that point, had spent much of the contest scoring at will. The weather could be a factor, as there is a strong chance for strong winds and rain at game time. This could favor San Francisco, who have the profound luxury of handing the ball to Christian McCaffrey. Should be a great, tightly contested game.
And no, I’m not forgetting that the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers meet on Sunday night, January 4, with the winner taking the AFC North crown and the loser going home. We’ll cover it later.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
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