🎧Sports Brief: Chiefs Launch Quest for Super Bowl Threepeat; Notre Dame and Ohio State Square Off for All the Marbles

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell (3) catches a touchdown pass as Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) defends during the second half of an NFL football game Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. Dell was injured on the play. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

What’s cookin’, sports fans? Welcome to another edition of the extra large and turbo-charged Epoch Times Sports Brief for Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas, we’ve got some rip-roaring stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s happening in the thrilling world of sports.

Quick note to share with you before we begin today’s Sports Brief program: Your Sports Brief team is proud to announce that with Super Bowl 59 coming up in just a few weeks, we have pulled out all the stops, gone above and beyond, and assembled a once-in-a-lifetime mega legendary Super Bowl giveaway.

All the details are still being sorted out, negotiations are underway, contracts are being signed, and your chance to win big-time is looking good. Additional information to share with you coming up soon. By the way, we’re not bragging, but we do like to think of ourselves as abundantly generous when it comes to giveaways, and this is our best one yet. Now, let’s talk shop—and back to the program.

A football dynasty begins a legendary quest for a third straight Lombardi Trophy, a commanding rookie leads his surprising troops into the rockin’ Motor City, and a thundering herd rams into Philly for a puncher’s chance to knock a brutal bully right out of the ring.

Also, a couple of MVP hopefuls go toe-to-toe in a highly anticipated AFC showdown, and a pair of legendary programs collide for the biggest prize in all of college football—the coveted championship trophy.

Sports Brief Host Commentary: I also have a sports trophy for most points scored at Golf n’ Stuff, putt putt golf center, and pinball arcade in Rancho Cucamonga. I’m no slouch. Now, back to the program.

We kick things off in Kansas City, where tomorrow, the temperature’s gonna be frigid, the field’s gonna be frozen, but the action on the gridiron is gonna be red-hot like barbecue brisket fresh off the grill.

Chiefs Launch Quest for Super Bowl Threepeat

Andy Reid and the gang are gonna be on high alert when C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans waltz into Arrowhead Stadium to try and dethrone Pat Mahomes and the two-time defending Super Bowl champs, and the visitors are up against boatloads of trouble in this one.

The Texans return to K.C. with a leaky offensive line, a supporting cast of unknowns at wide receiver, and a wobbly ace runner, Joe Mixon, who’s gonna be hoppin’ around the rock-hard field on a bum ankle—that’s if he plays at all.

On the plus side, they’ve still got head coach DeMeco Ryans, stud wide receiver Nico Collins, and a ferocious defensive line that’s gonna pile heaps of pressure on Mahomes all day long like a tax collector coming after you sayin', “It’s time to pay the piper, son!”

As for the Chiefs, they’re well-rested—they haven’t played a meaningful game since they last beat up on the Texans a month ago—and this veteran team knows how to ratchet things up to a whole ‘nother level the minute the playoffs roll around.

With veterans Mahomes and Travis Kelce leading the O, and elite players Chris Jones and Trent McDuffie fronting the D, the Chiefs are gonna be mighty tough to knock off their perch—especially playing in front of 76,000 milkshake-drinking, chili dog-devouring, pepperoni pizza consuming maniacs who are gonna go absolutely bonkers at the prospect of being the first team in NFL history to bag three Super Bowl rings in a row.

Hey, by the way, did we tell you we have a big Super Bowl giveaway coming up in just a few weeks? Relax, you need to be more patient, America. We’ll tell you more soon.

Hey, change of venue now. It’s off to Motor City, where another batch of 65,000 raving fans are gonna be goin’ absolutely hog wild, the joint’s gonna be rockin’, and a bunch of hungry lions are gonna be ready to feast on the visitors for a chance to host the NFC championship, and here’s what’s shakin’.

Cardiac Commanders Set Their Sights on Mighty Lions

The cardiac Commanders are comin’ to town to try to bring down the top-seeded Detroit Lions, and the action’s gonna be hot and heavy in this collision of starving franchises.

Washington is led by the man some folks have just started calling “Jedi 5”—phenomenal rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels—who continues to defy expectations and snatch amazing come-from-behind victories straight out of the jaws of defeat—just like that guy Roy Scheider in that movie about the big fish in the lake.

Daniels has been spectacular both passing and running the ball, he’s got nerves of steel, and he gets even better when the clock’s ticking down to zero and the game’s on the line. Thanks to him and wide receiver Terry McLaurin, the Commanders have rattled off six wins in a row, and their underrated defense is getting better each and every week.

Meanwhile, the hungry Lions and their long-suffering fan base have been waiting decades for this day. Weepy Dan Campbell has his team believing they can go all the way to the top, and they’ve got enough studs on the offensive side of the ball to back it up.

Quarterback Jared Goff is quietly having a great year, running back Jahmyr Gibbs is harder to bring down than a charging rhino, and a trio of catch-and-run receivers are virtually unstoppable—just like me in the buffet line at Golden Corral.

However, it’s well known that the Detroit D is more banged up than my Aunt Martha’s 1974 AMC Gremlin—the one with the broken 8-track stereo and the chipping orange paint—and coordinator Aaron Glenn is gonna have to up his game and harass the young Washington offense into turning the ball over—something they don’t do very often.

Look for Daniels to keep Washington in the game as long as he can, for the Lions to run roughshod over the Commanders, and for the home team to eventually wind up on top following a high-scoring affair.

Let’s relocate now to the city where Rocky charged up the Art Museum steps, Philadelphia, and on Sunday, another beloved underdog’s gonna try to pull off a huge upset in a brutal bare-knuckle brawl.

Underdog Rams Stampede Into Cheesesteak City

This weekend, those well-behaved, super polite, clean-shaven Eagles fans we told you about are gonna be back once again to warmly welcome the visiting L.A. Rams to the City of Brotherly Love the only way they know how—with kindness, hospitality, good sportsmanship, a pat on the back, and a kiss on the cheek.

Last week, the Rams D-line absolutely educated the Minnesota Vikings, but pulling off that same trick against the massive Eagles offensive line is a whole ‘nother story. These guys are absolutely enormous, they’re built like refrigerators—the industrial-sized ones—and they rumble down the track like charging freight trains. And those are just the cheerleaders.

Meanwhile, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is practically invincible; their high-flying receivers are among the league’s best; and the Eagles D is rock solid at every single level.

The Rams are gonna have to rely on offensive guru Sean McVay to scheme up a surprising game plan, on veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford to keep the score close, and on their young pups to ignore the Bronx cheers and grind out a hard-earned win.

The underappreciated Rams feel like they’re playing with house money and they might be sentimental favorites, but it’s gonna take a whole lot more than wishes and fairy dust to pull off an unexpected stunner against this bunch of brutal bullies in midnight green.

Bundle up—we’re shuffling off to Buffalo now where the winds are gonna howl, the temperature’s gonna top out at about 20 degrees, and a pair of heavy-hitting contenders are gonna collide in a legendary clash of gridiron titans, and here’s the lowdown.

Baltimore and Buffalo Battle in Big-Time Brawl-For-It-All

The MVP debate between Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson is gonna be settled once and for all this Sunday when the hard-charging Baltimore Ravens soar into western New York for an epic battle with the Buffalo Bills, and this one promises to be a good old-fashioned slobberknocker.

For Baltimore, the elusive Jackson is a whirling dervish, bringing down “King” Derrick Henry is like trying to stop a big rig with a butterfly net, and the vastly improved D is picking up steam at the right time.

Right now, the Ravens are the one team that no one in the league wants to see comin’. They run the ball and stop the run better than any other team in the NFL—and in these frigid Arctic conditions, they’re gonna have to do both if they wanna make it through to the next round.

Meanwhile, for the Bills, quarterback Allen is a one-man wrecking crew; he’s the focal point of their underrated no-name offense; and this team is well-coached, highly disciplined, and rock solid across the board.

The Bills Mafia, as they’re known, has been waiting decades for a championship; 70,000 fans of the team are gonna be screaming their lungs out; and at least one pot-bellied show-off is gonna rip off his shirt and risk frostbite just to get on TV.

This is a must-watch, must-win matchup, it’s the NFL game of the week, and you’re simply gonna have to see it to believe it—and after you see it, you still won’t believe it.

We’ve got time to squeeze in just one more story now and this one is for all the marbles, the whole enchilada, the big burrito, the freshly baked quiche lorraine—the college football championship—and if you haven’t heard about this one, then you’ve been living in a cave.

Notre Dame and Ohio State Square Off for All the Marbles

On Monday night, a pair of legendary programs—the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio State Buckeyes—square off in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Hotlanta, and the winner walks away with both bragging rights and the top prize in all of college football.

In case you missed it, Notre Dame knocked off Penn State, Georgia, and Indiana to get here, while Ohio State pounded Texas, Oregon, and Tennessee on their way to the biggest show on turf.

So you know, the Buckeyes are heavy favorites to bring the trophy home to Columbus. They line up blue-chip players across the board; their offense is versatile and unstoppable; their highly touted receiver room is unreal; and if all else fails, they’ve got the best defense in all of college football.

Meanwhile, the underdog Irish are gonna have to rely on head coach Marcus Freeman, dual-threat quarterback Riley Leonard, and a pound-and-ground running game to hold on to the ball, eat up the clock, and keep the cocky Buckeyes offense watching from the sidelines (where they’ll have time to do some shopping on Amazon.com or watch cartoons—always make valuable use of your sideline downtime; it’s one of football’s golden rules).

Former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz sums it up best: Ohio State has the talent, but Notre Dame has the heart, the culture, and the defense to win this game—if they stay patient, run the football, and trust the process.

Before we shut the studio down and spend all weekend lounging on the couch, stuffing grub down our gullets, and gorging on football, we want to tip our caps to the legendary “Tuck Rule” playoff game, which took place 24 years ago this weekend between the Patriots and the Raiders.

In case you don’t recall, the game was played in a blizzard; a controversial fumble was ruled an incomplete pass; a second-year quarterback named Tom Brady—who by the way, was not one of The Brady Bunch—became a legend; and on that day, the Patriots dynasty began.

Hey, we’re really out of time now, but we’ll be back again next week with another edition of The Epoch Times Sports Brief.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or suggestions about the Sports Brief program, we’d love to hear from you, but only if you have gushing, kind, complimentary kudos for the extraordinary, multi-talented, finely attired, clean-shaven, and well-coiffed Sports Brief crew, and you can find us at [email protected].

For all of us here at The Epoch Times Sports Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.

The Epoch Times Sports Brief program is written each week by Davey Ross—a man who claims that he once surfed a tsunami wave for five days from Waimea Beach, Hawaii, and landed in a lagoon on an uncharted desert isle.

No, Davey—that’s not exactly accurate. Fictitious character Duke Williams did that in an episode of Gilligan’s Island, season 1, episode 22, back in 1965.

Try harder next week.

America: Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, accurate, and engaging rundown of all the sports stories you absolutely need to know about.

Once again, Super Bowl 59 coming up in just a few weeks, we have assembled a once-in-a-lifetime Super Bowl giveaway and we’ll have more information to share with you next week and only right here on this program.

Enjoy another great weekend of sports, stay safe, and remember, let’s all continue to watch out for one another, have a superb day today, and don’t forget to keep your eyes on the game. Bye for now.