The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
AFC and NFC Championships: Time to Cheer for The Team We All Hate
23 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the significance of the AFC and NFC Championships this year?
Hi and hello, my fellow football Americans. Well, I've resisted pointing this out for as long as possible, but I guess it's time to just pull the band-aid off. It gives me no pleasure to be the one to tell you, but there won't be an NFL game played on Monday night. Not next Thursday night and not next Saturday either.
The weekend after that, there will be a corporate event in Santa Clara, California, featuring a bunch of middle managers more concerned with the quality of the wet bar than the final score. Matter of mournful fact, after this Sunday's two big games, we're staring at seven long months and lots and lots of baseball before our beloved pigskin returns.
I'm sorry, fellas. Who is Dave Damacek?
Take it easy, Tim Kirchhen. I'm just saying. And it isn't all bad, of course, beyond baseball. March Madness is just coming into view on the horizon. And right after that, we'll get those four days in Augusta. There's also the overlapping NBA and Stanley Cup playoffs. They're always fun.
And of course, above all else, there's the 365-day calendar the NFL has successfully constructed around itself. Before you know it, free agency will be here. And before that, there could be some huge names on the move once they emerge from their darkness retreats or otherwise. Draft season is already underway. Does it ever really end?
Plus schedule release, minicamp and training camp will provide some intrigue till September finally arrives. Yeah, I know I'm rationalizing, but what the hell else can I do? I'd love to make like a bear and hibernate till kickoff, but I think at least I hope my kids would miss me.
Besides, this is the deal we've made with football, which works on the exact opposite schedule of those hibernating bears hiding from winter. Warm weather's where it's at in a lot of ways, but as mentioned above, it lacks the most important thing, football. Only when the temperature's dipped does our spiritual sunshine spiral back into our lives.
For now, though, we wait and contemplate and maybe find some reasons for optimism where our favorite team is concerned. The NFL's a copycat league after all, so maybe we can extract some lessons from the last 20-ish weeks. Even better, we can recklessly speculate about what might happen come autumn of 26.
No one's going to remember any of our predictions by then, unless those predictions come true, in which case, I'll demand boundless praise.
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Chapter 2: Can Jarrett Stidham lead the Broncos past the Patriots?
One thing for sure, especially after last weekend's divisional round lunacy, and if the Indiana Hoosiers can beat Ohio State and Alabama and Oregon times two and Miami with a Pittsburgh curmudgeon and a Cuban dork as the two leading men, your team, no matter who your team is, has a shot. Well, except for the Browns and the Jets, but everyone else besides Purdue. Let's start the show.
Yes, hi, and hello, my fellow football Americans. It's your old pal Dave. Wait a minute. I mean national champion Dave Damaschek. I'll thank you to use my formal name going forward. Very excited for those two title games upcoming on Sunday. So excited. In fact, we've got our old pal Nick Costos from You Better You Bet coming along here in just a second to help us get right for that one.
He has to go early, though, so we only have so much time with him. In the meantime, it is episode 45. Which players wore that number best in NFL history? Certainly it's Kenny Easley, the late, great Kenny Easley, the assassin right behind him, just because it's fun to say.
Chris Fumatumafala, number 45, the Pittsburgh Steelers fullback in baseball, the guy who wore it best in all sports, Pedro Martinez, after all. Yes, Gino Fuentes.
How about Bob Gibson?
Oh, man. Major omission. Great catch by you, Gino. And in basketball. Good to see you.
I got basketball, too. Michael Jordan, not his best times as a basketball player, but still the greatest.
I got another one in baseball. I blew it. I got another one in baseball, too. Also Michael Jordan. How about that?
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Chapter 3: What factors will influence the Seahawks vs. Rams matchup?
Is that right? I forgot what number.
Yeah, he wore 45 for the Barons in like a few games.
I went and saw him play in Wrigley Field once against the Cubs. You'll be surprised to learn. Either way, like I say, the Indiana Hoosiers are the national champions. It was a great time in Miami for me. I'm now back here in Los Angeles. Good to catch up with Geno. Mike Fuentes and Dan Lebitard and sit in. What a thrill that was for me, a career thrill.
I mean, professionally, sitting next to Dan Lebitard, riding shotgun with him, the face of the U among media members, at least. I mean, that's how I know who Dan Lebitard is from 25, 30 years ago. So to get to sit there and watch that game with him in real time and and everybody else who was a part of that live broadcast with the Levitard Network.
Great, great time doing that and the whole visit down there. Great people down there. Shout out to Cynthia and to Kristen and everybody else who's a part of the gang. I will say this, too. As society's greatest empath, I feel bad for Canes fans.
I don't know if winning would have meant more to them than it has to Indiana Hoosiers faithful, but the pain of losing is clearly much worse for Canes fans than it would have been for Hoosiers fans. As I said repeatedly...
There was no... I don't believe for a second that's true, Dave. You keep saying that.
There's no precedent for... No, it doesn't matter. What would have been the downside? Like, oh, well, we lost in the national championship game. We've never been here before.
Yeah, because this might be the last time. You don't have faith that you're going to repeat this every year.
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Chapter 4: How does Nick Kostos analyze the upcoming title games?
There's no way you can be like, oh, well, next year I'll be right back in the same spot. There's no way you think that. So you have to think this could be our only chance. I have to win it. Team of destiny to go all this way, beat Ohio State, beat the fucking pants off Oregon, and then show them and be like, ah! We lost the national title. It's all like mayonnaise and rainbows or whatever you do.
I would have been indifferent about it. But you guys are so, I've listened to you. Mike Ryan, probably the personification now of the most passionate Canes fans. And he's just destroyed on a level that I don't think anybody that me and my friends would have been. Because as I keep saying, this was such a Cinderella ridiculous story. It's like Balboa. You ever see Rocky?
He loses the fight, but he wins in the end. He wins the respect, and that would have been, you know, we all would have been, Adrian, at the end of that. We had the moral victory already.
I see you as a man of logic, and there's just no way this is true. This is like the most playing result thing you've ever done. Now, for Miami, on the Miami side, we haven't been there in 25 years. That's a lifetime for most people. There are people in that stadium that probably weren't even alive on the Miami fan. Well, 25 since Miami won their last one.
Okay.
that there's that we weren't even supposed to be in the tournament and then rip off three big wins so yes it hurts it hurts a little bit because it's the same thing it's like this might just be a fluke you know you know i know but right but you should but again at the end of that game if you're a miami fan you point at we missed a field goal yeah it hit the upright and we and they had a block punt for a touchdown and that's the margin of victory i i think the takeaway is
is and will be in an enduring way, not just because of the iconic image of Mendoza diving into the end zone, but it is throughout the game. What a nails performance it was out of that kid. The statistics don't add up necessarily to the Heisman Trophy type performances that he threw out there over the course of the season. But man, fourth and five to go for it in that spot.
And I appreciate the balls, even though
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Chapter 5: What are the predictions for the Super Bowl matchup?
I kind of question the wisdom of going for that spot. I'm ultimately happy they did. But as he takes that ball on the QB draw and gets back to basically the line of scrimmage, he has to make a hard cut to his right in tight quarters. to make the first down. Otherwise, he would have gotten stopped down, and then I don't know how the game plays out.
Instead, he gets the first down, and then the cherry on top is he houses the ball while taking more shots. And don't forget how that game started with him catching one under the chin from a Canes helmet. Clearly a late hit that they didn't flag.
He's a blocker. Right there, he's a blocker. That's not a late hit. The ball's running off the other way. He's a blocker. He took a hit. Anyway.
Okay, the bigger point is that was an all-time tough performance from a dork who talks about Jesus and all of that. Don't let that mask the fact that that was a hard-ass performance from that guy.
I found out today that Fernando Mendoza's only social media is a LinkedIn page.
Which he updates regularly. But the thing for Mendoza, it came down to three plays for me for him. Well, three things he did. The back shoulder throw on fourth and five that Dave already mentioned that kept that play going. Obviously, the touchdown and the fact they didn't turn the ball over. Those are the three big things. You were back.
We were backer. That's it. Yeah, that's fine. I mean, how about those catches by Charlie Becker?
No, no.
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Chapter 6: What insights do the hosts share about team rivalries?
Great. Great. But, I mean.
Guys, just on behalf of America, no one cares anymore. We've moved on to professional football.
Why do we let this guy talk?
No one wants to chat about college football. Soup, the Oregon Ducks fan wants to move on.
It's done.
The LinkedIn product has been updated. Let's move along.
Bradley, I don't know if you knew this. Oregon didn't play on Monday night. Did you know that? That's crazy.
I don't know if you know this either, but Fernando Mendoza is probably going to be the first overall pick. So it is relevant as we go into the trade. And Bain is going to be probably the second pick. So that game and its stars are relevant as we look ahead past the four teams still standing in pro football.
Speaking of those teams, though, all right, I'll take your notes, Soup, before we get to Costos here. Let's talk as fans before we get to Costos' professional analysis on these two games. Who should we actually, Gino asked me this yesterday before I headed out of the office.
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Chapter 7: How do injuries and player performances impact the games?
Okay. Here's the question, Gino. Here's the question Gino asked. Either way. Who should we be rooting for? in the Patriots and Broncos title game? And the obvious answer is for anyone who's been hurt by the Patriots over the last 20-something years, especially AFC fans, know what I'm talking about. The Patriots were a scourge.
And then, you know, obviously for the Seahawks and otherwise, and Falcons fans. So in the short term, do we want to see the Patriots suffer
which would then put us in the spot to suffer in the super bowl because jared stidham starting in super bowl 60 feels awfully under underwhelming gino how say you well that was my point i mean my just like you said my first reaction was like uh i would love to watch the patriots lose to a backup quarterback then i started thinking about it like but last year's super bowl sucked i don't want this year's super bowl to suck so i guess i have to root for drake may and that's that's my logic there mike any thoughts
I you know, the Patriots thing, if unless you're from New England, it's very frustrating to see them only be down bad like two or three years before they come back. Now they're in the Super Bowl again. I think they've been incredibly lucky and it's very frustrating. And I hope Jared Stidham finds a way to just absolutely ball out and just find a way to get there.
And I really don't care if the Super Bowl ends up being bad because of it, because I don't want the Patriots in there. I don't want them to feel any kind of happiness at all, ever.
Wow. Short attention span. Dave says that Mike is right. I kind of want to see Jared Stidham do it. It would be a fun story for the fortnight between the title games and the Super Bowl. By the way, we're heading up to Santa Clara. By the way, interesting stat. A week from, I don't remember when. We'll be up there that week for the Super Bowl or portion of the Super Bowl week. Yes, Gina.
Interesting stat. Jake Stidham, the only quarterback, only backup quarterback in the NFL not to throw a pass over the last two years.
Wow, that's weird.
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Chapter 8: What are the betting implications for the championship games?
Jared is his name for the record. Also, which team, I guess Mike just answered this question from his perspective, which team winning it all would bum you out the most, Gino?
Which team winning at all would bum me out?
You know what's funny? As much as I want Jarrett Stidham to win, it would also bum me out if he won the Super Bowl. I only wanted to win this week. After that, it's fine. Well, then it blows up all assumptions.
Every conversation we have, even worse than Joe Flacco did, whatever, 12, 13 years ago. You have to have a high-end QB, you know, all that guy. If Jarrett Stidham does it, now we're lawless, right? We're without any boundaries of what makes sense.
Well, no, but then you'll get those people that come out and be like, see, you don't need a high-end quarterback to win the Super Bowl. And I'm like, yes. There's like one or two teams every 10 years that all the stars align perfectly with all these underpaid defensive guys. Those teams quickly fall apart because now all those guys, guess what? They want to get paid.
I mean, Foles did it. Hostetler did it. Caleb Haney almost did it. It's not without any precedent.
But it's a lot harder than the Super Bowl, the big QB going and winning the Super Bowl.
That happens way more often. Geno just made the point. It's not like nobody had seen Nick Foles. Before he got that one, what was it? Seven touchdown passes in the game? That happened before he won that Super Bowl. He had some moments there.
there's there are zero moments for jared stidham other than there was a stretch there there were a few minutes where belichick thought maybe stidham is the long-term replacement for tom brady that was a laughable what we need is stidham just to find a way to who is that to be what was that guy that played for green bay and then i'm going to seattle one game oh matt flynn yeah just channel matt flynn one game that's all i need for you is just to get the patriot fuck out of here
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