HSBT

Participants,

What a weekend of playoff football action!  3 upsets and a game delayed over 24 hours due to snow!  Let’s get right in to the results:

Houston Texans 45, Cleveland Brownies 14
Rookie QB CJ Stroud wasted no time in putting his stamp on this one, tossing 3 TD’s against the vaunted Browns D (no sacks for the game).  The Flacco experiment served Cleveland well, as they finally made the playoffs.  The over/under on the game was 44 points.  I guess that now means points for the winning team?

The Texans look to now be a serious contender.

HSBT Results
Henrico FiveOh starts out strong with 30 points.  Newcomer Ice Cold gets a “Coled” reception with a goose-egg in his very first game.

KC Chiefs 26, Miami Fins 7
Brr!!  -6 at kickoff with a 20-mph breeze.  A “Swift” start for the favored Chiefs and that was all she wrote.  The last time the Fins were seen was in the frozen fish section of your local supermarket.  Tua was reduced to One-a.

The Chiefs played well enough to win, but will it be good enough to continue to advance in the playoffs?

HSBT Results
Comeback Kid and 2024 Winner shared the honors with 66 points each.

Green Bay Packers 48, Dallas Cowboys 32
As predicted by The Commish, the Pack dominated this one and sent Jerry Jones into another post-season tailspin (one and done).  Gotta Love how Packer QB Jordan played.  Especially against a supposedly stout Cowboy D.  First loss of the season at home for Big D.  State of Texas fans are now aligning with the Texans.

HSBT Results
All Participants picked Dallas to win, and Comeback Kid took top honors again, this time with 76 points.  Greg the Great recorded the second goose-egg of the post-season.

Detroit Lions 24, LA Rams 23
A nail-biter and the Lions win their first playoff game in 32 years, when they clobbered the Cowboys 32-6.  An evenly matched game saw a battle of former QB’s (Stafford from Detroit and Goff from the Rams – both in trades).

HSBT Results
HenricoFiveOh takes top honors for the second time, with 36 points.

Buffalo Bills 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
Surprisingly, all the fans were able to locate their seats and dig out a place to sit for the game.  Almost 4’ of snow blanketed Highmark Stadium the day before.

The Bills got off to a great start and were able to hold off the Stealers, who were looking for the upset during the second half.  Josh had zero turnovers to go with 3 TD passes and a spectacular 52-yard TD scamper.  A lot of injuries in this game, however.

HSBT Update
Ice Cold gets his first game victory, with 53 points!

Tampa Bay 32, Philadelphia Hurts 9
Ouch, this one Hurts!  Is Tampa Bay that good or are the hapless Eagles that bad?  Bucs QB Baker had the recipe that reduced the Philly Cheesesteak to Cheez Wiz and Spam.  Just a horrible effort by Philly.  A year ago, they were close to winning it all and now they finish the year going 1-6.  I smell some coaching changes.

HSBT Results
Buffalo Bill gets in on the action with a 65-poiunt effort, while Greg the Great posts his second goose-egg of the playoffs.

HSBT RESULTS AFTER SUPER WILD CARD WEEKEND

• Comeback Kid – off to another hot start with 210 points
• JTB – hot on his heels with 209 points
• Buffalo Bill – 189 points, good for the bronze chicken wing
• HenricoFiveOh – 163 points and a solid start
• 2024 Winner – 158 points and in a good position to strike quickly
• Ice Cold – 128 points in his first campaign
• Pete the Terp – a slow start with 90 points, but his Ravens play this upcoming weekend
• Greg the Great – 66 points (those 2 goose-eggs did not help)

Our analysis for the Divisional Games will be posted later this week.  Stay warm and get ready for 4 great games this weekend!

Until then, I remain
The Commish

Participants,

Here is the much-anticipated analysis and predictions for each of the 6 playoff games this coming weekend.  With the recent confirmation of AI (Actual Intelligence!!) in our data analysis techniques and toolset, our clarity here at the Offices of The Commissioner of the NFL continues to improve to provide you with more than all you need to make the right picks for this weekend!  Forget all that other noise!

And, remember to get your picks for all 6 games submitted via our website before the 4:30pm EST kickoff on Saturday!

Let’s get started!  We decided to schedule all 3 AFC games, followed by all 3 NFC games.  And, fans have told us that they strongly prefer the Monday Night game, instead of having 3 games on Saturday and 3 games on Sunday.

#5 Cleveland Browns (11-6) @ #4 Houston Oilers Texans (10-7)
Browns favored by 2.5

A weekend with 22+ hours of NFL playoff football begins now!  The Browns are back in the playoffs for 1^st time in recent (and distant) memory.

Let’s talk about the QB’s in the weekend kickoff game.  And don’t give me any Flac(co) over the 38-year-old Browns QB.  Just a few weeks ago he was shuttling his kids back and forth to school and now might be the hottest QB in the league.  He goes up against the Texans rookie QB CJ who is just hitting his Stroud.

The Browns were victorious a couple weeks ago (without Stroud).  Can they repeat?  The Browns D is too tough for the young Texans.

Cleveland 31, Texans 13
(Flacco tosses 3 long TD’s in the first half)

#6 Miami Dolphins (11-6) @ #3 Kansas City Chiefs (11-6)
Chiefs favored by 4

Had the Dolphins defeated the Bills last Monday Night, they would be playing a home game (with kickoff temps hovering around 70 degrees).  Instead, they get to visit arguably the loudest stadium in the league with game-time temps expected to be in the single digits – and a wind chill of around -20.

The Chiefs prevailed in Week 9 in Frankfurt (a fish fry at a hot dog cookout?).  Even without Taylor in attendance.  Speaking of her, she has been placed on the Active roster for this game and will wear number $5B (her net worth) with the name Yoko Ono on the back of her jersey.

Too many TV commercials and distractions for KC this season.  Or will we have another Fish fry (this time in KC)?  Don’t look in your frozen foods section for this Saturday night tilt.  First big upset of the weekend!

Fins 27, Chiefs 26
(Another critical KC WR drop, this time of the game winning TD pass)

#7 Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8) @ #2 Buffalo Bills (11-6)
Bills favored by 10

Another heart thumper for the Bills or will they finally get going on all cylinders?  And Watt is going on with TJ?  Not playing?  Brother JJ could be activated to fill-in for his little brother.  A huge loss for the Pittsburgh D.

The Steelers are the only team to beat Ravens twice this season and had to win their last 3 games to make the playoffs.  The Bills have won 5 straight under their new interim OC.  It will be a battle of the beers – Iron City vs. Labatt’s Blue Light.  A battle of the fan clubs – Bills Mafia vs The Terrible Towel (which they will need to mop up those tears on Sunday afternoon).

A Bills win and another home playoff game next weekend!

Bills 34, Steelers 16
(Finally a little breathing room)

#7 Green Bay Packers (9-8) @ #2 Dallas Cowboys (12-5)
Cowboys favored by 7.5

You gotta Love how QB Jordan played the last few games of the season for the Pack.  They won their last 3 plus beat the Chiefs and Lions earlier in the season.  However, the Cowboys are undefeated at home this year.  During the pre-game warm-up’s, they listen to their favorite tunes on a Ceedee.

However, “America’s Team” will not even be “Texas’ Team” after this weekend.  A repeat of the Packer victory on Thanksgiving Day in Big D(eflated)!!

Upset #2

Packers 29, Jerry’s Team 27

#6 LA Rams (10-7) @ #3 Detroit Lions (12-5)
Lions favored by 3.5

No, this is not a typo.  The Lions are in the playoffs!  First time since 2017.  Rams QB Stafford is back in Motown to face his original team and Lions QB Goff faces his original team.

The Rams are healthy again and won their last 4 to edge into the playoffs.  This is a very dangerous team.  Plus they have all-world Aaron Donald at DT (he even busts up triple coverage).  The Lions are looking to roar into the Divisional round next weekend with their staunch D.  But they will be reduced to a mere purr in Upset #3.

Rams 33, Kitty Cats 28
(Who is that Rams WR that scored 3 TD’s?)

#5 Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) @ #4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8)
Eagles favored by 2.5

It Hurts to watch how Philly went from 10-1 to 11-6.  From best to bust with Super (Bowl) huge expectations.  This team is on a downhill slide with no end in sight.  Philly Cheesesteak sales plummet, as well.

Meanwhile, TB has a new winning recipe with the Baker (or is that actually Tom Brady in disguise?).  They’ve had some ugly wins and some ugly losses along the way.  But Philly has been uglier.

The last upset of the weekend…

Buccaneers 23, Eagles 20

Be sure to get all those weekend chores done in time for Saturday afternoon kickoff.  Load up the frig with your favorite foods and beverages and get that comfy chair ready for Super Wild Card Weekend!

We’ll be posting live scoring during each game (click on the Standings tab at the top of our website) and please contact Greg the Great if you want to be included in all the smack talk on Slack.  He can set you up for some additional fun!

My post-weekend recap will be posted early next week!

Until then I remain,
The Commish

Participants,

Welcome to the 36^th Edition of the Hewes Super Bowl Trophy!!  We finally have determined the 14 teams that will compete for this year’s Super Bowl (SB58), and the playoffs start this Saturday with 2 of the 6 Super Wild Card Weekend games!  Get your naps in early in the day this weekend because the schedule has late games (i.e., kickoff around 8:00pm EST or so) on Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights.

We’re disappointed once again to learn that Ben the Butler remains on IR and will miss this playoff season.  He was hoping to get his medical release before the playoffs, but his extensive rehab has been slow.  We hope he has a full recovery and is in prime form to compete next year.

However, we’re pleased to announce that Ice Cold is now an official participant in the HSBT (as our 10^th lifetime participant!)  We wish him luck, but not the trophy (at least in his rookie year!)

We also know that everyone is licking their chops in anticipation of wrestling away the coveted trophy from Comeback Kid, who has had it in his possession for the past 3 years!  He did mention to The Commish recently that he’s going for an unprecedented “4-peat” and plans to keep the trophy in the south suburbs of Buffalo.  The smack talk has already started!!

A few reminders before the real action begins as the 8 participants prepare to battle it out.

RULES
Please read the “League Rules” (found on our home page at www.hewessbt.com) to become reacquainted with all you need to know.  I’m available to answer any questions.

MAKING YOUR PICKS
All picks are officially submitted on our site, using the “Submit Picks” tab.  Enter the team names and respective score you believe will be the final game score for each game.  Once you have submitted your scores, they will be time-stamped and sent via email to The Commish, who will load them to the site.  The Commish will not look at any game score submissions until all scores have been submitted in the same manner.  Please – no last-minute frantic text messages with your scores.

KEEPING TRACK
Visit the “Standings” tab to get real-time updated game scores and your points as games are in progress.  This interactive feature was implemented several years ago and has received numerous kudos from the serious game watchers (that have a strong correlation to the eventual HSBT winners).

In-game smack talk will also be available using the Slack app from your device.  For more details on how to get in the action during the games, please contact Greg the Great.

REMINDERS (As I Do Every Year)

1. Picks for ALL 6 Super Wild Card Weekend games are to be submitted no later than 4:30pm EST on Saturday, January 13 (which is just prior to the kickoff of the 1st playoff game).
2. Any pick not submitted on time will result in a 25-point penalty for that game (meaning you will get -25 points for those games).
3. No “partial scores” are to be submitted.  We did have this occur several years ago and it went something like this:  “Chicago 24, SF”.  This will also result in the aforementioned -25 points.

It’s shaping up to be another great year, with maybe 11 or 12 (or all 14!!) teams thinking they have the inside track on winning the Super Bowl.  With 8 participants and a total of 13 games in the 3^rd year of the expanded playoff format, will it be a record-setting year for the HSBT?  Pete the Terp set the benchmark with 1,322 points in 2016 (with a 10-1 record).

Stay tuned for The Commish’s in-depth analysis and predictions later in the week for all 6 Super Wild Card Weekend games.

Until then I remain,

The Commish

Participants,

The Chicago Bulls.  The LA Lakers.  The New York Yankees.  The Montreal Canadiens.  The New York Islanders.  Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.  Comeback Kid.

What do they all have in common?  Each has won 3 (or more) consecutive championships.  In stunning fashion, Comeback Kid roared back from a 1-point deficit to capture his 3^rd consecutive Hewes Super Bowl Trophy in convincing fashion after posting 232 points in Super Bowl LVII on February 12.

Congrats to Comeback Kid!!  We were able to briefly catch-up with him shortly after his post-game celebration to see how he felt about his victory.  “It was amazing to come out on top once again.  In the end it was an epic battle between me and 2023 Winner and if the Eagles had won the game, 2023 Winner might have been holding the trophy right now.  All I can say is that everyone else had better sharpen their game for next year, as I plan to win once again!  Hello, 4-peat!”

Pretty bold prediction at this very early stage, but notice has now been given to all other participants.

Super Bowl 57 Results
Should that defensive holding penalty at the end been called or should they have “just let them play?”  A pretty bold call by the ref, but clearly the Eagles were at fault.  Not sure it really mattered, as Chiefs K Butker could have easily made a longer FG to win.  That, however, would have allowed the Eagles an additional minute or so to march down the field for a potential TD to win.

KC QB Mahomes earned his MVP award, even on his gimpy right ankle.  Whatever happened to the Eagles running game that dictated the course of action in their 2 prior playoff wins?

For an average of $16,500 per ticket, a comfy sofa and ready access to the bathroom and beverages was certainly a more appealing option, especially if you were an Eagles fan.  They showed their true colors and reinforced that they are the worst fans in the league.

HSBT Final Results
As previously mentioned, we now have a 3-peat champion.  Here are the final standings:

• Comeback Kid (805 points) – the 1^st participant in 6 years to claim the Super Bowl Bonus points, as well
• 2023 Winner (654) – had the favored Eagles done their business…
• JTB (632) – a very strong showing with upside going forward. He earns the bronze chicken wing award
• Pete the Terp (617) – solid all-around year, but that low-scoring SB pick didn’t help his chances
• HenricoFiveOh (575) – that 32-point effort in the SB washed away any chances for a 9^th trophy
• Greg the Great (518) – had the Eagles scored a TD at the very end, he would be hoisting his 7^th trophy
• Buffalo Bill (471) – matching HenricoFiveOh’s effort in the SB did not bode well

Over the next few months, I will update the all-important cumulative stats and send them out to all Participants as they begin their preparations for SB 58 and HSBT 36.

Until then, enjoy the rest of winter and stay healthy!

The Commish

Participants,

This is it.  It all comes down to this game to determine who will win the Super Bowl.  And, more importantly, who will win the coveted Hewes Super Bowl Trophy (HSBT) competition for 2023!  The Commish will be out of town the next 2 weeks, and in preparation for that travel schedule, I have asked the analytics team at NFL Headquarters to work extra time to accommodate not only my schedule, but also to provide the HSBT participants with the best insights as they prepare to make their picks for the Super Bowl LVII tussle between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.

So, as you begin to finalize your thoughts and your picks for SB57, here is the official league analysis of the BIG game:

When the Eagles are on Offense
The Eagles boast a solid O line, with 3 change-of-pace RB’s, a clutch TE, 2 terrific WR’s and a QB that is in line for a big game (with his arm and legs)!  They surgically dissected the #1 rated 49ers D last weekend, with 31 points.  The Chiefs D is not as staunch as the SF defense.

The Chiefs D is just a little above average this season, but DT Chris Jones could be a game-wrecker if he is not controlled.  Look for double teams all game long, opening the door for some blitzes.  What the Eagles do when the Chiefs blitz will most likely determine the outcome.

Edge – Eagles

When the Chiefs are on Offense
The Chiefs have a little less than solid O line, a few hard running RB’s (when healthy), the best TE in the business, and a mediocre set of WR’s (even when they are healthy.)  However, they also have QB Mahomes, who can quickly make up for any previously noted deficiencies.

The Eagles D is #2 overall in the NFL and are solid at every position.  Their defensive balance makes it very tough to find any weaknesses to exploit.  Their strength, however, is the speed of the D line, which will force Mahomes out of the pocket.  So, it may come down to that high ankle sprain.

Edge – Even

Special Note on Special Teams
The Chiefs have been here before and have a solid K who usually comes thru in the clutch.  The Eagles are unproven.

Edge – Chiefs

Game Prediction
When the clock strikes 00:00 in the 4^th quarter, we will know the winner, right?  Not!!  This one is going into OT and will be decided by a short FG and the end of a 75-yard drive.  To borrow some lyrics from John Mellencamp, “…you know it Hurts so good.”

Eagles 27, Chiefs 24 (OT)

HSBT Predictions
As mentioned in last week’s communication, it is a veritable logjam in the race for the trophy!  Everyone still has a legitimate shot!  57 points separates the top 4 participants.  History tells us that you can go from last to first in a heartbeat in the SB.  Plus, one participant (Comeback Kid, sitting currently in the #2 position) has picked the Chiefs and has a shot at the 100 bonus points.  Whoa!

To ease any pressure and help the participants relax during this stressful time, I have endorsed that predictions of the leagues analytics team to inform you – in advance – of the official final results of the HSBT competition:

• Greg the Great – he has the longest way to go, and should climb up in the standings, but trophy #7 will have to wait until next year
• JTB – he comes into the SB with an impressive 9-3 record, but has 162 points to make up. It can be done, but he will need to be spot on with his pick
• Buffalo Bill – was performing very well earlier in the playoffs, but has recently tailed off. He will most likely need to improve on his best-ever 400 points in the SB to capture the trophy for the 1^st time since 2003.  His 10-2 record is impressive
• Pete the Terp – he finds himself only 57 points out of the lead, so his 3^rd trophy is certainly within reach. He has had some interesting picks so far this season, so look out for another dandy.  Let’s hope he doesn’t pick his beloved Ravens.
• HenricoFiveOh – only 31 points out of the lead, and he is gearing up for a record 9^th trophy!  Unfortunately, that will need to wait another year.  That OT FG in the SB will ruin his day by 24 points.  Arghh!
• Comeback Kid – the comeback to win his 3^rd consecutive trophy is within reach. However, the Eagle victory dashes any hopes of getting the SB Bonus Points and the silver medal is his this year.
• Who does that leave?

Please be sure to get your picks in prior to the 6:30pm EST kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday.  The Commish will have real-time scoring updates as the game progresses.  Good luck to everyone!

Until then, I remain,
The Commish