The Key for the week of January 5, 2026
It’s a new year..
And a new world order, with newcomers Ole Miss and Indiana breaking into the College Football Final Four. It still doesn’t sound natural to say “Rose Bowl Champion and undefeated” IU, but the Hoosiers and their Heisman quarterback now stand as the favorites to take the CFP title. Miami, playing with a chip on their shoulders, are looking to prove everyone who said they didn’t belong in the playoffs wrong, while Oregon is trying to avenge an earlier regular-season loss to IU. And fan interest hasn’t waned this season—the IU-Bama game set a record with nearly 24 million viewers as the quarterfinals averaged about 19.3 million viewers. This weekend, expect more great football and more eyes on the two weekend matchups.
But the same old Bengals..
Many fans aren’t happy, but they shouldn’t be surprised that Bengals ownership has decided to stay with the status quo for front office leadership after another disappointing season. As Bengals fan Nick Lachey posted on Monday, “When something isn’t working anymore, and this clearly isn’t, you change. You adapt. You move on. To not do so is to admit that you have zero problem with the outcome you’re currently in.” He goes on to write, “It’s sadly predictable. I’m 52 years old and I’ve watched this cycle over and over again.” Meanwhile, the Baltimore front office gets rid of John Harbaugh, who finished with a losing record this year for just the third time in his 18 years. Harbaugh, by the way, can have just about any vacant job in the NFL right now, if he’s looking to jump back into the fray.
Ben’s best bet..
No Patrick Mahomes this time around in the NFL post season so what teams might be the favorites to show up at the Super Bowl this season? BetMGM has the Seahawks as the solid favorite to take it all, with a first round bye and a quarterback in Sam Darnold who has motive to show the Minnesota Vikings they were wrong to let him walk. Just behind in the NFC are the LA Rams, while in the AFC, the Denver Broncos have home field advantage and are the odds-on favorite to make the title game, leading the NFL with 68 sacks. Quarterback Bo Nix does just enough to move the offense while the Broncos defense strikes fear in the hearts of opposing quarterbacks. Tied for second favorite in the AFC is Buffalo, which doesn’t have to face Mahomes, Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow in order to advance, and New England, which is getting healthy at just the right time. Ben says Seattle will be a sentimental favorite, but the veteran leadership of Matthew Stafford with the Rams makes LA a popular pick to win it all.