Colin Cowherd Podcast - Week 18 Games Were AWFUL, NFL Playoff Preview, College Football Playoff Predictions
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
iHeartPodcasts and The Volume
4.3 • 10K Ratings
🗓️ 5 January 2026
⏱️ 71 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Colin is joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to break down the final week of the NFL season.
They start with the observation that the extended 17 game season has resulted in some terrible games featuring a ton of backup quarterbacks in the final week of the NFL season (2:45).
They preview the playoff field starting with the Patriots hosting the Chargers and they both agree the Chargers are a very live underdog that could upset the #2 seed Pats. Colin argues that he likes the Jaguars to win as a home underdog against the Bills and they agree the Jags can absolutely make it to the Super Bowl (11:15).
Colin predicts the Texans will be the winner in the Wild Card round regardless of whether they face the Ravens or Steelers and they both believe the Texans are the team nobody wants to play (13:15). They discuss whether the bye will be advantageous for the Broncos, but highlight that the collegiate atmosphere at Mile High Stadium is a massive home field advantage compared to other teams (16:45).
They pivot to the NFC and start with the Rams being a heavy favorite at Carolina and John argues the Rams defense has lost some of their early season mojo and both worry the Rams could be vulnerable on the road (24:45). They preview the 49ers at Eagles and Colin argues the Niners struggle offensively against good defenses like the Eagles, and that they’ll struggle to overcome all of their injuries (31:30).
They move to the Bears hosting the Packers and while Colin likes the Bears to win, John argues that the Bears defense could sink them in the postseason (37:30). Outside of the playoff picture, they discuss reports that Pete Caroll & Kevin Stefanski are going to be fired, and identify the top head coaching candidates available (47:30).
They preview the College Football Playoff semi-final games, starting with Miami vs. Ole Miss & they agree that the Hurricanes will bully their way to victory (58:15). They both take Indiana to beat Oregon for a second time and Colin argues Indiana is one of the best coached college football teams he’s ever seen and give their evaluations of quarterback Fernando Mendoza (1:06:00).
Finally they discuss another banner year for Sam Darnold with the Seahawks and why as a #1 seed, the Seahawks are going to be a brutally tough out in the playoffs (1:15:00).
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.)
Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!
#Volume
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.5 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:05.4 | The volume. |
| 0:07.8 | Does not watching football without food just feel, you know, wrong? |
| 0:10.9 | Have you ever tried it? |
| 0:11.8 | It's weird. |
| 0:12.5 | Like you're missing part of the experience. |
| 0:14.7 | The game's still great, but I don't know, something's off. |
| 0:17.6 | Luckily, you can prevent this from ever happening with Uber Eats. Just open the app, get great |
| 0:23.3 | game day deals all season. I got fries, chicken McNuggets, two orders, barbecue softs today. |
| 0:31.3 | When you buy one on Uber Eats right now, 10 piece chicken McNuggets, you get another 10 piece |
| 0:36.6 | free. That's 20 crispy golden McNuggets for the price of 10 delivered straight to your door, and they were delivered straight to my door. And as the official on-demand food delivery partner at the NFL, Uber Eats keeps the deals rolling all season long, burgers, chips, dips, tacos, pizza, whatever you crave. So don't make the mistake of watching without food. It's weird. Get some McDonald's McNuggets. |
| 0:55.4 | Your favorite sauces on Uber Eats today. |
| 0:57.3 | Terms apply. |
| 0:57.9 | See the app for details. |
| 0:59.5 | Picking your favorite sauces like trying to pick your fantasy team. |
| 1:08.0 | All right. |
| 1:08.7 | This will be a different version for the next hour with John Middlakov the former NFL Scout. It's Gray Day, for those who are watching us, gray day. I flew from Chicago to L.A. today. And first thing when I landed, because it's rained so much in L.A., I'm like, God, this place is green. It's like a national forest. So let's just, you know, it's a weird day in which I thought it was so fitting the bears were asleep for 75% of the game, then tied it up at 16 all, only to lose on a field goal 19 to 16. |
| 1:40.6 | Caleb Williams set the all-time Bears passing record in total yards. |
| 1:45.5 | But you look at our playoff, the draft order is set. |
| 1:48.8 | Vegas, the Jets, Arizona, Tennessee Giants. |
| 1:52.1 | I feel like, John, you could just throw like an NFC South team in. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 24 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts and The Volume, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and The Volume and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.