Thursday, December 18th, 2025, and to echo what Mike Francesa here in New York has been saying for decades, the NFL season seems to go by quicker and quicker every year. And it's unfathomable to me right now that this is week 16 already. And it kicks off tonight with a great game. Rams at Seahawks, that division basically at stake, seeding questions dramatically at stake. I think it's a bigger deal if the Seahawks end up the one seed than it is with the Rams, because I'll tell you right now, when you look at the breakdown of this conference, I have a lot of respect for the Rams, but the Rams being the one seed isn't going to scare anybody because if it's Philly going in there or Green Bay going in there or Chicago going in there or Detroit going in there or San Francisco going in there, no matter who goes in there, the away team is going to be overwhelmingly in the stands. LA is maybe the worst sports town outside of what a front running Dodger or Laker fan base that sort of emerges those stadiums for both of the teams, for the Chargers to whoever they're playing is going to be 70% of that crowd. Buddy of mine went to a game in LA. I think it was last year. I think the Steelers were there like last year or two years ago, and he said it was 90% Steelers fans. Now they travel well, but there is no real LA Ram fan. That team has been all over the country. There is no LA Charger fan. There was barely a San Diego Charger fan. So the Rams being the one seed, I don't think it has a huge impact on the NFC playoff picture. The Seattle Seahawks being the one seed has a massive impact on the playoff picture because that's a very difficult building to play in. And I think you would see the odds makers shift the Seahawks dramatically if they ended up being the one seed. But tonight, I don't think the Bears fan has a horse in this race. I don't really think it matters. I think you're almost rooting a little bit for the Rams here, drop the Seahawks. Maybe they lose a few here down the stretch, but I don't think it really is a game where you have a rooting interest. You just want to see a good game. And it's a shame this game's on a Thursday night because you're not going to get the best of these teams on a short week like this. These teams both played four o'clock Eastern on Sunday. And now you're asking them to come back for a massive game a few days later? If I was the czar of the NFL, I'd bump this game to Sunday and just give the teams rest. But that's not going to happen. This is my game preview for Sunday. I should say Saturday night. This is my game preview for Saturday night. And for years on the Bears blog, I would give a game prediction with my game preview on Friday. And the way I did those game predictions was I always picked the Bears until the last couple of years where I just soured on the franchise. But I think I picked the Bears for like 15 straight years. But if I picked the Bears to win 27-10, that meant I actually thought the Bears would win. If I picked the Bears to win 11-10, you could be pretty clear from what I was writing that I thought they were going to lose the game. I don't think in the last decade I would have been able to say what I'm going to say right now. And that is I expect the Bears to beat the Packers on Saturday night. I expect the Bears to beat the Packers on Saturday night. Because I don't think the Packers are better than the Bears. And I think that is the dramatic change I did not expect preseason. Again, I picked the Packers to go to the Super Bowl. I was on Packers' bills. I wouldn't deviate from that now. I still think the Bills are going to get there. But Micah Parsons, I picked the Packers before the Micah Parsons trade. Micah Parsons changed that team. Look at how the Bears had to approach him two weeks ago. They were holding him on every snap. And you know what? If they're not going to call it, that's called smart football. But you take Micah Parsons off that defense, and all of a sudden this offense for the Bears that can run the ball on basically anybody. You give this quarterback time, and he's not running for his life, or he's not worried about Parsons, I think they're going to have a lot of success throwing the ball against the Packers. Weather, of course, always a factor. I don't think that the second half Bears-Packers was an anomaly. I think Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams figured these guys out, and they figured them out with better talent. I expect the Bears to win this game. I will be disappointed in the Bears if they lose this game. It will not be doomsday, though, for me. Not living in Chicago, I don't live and die with these Packers games. I honestly don't give a shit. The Packers mean no more to me than the Lions or the Vikings. They mean they're a division opponent. I don't get overly emotional when they lose to the Packers. So this is not a doomsday game. They've got to win one or two here down the stretch, but this is not a doomsday game. But it is a game I think they should win. Because right now, heading into this football game, the Bears have a head of steam, and the Packers are licking their wounds a bit. And if this team has the sort of lethality, that cutthroat nature, that killer instinct, if they have that thing that is required to make a deep run in the postseason, I think you'll see it Saturday night. If they're not ready for the moment, I think you'll also know very quickly. I'm picking the Bears, 23-17. Close game, but I think we're looking back at Saturday night come the end of the weekend and saying, this team has a shot. So 2026, things will be great, but let's not rule out 2025. Bear down.