SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
It's time for sports.
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SIMON: NFL playoffs, Wild Card Weekend and Hoosiers overwhelm the Ducks in college football. Sports writer Howard Bryant joins us. Hi there, Howard.
HOWARD BRYANT: Good morning, Scott Simon. How are you?
SIMON: I'm fine, thanks - and, I must say, getting a little excited. NFL playoffs kick off today - Bears, Packers, cold, wind, (imitating growl), two great young quarterbacks. This is what playoff football's all about, isn't it?
BRYANT: Even more so, Scott. You know, I don't know if the rumors are true. I kind of hope they're not true that the Chicago Bears are going to move to Indiana and they're going to build an indoor stadium and it's going to be domed, and the whole thing.
SIMON: No.
BRYANT: But...
SIMON: No. No.
BRYANT: Exactly. Let me tell you this, though.
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: NFC North - Bears, Packers - they've both been around since...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...1920. This - as the great John Madden would say, this is football.
SIMON: Yes.
BRYANT: I mean, this is what it's supposed to be. You've got a great rivalry. You've got these two young teams. You've got Caleb Williams - your guy, Chicago...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...That everybody maligned. And he's the No. 1 pick, and he's really, really proving why he was. This - he may very well be - and I know this is going to be hard to say so early in his career, but...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...The Bears just don't develop quarterbacks. You know, in a couple years, he may be the best quarterback they've ever had. And so...
SIMON: That's absolutely true, and all he's got to do is - like, Sid Luckman was the last great one...
BRYANT: (Laughter).
SIMON: ...And he was 1930 or something. Yeah.
BRYANT: No. But I love this. And I love this to start the playoffs because if you're into the nostalgia, if you're into the rivalries, if you're into what cold-weather football's supposed to be, this is going to be great.
SIMON: Right. And you don't play it under a dome.
BRYANT: And of course, I don't have to sit out there, so even...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...Better.
SIMON: In the AFC, though, no Patrick Mahomes, no Lamar Jackson. This has got to be the year for the Buffalo Bills and their quarterback, Josh Allen, to get to the Super Bowl - right? - although Jacksonville Jaguars have been looking good, right?
BRYANT: And they're at home, and the Bills are a 6 seed. And this is the weird thing. It's like - we have been watching these games for so long, and we have been talking about Josh Allen as one of the great quarterbacks. And he is. There's...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...No question he's the engine of that entire machine. But this is the year. Tom Brady is gone. You know, Patrick Mahomes - you know, his successor is not here this year. Lamar Jackson, the two-time MVP, is not there. If there's ever been a pathway for Josh Allen to get to his first Super Bowl and to get the Bills there for a Super Bowl, this is it. He's the most accomplished, most experienced, playoff-wise, quarterback in a field of young teams. So is it the end of the world for them? No, but this is really the best shot for Josh Allen right now to get to the Super Bowl.
SIMON: College football championship match is set. Miami Hurricanes will play the top-ranked - I can't believe I'm saying this - Indiana Hoosiers on January 19. The Hoosiers overwhelmingly thumped the Oregon Ducks last night, 56-22. First play of the game was a defensive touchdown, wasn't it?
BRYANT: Yeah. It's incredible. I mean, I think even in the NFL, where you have so much change, you want there to be change. And in the NFL, especially in the AFC, you've got all of this. You've got the Patriots, who are new. We haven't seen them for a while. You know, you've got the Broncos, who are the No. 1 seed. Haven't seen them for a while. Even in the NFC, Seattle's back. And so you've got change. And in college, my goodness.
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: In college, when you look at what is happening here - I remember when we were kids, they used to say, you know, they settled the national championship by polls. They didn't have a playoff.
SIMON: That's right.
BRYANT: It was the AP...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...Poll and the UPI poll, and whoever sort of topped those polls was the champion. And for years, everybody said, we need a playoff. We got to have a playoff to decide this. And so then, finally, we get the - you know, we get the college football playoff. And the minute we get the college football playoff, what did everyone say? It's not enough. We need to...
SIMON: (Laughter).
BRYANT: ...Expand the playoff. And nobody's happy.
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: And so now they expand the playoff. And you - and we've got - you've got chaos here because Indiana - what in the Bobby Knight is going on over here? And Oregon. And so now people are mad about that, but here's the deal. Indiana is a great, great football team.
SIMON: Oh, my gosh...
BRYANT: And they have...
SIMON: ...Aren't they? Yeah.
BRYANT: ...Proven it. And I was one of the naysayers all season, going, Indiana? Football? But they have been dominant. I feel a little bad for Oregon because they can't seem to win the big one, but Miami, Indiana - for all the marbles, I'm here for it. Love it.
SIMON: Yeah. Sports writer Howard Bryant, we'll look forward to that - talk about it soon. Take care.
BRYANT: Oh, my pleasure. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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