Playing into the postseason
| Week 18 results | ||||
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| 175-96-1 9-7 |
175-96-1 8-8 |
184-87-1 9-7 |
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| Saturday, January 3, 2026 | ||||
| Carolina @ Tampa Bay | Carolina | Carolina | Carolina | |
| Seattle @ San Francisco | San Francisco | San Francisco | San Francisco | |
| Sunday, January 4, 2026 | ||||
| New Orleans @ Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | |
| Cleveland @ Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | |
| Green Bay @ Minnesota | Minnesota | Minnesota | Minnesota | |
| Dallas @ N.Y. Giants | Dallas | Dallas | Dallas | |
| Tennessee @ Jacksonville | Jacksonville | Jacksonville | Jacksonville | |
| Indianapolis @ Houston | Houston | Houston | Houston | |
| N.Y. Jets @ Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | |
| Detroit @ Chicago | Detroit | Chicago | Chicago | |
| L.A. Chargers @ Denver | Denver | Denver | Denver | |
| Kansas City @ Las Vegas | Kansas City | Kansas City | Kansas City | |
| Arizona @ L.A. Rams | L.A. Rams | L.A. Rams | L.A. Rams | |
| Miami @ New England | New England | New England | New England | |
| Washington @ Philadelphia | Philadelphia | Philadelphia | Philadelphia | |
| Baltimore @ Pittsburgh | Baltimore | Baltimore | Pittsburgh | |
| © 2026 Gehlke Bros. Football | ||||
After 18 weeks of nail-biting football action, the only thing certain about the outcome of the 2025 GBF championship is that nothing is certain… yet. In dramatic fashion befitting a season that has been filled with drama, the Senior Bro overcame the self-inflicted wounds of a calamitous Week 17 to pull even in the battle for the Surfy Trophy on Sunday — forcing overtime in the contest for the first time in at least three decades.
Normally ripe for chaos as playoff-bound teams rest starters and also-rans experiment with rookie quarterbacks or play for pride, Week 18 is a prognosticator’s minefield stacked with nothing but division rivalries and a handful of teams trying to qualify for the postseason or improve their seeding. One such team was the Chicago Bears. The NFC North champs could finish no better than the second seed in the conference, but they needed a win combined with a Philadelphia loss to avoid slipping to third, so they were motivated. And they would be at home to take on Detroit, looking to avenge their Week 2 loss to the Lions, who already had been eliminated. For the Gehlke Bros, it was the lone split of the weekend that could have decided it all. Sean took Chicago while Glenn crossed his fingers and went with Detroit.
The Lions came out of the gate quickly, scoring a field goal on their opening possession and adding a second one early in the second quarter before a Jahmyr Gibbs touchdown made it 13-0 at halftime. The Lions tacked on one more field goal late in the third quarter for a commanding 16-0 advantage that took the game into the fourth. But these are the Bears, famous for late-game heroics, and so it was that they managed a pair of touchdown drives and 2-point conversions to tie it at 16-16, then picked off Jared Goff as the Lions were closing in on another score, and it looked like Glenn would be headed for yet another double-digit come-from-ahead loss to end his season. But the Detroit defense held the Bears to a three-and-out, and on the ensuing possession the Lions drove down the field for a game-winning 42-yard boot from kicker Jake Bates as time expired.
The Lions were among just four teams that won on the road this week, in a rare weekend of home-team dominance that also favored such have-nots as the Giants, Raiders and Vikings. The Senior Bro’s season-tying victory was a mixed blessing, for while it represents the first time since 2018 that he has not lost the season outright, it now means navigating a slate of playoff games to determine whether he will finally get to reclaim the Surfy or if Sean can somehow extend his title streak to seven. That quest begins this coming Saturday with the first of six wild card games.
While the Bros continue to arm wrestle into the postseason, Ben will have the satisfaction of having claimed his first overall title in 15 years. King Chaos wrapped up possibly his least chaotic season ever with a 9-7 record in Week 18 to finish a full 9 games up on his elders. He shared the week’s best mark with his dad, while Uncle Sean took third at 8-8. We all correctly picked winners Atlanta, Minnesota, Jacksonville, Houston, Buffalo, Denver, L.A. Rams and New England. Six teams we all missed included Tampa Bay, Seattle, Cleveland, N.Y. Giants, Las Vegas and Washington. Check in next week as we continue the action into the postseason!
