FS1 host Colin Cowherd compared the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2026 postseason predicament to The Godfather Part III, arguing that the team’s effort to win a third World Series is failing to match the success of its earlier championship seasons. The comparison was made Wednesday, according to the supplied report, as Los Angeles trailed 0-3 in its series.
Cowherd’s analogy drew on the film’s return of familiar names and creative leadership, while suggesting the result felt diminished compared with what came before. The report’s writer endorsed the comparison but cautioned against matching individual Dodgers players to actors. It noted that Al Pacino performed well in Part III, while Shohei Ohtani was struggling at the plate in the postseason games discussed.
Ohtani had hit below .200 across four consecutive postseason games, the report said. It also said the Dodgers had reportedly considered sitting him before Game 3 because of his performance and injuries. No specific injury details or source for the reported deliberations were included in the supplied material.
The comparison carries a high-stakes caveat: Los Angeles could still reverse the series deficit. If the Dodgers do not, the report said, they would have to contend with an especially damaging postseason result for a team regarded as part of a recent dynasty. The article described overcoming a 0-3 deficit in a League Championship Series as a feat achieved by just one team previously; it provided no additional details about that historical comparison.
The article contrasts the circumstances surrounding the 1990 film with those facing the Dodgers. The Godfather Part III arrived 16 years after Part II, and its cast had aged. Robert Duvall, who played Tom Hagen, did not return. The report also pointed to the elevated reputation of the first two movies as a demanding standard for the third installment. It characterized Part III as disappointing relative to its predecessors, while noting that it is not necessarily as poor as some viewers claim.
The Dodgers, by contrast, are described as having fewer grounds for excuse. Their payroll was said to exceed the combined payrolls of the other three teams still in contention, and the team had added Tarik Skubal and Kyle Tucker to an already highly regarded roster. The supplied material does not provide payroll figures or further details about those acquisitions. It also notes that the roster is aging and that the club has been unable to reproduce its earlier success in the postseason so far.
OutKick reporter Ian Miller, identified in the report as a Dodgers fan, also supported the broader comparison. Miller said the team’s strong 2024 and 2025 seasons made the experience of following the 2026 club worthwhile, despite the current disappointment. He added a joking caveat referencing director Francis Ford Coppola’s film Megalopolis.
The report’s conclusion is conditional rather than definitive: the Dodgers’ season could still change if they recover from the 0-3 deficit. If they fail to do so, the 2026 postseason may be remembered as a conspicuous letdown, much as Part III is often viewed against the first two Godfather films. The supplied article presents that assessment as commentary built around Cowherd’s analogy, not as a settled judgment on the team’s final legacy.
