Speaker 1: Welcome to NFL Daily, where Teddy Bridgewater was never far
Speaker 1: away for us. He's back and we're back here in
Speaker 1: the Chris Westling podcast studio. Yes, it's your favorite time
Speaker 1: a week. It's the Man Versus Machine Pick segment with
Speaker 1: my good friend Cynthia for you.
Speaker 2: And yes, we have Teddy Bridgewater back on your lions
Speaker 2: and we've got you back. How was your Christmas? It
Speaker 2: was great.
Speaker 3: I'm still full. I try to button my jeans and
Speaker 3: that's more to do. Okay, ye all gross today?
Speaker 2: How about you?
Speaker 1: I feel fine, I'm doing well. I was the best gift? Oh,
Speaker 1: the best gift for the kids. I already mentioned this
Speaker 1: on our previews show in NFL Daily. The best gift
Speaker 1: I got was Walker said he listened to the podcast
Speaker 1: they did on Monday night with Nick Shuk and he
Speaker 1: said it was great. So I can't think of it.
Speaker 1: What about the kids?
Speaker 3: Like? What was the best? Like when the kids like?
Speaker 3: For kids, what was the best opened gift?
Speaker 1: It's kind of predictable, but it's like just like a
Speaker 1: video game, you know, got it?
Speaker 2: Yea college? Oh my god? A little bit.
Speaker 1: They're getting they're getting older, but it's not quite as
Speaker 1: crazy we're getting too. We're in week seventeen. We were
Speaker 1: just little babies back in Week one. Let's put up
Speaker 1: the records for last week. We both went one and two.
Speaker 1: This is the first time this has happened in a
Speaker 1: while where we both had losing weeks. Overall, we've been
Speaker 1: We've been picking well in the second half of the season.
Speaker 1: I'm at twenty seven in twenty one. It's about a
Speaker 1: fifty five percent.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 1: Cynthia's at twenty five and twenty three. Couple games back.
Speaker 1: But I'm feeling better about this week than I did
Speaker 1: last week. There were four clear games. I liked a
Speaker 1: lot this week, and so the only hard part was picking,
Speaker 1: you know, which one to eliminate?
Speaker 2: But I like these. Maybe maybe I'll just.
Speaker 1: Start, Yeah, you start, you start? Okay with you? I
Speaker 1: mentioned Teddy up top. I know it's an off the
Speaker 1: field story, but Teddy Briddy going to play is now
Speaker 1: part of the Lions organization.
Speaker 2: Line back.
Speaker 1: As if this team didn't have great vibes at as
Speaker 1: it was, to throw Teddy Bridgewater into the mix in
Speaker 1: Week seventeen put him over the top. That's not the
Speaker 1: reason I'm taking the Lions three and a half but
Speaker 1: I do like it, and I wouldn't be surprised if
Speaker 1: he is their backup by the playoffs, whether they passed
Speaker 1: Tendon hooker or maybe it'll just be around for now.
Speaker 2: I assume at Tendon hooker. Okay, minus three and a.
Speaker 3: Half this week, for sure, Attendon hooker last week?
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, last week.
Speaker 1: I told you Lions minus six and a half was
Speaker 1: one of my favorite picks all year.
Speaker 2: They absolutely cruised.
Speaker 1: I feel like this is a very similar match up
Speaker 1: here to the forty nine ers. Yes, the forty nine
Speaker 1: ers are better, and it's on the road, but I
Speaker 1: look at a team that's in the dirt in the
Speaker 1: forty nine ers and a team that's playing for everything,
Speaker 1: possibly playing to clinch the number one overall seed on
Speaker 1: Monday night. I know some things could happen in between.
Speaker 1: Dan Campbell says they're going to play to win no
Speaker 1: matter what, even if even if the Vikings won on
Speaker 1: Sunday night, technically the Lions game kind of wouldn't matter
Speaker 1: for them, but that doesn't matter. The Lions always played
Speaker 1: a win, all right. There's the forty nine have no
Speaker 1: pass rush anymore. I know Nick Bose is out there
Speaker 1: in spirit he's not out there making any difference. So
Speaker 1: zero pass rush whatsoever against this Lion's offense, which is
Speaker 1: still plenty healthy. Drey Greenlaw is out, Fred Warners out
Speaker 1: there with a broken foot. I just feel like the
Speaker 1: over under on their points once again is about thirty five.
Speaker 2: I love that team total for the Lions.
Speaker 1: And then on the other side, four of the forty
Speaker 1: nine ers five starting off offensive linemen are out and
Speaker 1: they're not like big names other than Trent Williams. But
Speaker 1: two more offensive linemen got hurt their guards last week
Speaker 1: that are out and they're like looking for a tackle.
Speaker 1: So I know the Lions have some problems.
Speaker 3: Do you have a defense Island, see if I can
Speaker 3: get your.
Speaker 1: Job sure, or just see what he'll lie to you
Speaker 1: about in terms of the injury reports, Like the forty
Speaker 1: nine Ers don't have a running game anymore. I know
Speaker 1: the numbers say they're a better team than most six
Speaker 1: and eight teams or whatever they are, but I don't care.
Speaker 1: The Lions are gonna win this game. Easy love me
Speaker 1: some Lions minus three and a half.
Speaker 3: Your lips to whoever's in charge. That's what I say.
Speaker 3: You picked my team, I'm gonna pick your daughter's team.
Speaker 3: I love I love the Rams. Okay, this week, I
Speaker 3: think that their opportunity Saturday night against the Cardinals here
Speaker 3: evening night, it's evening our time. I've right around dusk
Speaker 3: sunset with a sunset, a NFC West tilt where the
Speaker 3: Rams are in charge of their own future. Basically, I
Speaker 3: think that they win. What's the line like, six and
Speaker 3: a half? Right, yeah, okay, six and a half, it's
Speaker 3: a great number. They just gotta win by a touchdown.
Speaker 2: I think so too.
Speaker 1: That's a game where the Cardinals are missing their top
Speaker 1: two tackles that I think, as you always tell me,
Speaker 1: offensive line in your.
Speaker 3: Huge matter a lot huge. I think the only thing,
Speaker 3: you know, the only thing in this game that I'm
Speaker 3: keeping an eye out for just because I'm I'm very
Speaker 3: interested in this looking forward, because like I would like
Speaker 3: to see the scenario so Thursday night, if the if
Speaker 3: the Seahawks win Thursday night, it could set up a
Speaker 3: Week eighteen where things matter for the NFC West. I
Speaker 3: kind of want to see, like some mayhem.
Speaker 1: I want I want more things to matter in Week seventeen.
Speaker 1: The problem is it comes down to this strength of
Speaker 1: victory tie break with the Rams could clinch by the
Speaker 1: end of week seventeen. We won't know until after Saturday night.
Speaker 1: They have to wait for the Sunday results to happen.
Speaker 1: All right, my next two picks, yep, or my next pick?
Speaker 3: I was about to say, you're going to go to Well, they're.
Speaker 2: Similar to me.
Speaker 1: They're both underdogs that I think can win straight up.
Speaker 1: In fact, I'm picking them to win straight up. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna go second with the one I feel better about
Speaker 1: Denver plus three and a half in Cincinnati. To me,
Speaker 1: this is one of those picks that you're building towards
Speaker 1: all season picking games, and I know you and Patrick
Speaker 1: Claybon are on the other side of me on this one.
Speaker 3: I'm on the other side of you. For who winsky
Speaker 3: on the other side of you the numbers.
Speaker 1: That makes me feel better because for this purpose win
Speaker 1: all I need is Denver to cover the three and
Speaker 1: a half, so we both win.
Speaker 2: In that way.
Speaker 1: I have a feeling won't the public be on my side?
Speaker 1: Which is a little worrisome in general, Like won't everyone say, yeah,
Speaker 1: the Broncos plus three and fl That seems too obvious.
Speaker 1: But it's been a public kind of year. The public
Speaker 1: is doing well. I looked at my record against the
Speaker 1: spread this year, because we pick all the game debut
Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty six to ninety nine. I mean,
Speaker 1: and if I'm doing that well, I have a feeling
Speaker 1: the public is doing that well too. It's about the
Speaker 1: same percentage as our picks on this show, about fifty
Speaker 1: five to fifty six. Okay, So I think everyone's overreacting
Speaker 1: too much to recent games. In terms of the defensive performance,
Speaker 1: the Bengals have forced a lot of turnovers. Since Week eleven,
Speaker 1: They've definitely been better on defense. The Broncos defense looked
Speaker 1: quite bad in primetime last week, and I think people
Speaker 1: are overreacting. I care more about the whole season. I
Speaker 1: don't trust this Bengals defense whatsoever. I think Sean Payton,
Speaker 1: with a little extra rest here, can scheme up some
Speaker 1: great plays. Bonix doesn't have to be great. And then
Speaker 1: I look at the other side, where the offensive line
Speaker 1: for the Bengals has been banged up. I trust this
Speaker 1: Broncos defense to at least be good enough. They just
Speaker 1: need to be sound. And even the Bengals last week
Speaker 1: against the Browns, they were struggling to score in that game.
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow is awesome. It's not about that. It's just
Speaker 1: one team has been better all season long, and I
Speaker 1: know Bengals have been like a Vegas team all season long.
Speaker 1: And apparently even for your numbers, they're they're decent that
Speaker 1: you have them winning this game. I don't think they
Speaker 1: win this game. I think the Broncos clinched their playoff
Speaker 1: spot on Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 3: I have a one point win for the Bengals. So
Speaker 3: it's not like I'm saying, really, oh, now you're with me.
Speaker 2: You're two and a half.
Speaker 3: Points with you, two and a half points with you.
Speaker 3: The one thing that's really interesting about this game is
Speaker 3: the fact that I was trying to find something good
Speaker 3: about this Bengals defense, which trying right, because there's been
Speaker 3: a it's been a tough season. Short passes, which is
Speaker 3: actually not a strength of Bonnicks, is also a strength
Speaker 3: for this On short passes with sub ten air yard passes,
Speaker 3: they have seven interceptions, which is the most.
Speaker 2: In the league.
Speaker 3: Just just a fun fact. I mean, it doesn't really
Speaker 3: it's not super predictive. It's not like I'm saying and
Speaker 3: that is the reason that they're not gonna win this game.
Speaker 1: The cases against the Broncos is the quarterback matchup Bonnicks
Speaker 1: coming off probably the two the worst two game stretch
Speaker 1: that he's had since the first two weeks of the
Speaker 1: season against a guy who's going to be on some
Speaker 1: MVP ballots in Joe Burrow.
Speaker 3: So I mean, yes, Brush should be low key. He's been.
Speaker 3: He's taken the most hits this season at one oh five.
Speaker 3: Like people don't talk about that because he's doing such
Speaker 3: a good job of escaping being sacked, and we like
Speaker 3: to say sacked totals or whatever, But hits are a
Speaker 3: problem too. One hundred and five is a lot, a
Speaker 3: lot of hits.
Speaker 1: That is a lot, which is I think he'll he'll hit,
Speaker 1: He'll get hit some more, hit some more.
Speaker 2: All right, your second pick?
Speaker 3: All right, so my second pick. I feel like I'm
Speaker 3: scooping you on this one. I want to be we.
Speaker 1: Can join sides. We did last week to poor effect.
Speaker 1: Now Jalen hurts his injury that did not help us there.
Speaker 3: We should get an asterix there.
Speaker 2: I know they were up fourteen nothing app before he
Speaker 2: went out.
Speaker 3: I think we're on the same side of this one.
Speaker 3: But I think that I want to pick the Raiders
Speaker 3: against the Saints.
Speaker 1: That's funny, that is that was my fifth pick, So
Speaker 1: I was not gonna make it. Okay, I wrote down
Speaker 1: four I loved and one I liked, and that one
Speaker 1: was the one.
Speaker 2: I all right.
Speaker 3: Well, in large part because the Raiders, they don't seem
Speaker 3: to be mindful of their They don't care about where
Speaker 3: they're drafting. In some ways, some people get mad about
Speaker 3: this because they're like, we need to get a quarterback. Well,
Speaker 3: you do need to get a quarterback. However, it is
Speaker 3: also very, very very important that you evaluate the current
Speaker 3: talent on this roster. You don't get to just pick
Speaker 3: higher and then not make any other moves, right, You
Speaker 3: have to deal with free agency. They need alignment, we know,
Speaker 3: you got to deal with what's going on in defense.
Speaker 3: They need corners understood. There's a lot of needs. What
Speaker 3: they do need to understand is who they currently have
Speaker 3: that they want to focus on keeping. So I mean, okay,
Speaker 3: we know Max Crosby done, Rock Bowers done, but apart
Speaker 3: from that, namely who else that I mean, Jacoby Meyer's good,
Speaker 3: but not like so over the time, what if he's
Speaker 3: trade bait? Like they need to figure out exactly what
Speaker 3: they have here and how to map it going forward.
Speaker 3: I think they try to win the game. Antonio Pierce
Speaker 3: does not care. He wants to win the game. He
Speaker 3: doesn't want to sit here and try to play this
Speaker 3: game of I'm gonna try to tank to be worse
Speaker 3: than No, he doesn't.
Speaker 2: They've played hard all year.
Speaker 1: I've enjoyed how hard they play. The Saints could get
Speaker 1: Chris O Lovey back, but otherwise the injury report for
Speaker 1: the Saints is not pretty. I'm with you. That was
Speaker 1: That's an extra pick for mine. It was the same
Speaker 1: thing last week was a Greg stra I wish I
Speaker 1: had made that one of my top three picks.
Speaker 2: The Raider.
Speaker 3: You loved that one last night, but no, I'm into
Speaker 3: that one.
Speaker 2: It didn't hit, okay.
Speaker 1: My third and final pick, similar to the Broncos pick,
Speaker 1: is a road underdog that I think will win straight up.
Speaker 1: I feel less strong about the winning straight up than
Speaker 1: I do about the Falcons plus four. I don't think
Speaker 1: there's much of a difference between these two teams, and
Speaker 1: I know they have the home field advantage, and so
Speaker 1: in theory, that's a little edge to the Commanders. The
Speaker 1: edge for the Falcons, I think is that their defense
Speaker 1: is playing their best ball of the season right now.
Speaker 1: I don't really trust Washington's defense. If you look at
Speaker 1: the overall efficiency, these two defenses are just about the
Speaker 1: same in terms of DVOA over the course of the season.
Speaker 2: But the Falcons are trending up.
Speaker 1: The Commanders are trending up relatively, but they're just mediocre.
Speaker 1: And I like what I've seen out of Raheem Morris
Speaker 1: and how he has that group playing finally at the
Speaker 1: back end. And then I look at the two quarterbacks,
Speaker 1: and of course you favor Jayden Daniels over Michael Pennix,
Speaker 1: but Michael Pennix played really well last week and he
Speaker 1: has way better and deeper weapons. The best player in
Speaker 1: this entire game, and the best thing in this entire
Speaker 1: game is Bajohn Robinson, and the Falcons running attack lately
Speaker 1: has really been good, and I think Pennix helps to
Speaker 1: unlock that. He has Drake London, he has Darnell Mooney.
Speaker 1: I actually think he's working with more than Jayden Daniels is,
Speaker 1: even if the coaching isn't as strong. Either way, I
Speaker 1: think this is a coin flip. I'm going to take
Speaker 1: the Falcons in that coin flip if I'm gonna bother
Speaker 1: to pick them to cover. So plus four love it
Speaker 1: that it's more than a field goal. Like I said,
Speaker 1: this is a week where I'm really feeling my picks.
Speaker 1: So if I if I don't go at least two
Speaker 1: and one this week, then I'm losing my touch on
Speaker 1: what's been a good season because I feel very good
Speaker 1: about all three of these.
Speaker 2: What do you got for your third? Okay?
Speaker 3: So I'm going to stick with the same theme, and
Speaker 3: that's the theme of the NFC South because I root
Speaker 3: for like you know, I like some chaos and I
Speaker 3: want the Bucks to win. But also my mat says
Speaker 3: that the Bucks beat the Cardinal, I'm not Carls the
Speaker 3: Panthers by the number more than the number.
Speaker 2: Nice.
Speaker 3: There's a couple of reasons why. But you know it
Speaker 3: comes back to you said this theory last week, and
Speaker 3: I think that you're talking about how when two teams
Speaker 3: who won is about the Bears? Right? Yeah, few teams
Speaker 3: and you're talking about the Vikings and the Bears, And
Speaker 3: it was when two teams replay each other and they
Speaker 3: have a close one the first time, and they did
Speaker 3: have a close one the first time, the better team
Speaker 3: in the second one beats up on the on the
Speaker 3: other teams. So I think that's where this comes into play.
Speaker 3: And as good as we've seen Chuba Hubbard be like,
Speaker 3: I'll give credit where credits due, I still am concerned
Speaker 3: about some of the things have seen at the quarterback position. Solved, no, improved, Yes,
Speaker 3: And I think this is a hungry team where Baker
Speaker 3: Mayfield alone will anger this team into a win. And
Speaker 3: like just Baker Mayfield, he's gonna take forty passing tips
Speaker 3: out of you know, Mike Evans will hit that ninety
Speaker 3: one yard number to keep himself in full running so
Speaker 3: to get that to reach his you know, eleventh season
Speaker 3: with a thousand yards. So I think that that one's
Speaker 3: I feel really good about that one as well.
Speaker 2: All Right, I like that.
Speaker 1: So the review Cynthia's got the Raiders as a one
Speaker 1: point favorite in New Orleans. I love that you're going
Speaker 1: with that dot was one of yours. And then the Bucks.
Speaker 1: I like that pick because it's a team coming off
Speaker 1: a bad loss that absolutely needs horrible for the playoffs,
Speaker 1: and I trust their offense minus seven and a half.
Speaker 1: I don't love that pick. That's why I didn't pick it,
Speaker 1: but it's a good pick. Rams minus six and a half.
Speaker 1: My three picks Atlanta plus four, Denver plus three and
Speaker 1: a half, and then the Lions on Monday Night minus
Speaker 1: three and a half. I mentioned how I loved four picks,
Speaker 1: and then I liked one more. I was with you
Speaker 1: on the Raiders as the one I liked. The other
Speaker 1: one I loved that just got boxed out. Here was
Speaker 1: Bill's minus eight and a half, and I was on
Speaker 1: the other side of that correctly. I might add about
Speaker 1: the Patriots last week. I think in a way it
Speaker 1: was almost like they lost that game to the Patriots
Speaker 1: and this is gonna be their response game. I think
Speaker 1: the Jets have been competing and improving, but this is
Speaker 1: a Bills game where everyone on the team knows if
Speaker 1: we win this game, we're gonna take next week off.
Speaker 1: We clinched the two seed, we'll have nothing to play for.
Speaker 1: Everyone wants to get Josh Allen as MVP, and obviously
Speaker 1: they're just a much better team overall. They're getting a
Speaker 1: little healthier on defense. They were pretty banged up against
Speaker 1: the Patriots, so I like them to cover that eight
Speaker 1: and a half and have that be a blowout.
Speaker 3: So I'm with you completely on that one. I consider
Speaker 3: doing that one. My only problem is that there's a
Speaker 3: potential for freezing rain there, and freezing rain just sometimes
Speaker 3: means slop which sometimes and if I'm and if I'm
Speaker 3: the Bills and it's freezing rain and I have this
Speaker 3: lead that's like seven points, I'm just gonna run the
Speaker 3: air of the football and like try to blow the
Speaker 3: clock up as opposed to try like that was my
Speaker 3: only thing.
Speaker 2: Just I didn't even know that.
Speaker 3: It's kind of overthinking the freezing rain situation. But point
Speaker 3: being is, it's just such a big number that freezing
Speaker 3: rain makes me mad.
Speaker 1: I didn't even know that. And that's why I'm glad
Speaker 1: to have you here because that would have been my
Speaker 1: tiebreaker to make it the fourth one. Anyways, although they so.
Speaker 3: Good, it's a great I think they're so good on the.
Speaker 1: Ground with their heavy personnel and everything that they could
Speaker 1: be great in the freezing rain.
Speaker 3: They're a bunch of fine in the in the there
Speaker 3: a bunch of water. I'm not saying it's wrong, it's
Speaker 3: just when I was picking three, they're just a couple
Speaker 3: more that like that was way up there. The weather
Speaker 3: was gonna be just nice and crisp, like a crisp
Speaker 3: winter day. I would have done it, but I think
Speaker 3: I just I don't know freezing ranges.
Speaker 2: And crisp bedtimes here.
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm freezing dip it into the forties at night.
Speaker 2: We're summing it here in Los Angeles.
Speaker 3: Dogs were on the porch this morning and their breath
Speaker 3: was I could see it. It was wild. I was like,
Speaker 3: you guys are nuts.
Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 1: So we we did it. We were gonna nail it.
Speaker 1: We're almost there till week eighteen. Yes, thank you, believe
Speaker 1: it again. Check her out. I can believe it.
Speaker 3: It's because they got you working every day.
Speaker 2: I just mean it.
Speaker 1: It seems like it was ages ago when we were
Speaker 1: kick starting this season.
Speaker 2: So I am ready for the playoffs. Everyone. Check out
Speaker 2: Cynthia's YouTube page.
Speaker 1: Numbers game. It's the hottest with the younger demo. It's
Speaker 1: really going off right now. And yeah, you said it
Speaker 1: week seventeen. As we tape this, As you listen to
Speaker 1: this when there's only twenty nine regular season games and
Speaker 1: nine days left until it's playoff time, you know football
Speaker 1: is back