Speaker 1: Walk Up to NFL Daily presented by Draft Kings Sports Book,
Speaker 1: where we're never junior varsity. Back here in the Chris
Speaker 1: Wesleyan podcast studio on the morning after Christmas here on
Speaker 1: the West Coast with my friend Patrick claybaughn how was Christmas?
Speaker 2: Christmas was great? They opened stuff, They had a great time.
Speaker 2: They jumped from toy to toy, they fall over toys.
Speaker 2: It's it's it's all you could hope for is to
Speaker 2: run back all the grief that you gave parents, including
Speaker 2: my son waking up at five thirty in the morning
Speaker 2: and then and then waking his sister up saying that
Speaker 2: Santa came. So that's what we get.
Speaker 3: That's light work.
Speaker 1: Walkers up that early every day, forget on Christmas. My
Speaker 1: family in Japan's there's a lot of a lot of
Speaker 1: face timing, but happy, Uh yeah that the kids and
Speaker 1: welcome up early and enjoin it.
Speaker 3: That's that's the best stuff. I was gonna say.
Speaker 1: We couldn't have asked for a better, you know, day
Speaker 1: of football, but we could have. It was it was
Speaker 1: not close games and that's fine.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I couldn't have it was the exact results that
Speaker 4: I desired.
Speaker 1: Oh, that's a good point. So this show is gonna
Speaker 1: be a little different than most. It is our Week
Speaker 1: seventeen preview show, and we're gonna get to all the games.
Speaker 1: But in the first block of our show, yeah, let's
Speaker 1: recap the two Christmas games. Let's go to Akerscher in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 5: Kareem Hunt the running back, Chiefs up twelve twelve, forty
Speaker 5: four to go in the game, ball at the Steeler
Speaker 5: twelve yard line.
Speaker 3: Mahomes will throw.
Speaker 5: Again right side, with a little bit of room, slings
Speaker 5: it side of into the end zone.
Speaker 3: Touchdown, Chanzas City.
Speaker 6: A historic touchdown for Travis Kelsey is seventy seven touchdown
Speaker 6: reception and all time Kansas City Chiefs record, eclipsing the
Speaker 6: great Tony Gonzalez.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, it's Mitch Holtis.
Speaker 1: It's a record breaking touchdown for the man, Travis Kelce
Speaker 1: twenty nine to ten. This Chiefs team, they're doing the
Speaker 1: Chiefs thing, although it really wasn't the Chiefs thing last year.
Speaker 1: They actually didn't play that well down the stretch. But
Speaker 1: they are absolutely playing their best football of the season
Speaker 1: at the time that the Steelers are playing their worst.
Speaker 1: This game, it looked like the final score twenty nine
Speaker 1: to ten. It looked like one team which is gearing
Speaker 1: up for another potential championship run and another potential early
Speaker 1: exit for the Steelers from the playoffs. We'll get to
Speaker 1: them in a second, but how impressive was it to
Speaker 1: watch Patrick Mahomes kind of at peak Patrick Mahomes power and.
Speaker 2: It's something where Isaiah Pacheco has eighteen yards, Kareem Hunt
Speaker 2: has twenty yards in this game, and the Kansas City
Speaker 2: Chiefs essentially played like, okay, well, we're the best third
Speaker 2: down team in football with the best quarterback. A lot
Speaker 2: of folks, including the guy that's talking right now, i've
Speaker 2: ever seen why don't we just pretend like a third
Speaker 2: to all the time?
Speaker 4: Right?
Speaker 2: And so they did that and they executed greatly because
Speaker 2: that's how good they are, and they have the talent
Speaker 2: to do that now with Hollywood coming back. As much
Speaker 2: as it pains me to say, this is the best
Speaker 2: version of the Chiefs who look that good on defense
Speaker 2: as well, Greg without Chris Jones in this entire game,
Speaker 2: to where you've seen the flaws and you've seen just
Speaker 2: how bad things can go, and now it's like, where
Speaker 2: does that come from?
Speaker 4: Who stops this at this point.
Speaker 1: Well, I think the Bells are the Ravens could but
Speaker 1: more on the Ravens in a second. But now Kansas
Speaker 1: City will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They
Speaker 1: don't have to play in Week eighteen any of their
Speaker 1: starters who might be injured, or any starters at all
Speaker 1: that they feel like resting. It's tough, it's football. You
Speaker 1: can't just rest everyone all the time. But it wouldn't
Speaker 1: be surprising if Patrick Mahome gets a twenty four day
Speaker 1: break before the divisional round or twenty five if they
Speaker 1: put him on that Sunday. We will have to find out.
Speaker 1: I just go back to the second drive of this game.
Speaker 1: So they're already up seven to nothing. They had a
Speaker 1: very efficient first touchdown drive, typical Chiefs, but the second
Speaker 1: drive was the one where I started thinking.
Speaker 3: Oh, they're really back.
Speaker 1: There was that third and eleven play where Patrick Mahomes
Speaker 1: is flushed out.
Speaker 3: For the most part, he's getting rid of the ball
Speaker 3: really quick.
Speaker 1: Fastest time to throw in his career in this game
Speaker 1: and the last two weeks has been his too fastest
Speaker 1: you know, to throw in a few years. So let's
Speaker 1: keep doing that. But this was not a play where
Speaker 1: he got rid of the ball quickly. It's third and eleven.
Speaker 1: He's just trying to make something happen. He's rolling to
Speaker 1: his left and he sees Samaji p Ryan just on
Speaker 1: the ground, and this man is so amazing that he
Speaker 1: just flips the ball high enough in the air while
Speaker 1: he's running to his left to give p Ryan time to.
Speaker 3: Get up and catch it. Great play.
Speaker 1: Very next play, we see something that basically hasn't been
Speaker 1: happening all season for the Chiefs.
Speaker 3: A go ball. Oh yeah.
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes actually has a big arm and can throw
Speaker 1: the ball down.
Speaker 3: The field if someone's open for him.
Speaker 1: This time it was Justin Watson wide open for at
Speaker 1: forty nine yarder. That was against James Pierre. He's filling
Speaker 1: in for Joey Porter Junior. You saw that effect. Then
Speaker 1: to finish out that drive, I thought just as important
Speaker 1: of a play, Patrick Mahomes hits his foot at the
Speaker 1: back of his drop. He lets go of the ball
Speaker 1: on time on rhythm, a corner route with a lot
Speaker 1: of velocity.
Speaker 3: Not an easy throw to make.
Speaker 1: Again, Watson open in the corner at the end zone,
Speaker 1: And that one stuck out to me too, because they're
Speaker 1: sneaking up in a lot of those like kind of
Speaker 1: opposite hash impressive throws that look in the rhythm of
Speaker 1: the offense out of Mahomes this year. And so in
Speaker 1: that one drive alone, it was like I saw it all.
Speaker 1: And then by the end of the day, he's got
Speaker 1: over three hundred yard He's got three touchdowns, like fantasy
Speaker 1: owners that were knocked out before they ever got here.
Speaker 1: I'm wondering, it's like, we finally got fantasy Patrick Mahomes.
Speaker 1: Let's tell you we really know Patrick Mahomes is back.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you get twenty twenty two fantasy Patrick Mahomes. Because
Speaker 2: the offenses look different. They have not looked this good
Speaker 2: in a while. They run play action fourteen times when
Speaker 2: Mahomes is dropping back. He completes twelve of those passes
Speaker 2: four hundred and sixty nine yards. But it was just
Speaker 2: as good without play action yesterday as well. And I
Speaker 2: know the Steelers defense has banged up. You mentioned Joey
Speaker 2: Porter Junior. I don't think TJ. Watt has been playing
Speaker 2: at one hundred percent for the past couple of weeks.
Speaker 4: And I know there's the old adage, Well it's this
Speaker 4: week seventeen everybody has hurt.
Speaker 2: Some guys are dealing with more than others, and some
Speaker 2: injuries are more significant than other ones. But that being
Speaker 2: said that, there was very little the Steelers defense could
Speaker 2: do yesterday. It's like Andy was in his bag and
Speaker 2: so was the quarterback.
Speaker 3: They're just not special enough.
Speaker 1: Ultimately, they've given up thirty points a game in the
Speaker 1: last three weeks to three of the best offenses in
Speaker 1: the league.
Speaker 3: And I think they needed their defense to be special.
Speaker 1: Now, if there wasn't a holding call that took seven
Speaker 1: points off the board, it looked like the right call
Speaker 1: took away a Jalen Warren touched. On the very next play,
Speaker 1: Russell Wilson makes the wrong read and throws in interception,
Speaker 1: and so that's seven missing points.
Speaker 3: You're saying, maybe it's not the right one. Who knows
Speaker 3: it was a.
Speaker 2: Clono Wason wasn't six seven? Yeah, I feel like it's
Speaker 2: a little more. It's like when the big man is
Speaker 2: outside and maybe gets called for travel that you know
Speaker 2: Steph's fair vegerable.
Speaker 1: It just seemed they were they were gonna win anyways,
Speaker 1: but it would have been more matter in the play
Speaker 1: either it was right.
Speaker 4: It was a rough one.
Speaker 1: That's true, and it would have been a more competitive game.
Speaker 1: It would have been better for the Netflix. Uh you
Speaker 1: know people watching like me. Just so we wanted a
Speaker 1: close game. But ultimately, the Chiefs had a drop back
Speaker 1: success rate in this game of almost sixty percent, which
Speaker 1: is unbeatable. And the Steelers were much much worse on offense.
Speaker 1: And yeah, I mentioned the fastest time to throw. Mike
Speaker 1: Sando the Athletic had a crazy stat in the thirty
Speaker 1: one starts where Patrick Mahomes let go of the ball
Speaker 1: the fastest. So the thirty one fastest times to throw
Speaker 1: in his career, they're thirty and one. And when he
Speaker 1: holds the ball the longest, the nine games where he
Speaker 1: held the ball the longest he's won and eight that's
Speaker 1: Chiefs teams being one in eight. I think that's a
Speaker 1: pretty good one to one comparison. If he's holding onto
Speaker 1: the ball, the offense isn't working as well. Let's listen
Speaker 1: a little bit to Mike Tomlin after this game because
Speaker 1: I mentioned, Yeah, they give up ninety points over the
Speaker 1: last three weeks.
Speaker 3: I'm putting them on fraud Watch.
Speaker 1: We'll go back to that after this because they lost
Speaker 1: these games ninety to forty.
Speaker 7: You know, you can look at it from a lot
Speaker 7: of angles. The bottom line is is junior varsity it's
Speaker 7: not good enough. We got to own that. But we
Speaker 7: also got to look at what it is we need
Speaker 7: to do different. We're not going to continue to do
Speaker 7: the same things and hope for a different result.
Speaker 1: I know you're the co executor of fraud Watch. I mean,
Speaker 1: you get to the biggest point of the season, you
Speaker 1: play three great teams, and you get beaten soundly by
Speaker 1: all three.
Speaker 2: What's your verdict that they're not because fraud Watch was
Speaker 2: reserved for teams that are abject frauds.
Speaker 3: Yeah, as we mentioned there, you could change.
Speaker 4: You could change a.
Speaker 2: Few things about this game, and it turns out it
Speaker 2: turns out a little bit differently. Where the Steelers were
Speaker 2: still able both Nase and Jalen had over five yards
Speaker 2: of carry, they just got behind, and then in those
Speaker 2: opportunities to make plays and big plays in the passing game,
Speaker 2: they get George Pickens back to where you finally have
Speaker 2: hope that they're able to make those big plays.
Speaker 4: They can't necessarily make those.
Speaker 2: I'm interested in what Mike Tomlin is talking about as
Speaker 2: to how they do things differently.
Speaker 1: There's something going on based on the postgame comment Patrick
Speaker 1: Queen saying that some things need to change, and there's
Speaker 1: something going on, and there's been all these different comments
Speaker 1: from defensive players, and there's there's sleuthing going on and
Speaker 1: the dark corners of Steelers Twitter and some of the
Speaker 1: reporters maybe something about responsibilities, who's doing what on a defense.
Speaker 1: There's guesswork, thinking Minka is in the middle of all this.
Speaker 1: Something to do with communication and like roles and guys
Speaker 1: not doing their assignments. It's unfair for me to even
Speaker 1: throughout this this guesswork. But they're not happy with something
Speaker 1: about how the defense is coaching or roles are happening.
Speaker 1: On offense, Russ's bailing a little early from the pocket.
Speaker 1: Had some bad throws in this game, missed Mike Williams.
Speaker 1: I think that was a big play, took a bad sack,
Speaker 1: and yeah, they had some bad fumble luck as well.
Speaker 3: But uh, let's just give some credit to the Chiefs.
Speaker 1: I had my Andy Reid Coach of the Year candidacy
Speaker 1: that I talked about early in the week. It's a
Speaker 1: real thing. I mean, they're sixteen and one with a
Speaker 1: lot of flaws. That's great coaching. I think he is
Speaker 1: a legitimate candidate. He's putting Xavier Worthy in the backfield.
Speaker 1: Like it's all going well for the Chiefs right now
Speaker 1: and they are cruising to the one seed. The Steelers
Speaker 1: losing early, then maybe they they got their streaming, you know,
Speaker 1: set up on the plane so that they could watch
Speaker 1: the Ravens and just hope that, you know, maybe the
Speaker 1: Ravens would lose in Houston and leave the division open.
Speaker 3: Let's go to NRG Stadium.
Speaker 8: Triangle formation in the backfield, Lamar a five yards deep,
Speaker 8: He'll fake the hand up to Henry comes to the
Speaker 8: right side, cross the forty, Lamar of the thirty.
Speaker 9: He's gone twenty ten five touchdown Lamarge jack a forty
Speaker 9: eight yard run. And if Beyonce didn't wow you, Lamar
Speaker 9: Jackson just.
Speaker 1: Did good job by Jerry Sandusky. And it's true the
Speaker 1: Ravens and Texans game second half just felt kind of
Speaker 1: anti climactic after what happened with Beyonce and what happened
Speaker 1: after that touchdown run forty eight yards later in the half,
Speaker 1: he becomes the all time NFL leader in rushing yardage.
Speaker 1: What a performance by Lamar Jackson thirty one to two.
Speaker 1: Your Ravens didn't even make you sweat. You got to
Speaker 1: kind of kick back. Who knows, maybe you weren't even watching.
Speaker 4: By the end of the game.
Speaker 3: I wouldn't have blamed you.
Speaker 1: This was a complete blowout, the Texans getting their only
Speaker 1: two points on a safety.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was able to go do some more toy
Speaker 2: manipulation and hair because you know, if it's playing, I'm
Speaker 2: watching and slowly as that second half go and I'm like,
Speaker 2: all right, all right, coach, we've seen enough eight and
Speaker 2: twenty two. By the way, but Derrick Henry actually stayed
Speaker 2: in longer than Lamar did in this game that I
Speaker 2: was kind of on offense unmarred other than Derrick Henry
Speaker 2: doing his Derrick Henry thing on the goal line and
Speaker 2: which is trying to score ninety nine yard touchdowns. And
Speaker 2: he bounced that play that he probably not probably should
Speaker 2: shouldn't have bounced, and then the Texans get a safety,
Speaker 2: and then they get a stop after that, and there's
Speaker 2: people on the timeline talking about momentum, and it didn't
Speaker 2: necessarily work out for them because they go on to
Speaker 2: win to lose the game thirty one to two. But
Speaker 2: all of these things, it was a fun opportunity to
Speaker 2: see Lamar back on a consistent playing surface where he
Speaker 2: has only lost four games on his indoors, and it's
Speaker 2: been a while actually since he's had a loss indoors,
Speaker 2: but to see him on a couple of plays where
Speaker 2: Daniel Hunter was pretty much the victim on those play.
Speaker 2: There was a third down scramble where Hunter is running
Speaker 2: into the flat and he has the angle on Lamar,
Speaker 2: and Lamar hits the extra special gear yeah, that he
Speaker 2: only hits every every so often scrambles for that first down.
Speaker 2: He hits it again when Will Anderson takes takes Derrick
Speaker 2: Henry on the option give, and the past couple of weeks,
Speaker 2: Lamar is undefeated. Whatever the number is. I'm making the
Speaker 2: pole give decision with Derrick Henry. Good call, and it's
Speaker 2: he's been so on cue with that that it's made
Speaker 2: these run defenses look like like they're getting blasted.
Speaker 4: But really he's just making the right call every time.
Speaker 3: I think, are you talking about that?
Speaker 1: It was a twenty five yard scramble on the very
Speaker 1: first drive of the game where he hit that turbo button.
Speaker 1: You're so right to point that out because I was
Speaker 1: just thinking, man, Lamar just looks like he's got that
Speaker 1: extra and then I think about it, It's like, oh yeah,
Speaker 1: he's not playing in the freezing cold on some grass there.
Speaker 1: There is a difference. Imagine his career if he played
Speaker 1: it durds the whole time. I mean, it looked unfair.
Speaker 1: He had what was his fastest time according to the
Speaker 1: next Gen stats on that touchdown, and he said after
Speaker 1: the game like he was jogging and he was right,
Speaker 1: like the seas opened up for him and he could
Speaker 1: have run even faster. If he had gotten more time
Speaker 1: to run on that scramble, he would have been he
Speaker 1: would have broken that record. But on that first drive
Speaker 1: also had a dot to Zay Flowers up the seams
Speaker 1: where he's so good throwing the ball. And then you
Speaker 1: saw some really special juice from Derrick Henry, who if
Speaker 1: you can have an underrated season at like eighteen hundred
Speaker 1: rushing yards that he is now most years, he'd be
Speaker 1: a legit MVP candidate. When I'm watching the postgame show
Speaker 1: and they're they're trying to you know, Jamie Erdall's trying
Speaker 1: to make them eat the football cake, and she's like
Speaker 1: how does it feel to be sitting next to the MVP.
Speaker 1: I'm sure Derrick Henry is not like me, but I
Speaker 1: thought for him in the second I was like, man, I'm.
Speaker 3: Pretty good too.
Speaker 1: I got nineteen hundred yards from scrimmage, I got four.
Speaker 1: I'm leaving the league in touches. I have seventeen hundred
Speaker 1: and eighty three rushing yards. It's like I could be
Speaker 1: the MVP, but he's not. Because of the plays that
Speaker 1: that Lamar is making, like that one with Danil Hunter
Speaker 1: in his face.
Speaker 3: Let's actually listen to that. That's the touchdown to Isaiah Likely.
Speaker 8: So Raven's come to the line on second down play action,
Speaker 8: Lamar rolls right, pumps once, pumps twice. Now he steps back,
Speaker 8: back pedalinks, fires to the end zone.
Speaker 10: Touchdown Isaiah Likely, and Lamar Jackson does it again. Daniel
Speaker 10: Hunter was applying to pressure and Lamar just kept back pedaling,
Speaker 10: side stepping, salsa dancing.
Speaker 3: That was It's outrageous. It's unfair.
Speaker 1: He only threw fifteen passes in this game and ran
Speaker 1: it four times, and he had like nine great highlights
Speaker 1: out of those plays.
Speaker 2: The problem for Daniel Hunter is not being able to
Speaker 2: see Oz in the back of his head there because
Speaker 2: it's it's Stingley on Isaiah. Likely it's going to be
Speaker 2: very difficult for him to to separate. Lamar just needs time,
Speaker 2: and once Danil makes that decision to dance with Lamar,
Speaker 2: it's kind of it's kind of over.
Speaker 3: You're not gonna be able to go at them, just try.
Speaker 2: And you're having to defend a part of the field
Speaker 2: that you can see, and he can see everything that
Speaker 2: you can't see, and so you kind of have to
Speaker 2: just pick a shoulder and go.
Speaker 4: But it's very difficult to do.
Speaker 2: When you did that, and Lamar already stopped and cut back,
Speaker 2: and so it's a bind where this Texans defense, as
Speaker 2: good as it is these past few weeks, has just
Speaker 2: been put in a position by their offense where they
Speaker 2: have to try to make plays and sometimes you just can't.
Speaker 1: They remind me a lot of the Steelers. I think
Speaker 1: they're a worse version of the Steelers. And these two
Speaker 1: teams might play in the first round of the playoffs.
Speaker 1: I'd probably take Pittsburgh in that scenario. But it's hard
Speaker 1: to build around defense in the year twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1: I say it every year, and you get to the
Speaker 1: end of the season, and here they've They've basically been
Speaker 1: dominated twice in a row. Not as badly as their
Speaker 1: offense has been, and but they're not good enough to
Speaker 1: win games against great teams. They're one of the worst
Speaker 1: nine and seven teams I think we've seen in a
Speaker 1: little while. I actually think they're more that may be overstadian,
Speaker 1: but to me, all season they have felt like a
Speaker 1: sub five hundred team that has gotten by on schedule
Speaker 1: and a couple great things happening. And I know the
Speaker 1: defense has been good, but CJ. Stroud this was one
Speaker 1: of his worst games of his career. I've been trying
Speaker 1: to see the positive. I thought he played better coming
Speaker 1: out of the by and made a lot of good plays,
Speaker 1: but this game he took some bad sacks. If he
Speaker 1: holds the ball, it plays almost over. At least it
Speaker 1: was in this game. He was two for eight for
Speaker 1: thirty seven yards when he held the ball more than
Speaker 1: two and a half seconds. And the Ravens defensive improvement
Speaker 1: is here to stay. They more than doubled them up
Speaker 1: in yardage. They only allowed two hundred and eleven yards
Speaker 1: justin Tucker's hitting fifty yard.
Speaker 3: Bombs through the middle.
Speaker 1: Josh Johnson actually had a nice garbage time drive that
Speaker 1: got anyone out of there early. It was like a
Speaker 1: six minute long drive. Like it is all happening for them.
Speaker 1: And I do wonder what this Texans team, Like, Yeah,
Speaker 1: they should rest everyone next week because they're gonna have
Speaker 1: the playoffs in two weeks.
Speaker 3: But they just had a bye week. I don't know.
Speaker 3: I'm almost torn.
Speaker 1: It's like they need to I don't know, it's just
Speaker 1: they need to rese but they haven't shown any ability
Speaker 1: to reset.
Speaker 2: All right, well, the reset right, the schedule has a
Speaker 2: factor in that. And I know that the loss to
Speaker 2: the Jets has agreed. Just this Ravens team lost to
Speaker 2: the Raiders, right, the losses here coming to Yeah, but ultimately,
Speaker 2: like my point, Kansas City, Baltimore, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota,
Speaker 2: like these losses other than the anomalies, aren't necessarily coming
Speaker 2: to our Lady of the Valley. And when you have
Speaker 2: the deficiencies on offense, especially the offensive line, because we
Speaker 2: could talk about Stroud struggles. One of those struggling throws
Speaker 2: into the flat. Upon further review, Larr mc tunseell is
Speaker 2: stepping on his upper calf kind of bending his ankle
Speaker 2: back and he didn't really play well after that. But
Speaker 2: the pressure, I'm not sure if it's in his head.
Speaker 2: I can't go into that, but he hasn't been put
Speaker 2: in great situations relative to last year to complete those
Speaker 2: downfield passes because he's such an aggressive passer, and then
Speaker 2: when they lose Tank Dell, the options become limited the
Speaker 2: downfield where it's it's Nico or nobody in defenses know that,
Speaker 2: and especially this Ravens defense where Nico had some opportunities
Speaker 2: but it just they're just warn't enough.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Nico had one bad drop, but CJ missed them
Speaker 1: a couple of times.
Speaker 3: He struggled with some of the out patterns.
Speaker 1: Not to psychoanalyze, I think he's a he's an emotional player, CJ.
Speaker 1: And you see him like holding his helmet after all
Speaker 1: these stores, and he's a young player who I think
Speaker 1: is just going through some ups and downs and feeling
Speaker 1: it when it's not going well for him. The Texans
Speaker 1: are locked into the four seed, and so that's what
Speaker 1: I was mentioning about possibly resting people. No matter what happens,
Speaker 1: they are the four seed. The Baltimore Ravens are now
Speaker 1: in first place in the AFC North. If the Bills
Speaker 1: win on Sunday, the Bills will be locked into the
Speaker 1: two seed. If the Bills happen to lose to the Jets,
Speaker 1: and that could be up for grabs, but either way,
Speaker 1: the Ravens basically have a magic number of one here
Speaker 1: going to the final NAE week. They need to either
Speaker 1: win their game who do they play that they must
Speaker 1: play the Browns and then the Steelers have the Bengals
Speaker 1: in Week eighteen. If the Steelers lost to the Bengals,
Speaker 1: and I'm sure they'll have them play at the same time,
Speaker 1: and Baltimore wouldn't even need to win to win the division.
Speaker 1: They are one up. But things are really looking good
Speaker 1: for the Marlin Humphrey. Great game, are Darius Washington? Great game?
Speaker 1: And then I really want to just give a little
Speaker 1: bit of pop to Lamar Jackson breaking the all time
Speaker 1: quarterback rushing record.
Speaker 3: Let's listen to Lamar after the game.
Speaker 4: Great from Mancus, that's a record. As you know, it's
Speaker 4: a long time.
Speaker 3: I just wanted to hear like the genuine appreciation there.
Speaker 1: I know there's a lot going on in that locker
Speaker 1: room after the game, but I don't know if not
Speaker 1: enough has been made out of this, but this is
Speaker 1: a it's a great award, I mean a great record
Speaker 1: to break. For him to do it in his eighth
Speaker 1: season now or seventh season, Lamar Jackson is incredible and
Speaker 1: just just is a reminder of like, wow, this is
Speaker 1: an all time great right in the middle of his prime.
Speaker 1: Like he could add a lot of rushing yards to
Speaker 1: that record.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and when you when you looked at that, and
Speaker 2: maybe that's why it's it's not getting the pop because
Speaker 2: we expected it, right, you get in the year six,
Speaker 2: year seven's, Oh, Lamar is gonna eventually catch and pass
Speaker 2: Michael Vick, Like what's it but to Lamar right to
Speaker 2: those who've grown up watching somebody and really what it
Speaker 2: means to play this position in your own particular way,
Speaker 2: Like there were people who came before that, Right, there's
Speaker 2: Steve Young's, the Randalls, the Mike Vicks. And to see
Speaker 2: that passed on and to see Lamar have that very
Speaker 2: genuine reaction after he wasn't able to see Beyonce at halftime,
Speaker 2: it means something to him and I think that's cool.
Speaker 1: I think it's amazing because Lamar is is the best
Speaker 1: example of Yeah, the position has really changed. I mean
Speaker 1: even the baseline of how much you need to rush
Speaker 1: as a quarterback has totally changed. But Lamar is the
Speaker 1: greatest at that particular degular part of quarterbacking and he's
Speaker 1: an example of how the position has changed.
Speaker 3: And it's awesome setting that record.
Speaker 1: And yeah, we could talk beyond halftime show for another
Speaker 1: fifteen minutes, but we got to get onto our preview
Speaker 1: and that was that was an incredible performance.
Speaker 4: Though. No, it's great, the production, the execution.
Speaker 1: Perfect, maybe maybe better than any halftime show I've ever seen.
Speaker 3: And that's no slight to Yeah, that's no slight to anyone.
Speaker 1: And yes, justice for Sweet Honey, Bucket and Shaboozi in
Speaker 1: a big spot back in a couple of minutes back
Speaker 1: on NFL Network. Yeah, no, NFL Daily. It's a big
Speaker 1: week for NFL Network. Yes, actually we're on the NFL channel,
Speaker 1: not NFL Network. You can't watch Patrick and I on
Speaker 1: on your fast channels if you're into that sort of thing.
Speaker 1: But yes, Saturday, it's a triple header and NFL Network
Speaker 1: lucked out here because two of the three games are
Speaker 1: the biggest among the biggest of the week, and the first,
Speaker 1: one's got two of my favorite quarters.
Speaker 4: Oh so much juice in this game.
Speaker 2: We will go chronologically with our NFL Network triple header chronologically.
Speaker 4: The root word there being chronos Greek for time.
Speaker 2: Many folks think of mythology and the being Chronos and
Speaker 2: how he was once.
Speaker 4: All that matters.
Speaker 2: All that matters to Greg Rosenthal is Drake May his
Speaker 2: New England Patriots playing house two of the Chargers, who
Speaker 2: were four and a half point favorites. Yes, all these
Speaker 2: games on the NFL Network. Chris Rose, Ross Tucker, and
Speaker 2: Steve Weish on the call where Greg, we saw your
Speaker 2: Patriots give the Bills a very very close scare. And
Speaker 2: the past two weeks of the Chargers, it's kind of like,
Speaker 2: who are they the team that sees the Bucks go
Speaker 2: all over them in the second half or the team
Speaker 2: that pulls away from the Broncos late?
Speaker 4: How do you see it going?
Speaker 1: The most surprising part of the Chargers Broncos game was
Speaker 1: that they their defense didn't play well. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: they got some stops in the second half there, but
Speaker 1: their defense, which had been so good all year, is
Speaker 1: like quietly collapsing a little bit down the stretch. And
Speaker 1: I've been tracking what their DVOA is all season.
Speaker 3: They were like one, two, three.
Speaker 1: Now now they're down to thirteen, so you figure where
Speaker 1: they're at lately, and amazingly, the Patriots offense has been
Speaker 1: increasing efficiency shout out to Alex van Pelt as long
Speaker 1: as they're throwing backwards passes. They've gotten the running game
Speaker 1: going since the bye week, and the Chargers run defense
Speaker 1: has really struggled. So Ramandri and Antonio Gibson again when
Speaker 1: Romandre is not putting the ball on the ground, have
Speaker 1: been pretty efficient. And so I'm at the point now
Speaker 1: with how consistent May is from a week to week
Speaker 1: basis that I actually think their offense can keep them
Speaker 1: competitive most weeks. It's the other side of the ball
Speaker 1: that I'm more worried about for the Patriots at least.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's I look over it where Darwin is playing
Speaker 2: right now, which reminds me of where Kyle Hamilton was
Speaker 2: playing at the start of the season, right around the
Speaker 2: line of scrimmage. He's got Derwin's playing ten percent of
Speaker 2: his snaps around the line of scrimmage as a slot corner,
Speaker 2: as a safety, as a linebacker this season, where he's
Speaker 2: far up and I feel like they're having to move
Speaker 2: Derwin up because they're having some deficiencies probably in the
Speaker 2: linebacker position and on that first level where teams have
Speaker 2: been able to have success later on as the season goes,
Speaker 2: and on offense. The quarterback in Justin Herbert is the
Speaker 2: only quarterback in the entire NFL who has not thrown
Speaker 2: an interception when not pressured the whole season. He's got
Speaker 2: the lowest interception rate in the league. If Herbo has
Speaker 2: time and he's protected, the ball is pretty much going
Speaker 2: to go where he wants to go. Now, the Chargers
Speaker 2: receiving group leaves a lot to be desired. I don't
Speaker 2: know that that is well. I don't feel like it's
Speaker 2: not as much of a problem against this new England
Speaker 2: Patriots team.
Speaker 6: No.
Speaker 1: I do think Christian Gonzales is an All Pro candidate,
Speaker 1: certainly should be on the Pro Bowl and is in
Speaker 1: the mix with Certan as one of the best cornerbacks
Speaker 1: in the league. But the Chargers are a perfect example
Speaker 1: of it. Think, yeah, maybe he could fly around with McConkey.
Speaker 3: That's yeah.
Speaker 1: I don't know if he's going to go on the inside,
Speaker 1: but you can only take away one guy and Herbert
Speaker 1: will find the open guy.
Speaker 3: We might have JK.
Speaker 1: Dobbins back in this game he was practicing, which would
Speaker 1: be absolutely huge. The Chargers can clinch a playoff spot.
Speaker 1: They are not in the playoffs as of yet. They
Speaker 1: have a ninety four percent chance to make the playoffs
Speaker 1: according to next jen Stats. If they lose, they would
Speaker 1: only have an eighty four percent chance. They actually have
Speaker 1: an outside chance to climb up to the five seed
Speaker 1: and pass Pittsburgh. Now that Pittsburgh lost that game, and
Speaker 1: I think that five spot would be nice. It would
Speaker 1: be the difference of potentially going to Houston or going
Speaker 1: to Baltimore, and those are two very different potential outcomes,
Speaker 1: or even Buffalo there, so it does matter for them.
Speaker 1: Ian Rappaport reported that Patriots they want to keep drawd
Speaker 1: Mayo and as long as things don't collapse down the stretch,
Speaker 1: and they had a pretty good performance last week. I
Speaker 1: do worry as a Patriots fan about the lack of improvement.
Speaker 1: In fact, I think they've gotten worse on the defensive.
Speaker 3: Side of the ball. Overall.
Speaker 1: They don't communicate well, they're not great upfront, and they
Speaker 1: don't seem overly well coached to come up with a
Speaker 1: good game plan. But they did last week against Buffalo,
Speaker 1: so we'll see fun game. If you're gonna have a
Speaker 1: mismatch game, at least have two great quarterbacks and then
Speaker 1: have a broadcast crew which leads the league in knowing
Speaker 1: me the most of any broadcast crew that's ever existed,
Speaker 1: because I spend my Sunday nights in the film room
Speaker 1: there watching the Sunday night game with Chris Rose and
Speaker 1: done that for years.
Speaker 3: Know him really well.
Speaker 1: Started out with Ross Tucker in New York. We did
Speaker 1: a lot of things together at Roadal World, Yes Network,
Speaker 1: like back in early like blog days, and then Steve
Speaker 1: Weisch's on this show. This is my crew. I'm looking
Speaker 1: for it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, this is the Greg. This is the Greg Rosenthal crew.
Speaker 1: And you should in your career too. I mean maybe
Speaker 1: you don't know Ross. No, you don't know Ross. I
Speaker 1: do have.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I got two out of the three in my phone.
Speaker 1: And to give Ross a little bit of love, and
Speaker 1: we should move on. Ross has always known his stuff,
Speaker 1: but we're always trying to get better. I think I'm
Speaker 1: better than what I used to be. And Ross has
Speaker 1: become one of the best broadcasters in the game. Like
Speaker 1: in game broadcasters. He is absolutely one of my favorites.
Speaker 1: I think he's gotten better and better.
Speaker 4: Over the years. Absolutely, here's Ross Tuckers in a big spot.
Speaker 4: Good good there. As we go to our second second
Speaker 4: NFL Network.
Speaker 2: Game again, a Saturday tripleheader on NFL Network, it is
Speaker 2: the Denver Broncos at the Cincinnati Bengals. There was a
Speaker 2: tiny voice in the back of my head a couple
Speaker 2: of weeks ago that said, the Bengals aren't out of
Speaker 2: this and there is still there is still slight some
Speaker 2: things have to happen that yous have to try in
Speaker 2: week eighteen, something that kind of dooms the whole thing.
Speaker 4: A slight chance. Did they make it to the playoffs?
Speaker 2: Three and a half point favorites against the Denver Broncos
Speaker 2: team who just saw those Chargers pull away in the
Speaker 2: second half.
Speaker 4: The over under is forty nine and a half.
Speaker 2: Kevin Harlan on ANFL Network, which is my dream, Trent
Speaker 2: Green and Melanie Collins on the call. This Broncos team
Speaker 2: saw everything. The doubt creeps in, at least to me
Speaker 2: with the Broncos last week. How do they bounce back
Speaker 2: and do it against Cincinnati.
Speaker 1: By playing the defense that they've played for most of
Speaker 1: the season. For them to get really picked apart by
Speaker 1: Herbert was quite surprising. They didn't get enough pressure. The
Speaker 1: Bengals look like they will have Orlando Brown and Amarius
Speaker 1: Mims back for this game. In the second half of
Speaker 1: that game against the Browns, they were down to like
Speaker 1: one starting offensive lineman and neither of their tackles because
Speaker 1: Mims got hurt in that game and Brown was not
Speaker 1: out there, and I was thinking their season is going
Speaker 1: to end against Denver.
Speaker 3: Because of that.
Speaker 1: But you get your tackles back against this Broncos pass rush,
Speaker 1: it gives Joe Burrow yet another chance of and if
Speaker 1: he can just raise a team that doesn't really deserve
Speaker 1: to be there, and yet on offense, like man Chase
Speaker 1: Brown is better than you think, he's playing really awesome.
Speaker 1: It does look like t Higgins is gonna be back
Speaker 1: for this game. So it's a big day for Joe Burrow.
Speaker 1: MVP ballot voting. He's not gonna win the MVP, but
Speaker 1: you got to vote for five guys now, and Joe
Speaker 1: Burrow can and will be on some of those ballots
Speaker 1: as the third, the fourth, the fifth guy. You go
Speaker 1: out there and you beat this Broncos team and you
Speaker 1: play well and you're gonna play Pittsburgh. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: gonna be one of the more impressive seasons ever for
Speaker 1: a team that has eight or nine losses.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think the the benefit of twenty twenty
Speaker 2: four are there are years where this Joe Burrow year
Speaker 2: would have been lost and underappreciated, but more people see
Speaker 2: what he's accomplished with Jamore Chase is gonna win the
Speaker 2: Triple Crown.
Speaker 1: If it was last year, I actually think there'd be
Speaker 1: a decent push for Burrow as like an MVP candidate,
Speaker 1: Like maybe he wouldn't have won it, but this year
Speaker 1: the candidates are just much better. It's just just how
Speaker 1: it happens. Like Lamar's year last year might have been
Speaker 1: fourth on this this crap, That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and there needs to be a league wide, maybe
Speaker 2: planet wise discussion on MVP and what it means and
Speaker 2: how we have these discussions and like what the concept
Speaker 2: of a race looks like on a season long award
Speaker 2: and how vibes go into it. But don't let that
Speaker 2: take away from from what could be a fun game
Speaker 2: with two teams and I'm interested to see because when
Speaker 2: you look at the both the player location for Jamar
Speaker 2: Chase and for Patrick Ratan, it's not like either of
Speaker 2: these guys are locked into one spot. In fact, they're everywhere,
Speaker 2: and so we could see them going up. And then
Speaker 2: I think about T Higgins leaving the game. We think
Speaker 2: he's gonna play here, but Riley Moss hasn't played since
Speaker 2: before Thanksgiving.
Speaker 1: He's practicing, though, sounds like he will be back for
Speaker 1: this game, So that's big.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it is big if he's if he's back and healthy,
Speaker 2: because it ultimately could not matter what Patrick stan does
Speaker 2: with Jamar Chase if they can't cover T.
Speaker 1: I think those lines crazy. Bengals favored by three and
Speaker 1: a half. I know Vegas has liked the Bengals generally
Speaker 1: all year, but I'm taking the Broncos straight up. The
Speaker 1: best case for the Bengals is that their defense has
Speaker 1: played better lately against some bad quarterbacks, but some of
Speaker 1: their young players Chris Jenkins, McKinley Jackson, Jordan Battle have
Speaker 1: made some plays lately. Nicks has two straight games under
Speaker 1: a PFF passing grade of sixty, which is the first
Speaker 1: time that's happened. For him since weeks one and two,
Speaker 1: so he needs to bounce back. Ultimately, I think they're
Speaker 1: a better team overall, and I think they win this game.
Speaker 2: There is rain and wind in the forecast on Saturday,
Speaker 2: and so I don't know how that makes you feel
Speaker 2: about the rookie quarterback who's had the ups and downs.
Speaker 4: We know Champagne's not hiding.
Speaker 1: And it doesn't help Joe Burrow either. This is a
Speaker 1: high flying passing attack, but yeah, it might be an
Speaker 1: ugly one.
Speaker 2: Football elements were real men or watching at home with
Speaker 2: their slippers on let's go to our final game on
Speaker 2: a NFL network.
Speaker 4: It is a game that would have been so much bigger.
Speaker 2: Things worked out differently for the Arizona Cardinals in the
Speaker 2: past couple of weeks. The Cardinals across the street at
Speaker 2: SOFI Stadium against the Rams, who were favored by six
Speaker 2: and a half points. After a dud of an offensive
Speaker 2: game against the Jets, the over under forty seven and
Speaker 2: a half. Rich Kurt and Jamie Arnall on the call.
Speaker 2: Jamie is traveling the globe right now. It's sorry downstairs
Speaker 2: in the green room. I thought she was doing GMFB
Speaker 2: from home or from the hotel room knows she was here.
Speaker 4: Wow, there's a lot peak behind the curtain. There's going everywhere.
Speaker 2: She's back out for this game where despite a bad
Speaker 2: offensive output last week, we're looking at a huge number
Speaker 2: for the Rams against the Cardinals GRG in the division.
Speaker 1: By the way, I was surprised how the Rams are
Speaker 1: favored by six and a half.
Speaker 3: And then you know, I did my homework. It's Christmas.
Speaker 1: I'm putting in the work to be ready for this
Speaker 1: preview show as putting for the listeners. And the Cardinals
Speaker 1: are expected to be without both their starting tackles in
Speaker 1: this game. And Cynthia who maybe we'll talk about this
Speaker 1: on the Man Versus Mache show. I don't know if
Speaker 1: this will be one, but for her model, when you
Speaker 1: remove a tackle, it makes as big a difference as
Speaker 1: anything other than removing a quarterback. So you remove both
Speaker 1: your starting tackles for what had been a strength of
Speaker 1: this Cardinals team, and you're going up against Jared Verse
Speaker 1: and this Rams pass rush, and you think about how
Speaker 1: the Cardinals have struggled throwing the ball anyways, and then
Speaker 1: that six and a half starts to make a little
Speaker 1: more sense because I think I think it's fair to
Speaker 1: say Patrick, their passing game for Arizona, led by Kyler,
Speaker 1: is the most disappointing part of this team. That's what
Speaker 1: you thought would be the best part of the team
Speaker 1: and it's just been okay to a little less than okay,
Speaker 1: and that's disappointing.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you go back these last few weeks.
Speaker 2: Marvin Harrison hasn't had more than fifty nine yards since
Speaker 2: like Week eight, and the one game was when.
Speaker 4: He had sixty. And it's not like the targets have
Speaker 4: gone away.
Speaker 2: I mean a couple of weeks ago he had twelve targets,
Speaker 2: he had eight last week. And the places where you
Speaker 2: expect this passing game to be explosive, they're just not.
Speaker 2: And then you just want them to stay on schedule,
Speaker 2: convert some third downs, and they've had problems with that
Speaker 2: as well, and so it's hard to picture that getting
Speaker 2: better without the tackles against the Rams, I think it's
Speaker 2: going to be another slug fest. Will we rely the
Speaker 2: Cardinals rely on the search bar and hope that there's
Speaker 2: a bad weird Stafford game like last week where it
Speaker 2: throws for one hundred and ten yards.
Speaker 1: Well, I've got a theory about that is Matthew Stafford
Speaker 1: an indoor cat. Oh, because if you look at some
Speaker 1: of the results this year, he had that game against
Speaker 1: San Francisco, they had that game against Chicago. You put
Speaker 1: Stafford there on the nice, you know, friendly environment of
Speaker 1: so FI and our producer Jason Kleman stepping in today
Speaker 1: in the big chair here people out sick, get better
Speaker 1: hide them soon, pointing out they're gonna have a real
Speaker 1: home crowd because this is Saturday night. It's the Cardinals
Speaker 1: don't travel that well. It's trying to not quite clinch
Speaker 1: a playoff spot, but basically clinch a playoff spot.
Speaker 3: If they win the game.
Speaker 1: There are some other results they're counting on for strength
Speaker 1: of victory that might happen even by the end of
Speaker 1: this weekend. And yeah, I think it'll be rocking there.
Speaker 1: But I do wonder if, like Matthew Stafford, maybe he
Speaker 1: just needs he just needs a nice environment. At this time,
Speaker 1: he's older, he hasn't played very well with pressure.
Speaker 3: I don't know, like maybe there's something to it.
Speaker 2: There might be he gets a consistent playing surface and
Speaker 2: met life traditionally not the.
Speaker 1: Most well in the in the week before too, it's
Speaker 1: easy to forget though this was the game where Kyler
Speaker 1: went absolutely nuts. The first time around. Matthew's effort did
Speaker 1: not play great in that game either, and that was
Speaker 1: indoors in Arizona. They got smoked by the Cardinals the
Speaker 1: first time around, and the teams have changed a lot now.
Speaker 1: I think the main thing I think about the Rams
Speaker 1: are they're a Kirien Williams team. They are a run
Speaker 1: heavy team. It's weird because it's McVeigh, but he always
Speaker 1: wants to have a great running team, and I think
Speaker 1: if they can run the ball thirty five forty times,
Speaker 1: they will, And they've been pretty good at it lately,
Speaker 1: very good at it, no very.
Speaker 2: Good, especially down the stretch where they've needed to make
Speaker 2: those plays. Both Blake Korm who had a big run
Speaker 2: call back by penalty, but Kiren especially. They've had to
Speaker 2: in these in these games, maybe like the one in
Speaker 2: MetLife where things have been bad playing surface wise and
Speaker 2: conditions have been great. But even even in the game
Speaker 2: indoors against against the New Orleans Saints, sure it was
Speaker 2: that second half run game from both of these guys
Speaker 2: that really powered them towards the win.
Speaker 1: James Connor is practicing on Thursday, and so he is
Speaker 1: expected to play, and Trey Benson is also practicing, so
Speaker 1: there was some question about that. That's that's good news
Speaker 1: at least for the Cardinals. Ny I mentioned the playoff scenarios.
Speaker 1: How it comes down to is the Rams if they
Speaker 1: win this game, they all but win the divisi and
Speaker 1: they need four out of a potential seven other teams
Speaker 1: to win over the weekend to clinch the strength of victory.
Speaker 1: If that does not happen, they will have to wait
Speaker 1: until week eighteen.
Speaker 2: Or the Chicago Bears could do the Rams as solid and.
Speaker 1: That would help, but it actually wouldn't. Oh yeah, it
Speaker 1: would clinch it with it win. You're right, you're right,
Speaker 1: but you.
Speaker 2: Know, depends on when you're listening to us with their
Speaker 2: cards to that. So the Rams get that win against
Speaker 2: the Jets. The Jets now go on the road to
Speaker 2: actually New York to take on the Buffalo Bills, who
Speaker 2: are favored by eight and a half points. The over
Speaker 2: under is forty seven. It's CDs Team one Jim, Tony
Speaker 2: and Tracy on the call, where Greg. The Bills are
Speaker 2: back at home. They survived a scare at home against
Speaker 2: the division opponent, could Aaron Rodgers and his division opponent
Speaker 2: provide a similar type of scare.
Speaker 1: This week, they could Okay, they've been playing better offensively,
Speaker 1: right they have.
Speaker 2: I'm I thought I was setting you up for something different.
Speaker 3: There, but no could.
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't expect they will. They have turned
Speaker 1: into the offense. And I know they only scored nine
Speaker 1: points against the Rams, but they moved the ball the
Speaker 1: whole day.
Speaker 3: They didn't punt. There's that maximum.
Speaker 1: It's like defenses now they want to make you just
Speaker 1: go on these long drives and eventually they'll make mistake
Speaker 1: and they won't catch it.
Speaker 3: Like the Jets are of that offense.
Speaker 1: They go on the long drives, but then they don't
Speaker 1: quite finish it off because of some sort of penalty.
Speaker 1: They won't be with Olu fashion U this week. They're
Speaker 1: left tackle, which is a big loss for them. So
Speaker 1: now I've tucked myself out of it. I think the
Speaker 1: Bills are gonna smoke them. They know they know this
Speaker 1: is this is kind of like what the Chiefs had
Speaker 1: on Saturday. If they can just win this game, they
Speaker 1: buy themselves, at least some of them a nice break
Speaker 1: because they'll clinch the two seed. They won't have the
Speaker 1: one seed, and Josh Allen and his MVP campaign will
Speaker 1: likely be over because they'll they'll likely sit some key
Speaker 1: players in Week eighteen.
Speaker 2: They the key players being like like Josh Allen, James Cook,
Speaker 2: Greg Russo who's been great.
Speaker 1: I think maybe that Ron Miller who had a good
Speaker 1: game quietly against the Patriots was one of the better
Speaker 1: games I think he's played all year.
Speaker 2: Late stage, Vaughn still still producing, but Aaron Rodgers getting
Speaker 2: the ball, getting rid of the ball very quickly. That's
Speaker 2: been the case all season long. The big plays and
Speaker 2: the just the head scratchers from this team have kind
Speaker 2: of doomed them late. But there's there's an opportunity for
Speaker 2: DJ Reiden Sauce Gardner, who have been very good. The Bills,
Speaker 2: you know, rely on James on James Cook in this
Speaker 2: run game where the Jets have not been great against
Speaker 2: the run.
Speaker 4: But what if they are? What if they can be
Speaker 4: no id all I can.
Speaker 1: They could be Between them and the Bears. They're two
Speaker 1: of the best four and eleven teams I've ever seen.
Speaker 1: They should not be four and eleven, Neither one of
Speaker 1: these teams. Those teams should be six and nine.
Speaker 3: Seven and eight.
Speaker 1: They're really not that bad, but they found ways to lose.
Speaker 1: The last thing I'll say on this game is just
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers multiple times this week questioned what are already
Speaker 1: like pre coping about the Jets cutting him? Said on
Speaker 1: Pat McAfee, well, I've never been cut by a teenager before.
Speaker 3: Those are fighting words.
Speaker 1: He said that on McAfee, and then at the podium
Speaker 1: he sort of doubled down about it, like it's about, well,
Speaker 1: it's up to Woody whether I'm here next year. It's like, man,
Speaker 1: he's challenging them. He must he either knows he's gone
Speaker 1: or he's just trying to act like, well, you didn't
Speaker 1: fire me, I'm firing myself because he seems like he's
Speaker 1: firing himself, or.
Speaker 2: He's a dodge consequences perplexingly for things that he's said
Speaker 2: for years, So like why would he be extra careful
Speaker 2: about his language at any point?
Speaker 1: As always Patrick May just a great final point. Also,
Speaker 1: Garrett Wilson has kind there's been some grumbling unhappiness with
Speaker 1: Garrett Wilson that's picking up, so just not good vibes.
Speaker 3: I take it back. Bills by forty.
Speaker 2: Bills five million perug Greg, we'd like some points in
Speaker 2: this next game, because the last time we saw it
Speaker 2: a few weeks ago, there were not a lot of points.
Speaker 2: The Tennessee Titans at the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were favored
Speaker 2: by one. Shout out Matt Jones thirty nine and a half,
Speaker 2: the over underspiro ddis out of Arceleta and a D
Speaker 2: D ki kabwalla on the call. It's the Mason Rudolph
Speaker 2: edition of the Titans this time around, Greg, is that
Speaker 2: disrespect to Mason Rudolph?
Speaker 4: The Jags are favored here, It is.
Speaker 1: A little bit of disrespect. I'm taking the Titans is
Speaker 1: a big game for draft seeding. They are third and
Speaker 1: fourth in Tankathon. There are nine teams that have between
Speaker 1: two and four losses, only one that has two. So
Speaker 1: eight teams between the second and the ninth pick up
Speaker 1: three or four losses, so that you could fall far
Speaker 1: if you lose this game. This is probably Doug Peterson's
Speaker 1: last home game as a Jaguars coach. Shout out to
Speaker 1: Doug Peterson, got them competitive, got him to win a
Speaker 1: playoff game. Was a tough rebuild, and it's gone sour
Speaker 1: and not going well. For Brian Callahan, this is the
Speaker 1: worst Tennessee season. It feels like Tennessee has been bad
Speaker 1: a lot, but they haven't been this bad. This is
Speaker 1: their worst season in almost a decade, and it just
Speaker 1: keeps getting worse and worse. I think Mason Rudolph gets
Speaker 1: them a victory. Let's take a break. We're going to
Speaker 1: come back on the other side for the game that
Speaker 1: is saving the Sunday slate. Absolutely one of the best
Speaker 1: games of this NFL season because of where it comes.
Speaker 3: That's Packers Vikings.
Speaker 8: Back me.
Speaker 3: So I said we were going in chronological order. I lied.
Speaker 1: Sometimes a game is so good you've got to come
Speaker 1: out of the break with it. And it's the one
Speaker 1: game at four to twenty five on the East Coast,
Speaker 1: won twenty five out here on the best coast, And.
Speaker 3: So the whole country's got to be watching Vikings.
Speaker 2: And Packers, and they should because it's time for the
Speaker 2: game of the week.
Speaker 4: Percented by DraftKings Sportsbook. The Green Bay Packers favored.
Speaker 3: By one Wow.
Speaker 2: Vikings, who are policit pushing for a chance to play
Speaker 2: the Lions in the final week of the season for
Speaker 2: the overall one seed in the entire conference. The over
Speaker 2: under forty eight and a half. Kevin Berkhart, Tom Brady,
Speaker 2: Aaron Andrews, and Tom Rinaldi on the call.
Speaker 4: The Packers favored here, Greg, should they be?
Speaker 3: No?
Speaker 1: But I get it the numbers, I'll say the Packers
Speaker 1: are one of the best teams in the NFL. They
Speaker 1: are now up to third in DVOA that's total efficiency.
Speaker 1: That's ahead of the Bills and the Eagles. They're third.
Speaker 1: They're just behind the Lions and the Ravens. That's it
Speaker 1: since the buye the Packers. Any metric you look at. Offensively,
Speaker 1: they're in the top five. What's different is that they're
Speaker 1: in a number of magics to defensively in the top
Speaker 1: five and the rest in the top ten. And they
Speaker 1: really have forced a lot of turnovers without making big mistakes.
Speaker 1: The schedule has been part of that. And so that's
Speaker 1: why I say this is a perfect game at the
Speaker 1: perfect time of season. Because as good as the Packers
Speaker 1: have been, and you can make a pretty good argument
Speaker 1: they're one of the best five six teams in the NFL,
Speaker 1: they want to win one of these games. Yes, all
Speaker 1: their losses are to thirteen win teams or whatever, but
Speaker 1: it's like they want to win the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3: So it's a perfect game for them.
Speaker 1: They're going to be able to rest their starters next
Speaker 1: week probably either way, and they'll be locked in to
Speaker 1: where they are and so go win a game against
Speaker 1: another playoff team, maybe move up in the seedings, maybe not,
Speaker 1: but show that you can do it before you take
Speaker 1: a week off and get ready for the playoffs.
Speaker 2: It was very difficult to pick this game. The initial
Speaker 2: thought was watching how Josh Jacobs in this Packers run
Speaker 2: game in offense can can really execute early, middle, late
Speaker 2: game it doesn't matter. But then I just keep picking
Speaker 2: against the Vikings because I'm thinking, Oh, we're gonna get
Speaker 2: to a moment and Sam Donald's not gonna make the play,
Speaker 2: keeps making the Playgreg he keeps making.
Speaker 1: But the moment you jump off of that is when
Speaker 1: they do lose. Well, we shouldn't have picked them against
Speaker 1: the Seahawks.
Speaker 2: That was because what happened. It was exactly what happened
Speaker 2: all season long. The Seahawks showed how good they can be.
Speaker 2: They also showed how bad they can be in key moments,
Speaker 2: and the Vikings just continue to execute. And when we
Speaker 2: forget I know Jamar is about to win the triple Crown.
Speaker 2: But like we forget what Justin can do, but Sam
Speaker 2: Sam doesn't, and he goes to him when he needs to.
Speaker 2: Like Sam Donald's averaging like nine yards adjusted yards per attempt.
Speaker 2: He's throwing past the sticks on forty five percent, not
Speaker 2: just of his throws on third down, of all of
Speaker 2: his throws, Like he's he's not being hidden, Kevin O'Connell's
Speaker 2: not working some magic.
Speaker 4: This is just Sam Donald playing Sam Donald football.
Speaker 1: These are two of the best six quarterbacks in the
Speaker 1: league based on how they've played over the last two
Speaker 1: months and based on the numbers. Jordan Love is not
Speaker 1: in your MVP conversation because the first half of the
Speaker 1: season matters and he was hurting all that And I
Speaker 1: think about this game the first time around, where he
Speaker 1: was just coming off the injury, didn't look right.
Speaker 3: They started out slow and they end up scoring a lot.
Speaker 1: I think the way to beat Brian Flores's defense you
Speaker 1: got to have someone back there, like a Gino.
Speaker 3: Frankly that you don't need. Nate Tys has pointed this out.
Speaker 1: You don't need to do all the play action that
Speaker 1: you have a quarterback that can just win by dropping
Speaker 1: back and throwing some missiles and knowing where to go
Speaker 1: with the ball, and that is Jordan Love to me.
Speaker 1: We'll see if he makes big mistakes. But the difference
Speaker 1: that as good as Aaron Jones looks and he's running
Speaker 1: downhill and it's a good enough running game, I think
Speaker 1: he's running very well. I don't think they're as dynamic
Speaker 1: upfront on the offensive line, and I don't think the
Speaker 1: run game scheme, and ultimately, just overall, I think this
Speaker 1: Packers running game is a little bit better better, and
Speaker 1: the Vikings defense is better overall too. So it all
Speaker 1: evens out there, very even, and I'm leaning Packers because
Speaker 1: I feel like they've got to get one of these
Speaker 1: signature wins the key.
Speaker 3: Let's keep losing them. No, I don't know that's a
Speaker 3: stupid way to pick a game. No, I don't.
Speaker 2: I definitely don't think it is. But we saw it
Speaker 2: late then, and Matt Leffleer knows it. He knew it
Speaker 2: in training camp when it was very limited. We didn't
Speaker 2: see a whole lot of Josh Jacobs earlier in the season.
Speaker 2: There wasn't a success, but they knew what he could
Speaker 2: bring to this team and that's why they they've treated
Speaker 2: him the way that they have this season, and that's
Speaker 2: why he wasn't playing towards the end, which which makes
Speaker 2: perfect sense. He just he's he makes this game in
Speaker 2: this team.
Speaker 3: Different, absolutely, and it's a young group.
Speaker 1: They're they're up front there there, guys haven't gotten a
Speaker 1: lot of pop. Zach Tom, I think is a guy
Speaker 1: that could be getting Pro Bowl consideration, kind of the
Speaker 1: star that group, Elton Jenkins been there for a long time.
Speaker 1: And then it's going up against this group that Minnesota has,
Speaker 1: who's blitzing less lately because Van Ginkle's over ten sacks
Speaker 1: now and Grenard has been an incredible pickup and they're
Speaker 1: getting home without having to blitz. Josh Mattelis has been great.
Speaker 1: We've mentioned these names before, but last week really pointed
Speaker 1: out to me, like these guys have been together now
Speaker 1: for a minute, and they're all playing at a high level,
Speaker 1: so you don't want to take them for granted. It's
Speaker 1: a great opportunity really for both teams and for Tom Brady,
Speaker 1: you know, in a big spot. If Minnesota loses this game,
Speaker 1: like they might not have a chance to get that
Speaker 1: one seed in the final week. So it really does
Speaker 1: matter a lot for them. Tom Brady is getting slagged
Speaker 1: on so much. I saw people complaining about him on
Speaker 1: Christmas and I was like, that's not Tom Brady.
Speaker 3: I guess they thought JJ Watt was Tom Brady or something.
Speaker 3: I don't even know.
Speaker 1: They're just like, I'm so probably was just one tweet
Speaker 1: I shouldn't be responding to. But I saw like people
Speaker 1: were like, man, get Tom Brady off my screen.
Speaker 3: I was like, no, He's definitely not on your screen.
Speaker 2: Maybe they were watching a different channel, they saw a commercial,
Speaker 2: or maybe.
Speaker 1: They were watching eighty for Brady, an underrated movie. No,
Speaker 1: I've never seen Ady for Brady. But I support Sally
Speaker 1: Field in everything that she does in all Endeavors.
Speaker 3: All right, that was our game of the week.
Speaker 1: Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now use the Code daily.
Speaker 1: New customers can bet just five bucks. He had two
Speaker 1: hundred dollars in bonus bets only at DraftKings Sportsbook. With
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Speaker 2: The fans of the both Raiders and the Saints who
Speaker 2: support them in all Endeavors will be forced to watch.
Speaker 2: It's a very small broadcast window nationally, but around Las
Speaker 2: Vegas and Louisiana. You could see the Raiders favored by
Speaker 2: one and a half at the Superdome over under his
Speaker 2: thirty eight Adam and me and Mark Sanchez and Christina
Speaker 2: Pink I'll watch an Aidan O'Connell against Spencer Rattler. The Saints,
Speaker 2: the first team in twenty twenty four to be shut
Speaker 2: out last week, gregra.
Speaker 3: Your guy, Aidan O'Connell. He's just a scrambling fool.
Speaker 4: Now he can't be stopped. He's got a taste for blood.
Speaker 1: Now you pointed out he had never scrambled, and now
Speaker 1: he's just scrambling all the time. He was kind of
Speaker 1: bad though in that game against the Jaguars, which they
Speaker 1: won anyways, but they are better with them. If I
Speaker 1: was writing and coming up with a way to get
Speaker 1: wholesale changes in New Orleans, and by that I mean
Speaker 1: getting rid of Mickey loomis like stopping this man from
Speaker 1: running this team like the.
Speaker 3: Mafia, this is how you would do it.
Speaker 1: You would have a primetime game where you get shut
Speaker 1: out and completely embarrassed, and then back that up with
Speaker 1: a loss at home to the Raiders. That is how
Speaker 1: you have wholesale changes. So if you're a Saints fan
Speaker 1: that actually want wholesale changes, I think this is exactly
Speaker 1: the spot for you to lose.
Speaker 3: And I think they will. I'm picking the Raiders again, yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean Saints fans thinking about and again we're in
Speaker 2: that situation where where teams are pulling for losses. Teams
Speaker 2: pulling for losses for change feels different to me than
Speaker 2: pulling for losses for hopes of draft value. But also
Speaker 2: it works in both of those capacities because that all
Speaker 2: those years of continued success precluded them from drafting early.
Speaker 2: Unless they're they're trading two first to go take Marcus down.
Speaker 1: The wrong year, that'd go five and twelve, They're not
Speaker 1: gonna have the high a pick. The Raiders could fall
Speaker 1: out of the top like nine if they win this game.
Speaker 3: It's crazy, all right.
Speaker 2: To another team that is looking at the Tekafon rankings
Speaker 2: and feeling good right now, the New York Giants playing
Speaker 2: host to the Indianapolis Colts, who were favored by seven
Speaker 2: and a half. Gregt the over runners forty and a half.
Speaker 2: Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilda, and Megan A. Levy On this call, Greg,
Speaker 2: where the Colts and Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor ran
Speaker 2: all over the opposition last week, and here comes the
Speaker 2: Giants defense.
Speaker 3: It's so funny good.
Speaker 1: I remember back in Week four or five, when none
Speaker 1: of the spreads were over seven and a half or
Speaker 1: seven or something.
Speaker 3: There's a week like that.
Speaker 1: And now we've got a deeply flawed Colts team who
Speaker 1: just gave up thirty points to Mason Rudolph and have
Speaker 1: a losing record, and they're favored by seven and a
Speaker 1: half and it doesn't feel like enough. You can't come
Speaker 1: up with enough points against this Giants team. I don't
Speaker 1: think we know who's at quarterback? Is are we back
Speaker 1: to de Vito? Who knows it doesn't matter? Imagine if
Speaker 1: Richardson had a good defense. I was watching that game
Speaker 1: last week, That's what I was thinking about. It was
Speaker 1: the perfect Colts game. Fifty rushes for three hundred and
Speaker 1: thirty five yards on the ground, and you think about
Speaker 1: those long tailor runs. That's all true, but they had
Speaker 1: a plus fifty percent success rate against one of the
Speaker 1: better run teams in the league. And you just think
Speaker 1: about how much differently we would think about Anthony Richardson
Speaker 1: if they had like the number six defense in that league,
Speaker 1: because then they could work. This whole thing would make
Speaker 1: more sense and it would work.
Speaker 3: But they don't.
Speaker 1: They do have their center Ryan Kelly back, so they
Speaker 1: have Ryman and then Quintin Nelson was making some great
Speaker 1: blocks last week and Kelly. All together, that's a really
Speaker 1: good side, and they were running to that side, and
Speaker 1: Kelly hasn't played all year. I think that was a
Speaker 1: big deal for them. So I think they're a better
Speaker 1: team now. Buckner has been playing great, the defense has
Speaker 1: been a little bit better in terms of making big plays,
Speaker 1: and so I do think this is probably the best
Speaker 1: version of the Colts team. We don't really know because
Speaker 1: they're just playing the worst teams in the league. They're
Speaker 1: probably going to get to nine to eight here. They're
Speaker 1: the team that's going to get in if the Broncos
Speaker 1: lose out. It's not going to be the Bengals.
Speaker 2: And so you pointed out him running the ball. Since
Speaker 2: Week eleven, he's been used on thirty two design runs.
Speaker 2: It's ten more than any other quarterback in the NFL.
Speaker 2: He's also forced a mistackle on twenty nine percent of those.
Speaker 2: He's special in space. I think this run game is
Speaker 2: an let's get them in the playoffs, because I want
Speaker 2: to see them against teams that aren't like the Giants.
Speaker 3: I think there's a realistic chance that it happens.
Speaker 4: Now.
Speaker 1: That would mean that the Chiefs, potentially their backups would
Speaker 1: lose to the Broncos if the Broncos lose out. And
Speaker 1: again I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth
Speaker 1: because I think the Broncos will win this week, but
Speaker 1: obviously that's a coin flip type of game. I do
Speaker 1: think the Colts are much more likely than the Bengals
Speaker 1: or the Dolphins to get into the playoffs.
Speaker 3: Let's just put it that way.
Speaker 1: And I do want to point out, you know, because
Speaker 1: I'm sure a lot of the listeners are busy, they're
Speaker 1: wrapping presence. They didn't go back to grind that Colts
Speaker 1: and Titans tape. I thought it was a big moment
Speaker 1: for Anthony Richardson. They had blown that lead on defense
Speaker 1: and he had a third and eight just a straight
Speaker 1: drop back pass or else. They were giving the ball
Speaker 1: back to flying Mason Rudolph at the end of the
Speaker 1: game and he had to hit an out route to
Speaker 1: Michael Pittman that needed perfect accuracy. No play action, nothing
Speaker 1: like that, and he hit it to win the game.
Speaker 1: So those are the kind of moments I think as
Speaker 1: a young quarterback that you're looking for. And I'm sure
Speaker 1: Shane Steichen and Anthony Richardson when they were watching that
Speaker 1: playback felt awesome because it's like, that's what they're talking about.
Speaker 1: They need more of that, and he did it in
Speaker 1: the biggest of spots at the end of that game.
Speaker 1: So just a quiet, nice moment for him. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: not a lot of dropbacks in that game as well.
Speaker 2: Stat watchers, if you want to, you know, grade his
Speaker 2: growth as a passers. Speaking of growth as a passer,
Speaker 2: we have a revenge game. Well, it depends on how
Speaker 2: you view that. The Carolina Panthers at the Tampa Bay Bys.
Speaker 2: We're favored by seven and a half despite falling apart
Speaker 2: on the on Prime time against the Dallas Cowboys forty
Speaker 2: eight and a half. It's Iron Eagle Charles Davis and
Speaker 2: Evan Washburn on this call.
Speaker 4: Greg.
Speaker 2: We've seen the ups and downs with both of these
Speaker 2: teams in the past couple of weeks, both related to
Speaker 2: the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 4: On the down side, how does this one go?
Speaker 1: I think the Bucks get it done seven and a
Speaker 1: half feels too much for the way that the Panthers
Speaker 1: are playing offense, But you do. I think of the
Speaker 1: Bucks as a good team, as a playoff team, and
Speaker 1: when you lose a game like that and you had
Speaker 1: a couple of games on the road, you come back,
Speaker 1: you would expect them to respond and play their best
Speaker 1: at home. Shout out to Iron Eagle though, talk about
Speaker 1: working a lot. I mean he was on that Netflix
Speaker 1: Game Rights every Thursday night. When I'm leaving work after
Speaker 1: we tape game debut, check it out on NFL Network.
Speaker 1: I hear I and Ross Tucker. That's where I've really
Speaker 1: enjoyed his work doing Thursday night football. I'll flip on
Speaker 1: some NBA on TNT on a Tuesday, there is there
Speaker 1: he is. And then if I'm on League Pass and
Speaker 1: I just want to catch some Cam Johnson action with
Speaker 1: the Nets. He's the home announcer for the Nets too.
Speaker 1: This is the hardest working man in show business. And
Speaker 1: have you ever heard him had a bad game? Like
Speaker 1: He's always bringing it, so I know he's bringing it
Speaker 1: to this game.
Speaker 3: It's one of the reasons I took this game.
Speaker 1: I'm going to be watching this on Sunday, because I
Speaker 1: think it matters so much for the Bucks. If they
Speaker 1: lost this game, it basically ruins their season. They need
Speaker 1: to win these two games and hope for a Falcons loss.
Speaker 1: And I watched it this game the first time around.
Speaker 1: It was very compelling. Bucks were very lucky to escape
Speaker 1: with a victory. I've enjoyed watching Bryce Baker and Mike
Speaker 1: Evans are a lot of fun. So I think this
Speaker 1: is actually the best game of the early window, and
Speaker 1: I took it.
Speaker 2: It's very difficult because even though right because James Connor
Speaker 2: only had fifteen carries as well over on yards against
Speaker 2: this Bucks defense, I mean this Panthers defense where there's
Speaker 2: been no change like a zero. Everro's run defense all
Speaker 2: season long, including this game against Bucky Irving and the
Speaker 2: Buccaneers not too long ago.
Speaker 4: He had one hundred and sixty three yards.
Speaker 3: That's how they came back.
Speaker 1: They did the rare two score like they did a
Speaker 1: comeback why running it which you don't see too much.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and the difficulties there, it's tough to get any
Speaker 2: of those images out of my head. I think seven
Speaker 2: and a half, despite what Bryce and the Panthers have done,
Speaker 2: I think it feels right.
Speaker 4: I do.
Speaker 1: They have some weaknesses though, Tampa in terms of their defense,
Speaker 1: Levonte David has been getting picked on a little bit
Speaker 1: and coverage part of the reason. I think they have
Speaker 1: them closer to the line of scrimmage a lot of
Speaker 1: the time. Bryce is playing at a level now though,
Speaker 1: where I just feel like that's too much almost to
Speaker 1: give to I'm mean it, yeah, like if you have
Speaker 1: an above average quarterback and that's the way he's playing, like,
Speaker 1: that's a lot. And I remember before the season, ownership
Speaker 1: in Tampa said what do you need to see out
Speaker 1: of this team in terms of the coaching staff, and
Speaker 1: they said improvement And they went nine to eight last
Speaker 1: year and they made the playoffs, they won a game,
Speaker 1: and so I just think these two games are really
Speaker 1: important for Bowls in the future of that coaching staff.
Speaker 1: So it's a really compelling game bit of two fun sneaky,
Speaker 1: fun teams to watch all year.
Speaker 4: So a fun opportunity.
Speaker 2: And how about a great father son moment for Ian
Speaker 2: to have him call one game on Christmas Day and
Speaker 2: then Noah baby Bird calls the second game.
Speaker 4: And I'm thinking back to where.
Speaker 2: It was it was Noah and Nate on that first
Speaker 2: Nickelodeon broadcast and just how how far both have come
Speaker 2: career rise.
Speaker 1: I was thinking of Noah unlike the Cincinnati Open on
Speaker 1: the Tennis channel, we lost a good one when he
Speaker 1: was coming up. It's like, you know, he was having
Speaker 1: the slummet doing some master's level tennis. I enjoyed him,
Speaker 1: and now we've lost him. I know we're out far
Speaker 1: a field here, but just thinking fatherhoods on Christmas spent apart,
Speaker 1: but they were kind of together. The best Christmas present
Speaker 1: I got was from my son Walker, who's been waking
Speaker 1: up around four or five in the morning in Tokyo
Speaker 1: and texting me because he's got text on his iPad
Speaker 1: now there, and he texted me, hey, listen to your
Speaker 1: pod with Shook.
Speaker 3: It was good.
Speaker 1: That was the best president I got. And he's like,
Speaker 1: Shook is funny. I was like, he is funny.
Speaker 4: Walker's dialed in. He's diald in. I love it.
Speaker 2: Let's go to the Miami Dolphins, who are favored by
Speaker 2: six and a half against the Cleveland Browns. Thirty nine
Speaker 2: and a half is the number. It's on CBS. Andrew
Speaker 2: Cattle on Tiki Barber, Jason mccordy and aj Ross on
Speaker 2: the call. We get to see Dorian Thompson Robinson play
Speaker 2: football again, much to the joy of Kevin Stefanski. This
Speaker 2: continues to happen, greg and the Dolphins have some hope.
Speaker 1: Well, Jamis had a shoulder injury, which I didn't know
Speaker 1: about Little Mysterious Bailey ZAPPI was warming up to come
Speaker 1: into that game last week when dtr got hurt. I
Speaker 1: didn't know Jamis was listed as a shoulder injury, and
Speaker 1: that might be playing into the decision making there. But
Speaker 1: it's great news for the Dolphins, who need a lot
Speaker 1: of help to get into the playoffs but are still alive.
Speaker 1: Need the Broncos to lose out, will need the Colts
Speaker 1: to lose one of their two games too, and so
Speaker 1: it's going to be tough for them to make it.
Speaker 3: I'd rather use this time.
Speaker 1: Well, there's a few I find the Dolphins very interesting,
Speaker 1: but they finally ran well last week.
Speaker 4: That was good.
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna get rid of the positive sirst. Jordan
Speaker 1: Brooks has been a great pickup. That just struck me.
Speaker 1: It's been great. Bradley Chubb is not going to play
Speaker 1: football this year. That's just unfortunate coming back from his injury.
Speaker 1: They cut Shack Mason, I mean not Shack Mason, Shack
Speaker 1: Barrett on Thursday. He's been trying to return from retirement
Speaker 1: and they gave him his release so he could possibly
Speaker 1: sign with another team. That's interesting. If just Shaq Barrett
Speaker 1: joins the Lions, Let's say they could use a pass
Speaker 1: pressure chop Robinson with a late push for defensive Player
Speaker 1: of the Year. It's a pretty wide open field. It's
Speaker 1: not that crazy. He's looked really good. Okay, those are
Speaker 1: all the good things. Uh, the Tyreek Hill stuff is weird.
Speaker 1: Have you been tracking this the it is time for
Speaker 1: me to go coach? Yeah, and then he that was
Speaker 1: weird and he said that wasn't about anything, although he
Speaker 1: has one of those weird tweets that he has to
Speaker 1: explain every week, which is a bad sign.
Speaker 2: Well, he's in Miami. Teddy Bridgewater just coached as his
Speaker 2: team to a state championship. We'll talk more Teddy later.
Speaker 2: I think maybe it was that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't think that was anything but the comments
Speaker 1: he made after last week's game where he blamed his
Speaker 1: lack of production on not practicing enough on Wednesdays with Tua.
Speaker 1: It's like these guys have practiced a lot together. They've
Speaker 1: been just something's odd. It was one of the worst
Speaker 1: games of Tyreek Hill's career last week. He is not
Speaker 1: winning in the same way that he has before. He's
Speaker 1: had he's had a bad season. And I don't think
Speaker 1: it's just the situation or too. It's he's had a
Speaker 1: bad season, and following some of the reporting around there,
Speaker 1: I just don't think there'd be like a shock if
Speaker 1: this is his last couple of games as a Dolphin,
Speaker 1: and so I'm just kind of tracking that weirdness.
Speaker 3: Whatever's going on. He'd still have trade value.
Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely have trade I'd wondered if he was playing
Speaker 2: through something there was.
Speaker 3: He mentioned that too.
Speaker 1: He mentioned the wrist injury that he suffered before the injury,
Speaker 1: but he just was made.
Speaker 3: It's just been weird. It's been weird.
Speaker 4: It's been a it's been a whole weird year.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: In Miami, where there's decisions to be made, but at
Speaker 2: least to us playing in that game, we could have
Speaker 2: a battle of backup quarterbacks coming. In the NFC East,
Speaker 2: the Dallas Cowboys at the Philadelphia Eagles were face by
Speaker 2: eight and a half with the number being forty one
Speaker 2: Joe Davis, g Rag and Pam Oliver on the call. Greg,
Speaker 2: But I feel like a lot of that changes if
Speaker 2: we don't know if number one is playing.
Speaker 1: For the funny you say that, I was like, that
Speaker 1: does not seem to make sense if Jalen Hurts doesn't play.
Speaker 1: Since this document was printed just hours ago, the number
Speaker 1: is down to six and a half because we don't.
Speaker 3: Know if Hurts is gonna play.
Speaker 1: If Kenny Pickett is starting, that number is too big.
Speaker 1: I think the Cowboys have been one of the best
Speaker 1: pass rush teams in the NFL, if not the best,
Speaker 1: and one of the best pass defenses, and so you're
Speaker 1: gonna make the Eagles really one dimensional. I believe if
Speaker 1: Kenny Pickett is starting, and this could really be a
Speaker 1: competitive game. Heurts is still in the concussion protocol as
Speaker 1: we tape this, we don't know if he's gonna practice Thursday.
Speaker 1: Didn't practice Wednesday. Generally, if they're not practicing and then
Speaker 1: they're in the protocol, they don't play. Sometimes they're in
Speaker 1: the protocol but they are practicing, and then you get
Speaker 1: cleared on Friday or Saturday. It seems to be trending
Speaker 1: towards the former, but we don't know for sure. And
Speaker 1: that's it's a tricky game. I think with Kenny Pickett
Speaker 1: one I would think that Eagles could and should win,
Speaker 1: But a tricky game.
Speaker 2: Nonetheless, Yeah, I guess the Cowboys team that just beat
Speaker 2: a Bucks team, that's right thick of the playoff hunt.
Speaker 2: It's not like the the Bucks Bucks were sleepwalking in there.
Speaker 2: The Dallas defense made plays to the extent where they
Speaker 2: were making plays with Dan Quinn and and now Zimmer's
Speaker 2: finally got the players.
Speaker 4: Back, I think, which is the most important part.
Speaker 2: But they're in positions now despite not even having the
Speaker 2: marve On overshown, which that that injury still.
Speaker 1: Hurts DeMarcus Lawrence or Trayvon Diggs.
Speaker 4: They like getting Deron blandback. Was was apparently enough? Where
Speaker 4: was it good?
Speaker 2: Where they're they're able to make these plays and you know,
Speaker 2: a full it's tough to get the full dynamic of
Speaker 2: Kenny Pickett because the backup coming in right, you've got
Speaker 2: your preferred plays.
Speaker 4: He runs those.
Speaker 2: He hits aj Brown on the crossle for a big
Speaker 2: first down, tries to do the same thing Franky Luvu
Speaker 2: picks them off coming back a couple drives later where
Speaker 2: it's he did make plays late, and there were drops
Speaker 2: by j Brown, Saquon Barkley, the most notable one coming
Speaker 2: from Devontae Smith. I don't think those guys are gonna
Speaker 2: have those types of problems, but it is still scary.
Speaker 1: It is, and yet, yeah, I wouldn't have expected you
Speaker 1: to be tuning in on Christmas Eve to shook an
Speaker 1: eye's recap. But Kenny Pickett did get my most controversial
Speaker 1: Captain Morgan Captain of the Week for his underrated play
Speaker 1: for when he came in, I thought he played pretty
Speaker 1: well and I think he I don't know if he's
Speaker 1: gonna always play that well, but it is the Eagles
Speaker 1: which have the perfect situation for a quarterback. Their defense
Speaker 1: lost them that game and a couple other mistakes on offense,
Speaker 1: they started blitzing like crazy. It was really a weird
Speaker 1: performance by the Eagles defense. I don't think it'll happen again.
Speaker 1: This should be a defense in Dallas. Even though they're
Speaker 1: second in EPA per play against the pass since Micah's return,
Speaker 1: there's still average to bad against the run, and that's
Speaker 1: against an Eagles team, So that you would think they'd
Speaker 1: be able to mash it as long as Nick Sirianni
Speaker 1: doesn't get into a fight with someone. A report on Thursday,
Speaker 1: Love This Philadelphia inquires Jeff McLain, who has been at
Speaker 1: it a long time one of the best to do it,
Speaker 1: reported that zach Ertz and Sirianni had to be separated
Speaker 1: by Big Dom after the game on Sunday, after Sirianni
Speaker 1: made some derogatory comments to Ertz about his play in
Speaker 1: the game and that Ertz understandably did not appreciate and
Speaker 1: Big Dom had to get in the mix. And then
Speaker 1: Nick Sirianni got on a Zoom call to apologize to
Speaker 1: zach Ertz. Can you just make it through a week, Nick,
Speaker 1: without being the main character?
Speaker 2: Fum fact Big Dom actually did the it security on
Speaker 2: the call as well, just to make sure everybody was
Speaker 2: safe again a former Eagle where Nick Sirianni taking pressure
Speaker 2: off of office team once again by becoming a.
Speaker 1: Story they could be the first team to make or
Speaker 1: like win the super Bowl that changed their coaches, like
Speaker 1: they could win the super Bowl and they're just like, actually,
Speaker 1: we're just gonna make Fangio, the head coach it's just
Speaker 1: be less drama.
Speaker 2: But if it is not, Jalen Hurts, if can he
Speaker 2: Pickett starts this game, then Kellen Moore can get his
Speaker 2: backup quarterback revenge against Mike McCarthy and offer a you
Speaker 2: were holding me back all these things where I'm having
Speaker 2: to take another job with another quarterback, and then I
Speaker 2: get another job with another very good quarterback, but you
Speaker 2: this is all your fault. And the Eagles push with
Speaker 2: their back up.
Speaker 1: That's why Patrick gets the big bucks. It's the showdown.
Speaker 1: Who can coach up their backup quarterback better? Kellen Moore revenge.
Speaker 1: I love that angle to this game because there's not
Speaker 1: much else. Philly's pretty boxed out of this top seed.
Speaker 1: They definitely want to win this game to guarantee at
Speaker 1: least the two seed and everything, but they're pretty boxed
Speaker 1: down out. Unless the Lions and the Vikings lose this weekend,
Speaker 1: let's take a break. We have two fun games to
Speaker 1: get to. That's gonna be it for our preview. But yes,
Speaker 1: Sunday Night Football.
Speaker 3: It's a good.
Speaker 1: One back on the only NFL daily ever to start
Speaker 1: with a recap and end with a preview. I don't
Speaker 1: know if there'll be anymore. I don't think so. This
Speaker 1: was a one of one, and so is this Sunday
Speaker 1: night football game.
Speaker 2: It is because it's a big game and everything that
Speaker 2: had to happen to make this game important happen. The
Speaker 2: Atlanta Falcons make the decision to bench Kirk Cousins, put
Speaker 2: in Michael Pennocks junior, give him a game against the
Speaker 2: woeful Giants to get ready, because they knew the Dallas
Speaker 2: Cowboys were gonna beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and they
Speaker 2: were to have a big Sunday night football game Atlanta
Speaker 2: at Washington. Favored by four points, are the Commanders? Forty
Speaker 2: seven and a half is the number? Mike Rico, Chris
Speaker 2: Collinsworth and Melissa Stark on the call, Carrie Underwood in
Speaker 2: the pre game, and we get a great win greg
Speaker 2: with two rookie quarterbacks who are both very, very good.
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 1: I want to speed through our recap show on Sunday
Speaker 1: night to watch as much as I can of this live.
Speaker 1: I think the number four is crazy. I think I'm
Speaker 1: leaning Falcons straight up now. If the Commanders had lost
Speaker 1: that game, which they probably should have against Philadelphia last week,
Speaker 1: this game might even have a little extra juice because
Speaker 1: Washington would be on the precibiss of falling out of
Speaker 1: the playoffs. But what if I told you Patrick, Okay,
Speaker 1: there's a real chance they fall out of the playoffs.
Speaker 3: As it is, it's not that complicated.
Speaker 1: The Falcons win this game, okay, Okay, the Buccaneers win
Speaker 1: out against two teams that have nine wins combined. So
Speaker 1: the Buccaneers beat the Panthers in the Saints, and so
Speaker 1: the Buccaneers win out.
Speaker 3: Very reasonable, very reasonable.
Speaker 1: Then we got the Falcons next week against the Panthers.
Speaker 1: They take care of that game. At that point, Washington
Speaker 1: needs to beat Dallas to win and make the playoffs
Speaker 1: next week. It's a win or go home scenario if
Speaker 1: all that happens, and all of that is quite realistic.
Speaker 1: So if you're a Commander's fan and you're down late
Speaker 1: in this game, you are looking at a very realistic
Speaker 1: possibility that you need to beat a pretty frisky Dallas
Speaker 1: team lately who already beat you once to make Week eighteen,
Speaker 1: you know, and to make the playoffs. So I like
Speaker 1: that this game has so much stakes in two rookie quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: The challenge, of course, for Michael Pennix is like, can
Speaker 1: I possibly measure up to in one of the best
Speaker 1: rookie quarterback seasons we've seen. Jayden Daniels has been awesome.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be tough for Penis.
Speaker 4: Yeah, especially awesome.
Speaker 2: Late against Vic Van Joe's defense that didn't have CJ.
Speaker 2: Gardner Johnson, and that's, you know, probably a reason that
Speaker 2: you end up with Zach vond on Jamison Crowder. But
Speaker 2: even then, if you go back and watch NFL Turning
Speaker 2: Point had a great breakdown of that throw from Jayden
Speaker 2: and Daniels. Jamison Crowder has barely passed the goal line
Speaker 2: on that and there is no part of Jamison crowded
Speaker 2: that's visible to Jade Daniels when he fires that ball
Speaker 2: into that window that ultimately goes to the game winning touchdown.
Speaker 2: He's thrown with anticipation. He's making plays with his feet.
Speaker 2: But there is a Falcons defense that has suddenly transformed
Speaker 2: after the by that's able to get pressure on quarterbacks.
Speaker 2: Jesse Bates back in space making plays. It's where they
Speaker 2: can set up and just we can see the full
Speaker 2: not full potential, because against it's just two games into.
Speaker 4: Michael Fennick Junior's career.
Speaker 2: But see a little bit more about what this Falcons
Speaker 2: team could have looked like, and maybe we'll be looking
Speaker 2: back and saying, Wow, if they start pennis earlier and
Speaker 2: they get into a better groove, they're in a better
Speaker 2: position here. But at least he has one one game
Speaker 2: of leeway before they did it.
Speaker 1: Well, they could be in the playoffs. So you win
Speaker 1: three straight here and they'll be in. They are tied
Speaker 1: at the top of the division, but they have the
Speaker 1: tiebreaker and so it's up to them. And these are
Speaker 1: two teams that I've doubted to some degree during the season.
Speaker 1: Washington without beating a lot of good teams. Atlanta never
Speaker 1: really bought them in general. And I've thought this was
Speaker 1: Tampa's division all along. And yet because of what you
Speaker 1: say defense after the bye, I think Raheem Morris figured
Speaker 1: some things out, kind of like the Ravens. They're not
Speaker 1: making the big mistakes. And now you're seeing some of
Speaker 1: their players like Ebiketty is playing well, Kayden Ellis has
Speaker 1: been really good on Blitz' has been had a really
Speaker 1: good season, Jesse Bates obviously making plays that I think
Speaker 1: they have a real chance to win this game because
Speaker 1: I look at the two running games and I see, Yeah,
Speaker 1: Jayden Daniels is so dynamic, he could go for one
Speaker 1: hundred in this game scrambling. But if I'm look at
Speaker 1: the two running games, it's not a fair fight. They
Speaker 1: have not run the ball well Washington for a while.
Speaker 1: Brian Robinson. Last week even they put up thirty six
Speaker 1: points without running the ball to their running backs at all.
Speaker 1: And then you look at Bajohn Robinson, who to me
Speaker 1: is just like the best player in this game and
Speaker 1: is getting better and better every week. I think the
Speaker 1: run game makes more sense with Michael Pennix back there
Speaker 1: and him having a little more mobility to even get
Speaker 1: out to the edge on some of those outside zone
Speaker 1: but it's a lot of inside zone two and it's
Speaker 1: play action. It just makes more sense. And I just
Speaker 1: think Bajon is so good right now that I think
Speaker 1: they can go just win this game on the backs
Speaker 1: of an epic Bajhon Robinson performance.
Speaker 4: Yeah, they can. This Commander's defense.
Speaker 2: Since week eight, they're only allowing quarterbacks to complete fifty
Speaker 2: six percent of their passes. It's six point five yards
Speaker 2: per attempt. They've sacked the quarterback twenty times in that stretch.
Speaker 2: And as we talk about this Falcons defense getting better,
Speaker 2: the Commander's defense was woeful at the start of the year,
Speaker 2: but but their turnaround happened like in week five, six seven,
Speaker 2: they've been good and they've gotten even better of forty
Speaker 2: percent sex success rate in that stretch, and it's it's
Speaker 2: just a good game. It's a good game, and I'm
Speaker 2: I'm excited to see.
Speaker 3: It is fun.
Speaker 1: Like Jaden Daniels, he was trying to be more patient
Speaker 1: last week. I thought in the pocket before I know,
Speaker 1: he had all those scrambled yards, and yet he was
Speaker 1: hanging back there and waiting for guys to get open.
Speaker 3: I thought that was really good. So the loser of
Speaker 3: this game is gonna be gonna be very very nervous,
Speaker 3: super nervous.
Speaker 1: I mean Atlanta won't be I know Atlanta won't be
Speaker 1: out of it, but if they lose this game and
Speaker 1: Tampa wins, then they're suddenly on the outside looking in,
Speaker 1: and Washington could be too, don't don't. I know Commanders
Speaker 1: fans feel like it's different. It is different, and so
Speaker 1: they they probably will not lose out here. But I
Speaker 1: think this is a dangerous game. I think the falcon.
Speaker 1: They're catching the falcons at the wrong time.
Speaker 2: It would be awful, especially if a member of the
Speaker 2: owner team in Magic Johnson, who tweeted that they had
Speaker 2: clinched after that emotional win ten wins.
Speaker 4: Why not get you in. We'll see how things go.
Speaker 2: And speaking of not getting in a team that's been
Speaker 2: eliminated after losing in the Super Bowl in the closing moments,
Speaker 2: the San Francisco forty nine ers, playing host to the
Speaker 2: Detroit Lions, were favored by three and a half on
Speaker 2: Monday Night Football, which means Joe Troy and Lisa on
Speaker 2: the call they looked better in spots against Miami.
Speaker 4: Still lost though, Greg and the Lions are the.
Speaker 3: Lions they are.
Speaker 1: And you know, just as importantly it's MJD. Bridget Condon
Speaker 1: and myself on the call on Channel five kind of
Speaker 1: on the call. You know, we do the commercial breaking
Speaker 1: you're on the call, and then we're gonna come upstairs
Speaker 1: and do the podcast altogether as well. What a coup
Speaker 1: and so that'll be fun little programming note there.
Speaker 3: Revenge game, This truly is.
Speaker 1: I know they they set this up as the crown
Speaker 1: jewel of the Monday Night Football season. And unfortunately the
Speaker 1: forty nine ers are not in the mix here. But
Speaker 1: I really do think the Lions feel like they missed
Speaker 1: a major opportunity to go win the Super Bowl last year,
Speaker 1: to blow a lead like that in San Francisco. Now
Speaker 1: they can get a little bit of revenge, and I
Speaker 1: do want to see how their defense specifically responds against
Speaker 1: a legitimate offense. It's gonna get increasingly tougher. Last week
Speaker 1: we saw him against the Bears, and frankly, even though
Speaker 1: they made a couple big plays like that's about as
Speaker 1: good as Caleb Williams has looked all season, they gave
Speaker 1: up a lot of yards. This is gonna be tougher
Speaker 1: because I know the forty nine ers aren't what they
Speaker 1: used to be. They're very short on the offensive line.
Speaker 1: They had a couple more injuries happened this week, so
Speaker 1: they're down three four starters on the offensive line. Okay,
Speaker 1: take advantage of this forty nine ers offense, because if
Speaker 1: you don't Debo looked pretty good last week and it's
Speaker 1: still pretty back there. We got some real, you know,
Speaker 1: legitimate players. I want to see their defense play well.
Speaker 1: That'll make me feel better about them going into the playoffs.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was a It was an opportunity for Debo
Speaker 2: where when when Patrick Taylor is having to get to
Speaker 2: the majority of the carrieres, they just need Debo so
Speaker 2: much more now, perhaps in needing him, have utilized him
Speaker 2: in ways that that maybe could have been done earlier
Speaker 2: on in the season where it's it's Debo and George
Speaker 2: essentially in the passing game at a big game for
Speaker 2: Brock as well, because it's it's time and I think
Speaker 2: Brock's going to get his money from the forty nine ers.
Speaker 2: I don't think that there's something for Brock to prove
Speaker 2: necessarily to Kyle and and also to the folks upstairs
Speaker 2: in John Lynch, but just another chance to get out
Speaker 2: there on national TV, I gainst a really good team
Speaker 2: and show to everybody watching and to all those who
Speaker 2: may say, you know, he's a he's a metric.
Speaker 4: He's a mechanic of.
Speaker 2: This system and his coaching staff, and the opportunity that
Speaker 2: he's a pretty good quarterback as well, and.
Speaker 4: I think he is.
Speaker 1: I swear Deebo just got faster, though again last week
Speaker 1: he's like breaking tackles. That's the most yak he's had
Speaker 1: in the game, and I don't know how long he
Speaker 1: like looked looked like old Debo. Pretty amazing. I don't
Speaker 1: think it's gonna be, you know, a good matchup. On
Speaker 1: the other side of the ball, where the forty nine
Speaker 1: ers defensive line has been awful lately. Drake green Law
Speaker 1: is hurt and is not expected to play again this season.
Speaker 1: Nick Bosa and that crew I think are playing through
Speaker 1: some injuries and just haven't been able to get pressure.
Speaker 1: So you would just assume if the weather's okay, the
Speaker 1: Lions will put up more than enough points to cover
Speaker 1: that three and a half that is, that is tasty.
Speaker 1: If if I'm looking at the number there, the three
Speaker 1: and a half for the Lions, I think it's a
Speaker 1: great spot. Though, if you made it this far and
Speaker 1: brock Purty's on your roster in fantasy, for him to
Speaker 1: put up about three hundred and fifty yards while trying
Speaker 1: to catch up in like a forty eight to twenty
Speaker 1: seven loss, you know what I mean? Oh garbage, Tom Brocker, Well,
Speaker 1: just all game, they're just gonna have to throw, they're
Speaker 1: gonna be trailing, and he's gonna get protected better than
Speaker 1: he really should against this Lions defense. Which is not
Speaker 1: great shakes right now. And yeah, I think they could.
Speaker 1: They could put up some crooked numbers him and Debo
Speaker 1: and and the whole game. Why not even even like
Speaker 1: a forty eight to thirty one lost, something like that.
Speaker 4: Forty eight to thirty one something to look forward to.
Speaker 1: It gets a little wild there. Yes, that is it
Speaker 1: for NFL Daily on this Thursday. We did it, Patrick,
Speaker 1: first ever recap slash preview.
Speaker 2: We cover all the bases because we've we've got a
Speaker 2: five tool player m right here?
Speaker 3: Who's that?
Speaker 4: No?
Speaker 3: You Greg play? Play the music. We got Eric behind that.
Speaker 4: Greg's carry team on his back.
Speaker 1: No, we've We're not doing a Thursday night recap this week.
Speaker 1: Just a programming note. I can't believe we are here
Speaker 1: in the second to last week of the season.
Speaker 3: Yes, when the next games are on
Speaker 1: NFL Network triple header, you know football is back