Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
Speaker 1: partnership with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: We are so close to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3: Yes, it is Championship weekend, looking forward to some great games.
Speaker 2: We got our final four squads. Mike am Eric at home.
Speaker 3: With you a deep dive and a preview of what
Speaker 3: transpired in the divisional round and what to expect this
Speaker 3: upcoming weekend. Eric, I want to take a look at
Speaker 3: your rankings top four. A little bit of a change
Speaker 3: here with the Kansas City Chiefs at one, the Bills
Speaker 3: at two, the Commanders rising to three, and the Eagles
Speaker 3: at four. But let's do the dive here on Kansas
Speaker 3: City played with a little bit of fire in some metrics,
Speaker 3: got out played by the Houston Texans. Is the only
Speaker 3: thing that matters is we're talking about them surviving and advancing.
Speaker 4: Yeah, right, I think you do have to factor in
Speaker 4: that layoff too. I mean, obviously a long time off
Speaker 4: great for the body, great for the mind and sold
Speaker 4: and all that, but also when you get back into action,
Speaker 4: it takes a little while to get those gears grinding.
Speaker 4: But still, yeah, I remember somebody saying of a great quarterback.
Speaker 4: I think it was Tom Brady, correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 4: They're not playing football anymore. They're just figuring out how
Speaker 4: to win in games, right, And that applies to Andy
Speaker 4: Reid or Bill Belichick or any of the great coaches too.
Speaker 4: But I really think Reid Mahomes did that on Saturday.
Speaker 4: I think you're going to see them try to do
Speaker 4: that on Sunday against the Bills too. They've gotten so
Speaker 4: good at their craft. Maybe it doesn't reflect on the scoreboard,
Speaker 4: but this is a team that oftentimes is in complete control.
Speaker 4: Even when they're out gained by one hundred and twenty
Speaker 4: four yards and almost one hundred yards on the ground,
Speaker 4: your opponent doesn't turn the ball over and you still
Speaker 4: find a way to win. Look, that to me is
Speaker 4: still a skill that doesn't always exist in the NFL.
Speaker 4: And you think about the defense, stepping up early, stepping
Speaker 4: up late, special teams, three made field goals, and a
Speaker 4: block to kick as well.
Speaker 5: Just enough offensively.
Speaker 4: Look, it's a pretty good formula, all things considered, even
Speaker 4: if it isn't the flashest thing in the world.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I've used this analogy on a couple shows, and I'll
Speaker 3: throw it your way. I don't know how much of
Speaker 3: a tennis guy you are.
Speaker 2: But there's some players that have.
Speaker 3: Like these huge serves, huge fourhands, huge backhands. And then
Speaker 3: you got another group of players who just don't make mistakes,
Speaker 3: and they're going to wait for you to go and
Speaker 3: make your mistake. I think Kansas City has got that
Speaker 3: vibe in them. But when you get to a championship weekend,
Speaker 3: when you get to a super Bowl, is that a
Speaker 3: recipe for success?
Speaker 2: Like what like just keep it close and let fifteen
Speaker 2: do his deal.
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 4: On the one hand, like you got to remember your
Speaker 4: top gun, right, I mean, Maverick ends up being the
Speaker 4: hero in the end, but Iceman was the guy who
Speaker 4: typically got it done. He was in that sort of
Speaker 4: pole position and he wore people down, right. So I
Speaker 4: guess we're sort of saying that the chiefs everyone sort
Speaker 4: of views him as the enemy.
Speaker 5: Now they've had all this success, they are Iceman.
Speaker 4: They're the guys who just kind of wait for you
Speaker 4: to make that fatal mistake and they pounce on it.
Speaker 5: So we'll see.
Speaker 4: I don't know if the bills are quite Maverick anymore,
Speaker 4: then we'll we'll have to address that subject and figure
Speaker 4: that one out too, They've played a lot of smart, safe,
Speaker 4: conservative ball to get where they're at.
Speaker 2: I love where you just went with that. No one
Speaker 2: a bigger top Gun fan than me.
Speaker 3: And I'm not talking about Maverick the remake in right,
Speaker 3: I feel like it's bad for me to say this.
Speaker 3: I think there's an argument Maverick was better than the original.
Speaker 3: I don't know if I would go on record to
Speaker 3: say that, but there is at least a compelling argument
Speaker 3: for it.
Speaker 5: You kind of just did, Mike.
Speaker 2: It's just wild. It was so good.
Speaker 3: I'd been waiting, like, you know, twenty some odd years
Speaker 3: for that movie to come out here, and we finally
Speaker 3: got it and it delivered. What's the story, though, what's
Speaker 3: the story for this Kansas City team? In your mind?
Speaker 3: Looking ahead?
Speaker 2: Is this a super Bowl winning team?
Speaker 5: Look? I think they have all the elements.
Speaker 4: Again, it's not going to be the fireworks show that
Speaker 4: we often saw in the past.
Speaker 5: But they've evolved.
Speaker 4: You know, they understand that they're going to get everybody's
Speaker 4: best shot, and they know that they can win those
Speaker 4: quite close, tight games because they've been in so many
Speaker 4: of them. They've been in these in these playoff settings.
Speaker 4: That's why they're have such a good record sixteen and three,
Speaker 4: I think uner mahomes in the divisional rounds. So you
Speaker 4: know that that obviously lends to their big game preparation.
Speaker 4: You know they're they're kind of focus and equanimity in
Speaker 4: those situations. And you know, right now I'd say, I
Speaker 4: think you'd say the Bills are the team they're trying
Speaker 4: to prove they have that and that they can match
Speaker 4: what the Kansas City Chiefs bring seemingly every playoff game
Speaker 4: they go out there.
Speaker 3: All right, I'm glad you bring up Buffalo. You're number
Speaker 3: two squad. I will be honest with you. I have
Speaker 3: won on a bunch of our shows that I've done,
Speaker 3: and I had Baltimore, and I said Baltimore would be
Speaker 3: my pick to win the Super Bowl. Heading into last week.
Speaker 3: I thought they were the most complete team. They didn't
Speaker 3: get it done. And speaking of waiting for your opponent
Speaker 3: to make mistakes, I mean Baltimore made plenty of mistakes
Speaker 3: in that game. And that's the reason why we're talking
Speaker 3: about this Bills team surviving and advancing.
Speaker 2: How impressed were you though.
Speaker 3: With the win that Buffalo had And I know it's
Speaker 3: a home game, but I don't know. I don't want
Speaker 3: to put words in your mouth, but I felt like
Speaker 3: you were viving with me a little bit, and you
Speaker 3: liked the Ravens in this matchup heading into the weekend.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I definitely thought the Ravens had a great chance
Speaker 4: to win, and they obviously did the way it played out,
Speaker 4: even even with the turnovers, even with the miss two
Speaker 4: point conversion. So you know, I don't know that this
Speaker 4: Buffalo win you put it up in the all time
Speaker 4: annals for its beauty and its level of dominance or
Speaker 4: anything like that. But again, you know, we kind of
Speaker 4: go back to what we said with the Chiefs, which
Speaker 4: is when your opponents make mistakes, you have to capitalize.
Speaker 4: They didn't on the interception. Interestingly, they didn't on the
Speaker 4: first possession of the second half, and they settle for
Speaker 4: the field goal kind of on the doorstep of the
Speaker 4: end zone. There was a really interesting call from Sean McDermott.
Speaker 5: I rode after the game.
Speaker 4: I thought, maybe this was a mistake, even though it
Speaker 4: worked out right, process over results and all that.
Speaker 5: So I don't know. I think they did what they
Speaker 5: had to do.
Speaker 4: I think there is some concern about that Buffalo defense,
Speaker 4: But they can play heavy and play tough in the
Speaker 4: run game.
Speaker 5: They can control the clock. You know, they'll go big personnel.
Speaker 4: They obviously saw what the Texans did running the football,
Speaker 4: and I think we'll try to mirror.
Speaker 5: Some of that in the game Sunday.
Speaker 4: But it really does boil down to what Josh Allen
Speaker 4: could do in those key moments. Will they loosen the
Speaker 4: belt a little bit and get more aggressive and let
Speaker 4: him kind of create and throw more vertically too. We
Speaker 4: didn't really see much of it after that first drive.
Speaker 3: Yeah, do you think a lot of that had to
Speaker 3: do with what their conditions, Because I'm with you, I
Speaker 3: thought we'd see some more explosive in this.
Speaker 4: Game weather conditions. You know, obviously the way Baltimore's cover him.
Speaker 4: You never want to sort of put the ball in
Speaker 4: near Kyle Hamilton anytime, you know he's sort of roaming
Speaker 4: a little bit. But yeah, also as the fact the
Speaker 4: Bills don't have quite the explosive weapons we're used to,
Speaker 4: some of the stuff is schemed up.
Speaker 5: Some of it is a response to what the Bills
Speaker 5: can do in the run game.
Speaker 4: So yeah, a lot of factors that I'll be just
Speaker 4: to see if the game playing changes at all, or
Speaker 4: if the game's script is any different against the Chiefs.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you've had a close eye on this Bills team
Speaker 3: the last couple of years. I look at this roster
Speaker 3: and I look at where they are right now.
Speaker 2: Do you see this team?
Speaker 3: Is maybe this the best chance to beat this Kansas
Speaker 3: City squad? And I will say maybe less about what
Speaker 3: Buffalo is because I think some of these rosters in
Speaker 3: previous years might have been better than this one. But
Speaker 3: from a team perspective, like they're winning games and this
Speaker 3: team might be better, but in conjunction with Kansas City
Speaker 3: maybe looking like there's like this much room for them
Speaker 3: to lose a game.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, I think it's an interesting point.
Speaker 4: You might argue that the thirteen seconds team at a
Speaker 4: better shock given the odds of trying to win that
Speaker 4: one a couple of years ago. Didn't work out, as
Speaker 4: we know. But to your point, they're so balanced and
Speaker 4: they can win in different ways. Even the defense can
Speaker 4: kind of take on different forms. But you know, we
Speaker 4: saw Sunday that, look, it doesn't have to be about
Speaker 4: Josh Allen airing it out and making all those crazy plays.
Speaker 4: And we talked about a minute ago that goal line
Speaker 4: possession where you know, the play before the decision to
Speaker 4: kick the field goal, Josh kind of turned around and
Speaker 4: almost looked like, Hey, I'm.
Speaker 5: Going to toss it back to Cook and maybe make
Speaker 5: a crazy play.
Speaker 4: Everyone in their mind saying, don't do it right, and
Speaker 4: I think the old Josh might have. But they don't
Speaker 4: kill themselves with turnovers, they don't kill themselves with sacks,
Speaker 4: and they have a defense that can take the football
Speaker 4: away from you. So from that perspective, that formula, and
Speaker 4: we've seen how much time of possession and turnover battle
Speaker 4: means in the playoffs so far. Yeah, that could say
Speaker 4: a lot on Sunday.
Speaker 3: As you see the trajectory of the Commanders. Back in
Speaker 3: week number two, you had them as the twenty ninth
Speaker 3: ranked team. There was a steady rise though they were
Speaker 3: seven and two. In week number nine they had won
Speaker 3: three straight games. You had them up to five, then
Speaker 3: it was eleven in week thirteen. In week eighteen, they'd
Speaker 3: fallen back a little bit into that eighth position, and
Speaker 3: then here we are, they are the third ranked team
Speaker 3: in the land. It is time for power Moves and
Speaker 3: it is presented by Energizer. Let's do a deeper dive
Speaker 3: on this Commander squad.
Speaker 2: Where do we begin here?
Speaker 3: Is it as simple as just going dude, they got
Speaker 3: Jaden Daniels moment doesn't seem too big for him. I
Speaker 3: can't get over that they beat the Lions, and by
Speaker 3: the way, not just win, win the way that they did.
Speaker 2: I mean it was essentially in all phases of the game.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, from that first stop on defense right the three
Speaker 4: and out to start the game, and then obviously coming
Speaker 4: down and starting what became an offensive flourish. I think
Speaker 4: you saw a team with no panic, a team that
Speaker 4: by that point had expected to be there and thought,
Speaker 4: let's outline the Lions right, let's take their game to them,
Speaker 4: you know, play action pass, Daniels evading pressure and also defensively, boy,
Speaker 4: getting after Jared Goff the way they did and obviously
Speaker 4: forcing him into some bad decisions too, was great. But
Speaker 4: it really obviously does start with what they do offensively.
Speaker 4: You know, multiple receivers who can help you out valued
Speaker 4: tight end and zach Ertz. You know, the offensive line,
Speaker 4: even without Samuel Cosmy that he gets to suffer to
Speaker 4: torn acl in that game, that's gonna be a big loss.
Speaker 4: But they're very multiple on offense. Cliff Kingsbury's designed this
Speaker 4: thing beautifully to parlay to the strengths of Daniels and
Speaker 4: you know, the defense, while shorthanded at times and with
Speaker 4: holes that we can obviously point to, I say they're
Speaker 4: doing a darn good job for what they have right now.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm not going to insult a Washington commander's fan
Speaker 3: base by saying can they win?
Speaker 2: They absolutely can win.
Speaker 3: There's gonna be another meeting, a third meeting against the
Speaker 3: Philadelphia squad that can happen. I should have started with this,
Speaker 3: especially coming off that trajectory of this team. But at
Speaker 3: what point did you say this was actually possible? Maybe
Speaker 3: you didn't, but was there a point this season where
Speaker 3: you said, yeah, playing in an NFC championship game, Washington,
Speaker 3: I buy it.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I don't know that I thought it then, but I
Speaker 4: remember watching the you know, the comebacks early in the
Speaker 4: season and watching them seemingly in control in these games,
Speaker 4: whether it was the Bengals game or the Bears game,
Speaker 4: or several others along the way. I thought, dan Quinn
Speaker 4: has these guys believing. You know, Adam Peters went out
Speaker 4: and got a ton of hungry veterans and young players
Speaker 4: who had yet to kind of be able to prove themselves,
Speaker 4: and I think they've all fit in really nicely. And again,
Speaker 4: there are some positions and spots on the roster where
Speaker 4: you say, okay, it's kind of tape together a little bit,
Speaker 4: some stuff to work on in the offseason. But at
Speaker 4: the same time, when you have a quarterback playing with
Speaker 4: this kind of confidence, and you have an offensive coordinator
Speaker 4: you know, fully locked in with his guy as well,
Speaker 4: and a coach who is just s aggressive as the
Speaker 4: Lions and anybody else out there, and the success rate
Speaker 4: is incredibly high, you know, I mean, you just saw
Speaker 4: it grow as the season went on. Again, the NFC
Speaker 4: was shaky enough for me to think, you know, even
Speaker 4: with fifteen win teams like the Lions and the Vikings
Speaker 4: having great regular seasons, you know, they had enough shakiness too,
Speaker 4: and to make me think that a wildcard team like
Speaker 4: the Bucks or the Commanders could come along and kind
Speaker 4: of spoil the party.
Speaker 5: A little bit.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm a fool, because I actually thought the Bucks
Speaker 3: were going to win.
Speaker 2: Between those teams most did what do what exactly?
Speaker 3: What do I know they will match up the Commanders
Speaker 3: that is against the Philadelphia Eagles, who do move up
Speaker 3: a spot they set fourth in the rankings. Right now,
Speaker 3: I know concerns about Jalen Hurts injury. This is a
Speaker 3: tough game. Rams had an opportunity late. I thought the Rams.
Speaker 3: Actually I had them picked on Sunday in on game
Speaker 3: day preview, I have picked the Rams. So once again,
Speaker 3: clearly don't know what I'm talking about here, but make
Speaker 3: the case from a Philadelphia perspective that they will handle
Speaker 3: business and get back to a Super Bowl.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I think the Hurts concern is real, but at the
Speaker 4: same time, it sounds like they're preparing for him to
Speaker 4: start on Sunday, and you know, I think it would
Speaker 4: take a lot or another injury in the game to
Speaker 4: knock him out, So I do expect him out there.
Speaker 4: Quinyon Mitchell obviously, you know his shoulder, We got to
Speaker 4: see what shape he's in. But sounds like he might
Speaker 4: be on the track towards playing too. So that's a
Speaker 4: you know, two elements of good news. They beat the
Speaker 4: Commanders in Philadelphia. Granted, I think this Commander's team has
Speaker 4: come a long way since then and kind of learned
Speaker 4: a lot about themselves and You know, they obviously beat
Speaker 4: the Eagles in Washington, so they at the two games.
Speaker 4: This one's in Philly. You'd like to think that the
Speaker 4: home team has a little edge there. Maybe the snow
Speaker 4: comes back, the cold weather stays and they gained some
Speaker 4: kind of advantage from that. But I think it really
Speaker 4: has to do with It's got to start with Jalen
Speaker 4: Carter in that front up. You know, Nolan Smith too
Speaker 4: has kind of come on, Zach Bond's had a great season.
Speaker 4: All these guys creating pressure from different angles, and I
Speaker 4: think avoiding sacks. On the other side, Jalen Hurts has
Speaker 4: been guilty of taking sacks, not always the offensive lines fault.
Speaker 4: So we've got to see that number come down and
Speaker 4: the pressure for the Eagles come up. Yes, Saquon Barkley
Speaker 4: can can rescue you from some bad situations, as he
Speaker 4: did Sunday, but you'd like to not have to rely
Speaker 4: on him to, you know, sort of sit around and wait, win,
Speaker 4: is Saquon gonna save us here? So finding other sources
Speaker 4: of offense, including aj Brown.
Speaker 5: You know, he made a.
Speaker 4: Big catch Sunday on fourth down, but he's got to
Speaker 4: be more involved in the game plan.
Speaker 5: The chemistry with Hurts has got to be better.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there is a plethora of options there. It's been
Speaker 3: a steady dose of Saquon. Here's what concerns me from
Speaker 3: a Washington defensive perspective. The Rams looked like a better
Speaker 3: defense coming off of the loss that they had.
Speaker 2: In Week twelve against Philadelphia.
Speaker 3: They knew the game plan right, Like they let Saquan
Speaker 3: go for three hundred scrimmage yards in that first meeting.
Speaker 2: He ran for two to fifty five. You got to
Speaker 2: stop him. He ran for two five in this game.
Speaker 3: I mean, if that doesn't tell you how talented Saquan is,
Speaker 3: knowing that he was going to be the defensive game
Speaker 3: plan and he still.
Speaker 2: Balled out, I don't know.
Speaker 3: I mean that's the reason why I'm like, you know,
Speaker 3: if Jalen's still hurt, like all right, good luck, still
Speaker 3: try to stop this dude.
Speaker 5: He is going to be the X factor, no doubt
Speaker 5: about it. I mean, obviously there's no way to ignore it.
Speaker 4: He's been an amazing upgrade for them in the backfield,
Speaker 4: a perfect fit for what they want to do offensively,
Speaker 4: can run inside, outside with power, with finesse, make people miss.
Speaker 4: You know, when you get him in space. That's really
Speaker 4: where the magic happens. And you know, he can hit
Speaker 4: a ton of singles or foul the ball off, or
Speaker 4: you know, not have many greater at bats, and then
Speaker 4: all of a sudden, that home run is just sitting there.
Speaker 5: Again.
Speaker 4: Like you said, I never would have imagined he'd have
Speaker 4: two long bombs in this game against the Rams after
Speaker 4: what he did to him the first time. But sometimes
Speaker 4: the great players can just sort of will their way
Speaker 4: into the end zone in those situations.
Speaker 3: God, and he certainly one of the premier players in
Speaker 3: the NFL. Eric, too, your top four teams they went
Speaker 3: down over the weekend. Still to come here on NFL
Speaker 3: Power Rankings. The fallout of the weekend and where those
Speaker 3: organizations go. That's next, back here on power rankings, teams
Speaker 3: five through eight. Oh, the season that was supposed to
Speaker 3: be for the Detroit Lions, who dropped three spots into
Speaker 3: that fifth position. I once again thought the Ravens were
Speaker 3: the best team in the NFL. Best roster.
Speaker 2: They lose. They dropped two spots to six.
Speaker 3: You got the Rams at seven and the Houston Texans
Speaker 3: at eight. All right, Eric, when it comes to the Lions,
Speaker 3: this was a team that I think candidly a lot
Speaker 3: of people thought were going to be pretty good this year.
Speaker 3: They've been sort of like the darlings of the NFL.
Speaker 3: Now all of a sudden, they're going to have the
Speaker 3: same situation happened to them that the Eagles did a
Speaker 3: few years The only difference was that Philly team got
Speaker 3: to the Super Bowl. They're likely going to lose their
Speaker 3: coordinators here, right, I mean Ben Johnson already talking about
Speaker 3: him a lot of reports accepting that job with the
Speaker 3: Chicago Bears.
Speaker 2: How difficult will it be for them to.
Speaker 3: Get back to this point and then get over the hump,
Speaker 3: play for a championship, then play for a super Bowl.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you make an excellent point drawing the comparison to
Speaker 4: the Eagles a couple of years ago when they had
Speaker 4: a monster of a team and then they nearly took
Speaker 4: down the Chiefs and the Super Bowl and then had
Speaker 4: to replace both their their talented coordinators getting head coaching jobs.
Speaker 5: So that very well could be the case.
Speaker 4: Obviously, Ben Johnson going in the division, having all the
Speaker 4: house secrets and having Caleb Williams, We'll see what can
Speaker 4: happen there. But you know, the core of this Lions
Speaker 4: team is expected to be back, including a lot of
Speaker 4: those defensive players, Aiden Hutchinson, the guys in the secondary,
Speaker 4: other members of the defensive front. They're all coming back.
Speaker 4: You know, players like Jamison Williams still should be very
Speaker 4: much in the peak of their career, you know, Jamiir Gibbs,
Speaker 4: Sam Laporta, etc.
Speaker 5: So the parts are still there.
Speaker 4: But as we know, the wrong coordinator hire, you know,
Speaker 4: you know, hiring somebody or elevating that position prematurely or
Speaker 4: not have a big vision for what they want to do,
Speaker 4: not having their own identity, trying to be too much
Speaker 4: like the last guy. There are so many trapdoors for
Speaker 4: these coaches who get elevated to these positions that you know,
Speaker 4: it could obviously erase an entire season. So, like you said,
Speaker 4: there's no guarantee that this Lions team healthy in the
Speaker 4: off season. Maybe Avin Addings the pieces is going to
Speaker 4: be back at the same place. So Dan Campbell has
Speaker 4: said it the last couple of years when they've lost
Speaker 4: in the playoffs, you know, we're probably never going.
Speaker 5: To live this down.
Speaker 4: And you don't know how big these opportunities are until
Speaker 4: they're gone. So you know, I know I'm paraphrasing there,
Speaker 4: but I think Campbell kind of touched on something the
Speaker 4: Lions fans feel, which is, I'd like to think we're
Speaker 4: going to be here for a while, but you never
Speaker 4: actually know how it's going to play out.
Speaker 2: I heard some of his comments after the game at
Speaker 2: the podium. Dude was devastating.
Speaker 3: You could hear it in his voice, you see it
Speaker 3: in his face. Coordinators are side.
Speaker 2: I'll say this.
Speaker 3: Aiden Hutchinson, before the injury, could have made an argument
Speaker 3: was on pace to be the defensive player of the Year.
Speaker 3: I don't know what he is coming off the injury
Speaker 3: next season, but if there's one one focal point roster
Speaker 3: wise this offseason, Eric, what do you think helps this team.
Speaker 4: I think adding obviously, you know, as a reaction to
Speaker 4: what happened this year where they just had waves of
Speaker 4: injuries on defense, and having just another layer of depth.
Speaker 4: Plus you know, all those other guys who didn't play
Speaker 4: a lot this year, like Nnis Rakestraw going to have
Speaker 4: another year of experience. So I think just sort of
Speaker 4: adding and bolstering each layer of the defense. Guys like
Speaker 4: Alexanzeloni are terrific players, but they've been injured a lot
Speaker 4: of their careers, so you know, those are the kind
Speaker 4: of guys.
Speaker 5: Even with Derek.
Speaker 4: Barnes and whatnot coming back, you still have to buttress
Speaker 4: that with some depth and then offensively too, you know,
Speaker 4: o line depth, adding more receiving threats, and you know,
Speaker 4: deciding whether you have Henon.
Speaker 5: Hooker as your quarterback of the future.
Speaker 4: Obviously, we saw Teddy Bridgewater come into the game when
Speaker 4: the when goff left the playoff game against the Commanders,
Speaker 4: So you know, does Hooker still tracked towards being Golf's
Speaker 4: successor one day or at least his backup. You know,
Speaker 4: those are questions to Brad Holmes and his staff have
Speaker 4: to answer.
Speaker 3: Okay, I guess we'll start with that same question then
Speaker 3: of the Baltimore Ravens, because I feel like I'm beating
Speaker 3: a dead horse.
Speaker 2: I really did think they had the.
Speaker 3: Best roster in the NFL, so dominant, thought they would
Speaker 3: get back to a championship game. We were going to
Speaker 3: be looking at them in Kansas City, and I thought
Speaker 3: because of Derek Henry, they'd get over the top here.
Speaker 2: This roster was terrific.
Speaker 3: They were dominant, They figured out their defensive issues, turnovers
Speaker 3: obviously a huge issue in this loss. But with plan
Speaker 3: A now in this offseason for this team.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's a good question, right, especially after sort of
Speaker 4: going away from Derrick Henry in the fourth quarter only
Speaker 4: those two back to back carries. You know, they came
Speaker 4: up short on the first down there. I mean, I
Speaker 4: thought they might go to him a little bit more.
Speaker 4: Is he's still going to have the same sort of
Speaker 4: workload next year that he did this year or did
Speaker 4: they want to help him out? Obviously Justice Hill's still there.
Speaker 4: You know, they like some of their other young backs.
Speaker 4: They're developing too. But I would have to imagine offensive line.
Speaker 4: Ronnie Stanley's a free agent, Patrick McCarry, you know, other
Speaker 4: guys that you know could have options. You know, build
Speaker 4: around Lindarbaum and that center and try to go outward,
Speaker 4: find some tackle solutions on defense, get more edge pressure,
Speaker 4: you know, obviously keep adding to the secondary as well.
Speaker 4: So yeah, I would say more depth on both trenches
Speaker 4: has to be an issue. And you know, Justin Tucker
Speaker 4: was not a problem down the stretch, but during the
Speaker 4: year there were stretches when he was not the Justin
Speaker 4: Tucker we've come to know. So may there be a
Speaker 4: kicking competition too. I wouldn't be shocked if they brought
Speaker 4: another leg, a young guy, and you know, see if
Speaker 4: that's going to be a problem next year or not.
Speaker 3: Meanwhile, the Rams at seven, damn man, they were right there,
Speaker 3: had an opportunity. I thought, coming off that Lea Saque touchdown,
Speaker 3: it's a wrap game over and they still have a
Speaker 3: chance in the snow and now with a sudden I
Speaker 3: look to next season.
Speaker 2: There's questions about Matthew Stafford.
Speaker 3: I remember being around this team in August and Stafford's
Speaker 3: contract was an issue.
Speaker 2: They worked it out. He was in camp and was all,
Speaker 2: well and good.
Speaker 3: This team is too good in terms of a young
Speaker 3: roster not to bring him back and figure that out.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean a couple years ago, Hey, we were
Speaker 4: talking about maybe Sean McVay retiring, Aaron Donald, you retiring
Speaker 4: a year before he ended up hanging.
Speaker 5: Up the cleats.
Speaker 4: So you know, I'm not saying that Stafford's sort of
Speaker 4: milking the moment or you know, anything like that. I
Speaker 4: think he probably needs a little reflection, But his comments
Speaker 4: after the game seemed to suggest he had some football
Speaker 4: left in him, and I think the Rams, you know,
Speaker 4: certainly would accommodate him being back, and the trigger man
Speaker 4: in this offense at times looked very very good. Turn
Speaker 4: on the Buffalo tape, you can see them at their
Speaker 4: very best, I think, But you know, those two fourth
Speaker 4: quarter turnovers were obviously killers. And you know Kyron Williams
Speaker 4: so reliable this season as both a runner, you know,
Speaker 4: receiver pass protector for that matter. Putting along on the turf,
Speaker 4: you could see his look on his face. Same thing
Speaker 4: with Stafford after his So you know, those were big plays.
Speaker 4: I mean, the safety helped kind of change momentum a
Speaker 4: little bit and get him back in the game. And
Speaker 4: that pass rush was ferocious in both playoff games.
Speaker 5: But so there's a lot to like about him.
Speaker 4: I think adding to that secondary is going to be
Speaker 4: a key offseason priority and finding run stuffers. You can't
Speaker 4: let guys like Saquon Barkley continue to gash you over
Speaker 4: because the best teams, I think are starting to realize
Speaker 4: the run game is cycling back into the NFL for
Speaker 4: a reason against these these lighter fronts and.
Speaker 5: These nickel packages.
Speaker 4: So that's got to be something that Kris Shule and
Speaker 4: the Rams have to figure out this offseason. But the
Speaker 4: Stafford question obviously the one that hangs over everything.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and that team, by the way, has done a
Speaker 3: tremendous job the last two years in the draft. You
Speaker 3: look at their first and second er players and the
Speaker 3: massive contributions that they're making. So I think if you're
Speaker 3: a Rams fan, you get Stafford back, you feel good
Speaker 3: about the draft. You'll find some gems because there's now
Speaker 3: a track record of doing so, and you got to
Speaker 3: feel cautiously optimistic that this team could be right back
Speaker 3: in the mix this upcoming season. The Houston Texans, speaking
Speaker 3: of the draft two years ago, you're going really like,
Speaker 3: this is this is this is a squad that now,
Speaker 3: heading into this current season that we're in, you felt
Speaker 3: like could make a run to a Super Bowl. I
Speaker 3: mean that's what the hype was around CJ. Stroud And
Speaker 3: they didn't play great football during the course of the year.
Speaker 3: I thought they played well late, especially from what we've
Speaker 3: seen in this postseason, Like, what is this team? Are
Speaker 3: they a team that next year, bringing back most of
Speaker 3: their roster you feel good about can get back to
Speaker 3: this point and maybe learn some of these learn something
Speaker 3: from some of these tough losses, or there's got to
Speaker 3: be some changes in terms of personnel, and maybe it's
Speaker 3: a depth question that will potentially carry them and put
Speaker 3: them over the top.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think it's a fair question.
Speaker 4: I mean, they were, like you said, they were levy
Speaker 4: with such big expectations after you know, their playoff run
Speaker 4: and their season last year, and I think we may
Speaker 4: have kind of overgraduated them early in the year.
Speaker 5: I was a little hesitant.
Speaker 4: I did bump them up into my top five earlier
Speaker 4: this season, mostly because there wasn't really much a clarity
Speaker 4: up top, So I think I also kind of pushed
Speaker 4: them ahead of where they deserve to be this year.
Speaker 4: But you're right too, they did seem to kind of
Speaker 4: turn the corner there when I don't know if all
Speaker 4: hope was lost, but externally, a lot of people had
Speaker 4: their doubts about.
Speaker 5: This team, but Dimico Ryans has done a great job.
Speaker 2: C J.
Speaker 5: Stroud went through his share of struggles. I was tough
Speaker 5: on them.
Speaker 4: Other people were too, Bobby Sloweck, you know, heard plenty
Speaker 4: from the radio guys and whatnot. But I think by
Speaker 4: the end of the season you at least saw the
Speaker 4: arrow pointing back upward, and they played as well as
Speaker 4: they probably could have, you know, miskicks and a few
Speaker 4: other penalties aside. But yeah, I'd like to obviously see
Speaker 4: them find some solutions at receiver and Ego Collins is great,
Speaker 4: John Metchi might be a nice complimentary part. But one
Speaker 4: more guy and I'm not sure it's Stefan Diggs with
Speaker 4: him heading to free agency. But for years we've been
Speaker 4: talking about the offensive line. That unit has to come
Speaker 4: together a little bit better defensively. Still, I think a
Speaker 4: few pieces short of being that top ten unit, or
Speaker 4: at least the borderline top ten unit, that you probably
Speaker 4: need to take that extra step.
Speaker 5: So there's still a lot of promising developments.
Speaker 4: I'm not giving up on Stroud, and I think the
Speaker 4: future is mostly bright for them, you know, even while
Speaker 4: admitting that they still have room to improve.
Speaker 5: No doubt about it.
Speaker 3: This is a Houston squad once again that figured out
Speaker 3: a way to flip the switch.
Speaker 2: I thought late that concerns me. I like the teams
Speaker 2: that are just killers no matter what the situation.
Speaker 3: And maybe I just pointed maybe the answer is as
Speaker 3: simple as hey, they were banged up, had some significant
Speaker 3: injuries during the year, and maybe it solves itself. But
Speaker 3: can't wait to see what this offense looks like next
Speaker 3: season as well, because I do think a lot of
Speaker 3: us and it's probably too early to get your top
Speaker 3: ten for next year, but I got to imagine, you know,
Speaker 3: as the off season shakes out, you're still probably going
Speaker 3: to have them sitting pretty close to the eighth position,
Speaker 3: which is where they are right now.
Speaker 2: Eric, you're the best man. Always good to work with you.
Speaker 3: Next week a special edition of NFL Power Rankings. It's
Speaker 3: a road show kind of both of us will both
Speaker 3: be on the roads East West s ran.
Speaker 2: Bold Senior Bowl for you.
Speaker 3: We will do the show, take it through championship. We
Speaker 3: can get complete reaction and preview the Super Bowl. Looking
Speaker 3: forward to it. Eric Safe Travels will do it again
Speaker 3: next week.
Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
Speaker 1: partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.