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Speaker 2: It's the Playoffs. Everybody, Welcome to the wild Card Weekend.
Speaker 2: Hold on Eric at Holme. Let me rephrase that the
Speaker 2: Super wild Card Weekend edition of the NFL Power Ranking Show,
Speaker 2: presented to you by energizer Ericas in Chicago. I am
Speaker 2: here in our studios in Los Angeles, ERAIC. Happy playoffs
Speaker 2: to you, and congratulations. I want a round of applause
Speaker 2: here for you. Because your top fourteen teams are all
Speaker 2: the playoff teams. You could have really mixed it up
Speaker 2: and thrown at a team that didn't get in, like
Speaker 2: the Seahawks maybe or the Jaguars, and put them in
Speaker 2: your top fourteen. You didn't do it.
Speaker 3: I thought about it.
Speaker 4: I really did, but I actually thought about it going
Speaker 4: into Week eighteen, but nobody really blew me away. I
Speaker 4: would have done it the Saints, but Dennis Allen had
Speaker 4: a little postgame issue.
Speaker 3: I just couldn't do it after that.
Speaker 2: Dennis Allen, as we tape this on Tuesdays, Tilly much
Speaker 2: to the coach of the Saints, and he still his
Speaker 2: ears are probably ringing. After Arthur Smith, who was subsequently fired.
Speaker 2: Cust him out a little bit at midfield. All right,
Speaker 2: scan the thing on the screen, the QR code on
Speaker 2: the screen right there. Go to NFL dot com and
Speaker 2: get Eric's updated power rankings. The Ravens of the Niners
Speaker 2: do not move. They are one and two. The Cowboys
Speaker 2: do the job in Washington and Ron Rivera's final game.
Speaker 2: They do not move. They are three Bills up two
Speaker 2: to four. Lion stain pat at five. Browns don't play
Speaker 2: anybody lose in Cincinnati, go up one. Chiefs win in
Speaker 2: La go up one. Dolphin's plummet like the temperatures in
Speaker 2: Kansas City on Saturday, and go down four. Eh. We
Speaker 2: don't need to talk about the Ravens and the Niners,
Speaker 2: do we Okay, good, we skipped him. Eric. Let's talk
Speaker 2: about the Dallas Cowboys. They are still number three. I
Speaker 2: get it, they shouldn't be moving. But as you sit
Speaker 2: here with plenty of people thinking the Packers are going
Speaker 2: to win in Dallas this weekend, you really think they're
Speaker 2: the third best team in football.
Speaker 4: As I've said for several weeks now, I really feel
Speaker 4: like you could argue the Ravens are on their own
Speaker 4: level by themselves, But I think the Ravens and Niners.
Speaker 4: I put them on one tier and three through about
Speaker 4: ten or eleven. I would say, jumble them up in
Speaker 4: a bag and roll them out there. Pick your favorite order. Look,
Speaker 4: I mean, I get it why people are doubting the Cowboys.
Speaker 4: There's certainly some holes you could poke in this team.
Speaker 4: This matchup may not be that great. Green Bay rolling
Speaker 4: in with a ton of confidence, Jordan Love playing some
Speaker 4: of his best ball down the stretch, and you know
Speaker 4: there's pressure on Dallas, not just McCarthy facing his old team,
Speaker 4: but also Dan quayn. It could be his last game
Speaker 4: with the club if they don't win. A lot of
Speaker 4: head coaching interest once again in his services. So yeah,
Speaker 4: I mean, there are a lot of arrows that point
Speaker 4: in Green Bay's direction. But Dallas still does have that
Speaker 4: sixteen game home winning streat. Couple of them mid close,
Speaker 4: but they typically take care of business at home. And
Speaker 4: I do feel like Dak Prescott his figure out last
Speaker 4: year's issue and had a terrific season.
Speaker 2: Let's not sugarcoat it. There are great storylines in every game,
Speaker 2: great drama in every game. Well, when Jerry Jones says,
Speaker 2: let's see how it goes in the postseason. I mean,
Speaker 2: there's a chance this is Mike McCarthy's last game. Now.
Speaker 2: I'm not predicting doom and gloom here, although I do
Speaker 2: think the Packers can eat and win this game. But Eric,
Speaker 2: imagine if the Packers win this game, Yeah, oh, there
Speaker 2: could be profound impact on Dallas's situation.
Speaker 4: Do they chase one of these big name coaches that
Speaker 4: are rumored to be on the market possibly moving this
Speaker 4: offseason now, Jim Harbabo, maybe Bill Belichick, who knows right,
Speaker 4: anything is possible with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. But
Speaker 4: McCarthy has done a lot, especially this season, I think
Speaker 4: to solidify as standing. But them in Philly, I would say,
Speaker 4: are two teams that have to be you're awfully careful
Speaker 4: in the playoffs.
Speaker 2: And that game is the four thirty Eastern Time game,
Speaker 2: a Fox game Sunday, the middle game on Super wild
Speaker 2: Card weekend. On Sunday, Let's talk about the Bills here,
Speaker 2: because Buffalo is the early kick on Sunday. They're at home.
Speaker 2: They get the Steelers. They did the thing despite all
Speaker 2: the Josh Allen first half turnovers in Miami, and they
Speaker 2: are the two seed in the AFC. I'm gonna play
Speaker 2: the hypothetical game, Eric, what if the Jaguars had won
Speaker 2: earlier in the day, and what if the Dolphins had won?
Speaker 2: Would the Bills be in your top fourteen? Missing the playoffs?
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's probably the one team had they somehow not
Speaker 4: made it, had the formula worked against them and they
Speaker 4: didn't squeeze in, they were probably the one team that
Speaker 4: I referenced the top that I would have considered putting
Speaker 4: in there.
Speaker 3: Now I've slow rolled them a little bit.
Speaker 4: I'm not you know, some other power ranking artists out there,
Speaker 4: we're putting them up at three, four, even two. I
Speaker 4: saw at one point after their their late season push there,
Speaker 4: I played it a little slower. But as time has
Speaker 4: gone on, I've kind of grown to appreciate the fact
Speaker 4: that you have to embrace the chaos a little bit
Speaker 4: with them, right, you have to understand Josh Allen can
Speaker 4: dig you in a hole and then dig.
Speaker 3: Yourself out pretty quickly.
Speaker 4: So, uh, it's it's not for everybody, but their style
Speaker 4: can cause a lot of problems for opponents, and including
Speaker 4: this weekend, starting with the Steelers.
Speaker 2: You're with me, right, The Steelers aren't winning this game. Agree.
Speaker 3: I have a hard time seeing that, Yeah, I really do.
Speaker 2: I can't see the Steelers winning this game. They're they're
Speaker 2: gonna go with Mason Rudolph, Okay, I mean they should
Speaker 2: imagine going back to July and hearing Mike Tomlin choosing
Speaker 2: in the year the backup quarterback to go with his
Speaker 2: number three quarterback in a playoff game on the road
Speaker 2: wild card weekend. It is just nuts And TJ. Watt
Speaker 2: is confirmed he is out for this game, week number
Speaker 2: one of the postseason. We have the Lions at number five,
Speaker 2: same as last week, and again the injuries are big here.
Speaker 2: As of our tamping Tuesday afternoon. I am telling you
Speaker 2: there is a chance somehow that Sam Laforta plays Sunday
Speaker 2: night against the Rams.
Speaker 4: Straight from the words from the mouth of Dan Campbell, right,
Speaker 4: I mean obviously, and you're in your mouth too. I
Speaker 4: mean everybody's saying, hey, there is a chance.
Speaker 3: But I think they have to count on.
Speaker 4: Life without him in this game and be pleasantly surprised
Speaker 4: if he does play, He's not going to probably be
Speaker 4: one hundred percent. Laporta, which was arguably one of the
Speaker 4: two or three best tight ends in terms of catching
Speaker 4: the ball this season. So that and Khalif Raymond their
Speaker 4: their top punt returner, sneaky little weapon on offense. And
Speaker 4: Jamison Williams has been banged up. He sat out last
Speaker 4: week too, So what I don't know? I mean, I
Speaker 4: I really you talked about the Packers going into Dallas.
Speaker 4: I really think the Rams, even with their kicking issues,
Speaker 4: come into this game with a lot of confidence. Detroit's
Speaker 4: got to be awfully careful in this one. It's not
Speaker 4: just a Laporta injury, but they're gonna have their hands
Speaker 4: full in this one, and that injury timing isn't great
Speaker 4: at all.
Speaker 2: Yeah, speaking from a Rams perspective and full disclosure disclosure,
Speaker 2: I do get a paycheck from them in the preseason
Speaker 2: doing their preseason games and television here in LA have
Speaker 2: done that for a long long time. I would rather
Speaker 2: go to Detroit, knowing it is not an easy place
Speaker 2: to play in any way at all, then go to Dallas,
Speaker 2: a team that pasted the Rams six weeks ago before
Speaker 2: they went on the run they're they're on right now.
Speaker 2: This is I believe the first time in playoff history
Speaker 2: we've had two quarterbacks facing their former teams in the
Speaker 2: same game in the postseason, the fact that they were
Speaker 2: traded for each other, the fact that Sean McVay soured
Speaker 2: on Jared and traded him. He was just done with
Speaker 2: him and got Stafford back, and then one and then
Speaker 2: Jared has this resurrection here playing great for Brad Holmes
Speaker 2: and Dan Campbell. You can't ask for anything better. You can't.
Speaker 2: I mean, this is why we are here. And I
Speaker 2: do think the Rams, with Kyerman Williams running as well
Speaker 2: as he has been of late and the health of
Speaker 2: their offensive line, have a really good shot at this one.
Speaker 2: I also think the Browns have a good shot at
Speaker 2: going into Houston eric and beating the Texans. You have
Speaker 2: the Browns here at number six, You have the Texans
Speaker 2: at number nine. Will reveal them a little bit later here.
Speaker 2: But Cleveland, and this is big, is not gonna have
Speaker 2: Dustin Hopkins, the Houston native and the best kicker from
Speaker 2: my money in the NFL this year. Riley Patterson's going
Speaker 2: to kick it. Oh yeah, by the way, c J.
Speaker 2: Stroud's a quarterbacking well, which didn't happen on Christmas Eve.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that tiny little detail does matter.
Speaker 4: I mean, obviously, you look at the score and it
Speaker 4: was what thirty six to seven with about twelve minutes
Speaker 4: left or whatever, so you know, completely dominant performance on
Speaker 4: the road by Cleveland. The Stroud factor absolutely played into
Speaker 4: that one.
Speaker 3: And he's so competitive.
Speaker 4: We've seen in the last couple of weeks come back
Speaker 4: from the concussion that caused him to miss two games, and.
Speaker 3: You know, he's terrific. So he's been back in his
Speaker 3: groove again.
Speaker 4: I know he doesn't have his full cast of receivers,
Speaker 4: but Eco Collins looked like a wide receiver one last week.
Speaker 4: You know, they have some other complimentary guys who can
Speaker 4: help out. I know it's a great defense that Cleveland has,
Speaker 4: but I think Stroud will make a huge impact on
Speaker 4: this game. The confidence with which he threw last week
Speaker 4: against the Colts was tangible, and I think he'll go
Speaker 4: into the playoffs with a atypical rookie perspective. He's a
Speaker 4: season vet by this point as far as I'm in Cleveland.
Speaker 2: Kevin Stefanski had the veterans on the team that have
Speaker 2: been in the postseason, and many including Miles Garrett, were
Speaker 2: on this team in twenty twenty when they won in
Speaker 2: Pittsburgh in the COVID year or win a super Bowl
Speaker 2: like Joe Flacco. Obviously we know what he did a
Speaker 2: decade ago in New Orleans for the Ravens. Stand up
Speaker 2: and speak to the team and explain. Because the Browns
Speaker 2: mantra under Stefanski is one to oh every week. How
Speaker 2: you translate one and oh every week into a playoff environment.
Speaker 2: The Browns are an eleven win wild card team needing
Speaker 2: to go on the road against a team they pasted
Speaker 2: the night before Christmas. But this, as you said, is
Speaker 2: a very very different team as it is a very
Speaker 2: different team in Kansas City than we've seen in years past.
Speaker 2: Eighth consecutive division title in the AFC West for Andy
Speaker 2: Reid and Patrick Mahomes. But this team goes in as
Speaker 2: the four seed or the three seed of Begger Pardon
Speaker 2: against the six seed Dolphins, who are all kinds of
Speaker 2: banged up. This is the seven against the eight in
Speaker 2: your wild card power rankings. It's also a rematch eric
Speaker 2: from a game in Germany in which two had a
Speaker 2: chance at the end but they botched a shotgun snap
Speaker 2: driving to try to tie a game.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that was That was a strange and fun game
Speaker 4: over in Frankfurt, and I think it told us a
Speaker 4: lot about those teams. And you know, obviously they started
Speaker 4: the season and got into the season with reputations of
Speaker 4: being these explosive.
Speaker 3: You know, big play machines.
Speaker 4: But as it worked out that way, especially recently, so
Speaker 4: I'll be curious. You know, we talked about the Texans
Speaker 4: and Browns having played previously. I'm wondering whether the Germany
Speaker 4: game between Miami and Kansas City actually may be closer
Speaker 4: to what we see on Sunday, which is, you know,
Speaker 4: a one possession game, a close game, kind of a
Speaker 4: lower scoring game that you know, one or two turnovers,
Speaker 4: one or two crucial mistakes could end up tilting this thing.
Speaker 4: And oh, by the way, there's the slightly wintry conditions
Speaker 4: that are a little bit different from what Miami is
Speaker 4: going to be experiencing in practice this week.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that may affect the outcome someway slightly.
Speaker 2: It was cold that day in Germany, by the way,
Speaker 2: but we're talking to us in the forties, not in
Speaker 2: the negative temperature range, and it might be with the Windshiel,
Speaker 2: negative temperatures like below zero. English Andrew coming up Saturday
Speaker 2: evening exclusively on a frozen peacock like we're talking five
Speaker 2: degrees and five below with the wind. Mike McDaniel said,
Speaker 2: remember last year we won it colder, you're getting it buddy.
Speaker 2: Coming up next, What if I told you the Texans
Speaker 2: and Rams were top ten teams? No truly? Yeah, go
Speaker 2: back and put that headline in July. That's coming up
Speaker 2: on the Power Ranking Show presented by Energizer. You're watching
Speaker 2: to get a power ranking show. We are presented to
Speaker 2: you by Energizer. What a job Demiko Ryans and Nick
Speaker 2: Nick Cassario have done. CJ. Strat, I mean everyone there.
Speaker 2: Bobby Slock, the Houston Texans as we enter Super wild
Speaker 2: Card weekend are the number nineteen this week on Eric
Speaker 2: at Holmes Power Rankings. Same goes for Lessened and Sean McVay.
Speaker 2: The Rams are ten. The Eagles have plummeted two more spots.
Speaker 2: They're out of the top ten at eleven. The Buccaneers,
Speaker 2: the Packers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers round out. You're fourteen
Speaker 2: playoff teams. I cannot wait, And you guys know I'm
Speaker 2: a Browns fan, Eric. I cannot wait to see c. J. Stroud.
Speaker 2: As a Browns fan, I would have rather faced Jacksonville
Speaker 2: I would have rather faced Indianapolis teams. The Browns also
Speaker 2: beat They beat the Texans with case Keenum. This is different.
Speaker 3: I agree.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I was saying to myself, I don't know which
Speaker 4: scenario I'm rooting for because I don't really have a favorite.
Speaker 4: I don't I'm not a fan in this situation. But
Speaker 4: do I want Joe Flacko potentially to play the Ravens.
Speaker 3: You know what a cool game that would be. I
Speaker 3: just want to see more of Stroud. I'm selfish like that.
Speaker 4: And we see here here hitting the Nico K last
Speaker 4: week on the first play of the game. He was
Speaker 4: in control from start to finish. I really think this
Speaker 4: Browns defense hasn't you know, faced quite this kind of
Speaker 4: challenge this year, but we know how good they are
Speaker 4: on that side of the ball. Fascinating to see also
Speaker 4: how Texans defense does and you know, didn't really have
Speaker 4: much luck in the secondary against Flacco last time out,
Speaker 4: and you know, have some injuries they're dealing with. But yeah,
Speaker 4: this is a This is a really interesting game. I
Speaker 4: think between these two teams. And Willie Anderson Junior has
Speaker 4: been great this season, but he's one of those players
Speaker 4: dealing with injury right now, how much can they get
Speaker 4: out of him in that pass rush?
Speaker 2: It would also help him immensely. Of Jonathan Grenard, who
Speaker 2: was injured in the Week sixteen win over the Brown
Speaker 2: early left has not played since if he would be
Speaker 2: back for that pass rush as well. But as we
Speaker 2: see CJ here in the final minutes on Saturday evening
Speaker 2: walking off the field knowing they get in, I'm thinking
Speaker 2: back to an interview I did with him a Super
Speaker 2: Bowl week where I said, and it was the question,
Speaker 2: de jore, then, CJ, are we going to see the
Speaker 2: guy we saw in the college football playoff? Right? That
Speaker 2: guy against Georgia? That guy? When do we see that guy?
Speaker 2: Can we get him in the NFL? It's like, yeah,
Speaker 2: I can do that, of course. That that is me.
Speaker 2: It wasn't just an anomaly, man. I mean, forget about
Speaker 2: the S two score. Like, we're getting the guy we
Speaker 2: saw in the playoff every single week and now this
Speaker 2: is the NFL playoffs. Yeah, yep, sign me up for
Speaker 2: that one, and sign me up for the Rams. As
Speaker 2: I mentioned earlier, the number ten team in your new rankings,
Speaker 2: Eric going into Detroit to face old friend Jared Goff.
Speaker 2: You can't stay it up about the job that McVeigh,
Speaker 2: that less need, that Matthew Stafford, that Raheem Morris have
Speaker 2: done for this group this year.
Speaker 3: It's been a number of players obviously who've stepped up.
Speaker 4: You know, Kyraen Williams started great, thing, gets hurt, he's
Speaker 4: back in the line up playing terrific. You know, DeMarcus
Speaker 4: Robinson stepped up late in the season. Poka Nakua comes
Speaker 4: out of nowhere. You know, Cooper cut missed a big chunk.
Speaker 4: Stafford had an injury that derailed his season a little
Speaker 4: bit too. You know, the offensive line coming in this year,
Speaker 4: there were questions, so all these things, so are all
Speaker 4: the issues that face them. They found solutions for them.
Speaker 4: They've changed their identity a little bit with the run game.
Speaker 4: You know, they haven't stayed true to mcvay's character, but
Speaker 4: you know that's a testament to his coaching ability to say, hey,
Speaker 4: we'll do whatever it takes to win, and we'll put
Speaker 4: some of these unlikely characters.
Speaker 3: In roles that you know, other people might not have
Speaker 3: envisioned them in. But it's working. It's terrific.
Speaker 4: I think they're going to stress the heck out of
Speaker 4: the Detroit secondary. You know, the Lions pass rush hasn't
Speaker 4: been that great unless it's Aden Hutchinson getting there.
Speaker 3: James Houston still not back.
Speaker 4: So if they give Stafford time, I really think he's
Speaker 4: gonna have a big game. And I think he has
Speaker 4: nothing to do with the fact that he used to
Speaker 4: play there, Although what greater motivation is there than, you know,
Speaker 4: to go back and show them what they've been missing.
Speaker 2: You know, there's been a lot written this year about
Speaker 2: Mike McDaniel and his play design and their fun offense,
Speaker 2: or maybe what Shane Stichen has done is a play
Speaker 2: small or with the run game in Indianapolis. Not enough
Speaker 2: has been written about how Sean McVay and again less
Speaker 2: need with the drafting of Steve Bobby lout of the
Speaker 2: trade Kevin Dotson right before the start of the season,
Speaker 2: reworked that offensive line, changed from an outside zone team
Speaker 2: to a power to a gap scheme run team, giving
Speaker 2: the ball to Kyrin Williams and changing the face of
Speaker 2: that offense. Of course, obviously Pooka and Aku and Matthew
Speaker 2: Stafford making side arm throws, but that is that is
Speaker 2: a great story there and there the number ten team
Speaker 2: also not a great story, but a fascinating one. The
Speaker 2: number eleven team in the rankings, they are the Philadelphia
Speaker 2: Eagles playing the twelve seed or the twelfth team in
Speaker 2: your rankings, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucks won the
Speaker 2: NFC South. The Eagles look just dead, Eric, I don't
Speaker 2: know how else to say it, respectfully.
Speaker 3: Fried burned out.
Speaker 2: I don't know what it is, but Friday Eagles.
Speaker 3: That yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4: I mean, after that overtime went over the Bills, I
Speaker 4: think it was, it was, everything really went downhill from there.
Speaker 4: You could see the stress that had built out from
Speaker 4: really the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, all the
Speaker 4: offseason speculation, the high pating end of the season, every
Speaker 4: game year, you know, especially down the stretch, that really
Speaker 4: gauntlet of bit of a schedule they played, and it
Speaker 4: looks like it's just taking its toll on the roster.
Speaker 4: Everybody looks tired, angry, not happy with the situation. Now
Speaker 4: you've got to go on the road and maybe this
Speaker 4: helps him, I don't know, but you got to go
Speaker 4: on the road and play a Tampa team that lights
Speaker 4: some good football in December, turn their season around. Has
Speaker 4: you know, obviously plenty to play for if you're Baker
Speaker 4: Mayfield trying to get another contract, but yeah, this one
Speaker 4: I can't get a.
Speaker 3: Great feel for it.
Speaker 4: We'll Philly have that that second gear, that that that
Speaker 4: extra breath of life that we've been begging for them
Speaker 4: to take for six weeks now or are they completely done?
Speaker 3: I don't know what it is.
Speaker 2: That was Jalen's middle finger there right holding it up
Speaker 2: on Sunday that you know they had to pop back
Speaker 2: into place. Looked like baldy, right. I mean that to
Speaker 2: me is like the lasting image of this team down
Speaker 2: the stretch. And Jalen wasn't flicking off the crowd. He
Speaker 2: was showing his injury, right, But that just kind of
Speaker 2: sums up the Eagles the last six weeks. Kind of
Speaker 2: like middle finger. That means so many different things. Making
Speaker 2: power Moves to thirteen are the Green Bay Packers. Power
Speaker 2: Moves are presented by Energizer. This time in a win
Speaker 2: and in week eighteen they did the job there up
Speaker 2: three spots this week here and doing something they couldn't
Speaker 2: do last year with Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 3: Yeah, or with Brett Farvan his first year of starting.
Speaker 4: Really, I mean you think about Rogers when he first
Speaker 4: got the role in two thousand and eight. Five years
Speaker 4: before that, what was a ninety two? Both guys had
Speaker 4: good first seasons.
Speaker 2: In Green Bay.
Speaker 3: None of them did what Love did, which is drag
Speaker 3: his team to the playoffs.
Speaker 4: They were six and eight. What were they even two
Speaker 4: and five at one point? I mean, things weren't looking great.
Speaker 4: But obviously he turned his season around the defense. You know,
Speaker 4: obviously we talked about Joe Barry for a few weeks.
Speaker 4: In the pressure he's faced, he got his group to play.
Speaker 4: I think their best performance of the season in a
Speaker 4: very hype game against the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 3: So if they can carry that over into the postseason,
Speaker 3: they're going to have a chance in Dallas. Loves playing great.
Speaker 3: The confidence is there.
Speaker 4: I can't wait to see what we get from this
Speaker 4: team because early in the year I had my doubts
Speaker 4: coming into the season. I think I had them twenty
Speaker 4: second or something like that. I've learned my lesson. They've
Speaker 4: they've out performed my expectations. But win here would take it.
Speaker 2: To a new level. I mean it's been a roller coaster.
Speaker 2: They look great, Love did week one, and then they
Speaker 2: couldn't keep that consistently, and then they kind of hit
Speaker 2: rock bottom and then they've built their way back up
Speaker 2: the last six weeks and here they are. I think
Speaker 2: they win in Dallas. Part of it is because I'm
Speaker 2: excited by Jordan Love. The other part of it is
Speaker 2: something in my gut tells me, much like Kyle Brant
Speaker 2: on GMFB, that the Cowboys are going to find a
Speaker 2: way to screw this up. And I'm sure I'm going
Speaker 2: to get the hate for the Cowboys fans on the
Speaker 2: social media's, which is why social media is here, just
Speaker 2: to get angry at people. So the Cowboys, the Packers
Speaker 2: right Green Bay is thirteen. The Pittsburgh Steelers Eric are fourteen,
Speaker 2: and they are willingly going with their number three quarterback
Speaker 2: in a playoff game because Mason Rudolph has look great
Speaker 2: these last couple of weeks.
Speaker 3: Sure has right and Week eighteen was an interesting test,
Speaker 3: but they had the horrible weather in Baltimore.
Speaker 4: We're expecting cold and rainy possibly in Buffalo as well,
Speaker 4: So you know, maybe that experience allows him to have
Speaker 4: a little bit better feel for the ball, a little
Speaker 4: bit better feel for the field conditions, even if they're different.
Speaker 4: Playing in bad weather one week I'm sure helps you
Speaker 4: the next so maybe they can gain an early edge there,
Speaker 4: but there are just so many things pointing against them
Speaker 4: in this game. Obviously, they had to keep their fingers
Speaker 4: crossed after winning just to hope they get in.
Speaker 3: You know, third string quarterback, no TJ.
Speaker 4: Watt, no offensive identity really until last couple of weeks.
Speaker 4: So even if that defense, the rest of it outside
Speaker 4: of Watt gets healthy and they have a better secondary situation,
Speaker 4: I'm just struggling to find ways for them to be
Speaker 4: able to beat Buffalo in Buffalo.
Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, I agree. I don't think they're going to
Speaker 2: do it. But again, another one of these, if I
Speaker 2: had told you back in August, if I told you
Speaker 2: back in August when the conversation was do we have
Speaker 2: a roster spot for Mason Rudolph, why do we need
Speaker 2: a third quarterback? Mike Tomlin would say, I need you
Speaker 2: and I want you to start on the road in
Speaker 2: the postseason ahead of the other two who are up
Speaker 2: and active and ready and healthy. Not Mitch Trubisky former
Speaker 2: Josh Allen understudy. Anyway, moving on the teams that didn't
Speaker 2: make the postseason, how do we rank them? That's coming
Speaker 2: up next on the NFL Power Ranking Show presented my Energizer.
Speaker 2: But wait, there's more the teams that didn't make the playoffs. Sorry.
Speaker 2: If this is any consolation, maybe it is NFL Power
Speaker 2: Ranking Show here presented to you by Energizer. The Saints
Speaker 2: are up two to fifteen, but they didn't make it.
Speaker 2: The Jaguars are down four, so to are the Colts
Speaker 2: they didn't make it. Sixteen and seventeen Bengals, Seahawks, and
Speaker 2: the Chicago Bears rounding out twenty and then at twenty
Speaker 2: one the Raiders, the Vikings, the Broncos, the Falcons, the Titans,
Speaker 2: and the New York Jets who come in at twenty six.
Speaker 2: And then the bottom here the Giants and the Cardinals
Speaker 2: and the Chargers. The Patriots are twenty the Commanders there
Speaker 2: are thirty rather the Patriots, thirty one for the Commanders,
Speaker 2: thirty two for the Panthers. The inverse draft order, although
Speaker 2: the Panthers do not have that pick, it belongs to
Speaker 2: the Bears. Time now for invest in the Future presented
Speaker 2: by Fidelity and the Future Right now. For the Saints,
Speaker 2: Eric as we tape here Tuesday, does include Dennis Allen
Speaker 2: at number fifteen, still their coach as.
Speaker 4: Far as we know, and obviously Week eighteen was a
Speaker 4: stranger scene and that they go out in the second
Speaker 4: half and absolutely.
Speaker 3: Pummel the Falcons.
Speaker 4: Arthur Smith, not at Allen after the game, has turned
Speaker 4: out to comments.
Speaker 3: Why he's definitely touched down, And it's funny.
Speaker 4: It almost felt like propect more poorly on on Allen
Speaker 4: than it did Jamis Winston.
Speaker 3: But this is a team that did play well down
Speaker 3: the stretch.
Speaker 4: I was kind of slow to give him their credit,
Speaker 4: but Derek Carr played some of his better ball down
Speaker 4: the stretch. They had a couple close losses in there
Speaker 4: that ultimately kicked him out of the playoffs.
Speaker 3: But it's hard to note what to make of this
Speaker 3: team going forward.
Speaker 4: It's hard to see a path to them excelling into
Speaker 4: that Super Bowl kind of category next year. But they
Speaker 4: did at least make strides down the stretch enough so
Speaker 4: to push him past the Jaguars. So I thought we're
Speaker 4: going to be in the playoffs not too.
Speaker 2: Long ago, because the Jaguars actually did the reverse. They
Speaker 2: lost five at a six down the stretch. They are
Speaker 2: number sixteen for you, Eric. The only game they won
Speaker 2: was with CJ. Bethard and then Monday night, the defensive
Speaker 2: staff gets blown out. Doug Peterson fires Mike Caldwell.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that was I'm sure a tough move, and you
Speaker 3: know a lot of the staff as well.
Speaker 4: But I mean, boy, I'd like to see some heat
Speaker 4: put on Trevor Lawrence. He was zero and five, the
Speaker 4: team was oh and five with him starting. And you know,
Speaker 4: Laurence certainly was playing through a couple of injuries this season.
Speaker 4: His toughness is on question, but his performance level in
Speaker 4: that critical year three he's now due for an extension
Speaker 4: or at least eligible for one. You know, left some
Speaker 4: questions for me. The second half of the season not
Speaker 4: nearly as good as the first. You saw it reflected
Speaker 4: in the team's record. And this team's got a little
Speaker 4: soul searched in to do, especially with his quarterback.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and this is the off season in which they
Speaker 2: can extend Trevor Lawrence, much like last year with Burrow
Speaker 2: and with Herbert. This is the year you're write the
Speaker 2: big check. I still think that he is the guy,
Speaker 2: but down the stretch it wasn't encouraging. He was banged
Speaker 2: up the ankle, the shoulder. Honestly at times. On Sunday
Speaker 2: it looked as if that arm he shouldn't have been
Speaker 2: out there, some of those throws who's fallen away from
Speaker 2: But listen, they went with them. He was their guy,
Speaker 2: and they couldn't get it done against an inspired Tennessee team.
Speaker 2: It had turned out to be Mike Frable's final game.
Speaker 2: We are here throughout the postseason. Everybody so scant the
Speaker 2: QR code, check out the Power Rankings, and we are
Speaker 2: here next week for divisional Route Brera get Home. I'm
Speaker 2: Andrews Sociliano enjoyed the playoffs. Everybody.
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