Speaker 1: I'm read Lewis, and this is NFL Inside reports. The Rams,
Speaker 1: for the second time in franchise history, are Super Bowl
Speaker 1: champions after twenty victory over the Bengals in Super Bowl
Speaker 1: fifty six. First time they get to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Though,
Speaker 1: as the Los Angeles Rams, here in the City of Champions,
Speaker 1: and that last night inside Sofi Stadium was an event
Speaker 1: fit for Hollywood. And with that, let's welcome in our
Speaker 1: friend and colleague here at NFL Media. Bridget Condon is
Speaker 1: with us in bridget Um and literally was everywhere through
Speaker 1: Super Bowl Week. If you did not know Los Angeles
Speaker 1: until you know you got here um and and you
Speaker 1: had not fully experienced all that Los Angeles had to offer,
Speaker 1: Bridget you know have be you know, been one of
Speaker 1: our newest colleagues in here for just a few months.
Speaker 1: I felt like you got just about everything in the
Speaker 1: span of a week. Does that sound about right? That
Speaker 1: sounds about right. I think I was like wondering when
Speaker 1: I was going to get immersed into the world, and
Speaker 1: it was last week and when we were at Venice Beach,
Speaker 1: Warner Brothers, Bengals Hotel, Rams Hotel, so By just got
Speaker 1: it all done in one week. But yeah, what an
Speaker 1: event l A too, right. I mean like you were
Speaker 1: literally everywhere um so, which I thought was pretty cool.
Speaker 1: And you did a fantastic job all week long with
Speaker 1: like the sites, the sounds, like everything that you wanted
Speaker 1: to experience during super Bowl Week. I felt like you
Speaker 1: got a chance to do it, which was super cool.
Speaker 1: Um and then you get to go to the game, right,
Speaker 1: was this your first super Bowl? This is my first
Speaker 1: super Bowl anything. I had never been in the city
Speaker 1: that the super Bowl was in, or covered or attended anything.
Speaker 1: So I'm still on like cloud nine right now because
Speaker 1: I'm just changing myself. It was such an incredible experience.
Speaker 1: Nothing's cool like l A cool. And the super Bowl
Speaker 1: scene inside so far so I got. I went inside
Speaker 1: for the first quarter before I had to head back
Speaker 1: and do some halftime and postgame stuff, and just being
Speaker 1: in their pregame and just like seeing all that Sofi
Speaker 1: stadium like has to offer. But on that stage, Bridget
Speaker 1: like that was insane. There's nothing like it, That's what
Speaker 1: I was gonna say. It felt like anyone you've ever
Speaker 1: heard about on TV or anyone that's famous was in
Speaker 1: there right, Like every single person. They kept showing the
Speaker 1: pictures on the jumpo tron of who was there. They
Speaker 1: kept going and going. Right in the game, it's like
Speaker 1: two or three celebrities, I mean everyone, Kanye was there. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's an event when Kanye is there with his head covered. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that was one of the weirdest scenes I think I've
Speaker 1: ever seen. Um. But then like after the game, so look,
Speaker 1: we're gonna get to all the things, all game things,
Speaker 1: Cooper Cup, Aaron Donald, futures of all these guys as well,
Speaker 1: but like there were some real life moments like after
Speaker 1: this game, like you saw it, tell us about it.
Speaker 1: The craziest thing. I was like, okay, I sat on
Speaker 1: that tweet for probably five minutes because I was like,
Speaker 1: if this isn't her, I'm not trying to stir anything
Speaker 1: up pregnancy labor, Like that's a pretty curious deal. I
Speaker 1: was watching and I was like, should I tweet this out?
Speaker 1: And then I'm got some confirmation that it was her,
Speaker 1: and I was like, Okay, I'm pretty sure because it
Speaker 1: looked like her. It was a pregnant woman on a stretcher.
Speaker 1: I knew she was so crazy. I don't know if
Speaker 1: it was the excitement of fifty cents surprising everyone at
Speaker 1: half time. That just sent her into labor. Yeah, that's
Speaker 1: that must have been what it was, clearly. But you
Speaker 1: know what's kind of interesting is we've been talking in
Speaker 1: a week about how Odell Beckham is expecting his first
Speaker 1: child at at any moment, right, and he's always been
Speaker 1: on standby. And then it's his buddy in the in
Speaker 1: the room, Van Jefferson, that's his kid. Uh wow, like
Speaker 1: a right story to tell us, are you kidding? Yeah?
Speaker 1: And then you know, like this, so the Rams are
Speaker 1: a super Bowl ring, right, they get a super Bowl
Speaker 1: ring and they'll physically get it in a few weeks
Speaker 1: or months, but Taylor Wrap then decides to give a ring. Right.
Speaker 1: I feel like that was like we forgot about that
Speaker 1: because everything else is going on. I saw that video
Speaker 1: this morning and I was like wait what. There was
Speaker 1: so much going on, sensory overload, so I can't even
Speaker 1: imagine just being a regular guy on the team. It's like, Okay,
Speaker 1: I want a super Bowl, but I didn't have a baby.
Speaker 1: I didn't get um. Yeah, so that it's that was
Speaker 1: It was pretty special, Like it just like a special
Speaker 1: day inside so fa stadium for so many people, obviously
Speaker 1: more so on the ram side of things, but man,
Speaker 1: that was that was unreal. And then of course you
Speaker 1: had the halftime show, right, which was like this um
Speaker 1: culmination of culture. I feel like, especially since this game
Speaker 1: is in Inglewood and we got you know, I felt
Speaker 1: like we got kind of inductrinated into all of it
Speaker 1: all week long. Um, you know, by hearing the interviews
Speaker 1: and in the super Bowl halftime show, you know, news
Speaker 1: conference in understanding what it means, um, you know, to
Speaker 1: be someone from this area and to create and to
Speaker 1: be an artist in this area and to come together
Speaker 1: on the world's biggest stage. So like, all right, Bridget,
Speaker 1: let's let's be honest here, because our producer Thomas Warren
Speaker 1: wrote literally wrote this line in our preparation for this podcast,
Speaker 1: Let's get bridgets thoughts on um what you know? Ch
Speaker 1: As a millennial thinks of the halftime show that was
Speaker 1: geared more for like the generation Wye crowd with the
Speaker 1: Dr Dre's and stoops to the world, I thought it
Speaker 1: was incredible. I mean, yes, I'm younger, but everyone knows
Speaker 1: who Dr Drey is. Everyone knows who stoopid emam. You know,
Speaker 1: those songs. Oh my goodness. I thought it was one
Speaker 1: of the best halftime performances that we've seen in years past.
Speaker 1: My boyfriend, actually his uncle is one of the producers
Speaker 1: for the halftime show, so oh my god. Really, yeah,
Speaker 1: he got to be on the field for it, and
Speaker 1: his videos are insane. He was right in front where
Speaker 1: I was sitting. My back or the back of the
Speaker 1: houses was facing us. Yeah. Yeah, so we could see
Speaker 1: it on the JumboTron, but the inside of the house
Speaker 1: we couldn't see. But he was on the side of
Speaker 1: the inside of the house and taking videos. It looked insane.
Speaker 1: I just loved the setup of the little houses. I
Speaker 1: agree that dropping down from the ceiling so cool. It
Speaker 1: gave me chills when I saw him and m out
Speaker 1: there too with his dancers. It's just they all flowed
Speaker 1: so well together. It was so well like so perfectly choreographed,
Speaker 1: and like going in and out of the different little
Speaker 1: houses of the rooms and like and then all ending
Speaker 1: up on the top with Dr dre Hold it down
Speaker 1: to the very end. It just man, it felt so
Speaker 1: l a like, it felt so Los Angeles and I
Speaker 1: am not a Los Angeles native, but like it was like,
Speaker 1: all right, that's what this is. And it felt like
Speaker 1: when we heard there was what six performers, it's you're wondering,
Speaker 1: how are they? Yeah, how who's what? Are I gonna say?
Speaker 1: One word? Eat? They found a way to flow it
Speaker 1: really well. Like you said, it was perfect, definite l A. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and um. So the stars showed up at halftime and
Speaker 1: for the Rams, though bridget the stars showed up all
Speaker 1: game long, more specifically Matthew Stafford, Cooper Cup and Aaron Donald. Um.
Speaker 1: Let's start with the Matthew Stafford Cooper Cup connection, because
Speaker 1: you know, you were in and around the Rams, you know,
Speaker 1: all week, and you've been you've been covering you know,
Speaker 1: the Rams since you've really arrived, and you've been, you know,
Speaker 1: part of our coverage. They're here in l A with
Speaker 1: those guys, and what what do you feel like you've
Speaker 1: learned about Matthew Stafford and Cooper Cup um in the
Speaker 1: time that you've got to spend around them and around
Speaker 1: their teammates. So one of the first RAMS practices I
Speaker 1: went to, Cooper Cup was there waiting for Matthew to
Speaker 1: finish availability. He was talking to us the media, and
Speaker 1: he had an iPad and he was waiting for him
Speaker 1: because he wanted him to explain something to him. And
Speaker 1: I think that's such inside their relationship, right. They understand
Speaker 1: each other on the field, off the field, they have
Speaker 1: such a big chemistry. Stafford and I've spent a ton
Speaker 1: of time together. Um. I think it was actually adding
Speaker 1: up in the car on the way here. The just
Speaker 1: the extra time outside of the obligatory time was you
Speaker 1: know north this season and yesterday when the Bengals shut
Speaker 1: down the Rams defense when their their run game, Odell
Speaker 1: goes out, there's a shock, gun snap, poor man rush
Speaker 1: right tackle, black brow yone dry belt. I dropped by
Speaker 1: O b J. Who holds time towards me as he
Speaker 1: hits the turf and I'm not too It was almost
Speaker 1: a non contact Do you look like he was cutting?
Speaker 1: And then we used writhing in pain on the field
Speaker 1: at the forty five on a route which was a
Speaker 1: shallow cross. Cooper wasn't getting a lot Eli Apple was
Speaker 1: holding him pretty much in the first half. He did
Speaker 1: have that one touchdown, And I think we forget that
Speaker 1: they have won games, the two of them together, and
Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford knew, Sean McVey knew if we're gonna win
Speaker 1: this game. We gotta get Cooper going. And that's what
Speaker 1: we saw there in the first fourth quarter. And it's
Speaker 1: also the success of Matthew Stafford. Everybody counts him out always, right,
Speaker 1: and we forget no he can. Like I think he's
Speaker 1: over that hump that he was in in Detroit because
Speaker 1: of the lack of players he had there. He's made
Speaker 1: some clutch plays and yeah, he does Matthew Stafford things
Speaker 1: that you know, through through a few interceptions, but at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, he's able to find him
Speaker 1: up and they make magic. And so look, Odell Beckham
Speaker 1: was on his way to a monster game. You know.
Speaker 1: I had the first score of the game on a
Speaker 1: phenomenal catch and throw from Stafford, and then had some
Speaker 1: chunk plays you know after that, and then goes down
Speaker 1: with the injury. And I think everyone at that point knew, like, okay,
Speaker 1: like if the Rams are going to figure this out,
Speaker 1: Cooper cup is going to have to have the second
Speaker 1: half of his life here, because you know, he had
Speaker 1: been he had had you know, he had a couple
Speaker 1: of catches in the first half, but he came alive
Speaker 1: on at final drive and isn't that what being a
Speaker 1: star is all about. When everyone knows you're the guy
Speaker 1: that's going to get the ball, and still you figure
Speaker 1: out how to win your route, win the catch at
Speaker 1: the catchpoint, contested catch. And I mean I think like
Speaker 1: even more so on the fact that, like the route
Speaker 1: that Cooper Cup caught on, ran on that touchdown to
Speaker 1: eventually win the game. Stafford cum utters center steps back,
Speaker 1: throws the faith fact soldier Cooper Cups got its, Cooper
Speaker 1: Cup brings it in touchdown, touchdown, touchdown l A. With
Speaker 1: one twenty five remaining, the Rams are back on the
Speaker 1: high side. That would have been an Odell Beckham route,
Speaker 1: but because O b J wasn't there, Cooper Cup steps
Speaker 1: up and wins, and that's why he's the m v P. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And I think that one play where Cooper threw the
Speaker 1: past to Matthew and it was a bad throw, I
Speaker 1: think that was designed for open Oh sure, Yeah, I
Speaker 1: think your heart just breaks for a guy like Odell
Speaker 1: when he goes through something like that. You see him
Speaker 1: crying on the sidelines, But them winning makes it a
Speaker 1: little more sweeter, right, and you kind of forget, Okay,
Speaker 1: we'll figure out what's going on. With him. But it's
Speaker 1: easier to do so when you have a superhole in yep,
Speaker 1: no doubt, uh, no doubt about it. And look, I
Speaker 1: to go back to your story about the Stafford Cup connection.
Speaker 1: You know, I was out at training camp the day
Speaker 1: we had the back together Saturday thing, um, you know,
Speaker 1: which was one of our one of our big days
Speaker 1: in early August. And so I was out there at
Speaker 1: U C Irvine and just walking around, and you know,
Speaker 1: Cooper Cup is one of the first out of the field,
Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford is too, and you know, before practice, you know,
Speaker 1: you've got the centers often working with the quarterbacks, will
Speaker 1: center quarterback exchange as part of what they do, you know,
Speaker 1: kind of their pre practice stuff. But Cooper Cup is
Speaker 1: standing there in front of you know, Matthew. So like
Speaker 1: every time Matthew you know, has gets a stab, even
Speaker 1: fires at the Cup and like it it seems like
Speaker 1: something so minimal, but there they were just around each other.
Speaker 1: It was like they were each other's shadows throughout the
Speaker 1: entire practice. Like normally, when you know, let's say the
Speaker 1: quarterbacks are off kind of doing their own thing as
Speaker 1: a different part of practices going on. But Cooper's there too. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it just it seems so simple. But I think you
Speaker 1: you know, seeing how this this game transpired and how
Speaker 1: that final drive went down, it's like, okay, yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean they put the work in and so that chemistry
Speaker 1: was next level for a reason. Yeah, And I think
Speaker 1: he's he's a player that's so easy to root for
Speaker 1: because he's so humble and he puts in so much work.
Speaker 1: He's so smart when he talks about the way that
Speaker 1: Sean McVeigh designs offenses. This is a guy again who
Speaker 1: had none or one college offer in high school. He
Speaker 1: had to work really hard in college, and now he's
Speaker 1: earned it. He's a Super Bowl m v P and
Speaker 1: his teammates love him, and it makes it so easy
Speaker 1: to for Matthew and him to just connect because of
Speaker 1: that attitude, Sean put us in some good spots, and
Speaker 1: also Matthew Stafford probably through the best no looker of
Speaker 1: his life. We've went in there a little bit. I
Speaker 1: saw the lane I I was running in there. I
Speaker 1: saw him leaning a little bit like, Oh, he's he's
Speaker 1: doing this to me, isn't he? He was looking he
Speaker 1: was looking up into the third level of the right,
Speaker 1: right Cylon, but he put one in there and then
Speaker 1: you'll just put a space the ball in play, allowing
Speaker 1: his guys makes some plays for him. And by the way,
Speaker 1: he broke some Jerry Rice records at Eastern Washington, some
Speaker 1: FCS records, the old one double A in college. And
Speaker 1: he's now like, along with Jerry Rice, they're like the
Speaker 1: only guys that have won an Offensive Player of the
Speaker 1: Year award, a Super Bowl m v P, and have
Speaker 1: been a triple crown winner in terms of leading the
Speaker 1: league in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in the season. Now,
Speaker 1: Jerry didn't do that all in one season. He didn't
Speaker 1: receivers hope to do in a career, literally in one year.
Speaker 1: And it's nuts. And did you hear I don't know
Speaker 1: if you heard the story real quick when they lost
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. He said this story last night. He
Speaker 1: was walking off the field when the Patriots beat the Rams,
Speaker 1: and he said he had some vision and he was
Speaker 1: thinking he's gonna be back in the Super Bowl and
Speaker 1: he's gonna win m v P. And he was like,
Speaker 1: I can't tell anyone this, but he told his wife
Speaker 1: and then it happened last night I'm like, how cool
Speaker 1: is that? Right on this level? And he spent some
Speaker 1: time and hope for some goodness in my life. Yeah,
Speaker 1: no kidding. Um, just kind of want to be around
Speaker 1: Cooper uh and his family. They're they're absolutely phenomenal, and
Speaker 1: I'm happy for him because he's earned it. Uh. And
Speaker 1: so some of the Rams literally in every facet. You
Speaker 1: know that we talked about pressure, um, that they put
Speaker 1: on themselves by some of the moves that they made
Speaker 1: to go out and get big name players like Matthew
Speaker 1: Stafford and to give up big time assets to do it.
Speaker 1: Same with von Miller and signing oh b J and
Speaker 1: Jalen Ramsey obviously a big part of that too. But
Speaker 1: it all worked out, how it all worked out, how
Speaker 1: they dealt with the pressure, how the Angles regroup after
Speaker 1: succumbing at the end of this game to the Rams.
Speaker 1: Will we will get into right after this quick breath.
Speaker 1: All right back here on NFL Inside Report, bridget Condon
Speaker 1: is with us and bridget um. Look, talk of Super
Speaker 1: Bowl week was all right, you know, if the Rams
Speaker 1: don't win, is the Stafford trade to fail? You know,
Speaker 1: how are they going to deal with all this? You know,
Speaker 1: this is they went all in. Nothing short of a
Speaker 1: Super Bowl championship is is you know, the measure of
Speaker 1: success for Los Angeles and for less Snee, the general
Speaker 1: manager and architect of this Rams team, And they rose
Speaker 1: to the occasion every time. And in Bridget, I'm just
Speaker 1: curious from you being around the Rams, like, did you
Speaker 1: get the sense that you know, as they said, all
Speaker 1: of that talk about pressure really was external and not
Speaker 1: necessarily something internal happening inside their building. I do think so.
Speaker 1: I think if it was any internal pressure, it was
Speaker 1: maybe management in front office people. But I think the
Speaker 1: players really believed in themselves and got along so well,
Speaker 1: both the Bengals and the Rams. I think really, when
Speaker 1: you get to this level, a lot of it does
Speaker 1: actually have to do with chemistry, of course talent, but
Speaker 1: I think they were just confident. You know, you get
Speaker 1: a guy like Odell, you have Vaughan, you have Aarond.
Speaker 1: Some of the things that they needed in that Super
Speaker 1: Bowl fifty three they found those public puzzle pieces, and
Speaker 1: so I think they didn't feel the pressure. Yeah. And
Speaker 1: then for Joe Burrow, you know, like pressure, it's like
Speaker 1: what no, his his his his edge, his confidence, his
Speaker 1: cool calum and collected nature in the face of perceived pressure,
Speaker 1: I think is what makes him so great, what makes
Speaker 1: him so likable. Um, you know, as a quarterback, and
Speaker 1: he had him going right, He had the Bengals in position,
Speaker 1: you know, at one point obviously with the te Higgins
Speaker 1: touchdown to start the second half, play actually funding room
Speaker 1: going good. But if caught by Higgins, he goes in
Speaker 1: for the score. Jaylen Ramsey fell down and just like that,
Speaker 1: in twelve seconds, a seventy five yard touchdown, which is
Speaker 1: something we've never seen in a Super Bowl of play,
Speaker 1: a touchdown score in the first play from scrimmage in
Speaker 1: either half in the bathroom. When that, most people like,
Speaker 1: whoa what? And then the next drive they come out
Speaker 1: and they pick off Matthew Stafford. You're like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: play action fired over the middle, pecked off at the
Speaker 1: thirty one yard line. Scarron I couldn't handle it, and
Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Bengals in twenty two seconds have a touchdown
Speaker 1: and a takeaway. The Bengals are gonna flipping wind, looked Patrick.
Speaker 1: He was sitting next to Patrick Clayband, and I was like,
Speaker 1: are the Bengals about to win the Super Bowl? Yeah?
Speaker 1: And then it just you know, it fizzled out. Like offensively,
Speaker 1: they ran into a rut where they had you know,
Speaker 1: they had the fuel goal off that reception, the second
Speaker 1: interception for Matthew Stafford, and then they had you know,
Speaker 1: four straight punts after that and just could not find
Speaker 1: their rhythm. Partly bridget because they could not deal with
Speaker 1: Aaron Donald. And he came alive in the second half.
Speaker 1: Under pressure, they get him at the twenty yard line.
Speaker 1: He was on it. Donald is right there. He didn't
Speaker 1: do much in the first half, and I think we
Speaker 1: were all waiting. Okay, Aaron Donald, you talked about how
Speaker 1: mad you were after Super Bowl fifty three and you
Speaker 1: want this. We know you want. This is the last
Speaker 1: thing on your bucket list, right You won multiple Defensive
Speaker 1: Player of the Years, even named to a Pro Bowl.
Speaker 1: We don't have a Super Bowl. So where where were was?
Speaker 1: Where was Aaron Donald in the first half? But he
Speaker 1: came alive in that second half. He had those two sacks,
Speaker 1: and of course that last play of the game where
Speaker 1: Joe Burrows trying to get the ball out, he brushes
Speaker 1: him and Joe Burrow throws in completion, Burrow trying to
Speaker 1: keep it going get spunned out. That's what the wife
Speaker 1: then and complete it looked like what about a shot
Speaker 1: to make the grab? But the Rams down running down
Speaker 1: to celebrate was a defensive play. And guess who I mean,
Speaker 1: you don't even have to think about it. I think
Speaker 1: he was the difference. And what a story book ending
Speaker 1: for this guy who is loving football. He told me
Speaker 1: he took three days off after the last Super Bowl
Speaker 1: and that is it and has been in the gym
Speaker 1: working since and finally the work base off. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: you know, look, von Miller a big part of the two.
Speaker 1: He has two sacks in the second half. I mean
Speaker 1: they have six second half sacks, which was you know, insanity. Um,
Speaker 1: And look, that's kind of what we thought might happen
Speaker 1: throughout the game. It just turns out the Bengals were
Speaker 1: able to deal with it in the first half and
Speaker 1: then the Rams made some adjustments defensively in the second
Speaker 1: half to get Aaron Donald one on one of those
Speaker 1: those guards in the interior, and he is he's no
Speaker 1: match for anybody one on one. You don't think he's
Speaker 1: actually going to retire, now, do you? I don't know,
Speaker 1: he's young, right, This is a Pier it's not. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but this is what else is there left to do?
Speaker 1: I don't know if he wants to be a dad baby.
Speaker 1: It's like, what am I going to stick around and
Speaker 1: be Tom Brady and just keep winning? Well, he's still
Speaker 1: at the time, he is at the very top of
Speaker 1: his game, and so I think that's you know, there's
Speaker 1: only been six players to win multiple Defensive Player of
Speaker 1: the Year awards and a Super Bowl. Every other one
Speaker 1: of those players is a Hall of Famer. He will
Speaker 1: be a Hall of Famer. Even if he does retire,
Speaker 1: He's a Hall of Famer, you know, first ballot Hall
Speaker 1: of Famer in my book. Um, you know, as soon
Speaker 1: as he's eligible, even you know, knowing that he's got
Speaker 1: he's got more years left to give in this league,
Speaker 1: hoping there's maybe a contract extension that might help fuel
Speaker 1: his desire to get back into the game here a
Speaker 1: little bit, because this game needs him. This game needs
Speaker 1: a dominant player like that that we're all just in awe, right,
Speaker 1: I mean, like that's what makes this game so great.
Speaker 1: He seems like he's in too good a shape to
Speaker 1: walk away to to I don't think he's done working
Speaker 1: out and continuing to old himself. So I think we'll
Speaker 1: see him back next year. The same with Sean McVeigh,
Speaker 1: Like we had all those kind of weird yeah, like
Speaker 1: I even know that was a question that he would
Speaker 1: think about leaving and doing what. Yeah, Well, first of all,
Speaker 1: he's the youngest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl,
Speaker 1: And I think it's also kind of a cool um.
Speaker 1: It's just kind of a cool piece because we we
Speaker 1: saw it kind of happen on our Game day final
Speaker 1: set on NFL Network last night. We had the youngest
Speaker 1: coach to ever win a Super Bowl stop by and
Speaker 1: talk about his future, which he basically said, no, I'm
Speaker 1: not retiring. There were reports out there that John McVeigh,
Speaker 1: if you wins Super Bowl fifty six, could walk away
Speaker 1: at age thirty six from coaching. Is that happening. No, No,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm so happy for this team right now, so
Speaker 1: happy to be associated with it. Enjoy to night. Yeah,
Speaker 1: well you should, by the way, amazing don't remember any
Speaker 1: of its celebrate, but I do want to like sit
Speaker 1: back and enjoy the you know, the things you enjoy life, enjoy,
Speaker 1: you know, build a family and all that. So McVeigh
Speaker 1: the youngest to win a Super Bowl is left tackle
Speaker 1: is the oldest player of also you know, four year
Speaker 1: old left tackle, which we haven't seen before in the league,
Speaker 1: and it's the oldest player to win his first Super Bowl. Um,
Speaker 1: and so I'm like, you can't if you're if you're
Speaker 1: Sean McVeigh, you can't retire before Andrew Whitworth, right, Like
Speaker 1: being younger than Andrew Whitworth, right, I mean, like, so,
Speaker 1: I don't think that's going to happen. I was just saying,
Speaker 1: it's an interesting thing to like to think about though,
Speaker 1: that it takes so much of these these coaches and
Speaker 1: these players each year, and you have to sacrifice so
Speaker 1: much to be in this kind of position that some
Speaker 1: of that does creep in your head, like all right,
Speaker 1: I need to make sure that i'm you know, I'm
Speaker 1: I'm there for my family too, you know, and when
Speaker 1: you've done what you want to achieve, makes it easier
Speaker 1: to be like, maybe I do want to walk away.
Speaker 1: I thought it was only last night with Andrew Whitworth
Speaker 1: and Sean McVeigh and Whitworth talking about how much he's
Speaker 1: taught Sean mcfay and it's player teaching, but it's true
Speaker 1: he's four years older than him. Yeah. Yeah. And then
Speaker 1: you know, for the Bengals, now we're looking at this like, Okay,
Speaker 1: they're going to be back because they're a young team. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: and let's hope the knee injury for Burrow is again
Speaker 1: something or you know whatever was ailing him, you know
Speaker 1: late in that game where he was like, yeah, I
Speaker 1: wasn't coming out, and clearly he wasn't. But I let's
Speaker 1: hope that that's that's nothing that's gonna impair his you know,
Speaker 1: his off season this year. How do you look at
Speaker 1: this Bengles team in terms of what they accomplished this year,
Speaker 1: bridget and you know what they can do to get
Speaker 1: back to it. They have so much talent on this
Speaker 1: team that is so young. Joe Burrow this really was
Speaker 1: his first season. Of course it was his second, but
Speaker 1: he got injured in that first season. To March. This
Speaker 1: was his first season. He sent records in his first season.
Speaker 1: The two of them are only going to continue to build.
Speaker 1: And Zach Taylor this is only his third season as
Speaker 1: a coach. I think we're gonna be talking about the
Speaker 1: Bengals for years to come, and it's gonna be Patrick
Speaker 1: Mahomes and and Joe Burrow in the a f C
Speaker 1: title game for years one or Yeah. I just think
Speaker 1: this is the beginning of something. And while you know,
Speaker 1: when you cover these players you want them all to win,
Speaker 1: right when you get to know them and you tell
Speaker 1: their story and it's like you feel so bad for
Speaker 1: a guy like Joe Burrow. But if anyone's time, it
Speaker 1: was last night, it was that Andrew Wittworth's Aaron Donalds
Speaker 1: who might potentially never get back to another Super Bowl
Speaker 1: because probably retire. Joe Burrow he'll be back in a
Speaker 1: super Bowl. He said at this wonder what whether it's
Speaker 1: Sunday or later, He's gonna win a Super Bowl. And
Speaker 1: I thought it was kind of cool that Burrow mentioned
Speaker 1: post game, you know that he watched the Kurt Warner
Speaker 1: Football Life in the week leading up to the Super Bowl,
Speaker 1: and he was like, yeah, I kind of notice what
Speaker 1: Kurt was saying is how they come almost you know,
Speaker 1: punished themselves too much for losing a Super Bowl instead of,
Speaker 1: you know, understanding that it took a lot to get
Speaker 1: to that point and to celebrate some of what it
Speaker 1: took to get to that point. I watched the football
Speaker 1: Life of Kurt Warner. You know last week when we
Speaker 1: had little, uh, a little break and you know, I
Speaker 1: kind of thought about this in the locker room and
Speaker 1: they lost one, and you know later in within the
Speaker 1: documentary they said or he said that, you know, they
Speaker 1: let it sting too much. They didn't they didn't celebrate
Speaker 1: what they accomplished. So you know, we're gonna obviously it stings,
Speaker 1: but you know, we had a great year, didn't come
Speaker 1: off this last game the way we wanted to. But
Speaker 1: I think and we still have something sober. I think
Speaker 1: that's what we need to keep in perspective here with
Speaker 1: the Bengals is nobody expected them to be And they
Speaker 1: can talk all they want about you know, they expected
Speaker 1: it of themselves and that's fine, but nobody expects a
Speaker 1: worst to first, you know, you know, like last place
Speaker 1: in the division to super Bowl champion. It's just you know,
Speaker 1: we we don't. It's just not something that you're like, oh, yeah, clearly,
Speaker 1: this is that's what this team is going to do
Speaker 1: this year. So I think that they're going to figure
Speaker 1: out a way to be even better next year. They're
Speaker 1: gonna fill some holes, you know, particularly along the offensive
Speaker 1: line and I fully expect, Yeah Burrow, Josh Allen and
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes, you know, to become essentially the faces of
Speaker 1: the a f C if they aren't already, right, Um,
Speaker 1: and it's gonna be. I mean, that is going to
Speaker 1: be fun to watch those three guys, you know, try
Speaker 1: to get back to this point here for the next
Speaker 1: ten fifteen years, right. Yeah. Like Joe Burrow was stacked
Speaker 1: what nineteen times in the postseason? Can you imagine if
Speaker 1: he had an offense like yeah, just half of that
Speaker 1: and they're in a better spot, right, Um, and they
Speaker 1: still managed He got sacked was it twelve times in Tennessee?
Speaker 1: And nine times or something times? Still was able to win,
Speaker 1: went into arrow Head Stadium and one, I think they're
Speaker 1: gonna be okay, And it is like you said, they
Speaker 1: should be celebrating. It hurts, of course to not get
Speaker 1: that ring, but they did something that this Bengals organization
Speaker 1: hasn't done in decades. Yeah, and Bridget you should be
Speaker 1: celebrating too, because your first season at NFL Network essentially
Speaker 1: has come to a close here. Uh And you know,
Speaker 1: I think, Um, here's the thing that that I just
Speaker 1: I want to mention, um, is that you know, opportunities
Speaker 1: are one thing, but taking advantage of opportunities or another thing.
Speaker 1: And uh, you know, like the Bengals and Rams, you
Speaker 1: took advantage of some opportunities this year and this week
Speaker 1: in particular, and so you should feel really good about it.
Speaker 1: And I just want to get your thoughts though on
Speaker 1: what this season has kind of been like for you.
Speaker 1: And it was the biggest season ever, literally and you
Speaker 1: got to be a part of it. How cool was it?
Speaker 1: It was so awesome. I remember last year sitting in
Speaker 1: my apartment in Raleigh, North Carolina, watching NFL Networks coverage
Speaker 1: of the Super Bowl week, thinking to myself, they're having
Speaker 1: so much fun. This is like so cool. How do
Speaker 1: I get to be one of these people? I hadn't
Speaker 1: even applied for the job or like had any interviews,
Speaker 1: And to be here a year later and not only
Speaker 1: be going to the game but a part of the coverage.
Speaker 1: It's just the entire week. I'm so tired because I've
Speaker 1: been having ballsime at who am so excited because of
Speaker 1: the opportunity and getting to getting to go to NFL
Speaker 1: Honors even on Thursday the carpet. So many incredible people
Speaker 1: that you've watched on TV for years. It's it's like
Speaker 1: a pinching moment. I'm waiting for someone to be like,
Speaker 1: this is a dream, You're dead, this isn't your real life.
Speaker 1: So I got here in October, so I didn't even
Speaker 1: have a full season. I didn't get to do training camp,
Speaker 1: which I know NFL network And yeah, so I'm excited
Speaker 1: to finally get my footing for a whole season and
Speaker 1: see what I can do with that, because, like you said,
Speaker 1: the small little opportunities I did get I was so
Speaker 1: excited for. But I think being in more of a
Speaker 1: routine next season is going to be even better. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and um, let me be the first to tell you
Speaker 1: there's no off season. The super Bowl may be over,
Speaker 1: but the Combine is starting in less than two weeks.
Speaker 1: Free agency begins a month from today, and the Draft
Speaker 1: will be here before we know. It's so uh see
Speaker 1: you guys. You know in July for about ten days
Speaker 1: before training camp starts. That's that's really the only off
Speaker 1: season here. So bridget thanks for being with us here
Speaker 1: an NFL inside report. I hate that it took essentially
Speaker 1: all season in our last episode of the two season
Speaker 1: to get you on, but we've enjoyed watching you and
Speaker 1: I hope we have you on a bunch more here
Speaker 1: as we as we move into Yeah, thank you so
Speaker 1: much for having me. It's so fun to talk with
Speaker 1: you guys, and that's gonna do it for our final
Speaker 1: episode of NFL Inside Report following an NFL game this season.
Speaker 1: We thank you so much for being with us here
Speaker 1: on this this journey care an NFL Inside Report. But
Speaker 1: as we were talking about with Bridget there in our
Speaker 1: last segment, the season, if you will, is not even
Speaker 1: close to over, because we're getting into the Draft and
Speaker 1: we're getting into the Combine and we're gonna be coming
Speaker 1: to you live from the Combine in Indianapolis here on
Speaker 1: an NFL Inside Report shortly, So look forward for those
Speaker 1: episodes and we'll be back next week as well, looking
Speaker 1: at free agency and the Draft and all the storylines
Speaker 1: that you're gonna want and need uh here over the
Speaker 1: course of the next few weeks. So thanks for being
Speaker 1: with us on this journey here. Reminder to download, rate,
Speaker 1: review our show on I Heart Radio, on Apple Podcast,
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcast. We greatly appreciate it, and
Speaker 1: we've got some fun things in store for you. Here
Speaker 1: over the next few weeks. And we think, of course
Speaker 1: our intrepid producer tandem of Thomas Warren and Tim Paratica
Speaker 1: for getting it done for us all season long. They
Speaker 1: are Super Bowl Champions in my book. And uh, of
Speaker 1: course appreciate all of you for being with us along
Speaker 1: the ride as well. I'm your host, Rret Lewis. We'll
Speaker 1: catch you next time. NFL Inside Report is the production
Speaker 1: of the NFL and partnership with I Heart Radio. For
Speaker 1: more official podcasts from the NFL, visit the I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.