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Speaker 1: All right, guys, Before we get started today, a big

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Speaker 1: thank you to our partner, Microsoft Surface celebrating ten years

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Speaker 1: of partnership with the NFL as the official laptop, tablet,

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Speaker 1: and sideline technology provider for the LA Chargers. Microsoft Surface

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Speaker 1: provides players and coaches with the tools to succeed but

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Speaker 1: on or off the field every day. Learn more about

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Speaker 1: Surface at surface dot com and welcome into the Final

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Speaker 1: Drive as the Chargers lose twenty seven to twenty in

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Speaker 1: Las Vegas, as always, joined by team reporter Haley o

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Speaker 1: Wood and senior writer Eric Smith, and guys, I think

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Speaker 1: it was a combination of things that have plagued this

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Speaker 1: team all year long. Injuries, of course, and we saw

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Speaker 1: that firsthand with the offensive line and run defense, which

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Speaker 1: kind of set up Davante Adams doing his thing as

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Speaker 1: we do every Final Drive. I'll get your guys opening thoughts, Haley,

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Speaker 1: what do you say? Yeah? I think another thing is

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Speaker 1: the third quarter launched that quarter into the sun. My god,

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Speaker 1: it is just not working. And I think you know

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Speaker 1: what Brandon Stalelyot said after the game, that that's where

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Speaker 1: this game was decided today. Two huge missed opportunities in

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Speaker 1: that third quarter that led to Raiders points that really

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Speaker 1: got this team in a hole. This was a game,

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Speaker 1: you know, we I kind of go back to a

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Speaker 1: final drive a couple of weeks ago, I think after

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Speaker 1: the Chiefs loss, where we were sort of chunking the

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Speaker 1: rest of the season out by twos because we looked

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Speaker 1: at this two game stretch, then what's going to come

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Speaker 1: up in the next two weeks. And we were talking

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Speaker 1: about this game and I said, yeah, you know, it's

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Speaker 1: it's obviously it should be a winnable game, but divisional

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Speaker 1: games are always weird and they're always a challenge, especially

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Speaker 1: when it comes to this Raiders team. And I think

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Speaker 1: back to on Friday, I was listening to Serious x

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Speaker 1: M NFL radios. I mentioned a lot on the show,

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Speaker 1: and they did an interview with Max Crosby, and after

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Speaker 1: the interview, they were talking about this game and they

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Speaker 1: were sort of making their picks, the two hosts, and

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Speaker 1: they had said, you know, I like the Chargers, but

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Speaker 1: the weird thing is that splits are much more common

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Speaker 1: than sweeps in this league. And when you look at

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Speaker 1: it like that, and when you look at how this team,

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Speaker 1: these two teams have sort of played each other over

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Speaker 1: the last couple of years. This should have absolutely, obviously

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Speaker 1: been a game that the Chargers should have won. But

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Speaker 1: I just think, again, you can't throw, you can't look

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Speaker 1: at records when you play these two teams. You just

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Speaker 1: have to play them. And unfortunately, the Chargers sort of,

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Speaker 1: you know, crush themselves in this game. Just some missed

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Speaker 1: opportunities and you mentioned no help obviously with the injuries,

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Speaker 1: particularly to the offensive line, but just a tough loss

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Speaker 1: in terms of where they stand in terms of the

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Speaker 1: fact that the season is shrinking a bit. It doesn't

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Speaker 1: mean they're out of it by any means, but it

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Speaker 1: doesn't really help them given the fact that the teams

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Speaker 1: that they needed to lose yesterday pretty much lost over

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Speaker 1: since Thursday to yesterday. So you should have won to

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Speaker 1: keep pace. But it's just gonna be a little more

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Speaker 1: challenging right now. Yeah, the odds a little bit longer.

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Speaker 1: And I go back to maybe the theme of Sunday

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Speaker 1: was um justin Herbert getting hit way too much. Fourteen

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Speaker 1: times he was hit, he was sacked five, you know. Coincidentally,

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Speaker 1: Max Crosby only had one quarterback hit in no sex

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Speaker 1: in that game. It was a Chandler Jones show, Farrell

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Speaker 1: showed up, Tillary showed up with a couple of hits. Um,

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Speaker 1: we could talk about the run defense and we'll get

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Speaker 1: into it because it's been an issue all year. But

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Speaker 1: offensively really from jump, Eric Justin could never really get

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Speaker 1: comfortable in this game. No, no, not at all. And

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Speaker 1: we saw that like like like he said from the jump,

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Speaker 1: from the first play, Um, I think the first play

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Speaker 1: that on the ball would bat it out of his hand. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: And I think we knew from then, Okay, it's gonna

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Speaker 1: be a call order. All that was Crosby. I think

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Speaker 1: that was Crosby the first play, right, yeah, yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 1: so we knew it was gonna be a call order

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Speaker 1: all game wrong and it just got ref in there. Um,

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Speaker 1: you know Coach Daily at that after the game, he's like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: the heat was on, you know, he said there was

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Speaker 1: there was some good plays, you know, there was some

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Speaker 1: some leaky part action, but by the end of the game,

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Speaker 1: I mean, if you just like from the bird's eye

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Speaker 1: view we had up in the press box from from

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Speaker 1: the end of the game, the Raiders didn't even care

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Speaker 1: about the deep path. They had seven eight guys in

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Speaker 1: the box and they were just bringing it, um, and

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Speaker 1: the Chargers were doing all they could to stop it.

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Speaker 1: But that's just thought such a tough like recipe for

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Speaker 1: success if you're the Chargers, if you're at one point,

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Speaker 1: we were down four starters along the old line because

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Speaker 1: Zion went out for a little bit in the first half,

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Speaker 1: so Matt Feiler was the only starter left, essentially a

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Speaker 1: left guard, and it just kind of limited what the

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Speaker 1: team could do. Um, the you know you you talk

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Speaker 1: about like themes that have played the Chargers all year,

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Speaker 1: like the running game on offense wasn't as effective to

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Speaker 1: take that pass for us away and when that's not working,

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Speaker 1: you got to drop back a lot. You know. It

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Speaker 1: just it just didn't didn't work out. Um. I mean,

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Speaker 1: my my biggest takeaway that it was a mist opportunity

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Speaker 1: in the playoff race. But I felt like it was

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Speaker 1: just the minth opportunity in the first quarter. You know we, Um,

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Speaker 1: we get the three and out, we do the fake

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Speaker 1: punt and we can't capitalize on that. We you know,

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Speaker 1: we we don't don't score off of that. We get

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Speaker 1: the fumble, we go for it on fourth and two,

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Speaker 1: we get no points off of that. So even though

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Speaker 1: we were up ten oh early. It felt like it

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Speaker 1: could have been thirteen nothing, seventeen nothing, and that just

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Speaker 1: would have made a big difference when you lose by

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Speaker 1: seven at the end. Yeah, I mean the Raiders I

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Speaker 1: think first four possessions of the game were I think

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Speaker 1: a couple of punts, the pick six, and uh been

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Speaker 1: a fumble Haley. That third quarter you mentioned, I think

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Speaker 1: that's where that defense really got worn down. The Raiders,

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Speaker 1: you know, capitalize off the Autodecler fumble, and then it

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Speaker 1: was just Josh Jacobs, a lot of mistackles. Jacob's doing

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Speaker 1: what he's really done all year long against a bunch

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Speaker 1: of teams. But this was just another one hundred and

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Speaker 1: fifty plus rushing yard effort by the opposing team. And

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Speaker 1: it's been I think maybe six straight games now that

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Speaker 1: the opposition has gotten over one hundred and fifty yards

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Speaker 1: rushing on the ground. Yeah, I think it's a disappointment.

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Speaker 1: It's just a disappointment too because there was no Darren

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Speaker 1: Waller and no hunter Renfro in this game. So when

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Speaker 1: you look at the Raiders offense from that perspective, you're going, Okay,

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Speaker 1: we only really have to worry about two main guys

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Speaker 1: seventeen and twenty eight, and they went off yesterday. And

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Speaker 1: Josh Jacobs, as you mentioned, certainly helped Davante Adams case

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Speaker 1: because he crushed that third quarter for the Chargers. You

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Speaker 1: mentioned the Austin Eckler fumble which then leads to an

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Speaker 1: eventual touchdown, and then the missfield goal which leads to

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Speaker 1: another touchdown from Derek cart to Davante Adams. So I

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Speaker 1: just think at this point, you know, teams are I think,

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Speaker 1: sort of starting to figure the Chargers out and figure

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Speaker 1: we can run on these guys. You know, you saw

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Speaker 1: it in Kansas City that opening drive after halftime a

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Speaker 1: few weeks ago. They can just run and then it

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Speaker 1: opens up other things. But then you got to worry

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Speaker 1: about that one guy, you know what, Like in Casey

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Speaker 1: it was Travis Kelsey, Like you just got to worry

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Speaker 1: about him, and unfortunately it didn't happen and you couldn't

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Speaker 1: contain him in the same with Davante Adams yesterday. Eric,

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Speaker 1: I know you spent a lot of time in the

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Speaker 1: NFC North and I know you can speak to a

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Speaker 1: lot of games that you probably saw that exact same

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Speaker 1: thing happen. But yeah, it's not great. It doesn't help

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Speaker 1: that Sebastian Joseph Day went out. We'll obviously learn more

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Speaker 1: when Brandon Staley speaks later today, and if there is

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Speaker 1: some sort of relatively serious injury there, that would just

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Speaker 1: be crushing considering the fact that you're already down so

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Speaker 1: many starters on the defensive line. But it's also at

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Speaker 1: this point, it's week fourteen. Who's out there, who's left

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Speaker 1: to help pick up the pieces at this point? So,

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Speaker 1: as I said, well, learn more about that, but I

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Speaker 1: just think that's it's not getting better, and at this point,

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure it can, especially if there's more attrition.

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Speaker 1: So you just have to figure out in other ways,

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Speaker 1: maybe how to change your defensive game plan to try

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Speaker 1: to contain these guys so that they don't beat you,

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Speaker 1: because they haven't really shown anything else Differently at this point,

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Speaker 1: I think what yesterday showed me was just how important

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Speaker 1: Corey Linsley is to this team. I would say, after

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Speaker 1: justin after Derwin, he's number three, and it's very very

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Speaker 1: close between one and three. I mean, he's that good,

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Speaker 1: he's that stabilizing for the offensive line, and when he's

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Speaker 1: not in there, boy does it show I think really

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Speaker 1: all around the offense. You scored twenty points yesterday, six

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Speaker 1: of those come off a pick six by Bryce Callahan

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Speaker 1: early in the game. And here you go. You get

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Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night football. You're six and six.

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Speaker 1: These next two opponents, they will try to run the football.

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Speaker 1: Like if you see Jeff Wilson and Raheem Mostard stats

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Speaker 1: against the Niners pretty much not existent. They were throwing

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Speaker 1: a lot against San Francisco. But Eric, that'll change Sunday.

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Speaker 1: You're gonna get a heavy those to Jeff Wilson and

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Speaker 1: Raheem most Um, you know, barring injury. I'm not sure

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Speaker 1: what those guys status are. I have to watch that game.

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Speaker 1: I didn't get a chance to watch that game, but

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Speaker 1: just by looking at the stats, they didn't even really

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Speaker 1: try to run. No, they will probably try to run

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Speaker 1: and Sunday though, I can probably guarantee that. Yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 1: I didn't watch that game either. And like Hayley when

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Speaker 1: you mentioned, okay, when you look at an opposing team,

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Speaker 1: you know the one or two guys that you have

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Speaker 1: to stop. Well, for the Dolphins, that's gonna be Tyree

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Speaker 1: Hill and Jaylen Waddle. So that's gonna be a tough

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Speaker 1: enough test already. But you know, the one benefit and

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Speaker 1: this is like trying to find some sort of silver

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Speaker 1: lining here that the Chargers did drift play the Niners

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Speaker 1: and so they know, like the type of runs that

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Speaker 1: Mike McDaniel will probably pull out with Miami, Um, not

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Speaker 1: going to be the exact same, but it'll be somewhat similar,

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Speaker 1: you know, hopefully so that you know, they don't have

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Speaker 1: to dig too far back in the in the well

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Speaker 1: to to know what's coming. But yeah, this is uh,

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Speaker 1: this is this is a tough one. Um, you know, Ah,

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Speaker 1: I don't know. It's if we look at him in

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Speaker 1: these like two game stretches, you know, we have Miami

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Speaker 1: and Timothy coming up to me, Miami feels like the

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Speaker 1: more winnable game simply because Tennethy had the better rushing

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Speaker 1: attack and that just seems to hurt the Chargers more.

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Speaker 1: But Miami is no slouch. Um. I could see I'm

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Speaker 1: making some noise in the playoffs, but I mean here

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Speaker 1: we are. Here, we are six and six. I don't

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Speaker 1: know if the Chargers have to win out to get in,

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Speaker 1: but they can probably only afford one more loss, and

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Speaker 1: that at that case, it does sort of feel like

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Speaker 1: a much win scenario. Can I add one thing, Chris

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Speaker 1: before you you go, I was gonna say, when it

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Speaker 1: comes to these next two games, I think you have

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Speaker 1: to beat the Dolphins just in terms of the AFC

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Speaker 1: Wildcard playoff race. The Titans are likely going to win

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Speaker 1: their division and burying something just absolutely insane happens. And

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Speaker 1: even though they've sort of slipped these last couple of weeks,

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Speaker 1: they're so far ahead of every other team in that division.

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Speaker 1: This Miami game, this is a must win game. It's

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Speaker 1: a must win game, Haley. And I was just gonna

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Speaker 1: go right back to you with this Miami team because

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Speaker 1: you know, you can talk about the running game. I mean,

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Speaker 1: it's Tyreek Hill and Jalen Wild. Jalen Widdle left that

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Speaker 1: game with a leg injury and was questionable to return.

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Speaker 1: I don't know what his status is going into the game.

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Speaker 1: I know two of left with an ankle injury, but

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Speaker 1: it sounds like he's gonna be okay and ready to

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Speaker 1: go for Sunday. But you gotta turn you gotta turn around,

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Speaker 1: and you gotta beat this Miami team. You gotta beat

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Speaker 1: a playoff team. You haven't beat a playoff team all year.

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Speaker 1: And I think when you look at where the Chargers

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Speaker 1: are now six and six, we've been talking about all

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Speaker 1: the teams in front of them, right The Patriots lost

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Speaker 1: in Week thirteen, the Jets lost in Week thirteen, the Bengals,

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Speaker 1: I guess won, so they've kind of added a little

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Speaker 1: bit more separation. But look at the teams behind the uh,

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Speaker 1: the Chargers right now, the Raiders with a win over

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Speaker 1: the Rams, who have kind of you know, if they don't,

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Speaker 1: they don't really have any guys left on Thursday night,

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Speaker 1: the Raiders could be six and seven by Friday. Um,

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Speaker 1: the Steelers, you know, Mike Tomlin. You want to doubt

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Speaker 1: Mike Tomlin, you know, don't doubt Mike when he's working

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Speaker 1: in Atlanta. Okay, they're five and seven. They have the

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Speaker 1: Ravens who have injury issues at the quarterback position. So Hailey,

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Speaker 1: now we're talking about teams kind of surrounding the Chargers

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Speaker 1: right now. What we talked about, the Jets, the Patriots,

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Speaker 1: the Dolphins who lost, and then behind them the Raiders

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Speaker 1: and Steelers. And you know, thank goodness, the Chargers have

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Speaker 1: the tiebreaker on the Browns too, because they look to

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Speaker 1: have a favorable schedule down the stretch. Yeah, I mean again,

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Speaker 1: that just kind of really sort of restates the over

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Speaker 1: importance of this Raiders game and what a win would

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Speaker 1: have done for in that race. But you can only

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Speaker 1: control what you do at this point out. We've talked

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Speaker 1: off air about this. I think it's going to take

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Speaker 1: ten wins to get into the AFC Wildcard, and I think,

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Speaker 1: as we said, Chris, you and I were texting yesterday,

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Speaker 1: those ten are probably going to be decided by tiebreakers

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Speaker 1: at the same time because there's so much parody going on.

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Speaker 1: So that's why this next stretch is really really important.

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Speaker 1: This next week is extremely important. The Dolphins also, I mean,

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Speaker 1: come on, they're coming off a loss like they're going

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Speaker 1: to have something to play for. Two, they're still in

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Speaker 1: the thick of it in the AFC East and they're

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Speaker 1: not gonna want to lose ground at all. So it

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Speaker 1: is it's just again, it doesn't this loss doesn't knock

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Speaker 1: you out of it, but it just puts you that

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Speaker 1: much further back. Again in a week where teams you

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Speaker 1: needed to lose lost and teams though that sort of

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Speaker 1: were kind of on your heels are winning if you will.

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Speaker 1: So it just this is that really kind of dicey time,

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Speaker 1: And like I said, there's still a season left, but

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Speaker 1: it's shrinking, it's getting shorter. Mike Trico and Chris Collins

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Speaker 1: were talked about this last night at the end of

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Speaker 1: the game when they were previewing the Sunday Night this

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Speaker 1: week fourteen Sunday Night game. The season's getting smaller, So

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Speaker 1: what are you going to do in these next few weeks?

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Speaker 1: I think again, like Eric mentioned, you need to win

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Speaker 1: at least four out of these five, but this next one,

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Speaker 1: with the actual wildcard implications that are on the line,

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Speaker 1: is extremely extremely important. Eric, We've been waiting for that

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Speaker 1: switch to flip with this team in terms of beating

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Speaker 1: a playoff caliber opponent. You have an opportunity in two

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Speaker 1: straight weeks to do that. Can they do it a

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Speaker 1: and be What will they have to do to get

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Speaker 1: a win against the Miami Dolphins. I guess it starts

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Speaker 1: with Tyreek kill I guess if we're being honest. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: for as much as we talk about the run defense,

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Speaker 1: I think it starts with him because if you don't

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Speaker 1: put a roof over him, then I mean, no joke,

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Speaker 1: he could go for two hundred or two fifty and

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Speaker 1: two touchdowns, Like that's just how talented he is. Can

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Speaker 1: they do it? I mean, I think this is like

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Speaker 1: this is like gut check time for the Chargers. Like

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Speaker 1: this whole season has been a grind, right And I

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Speaker 1: thought about it this morning on the drive to work.

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Speaker 1: Every time the Chargers have had a chance to make

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Speaker 1: a statement, they haven't been able to do so. Right,

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Speaker 1: So even back in week two, right one and oh

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Speaker 1: go to Kansas City, can't get it done before the bye.

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Speaker 1: We're four and two. We can't beat Seattle to go

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Speaker 1: to five and two, which would have been huge. You

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Speaker 1: come out of that, you're five and three, you lose

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Speaker 1: at the Niners, you lose to the Chiefs to go

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Speaker 1: back to five and five, and it's just like every

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Speaker 1: time they're right there on the brink of taking that

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Speaker 1: step forward, we have not been able to do it,

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Speaker 1: and we're running out of chances. I think that's a

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Speaker 1: good way to say it. I'm not saying that like

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Speaker 1: this Miami win will will define the season, But if

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Speaker 1: we can't be the Dolphins and we go below five hundred,

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Speaker 1: which is where we haven't been, I think since weeks three.

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Speaker 1: M it'll just sort of summarize like the grind and

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Speaker 1: them just like the fight that fifth season has been.

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Speaker 1: It has not been an easy season for a lot

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Speaker 1: of people, like mentally physically you know. I know we're

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Speaker 1: all probably tired, you know, and we're not even playing

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Speaker 1: on Sundays. But it's just been a grind. I think

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Speaker 1: that the best word I can use to describe to Susan,

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Speaker 1: which five games left, it's time to kind of make

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Speaker 1: a statement, get a win against a good team, a

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Speaker 1: team with a winning record, and yeah, we'll find out

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Speaker 1: Sunday night if if the Bolts can get it done. Eric,

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Speaker 1: I think our level of tiredness will have very little

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Speaker 1: effect on what happens in the last five games of

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Speaker 1: the season. Probably will, probably will. But Haley the path,

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Speaker 1: all right, so you see a path to nine wins

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Speaker 1: because listen, I think this Charge team has benefited from

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Speaker 1: the schedule bakers. At the end of the year, now

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Speaker 1: knowing what we know, right, you have the Colts on

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Speaker 1: the twenty six, you have a Rams team who is

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Speaker 1: depleted as we mentioned, and you have a Broncos team

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Speaker 1: who has just had a nightmare of a season. So

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Speaker 1: it really comes down to, Okay, what is this team

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Speaker 1: going to look like once they get to Indianapolis against

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Speaker 1: Jeff Saturday's Colts. Right, you're six and six, Now are

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Speaker 1: you be eight and six? You'd be seven and seven,

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Speaker 1: You'll be six and eight, like like, these are the

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Speaker 1: next two games that we'll define the season. Yeah, and

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Speaker 1: we've talked about it for a long time. We talked

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Speaker 1: about the San Francisco Kansas City stretch and this next

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Speaker 1: two game stretch and these are obviously more key because

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Speaker 1: they're in the AFC, both of them. But this is

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Speaker 1: really it. This is where you need to figure things

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Speaker 1: out and you can't really mess around and you can't

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Speaker 1: have a Houston situation like you did last year either

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Speaker 1: where you know, maybe Chris the day after Christmas in

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Speaker 1: Indianapolis doesn't go the way that you wanted to go.

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Speaker 1: I don't know, man, that Broncos game at the end

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Speaker 1: of the year. I know that they are a wounded animal.

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Speaker 1: But again, splits are more common than sweeps. And it's

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Speaker 1: the only cold weather game this team will likely play

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Speaker 1: this entire year, depending they make it to the postseason

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Speaker 1: and have to hit the road somewhere. But this is

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Speaker 1: a defining, defining stretch right here, and this is pretty

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Speaker 1: much going to tell you what happens with this team

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Speaker 1: if there's you know, meaningful football that they're going to

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Speaker 1: be playing the rest of the year. But again, you

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Speaker 1: have to take care of business. You can't look too

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Speaker 1: far ahead, but you also have to take care of business.

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Speaker 1: That back end stretch you mentioned it looks winnable, looks good,

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Speaker 1: which you can't have a situation like you had last

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Speaker 1: year in Houston, which I know is the COVID game

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Speaker 1: is still ad justin Herbert. You still add a couple

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Speaker 1: of guys that were much better than that Texans team,

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Speaker 1: but they just got throttled in that game. But this

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Speaker 1: is it, Really this is going to be an exciting

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Speaker 1: couple weeks of final drives here Monday morning quarterback in

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Speaker 1: that we get to do Erica final thoughts. But is

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Speaker 1: we head into yet another Sunday night football game. This

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Speaker 1: team has been on primetime a bunch. I'm not sure

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Speaker 1: we'll see them on prime time on January first against

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Speaker 1: the Rams. It's just a gut I have I have

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Speaker 1: no knowledge. I'm just saying it's just a gut feeling.

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Speaker 1: But what do you think here. Yeah, I'd probably agree

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Speaker 1: with that gut feeling. Um, you know, I think you know,

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Speaker 1: we talk about those final three games, how they seemed winnable.

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Speaker 1: I think you have to you have to give yourself

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Speaker 1: a chance to have a chance in the final three games,

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Speaker 1: and in order to do that, you have to split.

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Speaker 1: I guess these next two games. Um, I think you

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Speaker 1: have to be at least seven and seven going to Indianapolis. Um. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and this is it. I mean we can't. I mean

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Speaker 1: we can't. I think we're all just kind of saying

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Speaker 1: it around and around that this is it, Like there's

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Speaker 1: a season defining moment for the Chargers, for for you

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Speaker 1: know a lot of people in the organization too. Um,

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Speaker 1: you know, how how do they respond when their backstart

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Speaker 1: against the wall? Um, we'll find out. We'll find out

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Speaker 1: Sunday night. Also, can we like try to get a

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Speaker 1: win in prime time too? M I think we're oh

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Speaker 1: and three? Or where what are we at? We three

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Speaker 1: Broncos on Monday night football? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, but it's

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Speaker 1: not good on Sunday Night football. We'll try to turn

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Speaker 1: that around. Yeah, Well, there it is two and Herbert

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Speaker 1: in prime time. It's what NBC wanted. It's what they're

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Speaker 1: gonna get, and uh, it couldn't be bigger for the

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Speaker 1: Chargers that'll do it. Guys, I think we've said all

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Speaker 1: we needed to say at this point, right, It's just

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Speaker 1: they gotta win, and they gotta win against the quality opponent,

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Speaker 1: and they have an opportunity to do so this Sunday

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Speaker 1: for Hellio would Eric Smith, I'm Chris Harry. This has

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Speaker 1: been the final drive