2023 Week 18 Recap

The Around the NFL podcast. Now football is back from the.

Chris Wesley podcast studio. It's Around the NFL the Sunday Flagship program, Week eighteen, the finale of the regular season.

It is now all in front of us.

Dan Hansas here with heroes Greg Rosenthal and Mark Sessler, and yes, here we are. It is set Sunday night football in the rear view. We're gonna get to that game first. We're gonna mix things up, but here it is. You ready, sesst Dog, Yes, here we go. Wild Card weekend, excuse me? Super wild Card weekend. Packers at Cowboys on Sunday afternoon, Rams at Lions on Sunday night, Eagles at Tampa Bay on Monday night. On Saturday, Greg Mark Cleveland, Browns at Houston, Texas.

West of Visus back week case, Keenum involved again.

We got an exclusive Peacock game for the cock fans out there. Dolphins at Chief Saturday fifteen pm. And then Steelers at the number two seed who would have thunk? At Buffalo Bill's Sunday one pm Eastern. With the Ravens and Niners both on bye, It's set. That is the road to Super Bowl fifty.

Eight.

See maybe Okay.

I always struggle with numbers. Football is back. It always it's a little bittersweet always this week team it feels good. It feels good to do it for the last time, but also feels a little sad when you're seeing Scott Hansen say goodbye for the season. And my son I remember this feeling as a kid. He was kind of bummed out this morning that I was like, oh, this is the last one. It's ending, but the playoffs are had.

It's I mean we were having that football as back conversation that was four months ago.

I feel like that was two weeks ago at this point.

By uh, I mean at this at the same point at the same time, like the end of the regular season is also necessary because we have finished the narratives with a bunch of these teams. I feel like this year, though it happened later for a lot of them, which was better.

It's been a great regular season.

And I don't remember like a wild card round with so many and we were talking about it like just like there's a and it could go a lot of different ways. Yes, these games, it's not like you know, there are.

No quote unquote floating trash bag games, right no ham and eggers that are just gonna get picked off.

I mean, it's it.

There are definitely some stronger than less, but like I see some intriguing matchups.

It's there's a lot of unpredictable nature to.

Me and there I really mean it, though I don't say that kind of stuff too much because of sometimes I just I'm not buying into it.

I want to see what happens. But this is a weird wildcard round.

Well wee K eighteen is satisfying the last weekend of the rate. It's satisfying because there are these through lines, Like, yes, some things have changed, some teams are falling apart injury wise, but there are these through lines. And we saw it in what I think that was a great way to cap the season in this Bills game. This Josh Allen roller coaster has been here from the very start of the very first big primetime game of the year to the very last.

Yes, and that is where we're going to start. It is Super Bowl fifty eight. By the way, I mean you knew we nailed it, Yeah you that was close.

Yes, the Bills have been really kind of a great symbol of this season. Unpredictable ups and downs. Just when you believe in a team, they turn their back on you. But then they come back around. And they had to win five in a row to win this division, the AFC East. The Dolphins, who had been in control all year long. But in Miami, in front of thousands and

Back to pass as the Bills fans get into it, buyers out.

To the left sideline and it's intercepted by Taylor Rap, picked off at.

The twenty three yard line.

The pass was off the mark and Rap picked it off before it reached the sideline.

An unbelievable play.

Roberts, your team just won the division on Sunday Night football.

Where are the damn bongos. I'm having some integrity today.

I'm saving it, Okay, he just.

Trying not to be biased. It's okay to be biased. This was a big time, a big spot. This would have deserved them. I gave them the bongos a couple weeks ago. Yeah, I think there was a more deserving.

Okay, choice get a punt return for a touchdown, stops on defense, a touchdown scoring drive by the offense which been up and down all night, and then yes, that final stop on defense the interception by Wrap on.

A float throw by Tua.

And there was a lot of those in this game, and the Miami offense went ice cold when it mattered. Most final score Bill's twenty one Dolphins fourteen. They both finish eleven and six, but the Bills sweep the Dolphins in the home and home, which means they win the tiebreaker, which means it's the Buffalo Bills. As we said, that

They really are overcomers.

I mean, to go through what they went through in the first and have Josh Allen have two end zone interceptions a fumble later on, and you're kind of just waiting for at some point for Miami to heat up because the injury list for Buffalo was starting to rack up. Razuell Douglas went out, Gave Davis went out, Dean Dawkins went out, and it's just like, can they survived this game?

And they've been doing it all year long.

A couple of weeks ago, it would have seemed completely outlandish that they would have won this division with the way that they were such such an up and down nature. But I think it's you know, if you're Sean McDermott, the reason that you're still the coach to this team, beyond Josh Allen is that the Sean McDermott defense needs to be a difference maker and to this Miami offense, which I think really misses jal and Waddle two weeks in a row, missed them tonight. They were out of

That is tough to do. The no show.

It was a complete no show. It was a complete no show. And I know they were missing people. They are banged up too, but Buffalo. I thought the Josh Allen experience in in the final thirty minutes was truly special. It was a truly special version of Josh Allen.

Him picking up that third and forever as a runner where there ended up being a penalty on the play on Miami, was Josh Allen him picking up all those short yardage conversions throughout the game until that last one.

And I'm with you, Dan, I just.

Thought, like, it's worked like six times or five times, is it gonna work one more?

It's okay to run the ball. One of the reasons ten people in the box. You have to have something in your bag of tricks there.

It just run the ball in a normal way. There are different runs, and I think that's why they won the game. First half, the Dolphins are able to run the ball well on those two touchdown drives. They have one hundred yards rushing at halftime. Second half, the Bills come out and they come out running consistently. In that first drive, they end up blowing it, but they run the ball well and the Dolphins can't do anything. And ultimately,

They're nowhere to be seen.

This Bill's defense has really played special considering all the injuries down the stretch they earn this game. If Allen didn't keep turning it over. I know he's the one that set him up. They outgained him by a couple hundred yards in this game.

Yeah, Alan nearly got the Bills beat here with three brutal turnovers.

You know, somewhere worse than others.

There was we were talking about Eric that interception of the I think the second quarter where it was just like what world does this man operating in? But that's kind of been part of his DNA since he came

And great great group tackle by Miami though too.

Great play by Miami's defense. And then in the third quarter, Alan gets the ball ripped away once again in the red zone, which is another great play by Miami's defense, but also Wilkins made a great play, but Allan's got to be better than that. You got to protect the ball. He can't let take anybody take the ball away from you in this moment. But to get the punt return was I think, you know, it kind of gets a little loss in the mix because so much happens in

It's just stuff that wasn't happening to Miami on these special days where we were watching their offense and all because you've been you've you've hovered around Tyreek Hill all season. He had a bad drop Initially he had a second pretty bad drop on late in the game that would have been a big difference maker, but a Bill's DPI saved them on that one. But it's like Tyreek Hill was not Tyreek Kill tonight. He didn't look very healthy

They started the fourth quarter. I'm thinking about the scenario. They started the fourth quarter with the ball and a touchdown lead, and you go back to how that sequence played out. Penalty on Armstead, supposed to be one of their best players, gives him a first in fifteen. Tyreek drops that pass that ends up making it a second and fifteen. They would have been close to a first down there. Then they have a penalty, you know, to

Really.

They have seventeen points against the Chiefs in Germany, they don't really have those moments. Against the Cowboys, they find a way to get it done in a field goal game, and then you have this Ravens and Bill's game. So that's a pretty long resume in their biggest games of the offense just being okay.

They should accomplish not quite. Now the Dolphins they are going to the playoffs and they get the Chiefs in Kansas, city, fun game, nice game.

Interesting.

So if the Miami Dallons would have found a way here, we would had a rematch, it would have been Buffalo going right back to Miami. But the way it works out now, after all of this, the Bills more or less were maybe a lot of people predicted them to be like the number two seed in the AFC, just not the route that we expected.

I'm gonna gloat a bit here, guys.

Go ahead.

I've been following along the in season hard knocks, falling along the Dolphins. Uh uh, you know, I'm gonna pour myself a nice glass, picked my feet up on Tuesday night and enjoy the final the season.

Yeah, so you deserve that now, Dolphins fans waiting for me to the land to kill shot.

I'm not, no, you don't, I mean you can't there.

It's not that long ago that the Bills were the twelve seed in the AFC. I believe they were at six and six.

I was.

I think that was the same week the Jaguars were playing for the one seed on Monday night.

Foot figure was on the panic button at several times this season, guys, and here we are division.

And rightfully so this team has teetered multiple times, but they found a way.

Nice timing for a five game winning streak. All right, they are banged up.

Boat teams are like the one thing about Miami going against Patrick Mahomes, like Andrew Van Ginkel hurt tonight. You've obviously lost Bradley Chubb, Jayalen Phillips. They're down almost nothing at pass Rush.

I think you have Ogba's there making a lot of money. You're right, and Ingram was out there. They were having to send the Blitz to make money. You mentioned though panicking sometimes. Josh Allen was panicking against the Blitz tonight. He eventually settled. But you know who didn't panic this week? That was me when Nick Westling came to me and he called me a coward.

Wait, hold, wait, that's what I want to do right now.

What Nick really did come for your manhood a little bit when he came in off the top rope and called you a coward and called you out. So what I want to do here, I'm gonna take video. Go ahead, You're going to reply to the camera that I'm pointing at you.

I'm going to send this to Nick in real time. We'll get a response for him. Well, we'll also on the podcas right now.

But the moment Nick called me a coward on the show, I didn't take that personally for some reason, I don't have the emotions, the feelings inside where that gets to me. But when he took the Dolphins, I knew that the lock competition would be over for the first time in history before the playoffs, because I'm not a coward. But I recognize someone who's bad at picking games when I see it, and that's Nick Wesley. So if he was taking the.

Dolphin, that made me feel good about the bills. Get up, Mark looks like he's going on a kid. No, it's uh, I mean it's been like all.

Right, I'm sending this off to the Westling thread right now, and I'll let the listeners know if we get a response before we sign on.

Nothing is more enjoyable for Dan and I than to watch Greg gloat as he's destroyed all of us in the law competition.

That's for eighteen weeks.

Back to back years, four out of five years, and league sources have indicated that I'm strongly considering retirement, retiring on top so tough to see if.

You want to retire from the show. Will we'll just bring Nick in just say.

League sources have been reporting that they that, uh yeah, Team Rosenda just feels like it has nothing left to accomplish at this point out on tour in five years.

Yeah, you're a very likable person. That's That's what I've always said about you. Greg.

All right, let's keep moving here and uh and I'll let you know if Nick gets back to us. Uh, let's head and check in on these other games of note in the AFC, and we're gonna go through all the AFC games and then we're going to hit the NFC. But let's go to a Saturday affair in Indianapolis where the Texans and Colts are battling with the division, the playoffs.

Everything on the line. As big a play as you'll have all season. Fourth and one at.

The Houston fifteen Minshew and the gun, Minshew to throw minshell side.

Take up play, the Touxhaits take over on Towns put one oh three to go in the fourth quarter.

Stop Colts can't complete it.

Texans have it well, I mean, first of all, Phil's the Barns.

I stand by it. I'm with you, Eric, this is it up. It is upstart Bongos team and the.

Texans with the stop, the big stop that was a drop and a tough one. Mark vandermir Kilt with the call.

CJ.

Stroud throws for two hundred and sixty four yards and two scores. Devin Singletary scored the go ahead TD with less than seven minutes of play, and yes, the Texans get that stop when fort Goodson, the reserved running back, can't bring in a slightly errant Warner Meanshew pass and it is the difference. So that win for the Texans, combined with a Jaguars loss in Nashville, which we're going to get to, allows the Texans to win the AFC

Mark Sessler and CJ. Stroud. I love that the game starts drops back.

First throw is right in the first primetime game in our league, and he hits it for seventy five and they're off and running from there.

I mean, we've seen like quarterbacks that almost hit like a Peter Principal type thing where it's like you're having a nice season you're a rookie. It's a great story, but you get to a moment like this and we learn that it's the step you need to take in the offseason to get to that next place.

Like c J.

Stroud just rolls onto the scene, executes on the first play, looks completely calm and comfortable, and then I'll go to the final drive where, I mean, in one of the biggest moments of his career, a very short career, in the game tied seven seventeen, he goes seven for seven for eighty two yards to orchestrate the I mean, he's just absolutely perfect in the greatest moment. And I think, like I've said all along, I really think like the Texans are this weird team that are extremely well coached.

They're totally enjoyable to watch.

Dimigo Ryans is someone that has changed the Texans organization from top to bottom and what happens next is anyone's guess.

This game was why Stroud is just an outrageous talent, the best quarterback to enter the league since Burrow and Herbert and man I think his rookie year was more impressive than either of there, certainly than Burrow, but than Herbert too. And this game was perfect because the first half is going to get forgotten, but he combines the spectacular with the steady like an elite, elite quarterback.

The first half, he didn't have one negative play. Everything was perfect.

In the first half of this game, they did not have like a big lead, but every decision he made, every throw he made was perfect, and I was just thinking, Wow, this guy is locked in. There's almost nothing more he can do, even though he's missing No Brown, missing Robert Woods. And then the second half of the game, that's where

Yeah, and listen, you said Demiico Ryans changed the organization, and all due respect to Tomico Ryans, but it's not it's c J.

Stroud. Well, it could be, it could be a combination.

The quarterback is so important in the sport and I just if you put Bryce Young on this team, I just don't see it. But I think you put a guy like Stroud on this team. In the way he's playing, he has totally changed everything for this organization. And you know, we're just saying, like Tua and you know, having Jalen

For a couple know, Brown out take Robert Woods out.

And they still find a way because he had. He's that special dude, and I think we we kind of So I agree with you, Mark, with you take out the Ravens, okay, because the Ravens are cut above in the AFC right now and then, and with all due respect to the Steelers, are going to take them out any of the other teams in the mix.

Here are the five teams in the AFC.

None of them would surprise me like beating up and going on a multiple game run in the playoffs. And I think the Texans are absolutely capable of that. And Stroud is a big reason why, any reason why.

Yeah, it's gonna matter what version of Will Anderson you get, you know, starting eye ankle next week, right, Like that's that. So when I say to Nico Ryans, like I think their defense has completely changed and a lot of young players have developed and grown. Yes, So it's like there is a coaching element, like Bobby Slowick really matters on offense and what he's done with various offensive line injuries.

Nico Collins is gonna get twenty five million dollars a year this offseason if the Texans are smart. He's not a free agent yet, but he I haven't seen many players quite like and he's built like he looks like AJ Green when you just look at him. But he runs. He plays like a tight end. He runs over people. He makes a lot of he has great hands, difficult catches. So they have a one, they have a two in Dell. It was exciting. And yet despite all that, they're really

When they call that fourth and one.

Fourth and one Houston fifteen yard line, one oh six to go, they call a pass play on a day when Jonathan Taylor is running wild, but they say minshew, get the ball to reserve running back Tyler Goodson, who I believe had six catches all year, and the the ball is not perfectly placed, but Goodson can't hang on to it.

Do we have I don't want to do you have the Colts call? Let's hear what the Colts call was? Colts down by six mins.

She's gonna throws drop ball, left, drop the ball.

He had a first to the ball in the far flat. He could not bring in the catch. And it was well schemed.

They had it.

They knew they were gonna have Manda man coverage.

He ran the swing pass out there. The linebacker couldn't get there. He was trying to run around the pick.

Oh my god, heartbreaking. Feels so bad for the guy, and you never want to be And woke up this morning. I feel like I always see this every year cross sports, the ESPN headline stack, and it's like player X drop won't define me, or miss foul shot won't define me, and define me And here is Goodson after the game, who's you know?

Stand up dude? And on the roughest day of his career, I worked too.

Hard, So you know, just drop the ball like that. I got to accept that change, and that's okay.

It still touch my hands.

It's all good.

It's all good, touch my hands. But next year I won't be in that position ever again.

Ever.

Get that feels so bad for me.

Hopefully he does have a moment on the line and this he could look back on this, because that that's a tough way for a season to end and for for good.

So that's terrible.

I mean, I think it's I think it creates one of these conversations that you you get in big games like this where it comes down to like a short yardage final option here, and you've had Jonathan Taylor run for six point three yards on the day, one hundred and eighty eight ground yards and a touchdown, and it's like, wait a minute, we didn't give it to jump. We didn't just give it to your best player or make sure it goes to the to the person who's been dominating all day.

Long, and you've had a bad day. He wasn't throwing the ball while he threw for one hundred and forty one yards, and if he who knows throw, they could have dropped it right in his hands. But it wasn't a great pass from Minshew either, so you kind of you chose with to use your backup quarterback and a backup running back over your star running back who had been having a big day. Those are all second thoughts. Of course, you could also say, well, the play was schemed up and it was perfect.

Right, they're they're professionals.

You got to hit that play.

As a coach, I think it was a fascinating sequence because they did give it to Jonathan Taylor. I mean they gave it to him on that drive the six seven previous plays. Yeah, they gave it to him on third and two he got one yard. I actually thought watching Taylor there, who would come in and he had been ruled doubtful with the heel injury, even though he was getting yards, I was like, oh, they should bring in Zach Moss.

It would take a lot of hood spot.

But I thought he was running it not as explosive, kind of careful on his feet on that six yard game right before the last play, like he had a ton of room. And I thought earlier in the game Taylor hits that and would have picked up a first down. And it was fascinting because I think Steichen might be up there with the best coaches in the league in terms of game management, in terms of play calling, and he played that final sequence very interesting. He decided, like,

Can't kill him.

But then after using the time out, you basically have lost the game because you put it all on that one and they made me wouldn't have won the game either, like he would have been at like the seven yard line and they had four plays to try to score a touchdown.

Oh brutal.

But to the Texans credit, they get off the mat even with all the injuries, and they find a way to close out win the division when they get some help the next day. And here is a locker room that is a happy one with Dimiko Ryans at the front.

Love you guys.

Man, sir too.

Man, you're proud of the determination. Man, you talk about determination, you're grit. Everybody fight to their last play. Yeah, that's what it's about. Man, And we plused our ticket.

Very nice.

Yeah, I don't mean to mean Tomiico Ryans. I just it's more about like the transformational, truly gifted young quarter. It wouldn't look the same about Stroud. I mean obviously, but he was like fire. That's football. It's like Montana Belichick, Braid. I just you got to give everyone.

And it's not because the team is functioning in so many better ways all over the place. And like I just it's it's easy to forget where the Texans were like a year or two ago.

I mean, it was like darkness, or even seven weeks ago. I'll loan up to it. You probably should have probably should have picked.

Them as a team of a deal, you know, but well they were discussed, it happened.

They were the two teams that came down to we caught Park was pushing for Texans.

To his credit, we got we caught Dobbs fever. I mean because I was part of the Dobbs, no regrets, just saying it's fun. But they're a fun team. But Greg sometimes, why what enough? What do you much? How much do you want?

Greg?

What do you want? You want to slice? What do you want me to say?

What do you mean?

What do you want me to say? This isn't about me. I'm giving Mark some credit here. What do you want me?

We gave him a lot of trouble and I was going for the Vikings and he wanted the Texans. He was right.

I was wrong. I wanted Josh Dobbs to thrive. We I think Sobbs was and I signed off. Why do I think it litigated that way?

We we?

It didn't work out. It was it was just the way it was.

But the Texans would have been nice. All of a sudden, we're acting like the Texans are a flawless organization.

I have that orgization since the Texans did a very team of a high high high end team of atl type thing.

I'm trying to give myself us the business the same way we gave him the business or the Vikings back in the day.

It's it's it's all fun, very fun. You're right right as always, You're right Let's move on, uh to the next big game. Steelers and Ravens. Oh boy, Steelers have a chance to punch their ticket too.

Third and four were Steelers from there. Twenty nine shot gun snap and it is Mason Rudolph.

Tamon middle on his way.

Oh take Junson thirty twenty five fifteen ten, He's gone for that Steelers touchdown seventy one yards Rudolph dub.

Judson sweeter that Nellie's blueberry pie. Yes, I tell you again, it's every week, Nelly Bill. He'll grow up at the call.

Mason Rudolph through a seventy one yard touchdown passed the Deontay Johnson on.

The first play of the fourth quarter.

Steelers grinded out seventeen to ten over the top seeded Ravens, who of course rested multiple key players, including MVP favorite Lamar Jackson. That Steelers win, combined with the Jags loss on Sunday clinch he had another playoff appearance for Mike Tomlin, whose team won three straight to close the regular season. My fearless prediction there was that they would not win again, but they went the other so credit to Pittsburgh and never doubt Greg.

Mike Tomlin.

It's a massive fu from Tomlin to everyone who doubted his team and his place in the organization after all these years of consistent success.

They're just a ridiculous team. They are the I think only the fifth team in NFL history to have a negative twenty point differential and win ten games.

Now got they got an extra game.

To do it, but it's still like the Statistically, they're one of the worst ten game wins teams.

Ever, so when we're looking at these playoffs, like they do look like.

The team that stands out, although in this season, you're right, nothing would surprise me. The weather was a massive factor in this game. I've seen some analysis being like all the offenses and it's like the weather was as bad of a weather game as there has been all season. And to naj Harris's credit and their offenses credit, like it was a Naj Harris game, it was not a Jalen Warren game. I don't think they would have won

He's been everything that you would have hoped he was when he was taken in the first round. And you know, if you found out before the game that you know Mason Rudolph was gonna throw for one hundred and fifty two yards fumble the ball three times, you'd think this is, this is a problem. Accept that the Ravens don't have Olamar Jackson. They're nose flowers. They're missing a bunch of guys. But I mean, the biggest thing hanging over this Steelers team right now is that at the end of an

There was eight fumbles in this game. I mean, it looks this was an awful The Steelers picked up six of them, so like sometimes the game comes down to that. They did dominate yardage for the most part, like Tyler Huntley could not get it going. There was more starters in this Ravens game than I think people realize. Like the offensive lines and the defensive lines for the Ravens basically were in the whole game. There were starters throughout the defense for Baltimore.

But Rudolph's been good.

Like even on that touchdown, he had a shorter route, he could have thrown it too, and he always pushes it a little further. He goes further to Johnson gets rewarded with a big touchdown. He only had two incompletions eighteen for twenty for one fifty two. Like they've been pretty solid with Steelers, and there's this report that you know, Pickett is still their franchise quarterback from our guy in rapport, I'm like, what, they're literally going into a playoff game and he's not starting.

That's he's not your card exactly.

Well, it's like just don't stir anything up right now, just say yes, fine, everything's fine, But like come on.

Well, yeah they're in an interesting spot, yeah looking forward, but it is really uh it's it's it's pretty crazy that they did go on this run with Mason r Off on top of everything else. So it's they're they're not the team. They're not the sexy team here obviously in the AFC. And I just said earlier that, you know, I kind of take them out of the mix of the teams that I think can win multiple games.

But geez, I'm not going to doubt Tomlin. I'm not going to do the Steelers.

You know, maybe they'll knuck another one up and find a way uh next week, because they you know, they're starting to believe in it.

But the t J.

Watt injury is is massive. I think that is what takes the most win out of the sales here one hundred percent.

Yeah, it's it's unfortunate, but it is an incredible division, in this division which ended up having so many winning teams. Everyone's a winning team, and the Steelers won five and one in it. I know there's some weirdness to it them playing backups including Huntley and Browning and in the proud, but they still went five and one in the best division.

It's good and the Ravens that they get out healthy here.

Trying to think uh. I think they pretty much did get out healthy.

I mean, I guess one of the benefits of sitting your key stars on offenses they can't get hurt.

So they will of course have the buy and then they will face the lotus lowest seeded remaining team in the divisional playoffs.

All right, let's keep on moving.

Oh let's head to Tennessee where the Titans team that's had a rough year had a chance to do something. Run arrivals year. That's always a good thing. Let's see if they did it.

Riffed out in two.

I think they did.

I just Lawrence in the show.

I want to spoil it looking firing in hell. Yeah, pass was.

Intended for Evan Ingram Edmunds had good coverage and the Titans take over on downs at the thirty two, only needing to kneel to win this game.

Mike Keith, I'm really happy I get that.

Wonder if Mike Keith's one of those guys where it's always his full name, he only gets addressed by full name Mike Keith. With the call with Dave McGinnis the Jaguars, they just couldn't get it done. With the season hanging in the bounce, Trevor Lawrence sailed that pass incomplete and the last place Titans escape of the twenty eight to

For Lawrence and the whole Jags organization. The implosion is complete.

I mean we've been sensing it and feeling it, and yet they still had a chance at the very end of this game to tie it up against the Titans team that was playing like with a tarow set on fire, and you have that poor past Evan Ingram just off target. It kind of looked reminded me of like the frustrating moments from Trevor Lawrence in the past, but this game had plenty of those, because earlier on that same drive, Calvin Ridley is wide open and Trevor Trevor Lawrence just basically overthrows him.

It's just he's off. It's like he could have that would have been a touchdown. He could have sealed it right there.

You There was a ricocheted interception early in the game, which wasn't totally on Trevor Lawrence at all, but he threw a bad interception of Sean Murvy button bunting on what was a clear communication.

There was a downs that they went out on downs early on a where he.

Throws short of the sticks on fourth and six, And there was a goal line stand where Trevor Lawrence is stopped at fourth and goal, you know, inside the one on a QB sneak and he stuffed and and the one thing about that play is that Trevor Lawrence switched into that play and he took it. He took total accountability for it. But he said, if I'm gonna do that, I've got to nail it. And it was just like this team had no margin for error without Christian Kirk.

The Titans were up for this. Derrick Henry his last game, likely as a tight end. He spoke on the Jumbo Chawn after the game like thanking listen everyone.

I thought this was interesting and fun for UH, one of the one of the great players in franchise history.

Hi, man, I just want to say thank you.

What the greatest eight years.

Of my life.

The ups and the downs, y'all been up and everything at Versity Washington, Garth and person and the player always supported me.

I love y'all.

I love seeing his pictures in the stadium. Hopefully ill was an information.

To all the young kids and everybody in the community who is thank oh so much.

Man, God is good and tighten o. What a class act.

And the only reason I know he's gone beyond that speech was after the game during the press conference he thanked his avocado guy in Inville.

So that's when you know it's over. You're you're leaving the neighborhood.

Yeah.

There was a great shot of him in Tannehill kind of having a quiet moment before going out for the game and him Henry was kind of emotional talking.

About what a career in Tennessee. If that's it right, saying that's my dude.

And it was fitting for him to run all over the the Jaguars nineteen for one to fifty three because he's been doing that his whole career. Fifteen hundred and sixty four yards against the Jaguars in fifteen games, which seems outrageous. He average over one hundred rushing yards in

Yeah, but I'm also gonna I'm not gonna bury Tua for the way he played in this game and then let Lawrence off the hook because he did he did make some you know, boneheaded mistakes and turn the ball over throughout the season. I just wonder how healthy he was, Like even going into into the weekend, you were seeing reports on.

Saturday about his shoulder and how serious it might be.

And he's a competitor who likes to stay in the lineup, so he forced himself in. I just I wonder if you're going to learn more about his health in the days after the season.

He had three separate injuries, and it wasn't like, you know, he's hobbling around out there. It wasn't Joe Burrow with his calf situation. But it's like, you're right underneath what we can't see. It's like, is it affecting even mentally what you're thinking you can do, because I mean, I think we saw that, like justin Herbert a year ago when he was banged up. It's like it changes your mentality if you don't feel one hundred percent.

I mean, they were in that division game last year, Divisional round game against the Chiefs. They had they really could have won that game because of the injury to Mahomes, but they had drops, they had untimely turnovers, they had some sloppy defensive play, and then that kept happening all year and basically this season for them was flipped from last year. They had that strong finished last year. This year they end up collapsing. And I do wonder if

For some drama.

Absolutely, So the Jaguars go home and we see what happens next with them, and let's keep moving. Now, we'll head across the sidewalk where the Chiefs and Chargers did battle well.

Se Den and Gold to go. Stick wants to throw it, He's gonna pump faked strabble. He's hit and.

Goes down and fumbles it, picked up by Mike Edwards. Edwards at the thirty room to run Amena who.

Knocks it out of Edwards trying to get a defensive score.

Thirty twenty ten five touchdown chamsa city, Mike Edwards, the king of.

The pick six, gets a scoop and score.

Yes, Mitch Holtis with the call, big time scoop and score there for the Chiefs, and then they get a field goal from Harrison Buger with forty nine seconds to play. It's the difference in a thirteen twelve of courses is how the Charger season went ends thirteen twelve Chiefs over Chargers, and the Chiefs finish eleven and six and locked into the AFC's number three seed for the playoffs entering the game,

In the history of the league.

There aren't too many, as you would say, ultra moribund teams.

This season.

There's been a like, you know, you can trust them to kind of show up. The Chargers season needed to end, and it needed to end weeks ago, and it mercifully has come to a conclusion. And I feel like, like everyone from Austin Ekeler running for eleven yards off ten carries. Like everything's just bottomed out with this team right now and it's time for a long winter snapt, a.

Lot of charges, a lot of Jim Harbor.

Chatter.

Jim's been trying to get back into the league for years through you know, dropping these sources. And he interviewed with the Vikings, didn't get that they gave it to O'Connell.

And it's coaching in the National Championship Championship.

On Monday, been suspended a couple of times. It really sounds like that'll be his last game with Michigan and that the Chargers everyone's saying is interested him. And I think if they're interested him and they want to hire him, I think they probably can. So that'll be the next

It wasn't a win some of the Bills.

It put the Steelers in early, so the Steelers weren't waiting to find out anything either.

But the Chiefs, that's a tougher matchup for them Miami.

I gotta think they're a little more concerned with a Dolphins team coming in there than the Steelers.

I was hoping Jeff Smith was going to get a win before his interim run. Maybe just make him head coach.

You could, But they close the season with five straight losses well, including three straight after Staly and Telesco got let go on December fifteenth. So the Chiefs, we will see. They are to me the kind of X factor in the AFC. If they're true to their form of this year, they'll have another disappointing offensive performance and they could be one and done and that would be fitting and that would make sense.

I don't know, never know. It's kind of crazy. Then do you think it's also possible they go on a run?

Absolutely based on sure, it's possible. A men's history. Like, yeah, a men's history. Yeah, I mean that's all it's about. It's not about anything we saw really this year.

It would be surprising if they suddenly became elected.

Patrick Mahomes is their quarterback. But we've been saying that all year. That's why they are a tough one to figure out. All right, let's take a break and then we will keep rolling. All right, let's keep moving here. Let's head to Cincinnati where the Bengals are looking and their season with a winning record.

That Brown's nothing to play for his.

First down in goal from the seven. Joe Mixon has one rushing touchdown so far here in the first quarter. He's in the backfield to the left of Jake Browning, running back at the twelve, ready for the snap. Catches looks left coast to Mixon.

Just half a cell and he's into.

The end zone.

Touchdown Bengals by Joe Mixon with a touchdown run and a touchdown catch and the Bengals are up by two tds.

Fun fact mark Dave Lapham gets paid three hundred and twenty seven thousand dollars a year.

Just to go boom boom. Well, I don't know who else you can put in that spots knowing Yeah, Dan.

Hord with a call with Dave Lapham with the booms w ck y Jake Browning through three touchdown passes. Joe Mixon rushed for a season high buck eleven and a score also cut that touchdown. The Bengals coast to a thirty one fourteen win over the Browns. The Bengals led this game twenty four to nothing at halftime on a day when Cleveland locked into the fifth seed of the afc rested their key players on each side of the ball.

It's also because they have a winning record, the first time that this division has all finished with a winning record since the version of this division that goes back to like nineteen thirty something from something called the NFL West.

I'd be curious how many divisions since the realignment.

No.

Two.

I think it's very very many times it's happened. It's got to be this in the oh.

So that's that's a nice finish for the Bengals. On that note, I mean, this game had me wondering, you know, in the old days, they would take like the nfv NFL title team and how them go play sometime later in the winner like.

A collection of like college all stars. And that's what I thought. This game kind of was a test sample for a little bit.

It was like everyone of importance for the Browns was not on the field, and like the most dismayed, annoyed person to me seemed like Jim Schwartz, who had had this like pristine defense and is watching like these marks like because you know they had, Like some of the stuff they've done goes back decades for this Browns team in terms of what they've achieved. After the first quarter was one hundred and fifty nine yards to zero, at halftime, it was two hundred and forty one to seven, one

Everyone's very open about with the celebrations. Now when they hit the trigger the escalator, I.

Guess it matters. I mean I don't like honestly, it's like you guess it matters.

No, I mean for some of their salaries, it's it's it's a portion, but like you know, bonuses are nice. We all feel like, I don't know what else to take from this game. It's like they just did their work and Cleveland don't have anything. It was it's my one thought was like, you can't have even though it's Week eighteen, you can't have too many of you can't have too many regular season games like this.

It just was a weird setup.

Like if you were if you paid a lot of money to go to the stadium, it's it was just a strange.

At least it was in Cincinnati.

You're gonna have probably over under three a year, and it's unfortunate.

You're right, like you have to like the ticket payers.

Either that's like the biggest game of the year, or it's a guy who is on the Cardinals practice squad literally two weeks ago draft with yeah they signed them and started this game, but yeah, that it's the last time we'll see the Bengals like this. That's my only thought that you know, mix In actually might be back. But Tyler Boyd, who had a big drop in this game, had a really tough year. Higgins like, this team is

It's also weird though that Jake.

Browning like and quarterback wins is not a stat but they had a winning record with Jake Browning. They didn't with Joe Burrow. They were there five hundred with Joe Burrow. They were won over with Jake Browning. So it's just that sort of weird season. And yes, the injury was a big part of that early even the first though injury, that's what I mean. It was, That's what I mean, the first injury without heard of him, maybe Jack Jake Browning was playing early in the season. You let Burrow

Let's move to Foxborough where it was a potentially historic end of an era for the home team.

High Formation Breese Hall, the I back takes another hand off, runs left, buying some.

Room, gets free down the side goes Brice Hall and the thirty and seven twenty Brights. The tackle ten five touchdown plans an icing on the cake jet touchdown for Brice Hall, snow Angels, and the offensive ends on for the Jets.

Rots went away.

I gotta say seeing Robert Craft kind of slinking out of the box on the CBS telecast. Yeah, it cost us draft pick standings, but it's nice to just win up there. I don't want to be part of Bill Belichick's victory parade out of town.

Okay, No, the opposite occurred.

Breese Hall rush for one hundred and seventy four yards and the clinching score on thirty seven carries. This Jets coaching staff drives me crazy, I think, because they're trying to get him a thousand yards, which he just missed. But thirty seven carries in Week eighteen as well, and the Jets snap a fifteen game losing streak against the Patriots with a seventeen to three win. It might be probably is Bill Belichick's final game with the team for

You know, it's a disappointing year for all of us players, coaches, staff, tire, organization. Not anything that any of us are in any way content with.

So but it is what it is.

As far as the future goes, I'll sit down with Robert as I do every year at some point at the end of the season, and you know, we'll talk about things as we always do. Sure that'll happen. But that's really about all I have to say about that right now, because there's something else to talk about.

Uh, there's plenty to talk about. But he was also sick, by the way, That's why his voice sounded that way.

I mean, it doesn't sound like something that's going to happen like tomorrow morning, like. And also the other reports out there is I like, if they move on from like their long targeted replacement would be Jared Mayo, So it's like, you don't have to rush you're gonna rush out and hire someone else necessarily.

He sounded defeated to me. Was weird.

It was a weird site because it was obviously, like, you know, Belichick not wearing his normal hoodie's like in a parka with his entire body and face covered in a blinding snowstorm. And while the offense, which is not in twenty twenty three offense, is going one for fourteen on third down, you've got no answers to quarterback. Even if he were to stick around, there's a lot to work on.

Yeah, I just I never thought he was sticking around at any point in the last two and a half months. There's no reason to think that when Robert Craft looked out into the stands. If you're watching us on YouTube, we have a tweet of just what the crowd looked like in this game. And yes there's a snowstorm, but there's been a lot of snowstorms with full crowds. If they were playing meaningful football, there would be a full crowd.

There were audible jets, chances, it was wild.

It was empty at Jillette Stadium, as Bill Belichi, and it's fine. It's unfortunate it had to end this badly, but it usually ends badly. I'm, as a Patriots fan, just hopeful they kind of stick the landing of how this goes. That it's not ranked.

You know, there's not a lot of rancor and drama and bad blood. And we'll see.

He called a seven thirty am press conference tomorrow Bill Belichick to say, like the end of the year thing with the media on zoom. So, you know, Merry Christmas, happy that you're Mike Giardi. You're getting up early. I assume he's showing up for that because seven thirty am, you would you would think nothing's happened. By seven thirty eight, it's hard to it's hard.

To imagine it.

But like, you know, the Patriots first without Brady, but now without Belichick, if that's where this is gonna go down. And you know, I was on a couple of different fatalistic Jets text threads and everybody's like, oh, they beat the Pats and now that they're gonna get a big time quarterback, Well maybe they have a third overall pick, and maybe the Pats do, but they don't have Tom Brady anymore. They don't have Bill Belichick anymore. And it's

It's a new day in New England, right.

I look at the back on this podcast, in the history of our podcast, at least if looked at through one very specific prism, was the history of like saying that the Patriots era was over, and then it wasn't like at various points believing, oh, is this the end of the Patriots era? For it started in twenty fourteen, Is this the end of the Patriots era? Then we got to twenty eighteen, Wow they got another super Bowl?

Is this the end?

The next year when they lost to the Titans in that final game and the Dolphins in the final regular shay, okay, this is the end.

And then it's like Cam Newton and Mac Jones.

Now you look back and you think, wow, they had a winning record with Cam Newton and they made the playoffs, but back to that was actually a good coaching job, and it's like that's the end. And so it's just been like a successive like decline of decreasing returns on these endings, and I think it will be good. And that's why I'm not totally in love with the drawd Mayo idea, and not sure I even totally buy it either, because it feels like, maybe just start totally anew, start totally anew.

I don't know, I thought, I thought, I don't know what what happened corner of the market with this one, you know, I thought, I'll I'll lock up New England. He was going to be a rousing final curtain call for Bill Belichick. And and you know, part of attach to that was like actually trying to wish well for the Jets, who would have a better draft pick. And you know, as you told me when you came into the office today, don't put any of your fortunes ever attaching them to the New York.

Jets just a terribly fit. It's not going to give you what you want.

They're not going to That is one I don't know much, but in my time on this earth, that team's not going to give you what you want.

Even if it's a day where they won, they didn't give you what you wanted.

They fell what yeah, from the sixth spot where the Giants will pick now ten spot, which is not insignificant.

But I gotta say, like that was the first time they beat him since I remember being in the old newsroom in Culver City when they had that overtime walk off with Eric Decker from Ryan Fitzpatrick. It's just nice. It's nice to win. Maybe this is a part of getting older. I'm getting more closer to the Keith Hands side of things. I don't want them to lose all

The last twenty years. All right, let's keep moving.

Let's go to Las Vegas, where Antonio Pears was trying to end his successful internship with a win.

O'Connell starts the fourth first and ten on the thirty three pump fix of the left, takes the shot deep down the left sideline, pumping that the five is Myners.

Catches, walks in touchdown.

Raiders ca pump fake froze the defense and Myers down the sideline.

He has run one in, he has cut one.

And the Raiders in full control here on the first play on the fourth quarter.

Former Patriots Agobe Myers had a nice debut season with the Raiders. He had two touchdowns, and yes, Antonio Pierce does get yet another win to close out the season.

Evan to fourteen.

The Raiders beat the Broncos on a day in which Aidan O'Connell threw for two hundred and forty four yards and two scores. Zamir White went over one hundred yards, and that is eight straight wins for the Raiders over the Broncos, including all four wins since they moved to Vegas. So these are two teams eight and nine in a division that is still the Chiefs Division, but the Chiefs came back to the pack a little bit this year.

Neither intrigued me on any level in terms of, like what happened today. I've kind of been pitching, and I think that Antonio Pierce deserves a long look. I think we'll get one. Penn's who else is out there for Mark Davis to consider? I mean, they flat out just played better under him. I mean even to like lose Josh Shacombs and have someone like Zamir White come in and run the way he did.

Their defense.

We talked about, like leading in points per game allowed since he's taken over. These things are tangible evidence that the team's playing hard for him. Uh, you know, I to me, it's like, I don't know what else you could have asked an interim to come in and do.

That still may not be.

Enough, Right, He's five and four. Uh, as as the interim head coach. Neither of these teams deserve to have a winning record, so I like that he put that.

They're just celebrating right relations to their peers. I've been sitting on that for weeks. It was Zaustria bump and I'm like, oh, I love man, I have a court bottle popping and I'm like, that's on me. I should have known because you did tell me that, and I love it. The Peers pop absolutely, and there's been a Peers pop this year.

I do like that.

Sean Payton said all week it was very important for them to finish with the winning record.

This game mattered. I'll eat it to him and then he ate it.

I think it's fair for Broncos fans to, you know, I wanted them to curb their optimism a little bit because I'm not sure where this organization is going to either one of these teams.

But here's what I know, Broncos.

Fans, if you lose eight straight games to the Raiders in the twenty twenties, you're a disgrace.

Oh yeah, they know eight straight to the Raiders. That's so ran. They know that they do better against the Chiefs. What what what bizarre?

And the crowd was chanting AP with one on one to play. According to the AP, oh that's pretty cool. Uh yeah, And I'm the way into the stadium.

All there were all these fans there that were like had signs up for Antonio Pears and all this stuff.

As he's driving in, they know the way he drives in, and he.

Parks his car, gets out of the car and goes around and hugs like fifty of them.

That's the sign of a man who's like this guy, mother, Teresa, I don't know.

He's just like, I don't know if I'm gonna get to do this ever.

Again in my life.

I'm going to enjoy it and thank these people very forgiving me some Pierce Pop Pierce Pop.

All right, that is the AFC. We're going to take a break and then we'll hit the NFC side of things. See, it's a tournament's American Football Conference and a National Football Conference, and they have their own tournament, and the winners of their respective tournaments they play in the big one.

I hope that there's someone out there that did not know that that you actually just taught them that that would be well.

I've taught my sons, that and that kind of when you first become cognizant to the way the conference structure works.

It's a pretty big thing.

Yeah, they're still trying to figure this out. It's so like both tournaments are very exciting, and then to have the winner of the tournament face off in a bowl game.

In its own tournament, a tournament of one game, a super Bowl of champions.

It's a super Bowl pretty out there, Mark, Do you want us to continue to talk about this?

Yes, absolutely, Well let's take a break.

We'll talk during the break about it, and then we'll hit the NFC, which is the other conference.

Correct, All right, we'll be right back. Welcome back.

Yes, we just took a stroll through the AFC, and this the final week of the regular season playoff football just ahead. Now, let's dive into the NFC side of things, and let us start with some business, the business of winning divisions. Okay, and that starts in landover with the Dallas Cowboys.

And this is unlikely. Nobody saw this coming.

The Dallas Cowboys, who seemed to be locked into that number five seat a couple weeks ago. Nobody realized the depth of Philadelphia's issues. The door opens for the Cowboys. All they have to do is beat the lowly Commanders. Could they get it done?

Let's go.

Prescott's in the gun, back to throw, looking right, scrambles left, still got it, scrambles back right, frozen the enzone.

Cut for a touchdown in the back of the end zone. My CD Lamb, I see you, you see me?

That is up with that one, Brad Sham the sham god, friend of the show, kr ld Dak Prescott to cede Lamb, unstoppable Lamb put the finishing touches on one of the great statistical seasons ever by a wide receiver, ply in thirteen passes for ninety eight yards and two more touchdowns. By the way, I think I said the other day, he scored in nine straight games. And running backs you see stuff like that quarterbacks. But a wide receiver scoring

And that is a spicy meatball. My friends, It is.

An extremely spicy beetball and we'll have a week to talk about that. The Packers and Matt Laflour could get their old buddy Matt McCarthy fired if they win that game. But for todight, the Cowboys should enjoy it because this is progress, even though it's the Eagles that.

Kind of o in a week, But enjoy this moment, right.

Well, that's I'm not reporting anything in particular. No, it's out there chefter I and they're basically saying like it'll depend on how the playoffs go, so you can draw your conclusions. But this was a different Cowboys season. They did take care of big business in like important spots consistently. Dak Prescott just preposterous today. Five and five incompletions, four touchdowns, Yeah, and.

He's thrown the ball with like ten minutes to go in the game and they're up three or four scores.

And we had a good theory why the way.

So I was wondering at a certain point because we saw it a lot this week with guys looking to hit escalators in their contract and hit certain numbers. I was like, are they trying to get him another touchdown in case, this MVP vote comes down to him versus La Marx. I think he is Dak probably not gonna win MVP, but I think he's going to come in second place.

And he didn't get that extra touchdown, but he stayed healthy.

That's a very important aspect of this for the Cowboys who get out of this game, as from what I saw as we are recording the shortly after the game, without any serious injuries. Michael Parsons laughing on the sideline in the fourth quarter, as I said, ceed Lamb, unbelievable what he's been able to do. And you know, it is a different Cowboys team, and we might be saying something totally different if they lay an egg next week. But this regular season was different because they did find

They are.

I would say the reason that dynamic exist is because we see this Cowboys team as one that should win multiple playoff games.

They really should. They are different to me.

Last year's team tripped up against Washington in the finale and then stumbled in the playoffs in extraordinary fashion for the second year in a row. It would be pretty stunning if this team went and did that because I think that part of their DNA is not present right now. I know they've had some a couple of weeks that

And today, I know it's not a great Washington offense, but they put.

The clamstent on that and I thought we saw a better version, least for stretches of this game of Tony Pollard. He's not the guy that you thought he'd be or who you'd win a huge first he did. He had like fifty seven yards and you know, he made a difference. And I think that aspect because they're going to get into some tight spots, like if you can be balanced in those two areas, it makes Dak Prescott, who is playing out of his mind right now, all that much.

Better, right.

Stefan Gilmore did have his shoulder pop out of place, he said during the game, and then he didn't return, but he says he popped it back in and oh yeah, he says he'll be fine for.

Next He was in a sling on the sideline but he was kind of chuckling it up on the side. Yeah, he said after the game he should be fine. I'm with you. The run game matters.

Seedee Lamb's numbers that you mentioned one hundred and thirty four catches, seventeen hundred and forty nine yards and twelve.

And he caught all thirteen of his targets. That is an outrageous season.

And it's hard to take too much out of the Cowboys here because this the Commanders have been the biggest dead team walking in the league. Ron Rivera saying after the game he didn't know when he was going to meet with ownership, but you would think that is going to come on Monday before we do our next show.

The Black Monday Show, And after that Week six loss to the Niners is when. And they said it during the telecast today, which I hadn't heard. Maybe I did, but you know, so much stuff comes across our desk throughout the season that ceede LeAnn went into Mike McCarthy's office after they got blown out by the Nyers and said, you got to start treating me like a true number one. You got to get me the rock. And he had thirteen hundred yards after week six. I mean, this is

Next head coach.

Now heard this from different reporters, have just out there, your boss and different teams for a different you know, and maybe they all are.

And he was once enamored with Greg Mike Florio and these are well things changed and then he was very much not enamored.

When when things changed and I came to around the NFL, what a what a decision.

What a flash point?

That was?

All right, let's keep moving on. So the Lions entered Week eighteen hoping to move up to the number two seed, which obviously now we know that the Cowboys are there, but it didn't matter. Dan Campbell is going to play as starters. And let's see what happened against the team of around the NFL.

Jared takes turns, fakes, the gift sets in the pocket. Jared drifts left, looked. Look now he throws downfield.

It is caught left sideline cutting back.

That is I'm and Ross Saint Brown angleing get the twenty five to the twenty cut back at the ten. The five fighting at the two.

Touchdown Detroit line, Oh baby water run by Ross Saint Brown anglely across the field, cutting it back seventy yards from Jared Goff.

I just in court in my eye see Mark shaking his head dark, genuinely upset. I'm not upset at all.

I actually just I just imagine like the actual announcing crew in the booth, and then you're just behind them like screaming something.

I'm like the fans. Yea here under Dan Miller's voice, no drink dumped on you. I wish I had a drink right now. A mon Ross Ain't Brown from seventy yards out because Dan Campbell doesn't rest a starter. Dan Campbell doesn't rest period. Jared Goff threw a couple of touchdown passes, and the Lines close out a fine regular season with a thirty to twenty win.

Over the Vikings.

Yes, the three seeded Lions, so it ended up they couldn't move because Cowboys wouldn't let it happen. Still finished twelve and five, Greggy. That matches their nineteen ninety one team win total all time.

Wow.

Late an extra game this year, but still they will host a playoff game for the first time since the nineteen ninety three season.

Mark. That's camp happiness, Trek.

It is.

It's back in that zen when they were playing at the old Pontiac's Silver Dome. Their opponent at Ford Field will be the Rams and a former franchise cornerstone, Matt Stafford.

He gotta love that.

But Gregi Campbell's aggressive decision to play his starters did prove costly.

Yeah.

Sam Laporta's injury to me was the most important part of this game. A knee injury that Dan Campbell said after the game was not as bad as they feared, but it was bad and the reporting indicates it's some sort of he They called it. A ian called it a bone bruise and something else hyper extension, hyper extension, But it cast.

A few weeks.

Sounded like he would probably miss a game, which is really disappointing, and it wasn't the only injury in this game. Brian Branch left but was gonna it, says after the game that he's going to be fine. And then Khalif Raymond, who played a really big part in this game, also was injured, and that one did not look good. And you think, Okay, Cleiff Ramon good returner, kind of a

Will be back, and Raymond was playing that role.

And Raymond's punt return and his forty one yard catch were monster plays in a game that the Lions always felt like they had. They were up two scores most of the game, but it didn't look like two teams that were wildly uneven. The Vikings ended up tallying up in true Nick Mallins fashion four hundred and forty eight yards. He had three ninety six, and the two teams were kind of going back and forth and the Lions getting it done when they needed to.

So that is disappointed. I don't kill Dan Campbell for playing his guys.

It happens, but this was close to the worst case scenario, and as Lions fans, I can hear you in my head right now pointing out Cleif Rayman would have been playing in this game. Yes, you can't avoid injuries. Cleif Raymond, for instance, would have been playing Lynn Laportam. Maybe he would have been playing too, because they already have injuries at ti end. You can only sit so many players. But it was just and in fairness, yes, they were playing for something.

Yeah you are. Yeah, they had a chance if things went to move up a spot.

And if you're the two seed, you know you're one major upset away from maybe hosting the NFC title game. So it didn't work out. You understand the frustration by certain corners of Lions fandom, but ultimately it's this is the game and it comes with the risk.

Well, and the Dan Campbell Lions have an inherently aggressive approach to everything, so it would have been a typical for them to pull your watching Philadelphia get waxed on the scoreboard and the Cowboys commander's game was closed for a stretch at least, and so you keep going with

He's been so important to them. The Lions just the way that they're built.

They are four different players with ten plus scrimmage touchdowns, which is it's the second most by any team in NFL history. They're really balanced, they're really constructed. They've been healthy. Outside of losing some running back play here and there.

They've been really healthy.

So to lose Laporta like a week before the biggest Lions game in decades is highly unfortunate.

Yeah, their run game was very blat today, so that was a little I wouldn't say worrisome, but it was atypical of what they've been throughout this season. But Gibbs did get a touchdown in him and Laporta are the first rookie teammates ever to have ten touchdowns in a season. But Aiden Hutchinson's I think had two of his best games, if not the best games of his career in back to back weeks.

He was dominant in this game. So they do have a lot of positives.

But I'm sure there's plenty of Lions fans out there that see Matthew Stafford on the horizon and they think, Oh, isn't that fitting?

We have to get over this. How about that?

There was one amazing little tidbit that happened in this game. Yes, that you know, and this is a very Dan Campbell thing too. He had Dan Skipper come in and report eligible and then he caught a pass on a drive that resulted in a touchdown a couples a.

Couple of plays later, it was Dan Campbell in motion, essentially playing a tight end with a huge block that set up David Montgomery for the touchdown.

Dan Skipper, that would be even more impressed. Sorry, yeat, it was the Dan Skipper drive.

He gets the catch, he gets the block, and we say goodbye to you know what, wasn't the best decision in the world to go a team of atl for the Vikings, but you went some. It was some We thought we'd have justin Jefferson this all time, and he was a little in and out. He did get twelve for one to ninety two in this game. He has over a thousand yards. This stat is better than a lot of these Lions stats because all these stats are like, oh,

I'll say this real.

Person And so Jefferson, this is from the thirty third team on Twitter. He missed seven games, as you said, he missed parts of two other games, right to still break one thousand yards and to to to put a a final period on the team of atn I think at the quarter if Dobbs continued to play, well.

That's the whole other sit projecting and hanging her head.

And I think they would have been they would have been one of the teams that you know, they could have been the Packers, but instead Dobbs faltered and then they they kind of ran out of jewe.

So what's also what makes shepard since achievement that like he played with a total quarterback tornado.

They collapse. I mean that this was the ultimate Mullins game. He got three ninety six about a couple of late touchdowns.

Oh, Dan Campbell, Dan Skipper.

Dan ansis also big news here because I'm on a roll now in the locks, and I think I just moved past the custog and the.

Disaster occurred on my on my side of things, Daddy Rich making a move that silver badle. I'll actually glad it worked out for you. So we don't have to it's it's it's just it's better this.

Way, all right, Let's uh keep moving. So let's what else is going on in the NFC. Yeah, those those Eagles, so they were at the mercy of the Cowboys. But it's important to know that the Eagles and Cowboys kick off at the same time. Eagles don't know what's gonna happen, you know. They they go out and take care of business against the Giants, and then you hope for the best. They did not take care of business. Everything everything that you can go wrong around the Eagles right now, it's

He escapes to his Leckowt Pitchers at the Slaton. He's a ten to the five for the touchdown.

Tyron in the last second, just throw it out to Slayton who was wide open.

Darius Slayton's four.

Touchdown catch of the season, and with one forty seven ago on a half, the Giants are taking it to the Eagles.

It's now twenty three and to nothing.

That kind of missed you in that call, Dan Now sounded so silent we knew seeing Ironically, I'm mad at you for talking over six.

But Mark, I know where you're coming. There you go, perspective hits it again. Let's hit that again.

Yes, flash point focus this week on the Eagles. How bad can it get?

It?

It keeps getting worse because they go down twenty four to nothing at the half at the Meadowlands to a bad Giants team and they lose twenty seven to ten. So they are on the road at Tampa next weekend. And Mark, I mean, listen, you tell us because we know there's injuries on top of this.

AJ Brown goes out of this game. Jalen hurts.

You can fill us in on all that, But how could you have any confidence in this team, healthy or not after what we've seen this last month or so?

No, our flash point came at a at days before what would be the most concerning performance yet for the Philadelphia Eagles. Prescient and it's yes, because that's how that series works. A disastrous start to the game after they punt on their opening drive on the second march. After the Giants punted, they go down the field, A J. Brown makes a catch and is wired up in a couple of defenders, goes down and limps off the field with the knee injury. He's ruled as questionable and not

That does not say it.

I mean it looked bad. I was like, I don't know if he's going to come back. And they look dislocated, is what it looked like. It was facing the wrong direction.

He did come back in and in fact, like Nick Sirianni totally, he was somewhat like optimistic about hurts, like after the game, but what we'll see but in Brown for that matter, well, yeah, but Brown's looked bad.

So I'm interested to see what happens with that.

But Gariffolo says, not believed to be serious.

Yeah, So it's like it's not just that though the defense, which has been run over left and right, I mean today it was different. Like Tyrod Taylor, who left the game multiple times too, is winging the ball down field. They put up two hundred and seventy two yards in the first half against the Eagles, who may and it's only one hundred and two of their own hurts.

And the entire offense and most.

Of the starters are pulled before halftime because they're watching the score of the Cowboys game and the score of their own game, and they're watching the starting quarterback be dismantled behind their offensive line.

Right, you would have thought they would have pulled their starters because they had such a big lead. They pulled their starters because they were already trailing by so much they had no chance to win. And the Brown injuries concerning although you know Mike Careful again saying it's not believed to be serious. Red Blankenship, who's really important in that secondary, left the game with an injury, and Cam Jurgens, their guard, left a game with an injury. So they

Stunner, So that I mean, and now listen, and we try not to be overly reactionary, but you asked the questions about what happens if the season ends worst case scenario, Well, we just completed a meltdown where they lose five of six to close the regular season. If they go down to Tampa and things stay ugly, the it can get

Right, they always were not as good as their record, And I've seen some things as like, look, they were never that good. They were always you know, their point differential and their DVO was always like between eight and ten. It's like, yeah, but they weren't getting blown out by the Giants and losing to the Cardinals without a single without forcing a single punt like these last couple of weeks. It's gone to a whole new level of dysfunction. That's

And just like ten and one didn't seem right, this doesn't seem right either that they would beat this bad So the truth is somewhere in between. But the question now began becomes and this will be the biggest challenge Nick Syany Sirianni's had, is how do you get this team to flush this and show up and ball out.

Now, the one thing we do know, and again we have a week to talk about this.

They've been through the wars, they nearly won a super Bowl last year, and when the lights go on and they have a big playoff game, maybe things change. But man, it's at the point now where you can't be surprised if things don't change, because this just feels like a team that's inter free.

It just feels like all aspects of the team are crumbling.

Right. We should know Devonda Smith was not healthy enough to play this game, which that's a concern. DeAndre Swift had an illness which you wouldn't think would keep them out next week, but he also missed this game, so they were they were short quite a few of their skill players.

All right, those Bob Poppawa mad coase. I mean, you don't they don't know what that would be the trouble you stuck. We don't, no, Like we never find out what that is when they say illness. It's not an era mad cow disease. That was quite a thing. And then Y two K came and that was like the other big story in that era. You know, it's just like all these things that we couldn't Well, that was a bit fo gazy.

I usually think it's COVID, but for some reason, like they can't, you know, no one can say COVID anymore. We went from like all these rules of a million different things to follow to be able to play in the games, just you can't even admit it.

That's the cleanest way to move on. Remember whether they're cloning Dolly. They cloned the Lamb too, right late nineties.

Man, I'm sure they've been cloning all sorts of things we don't know. All right, we mentioned the Bucks.

The Eagles will play the Bucks in Tampa, but the Bucks had to take care of their own damn business in Charlotte to win the division and punch their ticket.

Let's go to that buccaneer defense speech to buckle up now, first fifteen Carolina good snapping chest, high pressure, coming.

Pulled, shipped away, chipped away by the Buccaneers quarterback cycle Chase ts with a sack of a strip.

How the Bucks recover those fall Dude Jean Digger off with the call. Chase Chase McLoughlin kick three field goals.

The defense pitches a shutout, including that strip of poor Bryce Young, and the Bucks beat the Panthers nine zip to win their third straight NFC South title.

Huh, that's a little surprising.

But they were I think under five hundred last year, but they won the division and then got killed in the playoffs big time. Brady year the year before that was kind of legitimate, and this year they found away nine and eight.

So they win the division even though.

Greg Baker throws just for one hundred and thirty seven yards, and this is a game that going into the fourth quarter I believe is maybe six nothing, So not exactly how you want to punch your ticket, but ultimately it doesn't matter. The Bucks have and they get the very vulnerable Eagles in their house next week.

If Baker Mayfield plays the way he played today next week, one of maybe the worst games of the year, I would say for Baker Mayfield three point three yards per play, Oh my good. In terms of their passing, does he look hurt? I don't think so, because he was throwing the ball so you got whacked fast. Yeah, the very end he did. Ever, he has this rib injury, so maybe that is all it. Some of it was decisions, some of them were just bad throws like missing deep

Yes, I'm going to tee up here because I know certain people, if they align themselves with you going into this game, are feeling good.

Yeah you have.

So you have a touchdown that gets called back, yeah, and you have DJ Shark doing the old I'm leaping for the pylon and then getting the ball knocked away and then turning into a turnover at the goal line.

That was the Antoine Winfield in one of the plays of the year. He did that early this season. Was it against the Falcons. I don't remember, and he did it late That probably should have been the highlight. Anton Wilfield saving the touchdown.

So they have essentially two touchdowns, yes, wiped away. They lose nine to nothing. I mean, you have lived a blessed existence in twenty twenty three.

And the rain Maker he is just he is living it up as well, just like your picks. Half points no problem for the Bucks, no sweat. I got some great message. You really stepped in it this year.

Man, you are having a wonderful season of good fortune and good picks.

I mean this was good fortune watching it. They were very lucky. But it was great to hear from rain Maker Nation out there. Eric, I think we have some tweets we can fly out No. One One fan Richard says I can now fix my teeth, thanks Ice, Triple G.

That feels good. That's foe.

And then from David my eight year old being able to eat supper, Thank you thank you.

You're feeling good. You're saving families, you're saving people's aesthetic.

You know.

Look, I don't think there's anything to say. And it's your your season of picks, no matter what they may be. You've just been spot on. This one felt like money in the bank. But the Bucks finding a way to make it interesting. That is that's the game. I think that is the hardest for me to pick early on. Just so first glance Bucks Eagles, and feel like you can go in about five different because.

Don't forget the Bucks got whacked by the Sayings a week ago too. Yeah, I mean it's too bad.

You can like talk about the fact that, like you probably only need to score three points against the Panthers.

They've been eight scoreless quarters in a row.

That's ridiculous, and that in their season like nose dives into into darkness, and we get that. But like Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans and Godwin had a pretty good connection in chemistry throughout their hot streak of late and in the last two games it's been not that way at all. And Baker Mayfield today did not complete a pass over ten air yards.

Oh for eight on those passes, maybe it is the injury.

I don't know.

There's nothing that you would have seen with your eyes that you would have been able to tell, but he certainly missed a lot of throats.

This is also who the Bucks and Baker have been this year.

They've gone through their hot cold hot, and now they're a little bit cold.

But they are in the playoffs, So that's that's a that's a victory.

I will say when he's had upper body injuries before and he continued to play, like in Cleveland when he had that one season led to his dismissal, like it absolutely affected his throws and who he was in general.

Right, There's some players that maybe play well through injury, and he should be appreciated that he's playing through injury.

But there's other players that don't play as well through.

And he's undersize, so you take away a little velocity, little zip, it could make a big difference, all right.

I'm glad Winfield by the way he got that play and a huge sack in this game. He did not make the Pro Bowls, and yet I think he'll be the first team opro, so I think people will notice from this game.

He was the difference in this game. All right, let's take a break and we will continue our way through the NFC. All right, welcome back. We keep on rolling. So we entered Sunday Week eighteen with a messy NFC South and both the Falcons and Saints in contention for the playoffs. Only one team was going to still be in contention after the game with the Superdome.

Let's head there now.

Second and chance from the thirty nine car play action stands now throw us towards the end zone and looking for Shaheed and Seed will come.

Down with the football. Derek Carr first.

To alarm, even to receit s.

Mike As with a call ww Algreg, you will love to watch this game in real time. It was very interesting NFC South affair between two teams that don't like each other, and that's only going to get deeper after what happened on Sunday. After Derek Carr throws four touchdown passes to lead the Saints to a forty eight to seventeen win over the Falcons, Atlanta mercifully was put to rest. With the loss, Saints were alive until the Bucks beat the Panther, so both teams missed the playsffs, but it's

It is the inflection point of this game.

It's thirty one to seventeen in the third quarter with three sixteen to play, and the Falcons have first and goal at the New Orleans ten. They line up Greg Denmark four times in shotgun and Cordell Patterson gets the ball twice on runs, Desmond Ritter passes to Drake London for a two yard game and then on fourth and two from the two yard line once again had a shotgun.

That was as close as Atlanta would ever get.

And for Bijon not to touch the ball in that sequence, it was just like everything that's wrong with this team, everything that's wrong with a play calling and the usage of the best players I thought was on display. And sure enough, you kind of felt the air come out of the balloon for Atlanta, who just got spanked the rest of the way. And the game ends in a funky way because in the final seconds, it is forty one to seventeen, the Saints have the ball at the

He's the perfect person. And the and the and the huddle.

They decide Jamal, who doesn't have a touchdown this season after setting the lines record, we need to give him a touchdown. And that leads to this interaction between Arthur Smith and Dennis Allen at midfield in the moments after the game his career.

Oh, and Arthur spicks hot that Dennis Allen scored a touchdown at the end.

He is hot, He said, what are you doing? And he's going to Dennis Allen. You can read his lips, you know, and I think he's got it right by the way to do down.

Hey uh, And it's effan bull s, he says. And then after the game, here is Dennis Allen on that final touchdown.

We should have taken a knee right there. You know, they asked me about getting Jamal a touchdown at the end. I said, I wanted to take a knee. We put victory out there, and the guys kind of wanted to get him a touchdown and they did that on their own.

That's not that's unacceptable and it's such a bad look for Allen, right, so you feel actually feel bad. And I'm not a big Arthur Smith fan, but you feel bad for Arthur Smith because he knows he's probably getting fired the way this season ended, and then to get kind of spit in your face in the last minute of the game that way. But then Dennis Allen is saying he's a poly said, I understand that he's saying to Smith at midfield, but Dennis Allen is showing that the players don't respect.

Him and will just audible out of a kneel down to get their buddy a touchdown.

I was a mess.

It is amazing.

It's so saying they finished their season playing their absolute best potent getting there, our tribal coach probably out fired, winning by thirty and yet and yet they aren't going to end up making the playoffs, and that this is gonna be the image that they have leaving the season apologizing for the last touchdown in a win. And I was I was kind of wondering because I had the same reaction to you, like, man, this makes him look like his players don't respect him.

Am I over reacting?

I saw this tweet from Ben Watson, who's a saint for a long time, a Walter Payton Man of the Year type of guy, and he wrote out, if your players are assistant coaches don't run the plays you call, you've already lost your team. If you're comfortable enough to tell the world about it, there's no turning back. And I think that does kind of sum up Dennis Allen.

Yeah, I think, like I don't know what's going on behind the scenes in terms of like why there's this presumption that like we don't take a hard look at Dennis Allen and what he actually is because this always felt like a team that was just sort of like we're we're willing to be milk toast this year, and he is the perfect coach for a team like that. I don't it depends on who becomes available, but why

There's other things to focus on. They won four or.

Five to close the season, so that this is in defensive Dennis Allen. They did get the ship back on, you know, over the sea line. I don't know what that means. The ship was sinking. He was able to get it to the shore. And it doesn't matter because they don't get the help they need from the outside. But the stuff with Derek Carr is always frustrating me because I know he's not a superstar, but when he was getting buried during the season is like a what a bad teammate?

What a bad quarterbacks?

Like?

There are a lot worse guys than Derek Carr. Now there are better guys, and they have to make a decision, I guess at some point, although I know this contract is he's gonna be, you want to shoot higher down the line. But like there are many other areas greg with this team that you can improve in the coaching staff is another spot as well that you want to maybe look at. But to their credit, they did get to the nine and eight and you know they're not going to the dance.

But they close a lot better than the Falk then sure, and they had, you known, extremely easy schedule, and their defense, especially Dennis Allen to me, is getting very creaky and disappointing, and they have to figure out how to get younger and better on defense, because that's why they kept Dennis.

So but that to me, So there's only a quarterback on the field, though the quarterback is an of the coaching, but there are nobody on the field.

But McCoy might be the guy more than anyone that decides this. He's he's a captain, he's a center. He's the one hiking it. And they're all in the in the huddle and they decide we're not going to listen to Dennis Ol. That's worse than just Jamis decided. That was the whole team decided ten times ten, ten people worth right, right?

But it is the center snaps it to the quarterback. Yeah, And I just think that is you can't can't do that and whatever. We'll we'll see what what what happens and what management thinks about how the season. It's almost fitting that's how the Saints season ends, even with a win. For all the melodrama, and I think people follow the Saints love the melodrama.

You have this to chew on. Here's another episode of the soap opera for you what if he hadn't scored the touchdown? What if he were stuffed? That would have been even.

Weirder than that would have been really weird. The yeah, you're right, they won. It's crazy. They won for the Nolan Care games convincingly well, but also because you remember the one primetime game which would have put them into the playoff. They weren't that competitive no, two weeks ago. So it's like, that's that's the same.

It's kind of the best of both worlds for Saints fans.

You get to knock out a rival, get the coach fired, enjoy wins, and then bury Dennis Allen and the staff anyway, So enjoy it. Heartblunk all right, harb blanche, I say blunk all right. To lambeau Field, where the Packers are looking to punch their ticket.

Love unders and here's their handoff to showtime.

Let's shock like tackles in inside the thirty five to the thirty one yard Chicago.

There is your dagger, it is, Oh, there is your dagger.

Great coach, who is that guy just screaming? Yes?

One of my favorite tropes Wayne Larravie with the call that's Larry mccarrn.

Yes, look at old all, liar. You always need a Larry around anyway.

Yeah, there's the clinching run, and Jordan Love continued his outrageous play down the stretch.

He threw for three hundred and sixteen yards and a couple scores.

Packers to the playoffs with a seventeen nine win over the Bears. The Packers have now won three straight games and they will get as we said, the Dallas Cowboys next week in Jared World. That is a nice one, all right, Greg, Jordan Love. Here's a stat I saw right before we came in. Eighteen touchdowns, one interception in the last eight weeks, so the season.

When I think about the best games played by a quarterback this year, if you stack them all up, like the really memorable ones, Jordan Love played a lot of them. I kind of am having a hard time almost believing how good he is because just based on this second half of the season, he's playing like a top five quarterback or a future top five quarterback.

That's the level that he's looking at.

A defense which has played fantastic over the last six weeks, one of the best in the league, the Bears, and he's looking so composed when there's pressure, he gets rid of it. When they're playing soft, he goes short. When he has a play to make that's special, he can go make it. He had five incompletions in this game. Two of them were on improbably great throws that should have could have possibly been touchdowns. They also blew an

Yeah.

And those seven drives, all but one went for fifty plus yards and a bunch went for way more. And it's like their offense, especially that Aaron Jones back, I think that matters a lot.

He was awesome.

Now, when your wide receivers are healthier than they've been through big chunks of Jordan Love's development this year. This is like a scary team and it's like a weird team for Dallas to have to deal with.

Well, that's that's kind of what I was saying, like, Yeah, this is not some layup team for Dallas on their part too.

I'm a little shocked here for touchdown to start. They get in early on that.

Aaron Jones, as you said, rush for one hundred and eleven yards on twenty two carries.

That's his third straight one hundred yard performance.

So not only do you have Love kind of ascending to start him here, now the running game has put things together. Even the defense, which has been bad for most of the year, is putting together some Ever, maybe the competition is in that highway.

Well, they held the Bears to one hundred and ninety two yards pay well to ninety one after happen, and that's a couple of weeks in a row.

So the Packers are hitting the playoffs with a lot of momentum. On the Chicago side, a ball here, Greg Fields, you said they did not get into the end zone in this game.

He got beat up a little bit. We talked about this as a final exam for Fields.

Did you see anything here that would make the Bears pause if they were leaning one direction or another?

Yes, because I think if you look at what Fields has done in the second half of the season, as he's played better, he still looked like justin Fields just sort of a better version of him, and today you saw some of the warts, which is holding on to

Makes you wonder if like Luke getzi Oc could be in some hot water. You never know.

I mean I the one thing that stood out for this game late just a small note because it's the end of Chicago's season, but like Fields to me clearly looked like he had been concussed or suffered some sort of like head injury, and like he stays in the game and then they yank them like three plays later to.

Check him after his head was slammed.

I think it was clear to anyone watching it, like, wait a minute, check him right now, don't let him go three more plays and he and that probably should have been a penalty. It was one break the Bears didn't get. I felt like Bears were getting a lot of breaks just to stay in this game. This was maybe the best game the Packers played, I think as a as a team all season.

And the Chicago Bears have the number one overall pick by virtue of that trade with the Panthers last year, and they also have the number nine pick, so two top ten picks, including number one, So not a huge offseason, one of the most important offseasons in the history of that proud franchise.

Yeah, and I really think it's gonna be with ebra Flus, which is risky. Tracy Wolfson, I thought had as telling a report about Eberflus as any woman. She talked to the president, Kevin Warren before the game, and Kevin Warren talked about how continuity is necessary for this team, that if you look at teams that can get it going, it's with continuity. And then he mentioned Dick for Meal specifically with the Rams, saying it took him till his

All right, Let's now move to Arizona, where the Seattle Seahawks were looking to keep their playoff hopes alive.

But they were gonna need help. They got some from the kicker as well.

This is going to be to win the game. There's one second left on the clock. Do the Seahawks have a winning record in twenty twenty three?

Hey, it's matter out right now.

A fifty one yard field goal, a temp five trader off the left Hashmark Gillickan puts.

It down, kick is away and the kick is no good.

No good.

Praider misses from fifty one Steve Abel with the call. Yes, Prader was wide right from fifty one out in the Seattle Seahawks hold on for a twenty one to twenty win over the Cardinals, who finished four and thirteen. The Seahawks, yes, nine and eight. We now welcome in a man who knows you got those pipes?

Yeah?

For the field goal, Well, yep, we got some pipes here. Nick Shook your thoughts on today's affair. First of all, how are you? But I'm great.

I'm imagining myself as an upside down goalpost right now.

You could do all?

We all, aren't, I feel like exactly shook. Uh So, obviously Seattle needed Green Bay to lose. They didn't, but you know, a nice way to end the season, and it was kind of a fitting way for the season and for the Seahawks ups and downs.

A lot of close, close plays, close sub games.

Yeah, very typical of the season for them. But you know what, the Cardinals, I got to give them credit, the PA people, the people who run the scoreboard, because they tried to engage in a little bit of mental warfare late in that game. The Seahawks have a one point lead and the Packers have won, and they display it on the scoreboard during a break right off the top that the Packers have won.

Trying to take all that they go Homehawks.

With like a banner and everything too. I mean it was like a pretty decoration, but the whole thing up.

They really played it up. But good planning out of them, and the game like ended like thirty.

The Packers game ended thirty minutes before the Seahawks game, so it went back and forth a while after. That just shows you know, the fighting ginos have a lot of heart in them. You can take the playoffs away, you can still get the win. They shouldn't have. Wonder missed a kick that would have put him up ten with thirty with about three minutes to go too.

Yeah before that kick that we just rolled, Yeah, he missed another one that would have made it a ten point game.

But you know what, you got to give a ton of credit to the Seahawks.

This is you know, for all the games that they've lost this year in a variety of different fashions, they have been a team that's been able to pull out close ones, save for that last second loss to the Rams when Drew Locke was in there for one terrible decision of a throw. They've been a team that's done pretty well in these situations, and they did well in this one. And it's funny because the second half of

I wish they could do this consistently.

They wouldn't be on the edge of being eliminated from the playoffs, which they were eventually eliminated from. If this was just who they were for most of the season, they would have been a much better team, and yet they were still almost in the postseason. Now you think about all that, you think, well, the future's bright. They got a lot of young studs on both sides of the ball. They got sharpone, they got Kenneth Walker, that got a receiving corps that rivals some of the best

Carol said, he wants to come back.

Yeah, we we have. Actually him getting asked after the will they want him to come Not sure it's the final answer, but that's what he said. After the game.

You said, you love this team, do you want to run it back?

Does it make you want to come.

Back and coach him again?

Of course, of course, of course I'd love to do that.

Do you expected to do I do? I do?

At this point, I do, Yeah, that does.

Not sound like a guy that's concerned about his future with the team.

There was there was like an assistant to the ownership, like or one of the people that kind of the executives that was sitting there in the second row watching too. I don't take anything out of that. Actually, I think in that we've seen it before. I just mean, wait, how did you know that? Because the Beat writers wrote about it or whatever, you know, they tweeted that out. They were like, it was pretty interesting that that he's sitting there.

Like watching this because so laser focused on this situation and then the seating.

Charge in there in this in this spot, I think if he was going to be going, he would say that no matter what. So I don't know, I'm not totally sure. There were the insiders were, including Ian kind of put it out there that maybe he would be walking away, but he seemed to tempt it.

I was the comment I was making, was you equating Gino with the Dalton line, which the prime meridian of quarterbacks. Is there any question about his future quarterback? Or is that I think there's I think there should be.

I mean, he was eleven for twenty two at one point in this game, and you know he didn't have that final drive and that was a very Geno esque and like it was very Seahawks offense esque too. But I'd say, you just have to look around and see what you have. I mean, it's just like I wouldn't say I get I think you think I see you think that Gino is like a better thrower than he's ever been in his career, and there's high quality things about him.

He's a good leader at this stage. Like there's a lot of different elements to Gino.

But it's like this is not a quarterback that you can feel like you can go win three playoff games with.

I just don't feel that way.

He just as the least of their problems. The dev I mean, I think they want to get younger at the position. It would make sense to pair him with a draft pick basically, and he's on the second year of he has some guaranteed money coming in. But he was like eleventh or twelfth in PFF's great last year. He's at the exact same spot, Like that's where he checks out to me, just like slightly above that median

That's kind of crazy. It's pretty crazy. It also tells you.

They weren't scoring a bushel of points before the fourth quarter.

He's kind of like there's a correlation with him and Derek Carr in a way like, yeah, not the biggest problem on the team, but also like is he the future of your team?

Is that the problem is you have a defensive coach and you just gave up four hundred and sixty six yards to the Cardinals And this happens week after week after week, And like, yeah, there's in nick one thing because it's like I feel like this is happening every week.

But Jonathan Connor.

Got started slow today and I thought Seattle was like promising because they were shutting down Arizona's ground game, like in the first quarter plus Jonathan Connor ends up with one hundred and fifty on the ground in two hundred and four total yards. Like it's like this guy is in the shadows on a team that no one's paying attention to, kicking people's butts on a weekly basis.

Said Jonathan Connor. That would be like Jonathan Gannon and Connor. Oh yeah, matched up together, which I like.

I know.

I think we need a new segment, and I guess we'll have to wait till twenty twenty five.

Thinking Jonathan Gannon and James Connor. But like James Connor has just been a punisher on a weekly basis.

I would give Jonathan Connor running as well as he's ever run.

It's Connor Corner with Mark Sessler. It's a weekly segment. We have not gotten out of a card.

It's a little work. I'm not gonna lie.

I was trying to get an uncomfortable situation that I'm glad Dan just builed me out of because.

I'm like to correct lately, I wish I loved anything as much as Mark loves John Connor.

This year, I love James Connor.

Look, the Seahawks run defense has been terrible all year and I think they ranked thirtieth coming into today and like every notable metric when it comes to defending the run.

So that's a big issue with them.

That's a big part of why they have so many yards to the Cardinals and why they ended up being the team that they were.

But you got to give a lot of credit to James Connor.

He just had his first thousand yard rushing season of his career, and in a year in which they had to go through a couple of quarterbacks before they could actually get to the point where Kyler was healthy and available to play, they needed somebody to carry them and in certain games, the Dallas win being one of them, he did that. So I got to give him a ton of credit. He's had a good year. But if we really talk about the Cardinals as a whole, guys, this is not where I thought I would be with

Oh yeah, go well.

The vibe around this.

Team, despite finishing four and thirteen, is about as optimistic as it can be going into the offseason.

I think there's a lot of.

I'm with you, and we talked about that on Thursday. Just feels like they're in better hands. Shooky always in good hands with you. You've been such an important part of our Sunday show for a few years now and he did that big lift for us with Lift nailed it pipe with Claybon when we were in England, and we'll be sure to keep you in the mix whether it's the playoffs or the off season.

We thank you for everything you do for us and a great job on QB Index as well on a weekly basis.

Thank you guys to feel privileged to be entrusted with this role both here in QB Index. It is very I'm very fortunate and I look forward to potentially seeing you in Vegas when we all contain now.

Fit is strong.

You know those playoff QB indexes, they'll test you. You know you're at the end of the season. You gotta you gotta stay sharp. You gotta stay focused. Like when you have to do leg day. You know it's like you just got to do it.

Hey, you know what, It's one of the best things you can do for your body is back in legs.

As a man, hit those gets a testosterone going.

We got to do it.

We gotta get that push in her face.

That's how shit goes out. On the regular season, thank you, my man. Give them around laws, give robots.

By the way, there's a QB Index that your charged with if you're doing the column that comes out soon where you have to rank not not every single quarterback, essentially the last one. It's like one hundred this week. This year, it's going to be like seventy eight people or something like.

You know, we have We're going to get to our sandwich props later in the week.

There's one that's connected to two long forgotten quarterbacks. And I was thinking to myself, how do you these guys? Are they even in the QB Index? But you just answer my question. Yeah, everyone's in the final one. Okay, all right, let's keep moving. It's time now for the Sunday Drive, presented by the first ever Toyota Highlander.

Not a lot on the line for the Niners and Rams, but you know, pride matters. San Francisco twenty LA nineteen.

After a twelve yard rushing score, the eleventh rushing touchdown of Carson Wentz career, his first start as a Ram, the Rams on the high side for the first time in this regular season finale.

From the two snap play fake.

Roll right, Wentz stups Wwentz throws.

Back of the end zone, HiT's cots. Oh point conversion for Turbo to two mark, not even for JB. Long. For you, I really ranged it in there after what happened last week. Well you were going to reach out to him after what happened last week. I'm sure you did that. I didn't see him at the barbershop, but we're gonna cross paths.

At the barbershop. Yeah, well, we'll all found that was a great call by our friend J. B. Long and a great two point conversion throw by one Carson Wentz. Remember that guy who played for Matthew Stafford resting in this game, and the Rams hold on for twenty one, twenty win over the Niners. The Niners obviously had the NFC locked up, they're the number one seed, they rested a bunch of their key guys, and it is the

It puts them in Detroit. So that two point conversion and this subsequent force fumble of Sam Darnold. That really ended the game. I didn't want that to be the highlight. Felt I felt negative.

Change their destination.

They would be going to Dallas, they would be in the seventh seed if they didn't win this game, and now they're in Detroit, they're the sixth seed. I don't know if that's a better or worse matchup, but it's a spicier set of matchups to me because it gives us the perfect.

Revenge game double header.

Here we love the McCarthy Cowboys and Stafford Rams and was impressive when sectually made some good plays in this game. He led the game in rushing yards fifty six rushing yards and seventeen attempts.

That tells you what kind of game this is.

I do like the idea of Stafford versus the Detroit secondary. I think that's a sure promising matchup for them. I mean, we've been talking about all these coaches of the year, and I understand what's happening in.

The Desert, but like what Sean McVay has done.

Honestly, from a year ago, at this time, it was like, is Sean McVay like walking away from football? Is he going to become an announcer is he burnt out? There was a think piece about how he felt he was burning other people out around the building. It's like what they've accomplished and what we could say with the Cardinals, it's like low expectations for the Rams. It was just assumed they'd go win five games or something and bottom

In I know it sounds weird, but this game actually, I think proves that point.

Because yes, it was a lot of backups in h Trent Williams Auk Debo. They all started, but they all left after one or two series, depending on which guy it was. And that was true for like the super duper stars on both teams. The Rams also sat a lot of people. Pukaakua played into the third quarter to

They're just a better team.

Yes, they've really built that thing on the fly and on the San Francis. I kept my eye on this game in the first half because you know, I'm a Sam Donald fan. I thought he played very well, yeah, and kept the offense moving and Rock Party is a starter if something happens to Rock Party. I think Donald has the ability to run this offense. And I thought you saw that in just the snapshot of this game.

So twenty six yards for their offense after halftime, so that the Rams backups mostly although actually there was a lot of the Kobe turn.

A lot of their starters were in there.

They lost Jordan Philler, their starter, but they locked the forty hookah is down in the second half.

After that touchdown, he's one yard shy of the rookie wide receiver yardage record and I think two catches and the rest of the first half, they're desperately trying to get the record to get them off the field, and they can't do it. They're trying to force it. In the final ten seconds of the first half, so they

So very good, very good.

Tough day for Bill Groman, who previously had that record set back in nineteen sixty.

I'm not sure where Bill Bill Groman didn't at this point can we give I don't know anything about the guys. And he did it in four for tho game.

He could be like the Ty Cobb of the NFL. I don't know what his background is or whatever. So for he over praise him. But to have that record in nineteen sixty, are you kidding me?

Offen that it's incredible.

They had some they had some scoring back in like those AFL type team he was on, the Oilers unfortunately passed away three years.

How many records, Greg, though, do you see not almost in the modern NFL that are your breaking records from nineteen six Everything's in the last ere next year, right, And he did it and then did it in fourteen games. So Groman, Groman, hey, you recognize you.

You deserve it.

Hope you were a good guy. I think you are still in the mix for the bet he receivers. Greg Exford us that he's passed away, but he's left us. We wish the best.

I mentioned that. Check that out. He died during twenty twenty.

Did you say rest in power? Yeah? I second that, all right?

And that was the Sunday Drive presented by Toyota Let's Go Places. Learn more at toyota dot com slash Grand Highlander. Oh if it's the Sunday Night podcast after week eighteen, that could only mean one thing.

Breaking news. Somebody's gone and it is Arthur Smith the Falcons.

After it was reported by Tom Pellisero, the Falcons confirmed the dismissal of their head coach after three seasons, and here is a statement from Arthur Blank. Decisions like this are never easy and they never feel good. We have profound respect for Coach Smith and appreciate all the hard work and dedication he has put into the Falcons over the last three years. He has been a part of building a good culture in our football team, but the

Additional reporting from Palsero here Greggie.

The Falcons say the search quote will be led by Blank and McKay Rich McKay, with input from Falcons General Manager Terry Fontnau and several other appropriate members of Blanks, Atlanta Falcons and AMB Sports and Entertainment Organization. So the GM appears safe, but Arthur Smith runs out of time, and as we talked about earlier, a grim ending in New Orleans kind.

Of set the table for this, and now Smith has to take a walk.

You shout out to Rich McKay. I remember when he was on the hot seat as their GM, like twenty years ago or fifteen years ago, and then he somehow got kicked up to CEO. So he's actually making more money and has more responsibility and he's the one fiery and everyone steal how you do it.

He also got flagged for piping in fake crowd noise into the Falcons facilities.

That happened too, Okay.

I know Rich mckayson that the centerpiece here them putting Fontinah in the statement is positive because I think Fontino has done a pretty good job. He's only been there three years. It was a total teardown. And we talked about it earlier when we were talking Arthur Smith. It was just like the point of Arthur Smith, what Arthur Smith was supposed to be, what he was supposed to do in terms of that running game specifically and his offense that and you saw it last year, you could

Like what attracted me to the concept of like this year's Falcons back in July and August was that there seemed to be a vision. It was like, even if the rest of the league's doing this, like Arthur Smith with Bijon Robinson and the rest of the crew is going to try to go do something different, and you kind of believed in it because we saw that blueprint in Tennessee with Derrick Henry with Ryan Tannehill.

But the missing element like all along here and like if We're going to talk.

About Tomigo Ryans being lifted up by the play of a young promising quarterback. Is that for years on end, like especially with like Marcus Mariota and then with Desmond Ridder this year, it's like the quarterback play. Whenever there was even an ounce of positivity, there are two or three incredibly frustrating things that seemed to happen every game, Like didn't every Falcons game sort of feel the same?

Well, they're the image that I'm thinking of right now, because Ritter was Jackyl and Hyde on Sunday where he's pretty good in the first half and then just started making mistake at the mistake. And the image that I have that I'll remember this season is the shots of Arthur Smith after yet another devastating Desmond Ridder turnover. He rolls his eyes or puts his hands in his face, and yeah, that's and that's organizationally where I I don't Arthur Smith.

I thought didn't do a great job this year.

But I also when they put Desmond Ritter, gave him this former third round pick and all of a sudden say this is your guy in an offseason where there were other options out there, put him in a bad situation, and then when they couldn't get the running game going, Greg, as you're saying, it just kept on compounding and his play calling.

Was suspect as well. It just it never came together for this team with him. I liked him as a character in the in the NFL, and he's not going anywhay. Sure he'll be an offensive coordinator.

He'll probably highly into Madison OC because that's when he got the job at IT Tennessee.

He was probably not going to do that the McAfee paid spots. I don't think he's getting you know, Aaron Rodgers' money, but he was.

He was on there speaking of weekly, he was on there speaking of just media.

It's a it is a tough stitch and I know maybe not the nation isn't plugged in this, but like for Georgia Public Broadcasting, like I mean, they took this whole story in a different direction. It wasn't you know, Arthur Blank was on their channel. But it's like that, you know, the whole story flipped that Silver Fox asked the question to the owner that needed to be asked. Yeah, while a few weeks later, oh there's a change at the top of.

A breakup public trust really from Arthur Bank and he was getting he's getting the jump on it. The first report of this came out at nine o two Pacific, which would make it twelve oh two Eastern on Black Monday.

So technically yes, it made it there and dismissal. Ben Bolan of the Boston Globe.

Is the only one I've seen reporting this, but he's been piping Belichick to Atlanta possibility for weeks now, and so they have a gift opening.

Well, Bill has what a seven am press conference East Coast tomorrow?

Kid, you really guy or the guy who was the coach of twenty three.

I don't know. It's just something feels funky, all right, So there you go, and a lot of disqualifying, but it just it's.

A little weird.

The week ahead is, uh, gonna be a lot of fun here. So we got we're gonna do a little Black Monday podcast. So that's another what are we up to?

Now?

That's four coaches gone, but the first one after the season, after the regular season concluded, you.

Could almost say we just sort of did a little bit of a tiny Black Monday episode.

A little bit.

Yeah, maybe we don't need no, no, no, I think I think we you know, I feel like Ron Rivera, we're gonna learn about tomorrow and maybe a surprise or two or three.

So that's what we'll be there for.

Anything else you want to Oh, let me uh, I'm gonna check in a tankathon real quick now that we have the draft order.

So just did Nick get back to you on a Oh? He did actually immediately.

Very quickly. I thought he was going to send a video.

I think, yeah, I think he's mad. I got your live I got your live reaction. Eat Greg, sorry, eat poop Greg?

So okay, I love it. I mean I don't give him half the grief that his brother is, including Phil do for his picks, his takes, and it is very much on my radar now. A big race for second here, Hansas catching up and Hansas's radar too.

He's only one back.

Now.

All I wanted was the silver medal out of this, and I'm moving up to old charts all right.

Here is the I'll take care of last place for you.

Twenty four NFL Draft order, Chicago, Washington, New England, Arizona Chargers. That's your top five Giants, Titans, Falcons, Bears, Jets. That is the top ten picks, with Minnesota and Denver on the outside looking in there.

So that is to put a bow on the regular season.

As even if you're if your team makes the playoffs,

So another regular season of the books for us as well. Eleven. Well, you could follow another sport or two if you must. Eleven eleven regular seasons? Is that the number?

Is that? That's it for our podcast, eleven. That's we're up to eleven. So thank you to everybody for listening to all regular season long. Thank you to Big Funk and Eric bind the Glass. These Sunday shows are a major lift and they've done great work all year. We'll be back Monday, full week of shows till then key, the call