From the five yard line.
Burrow catches the shotgun snap, he throws it into the end zone. Chase makes the catch on the back line for the touchdown, and it looks like the Bengals will go for two. With thirty eight seconds to go to try to win the.
Game, Burrow takes the snap. Ravens bring Bliss pressure. Burrow throws at the end zone.
It's incomplete. It's incomplete, and with thirty eight second clip to play, but Hazel the barn.
WHOA.
What a wild one.
To end the tonight and the Ravens will sweep the series for the Bengals and improve to seven and three.
A game is so good we couldn't start it with us one call. Thirty five, thirty four, Ravens get the win in Baltimore. That was Dan Horde on WCKY. It was Jerry Sandusky on wb A L A game that we're gonna be remembering for the rest of the season, maybe for a few years, as two incredible quarterbacks have two incredible performances and a failed two point conversion is what endsed and not without some controversy. And I'm here with one of the most controversial guests in NFL Daily History.
It's Nick Westling from Cincinnati.
What's up, Nick, Oh, not a whole lot, Greg. I think you've touched on everything in that game. There had big momentum swings, you know, if you believe in that sort of thing, And yeah, perfect throw from Burrow at the end there to score the touchdown, great catch by Chase and then yeah, I mean you could you could complain about the calls, and it was a bad miss call, but it is what it is that those things happen. You can't leave it in the hands the refs there.
And the Bengals had no reason to lose this game. They should have been winning. They should have won this game. They had a couple of bad plays that turned the game around, a couple of penalties early in the first half that put them behind the chains when they were unstoppable otherwise. So you know, they could easily won game by two touchdowns, but you know what could you know?
Yeah, it's been the story of their season. And we'll get all to that. Of course. Nick Westling our friend, the brother of the namesake of our studio, Chris Westling, of course, and famously not a Bengals fan, not even just like a little disappointed tonight in this moment, it says, I.
Tell you all the time, I'm a casual Bengals fan. I'm not a diehard. I don't really live or die with it. It is what it is, you know, Yeah it is.
And I feel bad for your bride. And I hate the Thursday night football guest curse I keep having on a guest that is on the side of the losing team.
But we'll go through it all.
And I thought you made a good point that, yes, you can get mad at the calls, and I thought the mist hit to the head of Burrow is the egregious one on that last call. They should have gotten another chance at the one yard line. I think Ryan fits Patrick made a fair point right after the game on Amazon that look, Burrow's not looking to Gasiki's side. For them to miss that call, it doesn't affect the
how that play happens. That the officials, you know, sometimes miss it when the quarterback's not looking to that side or throw into that side.
It's kind of understandable.
It ultimately didn't really impact that play because Burrow.
Was going the other way anyways.
Through it a little high one of the few throws all night that wasn't exactly on target, but you got to catch the hit to the head on Burrow and get another chance. And it's disappointing because what it does, Nick, is it just is another talking point instead of what we should be talking about, which is this back and forth and the missed opportunities that the Bengals had and the Ravens ability to just keep answering down the stretch
and the Bengals defense collapsing. But what I'll remember more than anything, I think, is how incredible Joe Burrow was on that last That's why it's a shame for it to end that way. Because I'm watching on the Prime Vision version of the broadcast, and they got the skycam now, they just installed the skycam.
Last couple weeks.
A few of those throws he made on that last drive were cinema. I mean that twenty one yard are to Chase with anticipation as he's getting absolutely blasted, throwing that thing blind in a perfect spot.
That's amazing.
That final touchdown to Chase, there's two defenders between him. You can't really see it on the side angle. They showed it again on the broadcast. I don't know if any quarterback wide receiver combination in the NFL is completing that pass. Then those two LSU dudes who are so insanc Chase goes for two hundred and sixty four yards and three touchdowns in the game and they hit it.
So it does feel a little anti climactic that the very next play they don't get the two points and there's a potential penalty that's missed.
Yeah, I fill and my brother Phil and you and I around that group text and I almost texted it, but I said, I'm going to save it for the the after show.
Oh yeah, way to go.
I want to. I almost text you that it was shades of Tom Brady the way he was hanging in there and just timing it, floating the ball perfectly to a spot no one his receiver was going to be there. It looked just like him on that last drive. Only I guess Tom Brady and Patriots would have gotten that two point conversion in their prime.
They would have gotten the call.
Say that they would have gotten the call, and then they would have run it in with like James White and yeah, you're right.
Yeah, and you're in in that. That's to your point that these bad calls I mean, I know Cincinnati fans are a little tired, and there's this narrative that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs get all the calls, and that's one that you would assume they would get and and maybe that's the difference in what they're complaining about. I didn't see anything outside. I mean, I know those calls
are there and they're missed. I didn't see anything too to egregious except one holding call on on Trey Hendrickson. Where the guy he's about Lamar Jackson, and they absolutely I can't. I'm losing the left left tackle's name there for the Ravens.
Ronnie Stanley.
Yeah. He he did a great job on hendricks in all game. By the way, I told you that was the toping point before the game that I thought, you know, the Bengals needed to get pressure or they would get destroyed. And and that was He did a great job the whole game on Hendrickson, except for that play where he tackled him. I guess you could you could say in the end he did do a great.
Job, right, he got away with it. I'm glad you brought that up. There's a lot we can get to, but I think the difference in the pass rush is really important when comparing the two quarterbacks. So yes, Lamar Jackson ends up finishing with four touchdowns. Was absolutely clutched in the biggest moments like he's been all year. So overall a really good performance, but through two and a half quarters, they weren't getting anything done and Lamar was
protected well all night. The Bengals totaled one quarterback hit all night, zero sacks, so he was just sitting back there with time to throw and not finding a lot of receivers open for much of the game. Would you like to guess how many quarterback hits the Baltimore Ravens had tonight? Eleven thirteen quarterback hits on Joe Burrow. I believe he was pressured over like forty five percent of the time. I'm bringing up the stats here on next ten and Burrow was. It was one of, if not
his best games of the season. I actually think Burrow's season has just been like a hair overrated because I've heard a lot of Bengals fans say like, oh, he'd be the MVP if they had a defense, and he's been the best quarterback in the league and the only thing I would say is that their offense has directly contributed to their previous three late and close losses that they had where they had chances to go win the game and they made pretty big airs, and sometimes it
was Burrow making it. The first time against the Ravens, they had a chance to put the game against the Chiefs away with a fourth quarter drive and they just didn't and they left open the door and they didn't get the call.
And I know that happening.
The same thing with it they had a chance to go win the game and they had their worst drive of the game against the Patriots, so that happened.
And even tonight it wasn't Burrow.
Who made the mistake, but it was Chase Brown who's fumble kind of opened the door and really changed this game around. But tonight I can find no fault through Joe Burrow's performance that was freaking incredible, even the fourth and ten on that final drive to Yoshavas, where again his offensive lineman Volsen got beaten so fast off the snap it was by Travis Jones that any other quarterback I think is not completing that he had to throw it a half second early. He's getting blasted all game long,
he's fighting through injuries. Yoshavas makes the tough catch to keep that drive going, and he just he was electric all night. So he deserved better. And somehow I think a quarterback playing this well is going to find his way to the playoffs.
The season is not over. Nick at four and six.
Yeah, I've talked to you about this before. I think the Bengals offense, if you look historically over the last three or four years, they're a rhythm offense. And when they're in rhythm, the play calls seem easy. Everything seems easy. Joe Burrow made it look easy today. I don't think it was. But really, people are gonna point to the
Brown fumble. They had the Chase Brown fumble there as the turning point, but it was really that mistackle by Cam Taylor Britt and then Logan Wilson and I don't remember which safety it was that whiffed on pushing a guy at and pushing Wallace out of bounds on that big long touchdown, but that you know, they were up twenty one to seven before the fumble. They give up
the touchdown on the short field. It happens, but then you just let them that should have been a six yard game easy tackle, and instead it goes for seventy yards and or eighty yards in a touchdown. That you just can't do that and expect to win games.
Yeah, it's that's the thing about this loss is when you lose, the bad plays get magnified. And you did think, I did think about all the other ways they've lost games this year, and that play, you're absolutely right. Let's actually listen to it from the Baltimore radio broadcast.
Jackson of the gun. He wants to throw a third down quick release and it's complete Tyland Wallace Great's attackle he to the thirty Steve Parm's a man at thirty five to forty.
Midfield down the sideline and played thirty twenty ten touch down. Ravens Tyland Wallace.
For his biggest play.
Since a walk off punt return a year.
Ago, eighty four yards and the Ravens are right back at it.
And that's a microcosm of the Bengals defensive season because Kim Taylor Britt doesn't take a good angle, doesn't get him out of bounds to begin with.
Not a great play by him, But the.
Bigger problem to me was Logan Wilson is just kind of jogging over there for a while, realizes, oh, the play's still going, has kind of a half arted shove, and then it's Tyland Wallace is gone and then their safety play has been bad all year. Von Bell was bad in this game. Geno Stone has been not good. They missed Jesse Bates and it was Stone that takes a bad angle there. And so that's early in the fourth quarter and they're cruising midway through the third uh
nick before that Chase Brown fumble. Suddenly a couple plays later that the Ravens finally you know, get a quick touchdown, and just a couple of minutes later is that defensive breakdown. And that's the sort of stuff that's been happening to the Bengals defense this year.
Yeah, they haven't been good. And I know people are saying, well, they've they've played better in spots, but it's been against bad teams. They've looked really the defense looked very stout against bad teams and against the good offensive offenses, they've been absolutely torched. This is another game, now, I really was, you know, halfway through the third say it's gonna be like, hey man, I was completely wrong about my evaluation this game.
I thought it was going to be a shootout. It didn't turn out that way, and I'm thinking something going to happen here, And like you said, like because even on that even on that drive with Brown, they had already gotten one with brown fumble, I think they had already gotten one first down. They were going to another one before he fumbles it. And you know, it would have been I think second and one or third and
one on that play if he doesn't fumble it. They looked unstoppable really, and it's these long, drawn out drives that they were doing, you know, and then they get the quick hits because of it.
So are you going through our long text thread here, Nick, because that feels like fifteen hours ago. At that point it was twenty one to seven Bengals. Yeah, they had the ball, they had just gotten another stop, and they're starting deep in their own end and I'm thinking, Wow, this is really set up for the Bengals to just grind them into dust with some long, slow drives. And You're right, he Burrow hit a big third down early in that drive, and I'm saying, like, okay, this is it.
Like, uh, I'm rooting.
You know, let's go Nickel and dimonon to death, and now it's over. And a second later that fumble happens. And as good as the Bengals defense was, and it was really good, let's review it through midway through this third quarter, this is what had happened. They had given up seven points, they had given up the touchdown drive. They had forced four to three and outs on the Ravens, the best offense, not just in the league, but one of the best offenses. You know, through nine weeks in
NFL history. They had forced five punts that already was the season high in any Ravens game. They haven't punted five times in any Ravens game. And then suddenly the next four drives on a short field touchdown, the Tylon Wallace blows it touchdown, and then it was just over.
The next two touchdown drives after that were just more regular Ravens, just looking like an awesome offense at a spot where look, if the Bengals had gotten a stop either time there, Joe Burrow was showing them he was probably gonna keep scoring and they would have won that game.
And they couldn't, and they gave up four straight touchdown drives to end the game brutal and got to give the Ravens credit to for getting off the mat after they're not really haven't any any answers for a while, Lamar did some amazing things.
Yeah, having Mark Andrews playing now is great to see. He looked tremendous in this game. He's a great security blanket and he's just fast enough to beat those linebackers over the top. He he had a great game. I've told you in the past that I think Flowers is incredible. He's nifty in space, he can make people miss, he's a good route runner. He's he seems to always be open. It's whether whether they give it to throw throw them the ball or not. Yeah, it was. It was a
wild game. I didn't want to give talk all about the Bengals because the Ravens did, you know, come back and play play a great game.
Oh don't worry, Nick, You know, I don't know how many Thursday Nights you've listened to.
We're just getting started. Let's actually listen to.
Let's actually listen to one of the crazy moments of this comeback, which was the Lamar Jackson scramble that got them to the one yard line, where he had backed up all the way to the thirty next end. Stat say he traveled fifty eight point one yards on this scramble.
Les Take a listen, Lamar wants to throw from the shatka drifting to the right, back pedaling the thirty yard line, sprinting, coming down the near sideline, tip toeing down the sidelines. He's in the fifteen to ten five Lamar, So.
You want to speak, he's a little one.
Then he's stopped there. What a play by Lamar attraction?
I mean, that's just you don't see anyone but Lamar Jackson. Do they play?
And that was that was after the fumble, Like there was no guarantee that suddenly they were get on track. That play kind of kickstarted their offense finally playing.
Well, yeah, I agree that you know what I texted you. I won't say the exact words, but when big guys are trying to chase down Lamar Jackson, it's not gonna end very well for the big guys. Not speaking from experience or anything there, but you know, because I'm very fleet to foot, But you know.
Are you though you know you say you are? That's you talk a lot of trash about the athlete that you were when you were younger.
Well, I was younger. I was very fast. Now in a straight line, I can still run fast for a big guy. Anyway, I'm not. I'm sure there's video evidence out there somewhere. You could ask my wife or something. But anyway, I wanted to make one point about lou Ana Romo. He talks a lot about three and outs, when when the pre when he's in front of the press,
and that that's the key to this defense. And you saw tonight and when they when they got them off the field, I mean you saw heads hanging on on the Ravens hardball, looked confused and angry on the sideline that they couldn't move the ball. But they you know, that's what I say, Like the offense and the defense aren't driving really well because they're not. They're not. They're
just not. They're they're not in sync. And and when the defense has played well, that the offense hasn't really put teams away.
Right because look, the the Bengals get a touchdown on the very first play of the third quarter. That was the sixty seven year to Chase. We'll listen to the chase touchdowns.
In a minute.
But after that, actually, in the second half, after the fumble, they kind of let the Ravens back in this game because they had a quick punt there. For all the issues that the Ravens defense had in this game, and there were many, they actually did force three punts and had the Bengals turn the ball over on downs twice
and there was a fumble. So it reminds me a little bit of that classic I think it was Thursday night game between the Rams and the Chiefs where the score was absolutely bonkers, but there was actually more defense than you remember played in it. A lot of key stops And one of the things that was interesting is three different times in this game, Nick the Bengals passed
on really long field goals. One would have been fifty eight, one would have been fifty seven, the other one would have been fifty one to go for it, and you know, they weren't successful. They didn't really have a lot of faith. Right now, maybe in Evan McPherson, I guess from from
over fifty. And it's funny because three years ago this was the matchup of the best two kickers in the league, and right now it's it's Justin Tucker who's really struggling and missed extra point could have loomed large in this game. And then Evan Evan McPherson, who's maybe not what he once was. Nick not a lot of faith there.
They have reason not to trust him. He's been very inconsistent. Even the shortfield goals sometimes are just sneaking in and I don't I don't know. You know, Chris used to say that that kickers were head cases. You know, they get on a roll and they can't be stopped, and meant the first kick they missed, suddenly they're in their heads. So maybe Chris had a point there, and they are streaky.
It's just like any other position. You get on rolls and you go and you know, kickers, you just we've gotten kind of spoiled because we've seen so many kickers just nailing fifty five yarders on regularly. Now. You know, fifteen years ago, you would question whether you'd ever even kick a fifty five yarder unless the game was on the line, you know. So you know, I think I think we expect, we have had expectations of those two and they've just let us down. This year.
It was an interesting night by Zach Taylor. Early on, he goes for on fourth down, he gets it, and then I brought up the two times where they passed on the on the really long field goals and then failed on the fourth downs. They end up two for four on fourth down. He also had a very gutsy I think it was Tanner Hudson's sneak over center at his own thirty nine. That's one of those plays that if they didn't hit it, he would have gotten killed for it.
And they barely got it.
It was a good effort by Hudson, but they did get it, and then they go for the two at the end of the game. It was interesting because I don't think Zach Taylor from a few years ago is going for all these fours. But I do give him credit for recognizing the team that he has and I think playing to it. And ultimately we didn't even talk about this, like I think it was the right decision to go for two at the end of the game.
The only argument against it was there was still a lot of time on the clock, So even if you got the two, I'm not counting out the Ravens from getting a field goal there. But that that kind of speaks to also why you go for it, because if they lost the coin flip in overtime and they might not win the game anyways, even if you.
Get the two, it's like you got to be aggressive.
Well. You also in the first game played very conservatively for that long field goal in regulation and in overtime they I think it was or maybe I'm maybe it was just an overtime.
He threw the interception Burrow.
That was That was one of the things that was sticking in my head where he's had just a couple of plays, even in great performances, he had the interception in regulation and then in overtime.
Yeah, they got conservative, maybe yeah, but then they got conservative in overtime. And either you trust your guy to be a world, world class quarterback or you don't. And that's my problem. In the first game. This this this game. You're right, the defense wasn't stopping anything. So if the Ravens got the ball back, I think they score. Yeah, I don't know about you know, thirty seconds left, I
don't know how many. I think the Ravens still had a time out or two there, but you know, they weren't going to I don't know the Bengals were't going to stop over time.
I wouldn't count it out the way they were going now.
I don't know if Tucker hits that kick, but it would not have been that difficult to get into field goal, and so we've seen it.
Certainly not over time. I wouldn't trust the Bengals. I don't trust the Bengals to stop anyone anytime. But you know it is what it is. And your point about so well, the conservative calls from a couple of years ago, we could do that because it could rely on his defense to get stops. So yeah, you do punt the ball away or kickfield goals because you know the defense is going to come up and make big plays. They
don't make any plays. It's the biggest difference between this Bengals teams and in the good ones from the past few years. The turnovers are killing them and they're not turning the ball over in these key games, so they you know, they're they're giving them up and they're not getting them. The first Ravens game, they had that interception. Now I know they got that fumble late in the game that that could have scored. That are over time
relate in the game. I'm and confused, but you know, they had to fumble late in the game where they could have scored, and then they got conservative and didn't and in this game they're down again. You mentioned the Patriots game earlier at the beginning game. They had two fumbles in that game, and one was going into the end zone. Another one was a big momentum killer because they turned the tide of that game. That's the biggest
difference they're turning. They're turned the ball over too much and they're not getting turnovers on the other side.
Right Ultimately, you're up twenty one to seven, You've played a nearly perfect game midway through the third quarter in Baltimore. You can put that all in the defense, but that's that's on everyone. That's a team that's finding ways to lose this year, which yeah, it is surprising, and why ultimately I'm not giving up on them because their offense is just that good and the defense has shown flashes.
But they're at four and six and their best case scenario is going to be the team that no one wants to play in the first round of the playoffs because they are not winning this division at this point. After being swept by the Ravens, who are now seven to three and they're just not going to be able to catch up. They're at LA next week on Sunday Night Football. That's a really intriguing game that has been flexed in. Then they have a bye, then they play
a good Steelers team at home. Then they're at Dallas at Tennessee home for Cleveland, home for Denver. That is a nice stretch. So if you can get this Chargers and maybe Steelers game, this Chargers game really looms large. Then you finish the season in Pittsburgh, which could be a fascinating like that could be the week eighteen Sunday Night Football game for like the Bengals trying to get the seven seeds. I don't think it's over, but if they had just won tonight, Nick, it would have just
felt so different. The division would have felt possible, and it really would have felt like, Okay, we got wind in our sales. Every time they get close to having that happen this year, it's like these games they find a way to not make it happen.
Absolutely, this is what this is what, this is what the Bengals do. This is why I can't be a fan, it's you know, I'm sure you saw it with the you know, with the Patriots for years and years they did everything right to win these close games when it came down to it, or these big games, and you're
seeing it with the Chiefs. Now the Chiefs. The Chiefs don't look like a good team, but they keep winning They I should say, they don't look like a great team, but they keep winning games because their defense is making plays, and they have Pat Mahomes making just enough plays.
Right, and they're stacking and they're figuring things out as the season goes along, which is it's not what this Bengals team totally feels like. Although I do feel like the offense is getting better and better. I do want to just give some.
Love without Higgins tonight too.
Right, That's huge because you look at the box score and it does tell you the story, like Chase ends up with two sixty four, Chase Brown ends up being the number two receiver on a bunch of checkdowns nine for fifty two. He had a couple of routes, but it was mostly checkdowns. And then it's Tanner, Hudson and Gasiki who get forty two on thirty. Not that efficient on sixteen combined targets out of their other receivers. You know, he goes to Jermaine Burton in a couple really crucial spots,
he makes one catch in five targets. There was a sequence where they still had the lead late in the game and he and Burrow made some kind of curious decisions to go very deep, once to Chase into double coverage, and then once when Chase was coming open on fourth down. Instead he goes to Burton one on one down the field and he misses the throw or the timing just wasn't there to Burton. So that was a weird decision. People are blaming Zach Taylor, and I'm like, you can't
blame Zach Taylor on that. Joe Burrow is a big boy and he's making decisions on what to do and he went for the risk of your throw and it didn't work out, and you got to take the good with the bad when it comes to that.
Both of those plays, he had pressure and he had released the ball when he had to release him too. So if he's got that extra quarter second, maybe he sees Chase or maybe he just didn't made up his mind. I see this coverage. I'm going there and he got the coverage, so I don't know. I didn't. I wasn't watching the Prime View. I should have been Envision.
I should have done Prime. The new skycam's crazy. The old Prime View which is like the All twenty two if you get you know, game Pass or whatever, that's cool. I mean, I like it. But the skycam is so unique. I just haven't seen anything quite like it before live during a game, because you know, and I recommend everyone check it out. Yeah, talking about the pressures, let's give a shout out to the Ravens pass rush. Seven pressures for Matta Week today, his best game of the season.
Three sacks away with seven pressures, van Ney with five, Travis Jones with five, a couple more players with to a piece, and a lot of those were quick pressures, so they were ultimately better on the line. They missed the Orlando Brown in this game, and yet they were incredible. Burrow the first drive of the game hits a bunch of third and longs in a row before setting up what was the first of the long touchdowns to Jamar Chase.
Let's listen to that.
Burrow well look to throw moving to his right now. He throws over the metal run Chase. They angling toward the far Simon at thirty twenty shifteen ten five touchdown down. Chamar Chase does it again. He's dancing in the back of the end zone, turning a short pass over the middle into a sixty seven yard highlight.
Okay, that was not the first drive of the game. That's my fault, of course, setting that up. But that was the first Long Chase touchdown passing. That dude is just so special. He has the vision of a running back. It's just crazy how he weaves and he sees it all before it happens. While we're here, let's just listen to both long touchdown throws to Chase. Let's listen to the first play of the Bengals offense in the second half.
Burrow back to throw guns a deep down field, chases open touches at the thirty the field, ten five touchdown, seventy yards as Jamar Chase is putting on one of the great shows in Bengals history. How the heck did the Ravens tout Jamar Chase?
Run right?
Here's how Marcus Williams has been killing the Ravens all season.
He bites and like doubles.
Mike Kasiki thinks thinks Burrow's going to Gasiki over the middle, and let's Chase get over the top. What did you think of Chase stretching that play out for about ten seconds? Are like Chris is old favorite player Steve Smith used to do back at the day.
I think, I mean, yeah, talk about it all time or there anyway. I think it was in response to Lamar doing his little dipsy do into the end zone on the previous thing He's still call out and then pulled it back and then whipped it into the stands. I think it was just in response to that. I don't know, you know, you could just jug into the end zone at that point, or you can show off a little bit whatever you want to do. I mean, if you're the world class athlete, you get to make
those decisions. I don't.
I like it.
I mean I like it. They're a little spicy. I saw Burrow and Lamar with a great exchange after the game. I mean, the mutual respect is off the charts. So if you can add a little spice it, a little back and forth, it's fantastic. Yeah, you mentioned that was the two point conversion that Lamar Jackson, I believe you're talking about winning one, which was a huge play in the game too, because otherwise that Tucker missed exter point
would have been massive. And there's a lot of differences you can come up with in this game, but the fact that the Ravens kind of hit their two and they have that ability of Lamar to run on a night where Derrick Henry was fine, but you know, one of his quietest games of the season, sixteen for sixty eight. Early in the game, they were really hugging the line of scrimmage, a lot of defenders up there, and that's
the thing the Bengals offense. The defense was pretty tough and did get the Ravens a little discombobulated for a while.
They did they they did a good job and even in the first game, they did a very good job against Henry until that long run and overtime I kind of stealed it for the Ravens that I think at that point they had only had forty or forty five yards before that big run in that first game, and you saw something similar. I mean, they're they're not afraid, and that defensive line isn't afraid to play the run. You know. Again, they didn't get enough pressure when Lamar
Lamar dropped back, but they did contain Henry. Well, I don't even know why they were bringing Hill into the game. Every time he got the ball, he got tackled for a loss. So, you know, just beat it to Derrick Henry all game long. I don't know why. I don't know why every third down you'd go out. And I get it that he's a better receiver and all that, but I don't know. I'm not afraid of that guy. I'm afraid of Derrick Henry.
All right, let's take a quick break and we'll be back in just a second before before we go, And I appreciate you, Nick, one of my favorite people on earth.
What a week this has been for me personally.
I have uh, you know your face Lakeisha Jackson whistling at the house uh last last weekend, and got to see her at work a couple of days this week, which is such an amazing treat, something special when when she's in town. It was so great catching up and we were talking about Chris and just catching up on old times and everything.
And now seeing you in a.
Typical not so typical Bengals loss, but a heartbreaking Bengals loss. I wish Chris could have seen more of Joe Burrow because I think he would have gotten Oh.
Yeah, he knew it. Yeah, Chris knew it that before that Super Bowl. He run on there, he talked about it early in that season, and he was just built different. So yeah, I wish he would have too.
Yeah, and he did know that that things things were changing. Just just a couple of just like little notes here, emptying out the notebook here before you go. Kyle Hamilton unfortunately left this game with an ankle injury in the first half that that would be devastating for a second day, that's not playing well. The fact that it was an ankle. If it is just an ankle quote unquote, maybe that's
good news. That it's either a one week injury or high ankle sprain, it's a three week injury, whatever it is. Hopefully it's not something more serious where they're gonna have him back. They're seven and three now, they're fighting with the Steelers for first place in the AFC North. It's officially a two team race now, and they're gonna be going to the playoffs. So as long as they can get Hamilton back at some point, that's gonna be really
important for them. They had another acquisition recently, Deontay Johnson.
We'll see how this thing goes. It's off to a slow start.
Do you remember that play right before the half where Deontay Johnson just is not urgent at all getting out of bounds on a play on his only catch, And then another play where he's on a scramble drill and trying to make a big play, he slips and falls and isn't on the same page Lamar Jackson.
So we'll see.
But Deontay Johnson, like I was excited for this pickup. It was they didn't give up anything for it and give it some time. But he's also been an up and down player. There's a reason why I think the Steelers didn't didn't want him around. So we'll see. We'll see how that turns out. Did not, did not turn out well tonight.
Yeah, the Kyle Hamilton when when you saw it happen live, you couldn't see the contact originally, and I thought it was one of those non contact injuries and I was really worried. And then they share the replay and you see him step on the I think lowten Wilson's foot there and turn his ankle. So yeah, I was a little bit of a relief. I mean, we'll say, have to wait. I'm not a doctor, but we'll have to wait to see what happened.
In a walking boot. They said he actually returned to the sideline walking him in the boot, but a good sign that some version of a sprain. Of course, a high ankle sprain would be very serious. So so we'll see what he is and then, yeah, it was interesting.
Jermaine Burton has been more of a headline, uh news maker in your neck of the woods than nationally, but it has been quite a story in Cincinnati how he didn't show up for practice after they were going to really feature him in the game plan, and I kind of thought, like, doesn't that mean they should just not activate him this week? How can you count on a dude like this at all? And instead they activate him, play him a ton, throw him five targets in key spots and didn't didn't go great.
Yeah, I mean you saw this stuff in college, the rumors that were coming out of his schools that he didn't try that hard or he wasn't engaged very much, or he wasn't interested in learning the playbook. And I don't know what's true and what's not, but yeah, in town, people are there's some people that are up in arms saying they should be playing, playing them more because you know, you can see some of the talent you could in
pre season. But I don't know. I didn't see much separation at all except the one the one completion he had, and that was more Burrow just launching it and as soon as he turned around and hit him in the hit him in the numbers, and he had no choice but to catch it on that one. I'm not I'm not seeing the explosiveness that everyone else is up apparently saying he's getting He's okay, we'll see what happens, but yeah,
is he worth the headache? I don't know. I'm not inside the room, but yeah, to not show up on a wall through on Saturday when it's your first chance to sign to shine in the game plan all year, I just don't understand it. Yeah. Actually, I don't know what's going on with them, but we'll see. We'll see if I if I hear anything else, I'll let.
You know Yeah, and the Ravens, you know, they came into this game, they knew it was a big game. I didn't love that Harbass set this sort of tight, like I'm a little nervous because it's a big game, not really playing like being a calm coach early with this terrible challenge and then a really stupid time out when they had twelve men on the field when the penalty there would have only moved them like a yard anyways, like.
Some bizarre uh.
Just it was reminding me of like a Raven's playoff game, not to bring back like bad memories, where just everyone seemed a little tight in that first half. And obviously they got on track and now they are seven and three,
and man, their schedule coming up is fascinating. They're at Pittsburgh in week eleven and so that is for first place, and then they're at the Chargers in week twelve that's a Monday night game, and then they're home for the Eagles in week thirteen before thereby, so get ready to me the Bengals with that, I mean the Ravens with that schedule, like they are in the center, the very center of the NFL. I do like how the schedule shapes up for the Lions and the Ravens kind of
coming up where they're in. They're all in a bunch of really big games against big teams, and this was a big test pass. They've been kind of the opposite of the Bengals. They're coming through these these close games when they're in them.
This year.
Yeah, except for the couple they didn't. But but yeah.
That's a great point.
I right when I said that, I was like, was that a stupid thing to say, because, yeah, the Raiders and the Chiefs game to start the year, especially, we're not the Browns game recently.
You're right, they could have just been losing two out of three games if they had lost.
So chatter, Yeah, you see chatter on Twitter and things like that. I don't know how serious it is that people don't like hardball. I think he does a good job of featuring his best players. Uh and when you have Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, it's probably pretty easy to coach, I would imagine. But but yeah, it's he does a good job of featuring his players. Now, the defense hasn't been great this year, especially against the past,
but they'll be I think they'll be fine. And the people that are saying that he needs to go or he's not as good as people are acting like he is there. Yeah, they are crazy.
Todd Munkett is doing a great job.
This actually was the least I've seen like the receivers open in a while.
So the Bengals did something right.
The route distribution was a little weird, but they're doing a great coaching staff and they're a coaching job. They're They're a team that usually improves as the season goes along, especially defensively into seven or so.
That's something to watch. I've kept you up late enough, Nick, appreciate you.
Hope to uh to reconvene at some point again on NFL daily this season, and in the meantime, hope all the Westlings and Cincinnati and Columbus. Although you know you don't seem as as nice to the Columbus crew.
You got to be nice to your brother Phil.
Nick, I mean, I'm always nice to Phil me and him or bros. No, I'm not nice to him. And he's a big Columbus Crew fan. And they got they got tossed from the playoffs early this year, so you know they can Yeah, somewhere else.
I'm on like the Westling Brothers text threat and we're getting Columbus Crew trash doc. I was like, I don't even know you're speaking a different language. It sounded like you might have had a couple. You had thrown back a couple at the bar that day.
You never know. With me, I don't remember, but yeah, probably something like that.
Appreciate you, Nick for for hanging out. We will be back on fro on NFL Daily and Cynthia Frielan joined me to make some picks. It was hot last week with three and oho with my picks against the spread. You want to throw out a pick just last second on the spot. You have two seconds, Nick.
I do you don't even know who's playing this week?
Okay, so tune in Friday. When Nick can't come up with a pick, you know football is back