Welcome to NFL Daily, where last Christmas I gave you my heart. Very next day you took it away. I'm Greg rosenthalm here in the Chris Westling podcast studio with Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic, and Yeah, that song just is not getting out of my head. So that's why I started the show with it. Jordan rodrig I've never seen you in such a bubbly good mood. You were a holiday person and your your twin sister is in town.
I'm not a holiday person, but this year you are.
Maddie's here, Maddie's here, she's off the boat.
I love it.
I'm so excited.
I'm excited for you. I can I can only imagine what it's like to see your twin after a long time connecting. That's what this time of year is all about. And so we're gonna try to be concise. It's it's tough. Our producer had some doubts that we can get through this show in under an hour, but I believe in us. We started the show NFL Daily, our first ever show. You were there with me and Patrick Clayband and we talked about what's gonna give us joy in the twenty
twenty four season. So now as we're winding down, we're gonna look back a little bit and just quickly go through the AFC. We each have teams and talk about what what brought us some joy in this season. We're also going to preview the Netflix games on Christmas that feels like it's just about to start, and then T and F Seattle and Chicago we'll talk about that, and then hopefully our elves are working on a zoom connection with one of our favorite people to end the show.
So I hope we can make it happen, and maybe we'll even hear from some of our listeners you ready to do it?
And we both wore our hopefully special guests favorite color because it's the color of her football team.
There you go, Greg and I.
Accidentally, if you're watching on YouTube, you'll notice Greg and I actually were accidentally were the same outfit today.
I mean it's the same like you.
Got swoopies, I've got swoopees, you know. But I'll say the person who topped us both in the outfits today is our producer Eric behind the Glass, who's wearing what I'm told is his second best Santa Cat sweater.
Yes, I have actually have two cat sweaters Christmas hats, and this is number two of.
My Santa cats. And one thing I love about Eric and Randy, who has moved on to a there was a better job, is they love all animals. They're not trying to divide the world between cats and dogs like you're for You're for both, right.
I actually have a dog, no cats, but I grew up in a house full of them. I have like four dogs and two cats at one time. Sands, my wife is allergic, so.
I'm team cat and dog. Why why can't you love them both? Let's not divide it.
I appreciate the effort of the group behind the glass to at first try to stay out of the shop, but then then immediately lean into it. As you guys, everybody needs some shy everybody's working on this Christmas Eve.
Everyone does such a great job.
One thing that has brought me joy is this year is how kind everyone everyone has been. And that starts with everyone behind the glass, and then slowly you bring up the rear, so.
I will I was like, that doesn't include me, But let's talk a little, yes about what brings us joy? And like I said, there's been some doubts whether the two of us can get through this quickly, and I have a good start. I believe in us. I'm gonna let you get us going. We're going to go through the AFC. I hope to do this again next Tuesday, and if we don't, we will do it for the NFC at some point.
I'll see you next Tuesday.
That's absolutely right, and Colleen Wolf should be there as well. Why don't you start with the Ravens. What's given you a little bit of joy?
Derek m e fing Henry Okay has brought me joy all season. King Henry now in purple, a color reserved royalty. Historically, it's thriving in Baltimore with Lamar Jackson and company. He's given us one of the more dominant rushing seasons that we've seen. And what especially brings me joy is the way this is like the ten Things I Like about You kind of a thing too Christmas kind of thing. The way if he gets even a little steam, he
runs through and passed people. Entering week seventeen, Derek Henry has now gained six hundred and seventy eight yards after mistackles this season, which is one hundred and forty four more than anybody else in the NFL per next gen.
What joy?
I love that two all time greats bringing out the best in each other, kind of like us joining force. Is this I, by the way, should have mentioned Eric has a horn back there. If he thinks we're honking too much and it's going on too long, he can just hit it. Oh oh, now that was definitely not too much. That was nice and concise. That was beautiful. I'm going to go to Eric's bills and dere Damar
Hamlin in his story. This year gives me joy because to me, he is a better candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year or this season than he was last season. And everything that he's gotten over as a human is to be lauded, but now what he's overcoming as just a football player, to me is just as impressive.
It's kind of representing all the sixth and seventh round picks that take to their second or their third year to really get a chance like his career, even if what happened to on the field had never happened was on a knife's edge, because that's what it's like for all these guys that are just special teamers that are trying.
He was a year to year type of player, and because of the injuries and because the things that happened, he got a chance to be a starter this year and he proved to be a really solid starter for them on a really good defense. And I think he's guaranteed himself many more years in the league a second contract. So he's kind of representing all those different types of players that are battling earlier in their career. Now he's
overcome more than most. But it's also really cool to just see him get kind of a foothold into the NFL and know he's going to be part of our lives in the NFL as a safety for a long time. Really cool.
I love that one.
He's having a great year and he overcame literally death. So love this for him. This arc for him is beautiful in so many ways.
Well said Greg, and I had to I had to not even bring up James Cook's running style, which is just so cool that him and Dalvin are the exact same as brothers, Like, how is their running style the exact same? All right?
Hit me with the Bengals, Cincinnati Bengals, it's the season of like insane offensive lineman gifts by quarterbacks to their offensive line. Joe Burrow gave his offensive line authentic samurai swords obtained from an armory in California, some of them dating back to the fifteen hundreds. I think we have an explanation from Joe Burrow. Oh wow, joyful gift that
he bequeathed upon his offensive line. Used an old word for an old gift, Joe Burrow here he is talking about why he gave his old lineman samurai swords.
Well, they wanted gons.
I was know about guns, guys, and so I was in the weapon mindset and I was Michael, what's a cool weapon?
Sam My swords?
I think are.
Pretty dank cool.
Yeah, he's giving me Dwight Shrewd energy. Yeah, you know, including the outfit, and it's dwyt shrewt adjacent. You know, when he really means business, he takes off the mustard shirt and there's a tank underneath, and that's.
That's all he's got with the beautiful hair. I absolutely love it. You know, it's giving me joy that Jordan rod Rigg is throwing to tape and doing sound element without even letting me know that is amazing and very cool I got I never got a I didn't check the run down before. I gotta admit I got a not a sword from my father in law, but one of these wooden sort of blocks with with Japanese lettering and a saying that comes in a very fancy little holder, and so like, I know, what a what a great
gift that would be around the holiday. Still got that in a nice position. All right, let's tuck Browns. Okay, not a great season for the Browns, but I am happy that Jerry Judy is becoming the player that a lot of us Jerry Judy fans coming into the draft thought he would be someday, and we kind of had him peg drong that he was just this really unique, amazing route runner. And I don't think he's turned into
that exactly. He just moves differently than other people. But he's gotten more mature, I think as he's gotten older, and he creates big time separation and him and jamis kind of making each other better and just helping out their fantasy teams along the way made it happen. And the fact that he did this after the Jets didn't trade for him, because his Madden rating wasn't high enough. That's just a little extra sprinkle that you get here for the holidays. So Jerry Judy brought me some joy
this year, fulfilling his potential. A nice little contract they got him under there in Cleveland.
Yeah, that's a good one. Good for him.
Loved his tweet and also Madden's tweet about this situation. Little great teamwork over there. So I've got Denver. Okay, Okay, Now we're gonna show you some clips and some highlights of well one Patrick certain the second akaps two AKA still one of the best cornerbacks in the league. Who is playing like the best cornerback in the National Football League right now. This is more tape than you've seen probably if you're a casual fan or watcher. It's not
in the All twenty two. Then you've seen of ps two all season. And why is that? Because quarterbacks are not throwing to him, so you're not seeing him on your broadcast screen. He has only been targeted on ten percent of his coverage snaps this season, the lowest rate among all cornerbacks with the minimum of two hundred and fifty coverage snaps.
And it's a good thing.
The quarterbacks are not targeting him because when he has been targeted, offenses have lost minus twenty eight point one in EPA, which is the second fewest targeted PA that any defender is forcing in the NFL per Next Gen Stats. Pat certain Is was and should be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in my opinion, despite missing some time, and he brings me joy. Watching him play brings me so much joy.
I think he's got a chance to win it. It's so wide open this year. We talked about how there's gonna be ballots where you have to pick five players. I believe he'll be on yeah, a lot of those ballots. I think he's got a chance if he happened to have a big final couple weeks. Sometimes it takes you know he's an NFL network on Saturday, it's a big game against the Bengals. Maybe he dominates to Jamar Chase does something like that that could get him over the top.
I think it could happen. I'm going Houston Texans. I'm going Jalen Petree. I like it when a player gets a lot of buzz coming into a second season, we all think he's gonna be great, and then he has a disappointing year, and then the following year after that, it's kind of the guys you forgot about. He has that breakout that you expected. They changed him completely into a slot player. This year an absolutely awesome year after rebound. He is so physical that really stands out in the
running game. But he's been better in coverage than anyone would have expected. He's basically turned into that slot defender that Jalen Ramsey was. But sometimes it's a safety, sometimes it's a cornerback. I didn't think Petrie had an in him. He's had a really nice rebound season for the Texans. So we'll talk about a little later on the previews.
I love that when I'm trying to make this a thing, when he gets an interception or he makes a play on the ball, can we call it.
Like a Petrie dish?
Ooh?
Can we I like it?
Okay, cool, We'll take it. All right, I've got the Indianapolis call.
Gets sold that better, Petrie dish.
Let's go, Thanks Greg, Indianapolis Colts. I've got that.
We already went through the young quarterback panic a few times in recent memory, including with Bryce Young, who is and was an outlier to Anthony Richardson, the Indianapolis Colts
quarterback in so many ways. But let's apply the same patience and the same logic that we just need to see this young, talented, very erratic player get a full year of development and work with his biomechanics specialists, which their job and they did this with Josh Allen as well, is specifically to work through the entire off season to make Anthony Richardson a better and more efficient thrower of the football. Efficient not meaning statistically he's racking up stats
and metrics. Efficient meaning every piece of energy in his body is transferring to the other piece of his body in the appropriate correct way that helps him throw the football at the most biomechanically sound which helps short yardage, mid range yardage. And he's already got the long ball speed or the long ball target range down.
So I just think that this is going to help him. I'd like to see a full off season.
With this before he actually has to have faced judgment from all of the jurors that the analysts and the usses of the world are sort of assigning.
I saw Eric, you know, hovering over that hog, and it was about I saw your face onto No, that's an awesome one. Still still younger than in Jaden Daniels and bow Nicks, and he was a lot of fun to watch last week. I want to see more of that from the Colts Jaguars tough season. I got a lot of teams with tough season. More on that. Sometimes I gotta just repeat things I've said. Brian Thomas, watching this dude play has given me so much joy, and I've talked about it a lot. So what's new that
I can talk about. I was thinking he not only is wide receiver one in this class for me, over Harrison and Neighbors and everyone else, because guys that big moving like that, it's just rare. I actually was thinking about the last three years of wide receivers and other than Puka Nakua, which is a different kind of receiver, that would be a fun All Pro team. Those two guys very different skill sets. I think he's the best receiver in the last three classes. I would take him
over Garrett Wilson and a lobby. I would take him over you know, Ze Flowers and Jackson Smith in JIGBA. I think his ceiling is just crazy because he does the subtle stuff, better already than we expected. And people that size just don't move that fluid and that fast. Love me some Brian Thomas. They found themselves a true wide receiver one you got the Chiefs.
Yes, it's weird, how I keep kidding. These really fun and interesting teams. Andy Reid brings me joys that time of year where we talk about Pat mahomes heroics, obviously, but I want to call attention again to Big Red himself, Andy Reid. Several weeks ago, he secured his tenth consecutive
double digit wins season in the regular season. He has double digit wins in the regular season and eleven of his twelve seasons in Kansas City, and the one year he won less than double digits, he still won nine games. He is astonishing he's still doing it. The contract runs through twenty twenty nine. He's sort of hinted that maybe he's done after that. Enjoy it while you have him, Enjoy watching him. Just his entire vibe brings me joy.
He clearly has so much joy when it comes to football, or else he wouldn't be able to do it like this. He doesn't always give it away, but like if you're somehow creating a contest of just who loves ball the most. I mean, Andy Reid's got to be right there at the top. I had him third in my Coach of the Year ladder. That shooky, and I did like it wouldn't be crazy to make him number one. Who's doing it better than Andy Reid? All Right? I got the Raiders. Whew. Okay,
it's a couple of things here. I was gonna go Bowers, but I just keep going with these rookie players that I love. I'm giving you two things actually with the Raiders. Now, I'll be quick. Remember every we always talked about the tight end evolution. Oh, the tight end, the evolution. It's happening, like these are the new players. All right, Bowers is that next guy. He is the evolution. We've reached it.
This is it. He's next. The other thing, the Raiders playing their ass off every week actually has given me joy. It's why they made me look smart by beating the Jaguars next last week. I was like, they're gonna win this game because they were playing so hard defensively, sometimes not smart, but so hard. You know it when you see it for Antonio Pears. And yet they keep losing these games. So just a team that's going nowhere the whole time, playing their ass off in the middle of
a ten game losing streak. That gave me some joy. Look two things nailed it? Wow? Did I?
Uh? The thing on brock Bowers is interesting because I'm starting to talk to executives and people in personnel departments about evaluating classes of certain position groups coming forward into the next couple of years, and he's getting the comp Now. You know, it used to be other tight ends around the league, used to be the Kittles and the Kelsey's and all of that. He's the one drawing the He's like, ah, well, you know, I don't think he does this as well as brock Bawer.
I don't think he does this.
Everyone wants a body.
Does things as well.
Is that like, why are we comping this guy like he's just over here comped to someone else.
Maybe it'd be like quarterbacks, where we really have created new quarterbacks that we just didn't see these style of quarterbacks before, and now there's like six, seven, eight of them. Maybe there'll be more brock Bowers, But to me, he's one of one. Go ahead. He died.
That's great. I have the Los Angeles Chargers, but another fun team. How about that. That's really weird how that worked out.
The Justin Herbert Jim Harbaugh pairing and all the sound bites that it's given us through the across the year. He's Justin Herbert's ultimate hype man. It brings me so much joy. This is what Justin Herbert needed. He has been open about the fact that he's not necessarily the big personality, you know, raw, raw, out in your face kind of guy. Well, Jim Harbaugh is that person and he compliments Justin Herbert and he brings the best and
most confident football out of him. And my favorite sound clip from the year, I know our producer Hythem has it queued up. I'm going to do it again to you.
Greg. Here's Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert.
I man, I'm changing his name to Beast. He's a beast Herbert, half man, half beast. No quarterback has completed more passes in the first five years of an NFL career than Justin Herbert in the history of the National Football League. That speaks to his greatness and just to be around it every day is that's what it feels like it feels like you're around greatness every single day.
I love it. Joy.
Yeah, we could all use a Jim Harbaugh in our life to pump us up that much. But then we need to be justin Herbert. We need to be that great. Think about that. He's earned it. I love it too as a Herbert fan, like this is this is the era that I've always wanted. I got the Dolphins. You might say this is a mediocre team. I've enjoyed this team quite a bit this season. I enjoy the song that they play when they score the touchdowns. I mean,
that's been there forever, but I love it. I've enjoyed Chop Robinson, I've enjoyed Tua working within very small parameters. But the thing that gave me the most joy is watching Devon ah Chan actually be the running back that plays the receiver position, that actually is the wide receiver. Last week, there's a play where he's in the slot and he's running an inbreaker against a top cornerback and
he's high pointing the ball. People always talk about, oh, we're gonna you know, flex out our receiver, our running back as receiver, and they're gonna run routes. He's in their receiver. They're running back room in general, but especially him. He's the only one I've seen really running those routes like a wide receiver run those and they've built a lot of the offense around him. So Devon a Chan as a receiver.
Nice one.
I like joy.
I like that I have the New England Patriots. Yeah, that is interesting. How once again that seems to have come up Jordan.
I thought more on that in a second. I've got some numbers.
I find joy. Look at your face right now. Yeah, I find joy, and this is part of it, right. I truly am finding joy this year watching you Greg Rosenthal fall in love, deeply in love with yet another New England Patriots quarterback.
Yeah, I mean this one. I fell in love with him before he was even in New England Patriots. I just love young quarterbacks. What I'm not allowed to talk about Drake. May we get Herbert and Drake on Saturday. I guess we'll preview that game on the previous show. I do mat That's everything I've ever wanted in a quarterback match. But that's beautiful.
I do love it, and I love at the beginning of the year, it brought me joy how you watched His All twenty two very quietly, like with an extra screen under your desk, and you held hope. But refrain from letty letting any honking about how you were right this entire time about it's not about being right, slip out you. I'm being earnest here, man like about a third of the way through the season, you were all in and you wanted us to know it. Yes, loud and proud with your love for Drake May and the
fact that you were right. Don't forget that you're starting to fall hard. Drake May comes up in conversations. He is not even a part of As long as you are speaking, Greg, you're finding slivers of happiness and the Patriots fan experience after the long heart years of twenty twenty and twenty twenty two. So congrats, and I love this for you.
As twenty nineteen has brought me joy. That last Brady season was a little depressing. Try to enjoy that division title. I got the Jets, I keep getting these batso I gotta be real. The Jets have not given me joy. So I think, being honest, that's something that gives me joy. But what I would say to Jets fans, is you made a good pick in a class with all these great receivers. Olufashanu showed enough down the stretch that you
got one right at left tackle. And I do find it ironic that Joe Douglas, their GM, spent all this time before they let him go, just desperately trying to build a good offensive line and mostly failing. And I got to say their offensive line right now looks better than it's looked at any point now. I hope the next staff can keep it going, but they'll have a really good young left tackle that spot. Not taking the receiver when Bowers and other people are on the board
was very tricky to get it right. I think they got it right, and they're going to have a dude for a long time, So that's good news for the Jets. I can't say they've given me a lot of joy this year. That's just being right.
I think that's very fair. Yeah, that is fair fair.
I don't think they've given their fans a lot of joy.
I have the Pittsburgh Steelers Cam Hayward.
I mean there's a lot of joy I think that to be found in Pittsburgh this year. Including all of the Mike Tomlin decisions, and also just how every Pittsburgh Steelers player seems to be like a perfect fit for the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is awesome. But Cam Hayward's having a remarkable season that brings me a lot of joy. He has eight sacks, But where he is especially making a difference is in their run defense, where that defense is eighth and total yards allowed this season seventh yards
per carry. Just gave up one hundred and sixty two on the ground to our king Derrick Henry. But per Next Gen stats, the Steelers defense has allowed over two more full yards per carry on average when Cam Hayward is off the field versus when he is on the field. This season, it goes from three point four yards per carry allowed when he's off the field when he's on the field to a whopping five point six yards per carry allowed when he is off the field.
That's astounding.
Defensive Player of the year, let's push for it. I think he might be my choice right now. It's a stranger. James Harrison wanted in a stranger. Roll Suggs when he won it, that was a stranger. Stefan Gilmore pulled it off. There's not an obvious choice. I think TJ. Watt's a bad choice because I think just this isn't his worst year out of the last five. I know he has a lot of sacks. Cam Hayward is a really good choice. I think he could be defensive Player of the year.
Let's wrap it up with the Titans. Now, you know what's not giving me joy is that Jordan gave me all these bad teams.
I just went ala as I was going through.
It last The last five teams that we've talked about have a combined twenty and fifty five record. I was like, is she setting me up? I think she was. And yet you know what's given me joy? Even even in dark situations, you can find some positives. This kid to and Andre Sweat. I know he came into the draft
with a lot of problems. I'm not ignoring those, but just on the field, a guy that all the draft knicks thoughts on the field was going to be a bust and was super overrated and they didn't like his effort and all this. I watched him, there's a lot of effort. I love a three hundred and sixty five
seventy pound guy. Who is just throwing people around. He could be in the mix for a defensive Rookie of the Year if we gave Nosti any love, because in terms of a foundational piece on the defensive side of the ball, he has has been as good as any and he is just incredibly strong. So when you put on that Titans All twenty two, you get a little Pollard who's been really good, powerful, but sweat really stands out. So I did it. I came up with stuff to
love about every single team. You know what else I love?
Can you guess the color green?
That we did it? That highte them and Eric didn't think we could get through this segment quickly. You know, you only gave me the sound, you know, as a sort of a bit.
I thought it was real.
Let's go to break with that sound it is. It is Christmas time. Let's talk a little Netflix game preview and little TNF after the break.
Oh yeah, I love Eric always plays the great rock Christmas music for me.
I love it. It is amazing.
Can Rama trucks today?
You know we're in a joyful spirit. You guys tried to take me out of it by saying I was honking about Drake may. I saw what you all were doing, and I didn't want to give you satisfaction. Now I'm really looking forward to these games. They're taking over the building the Netflix people because they're working out of an NFL Network studios. So just downstairs you ran into who Drew Brees.
And RG three, Robert Griffin third, you know the whole crew is coming in.
You ran into one of the goats and legs.
Oh yeah, Icon saw our friend Mina Kimes just as I was walking up to the studio. She was walking down there doing some rehearsals. So everyone check out the two games. It's gonna be fun. Chiefs, Steelers, Ravens Texans. When they set these games up, they figured there's no way that these games could be stinkers, and it does turn out they are two of the best games of the week. Only so many good games. We've got Minnesota Green Bay on Sunday, but these two games mean so much.
It is crazy to think, Jordan, let's start with the Chiefs and the Steelers. That's a one pm Eastern kickoff. It's crazy to think. And we're taping this on Christmas eve Day. That in roughly twenty four hours Patrick Mahomes could be done playing football until the divisional round of the playoffs.
Rip everybody else, right, because.
They if they can win this game and clinch home field, you gotta think that they're gonna rest him in week eighteen. Then they have the buye. That's a conversation for another day, but big time steaks for them, and big time stakes for the Steelers who are trying to win the division and trying to get a home game. They are tied right now with the Ravens at ten and five.
I really like the stakes of this game because it's the Chiefs, who I'm not trying to be dramatic here because fourteen to one like nothing to sneeze at. Like they've already shown that they are going to have a strong season. But after this last week, the Chiefs have arrived, I think fully because that was one of their most complete looking offensive performances where they had multiple layers of
an offense actually running. Patrick Mahomes was incredibly efficient playing through that ankle injury, and he was getting the ball out fast and he was moving.
They were moving this offense.
They were amassing I think you pointed this out, a significant number of yards per play that would have led the league in most other weeks.
The Chiefs are here.
They are scary, they are not fluky if they continue in this way, and this is a Steelers team that has its back sort of creeping toward the wall a little bit. They really need to snap out of this. They need George Pickens back, we'll talk about that. Looks like he's going to be back. Might be missing Joey Porter Junior, which is going to be a tough loss because that means they'll have to play at least one
backup corner even if Dante Jackson comes back. This is kind of a bit of a crunch time situation for the Steelers, who kind of tend to show up in crunch.
Time, right. I think they're going to respond in this game, but they haven't been beating the allegations. We said their schedule is gonna get really hard down the stretch, and for the most part, they stood up to it. But last two weeks they've lost by two touchdowns to two of the best teams in the NFL and back to
back weeks. So I do think they respond in this game, and it's going to help that they get according to the injury report, Deshaun Elliott, who's been really valuable for them at safety, back, George Pickens, who I don't need to go on, but he clearly is kind of the Jenga piece for that offense, and then Dante Jackson at cornerback, who really hasn't played that well, but he is a starter. And with Joey Porter Junior probably out for this game,
so they are getting some people back. Chris Jones hasn't been practicing, that's something to keep an eye on. Maybe it's just because of the strange week, but he obviously would be a massive, massive loss for the Chiefs.
Yeah, it's interesting because George Pickens being such a crucial part and a crucial element of this offense. Obviously, it's not just about the place he can make, but the space that he creates, the extra room on the field in general. When you have someone who can stretch the field like that, who is being targeted and is a threat, then you just open up a lot more grass for everybody to work on, right, and that would help the
run game in turn. But what I think is concerning about the Steelers in general and the way that they are playing football. As exciting as it's been as correct as they've been in a lot of the decisions they've
made this year. When so much of your offense hinges on one of the lower probability plays that you can make, which is the deep shot or the mid to deep range pass play, when so much of your offense is success and explosiveness is predicated on making that play, and it looks this different without and they moved the ball well last week, I will give them that, but they're
not running the ball efficiently. Even though they're trying to run the ball and they load up in heavy personnel a lot, they're still not running the ball statistically efficiently in it.
And you could see that on the tape as well.
It's like a style over substance situation, and they need to be more complete when immersing, like getting infusing that substance into the middle parts of their offense.
And when the.
Deep shot is back, that's great, but you cannot hinge your offense on one of the lower probability plays.
And the yet you know they're counting on him, and Calvin Austin's played well for them. I think he's a legitimate piece in Van Jefferson stuff. It's like that's just who they are, and yet Russ Russ. It's funny. I actually thought he had one of his best games of the season last week, except for the turnovers, whereas I feel like he had gotten a little too much credit over the course of the season when he hasn't always been playing his best. So it's just funny how that works.
So they're going to need him to play well against this defense, which which has played better. We do have some updates on the injury report. The official one is out. Joey Porter Junior is officially out, but everyone else that they were worried about is not even on the injury report anymore, so that's important. Chris Jones is questionable after being limited UH on Tuesday, and so you would expect
that he would play. Same thing with Juwan Taylor. They won't have DJ Humphreys back, so it's going to be Joe Toney again at left tackle. I thought he's played pretty well and Chamari Connor, who at their slot position could be victimized because this is not a deep secondary.
They've moved Trent McDuffie back to the slot the last couple of weeks and that has been huge because he wasn't that great on the outside, and so you were hurting two positions and now at least you have an all pro slot defender and you're just better because of that.
So well, they use that logic when they move Joe Toney too. They're technically hurting their interior a bit by moving Joe Tony. But now, want to make more sense to me, exactly exactly, but now you're you're it's it's the same logical application they're now even though they're weakening one element of they're putting a very like an A plus plus player at a position that desperately needs it. Now, the same thing and moving him back to the slot like that is absolutely an A plus plus US player
playing at an A plus position. Now.
I know it's not Joe Toney's natural position to.
Play at left tackle, but you're still putting an A plus plus player at a crucial position of need in you know, late December, and I think that is a logical thing.
He's done it before too, he did it with the Patriots and did it well. And he's got the toughest matchup possible, and that's how the Steelers win. I'm thinking, I think the Steelers cover they're three and a half point underdogs in this game or three either way. I like the Steelers there. I think the Steelers might win this game. I promise you. I haven't picked against the Chiefs all season except for the Bills game and maybe one other the Eagles one other game that I got
wrong that they did win. But I do think this is a spot they show up and the way they would do it is just what makes them special. It's Wat, Herbig and high Smith. You got to show up. Maybe Wat hasn't been one hundred percent healthy late and Hayward. Of course, I'm thinking of the edges, so that's Tony, but you're absolutely right their pass rush.
Now you don't have Tony on the interior anymore. This is a Cam Hayward game.
So they need to just absolutely dominate. And we'll see if Patrick Mahomes continues what he did last week. That should scare everyone. He got rid of the ball so quickly, his time to throw was nothing. They were reading the defense and he's been holding onto the ball and taking a lot of hits and he just didn't do that last week. Hollywood Brown will help that out. Xavier Worthy's been a little more comfortable, does Hollywood's role like continue
to increase. But yeah, to me, it's one of those games where one side as Chris Jones and has some great defensive players, but it's sometimes it's not about the x's and o's, and it's just if wat Herbig and high Smith and Hayward, which is the one of the best pass rush groups we've seen in a long time, can just show up and they all play their absolute best. I think they end up winning this game.
It's going to be interesting because to your point, Hollywood, Brown and Xavier Worthy, they have sort of become like the three point shooters in this offense where they're making
these explosive plays. They're making these low probability but high reward plays down the field, but they're using the Chiefs are also helping get the ball out of Pat Mahomes's hand really fast because they're now working Hopkins and Travis Kelcey in the intermediate portions, which is so interesting that new Hopkins is picking up the gimme plays and picking up like the grinded out kind of plays and I love that.
I love because he can do everything right.
It's like a I was going to say, a smaller tight end but he's not even He's still just the size.
He's just so gifted.
And so I think that that has been an absolute game changer for them, is they can win in this way now, especially getting a couple of other players back in those deeper layers, because now you don't need those receivers to who are at the sort of the top of the field and who are stretching the field in the way that they do. You're not needing them to do more for you. You're only needing them to do what they do best.
Really looking forward to this one, my friend guest on the show, Anthony jessel Nick, said, enjoy the Steelers victory on Christmas. He is confident. We're also going to try to get him back for the playoffs to talk about his Steelers. He's feeling confident about this one. There is something about that it's home. This it's so stupid. It's like home and it's Christmas. I don't know, I could just imagine a very Tomlin victory. It's just in my head.
I'm going to pick the Steelers just because.
We can't both. Then now I'm taking the chief Okay.
I think you should take the Chiefs. The Chiefs is a smarter pick. They won fourteen games this year. Yeah, but I'm going to pick the Steelers based on vibes because I love Pittsburgh football in December and January when they get the opportunity to do that.
It was described by one of the players.
I was reading this great Mike Tomlin piece where a bunch of players were quoted talking about him as a head coach and what makes him special. And one of the players quoted and the piece was talking about December football in Pittsburgh and he described it as the air is heavy and everything feels Gothic. And I was like, f yeah, I'm going Steelers.
Funny because that reminds me more than any team of the Ravens. Our next team we're going to talk about. The Ravens home field advantage is very Gothic in black, but it's true, like I think of that home field there is like for their night games, in everything, there is like a darkness to in the best way possible. But they're not in Baltimore. They're in Houston. That gives
the Texans a little edge here. I think they have a nice home field crowd, one of the most underrated crowds in the league and one of the most underrated fan bases in the league. I feel like the Texans fans don't get the love that they deserve, just for the energy, the intelligence, the noise. I see you, Texans fans. You're one of the least annoying fan bases out there, and you're gonna need to help your team career because
you're fighting on uphill battle. They are five and a half points underdogs at home in week seventeen when they're gonna go to the playoffs. Is that is tough, but it is bad timing. I think they are catching the Ravens at a bad time. Both of these teams just had their buy They're fresher more than anything. This is a Ravens defense to me that is no longer just shooting themselves in the foot, and so they're letting the league's best offense take center stage while they just don't
mess it up. And I think that's really important, you know, heading into this stretch of the season.
This defense is it's not as dramatic as a night and day change, but they made some personnel adjustments and Zach Orr has been coaching his ass off. I mean, that dude is thirty two years old. Greg like to be coordinating a defense that gets has gotten better, that is under so much intense scrutiny at thirty two years old. I think he's done a hell of a job this season, especially after losing not just the previous DC but a bunch of the assistant coaches. A hell of a job he's coaching.
But they've declined. They've declined pretty hard.
You can't.
I've had to bring in dnps. But what they've done is they've done the Ravens thing where they've made great adjustments, and he deserves credit for that. They've simplified the coaching absolutely.
Coaching a good job at thirty two. I mean, come on, like, I'm thirty two. I couldn't do that no way.
Well right, I mean, at at thirty two, I could barely handle I think I had a newborn. I had a newborn and we were I was soon to leave for the NFL dot Com as an editor, and that alone scrambled my brain to trying to start that new job. I can only imagine what it's like to be a coordinator. So yes, Kyle Hamilton's kind of in the back end.
Roquan Smith is doing what he's doing, and maybe he doesn't have as much going on there and you don't need to be a super football on there to just see the busts aren't there, the communication, but they just look like a normal defense. I don't even know if they're great, but if they're.
Filling, if they're the third's gotten better.
Right, if they're the thirteenth best defense in the NFL, that's enough to go win a Super Bowl, and that's enough to stop this version of the Texans offense. Unfortunately, as someone who's kind of pulling for them to.
Be good, absolutely agree and absolutely heartbreaking what happened to the Texans last week with Tank Dell. That's that's going to be felt in so many ways, even more so than on the field. That's going to be really really hard for them to overcome. They've already had to overcome issues with the offensive line.
CJ.
Stroud just getting rattled on certain plays and against certain pressure that just is constant. And now he doesn't have one of his favorite players as an outlet and one of his dear friends on the field as well. That's just it's absolutely heartbreaking, and I think that's going to be significant for them down the st I mean, it is something that they're going to have to overcome. I don't know necessarily how they do it, because.
He was playing his best football things the year.
Now, I will say, scientists and our top analysts in the NFL are working overtime this week trying to quantify a thing that some are calling the Beyonce bump. Oh wow, in Houston. Beyonce is going to be on the scene in Houston.
She will be in the building. Yes, it's going to be very distracting. I feel like for these.
And so I feel like just her aura, her presence just lifts everybody. I don't think that's worth the negative spread. I think that she at least gives them a field goal advantage, if not a touchdown. You know, I feel like the Beyonce, But scientists are working on it. I can't specif I love that.
Lamar said he's gonna watch, He's gonna watch, He's gonna come out and watch. So he's already distracted. So that's a help.
I mean her, just her aura and her excellence, right, I just feel like that's that's enough.
To keep Houston's own. You gotta give a little bump here. Now, they do have special things about them. I could have chosen Joe Mixon for the how he runs, for what gives me joy. I think he leads the league in a little known stat which is runs hard, plus his cuts make me gasp. Composite, Like if you combine those two things in terms of just running hard every single
play and making a cut that makes me gasp. I think he's the NFL leader for that, and so they just need, like they need him and CJ and Nico Collins to just be special. I know that's like bad analysis, but they are three special players.
I think that's not bad analysis. I think it's when you go, yes, what's your stern?
I think played better since the buye. There have been rough plays, but I think there's been more of what makes him special too, and I think he showed a lot of that last week. And so maybe this Ravens pass rush isn't that great, Maybe can get it done. I am a little worried about the injuries on the Texans offensive line. Juice drugs is hurt, Shack Mason is out, so that you're adding new injuries to the mix for a group that's just rough to begin with. They're already missing the right tackle.
I'm going to pick the Ravens in this one.
First of all, goes without saying, but should be repeated often. Lamar is playing just other worldly football, and especially very consistently. You know, he had a couple of games where he maybe didn't look totally like the Lamar that we've seen throughout most of the year, but overall been absolutely excellent. I love that he has some island games. I think this time of year, especially as the MVP conversation continues, I love that he's getting a couple of island games.
I think he has the opportunity and the potential to do something even more historic than the historic thing that he did last year.
And a lot of his advances, which.
Is what win a third MVP, and a.
Lot of his advanced statistics are continuing to ascend and continuing to even be better than years previously, and so I think that this getting him in front of a lot of people is important if he can continue to meet that bar and the Ravens in general are an absolute wagon. I mean they just and again, like you said,
I'm not crowning them as a great defense. I think that they've coached their butts off and they have made adjustments, and that is what good coaches do, and that is why they've improved, and they're playing hard for that coaching staff as well. And so I think that if you can at least be a middle of the pack defense and your offense is capable of lifting you to extraordinary heights, as they've done all season long, then this team is
just going to be incredibly dangerous. And I think they start to roll continue to roll, because they have been rolling, but they especially continue to roll into this time of the year that is so important to have that inertia.
I hope it does happen, but I think they cover the five and a half points. Jimmy Ward out for the season, as he's Alshai here, their defense is totally different without him. He can return from his suspension next week. Zay Flowers a little banged up coming into this one. Justice Sill probably not gonna play or he's definitely not gonna play, and we'll see. I hope you're right about the MVP thing's tricky, because it is did. The discourse
is just going to annoy me. But this is one of the better quarterback seasons I've ever seen from Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen isn't far off, and I'm hoping just it is in an annoying debate. I think Josh Allen will win it if he keeps it going. But it reminds me a little bit of two thousand and four, which a lot of people think was the greatest quarterback
season of all time by Peyton Manning. And I would rank Dante Culpepper's two thousand and four at least in the top five quarterback seasons of my lifetime, and I don't it's weird. If you were there, you remember it. And yet he didn't get the award because he was in the same year as Peyton Manning having that award, And that's what I feel like It's gonna happen, maybe a little less, but either Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson
this year. It's unfortunate. All Right, it's the time of the show for our TNF preview presented by Amazon Prime Video. You don't have to spend as much time on this one because it's the Bears, and yes, they might be the best team I've ever seen with a nine game losing streak. That's the nicest thing I can say about your team hit them, right. Is it nine at this point or is it ten? How have they lost nine straight games? They really aren't that bad when you watch them every week.
They play so hard.
It's up and down in terms of that, but they're much better. They are a six or seven.
Nineteen nine consecutive lost team relative to that they play hard.
Yeah, Caleb. I think Caleb is coming off his best game since at least before Thanksgiving, maybe his best game of the entire season. I thought he played really well last week. His problem has been stringing those types of games together. It won't be easy. This defense shows you a lot of different looks. For the most part, has been consistent and it's going to be a tough matchup.
The Seahawks in the playoff race at eight and seven. Stupidly, and I don't want to spend much time on this, but stupidly, this game doesn't matter for them, which is like kind of a dirty secret. They actually have basically the same chance to make the playoffs if they win or lose, which defies your It just like blows my mind. It's like wright really, but because of the strength of
Victory Tiberger, all that really matters for them. Is that the Rams lose on Saturday, and it sort of doesn't matter if they win or lose, but they're going to want to try to win, and I think they will win and cover the three and a half points.
Yeah, obviously, And there is such a massive hinge right coming up this weekend because the Rams would win the NFC West with a Seattle loss or tie and the Rams beat Arizona. But then Seattle also wants the Rams to lose for their own playoff ramifications.
And I know you've gone over the permutations and they just need.
The Rams to lose. That's all there is. Yeah, really, all it.
Really is we can permutate and permutate and permutate away. But that really it does boil down to those two games are going on this weekend, and I think that it is I have a question. I do have a question for you because you've watched probably every snap of Gino Smith over the last several years. And I say that as a compliment, like you have the data. How hurt does he seem to you? Does he seem like he's I.
Mean, he looked a little banged up during that game from him. That's something that happened during that game. I thought that's been a major factor. Yeah, during that game, yes, he.
Played, I thought he played great football. But the the I thought he got re I'm not reinjured necessarily, it's dramatic at the end of the game, but I thought he got like just banged up even more. And I don't know, I'm concerned about the that takes a toll. He's taken a lot of hits this season. It's late in the year, short.
Week, you're on the road cold. The Bears are just very unpredictable. They have like their defense will play well one game and not well the other, and the offense does vice versas, so they never play well. At the same time, I actually was encouraged how Seattle played when I watched that game. Gino made too many risky throws and they were two pass heavy, just forty six passes.
Well, they've been that way all year, I know.
Yeah, it was just kind of crazy considering the scenario. That said, when I watched that game, I thought it couldn't have been more evenly played, And I was just like, these are two good teams with pretty good offenses and defenses. Going back and forth all the numbers, the success rate, the yards, just the eyeball tests, like every unit had extraordinary plays and it just looked like two good teams and one is a little bit better. And that's the
Vikings And that's not surprising to me. The Seahawks, I was like, yeah, they are a pretty good team. There are nine or ten win team. That's just where they were. We'll have conversations about whether Tariq Wollan and DK Metcalf and Draymond Jones are parts of their future. I think that's something that's interesting.
There's some chatter about whether the OC is a part of their right.
That could all be there. I think Gino Smith, just because of the because of how his contract looks and because of the market, will be there for sure next year. But go take care of business. Show me that you are the nine to ten win team that I think you are. And yeah, I'm torn on Saturday because I want a good Week eighteen game. I kind of want the Rams to lose, even though my family would hate me for that.
Well, there just a set up, just to set up.
They're definitely not listening. That was this week's TNF preview, presented by Prime Video. Be sure to watch the Seattle Seahawks take on the Chicago Bears this Thursday on Prime Video. Okay, that is it for our Christmas Day and yes, December twenty sixth preview. I kind of forgot that TNF game even existed. I was like, what they're they're jamming in a one more TNF here for the season. What a treat it's been going over all the things that bring
us joy. Jordan, doing this show with you has brought me a ton of joy. But we're not ending, you know what, We will see you next Tuesday. Colleen Wolf will be back for that show, and we were hoping to read some of her cards aloud, and we decided, you know, let's get her in the studio. We applaud all of our listeners and if you follow Colleen on socials, check check it out on Instagram. She put it up that you guys came correct. You sent your Christmas cards
to poor you know, woe be gotten Colleen Wolf. No, she's with her family and join the Christmas see Tim right now, the whole crew, including Tim, And why don't you just keep sending them? Send it here to NFL Network care of Colleen Wolf and we will read them next week. You can make it a Christmas card, you can make it in New Year's card, and we'll get that as part of the show.
My goal for Colleen, because I feel like she is the person type of personality that would like truly derive so much joy from this, is that she continues to get specifically Christmas.
Cards all through yes, ring yeah, summer.
So listeners, you guys already have come through in so many ways, keep sending cards to Colleen Wolf care of NFL Network.
The address is very public.
Make sure that you continue the Christmas card theme. We're going to do this all the way through July. We're gonna make her month week year. She deserves it. She is joy personified. I love that we're doing this episode today because Colleen is joy personified, and it's been for me just like I can't even believe how lucky I am to get to come in here every Tuesday and see you guys.
So I really appreciate it.
Very well said. Let's go. Let's let everyone behind the glass go do their last minute shopping or whatever, wrapping, whatever they need to do. We will be back on Thursday. Patrick will be with me to recap those Christmas games and look ahead to the rest of the week seventeen slate. So we got Hanukkah starting, we got Christmas to everyone out there. Yes, when old Saint Nick is about to go make his deliveries, you know football is back