Welcome to NFL Daily, where we said goodbye to eighteen NFL teams Today, good ball feel a little lighter.
That's what happens this time of year.
In the Chris Westling podcast studio, I'm Greg Rosenthal alongside my friend Patrick claybond Nick shook back in Cleveland, and we are back in the studio after watching a beatdown on Sunday Night football. Yes, for the second time in three seasons, the Lions put a stamp on the very last regular season game of the year. Except this time they're not just going home and saying we took you out with us Packers. They're the number one seed in
the NFC. We have our playoff schedule set. Let's just go over it first before we get into the games. We've got three days of games now on Wildcard weekend. It is not Super Wildcard Weekend anymore. Very important, don't call it that. We've got the Texans and the Chargers in the West of his spot. And I have been told reliably the Houston Texans have literally never played outside
of the West of His spot. And when I searched west of US and Texans, I found a tweet from our old friend Chris Wesseline, who, yes, we would celebrate every year. The first game on the NFL Wildcard calendar was always that early Wildcard game on Saturday afternoon, and it was always Andy Dalton in the Bengals, and sometimes the Texans were involved. And the tweet I found was from twenty nineteen where he said, officially, the Texans have taken over that spot.
They've they've played the most times in that spot. And you want to know a.
Fact, Nick Shook, They've literally never not played in that spot seven per seven before this year.
This makes it eight. They are five and two.
By the way, in those games they are hosting the Chargers as the five seed. Saturday night, we stay in the AFC, we have the Ravens and the Steelers for the third time. I know that makes Patrick a little bit nervous. It makes me nervous too. Sunday morning on the West coast, one o'clock on the East Coast, Bills and Broncos, followed by Packers and Eagles. In what the NFL really kind of feels like, Oh, that's that's the best game of the weekend.
We give it to that four thirty spot.
On Sunday, Packers Eagles that is fun, Buccaneers commanders on Sunday Night football, and then Monday night we've got the Rams hosting the Vikings and we'll get into all the schedule of it all, but just some like big picture thoughts Nick about what has transpired over these last forty eight hours this season before we get into the Lions in the Vikings game.
Honestly, I feel at peace. I feel like I got a new sense of clarity because the playoff picture is now set. I don't know, I talk about it. This team and that team gets in. We know who's getting in, and now comes the best time of the year when we get to break down all these games, give our predictions and see how it all unfolds.
Yeah, it's the same way for me just looking at these matchups and again, like the way, especially in the AFC, where everything was going to come down to the Chiefs and the Broncos. We'll get to that, but to have
some clarity over in the NFC. Finally, it's a sense of like the plane lands, and not that I'm not going to be that guy that stands up in the aisle, but you can unbuckle your seat belt, you can take out your phone and you could start to do the things to prepare for the trip that is the NFL.
And there is something about that, just eighteen teams that we're not going to watch those teams again, but we don't have to, right and a lot of them it is a relief, and a lot of them we're going to be talking about, in CLUDI on the show, with some coaching changes, and you know, the off season is just starting for those teams. I think the slate is just about perfect because what I don't like to happen is to have two teams that I don't think have a realistic chance to make it to the super Bowl
playing each other in wild card weekend. I think maybe we have one of those games Commanders Bucks, although you could convince me that the Bucks could make a magical run, and then I don't want like two of the great teams to be stuck against each other, like picking each other off.
But if you're gonna do that, maybe just have one of those games.
And I kind of think the Packers Eagles has settled into that game. And the AFC, the quarterbacks in the AFC are just crazy. We're gonna get into all that. So I think the way to structure this show. Guys, I hope you're okay with this because it's already laid out.
It's gonna be your call regardless.
Eric behind the glass has to say here, we do a lot of conversation.
Chris is in the mix.
I'm not gonna say he has this sort of decision making capability yet, but he is in the mix. We're gonna go NFC first, because I think that's where the big action was on Sunday. We'll go all through the NFC, and then we'll do the AFC and everything that happened, and then we'll wrap it in a nice neat bow. Yes, let's start at the end. Let's go to fort Field five and a half to.
Go, Lions by fifteen first in gold from the Minnesota four. Golf is gonna work out of the gun, gets to his right, Jared leans in, there's the snap, gets it to Jamir.
Open the left side up the hash still fighting at the one. Did he get in the way?
It did?
Touchs down Detroit Lions. Shamir with a boat from his defensive line. He's dead and the Lions are three scores off. Can you smell it, Detroit? Yes, we think can you smell?
It smells cool it It smells at the NFC North.
Who oh what Dan Miller's voice is cracking.
You know that's what football is back.
Welomas Brown TJ lang On WXYT.
It's been a season.
It's been three years worth of Dan Miller calls and he always delivers. And the Lions, they delivered to fifteen and two on a regular seat in that put up a ton of obstacles in their way. Injuries, expectations, a difficult schedule, a brutal division, and they overcame it all to get that number one seed. They won this game thirty one to nine. It didn't feel that decisive, Patrick, but I chose I wanted that highlight versus the other three Jamiir Gibbs touchdowns that also happened in this game.
He ended up with four.
He had some longer ones, but I wanted that one because it fell emblematic of the way the second half went literally and figuratively. Figuratively, this is a team all working together and pushing each other. And then literally there were multiple first downs where the offensive lineman pushed Jamir Gibbs to get that first down. That was for the touchdown, and that embodies just everything this Linone's team has been about it.
You could make the case that Pine Seul had more first downs in this game by pushing Jamiir Gibbs than Jordan Adison and Justin Jefferson did. Over on the other side, where Aaron Glenn's defense played spectacularly well, the Vikings play well in a spot where it felt like both of these teams were competing to the same extent on the defensive side of the ball. But then it was Jamiir Gibbs on an angle route on fourth and goal where he dices up Andrew Van Ginkel and goes in the
end zone. The Lions never really looked back after that point, and it's well, you know, we'll have time to get into this Donald discussion. But truly, even if Sam Darnold played an A minus game, yep, it wouldn't touch. Jared had the shot where you know, Ben Johnson kind of puts him in a tough spot throwing out of his own end zone. Three receivers in the pattern, it's a deep ball. He's got to throw the ball otherwise it's going to be two points for the Minnesota Vikings. He
has the mistake there. Other than that, a pristine game played about Jared Goff where even if Donald played better, he wasn't touching sixteen.
Yeah, it's one where you look at the box score, you see the two picks from golf and there was the one that got tipped at the line of scrimmage earlier in the game, and you look at Darnold obviously struggling, but there was there was such a big difference there. And yet the fourth downs, you don't want to boil it just down to Minnesota struggled in the red zone, and they definitely did.
They finish, oh for four in the red zone.
Donald's numbers inside the ten yard line, we're gro tests. At one point they were. He was one for nine for three yards inside the ten yard line. But I do think Nick, on some level, it does come back to those fourth downs that the Vikings go for the fourth downe as they should early in the in the second half. It's another one of those Donald incompletions where he's just running around and the Donald on the.
Move, just freestyling.
Those players were not working at all tonight, whereas the Lions stayed aggressive after a failed for fourth down early in the game that got tipped, they go for it again, as Patrick mentioned, hit the angle route, and then after that they are the better running team ultimately, And these are two teams that water run the ball, but the Lions they're built to do it, and they were better doing it, and it made it kind of a walk in the fourth quarter where at one point Aaron Glenn
is just sitting on the on the bench chilling.
I don't know what he was doing over there.
He'd earned that, He'd earned that by the way that he'd gotten in the head of Sam Darnold, which we haven't really seen this year. But honestly, this game comes down to like three key takeaways. One of them is the Lion's success on fourth down. The other one is Jamiir Gibbs going back to the Lion's identity of putting the game away on the ground, which you thought maybe they wouldn't be able to do that without David Montgomery.
Oh no, they can still do that because he can actually handle the ball at every down, which he proved. They're ripping off long runs, getting first down sometimes with the assistance of his offensive linemen. And then the third thing was the Vikings missing their opportunities not capitalizing. You had the Ivan paced interception and then they settle for a field goal. They're inside the ten, they settle for a field goal. There you have the fourth and two
that they didn't convert that you just mentioned. There's also the play where Andrew van Geekle reads the bubble perfectly. He gets out there, tips up in the air and he doesn't catch it. So the Vikings are to come away from this game, you know, pretty upset with the fact that you know, in the margins they could have made it a much tighter game, knowing that they didn't execute, But at the same time, should feel good that if we clean that up, we're still gonna really good shots.
They play that again. Who knows. Maybe there's a difference with the Lions definitely the better team tonight.
It was very similar game plans from the two defenses. Both teams blitzed more than fifty percent of the time. Both teams had a very high pressure rate, although the Lions were even higher. The difference was Goff, who had his struggles early in the game. Certainly they were bothering you hit someone that much, like, how can you not be bothered? But he got rid of the ball faster. He only took six QB hits. Darnald took ten. And then he had a couple C and N types of
third down throws that Darnald just didn't hit. I'm thinking early in the game too, he started eight for eighteen for eighty nine yards, and there was a third and nine to Hockinson where actually the pressure didn't get there. There was a third and eight up the seam, or third and eighteen rather to Hockinson. Also in the first half where actually he had a chance, there was pressure and it's a third and eighteen, but he's hit these crazy plays and he just misses him by a yard.
There's another Hockinson drop in the second half. Sometimes it was receivers one that's a little behind Jefferson. It's not like a perfect throw, but it was a tough situation and Jefferson doesn't make the catch. So on a night where like Aaron Jones is in and out in the second half, it just.
It wasn't close.
But it's hard also, you know, to ignore that Donald's eighteen for forty one with four yards per attempt in the biggest game.
Of the year. It was two of twelve in passes ten to nineteen yards or twenty plus. This is Sam Donald, who's over forty five percent of all of his throws were past the sticks in this regular season. He most of the attempts were short, and he was eight of eighteen between zero and nine yards today, where clearly the strength of the Lions defense at this point. You know,
during the stretch where everybody got hurt. I know, they got alex Anzeloni back, some of their pass rushers back, Obie Millifond who returned, but Brian Branch and Kirby Joseph kind of formed the backbone of this d right around that nine yards away from the lone of scrimmage. So they're always good in that spot. They were even better today. Where Sam Donald has been great all season actually bad today.
It was such a good game.
I know it was like a blowout in the end, but I guess it got me going shook because like this was the first playoff game, and the great thing is we get to see the Vikings again.
They'll be on Monday Night football. It wasn't, but it just felt like, okay, there's there's now.
You know, before this game started, fourteen games left in the season and they're all gonna be really high stakes, and you just felt you felt that, and the final score lies just a little bit. But I thought one of the key moments, and it's why I really believe in Goff and I believe in this offense to get it done, was the drive before Gibbs hits the long touchdown in the second half, which which is only their their second touchdown is ten to six at the time.
Goff hits a third and really long while backpedaling against the blitz to set up a four more than four that they go for, and then he's back pedaling again against the blitz and those are just little plays, and then the next play Gibbs pops it, and to me, that was the difference. He's been in these situations so many times. And it's huge because they are now at home for the NFC playoffs and they get a week off and there's actually not that many players I don't
think can return. We saw Kevin Zeitler, their guard, walk off at the end injured, so that's a little concerning. Patrick mentioned it. Melafonou being back. I think the last couple weeks is a big deal for them. It's just another steady body there in the secondary, and Angeloni made a big difference Terry and Arnold looked like he had
a serious injury unfortunately at cornerback tonight. So they get the rest, but more importantly, you're gonna have to beat Detroit in Detroit, which is a tall order, and I think is the reward and the advantage they kind of needed after all these injuries.
Yeah, that was what was at stake tonight was home field advantage. And I think that the Vikings, despite everything that they've unwell this season, proved just how difficult it is to go win there because in that first half, they played tight, they coached tight. That red zone situation after that interception, justin Jefferson has an opportunity to catch a ball in the back of the end zone and he bobbles it and then by the time he comes down with it, he's out of bounds. Those are mistakes,
small things that they don't typically make. But I think the environment had a lot to do with that. And the other thing is if the Lions have the home peel advantage, that's great, but they're also proved tonight that they are master masters of preparation, Like they were prepared for anything that the Viking's brought after them, especially on those fourth down conversions. Double a gap blitz, We're gonna throw the angle oute right behind you for a touchdown,
like they had an answer for everything. And I think you combine those two factors, it makes it extremely difficult to go in there and beat them, no matter how banged uf they are, because they've taken a number of injuries, but they play that defense played tonight like they weren't hurt at all. So it's a tall task.
Well, I you know, I'm just wearing my biases on my sleeve. I think covering a Lion Super Bowl would be amazing. How can you not love this team? There were other great stories out of the NFC if it happened, including the Vikings if they if they found a way to win three straight road games, but it's it's a
tougher road for them now. I'm also biased because I want to see my son and my daughter, I mean my son, my daughter, my son, and my wife dress up as Sonic and Knuckles for the Super Bowl, which she has promised Walker, who really loves Gibbson Montgomery, that she would do if they make it. So I just wow, I just really want to see that. I'm man this Vikings. The day started weird. They started weird with a Jay Glazer report on Fox that multiple teams are interested in
trading for Kevin O'Connell. I don't like this. I don't like Kevin O'Connell and his story being front and center at this point in the season when it should be all about the team. I've got thoughts on this. I feel like I need to just let them simmer for now. We're gonna talk about all the coaches stuff on our Black Monday Show. But I just feel like it's an awkward situation and you wouldn't want anything kind of taking
away from the team right now. A coach, a coaching contract situation like that's not what the Vikings need right now. They need to start preparing for their wild Guard game. They will have an extra day to do so. Now let's go to the early slate of games, which were a lot of fun, especially figuring out who would win the NFC South to Raymond James Stadium.
Empty backfield, Look for Baker Mayfield out three receivers two is right good snap belt high looking up field, look at Funched.
Out of the pocket. Daniel's outside prows.
Them all up here here open Con touchdown, Tava Bay touchdown, Tama Bay child mcbellan.
Fifth game of a row, he's come up with a.
Touchdown fire the Cannons box all up, tied to twenty nineteen nineteen.
O Jean Decker half on wf us What a throw. Put that on the throw of the throws of the Year list. I mean, seriously, just a peat on the run in the biggest of spots. At that point in the afternoon, if the standings held, the Falcons were going to the playoffs. Yes, the Bucks were trailing in the fourth quarter against the Saints. They find a way to score two touchdowns fourteen points unanswered in the fourth to win twenty seven to nineteen. And yes, at that moment
took the Falcons were tied in their game. The Bucks went into halftime down ten points, knowing that the Falcons were ahead in their game, staring their season and maybe the Todd Bowles era in the eye in the and they come back and they win the game. How did they get it done?
Down ten points with only one hundred and sixteen yards in total offense work for four on third down when they got to the break. It sure looked bad. It sure looked like they were like that egg at the worst possible time. But who rescues them, none other than the man were in number six, Baker Mayfield with an impressive fourth quarter that I'm sure will upset you Gregor.
No, No, he was the.
Man scrambled, he converted. He threw that pass to Jalen McMillan. And the reason that pass was it was so important beyond the fact that they just scored a touchdown, because he had already thrown a dime to McMillan on fourth down to convert a key fourth down. McMillan celebrates, he signals first down doing a little finger guns thing, gets taunt flagged for tawning. They get backed way up, and then you think, well, there goes their opportunity to score
the touchdown. Nope, Baker Mayfield's out there, he's gonna let it rip and he's gonna throw an absolute dot to his receiver in the corner of the end zone to give them the lead. It was so impressive. Gene Deckerhoff, you heard on the call, wasn't even sure what the score was at the moment. That's the type of day. It wasn't the type of fourth quarter it was for the Buccaneers, who woke up with just enough time and
then their defense finished it off. They got to Spencer Rattler and then they went on a long drive late in the game that ended the twelfth play. Ninety four yard march took off almost six minutes off the clock. Bucky Irving gets in the end zone and that was basically it. And they're going to the playoffs triumphantly. And they even got Mike Evans his incentive and his eleventh straight thousand yard receiving season.
This was not a clean comeback.
No.
In the third quarter, Baker threw an interception the in in Bucks territory, the Saints just kick a field goal. They go four and out, they kick a field goal. After that the Bucks go three and out. Saints are winning at this point, late third, they shank the punt right and at that point it really felt like this is this thing is gonna happen. But the Saints took a penalty, I think they took a sack on that drive, and suddenly it was like third and twenty six and
they end up just having to punt back. And that to me was where it changed. And I give Baker a ton of credit because most of this comeback was just him having to wait until the last second. Liam Cohen's screens and all his voodoo nothing was working today. The Saints were all over it. They didn't have much of a pass rush, but no one was open. The little gimmick plays weren't working. The run game took a while to get going, and it was honestly just Baker's playmaking that did it in the end.
Especially with his feet. Baker Mayfield, Yeah, ran for sixty eight yards in this one, and I at some point in this game wondered if the Bucks were somehow tipping plays. For those who watched the Sunday Night football game where Alexandeloni blast Jamiir Gibbs on a swing pass, the exact same thing happened to Bucky Irving where to Mario Davis
was instantly there and that was the game. Like for you get to eleven thirty four to go in the fourth quarter, Ugo Amadi gets a sack of Baker Mayfield and the Saints were winning the game at this point, Like they have to come back and make the plays like the ones that choke was talking about where Mayfield is hitting McMillan, and they ultimately do it just in a ready fashion. There was nothing pretty about this. The only thing pretty was when they had absolutely won the game.
There's no reason other than to get Mike Evans three million dollars and to have the best moment of the week, a top five moment of the season for me. When Mike Evans gets one thousand.
Evans, how the ploys to the right in the slot. Now in motion, Mike Evans drifts over to the left, slide Baker Mayfield shotgun. They know what we're gonna do. The Baker mayfieldsos of all to coughtball Evans.
He's got it to the forty yard line.
What a thousand plus Mike Evans loveleven seasons in the row. How about the Buccaneers at number thirteen.
What a tremendous job. And we were talking off the air. He needed five yards, so they sent him in motion.
They push him up, They hit the quick out.
I want to make the catch, get up the field and he's fired up. He's not an emotional guy, but he was fired up as seon.
As he got down, you could see the tears welling up in the locker video where he gets the game ball from Todd Bowles, just the moment from the team executing Baker Mayfield making the throw, Mike Evans getting the yards, Todd Bowles allowing that situation to happen, just just a great moment for all of Tampa Bay.
Kind of incredible in so many different ways, one of them being technically the only way they could not go to the playoffs would be if they threw a ball to Mike Evans and it got tipped, or if he tipped it up and the Saints caught it.
Yep, pick sixed it, got the two.
The game actually wasn't over, and yet I completely agree with everything you said.
That gave me goosebumps. That was one of the moments of the year.
There's a shot taken from the sidelines and if you're watching on YouTube, you can watch it and credit to NFL Twitter here if you're watching from the low angle and the sound that you hear from the crowd. They had it on the scoreboard within seconds that he got his one thousand yards, and congratulations on all the scoreboard and that's given those fans and Mike Evans and everyone else like a moment they literally will never forget.
And that's that sports.
That's pretty cool and I'm excited, Chuck to see your boy Baker in the playoffs. They were the worthy NFC South champions. I think they were the best team all season, even if today was a little bumpy.
Yeah, I mean both South divisions are pretty gross, but they'd proved to be the best of this bunch even if it was ugly. In the end, it's the right way to win it.
They You know what though, they did win ten games, and they did have a top ten offense, and they are a game plan team where if they hit everything right and that's going to include, you know, needing a better defensive performance than they usually have, they are to me that team you don't want to face because I think their best game, if they hit you at the right on the right day, they could beat anyone.
I mean anyone.
There is no one in the NFL that I don't think the Bucks could be. We know that they'll have the commanders and so they are a fun team. You know what's crazy. They could make the division round for the fourth time in five years. I mean you think of that and you think, well, that must be a dynasty, right, I mean they kind of are just a little bit an NFC South dynasty.
With some different personnel. Jason Light getting it done fourth straight.
The only time in that run they didn't win the division, they won the Super Bowl.
So they'll take that trade off, and they'll take the trade off of having to sweat out. Yes, a fourth quarter where they're trailing and the Falcons were tied at the time, but ultimately Falcons couldn't even get it done.
Youngest under center. Here's the snaps Sanders up the middle.
Charging through the end zone, touchdown, Carolato.
The Panthers walk it off to end the season.
That is right a Niche Shroff on wr f X. The Bryce Young story somehow got better in week eighteen, the most improved player of the year. He's past Sam Darnold for me. I'm sorry, recency bias. I just like watching this guy. He puts up a forty burger in a must win game for the Falcons forty four to
thirty eight. Three touchdowns on the day for Bryce Young, who gets a lot of help from Adam Thielen as he does each and every week, just making great catches in Jalen Coker who is a real deal NFL player. They found something in this undrafted rookie, another great rookie wide receiver. Even Bryce Young's misses, I think this season have been good, like they all are with the right intention, they're all the right decision and he did it all today. A couple big plays with his legs twenty four yards
on the ground, and he was just on point. Every time the Falcons took a lead in this game, he had a response.
And we had this discussion about Bryce Young and the way he moves in the pocket. Win Shook was here with us in studio earlier this week, and it showed today the Falcons they even though when they did get pressure to Bryce, he was stepping away. When they didn't get pressure on Bryce, he was doing things like Steph Curry pre celebrating before the shot goes in on a touchdown to Tommy Trumble today, just everything that you would
want to see from the quarterback. And then on the other side, the Falcons defense kind of reverting to there can't get pressure on the quarterback from earlier.
This yek, yeah, well, why you bring it up. Let's watch the Bryce Young. It's not quite a no look because he looked when he threw it, but he didn't look when Coker caught it.
So now a fourth down, Atlanta loses a time out, fake the handoff young step and.
Throw and soon touchdown.
Tommy trimbles and Carol couldnverts Panthers have come to play.
You've got a rookie quarterback playing well in Atlanta, second year quarterback continuing to grow.
And elevate his play in Carolina.
And he knew it before they got there.
So good steph Curry throwing up the three and retreating without even seeing it.
That was one of the easier throws Bryce had to make. They are a good job by Dave canal Zeros cresit to here. Look, he wouldn't have even gone to Bryce sung this season if Andy Dalton didn't get injured in a car accident, which is a weird sliding doors, and I mean he probably eventually would have gone back to him, but that that week he was not planning to uh, but they they got some open receivers City, but he also had some C and I throws that were were
just incredible, and so did Michael Pennix. And as disappointing as the Falcons defense was Ultimately, Raheem Morris made some game management decisions with the clock again, so that's something he's got to work on in his defense and probably got worse this year than then last year's Falcons defense, and they got older too by the numbers all around. Michael Penix was awesome in this game. They die up five hundred and thirty seven yards and thirty one first down,
shook it and he had a million great catches. Drake London to Pennis is gonna be a combination I'm looking forward to watching for a long time. London ends up with ten for one to eighty seven and two and Bajohn Robinson goes for one hundred and seventy yards on the ground in just a fantastic performance. So there was nothing Drake London, uh and Michael Penicks really could have done here.
They were matching him shot for shot and it was just that.
Yeah, the uh the Panthers were the ones that got the ball and scored the touchdown in overtime.
Yeah, and don't complain about overtime rules either. This was how this game was supposed to go. Sure team to get a stop wins and then the Falcons did not get his top because the Panthers were down the field. We are going to see this matchup of quarterbacks for years to come. They are division rivals. Michael Pennix has shown me enough in the limited amount of time that he's played this year for me to think he's going to be the guy for the long term. Bryce Young.
I just think about where we were after Week two when he got benched and there was a shot of a fan trying to get an autograph of his outside of the facility, and he looks so down. And to see him go from there to where he's so confident that he can turn around and a signal touchdown before the ball even lands in his receiver's hands. What a journey he has traveled over this season. And a little bit of vindication for myself because.
Here you go.
Take it with the QB index. I moved him all the way up to eleven. Got a lot of hate online for it Panthers fans, and you know what backed me up. He backed me up. But I love how bright his future is.
Yeah, this division is looking a lot more fun if the Saints can figure some things out. It's crazy how good John Robinson is, whether he's the third or fourth best running back in the league this year. You know, you have Saquon, you have what Derek Henry did, you have what Jamir Gibbs did, and then like he might be the best, fourth best running back of all time. I mean he he's just so pretty, Like just watching him set up these blocks getting inside outside, like he
just an awesome season out of him. So if there ever could be like a moral victory way to lose to the Panthers in Week eighteen with the playoffs on line, I feel like this is close to it.
At least at least they.
Feel at least they got to feel a little better about their future. Imagine if they hadn't gone to Pennanty. It just they do feel they should have good things to feel about. Although Raheem Morris even you mentioned the end of the game, like they got the ball back. I know they were on the twelve yard line, but they had fourteen seconds and they had time.
Outs, like just try to score try.
I don't know, Yeah, I would have liked to see some effort there. I know Riley Patterson missed the long field goal earlier. There's no Young waikup, but may give Riley Patterson another opportunity. But the you know we saw you know you're not watching if you're listening to the audio version, the dejected look on the Falcon sideline. After that, Tommy Tremble touched down, but there was motion. There was
somebody clapping on the sideline. It was Kirk Cousins trying to pick his team, and it's just kind of a symbol for the way the season has gone in Atlanta.
Yeah, they finished eight and nine, so ultimately two games back of the Bucks. The Panthers at five and twelve. Man, if I smoke cigarettes, I feel like I would need a cigarette right now.
Let's take a quick break. We're gonna go roll through the rest.
Of the NFC and all the seating implications of how it broke down on.
Somebody Marioda and the gun neck. Look, who has left three wide receivers to the right. Here's the snap. He's looking left, one on one, throws up, chuck down, duck down.
Fucking God again.
Do you believe a miracle?
Yes?
Not do?
Jerry Vataur, August Barry yodis perfect, Baul ball Day, Washington.
Man all season, Ram Weinstein and London Fletcher just getting it done. They're kind of like Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota on Wbig. It doesn't matter who's in the game, they're both got to deliver. Mariota comes in there and just keeps delivering touchdowns. He's running scary Terry's in the game. At the end, twenty three to nineteen, Washington wins.
A fun one.
This was earlier in the season, this would have been like, oh, this game of the year type of stuff, but instead it was like backups on backups, and yet.
It's a fun professional football game.
Yeah, if you just go ahead and make it one hundred and twenty minutes of the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys this season, it's still regardless. Comes down to the wire in the final moments, this time with backups in. As dan Quinn saw Jaden Daniels on the opening series get sacked by Michael Parsons twice, a slow offense that
couldn't really run the vault. Jayden took a few hits and dan Quinn decided, Okay, that's enough, let's get Marcus Mariota in for the remainder of this and they're able to still win with that. The Cowboys play Trey Lance in this game exclusively, you know, despite the fact that Cooper Rush could have hit some contract incentives by getting some more snaps, much to his chagrin, that did not ultimately happen. But it's the protection for Jayden and Daniels
that didn't work out. But then Marcus Maroota making plays with his feet. He almost had a long touchdown run that came on fourth down.
Thirty three yards.
Yeah, just gets his ankles nipped, but then comes back with that touchdown pass to Scary Terry. Where this has been the Commanders, this is their season. The last ten seconds of the game, what insane play is the Commander's offense going to make and it comes. They're the reverse Bengals this year and also one of those wins.
That's a good call.
Five lead changes in the final twenty minutes of this game, just back and forth between Aubrey and Ertz and Mariota And yeah, I don't know whether it be just like a smidge concern that you know, Jane Daniels goes six for twelve or thirty eight yards in this game, any concern, No, No, he did play a lot.
Okay, it's whatever.
There's familiarity, you know, they're they're they're going up against a team that they really just played, a team that's gotten better on defense, where you know Michael Parsons being back, and again, like, I don't know if you could make a case for Michael Parson's playing thirteen games and have a defensive Player of the Year. But it's up there in terms of pressures and the number of pass rush snaps. He's got three hundred and ninety two. He's got seventy five quarterbacks.
He's the best defensive player in the league. He was my choice before the season. He has been for three straight years, I think, and he wasn't healthy enough, but ultimately I think he was the best player.
I think you're absolutely right. All right, So the Cowboys lose.
And the Commanders, you know, one of the teams who were they were just playing for seeding, just trying to get the six instead of the seven, and they didn't even know if they would get the six until later in the day. It turns out they did, so they move up one spot. Instead of going to Philadelphia, they go to Tampa Bay. I think, you know, just because they know the Eagles. I don't know which one they would prefer, but as a fan, I'd rather just not see that matchup for a thirtie, So I'm glad that
they played to win in Dallas. The conversation turns into the coaching staff and what's going to happen. Let's listen to Jerry Jones after the game.
Mike is one of the best coaches that I think there is. He was made the coach here because I thought that, and he's done excluding nothing to diminish my opinion of him as a coach. And I am really impressed with the way the players identified look or or with him. They're inside with it, and uh, that's important.
I think they're going to bring McCarthy back. Let's listen to McCarthy after the game too.
I understand why I asked the questions. I don't like to talk about myself that way, but I'll just be clear. I'm a winner. I know how to win. I've won a championship. I want a championship in this building, and uh, and that's.
Who I am.
So and we'll see where. We'll see where it goes.
Also coached up and Aaron Rodgers led team when he hit Jared Cook down the sideline and DA's rook a year in that building. I saw that game. That was a good one. Do you think he's back shook? What do you think?
I think?
Do you think he should be back? How about that? I'm curious what you thought.
Aw, that's debatable because what are you doing? Are you spinning your wheels? Are you actually going to attack the offseason with intent? Because they didn't last year and they paid for it this year. I think that's what's most important. It's not even necessarily the coaching staff, because his offense when at full strength was pretty good. I mean, it was good with Mike McCarthy, you know, overseeing it. It's just that they lost guys. They lacked guys, They lacked
running backs. They had just CD Lamb at receiver for most of the year. So you get Dak back, you figure out your backfield because Rico Daddle has emerged. You maybe add another weapon at receiver because I love Jalen Tolbert, but you know I need something better alongside ceed Lamb. Then then yeah, maybe it works out. You know what
you have in your defensive coordinator? Do you know what you have in your defensive Personnalit you need to get, but you need to be more active in the off season to justify bringing this group back.
I don't have a hot take here. My guess is McCarthy will be back. I think, considering the ecosystem they're in, which is a very strange one and is maybe a bit of a problem, that McCarthy is probably better than they would do. Like, like, I don't have confidence in them finding a better fit for Dallas Cowboys head coach. I'm not in love with it, but I'm fine if they bring McCarthy back.
Of course, I'm fine. Why wouldn't that be fine?
Yeah, it kind of fits the whole theme of this offseason for Dallas in season and then being all in and then ultimately seeing like what all in means. It's bringing back kind of what you got.
And you know what that matchup, by the way, as we spin the the you know, mind forward into wild card weekend, you know what that matchup means. Washington versus Tampa Bay. Marshaun Lattimore, we get it, Mike Evan, we get another one.
Will fight.
Let's go to Green Bay where, Yeah, the Packers had their hands full.
Taylor extends his hands, snap placement, made Cairo Santos kick us up and the kick.
They's done.
The Bears of Black Duff and one in Green Bay, putting.
To bed to nasty losing streaks, the in season streak and the Packer streak.
One ends at.
Eleven, the other ends as well, and the Bears win it twenty four to twenty two.
Yeah, that was their first win since twenty eighteen.
That was also an eleven game streak.
I believe Jeff Joniac their great job kind of picking up what I didn't set up, which is, yes, the Bears trying to end a streak and the Packers trying to get that sixth seed.
They did not.
They end up at eleven and six with a couple losses to end the season. The Commanders were at twelve and five. And yes, the Bears win their first game since I was watching them in London against the Jaguars.
Ows forever ago.
Seems so long ago. Twenty four to twenty two. Another Claybne banger. All your assigned games were fun.
This one. Yeah, it comes down to the wire in a game that unfortunately was a banger for the Packers' injury wise, as Christian Watson goes down clutching his knee carted off Matt Matt Lafleur says, it does not look good. He's not overly optimistic for the playoff aspirations of Christian Watson. And then on top of that, Jordan Love leaves this game, which is a slugfest with the Chicago Bears, who get a special team's touchdown. Malik Willis has to leave the game.
But the play of the game, which shout out to Johnny Knox and Devin Hester who ten years ago executed the fake punt fielding that the fake punt return for the touchdown that the Bears got today where Dj Moore is back there, not necessarily really selling it that well because he's not even looking in the sky where the balls should be, but he fake fields the punt. Meanwhile, the cornerback Josh Blackwell runs back there, actually fields the punt. None of the Bears are looking at him, but he
just turns it, runs it down the sideline. That was the Bears first touchdown and the Packers could never really get going on offense. Malik Willis I had to deal with a shot to his hand as well. Just injuries brutal here. But the Bears execute down the stretch. They get a big completion they get the time out called when the timeouts should be called, and Cayro Santos kicks that game winning field goal and the Bears in the street.
Yeah, I'm happy for Kayleb Williams and this whole all these Bears players and coaches, Thomas Brown, the interim who hadn't won a game yet, just to not finish the season on that note, that's great. Although they only had two hundred and twenty four yards of offense, so a lot of the problems there.
We're still there, I think moving forward.
Just my takeaways are that the Packers offense isn't quite right right now. Both Jordan Love and Matt Lafleur expressed frustration with how the passing game operated today, so I think that is something to be a little concerned about. Jordan Love said he just wasn't as consistent and accurate enough as he wanted to be personally, and he also said as he was at the podium that his elbow was still numb, which doesn't seem great, but that he
thinks he'll be fine. They said he's going to play next week, and Matt Lafleur went as far to say as their offensive struggles were extremely frustrating. Romeo Dobbs also did not play this game. It should be noted he had an illness. They think he'll be fine for next week, So that was just a late scratch there. But kind of going into the playoffs took the way you don't want to, you know, backwards, really this Packers team, and because of this loss, they got a much tougher draw
now having to go to Philadelphia. You know, they went into the week thinking we're gonna go to the Rams, maybe we'll go to the Bucks, and now going to Philadelphia, that is not ideal.
Yeah, and if this was the Packers team that we saw a blow out the Saints a few weeks ago, we'd feel pretty good about that. This is now a Packers team that basically got out classed by the Vikings before mounting a late comeback attempt that fell short. And then what happened today. I kind of don't put too much stock in the fact that their passing game wasn't
working today. When you lacked, you know, a lot of your top talent, I mean Malik Heath and Dantavin Wicks and Jane Reeden Tucker Craft, those your four top guys, which some of those guys are are household names, and those guys don't get as many opportunities. So you hope that they figure it out. But the Watson injury, I think does bum me out. That's been something that's been kind of nagging him in recent weeks and it is concerning.
But again, you know, we spent god, we spent time two three weeks ago talking about how multiple they were. They can attack in so many different ways. You hope that they find that again before they go on the road against a very quality opponent in the Eagles with the good defense.
Yeah, because we've seen, right, this team deal with injuries and manage them. But when it all happens at once, when there's this collapse of you know, ability here in week eighteen, you kind of feel like something got taken from you in a team that had only lost right to these contenders in the NFC and now this really
woeful Bears team. And I mean they played, they played hard today, but think back to that the Thanksgiving matchup against the Miami Dolphins where that was a team in contention that at the time had their quarterback and they go into Green Bay and the Packers were just a buzzsaw that team wasn't out there today because some of those guys, a lot of them literally weren't out there.
Yeah, no JayR Alexander returning. They're still dangerous. I think if I'm an Eagles fan or player, a little more nervous with Green Bay coming into the building than I would have been with the Commanders, for instance, a familiar opponent that that they're just better than green Bay on its best days. Still very dangerous. Yes, the seating was decided between those two teams, green Bay and Washington early, but as we went into the late window, we did
not know who was playing who. We knew the Rams weren't gonna play their starters and go all out to win, even though that could have helped their seating. They could have controlled their fate. They could have tried to play Washington. Instead, they played Jimmy g and a whole lot of backups, and they almost won.
Anyways. First down and ten from the Rams.
Sixteen Smith from the shotgun takes the sat blitz is coming from the mill ball is caught up ended fan is see into the Enzonio touchdown.
Seahawks fan lie flat on his back.
Hangs onto the football, helped up by his teammates.
He said, what happened?
They said, you scored from sixteen out and the Seahawks go back on top thirty to forty five.
They did it.
Gino Smith making a last bid for QB Island. That's gonna be an interesting one way Sam played and I'm just you know, maybe poking.
The bear hair.
But I'm just saying Gino gets four touchdowns, mostly against Rams backups.
But hey, he did what he had to do.
He also had the craziest incentive day I've ever heard of. He made six million dollars an incentives toe.
Yep, it's huge. This is the story of the game.
How nervous you knew? Would you be?
You got six millions.
Because he needed to keep his percentage I think above sixty nine point two, which was crazy. He went into the day above it, but if he had like a fifty percent day, he would have gone below that.
Needed to get over one hundred and eighty five yards.
Actually it took him till pretty late in the game to get over that, but got that ended up at two twenty three, and they needed to get a tenth win two million dollars a piece.
That's tough.
That almost like I always say, like mentally, tennis is a tough sport when you when you're in a Grand Slam final, you might have like, you know, millions of dollars on the line and you're the only one out there. This is the closest thing to that in football, where so it's literally on your arm. He got it all done, although it was a lot harder than I would have expected Jimmy G and the Rams offense. Nick actually moved the ball pretty well and made the Seahawk sweat it out.
Yeah, other than one really really ugly interception thrown by Jimmy G. Better than I thought he'd be, Like, he looked like the Jimmy G of old. The offense moved the ball. They finished with four and three yards of offense. It was a back and forth affair. Was a fun game to watch. At one point, I was like, I know I'm not writing this game, but if I had to write this game, I don't even know what i'd say.
It's other than that, it's just fun and it's one team with backups and one team with nothing to play for other than you know, one more win. It also kind of bums me out. A note's not a perfect comparison, but go man, he looked good today, and he'd been looking a little up and down over the last six weeks. And I know it's against backups, but I was like, dah, these Seahawks are going to finish with ten wins and
not make the playoffs. And if they just look like this a few more times recently, they'd be in the playoffs.
Yeah. I don't think this is some disastrous season for the CX. You won ten.
You lost on the fifth tiebreaker, which is a bizarre tiebreaker. By the way, it used to be a different tiebreaker. It used to be point differential, which I think is better than strength of victory, which is just random. But maybe you don't want teams like trying to score late and endangering their players all season.
I think that was the reasoning behind it.
I don't know if we'd be playing eighteen games.
If that was well, that's a fair fair point. Ultimately, they get it done. The Rams did not care, and we'll never know what the Rams thought process was behind it. Ultimately, I think that the number one factor is they just thought rest was more important than anyone they could possibly play. They probably saw the writing on the wall that either way, they were going to play a team that they had played before, that they had prepared for before, and that
it was going to be difficult. Let's listen to Sean McVay talk about the thought process after the game to.
Get into this, saying, and you can't worry about ducking people if you want to try to be able to advance, and you're really expect to try to be able to make some noise when you get in it, you're gonna have to play people eventually. And so felt like it was the smart move for our football team, and really we had an opportunity to be able to come away with the win. And so we know it's going to be a great football team coming in here, and you know, we're excited about the challenge.
That's what you love, Gary, Yeah, you know.
And Sean's breaking out the first names as he did throughout that he was kind of fiery with everyone was asking about it, almost like, hey, we're the we were the Super Bowl champs.
We're not worried about anyone coming in here. Don't blame him.
Unfortunately, they did have an injury today. Blake Korum broke his forearm. McVeigh revealed after the game, so they won't have their backup running back for the players, but otherwise they got out of this game healthy. They sat four of their five offensive line starters, and they finished the season at ten and seven, just like the Seahawks. That brings us to Philadelphia, where there really wasn't anything tangible on the line except for the Giants.
I guess draft position.
But Tanner McKee out there trying to make a career.
Under center.
Back looking fires complete touchdown.
Me chicks, we'll tight down, yes, Merril Reese.
Keeping it quick like this recap's gonna be a wip.
To EJ. Jenkins for the touchdown.
I mean, this was a game on the Eagle side full of just like oh yeah him, here's that guy.
They get the job done.
Tanner McKee forty one attempts, I mean they were slinging it. Kenneth Gainwell only had fourteen yards on eleven rushes and they couldn't get anything going on the ground, and he hand up with two hundred and sixty nine yards McKee and two touchdowns. Johan Dotson, oh caase game seven for ninety four, and I guess we have proof Patrick the Eagles backups are better than the Giants starters.
Yeah, and which was something I.
Twenty to thirteen I should say.
Yeah, I was gonna take how he's backups versus you know, all credit to Joe Shane and what he's been able to accomplish things that haven't gone that great personnel wise. This is with Keie Ringo and Avonte Maddox playing a whole bunch of snaps in the secondary. No Darius Slay today, no Quinnon Mitchell, those guys played very sparingly today.
Well to your point, like that might be the best CB four CB five in the entire NFL.
Yeah, and so that holds Malik Neighbors under eighty yards receiving as the Giants really couldn't do a whole lot on offense. And you know, Drew Locke kind of descends back to Earth away from Gus Bradley's defense. But the Eagles and Tanner McKeith threw the ball a whole lot forty one attempts for Tanner McKee against the Giants defense. If you're gonna throw forty one, us did to do it again.
I like it because I talk about the records.
I wanted to finish at the level they should and it's funny with the Packers losing that game because they kind of do feel like an eleven and sixteen more than a twelve and five team to me personally, Maybe I'm wrong.
The Eagles feel like a fourteen and three team.
I'm glad their backups didn't didn't waste it for them. And the Giants, Yes, they are at three and fourteen. That feels about right as well. They actually move up a slot. We will talk about you know who lost it, but they are now going to be picking third in the NFL Draft. We don't need to spend too much time on the Drew lock era. We will see if Joe Shane and Brian Dable are back planning to do a show on the artist formerly known as Black Money.
But I can't wait to get to the AFC action because it was it was fascinating seeing at how it all played out over the weekend. We're actually going to go in chronological order, come back from the break, and it'll suddenly be Saturday.
Where the Ravens and the Steelers had some things to figure out.
Pistol formation on third down, they give us to Henry sweeping to the left.
Frank's attack page of the thirty twenty.
Henry to the town he.
Is gone touch down Derrick.
Henry a forty three yard run and Derrick Henry continues to rewrite the NFL.
Record book, sat out to Rod Woodson with the he gone Jerry Sandusky on w B A L Yes. Derreck Henry, after having eight yards at halftime, tax on another one hundred and thirty in the second half, and by the time he hit that forty three yarder, the Ravens knew they were AFC North champions thirty five to ten against the Cleveland Browns team that started Bailey Zappi in the
year twenty twenty five. How about that your Ravens. Patrick Claybon started off the weekend taking all the pressure off and just clinched that three seed nice and early.
Yeah, nice and early. The trouble is it comes at the cost of Zay Flowers. Are gonna have to await the results and see if he could be available if they win this first game or if you know, mirrors happened in Zay Flowers is available for this playoff matchup. But other than that, everything you could hope for defense making plays again, albeit in a Bailey Zappi start. Also saw some dtr in this game, but it pretty much didn't matter. Baltimore looked very good. There were some drop passes,
but Lamar and Mark Andrews connected. Rashot Bateman left the game as well after Lamark sent him on a sneaky mission. He quickly apologized after he got Bateman blasted by Thornhill on the middle of the field. A scary moment there, but Baltimore able to come through and push forward and make this kind of a laugher at the end. But it was. It did feel like it was slightly not in question, but closer than people might have thought earlier.
On No, there was a possession where the Browns had the ball down fourteen to three, like late third quarter. Here we go and you're just thinking, like, okay, it doesn't feel like they could ever get to the number fourteen in this game, and they didn't. But let's get it going here, Ravens. But that's what's special about this team is that if the passing game isn't quite clicking, then Derrick Henry can finish him off. At the end, they still almost doubled up the Browns in total yardage.
This is just what week eighteen games look like shook, So I don't take any negatives out of it for the Ravens. And I thought it was interesting to me that I thought Lamar Jackson was looking to run in this game very you know, a lot of times if his first read was gone, he just took off. He went nine for sixty three. I don't know if that was just like a warm up for the playoffs where he he's just gonna run when he absolutely needs to.
And then those throws he had back to back to Andrews, one for the touchdown and one that got broken up, where he just had the accuracy and the touch and the anticipation. Not that that's surprising out of Lamar at this point, but it just shows what a next level passer he has been this season from the pocket.
Yeah, I felt for one Thornhill because Lamar made two spectacular throws to Mark Andrews, one for the touchdown, Like you said, there was another one in the second half down the sideline where Thornhill is essentially playing all but perfect coverage, and yet Lamar throws him open because that's what Lamar does. And another knock on the people who say Lamar is not a good passer. Watch that tape that I'll tell you everything you need to know about him is.
A Okay, that's a little bit of that.
They're still out there. They're still out there. They promise you they're still out there.
They've got them all your drafts, and they're waiting for things to go wrong here in the next Cike. Okay, they will absolutely show up.
Well, that's fair.
They transitioned into he can't win in the playoffs, guys, which you know, Lamar has got to play his best down the stretch. But I think he's gonna win MVP. Personally. I don't think we need to get into that today. We'll be responding when we find out the votes and everything, although we'll find out earlier than usual because the all pro votes come out way before the MVP votes, and people sort of realized like, oh, that those are the exact same voters. So when you find out all pro,
you basically find out MVP. Unless Saquon somehow split the vote was.
Not the AFC Pro Bowl starter, So there's perhaps.
Those there are different voters, though different voter that's players.
The three coaches.
I thought, you know what else stuck out to me in this game. We don't need to spend like a crazy amount of time, like the pocket movement. He he kept waiting until the very last second. It was like a little dump off to Henry at one point was another throw over the middle. And on a weekend where we saw Joe Burrow just electric from the pocket like that.
The combination of those two things, like the accuracy, the anticipation, but also the pocket movement before making a last second throw and then at the end and you're just handing it off to Derrick Henry and it's just absolutely awesome to watch that in the fourth quarter.
And since Justice Hill went down, we have seen more Henry on third down in passing situations and nice to get him involved in the passing game. And without Zay Flowers in the playoffs, however things go pending his return, Lamar will have to hold onto the ball to get separation as the play calling gets kind of limited without their guy that you get it out to quickly on the screen passage.
Okay, now, let's not get out of this game. Though, before throwing to one of the most important plays that happened in the NFL this season.
Bailey Zappi will get the Browns of the line quickly, he snaps it in the shotgun, patiently waits his passes kicked.
Off, Michael Pierce the interception and he slides down to end of the play. Michael Pierce with an interception words I never thought I would string together in the same sentence. And you should see the celebration on the Ravens sideline.
We have given birth to a child.
Would not be more surprised at the moment.
What a great call there by, Jerry said, dust getting that was one of those you remember where you were moments. At least it was for me. I brought the family around, like my daughter, my wife. They came and they're just laughing that. That just made everyone happy, including Michael Pierce.
Let's listen to him after the game. There was a thick fit. Great job, Kevin Harlan there, let's listen to Michael Pierce.
Did I want to try six?
So there's a long history of turning big guy interceptions of fumbles and all that stuff and the memes.
So at the risk of ruining a career play like that for myself, it's time to go home.
So it's not a gas.
We're good.
Yeah, I'm gonna be honest, I don't want to curse a lot on TV, but uh, oh s word, you know what I'm saying, say, oh my god, he really threw his football. So no, I got fairly decent hands. I'm glad I called it. And uh, like I said, coach spreach the smart football. And like I said, I don't want to end up on a meme on Instagram, my wife and everybody laughing at me.
Something. We did the right thing. We got down to Kevin.
Movie, shout out to Michael Pierce like one of the.
Radars of the internet.
I know.
But now he's getting memed. People are taking him going down on a knee and it's being memed.
How so like in a bad way.
Why that's no just to say like, hey, I'm not doing that. I'm done, Like, hey, it's just gonna be me and sir Lene. Michael Pierce.
They should be. They should be meaning that jacket. I mean, his jacket game is strong. I remember going there and covering them in training camp one year, and Michael Pierce was just one of those guys that's kind of a glue guy that everyone in that organization absolutely loves. Has had a sneaky great year so yes, they get out of there, they get the division title. They don't get out of their healthy because of the save Flower injuries.
That's disappointing. But they did get a great defensive performance. I know it's against the Browns, but it's still nice to see Nate Wiggins and a da fe Aowa and this defense playing so well towards the end of the scene. So they went early Saturday. They lock up the division title. That leaves the Steelers in a situation where they're just playing for seating and trying to get that losing taste out of their mouse.
Could they do it against the Bengals?
All right, fasten your seat belts. Here we go. Fourth down to twelve, fifteen seconds to go.
Wilson sends two receivers out to each side of the formation.
Russell has the ball, short drop fires a pass in complete. Yer Ruth couldn't hold on eleven seconds to go. That is coffin.
Nailam baam baam.
I'm gonna miss Dan Hord and Dave Lapham On w Cky. Bengals did their part. They got their fifth straight win. The defense stepped up. I thought it was fitting, even though they got a little lucky, kind of like they did at the end of the Broncos game where bo Nick's.
Just missed a couple throws.
I thought it was fitting, at least on this night, that it was the defense that finished it off, because they showed up in this game.
They held the.
Steelers under two hundred yards and it wasn't one of those games where oh, there's only like six possessions. No, they got the ball like eleven or twelve times in this game shook and the Bengals defense stuffed the run pretty well, and they confused Russell Wilson where he wasn't
seeing open receivers, wasn't connecting down the field. The weather certainly played a factor, but on a night where Burrow had you know, an interception, a fumble, and under five yards per pass play for the Bengals, the Bengals showed they could win ugly, even if, as we learned later Sunday.
I guess it's what they call a pyrreck victory.
Yeah, you know, you asked where were you when you saw the Michael Pierce interceptions. I was on a plane. I was in an airport watching this game. And the one takeaway I had was this is gross. This is gross for Week eighteen per game with stakes, But that's the AFC North in a meaningful game late in the season.
You know, I think that this probably signifies the low point in the Steelers season with Arthur Smith and Oseas so much that I have Steeler fan friends texting me they got a fire Arthur Smith, and I was like, it was Matt Canada. You wanted fired before. It's it's all his fault that that Russ is struggling to complete passes. His offense was a mess. It's been a mess for a while to get pickings back and it's still a mess.
And the Bengals, because of that and because of their defensive performance, come away with, like you said, a peric victory, but a victory that ultimately.
You know what, a little bittersweet shook. I think I led you into a fumble there. I don't think that's really the definition. In fact, they know.
It great cost.
I guess you could say the Ravens, yes, one know, if it was if they made the playoffs, but Jamar Chase had a serious injury, that would be like a pyrrhic victory.
So what is this.
This is a hollow victory.
Yeah, it was a little hollow, and it's a reminder. Let's let's stay on the Bengals first, because I'm with you on everything you said. Shook on the Steelers and we'll be talking about them over the next week. But first, like Jamar Chase's season just nut.
It's freaking crazy.
End up with one hundred and twenty seven catches seventeen hundred yards, like, let you know, he gets the triple crown. It's just outrageous. Burrow's pocket movement to the end of the season just crazy. I think he's the closest thing to Brady. He reminds me so much of Brady, just how methodical he is the decision making. It is all great, but I don't want to let Zach Taylor and the Bengals off the hook because of the way that they
finished seasons, because they lose early and win late. By the end of the year, it's like everyone just lets Zach Taylor and the Bengals off the hug. They've got fourteen and thirteen in Joe Burrow starts over the last two seasons and QB. You know, QB wins might not be a stat wins is a coaching stat and so that's on the organization and that's a failure. And it's still disappointing to me no matter how the wins, you know, happened. That they finished nine and eight wasn't a tiebreaker either.
They just weren't good enough to make the playoffs.
And that's funny. Immediately after the game, of the postgame interview, he's talking to Lisa Salters, Joe Burrow said, you know, it's gonna be weird to sit there and pull for the Chiefs, but we put ourselves in this situation, like collectively and not just on lu An Arumo's defense. There were some games, especially late, where Joe Burrow and the offense were making mistakes. Now those game in like thirty eight and forty four point games, but still they were
on the field with a chance to win. And whether there were some bad coaching decisions from Zach Taylor down the stretch, just fumbles, miscommunications, missfield goals, it all added up. They did everything they could during that stretch to lose those games, and they did it in so many.
Different ways, even this game. It's the weird thing.
It's why I think it's okay to recognize that Burrow deserves to be on the MVP ballot that if you made your All Pro team whatever, But there's no way to me he deserves MVP when they had the ball at the end of so many of these games and they didn't win it.
You can separate.
Yeah, well, if you had a good event, Yeah that's all true, but you have to separate the quarterbacks somehow. And even in this game, their last two sessions were punts where they had a chance to put away. They needed one first down to salt this game away, and instead they go three and out. He takes a sack
and they give the Steelers another chance. Okay, let's get to the Steelers part of it, because, yeah, that last drive reminded me of the Bears, except you have a thirty five year old quarterback who is cutting inside instead of going out of bounds to waste twenty seconds, who's throwing a negative three run on the very first play of that drive. That really clocked to me because I know Tony Romo, if he was doing that, game would
have been going crazy. Romo is at his best doing game management stuff, and he would say, you can't make that throw. He threw it short to a running back who had outside you know, defenders on the outside with a minute fifty left, knowing they wasted thirty seconds there, they wasted more time on the next play. They spent ninety seconds on five plays, and then just so the blame could be spread around, shook like the play calling, yes, was a little weird. I didn't think they, you know,
handled their time outs well before that drive. And then it ends where you can't blame it all on Russell Wilson because you know, George Pickens is out but you know is open deep, but I don't know where he's running, and he's kind of going running around and like in a circle. And then Friarmouth, who's had a lot of little mistakes this year it's kind of been on my radar, drops one at the end of the game too, So it's like it's not just Russell Wilson, but they didn't
look like a well coached team. And they're one of the first teams in NFL history, one of three to enter the playoffs having lost four straight, so I think it's safe to say they're one of the worst playoff teams. It reminds me so much of that season four years ago where they started out well eleven and zero, and then they finished losing I believe, four out of five games there.
Yeah, they ended the playoffs twelve and four, and we all basically knew they were gonna be one and done. And it kind of feels like that again, their offense is essentially bottomed out. The approach game plan wise in this game didn't make They weren't able to run the ball effectively, but like in down on distant situations in which it's a one score game and it's first and ten, they're still trying to dump the ball off instead of
just getting a few yards on the ground. And that was pervasive throughout this entire game, which maybe just scratch my head and think, are they that lost offensively that they can't even get into a rhythm with the script? And if that's the case, oh my god, playoffs are not gonna be good for you if if that's what continues to.
Go on, right, because who are they as a team. They want to be a team that runs the ball and you mentioned it. They had fourteen runs and four passes at one point. It just wasn't working at all. The Bengals actually outran them like they were more efficient success rate wise by a lot with Khalil Herbert and then they want to be a team that gets after the quarterback and the Bengals Neither team pressured much in this game at all. Both both team's pressure rates were horrible.
But Trey Hendrickson is the guy with three and a half sacks in this game in five QB hits and and might just sneak his way into a defensive Player of the Year. I don't know who's gonna win Defensive Player of the Year. It might be Trey Henderson. You do that on a Saturday night and there's no great candidate, and he won the sack total.
I kind of think he's got a.
It's gonna be tough because I mean, voters are looking over at at guys that had better defenses, right, they were a part of better defense.
I think it'll be certain if I have to guess, because someone will just give the Broncos, which is fine.
I'm fine with that.
Yeah, the solid season didn't get tried a lot. Gardner Minshew tried him on one of the worst throwers of the year, and he got a highlight a ninety nine yard pick six return. But Hendrickson gets one of those sacks in the closing moments where the Steelers have to try to move the ball and save time as well. Russ seventeen to thirty one in this game. But Pickens didn't just kind of meander on that one route. He
had three drops in the game as well. Like moment by moment collectively, something was failing for the Pittsburgh Steelers on offense, and you all kind of got micro chasms of that on the final drive where they all took turns. Yeah, messing up.
You know, TJ. Watt ends up with two pressure in this game. You cannot give TJ. Watt a Defensive Player of the Year award this year after the last month he had nothing against him. I think he's playing through something. He played a lot of stuff. He just had a totally zero month, and so that's how these things work.
So you just can't.
I feel stronger about that than like any awards take I have, because I actually think there's still a chance that he gets it. Now, we'll talk about the the Steelers throughout the week. That was the fewest yards they had since twenty and seventeen. Russ was five for twelve for fifty one yards, with about ten minutes left in this game, and they almost cranked it up enough at the end, but they didn't. You do wonder if the way this season ended could possibly chase save Lou and
Rumo's job. Guys like Cam Taylor Britt who played well in this game, like I think they helped themselves, you know, get a starting job back for next year. So things did matter, But ultimately the Bengals season is over, and yeah, we don't need to play koy with you. You know what happened on Sunday afternoon. We were waiting and we thought, oh, this could be fun. Maybe the Bengals could sneak in if the Chiefs backup and Carson Wentz could just surprise
those Broncos. But Bo Nicks and Sean pay and they weren't having any of the great I formation.
Knicks with a playfake now rolls to he's right bow, looks at the z frozen ball behind the Intend receiver, bounced up into the air, bounced again, and.
Then caught by Devon le touchdown Denver.
That ball was bounced not once.
But twice, once by a Bronco, the second time, I believe by a.
Kansas City Chief defender, and then.
Devon Veley makes the catch his third receiving touchdown.
Of the year.
That was Dave Logan of ko A. Yes, the Broncos are headed to the playoffs.
At ten and seven.
They won thirty eight to nothing against the Chiefs backups. Chiefs, you're making all the other teams who played their backups and competed. You're making the teams that played against them look bad because this team looked like they just laid down. I don't know, I know there was like a motivation gap here, but man, it's just not good.
They weren't good.
Weren't good now they I'll think it was that they were trying. Like Carson Wentz goes out and starts to Andy Reid gets shut out for the first time as the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. You gotta go back to twenty twelve. Wow, last time the Chiefs got shut out. That's how bad they were on offense.
Yeah, they were trying, but when you're leading receivers or Nick Remigio and Peyton hendershot and you're playing a perfectly legit Broncos team, Ultimately, I believe this was the just result, even though I wanted to see the Bengals make the playoffs. I really do think the Broncos were a better team overall all season. And yes, they kind of do look like the twelfth to fourteenth team that gets into the playoffs every year, but I think they are that good.
And Bonnicks played awesome today. We played the luckiest moment of his day. But Sean Payton was on one and maybe the Chiefs defense was a little more vanilla than they would have been normally. But every single play call he had, guys were open. When Courtland Sutton was trying to make a catch that was tightly contested, he made it. When Marvin Mims needed to get his feet down, or veil A had to make that crazy catch like they
made it, and Nicks was really on point. A lot of them were open receivers, but a couple of really nice seamballs. He led the team in rushing too, certainly his best game in a month. And I don't care who was out there, there were NFL players. The final first down total Nick twenty nine to five, the final yardage total four hundred and seventy nine to ninety eight.
It left a weird taste, you.
Know, in terms of not enjoying the afternoon slate, but I think they are deserved playoff.
Contributors here and they will be headed to Buffalo.
Yeah, that's not a typo. That yardage difference, that's legit. That's the Chiefs finishing under one hundred yards. So everybody who complained about their offense not looking spectacular. With Patrick Mahomes, it could be much worse than Carson Wentz. It's aad quarterback. Wentz didn't look good. At one point. Chris Oladokin was in there taking snaps. Very ugly performance from the Chiefs, who obviously didn't have much to play for it, but still you thought they put up a better fight. But
back on Nicks for a second. When you're throwing a swing pass to Marvin Mims and Audric Estime is out there lead blocking you all the way to the end zone, you know it's your day. When Devon Valley is catching a double tipped touchdown pass, you yes, exactly, We'll do it that way. We'll stick to the brand. The Broncos dominated and came through in a way on a day that they absolutely had to in convincing fashion. Doesn't change my opinion of them, but it's nice to see them finish the job.
BONNICKX hit his first eighteen passes.
Yeah, that was one of them.
The vale was absolutely going to be his first incompletion. But the universe decided, Hey, this is the Chiefs will not be lucky here. We'll get rid of the Chief's luck for this meaningless Week eighteen game. Save Hollywood Brown catching a ball off his toe in the Super Bowl here coming up in a few weeks. But it's there was never a point like the Broncos scored on all
of their possessions in the first half. That last one they had a chance, they wound up kicking a field goal, and then they didn't have their first punt until the second half, and then after that the only Bonnicks didn't really have to do anything. It was handoffs late they scored a touchdown, and then it was Jared Stidham and Zach Wilson. Tom Sean Payton, who loves to run it up, didn't even really get a chance to do it with his rookie quarterback.
It was that nasty no he I mean he was coming out a halftime doing the interview with Tracy Wolfson kind of already knowing the game was over. Just saying like they just got to, you know, keep focus. We know their starters aren't out there, but just don't pay
attention to that. At the risk of taking anything out of this game, maybe it does point out that the Chiefs are even more than most teams, extremely reliant on their very best players, just because like the backups, it's a steep fall from Chris Jones to what's going on there. It's a steep fall from Trent McDuffie and some of their cornerbacks that were out there, like Shamari Connor, like
will be starting in the play. It wasn't you can't bench everyone, but the wide receiver is like, it's not a great wide receiver room in terms of the backup, it's not a great room of backups. And that's why it feels like they're more vulnerable. I'm not worried about the fact they'll have twenty four days off. I would be worried if any team out there, you know, signs Carson Wentz next year to be their start. I can't believe people were saying that that that kind outside happening.
It's like, have you watched Wentz?
This is not you just wanted to hide an obscurity, But no, the Chiefs had to be fifteen and one and Carson Wentz got exposed.
So yes, a perfect day. If you were a Broncos fan, you got to get excited. This is a team with an over underwin total of five and a half coming into this season. It is an incredible achievement to get to ten wins and to get to the playoffs. And we'll be talking about them throughout the course of the week. Okay, let's go to the metal lands. When when the game started, the Dolphins had a chance to make the playoffs. They
were second in line. Remember that the Bengals had won, so that prevented a scenario where everyone could lose and the Broncos would make it. But when the Dolphins started, they thought they had a chance. It is time for the Sunday Drive, presented by the all new hybrid Toyota camera.
Rogers takes the snap, drops back, looks right, looks over the middle, steps up with the pocket.
Dodgers a sock runs to the.
Five throws back of the ends, cut to don Ty Adams touchdown. I have a touchdown pass for Aaron Rodgers his stern of the day.
I don't want to say, Aaron Rodgers is a troll, but he has some like trollish tendencies.
Contrarian tendencies.
Yeah, contrarian does a disservice to contrariy. You could say his control.
Okay, if you were if you somehow could come up with like a scenario two troll the Jets and their fans, it would be throwing for four touchdowns in your final we think game as a Jet to knock the Dolphins out of the playoffs and win thirty two to twenty. Yes, the offense was going up and down the field. That was Bob was Shusan for the last time this season. The Jets finish at five and twelve, and the Dolphins, with Tyler Huntley at quarterback, have one final disappointing performance
and they finished with a losing record. Nick for the first time with Mike McDaniel, Where do you want to start? Just I did not watch this game, So tell me about how the Jets offense at least got it done.
I think you can hear in Bob A. Shusan's voice there. It was so satisfying. It's like he'd wanted to make that call all season long, and yet it came in a meaningless game that might be his last. They looked like we thought they should look when he joined the Jets, and it didn't start pretty. He threw a pick on a deflected pass very early in this game. The Dolphins end up getting just three points out of that, and then from there they hit the ground running. They roll
was four touchdown passes. He's navigating the pocket like Aaron Rodgers has long been known to do. He's throwing, he's moving to his right in the pocket, then whipping a pass to his left to his old buddy Allen Lazard for a touchdown. That was the highlight that made me think, oh wow, that's classic Rogers right there. Where has that been this whole season? The touchdown pass to Adams was another one. It's a shame. It's a shame that had happened in Week eighteen because it was fun to watch
for the first time all year. I was like, these Jets can't be stopped except for maybe that early season game against the Patriots, but it didn't matter. Ultimately. The other story of this game was the Jets defense being opportunistic, forcing four turnovers out of the Dolphins, who looked as if they figured out in about the third quarter that they were out of the playoffs once they saw that score,
because everything just went downhill. A complete team win for Jeff Fahlbrick and the Jets just as they go into the most uncertain offseason in oh I don't know, three or four years for New York.
Yeah, it's been it's been a while. That touchdown that we heard Bob was shuslen call to DeVante Adams was the eighty third time that Aaron Rodgers was throwing a touchdown pass to DeVante Adams. They passed Mark Clayton and Dan Marino for number three all time as units. In a great moment for that particular family, the family that Aaron Rodgers still has. And there's no much, there's not much to celebrate or look forward to for the Jets, but that was a nice moment for two of the greats.
And John O. Smith said after the game, it was human nature to look up at the scoreboard and see that the Dolphins had been eliminated. I don't know how much of an impact that had, but John who got in the end zone late, but there was really the defense that seemed kind of listless against Rogers and the.
Jets right, And they also didn't score an offensive touchdown until the fourth quarter, So even if they were affected by it, I mean they had a six to nothing lead early, it was seven to six late in the first half before they gave up another touchdown. They weren't going to be good enough with Tyler Huntley and without their top two tackles to beat a playoff team much less than New York Jets. So we looked towards the off season and Tyreek Hill out here getting that off
season content machine cranked up. Appreciate you, Tyreek for that. Here he is after the game, he says, I have to do what's best for me and my family, if that's here or wherever the case may be. I'm about to open up that door for myself. And then a little later, as he was talking, he says, I'm out, bruh. It was great playing here, but at the end of the day, I have to do what's best for my career.
So it looks like we have, you know, another another thing to talk about as we lead up to the free agency and the combine.
And he's out. Maybe he meant out of netlife today.
Right, Maybe he meant he's out of the like continuing to talk about it here, but he said he also says it was great playing here, but he has to do what's best for him at for the best of his great and.
There was some there was some whispers about this.
This might be a mutual thing where if they can find the right deal, it's best for both sides. At the end of this, they did give him a new contract like right before this season, which in hindsight they might not feel great about. But that's something to think about. I do think this build of the Dolphins is going to need some reworking because it was all about the timing between Tua and these receivers, and if Tyreek Hill is not there and he's getting older, it wasn't that
great a year for him to begin with. He ended up with two catches for twenty yards today. By the way, you know, they didn't get the running game going. They're actually one of, if not, depending on how you measure it, the oldest teams in the entire NFL shook. We don't know for sure whether Chris Greer, their GM, will be back, they've said Mike McDaniel, I would assume that he's going to be safe, but I think this is a team that's going to have a lot of changes, and that
makes some sense. Give me a Dolphins thought before we go, Chuck.
Yeah, Well, it's no knock on class Campbell because he's kind of an ageless wonder. But when he's essentially your best front seven player, that's a problem. And I know losing Jalen Phillips to an injury was you know, hurt, obviously, but I think it starts in the trenches on both sides of the ball. For them, you've got to build inward and then outward. I also think they're a little too star dependent right now, which is why the Tyreek
thing makes a lot of sense. But I mean, even on a day where a team that couldn't run the ball consistently all year, they get one hundred and twenty one yards in Devin Chan that they don't do anything with it. Like there are issues that extend beyond the fact that Tyler Huntley was her quarterback that were pervasive throughout this entire season, especially on the defensive side. They had their brief highs, but they're going to need to make some changes in personnel in the offseason. We'll see
who's making those changes. It's definitely a weird feeling going to the offseason. Yeah, a Dolphins team that so many people thought was going to be right there for really this year.
In the last few years, not all eight and nine's are equal, and this one's worse than most because of expectations. I think, because that it's a little foundation shaking in terms of that they weren't able to run the ball, They didn't beat good teams essentially all season long. That the win over the forty nine Ers was like maybe the best win they had. It is just crazy. These are two teams we'll be talking about plenty coming up. That was the Sunday Drive presented by the all new
hybrid Toyota Camray. Whatever your vibe, it's a camera vibe. Learn more at Toyota dot com slash Camry. So we've talked about how the early slate of games on Sunday were exciting. It ended up being a little bit of a letdown late. But in Las Vegas it was important if the Chargers won or not to help determine what their seating would be, and they were playing to win.
Here we go from the two Dobbins in the backfield pervert to throw looking left, now rolling to his right, gonna use his feet, still trying to extend the play to the end zone.
Pot mccaukee, it's good.
He launched us into the stands at a sea of powder blue. Talk about a quarterback receiver connection. McConkey was in the middle of the end zone. It started making his way to the corner as soon as he saw quarterback on the run.
I love that two point conversion. I love me some, justin Herbert, I love me some Matt money Smith on Ky Sr. Chargers went thirty four to twenty in a game that was tight, that the Raiders led late in the second quarter, but ultimately this Chargers offensive surge continues Week eighteen.
If you are a win probability believer, that touchdown before the Lad McConkie two point conversion that you just had just heard Matt money Smith call, that was it. The win probability hovering around forty eight fifty and then it was all Chargers pretty much after that in it was a Lad two point conversion. Ladd had a solid game.
This was the Quinton Johnston game. Guys fourteen targets. He caught thirteen of them for one hundred and eighty six yards, including a one handed down the sideline to get to one eighty six. When Harball says that's it, eventually everybody gets arrest. Here, the Chargers get exactly what they want. They've fully changed our perception of who they are offensively. When the start of the season it was pound the
Rock Chargers, GrITT and grind. Here they almost went fifty to fifty run past thirty seven attempts for Justin Herbert, thirty five carries on the ground. A couple of those were huge Herbo runs. He had sixty yards on the ground pulled away.
Wow.
A few Raiders defenders where you had a decent AOC game where the wheels kind of fell off late as the Chargers were able to get pressure. He had an interception as well. But this Chargers offense is really humming, and if Justin Herbert's playing like this, they will I'm considering as good as Baltimore looked out here playing against the Chargers, I'm comfortable playing the division rival as opposed to the way Justin Herbert and this Chargers team looks right.
Oh, no question.
My son is a Texans fan and he was rooting for this result, and I was saying, no, bro, you don't want you don't want this, you don't want hervo and He's like, no, the Chargers aren't as good as the Steelers. I'm like, the Steelers have lost four straight and this Chargers team, I didn't know this was gonna happen. They just put up twenty six first downs four hundred and seventy three yards and again, you can look at the opposition, but good offenses put up those sort of numbers.
And I'm rethinking this Chargers team in general, this is going to become a trendy take. I suspect this week. But I've seen crazier Super Bowl teams than the Chargers. No, I'm not saying like they're fourth in line. Obviously, you have Lamar Jackson and you have Josh Allen, and they're behind the one of the greatest teams of all time
and the greatest quarterback I've ever seen. Like those are your three favorites, But I've seen more surprising and less talented Super Bowl teams than this Chargers team, who are peaking at the right time.
Shook they're getting.
They to me, just show what Harbaugh can do to development wise in his staff because Johnston. How about Disley comes back from his injury, has a really good game here, Dobbins is healthy again, and the way they've developed that defense, they're they're dangerous. And I haven't looked at the numbers yet. I'm sure they're going to be favored in Houston. And I like that because I like spreading out all the
potential contenders. If the divisional round is Burrow, I mean, so see there's a slip there, because we do love you Burrow. I mean, you are you deserve it to be watching best us. But if the divisional round is Mahomes v. Herbert and Lamar versus Josh Allen, I mean, that's pretty sweet.
But that would be pretty sweet.
Yeah, I agree, because they're peaking at the right time. Like you said, I mean that's often what gets teams like this that on paper don't quite have as many weapons as some of the other teams. That's we'll get some of the deep playoff runs as that they peak at the right time. Now, that went over the Patriots. I was like, you're playing the Patriots.
Just whatever.
But Quentin Johnson has been a guy who has not lived up to his status as a first round pick. Let's just face it, he's come together more this year than he did in his dreadful rookie year. But to have a game like this, and I don't care if it's against the Raiders, who sometimes gives some offenses more trouble than you think, especially with Max Crossley's out there,
which he wasn't. But when you have him going off, then suddenly it's not just relying on Lad mccackey Stone Smart doesn't even show up in the box score, and that's been one of their go to targets the last few weeks. So they are starting to peak at the right time. And you never want to count out a Jim Harbaugh coach team in the playoffs. So I agree, it'll be really interesting. We'll see.
Yeah.
Shout out to AOC, the subject of my most medium warm take of all time, that he's going to have an eight to ten year career for throwing Rock Bowers a garbage time touchdown to get Bowers his fifth touchdown of the season. Browers now has more receptions than any Rock Bowers.
I love you man.
He also got Jacobe Myers's first one thousand yard season his career, So yeah, AOC, that's what pros do keep him hope floating.
One injury note on this game is that Rashawn Slater didn't play a little confusing. He's getting an MRI. He wasn't on the injury report. Not sure what happened there, but he's the talented Pro Bowl left tackle for the Chargers, so obviously that is a big injury. With a matchup against the good pass rushers in Houston coming up, let's
take a quick break. I'm going to come back finish out the games and also talk about one coaching change, maybe a little bit more Antonio pears to someone we're going to be keeping an eye on back after this.
Hollard in the backfield, Levis under center and a bumble here as it's chased down by at the twenty five, twenty fifteen ten, Barnett still going at the five, taking people with them.
All the way to the uds.
Barnett does it again, his second.
Touchdown of the year. Big guy running and scoring.
Wonder if you could have gotten the odds for Derek Barnett scoring two touchdowns in one year.
That is about one million to one.
The former Eagle lineman scoops and scores. Yes, that's Mark Vandermere excited. The Texans, mostly playing their backups after the first couple of drives, beat the Titans in Tennessee twenty three to fourteen. The Titans remain winless when they wear those Oilers uniforms, just bad vibes, bad karma. You're just sticking it in their eye. I think it's untoured and
they were punished. I mean, you're you're good enough to like put on the Oilers' uniforms and send these tweets just trying to trying to needle your the team in the city that you stole the team from, and you can't even get anyone to go to your games.
I can't remember.
A game that had less fans at it than this one, and I don't blame them, to be clear, it is not the fans fault.
It is raining there and it is pointless.
But that place was absolutely empty and the Texans just took care of business.
The second saddest fan shot that I have seen this week. The saddest was the one Browns fan in Baltimore after Michael Pierce interception, just standing there while everybody went nuts. The second one was the person sitting in the absolute top section eight oh one in Nissan Stadium in Nashville, in the rain, with an ocean of available seats in front of him, watching the Titans turn the ball over time after time against the Houston Texans. It was a
miserable looking performance. And I don't know if it was the uniforms or maybe Will Levis and Mason Rudolph, Oh my god, combining to do absolutely nothing.
All right, at the end of the let's let Rudolph off the hook.
Here.
I went hard on the Titans here, you know, for game debut, I picked him. I didn't know Levis was gonna start that that actually would have changed my mind. Lewis started, played most of the game. Rudolph actually went seven for nine for seventy yards and was moving the ball. They had like a fourth down stop. They couldn't run the ball on the goal line. And they're like, oh uh, we're trying to tank here. He's doing too well. Let's
put Levis back in. So Lewis started was terrible, and then they put him back in, and he actually ended up with the lowest QBR of.
Any player in any game all season.
Oh, the title goes to Will Levis the game for that, You mean not in the game where he threw his picked six against Chicago.
Crazy shout out to QBR because he like had a passing touchdown in deep garbage time and ended up with one hundred and seventy five yards and seventeen attempts. So you wouldn't have thought that would have happened. But my
eyes say QBR ball because it was that bad. The two play sequence of him going absolutely crazy, celebrating with like the money at the Strip club, you know, celebration after he throws a dime to Calvin Ridley down the field to get a thirty nine yard catch to Ridley, and everyone there on the Titans knew that got.
Ridley over a thousand yards. That got Ridley in.
That's why he was making it rain Okay.
Cool, I love it.
But he was celebrating that thing because I think he loves ball, he loves his teammates.
He's going absolutely nuts.
And then the whiplast for the very next play to be that fumble recovery return. It was just like Will Levis and that wasn't really his fault. I don't think he put it in this. Yeah, you know, the ball carrier's belly and it just was a fumble. It was just a bad but that was kind of Titans in a nutshell this season, and so you did it. You got the number one overall pick. I don't have much more to say.
No shout out to Damian Peercey had a ninety two yard gatch run in this game. That was part of the big part of the difference.
I also watched this game thinking Davis Mills is definitely better than any Titans quarterback. I was kind I'm always moderately impressed by Davis Mills.
Congratulations to a very tall man for clearing a very low bar.
Yeah. The one thing actually you should take from this game is that they played this perfectly. This is the dream of what you want to do when you're resting some of your starters.
CJ.
Stroud played one drive. He hit Nico Collins on a touchdown pass. He goes six for six, made a couple of nice throws. They were good on third down on that drive. Then you got him out of there. You kept the defensive starters in for a couple drives, you got some stops, and then the backups won the game
for you and ended along losing streak. And so that was absolutely perfect for the Texans that at least get off the schneid, not join the Steelers as a team with a four game losing streak heading into the playoffs. And not for nothing, keep my undefeated streak in the over under draft that we do every season, oh alive, three straight seasons undefeated. I needed this Texans win to get over the top. Maybe we'll review some of these picks at some point. It's really not that important, but.
That's very important.
It was on my mind that I think it's it's now up to a combined eleven and zero.
Look at that.
It's bankable, and maybe the Texans, maybe maybe they'll play their best next week. We'll be able to talk about that throughout the course of the week. I think they'll feel better about themselves after this. Let's stay in the AFC South. Let's go to Indianapolis.
Second down in one for the Colts. Flacco goes out of the pistol formation.
Who's Michael Pitman Junior in motion?
Back in the throw is Flacco hashtime since the.
Rainbow down the right sideline. Underneath it is Alec Pears.
He's got it touchdown forty yards deep.
Bob Alan Pierce the Midwestern missile.
Flac put it right on the and the coldstraw first blood with a huge play in the passing game.
It's six to nothing. We're just over a minute gone in the first quarter.
Shout out to Alec Pierce, sneaky candidate for most Improved player of the season. That was an award sneaky candidate for surprise value add of the season. He entered Sunday averaging twenty one point nine yards per catch and because.
Of that catch there, he just raised it even more.
Yes, that's the last time you'll hear Matt Taylor on WF and I Colts win twenty six to twenty three. Maybe the last time this stich in Chris Ballard combo is around. But the Colts did get a win in overtime. Sixty minutes was not enough to decide this one shook.
When your first highlight and your highlight that's chosen for the show, arrives in the first minute and ten seconds of the game, you know the rest of the game is going to be kind of gross. And that's what this game was. It was Joe Flacco dropping back in tossing prayers that may or may not have been caught his receiving corps did a great job of bailing him out a couple of times today. Michael Pittman, Josh Downs,
and Alec Pierce all did a great job. It's Mac Jones dropping back in trying to find guys downfield and missing them by five yards over their head, but then he finds Brian Thomas Junior down the field for a big completion. It's Jonathan Taylor running thirty four times for one hundred and seventy seven yards in a touchdown, and yet somehow that game makes it to overtime. It was
a good way for Gus Bradley's defense. Surprisingly, I know it doesn't sound like it to go out because he's basically guaranteed to be gone from there because they got stops in overtime to be able to get them this victory. But then again, it is against the Jaguars who do a nice job of fighting to the end for Doug Peterson, who we should also probably expect to be gone and still come up short because that is the way this entire season has gone.
Yeah, Brian Thomas with another big game, gets to eighty seven catches and over twelve hundred and fifty yards incredible rookie season. As we're taping, we got some breaking news. Jim Ursay has announced there will be no changes for the Colts.
Oh.
I believe in Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen and our collective ability to make the improvements needed to take us to the next level. In twenty twenty five. We're going to talk about the Patriots shortly. The length of this statement indicates to me he had made up his mind before Sunday and he just wanted to nip this in the bud and just let the fans kind of know this is going to be the plan.
Do you think it's the right move?
Patrick? I did notice a absence between Chris Ballard and Shane Steikeen, no mention of Gus Bradley in that and down the stretch, at least for the Colts playoff hopes, the defense led by Gus Bradley probably the most glaring error, whether it was Anthony Richardson or Joe Flacco down the stretch to give up three percent again of the Giants points that they scored at MetLife this season in one game to the Colts to essentially doom their season a
week after they were somehow given another chance as the AFC playoff race, teams kind of started the limp across the finish line. It's I think consistency and having that same staff be around as good for Anthony Richardson's development, yep, which is kind of the most important part. They just got to figure out how they are gonna build this roster and come with a different mindset to the to the value savings picks that they've tried to do.
Yeah, and there could be some major changes on the offensive line. We don't know if Ryan Kelly's gonna be back. There's some defensive decisions to make. Jimmercy says, I know fans who wanted a media change in leadership will be disappointed. That means we have a lot to prove and I like this decision. Yeah, I actually think continuity is underrated. I just didn't like the idea of taking Ballard out and then adding a new GM. I think you do it all together, and it's not like you're setting them
up to fail next year. You're just giving them a third year of this stike in era and then evaluating. Obviously, if they don't make the playoffs next year, we know what's gonna happen, but with Richardson in mine, with continuity in terms of the coach and the GM being on the same page in mind, I also get the Colts' frustrations and their fans and if they're back in this same spot next year, they're gonna be even angrier and say I told you so. But I think in this moment,
this makes sense to me. All right, let's go to one NFC game, which is kind of like a straggler, but it's the one that didn't matter, so we didn't want to put it up at the top. Actually, it was kind of fun to watch today. Cardinals forty nine ers to Arizona.
Harrison Why to the ride on first and ten at the San Francisco twelve three tight end set, shotgun snap Murray throw a fade right side.
Of the end zone, im the money to Marvin Harrison Junior.
Touchdown. What a throw by Murray.
That's a sport touchdown pass tying a career high.
You can see that coming a mile away. Marvin Harrison Junior lined up to the rights of Kyler Murray one on one, and sure enough, Kyler Murray put it out there and Marvin Harrison Junior went.
And got it Kyler Murray with four touchdowns in two hundred and forty two yards as the Cardinals put up forty seven forty nine ers a forty burger to finish the season at eight and nine, forty nine ers fall to six and eleven. Trey McBride got another touchdown catch in this game.
What is he?
Derek Barnett two touchdowns now, although to be fair to McBride, he did have a rushed one and a fumble recovery one, so he actually has four touchdowns yeah total this season. Shout out to the Cardinals, who I think slightly beat expectations this season and were more fun to watch than most teams.
Yeah, And the disappointment in how the season ended was because they exceeded those expectations point where you started to believe, and then they had the late closing seconds loss to Seattle, the one to the Minnesota Vikings, who again or fourteen got fourteen wins on the season. It was a spectacular run for the Cardinals for a stretch and then we
kind of got glimpses into what could have been. That Marvin Harrison junior touchdown came after Keith Jarld Clark had what we thought was a pick six before, but they said he did not catch it, and so it comes back out. Kyler throws the touchdown pass to Marvin. As
you mentioned, Trey McBride gets in the end zone. This is a game they're playing without James Connor and they're going up against a pastronaut led forty nine ers offense where Sean Murphy Bunting and Juwan Jennings got into it to the point where they got two offsetting personal fouls. Wow on the same skirmish, and Jawan Jennings got ran from this game with nine hundred and seventy five receiving It was fifteen yards away, but he gets run from
the game for fighting with Sean Murphy Bunting. It was Josh topstorm for three hundred twenty six yards. Up and down the field they went, but the forty nine Ers could make the plays down the stretches of the Cardinals because a fun week eighteen finish the football.
Which have some small takeaways that I think are meaningful. Pierce All finishes the season really strong, six for sixty nine and a touchdown, So two really good games from him. Yes, that was the ultimate Past're not games four hundred and thirty six yards of forty nine Ers offense. But he did have three turnovers and that was kind of the difference to the Cardinals take advantage, and you know, I like
the continuity here. The forty nine Ers aren't making any changes in terms of I don't think any part of their coaching staff, at least at the coordinator or above level, and certainly not at the GM level. I think the Cardinals are going to come back. That is a loaded division, But I think these are four organizations that are run pretty well there in the NFC West. You cannot say
the same about what's happening in New England. Let's go to five gifts it off his left year to receiver stack on a high stap.
Wanted it waltzing look from Joe Milton.
What the exclamation mark? Good energy here to start this football game for the offense.
After Drake Bay comes out and boughtsoci what the call getting Milton outside off the play fake.
That's a good first drive for Joe Milton, who has a play to snap all year.
Gets the week eighteen goss is it with a perfect flip? Oh, Scott Zolac, didn't hear from you?
Much this year, but we got you on the Joe Milton rushing touchdown with a flip celebration. Yeah, the Patriots won twenty three to sixteen in a game with a lot of Joe Milton highlights.
His best play was probably the one that was called back.
It was so good we ran that highlight. The play didn't count, we ran the highlight on the show because it.
Was so Who caught that one? Was that Douglas?
I think it was Pop Douglas.
That's one of the throws of the year by Joe Milton, but he had plenty of other good throws. He got a touchdown in this game to Keyshaun Body. He had two hundred and forty one yards. And yeah, the Patriots won. They will not pick first overall. They beat the Bills
backups and the Bills. I don't know if they really cared about the Patriots getting the first overall pick, but if they did care removing Mitch Trubisky, who started the game, well technically actually he came in for Josh Allen, who had played one snap, handed the ball off, and then Trubisky came in removing him for Mike White. When you actually have a lead in the second half, it was sixteen to fourteen Bills. That would be the way to
prevent your division rival from getting the one pick. I don't really think they cared that much, but that's what happened. Joe Milton led them to three more field goals after that, and the Patriots won. I thought that would be the biggest item to come from this game. The Bills were locked in at the two seed all along. As we said before, they're going to be playing the Broncos. But Bob Kraft did not waste any time and he made an announcement that Grod Mayo is out after one season
as Patriots head coach. I can get into the statement, but your thoughts, Patrick, We talked about this possibility coming. I heard from people who are closer to the situation from me that it wasn't going to happen, and yet I thought, based on the evidence of what happened this season, there was a strong chance, and it happened. Maybe it's because they want to go get Mike Rabel.
Maybe not. We'll find out.
Yeah, the maybe aspect, I think you make this change, it perhaps signals that you know what you want, you think you have an inside shot at that. But the mystery, the consternation, the substrifuge coming out of Foxborough is not new to me. This has been happening the whole time. The problem is the Patriots had the one of the best quarterbacks, the best quarterback to ever play the game, and they were winning Super Bowls, and that winning is the ultimate deodorant to all of this chaos that is
constantly happening. And we look back and we've got stops of coaches interviews, We've got GMS leaving and then not leaving, then Nick Cassario goes, we have multiple investigations and lawsuits, all of this stuff. None of it is new. This stuff has always happened in New England. The problem is they were losing. They lose the exact same number of games that they lost last year with the best coach ever. And so now you go one and done with a coach.
I just hope for the Patriots and for the coach that they hire that they want him to be there d and he wants to D. No, I want them to lose every game. But you know that's just my relationship with the franchise. But you know, just for the sake of the people on the staff and the players and the fans who yes, you know a lot of them are great people. I'm sitting next to one. I would just like everybody to want everybody to be there. Clearly wasn't the case this year.
Yeah, this is the same franchise that employed Jack Easterby for quite a while. Let's look at craft statements. Now, he obviously wanted this to work out. It's not like he didn't want Drod Mayo to work out. But ultimately, when it became a situation, am I going to stand by this guy that I told everyone that I wanted as my coach for five years? He told that story
to a lot of people. They did this trip to Israel at one point that Mayo was on and he saw this leadership in Mayo, and when Mayo was getting head coaching interviews a couple off seasons ago, then he signed him to the contract that guaranteed he'd be the head coach in waiting. Let's look at the statement that Kraft made. He said he informed Mayo that he will not be returning For me personally, this is one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. I've known Jirod for
seventeen years. It goes on from there, but he said when other teams started requesting an interview and my feared I would lose him and committed to making him our next head coach, winning our season opener on the road in Cincinnati only strengthened my convictions. He goes on and essentially says, I'm a steward of the team. I apologize for what's happened the last couple of years. And I do think he knows Robert Kraft that this is a
dent on how he's viewed publicly. I think he was telling he was at the Celtics game the other night. They didn't show him on the jumbo dron because they know at this point Patriots fans will boo him, like how much the fan.
Like reaction to him matters. Only he could say that.
But I think people look at the Brady Belichick era differently already because of what's happened, and he saw the way this is going, and he maybe sees a life preserver in Mike Rabil, whether that's a good idea or not, and thinks I need to get out of this now to possibly save it, because clearly he made a bad choice with Durrowd Mayo, like if he's making if he's pulling the ripcord after one year, it speaks to organizational problems that go far beyond Drod Mayo, who was put
in a even though I think he did a horrible job this year and ultimately this was the right decision in a vacuum, that just gets to it. He was put in a terrible spot, shook and isn't at the most fault of what's going on with the Patriots.
Yeah, I was pretty convinced that they were gonna hang on to him because of the one and done, because he was so convinced that this was the guy to succeed Belichick and everything that you just discussed about the lead up and making him the head coach in waiting. So the fact that he got fired was a shock to me. But the results also do speak to themselves.
They were dysfunctional, they were disorganized. He mishandled a lot of different situations, even go back to the Matthew Judon thing during camp and making it kind of a bit of a disagreement that happened in public, and you know, obviously there's two parties involved in that, but also what did he have to worry with, you know, what type of talent did he really have? On either side of the ball. Their offensive line was a mess. They lacked
weapons for most of this season. Kaisehon Boody's had a nice little spot, but you know, jalb Polk's been a no show and that's a guy that they lifted over Lad McCaughey, as Matt Mouney Smith like to highlight in the recent performance. And defensively, your best front seven guy, Christian Barmore, you know, it has to deal with blood clots and can't play for most of the season, So you lack talent back there too. You have minimal pieces
right now, What were you really going to do? And yet, if Mike Rabel wasn't out there, I don't know if they necessarily would have made this change, even as ugly as it has been this year.
Okay, so a couple of points there.
I don't think this four and thirteen was the same as last year's four and thirteen because Number one, you got really good quarterback play out of Drake May. Number two, their schedule was much harder last year. They faced one of the easiest schedules in the league this year, and then number three. Mayo was a defensive coach, and the defense which was excellent last year, top ten with basically the same players who you gave a lot of money to. I know there were injuries, but there were a lot
of injuries last year too. The defense, which was his side of the ball, fell off a cliff, So that's on the field off the field. I think it's what got him fired though, was that the way he handled the media and his players was a mess. That he wasn't consistent in terms of I think the leadership he had publicly and it was just just a little sloppy in front of the microphone. It really reminded me of Freddie Kitchens and Nate Hackett more than anyone in that.
I just think he was a little not ready for that part of the job. That's my opinion, And like it's a bad situation because of what I said before that, Yes, I think the antipathy towards Mayo and Boston was absolutely more because he was a black head coach and so combining all that together is messy and I don't think necessarily going back to the well if that's what happens with like Mike Rabel and Josh McDaniels is a good idea.
Maybe it gets you back up to a certain level, maybe not even But I actually think everything that happened in the past that's the past. You really think Rabel and McDaniels are the ones thinking in the future of where the NFL is going. It's a little poisonous to me to go back to everything like trying to recreate the old times.
It shows to me that maybe they're out of ideas.
And I think that was also part of what got Mayo fired is I think Rabel will be able to hire a better staff. Mayo could not hire this staff because I don't think he had contacts. He had never worked outside of that building. He didn't have an idea of how to do offense. He didn't know how to hire. Everyone on the inside was just like more Belichick kids and other guys who had been there, and it was tough. And he was on like the twelfth pick of his coordinator.
So it was just a lot that went into it. I don't know, it's just it's bad. This is a bad franchise and yet they have two franchise quarterbacks.
We have just made the ENVA of the league.
Two young franchise quarterbacks under cheap contract control for three straight years. We got Drake May and Joe Milton. Forget losing the one pick. We can trade Joe Miller for a first.
Yeah, flip Joe Milton for a couple of first rounders based on his Yeah, why not get him in there? I just the chaos is is going to be there? Uh, the roster issues are there. Mike Rabel, who famously likes to actually get in there and work with Lineman during during draft season, like he's integral to that draft process. How does he feel about the current front office staff? If he's the choice, he might have it, He might have an option. Chicago may be able to make a very interesting.
With the Jets.
He's already interviewed with the Jets, who are also interviewing Rex Ryan on Tuesday.
Yeah, one of those three places has a GM in place, though they have the two don't. Yeah, well two of them do.
And so it's like, how does how does the process work? What's the long term plan? You just got rid of somebody who was tied to the previous regime. Rabel, while he had a great run in Nashville with opportunities like they were close. It's not like the Titans just kind of flamed out all the time. The Titans to lead over that Bengals team that was an Aaron Donald sack away from winning the Super Bowl. The Titans conceivably could
have been there during this label era. And it's you know, he'll have his choice, But I just think everybody needs to go in and make sure that this is what they want because.
A lot of those times I don't want any of it are not changing. I want an offensive minded head coach. I think you look at what if I said all year, what matters about the Patriots Drake May, it's all that matters. So if you're and maybe Rabel has an idea of like, here's the offensive staff I'm going to hire, and hear the names and it's a great idea, I don't know. All I know is he's he's recently gotten a chance to hire two different offensive coordinators and his choices were
Tim Kelly and Todd Downing. And so that doesn't give me a ton of confidence that he's the right guy to bring this great young quarterback into the future. We will see and yes, Bill's fans, we'll be talking about your team plenty. I think it's going to be a long playoff run. Eric, I'm looking forward to it. Okay, now it's time, yes to talk about the best teams.
Fourteen teams remain. It's a tournament.
It's single elimination, Nick, it's the greatest tournament known to man. Forget the NCAA tournament. They got sixty eight teams they're playing and all this nonsense. It's a tournament and I, for one, I'm looking forward to it, and I'm looking forward to previewing it. We've got our normal slatest shows. We're going to do a live show actually on Saturday night recapping those games, but we'll be back here on
Sunday night with you. Appreciate you all season long, shook on these regular season games, you know, less games on upcoming Sundays, but we'll be doing that wild card game as well.
How was a trip back by the way to Cleveland.
Well, it was like a typical flight across the country when you connect through one airport. But it was great. It's been a privilege to be here, and I'm glad that we're not done, that the playoffs are just getting started. Where it's you know, you said you call it a tournament. If you're western Pennsylvania or somewhere along the East coast, you might even call it a tournament, which has always bothered me.
Yes, and we're gonna have to try to get permission from the Claybonn family to stay to stay late these Sunday nights.
Let's let's do it moving forward. Let's run it back. The tournament. It is all that. It is the randomness, the way the things go. You can have a really, really good team done. That's that's the blessing and the curse of a single elimination tournament. And then after the fact, everybody will pretend like the results were dictated and we knew it all along. But that's all along.
I don't know anything all along, but we want we will be making our predictions and uh spoiler, I'm sticking with my preseason one who was Bill's Live. You know, as we go along, you know the path, we'll have different ways, uh to pick it. But yeah, we have a lot to get to before then. Like I said, I will be back on Monday, hopefully, got a little special guest.
It's going to be kind of like a tight little news show on Monday.
But yeah, for patri Clavon, for Chris behind the Glass, Eric Roberts, Nick Schuck, congratulations to Kevin patra on the Lions.
Yes, when there's only thirteen games left of the season, you know football is back