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Welcome Man, What'll Driving the Great?
Episode two ninety two on a Tuesday, leading into what I think is the single best sports weekend of the year. NFL Divisional Round weekend is my a favorite forty eight hours in sports all year, four games, almost almost always at least six of the best eight teams, very often
seven of the best eight teams. And this year we might have gone well, no, we didn't go eight for eight, but I think we did as well as we could have done, as far as going four for four in each conference where we certainly have the three best in each conference. Still remaining and then depending on what you think of the Texans versus the field and the Commanders versus the field.
But we should have two.
Unbelievable games in Bill's Ravens and in Rams Eagles, and two very interesting games games in Chiefs Texans and in Lions Commanders. So I can't wait for that. However, Thursday's show will be when we preview those games. Today's show will be more about recapping the six games we saw this weekend, so quickly what missed the cut that is not in today's show. We are not discussing the National Championship game in today's show. We will do a little
bit about on that on Thursday. Leangelo Ball signing with def JAM this is something we will not be discussing that. I simply do not have as much interest in this story as some of my colleagues and AJ Brown reading on the sideline that actually is going to be in the show at some point when we talk Eagles, partially because I want to talk Eagles, but also partially because nothing bothers me more than someone acting like I'm dumb.
I'd rather you call me a son of a whatever then just act like I'm an idiot and aj Brown being like, why is everyone talking to me? What's the problem here? While holding a giant sign above his head that says talk to me. I want to be the center of attention. Is bothersome? We will discuss that later and from the look on my son's face seems like maybe he disagrees with me, so maybe that will have a good discussion on that, or maybe you're with me on it. But let's start. De Mon's good to see
you pal with last night's game. Well, I'll let you take it away.
Go ahead.
Yeah, So you've been praising the Rams all year and they took care of business last night in dominant fashion. Would you attribute that to the Rams or is that more of a Sam Donald meltdown type of thing.
So, sadly, we got to start with Donald and this is and I set it on last Thursday Show two thursdays ago, so twelve days ago. I said, this is one of the things that is so intoxicating to me about sports, particularly professional football, but also one of the cruelest things about him, which is if we go back twelve days. So when we were sitting here on January second, Sam Darnold had in front of him man.
If I play great.
On Sunday night, I'm a made man. We get the one seed, we get the bye, I will end up somewhere on MVP.
Ballots, fourth or fifth.
I'm going to get more than, well more than one hundred million dollars guaranteed this summer, and we'll see what happens in the playoffs. That's where Sam Darnold was on January second, Play great in one game, one more game.
After playing some of the best football of his life.
Can I do it one more time on the road in Detroit, get the one seed locked? And then on the other side was whether he was thinking it or not. But if I play terribly, I then a week later will go into a game where if I'm bad again, it's same old Sam, And forget one hundred million, forget ninety million. I might be staring at, might be staring at another year to year situation, and everyone's gonna say the clock struck midnight, it's how thin the margins are.
Play great, one more game, change myself, my legacy, how I'm thought of, and my family's life forever. Played terribly in that game, and then the next game, my whole career is on a knife's edge, and sadly for Sam, he went over to and he had his two worst games of the year in two stand alone national television Turiko and Collinsworth and then Aikman and Buck thirty plus million people watching, and they watched him.
Seeing ghosts again.
And now, can any team in the league that actually thinks they are contenders say to their fan base this offseason, guys, here's what's gonna put us over the top, Sam Darnold And they answer that question sadly's probably no. And the Vikings, who drafted a quarterback in the first round last year and wanted to give him the reins if he's healthy, are they just gonna hand the job to Sam Darnald even if they bring him back. The answer to that is no. And Aikman understandably kind of lit him on
fire last night, basically said, fourteen wins, schmorteen wins. You played when it mattered most, and now people aren't gonna believe in you.
And they were really truly.
Awful performances last night, Demons. Last night, he was worse than the stats suggest Like the stats, Okay, seventy eight rating, that's not good, but it's not you know, horrifying one touchdown, one pick, two hundred and forty five yards. But if you watched that game, he was shook from the opening moment.
Every drive that just kind of ruined, ruined what they had going on, couldn't get the ball out.
And they were awful sacks, panicking early, trying to spin out of pressure and then just getting cooked. And listen, I didn't think Kevin O'Connell covered himself in glory last night. And Kevin O'Connell, who you know will be the latest coach to win Coach of the Year instead of Andy Reid.
That's cool, Like you know he's now Kevin O'Connell now is to deal with the fact that he's had a thirteen win team playoff home playoff game and lost to Daniel Jones and a fourteen win team be a favorite on it in a neutral site playoff game, not a road playoff game anymore, neutral site and they scored nine points.
But a Vikings offense that from before Thanksgiving demons. Here's what the Vikings scored in each game, thirty twenty three, forty two, thirty twenty seven, twenty seven and then nine and nine. Everybody's got to wear it. But Kevin O'Connor. O'Connell's gonna be fine. The Vikings organization will regroup. I don't know what it means for Sam Darnold, and it
is a cruel reality. And this is why I get so frustrated when for other quarterbacks that come up short in a big spot, folks will lay on small sample size guys. It's a small sample sized sport. Sam Donald had around fifteen possessions, fifteen possessions that we're going to change entirely. The trajectory of his entire career came up short in them, and now he's just back to being Sam Donald.
And do you think that there's anything significant that happened in the last couple of weeks that you know, made them flame out like that, or would you say that they were frauds the entire time?
No, well, no, it's not that they were frauds the entire time.
To take a little bit of a little bit of the heat too.
Yeah, but it's but they lost Christian darrisaw months maybe the best left tackle in football months ago and they were fine.
They know what I what I think is and people w say it's in the again.
The offensive line wasn't great yesterday, and the Lions are a better team, and you guys know, and we'll talk more about them in a moment. How in what high regard I think of the Rams. There is no shame in losing to the Lions in the Rams. The shame is not being competitive for ten minutes in either game. That's the problem. But it's not that they were frauds the whole time demands.
It's that.
The Vikings being this team was built on a foundation of we're getting excellent quarterback play guys, thirty five touchdowns, twelve picks. He's stepping up in the pocket against Seattle game on the line, delivering a dime to Justin Jefferson in double coverage and the moment that went away, it wasn't sustainable. So no, I don't think they're frauds anymore than let's say the Bills this weekend get rocked because Josh Allen has his worst.
Game of the year.
That won't mean they were frauds. It would mean they were a team. And this is you know, the Bills are not the Vikings. If Iking to have more talent across the roster, and the Bills don't have justin Jefferson. But you don't see what I'm saying. They are a team that was being lifted by elite quarterback play, and that Darnald gave them elite play this year. I was the guy saying, he beats the Lions, you have to
include him on your MVP ballot, but I don't. I'm also the guy who does not find it in conflict to believe that and also believe but if you lose the Lions and plays poorly, the guys careers on the line. That's what the that's what football is. It's a small sample sized sport and Akman gets it. And I gotta say I love Akman. I understand he left Fox, he does ESPN now I don't care to me. He's still always a Fox guy. He is such a made man.
He's like, I got three Super Bowl rings. I'm still one of the most famous people in the world associated with the NFL. I'm almost a universally popular broadcaster. I'm calling some of the biggest games and I'm not gonna couch anything. I'm gonna tell you how I feel. And he just I mean Aikman.
And Buck who I don't know Troy at all. But I know Joe.
It would be a stretch to say we're friends, but we've you know, I've spent some time with him.
That sounded bad.
Like my point is we don't know each other well enough to win be like my friend Joe Buck. But all the time I've seen with him has been great.
Uh.
And I love I've always love them as a crew. But they they are in the tenured college professor part of their careers where it's just like we're gonna.
Call it as we see it. And I think that.
Cook Cooking the refs, that poor guy Russell or they're they're ref analyst that Troy always kind of pokes fun at.
Russell York or York, I'm not sure his name.
Uh.
And then also Cooking, Well, no I'm saying that's correct, but I'm saying they're the guy who works with them is like the ref analyst they fun at sometimes. And I mean them being like, I don't know if the Vikings know they're down eighteen points like it was it was great now to the Rams.
Demons.
This is why all year long, whenever we talked about teams that could win the Super Bowl, well no, that was really just the Chiefs teams that could make the Super Bowl. I shoehorned the Rams in that discussion. So they've now since starting one in four are ten and three. You now also look at Matt Stafford since getting to Los Angeles, demanse, here are his playoff numbers, Okay, because they are, I promise better than you'd imagine. Six games, five wins, one loss, and that one loss was by
a point. Thirteen touchdowns, three picks, two hundred and ninety five yards passing a game, one twelve rating, seventy percent completions, eight point seven yards per attempt. Every single postseason, he's been awesome. And he with the Rams, and that is a dangerous, dangerous football team that is going to Philadelphia next weekend. A dangerous team. Go ahead, if you have another follow up there before we move on.
H Yeah, So the Rams they opened up at six and a half point dogs against Philly, and you're obviously hyping them up heavily right now.
Is there something Vegas is onto? What are they thinking that?
Well, yeah, listen, I get it. Philly's home. Philly was a fourteen win team. The Rams were a ten win team. Philly seems to have the more complete roster, Rams got the better quarterback, Rams got the better coach, and the Rams defense has been elite for a month. That's the other part of it. That it's not just that you're getting playoff stafford and that the team was rested and fresh.
It's also that the Rams the final three weeks that they played their guys Demanse, they allowed six points, nine points, nine points, and now just allowed nine points again. So in the last four games since the Rams beat the Bills forty four to forty two, they've allowed thirty three points in four games.
Man, So.
Yeah, I mean, I certainly like the Rams plus the points.
What'd you say?
Yeah?
No, I think Philly is gonna have a lot of trouble, especially considering what they just did in their past playoff performance. I don't think, you know, a real team turn the ball over that many times. I think they're gonna capitalize on it.
And so, and let me say something else.
If Conference Championship weekend the AFC's taken care of, it's gonna be Mahomes versus one of the guys. Right, Either Mahomes Allen is unbelievable, Mahomes Lamar is unbelievable, Like either way, that's fifty million people captivated with the King of the Mountain, with either the MVP or runner up MVP, no matter who it is, trying to knock him off after never beating him in the playoffs, either one of these guys.
If in the NFC, it's the Lions trying to go to their first Super Bowl and franchise history and coming into town, is there guy Matt Stafford and it's the Stafford golf trade. It's all of it. McVeigh, Dan Campbell, Holy molly, Like what an what unbelievable drama that would be? Now again, the Eagles commanders or I guess Texans could throw a wrench in that Ravens Bills, doesn't really matter either way. The story's amazing. But yeah, man, that's I
think that's what we're staring at all. Right, let's move on to some AFC games.
Yeah, So Baltimore destroyed Pittsburgh from start to finish. Lamar Jackson was making the big place, he was making the small place. I think that he's starting to kill that narrative. Do you need to see more from him?
More? Do you need to see from him?
No?
So, I in order for me to be like Yep, you don't have to worry about him in the playoffs anymore.
I certainly do need to see more.
This was a huge step in the right direction, and I won't minimize it because here is the thing that I thought was unique about this game, and this people got Whenever people talk about the Houston game last year and I point out the fact that he was not very good in the first half of that game, people think I'm being unfair because he was so good in
the second half that why does it matter? It matters only in this context we had never seen We had only seen Lamar have won prior to this weekend one good playoff game in his career, and even in that game, he was shaky for a half, got his footing, and then was excellent. Saturday Demanse he was awesome from the first play of the game. There was no like the and the game's a blowout out eventually, but it was opening drive third and thirteen third and thirteen dime touchdown
pass like that. The game wouldn't have blow out. Then all the nerves were there. Then you're playing Pittsburgh like so he gets a ton of credit for that, a ton of credit for that.
Now I have.
Consistently made and some people look at this as a compliment. Some people look at this as an insult. I mean it as neither. But I've consistently made the Peyton Manning comparison. And we went through that playoff game log last week, so we'll do it once more.
The Peyton.
In the three postseason had those two games where he had eight touchdown zero picks and then in the conference championship game one touchdown four picks disaster.
Right.
Take that to be Lamar last year where he had the you know, was excellent in the game leading up to the conference championship game than not good in the conference championship game. Wasn't one touchdown four picks bad? But also wasn't eight touchdown zero picks good? The very next year, in his first playoff game Demons, Peyton Manning had five touchdowns, one turnover, a one forty five right, and then in the very next game they lost twenty to three and
he had zero touchdowns, one pick. I say that to say this, I have not seen enough to say, oh, he just is a different player, I will say, because I don't think it was just a playoff thing for Lamar. I thought it was his inability to beat the Steelers in the regular season was a part of this. You can now argue, Demanse, it's been two of these in a row, really good performances, the regular season game against
Pittsburgh and then this playoff game. And I said this on the TV show, but I want to say it again here because Danny said to me, he was like, yeah, you've set yourself up, so as long as Lamar doesn't win the super Bowl, you get to claim you were right. That's not true that I in order for me to believe Demanse that Lamar is over his playoff woes, he
does not have to win the super Bowl. He doesn't even have to get to the super Bowl, because I don't think it's fair to ask anyone to beat Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
What he has to do.
What is income been on Lamar as he's just first team All Pro and might win MVP again, is that.
He does not.
Have his worst game of the year in the playoffs, because all four times previously he's been in the playoffs, that's happened his worst individual game and the fewest points they scored in any game all year came in the playoff game. So this weekend, if they play a classic against Buffalo and Lamar's an A minus but Josh is an A plus and the Bills win, I give you all my word. I will not be coming on and being like see told you so, Lamar can't get it done.
That's not what it is. It is not flatly super Bowl or bust. I just need him to play at regular season ish Lamar level for a whole playoff run, and if they lose, they lose. And this, listen, this game was a huge step in the right direction. And so I know people don't like my Lamar opinion. I don't think Demonte likes my Lamar opinion.
But that's where that's where I stand on it.
And the reason I'm gonna keep hammering the Peyton Manning drum is it's to illustrate.
That you can be even if.
He doesn't get over this, he'll still likely become a champion one day and be one of the greatest players ever. But maybe listen, last point I'll make on this. If he is over it and he is excellent this postseason and then there's no more yeah butts about him, then you do start discussing him alongside Manning and Rogers and.
Farv and Elway.
As the greatest quarterbacks we've ever seen, other than the two greatest quarterbacks we've ever seen.
Like that's he had Manning.
But Manning you're saying, had like questions in his career. You know, he always had those stills.
And quarterback ever and man Peyton's the fourth greatest quarterback ever. No, what I to me?
I so Peyton, So I understand what you're saying, which is you're saying, even if he overcomes it, why is he then just alongside Peyton? I get the question. It's just because Peyton's had a twenty year career, won five MVPs, not you know, not two or three, was First Pro, First Team All Pro seven times, went to four Super Bowls, you know one like there's the So take Manning out of it for the because I get it's a little confusing.
My point is if Lamar goes on a great playoff run and they win the championship, then Lamar versus Aaron Rodgers instantly becomes a real debate. If Lamar does nothing else the rest of his career, Lamar versus Brett fav those got like that instant that becomes not a projection debate, an instant right now debate. So but even if he doesn't, he has done so much great stuff in the regular season, I think that he's gonna And maybe this is the team. By the way, the other thing there is maybe Lamar
maybe now Demons because they have Derrek Kenny. The Ravens finally have a team that even if Lamar has his worst game of the year, they win anyway like that, you know, which is how what Peyton was able to do.
All right, let's talk Buffalo.
Yes, so after falling down seven to zero to that quick score by the Broncos, the Bills scored on the Broncos thirty one times. I'd answer, would you say this is more of the Bills being dominant or the Broncos just not being postseason ready?
A little bit of both.
But this is an opportunity for me to my new somewhat annual plea of the NFL did not need Dad.
The seventh playoff team just didn't.
This was the I understand that last year's Packers Cowboys game was awesome, but we now have had ten of these two versus seven games, and they have resulted in nine victories for the two seed and few memorable games at all. In twoenty twenty, the Bills beat a Philip Rivers led Colts team in a not that good good of a game. It was close, but not that good, and the Saints beat the Bears twenty one to nine
in a gross game. In twenty twenty one, Tampa Bay with Tom Brady rolled Jalen Hurts in the Eagles first time starter in an ugly game that didn't need to be played, and Kansas City scored thirty five consecutive points on the better than a bye Pittsburgh Steelers that did not want to be there. In twenty twenty two, the seventh seed allowed a Miami team that at that point was quarterbacked by Skyler Thompson into the playoffs and the
Bills beat him. And Gino in his first year with Seattle, got dog walked by the Niners forty one to twenty three. And then last year we had the one upset, which was cool, the Packers and Jordan Love. And then on the other side of the bracket you had Buffalo absolutely
annihilating Mason Rudolph and the Pittsburgh Steelers. And then this year you had a Packers team that was not ready for prime time, lose to Philly in a game Philly didn't even want, and the Broncos get up seven to nothing on Buffalo and then Buffalo score thirty one straight. The previous format where the one and the two seeds gotta buy was better. Buffalo like nothing against Josh Allen,
but everybody talks about these Josh Allen playoff stats. The man has built an impire on being the two seed and just absolutely crushing the the seventh seed that shouldn't be in the playoffs, and like the joh, let me.
Pull it off.
I mean, and and so he's never had the bye, he being Josh Allen because they've never been the one seed and the team wasn't good, so Lamar had the bye.
Well it shouldn't. It's not The step padding is a little unfair because.
He just gets thrown into the game.
You play who you play, obviously, but it's like congratulations, you get to beat up on these guys in the postseason.
And it's been it's just been he they have been the Have they been the two seed?
No, the Chiefs were the two seed one of those years. Oh, when the Ravens were the.
One but Josh Allen in the wildcard round now as fifteen touchdowns, two picks and a one fifteen rating, and four of those times under the old format, they would have had the bye. And so the other thing about having the about the old format, we would have had a way more exciting to me playoff race, like Denver falling apart at the end of the year and those two straight losses should have knocked him out of the playoffs. It's one of the reasons why I have so little
sympathy for the Bengals. Bengals fans are like, oh, don't let us in, guys, you wore the eight seed. You finished as the eight seed. There's only sixteen teams in the conference, like there should be a pretty good team that gets left out. And the Packers at the very end of the year and Washington it to me. Instead of both of them being like, ah, this week eighteen game doesn't matter, it should have been like, oh shit, we've had an awesome season. We might miss the playoffs.
And so I just like the old format better and I just think it is now it hugely benefits the Chiefs this year, and so the Chiefs being the one seed like, think about if you're Buffalo.
You're Buffalo. You had.
The second best record in the conference easily. You were alive for the one seed until Christmas, and your reward is what you got to play around one game and then you know, you get ready to host Baltimore in what will be an absolute war as opposed to what it could have been of Hey, Buffalo, you were excellent this year start to finish. Baltimore finished incredibly strong, but obviously had those hiccups early in the year. The punishment for that is Baltimore is coming off a game and
Buffalo's fully rested getting ready for Baltimore. So I just I think Philly did not need to play this weekend and Buffalo didn't need to play this weekend. Now, my other takeaway from that game, to be honest, is I just really do think Josh Allen was the league's MVP
this year. There's nothing against Lamar, but I and I know the regular season the postseason doesn't count, but that Bill's offense seemed borderline unstoppable against a great defense, and they have an awesome offensive line and James Cook's really good, but it's all predicated on Josh.
Now, you can say the same thing about Lamar. I get it.
But the Derrick Henry in his nineteen hundred yards was a big factor there too. But that game went the way anyone who watched football this year knew it was gonna go, which is Buffalo was going to annihilate a Broncos team that is not ready for the postseason.
Just wasn't go ahead.
It looks like you James Cook might not be as big of a help as Derrick Henry.
But he's certainly he's actually certainly. Oh yeah. It takes a little bit of weight off the shoulders of Josh.
Allen, no doubt about it. And he's an underrated player. And the Bills offensive line is superb. That's the most underrated part of their team. Uh do you have a follow up before we get to Jaden?
Uh?
Yeah, So Josh, Josh Allen was over there having a convo with the refs.
What do you think about that?
So listen, here's Josh Allen was not having a conversation with the refs. The refs were having a conversation with Josh Allen, and that is an important distinction.
And so John like.
The ref coming over to the sideline and you know, making sure Josh Allen was not mad at him and like, oh sorry, I missed it, We'll do better next time. To me, is kind of embarrassing and I've never seen anything like it, and I'm not gonna make the biggest deal in the world out of it, but I am going to make this point, which is.
Josh Allen.
Gets the treatment from the refs that people pretend Patrick Mahomes gets and it's a frustrating dynamic. Dynamic Okay, So, since since coming into the league, who has the most roughing the passer calls of anyone?
By a mile?
Josh Allen Mahomes is middle of the pack the whether you do it per attempt or per game. Josh Allen gets point three to two roughing the passer penalty is a game, which is the most of any quarterback, so one in every three games he gets roughing the passer penalty. Patrick Mahomes is at point two to three, which is less than Baker Mayfield. If you do it per one thousand attempts the or let me try to see if I can get this. Yeah, if I get this number right,
see where Josh Allen is on this. It's point nine per No, that's not right. I have this stat wrong. I apologize, but oh, per one hundred attempts, per a thousand attempts, this guy doesn't make any sense at all.
He's way up there compared to these other guys. Furthermore, the Chiefs lost a playoff game in over time and never got the ball to go to the super Bowl, and the general reaction after a Brady Mahomes classic where Mahomes had three separate fourth quarter comebacks and then lost and then got the ball with thirty seconds left led him to a game tying field goal, never saw the ball again. The Patriots scored a touchdown, go to the super Bowl. Everyone's reaction was, those are the rules? Shut up.
The Bills lost a playoff game to the Chiefs not to go to the Super Bowl, to go to the AFC Championship game in a classic when they never got the ball and the NFL instantly changed the rules. The Chiefs last year got absolutely hosed on a game losing call on pass interference in the game we watched at Wayne's house Demanse against the Packers. Everyone's reaction was, get
over it. The Bills get kind of hosed on a miss holding all in the end zone get a field goal anyway, and the ref comes over to the sideline and apologizes, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, and I don't think there's any conspiracy there. But everyone in the world knows that if a referee, the head referee was at the chief's bench put saying to Mahomes, patting his chest, saying my bad, and then tapping him on the head,
it would be memed into the the atmosphere. And so it You know, sometimes the reality of a situation is not what you wish it was, but it is. And so it's just oh and it's just a little frustrating, so to speak. But whatever, I don't really care that much, and so.
Is what it is. All right, we can move on.
So Jade and Daniels went in there, knocked Baker Mayfield out of the playoffs. This sky is really impressive. So he obviously advances, Are you finally willing to admit that he was the better quarterback in Kleb Williams draft class?
That guy you were saying it was gonna go to.
The Okay, Well see that's that that's a bridge too far. He has certainly had a better rookie season. I mean that's not that's not arguable, and win offensive Rookie the Year and win a playoff game for a quarterback Big Ben, CJ. Stroud, Jade, and Daniels. That's the list. And Jayden's clutch performances have been spectacular, spectacular. So many of these wins come down to the final minute, they're trailing, they or they're tied, whatever, it is so great and he makes the plays I do.
I want the record to reflect that the entirety of why I liked Drake May forget Caleb because I think Caleb is going to be a superstar, like we're gonna we will wait and see if I'm right or wrong about Caleb. But I also was not in the minority in saying Caleb is the best quarterback in this draft class where people can come after me on Jaden is.
I liked Drake May more than Jaden and part of that was an age thing, But the real reason was my concern that Jaden Daniels and his frame is not going to be able to take NFL punishment, that the verdict will not be in on that for a couple years. It was never that I thought he wasn't talented. I thought he wouldn't be good, and I do think it's noteworthy for whatever it's worth that the listen, this Washington team,
which now has thirteen wins. The only time all year they didn't look great was right after he got his ribs cracked and he was banged up. And so no, this is an all time rookie season by him. And I'll say something else that's positive for Commanders fans. He becomes the fourth rookie quarterback ever to win a road playoff game. Now, the other guys on the list, two of them were not great quarterbacks. But what's positive about
it is what they did next. Mark Sanchez did it, went on the road and won a playoff game, and then also went on the road the next round and won a playoff game and showed up in the AFC Championship game. Joe Flacco did it, went on the road and won a playoff game, and then also the next round went on the road and won a playoff game
and showed up in the AFC Championship game. Russell Wilson did it, and then the next round executed a twenty plus point comeback to take a one point lead with thirty seconds left to go to the NFC Championship game. And then Matt Ryan and the Falcons gotten field goal range kicked a game winning field goal and they went to.
The NFC Championship game.
So the point I'm meaning is this rookie quarterbacks that win road playoff game. Small sample, but two of the three then pulled off another upset the next round, and the one that didn't had a lead with five seconds left and lost on a field goal at the gun. So this is spectacular by Jaden. The flip side of that game is man Tampa's. This is the NFL is great rookies in the playoffs.
You're always a little nervous.
And Tampa has the lead and has the ball and either their rookie center snaps it late or their rookie wide receiver started his motion early and the timing handoff on that jet sweep is not there and they fumble, and all of a sudden they're trailing. A few minutes later, they have third inches and the rookie center definitively snaps it too early. The team's not ready, They have to settle for a field goal and they lose. The Commander's
rookie quarterback was unbelievable. The Bucks rookie center had a couple tough moments, and it might have cost him the game because I thought Tampa was gonna go score a touchdown there. Now, maybe Demon's Jayden then still drives him down, score touchdown, they win. But I thought Baker, Baker was fifteen of eighteen. Yeah, Tampa, only Baker played well. They never had the ball. Tampa ran forty four offensive plays. They just never had the ball. And so I listen,
I thought Baker, you know, handled himself quite well. Jaden's team and Jayden, you know, Jaden played better and the Commanders played better, and shout out to them. One guy who did not handle himself well was Justin Herbert. We'll discuss that next quick break. Right back, what's right? All right, welcome back in. We'll right with Nick Wright, episode two ninety two. All right, demonsie, let's talk some Justin Herbert.
By the way, that was a long a.
Block forty five minutes or so. Let's talk some Justin Herbert before we get to our game.
So, yeah, Justin Herbert had a rough game against the Texans. He's now responsible for two of the biggest playoff note down in a recent memory, but the Internet is still defending him. Why has the discourse surrounding Justin Herbert always been so weird and confusing?
I mean, it's not confusing to me at all. He's super talented guy who's underachieved. I so I tweeted about an article that I read right after the game by Connor Orr, who I think does a really good job. And I was probably a little harsh in my tweet, and I you know, I feel badly about that, but it just felt to me like this level of excuse making for one of the highest paid, most highly regarded players in the league's ridiculous. So the headline from Connor's
article was, this wasn't a Justin Herbert meltdown. This was a quarterback meeting the hard sealing limitations of his roster. And everyone understands that the Charger's not a perfect team. They only have one receiver really that you trust, the inside it The interior of their offensive line isn't great. But guess what, man, once you're out of the rookie salary scale, never gonna have a perfect roster. Sorry, just not.
And if you do, it'll be for a very very brief period of time, and you'd be like, well, they need to get better receivers and interior offensive linement. Okay, well that's gonna come at a cost. Your left tackle is one of the best in football. Your right tackle you took in the top ten. You've tried to address the receiver. Drafted Quentin Johnson the first round miss on that pick. I guess drafted lad McConkey very very beginning
of round two. But you also have the number one defense in football and a universally regarded great head coach. So you're not in disastrous shape. And my frustration about the Herbert stuff right after this game was justin Herbert had one one argument that he had a great season only through three picks. The rest of his numbers were not that good. The advanced numbers or the regular numbers
were not that good. But what he did was the argument was excellent coach, great defense, don't turn the ball over, we'll win games.
Got it awesome?
Fine, but then you can't literally have more picks in the one playoff game than you had all season.
That's obvious.
And I understand the third interception was not on him, but the first two interceptions are what lost them the game because the Texans were playing terribly. The Texans were not ready. The Texans looked like they looked leading into the playoffs, like the worst team in the tournament. Texans opening drive, first play, fumble, Texans second drive, three and out, Texans next drive, five and out. At that point, you need to be up more than six nothing, but they weren't,
so be it. Texans next drive interception just a horrific throw by CJ.
Stroud.
In that moment, the Texans have run one three. Let me get sorry, I want to get this exactly right. In that moment, the Texans have run twelve plays, they have turned the ball over twice, and they have forty yards of offense. Okay, that's who they were playing. All you need to do is not screw it up. And Herbert throws across his body one hash to the other to unreliable and Johnson in double coverage and he gets picked.
That is just an unfathomably bad mistake. Unbelievably, the Texans make nothing of it, go four and out, and then the Chargers once again do nothing. So you've had six opportunities to blow this game open. You're up six to nothing. The Texans then have that crazy third and sixteen play leads to a touchdown, and all of a sudden you're trailing.
You get the ball back demonse with a minute left on your own thirty down seven to six, mileven verse half, and not only do you not get points the Texans do.
You got the ball a.
Minute left on your own thirty down seven to six. You went to halftime down ten to six. Should have gone to halftime up nine to seven. But again, the game's not over. The Texans on the opening drive of the second half fumble, you get the ball down four and on fourth and two throw short of the sticks. But even after that, the game's not over. The Texans only get a field goal. You then immediately go three and out, but after that the game's not over. The
Texans go three and out. You have the ball down seven. The Texans are playing an F game, and somehow you're only down seven because you're playing an F minus game.
And you throw a pick.
Six, So I don't give a about the third pick not being his fault. That it was a playoff game, ripe for the taking, and you had your worst game of the year and the last time you were in the playoffs, you were up twenty seven to nothing and didn't make a single play the rest of the game.
And the other time.
You were in a playoff like Atmosphere Week eighteen, win or tie and you're in what did you do in that spot? You didn't do anything until your team was found itself trailing twenty nine to fourteen in the fourth quarter. He had a furious rally and found a way to lose to Derek Carr. And so, I, I'm just half decade into your career. It's not about your arm talent anymore.
Man.
And here's here's the too long didn't read my version of my take on Herbert. If Justin Herbert had Baker Mayfield's intangibles, we would have a real discussion about who the best quarterback.
In football is him or Mahomes.
Justin Herbert's physical stature, and talent and how pretty throws the football, all of it. If you add to it that extra stuff Baker has, you have one of the greatest players ever. And the flip side to that coin is this, If Baker Mayfield, at his size and talent level, had Justin Herbert's intangibles, he wouldn't have played college football, and so, like I the book is not written.
But five years were a few chapters in.
And forty one and forty in your career and own three with three bad games in your two playoff games and one playoff adjacent game.
So that's that's what it is.
You said that Lamar might be a chronic playoff choker and but he'll still eventually get a Super Bowl win. Would you put Herbert in that same category or.
Herbert doesn't deserve to be listen, Lamar is now twice played well in the playoffs. Lamar is good enough in the regular season. He's always in the playoffs when he's healthy. Like, no, Herbert's in a totally different tier. Herbert's the super talented. But ah, like no, So that's uh, that would be
disrespectful to Lamar to say that that. I know, I mean, he's very talented, but I I at some point, if you've got a kid and you're still talking about what amazing potential they have and they're thirty two years old, it's like, well, I mean you might not you know, that's nice, but you got you gotta put some wins
on the board. If you're an NFL quarterback, and you've played five years and you're a five hundred quarterback, and you've only made the playoffs twice, and you've had a historic collapse in one of the games against an AFC South team no one believed in and threw more picks in one game than you did in the entire season, but together in the other one against an AFC South team no one believed in, when you were road favorites both times. I mean, it's a tough conversation, just is
what it is. All right, let's go to the game. Oh, go ahead, Demonta.
Sorry, which AFC team do you think has the best chance at the thrown in the chiefs?
Oh? The AFC West team crown.
None of them?
I mean, it would have been the Chargers until this weekend, wouldn't they.
Guys, it's no Patrick Mahomes is gonna do what Tom Brady did, which is every year he's healthy, he's.
Gonna win the division.
Brady didn't win the division year, you know, with second year as a starter, but every other year he was healthy, they won the division. The answer is none of them, None of them. All right, let's play a game real quick before we move on.
Yes, we're playing right a wrong today.
First off, your Eagles beat down on the Packers and are moving on to the divisional round. But once again there seems to be frustration from A. J. Brown and Jalen Hurts didn't do too much in the game, right or wrong. The Eagles passing game struggles to prevent them from reaching the super Bowl.
I'd be worried about it.
There's well when they have those types of problems, I'm sorry.
I I think you might be right. And listen. I don't want.
To tune in to First I hate to do this, but tune into First Things First today to see how I feel about Eagles rams. But that's just this round as far as winning the super Bowl. Like, right, listen, right now this moment, Jalen Hurts is the weak link.
It just is. He just is.
On that roster. Jalen Hurts is the weak link.
Wow.
Yeah, I don't know what else we're gonna point to. AJ Brown is a huge pain in the ass, but he's awesome. Devontae Smith is really good. Saquan's unbelievable. The offensive line is great. The defense has been a lead all year. I don't know what it is. I don't know they're they're they're jackass fans screaming at ladies in the stands or or or the quarterback. I think right now it's the quarterback, all right.
Next, your guy, Baker capped off his best season ever with an impressive impressive showing the loss versus Washington, where he also had the critical mistake, critical mistake that changed the game. Right or wrong Baker will play in a super Bowl?
I mean you probably have to say wrong. I don't think it's off the board. But if you offered me an even money bet Baker Mayfield will or won't ever play in a super Bowl. Probably smart money's on won't. I like Baker a lot, but like that's super Bowl's hard man like the now he's Fortunately he's in the NFC where you know, you don't have to deal with Mahomes making all of them and you know, and then potentially also have to deal with Alan and Lamar.
But probably wrong, all right?
Next, my guy, Jordan Love had a rough season versus the top dogs of the NFC. I went oh and six versus versus Detroit, Minnesota and Philly.
Right or wrong?
The Packers over paide Jordan Love. That's what it was.
No, I'm not ready to say that, but I mean the Packers weren't ready to.
Play with the big boys this year. Owen SI, like Owen six is crazy.
I mean just kind of started at least started off behind. It's just like you just kept trying to play catch up. And like the injuries throughout the season, I feel like they never had it had a complete team.
That's right.
Obviously you're never going to have a complete team.
But no, but the quarterback got hurt in week one, that you know what I mean? Like, No, I think that's I think that's a fair point.
All right.
I don't want to talk Tom Leiner McCarthy here. The show's gone too long already, and I want to be able to get some listener questions. We may be talking more coach stuff later. Take quick break, answer some listener questions. Next, What's right?
What's right with Nick Wright? Episode to ninety two, Demonse, Let's get to a few listener questions.
Uh, Nick, with the twelve college football playoffs and the and the decline in the NBA, do you think the college football will be the defensive number two sport and the country. Given the definitive the definitive number two sport in the country given the public way more way more exposure to young talent.
For the NFL, well, listen, I think ratings wise, college football's probably already ahead of the NBA here is I think oddly the I mean, football is just more popular in its country than basketball.
Oddly.
What hurts college football on shows like mine is that they play on Saturdays. In the NFL plays on Sundays, so Mondays. We're talking in NFL. So like people watch the games, but it doesn't generate as much discussion as you know on unless shows are directly dedicated to college football.
All right, next, Grayson, am I the only one in America who can remember who remembers the Ravens Bills game already happened. A lot of people think this will be the close the Ravens. Why will people think this will be the close The Ravens won by twenty five. Home field is not worth twenty five.
Well, listen, it's because that game was three months ago.
That's why I mean. And there's plenty of instances of a team getting beat by a team in the regular season and beat him in the playoffs.
See the Chiefs Bills.
Every year in the playoffs, or the Chiefs Bengals in the playoffs a couple of years ago like that.
So I.
I just I don't think that is proper analysis, so to speak. I think a Week four game is it has some bearing, But I don't think we're gonna see a thirty five to ten beat down in the other direction in this game.
All right, Next.
Brandon, question for Nick is Stafford's best NBA comp Jimmy Butler? I mean, he's good in the regular season, but flips the switch to elite level come playoff time.
Uh.
I mean, that's an interesting one. I Stafford's had some great regular what's odd is in Detroit, he had some great regular season, but they rarely made the playoffs. But when they did make the playoffs, he wasn't great. He was good, but not great, except for I think he had one terrible playoff game in Detroit.
Uh.
I don't know that there is an NBA comp that comes to mind. He's just he and McVeigh have been unreal together in the playoffs.
All right. Last one, CJD.
If the Bears hire a guy like David Shaw or Matt Campbell, should Caleb ask out?
Well?
Listen, Caleb's not gonna ask out, but I will say this, I would be nonplused if they hired Matt Campbell because I don't know who Matt Campbell is.
So like I gotta on Google. Oh the Iowa State coach.
Okay, no, yeah, I mean I would not like them to hire a college coach. I will tell you that, like a college coach, I would not be thrilled if that's the direction the Bills go. All right, best weekend in sports coming up. I'll see you guys on Collins Show in ninety minutes. See you on First Things First. We got something I try to underpromise over deliver, but I'm going to overpromise here. We have something very special planned for the A block of First Things First today that Wilds.
And Brew don't even know about.
So not right off the top of the show, but at some point in the A So check it out if you can.
I'll see you guys later. What's right?
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