A Flacco-Rodgers Classic and The Teams that Could Make the Super Bowl

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Rogers catches the shotgun.

00:00:02
Speaker 2: Snap.

00:00:03
Speaker 3: Now, He'll run around, allow.

00:00:04
Speaker 1: His receivers to get downfield, and he launches it into the end zone and it is broken up incomplete. No knocked the way by djiv And the Bengals have knocked out the Steelers on Thursday Night by the final score of thirty three to thirty one.

00:00:24
Speaker 2: The af SEED.

00:00:26
Speaker 1: North gets tighter and the Bengals outlook gets brighter with a tremendous closing finish and a game winning field goal with seven seconds to go.

00:00:39
Speaker 3: Oh, great call there by Dan Horde, and you could hurt. Hear a little tackling from Dave Lapham in the background.

00:00:48
Speaker 2: W c K.

00:00:49
Speaker 3: Why on a magical night for football in Ohio? I said it when Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers trade Lake back and forth all night, And it ends on a night that Mike Tomlin was right. He should have been mad about them trading for Joe Flacco on a night that paying two wide receivers all the money looked smart. Yes, the Bengals kept hope alive in the AFC North and the Thursday night problems for Mike Tomlin continued, Shookie, you must have been getting flashbacks Joe Flacco on Thursday Night Football having a moment, and yes, an AFC North crowd chanting for Joe Flacco like they were in Cleveland just a couple of years ago.

00:01:39
Speaker 4: Yeah, this time around happened in the opposite corner of the state. I mean that arm is still live and Joe Flacco, he's got the wisdom of nearly two decades in the NFL and he's using at his full disposal.

00:01:50
Speaker 2: And luckily the Bengals and the beneficiaries.

00:01:52
Speaker 4: Luckily because it takes an AFC North race that was frankly starting to get pretty boring, makes it a little more interesting now with an upset like.

00:01:59
Speaker 3: This, absolutely does. And we didn't go with the game winning field goal call at the end because by then it was anti climactic. It was really the Flacco throw to t Higgins once again picking on Jalen Ramsey, man to man coverage throughout the first half, Jamar Chase just abusing Ramsey mostly Darius Slay. At some point. They switched the zone for most of the second half, at least on Chase. But Flacco saw his other number one B receiver on the sideline and he made what was ultimately the game winning play.

00:02:35
Speaker 1: Chase, one of three receivers out to the right. Flacco is ready catches the shotgun snap blitz coming.

00:02:40
Speaker 2: Flacco throws a fade and it.

00:02:42
Speaker 1: Is caning inside the ten and going into a slide his T Higgins. That's brilliant, Patty run into the end zone. It would have been a touchdown. We all would have been excited, but it would have left plenty of time for Rogers to answer. By going down, he forces the Steelers to call another time out.

00:03:04
Speaker 3: Total dime there by Flacco and a great heady play by T. Higgins. The attention shook will rightfully be on Jamar Chase on a night where he caught sixteen passes for one hundred and sixty one yards in a touchdown. But they do not win this game without a couple really great contested catches by T. Higgins who winds up going six for ninety six and a touchdown of his own, and then a classy, you know, stylish way to finish it there with the slide. I'm liking these game ending slides in big moments like Justin Herbert had.

00:03:39
Speaker 4: Yeah, if we could just take this knowledge, this football IQ and apply it to the guys crossing the goal line and dropping the football before they crossed the goal line.

00:03:46
Speaker 2: We beat live in a much better world.

00:03:47
Speaker 4: But yes, everybody's going to focus on that slide, and rightfully so.

00:03:51
Speaker 2: Because it was a great play.

00:03:52
Speaker 4: It was a great decision made by t Higgins when he had the glory of a touchdown right in front of him. But what I think is the most astonishing result from tonight, and we saw it in multiple occasions, mostly with Jamar Chase, but also on that throw with Higgins, is the understanding that Joe Flacco has with these two top receivers after being with the Bengals for ten days.

00:04:11
Speaker 2: Like this is why Zach Taylor was all.

00:04:14
Speaker 4: On board with going and getting Joe Flacco because he knew that there were other replacements out there who might, you know, make him a little bit better and be a better option than Jake Browning, but none had the experience and the ability to get on the same page with his with the players that they invested in in T Higgins and Jamar Chase like Joe Flacco. And it makes all the world's worth of sense now and also makes us understand why Mike Tomlin was so angry, so pissed off and Andrew Ferry for making that trade.

00:04:41
Speaker 3: It's funny because if you kind of think about that comment, it almost is prematurely showing some fear. Yeah. I'm not not that like that has any reason to do with what happened here, but it kind of showed ball Knower's no. And if you go back and watch that Brown film, and a lot of people who I really respect in the industry, we're like, look, Joe Flacco was a mess. What are you talking about this year? Watch him in Cleveland, like he's not the old guy, and yes, under pressure, those plays were over in Cleveland. But when I watched that Brown's offense earlier this season, I did not think Joe Flacco was the problem, and actually he spun it pretty well on a lot of plays. It is damning to the Browns how bad they look compared to how good the Bengals loo. But let's focus on the Bengals for now. We can get back to that later. What I will say about Flacco is he wasn't under a lot of pressure tonight. Zach Taylor has done a good job play calling, and you saw it start in the second half of last week's game, more under center runs, more under center throws, and ultimately he was getting the ball out quickly but not sacrificing the ability to make some big plays that the pressure from the pass rus started to come for the Steelers in the fourth quarter in some third and long situations, But until then, they really did a good job game planning. And I always get on Zach Taylor, so you got to give him the I think they've adjusted this offense and they looked better overall. Chase Brown ran the ball much better in this game too. It was a complete offensive performance against a Steelers defense that came into this game on a high. Yeah.

00:06:12
Speaker 4: I think Zach Taylor picked and choose his spots really really well, like where he decided to Like there were situations where we're leaning on the run game that obviously, you know, unlocked their offense was being able to get Chase Brown going. Now, Chase Brown too some patient running, ripping off chunk plays that absolutely bounced out the offense, which was completely absent in the previous six games that they'd played this year, and really the last four.

00:06:35
Speaker 2: Games once Joe Burrow went down.

00:06:37
Speaker 4: That was part one of it, but part two of it was the fact that they were able to mix up their play calling. It was a lot of quick throws. Average time to throw for Joe flacot to night was two point four to four seconds.

00:06:48
Speaker 2: That's quick. That's very fast.

00:06:50
Speaker 4: And they understand that Flacco is kind of like built like Tom Brady in which he can has all that wealth of knowledge, can make this pre snap decisions and once that comes open, he's going.

00:06:58
Speaker 2: To fire that.

00:06:59
Speaker 4: He threw two time sam passes like that where he read the coverage they ran, I think it was it was no offense through coverage, and they basically created some traffic to get him open quick throw. Another quick throw in the goal line earlier as well for a touchdown. So that was another part of it. But the other part of it was when they were able to get that done, it bought them time to occasionally get a longer developing play. None of this happens without Joe Flacco having Jamar Chase at his disposal. In Madden terms, he's spamming Jamar Chase. He's just repeatedly throwing to the same button over and over and over again because he knows he can trust him to get open and he learned in that Packers game last week, that Chase is going to make those contested catches that most everybody else is not going to make, the unbelievable ones, because he had two against the Packers, and he was just as good tonight. So that all of these things combined allowed it empowered Zach Taylor to call the game as he wanted. They don't get there, though, without without the running game, absolutely do not get there, because then the Steelers can play coverage, and if anything, it's short passing and nothing more. There was one sequence in the second half where I thought they got a little conservative and I got a little frustrated with them, and it was the passes, the trying to run a swing pass to Chase Brown, trying to get a quick little bubble out to the outside. Otherwise, an expertly called game one of Zach Taylor's finest performances as a play caller with the Bengals.

00:08:12
Speaker 3: And you got to give even more credit, of course, to Flacco. I haven't said his numbers. They're ridiculous. Thirty one for forty seven for three hundred and forty two yards in three touchdowns. Of those forty seven attempts, thirty three of them went to Tee and Chase, and football can get as complicated as you wanted to get. But if you boil it down and you have two of the best contested catch receivers in the league, find a way to give him a chance. Because I know, again Tea's numbers weren't as crazy, but man, that fingertip catch that he had, like picking the ball up off the ground in the first half of that game, Like, that's a play that you just don't have many guys are strong enough to make. And then of course Chase just on those slants over and over, and then when they started to play the slant to his back shoulder or on the fade, just every type of pass. It didn't all have to be deep down the field. It was ninety four yards of yak and I thought you were gonna say when they got conservative there in the second half. The drive you didn't like was actually their second to last drive where they did wind up punting the ball back to the Steelers, and that was the drive where they did go away from the run. There was also a holding call on a running play in the second half that was big, So that's just a problem. But they kind of let Flaco just drop back every down and that got him in trouble and we shouldn't have taken this long. But man, this was one of the best offensive performances one of the games of the year for the Bengals. To note that, Yeah, Aaron Rodgers was awesome tonight too. I actually think the box score does him a disservice quote unquote only two hundred and forty nine yards and he does end up with two interceptions. One of them was just on a fantastic defensive play where DJ Turner just rips the ball out of DK Metcalf's hand. So you can't put that one on Aaron Rodgers. That was just an awesome play by a cornerback who is putting together a potential Pro Bowl type of season. That is how good DJ Turner has been the last couple of weeks. He has been absolutely fantastic, and he had an injury but then came back to the game for the end of it. He's been great. The other interception was absolutely on Rogers, and maybe in a game where there were so few offensive mistakes like that was a difference maker. But man, I am gonna remember that piss missile from Aaron Rodgers in the fourth quarter to take the lead. The Steelers are trailing by two scorers throughout most of the second half. They're down thirty to twenty four. Rodgers gets the ball back with a chance to drive the field, needing a touchdown to take the lead. And this is what happens. I think the thirty two yard line of his scooters. Rogers gets a snap back, pressure coming, deluge.

00:11:01
Speaker 1: It fire sound field talkback fire roam Carbo, question of the left sideline, the twenty.

00:11:06
Speaker 3: The ten, the five touchdown Carbo one o'claim sixty eight yards, Rogers with the late magic, the Steelers.

00:11:16
Speaker 1: With the tie right now, pending the extra point for Boswell.

00:11:21
Speaker 3: That's Rob King on w DV E. Tell me what you saw on that play.

00:11:28
Speaker 2: Nixon absolute k house in the back end.

00:11:30
Speaker 4: I mean, the coverage was completely busted almost from the start. They look like they're in like a six look, and then Geno Stone just gets completely.

00:11:38
Speaker 3: So what's a six looks out there?

00:11:40
Speaker 4: One half of the field is somebody's in a deep half, and then the other half of the field they're in deep quarters. So you have three deep guys, but the deep part of the field is not evenly distributed among the three, and on the quarter side, Geno Stone just gets completely lost, almost like he forgets his assignment, drives down, leaves this seam open to Pat Fryermuth. Rogers spots it as soon as he breaks the pocket and gets out wide and immediately rips a pass right down the scene to Friarmuth and he does the rest. And it is so fitting that an offense coordinated by Arthur Smith saw three different tight ends score touchdowns tonight. You had Darnell Washington with a score, John Us Smith with the score, and Pat Fryermouth with the most important score for the Steelers on the night there. It is just perfect for this team, how they're constructed, who directs them, but it all fits perfectly with Aaron Rodgers, who is capable of finding that and getting that ball there on time. When he threw that, I went, oh, But as he stepped up to rip it, I saw it open prime vision again, the best way to watch the game. So I see it open up, and as soon as he winds it throw, I just go, oh, God, courage throw. Here we go and it was right there. He put it right on him.

00:12:45
Speaker 3: So glad you mentioned the Prime Vision angle on that. It's just so fun to watch on Thursday nights because I think if you watch the TV copy of that, you think blown coverage by Gino Stone, who, once I looked at the dots, I think just got overly concerned about DK Metcalfe and thought it was going there. And that's the gravity of what DK metcalf brings, but just a mental mistake from Gino Stone. And I think Ravens fans were looking at that plane and be like, I remember that Genus Stone. I know he had all those interceptions that one year, but there were a whole lot of plays like that that he had to gamble on to get those Internet.

00:13:18
Speaker 4: That wasn't the only example of that, though. The Bengals in a similar situation in which and it was often in situations in which they were worried about the opposing team just converting the first down where the safety's got aggressive. Steelers had a safety drive down. Andre Yoshovask goes down the field, breaks coverage, beats Darius Slay downfield, and Joe Flacco puts on and I know this was the Unk Bowl and everything else, the Icy Hot Bowl, whatever you wanted to call it, but both of those guys still have fantastic arms, and those two throws, the one that Rogers hit to Friarmuth and the one that Flacco hit to Yoshavas, showed that they can still spit it.

00:13:51
Speaker 3: Great call. Unk Bowl, by the way, created a little bit of a disagreement online whether white guys can be or not. It's not up for me to decide. But here's what this was. It was two over forty quarterbacks just reminding you of what they were when they were at their absolute best and reminding you, at least on a play to play basis for that one play for instance, for Rogers, there's no difference. I mean, he spun out of a little bit of pressure, and yes it was a busted coverage by the Bengals, but he spun to his left. That is not an easy throw to make, and watching it on that overhead camera, you know how much velocity, and he knew how much velocity he still needed to get on a rope to get it there. I know that there's eight ten, whatever the number is, Like young whipper snappers in the NFL that could probably put the velocity on that throw to make it happen. Aaron Rodgers and the old but Aaron Rodgers is still one of those guys. And I was so excited about making that point I actually ripped out a wire from my camera and we had to stop down. But through the magic of editing, our listeners will none be the wiser. We still got it. And I'm in my forties. They're making me feel young tonight, Nick.

00:15:18
Speaker 2: Schuck, Yeah me too.

00:15:20
Speaker 4: It was good I stopped considering agent sports because I'm at that point where in my age where a lot of guys are retiring that like played when I played, So there was a standout linebacker I here remember his name right now he's playing with the Browns and he retired, Oh, Jordan Hicks. Jordan Hicks called it a career and he was in my class in high school. So it's like, yeah, all right, I'm getting to that point. But it's really fun to see guys because you know, we saw Tom Brady do it forever, but most guys don't do it forever. Aaron Rodgers for the last couple of years has not looked like Aaron Rodgers. Now he is looking like him again, even in a loss.

00:15:56
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think flack O' and Rogers share that the play falls apart when there's pressure, far more than when they were younger. It's almost like the play is almost a little bit older, just over. But they can make up for it with play calling and with smarts about when and where to go with the football. And even though the Steelers lost, I think offensively, they have to be excited about the direction of the team. Really nice night for Jalen Warren, who goes way over one hundred yards. The Bengals defense had no answer really for the jumbo package that the Steelers had. And the jumbo package is, you know, six offensive linemen plus Darnell Washington, who they said on the broadcast is over three hundred pounds. I think it was Ross Tucker actually on Westwood One I heard say like a good deal over three hundred pounds and might be transitioning to tackle one day and have adjacent peters like track. So like their offense I think has made strides. Are you concerned a little bit about the Steelers defense after tonight?

00:17:11
Speaker 4: I have issues with both sides of the ball, one with approach and the other with I don't know, personnel.

00:17:18
Speaker 2: I'll start offensively.

00:17:19
Speaker 4: Even though you asked about defense, because I think that they gave the Bengals a break.

00:17:23
Speaker 2: For a lot of this game.

00:17:24
Speaker 4: Talked about how getting the ball out quick for Joe Flacco was very beneficial for them.

00:17:28
Speaker 2: They had to do that. They have an offensive line they can't trust TJ.

00:17:30
Speaker 4: Watt, Alex Heismith, Nick Herbagger on that other side, Cam Hayward's on the other side.

00:17:34
Speaker 2: You got to get the ball out quick.

00:17:36
Speaker 4: You cannot subject Joe Flacco to the hits that the Steelers would bring to him. Just ask Dylan Gabriel how that went right. The Steelers didn't need to do what they did. Now, Aaron Rodgers time to throw ended up being closer to three second was like two point nine to two or something like that. But there were a lot of instances in which they were getting the ball out quickly when they did not need to. That Bengals pass rush was nonexistent, and yet they gave the secondary a break in a lot of this game. If you're watching on YouTube, you're seing a little bit of a montage here. You have you have Rogers extending a play here. This is what they should have done more of. Now, obviously he's improvising when he throws that touchdown.

00:18:07
Speaker 3: Yeah, seconds eight point six seconds on that first touchdown throw. I thought it was going to be a long night after we saw that. Yes, this team has no juice.

00:18:17
Speaker 4: Because they have no pass rush. Trey Hendrickson is not out there like this. This is what You're not going to ask him to improvise the replay, but you gotta give him longer dropbacks, and on certain plays I felt like he predetermined throws. The interception that he threw, he saw one on one, but there was a safety of the top.

00:18:31
Speaker 2: He threw it in a double coverage gets picked off. So I think that they need to go back to the drawing board and kind of acknowledge it.

00:18:35
Speaker 4: Hey, even though it's good to get the ball out quickly, we need to understand the weaknesses of our opposing defenses. They didn't capitalize them, and that allowed the Bengals to stay in the game. But I'm probably more concerned with their defense because there is money in that group. Jalen Ramsey got cooked all night, Darius Slade did not look good. Their safeties weren't the best overall. Over like the course of the game, this is a defense that, like last year, is not playing up to expectation has past weeks. Did not tonight, in a game that felt like a guarantee that they were going to feast on an offense that had struggled mightily. Say for when they added Joe Flacco and kind of gave the Packers a game last week.

00:19:10
Speaker 2: They did not do that.

00:19:11
Speaker 4: They gave up long passes, They let Jamar Chase eat all night, all night. They let t Higgins catch a pass that sets him up for the game winning field goal. This is unacceptable for them. This is not who their identity is. They have way too much money invested in that defense to play like this, So they need to figure some things out on that side of the ball.

00:19:27
Speaker 3: Yeah, Like why is the best pass rusher in the league according to pass rush win rate and to my eyes just simply a top five pass rusher period? Nick Herbig on the bench so much in this scheme, like they couldn't figure out how to get him in there. And then you saw late Cam Hayward and what you know, combine on a sack and that leads to the Steelers at the Bengals punting. But they ran third eighteen and they had a give up play, which I didn't even love. I'm like the way Jamar Chase is playing, I would get Joe Flacco a chance third in eighteen. But the drive before that too, Nick Herbig was lined up inside a TJ. Watt on a pass rush and they've been doing that more often. I've been noticing where he's an inside rusher, which they never do with Wat or Heismith, and it's really been effective. And he won immediately. And that was a play where the conversation in the booth is all about was it a pass interference or not? And they didn't call it. Flacco through it to the sideline. But I thought Herbig won that play ultimately because Flacco, if he sees color flash, he is just throwing that ball. And Herbig won right away. But that was too rare, obviously, on a night where the Bengals for the most part went up and down the field. That's a really interesting point that you make about not adjusting.

00:20:49
Speaker 2: I guess it was driving me mad.

00:20:51
Speaker 4: There was a sequence I think it was right after the Bengals settled for a field goal in the fourth quarter. It may have been a little bit earlier where they're like bubbles and I'm just like, what are you doing like it works on occasion. That's fine, you keep them honest, but you don't need to do that. So that's something that they definitely need to go back and evaluate and they'll probably wish that they hadn't done it.

00:21:12
Speaker 3: Yeah, that is a criticism I think for Mike Tomlin's entire tenure, and it's continued into today and Steelers fans are so mad that they lost this game and like Tomlins lost it this you know, it's like to another Tomlin game, like he always loses these games as a heavy favorite. It's in the division, it's Thursday night football. These things happen. That's I think that's overreacting, but I think it is a fair criticism that they're not a nimble coaching staff. In the game they or even between weeks, they kind of do what they do. It makes them a little predictable. And it's tough for me to criticize anything they did on offense tonight because ultimately, you have nine drives and you put up thirty one points and that includes two interceptions, so so you know, one of them was a great defensive play, but that's what it required tonight, and ultimately you didn't lose a shootout to Joe Burrow. You lost the shootout to Joe Flacco with a chance to win the division. Essentially, they all but add the division on ice if they win this game. That's that's pretty disappointing to lose that sort of shootout. You want to be able to win a shootout in that scenario. Yeah.

00:22:22
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's the other Joe Cool that you lost to, and this one's gonna sting for a little bit for them. I also, you know, when we had our little technical issue there, I took a second to look at the Steelers schedule, just because losses like this they can be good for teams that get off the hot starts because it keeps them honest. But if you review the games they've won so far, they beat the Jets in Week one and that shootout, Right, we know what the Jets are.

00:22:42
Speaker 2: Now. They lose the Seahawks, in which the Seahawks were just the better team.

00:22:45
Speaker 4: They beat the Patriots primarily because they forced enough takeaways on defense to win that game, Like that was a very winnable game for the Patriots, Right. They beat Carson Wetz and the Vikings in Dublin, and they beat the lowly Browns. Now they lose to the Bengals, that four and two record does not look nearly as strong as it would without diving into that schedule, and things get tougher. You get the Packers, Colts, Chargers in another rematch with the Bengals, this time in Pittsburgh, all in the next month. So this is gonna have to be one of those games that may have come at the perfect time because it kind of makes you come circle to wagons and figure out, all right, maybe we're not as good as we thought.

00:23:17
Speaker 2: We got some things we got to fix, but it.

00:23:19
Speaker 3: Comes at the perfect time for us. Shooky, because I want teams to be alive. So before this masterpiece of a game happened, I thought it was gonna be a bit of a dud. And so we have a whole other segment for the listeners, and it's how many teams could we realistically see in the Super Bowl? And it was inspired a little bit by the Steelers and inspired more by this season where there's so many teams in the middle of the NFL that it really feels like anything's possible, And I'm like, could I see the Steelers in the super Bowl? We'll get to that in a little bit. But what I like that this game did was it kept a division more alive. Yeah, and actually it keeps the Bengals more alive. You had Joe Burrow on the sideline and he looks so sad. He looked like Emo Joe Burrow, Bobona's killing his haircut.

00:24:14
Speaker 2: Yea, his hair wasn't even good.

00:24:17
Speaker 3: I mean it's it's not great, and he just seems so sad. And I thought, of all the accomplishments that Flacco had tonight, shook making Joe Burrow smile from ear to ear on the sideline was maybe Flacco's greatest achievement late in the game, Like, yeah, Burrow just perked him.

00:24:34
Speaker 4: Up, because if you think about it, Joe Burrow said he was feeling better than ever going into the season. He's got his top two guys under contract, That drama's behind him, He's got his own contract. All that's behind him.

00:24:47
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:24:48
Speaker 4: They know their defense is going to have to overachieve to be competent, but they believe in the firepower that they had offensively. And then we two week two, he gets knocked out with a c various injury and you can't help but think as he's in the darkness of rehab watching his team just lay egg after egg after egg that he's sitting there wondering, God, would be so different if I could just be on the field right now, and probably feels guilty for not being there for his guys. So to see Joe Flacco, the guy who saved the Browns two years ago, come into Cincinnati and save him again, Oh, it had to be such a relief for him. And finally he could watch his teammates enjoy success and not feel like all the blame is on.

00:25:32
Speaker 3: Him, and the season's alive. At two to five and with the Steelers ahead, it's a race to six. This is gonna be my rallying cry for the Bengals from now on. Get to six wins without Burrow. If you can get to six wins, and I'm projecting and doing the math and the timelines, a Burrow return roughly in mid December, So if you can get to six wins by then, you maybe what would you be? You'd be you know, six and eight at like six and seven at worst, something like that. If you can get to six and six or six and seven or whatever, it's gonna be five and seven. Just just keep them in it to give Burrow a chance to come in for the last four to five games and win them all down the stretch or stay at five hundred. It's possible. You just mentioned the Browns, all right, let's get to just a very quick Browns angle. Yeah, because yes, everyone was reminded. I think of a couple of TNF games. Number one the Flaco game a couple of years ago, when he led them to a playoff berth that was pretty sweet on TNF and they're chanting Flacco's name just like they were. Wasn't as loud, but at the beginning of that last drive they were chanting Flacco's name. Also, you know last year there was a great Browns game on TNF by the way, in the snow that you went to.

00:26:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was a classic.

00:26:58
Speaker 3: But watching Flacco in this system the last six quarters, because he was great in the second half two against the Packers, a really good defense, it just makes the Browns look even worse. Like it does reminds you how tough it is right now for Dylan Gabriel or if should Sanders ever plays Shad Sanders like just just fighting so hard uphill and now look what Joe Flacco can do supported not even by a great offensive line or anything obviously great weapons around him.

00:27:27
Speaker 4: Yeah, it must be weird for Joe Flacco to join the team that he should have beaten in Week one. Like he played well enough in that game the two pisi threw where basically bobbles and drops right into the hands of Bengals defenders, like he played very well. Uh, and then from there things got worse in Cleveland. The offensive line broke down, they lost their tackles, They couldn't protect him. Flacco is not mobile. He could not break the pocket. And I know I'm saying Flacco is not mobile on a night in which he took his own read option around the left side for a first down, which was if you threw a thousand plays on the wall, that would be the last play I'd picked that the Bengals would call.

00:28:00
Speaker 2: Why it was a Galaxy brain call. But like, he couldn't move.

00:28:06
Speaker 4: And the most damning part of it for the Browns is the fact that Flacco looks ten times.

00:28:11
Speaker 2: Better with good receivers. That's all.

00:28:14
Speaker 4: It took good receivers the Browns, Jerry Judy dropping passes over and over again when Flacco hits him in his hands, started in Week one continue throughout the rest of his tenure. Defenses eventually came to the point where they were like, we don't have to worry about them hurting us in the passing game because those guys aren't going to catch the ball anyway. All we have to do is stop the run and pin their ears back on third and long. Get after Flacco because we know he can't move. That is a losing scenario. And the Browns benching of Joe Flacco was justified because of their weaknesses everywhere else. But that is not to criticize Joe Flacco, because clearly he still has it. It's just that's how bad the situation is in Cleveland.

00:28:50
Speaker 3: The offensive line like they have to play and we don't want this to be a Brown's discussion, so we'll move on afterwards. But yeah, the offensive line is so bad, and it's the differ difference, I think between a mediocre offensive line, which is what the Bengals have. But that's it's kind of all you need. It's all you like want in the end is just to not have your offensive line kill you. And Browns have the most expensive offensive line in the league. Yeah, a ton of resources and it absolutely kills their team.

00:29:17
Speaker 4: There is one big difference too, like I still see people wearing Flaco T shirts even though after they traded him. One difference between two years ago and now. In his time with the Browns, they had a Marii Cooper two years ago, Amari Cooper who could still catch the ball. He was Joe Flaccos Jumar Chase for most of that season. They don't have that receiver anymore. That was the big difference.

00:29:37
Speaker 3: They don't And you know what, one member of the media for the Steelers also won't have bow boy his nipples as untiful and un.

00:29:52
Speaker 2: Unaltered.

00:29:54
Speaker 3: Unaltered would be the way. I don't know if you saw this, but yeah, yeah, A low radio guy Andrew Philipponi I believe is his name, on ninety three zero point seven. The fan said that the Steelers had, you know, no chance that they would lose this game and he would get his nipples pierced without any painkiller I believe, or any medication beforehand if they lost this game, and he at the end of the night he sent the picture of his Harry nipples, which I did not need to see and say like this is the last time, you know, say goodbye to these sweet babies? Is he?

00:30:31
Speaker 4: Is he getting both? Is he getting a hoop? Is he getting a bar? These are the details and in fact live stream the piercing it.

00:30:38
Speaker 3: So I'm not gonna watch, but it's good. Honestly, I feel like I've a anoid almost giving him so much attention because he is someone who is a radio guy there, who's always looking to get attention, has had so many wrong reports about the Steelers over the years. But yeah, he should be shamed for saying one of those stupid things he said, no way the Steelers lose tonight. In fact, they'll get my nipples pierced with no numbing agents if they lose to the Bungles. It ain't happening. Well, you know what it happened. So what football is about? You know? Of course, you would rather have a career where you just have sustained, like really high level play, not because that's what you can control, but as much fun as Philip Rivers, for instance, had, and he might be going to the Hall of Fame. Man Joe Flacco has strung together a collection of moments, the greatest one being, of of course, one of the greatest Super Bowl performances I think of all time, and certainly one of the greatest postseason performances. But he's also just had nights. A lot of them have come against Mike Tomlin and the Steelers. One of them came for your Browns. I don't think he had one for the Jets. That's just how bad the Jets are.

00:31:57
Speaker 2: For the you know, the Broncos.

00:32:00
Speaker 3: Nights like tonight, That's that's what life is like, not just career. It's like he's not going to the Hall of Fame someday, but damn like, we're never gonna forget Joe Flacco. It's one of the reasons why I hate the quote, like, well, if you can't you tell the story of football without him, he deserve you know, he's gonna be in.

00:32:17
Speaker 2: The Hall of Fame.

00:32:17
Speaker 3: No, you can put him in the Hall of Fun sure, sure, because like he's given us a lot. I didn't know if we would have another one, but he gave us another one tonight.

00:32:28
Speaker 2: Yeah, I love it.

00:32:29
Speaker 4: I mean, he's a great guy for it to happen to you know, he's a classic, just a happy dad and a good husband who can still sling the rock and can still get calls from teams.

00:32:37
Speaker 2: Get off of his couch. He did that two years ago. He's been on team since.

00:32:41
Speaker 4: Then make a drive down across the state, cram the offense while he's driving, well, while somebody's driving him down to Cincinnati, and go out and deliver in prime time.

00:32:51
Speaker 3: I love it. I mean, we had collected so many highlights from this game, and yet they almost feel secondary. The one funny moment that I don't want to forget, though, is just Aaron Rodgers cussing out Jayalen Horn early in the game on what appeared to be a flea flicker that was not supposed to be a flee flicker, which, judging by the reaction of Rogers like I believe him. He was so surprised to get the ball back and he yells, what are you doing? What the eff are you doing? And then according to pretty expert lip readers, I think he just says, that was not supposed to be a flea flicker. So shout out to Aaron Rodgers for being aware enough in the moment to catch that ball and then throw it into the ground.

00:33:36
Speaker 4: He gets like surprised by the ball and just that how do you mess up that play call like a Fleet flicker play call has got to be pretty unique.

00:33:45
Speaker 2: But right, that's what I was like.

00:33:47
Speaker 3: Is there a chance Rogers is the one that messed that up? And he forgot and just in the moment, like lost his head because like, I don't know, how would a running back think to do that? And everyone else is blocking the play? Who who really knows? What a night? And yeah, you mentioned the inflexibility from the Steelers. I just checked while you were chatting, and they were in man coverage almost fifty percent tonight yep, in the year twenty twenty five.

00:34:14
Speaker 2: Yep.

00:34:14
Speaker 4: And that is how you get toasted by a premier route runner like Jamar Chase to the tune of sixteen catches.

00:34:20
Speaker 2: Yeah, great fantasy night for Jamar.

00:34:22
Speaker 3: It feels like, yeah, unreal, yea, all the people that thought the T Higgins and Jamar Chase fantasy seasons were over, Joe Flacco has come to save them. Like the Bengals, The Bengers are at three and four, like they were the worst team in football for a month straight and yet they are at three and four, and yeah, the Steelers fall to four and two. I'm looking at a schedule that has their preseason, right, I don't need that. Okay, let's take a quick break. We're gonna come back and we're gonna talk about what teams we think could make the super Bowl. We'll see if you're in sort on the Stealers. Change back on NFL Daily, getting ready for a segment that I thought we were going to use after like a fifteen to twenty minute recap of a boring game. I was watching the game first half with Daniel Jeremiah and he's like, this game is a snoozer, and then yeah, somewhere around the mid second quarter, it just all went crazy. That's the great thing about the NFL. Like these games are long, they can change so many different times. In my conception of this show change, so the idea shook. It's simple, what teams can we imagine in the super Bowl? The way that this season has gone, it really seems to have opened up the canopy to more teams. And since the Steelers are who inspired me, I'll start with their with them, can you imagine this team in the super Bowl?

00:35:52
Speaker 4: They weren't on my list before this game, and they're still not on my list or and I feel very vindicated. I feel like, my take is pretty five here because I am concerned about their defense and I feel as though they've played a relatively soft schedule. It was funny they threw up a graphic during the game and it said showed the AFC North and it was one to oh one and oh one to know and then the Browns at bottom nine three, and I'm like, well, they all beat the Browns like they haven't even played any division games yet.

00:36:16
Speaker 2: This is only the Steelers second division game. They haven't been tested yet.

00:36:19
Speaker 4: I need to see them tested legitimately before I can put them in there. Yes, four and one was great, four and two doesn't look as strong after this loss. I have questions about them. But if you win the division, you're in the play you're in the playoffs, and you're in the race. But right now I'm not seeing them in the Steelers in the super Bowl.

00:36:35
Speaker 3: Okay, And it's just can We're not saying likely, We're just like, would we be totally shocked? All right, we won't. We won't put the Steelers down. I gotta say, coming into tonight, maybe I was falling for what had been a relatively easy schedule, But thinking about tonight, they also it's a short week on the road. They quietly the Browns deserve a little bit of an assist here that they had the Steelers defense somehow on the field for eighty playslast week. That fourth quarter took forever.

00:37:02
Speaker 2: Some of the starters were out in the late stages.

00:37:03
Speaker 3: But yeah, yeah, but like I saw, Patrick Queen, if you count the penalties, was on the field for eighty two snaps last week, like there were some of the Steelers that were out there for a ton of snaps. Anyways, I shouldn't move so far off my priors. Can I really see Aaron Rodgers winning three playoff games or getting a buy like? No, I can't, So let's stay in the division. Can Are the Bengals a team that you think can make the Super Bowl? Now, in this scenario, Flacco would have to keep it afloat long enough for Joe Burrow to make it happen.

00:37:37
Speaker 4: I'm gonna say no as well, just because Burrow's return is going to be so late in the season. You think about rest versus rust, Well, it's rehabbing versus rust. And I'm just as good as he is, and he's fantastic. It just diminishes my belief in them.

00:37:51
Speaker 3: Well, here's the thing, Joe Flacco didn't fix the defense. I know they didn't have Trey Hendrickson. Tonight should have mentioned that right at the top. That's amazing to get a win without, Hey, Trey Hendrickson. He's not going to solve everything. It's a bad defense. It's not great in terms of their kicking game on special teams, they're giving up like long kick returns all the time. I agree, I don't think they can make the super Bowl. But the fact that Joe Burrow, you know, is their quarterback, it's tough to cross them out. The Browns are obviously a cross out. They can't even make the playoffs, and the Ravens are the other team in this division. I think they can still make the super Bowl.

00:38:24
Speaker 4: I divided my teams into sections. I have five teams that I definitely believe can make the Super Bowl. I have one where I just need a p AFC. No, this is overall, this is just make it.

00:38:33
Speaker 3: Man. I'm a hater, and I have a.

00:38:37
Speaker 2: Chunk of teams.

00:38:38
Speaker 4: I have a chunk of teams that I just have a thing or two that need to be answered. And the Ravens, for me, just need to get healthy. If they get healthy, they can turn everything around. So I could see them in the Super Bowl.

00:38:49
Speaker 3: Then they're written down that they This is supposed to be a big tent exercise. And I'm thinking about the seasons back in the day, like when the Packers made it as a sixty, when the Cardinals made it after losing two games by like thirty points in December. We used to have more seasons, or at least there was a little stretch there where you'd see some lower seeded surprising teams.

00:39:14
Speaker 2: The Giants.

00:39:15
Speaker 3: Yeah, the Giants twice making it without having good rate, Like it feels like one of those sort of seasons. So keep that in mind. Okay, we're writing down the Ravens. Man AFC North teams are not going to be happy that we wrote down the Ravens and not the Steelers of the Bengals. All right, af C East. Can you see the Patriots in the Super Bowl?

00:39:35
Speaker 4: Not at this point, but I love their trajectory, and God, what a story would be if Mike Rable got to the Super Bowl in year one.

00:39:41
Speaker 3: Drake May two thousand and one Patriots, there's more unlikely team than that to make the Super Bowl.

00:39:48
Speaker 2: They had a great defense.

00:39:50
Speaker 4: I mean, all I can say is Drake may Is, he's in my top ten and QB and IC he continues to rise. I think he's up to number seven right now. And if he if he stays on this path, they're in the conversation for almost anything. It's just at this point right now, I can't envision them there just yet.

00:40:06
Speaker 3: You know, can can you win a division and you have a home game, you got a chance. Yeah, all right, We're not gonna write down the Patriots just because I don't want to jinx anything. The Bills I think are an obvious yes, despite how rough they are, Like right now on defense, we're talking projection. You gotta imagine it's a long season, shook. There is a scenario where the Buffalo Bills make the Super Bowl.

00:40:24
Speaker 4: Come on, you could have said that over the last five years too. I just think they're frauds personally. I don't know if they're going to fix their defense. I know they're missing a couple of guys, but.

00:40:33
Speaker 3: It's can, it's can, come on, Come with me, come with.

00:40:36
Speaker 4: Me, Okay, all right, So I'm not putting my life you're a If they're frauds. Okay, I'll say both they can, but they're not going to.

00:40:43
Speaker 3: Well, of course, only one team from each conference are going to the idea of this exercise like who has a legitimate chance. Obviously we're crossing out the Dolphins and the Jets. We don't need to discuss that. Let's go to the South where we cross out the Titans for sure. Between the Texans, Jaguars and the Colts. How many teams do you think can make the Super Bowl? I want you to expand your your list of five teams in the NFL, because to me, it's like it's like ten to twelve.

00:41:17
Speaker 4: Come on me, all right, okay, all right, I will two of those three can?

00:41:21
Speaker 2: Two of those three can?

00:41:23
Speaker 4: I want to find cracks in the Colts, and I just can't so far. And until they show me that they have cracks in them, I'm going to continue to say, yeah, they have a shot. I have some concerns about their defense. I think they need to go get another corner. But as they're playing right now, they're looking like one of the best teams in the NFL.

00:41:43
Speaker 3: Okay, who is the other one?

00:41:45
Speaker 4: Then it's going to surprise you. It's the Houston Texans because at the defense, defense travels and CJ. Strouds had a couple of really great games. And I know you have to consider the opponent, but if they can continue this momentum that they've built because they look a little more organized offensively, and the offensive line has been playing better, and if they get Joe Mixon back eventually that would be a nice little boost for them as well, then I could see them putting it together because that defense is good and that defense will travel.

00:42:14
Speaker 3: Jaguars are a tougher case. I agree with you on everything you said for both of those and I think the thing to remember fans, the NFL season is so long. These teams are going to change identities. Many of the teams we just talk about are gonna look completely different for completely different reasons of strength and weaknesses than we think in six weeks, and then they'll change again in four weeks. But who has like enough to either get them in position and then ultimately the talent at the end of the day. That's why it's why I don't I don't mind crossing off the Bengals because ultimately I think their defensive problems are personnel and they just will never be able to get over that. I don't think it's crazy to write down the Jags. They got a lot, They got a lot of potential aspects to their team that could come together. Overall, I like the coaching, I like the running game. I certainly have doubts about Trevor Lawrence. I've seen crazier quarterbacks make it to a Super Bowl, but I'm writing them down. Sorry, no one in the West going to the West. The Chiefs are an obvious Yes, I know three and three, but what are we talking about here? The Raiders are an obvious crossout, So that leaves the Broncos and the Chargers. Can either of those teams make the Super Bowl.

00:43:35
Speaker 4: The Chargers are only going to be able to get one of their tackles back, but it would be a big boost for them.

00:43:40
Speaker 2: They've lost time.

00:43:41
Speaker 3: Might be this week. Joe All is practicing as we're taping. Both Khalil Mack and Joe All have a chance. They're playing on Thursday Night Football. I tried to get some intel and it seems like Mac is maybe more likely to play this week than Alt, especially with the Thursday night game coming up for the Chargers. But that's good good that you know both of them might be back on the field.

00:44:02
Speaker 4: So I hope he's wearing a giant elbow brace too, because I thought that might have been a season ender when he suffered that injury.

00:44:07
Speaker 2: So that's great, NAIs.

00:44:09
Speaker 4: I think that they are going to have to continue to try to manage this running back situation until we get Hampton back. But they have enough talent receiver, and I think overall, like the culture is taking effect. It's just that right now they're like grinding out games because this is all they can do offensively.

00:44:24
Speaker 2: So yes, I could see them getting there.

00:44:26
Speaker 3: And I'm gonna say yes for the Broncos too, because again, even though I wasn't that high on the Broncos coming into the year, I have a little bit of doubt about Joe Nick bo Nicks. It's been a long week. I just think they have enough that if everything came together, they fit my criteria. Yeah, great defensive line obviously, very good defense overall, a very good offensive line, great play caller. And my point is I'm making a big ten. I really think a lot of teams have a chance this year. Doesn't mean we won't be watching the Chiefs in the Super Bowl like that could happen. But I just think more teams than before in the last handful of years, where it's been dominated in the AFC by these quarterbacks with enough backing behind them. I just think there's more teams this year. So in the AFC, I've written down the Chargers, Broncos, Bill's, Ravens, Chiefs, Colts, Texans, and Jags. That's a lot of AFC teams. I love it. There's eight and yeah, Patriots fans, Steelers fans, Bengals fans, they're not going to be happy that we didn't leave them out. Okay, that we left them out. Okay, let's go to the NFC quickly. NFC obviously, you know the Giants. It's hard to imagine. Cowboys. You know, I love Dak, but it's hard to imagine. Do you think the Commanders and the Eagles could make it?

00:45:52
Speaker 4: Eagles could definitely make it if they could figure out their own drama, Like it feels like the junior high lunch table with this team right now, but.

00:45:58
Speaker 2: They are talented enough.

00:46:00
Speaker 4: Losses on defense are more glaring than I thought they would be, but ultimately I still think if they get healthy, they're going to make a run and they'll be there, or they'll have a chance to be there. Commanders, Jade Daniels is back, and as long as he's back, I have a lot of belief in them. And get Terry McLaurin back, they're going to be in a pretty good spot. That defense is old and kind of slow and not very resilient, but when you got Jade and Daniels, you always have a shot.

00:46:23
Speaker 2: So I could see both of them making a run.

00:46:25
Speaker 3: Yeah. The criterion the NFC is different. It's interesting because it's not top heavy, but I don't think you're going to sneak through the NFC playoffs night.

00:46:34
Speaker 2: I think four of my five teams were NFC teams.

00:46:36
Speaker 3: Yeah, so the Commanders are a tough one for me because I like a lot of the things that they've done. I'll write them down.

00:46:44
Speaker 4: Though.

00:46:44
Speaker 3: I think we should qualify this as this is how big a tent. I want show a second if the actual Super Bowl winner or participants, because it's just making the super Bowl. If it does not include if the super Bowl includes a team that we did not list tonight, we should have to get our nipples.

00:47:03
Speaker 2: Piers.

00:47:04
Speaker 3: I'm not gonna do that.

00:47:05
Speaker 2: Put one on the line.

00:47:07
Speaker 3: You know, but that's like, that's the type of big ten I'm asking for. It's just just a possibility, Like would you really put your nipples on the line saying that the Bengals wouldn't make the Super Bowl? I might be afraid of Joe Burrow, you never know. I'm ready to cross off the Bears, even though they're having a good season. I just think that's if they won a playoff game, that'd be unreal. I just can't imagine them winning three. I kind of doubt you disagree there. So let's go to the other three teams. Packers seem like an obvious yes, and that leaves, you know, the Vikings and the Lions. The Lions feel like an obvious yes. What do you think about the Vikings?

00:47:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, Lions are an obvious yes.

00:47:54
Speaker 4: I feel like we don't know who the Vikings are because they haven't had their quarterback since the start of the season. And yes, he's a essentially a pseudo rookie, like a rookie by default. But until they get JJ McCarthy back, that's when we start to really evaluate. I think that they've gotten better than they were last year, and obviously the record doesn't show it, but there is a lot of potential lurking beneath the surface that could come through in the second half of this tear.

00:48:18
Speaker 3: You want to write down the vikings, Yes, okay, I'll go along with you, because I'd like for them to get more in the mix. It's a little hard for me to imagine with the way their quarterback play is right now. But I certainly would have said the same on the day that Carson Wentz went out for the season for the eleven and two Eagles back in twenty seventeen. In fact, I did say it on the route, and I think we all talked about it on the Around the NFL podcast, and a handful of weeks later, Nick Foles outdueled Tom Brady in one of the tom Brady's best performances in the Super Bowl. So they could round into form at quarterback eventually, and then they have a lot of other stuff. I agree. In the NFC South, it's a bridge too far, obviously for the Saints and the Panthers. Sorry Panthers fans. If you guys get a seven seed, you know, throw a parade. But we're talking about the Super Bowl. Can the Falcons make it I think we'd both agree the Bucks are an obvious yes that they could make the Super Bowl.

00:49:13
Speaker 4: I don't think the Falcons didn't make it, but I think they're on the right path because they've they've competed with some of the tougher teams that they've faced so far. I feel like this is a team that maybe runs out of gas because they're a little too one dimensional. But I love where they are from last year this year, they're on a great path.

00:49:28
Speaker 3: I've seen crazier Super Bowl teams than the Falcons. But I will go back to what I just said about the NFC. I don't think anyone's slipping through there. So you put the Falcons in the AFC.

00:49:40
Speaker 2: I give them a.

00:49:42
Speaker 3: Fighting chance to get to the conference championship at least or something crazy. I do think that defense has going to have to show that it can be this good all season. It sometimes a team that's so well schemed up, you know, teams catch up with them. We'll see the Vikings have been scheming it up for a couple of years. Definitely writing down the Bucks, it's obvious that they're contenders this year, and then how many teams are you going with out of the West. The Cardinals are to me an obvious no, and so who are you saying a yes too?

00:50:09
Speaker 4: For the other three teams, Seattle Seahawks are the first one on my list. They just look like a closer thing to a complete team. I would also like to put the Rams on that list. I think it's going to be more challenging for them. I am not going to put the forty nine ers on the list because despite them getting to this point, with all these injuries that they've suffered, in Kyle Shanahan's ability to squeeze the most juice out of that fruit, I just think it's gonna be too much to overcome.

00:50:37
Speaker 3: Totally agree. If Nick Bosa and Fred Warner were healthy, obviously they're in the mix. I think Kyle Shannan could be a problem for a lot of teams, including the Falcons this weekend and find his way to playing for the NFC West title in week eighteen or something like that's on the table. A four seed or a six seed. I just don't think you're going to be able to make the Super Bowl without those horses. And I think the Seahawks and Rams to me are pretty obvious because I think the upside for both teams are sky high. So in the NFC we wound up going with the Packers, Lions, Eagles, Commanders, Vikings, Bucks, Seahawks, and Rams, which means we went with eight teams in the NFC and eight teams in the AFC. Is that right?

00:51:23
Speaker 2: That's too many?

00:51:24
Speaker 3: It's not. That's the point, and that's the headline, sixteen teams that can make the super Bowl in Santa Clara. I don't think that's a crazy take on a night where Joe Flacco showed us anything as possible. Shookie, we did it. You killed it. As always love doing shows with you. We're going to be doing them in primetime all season long, and next time you will hear me, it will be with Cynthia Freeland from the podcast Studio and we will be doing our week seven hits. The train was on rolling year