2025 NFL Week 16 Recap: Bears and Jags Statement wins, Another Ravens Collapse and Crazy Lions-Steelers Ending

00:00:04
Speaker 1: Welcome to NFL Daily, where the holidays are coming. Holidays are coming, Holidays are coming. Hall It's just stuck in my head.

00:00:12
Speaker 2: It's gotta be.

00:00:13
Speaker 1: Stuck in all the years. And the playoffs are coming too. I'm Greg Rosenthal here and the Chris Wesley Podcast Dudio with my friends Jordan Rodrieg and Patrick Claybond for a very important Week sixteen recap.

00:00:25
Speaker 3: Most importantly, how you nailed the exact cadence of the commercial I would argue better than the one that's on the Apple.

00:00:31
Speaker 1: Well, that's because it never stops. I just walk around all day. That's all I hear in my house. Everyone was annoyed by that commercial too, so of course we just were saying that all the time and it just never ends.

00:00:42
Speaker 4: The best part is sitting next to Greg in the newsroom and every once in a while there's like a lull in the game action and then all of a sudden it's very quiet.

00:00:50
Speaker 1: It's just Greg to gregli Okay, let's just stop it.

00:00:54
Speaker 5: You know where they're not celebrating.

00:00:56
Speaker 2: Oh boy.

00:00:57
Speaker 1: On Sunday, December twenty First, the great city of Detroit.

00:01:02
Speaker 5: We got to start there.

00:01:03
Speaker 1: Two man Rush coming here, for the shoots golf guns.

00:01:05
Speaker 6: Towards the end zone, caught tackled short of the end zone.

00:01:09
Speaker 7: There is a flag as a'm on ROSSI promise.

00:01:12
Speaker 1: Oh did they called the whistle? There was a nateral? Oh, there's all.

00:01:16
Speaker 8: Kinds of craziness going on here.

00:01:20
Speaker 1: Really on the field is a touchdown?

00:01:22
Speaker 9: However, half in three number fourteen hol on the offense.

00:01:27
Speaker 10: My rule that penalty is not enforced and there is no replay.

00:01:33
Speaker 1: The game is over.

00:01:35
Speaker 7: There is no touchdown.

00:01:38
Speaker 1: It's a great lesson how you present a set of facts. The order of those facts can sometimes be almost more important than the facts themselves. He should not have led with the touchdown. It was not a touchdown, and I understand that's just how they do it. But all those Lions fans and Patrick Clayvin and myself and anyone that wanted to see a good NFC Wildcard race was disappointed in that moment although we saw it coming. That was Rob King on WDV. Let's get into the Steelers going into Detroit beating the Lions twenty nine to twenty four and a game that I was not expecting to lead the show with Bears Packers on Saturday night to me, was the game of the year. But what this means in the NFC North and the rest of the NFC and the way this finished, I felt like we just had to start at the end. So let's start there with that final sequence. Patrick and how the Lions failed to win this game.

00:02:38
Speaker 11: Well, ultimately it wasn't just the order of operations, because the way he explained it was that the penalty was not enforced, which would have caused the crowd to celebrate once again.

00:02:46
Speaker 12: The doctors did the best, the best they.

00:02:48
Speaker 3: Could, and he's gonna make it. Actually know he's not. You know, we couldn't save him. We did all we could. You know, it's heart still beating, but everything else didn't really working. So it's all off. It's a pass interference, which is a loss of down. The penalty is enforced, and so the Lions lose the game. After aman Ra pitches it to Jared Goff, they call him running into Jalen Ramsey right there at the at the end zone, which is the line of game because it was fourth and goal, call him for offensive passer and interference. Four plays after Isaac Teslaw has called for offensive pass interference that gives the Lions what would have been a touchdown to aman Ross Saint Brown, which is legitimately the story of the actual game. You get it, they're in the call from the official and do you hear the crowd celebrating and then going back to being sad because that was the extent of the game. The Lions could do nothing on offense for a majority of the first half. The Steelers have a three point lead, and then there's an Isaac Tesla touchdown and the Lions have the lead, and you're thinking, yes, Lions back in this. Kenneth Gainwell catches the most improbable touchdown where I thought the ball hit the ground. No, Kenny g caught it, gets back up, goes passed out Casanzeloni into the end zone for a touchdown.

00:04:03
Speaker 2: Just one of the best plays they've seen all year.

00:04:05
Speaker 1: I think, I think that might be the catch of the year. I mean, it is up there, certainly one of the biggest plays of the year in terms of it combined insane skill by Gainwell, I mean to somehow get his arm under that, the presence of mind to get up and score, but more that they did score with like no time left on the clock at the end of a first half where they couldn't do anything and got it.

00:04:28
Speaker 5: What was that to tie it at ten? And you said at.

00:04:31
Speaker 1: That moment, oh, the Steelers are going to win this game. And they came out in the second half, and to be fair, they earned this win four hundred and eighty one yards. They put it on a Lions defense, which just I know they're injured, but they're just terrible right now and it's sad that they are almost certainly now going to miss the playoffs.

00:04:50
Speaker 11: The second week in row with the Steelers have come out and we put it a lot on the Miami Dolphins defense last week. At a certain point in the third quarter, they had run twenty five plays to the Lions three. They couldn't get off the field. They get huge chunk plays from Kenneth gainwell as well as Jayalen Warren who hit two home run balls. And again the theme the Lions were out of this game. I'm thinking, it's this game's over. Uh, they get it, they come back, get a touchdown ultimately late in the fourth quarter, and I'm thinking, well that they can't stop the Steelers on the ground. They ultimately still don't stop the Steelers on the ground. But Chris Boswell misses an improbable field goal. I remember earlier in the series, or maybe that was last season. Go back and look for Chris Boswell missing field goals in that situation literally has not happened.

00:05:36
Speaker 5: That was in the season.

00:05:38
Speaker 1: It was coming off the idea when Mike Tomlin called them a serial killer. So serial killers, sometimes they missed too.

00:05:44
Speaker 12: And so thank god what they do right in real life.

00:05:48
Speaker 1: Shout out Dexter.

00:05:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know.

00:05:51
Speaker 1: Sometimes I get in my mentions that I look like Thomas C. Hall, which is I know it.

00:05:57
Speaker 2: I don't necessarily think.

00:05:59
Speaker 12: Is it your burner account typing that to yourself?

00:06:01
Speaker 5: I mean sure, I uh.

00:06:05
Speaker 11: In the Riders strike having a Dexter on CBS, UH brought a lot of people to that show.

00:06:09
Speaker 2: Great program.

00:06:11
Speaker 1: So the end sequence where Yeah, Boswell misses that they go down the field, it felt indicative of where this Lions team has been lately, which is no running game whatsoever. And that was the case to the extreme today they had fifteen yards.

00:06:25
Speaker 2: I mean, that's.

00:06:26
Speaker 1: Outrageous, Jamir Gibbs with two yards on the ground. But Goff has been really up for the fight, and I think overall, playing really well, and it looked like they had had scored the game when he touched on. I think the offensive pass interference on a Monra on the last play of the game was absolutely the right call. I'm shocked, actually, I haven't seen a lot of people saying, like, how could you call that? And that'spot how can you even call that? It's like that was literally the reason he was opening. He pushed as hard as he could. That was a good calls. The first down call I thought was great. It was a little crazy to slow and they would have scored it anyway, so unnecessary.

00:07:00
Speaker 4: Well, you think about how rare it is in a game that even one offensive pass interference is called, let alone multiple offensive pass interference calls on the same drive, including in the same area general area of the field, to dramatically affect the game in multiple ways. I mean, yeah, you can say what you want about fair or not fair, whatever. I think it bothers the collective society, whether or not you agree with the calls or not, when the officials insert themselves into the game like.

00:07:29
Speaker 1: Well, especially when it takes away the most athletic moment of Jared Goff's career taking that pitch jumping into the end zone. What a finishing moment that would be, and yet it's not. And it's basically the finishing moment for this Detroit Lions team.

00:07:45
Speaker 5: I mean, it really is.

00:07:46
Speaker 1: They are now a game and a half back of the Packers. We're going to get to the Packers Bears game. If you're listening to this, you obviously know the results of that. And this win by the Steelers inches a playoff spot for two separate teams, the forty nine Ers before playing Monday night. They're in the playoffs. The Bears officially are now in the playoffs, and the Lions are going to have to win their last two games and basically have the Packers lose out for any chance to make the playoffs, which we'll just say it. Crazier things have happened, but not a good spot obviously, And I hate to say it, Patrick, but you do got to give him credit. You got to give Aaron the Rogers sons is on. He's playing his best ball in the last three weeks. Their offense is getting it done, and the.

00:08:36
Speaker 11: Protection of the play calls from Arthur Smith, especially in the second half of these last two weeks.

00:08:40
Speaker 2: As much as I have not wanted it to happen.

00:08:42
Speaker 11: There was a first and twenty in the fourth quarter where they get a holding call and Rogers with, you know, just pre cognition on a ball to dk Metcalf down the sideline that he's able to turn around and get, and then Warren has a long forty five yard touchdown run right after that. Where it's just consistently, over and over again, the physicality even when things weren't working. Darnell Washington got called for an offensive pass interference. If you want to put the two opis on split screen and see one, that's easily an offensive pass interference where Darnell Washington sets a moving Andrew Boget's screen on DJ Reid that actually takes him out of the game. He would go on to run over DJ Reid later on on a reception where DJ Reid the last thing he wants to see is big number eighty moving on a football field anywhere. But just that physicality, even when they don't work out for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it's having an impact late in these games.

00:09:32
Speaker 1: It is, and it haunts me still that moment after the NFC Championship game with the Lions two years ago when Dan Campbell said, you know, we don't know, this might have been our only shot. I don't think Lions fans should feel that way, but they're going to very likely have to wait another year to get a real shot to get that close again. And you wonder, like, man, how in the year twenty twenty five do you win a game, dominate offensively, almost get five hundred yards and your leading wide receiver is Adam Feeling with forty nine hoards. Here's how you do it. You mentioned Jalen Warren's forty five yard touchdown. He had two of those two forty five yard touchdowns, and then Kenny Gainwell with that catch ends up getting one hundred and twenty eight yards from scrimmage. They have been dynamite in the backfield and the offensive line, and they are playing their best ball. We're wrapping up this recap with the Ravens Patriots, so we don't know that result as we're taping it. That obviously is going to be big in the AFC North. But the Steelers put themselves into a very nice position with a win. That's the AFC North. Let's talk about the NFC North and the latest entrance into the game of the year of the week. We've had two of them this week.

00:10:39
Speaker 13: First down in ten I formation with comet Wright snap Caleb playfa looking a throw, going deep, searching for DJ more over the shoulder catch.

00:10:50
Speaker 7: May touchdown.

00:10:51
Speaker 14: Theirs HiT's over at Soldier Field? Do you Ice Smack come it? Do I Smith take it? Forty six yard spirals to the end zone to DJ Moore.

00:11:04
Speaker 2: What a strike.

00:11:05
Speaker 14: Ben Junson going for the big balls and it's Captain Trutchhime.

00:11:11
Speaker 7: Caleb does it again.

00:11:14
Speaker 12: What a call?

00:11:15
Speaker 1: What a catch up?

00:11:16
Speaker 12: Wow?

00:11:17
Speaker 1: What a call. Jeff Joniac on WMVP. We got about sixty four percent of the precincts reporting.

00:11:26
Speaker 5: I think we have our throw of the year.

00:11:29
Speaker 1: It is hard for me to imagine a better combination of skill and moment than that Caleb Williams throw to DJ Moore. And the crazy part is Caleb's throw last week for the touchdown is on the short list. I think it's on the podium. It's in the top five for throws of the year. That was a week ago, and he had another throw in this game that at least is getting nominated on the long list. Hell, let's listen to it. This is the fourth down to help end regulation to today Walker.

00:12:02
Speaker 15: Fourth and four, twenty eight seconds to go. Walker's a kis out to the right. Packers are gonna blitz Caleb Williams would swift to his left, takes the snap. Blitzes on beaches.

00:12:13
Speaker 7: Got allot it work for the end zone.

00:12:15
Speaker 14: Up in the area, catch made by James Walker, touch off, What are you kidding me?

00:12:20
Speaker 7: Got thrown to your day Walkers fair right corner of the end zone. Have the Joobie shuffle by the roof.

00:12:27
Speaker 1: He had a Texas A and M great play call, great throw. That's one of those plays where as it's happening, like I felt like the fans in Detroit going through the up through the down, you see the free rusher. It is right onto Caleb and you're thinking, oh, this play is over.

00:12:47
Speaker 5: He's sprinting right.

00:12:49
Speaker 1: And then if you're looking in the back, he say, oh what Walker's open as he throws it, and that ball is so high in the air during the play, I think he is not going to catch that ball. This game is over. The Packers are going to pull out a signature win in the Mattlefleur era, and instead it falls perfectly into the hands of Walker. What a performance at the end of this game by Caleb Williams and this Bears team.

00:13:11
Speaker 4: Oh, it was a classic instantly in those two plays specifically, are so indicative and descriptive of the Caleb Williams experience because he was otherwise not good under pressure through most of the game five for eleven when pressured on his dropbacks. But those two touchdowns stick out like a sore thumb on his Advance Next Next Gen stats chart, because those two touchdowns are what ultimately wins this game for the Bears, of showing up in the absolute most crucial moments against a Packers defense that battled man the entire game. And there's nothing you can do about that, because when magic decides to happen, when lightning decides to strike, it's an act of God.

00:13:59
Speaker 12: You cannot.

00:14:00
Speaker 1: I mean, you could have done a couple of things, but we'll get to this. Yeah, maybe not the defense, but but the offense at least.

00:14:05
Speaker 11: And those both of those touchdowns come when Jeff Affley, you know, in those moments, decides to blitz Caleb Williams and he.

00:14:12
Speaker 2: Comes up and he makes them pay with the you know, the.

00:14:15
Speaker 11: Ball to Walker is that there was only one place honestly that the ball could be considering where the pressure was, what was getting to him, and he did a good job of evading pressure and running over the course of the game, where obviously, you know, Packers fans, uh, it's frustrating to have Jordan Love be hit, you know, just a helmet to helmet shot that should not have happened.

00:14:36
Speaker 3: We got to get that out of the game. And he's he's able to you know, he's he leaves the game and Malik Willis comes in and plays well. But clearly, you know that clouds the view for Packers fans.

00:14:46
Speaker 11: Well, you know, because last night I'm thinking, Wow, what a magical night in Chicago. Bears fans have been waiting for this for a while, and you know, folks in Green Bay or you know, adjacent point out today a lot of things happened that you know, probably shouldn't.

00:14:58
Speaker 1: Sure, Yeah, Jordan Love leaves with a concussion, and they're missing their two best offensive linemen. The Bears, to be fair, are missing two of their best pass catchers in this game. Well, it has to be Joe day Walker right right exactly, and the fact that he was like well coached enough to do it in that spot. And yet you know, the Bears are having kind of a negative eight days until their next game, and all the coverage is going to be negatively slanted and everyone's going to talk about Oh, I guess the Bears just aren't ready to win with the big boys. The Packers without their guys are going to be five and zero in the division if not for a fumble on special teams by Romeo Dobs Did they count that as a fumble? I guess they don't because he never had possession of it. But you have that on side kick Romeo Dobbs, as you know, he's known for his hands, and he gets hurt on the play too. He hurts his wrist. But they ask him out him afterwards and he just said, look, that's all on me.

00:15:58
Speaker 5: It's one hundred percent on me.

00:15:59
Speaker 1: I backed up up, you know, not to back up on an on side kick, and the kind of in between hop gotam and I just you know, completely made a mistake and then he got injured on the play as well. And if you're Packers fans, you're getting flashbacks to twenty fifteen NFC Championship game. If you're watching us on YouTube. We got all the rights, we could show the highlights. Sorry to Brandon Bostic. You know what's crazy too, is that game ended too with a big bomb down the field that has kind of gotten lost, at least to me, in a history. And I'm sure Seahawks fans don't forget it, but that Jermaine Curse catch from Russell Wilson was not that dissimilar to this dj More play.

00:16:40
Speaker 5: It's just this is.

00:16:41
Speaker 1: Kind of an all time game, all time play, and now the Bears are in control of the NFC North.

00:16:48
Speaker 11: And in defense of Bostic and to Romeo Dobbs, you know, there's any number of plays where things, you know, in onside kick late comeback situations, it's like as.

00:16:59
Speaker 1: Just a absolutely and a lot more happened before and afterwards, but that is the one where you think like it because it's just so rare that if he catches it, the game is over there. But to your point, and Matt Lafleur was quick to point this out afterwards, they went over five in the red zone. They really dominated kind of the time of possession, the really the play throughout the game. They went over five cups selling for field goals. They had the fumble inside the five yard line. That was Josh Jacobs, right, you had the on side kick. And then in overtime, I mean, they got a chance to win the game in overtime, and Malik Willis played awesome. That's the thing is, I can't I don't think Love's injury matter at all because I can't imagine playing that much better than Malik Willis played at qarterback.

00:17:41
Speaker 5: He was great, But they.

00:17:42
Speaker 1: Fumble the snap on a fourth and one in overtime, and maybe that's where his inexperience showed up.

00:17:47
Speaker 4: Well, I actually want to give Malik Willis a little bit more benefit of the doubt than that, because yes, he's an experience, but he had had like the crap knocked out of his hand earlier, so you.

00:17:59
Speaker 12: Could really tell he was in a great deal of pain.

00:18:02
Speaker 4: And obviously that's the hand that collects the snap and then exchanges the ball with that sort of center to quarterback to running back, et cetera exchange, and so I don't necessarily it obviously was a huge title moment in the game.

00:18:16
Speaker 12: It swung so many things.

00:18:18
Speaker 4: It gave the Bears the ball with a chance to hit the walk off situation because of these overtime rules, and so I feel terrible for Leeke Willis, who, oh my god, made through a couple of dimes, including a fade away jump shot down the field, And we were texting each other all game, Greg it was throw the year this nominee and throw the Year that nominee, And every time, like five game minutes went by, there was another nomination.

00:18:41
Speaker 1: Now, let's listen to Willis's touchdown pass to Romeo Dobson.

00:18:45
Speaker 5: Happier times for the Packers.

00:18:47
Speaker 10: Well, Willis in the shotgun with the scent back too is right.

00:18:50
Speaker 1: Here's the snap till whats he looks to throw.

00:18:53
Speaker 16: He loft it left side for times on a sectional from from m Leak Willis a thirty three yard touchdown pass to be Kevin byern.

00:19:08
Speaker 1: He he was throwing dimes and he threw in an overtime too to get to that, you know, set up that fourth one. He was incredible. I think just as a pure runner, I don't know if there is a better quarterback at running the football. Now I'm knocking where Lamar is at at this point in his career. He is so talented as a runner and he's spun it throwing the ball and that at this game. To me, it really is it would be my pick for the Game of the year, and which is crazy because that made it just thirteen to three after three. But the whole thing was just great gameplay and back and forth.

00:19:40
Speaker 11: It really showed that having Malik Willis as a backup quarterback is such a weapon because those two are so dramatically different, and it took time for the Bears to adjust.

00:19:50
Speaker 2: One big part.

00:19:51
Speaker 11: I think the play of the game before the bad snap or you know, fumbled exchange between Willis and the center, was TJ. Edwards actually tracking down Malik Willis for what felt like the first time. On the play before that where the play breaks down, He's rolling to his left, decides to go for a run for the first down, and Edward's gonna gets a nice stop that ultimately sets up the turnover on fourth down where they couldn't stop Milik Willis running the ball. It was just like it was in the shotgun, like.

00:20:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, McNish and yet Willis they did. And that's the thing with this Bears team. It seems like it's not repeatable week after week, and then they keep repeating it like this Dennis Allen team, which had no pass rush during the game. They really did bow up in the red zone. They really did get that one key turnover and it was Naseean Wright as all always like, send him to.

00:20:42
Speaker 12: The right place a time. I'm trying to make it a thing.

00:20:45
Speaker 1: And and you know, before this game, Caleb Williams had already tied the NFL record for comeback wins in the final two minutes of a game with Peyton Manning. And technically this doesn't count as one, I don't think because it wasn't in regulation, but they essentially did it at the end too. And even then you mentioned he wasn't like playing that great, but he did have that throw and DJ Moore who had the touchdo he had the throw to DJ Moore on the drive to tie the game right before that jday Walker and that drive at the end of regulation. Yes, was absolutely money from him. Just an awesome football game and a game that puts Chicago in position to have a higher seed in the playoffs.

00:21:26
Speaker 4: And listen, even though some of the stuff is going to look maybe to our eyes a little bit more out of structure than it feels to him, because he's used to playing this way, like he was in total command the entire game. He was in total command when they come down to the crunch time of this game, even that entire fourth quarter, even when they were in a deficit, even when this defense had totally figured out, and compliments to the Packers defense here had totally figured out by rearranging their safeties how to completely neutralize Colstuon Loveland in this football game, and one of his favorite targets that already missing two of his favorite targets, and then one of his favorite targets was all but absent from the game at that point because of the way that the Packers adjusted total command and control for Caleb Williams this entire time, and when you feel that you're going to make the right decisions in the right plays in crunch time, even if they look like magic miracles to us, it just is a it's a given. Did you hear what he said after he said I can make any throw? They're like throwing across your body, like are He's like, I can make any throw?

00:22:28
Speaker 12: Yes, yes, he cares.

00:22:28
Speaker 5: I practice that backplay this week and they hit it then too.

00:22:32
Speaker 11: And he's having to throw in a game where you had gusts of up to twenty six miles an hour, so woo ball was affecting the passes. But also shout out the Cairo Santos. Yeah, who hit a field goal that I did not. I thought it was a rough decision. I love kicking field goals.

00:22:46
Speaker 3: I'm looking from the end zone angle, both of the goalposts are doing the wave and I'm like, there's no way.

00:22:52
Speaker 11: He plays the outside of the upright and the ball comes back in and he has the on side kick. Great kicking game from Cairo's.

00:23:00
Speaker 1: Ira Santo's giving us two lane Greenway fans something to smile about on a rough saturday.

00:23:07
Speaker 12: He waxed that on side kick too.

00:23:09
Speaker 1: He did a fantastic job. And I know we've gone so long. This is a This is a game that I could have done. We could have done forty minutes on like we did for Rams and Seahawks, but I don't care. We still got to hear what the Ben Johnson locker room was like.

00:23:23
Speaker 5: Afterwards.

00:23:24
Speaker 17: Well, yeah, let me tell you something right now.

00:23:41
Speaker 1: This is a special group. And before we go, I mean, you saw him in the background. This was I don't know if you guys know this, but the second throw of the year to feature DJ Moore in the last four years. If you remember, one of the greatest plays of the entire decade. It was controversially named by me in twenty twenty two as the best throw of the year. And yes, DJ Moore was on the other side of it.

00:24:14
Speaker 10: Walker on first out, we'll get George left and now Walker fires downfield looking for DJI.

00:24:24
Speaker 1: Didn't catch bro Panthers touchdown.

00:24:27
Speaker 9: Whoa sixty two yards Carolina, that's tied the game.

00:24:38
Speaker 7: Oh my goodness, the flag.

00:24:41
Speaker 1: Shout out to Kendy Albert. We don't talk about the flag in this house. Yes, DJ Ware got a penalty there, so there wasn't a walk off, but it was good and it was John ay Walker here, not a PJ Walker, but man, PJ Walker will always have that that play. And look, yes, this game is gonna live in the kind of like that Jayden Daniels hail Mary from a year ago. The division's not quite over yet, but the magic number is essentially one for the Bears in terms of wins or Packers losses. Now the Bears are at San Francisco and home for the Lions. The Lions have been known to win games in Week eighteen with nothing on the line for them, and maybe that'll be the case.

00:25:21
Speaker 5: But those aren't gimmes.

00:25:23
Speaker 1: So they got to win one of those, or they have to have the Packers lose to either of the Ravens or the Vikings. All Right, we got to speed it up. We'll go to Carolina where the NFC South, part one of a great two part movie series was on Sunday.

00:25:38
Speaker 10: Mayfield in the shotgun, twins to the right chest, Hive snap deep in the pocket, Mayfield bouncing around the pocket.

00:25:45
Speaker 18: Throves how picked off the thirty Haydall by Carolina Panthers football like the Ransom. The rookie comes up with one of the biggest plays in this season.

00:25:59
Speaker 7: I'm diving in reception forty two seconds word.

00:26:06
Speaker 1: Great call there by anistrophe on w rf X. Luke Kickley's in the booth there supper, but I don't think I heard him. Twenty three to twenty the Panthers win it again late. I gotta say this NFL product, they got something here that's good stuff.

00:26:25
Speaker 5: It's good stuff this week.

00:26:26
Speaker 12: Yeah, HiT's hitting.

00:26:28
Speaker 5: How about Baker Mayfield.

00:26:30
Speaker 12: Not not Baker ball has gotten sad.

00:26:34
Speaker 4: Okay, it was Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans, who were not on the same page. At the very end of this game, under two minutes driving trying to make yet another one of his improbable comebacks, trying to go for an eighteenth game winning drive, specifically under two minutes, and the irony is for most of the first half, I was lamenting how the Panthers needed more out of their receivers. Teturo Millan was getting bodied around by rookie cornerback snap after snap. A lot of contact there. I don't want to hear it Panthers fans. I will admit there was a lot of contact there. Xavier Lagett had a drop and bad sideline awareness at one point. And then right before the half, they all came to life in the coolest way, and it was Bryce freaking Young leading them on a drive where he starts really using his legs, either on scramble drill.

00:27:24
Speaker 12: Throws or carries.

00:27:26
Speaker 4: Bryce Young gets a ball to Tetuo McMillan that was probably a degree of ten difficulty to corral and hold on to because of a the contact, the difficulty of the catch, and also just the position that his body was in and going to the ground. It's an immediate vibe shift. Every receiver steps up the rest of the game. And a couple of plays later, Bryce Young on the scramble drill, avoids pressure, gets a touchdown pass to a wide open Jatavian Sanders, and we've got the sound.

00:27:56
Speaker 10: Buccaneers have not blitzed much today. Here's the snap pressure off the edge, Bryce dancing in the pocket, tried old Vada sack.

00:28:03
Speaker 7: He does rose back.

00:28:05
Speaker 18: Of the touchdown Carolina JT. Sanders all alone, And that play happened because Bryce was nimble.

00:28:21
Speaker 10: Bryce be quick, and he finds a wide open JT. Sanders for a touchdown. The Panthers back on top with eight seconds to go here.

00:28:31
Speaker 12: On the third Such a cool play.

00:28:33
Speaker 4: And you guys, let me tell you this because I know the box score will tell you where this game flipped on the field. But this moment I'm about to describe to you is when the tide turned for not only these Carolina Panthers and their fans and what this organization has.

00:28:49
Speaker 12: Been, but what it will be.

00:28:51
Speaker 4: Because later in the fourth quarter, this game was tied twenty to twenty. And defensive play, the defense, the Panthers defense steps up. Nick s Gorton blows into the backfield to make a run stop for a loss, sets up a long third down that eventually fails. And the time between those two plays, the broadcast booth was quiet, and they let the crowd do their thing, and that Carolina crowd was absolutely electric for the first time in a December game that had meaning to it, you guys in as long as I can remember, and what a beautiful thing. And there was no way after Nick Gordon made that play, there was no way this Panthers team was losing that football game.

00:29:35
Speaker 1: It's incredible they have the vibes. They have the players too. Look, I don't think that wide receiver wins is a thing, but I do think that Teteroa McMillan having a good game today six for seventy three and a touchdown in a game where Abuka only had two targets one long catch by him that looked like a key play in that game is a nice check on his side. And the Bucks, who have had so many injuries all season, being a little healthier right now in a game where the Panthers don't have their left tackle and that was a huge factor in this game. Diabi had nine pressures, four quick pressures, almost all of them against the replacement at left tackle, and the Panthers are able to get over that. And even the rushing numbers like they don't look amazing, but the success rate was better today overall, and ultimately their defense holds Baker Mayfield to one hundred and twenty seven yards net passing.

00:30:29
Speaker 5: And I don't think there's one.

00:30:30
Speaker 1: Answer for why the Bucks aren't the Bucks, but they're not the Bucks. And they have to be so thrilled that the Saints won that game last week against Carolina r else this division would literally be over. But there's still a very real chance that the division will be up for grabs if the Bucks can can win next week. And that you know in week eighteen that this was just kind of a precursor.

00:30:53
Speaker 11: Well, we saw Baker Mayfield again, like in the intermediate areas. He was one of five thirteen yards with a pick where you know, the around the line of scrimmage, working the screens to both White as well as Bucky Irving, who had a nice game on the ground.

00:31:05
Speaker 2: In fact, both of them did with shot.

00:31:06
Speaker 11: White had a big carry in this game, and he hits the deep completion to a Mecca Buca. But other than that, like the intermediate operation for this Bucks passing game just seems to disappear for large stretches of the game where the Panthers finally started moving the ball, and even when they did, you know, the Bucks Baker had a big run on the drive where he throws the interception to Mike Evans. It was him operating in the pocket and trying to escape where he flashes like he's gonna escape to his right.

00:31:33
Speaker 2: So that's why Mike Evans turned.

00:31:35
Speaker 11: But that's right when Baker Mayfield threw the ball to where Mike Evans was gonna be yeah, and it gets picked off where it's it's like they have to manufacture things in a scramble drill, and that's really that's really the Bucks offense late.

00:31:48
Speaker 1: To your point, there was not a single completion over thirteen yards other than that Abuka play no.

00:31:53
Speaker 4: And they're not getting enough of the things that usually like lift up the the like meat and potatoes, or like the skeleton of their passing game, which is a not making dumb mistakes at the line of scrimmage, and they're not getting enough out of their tight end position right now and to the point where some of the plays that are the most successful have been when Cayotten is like a decoy on some of these plays, or when he's reassigning leverage versus being an actual threat. And so some of these self inflicted mistakes, like over and over and over again, set the Bucks back. They're dis jointed. It's why they don't look like the Bucks. It was, you know, snap issues before the panthers last scoring drive of the half. On back to back plays, Gadeki false starts on a promising drive and that's his second false start. After a really great kickoff return to open the fourth quarter, the drive stalls out. Gadeki was called again for a hold, which set up a long first down on a drive in the fourth quarter with the game tied twenty all, and after the Panthers went ahead three points, the Bucks then lost ten yards of field position on the touchback for another penalty bad personal foul penalty on special teams. So it's like self inflicted wounds are also what's part of the problem for this group.

00:33:06
Speaker 1: Shout out to the Panthers, anyone that's working for that. I mean, it's been it's been a tough road here and They've had a great social team forever. I liked what they're doing with the game picks. If you're watching, you can see that. And I don't even really remember why I asked for this, so I'm gonna have to see it. Oh yeah, given a little love in terms of Bryce Young and Teto McMillan saluting all the good picks from the NFL, including our very own Nick Shook.

00:33:33
Speaker 5: So that's why I just I love it.

00:33:35
Speaker 4: I know a lot of people over there still, guys, and I you know, I can't even tell you how happy I am that the energy feels like this right now, because when it's not good in a building on the field, you feel it everywhere else in the organization. And there's a lot of really good people over there in every corner of that building, and it's like you could feel just this crowd, this great bunch of Panthers fans in that outdoor stadium, and it's cold and it's football weather, and the skyline is in the horizon, and it's just like some of the magic is starting to creep back into the atmosphere, and I just I think that's wonderful.

00:34:11
Speaker 1: They host the Seahawks next week. If they win that game, they will be the division champions. But that's a tough game to win. The Buccaneers, who are just in a free fall, can't be counted on to win any game. They are in Miami next week. But if the Buccaneers were to win in Miami and the Panthers loss, then the Week eighteen game is for the NFC South title, so the Panthers can easily fall right back out of the division leads. Speaking of division leads, let's go to the NFC East where the Eagles were trying to do something. For the first time in over two decades.

00:34:47
Speaker 2: Ers have been gone again. Ers looks give it off.

00:34:52
Speaker 7: It is Barkley spinning forward down across the five. He is in for the touchdown. Not to say I didn't play left for not to be denied.

00:35:04
Speaker 19: A twelve yard run by Saquon Barkley.

00:35:08
Speaker 1: It's kind of nice to seeing Saquon Barkley doing Saquon Barkley things again, like breaking tackles. You were on the rush yards over expected beat Patrick. He went over forty plus forty in this game because there was another big run later where he broke some tackles. Eagles win twenty nine to eighteen, and if you've been paying close attention at home, you'll notice we've gone NFC playoff picture here all in a row. So don't be mad, Jaguars fans. We're not disrespecting you that you're in the second block or round.

00:35:38
Speaker 12: But did you get back to me on that.

00:35:40
Speaker 1: Yeah, we're on NFC Watch first. And the Eagles sewed up an NFC East title, and yeah, that was the first time a team has done that, winning back to back titles in twenty one years. So for as weird as this season has been, Patrick, it was it was nice to see something so familiar and to me that was Saquon running well, Hurts scrambling, and the Eagles kind of saying, oh yeah, you thought all that under center stuff was cool. How about we just win the way that we've been winning for a while and spread you out and just pick on the mismatches and let Jalen Hurts do what he wants to do.

00:36:17
Speaker 5: It work pretty well in this game.

00:36:18
Speaker 11: Yeah, I had a chance to see the Eagles inspired tank. Bigsby had big runs in the second half where Landon Dickerson was running down the field and celebrated with them. He's had you know his health problems this season, where the run game looks like it's back in shape. AJ Brown doing what he does and just bullying the Washington Commanders franchise. I felt like a magical Forbes was getting.

00:36:39
Speaker 3: Justice because the Commanders could do nothing with AJ Brown In that game, DeVonta Smith gets a touchdown, all the Eagles things hit, and for the Commanders, you know, Marcus Mariota gets hurt, they get multiple quarterbacks with elbow injuries.

00:36:52
Speaker 2: Josh Johnson glad to see him back playing. I hate the circumstance.

00:36:56
Speaker 3: Yeah, didn't necessarily play well, which is tough to do against the stefense.

00:36:59
Speaker 1: Yeah, didn't play great, and that you mentioned all the Eagles things happening, That includes only playing great for one half and AJ Brown just being a weird presence because he had more targets in the first half than any half of his entire career and he went nine for ninety five with those targets. He didn't get another target the rest of the game. But then they did the one half good, one half bad, and it was without AJ Brown the good half, and they were trailing in this game ten seven, and they didn't even take a lead till like late in the third So it wasn't It wasn't like a dominating performance, but it wasn't Eagles performance. Seventeen play drive in the third quarter is what kind of did it?

00:37:32
Speaker 4: Sometimes I have intrusive thoughts, and this one is with the meme of the crowd of people standing in the room and the one guy standing in the corner and there's a thought bubble over his head that's like, they don't know I'm about to This one is aj Brown standing in the corner of the room of crowded people in the first half of this game and thinking, they don't know I'm about to bully the Washington come in.

00:37:51
Speaker 12: For franch heights like it is true.

00:37:53
Speaker 4: It's and you know what's crazy to me about the Eagles, and it's uncanny. You could almost predict it, like the tides in the moon is they will do the thing that everybody is shouting at them to do for one game and then be like there, you got it.

00:38:08
Speaker 5: They did it for a couple of games, but you're right right then they.

00:38:11
Speaker 1: Come right back to it.

00:38:12
Speaker 4: They look like they just they always have looked when people are mad. They win this time, which is great, but like they do the same thing they always do.

00:38:18
Speaker 5: And I couldn't hate it.

00:38:20
Speaker 1: Our friend Zach Boerban pointed out, Yeah, they had more empty formation plays on their first touchdown drive than any drive all season long. So yes, the complete opposite of all those under center plays. But they were moving the ball all game here and they were getting bogged down and missed. You know, Jake Elliott is a problem right now. They missed a couple field goals and so that they were playing better in the first half than the score indicated. But yeah, it was a lot. They are consistent. They are also awesome in the red zone three for three, Like every week. They are awesome in the red zone, in large part because of Jalen Hurts and not because of the tushbush. The tushbush is kind of dying right now. It's been an unsuccessful play now for more than a month. They had two false starts. It was a bit of a problem in this game, the tushbush, and so that's an interesting thing to watch. Jordan Davis was maybe the best defensive player on the field, having just like a monster game, two tackles for loss, a couple hurries, six total run stops.

00:39:13
Speaker 5: He has more.

00:39:16
Speaker 1: Games with at least four run stops than any player in the NFL this year, and Brandon Graham like he's heating up another.

00:39:22
Speaker 11: Sack working his way back healthy after coming off the couch.

00:39:26
Speaker 1: Also one last thing in this game, Dan Quinn did not cover himself in glory. He punted the ball on fourth and four from his own forty plus down eleven points with under seven minutes to go, which was one of the most insane, gutless punts I've ever seen, and Sakun punished them with a big run afterwards, and they scored almost immediately, like an insane punt. And to do that and then after the game to have the golf to say this, I don't get it.

00:39:57
Speaker 20: It's there a choice to go for two there you know your job to stop them. But is there an unspoken respect between coaches teams where you know, in a game and that situation you don't do that and kind of did you feel like it was a little bit of a sign of disrespect?

00:40:10
Speaker 2: Yeah, I can only answer for you know my side what I would do.

00:40:15
Speaker 20: But hey, man, like that's how they want to get down, then like all good, We play them again in two weeks.

00:40:20
Speaker 1: Oh brother, come on apparently, Yeah, some of the Commanders players weren't happy and got a big, big ol' ball t You know, Bro, they were just going for two because that's what the math says, and they're just trying to make sure they're they're trying to win the game.

00:40:33
Speaker 4: In football, you score points exactly exactly.

00:40:37
Speaker 12: I hear this, I hear this.

00:40:39
Speaker 1: But after that punt, it was sad an injury. To keep an eye on the Kobe Dean went out in this game. We'll see how serious that is. But we've already heard that Jalen Carter and Lane Johnson are expected to return after the Well, they're little mini by one extra day. We're going to take a quick break and we will be back to AFC.

00:41:02
Speaker 5: Was that fast enough?

00:41:03
Speaker 2: Eric?

00:41:04
Speaker 5: Did I do well?

00:41:04
Speaker 1: Dad dlopping looking close?

00:41:15
Speaker 21: Another bath from segn talking about miss talking to five dots.

00:41:19
Speaker 14: All that touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, a tenure touchdown past the Travis ets to judge an extend of the late house.

00:41:28
Speaker 1: Good is that it's really good. The Jaguars are really good. They put thirty four on the Broncos in Denver, thirty four to twenty. That's Frank FRANGI that's Trevor Lawrence as part of his month long out of body experience Jordan. They stopped bo Nicks from being fourth quarter bo Nicks, and they cruised for a statement victory. The Jaguars have arrived.

00:42:00
Speaker 12: They've been arrived, Greg, They've been arrived. It felt like a playoff game at Mile High.

00:42:06
Speaker 4: It was so loud that early in the game players could not hear the whistle to whistle a play dead and they played through the whistle. Trevor Lawrence got creamed. It was a good clean hit, but he got creamed and there was a you know, it was loud. Cameras were shaking, insane, and we found out what happened as we wondered, when an unstoppable force, this Trevor lawnsissance Jaguars offense meets in immovable object the league leading Broncos red zone defense, and Trevor and the Jags won, especially in that phase, hugely in that phase, because the Jags went four to four of touchdowns in the red zone before finally getting held to a field goal there early in the fourth quarter. At that time, they were already up thirty four to seventeen, and still there was a worry that they could not salt this game away because the entire game they could not run the ball. And Travis Etan was great in the pass game, but the Jaguars non quarterback run game at about a thirteen percent success rate through this entire game. And I say non quarterback you guys, because it was Trevor Lawrence who made the difference on the ground. He ran in a touchdown on a design run, scrambled to make throws, scrambled for this third and eight conversion that helped it enough clock to make this all but impossible for the Broncos to overcome.

00:43:26
Speaker 1: Third and eight Jags from their own thirty two. Trevor drops, it's a blitz. He scrambles.

00:43:31
Speaker 10: Those left still looking down field, still looking, still looking now, Trevor wants.

00:43:34
Speaker 1: A run for Stavan Bounds drives, call the first down. I think you got it, let me do it.

00:43:38
Speaker 14: In Mark, he left that he die in Trevor warre fed a first down as a runner. Yet again, how many third downs is he converted as a runner?

00:43:46
Speaker 7: Ten?

00:43:47
Speaker 1: You are jet a first out?

00:43:48
Speaker 12: Yeah? No sliding.

00:43:49
Speaker 4: And also, you guys, in eight games since the Rams game in London and week seven when the Jaguars only scored seven points. The Jacksonville Jaguars are averaging thirty three points per game.

00:44:02
Speaker 1: It is incredible, and I think him running has been a huge key to all of it. You mentioned the red zone, you know, touchdown today, but he has been just playmaking in a freeway on the ground, running and design runs that we just haven't seen. And it's interesting because, yeah, you mentioned the red zone stuff. You look at thirty four points and you think they dominated, and they were great when they were great, but they had four to three and outs today. They finished with three straight punts, including two that weren't even you know this one first down and a punt. So this was a complete team effort and I think you got to start looking at the Jaguars that way, not that they're quite at the level of like the Rams, but in a way that I think any one of their groups, including special teams, can step up in a given week, and lately it's been all three making plays in a given week.

00:44:54
Speaker 11: I think a big part of what separates the Jags at this point is the technical skill of the of the play, especially like you look at ETN in the past game Britain Strange had a couple of tight window catches, Jacoby Myers making big plays with the ball near Parker Washington doing all he can do, like not just making explosive plays after the catch, but had some big time tight window catches as well. Where they've just got so many guys that are so good at getting the ball in their hands, good when they have the ball in their hands, where it just makes this offense go to a point where yeah, it's them the Rams when they're healthy, like that particular ability that we see on a team with the Dallas Cowboys, but also they have a defense that they can make plays and get stops on a Broncos team that was going up and down the field against the good Packers defense last week.

00:45:43
Speaker 4: And they did, and early in the game it looked like bo Nicks was going to have one of those games like similar to what he had last week. He and Courtland Sutton were on fire together. Courtland Sutton made an incredible sideline catch a toe tap and then caught like a heavily contested ball just.

00:46:00
Speaker 12: A couple of plays later.

00:46:02
Speaker 4: It was one of those where if the Jaguars didn't nip it in the bud immediately, it might have gone back and forth all game. It ultimately stalled out and the Jaguars. Part of what they did very well is smother the Broncos with explosive plays and it was startling in some ways to see against this offense, but just as effective as a cheat code, as like the play action pass game can be, especially against a fierce pass rush because the Broncos did get pressure on Trevor Lawrence, but just as effective as like a really long developing which they love to run those long developing boot play actions. Also as effective as Trevor Lawrence becoming like one of the best in the league get throwing while on the run, and this is fascinating because his receivers have this edge to them now that we didn't see early in the season. These guys are so impressive to a tee stepping up and making plays for him. Parker Washington had a dazzling game and he has been a dude four weeks and tonight he or today he went six or excuse me, six catches on ten targets one hundred and forty five yards in a touchdown. Was a factor in the kicking game in the return game as well, and I really wish there was a stat for receivers it wasn't just focused on touchdowns or fantasy points or whatever, but setups, because Parker Washington's becoming the best scoring setup guy in the entire league right now, where he's getting the big explosive play that puts the offense in scoring position ten points off of that just for him today on two plays.

00:47:35
Speaker 1: And look, these two defenses approached things differently. The Jaguars are going to change what they do from a week to week basis, but they're not a heavy blitz team in general, and they barely blitzed at all today, and I think from what I saw it just it just makes it a picture a little more money on bo Nicks, where I know he didn't have a great second half. He threw a couple passes that could have been picked off, and he did have one interception, right, but he also threw for three fifty two and had a number of like really good throws and a number of just like near misses. But that is the difference, and it is the risk for Denver who blitzes so much. They blitzed forty one percent of the time today, and the Jaguars got enough pressure without having to do that, barely sending any blitzes. And you saw on the back end of Denver that sometimes the linebackers sometimes it's like PJ. Lock as the safety or Jday Barron had a big pass interference or some of those linebackers in coverage and they were either missing tackles or giving up completions, whereas the Jaguars are a little a little more buttoned up in the back end. I know they had an injury to Jordan Lewis, which is something to keep an eye on.

00:48:38
Speaker 4: Jordan Lewis spells his name the best. Also, one thing that I want to credit the Broncos for on offense, even though they ended up losing this game, was they've really found something between Bonix and RJ. Harvey specifically, it's a couple of skill guys here. Courtland Sutton obviously is one of the most underrated receivers in the NFL, I think, especially this year.

00:48:58
Speaker 12: But then also.

00:49:00
Speaker 22: R J.

00:49:01
Speaker 4: Harvey is one of those sort of joker type players that Sean Payton just loves to have, and he's been this way for this almost this entire season. He's emerged into this and sended in this player. But he's a threat in the run game. He makes people misstackles. He's especially a threat how he was today in the short pass or screen game yards after catch plays.

00:49:20
Speaker 12: That was where he was a total weapon.

00:49:23
Speaker 1: So great news for the Jaguars who maintain that lead in the AFC South, and right now, if they in the Texans tie at the top, the Texans are going to win that tiebreaker. So it's important. This is a game they maybe weren't expected to win. The Broncos, on the other hand, at twelve and three, there's no good losses, but they had just won what eleven straight games, and this wasn't that harmful. They are still the favorite by a decent amount compared to every other team to be the one seed. They have the Chiefs. We'll talk about them later on Christmas. But everything is still in front of the Broncos. They lose a little bit of wiggle room. Maybe you won't be able to clinch before week eighteen, but they still are in control of their own destiny. Despite that, you know, Sean Payton was all messed up after the game.

00:50:10
Speaker 23: They were better on third downs, they won the turnover battle, they won the kicking battle, and so now we have a you know, short week to digest it.

00:50:24
Speaker 2: You can't spit it out. You gotta swallow it.

00:50:27
Speaker 1: Who e he said it all right? He said it not me. Let's go to Dallas.

00:50:34
Speaker 24: Lunch formation of the right Herbert to throw taking a shot.

00:50:37
Speaker 25: There's mccacky caught touchdown.

00:50:41
Speaker 21: Shudgers Lad mccacky's six touchdown reception of the season.

00:50:46
Speaker 1: Justin Herbert, second of the day.

00:50:48
Speaker 8: Twenty fifth of the year, this one twenty five yards.

00:50:52
Speaker 1: Matt mney Smith just watching Justin Herbert go up and down the field with ease. That was in the first half. Chargers keep rolling thirty four to seventeen over the Dallas Cowboys. Money's on kfive. By the way, Look, this was a great game if you like quarterback play. Dak Prescott played exceptionally well despite them only putting up seventeen points in this game. There was not a punt until midway through the third quarter of this game. But it's what I like about this Chargers team is that, yeah, they can get in the ugly games like they did the last couple of weeks, but when presented with an opportunity against this Matt Eberflus defense, which was very static in the first half of this game especially, they can also dicey up because they are very talented at the skill position. And it was glorious Patrick to watch Justin Herbert with time like wow, with just like a normal offensive line performance, and because he's trying to make big plays. It still was a forty percent pressure rate. But their offensive line, despite losing their left tackle pretty early Jamari Sawyer, which is a concern against better defenses, they played well enough. And it was a lot of him stepping up in the pocket and just dropping dimes all over the field.

00:52:05
Speaker 11: And where when you see Justin Herbert with that opportunity, the space, the space not just for him, but for the receivers in the past game to get away from each other and from defenders as players developed, because we you know, we had some concerns with them getting loose in the past couple of games against considerably better defenses. It's gonna make it work. Quintin Johnston was looking like early season. Quentin Johnson had a great one hand catch Lad mcconkeye. They flood the zone in the in the first half, and there's there's Treyvon Diggs in a whole lot of space over there for an easy lad touchdown where the you know, the Cowboys were like all year, it's like, oh, the pressure to score every time. And then eventually there's a fourth and ten in the fourth quarter where they go for it, and I guess Dak's like, all right, but I don't know if it was Shoddy's decision or Dak's decision, Like, there's no need for me to play anymore football.

00:52:54
Speaker 2: Granted, hardball has justin Herbert with one good hand out.

00:52:58
Speaker 1: Oh my god, late, the differences were striking. Yeah, they took back out with about five minutes left, a little under and down seventeen. It's fine, you're not gonna come back there three scores under five minutes.

00:53:12
Speaker 5: But I don't think many.

00:53:13
Speaker 1: Coaches would take out their quarterback there. Whereas on the other side, Herbert, who was running so well in this game. He had a huge run in general, like his legs were massive. Right after he landed on his left hand and was clearly hurting on a long run, they call for a quarterback sneak like the next play, and then he had another run where they called for it and they're.

00:53:36
Speaker 4: Just like, just like we get it. The dude is stop you don't need to make him. You don't need to make him prove it to you every week, holy shit.

00:53:44
Speaker 1: And then they but he does prove it to him. He goes over three hundred yards in.

00:53:49
Speaker 12: The toxic relationship.

00:53:50
Speaker 5: It was just nice to see them.

00:53:53
Speaker 1: And here's how good these two quarterbacks were under pressure in this I had a feeling to it because I was like, it wasn't all bad defense come by. They were seventeen for twenty under pressure in this game, with about nine yards per attempt, like Dak almost played like a perfect game. The reason it bogged down in the second half. You mentioned that fourth and ten one of the few plays where the Chargers got quick pressure, and then there was a fourth and one where they give it to the full back lip Key and he gets stuffed and it was one of those where you had to score every drive. You said it, there was only like eight drives in this game for each team. It was not a lot of possessions because the offenses were so good, especially but before halftime in this Chargers team, eleven wins. Like for this team and lo, I hate that they lost Jamari Sawyer in this game because I think he was a big upgrade at left tackle. So we'll see, like, for instance, in that Week eighteen game, which now looks more likely to decide the AFC West and potentially the one seed. But the Chargers do have a big one against Houston next week, so that's a tough matchup if they are again down to their.

00:54:55
Speaker 5: Fifth left tackle.

00:54:56
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm I will be there covering that game for the athletic I'm very excited and because this is going to be another.

00:55:03
Speaker 12: Who can out tough each other, you know.

00:55:06
Speaker 4: It's the Houston Texans defense and the charged offense. This was actually a near record setting justin Herbert game. In some facets pernext Genny at the second most EPA generated through the game of any quarterback this season, also the second most wow in his career and under pressure, he was nine for eleven for one hundred and eight yards and a touchdown. So come bring whatever hell and fury you have. He is tough enough.

00:55:32
Speaker 1: That makes sense because EPA for play is you know, it's a rate stating to freaking hate the.

00:55:37
Speaker 5: Second best game by a quarterback.

00:55:39
Speaker 1: Because I wrote perfect Game, I was like, what what could be better?

00:55:42
Speaker 4: Second most EPA generated through a game of any quarterback this season?

00:55:47
Speaker 1: And it's really cool for them how Trey Harris is developing. He went four for fifty four. They are very even in terms of targets. You said early that he's got some stuff to him, Trey Harris, and even KeAndre Lambert Smith, who's not out there a ton, He's made a really important play in each of the last three games. And there was a third and ten where it was like, okay, that's actually bad defense, it's not just good offense, where they just kind of had to give up throw to Lambert Smith and he breaks a couple tackles to pick up the first down and later that drive that's where Herbert hits one of his beautiful touchdown throws. And so yeah, Tron Diggs struggled in this one. He also revealed afterwards, remember he had a concussion out of nowhere. He said it was from a light that he set up in his own house because he was trying to be mister handyman. That he was sitting at home later and the light fell from the ceiling.

00:56:42
Speaker 4: It's my worst nightmare and hit him like, I don't like, that's my worst nightmare of being like, for example, of being asleep and you've got like art or something hanging over your bed, and the reason you wake up, or hopefully you wake up, is because it's landed on you. That's why I actually I have vivid nightmares about this.

00:56:59
Speaker 2: We've all been there.

00:57:00
Speaker 11: You're leaning up against a step stool or you're on a wobbly ladder full extension.

00:57:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, grew the light fixture in, and you're like, is that good? I thing? It is good.

00:57:10
Speaker 1: I haven't been there.

00:57:11
Speaker 2: I don't want to be up here anymore.

00:57:12
Speaker 1: I haven't been there. Team rent or team let your wife do all the handiwork, But dude, hire a task.

00:57:18
Speaker 5: Grab it. Diggs, you got the money. Ridiculous.

00:57:23
Speaker 1: Dante Jackson and Sawyer and Kamani Videl all got hurt in this game, and all of them will be worth watching during the week. They all potentially were serious, but it's hard to tell obviously at first watch.

00:57:37
Speaker 5: Let's move on.

00:57:38
Speaker 1: Let's go to the Bills and the Browns with the Chargers, you know, taking care of business like those AFC wild card slots are starting to fill out. Bills still looking to try to win the division, but at least trying to clinch a playoff spot.

00:57:51
Speaker 7: The right side of the formation here's the snat hand off.

00:57:53
Speaker 6: The Cook cuts it back through a hole of the'se off and cuts it back again into the secondary. Twenty five twenty, what's in your side? Ten to five? James Cook is in the kitchen. You want to run by Cook forty four yards to.

00:58:10
Speaker 1: The end zone. James Cook maybe the fantasy pick of the year. I mean Jackson Smith and Jickiss. Gotta be up close, book man. James Cook. If you took him in like a second or third round, he is bringing you home. And he is bringing this Buffalo Bills team home. And by that I mean the playoffs. While all the other big time quarterbacks are struggling here, the Bills are winning a lot of games, and they're doing it by controlling the ground game.

00:58:37
Speaker 5: Patrick.

00:58:38
Speaker 1: On a day Josh Allen didn't have a ton of passing yards, they still hang on to win twenty three to twenty against a game Brown's outfit.

00:58:47
Speaker 3: Yes, in a game where Josh Allen and the Bills had to come from behind. They started that game with a touchdown pass to Harold Fan and Junior made a nice move davigating traffic. Has to make a move on Bosa in the backfield to actually get open for Shador Sanders with the touchdown reception, and the Browns no like calamitous errors on special teams. They play relatively solid defense other than this rush defense which has been a problem down the stretch for Cleveland. Like in the middle parts of the season, like through weeks five through twelve, the Browns a stout run defense.

00:59:18
Speaker 11: You could not run the ball in the Cleveland Browns. James Cook had seven yards of carry in this game, including that big forty four yarder that we just heard there or soft shout out to the folks watching on YouTube where you know, over and over again, the Browns continued to make this a game, and then late in this game, the Bills pass rush really dominant in taking over. Shador Sanders had to take took two sacks ultimately before what looked like was initially a safety called to safety on the field. Turns out he threw the ball at the one yard line, so it's you know, they had just gotten the ball back from the Buffalo Bills as Sean McDermott decided to issue a six point lead in favor of going for a touchdown of instead of going for a field goal that would have made a six more game. They try to end it right there, give Cleveland a little bit of hope, but the pass rush shuts it down and the Browns fall once again. Also lose quin Shawn Judkins for the season. He's got torn ligaments in his ankle as well as a broken leg and a rough one for a guy who had a promising rookie season after.

01:00:18
Speaker 5: Startingly, I hate that so much.

01:00:20
Speaker 1: I've talked about how much I really am impressed by him, and that's a tough recovery. You hate to see that. Yeah, that that fourth down play. Dawson Knox looks like he should have had it, but there the sun is in his eyes.

01:00:32
Speaker 5: That would have put them up ten.

01:00:35
Speaker 1: But you give credit to the Bills defense, Yeah, for at least shutting the door enough. Greg Russo had nine pressures in this game, and they matched really the Browns pass rush, maybe even even better. The Browns only had one quick pass rush or quick pressure of the entire game. The Bills had five and Miles Garrett had half a sack Jordan on a play we were really enjoying watching all the replays.

01:00:59
Speaker 5: Through out the day.

01:01:01
Speaker 12: Yeah, it was a Mason Graham party foul.

01:01:04
Speaker 1: A little bit.

01:01:05
Speaker 4: We're watching it right here on the screen. So Josh Allen scrambling and he gets technically gets sacked. It's okay, who is going to touch him first? And it happened to be Mason Graham. Yes, Josh Allen kind of goes to the ground autonomously here or trips or he I just think he doesn't want his I don't I don't think he wants to be in if he got hurt on the play, and I don't think he wanted to be he talked about it this week. I don't think he really had wanted to be in the history books here. But it was okay, he's on the ground. Whoever touches the quarterback first gets credit for the sack. And instead of having you know, Miles Garrett reach out and just boop, Mason Graham goes touched him down, and so Mason Graham gets credit.

01:01:51
Speaker 12: So he's still half a sack away.

01:01:53
Speaker 1: Yes, And eventually the scorer decided since Garrett kind of forced Alan down, that he gets half the sack and Grahama.

01:02:01
Speaker 12: You can break it out.

01:02:02
Speaker 1: So I'm glad. I'm glad it happened that way. That was very rookie year. Josh Allen, by the way, just like, what are you doing?

01:02:08
Speaker 22: Bro?

01:02:08
Speaker 5: That's one of the worst plays that anyone made all year.

01:02:10
Speaker 3: Well, I think if it's not ninety five there, Yeah, Josh Allen might continue towards the sideline, but he turns around, yes, and sees that it's Miles Garrett. Yes, And in defense of the scorekeeper, I understand because Josh Allen continues in that direction with ninety nine percent of defensive players. He sees Miles Garrett, it's like, oh, whatever's going on behind me, which I'm not looking at, Yeah, is better than what I'm seeing him.

01:02:31
Speaker 12: Don't be the record.

01:02:32
Speaker 5: Yeah.

01:02:32
Speaker 1: I like actually because now he's what half a sack away from tying, but a full clean sack away from winning. So I'm thinking, I want I want this Andrew Siciliano record breaking sack call like AGAs like air. Oh that's good. I want it in the sixteenth game, and I don't want it to be a tie and then maybe he breaks it with a half a sack or it's the tie and then the break. Now it's going to be clean if it actually happens. Let's see if Miles Garrett can get it done. I don't know what to think about the Bills sometimes this season.

01:03:07
Speaker 12: I can tell you what it was.

01:03:09
Speaker 4: Yes, statistically speaking, it was when Sean McDermott stopped wearing glasses. Okay, I mean Greg became three times the podcaster he already was when he started wearing the glasses, you know, and he was already pretty good.

01:03:21
Speaker 13: You know.

01:03:22
Speaker 12: It's you've taken your game to elite levels wearing the glas.

01:03:24
Speaker 4: Sean McDermott just had to take off the glass's statistic they're tracking.

01:03:28
Speaker 26: Yeah.

01:03:28
Speaker 1: The only reason I started wearing my glasses because I had a hole burned in my eye from my contact lens.

01:03:33
Speaker 5: But I'm going back to the contact soon.

01:03:35
Speaker 1: The Bills have won eleven games and they are plus ninety scoring differential on the season, which is, you know, very good and better than some other Bills seem So. Yeah, it doesn't look great in terms of the passing game, but they are still a very good team and right in the mix. Still in the AFC East, we mentioned the Jaguars earlier, winning early in the late window, the Texans had what we thought was going to be a layup to keep pay in the AFC South split backs for CJA thirty eight at the Raider thirty seven.

01:04:04
Speaker 2: Here's the snap.

01:04:05
Speaker 7: Here's the blitz strapped fires.

01:04:07
Speaker 1: Downfield to us left and caught on the sideline.

01:04:11
Speaker 6: Neso College the dagger at the thirteen yard line.

01:04:15
Speaker 1: Bold game. Oh, I love a dagger from Mark Vandermere. Kilt CJ. Stroud and Nico Collins were struggling for much of the game, but when they needed to drive late, they got a little help from a pass interference call.

01:04:33
Speaker 2: It It wasn't as bad as Greg is making these, No.

01:04:36
Speaker 1: I actually think it was good veteran offensive play by Nico Collins, who drew two key pass interferences late in this game where he made the officials make a call on a ball that I did not think was catchable and I didn't really think it was pass interference, but from the angle the official was at, you know, it's tough to tell who started the contact.

01:04:58
Speaker 12: It just ran into each other's arm exactly.

01:05:00
Speaker 1: The Texans hold on to beat the Raiders twenty three to twenty one in a game where they get a pick six out of their defense. So that means the Texans offense was kind of back in scary Land and we're struggling, really all day until those last few drives against the Raiders.

01:05:22
Speaker 4: Yeah, and what a gorgeous like body contorting interception. It was from my favorite defense in the NFL, and Derek Stingley returned it like it was just like slicing a knife through a stick of butter, honestly, and it was. The Texans were back in a big way offensively to two years ago through last week and now have reverted back to what we've seen a lot of their sort of start stop, you know, failure to sustain. Can't you know, piece together, put together these drives that they've started to find success from against other teams. And certainly you thought against the Raiders, the try stuff team, the try stuff against team, you thought that it would go a little bit differently.

01:06:05
Speaker 12: They got the win, which may.

01:06:06
Speaker 1: Maybe they were and it was these long yardage situations. Yeah, because the run game was just awful seventeen percent design success rate. They missed having Woody Marx. Although I like Juwan Jordan like, I think great, he's a good player. Nick Chubb had a big run in this game, but for the most part, it was a lot of stuff's near the line of scrimmage and CJ. Stroud I love watching CJ. Stroud, and when he's on and in rhythm, he's incredible. Sometimes he is off, and sometimes when he's off, he's really off and you could almost see him in his head. I think he started this game three for nine and some of them are just open throws that he was missing, and they were like struggling to complete balls on the linebackers of the Raiders, which no one does. There was a two play sequence where Jama Adams had maybe the hit stick of the year. It reminded me of like a jacked up play from the nineties, and then Max Crosby had a four yard tackle for loss and they were going absolutely nuts on the sideline. This is why it's good to have someone assigned to each game, because there was a moment where Pete Carroll comes over and they're only winning fourteen to thirteen, and Pete Carroll is over trying to get everyone into it, and Alandon Roberts seeds Pete getting into it, and Alandon Roberts loves that injury energy and he gives Pete a very aggressive slap on the ass there, and I love that they're all stunting on the sideline. The score was fourteen to thirteen, mid third quarters, and they're celebrating like they won the Super Bowl.

01:07:27
Speaker 12: I thought that peek it was their super Bowl.

01:07:30
Speaker 1: It was their first leads in tweak eleven since mid November.

01:07:34
Speaker 12: It's just gonna go into nah.

01:07:37
Speaker 1: He works out, man, a burst of dust.

01:07:39
Speaker 5: He worked out.

01:07:41
Speaker 12: It was a very aggressive butt slap.

01:07:43
Speaker 1: It wasn't It wasn't the best Texans game either. They're not this on defense. They're not quite the same without Aziz alsha here, and they did give up some big plays. Let's give some love to Ashton Genty who goes for one hundred and twenty eight yards on the ground, adds a sixty yard touchdown through the air. So if you stuck with him this whole season, and you drafted him early and the rest of your team was good enough to make it this far, then you were big time rewarded.

01:08:06
Speaker 5: In Week sixteen, the.

01:08:07
Speaker 25: Defensive backs coaches done a great job with helping him convert and make him a play maker from the nickel spot third.

01:08:13
Speaker 1: And six, Shenty down the field. He's open, He's got it, not the thirty Genty stiff form.

01:08:18
Speaker 14: Stays on his feet touchdown.

01:08:20
Speaker 1: What a play by the rookie ashin shenty US sixty or touchdown at celebration thirteen. I need it, I love it, I don't need it. Great job, man. I enjoyed seeing you know through a couple of times the game a bad pick six, but after that, UH played quite well in this game. Texan's got to play better next week and this matchup against the Chargers.

01:08:47
Speaker 5: All right, let's take a break.

01:08:49
Speaker 1: We've set it up NFC playoff picture, AFC Playoff picture, and now we got the rest and then a big time Sunday night football game.

01:08:57
Speaker 5: Don't go anywhere. And I'm talking to not just the listeners, but Jordan and Patrick. You got four games to go.

01:09:06
Speaker 2: Third down and six. The Bengals have it at the seventeen of Miami.

01:09:09
Speaker 19: Burrow catches a shotgun snap, three step drop throws, Kasiki have the goal line, leaps head hauls it in for the touchdown. Mike Kasicki doing the gritty as the Bengals have scored forty four points.

01:09:25
Speaker 2: Unbelievable.

01:09:27
Speaker 1: Shout out to Mike Hsicki, who's had a strange career but is at the point where he can have callbacks. Two bad touchdown celebrations in Miami where it first happened. He gets it done and a Bengals get a forty burger. Yeah, that was part of four touchdown passes from Joe Burrow. They went forty five to twenty one over to the Dolphins and Jordan I know that was during a succession of points just being rained down upon Miami.

01:09:57
Speaker 4: Yeah, you almost kept thinking, oh, Miami can't turn it over again, can they?

01:10:01
Speaker 12: And then they did.

01:10:02
Speaker 4: This game went to halftime seventeen to fourteen with the Bengals up. Quinn Ewers, who is the quarterback for the Dolphins in this game, was actually having a decent game to that point. He put together a really nice drive in the second quarter. Joe Burrow was starting to heat up two into like sort of magical status, and so we were about to potentially start getting our hopes up that this could be a fun shootout points game. But in the third quarter, the Dolphins turned it over four consecutive times.

01:10:27
Speaker 7: Again.

01:10:27
Speaker 4: In the third quarter alone, the Dolphins turned it over four consecutive times. First, Miami tight end Greddultchis fumbled, Cincinnati scored off the recovery. Second, Quinn Ewers scored after excuse me, a couple plays after the recovery, second, Quinn Ewrs was intercepted on a tipped pass.

01:10:44
Speaker 12: Thought the pass was fine, just a really great play made by the defender.

01:10:47
Speaker 4: And then they scored third turnover on downs set up an absolutely incredible Jamar Chase in double coverage, and then the Bengals scored another touchdown fourth an interception by Jalen Davis. Mike Gesicki's touchdown which you just listened to on the drive that continued into the fourth quarter, and they were up forty five to fourteen early in the fourth.

01:11:08
Speaker 12: I have nothing more to say about the.

01:11:09
Speaker 4: Oh wow, I will then shout out to you they do, but my god, I just I wrote woo man in my notes.

01:11:16
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was a lot. That's that's about it. And you can't blame yours for most of that. Look, their defense had been playing pretty well until they gave up four straight touchdowns to Aaron Rodgers and then they had this game. And it's just not looking great for what's going on in Miami. But I think it's great that T Higgins a very classic T Higgins game that you look and it's just three for fifty three for in one touchdown. You're like, oh, that's that's not amazing, and yet like the thirty five yarder, he's just better than anyone in the NFL at mossing people and jumping and then the touchdown was a great catch by him too. So it was it was how this team was supposed to look. It's like, hey, can you pay way too much money for Gasick to come back?

01:12:00
Speaker 5: Oh?

01:12:01
Speaker 1: Sure, okay, and then GASICKI Chase Brown, Higgins Chase like this is the vision of the fantasy Bengals.

01:12:07
Speaker 4: Chase Brown had a rushing touchdown and two receiving touchdowns. I mean he went off this game.

01:12:12
Speaker 5: It's been great.

01:12:12
Speaker 11: Yeah, and you see like fully coming to fruition as.

01:12:17
Speaker 12: Great point in time, right yeah, right, for the end of.

01:12:19
Speaker 11: The season, but at least time for Joe Burrow to have some fun. We also saw it like Jamar Chase streaking wide open for what would have been a touchdown Burrow with a nasty underthrow, but because it's Jamar Chase and it's the twenty.

01:12:30
Speaker 3: Twenty five dollars stops comes back and goes up and over two defenders. Where you really see like the difference in the skill position guys, where it's a lot like the Dallas Cowboys, where they have that difference in the skill position guys on offense, but the rest of the team is so bad where they're not relevant.

01:12:48
Speaker 1: It comes on a day where Ian Rappaport could helped to confirm what you know seems obvious, which is that Zach Taylor does not seem like he's in any trouble two years to go. But wins like this make it rest even easier. They are five and ten, the Dolphins fall to six and nine. The Bengals are still in the top ten in terms of Tankathon. They are at the ninth pick right now, so they could have a premium draft pick. And yes, on Joe Burrow watch he did say after the game, I'm having plun I'm having fun playing football. This is what I came back for. I was not having fun not playing football. So there is your Joe Burrow is he happy section of the week? You know what he should be happy about, by the way, is Amrius Mims is turning into one of the better left tackles in the league. So that's been a nice development story for the Bengals. Let's go to New Orleans where we're witnessing maybe the biggest development story of the end of this season at quarterback at least sucks.

01:13:41
Speaker 9: In the shot film shakes, the staff looks to us.

01:13:44
Speaker 7: Right for the end and he's wide open. Chris Hoy touch down for Chris o'love.

01:13:53
Speaker 9: That's number seven for him. It's also number seven for Tyler Shuck. He now passes. Aren't you man for the rookie quarterback touchdown cash record?

01:14:04
Speaker 1: Hey Mike Coss, we're hearing from him every week on WWL Saints win twenty six to nine. Patrick, it was close for a while, but you can only hold Tyler Shuck down for so long.

01:14:20
Speaker 11: Yeah, they get field goals in a game where Tyler Schuck threw the ball forty nine times, and if not for some Jets ineptitude that that number is going up even considerably higher.

01:14:31
Speaker 2: We had Taysom Hill coming in. It was pretty much coach Moore calling stuff where.

01:14:36
Speaker 11: That's the status of the Jets as they're in Raiders territory here. But sixteen targets for Chris o'lave, including that touchdown, he had another one had one hundred and forty eight yards of the air. Jewan Johnson had eight catches for eighty nine yards, and yet this Saints team didn't really do a whole lot on the ground able to just kind of will it out and wait for the Jets to fall apart, which the Jets as they have.

01:15:01
Speaker 1: So everyone's kind of sick of Taysom Hill, and we've had moments of years now here now it depends. I had a journey, was sick of them for a while, then started to truly appreciate him, and now a little back to sick of them.

01:15:13
Speaker 12: Yeah, I'm good, but.

01:15:16
Speaker 1: I mean, it is kind of incredible. They're leading rusher today with forty two yards by a good amount, and he catches four passes for thirty six yards. They're just doing stuff. And if this is the final couple games for Taysom Hill in a Saints uniform or in the NFL, and I think it might be, it is pretty cool to have a moment like this at home.

01:15:36
Speaker 9: Taysom Hill is a quarterback third and five going for the zone wide up for Chris o Lovey. Taysom Hill put a bowl on that gift for Christmas. Chasom Hill touchdown pass to Chris O.

01:15:50
Speaker 1: Lovey first player in the Super Bowl era to have a thousand yards receiving, one thousand yards rushing and a thousand yards passing in his career.

01:16:01
Speaker 5: He literally is one of one.

01:16:03
Speaker 4: So yes, on the way, I'm so excited about you guys. It's Charlie Smith for next Yes, but for next year when we're basically going to get the FedEx package pamphlets that the Jacksonville Jaguars are using right now in their press conferences slash. Everybody's using to talk about the Jacksonville Jaguars packaged up and gift drapped and chipped off to New Orleans so that after every game we can hear the New Orleans Saints talking about how nobody is actually paying atten, nobody saw them coming and nobody's talking about them, and have all the national media and talking heads talk about how nobody's nobody's really talking about these guys.

01:16:44
Speaker 12: But expand your horizons. We're talking about them.

01:16:46
Speaker 4: Everybody's talking about these feisty teams that are on the rise, and the New New Orleans Saints are one of those feisty teams on the rise. They've got a defense playing well, they've got a quarterback playing really well, they've got young pieces on in every they got an Irish kicker. You know this is this is like I'm marking it down as December twenty first people are talking about this.

01:17:07
Speaker 1: Okay, yeah if they say that next year, and good job by you veteran podcast moves. She had a point that she wishes she had made back in the Jaguars game, and she found a way to jam it in here. I've done that a lot of times over the years, and it's it's always probably unnecessary and it feels good. You got it in and it was a good point and now we can play that. Literally, keep that for next year. So I mean we're all around, you know, keep that for next year and we'll play that when the Saints are winning some games. Yeah they're Irish kicker. Charlie Smith was awesome. I mean, Tyler Shook had a dime that was actually shuck ed. Was had a dime that was dropped by Olav cam Jordan got to one hundred and thirty sacks for his career, passing Ricky Jackson of the Saints, who's in the Hall of Fame. Two sacks today up to eight and a half here.

01:17:56
Speaker 2: And hit a couple of contract incentives that are gonna get I.

01:17:59
Speaker 1: Was wondering because I knew he was excited to get like a couple sacks, but the extra celebration, the celebration was enormous.

01:18:06
Speaker 12: On a hive and interception.

01:18:09
Speaker 1: He had an interception. You know who hasn't had an interception this year? Who's the New York Jets?

01:18:14
Speaker 12: Oh bummer that crazy.

01:18:16
Speaker 2: Panta Sticker's got another fumble recovery. So they got that today.

01:18:20
Speaker 1: Four hundred and sixty one passes the Jets have defended this year zero interceptions. They are two games away from setting a record that will stand for all of time. It could not be possibly beaten. It's never happened before. This is where I wish, you know, and they could do it with extra games. It's kind of the flip side of the seventh like they're really going to earn this if they do seventeen games of no interceptions and shout out to the fans there. I've been talking about how the atmosphere and stuff there is kind of the opposite. They are chanting, who dat going crazy? They are really into Tyler Schuck. This is best case scenario.

01:18:57
Speaker 4: Uh.

01:18:57
Speaker 1: The second best fan performance of the day, I think by the by the Saints.

01:19:01
Speaker 4: Graduation and I will say it does go to show how much we all love and cherished Nick Shuk.

01:19:07
Speaker 2: Oh.

01:19:07
Speaker 4: Yeah, about three times a week one or multiple members of this group says Tyler Shuck instead of Tyler Schuck.

01:19:14
Speaker 12: So good job, Nick Schuck. You're in our heads.

01:19:16
Speaker 1: You were supposed to ask me who did have the best fan performance of the day.

01:19:20
Speaker 2: They said this second, Well, Greg, so the second best fan? Yes, I do want to know.

01:19:25
Speaker 3: Shout out to Jerry Madelon teaching me about on ramp who had the best?

01:19:30
Speaker 1: It was the Chargers fans who in at and T Stadium, the fan base that doesn't get any love is chanting, let's go Chargers, Let's go Chargers. Trewin James is running through all the Chargers fans who kind of were on the field like late in the game, like high five and and stuff. It was the Chargers fans there, and you know what that was? What's the jamming? In a point from earlier in the show that I forgot about here we goes.

01:19:55
Speaker 3: Well, you know the rule is, Greg, if you hear an opposing fan base make noise, you can only comment on it if it happens across the street at SOFI stadium where is the only place, apparently where other fans come to watch football.

01:20:08
Speaker 1: Let's talk about a fan base who has been beleaguered and deserved to have a game where they saw their young quarterback, talk about development put in a clean, dominant performance. Yes, the Tennessee Titans won in a blowout today. The checko moves back a yard in the end zone. I think that Kareem Hunt is back there, and it's Hunt.

01:20:31
Speaker 7: It'll get it. Ben Hunt is safety.

01:20:33
Speaker 1: That is a thing.

01:20:34
Speaker 7: Okay.

01:20:35
Speaker 27: Jeff Simmons gets the safety in the back of the inZone and the Titans score first.

01:20:43
Speaker 7: It's two nothing.

01:20:45
Speaker 1: That's a hell yeah to nothing.

01:20:47
Speaker 27: Jeff Simmons blowing up offensive lineman. He just whipped right around coach Essa Paula, the left tackle, and Hunt had no chance.

01:21:00
Speaker 1: Dave McGinnis, the color man, man, this is what the lack of Titans wins over the last few years has robbed us from. He does a great job. He's with Taylor Darzur on WGFX.

01:21:10
Speaker 5: The Titans win twenty six to nine.

01:21:12
Speaker 1: So is zero zero scoreless tie there early in the second quarter, and I'm thinking, I want that Jeffrey Simmons safety as the highlight that's going to be the decisive play, and it wasn't decisive. And yet Jeffrey Simmons is so freaking awesome. I just wanted to give him the honor of a highlight. Twenty six to nine, the Titans win in a game where they rack up almost four hundred yards of offense in the end and they only give up one thirty three and nine first downs to the Kansas City Chiefs, who yes, lost Gardner Minshew to what they fear as a torn ACL five drives into this game. But I gotta say, Gardner Minshew was a problem for them playing before he got hurt, and the offense actually got a little better after he left. But how about a normal, really good, clean game by the ten Titans and their.

01:22:01
Speaker 12: Quarterback creditable even better?

01:22:04
Speaker 1: Better?

01:22:04
Speaker 5: Yeah, this was better? You know what better?

01:22:07
Speaker 12: All Jeffrey Simmons does is score freaking points. Guys.

01:22:10
Speaker 4: All he does is make pointed comments that alert the media that the head coach is about to be fired and get points.

01:22:16
Speaker 12: And he's all out of head coaches who are going to be fired. That man is getting points.

01:22:21
Speaker 1: And he was on the field and they called a penalty on him. For not being ineligible, and then they called him the legal formation, and the replay showed he clearly waved his hand, pointed at the official, did everything, and they took points off the board for the poor Titans because of a Jeffrey Simmons penalty. He was acting as like a decoy on offense and it absolutely worked. Ultimately, it didn't matter because Daja Spears got a touchdown there. He's been playing really well, goes over one hundred yards from scrimmage, had a really good catch and run and yeah, the biggest takeaway for me in this game, Patrick, I'm not sure how many badass throws you got to see of Cam Warred because you were you were on television hosting Game Day Live. But did you see I'm not gonna make it a throw the ear? Well, it depends how how many candidates we have, and you can just watch it. We don't need to look into the sound. But him to to marry DK during this game was really awesome. And the thing I liked in this game, and the thing I liked about display was all of his other Throw of the Year nominees are rolling right and this is him rolling left.

01:23:23
Speaker 4: I mean, that's throwing into the shadow too towards the sideline.

01:23:27
Speaker 12: That's beautiful.

01:23:28
Speaker 5: It is so good. But how many goods he's.

01:23:30
Speaker 12: Got to nominations?

01:23:32
Speaker 1: Oh, he's got five. Yeah. The rest of the game, though, he had a lot of really good just on time in rhythm throws from the pocket. Uh to iomanor to dkay and the head coaching staff. I've been on, Mike McCay, al your hell, let's give them another highlight? Why not? They almost looked like they had like a Kansas City Chiefs like trick play to Oconko for a touchdown.

01:23:57
Speaker 27: Can takes a shotgun, Stoun takes the handoff and Staff a shovel pass.

01:24:01
Speaker 7: And chig a Conklow gets to the bat line.

01:24:04
Speaker 1: That yeah, Titans touchdown.

01:24:07
Speaker 7: That was sweet.

01:24:10
Speaker 12: Hello, Mike McDaniel.

01:24:12
Speaker 27: Chig a con Quo on a shovel pass comes back to the middle of the formation. That is chigs first touchdown of the season, his seventh of his NFL career.

01:24:25
Speaker 1: Counts as a catch too. You gotta do a three sixty spin around fake pitch to the wide receiver, shovel pass to the type. That's Andy Reid's move. I mean, that is an Andy Reid type of play and they're doing it with the great one on the sideline.

01:24:40
Speaker 3: It's it was a nice slid of hand because yes, we're we're I'm calling that highlight on GANDAY Live.

01:24:46
Speaker 2: And I thought he hands the ball off to Chicka con Quo.

01:24:48
Speaker 11: I didn't even see where the ball was looking from the sideline angle, so I know the Chiefs were struggling to see it. And yeah, he just he keeps making plays and you know, gotta get more. Jeffery Simmons reps on offense sivens, Yes, because it's gonna work.

01:25:04
Speaker 1: It was tough to watch the Chiefs in the first game without Patrick mahomes Man, Travis Kelcey four targets, six yards, Minshew Leaves and like I said, when he left, they had two first downs and negative two points because they had taken that safety when he was under center. And yeah, on Christmas, we're gonna have Chris Olutukan playing quarterback for the Chiefs. Nailed it, thank you. And it is a tough name to pronounce. I don't know if I did name it. I don't think I did nail it.

01:25:37
Speaker 11: It depends because the phonetics because he transferred in South Dakota State. Was it Sanford for a while? Shout out to the Bulldogs. Get the politics and Lucan and others, and we have to get to Chris. Yeah, let us know we're gonna have.

01:25:49
Speaker 12: A lot of opportunities depending on the draw.

01:25:52
Speaker 28: Yeah.

01:25:52
Speaker 1: No, I think it is Oladkin who looked okay for a third string quarterback for a while and was making some plays out of structure, but eventually looked like a third string quarterback And they just don't have enough playmakers.

01:26:07
Speaker 5: No Rashi Rice not much of a running game.

01:26:10
Speaker 1: And for any Chiefs fans watching this too, like I thought Steve Spagnolo and the defense might be like up for the challenge, and they threw a lot of camword early and they were not up for the challenge. They got steamrolled in the second half of this game. I'm gonna say goodbye to you guys, but we're actually not taking a break. It's gonna be a rare sleight of hand where I say goodbye to the two of you and we welcome in Nick Shook without a single break. Now get out of here, quickly, go.

01:26:35
Speaker 8: He's Arison Smith cheats took the line of scrimmage. Now we backs off start on pourth down, back to pass, and the Vikings have turned over the New York Giants on downs.

01:26:54
Speaker 1: Some things in life you can just count on, and that's Paul Allen delivering with a big time call when Andrew Van Ginkol delivers a big time sack to end the Giants chances in a sixteen to thirteen victory for the New York Nope, it's the Minnesota Vikings who won this game despite losing their quarterback.

01:27:17
Speaker 28: But it was more about the defense, wasn't It shook a slide of hand all over the place. So you just pull a fast one on our listeners again, Yeah, it was all about the defense.

01:27:24
Speaker 24: Let me just illustrate this to you real quick. One stat me like success rate.

01:27:27
Speaker 28: Right, Yes, the Giants drop back success rate today was ten point five percent.

01:27:31
Speaker 24: Oh my god, that is what a Brian Flores defense.

01:27:33
Speaker 28: Can do to a rookie quarterback. Jackson Dart had no idea what to do against this defense. Even when he was able to get rid of the ball, oftentimes it came up short. The Vikings didn't even have to do very much offensively. JJ McCarthy wasn't very great in the first half. He ends up leaving with an injury. Max Brozmer comes in. He has to make like one completion of significance. They kick a couple of field goals. It's over you sack Dart again. Vikings win. That's pretty much the story of this game.

01:27:58
Speaker 1: The Giants had thirteen yards passing. You don't see that too often. It's actually a bottom five total in the last five years. I was like, I'm surprised there was you know, lesser ones than that, but you remember there was negative yardage in that horrific jetscheme. So it's happened the Giants. By the way, three of the worst five performances of the last five years, it's the Giants offense, so that there's the common factor there, and this Bikings defense has been playing great down the stretch. The Vikings are to have gotten to seven and eight, so I'm not saying they should be, you know, giving any flowers, but they kind of are ending up closer to where people thought they were going to be in the first place, despite not having a quarterback consistently playing well.

01:28:43
Speaker 28: Yeah, and that's fair And my biggest concern with them going forward is, like you see JJ McCarthy take some small steps forward. They know that he's got a lot to work on in the offseason. But I think about I don't want to call it fragility, but a lack of durability so far. He leaves with another injury today. That's the fourth time an injury has cost him some sort of time. It was the following game, or it was an injury that occurred after a game, or time in a game. This is the first time he left during a game. Right, So, as you go into next year with this positive momentum that you've built and your defense is playing well despite losing a couple of guys, you know, Jonathan Grinard being one of them, I still worry like they have to find a quality backup for next year just to keep themselves stable, because that is what tanked this season for them, was not having consistent quarterback play.

01:29:25
Speaker 24: Once McCarthy went down.

01:29:27
Speaker 28: Now we're watching this if you're watching on YouTube, McCarthy had a pass that was tipped and picked off a return for a touchdown. This was negated by Abdul Carter lining up off sides. Abdul Carter, who had a fantastic day, by the way, that's how bad things are for the Giants, but it's also that kind of just indicates how the Vikings really weren't that great.

01:29:44
Speaker 1: Watch so you can tackle attempt by JJ McCarthy. I love the effort. He's sprinted after the play, he has no chance and he does another summersault. Just running down the field, he does another summersault. Any eagle eye fans out there watching that, that was an amazing moment in this game. He did have about four or five drops shook in this game, although a lot of them are heaters like that. One like that one where that played to me is a little on JJ and certainly on even maybe more on on Naylor two. So it's unfortunate he left with an injury that happened on a screen pass where he shows a little bit of a lack of awareness. I get that the screen pass is defended and maybe you can get on O'Connell or but you got to just dirt that ball and be aware that pressure is coming. And he gets absolutely crushed by Brian Burns on that play, and hopefully that's not the end of his season. We'll see we could we could have Max Brosmer, Chris Alutukon and Josh Johnson all playing on Christmas.

01:30:44
Speaker 5: That's crazy.

01:30:45
Speaker 28: I feel like we're like one more away from getting another random quarterback that's going to play.

01:30:49
Speaker 24: I mean, we're in the don't the deep. We're deep in the winner, baby.

01:30:52
Speaker 5: Don't say it.

01:30:54
Speaker 1: Some injuries in this game, just to know about Ryan Kelly, who's had a long, good career, has had concussion problems over the last few years. Left with the concussion that's at least his third this season. You have to wonder about his future in general. Andrew Thomas, the great left tackle for the Giants, left with a hamstring injury here, and then Christian Darisa and Jonathan Grenard, just kind of closing the book on them for the season, were placed on injured reserves since we last talked. So they're without many of their best players, but they do find a way to get a victory. Let's go to Arizona, where the Cardinals have not been able to get in the win column for a long time.

01:31:32
Speaker 21: London to the right, Robinson's the running back. Here's the third down play. Cousins looks coming up with his Pets touchdown at Ladda. He crossed the line gave right across the field at the goal line, and Kirk Cousins put it right on the eighth for the touchdown.

01:31:49
Speaker 1: Kirk Cousins, Kyle Pitts, they make beautiful music together. Shook another seven catch game here for Kyle Pitts.

01:31:57
Speaker 5: He gets back in the end zone. John Robinson's doing Jon Robinson things.

01:32:02
Speaker 1: And they come back from a thirteenth to three deficit to beat the Arizona Cardinals. Their Atlanta Falcons are six and nine on the season. The Cardinals are three and twelve. Why did you pick pitt as your highlight for the game.

01:32:17
Speaker 28: It was probably the most satisfying highlight of the game, other than Michael Wilson's.

01:32:21
Speaker 24: Absurd touchdown catch. I can't remember who it was.

01:32:24
Speaker 28: Chris who was the receiver for play who played for Seattle in the Super Bowl, who made an incredible catchdown the sideline where it just like bounced off of like his mid section and he caught it while he was already falling to the ground. I think it was Super Bowl what forty two or not forty two somewhere around there, right Seahawks Patriots. He made a catch very similar to this that was the only touchdown of the day for the Cardinals. We're watching it right now, watch it on YouTube. It was fantastic. It was absurd. He has no control of the ball. It just kind of ends up between his legs and he is aware enough to pinch his diyes together and that's how he gains possession of the football in the end zone. It was outrageous, but that was the That was the peak of the Hardinals offensive performance for the day when it came to getting to the end zone, because otherwise they had to settle for field goals. And meanwhile, Kirk Cousins, he doesn't throw for three fifty, but he keeps this offense going, which is why I like the Pitt's highlight because Pitts didn't have any spectacular plays, but that touchdown was pretty pivotal in their efforts to come back and take a lead and eventually take a step ahead. But make no mistake, Greg the story of the day as our favorite guy wearing a Falcon's uniform. It's Bjehn Robinson. What I mean they leaned on him. They leaned on him for one hundred and sixty eight scramage yards. I mean, this is a guy who I think that was on twenty three touches. This is a guy who just powers this offense running passing, you know, running receiving. He was actually just as effective as a receiver as he was a runner today. I mean, this is if you get him the ball this often and he produces, their chances of winning are just gonna go up. And it makes Kirk cousins job easier and it allows him to just kind of dink and dunk down the field. And that's how I end up with Kyle Pitts highlight because the rest is just Bijon carrying the way.

01:33:53
Speaker 1: The receiver I think you're talking about from the Seahawks, by the way, is Chris Matthews. Matthews, Yeah, who had one hundred in nine yards in a Super Bowl. I mean Russell Wilson and that team deserves some credit. It was him and Riccardo Lockette getting it done, going head to head with Tom Brady and a couple of yards away from getting it done. Bjon Robinson now has over two thousand yards from scrimmage in fifteen games. I mean, that is outrageous for the season and all the games count equal. But you get me a guy who can just keep on putting up one fifty to two hundred every single week during the Fantasy playoffs, and you know I love you a little more.

01:34:34
Speaker 5: So shout out to Beajon, who's.

01:34:36
Speaker 28: Just last performing falcon to do that. By the way, Greg, Yes, Jamal Anderson nineteen ninety eight doing a little dirty bird.

01:34:44
Speaker 5: You know, let's go. I don't know what I was doing.

01:34:46
Speaker 28: I don't think the box is big enough for me to properly do it, but you know what I'm saying.

01:34:50
Speaker 1: Some injuries, just to point out on what was a nightmare game for the Arizona Cardinals, really sad to see, Like the last thing you want to see in this game is injuries, especially ser injuries potentially to young players. And Walter Nolan left on a cart that looked.

01:35:07
Speaker 5: Like a serious injury. He was very emotional.

01:35:10
Speaker 1: And Garrett Williams, their very good second year cornerback, also left with what they're calling an achilles injury that looked very serious. Nolan is their first round pick from this year and had really flashed when he was on the field, So just really unfortunate and we'll see. Ian Rapport reported that he thinks Jonathan Gannon is more likely to be safe than not. I have my doubts just based on logic and how these games are going. Josh Sweat also got hurt in this game. Yeah, and that was the big issue for me. I think is just if you look at this Cardinals team through the course of this season, they have battled for Jonathan Gannon, their effort has always been there. It's just they have weathered so many personnel losses and today was just another example that Sweat, like you mentioned, Nolan, like you mentioned, even Budda Baker left for a little bit before coming back. Marvis Arison comes back from a two week absence and he only plays fifty percent of snaps and is invisible until the four quarter. They have gone through it in terms of personnel losses, and I just maybe this is just wishful thinking for me, but I think if they were a fully healthy or close to fully healthy team, they would be better than three and twelve. They were once two and one exactly, and then the next two games they lost at the buzzard of the forty nine ers, good team, and to the Seahawks by three points. That's right, they were two and zer at one point they lost. That is really crazy that they have had this long of a losing streak. Eventually they get that third win three and five, but yeah, they've lost seven straight since rough season for Arizona. Let's talk about two teams that are more in the mix. We're gonna take one final break and we're gonna finish off this week sixteen recap with a big Sunday nighter, Ravens and.

01:36:45
Speaker 26: Patriots twenty one.

01:36:56
Speaker 22: Stevenson councing outside rom Andre Stevenson by Williams to the ends out, Patriots take the lead touchdown New England. He's had a terrific night in a variety of areas and without Travion Henderson out with injury, Remandre.

01:37:17
Speaker 1: Stevenson steps up. It gives the Pats the lead.

01:37:20
Speaker 22: From the Patriots fans who've made the trip chancing MVP Drake.

01:37:24
Speaker 1: May retreat where we get to hear from Mike Tarrico on NBC calling re Remandre Stevenson's go ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. Patriots come back from double digits in the final frame to win twenty eight to twenty four. And yes, it's Remandre finishing it up. But as you heard from those fans who traveled for the game, Drake May making a statement, has a season high in the yardage three hundred and eighty yards in a couple touchdowns. His legs also important. He gets the game finishing scramble with a stylish slide a la Justin Herbert and the Patriots escape the Ravens twenty eight to twenty four in a game that saw them lose Lamar Jackson at halftime. Shook. This game had so much going on. But what were you thinking as the Patriots pulled out that fourth quarter comeback?

01:38:26
Speaker 5: What was most impressive to you?

01:38:27
Speaker 28: I think I'll take a step further back and I'll go to when the Ravens took a twenty four to thirteen lead with a very dominant drive, dominant performance by Derek Henry in that drive. It finishes with a two yard run, but he was just knifing to the defense. I thought, hmm, you know what, this is a playoff like environment. This looks like the Ravens of old. They have the mojo back in M and T Bank Stadium, And I don't know if the Patriots are cut out for an environment like that, And what did they properly do? They responded by mounting one heck of a comeback. It kind of starts with Drake May peppering the field with passes before hitting Kyle Williams on a box of a touchdown with spectacular throw and catch that gives them new hope. And then they get the stop that they desperately need, and then it's all Drake May converting a fourth and tutis Defawn Diggs, who was fired up the whole night. It's Drake May getting him down in position. They're doing everything. They convert. They win the game with the Remondre Stevens and touchdown running like you said that slide and that moment, I thought, wow, I can't believe I ever questioned them like Fradal's team. I feel like in that moment he probably had a thought in the sideline where he was like, all right, we're gonna see what my guys are made of right now, because this is the biggest moment of adversity we faced all year, and they showed him that they are ready for it.

01:39:33
Speaker 1: I mean, I thought they were cooked. Henry goes for one hundred and twenty eight yards in two touchdowns, Zay Flowers has that touchdown run, and so even though Lamar gets the back injury. You're thinking, Okay, Patriots, we're gonna win this game. It's not like their defense played well. I mean, the Ravens missed the field goal, then scored two straight touchdowns with Tyler Huntley, and then the Patriots give them great field position after a failed fake punt where the Ravens had it really well defended. But it's just ugly when you have a faith that is that well defended, and it looks.

01:40:07
Speaker 24: It was a strange call too. I didn't really like the call.

01:40:09
Speaker 1: Especially with Tyler Huntley at quarterback, to give them the short field that they did. But you mentioned the Kyle Williams throw. And I'm not saying this was an MVP moment, Chuck, but it might be a second team All Pro moment, and it might be. Hey, there's two weeks left. Still, it's Sunday Night football. The door is gonna just stay open for a couple more weeks.

01:40:32
Speaker 5: Type of moment, Gina, Not.

01:40:34
Speaker 25: On the catch by Diggs first and ten shotgun snap made back, Gonna take a shot deep on the right side for Kyle Williams and he makes the catch. Was he in bounds?

01:40:43
Speaker 7: Yes? Touchdown? Patriots.

01:40:45
Speaker 25: Drake made a Kyle Williams thirty seven yard touchdown, and just like that, it's a twenty four to nineteen game nine on one to go and the Patriots will go for two.

01:40:58
Speaker 1: How about that response from New England.

01:41:01
Speaker 5: That's right.

01:41:02
Speaker 1: That's Ryan Radkey and Derek Rackley on Westwood One. Good to have them in the mix this year. Kyle Williams only catches ridiculous touchdowns.

01:41:12
Speaker 5: It's really ridiculous. This third on pick.

01:41:14
Speaker 1: Who I said was, you know before the draft, before the Patriotstockham was maybe my favorite player in the draft. Now has six catches on the year and three of them are ridiculous touchdowns.

01:41:24
Speaker 5: So good job by Kyle Williams.

01:41:26
Speaker 1: And that throw followed by the two point conversion where Drake may Like makes time in the pocket and then shows throws a little pushbass.

01:41:32
Speaker 5: That's what stood out to me.

01:41:34
Speaker 1: And we don't need to spend the whole time on may but the deep throat to kaishaon booty which he can't hold on to and it was it was just a terrible Mispiss pass interference call. And the fourth down to Diggs and a couple of the other throws to Hunter Henry on the goal line and Hooper. It's just a variety of different throws and so many were after making a defender or two miss. That's what has made May special in the season. And yeah, I don't think he's the frontrunner for MVP, but a night like tonight, I think everyone got to see kind of where he's at right now in his career. And it's a big win for them that the Bills would have been right back tied for the top of the division, and now the Patriots keep a game lead with a pretty favorable schedule the next two weeks.

01:42:16
Speaker 2: Yeah.

01:42:16
Speaker 28: I also thought it was a really interesting demonstration of May's ability to evade the rush because for most of this game, their offensive line deficiencies or weaknesses, you know, not having Will Campbell out there were pretty apparent the Ravens were getting after him. I don't know what the pressure numbers off the top of my head were, but they were getting after him consistently, and for the first time in a while, I felt like, oh, wait, May is not evading the rush. He's not getting out, you know, in space and improvising. And then suddenly he turned it on in the fourth quarter and he was making plays like that and You're right. It was the two point conversion where I was like, oh, that is There was a couple of throws, but it was that one. And there was another one that they had over the middle where he's just getting clobbered right as he releases it and his intended target catches the ball, and I'm thinking, man, he's taken some hits and he is unphased, and that is the mark of a quarterback who could take you a long way in this.

01:42:58
Speaker 1: Game for pressure rate without the Ravens blitzeing a ton there are concerns for the Patriots to give up, you know, back to back touchdowns. You know, when Huntley's at quarterback. They haven't been a good red zone team. But this was an important win for them obviously, and if they tied in the division, then they're probably going to win the division. So it is a pretty easy path for them to now win. They have what the Jets and the Dolphins to finish up, and I think just one of those will end up getting them the division title for the Patriots. The Ravens, on the other hand, just a nightmare game. They showed the stat up you know tonight that they've blown more fourth quarter leads with at least a seven point lead than any team in a five year span in NFL history, and you lose Lamar Jackson to a back injury. We'll have to see if he's available for next week's game against the Packers. But because of that Steelers win, they are now down two with two games to go. It doesn't take a lot of computers to figure it out, Shook. They could be eliminated in different scenarios, but they're not eliminated. So that tells you the magic numbers. One. They got to win out, including that Week eighteen game against the Steelers, and they need the Steelers to lose next week against the Browns to even have a chance. It looks like they're done. This looks like the moment, and I don't want to spend a long time on it because we will talk about it later in the week, and we talked about on Saturday show. Check out our coaching recap. But I think John Harbus out. I think because they keep making the same mistakes over and over, including the fourth quarter collapses, like right down to the Zay Flowers fumble at the end. It was sort of unfortunately like a play in the Hits type of night, Derek Henry with a costly fumble, Zay Flowers with a costly fumble as well for them.

01:44:49
Speaker 28: Yeah, and I need to know why Derek Henry wasn't on the field on their penultimate drive because they were still nursing a lead at that point and he had just cut right through the Patriots defense and he was on the sideline in the jacket the entire time, and they were relying on Keaton Mitchell and Rashina lead to get it done, which obviously they didn't get it done. That's a question that I definitely need answered. But it is crazy to think that like a season like this, which, yeah, the collapses have been a thing for them for five years. It's been one of the most glaring issues with this team over the last five years. Ravens fans will be the first to tell you that. But this season more than any just kind of illustrated the importance of Lamar Jackson and how they finally couldn't overcome his absences because he's been out before. There was you know, years in past years where he get hurt late in the year and Tyler Huntley would have to fill in. He makes his way back to the team this year after being you know with the Browns and the preseason everything else, and yet it just felt like this team they got slow out of the gate. You know, they blow that lead to the Bills in Week one. It's like they were always fighting up hill. And you know, John Harbaugh felt like a coach that was never going to leave Baltimore. And yet this has happened so many times now that yeah, I agree with you, and you can kind of see it on his face on the sideline. He just looked exasperated, disappointed, just kind of sad at the result. Oh my god, this is happening again. This might be it. And I don't really know where this team necessarily goes from here. But if you look back at the season, you have to point to the fact that Lamar missed a good chunk of games.

01:46:08
Speaker 24: That's the biggest issue.

01:46:09
Speaker 1: That's fair. And yet they just are a team that finds a way to lose games, and they've done it with Lamar quarterback this year. And Tyler Huntley comes in it was similar ish, not that he made nearly as many plays as Milake Willis, but to me, he wasn't that high on the reasons of why they lost this game. He went nine to ten for sixty five yards. They had a couple of touchdown drives. Obviously, the Patriots again get lucky with who gets knocked out or who they miss on the schedule or their schedule.

01:46:36
Speaker 5: Everyone's going to keep pointing this out.

01:46:37
Speaker 1: With Lamar Jackson leaving, I would have liked to see how that game ended with Lamar Jackson, but it was the defense, and it was, you know, timely mistakes by players that you trust, Zay Flowers and Marlon Humphrey although they didn't call that PI and Derrick Henry and different members of the defense, and that's it. And meanwhile, the Patriots get a huge play by kylevon chas On at the end to worse that Zayflowers fumble. And so it's on a night where they add a lot of injuries as well, including a concussion for Travion Henderson. They move on, They get their twelfth win of the year. They stay in the mix for the one seed. The Jaguars were watching this game and thinking, oh, we could have passed the Patriots in the AFC standings, but as we stand now, it's Broncos won Patriots too. And the way this is all shaken out. I hate to say it shook We said it at the end of last week's show. Again, the results are setting up for the last couple weeks to be less important. The Ravens might hand the Steelers the division title on Saturday night. If they can't beat the Packers in a game, even with Lamar Jackson, they might be underdog, so that race will essentially be over. And unless the Colts can pull off an upset on Monday night, I think we're gonna have a feel of who our seven teams are. We just got to figure out the order. And yeah, the Lions, with their loss today too, are in deep, deep trouble, and we kind of know who the NFC teams are going to be as well. It's just gonna find out if it's gonna be the Bucks or the Panthers.

01:48:05
Speaker 5: A couple just items to.

01:48:07
Speaker 1: Go over before we get out of here, Tim Patrick, I mean Pat Bryant rather for the Broncos. You might have been watching that game and you saw him get stretchered off at the end, and that was a scary situation. He did have feelings in his arms and his legs, his extremities after the game. He was taken to the hospital for concussion like symptoms, but it does sound like the you know, the worst case scenario was avoided for Pat Bryant, so just best wishes to him getting better. And then we somehow didn't talk about the DK Metcalf, you know, fan interaction, and so I did, you know, want to address that here, not in the flow of the game. Another angle of the DK Metcalf fan interaction, we'll call it during that Lions game came out taken by a fan with a cell phone at the game, and it confirmed something we were talking about in the newsroom. Patrick Claybond was the first one I heard say it, and then it was really confirmed by this second angle that he grabs the fan by the collar, and the fan spoke with the Detroit Free Pet Free Press about what he was saying to DK Metcalf, not that we can trust him at his word. He was calling him by his full name, he said, and he doesn't like to be called by his full name, and I think DK told him to stop saying that.

01:49:26
Speaker 5: He kept saying that.

01:49:27
Speaker 1: But the second video pretty clearly shows DK Metcalf did not throw a punch, which I thought it was a little irresponsible. A lot of articles saying DK Metcalff throws a punch this and that pretty clearly he grabs the collar and then he lets it go while kind of you know, gesturing at him and leaving. But I think that makes it less likely Nick that he gets suspended for this. We'll have to see. I think a finess coming to DK Metcalf. But the NFL crew on the game clarified if the officials didn't see it at the game, that's not something that New York can step in and you know, officiate and kick them out of the game if they didn't see it, and it's you know, pretty clear, you know why they wouldn't see it. It's just a random moment after a play. Then they can't do anything there, but they could find them, they could suspensially potentially suspend them, but I don't think so based on the video that we saw.

01:50:19
Speaker 28: Yeah, we're not gonna the Bruder film this, but yeah, the second angle that we can't play on YouTube right now looks very much like he emphatically released the collar as if to make a point to whatever he said in return, and doesn't look like a punch. And I thought when I saw that first angle didn't really have the body language of someone who was throwing a punch.

01:50:35
Speaker 24: Yeah, and obviously it's not a good look regardless.

01:50:38
Speaker 28: Ultimately, you think there's no reason for you to be over there at all, and that's what's most important. But we'll see how the NFL had handles it. I would imagine a minimum of fine. I don't know if they'll go with the suspension. And you know, the Steelers, you know, hopefully they're they're hoping that they'll have him.

01:50:51
Speaker 24: We'll see if they will.

01:50:52
Speaker 5: Yeah.

01:50:52
Speaker 1: The fan, by the way, didn't mind speaking to the Detroit Free Press. They asked him and he said, my words don't matter because it was on camera when asked about you know what he was saying to DK, and then he said he asked what his name was, he said, my name is the biggest Detroit Lions fan ever that got attacked by Decaylin Zucarius Metcalf And apparently that's what he kept calling DK Metcalf And quickly people on social we know went out and found him dressing up in various gear to try to make opponents mad over the years.

01:51:25
Speaker 5: So maybe that will.

01:51:26
Speaker 1: Because that's what you're saying I am definitely saying that, Okay, good Sunday, great games, even though we kind of know who's going to make the playoffs. For the most part, these games really delivered, and I'm hoping the same is true on Monday Night. So Nick Chuck's back in the in the throne doing his recaps. We got two Monday night games to go shook. We're going live on YouTube for Philip Rivers. Can he complete the impossible dream and get a win against a good forty nine Ers team. Join us live on YouTube on the NFL channel.

01:52:03
Speaker 5: We'll see that