2022 Week 7 Recap: Which teams are actually good?

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Speaker 1: The Around the NFL podcast. Why from New York. It's Sunday night, Well, California. From the Chris Westling Podcast Studio. It's Around the NFL. I'm Dan Hansas. I got heroes here, Mark Sessler, Chris chrisms Whist, Christmascore, Greg Rosenthal was weird. He's here. Sometimes when you walk in and you see the name, you know, you just walk by. And then there was other times where you just see it and you just like it kind of stops you in track. It could be good, it can be jarring, but it's like I can't believe. I still can't believe that we walk into this studio with his name on it in front of us every day. It is bittersweet. Um, but yes, so we here. We are in the Chris Westling podcast Studio. The week seven flagship program is here, and we're just looking for a few good teams. That's what it's now on Sunday's an investing Asian. Where are the good teams? There have to be good teams in New York, and we have some teams in New York. We're also waiting for Jesus to return, and they're little likelihood of finding a patch of good teams. It's about equal at this point. So we know, we know we have the bills. If I'll just took the live stream down, I'm just saying, you know, check us out and save it for the theology show. Mark. We know that we know that the bills are great. They're on buy, so not that they need to be part of the investigation. We know the Chiefs are very good. We're gonna get to that in a second. We know the Eagles are undefeated. Let's see if we can find some teams that we quality that qualify as good by the end of day's episode. That's a little challenge for both us and the listeners and viewers of the live stream. So yes, is that? Are you guys ready to dive into some football? I'm very ready today. I enjoyed this afternoon. I'm in a little bit of a state of mourning because of some news that came down around the most impactful young jet on offense in a very long time. So I am very much in uh professional mode right now and processing the grief while also knowing we have work to do here. You are um of most many of the adults that I know who are football fans. You are a died in the wall true Jets fan who said, you know, spent the weekend tracking the Yankees too. It's been an up and down journey for you. So you are a professional Dan. Thank you, Mark, I really appreciate that. Alright, So without further ado, the professionals roll on. Let us start this week, yes with one of the teams that we know very good. The team they were playing. I'm not so sure. Maybe maybe not. Well, let's see what happened between the San Francisco forty Niners and the Kansas City Chiefs. Time to throw over the middle, Jesus Smith Schister, wide open chooks, the safety tan gets up black angling near side pylon touchdown Kansas City in his yards after catch all day long for five yard touchdown reception by Jue Juice Smith Schuster. And we know Mitch Holtis of w d A F is all class all the way, a little you know, a little yeah, yards after catch all day long, everybody calls the yacht. Look, but ju Smith Schuster and company are doing for the Chiefs, who rolled to a forty four three win over the Niners at the Big Bell Bottom. Mahomes throws her foe and three touchdowns and Kansas City comes back from double digit down here boys, uh and they do it. It's actually, you think about this game and it just ended. You know, a few minutes ago. They were down double digits in this game, but that's what they were early on. But once that Kansas City machine gets going, it's it's really a sight to behold still even now, even more impressive now Greg because Tyreek Hill is not there anymore and he's ain't history because this team is generating more big plays downfield now than they were last year when they had the greatest downfield playmaker of this generation. I think that was what was missed in the Tyreek Hill discussion in the off season. Yeah, maybe they're not back to where they were when they were in the playoffs and what was the score in that Texan Divisional round game? Twenty four and nothing and you just expected them to come back. But a year ago, that was the worst Chief's offensive Andy Reid's life, including when he had Alex Smith, and they weren't gonna stay down at this level. And he tinkered and he fixed some things up and he's got the Michael Jordan of football and suddenly you're putting nine point one yards per play on the number one or or maybe the most talented defense in the league. I mean that said, there were obvious questions and I think fair quick concerns about whether Juju Smith Schuster would become a force in this offense, whether markest veld As Scantley would. They both have a hundred plus yards today and the deep passing game from the homes is totally on, and they are yards after the catch. It just seems like every week it's a different person stepping up, and I kind of love the versatility, which before it really boiled down to Tyreek Kill to Travis Kelsey and now you don't know which guy's gonna wind up playing hero. And I think the last couple of weeks to Juju is look great. He has. He really feels like you could tell he's getting more and more comfortable in this office. You kind of forgot how, even though he's not the flashiest player in terms of athletic ability, what a big time playmaker he was for the Steelers before Ben got old and then everything kind of uh down shifted in Pittsburgh. Now you see him playing with a big time quarterback, the best quarterback in the league are arguably and I think that's kind of the skeleton key here as well. I mean it's it's mahomes greatness, which is his ability to lift others up. And and I'll say this because we you kind of you were challenging Aaron Rodgers to do the same thing in Green Bay, and I think Aaron Rodgers is an all time quarterback himself. But it's not that easy. But Mahomes makes this stuff look easy. And it helped that Andy Reid is there to help him along. Andy Reid helps with the structured plays and the schemed up plays, and they came up with plenty of those. But Mahomes makes the plays that almost no one else can make. I know he had the late interception last week. I think on a week to week basis, he would have my not as just the best quarterback in the league thus far. This is a ridiculous number to put up at the end of the season and kind of the m v P race and everything to do this. On the fort of all, it's tight with Josh Allen and there are different types of quarterbacks. But I think some of what I feel gets lost with Mahomes is that he makes these flashy side arm throws and does stuff that looks video game arcade like, but he does He just does the basic quarterback stuff as well as anyone in the league. And when they're throwing the ball this way against I know that the Niners are a little banged up, but against the defense like this, it's like, I don't know what the ceiling is for the Chiefs. I don't think there is one. And on the Niner side of things, of course, this was the debut of Christian McCaffrey, who had a role. He at ten touches in the game look good, especially early on on some runs, and you know, it just does show you at Jimmy g Is. Ultimately the stat line looks fine, but he threw an absolutely dreadful interception in the final seconds of the second quarter that kind of changed the complexion of this game. I know the Niners kind of got back into it a little bit at one point in the third quarter before Kansas City just put their foot on the pedal again. But Garoppolo's interception, there's just kind of a reminder that he's just he's not special. And when you get into these situations where the Niners being compromised on defense because of the injuries. It's gonna be a problem, uh, in these types of affairs. He looked really good early on, and it was kind of like, oh when when everything around Jimmy g is functioning and he's he's you know, in his accuracy mode, he's fine. But I mean late in the game, it was concerning to see him just sort of walk into a sack. That was a big problem. Then on the next play, Frank Clark goes right around Trent Williamson devastates him in the end zone. Like everything just started to fall apart for them, right. Their recipe is what their recipe kind of was in that Super Bowl and till the fourth quarter, it's it's running and uh, it's defense. And they are banged up, and they will get more players back, like Eric Armstead, but they did have a lot of their guys back today. Now, maybe they don't play at their very best in their first game back, like Bosa was back. Chart Various war did end up playing in this game. They get they get McCaffrey, they get Trent Williams back. I just think it's just a reminder to me that the Chiefs and the Bills. You're you're talking about those good teams. Not a lot of those good teams are in the NFC. It doesn't feel like to me, and that these two teams are kind of in one bucket, and the Eagles are this new team, and I almost put them in in their own separate thing. And then there's everyone else because the forty niners are three and four, and yet they're probably not in a bad spot really in the NFC West or the NFC. How about this, Greggy, let's go through it scientifically. Okay, as we stayed at the top of the show, chiefs good, very good. Yeah, maybe great, I would say great potentially. Yeah, Okay, they're good. We're looking for good right now. Ok we're gonna figure good good. I think they are good. I know they just go by majority rules. But the three are good. You're good if everyone around you is a sinking ship. Hey, this is science. Science is science. They are three and four. It's a it's a very fair point to make after seven weeks, not really a hallmark of the teams that you would call good. Let's check in with North into North Texas to see if we can find some more goodness. Three minutes first involved at the one, Prescott under center, collared motion right, Pardot, Elliott purling on the sign wait Curst touchdown, touch down Elliot. That might be enough. And it was Brad Sham the sham god k r L d Zeke Elliott ran for a pair of one yard scores. Dak Prescott threw a touchdown in his return to the lineup after thumb surgery, and that Cowboys defense did what it does, forcing five turnover and six over them. No, I won't do it yet, Well I could, but I won't. Look over the struggling Detroit Lions a game here, um Greg that also featured we'll get into really the flash point in the game, Dallas recovered Jamal Williams fumble inside its own one with a four point lead early in the fourth quarter. That I guess that was it. It was because there just wasn't enough consistent offense from either team that at at that point you realize it just wasn't going to be the Lion's day. It was a third time they had turned it over. Golf had a couple of late ones, but he also had two ugly picks. Its game looked like two picks, two interceptions. Yeah, and then two fumbles were in garbage time, but they had three killer turnovers, including that Jamal Williams one. Even before garbage time, it was a ten six game and the yardage was even. And you know that even in with three minutes left in the game, it was still ten to six. Uh so it was close, and yet the Lions just find a way to mess it up. There there offense. Now two straight games after everyone talked about like this is the number one offense in the league, has scored zero and then they scored six. So that's no touchdowns in the two games. They have a combined eight turnovers I believe are seven turnovers and golf was flu mixed. And I love how the Dallas defense has more than just Parsons. Parsons had a good game, but Sam Williams had a monster game. This rookie pass rushert just like new guys pop up each week with a couple of sacks. I mean, the Cowboys could beat anyone in the league outside of maybe I think Buffalo and Cancers. I think they are think they have a great defense. Give me a dingy gave a great defense. And also, I mean, you are causing some of these turnovers. If you're the Lions, you wanted you wanted at this point to be three and three, maybe you need to not be making mistake. Said absolutely, crucify yourself. Your second half. Drug stuff in this episode, all right, did cause you issues. I wasn't trying to get there necessarily. I mean, but it's so Lions. And we apologize to the Lions fans at this point. Why did we did? It's not our fault. But if I was a Lions fan, I just we didn't need to, you know, we picked them as team around the NFL in lost five sets. It was this very Lions where that play where he fumbled on the one yard line, Dan, they had a nice reception, Uh, he was going in looked like he scored a touchdown. They could have challenged Dan Campbell could have challenged it. He decided not to because it was first in goal replaced show. They actually probably would have moved the ball forward, uh like a half of a yard because it was a bad spot. But it wasn't a touch then, so it wasn't like a crazy non challenge. And then Jamal Williams who fumbled That was his first lost fumble of his career. He's in year six. So it's not like there's something you can coach here. It just is like this is what happens when you're alliance. Well, you know what else happens, Dan Campbell, Now I believe for eighteen and one as a head coach, and this is becoming something something of an unfortunate tradition on this show on Sunday nights. Let's listen to sad Dan Campbell. I'm frustrated from losing, just like I was last year, just like I was anytime I love it, just like I was in New Orleans when we lost the game, and you know, you don't like to lose games, you know, And uh but I'm not down and I'm not losing confidence. I'm not gonna go hide in the corner um. This is the sad Hard Knocks music. Someone gets injured or gets called into the GM's office for a chat. I feel like that's where we are. It does feel like a long time ago now that Jamal Williams was the comic relief of the Hard Knocks summer episodes that were so well received, And if you want to go resurface the Hard Knocks podcast this week, should think if people should probably listen to his completion. Um So, the lines at one in five, it's more the same. Unfortunately for that team, it is um and I think Goff has shown his limitation. Remember earlier this season, I was trying to say, I don't think he's playing like that. Well, he was producing, he was he was in the system, and they had bad like aman Ross and Brown returned for this game and then left after the first couple of plays with a concussion. DJ Chark, who was supposed to be their number one receiver, is now an injured reserve. That was a late week addition to injured reserve for Chark and DeAndre Swift didn't play in this game. So they've had they've had terrible luck, and they happened to show up on the week. You know, Dak Prescott shows up. Let's Prescott got better. Let's hear Daddy on deck not the deck performed better as a game went on. You know, I think he's like anything. You know, his first time he's been out there in quite some time. Um so, but you know, starting with the command of the huddle and the whole operation, I thought he was really one point there. Um So, you know, handled the adjustments that we're going during the course of the game, so you know, those are the little things that don't show up in the I like that. I have the same analysis as the actual NFL head coachair stop it. He was out of rhythm. I don't think you know, he had a couple of incredible throws, like in the third drive of the game. But for the most part, their offense wasn't great. It was successful when they were running straight at Detroit. But that's one of the reasons why that the Cowboys are good. I think their offensive line has gotten better and they can run the ball, and they did today in the key spots. They have a great defense, and they have an experienced quarterback that who didn't play great today, but on that game winning driver or game ceiling drive, really he had a third and eight and they were showing pressure and then he changes the play before the snap and he picks the exact receiver to hit, and then they end up running in a few plays later. Like that's the Dak Prescott experience you weren't getting with Cooper Rush. And that's why it's unanimous the Cowboys are good. The lines we don't have to call the vote no, decisively good the Cowboys. Let's move to Charlotte where the Tampa Bay Bucks are obviously good. They have Tom Brady, right, so they were gonna cake walk against the Panthers, and that's what happened, right negative what spoiler fires down? Feel Tommy Trouble's open to catch. Done Panthers. That's gorgeous like that? Who was that a nice roff? And that was either Jake Dilm or Luke Kikley on w BT. That's gorgeous. What a crew. We need more Panthers highlights this year. Turn up the tremble because the Carolina Panthers, I think they were thirteen and a half point underdogs and what do they do? They hang a three win on the Bucks. The Bucks and Tom Brady? What the hell is going on here? Mark? Everyone saw it. The worst drop of the year was Mike Evans all alone, which would have been a long touchdown on the third play from scrimmage, and that was the closest they ever got to scoring. I think that's set the tone and it's it. Their offense has become an increasing calamity and today it's just you can see everyone's frustration. It's not just Brady that after that that drop was one of the worst drops I think we've ever seen during the run of his podcast. It was just it's also who it was, and I would have unhooked them, I think, and I think that. I think it's just like they're not mentally tough on offense right now. When things don't go well, you can just see it seems to catch up with the I mean, there are other examples. Because they were down seven nothing. This game was a mess for a long while. They were down seven nothing midway through the third quarter, it's fourth and one at the Carolina Leonardard Fournette stopped stuffed drive over three straight in completions um from at the Carolina eight. On a later drive where they scored, they end up winding a kicking a field goal when they were down fourteen nothing. I don't even know why you're kicking a field goal at that point. You gotta get a touchdown. I think, Yeah, it bothers me call it off. I mean, it's not happening for him right now. It was fourth and eight, season to go. But that field goal that was that was that was a mess, and it tells me how much they don't trust what they can do. It was one to three, it's three, it's fourth and eight from the Carolina. Brady is lucky he doesn't throw a pick. I mean, it's just like Brady is not He'll make good throws every game. But this offense is so out of sync. And I think what happened there is because they kept crumbling. That opened the door for p J. Walker, who had ten straight completions at one point, and as eleventh was an absolute beautiful touchdown Dart and their ground game. Everyone's talking about there. They're they're cutting too highlights of Christian McCaffrey's showing up in San Francisco and sunglasses. Oh sorry, Panthers fans. They're saying, forget about it. Like they looked great. It looked really good in the sunglasses. Christian he did. Dante Foreman ran over this Buck's defense, and Chewa Hubbard ran over this Buck's defense, and you know they're really banged up. The things back can only do so much, especially on this Panthers. Their whole Bucks secondary was they lost two more guys in the secondary. They've already missing a bunch of people. So as soon as these guys got past the first layer, they were eating up like thirty five. There a lot of long runs in this It was just a beat down. This season was a good team right now. Yeah, absolutely, we're gonna call a vote soon. But I I know where you're going with it, and I might agree the fact that I'm down for calling off this ball's assance if there ever was one, Greggy is not even so much because there was when they won the Super Bowl. But can I say one thing I think this team, Mrs Bruce arians Really it's kind of where I'm getting at because it's not just the offense that's struggling and Tom Brady that's unable to get really warmed up and get going. The defense has really come down to earth um now and you know, to get run over the way they did in this game, there's just nothing. What do the Bucks do well right now? You have to look at only one side of the ball, and they're not doing things well on that side of the ball today. You're right, Uh, they they're pretty good past defense, But you're right they were. They were the defining trade of Todd Bowls defense throughout the years is a great rush defense, and they've collapsed in on themselves and then you start to question, well, who are we really because if they if the Bucks, who have had some of the best run defenses in NFL history, and so so did the Jets back in the day. By the way, when they add Todd, Uh, if they can't do that, then it it does sort of poco hole and like who are we? And Chris Godwin? I think this has been a little underrag. You know, sometimes you come off with torn a c l and people are like, oh, great, we have him back. He has not been Chris Godwin. Uh, they know. And I would say one thing you mentioned Devin White Um is possibly who they were calling out as a as Todd Bowls, as a player that was still sort of living in the Super Bowl glory. There was a huge run in this game where Devin White just look completely out of position, and it seems to be happening week to week that there's something going on with with him or someone else in the defense. So I don't think you can even say that the defense is a real strength right now. They were out muscled today in every possible way. This is it's wild they are injured though. Uh. The Carolina Panthers, by the way, um won this game again thirteen and a half point underdogs, starting a third string quarterback after trading their franchise star Christian McCaffrey, and our report surface that they had turned down two first round picks for Brian Burns, which I'm not buying. That outrageous that reporting. Um Tom Brady hasn't had a losing record this far into a season since two thousand two. Let's listen to Todd Bowls and see where he stands on the Bucks. We have to wear this on. Honestly, they gotta be grown men. We're gonna see what we're made of. How many people can handle at versity. And it's about the dark as it's gonna be right now, you, I hope. So Todd, before we take a break, are the Bucks good? Mark? You said? No, No, they are. They were the biggest faith. They were the the people who have created the two biggest upsets in the NFL all season in back to back weeks PG Walker three and one. By the way, as starting quarterback Carolina, well today he looks like you're in that win. Not good. We'll be right back after this, all right, welcome back. So the Bucks aren't good, But how about the defending a FC champions. Let's check in Cincinnati. Now Burrow throws towards the left side, back shoulder throw, Chase cut through the field and up chases. I'm successful. Up forty one yard touchdown. The Bengals four t d in four first half drives my goodness. The Cincinnati Bengals are rolling. Joe Burrow passed threety five yards in the first half and the Bengals rolled over the Falcons thirty five seventeen. Could have been worse. They took their foot off the accelerator late. Burrow finished with four one yards and four total touchdowns. We now welcome in the pipe, Nick shook our a f C North Consigliari pipe. I watched this game as well, and uh, it's just a lot of fun to see and a season overall where sometimes the fun quotition is lacking at the quarterback position, especially and we even saw it with Burrow when he had that meltdown in week one. To see him clicking again and to see Jamaar Chase get figured out and Tea Higgins healthy, Entitler Boyd showing he's one of the more underrated guys. This offense is scary good when it's turned on. It's almost as if Zach Taylor through caution to the win and said, you know what, Look, we have all these weapons on offense. Let's stop trying to be somebody where not. Let's play the almost the entire game from the shotgun. Let's spread it around the yard. Six weeks to do that. Oh sorry, what did he have on today? Which polo did? He saying like, oh wow, he thought to be aggressive with his amazing quarterback and spread it out. I think here's the thing. Well, here's the thing, boys, Actually, let's see here. First from Zach Taylor, who might be answering to some of the snark. I hope you all listen to me as I got up here at oh and two and just said, just be patient. This season is very young. We know what type of team we have. I know the faith that I have in these players and coaches. And that's what they've done. That's actually like a V neck T shirt he's wearing, Greggy. I wonder, and it's fair to wonder. And I bet if you had a conversation with you might even say this, this type of offense that he's running now, he probably didn't feel countorable running it when they couldn't protect Joe Burrow and he's getting his butt kicked week after week to start the season. And now the offensive line has gotten better that perhaps they're able to run the offense that they want to and we're seeing the results. That's just a counter point. Yeah, you know it, Shookie. You tell me how the line look today. Now, now this is the perfect match up for it against the Falcons. Team was not a great pass rushing team. They lost a J. Torell, their best players and a lot of guys in the same early But like even a week ago, and I am taking the l here the rainmaker brought out the sunshine in Cincinnati. I could not have been more wrong in this game, by the way. Yes, and uh, you know I might have a good one later coming up at least to even it out. But U like, this is a game where I was so wrong? Was it a game you thought shook that they did protect well? The point I was trying to get to is I didn't think they've protected much better the last couple of weeks. I just think they've kind of adjusted and gotten rid of the ball. Like the Saints game, they didn't protect well at all. Yeah, there were many times I think where Joe Burrow had to escape the pocket and kind of extend to play. But the difference you already mentioned they lost a j Torell early and they didn't have Casey Hayward already. They were playing with a skeleton crew in their secondary and the Bengals feasted on that. And again they just kind of threw cross to the winds. So let's throw the ball around and and you know what, Joe's gonna have to get out of pocket extent in places sometimes and he might take a few hits, but we have so many weapons it's worth the risk. We might as well go with it. And it produced a ton of points for them. And for a second there, I don't know if you guys are paying attention, but a lot of people on Twitter where we were watching out to see if Joe Burrow would flirt with a single game passing yards record. He didn't get there because they kind of slowed down the second half. But when the Falcons made it interesting just before halftime, I was thinking, oh, they gotta stay aggressive. He might have a shot to hit that mark. He didn't, but it was still it was It was the epitome of um scrappiness for the Falcons because this game looked like a grizzly blowout early and then the Falcons put together, Uh what are the seventeen points in the last six minutes of the second quarter to make it interesting. But that was it. They got things straightened out. And you know, Mark, I think with with Burrow, it's interesting. They have mixing and they have the ability to have a balance offense. But in this game, they're just passing the ball. Oh They're always passing the ball, and they just don't want to give in and have that balanced offense. But I guess maybe again, maybe you're just playing your strengths and if Burrows feeling it on a Sunday, you should be passing at the goal line and everywhere else. He has a thirteen to one touchdown to interception ratio since that opening week like situation with Pittsburgh where he threw the four picks. I mean, he looks great. I don't know why you don't just keep doing this. This is not that different than the magic carpet ride we talked about that they went on last year. He wasn't protected well during that situation. He was on the run. He had to make plays, but the big play offense to that was what was missing in the early part of this season. It's back now. Jamar Chase is back, and I think if you can unlock this offense with Jamar Chase doing what he's doing, they can compete with really anyone in the a f C. And choke on the Falcon side of this, I just want to throw this out. It's the Falcons trailed by ten plus points for the final fifty minutes of this game. They threw the ball thirteen times. This is them doing what they want to do right. And it's like we talked about San Francisco's in ability to play from behind. Atlanta's game plan is so flawed if anything goes out of whack, and this game was the perfect judgment of that. Yeah. I watched them every week and I think, you know, this team, they show flashes of figuring it out, of getting it, finding something that works. They just can't ever sometimes it's a half. It's usually the second half where they going to the half time to make adjustments and and there's suddenly a different football team. They haven't really been able to put together four quality quarters of football in one game to go win these games remarkably. They entered today at three and three somehow, But yeah, you're right, hut, and twenty four passing yards from Marcus Mariotta came on one throw on a touchdown pass the Demir Bird, which is his first reception of the season. So it's like catching lightning at a bottle with them, except the storms are few and far between, so you're kind of just stuck with what's for making. I got on love Arthur Smith. I think he's done a good job, and you know last year in this with the talent they have. But if you look at their talent, the idea that Drake London and Kyle Pitts have eighteen yards in this game, there's some mismanagement going on there. I think to some degree with eyes that could be making a much bigger impact than often. It is not too early to panic anyone that is a fantasy owner of either of those players. Six targets for eighteen yards and they just this was the perfect test. Unless he can't sleep at night, Arthur Smith, and he's like, God, what was I thinking today? I gotta start throwing the ball. But there could be some trust issues there's there as well, Speaking of trust issues. Nick shook the Browns. The Browns man, they gotta be hard for you to trust this season. Let's check in their game in Baltimore. Sixty yard field goal fry for rookie Ky York to tie the game, Snap it down, kicking block it has blocked, the ball will fall off at ten and it will be down there two minutes flocked up play in Baltimore that has kept all alive and kept the Ravens at the front. Wow, well, I guess there was over two minutes left, so j Jerry Sandusky didn't even hit us with a haze in the barn w B A L. Yes, the Ravens managed to have void another fourth quarter collapse. Um helped in large part to some huge penalties hit Uh. With the Browns committed and ain um. Baltimore had a big rushing day hundred and sixty yards on the ground, and they are in a tie atop the a f C North through seven weeks. Shookie Uh tell us about this game because this seemed like another one where Baltimore had it in hand and then things got Harry Lamar Jackson completed nine passes today and tells you everything you need to know. About their offense, and yet they were able to pull out a victory because of the way their defense played, because of the way the Browns shot themselves in the foot repeatedly with decisions and with questionable penalties, which I think Browns fans have a case uh to complain about some of the penalties in that last drive, But it was about more than that. Baltimore. You know, they get a strip sack of of Jacoby Brissette, they turned that into a touchdown. They didn't move the ball all that well offensively except for that last drive. Or they're draining clock, pounding on the ground, looking like the Ravens of twenty again, a team that we haven't seen really do that authority that much this season. That's where they shifted to and that was without J. K. Dobbins. But really, I hate to say this, this is probably a game they maybe should have lost. And the reason I say that is because that fumble with a little bit over three minutes left was the worst time possible, except for the fact that they were deep in Brown's territory. Most of their offenses are probably gonna go down there and make you pay. But the Brown's offense, because they cannot put points on the board when they need to quickly at the end of games. They continue to struggle. And on the Brown side of things, man I said last week that Kevin Stefanski had his worst performance as a coach. This was not much better. He made some bad decisions. Third and two, you got three, you know, two and a half minutes left. Whatever it is. You got the NFL's leading rusher in your backfield and you take a shot to Amari Cooper an offensive fast interference. It pushes you out of field goal rate. You explain the whole thing like which is that for a second there, and this is why it's got to be tough to be a Browns fan. This year, uh and every year. I guess he looked like they took the lead. You know, it was a dime. Jacobe percent was playing fantastic on that drive. He made a number of really good plays and it looked like a go ahead touchdown and then you see the flag and it was a good call. Cooper pushed off, so it wasn't like they got robbed. But man, you're right, then they get the penalty before the field goal. They always just find a way. There's no consistency in how they blow these games. But they blow them, but they you know, here's so chump finished with sixteen Carrie shook you like, that's how you close a game out. He's Mariano Rivera. Why isn't he closing out these games? And this goes back to what I said about Kevin Stefanski. He just doesn't make the right decisions in these situations. Last week, it was really ugly. Early in the third quarter against the Patriots. He calls a bunch of pass plays, they go three and out, whatever. He does it again, this time three straight passes. The third one is the strip sack that sets up the touchdown to give the Ravens a ten point lead. But then he adjusted quicker than usual. He went back to the run and it paid off. They kick a field goal, they go down, score touchdown later, they're suddenly within three points again. And then in that situation third and two, I can't, for the life of me understand why you don't treat that it's two downs to get two yards. You have time, you're outside, they want your pocket. I don't like this point in taking that shot there. I don't like this roster and I think that there's a lot of mismanagement that went on in the off season. Number one, let's talk about the defensive line where it's like you're getting run on. If it's not that weak, then there was a situation was a play today and this is a Lamar Jackson thing to some degree, but it's a Brown's thing too today where Lamar dropped back to pass and I think it was like he had about twenty six seconds with no one in his face, and then he took off to run and converted. And it's just like, alright, cool. But the problem is Cleveland does not have complimentary players on defense, and the players they have seem confused and out of date in this thing, like the Joe Woods defensive scheme gives them no chance. They didn't give up a billion points today, but it's just there's zero trust watching the Browns that they're gonna find a way to close these games. There isn't a team in the league that's blown situational football on the fourth quarter like this, And I have to say that Kevin Stefanski is probably on the hot seat. I mean, I don't know how you necessarily make a big argument too well, is that so crazy? Staley's the hot seats. When the quarterback shows up Watson, how the season ends, I think we'll have a huge impact on whether or not it doesn't have that. David the Joku left the game on he was seeing crutches in in the in the locker room matter. He's been having a great season of the year two years ago, and I think offensively had you know, we were talking about what a great job he's done creating offense, you know, his hiring and defensively, uh, they're they're absolutely a mess. But you know, you you mentioned the Shawn Watson. You gotta look at the Browns. You know, to me, they're not like a two and five team, but they are two and five ultimately. And then you look at their next four weeks before watson suspension ends Bengals, Dolphins, Bills, Bucks Is, So you know you're hoping. I look at that group and I look, I say, you're hoping to go too and two there and you be four and seven when Watson returns, which you know probably isn't good enough. They blew too many games in they had a chance, they had a chance to set the table and they're they're unable to do it. Because this Cleveland Browns team is simply an incomplete operation. Quickly on Lamar though I know, like we've talked about his negatives here and this feels like they got a little lucky either. Two fifty net yards not a good offensive performance. But his running this year is next level. Like it's been a little under the radar that he's leading the league in yards per carry. He is top four or five in the league in rushing yards and in key spots. In this game, fourth and one at the fifty, if they didn't pick that up, they're gonna kill Harpop. But if it's Lamar, he picks it up. Later in that drive they ended up fumbling. It's like third and two, Lamar goes for eleven, he goes for ten for fifty nine. That has been the equalizer for them. And he's having a next level rushing season and he might break his own record in terms of the most rushing year. But if you go to that back to that Bengals game two weeks ago, I mean, he put the game on his back at the end with his running ability and completely that that was a Lamar jack, but he's also kept them a flow. I was gonna say I was gonna say. It should also be stated that he has not thrown more than a touchdown in a game and over a month now, and he has come down after a blazing hot star the first three weeks. But the running game is a big part of what he does. Help us out who locked it? Who locked it? Hey, Greggy was going to get your Ravens. Yeah, so you have to sweat it out. That's almost worse than the loss when you have to really deal with that heat at the end of the worst than a loss, I can almost. Uh, we'll get to your lock in a little bit. Mark, help us out shook before we say goodbye. We're trying to figure out who's good. We're holding vote, we're holding votes. Uh, let's go over the four teams we just discussed with you. Bengals good, right, good? Yeah, well, let me hear. Let me hear all four, let me hear all four. We'll go one of the time that carries the vote. Okay, Bengals Falcons not good? Okay, The Ravens good, Okay, not good. I don't know, are you the same way we're seeing good? Because very uneven everything that they're all relative song strengths weak weaknesses. I'm going they're good. I'm going Ravens are good. Mark. If I can take the middle between those, I would because I don't see good as like special on any level. Good. Yes, there are good. We're not looking for special right now, NFL, We're just looking for good. Give us something finally, the Brownies, Oh, give me a break. Yeah, not good, not good? All right, Jockie, thank you buddy. As always, you are a hero. We'll be right back after this break. Welcome back. It is on in Northern Jersey. LARTs and a shotgun after the set again takes the snap about to throw stuffs fires it to the end of siance standing up. He's not in the Santo Holy and the pot is over. Bo bopa w a n the desert down at the swamps of Jersey. Everybody keeps down the jimon. But in this NFL, a team that knows how to win at the end of the game, in these sloppy affairs, I'll take your places. That'll take you all the way to six and one. After safety Julian Love and fellow safety Xavier McKinney stopped Christian Kirk at the one yard line, no time left. That preserved the win over the Jags in duval Mark. This is the best start for the Zuma and since two thousand eight, they do it every week. This way, I don't want to hear about this worst six and one team ever business there. They are well coached. We've talked about that on Thursday. They're powerful. They overpowered the Jaguars. I mean it was concerning early on because right tackle rookie right tackle Evan Neil lost, left guard Ben Brederson lost. You've lost your line right there. And what did they do by games that wandered away from the stadium injured, lost to injury, I don't know, like a spinal tap situation. Sandwiches, thank you. I think you probably knew where I was going with that. But that's fine. Its clarity. I didn't see this game yet. I'll be watching Tom. I think you'll enjoy it, and I'll tell you why. It's my kind of football because and down down the stretch. I mean, this is like a forty nine minute game pass if there. It was a look Greg and I both Greg and I were both locked and very long. This went on forever. But I mean, sa kwear just this looked like so many other Giants games where they found a way just to close it out at the end and you had to one yard rosher se Kwon Barkley fantastic today a hundred and ten yards. Daniel Jones like number one. I don't know what they're gonna think about Daniel Jones the end of the season. He's it is, it's tough, it's incomplete. It depends what your other options are, where they are on the draft and all that business. But I see him being so much more well coached than he's been in the past, and they really I think Brian Dables find a way to unlock him on the ground consistently a hundred and seven yards to day at nine point seven yards per carry. Every time you look up, he's moving the chains. Uh. There were some like very design runs for him that he was really successful that they made a couple of money throws and this Jaguars defense is good against the run, but they just wore them down. They wore them down, and so the flip flop there was Ken Trevor Lawrence in the end make that game winning throw. And we've seen this sort of over and over where he's been putting these situations where it's the last second tossing post completions. He almost said he played one of his better games early on today and Doug Peterson, I give Doug Peterson credit. I mean, he was really aggressive with this offense early. Um. The Giants went down for an opening touchdown. The Jaguars tried to set the tone by going down, scoring themselves and dolling up like Brian Dayball did in Week one against the Titans, a two point conversion which they converted. So they hung around, but the Giants were just a little too physically powerfulness, I would imagine though. Doug is also rather piste off Angelo after you have a and over and you when you're going in for a score the way the game ends to be that close. But that's again that is a lot of that goes back to the Giants. There the first team in NFL history to start six and one, are better and have each of its first seven games decided by one possession. They have six wins by combined twenty seven points. They probably don't have one on the decided on the last play of the game, and the you mentioned Barkley. Um, I was watching their their final touchdown drive the Giants, I believe was their final touchdown drive, and Barkley makes a jump cut near about the or thirty yard line and then makes two guys miss and then just darts down the field and it's like, there is no difference between that dude and the sensation fresh out of Penn State. I think he's better. You have well, okay, so maybe he's a smarter player, that electric playmaker that let's face it, everyone kind of for the most part thought that guy was gone by the end of the season. So I think that I think he's a slam dunk choice for Comeback Player of the Year at this point, uh and one of the better comeback stories in a long time. Absolutely. I just want to mention two quick things that this has been obviously a league trend, but there was a roughing the passer call on Dexter Lawrence that helped set up a Jaguars touchdown. So if Doug Peterson's upset about some things, he can't be upset about what happened here, but Brian Dable should be. I mean, Dexter Lawrence essentially kind of tugged Trevor Lawrence around by the jersey and it was called roughing the pastor. It was egregious. Um. Secondly, Travis et N had a he had a rough catch and fumble that helped essentially set up a giant score here. But Travis E. T N week after week to me looks like one of the better running backs in the league. He is a fascinating watch. And they've got something. There's no doubt about it. Their running game has been awesome. Their team has totally changed. And yeah, that didn't he fumble on the one after? Like, yes, it was a killer turnover. It was a killer turnover. Their their team has totally changed throughout the course of the season. Now they've got a really strong running game. They have no outside receivers, Like everyone is just an inside slot guy and you saw that on the last drive and they got close, but they can't go outside. They don't have a guy who can win outside. Kirk is not that guy. Uh. But their defense, like we started the year trying to talk up like this defense could be special and they just you know, gave up how many yards in place to Matt Ryan last week and then they get totally steamrolled here at the end and give up four d yards. That's the best you know day the Giants, so their defense and special it's just like a defense, and this is the one of those games. Though there's not much separating these two teams. You gotta admit, like, but one's two and five and one six and one. That's the football God. It's a little bit of luck and a lot of bit of a lot of verve, and there's there's a lot to it that goes into how the Desert sets these things. But that's always so stunned by the spread of this game, the Giants not getting the respect from the Desert because this is happening every week, and I think it's sustainable. I think they'll continue to win games like this. Well, it's the numbers. It's that. At first, for a second I thought you were you know, who's really saying they're the worst six and one team ever? And then I was like, oh, yeah, we can. People were saying that about the five and one Giant. So actually, I think football outsiders did ran the numbers and just they're not putting any opinion into it. But in terms of their d v o A and the numbers of how good the offensive they were the worst like five and one team ever. That's what they did they were eight teams coming into this week like dv o A just as much as the next guy, potentially, But I don't care what they it's and I we lean on that stuff all the time. But this is something a little bit different about this football thing. They played the Seahawks next week. That's a spicy But you would like crumple it up first, or what would you do? Shred it? I don't know. I actually have a theory of what I would do, but I don't think we should talk about it on these airways. But spreadsheets, Yeah, like how to administer it. Let's check in. Let's see if we had another New York sweet tall sweep to the left, pull with blockers and fun as a priest to the left. He's gone ten five touchdown Breese Hall house call, the Jets take the lead, m crushing lee. That is the final touchdown of the year for Breeze Hall, who a little later in the first half against the Broncos got hit on the knee suffered an injury that Robert Sala believes is very serious and most likely season ending a c L tear. Crushing news for the Jets, Uh and their young offense filled with playmakers, but the Jets persevere sixteen nine over the Broncos, UH, leaning on their defense to carry the day on a day that not just Breeze Hall, but Corey Davis, one of their top wide receivers, and Elijah Vera Tucker, their star offensive lineman, all exited for the game in the first half. They get by on a day that Brussell Wilson is out with that hamstring issue. That it was just weird because we talked on the Thursday show that he looked like he might play and he was saying he had mane blood and all this stuff, and then all of a Suddy struggled and limped through a late week practice and was inactive. So that that led to Brett Rippon, who you know, he's Brett Rippon, and uh, the Jets really gave them the opportunity to the Denver to get a much needed home win here committing a ton of penalties and being a little sloppy early on. Once Hall exited, Zack Wilson was not able to uh get much out of the offense. And that's a very real there's some real concerns around the Jets offensively now that hauls out, but at the end of the day, the Jets are five and two now and they're four and oh away from the meadowlands. And this was another game where it was the defense point to Sauce Gardner who broke up the fourth down pass uh to clinch the game. That show like they can win these games, just like the Giants in a very unsettled, muddled landscape, they can find a way, and they have more often than not lately. I have a couple of concerns. I mean, obviously, like without Briest Hall, what they were, because I mean no offense with him, was someone that I thought could shield the attack from Zach Wilson's up and down nature largely down. I watching this not as closely as you, Dan, but I don't see it with Zach Wilson right now. And that's the record aside. I think that's your concern going forward if the running game is not going to be what it was. Yeah, and I'll say this, Michael Carter is very good. He's going to kind of step into a much bigger role for the Jets. Maybe they trade for someone, you know, Melvin Gordon's on the out, trade for Christian McCaffrey and Denver. It's two coaching steps into each other. That doesn't make any sense. Okay, I'm just saying it's an option. It's something you could explore at the top the offer that they don't phone. I don't think san Facco is looking to flip Christian McCaffrey like a house. I don't know how this works, but anyway, yes, I think the Jets are in a lot of trouble now if Wilson continues to struggle. Now, I got to give Denver credit on the defensive side of the ball. Once again, Greg week after week, and this has made it even more frustrating for fans of this team and the a f C West, where no one's running away with the division. Um they are putting forth an effort that's keeping their team in games. And they did it again. They had Wilson and a blender in this game, and they just don't get enough on offense. They get hardly anything at all. Right, they outgained the Jets. They only gave up two hundred and sixty yards ten first downs to the Jets, but that Hall play and Michael Carter had a thirty seven yard play. Like the Jets haven't moved the ball at all with Zach Wilson. But they have had these explosive players that have been enough they're gonna have to be a defensive team. It's just frustrating. I think if you're a Jets fan because you did see offensive pass production with Joe Flacco. I'm not saying you want to go back to Joe Flacco, but you did see Garrett Wilson, you know, ball out and Corey Davis. They said it's gonna be a it's a PCL injury. They don't think it's gonna be anything major. That still might be a weaker or two, but he will be back. But you do want to be able to use these offensive skill position players. And yeah, now it's not kind of just be briest Hawk coming up with place, but they have such a good depth like Carter is a great example of that. He is. But and you guys know, I was very down before we started the show because and a little concerned about you, to be honest, but not now you're you have you know what did it? It's podcasting with us. I mean it's just like this is a brotherhood. We were here where we feel comfortable. I think so. I think that's what it is. Um, you think this it's been a it's been a long time since the Jets had like a a young running back that hit the ground and looked like a potential star. And it's just it's so painful and so predictable. But he breaks that long touchdown run and I had to Twitter feeling good about myself and my team. Uh, and right Reesel is a star. And not fifteen minutes later he gets his knee blown. He gets caught up in some traffic and you hear a scream and I'm like, they cut away from the play and I'm like, I don't think he got up, and sure enough it was a serious knee injury. So they have to find a way. And ultimately here's a thing, even with Breese Hall done for the year, and we hope it's not one of those like we talked about Chris Godwin situations or Michael Gallup where the guy has the A C L and he comes back and he's still not the guy. Sometimes you guys has the has the A C L and he's fine the next year. So you hope that's how it what it is for Breese Hall. Um. Uh, they have pieces and depth to still be proficient on offense. But if Zach Wilson is going to be the guy has been the last two weeks, um, that's gonna be what haunts them this year and what's gonna doom them to mediocrity. So with that said, the Giants good obviously depends except for football outsiders, but definitely I don't want Giants Twitter to come after are you gonna got six? Greg? Here, I'm just I'm just saying you have to think about it at least whether they're gonna be good moving forward, but they they've earn good. There's a lot of good teams now. This bronchos saying everyone crazy? Do you hear attempt to tune out some of what Greg says and that was the case of a minute ago. I don't know what he was Greg. Yeah, just they're good right now? Okay, It just we're looking for fun in this regular season and then also, but he's got to get over if you're able to come do the show. Basically, what he's got to deal with super Bowls from a long time ago. Good as a low bar, that's fair. This Broncos team is like um book notes on c SPAN, like it's about that vibrant to watch and they're annoying me. And I did ask you the question, Dan. At some point, doesn't Nathaniel Hackett maybe just like you know, he goes into his office and Denver just leaves his wallet, his cell phone, you know, maybe takes out eleven grand and cash and just hard vanishes on the rental. In the seventies, when he was a writer on SNL, he was there and nobody liked him, and he wasn't getting any of his sketches on the air. Uh, And one day he just didn't go to work. And then he changed his mind a couple of days later and went into work and they were like, no, like, what are you doing here? You don't belong here anymore. Um, he could try that, he could do a soft quit. Oh, look look at that lock. Oh I locked up, something came out of it, came out of it. And I also I forgot to play this during the last recap. Why what happened? West Bros? Locked the Jaguar? You know what, Nick, It's not about the record. It's about the NFL network airtime and what you're doing with it. And you're running into the end zone every week with that airtime keep postel you you also and then you know, and by the way, it's getting late early for the Broncos. They're two games back at the playoffs right now. I know you know the Chiefs are. I'm just saying, you're saying like, no one's running away with it. I I We've seen enough of these teams come back after especially a team with literally the number one defense in the league. Right now, it's hard to just totally cancel them out. But it's getting pretty close here. Two games back. Is it's it's the offense that stinks and the plan of the offense that I think that stinks, and maybe Russell Wilson that stinks. Uh. And that was the first time I locked the Jets in sixty eight weeks according to previously read four out locking the Jets. So this is a new new territory team. I want to say, yes, but I'm very good. We're good, maybe troubled. Now are the Jets? This exercise as good as a low enough bar that, yeah, their defenses face maybe we have We'll have to go through this at the end of the show. All right, let's head across the sidewalk to Sofi stadium, where there was a foreign team four and two team plan and uh a frisky team with a superstar quarterback named Gino. Surely there are good teams here. Let's check in. First inten toss. The Walker goes right side and has a little running room. Parkinson outron gotta catch a bottles down Cityhawks seventy four yards. He can hawker the third he gets fired out of the gatling gunn and he is gone. How the right Simons seventy four and nobody got a whiff? I love it, stay Steve Rabel. Oh the boos are out, k I r oh. I like that shout out of a gatling usually shot out of a cannon. Enough with the cannons. It's two thousand twenty two. We got hypersonic missiles. Now we got lasers. People are getting excited. That's the fastest up by a ball carrier that he broke twenty two. Well, look at that. We're never gonna make miles per hour thing. But behind Ken Walker, the third and two touchdown passes from Geno Smith Rumble passed the Chargers football's worst four and three team thirty seven to three. Yes at so FI Stadium. Greggy obviously the Jets are dealing in with it now with Breece Hall or Shot Penny goes out of the lineup with a season ending injury, and you have Ken Walker, who is a big time player. It looks like he is incredible. He's not what his draft profile was, at least what I thought, which was more of a bruiser. This guy has juice, he has patience, he's got wiggle. Maybe he's too high profile to be a guy, but I want him to be my guy along with you know, Smith, just because he's so much. I've taken Kenneth Walker. Kenneth He's he's such to be honest, like it's it's a little bit um impossible to join the Seahawks hype train at this point with like could they are fun? I do remember like four games into this season, I said, Gino is playing so well, And he played well today, had a couple of bad throws at an interception, but played well. But I expect that each week. And we said back then they've got like the last rinked running game, the last rinked defense. If they just picked those up, this could be a frisky team. And suddenly you look and Kenneth Walker is running through secondaries and their defense in back to back weeks has been solid to better. I know they gave up twenty three points here, but there was uh they forced two turnovers in the first quarter which really set the tone. And there was a six drive stretch where the Chargers went five straight punts and then uh, a turnover on downs And that's all you need for this offense. It sounds crazy, but if you give this offense enough chance, it's clearly a top ten offense right now. Ekeler had a tacky late touchdown to make this thing look more competitive. Seattle badly outplayed, uh, the Chargers in their building in this game, and uh, yeah, it's it's you know, on the Charger side of things, it's it's a thing. It's a problem. Their offense is underachieving. I think everyone that bought in hard on the Chargers, and that includes this podcast ending into the season, brought into Justin Herbert as an m VP candidate. None of this is looking so hot right now because I feel like the last month or so, and I know they were winning before, they were a three game winning streak going to but even the head coach said he doesn't feel like we're on a winning streak. And then you saw them play like the coach fields the team is, which is very SUBI they'll never be in first place in this division again all season. It's over. I don't mean that they're over entirely, but now I think they I think there are major problems here. And I mean, you know, Justin Herbert and through an unusual interception for him today, UM, he was stripped to the ball back to back turnovers. I mean this has could have been picked off a couple more times. This Charger's offense, to me, is just poorly organized, poorly coached. UM. Not fun to watch right now, which is like, if you're doing that with Justin Herbert, that's on you, because you've got you've got something special basketball. That's true. But more and more bad news with the Chargers. J C. Jackson, who's their big time, one of their big free agent acquisitions or offseason acquisitions. UM suffers a bad leg injury. It's a dislocated kneecap. He gets carded off in an air cast, and you know what that means almost always his season is over and it's been a disas Williams looked like he suffered a pretty bad ankle knee injury. I mean, it's just starting to fall apart a little bit here. Yeah, I mean it is. He played a little bit in the first half and then didn't come back for the second. They have a bye week, No team is needed to buy more. But yeah, that Mike Williams played to me was so typical of this Charger season. It's a fourth in eleven in a pretty hopeless situation. Herbert gets out of quick pressure, makes an incredible throw to Mike Williams. Everything that Mike Williams is so hard. Who makes an incredible catch, Yet it was short of the first down and his knee and ankle get bent backwards awkwardly. Game over. Then he's now going into the bye week with it what could be a significant injury that he needs to recover from. Yeah, they lose Jackson. I mean they did lose their left tackle. Corey Lindsley has been banged up. Like the quality of the players that they've been losing is kind of outrageous. It's it's it's part of the equation. And just to sum up, you know, questions about the leadership and the decision making behind the scenes on that team. Keenan Allen has one more week away from the bye and a hamstring that he hurt in Week one. The fact that he played and then instantly hurt himself again not a great week. Look. J C. Jackson came back early this season to play that Thursday night game against the Chiefs when he wasn't right and he was never right, and then he his knee gets jacked up in this game. Justin Herbert, we know the story of that Thursday night game with the rib and leaving him and even thought at the end of this game I mentioned the the Fugaizy Austin Ekeler Herbert touchdown at the end of the end, what are these guys even playing for? Like? Why why are they being so cavalier with these players, especially given their injury issues this year? There's a pattern there. I agree with you. We shouldn't. We shouldn't overlook uh what the charge the Seahawk defense did though they I really think they're building something. They changed what they were doing. Darryl Taylor played well for a second straight week, made a big play like their defensive line should be good. Willan's making plays on the ball like the coverage was all over the Chargers and the Seahawks are in first place, like they're a real story. To me, they're good. I think they're a good team because they're a good offense. I feel like I know what I'm getting out of Gino every week. He had some times they lost DK. That's just one that's okay, good I need to see. I mean, they lost DK Metcalf pretty early in this game, and that's like the moment you're like, oh, this offense is going to kind of fall apart. But they end up getting Marquis Goodwin for two touchdowns and then Walker that is that does change they are? If that's long term? Uh, Chargers, I do not think. I don't think they're good. I don't. I'm going to vote no on Chargers. They have a good roster, They're not good football team right now, I'd say the same. All right, let's move on. That hurts just right now. The Texas the light hand out to Jacobs, talk the middle, tank cuts rights, tot five touch out, Tacobs tricking his fun rushing touchdown of his day. What the hell is going on with Josh Jacobs? I mean I'm not complaining, Well, what the hell is going on here. Josh Jacobs, who you heard from before the season started as yet another quote unquote first round bust who's whose contract is fifth year option, was not being picked up and the Raiders clearly under new leadership, seemed to be in the direction of moving on. He has gone absolutely off these last three weeks. Tree for three touchdowns in this game, a very important game for the Raiders who win thirty eight over the Texans and Mark This is a game they absolutely had to have and to see Jacobs now stacking these big time weeks, it does add an element to their offense that they kind of needed. Yeah, they've changed who they are on offense, and I really love what they've done. And I think Josh McDaniels, you know, patiently kind of wanted to see what he had and he found out that Josh Jacobs is about to have his career season. He's having it right now. They were down seen entering the fourth quarter in this and then they've simply took over as lost a lot of a ton of narrow games. I like that, Yeah, because they saved their season. I mean, we'll see what's to come. But had they gone one in five with the loss to the Texans. Check you later, but four straight touchdown marches of ten plays eighty two yards, ten place, seventy five yards, a seventy six yard touchdown drive, another seventies six yarder, and Jacobs, to me is someone that had the ability to absolutely lift the offense and where down the Texans. It's like the Texans on the flip side played a good game. Davis Mills played the best game of his year. I mean, he They don't have a lot of parts, but Damian Pierce as a as a runner is very powerful as himself. He had ninety two yards and they have just enough through the air where like I thought, Mills played some had some money throws they where he stood in against the rush and delivered. And you've been waiting for that game for him because I think last year you saw a little sparks. Today I saw it again. Um, this offense does not need to revolve around Derek Carr, which I like, You're getting just enough of a Davante Adams uncertain drives, but there without Waller at the moment, and Jacobs makes up for it and they can win games this way. I like, I kind of like, who could they can be from here on out because their physical team. I mean, their offense is good. They've scored thirty three points a game the last three weeks, really beat the Chiefs, including against the Broncos defense. They're the only team that's hurt the Broncos defense this year. I watched this game and we made fun of Mark on the previous show for drafted it so early. Now we could have you still could have drafted in the last but it was a very obvious gaff in terms of the draft strategy. It wasn't It wasn't critical of Mark the man. This was an enjoyable game. Ended up watching this game and both quarterbacks played outstanding. There were dimes all over the place. And these might be two of the best five running backs in the league right now. I you know, play a game, go watch this one game pass and count how many times Josh Jacobs and Damian Pierce didn't make the first guy miss. It's just like automatic, Like there was some good. The Raiders finished with the season high fo yards of offense. And you know what I said earlier about you know, they were down three points, got to win. You know that's good because I think a team like the Raiders, especially with their soft schedule coming up. You just need to bank that, you know, feel goodwin where you close out a team and you you kind of are able to lose that. Man, this team is gonna come and get us at the end. That happens to us every week. I just would not be surprised if they were writing the thick of things in a few weeks. But we shall see one at a time. For the Yankees, I mean the Raiders, but both Okay, Dan, let's take a break and we'll be right back. Welcome back, all right. The Houston, I mean the a f C South, I should say, always seems to come back to two teams. They have a huge showdown on Sunday, the Division at Steak before Halloween. Let's check it out. Weird scheduling, is what I'm saying. Ryan gets rid of it quickly. Tennis second forty fifty, Adams forty thirty, twenty ten five touchdown Titans. Try God, what a great place. Wow. I love that, so does everybody else in this stadium. Well, let's not speak for everyone, not Frank Raik. I'm sure there were some cults fans in there that were furious. Mike Keith and Dave McGinnis still with a spicy call and I like it. W g f X. Andrew Adams did have the seventies six yard pick six, a big play for the victorious Tennessee Titans nineteen to ten over the Colts. We now bring in our a f C South consigliary, Justin Graver, what's up, buddy, This was a big one. I I say slightly in jest, but the fact that both these teams have now finished up their head to heads home and homes, I should say, by winning both, you just get a feeling that they just ran away with this division. The Titans, well, they've got to take care of business where it matters now down the stretch. But as far as like being in the best position you could possibly hope to be after an O and to start, I think the Titans are doing well. Fifth straight win over the Colts, second sweep in as many years. So that's that feels good for Diggers. Trabel owns Frank Ryk right now that like Andrew Luck owned the Titans for his entire career, but now the tables have turned, and you know that is that's a good call, Justin because it hasn't been dominant, it hasn't been flashing. Nobody's talking about the Titans, but you're kind of used to that, I know, and that's a bit of a chip on the shoulder for Tytoons fans. But they've gotten off the mat when four games in a row and they're kind of right back to where you thought they would be around this time. So you gotta give him credit for that. This game was not entirely exciting. I gave. I talked a little bit on Thursday show about how it was the fifth ranked CBS crew. They were right. It was the fifth best game probably on CBS today. Um, but it was fun for Titans fans. Bud Dupree came back in this game after he was heard. He played a little bit after coming back and it was hurt again. Eight pressures in this game, working mostly against Dennis Kelly, the former Titan who stepped in to play left tackle for the Colts, got a sack. It was the defense that did it. I mean, the Titans were on a red zone hot streak, uh eleven straight touchdowns in the red zone going into this game. They were over two kicked four field goals, didn't score a touchdown on offense, but still win nineteen to ten because the Colts couldn't move the ball either. Where are we with Ryan Tannehillip's not limping around out there, and I I heard something about a walking boot um. After the game, Ryan Tannehill turned his ankle on a play. He missed one snap. Malik Willis came in handed it off. Tannehill came back the next series and finished out the game. But that was in I mean that was like midway through when was that? That was right at the beginning of the fourth quarter? First play at the fourth quarter he turned his ankle. For the rest of the game, he attempted two passes and Henry, that's where you could have listened to the great John Madden. Uh and what he told Dan hans Is famously, if you don't know the injury status when it happened, just make it, make it more than likely people will not check Derrick Henry. Also, again he's kind of been the face. If you had to pick one player that's kind of symbolized the season for the Titans, it's Henry, who once again had a big day. Is third straight one yard Russian game season high totes. UH. The team started slow, Henry started slow. He's warmed up, the team's warmed up. That is not a coincidence, right, It's not a coincidence. And Henry was like the engine that won this game. Towards the end, the Colts turn it over with three and a half minutes left. Frank Greig had used all of his time outs on the previous drive, one on a challenge that was just a phenomenal catch by Austin Hooper got the ball knocked out of his hands but then reclaimed it before it hit the ground. That was basically the game winning play because it put the Titans in field goal range to really put them up by two scores. Frank Greik used his time outs on that drive with like five minutes left in the game, hoping, I guess, to get the ball back with more time, but ended up being that when the Titans had the ball after the turnover with three and a half minutes left, they only had to pick up a couple of first downs, which Henry did, and that I used the game what's happening to your physical body during these Titans games? When they turn in your favor? Stephens whoa and getting nervous like what are you what are you saying? Emotional asked a question, No emotional detection. Really, I mean some some numbness has sunk. Don't you like own a Titans website or something that I started one that I don't run anymore. But he also runs a blog. Give me a break this um Emotionally, yeah, I don't. I don't believe that differ. Difference in this division might be like they both have terrible offensive lines, but one quarterback is a little better to deal with it than the other. And the Colts, to me, are such a team. I don't know how they're three three and one. They're so far from good. Uh not good? Uh? They you know, we know their offense isn't good, but like they are an example of this season because defenses are letting you just throw the ball seven yards at a time ultimately, if that's what you're gonna do. And that's why you know, Ryan threw it fifty something times last week, he threw it forty four times this week, and yet they didn't top three hundred yards and they got ten points. Like if there's just something about my my brain breaks that he's completed thirty three passes and they have ten points, but that very much is like the NFL in two, a lot of completed passes going his team beat the Chiefs. That is the name I've ever seen. Just here's the good news, justin it's the g men corollary here. They are perfectly built for this NFL. They have They run a ball control offense with a Hall of Fame running back and a quarterback that's not gonna kill you very often. And they are battle playoffs against the Bengals, We're not talking the playoffs, and they're battle tested with a good coaching staff. They will win a lot of close games this year, and we're gonna look up at the standings in January. They're gonna be twelve and five, and you might even have a buy again. Yeah, yeah, we'll see. I'm taking the under at something might, but I think this is gonna be a team that ends up winning eleven games and again, and you'll be like, what I'm gonna picking some of the playoffs would be proven correct in that, but it is what it is. They're the only team in either Southern Division to have a winning record. I got the vapors talking about like the Panthers are one game out in the NFC South. Everyone's alive. One more game before Sunday Night football has head to land over Maryland. Flock to the left started nine, pressure up the middle, love flood towards mclardad catch the Packers for mcst dow Bram Weinstein. And that was not I would tell you what. That's not London Fletcher. That's Julie Donaldson with the call um for w B. I g listen Tyler Heineke. He's got plucked for days and you don't want him start in ten games in a row, but he steps in. You squint hard enough. This a little farm to him just kind of looks like far a little bit sometimes just throws the ball for grabs and good things happen. And then good things happened for the Commanders in a twenty three win for the Packers. We gotta ask them they're good. We Mark Um, let's start with you on this one. Let's start on a personal note. You moved out of a lock who was your original Kansas City Chiefs who are victorious easily this and this is why. This is part of what makes you Mark and part of why I love you. Mark. You're so unpredictable. Um and volcanic in some ways that you moved away from the Chiefs and then shows a team that you actively dislike to believe for you expect, you know, the football gods. They're obviously gonna smite you on that one. And they did. You took the l Yeah, they dropped an old ancient hammer on me today. And I'll tell you something that ever again, lock up the Packers ever in my life. They are so I know that they've been on a tugboat time out. They're on a sessy lifetime band. Well, it's about a sessy sit in sessy suspension, se suspension for a lifetime suspension. I am. I cannot believe. First of all, you would have enjoyed sitting and watching this game with markets the first and Greg you can explain like the first half ended while the game I was watching was deep into the third quarter, and it's like this thing went on for four thousand years. It was as drawn out as possible and unpleasant to watch in my circumstances. But what did you think of it? One and the Packers made a touchdown to make it close at the end, Setler like explode and was just like like please like relieve me like, I will love you forever Packers if you win this game. And this is why I don't do fantasy football. This is why I don't play corner hole with you. Is because I get to competitive, so I know not to it the locks competition. You are super into it. I'm into lock lost. By the way, the team digger, Shame on you. If I had locked the Titans, they would have blown it. That's not how um. Let's talk about the game. Let's um before we get to Washington and the good stuff there a little. We'll save the best for last there. The Packers are the bigger story because the Packers, instead of a get right game against a backup quarterback and land over Maryland, they instead lose again, which led to the questions for the team after the game, including to Aaron Rodgers writing the ship and getting the playoffs in that field right now? Damn right, it does. I'm not I'm not worried about this squad. In fact, this might be the best thing for us this week. You know, nobody's gonna give us a chance. Go on to Buffalo and Sunny Night football the chance they could ex most shoot, it might be the best thing for us. I don't know, I don't know if they can and it's like they can run, but where are they running to? Well, I mean they have their own issues in the playoffs, that's how they got into tugboat time out um, but there are issues on offense. It's it's just not happening. You know. They make that beautiful throw, that scramble where Rogers flushes out of the pocket and then hints Aaron Jones to give them life in the second half, and it's like, why is it there more of that? Like why is everything so hard? Especially with the passing game. Greg There was one moment on a key fourth in one where they have Aaron Jones and I Absolute Hammer and A J. Dillon and they try to pass to Romeo Dobbs who's never met a pass. He couldn't drop right. And I think he had his hands on four passes today and he had zero. Or that's my point. This is an ongoing situation with the receivers here. It has kind of been a worst case scenario where he's struggling to find so many trust. Yet the game plans remains this like Rogers will figure it out in big spots and they're not figuring it out right, and he you know, he was seeing mouthing to the sideline after a separate possession that ended on a Romeo Dobbs drop. Although I would point out Rogers through that past low and his accuracy was not great throughout today, he's playing through that thumb injury. He's not playing well. Dobbs isn't playing well. But that was another situation where they're not going to the running game and he was mouthing to the sideline, what are we effing doing? What are we doing? And it's like a weekly, weekly cutaway to him doing something. The frustration of the They had eighty yards going into the fourth quarter of this game. They had three good fourth quarter drives. One of them ended on that on down, so it ended up being a heartbreak on that fourth down play. But then they had a touchdown and you know, the garbage time drive. They had eighty yards the Green Bay Packers. And it all comes together because there's a lack of rhythm, certainly on often and a lot of quick drives like they were. I think out of their first six drive, five of them were punts, three of them three and out. It's another couple where they just get one first down and point. But part of it is their defense can never get off the field, So it's a combination. The Washington Commanders had thirty seven yards minutes a time of possession and in the second half they had a sixteen play like eight minute forty eight uh second long field goal drive. And that's something we've seen in the second half of all their games. Like the Washington uh running game was really pretty dynamic and mixed it up throughout the day. Heineke did not play well. Get to him in a second, but it's it's all like of one piece to me, like the offense and the defense and Alan Lozard goes out and like all the targets Dan are to Lazard and Jones, and you're saying, why is it more of that, because like they don't have more of those players that Rogers trust. Seventeen targets to those two guys, and when you you don't get those two guys, you got nothing. And let's get to Washington a second. But just one more note the Sammy Watkins play where it was a deep throw um and he was being interfered with, but he kind of pulled up on the route and the throw was so over his head that they picked up the flag to the point where the announcers like Sammy Halkins hurt there and it's like, was he actually injured. I don't think so. He either wasn't running the route right or or he doesn't have any speed left on his legs. It's just very sloppy on that side. On a day where Aaron Joe's and a J. Dillon had twelve carries combined. Wow, and one last thing on them too. I think Rogers is afraid of his offensive line, and I don't know David Buck he didn't have today, and they're playing a team that was one of the highest uh you know, rated teams in terms of pressure sacks, pressure rate. Okay, one quarterback in this game actually was hit ten times. That was Taylor Heineke. One offensive line almost pitched the Gholston on Washington. That was Green Bay. Rogers was barely touched because he wasn't holding onto the ball. He was getting rid of it quickly. So I think he was almost like spooked. You never see them make a play. I was just watching this Packer's offense and be like someone making no one's making a play. And and that includes Aaron Rodgers. He's not playing well and in this time, I don't think he made good decisions in terms of when he got rid of the ball. And on the Washington side, Terry McLaurin, his numbers aren't great this year because quarterback play has been so erratic and in general, the Commander's offense is pretty uh middling at best. But he made several big plays in this game, including the beautiful touchdown on a great throw from Heineke. Uh. They have to make sure Curtis Samuel has been nice for them, uh and has found his role. They have Brian Robinson back there with Antonio Gibson, but Tarry McLaren has gotta be targeted ten times a game. He's he's the guy, He's the dude. I know you agree with that one, Greg, Yeah, he won them this game. We we put so much on quarterbacks and I'll mention heine Key in a second, but sometimes you just need your guys to go make a play. And that was McLaurin today, two plays including that that lob I love that play call. I mean that call by the radio play by play there that was like Heineke lobs it up, which is what a lot of his passes are, and McLaren went and just got it. And he beat Die Alexander multiple times in this game, including on that last drive a couple of times. Uh, that's just like your best player beating the other guy's best player. He did it on the touchdown throw too. And Heineke, to you know, to his credit, gave Samuel and McLaren a chance to make plays a few times and they did it. He could not have been worse to start this game. And I were down on him when we were discussing this during the in his he was one for eight at one point with a couple a couple interceptions or one interception, and at that point he had three dropped interceptions and an interception to start the game. He could have had four interceptions in the first quarter of this game, but the Packers couldn't finish. And you know what I thought, though, I thought, he's been listening to our sound drop all season. You know what it is. It's like you're gonna go ahead, and as we all know, decided to really go ahead and start to take command. And I felt like Heineke's performance in this game. He knows that if you just tune in this our Super Bowl fifty seven coverage of Commander's Packers. It really was a fascinating game that he was setting up like that. Part of the drop the first quarter was I I maybe if we left the room, do you think he would just keep talking the next three quarters? Taking command? He took command. He took command. He did, he did, and he'll be back again because Carson wentz H is injured for the foreseeable future. All right, would you please shut up? All right, there goes Dan. Wait where did Dan go? Oh? Dan's no longer here. Let's get to the Sunday night football game. Nick thought about running. That's the firing stand sidelines to come down with the second foot, Holland says, for afewing line coach comes down for a conversation. Christie happens, may happen? Look one down. That was a jarring end to a sixteen to ten Dolphins victory. Kenny pick it getting picked off by Noah Igbinogeny in the end zone to uh end a late bid by the Steelers. The steel one and yeah, like hopefully for all the listeners, wasn't too jarring a transition there from Dan to myself. But you know, he got up around three am Pacific time to take a flight back from New York, so he is back home and uh, you know, hopefully enjoyed this one. Mark not a lot of points in the second half. It had a prime time sixteen to ten final type of field, and yet this one felt a lot more interesting than the Broncos type of prime time games we've gotten, Oh for sure. I mean think it's you know, it's started with the suggestion of a better primetime game than we've then we've been used to. I mean the Dolphins coming out scoring on the first three drives, but then it went dark, and I mean this is a kind of game where you're left wondering. I think there are questions if you're a Dolphins fan about where you are with TWA because if anyone was who was luckier in this game then to Ah to throw They say four interceptions that were dropped that that would be like turnover worthy plays. I think there were five actually, But this was a messy, messy second half of the Dolphin with a negativity. Yeah, I'm not trying to be negative because I think like he does good things, but it's like that we've sort of seen little dottings of that throughout this season where he's been a lot dropped picks. I think that's why. Uh, that's like showed up in his PFF grade and stuff like that. And he's been fortunately started off the game so well and then he got cold and he lucked out. But you know, the game the way it ended, you know, pick it and this offense is is where kind of I'll start because they they just seem limited. You know, they get a good game out of naj Harris. Uh, they have their receivers out there. The Dolphins lost, uh a cornerback or two during the game. They were down there. They were down four cornerbacks in this game. And then they lost their safety Brandon Jones, who's the starter next to Javon Holland. And yet they couldn't take advantage of those one on one matchups. They didn't trust their offensive line to protect enough, or their offensive line didn't protect enough or pick it um, you know, just couldn't quite get it to his playmakers on the outside. That final play I think was a miscommunication. You know, it's a scramble drill. He thought Deante Johnson was gonna go one way, Johnson goes the other. We saw a similar type of play with Clay Chase Claypool earlier in the fourth quarter, and uh, he also could have you know, pick It could have ran maybe for about fifteen twenty yards. And you're seeing good things out of pick It every game, but between the play calling and then the offensive line and the lack of synchronicity like in a rookie quarterback, it just doesn't add up to a lot. No, I really should I wanted to see miss Robisky. That sounds stupid, do you know what? I remember your we in the viewing room. You said that, and I it depends what they want to accomplish this season, because if you wanted to win some of these games a close game, what you got from Mitt Versy last game probably would have gotten you there tonight. But that's there that that's a small sample size. I'm getting I'm getting overly influenced by how he played against the Bucks, where he was just throwing it very aggressively, and that was not that trabiscuit we saw. So maybe I'm being unfair to pick It. I mean, it's another three interception game for Picket. I'm willing willing to be patient with him if they if they want to go this course, he's not going to be fully cooked or developed in in you know, a third start. That the early interception in the game in the first quarter was another one where Chase Claypool fell down. It just seems like there's a lot of miscommunication and off target that could have been a path interference to they could have called that is the two guys at knee. So he I feel like Pickets had an extraordinary amount of bad luck on top of everything. But he did make an interception. We should point out on the drive before that game, uh, ending interception. The Steelers were driving, had a really nice drive. Uh you know, got ten plays or twelve place sixty two yards, you know, got down to the thirty and then he was fooled and threw and right at Javon Holland, who is having uh an all pro type of season for the Dolphins. Yeah and me. And so the point about this game, Miami at that point could have closed this thing down. They get the ball at the Pittsburgh forty nine after the run back and they go three and out. I mean, they just it just seemed like both offenses came to die in the second half. Essentially. Yeah, it was so shocking because so to set the table, the Dolphins come out looking incredible. You mentioned how to have started the game. Everything was wide open, everything was perfect. Raheem Moster is, you know, ripping outside zone run. They go touchdown field goal, field goal to start, and you felt like, man, the Steelers are lucky that it's only thirteen nothing, because it seemed like the Dolphins could do anything they want, but they just kind of shot themselves in the foot as they got close to scoring their touchdowns and couldn't finish those drives. But I gotta say that's kind of a trend for this Dolphins team. So you can see how good Mike McDaniel is as a coach. You can see how comfortable to it is, and how good he is when he's hot. I mean, he did that little pirouette move. I mean, never seen a play quite like that. Instead of a three step drop, he put his back to the line of scrimmage and then just and and then just flipped around and threw it too. It was like a one step drop where he just spun and he threw that to Tyreek Kill like they're doing cool stuff and then you look up at the end of the game and they have sixteen points. And that was kind of similar when Teddy and Skyler Thompson was in that they had a ton of good stats, but their offense has only scored over twenty one points one time this year. Yeah, and then to it including you know, in four to us starts one time this year over twenty one point. So they're getting a lot of yards, not scoring a lot of points. To your point about the fat start, they had a hundred and sixty five yards and ten first downs before Pittsburgh had their first first down and like big plays too. I was shocked. I think Brian Flores did a good job, you know, maybe helping out with that defense and Mike Tomlin and they made some adjustment. Mincoz Patrick had a good day. But they were the first team maybe almost all year since since we went to really a week two to shut down Tyreek kill. Yeah, I mean something, I do think something. No, I think it's just it just reminds me of the environment of every game where what we're seeming to watch, where it's like, I don't know why the entire league seems to have shifted in a cozy fashion back to because you like old. I don't like this though, this is like you're limited as the word for a lot of these offenses. I like when a offense can destroy someone on the ground every once in a while and just from like more demoralize them psychologically. That's not this. This is demoralizing me psychologically when we're you know, this isn't like the tenth hour of football today, and it's a lot of low I I watched the Bucks Panthers game. Hey, I like, I'm sad that it demoralized you psychologically, but I do enjoy that. That's what you like out of your sports is is one team morally or demoralizing the other team? It has been. I like punishment. I mean I do like a nice blow out every once in a while. I always say, how I enjoyed that Seahawks Broncos blowout in the super Bowl. It's fun, This wasn't we Are the Dolphins good? To continue our theme, I mean they're on the fringe, on the fringe of very good and good. I think they're on the fringe of good and what we'll see, Yeah, their defense kind of is so injured and I'm not sure what to make out of them. Even before they were this injured, they were kind of middley. They only gave up ten points tonight. They give ten points to an offense totally in search of itself. Are the Steelers good? No, No, we're not there yet. Are the Titans good? Come on, you guys one unanimously, would we would put them in the good category? Not? Maybe? Yeah, a low bar. I don't know, They're pretty good, pretty good, Greg, Yes, I want to clean some up some housekeeping from earlier. And I'm sure Mark's really glad that it's he's just getting the full blast of this. But just you know, since we mentioned that the Rainmaker did miss the game uh in Cincinnati, I do want to mention not only did the Seahawks cover that game, but I hope you took the money line their thirties twenty three. They won that thing straight up. So the Rainmaker went one and one, three and one on the season. I'm gonna take that. We just had to, you know, mention, do you feel any responsibility for That's nice for the people that took your advice on the Seahawks here, but like the other matchup that you totally you know, you you you whe and one is fine and the Seahawks covered. They won by so much that it was like an easy walk at the park. But no, I don't like it. I don't cost families money that run we do here. That is a dance NFL policy, And uh, I don't want to hear from the listeners. And now they'll do it more. Who send me like oh that they're following the rainmaker. That's gonna make the Rainmaker come out less. You know, I don't want to deal with that. All right, I don't want to deal with anymore. Uh football talk today, but I can't wait uh to talk about Monday night football. We've got the recap coming. Uh. I got a special guest for that. Bill Barnwell is coming on. I'll talk a little Patriots Bears, and then we'll be back with the regular show on Tuesday. And on we go. Look at that grave digger for Dan hands Is our host carried us through playing hurt uh Mark Sessler justin Graver see it too, so see you Monday night. He had the call se s