2022 Week 1 Recap

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Speaker 1: The Around the NFL Podcast has been waiting all day for Sunday night. From the Chris Westling podcast studio, It's Around the NFL. I am Dan Hansis, and I have heroes, Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sessler. It is yes, hard to believe, the tenth season for the Around the NFL Podcast covering our league, and it all starts right here in a lot of ways, with the Week one flagship show. Mark pinch yourself, baby. I have been pinching myself all day, which is was weird. I thought, well, just just saw these sounds of like, oh oh, Mark, I'd like him from the corner. It was a lot. I enjoy it the way I want to. I was studying Mark very closely today Greg, as you know, Uh, this is the first Sunday of football where Mark's not a Browns fan, or so we're being supposedly. So we're going to get into that. We're going to get into the the drama of Week one, a lot of great dishes, a nice start to regular season. But before we get to that, let's get to what I thought was maybe the big statement of Week one. Let us head to the desert, Hardman and Dyer in the back build. At the same time they shuttle touchdown Chancehalls City two drives two touchdowns a play they love to run to Kelsey, they go to Clyde Edwards Hilaire and the Chiefs are on fire in this first quarter of the season. Well said by Mitch Holt is we're gonna all our friends are coming back. Mitch Holt, this is back with us w d A F No Tyreek Hill, no problem for Patrick Mahomes, who threw for three sixty and five touchdowns in the Chiefs over the Cardinals in Arizona, Mark We all felt confident in Andy Reid's ability to move forward without Hill, one of the best playmakers ever, by the way, but it was surprising how immediate and insanely successful they were right out of the shoot. I mean, you can look at this game. I think in two ways. One the Chiefs are I think, way better than we would have even expected, and their new offense looks dashing. Or the Cardinals are a hot, gigantic roaming dissolving mess. Um. I am giving the credit here to the Chiefs because was at the first roaming dissolving mess of the season. Yeah, John the box. I just thought Patrick Mahomes. I mean, it's it's it's almost a tiresome exercise to try to describe Patrick Mahomes when he's playing this way. But the offense, which had gone through a transition, it was this whole business like can they possibly mask the loss of Tyreek Hill? They look better to me? And I know they're playing a terrible defense that's compromised at cornerback, but he played a nearly perfect first half. I mean, they could have put up way more points than they did a few little things hadn't happened to them. They lost Harrison Butcker, their kicker for part of the game. Um, he looked like he was severely injured. And then he came back too, So they dodged that bullet. But I think if you watched this offense, they're using a lot of two tight three tight end sets um. Their running game to me, looks much more vibrant. I think that's been maybe one thing in the last couple of seasons where the run game they didn't really have a classic lead guy and sometimes didn't seem to come together. I did today. I think Clyde Edwards Selaire looked as good as I've seen him look Uh, the wide receiver situation, They're fine, They're fine. I just think this this is the Andy Reid one game in you have to say they completely succeeded so far. I'll t you up like this, because we went into the Sunday saying, you know, Mahomes and Rogers to the Greats are entering this season with new supporting casts, with big changes with the Hall of Fame receiver leaving the building and Mahomes and he's your MVP picks, So I know you're feeling good about this. Did not miss a beat and that's a credit of course to him, but also Andy Reid. Yeah, you were saying, you know, Andy Reid doesn't get the credit, and you know that he's the one cooking up all those grandfather right, He's the one who's doing the Belichick what we think Bow Belichick should be doing in the offseason. Not that he's not doing it too, but he's not doing on like this. And it's not just Okay, we're gonna come up with these crazy passing plays. It's the running plays where I think they get the most creative, and they're using the athleticism of their offensive lineman like the big like run game type of dorks. And I'm saying this finally a guy I think of Chris brown On on Twitter, who does smart football. He's noticing how they're doing these like power shovel plays at the goal line with their fullbacks, which is like taking it all the way back to like New Rockney Clark Shaughnessy, like old the old style football, but before you even knew what the passing game was. And if you can mix a little bit of that and the passing game and the brilliance of Patrick Mahomes, feeling like, Okay, you guys are sleeping on me a little bit. This is what you get. Thirty three first downs in sixties six plays. I know this is the first game, but we will not have a better stat in this entire show than that. That is outrageous. I've never heard such a thing. Yeah, And Clyde Edwards Hilaire is a guy that I know fantasy owners have been frustrated because as a former first round pick, he was supposed to be an unstoppable chess piece when they brought him into the team two years ago, and he kind of faded out of the game plan by the end of last season. But the way he was being deployed here. Yes, Juju Smith Schuster hits the ground running productive, Travis Kelsey as dominant as ever. So, yes, the Chiefs are humming. The Chiefs are gonna be okay, and a reminder that they should be seen as the favorite in the a f C West. On the other side of the ball here, uh, cessy, you know, there's some lipstick on the pig here with Kyler Murray's numbers. But it was ugly. It was ugly all the way around. The offense all right, maybe they got put in a bad spot, but the defense wasn't even competitive. Well, the defense looks awful. I mean they go watch how wide open Chiefs targets are. I mean there's there's multiple plays where there's no one around them and they and they got They're already bad at cornerback. They lost a cornerback in early on the game and Byron Murphy. I I don't even know if he came back, but it didn't matter. They were just they did not play. And on offense, it's like, first of all, I don't want to overreact to this one week, but I think they have some real issues. Uh, you don't have DeAndre Hopkins. We get that you lost Rondel Moore days ago. They don't really have. They just looked discombobulated to me. And with Kyler Murray, I mean, when he's good, he's good, but I thought that you he missed a bunch of wide open guys today. And something that's going on with Kyler Murray is his I think he just sometimes maybe doesn't see the field. He was also under Darrest a bunch. I mean, it was just a messy, messy outing. And after this whole journey where we've resigned the coach, we've resigned the GM, we extended the quarterback. Thinking this is the vision, this is the offense that you want to say. You know, it's the NFC version where Andy Reiden go cook it up, but soaking Cliff Kingsbury. That was the whole concept here, and they just to me looked like they picked up where they left off, which was not a good place. What did you say in the news room, They should they should just surprise everyone and give another extensions, change the narrative, just keep on handing out extensions because you're in deep now. The Big Wills and the entire Cardinals organization, they were so convinced of being right about this QB, this coach and this GM that they were handing out money like it was. It was. But it's also like every all the concerns that we had about the Cardinals how last year ended. Also, you know how no defenses throughout Patrick Mahomes's career has blitzed them at all, because it's like poison. Uh. Today they decided to try to flip the script in Arizona. They were the first team in Patrick Mahomes's career to blitz them more than half of the snaps that did not work out well, it did not farewell for them. How many how many? Uh, of all three of us, how many it's week ones are we gonna hear it? Okay, but it's fair, it's fair. Everything needs to be kept in that mindset because the preseasons, you know what it is. Now, it's gonna take time for these teams. But the Cardinals, clearly we're not ready. Shout out to Justin Reid, by the way, who replaced Harrison Butker as place kicker for the Chiefs for in the first half and when one of two pt s and blasted a kickoff out of the end zone. Yeah, no, I think he's remarkable. It's not the first person you can think of a safety as your backup kicker, but the first p a t He nailed it out. He could be He could be a kickoff specialist. The Colts could have used him today. That was the greatest show of athleticism I've seen so far this season. All right, so Chiefs rolling cards, hurting, Let's check in. Oh, I also locked this up. By the way, when you lock it so, you don't even want to sweat it, you just want to see it's a nice one. You want to see. We did. We all did very nice for the most part. Everyone. So the Chiefs already set up for a huge TNF matchup with an a f C West rival this week, and that rival was playing the Raiders. Let's get into that game. Shotgun snap looking right, car clops a pocket hit crap that he has dropped. The ball is up and the charger's habit. Let's chargers have it. Showey Bosta Khalil Mac it was a Khalil Max strit sack. You heard it there, Matt Money Smith, Daniel Jeremiah k y s Are Khalil Max sack fumble of Derek Carr on fourth down near midfield was the difference for the Chargers, who jumped out to a fast start and held on to defeat the Raiders nineteen at Sophi Stadium. Listen, did I think that the Chargers We're gonna charge that thing up at the end? Yeah? I had. I had some serious doubts about Los Angeles ability to close that game out, and yet Derek Carr just wasn't gonna let it happen. Because this is one of those games with car where you start to think, jeez, all the all the criticisms that he gets, and they will be pushed back from Raider fans or people in the family or whatever it is. But he put the ball on the ground. He threw three interceptions, and I think if they get better quarterback playing this game, they do steal it from the Chargers, who were were voll able by the end of this game. I mean, it's not really his thing to make mistakes like that. What what were they about? Were they mental errors where that the past rush is getting to him because Cleio Mac had a day, maybe he just started getting a little frantic. It was. I think maybe he seemed a little scattered in this game, and it wasn't uh, you know, it wasn't terrible. He did, for instance, connect with Davante Adams repeatedly. Adams had ten catches for a hundred and forty yards, forty one yards and a touchdown on seventeen targets. So you know, I think this is again the week one side of this. It's gonna take some time to calibrate this thing and find ways to keep Darren Waller involved, to have Hunter Renfro involved. Remember how important Renfro was today while they're at a good game, four for seventy nine after contract over the weekend. By the way, I think with with car you kind of saw that, um perhaps maybe he's trying to figure out how he wants to do this. But yeah, I think he got mixed up a little bit of this game. I think he got putting a blender and he made mistakes that they cost him this game. I mean that's two fumbles that he had. Also they were lucky and fortunate not to lose them, but one of them, when we were watching this together, it was the classic, just holding the ball too long and allowing the pressure to find him. I mean, he was getting he was he was running around back there. I think this one note beyond the fact that the Chargers we were wondering and almost gave this game away. The defensive parts like Khalil Mack looked like he looked great today and and that's big. I didn't really know what we were gonna get from Kalil mc Necessarily over the course of the season, we'll see three sacks, four QB hits, right he fits in this defense. Brandon Stilly went and got Hi because he knows who he is and right away he was the difference in this game. And Keenan Allen went out of this game with the hamstring early. Uh, and that was you know, we'll keep an eye on that because Alan is such an important part of what the Chargers do. But you had a guy like DeAndre Carter who stepped in and he scores a touchdown. He has another big conversion, he goes three for sixty four. Gerald Everett carries in um a Raiders defender backing into the end zone for another touchdown. That was a crazy play. Yeah, And I think Herbert played a Herbert game. He starts out his season very well, mistake free football and in front of a lot of Raiders fans Exame was played across the street from us UH the Chargers, and we've talked about this with the Rams too. You could tell they they figured out how we play in our own building. Now it's different than most stadiums, it's different than most teams have to deal with. But they took care of business. Is a nice way for the Charges to start the season because we've seen it too often where they find a game like this and it goes away, goes the wrong way, and then when they missed the playoffs by a game, you're like, oh, what about that week one? Well, and they've got the Chiefs next week. You couldnot let this one slip away and go in deal with Kansas City at oh and one, right, and they you think about the difference in that Kansas City game, for instance, they're probably gonna be without Keenan Allen, and so now you can afford maybe to do that because Herbert's at the point where he's making guys better. But I'm a little worried about a situation no one had more than four targets on this team where it's like DeAndre Carter, Trey McKitty had three catches, Xander or Vath had a touchdown. I mean, I feel like I'm just making up names here, Whereas Palm, you know, Josh Palmer and Mike Williams, the guys you expected didn't do much of anything. On the flip side of Mac was the Raiders big acquisition Chandler Jones, who, from at least what I read, I gotta watch this closely. Uh Ray Shawn Slater shut down pretty well throughout the game. They're they're great in this. I like this Tray mckittie. I think that's I don't know if that's a real name, but that's like a Sessler named Xander Horrorveth also felt like Assessler there is there is a tendency for, you know, to get on the quarterback too much and then not bring up the offensive line, and I think that was a issue in this game so well. He was sacked six times car and UM Vegas was shifting around their unit. I used three different uh combinations UM in their offensive line trying to find that stability. So yeah, I think this is a their work in progress. They have the Cardinals next week, so that's a team. Depending how you look at it, you know that you're either getting the Cardinals at a time or the worst time, But that becomes an important game for the Raiders because you know the Chiefs are gonna be often running this one quick question, like Josh McDaniels, did you notice Josh McDaniels esque elements to the offense? Was it was just a lot of focus on Davontadas because the run, the ground game did not did Number one. I can't give you a real take on the Josh McDaniels ask uh flare to the offense. All I could tell you is that it didn't do much. They didn't do enough shots. Did he seem as agitated and or fired up as he was at points of his Broncos career. You know what, I'm gonna have to go back and watch the Josh McDaniels sideline shots as well. We didn't, So we didn't. We're putting a lot of heat on We didn't help you out there with questions. Let's now, So those are two like games that are interesting. So you have the Chiefs making a huge statement, the Cardinals laying an egg, the Chargers refusing to Charger, and the Raiders that there are a lot of hype stumbling out of the Gates. But now let's get to something fun. Let's get to a crazy ending. Sorry grave Digger, go to Nashville. Jones takes the snap, rolls right, shovel pass for Barkley Parkley in to the two point conversion all a little shovel past his sake one and then he did the rest, taking on defenders and a giant house the League twenty with one oh six A goo that's playing the win Bob ha Yes it is Bob Papa and Carl Banks with the call w F A N Hey you know what that? Hey, this is Carl Rigo park I'll tell you what there, Jean Table and Joe Judge. One guy plays to win, one guy doesn't play at all. I'll hang up and listen. It's also not wrong that call Daniel Jones and a one yard touchdown past Chris me arc. And it was followed by that gutsy two point conversion by I don't care if it's if it's my arc, it's ARC. Understand you're taking editorial, you know, freeweight freebees with that, but I don't approve uh gutsy two one conversion by se Kwon Barkley there and then setting up big bone Randy to push a forty seven yard or which or pull forty seven yard or which Greggy I predicted in the newsroom live even pointed to the exact spot in the screen to go. Dan literally like trace the arc of where the ball was going to go in front of a stunned newsroom. And then when exactly where that arc was I was But after the Jets play back, I could use a w and I got one. Anyway, it all added up to a stunning Giants win over the Titans. Let's spring in a devastated grave Digger who you know this is his maiden UM flagship program as our main producer, and uh you know we asked him to be our voice on this one, to follow this game to cover and then helped us, help us dissect it. And this is a tough way to get thrown into the fire. How you doing, buddy. You know it's all good. It's just football. It's not like my life or anything. I mean, you seemed like a sad puppy talk about half an hour ago. It's definitely disappointing way to open the season, obviously, but weak ones are like this all around the league right now. Packers losing rams losing you know, you can never because this is a game that Tennessee was in control of. Where did things start to kind of spin out for him? Yeah? The Titans looked like the dominant team in the first half, winning in all phases, explosive punt return, forcing three and ounce they were getting after. Daniel Jones had like four or five sacks in the first half, I think, and then in the second half they gave up big plays. It was like the Giants weren't moving the ball effectively on Tennessee, but they had a huge shot to Sterling Shepard for a touchdown and explosive se Quon Barkley sixty eight yard run, another thirty three yard run, and with nine minutes left, the Giants were poised to tie the game twenty to thirteen, and Daniel Jones made a horrible decision, really the only bad decision he made all day, looking in the end zone and just stared down a receiver. A Monty Hooker was all over it from the beginning and broke on it and intercepted it in the end zone. It was like, all right, Titans can close this out now with the ball nine minutes to go, at their own twenty yard line. Titans go three and out quickly punted away, the Giants get a huge run from se Kuon Barkley at thirty three yard run and then, um, I mean, yeah, development, and I understand that se Kuan is on a New York Giant, Giant team that even today's result notwithstanding, is a work in progress and a team that's rebuilding. But that makes them interesting in the NFC East. If he's gonna have a hundred and sixty four total yards are excuse me, a hundred ninety four total yards. He had the two point conversion. The longest run from play from scrimmage for the Giants since Daniel Jones is eight yards. Stumble run on a prime time a couple of years ago. That was huge. That helped turn in this game as well. Yeah, se Kwon Berkeley was borderline on stubble. I mean, even when it felt like the Titans were bottling him up, he was mustling forward for for extra yards. And the difference in the game I think was the explosive plays. I mean, the Giants had big explosive plays that set them up for scores. The Titans had a couple big explosives in the passing game, but not enough to sustain success on offense, and like keep the Giants offense off the field at the end of the game when they had to close it out, and I thought Tannehill looked pretty good. He had a couple of misses in there, but overall pretty good game for Tannehill. Derrick Henry, I will say, looks a step slower than he does when he's at his peak, and that could just be early season Derrick Henry. He he usually takes a few weeks to really get going. Or it could be a twenty eight year old running back coming off a major foot injury that doesn't have the same juice he used to have. But I do think if you're a Giants fan, you have to be encouraged by the way they stuck with it, because at halftime it felt like this was gonna end in a blowout for Tennessee, and the Giants came out in the second half and made all the pavel teams don't give up. But you know what, I know, I get that that's a joke, but like um, I do think that this was a big day for Brian Table because a couple of things. I think we showed it during our highlight package too. He got in the face of Daniel Jones after that one mistaken was just drawing him out. I like that. I think it's like he's chanting. So this is your one year to figure out what you are, Daniel Jones, or you're out of here. And the coaching decision at the end to point instead of tying it up. How many compare that to what Lovey Smith did in Houston today, which we'll get too late head coach who did and everything else in their own goal compared virtually any coach in the league because they're down to point there. The analytics would actually say, I don't know this for effects, but I'm guessing it would be much more down on going for the two there because there's still a minute left that you give the other team a chance to go win. That's more traditionally a place you just take the points because there's a minute left, the other team gets set up to win, which the Titans you know did by the way, So you're taking all that risks without the payoff. But I love that. It's trusting your best player, say Kwan Barkley, and I'm so glad I got to see that highlight before. You know, as we're we're talking, if you're watching us on YouTube, it's it's also going up there, um for all our audio listeners. His lateral quickness on that play is what got it done. I mean, the Titans linebacker is in position to many and he can just scow it. And you could see that in a little bit of practice footage and the preseason that we saw of Barkley that like, wow, that lateral explosion, Uh is absolutely back. Another preseason star, Kyle Phillips, who we kept talking up, was the leading receiver the time, by the way, because his numbers looked like he maybe stopped finally, you know, indulging in edibles before practicing games. Raylon Burks looked pretty good. I mean, he had a few big catches. He was targeted on another one that that Um didn't come down with, but he looked pretty good. Kyle Phillips was pretty good. But Kyle Phillips had a almost killer muffed punt which is what set up the Amani hook again it but he ran a perfect round minute, perfect catch to set up the game winning play and that was that was a timing type of throw that you have to trust he's gonna be exactly where it was. And it gets me to one thing that drives me crazy. In the NFL, how badly botched that end of game sequence was by Rabo, the head coach of the Year, did not play that very well. He they used a time out to prevent a delay of game. Ryan Tannehill had to snap off, but they had already called the time out to prevent the delay. I would have rather taken five yards at that point than I then I wouldn't waste the time out. So use your time out. You had two or three plays left there. Instead they back up three or four yards to make big bone. Randy hit it right to Dan's don't I don't know why do this? Don't ever settle for a forty five to forty yards running a quick ur in the moment as well, This is not the guys just stroking it in practice. You need to give them more h latitude there. And you put your kicker in a bad spot and he failed you. And that's the way it is. And by the way, they also looked like you knew who was gonna miss that kick. Went to look on his face. I just well, look on his face that um, the Titans. Now, they do this for a reason, the schedule makers. They give you the cookie to start the season at home against the g Men, and then they say, we're giving you the cookie because we're sending you to Buffalo next week. And guess what Monday night they have to now play the Bills the Titans, and the Giants get the Panthers. So they're potentially set up for a nice start to their season. We're just getting started here. Let's take a break and then we're gonna We're gonna welcome in an old friend, all right, and welcome back. Here we are. I told you a friend was joining us. Mary is a man ready to be married. Now, Nick Shook, welcome back to the flagship program. It's another season together in congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. Sir, thank you so much. You know, I hate to kill the running podcast bit, but long enough I had to get the job done. You know, how much do you how much credit do you give Dan and and this show question forgetting it done? Because it had been putting pressure on you for a long time. I would give it to get the ball rolling, and then you know, and the other was me. I mean, it's a lot, right, you know, I know, I'm just kidding you got you guys gave me a little nudge, but it was gonna happen regardless. Uh I was actually waiting to make it real special in l A and then uh I got tired of waiting and just said, well, there's a nice speech on Lake Erie in the sun setting. And I woke up that morning it was just said, I'm doing it today. Would you did you put the ring on a credit card? Or do you have that cash stored away like a wise investor? Funny that you asked that. Interestingly enough, when I first met her, how much I didn't have a sit I didn't have a savings account, and that was my inspiration actually started savings account was because I one day I thought, you know, I think she might be the savings account for that month. All right, congratulations chook. Let's dig in on some a f C North heat, starting with a trip to Cincinnati. Checking in with the defending American Football Conference champions straight away to kick good snap down kickers on its way that kickers long enough, high en up, and it's good that kicking on the Steelers survive in Cincinnati. Howard happened. It'll take you an hour, me an hour to tell you. Bill He'll grow with it. Called w d V E. That might have been Craig Wolfley yelling in the background. Chris Bobswell kick the fifty three yard field goals time expirering overtime, and the Steelers overcome t J. Watts injury late in the fourth quarter to beat the Bengals. It was sloppy from both sides, but at the end shook Pittsburgh's win. Here felt like a near miracle. You had the Bengals failing to convert a p A T at the end of regulation that would have won the game. Then they have a short field goal blocked at think the snapper was involved in both miss q's here, and that opened the door for Trabinsky and then Boswell to get it done. And we'll get to we'll get to t J. Watt in a second, but first let's focus on what was a gutty win for Pittsburgh. Gutty win powered by their defense. I mean we we we I think Greg would attest to this to the Steelers defense has a reputation for being good, but it wasn't as good as maybe we thought last year. They reversed that narrative. That narrative today. I mean, they came out like Gangbusters. Make a Fitzpatrick picks off, Joe Burrows first past the season for a pick six. T J. Watt jumps up and gets a pick, there's a forced fumble. They're all over him all day. That revamped offensive line struggled, specifically a left guard, and the Steelers took advantage of that. They put them on short fields. Travisky didn't have to do too much offensively because two of their fourth scoring drives started in Cincinnati territory. It wasn't until they actually kicked the game winner that they went close to the length of the field to get in position for that, and that wasn't even close really to the length of the field that they start on their own twenties. So all the credit in the world goes to their defense, their offense to us and steps to take forward. But man, this is a group that made some editions in the off season, and all of those editions really paid off. Cam Sutton had a nice up and down performance where he made some big plays, had some also some big errors, but redeemed himself. If you're a Steelers fan, you gotta feel excited, not because of what you saw necessarily from Mr Bisky, but the fact that that defense is looks like it's back to where you expect it to be. And if it can be like this all year, then you're gonna be in every game you play. Yeah, but is it going to be like that without t J Watt He he left for the pectorial injury. The report is that, uh, you know they're they're feeling fearing it's a torn pectorial injury. He was almost seen mouthing I tore my peck, so that that's what they think and that will usually keep you out for much of the season. Uh. And their thin there, And yes, I hear what you're saying. I'm looking forward to watching it. But it's pretty rare that you win a game or a game needs to go to overtime. When you win the turnover battle five zero, it's like a little bit of a double edged sword there where you you lost the first down battle thirty two to thirteen. Uh. And it's great that they ended up getting the win there, but you would almost expect that them to win by more in that kind of situation. Yeah, they didn't sustain the offense that you wanted. Um, you know, Travisky hit some passes that you were like, Okay, look he looks pretty decent. Pat Freremouth down the sideline. Find a couple of different guys down the sideline. But if you look at it statistically, very average twenty one thirty eight of passer rating below eighty. And they lost the time of possession battle in a big way that like you mentioned with the first down difference, they didn't sustain drives for most of the day. Naja Harris was his rushing yards overexpected were in the negative, so they didn't block well enough for him to really He left with the foot injury and he had a Letts let Frank injury and can't choose. So that's concerning. Keep an eye on that. It's the same foot. Yeah, the Bengals at the ball for forty three minutes and forty three seconds. Uh in this game. It did go through overtime to the very end. But yeah, that would be my concern. And I'm looking forward to watching this game because yes, it's a gutty win, maybe a miracle win, but two one yards of total offense and maybe not Johiris down now and now you take out T. J. Watt for maybe the season, maybe into deep into the second half, and you you feel like Mark that maybe the Steelers, even with the win today, there's reason to be concerned. Well, I think there's Their offensive line is a major concern. They're lucky that they have Mr Rabinsky. What the assets that you bring his mobility is escapability. I don't think they're gonna be able to work themselves out of jams week after week. This this kind of was with the weirdest game. I was watching this from wire to wire and there's one of the weirdest performances. I have to ask you this a thought, Nick, because you look at Joe Burrow and I the Bengals all offseason. I feel like they were being disrespected a little bit as and thinking people they might tail off a little bit, but Joe Burrow was the reason that you had faith they get back to where they were. Uh. Did you come out of this with genuine concern for Joe Burrow? Is it just an off day? It felt more like an off day, some rust, some lack of reps. I mean he did miss miss a good portion of training camp. With that appendix, removal, so it felt like he was kind of shaking off the rust and he made some bad decisions. He was also pressured into some bad decisions. Like I said, the left guard was a huge problem for me watching their offensive line play because that's supposed to be the one weakness that they improved in the off season and it just didn't stand up today. It didn't hold up against the test of the Steelers front. And you give Pittsburgh some credit, but you know, he still made plays. He still got them in situations to be able to score and lead them back. But I mean they they're in the red zone on multiple occasions and struggling to get three yards, struggling to get into the end zone when they're on the doorstep of the goal line. They need fourth down to be able to score the game tying touchdown. They leave points on the board just before halftime because again they're right on the doorstep of the end zone and they don't convert. So their strength with Burrow is down field, but when the field gets shortened, I am a little concerned about their ability to move the football. They're they're not gonna face his defense like this every week. But so I mean to answer your question in kind of a rambling way. It was more rust than anything. I still have confidence, and then he still made the plays. I think he just gotta get his feet underneath them. The uh. This was a really fun game to watch. By the end of it, it was almost exhausting because those late games start and you're like, all right, guys, let's wrap this up. It's a it's a little sloppy. My favorite call call, and I think Greg and I both reacted in real time to it was Iron Eagle. Boswell won the game with a long kick, but he nearly won it earlier and over time with a kick at the last moment knuckled and drilled the upright at like eighty seven miles per hour. Let's listen in too, Iron Eagle with the call from boss Well, Oh god, what is happening here? Grave joking, we might wanna trim what is happening here for our own show going forward? All right, chook. So that's the situation with the Steelers, that's the situation of the Bengals. And by the way, go to Dallas to get the Cowboys next week at oh and one. Now I want to come down there for and you know, the I know one last thing on that because it's so important. They had the game one on the late Jamaar Chase touchdown as time expired, uh, and they get the p A t blocked by who else makea Fitzpatrick. And then there was an issue on the snap as well on the short field goal kick. What was the background there with the snapper and what happened with the Bengals the back room was that was not their starting long snapper. That was a replacement who was thrown in there? And obviously they had that feels like the underrated like plot line in football, whether it's a long snapper or the kicker, there's nobody behind him you could trust. So there there's nothing worse though, like for for a Bengal season that was just riding as high as possible until the very end last year. To lose to the Steelers at home, missing these two types of kicks, that's as bad as as bad as it gets. All right, and let's now move to listen. We don't know where Mark's journey is as a fan, but I know Shookie. He's born in Bread, he's Ohio. And the Browns had a game today against the Carolina Panthers, and it ended well up for work. We did snee on the ground at killing over the ball back, he's into it, rind end On ranting to kick it up and it is hit. It is good, Gork, but that seconds the ball game great called by Jim Donovan w k r K. Here's the quote from Mark Adam Sessler immediately to my left, not my middle name, Oh god, Cleveland, just one. What does it mean? We're gonna get into that later? What was the inflection all about? What was in his professional in his head? Rookie Cad York kicked to go ahead fifty eight yard field goal of eight seconds to play. Cream Hunt scored two times and the Brown said, Baker, you're not gonna have anybody up vengeance denied win over the Panthers for the Browns in Charlotte Chookie. The Browns had a messy off off season, to say the least, but a dramatic win in the season opener is how they wanted to turn the page. Yeah, and part of the off season transition included a replacement of color commentator in the booth. The person you here screaming and almost voice cracking is Nathan's Girv, the senior broadcaster for the team commentary debut, shout out to him and understanding that he couldn't control his emotions and then usiastic individual. Yeah, he certainly is. Uh so, I mean this this is a game that result wise surprised me. I had picked the Panthers and and got all the heat from the Browns fans this week understandably so um and mainly because I didn't think the Browns can actually put up this many points. Not that is a lot of points, but if you watch their offense in this game, they can't move the ball very consistently unless it's on the ground. They ran the crap out of the football on the ground, had over two hundred rushing yards as a team I think the finish of two seventeen on the ground. Obviously Nick Chubb carrying the way with a hundred forty one carries, but Kareem Hunt was really the X factor offensively. He had a touchdown reception lined up as a full back in the eye formation on the goal line, which is a dead giveaway fullback flat. Hello, they're gonna throw at the Hunt in the flat look out for that. The Panthers did not but he also ripped that regime. Yeah exactly, yeah exactly. Not not prepared in the situation, but the personnel but that and then Donovan People's Jones made a handful of really clutched catches throughout the game. That's the guy that the Browns are really gonna need to step up offensively. So the story of the game is controlled the clock, controlled possession on the ground, and did enough defensively to help yourself feel position wise getting situations where you can maybe put some points on the board. They left a lot of points out there on the field, however, which is concerning and goes back to why I picked them to lose this game. Cookie the and as much as we can deride Caroline's coaching staff, the idea that anyone thinks that Jacoby were set with that surrounding cast of playmakers is gonna put up big points. Nobody thinks that so was sharp was Caroline is stack in the box? We have eight nine facing uh these two running backs, because that feels like how everyone should be playing the Browns and they shouldn't be able to move the at all, not in a per down basis. There were times where I only saw six guys in the box, and you gotta credit the Browns offensive line. The one thing they've been able to do under Kevin Stefanski is block well on outside runs. They were able to do that very effectively today and give Nick Chuck just enough room to hit that one cut and burst up the field and rip off some nice runs. I think I saw a graphic late in the game where it was average down in distance on third down, the Panthers were something like ten plus and the Browns are at six point six. And that all goes back to the fact that you can stay on schedule in first and second down to ruin the football. Even late when they had to get in position to kick that game winning field goal, they were still going to the run because they knew it was their best way to move the football. So they're built to be able to win games like this if they can get defensive stops. They played a really good half defensively until the final possession for the Panthers. They had some blown coverages and then the avalanche came. Because again they blew some coverages. It looked like Baker Mayfield was going to lead a comeback win, but ultimately the Browns got something that they never get in this situation, which is a clutch kick. Usually they're on the losing end of this situation. I'm sitting there watching it bridgets here. You know, now, my fiance, no chance he makes this chance, he makes this that he's he's not making this field goal. They're losing this game, and he drilled it. So the turn of events for the brown When the last time they won an opener with I mean I mentioned this four hundred times on the broadcast, was the first year I moved to l A, which is two thousand four. That is an absurd um anti streak right there. So this was big for the Browns. It sure was Shookie. Any other thoughts about Mayfield. Did you think that he played well in this game? I know it started off extremely slowly, but he really came on and almost stole it. He was puture in the first half. A lot of the familiar things for Baker, passes, knockdown to the line of scrimmage, really ugly interception, throwne offense looking out of sync. But when guys were open, he did find them and he really hit his stride. In the second half, especially in the fourth quarter, it looked like a textbook Mayfield comeback game, but this time he did not end up on the winning end. This was a tough spot. I I wanted both of these teams to lose, and not that I was a huge Baker fan before the last couple of weeks, but he completely lost me. So I was rooting against him, and then of course rooting against the Browns sort of semi permanently. So it was like there was no way to win this game. What was up with the Christian McCaffrey usage here? Only fourteen touches? Is this go back to them now just being so paranoid about him getting hurt that they're really trying to ease him out of the offense a little bit. Well, they tried to get him the ball early, and the Browns did a really good job of bottling him up. It wasn't until the second half that he really made a difference. He had a nice run on third and seven where he broke four tackles to move the chains on one of their key scoring drives. But yeah, just not a big enough of a focal part of the offense. And and the big reason was they just had no rhythm offensively, They had no opportunity to kind of continuously feed him the football because they were constantly behind schedule third and long and the Browns knew that the screens were coming and it just didn't give a lot of opportunities. Now, he did score touchdown going airborne, which I was like, oh, man, don't get hurt. Just because of how he's gotten hurt in the past, I would anticipate that they work him in more because that's their best chance. No matter who they haven't receiver and tight end, he's still their best chance ago win games. So they have to be feeding him more than they did on Sunday. All right, So now let's talk, um, Greg, I'll start with you in this just me, Um, where did you? Where did you see Cessler? I was sessy in the newsroom to you, and we've known him for a decade and no one loves the Browns more than Mark Sessler and shook you. He shook you know, and in the distant rear view, I'm sorry, Nick, like this was this was the Mark that we knew was in love. And I thought some of the comments he was making maybe spoke to that was still inside him, which was my curiosity entering Sunday's act, right, I mean it really You can even go back to Wednesday or so on our text thread when he found out that this was Shooks game and he was like, what that Shooks gape? That that right, there was the early that was an early tale. But it's like you can even you can watch it, you can still watch it. Well that's kind of the point, right, And then you you mentioned that quote that he said, oh god, the Browns one, and I'll let you talk about the tone of that quote. But one thing I've noticed by the way, it PM Eastern when apparently the quarterback for Cleveland did something Jacobe were set making a play, right, right, I do remember it was a rare sight in. But if you kind of just make that a different game, is he's saying Kirk Cousins making a play in that situation. I don't. I don't hear that. Well. So one thing I've noticed over the years with Mark though, is post Browns game. So I'm gonna take it till the game's over. We'll get to you. Mark, just hang on a second post Browns game following a victory. Um, he'll be really excited for the early parts of the next game. He'll be super into it. He'll be like really fired up about what's happening to Kyler Murray and Patrick Mahomes in certain things. If they win, if they lose. Sometimes it's a it's a little bit more of a quieter Mark, you know what I mean? And he had a special sort of zeal, even a yeah exactly. Everything had a little more light to it. So just well, this is your impression. Do you have any take on this? And think you've been watching from a distance with Mark? I think it's Greg summed up best in a text. He asked me what my games were for this week, and of course I listed the Browns and UH and the Panthers, and he texted me back, you will make it easier for Mark to give up the Browns, And I said, I will bear his cross. That's nice of you all. Do you have anything to add about Did you feel anything, you know, flicker inside you during that stirring come back there at the end. I'm trying to explain this to you probably twice three times a week. I'm comfortable with my decision. And I actually was enjoying football more in general today because I wasn't emotionally attached to one team and like I again, that did not really I know, I know what we're attempting to do here, Um Greg, I think that I was. I was probably commenting on eight or nine games today. Now we have to read into that. He's gonna try to camouflage it in as we're going to do conversations like this. But the thing that gets me more than anything is him repeating insistently, I feel nothing. It's no different than any other game. So how could that even be possible? How could you feel nothing? Even if you're somehow landing in the middle. You still have all this history you have Baker Mayfield was the guy you have de Sean Watson and that idea which turned you off so much. You have all your years of the Browns, and yet that lands on I feel nothing. That doesn't all add up. Even if it's confusing, and you surely feel something, that's your psychology and this is not I don't want you to see. This is ganging up on you. Mark. It's really It's an important in terms of the podcast and a character study of of someone that we work with very closely to get to the bottom of this, and the investigation will continue as the season continue one thing. For for Nick and for other people. I am like, I have nothing against people that are sticking with the Browns, that are longtime, lifelong Browns fans. I'm happy for them when they win. It's just I have removed myself from the situation than a bridge fortely excited about what's occurring. I'll say this as somebody who had many huddle up conversations with Cessler in the newsroom back in the day after the brown suffered yet another excruciating loss. I find it hard to believe that he will be able to separate so easily than to the course of this season. We'll leave it at that. Nick Shook from Cleveland checking in. We'll see you next week, buddy. Thanks guys. All right, let's ook you with some quirkers there big time. Let's take a break and we'll be right back. All right, We say goodbye to Shook and let us head to the NFC North. Wild stuff going on here. Well that's strong maybe so right, just starting great call there by Paul Allen kf A. And you know we're old enough to have seen Randy Moss at his apex with the Vikings, and I didn't think I've ever see anybody that could approach Mosson probably won't, but the fact that the Vikings have another absolute monster stud in his early twenties with Justin Jefferson, that's nice. That's that's riches. Justin Jefferson went off for four and two touchdowns, leading the Vikings with Kirk Cousins of course, to a seven win over the Packers and Kevin O'Connell's debut, and this one is a tough way greg for the Packers to begin their defense at the NFC North title. No. Looking so hapless on both sides of the ball was shocking to me. And maybe actually I shouldn't be as shocked because as Justin Jefferson, as you mentioned, like is a big time player, Dalvin Cook is a big time player. Daniel Hunter and now Zadarius Smith who had great, great games that both of them are big time players. And there's this idea that the Vikings are just blah, they're boring, they're the same team every year and maybe that's where they'll land this year. But they do have awesome players at the heart of it. If they don't get in their own way. And most of the second half was spent with Hansas, who had a lot of correct predictions, mid game predictions that went well for him today. But what didn't go well with him saying, Oh, the Vikings are gonna viking here, and this one's gonna keep getting closer, keep getting closer. And you know what, it didn't because their defense stood up, their offense held the ball enough in the second half, even if they really only got a couple of field goals there. And most importantly, as you mentioned justin Jefferson is just outrageous. You can you mentioned he's not gonna be another Moss. Well, Randy Moss is the only player in NFL history to have as many hundred and fifty yard games this young, this stage of his Jeffers, Yeah, I mean he it was a fascination to watch him. And I think the flip side of this was that this was not last year's Packers on offense or the year before or the year before, because the Davante Adams free Packers, unlike the Chiefs missing Tyreek Hill, did not have an answer. And I thought that Aaron Rodgers, you know that in the first half especially, they had one drive out of seven that went from more than thirteen yards. They looked confused. To me, there were big mistakes I and we we talked about this too as a group that Christian Watson dropped what would have been a home run touchdown that would have been that was literally the first pass of the season, would have been a seventy five yards. They held it up in a way I think to send him. I don't know if they dialed up to send a message, but they dialed it up knowing like, Okay, here's the first play of the season. Can we get Watson for seventy five perfect throw by Rodgers and yeah, it goes right through his hand. They had a J. Dillon stuffed on the goal line in a in a possession that would have changed this game, because I know what you're saying, Dan, Because the Viking were hot and then they cooled down significantly for such a long stretch of time that you could see the Packers with a wide open door to get back into the game. But Aaron Rodgers looked as frustrated as I've seen him in a long time, and he looked a little banged up at stretches. For me too, he was getting hit hard, and this to me was a very harbinger of doom for the Packers, although I can think remember how they started last year too. I'll use it again. It's just week one, so we don't want to get too ahead of ourselves, but you're right, it's not a great start for them. And I'll tell exactly the moment where I was like, Okay, I know the vikings. We all know the vikings. We know that the Packers have done, especially in the regular season under La Flora, with Rogers winning back to back m v ps. They got it, they were down twenty nothing. Uh in the second quarter, they get they get the touchdown, they finally get on the board seven place, seventy five yards. Then they get a punt, so now they have the ball back in the third quarter down twenty seven, and I'm thinking myself, they're gonna go down the field. They're gonna make it. And then that Minnesota offense, which under the prior regime with Kirk Cousin is there, can go to sleep. They could be on fire for stretches, and then they can go into deep funks when they go into a three and out binge. And I thought it was gonna be a situation where Rogers has the ball down six late in the game. And yet credit to Minnesota's defense because the fact that Minnesota, despite all this great fireworks from Jefferson, they only finished with twenty three points in this game, but they made its stand up because the Vikings defense did not let Aaron Rodgers get things rolling. And you definitely felt it. Greg. I mean, I know Davante Adams did well with Derrick car statistically today, but you felt there were moments in the game where it's like, oh, this is where Davante would give him a big pick me up. And it's gonna take time, you think, for the Packers to find that A J. Dillon was their leading receiver. And then beyond that, it was nice to see Robert touny In back in the mix. He looks good. Beyond that, they're two leading white Outs where Dubs and and Watson two rookies, and so I think it will come eventually. Uh you know they Sammy Watkins was in this game and didn't make a big differ. Alan Lazard hopefully returns. They were missing a lot of players, so David Baktier and Elton Jenkins Elkton Jenkins, like it's a very hard name to You're just not use both both players were cautiously expected to play in this game, and so you went and then they neither one of them did. And they also lost Runyon Uh their starting guard during the game. So suddenly you're down three offensive lineman. So if you're trying to make this receiver salad kind of work, uh, you at least need to have that really strong offensive line. The combination of the two made it look like their last game that they played, which was against the forty nine, I mean, which was against the forty niners in the playoffs. If you're not protecting them and you don't have those guys out wide, you're just gonna be a total mess. And the Vikings were extremely physical, like Zadarius Smith, DJ want Um Uh Hunter. They all look fresh. And I give their coaching staff um some credit here because it's a new coaching staff ed. Donna tells the defensive coordinator he had a play at the goal line that really mixed up Rodgers. I think Greg Olsen, who did a great job in his first game officially as the number one guy, like really explained it and he confused Aaron Rodgers. And they have a new coaching staff on both sides. It was a very common composed game where I think Kirk Cousins played with a lot of clarity. So if we want to give the coach to some credit, we give it to them. Maybe it's just the players. Either way, it was like a very a very strong opening salvo. If you're if you're O'Connell, I mean you're you're having to deal with the Packers in week one, and like it kind of tells you everything that this journey could be for them. And so I love the win. I mean I get concerned for Aaron Rodgers. There was a play where three Vikings defenders essentially just descended on him and destroyed him and it resulted in a fumble. And it's like we Aaron Rodgers has not built like Josh Allen. I. You always just worry about the Aaron Rodgers collar RNE situation. Things like that. He looked uncomfortable and it's just like he also is a kind of guy that if you're gonna get him agitated and frustrated early on, you're gonna hear about it. And I cannot wait to see what his comments are. The Packers get the Bears at home Sunday Night Football next week. The Vikings get the Eagles on Monday Night football next week. That's gonna be a great early school Who miss their lock? Only one person missed their lock this week? Who, well, couldn't not the Titans fan hopefully not. Yeah, you know to read digging his own grave, I mean was flying high. He introduced Jessica for the first time really meaningfully into social situation. Yes, we met her briefly at the holiday party, but that was kind of at the point in the relationship where Graver was, you know, we weren't trying to keep it on the download a little bit um and it was slightly suspicious. That was wonderful and he left just feeling I think great about everything. He's part of the team and is it's great one. At the holiday party, they were in the shadows, right, and I felt like when we got together on the eve of the season, it was stepping into the light and it was a wonderful time. So think about that. They about your relationship and all the good things you have in you. That's what I would say. This is what I would if I were to sing a little song for go ahead. His team lost, He lost his luck. When it rains, it pours but he still has Jessica. You know, we don't get that song with lost right, No, that's not this is my I care about his well being. Like he's saying that song in the back to Uh. He was really like full throadd it was beautiful. Um. And speaking of the vikingsst they have the Eagles on Monday night, but they also have a game in London against the Saints. Saints and we'll be there and we're gonna be doing our live show from London the Thursday, uh, September twenty night. I want to say, let's let's make sure we get that right. And we tickets are on sale on Ticketmaster right and we are we have made some adjustments we have well it's like the Packers offense, they're gonna be need to making some adjustments now. We're not. We're not at that level. We I really want to say thank you to all the listeners who have bought tickets. We've had an amazing response, uh and they're going quickly. But we also heard from a lot of listeners that thought the price point was like a little high. And I get it. We're not like super involved in in all that decision. And I'm just saying we're learning as we go, and our relationship with the listeners is paramount to us, and so we're learning as we go as we're trying out these new things. And we tickets are free. We know, we did work it out with with Ticketmaster with Live Nation that we have twenty five pound tickets now will be available on Ticketmaster as of Monday morning. So we're not looking to books anyone out financial like we were. You know, we're just we're just like, okay, tell us what to do, We're gonna do it. And so so because we want as many people as possible to come see it, and we heard from a lot of you and we want to listen to uh the seats in the balcony or we we've opened up some seats in the balcony that will be twenty five pounds, so check them out and Mark will personally meet and greet with each of you in the balcony. All right, let us now, well that's not technically true, but we'll see. All right, let's put that up there, because then it acts. Then we're gonna encounter more ticketmaster dot Com search around the NFL London. Here we go. Let's move on to the highest scoring game of Week one and went down at ford Field. Get the grid out hurts thanks to slip. He's pumping. He is going out of this foot the fourth snline by A J. Brown. He works at four across the five fourth class a great Oh, no grave digger. Oh. He brings out the bongos. That's a pro. Give me the Bunages, give me the Bunagles. He's still got Jessica. He's still got Jessica. Even though A J. Brown went off today in in a Eagles uniform, that is Meryl Reese w I p with the call. Jalen Hurts three thirty three total yards in a touchdown. A J. Brown a career high, tying a hundred fifty five yards in his debut with the Eggles, and Philly holds on five over the Lions at Ford Field. The Eagles scored twenty four points in the second quarter. They were up seventeen and the fourth and then Jared Goff in Detroit. They put some lipstick on that piggy greggy. But the Eagles are gonna be a problem for defenses, aren't they. A. J. Brown is gonna be a problem. I'm digging the grave of that trade. It was a bad idea. You could have found the money to keep the Okay, Okay, I agree with Greg. Should have found the money. They could have figured it out. Of course, we don't need to know Justin doesn't go home and then suddenly Jessica is annoyed with him about something off the cuff to he does not need it today. It's a totally fair point. Here's the thing, though, A J. Brown was the difference in this game. I believe if A J. Brown was not on this team, if the Eagles had not made this trade, they actually lose this game because while some uh parts of this matchup were similar to a year ago, ultimately Philadelphia ran the ball when they needed to. It was not just lipstick on a pig. I mean at the very end of the game that Peoples needed to get multiple first downs to assault this game away, and they were able to buy running and they took a very gutsy fourth in one call where Jalen Hurts barely got it um or else they would have turned the ball back over the Lions, who might have just won this game the way their offense was going. But A J. Brown's ability to make contested catch is in tight traffic and then make a couple of plays after the catch. After he made those tough catches made Jalen Hurts look better because I think those were the same throws he threw last year and they just went incomplete or they were like a seven yard game. It's the guy that the Eagles have been looking for for years to be that type of guy that makes the quarterback better, and that's what they have in play here right now. What so DeVante Smith, though I'm looking at his line zero yards, zero four targets, Brown definitely had most of the attention. I think Smith had a drop in there. Um, I wouldn't be concerned about that, just because their offense was extremely efficient. This was not a game with a ton of possessions. Considering how many points were scored, I believe including the last drive, which was very effective, they won the game on it. They only had ten drives and you put up thirty eight points. That that wasn't a problem Jalen Hurts. His legs also, which I still think are weirdly overlooked, were the other difference too, because early in the game they did not really play well on offense. He was getting confused by blitzes, and yet the Lions were blitzing and getting to Jalen Hurts and he was making them pay with his legs. He ends up with ninety yards on the ground. Very few of those were called runs. He had a couple effective called runs, but most of them were scrambles where it's like, this drive's gonna end unless Jalen Hurts goes and picks up fourteen yards here, let's go pick up for it. I feel very close to Dan Campbell after covering the Hard Knocks season with Colleen Wolfe Um. I do want to hear from UH coach Grit himself after the loss. Let's see how Campbell was doing. This is game one and we got a long season here, and I said, the good news is that we didn't play very well and we lost by three. That's what you can take away from this now if we just take this whole approach where every week it's like, well we play, you know, we lost by three, Well we lost by three, we lost by three, Then what are we doing? So we gotta clean this up and UH, we gotta be better. We gotta be a lot better in all areas. He's right, because they have now graduated from it being good enough to be competitive. That was last year and that's why everybody liked them, because they they were very easy to root for. But I'm not saying you needed to win this game. But this can't be the story of the Lions again or else it's not really working. I mean, if we look at week one and say, the outcomes are far more variable and bizarre than you're gonna get over the course of other weeks. Typically, they lost to Philadelphia forty four to six a year ago, and that was in the middle of the season, and that by that point the Eagles had figured out what they wanted to be a run heavy jugg or not. But I'd look at this game for the Lions and say, number one, they started off with a great drive out of the gate, and they looked like they kind of did in the preseason to me. I know, they gave up a ton of points, but I think it's a tough team on both sides of the line. They didn't They only got one sack on Hurts today. I mean, he's really well protected by that line in general. But this is not a disaster for Detroit. On any looks great, yes, but I think you're playing in one of the more dangerous offenses around now. I mean, the Lions are one of the worst defenses in the league last year. I think their secondary has potential to be one of the worst in the league. I think at moments they played fairly well, and but Campbell was like, we got to improve in all phases. Uh no, your defense is lousy. You need to improve your defense. And I know Goff struggled late in the second quarter. He had like thirteen yards and so they started slow offensively, but they still put up thirty five and Swift had the best game of his career. They were missing two offensive linemen at guard and they ran really well. So I don't know, it just seems like a defensive problem to me. Seventeen rushes for Hurts is that it seems a little high. You okay with that the ball that much, it was a lot high. It was not most of them were not called. So you mentioned like there was only one sack. They got free rushers and they blitzed and confused him quite a bit, and then he would just beat the free rushers and that. But it also I think speaks to how teams will attack the Eagles because he They didn't really have a lot of answers passing wise early for that, but his his legs were the answer. Let us oh oh oh yes, Markie, you and I you and I both. That's a good way to start. We should pick the same team every week. That doesn't sound because I can I tell you what. Let's not fight it. Can I tell you why? Because it was agitating Greg. No that it was. It was wanted into a psychological jar and we twisted him into like an emotional pretzel and that was fun. It distressed him. If you could upset Greg physically or emotionally, then it's like, alright, that that's what I try to do. That's not I don't want to do that, Greg, but just knowing it happens occasionally, it's like, oh Greg's human, he feels things and I could can I can connect and physically I'm struggling on this Sunday. It added a nice element to you know, we spend nine ten hours together on Sundays. It added in a nice element to um. Yes, Gregg's gutting through um some he's not feeling great, so we appreciate you not feeling well. And then I asked, is it possible that you're going to be giving us what you have And I'm sitting two feet away from Greg and I didn't get a clear answer on that. Yeah, then we're gonna be locking up something together. We're gonna be headlocking Rosenthump from the infirmary. Let's take a brain. We'll be right back. Let's roll on kenth Play of the drive for the Bears. I formation under center fields, takes and fakes, quit time, lovest quick to the anode, touchdown, touchdown Theirs. He feathered it in their beautif plays, crapped it in the end zone, Jeff Jonny act with a called W B B M. I like that move that econymious st Brown where you catch the touchdown or you crossed into the end zone then you fire the ball into the wall. It's always better when it's the era in someone else's building and it's their logo and you hit their logo with the ball. But in this case, he fired into the Chicago Bears logo. And that's fine because everything's fine around the Bears right now because the Eberflus Revolution is upon us. Justin fields through two second half touchdowns, including that go ahead score to equan st Brown, Eddie Jackson set up TV with an interception, and yes, the Bears beat the Niners nineteen ten on a rainy day in Chicago. A Mark sela, weather is the ultimate equalizer, Am I right? Well, you're dead right, and I'm not surprised that you are. But this the rain in this game. Uh, at times it became manageable, but there were moments of intense downpour. I mean, it's certainly it's almost hard to evaluate the quarterback playing. This was gonna be my my follow up question, which is how much do you put in this game because of the other how much did that play a role or should be given be given? Chicago a lot of credit for what happened. I did give them credit just because the Niners, if anything, you believe in their defense entirely. And when Justin Fields, who had nineteen yards in the first half and really was not a fact or he found holes in the Niner secondary to make some big plays. He had a fifty one yard touchdown strike he had that one do a nick with me as St. Brown, I mean where he had two guys open on that. I thought he saw the field field well there, so he made the most of it. Uh. I. Both teams ran the ball thirty seven times, but I think the Niners probably came into the game wanting to do that to begin with. They Trey Lance was not going to the air very early on because of the weather. But Trey Lance to me, and it's gonna be a real week to week journey with Trey Lance because he will always do things in a game that make you believe. But there were times when he looked really lost to me, and he generated three points in the second half. They couldn't get out of their own way. It just it's quarterback. Looks like it will be a liability at times, but again because of the because of the weather, because of the weather, he's been all over the map all summer, and I think it's just it's a lot like they really broke down the fact that, like this Niner's offense, while it's quarterback friendly and your it's well coached, the terminology, the whole mental process of taking on what what they're asking a quarterback to do takes time. It's not easy. And this is someone that has not played a lot of football in the past couple of years, and he's got the gifts. I mean, I thought there were a couple of times when Trey Lance uh stood up in the pocket and made a throw when he could have in a different place. If he were a little bit less lower on its maturity at this point on the field, he would have taken off to scramble like I mean, he tried to make plays, but they just they this was not their day. And I really thought that some of defensive breakdowns led to tray Lander led to Justin Fields saving it for the Bears. This is a big win. I mean, this is a Super Bowl type team the Niners, and people were looking at the Bears as a bottom five operations. They're clearly rebuilding. I don't think anyone expected this to happen. It's a it's a nice moment for Chicago, right They only had two d and four total yards. They were outgained by a hundred and twenty seven yards. So it's not a traditional win. But who Caress and the forty Niners in terms of bad whether it's like that, that's how they got to the NFC Championship as they found a way to win a bad weather game, losing Elijah Mitchell so early in the game. Uh, it did not sound like a back Jeff Wilson came in. But I mean, I I don't know, to be honest, Like it wasn't helpful at all, But isn't it every season that are losing running backs? Like but I feel like Elijah Mitchell was so easily the number one most talented guy on that team. They could have used George that most. It's not there. And and one thing to watch really for the rest of the season, and and I will when I watch this game, is that they have four new offensive line starters, none of them with pedigree, almost none of them with any playing experience, almost none of them, you know, being drafted in the first five rounds. On most teams, that's all anyone would talk about. But because it's the forty niners and they will get mcglinchie back, who's hurt, people are just like, well, Shanahan always figures it out. But it's it's something to watch. It is and you know, yards and penalties just to sloppy starts of this season. I'm gonna watch this game. I want to figure out what's going on. I already Bears fans getting on me and the mentions because I had the Bears at thirty two in the power rankings, like, well, we beat your team at number three. Well, yeah, that's that's that's fair. It's a nice win for them. But I do want to see both of these teams on a dry track and see where things are a week from now. But taking nothing away from Chicago, that's a big win. Uh. And again a city that's starving for anything of interest to beat the Niners, who came within a fourth quarter of meltdown of going to the Super Bowl last year. Very nice, very nice start, all right, let us keep moving on. Let's head to Miami, Miamis. Let's come into got him footballs out touchdown Miami. Ingram picked it up on the bounce. Yes that Melvin Ingram, no gloves on, doesn't wear the gloves I always like that, no tape. Driss player Jimmy Cephalo w q A M with the call, Safety Brandon Jones screamed off the corner, walloped mac Jones. The ensuing fumble scooped up and running for a score by Ingram. The signature played for the Dolphins in a twenty seven win over the Patriots and Mike McDaniel's debut as head coach of the Dolphins uh to a tongue of voloa through for to seventy and a touchdown flash some chemistry Tyreek Hill, who was involved early and often. Um, But this was about the defense and they were the star in this game. And the Patriots managed a single scoring drive on a day that ended with mac Jones dipping into an X ray room to get his back looked at. They canceled his subsequent um press availability because of that. So as we record this, we don't know if that's a serious issue or what. But here we are, Gregg, this is where we're at right now. I thought that the Patriots the score tells you know, you score once and all these drives are not a good day for the offense. The fact that Mac Jones could be hurt, that could be a disaster for this offense. But I think the second commater night night if um, it was the second quarter where they let the game go away. The second quarter. When you watch this game, you'll say, oh, that's the Patriots offense that we heard about all summer. The rest of the game, they they found they moved the ball at times on the ground, especially, so it wasn't an out and out disaster. Um that you might expect, but at the same time, results are results, and this is a relatively easy win from Miami, despite the fact that it looks like it was somewhat close, right, I mean, trying to take some sort of moral victory, and I've seen You're not the only one positioning it this way. I could. I've seen it sort in some Patriots circles like well, actually, the running game looked pretty professional for most of it. They just had to go away from it and they moved the ball. It's like if you're trying to spin positives out of a seven point performance where you lose by thirteen against a Dolphins team, that's you know, it's not seventy two Dolphins here. Uh. That just shows you where the bar is right now, and it's at a different level than than I think I can remember in the last twenty years. It's concerning they did lose the turnover battle three to nothing that there's no way they're going to be able to survive that way that's been there. Their most consistent aspect to the Bill Belichick regime is turnover margin. Even with Mac Jones last year, it's one of the ways they ended up being in the top ten in scoring as they had all these short fields and that's that's the way they're gonna have to win this year. And it was the opposite today. The Athletic wrote it this way. The scheme was bad, the receivers couldn't get open, the line struggled, a bad day all around for the offense. And I guess what I'm concerned about a little bit is because I think that we were contemplating a reality where like the regular season begins, uh, switches flipped in all this summertime, issues, problems, concerns over the offense go away, and it's it seems to me to be I don't know. I mean, I've been more optimistic others. I didn't even think that would happen. I think this is gonna take time. But I don't think it's cold. It's it's not. You can't say it's a good start. I want to know, like, who are the playmakers on this team. Kendrick Born led the team in receiving last year, didn't even play until the fourth quarter. He's been in the doghouse. I don't know what can they afford to stuff like And this is maybe he's getting to her like a more broad um insight on the Patriots or an attempt at insight that you could us you can get away with that stuff when Tom Brady was the quarterback, if born as a guy that can make plays, get him on the field, figure out whatever it is, get it worked out, or get him out of the building and find someone else that can make those plays. So I wasn't overly uh one over by TWA and the offense, yet I know it was an again a nice win. You get, you beat New England again, which is becoming a regular thing for the Dolphins lately. But I still need to see more from their offense. Will be interesting how they do against Baltimore. In Baltimore. The Ravens played very well against the Jets on defense today. But the Patriots, we're gonna see Greggy, especially if mac Jones is injured. That's a major problem. Yeah, they're early is not easy as well. I do think that you can look at certain situations with two uh and in this game, you know, first getting the ball that much to Tyreek Hill and letting him make some plays after the catch early, but that forty two yard touchdown to Jalen Waddle with eighteen seconds left in the first half. You know, probably the key playing the game along with that fumble return for the touchdown that's on a fourth and seven in a in an awkward part of the field, that with that much time left, there's twenty four seconds left to start to play that if if it's an incompletion there, you know, the Patriots have twenty seconds to to go get a field goal. But Mike McDaniel, um, I think showing some stones, showing some confidence in his young quarterback. For yeah, we can call them stones. I've we've learned what we can talk about. You can talk stones that you know, that's showing something that's a that's not a short fourth down to go for, and for him to reward that confidence with a nice strike that that Jalen Waddle does the work. That's great. Trying who's on the call for CBS in this game. Maybe he was Dan Fouts, Fouts is still there, right, Fouts gone, I can't remember. Whoever it was was saying, oh, they should not be doing this, they should not be going for this fourth down near midfield for the reasons Greg said. And then Jalen Wattle catches ball and stride and he's gone. So that was kind of a turning point in this game, I do. Tyree Hill did speak with Adam Arceletta along with Greg Gumbels. He completely it was Archiletta who's doubting it, and then Archieletta said, you know what that take I take that back anyway, Tyree Hill. He was wearing his uh, the viper what are they called, pit vipers? Whatever those classes are, it's not gonna age well and keeps asking us unanswerable questions. The pit pit vipers? Is that what it is? Graver? You're young. I got thumbs up from people. He's wearing the pit vipers and the pit vipers. I just want to let everybody know that lived through the early nineties as a teen when stuff like this was popular. It's gonna look really stupid and like ten twelve years I see what I see what you're looking at now. Yeah, that's a hideous choice for He was watching his pit vipers in the locker room and talking up Mike McDaniels, who has stones for days. Oh man, I said this outside man like, hey McDaniels, he's gonna need a wheelbarrow man for the can because you got a lot of you know what, I'm saying so Gussie called by him we had two um ways to describe men's testicles that were bleeped out there, but just no, that's what he was referring to. The man's got gumption. He also called Hi McDaniels. I would maybe at some point, because you know, I think a lot of writers and others did the same out of the gate. But your your head coach's last name is McDaniel. I'm just gonna let you know. I didn't even realize I was stealing Tyreek Hill's bit there, you know, I mean, I took his point. I I said that he had I thought you were I thought you were just building tonight. It was a reference to it because we are like um some people that we've worked out over the years. I'm thinking of one in particular who no longer is at our company, but we used to do a show with him. If you would say something in a pre show meeting, he would always steal whatever your point is and then use it on the show. That was kind of what I did to Tyreek Hill right there. Well, I think he'll get over it. And by the way, there was a at hard Rock Stadium. There was a stadium fire. Someone left on their their grill and then it blew up a bunch of cars. So you can connect that to the Patriots and their offense however you want. But it was an implosion of some kind for New England. And let's see how they get back on track. If they can, let's move on to another a f C East team that once again is trying to get back on track. The Jets hosted the Ravens at the Meadow Ends. Lamar winding up going deep for Batman. He's got him touchdown. Third touchdown today for Lamar Jackson and that was a strike from deep fifty five yards. How long? How long must we sing this song? Hellong? Hellong? Jerry Sandusky with the call w B A L. Lamar Jackson threw three touchdown passes, including two to Devonne do Rene. I mean, what are we doing here? I touchdowns or whatever? The Ravens roll past the Jets on a rainy Sunday, very very talented group. Jackson went seventeen of thirty two thirteen yards touched under Seoan Bateman through one pick uh. This came after ESPN reported that Jackson had turned down a five year extension worth more than two fifty million dollars. So he's pulling, he's doing the iron judge move. He's betting on himself, and he says, I'm going to be the highest paid player in the world after I finished this season. So starting off well for Jackson didn't run much in this game. Uh. In fact, Ravens didn't do much in this game on offense. Initially, the Jets defense came out flying around, but the Ravens defense was better because and part of that is Jets don't have Lamar Jackson. The Jets have Joe Flacco and Joe Flacco in front of a line that can't really block well right now, with George Fans struggling specifically after being moving back to left tackle, after being at right tackle, after being at left tackle, snip snap, snip snap, and then they lost their right tackle right they had a rookie. Uh, they put in a rookie. I might have missed that. I don't know if that if he went out with Anyway, the point is that Jets could not move the ball. The Ravens made enough plays and then in the third quarter hit on a couple of big ones and this game was over. So very disappointing if your Jets fan, if you're a Ravens fan, it's a big turn the page after last year's frustrations and you move on with the w in your back pocket you were expecting to get. Are you concerned, I know that you said the defense came out playing well for the Jets. Are you concerned about the coaching overall, the offensive coaching or is it just the Joe Flacco can't do it anymore? Yeah? I don't. I think with Jets fans we're just sick of it. It's just like, come on now, I don't want to hear any excuses. I think Robert Salo and Joe Douglas and and you could say, yeah, sure, Joe Flacco was in there, so whatever. But at the same time, we've heard some not so great things about Zack Wilson's development behind the scenes, and he's coming off a bad rookie year. So the idea, now we're gonna switch. You're gonna ask Jets fans now to switch from Oh, let's get behind Joe Flacco. Maybe we'll keep the job too. Oh man, if we could just get Zack Wilson back, we need to Flacco more than any people outside the Flacco family. Absolutely, so when we're expected, when we're being told by Robert Salo what a great player Joe Flacco still is. And then this is the performance by the offense. Yeah, it's disappointing. And it was a sloppy performance overall by the Jets, who dropped, drop touchdown passes, fumbled the ball, just didn't play well. And uh, you know, on the raven side, just a great job by their defense, which obviously had a nice assignment in Week one, but they just took care of business and they were able on offense to get by. We didn't have Ronnie Stanley in this game, the left tackle, but then Juwan James, who the poor guy just can't stay healthy. He goes out again and gets carded. So they finished the game with their third string left tackle. But they're still moving the ball and scoring points when they need to in this game. So they're just two franchises in different places. And if you're a Jets fan, it is not too soon to panic because this is not supposed to be the way this game played out. My dad, Keith Hanss, who was supposed to give us a dispatch today, he went to the meadow Lands with some family friends, did the whole tailgating and went there and got rained on and watched a team no show, and it's just like enough, let's go, let's go. Let's start doing something and giving the fans something to at least root for, because again the calendar changes, nothing seems to change for the Jets. Good job by oh it sure is. I think I think the Ravens, who are still short some key players. J K. Dobbins was out, you know, we know Gus Edwards is out, so Kenyan Drake was there, you know, leading rusher and uh well, if you want to call it that, running games. So that's a little that's a little bit of a concern. But I think they have to feel good. Granted it's against the Jets, but they have their secondary back and they're like a back to front type of defense. Make the other quarterback hold the ball so that the pressure can get there. And I went into this game, you know, really thinking if there is a weakness on this entire team, it's their pass thrush. They did get eleven quarterback hits. I know it's against Joe Flacco throwing the ball fifty nine times. Fifty nine times Joe Flacco through a fifty nine times. I know it was. You know that's because of the guess the opener against Peyton Manning, like he looked really old. And we know that Joe, even in the best of times, was never a mobile guy. But when you really have these statues behind an offensive line, it does remind you, especially in the modern game as fast as it is now, when you have a guy can't make any yardage up, it can evade the pressure and turn negatives into um positive plays and scramble and get yards. It just puts you in an even tougher box in terms of your offense. So very poor start. No excuses for Sale or Douglas or anyone else. That's enough of this, Like, you need to figure out a way to be competitive in your building to start a season. You've got seventy five thousand Jets fans who put up with BS for a decade straight, and that's how you started this season. They sat in the rain and waited for three and a half hours for something to cheer for, and you gave them nothing. This is no longer acceptable. It has been acceptable for half a decade. Now we're not gonna take it Jets fans are going to boo boo lustily and everyone heads will roll. If this happens again, we shall see You're going to You're going to Cleveland next week. We'll see how that goes. I don't my guard's up about this season. After a performance like that, should we take a break? I think yes? Oh man, unbelievable. Let's take a break and uh continue on. All right, we're back. Let's get to a great rivalry game. New Orleans and Atlanta. They hate each other. Let's see what happened in Georgia. Twenty three seconds loft Will Lots, kick is down and the kick is good. Well, Lots puts the Saints off top. What's nineteen seconds to playing? Mike Costs with the call w W L Lots. They missed Lots last year. Now they got him back. He had a core injury. He kicked a fifty one yard field goal nineteen seconds to play. After Jameis Winston lead a pair of late touchdown drives and the SATs steel to twenty six victory away from the Falcons and Dennis Allen's coaching debut mark. The Saints struggled to get into a groove offensively, but they did just in time. This game was insane. I think, you know, with twelve minutes to go in the final quarter, the Saints were down twenty six to ten, and I imagine myself coming on this show to talk with you about what I had witnessed, and it was all Falcons who put the heat on Jamis Winston early on. I had to pivot, but I want to talk about them to start, because you know, that's another team that I think people just said bottom three material, no skill position players, all sorts of issues on defense. Dean P's came out in this the defensive coordinator going after Winston, going after that line, and they were winning the battle. And then at some point in that fourth quarter, Jamis Winston turned magical and uh, you know, we we know he can do this kind of thing. But he over the course of these two touchdown drives, went eleven for twelve for a hundred and fifty seven hundred fifty seven yards and hitting money two point conversion as well. I think that they're receiving Corpsy got will Let's back. But Jarvis Lander had a hundred and fourteen yards and a couple of big plays in this big signing for very little for very little. Chris Lavy had got going, Michael Thomas the reson they were not connecting early on, and Jamis winstonets and throws that were a little bit behind. They got hot towards the end and you could just see the chemistry. And it kind of for me with New Orleans because I I they're a weird team there are They told us all offseason that Taysom Hill was going to be a tight end. We just should ever believed him. But he was taking direct snaps out of the backfield and making all sorts of big plays too, And so the Saints, not surprisingly are a fun watch, but I was real concerned about him through three plus quarters until they turn it around. And if you're the Falcons number one, This Corderrel Patterson thing, which a year ago I thought was just gonna be maybe a one year kind of flash in the pan undred and twenty yards of twenty two carries, had some big plays in this and was taking it to the Saints defense as well. Marcus Mariota, He's not perfect, but I also think that they're the way the Arthur Smith uses these guys like the Falcons were fun to watch. I can not expect This is the worst loss. They totally gagged and it is a bad loss. But I just think expectations wise though, if we're gonna look at them as a middle mid range team, I mean, they can do some things. It is a disappointing loss because you cannot crumble that way they had the Saints in Week one at home. The fact that it's the Saints, I mean, it's the Saints. I choked before the game. The fact that I didn't draft this game. It's my own fault. I've said it so many times on this show. You guys are sick of it. This is the best rivalry in the NFL because the fans hate each other. I think more than any two fan bases hate each other, and the game's always deliver. You might have that you know number eight and you know Fox team on the call, but who cares. This was the best game of the day, just just for the insanity that you score seventeen points in the last eleven minutes and then you have the Saints players Duncan on the Falcons like in their press cont it's like waving Falcons flags like it's a real rivalry. And to lose it at home in front of your stunned fans. It's as bad of a loss as you could have. And for what for Winston? I mean you mentioned it. In those three drives he had one in completion in two hundred and thirteen yards in the fourth quarter, he was he was like Pique Joe Montana for one quarter of his life work. I mean, they're they're very solid team. They have a good defense, and they have a nice running game. And these receivers. Now if this is Landry and Landry's gotta stay healthy. Of course that's been an issue. Michael Thomas of course has to stay healthy. But you add those guys on the field, and if a is a guy that's going to continue to develop. Yeah, Thomas was literally foaming at the mouth at one point. Did you see that, Mark? I think it was maybe after the two points. I think he might need to get a Raby ship. He was just so fired up after scoring. He had two touchdowns that and he was just like a guy. It was this trash talking on the sideline. I'm not sure to who and then spit was all over his own that. I think you've now laid out everything that could possibly because like they missed that intensity though, like he one thing I remember from that run and he was so young in it back in what seventeen when they probably should have won the Super Bowl. He was like their team leader as a rookie and a second year player. And so if he's healthy, I think he adds like a something special even beyond his production. I'll ask you this mark. So I think it's great the Cordell Patterson has a chance to, you know, put together another really productive season. Here has certainly started out well. Mariota's numbers don't look terrible, not overwhelming. Drake London was involved in his first game. But how is Kyle Pitts only have two catches for nineteen yards? I mean that has to be for this Mariota thing to work, He's got to have that chemistry with Pitts, who is supposed to be a guy that's putting up big numbers every week. Now is the answers year two? He struggled together. I I if that's more of a Saints matchup thing, because I I want to give that more time. But you know, this is supposed to be a matchup proof. I don't know, maybe you know credit to Dennis Allen and company. There, they took him out. I mean he he had seven targets into two catches. So it wasn't as if Mariotta totally ignored him, just it was not a productive day. I like Drake London made a couple of big plays in this too. I mean, I'm just saying I get what you're saying that it's the worst loss, but the expectations for the Falcons were like five. I just mean, if you're there and you're a fan, or it would suck, but like high that you were at with twelve minutes left to losing that games, I thought it was promising in the past rush that that we thought didn't even exist in Atlanta. Alright, so oh pull that one out, bros. The Cincinnati Zoo. They get a lock out of that game. You shouldn't. They should have to give it back, and this is it's a good harbinger for them though, if they can pull this out of it. They did a big Crystal Lave a game too, and he didn't have give it to him. Then he made a key revoked the block try next week, Crystal Lovey did not have a big game. I think he did help helps set up you know that It's like Mark's elaborate sandwich props. You gotta nail all of it. You can't leave this horse shoes. This is not a hand grename. All right, Let's move on to Houston. You're smelling upset sort of chip for blankets ship to try to win the game. For the Indianapolis Colts, Hawk is the holder, snap is down, the kick is up. It's good. The Texas cocked like a chip messing. That's the sound of that kick beering right. Don Rodrigo blakenship blanket and yanked it. Lego Man pushed it. Matt Ryan rallied Indianapolis in the fourth quarter to force overtime against the Texans and his Cults debut, but neither team could score in overtime. Both blanked in their two possessions in the extra period, blank and Ship, blank and yanked final Houston. Sometimes sometimes uh tie is a loss. Sometimes it tie feels like a win. If you're the Texans and Lovey Smith, you're up twenty to three entering the fourth quarter. But how about let's talk, Greggy. Let's talk Houston punting the ball at midfield and overtime and playing for a tie, Because I mean if you want listen, you hire Lovey Smith, You're gonna get Lovey Smith things. And we like Lovey Smith, but I didn't like who plays for a tie in anything? Really weird? Lov Smith plays for a tie? What was the down and distance? It wasn't like fourth and thirty six. No, it was fourth and three from the forty nine yard line with seconds. What what are we doing? Fourth and read from midfield? Here Here was Lovey Smith's explanation for white Beard. These are the announcers talking about it. Okay, let's hear it. I mean, if you have nothing to lose, if your love you here, No, they're gonna punt. I mean, this is playing for the tie, but but nothing a tie is better than what also from from beyond all of it than what are you telling your locker rooms saying, hey man, nobody thought were gonna win, and you know we almost won, but we didn't lose, so we're actually cool with a tie. Fourth and twelve, fourth and fifteen, Okay, I get it. Fourth and three. You're one completion away from being in field goal range and scoring one of the biggest upsets of Week one that that would stick to my ribs as a fan of that team and and he basically said, like a tie is better than a loss. He said, I thought a tie was better than a potential loss. And uh, he said, we it's not like he also said, in kind of throwing his own team under the bus, it's not like we were playing our best defense at the time. We were drained. I would have said, in love his defense, they weren't playing the best offense on at the time. They did not look like a team that was equally good to the Colts. They were outgained by more than two hundred yards. There were many, uh lucky moments for the Texans in this game. They made a Jerry Hughes made a great interception on a screenplay, but that was a little flukey, like Alec Pierce of the Colts dropped a wide open touchdown that they ended up getting no points off of the Colts in the first half. That the Colts Rodrigo Blanketship not only missed that kick, but kicked two kickoffs out of bounds I believe in a row, or at least two out of three in the second half. You know what the Texans did with those kids, Absolutely nothing. These were the Texans offense at the end of the game. And I think this is what Lovey might have and thinking, and he just didn't want to say it. He's saying, our defense might be tired. Uh, here was Davis Mills in the second half. Punt fumble, punt, punt, pun, punt, and Davis Mills his numbers were fine, thirty seven to forty for two. This was an ultimate you gotta watch the game performance because in key moments he was inaccurate. He made some bad decisions, and I know they just didn't all come back to haunt him, but he just he wasn't right, and especially down the stretch of that game, they were like hanging on for dear life, and I guess they sort of did. I just added up all those second half drives. You mentioned. They had seventy three total yards in the second half. I am not I don't agree with the decision at all, but I mean I can understand a defensive minded love you Smith not really trusting this offense today. He was. He was for seeing, let's sit down, saying you gotta make gonna go for it. He was seeing a situation where the worst, you know, a terrible game, and he knew what that loss felt like for a second because he was expecting black and Chips kick to go in. They had blown the game, and Frank Reich did the Mike Rabele thing. He kind of set up for a long blank and chip kick instead of keeping the pedal on the gas. There and a real coaching exhibition here. Um, I think you know what you're explaining, and I'm gonna watch us tomorrow. Like what Lovely Smith can't say is what he feels in that situation. And he didn't coach his team last year. He's new. His feeling is my team is not good enough. So I'm gonna take a tie as as a win for us because we're lucky to even be in this position. But it's just weird when it's that close and it's twenty two three entering the fourth quarter. It's the gutless move the week. It's also like that little time left, like all you there would be under twenty seconds to go for you to stop them from getting into field goal range. Let's let's have a little confidence. But before moving on quickly, though, I have to give Reich some credit and Jonathan Taylor even more. The Colts are the only team in the NFL who falls down three score and catches up with the running game. They stayed very run heavy. In fact, I thought they kind of went away from the run a little too much in the third quarter, and as they were making that comeback, it was almost all running. They were down three scores. They took a field goal early in that process to make it fourteen points, and I was like, oh, you're taking the field goal to make it fourteen And they just kept handing the ball off to Jonathan Taylor, who had thirty one carries for a hundred and sixty one yards and it worked even down three scores. He was the key to the company. So he's the man. Matt Ryan also threw fifty passes. It's Matt Ryan well protected behind this line. I kept reading that the first staff especially, he was under a lot of I don't like that. For Matt Ryan. I thought he played okay in this game. He was not bad. Uh the first half. He was under a lot of pressure. All right, Let's head towards our nation's capital, well near it. On the third and eight jacksonal break six towards to polly Kill. Talk about the rookie faith and he has some of the best hands there are London. We are saying that action Day Weinstein, Julie Donaldson, w B I g with the call. I'll tell you this, if you are a fantasy person, go to your waiverward. Just make sure John Dodson's not, you know, accounted for it. If he's not, get him on your roster because that guy is gonna be an instant contributor. Nugget was one of my nugs, one of my takeaways from a win for the Commanders who took command in Week one, beat the Jaguars and uh Carson Wentz. I'll tell you what. Not a perfect game, not by any stretch. He threw interceptions on consecutive plays, and at that point the Jaguars took the lead as a result of his mistakes. But he rebounded and he had his first four touchdown game since, A faithful day in his career, a faithful day in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles. The day toris a c l on his left knee while on that scramble in December. So does that mean like this is the Wents that's here now, the guy that was gonna win m VP that year before he blew out his knee. No, that he still looks like Carson Wentz uh to me and the good and the bad. But it was a reminder of Wentz, who was a punching bag um really for years now, but especially this summer. And it was kind of seen as a joke that Washington could even think it could work with him, that when Wentz is feeling it and he can get going and he can make plays and he can move an offense. And that's what he did because this was a game, uh mark, where the Jaguars looked like they were gonna take command, like they had taken the punches, they had said thank you Carson Wentz for these gifts, and now we're gonna have a huge win and we're gonna show that we're not the same old Jacks. No. Wentz recovered and so did Washington and now they're wanted decided to really go ahead and start well. I mean, and you know it, Wentz had his mistakes, and that's my thing with Wentz is he's going to be productive. But you're waiting for that killer scenario, that killer action. That's not a perfect quarter at all. But Trevor Lawrence, who you know, we all project to have a big season for the environment, around him. That's so much better at this point. He had a terrible interception at the end of this game. He did he did it was a I want to think what the down a distance was, but it wasn't a um situation where he needed to make the throw he did. He kind of threw it up for grabs and under threw it and that was essentially uh the end of the game. And this was a team that was last in turnover margin last year minus twenty UM, but they were able to force three turnovers in this game, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Um. The two picks set up ten points, so they you know, tray Von Walker had a interception on a screen pass attempt by Wentz. He had a sack as well, so that that was a very good sign um. But now we need Lawrence to clean an up a little bit. He was flagged twice for intentional grounding. He had the interception that Mark is alluding to. So they didn't show their ability, even with Doug Peterson there to find a way to win a game. But they were right there. They they're just losing. Is such a habit for this team that there's all these players that have been around for a few years, and I know there's a new players. I mean, they've done more losing than any team in the NFL, and like that's in the DNA. They they're gonna have to change it at some point soon. But they did get a lot of production out of you know, Christian Kirk, ands A Jones there their free agent pickups and E t N had a decent games in Dropper at a decent game, did have a decent game, but he also dropped a fourth in gold swing pass wide open. It was a little high. We should have had it and there was right And there was another one where he was open for a touchdown and Lawrence missed him. So it's those little things that are actually big things. And if you're Washington fan, I mean, this is sort of what you drew up on paper, especially a year ago. But now like Curtis Samuel had a game, like he caught eight passes, John Dotson is in the mix, caught a couple of touchdowns, mccoran had one big play. Antonio Gibson is now the main dude again and puts up a hundred and thirty two yards like they have players around Wentz. It's just like against better teams, are those interceptions gonna hurt more? I mean, Graver came down and here I know justin you were watching this game, and it's like he was like, yeah, I thought Wentz played pretty well except for those two terrible interception. I just was thinking, like, how many times has that been said about Wentz in his career? That's that's sort of the experience. I will say this. I read this um somewhere after the game and I thought it was interesting because it was well, let me say what it is. So Carson Wentz goes to the sideline after throwing the uh second interception on consecutive plays, goes there and he looks at Ron Rivera on the sideline head coach, and Rivera says to him, hey, you're gonna have to win this. Wentz responded, I will before walking away. It's dramatic. It's a nice lead. But you know what else it is. It's the opposite of Carson Wentz is Indianapolis experience where Frank Reich had no confidence and especially as the season went along and you could see I'm thinking of that Saturday December again against the Patriots, or like trying to hold on for dear life and wouldn't even let him make a throw. Like if Rivera is a little outside the box and gives Carson wants a chance, maybe he gets some mojo cooking and Washington surprises people. We'll see one game in. It's a nice day for the Commanders. We got the Carson Wentz experience, and we're gonna get it again. I mean that, yeah, man, that's fair. But it's also a great example saying I will and then doing it of taking command kind of yeah, he's like getting ready to you know, kind of I will. He was alluding to this day. This was it was all building to this moment. All right. We got one more game, Sunday night football. We sent Greg home not feeling well, but we got some business to get to from Jaral World. A bad night at Jaral World for the home team. First of go for fun, yes, sir, touchdown Tom Brady to Mike Evans like old times. It was the only touchdown of the game, but throwing a few more field goals and it was more than enough for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but begin their season on a winning note nineteen to three over the Cowboys. And if you're the Cowboys or Cowboys fan, this could not have been worse. Dak Prescott fourteen and thirty four yards, no touchdowns, an interception, bangs his hand uh during a pass rush um by the Bucks late in the game, X rays and the worst news the Cowboys could get he needs surgery for an injury in the joint above the thumb of his right hand. Jerry Jones, team owner, tells reporters shortly after the game, He's going to be out several weeks. So Mark not only and we'll get to the Bucks, but I think the Cowboys of the story coming out of this game, not only do you no show uh in your opener at home, you now lose your quarterback. And when you combine those two things, it paints a very ominous picture of the Cowboys near and potentially long term future this season. Well, even before this happened, the energy around this team tonight, their performance on offense, what was lacking, what was missing what we thought would be missing, which was wide receiver strength, depth, and it was they cannot win on the outside. And even before Dak Prescott was injured, this was not the Dak Prescott were used to seeing. This might have been one of his worst games that I can recall, and there were moments where he just was out of sync. We're talking about guys like Ceedee Lamon need to step up. It's just not the case tonight. And so the offense looked lacking. And what is even more concerning because I don't know how long he'll be gone, obviously, but they've got the Bengals, then the Giants, who look a little spicy right now, then Washington, and then if it goes on beyond that, the Rams and Eagles, and what I think what we've seen from Cooper Rush tells you Cooper Rush is not adequate to come in and win games, and he was. He was a big mess tonight. Yeah, we need to know more about how long that's going to be out, but it sounds like this is not going to be something. It might be October, who knows, but it's it's a situation that this season is in deep trouble immediately for the Cowboys. I don't think that's an overreaction. And you're right, Dak Prescott before he went out was not having a good game, and Ceedee Lamb he had a bad game. And these are two very good players that need to be great for the Cowboys to win this division and get back to the playoffs. And one night only neither played well and now one's on the shelf, and it's the most important guy to the team, and so you have to keep an eye on how the Cowboys handled this because he had Cooper Rush is not one of the better backups in football, and this could be, this could be the recipe. Let's be honest, for one of those oh and three one in five type starts and all of a sudden, it's all over for Dallas. So that that's a devastating setback for the team, both from a game and from a long term respect with dak Out on the on the buck side, you know, I thought, even though the scoreboard doesn't tell the story of an exciting game nineteen to three, they only had one touchdown, but they also didn't punt until late in the third quarter. They controlled the flow. Leonard Fournette looked great running for a hundred and twenty seven yards on six yards to carry. Mike Evans did Mike Evans things. Julio Jones. I know, the thing with him is you can't just view him as, oh, this is who he's gonna be because he can't stay healthy anymore. But this version of Julio Jones still looks explosive and could be a big time guy for the Bucks. Yeah. I mean they had a Tom Brady. Best throw of the night was that forty eight yard shot to Julio Jones. Great catch, great catch, great throw. There's chemistries are using him. He had two sweeps as well, So I liked the Julio Jones fit in this. They did lose Donovan Smith, their tackle. Chris Godwin came in and then left the game as well, and it was elo for Donovan Smith, and we'll see, we'll know more about that. So both of these teams cannot use anyone else along the offensive line. And the Cowboys also lost Connor McGovern and Terrence Steele operates as a penalty machine. So I just see concern all all over the place for the Cowboys when it comes to Tampa Bay. You know, they they looked more powerful. Obviously, was not the most watchable game on the planet, but I'm not leaving with much concern. I think there's still the Bucks, the same Bucks were used to Yeah, and I think and obviously Bruce arians is upstairs now he so Himan literally wearing like a Hawaiian shirt. While he's he's cellnically working, he's acknowledging on the telecast and interviews. Oh yeah, golf two or three times a week. This is a very nice job for Bruce Arians and it's a nice job for Todd Bowls because this team. You could see the way the defense swarmed, and that's another issue with Dallas. The offensive line, which we talked about during the summer, did not look good. They were overmatched in this game. So the Tampa Bay defense looked excellent in this game. And Brady is going to have bigger statistical days, but I didn't see anything to be concerned about him. It's been a kind of a funky, weird offseason for him. I think it's all systems go for the Bucks to uh to, you know, and you know what it's about with Tampa Bay at this point. Stay healthy enough and then win. You're ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen games and see what happens in January. With Tom Brady a quarterback, they're on the right track. The Cowboys the opposite of that, absolutely, And then in the Saints. We'll tangle with the Bucks next week and what happened last season. I can't wait to see that one very fune. All right, so we'll have more on uh Dak Prescott and where he's at on our Tuesday show when we're all back together and Greg will be hopefully feeling better by then. Speaking of Greg Our next a t N show of any kind will be tomorrow night, the Monday night football recap of the final game of Week one, Seahawks versus Broncos RUSS Bowl one, So keep uh stay tuned. Stephen Ruiz joining us for that one. Very nice. We love Stephen Ruiz. He is great, so that would be great conversation, so be there for that again. Go to Ticketmaster around the NFL Live show from London. Uh, we marked down some of the prices for the balcony seats, so we want to make sure you guys are at that show so we can all celebrate football together in London. And that's it. I think we're all done. Great show, mark wrap it up season ten of a t N Season thirteen for us here with the company. Let's make this one the best one yet. Buddy, I planned to great. He the call everybody m