2022 Week 6 Recap: Spicy Teams Stay Spicy

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Speaker 1: The Around the NFL podcast Wishes Every Day was Sunday from the Chris west Link podcast studio. It's Around the NFL. I'm Dan Hansas with Heroes, Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sessler the Week six flagship program Boys. Another big day of football in the books and Uh, I'm excited. I'm excited for today's show. It feels good to football. You know what they nailed that, They nailed that and uh, it is a you know, a feeling for New York football fans in particular that something is happening here. Uh, something different for the Jets and Giants, and that's becoming a storyline now in this season. As unbelievable it is the fact that the Giants and Jets are nine and three combined to start the season. We're gonna get to that, but Mark, I think where we have to start? OUI somewhere else at different New York team. Yeah, the only New York only the only team New York state. Hey, there's only one real New York team. That's how people from Western New York. That's who I'm connecting with that comment. The other to play in New Jersey. Hey, hey, over the boat over there, but they don't that's not the accent. No, I lost it right. Let's get back on track to Kansas City, where the Buffalo Bills look to make a statement against the Juggernauts of the a f C. Revenge Holmes takes as a pocket, gets away to the right a little bit. He fires downfield that he's picked off, picked off of the twenty yard line, intercepted by the Bill, picked up by Karen Johnson. He goes down right there and the Bills have the football. They are celebrating. They're running down to the end zone for the celebration. They pick off Patrick Mahomes. John Murpy get pumped up w g R with the call. A huge, huge win for the Bills, who go to Arrowhead, get a late touchdown from Josh Allen to Dawson Knox, and then get the big interception there uh to seal a win, getting some revenge. Yes for the a f C divisional loss in January. As painful as that was, Mark, you had your eyes on this with the first overall pick. Let's talk about it. Well, we all did, because this is so far the game of the year. And I look at that last drive and say, this difference between this Buffalo team and the one that fell to Kansas City and heartbreaking fashion eleven months ago or a year ago, whenever that was, uh January, I understand how months worked. Is October about ten months ago? Is their defense so well coached and you're gonna you're gonna give up plays to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. But along with that stop on the final drive, I go back to how the game started as well, where another major a series of events for Buffalo happened because of their defense. It looked like Patrick Mahomes on their opening drive had thrown to the passes of the years to Marcus veld Is scantling a touchdown that was taken away by an ineligible man down field. Seconds later, a nearly perfect pass to Travis Kelsey is knocked out of his arms by a Buffalo defender, and then Patrick Mahomes ends the first drive of the game with an interception to Kyra Lamb Like this is Buffalo's defense was a difference maker in this in every way that they weren't last January. Well, just hate to be so basic, but von Miller was the difference. You know, the last three drives of the game were ended by Von Miller. One of them was on a pressure to force a field goal at a time you know where you're expecting Casey to get seven. Another one was on a sack, and then he's the one that flushes Mahomes out on that final play. And what was crazy was how many times Mahomes escaped the pass rush today, but how many of those times were just three or more often four man pressures. They were not having to send extra guys to get free rushers. In one of those rushes where Miller ended the drive was on a three man rush, so they got the drop eight, but Bond one so quickly. He was absolutely the difference, and he's getting support from the guys around him. And I just couldn't help but think everything Mahomes did in this game was hard. Both the touchdowns were like incredible throws, like there was nothing easy for the chief Sis. It doesn't reminds you a little bit of how they attacked the Rams in that opener, because there was no It wasn't blitzing in that situation. It was exactly what they were capable of doing in that game. I mean, it looked like to me, these are very evenly matched teams. But the Bills I think are the best team in football. We've seen it again now with this win. And we talked about on Thursday show the idea that the Bills, the version of the Bills UH that the front office and Sean McDermott cooked up together. We hadn't really seen it yet. And then all of a sudden they get the guys on the field for this huge regular season game and you see it on every level, how they have all these playmakers and their discipline and world coached and they make big plays in huge spots like Josh Allen. Again, I don't know where well the QB this is what the QBA Index exists for at least than our digital sphere um where you put him ultimately in the best quarterbacks of the league. But like, who do you trust more? Maybe Mahomes, But to make that big drive at the end, to put that pass on the money to Dawson Knox and then get the defensive stoff, just a total team after by the best team in football. I mean, I think about the drive where they went Dan. Sometimes it's thinking power Ring and Sunday night, you gotta it's I gotta assume they're one too, thinking about my project entire Monday. It's flip flop between the two. Alan. Okay, now it was Mahomes coming into Homes played so well tonight. It's not because it's hard to say that someone's lesser. It's just that I think Alan came in and think about the environment here and that one minute thirteen touchdown drive where they went nine yards. This was the loudest stadium I've heard all year, I think the first half, and I mean that was just so resilient by the Bills. And then I think of Josh Allen on a key moment leaping over Chief's defender for that major conversion. I mean, these are the moments that Josh Allen does things that no one else can do. Right. So you you brought up that touchdown drive at the end of the first half. They get it with one twenty nine. At that point, the score seven to three Chiefs. There was a lot of great defense being played in this game. UH turnovers and he goes ninety eight yards as you mentioned in seven plays, leaves only sixteen seconds and the Chiefs somehow get a field goal back. Just like UH at the end of the a f C championship or divisional round game there, But I thought it was interesting on that final drive they get the ball with five thirty one to go, they go on a twelve place, seventy six yard touchdown drive to take the lead. They were light on his legs, like that's where it's like, Okay, let's stop messing around. Let's have Josh Allen run whenever possible. Some called runs, some scrambles and for the most part at work because they were struggling in short yard But that throw to Knox and the two other touchdown throws before, I think shows a difference between Allen now and maybe two years ago. I mean, that was insane ball placement to Knox, like there was not really a hole there to find and he found it too. Thowson knocks to take and having knocks back after he was knocked out last year, that's a big that's a big part of this offense having him in there. He's a trusted red zone guy. Gabe Davis continues to kind of be a guy that you could trust more and more. He had a long touchdown in this game, more than Isaiah McKenzie at least, right and then you had Stefon Diggs, who, um, you know, he is a number one receiver in every way that you need and he had ten for one and a touchdown on thirteen targets. So that's my takeaway from this game is it doesn't change how I feel about either team, and like everyone else, it's gonna feel like we're cheated if they're not playing again in January. But you know how football is, you never know how injuries and other things can pop up before before from now until then. But it's just fun to be able to enjoy these games with Nance and Romo. It was just fun. After that, I think it's also it's more of a rarity this season because we were talking about this in the news from and there's more to get into, but like there aren't six or seven teams like this in the NFL right now, dominant teams. There's a Super in the a f C, and then there's a big there's the Eagles, and then there's just a fall off to mediocrity or just teams that are figuring out who they are. Although I know, and I know it's early to say this, but it might be bigger for the Bills to get this win because the a f C East, and I know we're getting to it looks a little more challenging. You know, if they fell a game back of the Chiefs where the a f C West, maybe it doesn't look as good as we expected, Like they might need that cushion. I know last year it didn't end up mattering too much. I I don't know that. I think the Bills have more answers in the Chiefs. I think they're a better team overall. As you said, psychological, they ran the ball better today and they have more playmakers, and I think psychologically, had the Bills lost, it's it's like this is the team we can't get past now. It's like you went into Kansas City where it seems like they're always having to go, and they took care of business, and it's very possible they end up with a tide record at the end of the regular season. I also think, and I'm sure the Bills would back this up if they haven't actually been on the record saying it, that they lost that game in January and felt like they were the better team, like they should have been the team that represented the a f C in the Super Bowl, they should have won it. So that had to be that had to be an incredible feeling to get this win. And you're right going to January. Now, if they do see each other again, there will be no nerves existing in terms of can we get over the hump? They know it. We're better than these guys. We've we showed it in October, will show it again. But I can't get our ahead of ourselves. But it's been a while since you you could like look at two teams to be like, oh, we'll see we'll see them again. It just feels we we will And and quick shout out to a West favorite. Matt Milano has gone from like everyone's underrated linebacker to just maybe the best offball linebacker in football. He has been outrageous each and every week. And he was part of that last play too with Von Miller. There you go, all right, So who locked its? Hey? Nick? He did the three hour uncut version. But guess what he got a w and hopefully more importantly wins and losses. He got the faith of his own brother's back, and the Cincinnati Zoo has some peace. I think a peril held the Bills today on suns level. All right, speaking of the New York teams, let's start with the team that played at the Meadowlands today. Jackson in a shotgun shot call signals takes the snappers back to flow under pressure pills Giants scramble cork that's still lose. That fun recovered on the Giants at the twelve yard line table, Tiboda gets his cars career sack hit Dick fashion there Bob Crave digger. Huh uh oh, not another word. He's taking his knees out from under Bob Papa with the call on w f A N It is on in New York City or East Motherford. Get over it. The Big Blue defense, led by four member Ravens coordinator Wink Martindale, forced two turnovers by Lamar Jackson late in the fourth quarter, and you heard our friend, our Bud Cavon Thibodeau stepping up with the strips act to seal it. The Ravens another meltdown late and the Giants another victory in which they hang around. They enter is an underdog, and then all of a sudden, it's the fourth quarter and a team has to make a play. And guess who makes the play. The Brian Dable team makes the play. And I said it to you, Greggy, it's become an every week thing that you look up at the monitors in the newsroom after these early window games and there's Brian Dable running off the sideline to like greet and celebrate with his team and and do the handshake with head coaches, and then you see him pumping his fist as he's looking to the crowd. Uh, you know, supporters, whether it's family or friends or fans or whatever. There is there is something cooking here with the Giants. There absolutely is. And this was the case where a team and I'll start like on the defensive side of the ball here, because this is a team we talked about their defense had the potential to be one of the worst in the league entering the year, but they're so like everything else with the Giants, so well coached, and their ability to keep Lamar Jackson from beating them with the big play, beating him with huge plays with his legs getting no big like Devin Duverney bombed down the field, these type of plays that have marked the Baltimore offense. They were held in line and then when the game was on the line, they made big plays and made Lamar look like Clark Kent right that that interception that Lamar Jackson through in the fourth quarter. Is is a surprise and yet on some level with this Ravens team, I think if you're a Ravens fan right now, you almost felt it coming because there's a crazy stat out there. They were they were thirty one and two in the fourth quarter. Since the Lamar era started with a ten point lead there two and three this year. Now, at some level, it's impressive. They've had a ten point lead in five games and they've blown it three times, you know, twice seventeen point leads, this time at ten point lead, like neither side can you know making a big play. But I'm surprised Dhim because they had a running game working today, Like what what do you think it was? Because you look at it's another game where you look at the Giants box score and the leading receivers Daniel Bellinger with thirty eight yards and you're like, how is this happening? No, you're if you're a Ravens fan. And apologies to you guys that are listening to this right now, and I respect you for listening to our podcast because this has to be super super frustrating team stats here the Ravens put up four hundred and six yards. The Giants had just two thirty eight. The Ravens held Sae Kwon Barkley to under four yards to carry, and he didn't have that type of ridiculous big game that has marked many of these Giants wins to start the season. Um, they did what they wanted on the ground. The average it was nine yards per carry on the ground in this game. Um. But again, there's just something about this team, and Daniel Jones deserves credit as well. He doesn't throw an interception in this game. They lose one fumble. It's a Jones fumble, which has obviously been a bugaboo for him, but that was at the end of the first half, on the last play of the half. It didn't mean anything. So I think that's a big difference here too. You have the defense has taken three steps up from what we expected. You have Daniel Jones playing cleaner football, and then you have a much improved offensive line with se Kwon Barkley healthy. You add it up and I'm still surprised it's five and one. But at a certain point we have to be two things. Mark. We need to stop being surprised when the Giants win close games because, especially in this landscape with so many teams that are so close to each other, good coaching and smart football down the stretch matters. And Number two like me, I'm gonna take an ail on this, and I think about the power rankings, like you can't give the Ravens a benefit of the doubt anymore because when it happens three times now it's six weeks, there's a problem with their ability to close games. Yeah, they can't close. And I think the Wink Martindale factor mattered here again, like what is football other than self scouting and scouting And this is someone that knows Lamar Jackson better than ever. He didn't know though, that he was gonna fumble at the thirteen yard line to get the Giants that short field. I mean that the difference here to me is is Lamar Jackson mistakes at the end. And we've seen this in other games. It's not it doesn't characterize his career entirely, but they're just seemed to be high profile Lamar Jackson mistakes. Um, it's happened this season. It's been the Ravens defensive issues too with some of these collapses. But today it's like the Giants in the right place at the right time. Brian Dable is not just the coach of the year because of what he's doing technically, it's like the Giants feeling a completely different um core energy source, and they have during our entire run of this podcast. And I think that people look to the Packers win and said, well, that's a lot. It's a lot to do with green Bay being out of sorts. Okay, well they are the sorts. We were looking at green Bay differently, but no one really looked at this game. It said the Ravens are gonna stumble against the Giants. They've done it. I don't care. Five and one, two is five and one? What is? What are the any of these teams? I feel like their Week one game against the Titans was the biggest, like Week one game, because just the feeling that they got from coming all the way back at the into that game and winning it the way that they wanted gave them something where the next week, by the way they were tied with the Panthers, like late in the fourth quarter, they have the feeling then go win that game, and then these last two weeks with these comeback there it's there's something that that numbers can't measure. And yes, that doesn't like carry over from year to year necessarily, but I do believe that it can carry over for a year. And it's happening for this Giants team. Yeah, and the Ravens will when they look at the tape and it's not gonna be easy. They'll look at the first half when they outgained New York to fifty six to ninety but went to the tunnel of ten seven even just a Tucker mr The field goal. Uh So, everything seems to be breaking New York's way right now, including the schedule because next week they go to Jacksonville, and I know Jacksonville is not the pushover they once were, but it'll be interesting to see the Giants, now with a lot of hype, going to play a team where they're going to be the favorite on the road. Another test for I'm sorry to hear that. Let's it not be said that I'm some type of New York homer. I was not so much in my mind like that was not so much doubting the Giants, it was believing in the Ravens. But I have to recalibrate that Baltimore situation. I was surprised because I felt like you've been getting on me for being an anti Giants guy, and I was. And I also locked up the Giants, I mean other Ravens, and then jumped out of it smart. We'll see if I end up being right. That's a teaser for your Sunday night football recap script. Just discover what happens on that front. All right, Well, there's one team from New York, those little town Blues. They are melting away. Let's make a brand new start of it. Let's head to Lambeau. Zach Wilson takes the snap counter hand off up the middle thirty right side, fifteen touchs down a little counter inside hand off to brace Hall. We'll find some Jet fans in the crowd, and does a Jets ambo leap. Oh yeah, the Bongos are back. I think the Jets are gonna own the bongo operations. The Jets doing a Lambeau leap into a group of Jets fans in that end zone, unbelievable. The Jets are good, maybe, I think so. Rookie of her candidate, Briest Hall ran for a hundred sixteen yards, including that thirty four yard touchdown, while Quentin Williams and a relentless pass rush sacked Aaron Rodgers four times. It really gave him a beating. In the end, it was a ten victory over the Packers. Yes, at Lambeau feel the Jets have won three straight. They're three and oh on the road. You know, had Buffalo loss today, they would have been tied for first, and they have but they're right behind the Bills. And this had to be a great feeling boys for um. Mike Laflour, the brother of Matt Lafleur, green Bay Packers coach. The Jets offensive coordinator, really had his way Um with the the green Bay defense as this game really started to take on form in the second half. Uh they out rushed green Bay. The Jets did one seventy nine to sixty on a day that Zack Wilson through for just a hundred and ten yards. So here are the Jets. They break a three all tie with two touchdowns in the spin of less than two and a half minutes in the third quarter, and they have this, they have this juice to them. This Jets offense has juice. But I think the story of this game boys. To me was the defense, Uh, the Jets defense with that prep pass rush and quinnin Williams, like I said, he has superstar type potential now that he's starting to act on with that secondary. With Sauce Gardner leading that end of things, they were swarming a Green Bay attack that just didn't look alive. Again, I I totally enjoyed watching this next to you, um it's I you have never really heard you um as spirit about the Jets, not just like trying to salvage a mediocre Jets team into something they're not, but like, there's actually a core of wonderful young players on this team and someone like Quinn and Williams, who you know up and down starting to be unlocked by Robert Salo the same way that he did with Niners players up and down the roster in San Francisco. And every time I looked up, the Jets were essentially taking the spirit out of the Packers and just shutting them down. And you know, I have never seen a Jet performance like that on that front. I mean, the Packers have a ton of issues, but they right away I mean three straight punts of missfield goal, another punt, a fumble, and downs for Green Bay. Their defense is a difference making defense right now. He was sacked four times and and hit nine times, and those just aren't numbers you're used to scene out of a Packers team number one, their offensive line is usually just better. And Elton Jenkins, who has had a great career so far, he's a young player, came off toward E. C. L. It hasn't been the same this year. But also Rodgers is so good getting rid of the ball, you know, and not taking those hits, even if he holds it longer than you know, some purist wanted. He always avoids getting hit and he just doesn't seem like he can avoid it these days. And that's happening a lot of times when you play this Jets defense. Yeah, And and from the very start of this game, he you could see him holding his thumb shaking his hand, and that is something to keep an eye because there were some throws in this game, whereas vintage Rogers and it's like, oh, there's only a handful of guys that can make that throw. But there was one. There was a deep cross at one point Romeo Dobbs that was under thrown. He kind of dirted the throw and again, like every whenever he's idol, he had his hand in the handwarmer shaking it out. And you're just wondering, you know how that's feeling right now? And speaking of Aaron Rodgers, you know it's become it's new on our radar here um as a trope alert um when a team, whether it's offensively or defensively, feels like they need to make a change mid stream to not be so you know dense. Uh listening to Aaron Rodgers, Yeah, uh, I don't want to get too specific, um, And I'm not not attacking anything. I just think that based on how we've played last two weeks, I think it's going to be in our best interest to simplify things for everybody, for the Lion, for the backs, for the receivers, especially with cobbies injury. UM, just simplify some things and and maybe that help us get back on track. The only other person saying this right now is his former offensive coordinator Nate Hackett out in Denver. So we've got problems. I mean, when's the last time or how often is it happening that you look at a Packers team that went four of sixteen on third down, Um, it looks like it and in one of four one of four times on fourth down, I mean there's shutdown or a team led by uh, you know, the reigning two time m v P with in an offense he's been in for four years, saying we need to simplify right stars per play and Cobb that he mentioned. By the way, Randall Cobb looks like he has a high ankle sprain and will miss sometime. Yeah, Green Bay does not look right on offense. The defense we've been talking about all season. Uh, they got to score the Rogers touchdown pass to Lazard that cut cuts into sevent in the second half, and you're thinking, oh, look out as a Jets fan, and what do they do? The Jets march right down the field and they get that touchdown to go. They never then get a stop on on fourth down in the next ensuing green Baby possession, and it was over. It was almost like as the game was winding down, it was I think every Jets fan and I talked about on Thursday show, you know, this game could go one of two ways. Green Bay can get right and blow you out, or you can find yourself in a close game. I did not imagine the Jets were gonna blow out the Packers. And but that's kind of what happened. And you talked about the Lambeau leap with the Jet leap. There after the game, you have Sauce Gardner walking around the stadium wearing the cheesehead. Lazard reportedly knocked it off his head in frustration. Uh. And this is just like all Jets have some swag and think it was Robert Saw that's calling them the baby Jets, which is something I think you're gonna start hearing because this is a young, talented roster. Still don't trust the quarterback, but there's a lot to like, especially and a very wide open a f C. Why not the Jets. It's crazy that Zach Welson having add ten yards is yeah, barely makes a blip. Breece Hall like his scrimmage yards through through this time. This baby Jets thing I think is gonna catch on. And Sauce like, I just love the feeling he has given that defense. He seems like a leader right off, right from the jump. He's a dude. And Mark you were a dude because you you were the only Jet uh supporter in terms of the picks from the NFL media gang and after the game, the Jets and their social team. Right, we're only rocking with Mark Sessler and a nice little call back to the best part of what is the chapelle half baked, half baked, You're cool, You're cool, Thank you, You're cool. I'm out. Uh, you're the you're cool, old guy with your thumb up. That's great. I might have been half baked when I made that pick, but it certainly came out looking quite good. On the other side, before we get inside, that's where we get too many annoying tweets. It's like f hm, f him, f M, you're cool. I had it reversed, thank you, thank you for that, and that is that's the move. By the way, And I know we talked about this. You always be the one person picking against it, because now these social teams are gonna highlight that no one cares if you pick with everyone else. No, do we have a friend in the Jets social department because you did that with the Giants too. You probably was the only person to pick the Giants. I don't know, gantee, but I don't know I was the only plans. It's it's just like the Giants, like, oh, we're above such thing. We won't point out to that individual about that guy, who is that guy? Who is that guy with a giant? Now it makes sense because Mark Tiffany franch we would never highlight not that, or maybe they saw the Jets to it thought they just we just got beat to the punch there there, there seems to be I don't know how much Dan is truly enjoying the g men. You know, it's sharing this the New York Shine here. It's it's something you keep missing on It's fine. I don't care. I don't care. I've been waiting for so long for the Jets to be a fun team to watch and to follow on this podcast, and they're real and I can't wait to see what happens next. I was wondering why Mark was enjoying this game more than like any game all season, and now it makes sense. He knew like that pop was coming. I mean when I picked the game, I knew what was going to happen, so I was just sort of like watching it happen as I prophesied, I feel power. Yeah, yeah, I like you, like anyone else on the show. I like to help my little spotlight, Greg and I a lot of grief for like seeking the spotlight. Now, don't you're not much different, Mark, You're just like us. I probably have. Let's move on, check in with another frisky team that might be making a turn onto spicy lane. Bird comes from the orbit trop left to right, Mariota looks now gonna loop and Kyle pets taught Touchdo's that on us soil? That's a touchdown? Glad, that's over westerm w z g C. We were there, uh on foreign soil when Kyle Pitts had his first career touchdown last year against the Jets in fact, but there haven't been any touchdowns since for the tight end, who once again didn't have a big game. But guess what, None of the receivers in on Atlanta are gonna have big games because they don't pass the ball a lot. But that doesn't mean they can't win, as we saw again today because Marks Mariota through fourteen touched fourteen passes, but two touchdown passes and a win over the Niners in Atlanta. Greggy, these dirty birds, they're interesting. I mean they are dirty. That's what Kyle Pitts was doing after that touchdown the dirty Bird, and it reminds me, maybe not even of late nineties football, more like nineteen eighties football. They out for the Niners, I mean to run it like that, and the defense that the forty Niners UH is known for ultimately wasn't there. Like they were missing their starting defensive line. They had some other players go in and out during the game, and I don't think the Falcons were afraid. And when this game was taken was really uh in the late second quarter when they just kept handing the ball UH to Caleb Huntley and he just kept running through them. Mariota was only six for fifty on the ground with a rushing touchdown, but it felt like each one of those six rushes were design runs and they were all killer. Tyler Algier gets fifty one yards too, and they just kind of did the forty Niners style of play and they did it better. And they forced three turnovers two on defense that that helped them out. But I was just like impressed, And I think they're blowing past Spicy. I don't care. If I don't care Chickle's Sunday's give them some Spicy said they are they the best team in the League. Where were they're going past spicy to frisky? I mean their past freight frisky either to spicy, I don't know what I mean. You made a great point because I thought they did this two weeks ago, and they nearly beat the Bucks a week ago, they nearly beat the Saints in Week one. A lot of things to go like this. This game was absent of the Marcus Mariotta killer turnover, which has pock marks some of their losses. But in this one, it reminds me of what they did against Cleveland two weeks ago when they said we're gonna you think you're gonna beat us with the run, We're just gonna go do it right to you. And they were the dominant, more physical team in this and they showed no fear. And I think if we talk about the chant run to that's a good point, right. I looked at one point in the in the Niners had like thirty yards rushing in the first top. They're taken out of their system, they're missing half their defense. So I think when these guys have a rematch, it's gonna look different. But the Falcons, to me, if we talk about Brian day Ball being a good coach the rematch, you're predicting a playoff rematch, like no, not like probably not a rematch that you're right down the road if they ever. But I think Arthur Smith is like been overlooked as a very good head coach who has had a lot of injuries, got a weird rosters. Absolutely, if there were little elements of it last year, there's been a lot of elements this year and today was sort of like the breakout game. Um. I think it's similar to what's going on in the a f C with the team like the Jets, Like you mentioned that they nearly beat the Bucks, they nearly beat the Saints, but it's like who are the Bucks? Who are the Saints? Like who are these teams that we to be big time teams? So if there's these teams that were at the bottom of uh the standings, or teams that were seen as afterthoughts entering the year, like the Jets, like the Falcons, man, if they start gaining some confidence and they're a young team with some players and a quarterback of Marcus Mariotta who's seen a lot, who's been through a lot and now has better perspective. I remember Steve Wise who you know covers the falcons for the team. Um talking in before the season and he was like, Yeah, there's a lot of good vibes around Mariota because he in this opportunity as a starter. It's so different than when he was in Tennessee and everything was given to him. Uh, he's appreciating more and he's ready to be that guy. Yeah. He also, as I think, come close at times to testing the concept of putting Desmond Ritter in there, because there have been moments quarters in a row where he's been in this really and consists of the perfect Mariota game because he only threw the ball fourteen times. He didn't have an in completion until ten minutes left in the game. He finished his thirteen fourteen. There were a couple of good throws in there, but for the most part they were open receivers and short throws. And uh, that's that's perfect for him on the forty niner side. Wait, one more thing, though, Like what they want to do is run the ball. They want their quarterback to be mobile and make plays. Well, he's never gonna be the superstar that Titans perceived him to be ten years ago, but I think he's gonna be imperfect, but I think he's a good fit for what Smith wants to do. I'd be surprised if they turned down. I don't think they will for a long time. And Nick Wesley, you know, said he wishes Chris was here, and he knows Chris is watching and watching his guy Mariota, saying I told you so, like on a day where Jamis Winston was benched, Chris would be sitting here in this never ending Mariota Winston thing that has no purpose to it, and would be would be back on his side. The forty Niners uh quickly lost Mooney Ward chart various Ward in this game. He wants to be called Mooney by the way. I think he's playing like an all pro, So we gotta listen to him. Um, I think we should listen to him even if he was a bad player. That's that's a good point. Mooney Award and Mike McGlinchey. So there's are two more they're starting, right, two more injuries. I read an article, uh after the game from a forty Niners source, and they went through all the injuries. There's I counted eleven starters. I mean, that's that's a lot eleven starters is is getting to a totally preposterous scenario. Now, most of them will be back this year, almost all of them, but eleven starters out right now. There was a drive in this game quickly that UH pointed out, how Mike Shanahan and Jimmy Garoppolo really Shanahan this is his stat are and twenty six when trailing by four points after three quarters in the Shanahan era, they don't have a single comeback trading by four. Not Mike, because I mean there's careers didn't totally cross Kyle Shannan. There was a sixteen play, eight minute forty Niners drive and the score was fourteen in the four or in the fourth quarter, eight minutes, sixteen plays, they only reached the nineteen yard line and they turned it over on down. So that's sort of like a proof of the cliche like they're not built to play from behind. I think the forty Niners are kind of the ultimate not built to play from behind team. That seems like a problem as it was today. All Right, let's take a break and we'll be right back. Let us move al to Miami, Miami, where the Dolphins, UH look to avoid a three game losing streak after a three game winning streak to start their season. But there were the Vikings Miami Miami game. Miami Native Mr Miami to the right, he gets to the thirty GA welcome home. Dalvin Cook pea just ran into the end zone and ran the Minnesota Vikings to a twenty two ten void. Paul Allen caf a n He's an All star that Paul Allen as is Dalvin Cook. His fifty three yard touchdown rush um salvage what was other an otherwise pedestrian day for the star running back, and it also iced win for the Vike Things, who improved to five and one. And yes, the Dolphins, after a three game winning street starting three and oh have now gone oh and three, so they fall. The Dolphins have their issues at quarterback, but the Vikings are finding ways to win and really not lose, which happens too often with this franchise. I mean, they really tested the limits of um almost losing today. I mean we talked about the Vikings as a streaky offense and I cannot find a game where that was more true. Like Kirk Cousins um on their two touchdown drives before that Dalvin Cook uh March, which came off a critically um terrible jail and Wattle fumble for the Dolphins. There were a lot of mistakes on the Dolphins offense today, but the vikings before that the first two touch on on his cousins was eleven for eleven. On every other drive they went three and out essentially. I mean they had like there are I'm trying to count up how many drives were between these two teams, um about a billion and six and there were they I just counted in one game and it was awful. It looked that way. They just could not you know, you know anything that Miami does have, like you're not a lot of weather advantages, but we've seen this over and over. The heat down there. It was like they literally completely completely I think changed the Vikings out of the gate. Um. It was Dolphins issues and mistakes though that I think really cost Miami and they're gonna be so frustrated looking back on this because early on Jayal and Waddle essentially had a bobbled pass from Skyler Thompson ended up in a Harrison Smith touchdown, which um killed a good, potentially good drive. Uh Teddy Bridgewater came in for Thompson who had hurt his thumb, and Teddy looked like he was simply unprepared to be in there for a big chunk of this until they got a little unhinged. He had a terrible interception. Uh, he was lucky he wasn't picked pick six by Patrick Peterson on what would have been his second interception. They just had a lot of terrible like offensive line penalties. There was a bad intentional grounding the end of the drive. I mean, Teddy to me until the end was just a very discombobulated individual in this game. And it's too many quarterback changes. It's just too much going on. It's been the fourth game in a row where they've had a quarterback also doubled them almost in yardage though the Dolphins, what what a bizarre But that's because the Vikings are going three and out literally the interior game. Until to put that in perspective that the Vikings had as many three and outs in this game as about half the league had drives in their respective games today, Like that could be an entire game having ten three and out. So they kept getting the ball back and eventually they hit but it's kind of a perfect Vikings win, a one score game ultimately the fourth straight one score win, and just like a game that you're like, huh, like, I know you said that there aren't great teams, Dan, they feel like such a strange vive and one. They feel like one of those teams in the middle. But they're five and one. Yeah, they're They're an example of a team that has talent and has playmakers and you know, they're reinvigorated with a new coach and they're taking care of business. Because there's a lot of teams that aren't figuring things out. It's interesting to me on the Miami side obviously that yes, the quarterback carousel is is a tough situation, but they're still getting production. Last week against the Jets, they got a hundred yards and pass interference calls. This year, the the production was back for Hill and Waddle, like nearly three hundred yards or over three hundred yards between them, but the points just aren't there. Um just tough situation for there was down there starting tackles to matter a lot because there was an opening drive where they kept moving the ball. It was a forty seven yard drive that ended up with nothing, but like there's forty yards of penalties, four killer penalties on offensive linemen who are replacing starting lineman. So I think, just like from the Mike McDaniel front, he learned over the last three or four weeks, Like, you know, it's nice that six touchdown performance against the Ravens, but suddenly you get injuries, quarterback problems and feels like seven years the NFL season is so long that they were three and oh and it just feels so different and and it's so long, so I know I shouldn't put too much into that. But the Vikings are two games up and have the tie break with a win over the Packers. That's it's not insignificant. It's something. It's like, do you want to trust the Viking? No? I don't, but I mean that's something. But is messy is the Packers have been oh we have a lock. Someone did trust them. It wasn't exactly how I envisioned it, especially when I saw Teddy Bridgewater coming into the game. But Vikings get the job done. You can trust them. I think, all right, we'll see many of the up and see how much you can trust the Vikings. Like I just want to let you know it's not just kind of all right, let's get into another thriller down at the Superdome, burrowing the gun mix him to his leap. Joe drops back to throw his pass, caught by Chase at the fifty, runs through an arm tag. There he is. He's gonna take it to the halls, Chase down the Bengals happy lead with one seven to go. Unbelievable. That is what has been missing for Cincinnati, Dan Hord and Dave Lapham the call w c k Y. Joe Burrow passed for three touchdowns, ran for another, and yes, had that big hook up the second of the game with Jamar Chase uh to secure thirty to win over the Saints and nice come back. Now we welcome in the Pipe. Nick shook Onda on Thursday Show Pipe talked about like it's kind of on the head coach and and the brain trust there to pop the hood on this offense and find a way to get the big play element of Jamaar Chase back. Well, they found a way and it won them a game. Yeah, maybe they just needed a trip to New Orleans, you know where Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase used to throw it all over the yard and the National Championship game for the l s U type and certainly showed up in the jersey. The LSU jersey of Jamar Chase then had a huge game. Maybe you should keep doing that. Yeah, exactly seven catches for one thirty two for Jamaar Chase, including that sixty yard touchdown. You know, more than anything, it wasn't even so much the big play for this offense. It was the fact that they were able to continuously convert, especially in the second half. They had four possessions, three of them ended up in points field field goal, touchdown, and it was the drive were the touchdown that really mattered the most, because again it was third and six, third and seven where Burro would be under pressure and dump it off and just get enough past the stix. Te Higgins made a nice catch, got him in field goal range, whether two sacks still was able to stay within Evan mc pherson's range. He hits that field goal, and then the biggest turning point the entire day. And really I think the story of this game, beyond the Bengals being able to produce that big play, is the Saints, who hadn't had three and ounce since their opening drive, which they got back because Trent Taylor fubbled the punt. They go three and out in the worst possible situation, they get two yards or two runs for three yards each incomplete passed, you gotta punt it away. A team that had dominated time and possession to that point. They only ended up with like a five minute advantage. But they you know, they were keeping on the ground all day and really controlling the game. They couldn't do it in the biggest moment. Gave Joe Burrow that opening. If we know anything about Joe Burrow through the short time he's been in the NFL, he's gonna take advantage and it's gonna be Jim mar Chase and makes the play. So it was a perfect little capital what they've you know, their history in Louisiana with with l s U and everything else. I'm looking forward to watching. This game is such a strange one. I mean that the Saints have to be killing themselves that they rushed for on the ground and it's not one of those like fifty two twenty. It's like only thirty four carries. Everyone who ran the ball ran well for them. They were down their top four wide receivers in this game. Uh, the Saints that we should be pointed out. Jamis Winston was essentially benched for this game. He was active, but he didn't start. It was Andy Dalton, which to me is like a soft benching. Let's see what happens. Uh. And Marshawn Latimore, the top cornerback, is out for this game, and yet they still were were in position to win. Like, what what is happening with his defense? Shook? And like how much was Honey Badger in the safety position a problem? Because I follow a lot of Saints Twitter. They are not happy with what's happening with Honey Badger this season. And he made a bad angle on that Chase touchdown. And Marcus May has been up and down and that was kind of the identity to their team a year ago. They let Marcus Williams walk and people are missing that safety duo who's now given up a lot of big plays in New Orleans. I think it's kind of a bad fit. I mean, not not the worst fit, but not a fit like it was in Kansas City for him. I don't think it's necessarily uh condemnation where you know, Matthew is as a player. I just think that the fit in their scheme is not quite as good. I mean, they still were pretty effective in the first half. You know, they built themselves a bit of an advantage. It was, you know, twenty four teen going into halftime, and it felt like the Bengals it just weren't quite getting on track. Yeah, they had two touchdowns on the board, but it wasn't just there. And we kind of seen that from the Bengals throughout this season. So it was like, Okay, this is the Saints defense that should be able to stand up. And then the fact that their offense fails to put more than six points on the board in the second half and then they crumble. You know, it's not like they were on the field for a ton of time in the second half, but these were all long possessions by each team. I think the Bengals in the second half had a drive of third team plays and the drive of seven places and knew that one for sixty. That was three of their four second half possessions. So they were out there and tasked with keeping this offense bottled up while their offense wasn't necessarily continuing to do what they needed to do. And then it ended up hurting them. And we mentioned Winston. He hasn't played for three games now with the backend ankle injuries. He was in uniform in this game. Here's what Dennis Allen had to say, the Saints coach after the game. Uh, he's not healthy. Look, we got a Thursday night game. Let's let's let's let's get into the study on that and we'll see. We'll see where he's at, um and then we'll go from there. Uh. Andy Dalton also said, Mark, I'm gonna let d a Dennis Allen handled that whole situation. Uh, so we'll see how I mean, it could be talking about the District Attorney's office, but I'm assuming it's the coach shook the question for you because we just talked about Baltimore melting down today. Uh, that's been their characteristic with these big leads, Pittsburgh's Picksburgh, Cleveland's Cleveland. Do you trust the Bengals as the best team in this division going forward? I mean, that's gonna be tough when you talk about the fact that the Ravens. Ravens just beat the Bengals last week, but it was a close one. I think long term. Yes, I'm not confident in anybody in this division. I'm still most confident in the Bengals in the Ravens. But the Ravens that's become their ms to blow those leads. Two divisions, by the way, you know, including the Saints NFC South. They're kind of typical of the NFL right now. There's no winning record in either division. So on one hand, like two and four fields dark for the Saints. On the other, they're only one out of first and like the Bengals are tied for first at three and good job, NFL, that's what you want. Good job our league all right now? Are Browns beat reporter. It's not the most glamorous job, but that's what Shook is and he's gonna be a pro once again. I could feel it to Cleveland up side end Henry now in motion, left zappy with a playfake and a deep drop, throws it nearside wide open, tent rays the fifteen to the ten to the five, waltching into the end zone, touchdown, Patriots. I need four out, Bill because I'm starting to get the fever again. He always delivered. He's not a gatorade bottle. Make him pepsi or he wishes he was a Gatorade bottle. He's a powerade bottle. Bomb Sochi and Scott Zolak what they called w Baz Bailey's Appy have a day, kid. The rookie through for three nine yards and two touchdowns, and Bill Belichick gets his three, tying George Hollis for second on the NFL's career list. Watch out Don Shula. Uh final score, Yes, thirty eight fifteen pats over Brown's shook. This one seemed pretty ugly on the Cleveland side. But let's start with the Patriots, who, uh, week by week are figuring it out, look like a team that is gonna make noise in the a f C. You know, last week the Patriots gonna shout out win and there was Zappie fever and everything. But I felt like that defense did as much to win that game than than Zappy, you know, just as much as Zappy did this week, Bailey. Zappy won this game for that. Now. Did the Brown's defense have some breakdowns, Yeah, but he found guys consistently at a variety of levels in the field in different situations, completing key third downs. The only one third down conversion from the Patriots that really like jumped out to me is almost being insulting to the Browns. Was Romandre Stevenson's touchdown on third and ten, because it's like, well they're running on third and ten that that takes some goal, but they trust they're all, you know, Romandre Stevenson in the rushing attack. But Bailey Zappy over three yards passing just connecting with a number of targets. Some guys really helped him out. Davonte Parker had a great catch down the sideline. He get hooked up with Jecoby Meyers a variety of times. Hunter Henry had the touchdown. We looked down the list here you got uh nine eight nine different guys who had receptions. Well, Zappy, I guess had one according to this because it was a bad seven who had receptions. All right, I mean like he had a great game. He had a great game, and we talked about quarterback along term there. Now I give it a little bit now like Dallas, there shouldn't be a just controversy in Dallas, but maybe in New England. He's got pretty much gotten much better each week, which is a great side. I have a hard time believing they would sit Jones when he's healthy, but he might not be all the way back. You're right, Like he got to his second and third read on the Taekwan touchdown Taekwon Thornton, who was a rookie second round pick speedster. It came off. I are a couple of weeks ago. I think he's gonna be a big part to this offense. He had a rushing touchdown today to a couple of different reds on there. I just thought this was a coaching game. Yes, Zappy played well, but guys are open, Like there were so many Patriots guys open this year. I didn't see a lot of Brown's guys open in this game. Like even the plays that Jacoby Brissette made and the receivers made was in tight coverage. And you kind of compare that and you think about coaching. Then you think about the other side, and you think about Joe Woods having kind of no answer uh with a lot of talent uh in wide open guys and confusion, and you flip the other side and it's like the Patriots are coaching up these rookie defensive back Marcus Jones and Jack Jones. They've got two rookie cornerbacks starting uh playing starting snaps, playing great and like to me, it felt like a very much a coaching win. Nick Shook. Yeah, Greg, you know, I think that statistically the Patriots defense doesn't stand out as a great one, but if you watch them in a week by week, yes, they're very good. You need to are paying attention football world to the Patriots defense because they're really coming together, of course under the direction of Bill Belichick. And then on the flip side of the poin like you said, Joe Woods, another bad performance from this defense. I'm getting some feeling here in Cleveland that people are gonna be wanting some heads to roll, potentially, which is not good at this time. It's week six, but they're gonna want jobs on the line, like they're they're disgusted with this so um it's it's gonna be interesting when it's time to create a scapegoat if you're Kevin Stefanski. Probably because I think that Joe Woods the defense. I know there were moments stretches of time a year ago where they looked competent, but this defense seems to me to have week by week breakdowns, and I would just flip it around because Dan's big thing all week was like run Nick chop until the earth ends. He had twelve rushes for fifty six yards. I know that's England did a nice job against the Lions with against the run a week ago. They did it again. Could Cleveland just not get into their game script here? Well, they struggled to run the ball on first down, but then the I think the worst offense I thought today was Kevins and Fancy's worst called game of his career with the Browns game a year ago against pill Bela. No, this is worst. This is worst. They were within striking distance. They were within striking distance, and you're down eleven points early third quarter, You're facing the twenty two rank rushing defense, you have Nick Chubb, and you line up Jacoby Brissette dropping back to throwing three straight downs and punt the ball. I mean it happened over and over. They abandoned the run. There no no reason. With a lot of time left. You know who wouldn't do that. One of the best offensive play callers in the league right now, Patricia And when you want to develop an offense with like young players Bailey Zappi and Cole Strange and thor and you just go to an offensive mind like Matt Patricia. Now, we can't do this, seriously, a dude, we can't. We can't give Matt Patricia collection of roundhouse kicks and upper cuts all through these I think people under then and mock his success. I'm not mocking great. I'm trying to mock myself. I mean, I'm mocking how wrong we were, because right if if McDaniels called this game, we would be saying, like, what an amazing job McDaniels is doing with Zappy. And there were a couple of really great play calls. You meant to the third and ten uh to Mondre Stevenson, you know where they running. I think they're running for first down there, that's not a give up down. And then the bigger one was third and one late in the game. You just expect them to power up the middle. And then they call the play action. And that's where I blame Joe Woulds. They call the play action, that's the long touchdown past the Henry. They're they're calling an aggressive game, playing with bailib Zappy. But this is where I blame coaching a little bit. Like any play action fake every Brown's defensive player is running five yards forward and there's just like a sea of air behind them for the tight ends. That's the other coach this season that talked about scaling down the playbook and simplifying them. That's to me just as a little unsolicited advice for Stefanski. Gotta be strategic in your scapegoty, because if you if you can hold off until January, that way you can have something you could point to something after the season. If you dump your DC now and the season doesn't get better, you could have a problem in January. Answering. You like to call that the old Mike Nolan move. I really feel like the Jets kind of stole there, like that game. In hindsight, they stole their souls. I hope not season a little bit, because then the two Browns, That's what I'm hoping, because you're, you know, you're losing close games, and you convince yourself you're a better team than your record and the Browns are. But then at some point you end up start playing bad games. And the Jets, on the other hand, got lucky a couple of times, but then you end up start playing better. Body swap eighties comedy we've seen eighties football today, let's say shook not everyone's laughing. Thank you, buddy, And no matter what happens in the baseball game, you and I are still gonna be tight. I know that. Okay, good, I'm glad you know I was there last night. You know, too bad. We can't we can't talk anymore about it, but Chookie, thank you and we'll see you next week, buddy. As always. All right, we said goodbye to Nick Check. But before we leave, Cleman, I do want you guys to hear just a delight shot moment from Kevin Harlan. Please, friend of the show. Yeah, please, good friend. Friend. I love my family and I love football, but I love blimps. Maybe number three. We've had some incredible shots to love. I love food, I love blimp. Lamb likes blimps even more than food. You know, that's kind of there's some boomer energy there, because, like um, he probably also loves fireworks and he loves space travel things like that the Man on the Moon. And I've always wanted to be in a blimp, like in the little metal part underneath the blimp itself, that little place where you look out the window and you know. I've been on Trent Green over the years. Yeah, they're also known as the cockpit. I'd imagine it would be nice we should all take the little metal part with the windows that you look at while you're underneath the blind part of it. Yeah, right way to say it. I've been hired on Trent Green over theres by the way. But if there's one thing Trent Green can do, it can be a straight man to like a comedy books as straight as possible. All right, let's take a break. We'll be right back. Let's head to Indie where the Colts they're getting off the mat. Curdy thirteen. Now for the Colts, twenty three seconds left, Coolts down by a point. Cry throws down the near sideline looking for Alec Pierce. Please get it, touch God, touch down. Alec Pierson starts it into the old side. Touched it out, thirty two yard crowd over the shoulders. Stuff Alec Pierce thirty two twenty seven Colts. Nice ball, nice catch. Matt Taylor doub you f n I with the call. Mattie Ice back, Colts back, Maybe come on. Matt Ryan lobbed a perfect thirty two yard touchdown past the rookie receiver Alec Pierce seventeen seconds to play, gave the Colts at thirty seven victory over the Jaguars. Matt Ryan. Listen to the stat line. Ryan was forty two a fifty eight. Jonathan Taylor was a late scratch on Sunday morning for three eight, nine and three touchdowns, which is outrageous, but it shows that it's still it's still within him. So let's bring in our AFC South correspondent, the Grave Digger justin And I know this is annoying, but does it feel like the Colts are kind of finding their way here? We talked about that a little on Thursday. This is what the Colts do. They get better as the season goes on. This is a game that they lad for seventeen total seconds, the most important seventeen seconds, the last seventeen s. It wasn't even Digger, your your Colts will finish last place in the see South sandwich prop is looking like a big fat oh and four right now. But that was a fun prediction. Sure, so I don't know, um so who really lost? To see your angle like, it's like the friends we made along the way. Is the sandwiches for me. You should know by the way that Mark was staring straight ahead, tapping his fingers on the glass and went the showman. I do think that you have an element of a showman. I mean you're you're you're doing a fairly good job. Sorry to totally sidetrack you with the irrelevant sandwich, doing fairly, You're doing a good job, a very good job. You're doing an excellent You give your kids like more enthusiastic affirmation than that this is an okay, hard project. Smart wants me to keep improving. I get it. It's good constructed. Yeah. Um. It was kind of a weird game because it felt like the Jags sort of dominated the first half, but then they were only winning fourteen thirteen at halftime, and then Trevor Lawrence didn't have to do a whole lot. The Jaguars are able to run the ball really well. E t n snapped off a couple huge runs. Ag Knew had a reverse play that was tossed around in the backfield a little bit and that he took for a long run. And then the Colts came back and they stopped, they started stopping the run. They came down, they took a lead Trevor Lawrence had an incredible response drive. It was like the only time in the whole game that he had to do anything, and he he was great converting on third downs using his legs, using his arm and got them in into the end zone with touchdown to Christian Kirk. And then the Colts came down with two minutes ago and they and they did it. They went and they scored, and it was weird because they got down into field goal range. They converted on a third and four, they converted on a third and ten into field goal range. Matt Ryan takes a snap where they're like just trying to milk the clock and set up a better field goal and stumbles and falls down and loses four yards and it turns into what would have been field goal and then two plays later it's third and thirteen. They were forced into being aggressive. Yeah, they caught the Jaguars in single coverage, threw it up to Alec Pearson. He made a great play over Shatt Griffin and that was the game. I'm seeing this Jaguars drive that you mentioned, eighteen plays, seventy two yards, had it for ten plus minutes. But if you were the Cults organization, and you could have one vision after the Carson Wentz melt down a year ago against the Jaguars, and you could see that you go get Matt Ryan, he throws the ball fifty plus times. You closed the game with a touchdown field goal and three straight touchdown drivers. You'd be thinking, this this money in the bank, We're going to the NFC title game. It's just that it's been everything other half. There's a problem. So I'm not saying none of it matters. But the fact that they've gotten out of this at three two and one, you know they can they can improve that. We know that Frank Reich has the play colleging ability to improve. I love that they believed in what they were gonna do today in terms of their short passing, and they got it done. And their pass rush has really become a thing. Trevor Lawrence four sacks in this game. He's starting to take too many sacks and hold onto the ball. But I think the Indianapolis pass rush won them that game a week ago. It sounds like they were crucial to Trevor Lawrence took a sack on a play that could have been a field goal on the Jags first drive, and it just pushed them way out of field goal range. And then the Jaguars had the ball up by two with a chance to kick a short field goal, and they went for it with like an option play, and it was just there was no room for Lawrence. He pitched it to et Nd no room for him either, and like those were crucial. I mean, you get those two field goals. Obviously, it's a totally different game. Come back to US Jaguars. I thought you were going to be a fun part of this season. I'm kind of, yeah, well, yeah, this is this is a near win. But yeah, they've been disappointing the last few weeks and they The decision to not play Jonathan Taylor probably was a very difficult one for Frank Reich because I don't imagine he thought maybe this Matt Ryan would be unlocked at this You didn't have night him Hines either. I think this was a game plan because Ryan threw the ball fifty eight times, I know, but if Jonathan Taylor is playing, I would imagine it's a different game exactly. So it's interesting that cults can evolve like this. But forty three of his fifty eight passes were within ten yards of the line. And here's the crazy and I don't know if you've already said it, an apologies that he did zero turnovers and zero sacks, so a lot of positives. That's kind of unheard of to have that many dropbacks in the offensive line to keep you cleaning, Ryan, who's a statue at this stage, to be able to make the decisions. Allow some people to be suspicious about where the who the Cults are going forward? That's all I mean. The Jackson I'm not getting in this division. They've they've studied the ship quickly. Like we mentioned, how quick you know along the season feels for the Dolphins and the Jaguars too. You can throw in there the fact they're getting out of this with a winning record here and some offensive you know, good feelings were suspicious of the Cults as well. Yes there they were good, but not great. I'm not even sure they're good, but they were good today. How many how many great teams are in the league though, going back to the theme of tonight they were dead. We we get the Chancellor for to a good team winning the Super Bull. That's Michael Pittman career high alright, difference in the game. Thank you justin great work. The AFC South correspondent on fire as always, Let's head to Seattle. Seattle lives up four rushing and Tyler Murray and I'm gonna rush four. Murray stepped up. He's gonna throw deep down the Cylon everyone, horri you kidding me? Oh, Greggy, confession interceptive for in four games. Oh, Greggy, I know who Trick Willn is. It's my guy. That's your guy. Mark tried to make it his guy. Try to deny it. I can still enjoy him as a player. I don't really care about this rule system that you've put uncocted. Torik Willen had the game ceiling pick for the Seattle Seahawks and their beleaguer defense, which really had its way. I guess you could say had their way. But the Arizona Cardinals offense is struggling so much that it's hard to make sense of these performances sometimes. But at the end of the day, nineteen nine Seahawks over the Cardinals. Oh, the Cardinals scored a touchdown. No, they didn't score a touchdown on offense. It was a bot special teams played by a Seattle that led to a dropped punt attempt and recovery in the end zone. That's how Arizona scored a touchdown in this game. So their struggles continue, and good news on a day where your boy Gino Smith Greggy didn't kill them with the mistakes, but took some sacks and the offense struggled to move the ball. UH with Rashod Penny out Kenneth Walker, who's a very important guy in this on this team now if Seattle hopes to be a playoff team, he ran for ninety seven yards, had a fourth quarter touchdown nineteen nine. There you go. And as crazy as it is because we saw it as a big time division potentially the Seahawks at three and three UH share the lead in the NFC West with UH San Francisco. Wow, so you know, first place quarterback and Gino is a first place quarterback. But this was a kind of a toughie this game. It was playing opposite hypothetically or potentially the game of the year UH Buffalo Kansas City. So it wasn't seeing football play at that level next to football being played at this level. Not great, But at the end of the day, Seattle is not gonna apologize for anything, and they shouldn't. Tarik Woolen may give Sauce Gardner not only competition for defensive Rookie of the Year, but just best like defensive rookie cornerback. And he's got the same confidence you gotta love cornerbacks. Asked you know about his interceptions after the game, he said, I don't know why you would throw to a six four corner who runs a four to six. That is like he's that ros used to play, you know, wide receiver, so he's learning the position. It's one of the reasons I think he's like taking such an exponential leap. They are putting together potentially one of the most impactful rookie draft classes of the last decade. Both of their starting tackles are playing well. Uh Cross and Lucas Murray. Uh you mean, I mean Kenneth Walker. You mentioned a rookie at running back, Terek Woolen having this. That's four guys not only playing but playing well. And oh, by the way, they're they're also playing boy A Mafe a decent amount. They're kind of starting Kobe Bryant. I don't think he's played that well, but he's been played. That's six rookies that are basically starting and four of them are playing at a really high level. If you're a Seahawks fan, you've gotta feel great about this kind of rebuilding season, especially on a day like today where you needed the defense to show you maybe they'll give this team a chance to stay relevant. I mean, that's that's what they pitched. And I thought there were a lot of issues going into the season with the idea of Geno Versu Drew lock Um, but the youth part of it. Had the class worked out, you feel good about where they are, and like Richard Sherman came out and just said, this is one of the most amazing rookie classes he's ever seen as a player, and I mean, he understands what Carol's trying to do. I think it's such a such a like an energy shift from what's going on with Arizona because the idea that DeAndre Hopkins is gonna return next week and change what's going on with this offense four point where yards per play there are a horizontical They're they're essentially a horizontal offense that can't unhook from what from their issues. They're terrible on third down and Kyler Murray cannot do it alone. He's not that kind of quarterback. I mean, he can be that kind of quarterback, but when there's a scheme, is this uneven and uninspired? I don't think anybody could save the day. He runs for a hundred yards in this game, but like it is horizontal, there's no vertical element to the game. And I thought it was interesting and unfortunate that kind of been talking for the last couple of weeks thrown in there. Well, DeAndre Hopkins is right on the round the corner and Marky's brown, he's getting himself paid, He's having a big year. He's helped off the field late in this game with some type of ankle issue. He did not look like he didn't get carded or anything, but he looked like a guy that he got it landed on. I believe on the interception. Um, So we have to see what's going on with him physically, because if it becomes a situation where DeAndre Hopkins returns and then Hollywood goes out, I mean that just sums up the frustrations in Arizona, who are now two and four and firmly in the discussion of you know, the most disappointing teams in the league. And and I can't help it. And I'm looking forward to you guys like watching this game, but I can't help but think, like, what what is management thinking? Now? You know, it's like, who do you can't fire the play caller? You just gave Cliff Kingsbury an extension, but nothing seems to be functional right now with Arizona. I don't think the extension matters at all. If things get worse, and worse matters a little because if they didn't have an extension, I would expect him to get fired. With the extension, I feel like there it's a deeper discussion. The defense has improved each week, which is why this total clunker from the offense. I mean three points against the Seahawks. I mean that's literally the worst possible game you can have in the NFL, is scoring three points in Cleveland. If there was a flip side going on here, it would be what's happening in Arizona. But the way the organization is set up right now, it's hard to say. And one more note on their offense. They went over three on fourth and short in this game, so they just don't have their vertical games hurting. If they need a yard, they're not getting that either. Um, it's a tough watch to watch. I watched them on Sundays like four times, and I'm not doing it again anytime. So what you don't want to be like the Vikings are a five and one that by the eye test doesn't really look like five and one. The Cardinals are a two and four that by the eye test aren't as good as two and four, which is like, that's that's where you don't want to place to live. Let's take a break. We'll be right back. All right, we're back. The Carolina Panthers with their new interim head coach profile, does it get right opponent for the defending champs. Let's see if that's how it played out? Twenty seconds rout in the third quarter another jet suite, I hang off SCARONI. He's got speed, he's got the edge, he does touchdowns. Hello, his first as a pro gives the Rams a league keep for the third quarter. Love A J. B. Long Our buddy Caspn with the call. Also another Rams employee, Ricky Hollywood Great archa temp Post sent us a video of Sam Donald stretching. He was doing that pregame saim Donald ready to shock the world potentially before not Anyway, the Rams, yes, did take care of business at home. Mattie Stafford passed for two fifty three and overcame another pick six, and Ben score Nick rushed for a touchdown in the second half, as did Darryl Henderson two game losing streak over the Carolina Panthers, and yes, Steve Wilks in his first game as in term coach Greggy Um you saw signs here of the Rams as they head into their by being able to feel kind of better about themselves. I thought this was a significant game for the Rams. Not only do you have to avoid a loss against this Panthers team, but you have to start showing that you could play offensive football. And the Panthers defense hadn't been that bad throughout the course of this season, and they played well in the first half of this game like it was just another ugly Rams game, and he just felt like more of the same. And in the second half of this game just felt like for three drives, we saw the Rams offense twelve play seventy two yard field goal drive that came up just short, five play eight yard touchdown, drive ten play UH sixty one yard touchdown drive and it just was using the classic sort of RAMS plays where Sean McVeigh was one step ahead of the defense. Allen Robinson had his best game, maybe a big made a big mistake I would say, where he faked out Stafford on the goal line that led to the field goal. But for the most part five for sixty three and a touchdown. He he played well, and I just felt like it was important for them to go into their bye week feeling like that. The defense was absolutely dominant, as you would expect going up against PG Walker, but it was kind of next level dominant. There was a seven drive sequence where I believe they had about thirty eight yards UH and they had no first downds for a six drive sequence, so it was dominant. What else can you ask for other than health, which they don't have. They lost left tackle Joe nope Boom potentially for the season to an achilles injury in this game. So as good as the second half felt, that is a big Pyric victory. That is a killer for me because I we're looking at their issues and you know, we'll see what happens with someone like Cam Akers who was essentially not played today if not active because of personal issues. I want to get rid of them, I think. But like the Rams, to me, they're three and three and have looked really poor at times because of their offensive line problems. I mean, it's really it. I don't I don't doubt Sean McVeigh. I don't doubt like their skills position players in general, but the scheme has been totally out of whack because I doubt their skill position players too. I think it's the combination. Well all right, but I'm saying, like they work their way out of the dark corner last year where they didn't win for an entire month. I think they have the DNA to do that, But I don't know if you can do that when you've gone and lost another offensive line and there's so much chaos happening because of that unit not looking like a professional unit mostly weeks. The Rams getting to the buy three and three is nice, um and important for them, but there's so much work to do, as you're saying, And on the Panthers side of the ball, you know not too much here because we know this is an organization in flux. But Steve Wilks in his first game on the sideline sent Robby Anderson off the field and into the locker room. I guess I don't know the details man, on that, I'd like to hear more in some sort of argument with the wide receivers coach. He wasn't being played that much, and it seemed like it was more uh decision, not based on an injury, that they were essentially just benching him. It sounds they're actively like open to trading him and Christian McCaffrey, and I think that could have played into some of this is the latest on that that Peter Schreeger, our own Peter Schreger reports that the Panthers want multiple first round picks for Christian McCaffrey. So obviously, any team that's playing the Panthers right now pick them, because this is not a team that's looking at the season in the same way as their opponent. Most likely. Let's move to the field formerly known as Hines, where the Steelers had a date with Tom Brady ris in the gun. Long count gets the snap, he's back fires from the end zone, little Scot wrong into some NG coverage with a great job, Mitch. He just seen it, man, and he let it go. He sees it that he does it. That's our saying, that's our friend. That was like a little kiss on the daisy. Bill Hill grow up and Craig will leave with the called W d V E. Chase Claypool scores, Mitch Trobinsky comes in for a concussed Kenny Pickett and makes plays. How about that? As Pittsburgh snaps a four game losing streak and beats Tom Brady and the Bucks twenty to eighteen. I don't know, Mark, I didn't see a second of this one. You need to give us how did this happen? It's um to me kind of the stamp of the Steelers where you're coming off and really embarrassed seen loss, the worst of Mike Tomlin's career to turn around and do what they did, because I let's start with who the Steelers did not have. You don't have t J. Watt on defense. Minca Fitzpatrick was out, A Kilo Witherspoon was out, Cam Sutton was out, Levi Wallace. You're missing essentially your secondary back there. You're I mean, And so this would have been the day for Tom Brady, who had thrown for seven hundred plus yards in the past two weeks to throw the ball downfield. Nope. Uh. Instead, I think what happened here was Rabinsky coming in fired up after you lose Kenny pip It was his best game of the year. It really was. It was like perfect exactly because it was like the heat was off and you come in and just do what you can. The game was manageable. He hooked up with Connor Hayward on a forty five yard catcher on that's Cam Heyward's brother. That led to the Chase Claypool touchdown and put them up twenty to twelve. Then I thought the classic Bucks thing because we've seen it all year. They're a field goal offense, and they were all day today, long drives, ten plus plays. They got close, but not close enough. They had a chance to tie this game. They goes seventeen fourteen plays, seventy three yards for a touchdown, and then Chris Godwin on the two point conversion cannot pull down the Tom Brady pass. It's eighteen and so here's where Traubisky could come and mess it up and you got the Tom Brady come back. Instead, Mitch hits Claypool on a seventeen yard pass utiful. He hit him on a twenty six yard or and then Trabisky, unwilling to be denied, runs for a key nine yard chain mover and then converts the first down to win the game essentially, and Tom Brady's look throughout this game seemed to be about as frustrated as I've seen him. Let's hear from Tom Brady. W Yes, you can see it, and you can hear it. The man is losing patience. Losing comes down to obviously scoring less points than the other team than you evaluate. Why you scored less points than another team doesn't matter. If Steelers are the chiefs of the right, so you can look at this and say, well, why don't we score more points? That means that's fair. I was about to be he's so much an analyst, so he's say thing that now we're like sometimes it takes your breath away. He's like, he said so little, they're right, but that now we're built into like looking at the tone of his voice, and he does. He does have that feeling. And I think Belichick is similar. When they lose a game, it's kind of like all of the life force and inside of them has been sucked out like Freddie Krueger once sucked out all the air from one of his victims and it's just like nothing. Yeah, but how about the idea that all that was sucked out of him at Bob Craft's wedding or birthday or whatever. People need to calm down about that. So what do he went to a wedding? Unfair? I heard from desk chief Dave Eale that he missed like some does any of this sound like the Tom Brady that we have grown to know and respect. I'm not listen, I'm not challenging his professionalism. I'm just saying this is not the first time we're hearing these kind of stories that you just wonder where he's at, where's time at right? Plus everything else going on in his life. I mean it's like you, you are going through these changes to lose this game against the Mitch Drabinsky lead Steelers. I mean he was like, I think, god, we didn't take them lightly, because they were like, did you take him lightly? He's like number one, number two. I think guys living off the Super Bowl are living in a fantasy land. You gotta get your hands dirty and go to work like everybody else. Maybe there it's something to this got them didn't go to work. I mean he literally didn't go to work. He went to Robert Craft's wedding. He did not. That was a fairytale wedding though, from what I understand, I'm wait, what if this is the perfect role for Mitch Drabinsky. I think we know it is, but I really mean it. Um. You know, sometimes a hyped up starting pitcher in baseball, you know it doesn't turn into it doesn't work out, but you bring him in as a guy who could have some flexibility in the bullpen. Sometimes he gives you four, sometimes he gives you two. Either way, he brings you heat. Mitch Drabinsky as a good backup who has frisk for a game or two a season that I can live with the next seven years. What you're what you're saying makes sense in in baseball would be like his stuff plays up in relief, right, his fastball has got a little more life. You know, it's just maybe this is his role in life. I don't think it's not a bad role. You did it for fifteen years. He's now a great Amazon analyt. The model is not to have your starter concussed weekly, so that Trebis could come in a good spot and feel good about to start next week. Alright, one more game, let's hit who Sunday second d eight rush downfield, CD lamb open, it's under drowned and it's scooped. It intercepted. C J. Garter Johnson hurt his hand earlier in his half. He's okay, He's more than okay. He's got the big tick. Mike Turgo with the call, NBC. The Philadelphia Eagles are six and oh. They got two interceptions from c. J. Gardner Johnson, one of three thrown by Cooper Rush in to seventeen. Win for Philly once again, Greg and uh, we're taking this home. Mark had something to take care of. Um once again. The Eagles, and this is a historic thing now, are dominant in the second quarter of games this year. This was a scoreless first quarter. I know Eagles are marching at the end of the first quarter, but they outscored Dallas twenty three in the second quarter. Uh. The Cowboys fought back admirably in the second half, but putting themselves at that advantage allowed Philly to coast to six and O, well, not quite coast. They finished the job and there's a way to look at this game and see, like ho hom It's like, Okay, Cooper Rush was starting. The Cowboys held the Eagles under three hundred yards of offense. The Eagles average under four yards for play, and it's like, Okay, you did the thing. You beat the Cowboys at home. No big deal, let's not go crazy. But I do love the way this team has responded. So it's in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys just had maybe their best drive of the season, ninety three yards, their second touchdown drive of the second half to make it seventeen and very similar to a week ago Dan when it was tied against the Cardinals and it was not cutting time. Uh, they just handed the ball off. They said, Okay, we've struggled in the second half of games offensively this year. What are we gonna do. They're just gonna help hand the ball off ten out of eleven place to start that next drive, Jalen Hurts either hands it off or he runs it himself, including on a scrambled Then they throw a couple of times on the goal line get the touchdown. And I just like the way this team has responded in those big moments. We've seen them dominant for quarters at a time, him off in the second quarter, sometimes even games at a time. We've seen the defense step up, and we can talk about that. But I like how when push comes to shove, it's just like we're gonna run over you, and so far no one's been able to stop, including a great Cowboys defense. Right. We talked about how Dallas had not given up more than a touchdown in any of their first five games, and then he get lit up in this game. In fact, uh, Philadelphia average only three and a half yards to carry on thirty nine carries, So the Cowboys did a nice job overall. Hurts only through for a hundred and fifty five yards. Uh, So I think the Dallas defense. I don't come out of this game in general, Greggy, I don't come out of this game thinking anything less of the Cowboys team. If not, if nothing, I might even think more of them, especially with Dak Prescott right around the bend now. But yeah, that big drive did say a lot. It was Jalen Hurts who has impeccable instincts when it comes to that read option and knowing when to hold him and when to fold him, and uh, that has got them some big conversions in this game, and then you have their their one two punch a wide receiver. While neither of them filled up the box score. A J. Brown and Davanta Smith each made big plays in this game, scoring touchdown. So yeah, we see it week after week with Philly the only undefeated team in the league. They've they may not be as uh dominant and a visually appealing way at the at the level of the Chiefs or the Bills. They are. They're highly sexualized to me as well, But I'm just saying like there's something to be said for this team's ability to win in so many different ways. They're well coached with a lot of talent and that goes a long way, and they've had some adversity. So Lane Johnson, they're they're great right tackle as a concussion in this game. It's going into the bye week and they have a pretty easy schedule after the bye week, so hopefully he's able to get better. But the second he was out, Michael Parsons and the rest of the Cowboys defense started feasting for a few drives, really attacking them. They had another starter on the often to line out for portions of this game, Jordan my Lot is banged up as well with the shoulders. So this is a nice time by here, right. So they I just they've handled the different obstacles that have been in their way, and part of it's just turnovers. You mentioned, you know, Gardner Johnson had two picks. One of those was tipped by James Bradberry, whose numbers this year are just like outrageous. I feel like he's breaking next gen stats. They showed that he's averaging two yards per throw two and a half yards per throw on throws to him this year. I mean, what what is that like? And he's supposed to be their second corner and tonight he was involved in in two of those interceptions. He has been outstanding, like they have playmakers. Brandon Graham had kind of the classic Brandon Graham play to clinch the game where he doesn't get anything in the statue. He might have got a quarterback hit, but he's the one who pushes Cooper Rush to the ground as he throws that interception. So everything is just feeling very Eagles e. They get to this by they're just gonna be kicking back. I'm with you, I don't I feel good about the Cowboys. We were talking about how your power rankings are messy this week, and that's you know, people should listen to the Power Ranking show for that. But like after the top three, who knows, And I think I might keep the Cowboys in my top my personal top five. I think they're impressive. I will spoiler alert, I will be moving the Cowboys up off our loss because I do think they overall comported themselves well in this game, especially when it could have gotten very messy and turned into another blood bath in primetime, just to stick it to Tariko. Who somebody's got a voodoo doll somewhere of Tariko. But this game ended up turning interesting in the second half. Cooper Rush. It's time too for Cooper Rush to return from whence he came to a nice cozy backup role. I thought we saw that a little bit in the in the in the second quarter when Philly goes in the long march and the Cowboys get the ball back and he kind of throws the ball into coverage, gets deflected, intercepted, leads to seven more points for Phil. You just need the game script to be perfectly set up for Rush, but overall, he did a very nice job. If this is indeed his final start, we'll see, we'll see, we'll see where Deck is. But in general, we talked about this this stretch of games. The Cowboys not get didn't get the win here, but at four and two, they would have signed up for that. They would have run to the paper to sign up for that. After six games so are too good. Some good signs. They're running the ball well. Pollard and Elliott both ran it well tonight. The offensive line is playing better. I do think that the lack of explosion we were worried about in terms of their pass catchers, We'll see if that changes with Doc, it will certainly improve, but I think it might still be there. Michael Gallup coming off of a you know, really serious injury, doesn't seem like himself. It's still just seedee lamb. But that that's relatively small problems for a team here that's four and yeah. I guess I'm just leaning on Deck is just a much more dynamic player, uh than Cooper rush h. We will see when turns. Oh we have a lock. Oh, that's right, I switched it out of the Giants lock or the Ravens. Some people are calling that the Lock coaching move of the century. And also Greg on the Friday Fun Show predicted that the Eagles defense would end the Cooper Rush hype with two turnovers because there were three turnovers. Well what, I had to hit it at least two. Yeah, no, that's not that's that's a miss. But we'll save that litigation for Friday Show. And oh, by the way, the next two weeks the Cowboys venture to the NFC North for matchups with the Lions and Bears. So giant's gonna be okay, it's nice, all right. That is the week six flagship program. Thank you to everybody for listening. As I said, uh, we have Monday Night Football with Greggy uh and special guests. We're working on it, I thought, buddy, oh yeah, that's probably not gonna happen. We'll have Power Rankings Tuesday. We'll have the return of Around the NFL with Colleen Wolf on Tuesday, and the whole javan. Until then, the stand hands the signing off the great Roston and Mark Tessler and remember he the call