2025 Week 5 Recap: Buccaneers-Seahawks Thriller, Colts Cruise and London!

00:00:04
Speaker 1: Welcome to NFL Daily, where we always hold on to the ball as we cross the end zone line. I'm Greg Rosenthal here in the talkSPORT studios early Monday morning, one fifteen, as we start this show, the week five recap show from London. I'm Greg Rosenthal, and that is Will Gavin Ollie Connelly both called the game with me earlier today Vikings and Browns, and now you are going to.

00:00:35
Speaker 2: Be fully ready to talk about every single.

00:00:37
Speaker 3: Game in the NFL.

00:00:38
Speaker 4: Look, we established a wonderful rapport earlier on today. We came together over the course of four hours. Nothing can go wrong. Over the next hour, hour and a half, however long, we're going to be saut in these seats, chopping out about crackingslayer games.

00:00:52
Speaker 1: I cannot wait. And we had perhaps the game of the year in Seattle.

00:00:58
Speaker 2: Let's go.

00:00:59
Speaker 5: Let's go a thirty nine yard field goal at ten. He has kicked a pair of thirty six yarders Chase McLoughlin and the Bucks win it on the road in Seattle, spot down, Its kicked as airborne, it is loving up, it is gone, and the Bucks beat the Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay thirty eight. Seattle thirty five and the Buccaneers come from behind the fourth quarter again it scored a game winner with no time.

00:01:24
Speaker 3: Left on the clock.

00:01:25
Speaker 5: The Cardiac crew is alive and well in the Pacific Northwest.

00:01:31
Speaker 4: Oh that is game.

00:01:33
Speaker 1: How about that Zecker off and a little extra how about that at the end box win in Seattle thirty eight to thirty five. Yes, in a game where the Seahawks only had the ball nine times and five possession sequence where they scored a touchdown all five times, they find a way to lose to a Buccaneers team that is just finding different ways to overcome injuries week after week. Therefore and one Seahawks fall the three and two. Olie Connelly, we did a draft earlier of all the games, and you were smart enough to take this game.

00:02:13
Speaker 2: What was the key for the Bucks? It started out as a fairly even, like good on good defensive matchup. Then out of no way, it just turned into this Bonker's chunk play parade all of the field. Both teams had six plays of twenty odds on more in this game, and it became this OSU wide receiver off. It was Jackson Smith and Jigba against a Mecareg buk it was Sam Donald, it was Baker Mayfield throwing seeds all over the field. Donald almost threw the game away two times in this and then eventually there was a pass skipped off a helmet of Logan Hall into the Anelevante David one play one real misqueue in the game, and they kicked the game winning field goal.

00:02:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, so you're talking about the sequence. The Seahawks get the ball back with oneh eight to go, Baker Mayfield had just thrown a touchdown past two Sterling Shepherd, they had just got bought back with a little over three minutes to go, tied it up, and you figure the way this thing was going that Darnold was gonna lead them on a game winning field goal drive. Instead they get the interception, and I just think, Igbuca Ali is turning into one of the stories of the season. Seven catches, one hundred and sixty three yards. He had an incredible touchdown catch on a beautiful throw by Baker Mayfield.

00:03:27
Speaker 2: What the heck, let's already listen to that call?

00:03:29
Speaker 6: Third down fifteen, Mayfield winds up, Pros call touchdown bookah right on the money. Mayfield with a touchdown thro and up Buccaneers or back on top?

00:03:44
Speaker 7: What a strike?

00:03:45
Speaker 8: Oh.

00:03:46
Speaker 1: I love that call from Kevin Harlan, and hearing him call a game kind of makes me realize how unfit I am, not only for this job we had earlier today, but for the job I'm doing right now. Like I felt totally awake and I'm good to go, ustil I started talking right now, But like, unfortunately, you know, the Seahawks and Buccaneers defense were also a little out of sorts, Like did you think this was good offense or bad defense.

00:04:11
Speaker 3: In this game?

00:04:11
Speaker 2: I thought it was to open with good on good and then both teams kind of splin the way. Neither could really get any sort of pass for us. They refused to send any kind of pressure. When they did it was absolutely fried a Booker, I think is just showing us he is in kind of the superstar category. And when he came into the league, it was almost he was this all around pro player who would do all the dirty things for you and you'd just be a really reliable target. And I think he's showing these levels above that already.

00:04:37
Speaker 4: I think the fact that it was all Baker today as well, like they couldn't get anything going on the ground just fifty six yards rushing today, Rasharp White ended up being their leading man with with their key guy out, and he just I don't know, Baker three ndred and seventy nine yards. He made just dime after dime after dime. Like, there were so many great throws in this game. You mentioned Booker Katon had a massive game, and this one seemed to it came up with four catch right when yass but all of them seemed to drive extend as huge, huge plays that kept things going. And yeah, this Books offense, just in the passing game were absolutely purring.

00:05:12
Speaker 2: Yeah, And the Seahawks were losing corners throughout the game. They already came in with injuries on the back end. Guys were falling all over the place, and Mike McDonald kind of put the bed on. I'm gonna have to trust my downfall. We've got all this investment these guys up front. I'm not a heavy pressure guy anyway. And so instead of trying to force the ball off of Baker's hands early by overwhelming the Books beat of offensive line, He's like, let me just play coverage and we'll figure it out up front. And those guys just couldn't get home.

00:05:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, there were a lot of injuries on both sides. I think people are familiar with the Bucks injuries on the right side of their line. I thought the Seahawks would win this game because I thought they had the best defense in the league and that the Bucks wouldn't have enough offensively to get it done. I was terribly wrong, and I thought they'd be even a little more banged up on the back end. They did have Jacob Parrish in this game, who was questionable coming in. Jamel Dean was out rather and then they had his back about Benjamin Morrison too. Parish has turned into a key part of that defense. It is wild to see, like a world where Baker Mayfield has four incompletions almost four hundred yards and Donald is matching him.

00:06:18
Speaker 2: Like do you find any of this like fluky or like that?

00:06:23
Speaker 1: It can't continue ali when you watch it on a week to week basis. These two guys were going to be doing Quarterback Island later this week and Sam donald Is I think made an extremely strong case and Baker will be staying there.

00:06:37
Speaker 2: Donald in this game made two or three candidates for Throw of the by the end of this season. And whilst doing that, there was two opportunities for the books that ice this game. Mill He's I mccullumb effectively dropped a ninety nine y odd pick six in the end zone. The co scar on that drive. That was an interception that was choked off because Zion mcculem had a penalty on the play. But I feel like Donald does the way he's playing, the confidence to control, ripping it to every air of the field almost feels more sustainable. With Baker, it's like in Grizart. He's found kind of the perfect match of we are hyper aggressive. We're getting rid of a lot of the fancy Liam Cohen trying to overcomplicate the game. It's time just gonna We've got weapons all over the place. They are the perfect light pop a zim pouch and let's go drive down the field type offense. Do it together.

00:07:22
Speaker 1: I love how they are surviving this portion of the schedule and I keep thinking it's gonna get easier, but they have the forty nine ers. They're at the Lions and then at the Saints before they're by. But they're kind of showing that they are one of those teams that can win. While hurt and so when they do get some of these players back later in the year. At four and one, I think these two teams, it's safe to say, are going to be in the mix at the end of the year.

00:07:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's it.

00:07:50
Speaker 4: And when it comes to you talked about the injuries up front, Mike Evans obviously out at the moment, Chris Godwin back and had a few nice catches.

00:07:58
Speaker 3: So I think point four to twenty seven.

00:07:59
Speaker 4: But it's more that factor of, like you said, it, constantly finding a way to win. Baker Mayfield, whether it was because he was under pressure, had to scramble, had to make quick throw like he just every time decision making was the right thing and he just went out there and balled. And I don't know, there's very few players he might not be playing the best quarterback in the NFL this season.

00:08:20
Speaker 3: They might be.

00:08:20
Speaker 4: Relying on time and time again game winning drives. All four of their wins this season have come on game ending scores.

00:08:28
Speaker 3: Literally, is the clocks hit zero.

00:08:30
Speaker 4: They are that team who just find a way to win somehow at the death of games.

00:08:34
Speaker 3: What their total?

00:08:36
Speaker 4: Yeah, four wins, nine points, that is their total over those four wins and so I don't know. I kind of backed them in any game, and I look at that next stretch, I think forty nine ers maybe on the road of the Lions is a tough one. But Saints Patriots. Bill was kind of fancying them in all of those games.

00:08:52
Speaker 2: Right now, I feel like they can win any kind of game. This is a shootout kind of game, and I think, I look at them defensively, they may have the best all around collection defensive back talent in the league right now. And in this game was interesting because for Mayfield, he has the more impressive stat line. Donald had the more difficult to make throws. It was a really high degree difficulty throws. Smith and Jigger was out of his mind down the field. Tike Smith is playing as well as any defensive back in the NFL, and Tom Winfield Junior is back to his absolute best, and those guys got cooked at times because of how well Donald and Smith and Jigber and the other guy's played. And the only really advo concerned at linebacker. If they had a quality starting NFL linebacker, this would be the best defense in the NFL.

00:09:32
Speaker 4: The Monte David has a lot to say about that. He had the game changing place.

00:09:35
Speaker 2: He did, and it was, you know, touched off a helmet straight into his hands, and if he has to move sidelight the sideline, he gets in trouble. He's got a smooths about j Dennis. Maybe the most unmossible player playing defense in the NFL. But other than that, they have everything you would need. They've had the injuries up front, but they've got good depth there. They at least have burst off the ball up front. They can get creative now in the front. Todd Balls tried to be a bit more conservative vote in the season. He's now recognized my defensive backfield is full of studs. I can still having some fun again. And so I just feel like from week to week they'll shape shift and win different kinds of games.

00:10:05
Speaker 8: Yeh.

00:10:05
Speaker 1: Normally I would look at that point differential and think like, this is a team that's going to come back to the packet. It's a little bit fluky, but when you look at the quality of the players on their team, when you look at the quality of the coaches, this is a team that is going to be in the mix till the end of the season. And this was the biggest I think statement win that they have had yet, so they moved to four and one. Seahawks fall to three and two in what is going to be a crowded, messy NFC West. Would the team on top in the NFC keep their undefeated record?

00:10:38
Speaker 9: Three players in Hufunga Key and Joan Tom mcgoline snap them three man rush perks, bounce us around, loads it up, floats it to the end zone.

00:10:51
Speaker 10: It is in template no flags.

00:10:58
Speaker 1: Oh that is Dave Logan on ko a. Yes, a hail Mary attempt from Jalen Hurts from in front of the forty yard line that seemed to hit the hands of every single player on the Philadelphia Eagles and the Denver Broncos. It was aj Brown and Devonte Smith. I think it hit all four of their hands, but certain was over there, Brandon Jones was over there, ultimately knocked away, and the Denver Broncos go into Philadelphia and get a twenty one to seventeen victory. The adult the Broncos trailed in this game entering the fourth quarter seventeen to three. They always start taking out those stats of like the Broncos Undershun Peyton hadn't won your you know game down fourteen or as a franchise, and I don't know how many decades the Eagles hadn't blown a game like that in so long, but they started making that comeback for Broncos, and I thought this was really impressive by running the ball, and sometimes that's what you need to happen. Bo Nicks was struggling throughout most of this game, but they started leaning on the Eagles defense late in this game.

00:12:18
Speaker 2: JK. Dobbins finished off a long drive.

00:12:21
Speaker 1: Nicks blew one drive at the end, but he also had a third and fifteen that I thought was maybe the key play of the game, a beautiful throw up the middle to Courtland Sutton thirty four yards. On that play to Sutton, Sutton ends up beating Quinnon Mitchell for I think eight catches in eighty yards when Quinnon Mitchell wasn't coverage way more than any game in Quinjon Mitchell's career in terms of the yardage that he gave up. Will and this Broncos team gets to three and two, and the Eagles continue to be this very strange team that can look perfect for a half at a time, and they did more or less in the first half of this game and then fell apart down the stretch.

00:13:04
Speaker 4: You mentioned how they lent on the run late on Bonix was outing four yards in an attempt entering the fourth quarter, ended up going nine of ten one hundred and twenty seven yards and a touchdown in the fourth. So yes, they leant on the run game, but it allowed Bonix to build off it, and it allowed them to pin back that Eagles defense.

00:13:20
Speaker 3: They got a couple of really key calls go their way.

00:13:22
Speaker 4: The grounding call went their way, the Zach Bourne roughing the passer as well. But I mean Olli came up with a phenomenal stat while we were watching the game earlier. From an Eagles offense perspective, last week, in the second half, they didn't throw the ball at all, not once. Jalen Hurts did not release the ball from his hands in a forward motion in the entire second half. And then today, Olie, it's all they did was throw the ball despite being up two scores.

00:13:45
Speaker 2: Or they did. Some of that, to be fair, was RPO stuff. So it can muddy the war to say, but this feels like a Nick Sirianni lost to me. We talk all the time about the organizational victories they the Broncos won a long scoring drive in the fourth quarter. The ten played each down drive. The Eagles come straight out three and out and hand the ball back to the Broncos. They again go down the field and school and there was just a chance to try and take some of the sting of any Opa comeback, and it just felt like Sirianni the game got away from him.

00:14:13
Speaker 4: Sekwon Barkley after that forty seven yard catch, Philly punted on the next four possessions, converted just one first down and this was the key. Twenty three passes to one design run in the second half.

00:14:25
Speaker 1: And the crazy thing is in the first half it was pretty pass heavy as well.

00:14:30
Speaker 2: It was working. Though.

00:14:31
Speaker 1: It does feel like the Eagles are always responding to whatever the narrative is. They did that last season, they did that in this game. They got the ball to aj Brown early. DeVante Smith goes eight for one pin fourteen, including a beautiful deep catch over Riley Moss. I mean it was it was the big day for the white quarterback cornerbacks rather Riley Moss versus Cooper Degene had an incredible play in this game.

00:14:57
Speaker 2: And if aj.

00:14:59
Speaker 1: Brown hadn't slowed up on this one route where they had everything worked for this double move where he's on the inside seemed to work and he slowed down.

00:15:08
Speaker 2: Hurtz overthrows him.

00:15:10
Speaker 1: Who knows how this game looks, but I think Brown kind of gave up on that route. You mentioned the second touchdown drive by the Broncos, and yeah, this game was sleepy for so long, and they finally get that first one where they really are running the ball.

00:15:23
Speaker 2: Well.

00:15:24
Speaker 1: The second drive which I mentioned that Courtland Sutton pass was part of it. The very next play is Evan Ingram going in for a touchdown, and then one of my favorite moments of the entire weekend. Eagles are winning seventeen to sixteen and Sean Payton decides to go for two with seven and a half minutes left in the game.

00:15:45
Speaker 2: Let's listen.

00:15:46
Speaker 9: Trautman Atkins, Franklin tight trips right, Sutton tight left.

00:15:54
Speaker 3: Dobbins behind Nick's play fake. Nick rolls through his.

00:15:57
Speaker 6: Right, throws about a himself, has a two point.

00:16:03
Speaker 1: That was an awesome play call, and it's won that Bonex sit. After the game, they'd been wpping in practice for two or three weeks. He said he wasn't surprised because with Sean Payton like you're never surprised, but there was something about that play in that moment that was intelligent and I just thought he had a feel for the game there. And you think about how this game ended, where the Broncos go on another drive. When they get the ball back, they tack a field goal on and it leads the Eagles to needing a touchdown at the very end of the game instead of needing a field goal.

00:16:34
Speaker 4: And look, you talked about the Eagles reacting to what the the outside sources were saying, what everyone was saying about them. I think to an extent that Sean Payton going no, I can still get in my bag. I am able to scheme things up for bon Nixy. I think they'd heard a lot about how stifled the offense was, and while they still again started slow in this game, I think that's Sean Payton bringing back a little bit of the old Saint Sean Payton magic and you know, feeling himself a little bit. And that's what we need from him if they're going to go far this season, if they're going to be a playoff team. They come to London at three and two now and it is a huge difference to being two and three and coming out on an international trip.

00:17:10
Speaker 2: And Peyton will do anything to stick it to fangs. You know that he felt that one. I think that the Eagles thing, everything just feels so rickety on offense. You mention them kind of listening to the outside noise and adjusting that way. It just feels like they are pre designed going into the week and they will not figure it out on the fly. Most than it is Oh, this person tweeted x, we must have just our offense. Even early on, they were not forced feeding aj Brown. They just made him the primary and the progression and he's open because he's a J. Brown and he's awesome. And yet in the second half it did feel like they started saying, we're now going to start trying to force the ball to people. And they were telling the broadcast team throughout the week, we want to be a throw to get ahead team and then run the ball to close the game. They get the opportunity to do it and they go away from it.

00:17:55
Speaker 1: And Eagles fans seem rather annoyed by this team, considering they were four to oh coming into today, but it is four reason like they're twelfth in DVOA. Entering this week, despite being undefeated, they had the fewest yardage on offense of any four and OH team since the nineteen forty one Giants entering it and they actually had a better day today, like getting to three hundred, but it was a struggle Saquon Barkley. Again, the success rate very low for Saquon Barkley. He had a seventeen yard run in this game. I know he only had six carries, so it's on a limited sample size, but the rest of the runs end up getting stuffed a little bit.

00:18:32
Speaker 2: And I know JK.

00:18:32
Speaker 1: Dobbins's final numbers aren't great, but he is playing better this year. He has more juice, another year removed from the surgery, and I thought he ran well throughout the game. To circle back to what you said about the penalties, so maybe that's going to be a conversation piece in Philadelphia. I don't know, but I think if you go through all the there were a lot of calls that changed this game late, like two went for the Eagles and one went I mean for the Broncos, like positive and one went for the Eagles. There was an offensive pass interference on the Broncos. That essentially killed the drive that I thought was a bad call that way. And then you mentioned the late hit on Zach Bond. It was clearly a late hit. It kept the drive going. There was an illegal shift on Saquon Barkley. If they just had their stuff together before the snap, they might win that game. Like that was a big time played down the field to DeVante Smith. That would have changed the complexion of the game when they were driving that was called off. They ended up having five pre stap penalties overall. And then the Knicks, you know, intentional grounding call. Maybe they got that one wrong.

00:19:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll give you that.

00:19:40
Speaker 4: It's in a game where the Broncos had twelve penalties one hundred and twenty one yards. They've had six or more flags in every game this season. It has been a problem for them. And if you're less disciplined than the least disciplined team in the league, that suggests that there might be a problem with the way that you are going about your day to day.

00:19:56
Speaker 1: How about Nick Benito two and a half sacks. Just just keep sticking it sticking and the Eagles get the ball back and eventually do get in position. But it was made much tougher by Nick Benito getting a quick sack at the start of that drive.

00:20:08
Speaker 2: I feel like part of the tension in Philadelpher is in the bones. They feel this defense isn't quite at the level it was when it closed last season, so that looking around, going well, can the offense then rise to the level of being a top ten unit so we get two top ten ones if we don't have a top two defense. It just feels there's ways to get it. The Eagles defense now in a way that wasn't last year. They aren't quite package things the way they did do a year ago. You even fall seem to get really big, and they don't quite have the bodies up front when you go big on big with them. Then if you spread them out, they're just lacking in the secondary. So it feels like they all want or two pieces away. Maybe some internal development, gelics hunt, someone like that coming up, Maybe trying to found find some outside help. I know it's a Darius Smith out of sect today. Maybe they could go and find another dress from the market.

00:20:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, that would help. Like Jalen Carter, just being Jalen Carter will help. I went and looked at the defensive line snap because I'm watching this game and thinking, man, it seems like you never comes off the field. He played sixty three snaps in this game out of seventy. No one else on the defensive line even played forty. But he had one pressure and he just wasn't super has been Jalen Card though. There is a sense that people believe he just walked into like the Aaron Donalds fare because of the last postseason, that this is who he has been throughout his careerge you will get hot streak games where he looks like the most dominant player to have ever played, and then he has really quiet weeks.

00:21:25
Speaker 2: That's just the experience.

00:21:25
Speaker 3: Now, just on Nick Benita very quickly.

00:21:28
Speaker 4: Can we just say to Tony Romo and Jim Nance, we all know who Nick Benito is. At this point, you don't need to be tellings on the broadcast. Maybe the national people will listen to how.

00:21:37
Speaker 3: Good he is now.

00:21:37
Speaker 4: It's like we've been talking about him for the last year plus.

00:21:41
Speaker 3: It's fine, we know Nick Benito is very good at football.

00:21:43
Speaker 1: Old Jim Nance and Tony Romo and myself always the last a party an incredible win. I really think a season altering win for the three and two Denver Broncos before they head over here in London.

00:21:59
Speaker 2: But before we this first block, let's talk.

00:22:02
Speaker 1: About the game that we were at at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium.

00:22:06
Speaker 2: What seems like.

00:22:07
Speaker 3: A long time ago.

00:22:09
Speaker 11: Wentz in the gun, Mason alongside and choosing to hold on to that last time out thirty seconds on the clock, second and five takes the snap, goes to the right side, look at for Rabison Adison d zone.

00:22:18
Speaker 3: He touchdown of the Vikings.

00:22:21
Speaker 4: Denzel Ward in the area, but Carson Wentz places a perfect ball over the.

00:22:26
Speaker 11: Corner into the arms of Jordan Adison, who falls into the ed and zone on the Minnesota Vikes take a twenty to seventeen leads.

00:22:34
Speaker 3: Here are the Tottenham How's first ideal.

00:22:36
Speaker 12: It's a perfect, perfect call from Kevin o'connelly. He gets us a little out and op route from Jordan Madison to the sidelines. The grounds are sitting in zone, Denzil walkingnot trigger and closing the ball.

00:22:48
Speaker 1: Oh great call there by Will Gavin and Allie Connolly, who had to take off his headphones because he refused to even listen to the car, but he did a fantastic job, as he did all game long breaking down what happened in real time. Carson Wentz goes overseas plays well enough the first game made it fun in the fourth quarter. This time he has the game winning drive. Vikings win twenty one to seventeen. And yes, the three of us called this game. Did you ever have any doubts when Carson Wentz got the ball back that he was gonna drive down the field for the game winner.

00:23:25
Speaker 2: I have to say you hear Will bring that kind of energy in a big moment. And we have to listen to Al Michaels snooze through Satay Night Football, Drop the bag, Bezos, will Is hit drop the bat. I would love to see that.

00:23:40
Speaker 1: And there were times, yes where I just got distracted, like listening to Will today because it was so fun.

00:23:45
Speaker 2: By that point in the game, I was down on the field.

00:23:48
Speaker 1: I was gonna do the postgame interviews for Sky Sports. I got to see it close in real time. And what I'll remember about that closing sequence was not just that Addison catch to win the game, but the three straight Addison catches in a game where he was benched in the first quarter. They didn't really get into the details of why, but it's clearly some sort of disciplinary decision. And he had a great route on the third and four a couple plays before, he showed some toughness to get to the first down marker to keep that drive going, and then a great route. And watching these vikings in person, you do just think, wow. You know, they have such great route runners between him, feel and Jefferson. If they can get good quarterback play, they're going to be dangerous. And they got just good enough quarterback play today. Yeah, and I think toughness was a big key of it. You said it there with Addison, but this is a team who would down three offensive line starters plus their backup center as well, and they did a brilliant job of protecting Carson Wentz well. He wasn't touched, not quarterback hit, not sacked through two and a half quarters, almost through to the third quarter, and yet they started to get pressure. But Wentz goes out of this game injured in the second quarter. After you know, a quarterback keeper where he has taken the ball on a scramble and then ended up getting hit, comes back in leads those two touchdown grives.

00:25:11
Speaker 3: It's not drives.

00:25:11
Speaker 4: Let's not forget they had a missed field goal in this game and the two fumbles as well. Like in theory, this could have been a big Vikings win, but they find a way to win it late.

00:25:21
Speaker 3: And the Addison thing, You and I both.

00:25:23
Speaker 4: Spoke to him in the locker room afterwards, very much a young man who held his hands up, who said, I spoke to the team. I fessed up, and I was very clear on like apologizing, and they've all lifted me up, and I wanted to go out there and prove myself.

00:25:35
Speaker 3: And I thought he was sensational in that fourth quarter.

00:25:37
Speaker 2: Yeah, And there's just no one doing it like Kevin O'Connell right now. The plan to try and neutralize Miles Garrett given what is going on all around the offensive line, and then you see mid game the Browns open up. They're going to play a ton of man coverage. That's what they do. O'Connell is trying to gamify the matchups to try and make things work. Then Schwartz starts jumping into a ton of zone coverage in the second half of the game. All of a sudden, they've got to start at least in and TJ. Awkinson down the field. They use Hawkinson constantly to chit Miles Garrett. When it's go time in the fourth quota, everyone is out. We got to give cost some Wentz options. We got to go win the game. And I was actually disappointed in the Browns front. I thought the given they were getting basically four on five for a lot of the fourth quota, with all the stars they've got, those guys played really well inside. Isaiah MacGuire had a good game, but they didn't really impact the game when it was a must have a drive.

00:26:23
Speaker 1: Yeah, Jonathan Gridard in this game had more quick pressure. So that's two point five seconds or less than the entire Browns team. And we talked before the game, which will be the bigger mismatch in terms of defensive lines on the opposing banged up offensive lines, And actually this is the healthiest the Browns have been all season. They got Jack Conklin back at right tackle, their interior line who our veterans been around a while, all were playing, and ultimately Minnesota I think did a better job affecting Dylan Gabriel.

00:26:56
Speaker 2: Who played well.

00:26:57
Speaker 1: Like I know, it wasn't amazing and you can't we have too much credit to an offense and a quarterback that had the ball four times in the fourth quarter, couldn't score, couldn't move the ball at all in the first three drives where they really had a chance to put it away. But I kind of give the Vikings pressure credit there, and I think they actually did have a better chance to win with Dylan Gabriel playing today than if Carson went had played.

00:27:22
Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree, and it was a decision making.

00:27:24
Speaker 4: It was time and time again under pressure, not panicking, making the right call, taking the check down, taking.

00:27:30
Speaker 3: The throw that was available to him.

00:27:32
Speaker 4: And I just think there were two or three times where he either threw the ball away or had a good incompletion when he wasn't trying to force things in. And you just thought, for the guys that I banged this drum all of last week, sixty three starts in college, and that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to come up to the NFL and be all that. We've seen a quarterback playing for the other team in this game who struggled mightily coming in despite having a lot of starts in college himself, and JJ McCarthy, but he just looked very assured. He looked very ready. Yes, they weren't able to quite put it together. They had a key drop from Jerry Judy early in the game, his fifth of the season. They kept in key moments, not finding the playmakers, but they ran the ball well with quid John Jenkins. He made right decisions like the Cleveland Browns were in this game and had a lead later on, and I was more impressed with them offensively than I expected to be.

00:28:19
Speaker 2: Yeah, I thought Gabriel looked comfortable with the speed of the league. And that's kind of the first thing you're looking for for a ninety fourth overall pick to step into a game in Week five on the road internationally against Brian Flores. I don't know what more you could expect. Don't turn the ball over, don't make too many ridiculous looking throws, and he didn't do that. He played within the rhythm of the system. He extended plays a couple of times. I thought he had really good pocket feel when things were caving in. He did not just fold up. There was only one instance where he really got jittery in there and made enough target throw. For the most part, he was stepping up and kind of slippery in the pocket. Climbing through finding up receivers, and we only really saw one flash of what are the limitations, which was the hail Mary attempt where he loops it so I up in the air that when they come back the second time for second time to the hill, may they say let's get away from that. We'll have to run across so we don't think you can drive it down the field. And that ends the game with the tackling bounds.

00:29:09
Speaker 3: Can we give Oli Connolly a shout out?

00:29:11
Speaker 2: Please?

00:29:11
Speaker 4: Pre game, he told us there was going to be a trick play early in this game. He said, it was that kind of game, the way it was set up, two defensive teams, and then they come in the Minnesota Vikings run the Wildcat cam Akers touchdown throw. So the widest open Josh Oliver he will ever be in his career.

00:29:27
Speaker 3: We spoke again, we supposed to Josh Oliver after the game.

00:29:29
Speaker 4: Not the most vocal man I've ever spoke to my life. But when I said to him, like we stunned to see there was nobody within about twenty yards of me when he caught that ball, He's like, yeah, that was really open, Like he was as open as could be They bit on that as hard as they could, and it was nice to see a bit of creative.

00:29:47
Speaker 1: It took a minute to be like, who is thirty one and the Vikings it's kim Akers. I elevated from the practice squad.

00:29:54
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:29:54
Speaker 1: Part of a fun first quarter where they went back and forth. Doug Gabriel had had a good Dylan gibrierl or rather had a good first drive with that ended with a touchdown to Fannin. One of the best moments I thought of the game was third quarter. The Vikings had taken the lead on a Jordan Mason run and then the Browns respond quickly to a man who was really soaking up the love in London, David and Joko.

00:30:22
Speaker 11: The Vikings favoring the left hand side of their defensive line.

00:30:26
Speaker 13: Showing pressure.

00:30:26
Speaker 11: Fanin moves he is being mop baima tellus fall over the middle, Poultry taking a joking touchdown.

00:30:31
Speaker 3: Cleveland Browns over the middle.

00:30:34
Speaker 2: I'm the big man who just.

00:30:35
Speaker 3: Leaped over someone on the previous plan.

00:30:38
Speaker 4: Now gets into the ends to Peyton's on the Cleveland Browns im a lead here in North London.

00:30:44
Speaker 1: Oh, David and Joku raises his arms to the Tottenham crown.

00:30:48
Speaker 11: He is loving it.

00:30:49
Speaker 2: He did it before the.

00:30:50
Speaker 1: Game as well with this shirt off getting some love from the Browns faithful who made the trip.

00:30:56
Speaker 4: Ah.

00:30:56
Speaker 1: That was stuck in my head because he did the same motion before the game. David and Joku came out to the crowd, no shirt on, knees on the ground and just asked for the love. Got the love. Did it during the game, did it after the game? There was actually one sequence where they were going in on the next drive in the red zone and he wasn't even supposed to be on the field for the play, and the coaches had to be like David, like stop he was wiling up the crowd before the fourth quarter starts, you have to come back off the field.

00:31:31
Speaker 2: But he brought the energy in a season that that could use them.

00:31:34
Speaker 4: It was amazing that just before that fourth course, he literally was helmet off pronouncing him down the line.

00:31:39
Speaker 3: They were in the huddle discussing the play and he was just dancing around them, geeing up the crowd.

00:31:44
Speaker 4: Before he just kind of waltzed off to the sideline and watched the play. A real character's day, and even after the game, obviously suffering a loss, falling to one and four, not where the Browns want to be. But him and Jefferson were having some fun as well. Like David and Joku has had a not the greatest starts of the season. Howard Fannin's been been excellent coming in as the rookie, had really been the star tight end in this team. But he had his best day certainly of the season today and he was really feeling himself.

00:32:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, the throws to Judy and Isaiah Bond we were much less effective than then to the tight ends. Twelve targets for them for a combined forty four yards. And Olie kept noticing during the game that the wide receivers on the Browns were just often confused and not ready for the play at all, which is something you can only see in person.

00:32:26
Speaker 2: Yeah, they had some real operational issues. There's a lot of palms up off fence, guys looking to each Other's a great Harold fan in play where at the snap he has his palms up, he isn't sure what the play is. All of a sudden he reels the ball, he realizes that the ball has been snapped. He just crushes someone on the end of the line of Scrimmae and Pops Quinch and Judkins for a big run. So there was a lot of operational stuff. It felt like they couldn't hear what was coming from Dylan gab with the line of Scrimmae whenever he's trying to check. So maybe it's just a first start in the league. You gotta be maybe a little bit loud and maybe the inflection's got to be there. Channel you Andrew, look Daniel Jones and make sure the receivers can hear what's going on.

00:32:57
Speaker 1: How about that you're Cam Newton Cadence. That's why maybe my all time favorite Cadences. You mentioned Judkins, who goes for one hundred and ten yards in this game. They have found one of the better starting running backs in the league, at least in terms of just a pure runner patient's power.

00:33:12
Speaker 2: He has got everything. It was a joy to watch him.

00:33:14
Speaker 1: And before we take our break, we should give a little love to Justin Jefferson, who came over here became the all time leading receiver in international game history if you add them all up. This was our fortieth game in London, and for these two weeks in Dublin and London, he goes seventeen catches two hundred and forty nine yards and would have had even more today if a great play down the field by Carson Wentz didn't get called back, but he ends up making a trademark leaping catch in that game winning drive.

00:33:47
Speaker 4: Yeah, just absolutely unreal at the catch point time and time again, going out with Greg Newsom, going up against dens Award, he just absolutely bullied them, Like you just there's something special about seeing greatness when it's in person, and you just every time I've been able to watch him, and it's been three or four times over the last three or four years, we've been able to have Jefferson over. They always sell the superstars coming right. It's always a big part of these international games. They're the ones that you slap on the poster, They're the ones you make a big deal out of, and Jefferson just delivers time and time again. I mean, I have to say that catch over the middle that got called back. Greg's call on that was unbelievable and it's just gonna just go out into the ether and never be heard again because it didn't count.

00:34:30
Speaker 1: And I was devastated for I have no recollection of whatever that car was, but I'm going to trust that that's true. People, could, you know, go back and check it out if they really wanted to do on the tok sport feed. Yes, Jefferson, everything you just said was said with even a better source by Harrison Smith in the locker room. I talked to him for Sky a little bit, and he just said, I've just never been around a superstar like that who just delivers on being a superstar in every way, like in every practice, in every game.

00:35:02
Speaker 2: He is just that guy.

00:35:04
Speaker 1: And he said, it is just amazing to have a front row seat to watch that every week.

00:35:09
Speaker 8: Uh.

00:35:09
Speaker 1: And that's coming from a guy who has a chance to be a Hall of Famer, like justin Jefferson will be one day. All Right, we'll move on from this game. We will be back in just a little bit.

00:35:20
Speaker 14: Uh.

00:35:21
Speaker 2: In our next block, we're gonna include one.

00:35:23
Speaker 1: Of the most ghastly losses in the history of the NFL.

00:35:37
Speaker 15: It is fourth and sixth at the seven. Here's the snap to Daniels, who throws it up to the back of the zone.

00:35:43
Speaker 13: He's gonna one up in there.

00:35:50
Speaker 6: Jess to Jevo to put.

00:35:54
Speaker 2: Out the Chargers.

00:35:57
Speaker 1: Jayden Daniels and Yes, Einstein in London, Fletcher getting it done on WB I G. Washington goes into Los Angeles, spots the Chargers ten points and then rips off twenty seven unanswered to get to three and two. Chargers fall to three and two. They've got all sorts of injuries, but let's start positive. The Commanders coming in and they take command.

00:36:31
Speaker 4: Look, this game didn't start off as they were hoping or would have expected that. The Chargers move out into a ten and o lead, and it came from a brilliant forty one yard scramble from Justin Herbert on the opening drive, where you know, he made Bobby Wagner look.

00:36:46
Speaker 3: Very old and very stiff and very slow.

00:36:48
Speaker 4: After a good blitz pick up from Mamaron Hampton had the touchdown to Lad McConkey, followed by that field goal, and right at that point, Jayden Daniels was one of four in.

00:36:57
Speaker 3: His first five scroll throws.

00:37:00
Speaker 4: He had a couple of very wobbly looking scrambles where he had kind of eight or nine yards to gain, only went six or seven, went down a little early, didn't look quite sure on his feet, and I was watching it thinking maybe was he ready to come back in maybe were this team ready to put it together, But then he hit Jalen Lane on that third and sixteen down ten, and it just seemed to bring some life to him and bring some life to the offense. And then the Quentin Johnson catch and fumble from the Chargers who were driving again just seemed to flip this game. Washington go on four unanswered scoring drives, Bill Crosskey Merritt down fifteen yards of space for that outside touchdown run with some really nice pulling action going on, and suddenly by halftime, Jane Daniels goes from one and four to staff to six of twelve one hundred and twenty two. In that first half, he has an absolute rope to Deebo Samuel for a first down the Jalen Lane throw like he just it's something clicked midway through that second court and he just came to absolute life and it was wonderful to see.

00:37:57
Speaker 1: And I think it starts with the running game for this team, Alie, just off of what you've seen this year and in yeah, Bill goes fourteen for one hundred and eleven yards in two touchdowns in this game. I just am not surprised to see that their design. Run success right, not even counting the scrambles was well over fifty percent in this game, and I thought that might be a matchup problem for the Chargers, who last week kept letting the Giants run all over them too. And the Commanders seem like they have a nice base of their offense with their running game.

00:38:24
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a brutal matchup for the Charges. They they in their run fits, in their run defense, they don't move an awful lot if you move, and Cliff Kingsby is really really intelligent about making sure he can kind of move the numbers around to get good angles for everyone. A lot of pulls and movers in this game, a lot of runs to the primiter the brogue away for extra yardis So it was a felt like a bit of a schematic mismatch. Just by design. You still have to go out and make the plays, and the Commanders did it. I My main takeaway from the game was just the Charges, particularly on offense, everything is so difficult for them. I know, it was really fun in the opening a few weeks the season watching justin Herbert, but the cape on and all the early down throws and say, you know, kind of channeling it through the vision of their evolving in a sense and putting the ball in just in Herbert's hands. But the degree of difficulty down to down is so high for them. Everything is so reliant on him making extraordinary throws, having to go and crete with his legs, lean the team in rushing again, it just feels unsustainable. And I think we've seen it now for the two weeks in a row.

00:39:23
Speaker 4: Big offensive line issues for this team, losing Joel as well, Makai Bectam left the game. In game Herbert sacked. There was that delayed bits that Jordan Maggie had. There was the Dorence Armstrong forcing the hold which pinned them back as they looked like they were going to drive big twenty nine yard completion to Keenan Allen gets called back from an illegal formation when trade Pipkins isn't lined up on the line of scrimmage. It just time and time again, they were killing themselves with these mistakes, and just every time you thought that Herbert had something going, you just find yourself rolling your eyes and falling back in your seat.

00:39:54
Speaker 3: And thinking they've managed to do it again.

00:39:56
Speaker 2: And one thing they've lost is the ability to go to the lad down on the field. That was a real go to staple last season. Part of that is the offensive line. Part of that is they need him to be the kind of underneath security blanket and so then just naturally, Quentin Johnson slots into places more of a downfield threat and Keenan Allen becomes the get out of jail free cottack and throw it kind of off the field to the sideline. Keenan will go get it for me. He does. The vets of they've lost some of the mc conney explosiveness down the field, particularly in the middle of the field. He used to puncture right through the middle of coverage last season. You get these huge explosive plays, and now so much of it is underneath and hoping he'll break the three or four tackles and go make a playfe Youd. It just feels like a real key, easy element of the offense has gone.

00:40:37
Speaker 1: So Herbert sacked five times in this game, and when he was able to throw the ball under pressure, to your point of everything being so hard, he ends up with twenty four yards on eight attempts. So their offensive line, I think alt injury kind of put it past the point where they can survive at all against a halfway decent defense. They're they're lucky to get Miami on the schedule next, because I do feel like this section of the season without Art is going to be very difficult. They have Austin decaleis starting at tackle right now, and he had.

00:41:10
Speaker 4: A horrible penalty in this game as well. Like they're just killing themselves time and time again.

00:41:15
Speaker 2: Trey Pimpkins.

00:41:16
Speaker 1: Pipkins had an illegal formation penalty that killed a thirty one yard game. And then I thought the sequence where Lad McConkey appeared to have a punt return touchdown that's called back by a penalty, and then Washington goes on a scoring Honestly, go and.

00:41:32
Speaker 4: Watch this play because it is the best play you'll see all season. That doesn't count. Lad McConkey hurdles two different players in the same punt return, including the punter, only to have Marlo Wax called for running into Tressway in the back of the end zone.

00:41:47
Speaker 3: Is if you've not actually seen it, if.

00:41:48
Speaker 4: You've only heard about it, if you've only seen it on the on the play by play, or on the score sheet, it is so worth watching because it just shows you exactly what oll he talks about. Lad McConkie is so explosive, so brilliant, the ball in his hands, given a little bit of space on Jed that was That was a devastating play and he and he.

00:42:05
Speaker 1: Only ends up with five catches for thirty nine yards, gets the early short touchdown, but but no plays down the field. The game really ended with Herbert and the Chargers on the doorstep trying to cut the lead from twenty to ten to twenty to seventeen. But he's a little too hot on his first down throw. They lose three yards from the one yard line with Camani Videll and that sets up the Chargers on a third down play.

00:42:33
Speaker 15: They had first and goal with the one. Here's the snap to Herbert Washington breakspord throw that was tip at.

00:42:40
Speaker 16: The one yard line. What a pick by Cristell and a stop on the doll line. Mikey Sadra still just play justin Harbert like a puppet. He ran this exactly. He knew exactly what rob he was gonna get shots in front of that play and interceptis play, Mike. The oldest pot is what we gonna call it.

00:43:00
Speaker 2: That's the energy we need out of you.

00:43:01
Speaker 7: Ali.

00:43:02
Speaker 4: I thought that was harsh from London Fletcher, by the way, because clearly Johnny Newton tips the ball of a light of scrimmage and that's why, Mike. But it was a case of there was the drive just before that where they got to the fourth and two and then he just pinged the ball off Tyler Conkin's face mask when it could have been a completion into Washington territory. And then that was a really great drive that just died in the red zone, and just I think, you know, we can't really do better than Oli did earlier. It just everything was tough for them in that from quarter to two onwards basically.

00:43:34
Speaker 2: And I wouldn't say this is like a rejuvenation of the Commander's defense. I still think they got some pretty severe structural flaws.

00:43:41
Speaker 1: Okay, but they've been better this year, and maybe better is average, But seeing what they've done so far this season, don't you think they've been kind of up and down in a way that there's more up maybe than before.

00:43:51
Speaker 2: I think they have some pretty serious issues when they're in man coverage. They have two sinkholes on the field in Wagner, who I love, but in space. It's a problem on Lotimore is an absolute disaster at this stage of his career, and in zoone. They've had more busts than any team in the league this season, leading to explosive place So they're still in this kind of push pull tension to mind, but they are vicious. They fly to the ball. I do think they'll create a bunch of turnovers down the street. I think they're better.

00:44:15
Speaker 1: I think the Washington Commanders are just putting together a squad where I don't know what they're going to be like exactly, but I have a little even though I know they made the NFC Championship Game a year ago, I think they have a chance, just off what we've seen that to be better because I think they're not playing at their very best done offense.

00:44:34
Speaker 4: I have serious doubts about their mobility on the defensive side of the ball. And you know, Bobby Wagoner rof seems we've talked about a few times, is the kind of statesman, the elder statesman of that just the last couple of things to mention this game. Amarin Hampton left the locker room with a boot on his left foot after going out of the game. Later on and we wait for an update on that injury, but that could be a tough one for them. And just to mention the final drive because it kind of gets forgotten about because the game was almost killed off by the inception. But they go thirteen plays ninety nine yards eat six and a half minutes off the clock. There are two big scramble plays for a combined twenty yards from Jade and Daniels.

00:45:12
Speaker 3: They kept bringing Trent.

00:45:13
Speaker 4: Scott as a six lineman on that drive as well, went heavy upfront and I just ground the charges out And as much as I'm kind of talking out both sides of my mouth here by saying I am concerned about the defensive side of the ball, that for me was their best drive of the whole game, because it's just so winning in a different way, winning with that run game that you talked about, and just burying the Chargers when they had the change.

00:45:34
Speaker 1: They're winning games without Terry McLaurin with Deebo Samuel as the centerpiece receiver and he goes eight for ninety six today. One big play from Luke McCaffrey every week, which is.

00:45:45
Speaker 2: Better than no.

00:45:46
Speaker 1: They were a game here and making it work, whether it's Mariota or Jaden Daniel, So I just give them some credit for managing what could have been a pretty difficult start to the season. They're at three and two, so are the Chargers. The Indianapolis Colts, they're even better.

00:46:03
Speaker 2: Out of the gun, Goes Jones, sweeping left.

00:46:05
Speaker 17: Taylor cuts back at the five into the end zone.

00:46:07
Speaker 13: He dances in again.

00:46:09
Speaker 18: Three of them today, three touchdowns for Jonathan Taylor. The Kenfetti flies, the horn sounds, and Lucas Loyle Stadium is full of jubilation. The Colts now lead thirty eight to three. Three touchdowns today for Jonathan Taylor.

00:46:28
Speaker 1: Oh and you know that Shane Steichen had an eye on the scoreboard. He wanted the forty burger, so he went for the two point conversion. The Indianapolis Colts get to four and one. They win forty to six over the Las Vegas Raiders. That was Matt Taylor on w F and I he's becoming a bigger part of this season, ali at least on our show, because the Colts are box office every week. And I thought this was an interesting little checkpoint for their team, a team that they should be pretty easily at home and they do it with style.

00:47:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, and we talked about for Justin Herbert, everything feels difficult for the Colts and offense. Everything just feels like an easy button over and over again. The first drive they pun on the first drive of the game, they pun on the last drive of the game. Every series in between they score a touchdown and it feels like easy work. And in this game, Greg, you mentioned going for two there to put the forty burger up. They lost their kicker. They were forced into you've got it, there's no field goals on the table. That the punter wasn't able to kick for them. He couldn't even kick the kickoff. They got a flag for the first kickoff he had to take, so they had to go for two on every play they were they didn't. They were never in field goal range to be able to actually kick the field goal. And it just felt so effortless for them, driving up and down the field. And that you mentioned them waxing a team. This is what they just do now is they are playing all these poor teams and crushing them.

00:47:52
Speaker 1: And the Raiders fall to one and four and it just raises a larger point, which now is as good a time any I was counting it. We have ten teams I believe at one win or less. Jets have not won a game that does not include the Carolina Panthers, you know, who feel a little bit like a dead team. And I don't think every one in four team is dead. I believe it's eight teams that are at one and four and then another couple at two and three that are looking like a struggle.

00:48:27
Speaker 2: But I don't like that for the show. Ali.

00:48:30
Speaker 1: That's what I think about first, that it does feel like there's a large group of teams already that if you're not crossing them out, like you're getting pretty close. And Gino Smith and the Raiders have now had three games this year where they just have not looked like they're in the class of the other team on the field.

00:48:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, and this one I think is particularly painful because the cults of being a sensation, a surprise sensation really to open the season. We at least though over the course the season the raid is off would be frisky. It would keep them in games. They will be able to put up points. And I know they didn't have Michael Mayer and they didn't have Brock Bawers in this game, but again everything felt like hard work for them. They cannot protect Gino. Gino is making some really sloppy kind of I give up decisions and it's going to throw it into space because what else am I going to try and do with this thing? Another two picks in this game, another one that they are too la to Luanna Arumo still cooking out there for the Colts defense. The second interception is just a shallow throw into double coverage, which is truly like a I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't really know what's going on here, and I was going to throw the ball and hope for the best. And that's just not the Geno that we've seen.

00:49:36
Speaker 4: Look, no brock Bowers and no Michael Mayers to to kind of cavey at that slightly. But Ollie and I did sit and have a conversation in the in the talkSPORT green room, Greg, and we wondered if an intervention was required because we're both Gino Smith fans, we both love Gino, but is there a conversation This is working though? I think for you, Greg, do we need to start talking about Geno being potentially taken off the field for the Las Vegas Raiders.

00:50:03
Speaker 1: I mean, if he continues to have games like this and that's two in a row essentially, and look the rest of the game, you can tell me more like they move the ball, but it seems like everything's tough for them. Yeah, I think if you throw huge groaning, what is he thinking interceptions week after week? That's three out of his five games that have been disasters. I would say, the three worst starts he's had since he took over in Seattle. Then yeah, you're going year. That's going to become a conversation.

00:50:36
Speaker 4: We're in a very bizarre situation where I think everyone in this room sat and went, what is Seattle doing?

00:50:41
Speaker 3: Why are they getting rid of him? Why are they moving Sam Donald?

00:50:44
Speaker 4: The Seattle offense looks like one of the best in the NFL, and unfortunately it's not working at the Raiders. So I think there's a lot of humble pie being there across the media landscape at the moment.

00:50:53
Speaker 2: And I think this, as I said, will be the most disappointed one of them all. They open this game, it's a pretty surgical drive, really well designed opening game script. Given that they don't have the two tight ends they start splitting Ashton genty, I create some formational mismatch for the calls, they can spring a big shot play to gentically start working some creative stuff off that. Then they just give up a huge sack in the red zone, the fourth kick a field goal, and from there it just was really discombobulated. They are such a up and down offense series to series. It looked to begin with like we were gonna get maybe the offense from the New England day, but for the most part it is they are always in third and long always and Gino you mentioned if he's giving up the bad turnovers, These are not down the field rockets fifty to fifty, he gets picked off or misread a rotation and he shouldn't have made the throw. These are pretty lazy decision making things. I got the bag, I got paid. I go from primary to second to check down, and I'll just let it go because I'm gonna let it go on. We stink anyway. That's why it feels to me.

00:51:52
Speaker 4: At the same time, I'm not buying the Kenny Pickett is the answer to any question that I would want to ask now.

00:51:57
Speaker 2: I think the marriage with him and Chip Kelly, which on paper was kind of like my football no dream, I mean love being for Chip to get back in the league with the new style of offense. He was running at UCLA the Ohio State for years and years. You see it come back to league with Gino and it just feels like a complete misfit.

00:52:14
Speaker 1: Aiden O'Connell is on this roster. He broke his wrist and won't be back for another month. I do not think they're going to want to look at Kenny Pickett. But it's dark early that we're even talking about that. And you talked about like working easy or hard. That first drive you mentioned it took the Raiders sixteen plays in almost ten minutes to kick a field goal. And then maybe the saddest drive of the entire week, the Raiders ended this game with a thirteen play, six minute, forty five second drive that I believe ended on the twenty three yard line. They did not reach the red zone, but they ran out the clock on themselves because they could not advance the ball any faster. Before we leave, because we spent too much time on the Raiders and we should be talking about the team that is leading the AFC South at.

00:53:04
Speaker 2: Four and one.

00:53:05
Speaker 1: Ali I'm just curious, like from this game and maybe zooming out a little bit, what this game tells us about the courts, Like what's been the most intriguing part for you.

00:53:17
Speaker 2: I think the intriguing part to me is what they're doing defensively.

00:53:20
Speaker 4: You know.

00:53:20
Speaker 2: I am a huge fan, probably the founder member of the lou Anarumo Fang Club, and actually thought I wrote a big piece about Low on Friday that under the hood, the figures were not that pretty for the Lewis Sons and he was kind of getting some credit for how good the offense has been. And I think that was still kind of true in this game. But what he does do every single week is the three or four things no one else is trying, and it always creates carnage. And he's always been the best game plan coach in the league. I think that's why he's so effective in the postseason. And when you try and outthink all the great ones throughout a regular season, unless you have overwhelming talent, you can become unstug But every week he's getting to some stuff that is just flummixing even the best guys in the league. And so if they can sneak into the postseason and they get what I believe is over than Spags. The best single game my life is on the line. Give me a DC to drop a game plan against a great one. I think it's loot now. Would maybe park him, you know, in the side house for the regular season, but he's navigating through it right now. We get another lya tu La to pick dropping into coverage, another drop eight in the red zone, a really really effective game plan, and so I just I think that defensively they will not be efficient. They will have one game because it's all over the film where they get cracked for forty themselves because they're giving up a lot of chances. Quarterbacks on't taking advantage. But if they can just eake through to the postseason, I believe in Louke. Forget about eking and sneaking in. They're four and one, they're going for the number one seed.

00:54:46
Speaker 1: The AFC South is a little more interesting than we expected. Well, we'll hear from the Jaguars on Monday night. And yeah, I started this recap talking about the one and four teams. There's eight one and four teams. It's a tough place to be Ravens. Obviously, you know the best among them what we'll get to them in a little bit.

00:55:05
Speaker 2: And then and then there's.

00:55:07
Speaker 1: Well, at least long term, like hoping for a rebound. And then we have a Panthers two and three team and a Jake Browning two and three teams. So it just feels like it's almost like a third of the league is in a very difficult situation.

00:55:22
Speaker 2: That could describe another two and three team. Let's let's go to Arizona.

00:55:28
Speaker 10: Here we go, Hawks, snaps it back, sly, lets it flyly Hey, Nashville. That sounds like a winner. The Tennessee Titans twenty two the Arizona Cardinals twenty one.

00:55:48
Speaker 1: I cannot believe the Arizona Cardinals lost this game.

00:55:54
Speaker 2: Yes, that's Taylor Zarzor.

00:55:57
Speaker 1: For the first time this season and Dave McGuinness on wg f X the Titans win twenty two to twenty one. Let us count the ways in which the Cardinals blew this game, shall we? I think it has to start with the Amari de Mercado fumble while going in for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, would have been about seventy two yards I believe would have given the Cardinals a twenty eight to six lead, and what happened after that was an all time loss. A I don't want to overreact, but a season changing loss, potentially like a coaching regime changing loss, because the Cardinals have had some rickety moments this season, and how they respond to this we'll be fascinating.

00:56:54
Speaker 2: Yeah you say that. I think for Brian Kella on two right, it's like this is a defining win for the Titans. Book completely gagged away from the cod It's the most inexplicable loss of the season, is probably gonna be the most inexplicable loss for many, many seasons. Of different ways are able to give this game away to I don't even know what it's gone down as the fumbled interception, drop kicked around, touchdown, whatever that was. Okay, let's listen to that.

00:57:21
Speaker 1: So the comeback really starts with de Mercado dropping that ball. It would have been twenty eight to six. It's insane that this continues to happen. It's actually happening more. It is contagious, and they were trying to give lagarious snat. I believe it was some credit on the broadcast for running after but de Mercado just dropped the ball at that point in the game, the Titans offense had done absolutely nothing. Then again, the Cardinals offense didn't score on their last eight drives. Kyler Murray took a third down snap off the helmet that he wasn't ready for and then left the game with an injury. After that play, I was wondering, did the ball hitting him in the helmet injure him. No, it was a foot injury and he returned after missing a couple of plays. But that crazy play that you mentioned came on cam Ward driving down nine with.

00:58:21
Speaker 2: Under five minutes left in the game.

00:58:24
Speaker 14: Receivers to each side of the pattern. Cam takes a shotgun snout surveys. He's in trouble. He's trying to get out of there. He breaks the tackle, throws and it's intercepted. Intercepted down at the five.

00:58:35
Speaker 10: Now the ball is being fumbled around the Titan, dumping it in the inZone.

00:58:42
Speaker 2: Shut down into the inZone.

00:58:43
Speaker 10: That's a touchdown. That is a Titan touchdown. Cam Ward through an interception, then it was fumbled. He was recovered by locking in the inZone.

00:58:54
Speaker 4: As a guy who doesn't play by play today, what's a difficult play to cool? And he got away with it, because I don't know how I would have done that. It was so bizarre, so wild. It was kicked this way then that ended up in the end zone falling upon by a Titan. Just yeah, it's one of those you kind of have to see. It's very difficult to describe. So fair play to them for managing to get through it.

00:59:18
Speaker 1: Well, the Cardinals after they intercepted it. And you feel for Taylor Demerson there because there were many moments in this game where if he just falls down there and doesn't fumble it, the game is over, just like the De Mercado lost. But then what is going to kill them watching it in film review is three different Cardinals like jump at the ball at the same time and it bounces around and it bounces off one of their legs. And then Tyler Lockett, who had to drop earlier in this game, finally makes a play for the Tennessee Titans, and.

00:59:51
Speaker 2: The Titans, dude is a credit for having got that good fortune. The final drive from cam Ward was absolute nails, And I just believe if I was a Titans and I would go absolutely gaga the cam Ward. I think the operation around him, the coaching staff everyone will probably be gone by the end of the season. They will get found out. They were pretty incombatant through much of this game, even in situational stuff as they tried to mount the comeback. I thought cal And called it pretty poorly. But Ward's ability to play when it's no huddle, when he can see the defense, when he can take in all the information, he operates supremely quickly. And we all kind of see the crazy throws where he's running around and sometimes he makes mistakes doing that stuff. When he can just play in rhythm, in structure, he is light years ahead of where I ever thought he would be at the stage in his development.

01:00:36
Speaker 1: That last drive you mentioned was awesome, and the fourth quarter in general was awesome. Out of cam Ward. He suddenly got protected better. I mean, this game had a nine drive sequence for the Titans, which totaled three points and was well under one hundred yards the only points that they got, or because they recovered the ball on it, or they had a long kick return rather by Jamari dk and they had a one yard drive that ends up with a field goal. But then suddenly he throws one of the best throws of the week over the middle to Calvin Ridley and then on the very next snap has a dime down the sideline and gunner Helm makes a really good play for him. He had some nice throws to a Iomnor into a con Quo, and he was incredible throughout the fourth quarter of that game. So he did throw that interception and got lucky. But their best three drives by far in the game were the last three drives. And he gets the ball back with a minute in fifty three. And this is the most unforgivable part to me of this entire drive, of the entire collapse. Jonathan Gannon, with a lead just you know, just by under a field goal, decides to run it three straight times. He runs it on first and ten, he runs it on second nine, and then he does not trust Kyler Murray anymore and he just runs it on third and eight. And it's not like he was doing that to give the Titans thirty seconds left or twenty five seconds left. The Titans had a minute in fifty three only needing a field goal in It was frankly bizarre game management, I thought by Jonathan Gannon. When you have a veteran quarterback, it's insane.

01:02:27
Speaker 4: It's funny because you're saying about how this is the most inexplicable loss of the season, and at one point, you know, on the old what the NFL equipment of win viz for your cricket fans out there, they only had a one point eight percent chance of winning this game. They were listed at thirty to one on various betting websites to win this game. It's not actually the least likely win of the season. The Bills Ravens from Week one, they were down at sort of zero point eight one point, but it was Josh Allen and it was everything that comes with the Bills. And it's a very good football team you're facing, and it's a banged at Ravens defense.

01:02:56
Speaker 3: This is the Tennessee Titans.

01:02:58
Speaker 4: You're going against, who are as under and does any team in the NFL in theory who have had game management issues of their own.

01:03:04
Speaker 3: You've got an offense that you've been building over the.

01:03:06
Speaker 4: Last three years that you should be trusting that have had some big plays in this game. Marvin Harrison had that big completion down to the one yard line, which was probably his best play maybe of his career up until this point, certainly of this season. I just couldn't understand the Cardinals not they needed just one first down, one first down ice that game, and they wouldn't couldn't go and get it, but didn't even really try to go and get it.

01:03:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I'm with you, Greg, it's really telling when it's not crunching time and you've got a franchise quarterback paid that kind of money to not put the ball in his hands tells us everything. I think we saw it in the London game too with Dylan Gebel. But that's a rookie right way. If you're going to go with the three run sequence or a two run then pass, you want to start the pass some kind of boot action on the first down to figure out where you are right and to not have Calum Mary unless there's something with the foot, and the foot is worse than we know where they couldn't roll him out or do something with him. But he was in the lineup. There's no reason why he couldn't get in the gun on one of those plays and give him a chance to spray the ball around and go and win the game for you.

01:04:05
Speaker 1: And that fumble that I mentioned where it bounces off Kyler's face because he's not ready. He thinks the play is going to be called dead because part of his line starts moving before the snap.

01:04:17
Speaker 2: Then they snap it anyways. Yeah, they were trying to adjust the protection to his right. They did a hand signal because Kyler again not trust it doesn't get titless protections. So we're seeing aful build up for franchise school with the back kid. They tried to adjust the protection to slide his right. As they bought the signal for the adjustment, they stuffed the ball into his face. It's just unbelievable.

01:04:38
Speaker 1: That was actually to correct myself at the beginning of the third quarter and then de Marcus.

01:04:44
Speaker 2: In a game. By the way, the Cardinals knew the Titans snapcount. I cannot tell you how Polly coached the football team. This Titan's offense is. It is an embarrassment to football. They have a silent snapcount. They call it the same twice in a row. The Cardinals jumped the snapcot, they call it a third time in a row, the exact same sequencing. On a soilent snapgun. They leave Baron Browning unblocked off the edge to crush com Wold. That's what you'll going up against when you have that kind of inexplicable collapse and that play you mentioned like they had six blockers in for four pass rushers and he wasn't at still whatsoever. Like Callahan was going out on the field in this game and like fire it everyone up and saying like like after that Tyler Lockett touchdown, he acted like they just won the Super Bowl on the luckiest play ever. Meanwhile, he fails the down nine test, where you know the analytics will say that you go for two, so that way you know if you need the two earlier then not.

01:05:40
Speaker 1: He decides not to. And what does Joey Sly's kicker do. He misses the extra point anyways, and it doesn't matter. Some days are just your days. And uh, look, it is great to see a team like the Titans get off this night. And I gotta say, I don't think the Cardinals deserve to be three and two, but man, this one is gonna sting for a while. That's what all the Bengals games have been like lately. Let's go to Cincinnati, stick a wild chat.

01:06:08
Speaker 15: David Montgomery takes the direct snap, He's gonna.

01:06:10
Speaker 2: Quote to themselves touchdown. Detroit Lions block right, who.

01:06:17
Speaker 18: Block right, David Montgomery back in his hometown of Cincinnati with a touchdown pass.

01:06:24
Speaker 1: Oh, that's Dan Miller and Lomas Brown with the who on w x y T. They brought out the good stuff for David Montgomery near the goal line. He throws a touchdown pass later adds one on the ground, returning home to Cincinnati. Lions win thirty seven to twenty four in a game that flatter is Jake Browning in terms of the final score. I watched this game closely and for so long it was one of the worst quarterback performances of the season. Eventually, Jake Browning gets it going and really helps out the fantasy owners for Te Higgins and Jamar Chase. But ultimately the Lions were unbothered in this game. And I was thinking about, you know what you said Ali on our podcast that they went up Saturday about the biggest surprises of the season, And I know it was Jake Browning for most of this game, But watching the Lions just play ferociously on that side of the ball and really control the game in a game that the offense for the second straight week, really didn't do that much for most of it. It's just showing that this team is extraordinarily balanced right now.

01:07:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think defensively then maybe down the line when we get to playoff times. Some concerns about this wholesale shift in philosophy where they're really pressure based now they're trying to be more creative. I think a lot of it is manufacturing production. Once you get against a really good team, that could be an issue. But they're all over the Bengals today. You know Browning is having a bad day when three separate times there were throws and the announced the saying that must have been tipped at the line of scrimmage and they go to the replay and there is no tip insight.

01:08:08
Speaker 1: We actually have one of those plays. I present to you our latest worst throw of the year.

01:08:14
Speaker 17: Now, Spangles hit their own six Browning weights at the one he'll drop back into the end zone. Jake steps into a deep ball, floating it high into the air, an easy interception for the Lions at the forty five yard line, picked off by Kirby Joseph, who led the NFL in interceptions a year ago with nine And that was like a pop fly into his hands.

01:08:39
Speaker 8: Yeah, I almost fair catch that bad boy. I mean it's like, you know, that thing was just hanging in the air candalizingly for him, and he did not miss out of the opportunity to make a play.

01:08:52
Speaker 2: Oh great job there by Dan Horde and Dave lap On w c K.

01:08:59
Speaker 1: Why yeah, that wrapped up what I thought was one of the roughest three play sequences I've ever seen, where Browning took a safety or what appeared to be a safety where he held the ball too long but he got bailed out by a penalty, then rolled to his right, I believe, and tried to make a throw that like peek Patrick Mahomes probably shouldn't attempt, that should have been intercepted, and then that was followed up by the Kirby Joseph interception. Ultimately, I do like having the teams will that you can just trust on a week to week basis. We know who these Lions are and they're four.

01:09:39
Speaker 3: And one and on the defensive side of the ball.

01:09:41
Speaker 4: Aiden Hutchinson had an absolutely sensational game today. Eight pressures, which is just one few of the entire Bengals pass rush put together. I just thought that it could have There was only one of his pressures converted into a sack, the one in which he stripped Jack Browning to blow up that fleet flick. Outside of that, like, I think he probably could have had three or four sacks today based on the way that he was playing and looked there. I thought a meek Robinson had a good game. Kirby Joseph, as you mentioned already, Alexanderlone getting an interception as well. Through three quarters, they looked absolutely lost the sinside bengalson. Yes, they put it together late with the garbage time stuff. But Jake Browning two of nine for forty yards and three interceptions on downfield passes in the first three quarters, and this suddenly went four of four for one hundred and twenty nine one hundred and twenty two yards in the fourth quarter. It kind of feels like the Lions took their foot off the gas a little bit.

01:10:35
Speaker 2: They did, but Kelvin Shepherd still just try and stuff. And I just love this about the Lions. They are completely fearless. They show everything every week. It doesn't matter the opponent, doesn't matter if you think it's garbage time. They're bringing all their creative goods and whares. They're telling you we've got more in the bag. We're not saving anything for the good people. We're going to throw everything we've got at you.

01:10:53
Speaker 4: But didn't you think that was a little bit of an issue with the day of Montgomery. I know it was in his hometown and everything else, But sometimes save the good stuff for the good teams you're facing.

01:11:02
Speaker 3: Don't throw it away against the Bengals.

01:11:03
Speaker 2: Sometimes the good supposed to have a team have it in the mind that you might do something like that. Then you can just slum the bulls down that throat with David Montgomery when you face the good teams.

01:11:13
Speaker 1: And there was a blown coverage in that fourth quarter garbage time, but there was also one of the best throws and catches of the year by Jake Browning and Jamar Chase, Like he kept going for those insane throws and he hit on one which he showed a couple of years ago that he can do. Maybe they'll come out of this with a little more confidence offensively. I don't know if there's much to draw from it there two and three, And you mentioned, yeah, David Montgomery returning home to Cincinnati, and they told the story on the broadcast of his sister who was paralyzed and was able to watch the game for the first time because it was near home at the Cincinnati So look, that was a good story and I feel better at least for the crowd there because I knew Nick Westling's lovely wife, Stephanie was there and she had texted him during the game that she would rather be home doing laundry than watching this Bengals team. Let's take a quick break and we will be back in just a day.

01:12:26
Speaker 19: First out of side to twenty seven, Blake Fisher checks here the extra O lineman c J. Hans Hof to Chubb through a sea blite side hat to twenty the fifteenth ten five Chubb rock and roll touchdown Houston, Nick Chubb to the house.

01:12:41
Speaker 1: Oh, that Baltimore Ravens defense is the here that really heals all offensive struggles. Houston goes into Baltimore and wins forty four to ten.

01:12:54
Speaker 2: That was Nick Chubb. That was Mark vandermir on Kilt.

01:12:59
Speaker 1: It was tough to pick a highlight Ali because the Texans had a lot of him in this game.

01:13:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, this was a boat race. The Ravens just couldn't get any pressure on CJ. Stroud. When you take all the players out of the Ravens lineup, all the different injuries on the back end, you end up with nothing creative up from nothing creative on the back end and c J Stroud essentially unbothered in the pocket. He was pressured on thirty percent of his drop backs, which for CJ. Stroud feels like zero. That's actually a pretty decent pressure in some other games with CJ Stroud it's nothing. And he completed seventeen of twenty passes four hundred and seventy nine yards and all four of the touchdown throws when he wasn't pressured. So when he gets some time he can cook people up. Yeah, a shot to Nico Collins. Christian Kirk ends up leading the team and receiving four catches for sixty four yards. He had CJ.

01:13:47
Speaker 1: Stroud did a sixty eight percent success rate, which is extremely high, and it just makes the Ravens defense right now feel like maybe the easiest matchup in the league.

01:14:00
Speaker 2: It was almost a childlike game plan from the Texans. They've kind of drastically changed their offense the past two weeks. Almost every first down was we are throwing fast to the flat to our right, and then the Ravens would kind of sell everyone out there on second or third down and stroudard just rip it into the middle of the field and it was just that on repeat, over and over again until you got towards the goal line. It was a bit more creativity and some playfakes involved. The Ravens just they got no talent, They have no discipline. They can barely get lined up at this point, and they got a bunch of backups. If you look at their pressure figures, the average distance a pass rusher has to quarterback in the NFL is four point six yards. That's the classic average distance. Two of their starting four pass rushers were six point seven yards away from CJ. Stroud and average they may as well be in a different game. It's an uncommon level of not being touched for CJ. Stroud and he just spreaded them.

01:14:52
Speaker 3: You're running away from him. Point yes, is Zach All going to be fired this week?

01:14:59
Speaker 2: He probably should be. They have a real lack of internal guys to hand it to. I think that could be a sneaky in house demotion that we don't find out about until, like the Jay Glazer report right before a game, that he's been shoveled into something else. Pegano's taking on some new responsibilities. But they did this with lash Hit. It was the same type of mess to open last season. They moved Kyle Hamilton to fix it. They brought in DMPs to change that communication system. They've changed it back to the old one. It's a mess again. And now they're rolling in all these different players in these backups and just don't have the talent anymore.

01:15:30
Speaker 1: And you say, how they don't have any talent? And I know they've had a lot of injuries, but they do have you know, Van Oi was back for this game. They do have oh way out there. They have Travis Jones back for this game. I actually looked at the injury report and people thought, oh, this is a disaster. How many people and I thought, well, this is actually good news. They got a couple of their players back, and yet they are a sieve right now. Do you think based on the final quarter that the Texans put up against the Titans and then this game going into their buy, that at least that can stabilize this organization. They're at two and three now and figure some things out, maybe come out of the buy a little healthier.

01:16:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, they still have a championship caliber defense. They are so loaded at all three levels and that will keep them in so many games. And they've over alded the offense. This was a two back, downhill power running offense without the ability to play with two bags and run the ball down people's throats. Now they're a little bit more spread, they've got marks involved. He's a really effective guy out of the backfield catching the balls. They just put you more on a natural run pass conflict. Everything feels like there's some more easy buttons in the offense than the was. It felt like they were personally making the game hard for themselves early in the season and now there's just more open receivers and targets. Facing two pretty disastrous units as.

01:16:44
Speaker 1: Helped Derek Henry fifteen runs for thirty three yards in this game.

01:16:50
Speaker 4: It feels like there's been the story of his season. He's had one decent big game. Other than that, there's been a lot of that going on. He didn't have the one yard touchdown run. But I just think from a Texan perspective, c J. Stroud, that is going to have just lifted them. That is just going to have made like such a difference to the way they're going to approach because going to the Seahawks against that defense, I know they gave up a lot of points today, but one of the better scheme defenses in the NFL, one of more talented defenses in the NFL forty nine is the week after. Like, these are not easy defenses necessarily to go up against. And I just think Stroud he's not been happy in that offense. It hasn't been clicking, it's not been coming together. And really since his rookie season, we've not seen that confidence, that swagger, that belief that he is as good as we know he can be. And I just hope this is injecting a bit more ventuam because when c J. Stroud's really good, he's really good and I love watching him and I want more of that.

01:17:40
Speaker 2: You could see something click in this game because in the first few weeks, even when there was no pressure because it's been so relentless now for two seasons, he was feeling it anyway. He wasn't stemming into throws, he was scared, he was moving away from his spot. Really early in this game when there was pressure, we got to see more of the offscript CD Stroud moving to cree because there is more of a rhythm and flowings because he canna sit back there and play point guard and distribute it around without getting his head cleaned off every third play when there is Prussia. When that finally arrives, he feels more comfortable moving around and crating because he's not just running for his life the entire time.

01:18:13
Speaker 1: John Harbor did indicate after the game that he does not think making any staff changes is the answer. They have to go to work, they need to stick together, they need to find themselves. He talked about how this week was important. They have the Rams this week. We'll see if Lamar Jackson comes back for that game. Then they have their by. It could be a situation where they're one in five entering the by. If they were going to make any changes, that might be the time to make them another team that I hope isn't considering making changes that I was high on in the preseason. Very much like the Ravens. Different stratosphere, but still the New York Jets. Let's go to the Meadowlands, OI on the.

01:18:58
Speaker 20: On the reverse.

01:18:59
Speaker 14: Now here's first fake pitch, go and date, there's a shot for Pickens.

01:19:03
Speaker 21: He got pussed he topped the ball to the post touchdown.

01:19:07
Speaker 20: The Pickens is the one on one all night. Shauce Gardner on Pickens, and they've stayed away from throwing the ball and this time it's a little posts from the left side, and Beck just said I'm gonna throw it down and let you make a play and George Pickens did exactly that.

01:19:23
Speaker 1: Oh, that was a great catch by George Pickens and a call by Brad Sham on k rl D. The Cowboys go into MetLife Stadium and build a thirty to three lead. It was thirty to six entering the fourth quarter. The Jets add some cosmetic touchdowns late, but the Cowboys win thirty seven to twenty two. They are two to two and one and the Jets spoiler alert, are the only team without a win in the n FELL. How did they do it?

01:20:01
Speaker 4: Well, he stole my opening line. They are coming to London winless. If you need an injects of energy at twenty to three in the morning, just think about Jets Broncos next weekend live at the Tottenham hotspurre Stadium on talkSPORT too. Look, let's talk the Cowboys offense first before we get into the Jets, because as far as the Jets concerned, producer Will Varney, our producer here at talkSPORT, who's been helping you guys out while you've been over, he's a Jets fan. And after he'd finished his shift he came and sat with us in the green room and he said, I have none, and he pulled out a pad of paper that had the scrawlings of a madman on it. And yet when he spoke, he made more sense than anyone else I've heard at any point during this entire process. So we will get into the Jets, but let's start at that Cowboys offense. Four hundred and twelve yards of total offense, Dak Prescott, four touchdowns, two ninety yard touchdown drives, just the second time since two thousand that they've managed that. In Again, we heard that George Pickinson forty three yarder, and I think Brian Schottenheimer is a better play caller as a head coach than he ever was as an offensive coordinator.

01:21:07
Speaker 3: It's a significantly better run game.

01:21:09
Speaker 4: Javonte Williams has a huge game today, including the sixty six yarder which set up the Jake Ferguson touchdown. Are just yes, the Jets defense haven't been good this year, and yes there were turns, and yes there was not a lot.

01:21:20
Speaker 3: To be excited about on the other side of the ball.

01:21:23
Speaker 4: But Dak's going for five hundred and fifty six yards and eight touchdowns in the last two games. And this Cowboys offense are what we thought they could be going into the season, and that's.

01:21:32
Speaker 2: Exciting it is. And this was just a really bad matchup for the Jets in terms of styles. The way the Cowboys are playing football right now, all the heavy personnel, all the pulling and movement in the rung game, running it down your throat and then attacking the seams. And what as Aaron Glenn do. He plays with four down, he plays in at tag base front, and he sinks to cover two when he panics on the perimeter. This was an abysmal coaching performance. It is just so frustrating to watch bad football all over the place, doctrinaire coaches refusing to adjust the team they're playing. Dak Prescott has been as good as any quarterback in the league so far this season. You are playing a ton of pressman coverage as though you are still in Detroit and you are no longer in Detroit. You no longer have Aiden Hudson up front. You no longer have Branch and the guys in the back end to make things right. And it's just frustrating to watch this Jets defense. It feels incompetent.

01:22:26
Speaker 4: Aaron Glenn before this game called last week the best week of practice since he's turned up in New York. He was seen with a boxing glove walking around practice this week, punching the ball out, trying to talk to him about ball security. And yet Brice Hall has a horrible fumble in this game. He said after the game, the practice has.

01:22:46
Speaker 3: Been damn good. He doubled down on it after the game today.

01:22:49
Speaker 4: This is a Jets team who become the first team in NFL history to start zero to five and have zero takeaways on defense during that time, thirteen mistackles in the first US half alone, those two ninety plus drives, the offensive woes, and Olli mentioned something earlier, they are sixth in first quarter of success right this season, they actually come out with some really good they.

01:23:11
Speaker 1: Remember, well today they had a fifty percent success right. They've been running to find bris Argos for one thirteen.

01:23:16
Speaker 4: He did have their fumble, but after they settled for three on the opening driver again again, they don't score again until the third quarter. There are brutal sacks left right and center of Justin Fields. As she said, bris Will negated that ridiculously stop start drive It just time and time again they shot themselves in the foot and it is They are a really tough watch at the moment, and it starts with the coaching.

01:23:39
Speaker 1: I want to hear you talk about SaaS Gardner because we had this segment the other night and it was going to be biggest surprises of the twenty twenty five season and we didn't get to everything, and you had SaaS Gardner's struggles as one of your surprises, struggles by the way, which sounds like it kept up today at least.

01:23:56
Speaker 2: On that Pickens play. Yeah, it just looks like really poor schematic fit him. You would think in your mind, source guard and a press coverage heavy system, that's where he'd be at his best, But just the style and design of how they play it often leads him exposed. He is not the greatest communicator on the fly corner in the league. He really wants to lock in and play one on one all over the field the way Aaron Glenn does it, it's a bit more nuanced than that. There's a lot of win win communication on the fly. It looks like press. You pass things off really quickly at the snap, and if you just go through the big chunk place he's given up the season, you will see there is a consistent delay at the top of the route where it's like he's confused. Am I supposed to let this thing go? Or do I stick with the man? You would think you would just say, hey, Sauce, maybe it's one of the best corners in the league. When you're the apex of your powers, We'll just lock you on. We'll do all the fancy stuff with everyone else. And I do think that there's a chance that we could get a trade with Source during the season.

01:24:46
Speaker 1: That would be fascinating. Glenn did say after the game that he has confidence in Steve Wilks and will let him do his job. You indicate it to me, Ali that you think this is very much Aaron Glenn's defense.

01:24:59
Speaker 2: It is not Steve Wilks's defense. It's a Frankenstein monster of the two in a way that is completely incohesive. This is this is make a call one way, or either you're asking Aaron Glenn to call half his defense essentially when it's a true drop back game and Aaron Glenn's defense the rest of the time. Either let him call his defense and build his defense, which is probably too late to reinstall and reimagine now, or you take over responsibility and call your defense the way you see it. The problem Glenn's got is he is really struggling with just the management of the game. So the idea of just being like we brought in you as the defensive guru, which I you know, I'm not so sure was the case necessarily Detroit anyway, But to asking to take that on when he's struggling already with some of the head coach responsibilities, I think will be too much to us.

01:25:41
Speaker 1: And you know, how you can tell who's a good head coach or who's doing a good head coaching job is you start elevating players who hadn't been elevated to that level that we've seen before. Javonte Williams the way he's playing Ryan Floornoid goes six, one, fourteen. And then I thought it was interesting to hear dak Press Scott said he told his four replacement offensive linemen this week.

01:26:06
Speaker 2: Four of them.

01:26:07
Speaker 1: Uh Hey, remember how I once got into the starting lineup, Like, you can get that job and you can stay there. I don't know if that's gonna be the case for these Cowboys offensive linemen, but they are doing more with less. They're at two two and one. They're one of the most fun teams in the NFL, despite you know, a pretty rough defense. Let's go to another team that ended or entered Sunday without a win.

01:26:33
Speaker 22: First and ten Saints trail fourteen to sixty five, twenty seven ball at the thirteen, moving left twin Rattler under center play action, stands.

01:26:43
Speaker 23: In the middle, throws a deep and he's got a line open for CC. I'm exposed to play thirty twenty fifteen, See you later.

01:26:54
Speaker 10: Five no flags, touchdown Saints eighty seven.

01:26:59
Speaker 2: Y'all, Oh that was my cassa w w L. Yes.

01:27:04
Speaker 1: The Saints fell down fourteen to three to the Giants and end the game with twenty three straight points. The Saints have a win in the twenty twenty five season, and I am relieved, frankly Will Gavin that Spencer Rattler has finally won a game in which he was the starting quarterback because he deserved better, and he was the better quarterback today against Jackson.

01:27:29
Speaker 4: Dirte seven and fifteen on third downs, he was pressured fifty four point eight percent of the time, did not take a single sack against a much vaunted giant defensive line.

01:27:41
Speaker 3: I just he he for me and maybe not.

01:27:45
Speaker 4: Been the biggest surprise because I think he came into some really good functional stuff previously. But as a guy who has come in and actually proven he could be a starter in this league, at least a long term option for a team as a backup. Like, I've been really really enjoying what he's putting on film. And actually, this whole Saints team there is a talent problem. Is there a coaching problem? I don't think so, But like I honestly feel like they are not a team who looked like they should be one and four. This might be their only win of the year based on their tole staff. But I think there is a system there. I think there was a quarterback there. I think there's a lot to like about this Saints team, even though they have had their struggles and this.

01:28:25
Speaker 1: You said, it's a deserved win today, I enjoyed it. They're always good for one win over the Falcons. They played a bits twice that that's one two. I love the car by Kellen Moore, who's had some curious game management moments this year, including the first half of this game. But they had a fourth and five up twelve with four to twelve to go, we're talking about Jonathan Ginn and not having any faith in Kyler Murray. Kellen Moore was like, just just have a regular drop back and we'll trust you Spencer Rattler, and he completed the first down to burn another couple of minutes off the clock before a second Blake Groupie miss of the day. They actually could have won this game by a little more than they did, but ultimately I was really impressed with the way they.

01:29:10
Speaker 2: Responded to the early deficit. Yeah, and I'm interested in what you thought of Jackson dab in the second star he missed a good up a Jeans felt in a flea flicker that Darius Slayton's to tick behind. And we talked about Dylan Gabriel and the show where I didn't feel like the pieces reven moving too quickly for him. I felt in this game in contrast to last week, with everything was so in a box and pre defined and pre set for him that he didn't really have to deal with any kind of complex deal moving piece on the back end. I thought, as Brendan Staley started moving stuff around this week, he looked pretty sped up.

01:29:41
Speaker 1: The first two drives went perfectly, just like the way last week started for Jackson Darry He was six for six in the first two drives.

01:29:49
Speaker 2: He didn't have to do too much.

01:29:50
Speaker 1: It was a lot of running and they get up with the two early touchdowns, and then after that it was just a lot of hope balls. I was thinking if they were just gonna throw up prayers because they were in man coverage quite a bit in this game, and he was just given his receivers chances, but he was not accurate. I was thinking, if you're just gonna throw moonballs the whole time, like Russell Wilson, might.

01:30:12
Speaker 2: As well be in there. He's better at it.

01:30:14
Speaker 1: I think Dart finishes four for twelve and passes over ten yards, and his numbers under pressure in this game were also really poor, a couple of interceptions, eight for fifteen for sixty three yards, whereas Rattler made a number of really good plays against pressure.

01:30:32
Speaker 4: I thought the inceptions were a little tough on him. One was on that fourth and sixth, which is essentially like an armputt at that point, right, he just had nowhere to go with the ball and Bo Collins just completely stops his route short. On the second one, like they say, Dart's trying to throw with a little bit of anticipation, trying to throw to the man, to the way the man's gonna be, and he just stops up on his route. And so I didn't think he was as good a performance as the first one.

01:30:56
Speaker 3: Clearly he's a guy with a lot of growth to do.

01:30:58
Speaker 4: But the since make statlone look a lot worse with neither of them were completely.

01:31:03
Speaker 1: His worst throws were incompletions where he just was inaccurate.

01:31:07
Speaker 2: You mentioned the slate one.

01:31:08
Speaker 1: There was a couple other deep ones where he really threw to the inside when he should have thrown to the outside, or he was late on the throw. He also fumbled on a play where he just dropped the ball.

01:31:18
Speaker 2: Out of nowhere. That was really that was tough.

01:31:22
Speaker 1: But I do like seeing Shaheed in the big plays and what the heck let's throw in another big play. Let's get the fumble recovery touchdown which put this game out of reach.

01:31:33
Speaker 22: Second and seven Giants now moving towards the end zone. Field level Suites snapped the dark inside hand off the scatterbou balls loose.

01:31:44
Speaker 10: Says pick it up.

01:31:46
Speaker 23: Let's store down thirty forty, big field forty thirty.

01:31:51
Speaker 10: They're not gonna catch him.

01:31:52
Speaker 23: Say you lay it up by Jordan Helving and touchdown.

01:31:58
Speaker 6: Sights.

01:32:03
Speaker 4: I thought both those young safeties played really well today. And it's easy to look at that when they both have a fumble recovery Sanka recovering the fumble from the Tomorroo Davis one, and then Howden.

01:32:12
Speaker 3: With the scoop and score. But I thought they both played well.

01:32:15
Speaker 4: Again, it's part of that thing is like there's just those signs of life for the South.

01:32:19
Speaker 2: Oh my name is Jonas Sanker.

01:32:22
Speaker 1: To break out my Chris bermanism at two forty nine in the morning. He has been fantastic, made a lot of good tackles in this game, and that was Brian Bersi with the force fumble on that play to Mario Davis had a force fumble earlier in the game and The broadcast noted that to Mario Davis played at the same senior ball as Kellen Moore. Still out there getting it done. Congrats Spencer Rattler, the first quarterback drafted by the Saints to win a start since Danny Whirfel in nineteen ninety eight.

01:32:59
Speaker 2: To Carolina, we go, Panthers.

01:33:01
Speaker 14: Have to call play before the two minut one young under center trouble the fullback in the offset eye.

01:33:08
Speaker 13: Here's the snap fake to et Bryce.

01:33:10
Speaker 6: Throws cut by Abbots, cataputs into the absol through a touchdown.

01:33:16
Speaker 23: It's another hookie, it's special evens and he gives Carolina the lead with one fifty nine to go.

01:33:25
Speaker 1: A member of the Miami Dolphins, Bradley Chubb, called this game a bizarre game. The Carolina Panthers win twenty seven to twenty four, despite losing the turnover battle by two, despite trailing in the game seventeen to nothing. I don't know, Will if there is a single game all season in a recap show that I have less clue and what happened?

01:33:51
Speaker 2: Right, please tell me.

01:33:52
Speaker 4: Let me tell you the Carolina phanph has had that seventeen point first off f cit Darren Waller coming back another touchdown to this unbelief will comeback tour to put them in what seemed like a seeming insurmountable seventeen point lead. At that point, David Canalis's job is being questioned. Left right center. Somebody in this very room called for the benching of Bryce Young.

01:34:12
Speaker 2: No, he's correct, false.

01:34:13
Speaker 4: You can delete social media posts later on after posting them initially. At one point, he gave up the ball twice in three offensive plays. The second drive of the game, he sacked by Bradley Chubb fumbles that leads to the touchdown drive with a heat hitting Devon ah Chan on the ten yarder, and then on the second play of the ensuing drive, he was picked off by Minkowitzpatrick while targeting Xavier Get and he was having a really rough day at that point. But late in the second quarter, Bryce Young found Xaviler Get for a seven yard touchdown strike cut that league down and then it became the Rico Dowdle game. Two hundred and six yards.

01:34:51
Speaker 3: In a store.

01:34:53
Speaker 4: He was at five yards off D'Angelo Williams franchise record. He had a fifty three yard at a forty three yard run. Absolutely they outgained Miami on the ground two hundred and thirty seven yards to nineteen. They just absolutely pulled them apart after going down seventeen, And honestly, they might have called it a weird game, but I thought the Carolina Panthers really showed out at that point and deserved this one.

01:35:16
Speaker 1: They did.

01:35:17
Speaker 2: It was a really goods he good, so you win. Bryce Young had some really impressive throws in the second half of that game, and I did not call for him to be benched. I inquiet as to whether there will be a conversation as to whether Bryce and bened he was playing awfully in the first half. In the second half, he he'd significantly bet. He played pretty well down the stretch that the final drive to win the first off, though they still had a ton of operational issues. No one can ever get lined up there. Bryce didn't understand his own snap count. There was allgan of arras with false starts and the ball getting snapped Billy. He tried to take a time out when the team had no timeouts for remaining. The officials didn't catch it. They thought it was a hang clap for a snap, and so they snapped the ball to him. And he panicked and was able to try and figure it out. But in the second half, as well mentioned, it was just all Recoddoud or Tier that Dolphins defensive line is so poor they were getting not back off the ball. Paul Kenneth grenn six seven eight yards down the field consistently consistently push off the ball. A Dolphins started trying to move in further and further down the line to hide him from being at the point of attag and this would just idhim and say it would doubling off him again, I'm gonna double until he's off the field.

01:36:21
Speaker 1: Rico Daudo the fantasy pickup of the year if he was available in your league going into this game. It just feels like a pretty big organizational failure to be that soft on the ground and then going up against a run defense which is historically bad a year ago. It's just kind of normally mediocre to bad this year and only be able will to run the ball on design runs thirteen times for fourteen yards between Devon h Chan and Oli Gordon.

01:36:52
Speaker 3: Yeah, not pretty at all.

01:36:54
Speaker 4: And look, I really liked about this this Panthers performance that the Dolphins we can get to But after they did go twenty to seventeen up two ton of Ioloa hit a Jalen Model on a forty six yard It was a lovely pass, great touchdown, and it put them back into the lead with only a few minutes remaining. And you heard on that call there for the Mitch Levans winning touchdown, he said, another rookie, because prior to that, on this drive, Bryce Young had a fourth and five where he stepped up in the pocket and threw just a laser to Jimmy Horn on the sideline to pick up that fourth down. It was a really great game winning touchdown drive eight plays eighty three yards. The late round rookies pulling out for them, and so that I just I wanted to give them the shout for coming back in this game twice essentially. But from Miami perspective, they had this game almost sewn up in the first half and couldn't just eke out.

01:37:44
Speaker 2: I just have to shut out another Bryce throw. The touchdown throw to Zevila get is an extraordinary throw. It is a down is a go ball shot feed supposed to be hung up to the outside back corner of the end zone, and Bryce's forget that. I'm throwing it, I'm ripping it on a line to the inside shoulder of the corner. It peaks right at the last second. It almost has this like arcing curve in towards Avia Legett. Is an all time level fade ball throw, which is not traditionally what you would think of with Bryce junks. You do get this really high variant of Bryce Young, where from snaps up he may forget to hold onto the football even during the snap process, but when you give him targets down the field, he really is one of the most efficient downfield FROs in the league. It is strange because you don't think of him as being this next level talent. But if you just stack up his very best throws, it is among some of the best in the league. And maybe I'll take a look at that and we'll think about it for Best Throw of the Year nominee. And suddenly this Panthers team is two and three.

01:38:45
Speaker 1: And undefeated at home as well. They have the Cowboys and Jets necks. Just crazier things have happened. Those are games that they have a chance to win. You I know you wanted to slam on the Dolphins before we go. I don't want to just slam on the Dolphins.

01:38:59
Speaker 3: I won't know.

01:38:59
Speaker 4: I'm not going to pick a part of the Miami Dolphins. I think there's plenty of that been done over the recent weeks, but one and four. At this point, you talked about the eight one and four teams in the NFL. I'm struggling to think of one of those teams outside of the Titans that I've maybe been less impressed with the Dolphins, and this defense has just.

01:39:17
Speaker 3: Been a like the front looks washed.

01:39:20
Speaker 4: All of those guys coming off injuries just look absolutely like they've got no twitch.

01:39:24
Speaker 3: They've gone.

01:39:25
Speaker 4: When Bradley Chubb had that sac of I thought, oh he's turning up, and then they barely got any pressure the rest of the game.

01:39:30
Speaker 3: It just I can't buy into this defense in any way, shape or form.

01:39:34
Speaker 2: It's just a really strange situation. With Mike McDaniel, I can't remember the last time we had a guy as like a run game architect, that's his thing. Those are usually the rah rah guys, and I know that's not who Mike McDaniel is, but it's a team that is just soft. They get no push up front. Inside they go and they bring in all the big boys in the offseason, right, they draft Jonah sev in the in the second round. I think we're going to get some interior push. They have Patrick Pawn the second season, and Aaron Brewer, to his credit, is fighting like crazy inside in a season where most sen to play is pretty poor. He's probably one of the three or four best individual sense in the league. And as he's crushing people up front, it's just bodies falling all around him. On the interior defensive line, they get pushed back off the ball. It is just wild to me that a guy who has made his name as the architect of rung game football can feel such a soft team.

01:40:22
Speaker 1: It's funny how narratives happen and attention. We'll see what happens with Miami in the next couple of weeks, but the fact that they got that win over the Jets in primetime kind of like took the heat, took the attention off. But it doesn't get much worse than losing a seventeen point lead in Carolina, and so it's going to be an uncomfortable week. It's obviously an uncomfortable season for the Dolphins. Might stay here at talk sport. Though it's been very comfortable.

01:40:52
Speaker 2: It's been beautiful.

01:40:53
Speaker 3: Stop it.

01:40:54
Speaker 4: It's been lovely having you for the last ten days or so in Doublin here in London.

01:40:57
Speaker 3: We've loved it.

01:40:58
Speaker 1: I feel bad I'm into the office so much this week. I guess that's not a normal thing. Apparently I didn't realize that.

01:41:06
Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't enjoy how much they laughed on the other side of the class to that one.

01:41:09
Speaker 3: Thank you guys.

01:41:11
Speaker 4: No, I mean my wife might not thank you, but I've had a wonderful time coming into the office listening to you, not to talk about football when I wasn't involved, getting involved as well.

01:41:18
Speaker 3: It's been a great time.

01:41:20
Speaker 1: Now it's the most fun thing that I get a chance to do is call these games with you in person and hopefully we can meet back up at the super Bowl. Only big games, international games and Ali, you were awesome on the call, awesome on the podcast. I did want to, you know, thank everyone who's helped us here, Tom Scoolsey, Skulls, Will Varney really running the show behind the scenes, and then of course our guys Eric Roberts and Chris Babona behind the scenes. And it takes a lot of people. Henry Hodson is always very important to this entire opera. It was great to see him on the sideline today. You know who else I saw on the sideline today, Jason sadakas And that might have been as.

01:42:08
Speaker 3: If this story's coming out to the ball.

01:42:10
Speaker 1: Of course we're throwing a Sunday night football in just a second, but of course it's coming out Jason Sadaka. I'm just talking to Henry on the sideline and I didn't even know Jason Sadeka's there. And suddenly he comes into our site line, stands right in front of me, looks me in the eye and says, nice to see you, and shakes my hand, and then you know, walks back. And it may have been a mistaken identity situation.

01:42:36
Speaker 2: I don't really know.

01:42:37
Speaker 4: He's saying that now. He came upstairs all big time. This is permission right now, Jordan Rodrigue, Patrick claim on everyone else involved in the show. You can absolutely rip into him for that. He was so proud of himself. And yeah, he basically big time does for the rest of the game.

01:42:52
Speaker 2: That's none of that. He was the bell of the ball all day. Everyone was coming up to mask him for selfies. He's just swalling.

01:42:58
Speaker 4: Around in the room. People were coming up and asking him for selfies and telling him just how important the show was.

01:43:04
Speaker 3: Tim It was.

01:43:04
Speaker 4: Lovely to hear, but also it's quite funny for a man as awkward as Greg Rosenthal to get told how wonderful he is.

01:43:10
Speaker 3: Left right and center, we think he's wonderful.

01:43:13
Speaker 4: At the end of the game, after you'd left, somebody asked for my play calling sheet, you know, with all the stats and everything on, and we're pretty sure they only asked for it because you've been in there.

01:43:21
Speaker 1: Stop that. It really is awesome, though to hear from the listeners more less so like the media members, that's great. That's great as well too. But walking up to the game today I did the same thing as a week ago. I got out of the tube stop at the Seven Sisters staff so you can get nice long walk, and it really is crazy to see how much this game is embraced here and just the total enthusiasm for it. It makes it feel like a big game, and they know how to throw.

01:43:52
Speaker 4: It over under. Who had more Greg selfies or me? Pints of guinness in Dublin? I think you generally would be about.

01:44:00
Speaker 2: Okay, I think that that's it.

01:44:02
Speaker 1: Shout out to Jason today because maybe he watched sky Sports.

01:44:05
Speaker 2: Or something last week. I'm thinking, like, is he.

01:44:09
Speaker 3: Could not be the cat?

01:44:11
Speaker 2: That could be the case.

01:44:12
Speaker 1: It's been an incredible week and a half over here in Dublin and then in London. We'll wrap it up here, but on the other side of the break, you're gonna hear a wild and hopefully patriots heavy review of Bill's Patriots. And yeah, I will be back on Monday night, which seems like startlingly soon with Nick.

01:44:37
Speaker 2: We'll see you then. Cool and now he'll look to convert from fifty two from the.

01:44:50
Speaker 17: Right edge, he asked me staff at Pegram.

01:44:52
Speaker 7: This wing of the right leg by Bory gallis the kids sailor to the uprights. Kids good. The Patriots half a lead with fifte gets to go to Rookie delivers Posci's back home team winners. That felt good, boy, didn't it?

01:45:08
Speaker 13: Oh? It felt good. It looked good off the leg of Andy Boorrgalis. As that kick ultimately didn't determine the game. The Patriots needed to make two more plays after that. They made those plays and it's over. Nick Patrick Claibn here NFL Daily Sunday Night Football recap time. There's no more undefeated teams, So the NFL is bad, Nick, we got to get rid of We gotta get rid of the league.

01:45:28
Speaker 21: We're real close, I think the complete and the parody circle after only five weeks and we still got the Monday Night or to go.

01:45:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is it's time.

01:45:36
Speaker 3: It's time.

01:45:37
Speaker 21: Shout out to the seventy two Dolphins and the memory of Mercury Morris who was always a big celebrator of this. And honestly, I'm glad that the conversation's over now because now we can focus on the rest of the season without worrying about who's got the big zero next to their their team name.

01:45:52
Speaker 13: Yeah, we just worry about seating at home away. The way things go in the playoffs, it's not college football. You don't have to run the table. Got to be there in a right spot to make a play when your team gets an opportunity, and the Patriots took advantage of their opportunities. Here shook in a game that was fumbled night football to start off, both teams, kind of draining the energy from what was an electric highmark stadium with the special uniforms for the Bills, and then things really got going to the second half where both offenses kind of heated up for a bit.

01:46:23
Speaker 21: Yeah, you know that first half that you speak of that was so ugly. It was also ugly because penalties just ran rampant, especially for the Bills. They had eight at halftime and including a past interference in the end zone that set up the Patriots with an opportunity to score they didn't execute, but then opportunity to score. They end up getting three points out of it, and it was very uncharacteristic of the Bills largely, and the Patriots, cred to them, got a little bit out of it. But what really happened in that second half, like you just alluded to, is the Patriots kind of waking up offense. We'll be finding a bit of a groove, Drake May taking over, Mike be Able going back to Ramandra Stevenson after he'd fumbled twice you know, earlier in the game, and and them finding like coming to understand that yes, we belong here, we are in this fight and we can actually do this. Like when we look at the Patriots. This is going to sound crazy, right, now, but in the Mike Vrabel era, when teams turn a corner, there's always that moment that game. This could very well be that game that we look back to the Patriots and think that's when they all started to believe and when Vrabel's imprint really started to take effect of this team. And it's only week five, which is super encouraging beyond the fact that they pull off the upset win over the Bills twenty three to twenty.

01:47:31
Speaker 13: Yeah, and we look at it. Got a balanced performance from the Patriots in the second half, not just the offense, especially Drake May working those balls down the sideline to Stefan Diggs, who had a huge revenge game against his old team. In fact, there was a ball to Hunter Henry in the second half where he goes up kind of snatches it out of the sky. From the very next play, Digs spins out of a short route, gets a lot of run after the catch. So those two played great. But Marcus Jones in this Patriots defense, Milton Williams guys continued to make plays in a way where we felt shook watching this Buffalo Bills defense. Hey, at some point the season, the Bill's defense is going to need to make plays. The Patriots defense made the plays the Bills defense couldn't. Down the stretch.

01:48:15
Speaker 21: Yeah, Marcus Jones with an incredible interception on a pass that looked very familiar to if anybody watched Bill Saints last week. I understand if he didn't, but if he did, Josh Allen threw a similar pick, and he almost threw another one just like this, a late ball forced over the middle. It was not intercepted in that game. Marcus Jones is a premier athlete with incredible speed that we usually see in special teams. This time we see it on the defensive side of the ball. Covers the ground, dives in front of the pass, makes it a phenomenal interception. That was a huge point in that game. That stopped a Bill's drive. That was you know, I mean because in the second half, except for that last possession, the Bills could move the ball with relative ease. That one was super important that it stopped them in their tracks, gave the Patriots to the ball back, continued to give them both hope that they could get this done and also another opportunity to tack on to their lead, which they did.

01:49:03
Speaker 13: And so the Buffalo Bills all get another opportunity, and it's kind of this situation where when you have this freak athlete at quarterback who's able to do so much. Obviously, everybody wants to see Josh Allen hero ball, that's why we watch. But we saw the ways where it can kind of go off the rails where if he's trying to ultimately do too much. And there was a couple of scary moments there on one drive where Josh lands on his throwing shoulder and then another scrambled down towards the red zone. You know that slender area of Highmark Stadia, which is why you know across the parking lot there's a new stadium going on. It looks like Josh was in danger of going in to the camera cart at one point, but they get an opportunity there and again this Patriots team are resilient as they are. They come right back down the field and get the game winning field goal. Where we have a little bit of a different thought and you brought it up, shook about this Patriot what their long term aspirations can be, level of concern. This is a weird division game at home for the Buffalo Bills that they played the previous rendition of the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium in a three point game late last season, so it's not like it's that far of a departure. But are you concerned for the Bills at this point?

01:50:19
Speaker 21: Well, yeah, because you know, you can always point to, oh, you throw the records out the window in a rivalry, and Nike has legitimately taken over the idea of a rivalry with these rivalry uniforms, which, by the way, I think the Bills might want to light those on fire after the result tonight, although they do look very good. But I don't think that that's the case here. I think what we are seeing is an example of a Patriots team that's starting to build confidence under Mike Vrabel. They started that to really build that confidence with their victory last week, a walk in the park for them, a cruise the first time Scott Zolak got to relax in the booth in ages. Then tonight he gets to enjoy a game winning field goal, which he even mentioned, first time we've had that in a long time. Right, These are the small steps towards sustained success. So I think that it was an example of that. It's also the exams sample of a quarterback who is very talented, who Patriots fans have known for a while. Now we have a guy here. Greg Rosenthal is known for a while. They got a guy there that all he cares about with the season is the development of Drake May. The national audience got to see what Drake May brings to the table, especially breaking the pocket tonight, Buffalo continuing to flush him out inexplicably slow, so because he was so good outside of the pocket. You see the Stefon Diggs revenge game. All of this comes together in one big giant pot of stew and cooks up something that's much more delicious than you thought. Now you might not be able to get to actually eat that for a while, but you get a taste. Maybe you throw a little more salt and pepper in there. You're taste testing right now. The first taste is very good for the Patriots. But to answer your initial question, yes, I am concerned, not because I'm concerned about the bills overall. I have a take here. It's going to piss off a lot of Bills fans, and I'm fine with that. You can go after me, you can make fun of me for being bald.

01:51:49
Speaker 3: I don't care.

01:51:50
Speaker 21: I think that Buffalo has not been tested this year. And you can point a Week one against Baltimore and then incredible comeback and everything else. But what have the Ravens done since then? Not a great litmus test for them. Otherwise, their schedule has been remarkably soft. Okay, the next three games they played Jets, Dolphins, Saints, probably two or three of the worst teams in the NFL as it currently stands, Jets still winless, last winless team in the NFL. And then you get the Patriots tonight, a game that you think, yeah, we're definitely gonna win that one. I think that is an example of the Bill's shortcomings, shortcomings in personnel defensively, shortcomings in how they approach their offense. Sometimes, like James Cook did not touch the ball nearly enough tonight, Collinsworth is going mad about it. In the first half of this game. He doesn't end up touching the ball very much, even when the game is still within reach. Some credit goes to the Patriots defense way that they tried to bottle him up, but he didn't touch it nearly enough. And I think that when we look at Buffalo. We see Josh Allen, we think Super Bowl contender. You have the MVP on your team, which is valid. But I think there's more weaknesses and cracks in this team than people realize, and a game like this will force them to look back at themselves and say, what do we need to correct. You can't afford to have eight penalties in the first half against anybody divisional game Patriots doesn't matter. I don't know if it necessarily concerns me. I think it more justifies what I thought about the Bills, which is like, there's a little bit of fraudulents with this team right now. I don't see them as highly as other people do.

01:53:09
Speaker 13: And they will have a chance to reveal them their true selves on the road in Atlanta coming up on October the thirteenth. And if you know Stefan Diggs, the aging Stefan Diggs was a problem. Drake London and Bjon Robinson should perform a slightly bit of a more athletic test in the secondary for the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots have the Saints up next as they continue their run and trying to figure out how good both of these teams are fun matchups to look forward to. Of course, let's look back and celebrate the cast of you know about probably about eight hundred and fifty people facilitated the past couple of weeks for Greg Rosenthal over in both Ireland as well as in London. And thank you Olli Colliny and Will Gavin who you heard at the start of this spectacular pod and shook, We're gonna get Greg back. And that's something I'm incided to finally have Greg back home because we missed it, we really did.

01:54:09
Speaker 21: I'm very much looking forward to sharing a virtual screen with the international man of mystery himself, Greg Rosenthal.

01:54:15
Speaker 13: I will do it. I can't to lay hand upon Rosenthal on your behalf. Nick Schuk for everyone again involved in our operation, thanks for joining us for this pod that has spanned oceans all the way to bring football from us to you. Happy week five. We got one more game Monday night, looking forward to for Nick Chok, Patrick Claiblon, See you next time.