Club Shay Shay - Nightcap - Hour 1: Josh Allen dominates, Lamar Jackson underwhelming, Unc clowns Bengals

Episode Date: December 2, 2024

Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson react to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills destroying Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers in the snow on Sunday Night Football to clinch their 5th straight AFC title. Later, Unc and Ocho discuss an underwhelming performance from Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and Justin Tucker missing 3 different kicks for Baltimore in a 24-19 loss to Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers’ Russell Wilson throwing for a season-high 414 yards and 3 TDs as the Steelers top Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals 44-38 and much more!03:00 - Show start05:00 - Intro07:00 - Niners v Bills30:41 - Eagles v Ravens50:00 - Steelers v Bengals(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.)#Volume #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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i4. Build your dream car today and join me in experiencing luxury and performance that only the ultimate driving machine can offer. Hello ladies and gentlemen and thank you for joining us for another episode of Nightcap as you watch the Buffalo Bills run rough shot in a snowy 29 degree night over the San Francisco 49ers 35 to 10. Josh Allen solidified his hole. He was the favorite Ocho going into it as the MVP. I think with today's performance, he solidified his hold on that. Also Saquon, he leapfrogged Lamar Jackson.

He moved into number two in the MVP race. So at Highmark Stadium, it was 29 degrees. It was snowing all night, but somehow the Bills found a way to keep their footing. James Cook was sensational, 14 cares, well over 100 yards. Two rush touchdowns, Josh Allen threw for a touchdown, ran for a touchdown, caught a touchdown. He did a lot of other things for a touchdown, but he was sensational tonight.

The Bills were sensational tonight and they win 35-10. Please make sure you hit that subscribe button. Please make sure you hit that like button. Please make sure you hit that like button. Y'all know who I am. I'm your favorite uncle, Shannon Sharp. He your favorite number 85, Liberty City's own. Bingo Ring of Fame honoree, the pro bowler, the all pro. That's right.

That's Chad Ocho Cinco Johnson, but you can just call him Ocho. This is the uncle Ocho at Nightcap. Guys, please go subscribe to the Nightcap podcast feed, wherever you get your podcasts from, and we want to thank you because no matter what, no matter what else is going on, you find a way to come support Unc and Ocho,

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Ocho, as we mentioned earlier Yeah, the bills defeated the 49ers 35 to 10 Buffalo improved to 10 and to strangle hold on the AFC Well right now they're number they're number they're the second seed yeah because Kansas Kansas City is number one because Kansas City only has one loss But if Kansas City were to get a second loss because Kansas City only has one loss. But if Kansas City were to get a second loss, Buffalo would vault to the number one spot since they beat Kansas City head to head.

Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns, rushed for another, and also recorded a receiving touchdown when Omari Cooper laddered him the football following his own pass. James Cook added 120 yards of total offense, over 100 of those yards, Ocho, was rushing, and a 65-yard touchdown run really put Buffalo in control of this ball game,

and they didn't look back from that point. Ocho, as you watched this game, as you watched the Bills, what impressed you about this game? Shit, from start to finish, huh? They won the game before the game even started. From start to finish in all three phases of the game, whether it be offense, whether it be defense, they dominated the game. And the conditions, you can't use the conditions as a reasoning because damn.

Buffalo did it. Yeah, exactly. I was getting ready to say the same thing. They were able to run their offense, they were able to play defense, they were able to do what they needed to do on special teams as well. They listen, they dominated the game from start to finish. Josh Allen looks looks completely different than he did last year. Obviously they did have a winning season, but he's been superb and superior with protecting the football and I have throwing interceptions, but nothing to the point in what he did last year. Nothing in the previous years because that's what got him in trouble.

Oh, yeah, it got him in trouble, especially late in the season like this. And obviously once he got once he also got into the playoffs. But listen, the way they're playing right now is I wouldn't be surprised. Obviously into also tonight, I wanna also mention that they did when the AFC East, with tonight's win. They did when the AFC East that I thought-

With five weeks to go, they're already AFC East champs. Yeah, listen, I think obviously, I'm gonna toot my own horn for my team. I think if two doesn't go down, I think the Dolphins I'm gonna toot my own horn for my team. I think if two it doesn't go down I think the Dolphins give them a Run for their money, but but obviously that didn't happen with two of being out for four or five games Whatever it may have been but but congratulations to the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen. They look good. I Want to see what they do in the playoffs though. I want to see that's all that matters

That's that's all that I want to see if they can if they can play this way in The postseason there's a good chance. We see the goddamn Buffalo Bills representing the AFC and got damn New Orleans, I think the thing is oh Joe is that Josh Allen has solidified himself as a top five quarterback. Oh, yeah, you're in a year out He has his team in the playoffs and for the the most part, unless they run into Kansas City, they go far. They go far.

I mean, it's really that simple. They lost to Kansas City in the divisional round, they lost to them in the AOC championship round, and they lost to them again in the divisional round. But he's been there every year and he's gotten better. He finished what, second, I think last year, maybe a couple, maybe last year, he finished second in the MVP voting.

If everything stays according to plan, he'll probably win it this year. Ocho, unless Saquon goes over the 20, breaks that record. And then that might have something to say about it. And if he can somehow finagle that number one seed away from the Lions. But right now Josh Allen looks extremely well and he's not turning the football over. So he's not, you know, helping his team and also helping the other team as well. Because he was giving his team 21 points,

but he was giving the other team 14 points with his turnovers. But he's done a better job of taking care of the football. I think McDermott, and what's his coordinator's name? He came on last year because they fired, I think Alex Van Pelt. They fired him, this guy took over, and with a whole year of this,

Josh Allen looks different. He looks different. He's still Josh Allen, he's still in effect, he still can throw the football, he still can run, but what he's doing now, Ocho, he's giving you that same kind of offensive production minus the turnovers. Joe Brady. Joe Brady has done an unbelievable job.

This looks like the Josh Allen that Brian Dayball had. But even when Dabbs had it, he was turning the ball over a lot more than what he should have. Now Joe Brady has it, and I don't know what he's saying, look son, we can go really far, but you gotta do a better job of taking care of the football. Especially turning the ball over in the red zone. He was throwing intercepts in the end zone. They're about to go in for a touchdown.

He's fumbling the ball. Go ahead. You know what he was like? You know what he reminded me of? I'm sure you remember, and the people in the chat that are watching, I'm not sure how much you paid attention to Brett Favre, who used to take so many chances because of his arm strength. He was a gunslinger. So there were certain times he could take a chance

and he would try to win with his arm and more times than not he would lose those occasions, you know? But Josh Allen, I see Josh Allen in that light a little bit, but this year, like you said, Joe Brady, I'm not sure what they told Josh Allen. He's still Superman, Like you said Joe Brady, I'm not sure what they told Josh Allen. He's still Superman But he's not being Superman with his arm He's doing in other areas in other facets of his game as well, which is why they're playing so well They've only lost two games this year He is the unquestioned leader that offense and this is not to take a shot at anybody But oh Joe, you know a quarterback when you young like that and you got a veteran guy in front of you

Sometimes you tend to like okay. I got a veteran guy in front of you Sometimes you tend to like okay. I got to make sure I get him the ball. None of these guys. Amari Cooper is not a guy He doesn't strike me as a guy. He's very quiet He's not gonna demand a demand a football like the like other receivers would have in the past and you look at Shakira And you look at um What's the name Holloway? The guy that's Holland he showed up to Hollins. Hollins. He showed up to the game barefooted, Ocho. Did you see him?

Always. Hey, he don't wear no shoes. He walked into the stadium barefooted. I ain't trying to catch pneumonia to prove no point to nobody. But anyway, I think the thing is with Josh Allen, he's really comfortable in this leadership role as the unquestioned leader. He can go out there and focus. He doesn't have to worry about trying to force the football. Sometimes Ocho, every quarterback, great quarterback takes risk, but they're calculated risks. Right.

At the right time. He was taking unnecessary risks. Right. There's a difference between the two. Calc, a mathematic calculation and this just arbitrarily throwing the spray in the football over the field. Right. Right.

Right. That's what got him in trouble. That's what got the Bills in trouble. Right. Since he's done a better job of taking care of the football, I don't think anybody that watches the game, casually or analytically, can say this is not the best Josh Allen that we've seen. Absolutely.

Because it absolutely is. Absolutely. He still is effective running the football. He's still effective throwing the football, minus the turnovers. So think about it, he'd give you the production on the ground with his legs. They seem to be making running a little better this year

with James Cook and Davis that they have in the past. And now he's still giving those production that production through the air, minus the turnovers. So everything is increased. The turnovers has decreased. They look really good defensively. I was anxious to see because they let Micahide go. They let Poirier go, Trinadevis White went.

Vaughn Miller, he was coming back off of that injury. He had a little hiccup, had to go sit down for four games. Matt Mulano got injured, he returned. And so I was anxious to see how they were gonna look defensively because look, everybody's like, man, they're gonna take a step back offensively. They lose Gabe Davis. They lose Steph Ahn. And I'm like, they might, but knowing the quarterbacks, because we saw Patrick Mahomes, how he stood, he won two Subos and an MVP when Tyreek,

one of the most dangerous, if not the most dangerous receiver in football left. If Josh Allen is what we thought he was and what we think he is, Ocho, he should be able to overcome that. Now, he might not throw for 40 touchdowns, close to 40 touchdowns, but I believe he'll be a better quarterback for that. Right.

Man, baby, you look at- He has been just- Vaughn, go ahead, go ahead. No, I'm just gonna tell you, despite what he did lose, because we put him in that upper echelon of quarterbacks, he's been able to overcome not having those number one targets. But what do you do?

He's double-edged the team, elevated the team by himself with his plate. That's what we asked the great quarterbacks to do. You are a rising tide. You're supposed to lift, That's what we asked the great quarterbacks to do. You are a rising tide. You're supposed to lift, not just the mega yachts, you're supposed to lift the row boats also. The bass boat, it does not matter.

It does not matter. Oh, a kayak. If you are what we say you and present you to be, you should be able to lift those guys. And he's done that this year. But you know, defensively, I can get after you, you got Ed Oliver, you should be able to lift those guys. And he's done that this year. But, you know, defensively, I can get after you got Ed Oliver, you got Russo, Epanessa, you got Vaughn. They've done a great job of getting after the quarterback.

But the thing is, and I don't know how much you played in the snow, but you can't have your normal game. You have to understand you try to take off like you. Yeah, you got to chop. Yeah. Chop it down. I've seen the 49ers flipping all over the place, bro. You can't stride your normal stride pattern. You can't stop like you normally could. So bro, I don't know why.

I just don't get it on Joe. I don't know. I mean, I think the guys have played enough in inclement weather. You have to change. When it's raining, you can't do your same stride pattern. Right, and you know what? And try to stop on a dime.

Go ahead. I'm glad you said that. This is why I prefer playing on turf fields. Many players don't like turf fields. Like the field in Chicago, I mean Chicago, like the field in Cincinnati. Even if it was raining, you could run full speed and stop because of the way the turf was made, you know what I mean Chicago, I mean like the feeling Cincinnati. Even if it was raining, you could run full speed and stop because of the way the turf was made, you know what I mean?

Now when it's that much snow on the field, that much snow, or if you're playing on grass, like you did in Denver, everything changes, you got to understand that. For one, before the game starts, you need to get out there and test your cleats. Put them goddamn nine studs, right? Seven studs, seven studs. Put them goddamn seven studs on and learn how to chop your goddamn feet.

That's it, you can't, like you said, your gait has to change and everything has to be short and quick, short and quick. It's the only way you're gonna be able to get out your break. And it's even harder now, Ocho, because now the film, the field, it can't, it can't melt the snow as fast as it's piling up

and they can't throw it off. So now you have to change it even more because your cleat has to go down through the snow. So now you got a layer between you and the field. So your situation, your gait has to be even better. Now, some of this was the terrible angle that Brown took the safety. Bro, I don't know where the hell you was going.

That's your gap, okay? They block down, they kick out, that's you and Cook. Where the hell were you going on the first touchdown? Ward, you have force, you have contain. You can't let him outside, Ocho. You in. Absolutely. That's rule number one. That's rule number one.

That's rule number one. At times, I think, at times, sometimes I want to blame the weather. And then at times I want to blame people making business decisions. Yes. I want to say people are making business decisions. At that point, James Cook, I love James Cook, but he's not an imposing figure at the running back position. There should be no reason why you don't wanna feel that hold. There should be no reason why you don't wanna feel that gap. You know where you're supposed to be at. Oh, Joe, but here's the thing. The weather doesn't change your responsibility.

See, that's the thing that people need to get through the head. If my responsibility is forced and contained, I don't give a damn if it's raining. I don't care if it's 80. I don't care if it's 70 below, I still got contained. The condition doesn't change my responsibilities. Now, it might not, the weather might change how I go about it.

But if you take a horrible angle, if you take a horrible angle in bad conditions, it's gonna make it even worse because you're gonna slip, slip and slide trying to recover. If you take a bad angle in ideal conditions, you still not gonna make the play. You have to understand your launch point, where he is, the rate he's coming towards you. I'm like, bro, what are y'all doing? It's almost like, Ocho, it's like, they go, they just like, I'm looking at him, I'm like, bro, I saw when he took up,

I said, you got no, if he signs there, you got no chance. At all. V-Roll. At all. For one, you got to, listen, I'm not a defender, but I do understand you got to put yourself in position. You got to put your body in position.

So even if he does have a two way go, you have a chance to react. The angle you taking, I already knew, you have a chance to react. The angle you taking. I already knew one James Cook. Wait, make one move. Oh, it's over. It's over. You're not going to turn and catch nobody at turn to catch you in the NFL.

She no, no, no, no. He's got a head of steam. But but Buffalo look good. Buffalo has looked good. When Josh Allen takes care of the football, they look damn near unbeatable. Now, they seem to be playing their best football at the right time.

Ocho, this is when you wanna be playing great football. You wanna be heading into December, playing your best football. Heading into January, playing your best football. And they look like they're playing that. And they're like, look, I understand. We understand the road to the Super Bowl and the AMC still goes through Kansas City. But I sure would like a crack at them.

I sure, I just want my opportunity. I know we've had several, but I want it one more time. And some tell me if they get it this year, I got a feeling with the way they look and Josh Allen's understanding that if I can protect the ball and give my team a chance with the way our defense is playing, obviously Milano's back,

God damn Vaughn Miller is playing good. Vaughn, Russo, Eponessa. I think they got a chance on. And the way the Chiefs look right now where they're barely scraping back with these wins. And their defense doesn't look as formidable as it did early like it did last year like it did at the beginning of the season because we're starting to see teams that we don't

like hold on. Hey there it's Michael Lewis author of Going Infinite, Moneyball, The Blind Side, and Liar's Poker. On every season of my podcast Against the Rules, I take a broad look at various characters in American life. The referee, the coach, the expert. My next season is all about fans and what the rise of sports betting is doing to them, to the teams, and even to my family. I'm heading

to Las Vegas and New Jersey and beyond to understand America's newest form of legalized gambling. Listen to Against the Rules on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Carolina got 27 against you. Oh yeah. Aiden O'Connell threw for over 300 yards. And if it wasn't for the mistake, look, mistakes happen in the game. But I believe the teams that they're going to face are better offensively than some of the teams that they've struggled with.

The question is, can you take care of the football? Can you put them in a situation because you gotta protect the football? You've got to protect the football. If you protect the football, you give yourself a chance. If you don't, you play double once to play offensive. Oh yeah. You pay a premium for turning the football over.

Ocho, how much better does Josh look without Stefan? He looks really good. I think the fact that he doesn't have to force the ball to anyone, he's not thinking about getting Steph the ball. I think not having to worry about, okay, is Steph okay? It's hard to say. He just looks better. I think the fact that he doesn't have that alpha, he doesn't have that alpha dog where

he has to worry about feeding the ball and making sure he's okay. At times when you have someone like that, that's an alpha, that's an outlet that you know you can go to and you can count on, that is a great thing having a dominant number one receiver like that. But at times, because Josh Allen is so good and he can overcome with his play and arm and legs without having an alpha receiver like that, I think he's been okay. Now, many quarterbacks can't overcome that.

Josh Allen is in a class of his own. There may be four, maybe five quarterbacks where you can take away their number one receivers or their alpha receivers and they can still function and elevate that offense that they're in control of. I think the thing that you have to have if you're dealing with a dominant personality like a number one receiver, because they normally have dominant personalities. Sometimes they don't, but a lot of times they do. You need to be the veteran quarterback.

You see, Montana was already established. She had already won two Super Bowls and two Super Bowl MVPs by the time Rice landed. And you have Marino, so Duper, Mark Clayton, Mark Duper ain't gonna trump him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Jim Mark Duper ain't gonna trump him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Jim Kelly, you're not gonna trump him. So you get guys that are already established,

and even though you have dominant personalities, and Tom says, look, what I try to do is that I always try to give Randy the ball early. And if I couldn't get him the ball early, I would go to him and tell him, bro, we trying it. We gonna get you the ball, just stay with me, stay with me I got to keep him in a positive mind frame because the last thing I want to do is lose it because it and teams need to understand bro how you want me to hit the game winning shot when you haven't

thrown me the ball the entire game yeah who you can't ask them Kerry look still hey we want you to feed clay want you to to be drain mom want you to feed all these other guys. Oh, we down to a step. You ready? No Right, I think I think that's what a receiver said if you give it to a guy early Oh Joe, you know this you and I both caught the ball for a living good. Give it to me early. You got me late. Mm-hmm Yeah, I just need to feel it. I just need to feel it a couple of times, okay? Hey, listen. Not late in the ball game. We good.

I don't need it much, huh? I don't need it much. Throw me a smoke, throw me a screen, throw me a slam. Let me touch the ball. Let me get myself into a rhythm of the game. I'm not gonna force the issue. I'm gonna allow the game to come to me. I'm just saying, when I was with Carson,

Coach Barbara Kroski, I never figured Coach Barbara Krosky was our offensive coordinator. My receiver coach at the time was Hugh Jackson. I tell Hugh before the game started, I tell Carson, listen, I'm not gonna bother you. I'm not gonna say nothing to you. Now what I will do at times is I'll come out the huddle where I feel the floor of the game is not going

in my favor or going in my direction. I let you know, I never, as voiceless and as flamboyant as I was, I never bothered Carson during the game. But what I would do is when he had called a play and before I lead a huddle, you know what I do? I tap his hip. I tap his hip, just alerting him. I'm not going to say nothing to you, just knowing the back of your mind.

Then I get to the last scrimmage, right? And he making this call and I see something, I know I can take advantage based on the play that was called. I do my famous thing. That's it. You can hit that bitch all the way outside the stadium. So come on now. Come on, come on. Things are not going my way. Just let me touch it. Let me feel it. But I didn't want to use my voice at all because he would take that one. I'm not trumping him. I'm not trumping him no matter what I've done.

What, hey, and that's the thing. I just say, hey, T, give me a look. That's all I'm saying. I'm saying, hey, just give me a look. Right, right, right. He like, T, you blocking on this one. I said, I'm gonna leak out late if you get in trouble. Hey.

Hey, you right. I'm blocking. I'm blocking on this one. I said, I'm gonna leak out late if you get in trouble. Hey, you right, I'll block it. I'll block it on this one, Ocho. But if you get in trouble, I'll leak out late. I'll be right there. I'm gonna get you a place to go with the ball. That's all I'm saying. Ocho, Kyle Shanahan said, Kristin McCaffrey suffered a potentially

seasoned ending PCL injury. Wait, that was non-contact. Or was it previously when he got tripped up? You think it happened previously? They showed that play, but you knew as soon as like that knee buckle, when he took off, you could see that knee buckle. And then he like gave himself up. So you knew something. I was like, damn, did it the Achilles? Did the calves go? But Kyle Shanahan just said at his press conference, Christian McCaffrey suffered a potentially seasoned ending. It's over. It don't make any sense. He missed.

Was it the same leg? Was it the same leg that he just had to- I think it is. I think it was his right one. The plantar- I think it was his right one. What you call that plantar fascia? No, he had a calf injury that led into his Achilles.

And the thing, oh, Joe, and you know the thing is that, what do we say all the time? If you limp into the season, oh, you limping out of it. Out of it, yeah. How you gonna get healthy during the season? It's impossible. It's impossible. The number one thing when anybody have surgery

or anybody have an injury, what do they tell you, the most important thing, Ocho, rest? Rest. How you you get rest? They working the dog crap out of you. I'm just saying, Ocho, it's really that simple. And listen, they can only protect you so much because in order to get you back to the playing speed and get you acclimated to game tempo,

you gotta work some type of work. You gotta put some type of work. You gotta put some type of work. You gotta put that work in, yeah. Because once they put you out there, with the bullets are firing, ay, them boys moving. Ain't nothing they can do. Them boys are moving.

Damn, I'm sad for him, man. I'm sad for him, man. Prayers up to Le C-Mac, man. C-Mac. Buffalo clinched their fifth straight AFC title, setting a new franchise record. Buffalo had previously won straight AFC title, setting a new franchise record. Buffalo had previously won four AFC titles, consecutive 88 through 91.

That was also the years that they, you know, they ended up going to the Super Bowl. When they went to Super Bowl, 90, 91, 92, 93. But Buffalo played extremely well tonight. They got it done. It wasn't that San Francisco played, they turned the ball over Ocho, but they had some opportunities.

And they got into the red zone and they had to set up a field goals. Youth Chick fumble, Butcher caught it in to let the ball slip out his hand. Purdy, Debo fumbled a kickoff. They had some opportunities when you're on the road and you're playing against a team that seemingly got it going You have to cash in on all your opportunities as well. Yeah Ah

The game of the day the Eagles defeated the Ravens 24 19 Justin Tucker has lost multiple games this season and left Seven points off the board tonight He continued this season long struggles by missing two field goals and a PAT. One from 47, one from 43. His two failed field goals came in the third when Baltimore trailed 14 to 12. This is the first time that he's missed three kicks in a game and he put a major dent in the ALC

in the Ravens opportunity to win the North. Tucker has missed eight field goals, but he's missed 10 kicks if I'm not mistaken. Eight field goals and two PATs this season, which is a single season high. Harbaugh is sticking with Tucker. We saw him go to them on the sidelines, said we believe in you, you hugged him.

If you're asking me, are we going to move on from Justin Tucker? I'm not really planning doing that right now. I don't think that would be wise. Whoa, did you hear the key words you just said? I don't like that. I don't like that. Did he say right now or did you just add that in there?

No, he said that right now. I don't plan on doing that right now. I'm not really planning on doing that right now. I don't think that'd be wise. I don't like that. Listen, let me, let me tell you something. Let me tell you something. Also, also the chat chat. Y'all listen to me now. I know I play around a lot. You know, when it comes to saying some of the things that I've done, but all of you know,

my history and my resume as a kicker, especially in NFL, I know what that feel like. I understand the pressures that go into what Justin Tucker is going through right now. I understand the pressures of already having the moniker of being the greatest kicker of all time based on what you did in the past. But what you've done in the past when it comes to the NFL is always- He ain't got nothing to do right now. Yeah, and he ain't got nothing to do with now. What have you done for me lately? Right

now, I don't watch much baseball, but I can tell what Justin is in. He's in the slump. Yeah. He's in a slump Yeah, he's in a slump sometime. I got the yips right now, Ocho He got the yips right now. Oh, yeah, you got the yips right now Justin Tucker is in a slump and you know what happened when players in our slump it gets to you here Yes, to be mentally strong here For one and know to get back into rhythm to get back to what you were doing in the past, being the Justin Tucker that we're used to seeing, you got to envision that motherfucker up here. Right now, it's getting to him.

He think about missing the kick before he even kicked the ball, which is why he's missing the kicks. And it's always, and they seem to be always veering to the left. They always veering to, if you look at them, they're veering to the left. That's all mechanics, baby. That to the left. That's all mechanics, baby Yeah, it's all mechanics That's all mechanics on your follow through on your swing You got to stop your leg at a certain point if it's always veering to the left if anything Adjust adjust your split adjust your alignment

Face the ball up a different way because everything is happening and reoccurring the same way kickers watch film I'm a kicker. I'm telling you, I know some of you might laugh at me. I'm serious, I know what it is. I know what Justin Tucker's going through. He's going to be all right. I don't like the words that Hardball said. If he's gonna be all right this year. Yeah, I don't like that.

I don't like that. You don't do the best kicker in the world like that just because you're going through a slump because you have quarterbacks. Quarterbacks go through slump too. Sometimes even the best kicker in the world like that just because you're going through a slump because you have quarterbacks Quarterback go through slump too Sometimes even the best go through a bad season or bad stringer games where they just can't get themselves out of a funk But at some point they turn it around Especially at the position once he gets it here You got you got to visualize it here once you visualize it here and get that confidence back. He'll be fine

The question is is he gonna get it back this year? Because it doesn't matter if he gets it back next year, because they're trying to make the playoff this year. And how many times have the Ravens, he kicked the Ravens to the Super Bowl as a rookie, as an undrafted rookie. He went to Denver and made the game-winning kick. And that launched him, that put him on his way.

We've seen guys, you mentioned the sport, you go back and look at golf, you look at David Duvall, you look at Ian Baker Finch, they had the yips. You mentioned baseball, look at Chuck Knogblock, look at Rick Ankeel. Rick Ankeel had to move to the outfield because he couldn't get the ball over home plate. Chuck Knogblock could not throw the ball, he's a second baseman. He could not throw it to the outfield because he couldn't get the ball over home plate. Chum Knoblock could not throw the ball. He's a second baseman.

He could not throw it to the first baseman. Yeah. Steve Sachs had a similar situation. It's half, we've seen guys do it. And they, David Duvall left. Ian Baker-Fitz, they ended up leaving because they couldn't punt. Right. Yeah. Rick Ankeel moved to the outfield because he could not throw the ball over the plate.

And it's tough. Lamar Jackson did not play a good game today, Ocho. He really never found his rhythm. Had multiple fumbles, but he recovered those. Had a lot of overthrows. He had likely. He could have hit likely on that play, I think it was in the second quarter the corner out the corner out yeah

overshot him a little bit yeah a little bit oh yeah yeah likely start running like well he gotta be throwing that to somebody else hey he's running he's throwing the ball going so he just stopped like with somebody out in front of me and then he come back and did the foam of the ball He was six and 15 on third down. The touchdown that he got, Ocho, that was late in the game. Cause if they don't get that touchdown, they're shut out in the second half. Lamar said his mother cursed him out after the game

for not running more and not hitting the running lanes. The Ravens finished two or five in the red zone. He didn't play well today. On a day in which the defense, they held, they held, they held and held, and they was needing Lamar to be Lamar. It didn't happen for him today. You know what?

One of the things I watched tonight, I love Lamar. I love that Lamar has proved that, you know what? I'm not just a run of the ball. I'm going to show you I can pass. I'm going to show you I can pass. I'm gonna show you I can pass. Listen, I know you can pass the ball young bull but I need you to be special. You know on nights like tonight and games like tonight I need you to be special or what makes you you. I need you to do what you was doing at Boyden Beach High School

when I used to go watch you back there when you was a legit. Take off with the ball baby if it ain't there. Sometimes you got to go through your progression. One, two, and three. Sometimes you can look at one. If one ain't there, man take off with the ball, baby, if it ain't there. Sometimes you got to go through your progression, one, two, and three, sometimes you can look at one. If one ain't there, man, take off and go with that thing. Sometimes you got to go off script. Sometimes you got to go off script and do what makes you you. You're a special, you're a two-time MVP for a reason. I would have loved to see the Ravens win the game tonight.

I would have loved for it, especially when your kicker's not playing as well as he should be. Right. Who has to overcome that? Lamar. Number eight. When Lamar is the one that has to overcome Justin Tucker not playing as good as he should be. So those points you're missing, that puts the pressure on the owners back on the quarterback

to overcome the kicker's woes. Yeah. Sometimes you don't fuck that being the past and shit. Boy, drop back if that shit ain't there. Man, take off with that bitch. Oh, I'm sorry. Sometimes I do think he tries to prove the point. I'm saying, Kershon, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. God forgive me.

I do think sometimes Lamar tries to prove that he's a thrower of the football. He is. At the end of the- He's proved it already. He's proved it already. But who cares? He's got the zoom what you do best. So why is his mom cussing him out?

So what was the difference today? Hey, you heard what she said, right? Well, when you see the running lanes, boy, take off and do what you do. What? What you mean? You dangerous. Just as dangerous as you are, you've already shown us. You're just as dangerous with your arm

as you are with your legs. But tonight is a night where we needed your legs, not your arm. But we had this conversation in the AFC Championship game. You asked after the game, why did Lamar run more? So why do we keep having these conversations in these big, meaningful games where we keep saying, Lamar, why aren't you running the football more?

Why are we continuously having these conversations, Ocho? I don't know, baby. I don't know. I don't know who. Because what are you trying to prove? Who cares? You proved that you led the league in touchdown passes. You got 29 touchdown passes.

It's gonna be you and Joe Burrow probably lead the league in touchdown passes this year. At this point in time, the only thing left for you to prove Lamar is that you can get to and win a football. That's it. By any means necessary. That's the only thing that's left for you to prove.

Not only that, by any means necessary. Yes! On throwing it, running it, crawling it, wheelchair. Yes! I don't care. I don't care how you got to get there. God damn it, just get there so we can get these motherfuckers off your back. That's by There will come a time-

By any means. There will come a time that he will need to like, I'm gonna force Lamar Jackson to throw the football. I'm a firm believer that I would rather, I know he can kill me with his leg. I just can't let him outside the pocket. I can't let him outside the pocket, Ocho, because he's too dangerous out there and he can throw the him outside the pocket. I can't let him outside the pocket, Ocho, because he's too dangerous out there

and he can throw the ball over my head. So I gotta keep him in the box. Now, I'm gonna try to make sure that I got a spy to entice him like, okay, I got somebody spying, and I wanna trick him into thinking, yeah, go ahead and throw it from the pocket. But you're playing into my hands, because that's really where I want you anyway. Yeah.

That's why I want you. But listen, this is the good thing about it. This is the good thing about the evolution of Lamar Jackson. This is about how good he's gotten even as a pocket passer. OK, you want to put a spire. OK, bet. OK, boom, you want to have your D and rush up field and keep contained.

But I can beat you from the pocket. I proved that I can beat you from the pocket and be a throw of the ball. I done showed you I can drop back. I can be in shotgun. I can beat you from the pocket. I proved that I can beat you from the pocket and be a throw of the ball. I didn't show you. I can drop back. I can be in shotgun. I can RPO. I can play action fake and read through my progressions from one to three.

I can't even come back to one if I got enough time. Right. I can buy myself time. I can go off script. I can do all these different things from the pocket. So now that makes me that much more dangerous and multi-dimensional from the quarterback position. I just don't like the fact that to me,

it seems like sometimes Lamar wants to prove, especially tonight, I'm gonna show you I can beat you with my arm. When we know how close you are with your legs. It's a reason God gave you that gift. I need you again. I know Lamar gonna see this too. I know he gonna see this. Boy, I need you all with your legs. It's a reason God gave you that gift. I need you, again, I know Lamar gonna see this too. I know he gonna see this. Boy, I need you like you did

when you was at Boynton Beach. Stop playing, man. Come on, oh, matter of fact, oh, wait, wait, wait. The Ravens lost tonight. Can you please tell me how many carries Derek Henry had? D. Henry had 19 for 82. So he was over the 16 yard mark. Yeah.

They had 32 rush attempts for 166 yards, which ain't bad. You can live with that. Lamar was 23 of 36, 237. He got sacked three times. I thought the Eagles D-line did an unbelievable job of getting out there. Jalen Carter is a monster. This is what Jalen Carter was supposed to be a top five pick.

I'm not so sure he was, had he not had all those off the field transgressions while he was in college, he's a top three talent. He could rush the pass and he could stop the run. He's relentless. He's starting to see just how good he can be. He's the guy that you start circling. But I thought their defensive line did an unbelievable job

of rushing but containing Lamar. Lamar, look, Lamar, you can't run up the field on him now because he's going to jump out the window. But I thought Sweat and I thought some of those other guys did an unbelievable job. Boy, they got, hey, that Bron, that Zach Bron, that middle 53? Yeah, boy, he nice, boy. Boy, he nice, boy. Hey there, it's Michael Lewis, author of Going Infinite, Moneyball, The Blindside, and Liar's

Poker. On every season of my podcast Against the Rules, I take a broad look at various characters in American life. The referee, the coach, the expert. My next season is all about fans and what the rise of sports betting is doing to them, to the teams, and even to my family. I'm heading to Las Vegas and New Jersey and beyond to understand America's newest form of legalized gambling. Listen to Against the Rules on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hey, and then number 33, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,

oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, Oh discount Jason C on John wait man. He get hold on which one Blake Blankenship Um, no 33 the fans came from Iowa the corner. What's his name, man? Blankenship 32 Hey Cooper Cooper DeJohn Cooper DeJohn. Yeah. Yeah He's nice He's nice. Yeah, man

They did they did a great job, but you think about it. Think about the great catches. Because Lamar was a lot, he was high all day long. It was Mark Andrews made some unbelievable, that touchdown catch. Eight, in the end zone? Yes. Yes. That was nice. He saved his eight. He caught one in the field like that. That's what you call bailing your quarterback out. Yes. That's how you bail your quarterback out. The Ravens was two or five in the red zone.

And I think the thing is, Ocho, is that look, in a situation like that, when your kicker is struggling, you got, hey guys, he's struggling today, guys. Hey, we gotta do a better job. We gotta get this ball in the end zone. We gotta make it PATs. Now he hooked one of those, but I would rep eight. At least we got six.

Because when we put it on his foot We might not get anything. Mmm, because it was to a 14 to 12 and he missed two kicks that could have made it 1814 right But Damn I don't I don't like I don't like what I'm seeing from the Ravens Ocho. I don't I Damn. I don't like what I'm seeing from the Ravens, Ocho. I don't. I don't.

Because they don't look like the team. You remember like the first, say, nine weeks of the season? How good they look? Running the football with Lamar throwing it. Excuse me, Dee Henry running it. Very good. They look really, really good. I'm looking at this team right now, Ocho.

I don't see the same team. Yeah. And defense, they played a little better today. They didn't give up the big plays throwing the football. No. Jalen Hurst was, Ocho. Yes, sir. They had 252 yards of total offense.

They was 11 of 19, Jla Hurst was 11 of 19, 118 yards of a touchdown. They ran the ball 33 times for 140. Listen, it was a good showing though. It was a good showing. I mean, for the Ravens defensively. Especially, obviously, their secondary, they did last, boy. especially obviously they're secondary.

They might, they dead last, boy. Yeah, they're not, they're not good. They got damn dead last and they did very well trying to contain Saquon. We didn't see Saquon hit his head off the goalpost going up to 60 and 70 yards. Yeah, he had a 25 yard of that touchdown run. He was 25 yards. He ended up with 23 carries for 107.

So I think he's at 1499 currently right now, cause he's at 1392. So I think he's at 1499. He still has a chance. He has five games left to average like 120 yards, to get 2000. Nah, he's gonna really have to pick up the pace to get 21-05. Yeah, I mean, obviously he's- But they say he's on pace to get 21. Yeah. Nah, he's gonna really have to pick up the pace to get 2105.

Yeah, I mean, obviously. But they say he's on pace to get 2121. What's he on pace to get now, Ash? Is he on pace to break the record? Oh, Ash put it up here. Who they got next? Oh, if he plays in all 17 games, then he has a chance.

He's on pace to get 2123 now. He also caught two passes for 10 yards. that he has a chance, he's on pace to get 21-23 now. He also caught two passes for 10 yards. The NFL record is set by ED, 21-05 in 1984. Right. But ED didn't, think about it, ED didn't win the MVP that season. Dan Marino did, cause that was the year Danny threw for 48 touchdowns and 5,000 yards.

I mean, to throw for 5,000 yards in that era, do you understand how good that was? Oh, with all the holding, with all the physicality, the quarterback knocking your, I mean, the D-line, the defense knocking your quarterback out, they killing your receivers, and he threw for 5,000. Yeah, that was Dupre and Clayton, huh? I wonder who the tight end was then.

I think they had Crash Jensen, Jim Jensen. Okay. Might have been one of the tight ends. What about, who was the running back, you think? If I'm not mistaken, I think it was Tony Nathan. Tony Nathan. Throwback. Yeah.

Oh, that's dope, man. That's dope. And Jim Jensen? Dan Johnson, Dan Johnson. Uh, yeah. Man, look, I mean, somebody would have told me that Jalen Hurst would only throw for 118 yards of a touchdown and they would only have 252 yards. I said, well, the Ravens gonna win.

Yeah. Well, I said the Ravens gonna win the game. But they could have won the game. They could win the game. Obviously there was some kicks that were missed. There's some other things that didn't go in their way, didn't go in their favor. I think if we got the Lamar Jackson that we're used to seeing,

that would be able to, that can overcome the kicker's woes. I think the Ravens do win that game. They have to play better. Lamar has to play better. He knows that. He's gonna go back and look at film and say, well, God damn, this one here, this is the chance where I should have took that bitch down.

God dog, stop cursing, man. I should have took the ball down and ran with it and do what I do best. And stop trying to sit in the park and buy time and buy time, trying to be off script, waiting on somebody to pop open Well, they're running out of time cuz uh Steelers, yeah Say quality's on pace to challenge but get the record. He's on pace now for

2,501 yards the record for most total yards of the season is 2509 by Chris Johnson Billy win the a straight and leaves the Eagles 10 and one, one game behind the Lions for the top seed in the NFC. The Eagles are two and a half games up on East, uh, on the, for the East lead over the Washington commanders. Oh, Cho. Yo.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. What happened? The Steelers defeated the Bengals 40-40. Excuse me, the office moved the ball at will, but the Steelers defense forced three turnovers, including a fourth quarter scoop and score by Peyton Wilson. Pickens led the Steelers with 74 yards receiving

on three catches with a touchdown, but drew 15-yard penalties after two of his catches. After the game, Pickens said there wasn't anything he needed to do differently in those situations. Tomlin said, he got to grow up. This is an emotional game. These divisional games are big. He got a target on his back because he's George.

He understands that, but he's got to grow up. He's just got to grow up in a hurry. Yeah, that cost you a game in the playoff, Ocho. Yeah, I mean, George, George, George, I'm a hit young bull. I got I got Georgie number. I'm going to talk to him. Listen, take some of that, take some of that fun. You know, some of that energy that you display,

that is, that is, that you're being penalized for and turn that into entertainment. Turn it into entertainment. It's okay to be the villain. Enjoy being a villain, embrace being the villain, but do it in a way where it's organized chaos within the game of football. Have fun within the game of football without having to get those penalties.

I'm telling you, it's going to pay dividends in the long run. He has to understand that, you know, the gun gesture, you know, in the end zone, you know, after, after. But you know you can't do that. And I know, chat, fans, I know air guns and bullets don't kill anybody. Right. But the NFL said we don't want that. Right, right, right.

If your boss tell you, you cannot come to work with Kathy, khakis. Don't bring your ass to work with khakis. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I don't get it. Oh, Joe, we knew, oh, Joe, we wore socks of certain height. The NFL said we want you to pull, we want your knees covered. I expected to get a fine if I meant more than two plays

and I didn't pull my socks up. But you can't say, well, what are the socks? And I used to ask all the time, what does my socks gotta do? They say, Shannon, we want uniformity. They say, Shannon, if we let you do yours, and if somebody gonna come out there with footies, and then somebody gonna come out here, and then everybody gonna start looking

like an all tournament team. They say, we want the, we say, we want everybody, we want every, we want uniformity, Shannon. We're the national football league, and we're trying to set example. I say, okay. Yeah. But Ocho, they, you remember,

they cut that out before you got to the league. The throat slashing gesture. Yeah. They cut that out. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, they, you remember, they cut that out before you got to the lead. The throat slashing gesture, they cut that out. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The snake shooter, Bush Johnson would do, they cut that out. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you can't do that. Anything violent or sexual in nature, air humping ain't got nothing to do,

ain't nobody ever got pregnant by air humping. Yeah. No dry, no dry hunching. But they cut it out, they cut it out. But they cut it out. So cut it out, but they cut it out Yeah, so peak fans, please stop saying Because you know the rule George knows the rules. Yeah, you can't do that You know what and especially?

Outside of knowing the rules you got to understand and to remember those rules when you engage in war at the time of war when you plan You got to remember that all we need to do. I'm telling you I'm a talk to him. I'm a talk to him I'm a hit in tomorrow. I'm good, bro You need to take that same energy and the stuff you want to do and turn it into something else in a fun Entertainment type of way where it's it's engaging for us and for those watching where it doesn't cost your team. There's a way to do it. I mastered that shit.

You know, there's a way to do it. You know, as far as your players concerned, man, you're good. Keep on playing ball. But what I don't want, this is what I don't want because the young, because the young, so Coach Tomlin has to be careful with what he say because you don't wanna lose a player like that. Up here, huh?

Up here, you don't wanna take too much. You don't wanna pull the reins back too motherfucking hard because you're gonna lose what makes George Pickens, George Pickens, but you can't hurt your team like that though. You can't. Thank you. You can't. We just saw this on Thursday with Jameson Williams.

We just saw it Thursday when he threw the ball in the guy's face. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. On the sideline. Yeah. We just saw it. Yeah. Oh, Joe. If the if even if I'm speeding, if I'm going eight in a school zone, I can't tell. Ain't no kids in school. You can't go eight in a school in a school zone, bro. It's still a school zone whether the kids are in school or not. You can't make that gesture even if you have no gun,

even if there is no bullet, you can't make a sexual gesture. You can't make a violent gesture. So please chat, please people stay off the internet talking about ain't no guns, ain't nobody ever been killed by that because you can't do it. Right. The league says we're going to penalize you,

but it's not the league penalizing you, you're penalizing your team. Yeah. Now what happens? And it hurts to this day, but it catches up to you when it matters most. And that's- When you leave the expected. Yeah.

You get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. And now what was a field goal, they back you up. Because a lot of times, that's after the fact. Now they back you up. What happens if it's second down and you get one of those? The down counts. So now it's gonna be a second and five, it's second and 20.

Or it's third and 20. Or it's third and 15. You see? It's things like that You have to you have to think about in real time, right? Okay, it's too late for you and I to have this conversation said oh Joe. We tried to tell him it's too late. Yeah It's too late So just learn

From others from that have made those mistakes, so you don't have to be a footnote, got a costly penalty. I don't, Ocho, but I try to tell you. Now, people will tell you, Joe Pearl played great. Ocho might come out here and tell you Joe Pearl played great. His defense, if your defense is bad, Ocho,

as an offense, what can't you do if your defense is bad? You can't turn the ball over. Tell the people at home how many turnovers Joe Burrow had? Joe Burrow had three turnovers but before you say that. How many points did they lead to to the Steelers? 14 or 21 or 17. How much, how many? They gotta scoop and score and they gotta field goal right before the half. Right. That's 10 points, right? Yeah, that's 10. Can I say something real quick?

Go ahead, you sure can. Just for the chat, for better context, let me get energized real quick. It's hard for me to defend my bangles. It's hard for me to defend my bangles, but for better context in those turnovers, now one was a tip, Cam Hayward tipped it, boom, pick, scoop and score turnovers, now one was a tip, Cam Hayward tipped it, boom, pick, scoop and score,

boom, running with the ball, TJ Watt, great play. And I think it was a Highsmith, it was a Highsmith that beat Orlando Brown off the edge. Yeah. I don't think it was High, it might've been the other guy, the other guy. I think it was like, it might've been 51 Wilson. He might've called the sack and scooped it.

All right, scoop and score. Listen, but one in that scenario, Orlando Brown, I'm not sure what the Bengals are doing. There's no reason why Orlando Brown should be on the field if he can't walk. If you can't walk, that means you can't play left tackle. There's no reason you should be on the field. But if you are on the field,

then that's the onus is on the offensive line or the goddamn offensive coordinator. Hell, let's fly protection that way because he's not fully healthy. Obviously we saw you. You're gonna find a protection away from TJ. Listen, we got no choice. You've got to leave memes over there.

We got to leave memes by itself one on one. Yes. I know. TJ why about to break the NFL record. He will have a Derek Thomas game. I know what you mean, but you got to because look what happened. Look what happened.

That cost us. That cost. If he's hurt, goddamn fly to the second to the left, put the runner back up there and goddamn chip. Got to put the tight end over there and chip. You got to do something to help him. If you have a player out there that is hurt. And it costs us offensively.

That was a school of score. But your guy has got to take care of the football, Ocho. You know, if your defense, if your defense, you have one of the two or three worst defensive footballs, you can't turn it over. You right, you right. Listen, there's nothing I can say. There's nothing I can say about that,

but it is his blind side though. That is his blind side. He has no idea that two seconds after the snap, that somebody's barreling down and knocking the ball at his hands. Again, you got, listen, I'm not making no excuses. You got to have two hands knocking the ball at his hands. Again, you got, listen, I'm not making no excuses. You got to have two hands on the ball. Yeah, you do that. Oh, hold on. So I can make that case for Daniel Jones. All

them sacks, that ain't on Daniel Jones. All those turnovers. Every quarterback that turned the ball over him. Because what they're doing is that you're making excuses for Joey B because he had 300 yard passes and three touchdowns. Whoa, whoa, whoa. I ain't made no excuse. I ain't made no excuse. I was just giving you better context on how the fumbles happen. So who cares? Did he have the ball in his hand? Yes, sir. So all those fumbles and interceptions that what you call them,

we feel we saw Patrick Mahomes two years ago. How many caroms that he has seven interceptions, and like three or four pick sixes that went through the receiver's hands. Yeah. When you fumble the ball and your defense is bad, all I know is this, Patrick Mahomes got to the Super Bowl

with the second or third worst defense in the NFL. That is the bargainains because what has happened is that we've allowed Joe Burrow and he's a really good, he's great quarterback, but we've allowed that one year run to taint us because we feel he can do no wrong. Because every year he's ranked above Lamar. Lamar is more accomplished than Joe Burrow.

We rank him ahead of Josh Allen. He throws a beautiful ball, he puts up big numbers. But at what point in time do we hold him accountable like we have all the other great quarterbacks that haven't fulfilled the promise of what we expected them to be? Because we make excuses, we like, well, his blind side. Man, look at my home's offensive line.

Is my home's offensive line any worse than Cincinnati. And I'm too tired. I'm too tired. It's bad. I'm too tired. It's bad. One team got a level to one record. I know disrespect.

Yeah. And so, and that's the thing. When you just, if you, if you just looked at the stats, yeah, you're like this man threw for 309 and three touchdowns. But he had a, he had a scoopoping score that the ball was in his hand. That gave him seven points. And then he had another former that gave him 10 points. So now if I take those 10 points off the board,

how many points did they, they scored 44. If I take those 10, Cincinnati scored 38. They win the game 38, 34. Ta-da! Yeah, you right. You right. You right? Listen, listen, I'm already hurting right now as it is, you know?

I don't need you to continue to pour salt in my wounds. I know. I know, because I- Let me talk about this, old joke. I've been on my soap box all season long, and I've been continued to let down. I've been continued, let down, Look out. Well, get your ass off it.

Huh? Get your ass off that box. I'm off of it right now, I'm off of it. Cause you know, you know the higher you up you are, the easier, easier target you to hit. Yeah, yeah, that's what they say. When snipers shooting at, what are they trying to do? See, when snipers are shooting,

they're at a higher elevation. Right. But when you show your head, that's when they can put that bang on you. Yeah, yeah. You better get low to the ground. Get out the box. Yeah. Say, hey, man, I thought my bingo's going to be better. It's over for y'all. Yeah.

You know it's a wrap. Oh, yeah. I thought I thought it was going to be better. Matter of fact, and this is I was listening to Joe. Joe said we could win seven of the last nine. There's a possibility. So when he said that in front of the how I was high. I was high. I was ready. I've been talking to I've been talking cash. You know what? in front of the how I was high. I was high. I was ready.

I've been talking to I've been talking cash. You know what? I've been making bets with Ryan Clark. I can't even eat McDonald's to the January now. Yes. Yeah. But you know what? This is a you can't say what to January. Why? Oh, because we lost.

All your love, you lost like five in a row. Yeah. Now you just lose. So you say I can't say foot or ball because my baby. Foot or ball. Nope. Nope. Ocho. Even you Ocho, you playing the game.

I said, Ocho, how y'all gonna go out on a run when your defense is historically bad? Your quarterback literally has to play a perfect game every time. One turnover because first of all, your defense is not really gonna be able to stop anybody. Now, you turn the ball over, you give them... And if you give them points on your possession, yeah, oh don't cry. No, no, no, cry. No, don't cry. You ain't crying yet, don't let it fool you.

You should be crying. Sorry. We go we go we gonna be all right. No y'all like we gonna be all right. Next year, y'all gonna be all right Next year? Y'all ain't gonna be alright this year. Hey, man. You done got the people, you had people assistin' that and believing you. Man, Ocho says we gonna be alright. Not everybody, not everybody ain't doin' nothing but eating chili hot dogs.

Stand up. Sit up in your chair. Come closer, you blurry, you blurry. No, no, no, you bring your ass back into focus. Y'all got outro crying, bingo, bingo. What y'all, bingo nation, bingo country? What y'all are? Here, here, there you go. We'll be back, we'll be back next year. That's what Custer said.

When they seen his ass out there, he said, I'll be back. And they ain't seen his ass, he was a be back. And they ain't seen his ass. He went up a little big horn and they ain't seen his ass since. That was in 1875, 78. What was that? When did the sitting bull get on Custer? We going to be back. I think that was somewhere between 75 and 78.

We'll be back next year. Hey there, it's Michael Lewis, author of Going Infinite, Moneyball, The Blind Side, and Liar's Poker. On every season of my podcast Against the Rules, I take a broad look at various characters in American life. The referee, the coach, the expert. My next season is all about fans and what the rise of sports betting is doing to them,

to the teams, and even to my family. I'm heading to Las Vegas and New Jersey and beyond to understand America's newest form of legalized gambling. Listen to Against the Rules on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. I don't care what nobody say that's okay we had a bad season sometimes people have bad season sometimes people have some of the greatest players on offense you know and and sometimes things don't go the way you wanted to go like sometimes you can talk your ass off I ain't feeling this we didn't come here for that. We could, we could. Hold on. I'm trying to, I'm trying to laugh or keep from crying. Let's change the topic, man. Shoot, man.

No, we ain't finna change no topic. That ain't what we do. We don't duck no, chat. Do y'all expect Nightcap to duck a topic? Do y'all expect us to move on so quickly? No, Lester, we gotta address it. Your defense is historically bad. They've been bad. But if you go back and look at it, the Bengals had Kansas City dead to right. What happened? Stripsack scoop and score.

Right. Touchdown. They had the Ravens again, dead to right at home. What happened, Ocho? Joey B, Pig, Marlon Humphrey. Yeah. At some point in time, even your great numbers can be overshadowed if you are the one that puts the ball in harm's way. Yeah. He's done it. We've seen it. but nobody, everybody just wants to look at the stats. Oh, he played great. What about those three turnovers

that gave the other team the football or gave the other team points? Do we not count that? We counted for everybody else. We ripped quarterbacks that turned the ball over. At the end of the day, it is his responsibility to take care of the football. As great a player as he is.

Right. So basically, all this is saying to me is, is Joe Burrow is going to basically have to do, he has to put on the Superman cape because our defense is playing so bad, right? He has to do what Josh Allen is doing. If Josh Allen could do it and he can overcome himself and not make the mistakes he made in the past and has his team playing the way he has him playing, Joe Burrow has to do the same thing and he has to do it with a much better supporting cast offensively. Yeah, hold on. It sounds easy, but it's not easy to do. Josh Allen makes it look easy, but it's not easy to do. Josh Allen makes it look easy, but it's not easy to do. But I understand where you're coming from.

I remember when Peyton Manning had those bad defenses in Indy. Oh my goodness. And even he was putting up those numbers. Oh, Peyton Manning can't get the done in the big game. Peyton Manning, yada, yada, yada. Even though his defense was historically bad, y'all didn't make the excuses for Peyton that you makeada yada yada even though his defense was historically bad Y'all didn't make the excuses for Peyton that you make for Joe Burrow and I just need to know why yeah, I

Got time. I took me a nap today. Oh, I got time. Yeah, I know that I took a nap today, too I took a nap. No, we're good. Well, I need to tell I need you to tell me why why is your burrow getting a pass? I mean, we never gave pain the pass? We never gave Payton a pass. I didn't give him a pass. I said he didn't play well. I said he didn't play well. Now, when you said about the three turnovers, I just wanted to add a little context on the turnover to just say they weren't all his fault.

But on the stat sheet, guess whose name is by them turnovers? Oh, Joe. Yeah. When is the strip, hold on. When have we not given a strip sack to the quarterback because the balls in his hand You hear what I just said? I just said when we look at the staff sheet who are the turnovers on whose name is there? the quarterback Yeah, I know I'm just saying I'm just I was just trying to give a little context on what happened or whatnot

But he didn't play he didn't play as well as he needs to play Joe burrow needs to understand and I'm sure he Understands and he will have this conversation with his head coach, with his officer coordinator, and with his quarterback coach. You have to protect the ball. You have to, in order for us to even have a chance to win, going on from this season and later on in the future, you have to be the best at protecting the ball and not turning it over,

because if our defense is not playing as well Or playing the way they played this year at any point. There is no way for us to overcome those zero No way for us to allow those mistakes And we're not finna move home because I'm not finna let you do this to rust in rust You trust you say you love rust. I do. Well let's give Russ some flowers. I was the only one standing on the soapbox for Russ too now. Don't do that. You were. Yeah. Russ 29 of 38, 414 which is a career high, three touchdowns one pick. He was sensational today. Yes he was. His career high. He knew, like look, as good as our defense is,

their offense is going to score. It is incumbent upon me as the quarterback and one of the leaders of this, what he is the de facto leader on offense. Right, right. Oh, we can have our way with these guys, boys. Yeah. And think about it, Ocho, you did get seven from Britt,

the guy that picked six-er. Oh yeah, hey, hey, that thing was nice. That thing was nice. That was good, listen. Boom, pointed attack, nice little jam. Boom, eyes on the ball. Oh, we going the other way. Oski, Oski, let's go.

Yeah, that was right. I thought, listen, after that play, I thought we was going to run away with the game. Yeah. That was it. And I remember, do y'all remember when Peyton Manning was losing to Tom Brady? Oh, he had never beat Tom. And Peyton was winning MVP. But Tom was winning Superbowl. He wasn't putting up numbers like Peyton, but he was winning. Oh, Peyton had never win. I remember he got beat 41-0 by Chad Pennington.

He got beat by Billy Bowling. Oh, they were just ripping Peyton. Ripping him. His defense weren't very good. He's putting up, even his owner, when Peyton talk about, I don't want championships. I don't want no Star Wars numbers.

Because he feel that Peyton underperformed. And now, and Peyton, go back and look at Peyton numbers. That man won four MVPs and all of them went into those Super Bowl seasons. Fans, media alike killed him. Me too, I was one of them. Yep, me too, yep. Go back and look at when I was on CBS.

Right. Beat him up, everybody did. But now, well, Shannon, his defense, y'all didn't say that when Peyton had a bad defense. Right. Y'all just said he couldn't stand up to Tom Brady. He lost to Super Bowl, go look at Peyton numbers in the Super Bowl.

But he had that one pick six, Tracy Porter, red and right. They came with a zero blitz. He undercut the super bowl. Good looking Peyton numbers in the Super Bowl But he had that one pick six Tracy Porter ready, right? Yeah, they came with a zero blitz You undercut the under route and he east about Y'all gotta stop this y'all y'all got very very short memories But what I'm seeing over to what I'm seeing right if we like somebody we'll make every excuse in the world for yeah I don't give a damn what he does. Yes or what he or she does if we like you. But I'm gonna call it straight down the middle. Y'all know how I am. Now y'all get on me and say,

Shannon, yes I do. Y'all know I do. Go back and check my track record at CBS. If y'all don't think I call it down the middle. Me too, me too. I call it down the middle too. Me too. Me too.

Yeah, check my track record. Russ, file send him. Me too. Me too. Yeah, check my track record. Russ, put, file a similar. Russ, hey, people here are the thing, hey guys, when people y'all keep saying, get that man his flowers, don't give me my flowers. I'll plant my own damn garden. I'll grow my own damn flowers.

Wait, hold on. And I'll pick my own. Hold on, hold on. I'm tired of y'all. Y'all don't wanna give people, Russ, plant your own damn flowers. Wait hold on. And I picked my own. I'm tired of y'all. Y'all don't want to get people rust. Plant your own damn flowers. Grow your own garden. Hold on. And pluck your own flowers and put them on display. I don't need nobody. Don't give me no more flowers. I don't want them. Hey. I got my own garden growing. I'm on the road. I'm on the road but I got a notepad. Yeah. I don't need

y'all to give me my flowers because I'm finna, what you say, plant my own? I'm gonna plant and grow my own damn flowers. No, my own garden. You said my own garden. Whatever, whatever you want. What you want? You want roses? You want daisies? You want lilies? You want petunias? What do you want for insettias? You know what I want? I want tulips. I want tulips. Grow your ownips. Bam! Grow your own. Yeah, I saw the movie Stormy Weather and Lena Horne, she like tulips. So I'm gonna give me some motherfucking tulips.

Russ, listen, Russ is in the ideal situation. Yeah. He's with a coach that understands quarterbacks. Not that he can coach them, but he understands the psyche of a quarterback. And the one thing you can't do with a quarterback is beat him up mentally. And I think Sean Payton beat him up mentally.

For whatever reason, Sean never embraced Russ. He never gave, he tolerated him. He's like, I got a year with him and I'm not so sure that Russ could have done anything other than going to the Super Bowl that would have ingratiated himself with Sean Payton. Sean Payton has a guy now and he, you know, hey, he has a young guy and young guys for the most part, Ocho,

they're happy to be there even though they're first round pick and they can stomach a little more. Russ is a vet. Russ has been to Super Bowls. Russ is a multiple-time Pro Bowl player. He's like, why are you talking to me like that? Yeah. What? Hey, he's been... Okay, go ahead. Go ahead. No, no, no. I was gonna say for those that have been watching, obviously you know, because you got on me about it is I've been giving Russ his flowers for a very long time even when he was in Denver, you know Yeah, you you you you have to him because things on the way they should be going I've always stood on that soapbox for Russell Wilson because I understood there's no way

There's no way that a player like Russ that was with the Seattle Seahawks that has played well at a high level for so many Years and all of a sudden could go to Denver and things just weren't right. I think the situation and the scenario that he was in and the pressure that Sean Payton who kept challenging him, berating him as a head coach, I just knew that wasn't the right fit. And I understood once he got over there with the Steelers, I said it as soon as he got there, I said, man, this is perfect. He's going with the right coach, the right type of coach,

winning coach with the right mentality that knows how to deal with him. And Arthur Smith has put Russell Wilson in some great positions and understanding his strengths and his weaknesses, knowing what he can do and what he can't do anymore than he used to do in Seattle.

And he's been paying dividends off for him, man, and he's been perfect. He's been perfect. Yeah, he's been, he look, he's been, he's been good. I don't know if he would have ever been what he is right now in Denver with Sean Payton. Look, that first year, we got to talk that up because ain't nobody been good on Nathaniel Hackett. Ain't nobody. He got fired in Denver, and he lost his play calling duties in Green Bay.

Excuse me, in the Jazz. So nobody, so we can't say, you know what, Russ, we gonna just, that first year, now whatever happened with you, like I said, I don't know, but it just seems like he was never egregiated. Sean didn't put his arms around him. It's like, I'm happy to have you as my quarterback

for whatever reasons. And it was best that they go accept, you know, you go your way, I go mine. And we're both better for it. The Broncos are doing quite well. The Pittsburgh Steelers are leading their division. They're doing extremely well. And I'm happy for both because this match

wasn't gonna work in Denver. Not Russ and Sean Payton. Maybe it's with somebody else, but not that. But Russ needed to go and get built back up again. And he had to start from scratch. He had to start from scratch. He had to start from scratch. And what better place to go than with Mike Tomlin, whose own firm, whose own firm, soil, firm footy.

He has a firm foundation. He ain't going nowhere. Nah. He ain't going nowhere. And so. The Bengals allowed five hundred and twenty yards. Imagine the season high. They surrendered forty points, those seven came with a strip sack that was turned for a touchdown. Ocho, check this out. The Bengals are the first team in NFL history to lose four games or more when scoring at

least 33 points in a game. You're just going to pour it on all night, huh? No, no, I'm just saying. I'm just saying. I don't know if you knew that. I understand you're going to pour it on. We lost the game. I didn't share tears and all about my team losing. I've been vulnerable.

I'm letting the world show that I'm vulnerable and how much this shit means to me. And you just gonna continue to pour on and just take the gasoline, right? You gonna take the gasoline and pour it on the fire anyway. No, we're done with it, then, okay? I'm gonna move on to the Texas and the Jags. Nah, go ahead and finish, go ahead and finish, go ahead and finish. No, we're done with that. Just give, I'm gonna move on to the Texas in the Jag

Just no we're done with that just give it to me just Nail me to the cross go ahead. No, no, no what we did look, okay. We had a horse He was a race horse. Yeah, we won as many races as we could That's all and then we turn him into a plow horse and put him in the fields So, okay now he can't plow anymore. Now ain't nothing left for him to do. We either eat him or we turn him into glue. But we've got all we can out of this. We've got all we could out of this horse chat.

So now we're gonna go someplace else. Okay, okay, okay. The Volume. Hey there, it's Michael Lewis, author of Going Infinite, Moneyball, The Blind Side, and Liars Poker. On the latest season of my podcast, Against the Rules, I'm exploring what it means to be a sports fan in America and what the rise of sports betting is doing to our teams, our states and ourselves. Join me and listen to Against the Rules on America's number one podcast network, iHeart.

Open your free iHeart app and search Against the Rules. Listen to Against the Rules on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.