First Things First - Bills beat Lions, Week 2 Upset Alert and Nick’s Picks, Will Mahomes have a ‘monster game’?

Episode Date: September 18, 2026

(0:00) Bills beat Lions (27:37) Will Patrick Mahomes have a monster game vs. the Colts? (42:19) Bears vs. Vikings preview (48:28) Upset Alert and Nick’s Picks (01:11:39) No Huddle Week 2 (01:21:23) Can the Cowboys turn things around? (01:28:22) Parkins’ Picks (01:50:51) Who is the biggest X-Factor of Week 2? (02:00:53) Chips on the Table (02:10:17) Monday Morning Headlines Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Live in New York, it's a lot of New York. The shorts starting to believe in the bills a little bit. They look pretty good. This guy. I'm just saying they look all right. They look pretty good. The fickless man in America. I got to be fair.

They look good. Moving the ball. Hey, they look pretty good. Wow. Who would have thought? Who could have seen it coming? Well, you know, what a shock. What you could have early season letdown.

Are they lost of the jets that one time? But wow. Hey, it keeps scoring. And yeah, I mean, they, wow. They played the defense you think. thinks the best of the league. Yeah. And week two, they played your Super Bowl pick.

Well, same week maybe. Yeah, good point. It's almost like they're picking on you. Yeah, specific. They're playing great. Yeah. Maybe I'm inspiring them. That's what you always say when your prediction goes wrong.

First hour of first things first. Today, Josh Allen, is he the best player in the NFL? Sure, looks like it. I'll be honest with you watch the game. Meanwhile, Raven Saints. Interesting quotes from the Ravens defensive. coordinator. Is there a chance Lamar is out dueled by quote, poor man's Josh Allen. And finally, it's the hottest segment in all of sports. Upset alert. And we believe in due

dates, red hot Nick's picks. Not red hot yet, but could be. I believe you're going to have a Oh, me and Drew. Sadly, upset alert, Knicks picks. Oh for five. No one. What? Oh for six, actually, because I picked two. Oh, that's right. 0 for 6. Yeah, I got to get this parlay thing. You don't, brew, don't. I'm not gonna do it again. Don't do it. We should just remove it.

It's a sucker's debt. Exactly. Don't do it. Thank you. Unless your Hubbs bet in touchdown parlay's in the game last night. Hubbs are rich man this morning. I got to show you my phone afterwards. Oh my God.

Lost a dollar. We're starting in Buffalo where the bills christened their new stadium by crushing folding tables and the Detroit Lions. Josh Allen had five touchdowns on route to a 10-point victory for the bills. Defense gave up 31 points again, but hey, nobody cares except me. Here's Josh Allen. Yeah, I think at the National Anthem, you know, got myself, like, taking it all in and understanding how cool of what I get to do. You know, my job is the coolest thing in the world.

It's everything that I've ever wanted to be the quarterback of an NFL franchise. And I'm just very fortunate that I ended up here in Buffalo. Got to, you know, be the first quarterback to open this stadium, which is a, you know, it's a special spot. About five years. Bill is the best team in football. They certainly have a great case. Now, obviously, it's early, and everyone other than the Bills and Lions have only played once, so they haven't even had an opportunity.

The other teams look great in week one to put on a week two performance. But Josh Allen is one of, if not the, best regular season player in the league. We're going to talk more about that in a bit. they obviously are going to be at a massive advantage at quarterback in almost every game they play. And some would say in every game they play. The offensive line might be the best in football as well. It is certainly on a very short list. They're running back.

I don't think he's the best back in the league, but I do think he's a top five back. He was the rushing champ last year. And he is incredibly reliable in a way that a lot of the backs, the best backs, like a of the 90s were, save Barry Sanders, who was kind of in his own category, where it was like, he just never worry he's going to lose yards. He's never going to have, doesn't feel like a 14-carry, 22-yard game. Like, he might be less likely to bust the 70-yard run than Sequin or Jameer Gibbs, but he's incredibly reliable.

Dalton Kincaid, a first-round pick from four years ago, is finally very early, but producing up to that level. The rest of the world seems to like the receiving core maybe a touch more than I do, but the receiving core is producing. There was a Keonan Coleman sighting. Yeah, Keon Coleman citing after DJ Moore goes out with the injury. That injury doesn't look too severe.

And that defensive line, which they've invested so much in, could be legitimately good. They did what they did yesterday as far as getting pressure on golf. I know they allowed 31. But with that Oliver, their best player on defense on the sideline. they certainly have brew right now, and part of it is they've played the extra game, but as strong of a case as any team in the league for this current title. Yeah, look, they are one of the handful of teams that could win the Super Bowl.

There's no question about it. They are a legit contender, and that's how we felt, you know, going into this season. Well. But I can't, yeah, you and I. You and I. I cannot say they're the best team in the league because the best team in the league doesn't give up 31 points a game

unless they face the Houston team that we all have questions about that offense now C.J. Stroud if he is indeed back to being what he was as a rookie or better then maybe that looks differently but right now

you gave up 31 points to a struggling offense in Houston all right and then let's not forget and I keep I this will balance itself out, every quarterback will benefit from a dropped interception or whatever. But they are a dropped interception away from us not even having this conversation, from being one in one, right?

Like, they really are. And that's, they should be one in one, to be honest, he should have caught that ball. So I just think that I agree with everything you said. I do tend to think the receiving core is really good. Now, DJ Moore got hurt last night. It seems like they out maybe a week. Yeah, it seems like they have. He didn't break his collarbone.

They don't think he separated his shoulders. So it looks like they avoided the month. Yeah, it might be a week, two weeks. But when he's there, I like the receiving core. And again, Keon, Coleman, Joshua, they seem to be at least coming into their own to be productive. And you mentioned Kincaid, but also Dawson Knoxley. They got two really good. They got a lot of versatility.

Offensively, they can do everything. But I would not say that we can stamp them right now as the best thing. because that defense is just, I don't want to say suspect, and I do think they're going to get better. You guys know I'm high. I think it's fair to call them bad yet. No.

But I think suspect is totally fair. And I like Jim Leonard to D.C. I think he's going to improve them. But to your point, Nick, and you mentioned this yesterday, they face the Detroit Lions team starting three backup offensive lines. And still, and I get it,

it was a blowout. We talked about shooting. It looks like a shootout from the score. But it really ended up not being a shootout. But they did score a bunch of points with backup linemen on their offensive line. So that's why the defense is holding them back from like definitively at this point being the best team in the league. Well, here's the thing. And I'm going to ask you a question.

I want to show you a graphic. Longest active win streaks when leading by seven. bills are at 31. The 49ers are at 13. The Seahawks are at 10. It's the fourth longest streak since. So when they get a seven-point lead, they've won 31 straight.

That's impressive. So the question I have for you guys is, and you guys both picked the bills and I picked the Lions, when did you feel like this game was, if not over, maybe that's a stretch, but like, oh, this is pretty much over. Because I felt it. 14-0.

I felt it very early. I felt it was 7-0 driving to get to 14. And it felt like Dan Campbell felt like it was over. The moment Josh's pick was overturned by penalty, I knew the lines were cooked. Like, that felt like their chance because it didn't seem. And I don't know what the score was. But I thought he was 14. Oh, yeah.

I think he did. No, no, no, but I didn't. Free play. You know what I didn't know it was a free play. I didn't see the. It was 14. I think he made a risky pass because he knew we were going to get it back. So I'm not knocking him for it.

But I'm saying, but in real time, I was like, oh, this is the lion's opportunity. And then when I saw the penalty, I'm like, okay, they're just finished. And even when, you know, at one point in the second half, they cut it to 10 and had the ball. That's when they went snap three and out. In that moment, I thought, I thought, I thought, I was like, they might go down and score. but I didn't think they would be able to get the requisite stops to win the game. So where are you, KW? Well, that's tough.

I still have to stand by defense wins championships. But defense doesn't necessarily make the playoffs. That's not a popular saying. No. Offense can make the playoffs. I'm pot committed. What do you want me to do? Okay, good. I'm proud.

They look great. They look unbelievable. Josh is like, Josh is wearing like, Again, I really like the bills. Josh goes, enters the stadium with hats designed by children at the local hospital. He is a great guy. And the stadium and everyone got a key on their seats.

Like this stadium belongs to you. I'm like, oh, my God. Then there's a baby bison. Like, by the way, you got a baby buffalo here. I got the beer horns. Like, there's jumping through the tables is the architecture. Yeah. And then they're having a ton of points.

Josh was making jokes at the line. I'm like, gosh, darn it, why did I got to root against this team? I don't want to root against them. But you got to play defense. I respect that, KW. I'm going to ask the audience, though, and our colleagues to remember a couple things. Just real quick, for you moving. One is, I would, I implore everyone to remember the takes from today on questions like this.

If and when the bills fall short, just remember there was a period of time. when everyone thought this team was awesome. Because if they fall short, it's going, it is going, I'm going to be hard pressed to hear again, man, there's just not enough talent in Buffalo.

This team's awesome. Now again, I don't think they're a perfect team. We'll see how it plays out. But the other thing I would ask people to remember is us doing this topic. Yeah. This time of year is a,

multi-year tradition. Since 2020, seven seasons now. Here is how the bills have started their years. The bills in September, pardon me. They're the best September team in the league.

That's over the last seven years. They bludgeon people. They score 30 to a game. Allen is great. They outgained them. They lose less than one September game a month. And now in 2020 and 2020, in 2021, they hadn't yet earned the perennial contender to be crowned what they have earned

2021. And so allow me to be the first person to congratulate the Buffalo Bills. This is premature. I'm ready to say it. No, this is. Not yet. Back to back to back to back to back to back to back September champs. And I got more.

Because you're right. We're there next two games. Chargers. Exactly. It is a special day. And they did open a new stadium. And I'm here to tell you. I meant I don't like the bills. I'm here to tell you.

I am not a fan. We have to christen the Buffalo Bills with the championship. Now a lot of times we bring, I'll be honest with you, a little behind the scenes. Well, there's new rules about what you're allowed to smoke or drink on TV. Can you do that? Legally. Congrats, Buffalo. You earned it.

They did. You lost four straight two bowls. You got five straight championships. They're a great team. Russell Celtics. KW. Come on. They've earned it.

I don't think the bills are making the playoffs, I guess. Yeah. This is what? They say, yeah, there's a lot of it. Yeah, no, this apple juice, don't worry about it. Excellent. I'm good.

I'm good. You've got a much of our lemonade. I mean, it's in the shape of a buffalo horn. It's a horrid. Fantastic. Yeah. But again, I don't like the bills, everybody. You celebrate.

I mean, yeah, I don't know. We can do their victory. Okay, that's fun. Yeah. What are we doing? Josh Allen. Three sheets to the win. He's the greatest. We're nine days into the NFL season.

Josh Allen has nine total touchdowns on pace for 365. He looks, dare I say, Jordanesque, bro. Also a second yesterday. We might have just witnessed the Josh Allen's blue game. Nobody, listen. Even Lamar doesn't get the flu in September. I'm calling B.S. It is Buffalo.

He has all the flu. Versus the Lions. Stat from Ben Solac. Is he a friend of the show, Ben Solac? I don't know. He likes the garden. Five passing touchdowns, four rushing touchdowns in two games happened four times ever. Three times.

Josh Allen. One time, Eric Hipple, 1981. Shout out Eric. I remember Eric Hippon. I really don't. I love that. I think you. Billy Sims was a right.

He was the quarterback. Is Josh the best quarterback in football? Look, I think Mahomes still got that title. I do understand, however, statistically, you know, he just hasn't put up the numbers where you would say the last few years

that he's like playing the best as a quarterback. But, and right now, I mean, nine touchdowns, zero turnovers. And again, I know he's. should have had maybe two intercessions, but certainly one. Whatever. We got to count the real things. Right.

Exactly. So he's playing. They also forced to fumble on the opening drive, right, from Josh? He fumbled on the opening drive and the bills recovered it. Yeah. Yeah. So there's a few little things that could have happened. And when you look at like some of these advanced stats to take all that stuff in the

consideration, then that can work against him. But the only thing I'll say is this. I know Josh is. playing great and it's hard to say anybody's, I can't say anybody's playing better. That's true. But I honestly think regular season, I put Lamar Jackson right there with him, without question, right there with him. Lamar passing the ball, it looks effortless. And here's the numbers, and I'm going to go to last three years, okay?

I mean, Lamar, not only is beating Josh in the top two categories, but he's leading the lead. And no TD percentage, pass a rating, yards per pass is got to be second or third. And then they're equal in past TDs. Now, Josh is way out in front of everybody in total TDs. But Nick, 30. I think Josh has 125 total TDs the last three years. 30 of them are one-yard runs. When did we decide not to count, though?

It does count. But I'm just saying you could. Those are in Baltimore, they're handed a ball to Derek. I mean, the, the, and you could hand that to James Cook, and I'm not holding it against. James Cook sometimes wishes you're wood. Yeah, I'm not holding it against that. I'm just pointing out that, so I put regular season, I get it,

he's been better in the playoffs. Regular season, I put, I put Lamar up against anybody these last years. So it's so fascinating that the argument for, if we're doing a Josh versus Lamar argument, that Lamar, gets the checkmark in passing and Josh gets it in running. Like who would have, like, four years ago, if we were like, hey, we're going to be debating these two guys. And Lamar's the way better passer.

What are the chances Josh is better than him? Or you've said it the other way around. Josh is the way better runner. And you guys know what I've said for years that I thought Josh was the scariest running quarterback in the league and the most effective outside of maybe like playoff Mahomes when that was the only time he scrambled. because I do, and this, this happens to be a two-yard rushing touchdown.

I do in my head, KW. You understand that. I view, and KW understands it. I just, I agree with you. I view scramble touchdowns or QB bootleg touchdowns. I view basically all touchdowns differently than I view tush push stuff. I just do. I know, but I just, I feel like it's a cousin of a way to like discredit Jail and

And we see Matthew Stafford. No, some guys can't do it. That's fine. I'm not disband. And let me quickly say this, Nick. The difference, I mean, they're totally different style of runners. But one big, huge difference between Josh and Lamar, Josh still is all in on, I run.

You know, Lamar, even though he ran it last weekend and looked good, he seems to run kind of reluctantly. Josh might be more in on running. And I am, more than he was in the past. And I'm, today's not really the day for it, but I don't want a Monday morning quarterback it. So I'm just going on the record with it right now. Joe Brady needs to chill on that.

I know he feels in. Chill on. Josh Allen just running the ball a dozen times and taking these hits. I know he never misses games. But go ahead. I'm going to show you. Yeah. Because then I do want to answer the question.

I think that is the plan. So here's a tweet from Stacey Dales. Bill's source told me the difference in Brady Allen this year going to be all gas offensively. The bills are going for the jugular. I'm fine with that. That's not what I'm talking about. But I think that is like caution to the wind. That's not like, I don't think that's decision making.

It's like, let's go. Let's go. But to me, some of that is we're going to, if we have a lead, we're still going to pass. We're going to pass more down the field. I'm fine with that. I am flatly saying I understand Josh Allen is probably the second most physically imposing quarterback in NFL history to Cam Newton. Warren Moon might have something to say about it,

but he's on the Mount Rushmore of it. He's not bigger than all 11 defensive players. There are guys on the other side of the ball, bigger, stronger, and as and more athletic than him. And last year, after they lost in the, you know, the talking about, you know, the

obituary of the season it was and Josh Allen was dealing with that foot injury. And, like, I, the hits built, I think it's, I think it's, I think it is. Newton. Even the one that he ran in. He took like a hit like we talked about Borough. Riskier than it needs to be.

But to answer this question, I am fine with people saying he is now. And Lamar is a good case for it too. But I am fine with people saying he is now the best regular season quarterback in the league. I do think, and we can show the numbers, this is akin to the September champs. We do this every year, though. Every single year. He and the bills start. are amazing.

And we say is he the best player in the league? He dips too. Those are not his numbers for the year. He's already hotter than, I mean, not that much hotter. No, nine. Two years ago. 18. I mean, 18.

22, that's six games. I get it. He had 19 touchdowns. Look at the passer rating. 2024, he's 3 and 0. It's nine touchdowns 133 rating. I, but here is where I, where my rub is. And this is where people are going to get mad,

but it is what it is. In this same stretch, leave that up for a moment. In the year before this started, in 20, is it the year? Yeah, 2019, his season ended by Deshawn Watson out playing him. Thoroughly.

2020, Patrick outplayed him thoroughly. 2021, he played Patrick to a draw. You know what I mean? Got unlucky on the coin toss. Fine. 2022, Burrow out played him, 23 and 24. Mahomes out played him. 2025.

Bo Nix outplayed him, which is why this next graphic exists, which is he, the post-13 seconds game, when their seasons ended, he has been outplayed by the guy opposite him. And I understand we were like, yeah, well, it's the Bill's playoff defense. Man, the Chiefs, you know, in, you know, 2020 and in 2022, you could argue

23 fine, did not have these all-time great defenses. The 20-23 chiefs, pardon me. The Bengals did not have some all-time great defense, which is why I have to drop another banner. And I'm sorry, because like you said, we all like Josh. We like Josh. He came on the show. Friend of the show.

Friend of the show. But it's true, and people just don't like it. He's always the best player in the world until it's time to be the best player in the world. I'll be honest. That feels like a winter banner. We're looking forward. We're asking he's the best quarterback in football, and that's how I, like, right now, sure.

Right now, sure. But we do this show every single year this time of year. Quick thing, 30. Now KW is all of a sudden the bills got. Now KW said they're bad. You said they were bad. I never said they were bad. You said, whoa, the bills are not good.

Well, that's different. Okay, exactly. Okay. You can't give up 62 points in five days. 12 points a day. 31-yard touchdowns for his career, not the last three years, 19 last of the years. Rough week for the Lions defense. Saints put up 30 and then the bills put up 41.

Last time the Lions allowed back-to-back 30 pieces. Dan Campbell's first two games as coach fresh off of eating kneecaps. He wasn't happy post-game. Take a listen. Give them credit. You know, Joe Brady had those guys ready to go. They played well, you know, all three phases. And they got after us.

And we didn't play good enough. And we didn't coach good enough, you know. That falls on me. And, you know, we just, we needed to play a, it didn't have to be spotless, but it certainly needed to be a lot cleaner than that. Lions exposed, question mark. Exposed as a non-contender.

Now, I picked them to win the division. I still feel fine about that. I think they can win the division. It's obviously a tough division. But their offense is legitimately very good. And when they get healthier, they're going to be great. The defense, I think, will improve when they get healthier. They got their two starting safeties who are like all pro-type caliber players will be coming back.

But I don't. So I think I feel fine about them making the playoffs. And their schedule is not that tough outside of the game. division. But I don't think they can win the NFC. I don't think they can get to the Super Bowl. And I don't want to say the Super Bowl window is fully shut because I think they can reload, right,

over the next couple years or next year or whatever. But for now, I just, I don't think they, I would be stunned if they got to the Super Bowl. So I don't think they're a team that can get to the Super Bowl, but I think they can make the playoffs. So you want to go, K.W. I, a lot of people say, I'm not a body language expert,

and I appreciate them saying that because they haven't put in the hours that I have. I am a body language expert. Dan Campbell lost that game, or at least in his mind, he was preparing a, what am I going to say at the press conference

once we lose this game? Very early. I have not seen Dan Campbell that oralist in a long time. He had oral when they were in that losing streak, year one. Like, we're building something. There was an enthusiasm.

And again, this is very big picture. And their schedule is soft, and they're going to get healthier, and they can score points. But Dan Campbell brought up their window being closed. And a part of me, that's just sticking in the back of my head. Like, man, does Dan Campbell believe this team has got it? That seems crazy to say, but I'm like, as a body language expert, I have to give you my expertise. All right, I'll go very quickly here. One is maybe, just maybe, I'm not saying this the case, but maybe that aura, maybe he was coasting off Ben Johnson's aura.

Oh, the offense is not a problem. I'm just telling you. I saw all those tweets. They did not miss a beat without Ben Johnson. Maybe fewer silly plays. Okay. Okay. I mean, they...

Has the offense fallen off without Ben Johnson, the genius? I think last year, I mean, last year, I mean, I mean, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I don't have it in front of me. But I mean, they finished last in the division, so I doubt they had the number one offense in football. They had a very good offense. I mean, they had one of the 10 highest scoring offenses ever with him. So I don't think they had the number one.

I do think the offense. They didn't have the number one offense, but they had a hot off. But the problem is not the offense. Problem is the defense and the injuries. Maybe because of the schedule, they can survive until those guys get back. But since they played well the first half against the Saints, since then we've played since.

six quarters in an overtime. And if we, they've given up 10 touchdowns and 16 drives. Who? 10 touchdown. That's hard to do just. Accidentally. Yeah. It's hard.

They're giving up seven yards to play. They're giving up four and a half, four and a half points per drive. You got to call time out. You got to call time out. Stop the bleeding. Gather everybody around. And so I just, I don't, you know, this was one of the rare games that went almost exactly the way we said it would,

which was it would be high scoring, the bills would be in control because the lions just don't have the horses. It's exactly what happened. They got to hold on for dear life until those guys get back and hope that's enough. But I didn't think they were Super Bowl contenders to begin with, but that defense is so bad.

Did you have them into play? I did have, yes, that's what I'm saying. But that evens is so bad, that defense can ruin your season before those guys get back. if they don't keep scoring 30. They're going to have to score 30 to win almost any game until the defense gets healthy.

The bills have to do that too. Yeah, but the bills, I think, are more reliable to do it. This beer horn was great. Apple juice. It looked like beer. Yeah, it did. It really did. That's not beer?

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you have the backup to handle every turn with confidence. The 2026 tracks. Start your build at Chevrolet.ca. Podcast is out here cooking in fresh content on the YouTube channel. Gianna and a fantastic team is just crushing it. Well done, everyone. Back to our Friday show. Greg Jennings is here.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs host, Daniel Jones. Top 10 QB. Are we still on? on that take Greg or no? I'm just wondering. That's, I think he's bailed on that. Whoa, I haven't bailed on Daniel Jones. In terms of top 10, we passed the conversation.

Exactly. Okay. But that was the take, he's top. Oh, he was rolling last. Don't. Is he a top 10 QB? I'm just not right now. All right, here's Tom Brady on Patrick Hall.

That's the one. I think in a lot of ways, he is back to the Patrick Holmes. And what do I mean by that? His leadership, his leadership, his, discipline, his tenacity, all those things were on display. He's going to pick up some steam. He's missed some football, missed a lot of the offseason, but never sleep on number

15 for the Chiefs. Okay. Started slow in the first game against the Broncos, then picked it up. Do you expect this momentum to continue, Nick, with a monster game from Patrick Malum against Daniel Jones, who was at a time, a top 10 QB? So what's the question exactly? Do you expect a monster game from? Mahomes.

A monster game. I was distracted because Greg Jennings for some reason hit me in the throat while you were asking the question. Do I expect a monster game from Patrick Mahomes, Sunday night football against the Colts? That's not the full question, just monster game, yeah. Absolutely not. What a take.

See, there you go. And in fact, I don't even want it. Well, that's too much. No, I don't want it. I don't. You'd be bothered if he's for 321. No, no, no, no. If you could, you tell me,

press a button and he's going to have that stat line and not get hit, sure, I'll press the button. But I don't want that to be the game plan. If he has a monster game, I want it to almost be accidental. I, the, what I said going into week one against Denver applies until either Khalil Benson puts a lot more on tape or Josh Simmons comes back. I'm fine with 75 yards from the quarterback coming off the ACL because I think the defense is going to be really good. I think the running game is going to be excellent. I don't think we have a dynamic offense on the other side of the field, you know, in the first month of the season.

And I want his jersey to stay clean. And I want him to slowly work himself back, even though he feels 100% healthy. Yeah. Even though he's as evidenced by the fact that he couldn't wait to run in the touchdown. And so I do not want to disrespect what Khalil Benson did in week one. It was very admirable. But part of that, I believe, was Patrick was very quick getting rid of the ball,

which he then after the game was like, I probably was too quick. I should have gone through my progressions more. Disagree. It would be just as quick, Patrick, because they were running it so well that that really stymies the pass rush to a degree. And because Denver as a whole just was bad in all phases. Like, I don't want them to all of a sudden feel like, all right, everything got rolling in week one, except for our vertical passing game. Now in week two, we're going to get that rolling.

There is time for that. And I still believe Josh Simmons is going to be back and assuming that you're going once he's back and Patrick has a couple or three games under his belt, then start working on some of your more deep down the field passing stuff. Until then, break glass in case of emergency on that. And I don't think they're going to have an emergency this Sunday night against a Colts team that post a kill.

Billy's Daniel Jones, at least one game in, is to me not nearly as dangerous of a player because he doesn't want to run the ball. So, no, I don't expect. He's not a fantasy start this week for Patrick Lohams. I don't expect him to have a monster game either. I do expect improvement, in particular in their passing game, just on how they will start the game, being backed up and coming out, how he looked. I thought he was rushed on their side of the ball versus once he got over the 50s.

Then you saw a very aggressive Patrick Mahomes, like, okay, now I'm going for it all. But different pass rush, you know you don't have to get the ball out as quick. I'm with you, though. I think they stick to the script understanding their bread is being buttered right now in the run game. You run the ball until you have to allow Patrick Mahomes to then do what he does. And we saw on Monday night he can still do that, especially in the second half of that game. But I think it's going to overall be better for him simply because when you're coming off an injury and you're back out there and you hadn't been out there for a while, you want to get that first hit, that first contact, just that first game time play. And he got that under his belt Monday night football.

Now you're going Sunday night. You feel like, okay, I can do a little bit more. I can be a little bit more patient like he alluded to in his presser, like how he was rushing things a little bit. I think he'll be a little bit more patient, have a little more willingness to throw the ball down the field a little bit more, allow those routes to progress. But I don't think that's the game plan. I'm with you.

I don't think that's the game plan moving forward going into this game. I agree with you guys because I think they can ride Kenneth Walker to victory against the Colts. But as you once said famously, Nick, they're practicing during the regular season. I do think they should have a bit of a practice. Like if they can get up two touchdowns or whatever. whatever. I want to, like, Mahomes didn't complete a past 10 yards down the field.

I don't know where worthy and Rashi had the nice touchdown run, you know, catch a run. But I would like, I think they should look to, let's get the, let's get these receivers going a little bit. Do you not say you got to hear it out? Like waiting to do that until you have your left tackle back?

Like that's, I mean, it also maybe get, let's see, let's give him, Kalil a little bit. practice too because like you said Mahones was getting rid of it faster

we don't know when Simmons is back or is he staying back once he gets back so you know what I mean like Patrick I would think he's thinking I'm going to hold it a little longer and I'm going to try to I get it not air it out but we're going to try to get some better passing game going and better

you know get the receivers more confidence and more chemistry and all that play of week one there was a lot of cool place airing the ball out. But if I had to give an award for coolest play, it was the Depression era play that Andy Reed ran when Justin Fields was on the team, or was on the field with Moehmus. I thought that was a throwback to the more fun Chiefs team that we saw doing

wacky stuff that felt totally in control of the game. And I think that attitude is in conflict with like the play it safe, practice. I think that Andy Reed and Patrick Mahomes are like, we are going to be not dominant, but in a different way. Dominant and fun. And then Mojones already shown he's not playing his safe. No, and they keep in mind, the first drive of the season, they went forward on fourth down.

Yeah, I think it's true. The first drive of second app went for it on fourth down in their own territory. That was the Kenneth Walker touchdown run. So they were, Andy was aggressive in that regard. Like Ben Johnson's talking it and Andy, I feel like Andy Reid's just, quietly doing it. Drake May taking on Aaron Rogers in Foxborough. Rogers won their matchup last year. And now Drake is on the reputational ropes after a three interception fourth quarter performance. Here's Patrick Queen on facing Drake May.

I think he's a confident kid. I think any throat on the field you can make. And then you see uses his leg a lot more. You know, we always talk about it like we usually quarterbacks like that don't really, you know, get the procession at their fast, but he could slide. But I mean, he's just a confident. You can see the confidence growing every single game. The throws that he's taking chances on. It's just something that you see in a bet. Yeah, too confident.

Expect a bounce back game from Drake May. I'm nervous. Uh-oh. And of all my 14 playoff picks, I am most nervous, deep sleeper accepted, about the Patriots. Now, part of that is because I've been told, I need to keep my eye on an injury.

Not injury, just pain. Okay, so I, well, they don't have a pain report. I do. But they do have an injury report, and so all of us can keep our collective eye on it. The Patriots latest. You know what? I got it for everybody. The Patriot's latest injury report.

We don't, we don't all need to do it. I'm just telling you. I got it. He's not on there. He's not on there. He's not going to be on there. They are so secret. It's not going to be on there.

The guy's got a heart of a lion. All right. I'm just telling you. But I got my eye. I've been keeping my eye on it. You don't need to keep your eye on it. I told you specifically, I will keep my eye on it, okay? Okay.

If everybody goes on vacation, like we all got rental cars, man. I got the rental car, okay? We'll get in it. All right. So while you have your eye on it, I guess I'll keep my eye on this, which I think is one of the reasons you think we need to keep your eye on the injury is because of this graphic that,

what if Drake May is not good at D. Deep passing. Why is it? Why would you think that? Well, because well, long, long, long before he got hit in the AFC title game, he stopped being good at it. That's concerning. What if what was a huge part of his statistical resume last year was an unsustainable hot streak on deep passes? That worries me.

And what if this, which is now a third of a season's worth of games, continues. That's concerning. And the Steelers' offense is not good. But the Patriots pass rush might not be good either. And Aaron Rogers with time can still be accurate. And that Steelers' defense is good. So, yeah, I am very nervous about the Patriots this weekend, Brew.

Wiles, I've got good news and bad news for you. I'll take the good news only, please. The good news is I do see a bit of a bounce. What could be considered a bounce back in. I think he'll be solid. I think they will win. And I think he'll, you know, he'll play fine. It'll be like, okay, it's a good game.

I don't think he'll cook. And here's why. We haven't seen him cook against a team with a winning record in the last two years. know if he did it as a rookie, you know, in the limited time he played. So here's the last two years against teams with winning records. The stats are poor. You just touchdown to turnovers, pass a rating. And not one time, Nick, has he cooked?

He had three touchdown passes against the Texas. Okay, but you had three turnovers. Right. So, like, he hasn't had a great game against any team. And that includes the Steelers last year. and the bills twice. And then, of course, the playoffs in Seattle this year. So I'd like to see him cook against a good team.

Josh McDaniels said, I would say there was no film on him in our offense prior to week one last year. And so he's saying, like, people may have figured Drake May out. Josh McDaniels said that? Josh McDaniels said that as like, I don't know what he was asked, but he's like, yeah, it's part of the evolution. Like, now there's a little more tape on him. So maybe we are expecting a little bit more of a statistical regression, but he cannot. He cannot turn the ball over. The Patriots are 10 and 0 since the start of last year when they win the turnover battle.

All teams are pretty good when you win the turnover battle, but 10 and 0. Last time Aaron Rogers beat the Patriots, we gave the ball to them five times. Drake May versus Aaron Rogers. There is a video that the Patriots posted, Greg. of Mike Vrable sacking Aaron Rogers 20 years ago

20 years ago that means if you are 21 years old drinking out of the Labat beer you are one years old and this guy is still playing and the other guy is coaching Drake May cannot be outplayed

by Aaron Rogers he shouldn't be outplayed by Aaron Rogers the only way it can happen is if you do dumb stuff and put the ball in danger, Greg. Please tell me you're going to Patriots, Greg. I actually was in that game. Yeah, I was trying to say, yeah.

I was actually a part of that. Were you in that video? No, not in the video. Greg's here. Starters were on the bench at that point. That was Aaron's for a year. But I do expect him to bounce back. And the reason why I expect him to bounce back,

I expect him to take what the defense gives him. Thank you. And last week, I just felt like even when you were going back and forth with coach, I was watching you guys, and you said he's throwing in double coverage. God forbid. It's a safety and a corner, and I called it double coverage. And he's like, how dare you? How dare you?

It essentially ended up being two defenders. Yeah, one guy. The ball got there. There's two guys on. But just when he decided to let that ball go in that whole shot, it was late. The one across the middle of the field, it was a bad read. And then the last one, obviously, we know. Just throw that away.

Last year, we didn't see him doing those things. And I just think moving forward, he's going to be reminded of ball security. If you don't have it, there's no need to force it. And I think last week we saw a Drake May trying to force the issue when he doesn't have to force the issue. Boy, your guy, Romeo Dobbs. He'll be all right. Okay. I'm nervous.

He's going to get a lot of opportunity. Gloves on. I'm dropped one. You didn't say, you got what you were by George Big. Are you worried about this? It's a bit of the pattern. How did you do that? As strong as Greg is, that probably hurt, too.

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for the Cadillac definition of luxury. Vikings in Chicago Sunday afternoon on Fox. Ben Johnson's offense versus Brian Flores' defense. Here's Ben Johnson talking about Caleb. He's always got the chip on his shoulder. He hears everything out there, you know, 58% completion, end quote, he'll never be able to play on schedule.

He takes it personal and he wants to show that he can do it all. That's the type of kid he is. That's Ben Johnson on Caleb. Caleb's two games against Brian Fores' defense. And Danny showed some graphics when Ben Johnson was in the line. I didn't think that was relevant at all. This, I think, is super relevant. Well, it's ones about the coach.

One's about the quarterback. Yeah, exactly. A loss in a win, but not a ton of points. open week one game where nine got loose. Yeah. Okay. Better in that game. Yeah.

Yeah. More faith in the Bears' offense or the Vikings defense? This is a tough one. I'm going to say I think the Bears will win. I think Caleb will be fine. I don't think he's going to go out there and just embarrass Brian Flores defense. I think this week is going to tell a lot about. I mean, if he just plays fine and they win, I think people will be like, okay, he's

solid, he'll do the little things, he's not always got to make the dynamic play. But if he goes out there and either struggles mightily make some boneheaded plays, now he doesn't turn the ball over, so I don't expect that. Or if he goes out there and is close to what he was a week ago, oh my. Then you really got something to think about because only one team last year scored 30, or more points against the Vikings. And so this defense,

we all know how great floor is and the defense is, but nobody puts up 30 plus against the Rams did it once last year. That's it. So if they go out there and score 37 points or whatever and Caleb plays really well, then they are really going to be a force this season. Yeah, not a lot of teams put up 30 points against the Texans or the Broncos, but we saw it.

Look, I have more faith in this bear's offense. They score in bunches. They can score in a multitude of ways. When you look at the Flores defense, he's very tactical in his approach and obviously blitzing. So he's going to make it very murky up front to try to confuse Caleb Williams. Well, when you can run the ball, something that they didn't have to face last week because the Packers can't run the ball. You can control the line of scrimmage. The Bears have a really good offensive line.

They can run the ball with Swift and others. and then you have a quarterback that can get out of the pocket, be accurate, right, as of right now, be very accurate, hit the ball down the field and use his legs. This is an offense that just poses a lot of problems. Look, the Vikings gave up a lot of yards offensively to the Green Bay Packers. So let's not act like they just stifle everything. So Chicago Bears, awful defense, week one, we were talking about it. Like, Chicago Bears right now, after a. a week in a game, dead last in the NFL and passing defense.

They're allowing 353 yards per game. That's because the lions allowed 40s, but it got better because they allowed fewer yards. But it's actually, you know what, that's not true. The Bears passing demons is tied for dead last, tied with, and he guesses, and he guesses the Vikings. Yeah. Who allowed 353 yards passing to Jordan Love in that game. I think this is a, given what we have said about. the Bears this week, I think this is a crazy question.

We have said we think the Bears might be, might have the number one offense in football this year and have a shot at the number one offense in football history. Like that's what has been discussed. I don't know anybody that's picking the Vikings to have the number one defense in the NFL this year. And so I trust Ben Johnson with his history against Brian Flores, Caleb Williams,

with his improvement in year three, much more than I trust the Vikings defense. Now, I think as far as the Bears' chances as a contender, if you let Carson Wins carve you up, like you let Bryce Young carve you up, you have major issues. But when the Bears have the ball, I expect the Bears to be winning that battle. And I want to know if you are, if this game can officially stamp you, Kevin Wilds, a Caleb Williams believer. I think Caleb's good. I am wondering this. Do you remember that meme?

It's a recent meme going on. this airplane again, answer the question, and stop trying to go TikTok viral. The lady on a plane, and she goes up to the front and she's pointing the back, she's like, that's not real. Have you seen it? Their social media team? That's hugely famous. I need to figure out what's real in the NFL.

I have only seen the Seahawks play defense, the Chiefs play defense, the Chiefs play. defense. Yeah. The Jags. The 49ers play defense, but I kind of throw that out because of Australia. Why? Because it's because of Australia. Because the Rams were like, we don't know what time, we don't even know what day it is.

So I've really only seen two defenses play. Maybe I'm forgetting a team. I want to see it if it's real. And if, if Brian Flore is going to have a real, it's like, all right, the dust has settled on week one. I've made my adjustments. Here's the real deal. I didn't see the bills playing any events, didn't see the Lions playing any defense.

Am I going to see a real defense? If I see Brian Flores' real defense and he feels confident, he's sending the blitzes, and Caleb lights it up, I will start to believe a little bit more in Caleb. But if he lights it up, you're going to say it's not the real defense. That is a good point. Which superstar is on upset alert?

That's next. Our first thing's first right here on FS1. Gianna, pull up that meme. It's a woman on an airplane. Do you wish you could just hit Skip on the worst parts of your life, you know the same way you can skip an ad? I get it. I'm Siaia and I live in Ice Cove. I've made some questionable decisions that didn't end up the way I planned. And today I'm still figuring it out. Somehow things usually get worse before they get better. Apparently,

that's how I roll. So bundle up and come along for the bumpy ride. Stream a new episode of North of North Tuesdays on CBC Gem. Live from New York, it's a show that's drinking all beverages out of beer horns now. Do we have it? I think Hubs took it. Hubs probably drank. Greg, get a protein shake out of it. Hubs probably poured out the apple juice we had in it and put in real beer.

You want to put your protein shake in there? Just water. Greg's got a bunch of protein up there. It's got a big ton of. When Greg came over to my house to watch football, unlike you who canceled, even though your event ended 45 minutes for football. That's not true. I missed it.

As soon as he texted me to say he actually was coming. My wife had been asked me to get waters for the house for a week, but I always for me. I was like Greg's coming. I was like, I need a lot of water in the house. I ran to the store and bought a whole case of water. Can you really just get that? Yeah, I got it. I got like 10 minutes for you got there.

Water comes out of the tap. Greg Jennings, his body's in temple. He's not drinking tap water. Appreciate you. Yeah, I got you. Yeah, no problem. Second hour of first thing's first. Today, Dack's message slash non message to Cowboys fans.

Very interesting quote from Dak. Kind of like it. Meanwhile, week two, of upset alert and a fresh edition of Nick's picks. These picks are hot. I got an early sneak preview and I think they're hot. I got, listen, this is a great example of

trust the process. I trust the process on this. Week one results weren't there. The process was sound. That's exactly right. But right now we're headed up to Buffalo. Josh Allen had five total touchdowns over 300 total yards. Did I say total touchdowns?

Yeah, that counts, I guess. That was plenty. Bill's Over Alliance 4131. Here's Joe Brady. On the view from the sideline, take a listen. Down there, being able to look my guys in the eyes, I think that's so critical, and it allows me to see some of that stuff. I mean, God, Lee. Can I get a set? I can't talk about them now. Yeah, yeah. No, it's, I mean, I see exactly what you guys are seeing now, you know, from that perspective. And any time the ball's in his hands, good things happen. Yeah, love that guy.

So did you keep your shirt on this team? I should have kept my shirt on last week, too. Vives are high in Buffalo, Greg. What do they prove to you last night? Well, look, man, Josh Allen is in peak MVP form already. I saw the A block, so I saw the banners. Listen, every year this is the story. And I think when I look at them, we always talk about teams starting fast.

It's important to start fast. just they start faster than anyone. And a large reason why is because of this guy. Now so but what did they prove? They prove that they are a problem. They are a simple problem and Josh Allen will remain being a problem. Now they have some issues as well like some concerns. Their defense, their past defense definitely in the first two weeks they have issues on the back end schematically blowing the assignments, different things like that. But when your offense has it humming and has it rolling like that, Josh Allen, this year, I got these numbers for you guys.

Five passing TDs, four Russian TDs. It's the first time in NFL history through first two games of the season that this has happened. Like, he does things that others just don't do. And you can call it September champs. I know. It's been great. He gets off to hot starts, and this is what affords them the opportunity to have a little bit of breathing room towards the end of the season. Now, he has to finish it, and we'll see how that grows as we progress throughout the season.

But, man, they prove the same team they prove every single year. You better be ready to play them come start of the season because they are going to be ready to play you. I think they proved that this may be the best offense Josh Allen has had. And you said, you've shown the graphics, Nick, they always look fantastic, averaging 30 plus points in September. But when you just look at the personnel, now again, I'm counting in DJ Moore. Fortunately, he's not going to be out too long with that shoulder injury. But they're receiving core is legit. I'm not saying it's elite.

But DJ, I think, is proven he's a legit number one. And now you see maybe Keon Coleman, the light is gone. He played okay last night, had a nice reception. You know, Joshua Palmer's looked good. Obviously, Shakir. And then they got not just Dalton Kincaid, who really is talented, but even Dawson Knox, like two legit tight ends. And obviously they got a great running back too.

And then your quarterback not only can throw it but pass it. And a play caller who is like, let's go full board, the aggressiveness of a Ben Johnson. And so this could end up being their best offense of the Josh Allen era, which is saying a lot. So I think, oddly, over the last three seasons, regular seasons, including this one. So this one in the previous two, of everyone in regulation, I have probably been the most optimistic about the bills. Two years ago, I think I was the, you know, when people thought they were going to have a down year, I picked them to make the AFC title game. last year when the playoffs started, they were my pick to go to the Super Bowl out of the

AFC. I kind of hedged. I said winner of Jacksonville Buffalo would go because I wanted to save on for Trevor. But like, and this year, I have them going 12 and 5, winning the division, and being really good. They've been better than even I expected the first two weeks because of what they did against Houston. When the schedule came out and we saw the Lions injuries, you know, or a month ago, we knew those guys were on Pupplest. I thought this game would probably look a lot like this, but the Texans game was something to me. I think the offensive lines is as good as it was last year. James Cook is as good as he was last year. We've seen Josh with a reliable top flight receiver in Diggs and what that can look like.

So I am, listen, they apps, and I've been on the record for five years saying, I think at some point that win a Super Bowl. And maybe that's this year. But these graphics that I showed in the A block that all show again, they are relevant only because I feel like there is a big portion of football media that feels like what they're doing this year is new. Their points per game in September, the last seven years, is 32. Now, this year, right now it's 38. We'll see, you know, when September ends. They're 18 and 4.

They win the games by an average of two touchdowns. Their losses are so like, we remember the losses. The Aaron Rogers game was like a weird one. Like the, they're so good in September. And Josh starts every single year, if we go to the next one, off amazingly. And so that's, these two graphics are noteworthy for two reasons. Reason one, he has not sniffed a season ending passer rating of these numbers in his career. The bills have not had the one seed once in his career.

So for some reason or another, at some point during the regular season, he cools considerably and they cool at least a bit. Maybe this year, maybe it is McDermott, and now it's Joe Brady. Maybe this year it will be different. But there is a level of, I don't want to say, fool me once again, because I think they're a really good team. but we've sung this song before. Then, you know what I mean?

He has, you know, an underwhelming month. They lose a couple games they shouldn't. They're, you know, a super dangerous two seed that annihilates someone in the wildcard round, and then the real season begins for him. So, like, I'm not ready to say this is, you know, their best team. I don't know that that's the case. It might be the most potent offense because of Brady, but given the defensive struggles,

I don't know that I think it's their best team. Quickly, you're right. I mean, that's a great graphic and it just proves your point. But it may be, because I do feel like every year, it feels like, even to me, like, man, the bills look great. And it might be because their seasons end

in disappointing fashion. And as you showed, Josh struggles in those games. And then they come back out and it's like, they got to win it. And here they come. Look at it. like they're about to win it. So it's time now for a segment so hot. It got loose and hacked

hugging face on its own. It's upset. Oh, I don't like that at all. It did. Bro, upset, giving, upset alert got loose. Upset alert got loose. As your deceased alcoholic grandmother is one. She liked to have a little pop every now and then. I wouldn't go that far. Turning it into a funny little. He's really into this. About the pending AI apocalypse. Well, we're all going down. He's really into this.

He's really scared. We're all going down. Yeah, let's not joke about it. Strike up the band. Okay. Both of them are. Time for the scoring. Sorry, Greg.

We're going down. I don't know if you've been following the news. We're all done for. Bruce got zero. I got zero and coaching Greg got three. All right. So you got a turn. You guys might wonder like, wait, Greg and coach got three.

So bad job by us last week when we showed the upset alert rules, which are very straightforward and easy. And we publish them every week. They're in the bylaw. But, pardon me. We also show them to you guys. I forgot the highlighted portion that we amended last year to why, because Wildes was whining.

That, oh, we can't catch him and it's an alert, so you should get more than one point for a cover, but not an outright win. So we amended the rules once for Wilds. Wilds is kind of like the Buffalo Bills of Upset Alert. When he doesn't win, we change the rules, so one day he will. It was fair. And then when you weren't here,

Greg, KW is like, hey, can we add parlay's upset alert? Then don't do them. It's too confusing that somebody that doesn't get in a lot. I don't even know what the heck it is. You may parlay two upsets and become eligible for the points from all the upsets. However, if you don't get both upsets correct outright, you have to have winner winner, then you get zero points. KW. I love it.

I'm here to tell you, don't do it. It's a sucker bet. Give it a shot if you're confident. I mean, if Greg and coach get out to a huge lead, we'll have no choice. Exactly. It's the only way we have it back. There's also, also, week nine, points are doubled for everybody. It's not that.

But let me just tell you right now, as the only gambler on the show, as someone that is on the 945 JetBlue to Las Vegas, and you can, you know, see me on no gamble, no future tomorrow afternoon. Okay, come on. We don't know what you talking about. I'm just telling you, it's a poker go YouTube. Check it out. What are you doing?

I'm here to tell you. Playing cars. I'm here to tell you guys, parlaying upset alerts to chase your losses is not a way to victory. Slow and steady wins the race. Don't hold the line. Hold the L is what I was going to say. Oh, wow.

The cockiness is out of it. Well, you just said, how are we going to catch? I'm saying if. If y'all get out. If. We'll see. A lot of football. What do you got, Greg?

All right. Going to the desert. Really? Vegas? Yeah. Not that. Not that. Oh, Vegas.

I'm going over to Arizona. I believe in this team. He loves the Cardinal. I believe in this team. Look, I know they got the champs, but hear me out. If they had the champs coming to their house and they had Sam Darnold and they were able, they were putting up that 30, 25, 26 points a game, I would be a little bit more concerned. But they don't. They got Drew Locke.

Drew Locke. And how many points did they score last week? 13. 13. How many touchdowns? One. And that was a big play by J.S.N. Yep, I don't think the Cardinals are going to allow too much more.

And when I look at Jacoby Preset, I understand going up against a great defense, no disrespect to that defense, but Jacoby Preset say bring it. I got you. Get on my back. I'm going to put the team on it. This is since week six of last year, taking over after Carl and, Murray, we all know what happened there. But 13 games, completion percentage.

He's getting it where it needs to go. Passing yards, he leads to NFL, 280 passing yards. That's a crazy stat. Touchdown. Like, he's been bawling. And we overlooked them and him because they haven't been winning games. Well, they went to L.A. And they got a big win.

Now they come home and they got the champs. A team who they played tight week, the first time they played them last year, 23 in a loss. Second time the game got away from them. Two sack strip fumbles. Not good. Gave up 35 points in the first half. They remember that.

They remember that. I like what this team has. The acquisition of the addition of Jeremiah Love, the runner and the passer out of the backfield. Obviously, Marvin Harrison Jr. is coming alive. Then you got Trey McBride, one of the best tight ends, if not the best tight end on the football. Great upset alert.

This is a great one. This is, this is perfect. The Seahawks are due. Can I, oh, that's a great upset order. And Drew Locke, so can I ask you, can I ask questions real quick for you go, Drew? So Trey McBride, best healthy tight-in league, maybe just the best tight-in. They just gave Michael Wilson. Did they just give him money or he wanted money?

No, they gave him money. He's been asking. You talk about Jeremiah Lowe. Is it going to happen for Marvin Harrison, Jr? And if not, do you think they'd want to trade him to the chiefs? But no, but like the, um. He had a nice catch. He had a nice catch, but when you watch him,

if he popped the way we all thought that he would, this team, I think, would be a lot better. But do you think he's going to pop? I'm not certain. I don't, again, you guys have known, I said this, off the ball, off the line of scrimmage. I come from Green Bay. We get off the line of scrimmage.

We don't allow a lot of guys get their hands on. He allows defensive backs to get their hands in his chest. The way he lines up immediately, he just exposes himself to have a hard route immediately out the gate. But contested catches down the field, he thrives doing that. I got to be honest, I do love that pick. I do. I don't love that. I love it so much. I tried to convince Greg to go with him.

You did. You did. You did. But I like this one, and I think Nick will too. Jacksonville over Denver. I love this one too. Brew? That's going to be a winner.

Look, look, we talked about the September champs. You know who's the September strugglers? Wow. The Broncos under Sean Payton. Four and eight in September under Sean Payton. Obviously, he didn't look good against the Chiefs. Bonix doesn't look. I just don't, he doesn't look good until the final minutes of game.

and he didn't look good in the final minutes last week against the Chiefs. So I don't know how good their offense is. Obviously, the Jags and the Prince cooked against the Browns, but I think Liam Cohen has something going there. So I like the Jags. I love that. Liam Cohen's awesome. He is.

He got a career season out of Baker, a career season out of the Prince, and now he's had two great quarterbacks to work with, but still. Question. Because I love both of these. No. Great arguments. You can't add there to yours. He was to parlay both of them. No. I do for the record like both of those. Okay. If ever a new regime comes in, I would want this on the record. Time now for the Pucksatani Phil football to make his pick. Why they call you Pucksatani Phil of Football? Can I refer a living log? Just a coincidence. Jets over the Packers. Wow. Wow. Straight up. Oh, wow. That's crazy. I don't know. Have you been into a

Home Depot recently? I have. Guess what they got up? Halloween stuff. Been into a Whole Foods recently? You know what you're going to see in about a week or so? Order your turkey. Order all your fixings. Right from home. Get the order in early. Because that's a long time with Thanksgiving's coming back around. It's also the last time the Packers won a game on the road. Thanksgiving. Can you believe it? It's been a long time, Greg. And I think it starts to get into your head. Hey, when's the last time we won a game on the road? You're talking to somebody on the plane?

It was Thanksgiving. No, you're kidding me. Yes, it was Thanksgiving was the last time the Packers won a game on the road. Now, how's the defense been? Because, of course, they haven't won a game. They did beat the Bears at home, but they haven't won a game since Mike has left. And how's the defense been doing? Not a great.

You are 27th, 29th, 28th, tied for 28th, and second. seven sacks in six games. You would think somebody would just fall down on somebody's like mouthpiece that falls off and get counted as a sack. They just give me a half a sack every now and then. So I actually think a losing mentality can be get more losing, which is the story of the New York Jets. Yeah.

But they have got one win. And New York City's electric with just one win from the Jail. They are? I live here. Buddy. I think it's more about the giant. Finger, false. I'm there.

Still the Knicks, too. Here's the other thing that's going to happen in this game that it's going to set met life of bleas and on fire. Place to be going nuts. The poor Jets didn't get one interception all last year. Now Mika Fitzpatrick is out. He is out. I'm glad you said that.

Continue. But Jordan Love's not afraid to give you one or two or three or four. Last four games. He's got four interceptions. Previous 19 games, it was three. If the Jets get an interception, that place will erupt. And it's a new year.

And the Packers go, oh my gosh, what's going on? Here's one final bit before I throw it to Nick's Big because I'm hot. If the Jets are winning, bad news for the Packers. Also, if the Packers are winning in halftime, Greg, bad news for the Packers. You said it yourself. You put the floor on the mud list.

You like the brother. I see why you like our picks. Packers straight up over, or death straight up over Packers. Time now for Nick's picks. Indeed it is. Listen, folks, you're going to see the record from last week. And you're going to say, Nick, what the hell happened?

And I'm here to tell you I like all three of them. I'd do it again. Bucks, I'm getting three and a half. Baker's doing the Harlem shake going into the end zone. That's a time of that. I made Greg laugh. Loses the ball. They still have an opportunity.

I'm catching three and a half. I was on the right side of that game. Texans getting one and a half. Josh throws it too. Lasseter. He drops it. Even after that, they drive down the field.

They can still do it. Eagles lay in five and a half. That's probably my worst one. They were just in control that game. With that said, if Washington just converts the two-point conversion, go to overtime, one by six. Started last year, O and three.

ended, that means last year I finished 28, 22 and 1. You know what this smells like? Three and O. Two and one. Let's use the two. Three and oh! Laying two and a half with the road Carolina Panthers. Now I know what you're thinking.

Nick, do you know the last time the Panthers covered or won as a favorite? And the answer to that question is yes, but these guys don't know. So listen to their sound when I tell them. The last time the Panthers won or won. We're covered as a favorite. September 23rd, 2000, 2021. But you know what they say?

No one goes five years without winning as a favorite. This is the last chance to avoid that. We probably only have a handful. Plus, I thought the offense looked good. That gentleman is starting officially for Atlanta. They're still my deep sleeper. I think they're gonna get off to a little rocky start, Carolina, laying two and a half.

Love it. Divisional Road favorite. Next one. Oh, they're at? Yeah, divisional road favor. Oh, in Atlanta. I don't like that at all. Jags, catching two and a half.

Brues right. They're the better team. And I know historically, you guys don't love these segmented things. Guess what? Don't give a damn. Show me Trevor's last nine. Oh, my God. Oh, it's the best player in the league.

Why don't, I'm just saying the society doesn't work on nines. Really? Yeah, it's mostly tens, to be honest. Okay, well, guess what? After this week, it'll be 10. But it's mostly nine. It's mostly 10s. The Broncos, meanwhile, were bad at everything this past week.

The Jags are better. They went to Denver last year and curbs stomped them. I'm catching two and a half. They're going to win outright. Last but not least, a road team that's actually a home team. Raiders getting six and a half. Guess what's all over Los Angeles, Raider fans. Guess what's nowhere in the world, Charger fans.

Just that one lady, we always see the meme of she's freaking out. It's the only one. Ladd-McConkey's out, and we're potentially out, and we're already getting the job. Yesterday, I had to listen. I didn't have to. I chose to listen to a podcast. Nate Dyson Shield Capadia being like, huh?

You know, when you go player for player, Cardinals might just have a better roster than the Chargers. Then why'd you all pick them to go to the Super Bowl every year? Raiders plus six and a half. That's three and okay. W right there. Okay. What?

I just want you to say out, you're going with the Raiders again and you're going with Bryce, who you are not a huge supporter of. Yeah, that's right. Against my deep sleeper. And again, yeah. What's your point? I like- I'm not worried about it.

Okay. That's three and oh, I hope so. Oh, you're going with the Jets. You're going with the Jets. I think the- Your argument was the other team has a history of losing. What? They do.

Don't you wish you could just hit skip on the worst parts of your life? You know the same way you can skip an ad? I get it. I'm Siaia and I live in Ice Cove. I've made some questionable decisions that didn't end up the way I planned. And today I'm still figuring it out. Somehow things usually get worse before they get better. Apparently, that's how I roll.

So bundle up and come along for the bumpy ride. Stream a new episode of North of North Tuesdays on CBC Gem. Fox College Football Friday, Houston, taking on Texas Tech. Mahomes will be watching this one. Probably watching Gamefield. Both. You know, you get multiple screens. It's tonight 8 o'clock.

These Friday night football games have been fantastic. Quick episode of No Huddle here on First things first Friday edition. Bengals are in Houston. Texan's defense got cooked up by Josh Allen last week. And now they're facing Joe Burrow. Now Burrow had back tightness and was limited in practice this week. But he said questioning his availability was ridiculous and he was a full participant today. Brew, you want to go first?

Who you got here? Texans or the Bengals? Sorry, Cincinnati, but give me the Texans. Look, Burrow, even when they win, he's just not great in the first few weeks of the season. and here it is right here through his career. First two weeks of the season, four and nine, I mean, that's gotten better recently.

But look, completion percentage, yards, yards per attempt. Look at that. Everything is down, passerating. So it takes him a little while to get going. And, oh, now he's playing with back tightness. So I don't expect to see Joe Burrow at his finest. And on the other side of the ball,

Houston, you know they are embarrassed by what happened. Somebody putting 36 on. I don't care if it's Josh Allen. Anybody putting 36 on them is going to upset them. I think they want to come out and reset things and prove a point. So I got Houston winning this one. Yeah, I'm with you. I got the Texans winning this one.

I think this is all about the Houston Texans defense. D'emico Ryan's takes things like this personal. And knowing his defense didn't perform, they're going to take it personal because they rally behind their coach. I don't need to talk about Joe Burrow in that offense. They're a team that I feel like is going to make. make the postseason, it's going to be uphill climbing all game long, and I just don't think they'll be able to get it done down against the Texans. So I guess we make a clean sweep

in that I also am leaning Texans. I'm worried about Burrow in this spot. The back, clearly something happened in week one. We think we know the play. That hit on the sideline. That bothered him, that, you know, to where he was not a full... I'm shocked that he put himself in that place. I mean, listen, I mean, you credit him, I guess, for going for it, but it was, that's, that's a bigish hit and it made him limited Wednesday and Thursday. You then have a Texan's defense that, you know, to mix metaphors, after what happened in week one, has to be like, you know, guard dogs that have been starved, you know, like angry and, you

know, and feeling like we've got to go get our get back on what we weren't able to do. Now, I guess the flip side is if the Bengals O line is able to do against Houston what they did against Tampa, I'll be a bigger believer. And I thought Amarius Mims had a really good game in week one against Tampa. But this sure feels to me like a game where Burroughs going to be on the ground a lot. And if he's going into the game banged up already, that is high. highly concerning. Now, Nico Collins. Yeah, big loss.

Is out with a hamstring. It's dealt with a hamstring for basically every year of his career, but one and a half, sadly. So I don't know how much the Texans' offense is going to be able to cook on this new and improved Bengals defense. But I feel like the Texans defense reminds us in this game. There's still the Texans defense, and that's bad news for Joe Burrow. All right. Broncos no-showed for Patrick Mahomes' return to the field. Their offense did nothing while Sean Payton flirted with taking over the play calling again.

Defense allowed 250 yards and missed tackles. Bo Nick says he's not stressed. Take a listen. Overall, it wasn't, you know, we're not going to press the panic button and, you know, we're not freaking out. We're not starting from scratch or anything. We feel like we're still in a good spot. and we just didn't play great by any means, and we got to play better.

Remember Denver was on a big win streak at home until Trevor showed up. They won 34 to 20. He threw four touchdowns on a pass-row rating of 115. Can he do it again? And is it panic time in Denver if the Broncos lose? Listen, typically I would say losing to a team in Kansas City that I think can win the Super Bowl on a team in Jacksonville

that I think is a legitimate contender would not, you know, just had bad draw of your first two weeks the season. That wouldn't necessarily mean it's panic time. But they played so poorly. Now, in week one. Now, I think, I don't think the chiefs are necessarily getting enough credit for what they forced Denver's offense into looking like and the way their pass rush was able to really upset the Denver offensive line. But this is how Denver's week one performance ranked on both sides of the ball. I mean, the only thing they're not bottom five in is points allowed. And they allowed 31.

That's just because we had a crazy high scoring week one of the season. So if Jacksonville goes to Denver and has their way with them, whether you should panic or not, Greg, I think Sean Payton will panic in his actions in that I think he will take overplay call it. I think he should. Oh, interesting. If their offense looks bad again and they lose,

Because you can't let the season. You can't wait for Davis Webb to kind of find his footing. The season is getting away from you, particularly with their schedule. I didn't mean to go ahead of you, Greg, but the Rams, the Niners, the Chargers, the Seahawks, Arizona, if they end up being good, they already look for the game. And then the Chiefs.

Yeah, and then the, so they got kind of one game if Arizona's not that good. That is like not very loseable. I mean, because all of those other games are definitely potential. else. So I would advise Sean Payton. If the offense doesn't play well, he should take over to play call. And so, but I'm with, I do think if they lose this game, it's panic time without question because of the schedule. And look, people would say Sean Payton, come on, he's a great coach, which he is a very good coach.

But he's had, he's not immune to some losing streaks. I mean, we saw in New Orleans had three straight seven and nine seasons with Drew Brees. So, yeah, they'd be in deep trouble if they lose this game. I would argue it wouldn't be panic time because we've seen this team struggle offensively. And I don't think any of us thinks that if they are to win, it would be in a shootout. That would mean their defense gave up a ton of points again, which would be even a bigger alarm that needs to sound off. But their offense, if Bo Nix goes out there and he looks the way he did in week one, like this was a little bit. of what they struggled with and how they looked last season

through the course of the season from quarter one to quarter three. And then they would turn it on. So I think because of that, there would be in-house a sense of, okay, we don't have to panic because we've been here before offensively. But when you add Jalen Waddle and you can run the ball and you don't run the ball because you're behind so much, now you have to just completely ignore the run because you are trying to play catch up, then you are, in a sense,

panicking throughout the games, which then you're going to be behind every single time because if you're relying on Bo Nix to shoulder this offense, I don't think that's a sign for them, a good sign for them moving forward. I don't think he's ready for that yet. I think they need to support him with that run game,

and so they need to get out front. This is a big spot for them. Yeah, and Bo Nix, I think, I think people that watch the NFL every week came into this year with a lot of questions about Bow Nix and his biggest supporters be like hey, look at his win-loss record

and even we on this show did point out that once they trailed last year, 21 touchdowns, three turnovers like he was excellent with his backup against the wall. But his overall body of work on a play-to-play basis in this league has been patchy. You know what I mean?

And he was awful in week one, awful. I don't know if it's coming off the ankle surgery. I don't know if it's the humidity in Kansas City. I don't know what it was, but I know he was awful in week one. If he's really bad in week two, and then, like you said, they have the Rams coming up next, I do wonder his own confidence level what it does to him. And I wonder, like, what the, you talk about the vibes in Buffalo, how high they are for a team that was the number one scene in the AFC last year that, you know, hosted the AFC championship game

and was in that game with their backup quarterback if they feel like what the hell what's happening here? So I think there's a huge spot for them and I think the Jags are better and I think the Jags are going to win. If the Jags win this game, it's time to start talking even more about

Jackson. Thank you. They won 13 games last year. Nobody cares. Bo, watch that second drive over and over and over again. Dak on Frustrated Cowboys fans next. on the worst parts of your life, you know the same way you can skip an ad? I get it. I'm Siaia

and I live in Ice Cove. I've made some questionable decisions that didn't end up the way I planned, and today I'm still figuring it out. Somehow things usually get worse before they get better. Apparently, that's how I roll. So bundle up and come along for the bumpy ride.

Stream a new episode of North of North Tuesdays on CBC Gem. Start Saturdays Strong on Fox. The crew is across the point. Pond special big noon kickoff 10 a.m. Eastern live from Wembley Stadium in London for the Union Jack Classic. Then Ohio State hosts Kent State at the horseshoe. They're looking to head back up to number one. It's going to take a long. It's going to take more than beaten Kent State. No, you've got to have an impressive performance. The line's 52 and a half. Big Noon Saturday on Fox. America's Game of the Week Cowboys hosting the commanders. Both lost a division rival. Someone's headed to the basement of the NFC East after this game. Here's DAC on some frustrated fans.

Take a listen. I love our fans, but, you know, I don't necessarily feel like I need to speak to that fan, you know. Sorry for them. If they're a real fan, they'll stick with it, they'll trust it. They'll believe in it. And at the end of the day, like we just said, it is one game. And, yeah, it sucks. It's the first game.

Nobody's more pissed than myself and these guys in here. We didn't want to start O-N-1. We were as excited as any fan out there. about the offseason and things we've done in the training camp. So turn that energy and come to the game this Sunday and be as loud as you can and we appreciate it. Brew, your reaction, your reaction to Dak. I'm just starting to wish Dak would chill out a little bit.

I mean, just say, look, we didn't play well. I get why our fans are frustrated, you know what I mean? Like, we're going to put something better on the field, though, come Sunday. So come out and keep supporting this, and we're going to play well. Like, not a big fan of if they're a real fan, dot, dot, dot, dot, literally anything.

Yeah, like, come on, man. Like, that was a terrible loss. And I get it. Maybe the Giants really are good. I thought they did look good. They obviously got a new coach who's got the organization in a different direction. But if you struggling against the Giants,

who are you going to be? And in this, if you lose to the commanders at home, who are you beating? Because their schedule, we've talked about it. It's tough. And I'm not saying they would go winless, but I'm just saying, you lose to the, coming off a bad loss, and now and like, we got to write the ship now. And you lose to the commanders in your home opener. And their commanders won't be easy because I thought Jaden showed he's a gamer. He didn't really play that well throughout the game,

but he made the big plays when they needed them to give them a chance to win. They lose this game. And look, I picked the Cowboys, kind of a foolish man that picked the Cowboys to go to the Super Bowl, all right? But I will still believe if they win this game. I believe in the offense. They study themselves.

Yeah, the defense, it's just, I don't like the quote from Dak, but just go out there and prove it on the field. Yeah, I'm with you. I thought he should have just leaned into what the fan's frustration was because we all were frustrated. They were frustrated on the sidelines. You could see that. But this, the performance that we saw, them specifically offensively,

I thought it was problematic because, and it had potential to rear his head because they were excited about their defense. They believed that their defense had turned a corner. And when you go into a game, unlike they did last season, And like the bears, the bears know we got to score points. Like the bills even probably know, we got to just score points. The Cowboys after last week's loss are going into this game, we might be in the same situation, guys. We got to score points.

And so I think you have a different type of approach. And I know that sounds strange, but when you know you have got to score because you may give up a lot of points, you approach. The game plan is different. You approach it differently from a unit standpoint, meaning offense defense. But I think last week they believed they were excited about their defense. They thought their defense had turned a corner or was turning a corner. And they didn't. And so I think this week we'll see a different version of their offense.

And part of, I think, some folks' optimism about the Cowboys was, yes, they have a tough schedule. But four games against the commanders and giants should supplement that a bit. Well, you're 0 and 1 now against the Giants. So the best you can do is split with them. And when you look at their schedule, just like games you're most confident in, on that first column, the two games you were most confident in are the first two. So yeah, you lose this game. You're in real trouble.

You won't be a bigger favorite. Like the only other game you're going to be a favorite in in that left-hand column is home against the bucks. You won't be a bigger than four-and-a-half-point favorite unless something disastrous happens in Tampa. and the commanders on the other hand, I, listen, you guys, I picked all 272 games when I did my picks. KW said there's an app where you could do it. I did it old school by hand.

Yeah, it takes about 20 minutes, honestly. Well, old school by hand, it took me a whole Sunday morning. I had to go back check. I was like, wait, gosh, darn it's 273 and 271. I screwed something up here. It's fine. It doesn't matter. I thought the commanders would be a, I think I had them going

five and 12 or six and 11, in large part. because I did not think they were going to be able to protect Jaden, and I thought the defense was going to be a bottom six or seven defense in football. Week one, I thought they did okay in both regards. Like, Jaden started slow, bro. He was like six of 17 start or whatever. But it wasn't because, like, Jalen Carter was ruining his life. So the offensive line held up a little better than I expected.

And on the back end, Sequin had a 42-yard run. And then other than that, I think. I think it was 19 carries for another 40 yards or, you know, those numbers are a little off. But they were totally fine in week one. They weren't great and they lost. But the commanders were totally fine in week one. The Cowboys with Quinn and Williams and all this investment on defense should absolutely be able to get after Jayden Daniels and the Cowboys with supposed to be an offense that not

the Bears that's going to break the all-time point track, it's supposed to be the Cowboys, be able to have their way with the commander's defense. If not only to steady themselves for the season, but we just saw the defending NFC's champion how they looked against the commanders. If you're trying to win the division, you want to look better than the Eagles looked. And the Eagles controlled that game. You know, they were up five to seven basically the whole time until the very end. And so I think it is abandoned ship time in Dallas if they lose this game.

No, if they lose this game. You fall to 0 and 2. 0 and 2 in the division. But that schedule is brutal. Live from New York, it's first things first overtime with Danny Parkins. Today, is there a chance? Caleb embarrasses the Vikings. It's on the board.

Meanwhile, who will be the number one X factor this weekend? Find out in a new segment called X Factor. Is that a new segment? That's not what it's called, but it could be. And finally, this is a new segment. This is a good one. Are we going all in on the, no, but they did it last week. It was awesome.

It's called chips on the table. How does chips on the table work? It's like a poker. Thanks for watching. What does that mean? You put your chips in on a take. So me and Greg today was me and coach last week. It's kind of like the OTS version of Upset alert.

I play against the two of them. You pick games and you can wager how confident you are in a pick based on how many of the chip allotment you put in. Coach Van Genie had a rough. Coach Manjini lost 15 of his 50 chips in week one. He only has. You get 50 for the year. So you have to be careful on how you use it.

So I got 50. I broke even. And then Greg, so it's 50 to 35 now. And he can have a big stack of chips. Yeah, Greg's operating with a deficit. All right. We're starting in Buffalo where Josh Allen had five touchdowns, won the game by 10.

The bill's defense did give up 31 yet again. Here's Dan Campbell. Defensively, we knew it was a tall task, but we gave up too much. And there was some things in there that we have to get cleaned up. I mean, it's already, you have to play your best ball to have a chance to reduce points against those, against that team and that quarterback. And we did not do that. That quarterback makes things very difficult, you know.

If you don't keep him in the pocket, keep him contained, man, he can hurt you. All right. What statement did Josh make to you, Danny? A lot of them, but first and foremost, I'd feel real silly if I didn't pick that team to win the AFC. Show of hands. To win the whole conference? Yeah. I mean, I, I mean, no.

Okay. Not in the least bit. Not the least bit. I mean, they're a contender. Like, if they get to the Super Bowl, I won't be shocked or anything. But, no, I feel good about the Ravens. I'm sure Nick feels good about the Chief. Like, 77 points in five days against the Lions and the Texans is a pretty nice start.

Like, that is a- Lions, I mean, the Saints just put up, what, 30? The Lions were a very popular pick to win a maybe the toughest division in football. I think Wilds had them in the Super Bowl. It's a very impressive first- No doubt about that. No doubt. And like Josh Allen was spectacular last night.

And there's, I love the September champions award for him and for the team. But it's not like he and they only do this in September, right? It is seven straight. No, it is. No, it isn't. It's they have the current. His numbers. Go ahead.

They have the current record for consecutive seasons winning 10 plus games. So they, they, it's not like they only win their games in September. No, they are only, they are. He is only statistically this dominant and they are only the best team in the league in September. And you know how I know it? Because all those 10-win

seasons, they've never been the one seed. All those great Josh Allen years, he's never been the first team all-pro. They do cool off. And he does cool off. Like, they are consistent every year, Danny. They are good to very good. But they are at their absolute best every single year in September.

That is, listen, you can't be better than first, and they are first in September, but if you win all of those games over the course of the year, you're pretty good all year. Nobody's saying that you're not wearing a team. And I would also say what he did last night is a unique thing to Josh Allen.

Like combining for four or more touchdowns with no turnovers. This I just think is worthy of appreciation because it isn't just compiling stats. No one has more of those games than Josh Allen in a sample since 2020. We can throw it up. And it's 24 to 2nd notice is 14, 4 plus touchdown games for a quarterback since 2020. It's pretty remarkable.

He's done it in both games this year. I said it before. I didn't see what was going to stop this offense. And you can say anything you want about the Lions defense. But I just, what is the answer to the Bill's offense right now? No, right now, honestly, there isn't. one. Right now they will be in the discussion for the best offense in football all year. I don't know if that makes you a champion. It hasn't historically.

And the last team that came the closest to winning a Super Bowl with all offense and no defense was my 2018 chiefs. And they could have won it. They got to a coin flip in overtime against the Patriots. They lost the coin flip. The NFL didn't change the rules then. They waited until the bills lost a coin flip. But I think they could have had they won the coin flip score. and then I think they could have beaten the Rams like the Pats did. Who knows? He lost the coin flip and he couldn't stop him. Yeah, no, that's right.

Correct. Yeah. So I'm saying it's certainly possible. It's a hard way to do it and then maybe the defense will get better. But I this, so if people weren't watching earlier, if we just show the bills in September and then Josh Allen starts of seasons. So this is my only, because I, Danny, I think you're opener of, it'd be foolish to pick another team to win the conference. is ridiculous.

I think it's, I think the idea of if you thought like, nothing in 2KW, I think you feel a little foolish if you thought they were going to be bad. Like right now they look good. They look like they're really good. But the bills do this every September. Like they, right now, to be fair, they're not averaging 32. They're averaging 38. My guess is at the end of September, it'll be around 35.

But every September, in that same sample you pick since 2020, since Josh Allen's been great, they've been this. and every year Josh Allen starts, if we go to the Josh Allen graphic, like the statistical far and away, best quarterback in the league. Yet, despite that, the bills have never had the best record

and Josh's numbers have never come close to what his start was. In fact, the closest he's come was 2020, which was his best individual statistical season, even though he didn't win MVP. So Mike, they have every year cooled down and every year he has cooled down, my question for you is,

why do you think this year will be different? It could be. I think one year, the odds are it will be, but is there something specific to this team that you think is different, or it's just, like, why is this different than any of the last six years we've seen them start just like this?

I think how he has just looked these two games is a special kind of dominant. It is in line with what he is. done before. I think he looks great. I think the offense looks great. And Joe Brady, I love the tweet that you showed from Stacey Dales about like the aggression that they are going to air towards. He, you can make fun of me for this. Him taking off his shirt after the first game and like being airing on the side of aggression. I like an offensive coach who isn't conservative in the game. Andy Reid going for the on those fourth downs in the game against Denver, like that's to me a sign

of progress for Andy Reid who at times had been too conservative. I think Sean McVeigh and Matt LaFleur are a little conservative for my liking as offensive coaches. Declan Doyle, Ben Johnson, it seems like Joe Brady through the first couple of games, they're going for the jugular. They are hunting explosive plays. They are trying to blow you out. They are not going to let it come down to a defense that has gotten worse. And by the way, why can't they be the team that goes out and gets Joey Porter Jr.

Or Kvon Tibido or Max Crosby or make some sort of addition this year. Oh, that. But, like, maybe because they did that in DJ more. I mean, they already traded draft capital for a player on this year's team. But, yeah, maybe they will. I don't want to harp too much on this because over the course of the season, it all evens out. But Josh already is getting his blessings, I guess, if you will.

He's a dropped interception from us talking about them being one in one and us saying, yeah, he's great, but he's also going to. And then the fumble last night, the interception last night. the interception last night. So I'm just that really weren't interceptions. You know what I mean? The penalties called him back. So he's doing, as Nick said, what he's always done.

And I will say this, Danny, I do think this offense potentially could be the best he's had. Because, I mean, you just go down from DJ Moore down to the receiving core. I think it's strong, not elite, but strong. Kincaid looks great. Right. And Dawson Knox is still a good tight. So you got two good tight ends. obviously James Cook, the offensive line.

Like, the offense looks great, but there are a lot of great offenses in the league. The Ravens have a great offense. I mean, even in just the AFC, there's going to be teams. If the Bengals have their great offense. Jack's offense looks like. But some of those teams are going to be able to stop you too. And I do agree that the Bill's defense, I think it'll improve, but can it improve enough to where they, because they're not going to blow out all those elites.

teams in the AFC. If the Texans couldn't stop them, I'm not sure we can't. Well, we'll see what the Texans. I mean, you yourself talking about defense is going up and down. I don't know. And they couldn't stop the Texans. I just, I do feel like there's an element of I'm going crazy. We have been here before.

Five years ago, the season started with them blowing out the champs, the Rams. And it's like this year, it was first game out of third. 13 second game. This year is different. Josh Allen's never done it. Last year, when the game where he threw a pass and then the guy was getting tackled it to Josh and we're like, oh my God, he had a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown. It's never been done.

It is, and listen, he is, he is the most devastating running, running threat at the quarterback position, I believe ever. I think he is more, I think he is more impactful. than Cam or Vic or Randall or any of those guys who were faster. Like, and he is so powerful. And I think eventually you'll probably get hot the right time and probably win a Super Bowl. But I am, it feels like deja vu of every year, this time of year, we're like, man, oh man, this Bill's team feels different. And I don't know that I think this is a better offense than when they had peak Stefan Diggs.

I don't know that I feel that way. I do know that I think this is a more questionable defense without a defensive-minded coach, which is, like, concerning to me. Vikings at Bears Sunday afternoon on Fox. Ben Johnson's offense taken on Brian Flores' defense. They've talked about wanting to be the highest scoring offense ever. Here's where Caleb's mind's at. Take a listen.

Scoring every drive is our mindset. I think that's the potential of us. And that's internal, that's an internal expectation. That's an internal feeling just of what we have up front, wide, and in the backfield. It's an expectation from ourselves to be able to go out there and score every time and figure out ways to help the defense. I mean, that's our part to help this team, help special teams, and all of that, is scoring points as many as we can.

Here's Caleb versus the Vikings in the last two games. Dana, I know you had some good Jared Gough graphics up. No. Hey, did you hear to him earlier? Of course I did. Was Weiss man watching? Were you watching? Where he got, he made fun of you for acting like the coach of the bears might have an impact on the game?

Yeah. I mean, that's what she did. Ice man heard it too. There's a different quarterback. I think that's interesting. I think it's fair to say that this is a quarterback combo. Oh, sure. That's fine.

What's the question? Do you expect Caleb to absolutely embarrass the Vikings defense? I added absolutely. You did add it absolutely. Would you consider? consider 400 plus yards and 30 plus points in embarrassment? 400 yards from the offense? From the offense.

Okay, from the offense. Yeah, I think that would be pretty good. Yeah, then that's what's going to happen. And it's happened once to a Brian Flores defense in the last two years. You can call your shot last week, so I think we should all be on guard. The Chargers actually did it to him in week eight last year. Is that when they scored? Yeah, when they scored 37, 10.

And so I think that Ben Johnson being 5 and 1 against Flores is relevant. That week one game last year, the Bears had no running game. Like they had not figured out the running game at all yet. They clearly have. They've been the best running team in football since week four of last year. But week 11, they scored 19 points. No doubt. That game last year, the offense was in a different place last year.

Like Caleb, I think, has taken the leap. from year three in the league, year two in the NFL. What we saw last week was he completed over 70% of his passes, and that's including the throwaway at the end of the first half. I think he is dialed. I think he is going to be in the MVP conversation all year, and I know Brian Flores' blitzes are special, but Caleb Williams against the blitz,

I've been talking about it all week since cool stats. He's got 19 touchdowns and three interceptions since Ben Johnson's been his coach. He's top seven in yards per pass, passing yards, touchdowns, touchdown the interception ratio, and pass a rating against the Blitz. I don't expect him to struggle with this blitz. Also, Drew Love threw for 370 yards last week. Yeah. And then they got conservative. And so here would be my way to frame this or reframe it a bit.

If someone gets embarrassed in this game, I would be stunned if Brian Flores embarrasses embarrasses. Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams. Again, embarrass is a weird word. But you guys like, yeah, dominate. Yeah, but I would not be stunned at all if Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams do exactly what Danny said.

Like, it would be, it would shake my faith in the Bears' offense if Flores undresses him. You know what I mean? If they can't answer the blitz, if Caleb gets sacked six times, they held them in the teens, they look flustered,

all of it because Ben Johnson does have experience against him. You know, Caleb now has some experience against him. He is supposed to be in a better spot, like all of these things. And I, you know, I can't get away from the fact that last, I shouldn't say, I can't get away with him, but the backers moved the ball a ton. They just, Jordan just made some bad mistakes, you know, at the end of the game and it compounded itself. So I would not be shocked if Danny's prediction is correct,

and I would be shocked if the opposite takes place, if they just. Yeah, I don't expect Flores to expose Caleb or anything like that, but I would be shocked if Caleb just runs wild. And I'm not, obviously not 59 points. But if he, like, has the type of game he had last week and they score 37 instead of 59, I'll be shocked. Like, I expect him to play well.

I don't expect him to. go out there and just dominate that defense. And if he does, look out. It will be interesting to see, I know, just a slight tangent, what Carson Wentz can do against your defense. Yeah, I mean, that wasn't the question. I know, but like, did Bryce take a leap to? Or is it like, uh-oh, now Carson Wentz is letting you guys up?

Probably that. If that happens. Yeah, listen, I think the, this game, the total opened at 48 and a half. It went down to 47 and a half. I think that is the wrong direction. I think there will be points scored both ways in this game. Justin Jefferson will find the end zone. Danny was banking a lot on Jalen Johnson taking the leap to prime Dion Sanders.

I don't know if that's going to happen. Be what he was two years ago. I think, like, I do think that most quarterbacks are going to have a pretty good day against the Bears' defense. Are you on the record with what you think? Do you think they've got a shot? To win the game? To embarrass the Vikings defense. Like if they come in and they put up 30 plus.

Unfortunately, as the mayor of fare, when I tackled and laughed at you when you said, pick your number for the Panthers game. I remember that. And then there's interviews the morning after. I said, yeah, we actually left points on the board and we were going to go for 60, decided not to. I have to, I'm going to stain. Here's the problem. Because I tried to do the same thing. Like, will you finally stamp them as believers if they do this to a defense?

We know how much you believe in. But if they do it to that defense, KW is going to believe in the defense less. I mean, it's early. I need a larger sample size. Time now for Parkins' picks. How did Parkins do last week? How about undefeated, three and O, three perfect picks for the man who got 65% of his picks right.

Not necessarily last year, and if you count the last two years, we're up around, I don't know, over 58% probably. Excellent job, Parkins. I mean, easy, easier and easiest. The Steelers played with their food a little bit. The Steelers was not easy. The other two were quite easy for it. Took a T.J. Watt.

All-time play. I don't know. Maybe defend the swing pass when Bejohn Robinson had 10 targets. Everyone else on the team had nine total. He finally defended it. He picks six it the other way. Three and O, it'll be easy. We'll do it again.

Let's get right to our first winner of the weekend. Eagles minus seven against the Titans. I am open to the possibility that the Jets are a little bit better than they had been. But they held the Titans to 10 points and under 200 yards. Here's what I know about the Eagles defense. It's much better than the Jets defense. So let's put up Titans offense against Eagles defense, if you could, since the start of last year. Shutout watch.

I don't know how Tennessee. That would be so bad for Cam Moore. I don't know how Tennessee scores in this game. And by the way, on the Bears conversation from earlier, I think the Monday night game against the Eagles in two weeks is a tougher defensive test for Caleb than this week against Brian Flores. But I don't know how Tennessee scores in this game. Even though the Eagles' offense doesn't look great,

I'll happily lay the seven on the road. Counterpoint, too hot. It's going to be 92 degrees. Bears put up 59 points in a hot game. Too hot to lay seven. Too hot to lay seven. Too hot to lay seven. The other team's going to score zero.

Next game, Cardinals plus four and a half. Wow, everyone's on the Carlin. Might be surprised because of how much I like the Seahawks. Drew Locke, don't trust him all that much. He looked great. Did he? Yeah. He didn't get him.

Or did he just win? He scored 13 points. Jacoby Preset, though, in week one, was actually really productive. Hung out with a couple of quarterbacks that we really like in terms of passing the ball down the field, not turning the ball. over. Now, you can say that's against the Chargers, that's fine, but we'll see what happens in this game. Four and a half at home when the other team doesn't have their starting

quarterback is a massive number there. I like Arizona plus the points. This is your, your Chargers belief is now infecting your picks. Yeah. I think the Cardinals, you can, you can you think the Cardinals by, but right, but my Chargers belief is correct. Yours is incorrect. You believe in the Raiders again, which we know how it went last year. And by the way, know last week. To the last pick, if you don't mind. Giants plus seven. Still on the Giants. This is confirming my priors, no doubt. Seven and a half. Oh, seven and a half, Nick.

They've just given you three points. You, you, you saw that it's available. It's supposed to lock. This is so unfair. What was it? You make the call. It was seven on our. It is seven and a half right now. It is seven and a half as we're making the paper right now. He's going to give it to me. Seven and a half is a big half. Even better. There's no Miles Garrett. There's no Jaredverse. The Rams have extra rest, but they don't have much of a home field advantage.

So the crowd noises are going to be a factor. So they're not going to be rushing the passer much against Jackson Dart. When Jackson Dart wasn't pressured against the Cowboys, he made no mistakes. Pass a rating of 140, 12 first downs on 22 attempts. I think Dart carves up the Rams. Seven and the hook. What a great number. That feels like 3 and 0 if you want to go through one more time.

Giants plus 7 and a half, Cardinals plus 4 and a half, Eagles minus 7. Danny, quick question. Are you flirting with an outright win for your Giants? Absolutely. You are. Are you more than flirting? Are you picking it? Not for Parkinson's picks.

Not for Parkins' picks? I'll pick it. Yes. I'll pick it. Here's why. Double points. Giants get out to a lead early, and they can get their pass rush going. Stafford did not look good in the opener.

He did not, he looked every bit of 30-game. Giants. Giants pass rush can get Stafford in trouble. neighbors looks great, likely looks great. Jackson Dart running wild in LA. Back-to-back primetime games, primetime wins for Jackson. We'll make it about the Rams. He's on Bruce Ballard.

Excellent. A great episode of Park and a half. Seven and a half. Come Monday. We're both going to be three. Who will be the biggest X factor of week two? Greg's gridiron X factor coming up right after the break. That's not the same.

We're calling it. I don't know. It's a good name, but it's experimented. Welcome back to the O.T. Hanging out with Greg Jennings. Week one, big time storylines expect week two, of course, to be the same. So we head on over to Greg's gridiron, where he reveals the biggest X factor ahead of this weekend, week two in the NFL.

Greg, take it away. All right, Danny. Not everybody can be an X factor, but coming into this season watching the Kansas City Chiefs, we knew that they were going to make a point of emphasis their running attack. And why? because of a guy by the name of Kenneth Walker the 3rd. So I got a couple of plays for you, Danny. Let me see him.

The Kansas City Chiefs have an X factor in Kenneth Walker the 3rd. Now, they do these in a multitude of ways in terms of formation variation, if we can roll the tape. All right, we got 12 personnel. What we see here, Kelsey and Gray in the backfield, is gonna force communication for the linebacking crew.

They're not set. Then you go to the line. They know exactly who they're going to be doubling. They know their assignments. And then the X Factor takes over. Kenneth Walker, he presses the hole. He gets the linebacker to move over the top. You know what I'm going to do.

I'm going to play with vision. I see little man. And sometimes we understand low man wins. In this case, no, man, it don't matter. I'm going to run you over. You're going to get some of this every single time. He's bringing a dump truck. That's what Kenneth Walker brings.

It's not all about the big plays and the explosive plays. He can do that. We saw that. Here's another formation. We got 11 personnel. That's three receivers, one tight in. We're going to ask our receivers, y'all got to be a part of this running game if we're going to make it work.

Kenneth Walker, eluding the first couple tackles. He misses one again. Another miss tackle. This is what makes this guy special. If you stay on your block, he's going to press the hole. He's going to make guys miss. and he has the back end speed. We're going to do it again in the fourth quarter.

The same exact play. When it works once, why not do it twice? We got the former defensive player of the year. We're going to put him on skates. I'm going to stay with my integrity. I'm going to follow my blocks. I'm going to read, please, Xavier Worthy. We got an X factor in the back field.

We need you to maintain your block. Riley Moss. He don't want none of that either, but he got to eat a whole lot of K-9 unit. He's bringing it every time. If you are in Indianapolis and you are traveling to Arrowhead, Danny, they gave up 200 plus yards of rushing. He was one of those guys that rushed for over 200 yards.

What say you? I think he'll be an X-Factor this week. I loved it. Listen, he's not a surprise X-Factor. They gave him all that money. When you showed that tape, it made me think, like, forced miss tackles by Kenneth Walker or bad tackling by Denver.

Like how much of that was like he is special and he's going to make a bunch of guys mistackles? This is a combination of both. Danny, he's been doing this. He played a full role of running back at Michigan State. He had to share time obviously in Seattle. But now we get to see the full gambit of who he really is. And that's a part of his game. He's going to make guys miss.

He's going to break tackles and he has the back end speed to run away from you. So Kenneth Walker, it's an obvious one, but it's one that the Indianapolis, Colts better have on their radar. Well, you're a believer in the Colts. Do you think they've got the defense to slow them down? This week, I'm not so sure. Okay. But any other week, I'm all about the Colts. I understand great stuff from Greg's gridiron.

Speaking of the Chiefs, though, let's get into the big picture stuff from the game. They've got the Colts Sunday night, six and a half point home favorites. Second primetime game in a row for the Chiefs. This is Xavier Worthy on the matchup. Take a listen. They're playing the Kansas City Chiefs, so they're going to play their best ball. They're going to come out ready to go. Obviously last week, they feel like it wasn't them.

They had a lot of stuff that was kind of week-one air, so I'm expecting them to play 10 times better than what they play. So they're great unit together, too, as well. So I expect nothing but their best. All right, Greg's back with us here at the desk. You've caught your breath. That was fantastic stuff. I liked it. Mahomes, by his own admission and by the stats and by watching the game, was not the Mahomes that we've come to know.

in week one. What version do you expect from him Sunday night against Indy? So I expect him to take a step in the right direction. And what that means is I think they'll put a little bit more on this plate. Now, they obviously want to run the ball. I told you who my X factor is and why. And if you got a guy in the backfield that you can turn around and hand the ball off to, it opens things up in the passing game. But I think last week, first time back after the injury, getting hit, experiencing the game all over again. again. All those jitters are kind of subsided now. And so now you go into this week, Sunday night, the lights are going to be bright again. You believe that I got a little of that

my home magic. I showcased the little version of who I was. Now I want to do it in the passing game. I think they take a step in the right direction, not the light show that we come to know, but that'll be down the road a little bit, but I think he gets some of that back. So you think the white show is still in play for this team this year? That to me is a, it was a, it was a re-kill. It was the league didn't fully understand what Mahomes was capable of. And I understand, you give him a running game and you have to defend Kenneth Walker and you have to spend a lot of time prepping for a running game, which you haven't had to do with Mahomes. That's going to make him more dangerous. Like, I expect him to be better, obviously. I just don't know if I look at their

passing game personnel. And I like Rishie Rice as a football player and they target him a lot. Xavier Worthy has not lived up to his draft billing. I don't know how much explosiveness Kelsey has left, that play should have been a nice catch and a 10-yard gain. He ends up making like a 50-yard play after the miss tackle. I don't know that there is enough juice in the skill position talent for the passing game in Kansas City to do special. Doesn't mean they can't win a ton of games, but I don't know that I see the light show coming back, period. I understand why and why you're apprehensive. The reason why I'm bullish is because when you have a running game, they're going to start seeing seven, eight-man boxes. That means they're going to have one-on-ones across the board.

You're going to ask defenders and defensive backs in a single high safety to run with this speed on the Kansas City Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes, once he starts to get a rhythm and get a feel of where he needs to place those balls for Xavier Worthy and Rashie Rice, they can create separation, especially if they're getting one-on-one down in and down out because of this running game. And so the other thing, if we just throw up some of those stats from Mahomes compared to when it had been his worst, because he had some bad games last year. He talked about that openly, but 15 completions, his worst since week 13, week 13, excuse me, in 2021, passing yards since 2024, yards per pass since week three of last year. He didn't play in the preseason.

And I think it makes total sense. Rusty coming off the injury, didn't play in the preseason. He normally does play in the preseason. Did you view what he was doing in the passing game last week as purely rust? I didn't just view it as rust. I thought it was a little bit of anxiety, a little nerves, like him getting back into it. Because he didn't complete anything down the field.

He spoke to it. They understood what they were up against. They knew they were up against a really good pass rush. And so he wanted to be quick with his release. Get the ball out of his hands. So they didn't really have a whole lot of design plays for down the field, 10, 15, 20 yards down the field. Why?

Because they didn't, he and they didn't believe that they could truly hold up. and that will be sustained throughout the course of the game. But I think going up against a different type of a pass rush, you saw what you can do, you know you got a running game, you know that they're going to be locked in, zoned in on K9 in that running game, you're going to have some opportunities. It doesn't always work this way.

The transit of property doesn't always apply, but it's all we have to go on because it's week two. So we saw Baltimore just carve up Indy's defense. It was Zayflower's best game, 41 yards. Lamar could complete passes to who. whoever he wanted. Derek Henry got on the outside. In Indy, they've already changed who's wearing the green dot. One game. Yeah. Can't buy them at safety. We don't like it. You were running up to the line and then you were running back and it was. So now a linebacker is wearing the green dot.

So they've got some dysfunction on defense. I would be disappointed if the Chief's offense doesn't put up a big number and look a little bit more balanced than the passing game just based on what Lamar and the Ravens were just able to do to them last week. So let's hold up. Let's hold up because the Baltimore Ravens have something and they showcase something that we didn't see the chief showcase. That was a pass game almost first. We know Derek Henry is a guy. We know they can run the ball.

But the way they deployed Xavier Worthy, or excuse me, Zay Flowers and that passing attack, the Colts had problems. Now we got to defend the past. We got to defend the run. We can't support one without ensuring that we cover the other. The chiefs aren't that. What I'm saying is if the Chiefs, I don't know if they give up,

the Colts give up 500 plus yards, but $350 is on the board if they can't stop the run because you're going to be forced to put that extra safety in the box. Well, Kenneth Walker looks fairly unstoppable in the opener. He was unstoppable. Yeah, so unbelievable start for the Super Bowl MVP,

who was their MVP for game one. Coming up, Greg, you got to make up for coaches. rough debut and Chips on the table. It's all right, Coach. It's okay, Coach. Team Greg and Coach are going to be struggling. I'm going to be winning. And we're talking a lot of good games this upcoming weekend.

Chips on the table is next. Welcome back to the OT. It's time now for Chips on the table where each week myself and then coach and Greg, they're their own team, wager on the outright winner. No spread involved of three of the best matchups of the weekend. Greg, this is your first time playing. So want to refresh everyone's memory here on how it works. It's pretty straightforward.

We pick a game, you make a bet, a wager, how confident you are. You put five chips on it. Your team wins the next week, you get the five chips back. Very straightforward. More chips you put out, more confident you are, et cetera, et cetera. We started with 50 each. So if we could recap what happened last week, Greg, you might have a little bit of an issue with Coach. Coach was very bullish on the Dallas Cowboys, and I tried to tell him.

We started with 50 chips each. He got a little too excited, so you're down to 35. Your chip stack looking a little paltry. A little bit, but, you know, we're a team, so I don't bat them off my teammates. I support them. That's the difference between you and me. Coach, we're going to be just fine. All right.

Let's check out our first matchup of the weekend. Let's see what we got. Jags and Broncos. Now, Greg, I will take this one first, and I'm going to put four chips on the Jacksonville Jaguars. I was late to the party with Trevor Lawrence, but I like to see what teams have things carry over from last year and what teams look like entirely different teams.

Nine straight regular season wins now for Jacksonville. And in the second half of last year, the Jags were the best. offensive football. In that nine-game stretch, they had the most points, averaging 33 points per game. Picked up right where they left off. Yes, it was against the Cleveland Browns, but they dominated them. And last year, when these two teams played, no one gave Denver's defense more work than Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars, young 34 on the board in that game. So if Jacksonville's picking right up where they left off, and Denver looks way worse after one week, I think Jacksonville gets this game outright. take two chips and I'm going to put it on the Denver Broncos.

And here's why. I don't know if it can get any worse. Okay. And that's not the only reason, but this defense, I just don't believe, kind of like the Texans, I don't believe this is who they are. You're not going to miss almost 30 tackles. You're not going to give up as many rushing yards. I don't believe that.

And offensively, Bowie. Knicks, you just simply have to be better. We didn't see any sign of Jalen Waddle, the new addition to that offense. Evan Ingram was a bright spot. They can run the ball. They got so far behind in that game against the Chiefs, it kind of got away from them. And then they had to rely on Bo Nix. Not a recipe for success.

Obviously, we saw that. But I believe in the Broncos. A little. I mean, you kind of believe in them. No, I believe in them. That's a tepid wager. I get. I got two chips on them.

You got two, it could have been one. Could have been none. Could have been none. Yeah, it's true. Look, they gave me one of these. Hey, I like chip break here. That's maybe a little unnecessary, but I kind of like it. All right.

Next up, what do we got? We'll find out. The cards will tell the story. Bengals and Texans. Offense against defense. Greg, you can go first this time. I like going first. I got four chips on, I like the Bengals, but I'm going with the Texans.

Okay, that's a little far for me. I've got to help you out. Dealer assist. Okay, there we go. I'll think about that the next time. But the Texans, D'Emeco Ryan's, that defense, I don't even need to talk about the offense. I understand that Nico Collins is out. But this defense, they are going to be on their best behavior or their worst behavior if you are the Bengals.

Joe Borough led offense. They gave up everything that we knew that they wouldn't or we believe that they wouldn't. I just believe they buttoned everything up. They look themselves in the mirror. They get after Joe Burrow and they don't allow him to throw in the passing game the way that they allowed Josh Allen on the back end. Obviously, Camarie Lassiter didn't have a great showing, but the entire secondary struggled as well.

I don't think that is who they are, and I think they bounce back this week. All right, I got five on the other side of the equation here. I'm open my bets. I was, listen, I got to be honest, I was a little embarrassed at how small my bets were last week. So I'm up in it, pressing my advantage over you guys, going five on the Bengals. The Texans defense should be very good. It should be. But defenses fluctuate year to year.

I know that if Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, and T. Higgins are healthy, I know that they're going to be good. Because they always have been good, and as of now, they're healthy. And I do not know if C.J. Stroud is good with that. out Nico Collins. Nico Collins is one of them guys. He is a legitimate stud, number one receiver, helps the quarterback,

just throw the ball up to him. CJ Stroud had a nice game against a Bill's defense that looks like it's going to struggle. I have not seen enough from him to believe consistently that he is going to perform week in and week out.

Do I think the Bengals defense is excellent? No. Well, they did get four fumbles against Tampa in week one against an offense that we think is going to be really good. So given that Stroud is going to be without his top weapon in Collins, and the Bengals' offensive weapons are healthy, and the Bengals' defense is showing me a little something, something.

I think Houston's offense will regress from last week. While there won't be four takeaways, I do think Stroud will give him one or two. I like Cincinnati outright. Not at all, considering pulling back a couple chips because of what we're hearing out of Cincinnati with Joe Burroughs back. He said normal, normal soreness. Normal, you know what normal soreness is, going to the gym and feeling your back a little tight. Yeah, that's normal soreness.

That's what he's got. Playing football games, man, it's not normal soreness. It's something more than that. We'll see. He's playing. Those guys, they'll test that back. He's playing. All right, let's get these out of here.

We've got to get to our final game. Greg's bed and small. I've got the lead. I forgot about the toy that I had, my apologies. A little conservative. You're a little conservative. A little bit. Yeah.

Yeah, it's a good synonym for boring. Finally, oh, Vikings and Bears. Oh, my. You against me. Let's go. Come on, you want to believe Carson West. I know you do. I'll let you go first.

No, no, I want you to go first. All right. Come on. Got to be honest. You know. What? What? Two on the bears?

I'm going to put two on the bears. You're no longer welcome in Minnesota. I'm going to put two on. on the Bears because I watched that game against the Green Bay Packers last week. And what gets lost in the shuffle because we saw all the sacks,

we saw all the points, what gets lost in the shuffle is they struggled to move the ball. They gave up a lot of they gave up a lot of yards to Jordan Love in that offense. The Bears can score in bunches, man. And they present

another aspect of the game that the Green Bay Packers did not come into Minnesota with, and that is a running game. So I'm going to put two chips. I'm not going to get too excited and put more than two chips on the Bears, but I got two chips on the Bears.

I got to be honest, we don't really want you on the bandwagon. No, I didn't say I was on the Bedwagon. You played for the Vikings, and you lived in Minnesota for a long time. I'm going to spend my money wisely. Okay, well, listen, I'm on the Bears, I'm putting your bet to shame.

Ten chips on the Bears. Two is disrespectful. This is a Caleb Williams against Carson. Wendt type of situation. Is Carson Wents good? No, he isn't. The Bears are at home. Their defense is not great, but it's going to be a pulse. Did I say 12? I meant 12. Did I only put 10 down? Let me put a little too. You know what? I honestly want to do two more just to negate and have 10 more than Greg's. We're putting 12 chips down on the bears.

Make me want to take my chips away. You can take them away. You can take them away. If you want to change your pick, that's fine. You're saying it's about Caleb and Wince when you You look at that bearers, none of you is a little concern with that defense. And don't bring up the offense. Okay, well, it's going to be hard not to bring up the offense. They scored 59 points. How good of a defense do you need to be if your offense is capable of scoring 59 points? So they're putting up 59?

I mean, they might put up a little less than 59, but I think they're putting up 30 plus. You think Carson Wentz has put it up 30 plus? I got my chips on there. He did 39 last week. I don't think it's happening again. 12 chips, 10 more than Greg. That is chips on the table. Coming up, we're picking the Monday morning headlines from week two in the NFL.

That's been with us in the O.T. You can't let you do that to be next to the next thing. Yeah. That's true. You played in the NFL. Here at first things first overtime, we still believe in a little thing called newsstands. So Greg Jennings and I are going to go to the newsstand right now to tell you the headlines that you'll see in the paper after week two in the NFL.

So Greg, what do you got? I got a nice little headline. All right. And it's going to read Jets Grounded. Jordan Love and the Packers fly past New York. Now, I get it. Everybody wants to be all excited about what's going on in every other city outside of Green Bay because they've lost six in a row.

But when you want to find a way to get a win, put the Jets on the schedule. I mean, we need this one. Not week one. We need this one. It's okay. We need this one. This will be a bounceback game. We'll get back to the right side of things.

Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers. They'll be just fine this week here in New York. So you're talking about the end of a streak. My headline is about the end of an era. The Deshawn Watson era in Cleveland. It's time to Cleveland. I think this is the last game to Sean Watson ever starts in the NFL. Gotta look better than what he did.

He got to look better than what he did. He had one touchdown in garbage time. He took five sacks. He threw a pick. He's played 20 games for the Browns. He has 20 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and 75 sacks in those games. If he gets blown out in Tampa and plays poorly, I don't know how you bring him home at O&2 in front of those fans.

You don't want your fans booing you in your heart. home opener before the game even starts, which is what would happen in Cleveland. I think this is the last game to Sean Watson starts in the NFL. You sound like you want to throw four touchdowns and 400. Yeah, right. It's like people are holding you to a standard of producing as an NFL quarterback. It's crazy to Sean. We'll talk to you a Monday on first things first OT.