First Things First - Chiefs vs. Eagles ‘won’t be a blowout’, Must-Win & Nick’s Tiers for Week 2, Pat Freiermuth joins

Episode Date: September 10, 2025

(0:00) Jalen Hurts vs. Patrick Mahomes, Can the Eagles blow out the Chiefs?  (26:40) Must-Win For Week 2: Cowboys, Patriots, Bengals (42:07) Lions ‘didn’t look creative’, Caleb or Goff under more pressure (47:50) Nick’s Tiers, A new team on top? (01:08:02) Pat Freiermuth joins the show (01:19:54) Brock Purdy a ‘long shot’ to play vs. Saints, Can Mac Jones lead the 49ers to a win? (01:24:20) What would an 0-2 start mean for the Chiefs? (01:46:00) Packed Stats for Week 2, Are the Lions and Bears relying on this Sunday?  (01:55:43) Lions ’have to win’ vs. Bears, Did Justin Herbert put the league on notice?  (02:05:56) Can the 49ers win without Brock Purdy? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Live from New York. Can't hear anything. This guy. It's a show I can't hear anything. Now I can. There we go. Dusty, I'm sorry. Nobody wouldn't ready.

This guy, yesterday, yesterday. You know what, I can't be mad. Yesterday's the same thing happened to me. I didn't even hit the table in time. You guys said I was on tilt. You were on tilt. Are you, maybe, you know, what's good for the goose, good for the gander?

Are you a little nervous? No. Get a little nervous? I'm not nervous at all. You are projecting. I'm not talking about the game. I'm talking about the point. Well, the public reception on Friday.

Oh, my. I think he's nervous. I'm used to people. I'm beloved in Kansas City. If the good people of Kansas City would rather hear falsehoods, which I don't think they want to hear. Maybe I'll just go out here and be like, hey, you know what? We won the Super Bowl. Like, that's not what's about.

Hey, we were scoring touchdowns when Siriani wasn't covered in the area. It's that. Honest to God, you think. But did that happen? No, but it is. It happened, but you have emphasized it more. Tell me of this fair group than literally the rest of the media combined. Wilde's talking about that.

That was a choice. Hubs feeds me. Hubs feeds me. Don't blame Hubs. I won't think it's all HUBB. Here's what Hubs they said in my ear. See, here we go. Come to the show on Friday.

The Royals are out of town. You can save $2. That's not nice. You have a show. Save two bucks. First hour of first things first. That's not me. Now again,

is there a chance we see another Eagles blowout or is that the moment that Mahomes decides to start playing for real? Super Bowl rematch in markets game of the week. Meanwhile, Cowboys Giants, is this the last call for Russ as

a starter and for Dallas? Must win. And finally, it's the best segment of all In all sports, the committee met deep into the night last night. Yes. Had some video poker on. No, video poker. Whatever it's called. Televised poker. Televised poker. And video poker. You sit at a bar and a casino and try to get free drinks going. Are you good at that or no? I've never played a single-lander video. What? You should.

No, it's not. You've never played video poker and never seen rounders? You should see rounders. You should see it on the plane when we're going to Kansas City. By the way, I check myself. assignment you will be right next to each other please no it's true I'm gonna drop I will we're starting with American people you can't do that again the whole socks off on my that's a lot he takes his stock off hold on he cross my leg I'm gonna get do that I put his in so on my leg on it was asleep wait a second did you really take no I've never take my shoes off take my shoes off guys you get my shoes

Guys, you get your shoes on the place. Okay, that's fine. Let's get to the show. But don't lie about me. Don't keep your shoes on the plane. We're not in your house. Why are we doing this? Aren't you supposed to do it?

We're not using this. America's Game of Eagles and Arrowhead, Philly riding a two-game win streak against Kansas City. Mahomes, here's interesting thing, literally never lost three in a row. Yeah. Here's the current streak of didn't lose three straight, not current. Mahomes has the longest streak to start a career and it is currently happening. Yes. Brady's got 300 Montana 178, Steve Young, 137, then Mahomes.

So history could be made Sunday at Arrowhead. Wow. So is that, and what are the chances the Eagles not only beat Mahomes, but repeat their blowout? Okay, so listen, it's obviously there's a chance the Eagles win. Like that, I think it would be ridiculous for anyone to guarantee a win for either of these teams. You know, I think these are two good teams, neither of which probably feels. great. Obviously, the Chiefs don't feel great, but I don't think the Eagles feel great about how they opened their seasons. Yeah. And so the game is, I don't think it's a coin flip, but it is, you could make it a reasonable argument on either side.

But there is no argument for the Chiefs getting blown out. You just showed it. He started 134 games. Yeah. Forget blown out. He has been beaten by more than a touchdown six times. and like you can go through it. The only ones that kind of came in bunches was week five against Buffalo. They lost by 18. And then the single oddest game of Mahomes' career,

a 27 to 3 loss to Tennessee that dropped them to three and four after the Super Bowl blowout. And the sky was falling in Kansas City, and they did end up having their worst season since when it's been there. They only made it to overtime of the ABC Championship game that year. And so the Kansas City got blown out for a litany of reasons in the Super Bowl.

But the biggest one was the Eagles could consistently create pressure without bringing a blitz. He was blitzed the fewest times ever in his career, zero, and sacked the most times ever in his career, six. This Eagles team, I don't believe, at this moment, can do that. and I think this Chief's offensive line is in better shape than it was in the Super Bowl. I know they don't have Joe Tuny, but in the Super Bowl, they didn't really have Joe Tuny because he was playing out a position. And so, Joanne Taylor is an odd player to discuss because his penalties are crippling. The plays in which he does not commit false starts or get illegal formation, he's a very good blocker. You know what I mean?

So, like, it doesn't lead typically to the sacks. So I think it is, it would be silly to anticipate something that happens once every 20 games to Mahomes in his career to happen that quickly in succession. And by the way, blown out, I'm just, he hasn't been blown out six times. He's been blown out four times. He's lost by more than seven points six times. Yeah, I certainly don't see what happened in the Super Bowl repeating itself. I mean, what was that, 37 nothing or 34? 34.

34. No, it was 34 nothing. Yeah, I don't see that. I could see a 14 point win, which is technically a blowout, but I wouldn't see it. I don't mean it would be just a route, but I could see Philadelphia winning comfortably.

One, I do think they're the better team. They've beaten a cheese, what, two straight games? This obviously would be three straight. and I think you made some good points. But without Xavier worthy, assuming he doesn't play. He's definitely not. I'll go ahead and report he's not playing this week. All right.

I don't think without him that they'll be able to exploit what is a weakness for the Eagles. Now, you're right. If they don't get any pass rush and Jalen Carter back, I know he's not, you know, he's interior line. He's not a ton of sacks, but he should put pressure on Mahon. But that's where the Chief's best two offensive lines. lineman are. If he can't do that, I still don't think the chiefs

will just exploit that defensive backfield of Philly without Xavier worthy. It might be some quick pass, dink and dunk a lot of stuff underneath. And then I think Mahomes also has not played well, I mean for him, has not played well

against Philadelphia. The last two games, here's the graphic of his last two games against the Eagles. O. and two, 81, pass, rating 60% completions, five touchdowns for turnovers. And those numbers are much better because of what happened late in the

Super Bowl. If you cut it off at, you know, the third quarter Yeah, it would have been much worse. Those are his worst numbers, at least the record, obviously, but the completion percentage against any opponent that they've played two or more time. Can I ask a question about

the two-game losing streak piece? Because this is something I mentioned to Wilds in his office, and I do think it's relevant to this discussion. How much weight at all should we put in the first game of the two-game losing streak when we realize that Eagles team, that was their last game before the supernatural funk. It was two defensive coordinators ago. It was an entire starting defense ago.

Like all those guys, you know what I mean? I think a lot personally. Because you still got Siriani, you still got Jalen Hertz. And they went into Kansas City and beat the Chiefs. The Chiefs have been so good and so unbeatable for the most part that any time a team can beat them regularly. That's why the bingoes still roll. Joe Burroughs still gets credit for beating the Chiefs in the playoffs because we hardly ever see it. So that's why I think it's still relevant.

So I think it's relevant to the Eagles' chances in the game. But when you show Mahomes struggles to me have nothing to do with Jalen Hertz and nothing to with Siriani. Like you show in Mahomes numbers. And so I think the Super Bowl is super relevant, same defensive coordinator, a lot of the same defensive players. The Chiefs are very similar. I just, the other Eagles win was as far as a timeline goes, far closer to them losing to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl than it was to today.

You know what I mean? It was the 20-20. Yeah, but he didn't play well against him. In a game that was in the balance when usually he was going to bring it back. had the drop at the end and they freaked out. Nothing, but a little bit of something. I wanted to get your take on my take, in general take, that it doesn't feel like the chiefs are perfectly aligned.

A little bit of Travis Kelsey and Xavier Worthy, getting their lines crossed. And you saw Kelsey on that today? And Kelsey said it was his fault. Yeah. Okay. And then at the end, Chris Jones and Drew Tranquil kind of jawing at each other for what was maybe hero ball. But here was Gronk and Kay Adams. And here was what Grunk thought about sort of the vibe in Kansas City.

Take a listen. I feel like a lot of teams last year had that fear. Oh, I can't swing on the Chiefs. We can't give them our best shot. The Philadelphia goes, punch them in the face. The Chiefs didn't know how to react to that because no one else was doing that. Well, going into this year now, the Los Angeles charges punched them in the face. The Chiefs were like, whoa, they're coming at us.

How do we react? Well, they didn't know how to react because no one was doing that before. So the Philadelphia Eagles open that floodgate of, hey, if you punch these guys in the face, you take it to him. You come out swinging. They're going to fall. Similar to what Brew was saying pre-Super Bowl. Well, the mystique? That the mystique was off.

But Gronk is your poker, buddy. No, I love Gronk. I just think this is where sometimes Chiefs conversations are difficult for me because I just remember every individual moment of the last seven years better than I think most people because it's my team and this is my job. Like this was the exact conversation post Tampa Bay Super Bowl. And by the way, that team started off that year, three and four. That team got blown out by Buffalo and then that Tennessee game was that year. They then, after that Titans game when they were three and four and had lost five of their last eight, including three blowouts, ripped off 10 of their next 11, made it back to the AFC.

championship game lost in overtime and then made it to the next three Super Bowls winning two of them. So like they're and I also feel like the conversation around the Chiefs last season was the mystique is, you know what I mean, wearing. See, I felt like at least my conversation last year was that their mystique is helping them win these games. Okay. All right. I do. I agree with drunk.

Not to so much. They were saying they're not afraid of them anymore. Like that. I didn't. I thought the fact that they were still somehow winning. just increase their mystique. Look, I don't necessarily agree with the punch. The Chiefs have had battles.

You know, they've been punched in the mouth and responded and all that. So I don't agree with that. But I do agree with the mystic lessening. Like, the Chargers still, I mean, they came out there. The fact that they threw the ball so much, that was really interesting to me. And that I just felt like the charge. Now, Harbaugh has never been afraid of the Chiefs. Obviously, he's talked to stuff that we're going to win multiple Super Bowels and all that.

But I just think if Philly, what Philly did to them in the Super Bowl, what the Chargers just did to them, if the Eagles aren't afraid of them clearly. If they beat them handily, then I think that mystique really might be gone. I would like to, we usually do this off the air. I will do it on the air. I would like tomorrow us to do the flip side of this topic.

An Eagles team that did not look, in my opinion, the way they hoped they would in week one. If they lose to the chiefs when the chiefs don't have rice or worthy and they have a suspended player who's actually not suspended so they are full strength, what, you know what I mean? What concern

do we have for Philadelphia? Because I think that is, if Philly was without Davante Smith and A.J. Brown, you know, and they won the Chiefs full strength and they won that game, we would say that is a math, even if the Chiefs were 1 and 0 going into it, a massive

concern for Kansas City. And so I think that's a fair. I think the difference though, Nick. Is there the chance? I mean, they're the defending chance. But you're looking at it like there's a double standard and you're right. The chiefs are judged by a different standard than everybody else. Even though the Eagles just won the Super Bowl, they haven't had a dynasty.

They're not, you know what I'm saying? They don't have the best quarterback we've ever seen. So somebody that's in the goat conversation. So I think there is a different it's a double standard. It's good though. I think we should do it. No, that's fine. put that in the rundown for tomorrow. A little game of hypothetical now if the Eagles do win and if Jalen Hertz, who is currently two and two against Mahomes wins a game. What would that mean? So here is the list of quarterbacks with the best record against Patrick Mahomes, who we have described as the

benchmark for excellence in the NFL. Barrow is three and two. Tom Brady, thank you for putting him in a Patriots uniform. Three and three. Jaylen Hertz 2 and 2. Could be 3 and 3. Could be 3 and 2. Can't be 3 and 2. Could be 3 and 2 by Sunday night. So I know you guys are mad at me because you want me to ask the question and answer it.

Yeah, you answer it. I think it's an interesting question. No, but hold on. The reason it's interesting is because yesterday you on the air flirted with and then as soon as we went to commercial made the commitment to the take of if he wins, he's better. And so I'm asking you now, what do you think it would mean?

And then I will give my answer. I think if Jalen Hertz wins this game, it will be time to start talking about Jalen Hertz being the best quarterback in the NFL. It's time to have that conversation. Okay. Where you can only

win so many games in a row. I believe he's won Jocelyn. He's 15. He won 15. Yeah. If you take out the concussion game, it's 15 in the world. So he's won 15 straight games, including the Super Bowl. He's on the graphic that we joke around about, but he's on the graphic with all-time greats.

If you view the goal is to win the game by any means necessary, if he beats Mahomes and is now on another list, and it's not like he's winning these games without great performances against Mahomes. He performs great against Mahomes. The same way Burrow does. Then he belongs in the conversation of is this guy the best quarterback in the NFL?

I'm not saying it's without a shadow of doubt. I'm not saying I'm going to be in the conversation with Lamar, Josh. It's a definitive top five. And then you're going to take it around. And certainly if just if the schedule had broken where they weren't playing in the regular season, but this game, this was this year's Super Bowl and he won it.

It would like that it would even more submit yourself. So the question I have is this, because I sadly, my life would have been better if I knew you 10 years ago, 15 years ago, but I didn't, sadly. Did you ever feel, truly, that Eli Manning was better than Tom Brady? No. So Eli Manning was on a three-game winning streak against Brady where he outplayed him in all the games.

Two of those were the Super Bowl. We can show you those games. MVP. And none of those games, certainly not in 07, did people feel like Eli had the better team? They were two touchdown underdogs. And I think the reason you didn't feel that way was because, yes, and by the way, Brady hadn't won it.

Brady wasn't one year removed from winning a Super Bowl. He was eight years removed from winning a Super Bowl when they walked off the field in 2011. And the reason you didn't feel like he was better was not only just because of how you felt, but because their career resumes were not at all similar. And we can show them to you like, yet it was 5 to 2 and 3 to 2, MVP's 2-0-0, Super Bowl MVP's even, Pro Bowl 7-2, First Team All-Pros 2-0. So to which I would say, if Jalen hurts and beats Patrick tomorrow, here's what their career resumes look like. He will have lost to him in one Super Bowl and beat him in one. Patrick has the same or better than Brady in every single category,

and Jalen has the same or worse than Eli in every single category. So why? Why is it that when it was your guy and Tom Brady, it was a ludicrous question, and now when it's Jalen hurts, it is, I'm just asking the question. Do you think that's for me? You want to wave the white flag? I want to do the exact opposite.

Oh, wow. I just set a nice little trap that you guys walked into. I haven't walked in anything. Because there's a lot of lists out there. Jalen Hertz is not a top 10 quarterback. Jalen Hertz is number third. Who's list? I don't know, lists that I've seen that Jalen Hertz is the third.

Jalen Hertz won the Super Bowl on the ESPN list and is listed as the 39th best player. Is it Stephen Ruiz's quarterback list? He wasn't top. That's all I am not saying he is definitively better than Patrick Mahalves. I said he is. We need to have a conversation about it. If you were making a graphic and saying, hey, let's talk. Exactly right.

What you just did, exactly. Let's have a conversation about him being the best quarterback. I have to tell you, Steve Ruiz does a great podcast. He's a pal of mine. I can get you a guest spot on it if you want to argue with him about his jail and hurt stake. Well, you're arguing me about Eli Manning. I didn't even mention Eli Manning.

No, no, no. I'm asking you. So here's the thing. So you said who does it? And I told you. Correct? Is that what just happened? I said people have not top ten.

You said, I mean, I answered. And then you're like, put it. No, no, no, no. But you just said that if he wins this game, there needs to be a discussion. Is he the best quarterback in football? Yes. I then asked you, when Eli did what you're talking about, except it was in two Super Bowls, that he won both and outplayed Brady and both, you would not have that discussion then.

Correct. So why? Because I'm not interested in talking about Eli, Manning versus Tom Brady right now. To be 100% honest, I'm going, I'm in this lane and you're trying to take me on an exit ramp to Tom Brady and Eli Manningville. I want to be in top five. I'm saying why was, why is the standard now different than it was for your?

I don't think Eli Manning and Jalen Hertz are comparable players. Why? Eli's one. I think one is insanely mobile. I think one guy won half his games and one guys win 70% of his games. I think they're totally different players. But of course they're different players, but your whole thing is, does he leave the field with the trophy? Does he do that in the regular season?

Does Eli Manning, has Eli, has Eli, has Eli Manning ever put a string together of 16 straight wins? No, no. Is Eli Manning a immobile quarterback? Well, yes. Eli was Joe Burrell. Yes, I learned. I just don't think they're comparable. And I'm also not interested in having that conversation.

I'm interested in having the conversation of if he was. wins on Sunday. We need to have a conversation of who's the best quarterback. Everybody can have a representative at the table. Jalen Hertz needs to be at the table. He can't be excluded from it anymore. Like everyone wants to put him like Justin Herbert's in the conversation. Oh, I don't see. I don't think Herbert's in the conversation. Should Jalen Hertz be in the conversation? For the best quarterback in the NFL, no. Look, I hear you in that Hertz is much better than Eli was. You're the best. Well, no.

To answer your question, because it could become relevant. Those graphics you threw up with Eli and Brady could become relevant if Jalen wins a Super Bowl. If he wins this game, no. I still don't think he's in the discussion for best quarterback in the league. I think the path for him to get there is to win this Super Bowl. Not two years from now. Maybe then, but for him to get there, he has to win this Super Bowl and be the Super Bowl MVP. and now.

I don't know that he's a Super Bowl MVP, but if they win the Super Bowl. We talk about an individual thing to say he's better, but yeah, say if he wins the Super Bowl. I wouldn't still not say he's better historically than Mahomes, but now in this mode, Tom Brady was not the best quarterback every single year or even stretches of his career.

I think we would be in a stretch where it would be fair then to say, yeah, Mahomes is in the goat conversation or whatever. Right now, Jay, It doesn't hurt. It's the best quarterback. I kind of view it like that. I kind of view it like a heavyweight championship belt. And so I might be a better boxer.

Yeah. We could be in the same generation, but he's got the belt. No, I think if they win the Super Bowl this year, and I don't think he has to win the Super Bowl MVP, that to me is that what you can gain by becoming the third back-to-back Super Bowl champion of this century versus what you can game Sunday, September 14th, are to me drastically different things. So I don't think, I think your frustration with me is, I think you think that I think he's ineligible for it.

And I don't think he's ineligible for it. Okay. But I think that there is nothing he can do this month or next month that's going to make me, if you put me on a lie detector, say he's better than Josh Allen, much less Patrick Mahomes. My issue, and I'll turn it to you, bro. My issue is like, you know when he would be the best if he got to the Super Bowl and won it again? Which to me sounds unfair and granted Josh and Lamar have MVP's which I respect.

But those guys can collectively go to zero, but Jalen Hertz has to go to three just to get in the conversation. Well, yeah, I think because. And I know they put up great individual. That's a big part of it. I mean, I know, but it just feels unfair. Like you got to go to three Super Bowls and then we can start talking about it. Going to is, go ahead, brew. No, a lot of that depends on what you do in the regular season.

Like, even in the NBA, if your regular season numbers aren't fantastic, you're never in the MVP discussion. You win the finals, people aren't going to say you're the best player in the world. What about Jimmy Butler? If Jimmy Butler had won whatever the last finals he was in against Denver, was it? You know what I mean? And it's like, listen, I'm not ready to call him best player in the world. But if they go back to back, I will. And it's like, hold on a second.

Right. Like, why is he ahead of? Real quickly, too, Wiles, we have to admit. I mean, as much as we give the quarterbacks all the credit, it's a team game. And Jalen's team is much better surrounded. He's got the better receivers. When you're talking about Mahomes. Right now.

Better offensive line, better running game. Defense, you can argue. Right now, they have the better roster. He's got the far, like, offensively, he's got far more support. And so I'm going to give you. I think you've got to look at that, too. But I do think Jalen is. I do think he's got far more?

I do. I don't think he's good as the Ravens. I agree. And that's something that Lamar is going to have to answer for. Because he's got tons of talent. I mean, I actually disagree, but that's fine. Like, the, I mean, Seguan and Derek Henry are a coin flip, and I would take the Eagles every other spot on offense.

Certainly receiver, certainly offensive line. You know what I mean? So I did, but that's sidebar. Brew has used the Terry Braddock. trial comp, which I understand, but I've never fully subscribed to. I will use, and this is a compliment, the Russell Wilson come, because had he not thrown that interception, had they won that Super Bowl, that would have been enough for people to be like, you know what, I can't quite explain it.

No, he was great. But that guy, he's been here three, in the league three years, he's won two Super Bowls, like this one, he played Brady. you know what I mean out dueled But was anybody going to say at that point he's the best quarterbacking. I think had they won, he would have been in the discussion like you want Jaylon Hurts for me.

And I'm saying, but it wasn't but it would not have been that year, I don't know, their schedule if they had beaten, you know, Peyton again in the regular season. It's like, okay, well, he beat him in the Super Bowl, he beat him in the regular season, that wasn't enough. The states for America's

game of the week. We just did a great job there. Thanks for high. Coming up, must win for the Cowboys and Russell Wilson, back-to-back segments. Next on FS1, the Fox Sports Channel on Sirius XM. Friday, first things for us, live from the Power and Light District, 3 to 6 Eastern, 2 to 5 Kansas City Time. We are looking for Eagles fans, and then on Sunday, not only will the game be decided, will Mahomes lose his spot as the best quarterback in the NFL?

Some people say yes. Some people. One personal words. I like how during that segment, Drew waved a white flag for you, and then you tried to end it with Drew. You agree with you, right? No, I just want to have the conversation.

If we're having the conversation that you know what, Cincinnati belongs in one of the world's greatest cities, and you put up a full screen at Cincinnati in Paris. If I'm the mayor of Cincinnati, I'm like, heck yeah. That's what I'm saying. Did it. Must win Wednesday. It's week two, but it's getting late early.

Is it a long season or is it already? A must win. First up, O and One Giants in Dallas. Both teams looking for their first win. Bodes well for the Cowboys. Dack currently has 13 straight wins against the G-Men. Brady is on every graphic. And Steve Young.

Steve Young's most underrated question. quarterback in NFL history. Well, maybe to Patrick Mahomes, but these days. But yeah, Steve Young is certainly admin. Brew, this is open-ended. Must win? This is scored, by the way, Greg. Brew is the reigning.

No, you're the reigning champion. Wait, I think I'm the- What's this in our ears? Wow. I know what that means. It's shocking that it's coming so early in the season. This is not the race. A rare double must win.

You know, I've gone there before. That's rare. This is the extremely rare. Must win and a half. Here's why. It's a must win for the Cowboys. We all know why, right? You got a lot of moments.

They got a moral victory. I know people don't want to claim it as a moral victory. They got a moral victory. So the vibes are great in Dallas right now, even though they lost the Philadelphia. If they lose to the hapless, New York Giants, hapless, they're the worst team in the division outside of the Cowboys, then they lose all of those vibes. They lose all of that. So we know why it's a must win for the Cowboys.

And they're at home, you can't lose that game. But it is also, the half comes in here. It is also a must win for Russell Wilson. And since he's an individual player, it's only a half. So it's not the double muscle. That's why you played the, that, I mean, I don't make up the rules. That's just how when you, you haven't heard it before because it's almost unprecedented. All right.

And so, Russ, this could be the last start of his career. If he could get benched at halftime if he goes south. So it is the rare. I don't know if you guys understand the gravity of this. Have you ever seen a must win in a half? Really. Brew, I'm just telling you you're really, because here's the other thing that happened.

Greg is not. It's just the truth. Greg threw out his IMDB resume yesterday on the table. And Brew tried to take his corners back as the actor on the show without what's that? What?

Oh, and I'm just saying I think it threw you off. I just think Greg has your own goal. I'm not here to make, like, I'm not trying to get style points. I'm just telling you the truth. Okay. I'm going to say, it's a must win. I just say what you probably should have.

what you probably should have said, which it's a double must win. Simple. It's a double must win. When you look at the Dallas Cowboys, they don't lose to this team with or without Dak. We saw DAC up there, but this team doesn't lose to the New York Giants. And we saw what the vibes were. We had no expectation of this Dallas Cowboy team. Once we saw Michael was gone and departed, oh, you know what, chalk it up.

You're not making the playoffs. You're not going to even probably be competitive Thursday when we see you for the first time. You know what they were. Now we're kind of like, hmm, can that actually do something with this team? You can't follow that up with a loss against the Giants. And on the flip side, it's a must win for the Giants. When you look at just, Brian Dable is sitting there already with quarterback controversy and indecision. Right there in front of him because of your quarterback that you're talking about, a half a win, because of Russell Wilson.

You look at this team, they were 0 and 6th in the division last year. They haven't won a division game since 2023. You look at your schedule, and the next week you got Kansas City Chiefs. Then you got the Chargers, and you're like, when is this team going to get a win? I know you got the Saints. You're hoping that you'll be able to beat the Saints, but then you continue to look at the schedule, and you're like, well, will they even win a game? Okay. You guys are, sadly, I would love to sport you.

Sadly, you guys are both wrong for including the Giants in this, because the Giants season does not start. until Jackson Dart takes the field. Brian Dable's job will be determined by how Jackson Dart looks. So it is only about the Cowboys, and it is not a must win for the Cowboys. It is a must dominate for the Cowboys. The only way to turn the momentum from whatever momentum you could have gotten from a loss in week one to the Eagles because, like Bruce said, moral victory, was if you show that offensive performance that you showed flashes of is for real,

that their running game is for real, that their offensive line against this defensive front is for real, and C.D. Lamb can redeem himself. So the Cowboys winning 2421 doesn't do a lot of good for them. The Cowboys winning 31 to 10 makes you be like, oh, could have beaten Philly if C.D. catches the ball, annihilate the Giants. It's a must dominate for Dallas.

Thank you for the point, KW. I hate to break it to you guys. He backed up what I said. He put Russell Wilson on the hot seat. Bruce, the world put Russell Wilson. Greg, you were like the Eagles without Micah. You saw an opening. You're like, I'm going to waltz to victory here.

And then he had the schedule up. You're like, they're going to go all in 17. He blew it with the old and seven. If you had the point at that point, that's what you lost. We're not going to get to the other ones. You got the saints. And guys, you got to go a lot faster on these last. Well, Bruce doing bits.

Drag you're up next. Week two. What effort. I thought the judge would respect. Jags in Cincinnati. Now, this is the opposite. Both of these teams are 1 and 0. Joe Burroughs' explosive offense gained seven yards in the second half of week one.

But Burrow is great outside of his division against his division opponents, 7 and 9, non-division points, 20 and 8, 60 touchdowns, and only 14 interceptions. Is this a must win for Joe Burrow? Yeah, this is a must win for Joe Burrow. This is a must win for the team for that offense. When we think about this team, we simply think about them offensively. We don't even think about, oh, what they'll look like defensively. But what they did not look like last week was a great dominant offensive unit with quarterback Joe Burrow at the helm and these two great receivers that are now both under contract. We saw none of that pop like we were talking about prior to the season starting.

And so now you got the Jacksonville Jaguars coming off a win against the Carolina Panthers. You feel like your offense at home has to make some type of noise, despite what your defense may look like. Offensively, it better look good and you got to get a win. I know the judge is unlikely to reward me for this, but it is absolutely not a must win because the Jags are a legitimately good team. And you couldn't go against the Jags like that. No, I'm just, I'm saying it is only being put as a must win because it's like,

oh man, you looked bad against Cleveland, and then what if you lose to Jacksonville? Well, about 11 teams are going to lose to Jacksonville this year. So that's not going to, I guess not 11 teams because they're going to beat some teams twice, most notably probably our Titans. And so no, it's not a must win for the Bengals. It is noteworthy to me, however, that in Greg's summer allegory he was painting, where he is the Bengals offense and I am the Bengals defense and where we know he's going to fight and I didn't.

Hey, buddy, I've prevented you from getting your ass kicked on Sunday. You better thank me. I was like, you know, right now. Good callback. Thank you. I didn't count on getting this point, but I'll take it. Yeah, absolutely a must win. I said it with Gusto.

Greg dance. Cho Burrow, it's a must win. Nick was just flat out wrong. It's an absolute must win. They are already feeling terrible in Cincinnati. Terrible. All right? But the thing that makes it feel a little.

better as least we won. Least we won. And I know Nick's talking all that jazz about the Jags being good. They barely, not barely, but still, that's not a good team. Joe broke, Trevor Lawrence didn't light it up. What do you throw for a 74 pass rating against Carolina? They dominated Carolina. So you lose to that Jags team.

All right. Now all that stuff in the offseason, we got to, you know, we got to start out fresh. We got to start out strong. It is right there for you on a platter. All right. You can be two and old. But you lose to the Jags and now you're one in one, which is better than most than normal. I said the same thing, Brew, thanks.

No, I'm just saying it. I said it with my chest. Got it. Right up there dancing around it. Man, you got to say it with something. Brew, you might be better in like a looser offense. You know what I'm saying? I'm like my home.

I'm my home. I'm backyard football. How do you have to be trying. But I'm a schedule. Otherwise, you're like, you're like, then you ring the bow. I don't know if that's going to work.

Next up. Patriots in Miami, ugh, battle in the AFC basement. Past defense is week one. Not good. Diced up by Gino and Daniel Jones, who is good. Both completed over 70% of their throws.

Gino had nine 20-yard completions. I thought that was a mistake. Gino is chucking that thing downfield, man. Field, man. Wow. Some of them wild. That is impressive. That's why he got a lot of yarns.

All right, several huge plays. Is this a, oh, no, this is just must win, question mark. Oh, it's a must win for not only the Patriots, but the Patriots Media Consortium, led by Kevin Wilds, Bill Simmons, my pal Greg Rosenthal, all of whom all off season talked about Drake May, like, oh, he's in no quantity. Like we got the quarterback. Trevion Anderson. Did you see his kick return in early August?

That position's fixed for sure. Offensive coordinator, have you not seen Josh McDaniels in high definition? Not really. And obviously everything that went wrong last year is Mike Grable's fault. I'm sorry, Gerard Mayo's fault. Mike Grable will fix it, even though some of those people loved Gerard Mayo and didn't want them to fire him. They were so convincing. that otherwise level-headed folks were like, you know what?

I think that team might be able to sneak into the playoffs. You lose to the Dolphins whose coach is going to press conferences and literally being like, well, on the bright side, we're one day closer to death. I think you're in trouble. So yeah, it's a must win. Oh, no. See, we got to.

You know what? I knew something like he's like, I didn't plan on getting this point, but because he thinks this is a good bit. Greg, get ready, because this is going to bomb. I'm shocked. And week two, and we are already on two virtually unprecedented situation. You were close. You were like Greg.

You did say it with your chest, but you didn't finish it. You didn't knock the guy out when you had him dazed and confused and on the ropes. All right. You are right. You almost stole my time. This is the right. I've never seen this before. I've never seen this one before.

Hence the sirens. The, I can't even say rare. The unprecedented quadruple must win. Wow. Quadruple. Nick was close. Yeah. What is it?

It's obviously a must win for the Patriots. One. You missed it. It's a must win for the Dolphins, too. The coached on the hot seat. We've seen that. Best player might get traded. The quarterback's about to lose the locker room.

But it's, and then you're close. The media. You two, three and four. Quadruple must win. Because y'all picked the Patriots to make the play. So Nick, you were close. You almost stole my thunder. You need titles, though. You didn't call it anything. You just, the media, the people, the media, you know. Oh, I like that. Quadruple must win. And you cannot lose. I got to finish. Greg. The Patriots cannot lose to the Rocksteady crew.

Again, what's a night? Oh, and he's, they cannot lose to the Rock. That's the Rock Steady crew. What some of the best break dancers? legendary. The dolphins, who was it that said the dolphins don't practice like us? This is how the dolphins practice. Mike Brable's whole reputation is I'm rough and I'm tumbled. All right, I'm rough and I'm tumble. You can't lose to this.

You can't lose to that. Man, I can't lose to that. Like, this is, you want to continue it. He didn't work hard on that. Yeah, he worked very hard, almost too much. Look, this is simple. This is a must move for the Patriots. Okay.

It's really simple. The NFL fandom world at large, outside of myself, watch what happened last week to the Dolphins. They saw Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts. Whop! I'm talking about bend them over, pop, pop, whoop! The Miami Dolphins! And now all of a sudden you got the Patriots coming and we saw them get beat up and hard hat

lunch pail Mike Rable. We can't, we can't beat this squad. We just saw it. I don't care who you are. Everybody in there. Everybody is thinking the same thing. Give me my bonus point. They just lost to Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts.

We can't lose. Dusty, this is the last one. We have one more. No, it's over. That's the bonus one too. This is the money ball. Greg, unfortunately, has stolen the bank. I just, I just.

What? There is no way. There is no way. Coming up. I'm sorry, bro. I have videos, photographs, sound effects. The sound effects hurt you. What the heck?

Who's under more pressure? Caleb or the entire Lions team next. Oh my goodness. You only won a point when you weren't supposed to. Bears at Lions Detroit favored by almost six. Sunday at one on Fox. Did the Lions miss their old offense coordinator, Ben Johnson, and week one's loss to the Packers?

Well, here's Daniel Jeremiah's take. It looks stale and static. It did not look creative. And it's one week buck. I don't want to overreact on the coaching side of things. But that was alarming what you saw from Detroit's offense. Who's under more pressure here, Greg? Caleb or Jared Gough?

Well, it's definitely the bears and Caleb. But I just want to address what Daniel Jeremiah said because I didn't think it looks stale. I think we're going to all, immediately gravitate to that because Ben Johnson is not the play caller but when you can't establish the run up front you can't get going with

all what you have that stems off of the run game and so that's all I'm going to say about that but this is this is Caleb because we saw a a good really exciting first drive and the stadium was rocking you're watching at home and you were like

okay maybe Caleb's going to be something this year. And then you saw the decline start to happen, especially in that second half. You saw the emotions start to take over, not only with Caleb, but even with Ben Johnson showing some frustration. And then if you're in that locker room and you're a receiver and you're in the perimeter position, you're looking like, man, am I going to be able to perform at my optimum best when this young man can't really get us the ball in situations that are really simplistic, like drop-back situations. I just think they have bigger issues

and it stems at the most important position. This is a tough one. At first glance, I thought the same as you like. It's definitely Caleb, no question. But then I looked at it and thought about it and I almost said, nah, it's definitely Caleb when I noticed that golf struggled in the first two games last year.

Yeah. One touchdown, three picks in his first two games. They lost to Tampa Bay and obviously he came back at a great year. But I think it's golf, Greg, because he, and this has been going around, I'm not the one breaking this, but he's three, 17, and one without Sean McVeigh or Ben Johnson calling his place. So obviously, neither one of those guys calling him now. If he struggles and they lose to a Chicago team that is reeling and the quarterback that's reeling, in Caleb Williams, then I feel like there will be a feeling like this era, this window for

the Lions is just about closed. So I'm going with golf. So yeah, I think oddly Caleb might at this point benefit from the opposite of what he dealt with last year, which is expectations now have been lowered to a degree where it's like, hey, incremental progress, look better week over week. look like the guy we wanted you to look like when we drafted you by November and like on the right track. Meanwhile, it's been a while, KW.

It's a concern. It's a concern. He drew a picture of a pumpkin. Oh, wow. Well, I didn't know if you'd be able to see what the picture was. That is not a good pumpkin, by the way. I did it all the line. Because, because

pumpkin. Deep down, here's the thing. Back in the recesses of your brain, if you're the player, but certainly in the fan's brain, if we've seen you go pumpkin once, we know it's possible. And Jared Gough was the number one pick, had a bad rookie year, Sean McVeigh gets there, and oh my God, they're in the, they've beaten the Chiefs, 5451 on Monday night football, one of the wildest games ever, they've the highest scoring offense. They're in the Super Bowl.

And a few years later, they're in the playoffs, and Sean McVeigh is like, yeah, is healthy enough to play, but I'm going to start the Wolfman instead. And then it had to, like, we saw it, he was a distressed asset that was given away to Detroit with the first round big tattoo him. Then he built himself back up again. It was bad their first year.

Right, bad the first year and built himself back up to where it's like, oh my God, all of the lists last three years, two years, quarterback stats, he's on him. But now, just a little worried. And if the bears come out and make what? Because I'm sorry. Was he bad in the game against the Packers?

Or was their offense? Did their offense just look back? Both. He was bad too. He was bad? I mean, hold. 31 and 31. The one touch, they couldn't move the ball down the field.

And the one touchdown. And that's on Jared Gough. It's certainly partially. The one touchdown he had, which helped his numbers, was when the game was over. Totally understand that. But when we look at this offense of unit, we don't all. automatically say, oh, man, if they can't pass the ball, they're in trouble. No, if they can't run the ball, they're in trouble.

Agreed. But, I mean, he's supposed to be able to rectify that. Yeah, I mean, he got paid like that. They have great weapons. I'm just saying, I'm just saying he was, if you're saying now, he's just a bus rider, that's fine, but that's not, we were talking about golf. Is that what you're saying? I'm just saying, can we watch football and understand what team is doing?

Greg is still. Guys, give Greg some space after a must have one second. Well, he won somehow. He got a gift. I know, but he doesn't feel like he's fired up. Live from New York, the show that hopes that Brock Purdy heals up, but is ready for the Mac Jones start in New Orleans.

News out of San Francisco that it's a long shot that Purdy starts. I hope Matt goes and gets the W. This show will be on fire. This Sunday, Jones wins and a good game from Jalen Hertz. This, again, if he beats the Saints, you're going to go through the roof? Yes, if he wins an NFL game as a starting quarterback. Can I tell you guys?

He made the playoffs. On Monday show, I do not think there is anything that could happen in a Mac Jones Spencer Rattler start where it should make the show. Well, look at the chart that says are the 49ers a popular team or not. I don't know. I'm surprised you would say that. I'm glad. I mean, maybe Tuesday, like in the show. the games we missed, but I'm telling you, like.

If he goes out there and throws for 300 in a win, it's Matt Jones Spencer Rattler 20 hours after the Chiefs play the Eagles. The San Francisco 49ers? Again, buddy. I look, I'm not going to let you just dismiss Mac like that. Mack was a pro bowler. See, Brew has to build Mac up now. He looks good.

Today, are we expecting a huge bounce back game from AJ Brown against the cheese? We'll hear from Super Bowl champion Greg Jennings. Greg, have you been shut out in the game? I have, actually. Frozen out, really? Dangles, really by my own offense. Okay, we're going to discuss it. Meanwhile, Pat Friar move of the Steelers.

He caught Aaron Rogers' first pass, and now he joins the show to talk about all things Steelers and their big victory over the Jets. But right now, oh, you're in for a real treat. Last night in the dry-aged freezer, where they keep the dry age steaks at Mahomes and Kelsey's Steakhouse. An elite group of savants, analysts, and Kansas City's own, Eric Stone Street, fought and twilled and burned at the midnight oil to deliver the best segment in all of sports media. It's an honor and a privilege.

It's time for Nick's Tears. Thank you, as always, the introduction, Kevin Wilds. And since you mention him, congrats on Eric Stone Street on his nuptials this week. Getting married. I heard that. Got married. Oh, got married. Yeah, got married. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hope I don't have that wrong. I don't think it was engaged. I think it was married either way. Congrats to a friend of the show, Eric Stone Street, who was a part of one of the most iconic moments in show history when we were at a chief's parade and we were short of Mike. And our former producer told Kevin Wilde's his earpiece, take off your headside and give it to Stone Street while just standing there.

It's a moment. Stone Street's the best. Congrats to him. We hope to see him Friday when we're in Kansas City. And folks in Kansas, when you see where the chiefs are on these tears, just remember it's a committee. Exactly. It's a committee. You don't have to worry about them being at the bottom, however. Bottom group, six teams, bad ball. Like just the Giants, Russell Wilson again running like it's 2013 and he's going to get to the end zone, fumble inside the five.

The Browns missing two, an extra point in a field goal in a game they should have won. Everything the Panthers did. Everything Bill Callahan had anything to do with. The Saints actually wasn't such bad balls as they don't have a ton of talent. And the dolphins, everything was bad. It's bad ball. Greg, the understanding here. What did we see?

So here is the point that I made. The Colts were dominant. Is that about the culture or the dolphins that bad? Good question. The Seahawks defense looked pretty good. good for long stretches of that game. Is that because Mike McDonald in year two, that defense is going to cook or the Niners with the injuries and all of like what was it? The Cardinals hung on to a win against the Saints team, but are the Saints maybe better

than we thought? So the Cardinals went like that. And the Jets, the Jets defense, which is what they hang their hat on, got absolutely cooked. The offense looked great. What does that mean about the other side? I don't know how to evaluate those games until we know more of other teams third one. Listen, fair is fair. And I hate that my guy, Caleb, is on this list. But QB questions.

For the Niners, Brewitt's injury question, I'm not, the question isn't who Brock Party is. Honestly, we all know who Brock Party is. But the question is, is he hurt? Caleb, where are we going from here? Bo Nix,

that was really bad. You know how I know it was bad? the Broncos didn't make the Monday heard. That's how I know it's bad. There's a Colin would have loved to talk about that. He couldn't do it. And I, listen, I like that. Drake May's young and big and strong

and seems to be an awesome brother and boyfriend and all of that stuff. Husband. I think they're married now? He got married too. Because they donated their wedding gifts to charity. Really? He's a great guy.

Did he just turn 22? Hey, man. All right. But regardless, congrats in that regard. I just didn't play a little better. I was even play a little better and not look to, I think,

honest to God, I watched that Patriot game and like the second snap of the game, Drake May's out there running, and I'm like, I think he's been watching Wild Descratic thinking he's Michael Vick or Randall Cottingab. It didn't work out. Same thing. You have our attention.

Raiders, Steelers, Falcons, Cowboys. Now, I know the last two teams on this list lost, but I thought they looked good in the loss. The Falcons had a chance to tie it late, Youngway Coom is the kick. The Cowboys have a chance to steal it late. C.L.A.M. drops the ball. Steelers scored 34.

The Raiders go into New England and dominate that game, you know, kind of on both sides of the ball. You have our attention. Playoffs, sure. On the board, you after week one, even with those two of those teams having losses. Ominous week one. Lions. Offense doesn't look the same. Offensive line

doesn't look the same. Jared Gough doesn't look the same. the same. It's week one. It's ominous. The Texans, this is now, we're going on a lot of weeks in a row where that offense is arduous, can't move the ball. Like, it looks nothing like it did. CJ's rookie year and we're now into year three. And the Bengals, I thought, I thought that was one of the worst wins by any team in the last couple years in the NFL. They got outplayed on offense, outplayed on defense, and it took the Browns, really brownsing it up. for them to lose that, win that game.

They look the part. Now, these three teams are kind of cursed franchises. Like the Chargers, there's a whole word for chargering. The Jags, since Mark Brunel left, don't really have a lot of high moments. I know they made the one conference title game with Blake Bordles. And the Vikings are famous for four Super Bowl losses and gut-wrenching defeats, whether it be the Gary Anderson missed kick, the other, the Drew Breeze game. So here.

Yeah, exactly. But those three teams in week one looked like pretty good in every facet. Well coached, solid defense, quarterback either played well throughout or played well, you know, when it mattered most for the Vikings. Right now those teams looked apart. Contender-ish. I worry a bit about the Bucks, Washington's defense. I worry a bit about the Rams offensive line,

but like all three coaches, love all three quarterbacks, really like all three teams weapons. Those are the recipes to be, you know, contender-ish at least after week one. Very's fair. A bit, a bit rattled. The Chiefs and the Ravens. That's why it's a committee.

Yeah, it's fair. The Chiefs, everyone's focused on Mahomes. I think that's lunacy. I don't think it's lunacy to be focused on, guys, are we going to have, what's the past defense going to look like? If we can't get pressure without blitzing and our secondary can't hold up, at least right now,

like it was, did Herbert jump another level or is Herbert still just, you know, a really good player? But is everyone going to carve up that defense like that? That's concerning. And for the Ravens, it's obvious. Like, no lead is safe. And so it's got to be at least a little rattled. Gritty winners.

Here's the thing. I do not think either one of these teams, as far as on both sides of the ball, played that well in the opening weekend. I thought that those teams, however, despite not playing, playing their best ball. Both of them, their quarterback was the best player on their team by a decent margin. For the bills, by a huge margin.

For the Eagles, though, in that game, by a decent margin. And they did enough to find a way to win. That's what championship level teams do. You give them credit for it. And atop the tiers, for the first time in the history of the tiers, Wow. Week one champs, The Green Bay Packers.

That's a huge. I mean, it is very, very hard to poke a hole in anything they did in week one. And the fact that they went out and acquired a superstar and he instantly looked like a superstar. Jordan Love didn't put the ball in jeopardy. You love all of that. Not in. Okay. No, that's fair.

You know, that's fair. You know, he did put the ball in jeopardy. Let me let me. But the way you're right, you're right. Jordan Love didn't turn the ball over. I shouldn't have said it. I said it wrong. You put it twice in the road. Still though, week one champs,

the Green Bay Packers. I give you congratulations, right? That was a win for you. Fair. I kind of, I want to take it as a win, but I never really quite know. Sometimes it's a setup with Nick. That's true.

I never, I just. First of all, first of all, that hurts. Second of all, it doesn't matter even if it's true if it's a setup with me or not. The committee's integrity's never been a question. That's right. The committee's accuracy. I was on the committee and I left the committee.

Well, I mean, we can check the email chain, Greg, but the I resign email certainly came well after the, we won't need your services next year. No, that's true. Okay, well, Gianna, we'll post it. Go ahead. I got the charges. You know, they did look apart.

I like what you said about that, but they look more than just the part. They need to be moved up. When you talk about contender-ish, you might as well put the charges on that row. because when you make the Kansas City Chiefs, or you just handled the Kansas City Chiefs in the manner of which they did,

and we talk about quarterback play and what separates a lot of teams is what we see out of the quarterback. Well, Justin Herbert put the league on notice. He came out and he looked like he was in control. Matter of fact, he did more than look like he was in control. He was in control. He not only played great from start,

he finished the game even better. When they needed him to make a play, He wasn't going to allow his team to lose. He wasn't even going to allow or didn't allow for the ball to be put in the possession of Patrick Mahomes. I thought they did a terrific job. And then when you look at why we questioned this team, man, Slater's out, protection issues might be a problem. Nope, we got a guy that played tackle in college. Let's move him over to left tackle and Joe Alt.

And no issues. No issues. And could they have run the ball a little bit better? That are probably so, but Kansas City is a good defensive team. But what we saw out of the chargers, outside of the week one champs in the Green Bay Packers, the showing that we saw with those L.A. Chargers, they're deserving to be on the line of contenderish. So here's what I will say. I do think they had the second most, maybe the most, but at least top two most impressive week one performances.

You know, I think that's, I agree with you there. It is, we are, even though it is week one, or the week two tiers, it's not a total blank slate as far as what the committee kind of thought of you going into the year. And I, you know, and so the, but if we were ranking just best performances of week one, they get either the gold or the silver medal. The Packers, going into the year, I took more seriously as a real contender than the Chargers. So they, you know, they elevated more. Because of the history of what we end up seeing. Well, and also, I just think the Packers have a better roster. You know what I mean?

I think the Packers have a better overall roster than the Chargers. I think that one of the things that was disappointing for the Chiefs is, I don't think the Chargers receivers are that special. I mean, Keenan Allen, anybody could have had him this offseason. Quentin Johnson is still waiting to pop. Obviously, Ladd's good. And those guys were wide open. And so now listen, maybe Keenan Allen hit the, you know, the wayback machine and Johnson took the leap,

or maybe that was more an indictment on the chief secondary performance. But I don't have any real issue with what you said, Greg. The tiers are good. I give you props for being fair with the chiefs. I agree with Greg. I would have chosen the charges to move up had he not done it first. So I'm going to go. The one thing I have an issue with is really, too, I guess.

switch the Steelers and the Jags. The Steelers look good. Now, I'm not, you know, I didn't pick them to make the playoffs, but I did think they could win 10 games and maybe just miss it. And they looked very capable of doing that on Sunday against the Jets. Mike Tomlin, we know what the magic is that he works. Now that he's got the best quarterback play since Big Ben was in his prime, I mean, Rogers was great on Sunday.

He doesn't have to be great every weekend, we wouldn't think. All right. So they should move up. And the defense obviously was problematic, but I think all of us think that defense is going to get better. The names on the defense, Cam Hayward obviously wasn't there in the preseason, but the names that are on that defense,

Mike Tomlin as a defensive coach, we think they'll get better. The Jags, solid victory as far as, as the margin, but the Panthers are horrible. And Trevor 74 passer rating less than six yards per attempt, a pick against that defense? I'm just saying I want to see more from Trevor Lawrence when you got Brian Thomas Jr. who didn't do much and you got Travis, you know, Hunter.

So I just, I wasn't that impressed with him. There's a solid win, you'll take it, but it wasn't impressive to me. Switch. All right. It's a couple things. One is a quick reminder for the audience and for the panel. This is not the mountain where in order to move someone up, you must move someone down. I know.

It's tears. So we could just have just done the Steelers thing. We didn't need to all of a sudden be like the Jags who from start to finish dominated the Panthers. You don't make your own. It was the Panthers. I understand, but what are you supposed to do against a bad team? Dominate them. Did Trevor, was Trevor Domin?

Hold on. This is, again, now I will remind the audience again. Remember the executives came in, what it was like, don't talk about. Trevor is actually pretty popular. Trevor's very high on that. And KW, allow me to, allow me to respond to him, please quickly. This is not the mountain. This is not purely about how good your quarterback is.

But you can move a team up and down, right? No, no, no. What I'm saying, but your only criticism of. of the Jags is Trevor wasn't as good as you would like. You know who was? Travis at Tien. He was so good. They were like, take Bigsby.

We don't even need you anymore. Okay. Travis is going to rush for 1,500 yards? Is that what we're saying? Well, actually, to be fair, right now he's on pace to rush for about 2,500 yards, but I don't think that's going to happen. My point is this. When you play a bad team, you're supposed to dominate them.

They did dominate them. Trevor made one mistake, and J.C. Orne made an amazing play on that. Orr else it would have been a Travis Hunter or 75. Five-yard touchdown. Go ahead, KW. I know you don't have to move people up and down. That being said, nobody remembers. Well, I forgot.

They're real, a little rusty. I'm just going to move the Eagles ahead of the Packers. Just because I feel like they deserve. And I know it's not the standings. Do you? Well, kind of. But they've ripped off. They've lost, they're 17 and one since week five of last year.

Well, it's certainly not the 2024 tiers. There's an element of momentum. You haven't lost a game with Jalen Hurts since Tampa Bay. It's almost a year. It's been a long time since you lost a game until someone can beat you. I feel like you deserve a spot up. Here's the other thing. No Jalen Carter.

We know the defense probably will take a step back. But the Cowboys, maybe see them what had caught the ball? Maybe there was a little bit of nervousness going across the middle. Allowed under 25 points the most games since the start of. 24 because we're early, I got to have a longer, longer runway here. The Eagles are still there. Right next to the Chargers and the Chiefs. Shout out to the Chiefs.

Then the Packers. And this is not super nice, but I feel like someone's got to say it. And it might as well be me as the guy who coined the phrase defense wins championships. Josh Allen. What an amazing performance. Can someone raise their hand and say, kind of weird, yeah, defense gave up 40 points. when that is your unfortunate exit strategy out of the playoffs, allowed 40 points the most games since the start of last year.

The bills have done it three times along with the Panthers and the Cowboys that redid their defense. The bills allowing these like getting gashed every once in a while is just a little red flag. So can I say, I know it's all parades and balloons and Buffalo this weekend. Can I say two? The 40 point thing is I felt like the Eagles were en route to get.

given up 40 before the lightning delay. The Cowboys scored every single time they wanted then lightning delay happened and both offenses ground to a hole. So like that part to me is a little weird. The other one is you know whose defense didn't look bad? The Packers. You did a whole anti-Buffalo thing,

but your argument is not that Buffalo should move down. Your argument is that the Eagles should move up. I'm not moving the Packers. You're putting the Eagles at the top. Yeah, but then they're no longer at the time. But they're not even, they're just, they're staying there. I'm not moving the Packers.

But you're putting the Eagles above. Right. You're moving the Eagles above the Packers. And I'm saying your argument about defense being important, you would certainly agree the Packers defense against your beloved Detroit Lions, who you loved until half time of the Super Bowl. Without Ben Johnson, who knows what they are? Oh, this guy.

Until the Eagles lose, they should be the best. Can we all just agree? The committee is off to a nearly flawless start. It's a good start for the committee. Thank you. Coming up next. I like to start. Thanks.

That's good, right? How are the vibes in Pittsburgh? Tight-end Pat Friermouth joins us. I bet they're great. I might talk a little Penn State, too. I also have a good thing. Welcome back to first things first. The Pittsburgh Steelers get the win in New York to kick off Aaron Rogers' Steelers' debut.

Rogers' first pass as a Steeler went to our next guest, Pat Fryermouth. Pat, congrats on the win. He joins us from his car phone. Car phone. I had a car phone. I'm surprised you still have that. I had one. Congrats on the win. How has your chemistry been with Aaron so far this year? It's been great, man. He's been great. It's been great to get to know him and all his signals and all of his, you know, alerts to different plays. Definitely challenging. But once we get all the same page, which we are now, it's been smooth sound. It's been great.

You guys, you know, haven't had like a top level quarterback since you've been there. And when you guys signed Aaron, you know, a lot of people, including myself, thought, okay, he's 41 years old. He's not what he used to be. I wasn't as excited about it for those reasons. But in that locker room, how were you guys viewing getting a future Hall of Fame quarterback? I mean, for myself, you know, I was very excited. I was actually over in Ireland with my fiance at the time when, you know, the rumors started

like where he could sign him and stuff. So I started watching Jets film from last year on the train ride to Galway, which she wasn't too happy about. But I was watching it. And he could, I was like, he can still throw the ball. And so I was very excited.

And just seeing his, just his release of the football, his throwing mechanic, it's just, it's unreal to see in person. And just, it's been great, man. I was super. excited and, you know, he said that I was, I was DMing a little bit and he was trying to talk to him about coming. And it was great, man. It was, it was awesome. You kind of led me perfectly into what I wanted to ask about, which was the way he throws the football.

So as a layperson, even someone watched football my whole life, I've never quite understood that the guys who players talk about in almost wholly terms about, no, like he just throws a different. the way the ball comes out of his hands. And I'm not asking you necessarily to compare him to another specific quarterback. But when you say the way he releases, the way he throws the ball, what is different about that? What makes that special? And like how do you as a receiver, how does that impact you? Or is it tied in, but as a pass catcher?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just the flick of his wrist, honestly, like, though, the way he can cork his body to throw different angles and different arm angles, it's insane. And I remember the first OTA's practice he was there. He was just doing some spot throws, and he caught me off guard because he was throwing a no-look pass. And I haven't had that in my NFL career yet. The quarterback that can throw a no-look pass right on the chest. And so it hit me, and I was like, oh, damn.

He was like, you better they get used to it. And so just that kind of stuff. It's been super cool. Without giving away any playbook secrets, you've got you and Janu, two tight ends on the team, a lot of different looks. Can you describe some of the advantages of having two great tight ends on the Steelers? Yeah, I think the coolest thing is art was telling us, and we can see it on film and stuff, especially with the Jets, is we can dictate, you know, what they can and can't do on defense schematically, and, you know, they kind of limit what they can be in.

And it's just great for matchup personnel. I mean, this past week when the Jets were in, you know, dying personnel or base personnel, and, you know, it's kind of hard to match up two great tight ends that can win versus man coverage or, you know, get open and stuff. So it's been great. I mean, you guys, you know, you usually make the playoffs. We know with Mike Tom and you don't have losing season. So I would assume every year you guys have high expectations for yourselves. But with Aaron Rogers in the building, did the expectations rise?

And is there a feeling around the team of, hey, this could be a really special year that we haven't had. had the opportunity to have in a while here? Yeah, I mean, I don't think, you know, expectations, you know, rose. I mean, I think every single year we go in, especially being, you know, we always talk about being a Pittsburgh Steeler. I think the expectation is always to, you know, get that Lombardi. And I think, you know, with all the moves they made in this offseason, bringing guys in like DK and Jalen and Aaron and new, just, you know,

seeing the level of ownership of what they think can help us win and, you know, kind of our mindset. It definitely heightens us a little bit, but, you know, we expect to be there every single year and competing for a Lombardi every single year. And so, you know, we're just excited for the opportunity. Obviously, it's just week one, and we got 17 weeks left. And so they're a long season ahead and stuff to improve on for sure. All right.

You're in your fifth year. You're an established pro now, so I feel like you should be comfortable doing this. Give us an awesome Mike Tomlin story that people might not know. Awesome Mike T's story. So many. I mean, I honestly think just the coolest thing. I mean,

I'm sure you guys here, it's kind of lame, but just the coolest thing is just being in his team meetings every single day. Like, he makes you want to run through a wall on, like a Wednesday, like today, for example, like,

you know, it's a Wednesday practice, pad to practice, you know, guys could be, you know, not looking forward to and stuff. But the way he motivates us in the morning,

just the saying he says, and challenging guys, you know, calling him out. I think it's, it's awesome. be a part of that because every day you got to show up. They've got to come in and got to work.

So I want to just follow up on Mike. How does a coach walk the line that he seems to walk as well from afar as any coach I've ever seen of you guys really legitimately liking him while also obviously not only respecting him but having that he is, you know, he's not so buddy-buddy to where like guys run all over. from like how does he successfully walk that line of being seemingly a player's coach while also being a disciplinarian? I think the coolest thing is I think he's just whole, there's no gray area with him.

So every time he says, you know, you can obviously have those conversations from, you know, just a man to man and like a, like one of your boys. But like at the end of the day, he always tells you what he expects and what he needs from you. So if you can, if you can do that and you can show up every single day and, you know, meet those expectations and form a relationship. He's so good at, you know, making sure that every single day, you know what you need to do. You know what you need to accomplish in the game plan and in the game. But he also is there to love you up and motivate you.

And I think he does a great job at that. It's like Dusty, our producer reminds me of a little bit. Yeah, I agree. I agree. You don't know him. It was very similar. Yeah. Same haircut.

All right. Pat, D.K. going back to Seattle, us in the media, we're like, oh, this is a big revenge game. How much of that is media creation and how much does that actually resonate in the locker room? Yeah, I mean, I think as the locker room just kind of goes as those guys go, like this past week with Aaron, you know, it was just another week for him. And so, you know, he was motivated just, you know, it being week one. And I think DK's in the same way. I mean, I don't think he's looking at like a revenge game. You know, obviously he still has boys over there in Seattle.

Obviously, we want to win the game. And I think he would enjoy winning the game as well just to be able to say we won. You played two years in college at Penn State with Micah Parsons. You guys have the Packers in week eight this year. You're looking forward to blocking him? I mean, yeah, it's going to be fun. I mean, Mike is an awesome dude. It was fun.

We had some battles in college. He always says he can, he can. You know, he can cover me and promise the stuff, but you got to check the tape on that one. But no, I'm excited. I'm excited to go against the man. Micah is an awesome guy. And I'm super happy for him and a situation where you're able to get paid and go to Green Bay. And, yeah, just looking forward to see him in week eight.

If you don't mind, I want to ask just another question about Micah because when you look at like his college numbers, right? So he played, he played off. He didn't play just defensive in his linebacker. he opted out of the COVID year. He didn't, you know, he wasn't like a 15 sack. Oh my God, guy, but he was not only a locked first round pick, a lot of people thought he was going to go top 10. Like he was a freak when he got there and combined all of that.

What was it when you guys were in practice or when you first played with him that differentiated him and allows, you know, in your opinion, has allowed him to have the level of success that he's had? He's unblockable in college. she was unblockable. I think the coolest thing, like, we came in the same class, and so getting to know him, he cares a lot. And I just think in practice, like, no one could block him.

He was just night and day above everyone else, even as a freshman coming in. So just seeing the way he works and just seeing the way that he, you know, he loves the game of football. It was great to be a part of and kind of emulate, you know, process that he did kind of emulate my process and getting ready for games and practicing and stuff like that. And yeah, super happy for him, man.

It definitely missed him that COVID year for sure. He definitely could have used them. We started like, O-N-4 or something like that. So we definitely could have used them to that. But, yeah, he was a game changer, game wrecker. And, you know, we needed a big play. Michael was there making it. Now, Pat, you played basketball in high school,

and your dad was Mr. Basketball, New Hampshire. Did you ever consider just being an NBA star over the NFL? He's an absolutely. love that you said that. But, uh, he, uh, but, uh, no, I, uh, I was a good basketball player for sure, but, uh, you know, I got my first offer, uh, from UMass, actually. And, uh, then I decided to put some some 20 pounds on or something like that and play tight end. So once I put the weight on, I changed my role more of a, uh, glue guy where I got the officer rebounds, took charge and set picks. And so I changed my role. So once that started, I quickly, uh, pivoted from

basketball football. Who's the best basketball player on the Steelers? If it's you, if you say it. No, it ain't mean. It's probably Ben Scronic for sure. Ben Scleronic. Yeah, we were out in Malibu working out of stuff like that in the offseason and went to Aaron's place proactive sports out in Westlake, I think it's called. And we were shooting some hoops with some guys and it's pretty good. We're pretty good.

Wow. Wow. That's got out Ben Scuronic. I heard Aaron's good too. Aaron. Yeah, he's good. He's good. He's good.

He's good. Good pass, he's a good shooter. Really? He's pretty good. Aaron Rogers is good at basketball? Yeah. Yeah. That changes my whole take.

I was going to get golf and I was good at quarterback. I was going to guess D.K. is just such a We saw D.K. played in the celebrity guy, NBA, yeah. He was okay. Yeah, D. Okay, wow. He played like Drusky. Wasn't he playing Drusky?

He was. Like, I don't know. Like, Tyson. Yeah, D.K. Mekab's going to. and do all right. All right. Thank you, Pat.

Best of luck. Seahawks, Steelers, Sunday at 1 on Fox. Have a healthy and successful year. Appreciate it, guys. Thanks, Pat. Thank you, Pat. More first after the break. Please subscribe to our podcast if you haven't.

We tried very hard on it, and I read all the full screens for our audio listeners. And our YouTube channel continues to improve, and there's some unique content up there. I did my Big Eagles take. Another one. That's where I got all these good stats. Are you saving takes or debuting takes on the podcast?

Again, even though you're going to be mad at me, the segment that Gianna and I did was called Seven Questions About the Eagles Chiefs game. And I didn't answer them, but I just put some stuff out there. News out of San Francisco. Brock Purdy has a bummed shoulder and a hurt toe. Kyle Shanahan says he is a long shot to play on Sunday, and then it followed up, say he's going to miss multiple weeks,

said yes. Take a listen. Any further sense about whether Brock will be able to play on Sunday? I think it's a long shot. Is it possible that Purdy's injury could be a multi-week thing? Sorry, he didn't say yes. He said it's possible. It's right. It's late and breaking, buddy. You can't be totally buttoned up. Well, I think he'll be more than that. Sorry, I'm not looking at my phone. I'm just trying to pull up the Niners schedule. I think after the Saints is the Cardinals. And then they have a tough stretch. Cardinals Jags at the Rams, at the Bucks, home for the Falcons, at the Texans. Like, to me, all five of those teams,

all those teams but the Texans, I thought, looked good in week one, and we think the Texans. The Texans could beat them, yeah. They got to beat New Orleans. Oh, yeah. And it's also really, listen, I know what the audience is what I can be to say. Wow, the line move from five and a half to three.

Five and a half. So Brock Purdy is officially two and a half points better than Mac Jones. It's about what I thought. But the, yeah, it's two and a half points better than Mac Jones. I think that's about right. But what is true is it is now, now that we know this, that much more important, brew, that they got that win. You know what I mean?

Like if they had lost that game and it looked like they were going to lose it. And even after Purdy got the touchdown, it looked like Darnold was going to, he had driven him down and he fumbled, like all that more important that they got that win. So they have a little bit of margin if he's going to miss it. time. Yeah, look, like I said, they have to beat New Orleans. And even with Mack Jones, I mean, as simple as that. With the injuries they have and then that schedule getting tougher, maybe Purdy might not

even be back for Arizona. So, yeah, I mean, he's got to get back soon. And I'm not trying to say he's a top tier quarterback, but they, without him, unless Mac Jones, what, I don't even, I can't say turn back the clock. No. Although he was a pro bowler. No. He was a team to the playoffs.

It's a good question. He was a national champion. He and the Alabama offense did put up like 60 points in the Superdome last time he was there. Most guys in NFL were great in college. What? Did they say the completion record?

Because they got all those guys. I mean this this is going to happen. I know you were down on Christian McCaffrey in week one. He did have like 160 yards. You know what I mean? Because he had right. Yeah, he had 80 yards receiving and close to 80 yards rushing.

This is. going to be a Christian McCaffrey game. Like, and I, and that makes you nervous too, Wilde's because he was dealt with the calf. He got 31. That's what I'm saying. He had 31 touches. Yeah, exactly.

100%. Kyle Shannon's like, ah, it's not like you'd get hurt too. There's all that scuttle butt about Trey Lance in that draft class. I was like, are you sure they wanted Trey Lance? Are you sure they didn't want somebody else? So, so like, as Nick would say, finish the thought. Yeah. What is Mac Jones?

Like, is something possible? What's on the board that Mac Jones does well this game? Yeah. And the next game. And the game after that. And then, who knows what's going to happen? I can't see any of the future. Well, one guy's just got a 200-some-eyed.

There's no contract. There's no controversy. Well, you know, Drew Bletsaw had a big contract, too, my friend. See? He was the highest paid player in the league. So I think you're right now in this moment. I'm glad you finished the thought. comparing Mac Jones to Tom Brady?

No, he just said that's never happened before. That's not new. Yeah, right. That was his whole thing. Maybe he goes. That's good. That's interesting. You mention that.

I love the rest of that. Live from New York. It's the show that is cautiously optimistic about Mac Jones. No, hold on. Whoa. Hold on. You cannot do that, bro. Why?

Because the show is not. What did I? I say. Leader of the show, but he is not the entirety of the show. Drew. Fuck, am I allowed to say like, I'm not going to say I'm optimistic. Look, I could see him going out there and having a couple of years. Danny, cautiously, optimistic.

He could beat the science. You think he's resurrected his career. Jesus, guys. You guys, you think he's resurrected. He didn't clear it with any of us. My point is this. Is he allowed to say the first thing first to show that if he's the only person that believes it?

Well, I don't know. We just, we just did it. And how many people have to ask? You're optimistic about Mac Jones? Cautiously. No. I think it's possible he goes out there and plays well. Third hour, first thing's first.

But also, I'm allowed to say that. See, I knew it. See, that's what I was trying to get us in a new segment called Packed Stats, aka Case Closed. You can't change the name of the segment until it. He reads it and then bangs the... I have horrible news. What?

I don't like the term pack stats. I just don't, it seems Packers oriented. It doesn't have the briefcase. So I put into chat chibi-T, can you give me a better idea? And one of them was case closed. I said, oh, shoot, these robots are right. The problem is I open up to the... And then after you deliver it, bang, slay the judge.

Case closed. All right. It does work. I didn't do it. It was the robot. It's time now for case closed. All right, you know what? Who are you called?

It's really good at TV. It's not suitcase stats like you had yesterday. That was a wild idea. Case closed is a chat, GBT. Case closed. Yeah, it's pretty good. It's not bad. We're counting down the days in Super Bowl rematch.

We will be in Kansas City on Friday from the Power and Light District. Come on by. Patrick Mahomes spoke today about how he can be better against the Eagles. Take a listen. They had a great game plan. They played hard and, and, and, and did a great job of disrupting my timing. And so I have to learn from that,

find ways to get the ball out of my hand. And then when the opportunities are there, I think that's something I did miss early in the game is there was opportunities to make plays. And you got to make those plays. Because if you don't, they're not going to allow those opportunities again. Because here's a wild stat.

Super Bowl loser seems extreme. People who lost the Super Bowl. In a rematch the next regular season, everybody loses, except when the Eagles went into Arrowhead and won. So everybody loses except when it's Chiefs Eagle. Sounds good to me. I mean, that's what you're showing me. Wow. Yeah. That's like a classic Super Bowl hangover. It also is an interesting thing that this used to be

incredibly rare that we got it and now we've gotten in three straight years. Yeah, four times in the 27 years before. No offense to the 90s schedule maker. What were they? Super Bowl rematch. What would an O and 2 start mean for the Chiefs? Not much. Not much because of who they're playing. It wouldn't be Owens 2, like, and I'm not picking on Cincinnati,

with Cincinnati's opening schedule. Or, you know what they did? That's true. The Chargers are a team that I know some smart people like you really believed in. I think everybody thought it would be good. Nobody was like, yeah, Chargers are going to be a four-win team. They played great. And everybody thinks the Eagles are, you know, somewhere,

from very good to excellent on that scale. And this is, as Brew was saying about the Niners yesterday potentially, is not an excuse, but a potential explanation of the chiefs being without their top two receivers, depending on how the game looks, would be another reason that you would not panic about it. And, and this is the part that I think, while they've never started 0 and 2 with Mahomes, they have had bad starts. And I think that's the point I was trying to make earlier, which is 2020.

they started three and four and two of those games were two were the only two regular season blowouts of Mahomes' entire career were within that three and four start and one of them was to Ryan Tannihill and the Titans, the other one was Josh Allen,

and then they rallied. With that, so I don't think it would mean anything huge about the season as a whole. What it would mean is for the first time since that year, they don't have a mid-season margin of error.

You know what I mean? That they have to be able to lock in in a way before Rishi gets back. You know what I mean? Maybe without Xavier Worthy and that that Ravens-Lions portion of the schedule becomes a little more ominous. I agree with you. I would not think they're not going to make the playoffs if they start owing to it. And that's, you know, a big deal because most teams that start owing to, the overwhelming

majority don't make the playoffs. and most teams in the league right now that start 0 and 2 will be written off. Not the Ravens, not the Chiefs, some of these other teams. Where I do think it would have significance, Nick, is that I think the mystique already has taken a shot by the way the Eagles beat them in the Super Bowl. Obviously what the Chargers just did. If Philly beats him again, it's first time, be the first time, Mahomes has ever lost three straight games in his career.

and then when you know in two of, well, all three losses, obviously the Super Bowl is the Super Bowl, all three of those games the Chiefs are like hyped for and they still can't, you know, get it together and win the game. I think like this Chief's mystique, which I think is real. I think it's definitely been real for the Ravens. I think it's real to some degree for the bills. And everybody else except maybe Cincinnati and the Eagles, I think that would be. be largely gone, if not totally gone, if they lose this game. And I think that would be a big deal. Yeah, I'm more with you. It would be a blood in the water type situation. They wouldn't be

done. I think the chiefs are going to be contenders for the next 10 years with Andy Reed and Patrick Mahomes. But Mahomes has never lost three straight in his career. That would be something. It would be the first time ever. Last year, all of the close games, all of the weird results, like we talk about it in the media as like the chiefs just have. like the will of a champion and they know how to win and all that. That's all correct, by the way. I know, but I think that the players who play in those games that lose when the ball gets doinked off of an upright, they look at the film after the game and they're like, we were a play or two away from beating the Chiefs.

I don't think that the players themselves that lost those one score games, they look at it as, we almost beat the champs, we almost beat the Chiefs. And so you combine all of it with three straight losses, a blowout in the Super Bowl, the fact that they do have a suspension. And I've heard you mention the three and four thing. And it's interesting, like, after that Super Bowl loss. We can bring up the schedule here. Just play it out.

They play a lot of tough games. So if they start O and two, let's say they beat the Giants, one and two. They could beat the Ravens, obviously. But the margin for error, as you put it, make them three and four, just for the exercise. Make them four and five going into the buy. They're still fine. Like again, I don't, I don't see that's where How many, what's the worst record you think they could have to make the playoffs?

Well, let me, can I put a phrase a little differently? I think 10 wins get you in. I think you might get in with nine, with nine, but I think 10 wins is in an expanded field. I don't think 10 wins is missing. I agree. And so, hold on, I was going to say something else, but KW has a Sheshire or Kat Grin look on his face.

Go ahead. I don't want to say it. Go ahead, buddy. Yeah, but now you have to. Buddy, this is the, this is. You and I. I don't want to say it. You're going to be so mad at me.

I'm not going to be mad at you. I guarantee you, I bet you $100,000 are going to be mad at me. Deal. Oh, wow. You know how they call you Mr. Consistency? I do. You know how they call me the mayor affair? I didn't like all this chiefs talk.

Chiefs are done talk. The way that Brew was going and the way that Danny was going, and it's like, what's their way. worst record, it started to sound like fodder for one of those chiefs mix tapes that comes up on social media. And that gets my antennas up. This might be a trap game for the Eagles. I told you. I told you you wouldn't like it. I was so confident in the Eagles. Then I told you, I don't look at it. I'm the Jan Hertz guy, but I started getting nervous. My antenna started to go crazy. I told you that. He said that you had to be a hundred thousand.

I have to wire while for $100,000. I don't like that at all. I was so prepared to not be angry at your, I was so mentally prepared. You thought it would be like, jailer is going to do this, listen to that. For you to just say some anti-chiefs thing, that I then when you can't instead, I told you, the guy who makes one dollar online sports wagers, and cashes them out. This guy hedging his Eagles take again. I'm not hedging it.

Yes, I'm furious. You're right, I'm furious. I'll pay you slowly over the next five months. I owe you $100,000 because I... It's going to feel like a trap game. This guy, I'm going to stab him in the heart. The fact that he is trying to do this. It's like, oh, word.

All right, then Mark can say this. And I just don't want to be honest. I can feel it. I didn't like that. You're going to be all over it no matter what. That's first of all. I still am the jail in Ritz guy, but this is, at this point, the pendulum has swung too far. They're going to miss the playoffs, all this stuff.

I don't think they're not saying. I'm not saying. But if you lose the playoffs, if you lose the Giants, I do a card. I'm like, slow down, Park. I don't say that. Hold on. Can I say one thing in all seriousness? And do I really owe you $100,000?

No, no. He'll let you cash out for $75. Danny, last year, his son picked every single week one Sunday game, and he was 11 and O and made him cash out and he hit them all. But regardless, this is the, I just want to say one thing about Mystique. I will agree with you guys entirely that if the Eagles win this game,

if we get a Super Bowl rematch for the first time in Mahomes' career, the opposing team has the mental edge. You know, I will agree with that, that specific rematch, maybe I shouldn't say his career. Maybe Brady at the very beginning. But for the whole time since we've been, you know what I mean, in this era, I will agree with that. The Mystique, the Chief's mystique really, to me, only matters against one and kind of two teams, and it only matters in the playoffs.

And it's the bills, and to a lesser degree, the Ravens come the playoffs. And nothing can happen, in my opinion, in the regular season. that if those two teams meet in January, if it's Chief's bills in January, there is nothing that is going to make the bills feel like they have the mental edge here. You know what I mean? That mystique will, even if they limp into the playoffs.

Maybe not the, I think that's fair. Maybe not the mental edge. But if the Chiefs are, and I'm not predicting this, but they're 11 and 6th. They haven't looked good. They get in the playoffs as a wild card. I think the Ravens and the Bill, say they have great seasons are certainly not feeling like they felt last year and the year

before. But the year before, it was exactly what it was. But the chiefs were 11 and 6. Yeah, but the chiefs were the year before, the chiefs were 11 and 6th. They did go to Buffalo. They did have to go to Baltimore. That was the team. But they were still the defendant.

They were the defending champs. That's a significant difference. Yeah. But again, I don't know how much defending Super Bowl champs means in the AFC playoffs when instead of being the one-time defending Super Bowl champs, you would be going in the playoffs as the three-time defending AFC. With all the playoffs. Yeah, sure.

Can I ask you a question about this game specifically? And there's a lot of, I watching the Chiefs documentary, the kingdom about the Super Bowl, where Mahomes as the leader of the team thought they were in it when I think a lot of the fans felt like, ooh, this is getting away from him. But he still was like, let's go, let's go. And he's done it so many times. Do you think there's a chance? But then afterwards, he's like, he was pressing trying to make.

make something happen. When he ran into, I forgot the name of the Chargers guy that he bullied, he's like, I'm trying to make something happen. I was trying to get people fired up. And he's like, he never does that, like really crush a guy in six, maybe playoff games. Is there a chance that if the chiefs fall down, that we could see a version of Mahomes where he's pressing and he kind of gets out of his normal Mahomesian self? Yes.

I don't think that's good. No, I agree. But you're asking, is there a chance. As a guy is rooting through the Eagles. This guy is. I thought he kind of did that in the Chargers game, and I thought he was great in that. Oh, yeah.

I mean, that's what I thought. It's been a little controversial in some quarters. I thought Mahomes was really, really good Friday night. But I agree with you, Brew. He was pressing. And pressing, here's the thing. It's weird, and I know we got to move on. Because we talked about it earlier.

He never gets, he's been blown out, been blown out four times in his career, lost by more than one score six times in his career. He's not afraid of being blown out. If it is going the wrong way, he is going to open the variance up and be like, all right, this could go really bad, and it did in the Super Bowl. But that's why he's the best come from behind quarterback ever.

That's why his record, when they're down double digits, is a playoff, you know what I mean? They win 60% of the games because he gives them that chance. Okay. Underwhelming game one for Saquan Barkley. Here's Nick Bolton of the Chiefs talking about Kansas City's defense. Take a listen. Tackling, obviously.

I think we had our 10-miss tackle. So as we keep progressing every week, we want to kind of knock that number down a little bit. Pass defense, a Russian pass, defense working together a little bit. I think one defense is pretty good, but obviously a lot of things can clean out. Danny, you're buying that the Chiefs can stop Saquan. Sure. I mean, they did it in the Super Bowl, 25 carries, 57 yards, longest rushing attempt, I think was 10 yards in that game. It's kind of amazing that Steve Spagnolo is still there.

Nobody will ever hire him to be a head coach again. It's very lucky. It's an unbelievably underrated, lucky component of this Chiefs thing that Andy Reid gets to coach the offense and a top three defensive coordinator in football for a defense that last year, if you remove Week 18, when they didn't play anybody and they got the Denver game. They were the second ranked scoring defense in the NFL. And the year before, they were the second rank scoring defense in the NFL.

It's coincided with Mahomes' not great statistical production. They've been consistently a great defense. And their defensive coordinator will never leave. So if he sets this, hey, we're going to take away what you do best, the old Belichick thing, well, they're going to take away Seek-Barkley. I think it's definitely in play that Saquan has a bad. game again. Totally in play. The thing is, and they shut down

the Chargers run game. They got passed on, but they shut down the run game. They didn't believe Harbaal would pass as like, they didn't believe they'd listen to you. And they were all in on stopping the Chargers run game. They did, and they got shredded. The thing is, what I don't think they can do is stop

both, the run game and a pass, a big pass game. That's what happened to the Super Bowl. Jalen has a great game. Seekwine does it. So I think they can take away say Quine, I don't know. Can they take away the past game? Maybe. I don't think they can take away both. Go, Cato. I'm just wondering what the, I'm sure they can because we've seen it. Now, granted, that led to 30 some odd offensive points in the Super Bowl, so I don't know if it's the best

strategy. And I think that you have to weigh in, which I think is very interesting for Spags. And you tell me, he's a great schematic guy. And what I think takes the defensive coordinators from good to great or great to legendary like Belichick was, I also know what you want to do emotionally. And this AJ Brown factor, one catch for eight yards in the fourth quarter, it feels like they're going to want to feed them the ball. Now does Spags let that happen?

Like, okay, overfeed AJ. We're going to take away Sequin or cover AJ like crazy and see what happens to that sideline? Listen, I think, and maybe this will be a mistake. It was, it ended up, obviously everything went wrong in the Super Bowl. So maybe if they, I don't know if there was that day of defensive game plan that would have changed that game. That to me was more about the Eagles defense against the Chiefs offense that got everything awry. I think they're going to have for the third straight game a very similar defensive game plan,

which is if the quarterback's going to drop back and throw it a bunch, we're going to make him beat us. And I'm not, again, it's not an insult. Right. It's not an insult Jalen Hurts because they literally just have. had Justin Herbert do it. I just think that is going to be the process. My biggest concern in this game for the Chief's defense is that Jalen Hertz in week one had by a large margin

the longest time to throw of any quarterback in the league. People have seen that little chart floating around Twitter where short passes and a ton of time to throw. What I'm worried about is the Chiefs not being able to generate pressure on Jalen, Jalen looking, and being like, I could try to force it in there, not going to, and he gets out and runs.

You know what I mean? And that he has, I know that sounds recency bias because he just did something like that in Dallas. A great running game. But I think that he could have, that's where I think the Eagles

could do real damage. I don't think they're going to give A.J. Brown 15 targets. I do think Jalen Hertz might have 12 quarterback runs. Really? Yeah. And that, to me, is, that raises my blood pressure a bit. Brew as the wide receiver on the panel.

Greg not here. You ain't lying. How many targets do you think AJ Brown is going to get? Or should get? How about that? I'm going to say going to get seven. I think the Eagles play to win. And I mean, he's going to get more than one for sure.

You should get more than one. Yeah. Why are you, you seem like, concerned, I guess, about the Chief's defense. when the body of work for them over the last two years suggest that the defense has been arguably what's carried your team. Yeah, I patently reject the idea that last year the defense was the best part of the team. Two years ago...

I think the House is always the best part of it. Right. Two years ago, when the Chiefs won, the year they beat the Niners in the Super Bowl, that team's defense was awesome. I was saying all year how awesome it was. Last year, I think that the Chiefs were in such low possession games because they were a 12-play offense and they were forcing other teams to be a similar ball control offense, that the points per game stat is less instructive than a points per drive stat.

And I think that the Chiefs past defense last year was the inability to generate pressure on the quarterback without either. Spaggs dialing up something awesome or Chris Jones being like I got it and I think Chris knew it at the end which is why he freestyled on that play like listen we're not going to be able to get home we haven't been able to cover

I need to generate a quick pressure like I did on Brock Purdy in the Super Bowl forced the overthrow like on Josh Allen in the AFC championship game that year to force the bad throw he tried to be a hero and the reason I didn't kill him for it is because he's won us a ton of playoff games being a hero

and he was trying to do that. So I just think that right now they have real questions on getting to the quarterback, and when you marry that with, I think a secondary that right now is a work in progress, that concerns me.

That legit concerns me. Since the 17 game season, 30 teams started 0 and 2. Only 5 made the playoffs. Three last year. But most teams that start 0.2 stink. That's the thing is.

Like like I, excuse the number. Most of those teams are coming up next. Packed stats. Case closed. Case closed. There will be silver briefcases with light bulbs in them. Next. All right.

Time now for packed stats. We're making stats cool again. I'm Danny Parkins with Greg Jennings. Hey, my man Jeff Schwartz. What up, Jeff? Yeah. Yeah. Knowing this guy for a long time back in the Kansas City days,

Prima Holmes. Prima. Home. 10 wins and a playoff law. That's when we got to know each other. But here's what we do. I never leave home without my stats. Okay.

It's very cool. And I'm going to show you guys how I'm seeing the NFL. Oh, stat number one. My lights, yes. Thank you. I'm going to say lights. I'm sorry, Greg. I'm still learning.

The first stat, 507, 507. That is the number of touchdown passes that Aaron Rogers has. But the drop bar there is the thing that is most important. He's going to pass Brett Farr this weekend. How about that? Aaron Rogers career two away from passing Brett Farb. I feel like this is going to be the story of the weekend. People have not realized it. He had four in week one. This was something that maybe in people's brains they thought was not

going to happen until week four or five. Greg, I'm curious. You've caught passes. Like, what do you think about Aaron passing Brett? This is a great accomplishment. Obviously, it speaks to his durability and his longevity of his career. But I know we're caught. We're stuck on. the 507 and him getting the 509 passing Brett, which is going to be great. And that's just, it's cool. It's cool. The thing that's probably, I'm not probably most impressive about Aaron in this, this, this, this stat. And what he would say is the interceptions. And when you pass, oh, he loves that his interceptions. His interceptions. He loves that. That's true.

He only, he's only throwing what, like 115, 116 interceptions and like 50 less games than Brett. And he's doing it a lot quicker. So it's impressive. for sure. It's going to, he takes like a little shot at Brett that. Hopefully. He'll make sure to take that shot. Yeah. Better player, Aaron Rogers. Are we in a universal agreement there than Favv? He's definitely a better quarterback than Brett Favre in terms of efficiency and all the things. I have my take on this. Like if I'm playing, give me Brett because he's going to take, he's going to give me more opportunities to make plays because of the risks.

Okay. If I'm coaching, I want that guy to take the field. Aaron Rogers. Who you want to block for? Aaron Rogers, more mobile, moves around. Yeah. He sets up his linement pretty well, too. He does. They had a good little thing going there where they worked on a lot of cool things based off of what he wanted with the protection scheme.

That season already had 45 touchdowns and six interceptions. I think it's probably the best quarterback season I've ever seen. It was ridiculous. All right. Give me my lights making stats good. There you. Thank you. Thank you.

Again, I'm learning. Number two, 3.8%. Follow me here on a journey. Bears and Lions both lost week one to division opponents. They play each other in week two. So the loser of this game will start the season 0 and 2 with two division losses. That has happened to 52 teams since the merger. Only two of those 52 teams have ever come back and won the division.

These were very popular picks to win the NFC North. I picked the Lions, many people picked my Chicago Bears. The loser of this game has less than a 4% chance of winning the NFC North. Would you look at this game then as a must win? For the Lions, yes. I'm not sure for the Bears, but for the Lions, absolutely, with your expectations as high as they are this year and how poorly they played up the expectation of week one, absolutely.

I think players, Greg, I knew this number. Like, I knew O and 2 was bad. We all knew this number. Like coaches aren't big in, I think, sharing all the trends that happen in the NFL. But every coach I play with, when you start O&1, you know the O and 2 trend. They tell you, not for division, but like 0 and 2, you make the playoffs only 16% of time. You start to know, you make it 85% of time.

So players in that building, no, I think for the Lions, it's not about how it's not about really that they lost. It's how they lost. They lost with the offensively not playing as well as they have in the past. They lost with the offensively not being there without Ben Johnson. They lost defensively. Kind of got pushed around a little bit. So to me, it's how they lost. And then going and playing a Bears team now that it's kind of wounded after Monday night, it's a must move for the Lions.

Yeah, and with the Lions, we all talked about them winning this division. Yes, however, they can still win the division. With this group of guys, we still believe that they are more susceptible to turning it around quicker than the Bears. Oh, really? Why? Well, because they're- Because they're historically have been good for the last year. To Jeff's point, to Jeff's point, stylistically, it needs to look different because we saw a version of the Lions that we hadn't seen since pre-Dan Campbell. And that's not the brand of football that they want to display and have out there.

So let me ask you this. Dan Campbell came out and said it's a must win, which playing the must win card in week two, fan, not like you could, I was like, ooh, like how do you come back? Like say the Bears win. Bears can win. They're less like four point underdog, whatever it is. Like bears win this game and your head coach said it's a must win and you lose and you've already played the must win card.

Like how does Dan Campbell bounce back from that if the Lions lose? You continue to battle every week, but the players know it's uphill climb even more. I mean, game three becomes, I start over to a couple times, game three, like the importance of game three ramped up even more now. Players know it's a must win too because of the situation. Yeah, and if our coach says it's a must win, we don't think about what you just brought. We're not thinking, oh, if we, but if we lose, no, that's not enough. No, but I'm saying if they do, I understand. What does Dan Campbell, what card does he have the play for the meeting ahead of week three?

It's exactly what Jeff is saying. We know it's still week to week. Like all those numbers, all those odds. Of course. They have to be even on even more so if we do start in this O and two hole. Highlights please. The third, Pax stat. Case closed, Pax stat.

I don't know. Number three, here we go. About my division champ in the AFC South. 11.6. That is the average number of wins that a team finishes with. I like it. If you start how the Indianapolis Colts started in week one. Now go on a journey with me.

If you have over 30 points and gain over 400 yards of offense and blow out your opponent by 20 year more. Danny Dimes, let's go! Like Greg's guy Danny Dimes did. This has happened to 11 teams in the last 15 years. You have Super Bowl champions all over this list. You have every team has finished with a winning record. It's a very impressive list. I feel very vindicated about my Colts AFC South pick based on that week one performance, Greg Jennings.

Look, man, there's a lot of stats that I just. Look at these teams. What is this? Super Bowl champions. Super Bowl champion. Super Bowl champion. You know the only team on that list who missed the playoffs? The Bears.

Still won things. Still, still one. I mean, because they won't every which way. Is it a shock? I know. But seriously, that was an impressive performance. Look, it was a very impressive performance. This is a team that none of, no one really had on their race.

radar to perform this way. Let alone the quarterback just individually perform this way in Daniel Jones. And so I think if you're the Colts and you're in that locker room, you have something that you want to hang your hat on. Look, we can actually contend. We can actually put together a good four quarters of football. Don't care who our opponent is, but this guy gives them a chance to win, whether we like them a lot.

And I happen to like them. That list of teams, I don't think, play the 20, 25 Miami Dolphins either. Fair enough. be one of the worst teams we're going to see this season. Soft opponent. Look, in week one, I thought the Colts will win, not by this margin, but I think that was the best of Jones, right? He's a two weeks to prepare. You don't know what you're getting

from him and a shame second office. Do you have an idea? Probably a lot of RPO's, plaqueship, and things like that. We know limitations Jones has. It's not going to get better as teams to figure out what they're going to do offensively. We've seen years and years of him now. Why all of a sudden is he going to be something else he hasn't been? We saw years and years of Baker.

We saw years and years of Gino. We saw these other guys. guys too and it got better. Well, I'll also say this, if you're right about the dolphins, I think that they have, they might, they might fold up shot early this year, right? The Broncos won't. Like the Broncos were a playoff team last year. And I know there was like a weird week one game where that game was close against Tennessee.

But the Broncos should have a top five, it's about top 10 defense in the NFL. If, if the Colts play the Broncos in week two and their offense moves the ball and looks good, I think that is when everyone is going to realize. start to take this Colts team seriously. And I don't think the Colts are some sort of contender, but they're a well-run organization. They're a well-coached team. If you could win eight games, nine games with Anthony Richardson and Gardner

Minchew, which is what they've done. Yes. That's the last two years for the Colts are facts. People talk about it. I'm like, they're a four-win franchise because they don't have that quarterback that everyone likes. They've been right there at the end, playing meaningful week, 16, week, 17, week, 18 games the last couple of years.

I will reassess my opinion on Daniel Jones after this game. I feel like Denver's coming in. mentioned that's fair top defense off of sluggish performance against tennessee where they didn't play terribly well the tightens dropped a ton of passes if they play well again this week with one week of film on them i'll readjust my take on the colts all right we got the broncos those are our pack stats never leave home without your stats coming up though i was on it again with justin herbert and the chargers but now they're removed from that game on friday and being underrated overlooked it's very disrespectful to next on ftf

Huge NFC North matchup this week, the O&1 Bears against the O and one Lions. One Easter on Fox. Coming off a rough loss to the Packers, Dan Campbell was asked about a matchup with a ton of storylines. Ben Johnson, of course, the coach of the Bears. He said, we're going in, getting ready to play Chicago. We're going to win this game. We have to.

Let's check out how each quarterback fared in week one. Pretty similar. Nothing jumps off the page there between James. Jared Goff, who was an MVP candidate last year, and Caleb Williams, maybe the most maligned quarterback in the NFL at this point. So the question is, what are the chances that Caleb Williams can go into Detroit and outplay Jared Goff? And allow me to answer the question that I've just asked, which is everybody tuned in last

year and watched Thanksgiving. Oh, and how... Okay, hold on a second. This is a fairly relevant data point, given that it was in Detroit last year, same two quarterbacks and Caleb Williams objectively outplayed Jared Gough. We can look at the numbers. Listen, if you throw for more yards and you rush for more yards and you have more touchdowns and you lose the game by three as a nearly 10 point underdog, you played pretty well. And I don't know if you guys remember how that game ended, but we can show it to you.

Yeah, we do. Caleb Williams takes a sack. There's 36 seconds left on the clock. See that little dash under the C there on the CHI for Chicago? That means time out. So when he gets sacked with 32 seconds left, I don't know. If I was the coach, I'd call a time out to run a play to get back into field goal range because they're four yards away. But you know where they snap the ball? Six seconds left.

They ran one more play. If Caleb Williams had a coach who was awake, they put that game into overtime if Cairo Santos makes the kick. And then he could win, which is a huge question. And it could win that game. So, like, chances Caleb outplays golf, I think to the lay person, like, on the surface, like, well, that's ridiculous. Golf is much better. Caleb can outplay Jared Goff in this game.

If Caleb can play better when the script is not what is written before the game, right? We saw in game one where the on-script plays were great. The theme is on college football as well, like the first 15 for a lot of teams in game one, like great. Like, North Carolina comes out and scores first drive. You're like, sweet, Bell check's in. They don't score the rest of the game. Bears, right? come out like,

Bing, bang, boom, touchdown, field goal, and then it just like went down from there. So in game two of year one with Ben Johnson, do we see a gradual stepping Kelly Williams play on the non-scriptive plays? There were guys open. We're talking about all broadcasts. We saw the all 22 of these guys open.

If he makes a few more of those plays, not a lot, a few more of those, yeah, he can outplay golf. Yeah, so he's more athletic. His ceiling is higher. All those things are true. What I am not yet ready, to give Caleb until I see it is he can be more consistent right now. And so with that,

I'm going to, no, he's not going to outplay golf. Chances Caleb outplays golf are very low. Because when I watch Caleb, he's great off schedule. He's more, he's most comfortable off schedule, getting outside the pocket and making miraculous throws. But if you force him to play within the pocket and be on time and on the schedule, I don't know if he can do it yet. And I'm not saying he won't be able to do it as he progresses throughout his career. But right now, as we've watched, what we've been able to watch, he hasn't done it at a high clip and he doesn't do it well enough for me to say he's going to outplay a guy that

I believe offensive line will be better and he will have time. They'll probably establish to run and he'll look even better in Jerga. I wonder if they start moving him out the pocket a little bit more. They should. They should. The game playing looked like Johnson. Look, we know you've been new offense. I've been new offense.

It takes two months, like to really get going. About two months. Yeah, it takes eight games, eight to nine games to really feel good about what you're doing. And so I think in game one, we saw Ben Johnson try a ton of stuff. And as he gets more comfortable with Caleb Williams, he'll try stuff that works as more of it works. And I think we'll see him move out of the pocket a little bit more. To your point, he's better sort of on the run at times, very accurate throw. I'll just say this.

Ben Johnson has been thinking about this game. I mean, he said it when he was with us, Greg. He's been thinking about this game since he got the job. We were like, does he have something in your back pocket for when you play your old team? He was like, maybe. And then let's move on. He didn't want to reveal it. So if there's any coach who can get ready for this spot,

Detroit loses a defensive coordinator. They lose an offensive coordinator. They lose interior offensive lineman. They're not a great defense. The game's in a dome, obviously, conducive to a good offensive performance. I'm expecting Ben Johnson's best in this game. And so hopefully that brings out Caleb Williams is best. And I'll be quick.

I'm expecting him his best, too, but we can't expect these play calls to be so crazy and erratic. Oh, my God, you see this play? Yes, we can. No, it's meat and potatoes. That's the nut and bolts of the game is what it is. And you don't have these erratic play calls every single snap. And I think that's coming up. Not every snap just once for a touchdown.

I just want a lineman to catch a touchdown. Okay. Yeah, I just want a lineman to catch a touchdown. Is that too much to ask? Meanwhile, in LA, NFL on five. presents Rear View with Mark Sanchez, episode one featuring Justin Herbert, is available now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Herbert talked to Mark about week one. His outlook on the season. Here's Justin. Getting back out there after the way things ended last year, you just want to go play football.

And I think to be the team that we want to be, we're going to have to play teams like that, the best of the best. And I thought it was a great challenge for us to go out there and execute. And I think where we are this year, compared to where we were to start the year last year, I think we're steps ahead. That's correct. You know, I think it's the only keep doing that and keep getting better. I'm really looking forward to this year. That's a tried and true formula for sure. Like in the car, that's a great camera shot.

I love that. Chances, like, how do you view, did the Chargers put the league on notice with that performance against the Chiefs? Of course, absolutely. And no one did more than their quarterback, the guy who was just speaking, Justin Herbert. What he was, and you've loved them. from the start. I'll give you credit. Thank you. I didn't expect him to perform this way because we've seen him thrive and have success in the passing game. We haven't truly seen him take over a game and close it out himself. And he did all of those things in that game against the

Chiefs where you have across the field a guy that you know if you give him the ball back, he can do the damage that up, you know what, I can too. And I just felt like sometimes you have those moments as a player where you finally realize, I'm just as good as this guy. And you actually believe it. And it starts to show up. He had that moment in that game this past week. And if that's who we're going to see and who they are going to get, that's going to be a scary team. Think about all the Chiefs Chargers games or Chargers games in general with Herbert. They come out of the halftime, they punt. Chief score immediately. That Big Mahomes drive makes all those plays. And then what has happened over the years?

The Chargers just crashed. Yep. It's crashed. Instead they went touchdown, touchdown, run out the clock. That is the change I saw. Was a more confident Herbert and more confident offense. That third and 15 run to win the game took off right away. No, he saw man coverage.

I'm gone. Absolutely. No hesitation. Made the game winning play. So we just saw a much more confident player. Harbaugh, Greg Roman's office. I thought, too, the offensive design was a little different than Roman has done in the past, letting Herbert use his arm, letting him be the offense, not really be the running

offense. We know Herbal wants to run the ball. They're going to do that. But, like, Herbert, it's your offense down. You be the guy. And he got it done. He did a great job against a team that over the years, they played close, but they always lose those margins, and they won the margins in this game. My favorite quote that any coach had this offseason was Jim Harbaugh saying that, we have to get up to Justin's level.

The coaches, the linemen, the receivers, the defense, everybody. Because, yes, we all know Jim Harbaugh wants to run the ball, and they were a great rushing team last year. They weren't a great rushing team in week one. They really weren't. They were the number one scoring defense last year, and they did a good job against the Chiefs, obviously. But I felt like they were running a lot last year because they didn't think they were ready to do what they did in week one. It would be crazy to have Justin Herbert as your quarterback and not let him throw the

ball. It would just be crazy. And so I think that now with the running game, with it, yes, obviously the Slater injury is big, but where is the weakness on the Chargers? Like if they are going to actually let Justin Herbert throw the ball and they can run and they can run and they have a good defense and they have a good coach. What's the weakness of that team? Like I look at them, they haven't done it for as long, obviously, as Buffalo or Baltimore, but I consider them a contender right now because of they're actually putting the ball in Herbert's hands.

That's fair. And you have a coach that understands how to schematically put you in great situations. And I thought their game plan, and you kind of spoke to it, both of you, their game plan with having him be the guy, which we all know he can be that guy. almost appeared as though it shocked the Chiefs. Because of their identity coming into the game is, oh, Harbaugh likes to run. So it was almost like they were playing play with play action and not even having to do play action because they're going to try to stop the run.

Justin, go. We'll follow your lead. And he carried them. Out of the broadcast every time Justin Herbert dropped back. They were like, they were like, Herbert drops back to pass? They were like, again. He said, drops back to pass. I was like, yeah, it's Justin Herbert.

It's not a wide receiver playing quarterback. It's not a rookie. This guy has more passing yards to start a career than any player in NFL history. Letting him throw. Not a crazy idea. Not. It's not a revolutionary football thought. Let Justin Herbert throw.

Win a lot of games. Coming up. Oh, man. Panic time. Is it getting late early? Steel Wild's line for the Niners. Mack Jones Alert. Time now for the prime performance sponsored by Whole Food.

market, discover all the ways you can save. Big news out of San Francisco, out of Brock Purdy's injury. Here's Kyle Shanahan with the update. Any further sense about whether Brock will be able to play on Sunday? I think it's a long shot. Is it possible that Purdy's injury could be a multi-week thing? That's a model. Okay, not a ton of information there, but certainly newsworthy, that it's now a long shot. I don't think you want Mack Jones for a lot of time, but I think Mac Jones might be okay against the Saints. What about you? Well, I mean, as long as Kyle Shanahan is the play caller.

Right. He's going to put him in advantageous situations. And so I trust them in this moment for a brief stints. But the problem is their top heavy roster that's starting to lose the top again. So Kittles out. Jennings, Aeuk's out.

You lose one offense alignment. There ain't many backups behind them. Like, you guys start pulling. Pay per knee, lose him. So as long as for the Saints, maybe week one, But the more you play Mac Jones with less of the top guys, the less the office is going to be. And you get in the cycle again where you're just not going to be very good. There's no question about that. But I'm with you.

Shanahan seems to me to be the guy that, like, a lot of running backs have production under him. Jimmy Garoppolo had success with him. He turned Brock Purdy into a $250 million player. Mac Jones is not going to be great. But whatever his ceiling is, Kyle Shanahan will get it there. Yeah. I mean, Sam Donald was there before he got the job with the Vikings. And you got some upset alert vibes?

You're saying you hope so. You think Saints might be live in this game? Not now. The number two days ago, sure, but not now. Okay, I'm just saying in terms of actually straight up losing the game, right? I don't think the honors are losing. Even with Mac Jones. But that is, if I took out Kyle Shanahan and I put replacement level NFL head coach

and go in the night. Seriously. And it was like, Mac Jones is being coached by Phil in the blank, by Todd Bowles. against the Saints. You'd be like, oh, the Saints can win that game. That's a real testament to Kyle Shannon. It's like, oh, yeah, Matt Jones. Yeah, they'll win.

It's no problem. We see you, Kyle. Jeff, Greg, Danny, back tomorrow. FTF.