Green Light with Chris Long - Eagles Downed By Commanders, Vikings Survive Seahawks & Josh Allen | Chris Long WK16 Instant Reactions

Episode Date: December 23, 2024

Chris Long reacts to the NFL Week 16 action following the 1 pm and 4 pm window games. The NFL playoffs are shaping up, especially with Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills winning their matchup with the New England Patriots. The Philadelphia Eagles took a hard loss against the Washington Commanders after Jayden Daniels dominated the matchup and Jalen Hurts left with a concussion. The Bengals are still in the playoff hunt with their win over the Cleveland Brown and the Minnesota Vikings stayed in the race for the NFC's #1 seed after they went to Seattle and left with a victory. Want your Green Light Merch so you can look exactly like Chris and the fellas? Hit the website below and get kitted! https://stores.kotisdesign.com/yotehouse/products Have some interesting takes, some codebreaks or just want to talk to the Green Light Crew? We want to hear from you. Call into the Green Light Hotline and give us your hottest takes, your biggest gripes and general thoughts. Day and night, this hotline is open. Green Light Hotline: ‪[phone]‬ Send any Talent Search submissions to: [e-mail] Include any video of your talents, takes and bits as well as a little bit about yourself. Love hearing from the Green Light fans. Also, check out our paddling partners at Appomattox River Company to get your canoes, kayaks and paddleboards so you're set to hit the river this summer. https://paddleva.com/ Green Light Spotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/user/951jyryv2nu6l4iqz9p81him9?si=17c560d10ff04a9b Spotify Layup Line: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1olmCMKGMEyWwOKaT1Aah3?si=675d445ddb824c42 Green Light Tube YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxWFAA-wuB7osdiAJyLOcw Green Light with Chris Long: Subscribe and enjoy weekly content including podcasts, documentaries, live chats, celebrity interviews and more including hot news items, trending discussions from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA are just a small part of what we will be sharing with you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

But imagine this. I mean, you're going to get Jaden Daniels playing against the likes of Cooper DeGine, Quinaw Mitchell, Jalen Carter, the next 10 years. So I don't know if you're an Eagles fan, I know it doesn't make the road any easier. But if you're a fan of football, these two teams are going to be a lot of fun to watch. BetMGM has made betting easy and seamless all season long. Hopefully you have been able to pick up some plays from us to use on the BetMGM app. If you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code Greenlight to get up to a $1,500 first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. And just a reminder, BetMGM's got your back with a second chance promotion all season long. BetMGM is offering you a second chance on your first touchdown bet when you place a wager on a first touchdown score or bet.

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We've got Chris's instant reactions. From the week 16 slate, the 1 in 4 p.m. Obviously, the Eagles game was a tough one. Jalen Hertz goes down early, and the offense changes drastically behind Kenny Pickett. Jaden Daniels is with one of the best rookie performances. We've seen against the top team this season. A great rip around the league. We also look at the Vikings game.

They beat the Seahawks to stay on the Lions heels for the NFC race for number one. So enjoy this quick rip around the league and make sure to come back on Monday at 2.30 p.m. Eastern for our full NFL Week 16 reactions. See you then. I'm walking a tightrope here because I know Eagles fans are like in a frenzy. And this is who I'm going to mainly talk about in this breakdown is going to be the Eagles. I'm going to get on to watching the bucks and praying that the bucks take care of business. Yes, you lost your chance at the one seed with that loss.

It's not good. It also means that you probably have to, I mean, you could have to play this team again, you know, in the playoffs. And, you know, in a game where I thought, hey, had you played the script out the way you wanted to play it out with a lead, and I think you would have gotten there. I don't think it's a scary matchup. I think if Jalen Hertz remains in this game for a number of reasons, you probably win that game, but you've got to give Washington credit.

I mean, that was unbelievable the way they made plays offensively. I don't think their game plan was to come out and air it out, but if you watch the last 45 minutes of this game, you would have thought that Josh Harris walked downstairs and was like, I want to show off the fucking quarterback. you know what I mean and you know you can't control losing your franchise quarterback that's obviously the difference in how you carry out four-minute mode how you how you operate in a low red that's that's the difference in how you operate in short-yardage there were situations for the eagles in this

game where I'm sure they would have picked it up or gone for it in short-yardage situations I think the hardest thing you talk about the passing game Kenny got enough in the second half to win I mean, he also let him on a drive that should have ultimately been the game-winning drive, taking shots to AJ Brown, hitting a couple, you know, timely conversions. I thought he did a lot. But if the Eagles were going to ice this thing, they had to be able to run the football. And obviously, it's a different offense if you don't have a quarterback who gives you the threat of run. I mean, so many of these Eagles close out games.

Look at the Pittsburgh game, for instance. just recently. You know, Jalen with his legs can be the difference. And in these situations where you got the read option, where it's third and short, the red zone, I mean, shit, the red zone, you're trying to score a touchdown. I believe it's out of the half.

I don't remember exactly when because there were 50 turnovers and a million possessions in this football game. But when Saquan Barkley's down there on third and goal and you got to throw the ball with your running back, that's the difference there. You know what I mean? That is the difference in situations like that.

And obviously, Kenny Pick, you can't throw that pick, you know, for as much as people, you know, myself included at times have been like, hey, we need more out of the passing game. Okay. Jalen wasn't turning the ball over at a high rate over this run. And I think, you know, that one turnover from Kenny Pickett, where Frankie Louvo, who knocked hurts out of the game. And listen, I know Eagles fans. are not going to be satisfied when I say this.

I don't think that's a capital D dirty hit. I think he's trying to finish a ball carry who didn't slide. You know, I don't put it in the class of Aziz Al-Shayir. It's on the fucking line. But as a defender, I would be fake if I said that guys I played with or teams I played on weren't trying to finish quarterbacks when they don't get down and protect themselves. It's a bang, bang play.

I think it's on the line. If anything, it's a little bit late for sure. I mean, there's a bit of intent to finish. finish him there, but I wouldn't put it in the like, oh my God, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a clowny spearing, um, wence with his head thing. I, I think, I think if you're an Eagles fan, you walk out of that game and say, C.J. Gardner Johnson got thrown out because of, we don't really know what and he got punched in the face. There's no offsetting penalty. Um, the Louvre hit doesn't sit well with you, but Louvo made a huge play to bait picket

into throwing that little sit-down route. He acted like he was going to jump the flat and then comes back inside. And at that point, I know Sequin gets that touchdown back quickly, but it changes the way that you run your offense. If you have an opportunity to go up 21-0, you know, that game's played completely differently. So, you know, there were a ton of instances as the game progressed, even though Kenny Pickett, I mean, the points were there.

He put them in position to win. He made some key throws. I got to tip my cap to a guy that we hope we wouldn't see play at all this year. But the little things, man, like before the half, it's, you know, you got a chance to convert on third and very manageable and you don't, and you end up having to, you know, go into the locker room with the one score lead. You know, things like as a team trying to ice the game, P10, first, you know, play of the possession in the second half,

and Beckton busts on a run play, and all of a sudden it's second and 14. And when you don't have that quarterback can get you out of trouble with his legs, and in the run game, the margins become a lot slimmer. And I think that's what ended up happening was like all the little things left Jaden and this team in the game. And I got to, I got to say it like the D-Line who's played so well as of late, one of the biggest factors in this game was Jaden's legs. You know, that fourth and 11, that's the game.

If they can get out of there at that point on fourth and 11, you know, I think up two scores at that point, that's the ball game, you know, and I saw there were third downs where, you know, they're an empty and you don't have anybody in the A gap. You don't have anybody bouncing up. I don't know if they checked to a to a trap type run, a quarterback keep, you know, or if it was a design, automatic check. But, you know, there were situations with alignment. There were situations with execution. And then there were situations where, the guy's just better. You know, like Jalen Carter is going to get paid a lot of money in this league to rush the quarterback. He's not going to always be able to get Jaden Daniels down on third and four, whatever it is in the open field. That's just the situation where the guy's better. And, you know, I think what's really cool about, you know, if you're looking at this as a football fan in the NFC East, it's a little pre. I don't think anybody thinks the commanders are better in the Eagles right now. You know, it's a perfect circumstance for them to get the win

and the better team today won. But what it tells you is, like, this kid's here to stay. You know, the confidence they have in him to line up on first down, out of his own end zone, take a shot at Darius Slay. You know, the moon ball to McLaurin, which Quignan Mitchell doesn't get fooled a lot. He thinks he's getting in, breaking route.

You get the moon ball. Just his arm, his legs. This guy's going to be here a long time. And it's a bit of a statement like, this is going to be hell. You know, every time you play the commanders, it's going to be a pain in the ass. And I think he showed that today. So C.J. Gardner Johnson leaving the game, that really hurts. I mentioned earlier.

The kind of curious circumstance around him leaving had to be verbal because it wasn't physical. You know, the safety depth, McCollum, you know, getting beat on the play that draws them within one. the communication on the final touchdown, which is between Bonn and Blankenship. But I don't know what's being said to have a quarterback of your defense on the field makes it easier. And I think also, like for the offense as a whole, I thought that Washington's coaching staff did a great job, did a great job defensively to make adjustments in the run game, which, of course, it got a little bit easier when you don't have to account for that extra

guy. I thought they made adjustments offensively. and ultimately I thought they were aggressive enough at times like hurrying up to go on the Zakias touchdown. That's a little wrinkle there as the Eagles are trying to change personnel and Slegg gets caught running off the field. And they're totally out of sorts. So definitely a look into the future as far as like what you're going to have to deal with this guy. Listen, coming to this game, we're saying he's down Noah Brown. Ertz is up now.

He's down Echler. You know, he doesn't have a lot of guys in the first place to throw to. I think it was just an amazing gritty performance from him. And it was a gritty performance from Kenny Pickett, but it just wasn't enough because he didn't have a full deck. The full deck would have been this offense with the quarterback run involved. And then obviously some of those shots that you could take to AJ Brown that he hit for penalties or even receptions might go for longer.

So if you're an Eagles fan, take this one on the chin. It sucks. Sometimes you're starting QB goes down. And I thought actually organizationally, I was, for the most part, happy with Kenny Pickett's resilience and their ability to score points without the starting quarterback. However, a lot of those threes turned into fours down the red zone and that sort of thing. And that's why you need your defense to step up. They didn't play their best game. They just didn't.

And, you know, you have to wonder how much of that was the safety leaving the game, but also that young quarterback is just incredible. incredible um good news jake elliott hit a kick you know that's a good thing i feel like there's been a long period here where we've been like that he has he lost his mojo he's up and down i blame dulf lungren for that fucking draft king's commercial or whatever it is where he's like this kicker doesn't miss he's given out plays in the seafood restaurant i wish he could have given me some fucking plays today I mean, it was a massacre. And I didn't even bet the Eagles. It was a, you know, I backed, I was a flat earther for three hours, dude.

I backed Aaron Rogers. I bet the fucking Jets. I did it. Just a grossly mismanaged game by that organization. You know, they should have been on the DMB list a long time ago. You know, not much else to say about the Eagles game. I know I'm kind of, I just want to make sure I didn't forget anything. here um but imagine this i mean you're going to get jade jane daniels playing against the likes of cooper

de jean quinn yin jaylin carter the next 10 years so i don't know if you're an eagles fan i know it doesn't make the road any easier but if you're a fan of football these two teams are going to be a lot of fun to watch and the eagles obviously losing the one seed basically right and i'm sitting here trying to rack my brain to make sure there's there's nothing i'm missing but um Eagles losing the one seed. The Eagles still make the one seat if the Eagles beat the Cowboys and Giants, which we expect to happen. The Lions lose to the 49ers and Vikings, which could happen.

And then the Vikings have to lose to the Seahawks or Packers, which could absolutely happen. You know, Lions came out, Lions came out today and looked really good. Vikings didn't lose to the Seahawks. They would have to lose to the Packers. These things could happen. What's up, Green Life fans? It's your boy, Dr. Fax, and I want to talk to you about Airbnb.

me and the Green Light crew a few years ago, we stayed at Airbnb for the Super Bowl in Arizona, and it was absolutely immaculate. It had a huge cactus in the backyard, had a pool, had enough room for everybody, way better than a hotel. And then recently just purchased a house with my girl, and we found out that we can be host. And your house might be worth more than you think, and you can find out at Airbnb.com slash host.

Now, if you're watching the Seattle game, God bless it. Seattle Seahawks have to be the most frustrating team in football to watch. We opted into the full Gino experience today, the whole thing. Don't give it to me halfway. I need... Take a second. I need to see the picks. I need to see the brilliant throws.

The throw to JSN before the half down the seam is like there's only a couple of guys. guys that can make that throw. There's only a couple guys that can make the the throws he makes on interceptions too. And, uh, you know, that, that game was a really fun game to watch, but the Seahawks just can't get out of their own way. I think that offense, it's like all or nothing. I think they're almost better when they just go tempo, you know, uh, the run game obviously is a problem for them. I just ended up watching a little bit of that one. So now it's on the Sunday night football. Texans. Somebody said Texans are frustrating. I agree with you. And I'll say this right before I hop on here and I'll talk more about it on the live show tomorrow. But, you know,

in a game like that, and I think CJ is one of those dudes. I do. I'm a CJ's trap. Once I know a quarterback who he is, I think this guy's, he's got the right stuff in him. But he wasn't ready for this spot. And, you know, I don't think he's, you know, I don't think he's, Houston as a team was ready for that spot. I think the biggest difference is Kansas City has been there a million times, and they're a team that's not going to fuck it up in that situation. And Patrick Mahomes, who hadn't played his best football this year, he knew what to do in the biggest moments of the game.

When Kansas City is in third and manageable, you wouldn't know if they're going to score. Are they going to be in third and long? They're going to be third and five. They're going to be in third and three. they are playing with a lot of, it's almost like a surgical approach to first and second down. And their offense is changing right now where they're trying to open it up a little bit. You can see that, Hollywood Brownback threw the ball to him outside the numbers,

third and fourth down. You know, worthy is a huge part of this offense now. It feels like with the move putting Joe Tuny out at left tackle, I think they're taking a little bit of, you know, water out of the bucket. the middle with the run game, you know, in those three guys lining up next to each other and saying, okay, we're going to spread it out a little bit more. We would rather have to eke along in the run game a little bit more than we were and have the best player on the planet in Patrick Mahomes with a little bit more time to throw. And I think in that game, like the tank Dell injury was huge. He was the only

guy who was beating Kansas City. You know, Collins had some plays. But when he went down, CJ was crying and the whole thing and I get it. In those moments, those guys you spend every waking minute with, not only that, it's a big part of your team's chance. And when he goes down the end zone there, they never recovered. You know, Fairbairn came out and missed the kick immediately. And the things I'm talking about, when you have a chance, you know, at midfield to go take a lead in this game at Arrowhead.

and it goes run, screen that you fuck the execution up on on second down to Nico Collins, and then on third down, you get a drop from Schultz. Like, that's the big moment in the game. They're not ready for it. And Kansas City was. There's a big difference. And I think that's why, you know, if you're a Texans fan, you're going to be fine. I know it, you know it.

This year, it just doesn't feel like this team has enough juice in big moments. and then losing Jimmy Ward, losing Shaq Mason, losing Tank Dell, sucks. So that game, you know, played out how maybe you would have thought it would have played out. And then obviously we'll talk more about the AFC matchup, which was not as entertaining a game, kind of wide open, big win for Baltimore Saturday, you know, in a series where they've been getting worked for years. I mean, that was huge for them. But sloppy as hell. All right.

We'll catch y'all. Thanks for joining. Let's go bucks. Tomorrow at 2.30, 230. 2.30. See you all there.