KSR - NFL Cover Zero: Thankful for a long weekend of football!

Episode Date: December 1, 2025

Matt Jones and Drew Franklin are still buzzing over an amazing few days of Thanksgiving NFL and Week 13!  Which teams do Matt no longer consider a contender?  Drew is looking for a strong finish from the Bengals.  The Cowboys and Chiefs delivered a classic and leave you wondering about the future of both franchises. The Lions have lost 2 of 3 while the Packers are coming together.  The Bears win makes Matt think they have a chance this season.   What has happened to the Eagles and Saquon Barkley? The Rams took a surprising loss to the Panthers.  Matt likes showing the locker room speeches, but thinks shirts should be left on.  The Texans improved to 7-5 win a win over the Colts.  Shedeur Sanders loses his 2nd start for the Browns.  The Bucs ended a 3 game losing streak. The Vikings season continues to slide. Justin Herbert injures his non-throwing hand and Matt says he might be 'afraid' of Maxx Crosby. The Steelers fall to the Bills leaving plenty of questions about Pittsburgh.  Drew admits to watching a Hallmark movie about the Bills.  The Broncos win in overtime, could they be a Super Bowl contender? This could be the most wide-open playoffs we've ever seen.   Plus, we preview the MNF matchup with the Patriots hosting the Giants.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin is a production of the NFL and IHeart podcast. NFL Cover Zero here in Lexington, Kentucky. We've been dealing, sorry for the late arrival of today's podcast. We've been dealing with the firing of UK football coach Mark Stoops. So last night we were not able to tape. So it's coming a little late.

but it's here, and thank you all very much for tuning in. Drew, some of these games we're going to talk about were days ago, but we haven't talked about them yet, and I actually think the most important parts of the weekend were Thanksgiving, maybe the best Thanksgiving day of football in a long time. Oh, what an awesome day. Two out of three good games, but even the night game with Burrow coming back. It was just a full slate of sitting there,

eating all the food I can possibly eat, and daring someone to touch my. remote when the NFL was on TV? Yeah, I mean, I was actually, I actually followed the, even the night game because of the burrow piece. What do you think of his hair? It's really long. But he's kind of like, he's becoming like a 90s teen male TV like heartthrob with all that

hair to parted and to the front. It looks like Brian Austin Green. Yeah. Are we going to go back to listing Tiger Beat? Yeah. I mean, this is a very specific one. It looks like he would be on 90, 2-0, Melrose place, maybe even the Heights, Ray.

How do you talk to an angel? He's just, he's at that stratosphere. We can do it every once. He can show up with a blue mohawk and everyone's just going to fawn over him. He's at that level. He wears whatever he wants. That's true. He did that M&M thing like a year ago, yeah.

Sometimes he wears baggy clay. He looks like a marshmallow walking into the stadium. But, I mean, he pulls it off because he's Joe Burrow. He's cooler than I could ever think about being. Well, we might as well start with that game since we're talking about it. The Ravens. of the teams that I thought were a contender coming in the year, I think that's going to be the first one I'm going to scratch off.

We'll talk about the Chiefs in a minute. I still can't completely scratch them off yet, but I'm scratching the Ravens off because they just don't have it. Lamar doesn't look quite the same, but more importantly, their defense, they just don't have it. And it took me until this game against the Bengals. You get wiped out at home on Thanksgiving when the other team was playing on four days rest, too, and they had to come to your place.

I'm just, they don't have it. This being a divisional rivalry, they're playing for the playoffs, prime time TV, sure burrows back, but he hasn't thrown a football in a game in forever. They absolutely dropped the ball. I think back to that week one game against Buffalo, Derek Henry was unstoppable,

and I'm thinking Henry's going to do it again, but he's cooled off since the beginning of the year. Lamar seems to have lost a step. I just, I mean, they're not mathematically out, but I have no faith in them doing anything the rest of the year. And the Beagles, on the other hand, four and eight, I mean, they're not a contender, are they?

I mean, but if they were to win out, we're going to talk about two or three teams today where I'm going to have to say if they went out, which sounds silly, but they actually could do it. I mean, you look at the Bingle schedule. They are four and eight, and there's some losses in here, like the Jets that they've got to be going crazy about. But they're at the Bills.

Okay, that's a very hard game Sunday. But then you got Ravens at home at Dolphins, Cardinals Brown. so it sort of sets up if you could just win Sunday in Buffalo, why can't they win the division? I'm watching them, and you know, the two teams ahead of them, Steelers, Ravens we just mentioned. Those aren't world beaters. If they can win one, you get to that stretch where you have those three very winnable games in the year.

I could see the Bengals finish strong and sliding in the final hour. If they're 9 and 8, they will win the division. What's interesting is they might win it at 8-9 or being a tie at 8-9. that Ravens game in two weeks could be actually a game for the division, oddly. I still hate their team. I still think it's like Burrow. They got three good wide receivers and then that's it.

But they've been in a lot of close games. I mean, they blew the Jets game. I don't want to say they blew the Bears game, but they could have won the Bears game. The Bears dominated that game, but almost gave it away at the end. Like, they could be six and six pretty easily, right? And that's exactly what we're.

what Pittsburgh and Baltimore. I mean, they could be in a tie for the division if they just handle, finish the job against New York and Chicago. Yeah. Why did, why does Chris Collinsworth not do the Thanksgiving game? I don't know. Jason Garrett did it. And here's what I'm thinking.

It's the Bengals. Your team. Right? It's thanks. But he didn't do it. Tariko does both. Why is Collinsworth think he's? You think he's better in Thanksgiving?

I think he's anti- Thanksgiving. Could it be he does the slown? Does he not like turkey? Maybe he ate too much and literally they could not slot him into the frame so they had to call someone in. I don't know. I feel like Chris Collinsworth, I turn on that game at night. There are going to be more people watching that game than watch the game on Sunday night. Oh, yeah.

So why are you not there, Chris Collinsworth? He was at the family dinner table. Is that a dereliction of duties? Derrilection? Derilection? That's a big word for me. It's derel. Let's just say liction.

Why is that not? Is it a dereliction of duties? This is Thanksgiving. You think Tom Brady wanted to be in Detroit? She's glasses. I mean, did you see? I mean, you think Tom Brady was like, yeah, I want to stand in the cold in Detroit next to Kurt Menofi.

He still shows up. Do they even have avocados in Detroit? What did he eat? I actually heard him say during the, I don't know why I watched that pregame show. They were asking him what he eats, and he said vegan. stuffing. Which I don't even know what that means. What is vegan stuffing?

I don't know. Everything is a bad look for Collinsworth. I do. Only because Triko showed up. Like, that's your other guy. If you went to Team 2, I get it. But Triko's there. And Trico's got to be like,

excuse me? Where's my guy? Dude, I do it all. I do the Olympics. I do the Derby. I do the Indy 500. You think I want to be at the Indy 500? You think I want to be at the Indy 500?

That's probably what Torrico says. Thrico's thinking, I haven't seen my family on Thanksgiving in 30 years. I've got to go to Italy for three and a half weeks and sit in the snow. Do you think Collinsworth was at home grunting why ate his food? Do you think they had like the family spread? Oh, the corn cassero. I really just wanted to set you up to do that again. Well, I like corn casserole.

Everybody has been mocking that recently. Didn't you say that was your favorite? Got a lot of crap for my favorite size dish. I don't think you deserve that. I mean, favorite is a little strong for corn casserole, but I like corn casserole. Casseroles are necessary on Thanksgiving. I don't think it is Thanksgiving unless you have a casserole. Now, I have never even fathomed making a casserole.

I don't know how you would do it, but I like them. That one's very easy. What? Corn casserole. What's in it? Just butter. Corn butter and what else? Depending if you're one more of a runnyk or a fritter, but like condensed milk.

just unhealthy stuff and then sprinkle a little corn in there. You tell me it's not healthy? No. See, I eat a lot of it because it feels healthy because it's a vegetable. My aunt's broccoli and cheese casserole, which is my favorite. It is mostly cheese, ritz crackers, and butter, and then there's like one little broccoli, and it's perfect. It's the best way to eat vegetables.

Well, I just saw you took too much crap for the corn casserole thing, just for the record. I actually think that's good as well. Chiefs and Cowboys. I mean, to me, this is, have the numbers come out? Is this the highest most watched regular season game ever? That'll probably come out today or tomorrow. I mean, if they have not said it yet,

I think it's going to end up being the most watched regular season game ever. They're saying it could be over 50 million people, which they've never gotten. Who in America was not watching that? I mean, Mahomes, Kelsey, the Cowboys, Thanksgiving, honestly, you should be, you probably should be put in prison if you weren't watching that game. I would not trust anyone that didn't have that game on.

I agree with you. It should be higher than turkey on your Thanksgiving checklist for that game. That specifically because it's those two teams. It's the Cowboys and the most marketable team. I understand if you're like, well, it's a cult. But yes, Chiefs Cowboys, you got to watch. Have to. And I grew up in a Cowboys family.

We were sitting down to eat about the first quarter. Like my dad's saying the blessing and the TV is louder than us saying our prayer before we're eating because we have to be locked in on the Cowboys game. And is Taylor Swift not going to the games anymore? I think she's taking a step back. Too much attention last year. It's the holidays. But why would she not be there? First of all, or is she there and they're not showing her?

At which point, that's also a dereliction of duty by CBS. I mean, you should see her like Travis Kelsey scored. Are you expecting it every time he makes a play now? That's a holiday. They have sweets there. I mean, I should see her once for every 10 times. I see Diego Pavi his mom. You're right about that.

I feel like I should see her sometimes. That was a big talking point with my family. Everyone's like, where is she? Has she popped up yet? Have you given up on the Chiefs? They're now six and six. Oh, you have? Yes.

You're done. But I've also done this just about every week, and they've shut me up a week later. This for me almost was more about do the Cowboy. have life. Don't skip over the chiefs yet. Okay. Do you, I agree with you.

That was bad loss, bad loss for them. And the Broncos just keep winning. But, I mean, they're not going to win the division. This is now about a wild card. Yeah. If they go 11 and 6, they probably would get a wild card. Not certain in the AFC, but probably. So you got to win five straight.

You don't think they can win five straight? Let me pull up their exact schedule, but no, they've been so inconsistent this year. They play the Texans this week at home. They're hot. Chargers at home at Titans, Broncos at Raiders. So they have three hard games, but they're all at home. Titans, Raiders, that's like the free square on bingo. We're going to give you that.

Can they beat the Texans, Chargers, and Broncos at home three weeks in a row? No. That's a big slate. It's hard, but they're all at home. They are all at home. You know, they say, like in Rocky 2, it was only when his back was against the wall. that he found his inner ability. This could be their Rocky 2 moment.

Remember, Stallone actually wins in Rocky 2. People forget he loses in Rocky 1. Spoiler alert. By the way, people got that when I got home. I have a question for you. Do you watch Stranger Things? Yes. Okay.

Spoiler alert. Stranger Things. Spoiler. See, that's a pro. That's a man who cares about his audience. We had on Matt and Meyer. the dad from Stranger Things. Hop, that was his name.

Isn't there a dad? Hopper? Hopper. Yeah. We had him on. And KSR curse, apparently he almost dies in the first episode of the new season.

Oh, Mario didn't like that. Damn. He did it again, Matt. You just can't just go spoiling shows. People get mad at me and they say it's a spoil. Why is that a spoiler? It just came out.

You can't just be... But it's episode one, and he doesn't die yet. But look at Mario's face. He obviously hasn't seen. seen it yet. We've been busy the last week. But like it happens apparently right at the beginning. He's not even an important character, is he? You want to tell people what happens in the diner and the Sopranos? Yeah, we don't know. Okay, so that's my point. Is that bad to say? I think if a show is as big as that it's only been out a week, you got to sit on. It wasn't the ending of the show. It's

something that happens in the first episode. But you just saw Mario's reaction. Hopper gets in a car crash and almost dies. All right, Mario, start on episode two. Yeah. Now you got to be excited to watch it. They've waited a long time for this. Well, now they know what's going to happen. But it's not like he's the main character. As I understand, like he doesn't part of why we had him on the show is because we could get him. I think he's one of the main character. He's probably the most consistent character on the entire show outside of the kids. He's not the most consistent character outside of the kids that are now like 30, definitely. The dad. He is the father figure to the main character.

Of all the people that are characters now, he's dealing with one that goes. All he does is go like, hey, Brian. and be home by nine. Is that not all he does? He obviously has a car rack. It nearly dies, apparently. To be fair, Mark, I've never seen an episode. So do you consider that a spoiler?

Yeah. Okay. Anyway, why did I bring that up? We were talking about the Chiefs. One point I was about to make on the Chiefs schedule. I have no idea you done that in. What did that have to do with the Chiefs? Why did I say that?

Oh, yeah. Hopper was your guest picker. What did that have to do with the game? Did he pick that game? This was two weeks ago. I don't remember what he picked. I think you just wanted to ruin Mario's day. All right, anyway.

I was going to add that of the games you listed on the chief schedule, they've already lost to the Broncos and already lost to the Chargers week ones. There's a little bit of redemption factor here, too. All the more reason that I don't think they're going to lose this. So, all right, let's talk about the Cowboys. Are they for real? They're now, what, six, five, and one, seven, five, and one? What are they?

Six, five, and one. The time might actually help them. I'm worried it's too late, but adding Quinn and Williams from the Jets has been huge. He's been awesome. Some guys on defense have gotten healthy. I mean, Pickens, Lamb, and Dak have been amazing. I mean, that's been unbelievable. That's the best offense going right now.

But the defense has been so bad all year until just recently. That defense has turned a corner, but I'm just worried with the standings. It might just be a couple weeks behind, but they're in the hunt. I had them losing the last two weeks, Eagles and Chiefs, and they won both of them. So they're doing all they can to make that push. Their schedule is tough. Lions, Vikings, Chargers, well, actually not terrible. Lines, Vikings, Chargers, commanders, giants.

So navigable. That's a big one coming up against the Lions. And that's Thursday night. That might even be like a loser leaves town match. I think it could be. You think so? Yeah. and yet another game.

I know the Cowboys, America's team, I get it. They're prime time a lot. Do they only play Sunday night, Monday night, or Thursday night now? It feels like, or thanks to it, every week a Cowboys are like the game, it seems here lately, and now we're getting it again Thursday. But I'm glad it is because I do think the loser, this could be a knock you out game, even though there's still a few weeks left. Yeah.

I think it is a loser-leaves-town match. and I'm also pretty big on the Cowboys. I think they've looked good. Even in a couple of their losses before that, I think they had looked good. I think it's going to turn out, you know, it was a bad PR move, losing Michael Parsons. How did they both do well from it? With the picks they got and then going out and getting Williams, who's been a stud.

I mean, Cowboys could end up winning that deal if they draft. Might be a trade that helped both people. The early game was Packers Lions, as we talked about. I will admit to only see parts of this game because I was at my first. family's Thanksgiving playing pool with Mario and my family eating casseroles. But I did see the ending and I heard that Dan Campbell punched a wall. He was so upset. That is not the Thanksgiving spirit that I like to hear.

But I understand as the Lions continue to disappoint. Yeah, team, I thought could be an NFC contender for a one seed earlier in the year is now fighting to stay in the playoffs. It's your holiday. It's Thanksgiving. You got a rival. You got to finish the job. And that was a tough loss.

Gibbs had a terrible game. A guy that's been awesome for them lately. Giving up 31 points to the Packers. Just a bad look all the way around. Yeah. Do you think not having Ben Johnson matters or even Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, do you think losing the coordinators affected the Lions more than probably a lot of people thought it would? Yeah, I mean, Ben Johnson especially looks different.

Yeah. We'll get to Ben Johnson. He's about as hot as anyone right now. But yeah, losing him had to be big. They've still been able to score some points, but they should be able to score points with the offense they have. I mean, they have some absolute weapons. That's why last Thursday was so disappointing for a guy like Gibbs

who just finds the end zone. It's routine for him. They just couldn't get much going. I think that the Packers are, I'm not going to, I'm still putting the Rams is my favorite from the NFC, but the Packers to me might be second. I think they're really, really good. And I think Jordan Love, with Jordan Love, I call him two out of three.

I said that like I always call him that. I'm giving him that name. Old two out of three? But I want to act like I've been always calling him two out of three. Okay. But old two out of three, which is two out of three games, he looks like Mojones. And then one game, he disappoints you. But I think what's good is his disappointing games are becoming less and less putrid.

So that way, old two out of three, if he gives you two great, performances and one mediocre, you can win with that. And if he ever becomes old three out of four, then we might have a potential Super Bowl winner. And their two stars were huge in this game. Love had like four touchdowns, no interceptions. And we mentioned the Cowboys right earlier. This was the second Big Micah Parsons.

Parsons is the big reason Gibbs didn't have much of a game. He absolutely wrecked them. Great all-around game for the Packers. But those two specifically, their stars on each side of the ball showed up on Thanksgiving Day. This was definitely the okay Mike of Parsons, you know. Think about him. He's played on Thanksgiving like all the time. He probably thought when he was like, well, if you ever leave the Cowboys,

at least I'll have Thanksgiving. That's good point. Nope. They get three sacks. I mean, he lived in the backfield. Yes. Golf still had a pretty good game, but I mean, Parsons was eating them up. Yeah.

So nice win there. Now, it's time to talk about the thing people care about the most. Chicago Bears. Friday, they looked great. I mean, they were the best team throughout the game. They dominated the game. Caleb Williams actually wasn't great. I mean, I actually don't think he played particularly well, and they still won.

And that's what's making me excited. Is this Bears team, I'm not going to act like it's the great Bears defenses of the 80s and even the 90s, but they're good. But the playmakers, the receivers, swift. and then Caleb, even though I don't think he played great, you get him out of the pocket and you get him scrambling and things start happening. And that was the first game to win on the road in Philadelphia that I thought, okay, this isn't just a team that can make the playoffs. Maybe they can win a game or two.

Yeah, Philly's got some offensive problems, but their defense has been their calling card all year. That defense has been awesome. And the Bears almost ran for 300 yards on that defense. I mean, they had two running backs from 120, each, maybe even more. And pretty much whatever they wanted to do

run the football they could. They ran up the middle, they were able to get on the corners, and it just looked to me like the Eagles were baffled by the whole thing. And then, of course, their offense. I mean, there were, there are Philly fans calling for Jalen Hartz.

What's the backups name, Tommy Branch or something like that? Is that his name? I don't know. I don't know. The fact that... No, I think his name is like Tommy Branch.

See if that's his name. What was it saying? Well, Kenny Pickett is the AI answer initially. That's not as much fun. We don't have to go to AI for a depth charts. Tanner McKee and a Sam Howell. Tanner McKee is the backup? Yeah, he's second string.

Yeah, so that's kind of like Tommy Branch. From Stanford, by the way. Just QBU. Is he a rookie? Is he a 2023 draft pick? All right, so Tanner McKee. But there were fans saying put in Tommy Branch because they thought that was his name.

I see why you got confused. His own team, his own fans were calling that. But the teammates were like, how's Tommy doing over there? They're often, I had not watched a full Eagles game with sound because I'm always watching Red Zone. Their fans are so mean. They live up to that reputation. Why are they so mean?

I mean, they're always booing people. My mom was very disappointed in them. On a holiday weekend, everyone's with their families and they're out booing people. Yeah, I mean, can you imagine going out with your family on Thanksgiving and just yelling and being angry? Let's go boo the quarterback that just want us a Super Bowl, honey. You're done eating? Let's go boo Jalen hurts. It is wild that after he had the big gear and the Nike ads come out, there are people like, is he even a top 15 quarterback? And it looks like Sequin's already washed.

Like, it looks like running backs. Running backs really hit a wall. They just stink immediately. Like they have a moment, however long it is, and there's no like nice, graceful aging. You just all of a sudden show up with sunspots and moles and you're hideous. And I feel like that's what's happened to Seyquine Barclay. He's got to still be tired from last year. I think he has one game this year with 100 yards, which is nuts after he about ran for a billion last year.

And it's the second straight game where they've thrown the ball a lot to A.J. Brown, and it's caused him to lose. So do you think that AJ Brown saying throw me the ball, throw me the ball, the ball, has actually had the opposite effect? AJ has been too much of a story this year. Arthur Wan, as I call him. I'm still a big fan. Never seen left Nashville. But, I mean, it's every other week. He's a talking point that really has nothing to do with the game.

And at some point, you've got to look in the mirror. You are being a distraction and whining too much. I know you're a receiver, and that kind of comes with the brand, but he's been too much. I'm trying to think of like players over the years that the better they do individually, the work. the team is, right? Because I think that's him a little bit. Like Stefan Marbury. Wow, pulled that out of nowhere.

Well, I mean, Steph was, first of all, I like Steph because he sold $20 shoes. That's right. At Dick and Larry's or Dick and Harry's. Stephen Barry's. There you go. I'll know with the names today. No, the name of the place was Stephen Barry's. And they had, and Steph Marbury would sell.

starberries. Great name, by the way. And I believe they were like $20. I actually thought it was a really cool thing they did. And I don't even have one. I'd like to have a pair of starberries because Dick and Larry's is no longer open. He and Shaq both did that. Hey, shoes are expensive.

I'm a big name. I'm going to make some cheap ones. Jack did that? Yeah, Shaq moved his to Walmart. I think they both get great. They do. Shack's shoes were really ugly, though. Like, they really only fit feet his size.

Maybe he didn't even have a choice. That was his last option. But Starberries were actually not bad. Yeah, and he's like a legend in China, I think. He went and played overseas for a little while. They love him in China. They think he's the greatest basketball player at all time. Yeah, they think he's.

So he's A.J. Brown. Yeah. Because A.J. Brown, when he's like, when he's doing well, the team is struggling. Yeah. At least in Philly. Philly, I cannot. Again, a lot of these teams, the teams we thought were just going to be awesome this year. As we're getting towards the end of the year, they're going the wrong direction.

And it's been shocking to me that so many of them, Ravens that we've mentioned, bills of bad losses, chiefs were wondering if they can get in. I wouldn't have believed that if you'd said that in September. You know, Billy, a young Matt Jones really like Stephen Barry's, because they brought one to Middlesbrough. It replaced the Kmartin. And it was in the Middlesbrough Mall. And it was all, like, the only thing they sold were hoodies.

And they were all like $10. Like every hoodie. And so you could in Middlesbrough, Kentucky, in the middle of Appalachia, go get a hoodie for like any sports team on Earth. and it was $10. It was, I don't even, how did they do it? Are these two people Steve and Barry or is it Stephen Barry? Steve and Barry.

Okay, two dudes. I never heard of this. Steve and Barry, you've never heard of this place. We had a hibbitt and a roses, but I never. You never heard of Stephen Barry's was the greatest place on earth. They would have $10 or $20 starberries and $10 hoodies. And I kind of got into hoodies through those. I've given them all away because this may surprise you.

They weren't the most durable hoodies. at $10. Had the Super Bowl champs for the wrong team? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I don't think it was one of those things where you got, you know, I don't think it was. This wasn't a, you know, Bill's champions. It was just, but like you could get a Wyoming hoodie in Millsboro, Kentucky.

And that was kind of exciting. Okay, I looked them up. Man, they went bankrupt in 2009. I can see why. Yeah. The profit margin could not have been high. They're just sitting on a storage unit full of Wyoming hoodies right now. Yeah.

Anyway. Blew your mind, though, at a young age, seeing all those hoodies. Yeah, I mean, I was in high school. And, like, you can tell when they got a new batch, too, though. Because all of a sudden, Middlesbrough High School would have, like, 15 Wyoming fans. And it was like we all acted like we separately became Wyoming fan. But, no, that was just the Christmas gift that year. And Barry just got new, new hoodies.

This has been an informative podcast. I've already learned I don't have to watch Stranger Things this season. And there's a retail I never even know about it. Spoiler alert. Mario is not happy about this. He's okay. He has a car wreck. And then he's all right.

And then he gets up. Then he gets up and kills the dinner. I think he's in a coma. I don't know. That would be fair. I don't know. I don't know that he's in a coma. I've just heard he's in a coma.

Thank you for relaying that. One less thing I got to do tonight now. Let's go to the Sunday games. By the way, it was Maggie Simpson that shot Mr. Parker. The baby. You are going to give us the lead on all these Sunday games. What was the first? Yeah, so I think the biggest game in the 1 o'clock slate was the Panthers beating the Rams,

31 to 28. Matthew Stafford hasn't thrown a pick since week three. 150,000. That's right. I had him on Matt Myron. He was the guest picker, and he sang this live acapella.

Wow. It's incredible. Apella. That was the juju they needed. Well, Carolina has seven wins. It's the most since 2022. Matthew Stafford had thrown only two interceptions all year. He threw for two in this game and had a big fumble at the end of the game.

But Pugod Nukua had a big catch. Devante Adams passed Antonio Gates on most career receiving touchdowns. But this was all about Carolina and their big win. It was actually a really exciting game. It was probably the Panthers crowd. I don't know when I've heard them that loud because every Panthers touchdown was insane. It would not, they would like throw a miracle pass or Bryce Young would be getting tackled. And he would throw it. It was a great game. And I think they did it for Carolina Mike, who told me on the pregame show, Drew, that he wrote the song in 23. And he said it didn't get a lot of attention.

So in 2025, he was trying to think how to start his career. And he goes, what if I write a second verse to 150,000? And it was the second verse that propelled it to success. I like that. That's a man who believed in what he had. He just had to tweak a little bit. Many people would have given up. I tried that song.

It didn't work. What's next? No, he said, I just need to make a few little changes, and this is going to take off. And it did. A lot of people don't know this. Like, whoop, there it is. Start as whoop, here I am. Two years before.

And then they went, let's try this again. Switched it to there it is. The rest is history. Tough loss for the Rams, though. I mean, that may cost in the one seat. They were in Philgoal range there to tie it at the end when Stafford had the bad fumble. It's just a horrible mistake for him on top of all the mistakes. Not surprising for him to do that, right?

Yeah, but, I mean, they were kind of in cheap shot territory and could have tied it up, and he completely dropped the ball on that one. Does that hurt his MVP? Will you remember that when you vote? As long as they finish strong, probably not. His year has still been incredible. The run he was on before this game, you don't see quarterbacks through that. But, I mean, this is a big stain losing to the Panthers.

Yeah. And as for the Panthers, not sorry. Super Bowl. Playoffs. I mean, they sit there right now. They are seven and six. Chance? Wouldn't that be something?

I'm rooting for it. I mean, I can't be a fan of every NFL team like Billy over here. But I mean, they're off this week. Your bears, these Panthers, I'm loving new names that are popping up and making a run. It's been good for the NFL and fun to watch. I still don't know if Bryce Young's good or not.

I like he talks like he's good. He said something about like... I still kind of don't think he's good, but he's fun. You never know what's going to happen? He still just looks so tiny out there to me, but he said something at the game about how pressure doesn't bother him. He's talking like he's Tom Brady when they're putting the mic in front of him. He kind of reminds me of like a George W. Bush speech,

which is overall, maybe effective, but there are going to be some moments. What are you talking about? By the way, speech is, I- Fool me once. Shame on you. Fool me twice. Can't be fooled again.

Can't be doing that. What? I don't want to go backwards to me. much, but I meant to ask you, what did you think about a different game we've already covered? Your boy Ben Johnson ripping his shirt off in the Bears game. I think there's too much shirt ripping off nowadays. I think that used to be the kind of thing you did like once every three or four years. And now because of McAfee, it's like everybody rips their shirt off all the time.

So for me, it's a little much. I do enjoy his post game speeches. I enjoy the whole filming people's post game speeches. It's one of my favorite things. Carolina Hurricanes at hockey been doing that for a while. Rod Brindamore does speeches, and he just says the F word every three seconds. And to beep it, the official account just plays the hockey horn.

And it just does one after another. And I look forward to him every game. It's becoming like that with the NFL. I enjoy watching it. And Bill Johnson might be the best at it. Yeah. And now I am worried. Each week, we're getting a little raunchier.

Shirt was off this week. Yeah, he's going to come out like Madonna and her sex books soon. They keep winning and he can do whatever he wants. Yeah, he's, you talk about the toast of the town. I'm excited as a Bears fan. I mean, I don't, I think we're for real in the sense that we're good. I do not think we're a contender, but I think they're young. That's the key.

They've got a lot of playmakers. I mean, I think we're starting a period that if Caleb keeps improving, we could be a contender next year or the next year. I agree. I'm happy for you. For someone who has no joy in their football life right now, I'm glad at least some people on this podcast can smile. We are a Davis Mills podcast, but it was C.J. Stroud that came back for the Texans

and threw for almost 300 yards to beat the Colts 20 to 16 in Indianapolis. Houston's now 7 and 5, while India is 8 and 4, making up some ground in the division. This was a big game for Houston. Great game, too. And Houston was the better team. And when Davis Mills is your mentor, you can be very effective.

And I thought it was actually a thorough butt kicking by the Texans. I think the Colts were fortunate to have a shot to at least be competitive at the end. Another week, Jonathan Taylor couldn't find the end zone. You know, we were just every week looking up, he's having two or three. He's gone cold, and that was a big part of them shutting them down. Stroud had a good game, didn't find the end zone much, but big turnaround for the Texans. I've been watching them in the Jaguars. It's going to be a race in that division.

I don't think my Titans will catch up, but that was a huge win for the Texans. Texans have the number one defense in the NFL right now. And you mentioned the other game. The Jags beat the Titans 25 to 3 because of that indie loss. Jacksonville is now the number one team in the AFC South. Yeah, I think they're 84, 8475. That's going to come down the last week. This is supposedly supposed to be the worst division in football,

and it's the most competitive of all of them, along with the NFC North. and I think all three teams, if not great, are solid, right? Yeah, and I mean, the Colts were shocking team. I thought they were going to suck this year. But they went on that huge run to start the year, but now they've completely cooled off. I mean, nobody's talking about Daniel Jones anymore. Taylor's still great, but hadn't had touchdowns in a couple weeks. They've run into a wall.

I don't know if people figure them out or what's changed, but they're not that team they were in the first five weeks when we couldn't believe how well they were playing. Yeah. Congrats to Texans. That defense is nasty. and Will Anderson, in my opinion, is defensive player. He is, I think they got him. Did they get the pick where they got him in a trade?

I feel like they did. I feel like they traded his year to get two first-round picks and then picked him. And that was a, he's a monster. And, you know, with him and then Josh Hans-Allen with the Jaguars, they got two of the five best defensive-line monsters in the AFC South. What's next? The San Francisco 49ers won their third straight game as they beat the Browns 26 to 8.

They're now 9 and 4 in the NFC West, one game behind the Los Angeles Rams. Not the best game for Shadur Sanders. He did throw for a touchdown, but after the game was telling reporters that they had rude questions after the loss. Who caught the touchdown, Billy? Harold Fannan Jr. from Bowling Green. Thank you. By the way, did any of our people score? I still have Trayvion Henderson tonight.

Max Brosmer did not score. We'll get to him. My God. What a week he had. Your goodness. And then Puka Nukua did not score for a race. Oh, I thought he did. No, Puka scored.

I had him in a parley. He had a great catch. Why are you trying to cheat for me? Cheap against me. Pooka scored. No, it was Devante who caught it. Oh, no, no, no, no. I think they sketched my integrity.

Wait, me, I think they. They reversed. Yeah, I think that was incorrect. Have you, does it, can we put it in an official inquiry? Is it too late? What's the stewards review after a horse race maybe? I thought it was sad. Puka had a great catch.

He did. He didn't get in on that? Did not get in. Okay. Devante had two. So you guys struck out again, Travian Henderson for me. In hindsight, picking Max Rosmer probably wasn't my finest moment. Yeah, we'll get to him.

Yeah, Shador's too much. He had one good class. I don't know why they went on fourth and one. Should you say? Schraduers asked about what he thought about that? What'd he say? He's clearly not going to say anything about his coach. He just smiles.

He's like, I'm just happy to be here. You know, I trust his decisions. Just a complete non-answer. He's just too much, man. Like that attitude, that's Aaron Rogers' attitude without Aaron Rogers' career. And I can't stand Aaron Rogers' attitude. Dude, if you haven't accomplished anything, you just got to take it down a notch. A few weeks ago, maybe even last week, I did feel like a reporter was trying to bait him

into saying something about his coach and he wouldn't take it. But that's what people are going to do. But this one was a simple, what did you think of this fourth down? You're the quarterback with the ball in your hands. You should have an opinion of what happened on fourth down. People are going to give you, like, he just, he's, in terms of PR, he's a disaster. And Kendrick Perkins or not, he needs to, he needs to chill. And the thing is, he seems like very important, but also I don't care.

Like Red Zone almost never showed a minute of his game. You could easily have forgot it was going. on? I made a point to watch them against the Raiders. Not one time on Sunday. I should check on Sanders today. It's like I gave them the one, but I've moved on. What's next? The Buccaneers also snapped a three-game losing streak. They won at home against the Cardinals 20 to 17. Arizona is 0 and 6 in games decided by four points or less this year, which is incredible. But isn't that true every year? I feel like they lose every game close every year. I feel like they finish

5 and 12 with 7 1-loss games every season. Those 4 o'clock NFC West games do end in close ones. And they ended misery for the Cardinals usually. Yeah. Well, Trey McGrath got his eighth touchdown. He looks great as probably the best tied in in the league right now.

Bucky Irvin came back and looked good and Tristan Worf's scored a touchdown. That was the first big man catch this year. Billy, we talked about the Panthers making a run. Are you worried? I mean, they're on your hills. Very word. Yes. Bryce Young looks good, and they play Carolina two of the last three weeks.

Those games will decide the division this year. Actually, that'll be entertaining to watch. That's going to be exciting, because the NFC South is going to have a game and they will not. It's so big, they're not assigning Chris Myers or Spiro-Detus that game. The last game is a flex. They might even put that in prime time if it matters. Put that at 4 o'clock or 8 o'clock, probably. Come on now.

8 o'clock on Monday or Tuesday. Tuesday. Chris Fowler's busy. Mike Trico's like, again. How many games do you want me to do? What's next? Finishing up the NFC South, the Jets came back to beat the Falcons 27 to 24 on a big Tyrod Taylor drive late in the game.

The Falcons are a mess. And the Dolphins hung on to beat the Saints 21 to 17 despite the Saints getting an onside kick on the final drive and then failing on a quarterback seat. Yeah, it was some exciting Tyler Shuck moments there at the end. Both of these games were dreadful. both of these games made me sad. I did like, the Jets Stadium did explode on that final touchdown with Tyrod Taylor. I kind of feel like Tyrod Taylor is a man of the people. When he plays, that means things aren't going well, but you're still trying.

Yeah, but also when you're a fan and your only excitement is Tyrod Taylor and getting a rushing touchdown, it's not like, well, this is our future right here. We found the key to taking the next step. Tyrod Taylor, by the way, he could be any age. He's got to be a bit pushing 40. But you can tell me he's 27 or 47, and I'm not sure. I feel like he's 30. I've got the answer.

I'm going higher, 36. 36 on the dot. That's amazing. He's still in the league at 36. Because has he ever been the team's like starter? Has he ever gone into a season as the team's number one starter? Not. Has he really?

I think so. I mean, he stepped up a lot. I can't remember. I can give you the teams he's been on. All right. Go for it. Yeah, he's like the Rondo. The Ravens, the Bills, the Browns, the Chargers, the Texans, the Giants, and the Jets.

Wow. And he's a Super Bowl champion. The only one he might have been the starter going in the season was the Ravens. And that would may have been like his second or third year. He was drafted in 2011. Sixth round pick, 180th overall. You got to give him credit for still being in the league. Pays well.

Yeah. And he probably when he's done, he'll be his. healthy because he spent a lot of time not playing. Oh, yeah. If he's ever done, he might just play forever. They never give it up. Yeah.

The Saints result, I was really pulling for the Saints. My Titans with the Jets getting a win, if the Saints had won, we'd have a two-game lead for the number one pick. And the Jaguars beat your Titans. Give me my daily Titans review. One of the cooler things I've seen the Titans do, they pan the stadium and showed that no one was there on the big. screen and then gave away two PSLs to the newsday for someone who would come watch them.

So that was pretty nice of them. We had a fight after a Hail Mary. That's all that. That was good. What do you think about fighting when you're getting crushed? Our Kentucky team did that this weekend. It's embarrassing. Do you think there's a mount you're down where you shouldn't be allowed to fight?

Yes. And really, the Titans just the moment they step on the field this year. If you're not going to fight in the game, I'd rather you not actually fistfight the other team. Yeah. Who's their coach? Is Callahan still? Mike McCoy. Mike McCoy from the Chargers.

That's not going to last. He's just holding the job until they make another bad hire. Yeah. This has been a bad titan. I mean, last year, well, every year has been a bad. We had the Vrabel Henry Brown team that went to the AFC, and then they just completely blew it up, went to the AFC championship, and then they just blew that up.

That was only like four years ago. Maybe Will Levis was better than everyone acted like it. They had a little bit of success. ass with Willeves. Just a little bit. Watch Will Levin. He won't be a starter next year, but Will Levis still has life in the NFL. You think he's going to be Tyron Taylor? Maybe, but I

thought this last year, and a lot of it's because it's Valls fans and they hate him from his UK connections, but I thought they were way too hard on him. When he played for a team, that was absolutely terrible. He would snap the ball and immediately be running backwards for his life, and no one could have been good for them last year. It's amazing Ward has done anything. Yeah. All right.

What about the afternoon games? Yeah, a couple of interesting results in the afternoon games. One of them was the Seahawks beating the Vikings 26 to zero. Is that interesting? It was just because how bad Minnesota's fallen. Okay, so Max Brossmer. Brosmer. Brosmer.

Some people are saying that's the worst quarterback performance in the league in quite some time. Rookie from Minnesota, Myron Metcalfe on my pregame show was saying, Brozmer may play so well that they give up on J.J. McCarthy. Oh, Marron. I think that's fair to say that's not true. Yeah, it's safe. Safe to say that.

He had the second worst quarterback rating of a quarterback in a game in the last four years. I think any time you have more interceptions than your team has points, it was a pretty rough day. He had four picks, they had zero points. That's a pretty first one. The first one was really bad. While I know it was in Seattle, but you're looking across the way, and there's Sam Donald, who should still be your quarterback. So Vikings fans had to, it was a double loss for them. That's an embarrassment.

Tough year for the Vikings. And that's excitement. Last year didn't they go 15 and 2? Yeah, I never thought they just hand this off to McCarthy this year as the future should have stuck with the Army. And now they're like not only the worst team in the division. They're the team in the division with the worst future as well. I think they only have one win in like several weeks. Like they won a few early in the year.

They have four in total. But most they're all in the front end. They just keep losing. I don't care about the Chargers and the Raiders. Like, honestly. Well, Herbert got hurt. He had to have surgery today on his left hand. Well, everybody keeps hurting their off hand.

I guess your offhand doesn't matter. Does it? Well, your non-throwing hand definitely matters less than your throwing hand for a quarterback. Thank you, doctor. Breaking new. So, I mean, if you get injured your non-throwing hand, you just keep on going. It's not wrong. Dr. Rutledge would like you to know.

that the throwing hand is more important than the non-throwing hand. Quarterbacks always get their offensive linemen these gifts. You always see these big packages. Justin Herbert needs a Venmo request, his offensive line. Like, you'll owe me money. You're going to get me killed. Yeah. That's one of your best lines.

Thank you. I think. I didn't know this game happened until we got here. The only thing I really saw was Max Crosby just bulldoze Herbert over after a play when he wasn't talking trash. That guy scares me. To rank the NFL players that you'd least like to see coming after you in a fight or just in life. He's in my top five.

Who's your number one? It could be him because it's his circumstances. He has nothing to lose. He plays for the Raiders. Like, he'll fight. He'll get kicked out. He doesn't care. But I just mean in life.

Like you're in a bar and so you're, you see a guy and he's staring you down. Who are you most scared? of. Miles Garrett comes to mind. But I think he's got a friendly side that I could maybe hope breaks out. Crosby with the tag. He's just an intimidating presence. But Miles Garrett would be probably one on just size and sheer.

He and Aaron Donald. I know he's retired, but that's another one I want to know part of it. He's still scared of Aaron Donald now. He does like that MMA where they have knives out and that dude's just wild. Really? Yeah, he's like blocking knives with his bare hands. What? Look it up.

Type Aaron. in Donald Knives. I've seen him do that in practice. He's not blocking knives with his bare hands. Yes, he is. I mean, he's like blocking the arms. He's not grabbing the knife. Okay.

But, I mean, they're swinging knives at him and he's just Judy chopping him. Yeah. Actually, he's my answer. I know he's retired. That's the answer. Huh. What about quarterbacks?

Who would you most be scared of that's a quarterback? And then who would you be least scared of? Russell. Yeah. Great answer. You're quick on that one. Yeah. I was going to say Jared.

golf. Let's say your life's on the line. You have to fight one quarterback. Okay. Who are my options? Russell Wilson. Let's throw Jared Gough in there. I'm going to Aaron Rogers.

That's my best shot. No. See, I feel like Aaron Rogers has watched some YouTube video of how to kill you with like a garden hose or something. I was just trying to think of age where I'd have my best shot. He looked rough. He looked like he'd already been beaten up. Yeah. We'll do him in just a second.

Yeah, I mean, that's not a terrible call, but I feel like he knows. Collar Murray. Brock Purdy. Brock Purdy's a good one. Yeah. I like Brock Purdy as the pick. This would be a great graphic for the NFL. Which quarterback could cover zero beat up?

The real answer is we'd lose to all of them. No, I could beat up Brock Purdy. We started the show. Sign it up. Pete Carroll and Bradford. I feel like me and Drew versus Brock Purdy and Mac Jones. No, I'd rather, Mac Jones, too. I think I can take Tua.

No, no way. You don't want to fight two of them. Two is too quick for you. He's just got a lot going on, you know? Yeah, I think too. Yeah, who's the Southpaw? See, you don't know how to react to the South Paul. It's perfect, perfect matchup.

Yeah. I like your bright purdy pick. I still think Jared Gough those up there. In the old days, you would want to fight Peyton Manning. Yeah, Peyton Manning would be good. Otto Graham. Did we do the quarterback who want to fight Lee? That's a good question

Well I mean you initially would say who's the biggest The biggest is probably I mean Jalen hurts but I feel like I wouldn't want Dak to punch me Davis Mills in that neck Would be something like that way for that stuff He couldn't land the knockout at all He's like the Rockin'stock on robots

For the Chiefs up there 6-4 ripped I'm trying to think who's crazy A little crazy You'll throw you off Yeah I don't know. I like C.J. Stroud for that one.

All right. All right. What's next? Yeah, you mentioned Aaron Rogers. The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the bills 26 to 7 in an ugly game. He already had a cast on his hand. He kind of re-injured it during the game. Josh Allen, meanwhile, breaks the record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.

Keon Coleman gets in the end zone. There's been a lot of drama there. The bills advanced to 8 and 4 on the year. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is on top of that AFC North, but you just don't know how that division's going to go right now. Yeah, I would say that game went about as well for the Steelers as the car wreck for the guy in Stranger Things. Like it was... You're saying they're in a coma? Another game that was never close.

You know, they had that one drive, the last drive, Aaron Roger. But I feel like I'm finally getting what I hoped for was my vengeance on Aaron Rogers being awful as has happened, right? That screenshot of his face where it did look like he had just got out of a, 12-round boxing fight. And it looked like he had aged a lot during the game. Yeah, that wasn't the guy that was on the graphic when he went out to take his first nap. Also, my biggest takeaway from this is, did you hear them yelling fire Tomlin? It wasn't like five people.

That stadium sounded in unison, and they showed his face, and he was like, oh, my God, is it this bad? He's been there close to 20 years. And I guess that's why they, I mean, he, I don't know. I don't know how I would feel if I was a Sears fan. because they've never been bad. But they also don't look, they've not been good in a while. So what do you do? Is it Tomlin's fault that they have Aaron Rogers?

Did he have a role in that? Because if he didn't, I feel like I feel bad for him. If he was forced Aaron Rogers and now he's getting booed because it's not working. I don't know what his role is in picking. But I'll be sympathetic if he wasn't all in on Aaron Rogers. Was it Russ and Justin Fields before that? Yeah, I mean, it hadn't been good for a while. But I just thought, did he pick those guys or do other people?

or do other people? Can he pick it before that? And they've really had nobody since Rathosberger. Just didn't expect that stay. I didn't think we'd hear a fire Tomlin chance at any point. It's a little sad because, I mean, he seems like a good guy. I mean, the one thing is the moment they get rid of him, another coach will pick him up immediately. That's right.

Would you like him in Tennessee? Oh, yeah, better than some of the options they're saying. Yeah. What were we going to say? For our Kentucky audience, this was a big game for former cats. One, our guy, Ray Davis, just keeps getting better for the bills. They love him in Buffalo. But a blast from the past, Brandon Eccles had an interception for the Steelers.

So I watched this whole game and heard some familiar names for our local audience. That's good. By the way, Louisville is playing Indiana in basketball on Saturday. It is Dave O'Brien, Dick Vital and Charles Barkley on the call. Barkley and Vital? Wow. I mean, that's kind of cool. Yeah, I didn't even consider we'd get Barclay doing stuff like this when they made that merge.

What's Barclay on? He's on ESPN. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. We might get a lot of this now. Oh, we've got to get Barclay or Rup. That would be kind of cool to be honest. Barkley calling games. Barkley calling anything, sound me up.

Yeah. He can spoil us by the way. Very, very nice guy. So, yeah, and as far as the bills, bounce back, they play the big game. Who they got this way? The Bengals at home, you know, they're going to make, I think they're of the sort of contenders that have disappointed.

They're the ones with the best. shot at actually getting in the playoffs. I have something Bill's related. I need to confess, and I don't want to confess it, but I feel like I have to tell you all. Go for it. A couple nights ago, and I did this alone. I watched the Hallmark Bill's movie. The opening scene is at the Bar-

What's the Hallmark Bill's movie? They made a Christmas Bill's love story. The opening scene is Bar Bill where you did ESPN. And I'm like, oh, I screamed to my TV. I was like, I was just there last week. And it's showing the tailgating. Now at your typical... What channel is this?

Hallmark. It's an Hallmark Christmas movie about the bills. So it's like a romance movie about the bills? And they're going to everything we did just a couple weeks ago. So I don't love confessing that I watched that alone in my private time during the holiday break. And it wasn't good, was it? No, no. And I wouldn't have told anyone I did this.

But it was pretty cool. I mean, the opening scene is at that bar with exactly where we were sitting to start our trip just a few weeks ago. Big Tree Inn? Excuse me. They call it Bar Bill. It's maybe a different name on the movie. But yes, the Big Tree Inn is where it was. I have a friend that lives in Louisville, and she is only in Hallmark movies.

What a gig. But she's like the friend in every Hallmark movie. So I don't know if you watch Hallmark movies, but a lot of them are filmed in Oldham County, Kentucky for some reason. And she plays like Friend of the Bride in all of them. So if you watch a lot, you might see this red hair girl that's like, well, weren't you the friend of the person in the other movie? and she's been in like eight Hallmark movies in the last two years. Sweet. They just keep making them.

I mean, you don't have to change up your acting. Like, I'll be back next year. No, they just do the same thing just in a different place. Every movie is, guy comes to town.

At first, she's not sure about them. Then they fall in love. Or city girl, copywriter at the big marketing firm comes home and falls in love with the farmer and doesn't want to go back. That's exactly right. And not to keep talking,

confessing that I watch the Bill's love story movie, but our guy, Ray Davis, is in it too. Oh, he's in it. As a new part of Bill's Mafia, I enjoyed. Ray Davis is in the Bill's movie? Yes, I enjoyed, it's literally like they took our trip and made a Christmas love movie out of it.

It was kind of its own Christmas love movie. You should watch it. That's a recommendation. All right, what's the last one? Yeah, finally, Sunday night, Denver beat Washington 27 to 26. The commanders go for two and overtime for the win, but Mariotta's pass is batted away. Oh, it was there.

I mean, Collinsworth pointed out, great play call. all he's got to do is get it up in the air. That's a wild drive, too. It was a great drive. I thought going for two was the right decision. It was right there. Do you like when teams win overtime, they defer? That's becoming, I think they've done it,

seven out of 11 games, but it usually ends up with them having to go for two. Do you like that? I get why they're doing it, but even last night, I was just wanted to kick the extra points so I got more football. I just tied up so I can watch the other team. With three minutes to go, though, like, what do you want to tie?

What's that going to do for you? You're a three-win team. Yeah. I might have had the over. You're a three-win team. I completely get while they did it. My big takeaway from this, and I couldn't wait to bring this up with you. My wife were sitting on the couch.

She goes, why does Chris Collinsworth keep saying Marcus Marriota like that? And I don't know if you all noticed. But the whole game, and I even searched it on Twitter, other people were noticing it, he kept saying Marcus Mariotta. Like, he would do this loud ta. And the internet's like, why is he saying? it that way. Like the way I say Tennessee.

I could not enjoy the game because I kept thinking, why is he doing this? No one says it there. So it should be Marcus Marriota. Yes. And he would say Marcus Marriota. And he would really emphasize it. And I'm thinking, I watched this guy play for the Titans for several years. I've never heard anyone say his name like that.

But it was throwing me off. You know, I'm kind of forward. Marcus Marietta drops back. Enunciating odd syllables. You know. You're right. You're Tennessee and your Halloween. TV.

TV. Caleb. Caleb. Williams Yeah, so Marcus Mere E.O. Taa. It's the tie. He was throwing that tie in their hard. He just never heard of done that way.

Never heard of that way either. I did think of you, Drew, because Traylon Burks had maybe the catch of a year besides Pooka Naker. I know. Former Tidon. We gave up A.J. Brown for him. A.J. Brown went to more Super Bowls than he had touchdowns. And then, of course, he goes and makes a big thing. Broncos are 10 and 2.

You think they're a Super Bowl contender? I keep wanting to think, no, but they just keep winning. They've won nine in a row. I mean, they keep winning. But I don't know. Here's the thing. I don't know that I believe in any of any team. It's going to be a great year for the house.

I don't think any team is good. Like go to the NFC. The Bears is the one seat. Do I think they are going to win it? No. Top seeds in the NFC are Denver, Denver, New England, Jacksonville. I don't believe in any of them either.

Baltimore. I don't believe in anybody. Is it possible to believe in nobody? The Broncos, their schedule is for real. I mean, Billy mentioned how many games they've won in a row. Their only losses were week two and three by one point and three points at Indianapolis, who was on fire at the time, and at the Chargers who had just beaten the Chiefs. That's the only two blips on their entire resume.

But I don't think anybody's good. And because I don't think anybody's good, somebody's got to make it. So actually, I think, follow my logic here. I'm with you. Because no one's good. And no one can make the Super Bowl. Then anyone can make the Super Bowl. Wow.

That's up there with Billy. Well, you don't want your quarterback to hurt his throwing hand. You really have a lot. I think it's more brilliant than you're giving it credit for. Bellies or yours? If no one is good. No, his is bad. If no one is good, then everyone is good.

That's a good point. Right. It's like I had an accounting class in college, and they were notorious for grading bed. But they would tell you, like, a C is good in this class. That's like the highest people get. So when everybody got C's, we went home smiling. Even though, you know, it was a pretty tough class. Cs were good. So that's my take on this year.

No one's good and no one has a chance to make the Super Bowl. So everyone has a chance to make the Super Bowl. It is the most, at this point, the most open, I think the playoffs will be in a long time. It's esoteric is what you were trying to say. That's the word. The one you did earlier, the de, de, de, de, de, de, de, de, de, de, their election. Their election of duty. They always say that about presidents.

They did something wrong. Their elections are in November. No, they say that like a president screwed something up and it was a dereliction of duty. Gotcha. So dereliction and what's the one I just said? Yeah. Yeah, that one too. Those are the two words of the day.

If I told you before the season started to be the Bears and the Broncos as the one seats before December started. You've gotten good odds on that. Yeah. Yeah. But that's not going to be the Super Bowl. or what if it is your bears in the Super Bowl it can't be the Super Bowl

which means it has to be the Super Bowl I'm following a lot dude I think you are all right so what's Monday night football tonight we got a thriller the Pats and Giants in New England I think the Giants will cover this game right

even though they probably won't win they come yeah the spread's more than a touchdown the NFL that's a big number you know Giants with two wins obviously not a big favorite here. Probably not going to win, but I think they'll play close. Being Monday night, Patriots got to cool off a little bit at some point. They're doing all their winning on the road.

I think the Giants can hang. Yeah, Jackson Dark's back. I think Cam Scadabos got a taping of Secret Lives of Mormon Housewives, so he will not be there. But Jackson Dart back might make it fun, right? Yeah, and I saw C.D. Lamb on a podcast this weekend just raving about Wondell Robinson and how he's one of the best receivers in the league this year. So, you know, even though the Giants are terrible,

That's a great throw to the trash game. Thank you very much. Left-handed. Yeah, I saw that across the room. But Wondell has been huge quietly for a two-win team. Happy to see that. Seeing other receivers give them this credit, I feel like it's been well-deserved. Yeah.

So we'll take the Giants to cover. Billy, who was your knockout pick? It was the Dolphins who ended up holding on. Gambled a little bit. You did gamble. So you're still in it. I noticed that the professional Survivor League required you to pick a Thursday, Friday. game and then a Saturday Sunday game.

And in the circle one, I want to say there might have been like 200 people or 250 people left and like it's down to like 10. Because the four favorites on the Thursday game, all the favorites lost, all four of them. So you don't even pick two next week? No. I mean, right now, like there's only Sunday Monday games. I mean, we did take to miss two weeks, but you're still in it. So we'll pick on Wednesday, but you're still in it.

All right. I'll keep it rolling until next year. We're not going to take a loss. You're oddly good at this. Like, there are so few things you're good at. Nothing odd about it. Like, the fact that you're really good at this is kind of, it's kind of exhilarating, isn't it? It's my job.

Yeah. Well, thank you folks very much. Sorry for the delay and getting it out, but we got a little detained by other things. But we'll be back on probably Wednesday, maybe Thursday. but probably Wednesday. This has been cover zero. NFL cover zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin is a production of the NFL and IHeart podcast.

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