KSR - NFL Cover Zero: The week of 4th quarter comebacks!

Episode Date: November 24, 2025

Matt Jones and Drew Franklin discuss NFL Week 12 as the week of comebacks!  The Colts had their chances, but this was the turning point of the season for the Chiefs.  The Bears keep winning in the wildest of ways.  TJ Watt passes JJ Watt's sack record and Matt wonders who are the best brother combo in the NFL and sports.  The Ravens notch a 5th straight win.  The Patriots hold off the Bengals. The Raiders have fired Chip Kelly as their OC. Matt explains why the Seahawks could be better than we think while Jaxon Smith-Njigba is making history.  The Packers win, but how much concern is there from the Vikings with JJ McCarthy? Matt was still impressed with Jameis Winston in a Giants loss.    It was an amazing win for the Cowboys while the Eagles offense struggles late. Shedeur Sanders wins his first start facing the Raiders. The Jaguars win in OT and are on track for the playoffs.  Are the Rams the best team in the NFL? Plus, we wrap up with Monday Night Football's matchup between the 49ers and Panthers! 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. Time for episode 12 of NFL Cover Zero. Drew, I actually thought today was a very compelling day of NFL action. I enjoyed it. I watched all the Red Zone, even watched some actual games, like flipped it off Red Zone and watched the games sometimes. I actually thought it was a really, really good day to be a fan.

Yeah, thanks a lot, Billy. I ruined a great NFL day with your bucks. But today had a lot of games where I completely thought I knew the result in the third quarter, and they flipped the script. So some exciting comebacks we'll get to. Really fun. Yeah, I think the last two or three weeks had kind of been not the most exciting finishes, et cetera, but you had that today.

So the game of the day, and maybe the game of the season in terms of importance, is the Chiefs coming back and winning at home against the Colts? There's a part of me that wonders, Chiefs win 2320 in overtime. There's a part of me that wonders if the rest of the AFC was watching the end of that game and they're really, really mad at the Colts because I think the Colts had a chance to put the nail in the coffin. And essentially, I think if the Chiefs lose today, their shot of making the playoffs is low. And now they win, their schedule gets favorable after next week.

And I actually, you know, we may look back and say that into fourth quarter had a huge, was a turning point of the season. Yeah, when I just said, you know, I wrote some teams off today thinking it was over. I had the chiefs in mind. About that third quarter, I'm thinking the dynasty is dead. They're going to miss the playoffs this year. And I'm watching that game unfold. Even my home's in the fourth quarter with the ball.

I just thought times have changed and that they're on the wrong end of that dynasty, but now the chiefs, they're still chief in and having that fourth quarter magic. Well, he didn't look like Mahomes until the fourth quarter. Like he just, he was off. There was that one play. They were, you know, so they're down 11. They're driving to try to get it down to, you know, at least cut it to a one score game. He has Kelsey wide open and he overthrows him by like 10 yards.

And I saw that play and I thought, you know, because I don't question Patrick Bowms. I'm picking Patrick Mooms over anybody. And I saw that throw, and that was like the first time that I've kind of gone, wait a minute, maybe this isn't Patrick Mooms because Kelsey's actually looked really good this year. And I'm like, you missed him and you missed him by a lot. They punt, hold Indianapolis, get it back, and then they do what they do there at the end. But still, there were a lot of chances for them to blow it. You know, they're first in goal from the two in regulation.

They don't get in for a, they manage the clock perfectly, but they don't get in for a touchdown, and then they win it in overtime. But I do, I think the AFC is going to rue the day they didn't put the stake in them today. That's right. And, you know, it's still my homes. You don't even though they have a great game. I don't think they had a TD. He had an interception, but you're thinking they're getting old and it might be the back end,

but they still have some youth. Like, Rishie Rice had such a big game. I thought it was unfair. And that saved the worthy catch. Yeah. That's the play of the year for the Chiefs. It's third and seven. You know, Mahomes gets pressured.

He makes a good throw, but not a great throw. And Worthy has to adjust. And that catch, I think it'll be, that could end up being the play of the year. Yeah. It's two of the young guys that stepped up, helped him out. I thought it was unfair when the Chiefs were able to get both of those players to kind of give Mahomes new younger weapons as Kelsey gets older. But also their defense stepped up.

There was like several, maybe three or four straight, three and outs for the Colts there as the Chief. Well, let me give you some stats here because I think this is, you know, it's easy to look at this game and go, well, the Colts blew it. But I actually think it's the opposite. I mean, I think the Chiefs dominated the game statistically. They ran 91 plays compared to 50 for Indianapolis. In the second half, I think it was something like 45 to 12 in terms of a play differential. but they just couldn't convert in the red zone. So this would have been a game if the chiefs had lost,

that they really would have said, we were the better team and we lost. They could, you know, they had a terrible, my homes had a terrible interception that they ran back. But the big stat for me is what you said about the defense. Last four possessions for the Colts, three and out, all four possessions,

only 12 plays. That's as good as Moj was, that's the difference in the game. Yeah, those, three and outs, and then just in total, Jonathan Taylor was a non-factor. That's a guy we've been talking about could maybe be a running back that finally gets that. Had one good run, really one good run the whole game. Had 50-something yards. And as the game went on, I mean, he was, they didn't even really go to him. They kind of left in Daniel Jones hands. I mean, you've got a guy who's absolutely dominated this year. Last week, he had like 250 yards on the ground and the chiefs held him to 50 whatever today. So great all-around performance by the chiefs, even though it was a little slow start. They turned it on both sides.

This was also only their second 1 p.m. game all year. I mean, they have had the most bizarre schedule in terms of the NFL. I mean, they're showcasing them, put them on Netflix, put them on YouTube, you know, have Billy do a half-naked dance before the game. I mean, like, they've done whatever they could do to make them the showcase event. They're playing on Thanksgiving at Dallas on Thursday, which is a now becomes a huge game, and they're going to be going to Dallas on four days. rest after a hard game, but I'd be interested if they keep this going and like you were to get one more with this era of the Chiefs, people are just going to be so mad at stiking for some of those play calls in the fourth quarter. Yeah, a big opportunity to put the nail in the coffin today. I think, you know, they don't win today. I don't think they make the playoffs. No, I don't either. I was even thinking in that third quarter, because I'd written them off, I was thinking back like, man, I wonder if Travis Kelsey. If they could have just won the Super Bowl last year, he steps away on top.

Now they're going to limp out and not make the playoffs and what could be his last year. But then they flipped the script and who knows, they could go and do it again. I loved it. It also felt like a big game. You know, Tony Romo was doing Romo things, making sounds, trying to predict plays. He also, he was the master of hyperbole.

He said the worthy catch was one of the best he'd ever seen. He also called a past, offensive pass interference on Kelsey. I think he said it's the worst call in a decade, which is a strong, strong thing. It was a bad call. They called offensive pass interference and he didn't even touch the guy. He used the phrase, we getting a little tushy, which I thought was, didn't know as a thing you could say. But they were, you know, Romo, it felt like a big game. And the fact that it was at one o'clock was weird.

But I'm, I really enjoyed it. For me, in terms of games I haven't attended, it was probably the most enjoyable game of the year. Yeah, it's a lot of fun, and you're right about the one o'clock thing. That should have been in the 430 window, with all the chaos of witching hour, because we had so many great ones in the one o'clock slot, but still a great game. And again, I think I wrote the Chiefs off earlier in the year a few weeks after that, third quarter today. I'm just done writing them off.

The Chief is still a prediction. You're going to see a headline like tomorrow or Tuesday that is going to say that the ratings for today, those two early games are some of the best ever. The combination of you get that Chiefs Colts game in the early, and then the fact that the Eagles and the Cowboys, which we'll get to, was so compelling at the end. I think this is going to end up being like a record ratings day for the NFL.

My bears were probably in the, I don't know, the second most compelling game of the day against the Steelers. They end up winning 31.28. They have won. It's the exact. opposite of last year. Last year, they lost every way they could possibly lose. And now this year, they're winning these games. I don't know, masterful performance. Mason Rudolph had a chance at the end, had two chances because the bears weren't able to get a first down. And even though he

played pretty well, wasn't able to do it. And my bears are eight and three, which is crazy to me. One eight out of nine, right? Yeah. I mean, one eight out of nine. And winning, games that give me a heart attack, but they're winning. They usually don't. And, you know, I don't know how Bears fans feel eternally, but Caleb Williams has been really great in this last stretch, month, whatever, it's been three touchdowns today. I saw they're calling him Cardiac, Caleb. I mean, he's a very few stupid plays. He had been, I mean, last year was characterized by, he would do something great, but then he would do something stupid. He's cut those down.

Yeah, the Ben Johnson has been great for him and all the pieces around him. And I got to admit, I've never been a Bears guy. Not that I've been a hater. They're just there. They're the Bears. They're your team. I've had a lot of fun watching them this year, too. I've already bandwagoned too many teams after our trip to Buffalo, but if you all get in the playoffs, I'll be pulling for the Bears.

I'm going to go if they can. I've decided if they make playoffs, especially if they're at home, but even if they don't, I think I'm going to go just because I I'm not going to go crazy and say like this is the start of an era. But it does feel like when you watch Caleb Williams,

when you watch quarterback sort of build to be really good. This is kind of where they are in year, too. Jaden Daniels, like, fast-forward last year, but then has taken a step back. But, you know, last year the Bears were better than they were the year before, but you saw a lot of rookie pains. And then this year they've started to, I mean, the fact they're leading the division is nuts. I love that we beat Aaron Rogers. I'm counting it as a victory over Aaron Rogers, even though he didn't play.

I'm going to argue he was chicken for not playing because he knew the Bears were going to break that 13 game winning street. I was about to ask you, did you enjoy, there was a few sideline shots. You know, Mason Rudolph wasn't that bad. He was fine. He's fine. He's exactly like a guy named Mason Rudolph would play. But I know you had to feel something knowing Rogers had your number for a decade and would brag about it saying he owns Chicago and then he had to sit there and watch his Steelers take a loss. It's a big hit to them. Big win for the Bears in their standings. and big hits of the Stewards.

Yeah, in my opinion, he's O-N-1 as a quarterback against the Bears. You know, yeah, it's a different team, and yeah, he didn't play. But those are details. Right now, he walks away with the L. Caleb Williams said that he admired Aaron Rogers a lot and wanted to play against him and wanted to meet him, and I guess didn't even get to meet him. But you know what? All the more reason Aaron Rogers stinks.

Caleb's the future. I just want Aaron Rogers to go get his podcast on the Blaze. network and go away. Is there been anything on Rogers coming back or is that old man wrist? Is it just too much for the meter? I would think he plays next week. I mean, next week now this sets up. They'll play the Ravens.

They're tied for first. That'll be for the North lead. I'm guessing he set out this week so that he could play next week. That would make a lot of sense. Well, I thought about you every time they showed him or talked about him because you had to deal with that guy for many years, taking L's to the Packers. And I won a big one today. Yeah, I mean, there's nobody I would.

I mean, as much as I enjoyed winning, watching him lose, I think made me, made me even happier. So the big, the one story not about the game, T.J. Watt, broke, I love how they characterized this. They said he broke the Watt record for Sacks, which I feel like is an odd way to characterize that you passed your brother in Sacks. I mean, it's not like there's a tradition. I don't think there's somewhere I go, the Watt.

sack record. I don't know how many his dad had or his cousins, but it is cool. He beat his brother's record with JJ on the call. I thought that was kind of nice. Yeah, it's a little silly to frame it that way, but it also just shows how good the Watt brothers are that they can even paint the stat that way. I mean, they have been incredible. Both of them not really highly recruited out of high school, kind of slid into the NFL and have been two of the best defense. So let's, that made me, that had me thinking. Okay, so what are the best brothers in sports. All right.

So let's start with the NFL since this is ultimately an NFL podcast. I think you have to say the mannings, obviously. Of course. With Peyton and Eli. Now you have the Watts. What other ones? Bill, you should

Google this because I'm sure we're not going to remember everybody. There's going to be much better than this group. But Devin Jason Izzy and Ozzy Dean or something is probably going to be on the list. That's best of all. You got Devin and Jason McCordy,

the court of the, uh, great announcer. Um, why am I completely blanking on the, uh, running back from the Giants with Eli back in. Oh, uh, you're talking about barbers. Barbers. Barbers. Yeah. Tiki and Ronde. Uh, those two come to mind. Sterling and Shannon Sharp was another one. Oh, that's a good one. Although we're not, I don't think you're allowed to act like Shannon Sharp still is around.

But, but, but yes, they, that is actually, those are two Hall of Famers. I mean, you got, There's two guys that have a podcast. They're all right. That's right. DeCelsies are pretty good. That's a good point. Well, that's a good question. I mean, think about you.

We've just mentioned a bunch where both brothers are going to be in the Hall of Fame. I mean, the Sharps are both in the Hall of Fame. The Mannings are both in the Hall of Fame. We're going to be the Watts. I don't know. Are the McCordy's? One of them will be. What about the other one?

Unlikely. No. Yeah. And then the Barbers, I would think. think which ones are either of them in? Are they both in? Ron. I never know who's in the NFL Hall of Fame, to be honest with you. I think Ronde got the honor.

But the Bosa brothers, do you want to throw another one in? I've got a deep cut too. No, I mean, they definitely should be in there. Yes, the Bosa brothers. Who else? How many grammaticas were there? I'm going back. I know there's a Bill and a Martin.

Was there other grammaticas? I think there was a Bill and Martin for sure. There might have been another one. I like Bill as the name. My name's Bill Gramatica. I like that. We're naming these so easily, you know, to be so hard to make it the NFL, it seems like it's, it might be in the bloodline a little bit. If one guy gets in, there's, we've named a lot of brothers.

We have, okay. And then I was thinking, all right, so baseball, you have, I feel like in baseball, one brother's a lot better than the other one. The other one kind of like gets dragged along, like Joe and Dom Damageo. Dom is along for the ride. Cal and Billy Ripkin. Billy's just known for having a cuss word on his bat. Oh, I have that card like right here. Yes.

I could present that. Jose and Ozzy Kinseko, again, along for the ride. The Giobbies. I think right now there are two long relievers named Rogers, Taylor and something. But do you think of others? Yeah, the Giambi brothers. One was a little better than the other. That's right.

The Giambi, there you go. Jason and what was the other one's name? Exactly. I remember Jason, but there was another one. Jeremy. Jeremy was the other one's name. The best example for this in pro sports, I'm going to switch sports on you. But Janus's brother just bounced around the video.

I love the nepotism of Janus's brother. He got two brothers in the league. That's pretty impressive. When you go, listen, there are more Antimacupos coming, and you're going to have to sign all of them, every one of them. That's when you know you're good. I'm just bringing my whole family to the league. I'm trying to think, all right, so baseball, back to you got the Deans.

Did Greg Maddox's brother pitch? I think his name was like, I don't know. That may be right. Maybe I just think everyone named Maddox is related to Greg. Basketball, I'm not counting the Antimacupos. You had the two Collins twins, right? The Curry brothers. I feel like basketball, there's not as many.

The Curry's, Steph Curry, Seth Curry. Oh, yeah. That's another one. Seth was good, but he got a little bit of a step. Again, though, in all these, it feels like in football, what your brother is, you kind of are too. You have like equal strength. But in these other sports, one brother is clearly carrying the other, and the other's kind of like, well, hello there, brother. It feels like that doesn't happen in the NFL. How about the ball family? One of them became a rapper, but two of them made it. I don't know. I don't think any of them are good enough that they count.

Jim and John Harbaugh in the league. Well, that's a good one. Jim and John Harbaugh. Robin Lopez? John and Patrick McEnroe. There you go. Again, though, the Lopezes are kind of equal. Well, no, Brooke was better than Robin.

I just am impressed in the NFL that until I, get proof otherwise. Brothers are equally good. So I would say if you are watching, if you have an NFL player and he's good and his brother comes in the draft, if you like the one you have, Drew, go ahead and pick the other one because they're going to be equal. Yeah, I mean, we can do a whole list of NBA players where one's much better than the other, but you think about the Kelsey's Hall of Famers, the Barbers are about the same, McCordies are about the same. I would actually consider this. If I'm scouting a player, I want to look around the family tree and maybe add the brother too.

So when Bill Mahomes enters the draft, I'm taking him at some point during it. Wait, Pat Mahomes has a brother. Did you know, did nobody want to draft Pat Mahomes' brother? The TikTok. Oh, he does? Oh, the TikToker, yeah. Well, now that, in terms of talent, he is a notch below his brother. The Ravens beat, we just said, are going to play the Steelers.

The Ravens beat the Jets 23 to 10. They started very poorly, only 72 first half yards, but then came on. the second half. They played against Tyrod Taylor, who I'm always overjoyed to be reminded is in the league. Ravens now five straight. They were odds on favorites to win the NFC North when they were one in five. And now it looks like that ended up being the right decision. Yeah, they just needed to hang on when they were so beaten and bruised a few weeks ago. As long as they can stay healthy. I mean, they still have holes in their defense and problems here and there, but they can be a contender if they can just get through the regular season.

and healthy. Yeah, Billy, I have nothing on this game because I tried to stay away from it. You are always good at having information. Do you have anything I should care about about the Ravens and the Jets? Well, Derek Henry scored a touchdown, which helped our touchdown parlay, at least for Drew. Now, let's talk about you being the weak link on the touchdown parlay. Derek Henry hits early, so that's good. Jackson Smith and Jigva hits early, so that's good. but you had Josh Allen we were out before we even started. Yeah, that was a tough miss.

I was hoping he'd break the all-time record. But I'm glad Drew finally got his second one. He's starting to catch back up now. So Drew guys two. I have five. You have four. I don't want to pile on, Billy, but Derek Henry had two and Injigba had two.

We didn't just get in the end zone. We got in the end zone multiple times. Well, you don't get double points for that. So you can just enjoy that. By the way, we should note that loss by the Bill's the Texans, one person on this show called it. That was me calling the six-point underdog money line. I was sweating it a little bit at the end,

but that's a big win for the Texans and a big loss for the bills, who, by the way, at this point, you know, could easily lose the wild card as well. They're fighting with the Ravens, the Chiefs, and three other teams for those wild card spots. I got to admit, I think it's me. All of my football teams are so bad. I commit to the bills and buy a hat,

and they lose to the Texans four days later. I think that one's on me. I'm sorry, Bill's Mafia. I mean, Kentucky, Titans, Bill, you name it. I can't have fun with football. So I felt partially responsible for that Thursday night. But that was a good call by you. And shout out to our boy, Ray Davis, the reverse KSR curse on that.

Touchdown. That's going to touch. Can we just, since we talked about Kentucky, can we just have just a second about Diego Pavi's mom during the game the other day? Like, I mean, if you haven't seen it, Like, if you're not, if you're an NFL fan and you haven't seen the college, Diego Poppy's mom, I mean, first of all, they showed her a lot. That's, that's a different conversation.

But in the second half, she seemed to be straddling a pole during the game. And they put her on camera. And I, I just, I just was thinking about my mother. And the unlikeliness that. that would happen with my mom versus DeAngobby's mom. What did you make of that? Well, what I have to correct you? It didn't seem she was straddling a pole.

She was straddling a pole by definition. I actually had a thought, thank God this game in close, because if it goes to overtime, not to switch her to HBO, because every time they showed her, it was getting more and more provocative. Like, at first, she's just waving, and then she's hiking a leg up, and then she was on that railing. She was on it. Like, he was on it.

I noticed this. I think a call came in because after she was on the rail, they didn't show her again. Even when they honored him, brought him off for his ovation, and he had broken the record. They didn't show her again after the poll. I think someone phoned him like, hey, we're done on Mama Pavia for the day. Well, there was a security guard. If you go watch the video, there's a security guard standing behind her who has a look on his face that I need everybody to go see. It's like he thinks he got the best.

assignment at the game. Like, he is, he is very, very happy. But that is a good point. They did not show her again. I am shocked that video has not gotten more attention. Like, that is one of the, I guess it was just because the game was 45, 10,

and people weren't watching it. But Diego Pobby's mom, if he were an NFL prospect, that would be an interesting part of his draft highlight package. I just think that's, I just think that's worth noting. Salute to Mom. That out But too, not something I could see my mom wearing.

Knee high boots with short shorts and a jersey. I don't think my mom would ever wear that in public. And, you know, the whole Theo Vaughan thing, he walked with her out for his scene for her obvious senior day. What is happening now? Like, it started as a joke. And now I think he actually is part of the family. Like, they get the framed jersey in the photo. He's going to be in that family photo forever.

Yeah. I mean, that would be like, can you imagine if it was my senior day and I just walked out with Dana Carvey? And your mom with her high boots on? Yeah, it would be my mom, Larry, and Dana Carvey. And like, I would have that later in my life, people go, why is Dana Carvey at your senior day? And I go, I don't know. Bobby's brother wore a tuxedo. I mean, they were just.

I mean, did the family not coordinate their outfits? Tuxedo. I said knee high. I think they were thigh high. You don't see those a lot. Certainly not. I mean, she's my age. I'm going to start wearing,

for Billy's wedding. All right. Patriots, Bengals, 2620. Joe, the Bengals, you could argue, outplayed the Patriots. Flacco with two

interceptions, one of which was Bruder. They were about to score 14-point swing. Let me ask you. Flacco after the game seemed to be talking like his bingles time and maybe even his career was over. He was talking about how grateful he was to have gotten to do this. Would you bring Burrow back? Probably. I know they don't have a lot to play for.

I know the risk. If they won today, if they won today, I think there would be an argument because they'd be four and seven and you could say, well, if you went out. But like, why? Why now? I guess, I mean, you don't want to risk him. I know that. But I guess to throw the fans of bone, they're so upset with you, like, all right, fine, here he is. Let's go have some fun.

That's the only reason. Just to get him back out there. But by the way, some breaking news, the Raiders have fired Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator. I didn't know he wasn't their offensive coordinator. So it'll be, I'm not really sad to see him go. But good luck to him. Added to our list of brothers, both getting fired, the Kelly boys getting fired.

Oh. I don't think I ever realized Chip and Brian were brothers. Aren't they brothers? I don't know. Did I make that up? I think you just made that up. I always thought they were brothers or related somehow. I mean,

I don't think Jim Kelly's their brother, too. Are you kidding me? I'm sorry, I'm thinking of R. Kelly and Brian Kelly. They're not brothers. No, you're thinking of Kelly Kelly from the WWE. I've always assumed Brian and Chip were related in some places. Are they not related? No, they're not.

I didn't think they were related. Look at you just making it brought yourself. They even look alike. I've honestly lived my whole life assuming they're related in some point. I'm glad we got to correct that for you. You really believe they're related? And not Jim either or R. Jim or R or Brian.

Well, there were a lot of injuries in this game. Bengals had three players hurting three plays. Their season has been a complete disaster. I mean, everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong. They lost a lot. by the end of the game, Jamar Chase had been suspended. T. Higgins gets a concussion.

There were just random guys playing wide receiver. They still had a shot. I mean, they still had a shot at the end of win. Drake May was awful. I'm sure it was weird. He was awful against like the worst defense in the league. Yeah, no, it would have helped if Jamar Chase hadn't been spitting on people last week

and could have helped out in this game a little bit. Seeing your high paid receiver over there serving a suspension didn't help matters. It's not a great day for the Patriots, by the way, because they also lose two offensive linemen, including Will Campbell, and Campbell's at least looked like he won't be back this year. Yeah, that looked bad, and he's been great this year in his rookie season. This game also had those pick sixes, not really back-to-back, but both very, very early, each team. So it's kind of a wild game to start.

McPherson had to set a record for a 63-yard field goal, but off and not there again. Continuing my team up, we've got to do something about these balls. I got should not be able to kick a 63-yard, and it doesn't even look like he's given effort. Oh, not at all. But I mean, Bingo's fans have that to brag about. If they're going to let it be. He almost had a 67 yard earlier this season. If they're going to let it be where they can kick it so far,

then it needs to be like that one year in the World Cup where the balls like all just would go crazy. They'd like move left and right. I don't remember why it was, but it was made out of like polyurething or something. And the ball's like, no one could figure out where they were going. And they complained, but it actually made it really entertaining because sometimes they would be able to bend it.

I think we've got to make it to where these footballs have like super putty or something in them because they're not, the kicks are too easy. I'm just ready to accept it. Let's just start kicking 80-yarders. Fire them up. I don't think that's what the game is supposed to be. But, you know, and at the same time, though, in this era where you can kick them for so far, when they get up close, they refuse to kick them. Like, no one kicks ever, no matter what, including like we'll talk about in the Cowboys game, when a kick. wins and they just don't. It's weird how that's worked. Seahawks beat the Titans. You said you didn't

even watch it as a Titans fan. So ever since I've been able to get a Sunday ticket, which has been a while since they've had it on YouTube TV, I have watched every Titans game. Even when they stink, I'll put Red Zone on another TV, but I will make sure about Titans are in front of me in some form. Today, I didn't even bother. I can't remember the last time I've done that. Didn't even see a minute of it. I mean, I kept up with it, and when Red Zone would go to it, I'd see it. But as far as me watching my own team with a service I paid my hard-armed money for, I didn't even bother to go to the channel. Yeah, well, you saw it's actually one of their better games.

They ran a punt back. They had a chance. I mean, they had a shot at the end. They did cover. The story, I think, is your guy, Jackson Smith and Jigba. He has now broken the Seahawks single season record for receiving yards, and we still have six games left. I mean, includes Steve Largent, who I think I told you one of my good friends in law school, just as a kid, decided he loves Steve Largent. So he, like, wore Steve Largent gear to Duke Law School all the time.

He would wear a Steve Largent jersey to class, like, once a week. And I go, what, why? Who loves Steve Largent this much? So I always think of him. That record's already broken. And he is on pace to do 2,000 yards, which has never happened. Yeah, he was insane. I knew he'd have a good game playing the Titans, but I mean, he does this every week. It's just not my tight, not just against my Titans. He had like 175 today at two touchdowns. I have been hard on my Titans saying we don't have any pieces. The rookie who ran the pun back, Chimmy D.K. He's been pretty awesome this year. And Cam Ward's kind of gone to him as a reliable target all season. So I've been hating on my team all year. But D.K.'s put return was pretty exciting today. Yeah, I mean, Seahawks are, what are they eight and three, I think, and playing really well.

And if you look at their eight, I mentioned this stat on my ESPN show today. If you look at their three losses, thereby combined eight points. So, I mean, and all three to teams that are going to make the playoffs. So I think the Seahawks are better than people realize. When you have three losses, I think they're to the Rams, the 40s. 49ers in the bucks. So that's a really good team. Yeah, very good.

All by like a total of eight points in those losses. I know. I just said that. Listen to Bill, I think he tuned me out there, Billy. That's all right. You know what? This is a long podcast.

I also survived. I'm still accepting that the Kelly brothers are not brothers. I've lived my whole life thinking that they were related in some form. Yeah. Well, I mean, when you find things, when you find out things that hurt your hurt your soul. It's why you listen to cover zero. That's exactly right now.

Now you know they're not related. Beat the Vikings 23 to 6. The game, JJ McCarthy was awful. There are two things I care about this game. Only two. One is that Billy told me that JJ McCarthy has an alter ego.

I did not know this until today. What is his alter ego? It's called nine. What does that mean? It's a flip or a switch that he flips before the game starts to keep his intense competitive stamina up. Is this widely known? Yes, he spoke to the media a couple weeks ago and told them about his alter ego, nine.

I'm in the media. He didn't tell me. We are right here. If he didn't tell us, it's not true. So he calls himself nine. Yes, and McCarthy has. And where does that come from? That I don't know.

I'm not sure the origin of why it's called nine. Well, he is number nine as he just called him. himself by his number. I mean, that's kind of lame to all that thing. That's probably it. That's interesting. That's interesting. So he just says like, when I, when it's time to play, I'm not JJ anymore.

I'm not. He talks about the war paint that he puts on his face to get himself ready. I hate it, hate it, hate it. First of all, he's a dork. I can tell. I don't, you are, I don't know anything about him. I can see him. He gets his hair cut at great clips.

He went to Michigan. It's fine. But like, you're not, don't put on war paint. That would be like me putting on me. war paint. It's not, that's not your personality. He has three straight games with two interceptions, and Billy called him trash at the beginning

of this. Take your victory lap, Billy. You did. You did call that a couple weeks ago. Well, McCarthy has nine interceptions through six games. So if that's his alter ego, then he's on pace. He needs to switch it to six, so that you can flip the script

a little bit. All right, second thing is, before the game, the Minnesota Vikings tweeted out from their account, today is a continuation of the fiercest rivalry in the NFL, saying Vikings Packers. And it kind of offends me. I'm kind of mad at the Vikings for saying it. First of all, notice the Packers didn't say it. The Vikings said it. I don't think that's anywhere close to true. I wouldn't even, first of all, it's not the Packers' biggest rivals. I think even they would say it's the Bears. And I would argue they're not even in the top ten.

I mean, just off the top of my head, I would say Cowboys Eagles, Cowboys Commanders, ahead of them, I would say Ravens Steelers. To me, when I think of modern rivalries, honestly, Raven Steelers is maybe at the top in terms of the games being good. You know, what else would you put in there? There's some that have kind of worn off, but, I mean, Colts Patriots was hot for a while. They was. Patriots, Bills, I feel like, is a rivalry.

You could go back to Cowboys 49ers. At no point does Bears Vikings enter my brain. Like if the other... Or Packers Vikings. Excuse me, Packers Vikings. If the other team doesn't know they're in a rivalry, you're not allowed to call it. I would say even like Bingles Browns is bigger. They're in the same state.

I mean, I would... The Packers, I would think would put both the Bears and the Lions. ahead of the Vikings because they're closer. So I think it's kind of a desperate and sad tweet, and I think the Vikings ought to apologize to everyone for it. And really, if you had just asked me on the street, hey, what's one of the best rivalries in the NFL? I might have said Packers Bears.

That's like the longest standing. It's probably number one. It's probably number one. I mean, the Packers have dominated it in the last decade, but it's probably number one. I mean, just Broncos. Come and go. Broncos Chiefs, Broncos Raiders was a big one for a long time. I used to go to Chiefs Raiders. I've been to it twice, and that used to be nasty.

I mean, 49ers Rams is another one that I, I just think when I think historically, I would say Bears Packers. And then when I think in the last 20 years, I would probably say Steelers Ravens in terms of, but I would never say Packers Vikings. And it offends me, Billy. I'm angry. I don't blame you. I mean, Cowboys 49ers had some good ones back in the day. Yeah, Drew just said that. You thank you for listening as well. Lions.

It's twice. Both of you, their minds and other twice. It's okay. They got other things going on. Lions and Giants. Lions win 3427 in overtime. Even though the Lions won, I feel like the Giants were the story, specifically James. He had such a great James game.

He had a touchdown catch where he broke a tackle. He had a moonball that's the highest pass I've ever seen thrown in my life. And somehow it was completed. It was only a 30-yard pass, but he threw it 30 yards in the air as well. I love the James experience, even though it ended up in a loss. I had so much fun watching James today. And it just makes me mad that Russell Wilson was ever the quarterback. All right, sure, Jackson Dart's your future.

He's been good. He's hurt now. It should have been Jackson Dart and James Winston. and that's it. James, the touchdown reception he had, he catches in the flat and like breaks a tackle, does little dance in the end zone. It was such a great James game.

It felt like also, I don't know, maybe there's a stat for this, Billy, the next gen stuff. It felt like every pass he threw was a deep ball. Like, anytime he was dropping back, he was throwing long. It was just, of the full. This would have been a signature James win if they could have gotten it. On the road in Detroit in a game that they didn't shouldn't have won. But actually, you know, Giants were up 10.

Again, Billy, they've had four games this year where they were up 10 on the road and have lost all four of them. That's crazy. It is. Jamir Gibbs just went off, 264 scrimmon yards for him. Did you guys see James' pregame speech? Because he's really good at these. By the way, don't skip over that. 264 yards rushing from scrimmages in them.

Excuse me, Jemir Gibbs, by the way, is an absolutely obscene number. But go ahead. Yeah. he's been incredible these last couple games. But James said, we outside, but we inside on his pregame. I like that. So I guess that's his thing is he says, we outside, but then the game was indoors. I appreciate it that he recognized that yes, he was indoors, but metaphorically in his mind, he was outdoors.

Yeah, he's had some great ones in the past, eating Ws. The James brand is strong right now in the NFL. How about when it went to overtime. Why did Russell Wilson go out for the coin flip with his helmet on? Why was he the team captain? And he wore his helmet. Like, no, you're not playing. James has been off of this game.

Don't understand that. Didn't understand that call at all. Plus, no one likes Russell. You mentioned teams don't kick field goals anymore. Well, let's start about that. There were three games today where teams needed points and chose not to them. One of them was here where the Lions had a chance, I believe, to earn a, the Giants had a chance to go up six, chose not to.

They probably win if they do it. You had the Cowboys game where the Cowboys had a chance to take the lead at the end of the fourth quarter, didn't, chose not to. And then you had the Jaguars game where they two were up three, had a chance to go up six, chose not to. In all three situations, they don't make it. Is this like a plague of going for it a little too much on fourth and goal? Yeah, the Giants, I guess, I get it.

You want to put the game away. You're an interim coach. You're done. You got James Winston a quarterback and Russell Wilson wearing his helmet over on the sideline. So I get you want to try to go up 10. But it was fourth and six. I would have taken the points there and just tried to keep Detroit out of the end zone. They went the other route and they go on to lose overtime.

So at least on that one, what else we have to play for is their mindset, I guess. Yeah, I think the most egregious one was actually Dallas. And we'll get to that in the second because Dallas could have won the game. They didn't win it and it didn't matter. But let's just go to that. one. The afternoon game, Philadelphia scores first three possessions. It's 21-0. It's looking like games over. And then Dallas reels off 24 straight. Philadelphia makes some stupid decisions, big turnover. Pretty much an amazing win for the Cowboys. I watched this at a sports bar in

Louisville. And there were three really drunk Cowboys fans. And, And I just need to, they were sitting at the table next to me. And I was, as you do on an NFL Sunday, I was eating food and I was reading the New Yorker with the games on around me. That's a good Sunday for me. Games everywhere, New Yorker during the breaks. And it's 217 and this guy just is yelling so loud for every Dallas play. And I wanted to look at him and say, sir, it's a.

over, you're not going to win. You all stink. I'm trying to read the New Yorker. Can you please keep it down? But I give him credit because he kept yelling and he yelled every play and he was in it and he was screaming and he was yelling and it ended up working out. But the best moment was towards the end of the game when the other games had ended, you know how they'll switch to the game? the TVs that had been on the other game were like 10 seconds ahead of the Cowboys' Feet, right? So the sound and a lot of the TVs were playing the game, but there were most TVs were now ahead. My man that was screaming never realized it, okay? He was so drunk, he never realized it.

So as it would go, the Cowboys fans would cheer. and then 10 seconds later he would cheer when he saw it. And I was wondering, what is his in his mind? Why does he think all these other people are cheering 10 seconds before him? So I think the whole restaurant collectively decided the joy in the game would be seeing the Cowboys do something successful, waiting 10 seconds for him to find out, and then watching him celebrate. And so he went from someone I didn't enjoy to my favorite person, 10 second later, Gary, who would celebrate all of Cowboys' success. It sounds like a man that's just locked into

his team. He don't even know his surroundings. He probably didn't know there are other people there in the restaurant. It's just him in that TV. Just 10 seconds late. This is one I mentioned. I just wrote games off at 21 nothing. I checked out. I was in the other room talking to people, having a good time and then come back in and it's 21-14 thought, oh, I need to take a seat and kind of lock into what's happening here. This would have been an epic Cowboys loss, by the way. C.B. Lamb had a drop in the end zone that was absolutely brutal. They go for it on fourth down.

Aubrey misses only his second field goal of the year. I mean, this would have been an epic loss, but you are kind of your wife's a Cowboys fan. This ends up being one of their more exciting wins in the last couple years. It was. My brother-law is an Eagles fan. there's like a family dynamic. They bet on every game, so there was trash talking all day for this. I could not believe that they did not kick that field goal in a tie game.

I mean, I should. I mean, I think the argument was if we kick this, they'll still get the ball at the 30. They're going to tie. I mean, that's that whole thing we've talked about. If you kick it off, they're going to get the ball at the 30 probably anyway. So you would have kicked it, though? Yeah, I mean, the Eagles hadn't scored since early in the second quarter. Your defense had been stopping them.

I mean, there was only a little over two minutes left. Tide game. The other scenarios we brought up, we're talking about a team up three, trying not to go up six or go up 10. This is a tie game with under three minutes left. Get the points and go up. Luckily, it ended up working. But I was at a party.

About 15 people all shouted at once. What are you all doing? We were just in shock that they weren't taking the field goal. Yeah. This morning, when I did ESPN and I had a guest host with me, Myron was gone. Andrew Sal Chunus. I guess he's like a talk radio guy in Phil.

So he was my guest host. And I was like, dude, you won the Super Bowl last year and you're eight and two. Like, why are you so negative? And he said, our offense stinks. Wait and see. Wait and see. And then today, they get up 21-0. I barely know this man.

And I text him and I'm like, see, what were you complaining about? And then I got an hour straight of, told you, told you, they stink, told you. And he was proven right. Yeah, they've gone the wrong way offensively. Their defense is still stout, even though they gave this up. But on the Cowboys end, that offense, Pickens, that's going to end up being one of the best trades ever. Pickens has had 150 yards, back-to-back games, touchdowns.

CD had the horrible drop that you mentioned. I don't know that Pickens is ever going to steal like CD spot as wide receiver one there, but they have been an incredible combo. Pickens has having a sensational year that's kind of unexpected when people wrote them off. What did you think of the guy on the punt return who is becoming a, like hero of the film room. He gets knocked down twice, just like Chumbabamba. He gets up again and comes down and makes the hit that causes the fumble.

He ends up becoming a hero. Yeah, Elijah Clark, a rookie, I'm going to make your prediction. We're going to get some kind of video out of Cowboys marketing where they show that in the film room tomorrow because that's one of those plays. Even if he did that, and it's not a game flipping moment like that, just to stay with it, get knocked down twice, maybe even a third time and go make that play, that's something the coaches love in practice.

Yeah, it's already been everywhere. And, like, everybody who likes football is like, yeah, that's a football guy play. Get him, get him, never give up. That's how you make a roster. Like, they, like, and that's, this is, it's such a football dude thing, you know. But he was getting beat up, dumb.

I know. I like, it was great. I just, I, every person went online to be more manly in trying to talk. about how great that play was. It was a great play, though. Save the game. They win against the Raiders 24-10.

I mean, he wasn't like good, but he wasn't bad. But they won. So you got to give him credit for that. He had won, I thought, really good pass. A deep pass early in the game. That was a really great look. He threw it on the run.

Rest the game, it was whatever. They didn't have him doing a whole lot, but they did win. And after the game, What was it you said he said? He said, this is what I did after a week of practice. Give me a whole offseason and it'll be dangerous. Dude, the guy like, you know, he ain't stopping. He's going to be what he's going to be.

I saw Emmanuel Ocho who, just on a personal level, I just find the cheesiest human being on earth, unless he works for the NFL, at which point I think he's wonderful. he did one of those videos where he like just holds the phone right next to his face and he's like holding his finger and he was like, if this is Shador's floor, wait till you see what his ceiling is. I don't know why he sounded like Jimmy Swaggered, but that's what he did. And I thought, well, how do you know it's his floor? That may be his peak.

I mean, they didn't have any film on him. That might be the best he ever does. He's playing the worst team in the league. Yeah, I think he went like 10 for 20. I'm not trying to downplay the day. I will say that throw, 52-yard throw, I had some feelings for Shado. I felt happy for him. They showed Miles Garrett.

He looked like a proud parent. Dion's going crazy. Miles Garrett looked like, what? How did you do that? I've never seen that before. That was his look, to be honest. Yeah. Well, Dion and his cowboy hat.

I did have a big smile for Shador. Do you like the cowboy hat, by the way? What do you think about Dion's like he's now, I mean, when I go to Vegas, I wear a cowboy have, but that's just because ladies like it. Maybe that's why Dion does it, too. I don't know, but do you like the cowboy hat? I do. I'm not a huge deal.

I'm not, you know, people, they're like a polarizing thing. They are. You either hate them, you don't. I'm indifferent. I was happy for him in that moment and enjoyed seeing Dion celebrate. I just wish, you know, the pass got stopped on the one, couldn't get credit for a touchdown. I wish it had one more yard would have got Schiore's first TD.

Yeah, his first TD ended up being like a dump off. the guy ran 65 yards. It's weird because I really like Dion. And I've liked him since I was a kid. I was doing the Dion dance when I was 10 when he was at Florida State, right? Like I love the guy. I don't know why it hasn't transferred to his son. I don't have that same affinity.

But I do think, you know, he's good entertainment at least. Like he's more, I think Dylan Gabriel's probably still better, but he's more fun to talk about. And if it had been Dylan Gabriel, I would have watched zero minutes of it. I mean zero. If I could have found a way to get away from that game if I were near it, I would have done it. But with Shadur, you had to keep eyes on it. Do you guys feel bad for Miles Garrett?

He's had 14 sacks in five games. He has 18 and a half sacks, and the record is 21 in a season. Or actually, I'm sorry, 22 set by Michael Strahan. I mean, he's going to break the alternative. He's going to end up having one of these careers. We talked about this, like Joe Thomas, the other Browns got, where he's He's like an all-time great, and no one, I don't say no one knows, but no one cares because the team's never good.

He's amazing. I mean, he's amazing. And like, no one of me, if he played for a good team, he would be one of the faces of the league. Yeah, I thought there might be a chance. He'd try to go get to a contender, maybe in his career like guys do. I think he's just going to retire Brown with Sacks records and nothing in his trophy case. Yeah. It's actually, that's one of the sadder thoughts.

going to retire a brown. He took the money. It's his choice. I mean, I'm not, I'm not begrudging him. I'm just like, can you imagine just saying the phrase? I mean, it's, I'm retiring a brown. It's not even a fun nickname. And then you got to think, do I want to just stay around Cleveland and be a legend? No, no, I mean, he doesn't. I can answer that question. No, he doesn't. He'll fly in when they retire his jersey and he'll come once a year and like he does not want to stay there, I don't think. Jaguars beat the Cardinals, 2724. Trevor Lawrence, they won, but he put on really epically bad. He had four turnovers.

The three interceptions, you were to talk about the opposite of the Cowboys guy covering the pun. Go look at Trevor Lawrence's receptions. Interceptions, they were often. The ball would, like, do orbital spins and get intercepted. He made horrible decisions. He is Tom Brady one day and like Wayne Brady the next day. It is unbelievable how bad he can look. And we're starting to see more Wayne Brady than Tom Brady.

I was thinking earlier in the year that Liam Cohen might fire him up and we might see his career take off. But I'm getting more Wayne Bradyish, especially today with the four turnovers. Yeah. Well, I mean, they won. To their credit. And Cardinals had a chance at the end. We're not able to do it.

I don't know if you saw Liam Cohen. They went into overtime. I don't know if you saw Liam Cohen's postgame speech. Liam Cohen goes, he was like, in Jacksonville, Florida, it is known. We do not apologize for victories. And I was like, known by who? Who has an opinion about what they do in Jacksonville, Florida? He said it like, it's pretty much, you know, San Francisco known for rain.

New Orleans known for Cajun, Jacksonville known for not apologizing for victory. You know, we knew Liam when he was here at UK. I never expected we'd get as many locker room speeches they're tweeting out for me. He's a big locker room speech. Yeah, but he's also kind of corny. I mean, the Duvold, that's more him than locker room speeches, but they keep putting them out. Well, they're awkward. I mean, they put him out.

I mean, he doesn't look like, you know, I mean, I like Liam. He's good coach. Liam would come to our bar, and he would be one of the more awkward people in the bar. So you put him in an NFL locker room, I have to think. But look, he's done well. They're good. They would have a playoff spot if it started today. Yeah, I think we predicted they might be in.

The Texans winning on Thursday was big in that division. but Jacksonville is still on track to get there. Falcons and the Saints, I don't know. Who cares? I mean, I think the Falcons won, but I'm not sure. They still play five more times this season, so there'll be plenty of times for the Saints to get revenge. I can't, who are the people that watch these two teams play and why?

Tyler Shuck's parents. All the Camara I saw got taken out of the game, which reminded me that he's played for 47 years. Yeah, this was pretty boring. I mean, you had cousins a quarterback for Atlanta. Bejohn Robinson didn't even have a big game. It was just kind of a dull game all the way around. Is this one of the worst endings of a career for what Kirk Cousins is having? I mean, a lot of people, I'm trying to think, what's a worse ending than you just ended up on Atlanta, got beaten,

out by a rookie and come in and just, you know, bore people to death for the end of the season. And not just you got beat out by a rookie. They paid you to be the guy and then drafted a rookie right over the top of you. So, yeah, he's old. He is old. How about Russell Wilson? Everybody loves him, though. Well, yeah, that's true. Russell Wilson, but yeah, I guess Russell Wilson's declined. I mean, there are a bit a few of these. I mean, Philip Rivers, I think, finished his career in Indianapolis for a year. Trying to think of other guys who had weird finishes. Well, the weirdest for me will always be Brett Farve in a Jets jersey,

but that Aaron Rogers kind of recreated it. He did, but he's actually gotten a little bit of a bounce back with Pittsburgh. He doesn't, it's not, and Aaron Rogers got hurt, so it was kind of a different, ending for their careers. But there are those players that'll go do it somewhere else, and it's just weird see him in another jersey. Yeah, I like those. Somebody should have a collection of just guys who went to other teams, like the Shaquille O'Neal Cleveland Cavaliers jersey. Those are the jerseys that I would like to have. Emmett Smith being a cardinal is high on that list for me too. Yeah, he had a good year for

them though one year. Joe Montana was a chief, but like took them in the playoffs. I mean, like, I think took them maybe the AFC championship one year as a chief. People forget those. Buck's Rams was tonight. Baker Mayfield got hurt, but the Rams were dominant. Are they the best team in the league? Yeah. And Stafford, I mean, I haven't seen his final stats because we've been, he happens this been an ending.

But just seeing the final score, I'm going to assume Stafford had another huge game. Well, they scored the first four possessions, four touchdowns and four possessions. Amora. Billy, the year was so fun early. How are we feeling the last two weeks? I know it was good competition, but taking a couple of L's for, your team that was looking like a contender there for a while. Yeah, it's all systems failure.

They're lucky to have an easy schedule. They play Carolina two of the last three weeks, so maybe they can still win the division. It's not easy. What do you mean easy? They're six and five. That's not easy. Although their schedule, they play all their NFC South teams here on the back. So it's going to be a little easier than what they've played.

But, I mean, they don't have a corner. They don't have a pass rush. It's disgusting out there. I enjoyed the brief moments of hope that we got in that Bill's game that they played in. But since then, it's been nothing but best. bad. It was cool seeing Teddy Bridgewater. Teddy two gloves. I didn't know when he was out. I didn't know who that was at first. Like when he came out, first of all, I haven't seen Teddy in a long time. I didn't realize his hair was like that. So I was like, who is this guy? It is nice to see Teddy Bridgewater,

though. We've known him since he was in college. And obviously, the fact that he was coaching a high school team earlier this year and ends up playing on Sunday night football is a crazy story. Yeah, when he came man, I had no idea he wasn't even coaching high school anymore. I didn't know he was back in the league. And here he is Sunday night prime time for the bucks. That was a nice plot twist there, Billy. Yeah, he walked right by us when we were in Buffalo, too. So I guess we missed him in the hallway. Yeah, which is weird, because I would like to have said hi to him. I mean, he probably doesn't remember me, but I would like to have. So maybe it's good I didn't, because it would hurt my feelings if he didn't, if he didn't remember. But I, but it is, he's a very likable guy.

Remember he was the one who bought his mom like a pink Cadillac or something when he got. drafted and so I've always I've always really liked Teddy Bridgewater. Then he got in trouble in his high school for just like making sure kids had food. Yeah. Because they ended up being impermissible benefits and he's like, I'm just trying to make sure that my kids don't starve. Only in today's world are like, stop giving your kids food. Give them $2 million to go to college.

That's what you're supposed to do. Do not give them food? Are you crazy? Yeah. So overall, good days. of NFL football. And Billy, you got your Chargers beating the Titans, so you are still alive in the Challenger League.

You got six more weeks. Do you think you're going to be able to do it? Yeah, Seahawks got the win today over the Titans. I say Chargers. I mean, Seahawks over the Titans. And if the Titans have another game with a team that I haven't picked, then I feel pretty confident about my chances. It's pretty rude of you, actually, to always pick against the Titans.

They didn't even watch. They didn't even watch. It's a good strategy. Even he was giving up. They got one in them before the year's over. I mean, they were competitive today in that game. They beat Arizona. I was surprised that they covered, to be honest, and kept it within six.

But I think Billy's strategy will continue for the rest of the year. And I hope it does because we have the number one pick if we just continue to suck. And that's what I want. Panthers 49ers Monday night, who do you like? Don't make me do it. Do I want the Panthers? They are on the road. Are you going to pick the Panthers on the road and say,

San Francisco. Are you going with Bryce? I'll go Bryce. Last week, you went out on a limb with Texans taking down the bills. I'll be crazy and say that the Panthers pull off and upset. I don't know if it's Matt Purdy or Bryce or Brock Jones quarterbacking. I'm not sure. But either way, I'll take San Francisco. As we've talked about, I think they're the same person. You're not going to convince me otherwise. I can't tell who's who. but I do think they'll win. Again, the 49ers have such an easy schedule coming down the stretch. I don't think they're going to catch the Rams, but they will probably be the top wild card seat

unless they collapse down the stretch. Yeah, I know that I think they play my Titans. Might have a game against Cleveland. Yeah, I think they play it. It's either the Titans and the Jets or the Titans in the Browns. They have two very easy games. Yeah, I count those as wins. And I believe you said this before the season.

started. We're going to look up at the end of the year, and the 49ers just have a great record, and no one's going to believe in that. Well, and the Patriots are like that, too. I mean, the Patriots are 10 and 2, but besides the bills, like, everybody they've beaten stinks. So, like, there's no way to know if they're really good or not. So, and they're going to, they could end up being the one seed in the, in the AFC as well. So what is impressive about the Patriots, I agree that the competition hadn't been good, but there's 6 and 0 on the road. And the NFL, that's impressive no matter who you're playing. So even though it's not the top tier of what they'll see in the playoffs, winning road games, that has been impressive.

I did like Drake May's answer to Stephen A. Smith, like, I don't watch your show. Liar. I did enjoy that. Very personally. Yeah, that was so presumptuous of Stephen A to be like, you know first take. You know Cam Newton's on it. I mean, somebody pointed out, first take, which is a big sports show,

but it has the same ratings as HGTV's prom-time line. Can anyone name HGTV's primetime lineup? No one goes up to Patrick Mahomes and go, you know Diana and her trees are on HGTV at night. I'll be honest. I'm probably. Like, what are you talking about, Stephen A? I've probably seen more HGTV than first take.

I don't watch first take. But my big thing was, you know, Stephen, Drake May is probably pretty busy, those hours that you're on TV. Probably in a locker room, might be watching film. Could even be active in a practice at that time of day. So I don't expect to be watching it. Cam Newton was even embarrassed. Cam Newton was like, all right, man, you don't have to go this far. Like, we're good.

I got this hat on. I'm fine. Just let me be. Also, if you go back, this didn't get enough attention. And I know it was just a slip. But Stephen A said we've been the number one show for 20 plus decades. He meant 20 plus years, but he said 20 plus decades. Yeah, he took over for John Quincy Adams,

and then after that they've been in charge, they've been number one ever since. One thing on the Monday night game, remember Panthers are 6 and 0 when they win the coin toss, 0 and 5 when they don't. Maybe live that? Will you text, tweet out, who wins the coin toss? Yeah, I'll take that out.

That I know what to do, live bet. At Billy R Sports. All right, at Billy R Sports. Well, all right, folks. Thank you very much. Enjoy your week. We will be back. We'll be doing a Tuesday special Thanksgiving episode.

So we'll be back in a couple days to get you ready for all the big games on Thursday. This has been Cover Zero. NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin is a production of the NFL and IHeart Podcast. For more podcasts from IHeart Radio, visit the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Thank you.