Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - AFC Squad: NFL Trade Deadline Winners and Losers in the AFC

Starting point is 00:00:00 Ravens, Chargers, Bengals, Broncos, what's the confidence level around the AFC and who are the biggest winners and losers in the conference at the NFL trade deadline? It's time for the AFC squad. You are talking ball with the AFC squad. From the Chiefs to the Bills, the Ravens to the Texans, and everyone else around the AFC, it's the local experts of the Locked On Podcast Network bringing you scoops, breakdowns, and the most comprehensive preview of the upcoming weekend for hard-hitting AFC football with our harder-hitting takes. Buckle up.

Starting point is 00:00:33 It's the AFC Squad, and we have a seat for you. No hurt feelings allowed. Squad up. You're part of the AFC Squad. What's happening, everyone? Welcome into AFC Squad here for another weekly edition on the Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team every day. Grab your favorite beverage, get your favorite food and snack, and sit down as we break down

Starting point is 00:00:54 the wild landscape around the AFC here today. I'm Cody Roark, host of Lockdown Broncos, and we got a star-studded cast here today. Chris Carter of Lockdown Steelers rejoining the show. David Droegemeier of Locked On Chargers making his first appearance. Mike DeBate, Locked On Patriots. Kevin Ostreicher, Locked On Ravens. Week 10 of the NFL season is here. And I tell you what, it's been a wild ride so far.

Starting point is 00:01:18 There's a lot to obviously go through here. This show is brought to you by our friends over there at PrizePix. Go to prizepix.com slash lockedonN and use code all lowercase locked on NFL to win $50 instantly when you play $5. The NFC show, they were talking a little smack. I ain't going to lie. They were saying that you look at where the NFC is at with all the top heavy teams. They said that the AFC's middle class is essentially poor. So I'm curious for your thoughts on that.

Starting point is 00:01:43 They were taking shots. I feel like this year the AFC is chaotic. Chris Carter, I'm going to throw it to you first here. Your initial thoughts on the state of the conference 10 weeks into things. I think one thing that's coming through is that there are certain divisions in the AFC that aren't delivering, and mainly I'm talking about the AFC North. I feel like I'm going to do some election work and do some battleground states and point to the AFC North.

Starting point is 00:02:07 This division over here is underperforming right now in this state. No, it's just – but, I mean, you look at both the Browns and the Bengals. We're expected to be much better teams than they are right now. The Bengals could still come back. I'm sounding like John King. I'm getting sick of myself. But the Browns at two and seven, I thought they'd be bad. I didn't think they'd be this bad to start. The Bengals at four and five,

Starting point is 00:02:30 they're coming back after a rough start, but the Steelers and Ravens, they're right where I thought they were. And that's the thing that you look at is that you got more bottom feeders in the AFC. Look at the AFC East, three and six Jets, two and six Dolphins, two and seven Patriots. Then you go to the AFC South, Titans two and six, Jaguars two and seven Patriots. Then you go to the AFC South Titans, two and six Jaguars, two and seven Raiders, two and seven in the, in the AFC West. You, you have it compare that to, you have three, two win teams in the NFC one, three win team in the NFC. So like, I think that's where the NFC right now can talk a lot of smack because they, they, they got those teams.

Starting point is 00:03:00 But I think as we get to the second half of the season, we'll get to see some things. Like there's a big matchup this weekend that I'll be covering, Steelers-Commanders, 6-2 versus 7-2. And we'll see where some of these teams lay out as more of these matchups come across. Well, and let's throw it now, obviously, to David here, locked on Chargers. Look, the Chargers have been a team that's kind of –

Starting point is 00:03:20 they haven't been talked about as much, even though they're 5-3, right? Obviously, they had the early season season by Justin Herbert had the injury. They're playing really good football and Herbert's ball. And, and right now you have three teams in the AFC West that are in the playoff picture. As it currently stands, your thoughts here on obviously the chargers and where they're at right

Starting point is 00:03:36 now. Well, it's nice to have a legitimate head coach for the first time in 25 years. I'll tell you that, uh, they've had three first time head coaches back to back to back, trying to figure out how to

Starting point is 00:03:45 coach at the NFL level. And finally, we have a grown up in the room. Jim Harbaugh has entered the chat. And for the first time in a very, very long time since Marty Schottenheimer, they have an identity. They know a brand of football that they want to play. They're playing excellent defense. They have the number one scoring defense in the entire NFL, giving up less than 13 points per game. So when you have an excellent defense and you have a elite quarterback who is not turning the ball over, who is really doing a great job of pushing the ball down the field with, you know, probably a group of wide receivers that, you know, probably one of the worst in the league, I think we can sit here and say, uh, they're greatly over-performing. And a

Starting point is 00:04:28 lot of that has to do with the offensive scheme, uh, with Jim Harbaugh and with Justin Herbert being otherworldly and really taking the talent and elevating them as much as they possibly can. Oh, the 33rd team seems to continue to disrespect Justin Herbert. I don't personally understand the hate. I think Herbert, with what he's able to do in the passing game right now with not as many big-time contributors, it's crazy to think that this is a team that no longer has

Starting point is 00:04:55 Mike Williams, Keenan Allen. But, you know, they got Quentin Johnston. Galad McConkie is emerging a little bit. But it's not star power right now in L.A., which is very interesting. But they're still finding ways to grind it out. Harbaugh's got the run the ball mentality. They're making plays right there. Mike DeBate, locked on Patriots.

Starting point is 00:05:11 I mean, we were excited about Drake May and everything. And then it's like, all right, then now you, the Patriots have a little bit of a clunker and the end of it on the road against the Tennessee Titans, which honestly Tennessee's a bottom dwelling team right now. They're one of the biggest jokes I think in the AFC, but Drake May at the buzzer, you know, Tennessee's a bottom-dwelling team right now. They're one of the biggest jokes, I think, in the AFC. But Drake May at the buzzer, you know, giving them a chance there, and unfortunately losing overtime.

Starting point is 00:05:30 Well, I think Dave talking about one of the worst wide receiver cores in the AFC and maybe in the NFL, thought I was being paged there for a moment. I'm probably going to upset a lot of my listeners when I say that, but, you know, it's rough times for the Patriots wide receivers. But the one bright spot that continues to come back, Cody is the play of Drake May. And you saw 11.82 seconds. It took for Drake to scramble, utilize the field, use his legs, go off script. It wasn't the prettiest of passes. It was a little bit of luck at the end, if everybody's being honest, but see, this is what an NFL quarterback does.

Starting point is 00:06:06 You turn water into wine. You turn something from nothing. And that's exactly what he did. So if he continues to do that and endear himself to this fan base especially, but really, I think, incorporate that type of excitement into the New England Patriots' offensive style, they've got stuff to build on. but it's still a long ways away. That team needs a lot of help on the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:06:30 They need help when it comes to this wide receivers group. And the running game needs to get going. This is what the Patriots fans were sold on prior to the season, that Alex Van Pelt's going to come out. He's going to use this outside zone to be able to incorporate play action, really kind of kick-start play action, use it to navigate the middle of the field and then take shots deep down the field.

Starting point is 00:06:52 I've not seen enough of that yet, and the Patriots' defense has faltered because they are missing several key members of that defense that came up big for them last year. It's been like the perfect storm for New England, really, to kind of fall apart this year. And, yeah, you're looking at a very good microcosm of their season in that first overtime drive for the Tennessee Titans.

Starting point is 00:07:15 Grind them out, keep them on their heels, have an old foe like Nick Folt come in, kick a 25-yard field goal, and then in desperation you can't get the job done. That seems to be the mo this year for the new england patrons well looked at huff free agency to hopefully get drake may some weapons and may the odds forever be in their favor here kevin ostriker locked on ravens look kevin can we forget about the game that just happened this past sunday the baltimore ravens putting putting on a clinic against the denver broncos and look i kevin'll say this, and I've caught flack on this on social media.

Starting point is 00:07:47 I don't understand. I don't think it's a hot take or a wild take. Like Denver do the first, I'd say right until the final two minutes of the first half. I mean, they were there competing, trading barbs there with Lamar Jackson and them. It was fun to see, but then all of a sudden it's like Bo Nix steps off the field at 17-10.

Starting point is 00:08:04 The next time he steps foot on the field, it 31 10 because they score right before half they get the ball right after halftime and they score again when the Ravens offense Kev is playing to the level in which they can they I don't see any team beating them to be honest with you they ran it back against Kansas City I think that they would I think that they would destroy Kansas City in this situation you know Kansas City's undefe that they would destroy Kansas City in this situation. You know Kansas City's undefeated. I know Chiefs fans are going to hear this. Why are you talking about that?

Starting point is 00:08:29 The Baltimore Ravens, it's so hard because it's pick your poison, right? You sell out to stop the run against Derrick Henry. Lamar's become such an elite passer. He's got speedy options like Zay Flowers. It is truly a master class watching what Lamar was able to do, and he made a strongest case once again for MV3. Unfortunately, the Broncos, they're not there yet. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:08:47 I mean, there's only one team that can beat the Ravens if the offense is playing like that and it's themselves. The Ravens can beat the Ravens with some of the mistakes that they have made over the course of the season, obviously contributed to their loss against the Raiders and their loss against the Browns just a couple of weeks ago. But I mean, I can't say enough about Lamar and how he's grown over the course of his career, particularly this season. We were sitting here last year and we were wondering, okay, well, when's the next time we're going to see Lamar

Starting point is 00:09:12 play like this? When's the next time? And he's just shattered everything. Even back in 2019, that offense was historic. They broke all these rushing records and all these offensive records. And we were sitting there saying, are we ever going to see a Ravens offense like this again? Are we ever going to see? And here we are in 2024. And Derrick Henry's on pace for, what, 2,000-plus rushing yards. He already has 1,000 yards-plus in week 10 right now. He just finished week 9.

Starting point is 00:09:36 So the offense is incredible. The defense obviously has some work to do, particularly with the pass rush and the secondary. I mean, it's apparent. They're better than their rankings project, though. I'll say that. They're better than that, but it's clear that the pass rush is weak right now. They have not, especially, I mean, I think you saw it, Cody, on Sunday,

Starting point is 00:09:54 where Bo Nix did have some time to throw in a lot of situations on Sunday. So, to me, I think that the Ravens are in a good position. I know we're going to get into the trade deadline a little bit later and talk about some of those teams, including what the Ravens did and didn't do. But to me, I think that when you go to this Ravens team, I mean, they are still a top contender and a lot of that has to do with Lamar. I think, I think it means that we'll have some pretty good football come the month of

Starting point is 00:10:20 January and February, even from the AFC, the NFC standpoint, we'll see the NFC. I think you're having more teams kind of that aren't in it right now. They still have a chance to get in it. The AFC, a couple of teams, Cincinnati being one of them. We'll highlight that as well, but the NFL trade deadline came and gone. The AFC seemed to be a little bit more active than everybody else. Who are the biggest winners and losers? You're going to get that here on today's squad show,

Starting point is 00:10:42 part of the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. Today's AFC squad is brought to you by Ultimate Pro Football GM. And hey, AFC and NFL fans, remember our great partner, Ultimate Pro Football GM. Well, they're back and they've added an amazing new game mode that I need to tell you about. The game that has you step into the shoes of a football franchise, GM, and lead it to glory now has a new head coach career mode so on top of getting to build your dynasty by

Starting point is 00:11:10 drafting players signing free agents and hiring a coaching staff now you also get to call offensive plays during games as well additionally you'll dig the new tools you can work with such as individual training camps and upgraded negotiation systems so this fun and realistic game just got a lot better. If you already have it installed, be sure to do an update so you can try out the new mode. If you don't have it yet, download it right now. It's a must-have for all football fans. I love it, and I know that you'll love it too. Ultimate Pro Football GM is completely free, has no ads, and is 100% playable offline.

Starting point is 00:11:44 Play on the go as you want and when you want to. And here's a special offer for Locked On fans. Use the promo code LOCKEDONNFL, all caps, inside the game store to receive a free boost to your franchise. Make sure to get in as this perk will jumpstart your play and give you the advantage you'll want in creating a dynasty. To download the game, just visit ultimate-gm.com, ultimate-gm.com, or look it up on the App Store's Ultimate Pro Football GM. Start your dynasty today. Today's show is also brought to you by our friends over there at PrizePix,

Starting point is 00:12:17 and PrizePix is daily fantasy sports done the right way. They're also the best place to get real money sports action with over 10 million members and billions of dollars in awarded winnings. PrizePix has made daily fantasy sports accessible to all. Just pick more or less on at least two players for a shot to win up to 100 times your cash. Run your game all season long on PrizePix. PrizePix now offers Venmo for quick and easy deposits and withdrawals into your account this sports season. Sign up today and get $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It's guaranteed. PrizePix is the best way to win real money this football season. Which players

Starting point is 00:12:57 are going off? Which ones aren't? Make your picks in less than 60 seconds and turn your sports opinions into real money all season long on PrizePix. Make sure you check it out. Download the app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. Download the app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. PrizePix, run your game.

Starting point is 00:13:26 The NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and we've seen who are some teams that are winners and losers in it all. Are there teams that should have made some moves? Certainly you can make your case here on the AFC squad show, part of the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. Thank you so much, everyone, for making our shows respectively in the show that you watch every day, your first listen. We appreciate you

Starting point is 00:13:45 trade deadline look obviously tuesday was a big day and on that front yeah everyone was monitoring okay who's going where what teams are going to make the big splashes i don't necessarily think that any team in the afc made like drastic splashes i think if we're going to pick maybe in totality i think we can include the last couple of weeks i want to include the buffalo bills in this conversation i want to include the kansas city chiefs in this but i want to throw it to chris carter here to start off because his team made two moves during the nfl trade deadline they acquired mike williams from the new york jets and they acquired preston smith the pass rusher from the green bay packers because you need some depth there at that position to help with that.

Starting point is 00:14:25 And obviously that's a strength of theirs to get stronger. But now you get a wide receiver to pair alongside George Pickens and Russell Wilson. I mean, Chris, how big is this move here for the Steelers? They're solid depth pieces, but they're not like complete needle movers in and of themselves. These are guys that are going to be parts of a bigger sum than just the moves themselves. And I think that that's where the Steelers are hoping to get a bigger change. For example, Mike Williams is a six foot four tall receiver. David, you know him well. He's not going to be the game breaker. He's not going to win you games by himself. But what he can do is he can be that guy across from George Pickens. Now they can both line up on the outside

Starting point is 00:15:01 and you have to honor both of them as deep threats. Whereas before they had Jefferson more of a strong slot guy than a go up and get a deep guy. Calvin Austin, more of a speedster that if you got he got behind you, he could be a problem. But both Williams and Pickens are guys that you have to respect their ability to go up and get the football in traffic. And with Russell Wilson, I think that's part of what the Steelers want to do. You look at yards per attempt right now when it comes to play action passing and overall passing right now and russell wilson is among the top of the nfl very small sample size yes but when you look at what the steelers are trying to do they're trying to run the ball and hit you deep run the ball and hit you deep to keep your linebackers going back and forth oh where are they going to

Starting point is 00:15:39 go where are they going to go where the safeties do we have to stop naji hairs or do we got to stop george pickens that's where the Steelers want to find their offensive balance. So Mike Williams helps towards that equation. That's what he brings. It's not, again, he's not going to come out and have a thousand yard season in eight games. That's not happening. But what is going to happen is I think they're going to put him on the field with George Pickens, move Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin around based off of matchups they like,

Starting point is 00:16:01 they think they like, and also throw in their double tight end sets. And they'll play that way. On the defensive side, side Preston Smith not a guy who's going to start or even get I think the third most amount of snaps as far as the edge rusher but he gives them a fourth guy and Mike Tomlin actually kind of sneakily alluded to this in his Tuesday press conference like hours before they traded for Preston Smith less than less than two hours actually up before they traded but he he was talking about, hey, when Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig were hurt at the same time, which they were, and Marcus Golden had retired during training camp for the Steelers, they were down to really just TJ Watt at the edge rusher position.

Starting point is 00:16:34 And it limited for some time that the amount of blitz packages they could call. And now that Alex Highsmith is back, they got him, but they still don't have Herbig. And so they still only have their two starters. And so they're trying to be conservative and conserve their guys so that they can have energy at the end. Now, Mike Tomlin said Nick Herbig, looking like he might be able to play this week. Now you trade for Preston Smith. Now you have four dudes that you can trust that are NFL-caliber players,

Starting point is 00:16:57 not practice squad guys, who can bring heat off the edge. And I think also Preston Smith, a bigger-bodied guy, right? He's going to help stuff the run. He's a bigger-bodied guy. Nick Herbig, a bigger bodied guy, right? He's going to help stuff the run. He's a bigger bodied guy. Nick Herbig, a smaller, quicker guy. So now you have your options behind Highsmith and Watt, who I think are still the best rushing duo in football. You have behind them those two guys that you can flip around.

Starting point is 00:17:17 That gives you more chess pieces to play with. And that's what Mike Tomlin loves to do on defense is play chess, move guys around, keep you guessing. And we saw this last week. I wrote about this in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. For the first time in like four years, they flopped T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith's sides for more than just a play in the game. And Alex Highsmith said, hey, we're experimenting with that because we see whenever T.J.'s line up on his side, we're seeing a tight end or running back and an extra lineman go to stop him.

Starting point is 00:17:44 Now we're forcing you to figure or running back and an extra lineman go to stop him. Now we're forcing you to figure out where is he going to be. Adjust your offense. And it led to some miscommunications, which got that big sack-strict fumble when he got single coverage or a single blocker against the Giants. So I think Preston Smith contributes to that equation, just like Mike Williams contributes to that equation. Neither one will be the game breakers for the Steelers, but they'll be part of a bigger piece of the puzzle.

Starting point is 00:18:04 Another team here that made a move is obviously the Baltimore Ravens and look I think the overall theme here is that the teams that made moves are teams that you necessarily you're going to put in the contender category right because they're trying to do whatever they can to make an extra push get as strong as they can I know Broncos fans are not very happy they didn't make any moves at the trade deadline but it's like Denver's not a contender yet they're not in that conversation sure they're in contention to go to the playoffs but they're not a contender they're not one player away so you don't do that right now especially when you have all your draft picks finally you've got more salary cap space coming up Kevin Ostreicher of

Starting point is 00:18:36 Lockdown Ravens they went and they traded for cornerback Tredavious White who at one point was always one of my guys that always highlight when he's with the Buffalo Bills like man he's one of the best corners in football then he suffered a couple of major injuries that's kind of set him back a little bit coming over from the LA Rams quick quick thoughts on this what does it boost for the Ravens defense that obviously you know they give up a lot of explosives in the passing department there yeah I think it's that is what it is he's not going to be a guy that comes in and takes away snaps from Marlon Humphrey or Brandon Stevens, or even Nate Wiggins at this point. But I think it's either your fourth cornerback or your third safety. I think that's what it could be. I honestly think that they might

Starting point is 00:19:14 try him at safety. I think that might be the plan here. The Ravens have Kyle Hamilton, who is one of the best, if not the best safeties in the league. And then you also have Marcus Williams, who there was a big drama situation last week with him. He was healthy, but didn't play. And we don't know why John Harbaugh called that an internal situation. And we talked about this last week. When you hear those words, internal situation, that's never good. You never want that to happen. But so if you move Trey White to safety, I think that lessens some of the burden and it's better than what they have. Otherwise, Eddie Jackson has been terrible for them this season and the other guys have been pretty young and inexperienced. So

Starting point is 00:19:51 at the end of the day, the Ravens top need was pass rusher and they did not go out and address that. There were rumors that maybe they could have brought back a Clayus Campbell or a Judeffian Clowney, maybe Aziz Ozilori, who obviously ended up staying with the Giants, but they upgraded their depth. Wide receiver three with Deontay Johnson last week, and then corner four slash safety three with Trey White. Those aren't needle moving moves. And I think that's kind of where the disappointment with Ravens fans lies right now, where I think if you, if you'd ask people, it would be some level of, oh, well, your need was right in front of you. You didn't take it. And on top of that, Baltimore entered the day with 11 draft picks. They ended the day with 10, but they also got a seventh round back for Trey White.

Starting point is 00:20:32 So you're saying, all right, well, if you're contending and you think this is the year, right, your offense has no problems. It's historic. And that's the unit that will carry you. Do you want to go out there and see if there's a guy that can help you? Now, of course, it takes two teams, right? You can't just, the Ravens can't say, hey, give me this guy, give me that guy.

Starting point is 00:20:46 We're just going to take them from you. But it seemed like the market for pass rushers maybe was a little bit higher than the Ravens wanted to play with, especially because with Lamar Jackson on a big deal and other guys who have to pay coming up like Kyle Hamilton, Tyra Linderbaum, Zay Flowers, you have to make some tough financial decisions

Starting point is 00:21:03 and hitting on draft picks is ever so more important. We'll go a little rapid fire here, David and Mike DeBate. Looking at some other teams, obviously the teams that you guys covered didn't make any moves either, but I think looking at the broad spectrum of the AFC, and I'm including the Chiefs and the Bills in this because they made moves, not at the deadline, but within the window. The Bills adding Amari Cooper, that was a big move for them. In the first week he was there.

Starting point is 00:21:25 He caught a touchdown pass, didn't play last week. I think he's going to have a tremendous impact for Josh Allen, and the Bills definitely one to watch. But right now, everyone's talking about the Andre Hopkins going to the Kansas City Chiefs, and Patrick Mahomes obviously coming off of an impressive performance. Eight catches, 88 yards, two touchdowns here. But then you look at the Steelers, the moves we talked about here,

Starting point is 00:21:44 the Ravens, the Bengals acquiring Khalil Herbert. that was more of a move based on assessing due to the injury to Zach Moss in your opinion from the AFC standpoint who won the NFL trade deadline of all the teams that we've discussed so far let's go wrap for I'll start with David Mike and then we'll obviously talk about some of the bigger games here in week 10 how do we sit here and we talk about the trade deadline and the Chiefs acquiring another weapon why is that why is that the case why are we sitting here about an 8-0 team adding a wide receiver that's going to make them even better than they already are now it just makes me sick to my stomach having to see the chiefs twice a year and now sitting here on top of the world looking for a three-peat adding

Starting point is 00:22:26 a true difference maker wide receiver after dealing with all the injuries i i just think that there's a little bit of envy out there because the chiefs and their general manager like they just go out and add like if there's an issue they need to correct they go and they make it happen there is no if ands or buts they go make the moves and they do it every single year and that's why they continuously put themselves in positions to win a lot of damn games and so that's why everyone else in the afc and the afc west in particular like oh no here we go again thankfully they get marshall latimore thank god mike what are your thoughts who who who won the the afc trade deadline yeah i mean i have to

Starting point is 00:23:06 go with the defending champions as well and look i'll put the homer cap on i like their addition of joshua ushe into this defense this is a guy that has sideline to sideline speed the ability to get after the quarterback when he has a talented group around him and a pass rusher that's capable of taking on double teams he can get free and he can get after the quarterback. I really am anxious to see what he can do in a Steve Spagnuolo defense with George Karloftis, with Chris Jones. These are the types of players that set the table for someone like a Joshua Ushe to be able to get after the quarterback. We saw it in 2022, 11.5 sacks.

Starting point is 00:23:40 That was a career high for Joshua. He definitely is motivated to make an impact on this team, and I if he gets the opportunity he can be a sneaky good acquisition for the defending champs in that regard and then how can you go wrong like David said with picking up a guy like DeAndre Hopkins but very impressed by what the Buffalo Bills did and picking up Amari Cooper that's a big weapon for Josh Allen and I'm a fan of the little moves. Chris, you talked earlier about Preston Smith. I love this move for the Steelers. This is a big body 6'5", 265, and he fits perfectly into a defense that's predicated on pressure.

Starting point is 00:24:14 Sometimes it's the little non-needle moving moves that help get you over the top. I like that for the Steelers. And Kevin, I actually do like the addition of Tredavious White to this defense in Baltimore. Again, I've heard Bill Belichick say numerous times about Tredavious White in his days with the Buffalo Bills. Don't let that guy find your weakness. He will exploit it. And even if he's not going to be the needle mover on the field, that leadership, that experience

Starting point is 00:24:41 accounts for a lot for a team like the Ravens that's looking to break through and beat teams like the Buffalo Bills, like the Kansas City Chiefs. So a lot of good, sneaky moves here for the AFC right now. I'm excited by what these teams have done. Well, this weekend's games, Week 10 provides an opportunity to set the landscape for the AFC as the playoff picture becomes a little bit more clear. For the Cincinnati Bengals, it's Thursday night's game's game against obviously the Baltimore Ravens. This is a chance for them to change their trajectory. We'll look at some of the biggest games around the AFC in week 10 here on today's squad show or the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:25:17 Today's squad show is brought to you by our friends over there at Fandu. And as you all know it, Fandu is America's number one sports book. And this NFL season, they want to give you a big return inside of the app. Because right now, new customers, they can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if you win. The FanDuel Sportsbook app gives you everything you need to place live bets on the NFL all in one place. Especially with some Week 10 matchups coming up this week that are going to shake up the landscape of the AFC as the playoff picture becomes a little bit clearer and tiebreakers become a little bit more important. So when you get a hunch in the middle of the game,

Starting point is 00:25:54 you can check out the latest stats, you can view live play-by-play, and so much more on the same page where you place your bets, whether that's the money line, point spreads, player props, any time touchdowns, parlays, they have it inside of the FanDuel app just visit FanDuel.com to join today you'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you're if you win your first $5 bet that's FanDuel.com never waste a hunch and make every moment more with FanDuel an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Week 10 has some major implications for the state of the entire AFC. If we don't talk about your team, complain to your team's host there here on the squad show here on the Lockdown Podcast Network.

Starting point is 00:26:37 Let's waste no time jumping into it. We're going to highlight a couple of the bigger matchups, and we'll end the show with some bold predictions. Let's start with Thursday night football. Big-time game. Battle for the north there uh obviously between anytime those games go on in the afc north it is a slug fest there the cincinnati bangles who haven't gotten off to the start that they hope for even though that joe burrow is playing out of his mind they have an opportunity right here against the afc divisional opponent to maybe change a little bit of their

Starting point is 00:27:05 luck here, but they're running up against Derrick Henry and that Baltimore Ravens offense, which look, the Bengals defense this year hasn't been their strong suit. They've been a big reason why they've lost games. Hasn't been Joe Burrow. So this is a tough matchup, big implications here. Kevin, how do you see this one going? Yeah. I mean, that Cincinnati defense is so unimpressive to me. And I thought that they could have done something at the deadline. Maybe it brought another defensive lineman or just someone to help out. But we saw these two teams play just a couple weeks ago.

Starting point is 00:27:34 And that was a 41-38 overtime thriller in Cincinnati. It was all offense, almost 80 points combined between those two teams. I mean, I'm expecting something along those lines again. I think that Baltimore's defense has the higher upside than Cincinnati's does. Now, obviously, Joe Burrow's playing great football right now. The battle between Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow gave us fireworks the first time. I think it's going to give us fireworks again. But at the time of this recording, it's not looking like T. Higgins is going to be able to suit up in this one.

Starting point is 00:28:05 And obviously the Bengals took it to the Raiders last week without a guy like T Higgins, but for this Ravens defense, I trust their defense a little more than I trust that Las Vegas defense, considering everything that's going on over there right now. So I think that if Cincinnati loses this game, their playoff hopes are all but dashed. I mean,

Starting point is 00:28:23 I know that Joe Burrell is talking about winning seven of nine or whatever he said but you end this game with six losses and I don't think nine and eight gets you into the playoffs in this AFC despite how middling I guess it's been this year it's gonna be tough it's gonna be a tough road for them regardless and let's shift to another game here a big game obviously the Denver Broncos on the road at the Kansas City Chiefs. I'm going to set it up for David from an AFC West perspective here. Look, the Broncos, the biggest issue for them offensively has been consistency. But I think overall what we've seen from Bo Nix has been impressive. Kevin, we had so many Ravens fans coming into our channel after the game saying,

Starting point is 00:29:00 hey, Bo Nix, you guys have a pretty solid young player there in Bo Nix. Keep rocking with him. Get him some weapons. There was that. Denver's defense had a letdown game against the most electrifying offense right now in football. They had a hard time because they sold out to try to stop Derrick Henry. Lamar carved him up with the arm.

Starting point is 00:29:16 Lamar didn't have to use his legs to run. He used his legs to extend outside the pocket and carve them up even further. But the Kansas City Chiefs, i feel like it's an evergreen topic here on the show every week and chiefs kingdom's probably not gonna be happy with this but it's like all right they're undefeated which is impressive which is a testament to andy reed and a good team trying to find a way to win games they're pulling it out but i still feel like the chiefs look more beatable now than they have in years and but teams aren't doing it at the end they're not capitalizing you have a coin toss and baker mayfield's looking up like wow okay we're not

Starting point is 00:29:48 even going to touch the ball the chiefs are going to go down there and score david in your opinion your quick thoughts here on the broncos at the chiefs and they have been they've been playing great defense even last year they were one of the top defenses in the nfl when their offense was nowhere near as pro religious um as it has been in the past. And even this year, I think that's kind of carried over a little bit. They've dealt with some injuries on offense, but they've still figured out a way to win these games.

Starting point is 00:30:14 And that's, what's so frustrating is they have so much experience winning that you have to be almost flawless, uh, for 60 whole minutes. Like it does. It's not going to be 57. It 60 whole minutes. Like it does. It's not going to be 57. It's not 58. It's not 59. It's 60 entire minutes of football. That's going to be required to beat the chiefs because they know how to win so well.

Starting point is 00:30:36 They are comfortable in those spots. They don't get flustered. They don't get worried. They don't get, you know, they don't get flustered at all in those situations so for the broncos to win this game they're gonna have to come up with some some big plays some big explosions maybe some special teams uh you know you know uh contributions from that front you know a big return a gig a big kick return something to swing the momentum because your margin for error against the chiefs is slim to none uh so in this football game i like the broncos defense i just don't know if they have

Starting point is 00:31:13 enough firepower on offense to be able to beat the chiefs and be able to play flawless enough football to keep it close enough to give themselves a chance yeah fair points there let's go to another game here chris carter your stealers coming off of a bye week well rested getting some guys back potentially taking on the red hot washington commanders and obviously jayden daniels well i think one thing the stealers have to do is they have to go out and assert their dominance in the trenches which is what they're supposed to be strong at this year the the commanders are what the fourth best rushing team in the NFL, fourth best offense in the NFL. It's that balance that's made things easier for Jaden Daniels. The Steelers, I feel like their run game struggled

Starting point is 00:31:54 against the Giants. Now, granted, there's things that you could point to like, hey, maybe there was this thing wrong here, this thing wrong there. They missed some cues. And generally, Steelers have been a very good run defense this year, but they need to get back on it. And if you're looking at this game, I'm looking at the key being, can the Steelers get after the Commander's run game? Can they bottle that up, make that limited, and force Jaden Daniels to be predictable? The Steelers, as Kevin know, are used to playing running quarterbacks.

Starting point is 00:32:19 They're very good against Lamar Jackson. So they need to be able to show that against a young quarterback here in this situation. And if they do that, I think the defense gives themselves a chance. But on the flip side, the offense has to be efficient. The Steelers should have a win. I don't think this is going to be an easy game. I think this is going to be a game that goes down to the wire. I think the commanders have some tricks up their sleeve. But at the same time, I do think even though the Steelers aren't favored on FanDuel, I do think that they will come out with a victory as things stand right now.

Starting point is 00:32:45 That's going to make the AFC North battle between them and Baltimore a little more tricky, especially down the stretch here as the season goes on. Mike DeBake, your Patriots aren't playing in a big game this week, but I want to get your thoughts here on one that I think is going to have massive implications on the AFC. Obviously, the Houston Texans coming off of a disappointing loss to AFC East rival New York Jets. Come on, Houston. what's up with that that was unbelievably ridiculous to see that kind of let down there CJ Stroud's not having a great year it's been crazy to watch but they're going to host

Starting point is 00:33:14 the red hot Detroit Lions how do you see this one going is this favorable for the NFC or do you think Houston's in a position here where they can maybe sneak one and upset the Lions well you know you always have that puncher's chance and even though it's been a tough year for CJ Stroud I mean this Houston team has talent on both sides of the ball they handed it to the Patriots a couple of weeks ago so I'm not going to sit there and say they have no shot but Detroit's playing at a high level they're coming in at seven and one they're feeling it every bit of that record right now and they want to be able to flex their muscle and show that they are indeed an elite team in the NFC most people believe they already are this an opportunity for them to really take it to an AFC contender in the Houston Texans right now things could start deteriorating fast with the loss of Stefan Diggs a lot going on in Houston

Starting point is 00:33:59 right now that could factor into this game this is a big one if Houston wants to prove they're going to be a contender and still could remain that way through the season uh this is a game where they have to perform well I would say a must win but maybe not at that level but they need to go out there and perform well if they go out there and really get you know really get it handed to them by the Detroit Lions uh could be a long season coming up for the Houston Texans. It's a big game for them. Yeah, I mean, the Detroit Lions, they're standing on everybody's heads right now. They're running up the score on the Tennessee Titans one week.

Starting point is 00:34:32 Like, they are in complete control right now in that NFC conference. And obviously, check out the NFC Squad Show as well for the insight from all the hosts there on that side. They broke down a lot of stuff. They even took some shots at Lockdown Packers host Peter Bukowski, who said that the NFC North was a two-team race. It really is the one-team race. Jared Goff and those guys own the North. Make sure you check that out here.

Starting point is 00:34:53 The AFC is obviously wild. We'll be back next week for a Week 11 AFC Squad Show here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, where you know it's your team every day.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - AFC Squad: NFL Trade Deadline Winners and Losers in the AFC

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.