NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - 2016 Week 13 review

Episode Date: December 5, 2016

A room filled with heroes – Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, Chris Wesseling, and Gregg Rosenthal – go game-by-game breaking down all the Week 13 action which included the Chiefs shocking the Falcons with some late-game heroics in Atlanta, and a big come-back win for the Raiders to move to the top of the AFC.Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast plays the game of thrones. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansis, and I am joined by a room filled with heroes. Mark Sessler, Chris Wessling, and Greg Rosethal. What's up, boys? Hey, Dan. Not just a room full of heroes.

Oh. A whole studio. Oh, the studio behind the glass. of course we have new money new money what's up laced hey guys how are you

but also behind the glass Deb and Keith Hansis yeah the parental unit behind the glass watching the show today a lot of pressure and they don't know this

but we're going to throw it to them for the entire Bucks Chargers recap I know Debbie has some real hot takes on Philip Rivers's struggles with turnovers so we'll get to that

so Deb and Keith behind the glass week 13 of the NFL Sunday this is our flagship show of course brought to you by exclusively Mr. Hayes Mr. Flames economics class is becoming a thing this Mr. Haig thing the Hague that other maybe he needs to up his sponsorship and then I will get it right see that's called bargaining delivered a fantastic lunch last week I'm not sure what he needs to do Bargaining 101. That's in economics. By the way, I don't think we should be nervous. There was someone, I'm not going to say, which of us said they were nervous because your parents are here watching live.

But your dad, this is the second podcast he's witnessed because he watched our Super Bowl show. That's right. I see a people a couple years ago. That was the famous podcast where Chris Wessling ate his softball pants. That did happen. Why did you, your song? Oh, because the rate, well, things. It wasn't the radio.

It was Brian Hoyer starting over Johnny Mansell. So strange. So strange. But we should compliment your dad's cornhole ability. Yes. Outplayed Ali Bomburi yesterday. A little bit. Through some corn with Wes and Ali.

And Keith held up well. I thought he did very well. Wes was out of his mind. Nothing personal, by the way, to Mark and Greg. This was a pure corn two-hour gathering for corn only. Is this any bad? Why would we take that personally? Well, Mark, you hate corn.

No, I don't want to. It's fair. If you were to outline people to come play parlor games at your house, I would not be on your top 10 list. It wasn't a beer and suds hangout. It was hardcore corn and Greg. I know your daughter would be involved. Yeah. No, I was at a child's birthday party.

It seems fair. Like a romper room. Anyway, Wes played typically brilliant. And I will get better from every beating I take from us. But for now, we turn towards week 13. And why do we get into it with, to me, The game of the day at the Georgia Dome. Shotgun Ryan fades.

He throws end zone picked off. Interceptive, streak back to the 10, the 15, the 20, the 25, the 30. They will not catch him. Eric Berry again, 97 yards, softly jogs off the right hash into the end zone. The failed two-point conversion. Eric Berry is a pick six touchdown, and now a pick two. John Sadek, Westwood won sports. Eric Berry was personally responsible for eight points on Sunday.

A first half pick six, and what you just heard, the dramatic two-point conversion return in the fourth quarter that helped to lift the Chiefs to a wild 29, 28 win over the Falcons at the Georgia Dome. Greg, an absolutely crushing way for Atlanta to lose, but let's give it up for the Cardiac Chiefs. The Chiefs are doing everything possible to earn our respect. And after a while, you have to just say these crazy ways that they win games.

That's just who they are. Andy Reed is coaching his butt off this year. He came out in the first half just through wild formations and play calls. And there's Tyree Kill running the ball. Travis Kelsey's been a bigger factor over the last four or five weeks, really turning to a dominant player. And he was aggressive. He goes for fourth down in the red zone on the goal line, gets a touchdown.

goes for a fake punt, scores a long touchdown off of a fourth and one fake punt. And this Chief's team, they just find ways to do it. I mean, they've got the playmakers on their defense that you can almost count on them making these types of Eric Berry plays every week. It's wild. I want to know how concerned we called the Falcons last week, the NFC's secret weapon to potentially deal with Dallas in a shootout the way that they're constructed. I want to know how concerned we should be with their defense.

After we're talking about the Chiefs as a big play offense, we snickered about the fact that Matt Ryan had 10,000 more passing yards and similar number of starts to Alex Smith on Thursday. So tell us. I think that was more of a guffaw than a snicker. It was a guffaw. It was a joyful guffaw. You know, I give credit to Andy Reid and the coaching staff for the Chiefs first.

The Falcons defense is a problem. You know, without Desmond Trufant, it's going to continue to be a problem. I don't think they look that different today than they've looked all season, but it was surprising to see a team like the Chiefs going to the Georgia Dome. They were the big play offense

or special teams or defense. They had more 20-yard plays than the Chiefs by a large margin. So Alex Smith went deep a few times. He also missed a couple deep throws in the second half. I would have loved to see the Chiefs get the ball down one point or down three points. I mean, the Falcons get the ball

and see if they could go win the game right there. That didn't end up happening because Eric Barry made the play. Let's hear from Eric Barry, who this was his first game at his hometown of Atlanta in his seven-year career. And also his first trip back to Atlanta since he had cancer treatments two years ago. So what a big game for him in a big spot. The last time I came home during the season, it was to get chemotherapy. And then this time, it was actually to play the game. So I was just thankful for the opportunity.

And I take pride in a lot of things. that people take for granted. So when opportunities come my way, I just cherish them and try to make the most of them. In a wide open defensive player of the year field, I bet he starts getting some talk this week after what he did in this game and what he did in the Panthers game a few weeks ago.

And he's having a good season. He's their defensive leader. He is the guy right now. You think if he gets the ball in his hands, he's about as likely as any defensive back to score. Now the pick two that he returned, that's just all speed. He's running straight ahead.

But the pick six, he makes a nice move. He has the vision after he makes the play. And we have to mention the guy who threw those two picks. Matt Ryan plays a good game, but those two picks were on him. It wasn't a receiver making a mistake. It wasn't anything like that. And he had some panic decisions today. It was a rough day for Atlanta.

They lost their left tackle Jake Matthews to a knee injury. They saw Julio Jones sit out for most of the final drive. We'll see if that's serious. Muhammad Sunu got hurt on that same final drive. So we'll see if those end up being long-term injuries, but Matthews's injury had an immediate impact. Toma Ali started getting after Matt Ryan after that play. Well, and this is the month that decides what's going to happen with all these teams,

and to lose Traffant was huge. I mean, you look across the way. If you're the Chiefs, you go into, you host Oakland on Thursday night. You want to earn everyone's respect. You win that game, and everyone has to be a attention. Well, forget about just respect, which they can earn. They can earn the number one seed in the AFC, or they can earn the AFC West lead because they beat Oakland.

They got the season sweep. And, you know, they have my respect off these two wins. These back-to-back wins where they very easily could have lost both these games. They're finding ways. And speaking of the Raiders, let's see how they did on this Sunday. Here they come from all different levels. Coggan to throw a lot right-side line of Murray Cooper's got it. Five, down to the goal line.

He's in. Touchdown! Raiders. 37-yarder over the top to Ivarie Cooper. And the Raiders at last have the lead. Greg Papa, KGMZ. Like that call. The Raiders laughed in the face of a big second half deficit on Sunday rolling up

21 consecutive points in route to a 38 to 24 win over the Buffalo Bills. Who have to be wondering where that truck came from. When LaShawn McCoy finishes with close to 200. yards from scrimmage the bill should win but buffalo became the latest team mark sessler to learn how hard it is to beat the raiders this season yeah it was really it was a it was really a tale of two games and i i looked at the first half and i saw it as rex ryan just flipping the bird to every single person that says you don't belong as a head coach in this league he was absolutely it at you at all uh largely at me i mean i i felt that it was aimed at myself and others but i mean

the way that they came out against oakland on the road in Oakland, and powered over them with their running game, was a statement-type operation in the making, but then it wasn't just 21 points. It was 29 unanswered points by the Raiders, and you could see it starting to form at the end of the first half, where Oakland really had been somewhat dominated, where Carr, in under 30 seconds, drove the team for a field goal that the offense woke up. You know, he had about, he was held in check in the first half. Then in the second half, what you started to see was the Raiders team that we're used to. Too many weapons, too many big plays, and a Buffalo defense started to crumble.

And a Raiders defense led by, you want to talk about another defensive player of the year candidate in Khalil Mack. The AFC West has a couple of them. Row in Von Miller. What a game by him. And they shut down Buffalo. Three straight punts, three straight three and outs at one point, before Khalil Mack hit Tyrod Taylor's arm, nudged it on a pass in the fourth quarter that went. wound up going right into the arms of Nate Allen for a turnover that essentially ended this game. And Khalil Mack later had a sack and a strip and a recovery where the ball magically found its way right into his stomach.

He's got a real chance to win. Second game in a row we ended the game with the strip sack. He's winning games on his own almost. And any questions about Derek Carr and his finger? I thought Carr looked great in this game, Mark. I don't know if you agree with me of that. I didn't see anything in terms of being limited by that. He should have three touchdown passes, but Michael Crabtjeet dropped a gimmie in the first half.

So Carr still looks great, and they're still finding ways to win in that offense when it gets revved up is very dangerous. He looked fully healthy to me. You know, his troubles early on had to do really with Buffalo, I think, on offense just setting the tone. But the Raiders, you cannot. You have to hold them down for four quarters. They are currently your number one seed off of tiebreakers in the AFC. And I understand that their defense is giving up a historical yards. per play amount.

I don't really care at this point. Their offense makes up for it. They're 10 and 2. We're getting so used to these comebacks that it's almost like, oh, the Raiders did this again. But they have lost 72 straight games when trailing by 15 points or more until this game.

So this is the type of stuff that now they pull it off and we're just like, oh, that's the Raiders being the Raiders. And they still won by two touchdowns. I got to ask, hey, can we have a game that's more than a one-score game? I don't know if that's their DNA. Yeah, I mean, that's Carr's 10th, fourth quarter comeback in the last two seasons and it's not a fluke there's nothing about the raiders on offense

that are a fluke it's crazy to think they showed their their gm and their front office up in the booth in the second half that we rightfully i think four five four seasons ago wanted them flushed out of oakland but they have drafted well and developed talent extremely well by the way marquette king come back to us i like that thing where he did where he threw the penalty flag i'm a big marquette king in fact i wrote an end around post saying he was the best thing to ever happen to punters, and Pat McAfee himself came after me in response. Calm down, Pat. But Marquette King gets hit late in the game,

a roughing the kicker, picks up the flag, does a dance with it, and then spikes it to the turf. Hey, Marquette, you're a punter, buddy. Slow down. That's all. Just know your roll. With Gronk injured, this is the AFC's best offense, I think. I'd agree right now.

I agree. There's no cupcakes left on their schedule, though. At Kansas City, at San Diego, hosting Indianapolis, then at Denver to close out the seat. About Buffalo, what does it look like for them? They have three straight home games. Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Miami, then at New York Jets to close out the season. This loss, though, you'd have to say they have to run the table

and a lot of other stuff needs to happen for Buffalo to squeak in. Right, they're going to have to need to run the table, and they haven't shown there a team that can do that. I think on some level they're showing the limitations of having the best running attack in the league, because they have the best running attack in the league, and yet they're still just an okay offense. Now, if they had a good defense, or a better defense, a dominant defense,

it would work, but that part of the equation is not good enough. Statistically, the best running game in the league. I would take Dallas as over anyone. I would too, but I'll say that Sean McCoy has been absolutely phenomenal. They didn't know what to do with LaShawn McCoy in the first half of this game. He is offensive player of the year caliber. They might be the toughest to prepare for, kind of like the Panthers were for a few years. I mean, they throw a lot at you and it works.

By the way, Dad, behind the glass, how sweet would it be? Sid if it passed the headset over. how sweet would it be if the bills needing that win, if the bills needing that wind in Week 17 go to the Meadowlands and get some revenge after what happened last January? I would love to see that. I would love to see the Jets punish them. I mean, that's all the Jets fans have to live for now is spoil it for Rex the way he stuck it.

That's actually a nice thing to live for. I mean, that would be a sweet end to an awful season. And then if you really want to stick it to him, you trade Ryan Fitzpatrick back to the bills. Yeah, give them back. I don't know how that would work. For what? Like a bag of spoons, maybe some napkins, some used napkins?

Keith has had it with Ryan Fitzpatrick. I had it with Ryan. That's it, you know. All right. We'll check back in with Keith and Deb. Let's move on to, oh, a nice game, Detroit, New Orleans. Matthew leans in. He's got it.

Back to pass. Pressure. It's golden. Inside the 35. Golden cut left at the 30. It's a foot race. 20. Golden 10.

Golden 5. Golden to the end zone. Touchdown Detroit Lions. Added up 66 yards. Golden Tate continued his second half for Surgence. That was Dan Miller of WJR, by the way. And the Lions defense did a tremendous job keeping Drew Brees in check in a 28 to 13 win over the Saints at the Superdome.

The Lions scored on seven of their nine drives. That included five field goals and two touchdowns. And forced Drew Brees into three interceptions. was, you know, didn't matter at the end of the game. But still, Breeze was not himself in this game. Detroit has a two-game lead in the NFC North with four to play. West, do you believe? Yeah, I said a couple weeks ago, I did not respect the Lions.

They have been lucky this year. They have been losing in every game. I respect them after this win. They earned it. They outplayed the Saints. It seems like in every way, they were bogged down in the Red Zone. This game could have been a blowout, but they settled for four field goals in the Red Zone. Yeah, we...

What is that? What on earth was that about? Well, I've misplaced our prices right drop, so this would be our, hey, we didn't lock. Oh, we're not going to lock it out two in a row. All right, who failed it? I locked it up. Oh, no. See, you went with your heart.

You never go with your heart. You know, I had gotten three or four in a row. It was, I would say, arguably, well, hands down, the best lock segment we've ever done. So that's an ugly beginning to our recap of that. We went four for four last week, anybody that. didn't notice. I was hoping maybe some magic and go for four for four again, but right off the bat, we're 0 for one. Well, you should have put this game later in the show. Well, we can still salvage seven. Yeah, we might be able to salvage the locks today.

I think so. Well, there's no salvaging this same season. They're done. You know, they got forked at 0 and 3, but, you know, everyone in this room picked them to win this game. We all felt confident and, you know, I thought they could win in a laffer. And for Detroit to put together a performance like this says a lot. You know, they didn't have Marvin Jones. They're still going to have people coming back from injury. And sometimes when you pile up wins or you get wins even when you're not playing well, you can be a different team by the end of the season.

I think the bucks are an example of that. They got some wins early when they really weren't very good. The Titans won a game or two early, maybe before they were really ready. Now the Lions are in a position where they're in the mix for a buy. Yep. That's where we're at. I mean, I think at 8 and 4, you got it. You have to respect them.

And Golden Tate is a major reason why their offense has been able to move at all in the second half. They've had their problems in the last several weeks moving the ball the way they did at the beginning of the season. But Tate has really emerged as their true number one. He did this with Marvin Jones not playing at all. Marvin Jones was injured. So for Tate to go for 8 and 145 and 1 in this game on 10 targets, that is a money performance in a fake spot. Do they need to just reverse who actually suits up, keep Marvin Jones, out of the game one week, Golden Tate the next,

because they don't seem to function together very well, but they're both great receivers. It's a fair thought, Mark. I mean, it's coaches would disagree in Detroit. The kiss of death by the old Zeuser was bringing up Drew Breeze in the MVP conversation because at 5 and 7, New Orleans is basically out of picture. And Drew Breeze in a must-win game

throws three picks and no touchdowns. Sorry to the fantasy owners that needed him in a big spot today. So the Saints, sorry, guys. Headed to their third straight losing season. Sean Peyton signed through 2020. And he ain't going nowhere either. Worth putting that out there. I mean, they might not have a losing season technically, but they're out of the time.

You don't need to have a winning season to get a contract, you know, re-up in this league. That's what we've learned out. Good tease. Very good tease for something later in the show. Lions likely to go to 9 and 4. They host the Bears next week. Wow. On the road for the Giants, on the road at Dallas, and then closing home against the Packers.

Ooh. That's fun. If they go two and two, the rest of the way, The Packers have to sweep to take the division. You know what? All these teams in the mix play each other down the stretch. We're going to have a really good final three weeks. Here's a nice inter-conference game with two playoff teams involved.

Shotgun snap. Ben steps up. Rolls right, directs traffic, throws it down the field. The pass will be in the back of the end zone. An unbelievable TD catch by Antonio Brown. Wow. Ben spreads the needle right between Jenkins' hands and, How AB came up with that, man, what a catch.

Bill Hillgrove and Tunch Ilkin. Whoa. That guy's name is Tunch Ilkin. A good old offensive lineman from the 80s and 90s. Great center. WD.V.E. With the call in the battle of the class of 2004 quarterbacks, it was Ben Rafflesberger who owned this day,

throwing for 289 yards and two touchdowns and leading the Steelers to a 2414 win over the New York. Uh-oh. We'll get to that in a second New York Giants who saw their winning streak snapped at six games. Chris Wesleying, you've told us countless times. Winter is coming for the Giants. In fact, let's hear what Wes said on Thursday's podcast predicting this game of Steelers' victory. In a big spot?

In a big spot. An 8-3 team on a six-game winning streak? I'm going to look it up! Do you have the slow motion? Of course I do. Good. A peak moment podcast history. Wes, you nailed it.

At least for one week, the Giants looked like a team that was ready to go for a slide. Yeah, you called this a matchup of two playoff teams, not realizing. Hopefuls, I meant. That winter has arrived. Winter's here. Winter is here. And Giants, I just don't know. They don't have the offense.

They just don't have the offense. They were thoroughly outplayed in this game. They lose Jason Pierre Paul to a groin. injury. They scored seven points in the first 59 minutes of this game. And those seven points came after Levion Bell fumbled inside the Steelers 20-yard line, setting up an easy screen pass to Rasad Jennings for a touchdown. Eli Manning looked terrible. Two turnover prone in this game, some bad decisions, some misthrows, some underthrows, and I still think his arm isn't right. How about the arm of old Big Ben throwing to what's been their best deep threat the last

three weeks. Little guy by the name of Laderius Green, our old making the leap buddy. Six foot five, 250-pound guys, a little guy? I'm just saying. He's kind of come up out of nowhere here the last few weeks. I mean, he's making vertical plays. They're a big addition. They lose Marcus Wheaton and Darius Hayward Bay to injuries. Sammy Coats has been playing special teams with two broken fingers. They don't trust him as a receiver through that injury.

So Laderius Green is emerging as that second fiddle to Antonio Brown. Well, you could call him a third fiddle since Lavian Bell is going to lead all running backs in receptions this year. Levi-a-Bel 35 touches in this game. My goodness, close to 200 yards. So they're getting every bit out of him. You wonder if he could wear down at that type of pace. Yeah, fortunately, he sat out September with the suspension. So his legs are kind of fresh.

But they've been running this offense through him a lot more screen passes. And I think that's helped with their fewer sacks and fewer turnovers of the last month. I was going to ask because we saw against Cleveland three weeks ago, whatever it was, and recently they've used him so much. Is it a similar game plan every week, or is it just we're going to find a way to get them involved no matter what it takes? I think this game was a lot more pass-heavy in the first half. And once they got not only a comfortable lead, but realized that Giants' offense just didn't have it today, they just decided to pound away with Levi-on-Bill.

You can never duplicate your lock-it-up call from Thursday. The next time you just be like, I'm going to lock it up. You have to go full-tilt whisper or something completely new. You can't go higher. Can't try. You've got to kind of go in a different. direction. I trust Wes's his abilities here. He's a showman.

It came as a complete shock that that was the most Twitter feedback I've ever gotten for any segment. I mean, on Saturday, every time you pick up your phone, there is not only people putting out videos and new versions of the video and audio,

but just pictures of Wes closed in on his face, shouting. I mean, it hit big, you know? This is where I put it up Friday morning. As of this taping, 1.5 5,000 likes, 402 retweets, and 175 comments just off that tweet alone. There were many other comments and tweets based off that tweet. I think it was just pure organic joy from Wes.

And how about that it worked? That you were right in that the winter was coming. I mean, this is a fan to listen to. By the way, Wes wasn't the only person to go lock of the week in favor of a team facing a team riding a six game winning streak. Flacco again drops the throw. Pass complete. Nearside, Perriman, 40, 30, hits the accelerator, 20.

He's gone. 10, 5. Touchdown, Ravens. Rashad, Paraman. And that's the speed we heard about when the Ravens made him a first round pick. Get that man some tea. Jerry Sandusky, W-B-A-L. Joe Flacco had his way with the Dolphin's secondary all day,

throwing for 381 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-6. romp of the Miami Dolphins who saw. Oh, yeah, I locked that up. Come on, Dolphins. What did I say, Dolphins? I said, you could get all excited about your little November victories and your little parade that you're throwing for yourself after a 16 winning streak, and you two, handsome Hank.

But you've got to show me that you could do this in December, win games in December. And I'll tell you what, 386? Yeah. Okay. I'll take this. And you know what? plenty of Dolphins fans listen to this podcast.

I don't like that they're unhappy on this Sunday night. Well, you like it a little bit. Right. I was sort of rooting for the dolphins, if only to save your, you know, floundering relationship with Handsome Hank. I was going to say, what portion of this has to do with actual football and what portion has to do with the heat between you and Handsome Hank? This was, listen, that's Hank and I, our relationship is now at a crossroads over this.

However, this, this Dolphins game, this was, this was, this was coming for weeks. And now we'll see if they can bounce back from it. Why was this coming? I mean, this was the most surprising scoreline of the day to me. I'm not surprised that there even was. Not to a seer. Greg? Let's hear it. You asked. I'll answer. Because the Dolphins

to me, for all the success they were having and six game winning streaks are great, it seemed a little bit misleading. Some of the games that they were stealing, they weren't winning, they weren't blowing anybody out hardly. They were just getting by, and it seemed like that this was not a team that was going to roll to 11 and 5 or something.

I never really believe in this team. I know they have playmakers on both sides of the ball. I don't think this is a bad team, but I thought they were going to come down to Earth. And this was exactly the type of game that Miami fans did not want to see because they were blown out from the very first drive of this game. And their secondary, which is a major problem. Joe Flackos had a dreadful year.

And when he's picking you apart, you've got to be scared about what's going to happen the rest of the month. Hashtag findings. Findings, bro. What down there to the left? I mean, that's what's surprising is the dolphins who have been in. a good defense, a good defensive line, gave up that many points to this lousy Ravens offense. 27 completions by Joe Flacco in the first half, the most by any quarterback since Tony Romo in 2007.

Wow. Why did they keep throwing the ball as much as they did when they were romping Miami? It's a good question. It's a fair question because the Ravens want to throw the ball every down, apparently. They don't trust their run game at all. But the Dolphins' zone defense left the middle of the field wide open. their linebackers were terrible in coverage, and Joe Flacko's ball placement was perfect today. Why wouldn't you?

He was on point. Why wouldn't you throw constantly, even with a lead, when you can't run? They actually ran okay. They've run okay all year. Yeah. Like they, but if Baltimore cannot, if Miami cannot stop the pass and can stop the run, then, you know. Well, I hear you. It's just in game after game watching the Ravens, it's like no matter what situation that they're in,

they're totally averse to running the ball. And I don't know why there would be, this wouldn't have been one of the better opportunities to do that. Well, 386, though. Late in the third. It's a perfect performance by them. I'm just saying, when do teams run the ball? When you're up by 20-something points, you know, late in the season. They're up 24 to nothing.

And late in the third quarter, they've got six runs and 40-something passes. It's, I think it's a fair question for anybody who's been following this offense all year and realizing how imbalance they are that they can run the ball, they just don't show any interest. I mean, they fired their first. O.C. because of it. Not that the O.C. should not be happy. But today, you should. They got your boy, Bresad Perman, in the mix. They did. He had a big play, 53-yard touchdown, as you heard on the highlight reel. You got Dennis Pitta is back in the mix. I think that was purely a match-up thing. He was killing the linebackers all day. It was like a flash. It was first,

his first touchdown. He had two of them. His first since 2013. You know, I don't know what the, I don't put too much, like, stock personally in the comeback player of the year battle, but from a guy coming back from two major hip surgeons. Yeah, he's He's got to be in the mix. He's a part of their offense. Today, he was the biggest part of it. Speaking of offense, the Dolphins' offense can't be allowed to get off the hook in this one either. It was a tough matchup.

The Ravens are very stout at home on defense. But their only score of the game was an eight-yard touchdown to Devante Barker after Dennis Pitta fumbled on the eight-yard line. It wasn't even a drive. It was one play. Well, the Ravens are a scary team, and they're going to be playing the Patriots next week. That's going to be a really interesting game. because we've been talking about this offense, a little bit of a sleeping giant,

or at least a sleeping average-sized man. I mean, they got some talent. And this is the number one defense in the league, according to football outsider's metric. It's the number one rush defense they've ever recorded. Now, part of that is who they've played against, but they have some real strengths. And here we are in December,

and the Steelers are bombing some team that was in the playoffs going into today. The Ravens are bombing some team that was in the playoffs going into today. today. And I'm thinking, I wouldn't count out both of these teams still getting in and being right in the mix to make the Super Bowl. You've got the Patriots on the road. You're home against the Eagles. You're on the road against the Steelers and Bengals. You say they're scary. I think they are, too. But what do you think the real ceiling is in terms of this season? I think the Ravens? The Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl, I agree. I mean, I don't think it's that crazy in this AFC. The schedule's tough. I mean, you're going to have to win in Foxborough or winning, you know, in Pittsburgh and the I mean, the team that won the Super Bowl was imperfect, too, so it's not crazy. I trust their defense as much as any defense in the NFL this year. And their offense, I've thought all year, has more potential than they've shown. Little intercoferous action between two playoff hopefuls. Rivers in the shotgun formation from the 31, takes the snap, looks up field, still looking, still looking to his left. Now, throws the ball toward the end zone.

Near sideline, it has intercepted, picked off at the two-yard line by Keith Tandy. Tandy with a pick of the two. Gene Decker off WFUS. Buck Safety, Keith Tandy had the Buck's biggest play of the year an interception at the two-yard line with three minutes to play to help preserve a 28-21 win for the Bucks over the Chargers in San Diego. That's four straight wins for the Bucks who are suddenly tied for first place in the NFC South

with the Falcons with four games to play. Greg Rosenthal. Bucks didn't play a perfect game. but they closed out a Chargers team that will be remembered for it's an inability to close out anyone it's unbelievable what is that just give me a second because the Chargers it's over oh it's over well they're you know five and seven you never know they could they could run the bit ride let's see it's over so let me just sing this one san die go Superchargers

San Diego Superchargers Superchargers It's for you, Deb. I think it's comforting that there probably must have been multiple times that Dan's parents, when he was a small boy, alone in the corner of a room, facing the wall, would sing songs that would have, you know, the parental units very common.

concerns. Something's come of it. And have cats all around the neighborhood, howling. Something's good. Something positive has come of it. It was a nice song. But it has a sad meaning. When I sing that song, that means the Charger season's over, Greg.

And it might be the last chance that San Diego has an NFL team. So a lot of bummer news around the Chargers. It's over and it's such a shame because this San Diego fan base deserves better. If this winds up being the final team that plays in San Diego, it almost seems fitting yet cruel how much heartbreak they have piled onto their fan base this year. Every fourth quarter, not every fourth quarter, but practically all these losses have been from the fourth quarter. It's amazing how much they've been outscored in the fourth quarter games. In this one, 11 to nothing in the fourth quarter.

And credit needs to go to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who have found something in their pass rush with no expense. and Gerald McCoy, even Robert Ayers getting into the mix a little bit today, and they've definitely found something in James Winston making plays late in the down. I'm thinking about their go-ahead touchdown in this game, thrown into triple coverage to Cameron Brayt. Then they go for a two-point conversion. Joey Bosa has James Winston dead to right. He makes Joey Bosa miss, slides over, finds Mike Evans for the two-point conversion.

You know, he hasn't been perfect. He makes some crazy plays that can be picked off. but they got something. I mean, they're beating good teams every week now. Where are you with the whole sandwich thing that you had the 18 sandwiches tied to the bucks? It's looking a little better? If the season ended today...

Why do you keep saying that? Because you went after me that you didn't like when the season ended today, and now that's the third time. It was just a funny, you know, just a little bit. We do bits. Don't take it personal. I would get those sandwiches.

I said the bucks need to be one of two teams from the NFC South to make the playoffs. As of today, they are the number six seed, and the Falcons would also be in. So they're in this thing. They got a tough schedule, though, too. They got the Saints. We're not there yet. It was a month ago that we were asking if Dirk Potter would necessarily be back next season.

Right. The Saints and Falcons each play the Panthers and Saints. I mean, the Bucks and Falcons each play the Panthers and Saints. The Bucks also play the Saints a second time and at Dallas, whereas the Falcons' other two games are at the Rams and hosting the 40s. Sure. But we've been giving this schedule analysis for a while now. We talked about the Chiefs. Well, their schedule's coming up. You know, it's tough. But they win at Denver. They win at Atlanta. We talked about the Bucks. Even after they got one of these wins, I think it was the Bears when they blew them out.

And we're like, well, you know, it's nice. They got close to a winning record. But, you know, now there goes at Chiefs versus Seahawks at Chargers. You know what? We've got to fill the show with something. No, no, no. I'm not pointed. provide analysis. No, no, no. I'm just saying being shown they can win games. It's impossible when we try to break down the schedule of the upcoming opponents

that the gap between these teams just isn't that great. I 100% agree. More than ever in our lifetime. Is so close together that there are very few true upsets. Well, I think like two or three weeks ago, it was making me very upset about the wide berth of mediocre play. And now I'm just celebrating it. It's just wonderful at this point.

I mean, the bucks have real weaknesses. Their offensive line was played terrible. That's why I give, you know, Winston a lot of credit for surviving through it. They lost two of their receivers today. They were down to three wide receivers, and one of them was Freddie Martino, who led the wide receivers and catches. That's not a real person. Because Casey Hayward absolutely shut Mike Evans down in one of the better cornerback.

Hayward has been great for a while. What a pickup he's been. All right. I just hate that. The last point in these chargers, I just hate the way this has happened, too, for two games at home, Rivers throwing back-breaking picks. You know, it was kind of, you know, Rivers knew it, too. He went to his knees and put his head in his hands.

The first pick six was kind of bad luck, but it was really on Rivers there. I think we know what's happening here. Like, it's a very slow cook project by Greg. But he's clearly going to write a novel, bemoaning the move, the ultimate move, probably to Los Angeles. And the, well, a giant sports book about how tough it's been for San Diego, before he moves his family in retirement down to San Diego and be hailed as sort of a quasi-mayor of the town

and a friend of San Diego. Good job, Greg. Greg is a big, he plays chess. That sounds awesome. When you talk about Greg in life, he's a chess player. That's what we're seeing. He just moved the rook. You know who else is playing chess?

Our old friend, your boy, in the desert. Oh, spice rack. Spicy. Belved Gordon, I think he's nine yards away from 1,000. so next week we can stop him now barring an in practice injury nowvin gordon's a top five running back right now he is oh come on did we agree that's we've got more top five we've got more players in the top five anything i don't care this year he's a top five all right well dan's put lashon mccoy in the offensive player of the year race or whatever you got david johnson i resent your or whatever but david johnson

levy on bell mccoy ezekiel elli mccoy demarko murray not gordon's ahead of murray no he's not Now he is? No. That's move on. Let's see how the Green Bay Packers did today against the Houston, Texas. Roger shotgun slot left. Snap to Arod. Looking around.

Good protection again, scrambles left. Loft to left side. Jornie Whiteoff. Get a shot. Johnny Nelson spikes it just outside the North End zone. 13 to 7 Green Bay. I don't know about that. A-Rod stuff.

Wayne Larravee. and Larry McCarran of W-T-M-J. Aaron Rogers and Jordy Nelson are making it look like the good old days, and the Packers are making their playoff push following a 21-13 win over the Texans at Lambeau. Oh, we locked it up. That's three out of four. Mark Sessler, process of elimination.

You're the man. I am. Well, and it's, yeah, I mean, continue on. Yeah, I'll just say, Mark, the weather wasn't great, and neither was Rogers' hamstring, but Green Bay is now in a second place tied in the NFC North. Yeah, I thought there were three teams. in this there were the packers the Texans and the snow and I mean the snow played a

no I you know I thought it first it wouldn't because who came in second oh the snow came in second what's the nickname of the snow if it snow is like the city what's the snow what whitey I don't know flakes would have been a good one flaky I mean none of it seems no whitey snow whitey but let's figure for whitey you saw it with the minute they cut to the game that the snow was already falling and you thought well these players, they're used to this, they've done this, it really did seem to take a major role because it was the slippery kind of snow, not just the one that's kind of melting away. And Aaron Rogers was one of the few people in the game that seemed sure-footed no matter what was happening, but there

were players slipping all over the place. And for me, this game, really, both offenses were in trouble early. Green Bay, as you think they would at home at Lambo, found a way to get the passing game going in the second half with, I believe, a 98-yard drive on a one touchdown drive, which is the longest Aaron Rogers scoring drive since 2009, and they followed it up one drive later with an 89-yard march that put this game away. As soon as they put it, they got a 14-7 though, you knew it was over because the Texans offense, as advertised, was an utter comprehensive disaster. I am tired of watching this team, and they, A, they could not really do much on the ground. It looks better

in the box score than it did. They had a couple drives were they able to sustain stuff with the run. But Brock Osweiler, I don't think he even attempted a pass more than once in the first three quarters, more than 20 yards down field. He's got receivers dropping. And that soundbite

is him today. This was a tough watch. I mean, both offense has struggled, but the Packers are the better team. They got it done. I cannot believe this Texans team has a chance at the playoffs. I don't think they will because there's a three way tie atop the south that the cults beat the jets and then the cults and the Texans play next week you know is are we getting to the point and we've been

talking about this for a couple weeks but I know our friend Tom Savage was inactive today with some type of injury and an arm infection at what point is Brock Osweiler gonna lose this job are they just gonna stick it out I mean I think maybe unless I think Brock Osweiler's butt we do have butt for quarterbacks yeah sure do it seems appropriate I mean Savage was in the hospital with an arm infection, and your other option is Brandon Whedon, so your security is the people behind you. Is Brock Osweiler better than Brandon Whedon? I think it's a fair question.

I don't think he's better enough where you make that switch and you aren't in the same situation, and you've just got a much bigger political issue to deal with because you bench Brock Osweiler. I mean, does anyone trust Brandon Whedon? No, but I think Savage is the guy they'd go to. Tom Savage is real. Tom Savage is in the hospital, so I don't know, you know, it's not happening today. I think what illustrates how bad Osweller is, is that Weeding came in last year with basically no reps in that system and won a game for them, and we can't even expect Osweller to do that. Marcus Grant had a good tweet of the fantasy team at us. He said, can we hear that Tom Savage drop against it?

Tom Savage is real. Dot, dot, dot, sick. In the hospital. Real sick. Gotcha. Yeah, got it, nailed it. Excellent snow analysis by you going with the particular kind of snow. You know, Eskimos have 50 different words for snow, right?

But they don't have a single, they don't have a general word for snow. It's always like a different kind of snow. That seems like a time waster for them. But I am so happy that I got a snow game. It's my favorite type of football. Don't tell Claibon. You've turned fast on the Packers now. You're kind of a lot for the ride.

I lost my battle out crying mediocre football. I'm now just married to that and enjoying it. And I lost my battle that Green Bay wouldn't sneak into the playoffs. They're going to. They're going to do it. And I'm just going to, I'm along for the ride. They're releasing yourself. It's a nice way to look at things.

You can't control this stuff. Yes. All right. They could be in the wild card mix instead of the division as well. Put them in the AFC South. Let's check in on a certain AFC superpower. Brady's under center, out of the eye, fourth and inches. Again, the blunt runs it right, bounces out outside.

First got him more. Right side of the 35, 30, blood to the 25, 20, blood to the 10, bluff to the five, block to the pylon. Reaching the cross, touchdown, Patriots. Yeah, boy, that's blood force trauma off the right side. This is a great job sealing the edge, and we've seen it all year by number 29. You got to kid me with that blood force trauma stuff. Greg seems logical

Bob Sosie and Scott Zolak at WBZ LaGarrett Blunt's Pretty touchdown run was a sign of things to come As the Patriots looked every bit The Superior Team A 2610 win over the Rams at Foxborough Tom Brady had a quiet but efficient game He became the winningest quarterback

Of all time passing Peyton Manning With his 201st career victory Chris Wesley Grock is gone but the Pats still have The Playmakers to make a run right Yeah more methodic run-heavy offense in this game. A lot of short-passing.

About what we expected when you take away. Grunk, who was the NFL's leader in yards per reception this year, they don't go down the field without him. Brady still did pretty well. I think the story of this game is the Rams, though. If you want, if you are trying to sneak Jeff Fisher away from the Rams, lure him away, can't do it. He's locked up now.

Got to lock it up. He's locked up. Nobody else can get him from the Rams. Eight straight, non-winning. seasons. How did that happen? They go into New England, and at the end of the second quarter, going into halftime, the Patriots have run more plays than the Rams have total yards.

That's insane. It's not ideal. I think with the Fisher extension, since this is our chance to talk about it for his time, he confirmed after the game, it was signed in the offseason. I think that's a huge piece of context to have with the information coming out. Now, there's also been multiple reports, not from us, but there's been reports out there from a local paper and the national outlet, ESPN,

that he could still be fired after this season, that the end of this season is what's going to matter. Stan Cronky paid billions of dollars for the Rams. He's not going to change his course because they tacked on one year to Jeff Fisher's contract. Yeah, I mean, teams all over the place are paying multiple fights. I don't think it changes anything from a billionaire's perspective, but we talked about the Rams getting into PR issues last week for a whole different reason.

They cannot get out of their way from a PR angle. This is how do you release this news today? It's it's diabolical to put on your fan base. I mean, but we were talking about this in the preseason. They thought it happened in the preseason. They were probably avoiding avoiding this moment all season as their year started to take a dark turn. But yeah, the context is everything here. If you signed him to the extension yesterday, oh, okay, then he's safe this year, maybe next year.

But everything's different knowing that it was done before what has been a really bad season and a season where they're not winning. And also they've looked bad in multiple spots. And they, I don't know if they've looked any worse. Their season opener was an embarrassment. Today was on that level. And Jared Goff is not an upgrade on Case Keenham. He didn't get much help today.

They had a few drops, including one that turned into an interception. But he couldn't move this offense. And some of, I know that the Patriots sent a lot of pressure, and they didn't always block well, but some of his pocket presence was embarrassing in this game. Well, I read something that John Lynch said during the broadcast, you know, Belichick said they were going to send a lot of pressure at him because Goff is seeing the pass rush, that they've noticed early,

and that's a common thing for a young quarterback, that his eyes are down, he is seeing that rush come at him. And, you know, I don't know who they play next. Basically, every opponent the rest of the way, is going to follow that blueprint until he can prove otherwise. It looked like the preseason. He looked completely baffled and bewildered on several of those pastures. Isn't it part of what gets packed into the fact that you waited this long for better or worse to start a rookie,

where other teams are so deep in their scheme that defenses have been adding layers and layers to their pass rush and their coverage all year long, that golf is going into New England? Did we expect? I mean, this was the results statistically are unbelievable, but the result score-wise does not surprise. me at all. He's played three he started three games now. He looked really good in one half of one game in New Orleans and it's been pretty much

a train wreck everywhere. It's early with Goff. I think evaluating the team is a little, is more fair to me. But as a Pats fan who did not get a chance to watch this game closely. You're going to treat yourself a little later this week. Yeah, I'm just going to sit back, you know.

Throw to be. Crack open water with a little cranberry juice out of it. Oh, get wild, Craig. And see, come on, man, you're a family man. I mean, Malcolm Mitchell with another big day, Wes. And tell me that I shouldn't get at least a little excited that Shane McClellan and Kyle Van Nuoy seemed to be kind of the guys they're going to be rolling with.

To be honest, I would have to watch this game closer to tell me about Kyle Vanoy and Shane McClellan. They were going against James. And Jabal Sheard had a day. They were going against Jared golf, so I wouldn't get too excited. Greg is going full villain. That's their guys. I mean, Dan, one thing, if someone came up to you.

So Tom Brady, I mean win number 201. Yes. That is a remarkable achievement. If someone came up as you were leaving tonight with your dad, Keith Hanses, and said, by the way, just going to let you know, I'm from the future. Christian Hackenberg is going to break Tom Brady's all-time win streak. You would know that the next 20 years of your life would be utterly beautiful, not unlike the last 20 years that Greg has enjoyed.

It's a great thought. And, you know, as crazy as crazy is that, that seems, it's roughly as probable as the sixth round pick at $199 overall going on this run. Hey, listen, you know, what are you going to do? I see dad behind the glass. What are we going to do about Tom Brady? I mean, it's, you can hate on the guy, but he's the best ever. He's the best ever.

And the fact that, yeah, I don't know if my hashtag slight regression is going to work out. I think it will, but I don't know. 18 touchdowns, one intercept. I mean, this season, it's not working on science. Just roll it over into 2017. Well, you know I will if I have to. But we'll see what happens. But the fact that he's still playing so well, who knows how many more wins.

It's outrageous, Mark, that this is something that the Hanzas home has been subjected to. My poor mother. Much less New York. Let's get Deb on the headset now. Hey, Dan. There's Debbie. Hi, Mom. What's it been like you met Dad in 1972?

Yes. And so you've known nothing but Jet Fail. for like almost 40 years. Well, I've tried to focus on positive things on Sundays. And you've heard things that you cannot unhear over the years in the upstairs area where my dad and I have watched games and Kevin, my other brother, there screams guttural sounds, right? It's amazing the wallpaper is still on the walls.

Don't think I didn't notice that, hey, Dan, too. That was nice. Are you going after Wes's seat, ma'am? I bow to the master. All right. We're almost done, Mom. I know this isn't the type of analysts your way into. We only have a couple more games left.

Well, I do just want to mention, though, that your singing ability comes from your father. Fair enough. All right, let's move on and check-in on the defending Super Bowl champions. Mortals takes a snap and hit as he throws the ball pick-off. Bradley Robes down. the sideline he's going to the house roby with the pick six and Denver just like that with a huge turnover and score that's the second pick six of the year by roby

Dave Logan K-O-A as expected Blake Bortals was no match for the Broncos defense and Paxton Lynch stayed out of the way in it Denver Broncos 20 to 10 win over the jaguars mark the Broncos had barely 200 yards of total offense and still doubled up the Jaguars. What does this tell us? Well, it tells us the Jaguars are heading towards a massive reorganization, but from a Denver side, I feel like we on Thursday kind of called, if we were going to draw up a game we thought we might see, it was not too far from what we saw today, where when you've got Paxton Lynch in there, you cannot trust to take over the game, and he certainly did not.

The Jaguar's defense was not awful, but the Broncos defense did what it needed to do. It generated turnovers and it generated points off turnovers. And the script went exactly as a Broncos fan could have hoped. They basically hid Paxton Lynch and you get back to Simeon next week. That's what a good team does. They did a nice job of it. Perfect timing, the opponent here. Right.

That all makes sense, but I would think a Broncos fan who at this point is in it for titles, it has to still be concerned that, you know, they couldn't run the ball very well. And B, it would be nice to see your first round. quarterback, you know, be able to do a little more, right? I think so, too. I, you know, listen. We're just killing Jared Goff. You know, if Jared Goff did this, we'd have pitchforks out for him.

Yeah, I just think that they allowed, or the strength of the team picked up the slack. The run game has been an issue ever since C.J. Anderson went down. And, you know, today Capri Bibbs played a bigger role at points than Devante Booker, who finished with 1.9 yards per carry. Booker is not having a good season. sometimes back to lynch sometimes we hear before a player's career starts that he'll need a year in the season to get to get used to it and we heard the same thing about paxton lynch but that all got sped up when their quarterback issues propped up maybe this guy's just not ready yet they need to season

him more well i think this offensive line is going to be the death of this team and it kills the running game and it kills their quarter young quarterbacks and there's there's been no improvement and tell me if it was any different today well look it it's it's not a win that was an impressive victory it's not it's we're not looking at a denver team that's surging they're not even maybe the third best team in their own division so they've got issues they've got an upward climb to get where they were last season that's not going to happen i don't think and uh there's a report out there this week uh on sunday morning that gus bradley is in deep deep trouble uh after the season which we could have deduced ourselves but how sick are our jaguars fans for uh of

hearing this after the game from their quarterback. Oh, it's the biggest nightmare possible. But, I mean, what are you going to do about it? You can't sit there in a corner and pout. You can't blame people. You can't feel sorry for yourself because I think all that's going to do is affect the way I play. You know, you got to win. They got to win.

I got to throw it better and we got to make plays. You know, that's really all it comes down to. We didn't do enough of that. Are we getting to the point where Blake Bortles should be worried about his job security next year? We got to that point a month ago, at least a month ago. He has now started 41 career games, and he's got more pick sixes than he has victories. I mean, that's an amazing stat. He's got more pick sixes than victories.

They can't enter the offseason with him as an unquestioned starter. I don't think there's any question. It's crazy how far he's fallen. This is one of the most surprising young quarterback seasons I can remember. Josh Freeman's fall from grace comes to mind, but I don't think the expectations were as high going into. his third season as they were for Bordos. The thing with Bortals, the warning signs were there

with him as well. A little bit, but not like this. Numbers were inflated. I mean, his teams lost, were still losing. But he did a lot of good things. He was a totally different quarterback last year. He did good, like he did those wow plays and you don't see him. They'll mean, their big play element, which even if it came in garbage time, it still came against

NFL defenses, they were, he was, you know, piling up yardage and touchdowns where the point you thought if the rest of the team, the way they thought this offseason did, would grow around him, Blake Bordels was going to become a star, and now it's like you've got to wonder how many games he'd even start next season.

I mean, they've got Alan Hurons on a huge contract. You got Alden Robinson. Their leading receiver today was Neil Sterling. Hey, Neil. Neil Sterling. He's a tight end. An accountant. It was a good thing for the Broncos

because the Dolphins and Bills lost. Right. But they don't have any gimmies on their schedule. At the Titans, that's their easiest game remaining. Home to the Patriots at Kansas City, and then home to the Raiders. Whoa. This is fun.

It's going to be fun. Greg's getting it. You're the schedule guy, by the way. How about West kind of getting into your territory? Oh, no, no, no. I don't get into permutations or tabulations. That's Greg. You just go hard-court.

This is what's coming up. Greg. More of the playoff picture. Greg tabulates. I can't do that. So many roles. So such an important. What is yours a distinction with the schedule, Mark?

I'm just giving, I'm kind of just letting everything be, as I mentioned. At this point, I have no extra, don't give me any extra duties. I'm taking, I'm, I'm, getting rid of responsibilities. And I didn't even know there was a schedule. I thought team just like names out of a hat every Saturday night. Let's move in on check out a game of the NFC. Palmer to throw has Johnson to the right.

He's got some blockers inside the 20, now the 15, outside to the 10. Five touchdown Cardinals. 25-yard pass play from Carson Palmer to David Johnson. He is remarkable. And he gives the Cardinals a three-point lead with 1109 to play. He certainly is. Dan Hoard and Dave Lapham of WCK Y, Lapham. David Johnson's second touchdown of the day put the Cardinals ahead for good

and Patrick Peterson's interception ended Washington's last chance at a comeback. A 3,1-24 win at the University of Phoenix Stadium by the Cardinals, a game that's, you know, too little too late for the Cardinals. I think that was my boy Tom McCarthy. Oh, that was Tommy Mack? Yeah, he's the Phil's play-by-play. Oh, I totally botcha. You're right.

That was Tom McCarthy. of Westwood won sports. Sidney, that's why you get the big bucks behind the glass. Why they call me new money. New money. Yeah, too little too late for this Cardinals team, but at the same time, it shows you again, you've seen some hints of why this team is so good.

Wes, David Johnson, we keep about talking about who is the top five running backs? Anybody, if he's not in your top two, I'm not talking to you ever again. I think that's fair. Yeah, he should be in your top two. And I know Greg hates this award But David Johnson is the perfect guy

For the Offensive Player of the Year award Because his team isn't going to make the playoff So he's not going to be in the MVP race He's the Andre Dawson, Hawk, 1987 Cubs There you go That's a good comparison Give the MVP This is a stupid award

The MVP should be the offensive player No, it makes sense If you want to award someone that was a monster stud on a mediocre Then call that the award Not the best offensive player Because how could you be the most valuable And not be the best offensive player Assuming offensive way

You are right but it's good for agents and it makes people money. David Johnson's on pace for 1,340 rushing yards, 940 receiving yards. Marron! And 20 touchdowns. 20 touchdowns, 2,300 yards from scrimmage. And it seems like it gets better every week. Masked inside an awful season.

I think he could be a slot receiver that he could not play running back. You could just line him up as a slot receiver and he could do that. You're sounding dangerously close to the color analysts. They're like, that guy's a football player. You put him on the field. Yeah, but he's not a receiver. He's a running back. Put some shoulder pads on him, and you tell him where to go, and he'll make plays.

You're not impressed with their analysis. Well, no. We've been down on the color guys this year. For what it's worth, we're saying in the middle of a dire season, and it's too late for them, just to raise the point, They are only half a game back of the Packers, who we just are saying are in the mix. I mean, crazier things have happened. They're going to have to run the table, and I don't believe it will happen.

I don't believe it will happen, but I don't think the season's ever over until you get that seven next to your game. The game behind the Redskins. Who, I mean, the Redskins on Thanksgiving, I couldn't wait for them to go play Dallas again in the playoffs. Redskins. No, go ahead, Wes. This NFC wildcard race is wide open. Yeah. They're now six, five, and one, the Redskins, and they fell behind.

And the Bucks and Falcons who are both seven and five for that final playoff spot. One point, biggest play of this game, by the way. Fourth and one at Arizona's on their own 34-yard line, nursing a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter. Bruce Ariens shows some onions, big onions from Bruce, in a season where, you know, we haven't had enough good Bruce Ariens moments. He decides to go for it on fourth and one from the 34, and David Johnson busts a 14-yard run. that leads to a deep touchdown pass from Carson Palmer. That was the difference in this game. Walla Walla is a big onion.

Near a giant sweet Spanish onions are good. And a red zeppelin is a big red onion. All right, buddy. Come down, Farmer. A big, big, big game, a big win for the Cardo. So I guess keep their flickering playoff hopes alive. But I just don't think they're going to be able to string. And Redskins, you know, I haven't really been on board for about 15, 16 years now.

I finally get on board, and this is what they do. You know, I was really... About you, Greg. I'm really surprised they lost this game. Aren't you? I don't know. I just, we were kind of... I thought the Redskins were...

Well, it's that big middle again. They weren't that much worse than the Cardinals, or better than the Cardinals. And the Cardinals were better at home. Yeah, we shouldn't be that surprised. Can't figure anything out. Can't figure anything out with a good game. You know, David Johnson's got an outside chance at the all-time yards from scrimmage record. Whoa.

What's the record of $2,400? Yeah, he's going to have to pick it up a little bit, Wait, didn't Chris Johnson have 2,5003 or something like that? He's got to pick it up a little, but that's the kind of range he's in. That's what the office player of the year awards for, bro. You can break that record. An award, Greg would like to strike from existence. Now let's hear from Dan Hoard, Hoard.

Hoard. Horde. And Dave Lappam of WCKW. Dalton back to pass. He'll throw it into the end zone for him. He's got the football. Touchdown. Bengals.

Andy Dalton with a great throw. and Tyler Eifert went airborne to haul it in for his third touchdown catch of the year. Andy Dalton showed us it is possible for him to put together a big day without A.J. Green, throwing for 332 yards and two touchdowns, including that 13-yard hookup with Tyler Eifert. The Bengals rolled to a 32 to 14 win over the Eagles who are dead in the nest. Wes, another team dead in the nest. You asked us Thursday, where we are on. I'm Carson Wentz, and we didn't seem too worried.

I saw some pictures today of his throwing motion and how it's regressed from August to September to October to November to December. And it's very Bortles-like right now. Yikes. That could be why a guy like Hugh Jackson said, I'm not going to take a chance on this guy because coming out of college, a lot of people did say his throwing motion was too long. You love it, Mark. Admit it. I do not love it. I don't love it because, A, it's in your mind.

But these quarterbacks, the narrative and how they play changes to such a vast degree outside of five to seven of them that let's talk next year at this time. Wentz could be fantastic. I think you see the effect of a long season and a bad offensive line and the fact that Paul Turner is his number one receiver right now and you don't have much of a running game. Wendell Smallwood is getting the most carries on the team. I think credit goes to the Bengals. They're a three-win team who put together scoring drives on their first seven drives, I believe. That was the first time that that's happened in the last 170-plus games. I mean, this Eagles defense deserves just as much blame as Wentz.

Do they switch places with the Packers during that Monday night? We thought this was a good defense, and they're not a good defense right now. I mean, Cincinnati dominated a game offensively on a day where Jeremy Hill had 33 yards on 23 carries. And yet the seven straight drives they scored. That 3-0 start for Philadelphia now seems like a work of fiction at this point. Can I, Wes, on the Wednesday, one question. When you watch him, I feel like one issue with Bortles is there's major mechanical issues, and no matter what he's tried to do to fix them, he can't find a way to fix them.

Some of these quarterbacks do improve mechanically. I mean, isn't it a little early at this point to be freaked out about Wence? I wouldn't say freaked out, but I think it's a legitimate concern when that was a concern coming out of college and why some teams didn't like him as much. And I think he does have a similar motion. I thought that in August, in his first preseason game, I thought his motion was way too long. And he seemed to fix it.

Doug Peterson did some work with him. I think it's fair to wonder, just like with Bortles, how much is he going to backslide? Maybe he'll work harder than Bortles. Maybe he'll go see guys in the offseason. Bortles didn't see anyone this past offseason. I think they're good reps, though, to get.

I know it's rough right now for Wence, but I think it's all good experience that it's positive to get to get all these reps. Mechanics concern me more than just like a stretch where you're turning the ball over a lot. Mechanics really concern me. Let's move on to the game of the week. 35 seconds to go, first and goal at the one. The Bears have entered the Dr. Pepper Red Zone, always one of a kind. Here's the take of the handoff.

Jordan Howard into the end zone. Touchdown. Touchdown Bears. Tied at six. Point pending with 31 seconds to go in the first half. Jordan Howard's in from the one. Sid, we will rule that out of the top 10 because whenever you put in a blatant corpo plug in the middle of the play-by-play call,

it's not the Dr. Pepper's end of it. I mean, that is, I'm sorry. That is offensive. Yeah, you could say after you come back from break, and now the bearers are. They do this stuff all the time. They're going to be in the red zone here. Of course, it's the Dr. Pepper Red zone.

You know, fine, but not in the middle of the play call. Right. Come back to us. Jeff Johnnyak of WBM, now, which I know it's coming from upstairs, Jeff. Yeah, he's just doing this job. You're not the guy that's in charge of this play. Everybody's got corporate over there. I mean, everything, everything has a sponsor.

We're beholden to know it. It's like the doctor's shoals, you know, stick measurement. I mean, that's fine. Too many doctors. This whole beholden to know one thing, enjoy it while at last. Yeah, that's true. Enjoy while last. Just saying corporate overlords will eventually get to you.

Look at you coming from experience. Is this a little your history at the post office coming out? That's what corporate overlords do. They have a long arm. Wesleyan's PM mail delivery sponsored by Dr. Pepper. My PM mail delivery was sponsored by Bud Diesel. Bud Diesel. Jordan Howard, what is Bud Diesel?

Budweiser, straight Budweiler. Not the light. Bud heavy is what I knew it at. Yeah, same thing. You don't put water in your beer ever. A little Bud Diesel. Don't do that light beer stuff. Greg wants his water with cranberry food coloring added to it.

Cracking went open for his pants win. Jordan Howard ran for three short touchdowns, and Colin Kaepernick broke fantasy hearts across the globe with an epic dud in the Bears' 26-6 win over the 49ers. Kaepernick, who entering Sunday had put together a string of very strong performances and Niners' losses through this is the stat of the day, guys. He threw for four yards and was sacked five times before being benched. That's never happened before.

get sacked five times and throw for less yards than the number of times you were sacked. That's a signature benching. Whoa. This game did not, this entire game. And this is a game we will admit to the audience. We weren't watching too closely as a group. I was. But I was tracking it as a good host should.

This game did not have a completion on either side until midway through the second quarter. My goodness. But the Bears made some plays. Matt Barkley led them on a touchdown drive right before the half. followed up with a couple more quick scores in the third quarter, and the game was over at that point. Wes, you predicted a blowout in this game, so this kind of went the exact opposite.

I'm an idiot. I mean, I'm, oh, Wes, don't beat yourself up. It was snowing. You couldn't. Well, you didn't know the weather, right. Well, I will say that seeing how this game turned out, I don't feel like I need to watch it on game pass. It's the first game all year where I've decided.

I just don't need to see it. I'm not going to tell me anything. Well, you might want to see what Vance McDonald's two catches for nine, yards look like. I mean... I'm sexy. I mean, they only had one completion. I guess this isn't too surprising when Kaepernick only had one completion period.

They only had one completion over six yards for the game. I mean, to be fair, at one point... Chip Kelly came out. At one point, Carlos Hyde had 17 rushes, I think, before Cap threw his fourth pass or something. Right. They were just all running from both teams early. And the real takeaway is your Browns are at risk. of losing that one seat.

That's why I was watching. Get a win here. You know what? Talk about another thing. You cannot control or get stressed about or set up in the middle of night over. Who knows? Oh, you get the number one pick. There's a ton of pressure on them.

The guy fades and it's another, you know, please. Well, I did some research. I looked to see who's got the strength of schedule so far. And right now it leans towards if they were tied right now, the 49ers. Do you have any positive news to bring to us? We're really testing Mark's news like ways. Well, it's not positive or negative It's just the truth

For you, it's negative Well, let's see who the niner Can we look real fast? I know I looked I don't get at the niner's I don't know It's nice and dramatic But whoever gets the one or the two pick

Just it should be known That there's not an Andrew luck in this draft It's not like it's a suck for luck No, but what if there's the next Lawrence Taylor And then the guy after that gets Joe Fabiates I mean that's where we're going to this All right

To your point Exactly someone you'll never hear up here To your point You never know what's a number one one pick. Eric Fisher was the number one pick. Genevian Clownie was the number one pick and Clayton Mac won four picks later. I like Clownie and all, but 49ers have the Jets.

That's, I don't, that's no, the Jets could win that game number one. Falcons, Rams, and Seahawks. So the, you look at the Jets and the Rams and say, huh, maybe. They get to play Jared golf. Yeah, they got a chance in that for sure. That was, maybe they're only, you know, they sweep the Rams this season. They go two and four.

John Fox right now is just, you know, screwing up the draft pick for the next coach. Hmm. Wes, Jeremy Curley had an 18-yard reception in this game. He might want to plug in on that. I actually want to see how many starters Matt Barclay is better than. He didn't have a completion in what, the first? Average 10 yards per attempt.

He was. He was better in the second half. To his credit, I think he was 0 for 2 midway through the second quarter. I mean, a very strange, ugly game. I'm taking Matt Barclay over Brock Osweiler right now. All right, let's move on. And that takes us to Sunday night. football. Dan Hansis has left the studio with his parents go say goodbye, have some quality time

before they get on a plane. We also, I wanted to warn the listeners, our soundboard has died since this Sunday night game ended, so we have no sound drops for this part of the show. You know what that means? What does it mean? Mark, you get off Scott Free. No song. And, you know, we heard before, we heard from Sid that it was the fantasy podcast. It was there, in quotes, fault. that the soundboard crashed. Well, thank you, fantasy friends. Well, this game, it's not that exciting. 40 by the Seahawks.

40 Burger, they dropped on the Panthers who only get a touchdown in the game, and yet it doesn't feel that exciting for Seattle because Earl Thomas leaves the game with a lower leg fracture. We talked about this during the game, and Earl Thomas and Cam Chancellor are the best safety tandem in football this year,

and for the past half. decade. You talk about that Pete Carroll cover three defense. Earl Thomas is the key to that secondary covering the middle of that field. So that's a big loss. And it came on a play where he makes a great play. It's like the type of play he's been making all season, such a fluke injury. I'm thinking back to just three weeks ago at this time. He took out Rob Grunkowski with a big hit. And that's the NFL in the three weeks since then. Grunkowski's now out for the season with an unrelated injury. Earl Thomas, who knows how long he's going to be out for. Emotional on Twitter, he tweets about retirement.

Hopefully that was just in the heat of the moment. We don't know if we'll see him again this year, but they haven't had all their stars together on defense at the same time, and it sounds like they're not going to be able to. I think it reminds you that these teams like that. Oh, Sunday night. Wow, Cindy. What a, that was a surprise and what a voice.

That was amazing. That came from La Cid. Much better voice. The listeners expect a certain level of quality. That was... I feel like... Mount Rushmore level performance. Yeah, Bark...

I can't even be upset about that. I was going to say, you can't be upset. Normally, you wouldn't enjoy that. But that was a delight. Maybe we should just make that be our thing every Sunday night. I like it.

Bossid singing. New money is the songbird of her generation. What a statement. I understand why Mark does get annoyed sometimes because I have no idea what he was talking about now. Yeah, well, no, I was just going to say that these teams that lose these players, the Patriots, the Seahawks, that you have to have depth to get through December and through January.

And there was a graphic they showed, what was it, 25 players on the Seahawks are undrafted. And it really doesn't matter where they come from in Seattle, the way they're coached, the way that it's a meritocracy, that you have to earn your job no matter who you are. That said, we saw what happened against the Bucks last week when the Bucs did not have, when the Seahawks did not have Earl Thomas or Michael Bennett. They're not the same defense. That wasn't the entire issue in that game, but Earl Thomas is a huge loss. I can sense some discussions we'll have over the next month about Seahawks, Cowboys,

maybe as these two teams lead up. And I'm kind of in the corner where I'm always going to believe that the Seahawks are going to do it, that they're going to get it done. And it's just part of their DNA. It just is that they have stink bombs, that they'll have three or four games during the season where they just don't show up, which is bad. But I see this team tonight, and I see the general trend of their offense in the second half of the season. And I see a team that I would be really surprised if they don't finish out

this last month very strong. And that to me, they're going to be the team to beat in the NFC. Thomas Rawls ran like a man possessed tonight. That's a great sign. I think the offensive line is a concern. Oh, yeah. And you see it in a game like Tampa Bay where the interior is exposed. And then you see it in a game like the Arizona tie where the tackles are exposed. It just depends on the matchup for them. And this wasn't much of a matchup to see a Panthers team that was 15 and one last year just not show up for this game. I mean, we've seen some bad Panthers performances this year, but usually they're competitive. Usually they're close. I feel like with Carolina, you get a sense of what they're going to be pretty quickly in a game. And this game started out awfully for them.

We should mention, obviously, that it baffled the broadcast team and us the viewer to have Derek Anderson come out for the first snap. And, you know, lift a ball to Mike Tolbert, who it goes off his fingers and it gets picked off by Michael Morgan of the Seahawks. What is Derek Anderson doing out there? It's not as if they had Cam Newton out wide in some sort of a trick play. You find out later that he was, essentially, he did not start the game. It would not have probably played that whole first drive if it had gone on longer for a dress code violation. This is going to be easily my least favorite story of the year.

It's insane. Well, you already had a Twitter account file you. Cam Newton's tie. There was a report from a local reporter that it was because he didn't wear a tie. We'll wait and hear from Ron Rivera and Cam Newton. That's going to happen after we tape this. But it's a weird look. I mean, I know it's a dress.

If it's really a dress code violation, he's the MVP of the league. It's just, it's a weird thing. The whole thing's, the whole panther's falling apart. It's a little weird. They have not handled. If Mike Tolberg catches that ball, nobody's talking about it. Well, I don't know. I mean, it's not as big of a deal, really.

I mean, it certainly set the tone in an ugly way for them, but I think it's a weird punishment in a nationally televised game. I just think it was your drawing attention to yourself. To me, you don't do that unless it's an accumulation of things. To me, it would be a story because if you ever seen Tom Brady or Russell Wilson bench for disciplinary reasons in the first quarter, it's an odd thing and this team has not handled facing adversity. That's something you see in college football. They've gotten pushed around a little bit, and it feels like they're caving a little. I mean, don't suspend him or punish him for not wearing a tie.

Punish him for that outfit he wore that looked like a big lady's coat with loafers and no socks and pedal pusher's pants. All right, we're officially putting Wes. He's going to be in an 8 in the morning. He told me tomorrow there's going to be a lot of follow-up to this story. Wes, you are the Cam Newton dress code violation, beat writer. His whole life is a dress code violation. And with that, I think we're putting this one to bed.

The Panthers are done. Seattle, moving on, big win. It was a fun show. And I think that's it, Sidney. Is that the way I just kind of cue you to set it up here? Yeah, let's get out of here. For the entire Hanses clan, the old Zuser, Keith Hanzas, Deborah Hanses. The eldest Zuser.

The Sizzler! The scientist! And myself. See you later. This is an Iha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Thank you.