NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - 2023 Week 15 Recap

Episode Date: December 18, 2023

In a room full of heroes - Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, and Marc Sessler recap Week 15 of the 2023 season. The heroes start the recap by talking about the Bills dominating the Cowboys (02:19), the Browns continuing to roll against the Bears (12:42), the Buccaneers taking care of the Packers (21:39), and the Dolphins shutting out the Jets (29:28). The heroes then run through Chiefs at Patriots (37:50), Texans at Titans (42:50), Vikings at Bengals (51:04), Steelers at Colts (01:00:45), Broncos at Lions (01:06:06), 49ers at Cardinals (01:10:26), Commanders at Rams (01:17:12), Giants at Saints (01:22:26), Falcons at Panthers (01:27:56) and Ravens at Jaguars (01:33:46).  Note: time codes approximate. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Around the NFL podcast won't talk about an onside kick this week. From the Chris Wesleying podcast studio. It's Around the NFL. It is the flagship show. Sunday recap. Week 15. Week 15. is here. Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sessler. Heroes both. What's up? I'm okay. Yeah, we just learned, or Mark reported this.

I reported it. I'm okay. That... Actually. Who was it? It was... Zach Martin told Mike McCarthy, you know, if you watched the Cowboys Bill's game, the right guard exited within apparent injury, but told Mike McCarthy afterwards, I'm okay. Right, and then I was wondering how he said it because I thought that, Mike, relax.

I'm okay That is how it That's how it was Verbalized Or Mike relax I'm okay I mean Mike Mike Mike

I'm okay Like which one was it We don't know Inflection tone matters Maybe it was like Mike I'm okay That's aggressive But I think they have more of a bond than that

I think the first one you did Is probably closer The truth Like we could do this for an hour Yeah Because I'd rather do that Than get to some of the football today Like I could just do this

For 90 minutes You've been doing it for five minutes, so I'm glad to have started this show. It's really. I'm actually talking about myself. I'm okay. All right. We have a lot to get to because, yes, we're coming down to the wire here, the regular season. Only three games left for each team after Monday night.

We have, I want to say we got some clarity on this Sunday, but not really. I mean, we had a division that was clinched. We had a couple of playoff spots that are now officially taken. But otherwise, it remains. mark just a big old stew of confusion it is a yeah it's a thick soup um i mean only four teams have been removed from the playoff picture thank god steve carnec's back on a mc sunday nights right to give us clarity central um all right let's get to it let's start yes it was at least on paper the game of the week it didn't play out that way but it did i think teach us something about

both teams to orchard park cook to the left of allen and the shotgun two receivers left the right here's the snap give us to cook goes behind Dawkins through a hole down to the 10 to five and he leaps into the end zone james cook with his second touchdown of the game one receiving one rushing it is a blowout here in orchard park as the cook has found the kitchen for the second time tonight brisk brown go's early Bongoes. The producer is a place. Every producer.

It's his team. It's his team. Every producer has the power of the bongos. And you use that power. Good job, Eric. Chris Brown with a call. Good call by Chris. James Cook had a career best 179 yards on the ground.

A whopping 221 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns, as Mr. Brown told you. The bills dismantle the Cowboys 3110 in Western New York. say bye-bye to Dallas's five-game winning streak and open up a whole can of worms about Dallas being vulnerable because they haven't been so hot on the road and with this loss there's a very good chance

they'll be on the road come to playoffs Mark you were in the pole position in the draft you grab this game the bills man look out yeah I think I locked this team up too oh he's coming out hot

I like it's hot and I kind of felt like this was the moment for Buffalo to either wave farewell to this journey that's been real up or down and certainly the last like 10 days been rough for the coach and everyone else and I'm looking at a game where Josh Allen completed seven passes

and if I knew that ahead of time I would have thought that sounds like a potential disaster or it tells a different story of a Bill's team that found a weakness in the Dallas defense right away and never let up running the ball 49 times at 5.4 yards per carry for 266 yards on the ground. And it didn't require Josh Allen.

James Cook, I think we've seen James Cook kind of rise up and getting to the point where he's been a difference maker and changed their attack. Dominant today, utterly dominant. And you could feel the Dallas defense on a bad weather environment in Buffalo with no way to stop it. I mean, it's their pass rush that you think could take over a game and maybe neutralized Josh Allen.

It never existed because Buffalo just kept sending Cook and friends right up the gut of the defense. And it worked to the point where there was this one drive. I mean, there are touchdown drives for like 11 plays, 11 plays, 12 plays. And we all sat there together watching that third quarter. This game started 25 minutes or something after the other two late games. And it caught up with them because of a third quarter march where they just ran the ball over and over and over. A 15 play drive that I think. took the heart, ripped the heart out of the

Cowboys, and you knew that was over. Dallas had no way back into this thing. It's funny if the season goes long enough, sometimes you have storylines that are around early, then they go away for a while and then they're back in December. And two storylines I remember honking about in September, early October

was, wow, the bills actually have a good offensive line this year and a good running game, a little more physical than they've been in the past. James Cook obviously has been playing great now for a month, but that really shows up today. And Another concern very early for this Cowboys team was how tough they were when they fall behind in games, especially their run defense. They gave up 222 to the Cardinals, remember back in week three, and then 170 to the 49ers, and then that was back now.

I don't think it means it's some fatal flaw that if they find their way behind that they are never going to come back, but it's those weaknesses showing up, and more importantly, for the bills, their strength showing up in a massive spot where they have a couple layups now in a row before a week 8. game before the Dolphins. Yeah, you got a, you know, floating chargers team, train wreck team on the road. Then you get the Patriots, another one of the worst teams in football. So they are really set up here. And, you know, you could also say, man, we've been trying to trust the bills all year long. They've kept on telling us, don't trust us. And yet this does feel different. You know, it's a great way to quickly move on from a frankly insane 9-11 controversy. Let that story leak on like a Thursday night and then promptly beat the chiefs and the cowboys in back to back weeks. Right. So it goes from Sean McDermott. The world's caving in on the guy to

wow, this team, uh, listen, you can't call them the favorites because they still got work to do just to make the playoffs. But they are as dangerous as any team in the AFC as we go into the final leg of the season. On the, on the cowboy side, listen, I think we were all on the same page. Mark, you do a good job blocking it up. Um, this felt like a tough spot. for the Cowboys to go on the road against the Bill's team that was desperate, that was playing better, feeling itself a little bit. Cowboys come down to Earth after two huge wins against a big rival. So it felt like a spot where the Cowboys could get knocked off. The one thing if I have a Cowboys fan that I didn't want to see was this, a game where you get bullied, a game

where you look highly vulnerable and you look like a pretender. Now, I'm not going to say that I'm out on the Cowboys, but I really did like this idea if you want to see. sell yourself on the Cowboys making the NFC title game for instance for the first time in a quarter century. It's like find a way to win that division and get a home game and maybe you get some luck. You get the top seat. Listen, all that is most likely out the door now. That's a damaging loss, Greg. And you could do the I'm not sure look. But when you look at the Eagles remaining schedule. Right. We got to see what Jalen Hertz. The situation is for Monday night. They are in danger now. Cowboys are being locked into that five seed. And maybe I'm not feeling so hot

about them in that spot. Yeah, just tiebreaker-wise. Cowboys and Eagles both ended up clinching a playoff spot on Sunday. But yeah, the Eagles pretty much have all the tie breaks, which means the Eagles now even have a loss to either Seattle or, I forget whether their other out-of-division game is, maybe Arizona, to play with. They couldn't lose in-division of the Giants necessarily, but that's a decent amount of wiggle room now for the Eagles. They could lose Monday night and still control their fate in the division. Yeah, one thing I disliked about the whole Cowboys approach to this game early on was like a real lack of discipline too,

which has not been the way they've been. I think they had three killer personal fouls on Buffalo's first three touchdown marches. Each of those kind of rescued Buffalo out of a situation where they could have been in hot water. I think we don't talk about this guy a lot, but Jonathan Hankins, who's on IR, I think that's not a Jenga piece,

but it's someone that when he's not in there, I think his absence was really felt today as a runstopper. I mean, if another team can do this to Dallas, then their defense doesn't look the same as it has during other parts of this season. The dolphins next week are the number two running team in the league. So all of a sudden, you know, they're going to be tested here. And we'll see how it looks. Yeah, the bills put, you know, the fact that they kind of put the game away by halftime.

And you could say, well, Dallas is so explosive. Nobody thought the game was over. It felt pretty over. It did. The energy was lacking around the Cowboys in this game. And we talked about Zach Martin, he comes out and you see him kind of commiserating with DAC. It just felt like the team just not in it and

it's a bad one. It's a tough one. I'm more surprised I didn't watch it as closely as used, Mark, but just that the Bill's defense got after DAC so much that the offensive line, and I know they didn't have Martin, but which has been great for so long, ends up giving up so much pressure that the

DAC in the passing game ends up with a 106 net yards passing on something like 37 dropbacks. That's insane. That's Carolina Panthers on a bad day type of numbers. They're also, I mean, I know this annoys you, Greg, because you brought

it up too, but it's like, they're totally out of this game. It's pouring down rain. And they still have DAC in there. Like, when the thing is completely lost, throwing passes to Citi Lamb who was limping around at one point, it's like, I get teams do things differently, but why are we, why are we risking

like a Pyrick loss, not even a Peerick victory? I can take you inside the head of Zaddy. Well, you've already, you've done it with the team already. I'll take it deep inside again. I think I was, you know, I just wanted to, you know, putting something good on tape at the end of the game. You know, it's a turn the page game, but we wanted to end on a high note, and we did that. And we're going to look forward to, you know, better days ahead.

Yeah, it's dumb. Just like the genius Kyle Shanahan, you know, sticking the ball in Christian McCaffrey's breadbasket, up 20 points late in that game as well. There's just, for some reason, these teams are reckless in these one-sided games. Anything else from this affair? I don't know. just like I think the bills are I had real trust issues with the bills and they're starting to melt away. They've had a really good 10 days. That's good. That's good.

I know that matters to their fan base that I'm that I'm back on. It's been I mean, McDermott is doing a great job connecting this defense considering all the injuries. They lost two more starters going into today. They are down so many players on that defense and each week he's coming up with good plans. It's been a good couple of weeks for for McDermott. You know, that coming out. Well, post, you know. That's what I'm saying, though. If he loses that game,

post 9-11. That could have been maybe the end of his time in Buffalo, depending on how it goes. But instead, his side of the ball, which has been criticized rightly, that he was trying to get people off the scent when he made that offensive coordinator change.

We said that here. This was his dream game. His defense is happening. Right. And they're running the ball like he wants. Like everything's turned it up McDermuda. Maybe this is, maybe they only get over the hump finally in a crazy.

a year where they have to be buried and almost done and the rest of the AFC's not there. Just say. This makes no sense. This season makes no sense. We talked about in Thursday, this is going to be an epic shootout.

Oh, Josh Allen threw for 94 yards. And they blew out the Cowboys. And nobody got like, you know. Connect those dots. All right. Let's move to, I think, the game of the day. Cleveland. It's a magic mark.

There's some magic in Cleveland. Believe land, baby. From the Browns, 45, Fields back to pass, up to the pocket, he rolls left, times run out, he's going to look, he's going to look, he's going to launch, it's going down into the end zone, knock it down. The ball is intercepted. It's intercepted by the Browns. As De Anthony Bell got it, he got it, ball gave over. Brown's win, Brown's win, 20 to 17, it's all over. Jim Donovan with a call, great call, WKRK. What you didn't hear there was that ball gets knocked down directly into the hands of, who is it, Darnel Mooney?

Mooney. Who has it in his hands for a game winning Hail Mary completion from Justin Fields, but somehow it pops out and then turns into an interception. And yes, there's a little bit of that magic dust on the Cleveland Browns this season. Remember we were talking about it feels like a million years ago, Mark, where you thought, Maybe this jet season has some magic to it. What do they call? Right church, wrong cue. It's the brownies.

They have some magic to them after a 20 to 17 win, a game in which they dug themselves out of a 17-7 hole in the third quarter. Or fourth quarter, Greg. What a magic carpet ride. And I want to get to everything that led to that Hail Mary, but I think we've got to start with that Hail Mary because the Bears get in position after the Browns, how to lose their minds and let, who was it, Tyler Scott run up the sidelines for a free 30 yards.

The biggest play the Bears had all day. The Bears' offense was dominated all day by the Browns. This was a deserved victory, I think, a deserved comeback by the Browns. They were the better team. And yet, there are the Bears were over midfield, needing about 10 or 15 more yards to get in good field go range. The Brown's defense stands up again, you know, gets a couple stops to force the Bears to go for the Hail Mary because they didn't think Santos could. reach on this type of day. That long a kick would have been over, I think, 60 yards.

Beautiful Hail Mary attempt across his body. And it's deflected into Mooney's hand. And we have a tweet of it, of a picture of it, who's just literally on the ground and it falls into his breadbasket. Squeeze it kid. In the picture, you could see at ESPN's Kimberly Martin going crazy on the sideline. And it wasn't like it got smashed down into him. It fell very softly. This would have been the craziest play of the season. Also, Greg, that is, that is a professional wide receiver.

Right. Well, that's, it wasn't like my seven-year-old son that it was patted down. It's like, oh, you almost caught it. I don't know how he doesn't catch it. That's, it was a miracle. And then for it to pop up right to the right team or the wrong team, depending on your perspective, a little magic, little dust, little dust. I, like, each of these Browns nail biters,

and they, they went through, like, at one point in the game, like how, what's happened in the final couple of minutes to the Browns in the season, And these were games that the Cleveland Browns have been losing for, you know, two and a half decades. So it's something is a little bit different. I know that Flacco, he had three picks today. And you're going to get that with Joe Flacco, but there's something about him. I mean, just the veteran nature of who he is. Also through for 374.

Right. That's the thing. Like you're going to like, I just think that you've got like heads up and like neck up. Like Flacco gives them something they've just been missing at quarterback. And like you can accept the faults. I mean, I'm looking at the defense. was so solid today because the Bears touchdown started the Cleveland 5 off of one of those

interceptions and their field goal drive started the Cleveland 23. I mean, other than that, they really accomplished very little on offense. Yeah, I think it was the Cleveland 1 it actually started on. And that was a four play. Cleveland 1. It even took four plays, including three penalties that knocked out two of those plays to score that type. So essentially the Brown's defense, I mean, the Brown's

offense gave up 14 points. The Bears' defense scored 14 points. Otherwise, the Browns dominated. And it was such a great game, but I do want to take you back to the first play of the fourth quarter, because I think that's where it started. It had craziest. I said flacco throws for 3.74, a couple of interceptions. Injoku has a great game, but that play, first play of the fourth quarter, the bears are at midfield, were coming off a flaco interception, which felt like, ooh, this might be curtains. He threw it at the goal line after they were driving and the bears are up 10 points

at that time. It's fourth and one at midfield and the bears are driving and it's Cameron Mitchell, a little known cornerback you haven't even heard of that makes a great play on a design run from fields where it looks like he's going to have

the first down and Mitchell just dives and gets his ankles and he's stumbling and he misses it by half of a yard. They get the stop because of a guy you never heard of. Then it's next drive. Alex Wright, another guy you've never heard of making a big sack and making plays all game. This defense was so good. After the Bears went up 17-7, in their next six drives, they had a total of three first downs. They only had 70 yards in those six drives. And 30

was on that weird toe-tapping play on that last drive. Like, they absolutely destroyed Justin Fields in this Bears' offense the whole day, which is why, even though I know Flacco through three interceptions, They were moving the ball and it felt very deserve it. I would have been sick for the Browns if they had lost a close game here because the defense, it was another vintage, we're the best defense in the league type of game. And I'll point out the game tying touchdown, Blacko to Cooper. That's one of the last throws of the year. Yes.

And I also want to point out it's when you have actual good coaching and play calling. That's a great design play for Flacco with a beat up offensive line to have a design rollout to buy him a little time to give him a good look down field and then he just like turkey holds it and Cooper does the rest it was it was brilliant um and also brilliant my guy and joker with two he's been really good catches then the joker science is happening i mean 10 catches career high in this game he had the toe tap touchdown he had a big catch on third down to keep the game winning drive alive in the fourth quarter two catches uh to put the game away and to set up the short field goal. He is a certified weapon

with Flacko. And I don't know how much longer the Browns can sustain injuries because they continue to come in waves. But they're finding ways every week and they're a fun team to follow. And I, you know, I think that Kevin Stefanski came into this season

with a potentially hot seat. I mean, I think there were questions about what the whole organization was doing in general. And through all the injuries, especially a quarterback, I think Stefanski has proven himself to Browns fans to be a bit of a difference maker. It might be Deshaun Watson on the hot seat next year.

Well, I think Stavansky's proven two years in a row he can win with almost anyone at quarterback, it seems like. I think that says a lot about the offensive scheming. Flacco has the fifth most amount of yards in his first three games with a team in NFL history. It's

probably as obvious, but he's the number one in terms of a guy that just joined the team in the middle of the season. All those guys are either rookie was Cam Newton or guys who had come over in free agency on a new team. I think this could have changed a couple franchises here because the Browns look like they're going to the playoffs here.

I know they have a lot of injuries and the offensive line was bad today, which is a pretty big concern. I mean, Flacko was under total heat. But they play the Texans Jets and Bengals and the defense is awesome and they're nine and five. I think they'll be able to get in whereas the Bears, their defense again played

really well, I think for the most part and you see the vision of Iber Fluse, but I think this is a tough one for them a stomach that you're not turning around Justin Fields in this offense and then you're probably not keeping Matt neighbor flus. I just flacko behind a bad offensive line doesn't feel sustainable, but

also it just feels like a different type of year. Let's give the last word to Kevin Stefanski on that Hail Mary. It doesn't know if you're buying when it's sitting in his lap there. I blacked out. I don't know. How about you, Mark?

What was your headspace on the hill mary i mean you know i'm trying to watch all these games at the same time and when i saw that happen i thought well in the one eye that was that's probably going to land in the lap of did it get spoiled by us on the other side or no because you know oh totally totally okay yeah the rest of the desks down there watching i mean it's eight seconds ahead of what i'm watching or maybe you're just learning about the outcome right now but i don't know you it was actually to be fair you were just shouting so i don't so something happened yeah we went i went over there to watch the ending david and joker i think spoke for a lot of brown's fan he was asked on it and he

said, I damn near sht myself, dog. Fair enough. All right. Speaking to, speaking of pooping themselves, the Packers in their defense, welcome the bucks to Lambeau field today.

Shotgun, look, low snap, passed by Baker Meek, caught ball, and a first down to the 40. Wild. To the 35 of the 30. More to the 25 to the 20. More to the 10 to 5.

David Moore has scored a touchdown, Tampa Bay on third down and three. Wow. This is an out route. And what a great catch. I mean, this is in a group of bodies, somehow more catches it. And then he's able to spin out of there and runs away from everybody to pick up the touchdown. That's a huge play.

All right. Thank you, David Moore. David Moore on the touchdown. Catch Dave Moore on that color call. And that was, of course, Gene Deckerhoff with a call. WFUS Baker and Mayfield through for 381 yards, four touchdowns. including that game clincher to Moore. He had a perfect passer rating.

And the Bucks won their third straight game. Who said nobody wants to win the NFC South? 3420 over the Packers at Lambo. The Bucks. Keep pace atop the NFC South. They're 7 and 7. And let's start. Well, let's give Baker his flowers.

Because we've been talking about Baker for a couple months on the show now about how he's had, like a nice little season he's in a good spot he's uh you know a little out of not like under the microscope and he's allowed to just do his thing and and let's be honest in a lesser division and he's just confident and feeling himself and this year this this game specifically was kind of like the high point of what's been a really a good year for him in his career uh where he's reestablished himself and i'm interested what his long term future is in tampa especially if he keeps this up

maybe it won't even be a question. But, yeah, the Bucks deserve credit because they took this game early, go right down the field. They withstand an early Baker-Mayfield turnover that sets up a Packer's score early. And from that point on, they just dominate offensively. It was outrageous. And I was talking to big funk behind the glass. I don't know, and I know Joe Barry is a figure of suspicion.

for Packers fans. I don't know how many games I've seen this year that were as poorly played by defense than what you saw from the Green Bay Packers. When you watch this game, you're going to be blown away by how many second and long, second and forever, third in long. And Baker just sits back there,

sets up a picnic blanket, looks for a wide receiver to get open, usually Chris Godwin, who was just rolling through the middle of the field, the whole game, part Green Bay's defense with ease. So it wasn't so much that Green Bay couldn't get the Bucks into bad positions. It was every time the Bucks got in a bad position,

they couldn't cover anyone. And then Baker was hitting all the throws. So this Packers team... When I woke up this morning, I was feeling pretty dangerous. And he was dangerous in this game. This Packers team, and they are such a perfect example of the season in a nutshell mark, this Packers team that we're all so sky high on. They get beat by the Packers, the Giants on Monday night.

And like, ah, it's all right. then you let the bucks come in here embarrass you, especially your defense. And you're like, Jesus is another pretender that we started to believe in. Well, and it's like, we mentioned on Thursday that this past week seemed to be like the bubbling up

where everyone who's watching these games started to look at Green Bay and say, we can't trust you because of this defense. I mean, forget Jordan and love and him being up and down. It's like he's in a terrible position when you're down 20 to 10 and the bucks are going all over the place. Love played well in this game. Right.

That's the thing. It's like it's just that they, they have a fatal flaw and it's like it's it's a point where they're asking you know lafleur about joe barry in every press conference and i think we have that actually would you ever consider in season change at coronator uh yeah i now's not the time for that to be honest with you so there you go you got lafleur answering those questions and probably kicking himself because he was not going to admit it they probably had doubts about barry and the scheme going into the year decided to ride with him and it might get them beat in the end I'm, I'm not stunned by the defense, but I am stunned that the bucks had it in him. I mean, that, that's the most offense they've had all year.

That's the first opposing quarterback to ever go into Lambo, the history of the stadium and have a perfect pass rating. Well, Baker, it's just kind of wild. Baker has been on like 17 teams. Big, big, big funk, let me know about that. I mean, I didn't know they added him. I didn't know Chris Godwin had like a 10 for 150 in them and they're 7 and 7 and the Packers who understandably were getting some buzz of like,

hmm, maybe they're going to win this division eight days ago. Like maybe they're going to end up catching the lions from behind are suddenly 11th in a pretty good looking NFC wildcard picture where a lot of people won on Sunday and in a pretty brutal spot. And I don't think, I don't think Lefleur is going to. I mean, we'll see how this the rest of the season goes. Because it's too

early to bury any team. Who knows? The way this season goes, maybe they'll freaking win three straight. We got Todd Bowles going for multiple four downs late in the game. Things can change in life. Todd Bowles, how about it? Yeah. No, well, yeah, listen, they deserve credit. This was a big win. And I, again,

I locked up the Packers. And I got to tell you something. And I'll say it again. I don't care if I'm seven and eight. That was a fine lock. That was fine. It was good luck. how do you predict that in Green Bay that type of performance that Baker would play at that level

and the Green Bay Packers would be that bad because like I said their offense was not the problem Green Bay continues to move the ball on offense and I thought that there was a throw from Jordan Love that was one of the best of his young career on a scramble in the red zone that he just throws it on an absolute line

to I believe it was Jaden Reed that once again reminds you that this dude has a very high ceiling and the Packers are right to be patient with love so the offensive side of the ball okay, the defense right there top three receivers today Wicks, Kraft, and Reed

who combined for like 200 yards first of all no one had ever heard of any of them practically going into the season in draft next it's like mid round rookies are three mid round rookies I mean that's well that's why I think you're getting that much production out of this often right overall there is like a lot has happened

good for the Packers this season like this playoff thing was not something we were expecting necessarily. You could say the world would be a sunnier place if none of these teams from the South made the postseason. But Dan, like we've been saying, my choice is the Bucks, because I think you've got real star power on that team.

You've got Mike Evans, you got Godwin, Vita Vaya, Antoine Winfield, and this version of Baker, it's like, forget the rest of the team. Well, this version of Baker, they win the Super Bowl. We're all right. But even in games where they've not been productive, he finds a way late to do something crazy. And it's like, I think

he is a quarterback that when he's confident, it's a completely different version. Oh, sure. And I think they have, to your point, the highest ceiling of these NFCs. We could there is a dark out timeline where we get two of these teams because right now they're pretty close, you know. It's, listen,

we had, we're going to get to Vikings. He also finally bench Devin White, who's having a nightmare of free agencies. I know he was inactive, but they essentially benched them it sounded like. We're going to get to the Vikings. We're talking about the Packers. We had all these teams that we had high hopes for at the bottom of the NFC and they're just not taking the reins. Let's move to Miami.

Miami. Two under center. Back the throw, looking deep down the left side lot. He wants Waddle and he's got. Touchdown Miami. There's a new Cheetah in town. Boy, Jamie and Waddle just spoke DJ Reed on coverage, man to man on the outside. And again, Tua looked it off and came back to him so there was no help.

I couldn't really hear the song that they play, but I did see Stephen Ross and his suite doing the waddle dance. Yeah, it's hard to unsee that. Can't unsee it. It's there forever now. Jimmy Cephalo with the call with Joe Rose, WB, Gigi. Rahim Mostert. Well, you heard Waddle.

And two o'th through for 224 in that one score. But Rahim Moster had two more touchdowns. He sets a Miami single season record with 20 on the year. It's December 17th. And the Dolphins shut out the Jets 30-0. Yeah, without Tyreek Hill. He was a game-time decision. They decided kind of the last second,

eh, they'll be all right without him. And they were. They embarrassed the Jets team that didn't show up in this game. They seemed totally puzzled. And the Dolphins, it wasn't just Tyrake Hill either. They were missing key players, multiple key players on both sides of the ball. And nine missing starters.

Yeah. It didn't matter because the Jets who, looked so mighty or so it seemed last week against Houston, we're unable to cross 100 yards of total offense until late in the fourth quarter. And I give credit, Miami in general played a really sound game on both sides of the ball. It was a really nice bounce back for the team after the disaster on Monday night that collapsed. But they really won the game because of Bradley Chubb, who I had, I think he had three or three and a half sacks. causing turnovers and the Miami pass rush that didn't need a blitz.

Miami. Absolutely put a clown suit on all the jets makeshift starters on that offensive line. By the end of the second quarter, Zach Wilson was gone with dehydration that turned into a concussion during halftime. And it was just basically coasting to the finish line from about the beginning of the second quarter on. I think this dolphins, because it's so easy just to laser focus on. their offense and what Mike McDaniel has done and the stars on that side of the ball. But like their defense has been really interesting, even with Jalen Phillips out of the lineup.

Like you don't get too many drive charts like this. The Jets fumble, downs, five straight punts, an interception, another fumble, interception, end of game. I mean, they just never had a chance. I know they're not a good offense to begin with, but it's like Miami shut down the run entirely and you're playing bad quarterbacks, but it's like they stump them. And it's like, I think that, you know, the dog. Dolphins defense is not talked about enough. No, they've been so much better in the second half of the season.

And it should give Dolphins fans hopes that they have a chance in this AFC. I know you all have disappointing nights like last week, but they're 10 and 4. This is a franchise that has not won a playoff game in 23 years. I mean, since 2000. They haven't won the division since, I think, 2008. So even though it's against the Jets, it's like these type of bounce back games to try to set up winning that division, try to put yourself in a position

where you can win a first playoff game. That's big. And in the season where all these quarterbacks are getting hurt, like, Tua's out there every week, making good plays. He's not the MVP or anything, but he's very consistent in what he does. Yeah, Tua is, uh, I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know if I still have my doubts about the dolphins in the, in the big picture against the big boys, but they are what they can do to teams that are not, that are in disarray, that don't have their stuff together, it is a scary

watch. Like this game could have been, the Miami, even being injury depleted, I think they could have scored 40 points easily in this game if they were a little more aggressive in the second half and they chose not to be. One thing I don't like is because I see that Austin Jackson, another offensive lineman left with

an oblique injury. They're banged up along the line like they've had to go without guys week after week. And I think that really changes to us game in some of these like more premier matchups, not today. We'll see, yeah. I saw. I saw Rahim Moster is up to 20 touchdowns on the season. That is seven more than the Jets have scored as a team,

Moster. Four more than the Panthers, a couple more than the Giants, the same as the Steelers and the Patriots. Rahim Mostert. It can seem unfair when you could just roll him out. I don't even think he's the best running back on the team. I think A. Chan is a better player than him.

But he's healthy for once for the entire year. I wouldn't put him in the same bucket as like Jamal Williams, what he did with Detroit last year. but it's not far off from that where they get inside the five and he's the guy and they have such a great scheming and the way McDaniels calls

an offense that Mosterd is like, it seems like he's like jogging in on these like tosses. And it's like, what a nice setup for him. As for the Jets, they were officially eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.

And that makes it 13 consecutive years, which is the longest streak in North American sports. We have been doing this podcast for 11 years. So yeah, we still have not done a single show that involved the Jets in the playoffs. I think this. This season, now that it's officially over, is as disappointing as any in my 35 years as a fan.

Just the enormity and the consistency of the failure of this team is it's hard to wrap your head around. And it makes me sad. It makes me mad. I think about my kids now are nine and seven in the window for them to kind of get into the jets. That's shrinking. I think that I'm 43 and I still haven't watched the Super Bowl with my dad. That window is shrinking. And I know, um, I know the Jets are, as Don Draper would say, pregnant right now.

They're in a tough situation because you're supposed, it makes all the sense in the world for Woody to say, you know what? Bob's, uh, Joe Douglas has got like four and a half years to build this roster into a real winner. Uh, and Sala has a wretched record through three seasons. They look like they quit in this game. It's just dark. You got to kind of blow this thing up.

Nathan, Nathan, Nathan will hack it, great guy, but you got to fire him into the proverbial son but um you can't tell me that that's definitely what's going to happen because rogers and the idea that the jets might just say you know what this was a lost year and Aaron's going to lift all the boats here and that and that is a frustrating thing because you feel like you're just handcuffed to a soon to be 41 year old quarterback um so while I think they need to flush this regime um I just don't think it's necessarily what's going to happen and then we have to just hope that Aaron saves the day come September. I hope. I would imagine, even though

he's been cleared now, you're not going to see him next week or any time. Well, that would be stupid for now that they are mathematically eliminated. But honestly, when you're talking about a team like the New York Jets that have been a joke for a baker's dozen of years now, I have

my doubts to even assume that we won't see Roger. But even like in August and, you know, coming off a hard knocks and it's like, we're going to go get Delvin and Cook. We keep adding pieces. We've had this like super bowl or bust feel because you only have Aaron Rogers for two seasons. They're not a Super Bowl or bust situation with or without

Rogers. In fact, I think like the one blessing for Aaron Rogers and all of this because it's like, oh, if he were there, it would be different. I think they'd be having a really rough season even with Aaron Rogers. And I think he'd be suffering a lot of punishment. And look at the offensive line. Watch this game if you stomach to.

Watch how non-competitive that offensive line is in front of Zach Wilson and then Trevor Simeon and then tell me even if Rogers is Achilles doesn't snap. that this season was going to be in a good place. And that is all on Joe Douglas, who preached when he was hired for that job. In 2019, he preached that building a championship team

is about building in the trenches, building in the offensive line. And while he's built a very good defensive line, this is arguably the worst O line in football, and it's been that way for a couple of years. Injuries have played a role, but it's not just injuries. Gross. Gross, gross.

All right, let's head to New England, where Patriots fans have been dealing with some gross things as well. Second down, goal to go. the six. Mahomes will pump faking. Now turns left, Chase, floats it for the back of the end zone. Caughts it for the back of the end zone. Touchdown. Kansas City, C.E.H.

9 and a half yards deep in the end zone went up the elevator to get a six-yard reception from Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs lead by 13. Is Clyde Edwards-Layer even active in the Super Bowl last year? He's like targeted in the red zone with this chiefs. Well, they need him today. He was active all of this season. either. But injuries and he's back. Mitch Holtis with the call. Patrick Mahomes threw for 305 yards.

Two touchdown passes. Two picks as well, including that score to C.E.H. And the Chiefs take care of business. Uh, classic TCOB game 27, 2017, uh, over the moribund, New England Patriots. Uh, and Mark, you know, there was the obligatory drop from the Cadarius Tony that turned into an interception. Right. Uh, but I think it was perhaps a a good sign that the chiefs even have the take care of business game in their arsenal still. Yeah, I'd agree. It's not going to blow your doors off when you go watch it. There's still DNA shared with some of the chief's problems from before.

Mahomes had a second pick as well. Those two turnovers led to a touchdown and a field goal for the Patriots who otherwise would have been like an apparition in this game. Edwards Hilar did a nice job. It's like you, Pacheco, who I think he had surgery in his shoulder. I don't like that for this team either. But Derek McKinnon played a role. Rishie Rice, nine receptions, 91 yards, receiving touchdown. So it's like, we want to see more and more from him.

And I think the story for them, the one thing that's been a B-line in most of these games is the defense. It's not just what's up with the offense. It's like the defense, New England in the second half, had 57 yards on 22 plays. 10 of their 17 points I mentioned were just a byproduct of like the short field and turnovers. It's like they were completely nullified. Now, that's not a surprise, but like this chief's defense can keep their offense afloat. It's not like if that side of the ball were falling in or caving and entirely, I would just think the chiefs are going to get picked off in the playoffs. I still have a lot of suspicions about the way this offense is run, but they're doing what they can.

They can't, there's not much they can do to change. So you need guys like Rice, McKinnon, the rest of them to be the best they can possibly be. And they should win the division now. You're going into this week, there's legitimate concern about the Broncos who are coming in their rear view. uh still i think they have to be a little worried that a defense probably that was setting out to stop kelsey does 11 targets for 28 yards he drops the touchdown like cadarius tony dropped the touchdown that was as easy as the one kelsey did people would be killing him too and it's like kelsey hasn't had a little thing it's not been a great year had a good year

you want to talk your shit talk your it's true look at the data point no it's true but he i think he literally leads tight ends and yards this year but as as much as i hear what you're saying but i agree I agree. It's just not his. It's relative to Travis Kelsey of the past. Yeah. And I saw in this game how like Bill Belichick was punting fourth and three at the 50 down 17. And then down two touchdowns late.

They were just eating up all the clock when they're on their own goal line. Like they weren't trying to hurry up at all. They were just they were trying to end the game even though they were down to touchdown. It was just like, man, that was a that was a. If there are people that, um, saw their fantasy season. end in the playoffs today. And you're like me was a Patrick Mahomes fantasy manager. This was a perfect like distillation. Their first touchdown drive is a trick play where Jarek McKinnon shovels it to Rishi Rice. And then the season ends, your season or their game ends

with the chiefs kneeling it out to kill the past the last basically two minutes inside the Patriots five. And not only are they not just like getting that extra touchdown. They're also, you know, little minus rushes from the home making you down a little bit. Like, This has been the worst experience I've ever had. I'm about to declare some type of jihad like Matt Ryan style after this Mahomes season. You, you, uh, Matt Ryan and you were never the same after that. Never. Fantasy season from about.

He's not aware, but things are weird between. You can feel it in the atmosphere. Yeah. Yeah. Anything else on this game? There was that report from our guy Ian that the decision hadn't completely been made on Bill Belichick's future. I thought was interesting on Sunday morning.

I'm ready to just like, yeah, stash, that story until January 8th or let's do it because I think the key word was like no final decision had been made but that that indicates that like a preliminary decision had been made. They did one little news item like they did whack Andy Reid

100 grand and Patrick Mahomes 50 grand for their outburst in the uh. All right from a week ago. Yeah makes sense. Adds up. I mean if you're Patrick Mahomes that 50 grand you don't even know that's in your that's just coming out. Bye bye. Yeah.

Bye bye bye. All right, let's take a break, and then we will continue on with the pipe. Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that?

Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen, NFL Cover Zero. with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more.

What's up, everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development to team-building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week we study the tape, talk to decision makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow.

We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a die-hard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back. All right.

Let's now keep going. The week 15 recap, let's head to Nashville. 16, 16, 2 seconds to go in overtime. 54-yard attempt left hash mark here's the snap here's the spot here's the kick by fair band yes yes good the texins win yes legendary fair bear knocks it through from where's your hat now braywell texids defeat the former oilers oh uniform back in the trunk oh yeah put that on your call the year list Oh, Mark Vandemir and Andre wear all sorts of pumped up. KILT. Kiami Fairbairn kicked a 54-yard field goals.

Time expired in overtime. And the Texans with Case Kean and the QB rally from a 13-point deficit to beat the Titans 1916. On the day, Titans leadership deemed it necessary to wear Houston Oilers throwback uniforms. Let's welcome in Nick Shook, the pipe, who watched the Texans find a way. without C.J. Stroud. Oh, you know, no, no better way to recap someone piping a field goal than by bringing in myself. Good call. G. Cyes, Kai, guys. I mean, Kaimi Fairbairn drills a field goal to bring some excitement to an otherwise kind of dull game, if you really think about it.

Both sides, I mean, Case Keenham outplayed Will Levis, but that's statistically, not really visually. The second half was really the story and the difference there. But the big story was Mr. Devin Singletary, the outcast from Buffalo carrying the load for the Houston offense without C.J. Stroud involved, 26 carries, 121 yards. No touchdowns, but he paced that offense when they certainly needed it. Kind of unlocked, it allowed them to throw the football a little bit more in the second half. They consistently outgained Tennessee. And I keep trying to say Houston and Houston because they were wearing those uniforms. So a little bit of revenge, I think, because of the uniforms for the Texans who get a much needed win in a game that for about a quarter and a half,

two quarters look like they might, you know, get blown out just because they didn't have their quarterback. So Texan's still right in the thick in the AFC South. Shuggy Singletary almost had a, he did have a walk off touchdown and overtime as well. They got brought back by a holding. If I'm not mistaken. So yeah, he had a big day. He's picked up to Slack for that backfield. A little peek behind the glass. It was during the fourth quarter that I realized that this wasn't my game, that there had been some rotating. So I watch it pretty closely. On the uniform front, I thought it was a little bit ridiculous that they showed that Mike Vrable was walking around in a bum Phillips cowboy hat before the game. They really leaned

into all that and they got their comeuppance. I thought that essentially the Texans did a really nice job of Bobby Sloick of not playing around Case Keenham, but putting them into a position because of the way they used Singletary to kind of thrive down the stretch. And there were a couple moments where I thought the defense too, Jonathan Granard doesn't get talked about a lot. Like this is a really well coached defense. And I thought that they punished Levis, who left with an injury at the end. It sounds like he's going to be okay, but he was limping around. I thought he was

gone for the year initially when he got whacked. Yeah, this is a defense that I'm sure Greg would like to point this out because I know we've talked about this in past weeks that, I mean, they've given up a ton of points to different teams in the past. They've been a sieve at times. I mean, I think about the Baker Mayfield game where CJ Stroud had to outplay him to get them that victory. They haven't

been consistent, but I was pretty shocked, very impressed today by their performance because it was an offense that struggled to get going. And the defense had to keep them in the game. And they were able to do that, kind of allow them to get their footing in the second half. Again, kind of playing around Case Keenum to a degree before he was able to find a bit of footing. But overall, I love that you brought up Grenard. This is a game in which Jimmy Ward was, you know, lost pretty early because he got dinged a little bit of a friendly fire situation. And yet they were able to overcome. So

it's a good win for them because of where they came from last week. I felt like, you know, even in the first quarter of this game, I was very conflicted about your team of ATN pick. You know, you went with the Vikings over the Texans. And from afar with no voice in there, I thought, man, they should have gone Texans. They're the more enjoyable team to watch. And in the second quarter, I'm going, you know what?

I'm glad I didn't say that on record, but they're not looking very good right now, but luckily they turned it around. I mean, it was 13 nothing. The defense pitched, they gave up a touchdown drive, the first drive of the game for the Titans. They pitched the shutout the other,

the rest of the way. Because the only other points came off of turnovers in their end where they held up 10 straight drives. I mean, Singletary had 170 yards. The Titans had 204. That's a pretty dominant, dominant day by them. And Case Keenham, just starting for another franchise. And I know he used to start for this franchise again,

but getting another replacement win in a spot, I didn't even know he was going to play all week. We thought it was going to be Davis Mills because he's been the backup all year. And then afterwards, he's quoted saying, like, I'm built for this. And you know what? He is right.

he is built for winning a week 15 start against the Titans wearing Oilers uniforms like that actually is exactly what Case Keenom is built for. Maybe nothing else, but that's it. And it might be like the difference between they making the playoffs and not. And in fairness, they're probably like the rest of us where Davis Mills and Case Keenum are like the same person.

It's fine. It's not, they're very different height-wise. Neck-wise, they're very different, but yes. The neck, yeah. If one guy understands Houston, it's Case Keenum, who went to the University of Houston. There you got some ties there. Anything else on this game?

Shooka. That defense again. Last four drives for the Titans. Punt. Go to overtime, punt. And another punt in overtime. That's a great way to get a win on the road. And thank God,

Kaimi, shout out, because we didn't need a tie in the mix. The last thing this season needs is a tie to muck up the standings any further. So we get a nice. 54-yarder. That doesn't even matter anymore.

The Matt Prater hit one from 58 today. and like the nobody even like batted an eyelash right we don't care anymore um shook um you had a nice dinner this weekend as i understand oh yeah we uh you know we went out a few times this weekend my fiance graduated with her doctorate from cleveland stage she's here congratulations wonderful good for you too buddy i require anybody who sees her you must refer to her as dr bridget from here on out that's that's the rule when you get married can you take her name so then we have to call you dr shook i think that's how you it works the transfer i don't think he becomes a doctor i think the official title i think you can get away

with it legally i i don't know i was never good at math so i don't quite understand the transitive property but we'll have to double check on that but yes that dinner so that dinner guys i'm sitting there great lakes brewery in cleveland right having a nice time go home pull up twitter about five hours later and i see i have a mention from someone who happened to be in the same setting he said hey i almost me my buddies almost took your table from your party uh you know wanted to stop by and say, hey, but, you know, didn't want to interrupt you. I would like to buy you a beer, but, you know, you are the pipe. I don't know if you have time.

You got to get back to the weights. Oh, thank you guys for making me a minor, the smallest of Cleveland. Oh, not the smallest, one of the biggest. You know what? The universe is growing because Zemwal told us he was at, I think, a soccer game over the weekend. And an ATM listener, it came up that Jay's the voice of the podcast now. And the, and the friend was like, or the guy in the,

soccer field, is like, can you do the intro for me? I mean, how did they even know it was him? That's amazing. Well, he must have explained. He must have had a call. He's wearing a T-shirt that said, I'm the voice of the around the NFL Popper. That would be that was really.

Do you think he's going to get that more than the fact that he voiced a video game character and one of the largest video games of about a decade ago? Kazin. Yeah. Cosin. Nico. Would you like to go bowling? That is currently, uh, Jason's claim to fame.

But I don't know. He's starting to make some inroads here at NFL media. Shuki. Thank you, buddy. Thanks, guys. See it. All right. So thank you to Shook.

Let's hit up these Saturday games. Let's knock these out. There were three played on Saturday of Week 15. Let's start in Cincinnati. This will be from 29 yards away from straightaway, shorter than an extra point. Looking for the seventh walk-off field goal of his NFL career and his second in a span of three weeks. Robbins ready to hold the snap, the placement, the right-footed kick. It is.

Good. And the Bengals are still alive in the playoff hunt as they rally from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter and beat the Minnesota Vikings in overtime. Yeah, that's, you know, I'm talking about the Bengals. That's what a real team does. At the very least, I don't even need you to win a Super Bowl. Don't even make the playoffs. But at least get me to Christmas Eve. Like, give me a Christmas morning where my team is still on the first.

the mix. That's what Bengals fans can say after another memorable Jake Browning afternoon. He led Cincinnati to three fourth quarter touchdowns and directed the game winning drive in OT that led to that field goal that allowed the Bengals to knock off the Vikings 2724. So the Bengals are still alive in the AFC playoff race. They got to keep winning. They don't have a lot of tiebreaker help, but they got to keep winning. That's what they've been doing. and they've also put, Greg, the football world on notice

that they are more than they're injured superstar QB. I was so impressed how they came back. This was the game of the weekend by fire. It was actually, I think, one of the most entertaining games of the season just in terms of things happening that were crazy. The Vikings hadn't allowed a touchdown for almost three games by the time they got to the fourth quarter.

And then they give up three in the fourth by Browning. I just think of the plays that he had to make, that they had to make to go win this game. There was a third and 21 conversion to Jamar Chase before Jamar Chase left the game with the shoulder injury. Great throw to Chase. And you got to get on the Brian Flores defense for kind of struggling to finish off some games this season.

This has been a bit of a trend. Chase goes out with injury. They also lost DJ Reader, unfortunately, for the season to a quad injury right off the bat. He's blown both quads now in his career. It's really sad because he's entering a free agency year and he was playing great. And that is devastating.

Browning gets at 3rd and 21, they get a touchdown. They need a touchdown on their last drive, and T. Higgins makes one of the plays of the year by bossing the defensive back of Caleb Evans at the catch point, and then reaching across with 34 seconds to go. That was outrageous. And no look reach. I would say that's like if you looked at the catches of the decade. Right.

Like the past 10 years, that's in the top 10. That was incredible. That was there. Before that, it kind of got lost in the shuffle. Joe Mixon got absolutely stoned on a fourth and goal at the goal line. They weren't going to get any points at the two-yard line, and he somehow runs over Ivan Pace. And then the final one, Browning, on the move.

And this is the one that I give him the most credit for, you know, a dime to Tyler Boyd when they were in a long-yarded situation and it looked like they were going to punt the ball back in overtime. And that sets up the game winner. I mean, like, I don't think it's that fluky. I think Jake Browning and the way they're playing offense is really effective right now. I have, like, bad eyesight, obviously. So, like, on our NFL plus things, I have to wear glasses to even see the monitor over there.

So, like, I was watching this one. And if you haven't seen the show, think Junior Soprano really, like, a Coke rim thick. Well, they're terrible. Like, they're not, you shouldn't be wearing them on screen because they're not, they're reflective. So it just looks like I have, like, light burning out of my eyes. But anyways, like, I was watching this from a distance initially. And from a distance. From a distance.

Like, Jake Browning to me, if it was just like, that's actually just Joe Burrow. know they're not exactly the same physically, but it's like what they're doing with the offense and who he is. It's like I don't feel this is a big step down from Joe Burrow. I really don't. Like what we've seen over this small sit. I'm not saying, you know, universally or that's his career or everything.

The ball doesn't have the same zip, but he has got the moxies. There's something about him where it's like, and I think if we're going to credit Stefanski for what he's done with backup quarterbacks, like Zach Taylor in the last three games and what he's done with Browning, and part of it is just Browning and he is extremely confident. This is working.

It's like the Bengals are an absolute factor in a mystery factor to me. It's like I don't want to deal with this team down the stretch. Like Cleveland plays them in that week 18 tilt. I think that's going to be very important for both teams. Here's a good stat from ESPN. Browning completed 10 of 14 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns to his wide receivers on the final six drives. And like we said, we don't know how serious this Jim R Chase injury is, but it obviously is something to keep an eye on.

But like the Browns, who you just, just brought up the this team is showing that they they find a way to keep it going and i think we've talked about it um um because we've got to get to the team of a t higgins has had a really rough contract year it's funny how almost like one game island game and a lot of ways could restore his prospects and free agency because you showed he showed in multiple points in this game what kind of talented player he is and the instincts on that touchdown uh incredible you're right And it was a tough one for the team of ATN here.

You have a 17-3 in the fourth quarter. You have a 17-3 lead in the fourth quarter. Team of 18. We have cursed this operation. 24-17 with 348 to play. And then you give up two touchdowns. You respond, Nick Mullins, who had a overall, even though he threw for 303 yards

and 26 for 33, had a regrettable day, probably the worst interception of the entire season where he was falling down and just kind of gave it to the defensive lineman. I mean, that was... Did you see Desmond Wooder today? There's a company. He somehow was like, I'll see your touchdown, Josh Dobbs, when you were

falling down and throwing it, and I will top you like an all-timer. I was, the defensive lineman for the Bengals said, like, I couldn't believe what he was doing when he was doing it. But then he drives him down the field, even though they dropped, you know, there was a pick six that got overturned at one point. He could

have thrown like four or five, but he drives them down the field, responds, makes a crazy pass that he never should have tried to Jordan Addison on the call line where Kevin O'Connell made a curious call and our guy Chris Rose had a great call in it where he was kind of like, what are you doing? But it works out. And so they're up seven

points before that and they get a possession in overtime where O'Connell just feels like he got in his own head. I mean, I don't like the prospects. We'll talk about the lions in a minute, but they've got the lions twice sandwiched around Green Bay.

ahead of the Vikings. Right. They needed to. They were in a great position to stop the bleeding because, like, they've lost three of four, and some of it's on the coaching, some of it's on the decisions. You're flip-flopping quarterbacks left and right. And Mullins is Mullins. Right.

He has one of the worst interception rates in the history. I think he has the worst interception rate in the history of pro football for anyone that's thrown over 500 times. But I didn't think he was like that crazy bad. He wasn't terrible. He's the third. He's the second string quarterback really is like almost a third straight guy. That defense, who he'd been.

pump it up has two chances to close out the game and they can't do it. Right. But when I was saying, I think O'Connell got in his own head, they get the ball in overtime. They move it to the opposite 41, 42. They're on the edge of field goal range. They need about a yard to get a first down. And Ty Chandler, who all day has been making O'Connell look bad because he looks so good. 23 for 132. And all the Vikings fan in media, who all season have been saying, we've seen Ty Chandler. He has so much more juice than anyone else in the restaurant.

Why don't you give him the rock? Finally, they're forced to because Madison's out. He goes 23 for 132. They need a foot on third and one and they call a tush push with Mullins with 180 pound Brandon Powell behind them and one of the worst run blocking centers in front of them

and Nick freaking Mullins at quarterback and it doesn't work. And you're like, okay, it's now fourth and a foot. At least we get another try at this. It's overtime. They call the same play again. it doesn't work and they're going home like six plays later. That's the second time

in three weeks that Minnesota coaching kind of gaffed and yaked on their own shoes in a big spot in the game and when you are a fringe team, when you don't execute and you don't call the game the right way that's how you get beaten. Now, only thing I'll say about team of ATN, we've got to keep moving here.

It's the 7 and 7. That's an out of conference loss. So tiebreaker wise, not his killer, but geez. Geez. Come on, guys. They are still in the playoffs as of this recording. Well, so are, you know, 28 other teams. No, actually, the exact amount of teams that'll make the playoffs.

I'm saying, like, they're just some part of this, like, milk toast, the middle of the road soup. Keep calm. Carry on. And I'm agitated about this team right now. Listen, we're all upset. This one was tough. We're all upset. This one was deaf.

We're all hurt and vulnerable. But we're in this together. team of ATL. What if the Bengals were? We can't, we can't do it, Mark. We can't do that to ourselves. Sorry. I did find myself kind of enjoying this Bengals experience of nothing else.

They are fun. We can't speak that out loud. Okay, okay. That's inside the house talk. Well, get us to the next game then. All right, to Indianapolis. Good job locking up the Bengals there, West Bros. They were squinted it out.

They've had a few like this. Sweating that one out. All right, let's keep moving. Trace Irman in the back left of Gardner Minshue, drops the throw on first down. Over the middle. Got it. And it's a touchdown.

Mo Alley Cox, touchdown as he walks across the goal line. Touchdown, I-N-D-Y. One play, no problem. 18 yards to the tight end and the Colts lead 20 to 13. Ooh, backup QBs everywhere you look. That is Matt Taylor with the call WFNI. Gardner Meanshew matched his career high with three touchdown passes. His team ran for 170 yards.

That's how you help out. a gardener manchu type and the cults stay in the playoff picture with a 30 to 13 went over the Steelers who to quote the great late poet Thomas Earl Petty are free fall out into nothing Mark the Colts spotted the Steelers 13 points early didn't matter didn't matter wasn't even close to matter scored 30s the Steelers the last three games have been absurd with this team Stillers are cooked. We talked about the cults like a couple weeks ago, and I know that the response in general was, well, yeah, okay,

they're around, but they're not doing a lot for me. But I would just say this. Like, there's a lot of teams like that, and they're consistently really well coached. And it's like they didn't blink when they were down 13-0. And when you get the version of Minshu that can produce and you're getting, they have no Anthony Richardson. Jonathan Taylor is not in the lineup right now.

they lost Zach Moss in this game Michael Pittman goes down guys like Trey Serman and Tyler Goodson are coming in and carrying the ground game and I think that Shane Stuyken week after week has a good game plan and it's like there's something about this team that I trust them to find a way

into the playoffs who knows what will happen but a lot of these guys are the same players who were on the roster last year when that thing free fell into nothing and it's the same you can't take Tom Petty's line I just said Tom Petty's line I just said Tom Petty's line

You hear it I was connecting it to what you said I'm trying to do you give him credit That is that is Not the first time that was ever said in human history But he made that that Raised anyone credit When during the song

Because he probably wasn't the first thing You would side against Tom Petty This is your lowest moment Greg That I understand everything you're saying Mark I was like psyching is 4-0 against Mike Rable Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin This season that's good

Who are the teams Not the coaches Who are the teams? All right, but he's just going up and not. They are good at beating the fakes. No, no, no, no. This is why Shane Stike and will win coach of the year if he goes 10 and 7. In a day like this where it is Trey Sermon and Goodson and you lose your two best players.

You mentioned Pittman and Moss, two of your best players. And you at a half time or in the second half, have a drive where you run it 13 straight times. Mm-mm-mm. That take up 857. We're not even going to let Minchu throw a pass. I think eventually he did, and it didn't work, and then they kicked the field goal, but it didn't matter. They ended the game that way. They out Steelers is a Steeler.

They were tougher than Pittsburgh on both fronts. I mean, their offensive line did a really nice job in this game. I think Minchus had his best two-game stretch of the season. I know they only scored seven points offensively, but I thought he played well last week, and they lose Minko Fitzpatrick for the Steelers. The Steelers are out of ideas. They're punt in in spots. They need to take a field goal.

like I think in Pittsburgh people are wondering like is Mike Tomlin totally safe like that's a question for another day but it is impressive to me to Mark's point he's taking all these same players I think he's going to win coach at the year at this rate and to what you said before they ran the ball on 20 of the final 21 plays and it works that's crazy I just don't have to take him seriously though right and I don't know but I actually don't think they will make it credit there are five eight and six teams right now only two will get in there's so many teams that we've talked up more I'll use the Vikings or or the Packers examples like oh, this is a game you should take care of business against the team that you're better then. And then they go and get beat. Like, the Colts are a team that are proven they're kind of a step ahead of the real mediocre in the world. I would just say, like, like, there are fan bases like Chargers fans,

if any of them exist. Like, they're thinking, like, we're in a lot of trouble. Like, Colts fans can be like, we've got a coach that he's going to be around for a long time. And oh, by the way, their defensive line, like Odenbo and Ebucom and everyone, like, it's easily the best of the entire Chris Ballet. era. Like E.J. Speed had a big time game at Limbaugh. They have things they can feel good

about for when Richardson gets back and they might. They might just get into the playoffs. Five teams again at eight and six. At this point, only two of those five would get in if the Browns do make it. Let me see. At Falcons. Mm-hmm. Home Raiders. Home Texans. Okay. I mean, two and one. They'll be playing on Saturday. Two and one. We'll be playing on Saturday. I mean, two and one right now, I'm starting, I've been saying all along, if you win 10 games, you're probably in. That's still true, like, probably meaning more than 50%. But the way it's shaping up, some 10 and 7 team or two might be sitting at home watching

because a lot of these teams are winning right now. All right. Let's hit the final game on Saturday to Detroit. We go. God takes. Wants to throw on fourth and two. A lot of time. Throws end zone hot touchdown.

Number three. on the night for Sam Leporta. On fourth down, golf came out throwing. Found 87 running wide open in the end zone. It's now the Lions 41 and Denver 17. Blue. Dan Miller. The old team of A-Tale.

Let's bring them back. Can't do it. We set them free. We're a mess. Dan Miller, WX, X, Y, T. Jared Gough matched a career high with five touchdown passes. Three to rookie tight end, Sam Leporta. The Lions hammer the Broncos, 42,

17. Greg, exactly the type of the game lines needed. Swagger restored. Yeah, I did not expect this. You know, they were stopped on their first few drives. And at that point, they had gone 10 straight drives without scoring at all over the last couple games. And then they went five straight touchdown drives. And these weren't just touchdown drives. They were fast touchdown drives. All of them four minutes or less. Just like, we're going to go right down the field. And it's a little unfair to Russell Wilson. But I saw this idea in the athletic and I thought it was really smart. This matchup sort of was what the Russell Wilson trade wrought in some ways. It's not Russell Wilson's fault, but they haven't had a top 50 pick in the draft for years

because of the Russell Wilson trade for two years. And who's scoring all the touchdowns on the other side? Jamir Gibbs, who that plan to sit him early in the season, it's worked. He's right now a top five running back period and is as explosive as anyone. Another top 50 pick, LaPorta is going crazy. All these young guys in Detroit showing what you can do when you build around draft picks and their quarterback, who's kind of a mid-level quarterback versus another mid-level quarterback.

They don't have any picks. And I just am so impressed with the Lions. I know they're not perfect, but they have taken that next step in the way they're building this team. And they're the opposite of the team we just talked about the Colts, because all these guys you mentioned, we're not on the roster last year. They're drafting well.

They're organizationally well-built. And like when you get golf playing like you did yesterday, that's the Lions team that could hang with anyone. They had all five of their offensive linemen stay healthy throughout the whole game. I think that might be the first time all season, actually. So, like, they, and they're getting healthier. They might get C.D. Deuce back, uh, Charting, Chauncey Gardner Johnson. They might get Aleem McNeil back and then James Houston and pass rusher.

So on defense, they, they told the broadcast crew, we're going to be way more aggressive. We've been sitting back. And at least for this game at work, they blitzed. You did get Sean Payton getting into it with Russell Wilson. Ooh, that was spicy. I didn't see that. What happened? Screaming at Russell Wilson on the sideline.

He did. Do we have the sound of Sean Payton talking about that Russell Wilson back and forth? Because it was nice. I was upset about the call. That's all. Simple. That's it. No, I was upset at the call.

Listen, what I talk with Russell about is none of your business. Yeah, I'm sure it was a frustrating night for. Peyton and company you thought maybe this was your chance to announce yourself in a prime time game as you know take us seriously just beat the Chargers

get over 500 instead you're back into dropped into that beefy middle class again you do get the Patriots next week but that's that was not a good showing they could go 3 and 0 they will need to to possibly make it

but their schedule allows it but this I think was a kind of an eye opener that loud reveal yeah we maybe can't really hang and and i give erin glenn some credit melifon with their safety who came in off the bench was had like a career day and they were just way more aggressive like trying to take it to the broncos with a lot of blitzes a lot of crazy stuff the fumble by russell wilson early was big yeah that was a great great great weekend for the lions who say bye bye to the packers in the division race jared goff has a good pick me up game five

freaking touchdown. So very nice for the former team of ATN. Let's take a break and finish out Sunday. Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin. And this is NFL cover zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that. What was that? Oh my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining and twice a week that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the I Heart

Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. What's up everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you

inside the game from scouting reports and player development to team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the tape, talk to decision makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day.

Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back.

Time now for the Sunday Drive presented by the first ever Toyota Grand Highlander. Let's head to the desert where the Niners kept doing. doing Niners things. Now they're going to spread them out. Brock goes into a shotgun. Now you goes out wide, right, watched by Antonio Hamilton. Joanne Jennings goes in the right slot. Watch by the safety.

Jalen Thompson, Purdy, looks right. Now comes back middle. Wide open McCaffrey. Touchdown! C.M.C. With a beautiful Cali Rout, would have played by Christian McCaffrey. Greg Popper and Tim Ryan with a call. NBR. Some of the touchdowns of the

nighters scored today. We're just totally uncontested. There was a Debo touchdown to start the scoring. Or Debo Samuel, who's the most dangerous offensive player in the sport right now, you can argue, I think he's up to you two, two, three, two. I don't

know, I got a 39 on a state mandated test back in 96, but I could tell you he's had a lot of touchdowns, multiple touchdowns all month. And he goes completely unnoticed in motion and just rolls out. Heardy just turns and goes, yeah, all right, here we go.

He essentially jogs into the end zone to get the scoring going in what was another blowout win for the mighty nineers. 4529. It clinches the NFC West title, moves their winning streak to six consecutive games. And the Niners, like I said last week, are simply inevitable right now. Christian McCaffrey, two interesting things here in the MVP. Watch, DAC melts down in Buffalo. Purdy has another crystal clear, clean game with four touchdowns.

I think he takes a big lead in the MVP with Christian McCaffrey now coming off. Just one of those games when he goes into the Hall of Fame one day, if his body allows him just to hang around for a few more years at this level. He's a Hall of Fame player. He was just absolutely a nightmare. And this was a bad matchup for Arizona's defense and the type of defense. they play. McCaffrey is a guy who just absolutely savages teams that play a lot of zone. And he went for 115 yards on the ground and a touchdown. He had five catches for 72 yards

through the air with two touchdowns. So it was just outrageous what you got from McCaffrey and a reminder of, you know, the power of this team. The biggest scare mark would be Brock Purdy takes a nasty shot to the to the face and neck. It was flagged for a penalty and he's down on the turf writhing and they're like oh my goodness not purdy and he goes into the blue tent but he ends up just missing about three plays this is in the first half comes back in and goes right down the field and then throws another touchdown pass so uh the niners keep rolling yeah if you're a niners fan you just hope that like you remain charmed on the injury front um they've it's been pretty good for them overall and just um to your point on debo samuel the the touchdown to george kiddle it's like

i'm sorry uh is anyone on defense wondering that george Kittle is involved on this play. It's just simply what... It wasn't even a great throw because he kind of leaped for it, but it was like wide open. Like, these guys are just like the way that they create passing route through them, it's like they are wide open. I think it was that...

Kittle didn't have a score in this game. Well, he was one where he... Oh, okay. Run for it after he caught it. I mean, and listen, I get it that no one cares about QB rating, but just as a relative, like, mark of where Brock Purdy is, he has 1300

plus passer rating games in his first 20 appearances. only Patrick Mahomes and Kurt Warner had more. And so, yes, it's an environment of the Niners around him, but like, we just say it every week. It's like Purdy is like he stirs the drink. And it's like they're this absolute unstoppable machine right now. And it's like the Cardinals put up 234 yards on the ground.

If I knew that ahead of time, I thought maybe they're finding a way to, like, stay on the field and keep the Niners offense off. And it's like, I don't think so. The Niners put up 45 points and there's an effortless nature to it. I mean, this game was. was kind of the case for and against Purdy because his numbers are going to be so off the charts now, efficiency-wise, and it was absolutely perfect. And then as he point out, like three of the

touchdowns, there was not anyone in an area code. And that's just how it worked out. But I don't think they're sweating it. I think McCaffrey's going, if he keeps it going and gets like, let's say, 2,300 yards from scrimmage and 26 touchdowns, he's going to get some votes too. And he should. Like, he's that good. He's at 20 touchdowns now. And in over 17. seen it 100 yards from scrimmage but I don't think they're worried about it. They're pretty psyched. They won the division. You could hear it in Kyle Shannon's voice just saying like they are pumped

and they're just the first step. Yeah, they really want to get two home games and I think they are on track to do it. Oh yeah. I think they are the heavy favorite for that one seat. I don't know what Kyle Shannon said, but I almost am certain someone said, hey,

this is just the first step. Yeah. They do love to say that. Um, you got that coach speak down. Can I, you've got a beat on that. Thank you. We've been doing this podcast a long time. Um, uh, the only thing I'll say as we move on is should I get a little bit nervous about giving up 234 yards on a day when you were playing a little shorthanded, uh, maybe, but I almost sense Mark, uh, last week, maybe a little bit too. This is so easy for the Niners right now that they're not even playing at their peak sharpness right now with some of these lesser opponents and they're just just buzz sawing.

everybody. One little thing about that. Eric Armstead, Javon Hargrave, both not active today. And Nick Bosa looked banged up too. So I don't know, the periods were like, they didn't have their full cast and crew out there. And, you know, Arizona's a good, has been a good

It doesn't matter. Well, there's a, it's a league wide trend right now. All these defenses which are great, and most of these teams are on teams that are leading, by the way. The way to beat them is to run. It's true for the Cowboys against them. And so it's true for the 49. It's certainly true for the Jets, which have a great defense.

It's true for the Ravens. I would even say, as good as the Browns are, it's probably true for the, like, all the best defense is if you're going to beat them, you'll probably do it running. They'll give it up there. And so that is a little bit of a concern. But I don't know who's going to expose it in the NFC. There's not right now. We're like,

we have to like fish deep into the sea for a concern about the Niners. Well, no, they're kind of an average dress defense in general. Yeah, but for what it's worth. If you can, if you, if they stay healthy, the only way to beat this team literally is to do one of those games. where you have a you keep the time of possession weigh in your favor and running the football

this is a good way to do that that was the Sunday drive presented by Toyota let's go places learn more at Toyota.com slash grand highlander let's head across the sidewalk here up to the 38 with a first down on the first snap of the third quarter staffer from a strong right set play fakes set up to throw full send deep down the left side

where is the coverage Untouched to the end zone. Don't look now. Joe Barry on this staff, too? He is back. Cooper Cup for the third week in a row. 62 yards from Matthew Stafford. Sorry, J.B.

Bucked over in a cup line there. I think you seem to want to jump into some of these booths. I'll see J.B. at the barbershop, maybe. Yeah. I'll offer an apology. All right. Cooper Cup all alone down the sideline against the worst pass defense in the NFL. Matthew Stafford hits him. Stafford throws for 258. He also hooked up with DeMarcus Robinson for another touchdown. And the Rams, they hang on for a 2820 win over the commanders who, like I said, haven't won in multiple months now. Who was on this one? I was. Gregie, talk about it.

I think you could use the word moribund to describe this Washington team, at least until Jacoby Brissette came in with about 10 minutes to go. Because like the Rams totally dominated this game. It was encouraging to see that. Slides me up a piece of that. Jake Briske. Braggs. Always welcome. It's too long since we heard him.

Like they were doing everything. You had the Stafford like trick shots. You had the whole shots. You had the arm angles. Like you had it all. But one thing I like about this Rams team is that when they need to run, they absolutely can. like short yardage.

They're a very good team just handing it to Kyron Williams. And this game got so stupid late because they gave up two touchdowns to Jacoby percent who came in for Sam Howell that they had to pick up a first down or two to close off the game. And they didn't get fancy. They just handed off to Kyron Williams four times for 20 yards game over. And that's a part of this Rams team. I don't think nationally people have caught up to quite as much that they are a very good,

like straight ahead power running team. Howell get benched? Howell got removed, but Ron Rivera said, that sounds more serious. He got taken out of the game, but Rivera said he's still our starter and he's going to start next week. But he was terrible in this game, I would say, and he's been bad for about three or four weeks.

I think his worst stretch of games has been the last month, 26 passes for 102 yards. And then Jacoby Brissette comes in there, eight for 10, 124, two touchdowns. He probably won some fantasy leagues for people who started. Nobody started him any. who started Terry McLaurin, who finishes six for one, 441 for one. Or he frustrates the hell out of the Terry McLaurin owners that gave up on him finally.

Yeah. You know, you got scary Terry sitting on your bench tonight with 38 points or whatever. That's a rough one. Hey, that, that incredible sequence, McLaren 48-yard catch to the LA one. Oh, my God. 447 to play. So a touchdown is taken off the board by an offensive pass. interference. Then the drive gets extended on a past interference call on fourth down.

The commanders take eight snaps without scoring before Brisket hit Samuel. More than three minutes had passed on the, on the clock. And then on top of it, Gregi, obviously we see it all the time now. Remember, you just said it on Monday night that finally it's going to be official that everyone's always going to do it. They're down 14. They decided to kick the extra point because of course, Ron Rivera is probably not even aware that that's a thing. and the kick gets blocked and it's just kind of a fitting way for Washington to lose yet again.

That was the worst game management I think I've seen all season because the touchdown was on the board. It was 28 to 20 with 455 left that it's reversed and they have it first the goal at the one and they bled the clock down to under five seconds

for their next three plays. They bled three minutes off the clock. Do you think that's on, do you put a little bit? I would say that don't just Ron Rivera, you've got Eric B. Enemy involved in that. You've got Percet who's not been on the field in like months.

I think that might have been part of it, that it was Brissette, but it's more on, yeah, the offensive coaching set, but it's Rivera, it's everything. I mean, that, that was ugly. But nice to see Stafford, who leads the NFL in EPA and success rate since week 11, according to next year sets, when he's in rhythm. I like that, like 2.5 to 4 seconds, letting go to the ball. You know what else?

Stafford leads, what again? Greg Rosenthal newsroom moans. I mean, his throws are crazy. It's like at a certain points, I have to like check. to make sure Greg's pants are still on with some of these the best throw of the game was when Kyron Williams

dropped. Stafford's under pressure. He has to let it go about seven seconds early and just throw it up as high as possible to get rid of it. And Kyron Williams dropped that one. But my God is this guy playing one. I look over it at Mark when all these

just men moaning. They'll look for his reaction. Mark just stone face looking straight ahead. So maybe not out of the ordinary. I don't know. You tell me. Well, I'm very plugged into my job. But I don't know if I, I don't think, too many things on the football field elicit the same reaction that you get from Greg when he's like deeply wound in something.

To the Superdome. Carr back to throw, looking for the end zone. He gets the touchdown to number 80. Joe Graham. The touchdown man. Can you say wide open? He was wide open. first thing gold just makes you scratch your head just i'll just leave it at that can we just

stop complaining shut up saints nation stop complaining it doesn't even a touchdown call oh oh if only jimmy graham was playing 80 per jimmy graham was like 50 years old if jimmy graham was playing more snaps maybe the saints would be better this year you just won another game easily you're first place, okay? And maybe this is, my team hasn't been to the playoffs in 13 years. And we're, we're banging on the Saints coaching staff after Jimmy Graham scores a touchdown. Enough. Derek Carr passed for three touchdowns.

And the Saints took the sauce and the moots of Tommy Cutlets and a 24 to 6 win over the Giants at the Superdome. The win keeps the Saints, as I said, tied to top the NFC South, the three games to play. good job Saints they're absolutely in the mix to win this division a back-to-back one-sided wins for the much-de-ride at hometown team I would say that any Saints fan would have to say it in the knowledge like this was the

Derek car game you're waiting for on some level he played... Let's hear from Dennis Allen sure. I don't know if I'm getting questions about the quarterback this week but I thought the quarterback played really well so make sure we get that on record that's all right that was and I know and that

That's a troll job of all these people. Yeah. In and around the Saints, both the people that cover them, the fans of the team. I see you, Dennis Allen, because I get it to. Yeah, but that one, it's also kind of like, let's calm down. You're seven and seven against statistically the easiest schedule in the league by far with the most expensive roster. Oh, I'm sure there's going to be a column about that. No, no, I'm just saying they got to go win against the Rams.

That is a big game. Both are seven and seven. The Rams are technically the wild card right now, and the Saints are one spot behind They're trying to win the division two, but like that is a big game. And this was their best game of the season, no question. Defensively, they did not allow the Giants into the red zone. I mean, they destroyed them. They sacked Tommy DeVito seven times before a couple garbage time possessions when it was 24 to 6.

The Giants only had 101 yards. It was outrageous. The offense was really efficient, 24 points and only eight drives. Carr was spotless. Camara goes for over a hundred he goes for a hundred and ten yards and they won these two games 52 to eight to your point against the bad team so they have set themselves up um to save their season i do think it is funny like him peacocking and everything when they've been incredibly mediocre but that's that's the thing like they were like i heard demario davis in the lockerum talking about

all the outside noise we got to shut it out and he's like talking about his own fans that's the outside noise well there's something extraordinary about and the coach doing that is in part of response to this this team specifically for whatever it is sometimes there's just a team and this is this is fine because i i think we've all been in this situation saints fans are in it this year there's just a team that gets on your nerves in a way and if it's the coach and a quarterback tandem that are leading the way um that will make it even more pronounced and that's the saint's are just fed up and i think alan's frustration because he's been in the crosshairs and so has been the quarterback that's him letting off a little

steam more than this game will get their hopes up and this game will get them happy i think this i have no problem with saints fans being non-plus with dennis allen i just don't i'm not obviously mark not i'm saying i know but i'm not i'm not even like i also like i don't want to keep having the derrick car conversation over and over he's frustrated but that like the idea that like derrick car should be praised more than he's been praised is also ridiculous he's not had a good season the one guy who has been awesome and you mentioned him is demario davis who has been on arched your team and mine in the past and they let him go. He has week to week, I feel like in year to year, this is the dude that shows up.

He had 10 tackles today, a sack. He was all over the place. It's like you can count on him every single week. He shows how much smarts can make a career because he's not quite a Hall of Famer, but man, he's like a hollow very good. Like he's getting closer. Like he's lost a step clearly this year and he's not quite the same in past events. And yet he's still a total difference maker.

Passineau had three sacks in this game. Brian Bressi, their rookie had a couple of sacks. They were, they just strangled the Giants offense. Barclay, Tommy DeVito, everything. So it was really good. If they can be that type of defense and they haven't given up a touchdown now and how long, I don't know, nine quarters, I think, right? They didn't give up one last week.

And if they could play defense like this, then you just need a mistake-free type of offense. And that's how they played today. Just flush it. Try to have a nice end of the season. Passineau, by the way, I liked what he said. He did the Tommy Cutlet's pinch finger gesture after one of his sacks. And his quote, I'm from Philly. We got a whole bunch of Italians out there.

So we're used to Italian. It's a good line. Let's move to Charlotte. The ball is between the hashes. It is a 23-yard chip shot for the win. Jansen to snap. Hacker puts it down. Eddie swings the leg.

The kick is up. It's good. Q up Neil Diamond. We haven't heard it in a long time. I love it. In a season where so much that could go wrong has gone wrong and on a day

where the elements conspired Mother Nature gave us her own metaphor. Here is the rain. Here is the doom. Here is the gloom. Here is the wind. On the field,

a little ray of sunshine. Oh, put it in the file. Wow. Christ, put it in the file. That is a man that has been through it with the Panthers a little ray of sunshine anise Shroff with a call

WRFX steady Eddie Pinheiro got it done booting a 23-yard field goals time expired Panthers beat the Falcons come out guys 9-7 in that steady downpour the Falcons playoff hopes now on life support with the lost mark

good for the Panthers and interim coach Chris Tabor and their play-by-play guy bad very bad, the latest inevitable crushing turnover from Desmond Ritter. Take us back to that moment. This is the kind of game that, like, if you had your doubts about Arthur Smith and you wonder about, like, the actual overall plan here, here's your evidence. Like, Desmond Ritter had, I think, maybe the worst interception of the day, a red zone

disaster, which seems to happen to them on a weekly basis. This is a team that says our identity is to run the ball against a bad Panthers defense. You run the ball 31 times at one. But that moment, take me to that moment. What's the score? What's the situation? They're in the red zone because I remember looking at the box score and saying to myself, oh, they kick a field goal.

The game's over. And instead, they have Ritter rolling out on a pass. I don't have an answer for why they're doing that. That's, that's, close my mind. This is meant to be an offensive-minded coach that would never put you in that situation. I mean, all your skill business players have been invisible the entire way. It just, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a low moment for this entire team.

And like, Bryce Young didn't look great either, but it's like they're the one team that found a way to have Bryce Young seal up a game-winning drive when he's not been able to do this the entire season. It's like, it's like, this team had a nice throw in there to Mingo. He did build out once a week. It's like, the Falcons completely fell apart. I mean, that is as crushed. This is a, this is a game that gets you fired potentially.

It's a cry for help type of game. I trust Steve Weish saying that he thinks. thinks when he was here that there was no way Arthur Smith was going to lose his job. Now, they've lost a couple games since. One of them was to the Panthers. And to your point, you were saying, what, 31 rushes for 52 yards. And so the way the game ends is that Ritter interception happens when they could go ahead. And there's still seven and a half minutes left.

You figure, okay, we'll get the ball back. No, the Panthers end the game with a 17-play 85-yard drive. So that is, I just think, on the levels of losing, like, that is the worst. possible loss. There is. That is the way you don't make the playoffs. Unless the quarterback

audibled out on his own there, when you have a chance to go up, that would have put them up, what? They were second and 10 there. They're just inside the red zone. I'm not going to kill them

for calling a pass play. Don't throw the interception. It was a terrible play. No, but you can't. But they could have gone to 14 to 6. You're just running the ball twice on second and 10

with eight minutes to go? The score at that point is what, 7 6. 7. So you play a conservative. you believe the clock, you kick a field goal that put you ahead, four points against the Panthers team that was not going to score a touchdown. This is basic stuff. I just mean on the blame pie chart that's still player 90% there. But you have to understand your personnel and understand who Desmond Ritter has been all year to put him, the ball in his hands to win that game. That just tell to me, that is a, you're a coach that doesn't understand is just too stubborn for his own good. And that has been a case with Smith all year. You can't lose that game. You can't lose it.

And to Greg's point, too, though, because Falcons on defense have been, there's things to like about their defense, like a 17-play drive that started on Carolina's own five, you never get the ball back, they kick the winning field goal, a quarterback that's not shown zero signs of development all year long. Rough. It's going to be a lot of heat on him this week. And, you know, it happens in a week where the Bucks win a game that they weren't favored by.

Falcons still because of the schedule and because they still have division games and they have all the tiebreakers like they're not out of it but this was the lowest moment of the arthur smith they are no doubt and they got the colts then at bears at new orleans i mean they will be you know they could lose all three i know it's 2023 so they could win all three but this feels like and steve weish is obviously really good at his job he used to work with the falcons he's plugged in with that team he's not working with them anymore but knows a lot of people so i'm sure he wasn't pulling that out of thin air but um that was also at the beginning of this month,

if this season craters, and he's three years, Smith, on the job without a playoff appearance. And I, he got rid of wrong. We're losing the script here

with the Falcons. It's like, what are they about? And like, I think you have to feel that that if you're the owner. DeShon Robinson is, was a non-factor in this game.

Seven for a 11th. The big fun-ball. The conditions, when I saw those conditions today, I actually thought, oh, well, that's perfect for the Falcons.

They're, they're a rugged. I think so. Team that, like, they should be able to run the ball, and you end up with Bajan 7 for 11. Cordill Patterson, 5 for negative 2.

Ritter 5 for negative 2. It's like, what's happening? All right, to Sunday night football. Tomorrow, the shot down on second out on 6. Takes the snap. Sets his feet, steps up, hits, spins out of a sack, back pedals to the 45, going deep, lookout trouble. But it is caught at the 5-yard line.

Coming down with a ball is Isaiah lightly. in between a pair of Jacksonville defenders who looked in position to pick the ball off. There was a, no, no, no, no, don't throw that ball. Yes, yes, yes, great catch. A signature play from Lamar Jackson, the call, Jerry Sandusky, and Rod Woodson, Ravens Radio, and listen, do the Ravens win games with the same Hanash as the Niners, for example? or, you know, when the, when the Cowboys are going right, or even the bills at their top gear, maybe it's not as sexy.

But they don't care. Nobody cares because the Ravens keep winning. And they've been doing it all year and they continue to do it. And they did it on Sunday night football, a 23 to 7 win over the Jaguars who just didn't. I mean, it's just like, come on, guys. We're supposed to be trying to think seriously. Yep. I mean, who wouldn't be frustrated?

Imagine you're a Jaguars fan. Anyway, so the Ravens moved to 11 and 3 and one step closer to that number one seed in the AFC. And Mark, this was a game in which Lamar Jackson did a bunch of magical things, even if it wasn't his most gaudy statistical game. And the Jaguars repeatedly shot themselves in the foot and, you know, look pretty small in a big spot. Yeah, I mean, Jacksonville is shrinking on both sides.

of the ball. And I know, I know number one, you don't have Christian Kirk. That's hurt them a lot, more than I think people would expect. But I'm watching their defense also just cave in. And in the Ravens tonight, you're right, they aren't maybe the flashiest of outfits that come to memory or mind, but they ran for 251 yards at six yards per pop. I mean, you're getting a Lamar Jackson, a version of where he ran for almost 100 yards tonight. They imposed their will. They didn't make mistakes down the stretch where the Jaguars are a team that they're getting close and they're frustrating because they

miss two field goals, which is kind of unheard of in today's NFL for the most part. You've got two fumbles for Trevor Lawrence, one of a strip sack, but one a pretty bad fumble in the first half. Bad Lawrence. Drop the ball. Yeah, and a drive that basically ended inside the Ravens five right before the half. So it's lost opportunities,

missed opportunities. They are eight, I mean, they've lost three in a row. It's been a terrible, terrible run through the AFC North. Right. They kind of got to their part of the schedule, which for the most part was soft. They had that nice win against Buffalo in London that really kind of turned their season around. But mostly it's been soft. And then you get to the tougher part of the schedule and they don't get any Ws against the Bengals Browns.

La Raville Magnifico. And it might not end up costing them it might. They're eight and six. It's now a three-way tie. Always welcome to Franks. That's so good. We got her in twice. we got the game.

Greg has done this twice where you, it takes a lot of courage. You get frags and everyone's transported and then Greg speaks next. And I love Greg, but it's like we've got,

you know, it's a jarring juxtapy. Hit frags again. And then let's just let it breathe just for like five seconds. I know it's late. La Raville Magnifico.

Hmm. Oh, you couldn't do it. I just feel good. It doesn't make you. You honkaholic. You couldn't do it. I did. I didn't.

have total silence. Chief mighty honk. That's not honky. You can't, a hum isn't a honk. That's just, you felt so free. We couldn't do five seconds. All right. Let's do it again.

Let's do it again. All right. One more time. See it again. Parraville, Magnifico. You're the worst. Yeah, it is unbelievable. You are.

What did you say to me last week, Mark? You have to be the most annoying man in the world. all right go ahead that wasn't even like a conscious thing it just came out that's why I can't be mad uh look Trevor Lawrence needs to play better in these big

spots and it's weird to start with him because he also made a lot of good plays in this game that's typical of Trevor Lawrence but I think of the first drive where he just sails a third and six that ends the drive I think of those two fumbles and then I especially

think of the end of the first half where he makes a nice throw down the sidelines but it's inbound you're in a hurry up situation and he he makes a throw that you just can't make if you're a quarterback in that spot. I'm sure he thought he was leading his receiver to the sideline and he was going to get out of bounds, but you just have to know you can't make that throw. The half ends after missing so many points, you mentioned the field goes and the fumbles, like to not get any points in that situation, that's totally

on the quarterback. And there's just different leaks springing up every week with Jacksonville, who I thought played pretty well defensively tonight, but in the second half just kind of got run over by Keaton Mitchell, who and Gus Edwards and Lamar, and unfortunately, Keaton Mitchell left with what looks like a serious knee injury. Yeah, the old injury is so serious. We won't even show it to you on replay. But in real time, you saw it really bad. The angle and everything immediately carted. And very likely we don't see Mitchell again this season. And hopefully he'll get healthy because he was a really explosive, exciting player when he was on the field. So that's another running back in that cursed running back room of the Baltimore Ravens. dealing with injury on the positive side of it that going back to the highlight that got us into it this was a really fun lamar game a really fun lamar season he's been uh just a really really good all around quarterback and even if the numbers aren't crazy this season he is he has absolutely been a star and i'll once again say it because we went through an entire summer talking about it

and now it feels like it's forgotten the ravens dared anyone else to take him from us and I don't know if they would have ultimately matched any offer sheet and it was all just the game of chicken or if or if the Ravens were actually serious about losing Lamar, but we'll never know and nobody ever actually all these teams looking for a quarterback. None of them made a serious play to try to get Lamar Jackson. This is the player that could have been had by many teams or at least they could have been in service had a chance to have a services said it's the Ravens. And I'll give a shout out to Isaiah likely. he's the one who caught that that wild pass from lamar hill set another touchdown when mark andrews went out with that injury a few weeks back and that seemed like really bad news for baltimore but likely he's done a really nice job filling that tight end spot and making it not be a

major issue for them so um it's like these with the ravens Greg it's these watch these games and it's their ability to always make the big play the big conversion the big third down the big stop that's a sign of a good team right they hit you at different levels defensively, Kyle Hamilton was back from the injury. Look good. Matt Abike had a huge sack. They're just a team without a lot of weaknesses. And so something steps up during the game at some point. And the something last couple weeks has been Lamar's running 12 for now at 97 on the night. I thought those scrambles, he had that one bad interception. This was a very typical 2023 Lamar Jackson play where he has a game where he is like one really bad play. But outside of that,

the touchdown drive was electric. And he goes 12 for 97 on the ground. Last week was the most he scrambling. all season, and now he followed up with 12 for 97. I think it's kind of like, hey, it's go time. I'm going to start running more. I do think that Keaton Mitchell, presuming he's gone for a while. I mean, that looked bad. We'll see. But like he was adding this whole other element,

because likely also, I think, is something that they didn't expect to have in this format, and it's happened because of Mark Andrews. But Keaton Mitchell made them kind of special on offense in certain ways. He really was emerging, so they're going to have to work around that. There's a reason they were favoring him over Gus Edwards, really. Like, look, you can just look at it tonight. Gus Edwards average is 3.6.

Keaton Mitchell 9 for 73. They just don't have that explosive element now without Edwards. You'll see a little more Justice Hill. Yeah. Without Mitchell. My last take on this game is, hey, Terry McClory. Terry McCauley? Terry McCauley.

Take the alma guy. That play, they're down 16, the Jaguars. They're going on a nothing burger drive to cosmetically make it a one-score game. but they're really struggling. It's almost like Baltimore is saying, all right, we'll let you have this garbage time touchdown. They still can't find a way to do it.

There's a throw in the back of the end zone. It was at Ridley, I think. Bobbles it, collects it, rolling out of bounds. It's ruled incomplete. McCall is really strong on the NBC telecast that it's a touchdown. The call stands as an incompletion.

And McCauley is very upset. He's big mad. And that was kind of funny. We were remarking on that. We go from the theater here where we watch the games on Sunday night, back to the studio, throw the game back on the tablet here, and they throw it back to McCauley. He said, I've now called the league office.

And they said it didn't rise to the level of reversing the call. It's like, Terry, big terror, just take the hell, move on. Right, because call the league office if it's something that all of us sense is a pressing concern that truly impacted the end of the game. It's like none of us were like roiled up. about it, and he's going nuts. And how is that indisputable evidence anyways? It's like they're slowing it down frame by frame.

Oh, if you see like it had just stopped rolling with the thigh, it's like, no. You just had a bad for a sincing, then you stuck to it. No. Anything else? No. Oh, there's something else. Oh, yeah, another one. Locked it up.

You should have stayed in the nest with me. I know. But, you know, to next point, there's not a lot of excitement with locking with the Ravens, but you've done it probably eight times. That's not true. It seems to be very effective. Like four times, but yeah, a decent amount of things. Like, oh, we're going to watch the Ravens grind out another 23.

Eight win, like, let's high five each other. Like, I get what Nick's saying. That's all I'm saying. They were like three and a half point favorites. It's on the road against a first place team. Let's, let's go. What are you going to do? At 11 and 3, they now gave themselves a little bit of room here where they can lose next week.

If you don't stop talking, Mark is like to literally I know but he I mean I think we get it I think we get it like you have to understand Greg you're in you're in mortal danger right now it's not afraid

gotta get out of the studio it's been a long day I mean I have I have you know I find great enjoyment in these Sundays as the day creeps towards 9 p.m. on the west coast it's like I at some point hit me with a brick all right well can you imagine living with me

that brick is uh the closing music, hurtling towards your face like Barb from Home Alone. I welcome it. All right, well, we got more coming up on Monday, game of the week on NFL Plus and Monday Night Football News recap.

Till then, heat the call. Hey, everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move to Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you. give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday.

Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.