NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - 2024 Week 14 Recap

Episode Date: December 9, 2024

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Patrick Claybon and Nick Shook to recap all of the Week 14 action from around the NFL. The show starts with a break down of Bills at Rams (00:51), followed by Seahawks at Cardinals (13:25), Bears at 49ers (21:55), Falcons at Vikings (28:30), Panthers at Eagles (36:47), Raiders at Buccaneers (45:09), Browns at Steelers (51:37), Jets at Dolphins (59:30), Jaguars at Titans (01:06:59), Saints at Giants (01:10:44), and Chargers at Chiefs (01:17:17). 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. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents.

Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Welcome to NFL Daily, where we're always excited to bring up Autogram at the the top of the show. I'm Greg Rosenthal here in the Chris Wesleying podcast studio with my friend Patrick Claibon. Eric Roberts behind the glass just coming over from SoFi, seeing one of the games of the year. And yes, Nick Shook in Cleveland, you dirty dog, you took this game from us, shook and you were the one covering the score fest that was Rams Bills today. Yeah, I took the game

from you, but I also gave you the opportunity to go cover your favorite player in the history of football. Gino Smith. So I think it was a fair trade. We'll get to that. That's a good tease. We're going NFC West heavy at the top of the show. And yes, I mentioned Otto Graham's name because Josh Allen did something

that no one's done since Otto Graham. Surely that would be enough to win the game, right? Let's go over to Sofi. Let's go in regulation. Stafford from the shotgun. Looking left, rose right, receiver screen, caught, blocked. Touchdown, Pooka to out. Touchdown, L.A.

with 154 remaining on receiver screen for a two-possession lead over the Buffalo Bill. That is our friend, J.B. Long, on KSPN. Yes, Puka Nakua on another brilliant play call from Sean McBay,

more brilliant execution from the blockers on the outside. They're so good at that. And, yes, this receiver going 12 for 162 and a touchdown through the air. Also one on the ground.

There just aren't many receivers like Puka and Akua. There's not many players like Matthew Stafford. There's not many players like Josh Allen who might have helped his MVP case on a day where they didn't win. 44 to 42 is the final. The Rams pull off the upset. Patrick called it all week long.

That's something. And yet we go to you, Shook. When you drill down and think about this game, How did the Rams do it? What was the difference between these two excellent quarterbacks? Man, the Rams made every play that they needed to make to get the lead that they needed to outlast the bills. It was the first drive, was like a haymaker, a 12-play 70-yard march that ends in a Kyron Williams touchdown run. And it's just back and forth, back and forth.

Then they get the punt block. And suddenly they're up by 10 points. That was the difference they needed to have just enough breathing room to stay out in front of this bill's offense that we know can be very explosive with Josh Allen. Matthew Stafford has a career. or a season high, 320 passing yards, in a season in which he's been very up and down, very hard to pin down. He was very solid today,

and they came through in the clutch. They faced a fourth and five on that drive, a couple of plays that preceded that Pooka Nakua touchdown. Stafford drops back. Tom Brady's already second-guessing the decision to go for it on fourth and five, but as we know, the worst place to be in football is up six with a few minutes left to go. And Sean McVeigh says,

we're not getting stuck in that position. We're going for it. Stafford drops. He fires a sidearm, rocket over the middle to 2-2-atwell. perfect pass, perfect timing, first down. They did everything they needed to in the biggest spots, and that's how you beat a team like the Buffalo Bills. Homefield advantage or not, that was what they needed to deliver, and they did.

And it took a lot, it took a lot of effort. The last time the Bills lost the game, it was back in week five to the Texans, where Josh Allen had that nine of 30 games, decidedly not a Josh Allen, nine of 30 game. One of the better games that we've seen Josh Allen play, which is saying something, considering the caliber of football player that it is. And so Bills fans aren't going to blame their generational quarterback,

They're going to look back to that decision. It happened a couple of plays before Pukua goes into the end zone. There's a third down where the Rams are called for a holding. You can either decline the holding penalty and make it fourth and fourth and seven. Or you could take the holding penalty, make it third and 17. They took the penalty. Stafford gets one completion. He gets the completion that Shook was mentioning to Tutu Atwell.

They go on to score. And then after they score that touchdown, the bills drive down the field with no timeouts. they get a second and goal in the one yard line and they elect to go for a quarterback sneak and they don't get it so they have to use a timeout which necessitates the onside kick which leads to the Rams win.

Yeah, there's a lot of focus in Buffalo and nationally on how Sean McDermott finish that game. I get it. McDermott hasn't been good in those spots before. It was the wrong decision to call the timeout there. The sneak to me is understandable.

Just because it's Josh Allen, and it's such a successful play, and you're on the one, and maybe you're thinking the Rams are thinking that you're going to throw it there to save your timeouts and save the time. That said, when they lined up, it was obvious what they were going to do, and the Rams stuffed it earlier in the game, and you have to give the Rams credit for stuffing it. This was a game with very few great defensive plays, and they did something not many people have done in that spot. They stuffed it. The problem is then taking the time out. You could align back up and then run a play. And you would have lost 15 seconds, but even then 15, 20 seconds is

less valuable than that timeout because that forced them having to go for an onside kick. I just think, Nick, in a game where these two quarterbacks were that good, making that the focus is just missing the forest for the trees because the bills had a very long shot to win in that scenario anyways. There is very little about this game that would have indicated they're about to get a three and out when the Rams know that they need to get a first down. We just saw it. The Rams were picking up first downs when they absolutely needed to. That last drive that they went on was a six-minute, 55-second drive where they killed them. So I would have expected Stafford to get it done in the end anyways, no matter what McDermott did,

because the bill's defense, if you want to point fingers, that's where the problem is. And some of these plays, you can't even point the finger at the defense. You said solid out of Stafford. This wasn't my game, but man, every other time I looked up, there were other worldly throws. The 19 yard out he had to Puka, the no look he had. He had a deep one to cup. I mean, Stafford was absolutely sensational.

And our friend Jordan Rodrigue is killing herself because she took him off quarterback island and we supported him and he goes out there and he just absolutely balls out. So it's pretty amazing to outshine Josh Allen on a day like this, shook. Yeah, yeah, and I've been wanting something like this from him all season because he's just been so volatile. But it was beautiful to see. It was beautiful to see him and Sean McVeigh working in tandem like we've known them to do over the last few years and doing so so effectively against a team that you knew you're going to have to put up a lot of points against. But to go back to what you were talking about, the idea that you were going to get off the field and the final defensive possession if you actually kept your timeouts, not going to happen.

The Rams were 11 for 15 on third down today. And a lot of that was because of Matthew Stafford and the type of performance he had. it's interesting because they're seven and six now. They're still in the hunt in the NFC West, a division that still doesn't want to sort itself out. And there's been multiple times where the Rams have been right on the precipice of taking a dirt nap, of us burying them for the season. Yet each time they find a way to fight back, get back on the conversation with wins like this.

And this is the best one they've had all season. I know there was a lot of points the defense wasn't really there, but it was the best one they had all season. And it just reminds us they're not going away. We have to take them seriously no matter who they play for the rest of the season. Yeah, it was a moment. that they had to have. They go to San Francisco on Thursday night.

We'll get to the rest of the division shortly, but they are right in it. So many crazy stats in this game. I mentioned Autogram. So Josh Allen, first quarterback with three touchdowns passing and three touchdowns rushing since Autogram. You boy, shook. I mean, they say the Browns having won titles.

They were winning titles like crazy. And for every list that, you know, you do the greatest of all time or whatever, and you're trying to do it, irrespective of era, if you look at Otto Graham's pro football reference page and you know that they black out anytime you're leading the league in that category, all of his categories are black. There is no other quarterback that has led the

league in everything to even the fraction of a degree of Otto Graham. So just shout out to Otto Graham. I know it was a totally different sport back then, but he truly did dominate it in a way that other quarterbacks probably never have. So, It's cool when a guy like Josh Allen can bring his name up, Chucky. I got a slide in one more trivia question for you. You guys know I like to do this. I don't grab more two numbers.

Hide that pro football reference page. His second number was 14. What was his first jersey number? I don't know, man. It was probably something stupid if you're telling me, 79 or something. It was. 60. It was 60.

Out there balling wearing 60 at the quarterback spot. I think it's pretty clear to look at Stafford. since Puka Nakuha has come back and before. Because one of the reasons I was surprised, Jordan was the one that brought up to, you know, pick off Stafford because I thought Stafford was playing better over the last few weeks. Now, I totally supported it too,

but she wanted to point out it was the right decision at the time, but she totally regrets it. Now, but also he unlocks some of Sean McVeigh's creativity. Right now, Pukanakua has 3383 yards. after being the guy in motion since he's come back. That's more than double anyone else in the entire NFL. Their whole offense is kind of Pooka Nakua in motion and setting him up. Jordan pointed out a really clever play where they ran the same screen touchdown

the last two weeks in a row to Nakua, but they invert where the splits are and the alignments and they just change these little things, but they call the same play and then it works and the defense doesn't know it. Jordan, actually, let's throw to her in the press room over across the street. Sean, you've seen just about every game possible from Puga to Cua and just, you know, two and three quarters seasons at this point. Did he reach a new level for you tonight? He was such an igniter today. You know, I thought obviously, you know, Matthew was in total command.

I thought Kieran and Blake both had some really tough, hard-earned runs. I thought the line were straining a little bit. But, you know, Puka for him to come up the way that he did, ultimately to be able to cap that drive off that put us up nine points. loved to be able to get the extra point there but he was awesome you know and then he's you know the artist gave me a good stat now he's giving me all types of stats after he missed

Cooper Cup he's like how about this is what the hell are you talking about first player in Rams history to go over 160 receiving and have a Russian touchdown who the hell comes up with that number right there all right but that was he was awesome Pooka and he was singularly the reason

that I was taking the Rams in this game I felt confident that Puka would be able to get open and have success. Look at his route combinations, crosses, wide receiver screens, run five of them, three outs, a hitch, a slant, an end, a corner. He does it all for this team. He does everything. And the bills, talent-wise, and again, Pooka Nakuwa is an elite wide receiver.

He's better than a whole lot of folks. I think the bills have an issue covering elite wide receivers. If not for the Nico Collins injury, I think Nico would have had a huge. huge game. And again, this is a game the Rams barely won. And the bills are a very good team. But in this particular aspect, I think... You called it. It's a rare Patrick

talking. No, not a rare Patrick win. But I mean, you talking about your own good pick. It took a lot. Look, this is the first time in NFL history that two teams had this money touchdowns without any giveaways. This is

according to next gen stats. I think our guy Dante pointed out Teams were 245 and 0 with six touchdowns and zero giveaways until the bills lost this game. So an awesome offensive performance, Eric, you saw across the street before heading out here with your baby and your bride. Yes, my six-month old baby was there to watch the Rams upset the bills. And it was fun, though. It was great. It was a great game.

Walking over from there, like, I was here before the game. And I walked over, I saw some Rams fans and I was like, hey, you know, I just want points. I want to have a good time But in that scenario in my head, the bills win and But, you know, Walker Rosethill got it, you know Every play every play they needed. I'm watching 17 on the line and he was he was there That dude the catch on the sideline toe tap like it's a catch of the year candidate. He was he was nasty all game and you know it was fun. I was a good time I go to these games I try not to be, I'm not an analyst. I'm not on that side of the glass guys.

I watch, I have fun. It was a good time. It sucks. Hey, you got your Dodgers hat on their world champs. As losses go, it's not a conference loss. Obviously, it damages their chances to get the one seed, but they already have their division championship in their pocket. They will regroup.

This division race, however, in the NFC West is just getting going. The Rams made their statement with the Seahawks match it and keep the lead to Arizona. Hand off Sharbonnet, left side, has a first out of that's up. He's down to the 30, the 20, 15, 10, five touchdown, Seahawks. And they are still chasing Zach Charbonnet, 49 yards to pay dirt, his second touchdown

in the game. The Seahawks came in saying, we've got to find a way to run the ball. Holy catfish they do. Holy catfish. When Steve Rable is getting excited and surprised, it's a great Sunday for me. And maybe he's a little more surprised because it was the running game that helped lead the way. I'm telling you, Zach Charbonnet, monster game. They end up going for 176 yards on the ground.

By far the best effort from one of the worst running games in the league this season. The Seahawks get it done in Arizona, 30 to 18, to stay a top. top the NFC West race. Yes, they're at 8 and 5. The Rams are at 7 and 6 more on that later, but the Cardinals really a devastating three-game losing streak for them. The Heartbreaker in Minnesota sandwiched around two losses to the Seahawks where ultimately just watching this game, I just think it's not a fair fight.

The Seahawks players are way better. And after Kyler Murray started out so strong, so sharp on the first drive, best drives of the season, a number of really clutch, tight throws, including a long touchdown throw. He makes a mistake where Ernest Jones, who's just been such a good pickup, baits him into this pick where he has to flip his hips. And that one interception really changed the game to me. After that, it's Derek Hall. It's Devin Weatherspoon. And you look on the other side of the field, it's Jackson Smithing Jigba playing, making a great individual play. Gino was solid, but it didn't need to be an amazing Gino game.

And I look at these two teams and I just think your search bar, Patrick, has been overachieving. But if you just stack up, like, if you're making a draft between these two teams, the Seahawks have way more good players and they now have a coaching staff that I think knows how to use them, the line play for both sides for Seattle on the offensive side and the defensive side getting a lot better. And not just the difference in the qualities of the roster top to bottom, but the Seahawks went out and improved the roster. You mentioned the Ernest Jones play where it's just very difficult.

It's hard enough to play quarterback in the NFL, but to see a linebacker spin and take a step in the opposite direction and on the broadcast angle, it's like, oh, well, Kyler didn't see him. No, he saw him. He just didn't think he was there anymore. And he comes back and makes a play. Kobe Bryant undercuts cuts a ball later on. That was Kyler's second interception.

And so many opportunities as the game went on where the Seahawks in the past on this season have made mistakes, turnovers, fumbles, Gene all throw a pick, snaps going overheads. There was none of that. Just sustained drives to keep the Cardinals from being able to have a comeback and just a good solid Seahawks game. This is the Seahawks team we were promised, Shook.

Seahawks team we were promised. I think it's an interesting comparison between the two teams because I think the Cardinals have played above their head and that's what's made them fun to watch. But deep down, I mean, that's kind of the nexus of the search bar is that we have to look up the names of these guys. They're playing better than they should.

So then you'd face a team with a better rob, and this is kind of what happens, which is what you guys just touched on. But it's also this trend, the Seahawks have been on this path. They've been following for the last few weeks, which is Jackson Smith and Jigma making big plays. Gino doing a good job as a quarterback who doesn't have to go win the game, but does a good job to keeping the ship steady. The defense continuing to play better and better, that's how they beat them two weeks ago. That's how they, part of why they beat them today.

I mean, you bounce back from leading that touch, you know, giving up that touchdown drive, and you get two picks, and then the offense goes out and turns that into two touchdowns, and suddenly you've got yourself in advantage. That's a team that's playing very cohesively, but the missing element this whole time, has been the running game. And that really, I think, is what the difference is and why they're down by so many points. They're down by 17 points in the middle of the third quarter

because the running game finally shows up for the Seahawks, which shows us their potential, maybe not quite their peak, but that range of what their peak could be if everything like that is working. That's super encouraging for them. And it kind of gives us a definitive statement on the difference between these two teams

and where they are over the last few years, which is the Seahawks have been a team that's, you know, made the playoffs and been contending to a degree. And then they change head coaches and they make some personnel changes. They get better in the off season. and this is why they're at 8 and 5 now, right? And then the Cardinals, they're in year two with Gannon.

Like, they're still early on in this whole process. And Kyler makes them fun, but they're not quite there in a personnel standpoint overall, which is why you get a 30 to 18 final. But I still caution Cardinals fans, don't get so discouraged because I think that this team still plays hard. You just see in games like this how far away you are from joining the real contenders in your division. Well, you wanted to be playing really meaningful football the last couple weeks of the season,

and you still have a chance. the Patriots and Panthers the next two weeks, I believe, if you can win those two games and Panthers are not an easy game anymore. You get to eight and seven. Right now, though, they have a 10% playoff chance. Getting swept by the Seahawks was devastating to their chances because there are two games back of the Seahawks, but it's essentially three because of the tiebreaker with four games to go, do the math. This was kind of a death blow for them, I believe. because I don't think Seattle's going to totally fall back to the pack. Their offensive line has absolutely changed

since they got Abe Lucas back at right tackle. I do think if I'm watching this game as Ryan Grabbed their offensive coordinator and I just see Charbonnet, who's kind of a no-nonsense runner, I want more of him and less of Ken Walker. Ken Walker is a great player, but I just want that to either be closer to a 50-50 split Or maybe it's Ken Walker as the change of pace because you just need to keep them on schedule.

And he's so boomer busts. Even Kenny McIntosh, it goes seven for 38 today. So they were getting it going. And Ken Walker would break some big plays in this game too. I just mean that they both need to be involved. I think Charbonnet is a really steadying force. And it's all good. When you play better up front, then you're going to be better.

The one concern, I think, for the Cardinals more long term is Charles Davis is on the call. and he's talking about how when they got into long-yarded situations and there were a lot today and that helped the Seahawks cook up what was going on with the Kyler. It was like, we don't have any guys

that can win one-on-one. And I'm thinking, I'm thinking like, you need some guys who can win in man coverage. You can win one-on-one. I'm thinking, I mean, you did take a receiver in the top five.

I think he can. I think the scheme doesn't quite work for him. Okay. The attempts to get him the football are never really like good opportunities for him to make a play. kind of desperation stuff. And then when they get behind schedule on third down, it's a lot of just Kyler

trying to make a hero player just praying for a miracle. That's been them the whole year. That's why the running game has mattered so much. I think it's totally fair to be patient with Marvin Harrison. I think he's going to be a very, very good pro. But I also think it's fair to say if I was doing the draft again, I would take Malik

neighbors over him. I would take Brock Bowers over him. And not to be dismissive. It's just praise for those guys. Yeah. Right? Especially considering the situation where You just need layups. Everything can't be a home run ball to Marv. And you can throw a screen to Malik,

have Brock Bowers running any of the 27 different routes and variations that he does. Maybe that does more for the offense. But I mean, we're still talking about a Cardinals team that is undermanned in many different capacities. Yes. But they were so close. They really could have, slash, should have won that Minnesota game.

I doubt Sean McVeigh was watching Greg Olson. and talk about the Cardinals when they kicked that field goal to go up six last week. But I was thinking about it when the Rams made the opposite decision in this game. And it's like the Cardinals

could have won that game, but they're obviously not stacking up. The Seahawks have won four straight. They get the Packers on Sunday night football next week, and then they get the Vikings after that. So this division is not going to be easy for them to win.

They have a very tough schedule. They play the Rams in week 18. There's a real solid chance that's going to decide the division and that that's the final Sunday night football game of the year. I'm just throwing that out there a month in advance, although you never know. Maybe the 49ers will get back in the mix in this division.

Let's go to Santa Clara. 12 play of the drive on the Chicago's 16-yard line, third down and 4, 40 out of the shotgun, looks right, throws. Caught to Juan Jet. He's diving into the end zone. Touchdown! San Francisco! Oh, that's our friend Greg Papa.

KNBR. Juan Jennings. He's back. He's never really left. A couple touchdowns for him on the day. Seven catches 90 yards. George Kiddle goes crazy. The 49ers win 38 to 13, Patrick.

In a game that had the most dominant first half, I can never remember. I mean, maybe it's happened. You could come up with the stats. But it was 320 yards for the 49ers. and four for the Chicago Bears. And it was very reminiscent of the Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions, where if not for a late push at the end of the first half,

it would have been a similar type set of dominance. And then they go out and have another game just like that, where the Bears are almost non-existent in the first half. Meanwhile, George Kittle has five catches for 138 yards. And I'm Googling how many yards Shannon Sharp had in his yardage record for a tight-in game. And they didn't really need it. Brock Purdy was 16 of 18 in the first half,

had a 155.8 passer rating. And the Bears come out the second half. The offense exists at the very least. Caleb hits Romo Dunzee for two touchdowns. But this was a game where Isaac Garindo eventually left the game. And so Patrick Taylor and DuBos Samuel are the remaining ball carriers. But despite all that, Brock Purdy left this game as well. He took a nasty hit.

He came back in, though. Low and hide. Could not look in like even the. the weird injury predictor doctors who diagnosed on video on Twitter probably couldn't even tell you what was going on Brock. But he comes back into the game. And Brock was good. The 49ers are good. Thought that they would, the bears would perhaps get the coaching firing bump did not work out for Thomas Brown. No, I wonder if the coach firing bump, it confused us here because it happened when they fired the offensive coordinator a couple weeks ago. And it just didn't happen because they did get a bump offensively for about three weeks.

but not here. I mean, the 49ers came into this game. Shook, having lost the last two by a combined 73 points. They didn't have Trent Williams in the game. They did not have Nick Bosa in the game. And yet, yeah, Garendo ends up going for 128 yards from scrimmage at a couple long catches, actually, in addition to running the ball really well before he left with an injury. And it's just a bloodbath. And suddenly you think, okay, they're six and seven. And they have a quarterback. And they're not out of this division race either. I think that you can't like how many rungs on a ladder can a coach climb in a season in order to get the bump both times because you already climb one's the offensive coordinator he's climbing to interim head coach I don't think you can get the bump twice you can't double dip there so not surprised

I am surprised that it was as lopside as it was just because I thought the bears would bring more fight on the defensive side against the Niners team that has looked completely overmatched in recent weeks on the flip side I really needed this type of game from Brock Purdy because he has just not looked largely like himself over the last few weeks so much it hurt my heart

when I dropped him in QB index this week. I was like, I don't want to put him down there, but he just hasn't done enough to really prove it. He fell out of the top ten. I'll tell you that. I can't even remember off the top of my head. He's like mid-teens. And this is the type of game that'll make him climb back up.

And it's, again, because he's able to use the weapons around him. He's able to use the George Kittles of the world and Joanne Jennings and Garendo pops off in his first start. A start that he talked about during the week as being he's very prepared for and he's excited to show what he could do. Well, he showed it today. And I also caution that this may be some fools gold because the 49ers, team that we saw in the previous weeks is still the

team that I think they are ultimately. They come back and get a really nice bounce back win, but then they got to play the Rams, the Dolphins, the Lions, and the Cardinals. Three of those, or two of those are division games. It's going to be a tough battle for them. So I'm not going to make any guarantees that, like, they're going to climb back in the race. But for one week, it was really nice to see those gold helmets actually put up a

fight and dominate a team as opposed to getting dominated so soundly like they'd been in recent weeks. I do have one case for optimism. They got Talanoa Hufanga back for the first time since week five. able to play at this game. Of course, he had the injury late last season, missed the run to the Super Bowl where the defense's had significant problems. They've had guys missing time. Getting him back, perhaps we'll see an improvement on the defensive side. Well, it sets up a really intriguing Thursday night football, which is all I'm rooting for this time a year is for the game results to keep setting up the games to have ascending and important value, especially in those primetime windows. And yeah, it's a do-or-die game for the 49ers. you have to win that game if you're the 49ers. And it's obviously very important for the Rams trying to win this division.

But it does at least set it up on Thursday night, where if you can then win that game against the Rams, you have a chance. Kyle Shanahan, after the game, was asked about the kind of the talk about whether he could get traded or, you know, about his commitment. And he just said, there's no place in the world that he'd rather be more than there. and his family feels just as strong as him, if not stronger. GM John Lynch also dismissed the topic as comical. He's not going anywhere, guys.

And for what it's worth, and it's not much. But I do love a little salty, unnamed source quote, even if it's not that believable. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune had a quote from a source that said, Kyle prefers one of these two quarterbacks pretty strongly and just left it at that. And I think he's talking about Brock Perkins. He's talking about the guy who we probably, you know,

deserved to be kicked off Keeby Island, but both him and Stafford with strong responses after being kicked off. So he prefers Brock Purdy to Caleb Williams, I think was the subtext of this source. Yes, source close to the 49ers, not really. Close to the 49ers today, at least. Hal Shanahan likes Brock Purdy, breaking news. Right.

They will be giving Brock Purdy that bag and that money soon enough, no matter what happens down the stretch. We're just getting going. We started the show with a little NFC Westhawk. We're going to come back from the break with one of the most exciting narrative games of the year in many different ways. Yeah, we're talking Sam Darnold, Kirk Cousins in Minnesota.

Hey, this is Matt Jones. Now, 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 to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart 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. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Flaureo, and together we host the NFL fantasy football podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season?

Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Three receivers right. Sam Darnold out of the shotgun.

Jones picks up a blitzer. Pass right, caught Addison to the end zone. Touchdown! Jordan Addison makes it 3421. And for Sam Darnold, that's a high five. Great call there by. Our friend, Paul Allen, at K-F-A-N. Yes, Sam Darnold throws for five touchdowns.

Only had six incompletions. 347 yards. Oh, he must have been dinking it down the field if you only had five incompletions. No, he had three plays over 40 yards, had another long P.I. This man was dealing. He got Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson monster fantasy days. And on a day where you watch Kurt Cousins throw a couple more interceptions, it's just, it's hard not to compare the two

because the difference in this game was number one, turnovers, you know, the Falcons turned over three times, including a fumble on a kick return in that fourth quarter where the Vikings outscore the Falcons 21 to nothing. Yes, this was a tie game going into the fourth quarter. The Falcons outgained the Vikings overall, and we're dominant. yardage wise in the first half of this game. So it was not as one side as the final score indicated.

But the difference was those turnovers of which Kirk played a prominent part. And Sam Darnold didn't even sniff like a near interception today. And then it was Sam Darnold's ability to win versus pressure and win versus the blitz. This has been a theme all season. But that play that he made to evade pressure and then I find Jefferson down the field was fantastic. He ends up going four for. for 163 yards and two touchdowns against pressure. The numbers are very similar against the Blitz.

And that was a difference. The quarterback who makes all the plays that you ask for him, and now he's making even more shook. Like, Darnold is, I'm here. I'm not on the island anymore. Like, I cannot doubt Sam Darnold in any way, shape, or form the way he is playing. What a turn! And what can I do?

You just got to watch the ball. This is the ball. Try to know the ball. You've got to watch the ball. Exactly. And Sam Donald is playing the ball right now. He's playing it well. He plays well under pressure.

That's been the biggest step, I think, in this season for him in his growth, is that the pressure he is no longer seeing ghosts. He is now confident under pressure and still delivers, especially in key moments. I mean, there was that Cardinals game where he ripped a couple passes down the scene, one of them to Jefferson to set up that comeback. And then today, by the way, let's just, I'm going to pitch this right now. They have that big obnoxious horn that I hate in Minnesota. How about let's add something else to the repertoire?

car, an explosion, a sound that is like an explosion, a bomb going off, because that's what happened in the fourth quarter of this game. It was tied at 28 to 28, or 21 to 21, excuse me, and it ends up 42 to 21. They explode. They drop a bomb on the Falcons. I think the horn is their thing. I vote to keep the horn. I like the horn and Bob. Bob can be just occasional after the third touchdown. Bumble, interception, downs of the last three possessions for the Falcons. Touchdown, touchdown, on end of game for the Vikings. That is how you make a statement and prove that you're in the better spot

than Kirk Cousins' current team. Yeah, and ultimately, it may just be Kirk Cousins that turns out to be the difference in these two things. Okay, this is getting a little intense here. It's getting a little intense. Well, yeah, the bomb is about to go off. I'm scared, Daddy. The Vikings were about to use combustibles

to get things going and do more pillaging and plundering over on the other side where Sam Darnold to continue the Donald discussion on the run, which is next-gen stats, tracks throws where you're running eight miles an hour or above, didn't have a single incompletion, through for 112 yards and a touchdown, a perfect passer rating. Let's listen to the touchdown to Jefferson that I was talking about. JJ in motion to the right, third and eight, Minnesota six of 11 on third down. Sam, under a lot of

pressure. How'd you get away from that? Now he throws deep. Justin wide open, touchdown! Justin Jefferson with a 48. eight-yard reception, but Sam Darnold was Houdini for the day, and the Vikings have taken a 2013 lead. That play was so typical of this game, because it was a third and eight where Falcons get pressure. I promise you, the Falcons did so many things well in this game.

They pressured Sam Darnold consistently until the fourth quarter, but before that, the pressure rate was at like 50%, still finished almost at 40, which is very high. They got four sacks of Sam Darnold. Kirk Cousins, outside the two interceptions, did play well. He threw for 344. A lot of those throws were down the field, and the two interceptions were totally on him and killed what was otherwise a good performance.

But he did make a lot of positive plays, and Rahim Morris pointed that out after the fact that he was playing better. But the secondary of the Falcons, there's no answer when you have to cover, you have to double cover Jefferson, You got guys falling all over the place. Meanwhile, Addison's going eight for 133 and three touchdowns. Yeah, and Jordan Addison caught a lot of those balls with defenders draped on him.

Poor D. Alford on that, the Justin Jefferson play, if you're watching the broadcast, you look up because Sam Darnal gets away from pressure, he throws the ball. Alfred is futility diving at least 17 yards away from Justin Jefferson. And the reason that happened, because if you see, if you look at the All 22, Jefferson's open very early. Yes. His arm is up the whole way. So all Alford sees is the best receiver in the NFL running by himself.

So he just puts his head down. He has no idea where the ball is. He just hears the crowd and dives in a random direction, which makes for great television. It's frustrating for the Falcons defense, which like you mentioned, so five sacks of Justin Herbert, five sacks, I mean, four sacks of Sam Darnold. They've almost equaled their season sack production in these last two games. Whatever Rahim Morris figured out in the buy, it's been great. The problem is the quarterback can't sustain dries and make.

key plays when they need them to make them. Right. The running game was fantastic for the Falcons today as well. 158 on the ground. Bijon goes 22 for 92. Algier had a couple outstanding runs today. Ends up with 63 on the ground and Mooney goes deep.

It was a little too much Ray Ray Ray McLeod for my own liking and he had the fumble on the return, but he goes 8 for 98. There wasn't that much separating, but it kind of points out like one of these teams is 11 and 2 and has a real chance to be the one seed still in the NFC, that they just find ways to win.

I mean, I watched Kevin O'Connell's post-games locker room speech thinking, we'll get something from it. It's like five minutes long, and he hands out 15 game balls because there's just so many guys that are awesome on this team right now. He can't help himself. You're right. Addison has turned into 170 pounds, one of the best contested catch receivers in the league,

and Jefferson has a monster game. Cashman made a bunch of plays. And yes, Kirk Cousins has eight interceptions and four fumbles over the last four weeks, which is absolutely brutal. Rahim Morris was asked again after the game if he's thinking about changing his quarterback. Kurt Cousins is our quarterback.

We'll have the ability to go watch this tape just like we do every single week. You know, Kurt played significantly better than he did the week before. We got a chance to go out there and focus on us and get a chance to go out there and really work on what we do and what we do well. And we'll do whatever is best

to go win football games. And Kurt's definitely a part of that. We've come just three, four weeks away from the Falcons seemingly having an insurmountable lead in the NFC South, and we'll get to the Bucks later, but they've blown it. And there's still four weeks to go. They're not out of it yet because their schedule after a tough stretch finally does open up. The toughest team they play the rest of the way is at Washington. So division race is not over, and Kirk is going to be the one leading the charge. But my God, there's something special

happening in Minnesota this season. It is time now for the Sunday Drive presented by the all-new hybrid Toyota Camry didn't think that the Panthers would have a chance to be making a game-winning drive in Philadelphia but they had a chance trips right low receiver to the far side can the Eagles win the game right here that goes young he's being chased he's running with the football still pumping running firing and it's back down Eagles win Slay Slay an unbelievable job on the in. That's why he's such a pro. Slay. Slay.

That's Mike Quick. Not doing an imitation of like a 12-year-old girl after seeing their friend do something cool. Just seeing one of the great cornerbacks of his era, Darius Slay making a big time play. Merrill Reese on WIP. Man, the Eagles could have lost this game. I can't believe it. I was really tempted to make the highlight play. Xavier.

Xavier Leegett having a chance on a dime from Bryce Young with about 45 seconds to go. He was going to catch the ball right near the goal line. It goes through his hands with the right call. But that was the difference between the Eagles, you know, having to score a field goal in about 30 seconds left. And just getting that victory, 22 to 16. They survived.

Patrick, you watch this game closely. What stands out the most of you? What stands out to me was I assumed that the windows, and Bryce Young has been completing passes in very tight windows, I assumed that they would be closed. I didn't know that Bryce's real talent that separates him in anticipation would help against this Philadelphia Eagles defense coached by Vic Fangio. I was wrong. As much as I believe in Bryce Young, I did not think that they would be in this game late, especially considering that the Panthers run defense and just how bad it has been. but Philadelphia couldn't sustain drives some interesting sacks taken by Jalen Hertz

where the pressure is getting to him and he just decides to turtle up I guess perhaps being too careful with the football but you mentioned it there was a fourth down where just like last week Bryce has to have anticipation hit Adam Thielen on the sideline if I'm not mistaken I believe it was the same play where Adam Thielen converts a fourth down

and they set it up perfectly Xavier Leggett comes open. I'm going to have to check next gen stats to see how often he's running right to left, maybe a lack of confidence in that direction is what causes him to dive for the football when if he just keeps his stride

he walks into the end zone on a game winner in the closing moments and a beautiful throw too that would have been the moment. And it wouldn't have been a game winner. It would have been about 45 seconds left for the Eagles to get the ball back with one. Just saying to take the lead. Yeah. And anything could happen at that

point, but it's, I know the Panthers are probably tired of moral victories, but they added another one today. Yeah. And Philadelphia stays alive for their bid to get that one seed Detroit with all these tough games down the stretch, including the bills coming up next week. Someone there is going to be disappointed. The Eagles have the same record as the Vikings. I don't know if you would say there's concerns about the passing game. Okay, there are concerns. If AJ Brown has concerns. I'm concerned. Let's listen to AJ Brown after the game. Offense wasn't good enough. What are some things you think that the offense needs to improve on? Passing.

Passing. AJ, I know everybody wants to get in a rhythm. Monti was a college, you know, receivers just like running backs when he get in rhythm. How hard is it as a receiver to get into a rhythm when you guys are only throwing the ball 20 times? Incredibly tough. I don't know what that song was in the background. That was Elliot Shore Parks, his video there. Great job. Great questions. Both A.J. Brown and Devante Smith after the game

were pretty frustrated, according to the reporters there, considering they won. Both had four catches. Brown for 43 yards. Devonty Smith for 37. The Eagles had 83 net passing yards today. Yeah, not good. If it was like a one week thing, then I don't think you'd see that frustration boiling over.

But the passing game has been disjointed I would say for the last three to four weeks. I don't think it's fair to put it on the running game that somehow the running game's fault, the passing games, disjointed. It's just not, it's not quite all the way there. Are you concerned at all about that Shook? Yes, because

the only time I found that they've succeeded through the air has been when they've gone up tempo, and they only do that in small stretches in games. They do that, I think, last week. And that's usually what unlocks it. And what ends up being is a lot of consecutive passes to A.J. Brown for 8, 10, 15 yards and moves the ball down the field. And it just happens for small periods in a game. It's not consistent. And I think that you kind of see

both sides of what the Eagles are right now, which is like you have Sequin, who's a dog, who's a monster, who finishes games incredibly well, who puts another great stat line together today to bolster his MVP case. And then on the other side, you have the team that still can't throw the ball well. It's so much that their top two receivers are visibly frustrated after a win. Like, music's playing in the locker room and they're upset because they know that they're not where they could be right now. And I'm kind of concerned that with a month left now that they're maybe not going to figure it out because it's kind of endemic. Like it's been most of the season has been like this, save for a few stretches there. I mean, I know they've won a ton of games in a row,

but they haven't been perfect through the passing game for a long time. It's been covered up by the fact they have Saquan and they have these small stretches. And when you get to the playoffs, suddenly if a team focuses all of its efforts on stopping Saquan, can you revive that passing game? It's just a small weakness in a team that I have a lot, I really highly regard right now, especially because of their defense, the way they play. Like the fact that the Panthers push them to the limit, doesn't concern me. It's how their offense is operating right now and looking ahead. That's what worries me.

Overall, I think because the Eagles are going to lead the league in angry wins, like forever, that's just a... That's a chief thing this year, but fair. Both of them, two very good football teams, decidedly different levels of frustration in the fan bases after wins.

The Panthers had the ball for 33 minutes in this game. I mean, the Eagles were 7 of 12 on third down. Jalen Hertz only threw the ball 21 times, right? So Sequin got 20 carries. They're just, I know A.J. and Devante and everybody wants the ball more. Yeah, but 21 times means he was sacked how many times in this game? Four by the Panthers.

It's not a good. So that's 25 dropbacks for 83 yards. It's pretty bad. Yeah. No, it's not ideal. But what I'm saying is I think it's not a panic button type situation. The Panthers have been in close games with good teams here. They were on the road.

Bryce played well, they had an opportunity to win the game. The Eagles still won. They're a left to sue. It was an ultimate spot for a bit of a letdown game. They've had a lot of big time games in a row against good, important competition. They have a tough Steelers game next week. And it was a big win to try to batten down this NFC East title. You just kind of assume at this point they're going to win it.

They're up to 97% to win the NFCE. So still very important that they got it done. I do think the key factor here is they have. haven't had the trio, AJ Brown, Devonte Smith, and Dallas Gatter on the same field at the same time very often. And there isn't a bigger cliff in terms of from your third target to your fourth. And now that you take Goddard out of there, then there is on this Eagles team. And so I think it's easier to roll your coverages to the two wide receivers. Grant Calcutera is their third leading receiver. They never have found a third wide receiver. And Goddard surprisingly got put on

I did not know his injury was that serious. So he's out at least the next four weeks. I think there is hope that he'll be back potentially for the playoffs, but he's not going to be helping them until week 18 at the very early. Still, they get out of there with the win. And yeah, the Panthers, they hold on to their spot in Tankathon. It's crowded. There's seven teams there, eight teams with either two or three wins. So it's crowded at the bottom. And a fourth win would have put them in a bad spot. And yeah, how about Adam Theeland goes over 100 yards once again? That was the Sunday Drive presented by the all-new hybrid Toyota Camry. Whatever your vibe, it's a Camry vibe.

Learn more at Toyota.com slash Camry. So we mentioned the Falcons lost a little earlier. The Bucks coming off their buy in this incredibly soft portion of their schedule. Could they take advantage against the Raiders? Six yards to hang on to get a fresh set out of ounce. Third down and six. Shotgun look. It's outside fast.

Caught by man, MacBellon, 1320. Outside the numbers 10, 5, 3, 2, 1. Touchdown, Tampa Bay. Touchdown. Apple Bay. Fire the cannons. That's the dagger, the final nail, and the Raiders will go home without a win today. That's right, Gene Deckerhoff. My man, on WFU.S. If it's a Bucks highlight, it's usually a short Baker-Mayfield pass that's beautifully blocked in a lot of yards after the catch. It's just a fact. Mayfield goes for 295-3 touchdown. Does have a couple interceptions, and the Raiders hang around longer than expected. because the Bucks had such a quick lead in this game,

but the Bucks win 28 to 13. They are 7 and 6, and they have sole possession of first place in the NFC South. Shook any concern that they didn't put it away earlier, or do you like what you saw out of the Bucks? Well, first off, long live, the chief Baker Mayfield hater, Greg Rosenthal.

Glad you are still atop your throne. That was great. Nice little dig there. And some of it's valid because Baker is doing what we've talked about in recent weeks, which is kind of like running out of time. His internal clock has gone off, but he refuses to give up on plays, and it's producing mistakes.

It's producing an interception in the end zone just before half. Really nice play by Caleb-on-Shayson to make a pick earlier in the game on a short pass. He tipped up mirror into himself for the interception. But Baker also fumbles possession away. It's just not very clean. It's not consistent. And for a while,

we could blame it on the fact he didn't have Mike Evans. Well, Mike Evans is back, and he comes in and out of the picture sometimes. They were just talking about in the broadcast, how he leaned so much on him, but he wasn't really making much of difference. he hits him for a pass that I think they end up turn the ball over on that series.

So it's just, it's not as consistent as I would like to see from them and yet they still win the game. They played with their food for like two and a half quarters in this game today because they knew they were playing the Raiders. They went out to a 14-0 lead. The Raiders made it interesting. He made it 14 to 10. They scored off of a turnover.

And then for a while they were just kind of trading mistakes until one team decided, you know what, let's finish this thing off. I would like to see the Bucks be a more dominant team against the lowly team like the Raiders than they were on Sunday. That starts at quarterback. They also lost Bucky Irving in this game to injury. Rashad White finishes the job 17 for 90 and a touchdown. It just wasn't the resounding win I was looking for.

It's still a win. That's fine. I might be splitting hairs here. But as we get into the stretch run of the season here, and they're really trying to finish off this comeback in the NFC South, I'm going to need to see more consistency from this offense. And it starts again with the quarterback who is a never-say-die-guy guy, but might need to learn how to give up on a player or two along the way. Yeah, there was a sequence there in the second half

where Jack Jones gets called for pass interference, and they go right back at Jack Jones very aggressively does Baker Mayfield and this is in the red zone. Jack Jones picks it off. The Raiders in this game until Aiden O'Connell gets a very late hit by Coliza Cansey

pushed from behind, leaves the game in an aircast and then once it's Desmond Ritter time essentially the game's going to be over no matter what. The Bucks still had to get yards and points in the second half to win there was Mike Evans 39-yard catch that ultimately took him to, I think, 69 yards just barely

locking up my write-this-down, just barely. Oh, yeah, your prop on game debut, very good. So I thought Big Mike was going to get the 95-or-so he needs to average. Did not finish with that because there's some issues in this past game, Greg, and I don't know if it's Bucky Irving not necessarily being there. They've had injuries be huge this season. They can't quite get all the pieces together. But when they do, they look good.

They didn't look good today. I mean, they had 7.1 yards for play. They get over 400 yards in the end. The opening script counts too. And Liam Cohen has been among the best in the league at that. They team to start their games so fast. And they're running game being able to get a big run out of Sean Tucker and survive when Bucky Irving goes down is big.

Yeah, we're probably getting Desmond Ritter for a month now, which is crazy that the Raiders have to play four more games in this season. Like, I was thinking with some of these games we have coming up, we haven't gotten to the dregs yet, but it's like you would, you would want, like it'd be fine to just sim their seasons to the end. They don't need to play,

but they have to play these other teams that do matter, and that would be a competitive balance problem. So Desmond Ritter is going to play. I guess the positive, if you're a Ritterhead or a Raiders fan, his numbers were almost identical to Aiden O'Connell. O'Connell 11 for 19 for 104. Ritter 12 for 18 for 101.

Maybe they're just kind of the same. But we did have, Aiden O'Connell's first career scramble yard. Oh! On a four-yard jaunt for first down. The play took about 10 seconds, but he got it. Aiden O'Connell has scrambled. It feels like a Pyrrhic victory on a day where his leg exploded, unfortunately.

Get well soon, A-C. Yeah, get better. Shout out to Michael Mayer, too, who had personal troubles earlier this season was out for personal reasons for a long time. I know there was concerned about him. Now he's coming back and he's playing good football. 7468 there they are at 2 and 11 and like I said the bucks in first place in the NFC South

I don't think they're necessarily playing any better shook they just got the soft part of their schedule and have taken care of it to their credit 3 and 0 they get a tougher game in L.A. next week and in the locker room afterwards they were blaring going back to Cali immediately so they couldn't even enjoy this win they were already thinking about next week that's what that's what winners do. What version of it was it?

Was that the Biggie Smalls one or the lesser known L.L. CoolJ's song that my mom loves to reference all the time? It was Biggie. I'm assuming that's Biggie. I assume so, but I'm old enough that I don't think of that as necessarily the lesser known. Oh, it's the superior version.

It's definitely superior. You know what else is superior? The Pittsburgh Steelers. Let's talk about them a little bit after the break. Yes, Shook watched his favorite team. The Brownies faced the Steelers for the second time in three weeks back in a minute.

Hey, this is Matt Jones. 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 to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart 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. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Fiorio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast.

Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet, we've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL.

Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Calvin Austin in motion left to right. Wilson gets a snap. Back looking at a fire over the middle of the field. And it is complete. It is a touchdown. Pittsburgh Steelers. Pat Fryer-Loof makes the reception

and boots the ball up into the stands here at Acresher Stadium. Oh, yeah. What a great job getting inside position on the defense and back. Then being able to score on that nice scorching smoking ball thrown by Ross. That is Craig Wolfley.

We didn't get Ron, his brother on the show earlier, but we got Craig in there. Rob King on the call as well for WDVE. The Steelers get a 27 to 14 victory over the Browns. It takes a little while for this Steelers machine to get going. But did you really think that Mike Tomlin was going to let this team lose to the Browns twice in three weeks? No, it's not going to happen. And ultimately, Shook, it was pretty comfortable for a Steelers win.

Yeah, they got up to a slow start. Early punt, James Winston makes a nice throw to Jerry Judy for a touchdown. And then they just kind of settled in and became the Steelers again. You know, this is a game. We're coming off of a 400-yard performance from Russell Wilson. So everybody's focusing on the Steelers' offense and how suddenly explosive they can be with Russ. And Russ is having a great stretch of football. And he had another strong game today.

But he finished with 158 passing yards. This game was won by their defense. This game was won by Alex High Smith, by T.J. Watt, by Cam Hayward. You could just name all the guys down the list. They made play after play. They capitalized on James Winston risks. They picked him off. Every time the Browns looked like they might have had a shot to get back into the game,

including when Dustin Hopkins missed two field goals, the Steelers just took advantage and ran away with it. But Russ is playing, again, some very solid football, some very high quality football, making passes like that to Pat Friermouth. It's actually, it's become a treat. Like, as somebody who watched the slow decline of Russ in Seattle and Denver, I thought he was done and watching him fit in this offense and the way that it operates and how balanced they are because they can run the ball effectively well,

even if the numbers don't show it, they can. It's really fun to watch them. They're a damn good football team. There's nothing I can say about it than that. Okay, but every game, I happen to text with like a Russ hater where it's like every game they think it's their game to finally start enjoying like Russ struggling. And it always starts, it seems like it starts that way half the time

except for against the Bengals. Like at one point he had thrown, he had dropped back like 16 times and they had 46 yards and they were just punting and punting and he was making, you know, bad decisions and stuff, and they always seem to figure it out. To their credit, like, what do you think it was that changed in this game for the Browns? Other than maybe it was just opportunity that the Brown's defense could only hold up for so long and the Steelers just kept getting the ball back to him.

Yeah, I hate to say it because it sounds super cliche, but halftime adjustments. Like, Russ gets to halftime and he's completed a grand total of eight passes on 16 attempts for 46 yards. The Steelers has an offense of 127 net yards. The Brownsley had 124, and yet the Steelers, had found a way to take a 13 to 70 because their defense and given them short fields. Third quarter arrives, Russ completes six of eight for 91 and two touchdowns, and suddenly it's a landslide victory for them. He figured it out.

A lot of that is the adjustments, figuring out what Jim Schwartz is doing, how to capitalize. And then by the fourth quarter, you have Grant Delpit looking up to the sky, just wondering why, God, why is this happening to us again? The Cleveland Browns, you know, a team that fights hard. I give them credit. They fight hard, even when they have pretty much nothing to play for, no matter what Kevin Stifancy says on hard knocks in season with the AFC North. because we're in the playoffs now.

No, your season's over. Well, that was when they technically had not been eliminated, I think was his point. Yeah, but you knew what they needed and it was unlikely. They had to run the table at that point. I did finally get around to watching that. There were more interesting moments in the first 10 minutes of AFC North Hard Knocks than the entire Bears season. It's not even close.

I would say that one episode was worth more than the entire last two to three. Hard Knocks, like the one since Dan Campbell, basically. Yeah. When you have stakes. I know, but we've seen in season Hard Knocks before and they haven't been as good. They had really good access. I'm just saying it was good. Hearing this music, I feel like I need to give a speech that's going to end

with like a great clincher. Like Mike Tomlin did at the start of that episode. I have to... So many speeches. I want to have an ex-player on to talk about. Is it that necessary to have this many speeches? I think producers like speeches. I know. No, no, no. I know that from the Hard Knocks perspective, they're fantastic. I'm saying, you're those players, right?

How many speeches have you heard Zach Taylor said? How many is he making every week? Because we see at least two or three. I mean, just imagine if when we came to work, there was like five speeches a week, minimum. I mean, because the position coaches, there's like five speeches a day. I think the new efficiency, the money ball in the NFL would be like,

let's cut down on the speeches a little. All right, guys, here's what we're facing today, an ever-changing media landscape. Yeah, that would probably drone on just a touch. When you hired me 10 years ago, if I had my first day in L.A., if I walked in the newsroom and you gave me one of those speeches, I'd be like, ah, maybe I shouldn't have done it. It might be good. To be honest, maybe we could use a little more one or two speeches a year in the NFL daily world would be better than none.

But they have like 15 a week. Anyways, Hard knocks, great, great stuff. When I was watching that, you can't understand, not that you couldn't just without seeing it, but you can't understand, oh, well, that's why Mike Tomlin's teams only go so low. You know what I mean? His attention to detail and keeping the team together is such a unique combination. It's pretty special. Yeah, and a bunch of guys that know what they're doing can execute to a high level.

And there's really never a glaring deficiency. And then on the other side, the Browns trying to figure things out positive for the Browns, I think the best Nick Chubb has looked since he returned from his injury some of the explosion was back of course Nick Chubb otherworldly athlete it's going to take time to try to get back to that but a solid performance four yards

four plus yards per gary against the good defense the Browns just overmatched here and I will say I think the Jerry Judy trade is going to pay off for them like the stretch he's had the last couple games really since James has come in he's looked like the guy that I think they thought they were getting and he's going to be a key piece of their future

even in a down season Speaking of which, let's listen to Andrew Sillianno's call just because he's our buddy and he's going to be on NFL daily on Thursday night. Recapping that Rams 49ers game, but he was in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Forward the back. Winston the gun has the ball. Steps up in the pocket. He may run. Now, throwing. What's Judy? Has it? Touchdown. Jerry Judy. 35 yards. James is on the run as he got to the line of scrimmage. it go. Judy caught at the five and waltzed into the end zone.

The James creation plays have been surprising. I've been a James fan for a while and he's not a guy who makes a lot of plays on the run and he's done that this year and the Lord did listen because he delivered him from pick sixes today. Just two regular old interceptions but

no pick sixes. Interestingly, Kevin Savansky would not commit to James Winston being the starter next week after the game, which so we might be seeing some DTR I don't know if he was just answering it vaguely. We'll see. We might be seeing some DTR at some point.

And I did want to point out this note from Bill Barnwell. Cadarius, Tony, played only two snaps in the fourth quarter, both on special teams. On one of them, he did a fair catch and then was flagged for taunting after the fair catch. That's a first. They were down multiple scores at the time. The other play he was in on the fourth quarter, he muffed a punt and the Steelers recovered. Let's go to the last game here before we get to Sunday night football, at least,

that involves the team still in the playoff mix. Yes, the Browns are officially eliminated. Would the Jets be officially eliminated on Sunday by the Dolphins? Tangle by Aloha, out of the shotgun, back to throw. Good protection, throws at end zone. Touchdown Dolphins win. John O'Smith. What a catch-in-throw.

John Hussmith. Hones on to it. What a throw by two of. good night Dolphins got a win I love the dolphin song I don't know the words but I love how they play it right away

and all the fans know it and they sing it and people don't even know about it it's a cool little thing they got going down there in Miami they're getting some wins that was Jimmy Cephalo and Joe Rose on WBGG yes what a comeback not just the dolphins coming back

to win this game at the very end, to force overtime. They were also trailing 23 to 15 heading into the fourth quarter. But how about this miracle comeback for Johnny Smith? No catches in fantasy in regulation. And he finishes with three for 44 and a touchdown on one OT drive. And yes, what a comeback for me and my picks on the picks show because I took Miami minus five and a half. You didn't think it could happen.

They somehow got into overtime, and they covered that score. And so I'm sure there were a lot of people out there with some money on Miami. They got it going. And, oh, wait, our Survivor pick. No, Greg has to think about his pick. But I have to remind Greg that he's on a team. He, Steve Weish and myself, are on a legendary run from Survivor picks. And we, yes, we together everyone achieves more, Greg.

We survive because Tua, I guess, Coach Mike Mack, remembered that, hey, Jono Smith is a huge part of this team in overtime. One of the first plays, they throw out the quick screen to Jono Smith, gets several yards on a first down. So what do they do? They go right back to the same exact play. Johnu Smith pops up, starts screaming in everyone's faces, where it's like, all right, Janu mode has been engaged,

and it leads to the game-winning touchdown. But as you mentioned, Greg, it took a lot to get there. They're down late. The Jets outgained them. 402 yards to 375. They almost doubled them in rush yardage. They held defense to one of nine on third down. But still, on that second to last drive,

Tuatong of Iloa, hooking up with Tyreek Hill, who wasn't on the field on the fourth down attempt in Green Bay on Thanksgiving. They go to Tyreek on fourth down, runs in, then back out to a hit. him and then Jalen Waddle runs the exact same route on the two-point conversion. They tie the ball game up. The Jets sprint down the field for a go-ahead field goal, but then they don't cover the kickoff return. They get a 48-yard return leading to Jason Sanders sending the game to overtime, and Aaron

Rogers and company never saw the ball because of that Jonu Smith takeover that we just heard. Yeah, there were so many mistakes by the Jets at the end of this game, and I saw the Aaron Rogers quote where he said there's blame to go around. We needed to score 30 in this game, which is his typically passive-aggressive way of putting it a little bit on the defense. Aaron Rogers in the offense lost this game, despite it being one of their best games of the season, in part because of how they handled the situation at the end of the game. They had a first in goal, or rather, a first in 10 with 114 left at the 27-yard line in a tie game,

and they wound up only burning another 30 seconds, not even off the clock before they had to kick a field goal. They lose five yards on a run, disaster, timeout by Miami. Rogers takes a sack, disaster, timeout by Miami. But at that point, Miami only has one timeout left, or no timeouts left, rather. That was the last time out. And they throw a sideline route to Adams

to set up a shorter field goal but they stopped the clock right there with plenty of time for Tua to go back down on the field especially after that long kick return and yeah it's been a story of the jet season if it's not one thing it's the other they actually got a good performance

out of their offense for much of the day but I thought on that you know a couple of these plays Rogers missed open receivers and I like it because like I said I want more teams that are alive the Jets have been eliminated they have not made the playoffs for 14 straight years. They are one of

six AFC teams to be eliminated. Only one NFC team has been eliminated. That's the Giants. Even the Panthers are technically alive because of the division. But the dolphins are at least a little bit in the mix here at 6 and 7. There's a faint heartbeat, even if I can't take them seriously

because they have no running game and their defense really isn't that good either. Yeah, remember that brief period a few weeks ago where we're like, oh, the defense is coming around. Maybe they can actually put it together. Look at them what they did to the Rams. Well, they've won four of their last Five. Okay, so that's great. Like, that's a start. Now you play Houston, San Francisco, Cleveland, and the Jets again.

And the Jets are going to have absolutely nothing to play for. In January, granted, it's going to be cold. And we know the Dolphins don't like the cold. So we'll see how that game pans out. But yeah, none of these games have really been convincing all these wins. I mean, the winner of the Patriots was, I guess. But like, I haven't seen them necessarily show me what I needed to see. But they're still so much better than where they were without Tua that I'm going to take them seriously for the rest of the run.

A, because it's fun to watch. B, because it ends up with and thrilling finish is like the one on Sunday. And C, they can have a terrible game and still win and then send the interim coach on the other sideline into like just complete apoplectic mode. He just has no idea what to say. Wow, our defense played well.

They went one for nine on third down. We still lost in overtime. I have no answers. This is a dark season for the Jets. But I like the intrigue. I like the intrigue with the Dolphins because I think that they're a better team than their record suggests.

They got some unfortunate injury luck. Their defense is not good enough, but they're still fun to watch. So it's going to be very intriguing to see what they do. Yeah, a similar type performance. two in pieces without the catastrophic mistakes that they made in Green Bay. I think at the fourth down, touchdown, that that's a high leverage play. Of course, the entire situation, even getting the ball back might not have happened,

but Tua goes 33 or 47, 331, Tyree gets 14 targets, he catches 10 of them. Waddle gets 12. He catches nine of them. This is the team that we thought they could be, except we thought they'd be able to run the ball. We haven't seen the Jets really stop anybody. Right. They won despite of that.

Right. The dolphins are the most consistent team that I've watched over the, the last seven weeks. They are the exact same team every week. They can't run the ball. Tua's incredibly efficient, is playing at a really high level, and the defense is below average and gives up long drive after long drive, no matter who the opponent is. It gets worse against a really good team like Green Bay, but it's pretty bad each week. So as much as Tua's injury sunk this season, I don't know what the ceiling for this team was anyways. It was probably a six or a seven seed and not really being in the mix in the AFC.

at least they get to play. 10 wins? Yeah, meaningful games for another couple of weeks. We cannot say the same about the teams in our next two games. Let's go to Tennessee. They're running with Biggsby again to the left side. He gets loose. He's into the end zone.

Touchdown. Take Biggsby has scored on an inside handoff. And the Jaguars have taken the lead with 646 to play in the ball game. The Jaguars are off the mat. Mack Jones. Big time play. No, no, that was tank fixed me. He goes 18 for 55 and a touchdown.

The Jaguars get a win in Tennessee, 10 to 6 over the Titans. Both these teams, 3 and 10, which feels about right. I thought the defining play offensively of this game was me watching Mack Jones slide on a third and 13 scramble about seven yards short of the first time. I'm just like, well, that's Titan Jaguars football. I thought it was maybe Willis getting absolutely destroyed on the last play of the first half. That felt unnecessary. Thankfully, he was able

to stay in the game. It looked like he might have been hurt there off a big hit from Josh Hines Allen. Give me some positives for the Jax here, Patrick. Positives is Josh Allen has a chance to get three and a half sacks with the remainder of the season to tie

his Jags single season record around 17 sacks for him. Really. Brian Thomas, I'll answer my own question. and got a ton of targets down the stretch. I needed help there. Yeah, I'm just saying.

They like finally started feeding him the ball down the stretch of this game. He goes eight for 86. He is a real deal player. Like, I might take him over Marvin Harrison, Jr., to go back to that right now. That's how good Brian Thomas Jr. has looked. The Jags were able to keep Nick Westbrook-Kekine out of the end zone on a key fourth down where maybe, you know, in hindsight, the Titans would have made a different decision about the play calling on that drive. But, you know, the tank big to be called that you guys heard,

was it. That was the touchdown. It wasn't just a touchdown. That was the touchdown in this game where there wasn't a lot of points to speak of not a lot of plays. And it's not, you know, great defense from both teams. Just a couple of offenses that were fairly inept. And a couple of teams that are now three and ten. Yeah. It was supposed to be an evaluation for Will Levis down the stretch here. And it's been better. But Brian Callahan was asked. you know, after the game, after Stardius press conference, by saying of all the positives, you know, trying to keep it positive, talking about his defense and a few other things. And then the first question to him was,

you just didn't score a touchdown against the last ranked defense in the NFL. And your first reaction is all the positives that were from this game, which is just a brutal spot. The Titans are sixth right now in Tankathon. Jacksonville is fifth. Anything you want to throw in here, Shook. we're on a thousand yard Tony Pollard watch

he's closing in he's inside 100 he Greg you've talked about it many times and I've enjoyed watching as well as playing like one of the best better running backs in the NFL despite being on this team oh and and on the jack side

congrats on keeping Nick Westbrook Akine out of the end zone because he's actually been the guy making touchdown catches for him recently so there you go this is the NFC South baby 10 to 6 your final right there man and Mack Jones

it's just it's just so funny how bad his body languages when he's not happy about the play calls that are coming in. It's just like, you've got to get rid of that, man. Like, he looked so annoyed at Doug Peterson. I can just imagine, like, the mutual annoyance between those two men as they close out this season. But they get a win on a day in Duval where the defense did show up.

Let's go to MetLife Stadium where my friend Adam from the Saints Block Party podcast was in the crowd. Oh. Would he see a victory out of his Saints? Ganoe, this is his first opportunity between 30 and 35 to tie the game with 11 seconds. And that's low. I don't think the Saints got it. I think the Saints got a piece of it.

Missed it. Graham Ganoe. It came out like a wounded duck. It looked like they rushed the mechanics of it. It looked like the Giants literally rushed the mechanics of it. And I don't know if it was a hot kick. The Saints did jump over the line. to kind of rush it, but he just missed it.

That was Deuce McAllister, one of my all-time favorite saints along with Mike Haas on WWL. Yes, Brian Brise. What an athletic play from a man that's got to be pushing three bills, jumping over the snapper and blocking that field goal at the end. Now, I'm not saying the Giants are trying to lose, but if you were trying to lose, lose, kind of messing up the final field goal operation at the end would be the way to do it.

Michael Gobrill is the special teams coordinator for the Giants who brought this play into the NFL and that win against the Seattle Seahawks. It's Dexter Lawrence holding the guard down and Isaiah Simmons jumping over him. We saw Miles Garrett do it. We've seen teams try this. If anybody is aware that this is a possibility, it's the Giants. Brian Breesie, you know, God bless him, is vertical. again, 29 inches is a great vertical.

It's not Isaiah Simmons or Miles Garrett. He's able to get over and through and just get enough of the kick. But I wasn't thinking about that until you said it, Greg. The Giants should have known that this was a possibility. Have your guard bow up a little bit.

Great, great call by you. I mean, that's the only kind of insight you can get on NFL daily. And yes, Prisie is over 305 pounds. Coming on strong lately. He's a guy that hunts big plays. And so he gives up a lot of big plays. and I think he sometimes flashes more than he is a winning player.

But over the last month, he's been better. He had two quarterback hits in this game, two past breakups. The Saints were crazy getting after Drew Locke in this game. They had 13 quarterback hits and 13 PBUs on Drew Locke. Drewlock missed his first nine throws in this game. It was the first time since Drew Locke's old teammate, Kendall Hinton, who's not a real NFL quarterback, started a game with nine, straight in completions. He was six for 19 for 52 yards at halftime. The Giants only had three points

in their first 10 drives. And yet, and yet, they were right there on the doorstep from winning this game with two touchdowns in the last five minutes because the Saints offense was barely any better. Unfortunately, Derek Carr left the game with an injury very late. So their offensive struggles were with him in the game. In fact, his replacement, JK. or didn't even throw a pass. He just came in and handed it off twice and took a sack in his one series before the Giants got that last chance.

So we'll see if Carr can return. They were checking him for a head injury. And then our guys at NFL Network, I believe, reported Broken Bone in his non-throwing hand. So we don't know what his status will be. But the Saints are 5 and 8 and the Giants disappointed, I'm sure,

at the end, but they hold on to the number two pick according to Tankathon, the Raiders shook are right now in the one spot. The Raiders have lost nine straight. The Giants have lost eight straight. That's tough. The Bears have lost seven straight, by the way. They were four and two at one point. That's crazy.

I mean, anytime you go into a game with Drew Locke as your leading rusher, it's not going to be good for the Giants. We know who they are right now. And there's not much good to say about either team. The Saints and Derek Cart, I'm like Playbond. I need help here. I don't have anything good to say about either team. I watched this game quite closely. I never will again.

Chase Young had about a million quarterback pressures in this game was all overlock. The way I would describe Drew Locke's first three quarters of this game was every decision he made was bad. It was the wrong one. Like there was one play where he's scrambling and he is fast. It's kind of like an internet joke going out there that they show the white-looking Mike Vick on Madden meme every time Drew Locke is running and he ends up with 59 yards and he he's faster than I remember but he's fast as hell but he had a first down just sitting right in front of him on a

third in like seven and then for some reason he tries to beat two guys around the edge that he has no chance to do and ends up like just getting one yard in the play when it was there so just like every decision was bad and then he almost led them to to a comeback at the end because the saints they just I don't know they look for ways to win games the most memorable part of of this game was Darren Rizzi absolutely upbraiding his punter after what was a punt return touchdown called back by penalty that the Giants had. But he was just screaming at his punter for so long that Alvin Camara had to come in and kind of separate it and stop it. Like, because I was about to call HR. Like, it wasn't right what was going on between Rizzi and this young punter. It was too much.

It's almost, and this is a rookie, and I don't think Darren Rizzi is spending that much time in any other place. Well, he's a special teams guy. Yeah, I mean, it's a single guy, but it's, it's like, at what point are we working, are we hustling backwards? Yeah. Yeah, but special teams coordinators like that, they're known for that. Like, they're always the craziest coach on staff. This was next level by Rizzi. And I, I have a feeling he will be, you know, saying maybe he needs to come.

Oh, he did. And he credited Alvin in the post game for coming over and settling him down. down he he you know he he he felt like he was taking out other frustrations maybe that were going on in this game like watching this offense in the running game it was it was tough but yes the saints get the victory let's go to a much more important game on sunday night in arrowhead we say goodbye to patrick claibon and yes we will remember this sunday for so many things but more than anything patrick for your genius rams pick hey i did something right all right let it be known to sunday night A 31-yard attempt by Matthew Wright to try to win the game.

Arisa will hold. Winchester will snap. Chargers are out of timeouts. Winchester snaps it. Placement is down. Wright's kick is up. And the kick is good. Good!

Good! And the Kansas City Chiefs do it again. The third kicker this season to have a walk off field. goal and this one wins the game 19 to 17 and gives the chiefs nine consecutive AFC West championships nine straight division titles for the Kansas City Chiefs that is Mitch Holtis WDAF for a minute not even a minute a fraction of a second you thought Oh, the Chiefs actually got unlucky for once. That thing hit the crossbar.

They're going to lose at the last second on a crazy, fluky special teams play, but no. Matthew Wright's kick hits hard off that upright. It bounces all the way to the other side. It goes through 19 to 17 shookie. It turns out the Chiefs can keep getting away with this, actually. And they will.

and they will continue to. Yeah, and everybody else is just going to have to accept it, that if Patrick Mahomes has the ball with four minutes left and he's down by a point, he's going to find a way to convert every third down that you think is impossible. The pass rush is collapsing around him. He's going to find somebody open.

He's going to make a jump pass. He's going to lure four defenders in his face and find Travis Kelsey for a first time. You all just have to accept it. I'm tired of hearing you complain about it. The refs had nothing to do with it. This is just Chief's magic. Okay. This one felt a little different to me. Absolutely heartbreaking if you root for the Chargers. But a game I thought was pretty evenly played between the two teams. Obviously, the Chiefs defense dominating the first half and the Chargers quickly responding in a back and forth game. But the Chiefs get the ball, as you mentioned, with under five minutes to go. And Mahomes earned every bit of that last drive.

the third in 10 where he's scrambling around and making it happen before getting worthy to start the drive. The scramble. And then the decision coming out of the two-minute warning, the chiefs have the ball with a third in seven. They could run the ball there and kick the go-ahead field goal, but that clock will leave about 120 for Justin Herbert to go possibly respond. But instead, Andy Reid does give Patrick Mahomes his guy the option

to throw, and he made it count. Mahomes under center takes the snap. He's back. He's rolling to his right. He's looking. He pumps. He's going to pull the football down. Now, throws and it's caught by Kelsey on a knee with the first down at the 11.

A nine-yard gain and a first down for the Chiefs. Just when I thought Mahomes was going to run, he saw Kelsey and dumps it off to him for a first down. That play looked like it was done. And as we've seen it so many times before, Mahomes draws up the extra defender by looking like he's going to run, manage us to throw across his body.

That was Westwood one, Ryan Radke. And that's why this one, to me, felt like a lot of Chargers Chiefs game. But it wasn't the Chargers making some huge boneheaded error at the end. It wasn't the Chiefs getting lucky on that drive. It was just the Chief's offense having a good drive when they absolutely needed it. They barely had the ball in the second half, but they needed to get points on that drive. They got it, and they're the best at that end-of-game situation.

Their EPA per play shook on those third and fourth downs and late-and-closed situations as the highest in the league. Like, they're proving they can do it week after week, and they did it again. Yeah, and it starts with the quarterback. I mean, this is, I've recently had a harder time keeping him up there, but this is why QB Index, Patrick Mahomes, has been in the top five all year.

It's not pretty. The statistics don't tell you that he's throwing for 400 yards a game or whatever, but he does stuff like that. And that's a rare ability. There are a lot of guys that cannot make that happen, but because he is playing quarterback for the Chiefs and it might sound like a broken record, totally fine. He is one of the very few who can get that job done consistently under pressure and even he knows it. He completes that pass to Kelsey. We just saw on that clip there. And he's bobbing his head and nod in his head. Yeah, I'm still the man. I still did this. And that's why they're so difficult to beat. But you're right. It did feel

the Chargers earned their place in this game. Like when they went into the second half, You listen to Collinsworth the first couple minutes of the third quarter talking about how what are your options available? They've gotten like no first downs in the whole first half. You have no running game to speak of. So play action's gone. And then they're just like, screw it. We're going to commit to the run.

And they're just going to keep pounding the run and pounding the run stubbornly so. And it opened up the offense. And Justin Herbert was able to work. And we got a hell of a game as a result. It was a really great game because of the contrast between the two halves. The chargers get six drives, which is a ton, in the first half. they don't score a single point, five straight punts, and then they can't capitalize at the end of the half.

They only two of those drives go over 30 yards. You know, one goes for 50. So they didn't do anything. And then the second half, yes, they set it up by putting those extra blockers in and getting some outside runs going. But they also hit some third in longs. They hit a fourth down to Palmer, I believe it was, where it was a pass call, it was a gutsy call.

a third and long Stone Smart gets very active. I was listening to Daniel Jeremiah and Matt Money Smith on the radio and coming out of halftime. They're like, we need to get Stone Smart more into the game because he's the most athletic pass catcher they have and they just need some juice. This chargers offense, it just lacks juice. And without Ladd-McConkie on the field,

Stone-smart gets put in there because Will Disley gets hurt. He has a shoulder injury. and he never came back. And Smart has three big catches for 54 yards. So they were problem solving. And yeah, they get two straight touchdowns in such quick order and then get a three and out from the Chiefs sandwich between that in the third quarter. And suddenly it's on.

And after that, it was just three long field goal drives. So I think the chargers are so close. It really is a good defense. Cam Hart made that play where he hit DeAndre Hopkins right near the goal line and made them kick a field goal there. They got 13 quarterback hits against Patrick Mahomes that the Chiefs gave up, I think, 12 or 13 last week, too.

So he's getting hit way too much. They were getting pressure on him. They just couldn't quite finish plays enough. But I actually think, man, you shouldn't be taking any moral victories. I'm now talking myself out of it. It's ridiculous. What are we talking about moral victories

against the Chiefs when you can never win a game in this matchup? I thought they had a chance to cosmically turn it around and shook and they didn't. Well, they almost did, and they have to feel like a little brother because of the position they've been in for the last, better part of the last decade, especially since Patrick Mahomes has been here. And I understand that.

That's frustrating, as can all, you know, it can be. But at the same time, you're 8 and 5, and you're still in a very good spot right now. You are a much better football team. You're a tougher football team. You tried to win the toughness battle, and you almost did. If anything, I think it was a stalemate in that department, and you just happened to not have the ball last because you couldn't get off the field. And I think that's all positive developments that you can take into this last month where

you got to play Tampa, you got to play Denver, you got to play Denver, You got to play Denver, and then you play New England and the Raiders. So the last two games, I'm counting those as wins. You're looking at 10 wins. I didn't have the dischargers team as a 10-win team. That's pretty good. Not a moral victory because that's going to put you in a playoff role or like a spot, maybe in contention.

We'll see how it all shakes out. You're going to be in the mix. And that's way more than I think any of us expected, which is good. Yeah, they should make the playoffs. According to Next Gen stats, they have an 89% chance of making it. And what that assumes is, look, their favorites against the, the bucks not an easy game but their favorites and they beat the broncos already so they have a tie breaker over them and they'll have a chance they're right in it but this this would have just been

i think because it's the harbaw era it's new and it would have maybe just oh that would have been they were more on equal footing even though they weren't catching up so tough day for eric roberts and the bills fans out there who were hoping that they could get a little bit of help now that the Chiefs have a two-game lead as the one-seed. They're up to 81% chance. It feels like it'd be even higher for that to me to get that one seed and the Chiefs make it happen. And even though there are some things to be concerned about for the Chiefs in this game,

I mentioned the offensive line giving up all those hits. I do think they're a better offense with Pacheco. They had a lot of long drives in this game. That's what they do better than any team in the NFL shook. They actually have more plays per drive than any team since the 12. 21 chiefs in the NFL. So they know how to maintain the ball. They are a significantly better offense this year, no matter how you slice it than last

year. And they won the Super Bowl last year. So, like, they were a bad offense last year. You're giving me a funny look, but like. No, I'm just, I'm just surprised that by some of these, the revelations within this. That's fine. I agree. I mean, they're not perfect, but they're a good team.

They're just methodical. And sometimes that doesn't impress people, and that's fine. And they're getting it done. and they're getting players back healthy Marquis Hollywood Brown is going to be back at some point it sounds like in the regular season. This was a fun recap show, Shuki. It's so fun. We should do it again tomorrow night.

Oh, you know what? I think we will. How about it? Make it a date. That's it. Play the music, Eric. Monday night, Bengals, still alive for the playoffs and the Cowboys. We'll have some fun. We're going to rank some rookie of the year candidates then. And yeah, when the

chiefs are on their third. kicker in a month and they're just making the rest of the country go freaking crazy. You know football is back. 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 in how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give 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. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Fiorio, and together we host the NFL

Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet, we've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL, visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. This is an IHeart podcast.