NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - 2024 Week 15 Recap

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Patrick Claybon, Nick Shook, and Kevin Patra to recap all of the Week 15 action from around the NFL. The show opens with a look at Bills at Lions (0:32) followed by Steelers at Eagles (11:40), Chiefs at Browns (21:15), Ravens at Giants (29:30), Dolphins at Texans (35:55), Colts at Broncos (44:16), Buccaneers at Chargers (53:04), Bengals at Titans (01:01:05), Patriots at Cardinals (01:06:40), Jets at Jaguars (01:13:30), Commanders at Saints (01:19:20), Cowboys at Panthers (01:27:38), and Packers at Seahawks (01:37:15). Note: time codes approximate. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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 a thousand yards of offense is light work. I'm Greg Rosenthal here in the Chris West. podcast studio after an important week 15 slate with my friend Patrick Claibon. Nick Shook is in Cleveland and so much felt like it was decided on this Sunday that I'm not wasted any time. We are going right to Detroit where it was a massive effort by those bills.

One receiver to the left, three to the right, Cook to the right of Allen and the shotgun. Play clock down to seven. Another handoff to Cook. Through a hole. Darts to the middle of the field. 30, 25, 20, still on his feet. And Cook is in for the touchdown. His second rushing touchdown of the game goes 41 yards. That was James Cook on the ground, one of his two rushing touchdowns. Josh Allen added another couple on the ground, another couple through the air. And the Bills won 48 to 42 in a game that could have major repercussions with both

home field advantage races. Nick Shook, you watch this game closely, and I just thought from the very first drive, Josh Allen said that game that I had against the Rams, I was just getting warmed up. He did it again, and as much as the Lions tried to make this a game, it was never really a game.

I can't believe that the Bills just ran through the Lions like that. Yeah, consider that game in L.A. last week to be the prelude to what we saw from the Bills today, which was an offensive explosion. I characterized it like this in the what we learned, which you can find on NFL.com. The bills rolled into Detroit and open palms smack the lions in the mouth twice. They said, we don't care that this forward field.

We don't care that you're wearing your snazzy black uniforms, that your fans are raucous and it's hostile here. We're coming in here and making a statement, which is that the points that we put up last week, just a precursor of what we're about to do to you today. I felt like they commanded this game from their first two drives. They went two straight touchdown drives. They made a statement from the beginning.

and then rolled all the way to the end. And it was also an unfortunate sign that the Detroit defense that has taken so many hits on the injury front may be a serious concern for the Lions who are among the NFC favorites. But whole buddy, that looks like a weakness after what happened today. Yeah, we'll get to that in a second. But I thought the first drive of the game was so telling. Like the Lions went three and out,

and it's hard to fault the Lions offense too much on a day where they wind up with 421 yards, or rather 521 yards and 40. two points. But they punted their first two possessions. And on the bill's first possession, Josh Allen had that absolutely ridiculous throw up the sideline to tie Johnson. And then the even more ridiculous throw over the middle of the field where he's just evading defenders and improvising. And it was that kind of day for him that I just think he's playing quarterback at a level that I've practically never seen out of a quarterback, except maybe from Josh Allen in the

2022 playoffs. Maybe this time he gets to finish it off because it was just like, what can you do about those plays? You can't do anything. Well, yeah, there's no spot on the field that's safe. Josh Allen, we've seen it so many times. Rolling to his right stops on the right sideline and fires a ball to tie Johnson. We've seen them get extra yards. I think three or four times this season on late hits on Josh Allen. He got an and won on a ball down the sideline to Keon Coleman today as well. And then you factor in his ability to run. And it's almost, especially for a very hurt defense, indefensible, where we look at the long plays on this game and some of the air yards. He had a 50 air yard pass to Keon Coleman, 25 to Ty Johnson, who went over 115 yards receiving, like with the second half had barely begun.

The former third string Jets running back comes over and all of a sudden he's all world with the bills there at a 24 year air yard pass to Dalton Kincaid for 29 yards. It's just like, Jared Goff was very good in this game, exceedingly good. didn't even come close to how good. Knocked a lot of teams out of the fantasy playoffs like yours truly, Jared Goff, just trying to catch up in this game. But Alan got x-rays after the game. He fell a little awkwardly on a late hit.

I didn't notice that live. He said it was just precautionary and that he's going to be fine. He did finish the game out. But what strikes me, shook, is the Lions had extra rest coming into this game. And yet the bills were the one responding after a loss. They're the first team

since the merger, basically in modern NFL history, to go five touchdowns at least, no turnovers, no sacks, then in three straight games. They mashed them. And that's what stands out to me. The injuries, you can get into them, shook, because they're really important. But the bills rushed for 197 yards, and the Lions rushed for 48. And that is just a team kind of taking the Lions identity away from them. Yeah, that was what stood out to me the most was just that how easy it was for the bills to do whatever they wanted. And we've talked about this at length in previous weeks about how the bills can beat you in so many different ways. Every way they tried to beat the Lions on Sunday, they did. It was passing. Guys were wide open. They did not contain

Josh Allen in the pocket. He was free to roam. And we know when he's roaming, he's the most dangerous player in the NFL not named Lamar Jackson. It might even be just as if not more dangerous. He's finding guys downfield. He's extending plays. He's running for first downs. He's converting a fourth and two because of a well-schemed play that gets Ty Johnson on a natural rub down the sideline to keep that drive going. They basically took Dan Campbell's identity of going forward on fourth and two and said, we're going to do that too. We're going to do it better than you. That's the new McDermott. Hey, let's go. Like, that is kind of a new version of Sean McDermott. People are always saying like, oh, McDermott's going to get them in the end, but they have been

more aggressive, don't you think, Shook? Yeah, absolutely. I think that this is their new identity. And Joe Brady's doing a masterful job leading this offense. It kind of blows my mind that they let this offense linger in like the in between area in purgatory under Ken Dorsey for as long as they did before going to Joe Brady because now you're seeing the true potential of it. I mean, James Cook goes for 105 yards on 14 carries two touchdowns. So the Lions couldn't stop the run. They couldn't contain Josh Allen. Anything the bills wanted to do, they did.

I got more numbers for you too because you know me, big numbers guy. All right. So I'm looking down the bill's schedule. And I'm like, they've put up a lot of points recently. They haven't finished a game below 30 points since week six. They've scored 30 plus points in eight consecutive games, which ties for the longest streak in a single season in NFL history with the 2013 Broncos, 2010 Patriots, 2007 Patriots, and 2000 Rams.

Each of those teams featured a winner of NFL MVP, which really bolsters Josh Allen's case for MVP. And like you said, they're the first team since the merger to have five touchdown, zero give away, zero sacks in three consecutive games. All of this to beat a Lions team that everybody feared that suddenly can't get a stop on defense and wasted Jared Goff's performance, which is 400 plus passing yards, five plus passing touchdowns, zero interceptions, first player to do all of that. lose since 1950.

That's where the concern is for the lions and that's how good these bills are. Remember the first part of the season when we were like, what, what happened to scoring? You know, how come there's no 300 yard quarterback? There was discussion of banning the cover two and everything. We had Tom Brady sounded like an old man,

like as if he played 744 years ago. He was like, oh, yeah, the game. You know, these quarterbacks are coming in. Greg Olson talking about guys under center, you know, calculator game. Also, kickers were infallible back then and are very much not now. Now, you mentioned the defensive injuries. After the game, Dan Campbell announced that Carlton Davis and Aleem McNeil's two injuries could potentially be season ending. Those

injuries are on top of what they already came into the game with. Now, they did get some defensive linemen back, and yet their defensive line versus the bill's offensive line seemed like the mismatch of the game that really decided. Kaleel Dorsey, a backup cornerback who's one of their replacement players also looks like he will be out for the season. Someone asked about McNeil, whether it was an ACL. Campbell wouldn't answer that. He wouldn't make any excuses, though, when asked about all the injuries. How much was this just a case of injuries catching out of the defense and playing really good?

No, I'm not buying it. I'm not. I don't buy it. You know, we can be better. We should have been better. We know how good they are, but that was, that team was more urgent than today overall. Maybe the weight of the season is catching up a little bit to the Lions. But they are 12 and 2 and I think there's going to be so much concern about them this year and worrying about

the point of no return with these injuries. Carlton Davis has a jaw injury and for it to possibly be in season ending is very worrisome. I do think you saw with this offense today like if they I'm not I'm not counting them out but it's going to be much harder if they don't win the division and now that game coming up against the Vikings is just absolutely so massive. Yeah, they didn't have room to really slip up because of how tight the NFC North is. And that kind of actually makes me question what everybody's going to talk about for the next three days on sports talk radio and TV, which is why Dan Campbell went for an on-side kick with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter. I mean, that's admitting we know we can't

get a stop. We are desperate and we're going to on-site kick it here. It was not a good decision. Yeah, literally the only takeaway. And I'm thinking, well, heck, maybe it works out for Dan Campbell because they scored the very next play after Mack Hollins has that kickoff return. And so, well, at least they didn't burn a whole lot of clock. I really think, like, ultimately, because we're talking about all the injuries for Detroit. And I'm buying it, Coach Campbell. I think having your best players on the field definitely has an impact on how you perform defensively. But the Buffalo Bills, they're getting guys back.

This is 44 points a week ago, 42 points. I understand they got the win. But this is a legitimate concern for Buffalo as well. That's true. Although they were short at safety, two backups at safety today. for the bills. That is concerning. It's an offensive league. I just think they can maybe plug some holes and depending on the matchups in Detroit. I don't think it's a death sentence. And people are going to talk a lot about the onside kick. They needed to steal a possession.

They almost did get the onside kick with about 12 seconds to go. Like, yeah, it didn't work out for them. But just as poorly in terms of the results was when they kicked it off, the next possession and then gave up a six minute field goal drive because time was more important than points at that point. And there was no reason to believe that they were going to stop the bills and they didn't. So I think it's just getting a little, you know, a little, a little beside the point to focus on the onside kick. Let's listen to one more incredible play by Josh Allen. If I hadn't read the numbers yet, 362 yards and two touchdowns through the air. And yeah, put 68 on the ground as well. This was one of his improvised plays on a day where he held the ball in terms of time

to throw longer than he has in almost five years. Receiver to each side, put the lone setback with Allen under center. Here's motion from Gilliam. Allen going to roll to his right. Pressure coming. Gets away from it. Looking downfield, throws, he's hit as he throws, and it's caught by Keon Coleman at the 17-yard line. What a frozen rope from Allen who took a shot and it's going to to be an extra 15 yards tacked on for roughing the passer. That was late in the first half. Tyler Bass actually missed a gimmy in that situation, or the bills would have put up a 50 burger on the NFC's number one overall seed,

at least heading into today. Let's go to Philadelphia, who saw a door being cracked. A.J. Brown out to the far side by his lonesome. Hearst this time backs up looks fires complete AJ Brown in the back of the end zone fantastic this is a little play action to Sequin he puts it in there and holds it for a little bit

then he sees that linebacker displaced on the back end pulls it and he throws the strike to AJ that was Jailen hurts to AJ one of the more predictable squeaky wheel games of all time They were the story all week long. Their relationship. Suddenly, they're doing kid and play celebrations in the middle of the field. Jalen Hertz started this game 12 of 13 for 146 yard and two passing touchdowns.

The Eagles end up cruising to a 27 to 13 victory over the Steelers in Philadelphia. And I really did think the difference was not just the Philadelphia, which I'll get to, but A.J. Brown getting trusted to make difficult catches early in this game. He ends up eight for 110 and a touchdown. And especially in the first quarter, it was like all the conversation wasn't Jalen Hertz's head and that he was going to give his guy a chance to make plays. And A.J. Brown made of DeVantza Smith goes over 100 yards too. And even though there was a little period in the second half where Jalen Hertz was holding on to the ball too much. This game reminded me

a little bit of the Bill's Lions game in that like Philadelphia pushed them around a little bit upfront. Their defensive line to me made a bigger impact in the game than the Steelers vaunted defensive line. And for the most part, Jalen Hertz had a lot of time back there to go find his guys. And Jeff Stoutland's group, the Eagles offensive line was able to do that with landed Dickerson out for a lot of this game. There was Lane Johnson went missing for a spot in this game and they were able to hold

Sequin Barkley to under four yards of carry. where we're waiting for this Sequin pull-away opportunity that never came. And so in this absolute boa constrictor Leviathan 10 minute and 29 second drive to ice the game, there were a couple of long conversions from Jalen Hertz, one to Devante Smith, one to A.J. Brown. They had a fourth down conversion, a few third in shorts. And they just kind of squeezed the life out of the Steelers, not just in that drive, but it felt like in this game on offense and defense. It was amazing. The Steelers only had two drives.

the second half, that's the first time that's happened in 15 years in the NFL. Wow. I mean, that, I'm a, I love checking the drive chart and just like, okay, was it a heavy drive game? Was it a low drive game? You just don't see that. And in fact, in the first half of the game, the Steelers had five drives in the first 16 minutes of the game, and they did absolutely nothing with it. They had negative yardage through the first four drives of the game, and they weren't moving the ball at all.

So it was the Philly defense. early and the Philly offense late, a seven-minute drive for 13 plays that started the second half, then a six-play drive after a Najee Harris fumble, which really was the most important play of the game, I think. It was an unforced error at a time when the Steelers were right in it. It was a one-score game. The Eagles go cash that in with some of those plays that you mentioned, Patrick. And then they finished the game after Mike Tomlin punts the ball in plus territory on fourth and seven down two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Mike Tomlin's one of the greatest coaches of all time.

But he always makes those decisions. That, to be, it seems like his bugaboo. They didn't get the ball back. The Eagles just ran it out the last 10 and a half minutes of the game. And yes, it led to a happy locker room for the Eagles. And Jalen Hertz, even making a little joke when he gets to the podium. So that's what y'all wanted to see, huh? Ooh.

It really was. was. I was like, yes. That is what we would like to see, Nick. It was fun. I don't know if that was so much of a joke is more of like a statement. Like, yeah, you spent the whole week worrying about my relationship with my receivers and then we just go do that. Like there was no smile on his face. That was very coldly delivered, but earned, very much earned for the Eagles who spent the whole week, you know, having to deflect and everything else and explain themselves and then come out and they fire on all cylinders. I mean, a complete team performance. You have a team that dominates in time and possession essentially two to one. And you rack up

401 yards of total offense. You convert 10 of 17 third downs and you hold the opposing offense to 163 yards. Mr. Unlimited Russell Wilson goes 14 to 22 for 128 and a touchdown. They had no shot other than the score. I mean, the score was relatively close until the fourth quarter when they put them away with that touchdown. But man, this is an Eagles defense that has basically been like this since like week seven since that game in New York against the Giants. This is who they've been. And the offense has gotten it done primarily with Sequan Barkley. Now they're able to open up the passing game a little bit. The vibes around this team are still weird because of what happens on the sidelines and all the narratives that we deal with.

We got more of that. We still got a little more of that. Yeah, exactly. A little bit of a tease, but at the same time, it's hard to argue with them. They're 12 and 2 and they're playing pretty dominant football. I mean, in Mike Tomlin's case, when he punts there, it makes sense. My defense is better than my offense today, right? Maybe they'll get a turn over. But it doesn't. It doesn't make sense.

But that's what happens when you play a team that's playing this well. His defense wasn't better in his offense today. They got to third. They got to third and seven, third and six from the seven yard line. and Jalen Hertz hits A.J. Brown for 21 yards. It changes things, but they did get to a third down. It wasn't like a whole. But you got to know the game situation.

I just don't think they were going to get enough possessions. And their offense wasn't playing well. They had 163 yards, as Shook mentioned, and you're in plus territory. You're just going to run out of time. You just got to give your chance. You got to give your guys a chance to go win the game. Sure, you could say you're giving you. The vaunted offense, we were just discussing that the Steelers had today.

I'm just saying like, you got to give them a chance. Unfortunately, on that drive, T.J. Watt, who had two sacks on the day, one of the big plays of the game, I thought, was Jalen Hertz's unbelievable ability to hold onto the ball with his right hand as T.J. Watt swatted it. He must have the strongest hands in the entire league. Like, you could even see the ball get loose there for like a half a second. I have no idea how

he could have gripped onto the ball there. T.J. Watt leaves with an ankle injury. Mike T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. Tomlin said there will be more tests done on that. So that is concerning. They also lost Dante Jackson during this game. We'll see how serious Watts injury is. The Steelers' offense has gone through stretches like they went through early in this game, where like I mentioned, six possessions, and I believe they had negative yardage through six possessions and three points. And the only reason why they had three points is because they started a drive in Eagles territory, went backwards, and then had to punt.

But then Cooper DeGine fumbled the punt, and they got the ball at the Eagles 11-yard line, went three and out again before a field goal. I mean, the Eagles defense was really on one. The only mistakes they had were like penalties. Jalen Carter had a penalty on a punt that helped give the Steelers a ball around a field goal, rather. And other than that, Josh Sweat is really playing a lot better. Like Nolan Smith, it is a really complete group. And now you look ahead.

They're tied with the Lions at 12 and 2. and they're scheduled down the stretch is very forgiving. You do have the commanders next week in Washington. They can officially clinch the division there. That's not an easy game. But then another couple

division games and they're going to be heavy favorites. They do not win any ties at 12 and 2, at 15 and 2 with the Vikings and or the lions. So they need the lions and the Vikings

to lose one more game each. But if that happens, they're in pretty good shape. Yeah, with them playing each other. Yes. There's one. They get one of those. Maybe unless there's a gentleman's agreement from Kevin O'Roward.

No, that will not help the Vikings, although I guess we'd have to find out. Yeah, the Eagles close with Dallas and the Giants at home after that game against Washington next week. So I just am so impressed with this team. And as good as the Steelers are in general, is their defense special enough? I have my doubts against the very best offenses. Now, who is that in the AFC? It's the Bills, certainly. Like, maybe it's the Ravens as well.

They'll get a matchup with them coming up. Like, is their defense is good, but it's not good enough. And their offense has been opportunistic, maybe not enough. And, yeah, Shook, you mentioned the sideline. Do you want to describe, who wants to describe the sideline fracas between Nick Siriani and his own defensive line coach? I was only able to look up and see it during our show, I saw, you know, Siriani talking to the D-Line coach,

Big Dom there for some reason. Clint-Hurt, yeah, I think was stopping Siriani, if I can interpret it right, from going up to Jalen Carter and saying anything after this boneheaded unnecessary roughness on Jalen Carter, that it was almost a defensive line coach saying, not now, buddy, like now is not the time? And then Siriani kind of squaring up to Clinton Hurt,

which I don't think would work out well for them, but they're both pretty large men. but, you know, Clint's bigger. There's always something with the Eagles, even in a win. But, man, they are really impressive. So we talked about the one seed in the NFC. Could the one seed in the AFC wind up being up for grabs still? First and 10 play.

They swing it on the near flat with a screen. Worthy 15. 10. Downfield block. Touchdown. Kansas City on a swing screen to the near side to Xavier Worthy. And now the Kansas City. Chiefs have their first three possession lead of the season and maybe their first three touchdown lead of the season. Wow. Mitch Holtus on WD-A-F. That's pretty a crazy stat,

which really speaks to the Chiefs season. It also speaks to how excited he was about it. It's like, wow, I'm finally going to get to kickback and just enjoy an easy victory. It didn't... Yeah, they didn't score after that. Yeah, it didn't work out that way. The Browns had a million possessions. They only cut it to 217. That winds up being the final score because there were six takeaways from the Chief's defense. So if you stream them in fantasy and your playoffs, great job by you. Unfortunately, Nick, the reason why this is getting talked about so early in the show is that Patrick Mahomes left with an ankle injury. There is fear that it could be a high ankle sprain according to multiple reports,

the team is not saying that, but really just calls into question how the next couple of weeks are going to go for the Kansas City Chiefs. Yeah, especially if you've watched this team this season because you know how valuable Mahomes is. Now, statistically, doesn't shine through. But when you watch him every week,

you see him convert the third downs. He's one of the most frustrating players to defend in the NFL, and taking that element out of that offense really takes away a big part of what makes these Chiefs 13 and 1, which is that they win on the margins. They won this game on the margins

on both sides of the ball. They forced a lot of turn. Turnovers. Anytime the Browns put the ball on the turf, free to be picked up, they were there to pick it up. Anytime they needed a third down, Mahomes still converted a majority of them or at least a good amount of them. But if you take that out of the offense and you leave it to Carson Wentz, suddenly it makes you question this entire team's viability. So hopefully, they get good news on him. Also, Mahomes in the ankle injury history, not encouraging, considering what he's dealt with over the last few years. But this game specifically, classic case of a champion and a winning team playing better than a losing team. I mean, they won in every small area. every 50-50 ball went their way. Every time there was a play to be made, they made it scheme-wise, they out-schemed the Browns. The Browns defense played well enough

to keep them in this game, but defensively the chiefs were all over James Winston. They took advantage of his wrists. They picked him off. They forced a number of turnovers. They capitalized in every single situation, which is the mark of a championship-level team. So to see them go winning Cleveland,

not surprising at all. To see them win in this fashion, not surprising at all. In fact, it was more dominant than the 21-7 final would even suggest, but that was because they didn't quite maintain possession as long as you would want them to. But yeah, we'll see.

We'll see with Mahomes because it would take away, obviously, a huge part of their team, one of the superstars of the NFL. Fingers crossed, but luckily, they've done enough so far at 13 and 1 to buy themselves a little bit of breathing room if they need it. Well, I think we're getting Carson Wentz on Saturday against the Texans. I know it's early in the week, but Ian Rappaport called it week to week. Right off the bat, we've seen Patrick Mahomes play, but they have two games in a five-day window because they're also playing on Christmas.

maybe they just really hope that he can get back for that game against the Raven. So I think we're going to have Carson Wentz in a standalone window on Saturday. Or else, you know, you just normally don't hear a guy like Ian Rappaport. It was careful about these things. Say week to week right off the back because week to week means you're out this week. I think it's a crisis what's happening with the Chiefs offense. They had to play Joe Tuny at left tackle, which I think makes sense. You know, they lost DJ Humphreys to injury.

And Joe Tuny is the last. best left tackle on their roster. That part makes sense, but Patrick Mahomes has taken 37 quarterback hits over the last three weeks. I have to imagine that's one of the highest three-game quarterback hits totals, if not the highest in the NFL this entire season. Him and Will Levis, I think. Right?

And he didn't get sacked today, so part of it is he's just trying to make a play and he's holding on to the ball because his guys aren't open. this cyclical thing, but he's taking an absolute beating. And that might be the best reason to not have him play. Right. And come back because they can't protect him when his ankles are good. And the memories of Patrick Mahomes

hobbling his way to a Super Bowl on that ankle, it becomes like you think about the cumulative effect of all of these hits where the improvement was him getting hit on 38% of his dropbacks a week ago when they make the shift. And now they've got Tooney out there at

left tackle where I guess the benefit that the Chiefs got today was Miles Garrett got poked in the eye, and so he missed a significant portion of the game, because otherwise, Mahomes takes even more shots. Yeah, I mean, Tuni did well against him. That's the thing. He did a really good job as a guy who doesn't play tackle, suddenly playing tackle, but it speaks to where the Chiefs have had to cut corners to stay competitive

while paying some of these other guys as they've had to cut corners to tackle. And it's been a problem of both sides of the line for them this year. It is their greatest weakness. It's not their defense. It's not even their offense. It's their offensive line, whether they can protect him. And now they may have to pay some of that bill. So I guess it's better that it's happening now as opposed to three or four weeks from now, but it is a huge red flag as you approach the postseason. Right. And they would have to lose two times to let the bills in on the one seed. I guess the Steelers could be in that mix too, but realistically, because of the head-to-head bills are the ones they're hoping for. And if

you lose to the Texans, for instance, with Carson Went, then suddenly you got the The Ravens five days later, if you're a fan of the bills like Eric back there, you at least have a little bit of hope. And the quarterback hits thing is fascinating to me because Mahomes didn't take a sack, which is crazy. He avoided a few of them. The Chiefs, for instance, had 11 quarterback hits, which is a huge number in one game.

They got five sacks out of it. And so whereas Mahomes didn't take any sacks at all. And it was very similar what happened a week ago in the Chiefs game. but it just feels like it's breaking down a little bit, and yet they still win. And I hear you, Chuck, that it probably watching the game, it didn't feel as close,

and Winston gets benched at the end for DTR, who also throws an interception. But in the end, like the Chiefs average 4.1 yards for play, I mean, that's terrible. That's, if they did that all season, they'd be the worst offense in the NFL, and they got drive after drive after drive

that their defense kept giving them, and they couldn't really move the ball. So that is concerning to me. And two of those James picks were caught in the end zone. It felt like an early white flag. Like if you're in a situation where you need to throw late in a tie of it. Like, why not just keep James in? I understand you're frustrated with James Winston.

But it was like an early white flag situation to throw DTR in that game where I don't think DTR is thinking that he has to come. It's just a bad situation for everybody. DTR through nine passes. Yeah. It speaks to what Greg's pointed to for weeks. Really this whole season, which is that the Browns have this strange curiosity about DTR.

And any time there's a little bit of a sliver of an opening, they're going to find a way to force them onto the field. Well, let DTR know before you rage, you rage, put him in the game against the Chiefs. Yeah, the Chiefs go plus six in turnovers. It's tough to lose a game when you go plus six in turnovers. But man, the Browns actually somehow average more yards to play, despite DTR throwing nine passes for 18 yards.

We'll see if he gets... Like, what was the value in there? Yeah, there was no value all around. It's a little bit of a bummer right now. this season to watch the Chiefs. And it's a really big bummer that Nick Chubb left this game with a broken foot.

Kevin Stefansky announced after the game. Unfortunately, that could be the end of his Browns tenure. I hope it's not, but all the best to Nick Chubb as he goes to tackle another difficult recovery. So I mentioned

that the Ravens, because of that Steelers loss, had a door open. And I'm not going to pretend like you guys don't know the results of the Ravens Giants game. They started Tommy freaking DeVito with the Ravens coming off a bye, for God's sake. Lamar stands in the shotgun on second down. Likely comes in motion to the left.

Lamar takes the snap. Looking to the left, firing the end zone. He's got a man. Touchdown. Rashad Bateman, his second of the day. And Bateman runs that deep seven cut into the end zone and a beautiful throwing catch.

It has been too long since we had former NFL network employee Rod Woodson on the recap show. That was also Jerry Sandusky, W-B-A-L. On a day where Josh Allen was just about perfect and seemed to advance his cause as the National Football League's most valuable player for the 2024 season. My God, Lamar Jackson had one of the best days of his career

against the Giants. Four in completions, five passing touchdowns, And, oh, 65 yards on the ground on six rushes. This must have been enjoyable. A Ravens gave me enough to sweat, Patrick. Yeah, it was fun to not sweat it. It did start off with a Lamar fumble. And despite how great that he was today,

Lamar will tell you that that's the thing that he's going to remember was getting that ball punched out on the opening drive. After that, they did nothing but score touchdowns as long as he was in the game, including so glad to have Rashad Bateman back after the buy. Two of those where he's back in the end zone. Devontes Walker. Taz Walker gets his first NFL catch, which is also a touchdown from Lamar.

And then we got to see one of the biggest anomalies in the entire NFL. Tim Boyle comes into this game, continuing to play NFL football, despite throwing one touchdown and 13 interceptions at his college career and four touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his pro career. He added to those, well, to the interception and the touchdown. Today, Tim Boyle cooking up the race. Oh, I got to say, I don't think the Giants would have covered a mystical. 21 point spread, if that was the spread.

I think it was 16 and a half. So they still didn't cover if Tim Boyle didn't come in. He was an upgrade. He was better than Tommy DeVille. He made, to be fair, about four passes that I was like, that's a pretty nice pass. I was like, because there were two and I was like, I can't believe Tommy DeVito's making these passes.

And then I looked and it was actually Tim Boyle. I'm not saying he was perfect. No, you got to, when you're Tim Boyle, you got to set the expectations so low that the people watching are like, hey, there's about three or four of those passes. Pretty nice. I think Tim Boyle. They were, they actually were nice.

Look, if you're a Malik neighbor's fantasy owner or whatever, he hooked you up. Another 10-catch game by Malik Neighbors, by the way. 82 yards in a touchdown. You know, he's trying to get on those offensive player of the year, rookie of the year. Ballots shook that we didn't put him on. Before the game, I noticed the little flyover, which is now a weekly event in MetLife Stadium.

It says, Mr. Mara, enough. We won't stop until you fire everyone. I do remember a quote from Mara at one point that said, like, the one thing that he would be most concerned about would be apathy. He doesn't mind booze, but he doesn't want apathy. And there were a ton of empty seats. It was hard not to notice at MetLife. So just Brian Daibel, watch that that stuck out to me. Yeah.

And in the same vein, off the top of my head, since Black Friday of last season, Tim Boyle has now thrown passes for three NFL teams and somehow is still in the league. This is the easiest game of the season to pick. in the picking group like me, okay? We knew what was going to happen here. It's dark days for the Giants. And like you said, nothing worse than empty seats. Yeah, I think Tim Boyle, it should be pointed out in college.

Did you have his numbers from college? Did you throw that out there? It was his career at Connecticut. I don't know why I was spending so much time. No, because it's fun to look back. I'm currently pulling up between 1,300 and 3,800 per flight to fly a banner around MetLife. Oh.

Yeah, who's bankrolling this? I don't know. It's a very expensive operation in multiple weeks with different banners. So somebody besides John Merr has a lot of money. One touchdown 13 interceptions in his career at Yukon for Tim Boyle. That is absolutely...

48% completion percentage. The thing with Lamar, people just say, well, it doesn't count because it's the giants and they end up with 445 yards despite not having that many possessions because they just scored touchdowns on all of them and took a little longer. Like, those weren't easy.

throws that he was making. They were really great timing throws. He now leads the NFL in yards per attempt passing in yards per carry rushing. His yards per attempt, his adjusted yards per attempt is far and away the best in the league and the best of his career.

He's having such a better season that he did a year ago that's just something to watch down the stretch because they have some big time games with the Steelers and the Chiefs coming up that if he played absolutely outstanding and Alan or the bills, you know, stumbled a little bit down the stretch.

You never know. This thing might not be over because Lamar just has been that good this year. The only thing that wasn't good about him on Sunday wear his pants. All right, so look, they was asking me that. So I'm like, I felt like wind was touching my butt, you know. So I was trying to keep my tights up for real. I feel like the tights just like got a little loose or something. I don't know.

So I was like just kind of keep my pants up. But that's all it was. It was too cold out. He made a defender miss while pulling his pants up, by the way. We saw Newk Hopkins completely lose his pants today. There's a pants issue league-wide right now. There have been a lot of pulling the pants down situations. That one was crazy because he said he, and that's a classic quote.

Can we cut that too? Just the, I felt the wind touching my butt. It's fantastic because it certainly didn't look like that to the outside. I think he just felt it and it wasn't what was happening. It was just cold. But that was about it. If you can get first downs while pulling up your pants, that's when you know football is back.

All right, let's take a quick break here. And we're going to go to the AFC South where, yes, the division was on the line on Sunday. Even though the Texans were struggling, what? We ain't was touching my butt. Hey, this is Matt Jones. Now, I'm Drew Franklin. This is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different.

Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, 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.

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Tua takes the snap. Tua with pressure, throwing downfield, two is right. And intercepted, Stangley again. That's going to do it. The Texans are going to beat Miami. Stingley's second pick seals the deal. And Houston will get its ninth win. If you didn't count Derek Stingley as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL,

I think today did it for you. That was Mark Vandemir, by the way, on K-I-L-T. Yes, the Texans in the early window, knowing they had a chance to possibly win the division today with a win and a Colts loss, took care of business, and it was all about the defense, especially Stingley. They forced to a Tung of Iloa into four turnovers in this game. That was just an absolutely electric play by Stingley that not many cornerbacks could possibly make.

And the interception that he had earlier in the second half, I think not only showed what a good player he is in terms of his athleticism and his ability to read what the play is going to be, but also what Miami's limitations are. I think Trent Green did a good job pointing out during the game. Singly was sitting on that route all day, and the double move to go deep for Tyreek Hill would have been there all day, and they just never did it.

This is an offense that played inside of a box, and they made it work for most of the time that Tuatungo Viola has returned since his injury, but they just can't hit anything down the field. Everything is short. Jalen Waddle goes out of this game with an injury and Tyreek Hill did not have a catch until midway through the third quarter. So Stingley is sitting on that route over and over again and he makes a great play while the dolphins are driving in a game that I thought they were going to steal because the Texans offense couldn't do anything. But ultimately, this was a true defensive battle shook between a defense that's been borderline great all year and a defense that's been good.

and just had its moments. And the one that's been borderline great, they just stepped up today, and they got the Texans a win. And that's what it comes down to in a matchup like this. And you're right, the Dolphins offense has been playing a box. And for a while, it worked.

I mean, we knew that the explosive play wasn't there, but they were making it work with Tua in timing and accuracy. Until today, when he throws three interceptions, because they have to be one of the easier studies for an opposing defense since Tua's been back. And I think the Houston Texans definitely proved that today. But this is that type of outcome you get from these two teams because Houston still can't find its way offensively.

And yet, they were able to convert. C.J. Stroud throws a fantastic touchdown pass to Nico Collins. One of those classic, like, nothing's there. Nothing's there. I'm going to keep buying time. Oh, I'm going to flick a wrist and touchdown in the back of the end zone to Nico. And that's all you ended up needing in a 20 to 12 win. Now, Houston leaves a lot to be desired.

There's a lot to be concerned about with them. There has been this entire season, especially offensively. But if their defense can play this well against a number of different opponents that may be harder studies than the dolphins in their limited offense, then they're going to have a shot and especially because they're in a division like you said that was up for grabs but they're clearly in front of

so you come away feeling good about this win you still have your concerns about the Texans and the dolphins meanwhile are looking at this like oh no there's the death blow we were going to try to mount this great comeback and we might just be toast now when you look over across the AFC right and these teams and what they have and where

they're unique and where they're different this Derek Stingley performance and also the Will Anderson performance as well these Texans are going to somebody a problem, right? Because they are so good in the ability right to cover and provide pressure. Well, Will Anderson, Tua's getting rid of the ball fast.

He's always gotten rid of the ball fast. Will Anderson wins so early. And Strip Sachs' former teammate leading to a scoring opportunity where Houston can afford right to be kind of regressed on offense and score on these scrappy plays where you end up

having Robert Woods peel off to block Callias Campbell. Right. And then he throws and CJ Strout throws a touchdown pass. to Nico Collins the second of the day where they can afford to have those types of problems. Whereas Miami, it felt like they had to execute. They had to be just so good

and so precise to get these short completions time after time after time where the clock just eventually runs out on them. Right. The difference was the Texans took advantage. When they got down to the red zone, their offense was basically do something magical, CJ. It was back to the offense

from the first six or seven weeks that was reasonably effective. He just did it enough today. They also set up a score on a drive where he has a, I think it was Zach Seeler, like, is draped all over him and he completes it to keep the drive going. There was nothing to feel good about otherwise. They couldn't run the ball at all. Their stuff rate, which means you're getting stopped at the line of scrimmage or behind, was way higher than their success rate in terms of their running game. So Joe Mixen was a ghost in this game. He had under two yards per carry. CJ Stroud was under heat quite a bit, but to Patrick's point, so was Tua. Even though he got rid of

the ball pretty quickly, Daniel Hunter, I thought, had an even better game than Anderson, who had a big time splash play and also had a lot of pressures. There was 11 quick pressures for the Texans, and it's really hard to run an offense that way. The dolphins were missing both their starting tackles, which is important context. And yet, I didn't think that was that huge deal in the game, at least early on. He was, he had some time to throw and most of the pressure was coming through the middle. And like I said, neither of these teams could do anything. It was 3.6 yards for play. I think the difference was as good as Tua has been in creator to a mode this season. Like, CJ Stroud was better at that today. Neither one of them had a run game. Neither one of them

were put in very good position to succeed. It was not a pretty game whatsoever, but the Texans had the home field advantage. And they seem like they've got a, a little something to them where the dolphins are just done. And they did that and they didn't have Joe Mixin for a stretch in this game because for the second time this season, Joe Mixin has gotten clear as day, hip drop tackled with no flag. And so he was able to get back in the game, but he just finished with 23 yards on the ground,

a guy who's had 100 yards and a touchdown at seven games this season and he's only played in 10 of them. Right. It was brutal. Because of another hip drop tackle, by the way. Right. It was brutal. There actually hasn't been,

I went to check this. a call on a hip drop tackle all season. So I think it's just become something where they're going to find players for it and it might be too difficult for officials to call that in real time because we saw a couple big examples of it today. What's the point of a rule where you can't call it?

I'm not really sure. Add in replay assist. Maybe you'll get that change. Yep. I think that could be where we go. Seems like the obvious move. Right. With a lot of things. I agree. CJ ends up with 131 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Unfortunately, a big part of the story of this game was the wide receiver

for the Miami Dolphins, Grant Dubose, who an injury replacement after they released O'Dell Beckham since we last spoke to you on Friday. So O'Do Beckham is on waivers, by the way, as we speak. But Grant Du Boz was out there and took a really nasty hit over the middle on a pass from Tua that put, you know, put DeBos in a tough position, and Kaelin Bullock came over the middle

and hit him, you know, right in the head, and his head kind of snapped back and also hit the ground very hard. It was put on a stretcher. They had to cut off his helmet, take off his shirt, taken to the hospital. He's going to stay over Sunday night.

The dolphins would just say that they've had positive results and that he's stable. And no more information than that. So just sending our best obviously and hoping for the best for that young man and his family. It was a really scary scene for the dolphins and Grand Du Boes today.

All right. Let's go to our next segment. It's the time for the Sunday Drive presented by the all-new hybrid Toyota Camry. We're going to Denver. When this game started, the Colts knew they had to win the game to stay alive in the AFC South.

Quads to the right. four receivers right this is going to be a double pass they throw it complete it throw back to Richardson it's going to be intercepted intercepted Nick Bonito Bonito to the end zone touchdown differ

50 yards on the pick six this place is a madhouse The Broncos fans, I think, were going that crazy because they're getting used to Nick Bonito with these pick sixes. They're throwing out defensive player of the year candidate. And it's not that crazy. Broncos win 31 to 13.

And I think the intensity of that celebration. And of course, the call you heard by Dave Logan on K-O-A was because they didn't expect it. They were down 13-7 in a game where both. No, Knicks keeps throwing interceptions, and it just doesn't feel like the Broncos day. And then suddenly an avalanche of points. And it all happened. Really got kick started, Patrick, after Jonathan Taylor dropped that ball on what would have been a long touchdown. 24 unanswered points.

And those two huge mistakes by the Colts, uh, ends, it dooms them as they kind of severely wound their opportunity for a late season push in the AFC. the interceptions by Anthony Richardson, of course, held him back as well. They wasted one of the worst games that Bo Nicks has played in two months for Denver when things look awkward in the backfield. He had three interceptions, miscommunications, sideline arguments, the whole thing there. He was pressured on less than 11% of his dropbacks. And on those dropbacks without pressure, he was 19 of 30. But the Colts led 13 to 7 in the third quarter.

Jonathan Taylor on a play where he looks like 2022, Jonathan Taylor, cuts it back, hits the sideline, 41-yard touchdown. We've already left that game and we're doing another highlight and I'm looking at the scoreboard and I'm like, why are their points not going on the scoreboard? Because he comes back, we come back to the game,

Jonathan Taylor's arm swings back and he drops the ball a fraction of a second before crossing the goal line. And then after the Broncos score, they're leading by four when Nick Benito intercepts what we think because we went back and looked at it. was a screen to Anthony Richardson that the Colts set up.

Very strange. And that's why the offensive line didn't block Nick Benito, but it would have been great if they did because then they would have a chance to win the ball game. But they just kind of let him go and disaster strikes. And just we think about like historically, Colts trick plays that go horribly wrong. This one was worse than that one.

Yeah. Because this one. Hence the season. Like essentially ended the season today. Yeah, they are six and eight. they are out. The Houston Texans are the AFC South champions.

The Colts can still potentially get a wild card if the chargers collapse down the stretch. That's really their hope. That's the Bengals hope who will get to later. But the division race is over. And you feel for Jonathan Taylor,

yeah, because they did not score another point after that. And it's not like they didn't get opportunities, they got eight more drives after that. And that was a third quarter fumble. And yet they actually had negative yardage for their next five drives, which included a couple fumbles. Richardson throws an interception at one point. It was kind of a full team collapse.

And to Denver's credit, they are kind of the team to me shook this season that lets other teams collapse in front of them. and even though Knicks had a terrible game the defense which has been so good all year stood up strong

after that Taylor play but man it's hard not to go back to that player Taylor play and wonder what would have been because it was 20 would have been 20 to 7 at that point yeah I mean that's not the best compliment to give a team in the playoff hunt

I know Broncos fans will bristle at that but it's accurate I mean if you look at the last two wins it was because the Raiders and the Browns we know how that Browns game ended with a pick six look this is an example of a team like the Colts that have been grasping at straws all year. We had the carousel at quarterback going to Joe Flacco thinking that was going to work. It didn't go back to Richardson. And what you've gotten from him is spectacular

play in small bits and a lot of uneven play in other areas. At which point you then say, let's run a trick play to maybe set up a screen for our quarterback who may be a better runner than he is a thrower right now because we don't know what else to do. And I think it starts with a mistake like Taylor fumbling the ball at the goal on, which by the way, not the only instance in which that happened today. We'll get to that later. And then you just kind of, it compounds. from there. And it's a team that is six and eight. Essentially they define their record with the way they conducted themselves today. It's

unfortunate because I think they're more talented than that and Shane Stuyken is a good coach, but what a bad decision in that situation to give that team that much juice on a day in which they weren't playing well to begin with. But credit to the Broncos. You know, they finished the game strong. They just needed somebody to help them break the day. Well, credit to Benito

especially, because he read that. Having a hell of a year. He just said, like, if that was a screen, he said he read it like that, like why are they throwing that backwards. Literally, even the Colts, read it better than the Colts who were running the play. He was more aware than literally anybody on the field, including perhaps maybe the Colts coaching staff. Right. And the crazy thing is after the Taylor, you know, drop, fumble, you figure, okay, then that's going to swing the game. Denver must have taken advantage.

No, they go four and out. They give their ball right back. The Colts then go three and out. Give it right back. Well, okay, surely now it's when the Broncos get going. No, that's actually when Bo Nix threw his third interception. The very next play, Michael Pittman fumbles a ball to give the Broncos the ball back. And okay, now, now finally Bo Nix and this offense are going to take advantage. Nope, they go three and out and kick a field goal. So it was just in a punt their next position. It was like chance after chance after chance. So it's hard to know like who to blame here. I don't even know. But I do know that you give the Broncos defense credit for how they closed that. Yeah, they did.

And Locke was the player who got that, it was almost like not necessarily helmet on the football on MPJ, but it was more of a shoulder pad where it pushed his arm back and the ball flies out, the Broncos recover. It's a, it's tough to make plays against this Broncos defense. I mean, we saw Jamis do it, but we also saw James turn the ball over doing it on some very dangerous passes, which is what Vance Joseph puts you in position to do.

And the way that this Colts team has operated all season long, where they're either running the ball or they're taking deep shots like low completion probability shots where it all turns out kind of in the way you expected where they have this high variance of outcomes and when it works it looks great

but when it doesn't it looks absolutely horrible and it just didn't work for long stretches. Yeah, Bo Nix ends up two for eight passes over 10 yards for 33 yards two for 33 yards. Does get two touchdown. but throws all three interceptions, the intermediate area, especially rough. It was very similar.

Actually, I was looking at the next gen set. Tatua's numbers over 10 yards. He was three for 10 with an interception. Just couldn't get anything going except for the short stuff. And yet they are basically locked in for the playoffs now at 9 and 5. So they move up to the 6 seed. I wanted to circle back on what was happening with the Ravens too. They are at the 5 seed.

They are one back of the Steelers. They have a much better chance the Ravens do of now catching the Steelers. for the division. The Broncos are at 9 and 5 at 6. The Chargers who they play on Thursday night, that's a big game, are at 8 and 6. According to Next Gen stats, the Broncos have a 91% chance to make the playoffs. The Chargers have an 87% chance to make the playoffs. The Colts, dolphins, and Bengals are all 10% and under down to 6% for the Bengals. So if one of those three teams could catch fire and get to nine wins, it's possible they could win a tiebreaker over the chargers if the chargers stumble down the stretch

and only get one win, which is it's certainly on the table. 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. Yes, the Chargers. They had a day to forget across the sidewalk. Shotgun look to pass. Mayfield looking. Goes the ball downfield. Toward Evans. He makes the catch. Touchdown. Tampa Bay. Buccaneers with Mike Evans, two catches in the Promise Land today. What a throw by Mayfield on third down a dozen. Gene Decker-Hoff with a 35-yard touchdown throw to Mike Evans,

part of a magical day for Mike Evans. Forget about the injury report. He went nine for 159 and two touchdowns. Thousand-yard pace is back on, Patrick. Oh, back on in full effect as the drive summaries and the same. second half. How about this from Tampa Bay? Finish 40 to 17. You think this was sustained the whole way.

No, there was an interception and a field goal consecutively in the first half. Second half, touchdown, field goal, touchdown, touchdown, field goal, end of game. Baker Mayfield got hot. He got picked off by your guy Tar Heep still and decided never again firing these balls to Mike Evans.

And on the other side, the Chargers offense just kind of wilted and went away and did essentially nothing as the game ended. Justin Herbert took a shot to his ankles low in this game, slow to get up after that, just a very uninspiring game from the Chargers offense at home in a week that had so much opportunity

with the Broncos playing in that game against the Colts. They've got a game in the same window, and it was really just very, very disappointing versus a Bucks team that now can watch the Monday night football game for the Falcons, essentially without worry. Only good can come out of that for them. Yeah, they could. take a commanding two game lead in the division

if the Falcons wind up losing that. It's not like this was a blowout throughout. The Bucks needed a field goal late in the second quarter to make the halftime score, Chargers 17, bucks 13. And to Liam Cohen's credit and Baker Mayfield's credit, this team

has been so hot starting games all year. And they were fine starting games, but Baker had that interception starting this game. But they figured some things out. This is only the third time in Jim Harbaugh's coaching history that his team's given up over 500 yards. It was only eight yards away from the worst game that an NFL team that he coached, had.

And this buck's offense, despite not having Evans for much of the season, despite not having Godwin for most of the season, is a legit top five offense. And if they can get defensive play like this, I know they were going against a wounded animal a little bit here. They are kind of that team you don't want to face. And there are some numbers that show since about week nine, their run defense has bounced back quite a bit. It's partly because of their schedule,

but it's bounced back quite a bit. And their pressure rate, and they're sending lots of pressure shook. They're not winning a lot of one-in-ones, but their pressure rate has gone through the roof over the last four or five weeks. And lately, the underlying metrics show that this team is one of the best teams in football.

Yeah, although it didn't today. They only recorded 10 pressure. for a percentage of 27. But that didn't matter because they capitalized against an offense. This has been my fear. You talk about a wounded animal. This has been my fear with the Chargers for a while. You don't have J.K. Dobbins.

You have no running game to speak of. You get Ladd McCawkey back. He catches five passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. But your offense just enters a massive rut. You want to talk about being a drive chart guy. While those drives that Patrick just listed all the touchdown on field goal and touchdown good stuff, on the on the Chargers side, we got punt, punt, interception, downs, downs, fumble.

This is the dark side of what the Chargers offense could be if they're not able to establish a rhythm early. And that's in a game that was still only a four-point game just before halftime. That's where I get concerned about them. I feel like their ceiling remains low, especially when they don't have the ground game to speak of, which is why I wouldn't quite settle the AFC playoff race just yet.

And against the Buccaneers team that I think we've known this all year. This is their potential. You said it weeks ago, they're an offensive team first and they need to embrace that. Well, they've certainly embraced it today. And Baker Mayfield finally gets past his streak of throwing picks and, you know, trying to make something out of nothing too often. Instead, he lights it up, and the Buccaneers are looking really right.

Enjoy it. Kind of, like, jump up on the table, Patrick. I don't know, jump on the table. I'm just wondering, because you're looking at me. Yeah. I don't have an apology to offer to M.V. Baker. Oh, they got a great. They got... MVP.

Yeah, MVP. But there was a great rep where on the first Mike Evans touchdown, where you just see how this offense can operate when they protect Baker. because when Baker is protected he doesn't necessarily fall off the handle it and do all these try hard and do too much plays

where when you see it in rhythm it's it's beautiful it's a beautiful machine and that's how you get 22 of 27 for four touchdowns and that one mistake he is so good when getting rid of the ball at the back of his drop

and it's similar but I think more fun to watch than Tua the way this offense has been running I think Liam Cohen for instance like I think he's done a better as good a job as any offensive coordinator out there.

Like even the Jalen McMillan touchdown. I mean, this guy's just a touchdown machine at this point. That speaks a little bit to the scheme is creating open receivers sometimes. I mean, McMillan had no one anywhere near him because they executed a perfect rub. But also Mayfield, you know, he doesn't put too much air under that ball. And he hits McMillan in stride with some good velocity. And he just makes it look easy over 10 yards per throw for Baker.

today. Bucky Irving returned in this game. And yeah, they ended up with 2.23 on the ground. 25 from Baker, including a 20-yard scamper. He'll throw that in there. Rashad White, you know, one of the better receiving backs in the league. This, this Bucks team is 8 and 6. And yes, the Chargers, only three games left. We'll talk about them a lot this week because they're on Thursday night. And that's a big game. We got Me and a Kimes on the show. That's going to be a really fun one. They do finish after that game with Patriots and Raiders. and oh they need that oh that opens the door because i have something to offer to you greg as the number one baker hater we got to commission a group of third or fourth graders to

like compose some sort of construction paper hat that you have to wear on the show if baker mayfield throws for 40 touchdown passes he just got past his season high his 28 touchdown passes last year he just broke that today he hits 40 we got to get them to make you a hat that you got to wear on the show what is that even what is that a hat okay send me a paper hat you can wear your crown You're proud as the biggest baker hater. I am not the biggest baker hater. I'm not a baker hater at all. All I was was pushing back on the MVP talk.

And he was just driving me a little crazy lately. No, their schedule, that was the Chargers schedule I was reading. So they're going to, like the Bengals or the Dolphins, any team that wants to try to run the table and hope for a Chargers loss is going to need a Patriots or Raiders home win most likely. And certainly on Thursday night, they're going to need a Broncos win. the bucks on the other hand are going to be heavy favorites their final three games the falcons are in a world of now they are at dallas on sunday night football assuming that stays there in week 16 and then panthers and bucks to end the season doesn't mean they get through all those games but they will be favored in all of them the performance are making those hats yeah the performance by the chargers today i understand it's it's the raiders at a late season game against right may and the patriots i i wouldn't chalk those up at this no no they can lose to anyone Chargers look today.

Yeah, for their defense to get exposed like that, Joey Boas has not given them anything. They had another injury camp. Hart left at cornerback and then their offense. It felt to me like Ladd McConkey is great, but he's like, I don't know how many drives ended with an incompletion to McConkey because there's no one else to throw to. And Herbert's just trying to give his one guy a shot. So the Chargers lose, and that was good news for Bengals fans who have. not last, lost hope. Let's go to Tennessee.

Levis under center again, turns around, fakes a hand off to Pollard, wants to throw, fires. Intercepted. Stone waiting it back. Gino's at the 25, 20, battle in front to block. He's to the 10, the 5, to the go line. Touchdown. Bengals, Gino Stone with a pick six, and the Bengals have their fourth takeaway of the day. Yeah. Yeah, you know, Joe Burrow. He's great in all, but let's give the Bengals defense some love.

Dan Horde, Dave Lapham, W-C-K-Y. Will Levis, I think, had about 13, 14 dropbacks in this game. He had four turnovers. So that's not a good thing. The Bengals get the victory. 37 to 27. They hold off a late rally by Mason Rudolph, and they get to 6 and 8,

and they remain alive because of an opportunity. domestic defense, Shook. How many turnovers qualifies for you to declare the game drunk? Because I have a number in my head and this game exceeded that number. Okay? Ten total turnovers between these two teams.

Every time you looked at the game, somebody was turning the ball over. And most of the time, the criminal was Will Levis. He was the guy who was guilty of turning the ball over. He threw three picks. He had a great start, okay? And then it instantly just fell apart.

And he regressed dramatically to the Will Levis. We knew prior to his recent stretch of relative six. success. And it gave the Bengals an opportunity defensively to actually build some steam because we know this Bengals defense has been maligned all year. Rightfully so. They haven't been able to stop a nosebly. Well, they stopped the Titans on multiple possessions today. They were opportunistic. It allowed Joe Burrow to even shake off some of his interceptions because he threw a couple of those as well. And the Bengals outlast the Titans team that they're just better than

on paper. And when it comes to the details in execution in a game that it's worth the rewatch because it was just chaotic. It doesn't really say much about either team, though. Okay, it's worth the rewatch, if only, because of the Tevandre Sweat, Fumble recovery. Let's listen to that. Second and goal at the nine. Burroughs, looking, stepping up, in trouble.

Sack! Oh, take it away. It's sweat coming the other way. Skip, R15, 20, 25, sweat 30, 35, and he's finally pushed out of course. by Moulson at the 40. Titans get the quarterback sack and steal the ball. Ooh, great call there by Mike Keith and a Yelp midplay by Dave McGuinness on WGFX.

That is a 370-pound man at minimum because that's what he's listed at with a nasty stiff arm. Like, he changed the ball, like his hands. He knew the assignment. That was amazing. They were up 14 to 7, by the way, at that point in the game and had just taken the ball away. And Mike Keith, you know, he's looking forward to saying touchdown Titans on the play. So he just said stiff arm. But this is Alex Kappa, the offense of linemen coming.

This is a full grown man coming to make a tackle. And Mike Keith, maybe he's seen Derek Henry do a lot of stiff arms. And so he's seen the best ever to do it. But this from Defandre's sweat. And I just love the reaction from the sideline. Yes. Because sweat, you know, clearly awful, awful mistake, you know, driving while intoxicated, didn't know if he was going to get drafted.

The Titans believed in him. He's been embraced by the team. And you could just see the reaction from all of his teammates after that incredible play where they love the man that he's become this season and making a play on that where it's just another one of these moments from this drunk football game that shook out the pleasure of watching where it's like that that almost becomes a footnote to everything that we saw in this game with these teams going up and down the field,

offense and defense. Right. Burrow, you mentioned, like, had three turnovers in this game. So, you know, his MVP candidate seat to get on the ballot, it takes a little bit of a hit. A couple of turnovers last couple weeks. He did throw a touchdown, though, to Sam Hubbard. So he does, like, we didn't even mention that

as part of the way this game was drawn. Hubbard got hurt late in the game, but he said it was worth it. It felt good to be out there, contribute to a win as an offensive weapon, Sam Hubbard. Yeah, true weapon. Like, we haven't seen a weapon playing out of position since the days of Mike Vrable with the Patriots. There you go.

This catch was tight end, like top tier, tight end worthy, a fantastic grab. And that's when I knew this game needed to be cut off. And that was long before it was over. A heck of a kind of a weird back and forth. But I will say this. Another example of how I knew this game was drunk, Jordan Battle recovers a fumble, goes all the way back to the end zone, and then loses the ball as he's crossing the goal line and fumbles it out of the back of the end zone.

So there was another example, actually, in another game that we've yet to talk about, too. I just thought about that off the top of my head. It's just been a crazy day, guys. It really has. And if you're a Bengals fan, I said you're going to get to that week 17. You're going to be mathematically alive. You got the Browns next week. Just get to seven and eight.

These games are a little more fun if you're not mathematically eliminated. The Titans long eliminated. They stayed in the top six. I'm looking at Tankathon. It's amazing that three and eleven. only gets you the six pick right now. The Browns are 3 and 11 and they have the 7 pick. So, you know, they didn't change that today,

but the Bengals got a victory. Let's go to a team, which is much more in the wildcard race. Yes, the Arizona Cardinals. Pistol, snap. Murray has it. Handoff, Connor, straight ahead. Touchdown. James Connor, two touchdowns here on the fourth.

Cardinals extend their lead to 29 to 10 with 3.27 to go. Light them up in the pistol, hand it off. James Conner just jump over the A-gap touchdown. That is Dave Pash and our friend Ron Wolfley. Some games don't really have like a great play or a highlight that makes a lot of sense. This was one of those games. I watched it pretty closely. 30 to 17, Cardinals beat the Patriots in a game that wasn't that close.

The Patriots get a couple touchdowns in garbage time to make it look better. but kind of a ho-hum game for the Cardinals to get them to 7 and 7. They ran the ball well, James Connor with 110 yards and two touchdowns. Kyler Murray played mistake-free football. I wouldn't stay. It made me feel like that much better about where their offense is at. They couldn't quite finish drive. Settled for some field goals, but ultimately you win easily.

A result like this almost just makes me think about, man, if they hadn't lost one of those close games against the Seahawks, things would have felt a little different, but they still are having an uphill battle in the division. Yeah, it's so close that there were that third and seven against Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings could have changed their postseason. Honestly, we may look back and that may have been one of the most consequential third downs that we've seen all season long, but Kyler comes back in this game, 23 or 30. Did take a massive shot in this game. Clayton tune came in and played a couple of possessions, but James Connor averaged

almost seven yards of carry against this Patriots team and there were some late I would say garbage down points from New England where this was this was pretty much out of question for the Patriots with a lot of time remaining in the third quarter.

Yeah it's not a great sign when your quarterback goes into halftime without an incompletion that's Drake May and you're losing 13 to 3. Like Drake, Drake May continues to somehow like set new boundaries of how totally solid, if not great, he looks, and yet his team's not even competitive. His one interception on the day, second time in three weeks this has happened,

came off a drop of Kishan Booty. So it was like even the one box score problem that he had, he only had four in completions, 200 yards came off a drop. A drop gives Kishan Booty maybe too much credit there, the ball's like low and outside and booty goes down to reach it. And instead of like the ball being dropped, he lifts it up. Yes. It kind of tosses it. But that was That was exactly what happened a couple weeks ago, too, very strangely. It was like a play where his own receiver kind of threw it into the air. But look, Tray McBride goes 9 for 87, shook. Marvin Harrison could not get anything done on one-on-one matchups against Christian Gonzalez.

Like, Gonzalez just shut him down like that. That was a little frustrating, I think, for the Cardos who kept going to that matchup in the red zone, and Gonzalez just kept winning it over and over. But it keeps them alive. I shouldn't compare them totally to the Bengals that, They're in a division where, yes, the Rams got to eight and six here, and they got swept by the Seahawks. So that's problematic.

But there's still three weeks to go, potentially only one loss behind. They are in the mix. Yeah, I'm glad you actually brought up the Marvin Harrison Jr. targets because I honestly think that as the Cardinals offense, which struggles mightily on third down, I only went 10 for 15 today. But when it comes to third and long, it's a Kyler drop back on a prayer most times and it has been for most of this season. I think that the element that is missing, that could really elevate this offense is the inclusion of Marvin Harrison Jr. at an efficient rate. And the reason I bring that up is because, yes, Christian

Gonzalez played great coverage on him. But Marvin Harrison Jr. is a guy who is known for winning 50-50s, winning jump balls in college. He's an artist when it comes to catching passes in the end zone, especially in the corner of the end zone. And he had two great looks at it. And Kyle doesn't put it in the right spot. So if I have a project for these Cardinals, if they missed the playoffs, because they still, you know, it's going to be a little bit rough here trying to get in there with the way the division is set as you just described. The project for them in the off season. How do you get better? Kyler and Marvis and Harrison Jr. figure out how

to throw those balls to him. Because if they could do that, and they've done it in small spots this season, I think they would be so much better offensively. They're effectively like eliminating one of their best weapons on offense right now. And when the running game doesn't work, they're not going, they're not playing well. Now the running game worked today. They played the Patriots and it all

worked out for them and they win the game. But that's just where they need to be better. That's where they can take their next step. And it was frustrating to see that today against the Patriots team that you put 30 points on, but you probably could have won the by Moore. The best play for Marvin Harrison Jr. today was a 21-yarder where they had him lined up in the slot, which

is something they do. He was lined up in the slot 10 times, but they were able to drag Marvin across the formation, kind of get some separation because Gonzalez was on them there, but there was a lot of traffic to run through. Kyler hits him on the catch and run where that's what I've wanted. Just more lay-up, short opportunities

for Marvin Harrison Jr., just to get him involved in the offense. So it's not all deep balls to the corner and back shoulder throws where it's like this high degree of difficulty where, yeah, you can do that when you have a top 10 draft pick who has all the talent in the world. But also, let's just get on the ball. Like all these balls to Jamar Chase aren't necessarily like high difficulty throws. Some of them are very simple close to the line of scrimmage where I would like to see Marvin involved in more. Yeah,

they feel better. They were on a long losing streak. They won easy. They beat up on a bad team. I think this is a very worrisome result for Drod Mayo coming out of a by week and you looked worse. You had no answers defensively. The offensive line was crazy bad early in this game in terms of the penalties and a bad snap and just giving up free rushers. It looked like they had made no progress at all. There were some reports over the weekend from the athletic that they are committed to Gerard Mayo. I and I believe it, but a performance like this makes you wonder, certainly about the offensive coordinator and Alex Van Pelt not progressing. or improving as the season's gone along.

And we really haven't seen that. After the game, they asked Drod Mayo about a sequence where they got down inside the five-yard line and they got it to third and one and they ran it two straight times and they couldn't pick up a yard, which is the story of this Patriot season. But someone asked them about not using Drake May at all,

which they really haven't as a runner in the Red Zone all season. And they said, you know, we've seen May as so effective as a runner. how come, you know, not using him there? And Gerard Mayo said, you said it, not me, which doesn't bode well for Alex Van Pelt either. Speaking of coaching staffs that have been in a little trouble this year, let's go to Jacksonville. Which one?

A fun game, either one. I mean, one's gone and the other one, yeah, let's go. In motion from left to right, goes Isaiah Davis. Rogers back to throw. Well protected, fires one up the scene from Adams. He's got him in strike. at the 30, at the 20, 10, 5, spins, ends on. Touchdown.

That's a jet touchdown. Devonte Adams streaks down the middle, and Aaron Rogers puts it right in his hands, and the Jets have the lead. 324 to go. The Jets go on to win 32 to 25. Fun to hear a little Bob Wachuzin on W-A-X-Q having a little fun. why not? It's been a tough season and when you can watch Devante Adams

go nine for 198 and two touchdowns in a throwback performance. I mean, he and Aaron Rogers put this team on their backs in the second half. Adams was physical. He was awesome and they stop a late bid

from Mack Jones. A lot happened actually after that play because that made it 25 to 22. The Jaguars did respond tied the game with a field goal. The Jets have another quick touchdown drive, which Devante Adams really set up, Breece Hall.

And then finally, Mac Jones throws the interception to Soss Gardner. Jets get the victory. And I don't know if we have many, you know, big takeaways from this game. Other than Aaron Rogers is playing his best football at the very end of the season,

which is going to help his chances of getting a good job next year or getting a starting job. That's what I believe. Does anyone care to disagree with me. I mean, where's the job going to be? I don't know. Somewhere. Somewhere.

He led them in rushing. That's awesome. He moved. I thought he's moved much better over the last couple of weeks. You know, the matchups helped. Devante wouldn't have been as open maybe against some other teams. But Rogers has looked good. There's no point in like pushing back from the tape.

He's looked pretty good. He's definitely looked the best that he's looked the last three weeks in terms of movement, in terms of ball placement. And he actually could have had a bigger day if DeVante started off the game kind of slow. He had a couple drops. One would have been a tough catch, but it would have been a big play. Another one was a flat out drop. And I'm thinking, man,

the years catching up to Devante? Because he had a quiet first half. And then the second half, he just was a hundred ninety eight yards in the second half. Oh my God. For Devante Adams. That's, and essentially you get to 130 and he has the 50 plus yarder where if he gets in the end zone, he's even

200 yards there and three touchdowns in this game for the Jets where you're getting essentially outduled by Mac Jones during large portions of the game before Devante kind of wakes up and Mac Jones eventually

regresses and throws an easy interception to Sauce Gardner to close the game out where he's back peddling backwards. But yeah, Aaron Rogers is good. He's incredibly annoying to hear him talk about literally anything. Yes. But he deserves a starting job somewhere and he's going to get a lot of attention and he's going to be on

TV every week. But all that being said, he's not the worst part of this team. No, they are terrible in these one score games and they finally found a team that was even worse. The Jaguars have lost eight games by one score this year. They're two and eight in those games. Most of their games are close. If you get 25 points and you get Mack Jones to lead you to more than 400 yards, like usually you would, that's got to be good enough. It's a bad sign for the, the Jets defense that they were letting Mac Jones clown them on the ground for much of the game. He had 29 yards on the ground. He, who is the guy sure?

for the Jets that Mack Jones actually pulled like a Madden spin move on him in the open field and sent the linebacker just flying by him and I was like wow that is that's going to be a tough moment in the film room especially after a win now that you can have a little fun with it

the Jets can but they outlasted him in a shootout 32 to 25 to go to 4 and 10 and yeah I was talking about tankathon with that win the Jets fall all the way to number 8 Jaguars right now at number four Patriots who we just talked about at number three, but it is very tightly bunched.

It wouldn't surprise me if the Jets win another game here down the stretch. All right, we're going to say goodbye to our friend, Patrick Claibon. How are you feeling today? Just about life, about football, about NFL daily, and your contribution to it. Overall, fortunate to exist in this universe where existing is decidedly not an option in any number of capacity. I'm here and I'm among friends and we got to watch football today

including Tim Boyle. One of the more hair-raising, conspiracy-laden ideas. Tim Boyle still starting football games. Yeah, not coming up next week. This existence also not guaranteed. As Kyle Shanahan is want to point out, it's true.

We hope you're back next week. Not guaranteed. I shouldn't put that out. It's cool. Short job. I just made Eric very uncomfortable. back there. Don't worry if you're listening to this

and knock on wood. You know, things could go wrong. That's, I meant more, you just, maybe there's a power outage or something like that

and we can't do the show. Or a meteor hits the earth. Nick Shook's going to rejoin me for Sunday night football, but when we come back from the break, we're actually going to talk to our friend Kevin Patra for a couple of games.

See you then. 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?

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Incomplete! Incomplete! Washington wins 20 to 19! Wow! The match is incomplete. The game is over. Wow is right. Bram Weinstein and London Fletcher, WB-B-I-G.

The Saints somehow got the game down to a situation where they went for two with no time remaining on the clock to win the game. It just didn't happen. Washington wins 20 to 19. And yes, our friend Kevin Patra is back on the show from Detroit. And on a day, Patrick, we were just talking about it, where there weren't many close games, you got the best ending. So congratulations for that.

Yeah. What happened there? The agenda is back on, baby. Okay. Well, I mean, the first half was really dull. It was pretty dull. Jake Hainer was, I, it felt like it was. was like in high school and the varsity team's quarterback got suspended for a half.

So they called up the JV quarterback to play the first half. And then they got the real quarterback in for the second half. And they started making plays. As soon as Rattler came in at halftime, the offense got jump started. And he made plays, credit him. The last time, I mean, it was stats weren't great. He had 47% completion percentage. He missed some throws.

But considering, you know, Alvin Camer went out with the groin injury and who he's throwing to. But he made, he made, MVS made a couple of big plays. And he marched him right down the field with the game on the line. And I thought it was the right call for Rizzi to go for two. Because in overtime, if you're, you know, you don't have less talent. You know, I would rather go down to one play. And he had been on such a hot streak on that drive that I thought it was a smart move.

Didn't work out for him. But smart move, especially given their season. Yeah, Cedric Wilson ends up with a passing touchdown on a great trick play. It was a beautiful pass. It was a really good throw on a 20. 20 yard throw, but Rattler gets the touchdown 2 and 135 yards. And yes, you mentioned the agenda, which was a bubbling subplot in Saints Twitter and on NFL daily to get Rattler into the lineup.

And you do wonder if he's going to be the quarterback the rest of the way or do they try to bring Derek Carr back? Just let's put a pit in that for a second. Because that decision at the end of the game by Rizzi, I think it's the right move. It's disappointing for Rizzi who's trying to pull off a Hail Mary to, you know, remain their head coach going into next year. And it reminds me of the first time this ever happened, which is, do you remember it?

The first time an NFL head coach ever went for two at the end of the game to win the game? No. It was John Gruden and the Bucks, because I'm old enough. I remember when there weren't two-point conversions. Like, it wasn't a thing. And it was such a big deal.

The first time ever that a team went for two at the end to win it, John Gruden did it as a coach of the Bucks and they did win the game. I think it was like 2005. It was late period, Gruden with the Bucks, but they got it done. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. And it's a good thing for the commanders because this would have

been a nasty loss. I got to admit, I stopped paying attention to this game when it was 20 to 7 in the fourth quarter just felt pretty over. Like, what happened here? And are you concerned at all about the commanders? No, because Jaden Daniels once again proved

he's the offensive rookie at the year. There's no doubt in my mind about that, if there was any before for anyone. He's, he commanded the offense with a plum early. They jumped out to a big lead, but they had issues on the offensive line. Not having Tyler Beattish out there was huge. He got sacked eight times. You could just see the offensive line was just a mess without the center, like, you know, having, you know, control over where, who, what the protections were and such. I'm not sure how much Daniels is involved in that sort of thing with Cliff Kingsbury. But that, the, the, pressure was an issue. And they kind of just took their foot off the gas. It really felt like

the offense got a little lackadaisical there until, until the end. And then they pulled off a field goal drive to just give themselves enough wiggle room till they didn't burn it. But Jaden Daniels, I mean, he made so many, like, ridiculous darts over the middle that anticipatory throws, that that's what you want to see. And he used his legs. He was their leading rush, or they couldn't get anything going on the ground, which, I mean, the Saints' defense is no slouch. There might be dismissed by a lot, but There's still a good defense up front. They're fine.

They're fine. And they ended with eight sacks today. Now, they only had six quarterback hits, which is crazy. So compare that, let's say, to the Chiefs game. Sacks are a quarterback stat in a little bit. You know, Mahomes got hit 12 times trying to make plays happen. Daniel's only got hit six times and ends up taking eight sacks. A couple of those, the reason the difference is he goes out of bounds.

Right. Half of them were on the quarterback and half of them were on a messy offensive line issue. Okay. So let's talk about the controversy at the end of the game. And I'm watching this game, the ending sequence in the newsroom. Generally, I'm at the desk, Patra. But at the end of the game, I walk over to the Jeremy Bergman, David Ely, you know, section of the newsroom to watch the end. So we're all like a line.

You don't hear someone spoiling the play or anything. And I'm watching the end of this game. And both Bergman and I are like, did the clock stop there for a second? because you're watching the clock, you're watching them race up to it. They got a first down, the Saints did, on a play with just a handful of seconds to go. They snapped it with 17 seconds left.

It was fourth and three. They throw the ball to Foster Morrow down to the one yard line. And it seemed for a second that like the clock stopped. And I thought... It did. It absolutely did. Yeah, I thought it was only for a second. After the game, they were asked about it.

They had to have a pool report. Hockey Lee said the covering official mistakenly stopped the clock in that situation the clock should not have been stopped we have Dan Quinn also asked about it after the game Dan did you get an explanation where the clock stopped I don't and I am absolutely taking the high road right now Dave about that I saw a quick video of that

and so I will wait from the response from New York but those three seconds are critical man let's just say that we're on to Philadelphia I mean you can't say I'm going to take the high road and then just kind of go on about it it's fine I don't know if the game would have ended

it was giffy it was close so Patrick Claibon who left the studio did do an unofficial stopwatch of it he believes there probably would have been one second less that that it wouldn't have been the difference So it is one of those ball don't lie situations, perhaps, or at least for us,

I'm just happy that that's not the story of the game because the commanders are in the middle of a playoff race here. And if that had cost them a win, it would have been brutal. Absolutely. I don't know, man. There's something about this commander's team. They don't have many quality wins, really any. No, this one was important because I think they go to Philly next week.

And they need, there's a couple teams snipping at their heels. They absolutely 100% needed to come out with us a win. If that two-point conversion had hit, I think they spiral out. I don't think they make the playoffs at all. That's brutal. They do have the Falcons after the Eagles. So they have two home games, Eagles, then Falcons, then at Cowboys. And yeah, if they can't pull off the upset against the Eagles,

they're officially eliminated, of course, from the division. But then that Falcons game looms really large. And then those NFC West teams can think, maybe we could sneak a second team into the playoffs, but a big win that they got it done, even if there's some concern here with the offensive line and the running game. And even the defense, giving up a drive late to Spencer Rattler,

they come away with it. Let's go to Carolina now, Patra. Cooper Rush. He's part of the new triplets in Dallas. First and 10 at the Carolina 17. Turpin in motion from right to left, snap to rush, looking left, looking, standing.

Now rolling outside the right, scramble drill. throws it in the end zone. The ball is caught by Jalen Brooks for a touchdown. How about that? Break up the Cowboys' offense. Yeah, that's Brad Sham on KRLD. Cowboys get it done as Road Underdogs. 30 to 14.

Rush throws for three touchdowns, 214 yards. Rico Dattle goes for 149. He's at like 380 yards. He's winning fantasy leagues over the last three weeks. And C.D. Lamb goes nine for 116 despite playing with his back of quarterbacks. They cruise. I can't believe the Cowboys. I know they were playing the Panthers, but they went over 400 yards.

Yeah, they did. I thought Rico Dottle, since he's been since Mike McCarthy's just given him the ball and let him be the lead back as opposed to all this messing with Zeke and Cook and all that noise, they've really become an offense that at least they can move the chains. and Rico Dottle. He doesn't have many explosive runs his long was like 12, but he can keep you in good

down in distances and then Cooper Rush. He had a really bad fumble to end the half, and that was like the only half part of the game where you thought that Panthers might have a chance. They bombed an 83-yard touchdown. But after that, the good cobbways just took care of business. It was lamb and doughtle,

lamb and doughtle, lamb and doughtle, basically all down the field. And Cooper Rush didn't throw any picks, and he managed the game like he does. And I thought the defense finally played like their front can play. Parsons and O'Diggyzua dominated. They had six sacks all in the second half, not the two of them, but the Cowboys. I mean, they were going against a not good Carolina offensive line,

but they controlled the ball game up front and they mess with Bryce Young. Yeah, how concerning performance was this for Bryce Young? He lost two fumbles, had two interceptions. and so four turnovers overall. I saw some impressive plays by him, but they've been stacking positive weeks. I think losing by 16 to this Cowboys team is disappointing. And it is a reminder.

The final story of this Bryce Asance will be written after week 18. And so the next three weeks are going to be important for him. You don't want to stack performances like this. Right. Right. I thought in my assessment was it obviously was a downslope, the roller coaster that's been his thing after, you know, three weeks of going up the track.

So I think you kind of expect that. This team is still lacking talent. They still have questions on the O line. They didn't get anything from the running game today, which has been their bread and butter and helped open up the play action passing. And, you know, still they still have some deficits at pass catcher. And Bryce made his first interception, I mean, Greg Olson did a perfect job explaining why he went to the wrong target.

He tried to force it to Thielen. And he had a wide open tight end on the outside. and he should have just hit that slant. But he had some poor decisions that were reminiscent of early season, Bryce, but he splashes, he splashed in some big plays and some key plays that make you think that he can still do it. I don't, I wasn't completely dejected as we thought early in the season like week one and two when he was really bad. It was an up and down game. And I think we should expect those from a second year quarterback with so few starts every once in a while.

Yeah, he hit that 83-yarder to Coker for a touchdown. So good to get the other rookie going there, Jalen Coker. But a disappointing game. It's crazy to me that the Cowboys are 6 and 8. They just don't feel like they have the same record as, let's say, the Bengals or the Dolphins or the Colts. But neither of these teams are eliminated somehow. No teams that played on Sunday were eliminated.

The Panthers are actually still technically alive. I don't know how that works. Yeah. How does that work in the NFC South? Everybody ties and they keep winning somehow. I don't know. Something like that. And the Cowboys are still alive technically for the wild card.

And you mentioned some bad decisions out of Bryce Young. Man, we made some bad decisions on Wednesday. Play the music, Eric. It was quite a run. This podcast, Kevin, was on in terms of our survivor picks. Some controversy early in the season. Once we all joined forces, we had been going for, what, 12 straight weeks here, 13 straight weeks. And we got a little over our skis going Panthers.

We hadn't picked the Panthers to win even a single game between Patrick and I all season. And we picked them to win. So apologies to everyone who was following along, and especially to Steve Weiss, who wasn't there to stop us from doing this. I apologize. for getting on board. Yes, the Cowboys season is still alive. Patra, fun to have you back on the show, the beard, the goatee.

It's looking great, the voice sounding great. Have a great holiday if we don't talk to you before that. Appreciate it. Yep. Have a Merry Christmas to everyone and Happy Hanukkah. Look at that. Kevin Patrick, coming at you. Back on NFL daily. Let's go to Sunday night football. In the shotgun is love. Chris Brooks to his left. Third down and five snap to love has time. Lutz and middle of the end zone for Dobbs diving grab.

Touchdown! Oh, what a play! What a throw, what a catch, Romeo Dobbs! Wayne Larravee on WRNW. Yes, that great grab by Romeo Dobbs. It seems like his only grabs are great. What a pair of hands on that guy. Go 3 for 40, but gets two touchdowns on the game.

30 to 13 the Packers win it really completes a theme of the day Shook a lot of important games a lot of great performances not a lot of close games and a lot of key injuries we will get to Gino Smith

leaving this one and what that's going to mean for the NFC West race but let's give the Packers their flowers their offense came out like gangbusters in the first half and ultimately did enough defense so that they didn't have to sweat it late. Yeah, a couple of long scoring drives.

This is a game that had a lot of, like, pretty long possessions on both sides. Like you look at the first four possessions for the Packers and the first half, they go touchdown, touchdown, field goal, field goal. And every possession was, except for the last one, more than three and a half minutes.

And then the Seahawks were kind of similar too. The only difference was the score. And then, you know, just as things started to get interesting in the second half, that's when Gino exits with what has been reported to be a knee injury. He was questionable to return. You could tell by the images in the sideline that he was not going to come back.

And that kind of sucked the juice out of it for the Seahawks. Like from then on, you can pretty much tell the Packers were the better team tonight, probably the better team overall. And they were going to finish off a victory that they had very much earned while, you know, still tallying, you know, under 400 yards, but a solid offensive night, but buoyed by a strong start and a strong finish. Yeah. Ultimately, I'm not going to ding them too much for playing with their food in the second half,

especially the fourth quarter. They had a little four drive run there in the fourth quarter where it was two, three and outs, a fumble, and then a turnover on downs on a really short drive for the Packers because they started so well. Like they came out with intent. That first drive that was all Josh Jacobs, huge holes. The Seattle run defense had been better in recent weeks.

The Packers, who are known for their offensive line and their running game, their best was better than what had been Seattle's best. over the last few weeks on their defense. And the second drive, you know, that throw that Jordan Love had to Christian Watson down the sidelines was fantastic. They get a couple touchdown drives,

a couple field goal drives. They score on all four first half positions. And I'm thinking, you know, going into halftime, Geno must be playing terribly. And not really. The game was 14 to 3, or 14 to 0, rather.

And they had only run four plays on offense, Seattle. And then he makes a number of nice throws. He's under a lot of quick pressure, and he makes the big mistake of the night after a long drive, that interception where the two routes were too condensed in the red zone. He gets picked off. That's the only third possession that they have, and they end up going to halftime.

It felt like the game was over. Then add injury to insult, he gets hurt on a play where he gets hit low. They don't throw the flag because of a rule that I didn't know that you had to have your feet on the ground for it to count as a penalty. and that injury could end the Seahawks season if Gino can't get back on the field because we saw tonight,

Sam Howell is unplayable. He had 17 dropbacks. They had under one yard per play on those dropbacks. He had 24 yards passing and interception took three sacks and it was just over once he entered the game. With all the extra possessions they got because their defense played better in the second half,

maybe they could have come back in this game if Gino was out there. they were done otherwise, and I don't want to take anything away from the Packers because their defense got after Gino pretty well when he was out there. The quick pressure rate they noted was over 20% when Gino was in the game, which is extremely high for pressure under two and a half seconds. So the Packers with Edger and Cooper with Kenny Clark, like their defense has had better moments lately.

As long as they're not playing the Lions, they look pretty good. Yeah, and first off, Edge Cooper, that was one of my favorite guys at the Combine, made the All Combine team, and I'm glad to see him succeeding in the back half of this season. and he is a stud. He's a missile as a linebacker, and you saw a lot of it tonight, and the ball skills,

you know, picking off Hal in this game to essentially salt it away. But, yeah, as soon as you saw Sam Hal in the field, what you saw was a guy who clearly hadn't played since last season. And the rust was there, the lack of internal clock was there.

Like, he was just slow to decide, hesitant to throw, which is not who he was in Washington. He let it rip plenty when he was in Washington, was afraid to throw essentially back there. And that allowed the Packers' defense to pin their ears back. Kingsley and I got on there. Cooper got in there, like no matter who it was, a number of different guys got after him.

And like I said, it took the life out of the Seahawks. They had no shot coming back because this game was very much, you know, it was for the taking because the Packers offense hit a lull. Like Jacobs gets to halftime, for example. We have that strong first half. He gets to halftime with 14 for 73 and a touchdown. His next 12 carries, he gets 21 yards total. And that's not a knock on him.

It's just kind of the description of the game script and the flow of the game and what happened. And yet the Packers still pull away because they are a team filled with pros coached by a pro who was highlighted in the second half and it's a nice win for them on the road and we'll see where it takes them here whereas Seahawks fan's got to be keeping their fingers crossed because if they get bad news on Gino

this season's going to go up and smoke real quick. Yeah, they are now 8 and 6th. The Rams are in first place in the division although it's tied technically but the Rams have the tiebreaker because they beat Seattle head to head. Those two teams face each other in week 18. Now I've been assuming that game's going to be

for the division title. you lose Gino here you're not that competitive against the Packers if you're a Seahawks fan you have to be worried will they be down two games going into that?

Will they have a chance to compete in the division? You have Minnesota coming in next week and then you're at Chicago on Thursday night football the day after Christmas. I can't believe they're doing

Thursday night football the day after having two Christmas games that sort of I miss that somewhere along the way And so that Bears game might be a must win for Seattle, but worrisome because they also lost their center, Oloa Tami, who had helped out their offensive line. And the offensive line did not play as well today.

Like I said, giving up a lot of quick pressures. But giving a lot of love to your boy Cooper, who their defense is just different when he's out there. He has not been out there for them. He is their best linebacker and he is a rookie. I really have noticed that Kenny Clark has played better lately. Their four-man rush is getting there. And the Packers occupy this really strange space where they're awesome.

They're 10 and 4, right? And they're almost playing for nothing the rest of the way. Like, they can't win their division. I mean, they could, but they're almost certainly not going to down two games. And they're probably just stuck in that six spot. But the NBC Telecast showed a great graphic that their opponent's winning percentage in terms of their losses is the highest in NFL history. because they've only lost the teams that are either 11 and 2 or 12 and 2.

I mean, it's incredible. So they're just kind of gearing up for the playoffs. They know they're almost certainly going to be on the road for three games. And Seattle's loss just opens the door just a little bit. The Cardinals are there at 7 and 7 and think, okay, maybe we do have more of a path. According to Next Gen stats, Cardinals are up to 13% to make the playoffs. The Packers, by the way, if you're curious, are at 99, over 99. but not technically in this game actually clinched the playoffs for the Minnesota Viking.

So that was the only clinching in the NFC today other than the Chicago Bears were officially eliminated. But we're not eliminated, Shook. We've got a long way to go. We got a Monday night doubleheader to talk about tomorrow night. Excited about that? I mean, just when I thought that there were no more of those left in the calendar, here they come. So we're ready for it. Geared up, ready to go. Two games, one night, me and Greg, doing it again. Yeah. And, two teams that are in the playoff race fighting for seeding in terms of the Vikings and fighting just to stay

alive in terms of the falcons. So we will have you covered there on Monday night. Yeah, like I said, weird game. Like, weird day. Important, right? Yeah, weird. Almost no close games. Texans was kind of close. The Washington game was close. Jets. Jets.

And that's it. The rest, like, we're getting separation. Look, when the late season games, when we're running out of them. You know football is back. I didn't have it. Didn't have it. 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

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