NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - NFL Week 12 recap

Episode Date: November 24, 2014

A room with some heroes -- Dan Hanzus, Chris Wesseling and Marc Sessler -- recap every Sunday game on the Week 12 NFL schedule.Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast will give Charlie Whitehurst free guitar lessons. Welcome back to another edition of the Round the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansis and I am joined by a room filled with some heroes, Mark Sessler, and Chris Wessling. What up, boys? Hey, Dan. How are you? I'm good.

I can't say the same thing for Greg Rosenthal. He has a ill child, a vomatorium back at. Rosenthal Manor. He had to head home to tend to that family disaster unit. And Mark is a proud father of two young boys. I'm sure you can relate to the situation happening with Greg right. Yeah, to take care of business. There's a part of me that also thinks this week there was some eruption on Twitter about, you know, old evidence of the goth band that Greg was involved in was found, some photo evidence and beyond. And maybe he, just straight proof. Yeah, did he not want to, as they would say, face the music of that disaster.

His Western Massachusetts 1990s goth band, Delaware, he calls it alternative, not goth. We had a bunch of things surfaced. So he's not getting off hook. If that's what this is about, believe you me, Wednesday show, make sure you tune in to the next round of NFL podcast show because we have some moles in this situation that are really getting a lot of good info to us.

The drummer has surfaced and believes he can find a VHS tape. It's always the drummer. too. Just like it's always the kicker, Peyton Manning calling Van der Jek, the idiot kicker. The drummer is always the guy that ends up causing trouble. That's why people go through them. Just like we go through a lot of producers. The producer also

seems to be a rabble rouser. No, it doesn't, guys. How's it going, by the way? Hey, what's up, TD? As you guys have progressed, as the show has progressed, we have a team now. You know, I have a team of producers. Whether it's myself, or it's Kay Rich back here with me working on some video. That's what we're calling it. Looking beautiful

as always, Kay Rich. A queen. A proud princess. You know, we have gold standard. We have a bunch of guys in the mix. Don't forget Z-Drizzle and social media mic. By the way, you sound a lot like RG3, by the way. You're passing the ball, passing the buck a little bit. This is on you, buddy.

This is on me. Yeah, when the- For creating jobs? Behind the glass. When the team succeeds, it's about the team, but when the team fails, it should be on you. Well, guys. Anyway, you know what? You do a great job, TD.

I want to make that clear, though. All right. We got that going on. We have a Greg situation, but we also have a lot of great week 12 games to get to today. This is our Sunday recap show, and why don't we start with Mark Sessler's favorite team, the Cleveland Browns, who are in a good place right now. Billy Cundiff kicks a 37-yard field goal as time expires, allowing the Browns to escape. The Georgia Dome with a 2624 win over the Falcons.

Cundiv's game winner came minutes after Matt Bryant put Atlanta ahead with a 53-yard boot. Mark, did Brian Hoyer, who threw three interceptions in this game, save his own bacon with that final drive? I think he might have, because had they lost this and fall into six and five, potentially out of the mix in the AFC at that point to some degree. Or at least on the outer reaches. Really on the outer reaches. And coming off, you know, last week was the worst game of his career. He doubled down and produced a true stinker today. I mean, he cost the team points, and he threw more bad passes in this game than I think we've seen in weeks combined.

He's, you know, he's had his good moments. Today was really a big – a lot was going on in this game, and I don't even know how to even start to unpack this, but Josh Gordon came back and sort of effortlessly had 120 yards. It looked very good, looked very fresh, but it was kind of lost in how the chemistry with Hoyer really was off. I mean, he missed Gordon on a string of deep passes. Cleveland has got out of here with a very, very lucky win. And, yeah, I mean, it seems to me watching the game near the end. And, Wes, you can attest, the quiet storm was in full effect, a category five.

I was doing a work. You know, I'm like typing notes. Mark Sessler is Quiet Storm. The Quiet Storm. We need to get some storm effects in the future, TD, behind that open. Noted by TV. All right, let's do it again. You ready?

Mark Sessler is Quiet Storm. But that's not quiet. Yeah, it's a very loud storm. I think that would wake up the entire neighborhood. Don't get caught up in the semantics. But anyway, when Mike Smith calls a time out before that go-ahead field goal by the Falcons, he essentially gif-wraps the Browns, not the win,

because that's not fair to say that, but gif-wraps them the opportunity to go down the field, and Brian Hoyer played very poorly all-game, took advantage of it, and that's where Hoyer saves himself and saves a week of Brian, of Johnny Mansell, talk because he got the job done. And at the end of the day, the Browns are now a seven-win team.

First time, Mark, we were talking about it downstairs. They're not going to lose double-digit games since 2007. Yeah, and for many years before that, too. And they are right in the mix, and they're winning games on the road that they should lose. That's the sign of a team that can make the playoffs. Yeah, I mean, they're interesting on that front. I think Mike Smith may have cost himself a job with the way that he handled the clock today because it's not an isolated incident.

We saw that in London against Detroit. I mean, they're really, you know, this Falcons team has done some weird stuff from a coaching time management angle. It's a third and two scenario from about the 34-yard line when the Falcons are down before Hoyer gets the ball back.

They have a third and two and that's where he calls the time-out. And then he comes out of that time-out and throws a deep ball not to Julio Jones, not to Roddy White, but to Devin Hester, which is incomplete. So the clock stops again, saving the Browns again,

then they bring out and Matt Bryant bails out Mike Smith let's be honest with a long field goal kick with a lot of pressure if that doesn't happen Smith's getting killed from that so you're right and Arthur Blank on the sideline did not look happy I guess we see a lot of unhappy Arthur blank shots right now the last few months but in general you would think that Mike Smith is digging his grave a little deeper after today yeah I think he's probably gone I didn't see the game but that sounds like a pretty bad mess up to have happened it was it was like not professional coaching level decision making. One thing that you've noted in the past was that not to blame Atlanta's season on Matt Ryan.

And he really, he over and over is making plays down the field on a team that tells you we can't run the ball. We're going to try, but it's not going to happen. Cleveland is the worst run defense around. And that part of Atlanta's offense could do nothing to get Atlanta in the game here. Same thing every week. And Isaiah Corwell, your boy, Mark, had a big day, 100 yards and two touchdowns. I think it helped them, you know, wherever the side you fall on with removing Ben Tate from the roster, it has cleared up some of the murkiness to have just two guys versus three.

You saw more of a rhythm from Crewell today. The takeaway I have is that the Browns are now a bold team. They do things like sign Ben Tate and after a half a season find out this guy can't play like the guy that we thought we were signing. So they cut him loose despite the money there. And then you look on the other side, the Falcons are playing Stephen Jackson. and they're deferring to a veteran when Devante Freeman has shown better on film this year. And I think that's, the Browns are maybe a better operation than the Falcons right now. I would agree.

All right, let's move on to two more teams in the playoff mix and the AFC to Denver, where Peyton Manning threw four touchdown passes. Three of them to Demarius Thomas and C.J. Anderson ran for 167 yards on the go-ahead score. And the Broncos come from behind 39-36 win over the Miami. Miami Dolphins at Mile High. This was a game, guys, that Miami had a chance to win it. This was a game where they could have made the big statement. They had a lead in the second half, and they just couldn't close the door.

So you would think the Dolphins still in the playoff mix in the AFC, but if they don't make it this year, this will be one of those games they look back on and they're kicking themselves. Yeah, we've called the Dolphins a top three or four defense in the NFL. They allow 450 yards. they give up 22 points in the second half to the Broncos. And Julius Thomas wasn't even playing. Ronnie Hillman and Monta Ball were out.

So this is kind of a short-handed Broncos team. I look at the good teams at this point in the season are the ones who overcome whatever it is that hits them from an injury perspective. You look at Denver, I thought the offense last week in the past couple weeks was more one-dimensional a because of injuries, but you didn't have the running game with Hillman. C.J. Anderson, I'm sorry, blew up today. A lot of yardage.

That's the season high. Yards on 31 total touches. More than any Broncos back has had this year. Kind of reminds me the old Mike Shanahan days where whoever you plug in on that offense ends up going off for big yardage. And one thing to take away also, if you're looking for positives as a Dolphins fan, Ryan Tannihill matched Peyton Manning today. He played very well.

You know, he continues to do well. I think he's really made a leap this year as a quarterback. Absolutely. Over the past, well, ever since Joe Philbin kind of hung up. him out to dry publicly, Tan Hill's been playing... Joe Philman Master Motivator. Is that what you're saying?

Psychological Wizard of sorts. I don't know if I'd connect those two things, but ever since then, Tanna Hill has played the best ball of his career. What do we think about the Dolphins? Greg wrote in his piece, they're six and five. He thinks they absolutely can win 10 games.

Now, I'm not a math whiz. I once got a 40 on a state-mandated math test when I was a teenager. Out of what? 100, sir. But I can tell you they need to go four and one to get to that. Do you think this Dolphins team has the guts, especially in December, where it's not always been kind to the Miami franchise to go on a run like that?

Do they have enough talent to go on that type of run? I don't believe they'll go four and one. Can we pull up the schedule? I will do it right now. Here we go. Their defense at least would suggest that what I like about Miami as much as anything that's happening in offense is their defense. That didn't happen today, though.

And it's Denver that rips off like they do 21. points out of nowhere, and suddenly the game is completely out of hand for Miami. Mark, perfect filibuster there, because I was having some... I knew you needed a Mr. Smith goes to Washington-level filibuster, and I just wanted to deliver for you. Here we go. They start December. They have five games in December.

They start with at Jets. Let's play the game, Wes. At Jets. I'll give them a win. Home to Ravens. Loss. All right. There's seven and six.

At Patriots. Definite loss. Seven and seven, Vikings, home. They win. Eight and seven, home to Jets. I'll give him another win to the... That feels right to me. It feels like a nine-win team,

and if they could have taken care of business, in Denver, there's that elusive tenth win that you've got to steal somewhere along the line. Now, maybe they do in these five games, but I agree. I think winning four out of five is a tall task. Moving on. elsewhere in the

AFC East, the New England Patriots continue to look like the AFC's best team cruising to a 34-9 win over the Detroit Lions in Foxborough. Chris Wessling, another Sunday, another new collection of standouts for Bill Belichick's humming machine. We've given the Coach of the Year award

to Bruce Ariens, and I'm not so sure we should have. Belichick, the last two weeks he's put on a clinic. He goes in, and more than any team in history uses six offensive linemen to just truck the Colts. Today he comes and does totally opposite. Jonas Gray doesn't play a single snap, probably related to missing the team meeting on Friday or practice on Friday, but also because the matchup wasn't right for it.

He used two tight-end sets today. Tim Wright played more stabs, probably double the snaps he has all year, and the Patriots just throw the ball around the yard on the Lions, who had the number one ranked run defense, and it was never a game. this was a blowout. Tom Brady looked fantastic. Doesn't it feel like Belichick, and you can't take it away from because everything worked and Blunt ran

for two touchdowns. And by the way, it really goes to show some guys really learned their lesson. A guy Blunt acts like a malcontent on Monday night and is starring for the best team in the F.C. on Sunday afternoon. But a little bit of a showy move by Belichick, he's like, he knew that Jonas Gray

probably wasn't in a great matchup, but he's like, let me just bench him. Even though I didn't bench Rivas when he slept through a practice. And then I'll plug in these other guys and it will make me look like a tough guy and even more of a genius. It makes him look like what he is, which was noted in his post. Well, no, but a guy that, oh, this player's not working out for you. Five days later, I'm going to plug him into my system. He's going to be the central part of our offense and a huge win. And it's kind of a note to every other coach past and present. You aren't who I am. Yes, you know what? The coach of the year,

every year is about narrative. And everyone wants to talk about Bruce Ariens. And that's right. agree with Wes because Belichick essentially is never in that race, even though that team every year is like the first or second best team in the league. Can I just say this though, Wes? And you are, you were saying, you were banging the drum since August. Anybody that thinks Tom Brady is somebody that you could expect to fall off is nuts. And Brady, true to Wes's prediction, has still been Tom Brady, an MVP favorite. I mean, are we going to give Bill Belichick the best coach of the year award when he has one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game playing at elite level? Come on.

Look at what Ariens is doing with Drew Stanton for half the season. Well, Bill Belichick has helped Tom Brady do that. Look at the guys they've picked up off the waiver wire. There's a famous bum Phillips quote about Don Schull. He can take his in and beat Yearn. He can take Yerne and beat his in. That's what Belichick's done this year. He made the trade for Tim Wright, gave up Logan Mankins.

People called him crazy. He got Brandon LaFelle, who all of a sudden is playing like a Pro Bowl receiver, made two diving catches today. Jonathan Casillas, he picks up for a song at the trade deadline. Akeem Ayers, the Titans couldn't find a rule for him. He has three sacks in the last four games. Patrick Chung was a free agent bust in Philadelphia. He's playing at a very high level this year.

All these guys who are discarded, Belichick is picking up and they're playing major, major rules this year. And also the one year that he didn't have Brady, they went 11 and 5 with Matt Castle, who's never duplicated the kind of season he had in New England that year, really again outside of one fluke year with the Chiefs. I mean, it is, it isn't just, you can't just say because he has a quarterback, it doesn't end there. And I know you're not.

I know you're not. And Belichick's the best. He's in the best of the business. He is. He just flat out is. I was just saying that it's such an advantage for any coach to have someone as special as Brady is. So fair, unfair, it's, you know, giving him awards is tough. I wouldn't argue, if anyone said Arians, that's fine.

And I think he's turned that unit into a team. They survived a lot of injuries. But if you're looking for tangible, what Bill, Bill, check is scheming on a weekly basis. It's hard to argue against him, too. Yeah, that's fair. And the Patriots, let's talk a little bit about their dominance here. 32 and 3 over the last five years in the second half of the season.

That's what they do. They use the first month of the season to figure out who they are. They kind of get going, pick up steam, and then dominate down the stretch. Six games this year against teams that were tied or in first place, and they've gone 6-0 with an average margin victory of 22 points. Maybe we now know where Greg is. Is he at some local dive bar, you know, just having a night of it because his team is going to roar right to the Super Bowl?

High price champagne. One more note. I saw this on Twitter. I don't know who I took it from. I apologize, whoever it is. Get over it, though. The Patriots have outscored their opponents 277 to 137 during their seven-game winning streak. That's an average score of math.

I have no idea. I have no idea. Close. 40 to 20. Seven games. It's crazy. It's insane. All right, moving on, we go from one Super Bowl favorite to the defending Super Bowl champion,

the Seattle Seahawks, who delivered a loud message to the NFC West leaders on Sunday, shutting down the Arizona Cardinals and a 193 win at the clink. Mark Sessler, the Sizzler. This is the type of defensive performance we expected a lot of the season from the Seahawks, wasn't it? Well, really, from both teams. I mean, through three quarters, this was the best defensive game that I've watched all season. You know, and you want to talk about Ariens as coach of the year, that defense, with all the injuries they've had, did an excellent job.

They sacked Russell Wilson seven times. That's the career high, tied to career high for sacks. You know, LaRams did that to them last year. But Seattle, they really essentially, they benefited from a Cardinals offense that, for me, prevents me from looking at Arizona as a team that can get beyond maybe a playoff game or two with true standing a quarterback. It's not a total disaster, but the accuracy.

issues were a big problem. I think they got into Seattle territory, maybe three or four times all day long, and they cannot run the ball. And this is the time of year. I understand you play in warm, desert weather, but you're going to have to go on the road and sustain drives with the ground game. They cannot do it. Andre Ellington, who's a guy that we all believe in,

he's had some nice moments this year, but he has not been able to move the ball as well as he has at the start of the season. No, he's got – he's 1.9 yards per carryover's last three starts. Well, he's not a guy who can run between the. to tackles consistently, and to his credit, it's been playing through an injury all year, so he's not quite as explosive as he was last year. I think when we look at this Cardinals team, the things that are coming back to haunt them are things that we said would come back to haunt them, the running game, and Drew Stanton

can't move the change because he's not accurate enough. So to me, it's hard to criticize them when they're 9-1, and there is some smoking mirrors going on, but they're playing great as a team. now they lose a game and you kind of, I think you have to say they're not the dominant team in the NFC. Yeah, it's not really a critique of, you know, the way that what they've done this season up to now. It's just that any team that loses its starter at quarterback is not going to be the same. And Stanton is the backup for a very clear reason after we've seen as many games from them at this point as we have. They miss Larry Fitzgerald today.

But really, Seattle's defense, which is they lost Brandon eBay, but they are healthier in other areas. The secondary was outstanding. You know, Arizona's flame teams through the air with the past, and they just were not able to do that at all today. Mark, in your write-up in this game, you called Callias Campbell a sneaky MVP candidate, three sacks and three-quarterbackers. Well, it was a nod back to the honorable mention that he got in Wes's top-10 MVP article

because he is. He absolutely, he's huge. I don't see you hyperlinking out to Wes's post in your post, though, just pointing it out. You know why? Because he was swatted down by someone in the newsroom today about going back in the past And throwing in link. Yeah, I tried to actually link out to a game story that West wrote from a year ago and was told by none other than the boss that readers don't care about that.

The boss mysteriously no longer is part of the podcast, at least today. Yeah, maybe he had his review with me. Whoa. Maybe it was a little comeuppance. Or maybe he is practicing with Delaware, a little rehearsal time. You know, they all have jobs, nine to five, they got kids. Weekends, best time to do it. Weekend Warriors.

They're in a garage somewhere in Venice. and they're just pounding out fury. I like that. Anyway, moving on. So the Seahawks win. Let's check in on the Niners. They're a big NFC West. You know, what's the word I'm looking for?

The rival. Easy word. Yeah, the rival. The San Francisco 49ers, what's a stupid person I am. The Niners, they won't get a ribbon for style points on Sunday, but they took care of business and a 1914 win over the Washington Redskins West. we learned before the game

that RG3 could be on a short leash could Colt McCoy be this team's starter after yet another dismal Griffin showing I thought we were heading that way for the second half but I think Griffin saved himself he had one touchdown drive in the game and it happened in the second quarter for the first time maybe all year

he looked decisive and he made a few throws and I think that saved him he had gone I think five possessions in a row with five punts and then even after a touchdown drive didn't do anything else the rest of the game really it was the same story as last week and i i think the biggest problem is jruden is hamstrung his play calling and his scheming is hamstrung by a quarterback who can do nothing but dump off and throw crossing routes and really his pocket presence is a mess he never senses when defenders are about to hit him and he's not reading defenses so he holds the ball forever

You know, I'm not going to go crazy and get on the Niners too much. But this is a game I penciled in in my brain to, you know, 35 to 10 type win where they just roll through a bad Redskins team going through some adversity. But they struggled here. What's up with that? It's even worse when you look at the Redskins defense and the injuries. Amerson, their best cornerback, didn't even play. He was inactive.

Terry Porter got hurt during the game. Tracy Porter, I think. That's his name, right? Terry Porter's the old Trailblazers point guard. He was not at the game The Trailblaz The Melman of so many volumes Of sports knowledge

And that Nagin of his Sometimes things get crossed Wires get crossed Terry Porter from Wisconsin-Stevens Point All right now you're being a little showy Now you're being a little Belichickie showy Oh sorry So they had three or four

It got to the point where they have one healthy Cornerback in the game And the 49ers weren't doing much The 49ers offense Doesn't have much more rhythm Than the Redskins offense And that's been the case all year It's just Anquan Bolden is the only reliable guy

I look at the, why are they this year maybe not as exciting and powerful the way they kind of went down the stretch run last year and just rolled over some teams? They're running for 2.3 yards per carry. Yeah, I think part of it's the offensive line. And part of it, I always thought that Crabtree and Vernon Davis were injured for most of this season. Crabtree looks a little better. Davis dropped the ball today, a bit really bad dropped, ran two routes short of the sticks on third down. Both of them would have been huge first downs if he picked him up and he didn't do it.

So Seattle and San Francisco, both seven and four now, two games behind the Cardinals. Do we think one of those teams is going to catch the Cardinals, or is two games too much to overcome at this point? I think the Seahawks can. I mean, we talked about the way Drew Stanton looked today, and the way the Seahawks defense looks like they're back to Legion of Boom. Now they get Bobby Wagner back, Byron Maxwell, Cam Chancellor. These are three very important players.

Well, in Seattle and San Francisco play Thanksgiving, and then they play two weeks later. so we'll find out real fast who's for real. All right, from the NFC West to the AFC West, Marcus Gilchrist's goal line interception of a Sean Hill Pass saved the day and possibly the season for the San Diego Chargers who escaped with a 27-24 win over the ever-feisty St. Louis Rams. This was a game, guys, where Hill, they have the ball

deep, deep, deep in Chargers territory with about a minute to play. They had the field goal that would have tied the game there, for the taking, and yet Brian Schottenheimer, the Rams offense coordinator, let Sean Hill throw the ball, he puts some faith in Hill, and Gilchrist makes him pay for it. Greg was very upset downstairs that people on Twitter were going at Brian Schottenheimer for calling a pass in that situation. I think he was actually upset. He was working on rhymes.

He was scribbling him on his desk and he kept on distracting. He's so enigmatic because I took it to be an actual agitation over the sport that we cover and it was something totally else but in all seriousness i think you're i think i agree with gregg i was totally on gregs i think you know hill had played pretty well to that point and it wasn't like it was a wild play call you know it's like i guess sean hill has to be smart enough to know uh you can't make a mistake that costs you the game because the bit you already had the tie there uh it just didn't work out i guess this is the pitfalls that come with having to play without your starting quarterback and the rams are dealing with this and it's the it's

sub-part quarterback play, and I like Jeff Fisher a lot as a coach. I think we all agree the Rams have a lot of nice pieces on that team, but they're going to continually be hamstrung by middling talent at quarterback. They're going to go seven and nine like they do every year. But it's weird because we would say, oh, well, how can you expect them to do anything other than go seven and nine in that crazy division, except they keep beating the teams in their own division, and then they go out and drop one against a really up-and-down Chargers team. And by the way, the San Diego Chargers, the team of a team of a team of

ATL. Oh, and rightly so. Whether Wes, you want them to be or not, they were handed the scepter, and they hoisted in the air proudly. And that's a nice win, big win. It's a good win. I'm telling you, the Rams might be 4 and 7,

but this is a good Rams team. And they made the big play in a big spot where they could have laid down like dogs. San Diego Supercharges. San Diego Supercharges. Well, they are right now outside of the six teams. that would make the playoffs today, they are that's 17 in the A-C.

React to my upset. You're right. I don't even know what to make. I dumped them a month ago. I told you that. Good job trying to sell the four-and-seven Rams as a good team. They are good. They're not great.

Four and seven, I think you answered your own question there. Come on, they're not bad. But, I mean, this is a game. If the Chargers didn't win this game, they got a killer schedule, you could almost, it would be painful because I'm not going to be naive to the fact that if they would have blown this game,

We've got to start talking about them for the fork committee, possibly sticking a fork in their chances for the playoffs. So this was a win they need because down the stretch, it's not going to get any easier. Want to take a quick look at the Chargers schedule? Sure. We need to. And, Wes, I no longer think you're partial on this or impartial on this,

so I'm going to have to swing it over to Mark to play the game. That's fair because I am not impartial. Mark, give me some filibustering. You know, the Chargers is a team that when we picked them, I think that they were never able to really, When it came into Team Walls into the building that we had picked them as team of ATL, that they had a tough time. All right, here we go.

Going from there. They are, what's their record now? They are seven and four. Seven and four. Here we go. Here we go. Let's get to 10. At Ravens.

Loss. Seven and five. Home to Patriots. Loss. Seven and six. Home to Broncos. Loss. Seven and seven at Niners.

Loss. Seven and eight. At Chiefs. Loss. They won't win another game. And I thought, Les was the impartial one. Is that even crazy? They're going to lose out.

We wrote about this in the off season. What game are they going to win? I'll tell you what they're going to win. They're going to win one of those, the Patriots Broncos. They're going to win one of those games at home, and they're going to beat the Chiefs in a big spot. And steal one from the Ravens, 10 to 6. No way.

We wrote about this, you know, in the off season, our favorite assignment of the year, when the schedule comes out, we have to write about it. We don't know anything about these teams, really, but we still have to write about it. And it was easy to see the Chargers had the worst schedule down the stretch, the toughest schedule. That is brutal. That's brutal.

0-15 is actually not a crazy prediction. I feel like if you could have said something worse, you would have there. You could have come up with something different. Well, I honestly, I used my deepest abilities of analysis, and they are going to be 7 and 9 at the end of this season. All right, gentlemen, let's move on now to the NFC North and the leaders of the NFC North. The Packers, Eddie Lacey rushed for 125 yards and 25 carries. those are season highs in both categories, added a receiving touchdown

leading the Green Bay Packers to a 24-21 win over the Vikings on Sunday. Not to talk about this game. We're going to dial up our friend over in New Jersey. That's my Springsteen. Whoa, he lives in a haunted house, which, you know, you would think would be scary, but he's a tough guy.

He is the great Connor Orr, how you doing, buddy? Good. Your opinions of my home keep getting better. Your descriptions of my home keep getting better and better. It must be huge. You hear that wind tunnel in the foyer, the master foyer? There was like an eerie ghoul spinning through your house. Are you in your library? Yeah, yeah.

It's great. It's a great place to relax up near the all my old books. While you smoke your pipe in your velvet robe and your slippers. All right, Connor. So the Packers have won seven of eight games. But this one was a bigger challenge

than we expected, wasn't it? Yeah, I mean, Mike Zimmer did a lot of really interesting things defensively. I mean, that front's obviously going to be really strong. But, you know, he sometimes ran with kind of that single high safety and still found ways to bother Aaron Rogers. So I thought he came in with a great game plan. It was just, you know, I mean, Aaron Rogers is still Aaron Rogers, and he's just going to beat you on crazy passes.

And that's what he's been doing all year, and that's what he'll continue to do. And that's kind of what edged the game on top of the fact that Eddie Lacey He's just a monster. The pass that Aaron Rogers made where he was going in the opposite direction on the field, falling away, and then flicked it almost like a Hail Mary, but it wasn't a Hail Mary at all because he knew exactly what he was doing right into the corner of the end zone for a touch on the opposite corner. It was a play that you'll only see in NFL Blitz on your old, you know, Super Nintendo or whatever.

It was like one of those crazy plays. I mean, what was your thoughts about? Were your takeaways from that play, Connor? I mean, he's got to be the only quarterback that. that's able to make. He was past the opposite hash. He had sold the play fake beautifully, and it was almost like he didn't even look into the corner of the end

where he was throwing the ball, but how dangerous is that for a quarterback against an NFL caliber defense to put that much air under a ball? And he didn't hesitate at all, and it was first and goal, you know? Wow. And the craziest part is that wasn't even the best throw he had all day. He hit Randall Cobb on this slant where, you know,

Harrison Smith had him covered so well. He was underneath that he was ready to make the case. catching. Nobody, not even the broadcasters knew how Tom came down with the ball. It was ridiculous. I saw a vine of that throw. It was a dart, a missile to a guy that was covered like a blanket. Let's just say it. He's not human. He's a cyborg of some nature. We know this. Hey, Connor, we've been worried kind of that the, as explosive as a Packers offense is, Eddie Lazy hadn't been consistent from week to week. I believe he's now averaging over five yards per carry since the season opener.

How did he look today? Well, it's the Vikings. So I think he's got half of his touchdown against the Vikings, and he's got, I think, two of his three or two of his 200-yard games against the Vikings. So there's something he loves about playing that team, but I mean, he reminds me of a Marshawn

Lynch. I think that's a fair comparison. He's just so hard to bring down. And I really like what he's been adding in the passing game recently. I mean, some of those screenplays that they've dialed up for him, especially when Zimmer was Blitz and a lot. I've been impressed with the way he's handled it. And, I mean, you talk about consistency. You know, these last few weeks have been strong for him, and I think he's going

to be the guy that's going to drive this shit down the road because, you know, November, December, you get a guy like him moving. I don't think there's too many people that want to get in his way. It seems like the Vikings have definitely found, after a number of failed coaches, a great one in Mike Zimmer, someone to stick around with. What about a quarterback? Do you feel like Teddy Bridgewater, is that guy, or is this still a question mark? you know, I got killed for saying this on Twitter, but I thought that I was almost impressed that he had a career high in rushing yards because that was that Green Bay was daring him to run.

And he made some moves in the pocket, which is something, you know, he wants to establish himself as a pocket passer, but he made some moves after he broke the pocket. And I think he ended up with like 35 rushing yards, but it was something that helped them move the ball. And, you know, in the first half, he was awful, his accuracy was bad, but when it mattered the most, you know, he came down and he completed a lot, long touchdown drive that put them within three points to, you know, to come back and tie the

game. So I think he's growing. And at this point, he just needs an offensive line and someone that can run the ball. And I think that he'll be just fine. Connor, in your palatial mansion in central New Jersey, are the ghosts, are they friendly or demonic in nature? You know, it depends on the season and how we, you know, how much heat we end up turning on. So right now we're low heat, cold weather. So, demonic. It's tough, you know. All right, be careful. Stay safe.

Connor Orr. We move on more NFC North goodness. The Bears are finally in the win column at Soldier Field after a 21-13 conquest over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former Bears coach Levy Smith.

This is a win that can rightfully be claimed by the Chicago defense, which really gave Josh McCown a lot of trouble in this game. McCown, who had been playing better, especially last week he played very well came back down to Earth here this was also a game where Tampa jumped out to I believe

a 10-0-0 lead before Chicago woke up and made some plays after doing nothing in the first half yeah those turnovers were huge from Josh McCown and in his defense they have no running game and the offensive line is a mess so he has to keep throwing but yeah I think

I don't know that's you put so much responsibility on Josh McCown and he's not he's not talented enough to just carry you against them. I think we forget with this offense that you lost your coordinator who had a top secret, you know, attack planned all offseason. We never got to see that. I'm sure it would have been amazing Super Bowl winning. No, I'm not making excuses for the bucks at all, but it just doesn't feel like a very well-coached team with much identity. Because there is talent, especially at the receiver position, and it doesn't translate to much from week

to week. We've seen some big games from Mike Evans. That's promising. But the Bucks, to me, it's one of the teams that if the season could kind of just end for a couple of these squads, they would be one I'd pick. I don't need to see a whole lot more from Tampa the season. Yeah, I think Mike Evans might be the only guy that you tune in to watch to see what he does on a weekly basis. I mean, he had a touchdown in his fourth straight game. But he was even quiet today. He was targeted 11 times, but just had two receptions or three receptions, excuse me. So there is really a lot to get excited about.

And I think to your point, Mark, that Tedford, once he disappears, he gets sick. So he's gone for the season. You know, you have somebody filling in, but then it's a Levy Smith team. So it's almost like you almost know the offenses in bad shape at that point. And on the other side, you can't credit really Jay Cutler for this win. I think he had two more turnovers a day. Now leads the NFL with 18. Yep.

They didn't move the ball for most of the game. Matt Forte is the best offensive player once again, has been the case for a while. I think Forte joined Leightani and Tomlinson is the only running backs in history with at least 800 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards at each of their first seven seasons.

Underappreciated career from that Forte. And by the way, Jay Cutler, I know he's everybody's favorite punching bag, but this is a game where he actually did play poorly. Sometimes when they lose, he actually doesn't even play that bad, but the team stinks, so they lose. This time they win, and he was in the Gabbard zone,

less than five yards in attempt. So the bears prove they can win without their offense doing much, but it's a little too little too late for this team. Let's just move on. Let's move on to the Cincinnati Bengals, who, you know, they had that terrible game against the Browns, and it seemed like it was all over. But now they're back in a good spot now in the AFC North. A.J. Green set a career high with 12 catches.

Andy Dalton played well for the second consecutive week. The Bengals scored a 2213 road win over the Houston Texans. They've recovered nicely now with back-to-back road. wins. They are 7-3-1. They have a favorable schedule, at least coming up in the next week. This is a team that seems to hit rock bottom and bounce back quickly, and now we're in position to win this division. I always thought since Andy Dalton and A.J. Green came into the lead together. This is the rare playoff team that revolves around its best wide receiver, not its quarterback. And I think we saw that today. Greg had this game and said

AJ Green seemed like every third down just made a great catch in traffic. One-on-one, a contested catch, and AJ Green would come down with it. Well, and Ryan Mallet crash-landed to Earth. He looked very promising on some of his throws against Cleveland and took advantage of maybe a team with no game tape on him, wildly inaccurate today. But then we did find out after the game that, according to NFL media, insider Ian Rappaport, that he may have suffered a torn right pectoral muscle,

has an MRI schedule, and he could be out for the year, which is bad for Houston, because this was meant to be, do we want to keep this guy? Is this a guy that we believe in as a future starter? I would think that having a throwing arm pectoral muscle might make you wildly inaccurate. Well, that would explain it, exactly. I don't root for injuries or anybody with Ryan Mald getting hurt

helps the Texans on some level. They need to target a quarterback at the top of the next draft. Do not get suck it in by Ryan Malt playing a few decent games. Just go after that quarterback, lose every game you can. put yourself in a great position. Suck for Duck! I'm not sure that's how the coaching staff sees the journey of the NFL season, Dan. But that's how I say it, Mark!

Interesting. I like it. I think they already have too many wins to be in the Suck for Duck race. Oh, that's right. What are they? They had five wins, right? Yeah, I mean, that's the thing. This actually, this game didn't even really cancel their playoff hopes

if they were to really surge. But you got Ryan Fitzpatrick back at a quarterback. That's not happening. All right. Anything else you want? Any other takeaways from this game? Anything jump out of you, John? Well, I think.

we should give the Bengals some credit. Jeremy Hill and Gio Bernard are healthy. You know, Jeremy Hill's established now. Geo Bernard's healthy. They've got a much better offense than they did two weeks ago or three weeks ago when they lost to the Browns. This looks like a team that could take the AFC North again. They are a nice one-two punch with Bernard healthy.

Hill is really, I think he's showing all of us something in the last few weeks. He's a guy that can make plays. So you put those two guys together. You have one of the best wide receivers in football. As long as Dalton doesn't go on the 10. Hank, this is a team that's going to score some points. The only thing that you have to be concerned about, and I think they win this division. I think 10, 5, and 1 sounds about right.

But January, everything's lurking in January with the Bengals. Do you see anything West to think that maybe this team could put it together and win a couple games in January? No, and I'm not sure that I would put them in the playoffs right now. I don't know if the Bengals are better than the Ravens, Steelers, or Browns. I still think the Ravens are the most complete team in the playoffs. division. All right, so let's move on now to the AFC South, where the Indianapolis cults overcame a sloppy start before taking control and a 23-3 win.

Ooh, this is jaunty. I like this kind of party! All right. Wait, just let the music go for a couple seconds. I like this kind of party! All right. 23-3 win over the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. Who stink.

T.Y. Hilton had a 73-yard touchdown on the day his daughter was born. That's pretty cool. And he went over the 1,000 yard mark for the second consecutive year. This is not a win that's going to get anyone excited guys, but the Colts have successfully moved on from that embarrassment at home against the Patriots in prime time. How bad was Blake Bortles? I didn't see the game, but to me, it's getting to be a little depressing that what we saw in preseason and his first starter two really has just gone downhill.

Here's the scary thing. He did not play well. He did not move the team at all. In fact, I think he was below 100 yards passing until late in this game. And his yards per attempt average was sub five. We call that the Gabbard zone around here. And no Jaguars fan wants Blaine Gabbard associated with Blake Bortles on any level. And I'm not saying that it's time to start thinking about Blake Bortles as the next big Jaguars bust.

But I think there's no way to sugarcoat the fact that he has not done what a lot of people expected. to be because there were glowing reviews of this guy. He really did perform well, and now he just doesn't seem comfortable at all behind center. And this is not a great team anywhere on that roster. He doesn't have a lot around him, but he is not playing well, and it's holding them back. I mean, they got to him today, four sacks. He got hit seven times. I mean, that's maybe with some of these young rookies, if you aren't put into an opportunity where there's a lot of around you and you can, you don't have to shoulder the load, which he's had to in Jacksonville, this is around the time of the year where you hit a wall and some of the some of these performances start to,

you know, the floor falls out to some degree for Bortals. I wonder though, because I thought all along, you know, if they did anything this season, that coach would be around next season, Gus Bradley, I just have to wonder, what is it he can walk into, you know, the ownership and say, here's what I've done this season, here's what I can hang my hat on. Just the team seems to be in free fall. I would think Shod Khan would be thinking to himself right now. We have Bortals, committed to him, do we want to risk going in to this another year with a guy that maybe we're not in on? And then if that doesn't work out, all of a sudden, we're two years in on Blake Bortles.

And then it starts feeling a bit of Gabbardy again also, where it's like, or do we want to cut ties of this, try something new while Bordels is still fresh, and try to move on? Well, I think Gus Bradley is the general manager's pick. So that helps him a lot. Caldwell picked him, and they knew that this was a total excavation. that Gene Smith, the former GM, left them with a bare cupboard. So they knew this was more than a two-year program. But I think on the other side of the ball, boom Heron started over Trent Richardson, right?

I'm guessing he outplayed him too. That tells you a lot. Well, he is a corporeal entity. He definitely, they split time, essentially. Heron got the start. I think Heron had one less carry than Trent Richardson in the game. But Richardson does what you expect him to do, which is average about three and a half yards of carry.

He did find the end zone. And Heron did lose a fumble, too, a big fumble loss. So on balance, I think it was a push in this game. But I think Heron clearly he averaged – he had 65 yards and just 12 carries. He ran the ball better. And I think as the season progresses, you're going to see boom get more work than bust. Heron also caught five passes for 30 yards in Richardson, where I thought some of his better work has come as a pass catcher out of the backfield, caught none.

I just – I don't know. The Trenton- Richardson thing, you talk about teams being bold and making it – decision that something's not working. That may be an off-season decision for them that, let's stop this experiment. How about this? How about we line up behind Andrew Luck, a little Adrian Peterson, and then we're off and flying. You get him on a little bit of a discount, at least for a one-year deal as he comes off to some grimness in Minnesota, and all of a sudden you've got a Super Bowl contender.

How you like me now? I like that. All right. Moving on. Speaking of Super Bowl contenders, the genius. Let's talk about his team. The Eagles confirmed what we all suspected on Sunday. The Titans can't keep pace with a Chip Kelly offense. Mark Sanchez threw for 300 yards, and LaShawn McCoy went over the century mark

in a 43-24 win over Tennessee. This is the second time in three weeks that the Eagles have thrown up a 40-burger and a very interesting stat I saw on Twitter. Mark Sanchez and 300-yard games, it can be deceiving, obviously, but Sanchez never had back-to-back 300-yard performances in all his years with New York. in his first three starts of the Eagles, three, 300-yard games. So he's throwing the ball around with this team.

He didn't have a great game today. So this is actually two straight games where Sanchez hasn't been very good. He threw two bad turnovers, two bad interceptions, I should say, that did remind me of the Sanchez that flamed out in New York. But he also made some nice plays, had a touchdown. It continues to look comfortable in this offense and showing good arm strength and mobility. I think he's doing okay so far. I'd give him a B.

And Lashon McCoy had one of his best games of the year, right? Yeah, this is the performance frustrated Lashon McCoy fantasy owners were waiting for, went well over 100 yards, had a touchdown, wasn't really involved with the passing game, but this is the guy that the shady that we know that makes defenses miss and then gets into the second level. And, you know, it just goes to show this team has had no problem scoring points this year, and they've done it with McCoy having a subparse.

season by his high standards, if he's doing that, if he's loosening defenses up like that and going over 100 yards and just being a menace, this team, they're going to be very hard to stop on a weekly basis. Do you trust them as a team that can get to the NFC title game? I'm not sold. I, you know, I still, I can't get behind Sanchez. I haven't seen enough from him yet with the Eagles to say that I trust him. He had a really nice game against Carolina that first game. The last two weeks, there have been some red flags, so I'm not sure I can say that yet. Real quick on the other team, how did Zach Mettenberger look? He looked okay. He made some throws. I think that Metenberger is definitely doing enough to justify the decision to give him this

look. He's not, he trusts his arm, he makes big throws. He holds the ball too long. He, you know, he makes some mistakes. But I think, I think Mettenberger is a guy that you can get behind for the rest of the season. And, you know, but there's just no way this offense with this lack, this, that they have such a lack of playmakers is going to keep up with Philly's offense. Which takes us to Sunday night. Tony Romo led a seven-play 80-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, leading the Dallas Cowboys to a 31-28 win over the New York Giants at the Meadowlands in one of the best

most entertaining games of the year, certainly in prime time and for Sunday Night Football, which has really had a lot of stinkers. Guys, by guys, again, Chris Wessling and Mark Sessler, with Greg out of the mix. I want to ask you your thoughts on this game. Tony Romo steps up in a big spot again. Is he going to start getting credit for it? He should. Last four games, three of them have been pass a rating over 135.

He's been pretty good in the fourth. quarter and late in games this year, he should start getting credit. I thought he also tonight, when we saw him come back from the back injury initially, like in that Jacksonville Jaguars game, did not look healthy on any level. A couple of plays tonight where he was in the pocket.

New York was bringing pressure from all over the place, and he was dancing around more nimbly than I've seen him in weeks. And he's getting protected well finally. And speaking of dancing around, a lot of credit due to the best offensive line in football, the game-winning pass

to Desbrine late in the fourth quarter, the amount of time that Romo had. And, you know, I even saw some people on Twitter say, well, you know, anybody could have done what Romo did given that amount of time. But no, that's not true. Romo waited until he had the opportunity and then made the throw on target. But the line, another 100-yard game from DeMargo-Murie, great protection of a quarterback that has a back injury. That has been the secret weapon of this team.

Not so secret, actually. A lot of people are talking about it, but again, it was on display. If you could give a whole unit an MVP vote, maybe the Cowboys line would be better candidates than DeMarco Murray and Tony Roma and Des Bryant. Yeah, because it's like this talent's been on Dallas's roster for a while. They finally went out and got the resources to build up what is, I think, the best line in the conference. And I really, I think Dallas, that by-week came in a perfect time for them, and here they go down the stretch front. I mean, I look at them as the best team in that division. And Wes, you wrote in the wrap-up of the game, the takeaways.

You actually led, your first bullet was about O'Dell Beckham. I mean, he was, the Giants lost the game, but O'Dell Beckham had another amazing game. Now, the best game of his young career, including one of the best catches any of us has ever seen. It will be the catch that's replayed for years and years when NFL's running stock footage of great catches. Wes, what did you see from O'Do Beckham? How good is this guy? Well, I think I led with it because anybody who watched this guy, game, that was the biggest takeaway that

O'Dell Beckham is the most fun player in the NFL to watch. Wow. We said this last week. Every time he steps on the field, the best athlete on the field, he showed that again tonight. In the first few minutes of the game, Collinsworth is saying he's basically uncoverable

because he's never seen a receiver get in and out of his breaks that quickly. And then just a few minutes after that, he comes down with the catch of the year, possibly the best catch we've ever seen. I just, I think the sky's the limit for this guy. I just hope he stays healthy. Well, the limit may be, weirdly enough, Eli Manning,

because he would have had another 87-yard score, had Eli not completely blanked on the fact that he was 15 yards beyond the cover man open. Well, he was under some pressure, too. I think that's why he missed. He was, but it's just that, I know that some people are higher than Eli Manning than others. It's just that O'Dell Beckham, at some point, not going to have Eli Manning around his whole career. averaging eight catches in 125 yards per game since they put them in the starting lineup.

That's Josh Gordon 2013 numbers. Let's look at the NFC playoff picture because Eagles and Cowboys. You know, a lot of people thought the Cowboys were going to choke at the end of the season. And maybe it still will happen, but they're 8 and 3. So at this point now, it would take a real free fall for them to not win double-digit games and put them in good position for the playoffs. You've got the Cowboys and Eagles at 8 and 3. the Packers, also 8 and 3?

Yes. Lines at 7 and 4, Cardinals 9 and 2, Seahawks 7 and 4, 9ers 7 and 4. There will be teams in this group. Two teams of that group of really qualified teams that are going to miss the playoffs. Are the Cowboys not going to be among that group that misses the cut? Do we see the Cowboys as a playoff team right now? Two of the next three weeks, they play the Eagles. That will determine who wins the division.

I think when we saw them crumble in those other seasons, They weren't built the same way. This is a different team from the ground out. And I would quicker pick Detroit and maybe San Francisco to miss the playoffs than Dallas. I'll ask the question one more time. Cowboys, playoffs, yes or no? I was saying they make it. Yes, I think they win the division.

Ow! You heard it here first. I also agree. We all think the Cowboys, this is the year they get over. What about you, TD? I'm going to say the Cowboys do make the playoffs. Wow. I'm with the Cowboys.

Just a wrap of O'D Beckham, though. That cat is so crazy that Patrick call your NFL.com homepage monitor. He says, if you really want to break the internet, Kim Kardashian, this is what you do. Not bad. Yeah. I mean, it was not maybe something I would call out. It was that good. No, it did kind of break the internet, though.

What, Kardashian? No, Odale Beckham's cat. Do you, uh, Wes, do you know what we're referring to with the Kim Kardashian and break the internet thing? Yes. I do not live in a cave. Sometimes they're just like to mark in and what you know. I certainly do.

I don't have television, and especially during the football season, I'm not really paying attention to major earth-shattering news, much less pop culture. That's why, fair question, right? But I am aware of the Kim Kardashian. It was Kim Kardashian's giant buttocks. I've seen the picture. Yeah. All right, so we're all plugged in on that.

On the off season, and Wesleyan starts to get into boy bands, songstresses, pop stars that, you know. Arianda Grande? Yeah. No, not Ariane Grande, but I will be getting into some Emmylou Harris. us during the offseason. That's not what we were talking about. Sure enough.

All right. So that's it for Sunday's edition of the Around the NFL podcast. We will be back at some point in the week. We haven't really mapped out our Thanksgiving week, but we will figure it out. You'll hear from us again before Thursday. This is Dan Hansa signing off for the sizzler, the mailman, and the great TD behind the glass. Stay alive, Greg. Keep the fight.

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