NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Week 13 Recap: Playoff picture changes after big NFC upset

Episode Date: December 4, 2017

A room filled with some heroes- Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, Chris Wesseling & Nick Shook- recap all of the Week 13 action, including a big win for the Vikings (3:00); The Pats roll off another victory on the Throne of Ease, but not without a little controversy (19:00); Things are starting to get extremely dark for the Browns, who fell to Philip Rivers and the Chargers (36:00); Jimmy Garoppolo’s 49ers debut was a big success (53:00); and much more!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. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

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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. The Around the NFL podcast is unsubscribing to move the sticks. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansis, and I am joined by Room Filled with Some Heroes, Mark Sessler, Chris Wesleyan, and to my right, for the first time ever. Nick Shuck. What's up, boys?

Hey, Dan. Why is money attempting for, you know, consecutive shows to stir the pot between us and other NFL media entities? We don't need it. It's week 13. We joke about Mark, I joke about it with you, that we're almost to the home stretch of the season and all. that stuff. But we really are. We're almost out of the woods of 2017.

We just don't need more drama. And yes, I have unsubscribed to move the sticks, but that is neither here nor there. That's a separate issue, right. Totally separate issue. See, I'm not trying to catch like a flying cross from Daniel Jeremiah, you know, in the hallway. I'm just not going to speak for this entire week unless I'm at my desk. Maybe he won't recognize me unless he hears me. I don't think you're the first gentleman at work that anyone's going to attempt to take on physically.

That's just my... Yeah, but this is serious stuff. Unsubscription? Yeah, that is serious stuff. This is, yes, the flagship edition of the around the NFL podcast presented by head and shoulders. Our week 13 Sunday recap, a week in which the AFC West got more muddled and some Titans in the NFC in the NFC once again reminded us that there are some dang good football teams, Wes, playing in the national football conference. There would be Titans in the old clash of the Titan sense, not the middling team from the AFC South.

Exactly, exactly. So we're going to go through each of the games, 14 in total, including the Sunday night football matchup that we'll close with between the Eagles and Seahawks. We, you know, why mess around? Mark? No, I mean, we're a minute half into the show and we've gotten a Harry Hamlin film reference from West, so we're soaring. Oh, and where's Greg?

Greg, as you mentioned. may be aware, is in Norland's. He was helping to cover the Carolina Panthers Saints matchup, so we'll get him on the phone. If he's even coherent at this day, you know, you set Greg loose in the Big Easy. He might go have one drink. He could be in the Hooskow.

You never know what you're going to get from Greg. You might have one beverage before going to bed at like 9.45 p.m. Hooskow. Let's get to the games, though. And Greg, in a few minutes, but we'll start with the Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons. Oh, a showdown of NFC Titans. And the good time.

Case Keenum takes the pad out blind snap. Three step drop, fired to the end zone. Caught! Touchdown Vikings! Kyle Rudolph with the touchdown reception, 13-9 Minnesota. Paul Allen KFXN with the call. Yes, the Minnesota Vikings keep rolling. Case Keenum through two touchdowns,

including that one you heard to Kyle Rudolph, and the Vikings shut down the Falcons on offense, a 14-9 win for the Vikings who have now won eight in a row, and they repeatedly prove this season that they have a defense that can stop just about anybody, including a Falcon team that is playing tremendously well in recent weeks. Wes, very impressive. Once again, the Vikings.

The tougher team won in this game. And Case Keenham outplayed Matt Ryan, although, as is always the case in these things, quarterback who outplayed the other one got a lot more help from his teammates. Matt Ryan was under pressure quite a bit. A lot of penalties from his offensive line put him in third and long situations all day. They had been converting an unreal 66% of their third downs in recent weeks, and they were one for 10 today.

And then on the other side, the Vikings, Keenham had a strong ground attack. Latavius Murray keeps playing well. So offensive line kept him pretty clean. It was conservative game plan, not too many downfield throws, but Keenham came up big on third downs, converting to guys like Laquan, Trebwell, and Jerry is right on that 15-play, 89-yard drive that Paul Allen was talking about a minute ago on the radio call.

I always feel it's a great sign. Number 25 of 30 for Case Keenum, and the guy is just, he's in his own, obviously. But when you see that he's connecting with 11 different targets, that that's a quarterback that's seeing the field, spreading the ball around, using everyone in every type of situation. And you don't hear any Teddy Bridgewater talk anymore. Nor should you. And that's great.

Like Case Keenham took that opportunity and he has run with it, Nick Shook. And now he's in a position where Case Keenum, I can't stress this enough. Case Keenum is the man in charge for a Vikings team that very much looks like it could go to the Super Bowl. They're that good. Part of the reason you're not going to hear anything about Teddy Bridgewater is because I'm sitting in Greg's seat. And that's usually Greg's platform. in this discussion. That's true. Good point.

But he's playing really well. You know, I had to defend him like a month and a half ago or whenever the Browns played the Vikings. And since then, he's only gotten better. You know, like you said, 25 or 30, 227 yards, two touchdowns. And against a Falcons defense that's been playing better recently. I mean, this is probably the most impressive win they've had all year.

By the way, he didn't throw an incomplete pass in the entire second half. 12 for 12 in the second half. And a lot of that was short passes. but they were also third down conversions and Falcons defensive coordinator Mark Juan Manuel I thought this was pretty telling told the Fox broadcast team

when you turn on the tape if you didn't know any better if you didn't know the name on the jersey you'd think this was one of the very best quarterbacks in the NFL Isn't that the issue that it's the Keenum name? People are still, you know if you don't watch this team week to week

he's still in theory is the stink on them from the Rams thing but I think number one we talk about Sean McVey and Jared Gough Pat Shermer, who was a failed head coach, has a coordinated of the year type scenario going on here. And I have to wonder if, A, he could be a head coach next year at this time. And Mike Zimmer, speaking of Sean McVeigh, I really think Sean McVeigh is going to run away with this Coach of the Year contest, but Mike Zimmer has coming off of what, you look at what he's accomplished over a couple seasons, the injuries he's overcome.

The way that this team is one of the toughest teams in the NFL, I feel he's a coach of the year type candidate right now, no questions asked. I would never endorse Pat Schumer to be a head. coach for another team after the disaster that was his tenure in Cleveland. But you're right, he's running a really good offense right now. And that breakdown from Mark Juan Manuel was extremely on point because, you know, you go back and watch some of the tape of Case Keenum, especially in the second half of this season so far, like when they played, you know, the Rams. I mean, he's doing things that I never would have expected out of most quarterbacks, let alone Case Keenum, who was,

you know, starting for the Rams last year. But you got to remember also, you don't want to put too much of their college career into it, but he was a really good quarterback in college. So this shouldn't be extremely surprised. Final question for you, Wes. Julio Jones last week, 15 targets, 12 for 253 and two touchdowns. This week, two catches for 24 yards targeted just six times. Have that happened? Came out on, I believe, the first play the Falcons ran and beat Xavier Rhodes off the line.

Matt Ryan threw a little bit high and it went off Julio Jones fingertips and they didn't really get anything going after that. I think Xavier Rhodes had a little bit of safety help over the top as well, but he was talking about staying with Julio to the point that even if Julio lined up at running back, he was moving to linebacker. They had a plan. They stuck to it. They limited Julio Jones. And Matt Ryan didn't have a lot of time to go through his progressions because of the pass rush. And one real quick thing. I mean, they have the Saints twice and the Panthers to close this season, along with the Bucks. I mean, the Falcons are on the brink right now. Let's move on. Camara checks in.

He's the tailback in the eye. Here's Camara, slips the tackle. Ten, five. Touchdown, is he special to what? A 20-yard touchdown run. I don't know how he does it, Jim. This is funny. It is funny.

Jim Henderson, WWL, with the play-by-play call there. Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara combined for nearly 250 yards of offense. Three touchdowns as the Saints took control of the NFC South with a 31 to 21 win over the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans swept the home and home with their division rival, putting them in the driver's seat for their first division title in a couple of years, right? A few years.

A few years. A few years. A few years were. I just put four as a placeholder. And, you know, old zeusor might be right. Might be wrong. Too specific. I think a couple or a few fits here.

Several. Lindsay, let's put you on that. If you could, I'll come back to you. Anyway, now we welcome in Greg Rosenthal, the old boss who is in the big easy for the Saints' latest statement win, Greg, first of all, how the hell are you? I'm doing great, and I got an answer for you. 2013 was the last time they won a division. Was that four years?

Give it to me. I think that's four, right? Give it to me. And nailed it. All right, so four years, they're going to win the division, Greg, and they're the better team, and it makes sense, right? They proved it today. You know, after the game, Mark Ingram said, you know, the Panthers have pushed them around

for the last few years. They wanted to come in. They kind of are the team that the Panthers have been and have wanted to be. They wanted to be the bullies. And it's all Ingram and Camara. It's kind of the Ingram and Camara show. Like the first drive of the game, Camara had four touches. They were all big games.

He lined up in a different spot on all four of those plays. And I think that just kind of highlights, like, what a serious problem he is on a week-to-week basis. I was really struck in this game by his strength. A couple of play near the goal line, a couple of other times where he took a good shot, stayed on his feet and got more yards. And that's to take nothing away, by the way. Mark Ingram has kind of been in the background because obviously Camara's been the rookie sensation, third round pick.

But Wes, Ingram has been maybe not as explosive, but just as productive. This is a kind of legendary pairing this year. I think they're a perfect compliment because Ingram, even though Camara has shown power, Ingram is more of a between the trenches runner who can do the, passing game, whereas Camara is a passing game guy who can do it between the trenches. And Bucky Brooks last week called them the best running back tandem in NFL history. Whoa. I mean, statistically, you could make the case.

Look at what they're doing since they traded Adrian Peterson. We've never seen production like that out of a tandem. Amazing. And Greg, Drew Breeze, again, we saw him save the day against Washington a couple weeks ago, but this is back to that mode where he kind of picks his spots where he helps the team. but this is really the backfields is the show here. Yeah, they didn't protect him very well, and so they just had him, you know, throwing short passes.

Like with third and ten late in the game, they're trying to, you know, run the clock out. The entire stadium knows it's going to Camara, and they throw it to Camara, and he just makes, you know, 16, 17 yards totally on his own. So that goes into Drew Brees' statues, but it's all the running back, but it's like they're like a little,

they're a tandem, and they're kind of playing it up. They're doing all their interviews, together, like, you know, before they were getting ready, like, Alvin Camara is, like, picking a little piece of lint out of Mark Ingram's, you know, beer, Ingram is, like, straightening Camara's, you know, hat. And I think, like, they, they are best fuds, it sounds like from all accounts. And, you know, it's coming next. And Camara, like, he's the star of the team, and everyone kind of loves that.

Like, it seems like he's just, like, such a popular dude in that locker room. Over under two weeks until they get a corny nickname. Oh, it's coming. And Shook, you're a, Shook, you're a huge. NBA guy. No, we're not doing this. One of the fun things about, you know, the one-two star dynamic in basketballs, yeah, with like the press conferences and the silly suits and stuff.

So maybe the NFL has one in this backfield. They can start wearing stupid glasses and bad suits. We can't call Alvin and Mark peanut butter and jelly, but I think we are overlooking a great chipmunks reference, seeing that his name is Alvin. It took me until two weeks ago to even have this. epiphany. Yeah, but the chipmunks have never been more relevant, so we must go down that road. Exactly. Alton and Ingram.

Greg, what else was, what was the scene like down there, by the way? People are in love with the Saints. They always have been, but now they have a very special team. Yeah, you get a late, you know, this game was flexed into the later afternoon, so you're getting the town all lubed up from about nine in the morning until three in the afternoon. I mean, like, it's a different city when the Saints are good. I mean, it's basically a one sport town, and I know they have the NBA here, but it's just, there's nothing quite like it. The whole streets are just, like, jammed, and it's a fun team. I mean, I think that they're all happy.

So at the same players, like Cam Jordan was talking about, it's been a long time since they've been in meaningful games like this late in the season, and they're, you know, they're trying to, they're trying to enjoy it. Greg, that is your old stomping grounds, and, you know, we assume that hopefully you'll get out tonight and make it happen. But question for you, how often are you stopped on the street by, you know, football fans and just citizens who remember your run there and just people kind of shocked to see you in person? I run. I'm going to paint the town rouge.

Running through the park. I mean, what was going on? Your colossal social life that you've referenced many times on this podcast and off the air. Sometimes you had to go to parks to pick up things. I haven't been stopped on the street at all, trying to keep a low profile. file, you know, not get noticed. How many grenades are you going to throw back after we get off the phone here? Hand grenades?

It's none. Hurricane. I'm above nine. Hand grenades, you know, after you're, after you've done that a few times, that's enough. But I'm going to go meet some friends. I still got to write quite a bit. Forget the writing. Get out there and have some fun.

This is a good perfect example, Greg, where you can mail in a column. Yeah. Go enjoy yourself because 40 years from now, let's give you 50 years from now when your body's breaking down and it's near the end, is the column you're writing tonight going to matter or having the time of your life on your old stomping grounds? That's the advice. Alele, Bon Tom Rolle. I probably won't remember either one of them because, you know, after two or three years,

it's all awash. Yeah, you don't have a great memory. All right, Craig, we got to keep moving. Thank you. Knock out that column, mail that sucker in, and then go have some fun. All right, I'll see you guys. I think he's going to listen to the advice. I think we swayed him away from a what would have been a workman-like evening.

Let's move on. Quick snap back to golf. He's going to throw. He pump fakes. Gets it out. Sammy Watkins, crossing pattern. Nearside. Touchdown.

Sammy Watkins from the far side of the field, works across the middle. Goff found him from a tough arm angle, and Watkins goes in for his six touchdown of the season, and the Rams expand their lead. J.B. Long, Kspn, with a call. Jared Goff passed for two touchdowns. Los Angeles took advantage of some mistakes from Blaine Gabbard. And the Rams tightened their death grip on the NFC West, a 32 to 16 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

West, what did you learn about the Rams today? Greg mentioned this last week, but they have the best special teams in football. And on a day when the offense, to me, look kind of ordinary. And Wade Phillips' run defense was kind of slashed by Kerwin Williams running through gaping hole. John Bones, Fossil, special teams came up big. Greg Zerline is leading the NFL in points.

He had four more field goals and has more field goals through 12 games in NFL history than any kicker ever. Johnny Hecker is the best punter in football. Had a big game. Farrow Cooper had another big return. Michael Brockers blocked a field goal attempt in the fourth quarter. The Rams kind of just took that Alec Ogletree pick six on Blaine Gabbard in the first quarter, jumped out to an early lead and cruised from there. But they didn't seem to be clicking.

on all cylinders. Kind of good to see them win if this was maybe an ugly game or one where they're not, you know, high-octane the way they have been in other affairs. I mean, Arizona, this, you know, this was their season, obviously, where probably already was weeks ago. But is there any hope with Blaine Gabbard as a starter, or are we seeing a performance day that kind of wipes that, some of that chatter away? He had a few good plays.

The first interception was off at one foot and it was a floater that was easily picked. Then the pick six. but the play that bothered me was he was scrambling for a first down and he slid two yards short of the sticks with only one man to be in open field. And it's like, what are you thinking? Why not go for the first down there?

It bothered me to the point where I don't know. Wait, what are you going to do to him? What are you hinting at? I'm just like Bruce Ariens talking about him possibly being the starter in 2018 and other people talking about you know, anytime you can get a former first round pick with some obvious physical talent,

He has a chance to turn his career around, but things like that bother me to the point where I just don't think I could see him being the starter. I thought you were about to declare some vengeance. No, I mean, I feel like the football gods have already declared vengeance on playing gambit. That's true. I feel like it sounds like that was a business decision, you know, considering his future. I don't know. Do you really, is he making a business decision in the heat of the moment like that? I mean, has he done enough where, you know, if he keeps himself healthy, if you're going to say, listen, this guy is a plug-and-play starter.

you're one of these six or seven QB needy teams. No, he hasn't done enough. Ted Ginn's been making a career out of making business decisions for well over a decade. Having a good year. That's certainly true. And by the way, I got a little shout out here for the team of ATL.

Team of ATL. First of all, Wes made some sandwiches today. Four sandwiches. Oh, wow. And we don't like to dig into our preseason prediction results until after the season. but in this case, well-earned, Wes, because you predicted that the Rams would have a winning record. We all disagreed.

And guess what? The Rams at 9 and 3, clinch a winning season, and they're going to win a few more games before it's all set and done. A very nice season for the team of ATL. One of the great turnarounds in NFL history, one of the great transformations going, I believe their point differential is the third highest transformation ever, and their difference in points per game is the highest ever. Have the Eagles and Seahawks up next, too. Yeah, Sean McVeigh, coach of the year. Let's slide over to the AFC.

Second and inches. Rodgalski at the tight and right, clicks on the outside ride. He gives to Burkhead, runs it up the middle, speed past the 10, inside the fire, reaching for the goal line, squeezing his way between two defenders

for a touchdown. Patriots. Bob Sochi, WBZ, and I heard Zolak there, too. Oh, no. Get to him in a minute. Anyway, business as usual on the throne of ease.

Rex Burke had scored twice on the ground and the Patriots won their eighth straight, beating the Buffalo Bills, 23 to 3 in Orchard Park. Mark, the bills put up a respectable fight on the defensive side of the ball, but you've got to score points. Tyrod Taylor before he got hurt, didn't do anything,

and nobody else did either. The bills just didn't get the job done. Yeah, I mean, you can look at the score 23 to 3 and think, well, this probably was just a wipeout from start to finish, but the bills really frustrated Tom Brady to the point where early in the game, Brady got into Josh McDaniel's face and was going nuts.

And those guys are buds. I mean, you just don't see that kind of confrontation between Brady and his play call or really ever. And so he was extremely frustrated. He was running for his life early on. And it was really a situation. You're absolutely right. Where the bills started the game out.

And I mentioned to Dan, like this quarter is halfway over where other games were like two minutes in still. They chewed up the clock, went all the way down to New England's six-yard line, and Taylor threw a really ridiculous pick to Eric Lee. And Eric Lee is this guy that was on Buffalo's practice squad, has played one game before this for the Patriots last week, had a sack, today got another sack, a couple pass defenced all over the place,

all over in Tyrod Taylor's business, and providing pass rush. So if we're still going to ride this, and I think no one is at this point, this narrative that New England's defense lacks X, Y, and Z. It's another game where they gave up three points. They gave Buffalo no chance in offensively. and Eric Lee is a emerging presence for this defense if he can keep it up.

That's a classic intel move, too. You signed the former guy a couple weeks beforehand. He goes off against his former team. Yeah. That's vintage Belichick. Yes. By the way, 15 straight seasons now for 10 plus wins for the Patriots. Incredible.

Are you kidding me? And Tyrod Taylor injured his knee in this game, Mark. Early on, and he heard it, yeah, he heard it very early. And, you know, like they said, Tony Romo was announcing this. He basically said there's no way Tyrod Taylor is going to take himself out of this game unless he simply cannot go. But by the end, it got more serious. And he just, Nathan Peterman finished the game.

And at that point, it was a loss of her. LaShawn McCoy, another game where I thought he ran really well. But there's just not enough in this offense to challenge a team like New England. They cannot finish drives. Yeah. And on the Gronk play. So this will be a big talking point this week, especially a big talking point. If you or your opponent, has Rob Gron-Cathouse?

and fantasy because late in this game, the Patriots' tight end was going deep on a route. Bill's cornerback Tradavius White was getting a little handsy with Gronk. No flag came. And then White had an interception. And then a frustrated Grunk who said that he feels like he's been getting hit with crazy penalties and not getting, I guess, calls from referees. He piled drives himself, helmet first, into White,

when White was prone, like, face down, and leads with his helmet. And there is talk that Grant could be suspended next week. Now, he wasn't even kicked out of this game. But, Wes, there is some talk that, based on the nature of the hit and how defenseless White was, that Gronk, who's not known as a dirty player, committed to play dirty enough that it could cost him a game. I appreciate Gronk's frustration because he's like the shack of the NFL. he's really hard to officiate and a lot of calls do a go against him

and I credit him for a real apology, not a fake one with qualifications but you can't do what he did and he deserves to be punished and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he's suspended and I think it's telling that Bill Belichick apologized to Sean McDermott and called it a BS move. Let's hear what

speaking of Scott Zolak, let's hear how he as the color guy for I think it's WBZ in Boston how he reacted to Gronk's cheap shot. Look at left. Plans.

throws a long ball right. For Grancke's a lot of push. As white pushes off and makes the catch on a interception. Trudevias White. Foot a flag. Here you go. The bill. A late flag comes in.

Then a second late flag. Brunk got pushed. Meanwhile, he's got another flag in the middle of the field at the 35-yard line. Braddon Cooks was engaged with one of the bill's defensive backs. Oh, my God. They're holding him. We're holding him the whole way.

Then they push him. White came down on the sideline. And then Grancosky. landed on top of white and I think Locke made it good for him good for him good for him good for him good for him what a buffoon

talk about someone downing some hurricanes before the game you know it'll go crazy here but it's one thing to be a homer in the box and a lot of places a lot of teams have homers in the box but Zolak come back to us we can celebrate him most

of the time but that's I mean paint the picture accurately please well he's like good for him is like what Yeah, exactly. You kind of deal with a little bit of bias here. I think I go back and think about the last four or five, quote-unquote, dirty moves that happened in football in the last half decade or whatever. And Dominican, too, obviously comes to mind immediately. And then you even think about Kiko Alonzo's hit on Joe Flacko earlier this year, which could have could not have been dirty.

I think this one is right at the top. Yeah, we'll see how the NFL reacts to it, and let's move right along. Rodding a hit as he throws, it's intercepted. Good for him. I'm kidding me. And he's going all the way. Back to us. Five touchdown Ravens.

MVP pre. Justin Fawcett called it and Eric Weddell delivered it. The MVP. I don't know what that's all about, but Jerry Sandusky and Justin Fersett, W. B.A.L with the call. Eric Weddell cap the scoring with a pick six. Joe Flacco threw for 269 and two touchdowns. That's like real quarterback stats.

And the Baltimore Ravens are too much for the Lions, a 44 to 20 win. further solidifies Baltimore's playoff positioning. Shook, every week the Ravens defense makes things happen. This was no exception. Best game for Eric Weddle as a Raven had a fantastic outing. He was

one foot shy of having an interception in the back of the end zone in the first half. He was ruled out of bounds because he only got a foot down. Then he forced a fumble on a safety blitz, sacking Stafford from behind, knocking the ball out, and it was almost a scoop and score, but they recovered it.

led to a score for them. And then he has the pick six that caps that we heard there. And, you know, just a fantastic day for who I think is really the heart and soul, the back end of their defense and somebody who they're going to have to rely on for leadership more as we go on because Jimmy Smith is now out for the year with an Achilles injury, which he suffered in this game. Big loss. But this Ravens defense, you know, they've really improved as we've gotten from basically

the middle point of the season onward to where every week they are harassed. harassing opposing passers, and it was no different on Sunday. Matt Stafford had very little time to throw all day. And then to make matters worse, they lost their right guard and their right tackle. T.J. Lang and Rick Wagner, neither of them returned. So then he's just running for his life even more, which led to him having a suffer in a hand injury near the end of that game. Who? Stafford? Yes. Brown out. And it ended up being a really bad bruise. But, you know, the wheels just fell off for the lions really quickly. And what was a competitive game? really like three acts to this game.

We had the first half where Flacco goes all out. He exceeds his passing average per game in the first half alone. He hooks up with Mike Wallace a couple times deep. They end up in the end zone. And then the second half, they just run out of gas offensively for about a quarter and a half and the lines are right back in it. And then the wheels fall off for them and the Ravens run away with it. Yeah, I mean, I remain completely suspicious of this offense.

But you've won four of five if you're the Ravens, and you've got, after the Steelers next week, the Browns, Colts, and Bengals. This is a team that can finish 10 and 6. They've taken control of that final six AFC spot in the playoffs and, you know, barring some sort of implosion, which on offense feels possible, but not on defense, they'll be your playoff team. This defense is nearing historical levels in terms of performance, and the offense just needs to do enough. I'm talking, you know, early 2000s' Ravens defenses. They're better than Pittsburgh's defense, though?

That's a good question. Baltimore's numbers on defense are inflated by facing some of the weakest collection of quarterbacks we've seen. They're legit. And without Jimmy Smith, who was a legitimate pro-bow guy and among the top five cornerbacks in football this year, they do have Marlon Humphrey, who was a good first-round pick. They've got some depth there, but Jimmy Smith, that's a big loss. Consider this another La Raville Magnifico. on the Lions, if there are Lions fans out there, that think this team should be a playoff team.

Season's over, I'm sorry. They're 6 and 6. No. The door's not closed, but, you know. There's like a little... How many times we have to see at this season? There's a little sliver of light at the edge of the doorway. That's how closed it almost is.

The Lions are a 7 and 9, 6 and 10 team that was masquerading as potentially a 9 and 7, 10, and 6 team. But they've come back to Earth, and in games like this, it shows. Same thing they were last year. Yep. All right, let's move forward. Second down and goal inside the one. And again, they're going to try and move the pile

and see if they can get Josh McCown in the end zone. Now the officials will come in from either side. There is the signal. And it is finally another jet touchdown. Josh McCown comes out of the pile, spikes the football. All right, Bob was shoes in WEPN with a call. Yeah, that's not a joke. I think the Jets had literally 10 plays from inside the five-yard line

before that go-ahead score in the fourth quarter. Anyway, so McCown puts the Jets ahead for good. That sneak with 2.15 to play. And the Jets overcame a slow start and their fourth quarter demons in a 3831 win over the Chiefs who are now unbelievable, 6 and 6 after their 5-0 start. And this was a game of the Chiefs jumped out to a 14-0-lead in the first five minutes of the game. Travis Kelsey, two touchdowns, looked like they had gotten healthy and are about to romp. and then it just didn't come together for Kansas City. And the Jets were in control for much of the game after that,

give or take a Chief's chunk play, which happened quite often this game. That's why if you're a cheese fan, you're dying, because for weeks and weeks, what's it been, six, seven weeks where they went from being this explosive offense, just tearing everybody up with scene plays and going off, and then it all disappears. Today it came back.

They had the ball, I believe, 17 minutes of game time and scored 31 points. And Tariq Hill had two long touchdowns. Kelsey, as I said, had two touchdowns. Smith threw for over 300 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions. He even had a 70-yard run. One of my favorite stat lines of the season.

He averaged 70 yards of rush today. It's pretty good. He's like that solid. And it wasn't enough. And you know why? Because the defense laid an egg in a huge spot. And I thought the end of the game, and that's what a lot of people were talking about

after this game, and we'll hear about it during the week, I'm sure. After that touchdown, the Jets went for two, and McCown got flushed out of the pocket, kind of threw one up for grabs, and the chiefs get called for holding. And Marcus Peter, the flag was not on him, but Marcus Peters is so enraged that he picks up the penalty flag and fires it into the crowd at the Meadowlands. And a bunch of young gentlemen with Yamakas collect the flag and celebrate and take selfies. It was a great little scene. Also known as Jewish gentlemen.

Yeah, I assume. I don't know. That's true. I shouldn't make that assumption. They had Yamikas. Probably Jewish men. Okay. Anyway.

So he walks off the field, but he didn't get ejected. And it's still in the middle of the game. 38.31, two minutes to play. He shows back up a few minutes later, running back onto the field with shoes on. But no socks and his pants up above his knee. I thought it was a sloppy. performance by the Chiefs, and that was like a fitting example,

a fitting show of what has happened to a swaggering team once upon a time, and now they're in a bad spot. My question is... Still first place, but in a bad spot. Going sockless, is that like some silent protest? Here, I'm going to violate the league's dress code. I'm going to remove my socks.

I think he had probably started to undress, basically. This is what I think. That's what it made sense, that he thought he was ejected for throwing the flag. and then the CBS team said, oh, a chief staffer was seen running up the tunnel. Probably to tell him, bro,

not only are you not ejected, we're going down the field to tie the game and we might be going to overtime. So he comes back out. I wonder if he gets a fine for the dress violation. Oh, for just stepping on the field. And he's going to get fined for throwing the flag

into the crowd too. So a costly bit of lost composure there. We're going to get a person like when they undress takes their socks off first. We're going to compound. The last thing I take off. Or a second to last thing. I'm thinking about it.

I think I dig on on the socks pretty quick. Sox first before jeans or shirt or anything? I'd probably go pants first. Well, shoes, pants. Sometimes socks are like the last thing. Thank you. Sometimes you want to leave those socks on. Sometimes you keep them on.

Sometimes you take off. Anyway, so the Chiefs, offense comes back to life. The defense falters. On the jet side, again, another really good performance of Josh McCown, who's the team MVP. She made the leap. It took a while. Yeah, it's about time.

That's his make the leap piece is absolutely retweetworthy right now. 38-year-old makes leap. It was a 2014 making the leap candidate. Something like that. Yeah, he did make a really another excellent game. He accounted for three touchdowns. He threw for over 300 yards. And the Jets, faint playoff hopes, but they're not going to make the playoffs.

But every week they've been entertaining. So to that, I say even though they're not going to get a high draft pick, I've had fun watching them this year. And one last note before I throw it to the old man. Dorell Revis, the old revenge bowl for Dorel, he missed a couple tackles in the first half, was given up a huge cushion to receivers, and at some point I guess Andy Reid said,

I've seen enough, he was benched for the second half. So the Jets may have paid Dereld Revis over $5 million to play against him today, but they might have also ended his career. Let's see if Revis gets back on the field. I wonder if he's even on this roster by the end of the year. Well, that's what I mean. I don't think he could play anymore. He looked exactly the same guy,

even though he went vegan, Mark, and lost weight. Well, I wouldn't ascribe it to that. He wasn't vegan last year. What were the issues then? I'm just connecting dots. He went vegan, wildly connecting dots. And he got benched today. That's all I know. Anyway, usually when my dad's on the show, he's upset about the Jets.

But let's hear him when something good happens for Gangrene. His name is Keith. He's dad's dad. No doubt about it. He's a big Jets fan. What is he going to say about the game today? What is he going to say about the game today? Big win for the Jets today.

Big reason was that they hung on in the fourth quarter, barely. But they didn't make the penalties. The Gowin played great. Offense played great, 488 yards. On the negative side, that defense reminded me, particularly of their secondary, was like playing touch football in the street. Yeah, that's true.

You know, getting that in the huddle and saying, I'll go deep, you know, and that's thoughtful what's happening time after time. Big win, but they were lucky to get out of their life. Bye. They were. The Jet Secondary was overmatched by Tyreek Hill. But somehow they survived, and the Chiefs fall into a first place tie with who? Well, we're going to talk about them right now.

Rivers, looking to the middle, throws. Keenan Allen. Touchdown, Chargers. Knock on wood That money's good Can I hear that again? Rivers looking to the middle throws.

Kenan Allen Touchdown Chargers Knock on wood Let's put that in the running for the top 10 calls of the year Anybody know what that means by the way? Knock on wood like you're saying something and I don't want to jinx it so I knock on wood

So we just don't have the context clues necessary to put it together I thought there was maybe somebody named Wood on the Brown's defense. Used it last week, too, though. I think it's maybe a catchphrase. Oh, yeah, it's a catchphrase. I think it's a catchphrase. Yeah, let's reach out to money privately and see if we can get a little more.

Will he even respond to us? No. Yeah. Anyway, the Chargers got 344 yards and a touchdown from Philip Rivers and their defense took advantage of more Deshaun Kaiser mistakes as the Chargers move into a tie for first place in the AFC West with a 19 to 10 victory over, yes, the still winless Cleveland Browns. Mark, given L.A. Surge and Casey's swoon, would it be a surprise to you if the bolts don't win the AFC West?

And we're going to get to another team in a few minutes that's also tied for first place. But the charges would it surprise you if they don't come out of this with the crown? Of course. They were my Super Bowl pick. Oh, right. You know, I knew they got out to a tough start, but I saw this, you know, coming down the stretch the entire way. So I'm not surprised at all. They do look like of the contending teams, these three six and six teams in the West, the one that you'd want to not deal with if you were an opposing playoff team, that they've got enough, they're imperfect in many ways,

yet they've got a lot of elements to them that make them a real threat. It starts with their pass rush, but they piled up 429 yards on offense, and they had scoring drives against Cleveland, who kind of kept this, Cleveland's defense, maybe it's a very Greg Williams type of thing, where you feel like they are keeping you in a game, and they're playing a little bit above their heads. They've got a couple good young players, but they're also giving up 450 yards and scoring drives of 12, 11, 10, 10, and 7 plays. So they're not, you know, we don't even need to deal with Cleveland's offense at this point.

But when you have Keenan Allen playing the way that he has over the last three weeks, this guy has been on fire, 436 yards, 33 catches and four touchdowns over the past three games. Just four touchdowns? That's not that good. True. Very average. The rest of it shines. But I really look at them as saying that they've overcome a lot of nonsense this season.

I don't know what their fate will be, but I would take the Chargers over the Chiefs in a minute right now, in a minute. I'm kind of sorry that Greg's not here to throw in his math about crappy teams like the Raiders and Dolphins still being in the mix. The Chargers are the third best team in the AFC, right behind the Steelers and Patriots. I don't care about their missed field goals early in the season. Right now they're the third best team in the AFC. And I don't want to hear about like, okay, the Raiders still have a chance or the

Chiefs have the same record. It would be a shock if the Chargers don't win this division. You make shock. Chargers, nice, nice. But I'll throw one thing out there. Everything you're saying makes sense, Wes, and Mark. Many good points by you as well. Not everything made sense that I said, though. Chargers are going to charge her, too.

That's the one thing. I don't think they're that team anymore. No, that's in the past. Well, they've been that team for 60 years. That doesn't stay with you forever, though. But by the way, the Chiefs are going to Chief, and the Raiders are going to raider, and they play both those teams down the stretch. also have the Jets and the Redskins. I just think that the charges to me have much more going on

than anyone else in that division. I'm just saying the more confident we are about them, I feel comically more danger that they are in. I hear you. I just want to protect them because I think they would be a fun entry in an AFC playoff field that certainly could use the juice. I think it's dangerous to play the what-if game because you can do that with almost any team and that's how you get yourself through the off season after your team finishes seven and nine. Oh, we were so close. If only a couple games went our way, but I think you can actually play that game with this charge team to validate where they are because record-wise, yeah, they're six-and-six and they're in a weak division now, record-wise. But realistically, they should be more like eight and four or even

nine and three. Yeah. I shouldn't mention Josh Gordon, four catches, 85 yards. You know, if he had a quarterback that wasn't hysterically overthrowing wide receivers all-all-game, he could have easily had 150 yards in this game. I mean, he looked like a guy that just stepped out of a time machine from 2014. He looked fine. He looked great. That's a good sign. I heard a lot of skepticism about how he'd be playing, and you're exactly right. I mean, it looked like he pretty much didn't miss a beat until late in the game when he ran like a 30-yard route or whatever, and then they tried to go no huddle, and he ended up jogging back off the field because he was probably out of shape,

which, you know, you got to play yourself in a game shape, but otherwise he looked great. Yeah. The bond remains strong in this slog that we go through, this march. Answer the question. Toward history. Where's your pee level? If you want to sit in Greg's spot, I'm going to ask you a question. All right.

Your underpants. You got, you're wearing some of your gym underpants. So they're nice and snug. And you're wearing your gym pants over. And the gym pants are also pretty snug. And you're wearing one of those big belts, the ones that the strong men at the gym wear. And so it won't be easy. to get to the bathroom and take down your pants,

so you're in a tough spot. Where is your P-scale? Are you at 10, which would be, oh, my God, I'll never get this workout belt for strong men off, and my pants are going to be soaked in front of the gym in the world, or are you like, oh, one, my pants are no danger, or my underpants. We're at a three. The Browns have, in their final four games,

have two semi-decent chances against the NFC, North in the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears with a Brad Huntley on the schedule. That's good. The latter is coming in Chicago, but the Browns are also from the Midwest and could thrive in a potential snow game. The flip side here is that Shook and I, when we were happiest today, when we were celebrating. It was when the Niners won. Yeah, because you don't want a meaningless victory that somehow removes you from

the number one draft pick at this stage. Okay. I want you guys to get the first pick again. As long as that happens, I want to win. Don't don't lose all 16. I'm just saying you guys don't think it's not bad. I'm not trying to. Think of that Sunday, Mark. Thank you coming up to the studio, Week 17, if the Browns go 0 and 16. It just won't be fun to talk about. Just get a win. Get a win. Get the number one pick. If it comes, if you have to go, Owen 16, at this point, you could say it couldn't crash any more darker than it has at this point. I mean, it has been since Josh Gordon last played, their record is insane. It is historically unmatched in the wrong way. Well, that's good stuff. All right, let's check in on the final first place. Great. In the AMC West.

Raiders go into an eye, al-a-Alai, ahead of Marshaun, Lynch first and ten at the midfield off the right side. Big Hall Lynch is gone. 30, 20, 10, 10, 5, Beast mode, touchdown. Raiders. 51 yards. Let's put that on the list from Greg Papa because not only is a nice run by Beast Mode, it's just a classic call. Greg Papa is one of the best in the business.

Marshawn Lynch, 51-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. And they had his first 100-yard rushing game since coming out of retirement. And the Raiders 24-17 win over Gino Smith and the New York Giants. The Raiders who have played poorly for so much of the season are, yes, suddenly in a three-way time. for first place in the AFC West go freaking figure and think about it. I mean, no one is going to throw them. No lollipops will be handed

out for beating the Giants, especially at this juncture with just the circus that's going on at the Meadowlands. But they did win this game without Michael Crabtree suspended or Amari Cooper who was hurt and they now have a modest two game winning streak. They are in the mix

and yes, as bad as they've been this season, they are essentially in a similar spot there where last year when they were surging because they're going back and forth of the Chiefs at a high level. Here they are again,

a chance to win the division. So let's see if they ever wake up from the slumber. But Wes, I think you've hinted often in this show alone that you just don't see it ever happening. The Raiders are a bad team. I don't care what their record is.

They show every week that they're a bad team and they struggled to get past the Giants who are a horrendous team. No, I'm not. convinced the Raiders are anywhere close to making the playoffs. This game, I mean, you know, there's a lot to say about Gino Smith, but closing out the first half, he had two lost fumbles. And he did some things, I think, that were positive today. I mean, he wasn't an outright disaster. That's just not the case. But the turnovers,

this is the DNA that we've seen with them in the past. And, like, they had the ball. I think it was at the, you know, the Raiders inside the 10-yard line, like five, six-yard-lar line. huge play lost the fumble and the game is decided by seven points that changed everything in this game well that's who he is and that's why and i can't debate it with gregg uh but why i've always been puzzled why gregg has been on the gino coaster and and thought that this is a guy who could salvage his career is he's always been a turnover prone quarterback who's kind of a knucklehead like even after today's game he's like bringing up some some beef with rex ryan uh with the press it's just like what's the upside what are you doing bro like who is

advising you on how to go about a professional sports career because every step of the way it's just off and yeah so you know you can be a knucklehead at many different positions but you can't be a knucklehead at quarterback no and you wonder what happens like ben macadu a report today rap sheet had it we had it's been floating around that macadoo could be fired um as soon as tomorrow and by the time people are listening to this would not shock me and i i guess i'm wondering i'm curious the giants we've been over this they titanically botched the situation in terms of how they handled such an important player in the franchise history i wonder if they fire macadou would they ever go back to eli for the rest of the season which would be weird but

it could happen right it depends do they care about morale outside of the building because internally if you fire your coach that's already at an at a low point and you're going to change that once the off would that help morale i don't think he's a very popular guy maccadale well No, I'm talking about, you know, bringing Eli back if they were to fire McAdoe. That would change the fan morale outside the building. But the thing is, is with this. And it would help repair the relationship potentially. Yeah.

And I think that's a big part of this. I think that's why McAdoo could go is the Giants are in scramble mode to try to repair this. Right, an ownership essentially by doing that could, you're basically just blaming it all on McAdoo. But that's the thing is this decision sounded like a group decision. I thought it was too. Doesn't the front office want to see these young kids or Gino Smith and Davis Webb played quarterback quarterback? It's a decision where a lot of people are jumping away from any accountability, and they could bubble up a big scapegoat and McAdu and just say that was the guy who did it.

The way it's been painted and maybe it is scapegoating is that McAdu kind of ran with the idea and it wasn't flagged in time. And it was just like a huge miscommunication at a grisly level for an organization that should go better. I just don't think that's possible because there's no way of Macadoo, who already was in hot water, they were going to allow him to end the streak, which if anything. Well, we don't have to go back. Whatever, but yeah. But, yeah, here's what McAdoo had to do when asked about his tenuous grip on a job.

I'm going to coach this team as long as my key card works. All right, cool. And Marshawn Lynch, one last note, he, you know, he doesn't like talking to the media. He got back to his locker and had a notice for a, he had to provide a urine sample. So he ducked out of the interview and told reporters he had to give his, quote, ding ding sauce. ding ding sauce that is a new term let's move on shotgun for mortals for net the running back leg drops the throw look now look like you may throw it into the back of the end zone that ball's caught for the touchdown marquise lee portals to lee for the score and jacksonville strikes first

frank frangy wj xl with the call blake boardles two touchdown passes Leonard four net found the end zone it's been a while since that happened and the jaguars beat up on the colts 30 to 10 west this was another one of those games where blake bowl makes a few throws and has you wondering if the Jags could do something like this in January? No lollipops for the Jaguars. Oh, so close. Was it possible entering this game against an undermanned talent-deficient Colts defense for Blake Bordals to win converts no matter what he did in this game?

The Jaguars are going to the playoffs. Nothing he does against the Colts matters. What matters is what he does against playoff caliber teams. And Marquise Lee had a really good game today. To me, like a career best kind of game. Bordals had a pretty good game for him an excellent game but I just don't think you have

takeaways against the Colts Yeah it's like had they not taken care of business Against the Colts We'd be going utterly nuts right now Right well we'd be beating up on Blake Bortles Right Because that would mean he probably threw two or three interceptions So he did his job and

But I guess my point is Is that these are the type of games You kind of need to see to talk yourself into the Jaguars Being an actual team in January And he's had a few of those. I think the games you need to see are against good teams. Yeah. And he's coming off a game where he turned his head coach into a basket case with the game on the line.

That's what Blake Bortles is. Yeah, he's not 119.8 pass a rating. He's not he's not 309 yards to touchdowns. That's not Blake Bortle's. Blake Bortle's is half of that and then hoping that the rest of the team can. Yeah, and I think though, like if you find a competent quarterback in the offseason, you're looking at a team with very few weaknesses. And so I don't need that.

to arrive entirely this year. I don't know what's going to happen in January. None of us do, but this was a huge step. It continues to be a stepping stone year of the highest order for Jacksonville. A lot of progress has been made. There's a telling stat. They are 7 and 0 when they hold teams to 10 points or fewer, which means they are 1 and 4 when the other team scores more than 10 points, which points to your problem on offense. The defense is legit. And Jalen Ramsey had a red zone interception today. Clayas Campbell set the franchise record for sacks in a season. With a month to go.

Yeah. I am not at all looking forward to the end of this season at all, but I am super excited for the nonsensical prognostication that will surround the Jaguar's quarterback position and those who are available. No, that will be wild. One last note, the Jags swept the home and home with the cult. So the first time since the AFC South was founded in 2002

in its current incarnation. Let's move on. The monster, Henry, is back there. Playfake Mario da, floats it down the middle. Walker at the five. Walker in the end zone. Touchdown. Titans.

You know who that is. Mike Keith, WGFX, with the call. Marcus Mariotto threw for one touchdown, rush for another. And the Titans overcame another slow start to beat the Texans, 24 to 13. Tennessee is now won six of its last seven. and remain atop to AFC South. Shook, the Taitunes, they never blow you away, but credit where credits do, they're stacking wins.

They're stacking wins, but this one was so ugly. They became, they took the torch from the Panthers who had a competitive game that, you know, put them a little bit higher up. They took the torch, and they are now the least convincing competitive team in professional football, in my opinion right now. They are eight players.

Congratulations, guys. They own the top. Tytoons nickname. And today was perhaps the most titoony of their performances. The first half, they were down 10 to nothing and somehow found a way to erase that deficit right before halftime, which really speaks to how bad the Texans are with Tom Savage under center. But even throughout most of this game, they could never separate themselves. Yeah, they won 24 to 13, but that last touchdown came on a run that all they needed was a first down and there was no one there to tackle Derek Henry, which is where the majority of his rushing yards came

today, which is on one play for 75 yards, as a whole for a team that I know can do certain things. I know they can run the ball well if they block well. And I know Marcus Marriota is an average to above average quarterback and passer. They don't do that consistently enough for me to be a believer. But they won today, so good for them. I'm not even sure if they can consistently run the ball even if they block well. Because they start the wrong guy. Yep.

First of all. And they don't do it consistently. Yeah, their wins are against the cults, this six and seven run. Browns, Ravens, Bengals, and again, the Colts. Then they played the Steelers and got waxed 40 to 17. Titans fans are annoyed with this show, I think, because we continue to kind of pound on them, no matter what they do. We're just asking, we want to believe in them if they're real.

Last year's Titans team had more character and intrigued than this year's team, despite the record. And their schedule remains soft. They got at Cardinals next week, home against at 49ers the week after. And then it gets rough. And then it gets rough. They close home to the Rams, home against the Jaguar. But they seem like another team that seems in good position to win nine or ten games,

which should get them into the dance. Let's move on. Robbie Gold, a straight-on, 24-yard field goal. They snap the ball. Robbie Gold's kick is up, and it is good with four seconds to play in the game. The 49ers have the lead, 15 to 14. Ted Robinson, K-S-A-N with the call. Jimmy Garapolo's 49ers debut was a success.

The former Patriots back up through for 293 yards in his first start for the Niners. And Robbie Gold, as you heard, sent San Francisco home with a 15-14 win over the Bears. Mark, the 49ers, Mark, by the way. Marky, Mark in the funky box. Oh, yeah. Nice job.

When you can lock up a one-win team that gets its second win with the lock you just nailed, you go with it. It's kind of like how they say, clock is right two times a day. Like, if you do enough of these, like, wild locks, you're going to get one eventually. I tied Greg in the standings after today's results after his hideous Redskins attempt. So which squad is rebuilding?

Which squad is rebuilding? Between you and Greg. Greg was just using that as a coping game. Yeah, Greg threw out this, we're tanking business. In games of, you know, I don't know what to call it, wagering, Greg does never try to tank. Greg always must try to win. Compulsively must win or else. By the way, Linz, if we're bringing up locks.

Another one for you. Yeah, I did lock up this. Oh, that was a surprise. You know, before our Sky Sports hit. Oh, look, let's let's just play. Give us some air. Not a breeze. Nine and four, I'm cruising towards that division title.

Yeah, and before our Sky Sports hit in the U.K., Dan floated this idea that we should have a trophy for the winner of the lock contest, but it should start this year. Wait, wait, we got Dan in a major lead here, yeah? No, of course. So let's start rolling out the trophy. I say, let's trophy next year. That's a fine thing to start next year.

What is this trophy in the shape of? Is it going to be like in your likeness? Should be a master lock. No, it would be. Yeah, it should be a giant lock. Yeah, it should be something lock and then maybe name plates for each winner and whoever wins the trophy gets to have it on their desk for the season. Sure, starting next to.

And your theory, Mark, is really mean-spirited and hurts my feelings. You would want to start next year when I win next year's lock competition. Let's do it this year. I think that, like, it's a great idea. And, like, we don't, you know, we're not going to grandfather it into this season. We'll start fresh with it as a concept for next season. Hey, Lindsay, let's huddle privately. No.

This is what we do. Lindsay, don't even think about it. The old Zeus are behind the scenes, makes things happen for the show. It might be a trophy showing up. Or for himself. Hey, if I win. I deserve the trophy. Why are you trying to take that from me?

I win next year and we can talk. Anyways, correct. Anyway, let's move on. Yeah, I can't wait for that trophy. It's coming this year. Mark, the 49ers hope Jimmy G is their long-term answer to QB. How do you look today? Oh, wow.

Let me tell you something. You're a 2-10 team and your fan base should be feeling like they are on fire right now. You have somehow in the middle of this season found your franchise quarterback, assuming that there's no issue. locking him up with a long-term contract and giving him whatever he wants and you make it happen. I don't know what you want to point to in this game. Is it from the very beginning

the pristine passes, the aggressive throws. A Niners' offense completely lost at sea had something like 13 or 14 plays of 10 plus yards, most all of them through the air. He opens up the ground game. He sees the entire field. Maybe it's the end of the game when he authors a 14-play, 86-yard

drive that takes 5 plus minutes off the clock and completely takes the bear's chances of a and he's sort of coming back off of that to zero because they click the clock right down to nothing and kicked a game-winning field goal. Jimmy G. has not been on this team for long. This is a tough offense to master, and he came in today,

and it made one of the most impressive debuts, you could imagine. It is an incredibly uplifting scenario for Niners fans who, yeah, I get it. They've had a lot of success, but the past couple years, post Jim Harbaugh, where they tore that team down, they really wondered what would come around.

This is the kind of thing that could, It can completely change Kyle Shanahan, his career there. John Lynch is GM because if they struck out on some draft eligible quarterback and went two more seasons in the abyss, all of that is washed away. You've found someone barring a total disaster. And when they're 3 and 13 or 4 and 12, whatever they finish this year, they can use that chip to maybe trade down and accumulate draft picks and start building that roster because you've solved most likely the most important position on the field.

I didn't see this game, but two things that really impressed me. Marquise Goodwin after the game said, just look at him. He's got it all together. He's got it all together. He came in short time, helped us flip this thing around. Some people are just winners, and he's a winner. That's a telling statement from a wide receiver. And then to hear that the Patriots locker room was celebrating Jimmy V's victory in his performance,

shows you how well liked he was in New England, and what a bright future he has. Like I said Jimmy V. They're like, Jim Valvano, let's watch that Villanova game again. I love Jimmy Veefeeling. Before we move on, Tariq Cohen had an incredible punt return for a touchdown. Somebody on Twitter said, hey, cut that the bear's call of that.

So let's listen in on Cohen's touchdown, which was quite a thing to behold. Cohen catches cleanly. Now he's going to run wide and give up 10, 15 yards. He's circling back up the scene. Left and there he goes. Tariq Cohen is gone, baby. 20, 15, 10, touchdown bears.

He finally got one. He really salvaged that cold because it started out a little slow. It's all right. Jeff Janiak with it called WBBM. Trey Cohen is the new Darren Sproles. Let's move on. At the 20 at first and 10,

handoff bounces off the first. It swerves near left. 15, 10, 5, hops into the end zone. Touchdown. And the Packers take it 26 to 20. in overtime over Tampa Bay. The playoff hopes alive and a Lambo leap for Aaron Jones. Wayne Larravee, WTMG with the call.

Yes, Aaron Jones had a 20-yard touchdown run in overtime. It was his only carry the game and the Packers escape with a 26 to 20 win over the mistake-prone Buccaneers. It does keep Green Bay slim playoff hopes alive with Aaron Rogers' return, potentially two weeks away. So a little bit of intrigue here in the NFC with the idea that Rogers could be around. They got to keep winning, though, to stay in the mix. I believe, what are they, six and six now? They're six and six.

They have the Browns next week. That lost last week to the Steelers looms as a crushing defeat. Yeah, they have to win out and then maybe get help. But with Aaron Rogers, if they can even get to eight and six with Aaron Rogers, let's have some fun. That sounds exciting. And you just hope Rogers is healthy enough. to make it through whatever games he plays. Anyway, the player that Rogers will eventually mercifully replace, of course,

is Brett Hunley, who he threw for 84 yards today. How many quarterbacks? Essentially five quarters. I also say how many quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, would you say, have gone deep into an overtime game or into an overtime affair with 84 yards passing? That's got to be a short list. It wasn't like 1927 football either. they were throwing the ball.

He had 22 attempts. It just doesn't have the accuracy and it just wasn't happening. It's their fewest passing yards in a win since week night of 1994. When Farrve dropped a 6 of 15 for 82 yards in a, and this is weird, 33 to 6 win over the bears. That's equally beguiling. That's very strange. Biggile. One more point about this game, so we've got to keep moving.

James Winston is not having a good year. And he is up to 50 career turnovers in 41 games. And we saw it again today. He made some plays, kept him in the game, showed the flashed why he should be considered. Still at only 23 years old, a future kind of franchise presence. But Eddie Haskell also struggled. He keeps on, this has been a thing that if you're a Bucks fan,

you know this well, that when he's being wrapped up and he's being pulled to the ground or it looks like a play is dead and he's going down. fling the ball or try to like, you know, he'll try to salvage the play that's already dead. And it leads to a killer turnover that happened again. And doing that. That's so often. And he had some issues with the center quarterback exchange with an inexperienced player snapping him in the ball. So Winston, another up and down game.

It's been a very frustrating season for him. And I think the Bucks, who are in last place in the NFC South, cannot get to January 1st, quick enough. This was the most important result of the day to me. anything that increases the chances of seeing Aaron Rogers and making the Packers the most interesting team to watch instead of one of the worst teams to watch is good. And Wes, good point, but wrong. Not the most important thing

because we haven't talked about the Broncos and Dolphins yet. Okay. First and 10, Trevor Simeon, out of the shotgun. Back to throw, fires on the out. Well, there's a pickball by Xavier. Howling, a pick six for Miami. That's out Miami. All right.

I like that guy at the end. Good for him. They still got the joy. Jimmy Cephalo WQAM with the call. Xavier Howard's 30-yard pick six was the really exclamation point on a really nice defensive effort by the Dolphins. They snap a five-game losing streak by beating up on the horrendous Denver Broncos, a 35-9 final. The Broncos, who once upon a time were seen as an AFC favorite, have lost eight in a row. and Shook, this season is officially, it already was,

but this is a dumpster fire for Denver, and much of that goes back to the quarterback position. Trevor Simeon, no help today. They have completely fallen off a cliff, and we've gone through all the quarterbacks on this team already, and then we got back to Trevor Simeon, and everyone was like, well, now Denver's going to actually play their best quarterback, which I agreed with to a point.

Is that correct? And then he goes and puts that out today. That wasn't anybody specific. Okay, we're just the general fan. And then today he goes out and does a 19-of-41 for 200-yard performance, with three interceptions. He also dropped a snap in the shadow of his own goalpost, which he then had to push out of the back of the end. Should not do that. Hold on to that. Was there two safeties? There was two safeties. There was a safety early and there was a safety

late when Isaiah McKenzie tried to return a punt and ran back toward his own end zone and fumble the ball in the goal line. The Broncos are a disaster in every phase of the game, which is it's really just, it's disappointing because they do still have some talent defensively. Justin Simmons had a nice interception, Chris Harris had a nice one too. There are signs. You obviously have guys like Von Miller on that team, and they have the personnel, but they're just a bad football team. Those things get lost in a season like this, and yet they're three and nine, and they could very easily wind up with three wins on the year, and you have to wonder,

I know you just spent a first round pick on Paxton Lynch, who you trade it up for, but if you're John Elway that you cannot go into next season with this kind of situation I wonder if they sit out there there's a couple quarterbacks in this draft coming up that they might have to say

Miakalpa on Paxton Lynch we're going to have to start over Well what about who would be coaching that would be quarterback because is Vance Joseph in trouble because this season the Broncos don't have these seasons and I think that

if they do end up going 3 and 13, 4 and 12 I wonder if Joseph is one and done I wonder if he is a one and done candidate From everything I've been told, he's in some pretty hot water. Yeah. And there's an obvious... You got a triple source in that, by?

They were around the NFL insider. Wait, so the... How many sources he got there? He's on your turf! So Elway would fire him with no acknowledgement that there are issues that are related to Elway with this. And that's my problem with it, is this talent on this team, yeah, they've got some at some positions. But I think Elway's player evaluation should be questioned. This one's not on, John.

It says John. I see no. Every time we've seen Paxton Lynch play, he doesn't look like he has a future. No. And I guess you're telling me this is the game I went down with the ship on Trevor Simeon. It's not salvageable. But who made that pick at Paxton Lynch?

John Elway did. John Elway did. And he's going to continue to skate. And I think it's about time that we turn a little bit of the pressure toward him, too. Let's see how he does in this draft. All right. I'll give him that. But it's starting to look bad.

Nick, back off. If you know what. what's good for you or this one's for you and he's holding up a knuckle sandwich what about elway 1987 john elway against 2017 nick shook bare knuckle obviously shirtless street fight in the back oh wait wait can this take place on the field at cleveland municipal state oh i like this uh let's go let's go back one more year let's go into the end zone where he uh ended the drive yeah to just ramp it up. I'll come flying out of the stands and deck him right before

he completes that touchdown pass. Well, no, no, we're not time traveling in that sense. One of the greatest athletes in history at his peak. Yes. Shook probably has him by 30 or 40 pounds. Right. Elway was pretty speedy. Yeah, he's a tremendous athlete.

Wait, is it a race or is it just an out and out brawl? I said it's a shirtless bare knuckle brawl in the end zone of Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1987. Well, you know what stands there now is First Energy Stadium. so we could just do that there. Okay.

We're getting hung up on the semantics line. Yes, we are. I want to say, all right, we'll just go to the Kiss and Cousins on this. Who wins the fight? I'm not, I recuse myself. Okay. I'm unclear because you said it's not a time-traveling scenario, but it's happening in 1987 at Cleveland Stadium.

Shook, I appreciate you on many levels, but I'm going to go with the Hall of Fame quarterback on this one. I would say Shook definitely has a size advantage. muscle advantage but pro athletes are a different phenomenon I don't know if Shook is angry enough you'd have to be

you need to see a little more true got too much love in his heart well you know like in the Christmas story when Ralphie like snaps on the bully and it all like builds up and then he explodes with rage imagine all the Browns rage

that will be inside you when you're looking at that you're going to cry for me cry I think L.A. would take you out But I think you get some shots. How about Shook versus Art Maudel? Ooh. I'm shooking that one.

All right. Okay. Let's move on to a little Sunday night football talk. Oh, Sunday night. Kissick wide to the far side. Jimmy Graham wide to the near side. Russell, empty backfield. Eagles look like they want to rush four.

They do. Russell takes the time. Look over the top. He's got a man. McKiddick. Touchdown. See, oh. Seahawks Radio Network with the call Russell Wilson

through three touchdown passes without interception another brilliant performance by Seattle's Field General and the Seattle Seahawks a 24 to 10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles my goodness who lose for just the second time all season a truly epic win here for Seattle epic in the regular season is a little strong But Mark, such a big win for the Seattle Seahawks.

So it moved to 8 and 4, solidify their place in the playoff race, just when a lot of people had ruled them out a couple weeks ago. What a big win. Yeah, I mean, it would have been easy to make a case, I believe I did incorrectly on Thursday, our last show, that this would be the game where Philadelphia continues to do what it's done all season, which is who cares where the game is occurring. Go in, run rough shot, use your run game, use your defense,

get everything you need from Carson Wentz, maul the Seahawks, and separate entirely from the rest of this NFC. Now the NFC is more muddled than ever. And I think this is a fantastic effort by Seattle. Best game of the year for them. Muddled in a great way. This is going to be really fun how this shakes out now because the Eagles still the number one seed, 10 and 2.

The Vikings also 10 and 2. The Saints, now just one game back of the number one seed. they are nine and three. The Seahawks, who everyone wrote off, like I said, after Richard Sherman and Cam Chancellor disappeared, now eight and four. They don't forget about the Rams at nine and three, and the Panthers hanging around at eight and four. And the Falcons, the defending conference champions now suddenly, after everyone finally was like, all right, the Falcons are okay. On the outside looking in, and it might be hard, Shook, and Wes had to leave us today, so it's just the three of us now. Shook, it might be hard for the Falcons to work their way back into this because there's just so much.

much meat up top. Yeah, you know, for as big of a game as I thought this would be in terms of a test for the Eagles, because, you know, I've been a big believer of them for a good majority of the season. You know, they haven't given me a reason not to until tonight, you know, for as big of a test as it was for them. It was also a monumental game for the Seahawks because this is going to throw them right back into the pack, just like you said, you know, they're going to be sitting right there, you know, with the fifth seed in the wildcard at 8 and 4.

They have a game lead over the Falcons who have been, you know, coming up at the pack, of late except for today and their loss. And we only have four games left. So you're right. The Falcons, and they have a tough stretch ahead of them. The Falcons could be 10 and 6 to miss the playoffs. That's what's happening in the NFC right now. And this game, Wilson, and we've talked about it. I had a disagreement with Greg on this podcast a couple weeks ago because he said that

Russell Wilson, there's no way he should be in the MVP conversation. Watch this game in prime time against the best team in the league. And tell me Russell Wilson should not be in that conversation because he is this offense. he's leading a Seattle team that is truly dangerous if they can get into the playoffs, which right now they're on track. And a big play in this game, Mark, and you said it when we're watching, that lateral that Wilson threw. I think it was at that point a seven point game in the fourth quarter. It looked like it went forward, but the challenge flag did not come out. And Doug Peterson is going to regret that tonight. Yeah, he'll be asked about that because, you know, and it's tough these days to, in theory, when that happens in your Seattle, and the call is out there, it's suspect, but you get the snap off quick. A lot of times there's way, the opposition finds ways to quickly analyze, stop the game, timeout, whether it's the refs upstairs, whatever,

to get that thing corrected. And this is one of those cases where Seattle got back on the field, snapped the ball quickly, and that play, I don't know if we had this result, if that play doesn't go the way it did. Because Carson Wentz and the drive before, you know, we talked about MVP, he made the throw, one of the throws we've seen all season where, you know, he's getting dragged to the ground. whips it down field.

You think it's just going to go to no one. Bang, huge completion. And Nelson Agler, another beautiful tear drop thrown. This was such a fun game. It was. Because you have two athletic, imaginative quarterbacks at the top of their game, and it just goes to show you, the NFL could use a few more of these guys. Yes, they can.

Because some of these games that have not been so great to watch in prime time, usually a problem is that we don't have two good quarterbacks involved. In this case, we have two quarterbacks that really are fun, exciting players. players. And even if the game wasn't as close as maybe you thought it would be, Seattle took care of business here ultimately. This was a fun game throughout each corner. And with that playing question, you know, it's kind of a hard decision to make on the fly. You talk about how they usually find a way to stop it. You know, they throw the challenge flag or a coach that's going to call a timeout to then think about challenging it, which is always foolish, but whatever, if you need to buy some more time, or you get the bus from upstairs, and they didn't get that there. but it was kind of a mirage, you know, because you have these players moving forward, and Wilson was ahead of the guy he pitched it to, but, you know, even we, us sitting here when

we couldn't, we couldn't tell right away that it was. No, on the broadcast, you know, Chris Collinsworth is saying, oh, that's definitely forward, and we're saying, you know, what are you talking about? And then after they slow it down and they put a line on the field, they do all the other different things, and you're like, oh, that was forward. That's a hard call to make in that situation. One final point before we get out of here. I don't know if you guys disagree.

I'm not, I don't see this loss is something. Now, oh, I'm worried a little bit about the Eagles. Like, Zach Ertz went out of this game with a head injury, and hopefully that's not a long-term issue. But that's a major loss for the Eagles and for Carson Wentz, that's his trusted security blanket and number one playmaker this year. So take him out of the mix of this game, and that's a major thing that you can't overlook.

And they're still in great shape to take the one seat if they take care of some business. Yeah, we look at teams like the Rams, the Saints. In recent weeks, they've all had to overcome a loss and come back to next week and get back on track. and I think the Eagles, they go play the Rams next. That's a huge game. In L.A. In L.A.

Two games in a row. Then they have a third game on the road, but that's against the Giants. And then you close with the Raiders and the Cowboys. So I think we're looking at a team. It's going to go about 13 and 3 here. And the flip side of it, I just made the case for why Shook,

we should not, if you're an Eagles, don't get too upset. Flip side as this was, they were just wrecking all these lesser teams for the past month or so. And then they got punched in the mouth here. So next week becomes a test for the Eagles who were not able to play up to the Seahawks ability or level on Sunday night.

And now they get another big test against a 9 and 3 Rams team that's still in the mix for the number one seat itself. Look, this is a team that hasn't lost since September. And sometimes these losses at this point in the season are the best thing that can happen to you because it brings you back to Earth, makes you realize A, you're not invincible, B, you can get better. And C, this season is far from over. And these guys are going to come back to bring everything that they can.

And they're going to experience that the next four weeks. All right. So there you go. That is Sunday Night Football. that is week 13. One more game to play on Monday, Mark, between the Bengals, the Steelers. One team with hope, one fading into the distance. I don't care what anyone says about the Bengals. They are not a playoff team in my mind as I put my computer in my bag and go home. Mark, literally packing it in. Doing it. As we try to get out of here. All right, next time you

hear from a, by the way, Nick, thanks for helping us out. Great job, Nick. Thanks for having me on. You're a stud. And I would take L.A. in a street roll. But I think I would give you literally a puncher's chance in it. Yeah, yeah. That's fair. That's fair. And that is not at a front to you. No, no. And I understand. You know what? I'll entertain the fantasy and that's cool. But he's

a supreme athlete, so. All right, so there you go. We'll be back on Tuesday with another show and Connie Fox and maybe even Chris Wessling and Greg Rosenthal will be back until then. Russell Wilson for MVP. Let's do this. It's got the case going.

You're on the train. So he's behind the glass. away. Dan will play. Dan Hansa signing off for Quiet Storm, the mailman, Nick Shook. Lindsay Fulton until Tuesday. In the heat. In the heat of battle, your squad relies on you.

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