NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Week 15 MNF Doubleheader Recap: Is Time up for Kirk?

Episode Date: December 17, 2024

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Nick Shook to recap the Week 15 Monday Night Football doubleheader featuring the Falcons at the Raiders and the Bears at the Vikings. First, Gregg and Nick talk about Falcons-Raiders and have a discussion about whether or not the Falcons should bench Kirk Cousins (0:55), followed by the Bears-Vikings recap and a look at the Vikings' chances at being the NFC's number-one seed (16:31). After the break, injury updates for Patrick Mahomes and David Montgomery (30:16) and the players of the week (42:33). Note: time codes approximate.NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Welcome to NFL Daily where we're thinking it's time for a quarterback change. I'm Greg Rosenthal here. in my garage, joined by my friend Nick Shook, who just wrote up a double-headers worth of games on Monday night football. Shook described to me your experience with Vikings Bears and Falcons Raiders.

Gross. The football was gross. It was entertaining at times, but it was gross. It was. It was a weird, late-season pair of games where you were watching the four teams playing and you saw one team that has a chance, a real chance to be the number one seed in the NFC, one of the stories of the year. And then you just saw three other teams. All right, let's start with two others of those teams because I think the most interesting story of the night

actually happened in Las Vegas. Two seconds left, final play of the game. Ritterall straight drop now, up in the pocket, going to hang it for the end zone, and it is. Intercepted by Atlanta to end the game Holy smokes Your heart's in your throat when Ritter throws it in the end zone

And Jesse Bates has come away with the interception To end the ball game Of course it was Jesse Bates Who got the game winning play That's what Jesse Bates does Falcons win 15 to 9 That was West Durham on WZ And what you could hear there, what was a sigh of relief, not just from Mr. Durham, but from

Kirk Cousins, from Rahim Morris, the embarrassment that would have come from losing to Desmond Ritter, scoring two touchdowns in the last three minutes of a game you were leading 15 to 3, but just looked awful on offense throughout. It would have been enough to power sports talk radio in Atlanta for a couple of weeks. Nick, I wasn't expecting to lead with this game, but I think the Kirk Cousin situation is at such a code red that even though they won the game, I really am thinking they're going to bench Kirk Cousins

or they should bench Kirk Cousins. I'm actually feeling like it may happen. What was your takeaway just watching him play tonight against the Raiders? He looked like he has for most of the last month, which is a stretch in which he's thrown zero touchdowns and eight interceptions entering tonight. And he doesn't look comfortable. He looks hesitant.

He looks like the pass rush, which has been in his face a lot this year, has started to mess with him mentally. His passes are not coming out with quite as much zip as they did before. A lot of downward trajectory passes. Just doesn't look like a quarterback who feels as if or plays as if he commands the salary that he does or that he should be out there. And for a Falcons team that is very much still in the race in the NFC, South, I don't think that they can waste any more time.

I think we talked about this two weeks ago on our Sunday recap, show in which we basically agreed at the time that, hey, he's not helping them, he's hurting them. And they won the game tonight, but it wasn't because of him, say, for one pass to Drake London. I mean, there was a lot left to be desired, including the fact that they trust him to throw on third down when they could have ran the ball and drained 40 more seconds off the clock, because, you know, as I've often said, the one thing he can't afford to do is give Desmond Ritter a minute 50 to go the length of the field. And they did that. They got in position to throw two not quite Hail Marys from the 30.

You're right. They could have run the ball. I was actually surprised they let Kirk Cousins throw the ball. I believe it was, what, a third and nine. Their past midfield, the first down wins the game, but you're under two minutes to go. The Raiders don't have any timeouts. If you run the ball, it takes it down to about 120. And one of the reasons I thought they would just run the ball there is they didn't let Kirk Cousins do that much throughout the final three quarters of this game. He threw for 112 yards. He went 11 of 17. He took three sacks against the Raiders. in the first half of this game. And yeah, the pressure was in his face, but a lot of it, and Troy Aikman, I mean, rather Dan Orlovsky and Louis Riddick were pointing it out throughout the broadcast. He was just late and on that play where they did trust him,

where they said, you know what, you are our franchise quarterback. If you were playing at a normal level, we would let you throw this ball. He was a beat late, and that ball could have easily been intercepted. And that play was what put me over the top that I think a change is coming. Now, it's stupid to make predictions on a Monday night podcast.

I put this out there on blue sky and everyone pushes back and just says it's so hard to get a rookie up to speed. And Charles McDonald, who's a Falcons fan, one of the best writers, podcasters out there, is like Falcons would never do it. They're too afraid. And I get that. but I felt a little better after listening to Rahim Morris after the game. Here he is answering a couple questions about cousins. He's got to play better.

And, you know, obviously you got to go back. Got to be a look at everything. But, you know, he wants to play better. He's got to play better. We've got to find a way to get him to play better. And obviously, we'll get to work tomorrow. And that's a part of our process, right? You go, you look at the tape, you review with the people that needs to be reviewed with.

You know, we get all the coordinator's the room. We'll talk with everybody. And we got to play better at the quarterback position. So part B to that, if he can, are you prepared to replace him with Michael Pennings? You know, we got everybody in our roster for a reason, right? We got so much to get better at. And, like, those things will always be discussed.

That's just the nature of the beast in football. It's just so heavily talked about it at the quarterback position because there's only one guy out there. You know, so like for us, man, our mentality is the final way to win the next game. That's just the mentality that we're going to have. I'm surprised people aren't making a bigger deal about this. I mean, we draft guys for a reason.

He was pretty definitive that Kirk's our guy after the last couple of weeks. And that to me spoke differently. Now, he's in the emotion of the moment and maybe once he gets back and watches the tape and the tape's not going to be kind, but once he realized he has to start game planning, maybe he feels different.

But that to me was Rahim Morris leaving the door wide open to go to Michael Pennix here at 7 and 7, even though they're in the playoff race, only one game back. It's a drastic change in tone from what he sounded like two weeks ago, which is when somebody presented that possibility,

he quickly shut it down and was like, no, Kirk's our quarterback. We're not thinking about that. Now he, like you said, is leaving the door wide open. And rightfully so. Her cousins finished 11 of 17 for 112 yards, a touchdown in a pick tonight. And it could have been worse. It could have been two picks.

It could have been much worse. And that's already a bad line. That's not a guy that you pay the amount of money that they're paying him. And they are in a playoff race. They have to seize this opportunity while they have it. Now, their offensive play calling, not really inspired. Bejan Robinson had a really nice night, which kind of kept them afloat offensively. But they can't finish drives.

They haven't finished drives for weeks. And it starts at quarterback. It's not hard to see. the average eye, the average football fan can see what's going on. Kirk Cousins is not playing up to a starting quarterback standard, much less a franchise quarterback standard. And with the playoffs on the line,

you have to consider all options so as to not waste these last three weeks with an opportunity in front of you. So I'm counting they had seven possessions in the second half. I mean, that was the Raiders, sorry. They got, yeah, they got seven as well. They got six points out of it. The two drives that they got went for 15 yards,

in 23 yards. If you did not watch this game, and I don't blame you if you didn't, you wouldn't realize that the Falcons defense and special teams were completely dominant. They blocked two plunts in the game, setting Falcons up in plus territory. The one touchdown came in plus territory

that the block punt set up. They blocked an extra point. The Falcons defense had four sacks. The Falcons defense forced two turnovers. The Falcons defense scored two points. points with the safety. It was all Falcons defense. And that's what I'm talking about. And Rahim Morris knows that. And you said this performance has been coming for weeks in terms of the touchdown interception. That's right. But I actually understood them starting him in this

game because I thought last week he played quarterback. He looked like her cousins. Like Troy Aikman said, like he was making quick decisions. He pushed the ball down the field. He threw two awful interceptions. But they were moving the ball up and down the field. And he had a number of really good throws. Today, tonight, he played scared. This was actually his worst game of the season by far in terms of EPA per play and success rate. Their success rate was way worse than Desmond Ritter and the Raiders who have no talent. Ritter just got there and looked terrible and was actually under more pressure than Kirk Cousins was in this game. And those sacks were like knocking them back into farther field goal range. It was just rough. And it's not even about just making the

playoffs shook because I don't think they're going to make the playoffs it's like what what do we stand for are we trying to do our best to win games we have this kid we got the giants next week Washington and Carolina like they could win all three of those games and hope the bucks stubbed their toe but either way Mike Tomlin says don't don't live in your fears what would Mike Tomlin do Nick shook Mike Tomlin would make the tough decision he would go to Russell Wilson he would have a feel of his team that us on the outside didn't have like go to Michael Pennix yeah I mean I do think about that the Tomlin example is actually kind of good because Tomlin did the reverse. He went from a younger guy to a veteran at a time when they didn't need to when they were winning football

games, but he felt like it was the time to figure out what they had and it's paid off for them for the large part. This would be the opposite. This would be going from a veteran to a rookie in a key spot. But like Rahim said, you draft guys for a reason. You drafted Michael Pennix where you drafted him above where you probably thought, most people thought he was going to get drafted because of the long-term plan and the curiosity of can he be a guy who helps us out quicker than we think. Yeah, we just gave Kirk Cousins all this money, but he's also coming off an Achilles injury. He's not mobile. He scrambled the night for like the second time this year. It didn't look good. It looked like Tom Brady when he was running back in the day and not like

young Tom Brady, older Tom Brady. And so you come to this point now where it's like, why did we spend that pick if we're just going to let him not really rot on the bench, but just sit there and watch us as we continue to struggle? I think the frustrations tonight match what you're saying. The boiling point. It's now boiling over because they know, They have hard evidence that Kirk Cousins is not powering their offense to a victory. Like they needed Bijon Robinson to go for 125 the night to be there. They needed the defense to block two punts and pick off Desmond Ritter once and then twice to end the game.

And even then, they shouldn't have even been in that spot if they had a quarterback who was capable of finishing a game, but they don't. That's not a winning football team. And if you feel like your defense is playing well enough, which it is, and your defense has been better in the past rush in the last few weeks, then you need to have, you know, equal production on the offensive side from Kirk Cousins. They're just not getting it. And thank you for pointing out, Bajan, who went for 125 yards on the ground tonight,

has looked fantastic, went over 1,000 rushing yards. Algier goes for 43, so they run for 167, 168, rather. Kirk Cousins did not add to the rushing total, because even though he had that scramble, had a couple, did he have kneel downs? No, but he somehow lost a couple yards. He had to recover like a botch snap at one time. It had to fall on it. That was very bad snap.

So he ended up with zero yards on three carries, which gives him the hilarious stat line on the season, 23 rushes, zero yards. Not negative, not one. That's hard to do. I know there's a lot of kneel downs in there, but 23 rushes, zero yards. I think it's over, and they drafted Michael Pennix. I supported the pick at the time.

I said because I think quarterbacks are so hard to get. It's a long-term play. They would not have expected it to be a short-term play like now, but the running game is playing well. The defense since the buy, I think it's playing well. I know Troy Aikman said they got, you know, beat up last week. I keep saying Troy Aikman because it's Monday Day football and that's, you know, who I'm used to.

But it was actually Orlovsky and Riddick in his interview with Scott Van Pell afterwards. I actually thought they played very competitively on defense last week until the fourth quarter where their head got caved in. But if you watch the Falcons defense all year, it was like, okay, they're pressuring Sam Dardle. They're making them pull off crazy plays. they actually were better. And they were very good the week before. They're playing better on defense. So you're letting your team down, I believe, if you don't make that change.

Rahim's a defensive guy and his unit is performing. Like, how can you waste that, given that this is your second shot at a head coaching opportunity, your first season there. You got off to a fast start. You've got to capitalize. It's not about hurting feelings or protecting feelings. It's about winning football games. It's a cold business.

Sometimes you've got to make these tough decisions in these spots in order to preserve your job and get the most out of your team. And I actually think the third. future does matter, that it's not just about winning games, that you wouldn't make the change if you didn't think that it's pretty realistic that Michael Pennix gives you a better chance to win. Yeah. Because like an average rookie quarterback at this point would give you a better chance to win. But I think it's okay to think about the development of it all. You could win all three of these games and not even make the playoffs. That Kirk's playing that bad, that the bonus of

developing and seeing your guy for a little bit is worth it. Let's look back to the Eagles. When they drafted Jalen Hertz, they made the switch to him. What happened? The rest is history. Could be a similar parallel there. Let's go. Okay. I'm not going to spend much time on this game. Falcons fans like, yes, your four games streak is over. It feels better to win than to lose. Absolutely. Although I'm introducing the concept, first time I've heard this at least, this is a moral loss. You know, moral victories. People always talk, well, we don't count moral victories. Do you count moral losses? because it's like this was a win that felt

morally to me like a loss when it's one score against Anderson Ritter and you heard Kirk Cousins after the game on the like with the sideline reporter was Laura Rutlett just like he didn't sound happy

at all. Ritter and this offense had about 112 yards until the very end give a little love to Caden Ellis Aurora Rour. My favorite name in football had some good pressure They were playing a little better on defense, and they made this Raiders offense look bad.

It's going to be a tough watch, I think, with Ritter down the stretch here. Sincere McCormick, who's played great for them at running back, got hurt during the game. That was disappointing. Ritter was, had a couple nice passes, but more often was not on target and did not help out Brock Bauer's as fantasy owners tonight. As the Raiders maintained their strength of victory edge over the Giants and are right now the number one overall pick for what it's worth. But that's up in the air. Like, they could lose out and still lose that pick. It depends on opponent's strength and everything if both those teams lose out.

Tankathon, very much in full effect right now. It was funny, the Raiders, I mean, they're a bad football team. And Antonio Pierce's expression on that final drive in which their Ritter is checking down relentlessly because he's, like, afraid to take a shot until the final two throws, final four throws. He's just checking down. And they made a nice one to Jacoby. Like, he had a couple nice throws, but he just. And then they get up to the line and they get a delay game penalty.

And then they show a shot of Pierce. the sideline and he just got this look at his face like you got to be kidding me like really you got that's the Raiders in 2024 that expression right they had this drive early where they were actually moving the ball and then they line up they set up a Jacoby Myers pass and Jacoby Myers takes a sack so then it's second and 20 then they go minus four or five or six something like that on a run then it was second in 26 Ritter hasn't even thrown the ball here then they're third in 26 They decide, well, let's just run the ball and be safe. They hand it off and they fumbled the ball.

That was Alexander Madison on like what was supposed to be a safe run. And I'm thinking like, poor Ritter. I mean, he's missing throws as it is, but he wasn't even involved in this sequence. And that's why I think in part this game had to be so frustrating for the Falcons because they really did dominate on two units of the game in terms of their defense and in terms of their special teams with their block punts and some returns like in their coverage units. It was all good for them other than the offense.

But they do escape seven and seven. Let's go to the one team I talked about before. Yes, the stars of the night. Thank you, Minnesota Vikings for showing up to this doubleheader and being the team that you are and adding so much freaking value to this season. We didn't expect it. But I got to admit, Sam Darnold, Kevin O'Connell,

you've gotten it done. Let's go to Minnesota. 3-0 Vikings first quarter, 5-10 to go, first in goal. Darnold, straight drop, all play action to the end zone and touchdown! Justin Jefferson with a seven-yard touchdown from Sam Darnold. We love you, Randy. That's for you. Oh, great job there by Paul Allen.

Great job by our producer extraordinaire Eric Roberts, I see what you did, Eric, there. You had the call from Paul Allen on KFAN, but then you got the audio from the TV copy with Justin Jefferson, shouting out Randy Moss. Really touching moment before the game, Jake Reed and Chris Carter coming out, holding up Randy Moss's jersey.

Randy Moss announced that he's battling cancer, and he's going to Moss cancer in his words. And so we send the best to him in a really cool touch by the Vikings. And Kevin O'Connell, specifically, apparently came up with that idea, an awesome job by those two wide receivers who showed up on like a day's notice and made their way to Minnesota, made their way to that game to honor the great Randy Moss. They get the win 30 to 12. That's the best way you can honor Randy Moss with great wide receiver play. I think they got it tonight other than that one Justin Jefferson drop. He

goes seven for 73 in a touchdown. Addison had a really nice contested catch. Wasn't the best offensive games shook by the Vikings, but their defense controlled it throughout. They jumped out to that early lead on some short fields. And even if Kevin O'Coddle and Sam Darnel were both bemoaning kind of the lack of efficiency on offense, they put up 30 points. And this game was never competitive. That's what mid-December games are sometimes against bad teams. It didn't make me feel any worse about the Vikings. That's for sure. Nice win by the Vikings 30 to 12. I had some mild concerns just because, you know, Chicago's defense has had its moments over the last year, right? Like, that's how Iber Flus kept his job going to the season, was their defense carried

them to some late season victories and looked like it was coming around. And at times, they've been, you know, a tough draw for opposing offenses. And it felt like they were at times tonight. Sam Darnold at times looked a little hesitant in the pocket. He froze a couple times. He made some questionable decisions in where he was throwing the football. But ultimately, it didn't really hurt them much because they're just a better team. and a lot of that had to do with the defense.

You go into a game against a rookie quarterback, and Brian Flores is coordinating your defense. What's going to happen, Greg? They're going to blitz the hell out of you, and that's exactly what they did. 16 blitz is a blitz rate of 44.4% according to next gen stats. They get 15 pressures. They get a couple of sacks.

They make Caleb Williams run for his life yet again. There was one play in particular. I don't know how long he held the ball for. It was over 10 seconds. Yeah, I did check that one. It was over 10 seconds. He evaded like four rushers. He jumped at one point to avoid getting taken.

it down from behind and just flung a ball out of desperation. Like, that's been the story of the bear season, but especially tonight. The Vikings do a great job defensively. Like you said, gave them some short fields. They were able to convert. Sam Dernel didn't look his best. Justin Jefferson had that drop. But ultimately, they are the superior team and they took care of business as a team with

this many wins does. They stay right on track, even on a night when everything's not perfect. And they get a convincing victory in front of a national audience in all white, snazzy uniforms and continue the train on forward. Oh, it was not a good offensive performance. My reason I wasn't concerned is it's a team game. You're not going to have your A offense every week. I think they've had pretty close to that for the last two or three weeks.

It was more like a C-minus passing game. Darnold barely gets over five yards per attempt. He's under six. He had that interception, which was on a fourth down. He just wasn't that accurate. Under pressure, it was the opposite of what he's been all season. He went eight for 17 for 73 yards. Most of his throws were under.

10 yards. It was actually one of his worst games, I think, because it was one of the offensive lines worst games. And that's probably the concern moving forward. Brian O'Neill looks banged up. He has not played well lately even before this. Makes me wonder if he already was hurt. And so that is a little bit of a concern. But the running game was great. Aaron Jones was awesome. And the defense was dominant. And the offense also was efficient on those first couple of drives to take a two-score lead right off the bat. So the situation of the game does matter to me, and you're just not going to have that A performance every week in a long season. So I'm willing to give that part of the game a pass because we are grading the whole team.

And it was a really good defensive effort where Caleb looked, just lost overall. Yeah, I mean, he had a rough outing. I do caution against the people that haven't seen the Vikings very much. And because they're on national TV tonight, this is like one of their first looks at them. And they think, well, Donald's nothing special because he's been a lot better than he was tonight. I also am just mildly concerned because I'd just like to think in the next month ahead as we approach the postseason in this Vikings team. I'm always trying to poke holes in teams.

And I think about depth. And right tackle was an issue when O'Neill left this game. And David Kessonbury came in and was not good and became a clear weakness and it affected Sam Donald. So like I worry about depth. But I also just worry about, you know, what if this is a blueprint? You have to have the personnel, obviously, to deploy this. But when you face some of the better NFC teams when you get to the playoffs,

is this a blueprint to be able to counter this offense? can the defense then stack up on it? I'm just trying to find the little things that maybe take a team out from being an elite contender to something below that just to prepare myself and separate some from the other. Well, there's such a huge difference between the one seed or the two seed and the five seed.

And those are the three most likely seeds that the Vikings could have. Their playoffs start Sunday in Seattle. Now, they're not one and done the next three weeks, so you don't have the same sort of. pressure, but the rest of their season is against playoffs, or in the case of the Seahawks, potentially playoffs adjacent teams. Now, on a short week against a team that's going to really need a win and has a dangerous defensive front, which I think could give this offensive line

problems if they're not playing well. Then you have the Packers, tough division game. And again, that's kind of why I gave them a little bit of a pass. It's a division game. The Bears know this team pretty well tonight, like it held them down. And then you're at Detroit, which could be for the division to finish up the season before a potential playoff run. If they win all three of those games, they have a real chance at the one seed. If they win all three of those games, they will be the NFC North champions over the lions, which is crazy to think they control that, their fate, as it were. I hate using that. I don't want to say that ever again on this show. But they win out and they win the division.

And I think it's going to be very tough with that slate to win out. But they will absolutely be tested. And I think this was a good warm up from them. I love what I see out of Jonathan Grinard. I loved what I've seen out of Blake Cashman. They survived no Stefan Gilmore. Hopefully they get him back defensively. They did everything they wanted to do.

The bears were two of 15 on third and fourth down combined. And so that was really impressive. And I know it's the bears. and Caleb just won't let go of the ball and that was a big part of them succeeding, but I think it's partly because Minnesota was showing them so many different looks.

Yeah, and I also think that the production could be better, but that's been the case for them pretty much all season. I'm not worried about Caleb. I think they have their guy. He has some incredible talents that have exceeded my expectations.

It's just a matter of improving the situation. I'm a little worried. I'm a little worried. What are you worried about? That he just isn't seeing the field well. He was frustrating Troy Akeman, in this game and that can easily click into place with a better coach and probably will next year. Like, I, just the ceiling for him is so high. I was thinking he was, you know, one of the

best prospects I've ever seen that he's missing some open receivers. The game seems a little fast for him. And his default right now is just to not throw an interception, which is, is fine. It's not working well right now. But just, you would like to see the processing, the decision making. But he's a, he's a rookie. I'm not worried about him being a good NFL player, but just hasn't been a good. This is almost like a worst case scenario for what I thought his rookie year could be, and it's happened, you know. I think it could be much worse, I think, than it is right now, because I've seen enough proof to make me think, all right, he's got it. It's just that the situation around him, the coaching staff needs to be better. There are times where the speed of the game, as you mentioned, kind of

speeds him up. They were in a red zone situation tonight where he had a guy open on a fade and he just overshot him in the corner of the end zone. The throw was there. A bunch of those. But that's a rookie thing. That's the thing that happens when you still don't have a lot of experience. He was accurate. He was accurate. And he's trying to make all those extra plays. And it's not happening for it. How much of that is a product of knowing that you have to be a bit of a hero?

And trying too hard. I know it sounds simplistic, but trying too hard in those situations, I think, is that's why that happens at times. I just think that the natural talent's there. And if you make the situation around him better, he'll be fine. Absolutely. I was so confident he's going to be a good pro and still. am, that this was the baseline to me of, like, close to the worst case scenario. I mean, the team is four and ten.

They've lost their coach. They're on an interim coach. They lost their office of coordinator. He's struggling out there. Everyone's frustrated. A lot of it is on the coaching. Don't get me wrong. I have no doubts long term of Caleb Williams, but I have been test driving a theory, which

even at the dinner table, I'm getting pushed back. That's bias. And I know people think it's biased, but I really don't think it is. I think if you redrafted right now, I would take Drake May first. Oh, God. Here we go. Okay. I don't think that's crazy.

That's fair. I mean, other people that are smart, not, I shouldn't say it. Other people, like, had Drake, not many, but some people had Drake May higher than Jane Daniels. And some, like Nate Tice even had him higher than Caleb Williams going into it. So I think if you went into it with that, I think all things considered, he's shown the most pro traits, especially with his age and maturity of all three of them. If you're like factoring in the age and the experience, all that, I don't think it's crazy.

I think all three of them are close. Let's remove the Patriots Association for a second. And I agree with you with what you're saying with Drake May. Do you think that Jaden Daniels does better in this offense than Caleb Williams has right now? Because Jaden, far and away, looks like the best quarterback. back in this class so far. Not on your talent, but in results. So I don't want,

I don't want commanders fans to get it to us. He's had the best rookie season and is, is in a perfect situation for what he has needed to do. And yes, I think he would be doing better in this system.

Because then that's number one. Yeah. That's your first pick. Okay. I'm, what I saw from him in New Orleans. I'm drafted for the next 10 years. Okay, that's fair.

And yeah, and you worry about Derby. or whatever else. But what I saw... It's not even about durability. It's like Jaden does what he does really, really well. I think in terms of being able

to manage the pocket, stay in the pocket. I think the situation around May is so bad. And if you look over the last two or three weeks, like find me the negative play where he's not making the right decision. He's done things in terms of his decision making and his accuracy and his poised

that I did not expect this early. And you know the physical tools are there if and when the right coach and system are around him. Jaden's floor is exceptionally high and is clearly higher than Drake May's right now. But the kid's three years older. That means a lot to me. Like, he's played a lot more football.

Like, that's a lot. It's hard to separate quarterback from situation, I think. And we often do that unfairly to quarterbacks that go into really bad situations and don't produce. I think I'll go back to Tim Couch the Browns in 99 and through 2001. I mean, he had no weapons around him, no

offensive line, right? But, like, May missed one throw in his game against Arizona. Like, I know finished 10 for 10 in the first half and everything else. But he only missed one throw. And then I went to Jayden's game and I was like, that was pretty damn good too. He was great too. Both these guys are really good. Even the number, as bad as the situation is, the success rate, the EPE per play, all that with the QBR with Drake Me. He's actually quite good. It's like above league average starter, which is crazy. So I am, I am Grady on a curve. I think it's a fun discussion. Clearly this game didn't give us enough to talk about. No, who didn't. You just diverted into that.

But this is what the people come to NFL daily for. Yes, absolutely. Love this Vikings team in what they're giving us. It's just a great, great fan base. I love the fan bases that are getting rewarded right now. The Vikings, maybe the Lions fans don't feel like they're getting rewarded. Take the big picture. They are the bills.

We have a lot of potentially really fun Super Bowl matchups. Let's take a quick break, Nick. We're going to come back. We're going to do some news. And then we're going to give out our captain's. of the week, back in the middle. Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin.

And this is NFL cover zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to.

again. Listen NFL cover zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. What's up everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development to team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week we study the tape, talk to decision makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster

construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full. picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL fantasy football podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet, we've got the insight to help you crush your

opponents. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Back on NFL Daily. Not a ton of news on this Monday night. Most of the news is unfortunate news because it's injury-related.

And we'll start with Patrick Mahomes. Further tests on his ankle revealed a, quote, mild ankle, high ankle sprain. According to our national NFL insider, Ian Rappaport, I don't know what a mild high ankle sprain is. It's like I've never heard that before other than, you know, when it comes to Patrick Mahomes, but it's a high ankle sprain. And Ian put out a little video that I saw in Blue Sky, which suggested it might make some sense

that he sits out this Saturday game against the Texans in hopes of getting ready to play on Christmas against, who is it, on Christmas, the Steelers. Now, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but it's like Netflix, you know, they're sweating. They don't want Carson Wentz on, Christmas, like, giving you a big lump of coal. Yeah, but at the same time, do you want Carson Wentz on a Saturday?

No, but this is what happened. You know, I think, yeah, I think it's a rare, like, Chiefs Texans game. Yeah, that's, like, yeah, in the middle of the afternoon. No, yeah, but it's just more realistic that he could miss the first one and get the second one at least. I mean, frankly, I'd sit him out for the next two games to preserve his health for the playoffs, and maybe he comes back to, you know, play the Broncos and affect their seating. they, you know, reach the playoffs.

It's wise. Like, you've gotten to this point for a reason. It's so that you have a little bit of breathing room to be able to do something like this if something unfortunate, like his injury has occurred. We know what the chiefs are about. They're chasing a three-pe. There is no need to risk him on a Saturday game when you have a short week after that. I don't think it's good.

I mean, they could lose one or two of those games. Does not really bother me very much without him because their offense isn't all that spectacular with him. Now, he elevates them and converts their down. and does the magic things that he does, but I'm not overly concerned about this long term. I would really worry more about can he play in the playoffs than can he play this Saturday and the next Wednesday.

I have to admit, I have not watched that game back yet. It's next on my list. I'm going to watch it Tuesday morning. He had the lowest PFF grade for a game that he's had, and I don't know how long. It was 43. I can't remember ever seen that with Patrick. He's getting bruised and battered.

So I think physically he could use the time. Now, the only thing I'd push back on is that the one seat is huge for them. The bills, the way they're looking and they have the Jets and the Patriots twice in the final three weeks, they're unlikely to lose any of those games. The Chiefs can only lose one more game and hold on to the number one overall seed. And the schedule is not easy. You know, the Texans are not playing well, but that's a good defense. And then the Steelers, I think, is an even matchup right now with the Chiefs.

If you're asking me to set that line, I don't believe in the Steelers quite as much as certainly the Ravens, who their underdogs or the Eagles of teams like that. But them and the Chiefs, like, that's not an easy game, not an easy defense. So these aren't guaranteed wins, even if Mahomes is playing. And so it's really interesting to watch how they manage this. And I think he is, quote, unquote, built different. That's what Ian Rapp, you know, Ian said. And it's true he has played through injuries before,

but it's one thing to play through him in the playoffs. It's another thing to do it in week 15 or 16. So we'll see. We'll see what happens. I'm very curious. It adds a little intrigue to this one seat, even though it's not in the way that you want. Let's go to more bad injury news.

The Lions got surprising news on David Montgomery. he has a torn PCL. He is likely to miss the rest of the season. That's a heartbreaker because he is the heart and soul of their team. Aleem McNeil, it's been confirmed that he has a torn ACL. He was playing almost at a Pro Bowl level, I would say. Was their second best defensive lineman when Hutchinson was there? Was their best alongside Daria Smith who's been great for them since Smith showed up?

Brutal, brutal injury there. And then Carlton Davis has a broken jaw in his out. about six weeks, which would give him a chance to return late in the playoffs. Maybe the NFC title game if you just did the math out. But he's going to be out for a while. He's their best, you know, outside cornerback. It's just brutal. You feel for everyone involved there.

I know it's just football, but like the fans and Dan Campbell and most importantly, these players who are part of this magical journey. And especially a guy like Montgomery, just to be taken out of it is absolutely brutal. Yeah, I mean, one of the biggest components to reach in the Super Bowl, or at least making a deep playoff run is staying healthy. Like, that's really what separates some of the best teams from teams that could have been there and aren't. And the hits keep coming for them at a level that almost matches the 49ers at this point. And they've done a pretty good job of plugging holes in the dam. The Davis injury is going to be significant because of the state of their secondary as it was before.

He didn't play perfect by any means. He had moments where he could have been better. but what's really going to matter the most is that defensive front. I think Aline McNeil losing him after you lost Hutchinson already. Zadaria Smith played I think less than 50% of snaps on Sunday. They're trying to rotate guys and they're trying to make it work.

That's going to really hurt. And then of course, David Montgomery won half of this great backfield tandem. There's been games where he's just put it away. I think we go way back to week one where they just run it down the throw of their opponent to salt away that victory in overtime. And now you're left with just Jemir Gibbs, who's a great running back,

but it just takes away all these strengths of your team. How many can you weather before it takes you down as a team? That's what concerns me the most. It's crazy to try to think about ranking, like, because they've had so many big losses. Now, they just haven't had many on offense. And my thought has been all along that, look, if you have the best offense in the league and their offense is still relatively healthy, you have a pretty good chance to win two home games to make the Super Bowl. You've got to get to home games.

And to do that, you're going to have to win in Chicago next week, like their chances. You're going to have to win in San Francisco on a Monday night football game. Not a gimmie, but like their chances. And then you're going to have to beat the Vikings in what is almost the start of the playoffs in week 18, possibly. Maybe the Vikings will trip up a couple times before that. It's unlikely and make that easier. Maybe they can get luck that way. But if you have the best offense in the league, you have a chance that I.

still think they can be about the best offense in league, even without Montgomery. Jamir Gibbs and David Montgomery are not the same. Montgomery is the heart and soul of this team. He is the guy you trust to get those big yards to close out these games. He is an exceptional running back. Jamir Gibbs has been on this team now for a little while. He could be top three running backs in the league good. That is how good he is in terms of his pure talent.

his yards per touch, rushing and receiving compared to Montgomery, are not close. So can Jemir Gibbs step up a level here and give us five, six games where he's the best running back in the league? I actually don't think that's that crazy of a thought. As great as Sequin Barclay is, I'm not saying he's going to have a better season.

I'm just saying for five games, can he give you that sort of production? I think he's that good where he could give you that sort of production. I think the most important facet of this offense is their offensive line, which is still intact. And as long as that's intact,

you're still going to have a pretty good chance of winning, provided you can get a few more stops than you did against Buffalo on Sunday. That's going to be the big Achilles heel. Right. Carlton Davis, he's a manned corner. They love to play man corner. Those don't grow on trees. So even though it felt like he got picked on here or there, I thought he had a really good season for them

because what they asked out of their guys is a lot. We're going to fly through the rest of these. The Titans and the Browns are primed to change their starting quarterbacks. If there's one thing we're known for here at NFL Daily, it's the maxim that if your head coach does not commit to your starting quarterback on a Monday, a change is coming on a Tuesday. And the Titans did not commit to Will Levis.

The Browns did not commit to James Winston. So look for those changes. Stay tuned for more on that. And that does make me think maybe Rahe Morris, who did not commit to Kirk Cousins, is going to make that change. It is a Monday. Those moves, I'm not going to say they're soft tanks.

In fact, the Titans, I think, have a better chance to win with Mason Rudolph. Brown's a little bit of a soft thing, maybe. That curiosity about DTR, man. It rains. I know he's the guy more likely to... What that tells me is they're not bringing back

James as like a backup or... Yeah, and honestly, I very much question the future of Will Levis. I know it was one game, but kind of was so bad. It was so bad. It wiped out all the goodwill he'd built over the last six weeks. And I'm very curious to see if they make a move in a different direction in the off season now. I expect they will.

he's either going to be their backup or not on the Titans next year that's my expectation just a weird note Sam Hubbard the Bengals Edge who got a big contract a couple years ago suffered a torn knee ligament

that happened on his touchdown catch that he made as a defensive end if this was like another team or another story or a player that was a little more relevant to the playoff race would be like man that's crazy it's just crazy to me because Sam Hubbard's been there a long time, been a really good player for them

and I don't think they're going to keep him going into next year. I think they're going to cut him because of his contract. So his last play as a Bengal is likely catching a touchdown pass from one of his very best friends in the world, Joe Burrow. Those two are really tight. It's a weird story. Just wanted to note it for the

audience. That's all I got for you. Shook on that one. Oh, well, maybe he stays in Ohio and goes and plays in Cleveland next year. Who knows? Wouldn't surprise me. The 49ers suspended Devonjay Campbell for the last three games of the season for conduct detrimental to the team and the Ravens announced that Deonte Johnson

will be staying away from team activities this week a mutual decision with the team according to them. So that's your we quit on the team news update for the night. I thought it was really funny that the verbiage that came away from the Devandre Campbell situation sounded a lot like John Harvott talking about Deonti Johnson

and a lot of people were like, they're just going to cut him And I was like, I bet you he gets suspended just like Deonte did. And sure enough, it's three games instead of one, but it's still the same result. Right. The NFLPA, I feel like, is getting involved in the Deontay Johnson thing if I had to guess. Because when they said mutually and that he's not suspended, it's like, all right, we'll pay you while we figure this thing out. Suspended means we're not paying for you. They suspended them last week.

Now there's something in between. Devondra Campbell, they're not going to pay them. We'll see if the NFLPA, you know. appeals. We'll see if Devondry Campbell gets another job. It's too bad. People are just going to think about him this way, but he was kind of nearing the end of the line anyways. Yeah. He had some nice runs. You know, he had that Pro Bowl run in Green Bay. More importantly, shook just for me. And we got to get, we got to get you to bed. Actually, no, you just drank coffee. We're going to get you to the phone. I drank a midnight coffee. Yes, 12.30 a.m. coffee. Man, I said this show is

going to be quick, and now we're getting on. No, go ahead. Vondry Campbell was half of the 500 words that I wrote about the Falcons linebacker core at half time of the Super Bowl against the Patriots because him and Dion Jones were killing the Patriots and Tom freaking Brady for the first half of that game. And I was like, I'm going to write something about their defense and kind of focus on Dion Jones and Campbell.

And yeah, that never got published. Let's go to my favorite part of the week. Let's go to Captain's Corner presented by Captain Morgan. let's have you get us going, Shook. All right, extreme bias here. And I know you can't see this because we're not on YouTube in this portion of the show, but I am wearing a Kent State Golden Flash's hoodie. Okay, that's my alma mater.

And there's a guy in the NFL who has traveled quite a road to get to this point. Now, he's only a rookie, but he's been through plenty of adversity already. His name is Devontes Walker. He played receiver at Kent State. He hit the portal and went to North Carolina. But because he had played, he had been at multiple different programs before, he was ruled and eligible at North Carolina by the NCAA. it made a huge stink in the college football ranks.

Everybody was upset. He should have been eligible. He was supposed to be. Then he wasn't. Mac Brown and everybody came out with a statement against it. And then eventually the NCAA reversed course and he was eligible. Well, now he's in the NFL. And I thought it was a savvy pick by Eric Dacosta and the Rams when they picked him up in the offseason. He recorded one catch on Sunday for a touchdown. A touchdown that was a spectacular grab in the back of the end zone, which I'll replayed.

Not sure if it was actually a touchdown, but it stood on the field. And he finishes with 21 yards and the touchdown. touchdown. That's my captain for the week because he's a golden flash. Former Golden Flash, former Tar Heel, got his touchdown. Kent State, rough, rough season for, what are you guys called? The Flyers? The Golden Flashes, we went 0 and 12. Golden Flash. We are the worst program in college football because we were ready. Oh, that's tough. That's tough. I've been there. Tulane was pretty close to that for a few years. They're out of that. Who knows? You could be playing in the Gasparilla Bowl before long, like Tulane's this year.

year. Tess Walker, best known as the guy who was like kind of disappointing me when I was watching Drake May film last year, but like was making some plays. Yeah, making some place. My captain of the week is going to be who I believe to be the best wide receiver of all the rookies, talking about redrafts. I'm taking Brian Thomas Jr. number one. Sorry, Malik neighbors. There's only so many guys that are 6364-215 like Brian Thomas and moves like he. moves. It has great hands. I was like, I saw this tweet over the week and they're like, when was the last guy that came out that ran sub 435 that actually had good hands? I don't know what drop. There's probably a Xavier Worthy player like inspired the tweet. I don't even know.

And I'm like, Brian Thomas Jr. He just came out. He's doing everything. He was so good in that game on Sunday. He made Mack Jones look fantastic. The burst that he has to go from zero to 60, and using car term, in like a second on that 41-yarder on the crossing route, was just like, it was unbelievable. But he ended up going 10 for 105. It's hurting his yards per reception because, you know, they're only going to throw the ball short. But he made so many people miss.

He's a yak god. He's got the hand. He's a much better route runner than anyone expected this early. He is awesome. I'm feeling good about having him number three on my offensive rookie of the year ladder or number four, whatever it was last week. I'm checking it right now, and I put number five. Now he's up, he's moved up over the last week.

He's now up to number three. That's how much I like, Brian Thomas. That was the captain's corner presented by Captain Morgan. It's delicious and crisp, perfect for game day with friends. Spice it up, visit Captain Morgan.com to find a captain near you. Please drink responsibly. Hit that music, Eric. I didn't want to cut you off, shook.

So if you have anything left to say, you can use the time. I mean, I'm cruising off of this iced coffee that I drank in 12, 3 in the morning. I'm ready to go, baby. Okay, you know, look, when Shook is shoehorning a Kent State golden-fired Tess Walker reference, you know he's feeling comfortable, that's when you know football is back. Let's see you Tuesday. Hey, everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks.

On Move to Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies. To evaluate team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sundays. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael left florio and together we host the NFL fantasy football podcast ready to dominate your fantasy league this season then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast your ultimate source for player news draft tips and winning strategies whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet we've got the insight to help you crush your opponents listen to the NFL fantasy football podcast on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts partner of the NFL. Visit

Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. This is an IHeart podcast.