NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Week 15 Recap: Fallout from Steelers-Patriots, Cowboys-Raiders & the catch rule fiasco

Episode Date: December 18, 2017

A room filled with heroes- Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, Gregg Rosenthal and Chris Wesseling- recap all of the Week 15 action, including the crazy ending of the Steelers-Patriots game and the catch rule fiasco (2:00); Another big win for the Team of ATL (17:00); The Chargers fail Dan and Wess with a loss to the Chiefs (32:00); Do you believe in the Jaguars as a playoff team YET (44:00); Do the Eagles have a chance without Carson Wentz? (55:00); The wild ending of the Raiders-Cowboys game (1:10:00); 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. The Around the NFL podcast hates vending machines. That's true. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansis, and I am joined by a room filled with Heroes, Mark Sessler, Chris Wessling, and Greg Rosenthal. What is up, boys? Hey, Dan. I'm not sure why vending machines honestly still exist.

other than the fact that they're gigantic and they're hard to take out of a building. And that's why they're still sitting in break rooms. And for people that don't know, my feeling is one particular vending machine in the newsroom break room, which has been stealing money from people here. And the shadowy league figures look the other way. But at the same time, I know they got more important things to deal with right now. So I'm just going to back off on the vending machine.

It's a fossilized idea. And they're mostly filled with unhealthy food. Okay. So speaking of more important things to talk about. Yeah, the NFL in week 15, this is the flagship program presented, of course, by head and shoulders on a day when once again, fate shine brightly upon the New England Patriots, a big, huge, huge, huge win for New England. Greg, he's got a little pep in a step. He's known to do. Greg, you're feeling good right now?

I certainly enjoyed that game. Yeah, nothing gets me more peppy than a article about the catch rule that I just wrote. Way to go. No more catch rule. Nothing like getting quotes off of an Al Riveron tweets and from NFL operations. That'll get your juices. NFL ops gets me pumped up about professional football personally. So, yes, we're going to talk about that huge game at Heinz Field.

And, of course, another unfortunate injury. What a season this has been. and the team of ATL with another huge statement and the return of Aaron Rogers and why it might not matter ultimately. So much to get to. In fact, so much to get to, we should just do it, right, Wes? Let's do it.

How you doing, buddy? How you feel? I feel good today. Give us an update. Where is Chris Wesleying at physically? Well, today is good. I'm very hesitant to ever give updates that go beyond the next hour

because that's how often my body changes in reaction to the chemo. Last week's chemo ended on Wednesday. Sometimes that stays with me through Thursday and Friday. I feel pretty good today. We'll see. I still have issues. I still get down mentally and physically I have trouble eating and keeping food in.

What a battle. I'll be really happy when that last chemo day, which is January 10th when they take the pump out. We will be too, just in time for a little Super Bowl run a few weeks later. But I know you must be feeling pretty good because you took the risk of eating some food made here at the NFL. By the way. Sunday night. I haven't seen much of that from Wes here. Last week's wild boar ragu was besmirched in an unfair manner.

Oh, you liked it, huh? Not only was it delicious, but it's one of the few things that my esophagus can really handle because it was nice and soft and easy to eat. Big ups to wild boar. I never looked at it from that perspective. Do it wild boar. Well, let's save for the wild boar podcast. Let's get to the game starting, of course, with the AFC showdown of the season in Pittsburgh.

There it goes. Third down play. Fakes the spikes. Still has it. Now fires, and it's intercepted. It's intercepted to save the game by Harmon and the Patriots are going to win it. Absolutely amazing. Jim Nance, CBS with the call.

We don't have the Zolak call because his head exploded. There you go. I'm going to get that. Anyway, after the dreaded catch rule wiped away a deserved Steelers touchdown, Ben Ralthusberger threw a game-deciding interception in the final seconds, and the Patriots held on for a huge 26. to 24 win at Hinesfield with the win. The Patriots take over the number one seed in the AFC.

The Steelers, meanwhile, yeah, play that. The Steelers, meanwhile, will finish the regular season without Antonio Brown, who left this game in the first half after sustaining a partially torn calf muscle rap sheet reports. Yes, Greg, the throne of ease is alive and well. Bulley for you. When the Patriots took the lead late in the fourth quarter, Dan, Dan, you are. You were disconsolate. I don't know if I've ever seen you as down as in a Jets game.

Well, I'm sick of this shit, Greg. And I wrote down from quotes from you, and they were basically said, like, this is so predictable. Anyone watching sports knows exactly how this was going to happen. And then, Juju Smith-Schuster, bus opened down the sideline, makes the sort of play that you would expect Antonio Brown to make before all of this happened. And you, after it was all over, we talked a little bit about it. And you say the Patriots are lucky, that they're luckier than any franchise ever. And I get that from another perspective watching their team. But luck is created by Tom Brady and Rob Gruncowski going down the field

and making some high-level plays that only two of the greatest players in NFL history could set up. Luck is made on that catch roll after that happens by Ben Rothlisberger making a terrible decision, throwing the ball over the middle, Eric Roe being heads up and tapping the ball, a decision that Tom Brady would never, ever make. So while they were lucky, the key players in the game decided it. They set themselves up to get lucky there.

They're not all lucky. I just want to make that very clear. Patriots are great. And they're also fortunate through the years. Yes, Ben Rothesberger throwing the pass. They are fortunate that that would have happened, just like in Seattle in the Super Bowl. They're fortunate they call the pass play

instead of giving it to Marshawn Lynch, just as they were fortunate on the tuck play. I don't want to take anything away from it. But they were prepared for it, too. They had three or four guys in coverage. They said they practiced that fake spike play. And it appears that the Steelers don't practice it too well because Ben Rathosberger disagreed with Mike Tomlin's take

of how that play even instructed. He said it wasn't a fake spike play that he wanted to just spike the ball to set up one more play, which makes no sense. Ben Rathustenberger is just talking out of his ass here because it was third down. A spike would have meant a fight. field goal and he did do a fake spike and no one else on the Steelers moved a muscle except for Eli Rogers and three Patriots followed him and they made the play and it's another crazy way to

win a game. Yeah, it's certainly not the first time we've seen the Patriots maintain their composure and another team act confused with the game on the line and I think the catch roll ongoing shenanigans really overshadowed. I only saw the last part of the fourth quarter Rob Gruncowski personally take control of a football game. He couldn't be covered in this game. That was amazing performance. He's the best tight end I've ever seen, and I don't think it's close.

This was a top three grong performance. And forget the numbers. Who cares what the box score was. The way he absolutely dominated this game. And I don't know about the luck thing, but the fact that this was the game of all games where Antonio Brown, who is coming off a month that, for me, cemented him as my MVP to lose him early. Because when has Brown shot?

When has he been at his best? It's been in the fourth quarter when the Steelers have to climb out of some sort of dark corner and you rely on him. Dan, you mentioned there was a third down pass that earlier in the game, it would have been Brown sealing this victory and you don't have them on the field. When they had a five-point lead late in the fourth quarter, third down and manageable. And it was Antonio Brown territory, just like I should add, on the faked, doomed fake spike. Antonio Brown could have been in the middle of that play too because he's always in the middle of game deciding plays like that. And Wes, you're absolutely right. They kept their composure and the past do deserve credit.

But it's just wild. If you hate the Patriots, if you're sick of the Patriots, that Jesse James scores and the absurd ruling calls it back. And then an interception, all the things that had to come together. In fact, let's hear what maybe the NFL will come to its senses. And Al Riveron, the SVP of officiating, will announce to everyone, we get your frustration at Martin, otherwise great game. Let's see if Al actually does do that. Let's listen to it. Rothlisberger completes a pass to James,

and James is going to the ground as he reaches the goal line. And that's the key here. He is going to the ground. By rule, to complete the process of the catch, he must survive the ground. And by that, we mean he must maintain control of the football. As we see here, he does put the ball over the goal line extended. Once he gets there, he loses control of the football,

and then the ball hits the ground. can see here the ball touches the ground. So therefore, two things occur. He loses control of the football and the ball touches the ground prior to him regaining control. Therefore, the ruling on the field of a touchdown was changed to an incomplete pass. Wes, why is that still bad? Why is it failing the common sense test? It's the most broken rule in sports. It's the most confusing rule in sports. By the letter of the rule, I knew that was not a touchdown and I wonder why it was taking Ramos too long to acknowledge that it wasn't a touchdown. Which he added to the confusion and speaks to it too, that no one knows the rules.

Right. On every other patch of grass in the world, that's a catch because he physically caught the ball. That's why it's a catch. And it fails the common sense test. It fails the confusion test. To me, it fails the competitive integrity test. And I think the NFL suffers for it as a product. Well, the thing I don't get is the control part if we really want to dive into it.

because he says that Tony Carenti, the referee said in a pool report after the game, that James lost complete control of the football. And I don't see how watching that play you can make the decision that he lost complete control of the football. Now, all of these rules were made and control it to the ground and everything. In a time when there wasn't eight different HD cameras and there wasn't these slow motion, frame-by-frame replays, and I thought maybe bringing the replay review into the league office in New York would help to clarify things. But I don't think it has.

If anything, it's like they are going by the letter of the rule even more. And I think fans and broadcasters and us were even more confused. So it remains a problem. But I don't know what the solution is. We can say change the catch rule, but I don't know. Change it to what it was before the Calvin Johnson opened the can of worms. Why not two feet in control? Why does it have to be so convoluted?

Right, because it does follow, that followed what their current rule is. It's not that it's convoluted and confused with that. The whole thing is convoluted to begin with. And I think you have to spend the offseason and say this is one of the biggest issues facing the NFL. It couldn't have happened at a more high-octane point than it did today, but it's going to happen again in the playoffs as it has in the past. This ruling didn't bother me nearly as much as the one in the Carolina Green Bay game, which was even more confusing.

The bird catch. Yes, the demure bird catch. And Dean Blandino earlier in the year on Zach Miller's TD that was overturned, outrageously overturned, said, look, the idea is not to get too technical, don't analyze it to the nth degree. And this is what Riveron and the point you're making, that the league office, they're analyzing it to the nth degree. There's not as much hesitation to have irrefutable evidence like it used to be. And you cannot know the game itself, the outcome, the Steelers, and our 11 and 3, they dropped to the two seed with the Jaguars right behind a 10 and 4, and they have two very winnable

games left. Even without Antonio Brown, they could get to 13 and 3. But we don't know if Antonio Brown does come back and Rapcheed says they're hopeful he'll be ready for the playoffs if he'll be even near 100%. A torn calf muscle does not sound like a good situation. And if they do get

to face the Patriots again, it will be in New England, most likely. And all this points in a very bad direction in a Pittsburgh season, it could have, in a lot of ways, it could have ended today. Yeah. I watch this game fairly calm as a Patriots fan, to me, I've seen so many big games, and the important one is the next one, that this one didn't really,

I mean, it matters, but it doesn't matter that much. I think home field is important, but it's not that important. There's a reason why, you know, if you're wagering on it, that it's worth three points. That's three points. It's not worth, it's not necessarily the end of the world. I think the Steelers, especially with Antonio Brown, are a great team, and they looked like the better team for much of this game, and they did find a way to blow it, but to me, these are two. That's fine for New England?

It mattered to Pittsburgh. If you're Pittsburgh and you're Mike Tomlin who cannot get over the Patriots, that entire team, they needed to win this, they need to get home field. You can say it doesn't matter for New England because New England can win anywhere. The Pittsburgh Steelers, this is their season on the line. Mike Tomlin's chance to make a statement win, with or without Antonio Brown, it didn't happen. How much confidence would they take into January? It would have changed the entire season.

That's big. You could tell the burgeoning confidence the Steelers had that people like Terry Bradshaw was guaranteeing a victory. on Fox today, and it seemed like everybody had that confidence. Now you're going to go into New England with Antonio Brown playing on a partially torn calf muscle. Your confidence is not going to be as high. And I just wanted to point out, we've talked a lot about the MVP race. And I think that was Brady's MVP moment.

And as much as what happened with Smith-Schuster's play afterwards and everything that came in a crazy comeback, the reality was they were down two scores in this game with five minutes to go, down eight points, rather, with five minutes to go. They get a field goal. The defense gets a three and out, and that's why, again, it's not all luck. The defense had to make a play there. And then Brady has kind of a classic Brady and Gronk drive. And with everything else that happened, Brown getting hurt today, I think he kind of...

Yeah, we're losing MVP candidates literally on a weekly basis at this point in December. Unless you want to make it, and we're going to talk about Todd Gurley in a second. Unless you want to make a case for Gurley, maybe. That injury is an out, wiped out Brown, wiped out. out Carson Wentz, wiped out to Sean Watson. Tom Brady, to his credit, is the last man's standing, and he'll probably win it. We'll see, though.

And having one of the best seasons of his career. Okay, we, yes, we know that. He's having a great season, Greg. Congratulations. I'm just saying that gets through it. We're all happy for you. That just gets, like, thrown out. I mean, the heat, sitting downstairs listening to Craig and Dan all day long,

I just, there wasn't much. Everyone in this room and everyone listening to this podcast is aware that Tom Brady is having a great year. Okay. That's good. Okay. Can I go? Let's go.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's check in on the team of to you. Golf under center. He turns left shoulder, gives the Gurley. Huge hole left side midfield. Gurley sprinting 40.

Gurley first down. Gurley 2010 and touchdown. Todd Gurley on third down and 20 with a house call. And before the half, this game is all but finished. J.B. Long, Kspn, with a great call there. They'll remember it as the Seattle Massacre. Maybe they will. I don't know.

It was 13 nothing after a quarter. 34 Zip at the half. The game ended 42 to 7 in favor of the Los Angeles Rams. Yes, the team of ATL who delivered a thumping that makes you wonder if the Seahawks as we've known them are gone forever. The Rams led by surging MVP candidate Todd Gurley are now 12 and 3 with the NFC West and a playoff by locked in their sights. West, this was a very good day for the team of ATL. It was a statement game with shades of a changing of the guard game. Oh, yeah, definitely.

Change into the guard game. Like that. It's not every year that you see a comprehensive dismantling in every phase of the game in one half of football like the Rams did to the Seahawks going up 34 to nothing, their largest first half margin on the road in franchise history and the second largest first half deficit at home the Seahawks have ever had. It was absolute pummeling, Aaron Donald and Todd Gurley having their way, and the defensive and offensive lines of the Rams controlling the game.

You know what's crazy? It could have been 43-0-0- or 45-0 in the first half. Gough threw an interception in the red zone in the first half. Cooper Cup dropped a pass right near the goal line. That's how dominant and balanced this team has been. And we've talked about how they're good running, passing, defense, and special teams. They were able to win this. game in a laffer in a game that Jared Goff only had to throw it 21 times for 120 yards.

In 2017, you're blowing teams out throwing for 120 yards. They beat you in so many ways. And, Wes, your write-up was great because it talked about the fact that this team houses a coach of the year candidate, a potential MVP candidate, a defensive player of the year candidate, an all pro in your kicker. And I mean, it doesn't end from there. And talking about a scenery-changing NFC West victory, it reminds me of a game back in 2012 that I watched at the good old Irish times when Seattle thumped Jim Harbaugh's Niners

42 to 13 and there was this Niners fan in a little nice buttoned up red shirt who was freaking out by the fourth quarter because he had no idea what was coming at him now it's happening to the Seahawks I think we did pretty good with the team of ATL this year I don't want to hear any of how do you do better

about curses give me a break this is one of the bestest wins in team of ATL history and Greg I believe you picked the team team of ATL this week? That's right. Locked it up. Oh, yeah, you locked it up. And there were thousands of people streaming out of the clink in the third quarter of this game.

There was some video of it. I mean, it was something. And when we talked about this game on Thursday, I thought the Seahawks were going to win it because I thought even down bodies that they had something in the tank in this type of spot. But this did feel like a changing of the guard where those days are now definitively over, it feels like. I don't think we're ever going to see the Seahawks like they used to be.

I don't know if I remember a time when a running back had 100 more yards than the other team at the half. Gurley's been sensational, and he's getting better every week. He's been the best running back. He hasn't got as much pub as people like Alvin Camara this year, but he's been the best running back in the NFL. He had 180 yards and four touchdowns, and he left in the middle of the third quarter, never to return because the game was already out of hand. And Aaron Donald had three sacks, four hits, two tackles for loss, a force fumble, all in. than two and a half quarters. I think he is the best defensive player in the league.

So he was my- Russell Wilson called him that going into this. He was my default choice for defensive player of the year through three quarters. And now I think this type of performance in piling up some of those sacks and stats and it being in a big game.

Now I think people are going to vote for him. Wait, did you have a Saints player as defensive player of the year about 10 days ago? He was number two in the four, and I ranked them or whatever. You're lucky because we can't keep track of all your predictions.

So we have no idea if they're correct or not. That one's not so much a prediction. as Bobby Wagner, after the game, you mentioned, Dan, possibly, you know, the end of this Seahawks dynasty. I think, you know, if they all get healthy and back, look, they're missing four or five good starters. They can be very competitive next year. But you are seeing some of the things that happen late in these runs. After the game, Bobby Wagner sent out a tweet, which was quickly deleted, E, keep my name out your mouth. Stop being jealous of other people's success.

I still hope you keep balling, bro. To Earl Thomas. And that was in response to. And that was in response to Earl Thomas's opinion that he should not have. played with his injured hamstring. Oh, boy. He tried to fight through it. I don't think Bobby Wagner's hamstring was a difference in the game.

Well, Greg, the Seahawks now 8 and 6, so it's time to fire up the old Greg Rosenthal tabulator. Any path for them if they close out or is it over? Greg Rosenthal Playoff Calculator now online. They still have a good chance of making the playoffs. A good chance. They win their two games. I don't know if they're going to. win their two games, they play the Cowboys and the Cardinals.

And, yeah, they need help. They're going to need the Falcons to lose a game or two, two games, probably. Yeah, doesn't part of that good chance include the Buccaneers, right? Unlikely upset over the Falcons. I think that they'll need the Falcons to lose two games. Optimistic robot. The Falcons play the Saints and the Panthers.

I mean, I'm just saying, you said if they win their two games, do they have a chance? They have a chance. Falcons play the Bucks tomorrow night. Yeah. A very undermanned Bucks team without Gerald McCoy and Levante Dave. They've another sensational Monday night tilt. They finished with the Saints and the Panthers. So that I think if you're a Seahawks fan gives you a little bit of hope.

But I don't know. This is kind of a dead team right now. All right. So there you go. The team of ATL in a good place. Seahawks, not so much. Let's move on. There's a low snap.

Rogers back. Blitz coming. Throws on the slant, right side. Caught by Allison. He's hit the ball came out. There's a fight for it. It looks like Carolina is on top of it. The officials coming in to take a look.

It's Panthers. Book ball. Mick Mix and WBT with the call. Geronimo Allison's turnover wiped away any chance of Aaron Rogers Magic and the Panthers held on for a 31-24 win over the Packers in Charlotte. Cam Newton threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns in the game, which we'll get to in a second. Let's start, though, with the huge news off the field. Panthers founding owner, Jerry Richardson, announced Sunday night that he will be putting the team up for sale.

this development comes as the NFL takes over the investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct made against Richardson. That report that the NFL was taking over came from Ian Rappaport on Sunday morning. So, Richardson, who's been one of the Titans and ownership in the NFL since he came into the league, abruptly making this announcement, and it is quite the distraction for a Panthers team that is finding its footing as the season. and enters its latest stage. It's stunning. This happened. The news that the team was investigating Richardson,

which was interesting in itself because he owns the team, and so that he's the one hiring the lawyers, paying the lawyers that are investigating him, came out Friday afternoon, Los Angeles time. And we're talking now Sunday afternoon, and he's selling the team. That is a quick process, which we've seen play out in all.

walks of life around the country. It's stunning in 2013 or 2014. It's not stunning in December 2017 that you can't have this hanging over the team throughout the offseason and whoever knows how else long. There's no tolerance. I suppose what makes it a little bit and you're dead on in your point mark, but what makes it a little more surprising for me is Richardson sitting in the owner's box on Sunday. The Fox cameras flashed to the box and there's Richardson sitting there not 10 minutes

after we learned that a report had surfaced involving Richardson. And it's a situation where it's so sudden, you'd never see this kind of things, but it does tell you a lot of what's happening in the world right now and how it came into the NFL now as well. Well, I think one thing we're seeing is that people in positions of power and influence will have to answer for taking advantage of that position. And you raise an interesting point, you know, moving to the football side of things is that this story isn't going away in the Panthers because of today's result

and how well they've played this season. They're not going to way either. So this is going to be something that the organization has to deal with continuously the next few weeks. Yeah, I was saying to Mark, actually, after the game, which was a huge win for the Panthers. You know, Aaron Rogers and all the buzz around him leading the Packers back to January, gets wiped away essentially through another great Carolina performance. but after this game, this great effort by the Panthers, can you even imagine what was going on that locker room?

How many questions were actually about the game? I'm sure there were, because that's part of the info gathering of reporters, but that's not the story around the Panthers. It's overshadowed, but it's an unprecedented action and unprecedented time in our country. And people aren't going to have to ask the Panthers, hey, what are you going to do about it? They closed that case down quickly,

and I think that handled that well. When those players walk out of the locker room and out of the stadium, they walk past a statue of Jerry Richardson. Yeah. Well, for now. It's not simple. I mean, it is. Statues can be taken down.

We've seen that too. Now toward the game. So, Wes, we'll start with you on this. Aaron Rogers, back on the field. It was a lot of people expected that to be a magic elixir. But he proved to be human because Aaron Rogers was a little rusty in his return, wasn't he? Yeah, you saw a little bit of everything from Aaron Rogers today. If you were looking for,

Reason to believe that he wouldn't change his playing style, you found that. He scrambled, he showed no reluctance whatsoever to scramble, put his body in jeopardy, took hits on that shoulder, made one of his trademark sandlot style plays to Randall Cobb for a touchdown. But also the arm strength or the decision-making, probably a little bit of both, was rusty. All three of his interceptions were underthrown, and all three of those plays would have been huge plays had the ball been on target. So I think that was definitely a difference in this game. And for all that being said, he was driving for the tying or even if they wanted to go for a two-point conversion,

potentially winning score late in the game only to see Geronimo Allison fumble the ball in Panthers territory. That job, Geronimo. It felt to me watching that, that, oh yeah, you know, he struggled, but this is exactly what I would have expected. I know that, Dan, you expect New England games to end a certain way, and I totally am with you on that. But I thought this is the perfect Aaron Rogers return

for all his flaws in this game. He's going to find a way to tie this thing up. Green Bay is going to keep on rolling. But then suddenly the whole Aaron Rogers narrative got violently short-circuited and they're out of our life for the most part. You're happy about that, too. No, I'm not that happy. You're not an R. Rogers guy.

I'm not a Packers guy, but at the same time, I like the idea of having, for all the people that we've lost, the best team is possible in the playoffs. Well, we also kind of lose Aaron Rogers now because it's possible you would think that they could decide to shut him down because he even said. No, certainly. Rogers said himself, he's not 100%.

If the Falcons beat the Bucks, the Packers are mathematically eliminated. And you have no reason to play Rogers if the Falcons win that game tomorrow night. And Cam Newton threw four touchdown passes, no interceptions, protected the ball. Christian McCaffrey, his really, as the season has progressed, he doesn't put up monster stats, but he is a big part of their game plan every week. And he had over, I think, 140 yards in total offense and another touchdown. Greg Olson, who's kind of moving like my dad now later in softball. ball career where he's got a little hitching his giddy up but he could still get the job done like

Keith was still getting into the show see he's not done keith was driving the ball up the gap as he got into his 50s even but he didn't move like he used to Greg also not moving like he used to but he's crafty nine for one 16 in a touch uh in this game and that's a big positive sign west as someone that's enjoyed the panthers over the years this team's 10 and four do you think they could be a team we'd be covering in minneapolis they need home field advantage and i think that dave schuller deserves credit for his play calling. They are now definitely a run-first team today. The Packers, like any other team in the league,

don't have anyone who can cover Christian McCaffrey one-on-one as a receiver, and they got burned by that. Their own coverage bust led to the Greg Olson production. This is a team I don't trust their passing game at all, because Cam Newton from week to week is not a consistent passer, and their running game is really clicking on most cylinders right now. And their defense is a top five or six defense, too. You have the Bucks and the Falcons to close it out.

12 and 4, not impossible. Let's check in with another NFC South, Juggernaut. Backs off set. Ingram is the running guy. Ingram gets the right side, and there he goes. Inside the 3530, 25, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 through the goal line. Touchdown Saints. That's Jim Henderson and Deuce McAllister at WW.

I believe McAllister is telling him slide. slide because the game is kind of decided at that point, but whatever. Mark Ingram ran for two touchdowns and gained over 150 yards in total offense, including that late 50 yard touchdown run. The Saints commit three turnovers, but still take care of the Jets, 31 to 19. Never mind the final score. This was kind of a grinded out win for the Saints, which I think surprised a lot of people, because if you talk desert people, this game featured one of the biggest underdogs of season in the Jets. But they hung around and they hung around because mostly New Orleans was sloppy with the ball. They had the three turnovers, including two when they were kind of

marching deep into Jets territory. Unfortunately for the Jets, it is now Bryce Petty and not Josh McCown to quarterback. So after each of those turnovers, the Jets were unable to turn that around and make the Saints really pay for it. But the Saints got the win they needed. No the lollipops will be handed out, I think, at the complex on Monday because it wasn't their best game. But when you're facing a Bryce Petty team with Moe Wilkerson out of the game because he still can't get to a meeting on time. And if you're Todd Bulls, he should be sitting for the rest of the season, in my opinion, the Saints did enough to get the win. Mark Engman, by the way, that is now over 1,000 yards for the second straight season, the Bros. A Star. Saints also have this

identical schedule flip-blop to the Panthers with the Falcons and bucks next. So this division kind of far from over. Yeah, we're taping the Sunday night, assuming the Falcons do win on Monday night. I mean, this is still a three-team race where it's getting very unlikely that any of the teams could get a buy, but any of these teams could be anywhere from the three-seed to, if you're the Falcons, out of the playoffs entirely. Michael Thomas, it was kind of emblematic of the performance for the Saints, had two touchdowns, wiped away by inches upon review, scored later to put the game away. One of them involved getting one foot down, and then the second foot, speaking

in catch rules and things that drive me crazy, got his heel down in the end zone, and then his front of his foot stepped on the white line, and that was overturned as an incomplete pass. We saw on Saturday, and I'm blanking, I think it was the Lions, and maybe you guys could help me out if you remember, a play receiver caught a ball, and his fingers, touchdown in bounds, and then the palm of his hands landed on the white, but that stayed a touchdown. There were a lot of confusing calls like that,

where like a finger equals a toe or doesn't equal a toe. Yeah, one butt cheek in and one butt cheek out in the Panthers game. Yeah, we have some buttock stuff going on too where, like West said, when ass cheeks in, one's out, it's a touchdown. It's very confusing. You know what's crazy is like we sit in a news from where you can suddenly like jack up the volume. Everyone can sit around and hear everything that's happening. A lot of these people, great football,

fans watch these games in sports bars where only one game gets sound, and you're watching replays and having no idea of the drama behind the scenes, even more maddening. You've got to change all this stuff. Thanks lost Larry Warford in this game. They have not at Andrews Pete on the field. Those are really their two best run blockers and part of the reason that they're such a good running team. So that's something to keep an eye.

And Cam Jordan, who is trying to get a triple double. First guy in a little while to have 10 pass breakups, 10 sacks, 10 tackles for loss. He did it with four pass breakups today. Wow. Wow, nice stat there, Greg. And lastly, Todd Bowles announced Bryce Petty will start next week as well. And I have to wonder, how bad is Christian Hakenberg? I mean...

Just let us see how bad he is. I'm just excited. I want to say it. There's a curiosity at this point. It's one of the worst second round picks of modern times. For sure. And it is, it really is. It's kind of like the freak show on the boardwalk in Venice, which is shuddered now.

But like Christian Hackerberg is now at that level in terms of... Shoot the freak. He's the bearded lady? He's the bearded lady. of the NFL quarterback room. Let's move on. Five claps by Rivers. He fades back on fourth down near midfield.

The dangerous lob right side intercepted. Back pedaling and falling onto his back. Ron Parker adds a pick to his fumble recovery. Rivers turned over again. Let's move to Saturday night. And Mitch Holdess of KCFX with the call, Philip Rivers through three interceptions. Cream Hunt ran for a buck 55 and a touch.

And the Chiefs beat up on the sloppy Los Angeles Chargers, a 30 to 13 win for the Chiefs. A loss for the old Zusser who, you know, almost like a act of I wanted to get in on the fun. Everybody else was excited about the Chargers. So, all right, let's do this. It has some fun. And it's like, as I'm watching that game,

I'm like, why did I do this? I already have the Jets who always come up small just when you think they're turning the corner. I am not getting involved with the Chargers who've been doing this for 50. the year. You're also the person that had been warning us correctly for weeks that the other side of the Chargers was due to come home to roost here. Yeah. So that's exactly what happened. Whatever. Wes, this was not the Chargers team that got everyone excited over the last month. Almost every element that contributed to their winning streak came back to haunt them in this game.

Injuries were a big factor, especially in the second half. Special teams play was a factor. Poor tackling was a huge factor. And the hottest quarterback in the game, went cold and threw three second half interceptions. That makes six of his ten interceptions this year came against the Chiefs. And Kenan Allen means probably as almost as much to the Chargers as Antonio Brown means to the steep. Last month for sure. And I don't know what his injury status is going to be moving forward, but they are not out of the AFC wildcard race at all mathematically,

but if they don't have Keenan Allen, they're not the same team. I want to say, how dare you, Chargers, for doing this? to us. But at the same time, I think this is the kind of game that gets Matt Nagy a head coaching job. I mean, I give Andy Reid credit because I'm sure there's a lot of pride attached to this to handover play calling duties, what, two or three weeks ago. It reignited for whatever reason. We don't know how these things suddenly work. Maybe it helped to take this off Reed's plate with whatever else he's doing. But the offense is back. And of all things, the fact that the defense, thanks to turnover, is hold the chargers to 13 points. And offense looked as hot as any

in the league, a stunning result. Well, it's easy to forget in this game. The Chargers were winning the game late in the third quarter. It was a close game, and I think the edge and head coaching is why the Chiefs are going to be the AFC West champions. I know he gave the play calling over to Nagy. It's his offense. I'm sure he has a lot of input even during the game.

He certainly has a lot of input. What if Nagy's like, I'm not listening to you? No, no, no. You're out. He certainly has a lot of input into the game plan, and they out coached the Chargers. They came out with great play calls, and it was definitely Andy Reed. who's choosing to go for it on fourth and three on that first jive with really set a tone of aggressiveness and they picked it up and they scored.

That's future Colts coach Matt Nagy. Or future Brown's coach because Hugh Jackson winds up in Cincinnati, baby. How do we know about Matt Nagy? I know more about Charles Nagy than Matt Nagy. Andy Reg called him the best head coaching prospect he's ever had. That includes Doug Peterson, who's a coach of the year candidate. Andy Reid's coached about half of him. I love Matt Nagy.

Andy Reid. Get ahead of that. Is the second most important coaching figure of the last 20 years behind Bill Belichick? Not only is he a top five coach, he's had all sorts of coaches go through his staff and go on to bigger and better things, including a lot of good ones, some bad ones, some good ones. Embarrassing that you missed Al Groh, so number three, probably. The Chiefs looked like the September. Did you hear my Al Grojo question?

Yeah, big time. I missed it. Run it by me again. Scanning right over it. He was number three on the influential coaching list of the last 20s. the Parcell's tree. Yeah. Where the Chiefs

look like the September and early October Chiefs for two straight weeks now and offensively it's easy for me to believe they're back. The running game

is certainly back. The offensive line, Kareem Hunt looks good. Defensively, I think it remains to be seen how much of this is home field advantage. Peters and Houston

were awesome, though. They have superstar players who occasionally in a big game like this can just win it on your own and Marcus Peters and Justin Houston were dominant in this.

And I think the football cognizente which includes us, you know, deserve, you know, sorry, sorry, Chiefs, we counted you out a couple weeks ago. Oh, totally. They're okay now. They're looking good. I gave them credit right before they're losing, or right into their losing streak, and then they lost, so screw them. It's a week-to-week proposition.

I watched a pick-up segment this morning. My children requested it because they like, let's watch the Daddy Show. And it's been a few weeks. I showed them that win-lose or draw segment that we did, Pictionary. a few weeks back, and all four of us confidently picked the Raiders to be... Half our rating share coming from the Rosenthal House. We're down, I heard they cut us now

to just a 10-minute sliver on network. Yes. Down from four airings to two minutes. In the NFL's defense, I thought about it. I thought about it on Saturday as I was watching NFL games all day on NFL network and thought, well, I guess that makes sense that they went with Bears, Lions, and Chargers Chiefs over NFL pick them.

Well, that's a sensible to say, Maybe Chargers chis. I don't know. And speaking, Chargers is going to charge her. Sorry, Chargers fans. They got your hopes up again. Let's move on. Third and six from his own 23.

Play clock to one. They get it off. Dalton looks left. Interceptive. And it's intercepted. Eric Kendrick's near sign. 2015, 10. Dunnows.

Hello. Eric Kendricks with a 30-yard pick six. 13-0. Vikings. He does the zero thing. Paul Allen and Pete Bersich of KFXN with the call. Yes, Eric Hendricks came up with a pick six. Case Keenham delivered another professional, productive game.

And the Minnesota Vikings clinched the NFC North after a 34-7 win over the Bengals, who look every bit like a team that's playing out the string with a head coach already half out the door. We'll get to the Marvin Lewis situation. In a moment, but let's start with the Vikings who remain a very real contender for the NFC's number one seed, Mark. You know, when we cover these games on Sunday, you have a primary game

and then you have a secondary game to bring it to the podcast that you keep an eye on. Pull back that curtain. Well, if it's a really exciting game, you might even flip TVs and put the other game on the computer. Sometimes. You've got like a four track.

Got a whole lot thing going on. Now, with about less than six minutes to go in the first quarter, when Kendricks had that pick six, making it 14-0-0. I didn't really observe this game again. I will go back and track it here and there. The Vikings romped over Cincinnati in every possible way, and the Bengals with 42 total yards in the first half,

the third fewest in the Marvin-Lewis era, and it is not deceiving. This team, since that loss to the Steelers, has looked as bad as they got a wiped out by the bears. They are asleep. We forked them a month plus ago. We should have forked them on September 10th. This team never came to play this season.

This is an embarrassing loss. It is time to completely re-org this thing from top to bottom, and it starts with Andy Dalton and a bunch of other players. You've got to redo this thing. Hit the reset button and don't look back. And yet, they were in very good playoff position at halftime of that Monday night game, which really, it makes it so much more stark how they've been the worst team in football for the last 10 quarters. That's fine.

And that happened, I think, because of what happened with Ryan Chazir. And you caught a Steelers team that was so. stunned by Earth events, not football events. And then Pittsburgh had the wherewithal to collect themselves at halftime and hammer a hapless Bengals team in the second half, and nothing's changed. The Bengals have revealed who they are since. We should do a whole podcast where Mark just talks about AFC North,

the MC hates. It's very confusing. Four, maybe three and a half to four. Yeah, the Bengals at least are giving Mark joy. So they've got that. It's very confusing to me that there are multiple reports come out from rap sheet, from ESPN that Marvin Lewis is leaving at the end of the season. Well, Marvin Lewis is an idiot.

Including one where Ian talks about speaking with Marvin Lewis. Okay, that's part of his report. Solid source. Going after the game ends, Marvin Lewis, after the game ends, Marvin Lewis says he hasn't made any decision about his future. What? That's Sean Payne's move. What's going?

I know, but this time it's really, it's official. His contract's over. It's been an interesting era. This probably isn't the podcast to talk about it. I mean, he did do a lot of good things. He's well over 500 as the coach of the Bengals. He raised the Titanic. Solomon Wilcoats told Dan.

Yeah, once upon a time on a feature I can no longer talk about. Their coaches, and since Paul Brown died in 1990 or 91, I believe, their coaches outside of Marvin Lewis have a 270 winning percentage. Right. That's like Hugh Jackson band. But things always end badly. And this is kind of a typical bad ending. And the Vikings deserve a lot of credit.

Not that we're surprised at this point. They're so consistent for playing their type of game and just hammering them and... Totally complete dominant showing. Yeah, I mean, they are going to get a buy. They are still in the mix for a number one seed. They haven't officially clinched the buy, but... And it's funny you just cited as an example of badness, Hugh Jackson. He is being connected as a potential Marvin Lewis replacement.

So that is all... That's a soap opera, a musical chair soap opera that will be a... a fun, entertaining, potentially farcical thing to... The state of Ohio is, like, we are not really interested in competing for Super Bowls between the two of us. They'll entertain you, though. The Bengals actually giving up compensation for Hugh Jackson is such a typical. It would be the most Bengal thing ever.

We should mention Teddy Bridgewater played football in this game. They threw an interception. What an embarrassment. No, stop. Oh. deflected off the guy's hands, you know. And he got a ridiculously loud ovation. And the Vikings, our team of ATL from last year, win the NFC North.

They don't have a lot of NFC North titles over the last 15 years. I know they had won a couple years ago, but that's an achievement. Did you guys see, I just don't know why I thought of this, but DeAngelo Williams rant at the Good Morning football people that they cannot, Grant, Kyle Brandt, and our boy, Shrego, in particular, cannot have real football analysis because they never played the game. I mean, at best, unnecessary. Do you think?

Except Kyle Brand. did play college football. Right, he played a prince. Do you think, knowing that DeAngel Williams likes our podcast? No, I'm sure he sees us as for, you know, maybe what, one or two of us played Pop Warner roughly a decade or two ago? Sure, I'm sure there's a lot of respect. I don't think he knows we exist personally or the podcast itself exists. But I, you know, I'd like to see him compare the analysis of people who didn't play football with the analysis. of people who did play football.

Yeah. Yeah, it's pretty grim, actually. Plug in, DiAngelo. Let's move on. Yeld in the running back as a shotgun. He dropped the throat as Blake. Right, looks, look, fires. Ray Lewis.

Let's see if he has. By J-Dahn, Nick. He's into the end zone. Touchdown. How many does this guy plan on scoring? Touchdown Jacksonville. He scored two. He planned to score.

He planned to have more. He scored two. Frank Frangy, W-J-X-L-L. Frangy. the Frangyman. Frangetron. Frangiotron. Frangorama.

Blake Bortles through three touchdown passes, two of which went to Jaden Mickens. How many does he plan to score? He scored two. And the Jaguars clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2007, a 45 to 7 wipeout of the Texans who are limping to the finish line. We now welcome in Nick Shook, Brains, Body, and. analysis. You know who else scored? I never played the game at the professional rights. I did not. That was also very awkward that Good Morning Football Exchange. You know who scored two touchdowns as well on Sunday for the Jaguars? Oh, Tommy

Bowhannon. Oh yeah, Jets draft pick, I believe. Fullback, Tommy Bowhannon. He wants to see Tommy Boehannon lately. Hey, anybody see Tommy Boehannon? Hey, I'm not leaving here until somebody tells me where they seen Tommy Boehannon. Two carries. Yeah. Two yards. two touchdowns. Bang. That's a Tommy Vardell dream game. You find him in the end zone is where you find them. Touchdown Tommy Vardell.

This game was all about Blake Bordels, who I'm convinced we've been watching a body double for him for the last three years. And until the beginning of this month plus a couple games. Because he's been on fire in Fuego. 21 to 29, 326 yards. That's copyrighted, by the way, in Fuego. Really? Dad Patrick, I think. I think you're in trouble.

Uh-oh. Oh, well, I'm going to have to go talk. to the suits now. I'll see you guys later. Three touchdowns, a passer rating of 143.8. It's his third straight game where he's broken 100 by a significant amount. And he looks like a quarterback. You know, on this podcast, I remember you, Dan, and we all agreed with you.

Sure. Shook brining a finger at Dan's face. I'm waiting. Yes, sir. I want the truth. Greg's looking at me all skeptical. I remember you, Dan, and us agreeing that that's just my face. Bortles was.

was going to sink them. Yeah. But right now, he's playing. He still is. Excellent football. And I, you know, spoiler alert. I'm fooled. Color me fooled.

No, no, you're right. You're absolutely right because he's playing great now. He's peaking at the right time. They've won seven of eight as a team of the Jaguars. Do I still, am I still, am I crazy west to still think when the lights come on in January, something terrible could happen? Am I holding on to a ghost at this point? He's made tangible improvement in many different areas.

And I believe he's the. NFL's highest rated passer in December. That said, I maintain that this team is a front-running team, and let's see what happens when they fall behind. That's a totally, totally fair point. I do want to just say that I've never seen Blake Bortles drop dimes as a professional until this week, and he dropped a handful of them, almost a dollar's worth. Wow.

Pretty good for a guy. It's not a natural thrower. They have a lot of good young wide receivers, too, that are starting to kind of shout out. A lot of random names like Jaden Mickens, former practice squad guys. four catches 61 yards. How many is he playing a out scoring? Heel and Cole, seven for 186. Yeah.

That's, that's wild. And you said he's dropping dimes. He certainly has the last couple of weeks. I feel like people kind of have erased from their memory the 2015 season when Blake Bortles had a lot of really good games and finished the season as someone everyone believed was a middle of the road starter. Now, that's not unbelievable. But that's saying he was better than about half of the league.

and he had some really sensational play. So he's had that capable if he can be coached up enough and maybe just make better decisions. Oh, and by the way, his own commitment and diligence to the game. Yeah, that was a huge part of what people were talking about last off season was that is this a guy that's really committed to the game? And I think that we're seeing a different Blake Bordals from the neck up. They've blown out the Texans twice.

They're in the playoffs. That Steelers lost, though, really, I don't think it should take the wind out of their sales, but they were looking at control of the number two seed if the Steelers had held on to that. And now they're going to need some help by an unlikely team to take off the Steelers or the Patriots in the next two weeks where both teams will be heavy favorites both weeks. I do want to point out just, you know, in defense of the Texans who are not a good football team at this point, that the Jaguars happened to avoid playing Deshaun Watson in both

games. I do wonder, we're waiting for the Bordeaux playoff collapse. There aren't many good AFC defenses. Steelers' defense isn't great anymore. The Patriots defense certainly isn't great. The Chief's defense isn't great. So the teams that we, you know, the Ravens, if they get, the teams that we know that are in the playoffs,

not very good defense. Put them in the Super Bowl. That's a good point. Let's move on and check in with another AFC South team. A 45-yard field goal attempt. Kick on the way down the middle. And gold is good at the buzzer. John Lynch and the 49ers keep it rolling.

Their third straight win. What? What do you say? John Lynch and the 49ers. I've never heard of the general manager getting the first credit after the game. Well, the general manager got you Jimmy G. So I'm fine with it. Well, was he maybe on the screen?

That was Andrew Cattel on a CBS. Well, let's maybe. That's fair. I thought he left something on the field there. Gold is golden, I would have said. Winning with pockets, squares, and ties. Anyway, there you go. After Ryan Suckup drilled a 50-yard field goal to put the Taitoons ahead,

Robbie Gold, answered with a 45-yarder of his own as time ran out, lifting the 49ers to a 20 to 19 win over. Yes, the Tennessee Titans, that's three straight wins for the Niners in the Jimmy G. Era, Jimmy G. Magic, baby. The Titunes, meanwhile, are suddenly in danger of being on the outside looking in when the playoffs begin. Is that a bad thing, Mark? Well, I think for Titans fans who probably feel

disrespected, except coming out of this game, you have to say, look it, you just lost to a team that just won its fourth game of the year, but it's a completely different Niners team with Jimmy G. at the helm. And what happened to the quarterbacks getting sacked 10 times a game in San Francisco? Not with Jimmy G. moving around the way he does.

He took the lead twice in the fourth quarter. And that last field goal, game-winning field goal march, it started with Jimmy G, pristinely pegging three wide receivers, moving just like Brady did against Pittsburgh, moving the team in adequate time, downfield in perfect position for the game-winning field goal. He threw for 381 yards. Marieto was not the problem in the second half of this game. There's nothing around Marietta. He did what he could, but they could not, this defense, this Dick Lobo defense, could not stop Jimmy Garoppolo. And Jimmy Garoppolo has less around him than Marcus Marietta does. So no excuses

for the Titans. I think Garoppolo has less around him than just about anything. quarterback in the NFL? He creates. And suddenly guys like Garrett Selick and George Kettle and Kettle or whatever, George Kittle looks freaking amazing, all these dudes that were complete fantasy dead weight for the entire season have come to life with Jimmy G. Under Center. And you know what? I'm going to keep trying to lock him up. Not confirming that tonight. I'm going to look at the entire schedule. But they got me two locks. I couldn't be more happy. Our Reddit board signed up for Jimmy G. tonight. They know what they're doing. This lock match is coming right down to the...

They did this week. They're learning. They're learning. They've locked up the Jets one. They're learning. They're learning is right. I'm a George Kittle guy. I like George Kittle guy. He's huge. I like Trent Taylor.

I like that the rest of the country is watching the biggest AFC game of the year. We've been talking about it all season. A lot of people have kind of an eye on, you know, an NFC West changing of the guards. But Sessler's over in the corner. And he's locked into the team of Sestiel, the San Francisco 49ers. Yes, I am. yes i am let's move on cousin center on second intent

fakes the reverse under heat it's a little screen past the bibs he's got blockers at the 30 25 to the 20 up the right sideline 10 into the end zone and it's a wetskins touchdown capri bims takes it all the way larry michael w t em

sounded a lot like patrick claibon it was the only game in week 15 with no playoff ramifications and the two teams played like it Kirk Cousins threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns, and the Redskins held on for a 20 to 15 win over the Cardinals in Landover. Shook. Let's really dig into this one.

Yeah, was there anything to take out of this game? Let's be quicker. Oh, actually, okay. Fun fact, did you know that before it was called Landover, it was an unincorporated territory called Raljon. Raul John. Jack Kent Cook named it after a combination of his two kids' names. Anyways, it was like an evil corporation name in a bad 90s.

dog food. Yeah. What was it again? Raal John. Raul John. Like they sell like industrial wire. Ralph and Johnny. A division of Purina.

Textiles, those kind of things. The front. 16 to 41 from Blaine Gabbard. Three different times there in the red zone couldn't get in the end zone. Settled for field goals all day, including the final possession. It was a just a symphony of just errors. And I just felt pain for the Cardinals in their future. Because, you know, we spent a little bit of time being like, hey, maybe Blaine Gabbard might be the guy.

Yeah. No, he's not. I felt some sympathy pains that we assign this game to you, Shook. We love having you on here, but sometimes when you're the new kid in town, you have to take one for the team. So that's what happened. Listen, I watched all. I know we just talked about the 49ers. I'm grown up Browns fan, and I watched a lot of 49ers games in the last few years.

So it's okay. This was not that bad. But this was a really ugly game. I think Cabri Bibbs, what we heard, was about the only highlight for the whole day. Okay. Are you going to get a pump in? Yeah. Of course.

It's a little late, but it's time to grind. Why not go Sunday morning before the games? Why do you wait to go? How do you know he didn't do that? Oh, do you go twice? You're going to, let your muscles rest. Are you just saying that you're going? You know, because you want to hear this drop?

Yeah. Well, here's the thing. Why don't we just come in when I come in a place? Is that too much? Do you want to play in music? No, I don't want to play. All right. There you go.

Shook. Until next week, buddy. All right, thanks, guys. That game will not be watched on Game Pass this week. It's impossible to evaluate either of those teams with how many injuries they're. Wes and I were talking about, you know, teams you can start to put into a nice little sack and put them in a river. There they go. Wow.

Put them in a sack. Well, put them in a river. Yeah, out. That's like what they do with, like, kittens sometimes. Is that something that could happen with these cats? It's like if you, kittens deserve our attention and care, not these teams. I get it. I get it.

It's like if you want to kill. someone, but make it especially cruel. Exactly. That's much closer. Let's move on. Can the Eagles stop the Giants right here? Manning takes the snap. He's back.

He's looking. He is firing, and it is incomplete. It is out of the end zone. Incomplete. Intended for Engram. With 43 seconds to go. And that's a wrap, boys and girls. The Giants have three timeouts, Mike.

So it's a little short of a wrap. Wow. Ouch. Beryl comes after Mike quick in a big spot. WIP with the call. Maybe the Eagles do have a chance without Carson Wentz. Nick Folles stepped into the starting lineup and threw four touchdown passes. And the Philly defense got that fourth down stop to hold off the Giants.

A 34 to 29 win for the Eagles at the Meadowlands. Mark, the half-glass full viewpoint here is that Nick Foles move the football, put points on the board. The half-glass empties that the Eagles defense got carved up by Eli. How do you view it? Yeah, I think that's pretty accurate. I mean, you think that people would come out of this saying if the Eagles had lost. Oh, well, Nick Foles will be the reason. Nick Foles was fine.

If he doesn't turn the ball over, what happened today, they got it done on offense. I mean, it did not look like what we saw under Carson Wends. It's a little bit of a different operation. But who expected Eli Manning to carve up what is a very good defense for 434 yards and three touchdowns? Vintage. It was a big difference having Sterly Shepard back in this lineup. He made, Evan Ingram is a star. He is an absolutely fascinating tight end.

We've known that for weeks. But guys like Roger Lewis, Tavares King, they were all making plays against the secondary. This is a game where you want to point to the kicking changes, the less effective kicking, having a direct impact on away teams have to deal with the fourth quarter. Aldrich Rosas misses a field goal and an extra point in this. They are driving down at the very end,

and Eli Manning had to go for a touchdown. You lost this game by five points. They could have easily kicked a field goal, and they would have knocked off the Eagles. We'd be saying something different about Philadelphia right now. The Giants will say this. They showed zero quit today. I mean, it's...

You're a pumped up watching them. Well, because I think we're kind of, you know, Dan, you and I are into the G-Men experience. The G-Men! It's just been a thing. But, I mean, Eli Manning made it fun today. And it's like they, the Eagles, I still think they're going to get the number one by.

I think they can win a playoff game. They could win two if you get this Nick Foles. He's not going to change the game like Wentz does, but he did not hurt them at all. And this is kind of like a best case scenario. I haven't watched the game. It's bad defense he was playing. Yeah, I'd like to see how he actually played. But statistically, I mean, what else could you ask for in a guy stepping into the lineup?

Whoa. 5404 yards from the Giants against this Eagles defense is one of the more inexplicable and surprising results I've seen. I chalk it up to like division rival. Maybe. Maybe. I guess we'll watch the Eagles next week. It's a concerning game if you're the Eagles defense because you need the Eagles defense to help carry this. Yeah, they got to go next level. Instead, they took a step back this week.

Let's see how they look. Who they got next week? Oakland, then Dallas. Okay, manageable. Let's move on. They've got their buy. Jay Cutler, ready to go. The snap. Bill's Rush four, stunts up front.

Cutler gets rid of it, fires downfield. Picked off, intercepted at the 45-yard line. Picked off by Trinavius White. This time he slides down, and this one will end it. John Murphy, WGR with the call. The J. Cutler Feel Good story reached its anticipated conclusion on Sunday as the veteran through three interceptions, including the killer game deciding pick right after Miami had recovered an onside kick late in the fourth quarter, allowing the bills to hold on for a 24 to 16 win in Buffalo. Greg, the bills are suddenly 8 and 6 and in line for a playoff spot in the AFC. And as everyone should know, that has not happened in 18 years.

Well, they have to go to New England next week. and that'll be, you know, a big, big game for them. And if they fall, they're 8 and 7, they lose a little bit of control. This, to me, was more the end of whatever hope there was about the Miami Dolphins. And it felt, it felt kind of, felt fitting that the 2017 dolphins ended on a J. Cutler, just throw to nowhere. Like, they had the onside kick. He was getting pressured, and he just threw it up right to Trudevius White. There's no defender in the area.

and that was the day for Jay Cutler was just kind of throwing it up inexplicably and receivers not being anywhere near the ball. And Jay makes a throw to nowhere. He's throwing the ball 49 times today. On the road to nowhere. He fumbled, he threw three interceptions. They were all of the like the ugly variety, none of the, you know.

The Cutler variety. Yeah, they weren't like, oh, that wasn't his fault. It was like they were his fault. He also fumbled the ball four times today. That's a lot of fumbles. He got them all back amazingly. A couple were on the snaps. How many fumbles?

Four. Four bumbles. That's amazing. I love this guy. It was rough, and the bills should get credit for coming out, really playing sharp, good game plan in terms of their offense. Tyrod Taylor was kind of doing the Tyrod Taylor things that you love to see, evading sacks and picking up third and longs and improvising and also some schemed up plays.

And when they do that, they look like an 8-and-8 team, but that's kind of what they've looked like all season. I mean, we were talking about it downstairs. They really want to see this Bills team in the playoffs. But then the flip side is, do you want to see the titoons in the playoffs? At least if you got the bills in there, you get that, all those fans get that feeling that we finally ended that drought. It's a step in the right direction. But yeah, this does feel like a team that's just going to beat bad teams like the Dolphins with Jay Cutler on the road.

By the way, they're going to have a big win. They have the tiebreaker over the Ravens right now. Yeah, but that's very misleading because once the season plays out, the Ravens will have a better record than the Bills. against all competition. How about Wes with the calculator there? Also, the Ravens play two cupcakes to end the season, and the bills have to go on the road at New England and at Miami. So I don't have to plug in with a modem, no 56K.

Give me a little short-hand division, and I'll handle everything. I would like it for the Bill's fan base more than most other fan bases. It wouldn't be a home game, but it still would be fun to watch. Well, that wild court field in the AFC is wide open. Yes, it is. It's wild. It's wild and wide. kill me. Speaking of the Ravens.

Sean Kaiser, stands in the end zone and the shotgun. Takes the snap, looks to his right. Pumps, wants hit from behind. Ball is loose in the end zone. It's recovered. It's going to be either a safety or a touchdown. Touchdown Ravens. And the defense takes care of it as Brandon Williams comes up with a touchdown. All right. Of course.

Boobirds out in Cleveland. Jerry Sandusky, WBAL with the call. The Ravens defense was expected to be disruptive on Sunday, and they were causing turnovers, including that touchdown, a 27 to 10 win over the Browns when it was all set and done. The Browns now just two losses away from becoming the second 0 and 16 team in NFL history. The Ravens, meanwhile, moved to 8 and 6, just like the Bills, and they remain in good position, just like Wes said, to grab a wild card spot. I would be stunned if the Ravens find a way to lose those two games coming up, because I think they're...

Wes doing a little Jordan-esque fist pump? Three more sandwiches coming my way. Yeah. Ooh, I see. I think you're in good shape. And the main thing I was watching today was, is the Joe Flacco revival to, you know, respectability to just being solid? Is that like a thing now? Because it had been two weeks.

It wasn't great against Pittsburgh. We was good. And now we can say it's three weeks. Like there were bad throws. There were Joe Flacco moments, some sacks. But there were also those, wow, like not a lot of quarterbacks can complete those throws. Three or four, five. really nice downfield or under pressure, and this is despite losing Jeremy

Macklin, they asked him to win the game because they were stuffing the running game. He threw it 42 times. It wasn't great, but if he's just okay, then I think they have a chance to beat just about anyone. To care of business. I think Cleveland goes 0 and 16 because the only shot that I think you may be had, and I don't even consider it a shot if you don't beat the Bears, is Pittsburgh sitting like 25 starters had they wrapped up some sort of number. It isn't going to happen.

No, you're looking at 0-16. I don't know how you keep the coach when that happens. And Deshaun Kaiser, who's, I think, taken a couple steps forward recently in what's been typical for a season, took a step back today. Another red zone interception missed some throws. He's not going to be the quarterback next year. John Dorsey's already handing out projects for guys to select the next quarterback then. I just wanted to check in on the forked teams.

I asked Lindsay earlier today, hey, can we just get a printout of all the teams that have been forked, just so I could reference it in the studio. And I say, oh, can I have that on our, it's the messenger client? She says, it's hanging up. Look around. I can't find it. You said you wanted it printed out hanging up in the studio.

It's literally hanging in the back corner of our studio. I walk back there. I'm supposed to see that. Greg, Greg. I walk back there, you can see it from where you're sitting. I can't see it. It's like $5.48. I will give you $100 if you could read that from where I'm sitting.

We're over 35 years old. We have pressed biopia. All right. I mean, my eyes are good. No, I have a great vision, but it's blocked by TV. All right, well, Greg, you when got it? It's in the dark. All right, here are the forked teams.

Just to check in now late in the season, are we in danger with any of them? Browns, I think we're safe there. 49ers, giants, cults, bucks, bears, Texans, Bengals, Broncos, Packers. That was the team that could have gotten us. We knew. Dolphins. The gangrene. That's the Jets.

The bills, forked. I don't remember forking the bills. We forked the bills, guys. I still feel fine about that one. Raiders and the Redskins. So it's really down to the bills. Yep. The bills, the Packers would need a ton of help.

A ton of help. I'd be fine. That one, especially since Aline has already been kind of forced into making the donation to the Buffalo area. Yeah, she'll be paying Western New York, whatever is due. Check in with one last Saturday game. Thanks for that, Lindsay. Snap throws over the middle. Cork, touchdown.

Pulling it in. Lindsey Fulton. Third touchdown of the season for Ebron, and Detroit has opened up a 19 to three lead. You know why I like Lindsay? She's got some pep. No doubt. You know, loose cannon,

oh wow, loose cannon she's really got, you know, a little like edge to her. The Fulton does too. You don't mess with the Fulton. That's right. Remember that movie? You don't mess with the Zoltan? Probably the worst movie ever.

You don't mess with a Fulton is what I... I smell a Photoshop coming from one of our listeners. Can't wait. Dan Miller, W.J.R. with a call. Matthew Stafford looked healthy and threw two touchdown passes and leading the lines to a 20 to 10 victory over the Bears on Saturday in Detroit. A perfect game, by the way, and I could attest to this personally. If you're running around and daddy has to take the wife and kids to the mall to see

Santa, which was a disaster. My son on... Just to recap, my son on Thursday at the big Christmas pageant was standing in the front row, three years old, my boy, Jack, did not sing. At one point, covered his eyes. It's pretty normal than not singing. For the finale, Jack turns his back to the audience and God in the church.

And two days later, my boy decides to become extremely fearful of Santa, didn't want anything to do with the man in red. So I'm still figuring out the kid. A little bit of a counterintelligence revolutionary thing going on there. I mean, that's a pretty common reaction, though, to Santa. On some level, Santa's a little scary. Hey, go sit on this strange, you know, red man's lap that you've never met before. The concept is odd from a distance.

My point being is that I was, that was the beginning of my Saturday. I get back on the couch and I'm watching a very boring football game. Perfect time for a nap. I took a little nap, right in the middle of the game. Anyway, the Lions moved to 8 and 6, and they no doubt eagerly anticipate Monday night's affair involving the 8 and 5 Falcons. This was a rare game we get on the Lions for a lot of things

where they controlled it from front to beginning. They didn't have to have a comeback. They didn't, you know, did it give up a comeback? From front to beginning. From front to beginning. I mean, you can't get any longer than that. Sorry. I was going to say, I walked away from this game thinking,

if the Lions were in the AFC, they'd be a playoff team. They might be a playoff team. If they play the Packers, for instance, without Aaron Rogers, which seems... Are you tabulating? Increasingly possible. I think you're tabulating, aren't you? They're 8 and 6. Let's get back on line, please.

They're at Cincinnati next week. First off a playoff calculator now online. Dead men walking. I'm not even sure if Cincinnati will literally show up for the game. Mark put him in a bag and threw him in the river. They might just win that by forfeit. That gets them to 9 and 6. Marvin Lewis holding a dog with some woman that he picked up at the supermarket,

watching the bus drive away. And then they're hosting Green Bay, who at that point is likely to be eliminated and very possibly is sitting Aaron Rogers. The lines have already shown that they can beat Brett Hunley. They did that earlier this season on Monday night football. That gets them to 10 and 6, and very possibly with a little help from the Falcons.

I don't think we need the lines to approve they can beat Brett Hunley. Like, I'll just believe it on faith. Just saying could happen. In this deep NFC, the lions are very much alive. Yeah, they did dominate the game. They scored on four of their first six drives. Mitch Trubisky threw three interceptions. They actually let Mitch throw the ball.

Darius Sale played a great game. He's probably going to go to the Pro Bowl. From front to beginning, he's been a great player all year. This Bears team has so much work to do in the offseason. If they don't want Mitchell Chubisky's career to get vastly off track at some point here, I mean, you've got to do a lot. I mean, this is a team that relies on Tariah Cohen basically breaking two returns a game to have a shot.

He had a big return called back yesterday. And Chicago had no chance to win this game when that happened. How bad have the bear's been under John Fox? They've lost six of seven. They're four and ten. And that is now in three seasons under Fox, double-digit losses. after all three years. So Johnny ain't going nowhere but home after the season.

I'd like to see... I mean, Hugh Jackson wishes he had John Fox's record. I'd like to see Eagles quarterback's coach John D. Filippo, who Mark is familiar with, working with Mitch Tribusky next year. I like that. Roll John. Good coach. Let's move on to Sunday night football.

Oh, Sunday night. Avoid's the sack, and he's going to try to run it in. Oh, does he lose the ball? Yeah, did he lose the ball? Does it go out of the end zone? Does he lose the ball? The Cowboys are signaling for a touchback. This could be a touchback.

The runner fumbled forward through the end zone and out of the end zone. Touchback. The ruling on the field is a touchback. Yes, on a day where the arcane clunky NFL rulebook decided the game of the year, how fitting that Sunday night football ended with the dreaded fumble touchback rule. It costs the Raiders their season, or whatever was left of it, a 20 to 17 win for the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday Night Football, a game in which, yes, Derek Carr scrambling towards the pylon with less than a minute to play, had the first down, but had the misfortune of losing his grip on the ball. It goes out of bounds. Chris Wessling, that's a touchback to Dallas, according to the rulebook.

The Cowboys are alive in the NFC playoffs, and the Raiders are done. Yeah, ended the Raiders drive, ended the game, ended their season, and put their fans out of their misery. Season-long misery watching this bad football team. One of the most disappointing teams in the NFL in the most disappointing division. Yeah, it was kind of, I don't know what the word is, anticlimactic, that the Marshawn Lynch returned to Oakland, like, feel-good story. all but ended tonight with him losing it on the sidelines, yelling at the officials,

I guess for that call, but it was undeniably the correct call. You know, everybody calmed down a little bit of this Marshawn Lynch is amazing thing. I mean, what is he, what are you doing? It's a great running back. Yeah, he's a great running back, but this, like, amazing man angle, what are you doing in the official faces? That was a perfectly called play. Everything he does is precious.

Right. Not precious to me, anyway. The call was correct. the rule, much like the catch rule, is not as complicated, but it's poor. I think they need to put the touchback back to the 20-yard line. You keep possession, but you're way back up. It's like a touchback except you keep the ball. You don't lose possession.

Fumbling out of the end zone is a bizarre rule that just doesn't really make sense. Does the down count? Downs got to count, yeah. Why do we have roles that punish athletes for making spectacular attempts at plays? Well, I do think that players might have to rethink all the diving at the end zone, though, in that way, because it's happened so many times. Jesse James, you know, the Steelers win if he just holds on to the ball there. He did. He crossed the pylon with the ball in his hands after catching it.

If he hadn't gone down, I hear what you're saying. In Derek Carr, in that situation, Jeff Heath did a great job getting over there. But ultimately, like, if he had just taken that, if he had gotten the first down or, you know, he'd been a little more. careful with the ball, ball security, they have first and go out the one and they win that game. We should mention the other most amusing part. The game itself is okay, but the really amusing,

and it was a gutsy onion call by Jason Garrett. Fourth and one, five minutes to play in the fourth quarter. At their own 39, the Cowboys decide to go for it, empty backfield, which is a little weird. Someone goes in motion, and Dak Prescott takes a snap, surges forward. it appeared, at least by the first glance, that Dak got it, but they decided to bring out the chain gang.

And it is so close, the measurement that Gene Sterator, who, by the way, Gene Sterator, who made the Descaught it decision. Maybe this was a bit of a makeup call, decides to fold over a index card. What a day for the NFL official, to decide if he actually just did get the first down. And that was through the bent index card. The decision was made that the Cowboys did get the first. So first and 10 at the 40. Three plays later, a 40-yard pass to Des Bryant,

which set up a field goal to make it 20 to 17. And then it was that ensuing drive, which led to the car shenanigans. What a day. What a world. When Al Michaels is, you know, kind of putting his hands up of like, what's a catch, what's anything,

like he doesn't understand the rules, then, you know, we're in trouble. Al Michaels, quote, this will live in infamy. I don't know about it. And there's a wry smile from Steratories. He's walking away. He's like, I know I'm going to be the butt of four million internet jokes over this.

I like it. It's part of the gig. How else are you going to tell if it's a first down? I thought it was pretty ingenious. I don't get. What did it do, though? That's what I'm confused about. It measured whether it was actually that far.

The card was hitting the football, right? Which makes it a foot down. But it was bent. It was folded. He folded it tight together. It wasn't that tight, though. Well, they were upset. Del Rio in theory, I guess,

upset because, you know, it's a double piece of paper versus one. If it's that close, could have been a single piece, maybe it wouldn't have been. I mean, the Cowboys are now eight and six. They would have- Fix your rulebook. They would have been all but knocked out if they lose this game. Imagine a scenario here where the Cowboys win next week against Seattle, win against Philadelphia, and they end up getting into the play. Who knows?

It could change NFL history, that index card. They'd be robbed on a catch rule situation against the Patriots in the Super Bowl. If you don't like the Cowboys, though, I have a couple, I have some good news for you. Done some calculations. Ooh. Good. And then let's go home.

I can't take today. Great Rosenthal playoff calculator now online. We're so done with today. We're going dial up at 9 p.m. Pacific time. I mean, the cowboys, if you don't like the cowboys, some good news for you. They're in deep trouble. They're going to lose tiebreakers to the lions. If the lions get to 10, they're going to lose tiebreak to the Falcons, if they get to 10.

And they're just not that good of a team. and they play two decent teams coming up. I don't really expect them to get to 10. That decent Seahawks team that just got absolutely jobbed in their home stadium. Okay, there you go. Throw them all in the river with Mark's bag of whatever. Neutralize them with lasers.

We will be back on Tuesday where we will begin to look towards, yes, the pent ultimate week of the regular season. And thank you for everyone for listening along. As always, Now, get out of here. Congratulations, Greg. Another big day for you.

I'm trying to be magnatical. Dan Hans is signing off for Quiet Storm. The mailman, the ever blessed, old boss. And Lindsay Fulton behind the glass. You don't mess with the Fulton until Tuesday. This is an IHeart podcast.