NFL Stock Exchange: An NFL Draft Podcast - 121. What Matters Most From Every Game of Week 14 in the NFL

Episode Date: December 12, 2022

Hosts Trevor Sikkema and Connor Rogers go through every game on the Sunday slate of games form Week 14 in the NFL and tell you what really matters most beyond the final scores

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. I'm sure by now you've all got back into your Sunday routines, but they could be even better. With NFL Sunday Ticket and YouTube TV, you get the most live NFL games all in one place, every game, every Sunday. And you can even watch up to four different games at once with MultiView, one of my favorite inventions of this decade. It's exactly what you need to catch all the action. Make your Sundays more magical. And also, YouTube TV is great. I got it this year.

It's awesome. Sign up now at youtube.com slash BS, device and content restrictions apply. Local and national games on YouTube TV. NFL Sunday ticket for out-of-market games excludes digital-only games. Welcome to the NFL Stock Exchange podcast. In this episode, we're telling you what matters most from everything that we watch week 14 in the NFL. We're going beyond the box score, beyond the results. We'll tell you what the results were and of course what that meant to both the draft picture and the playoff picture.

But what really matters most within that result? How did we get to that result? And what can we count on that moving forward? What was real? What wasn't? All that good stuff. I'm Trevor Sycamore. With me as always is Connor Rogers.

Let's ring the bell. welcome to the opening bell of the nfl stock exchange podcast i'm trevor sycamore that is connor rogers joining you guys after the sunday edition of week 14 in the nfl we're here to give you what matters most from all the games that we watched in the afternoon slate, the early and the late games. I mean, I thought the 4 p.m. games were obviously a little lighter as they technically are always just number wise. But entertainment throughout. And I think there's a lot of really good long term conversation to have with a lot of these teams. Connor, how are we feeling today on this Sunday? Good, man.

A bit of a hectic Sunday. I think there was some, I don't want to say upsets more so, but maybe surprises that we're going to get through. There was a couple upsets. There was also a couple blowouts. And this season, the playoff picture gets closer and closer to being painted. And there's a lot of really, you know, every single game has such high stakes implications at this point of the season. So we have plenty to get through today, despite there being a couple of bye weeks. There are six teams that were on the bye, which I was going to note here, the Atlanta Falcons, five and eight, they're on the bye. Green Bay Packers, they're five and eight on the bye. Saints four and nine, Bears three and 10, Colts four, eight and one. And then the commanders,

who might be like big winners from the day, honestly. They got healthier because they got to rest. And then we're going to get to the Giants losing and the Seattle Seahawks losing as well. Really, the only negative for the Washington Commanders is that the Lions picked up a big win and that there is still a chance for the Lions to make the playoffs. So, Connor, where do you want to start as we recap Week 14?

Oh, man, think we we start with the scare maybe texans cowboys oh sure okay talk about a total sweat if you're i mean i guess a lot of cowboys fans were probably thinking like okay they've done this in the first half this year we know they're gonna figure it out it just felt like it went on longer like the third quarter nothing changed and then obviously the fourth quarter they found a way, but the Texans are not a good football team right now. They are a team expected to pick number one overall and they credit to them. And their secondary is quietly played very well.

I want to be fair to the Texans here. This was a game where Jalen Petrie really had his coming out party. It looked really, really good. Shout out to Cody, who's a lawyer listener of the pod. He tweeted right at me. He's like, can us Texans fans get something? Petrie looks good. And I'm like, yes, you do deserve that.

But obviously, Trevor, this will be a very Cowboys-heavy combo. Led the team in tackles. I just want to say we've been getting on Jalen Petrie for not having enough tackles and, well, missing a lot of tackles, I guess is the way I should say it. He leads the NFL right now in missed tackles and led the Texas today in tackles. So I just wanted to shout him out there, wanted to make sure that I gave him his due.

Texas played feisty in this one, man. For a team that has one win on the season, you can tell that this is a young group and a young core because it's not like there's a lot of people that are giving up on this team right these are young guys who know that every single snap matters they're trying to make the most of their time in the NFL their young time since they've been there and and it's it feels like it's an audition for a lot of these guys because there's not really a certainty that Lovie Smith's going to be back as head coach next

year in fact I'd say that it's likely he's not right that's just kind of the way that it is when you win one game in a season it's not like you have a lot of confidence from the front office and the ownership around you so i think there might be a lot of changes in in houston coming up we've mentioned on this show potentially nick casario on the hot seat as well like there could be some sweeping changes right and i think that if the texans get the number one overall selection, there's a good chance they're taking a quarterback. So they're probably just going to want this overall feeling of newness.

Now, can they achieve that by keeping a lot of the same piece in the organization and still drafting the quarterback? Yeah. But I don't know if maybe the owner McNair there is just like, let's wipe it all clean. Let's wipe it all clean. And if that's the case, a lot of these guys who are playing well, it's not like they're saying our season's over. No, no, no, no, no. This is their job. Their job is on the line here. Do they have a spot on next year's team? Do they have any kind of benefit of a doubt? And I think it was great to see

a lot of Texans players fighting hard on both sides of the ball. They made this a game down to the wire and they commanded the Dallas Cowboys at home to have a 98 yard drive to end the ball. They made this a game down to the wire and they commanded the Dallas Cowboys at home to have a 98 yard drive to end the game in order to really just finally get ahead on the scoreboard. So I just wanted to salute the Texans. I agree that you, I agree with you that we're mainly going to talk about the Dallas Cowboys for what matters most, but they just want to point that out for the Texans that they did a great job. They had a lot of fight in this game, and they put up a lot more of a fight than anybody thought, I believe.

Well, especially when it's a lot of young players that are taking part in that kind of fight, like a Petrie. That does matter for your program going forward. Trevor, I know you had a Cowboys takeaway for this one overall. I do. I'm a little worried about Dak. I know you had a Cowboys takeaway for this one overall. I do. I'm a little worried about Dak. Like, I think that everybody who listens to this podcast can give us the benefit of the doubt

as not being these massive Dak Prescott haters because we're not. You know, we did the exercise during the summer where we drafted the entire NFL with everybody in a single pool, like a Madden fantasy draft. And we had Dak going, what'd he go, five? Yeah.

I think he went five overall. So we gave Dak a lot of respect. I have a lot of respect for Dak's game. Dak's got five turnovers now in three games, in his last three games. And he's only got two games this season where he has zero turnovers. And if you go to more PFF-centric stats,

he's got nine big time throws, but he's got 11 turnover worthy plays on the year. So he has more turnover worthy plays than he does. What we categorize as big time throws. And obviously the Cowboys things are going well for them, right? They're sitting there at 10 and three. I think Dak has certainly given them a lot to look forward to in spurts

since coming back this year, but it hasn't been a full consistency yet with Dak and I'm worried because in those instances where we're not getting the best of Dak the floor for what we're seeing are turnover worthy plays it's not just inconsistencies it's not just like ah you know he's a little slow on this read or the ball didn't go exactly where it needed to like ball placement things like that it. It's straight-up turnovers. It's straight-up things that are making you have to go 98 yards down the field just to beat a one-win football team in Week 14 of the NFL.

So my what matters most, a lot of people are sitting here like, hey, the Dallas Cowboys needed this win to keep pace with the Eagles. Where that is mathematically true, these two teams are very far apart, I think. And I think that Dak Prescott's inability to stabilize his play is a big reason for that. We're going to get to the Philadelphia Eagles in a second, but when I watch the Eagles, Connor,

I'm not worried about Jalen Hurts at all. He's so in control. Doesn't matter what's happening. Doesn't matter what quarter it is. Doesn't matter where they're playing the game. Doesn't matter what the precipitation is. Jalen Hurts, he is in control at all times. And I just don't feel that way with the Cowboys.

Does that change their ceiling? No, it doesn't. But identifying their floor is a little bit lower because of how erratic Dak has been playing since he's come back this season, I think is something that we need to know. I think it's really fair, right? I think when it comes down to it, he's somebody that will get all of the scrutiny, fair or not, because you're Dallas Cowboys quarterback, you're on the big contract.

This is a team that is so desperate to get over the hump, right? They're so desperate to be a contender down the stretch. And when Dak struggles, like all quarterbacks on all contending teams, that magnifying glass is going to be there. Because let's be real, this is a Cowboys team that they have a stable of pass rushers they have talent on this defense they have two running backs they have pass catching talent the offensive line had to be reworked this year but they figured it out so when you look at it it's yeah it's something that Dak's going to be judged a lot depending how this season goes even if it is a loss in the playoffs to an Eagles type of team. And I do think it's fair because at some point you can't always build the

perfect infrastructure around guys all the time, especially once they get that big money deal. So I think it's really fair. Now what I will say back it up is once again, I think this Texan secondary has been much better than people anticipate. And I want to pull up the Cowboys schedule right here to see if Dak can obviously build some momentum as well. And they won the game. But, you know, you look at it here.

They get Jacksonville on the one o'clock game, December 18th. They do have the Eagles coming to them. Right. That's a big game, right? That's what everybody's looking forward to. Yeah. But they close things out with the commanders who are no slouch right now and who might be playing for their lives in that game right yeah so so it's going to be really interesting with them

it really is and and so much of um you know how well the season the cowboy season ends you know dac is under that scope because they really have built a really good, well-rounded football team in my eyes. The Cowboys-Eagles game in two weeks is pretty monumental now, not just for the Cowboys potentially still winning the division and maybe winning the one seed there. But if they lose to the Eagles, not only is that one extra win in the Eagles get one extra loss that they get separation between the division gap. But it also means that the Eagles are probably going to rest their starters in week 18 in which they play the Giants. OK, you just said that the Dallas Cowboys face the Washington Commanders.

Commanders and the Giants are probably going to be right there up until the very last week of the playoffs for that last playoff spot. If the Giants are playing against the Eagles backups, that's more favorable for them. There's a good chance they win that game. Washington will also know that. So Dallas is going to get the very best of the Washington commanders that game. Is that in Dallas or is that in Washington? I believe it's in Washington.

I think it's in Washington too. So all of a sudden that Eagles, that Eagles, that Eagles Cowboys game in two weeks is just going to be huge. The magnitude of that game is massive. Yeah. Yeah. What's up? Say you're the one seed in the final week of the season and there's no way you could be bumped out of it do you rest because you have a buy uh i would not rest i i probably would not rest my guys the whole game treat it like like a preseason game, right? I'd probably treat it like a preseason game.

Yeah. Because I would want these guys to still go through the motions of game day and all that stuff. Because I do believe that there is something to when you are the one seed. I don't think it's just a unanimous positive not that you wouldn't ever take it you would take it in all occasions i'm not saying that either you would always rather take the one seat but there is a mental aspect to yeah you basically like almost have what is it 13 days off from game action and players will tell you all the time there's nothing

like playing in a game on sunday you can try to simulate it all you want in practice, but there's nothing like it. So I'd probably treat it like a preseason game, if I'm going to be honest with you. But it is advantageous to limit the hits that you guys have, even with an extra week off. I still think that it's advantageous to limit the hits these guys take. You just got to make sure that you're handling things better. Or well, I shouldn't say better. Well, through those two weeks that you've got to buy but uh it is an interesting question what about you what would you do i would treat it like a pre-season game i would need my guys to get

it's so tricky because if you deal with one injury you're going to be crushed i i want to say i give them a half but i don't know i think i just give them a half, but I don't know. I think I'd just give them a quarter. I just want them to go through the game, the full. I would tell them. I don't even know if I would tell them. I think I'd want them to treat it like a week of preparation, a mindset going into a game, and then pull them after the first quarter,

just so they went through that exhausting process of it to stay fresh and locked in i don't know if there's a i don't know if there's a right answer there's just a logical answer right and there might be a couple of logical answers people might say hey don't put them out there any health above all any play they're out there health above all like you said people say that people say that in the preseason all the time right why are people out there all that kinds of stuff but the same time at the same well we have this conversation on preseason all the time, right? Why are people out there, all that kinds of stuff? But at the same time, at the same point. Well, we have this conversation on the pod all the time, though,

about guys that miss the summer, like Joe Burrow. Well, right. Bengals started 0-2 because Joe Burrow did not play in the preseason, I think. I agree. Because he was rusty. He couldn't play, to be fair to him, in the preseason. They didn't just sit him. But, yeah.

Oh, yeah, he had an injury. But still, I do think that that's a big reason why. It's an interesting combo, and one that's not going anywhere right now, I don't think. All right, what's the next game? Browns-Bengals. I do have a take for you in this one. Besides, you know, Joe Burrow's good,

and the Bengals are maybe the scariest team in the afc right now and all that man i i think dj reader is one of the most underrated players in the nfl and i've gone i've done the whole like you know the bengals started off slow because joe burrow didn't have a summer and i do believe that in my heart but i also think the bengals missing reader between weeks he got hurt week three and he didn't come back to week 11 might be the colossal difference on this team defensively i just look at reader and think he's somebody that does so much up front he had six stops today he opens up so much space for guys behind him, like Logan Wilson, who had a huge day. Logan Wilson had eight stops today. We always talk about the Bengals defense playing in unison and maybe not having a superstar. Jesse Bates is a really good player, right? Logan Wilson is a

nice player. We know what Trey Hendrickson can do rushing the passer. I think Reeder's the star of the defense. I really do. And I think it's about time he gets that title and gets credit for that and is the difference maker of why the Cincinnati team is such a force right now on defense. Yeah, I mean, 100%. I mean, he is...

He's a major reason why this team is playing really well. This is a stat that I looked up before the show. Cincinnati's got a 71.9 run defense grade as a team since DJ Reader returned a couple of weeks ago. That would make them top 10 in the NFL for a run defense graded team. He's just making everybody better.

Everybody along the defensive line is playing a lot better. And as if that team wasn't already playing really, really well on the defense side of the ball, that is how you limit a team like the Cleveland Browns who would love to run the ball to as much as they did this past week. So that's a really good note there.

I'll, I want to note on the Bengal side of things because there's not really much to note about the Browns. I mean, Deshaun Watson, again, look terrible for most of the game. How about taking him out for a key play?

I mean, I don't even know what to be fair. Bursette had the guy. No, I had him. He should have hit him. Who was it? Who was it? What tight end was that?

Was that Njoku? I don't think it was. I forget. I just know that the end zone, but Jacoby coming in ice cold for your $250 million quarterback is certainly a choice. Yeah, that was funny. But on the Bengals side side of things so this was from nfl network earlier today on sunday bangles changed their offense in week five to give

joe burrow more control to make adjustments quarterback coach dan pitcher and offensive coordinator brian callahan have helped this offensive evolution since then and after week five cincinnati has won six of seven and burrow is in the mvp race since week five this is me now um no this is a trevor cedric's dad i didn't mean for it to sound like that's really good that was a really good this is me now i just didn't i just didn't mean to like say like this is still quoting them uh since week five only one game have they scored less than 20 points this offense is absolutely humming and it is funny what happens when you let a really damn good quarterback do what he is most comfortable and most confident doing it should seem so simple right i feel like every every coach in the world

would tell you yeah you gotta you gotta build your scheme around your players not the other way around it just feels like there's a decent amount of pushback in the NFL about all that. And a lot of these offensive minds say, no, no, no, no, no. This is going to work. This is going to work. We're going to do this. And it's like, okay, we have a blueprint of how unstoppable Joe Burrow can be when he's got a lot of different options, when he's got four receivers,

five receivers, when he's spreading it out, when he's playing shotgun, doing all that kinds of stuff. And it's just now they're doing it a lot more. They're doing a lot more of the things that Joe Burrow likes to do and that he's even more confident with, because I think this Bengals offense is just so much fun to watch. That throw to Jamar Chase in the end zone, between the corner and the safety,

who's attempting that throw, let alone completing it? I mean, the timing of of it the ball placement the everything man they said on the broadcast jabar chase didn't even expect the ball yeah he didn't expect the ball because he wasn't open he was there was basically a football size window that joe burrow put that through and he's one of the most fun quarterbacks in the nfl to watch when he's fully confident when he's firing like that and And it's just, it does not seem like the Bengals are stopping anytime soon. It really doesn't. It feels like they're one of those teams that is hitting their groove when it

matters most into the month of December. So you got to have faith in this team moving forward. And they've been here, right? They were just here last year. And as I searched Joe Burrow on Twitter in the post game, he said, it's about time the rest of the NFL notices DJ reader. So I guess me and him had the same takeaway from that game. There you go. I mean, yeah, this is,

this is all about the Bengals and the Bengals deserve all the shine they get on this show because the Bengals are, let me just ask you a question that, you know, I don't care if we come away being hot takey here, would you take out of the AFC? If you had to pick one team to go to the Super Bowl right now, I mean, who are you taking? I'm taking the Bengals right now. Confidently.

I'm still taking the Chiefs. I'm still taking the Chiefs. But the Bengals are number two. Okay. No, no, no. I've said for a while that I would pick the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl. So I would put them neck and neck. I think the more important conversation is, I think I would take both of them comfortably over the Bills right now. I wouldn't win the Super Bowl. So I would put them neck and neck. I think the more important conversation is I think I would take

both of them comfortably over the Bills right now. I wouldn't say the word comfortably. But if you want to say the word comfortably. I really think both of them are playing at a... This is your podcast to do it. Ah, man. You're going to piss somebody off either way. No, I'll stick

to it. Chiefs and Bengals. I like... And the Bills might be the number one seed when all is said and done. That's the funny thing. They still control their own destiny. Do you want to talk about the Bills next? Yeah, let's go Jets-Bills, which was a huge win for the Bills. Bills win this game in Buffalo, 20-12. Connor, was this game as close as the score was at the end?

Because it was a one-possession game. They were very close to it. All they, because it was a one, it was one possession game, you know, they were very close to it. All they, all they had to do was get one defensive stop. They were able to get that, but they weren't obviously able to score at the end. How close was this game really between these two teams?

It got very sweaty in the fourth quarter. If Michael Carter doesn't fumble when the jets are just storming down the field, inexplicably fumbles. I'm not made like the bills won this this game and the Bills deserve this win. There is no way around it. The difference in this game, Trevor, was that one of two plays Joe Flacco had to come in. He got strip sacked because he looks like an 80 year old man in the pocket.

And Michael Carter fumbled on a drive that could have won, like essentially turned the whole tide for the Jets. And the Bills created those plays, so they won. There's no, but that tells you how close this game was, is that two fumbles were catastrophic in the end. Oh, Elijah Moore got 10 targets? He did. We're back, baby. Elijah Moore is back.

We are so back. Now, I don't know if you want Mike White throwing 44 times, especially with the beating he took in this game. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot to take away from this game. I know you had something on the Bills side, so since they won, I would like to start with that, and obviously I'll bring the Jets side of it.

Okay. So, you know, obviously the Bills take victory and it's it's huge for them um oh yeah 10th win you know when we look at the bills this might feel this might feel a little nitpicky because this is a team that is 10 and 3 right they're 10 and 3 right yep 10 and 3 yeah i'm at home they're 10 and 3 right now and they they currently have the number one overall seed in the afc so i i don't mean for this to be um just trying to look for negatives about the bills but when we talk about this team and what matters most like what matters most is clearly them playing well enough to win a super bowl that's where this team is at it's not just like oh you know you can't be happy with another win good job on the win they got the they still

keep holding the number one seed i'm getting worried similar to how i'm worried about the cowboys about how hot and cold it feels like this buffalo offense is when it's hot one of the best in the nfl that's why they're tier one i mean they had four drives in the middle of this game where they basically scored all the points they needed to uh let me make sure i get the stats right here in the four in the four drives in the middle of this game where they basically scored all the points they needed to. Let me make sure I get the stats right here in the four, in the four drives near the middle of the game, the bills gained 190 of their 232 total yards of the day and score the 20 points. And it was just like in a concentrated four drives that they had in the

middle of the game, but they started this game. First five possessions were punts. And then the end of the game with three punts on their final three possessions outside of me on it down. That's not good. I just don't know. You can't start the game five points,

literally everything. And then just three points. Like I know that the, the, the ebbs and flows of a game sometimes make the drive charts a little wonky, but I am worried that the bills don't have enough consistency in their offense they don't have enough of those guys where they just go like okay when we got to move the chains this is what we do now also want to be

fair i don't want to be hyperbolic going into this week the bills were the number one team in the nfl on third down conversion rate they were 50 i think they were right at 52 which was tops in the nfl it's them in kansas city they're sitting right there at 50 or above so i don't want to be totally hyperbolic there but they were two for 13 on third down this week and it was just everything so concentrated and then droughts throughout because you just don't want that when you go against good teams you can't have these major droughts um it's just going to start messing with you mentally especially when you're playing teams like the dolphins the bengals the cheese where the bills ultimately want to go to end up getting to the super bowl so big win for him still got the one seed that is what matters a lot in this game but

what matters most to me is the offensive run a little hot and cold and i wish it was a little bit more consistent so that's what i got it's fascinating to me because i'm sitting here wondering is their offense running hot and cold or does the Jets defense just have their number this year right because the Jets defense has made Josh Allen look human something that no other teams seem to be able to do and further emphasize though your point if CJ Mosley doesn't jump off sides before the half in a situation where everybody in the world except cj mosley knows the bills are just trying to draw someone off sides that's pretty awesome though sick attempt not smart just so full water boy just straight over the line oh man so you know what would it look like for the bill because? Because the Bills offense went up the field after that,

and they did, so they get all the credit, but they wanted to punt there. Like, it was just draw them off and then punt. So it's, yeah, the Bills have questions, especially on the offensive line, and every educated Bills fan or any Bills fan, they know these things, nothing new to them. On the Jets side of this one, you know, it's simple for me.

My takeaway was that the Jets aren't in a place yet where they are good enough to overcome mistakes and injuries together. They're just not. And most teams in the NFL aren't. But this was a game where they had seven penalties going into the fourth quarter. They lost the turnover battle 2-0 with the two fumbles. The Bills didn't do everything great on offense today. The Bills didn't turn the ball over today.

They lost the turnover battle 2-0 to the Bills. And in the span of this game, they lost Corey Davis, Quinton Williams, Mike White for some of the game. They just, George Fant as well. And this is the NFL. Like the really, really good teams sometimes can find a way to overcome those things. I don't know about Quinn

because I think he's their best football player and one of the better defenders in the AFC right now. But the Jets just aren't there yet. Where could they, you asked the beginning, you opened this Trevor, which was this game as close as a one possession game. And it didn't always feel that way but ultimately it was but they they shot themselves in the foot and the Jets have the playoffs on the line they have to win three of the next four against the Lions

Jaguars Seahawks and Dolphins be very interesting some of those teams are getting hot at the right time and they made their fate a lot more difficult by not closing out against the Vikings and making too many mistakes against a very good Buffalo Bills team that in Buffalo, you will not win if you make those mistakes. You know what's funny, though? Mike White was not the problem in this game. Mike White was actually pretty good for the most part in this game when he wasn't gasping for air for his ribs. So, shout out to Mike White. Shout out to Mike White was actually pretty good for the most part in this game when he wasn't gasping for air for his ribs.

So shout out to Mike White. Shout out to Mike White. What game is next? What do you want to hit next? Okay. Let's go Vikings Lions because this maybe was the most fascinating game going into the weekend in terms of how Vegas viewed it. I think some people were appalled that the Lions were favored in this game.

The Lions come into this game. The Lions come into this game as a five and seven team against a 10 win Vikings team as the favorites, the favorites. And I was a little surprised. I thought it would maybe go to Minnesota by a hair, but the Lions, man, I, I, this is like me taking my take i've used all year but now like just screaming it the lions are in such a good place in my opinion because of what they could do with the capital and not have to panic pick a quarterback because of what they have in jared goff under contract for the next two years with all of the pieces coming together the offensive line jameson williams all these wide receivers running back talent i'm not a bully and it would be a really cool story and you know would it be cool if it happened

sure i'm not a believer the lions are going to run the table and sneak into the playoffs like i that's not what the story is about to me and if some people are maybe it's not there yet but this is what progress looks like under dan campbell where this matters so much because this is something that you can carry into next year because you can go out and buy some of a defense you can draft some of a defense and you have a quarterback that trusts everything around him that is starting to play some of his best football and the end of the day the lions got a win over a 10 and 3 Vikings team and that's all that matters right now their last six games they are five and one after starting the year one and six they score a lot they score a lot of points now if you even correct their defense from the first five weeks of the season to shoot. I don't even need an average defense.

A lot of people say that. They say, oh, if you just take them for bad and you just make them average, look how many wins they would get. I don't even need average. Just don't be dead last. Just don't be dead last. You could be bottom five still. Doesn't matter.

The Lions would probably be sitting here above 500 right now if their defense wasn't just dead last to start the season you give up 38 points to the eagles 36 points to the commanders 28 points to minnesota uh 48 points to seattle 29 points new england i mean like it was just left and right. They couldn't stop a nosebleed. Since then, it's been also 24 and 31 points after the bye week. But since then, on this little 5-1

streak that they got going here, defense allowed 9 points, 30 points, 18 points, 25 points, 14 points, 23 points, and they're sitting here at 5-1. That's all you needed. That's all you needed if you 23 points. And they're sitting here at five and one. That's all you need. That's all you needed if you were Detroit. And I think that, shout out to whoever tweeted me this.

They were like, can we please stop talking about the Lions, saying if Dan Campbell is there to make the picks? Because we do that on the Wednesday show, right? When we talk about the Lions, we talk about the direction they're going. We do that for every losing team. But we do. It's not personal. No, no, no,'s a it's just an open-ended question it is it is but i'm saying definitively oh sure he's here to stay we will not have that conversation there will not be that caveat to the detroit lions when we talk about the nfl draft

anymore and we do still get to talk about them with the nfl draft because they're going to pick high because of their the los angeles ram selection but when we do that dan campbell will be the one making this pick i think it's fantastic yeah go ahead is the stafford golf picks trade the quarterback equivalent of the digs for justin jefferson pick in terms of like we've never seen both sides win like this before oh well the rams won a super bowl so i don't want to hear anybody saying the rams lost the trade right it does nothing else matters no i mean the answer is no i like where you're going because yeah it's it's an interesting comparison.

But to be honest with you, and I'm about to talk about this with what matters most with the Lions. The Rams won a Super Bowl with Matthew Stafford, and that makes it 100% all worth it for them. But they were even struggling last year, and it's been bad this year to getting to the point where we are now where Liam Cohen, their offensive coordinator, just left Los Angeles to go be the point where we are now where liam cohen their offensive coordinator just left los angeles to go be the offensive coordinator again at kentucky which tells you

all you need to know what's gonna happen with the los angeles rams next year because i think mcveigh is gone i think stafford's gone i think donald's gone i think sneed's gone if you want my honest opinion we could talk about that a different time when it comes to the detroit lions gossiping very shaky he's been very mid up till I would say the last what five or six games he's been a lot better now when I say a lot better this is my one thing that matters most Goff has been better but Goff still hasn't been a a in my opinion like this playoff caliber type of quarterback and that matters to me because we're having a lot of conversations about what do the lions do in the draft do they draft another

quarterback goff has been better but let's make sure that we put it in context that he's he has simply been better and he has been better most importantly when it's come to decision making he has thrown much less turnover worthy plays. His turnover worthy play percentage is so much lower over these last five or six games. And because of that, I think you're seeing him put the ball exactly where it needs to go to a lot of good playmakers. And that works. I still don't fully believe that he is this creator instead of a passer. So I think that that's what you really have to have in mind. And that is something that matters a lot to me moving forward. But I don't want to be totally negative on the Detroit Lions because

they are playing great as a team. They are one of the most dangerous teams in the NFC right now. I don't know how many teams would be like, hell yeah, let's play the Lions. I don't think anybody in that conference outside of the Eagles, to be honest with you. So they're playing well, want to give them their props, and I especially want to give them their props

on the defensive side of the football and the defensive front. To me, from what I just watched live, I'm going back on the tape, obviously, this felt like Aiden Hutchinson's best game. He's had other games where he's had a little bit more backfield production, but it felt like everything was legit for him. Now, some of his best plays came from rushing from a two-point stance. He said, coming out of the draft,

I like rushing from a two-point stance. I feel most comfortable. I feel most flexible. I feel most explosive. And yet, early on in his tenure with Detroit, first half of the season, I would say, they had him rushing from a three-point stance a lot. They've been giving him the opportunity

to be a stand-up pass rusher and an edge player more recently. And I think that you're seeing dividends for that. So moving forward, I feel like Aiden Hutchinson has got to be put in positions where he could be a stand-up guy. And with that being the case, I think you're going to see even more production from him moving forward because we saw a really great Aiden Hutchinson today. And I think a lot case, I think you're going to see even more production from him moving forward

because we saw a really great aid in Hutchinson today. And I think a lot of that is because they're being more flexible with how he's aligned and putting him in more comfortable positions. Absolutely. He made those are my, those are my, those are my, what matters most for the line. Yeah. I mean, Hutch is so important to the future of this team. He obviously had the sack. He had more pressure than that. It matters a lot for them. And, you know, back to your golf point,

I don't ever, I never want to use one game as a learning point, but you can learn a lot about this offense and Goff as soon as this weekend because he has to play outdoors at MetLife in December against the Jets. This is the game to me. To me, this is the game. I obviously, as you guys can tell there from my rant, I like what I'm seeing from Jared Goff. You're just a little skeptical still. I have my

reservations about Jared Goff because there's many years of this. So I'm not just going to be like, oh, Tigers change the stripes. We're totally good. Sure. Let's see what you got against the New York Jets. People are going to come at me and be like, oh, you know, the supporting cast isn't what it needs to be. I just

want to see good processing, good play from Jared Goff. That's all I need to see. That's what I'm, you are totally right. I'm very much looking forward to next week's game against the Jets because it's a great defense. It's a great defensive scheme. And I think it'll be a great test for Jared Goff moving forward. So I can't wait to see that. Next up, Jags-Titans. One of the surprises of the week. Tennessee's obviously had Jacksonville's number. Jacksonville's sick of it. They win 36-22 in a game where maybe this was Trevor Lawrence's best game of his career.

If not the best, it's up there with some of the best. Lawrence is playing at a level right now of a top 10 quarterback. Trevor, you said something to me before we got on that really stuck with me. He just looks so confident in everything he does and is playing faster because of it. And there's no other way to do this game without saying what matters most is that Trevor Lawrence is becoming the top 12 quarterback in the NFL that we all expected him to be going into year two. It just took a little while to get out of the gate to start the season but when you look at the stretch he's on right now he's there a little more context sorry my dog was barking and I had to be on mute um

I saw you make the face of like just get through this one part uh sorry um some extra stats for Jacksonville here first win against the tendency titan since 2019 lord first win first win in nashville since 2013 they almost haven't won in nashville in a decade and they get the monkey off their back if you will i want to point out this too before i get trevor lawrence zero sacks allowed by the Jags offensive line. Fantastic game from the Jags offensive line. Plays into him. Both Taylor Luan, not Taylor Luan, sorry.

Juwan Taylor, that's the one. And Cam Robinson, pass blocking grades above 80 today. So it's great to see that from both their tackles, which we have been critical of here on this show. A lot of people have been critical of as it pertains to looking towards the future in the off season. Juwanlor being an unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason this stat here that i'm going to read is from a friend of the program mike draco who we had on to pick for the jaguars in our uh in our desk mock draft series he said jaguars qb trevor

lawrence is the youngest player in nfl history to record 350 passing yards three passing touchdowns and a rushing td in a single game at 23 years old. I agree with you so much there, Connor. He's just confident, man. And I go back to when the light really flipped for Justin Fields. It's not like all of a sudden the offense, or I should say like his passing ability,

all of a sudden just like became Peyton Manning or something. No, no, no, no, no. Like that is obviously still a work in progress. But at some point this year, what was it like weeks six, seven, eight? I can't remember exactly where it was. We saw something change in Justin Fields and he became more confident with the ball in his hand. And that's when you saw the design runs totally play off him have so much more control.

The offense now that they gave him the freedom to be a weapon with his legs and because of that you saw everything else in his game become elevated i think that we are reaching that point with trevor lawrence and you and i talked about this this summer when we were mentioning where the jags were where trevor lawrence were what the timeline could be what our expectations were last year was a waste we've seen even jags players in locker rooms say that last year was a waste we've seen even jags players in locker room say that last year was a waste complete waste in fact it had the it had the chance to ruin trevor lawrence's career how bad of a circus it was it was that scary jacksonville yeah and so this year right here this is trevor lawrence's actual rookie year this is his real rookie year

and this is if you think about it like that the perfect timeline for him yeah okay struggles a little bit out of the gates a new head coach is a new system you know the team's not quite there yet on the offensive side of the ball they're still rebuilding it a lot of ways they're figuring things out now we're we are in the second half of the season maybe the last fourth of the season at this point and now we're starting to see that confidence that consistent confidence that's what i would love to see from the jags moving forward is is keep playing like this is it always going to amount to a big blowout divisional win like it did this weekend no but keep playing confident that's when you know you're taking steps forward that's when we can say all

right in 2023 it might be trevor lawrence's year baby it might be something that's very special for him. On the flip side of things, did you have another Jags take? Did you want to respond before I flip to the Titans? I'll just sneak in real quick, too, that Jacksonville took a lot of flack when they paid Zay Jones, Evan Ingram, Christian Kirk a lot of money, especially up front, right? I don't think there are really deals besides Kirk that you're like,

oh my God, this is going to handicap them for half a decade. But you know what? Give them a little credit that they needed to get as much help as possible. You nailed it, Trevor. Like last year was catastrophic. It was red alert with what they did with Lawrence, with Urban Meyer and all of that. They hired a head coach really specifically for Trevor Lawrence. Now, to be fair to Doug, Doug's won a Super Bowl, so he's not just a quarterback's guy.

It's why they hired him. And they paid these guys all this money up front to bring in veteran pro pass catchers. And yes, Evan Ingrams has drops issues. Zay Jones and Christian Kirk have never been the focal point of their offense anywhere else they played before this. But they got pros in there that gave him at least legitimate veterans that they can count on to execute the offense and build his confidence. And after all of that criticism, sure, Jaguars aren't making the playoffs.

They'd like to be a little better this year. But for the growth of their quarterback, those things paid off in the long run. Yep. You're right. So tip of the cap, they got dunked on through free agency Twitter, and I'm sure we all had our laughs,

but. And it just, at least it shows up in days like today. Right. And exactly. You may look at these, you may look at these receiving weapons and say, Hey,

they overpaid for him. And you know what? If you look at things receiving weapons and say, hey, they overpaid for them. And you know what? If you look at things as a true bottom line, maybe they did. But they did so because I think the game plan for it was when Trevor Lawrence has those games where he's going to be really confident we don't want passing weapons to be so much of a detriment that he cannot gain confidence in days like today days like today don't happen unless i guess if you want to say it like this you overpay for some of those guys because if they're not on the field then it might be guys that don't know what they're doing out there. And therefore wouldn't go there after that disaster.

Sure. You're you have to, when you are coming out of the swamp, right? The depths of how do I put this? You know, incompetency. Sure.

That's what you have to. So you have to do. And I've experienced it, right? Like on the side for fun, I do a New York Mets pod. When Steve Cohen bought the team, he had to do things like give Francisco Lindor $341 million because the Mets with the Wilpons were such a joke. And you have to find your way out of that.

And you know what? The owner gets credit for putting out that kind of cash to get guys to come there when things are at rock bottom so jacksonville does they they do deserve credit here i just want i want to be fair in that but you i know you have you're ready to ready to cook uh on the other side of this no i i don't really i'm not i'm not cooking on the other side of the game i just i I don't really. I'm not cooking on the other side of the game. I just, I don't really know what to do with the Titans now. I don't think the Titans know what to do with the Titans, to be totally honest.

After week 11, they were sitting there at 7-3, sitting pretty. They had just lost a couple weeks prior to the Kansas City Chiefs, but it was an overtime loss. It was basically right there for them. Yeah, their schedule was pretty easy, and they beat a bunch of bad teams. There was a lot of faith that the Titans were just going to play well because that's been the identity with Vrabel over the last couple years. Last three weeks for this team, very close loss to a good Cincinnati Bengals team.

All right? Absolute blowout loss to a very good Philadelphia Eagles team. Yeah. And then this week, blowout loss to a very good Philadelphia Eagles team. Yeah. And then this week, blowout loss to a mid-Jags team. Sorry, Jags fans. I think they know they're in the process of trying to build. What are the Titans? What are the Titans here?

They're one game above.500 now. They just fired their GM a week ago. Like, I don't know what's going on on the field. I don't even know what's going on off the field I have no faith in the Tennessee Titans and perhaps that's exactly where they want to be because there's so many times over the last two or three years where I've had no faith in the Titans and a Mike Vrabel coach team has been able to pull it out but like what do you hang your hat on if you're the Tennessee Titans right I mean this is a team that came out and controlled a lot of the early portions of this game momentum kind of swung in Jacksonville's direction or you could say they they took

momentum and swung it in their direction however you want to see it and when the Jags started storming back especially after the Jags took a lead, the Titans couldn't do anything about it. Derrick Henry had two yards in the second half. Once the Jags clamped Derrick Henry down, there was nothing they could do. They don't have the pass catchers. They don't have the passing game. They don't have the tight ends. They don't have the ability to do that. And with their secondary giving up as much as they are through the air, how are you supposed

to take this Tennessee Titans team seriously at all when teams like the Dolphins, thes the Bengals and the Bills are in their playoff picture they're going to be sitting there they're going to be playing because the Titans are clearly if they get in the playoffs they're going to win the AFC South and they're going to have the four seed to host the playoff game they're going to be playing one of the Bengals theills, or the Dolphins in that game. It's going to be one of those three teams. No chance in hell I'm picking the Titans to keep up with any of them. I mean, they're going to be touchdown plus underdogs in a playoff game. That's kind of where I am with Titans.

That's my one thing that matters most is I'm out on Tennessee. My faith is gone here. My thing with Tennessee is there's a lot to dissect here, schematically, defensively, and offensively. But Trevor, to me, I'll start with the most low-hanging fruit, just to give something specific. They can't play Dennis Daly anymore. I mean, the inefficiencies are just attack. He's a turn

style at tackle. I mean, just in this game, two sacks, two more quarterback hits, two more quarterback hurries, single handedly responsible for six pressures. They just is this has been going on. This isn't like a secret.

Everybody goes into this week, and I think they just look at him as food. And it's just killing the offense. It's killing an offense that has a lot of holes right now, but that's like, let me just start with the lowest hanging fruit that spirals all the other issues. So Tennessee's got, for a seven win team and a a great coach i think mike vrabel is a great coach tennessee just needs to figure out you know what it is they're probably going to make the playoffs right as we just

discussed they fired their g GM out of nowhere. Do you think Vrabel is even a guy that will ever sign up to kind of try to retool for a year or two? I don't know. No. I agree. No. But can they afford to keep doing this?

To me, the Titans feel like a team that... I don't know what they're going to do. They just fired the GM. They might make the playoffs every year for the next three years. to me the titans feel like a team that i don't know what they're gonna do they just fire they might they might make the playoffs every year for the next three years and i don't know if it matters i don't know how much it matters because they just don't feel like they're in the class of the chiefs bengals bills at least that right now i don't know know. I don't know. It's tough, and it's tough, man. It's really tough. And now you've got to be scared.

You've got to be scared looking at your division and be like, what if this Jacksonville team might be a problem for the next couple years? That's very true. I want to talk to the good people about our friends over at Mojo, but before we do that, somebody tweeted at us, and they were like, he's like, you've got to do something about the Mojo ad because if I hear the Tom Brady line one more time,

I'm going to lose it. So I'll switch up the Mojo ad. Let me ask you guys a question, all right? What if you could have invested in Brock Purdy when he was a redshirt freshman at Iowa State? Your investment would have been worth over 80,000% after the win over the Buccaneers today. I actually don't know if that's correct. But now, in all seriousness, it's not a what if, it's a who's next.

Mojo is the all-new sports stock market that lets you invest in your favorite athletes and cash in on your passion. Sign up right now on the Apple Store to get your first stock for free worth up to tens of thousands of dollars if you get in early enough and you hit it big. They've got over 300 players that are listed on Mojo so you can invest in rookies like Chris Olave, like Garrett Wilson, like Drake London, those guys.

You come back candidates like Geno Smith, Saquon Barkley, superstars like Patrick Mahomes, like Jalen Hurts, those guys as well. Go long and make some money when an underrated diamond in the rough breaks out or if you want to have some fun with it you can even short sell a rival player when your team is about to play theirs and if they don't play well you win money for that too prices change with every play every game every headline so you can buy and sell instantly anytime all year long so that action never stops mojo is live in new jersey now so download mojo in the apple app store today and start turning your playmakers into money makers you must be 21 years or older to use mojo or located in new jersey to make trades sorry and located in new

jersey to make trades it's not either or it's not you either got to be 21 or located in new jersey that would be kind of wild if you got a gambling problem help us available 1-800 gambler visit mojo.com for more info and i got one more from our friends over at Draft, or not Draft Games, Manscaped. It's everybody's favorite ad. It's never too early to start playing holiday music, and it's never too early to start thinking about gifts either. Whether it's for a friend or the friends in your pants,

you can make this season a jolly one with Manscaped. Do your little drummer boy a favor and use the Lawn Mower 4.0 to avoid another silent night in the bedroom. Then add Manscaped. Do your little drummer boy a favor and use the Lawn Mower 4.0 to avoid another silent night in the bedroom. Then add Manscaped's top of the line. Yeah, I said it. Yeah, I said it. Then add Manscaped's top of the line shower products to have the people thinking all I want for Christmas is you.

Santa cares about his sack, so you should care about yours, Connor. Look nice when you get naughty by going to Manscaped.com. Use the promo code NFLSE for free shipping and 20% off the manscape platinum package. 4.0 is the one-stop shop for the man who deserves it all. It has everything you need to help deck the halls from face to balls, just in time for mistletoe season. That's that's the, that's the good stuff right there.

Platinum package 4.0 sitting under the tree. It's guaranteed to put anyone in the holiday spirit. And for the perfect stocking stuffer, add the brand new body buffer and an incredible body scrub that makes exfoliating very easy. And it's a lot better to clean than

your old loofah. Save 20% off and get free shipping by going to Manscaped.com. Use the promo code NFLSC. That's right. 25% 20% off and free shipping by going to Manscaped.com. Use the promo code NFLSC. That's right, 25%, 20% off and free shipping by going to manscaped.com using NFLSC. Be thankful this holiday season for the best gift of all from Manscaped. Your balls will thank you.

The devil works hard. The Manscaped script people work even harder. I mean, good God. Deck the halls from face to balls? From face to balls, baby. That's the stuff. Incredible. Incredible.

Good stuff. All right. Where to next? I've lost my train of thought. Eagles Giants. Oh, boy. All right, I have a take on this one. Please, fire away.

The Eagles are like Ohio State in the Big big 10 and when i say that i mean careful here i mean that i mean that prior to the last two years where no what we used to go into every season in the big 10 thinking what it was ohio state and then nobody and ohio state would play their entire regular season schedule, and it wouldn't matter. You knew that they were going to be in the Big Ten Championship. You knew they were probably going to win it. They were just head and shoulders above everybody that was on their schedule that they went up against.

And we never really knew how good Ohio State was until we got to postseason play. That's it. That's the Eagles. Right now, when I watch the Eagles every single week, they are blowing teams out. Doesn't matter if you're in the division. Doesn't matter if you're in the conference. Doesn't matter if you're from the AFC and they happen to be playing you. They are absolutely destroying every team that is in their way. No mercy. This is the most

complete team in the NFL. They are the most complete team in the nfl and we will truly not know how that stacks up against the best teams in the nfl until the eagles make the super bowl that's it that's it for as fun as brock purdy is right now and shoot maybe i'll eat my words with the 49ers that's the only team i see even competing with the Eagles in the postseason. I don't think the Vikings are going to be for real enough for it. Bucks certainly aren't. Cowboys, I think they're going to have their number. Seahawks, Giants, Commanders, doesn't matter who makes the playoffs,

even the Lions if they make the playoffs. I don't think it matters until the Eagles make the Super Bowl. It's just like Ohio State. I don't think we actually get to know how good of a team they were all, you know, two, three years ago and for a million years before that, until they made the postseason. And that's the way that I think about the Philadelphia

Eagles right now. The only teams, Connor, that they have played from the AFC, Jags, Steelers, Titans, Texans, Colts. That's it. Titans, we already know, are like frauds at this point. I don't want to totally take away the win there.

But the Jags weren't what they were today when they played the Eagles. They haven't played anybody of the teams that were cross-conference teams. They haven't played anybody that actually represents the cream of the crop in the AFC. So that's my take. The Eagles truly look like the most complete team in the NFL right now. And I'm not trying to take

anything away from them. But they feel like Ohio State to me, where we are just simply not going to know how good this team really is until Ohio State made the College Bowl playoff or until the Eagles

make the Super Bowl. Not to say they can't win it. Like Cincinnati? Is that what I'm trying to say here? No, no no like yeah like i'm talking about cincinnati the college team when they made the playoff and everybody was like oh do they deserve to be in the playoff are they gonna get smoked by alabama no but just because you know i know what you mean we're if we're gonna be honest like we always kind of knew this since today was gonna be smoked i don't know that about the eagles i thought they hung tough. The Eagles could make the Super Bowl and still look incredible and be Super Bowl champions this year.

But we will not. Every single week, it's the same thing. Every single week, they destroy everybody who's in their way. And they destroy them in a multitude of ways. Passing, rushing, defense first, doesn't matter. Special teams, shoot. Scott took a big kick return back to get them plus field position at one point when i was watching the game it's like good lord could more things go right for the eagles they're incredibly well coached they're incredibly led by jalen

hertz incredible passing weapons phenomenal offensive line great run game and a defense that he is only seeming to get better as the year goes on i think you just answered it right there then i do think they're for real i think they're really freaking good and i i think you answered it right there now i think what you're saying is we don't know if they'll be tested until the super bowl right no yeah i don't feel like they're going to you're not uh afraid of the party parade no not right i i love how serious of a response you gave me if i if i had to if i had to bet right now, the NFC Championship game will be the San Francisco 49ers versus the Philadelphia Eagles.

And I think it'll be fun because D'Amico Ryan's been phenomenal at defense. Brock Purdy, giving him full credit, has been on the where did this come from? Since he came in for Jimmy Garoppolo. But we still got to see it for an extended period of time, especially when we get in the playoffs. And I think the Eagles are going to be sitting there waiting for them. Eagles are a wagon,

maybe the most talented roster one to 53 in the NFL. I'll do a little giants here just to wrap this game up. The giants to be fair to them as well throughout all this, as they kind of spiral ish. I mean, they lost, they got blown out by the Eagles. They tied with the Commanders. They lost the Cowboys. They lost the Lions.

That's their last four games. I mean, you give up 31 to the Lions. You give 28 to Dallas. You give up 20 to Taylor Heineke. No ads. And you give up 48 to the Eagles. What do you mean Taylor Heineke? Subscription to Taylor Heineke. Subscription Taylor Heineke.

$8.99 a month. I think the Giants' injuries on defense are just... When you're not a talented team, you can't survive the wave of injuries that you're dealing with in December. And the Giants are out here.

I mean, their secondary is Nick McCloud. Jason Pinnock is starting at safety. He was on the Jets practice squad last year. Whatever's left of Jalen Smith is out there not doing anything against the run. Fabian Moreau is okay. The Giants are just, this is not the Giants that Joe Shane and Wink Martindale and Brian Dable are the year three Giants and they deserve a lot of credit for being competitive to this point but it just goes

to show you when you step into a place that needs a lot of help that December can really wipe you out and I think that's what the Eagles are a wagon and the Eagles would have beat them it would to me would beat a healthy Giants team. But this Giants team right now, it's just, it's hard for them to stand a chance with what they're dealing with compared to the other teams that have been building their depth for their scheme for this moment. So it's, you know, we'll see if the Giants have some fight to finish the season to overcome that. But it's very tough to do. Ravens Steelers. Ravens.

Keep control of the AFC North. 9-4. They win this game 16-14. Maserati Mitch. Maybach Mitch. Mazda Mitch. What's another M car name? Mercedes? Mercedes Mitch. i don't what's another m car name uh mercedes mercedes mitch maybach mitch had to come into this game because kenny pickett went out with the concussion

uh ravens win a close one what was the thing that mattered most here connor i mean it's this is like the surface level of what matters most but it didn't matter how the ravens just need to get the win while waiting for lamar jackson to come back because not only This is like the surface level of what matters most, but it didn't matter how. The Ravens just need to get the win while waiting for Lamar Jackson to come back because not only was Tyler Huntley starting, Anthony Brown had to come into this game, and the Ravens were just going to run the hell out of the ball. They had 42 rush attempts, Trevor.

42 rush attempts in this game. They found a way to win. Trubisky threw the ball all around the yard with the three interceptions. The Ravens, to me, are a team that, since summer, have been just trying to piece it together. They've dealt with Ronnie Stanley, J.K. Dobbins, Marcus Peters, tons of players on defense.

They just can't all be healthy at the right time, and now it's Lamar. So for the Ravens, just get the wins, get your playoff seating, and hope that it clicks for you at the right time in terms of your injuries. Because they're a type of team that can win ugly with the type of running they do. They put Pat Ricard back there to lead block for these guys. They run out of the pistol. It's awesome.

I don't know if they're built this year for a deep playoff run despite having the nine wins. I'd love to see Lamar go off, but they're a type of team that just needs to get in and be healthy. And I think it'll time up right for them when it all said and done. Shout out to J.K. Dobbins, who is a player who I really like, who tore his ACL last season and missed all last season it's been a long road dealing with some knee injuries this year so he just

hasn't been 100 but got over 100 yards rushing 120 yards rushing today which is really cool to see so love seeing that from jk dobbins my only other really what matters most from this game because i do agree with you the thing that matters most for this season is clearly that the ravens got the win that they needed. Maybe more of a long-term outlook. Kenny Pickett left this game with a concussion. This is his second concussion now that he's had in 10 games. And obviously like made it through the first one, came back,

has been playing for a while now, but got hit today. It was a, it was a, an ugly looking hit where the defender like grabbed his face mask and kind of almost like threw pickett's head against the against the turf so it looked like it was a really tough hit pickett goes out of the game they test him for a concussion i think the initial tests were negative he went back in the game for a very short period of time, and then they pulled him again and then said he was out for concussion protocol, which I can't pretend to know all the ins and outs of the league's updated concussion protocol since all the Tua stuff happened earlier this year, but we still got some figuring out to do.

If you tested him, he was fine enough to go back in the game, and then you pulled him, put him in concussion protocol, declared him immediately out for the game. I understand the concussion symptoms don't always pop up right away. And so it's hard to tell. And they're being proactive still after they clear him, which is good. I do like those things. But if a guy's got a concussion, him going back in the game is not really great.

But long term, it's just not good to see two concussions now in 10 games. It's a violent game, man. We've seen a lot of really good players in this league suffer from concussions that just can derail what their potential was. And I just don't want that to happen to Kenny Pickett. Look, I don't know what happens. It's different other than the Steelers' offensive line getting better. But Kenny Pickett is somebody who holds onto the ball for a long long time anyways that's what allowed him to have a lot of success

at Pitt last year so he's leaning on what gave him his success and how he's played the game but he's bottom 10 in the NFL when it comes to time to throw he's he's got a very high time to throw it's just under three seconds so I think it's like 2.9 it was going into this week so um he holds on on the ball a lot anyway so you know he's going to take some hits but man i just hate seeing that from pickett and i just i wanted to note that that's it something that um obviously everybody's got to keep their eye on but i certainly hope that it's not something that kenny continues to deal with because concussions are no joke man football and beyond football i just i'm really hoping that he's okay um i'm hoping that this is the last concussion he has in a long, long, long, long time

because I don't want to see him be stacking these things up because that can get really dangerous. At Panthers, hosting the Raiders. At Baltimore, hosting the Browns. Any consideration of maybe shutting him down for the Final Four? You're going to see Max Crosby. You're going to see Baltimore again, and then you're going to see Miles Garrett. I don't really think the matchup matters.

It's just a, is he good to go? Like if, and you got to really sit him down and have a heart to heart with him. I think that that's what Mike Tomlin's got to do. And I don't doubt that Mike Tomlin would do that. I think he's a player's coach in a lot of ways. So I just think you really have to sit down and have a heart-to-heart with Kenny and be like,

hey, look, I know you want to go out there. I know you want to play. We want what's best for you. You are our first-round pick. You're going to be the guy that we're going forward with. We want what's best for you, right? And you've got to get an honest answer out of him. And you've got to make sure that he is also thinking

about protecting himself too, because you're in a season where, let's face it it it doesn't matter for the steelers anymore they're not often in this situation and a mike tomlin team's not going to pack it in and just not be competitive but there's a difference between not being competitive and maybe putting a guy aside who's uh who's had some multiple head injuries this year so that's kind of my response to that what do you think i'm with you they got to take care of him because he's there you know the future under center there for the steelers and the future like you said you know he's a young guy figuring out holding on to the ball you're going to take some big hits so just just do what's best for him long term for the team chiefs broncos odd game

chiefs come out just smoking the broncos and then the broncos they fight credit to him fight back i just have one takeaway um for this one for me, Trevor, for the Chiefs. What matters most from watching this game is I think they got to lean on Isaiah Pacheco more, even more than they do. I'm really impressed with this young guy. I mean, this game only 13 carries. He runs for 71 yards. He forces five missed tackles.

He had almost three yards per carry after contact after contact so this is a dude two explosive runs this is a guy that can really really keep the legs driving grind out the tough yards he has a different dimension to me this Kansas City offense we know Mahomes could run around throw on you days, especially with Kelsey and McKinnon. But I think Pacheco is somebody that I think when, you know, when do we make a decisive effort to get this guy maybe 15-plus carries every single week? Because I love what I'm seeing, what he could do for their run game. And I think that's going to matter so much for the Chiefs

come postseason time. Totally agree with you. Absolutely agree with you. Would love to see more of Isaiah Pacheco. But, you know, they've already gone to him as kind of their their main guy on the ground which is important um for anybody who is watching on youtube who saw me make a face i was not making a face at what connor was saying um i was making a face at me looking at my home stat line for this game which was 28 for 42 352 passing yards three touchdowns, three interceptions. And I went, hmm, I wonder what the big time throw to turnover where he plays was.

Zero big time throws, three turnover where he plays. And so that's why I was like, hmm, that's not good. You were making that face in my take. No, I was not. I hate Rutgers. So he hates Isaiah Pacheco. That was where that came from. Hey, look, Greg Shiano ruined the Buccaneers.

So I just got to I've got to stay bitter for the rest of my life. Deep-rooted. Yeah. I really don't have a big take from this game. I didn't get to see a lot. You don't have to. That's the best part. No, I didn't get to see a lot of this game.

This is obviously the same time the Bucs 49ers game was going on, so I was covering that for our.com, so I was watching a lot of that. And honestly, Chiefs went up 27-0, and I kind of stopped paying attention to it for a long time, and then all of a sudden it was like 27-21 and I was like okay what the hell happened so this is a game that I unfortunately I don't really have a big take on it's one that I got to go back

tomorrow and just take a look at how in the world we ended up here but I did see some of the Mahomes magic plays dude's a wizard I mean the passing touchdown to Juju Smith Schuster where he just ran in a circle in the backfield Dude's a wizard. I mean, the passing touchdown to Juju Smith-Schuster. Kind of a hilarious play. Ran in a circle in the backfield and still tossed a touchdown to the end zone. I mean, like, that's some stuff that happens in video games that would get you pissed, right?

That's what we're talking about. Rage quit. Rage quit. Yeah, I mean, like, you're rage quitting at that point. Obviously, I was, I kind of started paying attention to it down the stretch and russell wilson going out of this game sucked because i would have loved to see like what would have happened if russ would have still been in the game because it looked like all momentum was on their side but hey good for kansas city still got to win my homes looked incredible even though it was um i don't know whatever you want to call it an ugly win i went to a chief's message board after this game i will say that and i was just like reading up on kind of what happened in the game and you would you you would you would think that chiefs

the chiefs are like the titans with like the way that some some people talk about the kansas city chiefs like when fan bases get too used to winning they they act they act real crazy real quick it was like i was reading a couple of the comments i and I'm like, y'all have got to. I mean, they're like, oh, we can kiss this season goodbye. This team's not real. The record's fake. And I'm like, y'all, come on. You've got a tier one team in the NFL.

But I get it. 10 and 3. Enjoy the wins. Nothing fake about it. What do you got next? I think I'm going to give you the floor for Bucks Niners. I hinted at the Purdy Party Parade. Purdy Party Parade?

The Purdy Party Parade. Yeah. I like that. Triple P. Yeah. P-P-P. 3-P. Trevor, what the hell is going on, dude?

I mean, what the hell? Let me tee it off with a scorcher here, because this kind of seemed to be the theme of the Sunday morning. Sure. Is Tom Brady coming back to the Bucs? No, probably not. I wouldn't. Why would you?

This is a textbook game of one of the best coaching staffs in the NFL, if not the best coaching staff in the NFL. You know, we've already seen what kind of a pipeline Kyle Shanahan has been with. I'd rank him number one right now. With Robert Sala and Mike McDaniel already going on to be head coaches. And now D'Amico Ryan is going to be a head coach after this in the offseason. This is one of, if not the best coaching staff in the NFL going up against one of, if not

the worst coaching staff in the NFL. And I know that I know there's a lot of there's a lot of fan bases out there that are near the bottom with record that would say like oh yeah you think you have a bad example well i mean like tampa has a pretty bad because tampa's got a lot of talent and can't score any damn points seven points in this game and it was a hit it was a pitiful seven points like they were already down 35 to nothing you would they would have had to pass the sticks a long time ago before they even got that seven points it's just so bad in tampa i mean the overall head coach decision makings are bad the defensive discipline is terrible the injuries of course are really hampering him donovan smith's

one of the most penalized and undisciplined offensive linemen in the nfl right now he said earlier this week like hey i'm going through some things i don't doubt that But if you're out there to play and you're causing penalties and everything, I mean, like you're hurting your team. So I don't mean to really get on him too hard because I'm sure he's playing through injury because a lot of guys are playing through injury, but it just doesn't look pretty. The run game is bad as it's always been. Mike Evans and Chris Cobwin can't catch the ball.

I don't, I don't, I don't know. I don't, I don't, I don't know what's going on with them. I don't understand. And it makes me just feel like this team does not have any focus. And I've talked about it the last couple of weeks. Teams, 100%, and we're going to talk about this with the Carolina Panthers in a second, take on the identity of their coaching staff. That absolutely happens.

That is a very, very real thing. Tampa, when they won the Super Bowl, had the identity of Bruce Arians. Don't give an F, risk it, aggressive. We're going to go out and win the football game because we're the best team that's on the field. That was Bruce Arians. Whether it came true or not, and I'm not saying that Bruce Arians is the perfect head coach because he wasn't, but whether that was true or not, they believe that. They believe that every single week it felt like there was never any doubt about that this team all year long doesn't believe they're winners does not believe they're good they don't play like it 100 they don't play like it the only the only wins they have over this last stretch of five or six

game is miracle two minute comeback by tom brady and a miracle four-minute comeback by Tom Brady where Mark where Mark Ingram somebody shouldn't have stepped out of bounds Mark Ingram yes if you take those six minutes out of the last six weeks of their play they are the worst team in the NFL the Texans would stomp the Buccaneers and that to me that's not injuries that's not talent they still got talent. They were beat up this week. And, of course, look, they were not going to beat the 49ers. They were never going to beat the 49ers.

That was never a question. But they look pitiful. They look like a team that's already given up on the season. And they're in first place in the division. So, to go back to your Tom Brady question, I don't think that he's going to come back to the Buccaneers because why would you come back to this coaching staff? Ultimately,

I'm just being honest. Why would you come back to this coaching staff? Why would you come back to that situation when you know that you're going to have basically your pick of whatever shooters you want to go to maybe even San Francisco 49ers, but the Bucs are just, they're, they're what we kind of said the last couple of weeks.

They're an unserious playoff team, probably going to make the playoffs still. But they're just, they're, they're a poorly coached football team. They're poorly we kind of said the last couple of weeks. They're an unserious playoff team. Probably going to make the playoffs still. But they're a poorly coached football team. They're a poorly disciplined team. And Tom Brady recognizes all the deficiencies that this team has. And I'm not saying that he's blameless in this. But now you just see him pressing. Like now you just see him doing things that Tom Brady just never does.

He's just throwing turnovers, errant passes, bad reads. And he's just in his own head at this point. So he's starting to play bad for the majority of football games outside of again like the two minute drives where he's been a hero and it's just a culmination of everything that's been going on in tampa on the flip side hell of a job by brock purdy man what an what a who this guy hadn't played this well since he was 19 at iowa state that redshirt freshman and we're seeing brilliance from him sure hope debo samuel ain't hurt severely because like i said this team feels like they're on a collision course with the philadelphia eagles

in the nsc championship game and if they got debo they got a chance this is my takes no it's a big one it's a big one obviously for um for the niners because debo allows you to take the ball out of the quarterback's hands so often with how creative you can get with him and as much as purdy was awesome today obviously the niners would like to make life easier on him but what matters most is what you opened up this with is that the Niners have the best coaching staff in the NFL and the best coaching staff folks does not mean just the guy at the top because I get it some people will always fight to the death for Bill Belichick no matter what the state of the Patriots are um you know Sirianni's had a really good year all these things the Niners with Kyle Shanahan and he's lost a lot of guys over the year Mike McDaniel obviously Robert Sala and they've lost guys from the rest of their staff that have gone with those

guys but when you look at what D'Amico does on defense and what Kyle can do when he prepares a quarterback that needs all the help in the world it's just incredible and that's why the Niners in my opinion right now do have the best coaching staff in the NFL and it's going to take another hit this offseason because D'Amico is going to get a really high profile job he's earned that he deserves it he's going to be a head coach somewhere if he chooses to but Kyle Shanahan deserves a lot of credit because why does this keep happening everyone kyle shanahan hires seems to just figure it out yep and they you know what's funny to me kyle for such a you know kind of very serious mannered guy at the podium all the time all of the assistance he has that goes somewhere else

are the most beloved guys by their players in the nfl mike m goes somewhere else are the most beloved guys by their players in the NFL. Mike McDaniel with the dolphins, Robert Sala, obviously with the jets, both those franchises had culture issues, by the way, at the time,

significant culture issues at the time. And both have turned it around this year and then D'Amico. So I know Kyle Shanahan, people, you know, kind of poke holes at him and there's reasons and stuff, but my goodness. It's just, yeah.

They're just developing coaches at a rate and this is why. Because their team comes ready to play no matter who's back there at key positions. That's how you sustainably win. Great coaching. A couple of different play calls in the Super Bowl

when he was the offensive coordinator with the Falcons and the Super Bowl that the Niners were in against the Chiefs. A couple of different play calls in both those games. And we're talking about Kyle Shanahan as one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. Yeah, he'd be in the Hall of Fame already. And I mean, we're probably going to get there anyways, and we should. But can you imagine if that comeback didn't happen for the Patriots?

Like if they truly if they if he called different plays and they salted the game away, they won that Super Bowl. He won it as the offensive coordinator. He won it was the offensive coordinator and the brian matt ryan mvp year all that stuff and then they go to san francisco and can you imagine if they were able to salt that game away mahomes doesn't have that comeback they get another super bowl there and we're even like even if everything after that happened exactly the same couple of different play calls here or there and we're talking about him as one of the greatest coaches of all time. I think we're ready.

So I think it's a good take by you. Panther Seahawks. Last game of the week. Panthers come away with the dub. What a dub. 30-24. Panthers are 5-8, Connor. They're one game out of the NFC.

That's unbelievable. The NFC South race. They have already beaten the bucks they've already beaten the bucks what's their record against the falcons panther schedule they played them twice already they lost to him in overtime and then they beat them a couple weeks later. Okay, but they own the tiebreaker because they won by 10 points, and the Falcons only beat them by three. And that was both a home and home for both of them. So they own the tiebreaker over the Buccaneers right now. They beat them 21-3. So that's a massive 18-point differential right there.

And they own the tiebreaker over the Falcons. This team plays the Steelers next week, the Lions the week after, the Buccaneers the 1st of January, and then they finish up with the New Orleans Saints. There is a legit world where they win the NFC South. At 8-9. Yeah, if that.

Right? If that. If that. All they have to do is beat the buccaneers and then probably win one other game imagine being in the playoffs and you won seven out of your 17 games i think they're going to be i think the winner of the nfc south is going to be seven and ten that's what i think i think the winner is going to be seven and ten and there is a very real world where that could be the carolina panthers oh man what's your takeaway

you know yeah awesome what matters most i mean it's freaking i don't have one for the panthers because you outlined that really well awesome for steve wilks and i mean that with all sincerity i just kind of go back to what i said last week of why i was so concerned about seattle is i don't think it matters what Gino does as great as Gino has been this year and he had a couple turnovers in this game but still Seattle's defense is not competitive it's not competitive and it just kind of outlines the offseason for you at Seattle it's really amazing they're seven and six with this defense to be completely honest with you because they allow a lot of big plays they don't

have a great pass rush you know woolen's had a great rookie season but he's even prone to giving up the big play now and then he's not perfect and he shouldn't be expected to it's not fair to him but seattle trevor they have seven wins right seven and six and six. I believe so. No, they do. They have the Niners at home next week. Rough. They go to Kansas City. Yikes. They host the Jets. Yikes.

And then they get the Rams at home. Baker. They got to find a way to... Baker. Who, let's not forget, remember everybody was like, oh, Seattle's the team for Baker? He reads everything.

He probably has them on his list. His hate list. Whether that matters or not. You know what Baker shouldn't read? The playbook. Because clearly, him not knowing the playbook is just like, you just go go Baker. You just go Oklahoma, Baker. You just go Oklahoma Baker Mayfield.

Seattle's got to figure things. I just don't think they can figure things out defensively. They just have to try to shoot out everybody. But it's scary when you've got the Niners, Chiefs. And I feel like the Jets never play well when they go out there, but still. It's not an easy three games. No, I agree with you. What matters most is that Steve Wilks better be a defense coordinator next season.

Oh, at a minimum. Steve Wilks better be a defense coordinator at a minimum next season. Over the last four weeks in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers are number three in the NFL in EPA per play allowed. That defense is playing unbelievable with him at the head coach spot now. Just the turnaround that he's able to have on that team. Hats off to him, man. Incredible job. I just have so much respect for what Steve Wilkes is doing. Carolina, it'll be interesting to see how we talk about you on the Monday show,

because I don't even know right now. Are you aoff team now are you not a draft team now where are they currently uh they're literally the most teetering team by the way they currently have the ninth overall draft pick so we are still going to talk about them because they have the uh they have a top 10 pick but like and they're in the playoff race the in the the conversations with the carolina panthers are going to be incredibly interesting. I cannot wait for Thursday's show. Sorry, Wednesday's show. Wednesday's shows only get better and better.

They grow stronger. As we start to finalize the Warrior, baby. Wild. It's going to be fun. It's going to be a fun time. All right, that was what matters most. At least what we think matters most. Yeah.

From the afternoon games from week 14 in the NFL. Let us know what you thought. Let us know what you thought about our takes. Also, we'd love to hear your takes, even independent of ours. What you think about how your favorite team played, how a team that you were really watching played. Just give us your takes on overall what you think of the NFL with teams, players, whatever it is, 14 weeks into the season.

Connor and I are going to be back on wednesday better than ever better back and better than ever back and better than ever on wednesday refreshed and with the updated 2023 nfl draft order right in front of us like i said we've only got four more weeks in the season that means that order is really starting to solidify itself. Those teams that are picking the top five, chances are you probably get to still be picking in the top five, top 10, top 20, same thing.

We're really shaping out what the 2023 NFL draft is going to look like. And of course, with this being a draft podcast, that's a bread and butter, baby. That's what we love to talk about. We're talking about all different scenarios, what teams could be looking to trade up,

trade down, what picks, what players, some team, early team combinations that we're going to be looking at we're going to be having all that kinds of discussion and so much more on the wednesday episode connor you got anything else before we get out of here well said i mean i think the draft order right now is yeah when you have a team like the panthers that are teetering on the line of in the postseason or picking in the top 10

all bets are off so big week ahead for us obviously the college football season has ended for a lot of players. So there's a lot of declarations coming in, a lot of all-star invites being accepted. There's so many moving parts. December is absolute chaos. And Trevor and I will do our best. And we will do a very good job of keeping you on the loop on both worlds. If we do say so ourselves. Yes, that's always the goal.

Which we do. We don't fail. We don't fail. The addicts. Appreciate it. Yes, that's always the goal. Which we do. We don't fail. We don't fail. The addicts. Appreciate it. No, we can never. Appreciate you guys listening and watching the show. We will be back with you on Wednesday for more NFL draft information.

I'm Trevor Sikama. That is Connor Rogers. Thank you guys so much for listening to the NFL Soccer Chase Podcast. See you on Wednesday.