NFL Stock Exchange: An NFL Draft Podcast - 124. What Matters Most From Every Game of Week 15 in the NFL

Episode Date: December 19, 2022

Hosts Trevor Sikkema and Connor Rogers go through every game on the Saturday and Sunday slate of games form Week 15 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 everything that mattered most not just from Sunday's games but Saturday's as well it is that part of the year we're getting double NFL action throughout the weekend and oh my goodness there was so much to get to. I would say that this was the craziest week yet of the NFL season, so we got takes for

it. We're going to tell you what mattered most beyond the box scores, beyond the performances, what we think mattered most for the playoffs, for the NFL draft, for individual guys, all that. 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 after what has been a wild 48 hours in the sports world. We got some

incredible NFL games that happen on a Saturday. We then woke up to an unbelievable World Cup final. And then we had kind of what I think was the craziest slate of Sunday games that we have had yet. And we're recording this podcast before Giants commanders is even finished. So that could end up being something that gets wacky. Daniel Jones versus Taylor Heineke, as I'm speaking speaking right now those are still the quarterbacks who knows what 's gonna happen in that one so buddy we got a lot to talk about today and what matters most but uh

first of all how are you doing my friend good man you're right this 48 hours has been absolutely insane a really good saturday slate from the nfl that we will get into uh we won't just do sunday this games because there's so much important action from Saturday as well. And you're right. It felt like there was a window where Cowboys, Jaguars, Chiefs, Texans,

Jets, Lions, Falcons, Saints, Eagles, Bears, all in the same window. And I'd have to double check. No, not Steelers, Panthers, I don't believe. But all of those games were in a one score window, Trevor. Like right down to the wire.

Right. Right down to every single game. And it was kind of funny because you look at it and it's not what you expect, right? Jacksonville surging against Dallas. The Texans being obnoxious again. This time against the Chiefs who are fighting for a one seed. We expected Jets lines to be a close game down to the finish, but it was just one.

And the Bears who have three wins taking the Eagles kind of down to the wire. So it really, really was just an insane NFL day with huge, huge implications on the line. And that's not even to talk about what happened on Saturday, man. It was wild. The biggest comeback in NFLfl history very casual you know casual super casual that that would happen we had the biggest we had the biggest comeback in nfl history this week we had the wildest last play i'm gonna say it the wildest last play in nfl history that i've never seen anything like it in the Raiders Patriots game.

So, okay. We've got so much to talk about. Is the butt fumble dead? Like, is this, does this kill the butt fumble now as being like the most hilarious, like quarterback moment?

It's a tough one for Mac. I don't think it's, I don't think the butt fumble will ever die. I think Mac, Mac was put in a tough spot, right? Because Mack... But he's memed until the end of time. I do think he's going to get memed until the end of time.

It's a tough look. We'll revisit that when we get to Patriots-Raiders game in a situation where a lot of people are going to argue that that shouldn't have even been the case at that point in the game. Because of the touchdown that was upheld. Mack was set up for... Dude. For the's true you're right he was set up so bad there's so much to get to from this week's slate of games but we wanted to start with saturday we

didn't want to just say like oh like we normally do like oh we're going to talk about the sunday games because it was split even like well not evenly but um anyways saturday biggest comeback in nfl history annie napolis colts take a 33 to nothing lead on the at that point 10 and 3 minnesota vikings in minnesota even for those out there who did not believe in the Minnesota Vikings, even those who thought they might have been fraudulent, this was not in the cards. This was never in the cards. This Colts team, with Jeff Saturday as the coach, this roster on the road.

Well, that might have been the only magic they had in the first half is the Saturday-Saturday connection there. But, brother, the Vikings end up winning this game in overtime. the only magic they had in the first half is the Saturday Saturday connection there but brother the Vikings end up winning this game in overtime it's obviously huge for them because they stay within striking distance somehow with the Philadelphia Eagles for the number one overall seed did you do you have a what matters most from this game either for the Minnesota Vikings or the Indian apolis Colts what do you got yeah I mean what matters most to me very simple for the Colts that I'll just say it and then move to the Vikings and I'd love to know yours but I mean what matters most to me very simple for the Colts that I'll just say it and then move

to the Vikings and I'd love to know yours but I mean once again I cannot emphasize enough the Colts need to be losing football games I I get the heartbreak you don't want to be the team that gave up the biggest lead in NFL history like I totally understand that but big picture I'm like most Colts fans I know and see tweeting during the game were during the first half. We're like, what are we doing? Why are we doing this right now? We do not need to be winning. The Vikings though, are a team that these kinds of wins towards the end of the season, test of adversity is massive for you.

And I understand the entire timeline got their jokes off in the first half. The Vikings are frauds all advanced numbers are right and I get it I don't think the Vikings are as good as their 11 and 3 record says they are but the bottom line is the Vikings with Kirk Cousins whether it's Osborne Jefferson they have an array of weapons that can play effectively from behind and I think that's what matters most to me is that they are a team that during some point of the playoffs they are going to be playing from behind and i think they're battle tested in that area at this point where they deserve at least i'm not saying

confidence but i'm saying that they're get it's good to get these tests in now than rather you get to the postseason and you're back on your heels and you're like, we haven't been here before. Yeah, no, I would totally agree with that. And I think that everybody looks at Kirk Cousins and Kirk Cousins led teams in the past and just think that, OK, like a tiger can't change his stripes, if you will. This is always who Kirk Cousins is going to be. And you and I have talked about this, I think, earlier in the season, probably around the middle of the season where it's like, hey, maybe Kirk hasn't totally changed the narrative of who he is. But this is the best back against the wall version of Kirk Cousins I think that we've ever seen.

So it's better than it has ever been. Whether that's going to be good enough for them to make a deep playoff run or not, who knows? We will see. But I do think that it's better than it has been in years past. And so I agree. It's great for the Vikings to get this kind of experience because it is important. You're going to play behind in the playoffs.

You're going to play in tight matches because you're going up against really good teams every single week, even in the NFC, I guess. But I think that this was a really great win for the Vikings. The morale for the team does, I mean, it's just unquantifiable almost the things that a win like this can do for you down the stretch as you're trying to close out a really great regular season my what matters most is on the opposite side of things and it is what i just said but truly on the other side what this victory did for the vikings in their morale going up, I think is also true with the Indianapolis Colts

for what this loss did in the other direction. I've watched a lot of bad Tampa Bay Buccaneer football. Connor, I don't want to speak for you, but I think that you have watched a lot of bad Jets football in the past. We know what it's like when we watch teams that just look defeated all the past. Plenty. We know what it's like when we watch teams that just look defeated all the time. And for the Indianapolis Colts, it feels as though that is really setting in.

And that's super dangerous. Going into the mind of a Jim Irsay is sometimes a dangerous place in and of itself. Try to understand what the Colts are going to do. I don't know what the Colts are going to do. But after a loss like this, to me, it solidifies the fact that you have to absolutely clean house

because you're not able to get rid of all the players that were involved in a loss like this. It's just not how roster building works. A lot of these guys are still going to be on the team next year. But something has to be drastically different from this team. And I think it's going to be different, of course, at the quarterback position, but also it has to be at the very top.

The guy leading all the meetings, the guy setting the tone, the guy setting the culture, all of that. It has to be so different. Even the names and the faces have to be different from what this kind of loss makes you remember. So anybody out there who thought Jim Irsay might be crazy enough to keep Jeff Saturday around or whatever's going to happen, and this even goes for Chris Ballard too.

This loss might be- That's where I wanted to go with you. Are you including the front office in this rant? Your tone to me tells me you are. I think you have to. Like, I understand Chris Ballard ain't out there blowing the lead himself. He doesn't have the helmet and the pads on. But this is the kind of loss, unfortunately,

that just leaves an awful taste in your mouth. I agree. For everybody that had their hands in it. Ursa is obviously not going to fire himself, but everybody else at this point is free game for, for whatever we thought of. Oh, this guy might be safe.

This player might be safe. This coach might be safe. This front office guy might be safe in Indianapolis. All of that is off the table. This is not just another loss. This is a bad tasting loss. And so I think that major changes are coming in Indianapolis, even more so than what I would have thought before this game.

Man, you're not wrong. You're not wrong. I'm fascinated to watch this team and how ultimately I'm a believer that Ballard and that crew will be back under Ursa and they'll hire a coach through the actual coaching cycle. But you can't say it with confidence anymore. I mean, you just can't say it with confidence anymore. And you know what it was for me, Trevor, just to kind of back up your point. When this game was, what did it reach?

I think 36-17 at one point, I want to say. I know it was 33-0 at one point, but I'm saying when it became 36-17, I felt like the game was over. I really felt like they cannot stop Minnesota right now. It's one of those moments where you jump on and you look at the odds. What's the odds for Minnesota to come back right now? Because it feels like the Colts, you're right you you could see it on their faces the body language to me i was like the colts feel like they are backed against the wall right

now and can't even can't even complete a first couple first downs here there to chew up some clock it was just three and out three and out three and out down the field for the vikings down people for like i'm like this looks like a scrimmage for and I understand the Colts trounce the Vikings in the first half for it to get to that point but you're 100 right what like where is the body language it's you're right I know I started the point with I do think draft position is ultimately the most important thing for the Colts but and it is but yes there is there is, there are still, you know, repercussions of a loss. This, of this magnitude, not every loss is created equal truly. And, and when, and I've, I've been on the reporting end of some of these types of losses with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

over the last decade, where it's like, this is it. Like you, you can Like, you cannot look your coaches in the eye with the same level of respect anymore. And for owners, sometimes they can't look their general managers in the eye with the same amount of respect when things like this happen. Now, is that a little bit emotional? I think that's up for debate. It depends on each situation. But all I'm saying is that this is not just a regular loss for the Colts.

This is not just another, all right, well, one loss closer to the top of the draft order, because they are picking number six right now, and that's good. This is different. This is different. When you blow the biggest lead in NFL history, it's different, and it tastes different. Let's go to the next game on Saturday.

It was the Ravens versus the Browns. No Lamar Jackson in this one, and because of it, offensive stalemate for the Ravens, really, against what they wanted to do. They just were not able to move the ball very well. Cleveland Browns really weren't either, but they take the win in this one. Ravens dropped their first divisional game of the season, which is

hard to believe. Heck of an accomplishment getting this far, but 13-3 was the final score in this one. Ravens only scoring three points. Justin Tucker actually missed a couple of field goals to tell you how much of not the Ravens day this one was but what was your what was your takeaway from this one Connor my takeaway I'll go quick on the Browns and then bounce the Ravens because obviously where the Browns are at in the season you're like you know but for the Browns what matters most, honestly, is that they are trying to figure out with Stefanski what is going to matter next year. They completely fazed Kareem Hunt out of the offense.

He's not going to be there next year. They are trying to get the rapport going with Deshaun Watson and Donovan Peoples-Jones. Watson has traditionally been a guy, whether it's Will Fuller, he's always had that deep threat kind of player that vertical kind of player so him and dpj are they're trying to get going obviously cooper involved as well so the browns are are trying to yes win games in the now but also um you know build something for next year while they try to get watson integrated back into playing at a high level again which we have not seen him do since he's been back from the preseason or really any of these games, to be completely honest with you. So what matters most of the Ravens while this is such low hanging fruit is just how Lamar dependent they are.

It's it's reached a point where if you're the Ravens who have had the contract disputes with Lamar, they don't want to pay him. I'm guessing it's, Oh, not guessing. It sounds like rumblings of the fully guaranteed deal and whatever's going on with specifics there. The Ravens have almost in a way become spoiled by Lamar bailing them out of so many offensive deficient situations where, I mean, let's be real Trevor. This team doesn't really have any wide receivers. They try to run a lot of the past game through tight end where they have talent in mark andrews and isaiah likely but guys that can also be taken out of the game yeah jk dobbins had a ton of rushing yards in this game but ultimately the ravens especially in the red zone just rely on lamar to make so many special plays that

if they're not investing in the infrastructure of a normal offense around him, then he's, there's no value you can place on him is what I'm saying. And the Ravens are losing at the negotiating table because every time Lamar is out for a snap, it shows you that he's right. That's what matters most to me this offense is very far away from being competent with a replacement level quarterback right i mean like that's what i think certainly the ravens front office is learning and you're right this

year lamar bet on himself and he has exponentially look lamar he's even suffered an injury right we even got to the the the part that we didn't want to happen with lamar was even suffered an injury right we even got to the the the part that we didn't want to happen with lamar was like oh we hope he's healthy the whole year lamar even suffered an injury and his negotiating power has gone up exponentially i think through this year it's just it's it's not a sustainable offense when you take lamar out of it and i think that goes for any sort of replacement right like if the Ravens were in any way thinking to themselves okay like let's just I'm just throwing this out there I'm not saying that these are likely but let's just say the Ravens are like all right well we're gonna let Lamar walk because we don't you know he wants a fully guaranteed contract we're not gonna give that to him

we'll sign Jimmy G we'll go get Derek get derrick carr um matthew stafford even though like stafford's probably not available i don't know like you go get any other quarterback and these are even guys that we've debated could be franchise guys right there there's some there's some promise to them they've been winners before there's reason to believe in them if you even replaced lamar with one of these guys who i would say are above average at times that that won't work the whole offense is bad you're scoring you're scoring like single digit points a game like you you immediately become one of the worst offenses in the nfl because of how you structure the offense um so i think tyler huntley is a solid

backup i do too i like one of the better backups in the league. I like Tyler Huntley. This isn't even about Tyler Huntley. My point is that you cannot, I mean, you basically have to give Lamar Jackson whatever he wants. That's how you built this team. You built a team completely around him. You cannot survive without him.

Give him whatever he wants. Question for you. Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. They're going to franchise tag him, obviously. Why should Lamar Jackson play on the franchise tag no he shouldn't he he should and i know he doesn't have an agent this was his this was his like franchise tag year he should say he should say he should say because if they're going to double tag

him why should he take this red i know ravens fans listening to this are probably like are very frustrated but trying to give the full field view, I just, he has the leverage and he should not play on the franchise tag. He shouldn't. And granted, you know, you're asking me that question and we're answering questions about guys' life decisions

and obviously it's just like, he can do whatever he wants. But to me, like, this was the Lamar Jackson franchise tag year. I agree. This was the year that you gave yourself to say, all right, watch this. I'm going to risk it a little bit here. I'm going to bet on myself and we're gonna figure it out and i'm gonna get paid next season

if they franchise tag him i'd i'd i'd be like no i i'm trying to i'm trying to like censor my words here i'm trying to be nice about it but i would basically tell them no i'm not playing on the franchise tag what i do think that matters most though, going into next year, let's assume that they bring Lamar Jackson back. Let's assume that they signed a new, good contract. I think J.K. Dobbins is really good, man. I think J.K. Dobbins, back-to-back 100-yard games, Dobbins tweeted after the game, hey, you know, my speed's coming back.

Like, don't give up on me. Those home run balls are going to come as well. And that's after getting back-to-back 100-yard games. I really like J.K. Dobbins coming out of Ohio State. I felt like he could have a feature role in the NFL. And I feel like he's in a great spot with the Ravens. So, yes, they need more wide receiver weapons. Absolutely.

There's no doubt about it. Demarcus Robinson and Devin Duvernay were both tied for the lead with most receiving yards for a receiver in this past game. And they both had 29. It just ain't going to cut it. It's just not going to cut it, man. Even if you like Mark Andrews and he's going to lead your team in

receptions, even if you have a situation like the Kansas city chiefs do with Travis Kelsey, where he's going to be your main go-to guy, you got to have better wide receiver. You absolutely do. So all that being said, what matters most to me is that this team is always going to have a

heavy rushing element to it, including going into next year. Love the idea of Lamar Jackson in the backfield with J.K. Dobbins. I think they got a really good one for next year. I love that. It's a good call out for a guy that we've been waiting to get healthy for a while here.

You love to see that. Last game, Dolphins-Bills. Woo! I mean, lived up to every bit of the hype. Loved it. Took a while for the snow to get going. Created a beautiful aesthetic in the city of Buffalo um man what a what a football atmosphere this really was and i'll take the bill side of this trevor uh for what matters most the bills who have obvious super bowl aspirations rightly so

we're now 11 and 3 are i believe in the driver's seat for the number one seat in terms of if they just win these next three games against the bears b Bengals, and Patriots, they will get the one seed because they beat the Chiefs, as far as I know. What matters most to me in this game, Trevor, is that the Bills' biggest issue, in my opinion, besides injuries, has been, can they win big games without being Stephon Diggs dependent, right? And, of course, Josh Allen is roped into that conversation because Allen is the passer of the football to Stefan Diggs, and we know he's going to do his magic with his running every week.

And this game, to me, was the Bills having that awakening with Dawson Knox that makes the Bills very scary. The Bills are a really good team when Josh Allen and Stephon Diggs are playing at the level they can play at with their defense. I don't know if they're a Super Bowl winning team. And when I say I don't know, I truly don't know. And the reason I'm a little biased to that is I've seen them both. I've seen them in two games like that this year, very close against the Jets, where the Jets did a really good job against Diggs. The Bills lost the first time to the Jets, and the second time, it was pretty down to the wire. With them involving other players, notably Dawson Knox,

who I think is a more unique threat than Gabe Davis, that's an argument for another day, it just totally changes their offense and makes them so difficult to defend. So for me, the Bills are figuring out other options that aren't just funneled through Diggs or Allen's running or Allen's exceptional playmaking at the most important time of the year. Look, the Bills are still a tier one NFL team. Oh, right. And I think that I think that people. I think that people can have sometimes lose track of the fact that we still think that because throughout the year, the Bills have always been a favorite. They have always been at the top and they've had a little bit of an up and down. Sure. But I feel like we've spent a lot of other weeks talking about other teams who could potentially be in that tier one. And we haven't talked as much about Buffalo. And I just want to make it very clear.

It doesn't mean we don't think Buffalo is a tier one team anymore. Now it's not that Buffalo isn't worth talking about. They certainly are. And I think that we saw that this past week, this, this past week was a, again, like it was more than just a win. One, it wasn't against a divisional opponent. It was against Miami. It was against a team that they've was against miami it was against a

team that they've had to listen to all of these networks and pundits ourselves included talk about how great they are and everything and they invite them to buffalo and it's cold weather and it's snow and the fans are throwing snowballs and they're showing up at like eight hours before the game just to get a parking spot so they can get snowed in and like all of this stuff i feel like it was just huge for the team, for the team morale. I think the Buffalo Bills are on the up, and I think that we're going to get the best version of the Buffalo Bills going into the playoffs, which is what you always wanted.

My what matters most is that the AFC playoffs are going to be incredible. The AFC playoffs are going to be nuts. We're going to get, I think at least, we're going to get the Chiefs. We're going to get the Bills. We're going to get the Dolphins. We're going to get the Chargers. We might get Trevor Lawrence in there with the Jags. You're running out of spots, but yes.

We're getting Joe Burrow in there. We're getting Lamar back because he's going to be healthy. The matchups we are going to get in the AFC playoffs are incredible because a lot of people, I think, went into this game and they were like, who is going to turn back into a pumpkin this game? It's cold weather. He's not going to be up for it. And you know what?

The Dolphins were there every step of the way. This game came down to the wire. The team speed that the Dolphins have down south in Miami still existed up in that cold weather in Buffalo Jalen Waddle and Tyreek Hill I know it's just the biggest dub but like I cannot get over how fast these guys are that that that Jalen Waddle touchdown that's the one it looks like it looks like he turns tomorrow hamlin into a d3 inside linebacker on that play when he puts his foot in the ground he gets to this other gear that hamlin just has never even dreamed of hitting and they have multiple guys on the team that can do that it's it's waddle

it's hill it's mostered out of the backfield like it's just the team speed is so nuts from from the dolphins i was very skeptical about how well they would play up north in this game given all of the weather and i i thought that there was a chance that they might crumble they absolutely did not they were up for the task and that's why a big takeaway for me is that um this afc playoff is going to feature some damn good teams some damn good quarterbacks and it's gonna be wide open. Every single round of the AFC playoffs is going to be must watch. And that was honestly my,

what mattered most. I'm with you. I'm with you all the way. We can't wait. It's the AFC bracket. Just a totally different animal. You were right. So let's,

let's go right there. Eagles bears for Sunday's one o'clock kickoffs. Obviously a lot of eyes on this game because the Eagles have become must-watch this year. Justin Fields has become must-watch this year. Trevor, I feel like we're at the point where the story is the same every week. It's like Justin Fields had this amazing play that should be on the top five of the SportsCenter, and the Bears lost again. And the Bears lost. And the Bears lost again. So do you think mattered most um in a matchup that was

surprisingly very close the the thing that matters most to me is that kind of what you just said there we've said this before on this podcast but it's best case scenario for the bears every single time they look like a really good team justin fields continues to look like a phenomenal quarterback he continues to look like a rare quarterback. He continues to look like a rare player playing in the position. And yet they lost. And that's what matters most. They need that traffic.

They need a really good impact player. And they also need to be picking high and not just the first round, the rounds that follow as well. So it was big for the Bears to go punch for punch one score game down to the wire with the best team in the nfl one of the best teams in the nfl i should say um and yet still get the loss there i also wanted to just say that i think the bear secondary moving forward

is going to be sick like jalen johnson kyler gordon jaquan Brisker, Eddie Jackson when he's healthy. I think Eddie Jackson. So did he sign a contract recently? He's not like a free agent, is he? No, I thought he got a monster extension. Yeah, I thought he did too. I was remembering that correctly then. Just like having all those guys in secondary, their secondary is sick. And so if you get the dudes up front to really rush the passer the investments that they put into the secondary are going to pay dividends we already saw that um this week as jalen johnson was guarding guys like davante smith and aj brown and yeah those guys got theirs eventually but it's just because the eagles offense is that damn good i i just feel like that that secondary is phenomenal

moving forward and it was big for the uh for the bears to look as competent as they did but still pick up the loss no doubt i mean it's hard to have a big eagles takeaway here they continue to win they're 13 and one there it's the old running joke of like will this team be tested before the super bowl i truly truly don't know next week baby yeah yeah i mean that's the one right isn't it it should be dallas right right who lost to jacksonville today in unbelievable fashion we'll get there the bears for me for all the good right now like losing for draft position justin field's looking really really good the thing i have to say trevor is i don't want to underestimate how much work ryan poles has to do because i watch this team and i go man i don't think the line's very good i don't like any of their playmakers

that are on the field today veal's jones was maybe just oh boy like that pick is is looking really really rough didn't love it their front seven has no talent for the most part. So I, yes, the Bears losing for draft position is good, but I am trying to temper my expectations for what can this Bears team be next year? Unless Justin Fields is just a total superhero, Lamar Jackson style. And the Ravens have,

it's not fair to compare the Bears to the Ravens because the Ravens has have a lot of talent on defense. So I think they have a lot of work to do. And I'm excited to talk about them in the off season because hopefully they have a star quarterback for the future. He's taken the right strides this year for sure. Yeah. They just have the 53 has such a long way to go.

And you just see it week after week, not even against the great teams like the Eagles, but against all the teams they've played. He needs a lot of help around him. The Eagles, I'm just looking at their stats right now. Hurts almost accounting for 400 yards on a day. He had 315 passing. He had 61 rushing.

It didn't even feel like that. That's what's crazy to me. A.J. Brown dropped 181, 81 and Devante Smith dropped one 26, man. Oh, like they kept AJ in check in the early going. This team, his team is special.

Yeah. They're fun. They're really fun to watch. Those are fun. Do you want to talk about the Cowboys next? You want to hit that? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

That transition. All right. Um, I mean, incredible game for Trevor Lawrence, obviously incredible comeback for Jacksonville, who was down 21-7 at the half. They put up 27 points in the second half, and then ultimately the game winner in overtime.

So those 27 points were before overtime in the second half. This offense, Trevor, right now is just, it it's sustainable that's what matters most for jacksonville for me is that jacksonville is not developing trevor lawrence with just a ton of veterans that they're gonna have to like play cap gymnastics and all these things next year trevor is throwing the ball consistently to a big three of zay Jones, Christian Kirk, and Evan Ingram. Now, I think Evan Ingram actually signed a one-year deal, so that one will be kind of interesting. He is on a one-year deal. But Zay Jones and Christian Kirk are absolutely under contract next year. Zay Jones has been an incredible, reliable, consistent target for

Trevor. I think the offensive line has come together more as a unit lately. ETN, obviously we know the explosive rushing ability for him. So for me, just what matters most, you're seeing an offense for Jacksonville that can be a powerhouse that took it to a Dallas defense that we really, really like. And it was pretty stunning to watch. And Jacksonville in four days gets another huge test against a good Jets defense. And it's going to be fascinating to see what Trevor Lawrence can do because if he has a big Thursday night football game people are going to

be projecting him as a top three to five quarterback in the NFL for next year and rightly so and rightly so this wasn't a what matters most that I wrote down but I was just thinking about it as you were talking about it there um I think we're going to start to seriously see some shifts in mock draft priority with the Jacksonville Jaguars. We've seen a lot of Quentin Johnston go to the Jags. I'm not with that one anymore. And when you look at what Zay Jones has been doing over the last couple of weeks,

when you look at what Trevor Lawrence has been doing with Evan Ingram, obviously with what he was doing with Christian Kirk at the beginning of the year. And then when you remember that this team gets Calvin Ridley next year, then all of a sudden, because I just looked it up and you're right, Zay Jones under contract for another three years. They've got a little bit of an out after next year, but still to me, not to spoil the Wednesday show or anything.

I think the Jags are going to start leaning a different position other than wide receiver, but I don't want to get too into that because that's the Wednesday show and we'll get to the Wednesday show. The thing that matters most to me from the Jags are going to start leaning a different position other than wide receiver. But I don't want to get too into that because that's the Wednesday show and we'll get to the Wednesday show. The thing that matters most to me from the Jags, and I'm sorry, Cowboys fans, we both have Jags takes, they nailed it at head coach and quarterback. Oh, great call. If there was any doubt about Trevor Lawrence,

I think that has been answered certainly over the last couple of weeks. The pairing and the chemistry of Doug Peterson and Trevor Lawrence has been incredible this year. I just want to read this off. Their last three wins, okay? And this goes to show not just the talent of the team, but also the identity of the team and what they're building. Last three wins they've had, which they've won three of their last four.

That Baltimore Ravens game, they were down 19-10, and then they were down 27-20. They ended up winning that game in dramatic fashion, 28-27. Against the Tennessee Titans last week, they were down 14-10, ended up winning the game 36-22. This week, they were down 21-7, then they were down 24-10, and up winning the game 40 to 34. This is a team that believes.

And I think that as we kind of like go through and we talk about a lot of other teams around the NFL and you go, man, what's wrong with this team? Like, I don't mean to bring it back to the Bucks, but like I talk about this with the Bucks every single week, they don't believe they can win. They don't have that identity. They don't. We said about back to the Bucs, but I talk about this with the Bucs every single week. They don't believe they can win. They don't have that identity. They don't believe. We said it about the Colts in the second half.

We said it about the Colts earlier in this podcast. They don't believe. They don't have that identity. They don't believe that. The Jags believe that. And that is pretty special given the fact that, sorry, Jags fans, this franchise has been a terrible one over the last 15 years.

They have that one year in 2017 when it was all going right for them. But other than that, it's been same old Jags, right? It's been this team that even when things maybe should go right for them, they don't. And for them to be turning that tide and having this whole different level of confidence and belief within the organization, that's Doug Peterson, man. What a hire this has been. They nailed it at head coach.

They obviously nailed it at quarterback. And this connection between those two should be one of the more solid quarterback head coach connections that we're going to see over, I'll at least say the next half decade. So five years. It's their comeback wins over the last three wins, I think, have been a testament to that. So shout out to the Jags, man. It's a great call. It really is.

I mean, it's impressive. And, you know, Doug is was put in a tough spot going in there and having to really, like you said, do a lot of uplifting to a roster that had just been through so much in a year, and especially with a franchise player that they needed to get it right. There was no room for error with getting it right. And it feels like, to your point, Trevor, at six and eight, trending the right way and playing really hard down the stretch, and most importantly, seeing massive improvement from the franchise quarterback is, is a huge sign.

What do you got next? Where do you want to go? Oh, quickly on chiefs Texans. I think definitely. How did this happen? How did this happen?

I think we're all wondering the same thing. Chiefs won this game in overtime. This is one of the best teams in the NFL that went up against one of the worst teams in the NFL. The team that has had the number one draft pick for the last like 12 weeks. They didn't have Damian Pierce. I just...

How did they take this team to overtime? And you look at these stats. I'm going to read out the Chiefs stats to you real quick. Okay? Isaiah Pacheco, 86 yards, 5.7 yards per carry average. Fantastic. Jerick McKinnon, 52 yards, 5.2 yards per carry average. I know there was a lot of those yards.

26 of those yards, I think, came at the end of the game. So it was a little bit less than that. But still, he was involved in the game, right? Patrick Mahomes, 36 for 41, Connor. 36 for 41. Hit five incompletions. 336 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions. Receiving.

Travis Kelsey, 10 targets, 10 receptions. Didn't drop a pass. Didn't drop a target. 105 yards. Juju Smith-Schuster, 10 targets, 10 receptions. Didn't drop any. 88 yards. Jarek McKinnon had eight targets, 8 catches, 70 yards and a touchdown. Marquez Valdez scantily was balling out. Noah Gray was getting involved. You look at the turnovers. Alright. They lost 2 fumbles.

Isaiah Pacheco fumbled. Juju Smith-Schuster fumbled. Okay. I get it. But you go to the other side as well. Davis Mills lost a fumble for the Chiefs. So the turnover differential was only minus one and one of the best teams in the nfl got taken down to the wire on the use of texans the only reason that i could understand that being the case and i guess my what matters most is the texans truly told the chiefs you won't be as deep you're not going to be as deep the cancels and i haven't gone back to see like what the coverages were. Cause we don't have that data quite yet.

Yeah. And Stingley, I forgot Stingley went on IR. Of course. It's just nuts. The chiefs only had one play that went for over 20 yards all game. One play. That's pretty crazy.

So Lovey Smith basically said, I don't care what you do underneath. I don't care what Kelsey stats are at the end of the game. I don't care what Kelsey's stats are at the end of the game. I don't care what Mahomes' stats are at the end of the game. I don't care what Juju Smith-Schuster's stats are at the end of the game. You won't beat us deep. You won't beat us deep, and maybe that'll give us a shot to win. And you know what?

It did. It did. And I wonder if that's a blueprint. I wonder if a lot more teams are going to go more towards what we've talked about over the last couple of years of putting so many guys deep and letting them do whatever they want underneath. Maybe we get to see a little bit more of that

than we have this year in the playoffs. I like that point. If you're looking for what matters most to this game, it's what are teams that are going to run into the Chiefs in crunch time, most likely the playoffs, going to look back to game plan. And they're going to look back to what did the Houston Texans do against this team?

They are going to look back at the 1-12-1 Houston Texans who trotted out Davis Mills, a little bit of Jeff Driscoll, Phil Dorsett attempted a pass in this game. I mean... Of course. Of course. Yeah, of course.

And the things that aren't, you know, you can't replicate, Trevor, or the fumbles, like Juju and Pacheco having fumbles lost in this game. Like, sure, things like that. But schematically, yeah, you're right.

Can you replicate limiting the explosive play to the chiefs and and the fact that mahomes was 36 of 41 in this game i mean like it really is hilarious that this game went to overtime when you look at mahomes's numbers you would think that they won 40 to 10 and when you look it's. It's just wild. It's really wild. But, yeah, I think that's what matters most in this game, if we have to pull something quick, is that the Texans actually... You know, let me ask you this, though.

Do you think the Texans playing these contenders close down the stretch is doing anything for Lovie Smith's job? Yeah. I do. I do, too. I really do. Yeah. Yeah, I do think it's doing something for john so if you're looking for a yeah i don't think i don't think we'll keep it but you know

but it's it's making it at least a conversation when it it's interesting it's interesting all right can we hit on steelers panthers quick as well yes let. Let's do that one quick. The only one I have on this is because Steelers won this game 24 to 16. It was against it was, it was two teams where their seasons don't really matter at this point. It's good on the Panthers to lose the game because now they have a top 10 draft pick again, which is important. Actually,

I think there were nine last week, so they still have it, but the, what matters most for me in this game isn't really performance based. It's that we talked on this podcast that steve wilkes was doing such a great job with that locker room and with the guys that were there that he should seriously be considered as a head coaching candidate for this team moving forward as the interim head coach to be the full-time coach next year and beyond uh that needs to still be a thing like we we can't just go, oh, okay, now you lost one game.

Like now all that stuff's out the window. The bar should not be perfection, especially in this situation. It was, it felt like perfection with the roster that he was given for a while. And I think that all of that still needs to hold weight is my thing. I just, my what matters most is

you cannot look at this panthers team and go oh they lost to a bad steelers team so guess steve wilks isn't the guy come on yeah like you gotta be you gotta be real about it you gotta understand this is pros versus pros crazy stuff happens every single week steve wilks absolutely deserves to still be a legitimate candidate for the panthers head coach next year so that was's my one take. No, I think it's a really good one. I think that he's not working with much, obviously, right? And he's not working with a whole lot. And, you know, they're trying to get Darnold going

because it's what they have. They're not looking at Darnold and saying, like, oh, Darnold's going to be the future here of the franchise. It's their best option at the moment. No run game going at all i mean they had 16 carries for 21 yards so hard to really count i didn't even see that yeah their line had a really rough day whoa yeah darnell was sacked dealers d-line beat them the hell up yeah the steelers are kind of interesting right because you just sit here and wonder you know them missing tj watt

to start the year and dealing with some injuries you forgot that that front seven is especially their front four is as talented as anyone in football most of the time so yeah they just they just devoured them um but it's just it's this is a game for me that's hard to have a takeaway you know that isn't more towards our draft show yeah we'll get it we'll get into that on wednesday for sure um before we jump to the next game we talked about jalen hurts a little bit i'm switching the ad up that's right what if you could have invested in jalen hurts to stock right before this season not a lot of people thought that he was going to be having the

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Yeah, we could touch on that. So the Saints win this game, 21-18. You just felt classic bad Falcons and Saints going head up. Ugly. Like, we had multiple taste some hill moments. It's always a recipe. When you're putting it in the pot you're like all right let me throw a couple taste middle pass attempts in here couple taste middle runs that's why i mean like that's what the saints together rishi rishi shaheed every every single time the fowl the the saints hit any big pass it shaheed's on the end

the end of it that's just how the story has been all year long. So obviously he has a great game as well. Gets a big touchdown bomb. On the Falcon side of things, my boy Tyler Algier, 139 rushing yards, touchdown, 8.2 yards per carry average off of 17 carries. Love Tyler Algier in this offense. They are feeding him, and he is one of the most angry runners that you will see. Love that about his scouting report coming out of BYU.

It's why I was so high on him. So I like that he's the fit there but getting to Desmond Ritter Ritter goes 13 for 26 in this game 97 passing yards zero touchdowns zero interceptions so he didn't get over 100 yards passing Connor what what kind of stood out to me with Desmond Ritter is that the scouting report read completely true for Desmond Ritter and that was the beginning of the game he looked Aaron with his passes he wasn't accurate um he just was not processing things correctly and then as the game went on like he got more accurate he got better things were slowing down a little bit for him and I don't think that was a coincidence because having my notes of what I felt like were areas that he needed to improve were when i watched him at the beginning of some

games he just sailed passes he just didn't hit passes and i was like are you are you doing like the smelling salts before the game is the adrenaline pumping too hard right like are you do we need to like x the pre-workout like what do we need to what do we need to do here because it feels like he either gets nerves he gets butterflies or he just gets too amped up and the ball doesn't go where it needs to go but then when he really settles in he looks like a much better quarterback that's the exact same thing that we saw of him today and now of course it was his first start in the nfl as a rookie so that was multiplied and that's that's also why you didn't see him recover in the stat book as much as he did at Cincinnati but to me man it was

classic Desmond Ritter the way that I saw him in Cincinnati so no it wasn't the best day but I don't think it was anything to worry about I think that he's picking up right where I thought that he would in the NFL and um I still think he's got promise and I'm excited to see him over the next couple of games to end the season I'm just glad they're obviously playing him. And yeah, it was the same for me. That was always the concern with Ritter is that his accuracy can really come and go at, he just, him settling into a game is so important. He never really settled in for this one.

I know he was over four to start the game. He took a couple of sacks in this one. He didn't get to a hundred passing yards. It was kind of, when you said the game ended Trevor, he was the last play of the game and took a couple sacks in this one he didn't get to 100 passing yards it was kind of when you said the game ended trevor he it's the last play of the game and he just he stepped out of bounds with no time left it's just it felt like he you know let me call what's fair we've been yelling for them to play desmond ritter because you have to see what you got and i think it's fair to say arthur smith knew that Desmond Ritter might not be ready yet. And it's a rock and a hard place for the Falcons

because you're probably bad enough to draft a quarterback. Maybe. That's not definite yet. We'll see where they end the season. Bad enough where you're in the process of drafting your quarterback. But you also took one in the third round last year that some people really really liked and you want to see if he can be a part of your future but he's not ready to play yet so that's a really tough spot to be in for a guy like arthur smith and you know smith after the game he

was i think he had a level head about it he's's like, hey, you know, Ritter, you know, he started off. He was jittery. It was his first start. First NFL start. Playing in New Orleans, not easy. No, not easy. Not a soft landing. No, that's tough. That's a tough ask for anybody.

So he didn't like the world on fire, but it's, you know, it's fine. This is something we'll be able to check in on Desmerator every single week. So we'll be able to do that. I think it's time, buddy. I think we got to do it. To round out the 1 o'clock games. i think i saved it for last right you you did you did save for last strategy there i didn't i don't know if you did this on purpose but uh detroit lions new york jets detroit lions win by a field goal 20 to 17 lions go to 7-7 on the season jets

also go to 7-7 on the season what Jets also go to 7-7 on the season. What were your takeaways from this one, bud? Zach Wilson getting the start for the injured Mike White. Curious as to hear if this goes into your what matters most. But just overall, what did you think about the game? What matters most to me on the Jets' side is that they have built an offense that Zach Wilson is not effectively playing in. And what I'm trying to outline is you watch this game, right? Let's just start.

If you didn't watch the game, you look at the game, Zach Wilson, 18 to 35, 317 yards, two touchdowns, one pick. You can go, that's not the worst day for Zach Wilson. It's not the worst day for any second year quarterback. Right. the worst day for Zach Wilson it's not the worst day for any second year quarterback right but when you watch him play I've been overusing this line today whether it was SMI post game whatever the the best analogy I come up with is Zach Wilson playing quarterback for the Jets in their offense is literally turning on the GPS with no tolls it's the avenues they have to take to get to the destination with him.

It drives you crazy. It drives you crazy. And it's, you're just sitting there and going, I mean, this is a sequence, right? At the end of the game. And this end of the game sequence kind of was a really good microcosm for a lot of the game. And I'm curious to go back and watch the film on this to see the throws he didn't attempt you'll have a play Trevor where time matters and he takes a sack in a situation you can't take a sack then the next play it's you know second and 19 and he'll miss a streaking very open Elijah Moore Braxton Berrios and you're like that's a got to hit. And then it's third and 19 or fourth and 19. And he runs around and makes a throw that one of five guys in the world can make for the conversion. Right.

And it's like, we didn't need to do that. Like we didn't need to. And I, I guess some people will probably argue, well, I'd rather have the guy that could do that because the rest will get it better. When is the rest going to it better when is the rest going to get better exactly and it's not it's not he the reality of this game is and we'll talk a lot of lines there's a huge win for the lions we obviously really like the lions there's no taking away from them in this game but the jet side of it both these teams are seven and seven now the jets are right outside looking in on the afFC playoffs. It's going to be interesting to see how their season

finishes, how the Lions' season finishes. If anyone watching the game that knows football, Zach Wilson should have thrown for over 400 yards today. And it makes you wonder what Mike White would have done with the way he was playing within this offense. The Jets have constructed a drop-back offense

that is based on timing and all of these different things that doesn't align with Zach Wilson's style of football. And that is what matters to most of the Jets right now is do you go forward with someone like that or do you go forward with somebody that fits what you're trying to do? And they need to figure that out in this offseason. It's the biggest question the franchise could face. Yeah. I mean, look look hats off to the to the lions this is a massive victory um getting this on the road them being able to have the streak that they're on right now to even keep themselves in playoff contention is huge it was another it was another good game from jared

goff i mean ben johnson's did their offensive coordinator man i don't know a job from him i don't know if he wants to be a head coach. We'll see, I guess. I mean, it feels a little early just because his ascension to, like, position coach to now, like, play caller, and now, like, people are going, like, oh, he could be a head coach next. It just feels really fast. So I don't know if we're going to get there yet, but he's clearly one of the best young coaching minds in the game. That offense is playing so well,

even without a lot of, like, heavy hitters that you can go to with the ball all the time. So Lions, hats off. Your team's in an incredible spot. You're one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now. But for the Jets specifically, and I knew we'd talk a little bit more Jets, I wondered what you were going to say about Wilson because just from watching it, I was watching this a lot on Red Zone

and then I was trying to keep up with like Twitter and what reporters were saying and everything. It didn't feel like Zach Wilson really had a game where it's like, okay, this guy's the man moving forward. And Wilson has kind of solidified his reputation of he was just the highlight real place. He wasn't the stuff that you see in between that quarterbacking yeah and and i you know obviously like the byu stuff you go back to his scouting and a lot of

people just watch a lot of the highlight stuff because that's what scouting is all about right that's what we're taught tell me what this guy can do we'll'll figure out the rest. We'll tune up the rest. The mundane stuff, the play-to-play, the little things, we can work on that. Give me a guy who can hit the ceiling. Tell me what he is capable of. And I felt like the Jets drafted him off of what he was capable of. And a lot of people liked him through the draft process because of what he was capable of.

But there were also a lot of people that pointed out the play-to-play stuff, the regular structured things you go not exactly handling the pocket well not exactly managing pressure well not exactly looking where he should to throw and like those are things that were worrisome going into his nfl career we're almost two years in and he still hasn't figured those things out he'll still hit the throw at the end of the game to put you within field goal range, but he won't do the smart stuff to avoid having to do that.

And I think that's where we are with Zach Wilson. And my one thing that mattered most from this game was going to be, I think it would send a really bad message to the team. If you, if Mike White is healthy enough to play next week and you don't go back to him it wouldn't it can't happen because yeah like i said wilson where he obviously sounded more mature at the press conference but you knew that was going to be yeah that was going to happen because he was reprimanded about it and he lost his job about it before so he clearly wasn't going to repeat those same mistakes. So you knew that that was coming anyways,

but he already had kind of the faults of those. The big play to get them into field goal range. Yes, that's what people are going to show kind of on ESPN and SportsCenter and all that stuff. But it was the in-between stuff that really failed. The stat sheet is going to read, I think, pleasantly for him. But the play-by-play stuff, I just don't think was there for him. He didn't warrant like, okay, this is the guy moving forward.

This is the guy that we've got to play because let's face it too this would be a huge stretch for Zach Wilson this would be a these next three games would have been huge for him to play in to make sure that he could solidify that he's the quarterback next year but as of right now and after that performance Robert Sala made the tough choice to go with Mike White over Zach Wilson. And he did it, we talked about on this show, for the right reasons. Mike White gutted his heart out last week. To have Zach Wilson as still the starting quarterback and to basically tell Mike White, you lost your job because you got hurt

and we need to try to see if we can fix our perhaps failed number two overall pick. It's a bad message to send, man. And so I think for a myriad of reasons, both on the field and off the field, you got to go to Mike White next week if he's healthy. So that was my one thing that mattered most. The tough thing is they're on the short week.

They play Thursday night against the Jags. So we don't know if Mike White will be cleared by the doctors. This is so complicated. Anyone having a conspiracy theory out there that this was their way to play Wilson again, you're just wrong. I don't know what to tell you. Like Mike White has fractured ribs or rib,

whatever it was. He couldn't get clear to play. I don't, I'm not going down that road. Cash lab, third slab, listening to smarter people. So,

but seriously, yeah, you're right, Trevor. And it just goes back to the, and I think they will go back to white if he's healthy enough to play but will the season matter when he's healthy enough to play and a season that does continue to matter they have the same record as the jets but the nfc the jets are still very much alive but the lions feel very very alive right now oh yeah yeah lions are seven and

seven awesome win i found the pair some parallels interesting with these teams that you know they both want quarterbacks that maybe don't have to be heroes but can play within the system and i think you saw it from the lions today this was not jared goff's best day wasn't a bad day from jared goff it was just a day out there they schemed up a lot of guys open on rub routes they got guys going in the flats the The leak call to win the game winning touchdown was phenomenal. I just I think the Lions definitely on offense for sure. And I really like Aaron Glenn and I'm glad to see their defense starting to figure some things out. I wouldn't call it a great day, but it's starting to figure some things out. The Lions have an identity with

their coaching staff, but I saw it on offense where I'm like, they have a great line. They have multiple pass catchers. Goff is never going to be a hero, but they understand how to scheme guys open. So with the Lions, just what matters most to me is they're starting to figure out themselves and that'll really position themselves nicely

in the NFC North. Even if they don't make the playoffs this year, it's far from a failed season. They are truly, truly building something for the, for the longterm. James Houston, the fourth got another sack.

Yeah. It's amazing. He has five sacks in four games. He has a sack in every single game that he's played. What does he need to do to win defensive rookie of the year? What? Basically keep up this pace. If he finishes with nine sacks,'s not gonna get it it's gonna be uh it's probably gonna be sauce who's still the far away favorite it's just like what is james houston actually it's the brock purdy question what does brock purdy actually

have to do to win offensive rookie of the year like concrete numbers, who's his competition? Brock Purdy? Yeah. He's plus 1,000. You have Garrett Wilson in front of him. You have Kenneth Walker in front of him. Christian Watson and Chris Alabe. Oh.

Yeah. I don't know, brother. What does he have to do? We get three more games to Brock Purdy. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see. I think over 1,000 yards of Garrett Wilson playing with quite the array of quarterbacks is going to be enough, but we'll see.

Or Christian Watson just keeps scoring a million touchdowns a week. He'll get it. It's true. Packers play on Monday night, so maybe he'll continue that. Broncos-Cardinals. Broncos win this game 24 to 15 um I'm not gonna lie to you good people I'm not gonna bullshit you I couldn't have cared less about this game couldn't have cared less these are two coaching staffs who probably deserve to be fired uh these are two

quarterback situations that are absolutely abysmal um broncos defense is good who knows what the cardinals entire team is going to be next year i know i don't know both of these guys had significant players banged up they're not playing for the playoffs clearly they're two of the most disappointing teams in the nfl that's all i got for you sorry that's all i got okay i'll spew it like this okay say you could erase my brain from knowing when this game was played and you showed me the box score oh let me look at the box score okay has to be week two or three preseason has to be okay that might even be being polite i guess when're starting quarterbacks played. 24-15, great preseason score. 24-15 is a great preseason score.

The quarterbacks that played in this game, Colt McCoy, Trace McSorley, Brett Rippon. Yep, checks out. The touchdowns that were scored in this game, Marlon Mack, Eric Tomlinson. Latavius Murray. Was there a defensive? James Conner. Yeah.

James Conner. Yeah. I mean. On defense, the stars showed up. Buda Baker had a pick. True. Justin Simmons had two picks. Patrick Chetan had a pick.

Oh, man. Yeah. man I'm sorry I can't concoct a take from the 4-10 Cardinals and 4-10 Broncos our take is you guys should listen to the Wednesday show we're just all drafts listen to the Wednesday show Titans Chargers

mine is quick here mine is quick here- can't matter a lot. Yeah, what do you got for this? Mine is quick here-ish. It's about a quarterback, so who knows how quick it might actually be. Chargers win this game 17-14. And I'll tell you what. My what matters most happens to

deal with the final score of this game. The reason why the Chargers won this game is because of the field goal at the end. The reason why they were able to get in the field goal range is because Justin Herbert has an arm that can forgive sins. Justin Herbert has an arm where the first look, he, I didn't,

I didn't think he had a terrible game, but he didn't have a really good game up until I would say like the fourth quarter. Justin Herbert has the arm where it only takes one throw. It only takes two throws. He can hit it. And all of a sudden, the entire game changes. The throw to Keenan Allen, the throw to Mike Williams at the end.

It's all it takes, man. Rolling one direction, playing his foot, looking left, firing the ball 45 yards on a rope, 50 yards on a rope. His arm talent is unbelievable. You talk about Zach Wilson being able to make throws that only a few people make. Justin Herbert takes that and narrows the field even further. There are not many quarterbacks that have the ability

to put the football where it needs to go as fast as it gets there, faster than Justin Herbert can. He can play bad for three quarters of football. And like I said, it only takes a handful of throws for him to completely remedy things and continue to get wins. So that's ultimately why I've continued to have faith in the Chargers.

They're clearly not a juggernaut team that a lot of people, myself included, thought that they might be in years past. But they are a team that I'm going to have faith in to make the playoffs because I'm going to have faith in Justin Herbert down the stretch. He's been playing unbelievable this season. The wide receiver

weapons have let him down terribly. His offensive lines let him down terribly. His offensive coordinators let him down terribly at times. His defense has let him down terribly, but he continues to persevere. And I think the Chargers are coming and I think that they're going to make the playoffs. I really do. So that's my one thing that matters most. I do too. What matters most for the Chargers in this game to me is that they took care of business while getting the most help that they could have asked for they had the dolphins ravens jets and patriots all lose in this stretch so this win propelled them or gave them more comfort as they finished the season against the Colts, the Rams, and the Broncos. I mean, if the Chargers don't make the playoffs, like, Staley can't survive.

He can't survive. This is as easy as it gets. And credit to them for, yeah, taking care of business against the Titans, who, I i mean we know where they're at right now and they beat the dolphins last week but this is also a team that lost the raiders that week before like they're they're a team where they've just been really up and down but what matters most of them right now is that they to their credit and with the help of what happened today are very well positioned to now make the playoffs when their season did not look so hot just a couple weeks ago.

I agree. Got to get credit where it's due. Is that your main take? Yeah, that's my main take. I mean, what can we say about the Titans right now? They're just not an intimidating football team. And they're also just not a really bad team. They're just not that bad.

I didn't think they had any business being in this game, especially when Tannehill looked to be carted off, and then he came back in. Yeah, that's true. They're just not that bad. I didn't think they had any business being in this game, especially when Tannehill looked to be carted off and then he came back in. You're right, though. The Titans kind of lack an identity right now because their identity was always that they are more physical than you and they'll play good defense and they're at the point where

their offensive line is not as physically as imposing as it used to be. Two other games. Which one do you want to hit first? Can we do the funniest football game in the history of the season? Yeah. So Raiders defeat the New England Patriots by a score of 30 to 24 on what was, and I am not being hyperbolic here, the greatest slash worst play I've ever seen in the NFL.

The way that this game ended, where Ramondre Stevenson rushes up the middle, time's about to expire, the clock is 24-24. Ramondre Stevenson pitches it back to Jacoby Myers for some reason. I don't really know why. It's not like Jacoby had a lane. It wasn't like a rugby toss where it's like, okay, I'm taking everybody. They're coming to tackle me. They weren't losing. They weren't losing the game. The game was tied. He throws it back to Jacoby Myers, who is then also still surrounded by many Las Vegas Raiders players.

And then Jacoby Myers goes, I played quarterback before, unloads that bad boy straight to Chandler Jones, who stiff arms Mac Jones perhaps into oblivion, into career oblivion, which we're going to get to in a second. Almost to the depths of hell. And the Raiders end up winning that game. I, my face hurt from laughing so hard when i watched that happen live i screamed i was alone in my living room nobody was here and i screamed and

just started laughing out loud it would that's that's the that's the craziest wildest dumbest finish that i'm ever going to see to an nfl. It won't get, we will not ever get better than that. There's no way. So ultimately the Patriots who were in playoff contention, I dropped the seven, seven on the season. Raiders are now six and eight on the year. Connor,

do you have a, what matters most other than the fact that this game ended in fashion that we'll never forget? Yeah. I have a question. Yes. Can New England bounce back from this this year? They play the Bengals, Dolphins. Like, are they honestly still in the playoff hunt?

No, no. But isn't that crazy to say they are 7-7? They hold the tiebreaker against the Jets, who are also in that playoff hunt. But partner this kind of loss the fact they play the bengals the dolphins and the bills to close out the season i would be floored oh and three i so that probably raises a bigger question it okay do the patriots finish seven and ten and if they do is the mac jones era in new england over

i say yes um i think i'll go 80 yes in the first question that they're going to drop off oh yeah i i don't know if they're actually going to finish 7 10 if they do though i'm saying the mac jones era in new england's over well I'm saying that it's an 80% chance that they drop all three. Pretty high. And I would say that it's a 75% chance that the Mac Jones era is done. I think that's a very fair status for both. It stinks watching Mac Jones play, man. This guy's got some of the – and, like, I don't even dislike Mac Jones. I've grown to by his mannerisms. Right.

When I watch him play, it's like you don't want to root for him. It feels like he's pouting. The flags that he goes for are like... Okay, so I'm glad that you... I think a lot of people have not caught this. And obviously, once again, for those that listen and don't know, if you can't tell already, my day job on Sundays is Jets pre and post game. So obviously I see a lot of Mac Jones.

We have talked about this on the show. We've never seen a quarterback like egregiously try for flags in ways where like, you know, when a quarterback gets hit and they lay there, like they look at the ref like i totally get it it's a league where roughing is called all the time you gotta do what you gotta do dude they he will sometimes act like he he got speared by goldberg he like he'll sell a goldberg spear on the field i love the sport of soccer i really do i know i'm i feel like i'm one of few americans that do and the reason why they don't like it is because of the embellishment that

happens when there's contact on the field. But like Mac Jones feels like he's playing for a world cup or something. Yeah. They're going to come out with the spray. Every time. Yeah. They got to spray Mac Jones. Every other play.

That play at midfield where he scrambled and slid. And it was kind of like a bang, bang play where I don't know who hit him. I don't even want to call it late. He was sliding. He was giving himself up late. The guy went to go punch the ball out and Mac Jones like flailed after he

got hit on the ground. And I don't know, man, him, him yelling at Matt Patricia on the sideline. Like he's every week, like he's Peyton Manning or something. It's just the body language sucks the mannerisms suck I don't know man I I don't know I don't know the

guy so I don't mean to I don't mean to be this hard on it but it makes it really hard to root for and believe in the future of a guy who goes 13 for 31 passing with 112 passing yards. Does the Patriots passing offense good? No, it's not. But let's be honest here. Mac Jones is a reason why it's not good. So, yeah, I think that future is very much up for debate. He has done nothing, in my opinion, this year

to truly go into next season as like the solidified quarterback. Yeah. Don't believe that whatsoever. I obvious for obvious reasons, but also not just for those reasons. I was very happy for the Raiders fans of the game for that. It's one of those moments that like as a fan, you just never forget. Sure. It's so ridiculous.

Sure. I enjoyed the handshake between Belichick and McDaniels. Oh, I didn't even see it. It was brief. Of course it was. Of course it was. Oh, man. And shout out to legend Keelan Cole.

All right. Who has always been good, by the way. I just want to make that very, very clear. Solid player. Bounces around every year. Keelan Cole has always been good just wanted to make sure everybody knew that out there last game of the day all right everybody thanks for listening i saved jets for last in the one o'clock we've saved bucks for last of the day

i mean just break it down for me true i don't really know i couldn't believe so i was on i got in the car to get home from the city and um i threw this game i threw this game on in the car i wasn't driving everyone don't worry i'm not one of those um and i just couldn't believe how stymied the word joe burrow like joe burrow hadn't done anything in this game i'm like i'm like and then right when i turned it on was the t higgins touchdown where i know there was a big hole they didn't call i do agree with that but whatever and it just what what happened from that point on uh so from the bucks perspective and i'd i'd rather talk about the bangles side and i will in a second but like from the bucks perspective it's the same thing that we've been saying on

the show that i've been saying for weeks uh this team does not believe in themselves they have no identity for winning they have taken on the identity of whoever has been around them i again i i hate saying this because i don't like it's not like these coaches are dumb i'm not i i never want to make it seem like i know more than these coaches or anything like that, but I'm just calling a spade a spade. The players do not believe they can win the football game. They don't. They can sit there at their locker rooms, or they can sit there at the press conference,

or the coaches can sit there at the press conferences and talk about how they still believe in this team. It doesn't show up. It doesn't show up. This is the most undisciplined, unfocused, least motivated, bad body language, penalties, can't stop the negative plays teams that exist in the NFL right now. The Bucs shouldn't be favored against any team.

If the Bucs play the Houston Texans, I would bet money line on the Houston Texans. 1,000%. And it has nothing to do with talent. It has everything to do with you watch the one 11 and one football team take the kansas city freaking chiefs down to overtime this past game and you watch the buccaneers with tom brady and a big part of their defense and offense that made it to and won a super bowl two years ago crumble away a 17 point lead at home against the bangles embarrassing it was just absolutely embarrassing the bucks aren't going to change their stripes away a 17-point lead at home against the Bengals. Embarrassing.

It was just absolutely embarrassing. The Bucs aren't going to change their stripes. This is who they are. They're going to make the playoffs as a 7-10 team, and they're going to get blown out by whoever plays them in the first round. Or at least whoever plays them in the second round, because maybe God loves Brady too much and isn't going to allow that to happen. But eventually it will happen because his team is very bad.

On the flip side of things, bad game for the Bengals. A lot of what they want to do did not work early. The Joe Brogemar-Chase connection was not working. Carlton Davis had him locked down. This is Carlton Davis' best game of the season. The run game wasn't working. The quick game wasn't working. The offensive line wasn't blocking well.

The defense wasn't able to hold up the way they would have been able to in weeks past. And yet, team never gave up gave up eventually the passing attack and the weapons that the Bengals had became too much for the Buccaneers they ended up scoring 30 points in this game eventually Lenarumo's defense became a force they stayed relentless the Spartan shell it was a it was a bend but don't break and eventually they got to the point where they were the ones who were bending the other team. They recorded for us in turnovers all over the place.

They got in the Buccaneers players' heads, and all of a sudden the offense became absolutely nonexistent. Bengals remain one of the hottest teams in the NFL, one of the best teams in the NFL, and have one of the best coaching staffs in the NFL. And that's what I think about this game. Yeah, it's hard not to buy into the Bengals. And we talk about this all the time. This isn't a new take, but it felt like they were at their worst to start this game.

And in a game where you thought they would, you know, take care of business compared to where the Bucks are at. And now the Bengals get what I think might be a lifeless New England team next week. Then they host the Bills, which is going to be huge. That's a Monday night football game. That's going to be the most hyped up Monday night football game of the season, understandably so, because number one

seed implications could be on the line in that game for the AFC. No, okay, that's two weeks. That's two weeks. That's the day after New Year's, No, OK, that's two weeks. It's two weeks. That's the day after New Year's, right? Day after New Year's Day. OK, good.

Monday night, January 2nd. I'm going to be on. I'm going to be on a plane next Monday. So I was like, oh, no, if I miss. No, you're in the clear. Good, good, good, good. That game. Even if the Bills continue to win, I know the Bengals have 10 wins.

The Bills have 11. If the Bengals obviously beat the Bills, they'd have the tiebreaker so tying with the bills record would be enough so that game's massive massive and then they play the ravens who the ravens are staying afloat right now even without lamar i know they lost but that game will mean a lot to end the season you know what i like about the bengals here is that they're starting to get, and I use this for another team, the Vikings, but this is a much different one. The Bengals feel like they're just so battle-tested with what they're facing right now. Totally, yeah. Slow start to the year.

Now they have, I mean, this is pretty crazy. The Bengals, since October ended whoop the Panthers beat the Steelers beat the Titans beat the Chiefs beat the Browns beat the Bucks and then they're going to get Bill Belichick say what you want about the Patriots is still Bill Belichick they're going to get the Bills and they're going to get the Ravens. The Bengals are going to come into the playoffs, maybe with a bye, but with battle wounds and scars, like, we are not, we've seen it all. We've seen it all at this point. We've beat the Chiefs.

Tier one team. Tier one, so, man, it's just, it's something. I said it last week, but I still believe they're the scariest team in the AFC right now. And, you know, for the Bucs, just nothing's changed. Nothing's changed. I'm kind of just fascinated by them as an offseason team, which we don't really discuss on this show.

We save that for the draft show. But I'm just fascinated with them as, you know, where Brady could go, what they'll do with the coaching situation. They're just really in such a pivot point for that franchise. Yep. This Buccaneers team could look a lot different. That's, yeah, where I'm kind of alluding to. A year from now.

There we go. Those are all the games, man. Flew through a lot of them. No bye weeks. No bye weeks are left. Obviously, there's a lot of games to get to every single week. The Saturday slate, the Sunday slate. Next week, it actually flips.

We get most of the games on Saturday, on Christmas Eve. That's like a regular Sunday. And then we get a handful of games, just a couple of games on Christmas because of the schedule there. But we had a couple of episodes of NFL SE before we get off to the Christmas holiday. One of them, as we alluded to, is that Wednesday episode where we update the draft order. We tell you where your team is picking.

We talk about some draft strategies and some players that could be going to each spot. It's a little bit of a mini mock draft every single week on the Wednesday episode. And then I think we're going to try to get to some of your voicemails this week. We haven't done that in a little bit. I'd love to get to that. It's a pivotal point in the NFL season with teams at the tipping scale between playoffs and draft and improvement and all that. So send us your voicemails, NFLSE or speakpipe.com backslash NFLSE. It's super easy. You just go to the website and you literally just record your voice and then we'll play it on the podcast. We'll listen to your question. We would love to hear questions, maybe a take that you have

that we can respond to any way that you want to get in on the show. We would love to hear from you. So speakpipe.com backslash NFLSEse and then uh for thursday's episode we will have three podcasts this week we're going to be doing what we did last week remember when we ranked the edge rushers we update our edge rush ranking we're going to be doing that for the running back position this week so a lot of exciting backfield playmakers that we're going to get to talk about and uh who on a pff podcast talking about the value of running backs. Spoiler alert to could easily go in the first round this year. Buckle up.

It's time to put on our bandanas and get on our motorcycles and become the bad boys of PFF. Again, easy rider status. This is what we were born to do. We have infiltrated the data nerds and we have now taken over by selling our running back propaganda running back propagated and the week going into christmas i absolutely love it uh buddy you got anything else before we get out of here

no fun show obviously i mean the heat is on this season's been i i know it's easy to say this every year i really do feel like the season has been insane. This past week, especially. We're getting incredible games down to the wire, man. This Saturday had two freaking classics of the year. And then the way the New England game ended and the one o'clock's had a ton of thrillers. The point is that it's going to be fun when we're doing the shows to the playoffs, because it's, it's the,

it to me, it's the ultimate, anything can happen here in the NFL. It's heating up. The playoff talks, heating up the NFL draft talks, heating up, which means of course,

NFL is he is as well. We appreciate you guys watching and listening to podcasts. Get your voicemails in. We want to hear from you. We'd love to get you in the show on the Wednesday episode. As we update the draft order, I'm Trevor Sycamore. That is Connor Rogers. Thank you guys so much for listening to the NFL Saga Change podcast.

We'll see you guys on Wednesday. Thank you.