OverDrive - Willson on Mahomes' season-ending injury, the Chiefs' dynasty and Parsons' injury

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

TSN NFL Analyst Luke Willson joined OverDrive to discuss the Bills' incredible win against the Patriots, Josh Allen in the MVP race, Patrick Mahomes' torn ACL injury and the team's dynasty, Micah Parsons' season-ending injury and the Super Bowl window and more.

IHart Radio, everything holiday, all in one place. From 24-7 Christmas music to the stories behind the Christmas hits with Drew Savage. Listen to the podcast on the free IHartRadio app, your destination for all things Christmas. Merry Christmas! These are the songs that get you in the spirit. All I want for Christmas is you. Keep listening from all your Christmas favorites. I would say I, from the time of 1 o'clock to 140, I felt like an absolute wizard.

A wizard. And I thought I earned my keep with my new parties, and they probably thought so too. 21 nothing for my pets, for my pets. And as soon as that rat gave me. Davis returned it to start the second half i knew it i text hayes i said massive trouble right big trouble yeah it was it was 20 24 before you can even flinch lucas with us yeah for the record um and i think i don't know if you were heavy on the pats as well or thought that they would have a decent performance it turned into a great game but it was awesome it was a great game but man we're

and i i can't sit here and lie to you guys like when it was 21 nothing Even 24-7, I'm like, this is over. The Pats looked great. The bills didn't show up. And everyone had to chew on their words. But, man, did Buffalo? That's two weeks in a row. They've stormed back on teams.

I'll tell you this, too, O-Dog. I'm sitting there, and I'm watching that start. And I'm like, where was this O-Dog on my team? This guy stood on the table. I'm like, how come he didn't have any of these plays for me? He did. And then all of a sudden it says coming back. Then I turned into the old O-Dog for him.

Yeah, he did. Fredo dog, like the guy just, I knew that, I told you, man. You're a sports guy. You're a sports guy. Shut up. I just have to say one, I have to say one thing. Go ahead. There was some ridiculous tweets out there with people claiming that the Pats are back on top of the league.

Everything runs through New England again. It's all good. And then after they were like, I have to chew on it. I can't believe I tweeted that out. That was insane, man. Five straight possessions. They had a TD. Like, get serious to England.

You folded like a cheap Arter's Urbe suit. I'm like, dumb, I'm smart, and I want to spect. Freed O'Don. I agree. And O'Dog, what's crazy about it, and you've got to give Josh Allen his flowers. But this is a very good defense. This is a very good Patriots defense. This is not some slouch unit that can't stop anybody.

Now, Grin, you can say, I haven't played anybody. Whatever. This unit has done well pretty much. against every team and you give them a 21-0-0 lead and then 24 to 7 and I'm like there's no way and on the flip side the fact that the Patriots are running the ball

rushing the ball basically at will doing whatever they want I'm like there is no world in which Buffalo is coming back today and Josh Allen and I said it on Jay last night but right now Josh Allen is the best football player on planet earth and it is not close

it's just not close Is he going to repeat his MVP or is the other Like, does Drake May have a shot at winning an MVP? Now I would say no, but you look at Matthew Stafford yesterday. He did throw a pick early to Aden, but I think he ended with like 368. So are those your three guys, Drake May, Josh Allen, and Matthew Stafford? Yeah, and I'd throw Philip Rivers in there too, but... Oh, dude.

That was a great story. It was, dude. He's huge. Yeah, he looked like, you know he's huge when they said to him, how much do you weigh right now? And he goes, ah, good question. I don't even know. when somebody in like some sort of athletic field says i don't know it means they're a monster

dude he liked like Andy reed when he was 13 at that kick kick punt and catch thing look you got to tell me man like i love philip rivers yeah old school nc state guy when i was there and it's how did you have to ask yourself how did he become the option that they wanted to go with. So how? That's the million dollar question. It is a fun story. You know,

he's 44. It's great. But how is he the best option, dude? I don't know. And that's just the reality situation is I would assume there's obviously has some connections there, et cetera, with the coaching staff. But when you work him out, you know, and beyond how big he is, his arm was just weak. So part of what happened yesterday, I thought his brain, not surprising, was very sharp.

You saw him go to the line a lot, check protections. He kept himself. clean, but everything's underneath. And even when they were down, it's like, hey, we're not going to push this ball down the field because he can't do it. And it's tough to win games in this league when you cannot push the ball down the field. And I'll tell you what's even more shocking to me is I believe they just announced that he's starting next week.

Well, they've committed to him now, right? I guess, but like... You either cut him? I wouldn't cut him. I'd be like, listen, Daniel Jones, I mean, Daniel Jones was under a one-year deal, had a broken leg and on his other leg of torn Achilles. So I don't know how they're going to shape that. I don't know what their plans are.

Yeah, Riley Leonard is a sixth round pick, but he's your sixth round pick. See what he's made of. See if there's something there. Like, why do you draft a guy in a sixth round if you think he's garbage? Which I don't think, I'm not saying they do. It's very reasonable. Very reasonable question, but I think if you get a grandfather

off the couch, he's coming back to play and they've obviously made that commitment to him. It's crazy to me. It's a crazy take. Their seasons over. Look at their schedule. They've got Sam Fran this week, who by the way, needs to win. Sam Fran needs to continue to win in order to make the playoffs. Then Jacksonville, and

there's a world, there is a world depending on how things go, that Jacksonville can be moving up that right now, obviously they're in the division with the Texans, but I think they can also potentially get the two seed, depending on how things shake out here. So Jacksonville, and then you end

with Houston, I believe, which is the best defense in the league. Like, come on. No, it's not going to work. It was a hell Mary of all Hail Mary's. It was cool to see him out there. I think he's handled it, but it also would have been embarrassing if you wanted. Seattle, it was pretty telling. If you're Seattle, you're going back to the drawing board saying, what the hell was that? What happened with our offense? Yeah, that was troubling. But I want to get back to Allen and, you know, where he is. I think Stafford probably kept pace. For me, Drake May cannot win the MVP over Josh Allen now. Like,

I put that much stock into what just happened. Like, May has had a soft schedule. played really well, really well. Josh Allen is a one-man show. Sure. To me, it's not even close. And I think the same thing with Stafford, quite frankly, because he's been... What? Did he's not close to Josh this season? Yes.

Come on. In terms of the value. The bills are not that good. They have one guy who's not human. You just said it. There's no one close to him in the league right now. I agree. The interpretation of the MVP in the NFL the same as the NAD.

H.L. Most valuable to their team. That's what it's called. I know. I get it. It's arbitrary. Like, let's say right now, and I take, Hayes, everything you said is completely valid, and I agree. Okay, but statistically speaking, Matthew Stafford is having an

unbelievable year. Yes. And if they win on Thursday, which is a big if, that'll be a tough matchup. Short week, Seattle, that defense, et cetera, division game. But if they win, after that, they're most likely going to get the one seed. So, yeah, because I believe it's two softballs.

I think Arizona's in there, and maybe Atlanta, don't quote me on that for the Rams. He's been great. You're going to not give it to Matthew after he gets a one seat, and Josh Allen's going to be the five? Now, if you're looking at it, like, who's more valuable to their team, yes, it's Josh. But winning also matters. Not that they haven't won in Buffalo, but they're not going to win the, most likely, not to win the division. Most likely not going to. And I hear all that.

I just, I look at Stafford, he's been great. I'm not trying to take anything away from him. He's got two weapons there. Adams has been great for them. Phenomenal. Phonomenal. Yeah, he's great. I look at it similarly, different position to what Sequin was last year,

maybe to what Lamar was last year. Like it's this, this Bill's team's worse than they probably, they were last year. This is, I would agree with that. I would agree with that. He's playing that well. He's unstoppable. I agree. Brable, Brable's like, what do you want me to say?

Six, five, two, fifty. We can't tackle him. good, his arm is. Like, it's just unbelievable to hear other coaches talk about the guy. Yeah, I mean, I was watching that game yesterday and the fact that they won that, I'm like, this is nuts. Nuts, man, you need a couple stops, that game's over.

Josh Allen, and the funny part is, like, Josh Axe after the game, like, oh, no big deal. What do you mean? I do this every week. That's incredible. I'm with you, and I, if you're... It's unreal. If it's straight value, value to his team, yeah, Josh Allen, but unfortunately the NFL,

you know, the one, seed is going to matter. Now if Matthew loses the one seed, I think now it becomes a little more of a question. Okay. Something to chew on brought to you by Boston Pizza's NFL game day menu. Stop by your local BP for $7 touchdown pines, dialed in shareables and weekly prising up for grabs. Football game days are better at BP. With the news of Mahomes, which you can cycle into your answer here. It sucks. I mean, torn ACL, lost season, they're out of the playoffs. Now he's got to rehab and hopefully get back for week one next year, no guarantees. Can Josh Allen surpass Patrick Mahomes on the all-time great list?

No. Is it possible? No. It's impossible for Allen to do it. Sorry, right now? Like in one year? No, we're talking like by the end of their careers. Oh, yes.

Is the door still open for Allen to catch them where you say that guy was better than Mahomes? Yes, the door is open. But it's a very, very, that door is far. I thought you meant when I said no right away. I thought you meant this season. No, no, no. The guy, that to me, is a long shot, man. It's a long shot.

It's a long shot. Yeah, I mean, I've been to five of them. I'll say this. Yesterday, we had a graphic on Jay Show that was basically the Chiefs, like, last X amount of years. Eight years, I saw it. And it was like, even looking at it, it seems, I mean, I've witnessed all of it, you know, but it was unbelievable to even look at.

Like, I was in the league for some of it, and I'm like, no, there's no way anyone did this. It's just, I mean, it's generational. It just really is. And he's done it with different guys. He's done it in different situations. Is it across the board? No, absolutely not. It's not over.

Not over. Okay, what are they going to do? So, this is what I'd say right now when you watch the Chiefs, okay? This roster is not a bad roster. Is it the best roster? No. But here's one for you guys. Outside of the running back and let's call it the offensive line.

I'm not sure there's a position you don't take the Chiefs over compared to the Bills. Tight end, tight end, I would. Tight end, sure, you've got Kelsey's a bit older. Kelsey's toast. Kincaid, you know, I wouldn't call Kincaid a top three, four guy right now. He's been injured. He has had moments where he's been great. But it's like wide receiver room, absolutely not.

What about the quarterback position? Yeah, so let's call that a wash. You know, you go to defense, you're taking the Chief's defense all day. All day. So my point here is like the defense is very solid still. Are they the best unit? No, but it's a good unit. They have a great coach in Spags. I think their wide receiver room is good.

You know, Rishi Rice, obviously Xavier Worthy. Both those guys are young. Why are they putting up so many low-scoring games? There's a combination of reasons for that. But one, you know, I call it bad ball, junk football, but like the Chiefs to me played awful all year. And I think yesterday was a microcosm. and I get to the point where

and I don't know if it's similar in hockey, but you're so much better than your roster or than your record, you start pressing. Like I look at yesterday's game and it's third and 12 and you're down three and you're, I think it was like somewhere around the 20th yard line and Mahomes throws a jump ball

to Kareem Hunt who's in man coverage. He has not opened one bit. He is not a jump ball running back and it gets picked off. And right there it's like, that's a field goal. And then, granted, so wasn't Mahomes. But at the end of the game, I'm like, you're pretty much in fuel goal range. Granted, it was deep.

You got Gardner Minshu in there. And Minchew catches a snap, stares directly at Travis Kelsey, does not look anywhere else. He is covered, and he throws it underthrows it, even though he's covered, which is now the kiss of death, because maybe you throw it, you know, and try to have Kelsey High point it. And the game's over. And it's like, you can sit there and be like, yo, what has happened to the Chiefs? I'm like, well, there's no excuses for these two plays. Like, they're not.

It's all under one umbrella. Like the roster, personnel, schemes, it's all under the one umbrella, which is underachieving. They underachieved across the board. Well, I mean, obviously, they're being compared to the Pat's run, and it is eerily similar where, you know, he has torn his ACL in year nine, the same year Brady did it. I believe against the same team. Pretty sure it was against the same team. That's creepy. I think so, which is kind of wild.

But what Brady knew when he recovered was that Belichael. was still going to be there for a long time. I wonder about Andy Reid. Is Andy Reid going to stay on throughout his whole career? Is he going to coach him for the next 10 years? I don't have an answer for that, but he's not a young guy, not that Belichick was. But how do you get into that next stage now? If you're Mahomes, you've got to recover from this.

You've got to get through it, which he will, but how does he look? How skittish is he when he returns from an ACL injury? We're not going to have that answer until he actually. shows it and we see it, but they're going to have to find him that next layer. He's not going anywhere. He's still going to be great. But you've got to trust your organization here.

Brady had the ability to do it, and Brady had another 10, 12, 15-year career post-ACL. That's the question with Mahomes. I'll say this. Hey, he's like, again, what I think you're in a good spot with Kansas City is roster-wise, part of what's happening right now,

they did bolster the offensive line, but they all got hurt. You know, they're rookie, they drafted, started, they went out and got the swing tackle, I believe he was from Sam Fran. Both those guys got hurt, Simmons and more. But you probably go get an interior guy through

the draft or through free agency, and you've got to address the running back room, because I'm not sure what's going on there. It's never really been a super focal point for an Andy Reid offense. He's more of a plug-and-play guy. But I think with this knee injury, you're saying, hey, let's get a little more help here. And now of a sudden,

roll out here and again you gotta figure out what's going on a tight end as well that's probably another one but it's like you're not that many pieces away from being an elite elite team and the thing I'll say about this this year too if you look at all of their losses

we'll see how it shakes out but I think every loss they have I don't know if Doogie can bring this up is to an eventual playoff team again there might be one in there that I'm missing but they'll I mean the bills the charges twice I guess it'll get a bit easier next year for them. What about Reed?

Do you think Andy Reid's completely safe? It would be an automatic that he comes back regardless of it. It would be his call if he wants to retire. I'll say this, Hays, and to answer your Andy Reid thing, like, I don't know, Andy Reid. I've heard good things about the guy. But I do think for him, there's probably a legacy motivation. Like, yes, he has nothing left to prove.

But, like, if Mahomes comes back and they can win a few more, like you're talking about best coach. coach in the history of the NFL, I think right now, most people would say as much as it pains me to say this, it's unanimously Bill Belichick, where if Andy Reid wins a couple more of Paddy Mahomes, which I think they can, you know, now all of a sudden it's 1A, 1B. Yeah, that's got to be very motivating for sure. All right, Micah Parsons, torn ACL, he's done. Brutal.

Is the door closed now in a Super Bowl for Green Bay? Not closed, but it's barely open. It's barely open compared to what it was. I mean, Hayes, I know you're a pack guy. Devastating day. First off, you go from the two-seed down to the... I can't even watch this. I feel sick. He was chugging last night, too, man.

Like, he's been so good the last few weeks. He's been on fire. And you go from the two-seed to the seventh seed. The next two teams you play have very mobile quarterbacks in Caleb Williams and Lamar Jackson. Jeff Hathley, the de-coordinator, is going to have to change his entire,

not his entire system, but a lot of play-calling. We'll see how much the back-end now because my guess is they're going to pressure a little more. Like it's a devastating loss from so many different angles and an NFC that is loaded right now. When you look at the NFC

West and the teams in there, you look at the NFC North. The bears them and the lions. Like I understand the lions on the outside looking in, they took the Rams of the brink last night or yesterday afternoon, I should say. It's like this NFC is

absolute, it's juggernaut after jugger in there. Philadelphia has the ability. We'll see what actually happens. Not having Micah Parsons in the playoffs is, I can't stress enough how big of an ordeal that is. I unfortunately think it just shuts the door. The whole defense revolves around him. They've been tougher. They've been good against the run, which they haven't been in years. He is, he gets double team basically every snap and he still makes plays. He was so good the last a handful of weeks, and I just don't know how you recover

from that, and what it's going to do is put pressure on the offense, and Watson got hurt again yesterday. And that's another, it's an... And if Watson's out a big loss. It's a huge loss, because they had that game. Like, I got to give credit to Denver, and Bo Nix was slinging it yesterday, man. He had himself a game. He was really good. We lost another

spread. That's right. Yeah. You guys did. You had that game, man. We were there. We were there. We was on fire. We did well, though. We made up one. Yeah, we made up one. Chippin away. Chip away, slow and steady. Well, what do we think tonight? I mean, this is a big game for both games.

Pittsburgh and Miami. I got to, can I kind of give you generally how my day works at these spreads right now? So I'm having the worst spread years of my life as everyone knows. So I'm like, all right, you know, you can't, quitting's not in me here. We're obviously getting beat down. We take one back yesterday. So I'm looking at this thing. It's three.

Correct, doogie for the Steelers. Okay, it gives me a thumbs up. So I'm like, all right, games in Pittsburgh. So noodles, I'm going to ask you to steer the ship for me. I'm going to give you a lot of information. Yep, give it to me. Generally speaking on this show, we operate under one premise. The Finns are frauds.

But then you're like, wait, the Finns are, you know, they've won some games in four in a row, five, their last six. The only legitimate win in there is against Buffalo, obviously a great win. But the other wins are complete garbage, slop, trash. Now I think Tua in a cold weather game, and I'm like, there's no way we don't take the Steelers. way. No way. But then we flip this around. You look at Pittsburgh's defense. They have been very, very bad. I think they're

bottom six in yards given up. They have not been good against the run. They are not good against the pass. The defense has been a struggle all year. T.J. Watt, who is their best defensive player, has a collapse long and is not playing. Tua and cold

weather should trump everything. Don't let, don't let noodles. I agree, but I don't let, excuse me, don't let, oh, dogs sway us. We saw what he did this weekend. I understand, but I listen, I just, what I'm trying to, like a lot of times when I sit back and listen.

Yeah. So. Okay, finish your thought. I went to Dennis Barham, who is the biggest Steelers fan. He's like the Steelers whisper. This guy, he's always right. You know, Dennis. I'm like, Dennis, I need a bone here, man. I can't see the board to save my life. And he was very hesitant. But he went with the Steelers covering. But on the

walking in here, there's a gentleman out here, his name's norm. I'm not going to try and pronounce his last name. It's a French last name. Norm is my guy. We also kind of joke that he's Dennis's son. He's like his little minion at work. I asked Norm DeSarono. And Norm went. Norm Peterson. We love Norm. Don't listen to Norm. Norm. Norm said to me, I think I'd lean Miami. And now I'm in a blender. Now I'm in a blender. I'm going to, I want to just listen, I always try and listen to the information and everything. The problem is... Norm.

Yeah, I'm not listening to Norm. Here's what it is, Luke. I think sometimes you're so smart you try and find things into both sides and go, I can see this, but I can also see this. Totally. Go with your instinct. Go with the Steelers for covering.

I feel like... I think Tua serves up a pick tonight. He leads a league. I think he's tied for first interceptions and turnover worthy plays. He's at 23. If I have to see that coach driving down, the street in the car trying to be a hero or whatever. Remember, who was it against the bills?

It was out of the bills. I'm not doing that in Pittsburgh, I guarantee it. He's not doing that. Somebody will sucker him, too, drag him out of the car. That's a blue-colored. I'll say this doodles, we have to stop the run, though. When I say the Steelers have to figure out a way to slow down each of a lot, I just relax. We're talking it out.

We're flushing it out. Do you believe in this norm guy or not? I feel like I know Norm from work, too. Yeah, we all know Norm. Norm Peterson. It's not, this is not Peterson. I know. I'm joking.

Norm Peterson is from Cheers. Normie and Cliff. That's who you're relying. Yeah. Do not. I think Dennis is a genius. I do too. I do too.

Okay. Make the pick. Okay. Steelers, Steelers, it is. Locking it in. I'm okay with that, noodles. I'm okay with that, oh. I think that might be the right play.

I got a tough, it's a tough read, because Miami's been off the radar. They're just winning games and no one's paying attention. Everybody out of those is like an overtime win against the commanders in Real Madrid or Madrid. There's been some goofy wins, but they're still finding away. How about this story quickly before we get you out of here?

The Cincinnati Bengals, I'm sure you guys saw this. Put up a zero spot? Yeah, but the game was at home and it snowed and they didn't clear the seats. That's weird, yeah. Well, this owner is the worst. owner in sports. Paul Brown is his name.

It's a kick in the junk to the fan base, isn't it? Your team stinks. You're not going anywhere. You have a brutal stadium. You've played there, Luke. It's terrible. It's probably the worst stadium in the league. And you get snow, and they don't clear the snow.

They just left it on the seats and said, well, people can just sweep it off or the ushers are there to help. Outrageous behavior by a professional. professional football team. Get Joe Borough out of their police. And that's the thing. What's tough is like, don't run. The guys aren't going to care that much. But then when you go to a contract negotiation,

when you think like, hey, if you're a free agent, given the rumors of how in the past they've had some issues, you know, and even this year, like in the division, and I get it, but you traded away your middle linebacker, you know, that can't help. It's like, yeah, we're not trying to win here. Like, there are certain organizations you go to as a free agent, and you realize that, like, when you go there, you're not, you're going there for whatever reason, but it's, one, not to win a championship, and two, you know that you're not really going to get support from that front office. Right.

Like, it's a miracle they were in a Super Bowl. And they were. And Burrow was just so good that year, and he stayed healthy. Totally. But he just looks so dejected, and it's just a mess. It's a mess. All right. You guys are locking in.

Steelers, minus three tonight. Noodles. Yeah. Again, we're in shambles, man, but next week, I believe there's seven games because there's two on Saturday. I think there's a chance. We'll be fine. What we need is, you know what we need is a little bit of luck here, holiday luck.

We need some. We're getting jammed up with these spreads. They're getting jammed up with bad beats at the last second. Let's just relax. Let's get one tonight and then go back at it. Good luck to you, Parsi. I'm thinking about trading back for over. dog if we win tonight oh man he's a hot commodity i like that odog you know put his you know what on

the table i think he's available he might be available those two other two we both hold of the bills man you got josh allen in a desperate situation you'd be quiet dude like you knew that i made the right pick i made the right pick and they coughed it up okay all right like 21 cob give me a break dude i told you do not bet against that freak in western new york he ain't losing that game there was no way and he didn't it was in massachusetts yes i'm aware of that thank you all right luke best of luck tonight here's always there it is luke wilson i heart radio everything holiday all in one place from 24-7 christmas music to the stories behind the christmas hits with drew savage listen to the podcast on the free iHeart radio app your destination for all things christmas

These are the songs that get you in the spirit Keep listening from all your Christmas favorites