OverDrive - Willson on the Buccaneers' downhill slide, the Cowboys' playoff shot and Week 15 picks

Episode Date: December 12, 2025

TSN NFL Analyst Luke Willson joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around Week 15, the Falcons' triumph against the Buccaneers, the Cowboys' opportunity to make the playoffs, Hayes, Bro and O and Noodlleson's picks and more.

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There he is our TSN. What the noodles son is cooking. Oh, man. I was pulling for you last night, man. I just, I couldn't. My heart hurts watching that. Like, it's plus 15 now for HBO.

It really hurts. It hurts, man. It hurts. You're going to laugh, but I took a train to Windsor, Ontario today. I'm in my hometown. My dad picked me up. from the train station. He looks at me, goes,

Mads, you can't buy a win right now on the spread. I'm like, dude, it's tough. Noodles, I'm sitting there last night. I got my feet kicked up. You know, you sit there, you're out 14, midway through the fourth or whatever it was. And I'm like, just like we played it up, you know, we finally got a win here.

Maybe we can trend in the right direction. Then they score and they get, you know, they miss the two-pointer. And I'm doing the math. And I'm like, you know, if they kick a field goal, which is still alive now like that's a play and then all of a sudden I'm like oh my God dude you gotta be kidding me

yeah that was that was tough to really explain I mean they're up 14 the second half at home against an Atlanta team that's just kind of playing out the season yes a divisional game you know guys are going to get fired up it's a prime time game but I I cannot believe Tampa's done this to themselves

like they've completely folded and Carolina's now in first by default I don't trust the Panthers, but it's a lot like what the Eagles are going through. Like someone's got to win the division. I just don't, you know, and the AFC North. AFC North, NFC East, NFC South. Someone's got to win it and I don't like any of the teams. Yeah, I'll say this Hayes.

I still like Tampa. They play the Panthers twice. And I look at that offense, assuming everyone got out of that game healthy. And I'm like, holy smokes. Like you got a good backfield, you know, Bucky Irving seems healthy, look good running the ball. I didn't have a crazy game, but Mike Evans made a couple of nasty catches. Jalen McMillan is a great number two for me.

And even though you'd say Ibuka's probably the number two now, both those guys are very good. And Godwin, you know, scored a touchdown yesterday. I believe he was the two-point conversion guy. Like, they're loaded. And you want to talk about just cuking all over yourself. I could not get over what I was watching. I mean, they had Kirk Cousins out here without Drake London looking like John Yeah. It was crazy. Throwback, man. That was Kirk back in the day doing his thing.

And Kyle Pitts, Tony Gonzalez. Pitz finally had himself a great game, right? He loves the state of Florida. He loves the state of Florida. I got to be honest. And of course, Al's brother being a hero, because I put the puke face right into the group chat. And Al's brother's like, oh, no words of wisdom from noodles? Like, just being a hero. Yeah, he loves life right now. Well, we've come up with a new hashtag that drive for 25. We want to win this season by 25. And it starts this weekend. I'm looking at this thing. I think Al's brother should be cut. O'Dog is

your MVP. He has been phenomenal for you. His energy has been so contagious. Jonas, you picked up on it yesterday. Yeah, it's tough. Right? Like it's just Uber positive. He's got a Pete Carroll vibe to him. It's like the rancher and the Warriors. He did kind of dump

ship a little bit. Guys, I was worried that you guys were this healthy body and then you were inserting like a piece of cancer that was going to eat up the whole body right like that's because oh had that vibe right he had that vibe early on and there was some infighting and stuff and now of a sudden you've turned the corner right of the ship now it may change this weekend because there we got some great games that we're going to play here um but you know there's there's a lot of teams right now licking their wounds throughout the NFL but trying to to have faith in themselves like i saw chris jones and

Kansas City today. They were still alive because we got Mahomes. Mahomes have been healthy and playing all year. Like, does anyone respond to Chris and say, I know you have Mahomes, but you didn't just come off like the IR. Guys have been playing and you still haven't been able to win. And I don't know. It just seems like there's a lot of desperation in the NFL right now, Luke.

And I guess that's all you have. You get into December and you've been playing poorly. What else can you lean on? I mean, this is it for the Chief. You know, they got to win because the team. I think they're most likely to catch, barring anything wildly shocking, would be the Chargers. And they basically need the Chargers to lose out. Now, the Chargers schedule is not the easiest thing on Planet Earth.

And I'll tell you what I think helps is I believe the Chargers, and maybe Dougie can help me out here, but I believe the Chargers are the Cowboys also on the schedule. Do I have that correct, boys? So the fact that the Cowboys are technically still in it, but I mean, it's do or die. I'll say this, Chris Jones is probably happy because if you saw how badly that Chargers offensive line played last week or on Monday, my goodness. I mean, giving up

seven sacks, seven TFLs as well, he should have a field day, but I just don't think it's going to be enough. And I've been pulling the kind of leading the cheer that like the Chiefs will get in, but I also thought the Chargers would lose to the Eagles. That was kind of why I was like, yo, the Chiefs are going to get in.

And the Chargers beating the Eagles, I mean, that would be a, that would be a monumental collapse if the charges don't get in at this point. Yeah, at this point you've got to do it. It's like Jacksonville, like certain teams you get this far, the bears. So Luke's right, so they have the Chiefs, Cowboys, Texans, Broncos.

Not easy. That's not easy. Yeah. Not easy. And their O line is banged up. And this is what I'll say, Jonas is, again, if the Chiefs want to make it in, first up, they have to win out. Now, that being said, I believe the Chief's schedule

is the Titans, the Broncos at home, and then the Raiders, the final week. So, again, I would be shocked that the Chargers do this and choke, but you basically need them to lose out. The Chiefs have to win out, which is definitely not guaranteed. And the big one for me would be the Dallas game, because the Texans are in the playoff race. And right now with this beat-up offensive line that Herbert's got, and you could see how frustrated.

I don't know if you guys caught his post-stop. game thing with Laura Rutledge and he was like I just want to celebrate my teammates. What did you make it? I thought that was so blown out of proportion. Go ahead. Agreed. And everyone's like man he's being like if you watch that game closely, he took seven sacks

and I'm not exaggerating, it should have been 12. Like how many times did he escape out of there like on a crazy it was like the guy just put his body on the line, he's got a broken hand. Like I get how he's frustrated. So that's why I was like, man, I see why he's pretty wound up.

And the fact that, you know, they weren't, I would say Jalen Hertz lost the game more so than the Chargers won it. Like, they're going to run into some issues. All four of those games are going to be very hard with Chargers to win. I do think they find at least a way to win one. But I'll say this verbatim here, boys, if they lose the Chiefs and if they lose the Cowboys, you got to start looking at how like you're playing the two best defenses in the league right after us there's this guy

there he is al's brother looks like he's sharing a hotel room with noodles you guys ever heard of a background in minneapolis honestly like i i tried i don't know al's brother if you're in a dungeon or wherever you are i can't i don't know what to do there's literally great yeah it's all good i have where i'm I have good lighting.

I just don't have a good scenery here. Like, it's a battle. So apologies. Matches my sweater, beige on beige on beige. We're good. Well, I was brother, it's great to see you as always. Man, you're just the tremendous information. It's remarkable.

Look at the record that we have this year. It's just incredible. And I said earlier this segment, the drive for 25. That's what we're going for. I like it. We need plus 10 the rest of the way. We want to win the season by 25. I think it's very doable.

were probably minus money to do it. I mean, it will probably be what? 18 minus 18 by the end of the weekend, because these guys are going to pick a loser. Ignore the noise. I still can't believe that... These guys ramble. Just can't believe that you guys went with the bucks last week.

I mean, it's just fundamental picking to take the dog on a short week, divisional game, and you just never pick against primetime Kirk Cousins. There was so many factors that went against. your guy's decision to go with the bucks. You're right. Couldn't believe it. You're right.

You're right. But that's why they operate the way they operate and we operate the way we do. Now, our esteemed colleague is not here today, but he has been contributing to the picks that we're about to make. And the O-Dog, as I said earlier, his energy has been so contagious. What a pickup, bringing him on to HBO. It's been an incredible run so far. And we are on Bill's at Pats.

Bill's laying one and a half, right? and there's a little bit of pushback from someone within the group chat, but I think we've come to a consensus. Al's brother, where do you stand on this game? Tremendous information, please. Yeah, here's the thing, okay? Why? I know that he's new to the group, all right?

I know he's new to the group and it's been going well. Why is the man who's not here? Maybe he's the Joseph Wall of the group, if we will, not the Troy Stetcher, Dennis Hild to be like he claims. Right. Why is he the one that gets? the tie break on this one. That's what I want to know. It's a very good

point. It's not even really a tie break, Al's brother, because you and I see eye to eye on this, but he is adamant, and we want to be an inclusive group. So you both want the Pats, right? Incorrect. Incorrect. Incorrect. He is adamant

that Pats are the play. Go ahead, else, brother. Yeah, I mean, look, we can go with the Patriots. If that's the ultimate decision, and we have to be you know, good teammates and roll with O, and we'll go with the Patriots. I'll let that be your decision, Part C. Captain, if you will.

All right. But look, I am skeptical that the New England Patriots are going to win this football game. I am skeptical. It's a short line. It's one to half points. The bills are favored. So it's basically a pick-em. Pick who you think's going to win this game. I look at the New England Patriots schedule. They won

10 games in a row here. But look at who they've played. A bunch of nobodies. The bills are the only team in this 10-game stretch that are a playoff squad. So all their wins are coming against, you know, soft-scheduled non-playoff teams. So I don't know, I'm not going to call them frauds, but it's definitely been a soft schedule, and when they line up against the Buffalo Bills, I'm not sure that they're going

to be prepared for it because they haven't played a team like Buffalo in quite some time. And I think Josh Allen ultimately wants to deny them a division title. I think ultimately they're going to wrap it up. They've got a big lead, but I don't think that Buffalo lets it be against them. It's tough to beat a team twice in one season. So I personally like the Buffalo Bills. I understand that. I understand. But if we got a role with the O'Dug, because he's been on a roll recently, I guess we could side with New England.

This could fracture the group. This could fracture the group. Here's how I'm going to describe it else, brother, because you and I, we see out. You know where I stand on Josh Allen and the bills. I just feel like he is a man-possessed. It's December, and McDermott's going to start lighting a fire under these guys. But we are built for the playoffs. Obviously, we're a dynasty.

We're a lot like Oklahoma City. We're built for the regular season and the playoffs. But in order for the playoffs to really pop, sometimes you've got to get guys touches that you think, okay, I don't know if that's the right play, but there's a big picture game plan here. Why did that guy get a touch? Because you've got to trust them when you get to the playoffs.

I need the O-Dog with a headspace that feels included, part of the team, one of the guys. we're going to lock in the Pats for our boy. Okay, we're going to lock in the paths. We're going to take the points here in New England at home. Jonas, I think you probably would agree with our decision here to start thinking big picture because we have such a lead on these clowns. Right?

Like, at some point you've got to start thinking about the playoffs. Like, are you listening? This is verbal diarrhea. It's like resting your starters week 18. Like that's kind of what we're doing here. We're leading on the O-Dog and his knowledge. And we want positive vibes with the O-Dog as we roll towards a playoff. double agent it's possible but we're so far ahead i don't think it's going to matter

all right we're locking in the pats else brother okay and we're doing that because we trust the o dog packers minus two and a half go pats go pats go no bro pats bro bro packers minus two and a half at the bronchers i'm just going to hang up no no no go ahead go ahead listen we're we're allowing you into our kind of locker room into our into the foxhole here how we think and how we operate and i think it's going to benefit you guys maybe to take a page out of our books. But go ahead. Who do you like here? Packers minus two and a half at the Denver Broncos.

Noodles. I'll say this man, and obviously I'm the coldest spread gambler in North America right now. But I really like Green Bay here. It's a field goal. Yeah, they're on the road, but I look at Bo Nix.

You know, he's been okay, but this Packers defense is on an absolute mission. I also think Jordan Love has been very, very sharp and I like Matt Lafleur being able to scheme up Denver's defense. That being said, Denver's defense is obviously a premier unit. There's, you know, their third as far as total yards against. But again, I think the Packers' offense is a lot better and more consistent than Denver's offense. And the Packers' defense is fifth. They're fifth as far as yards given

up. Like, this is not a slouch of a unit. I think the PAC go on the road here, I think they find a way to win by a field goal. That's where my head would go on this one. one i'm i'm fine with that as i said i hate hearing i might be the cold a gambler of all time yeah i'm worried about that listen we we are in a cold stretch right now but the only way to get out of a cold stretch is to pick a winner so you pick the winner i believe in the pack okay i believe in the pack and i do believe in the pack by three at least three i think they'll have a game they're rolling right now stuff to go on the road i know i see al's brother kind of nodding or shaking in his head. I don't know if he's in disgust or

maybe agreeing along, but I do believe the pack wins this game. Spread is what I'm leaving up to you guys. So I'm picking the pack. I believe in. We're getting points at home with Denver and their defense. How's brother? It's the best defense in the league. Yeah. Number one defense in football.

I can handle that. All right. Lock it in. What metric? In what metric? Points? Scoring defense? His Reddit 4. I mean, dude, almost every metric. In almost every metric, it's the use of Texans, including points. Number one, they're fourth in points. They're number four in points.

They're not even in the top. Erroneous. Erroneous. This guy's such a fraud. Erroneous. I'm staring at it right now. They're fourth in league scoring. They allow only 18 points a game.

Fourth in league scoring. Number one. It's a ballpark. It's a ballpark. If you're in the top five, you're all number one. Oh, it's a ballpark. All right. That's a guesstimate.

It counts. Cowboys minus six and a half at home against mini Sunday night. Tremendous information. Where do you stand? Yeah, there was no deliberation on this one. All three of us are an absolute agreement here that the Dallas Cowboys are going to cover this number at home. I think they win. I think they win big.

And it really comes down to one simple thing. I don't believe that J.J. McCarthy in this Minnesota Vikings offense can keep up with Dallas and what that they've been able to do. do over the course of the last few weeks here. That offense is averaging 30 points a game this year. Minnesota, only once in the last five weeks, have they been able to get to 20 points? And that was last week against a terrible, terrible Washington Red, Washington Commander's squad.

So I think we lean with the home favorites here. I think Dallas wins big. I'm with you. I think we should lean with the points. I think we all agree with that. George Pickens' redemption game. I think he goes off on Sunday night playing. Did they say yet?

I haven't heard definitively. if C.D. Lamb is playing or not. He practiced. He practiced. I think he's still questionable, but he's practicing, so that's a good sign. He'll play. He'll be fine, and I think you're right. The eagles have opened the door. Cowboys are playing for something. So lock it in. We're on Dallas. All right. Picks are in.

Everything's established. The drive for 25, I was brother, it starts Sunday at 1 p.m. Drive for 25. Let's rebound. Let's try it. Let's try. I love it. You know what? It's just small victories. That's all you need.

Small victories. That's right. Chipping away. We need something. Chipping away. See, that's it. They want to go 2-1, we want to go 3-0. We dream big and we win big. That's right, else brother.

Let's go. I love it. No one can out hallmark Al's brother. All right, boys. Great seeing you guys. We'll catch you on Monday. There it is, Alice Brother. See you, boys.

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