PTI - NFL Champ games: Patriots vs Broncos; Rams vs Seahawks

Episode Date: January 23, 2026

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon discuss NFL Championship matchups between Patriots-Broncos and Rams-Seahawks. Also, they discuss the latest new coaching hire's across the NFL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon. It's natural hot sauce day, Tony. You a fan of hot sauce?

I'm Tony Kornheiser. No, but back in college, the ladies called me Tabasco Cat. Yow. All right. I don't know if we have any, like, evidence going back. I put hot sauce on two things. You'll understand one, you won't the other. Catfish and chitlets.

Better known to a lot of people as chitterlings, but not my people. Catfish, shitlitz. That's it. I am not a hot sauce guy. I admit that. I'm not a hot sauce guy. Welcome to PTI, boys and girls. On today's episode, the Mets new ace. Steve Kerr's future and Booger McFarland joins us for five good minutes. But we begin today with the Denver Broncos as they approach their AFC championship game against New England

without their usual starting quarterback, Bo Nix, who broke his ankle late in the game against Buffalo last weekend. The Broncos' new quarterback is veteran backup Jared Stidham. who hasn't thrown a pass in the NFL in two years. At the moment, the Broncos are five and a half point underdogs at home to New England, an unprecedented number for a home team in a conference championship game. Wilbon, do you consider the Broncos to be significant underdogs in this game?

Yes, of course I do. They're missing their starting quarterback. Yes. And there's no team in the league today, 32 teams. if missing its starting quarterback, that would be like less than a heavy underdog. I'll mention one team I can think of ever in my lifetime, at least in my adult lifetime,

where the backup quarterback could come in and you could have almost the belief you have that you wouldn't have a starting quarterback, and that would be Joe Montana and Steve Young. That's it, because they both wore the gold jackets. Everybody else, Tony, the answer is massive underdog. And I don't care what Sean Payton says, Sean Payton's done all the right things,

starting with his messaging in the post game where he had a second post game after they won the game and he broke his ankle. He's done all the right things. It doesn't matter what he says. It doesn't matter what the reps are. They're playing a quarterback. They would quickly opt out of if they could.

So let me try and take this. the other side of this just for a little bit of balance. And I will say that I'm going to start with Sean Payton because he does know what he's doing. When he first got to Denver, one of the first guys he brought over was Stidham as an insurance policy, not to start, as an insurance policy. So he knows him a long time. He likes him a long time. He's been there three years now. His trajectory, Sean Payton's trajectory, has gone nothing but up. Eight and nine the first year, then 10 and 7, then 14 and 3. Now, a lot of that was drafted. Bo Nix, replacing Russell Wilson with Bo Nix. I'm not going to try to minimize that,

but a lot of it is defense as well. They have the most sacks in the league this year. They have allowed the third fewest amount of points this year and last year. Losing Bo Nix, it's terrible. He's your starting quarterback and plays almost every down. But in a low scoring game, it seems to me, maybe the defense can do something about that. I remember there's two, things I want to say. One is that Philip Rivers, at 45 years old, having not played at all in five years, came in and started three games for the Colts. And all things considered, I thought, did a very good job, though the Colts did not win those games. And I remember Steve Young on this show yesterday saying what Jared Sidham is thinking is, please don't let me be the one

to lose this game. I think, yes, that New England should be favored, but I'm going to analogize it to Miami and Indiana in the college game where we both thought that Miami had at least a chance and in fact covered. In fact, they covered. I don't know about covering, but if Sean

Peyton could get his starting quarterback back tomorrow by giving years off his own life, do you think he'd do it? Yes, yes. Sure. Of course. Let's move to your Mets landing the ace they've been looking for. New York traded two

its top prospects for Brewers' All-Star Freddie Peralta and Wrighty, Tobias Myers. Last night, Peralta is the third big get for the Mets this week after signing Boba and trading for Luis Robert Jr. Tom, what does this say about each team and what do you make of the Mets' big week? All right. Let me start with Peralta. 17 and 6 last year with a 270 ERA in 33 starts. And what was the result?

Milwaukee had the best record in Major League Baseball. They lost in the playoffs when the Dodgers came up with spectacular pitching against them. But Peralta has had a tremendous three years in a row. I assume they are getting rid of him because he's in the last year of his contract, and they can't afford to sign him to do a contract. I was told today that Milwaukee has done this before with Josh Hader. Just last year. You were Josh Hader and Devin Williams.

Yeah. Right. Now Milwaukee has made the playoff seven of the last eight years, as you know, because that division matters to you. so I'm not going to micromanage Milwaukee, okay? The Mets, they get a number one starter in Peralta. The Mets get a great infielder in Bo Bichette, and in Luis Robert Jr., a guy who hit 38 home runs in 80 RBI for the White Sox in

2003. But Mike, does that make up for the loss of Peter Lanzo? Does that make up for the loss of Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeill and the great closer, Edwin Diaz? The Mets have a lot of names. They've been in the playoffs two of the last eight years. Not seven, two. Well, and that's where I start, Tony.

The Mets have a big week all the damn time. Pretty much every offseason, they have a big week. And we're told how great the Mets are going to be. And they spend almost as much money as the Dodgers, and they do. I mean, they're like within $70, $80 million this year of the Dodgers. Oh, yeah. Oh, sure. They go out and this is what they do, and it doesn't work.

So the Mets big week doesn't mean Jack. And so I understand Milwaukee, Tony, Milwaukee can scout. And when you are in a team, in a city, that's a mid-market team or a small market team, you better be able to scout Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and yes, the Milwaukee Brewers. So they got to let Freddie Peralta go because they figured they can't sign them. Then you know they've had some back channel or better than that conversation with his agent. Got to let him go. we get as much as we can, those two prospects keep an eye on that the Mets had to turn loose

to get Freddie Peralta back. I'll just go to the Mets, the team of my youth, just for one small moment. In mid-June last year, they were 45 and 24. It was the best record in all of Major League Baseball, and they finished 38 and 55. Yeah, there you have it. We turn now to a story by Logan Murdoch of the ringer, suggesting that Steve Kerr may not be back with the Warriors next year. Kerr's contract is up at the end of this season, and Murdoch reports that multiple assistant coaches on the Warriors have been operating under the premise that Kerr will not return.

Kerr has been mum on the subject. Wilbon does the speculation that Kerr will not return to the Warriors sound plausible to you? Of course it does. It makes perfect sense. Steve Kerr can do what he wants. He's won four championships. And if this team, Tony, was three years ago or four years ago going into the 21-22 season when they owe weight, won another championship,

then Steve Kerr might be thinking differently. But in this case, with Steve, I'm sorry, with Steph Curry and Draymond Green, being on the, not just the back nine, what are they, on holes 16 and 17? It's done. It's okay. They have one of the great runs in the history of the NBA. Steve Kerr been part of three of the great runs.

Chicago, San Antonio, San Antonio, as a player and then Golden State as a coach. Everything he could want, he's done. And they're not going to win. I loved him. I have loved my time going to San Francisco to cover the Warriors the last 11

years. That window has closed. I hate to say it, but what Steve Kurt, what's Steve Kerr's supposed to do? Just hang around to do whatever he wants. If he wants to come back, he can and will, but it's understandable if he doesn't.

I'd love to disagree with you. I cannot disagree with you. Steve Kerr is now in his 12th season with the Warriors. He has four championships, could easily have had a fifth, and I know you agree with me on that. Yeah, I do. He has coached. He was the head coach of the United States men's Olympic basketball team once, and he won a gold medal. He has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's a great coach, and all we should do really is applaud him. When I think of Steve Kerr, I think of Steph Curry, I think of Clay Thompson,

and I think of Draymond Green. That, to me, is the essence of the Warriors. Some people will say, well, what about Durant? He was there for two championships. Kevin Durant was a guy who, it seemed to me, was invited to dinner, ate the meal, and then left. I mean, he was just gone in a hurry. Clay Thompson is now gone, right? He's on Dallas.

Bob Myers left a few years ago. So now it is just Curry and Green. Curry is under contract this year and next. Green is under contract this year, I believe, has an option for next year. Now, what we have done, you and I, the last two to three years, when we talk about the Warriors, We talk about the fact that they are not winning as many games as they used to win, and can they get back to that? Well, Jimmy Butler just went out for the whole year.

That's the killer. And now we're talking about the drama around someone named Jonathan Caminga as if he is a critical piece. Much like you, I agree with this. It is waning. We see it waning. Let Kurt do whatever he wants. Let us take a break.

Absolutely. Yeah, coming up, the Rams and Seahawks have split two tight games. We will ask Booger McFarlane, who he has in the rubber match. We'll also ask him how he sees for his first. Fernando Mendoza's prospects at the NFL level. It's sad to break up on the war. It's not even a breakup. It's an expiration.

But all the great teams have to go away. We have NFL questions for our great friend ESPN NFL and NFL and college football analyst. Booger McFarlane wearing an Indian Creek shirt where I've played. It's really good. Let's start with this. The Patriots at the Broncos. The Broncos defense is good. Is it good enough to make up for the loss of Bo Nix?

You know what, Tony? I think it is. I think they have the ability to rush the passer with Benito and Cooper. They're two edge guys. They can cover you on the back end with Sir Tann and Moss. Their linebackers in the middle, they ball out all day long. So I think this defense, even though they didn't play well against Buffalo, they have the ability to sack your quarterback and turn you over.

The key will be, can they get any help from the offense? I know that Bo Nix is not going to be there and Jared Stidham, I think it's a very capable backup. He's going to have to do something. I don't think they can win this game 10 to 7 or 12 to 6, like some of the old days back with the Ravens and the Buccaneers and Mike

Will Bond's 85 Bears. They're going to have to score 17 to 20 points. And if they do that, I think this defense is good enough to make life miserable for Drake May. Oh, oh, let's see. That's, Booker just threw some factors in there. All right.

Rams are Seahawks. They've split two really tight games, as you know, this season, Bougar. What's going to be the difference in the third game and which way are you leaning? Well, I think the difference is if you're the Rams, you've got to be able to run the football. Like the Rams have always been that team a little bit finesse. Yeah, they kind of run the ball, but they do it schematically

because Sean McVeigh does a great job with the mid zone and the outside zone. And if you think about it, who was the Rams nemesis for a long time? It was the 49ers because the 49ers were so much more physical than the Rams. Well, guess who's the most physical team now? It's the Seattle Seahawks. That defensive line led by Williams, Murphy, and Lawrence is outstanding. They want to take you into a phone booth and beat the hell out of you. And I think if you're the Rams, you're going to have to match the Seahawks physicality.

You got to run the football. No, they don't have to run it for 200 yards, but they got to be able to take some of the pressure off of Matthew Staff. And if they can establish some semblance of a running game, then they turn the game over to a guy who many think is going to win the MVP and Matthew Stafford. And this is what they got Devante Adams for, right? It was Pookin the Cool. It was Cooper Cup. Cooper Cup is gone. You bring in Devante Adams. And so now, if they can run the football, Devante Adams, you got to show up. It's got to be Stafford. It's got to be Adams. It's got to be the cool. But the first thing they have to do is match the physicality of the Seattle Seahawks. If they do that, then they have a

chance. Booger, as much as we love talking about these conference championships games with you, can't have you on without talking about the coaching carousel and whether or not you find the bills or the Ravens head coaching vacancy more appealing. If you want to write in candidate, you want to go off book, feel free. You know, typically this would be an easy choice because I would choose the Buffalo Bills because I think they have the best player in the sport now and Josh Allen. But after that press conference yesterday with Terry Paguel and Brandon Bean, I'm not so sure I want to go work for that guy. If he's going to point the finger every opportunity that he gets,

So down you look at from a structure standpoint and an ownership standpoint, look at Baltimore. Steve Boshadhi has done an outstanding job. Lamar Jackson is a two-time MVP. When you look at Isaac Newsom, who's still around that program, Eric DeCosta, I think both of these teams are absolutely outstanding. I still think I would want the talent over the field. I get it. Terry Pagula did a horrible job of taking ownership of issues at the press conference. I'm talking about that may have been one of the worst press conferences I've ever seen an owner do when you sit.

up there with your new GM and hit of football operations, and you basically blame the former staff. With that being said, football is a game of talent, and Josh Allen is the best player in this sport. So right now, I still think the best job, only by a little bit, because Baltimore and Lamar Jackson and what they do with Steve Boshati, I think the world of that program. But because of Josh Allen, because he is who he is, I think the Buffalo Bill's job is the best job. And I'm going to have a serious conversation with Terry Pagula, because what we do, inside our locker room, should stay in the locker room.

I didn't like the fact that they talked about the players were crying. I didn't like the fact that they threw Keonan Coleman under the bus. Keelon Coleman is somewhere Mike on vacation. He catching strays from the owner in the gym. Those things can happen. But because of Josh Allen,

I will take the Buffalo Bill job. I agree with that. You dangle a diamond like Josh Allen. That, you know, that kind of glitter is what you want to coach if you have the opportunity. We get you out of here on this, on a college game, I know you went to the college championships.

Do you like Fernando Mendoza's prospects at the next level, the NFL level? I do, Tony, because we've talked about this for years. I've been talking to you guys. I don't care about the quarterback how big he is. I don't care how far he throws the football. I don't care what he runs the 40-in. My quarterback has to do two things. He's got to process information, and he's got to throw the football accurately.

And Fernando Mendoza does that at the highest level. You watch some of those back-shoulder fades that he threw against the Miami Hurricanes, down in Miami. You watch how fast the ball came out. Even though Miami was bringing a ton of pressure, the ball came out of his hands quickly. It was accurate. Now, it helps the fact that he's 6-5 and 2.30 and can run quarterback draw and get the game winning touchdown. That stuff helps. But when you're playing football in the National Football League, you better throw it accurately and you better process information quickly. And no one knows that better than the guy who's the minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, and that's Tom Brady. He's not the biggest guy. He's not the biggest guy. He's,

He damn straight the fastest guy, but his ability to process information and throw the football accurately was outstanding. And I think he's going to appreciate what he saw from Fernando Mendoza. Oh, by the way, guess who was on the sideline in Miami, Tony? Tom Brady, John Spitech, minority owner, general manager. They're going to appreciate what they saw in Miami. He's a tough kid. He throws it accurately. He can process.

I think he's going to be the number one pick. And I can say that in January for April's draft. Great pleasure to have you as always, Burger. Thank you so much. Thank you, Bucking. Always. Anytime, fellas. Let's take one last break. Still to come, the Knicks bounce back, just like Wilbon said they would.

And Baker Mayfield gets his fourth offensive coordinator in four years with the Buccaneers. He took some shots, too. What did you say the Knicks would win by 25? 29. Yeah, I underbid tremendously. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, take the open.

You had the spirit of it, right? Yeah, you knew it. Happy time, people. Happy 80th birthday, Serge Sivard. History lesson, kids. The Hall of Fame defensemen played 17 seasons in the NHL, 15 for his hometown Montreal Canadiens and the last two with Winnipeg. For much of his time with the Canadian's, Savard was paired with another Defenseman Hall of Famer Larry Robinson.

In all, Savard won seven Stanley Cups in Montreal and Robinson won six. Savard's third season at the age of 23, he won the Khan-Smith Trophy as playoff MVP. Savard was unusually big for a defenseman at that time, 6-2-2-10. Savard is on the NHL's 100-greatest players list. He also won two more cups as GM of the Canadians, and he was nicknamed Le Senateur. Tony, he was also fortunate enough to play on a team with a goal scorer named Guy LeFloor. You like him, didn't you? 76, 77, 78, 79.

And one of those years, Steve Shutt had 60 goals. I never would have guessed. You don't think of him as being one of the great defensemen of all time. Maybe we should call Bob Ryan, ask him how high up that list, the Canadian. It'll be high, but not as high as Bob Yor, as you know. Happy anniversary, Joel M. B. And this day, two years ago, the Sixers Center set the 76ers franchise single game scoring record when he got 70 points in a 133-1-23 win over San Antonio.

Embed 70 was two more than Wilk Chamberlain 68 for the Sixers. Spoiler alert, Wilt got his incomparable 100-point game while a member of the Philadelphia Warriors, technicality. Embed, Wilt, and David Robinson are the only centers to score 70 or more. Only 10 players have ever scored 70 or more. Shortly after Embed scored 70, he suffered a meniscus injury. He's been in and out of the lineup since. So far, this season, Ambide has played in 23 of Philadelphia's 42 games,

averaging 24 points. They're 13 and 10 with them. 10 and 9 without them. Don't miss them that much. Ton, I see what you did there, though. You called the viewer's bluff. You're saying to them, I know you people don't remember

that this is also the anniversary of Kobe Bean Bryant scoring 81. It just slipped it right past them. Very sly. I didn't remember that. I really didn't. Happy Trails to the Ravens Head Coaching opening. Earlier in the show, we asked Booger

whether the Bills or Ravens had the better job opening. Well, Baltimore just announced that it is hiring Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter as its new head coach. Minter interviewed with the Raiders and Browns before landing the Ravens jaw. It's a bit of a homecoming from Minter. He was a defensive assistant on the Ravens from 2017 to 2020, which means he has now worked for both Harbaugh brothers. Well, where do you think he goes to get help to coach the MVP quarterback on the roster he's going to be joining?

Not the one he's going to be leaving. He's going to have to bring somebody in there with incredible credibility and relationship with one Lamar Jackson. One omission yesterday, Wilbon, said the Knicks would beat the Nets by 20. He underbid by a lot. Beat them by 54. Good job, Wilbon. Let's go to the big finish if we could. The Bucks lost by 20 to the thunder.

Yana said the team isn't playing hard, and the chemistry is not there. Is that significant? He's sort of pointing his finger at the coach, my friend, Glenn Rivers. Stop. It's time to go bye-bye. with Yannis. The Bucks hired Zach Robinson as their new offensive coordinator. You like that?

Baker-Mayfield's fourth offensive coordinator in four years. It's Tampa Bay's fifth and five years. But a couple of those guys became head coaches. Vikings agreed to new deal with Brian Flores, his defensive coordinator if he doesn't get hired as a head coach. Got a good move? Like having Flores on that staff. You still don't know exactly what's going on with the young quarterback.

So defense is going to have to rule the day again. Scotty Schepler made his season debut today at La Quinta. I know you're excited. Yeah, he was minus nine. Is that shaking off the rust when you're minus nine in your first round? Come on. Last one, Lakers and Clippers tonight. Here you got. The Clippers were beaten so badly by the Bulls in the most recent out of the out of time. I'm going to take them to rebound against the Lakers. We're out of time. We'll try to do better the next time. I'm Tony Cornynho. And I'm Mike Wilbon. Same time tomorrow, knuckleheads. And now, you know what's coming? You're a sports center.

So now, you would get rid of Janus right now, right now? Trade deadline. Bye-bye. Yeah, honey, how many days? Post-game every day he's griping.