The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Wild Card Saturday Recap: Rams and Bears Leave With Clutch Wins

Episode Date: January 11, 2026

Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman recap the first games of the 2026 playoffs. Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears take down the Green Bay Packers after yet another improbable comeback. The Carolina Panthers gave the Los Angeles Rams a scare, forcing Matthew Stafford's squad into a close fourth quarter. What's next for the Panthers after being eliminated in Bryce Young's career postseason debut? And should Sean McVay be concerned about his team's flaws going into the divisional round?Rundown (timestamps are approximate)0:00 Welcome to the show0:05 Packers-Bears11:30 Caleb Williams & Bears offense13:07 Colston Loveland14:20 Packers defense18:00 Should Packers loss result in firings?27:55 Bears outlook32:00 Caleb Williams pt 235:36 Rams-Panthers39:03 Panthers defense41:21 Matthew Stafford & Rams offense50:20 Panthers offense53:20 How concerned should Rams be?59:42 What's next for Panthers?Host: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerVideo Producer: Katy DuffyAudio Producer: Michael BellerSocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow Dave on X: @davehelman_Theme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the athletic football show. I'm Robert Mays. That was one heck of a day of football. We're recording this and recording this intro after we just did a live reaction to Bears Packers and Rams Panthers. I'm doing a little bit better now than I was at the beginning of that show. I mean, just an unbelievable night. Just an unbelievable night. I still can't believe that happened.

It just seemed like it was over halfway through that game. And somehow the Bears claw their way back. an insane football game. We dug into all of it with me, Dave Helman and Derek Classen. And then the first game today was excellent. Panthers are 10.5 point underdogs. They give the Rams all they can stand in that one.

So just an amazing opening night and opening day of the NFL playoffs in the wild card round. Everything you could ask for for guys sitting in our chairs. We had one heck of a time on this show. Let's get to it right now. I don't even know what to say. That was one of the craziest things, independent of my personal investment in that game.

Just one of the craziest football games I have ever seen in my entire life. All anyone wants out of playoff football, unless, like, again, like, all you want is for your heart to be bumping at the end of it. I don't really care about either. Like, I'm not a fan of either of these teams. And my heart was going for the last, like,

once we got inside the two minute, I was like, oh my God. We saw this on the horizon like six weeks. weeks ago, Bears, Packers, in the playoffs. But I didn't see it on the horizon at the end of the first half. I thought this was gone. That's worth pointing out. But just for a game that we had five, six weeks to joke about, to be even dumber

than our wildest dreams, it just, it was so good. And it speaks to who the Bears have been this season. Of course they came back. Of course, a dozen ridiculous things happened. Of course, they left it to the final seconds. And you're right, Derek, I'm not invested in this. But by the final minute, and I'll say, I picked the Packers to win this game. I did it at the live show in front of a room full of Bears fans.

By the final 20 seconds of this game, I was just like, come on, Chicago, do this for Mace. He's going through it right now. It was, it was hard to watch, like, in a good way. But like, by the end of this game, I was like, they got to get this for Robert. I can't go on the air after the Bears. rip his heart out. It's going to be too hard. If it had happened, I would have been okay. Like, I want you guys to know that. I would have sat down in this chair and we would have talked

about the game in that way. I absolutely would have. But for it to end that way in the way that it did, I mean, I don't even know where to start. Like, to me, in my mind, if I'm going to sit back here and I'm going to look back on this game two weeks from now, a month from now, a year from now, that fourth and eight throw to Roma Dunesay saves the game. I mean, it is one of the, I hope, that we talk about that play in a long and excellent career for Caleb Williams. He was all over the place tonight and we can get into that. The Bears' offense was all over the place tonight.

The Bears were all over the place tonight. But that play, fourth and eight with the game on the line, rolling to his left, not even just to get that throw off, but the placement on that throw has to be perfect in order for that to work. He drops it in. They go down and score and then we're off to the race as we finally have a game again and the Bears ultimately win it. But, I mean, that's the play.

That is the play that I will come back to when I think about this game. And that one, I think, to me, really speaks to his arm talent. Because even the guys that are really good throwing left, it's a lot of, like, you're throwing left. And then you get to just, like, drive that thing in there. He, like, jumped past, like, fallback. He's, like, shooting a three-point shot when he throws that. It's special. Well, and it's unbelievable.

Outside of Josh Allen, like, obviously, there are super mutants like Josh and Lamar and maybe Mahomes. who could get away from Isaiah McDuffie. But Isaiah McDuffie was all over him. Like he came, he looped around and came up the middle and a lesser athlete gets sacked there and it looks or at the very least just throws a stupid ball that never has a shot. Like to evade that and make that throw, it was, I mean, I would put that on a short list of throws of the year. Like if we're considering the regular season, that was disgusting.

I can hear people outside. This is like a cool moment. There were car horns going off before we even live. I'm pumped for what the city feels like tonight just outside these windows because I assume it's just an absolute scene out there. And so they, the completion of a dunesay, they keep that drive going. The next play, the checkdown to Menongai that gets them down inside the 10 on that drive

is also just a really good process play. And then he hits OZ. They put him one on one with Walker from the slot on that play where he scores the touchdown. He cooks Walker on that play. And that was a good design too. They had Loveland sitting as like a little wing tied in there and they like fast motioned him out

right before the snap and Quay Walker's like oh he sees like flashing signs he's like oh ball's going out there and he gets a little stuck and he moves a little bit more over than he should and he gives Zakias like a really easy shot to just run across his face. Kind of a full circle moment in my opinion because and Edger and Cooper

got hurt late in the second half which I think is a big moment but Quay Walker and Edger and Cooper were bossing this game for a lot of it and I can go back I bet I could find three other snaps where they looked for somebody over the middle and Quay Walker was just all over it. So for them to answer with a play that kind of got him out of sorts

and froze him enough for an easy touchdown, it was a cool moment because he had been a pain in the ass for them for a lot of this game. It's an important thing to mention that the Adrian Cooper injury because on the two-point play, the bears come out in jumbo and then they break it apart. And Colson Loveland is one-on-one with Nick Neiman on the outside because Edron Cooper is not in there in base defense. And for the bears to scheme up a one-on-one isolation play for the 21-1, one-year-old tight end with the season on the line warms my heart.

Packers come back out. They get to a place where they can delay a game makes it a third and 15 on that next drive. And then McManus misses the field goal. So now you're in a spot where if the bears go down and score a touchdown, they go up four. And they go all the way down. And we were actually, there was part of me that when they scored the touchdown on the fake screen to DJ Moore, which is a great design, right? If you're trying to score a touchdown, it's a great design.

But I said it to Dave, as soon as they score that touchdown, it'd go up 31, There's a minute 43 seconds left in the game. Packers still have a time out. I'm like, I'm terrified that they left them too much time. I'm just terrified that they left them too much time. And ultimately, they did not. I'll go as far as to say I hated it. And I know they won.

They won the game and the Packers ran out of time and it's fine. But we've talked about this many times over the course of the season. Like I think time management has to be a part of that in in game scenarios. And I just, I wouldn't have taken the shot right there. I'm trying to get another 20, 30 seconds off the clock and make it that much harder. Or at the very least, get Matt LaFlorida burn a time out to keep time on the clock. It worked out. It's fine.

But I'm trying to manage that in such a way where maybe the Packers aren't throwing into the end zone on the final play. I love Ben Johnson. Go for the throw, man. Like I'm, I am. But see, Ben Johnson try. Like he, and maybe, I guess maybe he would say. He doesn't call that if he cares about the clock. Well, I was, maybe he learned his lesson from the first game.

Because remember, like, they left it until the very end in the game that they lost it. They've done that a couple times. Yeah. In the Niner game, too, where he bled a little bit too much time down. You could argue. So maybe he said, to a tough spot. He said touchdown over everything. Maybe there's a lesson there.

And that's to have that be all that matters. I think in that moment, if the score is going to tie the game or put you up by three or less where a field goal does something for Green Bay, I can get trying to kill as much time as possible here. When they have to get into the end zone, take the points whenever you can get them, in my opinion. Like, that's kind of how I would rather operate. The other kind of game management moment and like the mechanics and the TikTok of how that last couple minutes went, I said it in the moment.

The Packers called timeout with 207 left right before the two minute warning. And I was kind of shocked. I was like, what are you trying to get with that time out? Like, because I'm assuming the bears are going to try to potentially run the ball here to get it to the two minute warning. You save yourself seven seconds. If they score a touchdown here, you're going to need every single clock stoppage you can get in order to try to get yourself.

in range to score a touchdown, and that leaves them with one timeout. And so that was just one of the other moments in that final two minutes that I think is probably going to be forgotten. But I was just, I couldn't believe that they called the time out there. We had the closest thing you could describe to an argument that we've had all season in that sequence where Derek and I were trying to rationalize what Green Bay might be doing. I feel a lot less confident that there was any strategy behind it after watching Green Bay take a delay of game coming out of a timeout in when they had the ball.

on offense. That was, listen, if people, if Green Bay fans are, like, extremely mad at the coaching staff in this game, that's the moment. The, having the timeout because you can't get everything set, and then you come out with the delay game. When, again, like, the, like, the, imagine having an extra timeout on their extra, like, on their final drive,

which, and they could have totally changed the complexion of how they handled it. That's why I was shocked that they called it. Yeah. I just don't understand the benefit of the time out there when there is a very reasonable chance. You need that time out desperately, desperately on the final drive when you're trying to score a touchdown. All right, that's the TikTok and like how we got to the end.

Let's pull back and just discuss the arc of this game and just how crazy it is that we're even in this position. The first thing I'll say about this Bears team, even if they had lost, and I told you guys this in real time, so this is not revisionist history. I was saying this in the moment in the second half. The fact that they came out the way that they did in the second half was so heartening to me.

Because even if they've ultimately fell short, the idea of going into this offseason having gotten blown out 35 to 12 by this team and no-showed this game in the playoffs I think would have been hard to stomach. And so watching them play the way that they did especially defensively in the second half, I'm not surprised because that's what they've been all year. Like they've kept coming and coming and coming. And I think they've showed a lot of mental toughness and resilience, even if they've gotten a bit lucky very often. And so watching that happen was incredibly encouraging. and then ultimately they do it enough and they get enough stops on defense

and they create enough pressure and I think that the blitz heavy plan early on from Dennis Allen in the second half essentially saying we're not going down unless we're swinging was the right move and to watch that work for the bears to keep putting them in these positions and then they blow four opportunities

I lost my mind when they threw the ball on that fourth and one down in the red zone I can't remember the exact score when that happened I think it was 21 to 6 when that happened. happened. That happened so far from the end of the game that it wasn't even on my mind at this point. I was losing my mind when that happened because at that point, that was one of the 10 times in this game when I was like, well, it's over. Like, they threw that, they blew that opportunity. Now it's over. 21 to 6 with 3 and then 318 to play in the third quarter. That was a huge missed opportunity. And the fact that ultimately every single one of those missed opportunities they had in this game doesn't end up mattering is insane.

You know what? I love that too because like how many. times if we sat down at this desk after a Bears game and you're like, I love that they battled back. I love that they didn't just pack it in. Like, we've been saying that since week three, probably. And the funny part is they had so many Bears bullshit opportunities at like the fumbled kick return, the fumbled offensive lineman catch. Oh my God. Like they had in real time when he was running with the ball. You guys heard me. I was like, stripped the football on. They had like Kyler Gordon I mean ironically

Kyler gave it wouldn't it didn't matter but Kyler Gordon dropped an interception on the final snap of the game like they had so many of those you know wide variance column luck plays that they've been so good at that all year and it all broke against them in this game and they still won and that's during like

when it looked like Green Bay was going to win this game several times I was like oh I guess this is what happens when the bounce doesn't land in Kevin Byard's arms or you don't get the fumbled kick return. And to find a way to get this done without any of those things breaking in your favor, it's pretty remarkable. This bear, it was a Bears offensive performance

in ways both good and bad. That's, there's some nuance to that. The passing game was what you've come to expect from the Bears this season, where they're explosive. You see the talent with both the quarterback and the receivers. It's wildly inconsistent.

Obviously, the interception that Caleb throws in the first half, there's a miscommunication with him in burden on. that play where I think he thinks burden is going to run the end breaker on dagger burden keeps it vertical but even in that moment burden is open and it's still a terrible throw so no that that's completely on burden I think that that's on burden but at the same time he leaves that ball like 10 yards further up the field than he probably has to yeah it's a it's a bad it's a bad play from the start it's a miscommunication from the start but it's bad ball all the way around because like

i don't know what yeah you don't know what route they're calling for like Caleb gives him like a head signal because Burden motioned to the right on that play then they motion all the way back to a different alignment and then Caleb gives him the head tap so they were doing a lot of things like trying to move people around and I think Burden just didn't know what was going on on that play and then the other like the other Caleb throws two of them that I'm like oh man like it just again the calibration is like

the fourth and four he misses to level one in the first half where he just kind of leaves it like three yards ahead of him over the middle and then there's a second and 10 before they score the touchdown ultimately the second to last touchdown that they scored to to Zakias, where he has a corner route to Adunze, and he sails that one. And so, again, it's just like an inconsistent

all over-the-place performance from the passing game, but you also have these spectacular moments from the quarterback, and then specifically, the 21-year-old tight end is really good at football. What an incredible performance. He was everything. I mean, the sheer production from him in this game, he finished with 15 targets.

He had eight catches for 100. 130 yards on 15 targets. No one else on the team had more than seven. And I think the broadcast said it was like the first time a rookie tight end just had over 100 yards in like 30 years. I think it was 1988. Yeah, it was 1988. So 30, almost 40 years.

Almost 40 years. Like this does not happen. Colson Loveland was truly incredible, which is funny because like he won in the first half. The passing game was really up and down in part because they weren't running the ball well enough. So like in the instances where they hit inconsistency on the passing offense, it just mean the drive died.

And then early in the first. the third quarter, Caleb actually do like a beautiful overroute to Loveland and he dropped it. And then it was like drop the fourth down. There are two plays where it looked like completions that ultimately we thought were fumbles, but actually they were incomplete passes. And then every Loveland target after that was just like, oh my God, that's the best player on the field. It's crazy to me.

I'm surprised just looking at it in the aftermath that Burton only finished with three catches for 42 yards. I mean, he did have seven targets on the day. But there were multiple times during the game where I was like, holy shit. it. They're just trying, like, they're completely comfortable building this all around the two rookie pass catchers. And like, clearly they have the talent to do that. And they've been such a big part of the second half of the season. But looking to them and particularly Loveland in all of these high leverage moments is just really cool. All right. Before we get to the rest of this game,

let's take a quick break. You mentioned it. The Bears run game, that was the element of this team that was not in line with who they've been offensively the entire year. What the Packer The Packers run defense looked like, especially in the first half, but really for most of the game, the Bears didn't really try to run the ball in the second half. And I can understand why. The Bears in the first half in this game, 14 for 38 on the ground with a 15 and a half percent success rate per next gen. And the three guys that jumped out to me with the Packers run defense, Cooper was everywhere. He was everywhere.

The third, so they, the fourth and six that they eventually go for, the biggest play in that sequence to me is the third and six where the bears are trying to run the ball on third down to try to make it a try to get to a fourth and three fourth and two cooper just makes an incredible play coming downhill slicing into the backfield to make that tackle for no gain and force them into that fourth and six Walker flying downhill on that split gun run to DJ Moore and Ibari had several excellent moments against the run in this game so to watch the Packers front and specifically those two linebackers and 55 control the game the way that they did throughout this entire thing. That was just something where it was just an incredibly impressive performance by them.

And just a version of this Bears' offense, we're not really used to seeing in the second half of the season. Yeah, I think we said on our previous show, like, I expected them to come out and kind of kick their ass in the run game again. And they really didn't. And I think part of it was those guys played really well on the Packers front. And then I also thought game plan-wise it was pretty good. Like they were sending the backers a lot, like on the Quay Walker run through on that DJ Moore play. They're sending him there. He's triggering hard.

Yeah, he's triggering hard. And they do a good job where right guard Jonah Jackson is occupied by the three technique who's on his right shoulder. And then there is a one technique on Dalman's left hand side. And so he's trying to like still work to the right and get in front of Quay Walker. But they actually knife the nose guard into Dolman. So he's like, okay, I got to pick this guy up and it gives Quay Walker the free run through. And then Enigbarre was just like knifing inside on everything. Like he, I thought game plan wise, they had a good job for what they wanted to do against the Bears here.

That was the foundation of their defensive game plan when they were dominating the game in the game in the first half. The foundation of their offensive game plan is they were just cooking the Bears in man coverage. Romeo Dobbs was a serious problem. The plan that the Packers had consistently when the Bears were in man coverage most of the time early in the first half, the return route, the return crossers,

the crosser returns that they were running outside the numbers, got Jaylon Johnson on it once. I mean, Dobbs, I believe, finished before that final drive, he had five catches on four targets for 78 yards against man. and he was just dominant in those moments. The slot fade a little bit later on. He was so, so good there. And the Packers just, there was no pressure for the Bears in the entire first half.

The Bears finished the first half with an 11.8% pressure rate per next-gen stats. In the second half, it ends up being 35% in part because of all the heat that they start sending. On the day, Jordan Love finishes 2 of 10 for 9 yards when pressured. And so then being able to crank that up in the second half, that's, I think, the driving force between how the offense feels so different for Green Bay and half number one compared to half number two. That being said, you understand how it happens.

For as much credit as the Bears get for continuing to chip away and ship away and ship away and never go away in this game, if you're a Packer fan to watch it end like this and to watch it fall apart and unravel like this, I don't think it discounts how great and dominant Matt LaFleur was in that first half against Dennis Allen. But at the same time, this is one of those games where you got a thousand yards there after this thing. And I can understand just like thinking every single conversation is on the table, even though

I don't think it should be. You don't think it discounts it? Like, I'm glad you just said that. Like, I think this is a game that could cost Matt LaFleur's job. Do you think it should? I think that's my question. I wouldn't be surprised if we were having that conversation. Do you think it should end with that?

because I just, I don't know if I'm there. I doubt that I could get to like 10 coaches that I want before Matlifler, which like I'm not going to fire that guy. The funniest thing is at the end of the first half, and this is not how we should make decisions, but at the end of the first half, there are people online essentially saying like, what does Matt LaFleur want per year? Right?

Yeah, right. And that's what it was. This looked like Packers Cowboys all over again at halftime. And then the second half happens. And so where you land between those two poles, I'm not sure. sure, but if I were a Packer fan right now, I'd be pretty apoplectic. I can say that. I don't think I would be ready to fire Matlifle over this, especially considering this is a

Packer team that lost arguably it's two best players over the course of the year. Like Tucker Kraft and Micah Parsons not being part of this thing. I think that's tough, but holy shit, man. They missed their quarterback for most of the stretch down the house. They'll like the last month of the season. That is fair. I, it's just, I don't, I would be so pissed off if I were a Green Bay fan, especially. And you talked about what it means to Bears fans to get this win. To be a Packer fan and have a chance to just give your little brother the biggest set of Nuggies in history. Just shit on such a great season for the Bears in their place after like, you know,

a disappointing Packers team just came in and ruined everything. And you're already daydreaming about, oh, maybe we can get Seattle at their place at halftime. and for it to be this way. Like, I don't blame a Packer fan that wants to fire Matt Lafleur, but I think you should be careful what you wish for. Like, I don't think I would be willing to do it.

So what do you think the conversation should be then? Because if we're not willing to go that far, I do think that we should have a discussion about what this, I mean, it's a collapse, right? Like it's a horrifying collapse in the second half of that game. So if we're not going to go all the way to he should be fired,

what do you think the conversation should be? I mean, I really don't know. I think that this, was I think ultimately what lost in this game was like once they started to heat them up, I think you saw some of the offensive line talent kind of crop up in this game. I think that ultimately became the issue. And I think a lot of the- Tom in this game, which is worth mentioning.

Right. And I think honestly with a lot of the like Jordan Love was, what did you say, two of ten under pressure. There were at least three or four of those throws that he's putting near guys, but they're never open. Like when on a lot of those cases when he's like if a guy's not getting open immediately and he's got to hold on to the ball for an extra take, he's kind of just chucking it up for them,

and he's giving them some chances, but there were a lot of times in this game where if he wasn't getting that, like, Romeo Dobbs is immediately open on the slot fade, then nobody's open at all, and he's really trying to force these windows. So I think you just, like, maybe I'm coping for a quarterback that I think is good.

That could absolutely be it, but I do think you started to feel some of the other issues with the offense. On top of, like you said, Dave, you're two, probably two or three best players for the entire year are gone. So I guess that's where I'm at. We just get reached another year

where a Packers team that I think all of us believed at various points this season and the preseason that they would probably be in the range of being title contenders. I put them there, I think. Yeah, for a lot of reasons it didn't happen. They get a little bit hurt. They start to slide down the back half of the season. I can understand why they didn't ultimately rise to that level in the end.

But now for the third year in a row, this is a Packers team that's getting bounced before getting to where they want to get in the playoffs. And so I guess what does the copieres sound like for the 2026 packers. Like, why are we in a place where we're going to go into this off season and be like, you know what, guys, next year is going to be different? You know what?

Maybe it's, I don't want to be the guy that advocates to fire who I think is a really good head coach. But maybe that is a point for the people that would want change because, like much like the Baltimore Ravens, like everybody thinks John Harbaugh is a good coach. He's accomplished so much in Baltimore. But change can be a good thing, right? And maybe the change of voice, the change of direction, a new set of ideas would benefit this team, a new approach. And here's how I got here, because I'm looking at it.

And if I was going to change one thing or if there was one sticking point, I would be like, we're not going into another year where Josh Jacobs is averaging three yards of carry all year long. And our offensive line is this weakness and this thing that we can't get around. they tried to address that. That's what I was about to say. They just gave Aaron Banks a shitload of money. They just drafted Anthony Belton highly.

They very recently drafted Jordan Morgan highly. Like it's not like they haven't been trying to do this and it just hasn't been working. And by the way, thanks to the Micah Trade, you don't have a first round pick for the next two years. So this is kind of what you got. So, I mean, you got to take a hard look at yourself and say, is the staff and the staff and the talent that we have enough to get us beyond being the seven seat in the NFC playoffs

because that's the world that we've been living in. I guess I think they were the six last year, but you get my point. Not winning the NFC North and trying to fight your way through the playoffs on the road. And you're going to be doing it with this personnel.

And who knows? I mean, if Tucker Kraft and Micah Parsons are available, this might go completely differently. But you can't bank on maybe next year it's Jacobs that you don't have or somebody else that's very, very valuable. I mean, you can't count on good health in the NFL.

It's a 100% chance of injury game. But two of your best three does. It does to me feel like it changes the calculus in a way that is like pretty insane. They were up by three possessions at halftime at this game. Yeah, I think that's different than like this specific, like having lost this specific game, if that makes sense. Yeah, I'm mostly playing devil's advocate when it comes to like, all right, what should the conversation be? Because I think a reasonable place to land with a conversation is you get Michael Parsons back next year. you get Tucker Kraft back next year,

you're still going to be a very good team. Matt LaFleur is one of the reasons that you're capable of being the team you've been on offense over the last four or five seasons is moving on from him. What are the chances that the Packers' offense would be better if Matt LaFleur wasn't the head coach? Yeah, what are the chances you find a better coach?

Yeah, especially in this cycle. Like, who are you excited to go? I just, I would be shocked. One, I would not fire him and two, if they fired him. I would be shocked if I felt better about whoever they hired than I'd do about Matt Lafleur. I tend to agree with that.

You think it's a coincidence? John Harbaugh didn't want to take any interviews before this weekend's game started. I'm dead serious. I like Buffalo plays at noon tomorrow. I mean, there could be some tasty vacancies available by Tuesday. The Packers, in terms of the talent,

I don't want to dig too much into this because we're going to do the post-mortems for these teams on the Monday Hangover show, like really dig into what the forward-looking conversation should look like. With the Packers, in the draft, I think they found a lot of really, useful players over the last couple years.

Cooper was a 2024 draft pick. Emma Williams was a 2024 draft pick. Luke Musker, or excuse me, Tucker Kraft was a 2023 third round pick. I think that there are, they have found a lot of contributors over the last few years. Quay Walker has developed into a good player. We didn't even mention, Devonthe Wyatt is hurt right now. And so another guy that was, you know, a part of this team and a highly drafted player that was not on the roster by the end of the season, I think this year, to me, the more

disappointing aspect of the player acquisition stuff, is that the two big swings they took in free agency were banks and Nate Hobbs. And I think both of those look like misallocations or resources at this point. He's going to retreat back to, he's like, see, this is what happens when I hand out big free agency contracts.

It is funny that a lot of the ways that the Packers tried to deviate from who they had been for like 30, 4 years, whatever kind of failed them. Like one, the big free agency signings. But then also, if you think about the offensive line and Justice Mosquita has done a really good job of pointing us out. They are

huge now in a way that Packers' Offensive lines have never really been that big. It's been a lot of lighter guys. Guys they've taken in the fourth, fifth, sixth round. The Zach Tom's who like they're a little bit undersized and they find this like unique value in whatever those guys are. And then they try to go spend on banks and try to do all

this other stuff and it just hasn't like take draft picks like Anthony Belton, who maybe he'll be good, but he's massive and just not who they usually go for. Jordan Morgan kind of same thing. Just like a lot of the ways that they tried to get off the beaten path of who the Packers have been have like almost kind of hurt them pretty recently. I think where I land with it all is if the Packers are in the playoffs again next year with Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft, Zach Tom, year two of Anthony, of Matthew Golden,

I just think that there's reason to believe that it's not worth giving up on this version of what you've built here. I think that's where I land with it. I guarantee you there are so many Packers fans that just don't want to hear that. right now. Not only that, there are so many people who listen to our show who don't want to hear us fall in love with the Packers next August. I don't think I'm going to do that because I'm in a place now where I'm in love with a different team in the NFC North.

The Bears ruled the North. Well, we don't have to talk about the Bears future because we'll have plenty of time to discuss that over the next couple weeks. I mean, they're going to play another playoff game. And so the Bears outlook is... Are you a big San Francisco 49ers fan for the next 18 hours? So what is it? What happens now?

What's like this? You know like the sequencing and like what happens based on who wins and loses more than I do. So if the Niners win. The Rams have won. Yes. So the highest seed goes to the, um, no, actually I guess you would, excuse me, you would hate for the 49ers to win because it would send the Rams to Chicago. So you want you, you, I would assume you want an Eagles Bears rematch over Niners or over Rams. Yeah.

I think I think that's. So my apologies. You want, you want an Eagles home victory because that would set up Rams. to the Seahawks and Bears Eagles. That's what I thought. And I think that is correct. Yeah, I think you're right to want that. Just to kind of put a bow on all of this, an incredible night.

I don't want to like, I think we went pretty quickly to like the TikTok of how the game went. And I want to sit in just the feeling for a second. And just not just for me, but just like watching that game. It was an insane, crazy football game on so many different levels. I thought I like just fucked up my nests. nervous system. Before we started recording this show, my adrenaline was like pulsing so hard.

We didn't have a camera on us tonight because our wonderful producer Scott is at the game with his son, which I love. I'm glad he's having that moment. I'm very happy there as well. But just so you know and Mays is like he's ridiculously stoic

most of the time, but rest assured the outbursts were there really from beginning to end like outbursts of agony in the first half and then the catharsis at the end it was it was loud in our studio which is not often the case the most perfect set of numbers from this game the bears finished with 421 yards offensively they had a 36% success rate that's that's been them all year that's who they are that's who they are it's just absolutely bonkers i'm workshopping this take and it might not last and i i want to give

respect and deference to like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, but this year has Caleb Williams just been the most entertaining player in NFL football? And that does not mean best. I don't know if that's true. That does not mean best. I think the last four to six weeks he's had a lot of really cool high-end moments. And I think where I can actually get with Dave a little bit is there's more of a mystery as to what you're getting on the stuff.

Sure is. That's part of it. When you watch Patrick Mahomes like at his best, it's usually like, oh, yeah, he's pretty incredible. He's not really going to mess things up and he's going to make four incredible plays with Caleb Williams. You're just like, this could be the great one. This could be one where he kind of just throws a ball at somebody. Well, the one, the thing that made me think about this, Robert, and we talked about it, where was it in the game? It was late in the game.

Yeah, it was right before. So they're driving, I think, to take the lead, right? Yeah, so it was the touchdown that made it 2116, I believe. he it was like early in the fourth quarter the scramble he had on the right side and then right after that they threw the big sail route to level in for that huge chunk so he's I mean and he's done it is a theme

for Caleb where he scrambles he gets outside he's more than fast enough to get to the sticks even if there's a chance at a collision or a guy trying to make the tackle on him and the that moment of like run Caleb run Caleb oh god no he's gonna throw and then it's like the hardest throw you've ever seen in your life, like right at a guy. And it's just, it's a thrill ride. And I thought he should have run right

there, but he makes up for it. Another way. Well, the one DJ Moore drops. Was it that one? Yeah, it was the one DJ Moore drops. He threw it out of it. It was a perfect ball. 110 miles an hour from like 12 yards away. But he, I think he gets the first down if he runs for it. And that's, that's what I mean by entertaining. Like, anything can happen on any snap. And half the time, it's going to be amazing. And half the time, you're going to be like, what the hell is that? you used the term super mutant earlier when you were talking about some of the other guys what Caleb Williams reminds me of now

reminds me of now you know in like certain depictions of Cyclops where he doesn't have the little visor thing on and it's just like sprang everywhere control the laser vision that is legitimately what Caleb Williams reminds me of in this stage of Caleb Williams

where he is a mutant like brings the ceiling down and he is capable of that like The sheer amount of raw ability in his body is bonkers. But again, the word I kept using on the previous show is the calibration just isn't there yet. And you feel that. It's inconsistent. It's up and down.

And what I kind of root my optimism in is two things. One, the progress has been incredibly encouraging. Where he is now compared to where he was last season and even, in my opinion, where he was early points in this season. I think the first half was a little bit of those down swings that we have seen from him. He just missed a couple in the first half. He just wasn't good. He didn't play very well.

But for the most part, I think in the second half, he's been playing some of his best ball. But it's still not there yet. I think that his overall trajectory gives you optimism. And the other thing that gives me optimism is Ben Johnson had his all over the place moments tonight. Like the only one I really don't agree with is the fourth and four on your own 30. Like I just think that's one where you don't have to go for it. Oh, so you didn't like that. I was about to bring that up.

I thought you might have been in favor of that because of how bad the Bears' defense was in the first half. I think for the most part, the overall aggressiveness I'm completely supportive of. That fourth and fourth from your own 30 where they go up 216 if you don't get it, I think there's an argument to be made that they're going up 216 anyway. And so giving them a short field, your possessions are worth maximizing. In that moment specifically, I had had coach text me right when it happened. And he was like, I'm aggressive.

That was insane. and I tend to think that that's an okay place to land on that decision specifically. That was the one right after the commit, like, drop fumble thing, right? There's like an element where it's like that feels a little bit like tilting a little bit. It's an emotional choice. That reminded me, Derek, you game. That reminded me of like playing Madden and you're getting your ass kicked and you're like, I'm going for this and if I get it, if I don't get it, I'm logging out.

Like, I'm just kind of quitting this game. But you know what's, and you know what I was, the other thing I was about to say is, I think even though he was all over the. place. One of the other reasons I'm optimistic about the trajectory of the team and the trajectory of Carol Williams, they didn't log out. They did not. You're right. They didn't log out. And the fact that they didn't, and the fact that they never have, and the fact that combined with what I think is a very strong offensive foundation, schematically, the idea is what they're trying to do, combine with the fact that this team never logs out under this guy, that's not the most

important thing. There's so much variance and all that shit. I understand that. But, but, But I do think there's something to it. I do think that there is something to the fact that this team has never once crawled into a shell, no matter what has happened in these games. And for a young team like this, I do think that shit matters. How many times does this happen? Which ironically, the season started, God, can you imagine we'd be here if I had told you while you were filing out of Soldier Field in that week one Monday night game?

No, I do not think so. No. Whatever it was, 17 to 6th. That feels like a lifetime ago. But I've died five times since then. That's been the story of like 13 of their 18 games now, where it's like, man, I thought this was over six different times and they won the game. Guess what?

They will host a playoff game in the divisional round next weekend. Can't wait. Before we move on, let's take a quick break. Let's get to our next one here, the Los Angeles Rams. It seemed like we were going to get a blowout in the second game after getting this incredible finish in game one that we didn't necessarily expect, then we get an incredible game in the second outing today.

But the first one was insane. I mean, just an amazing game between the Rams and the Panthers that I don't think anybody really saw coming. And I think the moment we can, let's just start there. I want to give the Panthers a ton of credit for making this thing,

essentially sending it down to the wire. I mean, do you talk about, an encouraging showing from a team that I think is still pretty young in its overall trajectory. It's year two of Canales. You're an eight and nine team. You're 10 point underdogs at home in a playoff game. And for them to be right there in this thing against a team that is so much further along than they are. Like the Panthers deserve a ton of credit for making this as fun and as entertaining as it was.

The cliche is that there are no moral victories in the NFL. But really, this game and this whole season for the Panthers, I'm willing to call a moral victory. And I'm sure those guys probably don't feel that way right now because they looked like they had it and they had a shot at it. And we can talk about it. That final possession really disheartening

and you don't have J.C. Horn on the field for it as Matthew Stafford's just carving you up. I'm sure they're pissed right now. But what a game and what a season for a team that, I mean, nobody gave them a chance in this game. And that's not hyperbole to say. like nobody thought that they were going to win this game. I like Kevin Berker.

I think him and Tom Brady have done a good job. Excuse me. It was Greg and Joe. It was Greg and Joe. I love Greg and Joe, right? I think that they're the best in the business. Joe specifically in this game, I think was just like very matter of fact

about how tilted the game was early on. Like it was like, ah, this is like almost an inevitability. Like the Rams are going to win this game. And it's like, I understand. Like I think that's probably even that if that is, technically true and even if we do know that I still thought that they were being

somewhat flippant about the gap between the two teams in the first half like the moment that I come back to is it seemed like we were going to get this sequence where the Rams go up 24 to 7 at the end of the first half

they don't get the fourth and three and then the Panthers go down and score to make it 1714 which was the crucial swing in the game and it felt like he was almost like surprise. It was almost like, oh, that's what was supposed to happen and that it didn't happen. And so that was like a, that was like somewhat confusing to me in terms of how they were kind of framing it over the course of the day. But I think that speaks to what the dynamics were

as we walked into this football game. Absolutely. And yeah, I think that's fair. But I think it matches the tone of this. I'm not overly upset with it. I was just a little bit surprised that they kept coming back to that. Because announcers often don't because they're trying to make you as interested in the game as you can be. They want you to care, which almost in a way, like, did work back in their favor. Like with them selling so hard that the Panthers should not be in this game, as they start to come back into this game, it kind of does make it like you start to realize how much of a miracle this was. I mean, I thought obviously the Rams end up winning this game, they make enough place to do it.

But like in the middle two quarters, the second and third quarter, the Panthers were the better team significantly. And their defense, there's a handful of guys we can shout out. I thought the run defense wasn't like special, but they held the Rams to a 44% rushing success rate, which is typically good, but they didn't really give up any explosives. And the Rams have run for much better than that against most teams. And certainly the first time these two teams played. So I thought them bowing up there was really impressive. And then Mike Jackson was.

He was awesome. He's had a great season. And we've talked about that, but he was excellent in this game. It all came to a head in this game. Like he just had multiple incredible plays. I mean, again, he made a number in this game. But the one, there was a sequence out of the half where actually both of their corners made an incredible play.

Mike Jackson rakes this ball out of Devante Adams' hands. He's running like an outbreaker to the right-hand side. It hits Adams in his hands. He rakes it out. And then on the next play, J.C. Horn gets under a corner route that DeBonte Adams is running. And he does an incredible job of just like leaping, extending his hand and getting there. And that was what they made a lot of the game feel like.

Like the Rams for whatever reason, I mean, I know their receivers are great. but they were really targeting outside the numbers and attacking what is the best and maybe only good part of the Panthers defense in their corners, which I thought was kind of bizarre. And those two corners absolutely stood up to the test. They were incredible in this game. I think I would love to look at the numbers on it. I mean,

I know that the Rams or the Panthers in the first half played a good chunk of cover three. And then it seemed like they were playing a little bit more like funky or two high coverages in that period that you're talking about. And they also, the pressures were getting home, Whether they were blitzes or whether they were just simple twists on those, the first two possessions coming out of the half, I believe the Panthers went, or the Rams went three and out on both of those possessions.

On the second and tens in those sequences, actually might have been the last drive of the first half before the Puka miss. So the Puka drop, I think was on third down. And just what the pressure that the Panthers were getting in some of those moments, the first drive out of the half, there was a second and 10 where they had like a little cross dog right down the pipe and Sherylis got a really quick pressure

and Stafford had to get rid of it deep to Adams on that play and then on that third and 10 is where he kind of dirted it to Adams almost immediately and so I thought that some of the pressure plan from Carolina in the second half and just some of the variety in coverage compared to all the cover three they were playing in the first half it was just giving

the Rams more problems than you might expect with this passing game against the Panthers defense and I really thought like the Rams for the most part did struggle to to find out what they thought the answer was that to that was supposed to be. I think eventually they did a really good job of finding a little bit more answers over the middle of the field, clearing some of those guys out, which makes sense, right?

Like if you think about where is this Panthers defense week, the linebackers are not very good, especially in coverage. And so I was kind of surprised they didn't go heavier for a lot of this game and really try to pick on that part of it. Instead, again, they kept their receivers out there and really, really tried to attack outside the numbers down the field, which just kind of a bizarre game plan to me, given how. how good those corners were. It felt to me at times like the Rams were trying to prove something. Like prove that they were this overwhelming juggernaut that the first time they came in here

was a fluke and they can absolutely beat the Panthers by 17 plus points. It just they felt really aggressive. And to be fair to them, some of that is missed opportunity. I mean, this game might look completely different if Puka Nakua makes a routine catch on the double move that you just mentioned. Where if that's not a touchdown, it's putting them inside the 10 yards. line with a chance to go up right before the half. So maybe it's justified, but it really felt like they were trying to get aggressive targeting their two received Devante and Puka in particular.

And yeah, and lo and behold, the decider is when you get your tight end involved and get him matched up on the outside. The other one that I thought is worth highlighting is you, to your point about the linebackers, they score with Kyron Williams on a little angle route over the middle. And I was like, yeah, man, this, this shit. it works. It doesn't have to be the flashy, you know, throw in these 25-yard digs with perfect anticipation on every snap. Like, you can do this stuff too. And you know what's funny about the Parkinson touchdown is like it's not, obviously it's an incredible play, but it's not

like they super outschemed in there. Like, Trevin Merrick was on that. It was incredible coverage. It's excellent coverage by Trevin. It was just a great play. I didn't need to suggest that he like took advantage of it or anything. No, but that's even like, it's just like it's, it didn't even really feel like the Rams found that many answers. It was just like Colby Parkinson and Matthew Stafford made an insane play in that moment. So it was funny because they sequenced into that play. So if you look at the way that that drive unfolded, they hit a big inbreaker to Puka out of that exact same look, where Pook isn't kind of a condensed split with Parkinson to that side. And on that play earlier in the drive, they flash Parkinson to the flat and then Puka comes on the inbreaker. And so on the final

touchdown, they run what is the next step in wrinkle off of that where they have Parkinson do a little double move where he flashes to the flat and then takes it vertically. And in theory, that's the play you should be able to hit as like a sequence off of the last one. But Merrick is in his hip pocket the entire time and Parkinson and Stafford just make a fucking insane play to win the game. I mean, it is a beautiful throw and catch.

Did you see what Devante Adams told the press that. I did see. Did you see this? About Stafford. Stafford said, let's go snatch their hearts. Yeah. And Devante was like, this is the most gangster shit I've ever heard in my life. Or he was like, I was just smiling in the huddle because what a cool thing to say.

I mean, they're capable of doing that, right? I mean, like, that's what this Rams team can do. And like, it felt a couple different times in this game. And the moment where to me it was like, oh, man, I think this might happen is the sequence for the Panthers to go up 24 to 20. On a second down, the Rams try to run a boot to the left side. and Travis Gibson eventually gets the sack But if you watch how like gloved up that thing is

When they're trying to boot left It's Prince Lee Umamie Allen Is on the edge on that play He takes, I think it was Davis Allen to the flat Rose Boom does a great job Of carrying Higby on the crosser They're in 13 personnel And then Horn stays on the big

Kind of clear out pile on route So I think it was Mumpfield And so there's nowhere for Stafford to go On that second down boot he gets sacked and then the next play is the one where he throws the interception to Mike Jackson. It's a little E.T with Wanham and Derek Brown and then Brown comes clean off the right side. So Stafford gets heated up a little bit, leaves it short, Mike Jackson picks that ball off. And then immediately on the next drive, you have that 52-yard chunk to J.L.

and Koker off the dagger. And the Panthers throughout this game, both in terms of kind of deeper comebacks outside the numbers and in breakers when they had time against the Rams corners, both Coker and T-Mack were eating. And so when Coker catches that 52-yarder and sets them up down inside the 10, I'm like, I think they're going to win this game. And so for the Rams, again, to kind of keep punching back,

they deserve a lot of credit, and they really shows what that offense is capable of. Because on that, and after the block punt, it really did seem like this was not going to go their way. And because like with the Coker play and some of the McMillan plays, you felt like it was going to be sustainable because like that was exactly what we said the game would look like coming in where it's like if

the Panthers passing game works, it's going to be because those guys are running these deep outside the numbers routes, they're hitting some of these crossers. Like there was one where it felt like McMillan blocked out the sun in front of Emmanuel Forbes. And like it was a really good ball by Bryce Young, I think on one of the third and tens.

But just like McMillan just gets so far in front of the DB that is just there's no shot that anyone else is going to catch it. Like I thought that the way that McMillan played, Coker played was exactly what you're scared of if you were at this Rams defense where you're like, our corners do lose if they can't just trigger on throws that are, you know, within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Emmanuel Forbes has largely been a fun, pleasant, good story for the Rams this year. And Kobe Durant's made a ton of really big plays for them as well.

But I was watching all of that unfold. And I was like, you might be able to get the first cornerback in the draft with that number 13 overall pick. or you could be in range for it at least. That might not be a bad idea. It would help you avoid a game looking like that one. The Isaiah Simmons blocked pun, by the way. His effort on that was sensational. Don't forget the play he made as the gunner, I guess.

In like the first quarter, yes. Downed him inside the 10-yard line. Which that was a funny, like, full-circum moment with this game, was like, he makes that play as a gunner inside the five, and they say Isaiah Simmons. I was like, that Isaiah Simmons? And I just didn't realize he was on the team. And then he ends up blocking this pun

and like they line up with everybody on the right hand side of the offensive line. Like they're trying to overload that side. And it's really just Isaiah Simmons versus, I think it was one of the Rams backup safeties. He's like the wing to that side. And he just, the two-hand punch,

he shoots into that guy's chest to just get by him and go block that punt. It was an incredible effort to do that. Special teams. Ram's special teams. It shows up. Brandon, I mean, it almost costs the Rams. Brandon McManus misses a field goal,

an easy field goal and an extra point in the Bears game. it usually shows up in the playoffs, just saying. It really did feel like this was just going to get out of hand for the Panthers because the way that the first half went. They'd go for it on their own 45 on their first drive, which I said it in the moment. I said it in the moment when the Bears started going for it. You got to know what game you're playing.

And I think the Rams, the Panthers understood what game they were playing. I support going for it from your own 45 when you're a 10.5 point underdog. Rams come out and score very quickly. And then we have, I think, two points back to back, but then the next ramp, the next Panthers drive, down 7-0 is when Bryce Young throws a interception. And that's a play where

I think there's a lot going out on that play, but the most important aspect of that play, which happens with like a minute and 30 left in the first quarter, Bryce has to reset in the pocket. So he has to reset and change his platform very quickly. And as that's happening, on that in-breaker to Koker, Quaker, Quaker, Quinn Lake is the post-safety on that play,

and he comes down on it. hard and cocker stops running but i still don't think that's a ball that brice should even attempt and part of the reason that i think that entire thing goes askew is that he has to reset to try to throw that ball because he's moving in the pocket right that's one of those where you watch it and it's like oh cocker stops running and it's like yeah but one the ball should be there sooner because like you said brice has to reset in the pocket i think he's a little bit late coming off of the right hand side to begin with yes and so he's late he has to reset and then he's just not someone who has that much velocity so he's not like making up that time the way that I don't know Josh Allen or whoever

it is or Caleb Williams like those guys can and so the ball's on like it ends up being like kind of in front of the right hash you probably want that they're closer to the middle of the hash maybe on the left hash like in terms of timing and so he basically throws him into the safety and so I I get it looks bad for cocker but yeah that's that's really more of like a everybody's kind of at fault here one one quick thing I do want to say in terms of Panthers knowing the game they're playing they did a lot of like really spreading the Rams out in this game which again if you're going to try to like let's make these corners cover as much space as possible on these dig routes

overroutes that were running horizontally yes like they were really making those guys run and they made them pay for pretty much four quarters the sequence again that I kept coming back to that is the reason that this is a game is that the Rams go forward on that fourth and three with about a minute and 30 left in the second quarter and it's a great call I think. I think a Jerevro, period, did a lot of really good things in this game

to give the Rams problems. But they send a simulated pressure on that play with Merrick coming off the right side. They drop Wanam and both linebackers, and it's cover two behind it. And Stafford has nowhere to go. He tries to escape a little bit to his right, tries to find a tight end late.

That ball gets incomplete. And then the Panthers come back and score for 1714. And then we have a game. And so that is a huge swing to make this a game. And the other play we have not mentioned, yet that is massively, massively important and the Rams winning this game is the Puka Nakua defensive back

moment that we get in the second half. You're so right. Just think about if that doesn't happen. I totally forgot about that play. And that was like, I couldn't even really tell why Stafford threw it where he threw it because Nakua is clearly looks like he's like snapping off

like a pretty deep comeback route to the right hand side. And so he's turning around that way. Stafford throws it like up the field into the end zone. It seemed like nobody knew what was going on. So for him to have the presence of mine there to be like, oh shit, I got to go get back and break that up. That was a pretty incredible play.

I'm looking for it in my notes because, yeah. And then they pick up the fourth and one after that, right? Yes. Yes. Just. Yeah. The things that go, the things that you can forget about

because of all the high leverage stuff at the end of these games, which makes me, I want to circle back to that because I was curious for your thoughts. It's a talking point on social media. I don't really agree with it. but the way the Panthers played that final drive, because you mentioned to Jero Evereaux, and people are just killing the Panthers

for how soft they played on that possession. My counter to that is with J.C. Horn unavailable, what's your alternative? Like, how aggressive do you really want to try that, knowing the receivers that are on that side of the ball? And I get it. The Rams zipped right down the field on them, but I think you've got to give yourself a chance.

But, I mean, I went back and watched it, and, I mean, the Panthers were playing like 12. yards off the whole way down in the field. I can understand that. I think their best versions of that defense over the course of this game is when they were getting a little bit more aggressive off front when they were throwing a few more things at them. And so to be a little bit more static, the same way you were in the first half when they were

kind of controlling the way that the game was going on that side of the ball, I can understand being frustrated by that if I'm in Panthers fan. I can completely understand that. I think the last kind of note about this just overall, the Rams escaping in this. game. The alternative, I can't even imagine what the discussion is after this thing if the Rams somehow did not pull this off. Not only the fact that you lost as a 10 and a half point favorite, but like this playoff field and how wide open it feels and the fact that the Rams felt like the best team in the league for a huge chunk of this season. And I do think that what Seattle

has looked like down the stretch. I right now coming in the playoffs thought the Seahawks were the best team, but I thought the Rams were not that far behind. And so in a year, where it does feel like there is an opportunity for so many of these teams to lose at Carolina as a 10 and a half point favorite if you were the Rams, it would just be devastating. Like the Packers losing in the way that they did to the Bears is devastating,

but I think even Packers fans understand that because of some of the injuries and what they look like by the end of the year, they probably didn't have the juice to get all the way there. The Rams absolutely have that juice. And so for their season to end today would have been like, a truly unacceptable outcome.

Well, because you know how fragile the build is with the Rams where your quarterback is as old as he is. He's not having this season again. He's the best season of his career. He's probably not doing this again. Even if he's good next year, it won't look like MVP numbers. No idea when the wall is going to come for Devante Adams,

who is one of your best offensive players. And then even on defense, I know it's a lot of young guys, but within the next two years, a lot of these guys are going to become expensive. And it's going to be even harder to build a really high, quality defense. And so, and I think even just the way the defense is built now is kind of

fragile and flimsy, just in terms of like, if the front doesn't win the game for us, we cannot win the game because we just saw what our corners do. Like I do think that like every, every year really, really, really does matter for this Ramstein, just the way that they built this thing. It's probably too late to have this conversation. Like, it doesn't matter anymore because you just you survive in advance and then you get to play another playoff game. But to your point, Robert, and like we keep saying the Rams are the best team in the league or on the short list for best team in the league

when was the last time they looked like the best team in the league? It's been a while. Was it the first three, two and a half quarters of the Seahawks game? Yes, I think that is the last time. Did the Seahawks break the Rams? I'm being facetious when I say that.

That is the last time they looked like it. I think since then you have seen... That was before Christmas, by the way. I think you've seen... And we'll see how much the hand might have affected Matthew Stafford in this game, but I thought you had some real low-light moments from Stafford in this game, which that has happened over the final month of the season.

Like, he did not play well in the Falcons game. Like, he has not been the fire-breathing dragon in the final month of this season that he was for a good chunk of this year. And then I think you've really seen some of the deficiencies on defense. And I think that you see how getable the corners are specifically and what this unit looks like if they're not truly dominating up. front. And so I'm with you. Like, I feel like the defense in the first half of this season being as as good as it was, being like a top three to five unit, that's what made them feel so scary

combined with what the offense is. I still think the offense is at its best, the scariest offense in football. Like, I still truly do believe that. But I think that was complimented by how well the defense is playing. And now, if the defense is going to feel as ordinary as it has at time, because the corners are such a concern, then they just start to feel like a slightly different team. And I think another thing to point out, because we mentioned this on the preview show, Quentin Lake was back this week,

and I think in theory that's huge. He just did not, he wasn't a hundred percent. It was up and down. Yeah, he made a lot of plays early in the game, especially in space. But when, I mean, he had the PI at one point in this game, like anything down the field or anything they picked him,

he just couldn't recover. Yes. And the huge completion that they had to cocker down the left sideline, that was one of the place where he gets picked in traffic and Bryce Young drops it over to Coker who also had an excellent game today. I mean, this is, we'll talk about the Panthers future on the Monday show,

but I thought that the Bryce Young to Jalen Coker and T-Mack connection looked about as good in this game as you could want if you're a Panthers fan for what this thing could be moving forward. Touchdown to Coker was so sweet. Oh, it was a gorgeous throw. That was his best throw. But to the point we were just talking about before that, and I mean, I would be one of those people.

Like I was just saying like, well, the Bears, they don't want any part of the Rams coming to Chicago, but and not. I would rather play the Eagles. You might rather play the Eagles. What I'm trying to say is. Maybe by the famous last words, I think I'd rather play the Eagles. Even still, playing the Rams isn't as terrifying as it sounded six weeks ago. Between like, I think the, I think at the very least the Bears offense is equipped to move the ball against these guys. And you get a game in Chicago in weird conditions.

Who the hell knows? I mean, obviously, I'm getting way far ahead of myself, but the Rams look a lot more mortal than I think the collective consciousness would have you believe these last four or five weeks. Yeah, I don't know. I'm looking at like cycling through some of these plays for the Panthers defense and the final drive.

Like some of it is a little bit frustrating, but they also like sent a couple pressures in that sequence. No, they did blitz a couple times. Yeah, like it's just. And again, J.C. Horn was in the, he was in the medical tent. And so, you know, Without your argument, best or second best defender, I get why it's frustrating,

but I lean toward thinking, damned if you do, damned if you don't. Yeah, the most important play on that drive before the Parkinson touchdown is the inbreaker to Puka. And I believe the outside corner on that play is Lathen Ransom,

who is a rookie safety. And so that's just one of those things where it's like, what are you supposed to do in that moment? They had to bring in, I just had it up. They had to bring in a guy who had played like 50 snaps all year. Caleb Evans, I think.

Yeah, he was on the other side on that completion to Puka. So thankfully for the Rams, I mean, just in terms of like their own sanity. And like if you're a Rams fan and understanding like what's on the line in this season, they squeak by. But and if you're a Panthers fan, I can understand all the what ifs you're going to go through in that game. But just a really impressive showing from a young team that was supposed to get beat up in this game against a 10.5 point favorite. Like I said, you're mad in the moment.

As a Panthers fan, definitely as a Panthers coach or player. But by like tomorrow morning, you're like, yeah, that was, you know, we gave it, we gave him, we gave him hell. And it was like, you know, the first successful Panthers season in a decade. That's pretty cool. Again, this was in the moment, it feels bad. But if you told any Panthers fan going into the season that if you played a game that went down to the wire against a basically healthy Rams team, in the playoffs, you would take whatever got you there, you would take that 100% of the time.

Tell a Panthers fan that after Puka's, the opening score, like where they just toyed with them down the field and you're just like, oh my God, what are we going to flip to in the second half when this is out of hand? And obviously, that's not what happened. Like we said, we're going to do post-mortems for all of the playoff losers from this weekend

on the Monday hangover show. So we'll have considered kind of thoughts and looks at the Packers, the two teams that lose tomorrow. a Monday night we will do that post-mortem with the recap because obviously we only have one game. So just be on the lookout for that. We've got a recap tomorrow night on Sunday. We'll be in these exact same shares at the exact same time breaking down all three games. And then we'll be back here on Monday nights with a live recap after that game.

So be on the lookout for all of that. Got a lot of good stuff coming your guys way. For now, that is all we've got from one heck of a day. in the NFL. We'll see you guys tomorrow.