The Fumblerooski Podcast - Act Like You've Been There -EP 327 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: January 10, 2025

In this episode of Rooski, Wildcard Weekend is finally here, and a lot of great matchups. Who will get the upset this weekend? Can rookie QBs Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix get their 1st career playoff wins this weekend? Could Mike Tomlin get fired this weekend? Deshaun Watson in the news again but for another ruptured achilles, meaning he will miss the 2025 season. What do the Browns do from here on out? Chris Costich, CJ Medeiros, and special guest Christian Clark from the Hops Culture: Nerds and Brews podcast talk all this and more!

the NFL playoffs are finally here all the matchups set and ready to go but first some breaking news to Sean Watson tearing his Achilles again possibly missing the entire 2025 season all that and more this is the Fumble Rooski podcast it may not have always showed it in the stat sheet but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws back-to-back games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie. Truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides.

This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast by Power 88 Dean Radio and Secret Weapon Consulting. The NFL playoffs are finally here, and we welcome you to another Friday edition of the Pumbaa Ruski Podcast. And as you can imagine, with the Friday episode, we're going to give our Friday picks for this weekend and probably one of the best weekends for football. Obviously, college football playoff going on with uh notre dame getting the win against penn state last night in texas so how state

playing tonight and the wild card weekend obviously this weekend through saturday and monday night probably probably one of the best weekends for football and Christian being a Texas fan I'm Chris Kostich CJ Medeiros with me and special guest Christian Clark the host of Hop Culture Nerds and Brews podcast Christian thank you for joining

us here today thank you for having me enjoyed my time last time. I'm happy to be back. Thank you, guys. It's been a little too long, and I think the last time that we had you was last season for that Bills-Cowboys weekend. You ended up getting that game to a tee, I remember. Oh, yeah.

Always awesome to have a great football mind. But good show for you here today and we're going to start with deshaun watson breaking news from a couple hours ago recording this at 2 38 p.m here on january 10th friday as deshaun watson a couple hours, was announced to have torn his Achilles again. And the official report was that he had rolled his ankle in Miami during rehab. The Browns put out an official statement in which they had explained that he was doing the end-of-season outro or something like that and had mentioned that he had felt some sort of discomfort in his calf after uh twisting his ankle rolling his ankle down in miami they went back took a look at it said well you retore your achilles and you're you're done so because of, he is most likely going to miss the entirety of the 2025 season. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Yeah, man.

You think that changes their draft plans? I think it definitely does at that point. And if anything, like because obviously Cam Ward and Shadir Sanders are most likely going to be the top two quarterbacks off the board. Maybe you think about Drew Ailer. Maybe think about probably not Drew Ailer because he probably played himself out of a good draft pick last night. Isn't he staying in college too? I'm not sure.

But Carson Beck is definitely not in the draft since he just transferred to Miami. Maybe Quinn Ewers could be on the board. Maybe he's a first round pick. Maybe he's not. Maybe he's a top 10 pick. Who knows? It's not even...

We don't even know. I heard he might – yeah, Jalen Monroe. I heard Ewers might transfer too, though. He might stay in college and transfer. Oh, yeah, because Texas – didn't they say they want to start Arch Manning? They want Arch Manning, and I heard something potentially about, like, some NIL deal, crazy amount of money to go transfer somewhere else for Quinn. And I think that, you know that the injury that he had should probably

Oh, and we lost Christian. On a side note, Quinn Ewer should totally transfer to North Carolina. You know why. Yeah. Well, that's if Bill Belichick is even going to be staying

around, though. All just for the technical difficulties. We're going to try to get staying around, though. True, true. All just for the technical difficulties. We're going to try to get Christian back, though. Oh, and he's back. There we go. Perfect. I don't know what happened there. Press the wrong button or something?

No, I didn't touch anything. Technology is wonderful. Technology, man. But a thought from you fellows. I guess for the Browns, do they just stick with, say, Jameis Winston again this next season, or do they try to take a shot at Cam Ward, Shader Sanders? I don't know.

CJ, let's start with you. You see, look, Deshaun Watson is just a net negative for your franchise. Sure, he costs a stupid amount of money, but by casting Baker Mayfield off for him, you have literally created just this bad energy about your franchise. You literally screwed over baker mayfield and now literally it's like you reap what you sow and honestly when it comes to deshaun watson when i heard that he re-tours achilles i am reminded of that meme with jeremy clarkson where he says oh no anyway you know it, you know, it's like, and I know they say, oh, you never root for somebody to get injured,

but Deshaun Watson is an abhorrent, just disgusting human being. And yeah, so if you're Cleveland, you just restructured his deal, so maybe it's going to be easier to give him the heat. So overall, let's look at that TV room outside of Deshaun Weinstein there.

First, you got famous, he who bakes turnovers. I mean, that's nice. He's fun. But, I mean, most teams want to win, so I don't know. He's another one, you know, throws 30 touchdowns, throws 35. Then you have Gordon Thompson Robinson, who I'm 90% sure was generated in Madden. Somehow escaped into our world. And then there's Haley Zappi, where, by the way, we're going to pour one out for the Zappi fans because, oh man, did they have that on their face.

But whatever, I see you're here right now. So my point is, the only person on your roster that's close to a viable starting option is famous, Jameis. And even still, he's a guy that's like a backup. You know, he can start in a pinch if needed, maybe play a game or two. But I can't see a team rolling a full 17 with him. So, therefore, my stance is, you got the second overall pick, you get Cam Ward, you get Shadur Sanders. Now, I've alluded on this show that I'm not the biggest fan of Cam Ward,

and Sanders is very iffy depending on where he ends up, looking at you, Cleveland. But you got to take a swing. I know you've had 40 quarterbacks start in a game since you became a thing back in 1999, but you can't let that dissuade you. Eventually, you're going to have to take another swing because you screwed over Baker Mayfield. The Watson experiment failed, and any sensible team would say, you know, they're not terrible roster-wise. You know, you got Denzel Ward.

You got Miles Garrett. He's disgruntled, but we're not touching that right now. Jerry Judy was actually a 1,000-yard receiver. Even if Nick Chubb isn't his old self, Jerome Ford is fine. Cedric Tillman has shown flashes. You got your safety valve, David Njoku. The line could use some patching up, but that's what free agency in the draft is for, especially if you retain Jedrick Wills. So a smart franchise would say, let's grab a rookie

and develop them. Because they have the second overall pick, first being the Titans. So whether you get Ward or Sanders, that's what you should do. Notice I said a smart franchise would do that. I can't shake this feeling that they're going to swing a trade for Kirk Cousins. I don't know why. They're going to swing a trade for Kirk Cousins or a journeyman and say, all right, sure. This is our future now. They're just going to put a bandaid over a bullet hole. That's something that I can see them doing. But I genuinely think at this time they should draft a rookie. Maybe, like, even if you do trade for Kirk Cousins, then you would take a QB at two because I don't know if either of them

should start right away, especially in Cleveland. Yeah, it's funny you mentioned Kirk Cousins. That was kind of going on in the back of my mind as well. But do you really want to risk even that? But, I mean, at that point, what are your goals for the 2025 season at this point? I think this is the time where you have to think about where your team is going to be at going into next season.

And you have to take a long look in the mirror of, realistically, where do you see yourself by this time next year again uh christian your thoughts on the situation hey man i think i think y'all hit it on the head i mean i'm i'm not too high on this quarterback class either i mean i'm sure some of them have some very good potential but like do they ever hit that, especially in Cleveland, but, you know, to y'all points, like, I think that, yeah, you gotta take, you gotta take a chance, because, I mean, Deshaun Watson's not it, and, you know, he was great in Houston, and, you know, karma came at him, like, you know, bad out of hell, and, you know, you know what happened there,

it just continues to come, so, no, he's gotta, he's gotta go, and, you know, I think it's funny because, you know, we've all felt so bad for Cleveland for so many years. And they started kind of getting good. And then, you know, this time what's different this time around is nobody feels bad for them. You know, so I think that's just the point I wanted to add because I think you guys, again, you guys took the words right from my brain. You know, I think that they got to take a risk. I mean, because who knows?

Maybe Cam Ward is the guy, you know? I mean, that's who I'd probably have them taking at this rate. So I think they should take a chance when they got it. I think CJ also makes a good point that, like, as you guys had mentioned, like, you got to take a chance. And as CJ mentioned, you also have some pretty decent talent on the offensive side of the football. Say Nick Chubb doesn't go back to his full self, but you can still run a running back tandem with Jerome Ford at that point. Jerry Judy had a great year.

Elijah Moore, Cedric Tillman, David Njoku. And the defense just needs some patching up. The offensive line needs some patching up. I mean, there's a chance you're probably going to end up losing Myles Garrett this offseason as well. There is that chance because of the trade rumors. And with that being said, you're going to have some extra money to play around with, especially now that you've restructured Deshaun Watson's contract.

So that's going to allow you some extra bread to work with as well. But it's going to be very, very interesting to see what they do in the next three months. But with that, we're going to move on. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to get into the wild card weekend and our game picks for what is no longer super wild card weekend, by the way, because the NFL has finally gone away from that. It, they originally went to super wild card weekend because of the expansion. And now we've gone a few years into it where you can now say it's not really super anymore.

You don't, you don't really need it anymore but we'll be back after the break it may not have always showed it in the stat sheet but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws back-to-back games where he has three touchdowns someone's got to get that six or seven spot he's an elite wide receiver as a rookie truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides. Welcome back to the Funbarooski Podcast. Chris Kostich, CJ Madero, special guest, podcast host of Hop Culture Nerds and Brews, Christian Clark.

We head into wildcard weekend. Got some great, great matchups for you here this weekend. And some not so great, some Iups for you here this weekend. And some not so great. Some I have some very high hopes for. This one I do not have very high hopes for. I think Texans versus Chargers. Chargers, one of two teams that are the favorite going on the road this weekend. Saturday at 4.30. 4.30 our time, technically 3.30 Central time.

And I don't know if you guys saw this one. The Texans, every time they've made the playoffs in the last 15 years, they have always been put at this slot. Saturday at 4.30. They are always the first playoff game to be played on the weekend. Interesting little tidbit for you. Yeah, no fun tidbit.

But if you're the Chargers coming out of last year, CJ, you're muted by the way. I said, well, maybe if they were better all these years, they'd be getting prime time. But, true. But, if you're the Chargers, and you're coming out of the win against the Raiders last week,

you're looking at this matchup and thinking, boy, we just hit the lottery. Because this is, most undoubtedly, the Chargers' best matchup for them in the playoffs the chargers love to run too high safety and cj stroud is a bottom two quarterback against too high safeties this year texans have not been very good in terms of the o-line and the chargers defense has been one of the best defenses in the league this year. Ladd-McCaulkey, 1,000-yard receiver, just south of 100 receptions.

Adam likes to think that he's a wide receiver one. I think he could get there. I don't think he's there yet. Maybe he gets there in the next couple of years, but I've always said this is a team that's a wide receiver, a one away from being a deadly team. And Justin Herbert is playing the type of football that, I mean, the whole Chargers team in general is playing the type of football that Jim Harbaugh wants to play.

But Herbert especially, only three interceptions this year to 23 touchdowns. And we said this on Tuesday, not the flashiest season in the world, but in terms of production, it's pretty damn good. I got the Chargers in this one. Honestly, pick your number because I have zero hope that the Texans offense is going to do anything. I have zero hope that Joe Mixon is going to do anything

because Joe Mixon against top 10 DVOA teams, defensive DVOA teams, is terrible. Hasn't cracked over 50 yards against these types of teams. Wow. I don't know. So if you're a betting man, hammer the under on Joe Mixon rushing yards. But give me the Chargers here. As for me, if you remember last week, or last episode,

it was on Tuesday, we were talking about the games that interested us the most. And I said that the Texans Chargers interested me because it was probably the most likely to go to the road team. And honestly, I'm not a big NASCAR guy, but if this were NASCAR, you got the Chargers, you know, like, you know, they're, they're the high performance model, you know, they're, they're making a strong finish. But the Texans, the engine's blown. I'm pretty sure you've lost a tire, and you're just skidding towards the finish line. Not even because you want to win, but because you want to be over.

The offensive line has completely fallen apart. The injury bug has hit them hard. And honestly, after this game, you're just going to slink off into the bushes, lick your wounds and try again next year. But yeah, honestly, I think it's going to be the Chargers Houston or not. I mean, whether or not you're in Houston, I don't care. It's got to be the Chargers. Because Joe Mixon, like you said, Chris, doesn't do jack or squat against good defenses. Their only wide receiver left standing is Nico Collins. And literally, all they're going to do is just double team him the entire game. So CJ Stroud just can't do anything else outside of him. That's not his fault. It's just, you know, like I said, the entire team is banged up. And on offense, if the charges are even average, like we said,

they're not flashy, but they're still good. Even if you're just average on offense, you're going to come away with the win. And if you're Houston, the only thing you can do is just, all right, it's going to sound really stupid, but don't turn the ball over. And I know it's like, well, duh. But when I say that, I mean it in the sense of, if you want any chance to win, don't go for the chunk play. Don't try to put together a highlight reel.

The only way you're going to win this is by playing smart, ball-controlled, game-managing football. Because honestly, that's all you can do. Christian, your take. Hey, I agree. Again, you guys are hitting the nail on the head. I think that before the injury bug, I think this could have been an awesome game.

This could have been one of the best games of the weekend. But, I mean, unfortunately injuries do happen, and they hit the Texans hard. And, you know, they're not like the Detroit Lions where they're able to rebound off each of these, you know, these injuries. And, I mean, you guys cited all the reasons, you know, Joe Mixon struggles against good defenses. C.J. Stroud hasn't been, you know, that rookie sensation that we knew him as last year.

You know, yeah, I'm going, I'm going Chargers too. The Harbaugh effect is too hot right now. And, you know, they don't turn the ball over. Their defense is playing excellent football. I am going, I'm going Chargers. Yeah, I feel like that's pretty cut and dry. I would be very surprised about anyone that's taking the Texans this weekend. Moving on to the primetime Saturday night game, the Ravens and the Steelers.

This one also has potential to be probably a stinker as well. Just honestly based off of the last time these two teams played, the Ravens just having their way with the Steelers. It took until the second half, but the Ravens just had their way with the Steelers the last time out. The Steelers couldn't do squat against Cincy's defense last weekend as well. So they are, I would say, just as much as the Texans, just sputtering to the finish line.

And I don't really see a world that the Steelers win this game. And if that world ends up happening tomorrow, then I think Tuck said it best on Tuesday, that you got to fire Jim Harbaugh, or John Harbaugh, excuse me. You got to fire him. Because with a team like the Ravens and the offense that they have, there's just no way that you should be losing to the Steelers. You should not be a first-round exit.

Now, the Ravens' record, their record is a little bit underwhelming, which isn't saying much because they're 12-5, 11-6, whatever it is. I don't have the record. I think it's 12-5, I think. 12-5. Like, you probably would have expected them to win one more game, but they also lost to the Ravens and the Browns early this year. But you got the Ravens and the Browns early this year. But you got the

Ravens at home, and Baltimore at home on a night game always spells trouble for the opposing team, in my opinion, outside of everything else

that I just said. So, give me the Ravens. Give me the Ravens, of course, but I can't shake this feeling that it's going to be an ugly game. Because, look, divisional games aside, we say this every time, but afc north teams just hate each other i mean they're always at each other's throats it's got to be the most angry cut throat hate filled division and that's what we football fans love so honestly i'm expecting the ravens to win

but it's not going to be pretty i'm going to stop just short of say of declaring a defensive rock fight because i think the ras are definitely going to prove to be the better team throughout. But it's going to be not the flashiest game from them. So, yeah, I am going Baltimore. And I will echo Tuck's call that if somehow Pittsburgh upsets Baltimore, then it might be time to launch Harbaugh into

the Chesapeake. And Chris, you know, as long as you've been on the show, I have not been a big Harbaugh fan. I just haven't. You have not. And this is why. But then again, I think they're just going to live to fight another day. And as for

Pittsburgh, I know that in recent times, except for the last time they've played, they've tended to have Baltimore's number. But that Tomlin magic always disappears in the playoffs. And honestly, God, all the fans are going to rip my head off after saying this. But if you're a Pittsburgh fan, how long until we start looking at Tomlin? Because every year it's the same song and dance. You either start out sluggish or finish the season on like a five-game win streak,

or you start out hot and cool down like this year. But either way, it always ends to you petering out and either A, barely missing the playoffs or B, losing in the wild card. It's just ridiculous. Does having this record mean this much? I don't know. I

definitely feel like feats should be warm for the losing team regardless. Either way, once again, give me Baltimore. Right there with you, boys. You know, getting way ahead of myself here, but this is actually my, I think this is the year that they finally, I don't think they're going to win the Super Bowl,

but I do think that this is my AFC team, and I think that they are going to win an ugly one as well. I think it's going to be very similar, Chris, like you were saying. I think it's going to be very similar to the last time they met up. I think it's going to be very similar, Chris, like you were saying. I think it's going to be very similar to the last time they met up. I think it's going to be very slow and gross, and then Baltimore starts picking it up in the second half. But, yeah, I don't got too much to say on this one. I mean, I think it's kind of like the last one.

I think it's kind of clear-cut. It's got to be Baltimore. And, you know, I agree with you guys. I think that if this stuff with Harbaugh can't get it done when it matters, it's like, oh yeah, one, two, three seed in the AFC every single year, but nothing to show for it. I mean, hasn't won the Super Bowl and hasn't been to the super bowl in um

what 13 years oh yeah since uh you know 2010 you know it's like yeah those those 12 and 4 12 and 5 you know 13 and 3 record whoops you know 13 4 whatever you know like the change whatever um you know all these you know the those records are cute and all but like where are the superbowl man where are the superbowls you know but yeah i got baltimore in this one too yeah i honestly with the way that baltimore loves to choke a big lead watch watch the ravens hold like a 14point lead going into the fourth quarter and just absolutely blow it. Because they just stopped running the football or something. Good grief, man. Good grief. It's funny.

The other thing, too, is like Mike Tomlin is the boogeyman for Baltimore as well, especially against Lamar Jackson. I said it a few times in the past, but the only team that has been able to consistently hold the Ravens to under 20 points in the last three or four seasons

has been the Steelers. Every single time up until the last time that these two teams played, Baltimore has been held to under 20 points, which is remarkable. But it also goes to what CJ was

saying, that it's the AFC North. It is the Black Air Force Division. Yeah, man. You can get like a 17 to 6 game out of this or something gross. Not much offense. You know, yeah. No, not much offense, you know, just,

you know, yeah, no shot. What a clock game on Sunday on CBS and paramount plus bills and Broncos. Broncos have had a very impressive season. And I saw this little tidbit uh last night and i wanted to i wanted to quiz you guys see how much ball you really know um so since 2000 there have been one two three four five six seven eight nine rookie quarterbacks to win in their first playoff game.

There was three other ones pre-2000, but I highly doubt you guys would get it. I would have never thought of these guys for my life. So since 2000, you guys want to guess who these rookie quarterbacks were to have won a playoff game? Ben Roethlisberger immediately comes to mind. Yep, 04. Their first playoff game, right? Was he a rookie when – no, no, that might have been his second year.

Pull up. Ah, crap. There's one from literally last year. Yeah, I know. I know. C.J. Stroud. In blowout fashion, right? Yep. That was wild.

His quarterback counterpart is also on this list. Flacco? Yeah. Flacco? Yeah, Flacco.acco Flacco You said win right Yep At least one playoff game In their rookie season

I'm going to take a wild swing Is Tebow one Tebow is not one So that was his second year when he did that. Okay. Yeah, that was Tebow's second year. Yeah, it got me good. Eli, did Eli do it?

No, no, no. Eli did not do it. He never won a playoff game outside of those two runs. Never mind. Call me crazy. Another New York team, though. Oh, Sanchez. Mark Sanchez?

Yes. Yeah, Mark Sanchez. Mark Sanchez? Yes. I'm going to take a wild swing with Denver again. Was it Cutler? Did Cutler do it? Cutler did not do it. Russell Wilson, right? Russell Wilson in 2012, yeah. Oh.

Did Matt Ryan do it in Atlanta? No, not Matt Ryan. There's one from 2011. There's one from 2020. Did Cam Newton do it? Cam Newton did not do it. They did not make the playoffs that year. One from 2011, one from 2020.

The 2011 one was a weird one, wasn't it? Wait, 2020. Was it Hurts? It was not Jalen Hurts. This one, alright. 2020 is John Wolford. You guys would have never guessed.

Dude, I have a feeling I might pull 2011, though. As somebody that's always had a soft spot for the Houston Texans. It was kind of like that season a few years back with the Vikings, how they were running through quarterbacks. And I think Matt Schaub went down, and it was TJ Yates TJ TJ Yates man so there's more right is there one more did we get a more that's mm this one is honestly impressive ball knowledge if you can remember this one mm played for the Saints. Aaron Brooks.

Ah, you got me. That's all you needed to say, Saints and weird name. Like a... So that's the company that Bo Nix could potentially get himself into if he can somehow beat the Bills. Wait.

Who are the other three from before 2000? Oh. Sean King with the Buckeyes in 1999. Oh, wow. Dieter Brock with the Rams in 1985.

And Hat Hayden with the Rams in 1976. I had actually not heard of that last one. Which is funny that the first two rookie quarterbacks to ever win a playoff game in the rookie season were both for the Rams, but nine years apart. But this one for Dieter Brock has a star next to it. While technically classified as a rookie, Dieter Brock was actually 34 years old when he made his debut in the NFL and had played 10 seasons in the CFL prior to going to the NFL.

Any relation to Brandon Whedon? Just wondering. Brandon Whedon. Brandon Whedon. Brandon Whedon. Yeah, so. Bills Broncos. All right, back to Bills Broncos. Broncos, I could see putting up some points,

but this is going to be interesting to see how the Broncos handle a rowdy, rowdy atmosphere in Buffalo. I've been to Buffalo. It is rowdy, especially in the playoffs. That was in the nighttime, though. This is daytime. So, like, I mean, you can only imagine that. It's still going to be rowdy regardless because it's a playoff game.

But Broncos defense, analytically, has been a top 10 defense this year. If you've had them in fancy, they were the top scoring defense in fantasy football. Yeah. They were electric, man. Cats are 10, potentially going to be defense player of the year. First team all pro, right? Yeah. First team all pro, yeah right? Yeah. First team All-Pro, yeah.

It was him and Stingley. What was that? Him and Stingley were the corners. Josh Allen being named to second team All-Pro under Lamar Jackson. Stats-wise, it's not close.

Isn't there like a thing where whoever's first-team quarterback is typically the MVP, like almost 99.9% of the time? Yeah. So there you go. So I could see a Josh Allen spanking in this game. Maybe they have a... This is the type of game where they just don't punt the ball at all. But that's going to be hard to do, especially, like I said,

Broncos are a top-ten defense this year. Bills' defense has been off and on. A lot of games where they have gone, where they have given up 40 points, more specifically against the Rams and the Lions. But this Broncos offense is not the Rams or the Lions at all, by any means necessary. Broncos are riding a little bit of a high, getting that 38-0 win against the Chiefs backups.

So I feel like this is a game where anything can happen, but the Bills spread makes me want to say Bills by 14, if anything. But regardless of how it gets done, I'm taking the Bills. Yeah, I'm also taking Buffalo because, you know, why not? And, I mean, like, literally, why shouldn't you? And this might be, I mean, forget weeks one and two. This might literally be Bo Nix's real welcome to the NFL game. I know the Broncos have a good defense,

but I trust Josh Allen against a good defense more than I trust Bo Nix against an okay defense. If you're a Buffalo, you're literally just going to throw wherever Sertan is not because Sertan is a great corner. Who's going to play opposite of him? Isn't Riley Moss hurt? I'm not sure. That's a good question, actually.

Let me check. Yeah, so literally you're just going to throw wherever Sertan isn't, and you're going to need guys like Zach Allen and Nick Benito to get pressure. But even still, what are you going to do when Allen scrambles? It would be nice if you still had Baron Browning, but you traded him. So, yeah. I'm not. I can't confirm Riley Moss is not on the injury report.

Oh, okay. Okay. But either way, you got Sertan and then it's whoever's opposite of him. Maybe it's Ronnie Moss. It's whoever. I don't think it's going to be

as big of a thumping, but this is eerily similar to 2021 Patriots bills, you know, a legendary head coach, lukewarmish offense, good defense, going to Buffalo with a rookie QB. It's not going to be as big of a stomping, obviously.

Well, probably not. Anything's possible. But I'm not crazy. Anything's possible. But I'm not crazy about Denver's chances. And also, Josh Allen, you know there's a fire under him, too, after not getting first-team All-Pro. And there's a real shot he doesn't get MVP now. Because this really goes into consideration.

So you have Allen motivated. So, yeah, Denver. It was nice to see you get in the playoffs because here's some fun trivia. I believe this is the first time Denver has literally made it back to the playoffs since they won the Super Bowl in 2015. It's literally been like 10 years. A whole decade. And for reference, I might be dating myself here.

Maybe I'll be showing how young I am, at least compared to Chris and Adam and them. But I was literally... Huh? And Christian. See, I wasn't going to say anything. I was literally in 8 eighth grade when Denver won the Super Bowl, and I am now graduating college, and this is now the back of the playoffs.

So, sorry, Denver. You made it back, but I don't see you winning. Yeah, man. I'm right there with y'all. I got Buffalo. yeah man i'm right there with y'all i got buffalo but i it is you know i think that you know using the motivated uh josh allen points is a very good one i mean because i mean he's put the team on his back to this point i think he's going to continue to do so uh but i do think uh it could before the snub i do think or snub i mean because i mean it's it's been that debate like who's had the

better season overall you know so i don't i don't know if i want to call this no but i think before that i was kind of expecting denver to surprise some people not by winning but hanging in there and uh you know giving given buffalo kind of a run for their money but yeah i'm not so sure and i do like the you know i like the mirroring point to like, oh, you know, legendary head coach taking a, you know, rookie into Buffalo first playoff game. Yeah, man, I'm going Buffalo either way. But we'll see how much Denver hangs in there. I'd be interested to see how much Sean Payton is going to be able

to out-coach Sean McDermott because this feels like a game where Sean McDermott could easily be out-coached. Yeah. That's very fair. Allen's a great quarterback, but McDermott's not a great coach. Yep.

Yeah. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to get into the Sunday afternoon, Sunday night football playoff games. This is a former risky podcast. It may not have always showed it in the staff sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws back to back games where he has three touchdowns.

Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie. Truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides. This is the Bumrooski Podcast. Chris Kostich, C.J. Medeiros, Christian Clark. By Power 88 Dean Radio and Secret Weapon Consulting. Breaking news at the top of the hour. Nothing crazy.

Dolphins fired special teams coordinator Danny Crossman and wide receivers coach and pass game specialist Wes Welker. Oh. Get him back to the Pats right now. Get him back to the Pats. I know I said this earlier, but I used the term, I mean, if I may. This is literally a Band-Aid on a bullet hole. You didn't get rid of Chris Greer.

You didn't get rid of that glorified clown, Mike McDaniel. Yeah, yeah. Special teams and wide receivers. That's the problem. Good job, Miami. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sure that's going to help you come for your playoff push.

Oh, wait a minute. Womp womp. Oh, well. Playoff push will probably never happen in the next couple of years, especially if Mike McDaniel is pulling the same shit that Shane Steichen is pulling right now. And even if they do make it, they're just going to be a one and done because odds are they're going to play an above 500 team in the cold.

So, yeah. No chance. one and done, because odds are they're going to play an above 500 team in the cold. Yeah. Yeah. No chance. Sunday at 4.30, Eagles-Packers rematch of their earlier matchup back in week one in Brazil, where the Eagles got a three-point victory over the Packers, and Jordan Love getting knocked out of the game. Second to last play of the

game. Jordan Love on track to play. Jalen Hurts officially cleared from the NFL's concussion protocol. AJ Brown dealing with a knee injury right now, but

he said he's playing and said, I know I'm banged up, but everybody is. Good response. Very good response. Love AJ Brown, dude. I don't care if he comes off as a diva. I love that guy. But Packers are without Christian Watson or without Jair Alexander.

I just, the way that the Eagles have been rolling, I just don't see the Packers getting the job done here. Yeah. It will be interesting to see how Jalen Hurts plays out of the concussion. And now that we're talking about aj brown in his knee because jalen hurts doesn't necessarily play all that well when aj brown's not on the field devonta smith's good still he's still a really good receiver but we mentioned this before like uh in the past when we were talking about the eagles more specifically when we were talking

about the eagles versus the lions and how those two teams realistically match up with each other and i just don't like the depth on philly's in philly's wide receiver room yeah because really all you have is aj brown and devonta smith and that's if you take away dallas goddard and saquon barkley because but after's if you take away Dallas Goddard and Saquon Barkley. But after that, if you take away A.J. Brown, you're basically just going to have Devonta Smith locked up the entire game, and you're going to have to rely on Dallas Goddard and Saquon Barkley out of the backfield. But they're probably just going to pound the rock with Saquon anyways. Maybe we get another big-time Saquon game.

Either way, I'm taking Philly in this game as long as AJ Brown AJ Brown's knee doesn't explode on him this is another game where that this is probably the first game I genuinely think can go either way.

Because just the hot streak that Jordan Love is on, oh, my God. Well, save for Week 18, but whatever. However, Chris, I'm sorry to tell you, bud, but Toyotathon's over. I was about to say, Toyotthon is, in fact, over. Yeah, so honestly, I feel like just being at Lincoln Financial is going to be a lot for the Packers to contend with. Christian Watson being out, that's going to hurt a lot. Because, I mean, like I said, they've got these two young pups in Mitchell and Dajin. Where, I mean, they're not elite yet.

But, oh, my God, their future is bright. So, yeah. The one thing I would say, though, for Philly is that you absolutely need to stop Josh Jacobs. Because, you know, he's been elite. But, you know, you got the big men up front, you know, with Jalen Carter and those boys. So, yeah, yeah, yeah, just – I mean, I don't see a reason why Philly would lose, especially since Green Bay's run defense is in – it's not great. Their pass defense is pretty solid, but, oh oh my God, I'm not a fan.

I know statistically they look better maybe than what they are, but the eye test just shows that I'm not a fan of their run defense. Their run defense is very different. And if you can't stop Saquon, then I'm not going to give up. And even if you do, and even if you have Jair Alexander on A.J. Brown,

who's going to guard Devontae Smith? And you'll probably get Dallas Goddard back too. I'm going Philly. Yeah, man. Hey, I hope you guys are right, and we do get somewhat of a ball game out of it, but I'm not feeling it. I'm not feeling it. I think that if you know if if uh green bay wasn't so banged up and you know And alexander wasn't hurt and you know, watson wasn't hurt. I'm pretty sure jordan loves banged up

I do not like them philly eagles, but I think that they're gonna beat him pretty decisively I think they're gonna take advantage of a lot of the injuries that Green Bay's got. And, I mean, you guys said it too, is their run defense has been pretty suspect. Their pass defense has been good, but they're missing their best piece of that now. So who's going to dominate that game for them? It could be Saquon. I mean, Saquon's going to get his 100-plus no matter what. But then, yeah, it's just like who's going to get the two?

Who's going to get two receiving touchdowns? Is it going to be A.J. Brown? Is it going to be Devontae Smith? Like, I take your pick, man. I take your pick. And, I mean, shit, even if Jalen Hurts wasn't cleared, I just think that, like, anybody can work with that offense. And I think that, unfortunately, I hate to say it it as a you know proud philadelphia hater um they're too good

right now they're too good right now and i i got them beaten green bay pretty decisively christian i love how the camera keeps panning i don't know what the hell that's i don't know i don't know what's going on with that, man. It's like, hey, look at all my shoes. Oh, man. Hell, man. I bet you have to say something earlier, but I was like, maybe it's just one-off. Yeah, I don't know if you see. Every time

it happens, I'm like... Not a big deal. Well, I'm just going to listen to the show anyway, so... Just get it in your head, folks. If you guys can see my 10-year-old sneakers, you know, all my Jordans and stuff like that.

Yeah. Tony and I football on NBC, Buccaneers and Commanders. I had this as my most interesting game because much like the Packers-Eagles, this was a week one matchup that saw

the Buccaneers spank the shit out of Washington. But, I also said on Tuesday, these are two very different teams than what they were in weeks one and two. Because during weeks one and two because during weeks one and two that's when the bucks also beat the lions and the commanders since that game against tampa bay

have when when they've lost they have not been blown out they're either losing by one score or they're blowing teams out or they're winning close. It's not what they're, they are always in games. That's why I'm going Washington. Give me Washington, getting the upset in Tampa, Jaden Daniels, getting the job done,

getting the revenge. Because when you look at it, Jane Daniels had the job done, getting the revenge. Because when you look at it, Jaden Daniels had a good game against Tampa Bay. Passing-wise, wasn't he crazy? But he did a really good job creating plays with his legs. I'm feeling good about Washington. And throw Jaden Daniels in that list of rookie quarterbacks to win a playoff game. My advice. Oh, sorry. Daniels in that list of rookie quarterbacks to win a playoff game. Granted, I think this is going to as the over-under

line suggests it's at 50.5, I think this is going to be a high-scoring game. Yeah, I think it's going to be a barn burner. I think this is probably going to be the best game this weekend. Undoubtedly.

It's the most evenly matched. This is the game where it can literally go either way. Yeah. And, you know, Bucs got off to a slow start in Week 18, but, oh, my God, then they came alive. They're rallying around the Duck. You know the Duck. You love the duck.

And the Panthers have been playing with house money. So my advice to Jaden Daniels is this. Take it from me who's never played quarterback outside of, like, pickup football with the gang or whatever. Literally just act like you've been there before. That's literally the thing. Act like you've been there. That's what it is.

Now is not the time to let the lights get too bright. But it's in Tampa, though, that amazing passing attack, and it just so happens the commanders have one of the worst pass defenses. And Washington has a really strong run defense, and Tampa's rushing game has actually really improved. And same thing, Washington's pass defense is not not great and the commander's past offense has really picked up jane daniels is not a run first quarterback this kid can air it out with the best of them and the commander's run offense is really good but tampa's run defense can give you cause for concern. So overall, they match up really, really well. And who could forget one big factor,

Marshawn Lattimore is now a commander. And I don't know what it is. Every time he plays Mike Evans, Evans gets strapped up. But, yeah. There's one thing, though, that does concern me for Washington. It's the pass rush. The injuries they have had on that side of the ball, especially with Jonathan Allen, it's literally just Deron Payne being a one-man band.

I mean, that's kind of just how it's been, unfortunately. And once again, their pass defense isn't great. And I know even though Tampa's missing Chris Godwin, you have these guys like McMillan and Palmer that are just going to step up and drop 100 and a tutty out of nowhere. So as for Washington, one last thing. For me, it's the experience gap. Mayfield's been to the playoffs with two teams and one. And since that's true, I'm going not with Washington, but I'm going with Tampa.

You were about to say Washington, though. You were about it. I was going to say that. I had Bucs in my head, but I was about to say Washington. I don't know why. To make no mistake, I am going with the Bucs. Because, sure, Jay Daniels can act like he's been there, but Baker has been there. Dang, I think Baker's going to bake.

Yeah, man. I think they picked the right game for the Sunday night football slate. I think this is definitely the best game of the weekend. This has been probably the game that I've probably changed my opinion or my thoughts, at least in my head, a trillion times. Baker Mayfield being there, good point. Two different teams in these one games.

I think, yeah, I mean, Tampa. Tampa has been very impressive all year. You know, Washington. I mean, these are two teams that have been, I think, that have been over exceeding expectations. But, you know, I do think I got to continue to stick with my gut here and I am going to go with the rookie sensation, Jaden Daniels, in a very, very close one. I think it's going to be an absolute shootout. It's going to be the best game of the weekend. Seems like we're

all in agreement on that. It could go either way. Of course, I've got to acknowledge that, but yeah, I'm going the rookie sensation. Now, I will say that another reason why I feel a little strongly about the commanders of the Bucs is how the Bucs offense has looked the last few weeks. Common denominator, they haven't had Cade Otten in the last few weeks. But now they're getting Cade Otten back this week. And he has shown he has he's a really good target

for Tampa Bay. Especially when both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin were out. So that's going to be a big help for Tampa Bay going into Sunday night. For sure. For sure. It's going to be a good one. Final game on the docket. Monday Night Football. Rams and Vikings.

Unfortunately, due to the California wildfires, praying for all the lives out there that have either lost their homes or just affected in some way, shape, or form because of it, but due to these wildfires moving to the L.A. area, Hollywood Hills, you name it, but due to these wildfires moving to the LA area, Hollywood Hills, you name it, they moved the game to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, the home of the Arizona Cardinals.

We were talking about it before the show. How cool would it have been if they moved it to the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis? The old home of the St. Louis Rams. Would have been really cool. Would have been so. The old home of the St. Louis Rams. Would have been really cool. Would have been so much better. But this isn't the first time Arizona has had to play home due to

extenuating circumstances. I can't really think off the top of my head. This is just reading what other people have said, but this isn't the first time that State Farm Stadium has had to be the home stadium for certain teams due to silly things happening. And obviously these wildfires, not just affecting the Rams and Vikings game, also affecting the Clippers Hornets game from a couple of nights ago.

And yeah. Anyways, to the actual game at hand. Rams, they rested everybody last week. They were very, very concerned about resting all their starters and not dealing with any injuries because that's basically been the mo of pretty much the entirety of the season including the beginning part of the season which honestly if it wasn't for the beginning part of the season how they played without puka and cup they probably wouldn't be in this spot right now and for sure it was very interesting that they

rested all their starters as well because obviously with a loss, they're going to be either facing, they would have faced the winner of the lot or the loser, pardon, of the Lions-Vikings game. But part of me kind of thinks Sean McVay had something cooking up his sleeve. But now that we're not in LA anymore, that was where it was the first time around between these two teams.

Now we're not in LA anymore, I feel like this kind of starts to favor more towards the Vikings again. I mean, they were already favored in this game to begin with, but I think it favors them a little bit more. I have a

feeling that they're going to be looking to punch someone in the mouth, especially the way they got manhandled. In the fourth quarter alone. Yeah. How visible, man. This is really going to come down to if the Vikings are able to slow down, never mind cup, but Puka Nakua,

because Puka debatably has had a much better season than cup and probably as surpassed cup in terms of wide receiver rankings at this point, that that can be up for debate. Oh, didn't mean to do that, but I think that this is going to go to the vikings they're going to get their revenge kind of similar to the commanders bucks game i think the vikings are going to get their revenge in this one and i could see this also being an absolute shootout as well

yep by the way i want to give you some funny news. In Florida, the 10th is now Mike Evans Day. This is per JPA Football. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared January 10th, 2025, as Mike Evans Day throughout the entire state to honor him. He's not even number 10, but that's awesome.

Yeah, why they picked the 10th? Yeah, the 10th is a little weird. I don't know. It says... I don't know. Hey, you know what? I respect it, though. Yeah, fuck it. You could swear, Christian.

Oh, okay, cool. I was like, yep. I was due for an F-bomb I was like uh oh oh it'll be fine not made for kids anyway not our problem if kids are listening or watching but yeah so here's the thing

these teams stack up better than a lot of people think but we need to look at to beat the vikings you gotta do it how the uh how the lions did it and i said it last week they just out physicaled them they were literally beating them up. Like, in the trenches, playing quests. I remember the entire game watching Alex Anzalone basically put TJ Hawkinson in a proverbial headlock the entire game. An armbar, perhaps, if that's more your speed. But, ooh, I don't know, man. I don't know if the Rams play that kind of physical ball.

I mean, they do on the defensive line, but I don't think they can do that, especially because their pass defense is not great. It is held up by the pass rush. But whenever the pass rush gets dominated for a play, that defense gets gashed. And once again, I think the Vikings are going to be looking to punch someone in the mouth after that game because they think they should be the one seed. And damn it, they want to prove it.

So give me the Vikings. Give me the Sam Darnold. Give me the Sam Darnold redemption game. Right there with y'all again, man, I got Vikings over Rams here. And, you know, I, I, I'm hoping again, I'm hoping it's another, I'm hoping it's another good game. I think it most certainly could, but, you know, again, I think we're all on the same page. I think the Vikings are looking to punch somebody in the face, you know,

that high powered offense with the best receiver in football and Jordan Addison, kick-ass wide receiver too. I mean, and then TJ Hawkins. It's just too stacked of an offense, man. And Sam Darnold proven he can get the ball to them pretty efficiently too. And the Vikings defense outside of a couple games this year has also been fairly impressive. And, yeah, man, I got Minnesota,

and I wouldn't be surprised if not necessarily a blowout, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's pretty decisive. But, hey, I'm rooting for this to be a great game. I think it's still very much a possibility. But Chris, I think when you were over the house the other day, I think we were both kind of saying the Rams have been kind of banged up. They've been playing. They've been gritty.

They've been fighting through a lot of injuries and doing it very well. But I don't know, man. I think also just the move from L.A. to Arizona, I think that's going to maybe defeat him a little bit as well. Maybe throw him off. You're going to throw him off a bit. You're playing in a division rival. You've got home field advantage playing in a division rival's dome, man.

I got the Vikings pretty confident in that choice. Yeah, and Lord knows how many fans are going to actually be in the stands. There was an Ian Rappaport tweet or retweet. Let me try to find it. Rams and Cardinals season ticket members received the first chance to purchase tickets for Monday night's Vikings-Rams game. That's now played at Cardinal Stadium. 52,000 tickets were sold to these fans in the two-hour priority window.

General public sale is now open. So maybe we could see some Cardinals fans acting like dickheads and reselling these tickets for a rather large number. Going to be Oh, yeah. Going to be interesting, though, to see what the outlook for the crowd is going to be on Monday. Definitely. That's for sure. Who's going to be left to travel over from the wildfires?

Yeah, man. It's a tough situation. Very tough situation very tough situation very like i said would have been a lot better if they just had at st louis because that would have been really cool there's there's got to be still some rams fans in st louis that are willing to go they all burnt their jerseys once the team screwed them over but Probably, yeah. Well, you never know. You never know. I mean, there still just happens to be Rams fans in LA.

Unless they're all brand spanking new. I would imagine. And they all probably popped up after that piss-poor parade back in, like, what, 2022? Yeah. You all remember. Yeah, whole parade parade one person deep crowd

oh geez but that is all of our scheduled content for you today any other news uh that we might have missed here today fellas i know we didn't want to devote a whole segment to it, but if you follow the Fumble Rooski podcast, as you should, or shamed if you don't, but Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is likely going to stay with the team. Dallas wants him back. However, today they're opening contract talks, but this is what I was going to lead up to here. They have the negotiating window to work with, but on Tuesday the 14th, McCarthy officially becomes the coaching equivalent of a free agent.

And Dallas rejected the Bears' interview with him, because if you're making a lateral move in the NFL, teams can reject it. So the ball's in McCarthy's court. So whether or not he stays in the NFL teams can reject it. So the balls of McCarthy's court. So whether or not he stays in Dallas is almost entirely on him. Cause I know inexplicably Jerry boy wants him back, but we'll see. Yeah. That's going to be interesting to see how that plays out.

Definitely. Definitely. And we'll probably get some more head coaching news as the next couple of weeks kind of play out. Patriots just got done with an interview with Mike Vrabel. They just completed an interview with Ben Johnson. The Bears just completed an interview with Pete Carroll. Another one there.

Aaron Glenn just interviewed for the Saints job. So I feel like there's going to be a lot of head coaching decisions that will be made in the next couple weeks. And shit, there might be some made after some of these playoff games, depending on, say, the Ravens-Steelers game turns out. Maybe Harbaugh or Tomlin are both gone after that game. Imagine. Shit, if the Packers beat the Eagles, maybe we see Sirianni gone.

Oh, yeah. I was talking to my dad, and he said that, and I don't know if you all agree, because we all know how they started, and we all know Sirianni has a reputation of being kind of a man child if philly loses can we really take sirianni getting fired off the table it wouldn't be a smart idea i'll tell you that much to take you off i mean i don't know it's i think it's hard to say because like the way that the eagles were able to kind of turn it around after they got their shit kicked in by

Tampa. Yeah. And they were able, like they just turned it around and went rolling. Yeah. It's hard to fire a coach when they've made the playoffs all three years and one of those years being a Super Bowl year. Yeah. It's a tough one with him, I think. It's a tough one with him. Yeah. I think if he was more ridiculous around the media throughout the season,

not just the first quarter of the season, then I think that we probably could be having a much different conversation. Yeah. But, I don't know. I feel like that if you're what's-his-face, the GM for Philly, I think you just have to stick with your guns and keep Sirianni after this year.

But, yeah. Anything else that we want to touch on before we end the show here today? Nah, that's pretty much it. Perfect. But that'll do it for us tonight. We thank you, Christian, for joining us. Do you want to plug your podcast real quick?

Oh, yeah, hey. If you want to listen to people hop on a podcast, drinking some beers, talking about anything pop culture, movies, TV shows, comic books, drinking some beers talking about uh you know anything pop culture you know movies tv shows comic books sports wrestling you name it hop culture nerds and brews is for you if you don't want to listen to it that's fine too we just like to ramble

well you know thanks for having me on um you know you know I know it's a little bit difficult. I know Chris, I was supposed to hop on Tuesday and step. Difficult having two kids now. Still in the adjustments period. But yeah, man, hey, anytime you guys want to have me back on, cool. If you guys want to hop on mine too, man, hey, appreciate it. I love talking ball with y'all. Thank you. I will never hate with y'all. Thank you.

I will never hate you for life getting in the way. I'll let you know that. You reserve that hatred for Adam. Yeah, we'll hate Adam for that because someone else hit his car. It was me. I hit his car. No, it wasn't. Just picture it in your head.

Oh, man. That'll do it in your head. Oh, man. That'll do it for us tonight. Thank you for listening to another Friday edition of the Fumble Rooski Podcast. New episode coming out on Tuesday at 7.30. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and we have all our episodes available on Spotify, Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, and so much more. Be sure to follow our Instagram, FumbleRooski underscore podcast,

and our TikTok. Well, honestly, probably don't even bother because TikTok's going to be down in like a week or so, it sounds like. It'll be fine. Take that, China. On TikTok, keep up with our podcast and the latest coverage on the NFL.

Otherwise, from myself, Chris Gostich, CJ Medeiros, our special guest, Christian Clark, we say so long. Hook'em. Hook'em. Yeah. We'll see you on Tuesday.