The Fumblerooski Podcast - War of Attrition -Ep 320 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: December 18, 2024

The Lions keep getting hit with the injury bug as they lose in a shootout with the Bills, Josh Allen keeps on extending his MVP case as well as saving Fantasy Football owners' seasons. The Eagles seem to have taken over the top spot for Super Bowl contenders, as the Steelers couldn't keep the ball in their hands, nor could they get the defense off the field. Chris Costich, Adam Wright, and CJ Medeiros talk all of this and more along with the Week 15 Top 3 Bottom 3!

Josh Allen making a heavy, heavy case for MVP and another big, big, big-time win for the Bills as they put up another big, big, big, big, big-time game. Eagles making their case to get the one seed with a big win against the Steelers. Big. That's going to be the trend for the episode today. 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, another Tuesday episode brought to you by Power 88 Dean Radio and Secret Weapon Consulting.

I'm Chris Kostic, CJ Medeiros, Adam Wright. Boy, another good week of football. Another good week of football, to say the least. And for the second straight week the bills in another shootout but this time they're on the right end of things 48 42 victory over the lions and it was a little testy a little bit of a very very testy game, to say the least, at least for what seemed like a good portion of it. Josh Allen, 23 for 34, two passing touchdowns, 362 yards, along with two rushing touchdowns.

And last week had three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns. Jesus Christ. If you want to make a case for MVP, Josh Allen has been doing that the last, I mean, you could probably say the last four weeks. It's been insane. This is now, I'm not even going to count it out, but there's only two games this year where the bills have put,

didn't reach 30 points. And that was when they lost back-to-back games against the Ravens and the Texans. They lost 35, 10 to the Ravens lost 23 to 20 to the Texans. And this is also back-to-back games where they put up 40 plus points as well. It,

this bill's off it. Like it's insane to think about how the Bills going into this year, everyone said this is probably going to be a rebuilding year. This is going to be a bridge year into next year. But Josh Allen has taken this team on his back and has done things that I don't think anyone thought that Josh Allen, I mean, we all know that Josh Allen is that guy. He is that guy in terms of being a top three quarterback, but he has taken this to a whole new level.

25 passing touchdowns to five interceptions, over 30 plus total touchdowns, 36 total touchdowns to five interceptions. Over 30-plus total touchdowns. 36 total touchdowns. 3,300 yards. 64% completion percentage. And his leading receiver right now is Khalil Shakir, and he's not even at 1,000 receiving yards. James Cook has been a great running back.

13 rushing touchdowns and almost 1,000 yards. He's probably going to crack 1,200 this year. All-around amazing performance. What are you guys' thoughts on the Bills? I want to wait on the Lions for a sec. I just want to showcase out. It hurts as a Pats fan to showcase it, but it's hard to deny how good the Bills are.

And it feels like that them and probably the Eagles, and we're going to get to them later, are probably the top two contenders for the Super Bowl this year at this point. Yeah, well, we talked about it a lot over during the friday episode but we basically said throw away everything we said about the bills before this season started i mean all of us basically counted them out as a super bowl contender we had them for the most part as a playoff team but we thought they would just be very mediocre just get by josh allen would elevate this team to the point where they'd be competitive and it would be a down year. Throw all of that away. I mean, Josh Allen has played at such a high level

that he's just carried this team into an 11-3 record. You're still in contention for the number one seed and you're doing it with really not much to work with at all. I mean, Amari Cooper has been in and out of the lineup. Even when he is there, he's a shell of his former self. Keon Coleman is nothing like what they were expecting him to be, being their first draft choice in the draft. I like Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox, but are those guys who are going to elevate a quarterback, is that going to be a top target?

Absolutely not. Khalil Shakir is a solid player, but I see him as a two above anything else. So you look at this entire Bills team, and they've done the opposite of what everyone expected that they would be. And it's really amazing. If Josh Allen wins league MVP, he certainly deserves it. CJ? I know that all the Ravens fans of the world are going to be extremely upset when Josh Allen gets MVP because, Lamar's stats are better, but you have to look at what Josh Allen is doing. His top receiver is Khalil Shakir, who Adam mentioned it. At best, he's a

high-end too. James Cook's a solid running back, but he's still iffy and is still, I would say, more of a receiver in a running back's body than anything else. Kincaid and Knox are fine. Keon Coleman has been at best. And a lot of people don't talk about for the Bills, the defense. This defense got picked clean. It's like free agency took the Bills defense on the date and the Bills defense woke up with a scar on its side

and a bath full of ice, if you get it. But that's the thing. They got completely picked apart, and yet, despite the fact that they lost Poyer, they lost High, they lost Tredavious White, they lost, what was his name there? Leonard Floyd. they lost uh what was his name there uh leonard floyd and correct me if i'm wrong they also lost tj edwards as well we know not him uh the other linebacker they lost tremaine edmonds like two years ago because you know two linebackers went to the bears oh yeah like two years ago they lost edmonds like yeah this is the fact that, and, you know, Matt Milano, surprise, surprise, has been hurt. This Bills team just has so much fight in them, you know, and even as a Pats fan, you know, I got to tip my cap to it.

This is, what they have done with this much is just insane. And some people will say, oh, you's just having game playing it's not because don't get me wrong sean mcdermott their head coach is still an idiot when this has been on display many times throughout the year but this is all josh allen josh allen is like atlas he's got the weight of his world on his shoulders and he will continue to make plays. And honestly, the fact he's doing more with less is so impressive because you have other quarterbacks in this league that have all the weapons in the world and do nothing. For example, look at the Seahawks, Geno Smith. Sure, he's not on Allen's level, but he is DK Metcalf and Jackson Smith and Jigba and Tyler Lockett and Noah Phan and Kenneth Walker

and Zach Charbonnet and they're barely alive in the division heck with the AFC East to a tug of Iloa granted he got brain blasted but even when he when he comes back you know you still have Tyree Kill and you still have Jalen Waddle and Devon Achan, and they can't even touch Allen. So when you see other quarterbacks in the league with infinitely more than Allen has, and Allen can still outperform them, that's got to be immensely special. And like I said, special shout out to the defense as well for literally getting picked clean this free agency and still just not missing a beat if anything playing a little better i would say that the last two games are probably a little suspect though in terms of the bills just because they yeah fair but i you know i'm just saying like how about like as a big picture

i mean yeah yeah they're going up against some of the best offenses in the league but i was just about to say that they did go up against against the Rams with Puka and Kopp, Stafford and Kyron Williams, and of course this week with probably, not probably, it is the best offense in the league with Goff, Monra, and Devin Montgomery, Jameer Gibbs. And I guess that's your segue into Detroit I'm like impressive that Buffalo is able to get this win and I think everyone knew that this was gonna this is exactly the type of game

everyone was expecting but in terms of the Lions Jesus Christ they can't they can't Get away from the injury bug David Montgomery just got ruled out For the year, torn MCL And now Jameer Gibbs Is going to be the bell cow Back for the remainder Of the season Now I hate

These rushing stats, 15 carries 48 yards and a touchdown Total, but this is a game where you had to just throw it all over the yard jared goff 38 for 59 five touchdowns 494 yards passing uh monroe st brown had a really good day and he was due for one as well uh hadn't scored in the last few games ended up with a touchdown on 14 catches, 193 yards. Sam Laporta, seven catches, 111 yards. Tim Patrick now with a touchdown in back-to-back games.

This was still a great day for the offense, but the injuries just keep killing them over and over and over again. It's just insane to me. And I think the other big turning point for the Lions in this game, of course, in the fourth quarter, 12 minutes left, you're down 10, and you go for the onside kick. If we're still in the old kickoff rules from last year and you tried to get the surprise onside kick,

then that probably would have worked, would have been better. And honestly, if the Lions even succeeded on the onside kick, the narrative would have been completely different. Everyone would still be saying Dan Campbell has balls of steel, which he still does. But I mean, we're talking about an onside kick when you're down 10 with 12 minutes left and obviously you fail and the bills bring it out to your own 15 so bad bad bad bad bad bad bad defense being shit the offense still looks great be interesting to see what they do without

david montgomery but the lions are in deeper shit than i think anyone could have ever imagined you guys think this nfl season sucks like it's actually the football is really bad. And the little good football that we get, the teams that are, that are really good this year, get hurt. That's,

that's literally the, the entire gist of the 2024 NFL season. And the lions were the few bright spots of this year. And here we are. The injuries continue to pile up. And now it's leaked over to the offense. David Montgomery is now gone for the season. So it's literally just Jameer Gibbs working in that backfield.

God forbid he gets hurt too, and then you become a one-dimensional team. And then suddenly you're not a team anymore that can beat others in different ways. You have to rely on the passing game, which makes you predictable. And we haven't talked really enough about that Lions defense. We've been saying it was solid all season long, and it has. But sometimes the best defense is a good offense. If you pour on points on the other team, then they can only attack you in one way, which is throwing the ball. It makes you more predictable. So that therefore makes the team

a lot easier to defend. So when you look at it that way, and you look at all of the personnel that they've lost, I wouldn't be surprised if they're out a lot sooner than we thought they would be. I mean, are they even a slam dunk to make the conference championship anymore? Are they? Because the Eagles are playing pretty good football right now. I don't know. I think that with the Lions offense alone, they're still contenders for the NFC championship,

but that defense is still... Yeah, they're contenders, but they were basically a shoe-in before this game. Yeah. Like, I'm sorry, but look at the Eagles. The Vikings have been a formidable team. I mean, the Buccaneers already pulled an upset round one last year. Why wouldn't they be able to do it this year?

The Rams are a solid team too. They've won a Super Bowl a few years ago. I don't rule out an upset early. I'm not saying it's going to happen. I'm just pissed off that things have worked out the way they've worked out for Detroit this year, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. This was the most well-rounded, talented Lions team going into the season in their franchise history, and they're all hurt.

This was their year to win the Super Bowl, and here we are. You've lost almost all of your starters on defense. Again, it's starting to leak over to the offense. You lost one of your top running backs, your top scoring back. He was the guy scoring all the touchdowns. Just pissing me off. See you, Jack. I'd like to pose you a different question.

You said, are they even a shoo-in to make the NFC championship game? I'd like to pose you a different question. You said, are they even a shoo-in to make the NFC championship game? Adam, I'll do you one better. Are they even a shoo-in to win their own division? Don't look now, but the Vikings are licking their chops right behind you. They're actually right there, yeah. Yeah, for those of you at home who just don't have your phone on you right now unless you're watching it on your phone that's weird but i didn't say anything you're 12 and 2 you're both 12 and 2 the lions right now have tiebreaker

but let's take a gander at their schedule lions next you have the bears you're in chicago divisional games are always weird and granted caleb williams is looking like a defeated man out there but need i remind you all in detroit about what happened on thanksgiving how you survived due to the fact that matt eberflus has a wind-up symbol monkey where his brain used to be. And then you're in San Francisco. Now, on paper, that's a game you should win. However, this is also an injury bowl, where they're just as banged up as you are. And then finally, your last game, you're hosting the Vikings. And make no mistake, the Minnesota Vikings are smelling blood in the water

right behind you. Counterpoint for the Vikings, they're a little tougher. Next, they're going to be in Seattle, which is a game they should win. They're going to be hosting Green Bay. That's going to be an interesting game. But with home field advantage, I think they might be able to pull it out. Then they're going to be in the lot in Detroit. So the Vikings, Lions, you're lucky here. The Vikings have a much harder schedule to end the year than you do. There is no reason for you to lose. But like I said, the Vikings are literally just licking their chops right behind you. And when you look at the NFC as a whole, the Eagles are licking their chops right behind you and when you look at the nfc as a whole the eagles are looking their chops right behind you as well just the sharks are smelling blood in the water and the worst part

is it's not their fault look we can make fun of the fourth down all we want by that dang camel we can make fun of the onside kick thing which on a side note i said over the off season the whole thing about where you have to declare your intention to go for an onside kick that's weak and whoever thought of that should never be employed by any company in the united states again that's in your head agreed agreed i know you all agree we all think that's stupid but that aside just no dan campbell's aggression aside this isn't really anything that the Lions could have prevented. Just injuries suck.

That's really all you can say about the Lions. Every week, it's just like the injury gods hack into them with a meat cleaver. It's insane. And that already, look, forget David Montgomery. Aleem McNeil is done for the year. Carlton Davis, at best, will return to the NFC Championship, if you even make it there. Aidan Hutchinson, the only way he comes back is if you make the Super Bowl.

He said he's going to be back if you make the Super Bowl. But same thing with alex anzalone as well and uh khalif raymond i'm pretty sure is done for the year too like literally since the word go the lions have just been falling apart and i may have said this in an earlier episode but i'll leave you with this detroit, look at me. It might get worse before it gets better because this off season, it's a matter of when, not if, you lose Ben Johnson, your offensive coordinator. And I have said, and I know I've said this many times in the show about teams struggling after they lose a really good coordinator.

If you're the Lions, you cannot fall into that same trap. You cannot let that be you. Because when you, not if, when you lose Ben Johnson, and if you whiff on the next hiring, the Vikings and the Packers are going to overtake you. I don't make the rules. Like, I feel like the, you really had to, and I know,

I know I actually did say this to both of you off camera weeks ago, but the lions need to win the Superbowl because the roads could get a lot tougher when they lose Ben Johnson. And yeah, stay with me, kids. You can't have blank in Detroit. yeah and that you know we talk about the nfc west and how wild that is and it's basically whoever wins the division is making the playoffs but you look at the nfc north and you have the lions vikings and packers all

set to make the playoffs, essentially. Obviously, still a few weeks left in the season, but they're all basically shoe-ins. Vikings and Lions have already clinched. Packers are going to clinch. And really, it's the difference between potentially having a home field advantage the entirety of the playoffs versus being on the road the entire playoffs and the vikings as you mentioned mentioned cj they're looking their chops seeing how beat up the the lines are the vikings are i can't think of a single injury that's on their team right now aaron jones he's kind of here and there in terms of the injury bug. Like, probably once every five games. Christian Derusaw.

Hmm? Yeah. Christian Derusaw. Oh, yep. And TJ Hawkinson was out for the first part of the season as well. But he's back now. Yep. Vikings, besides that one injury, they're ready to go.

They could be the Super Bowl contenders this year. This goes to a point that I made I think a couple weeks ago. I think it was with CJ. I think Adam was out for this one, but I think this is just more of an overall storyline that this is probably the most wide open Super Bowl

contention has been in probably since 2017 but and it's a point that Adam made like the Lions are looking fault are looking pretty faulty now the Eagles are right at their

heel same thing with the Vikings the Packers are in there the commanders are the commanders are feisty the Seattle Seahawks are fighting with the Rams for a playoff spot, and the Rams' offense is still looking like world beaters. Tampa Bay's turned the corner, and they're looking amazing. Look on the AFC side. The Chiefs don't know what the fuck's going on with them.

Mahomes is going to be out for the next few weeks. The Bills are looking like they're on top of the world. The Steelers, they have their days, but they also have their bad days. to be out for the next few weeks the bills are looking like they're on top of the world the Steelers they have their days but they also have their bad days the Texans god knows what's going on with them Ravens you could say the same fucking thing the Broncos are frisky the Chargers were right there but not anymore I mean the Chargers are probably going to still make the playoffs but god knows if they're going to win a playoff game. It's wide open this year. It is wide open.

But that's all I got for that, unless you guys wanted to add anything. I got nothing else. Pretty much nailed it on the head. You know, this is just, this just sucks. Yeah. I think that's just more of a culmination and narrative of how the NFL is being run as a whole as what could explain all these injuries and why the NFL maybe sucks now. But that can be a discussion for maybe the end of the season. But right now, we're going to take a quick break.

When we come back, we're going to talk about the Eagles in their big win over pittsburgh in the battle of pennsylvania this is the fumble ruski 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 welcome back to the fumble ruski podcast chris costich cj maderos adam right move on to the next topic and it was another game that everyone had their eyes set on it was the eagles and the steelers and really this all came down to time of possession and who was going to shoot themselves in the foot more.

And that's basically what the Steelers did. They shot themselves in the foot more often than not. Two fumbles, one of them being lost. The Eagles had fumbles of their own as well. But for the Steelers, they could not get out of their own way. And Philadelphia dominated time possession, 39 minutes, 52 seconds to 20 minutes, eight seconds, 401 yards total for the Eagles, 163 for the Steelers. AJ Brown, a week after bitching out his quarterback eight catches 110 yards and a touchdown and let me read the entire fourth quarter for you guys this was the entire fourth quarter

all right you guys ready are you ready because this is insane start of the third quarter I'm gonna read the second half actually of the third quarter. I'm going to read the second half, actually. Start of the third quarter. Eagles start with a field goal. 13-play drive, 7 minutes. Steelers, 2-minute drive, 4 plays, fumble. Next drive,

Eagles, 13 plays, 6.5 minutes, touchdown. Next drive, Steelers, 7 plays, 24 yards, 3 minutes, 48 seconds, and a half minutes, touchdown. Next drive, Steelers, seven plays, 24 yards, three minutes, 48 seconds, and a punt. The Eagles ended the game on a 21-play drive that went 88 yards and took 10 minutes and 29 seconds. They got the ball with 10 minutes and 29 seconds in the fourth quarter and didn't give it back. That was basically the name of the game. The Steelers could not get off the field. They could not get off the field.

Eagles were 10 for 17 on third down, including a one-fourth down conversion. And this is a Steelers defense that's still pretty damn good. This is a damn good defense but Philly's offense they just had the better game plan in this one that's all it really was they were able to keep that defense on the field on top of Philly's defense also making their own stops but that's just the name of the game at that point was ball control, and the Eagles got the job done. And now they are right there with the Lions. Both teams now 11-2, just like what we were talking about right before we went to break.

They're right there. They are right there. One more loss for the Lions, and the Eagles are in the number one seed. And looking at the road ahead for the Eagles in this one, Commanders, Cowboys, Giants. Who knows what's going to happen with the Washington game next week? They're in Washington, but you can imagine that they're going to bop the floor with Dallas and the Giants.

Now, there's still the question on if Jalen Hurts is still the guy, this and that. But the fact of the matter is he had a good game this week. And that's your storyline. That's your storyline. Jalen Hurts had a good game this week. Thoughts from you, fellas, before we touch on the Steelers, if we even want to touch on Pittsburgh.

With how well the Eagles are are playing the conspiracy theorist in me is saying that that whole fiasco within the locker room was just made up i'm serious like somebody was looking for for some sort of bulletin material to kind of get just kick them into a second gear in the in the final stretch of the They're like, why don't we just do this? I'm serious. They've been playing so well, and there's no sign that there ever was a locker room issue. I know that there was a couple of things that a couple players said, but players talk. I'm sorry, but they've been playing so well, and the chemistry on the field looks perfectly fine.

I don't think that there's an issue. And this was perfectly evident in the game. The defense played awesome. 13 points allowed to Pittsburgh. They dominated time of possession. They scored 27 points. Their passing offense was really good. And Saquon Barkley is still fine.

I mean, this wasn't a world-beating game for him. This was not a Saquon game by any means. They didn't need this to be a Saquon game. Right. You're playing against a good Steelers defense. I wouldn't expect you to drop 40. I wouldn't expect this to be a running game because the Steelers have a very good front seven.

This is a team that can stop the run. So you didn't really need Saquon Barkley to do that much. He could take a backseat. And like we used to say about the Lions, and we may not be able to say ever again, this team can beat teams in many different ways and here we saw it passing game this time rushing game a couple weeks ago you can also win on defense and here we are um the eagles are a super bowl contender we went from uh nick sirianni being on borrowed time and who wants it less against the fucking New Orleans Saints

to when are they playing in the conference championship. Complete 180 turn and all the credit to the Eagles here. Yeah, Philly deserves a lot of credit about how they're able to turn it around you know nick sirianni i wouldn't say his head screwed on right but he's able to take that child in him and just squish him down you know of course you probably saw sirianni and like the defensive line coach screaming at each other but hey doesn't matter when you're winning, am I right? So finally, granted Brandon Graham was talking about how soured the Hurts-Brown relationship is. This should put it to bed.

Keyword is should. But yeah, overall it was great because the Steelers effectively I wouldn't say stop Saquon but they were able to put a lid on him for most of the game they were not even averaging four yards a carry 19 carry 65 yards but what we got to talk about is the Eagles defense so you're going against the Steelers offense the The Steelers are a grab bag. Even when they're winning, you never know what you're going to get. I mean, one week they hang 40 on the Bengals, and then let's just say this week they only dropped 13. Russell Wilson was effectively silenced, only 14 for 22, 128 yards, and a touchdown. no ball carrier for pittsburgh outside of cordero patterson who had

two carries for nine yards got over four yards a carry naji harris literally six carries 14 yards and that play you know the play uh pittsburgh's best receiver of the day was Pat, I mean, it was Calvin Austin. So you got to credit Philly for that, about how Philly went out and they just shut them down. Ellen, once again, that's more of a credit to the Eagles' defense, where you had guys like Zach Bond and N'Kobi Dean just flying around the field, sacked Russell Wilson twice with twice with nolan smith and josh sweat both getting one like i said it was just a good it wasn't the flashiest win but it was a good team win and when hurts plays like this i can't stress enough how important that is

because one of our fears for philly was that what happens when they get behind right and you can't just lean on the running game stuff like this consider it like if you're in the military this is a training drill right this is a run through of all right what what do we do you know just like kind of like air out the arm a bit you you know, just keep the wheels oiled, you know, stuff like that. And obviously for Philly, we talk about the implications that this game has for down the road. Because as mentioned earlier, we all know this, they're looking their chops behind the Lions. The Lions are looking really weak right now. Next, they're going to be at

Washington. My instinct tells me that's going to be a tough game, you know, solely because I know the commanders are, I wouldn't say they're like scary, but they're a plucky team, you know? They're frisky. Yeah, they're frisky. They're plucky. They're plucky they're they're gonna make you sweat but you know but philly should beat them even though it's in washington next you're hosting the cowboys and that's a team that's just given up entirely and then you're hosting the giants which you want to talk about another team that's given up entirely so yeah even though you have the rest of your division in your final three games barring some ridiculous self-imposed nonsense you should win right and that's that is just what i think i mean it's kind of business as usual in philly but this game was good to make teams

let's just say think twice before they run commit the entire game to say hey you may have forgotten but we still have aj brown and davante smith and they're pretty darn good at what they do for sure for sure i mean didn't even talk about davante smith but he had 11 catches for over 100 yards himself um you look at the stats in general, Devonta Smith and A.J. Brown totaled for 19 of Jalen Hurts' 25 completions, so that's pretty fucking good, to say the least. And A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith

also combined for 219 total yards and two touchdowns on 23 targets. Looking at the Steelers, you know, they were without George Pickens, but I feel like the offense for Pittsburgh wasn't going to do a whole lot anyways, regardless of Pickens was in. Obviously, they were missing him, considering that their top target was Calvin Austin in this game. And Pat Frymouth had the only receiving touchdown for Pittsburgh or

the only touchdown I should say for Pittsburgh in this game as well. Uh, and this was the culmination of things that Pittsburgh, it's been the way Pittsburgh has been playing. You don't really know which team you're going to get. As you mentioned, CJ, they go from putting up 40 plus on a bad Bengals defense to only putting up

13 on a good Philly off or Philly defense. And now they got a division, a game that's basically going to be deciding where the division goes next week against Baltimore and then the Chiefs and the Bengals. They might not have they might not have to deal with Mahomes on Christmas Day which would be good and then they have a bad Bengals defense again to end the season so there's that and then you also have TJ Watt also missing half the game due to an injury so there's a lot of things that Pittsburgh is definitely going to be it's definitely not a good look for Pittsburgh for the last three weeks of the season. And seeing that George Pickens has missed now two weeks in a row with a hamstring injury, there's even potential that he misses next week with a hamstring injury. You never know.

And Lord knows what's happening with TJ Watt. So a lot of moving parts that could completely derail Pittsburgh's, a potential Pittsburgh playoff run to say the least. Yeah. Thoughts from you guys. Adam, you got anything? Pretty much set. Cool.

Cool. That's good. Well, this is going to be a shorter episode for us today on this Tuesday night. It's coming up next to round it out, the Week 15 Top 3, Bottom 3. This is the Bumble Rooski Podcast. I've 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. Welcome back to the Fumble Rooster Podcast. R-18 Radio, Secret Weapon Consulting. Chris Kostich, Adam Wright, CJ Medeiros. Our final topic of the day, week 15, top three,

bottom three. I'm going to start with the top three, uh, starting out with the Buccaneers. Big, big, big, big time win against the chargers this week.

Chargers are also going to our first team on the bottom three. We're going to get to them in a moment, but a 47 or 40 to17 win for Tampa Bay. Baker Mayfield went off 22 for 27, four touchdowns, one interception. And what a complete turnaround for Tampa Bay as they improved to 8-6. They're still in first place in the NFC South with a game above Atlanta. They go from losing five of six. They get Mike Evans back, and they've won now four games in a row

with a Sunday night football matchup against Dallas next week. And all things are looking up for them. And Mike Evans, what a day for him too. Two touchdowns on nine catches, 159 yards. Bucky Irving had a great day. 15 carries, 117 yards. But Baker Mayfield was the big story in this one. Now the Chargers.

First team on the bottom three. 17 points against the Buccaneers. And you could tell that this team is hurting without J.K. Dobbins. And it just was not a good game. This was a game of basically the storyline being of two teams that are going in opposite directions. Now, you could also say that the Chargers in the last four games have had to play some pretty tough teams, Baltimore, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Atlanta. I mean, even them winning against Atlanta, they did not look good doing so.

So you could say that it's been a tough last four weeks and it's going to be a tough five weeks because now they got a prime time game against Denver in two days which honestly we could probably even touch on that for a little bit after this but in terms of that it's five weeks where you're on the potential of losing four or five. They've lost three of four right now. And they're kind of looking like they might not make it. I mean, they're probably going to make the playoffs most likely. But in terms of actually making a run at it, it's not looking good. Thoughts from you fellas on those two teams?

Well, when you look at these two teams, they're in kind of similar situations where they're both, so far this season, overperforming based on their expectations. The Chargers, we didn't expect were even going to be a playoff team. Now they're in the thick of the playoff race. The Buccaneers right now have the three seed, and I love the career renaissance that Baker Mayfield is experiencing. I thought it peaked last year, but clearly he just experienced a new high. I mean, he's going to flirt with 40 touchdown passes.

A Buccaneers quarterback possibly throwing for 40 touchdowns? That's not named Tom Brady. I was about to say, you would think that his name would be Tom Brady. No, Baker Mayfield of all players. Yes, the former number one overall pick who almost played his way out of the league like five minutes ago is now about to throw for 40 touchdown passes and has clearly found a new home here in Tampa Bay. They'll never let him leave. I mean, this guy has, I don't know what it was. I think I know what it is that changed the culture in Tampa. I think I know what it is. But the fact that since Tom Brady retired, they're still winning.

He did something during his time there that made that organization think in a very different way. I mean, they're re-signing star players. They're drafting well. They're winning games. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers now have winning expectations year in year out when was the last time we could say that about this buccaneers team it's awesome cj uh uh so this was a must-win game for both teams because the chargers look the chiefs have won

your division you're just trying to swipe a playoff spot from the rest meanwhile the bucks are trying to win their division because the nfc south stop me if you've heard this one before, is wide open, and not in a good way, you know, because every team just does, you know, their best choke impression. It's like, no, no, no, you take it. No, you take it, you know. And, oh, my God, Baker Mayfield just came out and was slinging the rock from the whistle, literally from the first whistle, and oh, my.

And, you know, Mike Evans had a day. Baker Mayfield, who, like we said, you know, almost flamed out and then just didn't. You know, you got to be proud of that. And then there's the Chargers. It's a tale of two teams, really. They're two opposites looking each other in the mirror because baker man weapons aplenty you know mike evans bucky irving kate otten looks

like a young up-and-comer you know just toss it to all of them and then you got justin herbert can't even have lad mcconkey the best you can do is quentin johnston and that is all you get also jk dobbins is hurt too because you know because the football gods are still not done being angry at the chargers yet and have you i'm sorry no no i was just going to add to to compliment your take um but have you noticed that they've stopped winning games ever since they lost JK Dobbins? Yeah. Oh yeah.

That's not lost on me. I mean, we all love Gus Edwards, but he's a number two. Harbaugh wanted to turn this into a more dink and dunk run, run first team when he first got here and he did it well, but now that he doesn't have the guy to do it with not looking good. Yeah.

Almost like you need an elite running back to be a run first team, a novel concept. I know, but you even still like, I don't know. I know. Why'd you want to be a run first team with Justin Herbert? I mean,

I'll never understand that, but yeah, but once again, just Herbert, it's like, you know, how we say, yeah. Huh? Yeah. It's like, you know how we say all these quarterbacks.

Yeah. He's also very beat up. Herbert's playing through an injury, but I just think it's interesting how we as fans say, oh my God, let this QB cook. Meanwhile, Baker has some of the nicest ingredients

procured from different parts of the world and Herbert, like I said, cupboards bear, can't do anything. He's going to have to eat sleep. You know, that's basically what it's come down to. And, you know, it's not that Bucs defense are world beaters. I mean, I think they're underrated. They're better than I think they're given credit for. But for the Chargers, I feel like if you would lad mcconkie and jk dobbins

maybe you win maybe that again it was like they did yeah he had five inches 58 yards and a touchdown oh yeah no you're good i take that back i mean even if you have jk dobbins at best that's another score or two which still doesn't we need the game but I digress yeah and like like we said that's basically the culmination of what the Chargers have become this part of the season and I think that like you mentioned the elite running back if JK Dobbins is actually healthy he could turn into an elite running back. And I think that the overall consensus about the Chargers this year is that they're just a wide receiver one away from being world beaters at this point.

Like, Ladman-Konkney's great, but I think you just need a bona fide wide receiver one to take you where you need to go. And Justin Herbert's had a pretty solid season this year with what he's been given. He just threw his first interception in what, 11 games? Insane. Moving on, next team on the top three, the Bills.

We talked about the Bills earlier. Josh Allen. Yeah, Josh Allen improving his MVP case and another 40-piece that they put up this week against this time. On top of all that, beating a Super Bowl contending team like the Lions in the fashion that he did and Josh Allen continuing to do amazing things as well. It feels like that the Bills, along with with Josh Allen are just breaking a new record every other day.

Running out the top three of the Eagles already just talked about them, but really selling the solidifying themselves as a Superbowl contender and maybe a Superbowl favorite with the way the lines are looking right now. And Jalen hurts had a good game. Defense had a great game. AJ Brown, Devonta Smith was Saquon Barkley. Didn't even need to do much. Uh, but I digress.

We talked it to death. Um, moving on to the last two teams in the bottom three, starting with, uh, this past Thursday night or last Thursday night, the 49ers. Now you could put this entire game in the bottom three because it was a 12, six score downpouring, but the Rams could at least move the football. They could at least move the football. Like Matt Stafford didn't have the greatest stats, but Kyron Williams had 29 carries for 108 yards.

Puka had seven catches for 97 yards. Cooper Cup didn't even have a catch in this game. And on top of that, the Rams averaged 4.6 yards per play. I'd say that's moving the football. And the Niners, given the same conditions, granted, this is like we just got done saying this is basically the 2020 49ers. They're, they were without their top two running backs, but I don't know in a season. And especially in this type of game where you needed a win amongst other things, they, they failed. They

couldn't even come close to it. And Brock Purdy had a really bad interception in the fourth quarter that basically sealed the Niners' fate in this game. Thoughts from you, Fels? 49ers, they're so up and down in the past five years. They're either really good, they they're really bad and there's really no in between and this is again this is yeah this is the 2020 Steelers and after yeah that's what I meant yeah 2020 49ers like yeah they got hit by the injury bug, but this year it's weird because they didn't get hit that hard.

Like not that hard. I know that they've had everybody cycle in and out of the lineup, but they haven't been without everybody for any really sort of stretch. And now we're sitting here like Debo Samuel is still there. George Kittle is, um, they didn't have Christian McCaffrey the entire year, but I also don't really think that a running back, I understand Christian McCaffrey is a, like the best back in the game when he's healthy, but I'm also not high on running backs being a factor in your winning games. This, this is the year 2024 in the modern day NFL. You just need

balance. You just need a good running game. And if your passing game is elite, then you're fine. Um, it just becomes a luxury at that point, but still that's still, that's a guy you were missing in the lineup. I just don't think they were hit as hard as we really think this year. And this team just looks off from losing the Super Bowl. On top, yeah, you mentioned having all of your guys, and one of those guys being Fred Warner has been playing with a broken ankle since the Pats game, week three, whenever that was. CJ, you want to throw in a tip?

Sorry, Adam. I just want to clarify. I'm not saying that they haven't been hit hard. No, no. I'm talking about relative to the 2020 49ers team. That was really bad the way they got slammed i'm not saying that they haven't faced injuries this season that's i'm not disputing that at all but like they they they this feels like it's not bad enough for them to be losing like they are that that feels

like it's not the driving factor that's all i'm saying no and i'll honestly build off of what you're saying and the fact that like compared to compared to 2020, that 2020 season, they've had zero chance of even making the playoffs. And then you take this year and they actually do have a chance to win the playoffs or make the playoffs on top of winning the division still. But like the chances are so slim at this rate. CJ, you want to add to anything before we get to our final bottom three? I mean, granted, it's all relative, but yeah, they've just been piled right with injuries. And, you know, we knew from week one when, you know,

they said, oh, Chris McCaffrey's not going to be there. I feel like most of us just sat back, inhaled, and said, oh, this is going to be one of those games, one of those seasons, isn't it? And sure enough, it was. Seems like every so often the Niners just watch their entire team end up in the hospital ward. You know, they're probably going to end up in the same room as the Detroit Lions as far as injuries go. But yeah. And, but it goes beyond that. There's someone here

that we, the people have to point the finger at, and that is Debo Samuel. This man couldn't catch COVID if he stripped naked in the Wuhan lab in 2020. I don't think you can understand. His hands are just made of stone and covered in butter. That's basically what. He can't catch anything. Trying to get him to go in an offense is like trying to start a 50s model car in a junkyard like you can't get i don't know what it is and the worst part is that he either cannot or will not acknowledge that it is entirely his fault did you see he got community fact-checked on x where he's like i'm not struggling i just don't get the ball and then x said hey fact check buddy you lead your team in drops this man has abandoned any desire to be a good football player and i know what you're

thinking oh yeah but they're loaded but but when brandon iuke is gone and christ Christian McCaffrey is gone, and George Kittle, you know, missed some time, but, you know, he's back. And then, you know, you're kind of the guy, like you kind of have to be, right? And yet, here you are not being that guy. And on the flip side, there's Fred Warner. If I hear one more empty suit on ESPN, just get really excited about, he's playing through an ankle injury. Look at that grit. He is a black hole on defense.

He is a net negative. And look, yeah, respect the grit. Yes, I grant you, I do. However, however, boys's hurting more that's hurting his team more than he's hurting his team more than if they missed him he is slow his agility is gone you know why because he's playing through a fractured ankle and he should not and here's the thing right the longer he plays on it the longer it's going to take to heal and the more likely it's going to be that it doesn't heal quite right.

So you might be screwing yourself for next season, too. Just when you take these two factors with Warner and Samuel and just mix it together, you get just a clown show. And I know, like you said, they do technically have a shot at the playoffs. But no, no, you don't. I'm sorry. No, you don't. In my eyes, you are already eliminated. Yeah, no, for sure.

I think that's a good way to wrap that one up. Moving on to the final team in the bottom three, the Miami Dolphins. By some way of a miracle, the Dolphins are still in the playoff race, pretty much on the outside looking in. But by God, they did not help themselves out at all this week. Now they currently sit in ninth in the AFC, two spots back, two games back from the Chargers. So if depending on how this this next week goes, they're going to be eliminated in week 16.

But in this game in question, only put up 12 points in a game that. The rest of the way, you really cannot lose any games. And in the culmination of the fact that you lost Tua, the moment that you lost Tua, you're basically done for the season. And in this game, Tua had three interceptions, didn't crack 200 yards on 40 pass attempts, by the way. And your leading receiver was the combination of johnny smith and malik washington on top of devon achan who had seven catches in this game as well and you're going up against a texans team that has been one of the most underwhelming offenses this season in terms of looking at last year compared to this

year and like tech the texans didn't even have a good offensive game they let up four sacks and it really depends on how good of a day joel mixon has and he only had 20 carry or 20 yards carrying in this game so the dolphins continuously shoot themselves in the foot by making it that they still can't beat a team that's 500 or better. And this was probably their best chance to beat a team that's 500 or better. And they completely squandered it. And somehow only lost by eight points. If Tua was healthy the whole season i do believe that this dolphins team would be in the playoffs right now at least in the playoff race they technically still are but they'd at least be an above 500 team uh but i he tua can't miss time because he is still capable of performances like this

where, you know, you threw three picks, and the game overall was just egregious. Usually, you know, usually if you're playing in a shootout or you're playing from behind, you end up throwing for a lot of yards, but he didn't even break 200 despite throwing the ball 40 times. I mean, that's just egregious. And I think Tyreek Hill, this is why wide receivers above 30, they always fall apart at some point.

I know he's still a good back. He's still a good wide receiver, but he's clearly a decoy out there. The guy has kind of fallen off, and I don't know what to say. Like, if Tua wasn't hurt, they'd be in the playoffs, but even then they wouldn't be much to write home about. They'd probably be maybe two wins better. They'd be, let's say, instead of 6-8, they'd be 8-6. But again, at that point, who cares?

Tyreek Hill still is a shell of himself, and Tua isn't much either. So this team is just in football purgatory right now. Now, Adam might not have, or he might not know what to say. Oh, but I do. So if you've watched this show for the past year or so, you know where I stand on Mike McDaniel and them, and Tua. And look, I get the injury excuse. I understand it. However, I am a firm proponent

of the phrase, your best ability is your availability. And Lord knows that Tua's best ability is not his availability. In fact, it's probably never been his availability because, you know, this man's entire off-season workout revolves around him running headfirst into a brick wall. That's just kind of what he does. It's not a great plan, but it's a plan worthy of Tua that much, I tell you. And the inexplicable fall-off of Tyreek Hill needs to be studied. Like, look, I know he's busy having more kids.

And so that's, you know, all those child custody, their child, what's it called? Child payment suits or whatever. It's probably eating up a lot of his time. Whatever, I could joke about that all day, but Jesus Christ. Miami is just not a serious team. And look, I've already driven home many times on this show, like, oh, my God, McDaniel is now 3-13 against teams above 500.

Oh, my God, they can't win in the cold. But even if you do make the playoffs i gotta look at miami and say or if they did you know two is healthy what's your plan because your ceiling is that you're a one and done you're not winning the division meaning you will get no home games so like what exactly is the plan here just hope you squeak into the playoffs and hope it's uh you know the team you're going up against isn't above 500 it's in the heat like what exactly are they trying to do in miami i have no idea and even if you must blame injuries my counterpoint is were they really going to be that good regardless because i agree with adam i'm in lockstep at best you probably win another

game or two i mean and that's pretty much it this was a must win game for miami if you wanted any shot to make the playoffs you had to win this and now mathematically speaking even if you win out you probably won't make it i don't care how soft your schedule is. You have reached a point in the season that no team wants to be in. Your fate is not in your hands alone. You do not control your own fate. Not only do you have to win out, you're going to need like three other teams to drop some games too. Which, is it possible? Yeah.

But it's like finding a needle in a haystack it's gonna you know the odds are just not in your favor they would basically need the broncos and the chargers to lose out along with the colts um i would say the bangles but the dolphins currently have the edge over the bangles at the moment in terms of conference record. By God, that, that whole month or two was out really shot him in the foot. Not like it was going to do much.

Anyways, I was just looking at their schedule just to see how much of a difference it probably would have made. Obviously. So we're going to go from week two when they lose the bills, they're still going to lose to the Seahawks. Maybe they beat the Titans. I would, letahawks. Maybe they beat the Titans. Let's say they beat the Titans. Obviously, they're going to beat the Patriots.

Maybe they lose to the Colts. Maybe they beat the Colts. Let's say they beat the Colts. And then they lose to the Cardinals, which is the first game that two is back. So basically, we're saying that there's a possibility that they win two games and they turn themselves back to six and eight or eight and six. Like, then you look at the last three on their schedule and you got the 49ers,

the Browns and the jets, like to your point, CJ there, they weren't going to make anything of this season anyways, with where they were going to end up in the playoffs. They would have ended up having to travel to a team like Kansas city or Buffalo or Baltimore again. And,

or in this case, the Steelers, cause they still have the upper hand in, uh, on the NFC on the AFC North right now, but all cold weather teams, they would have had to travel to one of those four and they would have lost in either of those four or at either of those four.

So this season was going to be a lost season anyways for Miami, regardless of if Tua was going to be out or not. But that is the week 15 top three, bottom three. And that's all the scheduled content that we have for you tonight do you guys have anything you wanted to add any other news or storylines you wanted to add that or that's worth adding before we wrap it up here today start Michael Penix yeah Raheem Morris even called out kirk cousins michael pennix needs to start soon speak yeah i don't know if you're referring to uh his quote that just came out

37 minutes ago from josh kendall from the athletic uh raheem morris not answer did not answer the is kirk cousin kirk cousins still your starting quarterback question? His quote, we just got back. We still have to go through that process. All those things will happen over the course of the week. We didn't play well enough at the quarterback position. Well, you haven't played well enough in the quarterback position for the last six weeks. And looking at the stat line for Kirk cousins in this game,

11 for 17, 112 yards, a touchdown and interception. And like, he didn't have more completions than Desmond Ritter. Shit. You didn't even have more yards than Desmond Ritter. And that's really only because Desmond Ritter threw the ball more times.

And you went up against the raiders team that for some reason is still fighting and it really came down to a last minute hail mary that they ended up winning on so this is yeah if we're gonna go uh if we're gonna go honorable mention for bottom three i would just throw on the fucking falcons for the last six weeks yeah basically and let me tell you this i firmly believe the only one because it was against the raiders and desmond midder like i i believe there's a strong case be made that they lose the giants patriots and jaguars too there's a strong case that desmond ritter did a better job of throwing the falcons the football last night than kirk cousins did and he had two interceptions. And that's the truth.

Anyway, Adam. Yeah. One last storyline. I think Joe Burrow himself might actually be a case for a destination for Cincinnati. He makes Cincinnati so attractive of an organization, like just him, him alone,

that he may actually solely be the reason that T. Higgins stays. There's not a wide receiver in the league that doesn't want to catch passes from Joe Burrow. So why would T. Higgins go anywhere else? Money. And also be paired up with another elite wide receiver in an offensive line that's very much improved

from when Joe Burrow started his career in Cincinnati. I mean, this is a hard situation to leave, kind of. I mean, the front office is a clown show. I'm not disputing that at all. But on offense, this is a hard team to leave. You also probably want to be wide receiver one and there's a very real shock because you know how wide receivers are they're mostly divas that he probably doesn't want to live in chase's shadow which i mean he might he might be okay with that but i'm saying

the average receiver might want to and even still mike brown would have to open up the checkbook first which if you're a bangles fan do we really trust him to do that? I'm not saying anything is going to happen. I'm just saying that we thought that T Higgins was as good as gone, but in spite of missing a bunch of games this year, he's still on pace to catch for over 800 yards, which is crazy. If he played the whole season, he'd probably had like 1200. And like, if you look at, it's a pretty good pitch.

If Mike Brown were to sit down with Jamar chase and T Higgins, you probably already lost Trey Hendrickson, but you say, look, if you work with us and you guys both stay, we can try, we can do our best to fix this defense. And if the defense is even just half improved, just middling, then we're going to be not only a playoff team, but also a Super Bowl contender next year. That's a pretty good pitch. And it's a pitch that not many teams can actually make, especially since this is where he started his career.

I'm not saying anything is going to happen. I'm just saying, what if it's not guaranteed that T. Higgins leaves? That's all. Yeah, and realistically, let's take the Ravens defense, for example. If the Bengals had a quarter of what the Ravens defense had, then we're looking at super bowl contenders here because because that's the bangles in their super bowl run had a quarter of what baltimore's defense had we're we're after a couple of years where the bangles have fallen

back towards the bottom of the league we've completely forgotten about the fact that joe burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in all of football. If the Bengals are at the, at their peak, then I would argue Joe Burrow is second, third best. He's mentioned in the exact same breath as, as,

as Allen and Mahomes. He's earned that much. Yeah. Certainly Lamar Jackson as well. This, I mean, this, this Bengals defense has just been that bad, but we don't give the Bengals offense enough credit this year.

Facts. Anything else you guys want to add? Actually, I have one thing that news just came in. Michael Vick is now a college coach. Sacramento State just got official. there was word or rumor uh i think sunday uh that he was in talks with sacramento state and now it's been confirmed uh so the redemption arc of michael vick continues to grow yeah well good for him i hope he does well well we're talking bill belichick dion sanders went to colorado like it seems like we're getting an invasion of former pla football former nfl

players and former head coaches going to college and it's not like they're even going to very well-known schools either just kind of going just to kind of create a new name for themselves which i mean all the power to them i don't i don't really care if they put their these schools back on the map if bill belichick makes unc a powerhouse and that's certainly going to be something to look at but i mean as of right now i'm very indifferent to be honest i mean lord knows if belichick is even gonna end up coaching at north carolina apparently there's a clause in his contract that says if the nfl comes calling he's going which just tells you that he's settled like if that doesn't if that doesn't if that doesn't prove that he was just looking for control and he was just

willing to do it anywhere like you're not you don't have a klaus if you don't have a clause if you're going out and you're saying well if the nfl calls and gives me control then i'm just going to them it just tells me you were looking for anything yeah Yeah. But that'll do it for this Tuesday episode of the Fumble Rooski podcast. Three weeks left of the NFL season. Be sure to tune in on Friday where we'll give our week 16 picks and we'll also recap the Thursday night game of the Broncos and the Chargers. See if the Chargers can break their trend of losing three of their last four and see if the Broncos can extend their winning streak to five.

But that'll do it for us tonight. Of course, thank you for listening. New episode on Friday at five. And then, of course, Tuesdays at 730. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. We also have all our episodes available on Spotify, Spreaker, Apple Podcast, iHeartRadio, Google Podcast and so much more.

Be sure to follow our Instagram, Fumbaruski underscore podcast and the TikTok Fumbaruski pod to keep up with our podcast and the latest coverage on the NFL. Otherwise, CJ Medeiros, Adam Wright, I'm Chris Kostic. We will see you on Friday.

Over and out. Can't come soon enough.