The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Drake Maye & Patriots secure HUGE WIN vs. Ravens on SNF + NFL Week 16 Reaction

Episode Date: December 22, 2025

Former NFL scout John Middlekauff is reacting LIVE immediately following the Week 16 NFL Sunday Night Football matchup between Drake Maye and the New England Patriots vs. Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. John will react to the biggest plays of the day, breaking news around the NFL and college football, and much more!  All lines provided by  ‪@hardrockbet‬   Check out Gametime…the fastest growing ticketing app in the US. Gametime offers amazing last-minute deals on tickets to all your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL and NCAA teams. And on top of that, they sell last-minute concert and comedy show tickets too! New users you can go to www.https://Gametime.co to create an account, download the Gametime app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. Use promo code “3ANDOUT20” on https://nicokick.com/zone for 20% off at checkout! Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest.  #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise, the drama, the Alliance, This is MIT, everybody's talking about.

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can you think of anything else that you can do? I'd rather be disappointed in. Do that. David O'Yello. I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts. Dennis Leary, Gaten Moderato from Stranger Things, Tena Mongeau, Camilla Morone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more.

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Hopefully you are doing better than Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, who I would say unofficially were K-Oed tonight from the playoffs. Drake May throws his hat back into the ring for the MVP discussion. Has a fantastic second half. Through a beautiful touchdown down the stretch. Nice win. for Vrabel and the Pats on the road. Controversial ending with the Lions game I want to discuss.

The Jags go from the little small market team to dominating the Broncos today. That was one of the more eye-opening games, I would say, so far the year. It's like, whoa, didn't see that one coming, especially because I had Denver in that game. But that was a butt-whooping. Some playoff thoughts, a couple other little thoughts from the day. and yeah, a little bit of a come down after the Bears game last night. Not the greatest slate, but still, I mean, we're not going to complain about football because it's December 20th, so we only have so much football left.

So we got to enjoy it while we have it. But before we talk about any football, you know, and you subscribe to the podcast. So if you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe, Spotify, Apple, wherever you may listen. Subscribe to the YouTube channel. We'll be live tomorrow on the two. after the 49ers beat the Colts. So get ready for that.

Before we dive in any football, you know I'm going to tell you about my friends. You know I'm going to tell you about my partners. The official ticketing app of this podcast game time. Best ticketing app in America. You're looking for a present last minute. You know, you got Christmas right around the corner. If you're like me, you procrastinate,

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Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with my friends at game time. Use the promo code, John, at checkout for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account, redeem the code. J-O-H-N for $20 off, swipe, tap, ticket, go download the GameTime app. Today, when Lamar got hit in the back and he got knocked out of the game, the first thing I wrote down, if you are going to be a Super Bowl contender, which I don't know, a month ago, I thought the Patriots were.

And then after the Josh Allen experience, you went, well, you just chalked that up to Josh being Josh, or the Patriots showing some flaws. And then you're watching tonight, like, are they going to lose on the road, isn't that crazy of a loss. The Ravens are, they're not having a great season, but they're one of the best organizations in the league. And the moment Lamar got knocked out, I wrote down, if you're going to be a Super Bowl contender,

you don't lose to Tyler Huntley. Now, that being said, a lot like last night with Malik Willis, really good organizations function at a pretty high level when their backup quarterback comes in in the middle of a game when he doesn't know or is prepared to be the player, right? When you're the backup quarterback, you run the scout team. You don't take reps in practice. The game plan is not built or has anything to do with you.

You have not taken physical reps with the game plan on a weekly basis. Basically, everything is mental. Your physical preparation is typically done to service the defense as the scout team quarterback. But as we saw with Malik Willis and we saw flashes tonight with Tyler Huntley, there actually are some similarities. Malik Willis a couple years ago was a laughing stock. I watched a lot of Pac-12 football. When Tyler Huntley was done playing at Utah, it never crossed my mind that he would have an NFL career.

Like, I didn't think he would ever play in the NFL, let alone be a longtime backup. It's really, really impressive what he did. And then the game started getting weird. You know, Drake May had a fumble. They ran the fake punt, which I have no problem with. You're on the road. You're 11 and 3. your last two games were the Jets and the dolphins.

Like, put your nuts on the table. And the play call, which had one option, was covered and you were screwed. It was like, maybe it's not going to be your night. And then Drake May, I thought he was fantastic in the second half. Obviously, the deep touchdown pass to Kyle Williams, but you talk about a guy that's poised, who's under control, and he just was excellent. And I think a lot like the Bears playing the backup.

quarterback last night, a good coaching staff with a young quarterback in that position. Obviously, the Bears needed a freak onside kick. In this game, it was like, we can win this game. And there's just a confidence with Vrable on the sideline with Drake May, who throws, I mean, I would say the prettiest deep ball I've ever seen was like prime Russell Wilson. It didn't get any better. The arc, I mean, it was just, it was a thing of beauty. it's something that you would put like best attributes of all time like legs,

arm strength, you know, deep passes. Like I would say his deep ball was as good as any in league history, that being Drake May, going back to like Kenny Stabler or something. Or excuse me, Russell Wilson. I would say Drake May, early on in his career, throws an absolute gorgeous deep ball that is perfectly, you know, the accuracy on it, the ability to put it on the right shoulder.

Because part of a deep pass, you know, depending on the positioning of the defender, the positioning of the ball is really, really important. Like in his heyday, Brady and Randy Moss, it was always over his back shoulder. Randy was great at putting his hands out, you know, right into the last second so the DB didn't do anything. And you saw tonight that play to Kyle Williams down the sideline was really a thing of beauty. He ended up 31 to 44 for two touchdowns, and I think he threw for like 340 yards.

And he pulled up the box score here really quick. Yeah, 380 yards. And he's blown me away this year. I think him and Caleb, the coaching really matters. I mean, nothing has been on more full display this season than Drake May and Caleb Williams around competent leadership, around competent leadership, around competent. coaching around a competent vision. We saw it last night and over the course of the season with the Bears and we have seen it over the course of the season with Drake May. And here's the other thing with Drake May. Last week as the game unraveled, I thought Josh McDaniels kind of called

a crappy last couple series. His quarterback was a little frazzled. Their offense wasn't operating at a high level. And he didn't call any run plays. And it kind of all fell on Drake and kind of crumbled. The offense looked terrible. They didn't gain any yards. They went three and out, and then they went turnover on downs in four plays. And tonight, the efficiency, the play calling, scheming guys wide open, taking advantage. Like, Marlon Humphrey has had a fantastic career. He's been a really good player in his younger days.

At this point in time, if you get him in one-on-one situations, he's at a major disadvantage. And Josh had him circled, you know, like, we are going to attack you over. and over and over and over again with different players. And that's exactly what they did. Hell, I mean, the play to Bouté, Boutet, Bouté, I think, not Bouti, he tackled him. Now, he caught it, but when he caught it and then he dropped it, Marlon Humphrey could have just grabbed the ball. But what do you think he thought?

He just got a pass interference because I tackled him in the open field. Then he turns around and there's no flags. He said, what the hell just happened? he could have just grabbed the ball for an interception, but he kind of playfully hit it because he thought he was screwed. And I think the coaching with New England, I think the growth of Drake May, I mean, Diggs tonight was a monster.

What do you have? Nine for 138. Obviously the big play late in the game on the out route when the Raven starts sitting on some of the quicker stuff. But I was really, really impressed with Drake May down the stretch. After again, a little bit of a rocky start, the turnover. good coaching builds guys up. They don't let their good players and the guys that they're going to depend on go into a hole.

They're too, in football, you're too dependent on those guys, especially a young quarterback. And if they're confident spirals and disappears, you're just up Shits Creek without a paddle. And they're, you know, uplifting of Drake May after last week to this week getting a little weird on the road against a desperately. I mean, a desperate team to come out and down the stretch just kind of kick their ass. Now, you can say they're missing Lamar, and obviously that was huge. Right. But I've gained, not that I didn't have a ton of respect for Lamar, because I think over the course of the last several years,

he just became an elite player. I know he did not play well in the playoffs. It's well documented. Anyone that watched me kind of look like a different guy. Honestly, beside the one-half was it against Buffalo last year, for the most part, I think he's been bad in the playoffs relative to what he was in the regular season. This season has not gone great for him in terms of, like, relative to some of his previous statistical years, he's obviously been banged up.

But I feel like he's played injured the entire season. And he's kind of represented what the Ravens stand for is like, this is a tough fucking organization. And we're going to go down swinging. And that's kind of what they did tonight. But the reality is, is their season's over. Like the Steelers are not losing to the Browns next week. no chance.

So especially now, given that if they win that game, this division is over. If you would have told me a couple weeks ago that week 18 against the Steelers would not have mattered, I don't think I would have believed you. But you could have told me a lot of things several weeks ago, and I definitely wouldn't have believed you about the way this kind of playoff picture has played out, about the way some of these teams have played out. But I just thought the Ravens would figure out a way just a limp there, even if they didn't get it this year, right?

I mean, obviously the Steelers beat him a couple weeks ago. I think the Steelers have kind of found some of their mojo. But this thing's over. And there have been questions out there, at least by the fans, of like, has this kind of situation run its course? Right. We've talked about this before with the Lions, and we'll get into it here in a little bit when we talk about that game.

But like windows do close with the group of certain players under contract who were in the prime of their career. Like you see it with the Chiefs. The group of guys they had that they made their Super Bowl runs with will look dramatically different at the start of next year. Chris Jones will be gone. Kelsey Pryverer retired. Joe Tuni's already been traded. It's just over for a core group of guys that you made a large run with.

Now, some guys will carry over, some younger players, McDuffey, Carlottis, right? But there is a lot of new faces. And I think the same thing with the Ravens. I think this team is going to look dramatically different next year. And they, like the Steelers, have been very consistent. it, why they've had the same coach, what feels like for 20 years. And you know exactly what you're going to get season in, season out. And typically, especially over the course of the last four or five years,

they've easily been one of the best teams in the NFL. But they had some injuries, some of their guys got old. Obviously, Lamar Jackson has just been injured throughout the season. I don't care what the injury report says. I can use my eyes. He hasn't looked the same. Like, I'm watching Drake May. Like, looks like fully healthy to me.

I'm watching Caleb Williams last night. Looks fully healthy to me. I've been watching Lamar Jackson long enough to know, like, hey, it doesn't quite look right. He kind of found some mojo last week, but clearly he's been battle stuff because he gets hit weird, and then boom, he's out for the game. And it wasn't the reason they lost tonight

because, again, I have a lot of respect, you know, for Huntley, a guy that, again, never thought he'd be in the league. Went 9 and 10, only threw for 65 yards. But, yeah, I just, obviously there's a massive drop-off between those two guys, but they're season's over. I mean, like I said, the Steelers are beating the Browns,

and I think the Ravens will be officially eliminated from the playoffs. Now, what to see, you know, the Patriots, the next two weeks, they, it's really, it's crazy to say this because you're like, they've been so terrible, but it's kind of unfathomable how bad the jets are. Like, they've been a really bad franchise over the past decade plus, but you watch them over the course of the last several weeks, you're like, I don't think you could get any worse. Like today, the Raiders showed a lot of heart.

Gentie made a bunch of plays. The Titans, like, played pretty well today. Now, the Chiefs were playing with a guy that I don't think any of us literally have ever heard of. I had to go immediately to the Wiki page. Like, who is this guy? He's been on the practice squad for the Steelers. Like, what's this guy's deal? He's in the league.

He's got two rings on the practice squad for the Chiefs. But, like, what is going on with the Jets? They don't even try. Patriots are winning that game, and then they get the Dolphins. Who was reading the story, they had a guy that they made an active today. If he leaves, they get a comp pick, and it's like, they're tanking, which right move. So the Patriots are going to win the next two weeks. Now the Broncos get the Chiefs on Thursday night, Minchu Torres ACL today. So they're going to see that backup quarterback that, again, no one's ever heard of.

So we'll have to see how this plays out. And they both might end up 14 and 3, so I don't know who gets the tiebreaker there. but I think the AFC playoff picture is basically taken shape. You know, the Texans, or excuse me, the Colts are technically still alive, but if they lose tomorrow, they wouldn't be mathematically eliminated, but to me it would be over. Because they would be 8 and 7, their last two games would be against the Jags and the Texans. The Texans already have 10 wins,

so they would need the Texans to lose out. And pretty sure that Texans play the Titans this one, week. No, excuse me, they play the Chargers this week. Actually, it's a pretty good game. That's a Saturday game. But then they play the Colts, the last game of the season. But I just think the Colts, I think they're done. I think we know the AFC. It's Denver, New England, in whatever order it plays out, the Jags, who we'll talk about in a second, the Steelers, the Chargers, the Bills, and the Texans. That's a pretty good AFC playoff picture. Part of the reason it's really good is that depending on the order and the seating how this plays out,

if the three wild cards teams in whatever order are the Chargers, the Bills, and the Texans, I don't think any of us would be shocked if two of the three of those teams win. It is not inconceivable that the Chargers with Herbert and Harbaugh, the Bills with Josh Allen, who had a weird game today. And the Texans who also kind of had a weird game today, but they have won seven straight games. So your boy had them, you know, minus four.

14 and a half. I was pretty dialed in on that game, actually. I kind of came away like, I'm kind of rooting for Genty. It was kind of fun. Stuck to lose, but Texas still pulled it out. I would not shock me. They're all going to be very, very live dogs, depending on the matchups. You know, it's crazy. If you're the Jags and you have a fantastic season and you draw Josh Allen in the first round, it's like, that kind of sucks. You know, the Steelers getting the Chargers, that's a little bit of the Spider-Man meme of them pointing at each other. That is a, I mean, it's a game that the Steelers can win.

We'll see if T.J. Watt can come back. But, you know, it's going to be hard to bet against Harbaugh and the Chargers that are going to have a lot of momentum going in. And then the Texans, you know, against the New England Patriots, or the Broncos, that's just a tough, tough matchup if you're the two-seat. I mean, it really is because most years the Texans are better than a seven-seat, right? They have an elite defense. CJ was a little hit all over the place today. but at the end of the day, like I think the Texans, they would be the type team that I would want no part of in a playoff game.

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of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. We were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band

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and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and Head, writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

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Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Speaking of Weir, the end of the Lions game, there has been a lot of talk and people screaming,

Lions fans mad. I get texts from buddies about how bad the refs are. Don't get me wrong. The officiating is, today was really bad. I mean, there are some calls. It feels like guys are either afraid to blow the whistle or get really whistle happy. There's no like middle ground, right?

I could disagree with certain calls like the bodyweight call. It's like, what is the guy supposed to do? He's 300 pounds. He's sacking the quarterback. Is he supposed to float away? but so many plays in the secondary with pass interference or defensive holding, it just feels so subjective, so random, right? It's just like, what are you seeing?

Some referees see it one way, other guys see it other way. Obviously, sometimes it's pretty clear and obvious, but throughout the day and throughout honestly the season, you just don't know what you're getting game-to-game play to play. But the last play in the Lions game, one, I feel no sympathy for the Lions. It's not their fault. Maybe it is. I mean, I don't know their training and practice habits.

They have a million injuries every single year. And even the day, I forget who was calling the game, was like they're down to their third center and defensively they're just a mass unit in the secondary. They're down 2917 in the fourth quarter. Yeah, it was Nancy Romo. That it was just, you're down 2917 in a game that is basically four-year season. And even Dan Campbell said when he had tried,

dressed the team, he said that that might have been our last chance. Right. So he's no dummy. He understood. I'm sure that they built this thing as like all of our chips are in the middle of the table for this game. And you kind of get worked by a team who star wide receiver hit a fan who you could argue their second best quote unquote receiver is a 300 pound tight end who actually is a freak talent, but probably should be playing right tackle if he wants to maximize profits. I just think that they, They worked you. Now, you came back at the end.

It got weird. They missed a field goal. But the final play, give me a fucking break. There is a thing called forward forward progress. Or just like, the play is over. And it was pretty clear that, one, he not only didn't cross the goal line, but they drove them back like five yards. And in 2025, with officiating, you can't slam the guy to the ground.

You can't make sure everyone knows they tackled. you were taught to kind of like, after a couple steps, kind of stop. Just like, play it to the whistle, not in 25, you know, in this day and age. Right. You don't want to get a penalty, give him another free play. By the time that he lateraled it to Jared Goff, it felt like the play had been over for two seconds. Anyone complaining, now, we could argue whether it was offensive pass interference or not, I'd argue it's irrelevant because he didn't score a touchdown.

he would have been tackled. They didn't have timeouts. The game would have been over. But like I said, when you were making Jalen Warren look like Barry Sanders, I'm not going to feel bad for you. You're not a playoff team this year. And I'm a Dan Campbell, Jared Gough, Lions fan. I have rooted for the team just because I like what they stood for.

I've had a ton of admiration for how they've rebuilt this operation. But give me a break with everyone's screen. screaming and bitching and moaning about the way the game ended. Yeah, referees are idiots. Like, I don't even, I'm not even listen to what they said because it didn't even matter. Even if the past interference hadn't happened, that there was no lateral. And this notion that like, well, by the letter of the law, no, he was, he was clearly tackled and it was over. What are we talking about?

So I just do not understand. If they would have allowed that lateral to happen, that would have been. one of the biggest con jobs, Ponzi schemes, Fugazis in the history of the NFL. It would have been the most outrageous thing I've ever seen in my entire life. And we've seen some crazy ones. The Desketch, I'm probably, I can't, I'm so tired right now, I can't even, you know, come up with five, but we've seen a lot, especially recently. But that would have been the worst one of all time.

I truly believe that if they would have allowed a lateral after he had been driven back for five yards and neither guy is trying to get a penalty. Like, you lost. Fair and swear. And now, you know, essentially you are eliminated because you get, you know, the Vikings this week who are going to have their backup quarterback because J.J. McCarthy's probably going to be out for the season with a fucked up hand. But the Packers has to win one of these last two games.

And to me, the Packers are a much better team. The Packers deserve to be in the playoffs. They didn't deserve to win the last game against the Bears, because they screwed up the onside kick. But to me, like, if you said, who's more deserving out of those two teams? Like, I'm sorry, the Packers are. And the Jags. Clearly, Sean Payton this week when he made the comment about,

it's like really impressive coming from a small market, he's worked in a small market. Like, New Orleans is not treated like the Dallas Cowboys, the Green Bay Packers. I know they're a small market, but they're treated like a major brand. The 49ers, the Philadelphia Eagles, like these major teams. teams that we don't talk about the Jax. He was just speaking facts.

This wasn't college. He wasn't being offended that your town's smaller than others. To me, the way I took it is like, they're a really good team. They just play in a market that no one pays attention. I told Coward earlier day, they're like, are they even a top five most famous football team in their own state, college, high school, and pro? I think the answer would be no. The U, Florida State, University of Florida, the Miami Dolphins.

St. Thomas Aquinas. I mean, what are we talking about here? Now, that being said about the market size and their visibility nationally, which I don't think it's really disputed, most people aren't locked in on Jags game. Myself included, I mean, I have every game on all the time, but like, I'm not watching all their snaps most of the time. Because historically, they've never mattered. They have been bad for so long.

They are no longer bad. Today was really impressive. They dominated the. that game. They destroy Denver. They were unstoppable on offense. Liam Cohen as Trevor Lawrence looked like he's back at Clemson. He was fantastic today. I mean, his throws in the red zone. I mean, he looks like, I don't know, like Josh Allen or Justin Herbert moving around with his feet, accurate on throws, just under complete control. Defensively, they're really physical. They are, and this speaks to what Sean Payton is talking about. Ben Johnson is getting a ton of credit.

The bears and the jags are the same. They have sucked for a while now. The difference is the bears have a lot of history, and they are in one of our biggest, most important cities in America. So when they are good, they are a major story. Right? So Ben Johnson has turned Chicago around overnight. Liam Cohen has turned around the Jags around overnight.

Yet we have been talking about the Bears, Caleb Williams, and Ben Johnson 24-7, 365 all year. I'm as guilty as anybody. They're a fascinating story. But a lot of people are paying attention. We have not been talking about the Jags. It's like, yeah, Liam Cohen, what he's doing? Like, what he's doing? I'm blown away.

Like, watching that game today, I kept waiting. I was like, oh, this is not going to hold. And it was like, boom, another touchdown. Boom, another touchdown. Parker Washington. Is that Jerry Rice? No, it's Parker Washington. ETN.

It was like, we are blasting these guys. What was the final score of that game? Because it doesn't feel as close as the final score was. The final score was 34 to 20. I felt worse than that, especially in the second half. That was, I mean, Bo Nicks were a terrible pick, right to the defender. Then they immediately scored again, basically ran the same play, like back-to-back series to Parker Washington,

where, like, made one guy miss all of a sudden he's just free down the sideline. That was really impressive. I was, I was blown away. I really was. I tweeted this. I don't know if I really believe it, but I definitely don't not believe it. Like, could the Jags win the Super Bowl?

I mean, could the Jags beat the Steelers? Yes. Could the Jags beat the Chargers? Yes. Could the Jags beat the Bills? Yes. Could the Jags beat the Texans? They have.

And the game they lost to them, I think they were up 29 to 10. Could they beat the Broncos? We just saw them do it. It's like, I don't know why they couldn't win, you know, the AFC. Now they're probably going to end up with the three seed because like we said, the Patriot schedule is really easy.

And now the Chargers get Gardner Minchus backup. And the Chargers who, depending on what happens this week, might even have nothing to play for. And even if they do, and it's the difference between the five or six seed, wouldn't be shocking. Some of these teams are going to rest people week 18. If they basically know, I'm going to be the five or six seed, but whatever.

I don't care either way. Sean McVade did this a couple years ago. I'm not playing people week 18. And he did it years ago in the preseason. Everyone copied them. I do think more and more teams, if it's like the difference between the six or the seven seed or the five and the sixth seed,

it's like I'm not risking getting a starter injured when I know for a fact I'm going to play the next week. And I think you can justify that. I wouldn't blame any team for doing that. Because like, well, I'd rather play the Panthers or I'd rather play the Steelers than the Jags. It's like, I just, I cannot lose my star, fill in the blank player in a game that, like, well, it could have changed the seating, but regardless, I was playing next week anyway. And listen, it's the playoffs.

All these teams are hard. At the end of the day, you know, especially in the AFC, like, I'm not playing Brady or Manning here. Patrick Mahomes is in a hospital bed somewhere. So it's like, it is what it is. But, man, nothing but, nothing but respect for the Jags Day. that that was really, really impressive. And the Lions losing makes it official. The 40 diners and the Bears are in the playoffs.

So basically the NFC playoffs now, I think it's set. Unless the Packers seriously implode. They play the Ravens this week, but that might be against Tyler Huntley, and I would like him in that spot. And then the last week, the Packers, There's so much stuff going on in my head right now. The Packers play the Vikings who are going to have, you know,

the quarterback Bosmer is just atrocious. So I would expect the Packers to win the next two games. Technically, they're not dead for the division. They would need the Bears to lose the last two games, but they could potentially be playing. They are playing the Lions, week 18, who would have nothing to play for. And the Bears have a huge advantage coming up here this week, playing the 49ers.

But either way, I do think it's right in the NFC, right? The Rams, Seattle, the Niners all in. The Bears in. The Eagles are in. And in some combination, I don't think it matters because whoever they play, whether it be the Bears, the Niners, Seattle, or the Rams. Again, a lot can change over the next couple weeks in terms of seating. I do think whoever gets in the Panthers or the Buccaneers will be an underdog,

especially the Panthers, who actually were. weren't terrible today. Part of it is the Bucks defense is so bad. Bryce kind of runs around. McMillan's a good player and Baker just is, I don't know, a shell of himself. It's crazy. That MVP bet that kind of felt good a month in

feels like, you want drugs? What were you even talking about? Because even on that final drive today, I'll be honest, I didn't have much faith who's going to drive him down for a game when he touched him. I thought he'd get him in a field goal range, but it never crossed him mind like he's going to drive him down

for a game winning touchdown. I didn't think he was going to do it. Now, I didn't necessarily think he was going to throw an interception right to a guy, but that's what happened. And when it happened, I was like, yeah, that happened a lot. So, you know, I think whoever gets the five seed in the NFC is pretty powerful because it draws you one of those two teams, especially to me if it's the Panthers that I don't think there will be a soul

that will believe that they can win a playoff game. And I think they would be correct. And the seventh seed, like, let's say the Bears get the two, I think the Packers would like their chances in a rematch. And that's not trying to diminish anything about the Bears, but, you know, we've seen those two teams play. Both games have been a coin flip at the end of the game, but the Packers have had the lead, you know, the whole time.

They'll lead the whole time in the first game. And, I mean, they were up 16, they were up 10 plus points, you know, in the second half. Again, what the Bears are doing feels a little bit, that it's more sustainable, I think. They have a lot more young players. I would take Ben Johnson seven days a week. I think Dan Quinn's a little overrated. Nice guy, good energy. Feels like an uplifter, but like I think he's a little bit of a roller coaster.

Every one in the league would take Ben Johnson over Dan Quinn. But a little bit like that team last year of just like everything was breaking their way. That's what the Bears kind of feel like right now. Rightfully so. The football gods owe them one. And it was really, really cool to see that city alive. Some of you guys DMing me that I had a guy that says, like, I run a restaurant and my cooks and everyone in the restaurant was standing up and hugging. And it's a powerful moment in the city. Everyone felt together.

And that's cool. One of our big markets, one of our teams that really matters, you know, grown up in the Bay Area. Like the 49ers really, really matter. And I've been there when they're humming. it's a powerful thing. When they suck, it's not as fun. And for Bears fans, it's been really ugly for a long time.

And to have that moment against Green Bay, was really, really cool. And I think we're going to get some major star power in the NFC. Now that the Bears are in, obviously the Eagles, you got Sean McVeigh, you got Kyle Shanahan, the Packers will be in,

and the Seattle Seahawks. So, you know, a lot's on the line with the seating. You could argue this year in the NFL, you know, everything being so close. Seating might meet a little less. Like none of these matchups beside the Carolina Panthers, I could see any team beating the other. Like no team, like Seattle playing the Packers, the Niners playing the Bears, the Eagles playing the Rams. All these games go either way. That's going to be what's really fun about January.

And I would say the same thing for the AFC. like would you be shocked if the bills be the Jags or if the Chargers or the Steelers like that to be as a coin flip game the Texans could take out the Patriots in the first round of the playoffs. I think it's the first time in a long time that you go yeah there are probably three teams that can win the Super Bowl.

I don't know if all 14 can but I think you can make an argument the number is closer to 10 than it is three and that's cool. I think you could say somewhat about that in college football even though it does feel like if they play their best game, Ohio State's probably the best team. And more than likely if you're going to find people to bet on it, you're like probably Ohio State or Georgia. But it wouldn't stun you.

Texas Tech paid $25 million for their roster. They're really good. You know, Oregon has a highly paid roster. Ole Miss is pretty good. They took Georgia down to the line at Georgia earlier this year. Like, they can play. You know, so that's what's cool for the first time in college football at the NIL. It's like, everyone's kind of alive.

And that's what the NFL kind of feels like right now. 10 plus teams going into the playoffs are going to go, we got a chance to win the Super Bowl. Because did everyone feel that the last couple of years? I don't think so. Do you think people thought they were winning, beating Patrick Mahomes? No. Deep down, no chance.

And they never did. I mean, they didn't. The NFC might have been a little more open the last couple of years, but it has definitely never been more open than it is right now. So I'm excited to watch this play out, and it kind of sucks than our future partners. You know, this Christmas Day games look good at the start of the year, but, you know, injuries.

We had a time today where J.J. McCarthy was hurt. Josh Allen limped out of the game because he rolled an ankle. Something happened to Shador's finger, Minchu tore his ACL. At one point in time this morning, like four or five quarterbacks were out of the game. It's like, this is, this season is kind of unraveling. A couple things I wrote down before we get out here. I understand guys are paid a lot of money and your job, whether your team's good or whether your team's bad,

is to play hard and try and effort. Of course guys should play hard. That's not the case. You look around the league, some of these bad teams. It's a really hard watch. And I was a little more locked in on the Raider Texan game because I had the Texans, and they were on my own little TV just by themselves, and I couldn't get over.

And listen, this guy's a stud. But the effort in which Max Crosby, and I understand he always plays like this, I felt like today he even went up a level, and maybe it's because two of the best pass rushers in the league are on the Texan. They're known as the best defense. His team is just a laughing stock. He played today like they were playing winner get into the playoffs. He played so hard.

He reminded me of a guy that if you're scouting and you go, hey, this guy plays for one of the worst teams in the SEC or the Big Ten, but he's like going to go in the top like 15 picks. And you just watch him. His team sucks. They're getting crushed. They're down 20 points. You turn on the second half and the third quarter on the road.

And he's just playing balls of the wall. He's playing like his NIL check or his scholarship tech depends on it. And that's what Max Cross. we look like tonight. So, like, this offseason, to me, his value, if you're a, if you're a GM, you just turn on games like today. You're like, he's playing like this, for this team in these circumstances. What would he be like if he was on a team, like a 10 and 4 team going in the last couple weeks?

He's everything you would want for a star player, for a guy to build around. I was, it was fun to watch. If I'm going to lose a bet, at least I can do it to a guy just playing his ever-loving balls off. And Ashton Genty, feels like for the first time in a long time, showed some signs of life in a loss. Had, I think, well over 100 yards. He got a big touchdown catch for like 60 yards. He was, he looked good. His long touchdown run kind of was reminiscent of Boise State broke a couple tackles and took it to the house.

And last but not least, you know, famous players now, if they want to go into broadcasting, they do have to ask themselves, like Drew Breeze, for example. I was pretty critical a couple years ago when Drew did the New, the Notre Dame game, because I thought he was terrible. And listen, as we see it with Tom Brady, you get better the more you do anything. Welcome to life. Welcome to whatever you do. But it was like, I think this guy's pretty bad. And clearly, he said something, I think, this offseason, like, if I ever got a chance, I think I could be one of the best guys.

And I think a huge part of being a broadcaster is like, it's not, you're not just famous guy. you kind of got to entertain us. We're sitting on our couch, watching the game. Like, give me something. I understand not everyone's John Madden or John Gruden enormous personalities, but like, just give me some energy. And one thing I got to give Drew Brie some credit, he feels dramatically better than he was the last time he had a mic in front of his mouth.

And there's something to like, there's an energy behind it, there's an enthusiasm behind it. He just feels kind of fun. And I have no problem saying I was wrong. and J.J. Watts's been really, really good. Every time that I click on his game, he's always just having a good time, really into it.

One thing I respect about both those guys. You know, Drew's got a big family, young kids. JJ's got really, really young kids. I would guess on and off the field Drew's made closer to $500 million than $300 million. You know, JJ on the field's probably made $150 million. He was one of the most marketable athletes for probably like a five or six year period during his prime,

who knows how much more he made off the field. These guys are Uber wealthy. They do not need to be getting on a plane and flying around the country to call Cowboys Chargers, to call, you know, Bill Saints or all these games across the country. Like, they don't need to be doing it financially. But you can't fake it.

You know, part of it is they clearly want to be there because they really like football. And they're enthusiastic. Even Tom. Obviously, Tom is being paid a ton of money, but the one thing you hear with Tom doing these games, like he's having a good time. He likes football a lot.

And now, I don't know if all these guys like Tom are getting on a PJ and getting there, which makes life obviously way easier, but you still got to leave your home. Like, listen, I love Peyton, and I would do what Peyton did if I was in his shoes. Like, yeah, I want to be involved, but I don't plan on getting on a plane

and flying all across the country. I'll just do this from a garage while the game's going on and link up with my brother. on some Zoom app, and we'll just play it across ESPN2 from our homes. I like their style. But I respect these guys who are clearly financially, like, they've made enough money. And I think it's safe to say both those guys probably haven't blown it.

They're probably not like liking the Instagram tweets from Odell Beckham on blown $100 million. Safe to say they got some cash in the bank. But both those guys, I mean, JJ Watts's been really, really good. Like, he's got a future in this. And Drew Brees... He started really slow. But I do think he's, and it could have just been college. It's much harder.

You don't know the players. You don't know the coaches. I do think he's battling back. So he talked to big game. He said he'd be really good. I give him props because he's definitely, he's an enjoyable listen. And I just think you put most of us in his shoes back. I'm just standing on.

I don't need to do this. But he's doing it because, especially now, like he's just filling in because Sanchez, you know, beat the living, you know what out of the guy. Indianapolis. It was not like he's been doing this from the start. He got called up out of the bullpen a couple weeks ago and just came in off the bench just because he's pretty, I would say, like dead set on getting an opportunity and trying to show that he wants to do this and can do it and will be good. So maybe don't sleep on Drew Breeze getting a second chance. And other than that, kind of a rough Sunday. So let's just move on, get closer to the playoffs.

And thank God for those Saturday games. Before we get to out of here. I do like the 49ers tomorrow on Monday night football. I just think their offense is going to be too good. And I just have a hard time seeing Philip River score enough points. Especially because last week, Seattle, and Stucky mentioned this, the way they play

defense, they don't change personnel often for your changing personnel. They'll leave their safeties back because they're much more versatile. They weren't worried about Philip Rivers dinking and dunking them to death. I don't think the 49ers will allow that, especially

because they're run defense, unlike Seattle. Now they're getting some guys back off injury, especially a couple of defensive linemen or defensive linemen and a linebacker. But I would imagine the majority of their defensive players are going to be within three or four yards of the line of scrimmage. So it's like you can run wheel routes and little outroutes, but we plan on having multiple guys around. And most important, if Jonathan Taylor gets by our first line of defense, which might happen,

you know, we're missing some guys. We're going to have a lot of guys around there. So I just have a hard time seeing the Colts get around 20 points, and that would be stunned if the 49ers don't get over 25. Sauce Gardner's still injured. Charvarius had his third concussion of the season. He's out. So from a secondary standpoint, Juan Jennings really coming on.

George Kittles coming on. Christian McCaffrey's great catching the ball. Purdy's looking good. The 49ers now kind of have some momentum. It's crazy to say, but if they win these last three games, it would be the number one seed, which still feels improbable, when I say it out loud.

But I do think 45-year-old against Robert Sala, Kyle Shanahan, I have a hard time. Now, Indy, that place is going to be rocking, but I'm going to go with the 49ers. And I also think I'm going to go Joanne Jennings, who was really heating up, him. I've heard you have a really good connection.

I'm going to take him to get two touchdowns. So I'm going to go 49ers, minus five, and I'm going to go with the Juan Janis scored two touchdowns and parlay that on a hard-rock bet. 12 to 1. Adios, have a great night. The volume. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin.

And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy. Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smyl and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you

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