The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Dak Prescott & Cowboys UPSET by McCarthy & Vikings on SNF + NFL Week 15 Reaction

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

Former NFL scout John Middlekauff is reacting LIVE immediately following the Week 15 Sunday Night Football matchup between J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings vs. Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. John kicks off by reacting to J.J. McCarthy's big game in a win vs. the Cowboys on SNF. John explains why it is good for McCarthy to continue to play well so that he can develop his relationship with his head coach Kevin O'Connell and his star wide receiver Justin Jefferson. John then questions what is going wrong with the Cowboys and George Pickens as the reciever seems disinterested for the second time in two weeks. John then reacts to the major NFL injuries sustained in Week 15, including ACL injuries to Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes and Green Bay Packers' Micah Parsons, hamstring injury to Los Angeles Rams' Devante Adams, and a PCL injury to San Francisco 49ers' Rickey Pearsall. John then admits he was wrong about the Chicago Bears and that they look like a team that could potentially capture the top seed in the NFC. Next, John reacts to Josh Allen's spectacular comeback vs. divisional rival Patriots led by Drake Maye. John then reacts to Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix playing the game of his life vs. the Packers as well as Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson bouncing back vs. Joe Burrow and the CIncinatti Bengals. John then talks about Cleveland Browns QB Shedeur Sanders' struggles vs. the Bears and he can fend off the organization drafting another QB in the 1st round of the 2026 NFL Draft.John wraps up by debating if Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Caroll should've stayed retired and applauds Indiapolis Colts QB Phillip Rivers for coming out of retirement. John closes out with his Hard Rock Bet Monday Night Football picks: Miami Dolphins (+3) at Pittsburgh Steelers De'Von Achane 2 TDs (+500)  02:04 - Vikings-Cowboys SNF Reaction 04:42 - J.J. McCarthy 13:55 - What is going on with George Pickens? 19:22 - Patrick Mahomes ACL injury 24:37 - Micah Parsons ACL injury 31:31 - GameTime 32:48 - Chicago Bears  34:07 - Lions-Rams 36:15 - Titans-49ers  38:53 - Bills-Patriots 43:32 - Packers-Broncos 47:07 - Ravens-Bengals 49:35 - Browns QB Shedeur Sanders 52:46 - Raiders head coach Pete Carroll 55:02 - Colts QB Phillip Rivers 58:36 - Hard Rock Bet MNF Picks Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest.  All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet Use promo code “3ANDOUT20” on https://nicokick.com/zone for 20% off at checkout! Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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.

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Kunky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me? Or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't. polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter.

Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Gianna Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming till, he's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs.

This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sometimes a suspect is found guilty before a verdict is ever read in court. On the Wicked Words podcast, I talk with the writers who dig deep into the cases that changed history, including Marsha Clark, who went from prosecuting one of the most famous murder cases to writing crime fiction. It doesn't matter that you didn't take part in the murder. If you were at the scene at all, you're guilty of murder. Every week, the real story is revealed. Join us every Monday for new episodes of Wicked Words. Listen to Wicked Words on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. The volume. What is going on, everybody, John Middlecough, Three and Out podcast. How are we doing? everybody. We are presented by my good friends and partners. Zone pouches. Slammed about 20 of those throughout the day, starting at about 7 a.m. this morning up until the Sunday night game. Really enjoyed football today. We had a lot going on. We just watched J.J. McCarthy. Have an excellent game. We'll lead with that. And then we obviously had to, I mean, one of the greatest players of this century, Terrez ACL today and Patrick Mahomes. Micah Parsons, all indications are he tore his ACL as well.

So some Devante Adams got injured. Christian Watson got injured. We had some major, major injuries that we'll have, not the Mahomes thing because they got Cato out of the playoffs, but some ripple effects. I mean, the Packers had a devastating day. The Patriots also had a devastating day Given they were up 21 to nothing

And could have won the division And then Josh Allen happened The Broncos and Bo Nix I mean had his like the finding moment As a quarterback today so far in the NFL You had the Bears Now look like they could win the division You got the 49ers

Who are still alive for like the number one seed The Eagles got some life Pete Carroll Just probably needs to retire So we got a lot of football going on that we will talk about. If you're listening on Collins' feed, make sure you subscribe. If you're watching

on YouTube, or if you want to watch on YouTube, make sure you subscribe as well. Never miss a thing. We will be live after the Dolphin Steeler game on Monday night. So keep an eye for that. But let's just dive into the Sunday night game.

I've been very hard on JJ McCarthy, as everyone has. He looked for much of his time while he played. I mean, he was injured a lot. like a player that you can't function with. And over these last couple weeks, and we talked about this once it's clear they weren't making the playoffs, is there had to be some sign of progress this last month

or else it would cause a very chaotic offseason for them because they would have a major question at quarterback. They could not just run it back and say J.J. McCarthy is starting because they have a locker room. They have people on the team making a ton of money who are big-time players. you have to be able to look in the eye and say, we are trying our best to win. It's why the Colt signed Philip Rivers

and not some random quarterback on a practice squad. How could you look Jonathan Taylor in the face and go, we're trying? Because you couldn't. Even if Philip Rivers, like at least you can say, we believe this is our best option. And he's even at 45 years old and chubby,

better than a bunch of dudes on practice squads. And he knows the offense. Right? So J.J. McCarthy, to look, especially Justin Jefferson in the eyes this offseason and go, we're going to keep rolling with this at quarterback. There has to be some substance behind it. And over the last couple weeks, and specifically today,

this is, I'm going to get a lot of, it's the Cowboys defense, Dallas's defense. And listen, I'm no Matt Eberflus fan. And they looked a lot like they looked before the trading deadline earlier in the season. Didn't look great. but I thought J.J. McCarthy, relative to his standard, was exceptional. I mean, he was balling the night. He made the best throw of his career on his first touchdown pass when he rolled left, threw across his body, as Collinsworth broke it down, let the ball rip before his

wide receiver was out of his break. Countless times the night, and it's, we know he has a good arm, right? I know he's working through some mechanics, but, like, Jay J.J. McCarthy has a strong arm. The question with him, and clearly Kevin O'Connell over the course of the year has told the broadcasters, his problem has been change-ups, his problem has been layering the balls,

his problem has been the touch passes. And tonight, countless times he did that. He had Hawkinson on a ball that was beautiful over the shoulder. He had another play down the sideline, I think to Nailer on a back-shoulder play. There was a beautiful concept drawn up by Kevin O'Connell. Obviously

as it showed his athletic ability, running for some first downs. I think they even mentioned on the broadcast that clearly the Vikings, starting with Kevin O'Connell, believe that it's safer to dive head first when you're going for a first down than it is the slide because you can kind of control at which angle you kind of go. I was like, ah, it kind of makes some sense. But listen, I was impressed. And if you're a Vikings fan, you should be like, okay, there's something.

The season's lost. We're not going to the playoffs. more than likely we're going to have an under 500 record but like we drafted this guy really high it looked extremely bleak a couple weeks ago his statistical profile comp to Jamarcus Russell

like that wasn't a subjective opinions being thrown out on the shows like he reminds me of Jamarcus Russell this is the next Jamarcus Russell that's not what was happening literally his profile statistically, in terms of drop back and success rate and, you know, playing the position paralleled only Jamarcus Russell the way he played the position.

So it was, no one could argue it was a major problem. And I don't know if whatever Kevin O'Connell has done to settle him down, get him to play a little looser. And again, I understand the opponent tonight was not good. It felt like he would drop back and you could count five Mississippi's for you'd even see a cowboy guy around but that's not what this is about

like this game today like the outcome of that game at the end of the day once Philly kind of got their mojo today and they're not going to lose to Washington in either one of those games Dallas wasn't catching them right Dallas is a 7-8 win team

and that's fine right they traded Micah before the season they got a lot of issues still and holes to fill this off season like I think water finds this level. We're starting to, like, if their offense isn't perfect, they're going to have issues, their defense is not dependable. But JJ ripped it. I was impressed. I thought like, okay, this is an NFL quarterback. And it's something to build on. If he does that a couple more games,

going to the offseason, you can just have a positive outlook and emphasize everything this offseason, OTA's being big, into training camp, and we can keep working on the improvement. He can keep getting these reps. I mean, you go on the road in the NFL, whether you're playing the Titans or whether you're playing the Houston Texans, having success, creating confidence, because the way you create confidence is to do well on the field. Right?

You can't fake it. Right? You have to do it. And clearly, I don't know if he had lost his confidence earlier this year, whether it was the injuries, whether it was obviously mechanically he's working through some things, and he still is. It's a little funky. But I, listen, he made a lot of big time throws tonight.

There was a deep bomb early in the game. Just let it rip. But to me, it's the touch throws. Like, no one questions his just pure arm strength. Even one the night where he made a beautiful throw and then he overthrew Jefferson on like a deep out route on the right corner. It's like, the guy can throw it hard, right? It's all about touch plays.

That's how you have success in the NFL, right? Some of the great plays of Patrick Mahomes' career, or Lamar Jackson's career, or Josh Allen's career, aren't always just the drive throws. Sometimes it might be a scramble, throw it over a linebacker, and hit a guy in stride. And he did that multiple times today. And now he's got a build on it.

And we know the Vikings are well-coached, right? They have an excellent head coach. They have an awesome defensive coordinator. They have a well-structured organization. they're consistently good over the course of, I don't know, 30 plus years of my life. From the 90s to the 2000s and the 2010s, they consistently have good, well-run teams, well-coached teams, deep rosters, you know, quarterback play. When they've had good quarterback play, they've been good.

And typically they've had to, you know, sign guys like the FAR thing, the cousins thing, over the last 15 plus years. But a homegrown guy, now I, I, I, think you're not, you know, writing this in Sharpie that he's just going to be your starter for the next seven years. But like, this is a positive. And before you can run, like, before you run a 5K, you might have to prove yourself you can run a mile or help, a couple laps, right? So, I mean, the bar is pretty low here. We're not looking for John Elway or Joe Montana. We're just looking to win a couple games, throw a couple touchdowns, and complete a couple third downs.

on third longs, on different looks, different concepts, and just be like, okay, he can do that. Check that off the list. So congrats to JJ McCarthy. A huge part of playing football, just like a huge part of life, is when shit hits the fan, when things are not going well.

And the hard part about a football player, it typically a lot of them are young, right? So it's forcing you. It's easier for us as you go through life and tough things happen. you've become a little hard. But it's a lot easier for me to do it at 41 years old than it was for me to do it at 26, at 29, at 32. Right?

Experience you're able to grow on that. Sometimes as a young player, it's all thrust on you. And he was like the one thing I will defend, it is tough being a young player put in a position on a good team. It's way easier to just go to the Cleveland Browns or, you know, the Arizona Cardinals or the Tennessee Titans. and nothing matters. Listen, I was a fan of Cam Ward at Miami, but I don't even know what, like, nothing matters that they're doing.

Like nothing. With the Vikings, you know, everything to start the season mattered. A lot of eyeballs. They were a 14-win team last year. They've been a really good team under Kevin O'Connell. And it's just a lot of pressure, even coming from Michigan,

where you've won the Natty. Now, granted, you won the Natty by defense and running the ball and not much on you, and then you go to a place, where the coach wants to throw the ball all the time. And that's fine. That's what he, his philosophical belief on winning football games. But to execute that at the highest level is difficult.

And going on the road in Dallas, you can throw at me all you want about defensive statistics. I don't give a shit that was a positive. For Dallas, I don't think there's that much to say. You know, when their defense plays crappy, their offense has no margin for error. and their offense was just a little off tonight. In George Pickens, these last couple weeks, I mean, what happened in Detroit last Thursday, everything that led up to this, how they talked to him,

and then he just kind of feels like he's a little MIA again. I think, because with Dallas now, it's the big picture stuff, right? And they clearly got a couple picks, and this Packer thing, which we'll talk about in a minute, could get a lot better on their side, the Micah Trade. I mean, their season could just completely unravel. I mean, it's not impossible for the Packers to miss the playoffs. I think it would be unlikely, but if they lose these next couple weeks,

this thing could get away from them and get away from them quick. And to me, if you're Dallas now, you're just better off losing. But you're just better off losing these games, right? And it's pretty clear now. The Eagles, I know, officially they haven't won the division. They've won the division. The Philadelphia Eagles are going to be the three seat. They are going to host a game and more than likely this upcoming week against the commanders.

they will get a hat and t-shirt and this thing will be over. And, you know, Dallas's flaws, you know, when Dax's on, he looks awesome. When he's a little off, it doesn't quite look as good. And I just think that when you go, the Pickens thing was real. Like the plays he was making, he was just, he was bawling. And whatever happened over the course of the last, I don't know, I don't know if it happened during the week leading into Detroit, during Thanksgiving week, I don't know, because he was awesome.

that Thanksgiving Day game against the Chiefs, and it's all kind of unraveled. And the problem is, is that position is, it's not a cheap endeavor, right? I mean, it's expensive to get into business with wide receivers. Ask the 49ers about their situation with Brandon Ayyuk. Like, they gave him $75 million. Then he just went MIA and they tried to steal $25 million back.

And I said at the time, like, this guy's catching 74 balls a year. But that's kind of the going rate. right? I mean, that's the going rate for these guys. Like, even if he's not a top-tier guy, at minimum, he's still making $22 to $25 million a year. And I think at this point in time, if you're the Cowboys, like, is this what we want to get into business with? Right, because they have a bunch of high-level guys.

Like, I see how hard CD-Land plays and how hard, you know, DAC and Ferguson. Like, do you trust this and paying him more money? And I think the answer is, is Mike Talmlin will tell you, you see? I try to tell you. Like, I told you guys. I think it's pretty clear. Like, you got to be smart about doing businesses off-season when it comes to paying a lot of money for, you know, for that player, especially a position where you can find guys in the draft pretty easily. Like, you should be able to find guys in the second, third, fourth round. They can be really, really productive for you immediately to go along with the other weapons that you already have under contract. And I don't know, you know, Quinn and Williams was hurt tonight. I think if you're Dallas now that you ain't making the playoffs, I don't think it's the worst thing to just keep losing out, get a high draft pick and just see what happens to Green Bay, and just reset this offseason,

which I actually think it's been a pretty positive year for the Cowboys, like pretty respectable. They made the Mike of Trade. Most people thought they were going to be like a three-win team. They'll probably end up with seven wins. They had a tie against the Packers. It was a pretty respect. year given the circumstances.

Your head coach that everyone thought, and I'm probably guilty of this too, I'm like, what are you doing hiring this guy? It's proven to be pretty solid, and he's definitely a good offensive play caller. Statistically, they lead the league in yards per game. I think they're like second or third in points per game, which is his side of the ball. In part of defense, like obviously your defensive coordinator has a big impact, but like Fangio looks a lot better when he's got really good players. I've seen Fanjo with bad players and not go well.

Like Robert Salah's doing a badass job this year. They just gave up 24 points against one of the worst teams, if not the worst team in the league, the Tennessee Titans. So I think part of it, and my point is, because Sala doesn't have any players right now. So a huge part of defense is the Jimmy's and the Joe's. Now, once you got the Jimmy's in the Joe's, if you pair them with the X's and the O's,

you got yourself the Houston Texans. But you can't make chicken sands. salad out of chicken shit on defense. You can manipulate stuff on offense. You can't do it on defense. And they just need some more firepower. Obviously, they need an edge rusher to go along with their defensive tackles. D.Bs are actually, I mean, they have a couple defensive backs that, you know, worth keeping. But other than that, like, they'd seen a lot of help. They need, they just need players over there, which I would imagine they draft heavy, heavy defense. And even same thing with free agency because

tonight was pretty bad. I mean, you made J.J. McCarthy look like Joe Montana at times. You know where I bet on sports during the holiday season? Hard rock bet. Not just because they're the presenting sponsor of our show, but because they make it easy to bet on my favorite teams, players, and leagues with a few simple taps.

Especially with their brand new 4-U page. It recommends picks based on my favorites and who I like to bet on. I open up the app, go to my 4U page, find a bet I like, and bam, my bet is placed. That easy. You sign up today and bet $5 on any game, and if it wins, you also score $150 in bonus bets, a winning bet plus an extra $150 to bet with. Now that's spreading some holiday cheer.

Plus, Hard Rock Bet fills your stockings with new promos every single day. Download the Hard Rock Bet app today and make your first app. PAYable and bonus bets, not a cash offer, offered by Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida, offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states. You must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, call 1-8-33 play-play-wise.

In Indiana, if you are some of... someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9 with it. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler. Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? 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. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range 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. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,

where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. 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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall.

And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. man, he running the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Oh, yeah.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown

and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized. but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land

while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. 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. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy

who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody, please! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian, and recently I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice.

Otherwise, one ring is too scary. Oh, cream of chicken suit. Hey, cream, cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrat, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the My Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah.

This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the Hipsons High School. Now a redacted amount of years later. We're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. Wider. This is a podcast.

We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drink. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Well, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white claw or something here? Just take it.

What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. Could you imagine? I would buy it. Cuts through the defense like a hot.

knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh.

Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The big stories of the day, though. I mean, the headline story of the league. today were the two major injuries. Starting with, I would say, the league's most famous player. He's on the leagues. I mean, the Chiefs are going to officially now miss the playoffs, but they have become the biggest brand in the league over the last five or six years.

And obviously Patrick Mahomes is the superstar quarterback on the team, tore his ACL, which if I would have told you three months ago that Patrick Mahomes would have torn his ACL in the middle of December your first reaction would have been, that's going to have major ripple effects on the AFC playoffs because over the last however many years, beside Joe Burrough, none of these guys have been able to beat him. He's beat Josh Allen four times in the playoffs.

Obviously two years ago, he beat Lamar in Baltimore. You know, what he did last year, he's an unstoppable force when the playoff games come. And he just been like, well, even if the Chiefs didn't win the division, there wouldn't have been a soul that would have thought that they wouldn't have been a wildcard team and they have simply had the year from hell. And the Patrick Mahomes ACL injury feels like,

I'd say the cherry on top of the year from hell, but it's more than that. I mean, it's late December. I know, and I'm guilty of this too. You start doing the math in your head about how long a guy's going to miss. But I do think we go back to Adrian Peterson when he came back in like a month,

for whatever it was from his ACL injury, that's not normal. Everyone reacts and responds to these injuries differently. We have seen guys that, you know, try to battle back too quickly, injure other parts of their leg. It happened to, you know, it's a different sport, but Clay Thompson was returning from an ACL injury and Torres Achilles. We saw Daniel Jones had a broken leg, Torres Achilles. You just, this guy's your friend.

franchise. I mean, literally, he changed the NFL. The Kansas Chiefs, he turned them into like the Dallas Cowboys meets the Green Bay Packers the moment he began starting. He made Andy Reed, a guy that was viewed as someone that could never win the big one, become a three-time champion. Now, you could argue never win the big one, like Andy Reed's resume before Patrick Mahomes was pretty awesome. But he turned him into a living legend. I mean, one of a guy that's going to go into the Hall of Fame and be considered right up there like Bill Walsh. You know Bill Walsh won three Super Bowls? I think sometimes we talk about Bill Walsh like he won five. He won three. George Seaford won the last of the 80s and then won another one in 1994.

So I just think this injury is one. If you're Kansas City, you're just extra cautious on. And your franchise goes as far as this guy takes you. Now let's face it, on the field over the last couple of years. he hasn't quite been as dominant. So maybe there's an element of reset here. I think if you're the Chiefs now, I've been saying this last week when it was clear they weren't going to make the playoffs. Like you're actually better off losing out.

Now I don't even think you have to argue. Just lose out. I mean, just Minchu came in. Kind of a tough spot, obviously through a terrible pick where it wasn't even close to getting to Kelsey. I mean, he basically hit Turwin James in stride. But I think if you're the Chiefs, not only do you want to lose out,

you're actually contemplating, depending on how it goes. Like if the Raiders look like they could have the number one pick, would you actually tie to screw them and let them beat you? So you derail their draft hopes of getting potentially Fernando Mendoza and getting a franchise quarterback. But there's no way around it. I mean, if you're a Chief fan this year has been awful, they've been tough to watch at times,

they've had just devastating losses. and to see him down on the ground like that and to see the visual of him being helped back to the locker room by the trainers. Rick Burke Holter, who is the chiefs trainer, who I've known since Philly. He's been with Andy, I think, like 25 years. It's just terrible.

And it's a blow for the NFL. There's just no way around it. Now, a little lucky that this only happens with a couple games left and they're not going to be in the playoffs. and also like an ACL injury. I saw Jordan Schultz put this out there. Same thing with Tom Brady is ninth year in the NFL.

Now Tom tore his ACL, what was it, week one, against the Chiefs, ironically. I want to say Tony Pollard. It wasn't Tony Pollard, but it was the Pollard. I'm pretty sure he played at UCLA. Hit him in his lower leg. This was a little different kind of a non-con. Well, I guess he got kind of bet back on a tackle. Now his knee was already kind of felt like not doing great.

But man, I would say though, the bigger injury given the impact on 2025 was Micah Parsons. And a lot like Patrick Mahomes when he's laying there on the ground, it's like you know it. Maybe you watch football long enough. Obviously the non-contact stuff, it tends to be pretty clear. but I don't remember a team. I mean, at one point in time today, they were up 23 to 14. It felt like in full control of the game.

And it's like, you know what? The Packers coming off that big win, came on the road to Denver, came out the gate swinging. They just looked really good. Josh Jacobs is making... Josh Jacobs looked like Marshall Falk today, catching balls down the sideline.

He had a big touchdown run. Josh Jacobs is a badass. Talk about a war daddy. Josh Jacobs could play on my team any day of the week and 100 times on Sunday. And he was dominating that game. And then Jordan Love throws the pick over the middle of the field. Christian Watson, also major injury.

We don't quite know the results of that. I think they said he was going to go to the hospital when they get back to Green Bay. They said a chest, not a shoulder, because I think most people, when he's laying on the ground, assume that he broke his collarbone. So maybe he did something else.

We'll see if that's a season ender, because that would be devastating. Then they score and they take the lead and then Michael Parks and Sarah's ACL. It's like, what just happened? Honestly, I don't remember a team that we would have all agreed, like this team 100% can win the Super Bowl.

They have a dominant running back who can run and catch they have more than enough wide receivers even though their star tight end is missing they've done enough to fill that and their defense is unreal led by a $40 million a year pass rusher who just looks like he shot out of a candidate

every time he pass rushes then their fastest guy in offense just taking back to the locker room who's injured who just gets injured a lot anyway so you're just like that's not good but when Micah Parsons was on the ground honestly I just felt like their season's over that was my first response

And then I didn't see the clip till halftime of the Sunday night game when they show LaFleur. He looks like he saw a ghost. How would he not? He was literally coaching a season that was one, he knows he has a team that's in a weird way like get to the Super Bowl or bust. I would say minimum NFC championship or bust. He's also kind of coaching for a contract extension. I mean, part of this whole season was Matt LaFleur is not under contract. contract after this year. I mean, he's got a one year left, but like this kind of extension

time. He's either getting an extension after this year or as the new president kind of alluded to before the season, like, we're going to have to make a decision. And he's no dummy. He sees a reality. I just lost a guy that scored five touchdowns in four weeks, who's the fastest guy, one of the fastest guys in the league. And I lost a guy that we traded two first rounders for, gave $188 million, who's fucking dominated the majority of the season and been the best player on our defense, which has been one of the best defense in the league. And now we're playing the Bears

who got their mojo back against the Browns and are going to be pretty confident playing us because they just took us down to the wire a week ago. And all of a sudden I look up, I go, well, the Rams and Seattle both have 11 wins. They play Thursday. One of those two teams is going to have 12. and the 49ers are playing Phillip Rivers.

So more than likely, they're going to have 11 wins at the end of the week. So if we lose the Bears, we're probably not going to win the division. The Chicago Bears are. And listen, the Lions are technically still alive, but we either could be the 7 seed, which is probably likely, or miss the playoffs. Like, this thing could become a disaster and become a disaster fast. So I don't blame them.

It's the one thing I've never missed about, leaving football is just injuries. Like, what are you supposed to say next man up? I always thought is the dumbest, the dumbest thing that's ever said in the NFL. Like, there is no next man up for Mike Parsons. There's no next man up for Patrick Mahomes. There is no, you go back to, what was his name, Dick for a meal when Trent Green got hurt and he said, Kurt Warner's started and we will win with Kurt Warner.

That's the only time that's ever really worked. Like most guys, when Trent Green goes down, Kurt Warner turns out to be like John Middletoff and you just lose every game. And then you never hear about that player ever again. 99% of the time, they do not turn out to be Kurt Warner. They turn out to be a backup who gets exposed when you play good teams. And LaFleur knows it. And you could see it on his face.

We're fucked. I mean, no way around it. And it sucks. Like, you know, and it's not lucky for the Chiefs because they just lost Patrick Mahomes to an ACL, but their season was over. Right? So it sucks. You don't want to lose a 30-year-old superstar quarterback to a torn ACL,

but you were not going to the playoffs. So it just sucks that he's injured. Right. For the Packers, I mean, halfway through this game, Matt LaFour had to be thinking like, we're not only going to win this game, we're going to beat the Bears next week, we're going to get the number one seed, and we're going to win the freaking NFC,

and then we're going to win the Super Bowl, and I'm going to become a legend. I'm going to be like the skinny kind of millennial version of Mike Holmgren. That's what I'm going to be, I'm going to get a statue in this franchise one day. And then it flipped. And that's how fast things happen in professional sports, especially in football. Or in any given play, someone could just be lost. Like at any given play, it's like Daniel Jones is laying there.

It's like, what's his injury? Well, he's got a broken leg in a torn Achilles. Career could be altered and never be the same again. That's how fast it happens. And I think a lot of these injuries, maybe it's just the world we live in. We have so many cameras. You just know it when you see it. And there wasn't a soul that watched Michael Parsons laying on that ground that thought, like,

oh, you might have just tweaked the knee. We all thought the same thing. He just tore up his knee. He's done. It's over. And it just, it sucks. There's nothing you can even say unless you're a Packer fan. And then you just say a lot of swear words and throw things at the wall.

And hopefully, well, TVs are cheap. I just bought a couple. They're actually extremely cheap for, like, the inflationary times we live in where everything costs an arm and a leg. I mean, you can't even find a sandwich for, like, under 20 bucks. You can find, like, an 80-inch TV for, like, $375. So if you did break your TV, at least, you know, you can go into Amazon. Actually, just get it delivered to your house. I think you can pay, like, $50.

They'll even hang the thing for you. But before we move on really quick, I do need to tell you about my friends and my partners. Game time. They're the best in the business. I've been using this ticketing app for as long as you guys have known me. And because of doing this, I haven't been able to go to any football games lately, but been to concerts, been to multiple NBA NHL games because of them. I know a lot of you guys have gone to football games. And I hope you had a good time. And I hope you didn't pay that much because you can find tickets as low as $100. the tickets you see when you're searching, you want to search like, I'm going to Lincoln Financial Field,

I'm going to SoFi Stadium, whoever the opponent is, wherever you want to sit, it gives you sight lines, and the price you see when you purchase the tickets or when you click on it is the price you pay when you check out.

There are no hidden fees. The price you see is the price you pay. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use a code, John, that's J.O.H.N. for $20 off. Terms apply again.

Grant account, J-O-H-N, $20 off, down on the game time app today. Last minute, take its lowest price guaranteed. The Parsons thing I just still can't quite get over. That just sucks. I mean, it's the Packers, if you're Roger right now, I mean, they're a cash cow for the league. You want them playing in big games. And like I said, I mean, I was wrong in the Bears. I believed in the coach, but, you know, I was not a, not a believer in the quarterback.

Didn't think it was going to work with the coach. he has been excellent Caleb's made so many plays over the last month I mentioned this to Coward when we recorded like the mental fortitude they showed going into that game today

and I get it you're playing the Browns but to show up and just beat the living you know what out of him was like this team's for real I don't know if I'm picking him to win the Super Bowl but after the devastating injures with the Packers sitting here on December 14th I mean

I like him to win this week against Green Bay and I like him to end up winning the division and that's all of a sudden the bears are going to be the two seed like think how crazy that is I think last year didn't they lose like 10 straight games they fired iber flus the day after thanksgiving a year later they are i mean let's face it a game away from essentially winning the division and probably being the two seed i guess not inconceivable if seattle and the rams both lose a game or two that they could have the nethered. number one seed. It's not out of the realm of possibility. What a turn of events. I mean, speaking of a team that might get the one seed, I mean, Pooka Nakua is like the Polynesian

wide receiver version of George Kittle. He's just, I don't ever remember a receiver quite like him, how physical he is, how tough he is to tackle, just what a all-around baller the dude is. I mean, He's really good. But it does help to have help. And when you have Devante with him, you can't, like, throw three guys at Pugua, right? Because at any moment, Devante can just make sweet catches, score touchdowns, like, he's a Hall of Fame level guy. And when I looked up today and saw Devante get a flat tire and that hammy, what looked like, pulled it again. And, you know, Sean said after the game that he wasn't going to rule him out for,

this week. The problem is this week is in four days. And typically you don't pull a hamstring, especially when you've had reoccurring hamstring injuries, and go on the road and I haven't checked the weather, but it's probably be cold and wet in play. So the problem is Seattle does have a bunch of DBs and an excellent defensive coordinator. And to me, that entire game plan is like, listen, there is no way Pook is going to have like 10 for 140 on us. It's just not going to happen. We're going to try. try to keep them like 50 yards, and we will double cover them every single play. I don't care what formations you do.

We're going to have two guys designated to them and make these other tight ends and your two running backs beat us. Because that, if you told me the Rams went fully healthy, now their defense has issues, but Seattle is not playing well in offense. Sam Darnant was not good for a lot of today. Now, clearly the Colts had some life with rivers, but that Devonte Adams injury is pretty, pretty big, specifically for Thursday,

which if you're the Rams and you sweep Seattle, and Seattle still has to go on the road and play the 49ers, pretty big. So, I mean, I think this game, to me, with Devante out, is a total, total coin flip. The other injury is the 49ers play the Titans, who were just atrocious. I mean, they're really, really bad.

There are plays really. Is this really happening? They also had some positive plays as well. Part of it is the 49ers defense. They got a lot of randos out there. But offensively, the Niners look incredible. And part of it is George Kittles is good as he ever been. George Kittles right now looks like a combination of,

like the physicality of Pete Gronk with the ball skills and running ability with the ball in his hands of like Pete Travis Kelsey. I mean, he looks like an unstoppable force. McCaffrey is just slow and steady. He's not quite as explosive as he was a couple years ago, but he's still an unreal player. Juan Jennings dominated. Ricky Pearsall, who obviously they drafted in the first round two years ago, got derailed early last year because he got shot. But if you removed the gunshot wound, which I saw, I think the doctor that removed the bullets,

the crazy part about that is it was an inch or two away from being, you know, catastrophic for the guy's life. but he's battled a bunch of other injuries from hamstring injuries to shoulder injuries to knee injuries and he rolled his ankle today he hurt his knee at the end of the game and Kyle said he might have re-injured his PCL which is a problem because if this team's going to make some noise

which they still can like it's not inconceivable if Seattle were to take down the Rams on Thursday night like they could still win the division because they still play Seattle week 18 now they still got to beat the Bears in a couple weeks which is not going to easy given how well the Bears' offense is playing.

But their success is going to hinge on their offense dominating and their defense just doing enough. And part of their offense dominating is like, Brandon Ayuk, Kyle's like, yeah, we haven't seen him in forever. Haven't seen him forever. I don't even know where he is. Right? He's not coming back.

Just things are disaster. But we already knew that. Like he's been MIA the whole time. Like they were depending on Kendrick Bourne, who was literally in NFL circles, what you call when a guy is unemployed, like he's on the street, even though technically not on the street, like a homeless guy. I mean, he's a multi-millionaire, but he's just on the street waiting for a job.

And they offered him what, and he's coming and he's produced. But Ricky Pearsall is a better player. And you get Pearsall with Jennings, with McCaffrey, with George Kittle. Like, they got a Kyle Shanahan high-end offense. And if they're going to make noise, which they can win a playoff game for sure, they're going to need them. And that's something to definitely monitor. A couple, I mean, at one point in time today, the New England Patriots were up 21 to nothing.

21 to nothing. I swear to God, they were up 14 nothing before you even blinked. It's like, if the bill's about to lose this game like 50 to 10? Honestly, at the end of the first quarter, it felt like that. And I know they got Josh Allen and you can never count them out. It's easy that after the game. But I think you'd be hard pressed to find a Bill's fan that said 10, 15 minutes into that game. that you thought you were going to come back to win.

It felt like you were about to get boat raced. And then Josh Allen happened. Here's my overall take. I'm not a big awards guy. I don't rarely bet those, even though I dabbled this year. I mean, because Baker Mayfield thing did look pretty tasty. It doesn't matter that much to me.

Like, whether Peyton Manning won seven MVP's or four MVPs or Brady or Farve or anything, like, I know what I saw. Like, I have a pretty good feat. feel for when you watch a guy as most fans do. And there were years when Michael Jordan didn't win the MVP, and other guys did. But there wasn't a soul alive that thought Michael Jordan was the best player in the NBA, right? And I think when you watch football, you can give it to Stafford. And Stafford's has an unreal season.

You could give it to, you know, at one point in time a couple weeks ago, it was like, Jordan Love could win it. There is not a soul in the NFL. I don't think there's a fan in the NFL that would say Josh Allen is not. the best player currently playing in the league. He is an unstoppable force. So whether he wins the MVP or not, he's the best player in the league.

And we all know it. It's why I think awards, and listen, it'd be a, you know, feather on the cap for Stafford to win the MVP. So now we'd have a Super Bowl, an MVP, after the shitty years in Detroit, even though they weren't that shitty because the ultimately got paid like $300 million to lose a lot. But, you know, as a play,

player, you want to accomplish things as a team and as an individual, and he's going to be given the opportunity. If they can, you know, play well Thursday night and finish this season strong, it looks like Matt Stafford's going to win it. Matt Stafford's not better than Josh Allen, and we all know it. And what Josh Allen did the day, when he flipped that switch, they went five straight tries, five straight touchdowns. He's making plays with his legs. He's throwing these dimes. He's keeping plays alive, scrambling to throw it. It was, it was just fun to watch. And if I was a Patriot fan,

that thing went from, we are kicking the you-know-what out of these guys to when they took the lead late in the fourth quarter, and then you scored immediately on the Travion Henderson run. So you're like, maybe it was Destiny. We're down, four points, and then Henderson hits it, and we're up three. And then what happens?

Alan takes you right down the field with a lot of James Cook. They score again, And Josh McDaniels, I think you guys ran seven more plays called One Run. I had a couple people DM me that were like, we were gashing these guys in the run game. And he just didn't run. And the one run of those seven plays went for five yards. And they got really pass happy. I don't know if Drake just got skittish.

If guys weren't open, obviously it's cold, it's snowing. Josh is unfazed, but Drake's a young player. This isn't exactly the, you know, Gronk, Edelman, Randy Moss. and Troy Brown running around out there. And it crumbled, and it crumbled on him fast. I mean, when they went, turned it over on downs late in the game, it was ugly. It was really, really bad. So it's just one of those moments where you're like, it's tough, you know.

I mean, the worst case scenario is like the Blue Jays and the World Series. When you start looking at like your dad, your buddies, just whoever you're watching the game with, they're like, we're about to win the World Series. Nothing gets worse than that. I think they had the lead in the World Series with two hours to go. Well, that's the worst case scenario. But you got three quarters of football. You're killing them, and you're going,

we're going to win the AFC East on December 14th against the bills in Josh Allen. Do you know how awesome that's going to feel? And everyone's kind of feeling it. And there's probably a little cockiness that comes back from, you know, the decades of watching Brady and Belichick just curbstomp people, just win this division year after year. It's like we're back. And then you weren't back.

And Josh Allen beat you. Now, I still think the Patriots can win the division, obviously, just based on math, but it shows you, man. You just can't count this guy out. And I would say the same thing for Denver. When they're down 2314, and they weren't really playing that bad, but Jacobs has hit a couple big plays.

And you just thought, listen, like, this isn't the end of the world. The Patriots had lost. so you maintain that number one seed, but this team's coming off, you know, big win. It's like, are you just not as good as the Packers? And then Jordan threw that pick, and then it just flipped. And like I said, you know, earlier,

I haven't watched every Bo Nix game. I definitely didn't watch many at Auburn. Clearly it didn't go well for the majority of it. You know, a lot of with, in fairness, like I, the Oregon, the offense was the offense. and a lot of people gave him shit for throwing the ball behind the line of scrimmage. He put up great numbers and they were a really good team.

But what he did today is nothing like I've ever seen that guy play football. That was as good of a game as I would imagine he's ever played. And when you factor in the opponent, that's easily the best game of his life. And he needed it because, like, Denver has a championship defense. They have a coach who is comfortable being in the playoffs. There's no questioning. the head coach running a

playoff team and there's no questioning their defense. But when your quarterback is not dependable, things can get weird in the playoffs because you have a crappy half, your season can be over. All of a sudden you throw a pick or a pick six, you find yourself down 17 to 3, you just can't get back and you'll lose.

And if he's going to play like that, that team can win the Super Bowl. If he plays like that, no one's beating Denver. If Bo Nix is going to be good, they will be the AFC champions, especially if it has to go through Denver. There's a reason Denver beat the Patriots so many times in the Belichick era. There's a reason that Peyton Manning got him, right? They're very, very difficult team to beat on the road. Going to mile high, fan base is crazy, it's loud, it's intense, the weather plays a factor,

and you know, you're playing an excellent defense. So I haven't been sold on Bo Nix, but, because he hasn't played well. And he watched him, he went, he can't function with this. If he plays like that, I mean,

that looked like Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes in his prime. Like, that was an elite performance. For the majority of the game, he was playing well too, was when Michael was out there. And then when Michael went out,

it was truly on like Donkey Kong. He was, I don't think he was sack today. Passes on the run. Obviously, just some beautiful, over-the-shoulder, deeper balls that he has

missed on a ton to Cortland Sutton. He made an unreal scrambled to his right where he split like these two defenders that were like 10 feet ahead of them. It was one of the best passes. He's probably ever made in his NFL career when he was talk about touch. But he was

brilliant today. He really was. I saw some backer fans on the internet. It was like did the football gods come down and just throw him a bone for some of his earlier performances? Because that was that was awesome. It looks like the Patriots now have a little work to do

when it comes to that number one seat. But listen, if I were told any Patriot fan, would you be cool with having the number two seat for sure? Now, at this point in time, if it does get away from you and you end up not winning the division, that would feel pretty devastating. Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc in Wake Up Dead Man,

a Knives Out Mystery with an All-Star ensemble cast for his most dangerous case yet. When young priest Judd Duplenacy is sent to assist charismatic firebrand Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, it's clear that all is not well in the pews. Written and directed by Ryan Johnson's, critics are calling it the sharpest Knives Out movie yet.

Watch Wake Up Dead Man a Knives Out mystery now in select theaters and on Netflix rated PG-13. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, news? 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. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did 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.

Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. 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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.

and finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,

he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's first, friends stop by like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball like, after you go through a training camp with that Isaiah, you figure it out real

quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Somebody, please! But there's so much more to me than me.

I'm an actor, I'm a comedian, and recently I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hippocrat, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike! I'm a comedian! I'm not qualified to give good advice!

Join me and my comedian friends as we riff rant and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Oh, cream a chicken suit. Hey, cream. Cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrat. The worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrat as part of the Mike Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior,

and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection.

If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you give you. It's your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life, one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean.

I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be.

Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How high can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter,

and dive into it unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura podcast network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A couple other quick things. Story today about the Bengals. I mean, I didn't follow the weather hour by hour over the last couple days in Cincinnati, Ohio. But I guess there's a league rule. Mike Florio pointed out that if it snows,

the team has to remove snow from the seats for the fans, right? You just, you pay a crew and they come. I don't know exactly what they do, knock it off. It's not like they're carrying it out of the stadium. They're just knocking it off and clearing the seats. The Bengals do not do that. They paid nobody to do anything, and the seats were covered with snow,

which is a league violation. Now, the Bengals push back. It wasn't as bad, but I think it's a clear reflection that everyone thinks their owner is the cheapest human alive. And I've said forever, I think when you are, really, really wealthy and you're still really cheap. It's a disease. It's no different than we could

list a million diseases. It is a disease. You do not shake that. I mean, there are a notorious story still about like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan being cheap. It's like, you guys are billionaires, but you don't shake it. It's something you carry with you your entire life. We all know people, maybe not billionaires, but people that do well successfully or, you know, successfully financially, and just will not pull out their money. wallet. And I truly believe it's a disease. And Mike Brown has it. Like Mike, whether you like it or not, you're a billionaire now. Your team's worth billions of dollars. Your team generates just from the media deal, $450 million a year. Your, your team's payroll is not even, you know, it's like half that.

So when we know you ain't paying many executives because it's all your family running it. So I just think it's pretty embarrassing, and then his team got embarrassed. And Lamar showed him some signs of life. For the first time, it felt like in a month, it was like, okay, this is kind of Lamar Jackson that we all know and love. And we'll see tomorrow with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but, you know, the Ravens team, the last couple weeks has just been terrible, partly because Lamar has not played well, he did look a lot better today.

Made some beautiful deep passes, his day flowers a couple times. When their passing game gets going, it opened. it up for Derek Henry who started running around like he's a freaking thoroughbred when that gate opens and he starts kind of galloping and those tries are covering like eight yards per every two steps you're like holy shit this guy's a monster so uh watch out for the ravens a couple other quick things should door sanders was obviously not good the day and i think the problem for him is the browns you know there are so many bad teams teams, they're not guaranteed to have the number one pick. I mean, technically right now,

they're like the fifth or sixth pick. There are going to be a couple teams like the Giants, like the Titans who are not going to take quarterbacks. Obviously, the Raiders would take a quarterback. But the Browns don't necessarily control their own destiny of getting a quarterback, but they do have a couple picks. Now that Jack's pick will probably be somewhere in the 20s. But they do have that as ammo to move up a little bit if the, you know, if the Giants or whoever want to move back. But you have days like today, it is, Now, one of his interceptions was not his fault. It literally went right through Jerry Judy's stomach,

and Jalen Johnson just grabbed it and picked it off in the end zone. But the other two picks were atrocious, and obviously the team's terrible. I just think it's going to be very, very difficult for him to show enough whether this regime stays or is gone and new people come in, for them not to be extremely aggressive to try to get. Now, Fernando Mendoza is the only quarterback that comes out and the Raiders have the number one overall pick,

it will be a moot point because they will just draft the kid. And if Dante Moore goes back to school, we saw Sellers went back to school. With NIL, a lot of these quarterbacks go back to school, and you just kind of roll back with Gabriel Shador, and that's kind of your quarterback room with Deshaun Watson, I guess, coming back, and you just kind of roll it over. But that just shows you this team is really, really bad. I mean, that was the bear.

Clown them today. They embarrassed him. And I think one of Shador's problems is, is, and we talk about getting rid of the ball, and it was a knock on him in college. Well, in the Big 12, not many good defense is the Big 12. You know, in the NFL, Shadour is athletically, is much closer to like a Kirk Cousins than he is to like a Bo Nix. He's not a runaround guy. He is a pocket quarterback. You have to get rid of the ball quickly. When you try to run around scramble, that is not going to work out. well when you have your skill set. He didn't get his father's athletic ability.

Clearly he got his mom's. I think they've even joked about it as a family. But when you're going to throw a bunch of interceptions down the stretch, your team keeps losing, you're just not like next year's in major question. Because if they do draft a quarterback really high, are they going to keep Shador Sanders at the backup? Now, typically, with a fifth round pick,

you'd like, yeah, just keep him around, and he'll just compete for the backup job with someone else. but Shador is so much more they could draft Fernando Mendoza Shadora is more famous than Fernando Mendoza which is just a reality and he's definitely a bigger talking point

and it's just one of those situations that like this thing could just get weird and it can get weird fast and you can kind of feel it coming if there are games like today are going to keep happening these last couple games of the season and last but not least you know sometimes and listen I've never been in my mid

70s but I've also never been worth the $100 million and probably more. And I think when you look back at P. Carroll, he was forced out of Seattle and he's a prideful guy. He didn't want to quit. And he didn't have a choice. The problem is, is when he was forced out, he refused to wave the white flag.

He was desperate to do whatever it took to get back involved. Now, the problem was, is that his options basically didn't exist. Teams didn't want them. until one team was pretty desperate, didn't have any other options to hire a coach, and they hired Pete Carroll. Turns out as the Raiders.

And Pete Carroll is adamant, and every time I see him talk, he's like, all I've ever done is win, all I do is win. The problem is now you're just losing. And you had a team that didn't even get 100 yards of offense today. And I, you know, typically like Willie Mays on the Mets, you know, some of these famous players that, and I'm not comparing,

I wouldn't compare Pete Carroll quite to Willie Mays, but you know what I mean. You know, if LeBron next year finishes career like the Atlanta Hawks or whatever, sometimes things happen and you just forget about him with time. And it is true. Like this season is not going to define Pete Carroll's career by any means. Super Bowl champ, he's a national champion. He's coached and drafted Hall of Fame players. Heisman trophy winning players,

legend. But it's over. And this is a guy that should have just rode off in the sunset. Been a rich guy, enjoyed himself in Southern California, maybe taught a class at USC, hung out by the beach, maybe done some TV for Fox in studio

if he needed to get his football pitch on. But he was adamant. Like, I have to coach. And it shows you, which I do respect. And I would put Belichick. It's, you know, Belichick's, it feels like a little more scandalous with the Jordan Hudson thing. But like these guys just couldn't tap out.

They just refused to go. And sometimes you just got to go. And he didn't. Oh, I also wanted to hit on one more thing. Philip Rivers, he cried after the game. I actually think he gave a really good message that he basically admitted that he was a little nervous and questioned, like, was a little scared. Like, what was it going to look like?

And my first, you know, reaction was it actually was way better than I thought. And there was this picture of him before the game where he probably looked, my guess is he weighs 265, 270 pounds. I mean, Philips, a enormous guy. Like 270 pounds on him actually isn't that big. But it's definitely way bigger than he used to be. He's never moved great. His arms, you know, it was never great either, but probably not as good as it was 10 years ago. but it's functional, I guess.

And he went out there and tried. And I think a lot of people in his position were like, I'm not going to go out there and embarrass myself. Because the easiest thing is to go, take the worst case scenario. And that's not what he did. And he's teary-eyed after the game. I think because he's like, this was,

I bet he didn't sleep this much or much this week, right? Anticipating this, his brother's there, his son's there. And the video of his team in Fair Hope, Alabama, watching the game cheering for him, he throws the touchdown, he gives a big fist pump. He was basically Dinkin and Duncan all game. I also think a huge part of signing him and playing him was trying to give life to the team. Like a huge part of being a head coach or a GM when you hear like, you've got to know your locker room and know how the players are thinking or responding.

They had to be teetering on just all quitting. Because once Daniel Jones goes out, Anthony Richardson is injured, Riley Leonard's also injured. It's like, what do we even do? What was this all for? And Philip Rivers, I think a lot of people,

including myself, kind of laughed at it. I mean, it was insane. They signed a 44-year-old high school coach who hadn't played in the NFL in five years. But I felt like a couple quarters in, every single quarterback, former quarterback, whether at college or definitely in the NFL in their 40s and their 50s,

were watching that game and had a little smile. And part of them had to be like, could I still do that? Could I still throw a couple first downs? I mean, there was that viral video of Vinnie Testiverty with John Gruden getting down, doing the hard count, and you could just see it in his eyes as he went on and on. It's like, God, Vinny, if you needed a third and eight, Vinny thinks it deep down in his mind he can give it to you. And Philip even mentioned it after the third. the game when they said, what was it like to get hit? He's like, honestly, I wanted to get hit.

I told my wife a couple years ago, one thing I miss is releasing the ball and getting blasted by a defensive lineman. My wife's like, you're sick. And he's like, I know I am. Part of it is it doesn't hurt as much. I mean, he's, Philip Rivers is exactly Bryce Young. I mean, he is a massive human being. I just thought that was a cool moment. It was cool. They kicked that 60-yard field goal. Now, part of it at the end of games now, when you leave a team, 40, 50, 60 seconds, even if they don't have timeouts with this new kickoff rule is you're going to get the ball at minimum at the 30 and a lot of times are like the 40. So you're just like one big completion away from kicking a game winning field goal, which is exactly what happened. And last

but not least, Monday night football, I'm taking the Miami Dolphins, plus three on the road, freezing conditions, partly because they don't need two at a throw. They have been winning without them. Run the ball. Why I also like A. Chan, multiple touchdowns. I'm going the Dolphins plus three. I'm going A. Chan, multiple touchdowns. And the fighting Mike McDaniels potentially get back to 7 and 7 be one of the great

stories in the NFL. Adios. See you later. 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.

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. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1020. And I'm Kunky, his best friend, and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers.

We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments.

If we didn't talk ever again, I was part of you. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from

night sweats to fupas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to how hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You think you're in control until you realize you're not. As they're having this gun battle, thousands of feet up in the air, many of the bullets start to puncture the aircraft. I thought we were going to die then. The knife is a podcast about the moment ordinary lives take an unexpected turn.

Real people, real stories, and the split second that changes everything. New episodes drop every Thursday on the Exactly Right Network and the IHeart Podcast Network. Listen to The Knife on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.