The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Seahawks DEFEAT 49ers to clinch NFC West & No. 1 seed in NFL Playoffs
Episode Date: January 4, 2026Former NFL scout John Middlekauff reacts LIVE to the NFL Week 18 matchup between Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks vs. Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers with the NFC West division title on th...e line. John will also react to the earlier matchup between Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers vs. Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the NFC South divisional title up for grabs. John will react to the biggest plays of the day, breaking news from around the NFL and college football, and much more! 03:56 - Seahawks-49ers 45:54 - Panthers-Buccaneers 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.
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What is going on, everybody?
How are we doing?
John Middilkoff, three and out podcasts brought to you by my friends at Zone Pouches.
Hopefully everyone is doing well, maybe as well as the Seattle Seahawks,
who are the number one overall seed in the NFC.
Probably not as well as the 49ers,
who did not look good,
who got destroyed physically, mentally,
and probably lost some players to injuries
because that's usually what happens
and are now probably going to be the six seed.
I'm recording this late Saturday night.
The Rams win. Rams will be five, nine or six, Seattle won.
Now, the NFC West is a little bit.
different in the other division that we saw today, which
felt kind of like a preseason game.
That was
tough to watch.
So we'll talk the majority about the Niners Seattle game.
Again, just crowning achievement for
Sam, John Snyder,
Mike McDonald.
Pretty cool moment for that franchise
and rough night for the Niners. Wow.
Geez.
We'll talk a little bit about the other game, but
not much. I got a theory that
not a theory, but a take that I think needs to get instituted moving forward when it comes to
under 500 division champs.
So make sure you subscribe to the podcast.
Make sure you subscribe to the YouTube.
And we'll be back again Sunday night after the Ravens Steeler game.
Looks like the Marr's going to play.
Looks like T.J. Watts going to play.
Exciting.
But let's just dive right into Seattle.
give them their flowers because the Seattle Seahawks
accomplished an incredible feat tonight
becoming the number one seed.
Leading up to week one,
they were a five-to-one underdog
to win the division.
The 49ers were favored, obviously.
Things changed right the course of the season with their injuries,
but still, I mean, they have Cowanahan,
they got Robert Sala, they were favored to win it,
and right there with them was the Los Angeles Rams.
And the Seattle Seahawks,
with Sam Darnold, second year coach Mike McDonald,
and future Hall of Fame general manager, John Snyder,
are the number one seat.
Right before I hopped on here, I Googled, which is essentially AI,
and I said, when was the last time Seattle hosted a playoff game?
And that was 2017.
The Seattle Seahawks, who early on in Pete Carroll's tenure,
was, I would say, one of the best teams in the league.
Well, people forget those last several years of Russell Wilson, even when he was playing pretty well, they were going on the road.
They have not hosted a playoff game where it is a extremely tough place to play.
It's a massive home field advantage.
One of the really like, I would say short list of teams that you would say have a collegiate field in almost a decade.
And they deserved it because they dominated the Niners tonight.
They dominated them.
Honestly, at half, when it was 10 to 3, I went, the Niners should be, you know, doing cartwheels that this is a one score game.
The Niners had three first downs in the first half.
Seattle 4x them on first downs.
They almost had 200 yards of offense in the first half.
And here's the thing, the 49ers had been playing the last couple weeks, teams with no defense.
And they eviscerated them.
And tonight, and I've been saying this for a while, Mike McDonald, if you're.
if he was an offensive coach would be one of the toasts of the league.
But he's a defensive guy.
And we just celebrate offense more.
We just do.
I mean, the league is built and the business is built now around offense.
You are completely screwed as a defensive player when it comes to, you know, no matter how great you are,
you don't get as much credit as the offensive guys.
Obviously, from a playing standpoint and the officiating standpoint, you're at a huge disadvantage.
And we talk a ton.
I mean, obviously, Andy's been toast to the league for the last half decade.
And Kyle and McVeigh and all the other offensive guys around the league, we talk about,
and I'm guilty as anybody nonstop.
But I haven't beaten the drum for this guy.
He's elite.
And now his record and his ability against Kyle Shanahan kind of speaks for itself.
I mean, the 49ers offense is built on running the ball.
I think probably within the last year,
Jay Gruden, you know, former NFL coach, John's brother, came on this show and we were just
BS and talking football, and we talked about Kyle Shanahan and that offense. And he said from a pure
passing standpoint, that's not what they do. Like no one studies their offense for just drop back
passing. It is an offense going back to his father, which ironically, Clint Kubiak, who's now the
offensive coordinator for Seattle, who's the son of Gary, who plays.
played for Mike Shanahan, coach for Mike Shanahan,
Kyle played for the Kubiak might as well,
that family might as well be the cousins of the Shanahan.
The entire offense is predicated on running the ball.
And when you can run the ball,
you dominate in the passing game
because the majority of their passes,
if your quarterback is just competent, are layups.
And then it's the NFL,
so obviously there are going to be plays where you have to make.
But how many times tonight Sam Donald on these boots
is he just dumping it off?
because that's the job in this offense.
And when you can run the ball, as Kubiak in Seattle did the night,
they had 180 yards on the ground.
You removed the nine yards Sam Darnold had.
Their two running backs went for 171 yards.
They dominated on the ground.
Meanwhile, the 49ers who, you know, coming into this game,
I would say Christian McCaffrey is widely considered
not just one of the best running backs in the league,
one of the best players, had eight carries for 23 yards.
They had 12 carries for 53 yards.
If you told me the 49ers are going to have a game where they get 12 carries and they're playing a team like Seattle who has a good defense, they're going to have no chance to win.
Also, if you would have told me that the 49ers would have three points, I'd be like, I bet Purdy throws a bunch of interceptions.
That was not the case.
He obviously had the one at the goal line where McCaffrey dropped it, but like, Purdy was fine.
Like, he wasn't their problem.
They can't run the ball.
When they can't run the ball, their offense does not work.
They're not built to play like that.
And Mike McDonald now, and like he was,
it wasn't like he was at home last week.
They played on the road, had to fly across the country,
and they physically manhandled the 49ers,
shoved them around.
It felt like every time they tackled him,
guys went backwards.
Troy Eakman even said it on a late run by McCaffrey.
It looks like he's running into a brick wall.
he has nowhere to go, even if you put Barry Sanders in there tonight.
Maybe he gains a couple more yards, jukeing a guy out, but there was no green grass.
And the way this team was built physically from a defensive standpoint, I mean, all their DBs hit.
You can't be a physical defense, in my opinion, just based off your defensive line.
Your secondary has to hit.
In Seattle, the team that they are going to be remembered for forever is the LOB.
Seattle Seahawks, right? One of a Super Bowl went to another. Well, part of the reason that defense
was so feared, and I think they led the league in scoring defense four years in a row, because their
secondary hit like they were Ray Lewis or Brian Earl Lecker. Obviously, Earl Thomas and Camp Chancellor,
but Richard Sherman, to me, is the greatest tackling cornerback I had ever seen. And that's
the way these guys play. Now, the 49ers, DB's hit too. It's honestly the only reason their
defense had a shot because their defensive backs tackle.
Their D-line can't really do much, right?
And obviously, they're linebackers.
I mean, by the end of the game, they're playing with guys that were free agents like
three weeks ago.
But Seattle deserved a win tonight.
They manhandled this game from the jump.
They went right down the field on the first drive of the game.
And honestly, I thought Mike went for it on fourth down,
because everyone's kind of been saying, right, you're too conservative.
And he's playing Kyle Shanahan, who their offense had been, I think, what, scored 10 touchdowns in the last two weeks.
So he's thinking like, hey, we got to score touchdowns and it backfired.
And then I think the next couple drives he realized we don't need to play this way.
I need to do exactly what I've been doing.
Be conservative.
Because the 49ers offense, best case, was going to get to the low teens.
it was not going to be a game when they scored many points.
Their defensive line,
I mean, that last play of the game,
technically the last play of the game for the 49ers,
I thought Brock Purdy was murdered.
Honestly, I thought, like, how,
did he just shatter his entire lower body?
And all night long,
they beat the shit out of them.
They hit him over and over and over again.
And when they didn't hit him,
anyone he threw to,
they destroyed.
and hell, Kittle's a good example.
Typically in a game, George, and he had five catches for 30 yards.
Typically, he's more like five or six for 70,
and of those 70, maybe 30 or 35 or 40 or after the catch,
because he'll break a tackle, he'll run over DB,
he'll throw a linebacker to the side.
That was not taking place tonight.
Seattle showed up to,
just shoved the Niners around.
And Mike McDonald owned
Kyle Shanahanan tonight. Kyle had no
answers. The 49ers had
one good drive. Ended
on a freak interception. But they had one good
drive all night long.
And it was
a big play by Kiddle, a big play by Purdy's
legs, a big play by Joanne Jennings.
Interception game over.
It happened that fast.
It was 13 to 3. You're like, okay, the 49ers
score here is 13 to 10. Low-scoring
weird game. Anything's
possible. Ten minutes left in the game. Interception happened. Game over.
Happened like that. And honestly, the Niners were extremely fortunate to be in that position.
Right. Myers had missed a field goal. They had gone forward on fourth down, you know, down deep in the red
zone. You look at the statistics. To me, the staff that jumps out the most is they had 23 first
downs. The 49ers had nine. That is a crazy statistic.
The Niners' offense had nine first downs.
They only had three in the first half.
They only had six in the second half.
And four of them came on the one fucking drive.
I mean, it was, I mean, from a Mike McDonald's standpoint,
what was on the line to be the number one overall seed,
like a Picasso.
Like, that was chef kiss moment on the season for him.
I mean, what a performance.
From his unit, from his team to come on the road.
And listen, you know, the 49ers defense is terrible.
It's no one's fault.
It is what it is.
It's a personnel standpoint.
You could argue their best defensive player is a fifth round,
160-pound rookie slot corner.
But they still have a lot of pride.
They are still extremely well-coached.
And to just dominate this game.
And I think we also learned this.
The last couple weeks, the 49ers had beat teams
where they could just outscore them.
It's almost like if you're a basketball team.
We're going to get into games where it's like 130 to 120.
We're comfortable in that environment.
But if the game gets like in the high 80s or low 90s,
which I haven't watched much NBA this year,
but I don't think that happens anymore.
Back in my day, get off my lawn moment.
It used to happen a lot.
Hell, there used to be like NBA finals in the 70s and 80s.
The Spurs used to do it a lot.
But are you comfortable playing in those games?
Do you have a good defense?
And it turned out tonight the 49ers are not comfortable playing
the low-scoring game.
Because that means their defense is going to be on the field.
And the time of possession,
37 to 22.
Technically, 38 to 22.
I'm going to round up and round down.
I mean, that says it all.
Because Seattle, Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker,
I guess Seattle fans are down on Kenneth Walker.
I know he can be a little hit or miss.
I've always had a soft spot for him after his performance at Michigan State.
got Mel Tucker an extension before he got caught
having sexual relations with the chick that speaks to the team
about being careful about having sexual relations
but that's a conversation for a different day.
Again, consensual, I thought, but again, I don't even care
but got Mel Tucker fired for cause, not ideal
when he had a $95 million contract because of Kenneth Walker.
Charbonnet definitely always liked him.
It was extremely impressive.
It really was.
And let's face it, like, you know,
Coach of the year, Kyle Shanahan had a ton of momentum.
Mike McDonald just destroyed that.
Like, Kyle Shannon is not winning coach of the year now.
He's just not.
And you can be like, well, he can't.
No, he's not winning coach of the year.
Especially if Ben Johnson wins tomorrow and Mike Rable wins tomorrow and they're both
the two seed, one of those two guys are getting it.
You know, if not they split it.
But it ended tonight for Kyle Shanahan.
And there also was a play tonight on a fourth down where the game was seven to
nothing. And they ran a play action play that was a shot to Kittle that they never showed the
replay on ESPN, but it was clear it was going to be play action McCaffrey, go to 85. And I don't know if
the safety and the corner both ran it with Kittle. I don't know if just the safety covered and
Brock was afraid to throw a 50-50 ball. But clearly the play did not work. And it was an extremely
bad play goal to have one option and then Purdy ends up dumping it off.
and it doesn't even get close to the first down.
And so many times a night,
they ran plays,
and this is why they didn't have that many first downs,
where even if the guy, I guess, against a team like the Bears,
maybe a Joanne Jennings or DeMarcus Robinson
or even a George Kittle or Eusecheck can break a tackle and get a first down,
but you can't do that against Seattle.
They were just too good of a tackling team.
Honestly, it reminded me a lot of Indiana and Miami
over the course of the last season.
several days how they play defense.
Not just open field tackling, but when I tackle you, you're going to fucking feel it.
And, you know, that's where the GM gets a lot of credit for drafting those players,
for getting the right type guys.
And one thing they know is, this goes back to the LOB days, they know the type guys from a
physicality standpoint, from a mindset standpoint, that play like that.
And the 49ers do too.
They just, they're all in the boxes because they got broken ankles or, you know, broken knees.
So it was, it was a master class tonight on defense.
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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, J-Jolns.
Jonas. We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a...
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,
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Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
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 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 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.
One ring is too scary.
Oh, cream of chicken suit.
Hey, cream a chicken suit.
This is Help from a Hypocrite,
the worst advice from the dumbest people you know.
Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the MyCultura Podcast Network
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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 Hips.
since high school.
Absolutely.
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?
Oh, they had a bogo.
Well, then you got it.
Do you want a white collar or something here?
Just hit it.
What are y'all doing?
Microphones?
Are you making a rap album?
Oh, I would.
Come on.
Can you imagine?
I would buy it.
Cut 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're 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.
What's up, fam?
This is Isaiah Thomas.
And I'm CJ Toledon.
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,
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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 to fly.
He running up the court licking his fingers why he got the ball.
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 Podcast, or wherever you.
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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 parameda possible chin here you do.
So let's talk about it.
Join me on my new podcast.
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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 hard can it be?
Getting naked at 50 with the new guy.
That one's kind of hard, you know?
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
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The other guy who's been taking a lot of heat.
And listen, I said it coming into this game.
Advantage 49ers at quarterback.
Honestly, I thought it was a big advantage.
Sam Darnold had a bunch of interceptions.
Aikman mentioned tonight.
A lot of them come on third down.
Led the league and he had six fumbles.
so he has 20 overall turnovers.
Now, I texted a buddy this week.
Some of those fumbles, at least that I've seen,
when I've been on my couch, watching football on Sundays,
have been when he's getting hit from behind.
So it's like he gets crushed for fumble turnovers.
But if I'm about to throw and someone destroys me and the ball comes out,
is that really my fault or is it one of the offensive linemen's fault?
I tend to blame the offensive lineman,
but who knows, maybe quarterback coach or a coordinator or the head coach
would tell me different.
But still, like numbers are the numbers.
He had 20 turnovers.
I thought tonight, and again,
he played in a Shanahan Kubiak offense night.
He'd be like, look at his numbers.
They're not that great.
Didn't throw for that?
That's winning football.
When your team is built like this,
and you go 20 of 26,
I thought he only really made one questionable throw
the entire night.
And that was late in the game.
He was rolling to his left.
He throws it to Smith and,
Jigba. He kind of overthrows it a little bit, but it was so close to the sideline,
Renardo Green technically caught it or picked it off, but he was so far out of bounds, it didn't
even matter. Now, at that time, you're like, hey, man, we can't put our balls. Next play,
they call a run. They're like, hey, we're not even messing with it. But over the course of the
game, I thought, precise, accurate, on time, in command. I do think over the course of the season,
definitely the second half of the season, he gets a little sped up and he can be a little erratic.
That's kind of the knock on him going back to the end of last year.
He just gets frenetic, right?
And that's usually what, that's the difference between the great quarterbacks, always under control,
always poised, always calm.
And when Sam gets a little off-kilter, like any quarterback that's not an elite, elite,
all-time guy, you can start feeling them getting frenetic, anyone that plays golf.
When you start kind of pressing, you start going fast and it gets worse.
No different with the quarterback in his feet.
Saw it a couple times with Purdy tonight because he starts hearing footsteps.
Don't even blame him, but you can't play like that.
You have to be calm.
And I thought for the most part he was really, really calm.
Did a great job.
Took what was there, was accurate, made some really good throws down the middle of the field.
And listen, it doesn't end the questions.
I wouldn't put, you know, $10,000 on him to win playoff games.
I would still be a little nervous.
But if they can play in games where they can dictate the terms,
and if they're going to run the ball like that, they can win the NFC.
They can run the ball like that.
Now, some of these defenses will see how the, you know,
the scheduling breaks and who wins and who they end up playing in the first round.
But, like, that is their formula.
run the ball, have Donald throw under 30 times, and play defense.
And I think they would tell you, if we can play games where Donald has less than 30 attempts,
we can win the Super Bowl.
If we play in a game where he's got to have 40 plus attempts, it's probably going to be hard
for us to win that game.
Or it just could get weird, right?
And this goes back to, I'll never forgets.
A buddy told me that was with the Jets that when Saul interviewed, they liked Sam Darnold.
And they said they thought they could win with Sam Darnold.
And he was bringing LaFleur from the 49ers.
And the mindset was going to be around the offense, running the Shanahan offense,
which Seattle does, which obviously the 49ers do,
is play in games, dominate running the ball, build a good defense,
and have him play where his past attempts are between 25 and 30.
and in those 25 to 30, 75% of them are going to be relatively easy throws, as you saw a lot of times
a night. And then they're going to be 10, 15% where he's just going to have to make a play.
And he did the night. It's why this offense is so good when you run the ball.
Now, you're not always going to run it for 4.6 yards of carry and just the ease in which they did the night.
but if you can run 40 times for 150 yards,
if you can control the clock and you have a good defense,
it's a formula that has worked since the 60s, the 70s still works today.
And it will always work, no matter how much you want to get past happy.
And here's the other thing with Seattle.
Like, there's a decent chance you get a rainy game.
So whoever you are playing, you're probably not going to throw up for 350 yards.
Rain, win, could be cold.
the elements play in their style of football.
If I'm them, I want it to be shitty weather.
That translates.
That will work.
Now, it depends on who they play.
If they do get into a situation where they're down,
anything's possible.
Because obviously, 11 is an elite player.
But they do depend a lot on, you know,
older Cooper Cup, who made a nice catch and nice play tonight.
And they're running backs.
I mean, Walker had 16 carries.
Charbonnet at 17
Walker had four catches
so he had 20 touches
Charbonnet at three
so they had 40 touches
with their two running backs
like that
that was
McDonald's going to get a lot of credit
because the defense dominated
rightfully so
but Kubiak tonight
that that was in front of
you know I'm sure one of his mentors
like I said
family cousin essentially
had to feel pretty good
had to feel really really good
and congrats to see
Seattle, 14 and 3, signing Sam Darnold this offseason.
Let's face it, pretty polarizing.
There were a lot of people, I think the analytical community up until a couple
weeks ago was trying to tell everyone Gino Smith is good.
Gino Smith's a great story.
Resurrection his career, ended up making a bunch of money,
helped Seattle get to the playoffs post-Rustle Wilson.
If you're trying to tell me Gino Smith is a good player, I don't know what to tell you.
If you want Gino Smith to be your starting quarterback and do that,
doesn't 25. Like, I don't know what to tell you. Sam Donald's a dramatic upgrade.
Like, I watched Gino Smith play the 49ers a lot.
Look like shit every time. I mean, terrible.
Terrible. And Sam Donald the night, I mean, was in the driver's seat for that bad boy.
I don't want to say, like, led them, but was a big part of it.
Made some big time plays. And honestly, they could have put it on.
I think everyone thought, like, oh, there's Sam, those first couple plays in the red zone
and the first drive of the game,
which, I'm not going to argue, weren't good.
But over the course of the rest of the game,
I thought he was really good.
I thought he was really good.
And if he plays well,
this team is 100% a contender.
And the 49ers, like,
I didn't think Purdy was that bad.
He was 19 to 27,
a couple of those incompletions late in the game.
At one point in time,
he was like 19 to 25 or 19 to 23.
He was pretty accurate.
They just didn't have the bowl that often.
I mean, how many plays did they run the night?
They had 42.
Seattle had 25 more plays.
The 49ers ran 42 plays.
They just, they could never get in the position where it's like third and one.
It always felt like it was third and four, third and five.
They're so dependent on Kendrick Bourne and DeMarcus Robinson.
In fairness, DeMarcus Robinson made a couple plays tonight.
Three catches for 24 yards.
had a couple first downs.
But when McAfree,
I don't even want to blame him, but just
was not really a factor in night.
Had some catches on some dump downs.
But that interception,
like that's one of those where
goes on Purdy's record, but
I know the ball was tipped and a little behind him,
I think he'd be the first to tell you,
I have to catch that 100 out of 100 times.
Now, you could argue it's a little freaky when he drops it,
Brooks is right there catches it, which is a nice defensive play.
Seattle's executives all go nuts up there in the suite.
But that was a killer.
I mean, that felt like a nail in the back of the cranium.
It's like this thing's a fucking, this thing's a wrap.
And he just, he was a guy who wasn't going to win the MVP.
But if they were going to win this game, they were going to need an MVP type performance from him.
They were going to need him to be brilliant and dominate.
break tackles, be like superhuman.
And maybe it's just because of the accumulation
of the amount of carries and touches he's had this season
and fairness he's had to have them.
They've had to play like they've been playing.
I mean, they won a game last week 42 to 38.
The previous week, Philip Rivers, threw like multiple touchdowns.
They scored 27 points.
I mean, their defense is awful.
They can't stop anybody.
they did sack Donald a couple times
so they end the season with 20 sacks
at least the regular season
which is going to be last in the league
they don't gain pressure
the one time they blitz and it works
de-winners
I thought he originally tore his Achilles
I think he just rolled his ankle really bad
but was right there
and that's where
the blitz was perfectly called
the offensive linemen split like the Red Sea
hole right up
the gut, D-Winners, who's a really good athlete, fires right through.
And you see this happen a lot, especially with like Lamar or Kyler or the high-end running
quarterbacks, they make those guys miss.
But Darnel's a solid athlete.
There has to be some sort of, like in basketball.
When you sprint up to a guy, you don't just run right through them.
Once you get close, you kind of shuffle your feet.
You break down.
Like D. Winter, he cannot run away from.
D-Winters. But if D-Winter is going to run in a vertical line full speed, which my guess
D-Winter is probably like a 4-6 guy, so he's hauling ass, all Sam has to do is move over,
and then D-Winners rolls his ankle is probably out for the season. Sam runs for first down.
That's where, obviously, you see it countless other times, but Fred Warner is the best
blitzing linebacker in the league. That is 100% a 7- or 8-yard sack if it's Fred
Warner. Well, it's his backup or a backup. You know, D. Winner's technically like a rotational
starter, depending on who's healthy. But WIFs, Darnel goes. And I think you saw that constantly
tonight of just guys flying around that probably shouldn't be out there, but you don't have a
choice. And they're just not good enough. And this is, I would say, you know, in college,
next man up, pre-N-I-L, at places like Georgia, Bama, Texas, Oregon, all the good
schools. Next man up could be like a five-star retro freshman. So like, yeah, we don't know who this is.
Turns out it's Tyron Matthew. Turns out it's, uh, you know, Kyle Pitts. Fuck, who knows? It could be
great players. That's not the case in the NFL. It's just not. There's a huge drop-off for backups.
Trent Williams is a 12-time pro bowler. Austin Pleasant's never started a game in his NFL career.
Clearly there is a drop-off. Trent Williams,
if I tied his legs together, you know, probably could be 50% of that guy.
It's not even comparable, right?
It's not, even the 49ers wide receiver group.
Listen, Ricky Pearsall is an incredible story.
He got shot at point blank range.
The doctor, I think it's Stanford Medical, said like 90 plus or maybe it was like 95 plus percent in that area, die.
It kills you.
He lived.
Fought him off.
Refused to give up his sub-mariner.
Fuck yeah, Ricky.
But, so it's like, there's no one disputing his toughness.
Again, fought off a point-blank glock to the chest.
Not only lived the tell about it, came back and played in the NFL as a rookie.
But this year, they're very dependent on Ricky Piersoll.
Why?
Ricky Piersoll is a good player.
High-end player.
Seattle
if Seattle had him healthy
with Jackson Smith
their offense would be elite
like he is a impact player
especially in the Shanahan offense
but he gets injured all the time
if you remove the gunshot situation
when he showed up the 49ers he had a shoulder
he's had hamstring he's obviously dealt with a knee
even the day when his injury said knee slash ankle
I get it Trent
freak injury
running down a guy, he's not used to running full speed.
Hell, cross the starting left tackle for the Seattle Seahawks as a hamstring.
It happens.
Big guy, that's nothing you can do about it.
The Ricky Pearsall situation really bit the Niners in the ass tonight
because you felt it offensively,
especially against that secondary, where you need a little juice.
Joanne Jennings is an excellent player.
He is a winning, he's a, he's what I call war daddy.
Listen, I don't know what he's saying when he's talking shit.
to people. Some people think he's crossing the line.
One dude on the Browns
called him a ho this year. He just said, hey, I'm
just talking. Tonight he took a guy
for a ride into the Gatorade
buckets. He pisses people
off. But he's a player.
But if you're depending on him
to be your number one wide receiver,
it's going to be really hard at the highest
level. It really is.
He's not fast enough. So you need
speed and just playmaking
ability outside of them.
Right? And they just didn't have that.
tonight. And a big reason is Ricky Pearson. They drafted him in the first round, in the first
freaking round. Meanwhile, the first round players for the other team, like, you're really feeling
the North Dakota State offensive linemen, Witherspoons hitting like he's Richard Sherman.
They were fucking laying the lumber, which I love. I mean, I love violence in terms of watching
it. I'm not a violent individual. Don't have much violence in me. I'm not the biggest guy.
but I gravitate toward violence, especially in this sport.
Love watching it.
My favorite teams are violent physical teams.
It's why, listen, I got married in Nashville, but I haven't spent that much time in the South,
but I've gravitated to the SEC over the past 10, 12, 15 years.
Why?
It's the most violent conference.
I love violent football teams.
And Seattle is, and when they're playing like that, they're really, really hard to be.
And the Niners just couldn't match it.
They're not built like that right now.
And their guys, I don't know if they were,
clearly McCaffrey's running empty a little bit.
You know, Kittles just, he's a badass,
he's playing through an ankle injury.
They just had no juice.
Purdy's getting hit like he's, you know,
their defensive lines, Anthony Joshua,
and he's Jake Paul, every play.
Like, Jesus, is Brock dead?
You know when Jake Paul got hit in the mouth
and he went down and you're like,
is he going to get up?
That's how I fell in the last play.
Like, is Brock?
And then I looked at my wife.
I'm like, well, they have a game next week.
Like, that's, you had this?
Is it Mac Jones starting the playoff game?
And then Brock got up and his hands bleeding and he limping off.
I'm like, Jesus.
This is one of those games where the 49ers, the whole team's going to be in the ice bat tomorrow.
And that's, let's go big picture here.
I think they're in trouble.
I mean, there's no way around it.
they are a team not built to just rattle off victories on the road.
And if they get Philadelphia, who, you know, offense, a little like Seattle, it's not great.
Now, you would say top to bottom, they got more impactful players, A.J. Brown,
Devante Smith, Sequin, Goddard, which I don't care how hit or miss their play calling and Jalen can be in the passing game.
You can just score some touchdowns on the Niners defense, and you definitely can run it on them.
but that's a tough game.
And Kittle mentioned it tonight.
He's like the hard part for us,
we're a West Coast team.
So if we have to play Chicago or even farther Philly,
we got a long-ass flight.
And that's what a huge advantage it was for Seattle.
Both their flights, if they got to go in the...
If Seattle had to go play Philly
or had to go play Carolina or Tampa,
even those teams are easy,
the Rams more likely they're going to have to play Carolina or Tampa.
It's a long-ass flight.
I've made it.
Sucks.
It takes forever.
And I'm just doing something, I don't know, vacation.
I don't even know why.
I haven't necessarily made it from L.A. to Tampa,
but I've flown across country a bunch of times.
Live to Philadelphia.
Flown from Florida out to the West Coast.
You're on the plane forever.
I just flew this year before football season to Hawaii.
It was like a five-hour-and-20-minute flight.
from Sky Harbor to Maui.
And like two hours, three hours in,
I'm like, how much longer do we have?
And you look down, it's like two hours.
I was just going there to booze and swim.
Not playing a football game.
So it's hard.
That's why this game was so huge for whoever wanted.
Because of the advantage, clearly you get the buy is massive.
But the travel aspect of the playoffs for these teams,
when the other teams that are making the playoffs,
are way far away.
Right?
So if you're Seattle,
never have to leave.
I mean,
and your home field advantage is huge.
The rest component,
you know,
again,
it's hard.
I haven't even,
you have to know who wins
to even know who they're going to play.
I mean,
they could go anywhere from the Rams to,
you know,
who knows,
would have Green Bay upsets Chicago,
which I don't think is going to happen.
But if it does,
it's happened before
when Green Bay upset Dallas a couple years ago,
it doesn't even matter.
They're coming to you.
And they've just,
played more than likely a knockdown dragout game.
Meanwhile, the 49ers, I would guess, probably play next Sunday.
Probably Sunday 1 o'clock in Philadelphia.
Again, you have to have to have to have to see the matchups to kind of know, but that that would
probably be my guess right now because I saw Peter Schrager thinking that the Monday
night game will be whoever wins tomorrow Ravens or Steelers hosting probably the Houston
and Texans.
And, yeah, my guess with the 49ers,
either play that first game.
You know, they showed the thing tonight,
Fox, CBS, Amazon, we just don't know who has what.
But there's always an NFC game either on Sunday morning or Sunday afternoon.
For us, you know, on the West Coast, 10 o'clock or 1 o'clock.
I would guess Philly Niners would be 1 o'clock.
I don't know if the AFC would have a better game than that.
and I could see Buffalo Jacksonville at 10 a.m.
Again, could be totally off on this.
That would just be way too early guess.
But I just don't.
I mean, I think it would be a miracle right now
if the 49ers 1-1 playoff game.
And I think that'd be an incredible accomplishment.
You could argue going 12 and 5
and making the playoffs with that roster.
I mean, part of the reason they're 12 and 5,
40s beat Seattle in Seattle.
They beat the Rams in Los Angeles.
I mean, those are two of their wins.
in obviously one of the craziest games they've ever had
against the Chicago Bears, who've had an incredible season.
Chicago wins tomorrow, what are they?
13 win team?
I'm going to get that wrong.
Chicago right now, they'd be 12.
So they beat a 13 win team, a 14 win team, and a 12 win team.
So people like, oh, 49ers are beating nobody.
No, they beat three playoff teams.
The number one seed, the number five seed, and probably the number two seed.
but the problem was tonight the team that they played Seattle with
was a lot different than the team they played Seattle with in Seattle.
In Seattle knew it,
and the coaching ability of Mike is just top-notch.
I'm just,
that was incredible, and that shit translates.
It really does.
I mean, they were my pick a couple years ago to win the Super Bowl.
I put one of the biggest bets of my life against the Chiefs
against them in that AFC championship game.
and it wasn't because of the defense.
Lamar played like shit in that game.
They lost 17 to 10.
Pat in my home scored 17 points.
I'm pretty sure they had 14 in the first half.
Maybe all 17, if I remember correctly.
But definitely 14.
Definitely the two touchdowns came in the first half.
So McDonald's a stud.
No way around it.
Do I think they can win the Super Bowl?
I don't know if I'd go that far,
but I think it'd be shocking
if they're not in the
or in the NFC championship game.
But if it is Seattle, Chicago, Philly,
and the Rams play whatever one of these shitty teams makes the playoffs,
let's give the Rams that win,
and let's say the Bears and Philly beats the Niners,
Seattle would have to play the Rams in their first playoff game,
which would suck.
I think if you're Seattle, you would actually rather play Philly or Chicago.
So you could argue getting the one seed in a weird way for Seattle is more difficult.
Because I think if you're Seattle, if you were ranking your opponents that you would want to play,
in your first play NFC championship game, you obviously play whoever.
But your first playoff game in the divisional round, and you have to play the Rams?
I think we just pulled a bunch of GMs
and pulled a bunch of NFL people
how would you rank the top four teams in the NFC
because now you've got to drop the Niners out of it
based on their defensive performance
the last several weeks.
It just sucks.
You know, you would definitely have Seattle
and the Rams would be one too.
Some people might even be like,
hey, if the Rams need to figure it out tomorrow
and get a little momentum in that first weekend,
they're going to be tough.
Philly, I mean, they go three it out.
It feels like every other drive.
They had 17 years.
yards in the second half last week.
Chicago, their defense is basically the 49ers.
I've been saying this forever.
I don't watch high school football, but I'm going to stick with this.
At the highest level is a high school, maybe high school is a little different.
Definitely college and clearly the pros, you cannot win big if you do not play defense.
It is impossible.
There is no...
If I read one more article about Cliff Kingsbury becoming a head coach, I'm going to throw up in my mouth.
these fucking people not watch football?
Is this an agent-driven story?
What are we talking about?
Head coach in the NFL?
What?
Cliff Kingsbury?
Do you guys just witness what happened?
And part of the dysfunction in Arizona
in terms of his accountability and toughness
which translates to defense?
It's kind of like a shittier version of Lincoln Riley.
That does not work.
What's winning in college football right now?
Indiana destroying people on defense.
Oregon dominating the defensive side of the ball.
Miami crushing people.
Ole Miss has got the little D2 guys making sweet plays.
Obviously in the NFL, defense matters a lot.
Pass rush, DB play, physicality,
obviously your schemes within that.
And the Bears, their fans would be the first to tell you,
like, your defense is the same as Niners.
Maybe you got one or two bigger names on that side of the ball,
but that does not work.
That's why the Niners, I think every 49er fan
be the first to admit, we have no shot in the playoffs.
None.
To make a run.
Could you win an individual game?
Could the 49ers beat the Eagles in a one-off situation?
100%.
Games are weird.
You saw it tonight.
Seattle was kicking their ass and it was 10 to 3 at half.
Like, how's this possible?
Niners had three first down?
That's football.
And the 49ers at one point in time
where a fumbled ball
if Cleland Farrell falls on it,
Who knows?
All of a sudden, they score a tie game.
It was a 10-point swing.
Football is weird that way, right, in an individual game.
You could be a better team.
I think you could pull 100 people that watched tonight,
and 100 people would say Seattle was the better team tonight.
Yet at one point in the third quarter, it's 10 to 3.
And that's the thing about playoff games.
I went to a lot of warriors in their heyday playoff games.
you can lose random games and series all the time.
It happens in baseball all the time.
It does not matter.
In basketball, it definitely doesn't matter.
Like, oh, it's got blown out in game three.
Okay, two, one.
Who cares?
In football, you have one bad half.
You make two bad plays.
The playoffs can be over.
The other team makes one great play.
Some crazy-ass kickoff return
or some crazy-ass mistackle touchdown.
All of a sudden, it's like,
I thought we were better than them.
And we're down 20 to 10 in third quarter.
That's what's so fun about the playoffs.
But man, what a night.
Credible accomplishment by Seattle.
Truly is.
Like I said,
crowding achievement for John Schneider.
Let's face it.
I mean, there's Diana's article today.
It's like,
clearly the Raiders would like Pete to just retire.
Like, hey, man, we'll pay you the contract.
We don't want to quote-unquote fire you,
but just retire.
you're 75, you refused to waive the white flag,
you were the only guy we could hire because there were no other options,
you're going to get fired.
But if you just announce you're retired, it's easier to go that way.
Judge Snyder won that.
Big time.
Because once Pete's gone, he's hired Mike McDonald two years later.
They're the number one seat in the NFC.
And that's against a team with, you know,
I don't know how much the Eagles are spending on their team,
but it's a shitload of money.
you know, the Rams, I mean, were beating them by 16 points in the fourth quarter three weeks ago.
Seattle came back, beats Carolina, beats the Niners, boom.
Home playoff games, that's how fast it's shifted.
That's the crazy part about Seattle season is at that game, when they're down 16 points,
Darnold looks like crap.
Like, yeah, man, make the playoffs, good season.
season and then it flipped.
Sheheed scored that touchdown.
They've honestly never really looked back since that moment.
I know it was technically 3-3 last week in Carolina, but Carolina sucks.
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?
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.
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.
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 and 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.
One ring is too scary.
Oh, cream a chicken suit. Hey, cream.
Cream a chicken suit.
This is help from a hypocrite.
The worst advice from the dumbest people you know.
Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Coulthura Podcast Network
available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcasts presents Soccer Moms.
So I'm Leanne.
Yeah.
This is my best friend Janet.
Hey.
And we have been joined at the hips since high school.
Absolutely.
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.
Are you soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey?
With all the snacks and drinks.
Sidebar.
Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer?
Oh, they had a bogo.
Well, then you got it.
Do you want a white collar or something here?
Just a hit it.
What are y'all doing?
Microphones?
Are you making a rap album?
Oh, I would.
Come on.
Can you believe?
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 are.
You're lucky.
I'm not an alcoholic.
You are.
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.
What's up, fam?
It's Isaiah Thomas.
And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining 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 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
while 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 Deanna Maria Riva,
actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman
walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crime
drag 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 the Adamania 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 hard 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.
main takeaway from that game, and I've thought this for a while, and I've never, ever
believe this more strongly, that if you go 8 and 9 and win a division, one, that shows
your division sucks. If you go 8 and 9 and win the division, think about what it took for
Seattle to win the division. They had to win 14 games. They're going to have two other,
they're going to have a 13-win team and a 12-win team in their own division.
relative to this other division with three eight and nine teams potentially if
Atlanta wins. Atlanta's rattling off some late victories.
Obviously the Saints rattled off some late victories as well,
but that division's been terrible. It really has.
Even if things went better for either Tampa or Atlanta,
what are they, 10 win teams?
You're clearly talking about the worst division winner in the conference.
But if you go 8 and 9 or worse,
who knows, you could have a year maybe 7 and 10 if it goes really shitty.
You should not be able to host a playoff game.
You should give up that right.
I'm okay with, hey, you win the division, you're automatically in the playoffs.
But if you go under 500 to win the division, you should then be stacked with the
playoff teams, which every single time would be 7th.
That's how I would do it.
So it's not like, oh, you get to play the 4-5.
No, you go to the 7th seed.
I think that would be fair.
I could live with, okay, they're just, they play the four or five game,
but it goes to whoever they're playing gets the home game.
I'd be cool with that.
But I honestly think you should be slotted in the seven seat.
You could make a whole other argument.
Like, if you go under 500, should you even make the playoffs?
We could make that argument if you wanted.
I wouldn't argue against that person.
But under no circumstances,
should one of those two teams that we witness playing today
get to host a playoff game next week.
That is an embarrassment
toward the national football league.
It truly is.
I like Jason Light.
I think he's an excellent GM.
I know they've had a weird season.
They've had some injuries.
His coach isn't great, clearly.
You know, decent chance if Atlanta wins tomorrow
that I think Todd Bowles gets fired.
Again, I don't know Todd well,
but I worked with him whenever I see him at the Combine.
I've always liked him.
He's always been really nice to me.
but he's been atrocious this year.
Their whole team has been really atrocious this year.
And this is not shade because of the division,
though that division does feel like the least interesting division in all
of football.
That game today had preseason vibes.
It honestly did.
It had vibes in the preseason when you're watching like Miami or Philly
or some of these East Coast teams that, you know,
play in these humid cities that start.
It starts pouring rain, and the starters were playing, you know, late in the first quarter or the second quarter.
Like, oh, this, and you're just starved.
You're just like a crack addict looking for a hit.
So you're just sitting on your couch in like mid-August.
You're like, hell yeah.
Baker Mayfield's on the field.
Mike Evans!
Vita Beah!
But it's still a preseason game.
And then all of a sudden you look up, you go get a snack, and all the backups are in.
You're like, this is bad.
Honey, you want to go watch a movie?
I actually just watched the movie last night called a Ruehams.
Oof Man. Pretty good flick. Channing Tatum. He, true story. This, I guess, guy broke into a bunch of
McDonald's from the roof, got caught, broke out of jail, lived at a Tori's O'R Us for like six months,
starts dating a girl. I really enjoy the movie. Channing Tatum, kind of underrated actor.
That game today had preseason vibes. It truly did. And given that, no matter who, I guess,
if Carolina won the game, they would have won the division.
But it never crossed my mind, Carolina was going to win that game.
And if it wasn't for a last drive by Carolina,
that they scored a touchdown so the game looks closer than it actually was.
I thought Tampa was clearly the better team.
I'm not a Bryce Young guy.
It's pretty clear for me.
And I was coming out of college.
I'm not acting like I've never liked them.
I loved him at Alabama.
I'd followed his career in high school.
school because he's a huge recruit.
I was rooting for him, but at this point
time, he's not good enough. You'd be like, well, his numbers
are, I don't know, man, I don't see it. I know he made some throws.
He all, no one throws an outrout
interception like Bryce Young. I don't know if it's he can't see.
I don't know if his timing's always off.
But he throws one of the easier
outrout picks. I mean, for any guy that
consistently starts, typically the guy that throws that
pick all the time is a guy that doesn't start very long.
I think Bryce Young is just averages the day as long and that feels kind.
Like I pick up his fifth year option, I don't even think is an option.
Yeah, I mean, obviously Canalis, not sure how dynamic he is.
Hard to judge a little with his quarterback, but the flea flicker in the rain when a running
back, if you just think about it, the field's clearly.
slippery. It had been pouring rain in Tampa. A flea flicker takes two or three, whatever is
coached up, hard steps, selling the run. Then you have to stop, pivot, flip back. As Dowdell went
to flip it back, he is parallel to the ground. It's almost like a movie scene when a guy, you know,
we watched Home Alone a couple weeks ago. They slip on the ice and they're parallel to the
ground. That's what he looked like as he's
mid at the ground. And it's just
how do you call that play? And then I watched his answer about
why he called that play after the game.
He's like, yeah, we like to play. And even
Orlovsky on the broadcast was like, they
never showed a replay down the field.
And I don't think anyone was open.
There was not, there was like one grout
being run. There wasn't even
someone to dump it off to.
What kind of play call is that?
you know, Baker threw a bad pick.
It was just an awful, awful game.
I don't really know what to say.
I don't want to spend too much time talking about it
because I do think that Atlanta's going to win
and Carolina is going to be in the playoffs,
which is truly shameful.
I mean, it truly is.
And I believe this core of my soul
in no functioning society
should the Carolina Panthers at 8 and 9,
the team that we've witnessed.
I mean, they got worked last week in the second half.
Bryce threw 54 yards against Seattle.
Today they are down whatever,
nine points late in the game.
And they're going to host a playoff game
because Bejohn Robinson tomorrow goes for 170 yards.
What are we doing?
Come on, Raj.
We got to be better.
This can't be tolerated.
But it will.
They'll host a game.
And hopefully the Rams kick their ass and we move on.
If you tell me that it's Rams, Carolina,
my guess would be a decent chance
that's the first playoff game.
That's Saturday afternoon.
Saturday afternoon.
And that would be a lucky break from McVeigh
because he can probably get it rolling a little bit
tomorrow against Arizona,
who's just an atrocious football team
with a million injuries.
They're terrible.
I think they've lost by 20,
and I was listed to some local television show,
like five in the last seven games or something.
They are bad.
And then you get Carole.
You might get some momentum.
And again, like I said, if Seattle draws the Rams as their first playoff game since 2017 in Seattle,
that's just a tough draw.
It really is.
I think if you let John Schneider and Mike McDonald pick, they would 100% pick Philly or obviously San Francisco or the Bears over the Rams.
But that will be a fantastic week two playoff game, but that's the way it shakes out.
other than that, we've gone, got a little longer than I thought, but I was, it was a big night.
I mean, there was a lot on the line.
Learned a lot.
Seattle's the one seed.
Niders are in trouble.
And I guess we had to.
I actually didn't.
I turned the game on.
I was a little late to the game playing golf, which was way more fun than watching the morning game.
And it was seven nothing.
And I was like, what?
This sucks.
I don't even want to do this.
Is there a bowl game on?
I guess I kind of have to do this for my job.
kind of. I was like, this is awful. What a, what an awful game. At least we had the night game,
which I know it was low scoring, but it was fun. Audios. Have a great night. And see you
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