The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 – NFL Divisional Round Playoffs

Episode Date: January 22, 2024

Colin weighs in on the NFL divisional round. Buffalo fell apart as it asked Josh Allen to save them once again. The window for the Bills isn't closing, but it does feel like the Chiefs have the upper hand and asserted their dominance. Colin doesn't think the Detroit Lions are a Cinderella story - they're a real contender and deserve to be here, and gives credit to their front office.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. One hour from now where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, there's plenty of both. Mark Sanchez, Mark Slara, stop in. J. Mack, we are down to four. Eight to four, that's how it works in January. And, you know, I thought the bills were going to finally do it. Ha, ha, ha, ha.

Doubting the Chiefs. Silly me. Silly you. Only three games left in the NFL season. You know, I thought Buffalo was going to win this weekend. They weren't as reliant at the end of this season on Josh Allen. They developed a run game. They drafted and developed new weapons.

Dalton Kincaid, James Cook, Khalil Shakir. They could blow you out. They could win close. They felt more efficient. They fired their OC. They were on track. It really felt like something. And they did so much well against Kansas City.

Three, 75-yard touchdown drives. They had more first downs and more total plays and dominated time of possession, and they were great in the red zone. And they had, I mean, look at third down. They were seven of 14, and they were at home. And yet yesterday, they reverted back to Josh Allen, save us. they put up the bat signal. They needed him to 39 pass attempts, 12 rushing attempts.

They had to, he had to overcome a weird fake punt call, a couple of big drops by receivers, couldn't stop Kansas City's run game, much of that due to injuries, kicker missed a game tying field goal. This was the Buffalo I thought was in the rear view mirror. I mean, I don't have a problem. with a quarterback having to make some throws or occasionally go to his feet and have to move.

But good God, it was the sixth time in 10 Bill's playoff games that Josh Allen's had to be the leading rusher. The bill's window is not officially closed. Josh Allen's still in his prime. It's still a well-run operation. But it does feel like it shut a little. Let's be honest. Kansas City now 3-0 in their head in the playoffs.

You can see the way the bills on that last drive, where they're running James Cook into the line, they're just trying to eat up the clock. They're thinking about Mahomes when their offense is on the field. That's the way it works with Buffalo.

Again, bat signal. Save us. I thought they'd moved out of that. Some new weapons. O'Line had a good year. They were running the ball, not Josh dependent. yesterday they were. He just could not overcome their mistakes. And I could spend the next 10

minutes hammering the bills. But let's talk about Kansas City. The winners again in this fateful January matchup for Buffalo. Patrick Mahomes did not have to carry the team. A very clean, efficient, and tidy 17 of 23. No picks in his last five playoff games. He's 5 and 0. The run game, dominant in the second half. They barely had the ball in the first half, yet only trailed on the road 17 to 13. Like Gronk, Travis Kelsey, aging, nope.

Big play, Travis Kelsey. How about MVS? Who knew? He made big plays. In fact, Kansas City, and it's just shocking because we watched them all year long, and we were frustrated all year long, and they were making mistakes all year long. But the Chiefs had eight plays.

plays yesterday of 20 or more yards. The bills had none. Isn't that remarkable considering what we watch from both teams this year? Kansas City averaged 7.7 yards of play. That's more than any offense is averaged all weekend long. Smart, well-coached, efficient, and this is what champions, I guess, do. All year long, we watch them cobbled together drives and find a way to win.

And there was some ugly Sundays. Yet in the biggest moment, in the biggest game, Kansas City players played above themselves. All year long, Travis Kelsey, limping, aging, distracted. No, not really, at all. He was amazing and wide open.

They called the heart of a champion. What it felt like to me was the rising of a perceived dead champion. Everybody had the shovels, myself included. I just thought this was a vulnerable Kansas Kansas City team. But do you realize they only faced five third downs all game? They were so efficient. They didn't need third down. The bills for the record were very good on third down. But Kansas City didn't panic. Only a couple of penalties. They're like the Patriots

dynasty, except they have a quarterback who occasionally throws sidearm. Pass protection. Again, excellent. Mahalms efficient. Running game dominant. Coaching. excellent. If McCall Hardman doesn't fumble at the one, this baby would have been put to bed earlier. Here's Josh Allen after. Sucks. Losing sucks. Losing them, losing anybody at home. Sucks. Here, there, it doesn't matter. You just losing sucks. I don't know what else to say. I think it's just, again, we've got to find a way to score one more point than they do. By the way, Andy Reid, and we know he's a great coach, deserves a lot of credit. This offensive line, Greg Kosell came on earlier this year and said,

Mahomes doesn't trust the offensive tackles here. Do you realize Mahomes has yet to be sacked in 64 playoff dropbacks? I don't think it's a coincidence. that many of those players for Kansas City who had struggled, we had doubted, rose in the biggest moment of the season. And that's got to be coaching, among other things, from Andy Reed. Well, sometimes we confuse a great story with a great team. Let's talk Detroit Lions.

Like Joe Flacco in Cleveland, everybody's like, oh, that was a great story. story. He wasn't having a great year. Houston Texan season. That's not a great team. It's a great story. C.J. Stroud, D'Amico Ryans. And these lions, they're a great story too. But this roster, that pass rusher, that running back, that tight end, that safety, these weapons, Detroit can match San Francisco player for player, not quite as old, but arguably just as good as just as deep. the Lions is not the quarterback, though he's been excellent or the coach, and he's been surprisingly good. It's the front office.

The Lions' rookies are Pro Bowl level. Their second, third-year players are some of the best players in the league. Sam Leporta could be the second-best tight end. Penae Soule. Aidan Hutchison, Jamir Gibbs. Like, he's as dynamic and twitchy as any running back in the league. The last three drafts, they've hit minimum six home runs. Not just good rookies.

Good second year guys. Like top of the league good. And Jared Goff, with time to throw, we saw this in Los Angeles. He's really, really good. He wins a lot. He's now in his second NFC championship game. It's not all McVeigh, believe it or not. Don't confuse Detroit with a Cinderella story.

You know, that small college basketball team at a private school in the South that gets to the Sweet 16. No, that's not what this is. Detroit has dudes and safety. linebacker, tight end, offensive tackle, running back, wide receiver. They got dudes everywhere. And they're doing championship things. They draft, they're patient, they develop, they found a quarterback, they protected him,

they added weapons. They don't have great corners. You can beat them deep. But I mean, Baltimore doesn't have great corners. And San Francisco doesn't. The truth is, all four teams going forward, you could say one of their weaknesses, corners, maybe outside of Kansas City, but that's a weakness in the National Football League.

The NFC Championship is where Detroit has landed, and it's actually where they belong. One of the cool things about this team is you saw it coming. We picked them to win the division. You picked them to win the division. And so often hope and optimism fade in January, right? The Cinderella stuff. That's not what this is.

This is what championship teams do. draft, develop, get guys. They have overspent in free agency. No dumb moves. It's smart. It's tough. It's relentless championship level football. And I don't know what the odds makers think,

but I think they're a younger version of San Francisco with a better quarterback. I think they got dudes absolutely everywhere. And here's their coach, the inspiring Dan Campbell, after. You guys are unbelievable, man. I'm telling you, we talked about it all year. This started a long time ago. You're built for this. Do you how hard it is to win this league in the playoffs?

Yes, sir. Do you understand what you're doing right now? What we're capable of? That's two. All right. That's two. We got two to go. You know, it's interesting about the Kansas City Buffalo game,

is that a lot of times when you're betting a game or you're doing fantasy football or you're a fan, you expect stuff after 17 weeks. And J-Mack, what I found fascinating was Kansas City all season long. I mean, the Chiefs games are always prime time. We watch all the Chiefs games. You don't have to live in Kansas City. This is not baseball.

You watch the games. And all year long, I thought I had a read on Kansas City. You're like, you know what? They don't really have a true one, a lot of drops. They make a lot of mistakes. They can't even line up right. And yet in the biggest moment, biggest game on the road, they were almost flawless. protection, penalties.

Again, if they don't fumble at the one, the game's wrapped up. I mean, to play that well with that group, the mix of young and old, in that moment, that's not what I expected to see from can. And as I'm watching it, I'm like, this is what great coaching looks like, great quarterback play. And again, Mahomes was excellent. But they didn't ask him to carry the team. The run game was great, couple of big plays by MVS. Travis Kelsey, we're all grabbing the shovel on him.

He's wide open. How many drops for the Chiefs yesterday? I didn't see any. I was like a whole season. That's a big issue. Colin, I feel terrible for Josh Allen. I mean, that's just a brutal ending for him. He didn't throw the football down the field.

They turned him into a game manager. Did they not? Like no explosive plays the entire game? What happened to the Buffalo offense? High octane down the field? Like nothing. Yeah. The Chief's defensive game plan was spectacular.

Yeah. Well, this is clearly the big. best defense in the Mahomes run. This is the best defense. It's young, but they have, you know, front offices matter. The star of the NFC championship is, I mean, for Detroit, it's the upstairs guys. It's the executives. That is a stacked roster. You start looking at Baltimore. All of us rolled our eyes at Roquan Smith. Why would you pay that for a linebacker? That defense completely shut the Texans down. I mean, they couldn't get into the end zone. The Texans dropped 45 on Cleveland's defense, couldn't move it in the second half.

And then you start looking at Kansas City once they paid Mahalms. How many good young defensive players have they hit on? These front offices, players can only overcome so much. Like there's really good guys upstairs in these offices because it feels right. Baltimore's roster, Kansas City figuring out a way to get rid of defensive players, go cheap on defense and pay offense. Detroit's front office. And San Francisco, John Lynch, for years.

Some of those guys are old, but that's a star-studded roster. It sounds like maybe you're leaning chiefs against the Ravens. I'm sure you saw the line. Did you see the... I was surprised. That's three and a half. I have strong convictions on both games. Okay.

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or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, great to have you in on a Monday. 14 minutes from now, Colin right, Colin wrong, and a Monday, plenty of both. Listen, there's nothing against Brock Purdy. It's not that he's bad. But what I've said all year is I don't see the special. I think a lot of this, most of it is the roster in Kyle Shanahan. And this weekend when the weather's not perfect and he misses Debo Samuel who gets injured,

he's ordinary. The final four quarterbacks are Lamar Jackson, about to be MVP for the second time. and fastest quarterback ever. Patrick Mahomes, a wizard. Number one picked Jared Goff, and the last guy picked in a draft Brock Purdy. And here's another thing about the Niners. I love Kyle Shanahan, but he is completely tied to his play sheet. He doesn't feel like a great second half adapter to me. He came with the game plan.

It's usually brilliant. They usually roll over people, but they're not a good come from behind team, because I'm not sure if they adapt. Once Debo Samuel got hurt, it's not the same offense. You can't just do what you do with Lamar and say, take it over, kid, make some plays with your feet. You watch Lamar and the Ravens, they're missing people all the time. Think about it.

I mean, January football's different. The weather's worse. You get stars beaten up, they have to leave in the first quarter. Your opposition's better. The coaching's better. You got to adapt. I've seen this with San Francisco before. Better scheme, better roster, average quarterback, and they don't hold a trophy.

I just can't see Brock Purdy, especially without Debo Samuel, and they're getting very Christian McCaffrey reliant. I can't see him hosting a trophy. I mean, think about this. Lamar Jackson's on a third string running back, has a rookie receiver missing his star-tied end and the left tackle sometimes available, sometimes not, and he's great. No impact.

No impact. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes, receivers led the NFL in drops, not been comfortable with his offensive tackle, all year long. In the tougher AFC, his tight ends great but aging, loses coordinators every couple years. No impact. Five and O in his last five playoff games.

Brock Purdy has a little rain and Debo Samuel leaves. It doesn't look the same. And January football is different. Green Bay should have won that game. Green Bay couldn't hit their kicks. Green Bay early dropped to pick six. I mean, I'm watching the same thing you're watching. Green Bay was almost a 10-point dog.

And I said all this past week, Green Bay is the real deal here. Now, the only thing they're missing is time on task. Green Bay is incredibly young and really, really extraordinarily talented. Maybe not Detroit Stack talented. But on offense, they got nothing but talent, Twitch. They just don't have enough games. And so Jordan Love a little erratic.

They make some mistakes. But I'm telling you, championship teams, are overcoming. Baltimore's missing people constantly with Lamar. No impact. Mahomes, receivers lead the NFL and drops. Here they are again. Rain and Missing Debo?

I mean, obviously, Brock Purdy struggles gripping the ball. It's pretty well known. There's a hand size in the NFL that is, you know, what, what scouts and GMs want. Not every quarterback has it, but, I mean, he's skipping balls to Christian McCaffrey in the flat because it's raining. I'm sorry. That does not feel like a Super Bowl. host a Lombardi trophy team or quarterback.

So there were eight quarterbacks I watched this weekend. San Francisco's was the eighth most talented. I'm sorry, it's what I see. I'm not a stat guy. If stats matter Buffalo beats Kansas City, because I saw Buffalo after the game. All their stats were better

than Kansas City's. Kansas City, not a volume team, efficient team. So, I mean, he plays in the NFC, he's got a great coach who's sometimes overly tied to his play sheet. It's a stacked roster in San Francisco's favor to beat Detroit, but I feel like

I've seen this. I have seen it. Great offensive coach. Stack roster. Second best quarterback in a conference championship or second best quarterback in a Super Bowl. And I know how it ends. Here's Kyle after. Everyone who had a few plays that stuck out that, you know, either ended a drive or why I didn't get a first down. Same thing on defense, even on special teams.

But everyone who did do that stuff made a huge play at the end and all three phases to get us back into it. And Brock, you know, he made some big plays in this game, missed a couple. But leading us down on that last drive and getting the win, so you can ask for. Listen, I know Kong give him credit for the last drive. I'm not Visa. I'm not MasterCard. I'm not in the credit business. I'm in the honesty business.

He had a nice last drive. But for 90% of that game, I'm watching thinking, Green Bay is better with all these kids on the road. We made a better team. And again, great final drive. You get tip of the cap for that. Kids obviously functions at a high level. He can read defenses. He can make throws.

But I watched eight different quarterbacks this weekend. And a little rain and Missing Debo can't be a constant disruptor. I mean, just look at what quarterbacks are going through on the road, missing stars, left tackles, tight ends. You can't come back down that far after that. So I don't know. It's hard for me to unsee two things. The Niners getting steamrolled by Baltimore. I can't unsee that.

And me watching a young Green Bay team go in there and control large chunks of that game with a bunch of rookies and second year guys. I can't unsee that. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I'm going to deep breaths over here.

I got to be careful. I got to protect my guy. Rock Purdy. The guy who was wearing a glove for part of the game. Then he took off a glove. He's working his hand. He had two bad games this season. Both were in the rain. I just checked the weather for you for Levi Stadium this weekend.

All clear. Sunny skies. 45 to 47 degrees. Well, I'm not saying Jared Gough is Brady and bad weather. I'm not saying that. But it was rain. It wasn't wind. It was inclement weather. Yeah. And by the way, he still ended up with a better passer rating, better QBR, better everything than Jordan Love

who looked better than him on the So let's start with Lamar Jackson, your favorite quarterback left in the playoffs. How about this guy? Pretty darn good second half performance. Finished the game with two passing touchdowns against the Texas, two rushing touchdowns, at least 100 rushing yards, passer rating over 100. I mean, seriously, no player in NFL history has done all of that. And, by the way, his first playoff home win in his career.

Look at the numbers, Colin. Hey, small sample size faux show. But Lamar was pretty good against the Texans. I'm not putting too much stock in this. Obviously, the Chiefs will be different. I do want to ask you, you watch that game closely, man. In the first half, D'Amico Ryan's totally went out of character. And all they did was Blitz on almost every single dropback.

So it caught Baltimore off guard. Right. They had to adjust. And they did. But I will say Baltimore, Kansas City, to me, feels low scoring. It's going to be about efficiency. These defenses, Baltimore's defense. I mean, again, not great.

corners, but O-line, D-line, linebackers are sensational, sure tackling. Kansas City's back-end tackles as well as anybody. I think Kansas City, Baltimore, is really well-played, brilliantly coached, super star quarterbacks, but it feels 23-20-ish to me. I don't know what the over-under is. It feels like a really well-played, low-scoring, dynamic broadcast. So Harbaugh has been kind of dominated by Reed, read four and one against him in the last five. Andy does that to a lot of people.

Yeah, he does. I just, this McDonald character, who is just an amazing defensive mind, he has now stopped all three Shanahan tree offenses, right? Yes. Yep. Dolphins, 49ers, and now Sloics offense here with the Houston, Texas. Like, they didn't have a drive, they had one drive over 35 yards the entire game. No, it's, you could tell very early in that game that Houston was not going to be able,

they needed, like, special teams touchdown. They were going to have to score differently or get short fields. There's no way your drive. driving 80 yards on Baltimore. No. And that's, listen, I know the chiefs were a great story. They got the win. Everybody's like, oh, you can't bet against Patrick Wellhomes as an underdog. I think it's very telling that Vegas has this minus three and a half. Like, that's very clear the Ravens are by far the better team here.

Well, the question is, they're really good. I got to tell you something. It's Reader Mahomes. You know, it's funny about Lamar Jackson. Like, I always laugh at this. Well, you know, you didn't know this guy was, the Ravens passed on Lamar Jackson the first time in that first round. is that Lamar Jackson was a scintillating college player, but we didn't know how this would look.

But he was MVP, his second year in the league. What I don't understand is, it's okay if you miss. General managers, I mean, good God, both New York GMs missed on their quarterbacks. You know, Zach Wilson and Daniel Jones, Gettleman's now gone, but it's hard to figure out quarterback. There's no formula that works. But by the second year, he was MVP of the National Football League, and he's just gotten better.

He's gotten better physically. He's gotten better in the pocket. he now slides better. Remember the first couple of years he took shots? You're like, Lamar. Like, Lamar just keeps adding elements and adding credits and getting rid of debits. The kid's clearly coachable, which a lot of times great players want to do their own thing. Like, every year, he just gets better at something.

And I, that offense eventually, like the Texans did a great job to keep it bottled for a half. But eventually, Lamar just you can't. Well, yeah, it's the Texans. They're not great. I will say this, though. the fact that Lamar's usually great against a blitz, really struggled against it in the first half, then adjusted. So we need to give him a lot of credit for adjusting as well as the offense.

Same way we need to give Purdy credit for adjusting after three crappy quarters and delivering on the final drive. I just had to get that dig in. All right, let's get to the number second story. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, boy, Baker Mayfield had a chance there late. You know, got the ball back. I thought he played pretty well. I liked it.

Pretty well. He had 400 yards of offense. No, I thought they were. I thought they were way more. I mean, eventually, Detroit's just got more players in their prime. Detroit's got a better roster. But I thought Baker, again, I would give Baker. I would have no problem given Baker a three-year lucrative contract at all.

Probably. I mean, we'll see what happens. You can't pay him and then lose Mike Evans. Like, Mike Evans looked so good with Baker. Here he is talking about that late interception and the heartbreaking loss. It sucks. I feel like my heart just got ripped out. But it's football is a complex game, but it's also simple.

comes down to taking care of the ball. Bad mistake by me. And it sucks because I know what type of group we've had all year that we fought to get to this point. We fought to be in that game. We weren't supposed to be here by any measures, but we believed in each other and we fought for it. And so yeah, this one's going to weigh on me for a while. Yeah, but I didn't, you know, that last pass, I can't beat up on him too much. I mean, it's terrible. Terrible read. I mean, the outside had been open all afternoon. What are you doing it throwing over the middle? Also, Jared Goff had really good protection. You know, Baker didn't three times. Aiden Hutchison. a monster was unblocked.

Like it was like some of this stuff was not on. And again, I'm not looking at the film. I don't know you know, I don't know exactly the groupings you have in, but more than once Aidan Hutchison had a free shot at Baker Mayfield. Don't blame Baker for that.

I know people are excited for the lions as well. They should be. A lot of, I got some lions buddies. Their defense has given up 833 yards to the Rams and Bucks. At home and now they've got to go on the road to face Kyle Shanahan's offense. Well, that's because of Puka and Cooper Cup and Mike Evans and

and Chris Godwin. This is not a great secondary. Their pass rush masks it. But by the way, the Niners secondary, their pass rush is now much less consistent than it used to be. So be careful. I mean, even Baltimore has a weakness. It's their corners.

I think that's a position in the NFL. We've talked about this. There's more great young receivers coming out of high school and college than I've ever seen in my life, and there's fewer great corners. And I just think, so the way to mask it is to go get edge rushers. And when Detroit has the pass rush going, they mask a lot of it. But Mike Evans did pretty much whatever Mike Evans wanted to do for three and a half hours.

Cam Sutton could barely guard you or I on the outside. Like I know people like Detroit here, Colin, shaping up as a blood bath in San Francisco. I do not see that. You think this is going to, okay. I think it's two absolutely stacked rosters. And I get the better quarterback. How is Aaron Glenn getting head coaching interviews when his defense can't stop a nose bleed out? I mean, it's bad.

I mean, 800 yards. You got out yardage games in both games. And they had out yards per plate in each game. Like, they can't stop anybody. Well, they're winning. I like the winning. So what? Come on.

I like winning. Final story. Your guy, Jordan Love, he was on a heater until the final 17 minutes. Well, again, he's trying to make a play. Well, I don't know. Very Brett Farvian of him there. with the game ceiling. That's a compliment.

It's funny. You know, you watch the game and you're like, boy, Jordan loves out playing Brock Purdy. Then you go and look at the stats afterward, and you're like, trust your eyes. Stats can be. Oh, really? Don't look at the numbers? No, trust your eyes. Jordan loves a really, that interception, you're talking end of the game, forced out of the pocket,

has to make a play. I'm not going to beat up Jordan. Live another day. Throw it out of bounds, young fella. Well, he can be a tad erratic. And what about the other interception where he threw it to Croft or Kraft over the middle, way too high. I could have got a first down, picked up.

We talked about this. He can be erratic. Well, it was crunch time, okay? Close game, big spot, and he failed. And you know who delivered? Brock Purdy. Anyways, after the game, here's Jordan Love talking about that interception.

You know, looking back on it, yeah, throw it away. I don't know if I had an opportunity to be able to run, maybe get out of bounds, but, you know, force it across the middle, late, which is a mortal sin, and, you know, it costs us. So, yeah, it's tough.

Very tough. Like you said, you know, had an opportunity to win that game and, you know, didn't capitalize on it. So it's a tough way to end in the season. I'll tell you what, I came out of that game and I was like, that's as good a loss. If you're Green Bay, you can build on that. Well, okay. Let me frame it another way. Eight minutes left.

You're up by four. And they were at the San Fran like 24-yard line. Yeah. How do you lose that game? You're thinking, okay, at the minimum we get a field goal, or maybe a touchdown and it's over. Okay. with the youngest team to make the playoffs since the 1970 bills were on the road. By the way, Buffalo's losing games too and had them won or tied.

I'm going to give Green Bay the youngest team in like 50 years to make the playoffs against the favored Niners in Santa Clara make your field goals. I'm not blaming the team for that. And listen, if you're going to blame teams for field goal kickers, am I supposed to blame Josh Allen for the field goal kicker? I thought Green Bay came out of this, and my takeaway was 75% of that game, I thought Green Bay was better. Once again, Green Bay does something. We've touched on this.

They're an excellent first quarter team. So they take lead. I'm going to crush a quarterback like Dak early in the first quarter when you throw an interception. But if Jordan Lover Baker are trying to make a play late, I'm not going to crush quarterbacks through that. I don't think anybody's crushing them. I just thought when you're up by four, hit the opponent's 24-yard line with eight minutes left. It feels like, holy cow, we've got this game. We've got it locked up.

And they could not get the first down. And then the kicker misses the field goal. And you can imagine the scene in the McIntyre household. Because I had 49ers in Moneyline parley's teasers. It was a really good thing. You're letting your bet get in the way of your objective. It did not get in the way. Just because you lead a team by four with eight minutes left.

And you're on the doorstep of adding points and you then lose? Well, kicker misses kicks. LaFleur has to be gutted. That's brutal. I've never watched, I think Matt LaFleur I mean, I don't know, I've never thought more highly of it. I thought that performance was so smart. Two good playoff games.

I mean, listen, you're right. At the end of the day, like, this is a young team. They're going to be back. Young? It's insane. It's like, I mean, literally, it's the youngest team since the 70 bills, I think. It's like the merger time. I mean, it's like a bunch of kids.

I mean, I feel like a third of their offense was playing college football last year. To go into that environment. And the wide receivers were blocking great for Jones. No, absolutely. No, that's a big run. I'm not going to lie. I was nervous the Niners are going to get bounced. I want to see them in the Super Bowl.

I want to see Niners Ravens, don't you? I mean, the whole Internet wants to see it because of the whole colors. I don't really care who wins the game. I don't. I think I'm so impressed by the teams that are here, and these teams deserve to be here. I thought Buffalo did my mistake. Who do you want to see in the Super Bowl? I don't care.

It's hard to root against Andy Reed, but I love the hard. I mean, I just think, I kind of like new things, and I feels like Baltimore's year, but I, you know, watching Andy Reid on the sideline, how all these guys are playing over their head. I'm like, I watched you every game this year. This is the best you've played all year. How is this possible? That is just so, it's a symphony to be able to line up on the road, weather's not great, and all your young guys dropping stuff all year, play great.

MVS. What? Yeah. Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl would be nice. Oh, boy, here come the conspiracy theories. J-Mac with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

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Go to tire rack.com slash Collins. See their continental test results and special offers. They've been added for over 40 years. They're experts. It's what they do, crushing it. Go to tire rack.com slash Colin. Again, two years, free road hazard protection and mobile tire installation for those continental tires potentially available to you. Ultra convenient. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human beings. potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep,

that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey, from basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars. fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business

sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sunday on Fox, Jared Goff aims to lead the lion to their First ever Super Bowl, while Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, and the top-seated Niners away, the NFC championship game Sunday at 60th,

turn on Fox. We do a really good job with the NFL. Do you see the ratings on Saturday? Do you see the ratings? Hi. Everybody, all these companies out there telling me the future is streaming,

congratulations to the broke visionaries. All I know is TV is what I watch, and we do a great job in the NFL. I'm telling you, the numbers... It was the large... It was the most watched... Saturday telecast in anything since Kerrigan versus Tanya Harding in the 94 Olympics. But knock yourself out with that streaming debt.

All I know is I watch sports and politics. That's all I watch on TV. You watch politics on TV? Yeah. Colin, oh my gosh. Not a lot, but you know. Jack Reacher over politics, bro. Come on.

Jack Reacher. It was a great season. You got more Billbirds than Nick Wright in L.A. All right. So everybody wants to beat up on Sean McDermott, the coach on that fake punt. Didn't love the call. but, you know, whatever. You know how it works with fake punts.

If they work, you're brilliant. If they don't, you're getting crushed. Dan Campbell all year long has been taking big swings. One week we love him. The next week, we think he's a moron, right? So it's like, I'm not going to crush coaches too much for a fake punt that doesn't work. He's starting to create some juice. It didn't work.

I didn't love the call, but it's not why they lost. I think Sean McDermott's a good coach. I think he's a smart guy. Now, it does feel like in recent years, offensive coaches are hoisting more trophies than defensive coaches. It's an offensive league, and now both NFC teams and the championship have offensive coaches, and Andy Reid isn't it offensive coach. Listen, here's what I watched.

This is what I watched. Andy Reid taking a bunch of young players and a very flawed chiefs team, the most flawed chiefs team in five years, and everybody showed up and played a little over their head in the biggest moment of the season on the road. That's what I watched. And then I saw Buffalo, what I saw from Buffalo was a team who I thought was over, having to raise the bat signal for Josh Allen, revert back to almost entirely Josh Allen dependent. That's what it felt like I watched.

I think Sean's a good coach. Is he a great coach? I don't know. I've compared him to Chuck Knox, Marty Schottenheimer, guys that are smart, thoughtful, tough. They come in, they clean it up. They get into the playoffs. There's never any major chaos. You're always, you know, you stumble a little here, there.

You step in it. always a good solid team, but are they visionaries? Do they see around corners? Do they have their team? I don't know. I feel like every time the bills and the chiefs play, this is what it feels like to me. Could be wrong. And let's stop talking about the refs. Get over it. Every time these teams play, there's about six plays, six or seven plays that determine it. It always feels like Kansas City's just a little more prepared for those six or seven plays. And the bills feel like in the end of games against the Chiefs, they're kind of winging it. That's what it feels like to me.

But I think Sean McDermott's capable, smart. It's a little like Mike McCarthy of the Cowboys. I've seen Mike build up the Packers and the Cowboys. I know Mike McCarthy's competent. But as coaching gets younger and smarter and more offensive and progressive and more motions and more clever, Andy Reid is an outlier. The old guy that outsmarts the young guys all the time. And I just feel like when these two teams play, I could be wrong.

There's about five to six big plays, and Kansas City's always prepared for them. And they're not perfect. They fumbled out of the end zone, a rule I hate, but it was the right call. Kansas City's not perfect, but it's not a perfect roster. Once you pay the quarterback, you're going to be vulnerable, have liabilities and flaws. But Kansas City always seems to overcome them in the big spots against Buffalo, and Buffalo doesn't. and that's what I see, and here's the coach after.

We're within a whisker of tie in that game. It may be even taking the lead there against the defending world champ. So, you know, it's extremely disappointing and frustrating. And it's a type of situation in our business where you've got to spend the whole off-season thinking about it. But it drives you harder. If that's even possible to drive someone harder, it drives you harder to come back next season and continue to work at it.

I mean, here's the truth. If Sean McDermott was let go, he'd be. have a job in a week. I'm not going to crush guys for play calls. Andy Reed takes big swings. Dan Campbell takes big swings. We can't crush coaches when they don't work. I appreciate it.

That's not why they lost. But those big moments in this rivalry, maybe it's just Mahomes, but it just feels like Kansas City's always a bit more prepared for them. And Buffalo kind of reverts back to, here's a cape, Josh. Save us. That's how it feels to me.

I want to talk Ravens. So you know what Baltimore reminds me of a little bit is Philadelphia last year. So Philadelphia last year had this uniquely mobile quarterback, great coordinators, nice mix of young, old, good old line, D line combo. And it all jelled and got them to a Super Bowl. It feels a lot like that in Baltimore. Everything's lined up. The coaching staff, the coordinators are fantastic.

They're healthy. I like the mix of players. Their quarterback is just simply hard to defend. I don't know what I'm getting in that Ravens Chiefs game, but it feels like one for the ages. One for the ages. I mean, the Texans dropped 45 on Cleveland. They didn't get a touchdown.

They didn't get an offensive touchdown. So it just kind of feels like, and they're not perfect. I mean, again, Kansas City got outplayed in the first half and then came back to win. I thought the Baltimore looked a little flummoxed in the first half and then dominated. But here's the thing about Baltimore.

Sometimes you get these years where everything just lines up. I mean, this team has played six, seven wins versus playoff teams. Here's what's remarkable. Seven wins for Baltimore for playoff teams, six double digits. I've watched them crush Detroit. I've watched them crush San Francisco, crush Miami. This is a really good team. Lamar's on fire.

the roster's on fire, young guys like Azay Flowers, old guys, Roquan Smith. It all works for me, and here's John Harbaugh after. I thought Lamar was going to play great, but he's played great all year. And just now, it's more important than ever. He's been locked in from day one. That's his term. And we've all kind of ran with that. And I think he's directed this whole thing.

One of the things I really like about Baltimore is that Lamar was a different kind of player. and I remember this when San Francisco had Colin Kaepernick, and Lamar's much better than Colin Kaepernick, but San Francisco and Harbar are like, hey, we're going to go all in on this, and we're going to kind of change the offense for this young guy, and everybody's got criticisms of Lamar and what he can't do, and Baltimore's like, oh, that's what he can do. And, you know, there was during the last couple of years,

when he got hurt at the end, there was questions about are they committed to him? They just wanted to get the right number of negotiations. They weren't going to let him go. Good God, the guys were 10 and a half points a game. you can make an argument. I don't even know if Patrick Mahomes is worth 10 and a half 11 points a game. Maybe he is. Maybe Josh Allen is.

But this team scores 28 when he plays and 17 when he doesn't. So they weren't going to let him get to the market. All right? Like they were going to pay Lamar. But I just love that there's such a symmetry between Lamar who's always trying to get better and Baltimore who's always trying to make Lamar better. They don't worry about what he can't do. And by the way, there were some things early he couldn't do.

there's not a lot he can't do. Is he as good as Mahomes from the pocket? Well, Mahomes is the greatest potential quarterback in the history of the sport. So I'm not holding him to that standard. But when he came into the league, he was kind of skinny. And then suddenly he wasn't. When he came into the league, he took him any shots.

And now suddenly he doesn't. When he came into the league, he was very run-reliant. And now suddenly he's not. Every year, Lamar fills a gap. And we always think of Mahomes' chief rival in terms of talent. Josh Allen. Are we sure it's not Lamar Jackson?

Well coached, great staff, unbelievable roster. They're blown out good teams this year. Like good teams. San Francisco blew their doors off. Colin right, Colin wrong on a Monday hour two. Live in L.A. It's the herd.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite unhumored me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an

a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics

where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors, like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. Before it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.