The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Steelers, Lamar Jackson, & Patriots

Episode Date: December 24, 2018

Colin thinks Patrick Mahomes will win the MVP, but Russell Wilson was better last night. Colin says the Pittsburgh Steelers are doing the bare minimum and it is what will cost them a playoff spot. Colin explains how the Dallas Cowboys are not a dysfunctional franchise. Colin says he was blown away by how Lamar Jackson played against the Chargers and he and other young quarterbacks are now more captivating than Brady or Rodgers. And Colin discusses Baker Mayfield and how he has too much ego and it won't be good for the Browns. Guests Include: Eric Dickerson, Albert Breer, Tony Gonzalez and Marcellus Wiley Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. You just understood.

That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to her, he's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast.

Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching Herd. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go on Christmas Eve. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however, you may be listening. Live in Los Angeles, IHeartRadio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, one hour from now, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, plenty of both in a wild NFL weekend.

Jamie Maggio is joining me today. Then I'm going to go skiing. Jamie, great to see you. How are you? I'm good. I'm not going skiing because last time I did that I tore my ACO. Oh, don't ski that. So you ski for both of us.

Taking the kids skiing. All right. It is great to be here. I'm happy to be here. I love to be here today. This is usually a vacation week. And I said, no, no, no, no. I'm coming and working money.

There's too much to talk about. And so we have a completely packed show today. Thank you so much. As you unwrapped gifts in the next couple of hours for joining us today on F.S. I just want to say this to start. Great game last night. Great games yesterday. But you do get Russell Wilson was better than Patrick Mahomes last night. And Mahomes will win the MVP. And Russell Wilson did not make the Pro Bowl. Aaron Rogers did. And Russell Wilson beat Aaron Rogers this year head to head too. Russell Wilson didn't just win last night. He out Mahomed Mahom. The biggest scramble of

the night? Oh, that was Russell. The biggest throw of the night? Oh, that was Russell. With less surrounding talent, he had significantly more first downs, was better on third down, was more accurate as a thrower, averaged over a yard more per pass and dominated time of possession. But the media is so desperate to find the new shiny toy that they overlook a LeBron when it comes to MVP and give it to the flashy guard. They overlook the great players right in front of them like Russell Wilson. it's the new guy who doesn't look when he throws. For the record, if you're going to be MVP, I think you have to win one of the four biggest games this year,

and Mahomes is now O for Four, and this is not criticizing him as a player. It's not all his fault. But Gough, Brady, Rivers, and Wilson on a Sunday night, a Monday night, a Thursday night, and again a Sunday night, stand-alone games, all of them, Gough, Brady, Rivers, Wilson were the better quarterback at the end of those games. More decisive, made the big throw, made the big,

decision. All four were better. Not saying Mahomes isn't amazing. Fun, clever. Congrats to the Chiefs. You found your dude. He is awesome. I love watching him play. But 0 and 4 in the four biggest games of the year should not be MVP. All NFL games are not equal. That's why they give the Heisman to the quarterback who plays great in the biggest games. Tua and Alabama dominated Citadel. struggled against Georgia and didn't win. I don't care what you do in September. You know a team that struggles in September? Every year, New England.

This league is about post-thanksgiving. It's about standalone primetime games. Kirk Cousins is great on that one o'clock window. He and Andy Dalton can't win primetime games. And that's why fans criticize him. I'm not blaming Mahomes for anything. He's fantastic. He's a great kid.

He's got a great story. I am rooting for him. I love Andy Reid. The Chiefs will make the playoffs. Hey, I said, I think they have a chance probably to get to the AFC championship. But you do get last night the guy with the defensive head coach with less surrounding talent was the better quarterback. Chris Collinsworth, who loves Mahomes. I mean, he loves Mahomes, admitted late that Mahomes was the second best quarterback on the field.

second down in 12 and Wilson is going for it all. Russell Wilson is the best deep ball thrower in the game right now. And the reason, look at the height he gets on this football. He's going to throw it straight up in the air. And as a receiver, what happens is it comes straight down. So even though the defense is right there, it gives you a chance to pin him on your back, extend your arms, and make the play. If that ball comes in at a low trajectory, you can.

can't do that. That is a phenomenal throw. You want to add a name to the MVP list in conversation? Throw in Russell Wilson. He's been that good tonight. Yeah, except he's been here a while, so he didn't make the Pro Bowl. And Mahomes is the shiny new toy, and he'll be the MVP. We always get lost in volume. Buffets don't have the best food, they just have more of it. We get lost in volume. Only three times this year has Russell Wilson thrown the ball 32 times or more. It's the opposite for Mahomes. Only three games he's thrown for 32 or fewer times.

But just because there's more Mahomes doesn't make him better. Russell Wilson is the better of those two quarterbacks. And it was on full display last night. I think it's a bit ironic Kansas City bum rushed Alex Smith out of town because he won a lot of games that didn't count and couldn't win the biggie. And Mahomes is a legend and he's 0 and 4 in the big four stand-alone games. Russell Wilson is third in the NFL in passing touchdowns, third in the NFL and passer rating with a defensive coach,

a rebuilding offensive line, and no, quote, stars around him. This is not to criticize Patrick Mahomes. He will win the MVP. I love young quarterbacks. He's going to be an awesome far-like player. He's going to end up in a couple of Super Bowls. I hope he and Andy Reid win a couple. Heck, it may be this year.

But new doesn't mean better. And volume and more doesn't mean better. Russell Wilson is the better of those. two quarterbacks now, previously, and for the next several years. Let me shift gears to this. It is amazing. I've been watching the NFL for four decades. I've never seen a year like this.

We're going into week 17. The AFC is pure insanity. There's still stuff up for grabs in the NFC. It doesn't work out this way. Usually week 16, 17, people are resting starters. It is unbelievable what's going on right now. And the most unbelievable thing is the Pittsburgh Steelers are currently an eighth in the AFC and only six teams go. How is that possible?

Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh is so talented that Antonio Brown was double-teamed most of the night and still had 14 catches. They went to New Orleans, according to Vegas, the hardest place in the NFL to win against one of the NFL's best coaches, best quarterbacks, best defenses, best running backs. and actually one time of possession, total plays, yards per play. Pittsburgh is so talented. They're on their third running back. Oh, yeah, he's good too. They've got two pro bowlers on the offensive line. They're tied for third in sacks.

Young linebackers, outstanding. You know what the Pittsburgh Steelers have become? They're that guy or gal you work with, and they do just the minimum amount of, of work to get the job done and not an inch more. And you can't fire them because they do get the work done. But you're always like, bra. Really?

Two hour lunch? The Steelers may miss the playoffs and it won't be because of last night. It will be because they lost at Oakland. There's no excuse. Losing last night, there's an excuse. The Saints are great, especially at home. I'm not going to blame the fake punt. That's not why they won't make the playoffs.

I got the call. I may have done it. You can't lose to Oakland and tie Cleveland and lose to Denver and blow a 16-point lead at home in the second after the Chargers. This continues to be the most unexplainable gifted team in the league. I mean, think about this. there's a dubious stat the Steelers have, and I don't like going on and on about stats. But the Steelers own a dubious stat, and I think it says a lot about their organization. In the last 10 years, when a team goes on the road and is favored by nine and a half points,

that means the team that's going on the road is way better. The Steelers are six and five. The rest of the league is 52 and 10. They just do the minimum. amount of work required. And this year again, it bit him in the butt. They tied Cleveland. They lost in Oakland.

They blew a 16-point lead. Kevin Colbert, the GM, has done an amazing job. The Rooney family has done an amazing job to provide Big Ben and Mike Tomlin. Great young linebackers. Pass rush. Three capable running backs. Superstars at wide receiver. They're doing their job.

Big Ben, Mike Tomlin. blame who you want. But you know how on this show we end every Monday doing the three-word game to describe every NFL game? If you had to describe the Steelers in three words, talented, hot mess. They didn't lose because of a fake punt. They lost because they lost to Oakland. And they just do the minimum work.

I heard over the weekend, I didn't get it double source, but I heard a source tell me, 10 Steeler players were on their cell phones at half against New England. At half. I couldn't get a doubled source. I'm not sure if it's true, but the source that told me I trust, come on now, come on now! Mike Tomlin, after the game.

We made the bed. We'll lay in it. And I'll expect us to lay in it very well and perform. We'll control what it is that we can control, and that's our preparation to play next week. all other things out of our control. We won't worry much about, like everyone else, man. We've had whatever, 15 opportunities to this point to stay the case for ourselves.

So we won't lament about our positioning. We'll just simply control the things that are in front of us. And that's next week's preparation and play. He is absolutely the best in the league at the podium after a win or a loss. And again, I'm not calling for Tomlin to be fired or Ben to be replaced. they get just enough of the work done. But this year, I'm afraid, Oakland, 16-point lead, Cleveland, Denver, it's going to bite him in the butt.

And there's really no excuse. All right, coming up next, maybe we all need to just take a step back here on Christmas Eve and admit the cowboys are not dysfunctional. The Cowboys don't underachieve. With very few exceptions, they're better than a majority of the league. Again, they are. Colin right, calling wrong in 45 minutes in L.A.

Thanks for joining us. It's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. By the way, here's their most remarkable stat of the NFL season. Highest quarterback rating since week 11. Sam Darnold. And I mean, they have a good young tight end and nothing to work with.

It's the most amazing stat in the NFL. Highest quarterback ranking, Week 11, Sam Darnold. I don't even know how it's possible. Seriously. Don't even understand it. I just heard that stat this morning. So the Cowboys, I just want to mention this, the Cowboys, the Dallas Cowboys won their division. again, third and five years.

A terrible head coach, Jason Garrett, that guy is just terrible. He won his division again. Zeke led the NFL in rushing again. The best mid-season acquisition in the NFL Amari Cooper, Dallas Cowboys. You know, we're kind of lump Dallas into these groups of dysfunctional underachieving teams, and there neither. You want to know who underachieve this year? Cam Newton and Carolina, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Big Ben, the Jags, Atlanta, the Vikings, the Packers.

Carolina's got six wins. Jags have five. Atlanta's a mess. Green Bay is in third place. The Eagles have to cross their fingers in prey in week 17, and the Steelers are absurdly underachieving. Colin, where's the Super Bowls? You keep telling me, Aaron Rogers is the goat. He's been to one in over a decade.

Drew Breeze, one of my eight favorite quarterbacks of all time, with an unbelievable Hall of Fame head coach, has also been to one. Who's piling up Super Bowl appearances outside of New England? Let's start with nobody and go from there. Dallas is really good. They're a really good NFL franchise, and they're going to host after winning their division of playoff game, probably against Seattle, and they're going to beat Seattle in a close, fairly low-scoring game. And the Cowboys will have the best linebacking duo in football.

They will have the best running back in football. In my opinion, arguably, the best front seven in football, the coolest stadium in football, the greatest revenue in football, the biggest brand in football. That's better than 85% of this league. Tough talking Philadelphia, Cowboys swept him. Number one, Saints, Cowboys beat him. Last three years, they are the winningest NFC team. We lump Dallas in with dysfunctional teams. No, let me read you dysfunctional teams.

Bill's, Cleveland, Jets, Oakland, Sincere, and Detroit, six of them. Those are dysfunctional. Ownership down. Let me read you underachieving teams. Pittsburgh, Carolina, Green Bay, Atlanta. There's four. Six plus four is ten. That's a third of the league.

They're not in either. What you should lump them in with is Pittsburgh and New England and Dallas and teams that every year win somewhere between nine and 12 games. They're a really, really good franchise. And they're going to host a playoff game. and they're probably going to win one, and then they're going to go on the road and probably lose. And that's because outside of New England, that's the way it works for everybody.

The great coach is Sean Payton, one Super Bowl. The Hall of Fame coaches, Andy Reid, one Super Bowl. Who's piling up Super Bowls? Take out Alabama. Who's piling up national titles in college football? Not the other 129 programs. Dallas is good. It's the biggest brand, the most revenue,

the best front seven, the best linebacking duo, the best running back. Dak Prescott is a quarterback with a much lower ceiling than Patrick Mahomes or Andrew Luck or Carson Wants or Russell Wilson or Deshawn Watson. He is. But we kind of lump Dallas into this

either dysfunctional or underachieving group and it's just not so. Troy Aikman won, Tony Romo won, Dak Prescott's winning, great brand, good again, winning division again. I don't think Jason Garrett's the most creative guy, and I think Dak has a low ceiling, but I will say this about Dak.

He's generally at his best in the biggest moments of a football game. He's often better in the fourth quarter than the second. You put him in these games that matter. He's usually pretty good late in games. Limited sometimes, yeah. Limited late? Not often. Philadelphia.

Congrats on the dog masks. You know what you're doing this week? Crossing your fingers. You know what Dallas is doing? Getting ready for a home playoff game. Here's Jamie Maggio with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. You knew who I missed Jim Harbaugh. I follow the NFL more closely than college football. Yes. Jim Harbaugh in talks to maybe go to an NFL team. What? Yeah. So pro football talks saying the New York Jets are positioned to make a run at Jim Harbaugh.

Now, let me say this, though, first. CEO Christopher Johnson made a statement this morning that Todd Bowles is still their head coach, which he is, and that there is no truth to the rumors of going after Jim Harbaugh. But apparently the rumor is that they're going to make him an offer. He can't refuse. Okay. Todd Bowles is one of the best defensive coordinators in the league. If Todd Bowles is unemployed for an hour and you need a defensive coordinator and you don't hire him, that is a you problem.

Now, Todd Bowles doesn't have a magnetic head coaching personality. I get it. A lot of guys don't. Todd Bowles is a Jets defense. They take a lot of average dudes outside of Leonard Williams and Jamal Adams in play. I like Todd Bowles a lot. People say he's not magnetic enough. I get it, but I don't like their GM either.

As far as Harbaugh goes, I love it. I think it's great. No-brainer. He's not magnetic. He's more polarizing. But I mean, I think he's just fun to watch. Let's ask yourself, everybody listening, Jamie, in the NFL, what do you want for a perfect job? Do the Jets have a dynamic young quarterback on a rookie contract?

Yes, they do. Yes, they do. Do they have a ton of cap space? Yes, they do. Do they have draft picks? Yes. And what is the entry point for this job? You're not replacing Belichick here.

You're not replacing Pete Carroll. You're not replacing Dungy when you were in. Indy, you're replacing a coach getting fired. So the entry point, you go nine and seven, people love you. You have tons of cap space. And by the way, Tom Brady's not going to be in this league much longer. I get darnled. I'll take my chances next 10 years.

This is a great opportunity. These kind of jobs do not open up. You're usually going into chaos, a total rebuild, no cap space. No, they got their defensive players. They got all sorts of defensive talent in New York. But Harborough's done well with that anyway. I mean, he's got a good record. Turn the 49ers around and also, obviously, his success at the college ranks.

Who's breaking that story? It's so good. Pro football talks, Mike Florio. He knows what he's doing. Let's go back to your talented hot mess Pittsburgh Steelers. Oh, they drive me nuts. Good. I'd like to talk about it then.

Mike Tomlin, the fake punt at the end of the game. He's taking responsibility, obviously, but here he explains himself in the decision. I just wanted to be aggressive. I want to ensure that we had an opportunity to win the game. I thought, first of all, I liked the play, the concept. I thought we had a chance to get it. But I thought where the game was and the time in which was left in the game, I thought that if we did not stop them, that we were having an opportunity to have the ball last.

And we did, but obviously unsuccessful nonetheless. I'm not going to blame Mike for that. I am for aggressive coaches. One of the things I like about Mike Tomliny's aggressive, I would make this argument, though. If I have a Hall of Fame quarterback and the best receiving, core in football, why not just keep my offense out there and go for it? Like, why go with a punt team of less

skilled players? My takeaway is, it'd be one thing if Blake Bortals was my quarterback, I'd fake the punt. But if you give me Big Ben, Antonio Brown, Judius Smith-Schuster, their offensive line, I would just keep my offense out there and say, I'm going to go for it. I'm not going to use second-tier players faking a punt

in the Superdome against that defense. Well, and Mike Townland's catching all this heat, obviously because now they're most likely going to miss the playoffs. But This is a coach that's take ahead, 12 consecutive seasons of 500 or better records, gone to the Super Bowl twice, won one of them. You're not going to fire. We're not talking about this if they didn't lose to the Raiders. They didn't tie the Browns.

That's kind of what you were saying earlier. This game is not why they're not going to the playoffs. They lost to the Raiders. And by the way, they lost to the Raiders, I believe, the week before they played the Patriot. So it was an incredibly predictable, flat performance. That's their season, not this game. And finally, the football god, that is Nick Foles. God.

Doug Peterson and the Eagles, they're playing their best football right now, Colin. Are they not? They are. And Nick Foles is at the helm. Here's Doug Peterson talking about the team's play as of late. These last, you know, three, four, five games, I think things have kind of picked up for us.

I do feel like that this time of the year, you know, if you want any kind of momentum, you know, if you get a chance to go to the postseason, you need to be playing your best football now. And I think that's, you know, I think that's what we're doing at this time. Okay, so I called somebody who worked in the NFL recently, just left the NFL. And I said, explain the Foles-W-W-W-Things thing, because we all know Wens is a better player. And he said this. He said, Foles is the most coachable of the two quarterbacks.

You call a play, and Foles just delivers on it. Wentz is a greater athlete, demands more, can be a little tougher to coach, and like certain plays, because he's still a young quarterback. And they said, the staff finds Foles easier to coach. The staff knows Wence is much more talented. And so when you bring in Foles, whatever the coaches suggest, Nick's like, I'll do it. He's kind of a low-key kid. I do think this about Foles. He's going to leave Philadelphia, potentially, for a job.

I think he's earned the right to be a number one quarterback in this league. Now, again, I wouldn't put him top 15, but there's no question in my mind. He has shown the ability over the last year. He has earned the right to compete for a number one job. I think Jacoby Brissette's done this, and Indy is a backup deluck, and Nick Foles. If I'm Jacksonville, I look strongly at those two and Joe Flacco. He also threw for 471 yards yesterday sitting a new franchise record. I'm glad that you're giving the man a little bit.

of respect here. Because when we had the show on Friday, it just tries me. Beat the Texans. I know. By the way, Chris Long's Voodoo Shrine worked. For the record. For the record, we do this all the time. Deshawn Watson was unbelievable in this game. So we always forget the losing quarterback. Sam Donald was great in a losing effort.

Deshawn Watson was amazing in this football game. By the way, Patrick Mahomes was good and lost last night too. Three guys yesterday played their butts off and lost. By the way, the Eagles have scored 30 or more points in both of Nick Foll starts. They only did that once with Carson. Whatever. Jamie with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lide News. I want to bring on a Hall of Famer. He's a rock-solid man, and I am shocked that he is falling for the glitch and the glamour of Patrick Mahomes. Eric Dickerson. Oh, the no look. You're a guy that doesn't fall for the glitz.

You live in the same house for 30. years. You have the same friends for 30 years. You're the opposite of falling for the shiny new toy. And here you are with Mahomes. Every five minutes, it's, oh my God, he's unbelievable. Russell

Wilson's a better player last night. What are you talking about? What? First of all, Patrick Mahomes had a fantastic game. You can't blame the game on him. It's funny how you report us, I know better, you reporters, if he went, if Mahom

went 30 for 30 and had six touchdown. But Wilson would have had what he had last night and won the game. Oh, Russell Wilson was this. Mahones didn't lose the game. Their defense lost that game. And you're talking about glitz. There's no glitz in Kansas City? He's in Kansas City.

I mean, come on. You thought last night Mahomes better than Russell. Most definitely, yeah. I thought Russell made the big plays when he had to make some great throws. So what determines great? I mean, both of them played great. They really did. Both guys played great.

Who was better in the fourth? both guys were great which defense was best. Let's go. Which defense was better? Well, Seattle's. Exactly. That's why they won the game

because of the defense. For the record, doesn't it bother you that Russell Wilson will not make the Pro Bowl beat Aaron and Mahomes head to head and that Mahomes

will win the MVP and went 0 for 4 and his four biggest game? Doesn't it bother you Mr. Dependable? Mr. Not Fall for Glamour. First of all, I keep saying,

I'm going to go back to this again. My guy, Aaron Donald. Why don't we just put a quarterbacks their own area and just say, hey, this is for the quarterback's MVP. And let's start looking at other players. When I look at you, I got to go to Aaron Donald again. Aaron Donnell is having a MVP year, a year that defensive linemen don't have. And in the history of the league. Interior, he's a defensive inside, not outside, nothing fancy. He's inside. And he's been consistent all year. We haven't said, you know, we got this guy. We got that guy. We got this guy. No, we got Aaron Don. Who's next? Aaron Down.

next, Aaron Donne. I mean, but the quarterbacks, you've got my homes, you got Breeze, now you put Russell Wilson in, you got Phillip Rivers. I mean, which one? Make your mind up. I mean, with Aaron Donne? One guy. Yeah, Khalil Mack, by the way, gets... And Khalil Mack, but still, Aaron Don is the guy. All right, how, I said, you can't fire Tomlin, you can't get rid of Big Ben. They're like the guy that shows up to work and just does just enough, just enough not to fire him. but you're always sort of like, dude, I mean, that's all you're giving me a six-hour day. You see what I see with the Steelers, right?

They're way too talented not to make the playoffs, right? They're talented. They got a lot of talent. I mean, they got Jiu-Jew-Sew-Smith. They've got Antonio Brown. They've got, well, you know, they didn't have Lavin'An bail this year. Their running game was still good. Their defense is playing better.

They had third in the NFL and pass rush. They have great young linebackers. I'm like, I'm like, yeah. What is it? You know, and, you know, I think fans and media, want to say, well, it's the coach, it's to coach this. They don't like the coach and they can't coach them. But you know what?

Colin, you don't know what goes on that locker room. We really don't. I mean, the locker room is a sacred place between the players and the coaches. You know, if I had to bet, a lot of players probably love Tomlin. And you got some that don't like him, you know. That's okay. But that's how it works.

Everybody's not going to like you. But I feel like this team has too much talent to fall up short. You know, I always said Tomlin is a little like Pete Carroll, where their brand is their pro player. Now, with Seattle, it started to unravel, and they got rid of some of the players. Pittsburgh, it starts to unravel last couple of years. They get rid of Levian Bell,

but the noise is louder than ever because I think Big Ben is responsible for most of the drama. Have you ever been in a locker room? You were in three different teams. Actually, you were with the Rams, the Colts, the Raiders Falcons. Some locker rooms are business-like. some locker rooms, it's party time?

I mean, go back to your career. Were you ever in a locker room that underachieved, that had talent, but it was noisy? It wasn't a grown-up locker room. Yeah, I can think one in particular when I was the Raiders, you know, in 92 with the Raiders. We had a lot of talent on that football team. But it was always a bunch of grumbling, you know,

oh, man, they ain't playing this guy. Why this guy not playing? I won't forget. I played, I think I was there, of my first four games. And I had 100 yards in almost all four games. But I wouldn't play in the fourth quarter. And guys were like, man, why are you sitting on the bench over here?

This don't even make sense. I mean, so, you know, it can take, it can fester in the locker room, but it really, it's up to the players to go out and play. That's what it comes down to. I mean, you know, Ben is the quarterback, but it's not about Ben. It's about the football team. It's just not about Ben. When I met you, despite the fact you're a big star in L.A.,

I mean, like, Magic's our basketball star. you know, for a long time, Steve Garvey was the city's baseball star. Eric Dickerson, you're like our football star in Los Angeles. Emma, I guess. But again, you're low-key. Baker Mayfield yesterday taunts a former coach and then does some vulgarity, which I'm not hip enough to know what he was doing. And nobody in Cleveland says, let's grow up a little bit.

You're telling me you're okay with this stuff. No, I'm not. Don't get me wrong. I mean, look, Baker, he's a young player. He's young. I mean, I don't know what the deal is at him and Hugh Jackson. Of course, Hugh didn't play him or whatever. He drafted him. And, you know, if Baker got cut one day and the Browns, I mean, the Cincinnati beings of the Steelers said, hey, we're going to, you know, we want to bring you on.

You're going to think he's going to say, oh, no, I'll play for the Browns. I can't do that? You know, same. Hugh Jackson, it's a job he has. Of course it is. But do I like that? No, but do I think he's the perfect guy for this city? Oh, really?

Most definitely. Oh, really? I thought it was a great picture. You know who the perfect guy for this city was? LeBron James. he left twice. Did he win a championship? Did he win a championship?

Yeah, his best basketball player. Did he want a championship? By the way, Patrick Mahomes would be perfect for this city. Not a two-time walk-on. He's perfect in Kansas City. I mean, he's perfect for this city because, you know, when I saw him in Oklahoma, I like, you know what I think I liked about him? I liked it.

All the brothers say, yeah, he's our guy. Yeah, come on, he's one of us. It's the same thing you see here in Cleveland. You know, he's one of the guys. Now, do I like what he did with the coach? No, I think that's immature. And I think when he looks back at this years later, Like, man, that probably wasn't cool.

But he did it. And he guess this is perfect. By the way, you start taunting coaches and players. You know, who plays for Cincinnati? Vontes Burfect. Oh, yeah. But I'm going to tell you something. They got to play him twice a year.

You better be careful about taunting the Bengals. But see, in this day and age, you can't hit the quarterback. Now, our day, oh, most definitely. That little backup, oh, you want a backup? We'll give you something the backup for. And finally, I don't know if you heard. The Patriots won their division. Wow, really?

Will be a second seed, and we'll get a buy and then play at home. They're not flashy, but you've got to admit, this is the greatest dynasty in the history of the league. Football, most definitely. You have to admit it. I mean, you might not like them. I think people, you know, just hate the players. You're going to love them or hate them.

There's no in between. I kind of like, no, if you love them or hate them. I think people are, they're tired of seeing the Patriots go to the Super Bowl every year. Tired of it. They're tired of it. They want something different. Everybody does. You know, when the Lakers have their dines, let's see something different.

The Bulls. Let's see something. different. Right now in football, let's see something a little bit different. I mean, are people glad here on the West Coast? Yes, we are in the east and Boston. No, they're not. I mean, but all good things come to an end. Just like I said earlier, hey, I had a Jerrycare once upon a time. It came to an end. It's over. That's funny. Eric Dickerson, 11 years, a Hall of Famer, our friend, I will say this about the Rams, is that

these are long seasons. They've got a lot of stars. Therefore, they don't have a ton of depth, but Akib Talibah's back. I will say this. They're going to win their division. They're going to get a buy. They're going to play a home game. I did see, Arizona's not great, but did you notice the Rams this weekend played with a little more efficiency, a little more urgency? I kind of felt, now I know it's Arizona.

I did feel this weekend. They rebooted a little. Okay. I'm glad he said it. A little bit. Okay. I'm glad he said it. Because I thought the last month, golf looked off.

Sean McVeigh was doing too much glamor play calling. Without Talib, there's a little much to freelancing. I felt yesterday I'm like this was a grown-up football team that was dialed in, came to win, get out of town, go home. You got to run the football. I think they did that yesterday.

You ran the football. Even if it's if it's against Arizona, it's still a pro football team. When you run the football, it changes everything. So I'm glad to see we did that yesterday. With CJ Anderson, the guy who hadn't played this year at heart at home. CJ Anderson, they just acquired him. You know, that last week. and he has 167 yards on 20 carries, hey, that's big.

A young Eric Dickinson, well, not young, but old Eric Dickinson couldn't even do that. All right. Good seeing you, man. Good seeing you. Coming up, top of the hour where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, and coming up next, yes, again, they did it. The Patriots will win their division.

And thoughts on Baker Mayfield. That's next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. All right. the hour where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, and there was a lot of both. So I went to the Chargers game, a favor to beat Baltimore, Lamar Jackson, did not. I want to talk about something. One of the reasons the NBA will never be the NFL, first of all, the regular season in

the NFL is way better. But the NFL does something that is a great quality for people. It's a great quality for a family. It's a great quality for a business. It's an amazing quality in sports. Nobody is close to the NFL. Think about the word pivot. I used to work at a company.

They didn't pivot well when the world changed. You got to pivot. The world's changing. Change with it or you get left behind. The NFL pivoted two years ago. And they started hiring college coaches as coordinators. They started bringing them in the off season. And they said, we're tired of all these first round quarterbacks being busts.

They have pivoted to using more college ideas, more college coaches, more college offenses. And it's fascinating. The last three years, it used to be that a first round. round quarterback was a 50-50 proposition. Half made it half for busts. In the last three years, first round quarterbacks, 11 pick, 10 can play. Only Paxton Lynch has missed.

And some of these guys are reshaping the league. They have pivoted beautifully in the last couple of years to make it more of an offensive league and make it more accommodating to young college quarterbacks who maybe run a little more, maybe not the classic pocket passers. So I watched Lamar Jackson. And I said last week, I said, it's a little Tebow, Denver,

although I think Lamar is a better talent and a better thrower with the football. Well, I was blown away. First of all, the best throw of the game was not by Philip Rivers. It was here by Lamar Jackson. Dixon, who fumbled a moment ago, is back in the game. And then the middle, Jackson for his tight end, brought in by Mark Andrews. Rookie to rookie and a Ravens. He was poised.

Listen, Baker Mayfield played the Chargers this year and was overwhelmed. I mean, Lamar Jackson was poised under control. He's not a natural, gifted thrower of the football, but Baltimore is all in on him. I was blown away by his composure. The best throw of the game was very good late. And I got to tell you right now, I used to wake up every Sunday morning, and I was like, where's Brady plan and where's Aaron Rogers plan? And I've got to be

honest, those guys are not in my top five or six anymore. It's where's Mahomes plan? Where's Russell Wilson? Where's DeShan Watson? Where's Carson Wentz? Where's Baker? Where's Darnold? Where's Gough? Where's Lamar Jackson? They're more athletic. They're more

captivating. And the ability by the NFL to pivot and say, we got to accept more of college football and bring it in. is really a great quality. By the way, I want to tell you three young quarterbacks who lost yesterday and they were all great. Donald lost and was great.

Mahomes lost and was special. Deshawn Watson lost and was ridiculous. Watch this. Third and 11. Watson steps up, spins. Watson somehow upright. Watson tosses downfield to Jordan Aiken's. Wow.

He is a magician. Wow. Deshawn Watson looked like he was going to be brought down on three occasions. How many Eagles had a shot at him? Spinning him around, keeping his composure. He is cool, isn't he? It's really great. It is really great.

For years and years, my entire... Let's now watch the NFL for four decades. And for almost all of it, forget a second round quarterback. Forget a third round quarterback. Forget a fourth round quarterback. First round quarterbacks were a coin flip. Bost or can play. 11. 10 can play. It is fantastic. We're seeing NFL football now is about 70% NFL. It's 30 college. And they started doing this two and three years ago that NFL team started bringing in the Baylor coach, the Oregon coaches, the Big 12 coaches and saying, A, how do we do some of this offensively? And B, how do we defend it? It is fantastic. And by the way, Jimmy Garapolo is coming back. We've got two.

two college quarterbacks who I think a kid at Oregon, a kid at Ohio State, they're going to walk into this league start and be fantastic. So, I mean, just look at the last three years of quarterbacks who have entered this league that Cleveland's got one. The Jets have their guy. Buffalo's Josh Allen's remarkable. Baltimore, I'm told Peter Schrager, who knows his stuff, told me this yesterday, that his sources told him that Harbaal went into ownership and said,

we're rolling with Lamar Jackson. we're going to draft a guy every couple of years that plays a little bit like him because this is going to be hard to sustain running around with his size for years. But I watched Lamar Jackson. He was composed. He made the throw. They're going to go contrary into the rest of the NFL. Now, if they fall behind big, it may not work.

But they're going to control the clock, do some of this. I don't even know how to describe this offense. It is completely different than the rest of the NFL. And I think it's great that we have an NFL where there's a bunch of ways to play. Chicago is running an offense. It doesn't look like anybody else. And Rams are doing their thing. And then you got the Kansas City's got four wide.

And then Seattle's doesn't look like Baltimore's. And the Chargers are throwing deep downfield. And so are the – the NBA, there's one way to play. You shoot a bunch of threes or you can't win. If you don't shoot threes while in the NBA, no chance to win the title. In the NFL, you can do it with defense and the wingtie, Baltimore. You can do it with defense and kind of a college offense, Chicago. You can be run first, past second, Seattle.

You can be four wide, throw it downhill. Steelers in Kansas City. But I love what I'm seeing. I cannot wait for the NFL draft. I cannot wait. It is such a quarterback-friendly league. There's multiple ways to win. And I sat there with the Chargers in Baltimore,

and I sat next to a bunch of Raven fans, who, by the way, did not drink, were totally into their football team, very well-behaved. Props to Ravens fans. They were totally into their team, came in from Baltimore, and I was like, this is good football too. It's not real flashy.

It's not crazy. But Baltimore's playing winning football. Defense, well-coached, no mistakes, one or two big throws a game. Loved it. Loved it. So fired up. I don't know if I've mentioned this. I'm going to wait until next hour.

Did you guys hear the Patriots won their 10th straight AFC championship, title, excuse me, the FC's title, they won their 10th straight. I just want to make sure. For the record, there are some really fun, good arguments in sports. Who's going to win the NFL MVP?

That's a good fun argument. Right? Like, there's a lot of arguments. Should baseball have the defensive shift or get rid of it? That's a good argument. There's a lot of good argument. the worst debate in sports is about the Patriots. And everybody's wrong and nobody wants to admit it.

And I'll back it up with facts. You're not going to like it, but it's true and you can't argue it. And it's become the silliest worst argument in sports. That and where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong in our two plus Albert Breer and Tony Gonzalez. Merry Christmas. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app.

Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Ah, hour two, Christmas Eve. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening live in Los Angeles, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Jamie Maggio is joining me. Looks very Christmassy. I'm wearing lavender. I do not look Christmas-e.

Red sequins only work certain days of the year, so I had to bust it out. It looks fantastic. Thank you, Colin. You look great, too, Colin. Whatever's. By the way, it's great to be here on a Monday. I hope all of you have done most of your traveling so far for the next couple of days. We appreciate you stopping by.

You're sitting around with your family. It was a remarkable, really, Sunday and NFL season. Now, we do this every Monday throughout the course of the year. So for the people that would tune in today and you don't normally watch the show, is I have opinions over the course of a week. And then on Mondays, the start of my second hour, I show you where I was right last week and where I was wrong. And these are sort of macro things that I nailed or whiffed on.

But we think it's a good opportunity to show you. We make a lot of mistakes. A lot of times we're right. So here we go with our Monday staple, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Where Colin was right? Our Blazing Five finish the year, 58%. I will not be here on Friday. We picked the Giants to lose close to the Colts. We were right.

We picked Green Bay to go on the road and win by over a field goal, and we pick Seattle to beat Kansas City. We had another winning week, three and two. It's my second best year ever, slightly over 58%. We hope you won some money. We maybe afforded an extra Christmas present for your cat, but we had a good year. We take it seriously, thanks for supporting our Blazing Five, another winning week. Where Colin was wrong. I had said at the beginning of this year that Pete Carroll was starting to drive me crazy and was becoming Mike Tomlin where I thought, too much emotion, not enough discipline. Well, I'm wrong.

Seattle and Pete Carroll, he maybe has had his best year coaching. It's not his best team. They're buttoned up. They have an identity. Their offense perfectly complements their defense. I think they're overachieving. Pete Carroll solved his offensive long. mess in one year. He made very good off-season hires. Seattle, really. And Pete Carroll is leading

this deserve a ton of credit. I still think their roster by and large is Doug Baldwin, Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner, Lockett, and just a bunch of dudes. But they are winning close games, and they looked exceptionally well coached. Where Colin was right? We warned the New York Giants. We said, be very careful about paying Odell Beckham Jr. a ton. Number one, he's fragile. Number two, can be disruptive. Number three, his great games don't equal wins. What do you know? He missed three games this year and his best six Sundays, they went one and five. Listen, I said this about JJ Watt for years. Some players are great individual talents, but they don't necessarily elevate the unit. And I feel sometimes Eli

Manning gloms on to Odell Beckham because he feels he has to get him involved. I felt this for years with Des Bryant of the Cowboys. I think right now the New York Giants need to draft another quarterback. And if they could move on Odell and get better offensive

lineman long term for Seekwon Barclay, I think that's the better move. Now, I will say this, his Nike commercial, Odell's Nike commercial, maybe the best commercial on the market right now. He does that. in one-handed catches as well as anybody on the planet. Where Colin was wrong.

I said Lamar Jackson should be a second round pick, maybe top of the third. He should sit for a year, develop them and kind of reboot the offensive personnel. I watched them live Saturday, totally composed, threw for more yards than Phillip Rivers, made the throw of the game to another rookie. I was really taken back. And by the way, Baltimore's coaches deserve credit too. They're not asking him to throw 35 times. He is not a gifted pocket thrower at this point.

But his composure on the road against a really good pass rush and a really good defense was notable. And, you know, again, I said he's got some Tebow qualities, but I always felt he was a legitimate high round pick. He's just too explosive. You know, he was under Bobby Petrino in college, and Bobby Petrino raped about him and said, yeah, he's not like everybody else, but he can play. But I was wrong on him. I did not think he was a first round pick, and I did not think he would literally change the Ravens by his first start. And that's exactly what he's done. Where Colin was right?

My bore four all won. Brady Breeze, Russell Wilson, and Andrew Luck. I call him my bore four. Quarterbacks that win 10 to 15 years in this league all have the same quality in personality. humble, adult, don't inflame situations, don't add gasoline on the fire. Brady Breeze Luck and Russell Wilson are my four favorite quarterbacks in this league, and I call him the, you know, boring, the bore for luck had the comeback one of the weekend. Brady sealed his 10th straight division title, Breeze is a number one seed,

and Russell Wilson outplayed the MVP. cocky, taunting, adding gasoline does not over time win. I like my presidents to be presidential and my quarterbacks to be quarterbackial. Where Colin was wrong. Well, I picked the Steelers to win the Super Bowl. How's that working out? I don't even know what to tell you. I mean, I watched Pittsburgh last night and I'm like, I can't turn them off.

The best product in the NFL to watch is the Steeler-wide receivers in Big Ben. I mean, it's just, it's incredible. They are so ridiculously talented. I'm not going to blame the fake punt. I mean, I didn't think it was a bad call. I would have kept my offense out there. But, you know, last night is not why their seasons ended up underachieving. It's because they lose to Oakland and tie Cleveland and blow home leads.

They're not going to win the Super Bowl. There's too many good teams. There's too many more efficient teams. I hope they get into the playoffs because I find them fascinating. I think they're good for the National Football League. But my Super Bowl champ, once again, I should have known better, looks not buttoned up once again in December. Where Colin was right? I don't think I've ever nailed a rookie quarterback more than Sam Darnold.

I told you, I said he's probably going to have more interceptions than all the rookies does. I said he's the youngest rookie quarterback with a fewest starts in college. He's going to be sloppy and choppy early. But get to about week 10 or 11, and you're going to see an incredibly talented kid. By the way, he's on fire. They have nothing outside of an interesting young tight end. And he, for much of the game outplayed Aaron Rogers, the fact that since week 11 he's got one of the highest QBRs in the NFL is just unbelievable.

Opposing coaches. Aaron Rogers said, kids amazing. Bill O'Brien last weekend. Kids amazing. Jet players. We just got to get him help. He has had an unbelievable last month. And let's say he wins or loses against New England.

They'll probably lose and play as well. he's going to end up probably with 17 or 18 touchdowns, completing 58% of his throws, with unbelievable humility and maturity. I absolutely nailed it with him, and a lot of interceptions early, that's exactly what we predicted. He just hasn't played enough football.

Where Colin was wrong. Nick Foles had the greatest quarterback day ever in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles. Listen, he's earned his way to a starting quarterback job in this league. It's not that I don't like him. I've just always seen him as a great backup. You know, I mean, I always thought he was just a notch below Case Keenham.

But good enough to win a game. But between the Super Bowl, I made a call yesterday because I'm so confused with Nick Foles. And I was told by somebody who worked in the league for years and just got out of the league, he said, listen, my sources tell me Foles is more coachable than Wenz. Wence isn't a bad kid. But he's a superstar athlete. there's certain ways he wants to do things and Foles is just easier on the staff

he'll do whatever they call and you know he doesn't have a cannon he's not the most mobile kid but he stands in there he and Alshan Jeffreys connect and yesterday he was a wizard he is absolutely and I never thought I'd say this I think he's earned the right to be a starting quarterback

in this league you can do a lot worse than him and I think he's either the best backup or a mid to low level starter I'll tell you this I never thought I'd say this I think he's better than Kirk Cousins I didn't think that three weeks ago, but I keep watching the kid, and I'm like, I'm sorry, but he's just making a ton of plays.

At some point, he's proven me wrong. Where Colin was right? Well, a week ago, we said, keep your eye on LeBron, James, and Anthony Davis. They're about to play, and my sources tell me the Lakers are in control of Anthony Davis and the recruiting rights. And sure enough,

LeBron and the Lakers beat Anthony and the Pelicans on Friday, and LeBron reportedly had dinner with Anthony Davis after the game. We said this a week ago. It's not a matter of if it is when. The Celtics are the only other team in the running. Anthony Davis signed with Clutch Sports and Rich Paul. That's LeBron's representation. They had dinner Friday night.

I think what LeBron said at dinner is, hey, players control this league. You need to tell New Orleans, I'm not coming back. You better get the most you can for me. Because if you want to get stubborn, you're going to get a lot less when I go public with this. Lakers lead on Anthony Davis. Celtics will make a big push, however. Where Colin was right?

I don't want to just be a jerk, but I said on Friday, Patrick Mahomes is going to go into Seattle, and he's going to lose, and he's going to be 0 and 4. and you're going to tell me he's the MVP, and all I'm saying is, you're great, and I love you, and you're electric and you're dynamic, but shouldn't you have to win one of the four games? And at the end of the game, Russell Wilson was the better quarterback because Russell Wilson is the better quarterback.

Again, I know Kansas City's defense isn't great. That's not the point. The point is in all four of those games, Brady, Gough, Rivers, and Russell made the plays offensively late in games. I hate the kid at all. I actually think he's amazing. But we kind of called that. All right.

There's a lot of great arguments in sports. Fun arguments. Pete Rose, Hall of Fame. Pete Rose, no Hall of Fame. There's a lot of arguments. But one, this time of the year, always starts. And there's no facts to back it up. That plus Albert Breyer and Tony.

Gonzalez, Merry Christmas, Eve. In Los Angeles, it's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Welcome back, Albert Breer in a couple of minutes. Monday morning quarterback Albert Breer. I want to say there are great arguments in sports and then there are bad ones not based in fact. And New England, by the way, as the the Chargers were trying to clinch the seed

and the Texans were trying to clinch his seed and everybody's trying to clinch his seed and they all lost and that's the way it works. Texans, Chiefs, Chargers, all this town, trying to clinch a number one seed, no, it's all lost. And New England won and it's the number two seed and I'll now get a buy and pry host the Houston Texans who have never ever won in Foxborough.

And there's 7 and 0 at home, about to be 8, no, they'll beat the Jets. and they'll be a two-seed, and they'll get a buy, and they'll beat the Texans at home. Stop me if you've heard this before. But the argument has always been, Colin, that is because they come from a lousy division with the jets and the bills and the dolphins. Anybody could win that division. Oh, boy. Let's go to the last decade.

New England has won 78% of their games in that lousy division. and 77% out of it. Guess that doesn't hold water. Since 2008, one team has a winning record against eventual playoff teams. That is New England. It's not about their division. Buffalo made the playoffs last year from their division. Miami the year before made it.

And the Jets twice in the last 10 years have gotten to the AFC championship, beating Brady and Peyton Manning on the road. It's not the best division in football. But it's not the worst. And let's be honest about this. There's no flash. New England isn't lit. There's no reason to get worked up.

They're that annuity, that stock that gives you 8.5, 9.5% returns every year. There are two things, though, in America that deliver every December. Santa and the Patriots. And here we are again. Buy 7 and 0 at home, win their division, got off to a slow start, faced a little crisis, dealt with injuries. Santa, you can never quite figure out how he gets all the work done. New England, how did they get past that bumpy September?

But even Bill Belichick yesterday, even he was in a holiday. mood. Merry Christmas. Well, always, you know, great feeling to win the division. Do you hear that? Merry Christmas. Santa, Patriots, December. Christmas tomorrow. Both deliver. And with that, be the Coward Global Satellite Network. Monday morning quarterback, Albert Breer. You've been covering this team for years. You used to cover the Dallas

Cowboys for the, you know, Dallas Morning news and then it was the Boston Globe and the Patriots. And, you know, I know they're not flashy and cool. And I don't think this team is as good or dynamic. But I will say one thing, Albert, there's a lot of similarities. Ben don't break defense. Run the football. Unbeaten at home.

Your prediction guess on this playoff season for New England. Well, I think they get an eighth consecutive AFC championship game, which is absolutely staggering. And then I think they face an uphill climb, getting to the Super Bowl. Look, I'm so impressed with what they've done because this year they've had a diminished Rob Gruncowski. They've had to diminish Julian Edelman. You know, on offense, they really haven't had a chance to build an identity

because Edelman was suspended for the first month. The next month after that, Gronk was hurt. They started to build up a role for Josh Gordon. Now he's gone. They've had so many moving pieces. And yet, yesterday, Tom Brady throws for less, than 200 yards has a 48 quarterback rating and they find a way to rush for 275 yards against a pretty good Buffalo defense and grind out a win that way. If they're going to win, Colin,

it's going to be on the diversity that they have as a team and their ability to win in different ways. They don't have overwhelming weapons this year. They don't have a ton of frontline talent. The core of their team's gotten older and older. But the trademark of the Patriots organization year after year after year is always being able to find a way to win. And even yesterday, but Brady not playing very well. They were able to saddle up behind a rookie running back and behind that offensive line and grind out a tough December win. And so, look, you know, I think they win their first playoff game because that's going to be at Gillette Stadium. You know, and then after that, I certainly wouldn't want to be the team that's going to have

to face them in the end of the title game. Let me shift to this. I'm not really into awards. I think this year's MVP awards kind of fascinating. I thought Russell Wilson was the best quarterback on the field last night. That is not a popular thing to say. I would vote Andrew Luck MVP. I think what he is doing is remarkable. He had a bad September, but so did the Patriots, and I don't care about September's, either to Heisman voters.

What do you make of the Colt story that I would argue right now, what quarterback is doing more with less? I would say it's Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck. That's my opinion. What do you make of the Colts? Look, if you're laying odds on Super Bowl 54, not 53, 54 right now, I think the Colts have to be one of the three or four favorites to get to Miami in February of 2020. Now, I know we're looking forward there, but that's the sort of position the Colts are in right now. This was not supposed to be a playoff year.

Chris Ballard and his team when they came in there in January of 2017 figured it would probably be a three-year process, getting it where it needed to be. and they already look incredible. Two very strong draft classes back to back. The 2018 draft class has two foundational offensive linemen and Quentin Nelson and Braden Smith and maybe the defensive rookie of the year and Darius Leonard and plus other pieces. They've gotten incredibly strong core,

the best offensive line Andrew Lucks ever played behind. And think about this, Colin. Next year, when we get to the offseason, they're going to have over $100 million to spend and they've got the Jets second round pick. which is going to be in the top 35 or so picks. This is a franchise that's got a chance to win a playoff game or two this year. And then next year with a 30-year-old Andrew Luck,

I mean, and I know it's going to sound like I'm going overboard. There's dynasty potential in Indianapolis right now. What you're seeing, and what you've seen in October, November, December, looks very, very real to me. And when you look at the resources they're going to have going forward and the amount of under 25 talent that's on that roster, they're set up as well as anyone in the NFL going forward to the next PD. So I'm looking at the NFL and I'm looking at Baltimore and Lamar Jackson and I was at that game.

And Chicago and Baltimore are doing some college stuff. Seattle's a power running team. You've got quarterbacks everywhere in this league. And then I look at the Steelers. And I'm like, you can't fire Tomlin or Big Ben. I mean, they've got too much success. I've never seen a team this talented, potentially not make the playoffs.

I don't even know what to make of Pittsburgh. At some point, who's going to get the heat here for this, Albert? And you know, here's the hard thing about it, Colin, is that this is a way their program has been set up forever. They've always had these program leader type head coaches from Chuck Null to Bill Cower to Mike Tomlin. And what that's allowed them to do, that's allowed them to cast a wider net when it comes to talent, right? Like, so they're able to bring in big personalities.

They're able to bring in at-risk guys, you know, and you look at it in almost every year, you're like, how are they going to manage all of this? There's all these guys in that locker room. It looks combustible. And ultimately, they've been able to manage those sorts of personalities. And I think that they've given up a little bit on the other side, on the coaching side to do that. But this has been the structure of who they've been forever. and I just don't know that you can change coaches now

when you look at the way that they're set up. Is there someone other than Mike Tomlin who can come in there and manage Antonio Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster and Ben Rothlisberger and all the big personalities you've had in there? I'd actually argue that the job that Mike Tomlin has done in keeping the train on the tracks over the last three or four years,

given all the Antonio Brown drama, all the Ben Rothlessberger drama, all the Levy on Bell drama. I'd say the job he's, he's done in that regard is remarkable. Now, there's certainly things you can argue with as far as how he's managed his staff, Todd Haley being gone, and how they've managed games. That's been out there for a while. The tricky thing about where Pittsburgh is is part of the reason why they've been able to build this talent base is because Mike Tomlin enables them to do that. And so I just don't know, as long as the team's

constructed as it is as it is right now with an older Big Ben and an older Antonio Brown, that you can turn the page and have another type of head coach come in there. Okay, there's going to be some coaching moves. I'm told Arizona high probability they clean house. The Jets are obviously looking for a coach. Todd Bowles will get a very good defensive coordinator job and should. There's a story this morning. Jim Harbaugh is going to get a major offer from the New York

Jets. I got about a minute left. Let's address that because this is rare, Albert. You got a young, great, talented quarterback on a rookie deal. You have defensive people. You have cap space. It's a rebuild on the O line, which is one of the things Harbaugh does well. This is a very, very tasty opportunity.

What is your guess on Harbaugh and the Jets job? I think Harbaugh is back at Michigan in 2019. I do think that this tempts him. Remember, the Jets were the first NFL team to interview him while he was still the head coach at Stanford. Back in 2009, they quietly brought him in for an interview. So there is a relationship there. Like you said, there are tons of elements of this job that have to be enticing.

$100 million to spend the young quarterback. He's a celebrity head coach. This is the biggest stage New York City. I just don't think he's ready to leave Michigan right now. I think it would be tempting, but I think he's back at Michigan in 2019. And here's another thing for you, Colin.

I don't think that the Jets are done looking at the college level. They're going to cast a wide net as far as what they're going to look for in a head coach. And I would even look at somebody like a Matt Campbell from Iowa State potentially emerging as a candidate there in New York. Albert Breer chief lead content strategist,

Monday morning quarterback, happy holidays. Merry Christmas, Albert. We love you on the show. All right. Merry Christmas to you and all your listeners and viewers, Colin. Albert Breer, folks. Guy is totally dialed in. I'm told he was nodding his head.

Arizona's cleaning a lot of house. Jets are going to go after Harbaugh. My gut feeling is this is a great opportunity. I think Harbaugh passes on it. I will say this. And I said it last week. I said this last week. Harbaugh is going to win more in the Big Ten now because Urban Meyer's gone.

He's going to get an offer like this for the next decade. He's not going to pass all ten of them up. I don't know if you're going to get a Sam Darnold and $100 million in cap space many times. This is about as good. You only have to rebuild the O line. Get a running back. O line. Donald, you're going to win games.

And Brady's out of there soon. Just saying. Jamie Masha with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Colin, do you know who delivered a rousing half-time speech and turned his team's fate at half-time? No. O'Neckbeard did it.

Brought in the passion, Andrew Luck, your guy. Yes, the bore four. They were trailing 17-7 at the half. They looked lousy against the New York Giants of all teams. Went in there. He apparently blew a gasket, was yelling so much at the team, took so much at the time that they practically ran out of the title and went right back onto the field. So maybe you heard about your bore four and he doesn't want to be a part of it. Listen, I don't need that a lot, and you should do that in small spots.

But three or four times a year, either sideline barking at a coach or half time barking at your teammates. I tell my family, I don't raise the volume a lot. A couple times a year, volume's not a terrible thing. Taunting opponents, not into. But yelling at a coach, getting into a teammate's face, half dozen times every couple of years. is not, that's called leadership. Right. It's like the parent. That's not the disciplinarian. And all of a sudden, when they come down hard on you, you're like, oh,

watch out. I better cool it. Better get back in line. Back to the Ravens. Their safety, Eric Whittle, said, I know for a fact no one wants to see us. And this is not just rah, raw talk. The Ravens are really good. And if you didn't know that already, they proved it certainly when they flew across the country and you saw them in person beating the charters who are also red hot.

What's the potential here, Colin? And I think despite the AFC being kind of, you know, all over the place, I feel like the Ravens are the team to beat. Well, I think they'll play a certain way. They won't play well from behind. You can win a bunch of games this way. Lamar's absolutely better than Tebow. That's not close.

But I do think what they're going to do now, they're going to draft a quarterback every other year that kind of plays a little bit like Lamar. Because if you go all in on this style of offense, which is throwing 18, times that you have to have backups because you can't run your quarterback 12 times and not get hurt. I am for doing things a different way. I don't love being so heavily reliant on running. I mean, Seattle is, but Russell Wilson's also a world-class thrower because I think it limits if you can play from behind or not. But you can win your division. You can win a lot of games playing like Baltimore, which is high efficiency, pound the football, play defense, great special teams and don't throw it a ton, make a handful of big throws of scheme plays.

And, I mean, listen, don't think the charges are a bad team. They went in to Los Angeles and beat an excellent team that just beat the Chiefs and the Steelers on the road. But stock is up on the Ravens. This is a little reminiscent of the year that they went to the Super Bowl and beat the Niners with the position that they're in. Anthony Davis and LeBron, you talked about the dinner that they went to after the game the other night.

Well, if you want one more little piece of information, that makes you think that it's a done deal that Davis is out of New Orleans. He, in a podcast, mentioned that he was more concerned about his legacy instead of the money. So we'll show you the quote board. He said, I take legacy over money. I want to have a legacy championship. The things I do in the community, being a good teammate, playing hard. Don't get me wrong.

Money's amazing. But I think in that sense, money or legacy, I think Legacy will win that battle every time. Of course it does. Nobody talks about Michael Jordan. They talk about six for six. That's not about money. It's about titles. Carmelo Anthony always went money.

Okay, the bottom line is when you get to $150 million, who gives a rip if it's $150, or $163? How many nice houses can you have? The bottom line is this kid's heads on straight. He totally gets it. I've said this forever. Don't chase money in life.

Once you get to a certain level, they've done studies. You're no happy, I think it's like $78,000 as a family. Once you get to that level and you can afford the basic things, things like food and shelter and happiness isn't derived from a bank account. It's derived from being with others, working well with others, having some personal achievement. So the kid's got his head on straight. I think it's Boston, L.A. next. Maybe gently planting the seeds there to break it to the Pelican's fan base.

So the money that you can offer is not going to be enough. Here's the thing. Paul George is a really good player. For him, take the money. He's never going to be an all-timer. Anthony Davis, with three titles, could be an all-time top 20 player. Go Legacy. I mean, if you're a B player and a C player, just take the money.

Yeah. But if you're in that elite class of top five NBA player in your prime, you can give up some dollars to win rings. Good stuff. Jamie with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News.

Colin, you are wrong about Baker Mayfield. No, actually, he's exactly what I thought. Before the draft, I said ad nauseum multiple times over, so I couldn't be misquoted. He'll be accurate. He'll be capable of winning quickly. He'll be juvenile and he's marginally athletic. He is exactly that.

He is accurate. He's winning. He needs to grow up and he's marginally athletic. I mean, you look at all the young quarterbacks in the league. Is he athletic like Mahomes? Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Deshawn Watson. No, he's a two-time walk-on. He's not. He's a very accurate thrower of the football.

And he also, yesterday, taunted a coach. Just not necessary. Taunted a football coach. Really? Is this what Montana did? Oh, he's just what Cleveland needs. Really? A child playing quarterback. Maybe that's why you're Cleveland. Here's some sound. Take a look at Baker Mayfield after this play,

running right by Hugh Jackson on that Bangle sideline. He started to backpedal up the field and stared him down, Arch, for what felt like an eternity. Oh, man, is Baker Mayfield something or what? Oh, he's something. He's finishing in third place. By the way, John Dorsey's is GM. John Dorsey got fired in Kansas City despite building a good roster. Why?

Google it. Too much ego. Baker Mayfield, too much ego. The Cleveland owner who also runs the Tennessee volunteer football program, legendary, too much ego. This will not over 10, 12 years end like you want it to. RG3 blew everybody away for 12 months. Too much ego. Andrew Luck was a better player.

There is a reason of the 12 playoff quarterbacks. Only one of them even has a reputation as a little bit of a trash talker, Philip Rivers. It's mostly guys like Luck and Wilson, Deshawn Watson, Brady, Breeze, Lamar Jackson, Kirk, Cousins, Dack, grownups who don't taunt, grownups who put a wet blanket on the fire, not gasoline. But colonies exactly what Cleveland needs. Really? You're now an expert on football? You've been the laughing stock of the league for, what, three decades? What Cleveland's always needed is an adult in the room, a 6-5 arm-like Big Ben, skills like Mahomes, grown up. And what they got is a talented, accurate, juvenile, cool, lit guy who over time with an ego-laden general manager and a dysfunctional owner 10, 12 years from now, he'll look back and go, what was I doing?

and I'm hoping he says that. There is never a right time to do the wrong thing. If Baker went to the sideline and barked at a teammate, I'm for that. I've seen Manning do it with a coach, Brady do it with a coach, taunting. By the way, another piece of video, we can't even put on the air. He mocked Cincinnati. We can't put it on the air. Again, I'll say it.

long term, I'll take a grown-up. I'll take Wilson. I'll take luck. I'll take Darnold. I won't take taunting a coach who got fired and crazy took another job. Coming up next, Tony Gonzalez. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Oh, it's great to have you in.

Look at those Christmas presents. Man, alive. Hope you and your family is going to have a great Christmas. Jamie Maggio. is wearing her festive attire. Like one day a year, right? Christmas. You look fantastic. You look so holiday. Thank you, Colin. I try.

Where's Tony Gonzalez? Where's the Grinch, Tony Gonzalez? For the record, yesterday, you know, the NBA regular season, we're all kind of waiting for the Warriors to face either the Celtics or the Raptors. This has been an incredible regular season. Yesterday, the Steelers game, the Cowboys. I will say this about Dallas. It's a very good football team.

The Dallas Cowboys are going to win their division. The Dallas Cowboys are going to host a playoff game. I find the Cowboy games mostly predictable. Even their loss, that ugly loss of the Colts, we came on this show and we said they're going to go to Indy and get whacked. I think Dallas is a good football team. It's a very well-run organization. It is not dysfunctional.

They do not massively underachieve. They have won their third division in five years. That terrible coach, Jason, Garrett's won his third division in five years. They've had one disaster season in the last seven or eight years, and that was the year Tony Romo got hurt. I think they're well run. I think they draft well.

I think the Amari Cooper acquisition was the best in the NFL. I think they have the best line backing duo in football. I think they have the best young running back in football. I think their offensive lines top seven or eight in football. I think Dak Prescott, as a franchise quarterback, if you pay them in the 20 million range, not the $29 million range is fine. He does generally deliver in close games late. He's pretty darn good.

But I know everybody likes to tell me that Cowboys don't win enough playoff games. Drew Breeze is amazing. He's been to won Super Bowl. Aaron Rogers is amazing. He's been to one Super Bowl. Let's not go crazy here. It's hard to win playoff games. Nobody knows that like of first ballot Hall of Famer, Tony Gonzalez,

as 17 years, missed two starts, arguably the greatest tied-in in league history. Oh, yeah. Okay, so let's talk about, first of all, I watched Dallas yesterday, and I keep saying this. Don't tell me they're dysfunctional. You can't win your division third time in five years with a quarterback like Dak. Dallas is a good football franchise. It's a good football team. Well, congrats to the Dallas Cowboys.

They did it, and I think they did it in the fashion. That is the only way they're going to win. I mean, the offense was not too impressive. No. I think people have cracked the code now. Amari Cooper, double them up. Contained Ezekiel Elliott. You know, try to keep them around 75, 85 yards like we did yesterday.

And defensively, you got to make place. And their defense makes place. Their defense is really, really good. You have said this. You think there's a code cracking a lot of teams. Obviously, nobody can crack New England's code or Joe Montana's code. But you do believe, after that Saints win, maybe it was the Colts, sort of gave you a way to beat him.

Well, you're talking about the Cowboys. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's the way now. Because Dak Prescott is Dak Prescott. He doesn't throw it for over 200 yards. It's rare that he throws it for over 200 yards. He doesn't turn the ball over either. He's going to manage the game.

He's going to miss, you know, it takes him. It's just who he is. And unless he can improve, and I'm not saying he can't get better. It's only, what, his third year. Yeah. I always say quarterbacks. It takes four or five years to kind of hit your stride. Yeah, it did Russell Wilson, by the way.

I thought nailed it in his fourth year. I thought Russell became a world-class quarterback. I thought he was really good and excited. but in year four, it popped. Like the light went on. Less scramble, more pocket. And maybe that can happen to that. Okay.

Let's go to that game last night. Listen, Mahomes is great. He is owing four in his biggest games. It's not all his fault. But I thought Russell Wilson was a better quarterback last night. Tell me I'm wrong. What did you make your chiefs? You know what?

I thought they played very, very even. They were both very, very impressive. The Kansas Chiefs, first of I took on the show yesterday. I went a little hard on the Chiefs. You did. But I want to tell the Chief fans out there, I do it out of love. We criticize the ones.

we love the most. That's a great point, Tony. And everybody who has a husband or a wife out there, you know what I'm talking about, okay? So don't think that I'm trashing the Kansas City Chiefs. But right now, they are in some trouble. They're in trouble. That offense is dynamic. Patrick Mahomes, you can make the argument. He's the MVP of the league right up there with Russell Wilson, right there with Drew

Breeze. But defensively right now, I'm looking at this team, and I'm scared. I'm scared. When they go to the playoffs, what are they going to do? You have to stop people. and Patrick Mahomes is so much pressure on him, and I feel like he's pressing sometimes. I feel that too, that he knows, like Russell Wilson knows,

you know what, I'll throw it away. Does Patrick Mahomes feel like I don't get throwaways? No. Like, I can't give the ball up. And he's got to go deep. He's got to go. Instead of, there was a couple times last night, and it's a little hard on television,

but I saw him last week when I was there live for the charge of game. There's guys that are open on the lower levels. You know, he could throw the five yard out, hit Kelsey, or hit somebody in the slaughter, or whatever right away. But he has to hold the ball sometime because he's like, I've got to go score points. And I don't know if that's him because that's just who he is

or if it's just him saying, you know what? If I don't take this, that defense is going to get back on the field and they're going to go down and score. We have to score touchdowns, which is a lot of, I've been on that team. 2003, we had the number one offense in the NFL, worst defense, went to the playoffs and lost first round. So you were on that team? I was on that team.

We went 13. And did you know, did you feel like, we got to take more chances offensively. Absolutely. We didn't even punt in that playoff game against the Peyton Manning and the Colts. We didn't punt. We did her job. And we had one turnover, one fumble, and that's what cost us the game because they got the ball back and went down and scored because they didn't punt either.

And we had our defense was ranked dead last that year. And I look at this team right now and there's so much talent on there, but they can't guard. They got a great front forward though. Chris Jones. Oh, God, D. Ford, Houston. Chris Jones is the most under. Last night there were two players in that game. Doug Baldwin for Seattle and Chris Jones for the Chiefs,

those guys are great NFL players. And nobody's paying attention to him. And they should. And hopefully now Chris Jones is kind of his first year. Once you get on the map, people know who you are. This year he's putting himself on the map. Going forward his career, I think he's going to be an outstanding football player. Okay, Pittsburgh Steelers, you and I roll our eyes at this team because they're so gifted.

They're so much fun to wall. I cannot wait to watch the Steelers every week. Yeah. And they lost to Oakland. and they tied Cleveland and are they a playoff team to you? So much talent. So much talent.

And we do. We talk about this. It'd be a shame if they don't get into the playoffs with all the players that they have, Hall of Fame type caliber players. But for whatever reason, they always play to their opponent's ability. And I think that's just because they're an emotional team.

They live and die by that. And I think that starts with Coach Tomlin. And you can't tell me, because they win over the last decade. I think they're second in Wednesday, the New Linging Patriots. It works. It's dysfunctional, but it's dysfunctional chaos that works.

But this year I think it's going to bite him in the butt. Leveon Bell, I think really hurt him. And next week when Baltimore beats the Cleveland Browns, which I think is probably going to happen, they're going to be home. It bothered me deeply that Baker Mayfield was taunting a coach that was fired. And like any coach, he has a right to employment. One of the things I've always liked about you

is there's a right way to do things. way. And I'm not saying Baker doesn't have talent. I said he can play, but I think I'm seeing his college Baker. I think this is juvenile. It is. I don't like it at all. And if I was in Baker's ear,

I would tell him, just relax. Just get over it, man. I mean, forgiveness. You know, if we want to go that way. Because when you hold that in, and I know he thinks that it gives him that chip. And he's that guy. He's a guy who plays with that chip, because maybe what has

happen to him throughout his career, even through college and all the things that he's gone through. But I think if he would realize that when you let things go, you play even better. They've done experiments when you do forgiveness. Your fri-a-half-ier. Help-your-hathier. Your fritho percentage goes up. Your vertical jump goes up. I think as an athlete, once you let go of all that stuff, you'll be even better, Baker. I think you're holding on to this. It's juvenile. Hopefully he gets over. By the way, he did something on the sidelines. We can't show. I would not taunt Von Tesberfect.

I would not taunt people in my division who I play twice a year. I think it's a very dangerous proposition. I think Baker Mayfield is going to become a target by defenses in that division called the Ravens, the Bengals, and the Steelers. Tony Gonzalez, Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Hour three in the herd in L.A. next. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Hour 3 live in L.A. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and right here, FS1, Merry Christmas. New Year's coming up. It is great to be here on a Monday. Jamie Majo is joining me.

Jamie, I just had a friend send me something with a laughing emoji. Merry Christmas. NASA says in 23, four and a half years, an asteroid as powerful as 50 Megaton nukes is slamming into the Earth. Oh, great.

Merry Christmas, everybody. Well, what kind of thing is that to send me? I got four Christmases left, and then you're in a cabooie or what a... It says May slamming to Earth. Like, May, could be... They don't even send that out. Send that out in like three weeks.

They just send that out today. So it's great to have you and everybody. I know some of your unwrapping presents. I'm one of those unwrapping presents the night with the kids. I hope everybody is having a joyous holiday season. Sometimes it feels like we're a little divided country. We're going to unite here for our last hour. We have Marcellus Wiley coming up in 10 minutes.

One of the funniest guys at our network. Former Charger, former cowboy, former Bill, former Jag, Pro Bowl, Defensive End. He'll be joining us. One of my favorite things on the show will end today's show with a three-word NFL game. We believe every Monday you can describe every NFL game in just three words. But first, there was a great duel on Sunday night football between the Chiefs and the Seahawks. But as it turns out, last night was not about Mahomes. Russell Wilson was better than Patrick Mahomes last night.

And Mahomes will win the MVP. And Russell Wilson did not make the Pro Bowl. Aaron Rogers did, and Russell Wilson beat Aaron Rogers this year head-to-head, too. Russell Wilson didn't just win last night. He out Mahomed Mahom. The biggest scramble of the night? Oh, that was Russell. The biggest throw of the night?

Oh, that was Russell. With less surrounding talent, he had significantly more first downs, was better on third down, was more accurate as a thrower, averaged over a yard more per pass and dominated time of possession. But the media is so desperate. to find the new shiny toy that they overlook a LeBron when it comes to MVP and give it to the flashy guard. They overlook the great players right in front of them like Russell Wilson.

It's the new guy who doesn't look when he throws. For the record, if you're going to be MVP, I think you have to win one of the four biggest games this year, and Mahomes is now O for four, and this is not criticizing him as a player. It's not all his fault. But Gough, Brady, Rivers, and Wilson on a Sunday night, a Monday night, a Monday night. Thursday night and again a Sunday night, stand-alone games, all of them, Gough, Brady, Rivers, Wilson

were the better quarterback at the end of those games. More decisive, made the big throw, made the big decision. All four were better. Not saying Mahomes is an amazing, fun, clever. Congrats to the Chiefs. You found your dude.

He is awesome. I love watching him play. But 0 and 4 in the four biggest games of the year should not be MVP. all NFL games are not equal. That's why they give the Heisman to the quarterback who plays great in the biggest games. Tua and Alabama dominated Citadel, struggled against Georgia and didn't win. I don't care what you do in September.

You know a team that struggles in September? Every year, New England. This league is about post- Thanksgiving. It's about standalone prime time games. Kirk Cousins is great on that one o'clock window. He and Andy Dalton can't win primetime games, and that's why fans criticize him. I'm not blaming Mahomes for anything.

He's fantastic. He's a great kid. He's got a great story. I am rooting for him. I love Andy Reid. The Chiefs will make the playoffs. Hey, I said I think they have a chance probably to get to the AFC championship. But you do get last night the guy with the defensive head coach,

with less surrounding talent, was the better quarterback. Chris Collinsworth, who loves Mahomes. I mean, he loves Mahomes. Admitted late that Mahomes was the second best quarterback on the field. Second down in 12. And Wilson is going for it all. I think Russell Wilson is the best deep ball thrower in the game right now.

And the reason, look at the height he gets on this football. He's going to throw it straight up in the air. And as a receiver, what happens is it comes straight down. So even though the defense is right there, it gives you a chance to pin him on your back, extend your arms, and make the play. If that ball comes in in a low trajectory, you can't do that. That is a phenomenal throw. You want to add a name to the MVP list and conversation? Throw in Russell Wilson.

He's been that good tonight. Yeah, except he's been here a while. So he didn't make the Pro Bowl. and Mahomes is the shiny new toy and he'll be the MVP. We always get lost in volume. Buffets don't have the best food. They just have more of it. We get lost in volume.

Only three times this year has Russell Wilson thrown the ball 32 times or more. It's the opposite for Mahomes. Only three games. He's thrown for 32 or fewer times. but just because there's more Mahomes doesn't make him better. Russell Wilson is the better of those two quarterbacks, and it was on full display last night. I think it's a bit ironic Kansas City bum rushed Alex Smith out of town

because he won a lot of games that didn't count and couldn't win the biggie. And Mahomes is a legend, and he's 0 and 4 in the big four stand-alone games. Russell Wilson is third in the NFL in passing touchdowns, third in the NFL and passer rating with a defensive coach, a rebuilding offensive line, and no, quote, stars around him. This is not to criticize Patrick Mahomes. He will win the MVP. I love young quarterbacks. He's going to be an awesome far-like player. He's going to end up in a couple of Super Bowls.

I hope he and Andy Reid win a couple. Heck, it may be this year. But new doesn't mean better, and volume and more doesn't mean better. Russell Wilson is the better of those two quarterbacks now, previously, and for the next several years. Let me shift gears to this. It is amazing. I've been watching the NFL for four decades. I've never seen a year like this.

And we're going into week 17. The AFC is pure insanity. There's still stuff up for grabs in the NFC. It doesn't work out this way. Usually week 16, 17, people are resting starters. It is unbelievable what's going on right now. And the most unbelievable thing is the Pittsburgh Steelers are currently an eighth in the AFC and only six teams go. How is that possible?

Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh is so talented that Antonio Brown was double-teamed most of the night and still had 14 catches. They went to New Orleans. According to Vegas, the hardest place in the NFL to win against one of the NFL's best coaches, best quarterbacks, best defenses, best running backs, and actually one time of possession, total plays, yards per play.

Pittsburgh is so talented. They're on their third running back. Oh yeah, he's good too. They've got two pro bowlers on the offensive line. They're tied for third in sacks. young linebackers, outstanding. You know what the Pittsburgh Steelers have become? They're that guy or gal you work with

and they do just the minimum amount of work to get the job done and not an inch more. And you can't fire them because they do get the work done. But you're always like, bra, really? Two hour lunch? The Steelers may miss the playoffs, and it won't be because of last night. It will be because they lost at Oakland. There's no excuse.

Losing last night, there's an excuse. The Saints are great, especially at home. I'm not going to blame the fake punt. That's not why they won't make the playoffs. I got the call. I may have done it. You can't lose to Oakland and tie Cleveland and lose. to Denver and blow a 16-point lead at home in the second after the Chargers?

This continues to be the most unexplainable, gifted team in the league. I mean, think about this. There's a dubious stat the Steelers have, and I don't like going on on about stats. But the Steelers own a dubious stat, and I think it says a lot about their organization. In the last 10 years, when a team goes on the road and is favored by 9,000, and a half points. That means the team that's going on the road is way better. The Steelers are 6 and 5.

The rest of the league is 52 and 10. They just do the minimum amount of work required. And this year again it bit him in the butt. Kevin Colbert, the GM, has done an amazing job. The Rooney family has done an amazing job to

provide Big Ben and Mike Tomlin, great young linebackers, pass rush, Three capable running backs, superstars at wide receiver. They're doing their job. Big Ben, Mike Tomlin, blame who you want. They didn't lose because of a fake punt. They lost because they lost to Oakland.

And they just do the minimum work. I heard over the weekend, I didn't get it double source, but I heard a source tell me, 10 Steeler players were on their cell phones at half against New England. At half. I couldn't get a doubled source. I'm not sure if it's true, but the source that told me I trust, come on now, come on now, Mike Tomlin after the game.

We made the bed, we'll lay in it, and I'll expect us to lay in it very well and perform. We'll control what it is that we can control, and that's our preparation and play next week. All other things out of our control, we won't worry much about. Like everyone else, man, we've had whatever, 15 opportunities to this point, to state a case for ourselves. So we won't lament about our positioning. We'll just simply control the things that are in front of us. And that's next week's preparation and play.

He is absolutely the best in the league at the podium after a win or a loss. And again, I'm not calling for Tomlin to be fired or Ben to be replaced. They get just enough of the work done. But this year, I'm afraid, Oakland, 16-point lead, Cleveland, Denver, it's going to bite him in the butt. And there's really no excuse. By the way, three-word NFL game, Marcellus Wiley, is joining us around the corner. He's always a blast to have on the show.

Something else to remember. I have been getting over the course of this show texts from people in the NFL scouts, execs. Over the next two weeks, there's a lot of teams, four, five, six teams, seven on average, the last decade that'll look for new coaches, there's not seven great candidates out there. So don't be surprised in the next four or five days if you don't see a firing and a hiring of a new coach.

The minute the season's over, I mean, boom, boom, you're going to see something happen. So the next two weeks is going to be a flurry of activity because there's not a ton of great candidates and there's a ton of NFL head coaching positions. So this next two or three weeks is going to be really fun. We're going to have coaching, jobs, availability, firings, breaking news.

We hope you watch it here on FS1. Coming up next, Marcelus Wiley, three-word NFL game. It's the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Welcome back. New England Patriots clinched their 10 straight AFC East title. I know it makes all of you sick to your stomach, but here's the AFC playoff. pictures today. Chiefs, Patriots, Texans, Ravens. Chargers are a darn good wildcard team.

The Colts. If they can stave off the Titans and beat them, I think they will. Marcus Mariotta. By the way, big decision in Nashville. Let's be honest about it. Andrew Luck is back. He's great. Deshawn Watson's back. He's great. Marcus Mariotas hurt again. If I'm the Tennessee Titans, this is where the New York Giants struggled. When you do fear-based stuff, oh my God, we can't give away Eli Manning, oh my God, we have to sign O'Dell Beckham. You end up in third and fourth place in your division. Oh, by the way, Tennessee, Andrew Lux, only getting better. Deshawn Watson's only getting better, and Marcus Marietta is heard again.

The New England Patriots will get a buy, number two seed, host of Houston Texans, who've never won in Foxborough. Now, Eric Dickerson came on the show earlier. He's tired of New England. He's looking for a change. He can't wait for it to end. Here's Eric. I think people are, they're tired of seeing the Patriots go to the Super Bowl every year.

They're tired of it. They want something different. Everybody does. You know, when the Lakers have their dimes, let's see something different. Let's see something different. Right now in football, let's see something a little bit different. I mean, are people glad here on the West Coast? Yes, we are in the east and Boston.

No, they're not. I mean, but all good things come to an end. Just like I said earlier, hey, I had a Jerrycare once upon a time. It came to an end. It's over. I will say there are dynasties that are more compelling with other dynasties. I didn't think the Spurs and Tim Duncan was a wildly entertaining dynasty. I don't think Alabama's defensive dominance in running game is a wildly dynamic dynasty.

I thought the Showtime Lakers were great. I love the 70 Steelers, Lynn Swan, Stallworth, Bradshaw, Franco Harris. There have been dynasties that are amazing, you know, John McEnroe was fascinating. Yvonne Lendell was not as fascinating. Not every dynasty is the same. I do think for a lot of people, I mean, the ratings don't prove this,

but I think New England feels like IBM. You know what I mean? It's just like the same return every year. I get people who are bored with New England because it's not over the top. Kansas City's fun. Steelers are wild. Saints are crazy. Rams are amazing.

I do get people, but I, will say this about New England. Don't tell me it's because of their division. Albert Breer posted this weekend. The last decade, New England's won 78% of their games against their division and 77% out of it.

Don't tell me it's because they play in a bad division. They're beating everybody. Okay, they're beating everybody. And only one team in the last decade has a winning record against teams that eventually make the playoffs. It's New England. So this is not somebody coming from the Mountain

West Conference and getting blown out in bowl games. They're legit. He played a decade in the NFL. He was a pro bowler from South Central, L.A., a new book called Never Shut Up to Life Opinions and Unexpected Adventures of an NFL outlier, Marcellus Wiley, co-host of Speak for Yourself. We only get you, you know, two or three times a year with your schedule. I'll stop there.

My schedule? How about, I would say this, you were a charger. So I go to the charger game. And I said, I said this Lamar thing, it has a little bit of a Tebow field, though I do believe Lamar is a draftable. He's a franchise quarterback. I just didn't think he was ready as a rookie. And then I go to the game and I'm like, he made the best throw. He was incredibly composed.

Now, I don't think going forward, there'll be a great team playing from behind. I think there are limitations, but I got to tell you, I don't think I've been more wrong on any rookie quarterback in years than Lamar Jackson. He is ready now to play. he was totally composed against that defense. Yeah, I was amazed as well. Had my hesitations about calling him a franchise quarterback, didn't know if the franchise would totally commit to the running game as they have. And that's the key.

And that's the key. The playbook has to all of a sudden talk the same language as your franchise quarterback, if you're going to deem them that, especially a one-dimensional quarterback who Lamar Jackson was. But his confidence has grown over the weeks, and now his arm is live. That is real talent out of his arm. We saw it before in college, but we didn't see it in the pro ranks.

But watching him in the Charger elements and in that game, even his misses were good. Even his misses gave you confidence because there were missed balls. There was dropped balls. There were balls that were on target but properly defended. This is a guy that is now working his way into being two-dimensional. And if that's the case with Baltimore with their rushing attack and that defense, they're going to make some hay. By the way, I also loved about Lamar, and I've said this for years. I like my quarterbacks to be quarterbackial.

I love luck. I love Russell Wilson. I love Lamar came in a couple weeks ago, and he said, they were talking about him, and he goes, it's not about me, it's about us. On the contrary, I got Baker Mayfield taunting Hugh Jackson. I didn't like his college nonsense. I don't like this. He did something else we can't show on TV.

I think you better be careful about. haunting people in your division, taunting the Bengals. This state Baker-mainfield stuff, if I'm John Dorsey, the GM, I'm sitting him down like, son, reel it in. Interesting. I don't feel that way. I think a lot of the lack of trash talk, especially at the quarterback position, is fear-based. We come from a place where we look at the quarterback as the leader of the franchise and say, hey, don't talk bad about your opponents, even though we talk bad about all of our opponents in practice and our practice. preparation week because it could come back to haunt you. There are no ghosts and goblins out there on the football field.

Either you play well and you're quiet or you play well and you're brash and you're arrogant. But it doesn't matter. It's all based on how you perform. And Baker Mayfield is putting all of his cards on his performance and saying separate the two. And it's tough for a lot of guys to separate the two because they get caught up in the psychology of, I don't want the other team to get bulletin board material. everyone I've played against and everyone I played with came fully motivated to every contest. So whether you were trying to be the docile type and, oh, say all the right things and be PC,

or whether you poked your chest out, Cam Newton style, what Baker Mayfield style, say, here I come. Stop it. And I'm with Baker Mayfield and changing the complexion of that position as long as he backs it up. And so far, he's done just that. If Baker Mayfield would have came in with a different mental makeup, I don't think they put up any more wins. And that's what this game's about. Bottom line, win-loss column. And right now, he's done a lot to change the culture and the win-loss column for this franchise.

When you look at the Dallas Cowboys, certain teams go into the playoffs, you feel good about them. If Pittsburgh made it in, I don't feel great. If Baltimore went in, Chicago went in, I feel great. How do you, because, you know, the reality of this league is your health. Are you on a winning streak? How's the locker room? I don't feel good about Pittsburgh today. By the way, I didn't feel good about the Rams.

I'm going to wait one more week on the Rams. Let's talk Cowboys. You know the culture. Big one over the Saints. Ugly lost of the Colts. Struggle but beat Tampa. Where are the Cowboys, Marcellus, for you today? Above the shoulders, health players, where?

Yes, interesting. It takes me back to my track days. And in track, there's a dry phase, and then there's a relaxed phase, and then there's an acceleration phase, and then there's hold-on phase, kind of like don't fatigue and keep proper form. And you have to run all phases properly to run the best race. And it's just interesting in watching the Cowboys and all these teams. Some teams sprint and some teams know it's a marathon.

Some teams get momentum as the season goes on. And right now we're looking at the Dallas Cowboys team that I think really has a ton of confidence. What they won? Six of their last seven. You talk about them understanding their identity. It goes through Zeke. Dak has to just play mistake-free football, which is interesting. A quarterback that we're not going to say,

We want to win because of you. This is a quarterback that we want to win with you, and definitely we can win in spite of you in certain situations. I think they feel good about themselves. They are not a team that offensively is going to wow you because I think teams are going to just constrict on the running game and eight, nine in the box and force DAC to beat them in Plan B. But Plan B for this team is having Amari Cooper.

It is having a cold Beasley, and it is going out there and playing a mistake-free offensive football. That's enough to win in today's NFL. We saw with the Baltimore Ravens and controlling the clock and time of possession, keep the opposing offense off the field. I think the Dallas Cowboys are made up of that same formula. Will it be successful? I think they could do something in the playoffs, but I don't see them as Super Bowl contender. It's interesting. Kansas City's 0 for 4 in their four biggest games, but they've averaged like 38 points. You've been in locker rooms. I've seen this with baseball teams from time to time where the pitching's great and the hitting's awful, and over the course of a season, the hitters don't like the pitchers.

Do you think it's possible as, again, Kansas City gets in these great games and plays their butt off offensively, and they can't stop anybody? Do you worry about that sometimes as you go into the playoffs that the offense will press, knowing it has to score, won't take safety? And there's a little growing resentment that fellas, you got to hold teams under 38. What do you make of the way the Chiefs are losing the same way? in all these big games. Yeah, talk about that sibling rivalry

that occurs in the locker room. It does. Oh, yeah, there's civil wars in the locker room all the time. And it starts off friendly because the stakes aren't as high as they will be come playoff time. And it's funny, I've been on teams,

I've been on number one defenses where everyone knew the mantra, go out there and keep the team under 10, we're going to win. And then you get into certain situations where the offense, they hold the leverage. And then they're saying, hey, guys, keep them under 24 and we'll finish the deal.

And the Chiefs, if they score 25 points in their next game, first team NFL history to score 25 or more points. Every game. Every game. You imagine being on that defensive side and saying, why aren't we undefeated? So I think because their leader on offense is a second year player, really a first year starter in Patrick Mahomes,

you won't get that resentment from that group because under its leadership, it's a young guy who's just learning which way is up. Now, he's the MVP of this league. he's amazing, but I don't think he comes with that seniority, that veteran mindset that's a little callous. Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, with Aaron Rogers, I saw him yesterday in the first half rolling his eyes after he got sacked. Exactly. Like Aaron's like, I didn't, guys, I didn't even have to play today.

I don't want to get whacked eight times. Yeah, I think your point is something in life is when you're new to a scene, you're so happy to be involved, talked about disgust, that you don't have that resentment, which I think can creep into veteran quarterbacks if you've been there, that. I think the team that's fascinating in the league. And they had a bad September and we forgot about them. The Colts are frightening. Lux on fire. By the way, their offensive line is the most improved in the league.

Their defense has a bunch of no names, but they play all in a string. There's no Rams head hunting. I think the Colts are playing with complete house money, Marcellus. What do you make of them? a dud in September and on fire since about week seven. Yeah, I mean, this team is rallying around the two most improved players in our NFL this year. Obviously, you start with Andrew Luck and his performances. But Eric Ebron at the tight end position.

Incredible. Incredible. And being his security blanket, helping Andrew Luck get the confidence in the arm strength down the field to finally get that relationship back with T.Y. Hilton. And like you said, in the trenches, this team is top five in the trenches on both sides of the ball. collective units. So yeah, they're going to do something. And if you look at Andrew Luck, and it's interesting if you look at him in terms of expectations, it's been a roller coaster ride. No question. I mean, you had to fasten your seatbelt with Randuluk because you expected so much and you got so much. But then the health concerns and the issues and his injuries and everything came into play,

is the team talented enough around him? He's in that mental place where now he's going to play everyone up to his level. And Eric Ebron, who was a highly talented tight-in out of college is now living up to those expectations. He's a pro bowler. Yes, exactly, and having a career year. So you don't want to mess with a for real franchise quarterback who's coming into his own and now feels like he has a second chance in his NFL life and is making the most of it. A ton of cap space.

They got a GMO. Probably win GM of the year. They hit a home run in the last two drafts. Marcellus Wiley, decade in the NFL, a pro baller. Great having you on the show. Thank you, guys. All right. Jamie Maggio with.

the news. No. No. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Colin. First, let me give you a little backstory. 2011, Jim Harbaugh is about

to leave Stanford to make his way over to the NFL. Stephen Ross, owner of the dolphins, had a meeting with Harbaugh at that time to potentially bring him to the dolphins, who at the time were coached by the late Tony Sparano. Obviously, we know that he went to the 49ers and that was that. Okay, so this morning's news, Harbaugh,

potentially leaving Michigan to, make his way back to the NFL again. Jet CEO Christopher Johnson coming out and making a statement saying we are not pursuing Jim Harbaugh. Now we have Stephen Ross saying that they're not trying to hire Jim Harbaugh either. However, however, now we're hearing, by the way, from two teams in the AFC East. We haven't heard from the Bills or the Patriots yet, but there's still time left in the show. So Adam Gays obviously is a coach there with the Dolphins. But the interesting part of this is that Stephen Ross actually went to Michigan.

And he's a big time donor to the program there. So maybe if he wants to keep Harbaugh out of the NFL, maybe he'll dig into his pockets and keep him in Michigan. Yeah, I mean, I will say this. There's about seven job openings a year. One or two are really good. I get Sam Darnold on a rookie deal. I get some terrific defensive pieces. I have a zillion.

I got a lot of cap space. and Harbaugh probably within a year would have a lot of control because I don't think that GM's lasting long in New York just this is about as good as coaching job gets of all the coaching jobs this past year which was the best one the Colts you got Andrew Luck and a good GM let me ask you Marcells of all the coaching openings in this league you get to Arizona you could have this one

Jets is not terrible talented rookie quarterback on a rookie deal with some defensive stars? Yeah, but all opportunities aren't graded equally. If you think about New York, the media market, the expectations, how they're going to just pounce on your every move, every step, as you graduate upstairs in terms of your power in that organization, and as you try to mature Sam Darnold, I think it's a little hypercritical out there for Jim Harbaugh

to come back to the NFL. He'll be Teflon for a few years just because of his name. and what he did at the pro ranks. But I'll be careful just jumping into the New York market and saying that everything's going to be the same. So you wouldn't take it? I love the collegiate experience. I think you just have more power.

You have more security. The numbers are comparable in terms of salary. I don't understand. The NFL is great for players because we don't get paid in college. But for the coaches, stay still on a college campus and take care of yourself and your family for generations. It's harder to get kicked out of the collegiate experience than it is the pro ranks. Good stuff.

James? Isn't there an ego there, though, to turn an NFL team around? Oh, yeah. I went to the bank with my eagle, and that checked in cash. Going back to college. Colin, to your point earlier, about the competitiveness in the NFL this season, heading into week 17. Don't expect a lame game between the Browns and Ravens.

Greg Williams had a statement about that. Oh, boy. You know, we'll treat this just like this is our playoff game, and we'll treat it that way because that's how, intense the game is going to be because they're going to be that intense. We have to be that intense. It'll be fun. It'll be fun to see.

By the way, it'll be very low-scoring and competitive because Cleveland's got a bunch of young – now, Baltimore is a better team, but Baltimore is also coming off. Their biggest win in, what, three years? So Baltimore is a – where's this game at, by the way? Is that in Baltimore, in Cleveland? I think it's in Baltimore. In Baltimore. Yeah, so I think Baltimore wins the game.

but there's a natural letdown off your biggest winning years. I mean, the Colts this weekend. They beat the Cowboys two weeks ago. They came out this weekend against the Giants and were totally flat. Ravens could absolutely pull back. You know, Baker Mayfield to beat the Ravens to crown this season, that's going to be a low scoring, to me, three to five point game. But all of this bodes well for the, what you call them,

the talented hot best Steelers, because they need a win against the Bengals this weekend, and then they need the Ravens to lose. No, they need the Ravens to lose. to beat Cleveland, and they need, Pittsburgh has to win. Pittsburgh has to win, yes. Yes, and I think Baltimore will beat Cleveland. Okay, last one. Biggest surprise going into this NFL season, not that my Giants were awful,

but actually that the Bears were five games over what they were expected to be. Bavada had the odds that they would be six and ten. They're currently 11 and 4. And then the Raiders on the flip side, they were projected to be 8 and 8, and now they're 3 and 11. So obviously the common denominator between these two teams, Khalil Mack. Incredible, what a difference one player can make in the fate of your season. Yeah, I mean, listen, I pick them to be 5 and 11.

They're my biggest whiff on the season. I mean, Trubisky with John Fox looked like he was a backup in the NFL. So I think what we're finding in the NFL, the most important position is quarterback and the second most important position is a really good play caller for the number one position. And I think Trubisky's season's been saved. By the way, I just looked up the odds real quickly. Baltimore is favored by six. It opened at seven.

It went down to five and a half. So Baltimore's favored by a little under a touchdown. And that feels about right. Hold on. Pittsburgh needs to win. Pittsburgh needs to win. And Cleveland to beat Baltimore to get in. Right.

So Pittsburgh's not getting in. Baltimore's getting in. Yes, that's right. Baltimore's going to beat Cleveland they're in. They'll win the division. There we go. It's all very confusing. The fact that it's week 17 and we're still talking about this stuff is pretty impressive.

Jamie with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. I confuse me. Forget Jamie, I confused me and the audience. Coming up, we sum up every NFL game in three words. Best for last.

Next. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Oh, it is great to have everybody in on Christmas Eve. We are in today and glad to be in. And all the shows today speak for yourself after us. Amy Maggio is filling in today. Are you in the rest of the week? No.

Okay, so you're heading out and doing Christmas stuff? Yep. All right, here we go. So we do this every day at this time, and on Mondays we call it the three-word game, best for last. After almost three hours, Colin apparently hasn't gotten to the point yet. Quit holding out on us, cowherd. It's the best for last. Here we go.

NFL, three-word game Titans beat the Redskins. Mario da hurt again. Five different injuries this year. From an elbow to a neck to core to foot to Stinger, he's a talented kid, but it's time to draft another quarterback. Luck to Sean Watson are here to stay and are better to begin with.

I'd search for the next quarterback. Ravens Chargers, I'm a believer. It's not just that the Ravens are five and one with Lamar Jackson, who I watch live. But it's that over the last three games, four touchdowns, no interceptions, and they've run for at least 159 yards in each of those games. I'm a big believer in teams having identities, and Baltimore clearly has one. Brown's over the bingles.

Grow up, Baker. Listen, congrats on seven touchdown passes against statistically the worst defense in NFL history Cincinnati. But taunting a coach who was recently fired, really? You think that's going to play well? You don't think Hugh Jackson has friends in this league. He also went to the sidelines and did some nonsense, which is too vulgar for us to show. Congrats, but you know, over 10 years, this is not making yourself a target going to work, but it's Cleveland, so, you know, it's cool. This is what they wanted. Congratulations. You'll finish in third place. he's bucks.

NFC East champs. Second title, three years. Listen, you keep telling me Jason Garrett's terrible. He's not terrible. I don't think he's a top two or three coach, but they win the division again. Dak wins the division again. Zeke's the best running back in the NFL again. The linebacking duo is the best in the NFL. Their front seven's excellent.

I think they're a much more functional organization than anybody wants to admit. Tough talking Philly won a Super Bowl, but Dallas beat him twice. The Saints are good, but Dallas beat them. Cowboys, once again, are poised to make the playoffs. They're above average, not as dysfunctional as everybody characterizes them. And congrats to Dallas. They're a fun team, limited offensively, but nonetheless successful. Vikings over the lions win and in.

Vikings are six. If they beat the Bears next week, they will make the playoffs. Now, Kirk Cousins in these big, big games where you've got to win has not necessarily been great. He's got a little Andy Dalton to him. But I will say this. They've got exceptional perimeter skill people. Their defensive roster is way above average. And I think Mike Zimmer's a good coach.

Run the football a little. My guess is they went in their end. Colts over the Giants. Luck on fire. Nine of 14, 70 yards. A touchdown in the fourth quarter. They were flat coming off that shutout win over the Cowboys. But Andrew Luck reportedly, as Jamie said,

earlier gave a fiery half-time speech. They roared back with a great and essential fourth quarter. They've won eight of nine. They are playing with absolute house money. They are way ahead of schedule. They face the Titans. They win they're in. Jags Dolphins did not watch.

I mean, I can't figure out Miami. I think Adam Gase does a pretty good job, but I think you're going to be a roller coaster with Ryan Tannahill. Patriots over the bills. 10 straight years. Currently the two seed, they did it again, they dominate their division. I do not believe with the loss of Josh Gordon, this is a team capable of winning a Super Bowl, and frankly right now getting to a Super Bowl.

They are run-centric with Edelman past his prime and Gronk, a shell of themselves. But they remained the best coach team in the league, situationally almost always excellent, and they went 7 and 0 at home. We'll probably beat the Jets. Go 8 and 0 at home, get a buy, and play the Texans who have never won in Foxborough. Packers Jets, passing the torch. Aaron Rogers was terrific.

Threw for two touchdowns, ran for two more, but Sam Darnold playing with a lot less was equally magnificent. 341 passing yards. Best QBR in the league since week 11. three touchdowns. I mean, you talk about size, arm, athleticism. You've got to put stuff in the NFL in context. The Jets are near the bottom of the NFL in running backs, receivers, offensive line.

Outside of Robbie Anderson, they don't really have anybody with game-changing speed. Darnold was magnificent. Eagles, Texans, Jolly St. Nick. Nick Foles, 49 throws, completed 35, four touchdowns, 4771 yards. Listen, my sources say Nick is incredibly easy to coach, and the coaching staff feels they have to do a better job with him than Wentz, who is more athletically gifted. But listen, I've been saying this all year, and I picked them to make the playoffs even before the weekend because I just like their roster too much. their secondaries beat up, but there's just too many good players here for them to be struggling and Foles, whatever it is, is delivering magic with his coaching staff, good for him.

Falcons Panthers, two major disappointments. You know what? Come on. Atlanta's got one of the best offensive rosters. Carolina's got one of the best front sevens defensively. both teams have been in a Super Bowl since 2015. Both teams have had an MVP since 2015. I'm sorry, but this is underachieving. You can blame Ron Rivera and Dan Quinn.

This is on the quarterbacks and it's on the players. Rams Cardinals on the mend. Listen, Jared Goff, who had struggled in his previous three games, played pretty well yesterday. Now, I know it's Arizona. I understand that. but Todd Gurley missed the game. C.J. Anderson, they got him from Carolina and was very productive. Golf looked more comfortable, had more zip on the ball.

It was a nice road win. Bears Niners, NFL's biggest shock. From 5 and 11 to 11 and 4, they had to battle San Francisco, but this is an impressive win. The Niners had beaten Seattle and Denver at home. Matt Nagy took over this. team, and the offense went from 29th in the National

Football League to 9th. Hats off to the Bears, the great city of Chicago. Trubisky, I think, has a fairly low ceiling, but there is no NFL team that has shocked me more than the Bears.

St. Steelers, talented, hot mess. Steelers have lost 405, all by one score. This is a team that tied Cleveland. and lost at Oakland. It's not about talent. Tomlin, we know. He's won a Super Bowl. He can coach. Ben can play. We know it. He's won Super Bowls. But in the end, there's so much parity in this league and the games are so close. The less buttoned up you are, the more probable it is. You won't make the playoffs. And when I look at Pittsburgh,

I see a team that is as much fun to watch along with the Chiefs as anybody in this league. And my guess is, They're going to be sitting home and watching the postseason. Seahawks Chiefs, Wilson was better. He was. Just because Russell Wilson attempted more passes, he was more accurate, he was more clutch, he had the best run, he had the biggest throw. Listen, more isn't better.

Volume isn't more impressive. I'll take a small meal with great food over a gigantic buffet. Wilson's offense is not going to ask him to throw 40 times. They ask him to throw 29. He completes 18. Three touchdowns, almost 60 yards rushing. Another primetime win, Russell Wilson, last 19 prime time games, 17 and 2. Broncos Raiders, Monday night football tonight.

Lump of coal. Broncos overpaid for Kay Skeenum. Raiders let go a Khalil Mack. I'm not even going to watch the night. I'm going to go. I'm going to open presents tonight and then go skiing tomorrow. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app.

Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline.

And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy,

not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, A ref. My mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Red.

My mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Raymore, sending on the only. Score at the chip.

Score! I'm Tav Rama. I'm Tom Boca. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines, the biggest decisions, and the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise

if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.