The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Richard Sherman Podcast - Caleb Williams, Bears–Rams OT thriller, Patriots outlast Texans & Seahawks–Rams NFC Title | Sherman

Episode Date: January 20, 2026

Richard Sherman reacts to a wild Sunday of playoff football, breaking down the Bears–Rams overtime thriller as Caleb Williams flashed superstar potential but threw a late interception that sent Matthew Stafford and the Rams to the NFC Championship Game. Sherm analyzes Ben Johnson’s fourth-down calls, Cam Curl’s game-sealing play, and what the loss means for the Chicago Bears, then previews Seahawks vs Rams as Sam Darnold and Seattle’s surging defense prepare for a massive NFC Championship showdown. Sherman also dives into Patriots vs Texans, examining CJ Stroud’s turnovers, Drake Maye’s poise, Mike Vrabel’s defensive masterclass, and what’s next for Houston heading into the offseason. All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 keep coming to. 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 I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Body by Jake Radio, where hope meets momentum. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free. Have a great day. I heart radio. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is, getting a new one put up in its place.

I'm Akela Hughes, and Rebel Spirit, season two, is about both of those things. As I was watching these statues come down, I was thinking about what it meant that I grew up in a majority black city, in which there were more homages to enslavers than there were to enslave people. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the Richard Sherman podcast, and I just want to say, I appreciate you guys. You can be getting your NFL content from anywhere, but you're here with me.

I'm thankful for you. So hit that sub button so you can get the notifications when I'm dropping a new episode. All love. Hope you guys are having a great New Year's, accomplish it all your New Year's resolutions, and staying healthy. Welcome back to the Richard Sherman podcast and Mitchell. Some great Sunday football. We'll start off with the Bears in the Rams game in Chicago. A thriller.

It comes down to another fourth down. Caleb Williams with a ball in his hands, makes a clutch pass to commit in the back of the end zone. And you think, man, these bears, it's just destiny. I mean, Matthew Stafford played a solid game. The Rams felt like they controlled it a lot. lot of the game, but the Bears just kept battling and Caleb Williams gave him a chance. Then you go to O.T. Bears defense gets to stop. Caleb Williams marches down the field. Ben Johnson goes forward on fourth and inches from about midfield. Caleb Williams sneaks it

around the edge of the left side. First down, walked up, looked at the camera. I said, these boys are about to do it today. I said, good job for the Bears. I said, congratulations. Either way, you got to come to Seattle and take an ale like Cool J. But this is exciting. However, Caleb Williams got fancy, and he got sexy, and they went to an old faithful play.

Mitchell, it's the same play that Luther Burton scored on when they played the San Francisco 49ers in that shootout in Levi Stadium. A couple weeks ago. It was a dig route with the clear route going the same way from Luther Burden. And it puts the safety in a bind. Do you go with the high route and let him hit the dig

or do you drive the dig and you hit the high route? Against the San Francisco 49ers, he could have hit either one. I mean, it was such a bad, bad football. They bit on the underneath tight end sit. And so he could have hit either one. On this one, the safety drove the dig if he puts the ball up to Luther Burden, we're talking about the Chicago Bears coming to Seattle to Lumen Field

and playing in Seattle Seahawks. But Mitchell is not about what ifs. It's about what it is and what did happen. Caleb Williams throws an interception, an incredible play by the Rams defense, and Matthew Stafford. MVP, MVP, drove his team down the field. Easy. Kiron Williams, Kornham, Pooka Nakul on third down.

Like just consistent, just steady, get us down the field, took a few shots to the end zone with his tight ends, and then kicked the walkoff field goal. Welcome to Seattle for the NFC championship game Sunday night. What did you think, Mitchell? What did I just watch is what I think, Richard? Unbelievable performance by both teams here. The Chicago Bears, I mean, hats off to them all season, grinding, scrapping, finishing dead last in the NFC North last season, all the way to rise up in moments away. one play away from making the NFC championship game. Ben Johnson knows how this feels, this agony of defeat.

He had it in Detroit losing to San Francisco on that NFC championship game. He willed this team. He changed this culture in just one season. What an incredible hire for the Chicago Bears. That's what I think. I think he has got Caleb Williams, a guy perfect compliment to him,

the perfect QB for Ben Johnson. I'm afraid of this Bears team going forward, but credit to the Rams. Holy cow, magnificent. plays by their defense late in this game because the Rams like you said had ample opportunity to take control of this game and finish it out. Credit to Caleb Williams, huge play, huge pass scrambling back on fourth down all the way we're treating to his 40 yard line and heaving it up to Cole Comet. Like you said, this team looked like a team of destiny. But you see it with

Caleb Williams. You see it there. There's a superstar in him. But you also see those youth, that youth in him still. Getting too cute late, like you said. But I think there's going to be some questions out of Chicago tomorrow. And it's not about this performance because I think they could have won. I think it's going to come down to coaching. And I hesitate even saying this because being a Detroit fan, I support Dan Campbell going forward on fourth down. But when you look at this game, you see the elements, right?

You see the wind. You see the weather. You see the snow falling. People are going to question why Ben Johnson didn't take the points in the first half on fourth down. He had two occasions to do so. They failed to convert on fourth down both times. Ultimately, Richard, that impacts the finish of this game. I need to know your thoughts, man, about the coaching and what went into this game.

And as a result, the loss. I mean, do you question Ben Johnson's decisions in the way this game turned out? No, no, I don't. I think teams make mistakes when you don't do what got you there. I think that's the worst kind of way to approach a championship game or a playoff game or a meaningful late season game is to start to make things up. If you've been going forward on fourth, go for it on fourth. If you haven't been going, take the points. But to go to a championship game and change the whole rhythm and aggression of your offense just doesn't sound right to me.

Sure, it didn't go his way. They didn't win the game. They had a chance. I don't, I think if you have a philosophy, you have a foundation, you stick to it, you stick to your philosophy, you live by it, you die by. And I think in the long run, over time, it'll win more times than it loses. But it's when you, when you question your own philosophy in the biggest moments is when you start to fail. And I think you got to give the Rams a lot of credit. You got to give Cam Curl a lot of credit.

That took a lot of film watching. That wasn't the first time they ran that play. His eyes were lasered in on Caleb Williams. layered route, he had to make a decision, a really aggressive decision. And he had to read Caleb Williams' eyes, his arm angle, and understand, hey, is he going to put this up, or is he going to go for the dig? And he took a risk. If he drove that dig, those two players were right above each other. If he guesses wrong, that's a touchdown, and he's the person who costs him the game. So that's how quickly you could go from, he row to zero in this league, and he's

He's the hero. He made the play. Could Caleb Williams have made a better decision? Sure. Could he have said, hey, that looks a little muddy. I hold it. But also, you look at DJ Moore, who had a really good game, caught really well. Run you're out. Run you're out. He didn't think he was getting the ball because he looked up and saw the safety there, but finish your route. He saw the safety. He saw himself covered and he said, oh, it's going to go to Luther this time. It didn't. It went to you. That's why you got to finish your route. And instead of being able to compete, for the ball at the catch point, it's an interception. And that's something that he'll, I'm sure, look back and kind of greet his teeth at and be frustrated with itself because that was a play that in the most critical moment of the game. And sure, fatigue is a factor. This is overtime. But this is the National Football League for all the marbles.

People think, oh, man, late in the season, what does it feel like? It hurts. Your body hurts. Your body doesn't feel good. Your legs are dead. Everybody's is. The game isn't moving fast. everybody's moving in cement.

Looks like everybody's walking in molasses. But it's the guys who lock in for the extra step, the extra moment that stay locked in through the end of the game that win these games. Do you focus and finish? Fatigue will make cowards of us all, Mitchell. That's what my coach said. Don't be in shape.

You will fail. Fatigue will get the best of you every time when it comes to the most critical moments. If you're tired, your brain will say quit. No question about it. So fatigue is what costs people every single time in these games and causes the mental errors. But give credit to Matthew Stafford, Sean McVeigh, this offense. Chris Shula and his play calling down the stretch for that defense.

Give Dennis Allen credit for making necessary adjustments, bringing those corner pressures. Joaquin Brisker played a fantastic game. Kyler Gordon played his butt off in this game. And Caleb Williams, he threw three interceptions. We're not going to sugarcoat that. That's unacceptable for a quarterback of his caliber. But in the most critical moment, he made a play to get his team to overtime. Sure, if you don't have those plays, you don't necessarily need the overtime.

But again, they made enough plays to put themselves in position. He made a critical mistake at the end. That cost him. That's something he's going to have to learn from. But it looks like there's going to be a bright future in Chicago for a long time, and I look forward to seeing it. Obviously, I'm looking forward to this Ram C. It was an incredible shootout a couple weeks ago in Lumen field.

But this Seahawks defense is playing even better, even faster, even more aggressive with more confidence. And again, if you're Sam Darnel, you thought you, you thought you overcame your nightmares with the Rams. You thought, hey, I only had to see it once. I killed Freddie Cougar. I killed him. He's dead. but these nightmares don't die Mitchell you got to kill him again that's how they got all these movies they never kill them it's it for one two Friday after next Friday the 13th Friday the 13th the next year

2026 and all these other crazy movies but he's going to have to overcome they're going to bring back all the stats about the Rams pressure and how Sam Darno struggled against it and so as high as we are for the Seattle Seahawks right now they're on the moon they they they've been freaking are playing. Lights out football defensively. You got Rashid Shaheed and the special teams. This Rams defense is going to feel pretty good about things. Now, if I'm Sam Donald, I watched the last drive in the fourth quarter of that game against the Rams and I feel pretty good. You were cooking with grease. James Hardin in the clutch. Cooking. Cooking up cooking. So let's get back to cooking. Run the football. K-9. Your guy canine is running as good as he has.

his entire career, had three touchdowns in the last game, tying Sean Alexander for the franchise playoff record. If they can do that and control and let that defense just eat, Seattle Seahawks, back in the Super Bowl, Levi Stadium, see you there, be there or be square. I would love to see it. This L.A. team is going to be a tough task, Richard. These teams know each other all too well. And when you thought you could get away

from the NFC West defeating San Francisco, not so fast. Now you got the L.A. Rams to handle, but I'm with you. you, I mean, Seattle, that environment was wild. You were there, obviously. The team looked totally different. They looked like they wanted it. And it's amazing to see of these final four teams. Look at how dominant the defenses are, right?

I mean, you look at Seattle's defense. And Richard, I know you loved Houston's defense all season long, but my goodness, what I saw last night from Seattle, they have made me a believer. I think they might be the best in the league, and they deserve to be in this situation. Sam Darnold, holy cow, a battle of, Sam Darnold and Matthew Stafford to go to the Super Bowl, who would have thought that?

Matthew Stafford, this late in his career, for him to battle all the injuries and to overcome everything, I never would have thought when he was traded from Detroit that he would have this longevity with his career. And I don't even know if L.A. Rams thought that. So it's so impressive for him to be putting up this caliber of the season. And I know that as well as these teams know each other, Richard, there's got to be some level of frustration with, man, we got to face Puka and Nakuwa again. Kiron Williams again.

Richard, is what are going to be the X-factors in this game? Is there any, is that familiarity? I mean, this Pooka and the Kua has got to be a tough task for the Seattle Seahawks. Mitchell, great defenses don't think like that. Mitchell, that's how I know you ain't been playing on great defenses, Mitchell, because you relish it.

You relish the challenge. You relish getting the opportunity to make up. They gave up 37 points in that ball game. That's a ball game they're ashamed of. Mitchell, they're going to be, combing through that film every single day, every mistake they made, every adjustment they have to make.

Mitchell, they're looking forward to seeing Pooka Nacula and the Rams coming to town so they can show the world on the biggest stage that that was an aberration, baby. Y'all saw us battle and give up those points, but that ain't who we are. We are one of the best defenses, if not the best defense in the National Football League.

It's going to be electric. It's going to be electric. Nick M. Wither Spoon, Julian Love, then the D-Line Mitchell, Leonard Williams, the big cat, he's going to have himself a day. Go Jaron Reed, go Byron Murphy, Ernest Jones is having a Pro Bowl all-pro season. They are going to get to showcase it. I think the Rams will be ready, but I just can't imagine them being that ready, Mitchell. What the Seattle Seahawks right now are becoming, the way they're playing, they're a freight train, Mitchell, and you do not want to be on the track. with that defense going down the way.

And I think that's, sure, it's a division game. Chris Shula and the Rams are going to dial up all these exotic pressures, but there's one thing that changed for the Seattle Seahawks the last game. I saw them. I saw, even with the abdominal injury, the core injury, Sam Darno pushed the ball down the field to Rashid Shaheed, Mitchell. He put it on tape. It will happen.

It will happen. And if these Rams play as shallow as they did the last couple games, I need to see it again, and I think it's going to go great. Rashid Shaheed is the X-Factor in this game, Mitchell. And then I'll just say the entire Seattle Seahawks defense, because I can't pick somebody. It might be to Marcus Lawrence, the guy who's just the tone setter, making play after play, showing his effort, jumping off the tape.

It might be Byron Murphy getting pressure. It may be Nick M. N. Warrie. It may be Rick Woolen in the back end. It may be Kobe Bryant. Like, you never know what. this defense, who's going to make the play? All you know is a play is going to be made. The lights are going off. Mitchell, it's the dark side. Mitchell, they turn it the lights down. I love it. I love it. This team is so impressive, man. It's giving me vibes of your playing days

with the Legion of Boom. Such a dominant defense. And Sam Darnold, the pressure is going to be on him. Can he deliver enough offensively to knock off the L.A. Rams? I'm expecting a little bit of a shootout, my friend. I know you might not think that, but I think that Matthew Stafford's got something up his sleeve as well. Let's take it to the AFC, Richard. What we said going into this game couldn't happen, happen. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called,

Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we How do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band.

Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title.

podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is. Getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is. Getting a new one put up in its place. As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering the Civil War. To get to school, I had to go down Robert Lee Boulevard. Get to the grocery store I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway. If you're an historian

and you leave out half of what the history is, you're not doing your job. I'm Akela Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 goes deep on both of those things. The fights, the politics, the people who won, and my personal campaign to add something to the Kentucky State House that's actually worth the wall

space. We are more than our bodies. We contain essence. We contain spirit. How do you represent that? They are just fueling a fire that is really catching. You'll see what I mean. Listen to Rebel Spirit season two on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Keith Gianmanca seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad, but secretly he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree.

At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy, but I felt so desperate that I felt that was the quickest, easiest way out. Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong and what that might look like? No, I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad

has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever because everything that has existed prior in my reality is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please! But there's so much more to me than me. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian.

And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hippick I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff rant and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Cream a chicken suit.

Hey, cream. Cream a chicken suit. This is helpful for you. A Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Coulthura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. C.J. Stroud. Oh, boy. Two games in a row, man. It was a C.J. Stroud pick after pick after pick. And then the fumbles in crucial moments. This Texans defense tried to do

everything that they could to keep them in the game. But ultimately, the turnovers were insurmountable. The Texans fall to the Patriots 28 to 16, and the Pats go on to Denver to play the Bo Nixless Denver Broncos. Richard, your thoughts on the Pats and Texans game. Well, first off, I want to give the Pats a ton of credit. They battled, too. Their defense showed up in a big way.

Our guy, Carlton Davis, we're into the program, had two interceptions in the game, played magnificent football. a little banged up, but came back and just kept battling. Marcus Jones, pick six, just the incredible speedster, special teams, offense, defense, doing it all, but got a fumble recovery in this game, got a pick six that really, really flip, turn the tide of this game because, again, the Houston Texans defense, after the initial touchdown where they ran the zero and Douglas caught the touchdown pass, they didn't give up much. So in order for the Patriots to get field position,

they were depending on those interceptions and turnovers from Stroud. And literally, those turnovers turned into no points. The only points that they turned was the pick six because the defense didn't get a chance to get on the field. If they would have got him stopped, something tells me that would have been three. And that might have been a difference in the game. But you've got to give Mike Vrable all the credit in the world.

because this Houston team on paper, obviously without Nico Collins and they lost Dalton Schultz in the game, but they're the more, they were the more talented team. This Patriots defense, you're not looking at them outside of Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis and thinking, oh man, these are world beaters. It's a lot of guys that Spillane and Clavon Chase on and guys, yeah, Barmore, Milton Williams. Milton Williams got his money and played fantastic with the Philadelphia Eagles and continues his fantastic play with the New England Patriots. But this isn't a big name defense, but they play with an incredible effort and attention

to detail that allows them to be in every game. I think they heard all the noise about the Houston Texans. And it may have been just me, but I know everybody's talking about the Houston Texans defense. And I thought they'd be enough to overcome C.J. Stroud and his issues. But I also never in the world thought after the issues he had in the last game in Pittsburgh that he would have a game. game even worse than that going forward. I could not imagine that. And clearly my football prediction skills are a little rusty with that because he had five fumbles in the in the game

before lost, I think he lost two or three. And in this game, he threw four interceptions. Now, not all four warriors fault, three warriors fault. One was off the receiver's hands and got tipped in air and he probably should have caught that. But again, you can't do it when your team needs better. You know, there were times at halftime, there were people calling for him to get benched. He played better in the second half, but it's going to be a tough offseason for him. You know, as a rookie, he played like a top five quarterback. He was the top five quarterback. So when you show that kind of ceiling, when you show that kind of talent, it's, the scrutiny is going to be just this high because people know what you can be. When people don't know that you can reach this peak,

then everything, they're judging you off of what each season, hey, how'd you do? How'd you do here? You know, critique him. But when you play at such a high level so early, that becomes your, the place that they judge you from and anything below that is going to be highly scrutinized. And that's, you know, I'm sure he would accept the scrutiny because he's a, he's a, he's a player that that's accountable to the performance that he puts. on the field and it was not good enough. And I know his teammates and his defense said all the right things, but that's frustrating as a defense.

You get in the game where a quarterback throws four interceptions, you're battling your butt off, but Will Anderson forced two fumbles, three sacks. Like, he was fighting. Daniel Hunter forced to fumble. I think he should have just laid on the football and recovered that one, but he was trying to make a big play, a huge play in the game. But they have all the people.

pieces. They have all the pieces. They won 10 straight games. The future is bright in Houston, but when you have the opportunity with a defense like that and an AFC championship team waiting for you without their starting quarterback, you relish those opportunities and you've got to take advantage of them. And something tells me that Houston's going to look back on this game for years to come and think about what could have been. Now, for the New England Patriots, you give Drake May a lot of credit. He's been having an incredible year, and he had his own set of issues. He threw an interception, fumbled the ball three times,

and was poised enough down the stretch to deliver a beautiful pass to Kashon Booty over Derek Stingley, a first-team All-Pro, one of the best corners in the National Football League, one-handed catch during a critical moment. That's a growing moment for him as well. It was really cool to see him grow, the defense can. continue to battle. Remandre Stevenson and Trey Henderson were, you know, tandem getting it done on the ground. Stefan Diggs made a critical play late in the game, and again, their defense

made the plays they had to. And I would expect this New England Patriots team to be able to beat this Denver Broncos team. The Denver Broncos will create a lot of issues. Will Campbell's going to have to figure some things out because De Nile Hunter had his way with him, just like Miles Garrett had their way with him. And I'm sure Cooper and Benito are looking at that tape and saying, hey, we got some of those moves in our bag, too, and we look forward to seeing you, brother. I think he's going to have to end up bouncing into guard at some point. But that was the conversation about him coming out of college, but I'm not an offensive line

expert, so I'm not going to go down that argument. But I think that Denver Broncos defense can do it, but I'm not sure about Jared Sidham. I mean, I'm not sure about him because he's only started four games. He's one and four. We don't have a lot of tape on him. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round. So if anybody has the tape on him and has the scouting report on him, it's the New England Patriots. Obviously, he's been with Sean Payton for the last three years and been getting coached by him.

But it's going to be a tough task. It's a tall mountain to climb for Jared Stidham to be making his first playoff start in the AFC championship game. his four starts are the least amount of starts for a quarterback starting an AFC championship game in the history of the national football league and that says a lot it's unbelievable man i mean just the circumstances how they played out bo necks taking a knee breaking his ankle um man it's got to suck the energy out of that building i can only imagine i mean we talked about injuries all season long with the 49ers and the devastation but losing your quarterback your signal caller i don't know if there's a worst

feeling in the world because like you said, Jared Stiddam coming in with four career starts. We'll see how it plays out. But credit to this New England Patriots team, they clearly won the offseason. They had a dominant free agency class, and they also killed it in the draft, and we see that playing itself out on the field. For Drake May to have this much success this early in his career, and for the New England Patriots to go from bottom to top, so quick, after Tom Brady, we saw a massive fall off, from them to rise from the ashes and be back to, you know, league relevance is an unbelievable story under Mike Vrable with the failed experiment of Gerard Mayo last year.

What a turnaround for this franchise. And they have the pieces in place for this to be stable for years to come. In terms of the Houston Texans, you touched on C.J. Stroud. He set a very high bar for himself his rookie year. He had a very stable offensive line protecting him and some solid wide-out weapons. Last year was a different story. The story was about the offensive line, not protecting him. Tank Dell goes out.

At this point in the season, C.J. Stroud has made do with everything he could. But I think this was the first game. We witnessed that they truly needed Joe Mixon. Woody Marks with a massive fumble. I mean, Richard, they were going into potentially tie that game midway through the third quarter. Woody Marks puts it on the ground and momentum quickly shifts to New England. This Houston Texan team, no question about it,

has a championship defense, but so much has to be addressed on the offensive side of the ball. And my main question for you is, is C.J. Stroud, that guy in Houston? Because they have clearly have a championship defense. But these last two years have made me start to question that. They're going to have to figure that out. They're going to have to figure that out. After his rookie year, I would have said, no question about it. Why aren't we paying this guy, pay him top of the market money?

with this playoff performance over the last two games, I'm sure they're having their own internal conversations. There were people, and a lot of people, and the noise was really loud on Twitter and social media to replace him with Davis Meals at halftime. That's how bad it was getting for this team to just give them a chance to move the ball down the field. Don't ruin this really good defense that you have

because we can't push the ball down the field. We can't throw it at all without holding our breath. And I just, I don't know if it's the coordinator. Some of it is confidence. Maybe he needs to work with somebody this offseason and try to get some things fixed and correct it. But you saw it early on. You know, his confidence just wasn't there early in the season.

They lost three games. They started the season 0 and 3, and he just looked like a different kind of quarterback. He started to, you saw moments and flashes throughout the season where he looked like the guy. He looked like the C.J. Stroud of old, you know, where he's pinpointed. Pass is accurate, reading the defense, poised in the pocket, great pocket movement, going

through his progressions. But it hasn't been that way in these playoffs consistently enough. And so I don't think they're going to get rid of them. I don't expect him to move off of them. I think he's showing too much immense potential. And you use so much draft capital on him. I don't think you move off of him that quick. You don't have a ready-made plan.

So I think they're obviously going to stick with him for this next season and just hope that he gets through these. these issues, but I think if they start to pop up again next season, that's going to be a serious conversation and something they seriously consider. Well, Richard, this is it. We have the AFC and NFC Championship games next weekend, and we're going to be bringing you guys another episode later this week, breaking down these matchups and more detail before we leave, man.

How fired up. I see you with the Seattle Seahawks hat, and I'm going to swap over. I'm going to jump on the bandwagon for the rest of the season. I'm going to rock my Seattle Seahawks hat. you know and hopefully they can pull this thing off and keep this train rolling how fired up are you for them to be back in the nFC championship game i'm really fired up i'm excited for them uh especially the way this defense is playing and the way kenneth walker is running the ball it just seems like they're firing on all cylinders every all three phases of the football um they're dominating

they're detailed they're incredible the the job that mike mcdonald has done building this culture, building this coaching staff, building this roster, give John Snyder a ton of credit for what he's done, building this team, building this roster, continuing to not be complacent throughout the season and making the trade for Rashid Saheed mid-season because he felt like they needed a spark. And of course, I think there's probably two or three games this season that Rashid Shahid has had a hand in winning for the Seattle Seahawks. So I think it's going to be a fantastic game. It's going to be great. But this defense is showing that they can get it done at a high level and I can't wait to see it.

Before we leave, Richard, we got to talk about these NFL coaching carousel going down right now. Kevin Stefanski, courtesy of the Cleveland Browns, takes a job with the Atlanta Falcons. One of the best situations, I think, out there for a prospective head coach, Kevin Stefanski jumps from the Browns to the Falcons. How happy would you be with him? I feel like that's a massive upgrade in personnel for him. as a coach? You know, you go from Miles Garrett, the defensive player to year, to Pierce, who's a young guy who had, I mean, there's talent on that defense, but let's not act like the Cleveland

Browns weren't a talented football team. We're not going to do that. Offensively, I think, obviously, Bejan Robinson is an incredible talent. Will they retain Kyle Pitts? That's up in the air. Drake London's a big-time talent. I'm sure they'll draft well, but guess where they're their draft picks going, Mitchell. It's going to the L.A. Rams because they wanted to make some moves in that draft. They wanted to get sexy. But I think that it's a good fit. It's a solid fit. I don't feel like it's a splash pick. I think it's a safe bet. I think Matt Ryan went in there and said, hey, who's the safest guy? He didn't want to go in there and get blamed if it didn't go well. He knows Kevin Stefansky can build a culture. He's a two-time NFL coach of the year.

even though I think Calhattan should have got one of those, but story for a different day. He's a two-time coach at a year. He's a guy that knows how to build a staff, knows how to win football games. The NFC South hasn't been incredibly competitive as we saw this year. It came down to the team that lost

and the team that, depending on another team to win, for you to make your way in, even though the Carolina Panthers got in and put up an incredible fight with the L.A. Rams, I think it's a solid pick. I think John Harbaugh with the New York Giants is a bit of the same. He'll do a great job. I knew there would be issues with Shane because power, power dynamics.

When Harbaugh went in there, I think that was the holdup. And I'm not speaking from any kind of insider information or insider knowledge, but I knew that would be the holdup of any veteran coach going into the Giants. Who gets final say on the roster and the picks? and I'm sure that that was a little touch and go there for a second because I'm not sure he's going to accept, hey, Shane's making all the picks, and then we'll let you know how it goes with John Harbaugh

and what he's done, how long he's been in this league, what he knows about the National Football League. And I'm sure his brother Jim Harbaugh is happy. He was hoping he would go to the NFC, so he wouldn't have to play him if they got all the way through. And guess what? He's in the NFC, Jim, and you're an AFC, which is a weird swap because they played in the social.

Super Bowl once, and it was vice versa, but story for a different day. I think it's a good pick. I think it's a solid pick. I think Robert Salas is going to get a job. I would think Baltimore would be the place for him if he wants to go there. Pittsburgh, again, just feels like that kind of, those kind of defensive-minded NFC, I mean, AFC North teams that are just grinded out, good cultures, keep coaches for a long time.

I've heard there's interest from Tennessee. They recently moved up their interview with him, so there's some movement there. I think the Cardinals have an interview with him, but I don't know if I would suggest him going to the Cardinals. I mean, he's been in the NFC, the West, long enough to know what's going on with all these teams and know that that's a tough place.

You're going to be fighting for the second and third seat. Seattle Seahawks are a fantastic football team with a bright future, Sean McVeigh, and the Rams are back in the NFC championship again. The San Francisco 49 is our team. He knows this incredibly well, so I don't think he would take that job. But like I said, Baltimore is a great fit.

Pittsburgh's a great fit. But I'm here in Tennessee, you know, has some traction. We shall see what happens. I think Baltimore or Pittsburgh, like you said, would be the best fit for him. I mean, just teams that identify with their defense, he would certainly bring that heat there for him. And, I mean, let's be frank.

The AFC North, Richard, is pretty much up for grabs right now. So for him to go to either Pittsburgh or Baltimore, I think those would be fantastic landing spots for him. Welcome back. Here are the Richard Sherman podcast picks. All odds and lines come from our partners at Hard Rock Bet. We've got Miami versus Indiana and the college football playoff championship on Monday night. Hard Rock Bet has the Indiana Hoosiers as a seven and a half point spread in this game. and Mitchell, I don't know enough about college football.

Last time I bet it against these kids, they put up a 40-something ball on Oregon. So I'll leave this one to you. Richard, you were dead wrong in that game, and you know what? I got Indiana hoisting up that championship trophy. I cannot believe I'm going to say it, man. The Indiana Hoosiers are going to be the champions of football,

not basketball, but football, led by Fernando Mendoza, who's going to be taking home the offensive MVP. and a guy I think you're going to like at the next level, Richard. DeAngelo Pons, the cornerback, had a pick six early in that Oregon game. I got him taking home the defensive MVP, and I'm also taking the over of 47.5 points. I think Indiana wins this game and a blowout.

I know you don't love their game, but Richard, I'll tell you what, man, they're an impressive team, and Kirk Signetti is doing something special in Hoosierville. I like it. I like it. I mean, clearly, I don't know enough, Mitchell. I didn't see that game going away. did, but good luck to Indiana Hoosiers and the Miami Hurricanes. It's going to be a great game.

Well, Richard, we got a big game on tomorrow night, Monday night, the college football championship. I know you're fired up to watch it, but I will let you sign us off, my friend, as we conclude the divisional round, and we look forward to the championship games next weekend. It's the most wonderful time of the year, and I know Christmas just passed, but we're getting gifts every single weekend, and we got beautiful games this weekend. I'm looking forward to championship weekend. Figure out who goes to Levi Stadium to play in a Super Bowl this season. As always, I appreciate you guys joining me.

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