The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Richard Sherman Podcast - Week 14 Reaction

Episode Date: December 9, 2024

Richard Sherman reacts to Week 14 of the 2024 NFL season, including Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks padding their NFC West lead with a road victory over Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals, Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers bouncing back with a blowout win over Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, Josh Allen accounting for six touchdowns for the Buffalo Bills but falling just short against the Los Angeles Rams, Russell Wilson's Pittsburgh Steelers staying hot with a win over the Cleveland Browns, Kirk Cousins continuing to struggle as the Atlanta Falcons fell to Sam Darnold's Minnesota Vikings, and Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions taking out Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers in a thriller on Thursday Night Football. #volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The volume. Notice, sir. You don't know this, sir. You don't football. Championship. That should always be the expectation. All right, man. That's going on here.

Welcome back to the Richard Sherman podcast. What a week, Mitchell. The San Francisco 49ers get a win. The Seattle Seahawks get a win. The Buffalo Bills lose to the Rams. Your Detroit Lions got a huge win Thursday night in front of us. in front of the home crowd. It was an amazing game.

You got to be feeling good right now, Mitchell. Richard, I'm on cloud nine. I would be feeling a little bit better if Carolina had squeaked that one out at the end, but our guy, big play Slay had to step up in the clutch. Richard, I was thinking about you all afternoon. The Seattle Seahawks had a huge game. This is an opportunity for them to separate themselves from the pack. In Arizona, everyone's wondering, who is the Seattle?

Seattle Seahawks team. They've been a little bit hotter of late. And they proved today, I think at least to me, they proved today, this team, this team might be one to compete with. Richard, how fired up are you with that win in Arizona? The Seattle Seahawks come out victorious. I'm so, I'm so excited. That's their fourth straight coming out of Dubai.

And Mike McDonald made adjustments. He said he needed more urgency out of his team. And he's getting more urgency, especially out of the defense. Kobe Bryant with another interception. Ernest Jones with a huge interception both times. These things set up scores for their offense. Kobe Bryant's interception sets up an immediate score to JSCN from Gino. Gino has another efficient game, 2430, 233 in a touchdown.

But it was Zach Charbonnet, who really, really shined in this game, both on the ground and through the area. He had seven catches for 59 yards. he had 22 carries for 134 yards, two touchdowns. One of them was a huge 51-yard run where he just, that looked like everything the Seattle Seahawks wanted to see when they drafted him out of UCLA, and he delivered. Obviously, your guy, K-9 is banged up, but he stepped up in a huge way this game. JSN continues his very consistent season five catches for 82 yards in the touchdown.

We talked about Jonathan Hankins gets a sack. But it just was a solid effort. And I know that the Big Cat didn't get the huge play this week, didn't get the highlight play, but he made a number of huge deflections, taking on double teams all day, freeing up these linebackers. This defense just looks like a whole different beast.

They were harassing Kyler all night long. They were playing tight coverage. Devon Witherspoon again is all over the place. Tyreek Woolen, man, I thought he had a pick. He undercut Marvin Harrison on a comeback route in this game. And it was a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful covered play. And I thought he was going to book him up the sideline for six.

But they had the offensive P.I. Marvin Harrison Jr. wanted to hate on him. His Arizona Cardinal team has really started to stumble as of late. You know, they're still running the ball well. Kyle's playing decent. But he just looked rattled early on. This defense was getting to him. They were hitting him.

They were turning the ball over. He had a great throw where he attacked Kobe Bryant on a corner route, scored a touchdown early in the game. But after that, this defense cut the water off. and just kept going all night long. We talked about the run game from the offense. This Seattle Seahawks team looks really good, and I can't wait to see them Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers next week.

That's going to be a great game, a game that really, I mean, I keep saying barometer, I keep saying litmus test. They've won four in a row, but this Packers team has looked really good. You saw them take your Detroit Lions to the wire, so if the Seattle Seahawks can go in there and get their fifth straight or host the Packers, and get their fifth straight. Oh, these conversations start to change, Mitchell, for this first year, coach Mike McDonald,

we have to start thinking, coach it a year, perhaps. I wouldn't go that far, Richard. I got a guy here in Detroit named Dan Campbell that would have an argument with you about that. But listen, this Seattle Seahawk team, they've surely impressed. And we question them. You certainly question them.

And I was scratching my head at the trade deadline, when they dealt both their linebackers. And it seemed like they totally revamped their linebacking core. And we both kind of questioned John Schneider at that point. But since then, four straight opponents held to 20 points or less. You know, this game did not start off great for them. Kyler Murray connected with Michael Wilson on a 40-yard, a 41-yard touchdown right out the gates.

And Seattle looked like they might be in for a long day. And then they recover immediately. This was a huge, huge, huge win for the. Seattle Seahawks, and you're absolutely right. I mean, next Sunday night against the Packers, when they host the Packers, that is going to be the bar because we saw San Francisco,

you know, look back like San Francisco. They're not out of the race, certainly, yet. There's still a couple weeks left in this season for them to make up ground. But if the Seattle Seahawks can continue their winning ways and put this division to bed, you've got to look out for them in the playoffs because Gino Smith, only six incompletions today.

I mean, you've got to love to see that from Gino. What do they have to do to take out the Packers? Because the Packers are in desperate need of it to win as well. It starts with stopping Josh Jacobs. That's going to be the biggest task. That's the task. I don't think anybody has done, including your Detroit Lions.

But your Detroit Lions, defense line is a lot more banged up. They have to have a plan to stop Josh Jacobs. If you stop Josh Jacobs, then you put more pressure on Jordan Love to really drop back. Matt LaFleur has not felt comfortable with allowing Jordan Love to throw the ball, born in 25, 20, 25 times a game. If he gets to throwing 30, 35 times a game, this team may be in trouble because he gets a little reckless with the football.

He starts to get a little chaotic, a little cavalier pushing the ball down the field, allowing, believing in his arm strength, believing in his arm, talent, and putting the ball in harm's way. We've seen that throughout the season. And that's why the last few games, you just have not seen them really pushed the ball

down the field as much as they had, earlier in the year, they really leaned on the run game. They're going to have to protect the football because Green Bay Packers turn it over at a really high level, especially on defense. Jeff Halfley's done a really great job all year long, just coaching his team, put them in good position. If they can get Jaya Alexander back, that'd be a huge boost for this defense and changed the way that they're covering.

Maybe they run a little bit more man coverage. So these receivers are going to have to beat man coverage consistently. But I'm just going to enjoy this one. This team has to feel good, going on the road, getting their fourth straight win. They look really good. They look confident. They look together. You could see just the camaraderie on defense, the togetherness, guys celebrating one another, celebrating all victories.

It's really cool to see. But you know what else is cool to see, Mitchell? Here comes the hat change. Hat change, Mitchell, hat change. The San Francisco 49ers. And they had a great bounceback game struggling. struggling, breaking a three-game losing streak that had me and everybody else really concerned. We can talk about all the injuries that they have, the guys that are out right now, the guys that went to IR,

but I don't want to talk about that right now. I want to talk about the guys that played right now. We're going to talk about Brock Purdy, 20 for 25, 325 yards, two touchdowns. Isaac Garindo, with a really impressive game, 15 carries for 78 yards to two touchdowns. touchdowns, two catches for 50 yards, really getting dynamic. One of them, I thought that could have been a touchdown. Brock Purdy put that ball up early. I thought Garindo was going to be able to roll into the end zone.

He wasn't able to do it. But George Kittle, welcome back, my friend. Welcome back to getting targets. The creativity and the play calling look great. A lot of screens, middle screens, outside screens, just pushing it over routes. Kittle was involved in just about every quarter of the game. game. They finally don't waste a good Joanne Jennings game. Seven catches for 90 yards, two touchdowns, and they get the win. You know, every other time, Jawan has a great game. They find a way

to stumble and lose that game. So I'm just happy for him. I'm happy for the team. He was going at, you know, their DBs. They were going back and forth with Jalen Johnson, friend of the program, and they were battling. It's always good to see that kind of battle. But San Francisco 49ers putting up these kind of points was really good to see. 38 points in the game against the Chicago defense that's played really good throughout this season and have a lot of talent. Roma Dunesay gets active, gets his first two, I mean, gets two touchdowns in this game. But Caleb Williams gets sacked seven times, which was great for the San Francisco VIII. Because without Nick Bosa, they just haven't been able to get home very consistently.

It was good to see Gross Matos, get his three sacks. Leonard Floyd got two sacks. It was a collective effort. and just you could see the sense of urgency from the D-Line. You could see the linebackers, everybody flying around. It looked like a really good team. Now I get to go to San Francisco this Thursday to watch my San Francisco 49ers play the L.A. Rams in a game that's going to be, it's going to, the loser of this game likely it kills their hopes at the playoffs, at the division.

Honestly, the Seattle Seahawks might have pulled away already with the division. vision, you know, in order for either of these teams to have a chance to win it, they're going to need some help and they're going to need some losses from the Seattle Seahawks, but anything's possible, it's the National Football League. The Chicago Bears started off the season four and two, and everyone was like, holy cow, maybe this NFC North is going to get four teams in the playoffs, and they've lost seven straight since. And you know they wanted this game bad, but the 49ers wanted it a lot more, and they needed it a lot more. They've been bruised. They've been battered. They've been without several of their best players. but they lean on the unknown. Isaac Grendo goes off. I mean, and like you said, you lean on the reliable George Kittle.

Richard, I promise you, whoever that two seed is in this NFL playoffs, if the San Francisco 49ers are able to sneak in as that seven seed, they are not going to want to see them. For the love of God, please do not have the Detroit Lions be the two seed and play in the San Francisco 49ers at home. I do not want to see that match up. San Francisco, if they can get this ship righted, look out down the stretch. The NFL season is rowing along and contenders are starting to separate from the pack.

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Void in Ontario. See Sportsbook.draftings.com slash football. Terms for eligibility and deposit restrictions, terms and responsible gaming resources. It's time, Mitchell. It's time to look at this weekend's tastiest matchup in a segment.

We're calling Sunday night football. Of course, it's the Buffalo Bills versus the L.A. Rams in L.A. Not a game everybody saw L.A. having a chance at, including myself. The Buffalo Bills have been rolling. Josh Allen getting MVP chance in every stadium he goes to because Buffalo Bills fans travel well,

but not so fast, my friend, Old Lee Corso. When you're playing Matt Stafford, you better bring your lunch bill and you better bring your offense. And they did. The Buffalo Bills scored 42 points in this game, and I'm sure if they walked in thinking, hey, Josh Allen's going to have five touchdowns, or six touchdowns. He's going to throw for three, he's going to run for three. We're going to score 42 points.

Kalilshikir is going to have five kicks for 106 yards. Amori Cooper, six catches for 95 yards. You're like, that's a duh. No. No, not this time. Matt Stafford, 23 of 30, 320 yards, two touchdowns. Didn't get sacked once. you had to give that Rams offensive line a lot of credit because this is a defense that gets pressure on the quarterback.

They give a lot of exotic looks. They bring pressure. They get home. And they were not able to sack him once. But Pooka Nakua, the game Pooka Nekua had was legendary. Some of those catches just left me scratching my head because I just couldn't explain it. I mean, the one where he backed up and kind of went over his shoulder, got his feet down, landed, and then another one on the same sideline,

pushed the defender by, by, catch it over his head, like incredible catches. And then the screen for the dagger touchdown to finish this game all. Cooper Cup doing, you know, five for 92 in a touchdown, but doing all the dirty work, blocking, had a huge block on the final Puka Nakuwa touchdown. It was a really great play, just sacrificing. These guys, Kyron William, has 29 rushes

87 yards and two touchdowns. They're doing, they're scraping, clawing, doing everything they can to win these ball games. But Buffalo Bill's losing a game like this. After everybody told me that it was, that's the reason why Josh Allen was, his candidacy was so great. And mind you, Josh Allen really raised his bar

and scored six touchdowns in this game. So his MVP candidacy for the numbers guy goes up tremendously. But for the argument that everybody's been trying to make about, hey, it's because his team is winning so much. Now they have their third loss. Is that changed the argument at all? Is that make it better? Is it worse now?

Now the bill's got to go to Detroit and beat the Detroit Lions so they could potentially beat 10 and 4 or they can go 11 and 3. But if they're 10 and 4, does that change things? Like, that's why this whole thing, that whole idea and that whole argument was just, It was not great. Josh Allen had an MVP-like performance today, 230, I mean, 342 yards, three touchdowns, passing, three rushing, 10 carries for 82 yards. Like, that's impact.

That's a huge impact. That's MVP candidate, but you have to look at the overall. He's having MVP performances when his team needs them late in the season. That's definitely going to bolster his chances. But if they lose these games down the stretch, and other teams win, that's going to bolster their chance. Like if the Philadelphia Eagles would have lost this game,

that would diminish Sequin Barclay's chances. But he just became the all-time leading, I broke the single-season rushing record for the Philadelphia Eagles already, and it's only week 14. And so he has three more weeks to put up more yards and break it even further and push down below. That's what MVP candidates. It's always special seasons, records breaking.

you know, leading the league. That's the kind of things you say about MVP candidates. I'm sorry. I know they don't want to give it to a running back, and they're saying you can't give it to a running back anymore, yada, yada, yada. But at some point, you got to look and say, when Seekleon Hurst do for 130 yards this game,

something like that. It wasn't a great game from Jalen Hertz by any stretch of the imagination. And if he's playing like that and the Philadelphia Eagles are still winning the games, it's because Sequin Barkley is taken over. And he was running his butt off. And that's the story every single week.

This team goes as Sequin Barclay goes. And they stumble when Staqon Barkley is not having a great game. He just has not had many great, bad games this season, so they don't lose. But, you know, that's my little TED talk for the day, Mitchell. The Buffalo Bills have a tough week next week against the lines. We already talked about the Rams going to San Francisco to play. San Francisco 49ers. I'm excited to be there for that week, for that game.

and that's this week's Sunday night food ball brought to you by Uber Eats, the official on-demand delivery partner of the NFL. Uber has the best game day deals all season long. Order now for game day. The L.A. Rams are 7 and 6. The Seattle Seahawks are 8 and 5. L.A. Rams, if they play like this down the stretch,

they're healthy. They're getting all their playmakers involved. Seattle's doing the same thing and they're looking a hell of a lot better. Do you have that much faith that Seattle Seahawks can hold this team down with four games renting in the schedule? Well, anything could happen. I mean, I can't say I predicted any of this to happen the way it did. And so I don't know. If the Seattle Seahawks keep winning, they control their destiny.

And it's always tough when you don't control your destiny. If the Seattle Seahawks keep winning, it's their division, they go away with it. The San Francisco 49ers only change. is to win it go in as a wildcard team as the seventh seed. And so there's a lot of things that got to happen there for them to get in as that last wildcard team. But win and give yourself the best chance. You know, at this point, I think they got to win every game. They got to win out. And just to give themselves a shot at 10 and 7 and at 10 and 7, you know, I'm sure they'll have an argument. You know, I'm not sure they have every tiebreaker, obviously. But that will be

be giving themselves the best chance. And these guys are continuing to fight hard. They're going to get healthier. And if they do get in those playoffs, it's going to be a very difficult team to beat. They're going to be a very difficult team to put out of these playoffs. And so we'll see. 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 us. We're the 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 actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.

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

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

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I mean, every year we're talking about how the hell are they about to make the playoffs again? And they're not only making the playoffs, their borderline running away with the United States. this division. There's six and one since Russ has been a starter. Let's talk about Russ right now. He didn't have the best statistical game, but he's without his number one option. And George Pickens, I know they're playing the lowly Cleveland Browns, but the Browns just beat him two weeks ago. How impressed are you with the Steelers right now and the way they're showcasing to the NFL that they are true competitors for the whole kit and caboodle, the Super Bowl? Well, I mean, this defense really stepped up this game. Obviously, you just talked about Russ and what he's done. I mean, he was 15 or 26, 158 yards, two touchdowns. You know, not a ton of action. But like you said, George Pickens was out, really leaned on Mike Williams a little bit more, Calvin Austin, a little bit more. Naji Harris still running the ball well, 16 carries, 53 yards, you know, just doing enough. But that defense, Cam Hayward, huge plays. James Pierre with the interception, Keanu, Benton, Bent.

with the interception. That's the big reason why they win this game. And it's happened both ways because against the Cincinnati Bengals, the offense had scored 44 points and, you know, went off and when they needed to have it. And this game, the defense steps up, holds James Wilson to 12 yards, holds this offense to 14 points. The offense scores 27 points. And that's what this team, they're so balanced.

They're so balanced. And they're going to have a tough decision at the end of the season to make. with in regards to Russell Wilson and what they want to do with his contract, what they want to do going forward because he's making himself some money. You know, anytime you're winning in this league, he's six and one as a starter this year. You're going to ask for the money you deserve. And, you know, it's going to be up to him whether he takes a deal, you know, that's friendlier to the team or he tries to maximize his earning potential. You know, I think at this point in his career, he's earned a lot of money. He's made his money.

so maybe he takes a more team-friendly deal, you know, a $40 million a year or so deal, you know, spread out a different way or figure, you know, maneuvered or figured out a different way. You know, maybe he wants $60 million like that guy, you know, and again, he has the leverage in this situation, especially if he continues to play well to ask for whatever he wants to. He plays quarterback in the National Football League. Are you going to come off a really good season and let the guy walk away because of some money? The fans and the backlash would be great. In Russell's case, are you really going to leave a situation that seems perfectly tailored to your skill set, perfectly tailored to who you are, a supportive defense, a good run game, an offense coordinator, and Arthur Smith, who understands you.

You know, it seems like a perfect match, and I don't think he's going to let money get in a way of them continuing this in the future. This is a great coach, an all-time coach and Mike Tomlin, who's done a really good job with him. So I think, you know, the way this team has embraced him, the way he's changed himself to fit this culture and to really step in and help this team in the way he has, he's going to deserve the money he can ask for, but it's going to be what you value more. And I think he's going to value the fit more than the money.

And so he'll probably take a more team-friendly deal going forward. He got a lot of money from the Seattle Seahawks, got a lot of money from Denver. Now you got to worry about, you know, legacy and reputation and all that going forward. And you don't want to end up with another bad situation after you were in a perfect situation because of the money. How times have changed five years ago.

I mean, Richard, if you're saying a team friendly deal is $40 million a year, then God bless it. I'll take it. God bless. And you know what? I mean, to your point, Rich, this, I don't want to call him the Seattle Seahawks, and I'm not going to call him that. But from a structure standpoint, you're right.

I mean, they've got everything Russ needs. They've got an absolute behemoth of a defense, and they got just enough playmaking weapons on the offensive side of the ball. And Najee Harris is a bruiser. I mean, I don't want to call him Marshawn Lynch, and I'm not going to call him that, but he's got a similar running style to him. And you know what? We'll see what the Steelers can do.

Down the stretch, they have a brutal ending of this season. The next four games, they're at Philly, they're at Baltimore. They host the Kansas City Chiefs, and they finish off against Cincinnati. We will see what this Pittsburgh Steeler team is truly made of down this stretch. But tell you what, I can't believe this stat is real, but it is. Cleveland has lost 21 straight home games to Pittsburgh. And Richard, I'm telling you, if you're a Cleveland fan, we've got something that might help you out with tomorrow's hangover from another loss.

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Feel great or your money back on your first order. Head over to no dayswasted.com forward slash Richard and use code Richard to get 20% off your order. That's no dayswasted.com forward slash Richard. for 20% off and free shipping. Link is in the description. We got to talk about the NFC North and the Minnesota Vikings. This was going to be a tough test for them. Kirk Cousins coming back to town.

Atlanta Falcons, a lot of motivation to get a win in Minnesota for Kirkgo. And it looked decent, you know, at the first half, early in the second half, and then all of a sudden Minnesota took over. It's time to talk about Sam Darnold. and this team, because I don't know if it's going to be a one season and done for him in Minnesota. He looks like he's found a new home. Richard, they just drafted J.J. McCarthy with a first round pick. How do you handle this situation if you're the GM of the Minnesota Vikings?

Do you let Sam walk? Do you assign him to a couple of year deal? Obviously, he's going to want some money. What do you do if you're Minnesota? What if you're doing if you're Sam Darnold? If you're Sam Darnold, you're maximizing your potential. you're maximizing your earning potential. You want to be a starter and you want long-term security.

And if you're the Minnesota Vikings, I don't see anything that shows you you shouldn't give it to him. You know, he's having a really good season. Maybe you can look at his past and whatever and whatever and say, ah, is this fool's gold? Is this real? But none of this looks like law. It doesn't look like he's just, oh, man, it's tipped passes or anything like that. He's going through his progressions. It just seems like a hand-in-glove fit in Minnesota.

And so I can't see them really moving on from him and really restarting with J.J. McCarthy. Maybe they would. You know, they spent a high draft pick on him. But if that happened, I expect Sam Donald to get to find work somewhere else and get a really, really lucrative contract, whether that's the New York Giants. It doesn't. It would be really crazy if it's the New York Jets. I mean, you talk about full circle. Oh, my God.

I couldn't imagine. Sheesh, that'd be a storyline. It could be a number of teams. be the Raiders if they don't draft Chador Sanders or Ward in the draft. You know, if they don't take a quarterback or if they don't get the guy that they want. So there's a number of situations he could walk into and become the day one starter. But I think it's in Minnesota's best interest to just keep continuity. You know, maybe you give yourself an out after two years and then give JJ a chance.

But I don't think you bring a rookie off coming off an ACL injury into the National Football League who hasn't played a down. and replace a quarterback playing as well as Sam Darnold has been for your team and really winning you a lot of these games. To have five touchdowns this game, 22 of 28 for 347 a career high, five touchdowns a career high, 157.9 pass a rating, almost a perfect passer rating. It just seems like the receivers trust him. He's got a great rapport with him. Jordan Addison, eight for 133, three touchdowns.

Justin Jefferson, seven catches for 132. Two touchdowns. I think you're going to have a hard time having a conversation with those guys and saying, we couldn't pay Sam. He's gone. We got JJ, and you guys will figure it out with him. These guys are having really, really impressive seasons with him. And I know that they've had success with her cousins before,

but you just, I don't know how many times you're going to be able to keep doing this. And maybe JJ McCarthy comes in and it does just as well, but I don't want to risk that if I'm, if I'm the Minnesota Vikings. Well, the Minnesota Vikings, they've obviously had a heck of a seat. He's in 10 and 2 now. You know, coming into this game, the whole talk of the NFC North is my Detroit Lions. And yet Minnesota is only a game back. And again, you got the emotions of Kirk Cousins coming back into town and they get it done and they double them up, 42 to 21.

Kudos to the Minnesota Vikings. I mean, this team there, they've got so many dynamic weapons on the offensive side of the ball. And then defensively, they're so well coached and they just get it done week in and week out. this Minnesota Vikings team is a force to be reckoned with, and I just hope they stumble up down the stretch. So the week, you know, the final week of the season against Detroit Lions is meaningless because you'd hate to see a shootout in Ford Field. But let's flip the script to Atlanta.

This team started off hot, and now they're six and seven. They've had a four-game losing streak. Kirk Cousins has struggled in that four games. Zero touchdowns over four games, eight interceptions, six to pass, rating 15 interceptions so far. Richard, is it time that they close that chapter on Kirk Cousins and turn the keys over to the car to Michael Pennix Jr. Their first round draft pick?

I don't know. I don't know. I just don't know if that's the answer. You know, maybe it is. And you put him out there. But for Fontenau to pay Kirk Cousons $50 million a year and put him on the bench and then know that next year you're going into the next year with him on the bench as the backup, a $50 million backup is just the kind of conversation that gets people fired.

And so I don't think they'd sit in because you have $50 million backing up. Just could you imagine every game that's a talking point. And so every time the rookie has stumbles or throws the interception or makes a mistake, it's going to be like, well, why do you have $50 million sitting on a bench? Or when you can't afford a free agent, why do you have $50 million sitting on a bench? there are just so many conversations and Kirk is struggling in a really big way right now, but hopefully he's able to

come out of it and play well. He's played well at points of this season. He threw for 344 yards. He did throw the two interceptions. But they were battling in this game for a while and it was really closer than the score showed. They got away from

them late. This Minnesota Vikings defense, Byron Murphy made a really great interception, one-handed interception in this game. But I don't think you can bench him. I don't think you can bench him at this point of the season. I don't think you can bench him with all the money you have invested into him because I just don't think you have a way to answer those questions this off season

about what you're going to do with the guy you promise. He has a hundred-something million guaranteed. So it's not like you could just cut him in and, hey, next season you don't have to pay a salary. You're going to be paying them fully guaranteed money next year. So you've got to just, this is the decision you made, this is the guy, and you got to stick with them good or bad. you got to keep going. Well, his replacement in Minnesota, Sam Darnold, has earned this week's

players in prime time brought to you by our friends and partners at Brightling. Richard, I switched it up today because considering the Lions played on Thursday, and I went with my alternative Brightling watch. It's a beauty. What do you think? Crispy. Yeah, beautiful. Well, Sam Darnold is a recipient.

We already talked about it, man. I mean, listen, I'm not going to throw him in the MVP conversation, but his stat line today certainly was deserving of such 347, 5 touchdowns of 157.9 passer rating. Shout out to Sam Darnold, our players in primetime recipient of the week brought to you by our friends and partners at Brightling. Richard, I want to talk about my Honolulu Blue and Silver. I hosted you in town this week in Detroit. I mean, first off, I mean, listen, the Richard Sherman podcast has become the official podcast of the Lions. here, I feel like in Detroit.

You know, a lot of folks talking about your podcast here in Detroit, and we're excited to see you come to Detroit. You've spoken a lot of kind words about my Detroit lines over the last couple of years. And what was your rating of Detroit as a city, as your time here? What was your thoughts on Detroit overall? Well, Mitchell, I loved it. I loved the people, the energy, the Christmas decorations. There was Christmas cheer.

And any city that I come to that has Christmas cheer and holiday spirit and great football, they get a high rating for me. Mitchell, that was a nine out of ten. And we had a blast that was a ten out of ten. I enjoyed our time at Joy, Joy Bell's place. It was really fun. Really, really good food, good vibes, good energy. And then the stadium, the stadium, the fans, the energy, the staff.

Everybody was so positive. Everybody was so optimistic. Everybody was so energetic and so excited. And they deserve it. They deserve this season. fans have been loyal and dedicated for so long, and they get to finally see their team come home and win week after week. Jared Gough has a really good game.

32 or 41, 283, three touchdowns. Did have the one interception to my guy, Kishon Nixon, friend of the program. We've got to have him on here soon. But they really did a really great job. Zadari Smith in this defensive line of misfits, you know, guys that you had to look up as they were making plays. Aaron Glenn deserves to be a head coach. And I hope you guys don't lose both your coordinators,

but there's a chance you lose both your coordinators this year. And that's one of the things about being a really good team is they take from you. They take from good teams. Everybody wants some of what you're doing. They want what you're doing. They want some of a piece of that pie so that they can help increase their team and help their team win games. what he's been able to do with a bunch of guys that he just got off the street that he elevated from practice squad.

He gets the tip of the cap from me because this is this Green Bay Packers team is a really good team. And Josh Jacobs has been running the ball down in just about everybody's throats. He was held 18 carries for 66 yards, which isn't a bad game. He had three rushing touchdown, but it's not the kind of game that he's been having in the past. Christian Watson has the four catches for 114 yards, but lost a fumble. a great play made by Carlton Davis, you know, didn't give up on the play, punched it out. It was able to be recovered. We talked about Kishon Nixon and his interception.

His Green Bay Packers team is really good, but they needed this win. They fall to 9 and 4. Now two, three games behind the Detroit Lions for the division. But like you said, it's the Minnesota Vikings that you got to worry about and you play them at the end of the season. Jemir Gibbs continues his excellent season with, 73 all-purpose yards, the receiving touchdown. Tim Patrick has two touchdowns in the game.

It just seems like this team doesn't care who gets the ball, doesn't care who gets the credit, doesn't care who gets the success. They just want to win. And you can see it each and every week. You can see it each and every play. Guys are doing whatever it takes. Blocking, tackling, hitting.

Panais Sewell is catching passes. He didn't catch any of this game. But every time, every week, you look up, they run in another play for them. They ran like a reverse for him a couple weeks ago. I said, what are we doing now? We're running traps with Penaiseul getting the ball. But I'm excited for this game coming up against the bills in Detroit.

That's going to be the game of the week. I would imagine Josh Allen and his crew coming into Detroit to play this very talented Detroit Lions team. They win that game. They're going to have a claim as the best team in the National Football League. and it's going to be very difficult to say it's close. Depending on what happens tonight with the Kansas City Chiefs, I think that's going to be a dogfight of a division game with the Chargers.

We'll see how that goes. But your Detroit lines are the beast. It can't be the beast in the east. The best in the Midwest? That's got a ring to it. Well, they've won 11 straight games, Richard. But critical fourth and one down the stretch. I think it was about 40 seconds left in the game.

And I know you shared a conversation with Jared Gough postgame about what was going between Dan Campbell and his mind. What was that conversation? Because I think it's important for the Detroit fan base and, heck, the National Football League fan base to hear what was going through a mind between player and coach when you're facing a fourth and one in field goal range with 40 seconds left. Richard, what was the words you share with Jared Gough post game? well, Mitchell, it wasn't me. He was having a conversation with Andrew Whitworth. Well, he's having a conversation with all of us. And Whit was like, hey, what was the conversation like on the sideline before that fourth and one?

And Jared, you know, the summary is, Jared basically comes over and Dan's on the headset, you know, telling him, hey, we're kicking it and just get the field goal team ready. We're going to stand here. We're going to talk it through. But we're going to kick it. And Jared, you know, dejected. It's like, man, man, I want to go. and Dan Campbell just looks at him and said, you want to do it?

F it, we're going for it. And then he changes his mind and goes for it. And he trusts his men, he trusts his team, he trusts his offensive line, that they're going to get it done for him. And some people may look at that and be like, hey, is that really how it should go? Yeah, that's how it should go.

You can do all the analytics in the world. You can say, oh, man, this percentage and this percentage. But at the end of the day, do you trust your team? Do you believe in your guys? And if your quarterback says he thinks they can get it done and you say, I'm going to believe in my quarterback and what he sees and what he does, that's a gut feeling. And that's what his team is ready to run through walls for Dan Campbell.

Because he believes in them like they believe in him. And he is a leader of men. And as a leader of men, in order to show them leadership, you have to show them trust and faith and belief. And that is what he did. He said, hey, if we lose, I lost with my men the way they wanted to go out. I didn't play it conservative. I didn't play it soft.

I didn't play scared. Scared money, don't make no money. And they rich in Detroit right now. It's Dan Gamble season here in Detroit. And we talked about it last season. I'll never forget my rant when they lost the San Francisco 49th is an NFC championship game. They live by the sword. They die by the sword.

Today they won by that sword. On Thursday, they run by that sword. And, you know, kudos to him for believing in his men. You got to love to see the emotion he displayed after the game. This Lions team faces a huge opponent in the Buffalo Bills, fresh off a loss. This next Sunday's game is going to be one that I'm sure America is going to tune into. And I'm so proud to be a Detroit right now. I love to see this 11 straight.

Let's keep this train rolling. Richard, I'm thrilled that you are on the train. I like to think you're an honorary member of the Detroit Lions bandwagon, and I'm just going to leave it at that. I'm going to buy you a Detroit Lions hat so you can swap into that when we do these game breakdowns. Well, Mitchell, I have no problem putting on that Honolulu blue Detroit Lion hat. I am a fan of the program. I'm a fan of what they're doing. I'm a fan of Dan.

Dan gets it done, and I respect it. Well, this has been another Richard Sherman podcast, and I appreciate it. And I appreciate you. It's week 14. Like I said before, if your team's doing great, fantastic, let's get to these playoffs. If your team's doing bad, start studying college because there might be a savior somewhere in there. And I appreciate every single one of you guys for tuning in. You could be anywhere in the world, but you're here with us, and we sure do appreciate it.

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