The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Richard Sherman Podcast - Week 3: 49ers COLLAPSE vs. Rams, Seahawks 3-0, Ravens beat Cowboys

Episode Date: September 23, 2024

Richard Sherman reacts to Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season, including the San Fransisco 49ers blowing a fourth quarter lead against Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams, spoiling stellar performances by Brock Purdy and Jauan Jennings as they stepped up in an offense playing without stars Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and Deebo Samuel. The Seattle Seahawks were able to seize control of the NFC West as Geno Smith and Mike Macdonald's stellar defense lead Seattle over the Miami Dolphins for their third consecutive win to start the year. Also, Richard reacts to Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens taking out Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys, Caleb Williams' struggles continuing as the Chicago Bears lost to the Indianapolis Colts, Sam Darnold looking like an MVP candidate as the 3-0 Minnesota Vikings blew out C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans, the Detroit Lions nipping at their heels (and kneecaps) in the NFC North as they shut down Kyler Murray's Arizona Cardinals, Andy Dalton taking over Bryce Young and leading the Carolina Panthers over the Las Vegas Raiders, and Justin Fields further complicating the QB1 battle in Pittsburgh as he led the Steelers to a 20-10 victory over Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers in the absence of Russell Wilson. #volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Notice, sir. New balls for these yo kids don't. Super Bowl. Championship. That should always be the expectation. All right, man. That's going on here. Welcome back to the Richard Sherman podcast, a very chaotic and exciting week, Mitchell.

I can't believe some of these games, some of the teams that won, some of the teams that didn't win. but we'll start in Seattle where it went really well. Then we'll get all the way to your Detroit lines, Mitchell. I know you want to talk about them. I do, Rich. But you got to start out west. Your Seattle Seahawks are 3 and O,

taking over the NFC West. No team within what, two games of them right now, Richard. This came out of nowhere, frankly. Seattle playing against a Miami Dolphin team without Tungo Viloa really took control early and never relinquished. Richard, what are your thoughts and impressions after this game? Because you've got to be sitting there feeling pretty darn good as a Seattle Seahawk alum.

Yeah, Mitchell, it's one of those things. You've got to feel really good. If you're Mike McDonald, you couldn't have asked for a better start to go win the first game against the Denver Broncos, to go to Gillette and beat the New England Patriots with everything that they've done, their history. They're not at their best right now, but still a huge world win. Coast time zone, then to come home, a banged-up Miami Dolphins team, but to do what you're expected to do. They gave up three points in the ballgame on this defense. They had six sacks,

and it's just the way that they're getting home. Right now, Mike McDonald has these guys playing in the perfect position. Dremont Jones. He's not in a three. He's not in the nose. He's at an end, sometimes a five, sometimes a four, but he's in a better spot than he was last year. Jaron Reed is in a perfect spot. They lost Byron Murphy and Leonard Williams during the game. That did not change anything. Oye Maffei, a name that you need to get familiar with because the National Football League is getting familiar with it

because he's picking up where he left off last year where he was one of the top pass rushers in terms of win rate in terms of pressure percentages and things like that. Now he's finishing the job. Then you got Derek Hall, a guy that they were really hyped about early on, the past regime that drafted him, didn't have the kind of production you would want in his first year. And now, again, in the perfect system, these guys, it's almost like they drafted these guys for Mike McDonald. I can see why he came to the Seahawks organization

because he saw this D-line. He saw how much they invested into it. He said, we can add a little bit more to it. They have the secondary. They have the secondary play in Witherspoon and Tariq Woolen and Jordan Love and Jenkins. And they feel good about the linebackers that they could potentially bring in. And Tarell Dotson got a sack in this game. I mean, the pressure was coming from everywhere. They were recovering well.

They were swarming. And then offensively, Gino. Gino. Gino, Gino deserves a ton of credit for what he was able to do. to 34, 289, the touchdown. He did have the two interceptions. Zach Charbonnet, Charbonnet, had his best game as a pro, 18 rushes for 91 yards, breaking tackles,

running a very physical game. They still look at it to get K-9 back, but as he comes back, this is just going to make the Seahawks a better team. Rishon Jenkins had 10 tackles in the game, but D.K. Medcalf had that very long catch and touchdown run. I know that had to feel. feel good for him and Gino Smith to just have that kind of connection, to have an explosive play early in the ball game, a huge highlight play that really sparked this team and got this Seahawks fan base into this game early on, and they never relented this lead.

Obviously, I thought there were some lulls at times offensively where they could keep their foot on the gas and continue to punch and continue to take shots, continue to develop Tyler Lockett had a solid game. Noah Fant had a good game, six catches for 60 yards, but they just need to continue to keep their foot on the gas offensively because defensively, I think they kept their foot on the gas the whole game. They kept bringing pressures even when Tim, you know, they came in, Scholar Thompson had 107 yards in the game. He got knocked out of the game.

Then they brought Tim Boyle in. Tim Boyle got sacked one time. Scholar Thompson got sacked five times. Like, that's what you want to see. A game like this, a team you're supposed to beat, you want to see you dominate them in this way, dominate them defensively, let the crowd noise get into it. And we heard it the whole game.

There was off-size. There was false starts. There was chaos. There was Mike McDaniels burning timeouts throughout the game. This was a very tough environment. They played well against a run in the past. And to do that with the injuries that they have, it's really exciting. And now for a segment brought to you by Uber Eats, the almost, almost perfect defense where we

highlight the NFL defense that put on the week's best. performance. This week, obviously it was the Seattle Seahawks. We just talked about him. Boyer Maffe, Derek Hall, Tarell Dotson, Jaron Reed, getting home. I mean, holding this offense to three points overall. They've been playing great defense all year, and they continue to do so. I look forward to them and seeing what they can do against the Detroit Lions. The Seattle Seahawks are this week's Uber Eats, almost, almost perfect defense. and remember, you can order almost, almost anything you want with Uber Eats. The official on-demand delivery partner of the NFL order now.

Now they go to your boys, Mitchell. They got a date with the Detroit Lions coming off a very big win in Arizona. Tell me what you thought about that game. Well, before we get into that game, Richard, my thought process on Seattle is this. D.K. Metcalf has shown up, especially in the last two games. I mean, back-to-back, 100-plus. yard games. 17 receptions on the season already.

If he continues at this pace, Rich, and they get a true, you know, all-pro contender at wideout. Richard, this offense takes another step. D.K. Mechap, just to me, looks like a different player this season. He looks like he's elevated his game a lot. You add Zach Charbonnet along with K-9. Seattle scares me next week, Richard, against the Detroit Lions. They've had their way with the Lions of recent.

It scares me that they're coming back to Detroit. in prime time. We're going to see who Seattle really is because common layman, Denver, Patriots, and now Tuatungo Viola Liss Miami Dolphins. I don't know what to think of Seattle with that schedule. Next week's the test. Richard, let's break it down because the Detroit Lions

had a lot of people, including myself, worried after last week's loss against Tampa Bay. and they go on the road against Arizona, and Arizona's getting a lot of hype for the way they've played the last two games. You know, they lose on the road in a tough game against the bills and then come home last week and absolutely dominate. And now here we are, Detroit, fresh off of Tampa Bay loss, going to Arizona, going cross-country.

And Richard, the game got tight a little bit late, but I was actually quite surprised at how well the Lions maintain themselves throughout this game. Jared Goff looked like he was back to himself. He had one lousy interception there that gave Arizona extra life. But you saw Detroit get back to basics. They got back to basics with the run game. David Montgomery got it going.

23 runs for 105 yards and a touchdown. You know, they go down first drive, run, run, run, hammered in the end zone. They get Jemir Gibbs involved. And then they get cute with the nice hook and ladder the Jemir gives right before halftime. I mean, Richard, this is what we thought we would see coming into. of the season for the Lions and we're seeing some life. They still got to grow a bit because they had an opportunity to put this game to

bed early and alleviate all concerns. And they couldn't find the end zone late. And that's where I think they need to improve. Aidan Hutchinson, like I told you, Rich, watch out for this Detroit Lions defense. I think they're going to be top 10 in the league and they're showing it as such. They got a first team all pro. I'm calling it right now on Aidan Hutchinson on that line. He leads the league in sacks with six and a half.

I mean, they're secondary as much improved. Richard, I love the chances for the Lions against Seattle on Monday night. I think this team's going to come out with a lot of hunger. They know how important this game is. They know how tough Seattle is as an opponent. They're going to respect this team. And I see the Lions coming out ahead. I don't want to jinx it because I know this is what I said about Tampa Bay,

but I feel very, very confident. Richard, what are your thoughts on this team? Because are they going to get back into your top five of the power ranks? because I think they kind of deserved it a little bit here. No, they're not, Mitchell. They're not. And I say this with as much respect as I can give. There are just other teams playing out of their minds right now,

and I have to give them that kind of respect. But this Detroit Lions team did take a step up. There's going to be a little controversy. Obviously, that play where the play got dead, the play was called dead. It was two-minute warning, but it looked like a pick six. Some guys stopped playing. Some guys didn't stop playing. I've never seen a ref call that.

I've never seen a ref stop a game. at the snap when it was that close to the two-minute warning. I've never seen that, but it happened, and Detroit was able to withstand that kind of play. They ran the ball really well. I mean, I don't know too many teams that are going to have a guy rushed the ball 23 times and then have another guy rush it 16 more times. But that's the kind of game that Detroit wanted to play in this ball game,

and I respect that. They threw the ball 23 times. Jared Golf was really efficient. And you talked about the one interception, but to be able to run the ball that effectively, Jemir Gibbs had 16 carries for 83 yards. That would be a good game for a running back period alone in its own microcosm. But to have David Montgomery carry it for 23 more times for 105 yards in another TD, and then Jemir Gibbs at the receiving TD on top of that,

you're talking about one of the most dynamic backfields in the National Football League, and they continue to show that. And that's why you should feel really good about this team. but defensively, I think Aiden Hutchinson is doing great. Obviously, Kirby Joseph with the interception, played a good game. Kyler Murray is a tough opponent. I mean, he's ripping and running all around. They held Marvin Harrison Jr.

Relatively in check, five catches for 61 yards. They protected Derek golf pretty well. Obviously, they have a lot investing into this offensive line. And Aiden Hutchinson definitely has a case to lead to league with six and a half sacks. but you know you still got guys like miles garrett t j watt huge names like that that are never ever too far from that all pro list so um he's definitely off to the best start of his career and a fantastic start that nobody can can argue with um but i got to let this continue to play out i think it's going to be a really good game with the seattle seahawks i'm glad it's on monday night football

the world gets to watch it's going to be two quality opponents um and i cannot call that one Cliff April is going to be there, alumni of both teams. And it's going to be a really fun deal. Thursday night football is on and it's only on prime video. It's the best season yet, packed with big rivalries and even bigger stars. Join Al Michaels, Kirk Herb Street and Kaylee Hardtong every week for the games you can't miss. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. Eastern with football's best party. TNF tonight.

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I know you've got to be. tremendously bummed. I thought they had complete control of this game. I thought they were going to weather the injury storm without Debo, without CMC, without George Kittle. There were a lot of variables working against them today. I think a lot of fans, myself included, took the Rams very lightly. They did not have either their top two wide outs in Cooper Cup or Nukukukukukukuk. But Richard, when you put the ball in the hands of a gunslinger like Matthew Stafford, this is what he does. He loves chasing teams while behind. He did this all the time in Detroit. And there's nothing better than for him to take a team from behind on the road, or at home, I'm sorry, against a division

foe. Richard, I know you've got to be devastated here. At what level of concern do you have for the 49ers in the state they're in right now starting to season off one and two? Well, I got a lot of concern for the defensive side of the ball, the strength. What I would have said and everybody else in the world would have said is the strength of this team and has been the strength for a number of years, number of all pro players.

We talk about it all the time. Tala Noah Hufanga returned to the lineup. Was really impactful in this game, had seven tackles. You talk about the big paid guys like Javon Hargrave, Nicholas John Bosa, the all pro for it, Warner.

Tavarius Ward has been playing like a top quarterback throughout the years. And Diomador Lenore, friend of the program, has had a number of, of incredible plays and really good seasons that he's put together. And none of that, none of that was the case today. That's what.

Tutu Atwell was able to have his way. Huge catch late in the fourth quarter with Tarveris Ward in coverage. That's a play. I'm sure he wants back a play you can't have. And as a dominating defense, you cannot allow a team that's this banged up offensively. And I told, I helped my breath. And I said this is a kind of a trap game. When they're that beat up on the offensive line,

it should be a blowout game for San Francisco 49ers. They should be able to get home. They did not get at home as much as I would think against Matthew Stafford. They got three sacks, but that's not enough in a game where their offensive line is just beat up. They don't have a really true number one receiver. They're with backups and practice squad receivers. Tyrone Williams is a good back.

But, I mean, Matthew Stafford didn't complete a pass until 826 in the second quarter. Eight minutes and 26 seconds into the second quarter is when he completed his first pass. But when he gets going, Mitchell, when he gets going, he gets going. And then you have the pump return. The pump return. The special teams, miscues continue to stack up.

And when you're an elite, when you're an elite, a contender, these aren't the things that you can have happen. You have to have things you can depend on that you can hang your hat on and say, hey, no matter what, these are the things that we're going to have. And this is going to take away from an incredible game from Brock Purdy, an incredible game from Joanne Jennings. Joanne Jennings 11 catches 175 yards, three touchdowns,

deserves praise, deserves credit, deserves celebration. Brock Purdy was 22 or 30, 292 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, ran the ball 41 for 41 yards. He did lose the one fumble when Colton McIvitt. got beat really badly early on, and he got got. Force fumble, he lost that fumble. That's a play. I mean, they have to get cleaned up.

Yeah, I mean, you can't have that from Colton McEvich. You can't have that. You can't get beat that bad. And I know we don't want to talk bad about players, but, I mean, that's just an unacceptable play for a pro to have. And when you have those unacceptable plays, there's going to be criticism of satched with it. Jake Moody missed a field goal that could have easily helped this team. win this ball game. The play at the end of the game was cool.

There was a lot of talkbacks. Guys getting the ball down the field. It was a fun play to watch, but it's not a fun play to watch unless San Francisco 49ers win the ball game. And they did not. Critical drop from Ronnie Bell. I mean, just unexcusable. There were seven drops in this game from the San Francisco 49ers.

Those are unacceptable numbers. And we can talk about Debo Samuel being out. We talk about George Kittle being out. We can talk about Christian McCaffrey being out. No. No. No, no, that was not the reason they lost this game. The offense moved the ball.

The offense scored effectively. The offense, I mean, they had a chance. They had a chance to close this game out many times, but drop passes. Lack of execution, damned him. Jordan Mason had 19 carries for 77 yards, a solid game, not his best game, not a game that we're accustomed to see him from him. But you got to think, Sean McVeigh knows this offense because he runs this offense. So both sides were going to have some limitations, but as this defense that we hold in such regard for obvious reasons, because they've earned this, they got to play better.

They have to. Your best players have to play your best. And this has been consecutive games because they didn't play great outside of Fred Warner. And Bosa had two sacks against the Minnesota Vikings, but you need to play better against the Minnesota Vikings. but you need to play better against the Minnesota Vikings. And they play pretty good football against the Jets. But it's one of those things that there's going to have to be some conversations. And I'm sure there will be conversations in a locker room where they're saying,

hey, we're better than this. It's not time to panic or time to point fingers or start infighting. But it is time to wake up. It's time to start taking this more seriously. It's time to understand this is the National Football League. there are no easy games. And to drop a game like this means you're going to have to, you don't have any margin for error.

The Seattle Seahawks are at the top of the NFC West right now. Three and O having lost the game. They go to Detroit, a really tough game in Detroit. And then they, in a couple weeks, they played the San Francisco 49ers. And that's going to be a game that's pivotal. The San Francisco 49ers need to get things together heading into that game. Because offensively, I'm not mad. Now what Brock Purdy did.

I thought this was a statement game for Brock Purdy because they say he can't do it without his weapons. He can't. What is he going to do when kiddos's out? What is he going to do when Debo's out? What is he going to do with Christian McCaffrey? All three of them were out. He threw for almost 300, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran the ball for 41 yards.

He's a good quarterback. He's an elite quarterback. I'd say he's one of the top five quarterbacks in the National Football League. And if you give him the same criticism, then please give it to Joe Burrow. Please give it to every quarterback that you think is elite that has not played that way because he's playing that way and you don't want to give him credit. Don't tell me T. Higgins is hurt and that's why Joe Burrow is playing the way he did because that's that's Asinon. That's hypocritical because you're saying so now he needs T. Higgins to be able to reach his potential. So he's not alone special.

He's only special if he has T. Higgins and Jamar Chase and all these weapons and Joe Nixon or is he special in his own right? He's a heck of a quarterback, but he does need help. and I'm trying to get people to understand. You got guys playing some really good football right now that will never get credit because of what you think of them or what the past. Gino Smith played a really good game, has played with the two interceptions.

That'll take away from his performance. But Sam Darnel was forgotten about, left for dead, not relevant and playing elite football. So if you talked about the top quarterbacks in the National Football League right now, it's not necessarily the highest paid guys. It's not. And if you say, you talk about this list and you don't mention Brock Purdy, then you're a hater.

Then you're just a hater. You're just a guy who doesn't like low round picks, overachieving and playing above what you expect them to do. And you want to continue to go with things that are the way they're projected. Hey, this guy was a first round pick. This guy, I think, should be good. So I'm going to say he's good. And I'm not expecting this guy to be good. So even if he's playing good, I'm not going to give him that kind of credit.

Oh, this is a frustrating loss. I know Kyle Shanahan's frustrated. I know Nick Sorensen's frustrated because at the end of the day, coaches can only do so much. Coaches can scheme it up, call the play, but you got to execute. If they call man to man and the corner gets beat, you could say he should have called zone. If they call zone and he gets beat, you could say he should have called man. But at the end of the day, you've got really high level players that can execute and play the game at a high level that you need to play.

Players got to play the games. Players win the game. Players execute the scheme. Players make the scheme come to life. Players can turn a bad play into a good play. Players can make a good scheme look like a bad scheme. They have to execute at a better level defensively. They have to get more pressure on these quarterbacks.

And maybe that's bringing five. Maybe that's bringing six. Maybe they need to go to that because right now it used to be a four-man pressure. They can get home. And they're not doing that as consistently. They're not making the quarterback uncomfortable. And that's changing fundamentally the structure of the defense. So, ooh, the 49ers got the Patriots next.

week. They have to find a way to win that game. They have to find a way to get back on track. Hopefully that's, you know, they get healthier in the meantime. Tala Noah puts another game under his belt. But they have to win that game. Mitchell, that is the early season must win. If they lose that game, then the panic meter goes to a nine or ten. 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 huge. Others say it's unleashing huge. potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble

stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

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waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you're just so you're not. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed, correct.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Kunky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest

storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm with you. But let me ease the concern a little bit for you here, Richard, because I know you remind me of me last week when the Lions lost when I asked you to talk me off the ledge here. Let me do the same for you. Richard, the San Francisco 49ers last year went through a substantial losing streak in the midway point of the season and everyone was freaked out. I remember you were a little bit freaked out. I was a little concerned for him as well.

But Richard, throughout this, you know, early season, a drought, if you will, they've been playing without CMC, obviously, now Kittle and Debo. But we've seen these underlying players, these lesser known guys emerge. You know, Jordan Mason, like we already talked about, as soon as CMC comes back, you know they're going to be able to lean on Jordan Mason late. You know, so for me, I view that as a positive. And then we always loved third and Joanne, Joanne Jennings. But Richard, 11 catches for 175 and three tuddies. I mean, you get him and rookie Purcell going and you get Debo back. You know, by week six, week seven, I think the Niners returned to where they were last year.

And I think, you know, as a lion fan, I'm personally always going to be afraid of them. You know, I think these injuries are going to allow them to grow some of their lower tier players and elevate their confidence levels. The one area of concern I do have with the Niners is, you know, You pay this guy Brandon Ayyuk all this money in the off season, and he's got three straight, underwhelming games. Richard, this was his moment to shine. Everyone thought Brandon Ayuk was going to blow up today without Debo,

without CMC, without Kittle. Who are you going to target? You're going to target Brandon Ayuk. And he walks away with an underwhelming five catches for 48 yards. Joanne Jennings turns into be that go-to guy. Richard, what is going on with Brandon Ayuk right now? Again, it's a lack of chemistry, Mitchell. You have to put the time in.

You have to put the time in with these quarterbacks again and again and again. I'm going to keep saying it. No matter what you say, like, hey, he was holding in in training camp. He was in the building. He was working out, stand in shape, getting treatment in the meetings. But he wasn't building a rapport with the quarterback like he did last season. And when you don't do that in the game, I mean, he built a rapport with Joanne Jennings. They have built him plays, and you can see it.

He has a trust in Jouan Jennings. He has a feel. He has an understanding of where he's going to be on the field and where he likes the football. And he puts it there. And you can see that throughout the ball game. And it's just sad because, you know, I'm glad that Joanne got to have a game like this so that the world can see what he's capable of because he gets buried below these superstars. And deservedly so.

They deserve, you know, Debo deserves all the credit he deserves. Brandon just got paid, played really, has played really good football, George Kittle, all these guys. But you never, a guy like that

who's a really talented player never gets to shine in the way that he deserves until the game like this. And then he shines. And people are like, where'd this come from? And it's like,

well, if you watch the Super Bowl, I mean, he gets open. He catches the ball. He could do that against just about anybody at any level. He's just not going to be a highly targeted guy in this offense. And he never has been.

But when he finally got an opportunity to be targeted that way, he shined in a big way, and I'm very happy for him, happy for his family. I think he made himself a lot of money today. And I just wish the defense and the rest of the team could have stepped up and finished this game off. You know, I don't want to point the finger at anybody specifically. I think everybody's going to be able to look at the tape and hold themselves accountable that they could have played a better ball game and hopefully step up next week and play a better ball game. and get a win against the New England Patriots to get back to 500.

Richard, let's turn to Indiana, or Indianapolis, rather. They get a much-needed win against the Chicago Bears. And Richard, let's go back to last week's podcast. You were highly critical of the Bears offseason. They went with Roma Dunes. Who had a big game today? But they didn't go with the offensive linemen you talked about. as a Bears fan, when you see Justin Fields lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 3 and O record,

and you think to yourself, man, we could have had Marvin Harrison Jr. and Joe Alt, potentially, if we did not go with Caleb Williams. Richard, all they had to do was trade back. They could have got them both. And you got to think, hey, did we make the right move? I know Caleb Williams is a rookie quarterback. He finally got his first TD passes of the season. up some big numbers today. A lot of late, late, I don't want to call it garbage time because

they were in the game, but late time needed passing yards down the stretch. Richard, what are your thoughts on Caleb Williams and this Bears team? I had a lot higher expectations than what looks to be another tough season for them. Well, I have high expectations for their defense and their defense played an incredible game. So give them a lot of credit. Their defense continues to to find ways to keep them in ball games, to make big plays. Jalen Johnson, ran into the program, got another interception, huge play, trying to keep this guy in the ball game. But you look at it, and it's, you know, and again, I want to double down on my comments

that I don't think that they made the right decision in the draft in terms of not getting an offensive lineman, even if you did get Caleb Williams, I thought the next pick should have been an offensive lineman. And not that, that's any shot against Roma Dunezay. He should have went exactly where he would have went, and he would have went that regardless if they were picking or somebody else because he was an elite receiver coming into this draft. But you look at the issues that are prevalent and consistently showing up.

It's Caleb holding the ball too long, trying to wait for a big play and not just taking what the defense gives him. That's something a young guy is just going to have to learn. That was his problem at USC in a lot of these games. He would not take what the defense gave him. He passed up a hitch or bomb all day throughout the game, and you can't do that in National Football League, you have to take what the defense gives you.

And then even when he's trying to take what the defense gives him, he's late. He's late. And there were times this offensive line, the Chicago Bears offensive line, gave him time. Mitchell, four, five seconds to go through his progressions, bang, bang, bang, go boom, boom, boom.

And then he gets to the last read and throws a pick. Because he's late in a national football league, corners and DPs are ahead of you. We're a step ahead. We see where you're looking. We say, hey, if he comes back here, that's a pick. Or if he comes back here, that's a bat down. Like they already know, they're planning for your second move.

You may get your first read. You may get your first read. Hey, you hit your back foot in rhythm, let the ball go. You should have a little bit of separation or the zone may be slightly open. But as the clock picks to your second read, things get tighter. and as a third read, things get tighter. And then you get to your fourth read and it's tiny windows. Mitchell, the windows are really small.

And he has to learn that. He has to learn you can't go late to your fourth read and let it be a hitch into a cover two corner that's been sitting there waiting for you to come back to this, praying for you to come back to this, and then you come and you reward them. And so that's just the learning that he needs to go through. He did get a lot of garbage time yards.

He got a nice touchdown throw to Roma Dunezay, a nice deep throw to Roma Dunezay right before the interception. And you've got to give him credit, and I like that he kept fighting throughout the game. Some of it was garbage time yards, but those even the garbage time yards are nice because you get to see him do some of the things that they drafted him to do.

Some of the things you saw him do in college when he was playing really special football, and you see him getting out of the pocket, you know, squaring his body, body up, slinging it, slinging a rock, and around the yard and hitting different receivers, and it's being effective. He needs to see that. It's like in a basketball game.

Even if it's garbage time, you got a guy who's been in a slump and he starts to see the basketball go through the hoop. Mitchell, next game, that might be the game that he breaks through because he got to see some success. He got to see the ball go through the basket. And that's why this garbage time and this game was good for Caleb Williams in some ways, but it's bad because he threw the interceptions and all that. But at least he got to see himself have some semblance of success

in a national football league game. And that's good for the free turn at Bodeswell. But as I said before, Mitchell, I think they could have done, went a different way. But in that case, would you be regretting not getting Caleb Williams? Because if he goes to a team with better structure, better, you know, maybe a better coordinator, maybe a better system, you know, does he thrive earlier?

as he sit a little bit and then thrive. You know, who knows? And sometimes, back to what we were talking about before, the perfect system makes a player elevate in a way and really showcases talents in a way that individuals in a bad system are individuals that are just trying to improvise and make the best of a situation. They rarely shine.

Well, Richard, he's going to have an opportunity next week against the beat-up Rams. We'll see if he can return to the winning column for the Bears. Richard, America's Game of the Week in Dallas, the Dallas Cowboys desperately needing a win against the O and two Baltimore Ravens. The Baltimore Ravens came in and showcased that they wanted this game a lot more. What are you more surprised of, Richard,

the fact that the Baltimore Ravens beat Dallas on their own turf or the fact that Dallas just flat out didn't show up? I'm concerned about Dallas. Dallas has, at least for the last few years, been a very, very good home team. They've been very good at home. They won a lot of ball games. I want to say they were undefeated.

I mean, they had won something like 16 straight at home, something like that last year. And so to lose back-to-back games, you know, they got blown out by the New Orleans Saints. And the New Orleans Saints ran the football all over the Dallas Cowboys. And that's been the book on a Mike Zimmer defense for a long time. I mean, unless he had big people eaters at the detackle spots

and at the nose and three technique when he had Linvale and those boys, teams have had success running against that two high quarters defense that he's been known for for a number of years. And that's why I don't think anybody was looking to hire him as their coordinator because he has to find a way to rectify that. And this has been evident in these last two games. I mean, they ran for 275, Mitchell, 275 on him. Like, 275 is incredible for a team to run an NFL game against another NFL team,

even a bad team. And this isn't a bad team. This is a really talented Dallas Cowboys team. And they weren't able to stop the run. And they haven't been able to stop it for the last. last two weeks at home. That's a terrible trait to have. They're not great at getting leads. They haven't been great at containing these guys. Lamar Jackson only threw the ball 15 times for 182 yards through for one touchdown. He ran it 14 times for 87 yards. Kyle Vanoy,

again, continues his resurgence with the Baltimore Ravens, had two sacks. That defense is starting to get its rhythm back. Obviously, the cowboys were able to make some hay late in the game. game. Dag Prescott ends the game, 28 of 51 for 379 and two touchdowns, one rushing touchdown. Jake Ferguson had five catches for 95 yards. C.D. Lamb, there was a heated moment. There were heated moments on the sideline between Dak Prescott and C.D. Lamb and C.D. Lam say, I ain't going nowhere. I'm going to be here. Get me the ball. Get me the ball. They already paid me. I'm not going nowhere. You're not going nowhere. Give me the ball. Throw me the football. You saw what kind of success we could have when I get the ball.

For some reason, they weren't able to connect. CD Lamb obviously had the turnover in the red zone when they were, you know, it was 14 to 3. It was a red zone fumble. I'm sure he wants that one back. But you still got to feed him the ball. Cavante Turpin and Jalen Tobert both had a receiving TD. There was a lot of hype about Jalen Tobert coming out of training camp

that he was going to have a really breakout season. It hasn't really been the case in this pass rush, this past rush that they've been, it's been so devastating under Dan Quinn. Listen to me, Mitchell. Under Dan Quinn, this pass rush has been elite. The secondary under our Harris has been elite. The pass rush gets one quarterback hit, no sacks in this ball game of Lamar Jackson. And Lamar Jackson obviously is one of the best quarterbacks that are avoiding the sack, getting out of tough situations.

But this old line has given up sacks. This Baltimore line has given up sacks. They've given up pressure. And this has been consecutive games where you just aren't seeing the same quality of defense from the Dallas Cowboys, from that front that has been so, so easy. elite and so aggressive.

Michael Parsons has been getting 10 plus sacks, been all pro multiple times, and you're just not seeing that kind of pop, that kind of spark, that kind of speed, and that's concerning to me. The defensive side of the ball is where the concern is, because, I mean, you're not going to stop

Derek Henry, but we watched, we just watched this team lose to the, to the, they lost the Raiders at home. And, like, I don't really know. I mean, obviously they lost Kansas City the first game. So you can give them that with a watch,

but to lose to the Raiders and then the Cowboys get really manhandled for a great portion of this game, you've got to be really concerned if you're a Cowboys fan because you don't know where you're going to hang your hat. Like, what do we hang our hat on now? They're not running, they can't run the ball at all. Not that they can't run it well, they can't run it at all. Like they have no semblance of a running game.

the offensive line, the left tackle, you're replacing a legend, but it's just really, really a spot that they've always had so much security and so much stability. And now you see the left tackle giving up pressure into Dax's lap consistently. You know, you can't hold up. And it's just certain things that were almost a given with the Dallas Cowboys that aren't anymore. And it's really, really concerning. And they got the Giants, we got the Dallas Cowboys and the Giants in New York this Thursday, 7 p.m. Eastern on Prime Video. And I look forward to seeing that because the Giants played a solid ball game this week. They played a solid ball game. It was probably Daniel Jones' best game in probably a few years. Malik Neighbors really put on a big time show. Singletary,

ran the ball well defensively. They made some plays. It was fun to watch that. And that's a team that's getting confident and on the upward slope. And if the Dallas Cowboys continue on this downward spiral, this Thursday night football could be, I mean, a house of horrors. If the Giants somehow pull out a victory on prime time, on prime video. I too. I'm with you, Richard. I would be mighty concerned about them.

I mean, if it weren't for this fourth quarter where they made the look, the game look somewhat close. I mean, this team's been getting bullied for the last seven quarters of football they've played. I mean, the Saints game was an embarrassment. And this game was too, right off the gates, Baltimore goes down scores. They score again, and they just take control and sit on the lead. And they were just pounding the rock. I mean, Derek Henry had averaged over six yards of carry today with two touchdowns. I mean, Richard, this, if you put the Ravens in a position,

of a multi-score lead early, they're probably the most dangerous team in the NFL because they have the versatility with the run game and the past game to be able to sit on leagues and make life very difficult, especially for the Dallas Cowboys. Richard, like you said, if they lose this game against the Giants,

concern level 10 in Dallas. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. 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

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

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wherever you get your podcasts. We got to talk about the NFC North a little bit more here. Let's go up to Minnesota. We were talking a bit about it off air. Is there a more surprising team in the league right now than the Minnesota Vikings and the way they've been playing football? Well, I mean, no, no, there isn't. I'll say that.

There isn't a more surprising team because they're playing in such a dominant fashion. I mean, and they're playing against teams that in the pre-stance, season, myself, you, a lot of the experts had as some of the elite teams, the Houston Texans, one of the best teams. We talked about them making an AFC championship potentially. San Francisco 49ers coming off the Super Bowl, you know, they just went to the Super Bowl appearance. They beat them pretty handily and pretty impressively. It wasn't a blowout like they did against Houston, but it was impressive and they were in control a lot of that ball game. Brian Flores,

kept Kyle Shanahanan and kept it has really kept Bobby Sloick on his heels this last game. I mean, it's, you heard Brock Purdy after the game say, man, you give us some really tough looks. Like that's a tough defense to go against, man. Like, he had to give him a pat on the back because the coach like Brian Flores is a mad scientist.

He brings, it brings pressure from different places. And then he got Stefan Gilmore, which is one of the most underrated. pickups of the off season and you look look up and you see both safeties down you see seven men down and it looks like they're playing zero and the safeties pop out now they're playing an inverted cover two in the two corners go deep to take the two deep halves of the field away and then they run another nickel down the middle as the middle run through player and you're like by the time the quarterback realizes what the coverage is he's got two three people bringing them down to the

ground. And that's what C.J. Stroud was dealing with a majority of this ball game. And we're going to keep going about this defense because he has a lot of guys playing at a high level. Cam Bynum played some good football. Camus Grudge your heel played some good football. Jonathan Grenard, the ex-Huston Texan, had three sacks in this game. He's getting production from all over the place. And you always thought once they lost the Neil Hunter, like where would they get? the production from, where would they get the sack production from? And we're saying it. We're getting it from a lot of different people. And it's, it's because the variety of the looks and the disguises that come with the Brian Flores coach defense is just to a perfect symbiosis of things

coming together along with Kevin O'Connell's offense and Sam Darnold playing like an MVP caliber quarterback. Now, let me stop. Because I have to say it one more time. Sam Darnold is playing like an MVP quality quarterback. And you can argue with somebody else because he didn't have success in the past and he struggled in New York, et cetera, et cetera. I don't care about what happened in the past. What happened right now is he has eight touchdown passes on the season, which leads the National Football League. He is in a perfect system for a skill set. He has one of the, if not the best receiver in the National Football League and Justin Jefferson.

He has a really good running back and receiving back in Aaron Jones, who's been criminally underrated during his time in Green Bay, but stays in the NFC North and continues to play at a high level. 19 carries for 102 yards, five receptions for 46 yards in a touchdown. Sam Darnold is playing really good football. This is the guy that they expected coming out of USC. And again, to the point I've been trying to make for the last two weeks,

sometimes, sometimes it's not best to play him first. It's not. Sometimes they need to sit and learn and absorb. And then they get to a good place and a good system. And thank goodness, I'm sure Sam would say the same thing for the journey that he's been on to get to the perfect place for him to showcase his ability. And he looks like a hand in glove fit in Kevin O'Connell's. offense coming from San Francisco and Kyle Shanahan's offense and everything that he learned

during his year in San Francisco. I'm so happy for him. I'm happy for his career. Justin Jefferson had six catches for 81 yards. Looks like his old self. But this team just overall, they beat the Houston, Texas, and they beat them bad, 34 to 7. Like that doesn't happen. Houston is a really talented team with a quarterback that most, including myself, believe, is a top five quarterback in the National Football League in C.J. Stroud. He was held to 250 yards passing, one touchdown, two interception, and he was sacked four times. Sure, the defense showed up in some respects. Tim Settle had two sacks. Will Anderson, Jr. continues to play at a high level, had a sack in the game. But, I mean, all levels,

all three phases, the Minnesota Vikings looked like a very tough team. And we didn't think that in the NFC North. We thought it was Detroit's to work. runaway with however they want it to. And the way it's looking right now, the Packers are finding a way to weather the storm of the Jordan Love injury. I mean, Malik Willis going back to Tennessee and having a kind of revenge game that he had in Jordan Love's absence, he looked like an entirely different player than he looked in Tennessee.

And I'm sure the Tennessee Titans fans were like, wait, who is this guy and who kidnapped Malik Willis and put this other guy in this jersey because this guy. I was threading the needle running, using his legs when he's supposed to, being patient in the pocket, making great decisions, and just leading this team with a very poised sense of confidence and his leadership was outstanding in that ball game. Houston goes to face Jacksonville and that's going to be a good divisional game. I mean, the Vikings at the Packers, these two divisional games, I mean, they'll tell us a lot, but right now the Minnesota Vikings look, legit. Richard, it looked like dark days were ahead for the Vikings when Kirk Cousins packed his things up and left town.

I'm sure if you asked every Minnesota fan, they say they probably couldn't dream up a better situation at quarterback. You go out and you get your guy in J.G. McCarthy in the draft. And then you sign a veteran journeyman now and Sam Darnold to be his backup. But like you said, Sam Darnold, they get him on a veteran very little. I don't know what the veteran minimum is, but $6.5 million for Sam Darnold is what they're paying him this year. Richard, this is, they could not have picked a better situation in Minnesota with that transition from Kirk Cousins. Sam Darnold's going to keep him competitive.

As a Detroit Lion fan, this team scares me. I mean, you already touched on Aaron Jones. You got Justin Jefferson. Let's not forget they're going to get KJ. Hawkinson back later this year. Richard, this team looks very competitive. And Aaron Jones today really impressed me. He was running all over the field, catching balls, running between the middle, very athletic plays.

And that's what we talked about earlier in the year and even in the offseason. It shocked me that the Green Bay Packers moved on from Aaron Jones and chose to pay more for Josh Jacobs. I get he's older, but Aaron Jones just adds a huge dynamic in that receiving game. The Vikings, to me, looked like a much improved team from last year. I'm worried about him. Richard, we got to go to, go ahead. We got to start to have a deeper dive conversation into what, because if you look at the quarterback rankings, if you look at completion percentage, the quarterbacks and how they rank this season over the first three games, completion percentage, yards per game, yards, touchdowns, et cetera, et cetera.

You're not going to see a lot of the highest paid guys in the order that you're going to think. You're going to see a lot of guys making under $10 million or making under $30 million. at the tops of these categories leading their teams and the guys that's making $50 million right in the middle. And maybe that changes over the 17-game season, but it's not looking like these guys are overwhelmed. I mean, I'm not feeling like, hey, if you put freaking Sam Darnold versus any of these guys that you're,

I mean, outside of Patrick Mahomes, you're not going to feel like he's outmatched. I'm not feeling like, hey, if I play him against Joe Burrow, he's just going to be so outclass. He's not. And I don't feel that way about Gino Smith. I think you've got to start looking at this under a microscope and start to understand maybe these guys, it's a system, maybe getting the right coordinator. And the guys that actually put time into game planning and coming up with a great game plan,

a phenomenal plan, both rushing the football and passing and attacking these defenses. and you playing to the quarterback strengths, maybe that's more important than drafting his kids high. Because some of these guys who weren't as heralded as they were in the past are having a lot of success in systems that do exactly that. Kevin O'Connell has done a great job. He did a great job when Kirk Cousins was there. I mean, we talked about when Dobbs got a chance to play

and the little bit of success that he was able to have, just being a plug-in-play guy, you know, I think he had a couple days to learn the playbook before his first game, and he was able to execute. You have to start to think about that if you're an owner, about how we really start to build these teams and how important these offensive coordinators

and play callers really are. And can you have success with a great play caller and a quarterback who may not be a top five pick? The answer is yes. Well, Richard, before we leave the subject, Like, this is a first time in Sam Darnold's career where he's never had to really look over his shoulder and say, man, how tight is this leash? I mean, with J.J. McCarthy going off in the off season, you hate to see it, especially for a young player. But it's almost like it gave him that sense of relief.

Like, okay, this job is mine. I can play with, you know, a little loose and go out there and be instinctual. He just looks like a completely different quarterback to me. The game looks like it slowed down for him, which you hear about all the time. as players go throughout their career. And like you said, Richard, he's playing with an OC that is tailoring to his strengths. And that's probably what he has not had in the past. Sam Darnold is a true revelation in Minnesota.

And like I said, this team scares a little bit heck out of me. Richard, let's move on. Let's go to Pittsburgh because this team, another shocking, surprising team, much like the Minnesota Vikings, is these Pittsburgh Steelers who I doubt anyone's, saw starting the season off 3 and O, especially without their presumed starter, Russell Wilson. Richard, it's Justin Fields leading this team to a 3 and 0 start. Let's start with Justin Fields. Even when Russ is healthy, who's starting?

That's a great question, Mitchell, because I thought that was an easy answer. And I'm sure Tomlin does too. But I got a little backlash from that, bro, thinking that Justin Fields will continue to hold the helm. and this game did nothing to make me uneasy about that decision. Justin Fields was 25 of 32, 245 yards, a touchdown and interception, and ran one in. He looked like he had great command of this offense. I mean, Calvin Austin, congratulations to him. He caught it.

He was on the receiving end of another number of Justin Fields' passes. I mean, just slant routes where he just turned it up the field and got more, even on his 55-yard touchdown, he caught a slant and got going, Mitchell. It was a beautiful play. Cam Hayward able to get a sack. This defense is the story of this team, and it has been the story of this team. It has been the story of a lot of Mike Tomlin's tenure in Pittsburgh. They held almost all their opponents to under 10 points. And that says a lot about T.J. Watt. Nick Herbig had two sacks in the game. But I thought, I honestly thought that in a game, old school, drag out, run the football, defensive ball came, that this new age LA Chargers team with the amount of

talent and Justin Herber just being the X factor would be able to pull out a win. But my bad Pittsburgh, that's on me, should never doubt you, won't happen again. Just they held Justin Herbert and check, I mean, to the point where he, I think he came in a little banged up and had to leave the game early. The pain got to be too much. They held J.K. Dobbins, who's been an incredible story throughout this season, to 15 carries for 44 yards. Quentin Johnson, who's been a really cool resurgence story. People were calling him a bus. Too many drops. Call him for him to get cut, even in training camp this season. Part his third touchdown in the last two weeks, had a really good game, Khalil Mack, another sack, Irwin James' a sack. But you just look at how this team is

rallying around Justin Fields, how they're talking about him in interviews, how Tomlin's talking about him, the energy. I mean, they're three and oh. They're three and oh. They've won every game, and then they're going into Indianapolis, three and oh with a chance to be four and no. I don't, I don't see any reason they can't beat the Indianapolis coach with the way Anthony Richardson is kind of, you know, Jekyllyn Hyde. He throws a really good ball sometimes, but sometimes he's inaccurate.

Obviously, they're running the ball really well with Jonathan Taylor, but I feel like Pittsburgh is prepared for that. I feel like Pittsburgh is built to beat a team like that. And if you're talking about him going in 4 and O, and then Russell Wilson is 100% healthy, he's ready to go. It's going to be a difficult conversation,

even for the most adamant Russell Wilson fans and supporters to say, yeah, we're going to take Justin. We're going to take Justin Fields off the field and put Russell in, and we're going to continue to win. Because you don't know. And it's unfair to Russell in that situation because it's going to be such a short leash from both the fans and the public that if they lose the next game, and it may be a tougher opponent.

Maybe I got to look at their schedule, but maybe they run into a true contender in the next game and a really tough opponent. And now Russell has to be tasked with winning that game because if you sit there and say Justin Fields has won every single game that he's had as a Pittsburgh Steeler, and now Russell has lost the first game. He gets to, I don't know, to Kansas City Chiefs. If the Kansas City Chiefs come into town and beat Pittsburgh and you're like, well, Russell lost us that game, he's an O and 1, he's 4 and 0.

It's just a ridiculous conversation that doesn't need to happen. I think you've got to continue to go with Justin Fields. and let him continue to develop. It seems like he's finding a rhythm. He's starting to become the player that they thought he would be. The team is rallying behind him. The defense is rallying behind him. I mean, you can do it.

You can put Russell in. You can put Russell in. Russell is a proven veteran who's won a lot of football games in this league. I just don't see how you do it. I don't see how you justify it to the staff, to the players, and to the fans. I'm with you, Rich, but I imagine Russell Wilson wants this job bad. I mean, if nothing else, to prove, you know, he is the player he was in Seattle. I mean, this is important for his legacy, Richard.

I mean, he was a Super Bowl winning quarterback in Seattle, had some great moments playing with you, you know, rose to the occasion a lot of times. But then he goes to Denver and that sunny blue sky legacy that he built in Seattle is now covered with clouds. And no one really knows who Russell Wilson is. And this was his opportunity to showcase, hey, I'm still that same guy. You're right. It puts Tomlin in a very tough spot. I'm sure he likes the situation he's in now because he says, hey, we're wrong with Justin feels like I got no other choice.

It takes the decision out of his hands. And now it's going to make the decision even harder when Russell Wilson comes back. I would love to see Russell Wilson get an opportunity just because I'm curious to see how he plays with this team. I think Pittsburgh's a heck of a lot better than Denver. So, but we shall see. We shall see. And like you said, even in that case, Mitchell, they're going to say we were already, like,

even if Russell comes in and has incredible success, like if they're, they continue to win and they go four and oh, five and oh, six and oh, you know, go to the playoffs. People are going to say, oh, Justin Fields was already winning, you know, was it Russell Wilson or was it just, it's just plug and play any quarterback. And so even to that point in terms of legacy building and who gets the credit, Tomlin, Tomlin's going to get to credit, Mitchell, because Tomlin is the guy that continues to win despite all the moving pieces, all the chaos,

all the interchange, the injuries, this, that, and the third. This is one of the best starts that they've had. And if they're able to start 4-0 with Justin Fields at quarterback, I don't know. I'm with you. Richard, let's go to Las Vegas. A little bit of a surprise. This weekend showed me the NFL.

still the NFL and these teams are still NFL teams. Everyone rode off the Carolina Panthers. Everyone wrote off the New York Giants. Both of these teams go and get huge wins. In Carolina, they sub in. Out goes Bryce Young. In comes Andy Dalton, the griddled vet comes in. And all of a sudden, Carolina looks like a completely different squad. And before we get going, Richard, we got to, this is, it's time for our players in primetime segment brought to you by our friends and partners over at Brightling. Richard, I got my. I got my. mine on that Honolulu Blue and Silver. Got so many compliments already this weekend.

I bet. Brought him a win with it on. I had a wedding last night, Richard, and I wore this to the wedding with a Honolulu Blue tie. I know you saw videos from that wedding. I was having a great time. Well, this week's Players in Primetime Player is Andy Dalton. I mean, talk to me about his performance because it was a good one.

The red rifle. The red rifle, Metro, he's a guy that I knew was capable of doing this because I played against him. He came into the same draft bias as me. He's done this for a long time. He's El Rifle Rojo is what Andrew Whitworth texts a group because he played with him for a long time in Cincinnati. And he's a guy in a good system, which Dave Canales has, can be really effective. And that's what the frustration that Dave Canales was dealing with the first two weeks of the season, because he's, you go through all this training camp, OTAs and everything, you give, you hype your team up.

You feel good about the guys that you picked up, the guys that you got, you say, hey, we're going to go optimistically into the season. We can go to the playoffs. And then to see that you can't even evaluate how good your team is because the quarterback isn't able to read the defense. He's not able to prepare. He's not able to execute even the simplest things. You got to pull the plug. And it's a hard decision, especially as a first year head coach, to pull the decision on the number one pick,

his second year in a national football league. So give him credit for going to the ownership and saying, hey, you hired me to do a job. And I'm not able to do this job if you continue to make me play this kid because you're about to have us all get fired because I can't show you how good the defense is. I can't show you how good Chubbard is. Chubbard had 21 carries for 114 yards,

five catches for 55 yards and a touchdown. I can't show you how good he is because they don't respect our quarterback, so they're going to keep eight people in the box. They're going to sit on every route. They're going to freaking blitz us until the cows come home. Then you insert, I can't show you how good Deontay Johnson is. Hey, we traded for him. We traded him from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

We thought this would be a good pick. I can't show you that he's a good player because we don't have a guy that's getting him to the ball consistently. Insert Andy Darden, he goes in his first game this season, 26 to 37, 319, 3 touchdowns, the first quarterback this season with 300 plus yards and 3 TDs in one game. Carolina had been outscored 73 to 13 in the first two weeks. and we're not even talking about their defensive coordinator because their defensive coordinator in Carolina is really good. But again, you can't show it if you don't have the offense to go along with it.

You're playing hopeless defense. And so it was really great. This is the same Las Vegas Raiders team that just beat the Baltimore Ravens 26 to 23 in Baltimore. So let's not act like this is just some throwaway win. Las Vegas is coming off a huge win. on the road. So to go into Las Vegas and beat this team in the convincing fashion scoring 36 points, the way they did, Eidore Ejor O'Everro, and this defense has to have to be feeling really good offensively. They have to be, I mean, there's a lot of cheersing going on on that plane ride

back to Carolina because they feel like, hey, this is the team that we knew we had. And this is going to be good for Bryce too. Hey, Bryce, this is a pro. This is a pro. This is a is a veteran quarterback, a guy that has had tremendous success in this league, watch him, take your notes, learn from him, learn the things he's doing, bounce ideas off of him, ask him questions. I don't think Andy Dalton is sitting there trying to, like, hide things from you. He feels very secure in who he is, his family, and his faith. I think this is good for everybody involved.

It's good for Carolina. And it was great to see that team come away with Wynn. obviously the Las Vegas Raiders were very frustrated. Gardner Menshoe 18 to 28, 214 yards, one touchdown, one interception. Devante Adams was sitting there at halftime shell shot by what he was seeing from his Carolina Panthers team. But Panthers go to the Bengals. And speaking of $50 million quarterbacks, this is again going to start a very difficult conversation if the Cincinnati Bengals are not able to beat the Carolina Panthers. and the Red Rifle. If the Red Rifle goes and beats the Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow,

again, our conversation about elite quarterbacks and what they really are and who they really are and how much support they need around them. Like y'all say about these game managers, they need all this support. Well, so do the elites outside of Patrick Mahomes. And now we got to give Josh Allen credit. He doesn't have a ton of superstars or big name receivers and he's finding ways to win. So give him that credit and I'm ready to give him that credit. But outside of that, don't give me that. Everybody else needs guys. And Brock Purdy just showed he can do it with Joanne Jennings going 11, catches for 175

yards and three touchdown. So again, don't give me that. Richard, we'll see. I mean, the Panthers, they look a lot better this week than they have in weeks past. Shout out again to Andy Dalton, our brightling player in prime time. guys, make sure you go check out Brightling.com. They just launched it. They've got a partnership with the NFL.

They're releasing team watches for each team. You guys got to check them out. They're beautiful pieces. It's something that I'm sure is going to stay in my family for a generation or two, Richard. Well, Mitchell, it's been a fantastic episode. Thank you to our friends at Brightlin. Thank you to all our incredible fans and supporters and subscribers for being with us for another chaotic week of the next.

National Football League. We look forward to seeing you next week with an incredible guest in our Monday night recap. Appreciate you. The volume. 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

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