The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - Steelers path to another winning season, this might be what the Chiefs need

Episode Date: December 16, 2025

Colin Cowherd breaks down why the Pittsburgh Steelers’ path to yet another winning season and potential playoff appearance may actually be holding the franchise back in today’s NFL. Is consistent mediocrity worse than a full rebuild? Missing the playoffs might be a blessing in disguise for the Kansas City ChiefsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Will Farrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcast Presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still

joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was part of it. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS.

Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to. going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Deanna Maria Riva on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sometimes a suspect is found guilty before a verdict is ever read in court. On the Wicked Words podcast, I talk with the writers who dig deep into the cases that changed history,

including Marsha Clark, who went from prosecuting one of the most famous murder cases to writing crime fiction. It doesn't matter that you didn't take part in the murder. If you were at the scene at all, you're guilty of murder. Every week, the real story is revealed. Join us every Monday for new episodes of Wicked Words. Listen to Wicked Words on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3-Eastern 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the heard at fox sports radio.com or stream us live every day in the iHeart radio app by searching fox sports radio or fsrr. You're listening to fox sports radio. Here we go on a Tuesday herd hierarchy.

One hour from now, Nick Wright, an hour from now. We are live or in Chicago. It's the herd. Steelers do what they usually do on Monday night when they're at home. They win. It is great to have you in. Ball me upper 20s in Chicago. I feel like walking around with my shirt off. Absolutely fantastic. So let's start with

positive Uncle Kalman. Aaron Rogers comes to Pittsburgh, took a tone deaf and mostly dead offense for the last seven years, and he's made it competent. Not great, not elite, but they were atrocious in the red zone last year.

Now they're top three. Time of possession, yards per play. It's a competent offense. But as I'm watching them beat lifeless Miami, the downside is they're currently drafting 20th and they have a stopgap at quarterback, no long-term solution, and they don't have any assets to trade up. T.J. Watt, old. Cam Hayward, old. Jalen Ramsey, old. They let go of Pickens. Aaron's old. So how many first round picks do you want to give up to go get Mendoza or maybe a Dante Moore. So again, it feels good. It's a candy rush, but it's Groundhog Day.

Stop Gap at quarterback, barely above 500, rinse and repeat, and that's where we are. And they also are dominant at home on Monday Night Football. They just don't lose. So I feel like the Steeler model is what I have a problem with. They care about two things that just don't matter to people with high standards. One of them is, hey, we've got a winning record. Sean Payton never talks about that in Denver. It's not a thing.

60 teams since 2003 have had winning records and missed the playoffs. If you have high standards, winning record is not a top three or four thing. Winning division, winning playoff, winning conference championships, winning Super Bowls, winning a big free agency on a star quarterback in his prime. That's the stuff people care about winning. The other thing is winning on Monday Night Football. Yippee. How about winning in January? It's been a while. So I think, again, Aaron Rogers deserves to me a ton of praise. He's a 42-year-old guy, and he was much better. I mean, he's a different class of quarterback than Tua. The Dolphins got to cut bait with Tua. That thing's over. He has a backup quarterback in this league. But I think this one stat about the Steelers really sums up the organization. 17 teams in the NFL. slightly more than half, have a positive point differential.

Where are the Steelers? 17th. Just tread in water, just barely just got their chin above it. And that's what they are. Aaron has turned their red zone woes into red zone wins. At 42, not a great O-line, not a dependable run game. O.C. So Aaron deserves all sorts of praise. And short term, it feels really good. But I look at last night, I'm sitting there in the third quarter. I think they had like a 21 to 3 lead. And I'm like,

what does it mean? It feels like Aaron is one of those consultants that used to come by local TV stations or radio stations I would work for. And it was a fresh set of eyes. And you'd bring them in. and they could solve some, some, some little problems in the building, but consultants always left pretty soon and all the big stuff, like bad ownership or a bad GM or, you know, not very good content. They couldn't solve the big stuff. Aaron can't solve the fact they spend way too much money on defense, and Aaron can't solve the fact they still just love bragging about winning on Monday night football.

So Aaron's going to leave here pretty quick. Maybe he comes back for one more year. So congratulations. Aaron deserves a lot of praise. I've been critical. He's done a good job. They were a mess in the red zone. They're now good in the red zone.

Top three in the league. They were bottom four last year. And Aaron's always played well in these cold, harsh environments. He was a California kid, but Green Bay, Pittsburgh. He's good in these spots. Here's Mike Tomlin after another Monday. night win. Man, we love Monday night football.

Mission accomplished. Certainly, we wanted to engineer victory, but we wanted to do it in a certain way. We believe in the strength of the pack, and a lot of guys stepped up, certainly, and made that a truism. About the importance of playing well in December. Do you feel like your team getting there?

You know, see you next week. Keep watching. It's been a while since I've been a part of stuff like this. Nothing changes. It's just, you know, I feel real. comfortable in this environment. Obviously, the crowd was really good the night, but I feel comfortable in the cold

weather, and I've always been able to throw up pretty good in the cold over the years in Green Bay. And it can be an advantage if you embrace it. Yeah, I mean, between Phillip Rivers, Kirk Cousins on Thursday and Aaron Rogers, old guys are crushing in December in the NFL.

So Kansas City has been a really well-run organization for a long time. I mean, the Hunt family does it right. They're going to miss the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Not just Mahomes, Prima Holmes, Alex Smith, they make the playoffs. And my interpretation of this is

missing the playoffs is perfect. It's a cold glass of water to the face. Because sometimes you make the playoffs, Pittsburgh is a great example, and you're like, you know what? We're inches away. This is a rebuild, not a reboot. I'll give you an example. The last three years, Kansas City with Andy Reed and Mahomes

and Travis Kelsey, Hall of Famer, are 16th in points per game, 18th in yards per play, and 24th in big plays. Does that sound like a tweak in an offensive league? Here's Albert Breer on what the Patriots Belichick decided to do. Interestingly enough, was almost at the same juncture. of Brady's career as has happened with Mahomes now. Look back, right? So 2008, Brady goes down. Matt Castle wins 11 games. That causes the Patriots to say, okay,

we're going to lean in and try to win with this aging roster one more time. It doesn't work in 2009. Then the beginning of 2010, Belichick goes in and literally tears all sorts of evidence of any championship football off the walls and says, we're starting over again. And then they really got on a heater from a draft. perspective. I honestly think that's what Kansas City needs. I've been asking every guest, rebuild or retool. Who's their fourth best player? Trent McDuffie, Mahomes, who may not be available

next year, Creed Humphrey, who's their fourth best player in their prime? Because the Rams have about 12. Eagles have 12. Lyons have nine. Start looking around. Baltimore's got eight. So the chargers, by the way, in division are getting both their offensive. tackles back and Harbaugh is going to ace his third straight draft. Like they've done really well drafting because Harbaugh, Ortiz, they know that college game. By the way, Bo Nix is getting really good and that Russell Wilson dead cap hit, it's off the books. They're going to get better. When you got a Harbaugh, Sean Payton, Bo, Knicks, Herbert, in division, tweaking is not their issue.

24th on big plays. They have offensive issues, and that's with Andy Reid. The best offensive play designer, arguably we've had since like Bill Walsh. Right. Like, it's not a tweak. You've got to take this boat back to port and rebuild it. Think about this. The NFL allows 40% of the teams in this league into the playoffs.

Jacksonville's getting in. Houston's getting in. Not historically well-run franchises getting in. If Miami would have won last night, they'd still have a life. The tone deaf to offense, Steelers are probably going to get in. Baltimore, offense is broken, completely broken, still may get in. Kansas City won't with Reed and Mahomes. I don't buy that it's just a re-tool.

Again, boat back to port, rebuild it. Good stuff today. Mike Wright, Drew Bledsoe stops by. The Miami situation with Tua, I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but small quarterbacks. Remember when Russell Wilson regressed badly

like in a year and a half? We were like, what is it? Have you watched Tua today and two years ago? He is a backup and not a great backup. Small quarterbacks age really quickly. Kyler Murray, does Arizona

even want to play him anymore? He'll have a mark it, by the way, because there's eight desperate teams and only one star coming out. We think Dante Moore stays at Oregon. But that's where we are today. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, is Kavino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio?

Now, in addition to hearing us live weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific, on Fox Sports Radio, we're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for the show. That's right. You can now watch Covino and Rich live on YouTube every day. All you got to do, search Covino and Rich FSR on YouTube. Again, go to YouTube, search Covino and Rich FSR. Check us out on YouTube. Subscribe. Hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.

Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, 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 it.

First people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. 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 was...

This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast. we 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. Agency. The ability to know that we're the experts in our own body. On the podcast, cultivating her space, Dr. Dom and Terry Lomax create a space where black women can show up fully and be heard. I wholeheartedly think, you know, you hit 30, you shouldn't have to share one with anybody. Mm-hmm. From navigating friendships and healing to setting boundaries and prioritizing your mental health. These are real, honest conversations.

We don't always get to have out loud. Totally unreasonable with different parts of life, right? Like, oh, have all three meals and make sure you're mindful during all of them? Absolutely not. During one meal, I'm standing. I'm standing and handing my children food. Because healing and. Empowerment and resilience aren't just ideas.

They're practices. And this Mental Health Awareness Month, there's no better time to pour back into yourself. Listen to cultivating her space on the I-HeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Keith Gianmanca seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad. But secretly, he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree.

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

But what happens when you discover that your dad has... has been living a double life. That is not the look of an innocent man. This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is,

getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that's. should be a whole lot easier than it is. Getting a new one put up in its place. As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering the Civil War. To get to school, I had to go down Robert Lee Boulevard. Get to the grocery store. I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway. If you're an historian and you leave out half of what the history is, you're not doing your job. I'm Akila Hughes. In Rebel Spirit, season two goes deep on both of those things. The fights, the politics, the people who won,

and my personal campaign to add something to the Kentucky State House that's actually worth the wall space. We are more than our bodies. We contain essence. We contain spirit. How do you represent that? They are just fueling a fire that is really catching. You'll see what I mean. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody, please! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor, I'm a comedian, and recently I've become quite the helper myself.

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

Hey, cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the My Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This may make some of you uncomfortable, but it needs to be said. Caleb Williams now holds the NFL record. It's official. Fewest interceptions in a quarterback's first 1,000 career pass attempts. He's the greatest ever.

By the way, he is second behind Aaron Rogers all time in highest passing touchdown interception ratio since the merger. All that torque and horsepower, not a lot of mistakes. and I wish he completed more than 58.5% of his throws. I do think that's a little low. But there are three quarterbacks in this league. Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Caleb Williams, I can't lose that much sleep on it.

I'll give you an example. Let's say you had a child, seven, eight years old that had been tested and you had what they call a gifted child, top one of one percent, was playing Beethoven at eight, years old. You're really going to lose sleep that three, four times a week, he puts his pajamas on backwards? You got Beethoven down the hall. Get over it. Not every kid ages, grows the same way.

Not every quarterback's the same. Okay, I'm not losing a ton of sleep. I think 61%'s probably where you're going to go, but everybody's talking about how accurate Josh Allen is this year. That's because he throws the tight ends. He never throws the ball down the field. Aaron Judge, one season led baseball in strikeouts. I'm okay with it. Brett Farve, most interceptions ever. Kobe, second most missed field goals in league history.

Shaq. Shaq, a 52% career free throw shooter. Michael Dell, the late Paul Allen, Bill Gates, all dropped out of college. Not everybody in society is playing by. the same rules. Aaron Rogers had pretty good old lines in Green Bay consistently. He's the most sack quarterback in league history. Held the ball a little longer because he wanted to try something spectacular.

So Caleb Williams, the horsepower, the torque, he's making about two throws, three throws every Sunday. They look like optical illusions. Like next-gen stats is like, oh, that had 16% chance of being completed. And it was. Again, if your kid is doing Beethoven at 8, all right, he wets the bed more than you're happy with. Okay, whatever.

He's different. Not everybody's planned by the same rules. Caleb, Josh Allen, and Mahomes, it looks different. It's not ideal. I want a higher percentage, but I'm watching him against the Browns. I'm like, he made two throws in that game. This one's one of them. How did he see that?

Like in the stock market. I've been in it since 1988. The gains outweigh the losses. You can't lose your you-know-what because of a bad earnings report. With Caleb, the upside is so great. I wish he completed 61% we're at 58.5. And I don't want to hear about Josh Allen has really gotten accurate. He never throws the ball down the field.

They don't have a wide receiver in Buffalo that could crack Chicago's starting lineup. Luther Burden would be their best receiver. He's the Bears third. DJ Moore would be their best receiver. Roma Dunzee would be their best receiver. Even the Bears' tight ends are great, so are Buffaloes. But Josh, I would rather Josh complete 64% of his throws and throw the ball down the field more.

Here's Ben Johnson on where Caleb is with his accuracy. He was comfortable. He did a great job. It's a hard thing to do is to be comfortable when a pass rushes like that. Yeah, I thought it was a good week form, a step in the right direction. And, you know, I told him this afternoon, I said, whatever he ate for breakfast yesterday, we just need to keep doing that on game day from here on out.

Take a deep breath. He is spectacular. And there's only two other guys in the league to meet it feel the same way when they take the snap. Josh and Patrick. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

All right, let's get started with that Broncos win over the Packers on Sunday. It was a big one. A lot of people crowning Denver as a potential Super Bowl team now. I mean, they're in the discussion for sure if Bo Nix plays like that again. One of the big plays in that game was Patrick Sartan's diving interception of Jordan Love. I mean, it literally flipped the game. Packers could do nothing after Watson left. And Sartan is now saying that this team showed what they're capable of in the postseason.

That means a lot. I mean, we just kept talking about it the whole week, you know, how big of a game this was. But we always say, man, we're going to play in bigger, bigger games down the road down the stretch. And, you know what I mean, we're not a finished product at all. You know what I mean? We still got a lot more work to do. And that's the scary part about it. You know what I mean, going into this run, you know what I mean?

Going on to these last three games, going into the playoffs, man. I just feel like we still got a lot more work to do. And, you know, we just correct some things. But, man, you know, this team's going places. and the Russell Wilson dead cap money off the books. Roster's going to have space. J-Mack right now. Looks like people, it is such an interesting year.

Sometimes you get breaks in life. No Mahomes, no Burrow, maybe no Lamar Jackson. You say, well, what about Bo Nix? Well, he'll be facing potentially at home. Trevor Lawrence, old Aaron Rogers, young Drake May, Herbert with a horrible O-line. I mean, again, Houston's offense, you don't know what you're getting. The defense is great. Because Mahomes and Kansas City are going to be back eventually.

Burroughs actually eventually going to make the playoffs again. Baltimore's never down for long. So if there's a year to win it with a young quarterback, Drake Mayer, Bo Nex, this is the year to win the AFC. Yeah, interesting game against the Jags this weekend. I started to dig into this a little bit. Yeah. This Denver defense, I don't want to say overrated, some of the analytics like them,

But a lot of it, they got fat and happy off bad teens, Colin. We watch the Packers. I think they scored on five straight possessions in the game. This past week, the Giants, the Colts. Lots of teens have moved the ball on them. I'm very curious where you land on this game because... Yeah, Jacksonville, if I got the hook, I would take them. It's three right now.

If it went to three and a half, I would take Jacksonville. I would. Yeah. This is a tough one. Who's the better quarterback in this game? This season. Bo Nix. Bo Nix doesn't make the mistakes.

Bow Nix doesn't take the sacks. I mean, I'm watching Tua last night. You had to see this. And you're like, Tua, you're taking like rookie quarterback sacks. Like, throw the ball out of bounds. Like, you can't figure out the little stuff. Like, Tua, first of all, he's a small guy. He doesn't have the arm the size.

But he's taking like these bad rookie quarterback sacks. So it's, I, Bo Nix, durable, never get sacked. Trevor Lawrence gets sacked. Ugly picks. Negative plays. And I like Trevor. I think Beau's better than people think. Interesting thing that emerged.

So he's starting to run a little bit more. Trevor Lawrence. You remember at Clemson? I'll never forget that Ohio State game. Ran down the sideline. Yeah, it was like 60-yard touchdown run. I was like, who is this guy? And he's starting to run a little more this year.

Liam Cohen, remember, had Baker Mayfield doing a lot of scrambling, keeping drives alive with his legs. This is a new element. I think Jacksonville's a little dangerous, Colin. They're wide receiving group after getting Jacoby Myers. You know the other thing. This is a fun team to watch. The other thing is they've done this when Travis Hunter left.

There was a little bit of a, and it's not against Travis, good kid, but he was a bit of a distraction. Ooh, he's a star, what to do, offense, defense. He's left. They caught fire. Like they had this kind of weird thing in the building. Well, he's our best athlete. What are we going to do with it? Now everybody's got there to find roles.

That's not a topic. I'm not blaming Travis Hunter, but they're a very, it's always felt like a distracted franchise. They've had about a six-week run, totally focused. Run the ball, stop the run. Quarterback plays better. No noise. Jacksonville's a real team. A lot of points in this one.

Jacksonville and Denver both can move the ball here. All right. Next up is the Thursday night matchup here. Out West, it is the Rams at the Seahawks. It's essentially for the number one seed, certainly for the division. If the Rams win it, they will lock it up. Kiron Williams talked about the big win over the Lions.

how good the offense is right now. Can't stop us. You can't stop us. You know where the ball is going. You still can't stop us. Like for me, that's just, it's so cool seeing being out there on the field and, you know, with great guys like Puka and Devante and all the tight ends and the offense alignment. And it's fourth down, anything that they got us.

And then we, you know, we get the first down. So to me, that feeling is like, ha, ha, ha, you can't stop us. We're going to keep doing what we're doing. Well, I will say, Blake Corum has now emerged as a legitimate number two back. Terrence Ferguson, the Oregon rookie tight end, he's getting snaps. And they're going to need both because Devonthe Adams has the hammy issue. He may not play in the regular season again. So they don't, I would say this.

Their flaw is Stafford's lack of mobility. If the pocket gets devoured, he's not picking up stuff with his feet. But it is about as deep. Their hole is the back end of their secondary. You can throw the ball on this team and you can go over the top on them. offensively, not a lot of flaws. Yeah. Huh.

You see that Seahawks favored in this? What? I saw it. Come on. Really? We got some numbers on Seattle. We'll save them for later in the show. They're not good.

Colin, they have not been a good football team for about a month. That Rams loss, where Darnold threw four picks, kind of mess with them. They have not been the same team since. I don't want to hear about beating old man rivers on a 56-yard field goal with like 30 seconds left. I can give you Sam Darnold's stats. I'll do it last hour of the show today that you will not believe and I'll go all the way back to Carolina.

Not Minnesota. I'll go all the way back to Carolina. You can go back to November on Sam Darnold and there's some bad stats. Listen, I'm not selling the Seahawks. I'm just saying I don't see how you pick against the Rams here. I mean, whether it's the three tight ends, the dual running backs, Puka,

they've scored over 34.6 of their last eight games. This is the best offense in the league. you're not taking the Seahawks, are you? You're going back to your Seattle roots? I don't give all my spice out. I save some of the spices for Thursday. Okay. All right.

Final story is the Rams. They are coming off that loss. I'm sorry, the Lions. They're coming off the loss to the Rams. The Lions had a good, good start to that game. 24-14 lead late first half and then collapsed. The Lions have not won consecutive games since weeks four and five. Somehow, Jared Goff is confident in a bounce back against the Steelers this week.

We're resilient, you know, I hope I can give you a really good answer in a few weeks, but we're resilient. We really are. And I expect us to bounce back from this. And we still have plenty of stuff in front of us. We do. And we've got a great group that can win a championship here, and we know that. We just have to stick together and not allow some of the narratives to pull anything apart. And our captains need to step up. Our leaders need to step up and be vocal and have energy. And not anything that I don't expect us to do. But yeah, we got to show that resilience a few more times here. One of the good stats here this last couple years under Dan Campbell. After a loss, the Lions have been the best team in the league. Yeah. Holland, they've won 12 straight after a loss, not just straight up against the spread, too. They're a machine. That's why this line has ballooned out to seven.

Yeah, this is my second favorite bet of the week, the Lions at home covering. By the way, Steelers generally struggle against the run, especially on the road. And here comes Jamir Gibbs, Montgomery, and that all. line. Love Detroit this week. Number, I think the number will get to like seven and a half and then it's not as bettable. But six and a half, seven, I love the lions this week. Yeah, the Steelers cannot

get stopped. Their defense is not very good. I don't know if Watts back, but offensively, I'll say this. Aaron Rogers showed me some things last night throwing the ball. It was 23 or 27. Listen, in the red zone, the Steelers were a truck, they were like bottom four. Now they're top

three or four. Aaron's been great. Basically, he's been the exclamation. point to the offense, which last several years has been great between the 30s and can't finish drives. Aaron's IQ, his accuracy, his quick release, suddenly they're very good finishing drives. That isn't Tomlin. That isn't the O.C. That isn't the run game. None of those we know any, we don't trust. That's Aaron. Great quarterbacks are great in congested areas. Aaron is the difference for this offense in Pittsburgh in the red zone specifically. And now we know that Detroit defense is hemorrhaging stuff.

Back end cannot stop anybody. So I think there's points. I bet the over this morning, over 51. I think the Steelers could probably get to 24. And like you said, Detroit, they're going to probably hit 40s. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd Lie News. So I always say new information, new opinion. I mean, you're a pilot and you get handed the latest storm which has moved into your area. Should you just fly through it? New information, new opinion. George Pickens, earlier this year, I believed, yeah, I think they found their number two receiver.

I don't feel like that. First 11 games with Dak Prescott and George Pickens were absolutely remarkable. Dak completed 72% of his throws and had a passer rating of 134. but in the last three games, George Pickens is pouting. 37 passer rating for DAC

to Pickens and it's not on DAC. Dak's been spectacular. It's why they always say business deals get done on a golf course because it's hard to play golf. You're playing for four hours, three and a half on a private. After a couple of bad five woods,

how's a guy act? How's a woman act? Throw in their clubs, swearing, blaming somebody else beyond themselves. Golf unveils the truth. And the NFL season is long and it's cold and players are banged up. This goes back to something I've always said about pro football. Two rules in a contract.

Pay big money very infrequently in the NFL. Certain positions and certain guys. And it's got to be the mature guys and the team guys, the wee guys over the me guys. at Georgia, Pittsburgh, and now Dallas, George Pickens is really immature. It's a little bit of the Des Bryant thing. Remember Des Bryant?

You saw a video of them, hard knocks in that room, and you're like, he never got a big contract after that. It's like, wow. This stuff is bad with Pickens in the last three games, and that's what we see. I've always used the argument. If you go to a party and you see a couple arguing, that's what's I like in the drive home.

So Pickens, this isn't it? and so much of GMing is the landmine you don't step on. The contract, the big one, you don't sign. So I think he's a unique talent, but he's into a pouting stage. And Mike Tomlin, who is about as player friendly with talented people as, you know, he kept A, B around for a long time and finally said, okay, and A.B. unraveled. So now, Jerry, Jerry, you know Jerry the deal maker, Jerry hasn't sold the stock yet.

They did a good job of mitigating him, and it was effective. As far as his effort, I would have liked to see him make a few of those outstanding catches that he makes, but I'd like to have seen Dak with more time to get him the ball. Has anything changed in the last two weeks regarding your desire to bring him back next year in the future? No. A reminder, Dallas is projected, and these things can change, certainly, but Dallas is projected to be 48 million over the cap. Be very careful about a player that you thought was a diamond in the rough pivoting to diva, especially since we've seen it before. It's not about your stars. It's about what kind of guy your stars are. Are they build around you guys?

are they we guys or me guys? I've said many times on this show, an NBA GM told me 20 years ago. It's not about a star. It's about getting the right star. Obsessed about winning, willing to be team first, Tim Duncan. It's not just about the stars. Which star do you get? Because there's a lot of stars in sports,

especially a wide receiver. Is there an argument? Heard hierarchy top of the hour plus Nick Wright. Is there an argument? I thought about this this morning. to keep Mike McDaniel in Miami. I want to throw this out to you because there's an example of how it could work.

Next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news.

We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. 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 was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this.

We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, for people could call in and say, hey Jonas, and then I wrote down in 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. Agency, the ability to know that we're the experts in our own body. On the podcast, cultivating her space, Dr. Dom and Terry Lomax create a space where black women can show up fully.

and be heard. I wholeheartedly think, you know, you hit 30, you shouldn't have to share room with anybody. Mm-hmm. From navigating friendships and healing to setting boundaries and prioritizing your mental health. These are real, honest conversations.

We don't always get to have out loud. Totally unreasonable with different parts of life, right? Like, oh, have all three meals and make sure you're mindful during all of them? Absolutely not. During one meal, I'm standing. I'm standing and handing my children food. Because healing, empowerment and resilience aren't just ideas, their practices. And this Mental Health Awareness Month,

there's no better time to pour back into yourself. Listen to cultivating her space on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Keith Gianmanca seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad, but secretly, he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy. But I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out. Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong and what that might look like? No.

I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life. That is not the look of an innocent man. This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue.

Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is, getting a new one put up in its place. As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering the Civil War. To get to school, I had to go down Robert Lee Boulevard. Get to the grocery store, I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway.

If you're an historian and you leave out half of what the history is, you're not doing your job. I'm Akila Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 goes deep on both of those things. The fights, the politics, the people who won, and my purpose. personal campaign to add something to the Kentucky State House that's actually worth the wall space. We are more than our bodies. We contain essence. We contain spirit. How do you represent that? They are just fueling a fire that is really catching. You'll see what I mean. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet.

Help! Somebody! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian, and recently I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice.

Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Cream a chicken suit. Hey, cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrat as part of the Mike Coutura Podcast Network available on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

NFL doubleheader. First, it's the Eagles versus the commanders. Then the Packers take on the Bears for control of the NFC North. Pre-game coverage begins at 4 p.m. Eastern on 5. Listen, I don't have to love everybody I hire. In fact, you can be pretty mid, and because it's a headache to replace you, there's no viable candidates I can keep you around for a couple years. So Miami's not good.

They've already fired the GM, and they should cut at the end of the year to it. Here's my argument. I'm not saying it's a strong one. one, but to keep Mike McDaniel for another year. And again, he's not my kind of alpha guy. He's quirky even when doing half-time interviews. What do the Broncos do? They were five and 12 and the offense was broken. They got a offensive coach Sean Payton who found a young quarterback that nobody else loved. Bow Nix. A lot of people at him as a second round talent. Sean Payton loved him and look what happened. Yes, they had to deal with a dead cap issue. But when he

get that quarterback first few years, you mitigate it because you're not paying him anything. So Mike McDaniel, again, not my ideal candidate, but hear me out. Miami today has the number 11 pick. The next three games are the Bengals, the Bucks in New England. They'll lose the last two because they just don't have the personnel. The Bengals have announced that Joe Burrow is going to play. Well, well, well, you know, we're just going to sit a couple of our safeties and corners for that game. You lose all three, six and eleven, and suddenly that 11th pick becomes the seventh or eighth?

Well, now we can make a move. Now we're going to get, if not the first, the second best quarterback. And I can make an argument. The GM extended TWA. That's not on Mike McDaniel. Tua, like a lot of small quarterbacks, Russell Wilson, has regressed badly in the last year and a half and there's an argument to be made that Mike McDaniel did his job and actually overachieved do you realize he got Tua to lead the league in completion percentage one year

passing yards one year passer rating one year with with Tua you watched it last night so Sean Payton you got a broken offense Sean Payton comes in and says you know what there's this quarterback nobody else likes I'm going to get him at like the 11th their 12th pick. Mike McDaniel does offense. Mike McDaniel may look at one of these college quarterbacks not named Fernando Mendoza and say, okay, I don't want to go up to get that. We've got the seventh or eighth pick.

But I see my bow nicks. And because you're watching Tua last night, Tua is a mediocre backup. And that's not a shot at Tua. Small quarterbacks age very fast. It's like hyperathletic athletes age fast. So to small guys. Kyler, Tua, Russell Wilson. I mean, I think there's an argument.

If you get the GM job, you're going to be looking for an offensive coach. Tell me the candidates right now. There is no Vrabel on the market, Jim Harbaugh, Sean Payton. They're not on the market. There's no Ben Johnson on the market. I can make the argument that last night was obviously a mess. Is that on Mike McDaniel? I mean, Tua was awful.

Here is Tua on his struggles last night. I got to be better for our guys offensively. And two, you know, I'm pretty disappointed in myself with how ready I got our receiver core in terms of operation, in terms of guys knowing what to align, in terms of the communication when it comes to personnel. You know, and that's something I harped to those guys when we're in our own player-led meetings. and I kind of felt like I let our guys down on that aspect. Yeah, I mean, he took a couple of sacks last night that are rookie mistakes. Like he just taking bad, I mean, why throw that ball?

He's afraid to get hit. So if you look at his numbers have just, I mean, that's a terrible sack to take. It just doesn't work anymore. I mean, that throw, come on, what do you do? He just don't want to get hit. He wants to get rid of the ball, especially in a cold night hard turf. So there is an argument that the GM was over his skis or at least not very good. Two is regressed.

There's plenty of good GMs on the market. There are good GMs on the market. There's a lot of sharp guys out there that know how to run the draft. There's not a lot of great candidates. It's not a great candidate year. Last year with Vrable, it was. Year before with Harbaugh, it was. All right, here's the current playoff picture.

It's really, really interesting this year because you're not having many of the star quarterbacks. You know, Mahomesboro, Lamar Jackson may not be in. Here are the current AFC playoff matchups for the radio audience. We'll go slow here. So Denver gets a buy. How about this one? Houston, a seven seed at New England and two seed. I got to tell you, I think I'd take Houston.

And I like New England, but I still contend the second half of that Bill's game with the Patriots, you saw the truth. They missed the left side of their offensive line. They still don't have a ton of depth. They need another draft class to empower, emboldened the offensive line and defensive line. I think I would take Houston there. Buffalo at Jacksonville. I'm telling you, Jacksonville is a, they'll be, Jacksonville may be an underdog in that game. I think I'd take Jacksonville at home. I think I would. much better defense. Very good consistent run game.

Good team to knock off. Come in with a little chip on your shoulder. Liam Cohen against Sean McDermott, the offensive clever coach. I think I'd take Jacksonville. Chargers battle line at Pittsburgh is a coin flip. It's just one of those games. The Chargers would come in favored by a point in a half

and Pittsburgh would win. But I think trying to predict the AFC outcomes is tough. I don't know who I like in Chargers Steelers. Let's go to the NFC where I think it's clearer in the NFC. So Rams get a buy. I would absolutely take the Seahawks to beat Tampa in Tampa. I don't think that's a good matchup for Tampa and Baker at all. San Francisco at Philly, I would take Philly.

If it was in the Bay, I would take San Francisco. go, I would take Philly. I mean, you're talking about a patchwork defense and an elite defense, and the elite defense is at home. Green Bay at Chicago, bears all day. This is not a knock on Green Bay. I think about this this morning with Green Bay. They've not only lost Tucker Kraft a month ago.

Great tight end. Christian Watson, their primary deep threat, they're not the same offense without Christian Watson. And Micah Parsons, their best pass rush. They are also missing Kenny Clark in the cowboy trade. So if you take those four players, Watson, Micah, Kenny Clark, and Tucker Kraft, those are four of their top six players. Green Bay is not, and when I do hurt hierarchy, I'm based on your current personnel.

Green Bay has lost four of their top six, seven players, maybe four of their top five. Kenny Clark's a good player. So any big disagreements, Jay Mack, if you go AFC to NFC, I think the AFC is really tough. I think Seattle at Tampa and Chicago hosting Green Bay I mean, what's interesting is Green Bay and Chicago are playing this week

in Chicago. I think Green Bay is a favorite. Not for long. I'm with you. I think the Eagles are suddenly becoming more dangerous in the NFC. I just think if the 49ers have to go to the Bears or Bucks, the 49ers win. But if the 49ers have to go to the

Eagles, I don't think they win that game. Would you agree? How do you handle San Fran at Chicago. You've got an amazing coach and quarterback in San Fran. They've gone to cold weather before and won. And you've got a first-time playoff quarterback in Caleb Williams against Robert Salah. So Payton Manning has said this for years. There's preseason speed.

There's regular season speed. And then there's playoff speed. So the teams that make the playoffs, even the worst team in the playoffs, they usually are very good, they have a good coaching staff. very few bad coaching staffs make the playoffs. So when you get to the playoffs, you're facing the best coaching staffs, the top 40% of coaching staffs,

and they're very good at exploiting your weaknesses. A lot of these teams like Tennessee, you know, on interim coach, can't exploit what the Niners can do. McVeigh could, right? Like Ben Johnson could. The Niners defense is just not very good in terms of personnel.

Now, I think in the regular season, Jason, you're on a treadmill. A team comes into town. They're banged up, you're banged up. A lot of it's survival. If you score on the first drive, you have a 66% chance to win. You're doing things in the regular season. It's a treadmill. Like it's, okay, we're going to script 12 plays.

Let's take a lead, not turn the ball over. It's like postseason baseball. Everything gets more circumstantial, more situational. You'll use starters in the bullpen. You're going to do stuff in the postseason. and the best 40% of coaching staffs to exploit holes. And those holes don't get exploited as regularly in the regular season. The Niners defense will be a liability.

It won't be brought, Purdy. He'll be fine. That defense will be a liability. That's why I say there are boxes to check. A lot of people look at Seattle and go, Sam Darnold's recklessness. It's not going to cost against most of the league. It did against the Rams.

Right? So you do get to a point where I think San Francisco has been a great story. I don't think they're a great roster or a great team. Okay. Can we go to the AFC real quick? Okay. That Jacksonville matchup that you mentioned is interesting. I'm not betting against Josh Allen in December 2.

I know you're not. It's bit me in the butt before against the Chiefs in the playoffs, but I just, I don't think you could go against Josh Allen. None of those teams in the AFC. Who scares you the most in the AFC? Houston. Because of the Houston defense. They're the best unit of any unit offensive defense, right?

Yeah. The best unit in the first unit in the air. NFL is the Houston Texans defense. I mean, speed, length, rush ends. I don't know what the number is. I mean, the Rams offense, Rams offense versus Houston defense is pretty much a touch and go, right? They're both at full strength. Ram's offense is a truck right now. Yeah. So I think Rams beat the Texans earlier this year. And if that was the score, 14 to 9. That's right. Yeah, early in the season. The Texans were driving and then landman with the peanut punch. Remember that one? Yeah. And the Blake Corum and Devonte Adams weren't quite rolling.

But you could argue the Houston defense showed well against that juggernaut Rams offense, but used like it was. It was September. Yeah. So, yeah, I think the F.C. is wide open. Again, even Denver is the number one seed has won a lot of close games at home. A lot of them. Nick Wrights around the corner.

Heard hierarchy. If you're watching FS1 right now, season's greetings, even if those are just graphics. Season's greetings from our fake fireplace. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

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

Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. This is my best friend, Janet. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast.

We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they hit a bogo. Well, then you got it. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS.

Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sacks. Wait, what sex? Is it just me, or does every woman my age want to look at Pindex? instead of having sex sometimes. They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam?

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

Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis coming to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sometimes a suspect is found guilty before a verdict is ever read in court. On the Wicked Words podcast, I talk with the writers who dig deep into the cases that changed history, including Marsha Clark, who went from prosecuting one of the most famous murder cases, to writing crime fiction. It doesn't matter that you didn't take part in the murder.

If you were at the scene at all, you're guilty of murder. Every week, the real story is revealed. Join us every Monday for new episodes of Wicked Words. Listen to Wicked Words on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.