The Herd with Colin Cowherd - What's Wright - Harbaugh to Giants, Tomlin & Steelers SPLIT, Caleb Williams STEALING Stafford’s crown? | Nick Wright NFL

Episode Date: January 16, 2026

All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet.  Nick Wright reacts to John Harbaugh becoming the head coach of the New York Giants. Next, Nick breaks down what is next for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin after the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach resigned. Then, Nick previews every NFL playoff game of the Divisional Round, starting with Caleb Williams' Chicago Bears hosting Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams. After, Nick debates who has the most glaring red flags between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, if the Buffalo Bills will expose the Denver Broncos as pretenders, and if Drake Maye and the Patriots are ready to take the leap against the Houston Texans. Later, Nick and Damonza answer your questions. #VolumeSee 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. 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. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the ice.

Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs' tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris.

She can win. She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any service. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Most people out here think that taking care of one another is important.

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and the Ad Council. Welcome in while driving the great episode 415. This episode as always is presented to you by our great friends at Boost Mobile. We are on the precipice of my favorite sports weekend of the year. NFL, Divisional Round Week. typically four absolutely unbelievable games. Usually you have at least six of the best eight teams in the league over the course of the season playing this weekend.

This year, one could argue, you have all eight of the eight best teams in the league playing this weekend, with the one exception being Mike Jags not making it, but I don't know who you'd put them over. The Bills who just beat them, the Texans, maybe the Niners in their current. form, whatever it is. Basically, all the right teams are playing, and I can't wait to get to it. We also have coaching news from overnight and from since we last talk, so let's get right to it. We'll go to straight the voicemail brought to you by our friends at Boost Mobile.

Anthony Davis, evidently out weeks and not months with a hand injury, not going to have surgery. Janus booed by the Bucks fans and then boosted back. You're saying the fans are right? ungrateful. Here's the thing on that quickly. I don't, I know Janus took it as if they were booing him. I don't think they were booing him. I think they were booing the 2026 Milwaukee Bucks. And I think that part of their frustration is that that team can be that bad despite having Janus. But it sure seems like that relationship,

has run or is, you know, run its course and that it could be the best for all parties to move on. But that was a, I didn't like any of that. Janice looked really sad on the bench. And then afterwards, he was like, I always boo when I get booed, but those are road games. Like, I don't know. Also, just now, Jonathan Cominga demanded a trade. That's, he's never been happy there. And the really cool one-point slam, 64-person. tennis tournament, winner gets a million bucks. They play one point each game, and an amateur ended up winning the whole thing. He beat Center in the round of 16 because Center faulted and then beat a young lady when

she hit it out in the championship. He won a million bucks. I actually watched that. It was pretty sick. DeManzi, how are you? Cinema. I'm good. I'm doing pretty good this morning.

No complaints. Right after you, either on the air or off the air, last recording, mentioned some stupid Twitter meme about like four pictures being one picture or whatever. And all of us were like, we weren't really that familiar with what you were talking about. And you said, well, maybe this, I'm showing my own immaturity or something. This is my algorithm. Yeah. The White House did.

one. So I don't know, man. We're just living in the dumbest timeline. Reminder everybody, like, rate, subscribe review to the show. Again, the thumbs up, the hitting the bells on YouTube is helpful, leaving us a nice review. We appreciate that. But what literally pays the bills are the subscriptions. And the cool thing about the subscriptions to this is it's totally free. So if you would subscribe on YouTube, it would be greatly appreciated. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify. It would be greatly appreciated. All right, let's get to the overnight news of John Harbaugh going to the Giants. John Harbaugh agreed to go to the Giants last night. And a little bit before that, and shortly after our last show, Tomlin had stepped down as the Steelers coach. We'll talk about

that in a little moment. But what do you think about Harbaugh going over to the Giants? I don't say this often, but I totally agree with Dan Orlovsky. This is the best thing to happen to the Giants since they won the Super Bowl. Sincerely, there are, there are two things. No, there are three things that really matter in the NFL to be. a perennial contender and avoiding being a perennial laughing stock. The first one is avoid having atrocious ownership.

So the giant stadium mates, the jets, they just have atrocious ownership that will always be in their way. I think the Browns have atrocious ownership that will always be in their way. the Giants have had one of those three kind of benchmarks down, and they have good to very good ownership in the Maras. The second thing you need is a legitimate, true, professional head coach. They now have that for the first time since Tom Coughlin. Obviously, the third leg of that stool, will is the quarterback. I don't think they have that, but maybe they do. And if not, you'll see how

you can paper it together while you try to find the quarterback. But if ownership will stay out of the way and you have a legitimate head coach, once you have the quarterback in place, you can instantly content. The Bears and Patriots are showing you that right now. That, and I've said this before, I will say it again, if you have the right coach and the right quarterback, the rebuild is somewhat instant. And if you have had the same coaching quarterback for two years, not four years, not six years, two years, and the team is not competing at the very least where playoffs are the expectation,

then you don't have the right coach or you don't have the right quarterback. There are no instances of awesome coach, awesome quarterback, but it took us four years to get it together. That flatly doesn't happen. And so the Giants got the best coach that was truly available. And I say that because I don't think Tomlin is truly available. I think Tomlin's going to take a year off and survey the landscape.

Because none of these jobs are great jobs. I ranked them on the TV show yesterday. But 9 to 1, the way I had it. Let me pull up my exact list. Number 9 was the Browns because of that ownership problem, because of the cap issues created by the Watson contract, and because they don't have a quarterback. Number 8 is the Titans to me.

Now, if you love Cam Ward, then that job moves. up the list. But even if you love Cam Ward, they only have one other player on the roster you could love in Jeff Simmons. And ever since Amy Adams-strunk took over, they have just been a revolving door of front offices. They move off Rable. It's been a disaster. Number seven's the Dolphins. Again, no quarterback. They have not had a head coach there since Don Shula last longer than four years, and they're in a rough cap position. The Cardinals, I put it six, because I think it's a very tough division, and they don't have the quarterback. The Falcons are an interesting one.

Super Soft Division have won seven or eight games in seven of the eight last, in seven of the eight last years. they do have some talent and I don't think Blank's a terrible owner so that you know it makes that a decent job I put the Giants at four they've got money they've got a D-line they might have a quarterback I'm skeptical

but that also is up I think not the hardest division the Raiders I put at three purely because I think if you believe in Mendoza, that number one pick plus the fact that you have a ton of money to spend makes that somewhat attractive. But that to me feels like a better job for a young offensive-minded guy that wants to grow with Mendoza than 62-year-old John Harbaugh. Now, the flip side of that is while the Raiders don't mind paying coaches, the Raiders since Art Shell, which was 1994 in the last 30 years, they have had two head coaches get more than three, get at least three years. Jack Del Rio and John Gruden twice, and they have had a dozen other coaches get less than three.

three years. So they will, that hamster wheel will spin. And then the Steelers, two, Ravens won. Obviously, Harbaugh wasn't going to the Ravens. The Steelers, I think that they were not going to hire a coach his age because they want that coach to be there for 15 some years, ideally. And so I think the Giants are a great job for him. I don't expect a snap contention, but I do think that all of a sudden the Giants could be a 500-ish team next year. I think that's a legitimate possibility and I want to see what Jackson Dart looks like.

Don't love Scataboo and neighbors both coming off major injuries, but this is a great day for Giants fans. Flatly. This is probably the happiest you've been since the boat party playoff game against the Packers with O'Dell and Eli at the end of Eli.

And it's the best day for your franchise since you won a Super Bowl. All right, let's talk a little Tomlin here to Monzae. Yeah, so Reed is now the longest tenured coach over there in Kansas City. Do you think that Tomlin's potentially waiting to take over Kansas City? So here's a little bit of the longest tenured coach over Kansas City. So here's, I don't think that necessarily, but I also don't think that's crazy.

So the last head coach of the Steelers was Bill Cower. Bill Cower left after 15 years, went to CBS, and for about five consecutive coaching cycles, DeMonzee, Bill Cowher was the number one. candidate and he never left the job he's still doing TV on CBS he just stayed there i do think it's on the board that tomlin goes and does tv and never stops and it's like i can make i'm not making coaching money doing this i mean he was making 25 million dollars a year reportedly from the Steelers. But I'm making millions and millions of dollars for 2% of the work. I love it. So I think it's on the board. It wouldn't be my bet, but I think it's on the board that Tomlin does not

coach again. I think that's possible. Okay. And because he's going to have such a great job, he can be, and because he's young enough, he can be very choosy. So for Mike Tomlin, if I had to bet on the next job for Mike Tomlin, my bet would be the Philadelphia Eagles a year from now. I think that is a job that will come open in the next few years, and that Tomlin, that's a great job. So when we're thinking of it, so the reason I don't think the Chief's thing is a ludicrous idea is because at some point during Patrick's career, Andy's going to retire. And the moment that happens, that becomes one of the greatest job openings of all time.

Again, assuming Patrick comes back. me. Well, I mean, Andy's older than you think. And so, I mean, Andy is, in two months, he turned 68. So, you know, again, the reason I think it's not far-fetched is because, or not insane, is because I could see Tomlin staying in TV for more than one year. Sean Payton stayed for one year and then the Broncos traded a pick to the Saints to get him. If Tomlin comes back in the next two years, his team would have to trade, do some type of compensation with the Steelers.

I don't think the Steelers, though, will throw up too many roadblocks. But I could see, you just got to think about what are great jobs that realistically could come open. The Packers are a very good job. and it looks like LaFleur's, you know, a little tenuous at the moment. The Eagles, I expect to come open. The bills at some point. Let's see. Let's see how this year goes.

Like, McDermott is kind of... Is Baltimore insane? Like, I know we don't have a coach right now. Maybe we get a coach. It doesn't work out. Well, that's the thing. So, I mean, I think Baltimore is insane because it's open now. No, I just think because it's open now and he's not take, you know, he's not going there right now.

And so the, what I was saying about McDermott is McDermott's kind of on the perma warm seat. And he could end that this year. They win the Super Bowl. He'll be the coach there for probably the rest of Allen's career. Zach Taylor and the Bengals, the problem there is, I don't know that that's a good job, even though Joe Burroughs awesome,

because of ownership. And so you just, you look around, but my money would be that Mike Tomlin is going to be the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in a year. That's where I would put my money. But I don't think,

I think I also, I think there is a chance that in three years, he's still doing TV. And he comes and what pulls him away from that is Andy Reid retiring. I think that's possible. All right. I know you got one more follow up. Do you think this eliminates any chance of Rogers coming back, or at least at the start of the season for next year? He's definitely, it certainly eliminates any chance of him coming back to the Steelers. certain.

And I don't think Roger's going to be a week one starter for anybody next year. I still think he might play again, but it would be, you know, a mid-season edition after an injury. All right, before we get to my favorite sports weekend of the year, today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet. Miami's made the national championship. Hard Rock Stadium is going to be rocking. and if you're going to the game, Hard Rock bet is giving you a $10 bonus bet

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Tennessee, Virginia. 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. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it.

And, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy. Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-heartedly. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerner Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world.

right now and I actually can win on any surface because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. All right, let's talk Rams Bears, De Manzay. All right, so your MVP Matthew Stafford escaped Carolina last week, and now they get to go and play the spicy bears who keep getting these. and probable wins. Do you think the last week's game was too emotional of an output for Chicago Bears

and the fans this week to overcome? I'm sorry. No, you're fine. I mean, I do think there is an element of that game validated their season. And there was such a catharsis from that stadium to come back the way they did. to do it against that team, the hated rival. And I don't, I thought the bear's crowd played a real factor in the comeback. And I just don't know that I expect the crowd to be a 12 out of 10 again.

I also think that the Bears' injuries during that. game, a banged up defense losing another linebacker, and the left tackle being out maybe for next year as well, but certainly the rest of this postseason with a blown ACL. They were already behind the eight ball here. And now I, listen, I think people know how much I like the Bears, how much I like Caleb, and how impressed I've been. with Caleb's late game heroics, but I feel like they're going up against the best team in the NFL. And I think DeMonte, they are going to need to score 40 to win this game.

I think the Rams are going to be able to move the ball at will against this Bears defense. I think what you saw Green Bay doing in the first half, against the Bears, the Rams are going to be able to do the entirety of the game. And I think Devante Adams now knocks some of the rust off in the last game, he will be a bigger factor. Puka is simply unguardable. And if I'm a Bears fan, I am just worried that there are going to be guys running wide open all throughout the game. And like what we saw in that game for the Packers, even in the second half, when who was the number six, oh, Kyler Gordon was getting picked on repeatedly.

I think that Sean McVeigh is going to draw a big red circle around Kyler Gordon and hunt him. they probably can, the Rams have enough weapons. They can stay away from jail and Johnson. I don't know that the Bears pass rush is going to be able to disturb Stafford that much. Because Stafford was, you know, pretty, somewhere from pretty good to super exceptional in almost any scenario. But he was unbeatable if you didn't get pressure on him. I don't know if they're going to get pressure on him. And I think this is a really tough game for Chicago.

It would be remarkable if they win it. If they win it, they either are then hosting the Niners in a rematch of the 4238 classic that we saw in week 17, except this one's in Chicago. Or they're going to Seattle. feeling like we've got the better quarterback. Let's see what the hell happens. But if Carolina could score 31, they could score 40, huh?

I actually don't think so. I think the Panthers game was misleading on the overall quality of that Rams defense. And I also still don't totally understand how. the Panthers scored all the points they did. I, I, the, I mean, Bryce threw for 260, but they only ran for 80 and it, it was just, go ahead. They scored that literally, that exact same amount of points the last time they played them. It was 31 points.

That's, I mean, there's something. And the Rams, the Rams defense, after. starting the year off great, gave up 31 to the Panthers, 20 to the Cardinals, 27 to the Falcons, 38 and overtime to the Seahawks, 34 to the Lions. As you mentioned, 31, a couple weeks before that to the Panthers the first time. I think the Rams pass rush is going to have more of an impact in this game with that injury to the Bears starting left tackle. Again, I ain't Caleb will play well, but, and again, we'll do our pick show tomorrow, but this feels like 42 to 27 to me.

Like, I, I, I know, I mean, I do believe the offense is going to be humming for the Rams. I don't think they're going to too many problems. I just, yeah, I just don't, I don't know how the bear is shut up, slow him down. Forget shut them down, slow him down. This would be to me a remarkably impressive win. And the only way the Bears win that I can see is if Caleb plays the best game he's played as a pro. If you get late game Caleb for the entirety of the game. And I think that's just hard.

It's a hard ask. So you hinted that if Stafford retired out of the NFC, this year that Caleb would be the best quarterback in the NFC. How important is this head-to-head matchup in that theory? Well, I think that if he were to win this game, some folks would argue he doesn't need Stafford to retire. He's just going into next year the best quarterback. But I, and I don't think Stafford's retiring, to be clear.

But I right now, would rather have Caleb than Dak or Jaden or Jalen Hertz or Jordan Love or Jared Gough or Baker or Purdy or Darnold. The only guy in the conference that I would rather have as my quarterback is Stafford. And I think that the only

hole in Caleb's game right now is accuracy on easy throws. Like, that's the one part of his game that is below average at this point. And I'm going to give him credit that from year one to year two, the biggest thing he needed to improve on was not taking awful sacks, and he fixed it. And then during, from the beginning of year two to the end, end of year two, the biggest thing he needed to improve on was the pre-snap operation, getting out of the huddle on time, not having these procedural penalties, and he fixed it.

So now the biggest thing he needs to improve is that the accuracy on what I would call simple passes, so I'm going to give him credit that he'll be able to fix that. So I, you know, I am as bullish as one can be on Caleb. And I think he's just scratching the surface on who he can be. All right, let's talk about the next game. Niners and Seahawks face off of the third time this year with the NFC championship game on the line. We know San Francisco has been played with injuries and Darnold's teams to tense up in the bright lights. Which one do you think is a bigger liability in this game?

I think it's the Niners injuries. because I just, I don't think Darnold is going to need to have a huge game. I mean, these two teams have played twice, once in week one, once in week 18. And the final scores were 17, 13, Niners in week one, and 13 to three Seahawks in week 18.

No George Kittle. Poor Christian McCaffrey just being run into the ground usage-wise. Pardon me. That Niners defense so incredibly banged up. I think Seattle, as long as Darnold doesn't truly melt down, the rest edge is also so substantial for Seattle that having the buy versus the Niners playing Sunday

a Sunday war into a Saturday game. This has been a 10 out of 10 brilliant coaching season for Kyle Shanahan. But I feel like the end of the road is this weekend. And it would, them in back-to-back weeks, both games, essentially without George Kittle. We'll see about Pierce all this week, but last week they didn't have him. Going to the defending champion Eagles

and then going to Seattle and getting two wins would be all-time stuff for an underman team. And I think Seattle has earned our respect on. Their resume is they beat the Jags. They beat the Texans. They beat the Rams. They beat the Panthers. They beat the Niners.

Their losses are a two-point loss to the Rams, a three-point loss to the Bucks, and a four-point loss in week one to the Niners. So two of their three losses, they played that team again later in the year and beat them. That Rams loss, Darnold had five turnovers, and they were still right there, or four turnovers, I'm not sure. And I just think that Seattle is too well-rounded of a team, too healthy and too rested,

to lose this game. All right, what are your follow-ups here? Did the committee hesitate or struggle at all to put a team with a shaky quarterback atop the tears? Yeah, I mean, listen, Seattle has earned the right to be considered the best team in football. Yeah. But if they play the Rams, I'll pick the Rams, and if they play the bills, I'll pick the bills. Fair enough. I see Seattle has earned the respect that they get that that spot.

the top, you know, everybody's power rankings. But when push comes to shove, I'm not going to, there is a level of trust. I'm just not going to be able to have in a darnold Stafford playoff matchup or a darned Josh Allen Super Bowl matchup. What else you got here? So on party, it sounds like you kind of been changing your tone a little bit on your thoughts on him. If he goes and balls out against his defense, are you officially ready to give him a new

conversation. Well, listen, I, the games and how you play in the games have to matter. And he's played good. Even though Purdy had those, you know, one really bad and one kind of bad pick against Philly, I thought all things considered, that was an impressive, gutsy performance by him. If he follows that up and plays well when they beat the Seahawks, then of course, then I have to I mean, I can't have a closed mind. Is he like top five? I don't know. No, he wouldn't be top five.

I don't know. I don't know. But I do know that I have been impressed with how he played that Seahawks game, at the end of the season, notwithstanding, down the stretch of the season, that Seahawks game was a rough one. for him. He's 19 or 27 for a buck 25 and through the pick at the end. But I really liked his overall performance in that Eagles game, even though that pick near the end was really, really bad. I thought the past to McCaffrey was awesome.

I thought his escapeability and scrambles were really important. I was impressed by him in that spot. Like the games, particularly playoff games, weigh very heavily in how I feel. And doing it short-handed and undermanned is wildly impressive. All right, let's talk about the AFC. A team that you have not believed in whatsoever, playing a team that you have believed in through and through throughout the season,

the Bills and the Broncos. Are you putting the Broncos on fraud watch in this game? I don't think the Broncos are frauds. I do think, however, that if they lose this game, there will be a lot of looking through their season with a fine-toothed comb and the question being asked, how good were they really? And I think that'll be fair. They are playing a short-handed Bills team.

They are at home. They are healthy. they had the buy, and this Broncos team that they had moments of wildly impressive play, but they also, down the stretch of the season, they had one excellent game, the Packers game. They got blown out at home by the Jags. They're tied 13-13 against what was left of the Chiefs. They are a two-point conversion from Josh Johnson away, or was it Marriota? I don't even remember in that game who it was, from losing to the commanders.

They beat the Raiders 10-7. They beat the Texans 1815 in a game. They knocked out C.J. Stroud. Jets game came down to a potential field goal at the end. They, they're. Holy shit, look at the Broncos moments this year, were the 21 straight points to come back against Philly back in early October,

beating the Cowboys 44 to 24, and that Packer game when Bo Nix played out of his mind, and they beat the Packers 34 to 26, with, you know, a late touchdown to ice the game when it was 27, 26. It's not that that's not nothing, and the fact that they found ways to win matters. But if they lose to Buffalo, last year they played Buffalo in the playoffs,

they started the game up 7-0. They lost the game 31 to 7. The bills, you now have a banged-up, Bill's team if you are the team your fans and your coach more on him in a second

have sworn you are all year you'll win this game I have major doubts about it and if they don't win this game when there I had this sorry let me pull it up real quick

when you add the one seed and you add all of these things kind of working for you. And next year, DeMonsei, the Denver Broncos play in no particular order. The bills, the Rams, the Seahawks, obviously the Chiefs twice, the Chargers twice, the Niners, The Jags, the Panthers, which I get, are a playoff team, not a great team, but a playoff team. Yeah. The Steelers, I'm leaving some, I left out one of their tough games. Oh, I mean, I think the.

Life can come, like, yeah. Life can come at your fast now. The, and, oh, the, oh, I left, the Patriots are another one. And so big difference in how we'll view the Broncos if they win this game and lose in the conference championship game. Obviously, anything past that make the Super Bowl win the Super Bowl. It's a 30 out of 10 great season. But just winning the one playoff game, getting that monkey off your back is, so important and sean payton's been writing checks all year and up to an including this week

when he was a total jerk to that reporter for asking about dray greenlaw coming back for no reason whatsoever what was that i don't i don't i mean a reporter asked him about dray greenlaw attacking downhill in the run game and trumping he's like what do you know about attacking downhill in the run game. You don't know anything about that. He's just, he's just, when he feels like he's in the catbird seat, he doesn't appear to treat people that well. And you win this game. You've been talking all year about this team being a Super Bowl caliber. Last year, you said, had you not gotten curb stomped by the bills, you thought you were going to beat the Chiefs, the team that went to the Super Bowl.

You now have them in your building and you're arrested and the bills have three receivers left. So we'll see, again, the PIC show tomorrow, but I'm leaning strongly Buffalo. And we'll talk more about the Bill's side of things in tomorrow's show. Are you thinking about upgrading to the all-new iPhone 17 Pro designed to be the most powerful iPhone ever? But you're also thinking about traffic on your way to the store, transferring all your data, the hassle of all that. Good news. When you order a new phone online with Boost Mobile, they'll send an expert, to your home or work to deliver your brand new iPhone 17 pro and get you all set up on Boost Mobile

within minutes. No hassle. Visit BoostMobile.com to get started. Delivery available for select devices purchased at boostmobile.com. Terms do apply. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers. Guess what? We have some big news. What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to us. 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. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this.

We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games,

from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jenchian went. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted.

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I heart women's sports. All right. Last game, DeMonte, before we play a game the producers put together and get some of the questions from earlier in the week. Go ahead. Yeah, so we saw Drake May struggle a little bit against the charges. The big thing on them was their strength of schedule and they haven't played anybody and they played somebody and struggled a little bit. So the challenge gets a little bit harder this week in Houston. And they have that hellacious defense coming at him. So how are you feeling about New England going up against Houston this weekend? Listen, I think that

Houston defense has a chance to carry them all the way to the Super Bowl. Yeah. But that Houston offense is so inconsistent. It allows as bad as the Steelers offense was on Monday night. That game's seven to six entering the fourth quarter. It's 10-6 before the strip sack touchdown. that Houston earlier this year forced Josh Allen into one of the worst games of his career and dominated the bills and despite that with 25 seconds left or with no more than that

with I'm looking at it right now with 40 seconds left the bills have the ball at Houston's 17 down four points, meaning even though the Texans played basically as well as you can play defensively, the bills had a chance to steal the game. It's just such a hard way to do business when your path to winning these games is our defense is going to carry us. and while we have seen teams do it, the games feel like they are going to consistently be in the balance at the end. The most famous example of a team's defense in the modern-ish era

carrying them to the Super Bowls, the 2000 Ravens. That 2000 Ravens team allowed 23 points total in four playoff games. They won their four playoff games, 21 to 3, 24 to 10, 16 to 3, and the Super Bowl, 34 to 7 to Monzae, and that 7, by the way, was a kick return. So they, it's not even,

it's not even, so I said they allowed 23. they really allowed 16. And so what are the other instances? I'm going to pull it up right now. The 2002 bucks would be the other, another instance of a team's defense just dominating. That Bucks team allowed six points in round one, 10 points in round two, and then in the Super Bowl, they won 48 to 21, but there were, multiple

defensive so the deep so that that that Buck's defense that allowed 21 points also de Monza had three pick sixes to score 21 itself

in the Super Bowl wow and so and the one other example and are you arguing that these are boys oh sorry hold on just real quick. The one other example would be

the 20 the 2015 Broncos defense was dominant, but they had Peyton at the helm, and even though Peyton was not really Peyton that year, it was still Peyton Manning.

And it felt like he could at least put the offense in good positions. The 2013 Seahawks are a team that comes to mind and they might be a better example of kind of what I'm worried about for Houston. That 2015 Seahawks team, or 2013, as dominant as that defense was, the Niners have the ball down six inside the 10-yard line in the final moments of the game, and that's when we got,

you try to test me with a sorry receiver like crab tree that's what you get from Richard Sherman they were still one pass away it's just a hard way to do business and so I also think the pads on the other hand are so much more dangerous

now that Drake May got those first playoff game jitters kind of out of the way because you saw him playback in the second half. What was your, I interrupted you, what was your question? Oh, no, I was saying, were you arguing that those defense were more dominant than this Houston's, this Houston Texan's defense, because I mean, it sounded like those scores were pretty crazy.

Well, I mean, the 2000 Ravens most dominant defense in 40 years. Right. I mean, that's a, they're in a separate category entirely. So with us describing how. I think it's, I think it might be on par, with the Legion of Boom defense. Okay. And, but the Legion of Boom at least had good Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch.

And C.J. Stroud's just been so bad. Do you think he's still a franchise quarterback? And he just lost his wide receiver one. Is Nico even playing in this game? I mean, Nico's probably, I would be shocked if Nico plays. It's weird because Stroud and Josh, Allen are the only quarterbacks to both win. They're the only quarterbacks in the league to have won a playoff game each the last three years.

But Stroud was bad Monday night. Yeah. His previous playoff victories, he hadn't been bad. He was bad in that one. What do you think is on the board with Drake May and a good performance against his defense? I mean, that would vault him. If Drake is, I think there are ways for New England to win. without Drake being really good because I think the Texans defense is so shaky,

or Texans offense, pardon me, is so shaky. But if Drake lights up this defense, that'll be the performance of the postseason so far. We'll give you our picks on the picks show, which comes out tomorrow. But evidently, there was the Olympic ticket draw for L.A. residents yesterday, DeMonsay. explain this how this worked and then we'll do this before we get to the listener questions. So yesterday, L.A. residents were able to enter into the ticket raffle for the 20, the ticket draw for the 2028 Olympics.

If you get drawn in March and April, you get a shot at buying first tickets. Yeah. You're able to pick from five sports. I picked four sports. You're going to guess what my sports were. And then you'll take a, and then you'll tell me what I should fill my five. final spot with. And then lastly, you'll tell us what you're looking most forward to in the

2020 to 2020-2020 Olympics. Okay. All right. You definitely, you're for, two are obvious. You definitely pick basketball. Fair. You definitely pick track and field. Am I wrong? I did not. You did not. Track and field should have been the number one okay then that has to be your fifth pick that's the single best ticket i like tracker field i just when i was going through and seeing all on the list there were some that popped out more to me than others but um but yep i did not pick track in the field all right well that that has to be your fifth i think you might have picked flag football i did okay i thought you might pick flag football um i think you might have picked

boxing. I thought about that one pretty heavy. I did not pick that one. But yes, I would have. Yeah. Did you pick three on three basketball? No. I would neither.

I think that's smart. This is interesting. We got flag football, basketball, and then there's two more. Beach volleyball? No. Thought about that one, too. Did you pick any combat sport? No. I thought you might have gone taekwondo or judo.

No. Skateboarding? No. All right, I'm not going to get this. It's closer to home than you think. What did you pick? One of them was diving. I like diving.

And I just think it's so hard and just seeing them pull that type of stuff off. And then lastly, we're shocked by that. Lastly, we got tennis. You don't like tennis. No, I love tennis. All the talk about it throughout the show, I've gained a liking to it. You know, Mev-Dubev, Jokevich. Medv.

Yes. All right. Mine, here's what I would not have picked tennis because I can see tennis elsewhere. Okay. This is the Olympics. It's not the best guys going there. I mean, yeah, but the best guys play in all the majors. So I, if I could, if, so here's what I.

would have picked track and field's my number one pick with a bullet i mean because isn't that just like a large umbrella of a bunch of bunch of stuff i'm underneath there well yeah it's all the yeah all the races oh yeah but that's the the field stuff is not as fun but it's just the track hundred meter the four by four all of it so i'd pick track and field i think i would pick water polo Okay. Which is awesome. I would pick gymnastics. The two hottest tickets are going to be track and field and gymnastics every time, no doubt about it.

Okay. And I would pick swimming. Yeah, I can't. That one I can't give one. The other ones I do find exciting. I can't believe you pick diving. You know, like diving? not really, but maybe it's because I can't do a regular dive, so I'm not as impressed by it as you are.

But I like stuff that I'm not going to be able to watch elsewhere. So, like, I would consider rugby. Boxing is interesting because it's so much purer than regular boxing. lacrosse is a great sport but i can watch that elsewhere um but if you get these tickets to monse all buying like if you get selected uh but you have to put track and field as your last as your last crazy but yeah no i'm down for track and field well to be clear i didn't mean i'll buy him and give them to you but i mean i'm saying if you get oh you just buy them and then you're going oh well maybe go maybe i don't know what i'll do but i'm saying if you get selected

don't say, oh, no, I can't afford them. We'll figure it out. Okay, all right. Let's get to some of the listener questions from this, from Tuesday and then into Thursday, yeah. Anaki says one question from a fan in Spain. Do you think the bills could beat Denver or Houston with the type of methodical drives they had in Jacksonville? I can't see Shakir was 61 yards after catch.

No, I think that against either of those defenses, Josh is going to have to run a little more, but I also think they wouldn't need 27 points to beat either of these defenses. All right, next. Acuity says, if anyone not named Stafford or Allen win the Super Bowl, can we avoid the whole Hertz is the top five quarterback thing again just because he wins the Super Bowl?

Listen, I think that Jaylen Hertz had legitimately had a claim after last year's Super Bowl, he was top five quarterback. He is a couple of years removed from finishing top three in MVP voting. He was unbelievable in the final two weeks of the playoffs last year. They won the Super Bowl. Like that was Mahomes, Alan Lamar Burrow Hertz was a fine opinion to hold. He then fell some this year. Obviously. So the, like he's, you are not, like if Bo Nix wins the Super Bowl, I don't think, or same Donald.

I don't think people are going to say that guy defended as all that guy's top five quarterback. Hertz had a bigger body of work, including a previous Super Bowl appearance. He played really well in it. Yeah, absolutely. Khalil asked, do you think Houston is scarier now since they won like that with CJ playing bad? I would feel that way if they, if I thought CJ was about to start playing well. But I just think that's what CJ is going to be doing. So no, I don't think they're scarier.

All right, next. The Lilt Man asked question for DeMonze, when healthy, based on the playoff runs you've seen this far, who's having the more magical year, Caleb Williams this year or Jaden Daniels last year? And I'd have to say Jaden Daniels last year. I think Jaden last year was more impressive up to this point than what Caleb's done. What Caleb's doing feels sturdier for me than Jaden.

And we'll see. And we'll see how much of this for Jaden was just injuries and whether or not he's going to be able to fade those injuries moving forward. All right, let's go to some of the questions from today. Curtis asked out of the remaining playoff teams, who is most likely to miss the playoffs next year? and who do you think could get even better next year? Out of the remaining playoff teams. Out of the remaining playoff teams, the team I think is most likely to miss the playoffs next year

is Denver. Is that schedule that I just laid out to you? And the team that I think get better next year is the Bears. Yeah. I definitely said Bears better. The, I Yeah, the The Niners should be healthier,

but I don't, you know, they won 12 games anyway. And so I don't know how much better they'll be. All right, last one. And then Scott asked Nick, who goes after Malik Willis, Cleveland, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, or do you see him elsewhere? Not Cleveland. I think Pittsburgh's a possibility. I think Arizona is a possibility.

I think that Miami's a possibility, and I think the Jets are probably the favorites for him. Because now that Dante Moore is going back to school, I don't know what they're going to do. All right, DeManzay beat me in picks last week. He has been the gambling sage of the show this year. His teasers crushed, and then his picks against the spread, he went four and two.

We will get to our picks from last week and our four picks for my favorite sports weekend of the year in tomorrow's show, which we're about to do right now. So we appreciate everybody listening. Check out the feeds, YouTube, Spotify, iTunes for the pod that will drop tomorrow morning with our divisional weekend picks. Huge thank you to volume and to hard rock. And of course, our great, I'm sorry, volume and Blue Duck and our great sponsor. hard rock and boost. Talk to you guys tomorrow for our divisional round pick show. See you then. We'll try. 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. Another podcast from some SNL, late night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She's an outsider to win the French fame.

And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennarabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Most people out here think that taking care of one another is important. And most people would step up for a neighbor going through a tough time.

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