The Kevin Sheehan Show - Playing Out String

Episode Date: December 12, 2025

Kevin previews Commanders-Giants with a pick to open the show. Jay Gruden jumped on with thoughts on Jayden Daniels sitting. He had his “Lock of the Week” which has hit 9 out of the last 10 weeks. Kevin had another 4  NFL “Smell Test” picks after hitting on the Falcons last night. For all your football betting needs: DCRELOAD at MyBookie for a 50% Deposit Match Want to spruce up your lawn? FastGrowingTrees.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it, you don't need it, but you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Sheehan Show, here's Kevin. From 37 to send Washington to the final league. The Washington put Hangers on the upright, and it is in. They point their way to the defensive round. 11 months ago, to the day, January 12th, 2025, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Mike Toriko with the call of Zane Gonzalez doinking one in from 37 yards out to send Washington to the next round of the playoffs with a 23 to 20 win over Tampa Bay.

Well, last night, Zane Gonzalez, back in the almost exact same. same spot. This time from 43 yards out, he slipped it inside the left up right and the Falcons beat the Buccaneers 29 to 28. They never even mentioned on the Amazon broadcast the last time Zane Gonzalez kicked in that exact same spot at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. But I would assume many of you who were watching last night said, hey, that's the guy that's got the the OCD issues that was putting the helmet on and off and on and off again and then went out and doint one in in the playoffs. Yeah, it was him last night. And the reason he was in position to do that was because of you know who. More on that coming up. The show's presenting

sponsor is always Window Nation. 86690 Nation, Windonation.com if you need new windows. Jay Gruden shortly. Jay's lock of the week. has hit on this podcast nine out of the last 10 weeks. I'll follow up with my smell test for Sunday picks, nothing on Saturday for the Army Navy game or the bowl game between Washington and Boise State. But I did kick off the smell test for this week with a win last night with the Falcons plus the five and a half. I said I think they got a chance to win this game outright. And they did. Let me apologize, too. Some of you did not get yesterday's show until very late last night. There was an issue, I think, with the delivery of the show, the platform that we put it on.

I know some people got it. I got it on time, but I did see some of the issues, and we went back and checked, and it was sort of a distribution issue. You know, we followed up to see if we could get it out even sooner, and it took Apple, Spotify, and some of the others. a while to re-establish the show, I guess, and then send it out again. I don't have much of an explanation on that one, but I do apologize for it. And yes, I should have tweeted out Atlanta as the smell test pick. I did it on radio yesterday, and to be honest with you, I thought the podcast was out in plenty of time for it.

But on Thursday night games, Monday night games, et cetera, especially Thursday night, before you've heard the entirety of the smell test. I need to do a better job tweeting it out. But I did give Atlanta out last night plus the five and a half. And how about Kirk Cousins? You know who. An incredible performance. You know, I've said to some of you who like to tweet me after, you know, a Kirk-led loss

or a Kirk started game loss. Many of you, you know, prove to me week in and week out that you don't watch the games, but you just sort of read the score. You know, the old prove to me or tell me that you didn't watch the game without telling me you didn't watch the game. Kirk Cousins has actually played pretty well since taking over the starting job from Michael Pennix, Jr., who got hurt in Atlanta. He played very well against the Saints in his first game.

Played pretty well against the Jets. That's the game that's going to haunt them because they'd be in the playoff mix right now had they beaten the Jets. But there were literally three dropped balls that would have put them in field goal range at the end of regulation. And then last week, he played well for about a half. And then they got behind with special teams, gaffs, especially, you know, they gave up a kickoff return. Bejohn fumbled in the red zone. And they ended up getting blown out by the Seahawks.

But if they'd got that jet game, they'd still be in the mix. They'd still be alive in the crazy NFC South. But Cousins is healthy this year. It's something that some of us knew about last. year and the real fall off towards the end of last year. He was injured and it wasn't necessarily the Achilles. But he's healthy. He looks good. I would tell you right now that I think that there's a chance. Maybe he doesn't play next year. I doubt this has been his favorite season sitting as a backup to Michael Pennix Jr. and now getting a chance, but when the season was pretty much already decided for the

most part. But if he decides to play a 15th NFL season next year, there will be a market for him, an absolute market, you know, from the Jets to the Colts to the Vikings, you know, there is no doubt in my mind with the way he's playing. He is still a viable NFL starting quarterback without question. Last night, for those of you that didn't watch the game, Kirk Cousins was 30 of 44 for 373 yards and three touchdowns. No picks took one sack in 44 dropbacks. And his team was down 2814 in part because of a fumble in the other team's red zone by Bijan Robinson, who is just an incredible player.

And they were down 2814 in the last three drives. Touchdown, touchdown, field goal. And on the last drive, they had a third and 28 that they overcame. It was a crazy game. If you watched it last night, the Falcons became just the second team in NFL history to win a football game with 15 or more penalties than the opponent. They had 19 penalties for 125 yards. A lot of them were bad calls, but still, I mean, they have been a highly penalized team all year.

long. AJ Terrell himself was called for five defensive flags. Amazing. The Falcons had two practice squad receivers on the field. They did not have their best receiver in Drake, London, and they still won the game. Look, Kirk was phenomenal, but the game's going to be known for the game of Kyle Pitts's career. Kyle Pitts, the highest drafted tight end ever back in 2021. He has struggled. He's been up and down during the course of his career. There's been a lot discussed about his overall preparation, his desire to play football. He's had a major drop problem.

He's had a major blocking problem. But there is no doubt that this is one gifted, talented, six-foot-six-inch, 250-pound separator as a tight end. There's a reason he was drafted fourth overall, and he is going to be an unrestricted free agent in this upcoming off season. A lot of you have said, shouldn't Washington pursue Kyle Pitts? I would say buyer beware. He was incredible last night, you know, in the game against Tampa Bay.

He had in the game last night 11 catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns. It is, he's one of like four tight ends in the history of the game to go for a double-digit catches more than 150 and three-plus touchdowns in the game. He looked awesome and he is a separator, but it is for Falcons fans, they'll tell you it would be a buyer beware situation. He's not, you know, crazy about blocking and he does have a drop problem. and sometimes just an overall interest issue. But he would be one of those guys that as a free agent,

somebody's going to pay him and pay him big time money. But a hell of a football game, we've had some great Thursday night games. You know, going back to early in the season when, you know, we had the major upset at the time with the Giants beating the Eagles, we had that incredible 49er ram game on a Thursday night. when the 49ers beat the Rams at SoFi. We had Houston and Buffalo a few weeks ago, which was incredible. We had that unbelievable Pittsburgh Cincinnati game,

the shootout between Flacco and Aaron Rogers. And then last night, you know, when you least expect it in the NFL, man, it happens. You know, a team that had everything to play for versus one that didn't, and the one that didn't ended up winning the game. A really good NFL weekend coming up. Some big games. I mean, in that one o'clock window, Chargers' Chiefs,

Bill's Patriots in the 4 o'clock window. How about both Fox and CBS this week having double-heder games, and you've got Packers Broncos at 425 on CBS and Lions Rams on Fox? And we get the Philip Rivers game. He might play. I think he's going to. play Sunday against the Seahawks. Not an easy place to open up this season as a 44-year-old that hasn't played in five years. Man, I am going to be glued to that. I am such a big Philip Rivers fan

and I will be rooting big time for him. All right, Washington at New York on Sunday, this is going to be a game in which the weather is going to be a factor. Temperatures falling through the mid to low 20s during the game with wind. It looks like the snow will end by one o'clock in New York, New Jersey, but there will be snow on the ground. It'll be blowing around maybe, you know, if it snows enough with the winds. This game sets up as, you know, two-win team, three-win team, mid-december, terrible weather, just a dismal game.

With that said, with that said. I think it's an opportunity. I think it's an opportunity for Washington to do something in reaction to last week. Look, let's put aside the rooting for them to lose for a better draft pick conversation. I'm going to focus on right now what they need to do to win the game. And I think one of the things I want to see is I want to see them recognize at this point, at this point, who they are. And recognize what the opponent does well. The Giants are the 31st ranked rush defense in the league.

Washington can run the football. They've got a good offensive line. I think the backs are good. You know, Cliff said something yesterday about, you know, focusing and being more of a run team this year. I know most of you would say that doesn't make any sense. Well, they are the fifth leading rush offense in the league, or fourth leading rush offense in the league. Fifth in average yards per carry. and 13th in overall rushing attempts.

And no, it's not all quarterbacks. It's mostly Kroski Merritt and Rodriguez. So let me get to Keys to beat the Giants. I've got basically four of them. Number one is this. I just want to see an emphasis on being physical and running the football. The weather will dictate it. The opponent will dictate it.

This is not a good defensive team right now. terrible against the run, totally different than what they faced the last two weeks. I want 20 plus carries for Chris Rodriguez, assuming he's healthy. He was limited yesterday with a groin injury. I want Bill to have another six to seven carries. I want Marcus Mariotta to be a part of the run game, which he will, with six, seven carries himself, designed, options, etc. I want to see 33 plus rushing attempts for 150 plus on the day. I want to see another low-possession, fast-moving short game that Washington possesses the ball by running the football.

That's number one. 20-plus carries for Rodriguez, 33-plus for the running backs and the quarterback in the run game, not as a scrambler. If they do that, they're going to be in the game for sure. Number two is, unlike last week, you have to have a pass protection plan. actually the one thing the Giants can do defensively. Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, etc. They get pressure. Brian Burns has 13 sacks on the year. You've got to have a better pass protection plan, better cadence plan, better balance so that you can use play action as a throwing, you know, environment like they did a little bit in the Denver game and use some quick game in the

Denver game. But if they're in dropback mode and they don't have a better plan than they had last week, it's going to be a problem. So run the football and then have a real pass protection plan because that's the one thing the Giants can do. They don't do it the same way Minnesota does it. They don't do it with the talent that Denver does it at. But they've got players that can get after you. Number three, don't let Jackson Dart beat you with off-schedule plays. He's very, good at creating and running and creating off of that first play, as Dan Quinn would say, going into the second play. You've got to contain them. You've got to keep them in the pocket, make them a pocket passer. I don't have faith that this defense can do anything well, but I'm just

telling you if Jackson Dart starts running around and making plays outside the pocket, you can't cover, you know that. Doesn't matter who the receivers are. Don't let Jackson Dart beat you on that extended second play. Number four, Washington will win on Sunday if they play a clean game. They're a bad football team right now, and bad football teams can't overcome minus three in the turnover margin area, which is what happened last week. They've got to be clean on turnovers,

clean on drops, clean on penalties. This feels like a game between, you know, two teams that have five total wins on the six. season. This feels like a game that the team that makes the most mistakes and maybe the biggest mistake loses. Can't be that team. Lastly, I just want to mention the Giants have a very interesting situation, a kicker. They've had a number of them as Graham Gano once again has not been a healthy player. And the Giants have missed more PATs than any team in the league. They've missed five of them. I just have a weird feeling on a windy, crazy cold day.

that something like that could end up being the difference. You know, we talked about Van Ginkle last week, and then, of course, Jay Gruden came on and talked about Van Ginkle. I'm just throwing it out there. It wouldn't surprise me if, like, a missed giant P.A.T. ends up being the difference. And that's what I'm going to go with with my prediction. Washington beats the Giants 17 to 16,

and the difference is a missed giant's extra point. Jake Moody hits two extra points and a field goal in this game. And Washington wins 1716 to hurt their overall draft position. And then we will stand by for Mondays, you know, post-game presser. And then Wednesdays, if Dan Quinn doesn't say anything definitive about Jaden Daniels. But the next piece of drama will be, are they going to shut them down? Or will they play them against the Philadelphia Eagles the following Saturday? December 20th. I did think of one thing. If they don't clear them for the Eagle game,

is it possible that they'd roll them out there against the Cowboys on Christmas Day with a lot of rest? Because remember, if they bring them back, and I don't think they will, I think they're going to shut him down. That's been my take all weeks since listening to Dan Quinn on Wednesday. but, you know, he would have to play on Saturday against the Eagles and then the following Thursday against the Cowboys on Christmas Day. That, you know, yeah, they're both at home, but both division opponents won a very good defensive opponent. Maybe, you know, they roll him out for the Dallas game.

I don't think so, though. I think he's done for the year. I am interested to hear what Jay Gruden thinks about the possibility of shutting J.D. and Dan. Daniels down for the season. I'm also very interested in hearing Jay's lock of the week. He's hit on nine of his last 10. Jay Gruden next after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey guys, how many times do you get your credit card statement and you go through it and you see a monthly subscription fee for something you don't even use anymore? Well, I've got something that I

think can help you. Rocket Money. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions. It also helps monitor your spending and helps lower your bills so you can grow your overall savings. Rocket Money shows you all your expenses in one place, including subscriptions you forgot about. If you see a subscription you no longer want, Rocket Money will help you cancel it. You know, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday right around the corner, Rocket Money will help turn you from an impulse buyer into a smart When everything's 50% off, it's easy to justify stocking up. Well, Rocket Money helps you stay focused on your budget, not the discounts.

Rocket Money has saved users over $2.5 billion, including over $880 million in canceled subscriptions alone. Their 10 million members save up to $740 a year when they use all of the app's premium features. cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with RocketMoney. Go to RocketMoney.com slash Kevin D.C. today. That's rocketmoney.com slash Kevin D.C. RocketMoney.com slash Kevin D.C.

Have you ever fallen for a scam or know someone who has? Well, the holidays are all about finding the perfect gift. This time of year, however, not every deal is what it seems. Scammers are getting more creative to trick people into sharing their payment information through methods like fake shopping sites and giveaways that are too good to be true. Luckily, cash apps 24-7 fraud monitoring helps detect and alert you for unusual card activity should someone gain access to your card so you can act fast if something seems off. You can also lock or unlock your cash app card instantly right in the app for extra control and peace of mind. Stay one step ahead of scams this season and keep your money secure with cash app. For a limited time only, new cash app customers can use our exclusive code to earn some additional cash.

For real, just download cash app, use our exclusive referral code, secure 10. in your profile. Send $5 to a friend within 14 days, and you'll get $10 dropped right into your account. Terms apply. That's money. That's Cash App. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partners. Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank member FDIC. Promotions provided by Cash App a Block Inc brand. Visit cash.com slash legal slash podcast for full disclosures. And again, a four-man rush. It's bad here in the air.

And Andrew Van Geinkle gets the pick, chased by McClurend, and down inside the 30-yard line. There just may have been a show last week that said, whatever you do, Washington, don't throw a screen pass in the direction of Andrew Van Ginkle. What's interesting about that play is it may have been the last play of this season for Jaden Daniels. The former head coach of the Washington Redskins is Jay Gruden.

He joins me every Friday during football season, and he's back. In addition to warning Cliff Kingsbury and Jaden Daniels not to throw a screen in the direction of Van Ginkle, which was key number one for you last week. You also said your second key was you have to have a pass protection plan, and it better be a good one for a Brian Flores defense. Clearly, it was not good enough the plan against the Vikings last week. What specifically, Jay, made the plan a bad one? Too many free runners. And yeah, and when you have free runners, it makes it very difficult for a quarterback to succeed.

I would like to see some more max protection plays where he had two-man concept on another or one-man concept on the other or three-level throws, some max protection. That helps out the quarterback a lot knowing that he can go back to pass and get the ball off. But when you have five-and-six-man protection and they're bringing one more than you can block, man. It's hard. It's very difficult for quarterback and an offense to succeed. So, yeah, I mean, it's just something Brian Flores does in his career. You know, sometimes he doesn't do it at all during the game.

he does it multiple times in a drive, so you just never know, but you've got to have a plan for it. So as I mentioned, Jay, it's very possible that that interception by Van Ginkle will end up being the last play of the season for Jaden Daniels. I think there's a decent chance we're going to learn next week or maybe it'll be the week after, who knows, that Jaden Daniels isn't going to play again in 2025. If that's the case, and let's assume he'll be healthy enough, if he isn't this week, certainly by next week, to actually play. If they do shut him down, what will your reaction be? You know what? I don't know.

I think if he's selfishly should play, that's just what I think. I mean, they play a couple meaningful games in the division coming up, very serious with the Cowboys and the Eagles going neck and neck. I would love to see him knock out the Eagles. But, you know, his health matters, his confidence matters, where he is mentally and physically is the most important thing, Does he want to go out there and grind it out again for the last couple of games knowing that he's going to have to wear an elbow brace or whatever? The other side of me says, do it.

I mean, I'm watching Justin Herbert play the broken hand. I'm watching, you know, Joe Burrell come back and play this fight, obviously not being fully capable. There's a lot of quarterbacks that play hurt. Now, if he's injured, that's a different story. But, you know, if you strap up your elbow and play, let's go. You're not going to be further damage to your elbow might. But, you know, that's just me out of them. So I'm kind of torn on it.

I think a lot depends on the doctors, obviously. They got the number one, say, the number two is where it's Jaden at mentally and physically, obviously. Yeah, I mean, do you think, and you know this organization, well, you coached here for six years? So do you think that the past and the criticism and fan reaction, which is polarizing, play him, don't play them, the way the Seattle game went down with him dropping him back down 31 with nine minutes to go and then running an RPO, on that final play. Do you think that all plays into it with Dan Quinn and Adam Peters or not? Probably. I mean, this is a very, very delicate situation. And the decision, really, I think, the risk is the risk reward factor is pretty key. You know, the risk of put them out there

and have them get another injury that could really derail your career in the team's future. You know what I mean? The reward is, hey, we beat Philadelphia, Philadelphia, which really doesn't mean anything. You know what I mean? So there's got to be part of that going on in their brain as well. I just think that, you know, you put your best players out there, especially in division games, and you want to try to get a good taste in your mouth going into the offices and trying to get a victory with your best players. But I don't know. You know, this is what Dan Quinn is to get paid to do at Adam Peters. This is a tough decision for them.

I think they're going to err on the side of sitting them the rest of the year. That's probably the smart thing to do. I just played the position a long, long time ago and coached it. I know that the players would have a lot of respect for him if he did play because, you know, this is a team thing. You want to win your last couple of games, no matter if you're playing for the playoffs or not. You want to go out there and put your best product forward and try to get some victories against your rivalries. Yeah, I mean, I think the conversation with five or six games left in the season might be a different one with three games left in the season or a little bit fewer, you know, or maybe fewer. But I am curious as to, you know, this is something that we as fans kind of talk about, but we don't really know.

And that is when a key player like that gets to sit, and I don't think he gets to sit because I think he wants to play. But when he is shut down as let's just assume he is healthy enough to play, because it was a weird situation, Jay, in that he was cleared to come back into the game on Sunday. Monday, Quinn said he was just sore, and then on Wednesday, he's out for the giant game, and we don't know about what follows the giant game until next week. But back to kind of the locker room situation. What happens when somebody at the end of the year is protected, is bubble-wrapped as a healthy player with your other star players? Do they look at coaches and general managers and say, what about me?

Yeah, that's the issue that I have. you know, let's just pretend Bobby Wagner is a Hall of Fame type player. Is he going to shut it down? You know, like if I had Trent Williams and I shut down a quarterback and Trent Williams, like, wait, whoa, whoa, hold on a minute.

I'm not coming out here on Wednesday and Thursday and grinding out here, then busted my ass on Sunday if we're not even going to put our best product on the field. Why? You know, if you guys don't care about winning, why would I care about winning? Because if you really genuinely care about winning, you put your best players on the field if they're healthy, right?

So that is the situation that you're going to have with the players in the locker room. Where does it end? And why would you not play your best player if he's able to play? Why would you not put him back in the game in the third quarter if he's able to play? You're only down 14 and nothing. 17, yeah. I don't know, man. It's a very delicate situation.

Not many people have a quarterback of this stature late in the season when they're not playing for anything that's had a couple injuries. So I think different franchises would handle it differently. I just don't know the magnitude of the injury and what it is exactly if I knew that. But if I thought he was – if the trainer said he's good enough to go in on his third quarter, I would have put him back in. That's just me. If he's good enough to play this week, I would have put him back in. I just think he needs to work.

He needs to play, and the players – they need a victory. They need something good going on. They must eight games in a row, for God's sakes. Yeah. Yeah, it's an interesting situation. for sure. I mean, I said the other day, if they end up shutting him down, they should shut Terry down. We should have those mysterious, you know, injured reserve announcements. Terry, Tunsell. Where does it start? Where does it end, though? There's a bunch of other

teams. There's how many 15 to 12 to 15 teams that aren't playing for anything? They're not shutting people down. You know, they're playing their best players, right? Kirk Cousous battle was ass off last night. They weren't playing for anything. They went to Tampa and beat him. So that's what you want to see your team do. You want to see them fighting and battle and compete despite the situation, you know? So, I don't know. I hear you, but what I'm saying is if you don't end up playing Jaden the rest of the way, if you're all in on 2026 with three games left, then you should be all in on 2026. Why risk Terry? He's had a quad injury. He's missed a bunch of games. Why risk your best player maybe other than the quarterback Tunsell?

That's all. I'm asking you. I mean, would you, if the organ is, the other part of this too is who's making this decision, but I want him to play. I'm with you. I want him to play. But if they shut them down, why put your other key players for 2026 out on the field? Yeah, that's exactly the point. What's their mentality going to be like, hell? I mean, I mean, I'm just as important to the franchise. I mean, not just as important as a quarterback, but I, you know, I'm pretty important. I'm pretty damn good. If you're not going to play the best player, then why the hell should I play?

And why should I practice? Why should I grind it out? Why should I have to sit in meetings again? You know, why can't I go on my trip to Mexico now? You know, so it's a delicate situation, something they've got to be careful of really. But, you know, the health, the trainers, they matter the most. And obviously, Jaden, what his thought is matters a lot. If Jaden wants to come back in and a trainer says, okay, I don't think.

he's a doubt he should play. Let's just leave it at that, I guess. Yeah. On the decision, let's just assume that a week from now, Quinn kind of says, yeah, we're Jaden's still, you know, not there. We're going to protect him and we're going to shut him down the rest of the year. Whose decision do you think that is? My God, I'd probably say Peter's in the ownership, probably. Yeah. You know, I think if they, you know, I think, you know, said, Coach Quinn, you're guaranteed to be here the next couple of years, and then obviously he'd be on board as well because he wants, he wants a healthy Jaden to try to reset going into next year with the fully healthy Jaden, you know what I mean? So that probably has a lot to do with it, too.

He gets a vote of confidence from the ownership group, you know, so I say, you're coming back for sure. Let's go ahead and start next year with the fully healthy Jaden, Daniels, and I'm sure Coach Kuhn would be on board as well. but I just don't know. I just don't really remember in my time, and I could be wrong. I just trying to rewind my head, you know, the last three games of the season, a team shutting down their best player when he's healthy. I just don't know if I've ever seen that before. I'm sure it's been done, but I just don't remember.

Cliff said yesterday, Kingsbury said, when he was asked about trying to evaluate Jaden's six games, which is what he's played if you add it all up this year, he said it's really hard to evaluate because he just hasn't had the time on task. he hasn't had enough practice time going back to the off season. And when he's been out there, often he's been out there with different players. Is that fair? Yeah, for sure.

For sure. You know, obviously, he hasn't been the same guy as he was last year. There's a lot of reasons for his injuries of the players around them. Yeah, there's a lot of circumstances. So it's just hard when you're spot playing. You play two games, and you sit out a game, and you come back play a game, set out another game, and you take your best every day of practice. and he practiced on Friday, and then you're back playing.

It just hasn't been the ideal circumstance for a quarterback to have success. That's for sure. You know, the games he's played out there obviously hasn't been as good, but I'm kind of with Cliff. I kind of agree with Cliff. It's kind of an unfair grade for Jayden this year to say that, okay, he's been significantly worse as a player, but it's just a lot of things around him haven't been the same.

Have you noticed anything with respect to, like, his confidence? I'm just curious. Do you think it's shaken at all or not? I don't think his confidence has been shaken. I think his confidence, maybe in the players around him as a receiver. You know, I kind of go back to him when he was young at Arizona State or he would drop back and probably look for one guy and didn't have a lot of competency to get open.

He looked to run more than he would going through his progressions. I think that's the way he was when he came back and played. he'd look at the first guy who wasn't open, he'd look for a lane to run or scramble and try to buy time, as opposed to when he went to LSU, he'd go to Brian Thomas, you go to Bleak neighbor, bang, bang, bang, bang, he's stay in a pocket and dropped dimes.

That's the way he played last year, Diami Brown and Terry and Zakaas. I mean, he had different options in Earths, obviously, that he felt confident that they would get open if the first guy was covered. I don't think he has that same confidence in the players around them that they're going to free up, if that makes sense. What do you think of Cliff Kingsbury right now?

like what does he do that you really like and what does he do that you would be critical of? Well, I think that some of the, I don't know, I think he does a good job with the tempo type plays and no huddles and they're pretty sound on what they do. I just think some of the protection things and some of the play action stuff I wish would be a little bit better, but that has a lot to do with their lack of running game that doesn't really scare anybody. so maybe the play actions don't work as well for a second down under center, the shot plays and all that stuff. You know, the chunk yards aren't coming like they did last year because probably they're not able to work the playoffs as well

because the running threat is not there. So I don't know. I think he's not a good job, obviously. You know, this year has been just a bad year for offense and defense. They play from behind a lot, so they've been forcing a known passing situations. They haven't had the ability to have first and ten, second and three, with a seven-point lead a lot, you know what I mean? So it's been a tough year for him as a play caller.

Situations haven't been great, but, you know, he's not all right, I guess. I mean, it's hard to give anybody a good grade this year, right? Yeah, what did you make of second and goal, tackle-eligible, third and goal, fourth in goal after Chris Rodriguez was averaging eight yards of carry in there at the two-yard line, three passes? That was a hard one to watch. You know, the tackle-eligible play, he's way too quick. He was excited to get his first touchdown and didn't sell the run.

And then that was a debacle. And then the two passes weren't very good. There was nobody open. And Chris was pounding people. And that's the one thing about the Minnesota defense is you can really maybe pound them between the tackles. And I wish they would have done it again because Chris had some good hits on that drive. But that's easy to second guess that. But it would have been cool to see, you know, Coleman scored a touchdown.

But unfortunately it did work. What was the thing that you got criticized for that you hated the most, where you would say to somebody like me, dude, shut the blank up. You have no idea what you're talking about. Probably short-yard situation. Just run it up the middle or whatever. You know, just run up.

Don't throw the fate. Don't throw the fade. You know, you got one-on-one out there with a good receiver against a crappy DB. You just don't know, you're watching Devante Adams this year. I'm like, Sean, it's calling a fade six times a game, and it's working. I'm like, ah, dang.

Yeah, well, you've got to Devante Adams. Yeah, that's true. That's true. But sometimes running between the tackles in a loaded box with a 6-2 front is very, very difficult, you know. Throwing a little fade or a back-shoulder fade or a quick slant. There's a little bit easier, higher percentage sometimes than running a 2-yard line with a 6-2 front big-ass defensive lineman. The reason I asked it is, as we were talking about Cliff's play calling, I just remember I remember Sonny Jurgensen, who was a part of the radio station and a part of the broadcast for all those years, and I did the pregame show for 13 years, and Sonny was on with me every week,

and I'll never forget. He lectured me one Sunday morning before a game as we were on the air, saying that he had listened earlier in the week, and he said, one thing you guys can't do because you have no idea what goes into it is criticizing play calling. I don't even do that on the air, and I'm a Hall of Fame quarterback. And I'm, so play calling is one of those things. It's very dicey for people who don't know to criticize. And it really is, especially when you have so many options, you know, you practice so many situations and so many personnel groupings and designed runs and quarterback.

You know, there's so many different ways you do it. And when you call when it doesn't work, you're like, I should have called this one, I should, we should have done this one, we rep this one so good in practice. Why didn't I, you know, the second guess part of it, you know, amongst everybody, once you call a bad play and it doesn't work. sometimes the defense just plays better and out plays you. They just overpower you. There's nothing you can do, but

other times when you have so many other bootlegs and, you know, the roll right passes and the Q8s and there's so many different things that you do, like, shit, man, when you call those and they don't work, damn, I shouldn't just run up between the back calls. Right. Yeah. It's tough. It's difficult being a play caller. You know, sometimes

great play callers are really they have the benefit of really having great players that can really execute just about anything you call. And the really good teams right now, have a top-notch quarterback that can make a play work if everything's covered. Josh Allen can run for a 50-yard touchdown when there's nobody open. So that helps a lot. Was it the most fun part of your job?

Yeah, yeah, it was. You know, game days were the best. You know, there's so many different situations and trying to get people the ball, trying to get Jordan Reed uncovered, trying to James and Crowder working in an option or out and picking other pick. When you have a call, a play that you pick play or something like that or a play to defeat of coverage and it works perfectly, it's a great. feeling you feel like that would work you know right that is most fun part seeing the success

the you know with all the time that you put in and having a success call and play that's that's a great feeling all right i want to ask you about you know these final uh four games all division opponents you got here in 2014 uh you coached a lot of games against the giants eagles and Cowboys. It's interesting when I talk to, you know, people that have been a part of the franchise in the last 25 years versus fans that have been around for, say, 50 on the game in the division that was the most important. Who did you view as the franchise's biggest rival? Cowboys. Okay, good.

Yeah, that's kind of an easy. But, you know, it's interesting. Like Clinton has said to me before, even Cooley's told me before that they felt the games against the Eagles were the most intense and the biggest games for them, the players. They're a very close second, I'd tell you that, and then probably a Giants would be third. But, yeah, the Eagles playing, it seemed like when we played the Eagles, there was a lot more at stake. You know, we won a division at Philadelphia. You know what I mean?

But, yeah, but still, when the Cowboys come to town or we go to Dallas, there's just a different vibe it a different feel, you know, the history of it, I think. You know, and I always tried that, you know, before those games, show out some old videos and the George Allen's on the big games that work. You would, okay. Yeah. Yeah. Did you know about the Skins Cowboys rivalry when you got here?

I would bet that your brother who loves sort of the history of the league, and I'm not saying that you don't, but you hear it a lot more from John. did you know how intense that thing was for three decades? I mean, it was the number one rivalry in the sport, and there wasn't a close second. Oh, yeah, 100%. You knew that coming in for sure. That was the reason you take the job.

NFC East, the Redskins, and I can't have a coach against the Cowboys. Hell yeah, that's the most exciting rivalry in sports. So, yeah, that was a big part of why I wanted to come to Washington. It was be part of the NFC East and the rivalry with the Redskins and the Cowboys. Cowboys. Now, when they changed their name, it just took a little bit of a luster off of the Redskins and the Cowboys. I agree. You know, Washington football team and the Cowboys and the commanders and the Cowboys, like, yeah, you know, I think even across the nation, it probably took a hit, you know.

You know what? There's no doubt about that. You and I haven't had a long conversation on the air about the name, but I think Cowboys, Eagles, and Giants fans hate the name change in some ways as much as we do. Imagine if the Cowboys change their name. to something different. It wouldn't seem the same. But I don't want to get into that right now. I've done, you know, ours. Yeah, that's what I said.

2, 22, February 2nd, 2022, it felt like an expansion team landed in town. What's your favorite moment against the Cowboys or game against the Cowboys? I mean, I can guess, I think, what it is, but I want to hear it from you. Quarterback draw, Colt McCoy. Yeah. You know, we were out of it at that time, and the Cowboys were I see. They were number one in a league. I think and went down there and beat them with Tony Romo and that was a good one.

That was a game that I think we're 13, 12 point underdogs. 10, 10, close, but it was double digits, it was 10, yeah. Yeah, and our guys played their ass off really and had that big game and that was fun. Cole played his tail off and at Dallas on, it was Monday night. It wasn't under Thursday, what was it? No, it's a Monday night game. Yeah, my brother did the game, that's right.

Yeah, so that made it even more special. Yeah, there was a couple of ridiculous conversions, and yeah, Colt was, I'm looking it up right now, he was insane statistically. I want to say it was like 25 of 30, something like that. Oh, my God, I nailed it. That's kind of the point, you know, even though we weren't really playing for anything, a similar situation they're in right now. If they go to Philadelphia and beat Philadelphia, I mean, it's a great feeling. You have memories of that forever, you know what I mean? I mean, there's... I'm going to filly out of the playoffs, and, you know, it means a lot. Yeah, the difference is that game was played at the end of October. That October 27th, by the way, Colt McCoy, 25 of 30, 299 in the game. And it was a 20 to 17 thrilling overtime victory.

All right, what do they have to do to snap this losing skid in the metallands against the Giants? Oh, boy. Oh, boy, oh, boy. We've got to run the ball. There's no doubt about it. The one thing about the Giants, they have a pretty good pass rush that's been known. So let's pound them between the tackles and get your extra alignment out there, put them in a tight end. Because with, you know, hurts being out there, you're probably going to have to go big personnel and try to pound them. And then try to get Marcus some good play action shots and get Terry down the field if they load up the box. So that's number one. And then defensively, obviously Jackson Dart's ability to run. keep them in the pocket.

Make sure your rush lanes are secure. I think you can cover the receivers pretty good. So stop Tracy and make sure Jackson Dart doesn't scramble on you and run the damn ball. Why are we even talking about the keys to a win over the Giants? I want to go back to last week. Honestly, and I said this, I think this is the worst defense in my lifetime of being a Redskins fan. I don't think, I think the 2016 defense was horrible. But at least you guys got an occasional takeaway.

You were dead last in third downs. And dead last, I think you actually were historically bad on third down on third and longs. I think there was a stat that year that said that the skins of 2016 gave up more third and seven or longers than any team in NFL history or the percentage was that. But I think this is the worst defense I've ever seen. What do you think? It's not good. They're not really good at anything. That's the problem.

You know, they're not really good at stopping the run. They're not really good at stopping a forward pass. They're not really good at rushing a passer. It's very, very difficult. We mentioned that when they made the switch to Coach Quinn on the defense. I'm like, I don't know if it really matters who calls the defense here now. I mean, you're not going to get a better pass rusher on the edge.

You're not going to be able to, you know, load the box up and leave your corners out there, you know, one-on-one because you can't cover. So it is a very difficult situation to be in. It's your handcuffed because what do I call? Am I going to put Sanisrael on an island, Trey Amos out on the island, and load the box and stop the run,

or am I going to play cover too and invite them to run it when we can't stop the run. So you just got to mix up your coverages, mix up your intent and try to put some timely blitzes together and try to create a turnover. That's the only chance you have. So you've got to preach that, hey, everybody's got to fly to the ball. You know, one guy a lot, you're going to pay.

And that's what happened last week against Minnesota. He's a backside guy takes a playoff, and Mason cut it right back to him, and he misses the tackle and it's a touchdown. So you all got to be on the same page. You've got to make sure your gap controlled and hustle and fly to the football and try to get the ball out. 19 plays 98 yards, 12 minutes in one second.

I think it was like 25 minutes of real time in between Washington's offensive possessions. It might have been closer to 30 minutes in real time. All right, let's get to your lock of the week and we'll look at some of the other big games on Sunday, and we'll do that right. after these words from a few of our sponsors. Guys, personal experience with a product that I want to tell you about,

it's zbiotics and their product called pre-alcohol. Let's face it, after a nighted drinks, most at our age anyway, don't bounce back the next day like we used to. You either have that choice the night before of, do I have a drink or two, or do I pass? Because I don't want to feel badly the next day. Well, there's a surefire way to wake up feeling, after drinks with friends. It's with pre-alcohol. Zbiotics, pre-alcohol was invented by PhD

scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. I've noticed a difference the next day after using pre-alcohol. You drink pre-alcohol before your favorite drink for me, Tito's soda, lime, or a beer. You wouldn't believe how great you feel the next day. With the holidays approaching, you're going to be at parties. You're going to have these opportunities where You're going to want to have one or two without waking up the next day feeling terrible. Go to Zbiotics.com slash Sheehan to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use Sheehan at checkout. Zbiotics is backed with 100% money back guarantee. So if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions asked.

Remember to head to Zbiotics.com slash Sheehan and use the code Sheean, S-H-E-E-H-A-N at checkout for 15% off. Guys, I introduced you to Goldbelly about a year ago. It's an amazing site that I order from now all the time. It's a place where you can get the most iconic famous foods from restaurants all across the country. They'll ship it to you no matter where you are. Goldbelly ships you iconic Chicago deep dish pizza from Lou Malnoughties, or New York's most famous cheesecake from juniors. If you're craving barbecue, they'll ship it from Franklin's barbecue, the legendary Texas barbecue, straight to your door. And you've got to try the one and only world-renowned stone crab delivered from Joe's in Miami.

Whether it's a dish from that one-of-a-kind restaurant or meals from world-famous chefs, like Jose Andres, Goldbelly has you covered. If you're looking for that perfect gift or want to impress your friends and family with an epic meal the next time you host, go to goldbelly.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code Sheehan. That's goldbelly.com code sheen for 20% off your first order. This segment of the show brought you by Window Nation. if you've been thinking about new Windows Act now, especially before the year ends, because you can take advantage of 50% off everything. Half price on everything you purchase window-wise

from Window Nation. Any window, any window style, they've got over 1,500 styles and colors to choose from. Window Nation does it right. They'll come out and give you a free estimate. You'll learn in an hour or less which windows actually need to be replaced. And then, then they'll leave you with a quote, and it includes not only 50% off everything, but zero percent interest for five years if you choose to finance the purchase. Window Nation's got the best product. Window Nation offers the best customer service voted the number one window installation company in America by Forbes magazine.

They've got over 45,000 five-star reviews. I've mentioned the offer, but it also includes. a lifetime warranty on what you purchase and a guarantee that the windows will be installed in a day or less. Call for your free estimate right now at 86690 Nation or head to windownation.com. We continue with Jay Gruden. We will work our way towards his lock of the week, which he has been on absolute fire with nine out of the last 10.

So real quickly, before we get to even some of the games specifically, I'm wondering if you felt the way I did after watching Chicago against Green Bay. We've both shorted Chicago during the year. We haven't been sure of whether or not they were a team that kind of matched the record that they had. I came away being more impressed with Chicago and feeling differently about the Bears after their loss against the Packers. Do you agree? I agree with you. I've been waiting for them to just fold their tent.

There's no way these guys are any good. But they're a powerful football team offensively. They compete on defense. They're very opportunistic. They take the ball away. I think they lead a league in turnovers getting. So, yeah, I think this bear's team is very dangerous, really. And they're going to be a tough out because between the tackle, these guys are very physical,

swift and that new guy, McConae, whatever his name is, You guys can run the ball. And, you know, Caleb is not asked to drop back 45 times. I think Ben Johnson is doing a great job of not being ultra dependent on Caleb's arm. He's more dependent on the running game between the tackles of Swift and the other guy can't pronounce the name. So I think they're very dangerous. Yes, and defensively, I like what they do. I think Coach Allen does a really good job.

He's always done a good job defensively of changing up what he does. And they play tight coverage. They play good zones. They're very sound. And they run to the football. and very opportunistic. So yes, they're a good football team. This is the last shot for the Bills to remain alive for the division title

and, you know, a home field game or two. They're in Foxborough against the Patriots. Just tell me about that game and who you like. I really like the Patriots. I think they're excellent, and they can run the ball as well. They've got two really good backs. Drake may is playing at the highest level, just about any quarterback to the national football league. And as the games get more and more important, how will he handle the pressure

as a young quarterback? We know Josh Allen has not won the big game as far as playoffs, but Josh Allen's been there and taking his team to division titles and won the playoff games. So it'll be a very, very exciting football game and the team that doesn't turn the ball overall in the game. But I just can't bet against Josh Allen. I just think he's the best player at football. And what he does when there's nothing there is just incredible to me, the way he can run to his left and throw across his body, the way he can run over defenders, turtle defenders, just keep plays alive as unlike anything I've seen in my lifetime.

So I wouldn't bet against the bills, that's for sure. Sticking in the AFC, I know that I've mentioned how much I like this team to you the last few weeks, but I'm wondering if you feel the same way. I think if Houston gets in, they're going to be really tough to beat. What do you think? You play great defense. You always have a chance. And C.J. and Nico has got a great combination going.

I just worry about their past. protection. When they have to, you know, throw the ball, they're still struggling in that regard. But when you're playing great defense, you don't really have to force the issue. You can call screen on third and eight, punt, and let your defense get on the field and get the ball back for you. So, yeah, I think Houston Texans are as good a team there is in the AFC right now. I'm excited to see the way that division works out. You know, the Jaguars have a pretty easy schedule. I think they're going to win the division, but the Texans got to try to get in as a wild card, and if they do, good luck.

when Jay Gruden says as an offensive guy. Sometimes you just can't fear punting. Run a draw, run a screen, and punt, and get out there and stop somebody. My first year is a coordinator in the era of Cincinnati. It's kind of was my, Andy Dalton is a rookie and A.J.'s a bunch of a bunch of rookies playing. I wasn't going to ask Annie Dalton to, you know, remake the protection and, you know, pick up a double A. Maybe we'll just call a drawler or a screen or something like that and punt. Yeah. Mike Zimmer and Dunlop and all those other. first rounders they had on defense gets a ball back for me. There's some big games in the NFC, like the Rams, you know, and the Lions,

the Packers go to Denver. The Packers right now are just a half game behind the Rams and the Seahawks for the best record. Who's the best team in the NFC right now? I think the Rams probably are the best team just because they have the quarterback, they have the Puka-Devante situation. They have two very, very good backs. They can run the ball. They can obviously throw it whenever they want.

And then defensively, I think they're very opportunistic. I think they're very good up front. And they can stop the run, and they can play good defense. And Shulah does a good job with that defense. So I think the ramps from top to bottom, they don't have any weaknesses. And I think Seattle is a close second right now the way they're playing defense. Philadelphia is a team that, you know, they're just so underachieving right now. You just worry that what if they all of a sudden hit an offense?

You know, what if all of a sudden, Bayquan gets going, and Jalen gets the quarterback design runs going here late to season. So I worry about them a little bit just because they've been there and done that. I don't think anything phased them. The pressure's not too big for them. But right now I'd say Philadelphia. And I can't wait to see the Lions, you know,

against the Rams this week. I think that'll be an indication of what is going to come in the playoffs. You know who is just not being talked about at all and they're 9 and 4. I feel like the 49ers are just way under the radar right now at 9 and 4. Do you agree? And if so, why do you think that is? I think I'd feel better about the 49ers if they had Fred Warner playing and Bosa plan.

I just think defensively they're just not quite the same team. And offensively, how much can you really rely on Brock and that passing game, which the receiving core isn't quite as good without IUC and obviously Bibo. But, you know, so I just, I'm not sold on the 49ers. I think they're probably the least, even though they are 9-4. I think they're the least. Threatening. The team I'd be worried about, yeah, threatening teams out there.

Real quickly, before we get to your lock of the week, Philip Rivers, he might play Sunday for Seattle. Your reaction to that is what? Shocking. You know, I know there's been older quarterbacks to play, but take it five years off. I just don't know. I just really don't know how good he was five years ago. you know, as an aging quarterback that can't run. It's just very difficult to play when you can't make a first down with your legs.

You know, everything's got to be perfect. The protection, the route's got to be perfect. Obviously, they're going to rely heavily on Jonathan Taylor, heavily, heavily. But if that dries up and you're forced to throw the ball as a 44-year-old quarterback that can't move, it's going to be very difficult. Speaking of quarterbacks who, you know, struggle to make first downs with his legs, how about Kirk Cousins last night? Yeah, I mean, he's played good.

against Tampa. I mean, damn. He was good. You know, his combination had been really good, and the buccaneers being really bad. They blew coverages. They did stupid things. Fourth and 15, the corner's going to sit on a flat route

and let the guy right behind him. Just ignorant things the buccaneers did. But great job by Kirk and compete, you know, without playing for really anything. And that's just the way he is. He'll grind it out, and he'll compete. I think if he wants to play, and I don't know if he does next year,

maybe this is it for him, there will be interest, don't you think? You would think so. You know, you just worry about his mobility and all that stuff, but he's better than a lot of these quarterbacks playing right now that are starting for teams on Sunday, that's for sure. But, you know, it's just all up to him. And he'd have to be in the right place for sure with the right coordinator and right coach. All right.

All right, nine out of the last 10. Who do you got? Well, I saw an ESPN this morning, and one of the experts picked the Cleveland them Browns to cover against the Chicago Bears, but I'm taking the Bears for all the reasons that I said. I think this is a playoff environment at Chicago. Shador Sanders played really good last week, but I think he had 15 possessions to get it done against the tights. He's not going to get 15 possessions against the Bears. Was it really 15 possessions? Wow. He had 15 possessions. Wow.

Do you believe that? No. The bottom three and Alton, Tennessee had two long runs for touchdowns. It was a weird, weird game. But Shadour did show flashes of what people think he. could be in the future, but this is a playoff environment, man. This is at Chicago and Chicago is a very physical football team, and they're going to play Dennis Allen's going to have quite

a game plan for Shador, and I just think it's going to be tough for them to do anything offensively against the Bears' defense, and I think the Bears, the one thing about the Brown defense, I think they're susceptible to powerful running game. Miles Garrett is an excellent defender, but I don't think he wants to

play against double teams with these big tackles and tight-ins and and the duo and the counters and the powers and all that stuff, it's just going to be a tough day. So I think there'll be a low-scoring game, but I think the Bears went at like 23 to 3 or 23-10 or something. Sunny skies, 12 degrees, winds gusting to 25 miles per hour at Soldier Field. On Sunday.

Now, I'm sitting here trying to find a 7. I don't see 7s anywhere. It's 7 and a 1⁄2s everywhere. You can have 8. You've got to have 9. I don't care. well you want the best number uh Chicago minus the seven and a half is Jay's lock of the week thanks I'll talk to you next week yeah thanks Kevin Jay Gruden everybody

my smell test picks next after these words from a few of our sponsors so guys I introduced you to a really good product a while back and I want to remind everybody for those of you that have been wearing the same boxer briefs the same any kind of underwear for a long time now. I've got a better answer for you. I want to tell you about skims for men, something I've discovered recently, the softest underwear I've ever worn. I got a few pairs of the five-inch boxer briefs so comfortable, no matter what you're doing, from sitting in a chair in your office to working out, they are so comfortable. They don't bunch up. They were made to recover from every stretch.

The fabric is cool to the touch, and it just seems to mold to your body and never loses its shape. This is so different from the synthetic feeling I used to get from what I used to wear. Skims is made with an undeniable soft midweight cotton that allows you to breathe. Skims for men comes in plenty of colors, plenty of sizes. Shop skims men's at skims.com. Let them know I sent you. After you place your order, select podcast in the survey and select this show in the drop-down menu that follows. And if you're looking for the perfect gifts this season, the Skims Holiday Shop is now open at skims.com.

You shouldn't have to go out of your way to feel like yourself, and Hymns brings expert care straight to you to ensure that happens. With 100% online access to personalized treatment plans, that puts your goals first. No hidden fees, no surprise costs, just real personalized care on your schedule. For simple online access to personalized and affordable care for hair loss, ED, weight loss, and more, visit hymns.com slash sheen. That's hymns.com slash sheen for your free online visit. Hymns.com slash sheen. Individual results may vary based on studies topical and oral monoxidil and phenosteride. Featured products include compounded drug products,

which the FDA does not approve or verify for safety, effectiveness, or quality. Prescription required. See website for full details, restrictions, and important safety information. Kevin looks where the John Q. Public is putting their cash and does the opposite. It's time for the smell test. As always, this smell test is brought to you by my Booky at MyBooky right now, you can get a 50% cash bonus as a listener to this podcast. You have to use my promo code, DC Reload. But it doesn't matter if you're a new customer or an existing customer of My Booky. They're offering all of my listeners a chance to add 50% of your deposit amount into your account. So if you deposit $300, they'll add another $150. into your account. Take the free money, even if you're betting at another site. You should be betting

it more than one site to begin with if you're doing this correctly. Betting with just one shop doesn't give you the flexibility of getting the best point spread, of getting the best total, of getting the best price. It all adds up. Trust me, I mean, how many of these games come down to a half point here or there? You want that extra half point. You want the right number and a fair number. And speaking of numbers, Washington right now remains a two and a half point dog in the Meadowlands against the Giants. The total for a game that is supposed to be played in pretty frigid weather is 46. They've got everything you need for not only this weekend's games, but all of the bowl games, all of the playoff games. They still have a ton of prop bet opportunities

on the remainder of the NFL season and the college football playoff. Just remember, the promo code is DC Reload. So mybooky.com or mybooky.orgie.ag and it's promo code DC Reload. If there's something written in the promo code section already, erase it and type in DC Reload. All right. Atlanta last night was a winner coming into this weekend, 9657 and 11 on the season. season. An insane year for the smell test. Yeah, I'm not going to talk about what might happen in the future because the first pick of the weekend last night was not only a winner,

but an outright winner. I did get this from Stephen that I wanted to read, though. Stephen wrote, can I get an easy win? I hate sweating out all of these close calls. Okay, let me work on that, Stephen. I actually had somebody give me a breakdown of every smell test picked this year. You know, how many were college, how many were pro, how many were favorites, how many were underdogs. Whoever set that to me, I'm pretty sure you were like off. Like, you must have missed a couple of weekends, which is why I didn't, you know, read it on the air. I can go back at the end of this year if it ends up being the best year ever of the smell test. And it's approaching that. I've had a couple of 64% plus seasons.

I'm at 63 in change, I think, right now. So we'll see how the rest of the season goes. But maybe at the end of the year, I will go back and look at it. I would say that for sure, the one thing I feel like I would learn from that audit process is that at least 80% of the plays are underdogs. And to Stephen's note, you know, maybe he was, you know, writing that to me after that crazy L.A. Denver finished. last week. I mean, that was an unbelievable all-time win. You typically as a better remember your losses more than you do your wins, but I don't think I'm ever going to forget the way the Raiders got into position at the very end of the game and then Pete Carroll on the last play

of the game kicking a field goal to send the game over the total and to cover the seven and a half in a 24 to 17 loss. There's no doubt you typically remember the losses more than the wins. But I would say, you know, 80% of my plays are underdogs. And I would bet at least half the time those underdogs win outright, which Stephen would speak to, you know, not necessarily close calls. Like, I understand Atlanta was down 14 in the fourth quarter. They ended up winning the game outright. It's not really a close call. And once they got it to 28, 26 with like three and a half minutes to go. We were in pretty good shape there because even if the buccaneers got into field goal

range somehow quickly, you know, the number was five and a half. All right. So 1 and 0 so far on the weekend, let's go to Sunday. No picks on Saturday. No Army Navy pick and no bowl game pick. There's a bowl game between Washington and Boise State. So early window, the chiefs are laying five and a half against the Chargers. I love the Chiefs Sunday.

There are two major public underdog plays this weekend. I just said that 80% of my plays are probably underdogs, maybe even higher. I've got two favorites on Sunday. The Chiefs are the first one laying five and a half against a team that comes off a Monday night game, short week, and that game was a bruising game against the Eagles. It was a long game against the Eagles, and they got the wins, so they don't feel desperate here. The temperatures are going to be brutal at Arrowhead. The Chiefs need it.

I think for the Chiefs in my next pick, there's going to be at least some excitement that is put back into the conversation of both of these teams as far as playoffs go. The Chiefs remain alive. I think they win and they cover the five and a half against the Chargers to get to seven and seven. they've got to win out to have any chance at all. And even then, it may not be good enough, especially given some of the teams like Houston. If they end up in a tie with Houston, they lose because Houston beat them last week. Chiefs minus five and a half.

The other favorite, and I think this will give, you know, Ravens fans at least some hope. I think the Ravens beat the Bengals. They're laying two and a half. Cincinnati had that brutal loss, which for all intents and purposes, you know, ends the competitive portion of the season at 4 and 9. They're not officially eliminated because of that division that they're in. I mean, that division, the AFC North, when have we ever seen it this bad? But the Bengals sitting there at 4 and 9, not eliminated yet.

Like if they ran the table to finish 8 and 9 and Baltimore's got a tough finish after this game against Cincinnati. They play the Patriots and Packers. So let's just say they were to lose to the Bengals, lose to the Patriots, lose to the Packers, but beat the Steelers. That would be 7 and 10.

And then they need the Steelers to basically at 7 and 6. You know, I think they need them to lose out because I think Pittsburgh would win the division tiebreaker because they are head to head even up. Pittsburgh plays Miami, Detroit. at Cleveland, and then they finish with Baltimore. So Cincinnati technically not out of it, but it kind of feels like they're out of it. Listen to Joe Burrow from earlier this week, kind of talk almost in terms of maybe retiring early.

I like the Ravens, man. They're laying two and a half, and they haven't played well. And I think this is a last gasp from them. Two public underdogs this week. so I have two public favorites. The game that I probably liked the most as much as last night, the Saints are catching three against Carolina. This really reeks this game does.

Carolina, their last game was before the buy week. They beat the Rams. They get the thrill last night of Atlanta knocking off Tampa. They have a chance to take the outright lead in the division in the NFC South with a win over the New Orleans Saints. The New Orleans Saints right now are playing as the seventh best defensive team in the league over their last five games. They are really playing great defense. They knocked off the Buccaneers on the road last week.

Yeah, I like the Saints this week plus the number. Carolina right now is the biggest public play of the weekend. And then the last one, everybody figures Dallas is going to make a run here after they lost to Detroit. last Thursday night. They pretty much have to win out and hopefully loses two of their final four. That's their way into the postseason. The wild card probably not going to deliver for them. And they are the public darling right now, even though they lost last week. They're coming off this long mini-buy and the public's

certainly not buying Minnesota's win last week over Washington. The line's under a touchdown. It's at six. Lots of public action on Dallas and plenty of sharp action on Minnesota. Why is that? Well, Minnesota can run the football and Minnesota is a good defensive team. The Vikings plus the six. Those are the four plays after Atlanta last night. Chiefs minus five and a half, Ravens minus two and a half, Saints plus three, and the Vikings

plus six. So for Stephen and anybody else out there, I hope. I hope you don't have to sweat out any of these wins on Sunday. Fingers crossed, I still think that this can't last. Talk about it on Monday when I'm back or after the Giant Skins game on Sunday.