The Ringer NFL Show - Predicting the NFC Playoff Field Going into Week 11!

Episode Date: November 12, 2025

Sheil is joined by The Ringer’s own Anthony Dabbundo to look at the NFC and make playoff predictions. Who will be the 1-seed? (1:50) Who will be the division winners? (6:30) Who will be the wild-...card teams? (16:23) The Hurry-Up (25:53) This episode is sponsored by State Farm®️. Don’t settle for just any insurance when there’s State Farm. https://www.statefarm.com/lp/trainer The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit ⁠www.rg-help.com⁠ to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Sheil Kapadia Guest: Anthony Dabbundo Producers: Brian H. Waters and Cameron Dinwiddie Social: Kiera Givens and Brian H. Waters Production Supervision: Conor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to the Ringer NFL show. I'm your host, Shield Capadia. Where are we with the NFC playoff picture after week 10? We are making predictions today on how things will play out. We're coming off of Eagles Packers on Monday night. Could Green Bay fall out of the playoff picture entirely? We've got Seahawks Rams in week 11, probably the two happiest fan bases in the NFC. Who is winning the NFC West?
Starting point is 00:00:26 And can the bears sneak in? Are they the sleeper team to keep an eye on? So to talk about it all, we've got the ringer zone, my friend Anthony Da Bundo. Let's take a break. We'll come back. We will predict how the NFC playoff picture will play out. This is the Ringer NFL show presented by Fandul, the best place to bet the NFL all season long. Fan duels got it all.
Starting point is 00:00:51 Same game parlies. Quick bets for jumping in live and your way so you can build the bet that fits your play. And Missouri, get excited because fan duel's coming your way December 1st. Download the fandul.com slash ringer NFL to get started. Must be 21 plus and present in select states and 18 plus in D.C., Kentucky and Wyoming. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-dash-help.com. Call 1-888-789-77-7-7 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut. All right, we are back here with Anthony Dubundo.
Starting point is 00:01:43 We are making NFC playoff predictions. So if the season started today, DeBundo, yeah, or if the playoffs started today, here's where we would be. Eagles would be the one seed, Seahawks two, Lions three, bucks four. Those would be the four division winners. And then Rams, Bears, and Packers would be the wild card teams. 49ers would be out if the season, if the playoffs started today. And the Panthers would be out at five and five.
Starting point is 00:02:09 So let's start with the division winners. I'm going to get us started, Dubundo. I've got the Seahawks as the one seed in the NFC. Wow. Let me explain. Let me give you my reasoning and then you tell me where you're at. I think they have the best resume. And maybe at some point, Sam Darnold is going to turn into a pumpkin.
Starting point is 00:02:29 But I was thinking about it. Like, this is kind of a two-year stretch here. His teams are 21 and 5 with him as a starter in the regular season over the last two years. And this Seahawks team, they're just blowing teams out. They don't get blown out. Their only two losses
Starting point is 00:02:44 have been by seven points. Their defense is elite. They still get to play the Rams twice. I think maybe they split those games, lose one more game. I think the Seahawks are going 13 and four and are going to be the one seed in the NFC. What do you got?
Starting point is 00:03:00 Who is your one seed? Is it the Seahawks? Is it someone else? It is not Seattle. You know, I love the Seahawks. But I am one of those sickos. So I found a sicko website, PlayoffPredictors.com,
Starting point is 00:03:14 where you can pick every single game for the rest of the season. Oh, my God. And if you do that, and I did that, I actually had a three-way tie for the one seed in the NFC. Wow.
Starting point is 00:03:29 And on tiebreakers, the winner of that tiebreak was the Philadelphia Eagles. And I honestly don't trust them. I mean, We could get into Philly. Who were the other two teams? The Rams and the Seahawks.
Starting point is 00:03:42 Oh, okay. But because the Seahawks would lose a tiebreaker in the division, then as a result, they would not get it. I believe based on the playoff predictors.com, if they're wrong, blame them, not me. But yeah, I don't think you trust the Eagles. I don't think I trust the Eagles. I don't think most of the city of Philadelphia trust the Eagles. But at some point, it does feel like Fangio has put this defense back together and they're now healthier on defense with the return of Dean,
Starting point is 00:04:09 with the return of Nolan Smith, getting Jalen Phillips in the trade, who made some big plays last night in the win against the Packers. And they're not going to have to go to war with the Rams and the Seahawks twice. Those two teams have two games on each other's schedule, but the most likely outcome is that they'll split them.
Starting point is 00:04:26 But Philly kind of gets to coast by. I think they're going to beat Detroit on Sunday, so that kind of gets into this. But yeah, still don't trust him. Highest three-and-out rate, basically in the league. So I'm sitting here like, man, this could go south quickly. Like we've seen this movie before,
Starting point is 00:04:41 but at some point you trust them, and I trust them on special teams more. I feel like Rams special teams, we'll still have something to say this season. So the thing about the Eagles, and I was, you know, as I was diving into all this stuff today, preparing for this episode,
Starting point is 00:04:53 I'm with you. You kind of watch them, and you're like, you know, you watch that offensive performance Monday night and throughout the season, and you go, hmm, I don't know about that. And then you look at some of the stuff
Starting point is 00:05:04 we like to look at, one score games. There's six and one. which is by far the best record, the most wins by any team in one score games this season. But then you look at the schedule they face so far, Dubundo. It's been the hardest schedule in the NFL, according to Impredictable. I don't go on the dark webs like you do. I don't playoff.
Starting point is 00:05:23 This is a list and listeners. You can go to Impredictable. It's a valid site. Don't go down the rabbit hole wherever Dubundo's ending up, picking every game the rest of the season. I have the same tab open. Im predictable is one of my favorite sites. It's a great sight. It just looks at the betting markets,
Starting point is 00:05:39 and it tells you, based on that, who has the hardest strength of schedule. And so you look at that and you go, well, their point differential, maybe that explains why it's not great. Maybe that explains why they've played one score games. They've beaten the Chiefs. They've beaten the Rams.
Starting point is 00:05:52 They've beaten the Bucks. They've beaten the Packers. So, like, they have some nice wins on their resume where they're kind of in this in-between state where, yeah, I'm not sure. I have them in the mix. I do have them winning the NFC East. Obviously, that's a wrap.
Starting point is 00:06:05 I think they can win 12. 12-ish games, maybe 13 games. So I've actually got the Eagles as my two-seat behind the Seahawks. I've got the Lions as my three-seed, and I've got the Bucks as my four-seat. Where are we aligned? Where are we different with the division winners and the seating for those four? So you're not a member of the Ramilly? I was totally on the fence, rammed their Seahawks.
Starting point is 00:06:28 I'll be honest. I struggled with that one basically up until the minute I had to decide there. Do you have the Rams over the Seahawks? I mean, you can make a case, and I feel like it's flown under the radar. So the Rams started last year 1 and 4. Then they won nine of their next 11 games, rested in week 18. So that's 9 and 2 to end the regular season in games they actually tried to win. And this year, they're 7 and 2.
Starting point is 00:06:52 So that's 16 and 4. And if you think about those two losses, it is kind of funny, looking back. Like they had the 20-point lead on Philly that they blew in the second half with two block fuel goals and hilarious special teams and some bizarre stuff that occurred in the second half of that game. but really I think most of us came away feeling like, the Rams were probably the better team on the day, just didn't quite come away with the win.
Starting point is 00:07:12 And then the 49ers game, they had the ball inside the five-yard line. Kairn Williams coughs it up. That costs them a win there. So the Rams don't have a single game this year. If anything, you could say maybe their worst game was in Indy when they only won the game
Starting point is 00:07:26 because A.D. Mitchell fumbled the ball on the goal line. But the Rams have been incredibly dominant. And this offense, since they've sorted out their red zone issues that they had early in the season, has been supernova-like. It's Colts, Rams, and Chiefs. Those are the three top offenses
Starting point is 00:07:40 since week four, week three, when the Rams sorted out their issues there. So I don't trust their special teams, but I certainly think that the way that they're calling offense, they've unleashed Stafford more than usual this year, less running, more passing.
Starting point is 00:07:54 I love what I'm seeing from the Rams. And I think they're going to just barely edge out Seattle for that division. But it really could go either way. Yeah, there's slight favorites there in the NFC West. Obviously, huge matchup coming up this weekend. That's going to be so much.
Starting point is 00:08:08 I feel like it's the most trustworthy and reliable offense in the NFL. Like I would, if there's a game where all of a sudden you say, wow, that other team got them with this wrinkle or this gameplay, it just feels like that's not going to happen. They've seen too much. Stafford McVeigh, you know, I got this little nerd spreadsheet up, Dubundo. You probably have something similar where it goes through like all the stats. And the Rams is just every offensive category. Gory is green. I mean, there's nothing that they don't do. They can run the ball. They can create
Starting point is 00:08:38 explosive plays. You can count on Stafford. You got Pooka Nakua and Devante Adams. So yeah, it is just a very trustworthy, reliable offense. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if they ended up being the one seed. They get the Seahawks twice like you mentioned. They get the Bucks. They get the Bucs. I mean, I think they're a 12 or 13. I wrote down for Seahawks, Eagles, Lions and Rams like 12 or 13 wins. I think all those teams have a legit chance to get there. What I like about the Rams, and you know, you felt this watching Monday night, it almost felt like, and I know we all talked about Ojamo, like knowing the play, there was the famous clip that came out today,
Starting point is 00:09:14 the viral clip of him yelling out what Green Bay was going to run on fourth and one. You got the sense from Green Bay and Philly that there was a staleness and a predictability to those offenses where Green Bay, oh, guess what? It's second and nine. I wonder if they're going to call here. Oh, handoff for one yard? Okay, third and eight. And then for Philly, I mean, it felt like Green Bay had the playbook.
Starting point is 00:09:34 They were on everything the Eagles wanted to do. They were sitting on all the routes. They had all the play actions that the Eagles tried to run, snuffed out. The run game for Philly was unimaginative. So like those two offenses, you're looking around like, is anything going on? Like, did they practice? Do they have any new wrinkles? The Rams have been so different this year.
Starting point is 00:09:53 I mean, they've run this three tight ends. Again, they've been using the passing game a lot more, getting away from just the early down runs that kind of define the last couple of years of their offense. So, I mean, I think that they're more multiple than these other offenses. And we'll get to Detroit in a second, I guess. But they're another interesting team as Dan Campbell is now the new offensive coordinator of the Detroit lines. Yeah, well, let's get to him right now. He's their new play caller.
Starting point is 00:10:17 They've got the fifth hardest remaining schedule. They've only played one game decided by seven points or fewer. I don't remember seeing that with a team this late in the season where it's like either they're blowing teams out or they're getting blown out. They got blown out by the Packers and the Chiefs. I still am trusting the Lions to be a very good team and win that. I would be very surprised if they didn't win that division. So I've got them as the three seat.
Starting point is 00:10:45 So you're off Packers Island. Yeah. Do you have the Packers who, give me, give me your division winner for the NFC North. I can't quit the cheese, Sheel. I can't do it. Wow, you're sticking with them. Like your old pal Solac. I can't quit the cheese.
Starting point is 00:10:59 I'm still holding the last life raft on the island. Everybody else has stailed away, including yourself, apparently. We got this over that we did preseason. We both put our cheeseheads on, or at least you did. I didn't have one. And I'm sitting here, and I'm annoying, quite frankly. They're wasting an incredible defense that Jeff Hathley's put together. The safety duo, I think, is the best in the league.
Starting point is 00:11:21 The pass rush with BICA is dominant. They've only had one game all year where you're like, what's going on with the Green Bay defense? and yet this offense, here's the thing, and this is the reason I'm still buying. Jane Reed's probably coming back for Thanksgiving. That's going to be the game that decides the NFC North. Thanksgiving Day, 1230, Lions, Packers in Detroit.
Starting point is 00:11:45 And I still think this Green Bay defense has a higher ceiling than anything Detroit can put out defensively. And I still have faith that LaFleur can figure this out. He's been too good for two long. and I know everybody's out. Match time and the athletic is apparently writing columns that Leflur might be coaching for his job. I still believe, Sheel. And so I'm going to pick them to eke out the division by a half game because they're going to win the Thanksgiving game in Detroit and sweep the head to head.
Starting point is 00:12:12 Okay. Here's the deal with the Packers. I think they're the most interesting team in the NFL, the rest of the way. Because I think between the analytical part of my brain and then what I'm actually seeing and what I'm feeling, those two things are not a lot. line. The numbers scream out. This is a team. If I were, you know, writing a column this week, everybody settled down on the Packers. Recy bias. Their sixth in DVOA, their seventh in EPA per drive, the created explosive plays at the sixth highest rate. To your point, the defense is overachieved. They limit explosive plays. They stopped the run. Everything, if you just showed me the profile
Starting point is 00:12:48 and didn't tell me who the team was, I would go, oh, absolutely a Super Bowl contender. The problem is watching them every week and losses to the Browns and losses to the Panthers and a tie against the Cowboys. I mean, they have three losses this year where teams have beaten them and have scored 13, 16, and 10 points. So part of me wants to say that's come on, that's fluky, don't let that overtake your opinion. But the problem to Bundow is that Tucker Kraft is out. Elkton Jenkins, their best offensive lineman, is on IR. and so now I don't know that they're going to be the same team the rest of the way. I really think the rest of this season is going to tell us, like,
Starting point is 00:13:29 what do you actually have in this combination, this battery of Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love, which I have really liked for a long time and thought it's just a matter of time until they break through and are playing in a Super Bowl. I thought maybe it would be this year. Do you have kind of the stomach? Do you have the resilience to weather this adversity? these injuries and come out the other side and be the NFC North champs or make some noise in the play. I don't have a strong answer to that. You know, my gut kind of is telling me,
Starting point is 00:14:01 I don't know. Like, this could go either way. But you're trying, you're, you're sort of trusting the analytical part of this and saying everyone settled down. They're still winning the division. I mean, you could even go to last night. I mean, that was still a coin flip game. I know they lost. Right. Like, it wasn't like they were, you know, not, not competitive with the Eagles last night in a game that was pretty bad from both teams offensively, and neither offense did much. The Eagles hit the one big play, and Green Bay had some just disastrous plays inside the 40-yard line that, you know, the penalty gets called back. They would have been in the red zone there. They had the fumble right before half-time, like little, little dumb things. And that's what
Starting point is 00:14:37 makes this team so annoying. Like you said, like I said earlier, with the staleness, with the frustrations of this offense, just kind of looking a little too predictable, too many runs. I mean, maybe the loss of Jenkins, and I'm not saying like they're going to be better, but some of the Sometimes when a team is forced to get creative and forced to change up their strategy because of injuries, you end up finding something better or something that works. And I know that Kraft is a real loss for this team, but really you could also make the claim that since Reid went out in that week two game against the commanders, this offense hasn't been ticking at the same level either.
Starting point is 00:15:09 So I think him coming back, Watson, another week or two, continuing to come back from his ACL, like maybe they can put this together. But there isn't enough difference. makers in this offense right now. Yeah, it looked like that. All right. So I've got, before we take a break, I've got Seahawks one, Eagles two, Lyons three, bucks four. Give me a reminder on your four. You got two different teams than I do. Eagles one, the Ramalee, two, Green Bay, can't quit the cheese, three, Tampa Bay four. Yeah, it feels like the bucks are locked into four with, you know, maybe 10 or 11 wins winning that division. All right, let's take a
Starting point is 00:15:45 break. Let's come back. Let's talk about who we have in the wild card spots. This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Having insurance isn't the same as having state farm. It's like needing the protection of an offensive guard on the football field, but getting an elementary school crossing guard. Sure, they're both guards, but you can only trust one to keep your quarterback safe when the game is on the line. So don't settle for just any insurance when they're State Farm. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. All right, we are back here on the Ringer NFL show. So We've got two different teams there with the division winners, Dubundo. I've got for my wildcard teams, the Rams, you've got them winning the division.
Starting point is 00:16:29 I've got the 49ers as the sixth seed. And I've got the Packers still getting in, but kind of barely, as the seventh seat. Who are your three wildcard teams? And then we'll talk about them. Before we get into the wildcar, we need to pour one out for Baker-Mayfield MVP campaign, weeks one to seven. that has come crashing down to earth. Jack Prescott, too.
Starting point is 00:16:53 Anyone else? Who else? Who else do we have? It might be it. Jordan Love? Jordan Love was getting some stealth case. Could be. Yeah. I think he might be dead. Jalen Hertz, even if the Eagles get the one seat, I think, is dead.
Starting point is 00:17:04 There was some people making outside cases for him if, like, the Eagles went on a big run in the second half because he had a couple big games in a row, but not buying that one. Yeah. I don't know. The other big question is, will the Bucks replace the AFC South champion? in the Shaky's game this year? Or is it just going to be the Colts? Well, I think the Bucks are pretty entertaining. So, yeah, I don't know. They might be, I could see them in more of a primetime slot. Yeah. All right. My wildcard teams, my wildcard teams. Seattle, five, Detroit, six, San Francisco seven. Which of those three is most interesting to you?
Starting point is 00:17:41 Seattle, Detroit, San Francisco. I think the most interesting team is the team that neither of us named, to be quite honest. Oh, Chicago? Chicago. Because I know what, give me, because I know what you're going to say, but let's say, I know you too well, because I know what you're going to say about the bears, but let the people know why you kind of scoffed when I said, maybe the bears are the most interesting team. And basically, why you're going to tell us you don't believe in the bears as a playoff team.
Starting point is 00:18:08 Like, there are five or six defenses in the NFL this year that are like beyond repair, that are just into the level of deplorable defense where you're just like, they can't stop anything. Every week, the opposing team just moves up and down the field. And the Bears have somehow played all of them. Like they played Dallas. They look great. I mean, they were up and down the field on them.
Starting point is 00:18:30 They played Cincinnati. Caleb Williams just threw another touchdown against the Bengals defense. They got to play the Giants who haven't been able to stop anybody, especially in the fourth quarters of games. And the Giants, they up and down the field in that fourth quarter, this Bears team, I mean, they got the commanders at the start of the commander's downfall. They should have lost that game,
Starting point is 00:18:48 and they got the fumble late and got the game winning field goal. But again, the commander's defense who looks like a bottom five or six team, and then they got the big win against Vegas, which you could actually argue is their best win of the season at Vegas, and they did so by getting outgained by 150 yards.
Starting point is 00:19:06 So I understand that everybody's excited about this Bears running game, this Bears' offense, the Ben Johnson, the winning, all the close games they pulled out. But, I mean, we've seen this analytics case time and time again. Their profile is pretty bad. It's a limited, very limited defense. You can make a case they're in that mix.
Starting point is 00:19:24 They are in that mix. I thought that's where you were going with it. Their defense stinks. I mean, they feast on turnovers. And I agree with everything that you're saying there. They have the resume of a mostly fraudulent team. You know, you alluded to this, but their turnover EPA is the highest for any team through 10 weeks in the last five seasons.
Starting point is 00:19:44 So they are feasting on turnovers. They're four and one in one score games. They've had the sixth easiest schedule and their 25th in DVOA. Everything about them says this is going to come crashing down the rest of the way. And yet. Have you looked at the schedule too? I have. Their remaining schedule is the hardest in the NFL.
Starting point is 00:20:06 And yet, de Bundell, this is why we watch sports because sometimes weird things happen where you say, no, no, no, this shouldn't be happening. They shouldn't get that kick return. They shouldn't get that field goal block. They should have lost this game.
Starting point is 00:20:22 But when you just look at the standings, whether you go to ESPN.com, it doesn't tell you, it doesn't have asteris. It doesn't say, well, they got lucky here. It doesn't say the other team had a higher success rate or out gained them by 200 yards. It says win, and it says losses. And so if you're a Bears fan,
Starting point is 00:20:40 you should listen to what Dubundo and I are saying. You know, I think it is true. You don't need to care about it. You should just enjoy this season. But there are bones here of a good offense. They are first an explosive play rate. They figured out the run game. Their sixth in rushing success rate.
Starting point is 00:20:56 And what if everything clicks for Caleb Williams and he goes on a heater down the stretch? What if they knock the Packers out of the playoffs? I mean, you are allowed to dream Bears fans. You don't have to listen to all the nerd stats that we're putting out. You are allowed to dream on your group chats that, hey, that Packers team's faltering a little bit. We still get to play them. What if we knock them out and we're the seventh seed?
Starting point is 00:21:19 So I'm not bold enough to predict that. I don't believe that's going to happen. But I do think it's possible that that happens. And if you're a Bears fan, I mean, you haven't had a season this exciting in a long time. So go ahead and dream about it. This is the test week. I think this is a perfect test week for them. They're at Minnesota.
Starting point is 00:21:37 Minnesota has not been a great run defense this year. you can run it a bit on Minnesota. And it's a great test for this offense. How real is this offense? Because we're going to figure it out. Because I've written about this, and we talked about it. They were among the league's worst in rushing offense, the first four weeks of the season,
Starting point is 00:21:52 and they're among the league's best. They're second only to Indy since the by week, week five. So that's the last five games. They've been really good running the ball. How much of that was real major improvements, Ben Johnson taking fold? How much of it was, okay, they played some really bad run defenses. It's probably somewhere in the middle,
Starting point is 00:22:08 but this is a perfect test week for them because if they go out and they beat Flores, their underdogs this week, if they go out and beat Brian Flores' defense and have a really impressive showing, they're sitting at 7 and 3. They still get San Francisco at the end of the year and we can talk about the Niners.
Starting point is 00:22:21 Their defense ain't much to write home about. Not everybody getting excited about them at the back end of the standings either. So you could see a case. But I also, when I did my predictions for every game for the rest of the season, I can't believe you did that. How many more wins do you think
Starting point is 00:22:38 I gave the bears. The bears, let's see. What are they at right now? Six and three. Six and three. I would guess you gave them the way you're talking two more wins. Two. And it was a coin flip with Pittsburgh to get there. Okay. I think I gave them three. Oh, man. Maybe. Yeah. Nine could do it. Nine could do it. Nine if they beat San Francisco probably gets in there. Or nine if the Packers falter. I mean, I think that's the other thing here. So the Niners are, let's real quick finish with the Niners here. Like, you've mentioned. That's the team we haven't gone deep on here. They're six and four. You know, they've weathered these injuries. They're four and one and one score games. Fourth easiest remaining schedule, the bundo, they get Pierce all back here. It looks like this
Starting point is 00:23:22 weekend. They're going to get purdy back at some point. Next four games at Cardinals, Panthers, at Browns, Titans. Like, I think the Niners are, I would be shocked at this point if the Niners didn't get in. I think they're going to win like 11 games. they're going to be a wild card and plus 1,000 to win the NFC West, I don't think it's going to happen. No. That, I don't know. It feels a little bit high to me.
Starting point is 00:23:46 You're not buying it. Well, I have to ask, last time we did a podcast, you said that they were unwatchable. Are you rescinding your unwatchable rating? Listen, if I'm responsible for every take I have on this daily podcast, I will not last the season. So when you, I'm like, what is he talking about? I mean, when did I say that? Yeah, I will rescind that. Yeah, I think they do move the ball.
Starting point is 00:24:10 At that time, I felt like they were depressing because the season had come crashing down from preseason expectations. Now it's like they're kind of this little gritty, resilient team where you can't name anyone on their defense, but every single freaking week, their offense kind of finds a way to at least move the ball. So that makes them a little more watchable.
Starting point is 00:24:29 Yeah, defense since week five, 31st, EPA per dropback allowed, 24th, explosive play rate allowed, 29th pressure rate. they feel like a cannon fodder first round team where it's like thanks for coming out but try again next year when your whole defense is healthy again because I just I don't see a ton of upside here but you're right the floor of the offense is just so high and I don't really have that feeling with Carolina with Chicago with any of these other teams that are kind of nipping at their heels right now or actually in the case of Chicago ahead of them in the standings but I don't feel like that will continue all right so there you go we have we have the same teams we both have Seahawks Eagles, Lions, Bucks, Rams, 49ers, and Packers. Dubundo has the Packers and the Rams winning the division. I've got the Lions and the Seahawks winning the division. We don't believe in the Bears, but I'm saying there's at least a chance, Bears fans.
Starting point is 00:25:25 So enjoy it. All right, you can check out Anthony DeBundo on the Ringer gambling show, on the pregame show, on Sundays, on the Ringer.com, and of course, with me sometimes, on the Ringer's Philly special, mostly when it's baseball season. All right, DeBundo, thanks for joining me. I will be right back with the hurry up. All right, the hurry up is our final segment where I give you a take on news in the NFL, and we got bad news Tuesday with the Jaguars announcing that rookie Travis Hunter will miss
Starting point is 00:25:55 the rest of the season as he undergoes knee surgery. So Hunter's rookie season ends, 305 snaps on offense, 154 snaps on defense. he had 28 catches for 298 yards and a touchdown as a wide receiver and didn't really make that much of an impact on defense. So now I'm wondering, you know, how does this play out with him when he returns next season? I've said all along, I don't trust the Jaguars to have a good plan for him. They, you know, their GM, James Gladstone gave that whole ridiculous speech when Hunter was drafted about he's changing the game of football and the rehearsed speech. Rub me the wrong way. they traded away the 2026 first round pick.
Starting point is 00:26:37 And now they're pretty much back where they started. Five and four stuck in mediocrity. So next season, when Hunter returns, I think the move is you focus on receiver. Get him good there. Let him make an impact on offense. And then once he's making an impact on offense and once he gets settled,
Starting point is 00:26:55 then you can try the two-way thing again. I do wonder, though, are the Jaguar's going to feel like they have to justify the big move, the trade up, the big talk, all those things and say, nope, we're going to play as soon as he's healthy. He's back out there playing wide receiver. He's back out there playing corner.
Starting point is 00:27:12 And then we might just have a repeat of his rookie season during his sophomore season, where it's kind of the same thing where you're wondering, they can't really figure this out. He's not really impacted the game in a major way. So I hope that's not going to be what happens. But this is certainly a storyline. We'll be talking about and watching next year in 2026. So hopefully he gets healthy, fun player, fun. story. I just hope they don't screw it up and they give us a chance to watch him make an impact
Starting point is 00:27:39 on at least one side of the ball. All right. Thanks to everyone for listening. Thank you to Brian Waters for producing today. Kiera Givens on social and additional production supervision by Connor and Evans and Arjuna Ram Gapal. I'm Sheila Kapadia. I will talk to you tomorrow on the Ringer NFL show. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in D.C., Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-Helph.com. Call 1-888-7-8-9-77 or visit ccpg.gat-org or visit MDGamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here.
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