NFL Week 7 Recap!!

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The Heed the Call podcast

is pushing the Cleveland Browns tank full throttle.

Heyo!

The week seven flagship program.

Heed the Call.

Dan Hansis, Mark Sessler, Connor Orr, the gravedigger, Justin Graeber, helping out too as we go through every game on Sunday.

And yes, Mark Sessler,

maybe a turning point for the Cleveland Browns.

We will see.

But that was another big-time notable subplot of this Sunday.

Yeah, there were

notable names that went down on this Sunday.

And, you know, we'll wait and see what happens to some of them.

But in Cleveland and with Deshaun Watson,

a turning point in their destiny.

It really was.

And it's almost like, you know, we'll get into it, but I don't know if there are football gods or what's going on.

And everyone's like saying, you know, act precious about it or don't get upset about it or don't be happy.

But like

this was a pretty fateful, wild event that occurred.

It's just, it's pretty incredible how football works.

Yes.

Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles in all likelihood and is lost for the season, which could lead to a major pivot at the quarterback position, obviously overdue for many Browns fans.

We're going to get to all that.

But we'll start, Connor, with, you know, not since

Friends Seinfeld ER back on the old must-see TV schedule, did we have three locked and loaded Sunday games that we knew were the three games of the week.

So I think that's where we should probably start, right, Conman?

I agree, Dan.

He's ready.

I'm so ready.

Let's go.

Do we want to share the information about Connor's missing his microphone arm?

So now he's holding the microphone.

There's a lot going on with Connor.

We also, yeah, he's missing the microphone arm.

We got a picture that he has been standing up since noon Eastern because there's no seats or furniture in his home.

I also, I guess.

There's a quiet intensity to you right now, Connor, that

it could go toward the positive or the negative.

And I think that's one of the subplots of this episode right now.

I also just want to explain that there's like a, there's like scarring on my nose and I

was.

I don't know why I'm laughing.

Scarring on his nose.

It was showing off.

We were in an indoor pool, and I thought it would be funny to do a dive in the shallow end with my kids around, and I rocked my face off the ball.

Jesus.

I'm playing hurt right now.

All right.

Fight through this, Connor.

We're going to have your back, and we're going to make it through all the way till Sunday night football where the Jets, not a big deal to me, not anymore, are playing the Pittsburgh Steelers with big, big ramifications for both those teams.

But yes, let us start with some must-see TV beginning, of course, where we must start a rematch of the most recent Super Bowl.

Yes!

Back in February, the Niners and Chiefs went at it, and here we were again, this time in mid-October.

Kyle Shanahan, a chance to both reboot this jagged 49ers season and show Andy and Spaggs that he's the smartest football boy with the biggest brain.

Yeah, there's a problem though.

These days, Kyle is lacking.

Kyle, kind of funny, that's his name.

Kyle is lacking his usual assortment of toys.

And it shows the Chiefs did what the Chiefs do, flustering you with their defense and making just enough noise on offense to take care of business.

Chiefs 28, 49ers 18, with the defending champions coming out of week seven as the the last undefeated team standing.

Yes, it's Andy and Steve who have the big juicy brains, putting them in far more danger in the event of a zombie apocalypse or certain alien invasion scenarios.

So, I guess there is some upside in San Francisco.

Let's talk the game

because this is a, well, let's start with a report that we saw just before we went on.

So, Brock Purdy, who is by the second half of this game, is throwing to his fourth, fifth, and sixth receivers.

Debo Samuel is ill at the very beginning of

when he wakes up on Sunday.

He ends up playing just a handful of snaps, but by the second half, he's on the sideline in street clothes.

Brandon Ayuk, late in the first half, what is now looking to be a completely lost first season after all the drama and the big extension.

He gets hit after a reception, and after the game, we learn that it's most likely a torn ACL ending his season.

Devastating setback for the San Francisco offense.

Brock Purdy throws three interceptions in this game.

Really killer mistakes.

Two of those interceptions led directly to Chiefs' touchdowns as well.

And after the game, we got this report.

Justin, if you could fly it up.

I shouldn't have called it a report.

It's like a dispatch on X,

formerly known as Twitter.

Grant Cohen

dispatched.

Kyle Shanahan just lectured Brock Purdy for five minutes at his locker.

Purdy listened and said said nothing.

Never seen anything like it.

So that's the vibes right now

for the Niners.

And we're going to start with the Niners because of that, because this is a team.

Justin, I'll bring you on this because we kind of tag team this one together.

This is a team that for the first time when I was watching them in this game, I was thinking, man, San Francisco doesn't really have the parts to get it done on offense.

And I can't remember the last time I thought that.

I mean, Brock Purdy has been playing at an above-average to elite even level all season long.

He's always been propped up as this guy who functions well in the Shanahan system with all these weapons.

And we've seen him all season making up for not having these weapons.

I think going into this game, his receivers and tight ends had combined for the lowest yards after catch of anyone in the league or lowest percentage of his yards from the yards of catch, some stat like that.

And in this game, he needed to kind of step up and do it again.

But when you see all these guys go down and you got players coming in who haven't gotten the reps with him, it gets so much harder.

And I think he tried to put the team on his back and maybe do a little too much in this game.

They got down early.

They had to kind of do something on offense to get it going.

And maybe pressing a little too hard leads to some mistakes.

And I don't know.

It's like Steve Spagnola has Kyle Shanahan's number going back four matchups in a row now, I think.

Yeah, the numbers are actually pretty stark.

The last

four matchups where Spaggs is DC of the Chiefs, 4-0, Kansas City is,

with the Niners averaging less than 21 points per game.

They have 10 turnovers in those four games.

And yeah, you see it.

They press, and it's as the Kansas City Chiefs always do, Mark.

They find ways to make it happen.

And Patrick Mahomes has more interceptions than touchdowns this season.

And we're not early in the season anymore either.

But he still makes the plays.

None more important than the 38-yard scramble he had late in the third quarter when the score was 14-12, 33-yard scramble, I should say, where he kind of dekes out a defender, then makes it look like he's going out of bounds, which he's done before, and teams have to be wary of that, and then shoots down into the red zone.

And then he ends that drive by trucking a safety

and Allen Iverson moment at the end of that play, and it's 21-12, and the Chiefs never really look back.

So the Chiefs finding a way and getting enough, and San Francisco not being able to get the stop or make the big play on the other side of the ball.

Yeah, I think it's it's it's it was such an interesting matchup today

versus even in the past where they were truly star-studded.

It's a clash of cultures because, yes, the Niners are missing major names and lost another one in Brandon Ayuk, one of the most disappointing seasons of anyone in the NFL this year.

It's just, it's gone.

It's just been a terrible story.

But like the Niners have an enviable culture.

We all see that.

But it's also one that includes crushing losses to Andy Reid

repeatedly.

And the Chiefs,

the subplot for the Chiefs has been they're missing all these guys too.

But so what do they do?

There's a play in this, and Connor, I'll throw it to you for the Mahomes scramble because I know that agitated you.

But it's reverses to McColl Hardman, right?

They're lining up Wentz at quarterback with Mahomes in the backfield.

I mean, they are, Andy Reid is sort of like, I get everyone constantly is talking about.

Kyle Shanahan, but I'm going to do things in this game to this defense that shows that with a limited cast, that is a a total troll move.

And I just think that this is Kyle Shanahan's foil.

And a lot of times on these Thursday shows, we're talking about like coaching matchups and can Kyle Shanahan, like, can he figure out Steve Spagnola?

Can he figure out the Chiefs?

And it's just another example that the Chiefs, who Kyle, they had 23 design runs today between the tackles, which is like, they're going to find a way to do it.

That's the most they've had.

in the next-gen eras and next-gen stats era since 2016.

It's like they're going to go do something totally atypical for them against the Niners and find a way to expose them.

And it really helped, helped, Connor, that the Niners are also down today, a bunch of people.

But yes, Mahomes had that scramble that, you know, we got a text from Connor right away.

He was very irritated by it all.

Yeah, I mean, it was just total horseshit.

And it shouldn't, like, it shouldn't happen because.

Smoking like a guy holding his microphone.

And another thing.

Yeah, but

you're using, you're utilizing the safety protocol against the other teams because Mahomes in particular, anyone who touches him near the sideline is immediately signing up for a 15-yard penalty.

So you know you're not going to get hit.

And then additionally, you fake going out of bounds.

And honestly, I think that the next time he does that, well, I don't know.

I don't want to say that.

But, you know, you know what I'm going to say.

No, go ahead.

Let it rip, bro.

Like the next time he does that, someone should just clean his clock because honestly, like you take the 15-yard penalty and then, I don't know, you know, whatever happens, happens after that.

But you can't, you can't utilize your stature in the game against somebody else.

This is exactly the same as the fake Kenny Pickett slide, which they outlawed in the NCAA after he did it.

I just find this to be a complete misuse or abuse of one's stature and the NFL rules.

So that's that's a take.

I know where you're coming from, but he also he's playing by the rules of the league and he's not the only quarterback, elite quarterback that is protected by the league and they're going to have the laundry ready to fly.

But he's a guy that can can make the magic and do the little pump fake, even after he's beyond the line of scrimmage.

And I just, I got to give him credit for it.

And

because you got to take advantage of these things.

If the league's going to give you that loophole, you take the loophole.

You're trying to win games.

And yeah, on the other side of it, he threw two interceptions in this game.

He's up to eight on the season.

One was on a deflected pass when Xavier Worthy fell on a route.

But right before that,

Worthy, who runs a 4-2 or whatever, blows by the defender, and it's a 70-yard walk-in touchdown.

Mahomes just misses him.

He overthrows him.

I don't know how you overthrow a guy from 70 yards out when he is the fastest man who's ever run at the combine, but Mahomes did it.

The Travis Kelsey connection is, now we could say it with certainty, is not what it used to be, obviously.

They don't have that red zone connection that they used to be.

I tweeted at one point that, remember that they used to just kill teams with those little shovel passes around the goal line?

All that part of their offense is gone.

So it's such a different team the way they grind out games, but they get it done.

And to go up to San Francisco and take care of the Niners is, it's got to be another, it's another notch on the belt for that coaching staff.

And for the Niners, I think we're edging into crisis mode now, Justin, because you have the injuries.

We know Dre Greenlaw, Christian McCaffrey, Hufanga, Javon Hargrave, Juwan Jettings.

Now we're probably done with Ayuk for the season.

This is a situation where they are at a crossroads in their season.

They're 3-4.

I can't remember the last time they've been this deep in the season under 500.

And I don't know after watching this game how they come out of this because there's so many issues for them.

I think you got to go back to like Nick Mullen's times with Kyle Shanahan.

And that's the thing is like Kyle Shanahan has been through this before with the injuries and banged up roster and trying to find a way, but it feels like that's always happened at the quarterback position and not like the entire rest of the roster, which it feels like we're in now.

Trent Williams also got ejected from this game for like throwing punches when it was very clearly over and over.

Quite a punch.

So I don't know if that's going to affect, is he going to get suspended for next week?

And then

you're losing probably the best tackle in the league.

And maybe surprise when he gets suspended.

But your point stands.

And I think it was Fred Warner who missed the tackle on that Mahomes scramble.

It's just like

they're out of sorts.

And I'm sure there's...

And if that's true, the reporting around the Purdy Shanahan thing,

there's some tension and stress in that building.

And of course, the Cowboys are always

playing in prime time.

And they get the Niners Sunday night football next week.

So, Niners at a crossroads, the Chiefs undefeated.

And we move on to the, if that was the friends, here's the Seinfeld game with none other than the number one Seinfeld fan, Connor Orr.

He hates Seinfeld.

Amazing play.

Instant rationalization of speed discrepancy via next-gen stats tracking technology.

Gutsy interception!

Predictably haughty explanation via regurgitated coverage info supplied by high school coach iFollow on Twitter.

Vikings lions?

Holy f ⁇ , I've seen God.

Detroit takes down the undefeated Vikings 31-29 in a beautiful game of the year candidate that logged Jared Goff into the MVP conversation, baby.

Goff now has three straight starts of an 80% completion rate and 140 QB rating or better.

This game was a schematic masterclass on both sides of the ball.

Brian Flores brought the heat.

Kevin O'Connell brought the heat.

Betty Johnson brought the heat.

This one was absolutely beautiful from start to finish.

A treat.

Oh, I love it, Connor.

And you, of course,

as a writer,

senior writer for Sports Illustrated?

Yeah.

Hell yeah, bro.

You wrote about this, and you could read right now that Connor laying out the case.

And don't, I don't want to hear it.

Everyone's like, oh, it's too early to talk about the MVP.

Shut up.

It's never too early.

It's when you want to talk about it, and it's a way to gauge who's playing at the highest level, no matter where you are in the season.

So as we approach the 50% mark, it's a perfect time to talk and write about it.

And Connor, like, what did you see in this game?

Like,

how has he leveled up his game even from the last couple of years?

So, I think we all remember when he was with the Rams, there was this belief that basically, like, Sean McVay was telling him everything to do in the headset before the down, and then he was essentially like puppeteered a little bit, right?

Right, like the way we've heard about Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan in the past.

That's similar type of

crutch, if you will.

Correct.

So, in this game, he sees he sees zero, cover zero from the Vikings.

Everybody's up at the line.

There's like five seconds left on the play clock.

And Goff goes up to the line and moves to an empty formation,

has all of his receivers out wide now.

And then basically, the Vikings' defense has to break, right?

Because they have to change and they have to indicate what kind of coverage they're in.

So they back off into like a normal formation, and then Goff converts a third and nine, which doesn't seem amazing.

But when you look at it, I think the Vikings' opponents were 22 for 71 going into that game on third downs.

This is a long third down.

Later on in that drive, critical drive,

Jonathan Grenard basically has his hand on the ball like it's a strip sack, and he still steps up and throws a dime to Tim Patrick.

Like he is just playing on another level right now, just seeing the game as best as I've seen him play.

And all throughout that game, even after bad plays, Dan Campbell went back to him in the absolute biggest spots to get this win and to set them up for a game-winning field goal.

It's funny because I was watching the Seahawks today and

you know, I was watching Geno Smith, and I've come to have a begrudging amount of respect for Geno and it's kind of appreciating what a great kind of pocket passer he's become.

And that's a bit of a lost art.

And Goff is maybe the premier like pure pocket passer in the league right now.

Let's listen to Dan Campbell, head coach of the Lions, on his quarterback.

He's a stud.

I mean, he is.

I just got to ask the question about, you know, just him and, you know,

what did you see?

This goes back to what did you see when, you know, in 21 when Brad and I acquired him.

And, you know, and what makes him,

you know, and it's

the guy's got arm talent, there's no question, but it's what he's got here and what he's got here.

And that's what makes him a dangerous player.

And it's what makes him

really one of these these guys that you you can build around because he's a winner man He will find a way to win He'll find a way to put the offense in position to win the game.

He doesn't get frazzled.

He's tough.

He's competitive.

And

he's just, man, he's reliable.

He's reliable.

And

I love the guy, man.

And

once again, he steps up huge for us on the road, division game.

Well, I mean, Dan Campbell's going to speak from his inner world.

Like, he's going to give us how he really feels, and you can feel how he feels about his quarterback.

And, you know, we're a couple games removed from Goff finishing, what was he, 18 for 18.

They're coming off a three-touchdown wipeout.

He played well against the Cowboys, very well.

And today, I think he started 18 for 19.

And it's like, so he's completed 70%.

percent plus of his passes four games in a row.

And it's like we're watching, we're in the year of the quarterbacks that were once maligned, thrown out verbally by people, tossed, moved to different teams, all shining.

And this happened against another quarterback that's doing the same thing in Sam Darnold.

But you've got to almost have something that is only bone black and dark within you if you don't watch Jared Goff and the experience of Jared Goff and say, like, this is one of the cooler things happening in football.

And I hark back to the draft when you had that entire state, that entire massive public crowd chanting for Jared Goff.

You never thought that day would come when he was dispatched and traded away.

And here we are.

And it's not just because of the story, it's because of his play.

And the Lions are extremely dangerous.

And these two teams meet again in the final week of the regular season.

And I think they could meet a third time, too.

They could.

It's certainly possible.

And, you know, I want to get back to the Lions to talk about their defensive side of the ball, Connor, after their first game without Aiden Hutchinson.

But let's move to the Vikings because they were the other undefeated team entering week seven.

And we knew this wasn't going to be a team that was going to run the table.

Did you see anything that would concern you for the Vikings in in this game?

Or was this just they played a great team and they almost won, but didn't quite pull it off?

Yeah, I mean, really nothing that would concern me against the Vikings.

I mean, Aaron Jones had a massive run at the beginning of this game that, you know, they sucked the Lions defense all the way to the left, cutback play to the right.

He looked great.

Sam Darnold had another great...

long

explosive passing play backed up against his own end zone.

There was the big 99 yarder of Justin Jefferson a few weeks ago.

There's a 54 yarder to Jordan Addison this week.

And I really thought if you had to compliment anybody or anything, I thought Aaron Glenn really stepped up on the Lions side of the ball.

And that first big third down without that big pass rush with Aiden Hutchinson, really nice call, simulated pressure, dropped a lot of guys, and undercut Justin Jefferson.

So

forced Sam Darnold into some weird spots, some uncomfortable spots.

But nothing where I'd say, oh, God, they need to change quarterback or anything like that.

It was purely best against the best at their best, which is what you love.

Yeah, I think like Darnold is what he's he's doing consistently because while we really wanted him to be consistent, that's what we were always asking for.

But like each game, there's a couple passes that are just like, wow.

Like there's only a couple of quarterbacks that can make those throws.

That happened today.

And you were right about Glenn.

They blitzed on 20 of 35 dropbacks today, which is the highest rate since Eric Aaron Glenn has ever been the defensive coordinator.

And on the flip side, real quick, we knew that this was going to be a Brian Flores situation for Jared Goff to deal with.

And they blitzed the highest they have in ages.

And so, like, but the thing is that Goff is good against the Blitz, and he showed it again today.

So, I just, it's hard not to believe in both of these teams.

10 for 10 against his first, the first 10 times he saw Blitzes, he was 10 for 10.

Ridiculous.

His first incomplete pass was batted down.

And

Darnold did not play well against the Jets going into the bye.

So, I was someone who's pot committed on Sam.

I wanted to see how he came out of this game, so I'm looking forward to checking it out.

All right, let's now move to the, I guess this would be the Clooney

Marguelez,

Noah Wiley, Anthony Edwards joint, Mark Sessler,

to Lambeau Field.

It's 10 p.m.

Thursday night.

You know, when I was a youth in Pop Warner, Glorious Times, my coach, a whiskey-loving Treat Walker, told us before every game, gentlemen, we have four downs on offense.

All we need to do is get three yards per play.

We'll go for it on fourth down every time and we'll never be stopped as long as we don't turn the ball over.

You protect that football the way you would a newborn.

Now the Packers gave the ball away three times in the first half at home.

A terrible Jordan Love interception, a muff punt return, a complete disaster that set up a touchdown, a field goal off that first pick, and a second pick that led to another touchdown for the Texans.

There was nearly a third love pick and nearly a fourth when they were down 22 to 21 inside the two-minute warning.

Jordan Love is quietly tied with Mahomes for the most picks in the league.

That's kind of surprising.

He's a gambler,

but it works sometimes, and it worked at the end.

This game, though, came down to one thing, and it's an off-season change for the Packers.

Jeff Hafley's defense overcame all of this and put the clamps on the Houston Texans, who lose 24 to 22 to the Green Bay Packers.

Oh, my goodness.

How about that?

I want to talk about this defense.

Yeah, go ahead.

They really, really stepped up today.

And, you know, when we talked on Thursday about the challenge for this specific Texans team, like, where are you in your growth process?

Like, going on the road to Green Bay against another great quarterback

and, you know, a good coaching staff.

They did a really nice job.

Green Bay led the league in takeaways.

They were taking the ball away from the Packers, like we mentioned here.

But this Jeff Hafley defense held C.J.

Stroud to 86 yards passing.

They frustrated him.

He threw his helmet at one point.

They held the entire Texans team to 80 yards in the second half.

And that is how you get Jordan Love in the final minutes, putting together a very sturdy final drive to set up a field goal by Brandon McManus, who they just signed, game-winning kick.

It was a very messy game for the offense, but it just makes you feel like Green Bay now, in all those years where it was like the offense shines, but the defense is going to blow you up in January.

I'm starting to believe that they're growing as a defense and they can affect games the way that you'd want them to.

They're more complete.

Well, how many Packers teams, you know, did we lament the defense as being the culprit for holding them back?

And, you know, the cries to get rid of the defensive coordinator and hoping that would make the change.

Well, this is a big-time sign.

I mean, to hold a talent like C.J.

Stroud, I think I talked about it on the Thursday show that I had no doubts that Stroud would come into Lambeau and go throw for throw with Jordan Love.

And first of all, I'm an idiot.

And second of all, like, God, that's an eye-opening performance by the Green Bay defense.

You mentioned he throws for 86 yards, no touchdowns.

According to ESBN, he was pressured on 48% of his drop backs, sacked four times.

And here's something troubling, Connor, for the Texans, who otherwise we all feel pretty good about.

But now Stroud has now moved into the top five in the league, and he's taken 20 sacks this season.

Several of the impact plays by Green Bay in this game came on pass rushes where the rusher came unblocked.

So we're dealing with some scheme issues.

We're dealing with some failure on the line to block, but just not a lot going right, obviously, in this one.

Yeah, and I don't know how many times that C.J.

Stroud will face a secondary this versatile this season, which does present its own unique challenges, right?

And that creates some of those scenarios.

That said, he was on the run all day during this game, looked incredibly uncomfortable.

If I remember correctly, not a single wide receiver with over 30 reception yards yards in this game, which just seems completely wild to me given all the upgrades that they've made.

And even with that Joe Mixon game, he had a good game and still they're struggling.

I mean, that was kind of our belief in this team heading into this game: as long as they get that power running complement, nobody's going to be able to stop this offense.

But as we've seen with a lot of Shanahan offenses, you can affect the quarterback and you can throw a game plan completely out of whack.

You are right.

It was Dalton Schultz who led the Texans' offense in the air with one catch for 28 yards.

No one else more than 23.

And I think it's like you look at what teams lose as these seasons go on, and Nico Collins is a huge loss.

And it really, like, you're missing that player today in a big way.

I mean,

you know, Stefan Diggs, five for 23 on seven.

By the way, the most predictable subplot of this game was Stefan Diggs and Jair Alexander getting into a fight at certain times.

Do they like text each other and say, like, let's plan that?

Because it's good.

It's kind of good PR for both of them.

Like, as you're heading into that early window of like 28 games to kind of have that pop-up, you know, it's just like the NFL will keep you on your toes because I thought they are a team that was built to handle the loss of Collins, and it appeared they were last week with Tank Dell taking on a bigger role, and then Tank Dell gets shut out on four targets.

And to the Packers' credit, recognizing an issue and then reacting to it, there is zero, zero chance Brayden Narvison makes that kick, but they got him out of the the building.

Brandon McManus pipes it actually twice.

They try to ice him when he piped it, then he kicks it again.

So

just a huge win for the Packers.

It is on my radar mark a little bit the Jordan Love sloppiness for a guy that was pristine

during his rise last year.

He is putting the ball up for grabs a lot, and that's not championship football.

Yeah, it's like I was reading all these tweets about, well, you know,

this defense used to do this when you had Brett Favre back in the day, and he'd go wild with like multiple interceptions in a game.

The only thing I'd say, like, roadmap-wise, is that Jordan Love had to overcome up-and-down play a year ago, and he is really young still.

It's still really only his second year as a starter.

So there's proof that he can do it because he was really, really super clean down the stretch.

They've got a ton of talent on that offense, and he seems to really trust all those wide receivers.

So I like that.

It's just that he's a bit of a gambler, and he, you know, like most gamblers, unless you're Justin, you don't always win.

I mean, he was like drifting towards

John Dugar.

Well, he loses a few.

What was that, Connor?

I mean, he was like, there were plays where he was backed up against his own end zone, and he would just push it even further into the end zone to try to get space to throw.

There was a couple where he's got that Aaron Rodgers, like, foot-pop delivery sometimes, and he just doesn't have it mastered.

And he can under-throw balls that are really dangerous, which he's done a few times in this game.

And it really is the other side of the coin in this experience 86 yards for cj stroud unbelievable all right let's take a break and we will roll into the rest of the sunday schedule right after this

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All right, we are back.

Let's head to Atlanta.

The Seahawks and Falcons are weird teams that have a habit of playing weird games.

So what I signed up for on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was weirdness.

I asked for Tim Burton.

What I got was Todd Bergman.

Todd is a mild-mannered husband and father of two, a religious man who works as a logistics supervisor for a mid-sized accounting firm in nearby Cobb County.

Anyway, this game wasn't weird at all.

It was just a one-sided butt-kicking by the Seahawks, who got impact plays from Geno Smith and Kenneth Walker and got a big lift from their depleted defense in a 34-14 win.

Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse.

See nothing.

And

I don't mean this critically like it wasn't a good game.

I like seeing a team play at a high level, and that's certainly what you saw from the Seahawks.

And I thought it's the defense that really jumped out to me at this game.

Because at this point, as I said, I mentioned Geno earlier.

He's going to give you a professional effort at quarterback, a plus effort at quarterback.

Kenneth Walker, when he gets the ball and he wasn't feeling well today, but he still ended up scoring two touchdowns and making an impact.

DK Metcalf is always going to be there.

Smith and Jigba, they lock it.

They have pieces.

So I know that side of the ball is going to be okay.

It's the defense that they're going to need to step up, and it's the defense that's played a major role in their struggles.

But in this game,

they get three turnovers.

They had only had one takeaway in the last five games before this.

And they really, I thought, Flummix, Kirk Cousins, and the passing offense didn't let the Atlanta run game find its legs after having a big previous week.

And in general, for a team that's missing so many key players, they really controlled the action on both sides and scored a kind of a decisive road win at the exact moment in their season where they needed it.

So I think it was a huge pick-me-up for this team ahead of a very, you know, big game against the Bills next week.

The Falcons have, they've been like a, you know, you can kind of rely on them to stir up some magic late in the game.

And that was the opposite of today.

I'm looking at this drive chart.

Fumble, interception, interception, end of game.

So this is not like, but they both kind of strike me as like nine-win teams if things go right.

And it's like, you can't turn the ball over three times here.

And also, like,

they pile up a ton of yardage, and the Seahawks are probably going to give up like 400 yards a game.

It feels like they were ripped by the Giants.

But I kind of look today as a bit of proof that Mike McDonald has a plan here.

I don't know if you felt that way.

Are they just going to just plummet us week after week?

And that's, I also see them as having potentially a higher ceiling than that.

I think if they, if this is the type, this is the type of game that you could build on.

And then if you start to get some of your players back,

you can obviously, you know, they didn't have, let's see, Artie Burns, Rayshawn Jenkins, Rick Woolen, Trey Brown, and then on the other side of the ball,

their offensive line, I think they had their fourth string right tackle in.

And so, this is a team that had every reason to

continue to slide and be like, listen, we're battling the injury bug.

We're on the road.

And instead, they kicked ass.

And the Falcons are a tough team to figure out.

We know the story with the Falcons.

I know they had a decisive win against a bad team last week, but their other wins have been kind of of the miracle variety.

So I feel like the jury is very much out on whether Atlanta is even a nine-win team yet.

I think they have that ceiling, but they also could be a seven-10 type team.

Nine penalties for 72 yards in this game.

Two of those penalties led directly to points for Seattle.

And like I said, could not get anything going really on offense.

And on defense, I know they brought in Matthew Judon, but they still don't have a pass rush, and that's a major issue as well.

So an ugly effort for the Falcons.

A big victory for the Seahawks.

Anyone else have anything to add on this one?

23rd in EPA per play allowed by Raheem Morris' defense, which is not great.

And a quarterback like Geno Smith, any of the guys in their schedule really that have seen a library of defenses have seemed to be able to throw the ball really well against the secondary.

All right, let's keep moving.

Up next, we head to Lucas Oil Stadium with the Gravedigger.

An offensive struggle unfolded at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday as the three quarterbacks who took the field for the Dolphins and the Colts combined for less than 300 yards passing between all of them.

The Dolphins quite literally fumbled the game away with Raheem Mostert and Alec Ingold both putting the ball on the ground.

Mosterts led directly to a Colts touchdown and Ingold took points off the board for Miami as it occurred at the Colts' 13-yard line.

Jason Sanders boomed a potential game-tying kick off the upright with five minutes to go.

And while neither team could really get it done through the air, it was Anthony Richardson's legs that proved the deciding factor in the Colts' 16-10 victory.

All right.

Let's hear about this Anthony Richardson performance because I think there is some

concern starting to build and they got the win.

But how did this game close out?

He had a big play with his legs, you said.

Yeah, it was a third down.

Dolphins get a stop.

They get a chance to get the ball back and go try to drive the field.

Instead, the Colts pick up a first down, go down and kick a field goal themselves, which pushes the lead to six points, forces Miami to need a touchdown rather than a tying field goal.

And so it really was Richardson's legs.

I mean, he finished this game with 11 carries for 50-something yards, I think.

But he was really bad as a passer.

He had four completions at halftime, which

is like, I mean, so many of his throws, like, there were open receivers at times.

And I know Shane Steichen said in his press conference, we'll get to it, that that wasn't the case all the time, but it kind of was.

And he's like dirting balls at receivers left and right.

His footwork is a mess.

His mechanics are a mess.

And I know he's this is only like what his ninth start ever.

So obviously there's room to improve.

But when you get this kind of Richardson game where he cannot hit the broadside of a barn and you're not getting the 50-yard bombs down the field to make up for the missed opportunities, then it all really starts to snowball.

And that's how you end up with 16 points.

And if they were playing, you know, one of like 28 other teams in this game and not the Dolphins with Tyler Huntley, who gets hurt and is replaced by Tim Boyle, the Colts probably lose this game.

On the flip side, if they start Joe Flacco in this game, and it's not going to happen, so I don't want to go too far down this road, but if they had started Joe Flacco, I feel like they'd blow the Dolphins out by two or three scores.

Yeah, I think that's a good thing that you brought up there that, yes, you're going to get the win here, and that's all that matters.

But I totally agree at this point.

I'm starting to be a little worried about Anthony Richardson.

And everyone wants to tell you you're a fool for being worried about Anthony Richardson because he's so young and he's so inexperienced and blah, blah, blah.

This is the NFL, and he's in year two.

And what you're describing to me is kind of what we've been seeing all season long.

And I remember we talked endlessly about that week one game where he had the three 50-yard splash plays and he mixed in all the bad stuff.

Well, we're not seeing the splash plays as much anymore.

Shane Steichen, for what it's worth, and I thought this was somewhat telling, in a game in which they won, was talking about that he sees what everyone else sees that this offense isn't working right now with Richardson.

And here it was him taking some of the blame for that.

I didn't do a good enough job for these guys today.

It was on me.

I didn't do a good enough job offensively.

I got to do better for these guys going forward.

How would you assess the way Andy performed and why do you think it's so stagnant, especially for that?

Like I said, I got to do better.

I got to put him in better positions.

I mean, you go back, I'm going to watch the tape, but I mean, there wasn't a lot of stuff open, to be honest, when I was out there watching it.

So that's on me.

I got to be better.

I just feel like the Colts raise this sort of philosophical question because

you hire Shane Steichen to grow like your first-round quarterback.

Like, that's why you go get the guy.

But you're a much better team if he's not on the field.

And so how long, what is the responsibility into your locker room, to everyone else?

Like, you're living, you're hoping for these high-ceiling plays, and you get them once in a while, but there's a lot of low here, too.

And I guess my other issue with Richardson is durability.

Like I like to see that he ran 14 times today, but

is that what you can do and can you survive doing that week after week when you've got a pure pocket passer sitting behind you?

You have a winning record.

You could be winning these games like Justin, I think, is exactly right in a more secure fashion.

So it kind of just puts the whole organization in a bit of a strange place.

It's like, is our job just to grow this guy or is our job to get to the AFC playoffs?

And running that many times and still not protecting himself, like lowering his shoulder, like still trying to maul people over.

And it just seems like nothing has changed.

And that is exactly what I was thinking about watching this game was like, yes, he brings so much upside with his legs and the threat of what he can do with his legs is really dangerous.

He's explosive with the ball.

He's hard to tackle.

There was one third down he scrambled out of where the defenders had him in the backfield and grab his shoulder pads and he just like shrugs out of it and runs for 15 yards or whatever.

But is that sustainable?

Because we've already seen him suffer a season-ending injury last year.

He already missed time this year.

And he's, like you said, he's still throwing his shoulder through defensive backs.

And yeah, he's much bigger than them, but he can only do that so many times.

And I just think about watching, I've watched the Colts so many weeks in a row.

I've drafted them so many times in a row.

It's become worse for games.

I've been recording at this point.

The last two games, Joe Flacco to Josh Downs was like an automatic connection.

Josh Downs is like setting records for how many catches and whatever, like leading the league in receptions and third down receptions and PFF receiving grade and all that.

And yet when Nanthe Richardson's playing, it's like that connection is not even close to there.

Josh Downs had one catch for three yards today on only three targets.

And this is a receiver that we know is talented.

And when your quarterback can't get him the ball, nobody looks talented.

Shout out on the side of the other side of the ball for Indy to linebacker Grant Stewart, who had 18 tackles in this game and is involved in the big fumble by the fullback for Miami Alec Ingold.

Zaire Franklin strips the the ball after he gets stood up by Stewart.

And on the other side, before we move on, Justin,

on the Dolphins, and it's like, what else can you say?

They've become the most unwatchable team in football ever since Tua went out.

They're last in scoring.

They are 26th in passing yards per game since Tua's injury.

The good news, Tua, according to a report, Diana Rossini, is planning to practice this week with an eye on returning against the Cardinals next Sunday.

So it's light at the end of the tunnel, but not without major damage to their playoff hopes as they sit multiple games under 500.

And it's so hard to watch them play because they still run the ball well.

Devon A.

Ching came back and looked explosive in this game on multiple occasions, but then there's a holding penalty and the huge explosive run doesn't count.

Or they fumble the ball twice on pretty good, you know, one especially good drive deep in the red zone.

And so it's like they can't get out of their own way, even aside from the quarterback issues.

But yes, the quarterback issues just make them such a tough watch.

All right, let's put put on our turtlenecks.

It's that time of year.

When you go to Western New York, Connor, take it.

Turtlenecks.

Funny quote.

The peak of middle school experience in PA was an end-of-year trip to sleepaway camp.

One night only, boys and girls together for the first time.

Hijinks, budding love, passing notes behind the hundred-year-old pine tree.

But because I made a commitment to Dr.

Thrand's Orthodontics Little League team, I had to stay home for a 94-degree makeup game against Sheridan Masonry at our secondary field, which a decade earlier had doubled as a go-kart track, meaning that balls that landed in center field bounced deep into a thicket of snake-filled weeds.

That's how I felt on Sunday watching Buffalo defeat Tennessee 34-10 while anyone, anywhere, got to do anything else that was a step closer to a real, vibrant life experience.

Buffalo scored 34 unanswered points

and the Titans struggled to scheme open their running back on check downs.

That's a real thing that happened.

125 receiving yards for Keon Coleman.

I don't have a lot else to say.

Amari Cooper scored a touchdown.

So it's good.

Amari Cooper, yep, scores a touchdown, four catches,

66 yards and a touch.

And I, you know, as an AFC East team, you're just keeping your eye on it, but

you see it slipping away slowly but surely because the Titans suck.

And that's a problem.

Justin, no offense.

Before I took a break break from my team, I had come to the same realization.

But it's, you know, at this point,

they're hard to watch.

And this, and what changed between

our preview show, Justin, and this was the quarterback exited the picture.

So Will Levis, who had, you know, suffered a shoulder issue the previous week, now is shut down, and it's Mason Rudolph starting.

And if you thought Mason Rudolph was going to save the day, you are mistaken.

Well, you might have thought it at the end of the first quarter.

Titans jump out to a 10-0 lead.

And this has happened in every Titans.

I'm not going to go too long on Titans because they suck and I hate them.

You know, it's funny,

no matter how much you love or hate them, that helmet still spins at such a...

You would think the helmet would slow down during the sad times, but no, it's just, it's riveting to watch it, the velocity.

The Titans have opened every game pretty well.

I think they've scored on one of their first two or three possessions with like the scripted play portion of the game.

The Titans look great.

And as soon as they are out of that, they are like the

up there with the Dolphins is one of the most unwatchable offenses.

They had 10 yards in the second half until the final garbage time.

Nobody's trying anymore drive.

They had 10 total second half yards up until that point.

And they have gotten worse.

from the first quarter to the fourth quarter in just about every game this year, except maybe the Dolphins game when the Dolphins just handed things away to them.

So the conversation in Titans fanland right now is, is Brian Callahan terrible and are the Titans going to have a one-and-done head coach?

That's where we're at with the Titans.

Good.

We don't have to talk about the name of this.

I think that's fair though, because I think a couple weeks ago when it was like, it's, we understand when you're Will Levis and you're doing wild things physically in the wrong way and you're taking out ball boys left and right.

Like, you know, there are a lot of problems happening.

But I think the consistent issue has been like, what's special about this coach when problems occur?

Because when you're Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, you know, Matt LaFleur, you hit the ground running.

These guys tend to hit the ground running when they work.

It doesn't take five years because they've got a good defense in Ross.

Come on, though, Sassy.

I mean, he inherits Will freaking Levis.

I mean, those other guys inherited real quarterbacks and had an opportunity.

I'm just saying

I'm not certain what I'm not.

I don't see any who would look good with this team.

And

the quarterback situation.

But a lot of Titans fans thought, oh, Will Levis is the problem.

Swap him out with Mason Rudolph, and you're going to get a bump like Andy Dalton's first game with the Panthers.

And

I mean, Mason Rudolph is Mason Rudolph, but and he, there's plays where he looks a little better, where he's hitting the top of his drop and firing the ball and completing passes in the first half.

But overall, the whole product overall still looks absolutely just

I thought you said you weren't going to talk about it anymore.

We're still talking about it.

It is very strange, though, that Will Levis played last week because it was reported that his AC sprain is like a four to five week injury.

That was reported on Friday, and he played last week.

Like, what's going on?

The Titans, they are bogging.

Well, it could be

a quiet benching and a nice way to cover for it.

And maybe they just made that decision in a weird way.

Greg Rousseau was a stud in this game for the Bills.

He's really leveled up this season.

Six quarterback hits in this game and a 28.2%

pressure rate per next-gen stats.

The Bills are coming off two nice wins now on the road against the Jets, a division victory in prime time, and then stomping a bad Bills team.

And look away,

I might check out the next Music City Miracle podcast.

Audible.

Audible.

Podcast.

Because it's going to be Titans at Lions next week.

So look out.

On today's podcast, we talked about other things you can do on Sunday afternoons so you don't have to watch the Titans.

Wait, when did you record a podcast today?

You broadcast a podcast during the.

When?

When did you find time to record a podcast today?

You're our executive producer.

It's a schedule.

On a Sunday.

You know, I make time.

I think

it would ever affect my

show, but.

Mark, not since we learned that Connor's microphone arm is in his wife's car driving through New Jersey, suburban New Jersey, have I been so shaken?

Yeah, no,

it's an odd program note.

I guess what you're probably doing is like flash reaction to the train wreck that just occurred in the back, in the backyard of everyone's house.

No, it was actually three and a half hours, Mark.

You got to capitalize on the moment because by tomorrow, every Titans fan in the world ain't ain't listening to a single Titans pocket.

They are out.

They're done.

So you got to get it up ASAP.

If I were them today, I just

absolutely hammered and like got on public transportation.

I wouldn't be listening to one today either.

Before we quit, do you want to hear one really weird stat about the Bills that blew me away?

Yes.

No team.

Buffalo has four more 15-point or more victories than any team in the NFL since 2020.

So games in which they've won by 15 points or more.

That's crazy.

I believe it.

I believe it.

I don't know.

I'm going to have to watch this game, but they have that thing, especially when the Josh Allen train starts rolling where they could just kind of completely overwhelm their opponent.

And when you're playing the Titans, it's easier to do that.

All right, let's take a break.

And when we get back, we get into the

Cleveland of it all.

Stay right there.

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all right we're back you know sest dog I am a fan of the Yankees and we clinched a pennant on Saturday night and I will say you know they beat the Cleveland Guardians and that as they always do

hold for applause

as they always do the TV playoff in the playoffs the the you know the the broadcast goes nuts showing the crowd reaction shots at baseball games.

And, you know, so many shots of Cleveland fans.

And I kept thinking like, these are also Browns fans.

So as Juan Soto rips out the hearts of Cleveland in baseball, then Sunday turns over and you're watching Deshaun Watson on the field.

And how annoying that must be.

So with that as the backdrop of the sports scene in Cleveland, I turn it over to you, Sess Dog.

Well, and I thought it was magnanimous of me to, I texted you congratulating you about the Yankees victory.

That's the kind of person that I am

But you know you begin to wonder

Thank you for that by the way.

Did I reply?

No.

I was besieged, you know I texted you and your brother and your brother replied and you did not reply.

I think you probably thought it was not entirely sincere on my part.

I was more than a moment.

No, I just missed it entirely and I'm sorry.

All right, well here we are.

You know, look at it you begin to wonder who controls all of this, right?

Football, sports, on-field destinies, like what secret unknown force.

Carted off the field 300-plus days ago, Nick Chubb.

Carted off the field today, Deshaun Watson.

Achilles injury, season over.

Plays later, Nick Chubb rumbles in for a touchdown.

Suddenly, everything has changed.

One man returns, the other guy leaves.

The Browns mysteriously sit Jameis Winston before kickoff.

Suddenly, Dorian Thompson Robinson is Cleveland's new starting quarterback after all this drama.

And DTR banged his finger.

Jameis Winston is in.

Chaos and weirdness.

Cleveland's destiny entirely changed.

The game itself was more about the Bengals.

Since he erased their Cleveland Jinx with a day that saw Joe Burrows struggle

outside of touchdown strikes to Jamar Chase and T.

Higgins.

A hundred-yard punt return touchdown as well by Charlie Jones and Trey Hendrickson burning down villages.

The contest, though, felt in the background.

To me, everything about the game went into the background.

Everyone on hand knew the bigger story here.

Since he's 21, Brown's 14, but everything in Cleveland has changed.

Deshaun Watson has been cut from the script.

Yes, so he scrambles.

You see that sickening ripple of the calf when he plants the foot.

Obviously, it's a rupture at Achilles' tendon.

They'll make it official, I would imagine, either later tonight or tomorrow morning, which ends his season and takes Watson out of the pit.

By the way, I replied to your text while you were doing that setup.

Thank you.

Well,

I appreciate the sincerity behind that.

I also saw your text, which is a little, you know, nice work, comma, Yankees with a slammer.

It was not like from the heart necessarily, just a little bit of a mail-in job, but I appreciated it.

Well, one quick thing, because I did see, was it the game that the Guardians won before on that incredible home run at the end?

Yes.

A couple games.

And, you know, that to me was very emotional.

Just from,

that's beautiful baseball in general this time of year.

And so

I was starting to get pulled in a little bit, but then, you know, I didn't track it, and suddenly you find out

they've been shipped out of town.

So I was like, Kira, nice job, Christmas is canceled, Cleveland.

But anyway, back to the point.

So yeah, so Watson, at the very least, is out until next summer.

And that does open up a whole other realm now, Mark, because obviously you trade Amari Cooper, and we can talk about the game.

But just like what's happening right now with Cleveland, it's going to become now, there's no need to win games, and we're going to see how they play that, and then what it means come the draft, and we'll have plenty of time to talk about that.

But it's an injury that does what I didn't think the Browns had the guts to do in the first place, which is take Watson off the field.

So fate steps in, and maybe it ends up being a good thing for the organization and their fan base.

It's just, it's interesting to me because

the whole thing has obviously been...

More feelings than just awkward, but there's been an awkward nature to the whole arrangement from the start, splitting the fan base in half, cracking them like an egg.

But even now, like all these people didn't want him to to play, and now he's not playing.

But you've got players telling the fans that their response to him leaving the field was inappropriate.

And I get where they're coming from, there as teammate.

And, you know, that you're not, I don't, who wants to be booing a player getting carted off?

But, like, you can't even, you got what you wanted if you're that kind of fan, and it didn't come the way you wanted.

Just nothing about this has felt pure, good, right, easy, anything but just strange, disappointing.

Strange is listening to some of the post-game chatter out of the locker room.

You know,

Jameis Winston in full preacher mode

trying to keep his composure or at least putting on the act that he could barely keep his composure because he's so upset about the situation.

And then you had Miles Garrett playing Morality Police.

Let's listen in on that.

Man does pretty much everything right.

He's been a, you know.

a model citizen through college and most of the pros.

He plays the game as hard as anyone I've seen.

Puts everything on the line, willing to throw his body out there.

And

he plays the game at 100 miles per hour.

And

there's a risk of being injured.

And he took that risk.

But we have to be there for him as a team, as an organization.

We can't look down on a guy because of any mistakes on the field or anything off the field.

We don't have anything.

We don't have any more high ground to look down on the guy.

Sainey pretty much did everything right.

Pretty much is doing some heavy lifting there in that sentence.

Yes, it is.

Yeah, and we're not going to play Moral Police either.

But at the same time, there was a little bit of a disconnect coming out of that locker room.

But, you know, that's the Deshaun Watson experience around the Browns.

It's always been messy.

And, yeah, the fact that the Browns fans, if Browns fans were booing

Deshaun Watson down on the field or whatever was happening there, I haven't actually watched it yet, but this is what we're hearing, obviously.

That's not necessarily even just like, oh, we're happy you're hurt.

I think it's fair to say that the Browns fan that's been pulled along for this hellscape of a ride, that's a lot of frustration coming out and an idea of like, you know, an exasperation to the entire last three years soap opera that this fan base has been dragged along.

So don't take it out on Browns fans that they are having complicated emotions about what you guys did in the first place.

That's my thought on that.

Mark, any other thoughts before we turn to the game itself?

I think you said it well.

I mean, I just think I'm exhausted.

I think Browns fans are exhausted.

You know, Connor

has been a Browns fan and isn't even able to

consider himself to be a father and a Browns fan at the same time.

I think they put everyone in a really weird position.

They've been really,

the thing that bothers me the most, I think they've mirrored what bothered me about Deshaun Watson, who never seemed to come around and take any accountability for the people he hurt.

No matter whether he thinks he's right or wrong,

there was no emotional growth.

There was no evolution.

And the Browns organization, with the way they've handled it from a PR angle, their hideous Twitter account, like the way the coach is not spoken, it's like, oh, you're mirroring what I don't like about the person who's playing quarterback.

And there's no, who's the hero here?

And now am I supposed to suddenly turn the page and root for this team?

It was a little different with the Joe Flacco thing because it just had this sort of magical feel to it.

But you still feel hypocritical.

I get there's athletes all over the league that are doing stuff that we don't approve of.

This, to me, always felt because of what Cleveland,

how they went after him, how much they put into this and the way they've handled it, that it feels different to me than some of the other situations.

And I guess that's complex.

Critique me all you want if you're a Browns fan or someone else, but I'm just left exhausted.

Nick Chubb returned, like you said.

So

he gets some work.

He gets a touchdown in this game.

We'll see if it's Dorian Thompson Robinson

who was actually the backup for this game.

Winston got demoted to the emergency third quarterback role, but he ends up playing when Thompson Robinson struggles and Watson obviously went out.

So we'll see what happens there.

And then on the other side, Mark, this was a Bengals team that, again,

they're kind of finding their way, right?

But not a 21-14 is probably not going to blow you away as some big victory, but you take the dub and you move on.

Yeah, on them real quick.

And I know they're not getting the attention they deserve in this review, but this was, they were really, I think this is an example of a divisional rival where like Cleveland can disappear on defense a bunch this season, but they match up really well with Cincinnati, and they really, it looked like last year's Jim Schwartz defense.

But Joe Burrow, two big pass plays in this, and the huge 100-yard punt return, that was the difference.

But it was an ugly game, and like you can still, you can still see them working their way

through these contests.

It's a bit of a grind, but they've got the great quarterback that you believe in and some stars on offense.

And that was the difference here.

Finally, the Bengals get a division win.

So they are putting their season back together, but you probably want to see a little bit more of them.

We'll see what happens next.

Up next, we head to the Meadowlands where there was grizzliness for the home team.

Ooh, Jaunty.

If you remember when

LT changed the game, or when Phil Sims went 22 for 25 in Pasadena, or when Bill Parcells explained, that's why you lift all them weights, or when Scott Norwood went wide right, or the final tally, Eli and Coughlin 2, Brady and Belichick, nothing.

Would you trade all that if it meant you never had to endure the dead-eyed stare of the 2024 New York Giants?

What if I told you I could delete the memory of Saquon Barkley rushing for 176 yards and a touch on 17 carries in three corners for the goddamn Eagles?

If the trade-off was saying goodbye to the helmet catch, would you let me take away your most cherished memories if it allowed me to take away these New York Giants?

Would you choose the eternal sunshine of the spotless mind if it meant that Eagles 28, Giants 3 dissolved into the ether?

Choose wisely.

The very existence of Daniel Jones depends on it.

Yeah,

listen, we know, we all know that this was a pretty shitty setup for the Giants, knowing that Saquon Barkley was coming into the meadowlands.

But the way it played out was just a nightmare.

And ownership is probably furious about it.

He has multiple big-time plays.

He actually hit nearly 22 miles per hour, 21.93 on his 55-yard run in the second quarter.

So he's got every bit of juice, exactly the type of guy that you want to keep in the building, and the Giants fans know it.

So to see him absolutely go off is one thing.

But then for the Giants' offense to be totally, totally out to lunch in this game, they had 100, let's see, how many yards did the Giants finish with this in this game?

Where were they?

This was really bad.

119.

119 total yards for the Giants on offense in this game.

An absolute embarrassment.

And for the first time, Connor, I'm thinking to myself,

in a real way, GM Joe Shane, head coach Brian Dable, John Morrow watching this game, if there are real doubts now are coming in,

like, is this the end of another

botched era of Giants football in terms of the leadership?

I mean, it's a fair question.

It's fair to feel that way at this point.

I think by

pulling Daniel Jones and then inserting Drew Locke and then saying it was in an effort to generate a spark, I think you kind of have to have a a better knowledge of the market than that and then to understand what that means.

Because even though Daniel Jones kind of came into the season walking a tightrope, now you've really kind of upped the stakes here.

And now you're putting yourself in a position where every week, who are you starting, who's getting the practice reps.

And I don't think that that's the kind of situation that Brian Dable ever wanted to get in.

He spent the whole offseason trying to get Daniel Jones confident and ready.

And I just think every little bit that you pull the rug out from underneath him, it's going to be harder to get him to respond.

Yeah, and that is, by the way, their lowest offensive yardage total this century

for the Giants.

So, you know, that via Ralph Thakiano.

So, I mean, just I think this is, and Mark, I was having a little bit of fun with you on Sunday night last week that you were romanticizing this Giants team.

It's like, this is a bad team, Mark.

This is a team that is going in the wrong direction.

And this was the Nadir.

I think this will be potentially remembered as the beginning of the end of the Brian Dayball era.

Maybe things turn around, but

this is rock bottom to have Barkley do what he did at the Metal Lands when your offense looks the way that it did.

It was an embarrassment.

Yeah, the note I wrote, because

I picked four games to try to watch at once on Sunday, my own and two others.

And I decided to dial up Eagles, Giants as one of them.

And at some point in the middle of this lost affair, I just wrote, you know, I know the Giants are missing people, but this team is lost.

Total rebuild mode.

Like, I just, I don't know what you can sell.

And I think that Dayball

is different than, the coach is different than the GM.

Like, I get that they're linked.

And I would say, I could say you could make a case for Dayball as a good coach.

I do think he is.

But the vision of this team and where we are, like, All right, we're years into this.

You want to be there by now.

And they've got bigger problems than they do solutions all over the place.

So really concerning.

Like NFL team building needs to take on a certain feel and aura.

And this is not the feel, and this is not the aura.

Jalen Hurts didn't have to do much in this game.

10 for 14, in fact, for 114 yards.

Threw a touchdown pass.

This was the Saquon show.

This game was over

by the third quarter.

But shout out to the Eagles defense.

And

another issue for the Giants is losing Andrew Thomas.

Their left tackle is just obviously crushing.

Jalen Carter and Nicobie Dean both have two sacks.

Nolan Smith has a sack.

Even Bryce Huff had a sack for Christ's sake.

They had eight overall in this game.

So Daniel Jones is going to get hurt also if this continues.

And you're going to have Drew Locke playing whether you like it or not.

So

big issues for the New York Giants and the Eagles.

Despite all of the drama and the ups and downs around that team, they are 4-2.

So a lot of teams would kill to be 4-2 at this stage.

Let's move on to SoFi Stadium with Connor Orr.

In a game that will be best remembered as background noise for the disappointingly late in life loss of someone's virginity, the Los Angeles Rams took apart the Rudderless Raiders 20 to 15.

Aiden O'Connell broke his thumb, thrusting Gardner Minchie back into the fold.

He finished with three picks, a lost fumble.

Antonio Pierce bungled his timeout usage down the stretch and twice kicked from inside the 10 in the game's final minutes down by 11 points and 8 points respectively.

Meanwhile, the Rams get a much-needed win here before the cavalry arrives.

Cooper, Puka, Nikil.

We're all coming back, baby.

Yeah, I thought Cooper was coming back this week, but they decided to hold off

for another week.

And

yeah, I mean, what were your kind of big takeaways from this game?

Yeah, the Antonio Pierce thing, Connor, it's like...

I mean, I want to hear more about what's happening, you know, in that other person's apartment, if we can get to that at some point.

That's true.

That's true.

Antonio Pierce making bad decisions strategically is something that is becoming normal.

But when you are down by a touchdown late and then you kick a field goal to get the ball back, but you still need a touchdown when you get the ball back, you've made the wrong decision.

I think we have Pierce explaining his strategical genius.

Did you give it some thought about

should you go for it at that time?

No, we did, but we had three timeouts.

So we figured, just like we did, we get the ball back for those guys that think about a minute and 40, min 30, min 41, whatever it was on the clock, give our office a chance again to go down there in a two-minute drill with no timeouts.

So thousands of thought process.

If it was, you know, fourth and four, we get the penalty.

As you saw, we were going for it.

So the weird thing about this game, too, was when they were trying to stop the Rams, they didn't use any of their timeouts before the two-minute warning.

And so he allowed the clock to get to the two-minute warning and then started using all of his timeouts.

So by the time he got the ball back to try to go back down and score, he had zero timeouts left.

Had he used them beforehand, he would have been able to run a different game plan a little bit because you could throw the ball to the middle of the field once.

But Gardner Minchie was just lost.

I mean, he was running around.

He threw another interception and it really, I mean, it derailed any chance of a comeback.

But a really nice win for the Rams.

Huge defensive game for this team.

Jared Verse sounded like he had a really good game for the Rams.

And I've been waiting for that to happen.

I have one question.

It's like we're not, this isn't 1988 where these teams have really different types of coaching and support staff.

Like, what's happening, I wonder, in the ear of the Raiders' head coach when this wackiness is happening?

Because it seems to be like, well, you know, if it's not every game, it's every other game.

You know, it's a subplot to how Raiders' games are ending, the time management.

And you wonder if it's just a lack of experience, a lack of feel, if you also have your defensive coach, and so your game management coach is kind of trying to feel you out on that vibe as well and to sort of

backstop you on that and just always be the take-the-points guy.

But I've just been surprised because Antonio Pierce has just vacillated so many times.

Like he'll go for it in wild situations and then he'll revert back.

And there's no like Dan Campbell kind of consistency here.

Aiden O'Connell with the broken thumb, which sounds, that sounds super annoying, having a broken thumb on your dominant hand.

Sure.

Justin, you ever have a type of injury?

I feel like you're a guy that gets injured a lot.

Ever break a thumb?

Yes.

I've broken 15 bones, 13 separate instances.

And yes, I did break a thumb playing basketball when I was in seventh grade.

My coach was...

toying with me.

He was scrimmaging against us for some reason.

And he was doing like a in your face, pull it back, in your face, pull it back.

And I tried to be smart and steal it from him when he did that.

And I jammed my thumb right into the ball and broke it at the bottom face of the U joint.

Justin, do you have like a, because I'm not, I don't say this in jest.

Yes.

Like, uh, because I had a friend that had it, like, many broken bones, but there was a rage, like a calcium issue as a youth.

No, it was like a real, it couldn't, he couldn't like

process calcium the way that you'd want.

And so I think Mark.

I was asking if you have bird bones, I believe, is the term.

Yeah, I was, I hate my parents used to make us drink milk at dinner every night, but I hated milk.

I would not drink it.

So I never drank my milk portion growing up.

And relation, correlation, causation, we don't know.

But definitely.

Ever seen Unbreakable, by the way?

Yeah.

It's a good movie.

Yeah, I agree.

So O'Connell broke his thumb, and now it's Gardner Minshew, who the head coach clearly can't stand,

just throwing moonballs up.

Listen, everybody likes Gardner, and when Gardner is having a good Gardner day, he's fun to watch, and he's kind of a relatable dude.

But bad Gardner Minshew is rough stuff, and even they have the ball late, and he's just non-competitive throws, like wild man, like Brett Favre with, but without the cannon, basically.

It's like,

it's not going to work at this level typically.

In Minshew's defense, the five receivers starting for the Raiders today had a combined 10 total starts, and there was the sideline reporter in the game was like, yeah, and before the game, the coach told them, Don't worry about being Devontae Adams.

And I'm just like,

You won't have that problem because none of them are even close.

Although, Brock Bowers did have 10 catches, he looks awesome.

He's a bad dude, that Bowers.

Offensive rookie of the year, perhaps.

Well,

we're about to talk about someone that could be maybe a higher candidate for that.

Yeah, good call.

All right, let's do it.

Segue.

Segue.

That's me, baby.

Jaden Daniels left this game on the first possession with a rib injury.

We're talking about Carolina Panthers at Washington Commanders, if that wasn't clear.

Jaden Daniels left this game on the first possession with a rib injury.

But it didn't matter for the Commanders, who boat raced the Panthers in an absolute laugher of a late window game 40 to 7.

Andy Dalton was picked off twice in the first quarter.

One return for a touchdown.

Commanders outgained Carolina 421 yards to 180.

Marcus Mariota played really, really well, like looked really good in relief of Daniels, which leads me to question a couple of things.

Number one, Jaden Daniels' MVP candidacy.

Like he's been amazing, completion percentage, EPA, all that stuff.

But if the offense can put up 40 points with the backup.

Whoa, slow down.

I mean, is he that's a good idea?

No, no, no, no, no.

I'm going to stop you right there.

This is a joke.

It's a bit.

It's a bit.

Okay.

Just like I don't think the New York Giants fans are seriously pondering giving up their memories so they don't have to watch this team.

But to the point you're making, it's like, it is the Panthers.

I haven't seen Marcus Mariota play at a high level since he was in Oregon.

So I'm not, you know, that really tells you how bad the Panthers are.

And at this point, like, what are we doing?

Unless you're totally out on Bryce Young, why are we still starting Andy Dalton at this point?

He's no longer providing a spark for the team.

They're, once again, a laughing stock.

So we might as well go back to the former number one overall pick.

From that specific thing, let's just keep bringing him into the game.

Right.

Wait, it's like, what do we do?

Do you want to hear the Panthers' passing stats?

Andy Dalton, 11 for 16 for 93 yards.

Bryce Young, two for two for minus four yards.

Like, what is this?

That's great.

Hang on.

I have a second question.

I have a second question because if the offense, the commander's offense, going to look this good and put up 40 points with a backup quarterback, and yes, Panthers caveat included, we talked about this a little bit recently.

I think it's time to bring this question back to the forefront.

How long before Cliff Kingsbury gets another shot as a head coach in this league?

I mean, he's got to keep it up.

Yeah.

He's got to keep it up.

But you're right.

I mean, who's having a bigger year than Cliff Kingsbury right now?

And here's the thing.

You have the Jaden Daniels health thing.

Let's check in on that.

So he goes out with the rib injury early.

He tries to throw some warm-ups.

He's in discomfort.

He goes goes to the locker room.

He comes back.

And there's a dispatch from his mother, I believe, on Twitter saying that he's okay.

He's fine.

That was the full tweet.

He's fine.

And obviously, the game was so out of hand already that it made no sense to try to push him back in the game.

So

we won't know until this week starts to unfold whether it's an injury that's going to cause him to miss time.

But if I'm a Commanders fan,

And I tweeted about this, like the Commanders have now graduated to beating the ever-living shit out of bad teams

level of good ass teamdom.

It's like it's a step you have to take.

I remember when the Lions started doing it, it was like kind of even more freaky because it was the Lions who always were the

bad team.

But then they started doing it.

When you could start trouncing the terrible teams and stacking wins like that, it's really a sign that you are going in the right direction.

So

another positive day for Washington, but obviously the health of the quarterback, it's everything.

I mean, that's what it's all about.

Yeah, no doubt.

And Dan Quinn, after the game, was asked about Daniels, and all he said was no update.

So maybe he didn't get the same news that Jaden's mom got, or he's just being cool.

Yeah, how does that work?

So if she's sending out that tweet, do you think she's doing the eye test as mom?

But I don't know if he had emerged from the tunnel and was back.

Or does Jaden go, when he goes back to the locker room, does he grab his phone and she gives mom a text?

Why is she there?

Is she at the game?

Say in Washington.

She's come down to the x-ray room just to check on her baby.

Or maybe Don Kleinman has a competition as the greatest NFL reporter.

Maybe that's what's happening.

I do like, though, that after Jaden's mom tweeted that he was fine, like 19 minutes later, Magic Johnson, who is the part owner of the team, is like, wonder how Jaden's doing.

And someone's just like, you can go in there and ask him.

You're literally the owner.

You own the team.

All right, let's take a break and we'll be right back.

You may have heard by now that Heed the Call with Dan Hans's Mark Sessler is on Underdog, so why not start playing on Underdog today?

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All right.

Let's head to Jolly Old London.

I love the song.

Patriots.

Jaguars.

Mark, treat this song right with your setup.

It's a special song that deserves.

What do you want me to do?

Just fight a lot, bro.

I got your text back.

It was totally...

You wrote it in a completely insincere manner, but I, just as an update.

What are you talking about?

Oh, you're talking about the Yankee thing?

Yeah, you're talking about this.

Right now, this song is so good that I want you to just nail this setup.

Okay, here we go.

All right, you want to start the song over?

Yeah, we're running out of time.

Yeah, I'm gonna, I get overwhelmed by how good this song is.

So, now I'm gonna turn my microphone off and let you do your magic.

Well, I really worked on this uh setup here for you, so I hope you'll see the effort I put in.

Beautiful, hit it, Jay.

Patriots at Jaguars.

Football at 6.30 in the morning on the West Coast.

Yes, please.

Your stringer for this game was shocked out of sleep at 6.36.

Already Drake May is marching the Patriots down the field, going 6 for 7 on the opening drive.

A big old boy, moving the ball effortlessly against a Jaguars team that appeared asleep at the wheel.

I asked myself, had they clearly spent their week in London as Mark and Connor once did back in the young days, drinking heavily and witnessing a pub trivia contest in which a flock of young co-eds tussled with blokes in between one-minute cut-ups of champagne supernova, or as Dan and Mark did finding our favorite corner pub with a father-and-daughter bartending duo who delighted.

The Jaguars focused on Indian restaurants instead.

Biryani, large plates of naan bread, pints, lasses from the Northland, cut to Shad Khan looking less content than Kubla Khan up in the box, side by side with Robert Kraft, flown quickly to London after sitting front row on the dazz at the Al Smith dinner.

At the dinner, Kraft looks super buzzed and vaguely lost as Jim Gaffigan roasts coastal elites.

Kraft and Donald Trump, Trump rubbing elbows once again.

Then he's flown quickly to Europe to watch Drake May, the rich get richer as May looks beyond competent.

Cut to Kraft pounding another massive cocktail up in the booth.

Chris Rose and Joe Thomas in the booth spinning poetry.

Patriots run 23 plays before the Jaguars run their sixth.

Doug Peterson on the brink, but then the Jaguars explode.

22 straight points, two long touchdown drives.

Parker Washington is running off a 96-yard punt return.

The longest in Jaguars' history.

Brian Thomas looking like the sun exploding in the Andreal Andromeda system.

Jared Mayo calls later.

Jared Mayo later calls his Patriots team in quotes: soft.

Doug Peterson suddenly alive and filled with blood.

The Patriots can't stop the run.

171 yards on the ground.

Tank Bigsby, a pure Mauler.

The most complete game the Jaguars have played all year.

Jaguars 32, Patriots 16.

Let's When I have to write these things, and at no point, Mark, did you think this might be too long?

When I have to write these things,

these London games, I end in a weird place mentally when it's like 6.48 in the morning.

And so we were crawling towards this segment.

I was like, looking at it, because I like to look at it.

Like during when you guys were doing the last, I was like, this thing is way too long, and I don't know how to edit it now.

So, you know, I acknowledge way too much, way too long, way too much.

But it was just like...

Good, we can go to Sunday night football, right?

That was the whole.

There's not much else to say.

I will say one thing.

They lost, and they're not very...

The song ran out of time and it wasn't even close.

I knew that was going to happen.

Wasn't even halfway there.

I like Drake May.

I like Drake May.

I really, really do.

I really think they have something.

It's just going to take time, but I really like him.

But Kraft looked hammered to me.

He always looked hammered, but he just seemed like he, at one point,

a cup of something.

And it's like, it was clearly, you know, it's later in the day.

It's London.

This guy's been drinking since who knows when.

Robert Kraft.

Yeah, but he was at this other thing, too, that I watched from the other night in the States, and he looked, he looked like he was on like 14 edibles.

I don't know, but that's maybe just how he looks from a distance.

Well,

that was the last London game.

And again, we have a lot of listeners and viewers from that side of the pond.

And you guys did a great job.

Looked awesome.

Vibes were great.

Country Roads was blared.

All good stuff.

We sent two one-in-five teams over there to end the London portion of the International Series.

We apologize.

But at least the Jaguars showed up because they start down 10-0 in this game, and you're like, oh, my God,

is this going to end with Doug Peterson not making it back to America?

So they at least get to, they study this shit.

They study the ship just a little bit.

And I don't know.

The Patriot.

Let's listen to Gerard Mayo.

Speaking of first-year head coaches that are in a little bit of trouble,

let's listen to Gerard Mayo after this one.

Look, a disappointing game.

Disappointing game.

We came out.

We started fast.

What I would say is, look, we're a soft football team across the board.

We talk about what makes a tough football team.

That's being able to run the ball.

That's being able to stop the run, and that's being able to cover kicks.

And we did none of those today.

I just wonder, Connor, you've covered teams and been around the locker rooms.

How does that go over a coach telling the media that the team is soft?

That's like one of the worst things you could say about an NFL team.

You can't do it the way that they did it either, which is that you bill yourself as the anti-Belichick all offseason.

And I'm fun, and I have an open-door policy, and everybody likes coming into work now.

And we have all these things that we do together.

And then, you know, you bill yourself as the anti-belichek, and then you come around and you tell your team that they need to become hard ass again.

And it's just not possible, right?

You, you're trying to, you, you went for a vibe, you achieved it, and now you realize that you can't win that way.

And I think you backed yourself into a serious corner.

Yeah.

And on the Jaguar side of things,

yeah, I thought on the Patriots side, Drake May, the opening drive, they have a drive later in the game.

He seems to be, at the very least,

if I want to give Mayo some crap, I also give him credit.

He's got Drake May in the game now, and he's going to be able to develop this season.

And it's very much a developmental season for the Patriots who've now lost six in a row.

On the Jaguar side, Mark, you have Travis Etien out, and Tank Bigsby is really showing something here, and they have something cooking here.

There is enough with this team between

the rookie receiver,

Trevor Lawrence, and that two-headed attack in the backfield with Evan Ingram that I think they're going to be okay offensively if they could just figure out how to make this work on all phases.

But I don't think the Jags are as dead as their record indicates.

They're not, but they have to be.

Like, if you were to rank the most frustrating teams, they're vying for number one because when they look good, they look like they could play with anyone.

They've also lost 10 of their last 13 games.

And I think what always bothers me about the Jaguars is they'll always win one of these London games, and it looks like they fixed all their problems.

And then they come back to like our country and all the problems exist again.

Because there was noticeable relief on the face of Doug Peterson.

And in his press conference after, it's just like you can tell he, the look on Shad Khan's face is like, this guy is fighting for his job.

Yes.

I don't think there's any way Mark he keeps his job if they would have ended up losing this game 31-7.

Absolutely not.

Absolutely not.

And so he saved it for another week, but do I trust them to go put it all together three out of the next four?

No.

I don't think so.

And they also have the Packers, Eagles, Vikings, and Lions and Texans.

So maybe I'm going to slow down.

Like if I could have named the five worst teams I'd want to play, it would probably be the five teams I just named.

So yeah,

they have their work cut out for them.

But they got a big special special teams play from Parker Washington

and made plays on defense in this game as well.

So, you know, take the good where you can find it.

Take the good where you can find it.

It's a good job for the next coach.

Yeah.

Ooh, sess dog.

All right, to Sunday night football.

Sunday night.

Sunday night football.

The day ended with the Pittsburgh Steelers piling on the New York Jets.

37 to 15

at a raucous Accrashore stadium.

The New York Jets jumped out to a 15-6 lead.

Late in the second quarter, Aaron Rodgers throws an interception.

The Steelers cash in with a touchdown and it was all Pittsburgh from that point on.

In fact,

after that interception, the Jets never scored another point.

And the Steelers scored 31 unanswered, including a strange walk-in touchdown in the final 30 seconds that I'm sure does not sit well in the Jet locker room.

But it is the Steelers now 5-2

and tied atop the AFC North and the Jets melting away at 2-5.

What a mess.

Mark Sessler, we'll get to the Jets in a minute, and they are a train wreck, and it's moments like these why

I decided to go full Roblox and just become an NFL fan.

And I'm wearing my Roblox hat right now.

Perfect timing on my behalf, because if I was a Jets fan, I'd be throwing up in my mouth yet again.

But the Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin specifically caught a lot of heat for moving away from Justin Fields and moving to Russell Wilson.

But I thought they looked like a better, more cohesive team with Wilson leading the way, at least tonight.

Well, they looked like a Mike Tomlin coach team.

And it's like at this point in the season, I'm just not surprised with them making decisions that they work out.

I thought they created complete disturbance for the Jets.

There is this sequence where,

it has so much to do with Pittsburgh's defense, but it goes that interception that you mentioned, the half ends, the Jets come out and do a quick three and out.

There's the second Rodgers interception, then there's a blocked field goal, and the Steelers are scoring points on the other side of this every single time.

I was trying to think during this game, like, because as a Browns fan, you know, it's like, wow, I understand how Jets fans are feeling, having to go in prime time to Pittsburgh.

Is there a tougher stadium to go deal with, no matter what the state of the Steelers are for the most part, because they've been relatively just decent forever?

Like, is there a tougher place to go on the road in night, Sunday night football, and try to handle your own business?

Because the minute the Jets were down, I think it was, what was it here?

It was 23 to 15.

To me, it felt like it was 41 to 3.

Like the Jets were out of answers.

They were out of moves.

It was basically Jets versus Jets at that point.

And the Steelers were starting to feel themselves.

And the Russell Wilson decision was looking better and better with each drive.

I really like, I think what's interesting, right, is that, you know, we're looking at the Jets trying to become what Aaron Rodgers needs them to be versus Russell becoming exactly what the Steelers wanted him to become, you know, and there was this whole thought process when he went to Denver.

He wanted to stop being Russell Wilson.

He wanted to stop running around.

He wanted to play more of a Tom Brady style where he was two steps and getting rid of the ball, kind of in an effort to prolong his career.

But tonight we saw him essentially sandwich himself into the Jets' defensive line like two or three times to pick up fourth and ones.

That's not the guy who left Denver.

This is a humbled person who is becoming changed via the Steelers' locker room.

And then through that process, it's a really interesting thing.

Like what could come of that at this point, you know?

Yeah, I mean, it's definitely something to track.

And the Jets defense, this is not the Jets' defense that was one of the best in the league under Robert Salin.

It's not because Jeff Ulrich's running the show now, although maybe that doesn't help.

The injuries really piled up.

Their secondary was decimated.

And by the clinching touchdown of this game, the one that puts the Steelers up 30-15, you could just tell there was just nothing left in the tank of that team.

And the offense had sputtered, and the defense kept on getting sent out onto the field.

And they kept on suffering injury after injury.

And it was just like...

I felt for the Jets defense.

The Jets' offense, on the other hand, like, again, for a team that has as much talent as the Jets do on offense, including now Devontae Adams, who was very quiet in his first game in New York, perhaps not surprisingly, but still, he was brought in in part to like win this game.

This was a huge game for the Jets in terms of their chances to get their season on track.

But you look at the roster and you look at the skill players, and I go back to like Garrett Wilson as somebody who really jumps out to me as one of the problems for the Jets this season.

You have these super talented players, whether it's Brees, Hall, or Sauce Gardner or Garrett Wilson, that have superstar DNA, but they're not playing at the level.

And I thought the game, you know, the interception at the end of the first half was when everything changed.

But when they're down 16-15 and Rodgers

feathers one over the top and it smacks Garrett Wilson in the chest plate and then is returned nearly for a touchdown, that's the type of stuff that's what bad teams do when the crowd was getting hyped and the Jets are still very much in the game.

For that play to happen, it's a microcosm of the disappointment and the failure that has now become the trademark of this Jets team.

I don't know where the Jets go from here.

I know they still have a couple months left of football and stranger things have happened, but this seems like a team mark that's going in the wrong direction.

So while the Steelers deserve credit for taking care of their business and seizing momentum and then just driving the Jets into the ground, the Jets look like a team that is lost and have no direction in the ultimate win now season.

It's October 20th, and it feels like their season's already slipping away.

Yeah, I think the best teams are earmarked by player development.

Like young players that you draft grow, they fulfill potential, and you're watching like the beanie bishops of the world tonight become like a name.

Joey Porter Jr.

has really grown as a cornerback, and that's Pittsburgh's defense seems to always find these guys.

And I thought the Jets had.

And I'm not saying they haven't, but like Garrett Wilson has the major gap.

Like Sauce Gardner seems, you know, eternally banged up.

I still think he's a good player.

But,

you know,

you're changing coaching stabs.

You're changing philosophies.

And I'm looking at an offensive playbook that I don't feel like has answers for when they get down by, you know, into a deficit by more than a touchdown or 10 points.

It seems a little lost in like Aaron Rodgers' world with Aaron Rodgers, like his supporting cast.

And it's like, all right, well, we're watching that in real time in 2024, not 2018 in Green Bay, and it's not working.

And I'm with you.

I'm like, where are they a month from now?

What suggests to us that they're going to solve their own problems?

I don't know.

And Connor, Aaron Rodgers, I don't think he has been bad this year.

He's been okay.

He's had bad moments.

He's had good moments.

But he also, to me,

he's a 40-year-old quarterback that needs to have a good setup around him, coaching, personnel.

You need superstars playing at a high level.

And none of that's happening.

So it's all kind of a pretty toxic stew with Rodgers, who I don't think is the problem, but he hasn't been, like Mark's saying, 2018 Rodgers to lift them out of that morose, which I think they were kind of hoping he could be that level of player.

Yeah.

I mean, you know, it goes back to what we were saying, I think, before the season started, where if the Jets were

undefeated or they had one loss, right now we'd be saying, of course they do, because look at all the talent.

And if the Jets were in this place, we would say, of course they were, because they leveraged everything for a lot of players in their late 30s or their 40s,

a coaching staff that wasn't high throttle before this and wasn't a bunch of, you know, high performers before this whole experiment started.

And so you're kind of just left with the other end of that coin at this point, you know?

I'm just doing some texts with Keith.

And thank God for the Yankees.

That's all I'll say.

All right.

And the Steelers get the Giants next week in prime time.

Geez.

And we got the Jets coming.

More Jets coming in time.

We got the Giants

next week.

The Steelers, though, do you remember what we, I mean, I raged about this at the beginning of the season, how their entire divisional schedule was sandwiched in the back of December.

And I was like, this is just a knife in the back of this team.

And they're so screwed because of this.

And now the Steelers are like, great.

Both of our Browns games we still have left?

Like,

we have to play Cleveland two more times before the season's over.

This is fantastic.

You know, it's an interesting schedule.

Yeah, you got after you got the Jets, you got the Giants.

This team's going to win like 11 games.

At Commanders, but let's see if Jaden Daniels is playing.

Then you got home Ravens at Browns, at Bengals, home Browns, at Eagles, at Ravens,

Chiefs versus Bengals.

It's a tricky schedule, but you know what?

They look pretty good now, and we'll see if Russell Wilson, if it carries over beyond the start.

But right now, he looks like the right guy for that offense, and Mike Tomlin

is proven correct, at least for one night.

Any other thoughts, boys?

Just want you to know that you're loved, Dan.

Yeah, I think we're just, you know, what's up?

What do you mean?

Why are you saying that?

Well, because when I said I was on a break with the Browns, you know, you were, I think from a friend angle, trying to coax me out of that.

And now it's in reverse.

Well, you didn't say you were on a break.

You said you were no longer a Browns fan.

I didn't renounce my Jets fandom.

I am simply, I took a step back and I decided I didn't want to be a part of these nights on the front lines anymore.

And that's why tonight was,

I could take a step back.

And I saw, ooh, what a disappointing night for the Jets and their fans.

I feel for them.

And their fans.

But at the same time,

yeah, at the same time, I

you know, I do have memories of the relationship, the goods and the good and the bad.

What is Keith, like you're texting with Keith?

What does he think about you leaving the front lines?

So you're back up in a tent up on a hill looking down on everyone.

Yeah, my dad's old school.

My dad doesn't think you should ever do anything like that, and you should always ride with the team.

But

I made this decision for myself.

Okay.

I find that it's always, it's been pleasing for me to repeatedly disappoint my dad in my 40s and early 50s.

So welcome to that experience.

By the way, also, as the Dodgers, I hear fireworks going on outside my home as the Dodgers just clinched their spot in the World Series and will be Dodgers Yankees.

Most Mets fans are also Jets fans.

Right.

It's tough.

It's tough.

And if you're out there, I feel for you in better days, perhaps, down the road.

But

you're not arm in arm with them, but you feel for them.

You're up on the hillside now.

You're looking down on the

destruction.

Exactly.

I'm totally disconnected as I put my Yankees hat on.

We shift over to the other side of things.

All right.

Thank you to everybody for listening.

That is the week seven recap.

Conman.

make sure you check out his piece on the MVP candidacy of Jared Goff.

And on Wednesday,

next time you see all of us together, we're going to do a little NFL media talk and other fun stuff.

And, of course, Monday night football coming up.

What's the Monday night game this week, Mark?

Oh, heavens, the Betsy.

Got your ass.

Baltimore at Tampa Bay.

So we'll be back tomorrow night with a recap of that game.

And, of course, the news of the league.

So until then.

And, of Of course, the other Monday night game that's happening tomorrow.

No.

Oh, see?

No.

No one knows what's happening.

I think we might have to take a stand, Mark.

I mean, we're getting to the point.

We could media blackout the lesser game, the game that doesn't exist.

We could treat it a certain way if we wanted to.

It would be a statement.

It would be a major statement.

They're doing it again.

We have another double Monday night.

Jason Dumwalt literally said, don't talk about them when referring to the Cardinals.

And that's the tease.

Maybe we just actually don't talk about them tomorrow.

Cardinals, Chargers.

Oh, my goodness.

All right.

The ESPN Plus game.

My goodness.

All right.

Yes.

So maybe we'll talk two games.

Who knows?

But thank you for listening to our talks about these games.

Until next time, heed the call.