NFL Week 9 Power Rankings + Commanders-Chiefs MNF Recap

Speaker 1 Here's the issue, Mark. You and I are aging, and

Speaker 1 it's hard to stop that.

Speaker 2 Nope. It's problematic.

Speaker 1 So we can't do the things like we used to do, which is like, you know, stay up late at the bar, then go get a burrito, and then wake up four hours later, and everything's fine.

Speaker 1 We need something. How about this, Mark? How about what I've been using? Terra Origin? Because adulthood, it's hitting hard.
We're dealing with it. Middle-aged guys,

Speaker 1 my knees hurt. I hurt my wrist the other day.

Speaker 1 I punched a door. Shouldn't have done that.
And now my wrist hurts. This is stuff that wasn't happening when I was young.
So this is where Terra Origin comes in.

Speaker 1 Are you curious why I punched the door?

Speaker 2 Yeah, I was going to say that's

Speaker 2 a different conversation. But if you've got Terra Origin, I'm sure that you're going to be able to get your way out of that mess.

Speaker 1 Aaron Judge grounded into a double play. Anyway, Terra Origin makes science-backed, clean supplements designed to help men perform better, recover faster, and feel good every single day.

Speaker 1 They make smart no BS supplements that actually help you feel human again.

Speaker 1 And that's why

Speaker 1 this is the product that you need. The best part about Terra Origin, no fluff, no fads, just premium, transparent formulas you can trust.
It's like upgrading your daily routine from survive to thrive.

Speaker 1 So whether you're lifting, leading, grinding, or parenting, Terra Origin helps you show up at your best. Visit terraorigin.com and use the code PODCAST for 30% off your first order and free shipping.

Speaker 1 That's T-E-R-R-A-O-R-I-G-I-N.com. Terra Origin.
Feel better from the inside out.

Speaker 3 Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start. Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to.

Speaker 3 Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin or what that clunking sound from your dryer is with thumbtack. You don't have to be a home pro.
You just have to hire one.

Speaker 3 You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews, all on the app. Download today.

Speaker 4 Yeah, I mean, i mean he's that's the the true chief of chiefs man i mean he is the guy that was here before me sets the culture he's the guy that is in the building early in the building late and he is the leader of this team so uh to be able to get him that that record tie in it let's go out there and break it now

Speaker 1 ah yes welcome to heed the call

Speaker 1 nfl podcast The Monday night show. Dan hands us with Mark Sessler and Justin Graver.
on the ones and twos. That was, of course, the great Patrick Mahomes.

Speaker 1 Speaking of his

Speaker 1 great tight end,

Speaker 1 Travis Kelsey, who

Speaker 1 after a touchdown in this game,

Speaker 1 Travis Kelsey now has 83 scores in his career, tying Priest Holmes. I remember Priest Holmes.
He was a good player. I didn't realize that he had that many scores.

Speaker 1 Anyway, he's tied with Holmes for the Chiefs' career record for touchdowns. And yes, it was

Speaker 1 an easy road for the Chiefs to win 28-7

Speaker 1 on the final game of week eight. A week eight

Speaker 1 rife with blowouts, Mark. So only fitting that this one ends with a three-score deficit for the loser.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean, it wasn't that way in the first half because the Chiefs open with

Speaker 2 two interceptions, one that bounced off of Kelsey, uncharacteristic for Mahomes. But I thought that their second half was one of the best halves they've played all year.

Speaker 2 And they, you know, they blew out, they beat Detroit, they blew out the Ravens. So there's contenders there, but they just look so dialed in.
And Kelsey is a big part of it.

Speaker 2 Like, I think it was his best game of the year, but Rashi Rice, like, just absolutely

Speaker 2 changes what this attack can do. And I, you know, I texted our friend Pete Sweeney

Speaker 2 during this game just to say, whoa, this team feels like they're operating.

Speaker 1 Typical Sweeney Sessler transaction, just all information, nothing on the fridge.

Speaker 2 You know, I thought it was

Speaker 2 just another indicator that our bond as friends.

Speaker 1 It's more like, what can I get out of you, Pete, for the show so I could sound educated. But yeah, go on.

Speaker 2 I won't even quote what he said. I just said, am I watching a different type of Chiefs team here? Like, this feels like we've leveled up.

Speaker 2 And he confirmed my thought with some additional information that only made me feel stronger about my thought.

Speaker 1 Very nice. Yes, I think I have a couple thoughts.

Speaker 1 Since we're talking about Travis Kelsey and Taylor was there at the game and

Speaker 1 I'm very happy for the two of them, although the new Taylor Swift album, I'm very concerned about the arc of her career at this point.

Speaker 1 I do believe she needs to

Speaker 1 lock in and take her songwriting into a more mature place.

Speaker 1 But right now she's in love, and she's in love with Travis Kelsey. And Travis Kelsey, I think, is playing better now than he has played

Speaker 1 at any point in the past two years.

Speaker 1 Last year was kind of a complete loss where he looked like he might be cooked.

Speaker 1 The season before, he had a nice playoff run, but in the regular season, he also didn't look great. He really is, he's an actual contributor right now, and I know he had

Speaker 1 in this game a drop in the first half that led to that interception. Both of Mahomes' picks should have

Speaker 1 really weren't his fault, I didn't think. Well,

Speaker 1 let me restate that.

Speaker 2 Not the Kelsey one. Definitely one.

Speaker 1 Not the Kelsey one. The other one, that was just a nice play by the defender, but yeah, that was legit.
But Kelsey goes eight for 99 in this game. He has several longer receptions, 38 yards.

Speaker 1 So it hasn't been the thing about Kelsey, it's been the last couple of years, a lot of just chain moving or attempts at chain moving, a lot of six-yard gains, seven-yard games, eight-yard games.

Speaker 1 So him having some open space, it reminds me of the Chiefs' offenses of a few years back. And I think that's all to your point, Mark.

Speaker 1 Because of Xavier Worthy, because of Rashi Rice, because now they're able to spread this offense out, and Kelsey is getting back into finding those pockets because he's such a cerebral player.

Speaker 1 So, you know, this game was a game that was tied 7-7 at the half. And I give the commanders, again,

Speaker 1 this is a team that is missing their best player, the most important player, Jaden Daniels. They're just trying to survive.
And I'm starting to wonder

Speaker 1 if they're not going to survive just because the schedule doesn't really let up for them. And, you know, we're now heading into November.
But the Chiefs, like you said, great second half.

Speaker 1 And to me, they just, they are the best team in football right now. And I don't think it's by a wide margin, but if I was to pick one team that had to win a game right now, it is the Chiefs.

Speaker 1 And when we get to our power rankings later,

Speaker 1 I believe that will bear fruit toward that point.

Speaker 2 I mean, you'd have to be a little psychotic to not agree that they're looking like the...

Speaker 2 frontrunner in the AFC and we trust their past and and and you're right about Washington because they were one of the best stories a year ago. Terry McLaurin's banged up.

Speaker 2 Laramie Tunzel leaves this game. They were 3-2.
They're now 3-5. They played the Seahawks, Lions, Dolphins, and Broncos over the next four weeks.

Speaker 2 That's a rough road. We're going to find out who this team is.
And, of course, the Chiefs go play the Bills next. And this was a nice tune-up.

Speaker 1 Yeah. And yeah, Mahomes also is,

Speaker 1 you know, he's playing at a level that I think is, again, familiar to me as some of his great Mahomes seasons after a couple of years where it's been a struggle. Uh, he's playing at such a high level.

Speaker 1 I really want to see what happens with Isaiah Pachenko. He takes a pretty nasty shot on the knee in the second half when the game was already out of hand.
Um,

Speaker 1 yeah. And he, you know, he's an important part of this because I think Kareem Hunt can be helpful.
Patrick Mahomes, I think, is having his best rushing season in a few years.

Speaker 1 But Pachenko, getting him a part of this offense really is another piece of the balance that they, when they're running with balance, they're very difficult to beat.

Speaker 1 So that would be the one thing to keep an eye on on the injury side of things here.

Speaker 2 Anything else on this game?

Speaker 2 Yeah, I think like, well, one thing on Pacheco, because it's like if you go, if you had him in fantasy, for instance, you were not blown away by his numbers on a weekly basis, but they're very much a committee offense, right?

Speaker 2 Passing-wise, run-wise. But I think over the last two or three weeks, he has ran as well and with much fury and fire as I've seen him him in a long time.
So you are right.

Speaker 2 He matters a lot down the stretch, and we'll probably know more tomorrow.

Speaker 1 Yes. So, and Marcus Mariota, you know,

Speaker 1 he's at times been proficient, but I'm watching him move.

Speaker 1 It's funny. When he came out of college, he was a dual threat guy at Oregon, and

Speaker 1 he's very slow to evade. the pass rush.
He's clearly lost a step. It's just, it's tough to watch.
It was good that they got Terry McLaurin back, and he has a touchdown catch in this game.

Speaker 1 So you get McLaurin back. Hopefully, you get Jaden Daniels back up next.
But we're getting to the point with the commanders at 3-5 where,

Speaker 1 you know, they don't have too much rope left, put it that way, even in a wide open NFC. So

Speaker 1 there you go. That closes the books on Monday night or on week eight.
And that was a wild week eight.

Speaker 1 We did the, you know, we did the locks. I had picked the Bengals to cover by 12.

Speaker 1 Justin, were they the only favorite not to win and cover in week eight?

Speaker 1 Let's see. Favorites go 11-2 against the spread in week eight.
That's an 84.6 winning percentage, the best winning percentage for favorites in a single week since December of 1985.

Speaker 1 All 11 favorites covered by 7-plus points in week eight.

Speaker 1 Most in a single week in the last 30 years.

Speaker 5 The other favorite that didn't cover or win were the Atlanta Falcons, who were seven and a half point favorites.

Speaker 1 Yeah, they no-show. Yeah, we'll get to the Falcons

Speaker 1 when we get to the power rankings. But

Speaker 1 there you go.

Speaker 2 By the way, did you see that so knocked off Connor in my lockoff picking the Packers over the Steelers? I thought that was a notable

Speaker 2 victory for the Cess Dog.

Speaker 1 It might get you out of the cellar, buddy boy.

Speaker 2 I think it it did.

Speaker 1 Congratulations.

Speaker 1 Very nice. You know what? You want a weird little fun fact for the Chiefs? I think this is right.

Speaker 1 Hollywood Brown had 99 yards in week one.

Speaker 1 Kelsey had 99 yards in this game. Chiefs still don't have a 100-yard receiver this season.
But I think they're going to be okay.

Speaker 1 I think they're going to be okay.

Speaker 2 It's a collective.

Speaker 1 And Rashi Rice, yeah, he had a touchdown in this game. He also

Speaker 1 had a rushing touchdown that got overturned on a review.

Speaker 1 He had another play near the sideline where it looked like the side judge is about to throw up his arms for a touchdown signal, and he was a half yard short there.

Speaker 1 But like in these two games, and it's really only like a game and a half because

Speaker 1 they were blowing out their opponents so bad last week. Everybody was out by midway through the third quarter.
He has instantly showed why he's one of the most

Speaker 1 productive wide receivers in football. So that's a massive add to this roster, and you're seeing it.
So there you go. Monday night football.

Speaker 1 Are we taking a quick break, Gravy, and then we'll hit a little news and then get to power ranking? Sounds good. Stay right there.

Speaker 1 Money, man.

Speaker 1 We all got to be better about our money and managing money can feel like a full-time job sometimes between overdraft fees, waiting for your paycheck to clear and trying to build up savings.

Speaker 1 It's easy to get frustrated. And that's why I really like what QIIME is doing.
They make banking simple, fair, and actually helpful.

Speaker 1 When you set up a direct deposit with QIIME, you can get paid up to two days early, enjoy fee-free overdraft coverage, and skip the usual monthly or maintenance fees entirely.

Speaker 1 Every dollar goes further when you're not losing it to surprise chargers. Come on, Mark, surprise chargers, enough of that.
We don't need it.

Speaker 2 We don't need it. And you know, I've got a couple of friends that use QIIME, and they're talking about it.
They love getting real-time transaction alerts.

Speaker 2 It makes it so much easier to stay on top of spending and know exactly where your balance stands. Plus, access to over 47,000 fee-free ATMs.
Means you're never stuck paying to get your own cash out.

Speaker 2 Come on. And with qualifying direct deposits, you could get free overdraft up to $200.
To date, QIIME has spotted members over $30 billion, Dan.

Speaker 1 $30 billion. Work on your financial goals through Chime today.
Open an account in two minutes at chime.com slash HTC. That's chime.com slash HTC.
Chime. It feels like progress, baby.

Speaker 6 Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services services and debit card provided by the Bank Corp Bank NA or Stride Bank NA.
Members of FDIC.

Speaker 6 Spot me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Timing depends on submission of payment file.
These apply at out of network ATMs, bank ranking, and number of ATMs, according to U.S.

Speaker 6 News and World Report 2023. Chime, checking account required.

Speaker 1 Oh boy. Fall always feels like a reset between busier routines and shorter days.
Finding time to cook can be a nightmare. That's why I love Factor.
Their chef-prepped.

Speaker 1 Dietitian-approved meals make it easy to stay on track and enjoy something comforting and delicious, no matter how hectic, Mark, the season gets.

Speaker 2 No, it's absolutely true. More variety, more meals.
Choose from a wider selection of weekly meal options.

Speaker 2 It's great, including premium seafood choices for you, Dan, like salmon and shrimp at no extra cost. Support your wellness goals.

Speaker 2 Enjoy even more GLP-1-friendly meals and new Mediterranean diet options packed with protein and good-for-you fats. That's just the beginning, Dan.
There is no end to the goodness of Factor meals.

Speaker 1 I like it. Yes, and I love that Mediterranean diet.
We're trying to tighten up.

Speaker 1 We're trying to look good on camera, mark and and factor is helping us on that point i use this mark uses this and you should too if you're a busy person if you want to eat healthy if you don't want to have a big time commitment issue factors for you eat smart at factor meals.com slash htc50 off

Speaker 1 and use code htc50 off htc50of to get 50 off your first box plus free breakfast for a year how about that that's code htc50of at factormeals.com for 50% off your first box.

Speaker 1 Plus free breakfast for a year. Mark, that's the most important meal of the day.
Get delicious, ready-to-eat meals delivered with Factor.

Speaker 5 Offer only valid for new Factor customers with code and qualifying auto-renewing subscription purchase.

Speaker 1 All right, we are back. You know, Mark, as we record this, it is

Speaker 1 game three of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers, our hometown team, and the Toronto Blue Jays.

Speaker 1 As Freddie Freeman hits a harmless flyball to left, the catch is made by Miles Straw of the Blue Jays, and that ends

Speaker 1 the 11th with the game knotted at five.

Speaker 1 Yeah, just take a quick second here, Mark, to pat ourselves on the back, the professionalism

Speaker 1 on display. At one point, Joe Davis in the booth with that notorious

Speaker 1 Yankee hater Smultz

Speaker 1 says, you know, John,

Speaker 1 I think this might be the best baseball game I've ever watched.

Speaker 1 And yet here we are talking about Marcus Mariota's commanders doing their best at Arrowhead. So, you know,

Speaker 1 we're the real heroes, but we knew that already.

Speaker 2 It's a little discordant.

Speaker 2 I don't think we're playing the hits here in terms of the biggest sports event of the night. And

Speaker 2 you are maybe the biggest baseball fan that I know. And so while I can brush it off as an L

Speaker 2 in terms of what I'm watching this evening, like it's a tough, it's a tough sitch for you.

Speaker 2 And so I think that it just, it goes back and it speaks to, as a versatile broadcaster, you just gave us a little play-by-play there from the game.

Speaker 2 Your versatility, your passion, your professionalism. Those are the words I'd use.

Speaker 1 And also, I'll throw a little right back onto your plate there, Ceci, in terms of love. I'll give you a little yams and some stuffing, a little bit of turkey with some gravy.

Speaker 1 Your passion for professional football and the craft of podcasting, you made a promise to yourself that you weren't going to track other sports because your brain was only going to be about pro football and pro football alone.

Speaker 1 And I think that says a lot about you, about how seriously you take what you do. And I hope the audience understands that.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I think we could sell it that way. If we dug in deeper, there may be other factors at play, but let's sell it that way.
I think that works to the general audience.

Speaker 1 By the way, the changing gears, though,

Speaker 1 I thought like crazy

Speaker 1 fans taking puppets to game, I thought that era ended like sometime around the 1958 World Series.

Speaker 1 Look at this bird. And that's a sequin Chief sweater, by the way, Mark, not a latex one, you perv.

Speaker 1 And here's the...

Speaker 2 Well, okay, can I

Speaker 2 mention that from when...

Speaker 1 She took those puppets.

Speaker 2 I dug in deeper on that later. And when I could see it better, I realized it was not a latex.
But you were at, like, there are latex outfits out there, like, just to let you know.

Speaker 1 But, like, I'm sure.

Speaker 1 I'm a sex addiction. You got a problem with sex? Sure.
You're down in the dungeon. You're addicted to sex? Sex addiction or something? No.

Speaker 1 You take that elevator to the basement at the Sessler condo, Melrose Place over there.

Speaker 2 I'll leave it there. I'll leave it there.

Speaker 1 Anyway, I didn't know.

Speaker 1 You have to take these puppets through security. You have to obviously treat them with a level of care.

Speaker 1 And then you have to keep them on your hands for the whole, and then hope a ESPN cameraman gives you some pop and a big spot. Like, it just seems like a big, a big lift.
But a shout out to that lady.

Speaker 1 She got everything she could have asked for.

Speaker 2 Yeah, it seems like a chore. It's a little high concept, but clearly she was going for something and she was fulfilled.

Speaker 1 All right, let's do some news as Clayton Kershaw warms up in the pen. What could go wrong?

Speaker 7 After reviewing the play, be an expedited review. The runner is down, short of the goal line.

Speaker 1 I don't know about expedited, but we'll

Speaker 1 go with it.

Speaker 1 The great Troy Aikman, who suffers, no fools.

Speaker 1 Let's start with, you know, this one is on my radar a little bit. It was on my radar

Speaker 1 early on Thursday night football when you're watching Carson Wentz and you're saying, that guy's not right. He is in a lot of discomfort.

Speaker 1 And that discomfort eventually gave way to what appeared to me agony

Speaker 1 and to the point of, hey, KOC,

Speaker 1 maybe you got to get this dude out of the game. But he leaves him in and he gets pounded and punished for four quarters

Speaker 1 in their loss on Thursday night. And now we learn that Carson Wentz is done for the season.
He will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a left shoulder injury. He initially suffered on October 5th

Speaker 1 while playing in place of the injured starter, J.J. McCarthy.
He's been playing through, listen to this, Mark, a dislocated shoulder that included a torn labrum and fractured socket,

Speaker 1 a source told the SPN on Monday, confirming multiple reports. I just find this, and listen, this is a brutal game.
Look at poor Cam Scataboo, who we'll get into in a little bit,

Speaker 1 and 20 other guys, 30 other guys, 50 other guys every Sunday. It's a brutal sport.

Speaker 1 But part of the job of these teams and especially the head coach is to protect these players. And I just thought watching that, it was like

Speaker 1 Rocky IV when Rocky didn't throw in the towel and Apollo's getting beaten to death by

Speaker 1 Ivan Drago. It's like

Speaker 1 there's a lack of responsibility and accountability. And I feel for Wentz.
I really do as his season comes to an unceremonious close.

Speaker 2 I'm with you.

Speaker 2 I think like usually with quarterbacks, you find out like in March that like Peyton Manning played with some sort of malady that he never spoke about and some injuries are hidden from training staffs and coaches and the public.

Speaker 2 We were watching someone in physical disrepair and agony and someone who knew that their body was not going to

Speaker 2 stand up, hold up, and be able to do what he wanted to do. And it was like the pain on his face was

Speaker 2 pretty tangible. It was tangible.
It was rough to watch. And like,

Speaker 2 I don't think it was handled well. And I'm really surprised of all teams to not handle it well that it was Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings.
I'm not. Surprising.

Speaker 1 You know, I am not because they've been butchering this quarterback room all season, going back to the offseason.

Speaker 1 And they put themselves in this position because they didn't want to put in Max, was that Max Brosmer?

Speaker 1 Yeah, Max Brosmer in this game, even if it meant that Carson Wentz was going to continue to take damage to a body that was already broken and they had no other options because while Carson Wentz is getting the daylight beaten out of him, you see JJ McCarthy skipping along on the sideline.

Speaker 1 I just feel like the whole position and the whole Vikings angle here has been backwards.

Speaker 1 And that kind of takes me to something that's not directly Vikings related, but more the retrograde bullshit that sometimes pops up in this sport.

Speaker 1 you know, whatever happened to Gary Cooper and all that. Kirk Herbstreet.

Speaker 1 Kirk Herbstreet, that guy should, The first thing Kirk Herbstreet should do when he gets on the air next week with Al Michaels is when there's a break in action,

Speaker 1 they should mention the Wentz injury. And Herbstreet should apologize to Carson Wentz for

Speaker 1 the stuff that he spewed about Wentz. Let's play some sound from this.

Speaker 1 This is late in the game when Wentz was, at this point, looked to be crying into a towel on the sideline and obviously was in so much discomfort he could barely walk, let alone play.

Speaker 1 Here's Herb Street.

Speaker 8 To me, when you're the captain of the ship, you're the quarterback, you got to try to hold some of that emotion in. And I know he's frustrated, and he's hurt, and he's hurt,

Speaker 8 but it's week seven. You know, there's a long way to go.

Speaker 8 They have some of that just raw emotion. You know, Justin Jefferson does that.
It's probably on Sports Center, it's everywhere on social media. What's wrong with this guy? Quarterback does that.

Speaker 8 To me,

Speaker 8 it's worse because, like I said, you're the guy. You're the leader.
You're the alpha. It's a frustrated team right now.

Speaker 1 I mean, shut the

Speaker 1 up. Like, it just kept getting dumber and dumber the more he opened his mouth on that.
And by the way, it is just week seven, but that was it.

Speaker 1 That now Carson Wentz, the season's over, in part because of the beating that he took that led to him having that reaction. So I hope Herb Street thinks, I wish I had that one back.

Speaker 1 And I hope he he addresses it next week because I thought that was pretty irresponsible and shitty to, and I know a part of it, Mark, is that Wentz,

Speaker 1 and it's an unspoken thing. We've been covering this league since Wentz came into the league.
Like, Wentz is not a popular guy, and you get the feeling he's not an overly respected guy.

Speaker 1 And I wonder if that,

Speaker 1 in a way, Herb Street said, oh, I can get these shots off on this guy right now. And I know he's not, I'm not going to get a lot of blowback because there's not a lot of Carson Wentz stands out there.

Speaker 2 It threw me because Herb Street, if anything,

Speaker 2 I would label him as pretty bland and like kind and not, I mean, kind might be strong, but just like not someone to go do what he did there. And

Speaker 2 he was a former quarterback. He should know what someone else is going through.
I'm with you. I think Wentz is someone that's turned off a couple locker rooms, not in a toxic, terrible way, but

Speaker 2 I can see what Herb Street was doing.

Speaker 2 I'm with you. I hope that they handle that well.
It would be very interesting to see

Speaker 2 him

Speaker 2 pick up that subject and respond to it a week later because it felt really out of whack with what we were watching visually.

Speaker 1 All right, so what happens now for

Speaker 1 the Vikings? Obviously, McCarthy is scheduled to return to the lineup for the game Sunday at the Lions.

Speaker 1 Wentz obviously heads the injured reserved. Max Brosmer is now the only other quarterback on the roster.
Desmond Ritter, who spent three weeks on the roster earlier this season, he's an option.

Speaker 1 Brett Rippen, who was the number three quarterback, was waived after training camp. He's on the the Colts practice squad.
I suppose he's an option.

Speaker 1 But I'll do. I'll bang the table again.
Don't kick, don't punt on the season. Go get somebody.
Go get Geno Smith. Go get him.

Speaker 1 Like maybe not Kirk Cousins after you saw his audition, but there's a couple options out there that you can go and maybe get at a fairly cheap price and save your season.

Speaker 1 Because hoping McCarthy, A, plays well and B, stays healthy,

Speaker 1 that's a pretty big roll of the dice for a Vikings team like that. As I said, I feel like has blown this quarterback position

Speaker 1 all season long. All right.

Speaker 2 Yeah, and they're three and four, and you've got the Lions, the Ravens, the Bears, the Packers, and the Seahawks. This is the deep forest of your schedule.
And we'll find out real quick who you are.

Speaker 2 I'm not sure I can go with you on the Geno thing, but it's either J.J.

Speaker 2 McCarthy's team, and convincingly, and we need to see that right now, or this team has major issues this year and going into the offseason.

Speaker 1 Speaking of major issues,

Speaker 1 the

Speaker 1 Buffalo Bills have a major issue on their defense. We talked about this on Sunday night's show.
Ed Oliver, who's just their stud in the middle of their front four,

Speaker 1 he went out in the blowout win over the Panthers, and it is indeed a torn left biceps. He's out indefinitely.

Speaker 1 Coach Sean McDermott said on Monday he suffered the injury, Like I said, against the Panthers, he's going to undergo surgery.

Speaker 1 And again, just

Speaker 1 frustrating because this was, again, late in the game, a game that was a blowout.

Speaker 1 And

Speaker 1 now he's done potentially for the season. So they've been hit hard at defensive tackle.
Daquan Jones has missed time with a calf injury.

Speaker 1 TJ Sanders, a rookie. He's on injured reserve.
And now Oliver is out for the foreseeable future. And defense is not this team's strong suit.
And you take out one of their best players.

Speaker 1 That's a problem.

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 2 You got the Chiefs next.

Speaker 2 You know, you've kind of gone through this journey without the Matt Milanos of the world. Terrell Bernards have missed time.
Like

Speaker 2 they're just not the same.

Speaker 2 They're not the team they want to be on defense. And

Speaker 2 this is a huge loss. It's a huge loss.
I think Ed Oliver is just like, he's been

Speaker 2 one of the more special players that they've had. And to,

Speaker 2 you're catching the Chiefs at the obviously the worst time based on how we open the show. So that adds some elements and layers to that game.

Speaker 1 All right. So we'll see.
And again, it happens if there's any positive to it for Buffalo. It happens a week before the trade deadline.

Speaker 1 So they have an opportunity here at the very least to address that position. And I think they will.
So keep an eye on that that

Speaker 1 situation in Buffalo. Jeffrey Simmons to Orchard Park.

Speaker 1 No, Justin, right? They're not going to do that, right?

Speaker 5 They say they won't. I mean,

Speaker 5 they said they wouldn't hire Brian Callahan midseason. So who knows?

Speaker 2 Depends what the phone call suggests from Buffalo, too, if they, with any of these players, a Trey Hendrickson.

Speaker 5 The other thing is that when the Bills call, if they offer a first-round pick, you're a lot like, oh, great, a top 10, top 15, top 20, top 25. Like, the Bills are picking the end of the first round.

Speaker 5 So that's a consideration for these teams.

Speaker 1 In other news, the Bengals had just, I thought,

Speaker 1 easily the worst loss of week eight at home with a huge lead over the winless Jets,

Speaker 1 a chance to really build some momentum. The first place Steelers would lose later that night.

Speaker 1 And yet you blow the game to the Jets, 39 to 38.

Speaker 1 And

Speaker 1 after yet another horrendous showing by the defense, in which they allowed 500 yards to the Jets, they had a players-only meeting,

Speaker 1 which is obviously the sign of, you know, these things happen.

Speaker 1 It's very normal to have these meetings, but it's also the sign of, you know, a team that's looking for answers and, I guess, some accountability. Here's Demetrius Knight on the Bengals.

Speaker 1 Poor play of late.

Speaker 9 Making sure we're all on the same page, truly being accountable. That's what this is all about.
We have leaders on the defense.

Speaker 9 Us guys know it, and we're looking up to those guys to hold us to the standard.

Speaker 9 Obi spoke on it, the great teams that he's been a part of,

Speaker 9 being accountable, holding each other accountable for what's put on tape so it doesn't happen again.

Speaker 1 And Zach Taylor was also asked about the players-only meeting. I always thought it was weird.
Like, what do head coaches think about the news getting out about a players-only meeting?

Speaker 1 Does it make them look better? Does it make them look worse? I don't know. Here's Zach Taylor.
Worse.

Speaker 10 It's little things. It's not always a big thing.
You know, it's just giving up an extra three yards sometimes on a run or a perimeter play.

Speaker 10 It's being a step hesitant. And so maybe you're not missing a tackle, but you are missing a tackle because of the little hesitancy there.

Speaker 10 So those are things that I think we're seeing as a unit, as a team.

Speaker 10 that we've got to clean up and be better at. And there's not wholesale changes to be made with that stuff.
It's just fundamentally, we've got to be better.

Speaker 10 And that's really at every level of the defense.

Speaker 10 There's certainly things in the other two phases as well that we have to clean up on offensive special teams as well. That hasn't been good enough either.

Speaker 10 So as a team, those are the things that we're all accountable for.

Speaker 1 He's putting me to sleep. This guy puts me to sleep.

Speaker 1 You know, they had a

Speaker 1 decision to make after last year where the defense was historically piss poor. And what does a head coach do when he has some

Speaker 1 moves to play? He fires a coordinator. So, bye-bye, Captain Lou Anarumo, who is now thriving with the Indianapolis Colts.

Speaker 1 And what happens is, if you fire a coordinator and things don't get better and you have another down year, whether or not your QB1 got hurt again, Zach Taylor's job is hanging in the balance, I think, in this last second half of the season.

Speaker 1 And I think he's aware of that. And they're going to need to play better defense or they're cooked.

Speaker 2 No doubt about it. That

Speaker 2 we keep talking about teams tonight that are just hanging on to reality. Molly.

Speaker 1 Because this, to me,

Speaker 2 this is utter wind coming out of his mouth. It is utter wind.
This team is going nowhere.

Speaker 2 And more realistically, if you want to plan for the future, if you're the front office, do you look at trading like a Trey Hendrickson?

Speaker 2 Like, are we actually thinking this is a playoff team that's going to win playoff games?

Speaker 1 No, we're not.

Speaker 2 It's nice. It was a nice little thing to get Joe Flacco have a good time with it.
Like, he's one of my favorite guys around. But, like, this team to me is a mirage.
And

Speaker 2 we move into the part of the season where some of these teams are eating up real estate in our mind.

Speaker 1 Here we go.

Speaker 1 This is

Speaker 1 a well-worn trope of the season.

Speaker 1 I know.

Speaker 2 Apparently, every AFC North team is going to make the playoffs according to everyone else. It's like, who they're not, and they're all going to lose.

Speaker 1 Name one person who's saying that your Browns are making the playoffs.

Speaker 2 Well, the Ravens, the Bengals are hanging on. Like, come on.
Like, I'm not, this is one team I'm winning.

Speaker 1 The Bengals could do one game out of first place after next week. They could.
I just want to say, before you write them off, whether or not they're good or not is a separate conversation,

Speaker 1 whether the division or playoffs, they certainly are in the playoff mix in that division.

Speaker 1 You have the kings of elite mediocracy, the Steelers that could be four and four if they can't find a way to beat, who do they have next week? The Colts. So the division's wide open.

Speaker 2 That speaks to

Speaker 2 the state of pro football right now. We're like, look, I'm glad you all got what you wanted, and everyone's sort of the same.
But like,

Speaker 2 they are an average.

Speaker 1 You're just mad at all these AFC North teams. You were raging against the Ravens yesterday.
Now it's the Bengals. I get it.
It's frustrating. I am mad.
It sucks to be that. I'm mad.
Sorry.

Speaker 2 I get a bunch of Ravens fans telling me, like, why don't you, like, why are you being so hard on our team? Like,

Speaker 1 why do you care?

Speaker 2 Who cares what I say about the Ravens?

Speaker 1 Yeah, we don't need to take it out of our pants to to say whose is bigger, but imagine the Ravens won like

Speaker 1 six titles and 20 straight divisions, and then they were bad for like two years. And it's like, oh man, it's been a long time since the Ravens were good again.

Speaker 1 And then they drafted maybe the best young quarterback to come out of the draft in three years. That's the Patriots' arc right now.
So if I can get through that, you can get through this. We're okay.

Speaker 1 By the way, Clayton Kershaw,

Speaker 1 one of my favorite players ever. Lee and Wes used to talk about Kershaw a lot.
He is pitching right now. Bases loaded.
3-2 count,

Speaker 1 5-5, 3-2-2 as he came out of the pen to get Luke's the lefty. Here's the 3-2 pitch.
It's a slider. It's spoiled down the left field line at a play.
And here we are in the top of the 12th.

Speaker 1 Kershaw, one of the great left-handers in baseball history. Santi Koufax in the stands watching as well.

Speaker 1 And nervous Dodger fans. This is Kershaw.
a brilliant career, but always a checkered postseason career. And here he is with the greatest shot at redemption.
You cannot make up this theater

Speaker 1 as Kershaw stares into the catcher.

Speaker 2 As we discuss Carson Wentz.

Speaker 1 Kicks his leg, delivers a high fastball, popped up. He's topping out at 92 at this stage of his career.
This is his last season, the big lefty,

Speaker 1 who, in case you didn't know, I'll tie it back to football, was teammates with Matthew Stafford. They played high school baseball together in North Texas, Highland Park.

Speaker 2 He also just got that done. He got that done right there.

Speaker 1 Here we go. He's a 3-2 count again.

Speaker 1 He kicks, delivers.

Speaker 1 Oh, he's got a slow tapper to second. It's going to be a close play.
He got him. Kershaw pumps his fists.
He does the job, and we go to the bottom of the 12th. What a moment.

Speaker 1 Oh, and Koufax claps his hands. Lefty, Lefty Legends.

Speaker 2 That's great. You are praying that we get this episode complete for you to watch the rest of this game.

Speaker 1 I love football, but the theater of playoff baseball, just like the human emotion of it all is off the charts.

Speaker 2 I also, I will tell you, I saw Clayton Kershaw at Top Golf in, is it Manhattan Beach or else going to up there? Like

Speaker 2 coming down a staircase with my relatives, I was like, oh, he just looks like a complete god in real life.

Speaker 1 I don't care what's happening.

Speaker 2 He just looks like a complete god.

Speaker 1 I like all our overseas listeners are like, this is the worst shit I've ever heard. Talk about cricket.

Speaker 1 All right. Patrick Sartain.
This is not good either for the Denver Broncos. The reigning defensive player of the year suffered a peck injury

Speaker 1 first, the Cowboys.

Speaker 1 Not a season ender, but he's expected to miss a lot of time, four to six weeks.

Speaker 1 I like this note. This is good.
Do you want to share a little insider v insider?

Speaker 1 Our favorite insider wars, Jordan Schultz, who recently was on the Walking Giants podcast, if you recall, and Rapsheet had slightly different timelines.

Speaker 1 And maybe it will lead to another fight, fingers crossed.

Speaker 5 Yeah, so Ian Rappaport tweeted it out. He said, Per me and Tom Pelisero, which I never understand, like co-reporting the same news.
Like, one of you got the news, right? Whatever.

Speaker 1 One confirmed, and the other and then neither of them have big ego, so it's not a problem at all. Go on, no, not at all.

Speaker 5 He said, Per me and Pellisero, Pat Sartan suffered a pectoral injury and blah, blah, blah. He's considered week to week.
That's word for word what Ian Rappaport tweeted.

Speaker 5 And then Jordan Schultz comes up with his big breaking news tweet.

Speaker 1 Fight, fight, fight.

Speaker 5 And said Pat Sertan is expected to miss four to six weeks.

Speaker 11 Four to six weeks is a pretty big difference from being week to week.

Speaker 1 Oh boy.

Speaker 2 Dan, in this fight scenario, or do we get Schultz versus Ian

Speaker 2 and the Pellraiser? Is it like a two-on-one?

Speaker 1 I see Pellraiser as more like a Bobby the Brain Heenan type that he might pull your leg down from behind or make a Mr. Fuji salt through to the eyes.
Whereas Ian, I know he was a high school,

Speaker 1 I believe Ian was a high school grappler. I believe he wrestled in Westchester

Speaker 1 County when he went to high school. So I could see him wanting to get in there.
And Schultz, I mean, they already almost got into a fight once. So fingers crossed.

Speaker 1 Yeah, Pellicero is a total Fuji. Let's be real.

Speaker 1 Here's something heartwarming. Yes, Cam Scataboo, hideous ankle injury.
He had surgery last night in Philadelphia.

Speaker 1 And if there's one guy that knows every ER in Philadelphia and every pizza joint and every gin joint and a guy that knows every alley to turn down and he's got a friend in every alley and he's got he's got his flower guy and he's got his this guy and he's got his that guy it is eagles Chief of Security, Dom DeSandro,

Speaker 1 and a class act.

Speaker 1 And I really. DeSandro, big Dom, and he's sort of a legend.

Speaker 1 And I don't know what's going to happen to Dom down the road, Mark. I feel like something's going to happen.
And I don't root for his downfall or his demise, but I don't know.

Speaker 1 Whether it's a gambling thing or some other...

Speaker 1 Shit, like racketeering. I see it on the horizon.
Something happens.

Speaker 1 I think he's got his hand in some unsavory pots uh potentially but i don't know that's that's not even alleged that's just keep an eye on the the bigger arc of dom that's all i'll say but it but but forget about that forget about that that random speculation okay

Speaker 1 nice job by dom who visits cam in the uh hospital in philadelphia brought him some snacks and i bet they were awesome snacks that would be my guess if dom dom knows snacks he's got a snack guy

Speaker 2 it was um from what i read on my research, it was pizza and cheesesteaks.

Speaker 2 According to this report, to the Giants rookie sensation, he brought pizza and cheese steaks.

Speaker 1 That's more than a snack.

Speaker 2 That's a full out. We're hanging out for a while at that point.

Speaker 1 And I would, yeah, high level. High level.
Yeah, I think Philly's pretty good at pizza. I know,

Speaker 1 I know, I know cheese steaks obviously are great. So

Speaker 1 nice move there by Dom. And I, again, I don't know.
I just keep an eye on the arc of Dom. That's all I'm saying.

Speaker 1 Real quick, other news before we take a quick break and then do some.

Speaker 1 I'm going to get shit for that.

Speaker 1 Do some

Speaker 1 power rankings. John Harbaugh expects Lamar Jackson to play Thursday night against Miami.
Lamar was a full participant at Monday's walkthrough.

Speaker 1 Well, we've heard that he's a full participant in walkthroughs before, but I think after their little

Speaker 1 issue with the injury report on Friday, this one's probably more accurate. And Joe Flacco, who went in the locker room late in the Sunday loss to the Jets, he has a shoulder injury.

Speaker 1 He's day to day, according to Zach Taylor, while we're here. All right, let's take a break.

Speaker 1 Look at that.

Speaker 1 They just cut to Kershaw's wife crying in the stands. That's a moment.
That's a great moment in LA Sports.

Speaker 1 Now, when these things happen, when you have that type of moment with a legendary player and a salvation, the team never loses. Like, the Dodgers will

Speaker 1 cement that as an iconic moment. And I believe the Dodgers will.
So stay right there. And when we get back, we'll do a play-by-play of the World Series for the next 45 minutes.
Stay here.

Speaker 2 Dan, do you,

Speaker 2 I know this happens to you. Do you remember that doctor's appointment you were supposed to make a while ago? The one that you were meant to book and completely forgot about until now?

Speaker 1 You know that appointment, right? Yeah, I know exactly the one you're referring to. I don't know how you know so much about my personal life, but go on.

Speaker 2 That's a fair question. But, you know, listen, it certainly happened to me.

Speaker 2 There was a morning when I woke up with like a ridiculous case of pink eye.

Speaker 2 I don't know how I got it. That's for a different conversation.
But I went to Zock Doc and they made it so easy to book an appointment. It's all online.

Speaker 2 You might even be able to book an appointment before the end of this ad read. It's that easy.

Speaker 2 I solved my problem in like three minutes, got the stuff to put in your eye, and bang, we were good.

Speaker 1 ZocDoc is a free app. I like this too.
And website where you can search and compare high-quality in-network doctors and click to instantly book an appointment.

Speaker 1 With ZocDoc, you can book in-network appointments with more than 100,000 doctors across every specialty, from mental health to dental health, primary care to urgent care, and more.

Speaker 1 You can filter for doctors who take your insurance, are located nearby, are a good fit for any medical need you may have, and are highly rated by verified patients.

Speaker 1 You can also filter based on specific preferences, whether that's looking for a male doctor, Mark, speaks a specific language, has availability that fits with your work schedule, or has an opening in the next day or so.

Speaker 1 Once you find the right doctor, you can see their actual appointment openings. Choose a time slot that works for you and click to instantly book a visit.

Speaker 1 Appointments made through ZocDoc also happen fast, typically within 24 to 72 hours of booking. Exactly what Ceci need.
He was about to lose that eye and instead he was saved.

Speaker 1 More often than not, you can even get same-day appointments.

Speaker 2 Stop putting off those doctors' appointments and go to zocdoc.com slash heed to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. That's zocdoc.com slash heed.
ZocDoc.com slash heed.

Speaker 12 What's good, y'all? It's Von Miller, Super Bowl MVP, SAG master, and now your host of Free Range. This is where NFL meets real talk.

Speaker 12 Every week, I'm bringing you inside the game from locker room stories to league-wide headlines. You want football IQ, locker room insight, and real conversations with the people shaping the league?

Speaker 12 Welcome to Free Range with Von Miller, where nothing is off limits and every down counts. New episodes every Wednesday.
Listen and follow Free Range with me, Von Miller, wherever you get your podcast.

Speaker 2 You know, I bought a lot of glasses over the years, and I used to think you had to choose between style, comfort, or price. Turns out, you don't.
Warby Parker changed all that.

Speaker 2 They make every frame with premium materials so everything feels sturdy and looks sharp.

Speaker 2 Their in-house designs come in in tons of colors, tons and fits, which means there is a pair that actually flatters you. And with over 300 stores across the U.S.

Speaker 2 and Canada, you can get styled by their friendly advisors or shop online from home, Dan.

Speaker 1 Oh, I love that. I don't like leaving the house.
And Warby Parker glasses started just 95 bucks, including prescription lenses with anti-reflective scratch-resistant coatings.

Speaker 1 Eye exam started $85, and you could save 15% when you grab two or more pairs. Free shipping, free 30-day returns.
It's basically risk-free.

Speaker 1 I picked up a pair of the Elio sunglasses, and I'll tell you what. And I'm very particular about my sunglasses because I don't want to, wrong pair of sunglasses on my face, I just look terrible.

Speaker 1 I just look like a monster. It's got to be the right fit.

Speaker 1 And Warby Parker, they nail it with all the options they give you.

Speaker 2 Those Elios look good on you. Warby Parker has over 300 plus locations.
Thank you.

Speaker 2 To help you find your next pair of glasses, you can also head over to warbyparker.com slash HTC right now to try on any pair virtually.

Speaker 2 That's warbyparker.com slash htc warbyparker.com slash htc thanks mark i appreciate that compliment you're welcome

Speaker 1 all right we are back it is that time of week it is time for

Speaker 1 yes the prs of record the heed the call power rankings week nine hit it justin

Speaker 1 With great power comes great responsibility. Big up powers, yeah.

Speaker 2 Then when you get the money, you get the power.

Speaker 1 Category orange incident. Power behind the power.

Speaker 1 Wow, you're playing with power. According to Dan Hansa's power ranking.

Speaker 1 Ah, yes, the official power rankings of record. He the calm.
What do you think about that intro? Check out the YouTube for the video accompanying it. Great job by Gravy, as always.

Speaker 2 That was amazing.

Speaker 2 He-Man, whenever we can shove He-Man into the show, you know we've scored a victory of some sort.

Speaker 1 Easily find a place for He-Man. All right, you know how this works.
We go through it in four tiers. You want your team to be in the first tier.
You don't want your team to be in the fourth tier.

Speaker 1 Your team, odds on, are probably in one of the middle two tiers. Let's get into it.
Tier one.

Speaker 1 And look at that. We have a Connect 4 right off the top.
And See, you know, he wanted to because Sese was saying, oh, what are people going to give the Colts? They're just desserts.

Speaker 1 They should be one. He couldn't even do it after the Chiefs take care of business on Monday night.
So one across the board. But the Colts do move up one spot

Speaker 1 to number two overall. Me and Gravey had them at three, but Mark and Connor have him at two.
Number three, the Detroit Lions

Speaker 1 drop a spot. Not going to go crazy about that because the Colts obviously deserve to be in this this conversation in the top three.
The Bills stay at four.

Speaker 1 The Seahawks move up a spot to five. I'm surprised the Seahawks are this high.
And I'm a Seahawks fan. I got to be honest.
I have them at 10. I feel like it's a perfect spot for them, but I'm alone.

Speaker 1 Mark has him at five. Justin at four.
Connor says the Seattle Seahawks are the third best team in football. I can't get there.
Why do you have him in the top five, Mark?

Speaker 2 I'm very comfortable with him at five. Three would have been a little rich.
I'd love to know why, Connor or why he did that.

Speaker 2 But 10 feels a little low for the Seahawks stand. Like, I think the bigger question is,

Speaker 1 are there nine players behind this in the Seahawks? Let's look who's behind them.

Speaker 1 The Green Bay Packers, there's only one team in the league, if I'm not mistaken, that has just one loss on the season or in the NFC, right?

Speaker 1 It's the Green Bay Packers. Is that right? Do I have that right? Green Bay Packers at 6-1-1?

Speaker 1 They are at number 6 in our rankings.

Speaker 5 They're 5-1-1 because they had their buy. And the Connections

Speaker 5 are 7-1. But in the NFC, yes, you are correct.

Speaker 1 Right. And then the Rams we have

Speaker 1 down two spots on their buy. That can happen depending on the teams that play around them.
But they're still comfortably in tier one at number seven. And number eight,

Speaker 1 the Eagles, who drop a spot in our rankings because Connor has them down at nine, but the rest of us have them at seven. So that is tier one.
Okay.

Speaker 1 Yes.

Speaker 5 I started my power rankings this week. I've never done this before.
And you, as the power ranking experienced wisdom power ranker of the show, can tell us that.

Speaker 1 Yes, that's the exact title.

Speaker 5 If this is poor practice or not, but I started by just plugging in the teams that were on by, and there were six of them.

Speaker 1 So it was a lot.

Speaker 5 I just plugged them in at the same ranking that I had them last week. And then I filled in the rest of my ranks around those numbers.
I was like, you guys don't deserve to move up or down in my ranks.

Speaker 5 So that's why I have like the Seahawks stay at four, for example.

Speaker 1 Yes.

Speaker 2 Thank you for unpacking that for us.

Speaker 1 Yes, that was important.

Speaker 1 My rule, as I've shared before, because I've seen teams take an absurd tumble in these rankings, and it made me worry about Farbuck while they were on by, is I make sure nothing more than a two-spot drop

Speaker 1 or a rise in either direction because there is a natural give and take for every team in their spot.

Speaker 1 Just sticking them in cement in the same spot is while I understand where you're coming from, I also believe that's a little bit simplistic as well, at least for me anyway. On to tier two.

Speaker 2 When they go on by for me, it's like a, you know, when you're young and you have like a, it's like a long-distance relationship,

Speaker 2 very volatile, willing to move them all over the place depending on their behavior.

Speaker 1 Okay, this I could have predicted this thing.

Speaker 1 Sessler got spooked about the Patriots. The Broncos are at nine up two spots.

Speaker 1 I knew Sessler would get spooked about the Patriots because he saw Curran got after Connor in a column, and

Speaker 1 Mark didn't want to be on the wrong side of this storyline. So now he's over-corrected his steering.
Classic Sessler move. He's got the Patriots all the way up to six.
So

Speaker 1 I don't know

Speaker 1 what they did to move up. I I think you had them at, what, 11 last week? So

Speaker 1 this must have been a really impressive game on Sunday.

Speaker 2 I think they're going to the Super Bowl.

Speaker 1 Oh, no. Oh, go on, actually.
Yes, keep going. Tell me more about it.

Speaker 2 I'm going to keep it right there, but it's like...

Speaker 1 Going to the Super Bowl. I love this.

Speaker 2 I have no issues. There aren't that many good teams in the league right now.
Putting them at six is exactly where I should be putting them. I don't know what anyone else is doing here.

Speaker 1 Football gods, you heard that, right? You got that?

Speaker 1 Mark just said they're going to the Super Bowl. The Patriots.

Speaker 1 Got it, right? Give me a thunderclap. Let me know.

Speaker 1 Okay.

Speaker 1 Yes.

Speaker 1 Oh, Dan's such a Patriots hater. Yeah, I am.

Speaker 1 And now, Cecil is on your tail.

Speaker 1 Wait till Mark Wahlberg finds out about this, Sessler.

Speaker 1 Yeah!

Speaker 1 It is a good Patriots team, though. It's a very good team.
I've had him in the top 10 for two weeks. Now I have him up to eight.

Speaker 1 Connor, after the lashing he took from Kern, I thought it would be like one of those Connor moves where he would just dig in and like drop them in the rankings this week. Right.
But he didn't.

Speaker 1 He moves them up. It looks like three spots.
Justin also moves him to 11. So they're up two spots and they're they're into the top 10.

Speaker 1 The Buccaneers taking on some water in recent weeks after Sessler put them at number one in the power rankings. They've lost two games and lost a bunch of players.
So they are down now to number 11.

Speaker 1 The Niners also, you know, this, for me anyway, when I was looking at the rankings, doing the rankings this week,

Speaker 1 I think it was

Speaker 1 my 13 to 24

Speaker 1 or 23, every team lost. Like

Speaker 1 the soft underbelly of the NFL, every one of those teams, those like mid-teams, all went down and went down hard in many cases in week eight, which made this portion of the power rankings a little tricky to do.

Speaker 1 So while I wanted to give the 49ers as an example, like a bigger dinging, I couldn't because all the teams around them also got stomped. So the Niners, though, do drop two spots to number 12.

Speaker 1 In fact, we have a Kinect 4 there, Justin. We have a Kinect 4.
We're all in lockstep there. The Twilight Zone, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Speaker 5 I need a Connect 4 sound drop.

Speaker 1 Okay, well, that's an intermonologue thought that just spilled out into the microphone, onto the program. And

Speaker 1 now everybody knows anything else you got in there. It's like, I have to do some laundry.

Speaker 1 No, I'm good.

Speaker 1 Did I take the dog out?

Speaker 5 No, I did not, but Jessica did. Thank God.

Speaker 5 Two dogs, by the way.

Speaker 1 I'm hungry. Did I eat dinner? It was a light dinner.
I think I could have a snack during the edit tonight. Can you put like a

Speaker 2 we're actually recording at the moment?

Speaker 1 Yeah, can we put an echoey effect on my voice as I do your monologue? Yeah.

Speaker 1 I haven't read a book in a while. I should do that.
That would be nice.

Speaker 2 That is true.

Speaker 1 Me and Jessica said that we would start going on more walks together. We haven't.

Speaker 1 Maybe we'll start doing that next week. Justin, come back.

Speaker 5 Hey, hey, I'm here.

Speaker 1 All right, Niners at 12. The Steelers, I have them at 13.
Ceci, you and I in lockstep, my friend. They are in the Twilight Zone, which is so perfect because the Steelers are...

Speaker 1 They're the perfect team for that. Yeah, I mean, the elite mediocrity of the Steelers is coming to rise again here

Speaker 1 now at 4-3 and trending in a bad direction with just a terrible defense.

Speaker 1 And Aaron Rodgers, stay healthy, Unk, because if you don't, it's going to be a major problem.

Speaker 1 Number 14

Speaker 1 is the Chargers up three spots,

Speaker 1 which again,

Speaker 1 I can get a little annoyed about this,

Speaker 1 but I also understand because the Chargers played poorly and lost

Speaker 1 in week eight, and they move up three spots. But all these other teams that I'm bringing up all lost as well.
So it's just kind of, it's a little bit muddy and messy in here in the middle area.

Speaker 1 For instance, the team behind them, the Chicago Bears, who really played an ugly, ugly football game.

Speaker 1 They're down one spot to 15.

Speaker 1 The Commander is the last team in tier two.

Speaker 1 And I like that we kind of stabilized them here at number 16. Justin has them all the way at 20.
Connor at 21.

Speaker 1 Dan and Mark, why do you have them

Speaker 1 firmly in tier three,

Speaker 1 Justin?

Speaker 5 Well, they've dropped, what, three games in a a row? Is that right? Um, they keep losing. They looked terrible tonight for most of the game.

Speaker 1 I thought they looked really good

Speaker 1 in the first half. They had some unfortunate turnovers, but like, I thought they played well.
They opened really fast.

Speaker 5 They had a really flukey, unfortunate turnover to start the game. But then from there, it just felt like they can't.
This doesn't seem like the team that made a magical run last year.

Speaker 5 It seems like that wasn't the building block to like a contender. That was like a fluke magic run.
And I don't know.

Speaker 5 I just, I haven't been impressed with, and maybe because we haven't seen Jaden Daniels in a while,

Speaker 5 I'm getting recently.

Speaker 1 They're not special.

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 2 They're not special. I have no problem with them being in wherever we all have them here.

Speaker 2 There was a time, I'll never forget this, on my college campus, when I saw a girl come racing down a crowded boulevard on a bike. And she hit some sort of a rock and flew over the handles.

Speaker 2 And just, it are pretty attractive girls. She got up and started crying and ran away from the bike and everything.
That's the teams that we're getting into here.

Speaker 1 That's how I feel about most of these teams. On my college campus, she raced in on a bike.
She just says, Pearl Harbor was just attacked.

Speaker 2 That is, I went to school after that event, just to confirm for the listener.

Speaker 1 I'll say this: the Commanders are the team that

Speaker 1 I still harbor hope that, or harp, or belief, I I should say, that they could end up in tier one in the next six weeks.

Speaker 1 But yeah, at a certain point, they got to start showing it, and they need that quarterback to stay healthy. Let's move to tier three.
Tier three,

Speaker 1 the Baltimore Ravens. Oh, Sese, he doesn't like it because he sees what's happening.
They're marching up. Now, a seven-spot jump, which is the biggest jump of the week by any team, is strong.

Speaker 1 I get it. But also, again, to my point, all these other teams around them kind of shit their pants in week eight.

Speaker 1 So just the Ravens getting a W against the Bears in that situation with Snoop Huntley, with the Lamar coming around the bend now for a return on Thursday night football.

Speaker 1 It feels like the arrow is up on the Ravens. So we stick them at 17, the top of tier three.
The Cowboys, their yo-yo season continues.

Speaker 1 I'm not, I wasn't as hard on them as Mark and Connor were, who both put them all the way down at 22. Me and Justin were more in lockstep.
We had them at 15 and 14, respectively.

Speaker 1 I just think, Mark, like the Cowboys at this point, like instead of, and I speak for myself too, instead of like

Speaker 1 vacillating with them between 13 and 23 or whatever, let's just acknowledge that they're kind of just a middling team that has highs and lows, but to me, they settle in right around this midpoint of the league.

Speaker 1 That's kind of where they are for me, which is why I have them not as far down as you because they're just as liable

Speaker 1 to have a massive win again next week. It's just the way they are.

Speaker 2 I don't hate it. Like the Ravens, depending,

Speaker 2 there are a couple teams here, and the Cowboys and Ravens are nice at 17 and 18. I feel like they're very variable each week.

Speaker 2 Like, I'm going to rise the Cowboys up when they win and knock them down a bit further than I would other teams when they lose because I just think

Speaker 1 they're a carnival rider.

Speaker 1 You want my power rankings take on the cowboys because they're such a team that engenders just debate and fiery reactions and people like to bury the cowboys and they they like to lift up the cowboys and because they're it's hard to have like nuanced conversation about the dallas cowboys in a power rankings exercise you'll see that manifest in like big jumps and big dips

Speaker 1 yep by the way well you've been around the block so i have been the dodgers let off edmonds just let off with a double in the bottom of the 13th. Man, he's had a big game.

Speaker 1 He had a beautiful defensive play earlier as well. So they are set up now to make the Kershaw appearance legendary.
All right, let's move on.

Speaker 1 I think it's now game four of the World Series.

Speaker 2 I feel like this has been going on for a while.

Speaker 1 Again, the Texans, like, are we going to go crazy about their week eight win? Who did they beat again?

Speaker 5 The Niners.

Speaker 1 Yeah, they beat the Niners,

Speaker 1 which that's a good win. I'll take that back.
Even with the Niners, the state they're in, that's a nice win. And with all these teams losing around them, they're going to take a big jump up.

Speaker 1 They jump up six spots to number 19. The Falcons dip two more spots.

Speaker 5 Let me say something real quick about those first three teams of this tier.

Speaker 5 Of any team on this entire ranking, those three teams stand out to me as teams that a week, two weeks, three weeks from now, any or all of those three teams could be like 10 spots higher.

Speaker 5 And that would be totally expected for me.

Speaker 1 Okay. I think we can go there with the Texans and the Cowboys, I think, are inconsistent by nature, but possible.
It's possible. How about the Falcons? They're at number 20, down two spots.

Speaker 1 The Jaguars

Speaker 1 down

Speaker 1 two spots to 21. The Vikings down two spots to 22 with J.J.
McCarthy coming back.

Speaker 1 Okay, the bunt by Rojas moves Edmonds the third with one out.

Speaker 1 The Panthers down two spots to 23. The Bengals down two spots to 24, which takes us to the tier you do not want to be in.
Tier 4.

Speaker 2 Naughty tier.

Speaker 1 Get the Jets out of the last spot. Let's go.
The Giants at number 25, down two spots. The Cardinals off their bye hang at 26.

Speaker 1 The Dolphins are showing signs of life for Mike McDaniel up three spots to 27. The Brownies

Speaker 1 stacking up sacks for Miles Garrett, but losses otherwise down one spot to 28. The Raiders stay at 29.
The Saints down to 30. The Jets move up one spot, baby.
Hey,

Speaker 1 out of the cellar after three or four weeks. I had him at 30.
Mark at 29. He's got him in the 20s, baby.

Speaker 1 Both Connor and Justin have him at 31. And there it is.
The last Connect 4 is for the Tennessee Titans.

Speaker 1 It's a long season. Now you got the interim coach.
Don't sweat the small stuff. Gravy.
Just get to the finish line.

Speaker 5 I got my sound drop for Connect 4. Here we go.
Titan down.

Speaker 1 Okay. Well,

Speaker 1 that's just the start. That's the first attempt.

Speaker 2 Let's continue to workshop the show.

Speaker 1 Titan down. During the show.
Yep. You have a little once we're off mic and not in this

Speaker 1 phase of production, you could really sit down and think about what would be the best Connect 4 drop.

Speaker 5 Oh, you don't like that one? Okay.

Speaker 1 Well, I think Mark and I both gave constructive criticism that we hoped wasn't too negative. Oh, they get a pop-up.
Oh, call pops it up. Strands the runner at third with two outs.

Speaker 1 Oh, baby. And what does that mean? Is that Otani up?

Speaker 1 Otani's up. They got to walk him.
You got to put him on.

Speaker 2 Yeah, go. We've completely lost our Belgium audience at this point, but that's okay.

Speaker 1 All right, that's it.

Speaker 1 Hey, a reminder: patreon.com/slash heed the call. We have a lot of new content up, brand new throwback podcast with Dan and Bob covering the top 50 countdown.

Speaker 1 I think we each picked six songs each from the VH1 2000

Speaker 1 25 years ago, this November, a very interesting eclectic era of pop music on the sister channel of MTV. I shared a story on that show about how that's when I was a transfer student up in Boston.

Speaker 1 Oh, they're walking Mookie too to load the bases. I was a transfer student

Speaker 1 at Northeastern. I had no friends.
I was living at

Speaker 1 a dorm on 319 Huntington Avenue across from the old Y.

Speaker 1 And

Speaker 1 this was, I didn't even have a computer.

Speaker 1 So I didn't have any access to anything but this television, this cable television in this dorm. And I had a roommate, but he had a girlfriend.
He lived in Chelmsfed, which was about an hour away.

Speaker 1 So he would go see his girlfriend on the weekends. And I'd just be in this apartment, like alone, scared in a city.

Speaker 1 And VH1 was like a friend of mine. And I would just watch the top 20 countdown with John Fugle saying,

Speaker 1 and I would find some peace in the boob tube. And so we get into that a little bit and

Speaker 1 how sad that was, but ultimately now just some feelings of warmth about that uh era as i revisit some of those songs i've got a little nugget for you um john fuglsang's brother

Speaker 2 paul pablo was his name um one of my very very very good friends uh a wonderful guy and and we did a rolling thunder jason zummalt and i uh last week with the exact same topic

Speaker 2 So people can decide whether they'd like to be able to.

Speaker 1 About me being a loser in Boston in 2000?

Speaker 2 Yeah, we did the exact same topic. So we can just see which people.

Speaker 2 It's an A and B test.

Speaker 1 I love it. Well, how about, yeah, watch them both.
Enjoy them both. And

Speaker 1 in a couple of weeks, we'll return a Friday fun show special and a Hallmark holiday classic coming up with

Speaker 1 Connor Orr and a Hallmark film to be named later. Freddie Freeman just flied out to the warning track.

Speaker 1 So that game is going to the 14th inning, and we're going to be able to watch the rest of it if we so choose. So thank you to everyone for indulging us on this Monday night.
What was that, Justin?

Speaker 5 Not the Bill's love story for our Hallmark watch-along? Don't we have it picked out already?

Speaker 1 I believe it will be Bill's love story, but I have so much respect for Connor and his process of the holiday films that I want him to choose, you know? Okay. No, that's very thorough.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 He's very thorough, and I think we owe that to him to give him the power of attorney, if you will, on that. All right.
Thank you to everybody. We'll be back on Wednesday.

Speaker 1 Old friend Jordan Rodrigue will rejoin

Speaker 1 the Heed the Call universe for our End Around Wednesday. So be there for that.
Until next time, do what you must. Heed the Call.

Speaker 14 250 years ago, a promise was made to connect families and friends near and far. And during the holidays, that promise is more important than ever.

Speaker 14 That's why USPS is building a better network to meet your needs with timely deliveries, easy and affordable ways to ship, and everything you need to make your season full of holiday cheer.

Speaker 14 Their purpose is delivering your peace of mind, knowing your love will arrive, bringing joy to all. The United States Postal Service.
Learn more at usps.com/slash holidays.

Speaker 13 Nationwide is so much more than a great insurance company. They're one of America's largest financial services companies.

Speaker 13 Like, how I'm more than Saquon Barkley, the NFL's reigning leading rusher, I'm also the NFL's leading husher.

Speaker 13 Hush up back there.

Speaker 1 Wow.

Speaker 13 I might have just set the hushing record.

Speaker 1 Well, almost.

Speaker 13 For your insurance and financial needs, Nationwide is on your side.

Speaker 1 Nationwide Investment Services Corporation, Corporation, Ember Finrick, Columbus, Ohio.