All Episodes

January 5, 2026 • 43 mins

Richard Sherman provides a comprehensive review of an eventful Week 18, beginning with the Seattle Seahawks securing the NFC’s top seed after a commanding defensive victory over the San Francisco 49ers. He highlights Mike Macdonald’s defensive scheme, the effort disparity between the teams, Christian McCaffrey’s late drop, and Sam Darnold’s inconsistent performance. Sherman explores all key NFC playoff scenarios—such as the 49ers possibly facing the Eagles, the Rams clinching the 5th seed to face the Panthers, and the Packers versus Bears Wild Card matchup—along with reactions to Matthew Stafford’s MVP contention, the Lions’ dramatic win over Chicago, Michael Wilson’s emergence in Arizona, and the Falcons-Saints result that sends Carolina to the playoffs. He also discusses the AFC outlook, covering Houston’s rise, Indianapolis’ quarterback dilemmas, Jacksonville’s AFC South championship, and the upcoming Bills-Jags matchup, analyzing how each team approaches the postseason. For an in-depth analysis of the Seahawks, 49ers, Rams, Eagles, Packers, Bears, Texans, Jaguars, Bills, and more, this is the complete Week 18 and NFL playoff preview.

All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, everybody, I appreciate you joining us as always. You
guys are phenomenal. You're the best in the world. You're
watching the Richard Sherman Podcast. But if you could do
me a huge favor and hit that sub button, it
would be greatly appreciated. You would do a service for
your boys. Sherm And I'll tell you what. I got
your back, you got my back, all love. Welcome back

(00:27):
to the Richard Sherman Podcast. And what a game. What
a defensive battle. I love defensive battles, and the Seattle
Seahawks put on an absolute clinic all game long. And
it wasn't just about the scheme. It wasn't just about schematically. Sure,
Mike McDonald does some incredible things schematically, but it was
the effort and intensity they were playing with that impressed

(00:49):
me the most. And I said it during the game
while I tweeted it during the game, I said that
effort got rewarded with the interception, and the fans were like, well,
they didn't have to do anything. Christian just dropped that,
No question about it. Christian, that was a drop. That
was one I'm sure he wishes he has had back.
But in order to take advantage of that. You gotta

(01:10):
be running to the football, you gotta be hustling, you
gotta have energy. And that was the frustrating thing all
night watching his forty nine ers defense, is they didn't
have that kind of energy. And sure they held the
Seattle Seahawks second highest scoring offense to thirteen points. That
should be applauded. They did a phenomenal job. So tell
if it was a benefit of a missfield goal and

(01:30):
some mistakes about the Seattle Seahawks, but sure, it still
goes on the record. They held them to thirteen points
for the second time in a row. But there was
a turnover, There was a point in this game. There's
a couple points in this game that were really the
turning points for me for this defense, because they couldn't

(01:51):
stopped Run, they couldn't stop Kenneth Walker, they couldn't stop
sharper Nay, and it just seemed like the Seattle Seahawks
were resetting the line of scrimmage every single play, on
every single possession, and they were owning it. They were
the more aggressive, they were, the more dominant team. They
had the mindset, they went in there with a plan
and they executed it.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Sam Donald played really solid football. He didn't turn the
ball over, but.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
The one play where he had a chance to turn
the ball over where he got stepped on and he
flumbled the ball away and it was down. It was
a free ball for anybody to go get. I didn't
feel the sense of urgency. And that's what I mean
when fans are like, oh man, they played really good,
or we watching the same game. Yes, we're watching the
same game, but I watch it with a different lens

(02:36):
because I know the frenetic pace in the desperation and
sense an urgency that you have to have to play
great defense. And I saw that with the Seattle Seahawks.
I did not see that with the San Francisco forty
nine ers. And now I didn't care either way, you know,
I'm not. I just was loving a great game. But
I was like, that was missing when I watched the
Seattle Seahawks defense get on the field. They're running, they're

(02:58):
playing with swagger, they're running, hitting everything moving. You see
three four guys at the football every play. Every time
you look like, hey, you gotta help these guys on
the field, is it twelve?

Speaker 2 (03:08):
Because they're running and hitting And then you.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
Look at the San Francisco forty nine ers, and it
just seemed like it maybe they just running out of gas.
You know, this is a team that's been through a
lot this season, dealt with a lot of injury, dealt
with a lot of heartache. But on third and seventeen,
with your offense need to get the ball back, they
run a play not even expecting to get the first down.

(03:33):
I don't think Klink Kobiek when he when he drew
this up, when he called this play expected, you know,
he expect this is a give up play. Hey, We're
gonna run the ball, get us a couple of yards,
punt the ball away, and nobody was there to tackle him. Like,
he's not gonna stop running if nobody's gonna tackle him.
He's not gonna just give up on the play if

(03:54):
nobody's gonna tackle him. And that was the play that
really frustrated me as a as a as a person
watching the game. And it would frustrate me watching either
defense play like that because I'm a guy who loves
to watch great defense, and the Seattle Seahawks gave me
that today. They filled my cup up with great defense,
flying around, hitting, interception, SATs guys in the secondary playing

(04:15):
with swagger, Ernest Jones, playing with Nick mm and Warri
look like he fight. He looked like a guy out
there today. He's been looking like a guy, but he
looks like he's found his confidence on the field, his swagger,
his leadership. He's comfortable doing what he's doing. But even
my guy Reek, Reek was still was swagging out there
a little bit too.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
But outside of a play by Diamador leonore On.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
I think it was fourth down on Charbonnay where Tarberney
tried to bounce it, Giamdro made an incredible play.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
But again he made the play by himself, by himself.

Speaker 1 (04:49):
The play, the third and seventeen play, is a play
you cannot put on tape, not a team fighting for
the one seed, not a team that's won twelve games
like that's as a defense because those things take no talent.
The effort and attitude that you play with. It takes
no talent. Running to the ball, it doesn't take talent.

(05:11):
It just takes one two. It takes mindset. And that
was the most concerning part watching this team. It's just
that that part wasn't there, and they still had a chance.
They still had a chance to San Francisco forty nine
Ers offense march down the field, got inside the red
zone and had a chance to win this game. And
that's what you knew. That's what we talked about earlier

(05:31):
today when I had did the preview. It's gonna come
down to the end of this game. It's not gonna
be a blowout by any stretch of the imagination. If
the San Francisco forty nine er score right there, which
it looked like they were gonna do, if Christmas McCaffrey
catches that football, then it's a It's a thirteen to
ten ball game, and they got their timeouts and we're
trying to figure out what happens at the end. And

(05:52):
that's with the Seattle Seahawks playing dominant football on both
sides of the of the ball, and that's what you
them to look like going into the playoffs. They look
like the number one seed in the NFC. They deserve it.
Everything's going through Seattle and I can't wait to watch it.
The San Francisco forty nine Ers likely are going to
play the Philadelphia Eagles at the if the Chicago Bears

(06:13):
can come pull out a win, but If not, then
they'll go to Chicago and it will be a rematch
of a couple of weeks ago, and and that was
a fun game to watch as well. But let's let's.

Speaker 2 (06:24):
Talk about these playoff scenarios.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
Like I said, if the Rams win, they're the five seed,
they play, they play whoever goes out of the NFC South,
either Carolina or Tampa Bay, depending on what happens with
the Saints and Falcons game. And we'll get to that
in the second. Uh, then you got the San Francisco
forty nine ers playing either the Bears or the Philadelphia Eagles.

(06:52):
And that Philadelphia Eagles matchup could be interesting because I
think that's a matchup it's a revenge game. And I
know it it was a couple of years ago, but
when when brock Perty got hurt and that that developed
into a little bit of a rivalry between Philadelphia and
San Francisco for a while, and it was you know,
Juwan Jenning's going back and forth with him. If we
would have had our quarterback, you know, it wasn't even

(07:13):
men close. And I think that's a game the Seattle
I mean, the San Francisco forty nine ers can win
if they if they if they get that matchup, I think,
you know, obviously they beat the Bears, so they can
clearly win that game. But it's gonna be a doll
fight either way. And if not, then the Bears play
the Packers and that's gonna be a cool matchup and
the Seattle Seahawks are waiting for for the lowest winner

(07:36):
of all of it. And it's gonna be a fun
ride on the NSC side, no question about it. I
can't wait. But right now, the Seattle Seahawks look like
the class of the division. Mike McDonald, this is the
reason they hired him. This is I think the Seattle
Seahawks front office and an ownership group saw Kyle Shanahan

(07:56):
and Brock Party and this offense struggle versus the Baltimore
Ravens and multiple multiple matchups with Mike McDonald, and I
think that went into the decision to hire him because
he does a good job against Kyle, and he's done
a good job this year in both matchups against Kyle Shanahan.
He's finally got the system installed the way he wants

(08:17):
to is year two, and he has a deep rotation
at the defensive line. I think they're the only team
with with over four guys with forty pressures, and they
look like a team that knows what they're doing. They're confident,
they're swagging. My guy DeMarcus Lawn said, Hey, they're a
dark side because they turned the lights off on people,

(08:37):
and everybody got to come through Seattle and see the
dark side. And that's what's gonna it's gonna be in
the playoffs. If you want to win a Super Bowl,
you're gonna have to come in Seattle and turn the
lights on. And I don't know if anybody can do that.
We'll see. Today's show is brought to you by our
presenting sponsor, hard Rock Bet, the official sportsbook partner of
the AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars. Duvall is gonna be

(08:58):
jacked up this weekend, rightfully, so, folks. We've been rolling
with hard rock all regular season long, and now hard
Rock Bet is here for what is shaping up to
be an incredible playoff run.

Speaker 3 (09:10):
You know what I love to do during these big
standalone playoff games, same game parlays, lock in on one
matchup at a time, and stack your picks. Maybe the
QB throws for two fifty, the running back hits one hundred,
and the tight end punches in the first touchdown. Hard
Rock Bet gives you tons of ways to build your
same game parlay, turning big game days into bigger paydays.

Speaker 1 (09:31):
And if you miss kickoff, don't worry. Hard Rock Bet
has lied in game betting, so you're never too late
to get in on the action. Find a winner or
grab that player prop event to play and lied bet
between snaps and just a few easy taps.

Speaker 3 (09:45):
If you haven't tried your first bet with hard rock Bet,
there's still time for you to get one hundred and
fifty dollars in bonus bets if you win. Just place
a five dollar bet and if it hits, you get
not only your winnings, but also an extra one hundred
and fifty dollars in bonus bets.

Speaker 1 (09:58):
And look, I played Corner my whole life and I
can't stop what hard rock Bet is doing. They're letting
promos run wild. You'll find new ones on the app
every single day. So just because your team may be
out of it like mine, that doesn't mean you have
to sit on the sidelines this postseason. Between same game parlays,
live betting, I can't miss welcome offer and daily new promos.

(10:19):
Hard Rock Bet has you covered all postseason long. Download
the hard Rock Bet app today and make your first deposit.
What a game, What a game, and it's gonna have
a lot of implications. Seattle Seahawks are obviously gonna enjoy
their bye. But it's week eighteen and we got these
Sunday games to talk about. Gotta bring my guy, Mitchell

(10:41):
Beck to talk about these. His Detroit Lions got an
end out, Gotta win at the end of the season.
That's gotta feel good. It does, Richard.

Speaker 3 (10:48):
But I'll tell you what watching last night's games, Holy cow,
the NFC is going through Seattle, and Seattle deserves it.

Speaker 1 (10:55):
Man. They look tough. They look very, very tough.

Speaker 3 (10:58):
Cannot wait for the playoffs on full dere We got
some more games to talk about the La Rams, and
let's not forget about what is at stake here. With
the loss, the San Francisco forty nine ers will take
the five seed. With the win, the Rams get the
five seed. No surprise, the Rams end up winning thirty
seven to twenty. Richard, how big of an upgrade is
it for the Rams to play against the Carolina Panthers

(11:19):
instead of the Philadelphia Eagles. Getting this win provides them
with that opportunity to overcome with the Carolina on the
road once again.

Speaker 2 (11:26):
It's it's it's good any team to play the NFC
South opponents.

Speaker 1 (11:31):
What was gonna feel good about it? Both teams were
limping into the playoffs, Carolina getting in on on a
tiebreaker scenario where they actually lost the game hit to
hit versus the Bucks. You know, each each team won one,
and then the Falcons beat the Saints and they get
in the playoffs. So I think the Rams feel really
good about that. They're excited about that. I like. I

(11:54):
like the matchup for the forty nine ers against the Eagles.
I think that's gonna be a really good game. I
think three years ago when Brock Perdy hurt his arm
in the NFC Championship game. Obviously, teams look a lot
different since then, but there are some intriguing matchups for
sure on the NFC side. Uh NFC North matchup between

(12:16):
the Bears and the Packers, and I'm sure the Packers
feel really good about that. It's a it's a game
that's come down to the wire both times, with with
each team getting to win, and they control majority of
the game for both of those games, so I think, uh,
the Green Bay Packers will feel good about their matchup.
The Philadelphia Eagles rested their starters. That's something I'm sure

(12:36):
it left you a little puzzled, but I think I
understood it, uh. And I think Sirianni valued the rest
and and and the the the recalibration for his starters,
for his guys and and allowing them to heal up
some going into what they would hope to be a
deep playoff run. And I don't think they worried about

(12:57):
the opponent and and who the opponent was. I don't
think that really mattered to him. They play at home
either way, so I think they felt really good saying, hey,
win or losing this game. I think that the rest
is more valuable to our guys and will help us
more in our ultimate goal, which is which is trying
to get back to the super Bowl and win it. Well.

Speaker 3 (13:17):
Back to this game today, No surprise, Matthew Stafford another
four touchdowns continues on as amazing MVP run. Is it
safe to say he's got this thing signed, sealed and
delivered the MVP?

Speaker 1 (13:29):
I don't know. I don't. I don't know. I really
can't call the MVP anymore because it's it's such a weird,
convoluted award at this point, and I'm not sure if
it goes on the merits of who played the best
or who who did enough. And that's because of what
they did to Lamar Jockson last season. You know, obviously
cool it went to Josh Allen, and kudos to him,

(13:52):
but it just was, it just took a detour away
from what it's been over the last couple of years.
And and maybe it'll do the same. I mean, Matthew
Stafford has the most touchdown passes, had a phenomenal season,
but he's on the West coast in LA. Maybe it's
gonna be East coast biased and they're gonna say, hey,

(14:14):
the guy in New England, you know, the kid in
New England who took a team who wasn't expected to
do as much to a one seed or to a
two seed, And maybe they give it to him for that.
But I think Matthew Stafford deserves it. I think he
played at a high enough level and and elevated each
and every week, and there are stats out there about

(14:35):
his his stats against winning teams and in playoff teams.
And I think he threw twenty something touchdowns and only
had one interception versus winning teams this season, and that
that has to matter. But we'll see what the voters
say and who they give it to. But I think
he's made as good of a case as he's made
in his career to get that award, and he definitely

(14:57):
deserves And I.

Speaker 3 (14:59):
Know we gay team did not matter for the Arizonal Cardinals,
but I tell you what, Richard, they found themselves a gem,
your Stanford Cardinal lum, Michael Wilson. I know you like
his game, but they like Marvin Harrison Junior a lot
in Arizona. I think got to believe Michael Wilson has
earned that number one wide receiver within their depth chart.
Do you feel that they're gonna approach him as being

(15:21):
that guy going to next season?

Speaker 1 (15:23):
Sadly, I don't, you know. I think he deserves that,
and I think a lot of teams they if they
are going to continue to tout Marvin Harrison Junior as
the number one, a lot of teams are gonna be
knocking on their doors seeing if they can make him
number one on their team. He showed some promise out
of Stanford, no question about it. I think the quarterback
situation kind of held him back. It held a lot

(15:43):
of those receivers back. But he's getting the showcase his
talent now and I think I think he should be
the number one receiver in Arizona. I think draft position
is draft position, but production on the field needs to matter,
and if it matters in this situation, he's the number
one guy out there.

Speaker 3 (15:59):
Let's take it to the NFC North, the Detroit Lions.
My Detroit Lions played the NFC North champions Chicago Bears.
It's hard for me to say, Richard, but Chicago trot
it out there with all their starters today.

Speaker 1 (16:10):
They wanted that.

Speaker 3 (16:11):
Number two seed, unlike Philly, who didn't seem to care
one way or the other. There was a lot at
state going into this game. I know Detroit had nothing
to play for it, but reality is they're going against
their former OC Ben Johnson for the second time this season.
Detroit was dominant in the first half, up thirteen to nothing,
ultimately squeak off a win at the buzzer thanks to
Jake Bates kicking the game winner as time expired for Detroit.

(16:36):
I like to think this is a big win for
them going into next season. You know, obviously they didn't.
The season did not unfold like they wanted it to.
It was very painful to watch it as a Detroiter.
But you know, they finished fourth in the division. They
get a cakewalk schedule going in the next year, and
they end up beating up on the division fo twice.
You know, it sets a precedent for Ben Johnson that
he might own this division this year, but he doesn't

(16:57):
own the battle between Detroit and Chicago.

Speaker 1 (17:00):
Richard.

Speaker 3 (17:00):
I know you're you've played in several meaningful games at
the tail end of the season, But in any of
those that were not meaningful, how is important is it
to come away with a win even when you're not
going to the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (17:12):
It's very important for the facts that you just laid out.
You you establish, hey, your division rival, we don't lay
down for anybody. You establish winning habits and show your
team that no matter what, we fight to the finish,
regardless of the outcome, regardless of of of what happens
at the end. And again, you beat Chicago twice in
the season. So this is the team that won your division.

(17:34):
It shows you can beat them. It shows that you
have everything, You have enough in your building to to
win this division. You just got to be consistent. You
got to you got to be healthy. You got to
get your best players on the field consistently. You got
to get Brian branch back, Kirby Joseph back, guys like
that have to be on the field. When you have
Pro Bowl, all Pro caliber players, it doesn't help you

(17:55):
if they're not on the field. So obviously, getting healthy
will be a big deal for them. Get the pass
rusher will be a big deal for them, reinforcing that
offensive line, things like that. But it was a good win.
What the concerning part if you're the Chicago Bears is
that you ran your starters out there and you got
your butt kt and and that's that's the thing. You

(18:15):
don't want to feel that during the playoffs. Going into
the playoffs. You want to have momentum. You want to
be feeling really good about yourself both sides of football.
You want to feel like you're hitting on all cylinders.
And to put what they just put on tape, which
was an offensive struggle, Caleb Williams kind of reverting back
to his old ways, trying to play cowboy football and

(18:36):
and and be very cavalier and not hitting things on time,
not stopping the run necessarily as well as they had.
It's it's if you're the Green Bay Packers you watch
that tape and feel like, hey, regardless of being the
two and seven seed, you feel good. You feel like
you should be favored in this game. I mean, whether
it's played in Chicago or Green Bay, the weather's going

(18:57):
to be just about the same, So I don't think
they're worried about that, and I think under those scenarios,
under that situation, I would I would imagine Green Bay
Packers are favored in this game.

Speaker 3 (19:12):
Early look at it, it inkates that they are, and
you're you're spot on, Richard. I mean, Chicago has played
an outstanding brand of football, no question about it. They
completely overhauled this team. The offensive line looks like a
bunch of malers up front. We've talked about this in
the past. You got a live what you're seeing with
their tight end Colston level and their first round pick
out of Michigan. But like you said, Richard, what I

(19:34):
saw today was Caleb Williams that it didn't look like
the same Caleb Williams I watched over the course of
this season, and that is a cause for concern going
into the Sea into the playoffs, specifically against a team
that they just barely beat with a lot of luck.
Let's not forget they covered an on side kick in
that game to come back down ten points late in

(19:55):
that game, So we shall see. I gotta believe Green
Bay loves this matchup, playing the Division FI and it's
gonna set up to be an wild NFC one way
or the other, whether the Green Bay wins of the
Chicago Bears win. But it's a wild match to see
right out the gates with two NFC North foes going
at at Week one in that wildcard matchup the Falcons

(20:17):
and the Saints, a game that no one thought would
ever matter because both of these teams are a hot
mess garbage out of the NFC South. But the Falcons
improved the eight to nine and in doing so, the
Carolina Panthers are on their way to the playoffs. Richard,
if I had told you at the beginning of the
season that three teams would finish eight to nine and
one division and one of them would have a home

(20:38):
game in the Wildcard playoffs. What would your thoughts be?

Speaker 1 (20:42):
I would say the system is broken, and I think
a lot of people would agree with that. I don't
know if you can ever eliminate a division champion from
the playoffs, but you can definitely take their home game
away from them. And I think any situation, any scenario
where they finished below five hundred, you have to have
some kind of change our jestsmen where they don't get

(21:03):
the home game. And I think that's it. I mean,
I tell you what, The NFC South never ceases to
amaze in the most absurd and obscure ways, the most
odd head scratching ways. You're like, so, you're gonna make
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheer for their one of their
biggest rivals in the New Orleans Saints, to get a win.

(21:23):
The New Orleans Saints twitter page is trolling Buccaneers fans
as they do it, like they're not gonna try to
win this game and go on to lose this game
and eliminate the Bucks from the playoffs. I mean, that'd
be the equivalent of the Seahawks and Niners, you know,
one of them being having a chance at the playoffs
and the other one needing to win to make it happen.
Not that they would purposely lose, but they're not gonna

(21:46):
go as hard as they could to win that game. Mental,
I'm just telling you. And it was a weird scenario.
I think something has to change about this playoffs. You
got twelve win teams fighting for their lives with in
the six and seven and you got eight to nine
team just comfortably going to the playoffs after another yet

(22:06):
another loss this season. And I just don't think that's
what the NFL wants in the playoffs. That's so what
they don't want for their playoff teams. And you know
not that it's not happened and led to upsets before.
I remember the Seattle Seahawks, and I'm sure Seahawks fans
remember that vividly bringing welcoming in the New Orleans Saints
to town and the Beast quake and all that. They
were a seven to nine team in the playoffs and

(22:27):
ended up winning that game and going on to face Chicago.
So it's not that they can't win. This is a
National Football League. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day,
But is that the fair way to do it? Is
you got teams playing all season and win twelve thirteen games,
and you're letting teams in who just happened to be
in a bad division. So I think that has to change.

(22:48):
And you know, this Carolina Panthers team had some quality
wins down the stretch. They beat the same Rams team
that they're about to face just a couple of weeks ago,
where they controlled the clock majority of the game, they
got after Matthew Stafford a couple of times, picked them
off a couple of times, and it made some plays
and made enough plays to win that game's going thirty
one points in the game, So I'm sure the Rams

(23:09):
aren't taking them lightly by any stretcher of imagination. But
you know, I don't know. I don't know, well, Richard.

Speaker 3 (23:17):
If there was ever a year for the Competition Committee
to review this and make a change, it would be
this year. Because the winner out of the AFC North
and the winner out of the NFC South are both
going to be the four seeds. But if you just
look by record, they would both be last place. They'd
both be the seventh seed in the playoffs, and the
NFC West would be one, two and three in the NFC.

(23:39):
I think Richard, I think it's safe to say time
for a change in the way the playoffs are seated.
But before we leave the Saints game, I got to
ask you, Tyler Shuck looks like it looks like the
Saints might.

Speaker 2 (23:49):
Have found somebody that they can genuinely build around.

Speaker 3 (23:52):
I know a lot of the question marks about New
Orleans coming in the season was their quarterback.

Speaker 2 (23:56):
Would you like Tyler Shuck's game? I mean, it's solid.

Speaker 1 (24:00):
I think I think our expectations in New Orleans are
so low that that sure will go with that. I mean,
but but it's it's seventeen points in the game. You know,
if he comes in the starter next year, I think
we'll judge him as a starter and not as a
feel good story, and then we'll we can we can
make the assessment accordingly. But I don't know. I can't

(24:23):
really assess that. I'm not watching the Saints as closely
as as Saints fans are because they haven't been relevant
and they haven't been winning football, playing winning football. They've
they've been fighting for top five draft pick all season long.
So that's a tough ran football for me to to
really indulge in. But yeah, I mean it seems like
he's played solid football down the stretch. They helped them

(24:44):
get a couple of wins. Obviously they lost this game,
but with the right weapons around, I think he could
be he could be solid, He could be serviceable. But
we'll we'll, you know, time will tell.

Speaker 3 (24:55):
Cincinnati Bengals suffered a feat against the Cleveland Browns thanks
to two to fi defensive scores by the Browns, and
the highlight of this game obviously comes from Miles Garrett,
who breaks the NFL sack record with twenty three total sacks,
coming late in the fourth quarter. Richer, How big of
an honor is this for Miles Garrett.

Speaker 1 (25:13):
That's a huge hore. But you hear what straight Han said.
Strahan said, well, I did it in sixteen games. He
did it in seventeen. But then, of course the internet,
the Internet is undefeated, and they find the stats and
they're gonna make a point. And I think Miles Garrett
did it on four hundred and something snaps and straight
Han did it on close to six hundred snaps, So

(25:34):
you know, he still he still got it done in
a very efficient way, and it was very effective player,
and he deserves credit for the record. That he now owns.
But that game was so odd and I did not
like I didn't like the commentary on that game. There
was two defensive touchdowns and they got unsportsman likes on
both of them because they were just having a good time.

(25:55):
You know, you don't got nothing to play for, You
just got a defensive penality and commentators a lot. Oh yeah,
I'm sure the coach is upset about that. He's he's
he's probably gonna give him a stern talking to No,
he's not. They just got two defensive touchdowns in the game.
He's likely not gonna return next season. I don't think
he's going to yell at these defensive players for scoring
touchdowns and celebrating on the eighteenth or the seventeenth game

(26:18):
of the season during their foreign foreign thirteen season. I don't.
I don't think that's where he's going with it. But yeah,
that I'm sorry. That just irked me. Watching that game.
I was like, bro, just just stop, just stop. Sure
they got to celebrate, Sure they got the penalty. Cool,
go move fast it But huge honor for Miles Garrett.

(26:40):
Incredible player. I wish he would would have allowed himself
to be traded out of Cleveland so that he could
have impact in the postseason in meaningful games. But you know,
clearly he enjoys being in Cleveland and enjoys being the
highest paid, one of the highest paid defensive players in
the National Football League. And you know we'll see if

(27:01):
he ever gets to make impactful plays in January and February.

Speaker 3 (27:06):
Do you foresee the Cleveland Brown sticking with Shador Sanders.
Is QBB one going in the next.

Speaker 1 (27:11):
Year, I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I foresee a
lot of changes in Cleveland. Whether they stick with Kevin
Stefanski is still up in the air. I think what
they do with their front office is I'm sure up
in the air. Haslam did not look happy in that
box during the game, so we'll see. I'm sure it's

(27:33):
gonna be speculating the entire offseason. The only people that
know are the people that are in that building. I
think he played well enough to make it an argument,
to make it a conversation. Maybe they'll make it a
quarterback battle of some sort of all off season to
make them a relevant talking point. But I think I
think he's played in and showed NFL caliber football. I

(27:54):
definitely thinks he needs a better supporting cast that receiver
than he has right now in order to to be successful.
They got to strengthen that offensive line. But that's the
story for just about every NFL team, So he could
definitely do it. And if they're gonna draft somebody in
the higher rounds, a first round pick at quarterback, then
I'm sure people will be calling the trade for him,

(28:16):
no question.

Speaker 3 (28:17):
Well I'll tell you what, Richard, we did not talk
about the Cleveland Browns hardly at all. I would say
over the last several years. We've talked about them quite
a bit this season, and they're what five and twelve,
So Shador Sanders has certainly added a conversation piece to
this Cleveland Browns roster, so they got to appreciate that
of all else. Let's move it to the AFC South.

(28:38):
The Houston Texans taken on the Indianapolis Colts and Houston
ultimately prevails with a pretty cool ending of the game
of multiple lateral turns into a fumble recovery by the
defensive tackle who trialps in for fifteen yards for the touchdown.
That same defensive tackle was supposed to get the ball
at the goal line on a handoff from CJ.

Speaker 2 (28:59):
Stroud early in that game and CJ.

Speaker 1 (29:02):
Stratt.

Speaker 3 (29:02):
I don't know if there was miscommunication between him and
c J. Stroud, but Stroud ended up talking it and
running himself, so there's some irony there. But Richard, the
main part of this game that really intrigued me was
how well Riley Leonard played. He was thirty one twenty
one to thirty four for two seventy and two touchdowns.
He did have an interception, he had a rushing touchdown,

(29:22):
couple fumbles lost. But Alec Pearce has turned into a
stud in Indy Forge catches one hundred and thirty two
yards and two touchdowns. Do you think Indy would have
been in better space if they would have just stuck
with Riley Leonards in terms of going and signing Philip Rivers.

Speaker 1 (29:40):
That's a tough one because I'm it's a lot of speculatory.
They clearly didn't feel comfortable with it. If they did,
they would have played him. So I can't say that.
Give me one second though, because I want to check
something before I give you my true thoughts on it.
Because yes, this Jacksonville Jaguars game where he went eighteen
of twenty nine for one forty five and was sacked

(30:02):
one time and intercepted. You know, I just don't think
they felt like, hey, this guy gives us the best
chance to win going forward, and nobody knows better than
the team that drafted him and a team that has
him in the building all season long, all season long,
and if they felt like their their chances were better
with a quarterback that hadn't played in five years, I

(30:22):
mean it definitely was. It was saying something about what
they thought about Riley Leonard, no question about it. So
I'm not gonna say, oh, man, he should have started
the whole seat. He should have. They should have just
put him in. They did not think he gave him
the best chance to win. I gotta trust that that
there's a reason behind that. I'm sure they'll be asked
about it.

Speaker 3 (30:43):
Well, Richard, this Houston Texans team is ultimately going to
play the winner of the AFC North. The more I
watched this team, I know it was a tough, hard
fog game against Riley Leonard, but the Colts are still
prominent defensively, and now the national met is starting to
talk about the Houston Texans, and they're also talking about
the Jacksonville Jaguars, Richard, do you still like Houston more

(31:08):
than Jacksonville at this point?

Speaker 1 (31:09):
Yeah? I like Houston almost as much as I like
any team in AFC. I think they're coming out of
the AFC. If I'm being honest, I think that pass
rush and that defense is going to be the reason
they come out of it. Will Will Anderson, Daniel Hunter,
that interior defensive line, my guy z z Alshaier, that

(31:29):
secondary with Kaylin Bullock, Kamari Lasseter, and our guy Stingley,
They're going to be formida And if C. J. Stroud
can can continue to find Nico Collins can continue to
find rhythm offensively, they're going to be a tough out.
And you got to give Jacksonville a lot of credit.
They lost thirteen games last year and they had the

(31:51):
biggest turnaround new coach with Liam Cohen and to to
win the AFC South in the in the fashion that
they did to get the third seed in the playoffs.
Trevor Lowan had a career season thirty eight touchdowns, twelve interceptions,
forty three hundred yards. But again we're back in the playoffs.
They're playing a team that has a quarterback. Definitely that

(32:12):
has had some success in the playoffs and Josh Allen
and we'll see, you know, if they go out there
and beat the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, I think
that pretty much puts icing on the cake and establishes
this team as for real and that they're hey, they're
here to stay and they're contenders in this AFC. But

(32:33):
you know, that's what they have to do. And I
know people are like, it's unfair. We won thirteen games,
we're here, But if you win thirteen games and go
home in the wild card, it kind of reinforces what
everybody thought. This was a bit of a fluky season
for you, and congratulations. But if you go out there
and you play as dominated as you did all season
long and you go beat the Buffalo Bills and move

(32:55):
on to the divisional round of the playoffs, it definitely
put it's an exclamation point at the end of the
season for him. Richard.

Speaker 3 (33:04):
The Denver Broncos have the fifth best point dinferential in
the AFC, but are going to land at the top
of the AFC. They've got twelve comeback wins on the season,
that's the most in NFL history. Obviously they have a
heck of a defense. Their offense is the main question
mark here. Do you believe that their offense has enough
firepower to lead them out of the AFC this year.

Speaker 1 (33:27):
That's another thing that's going to be left to be seen.
You know, there are so many unknowns going into this playoffs.
Usually we have some some some known contenders coming in,
you know, with with shrowng resumes. This year we do not.
You know, we have a bunch of unknowns with with
no playoff resume, with no playoff success under their belt.
So we're gonna we're gonna get some some natural surprises

(33:48):
this year. We got Justin Herbert and the seven seed
Chargers going going to New England to play the number
two seed Drake May led Patriots. You know, neither one
of those teams have had a playoffs success in the
last couple of years. Somebody's gonna get to really establish
their legacy. Does Herbert finally get over the hump and
get this team where they need to be without his

(34:10):
two all world tackles. Who knows that Drake May continue
this cellar season and showed that, hey, this Patriots team
is the Patriots have new not the Patriots of the
last few years. They're really here to stay, and they're
gonna be here and they're gonna make a splash this postseason.
We'll see, but you just never know. You think for

(34:33):
an established team, you would say, hey, they're building winning habits.
They're showing championship grit and grind grind by coming back
in those games and winning them in regardless, never giving up.
Before a young team, you're like, hey, they're kind of
figuring it out. Can they do it in the playoffs?
Are the lights gonna be too bright for some of
these people? In every year? Every season it's too bright

(34:54):
for some and to others you don't even notice it.
To others, they look exactly as dominant as they did
during the season. But it's a different game in the
In the playoffs, everybody knows what you're gonna do. Everybody
knows the things you do best. They have seventeen weeks
of tape on you and all your all your tendencies,
all your habits. They're studying you like like nobody's business.

(35:14):
It's gonna be like playing a division game. That's why
it's so rare, And it's not rare, but it's so
weird to have blowouts in the playoffs, because ten's got
to be so just ridiculously unprepared, because you know, you've
got seventeen weeks of film. You're just out there blowing it.
If you're not, you know, making this game tight, you're
just not on the details. Guys that are on the details.

(35:34):
These teams are some of the best teams in the
National Football League obviously, and I'm looking forward to seeing
what happens in the AFC because it's there's gonna be
some new representation in the championship game for change. You know,
you're not obviously not gonna have the Kansas City Chiefs there,
who have been there for the last what ten times.
You're not gonna have I guess you could have the

(35:56):
Baltimore Ravens there. You could have the Buffalo Bills there,
but you'll, like we have somebody else, You'll have somebody
else contending. So I'm looking forward to see what happens.
There's not enough information for me to really tell you,
oh man, it's gonna go this way, or that offense
is gonna really show up big in a playoffs, because
you just really never know until they do. I'm right
there with you.

Speaker 3 (36:15):
I'm excited to watch it.

Speaker 1 (36:17):
Ready or Not is now on sale for the holidays,
a breakout hit with over thirteen million global players. Ready
or Not is a tactical swat shooter where you feel
the weight of the badge. I reunited with my Legion
of Boom teammates Cam Chancellor, Cliff Favrel, Mike Bennett, and

(36:37):
Walter Thurman to go through real SWAT training and experience
firsthand what makes this game special. You can watch the
full video on the Richard Sherman podcast YouTube channel. Here's
what we discover. This isn't just a mindless running gun
like some of the other shooters. Just like the Legion
of Boom operated as an elite defensive unit where everyone

(37:00):
had to think strategically and work together. Ready or Not
demands the same mentality. You're commanding a swat team, clearing rooms,
protecting civilians, and making split second tactical calls. With eighteen
high stakes missions and endless load out customizations, you need
discipline and coordination to succeed. On sale now across PlayStation,

(37:26):
Xbox and PC with full cross play support. You can
go solo or lead up to five teammates through operations
where strategy definitely matters. Don't miss this holiday sale on
PlayStation five and Xbox Series X and S and PC.
After training with my brothers, I can tell you this

(37:46):
game gets it right. All odds and lines come from
our partners at hard Rock Bet. We have two college
football playoff games this week, Number five Oregon versus Number
one Indiana and Number in Miami versus Number six, oh Miss.
Hard Rock Bet has Indiana as three and a half
points spread in this game versus Oregon. I think Oregon wins, Mitchell.

(38:10):
I'm a Pac twelve, the a Pac ten guy. I'm
going with the Pac ten team, Oregon Ducks. I think
their quarterback is gonna be a first round pick in
the draft coming up. I know Indiana had their way
with him at in in Eugene, which is tough to do.
But Mitchell, this is a different game. Richard.

Speaker 3 (38:30):
Your line of thinking might have been right about three
four years ago when they were indeed in the Pac
ten a Pac twelve, but I hate the break it
to you. Oregon's in the Big ten now and got
shell ACKed by Indiana at home. Don't sleep on Indiana.
Everyone slept on them all year. You're gonna wake a giant.
I think Indiana brings home the national title. I can't
believe I'm saying that, but having watched them over the

(38:50):
last halful of weeks, they are a very well composed
team of veterans. I like Indiana to cover this one easily.
In the second game, hard Rock bet has Miami is
a three and a half point favorite against Ole Miss.
Ole Miss beat Georgia and a thriller. Who do you
like Miami or Ole Miss?

Speaker 1 (39:09):
I like Miami, Mitchelle do you? I just like him
because I get to watch my guy oh do his thing,
Michael Irvin go crazy on the sideline, and he was
whooping a water bucket the last game, So I just
I just can't imagine where he's going with it this
game if they win.

Speaker 2 (39:29):
So I'm in it for the entertainment. Balue, I'm sorry.

Speaker 3 (39:32):
Michael Irvin looks like he could still play man the
guy shredded, whipping the water station doing whatever.

Speaker 2 (39:38):
I'm with you. I like Miami.

Speaker 3 (39:39):
I mean, they've proven a lot of people were on
they didn't think that they even should be in the
college football Playoff. A lot of people like Notre Dame,
but yeah, give me Miami as well. I'm with you
on that one, Richard. Well, Richard, it's been a pleasure
sitting across from me every Sunday documenting all these games.
We've saw some doozies over the course of the season
and all leads to this, to this playoffs. We'll be

(40:01):
breaking down the matchups later this week, but before we go,
before we leave the sunset of this regular season, we
have some breaking news out of Seattle. Charles Cross, the
offensive tackle, has just resigned on a mega deal one
hundred and four point four million dollars over four years.
This is a sign that they love what they have

(40:22):
upfront offensively. We've been talking about it the last several weeks.
How impactful has Charles Cross been to this organization? How
much do you like this signing.

Speaker 1 (40:31):
He's been great. He's been great, And you knew this
was coming down the pipeline. I believe they already paid
Abe Lucas to other tackle, so you knew they would
eventually have to get to the left tackle and get
him situated. And that's a great thing they did, and
I think they got a bit of a bargain for him.
They gave him forty million in his first year and
then he gets the rest later on. But I think
you gotta do it. You got to invest in that

(40:52):
offensive line if you're going to expect to have success
in this National Football League. And I think that's what
John Snyder has shown that he's focused on right now.
They drafted Gray's Abel in the first round. They just
paid Charles Cross, they paid Abe Lucas. I think they're
going to continue to invest in that offensive line this
offseason and insure the center in the right guard position.

(41:13):
Even more so, I think they're going to bring in
more competition for that. But yeah, I think this shows
that they're serious about contending for a long time and
they know the important positions that they have to have
in order to do that.

Speaker 3 (41:25):
And before we sign off, ri, Sure, what if I
told you an NFL team has played seventeen games and
have not had one defensive interception on the season.

Speaker 1 (41:36):
Yikes? Could you name that speam this year? I would
guess it's the Jets. I mean, they didn't have one
for quite a long time. You know, Sure, is that.

Speaker 3 (41:47):
An indictment on Aaron Glenn, the former corner for the
New York Jets to have a team play You know
that I was supposed to be having this defensive identity
not walk away with a single interception all season long.

Speaker 2 (41:59):
I mean, it's a bit of an indictment. It's definitely
an bit because there's too many uncertain it's too many
things that happened during a football game. Tip passes, Aaron throws,
you know, where something just gotta fall in your lap.
And I'm sure it's happened for these guys. I mean,
it's not just an indictment on Aaron Aaron Glenn. It's

(42:20):
an indictment on the entire secondary, entire defense. Like nobody
has hands. I mean, like you can accidentally catch one.
You know, at some point, even a blind doll finds
a bone and you're telling me that that what There's
twenty two eyes out there, and none of them could
catch anything. Now of them see the ball coming, like
none of them had indicators where they thought they could.

(42:43):
That's that's the least impressive, most impressive thing I've ever heard.

Speaker 3 (42:48):
Is by far the least impressive state I've ever seen.
And for a guy that witnessed the team goal Owen
sixteen in the Detroit Lions, that might just take the cake.

Speaker 1 (42:57):
Man.

Speaker 3 (42:57):
Honestly, I I what do we have here but Eddie Richard.
It's always a pleasure, my man. I will let you
sign us off as always.

Speaker 1 (43:05):
We appreciate you joining us. You could be anywhere in
the world. This has been seventeen weeks of fun with
you guys. But the fun is only just begun. The
romance is not over. We got a whole lot of
love to give. These playoffs are gonna be a lot
of fun, a lot of competition. All you fans stay
tuned and hit that sub button. If you knew, you

(43:27):
know what I'm saying, Appreciate it.
Advertise With Us

Hosts And Creators

Colin Cowherd

Colin Cowherd

Jason McIntyre

Jason McIntyre

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club

The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.