All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet.
Nick Wright reacts to Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers' 30-6 blow out loss to CJ Stroud's Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs. Nick reflects on Rodgers' Hall of Fame career and discusses his legacy among the other great QBs in football history. Later, Nick reacts to John Harbaugh signing with the New York Giants after his firing in Baltimore, as well as Mike Tomlin resigning from the Pittsburgh Steelers after 19 seasons. Next, Nick shares his picks for the Divisional Round including Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills taking on Bo Nix's Denver Broncos as well as Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears looking to advance to the NFC Championship Game in a battle against Matthew Stafford's Los Angeles Rams. #Volume
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):
Welcome to the best of the week for What's Right
with Nick Right the best takes in moments from this
week on the show Enjoy.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Wild Card weekend ended with the Texans defeating Steelers. Steelers
offense couldn't do anything, Texans offense couldn't do anything, but
the Texans won the game. When asked about his future
after the game, Aaron Rodgers said, I'm not going to
make any emotional decisions, but at forty two years old,
do you think that this is the end of the
road for him?
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Well, I didn't think that at all going into the game,
because Rogers has been talking about how he thought he
would have one or two teams that showed interest, the
fact that he had seemed to be playing some of
his best ball at the end of the year, Steelers
made the playoffs, all of that, But Buck and Aikman
talked like they knew. The way Buck and Aikman talked
(00:51):
at the end of that game, and the way ESPN
produced the end of that game following Rogers and all
of that, it felt to me like they got a
heads up that he's planning on retireing now. If this
wasn't already the case thanks to Philip Rivers couple game cameo.
(01:14):
The long tail of Philip Rivers coming back after five
years on the couch is going to be that. Certainly
next year and maybe for the next couple after. If
any good team suffers a November or December quarterback injury,
Rogers name will be floated and maybe he would come
(01:37):
back in a setting like that. You know something the
that if next year the Rams are nine to four
and Stafford goes down, could you know, could he come
back in that spot. I also think Aaron likes the
spotlight enough that I don't think we are going to
(02:02):
get a quick resolution on this. I think he's going
to take his time. But I do think that last
night was the de facto end for Aaron Rodgers, and
I do want to take some time here to talk
(02:24):
about how I will remember and think about Rogers, because
last night's game will have no real impact on how
I think about him down the road. I did think
that you saw some things last night that were part
(02:47):
and parcel to why a player as talented and generational
as Aaron Rodgers was not considered a great leader and
was not did not win at the level that his
talent would have made you think he was going to
(03:09):
win at because there was no less than half a
dozen times last night where a play was not made
by the Steelers, or a pass was missed, or the
Texans got pressure quick pressure, and Aaron made it very
(03:33):
clear to everyone on the field, in the stadium and
at home that that was someone else's fault. A lot
of pointing, a lot of gesticulation, a lot of making
it very clear to the whole world he screwed up,
not me also, and I listen, I haven't watched the
(03:54):
All twenty two. I don't know what if the Texans
changed something in their coverage, but I do know that
I've seen Aaron do this in big spots before. One
of his guys let him down with a drop and
he simply stopped going to him DK Metcalf, which was
(04:15):
one of the reasons I thought the Steelers could win
this game, was getting DK Metcalf back. DK Metcalf was
a featured part of the game play early. He then
had a huge drop and Rogers didn't throw him another
pass for two hours, and that is Those things have
(04:38):
always been part of the Rogers experience, and his career
is so interesting because it would have seemed impossible. Demons,
you weren't. You were only twelve years old and you
were not a big football fan as a little kids,
(05:00):
But it would not have seemed believable at all in
twenty ten that Rogers would never get back to another
Super Bowl. It is not different at all from how
people thought about Mahomes after his first Super Bowl one.
(05:21):
An MVP, you know, instantly came on the scene and
was awesome. Obviously, Rogers had to sit, you know, for
three years behind far, but by his second year in
the league was considered maybe the best quarterback in football.
And if in that moment people had said Patrick's never
making another Super Bowl, it would have seemed impossible. That's
(05:44):
what it felt like for Aaron and I know the
biggest Rogers defenders, and once upon a time I was.
I don't know if I was one of the biggest
Rogers defenders, but I was certainly more sympathetic to his
cause than I've been over the last decade. There are
extenuating circumstances and some really unfortunate playoff losses that had
(06:13):
nothing to do with him. Okay, so his first ever
playoff game, demonse. They scored forty five points, and lost
in overtime. Wow, the first ever playoff game was a
fifty one forty five lost to the Arizona Cardinals. Now
the loss was on a strip sack returned for a touchdown.
(06:35):
But that you score forty five points, that should be enough. Yeah,
second year in the playoffs they win the Super Bowl.
I'm now gonna jump to the playoff losses that you
feel like he has no culpability. On twenty twelve, they
score thirty one in the Divisional round against San Francisco
(07:00):
and Colin Kaepernick score forty five and just the Packers
defense has no answer whatsoever. Twenty sixteen, the Falcons put
up forty four on the Packers defense in the NFC
(07:21):
Championship game. Feel like there's not much you can do there.
The very next year, twenty nineteen, the Niners and a
rushing attack that I think in that game they threw
the ball. Was that the game they threw the ball
eight times? Yep? The Niners threw the ball eight times
(07:42):
and scored thirty seven points to go to the Super Bowl.
Those three playoff losses, and those are all huge ones.
It's fair to say, what did you want from Aaron?
What more could he have done. I'll add one more.
(08:05):
The year they're defending their championship, they're fifteen to one.
They're at home against the New York Giants. The Giants
score thirty seven points in freezing cold and send them
home to go on to win the Super Bowl. These ones, right,
those defenses were brutal, right, right. There are some other
(08:32):
ones though, that that was not the story. And people
remember the Seattle NFC championship game, and what they remember
is the Packers were up sixteen to nothing and nineteen
to seven Demons with three minutes left in that game.
(08:55):
Up nineteen to seven with three minutes left in the game,
they end up allowing a fake field goal touchdown, They
allow uh an onside kick.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
They then don't get tough.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
They don't get the coin toss. In overtime, Russell Wilson
hits a thirty five yard pass. They go to the
Super Bowl, end up losing to Tom Brady and the Patriots.
What people don't remember so much about that game was
Rogers was awful. He had one touchdown, two picks, a
fifty six rating, and they couldn't score in the red zone.
(09:37):
The next year, they're playing a Cardinals team this is
the game where Rogers hits back to back hail mary's
to force overtime, and what they were and when I
when I say back to back hail mary's again, if
people can't visualize this situation, they are in a fourth
(10:02):
and twenty demanse on their own four yard line with
fifty five seconds left, and Rogers hits a sixty yard pass.
They then rush to the line of scrimmage, couple deep shots,
and then five seconds left on the forty one Rogers
(10:26):
hits another hail mary. He threw one hundred and one
yards of passes on that possession to Jeff Janis to
tie a playoff game. And then on the very first
possession of overtime, the Cardinals go right down the field
and score the first play off overtime. Larry Fitzgerald takes
it seventy five yards. They score the next play. But
(10:49):
in that game, prior to those two hail marys, the
Packers had fourteen points, had a passer rating in the
fifties again, had one hundred and fifty yards, one touchdown,
one pick, and then obviously people remember the very end
(11:12):
NFC Championship game against Tom Brady and Tampa Is really
bad in the first half, they dig a huge hole.
They then are down eight with two and a half
minutes left. They can't punch it in. Laflora kicks the
weird field goal, and then his final playoff game with
the Steelers, the Niners did not score an offensive touchdown,
(11:33):
but Rogers once again had a really weird game where
all he would do was target Devonte Adams and they
end up losing the game on a blocked punt touchdown
thirteen to ten, with Rogers kind of throwing away the
final possession. So we with all that said, he's a
(11:57):
four time MVP who has it's the all time record
for passer rating and as far as the all time
record for lowest interception percentage, and at times looked like
the most physically gifted player the position's ever seen. But
(12:21):
the combination of his what I would call prickly leadership
style plus it's not me, it's you when things went wrong,
(12:42):
plus not playing to an Aaron Rodgers level consistently in
the playoffs is why a guy that good is gonna
finish his career eleven and ten in the playoffs or
(13:12):
is it eleven and eleven now? Oh? Eleven? And eleven
in the playoffs because they lost yesterday and with only
the one trip to the super Bowl. If I were
doing the all time quarterback rankings, he has the talent
(13:33):
of a no doubt top five guy, but he can't.
And I understand it's become very in vogue to throw
you know a lot of people in top fives. You're
not gonna find a bigger Matt Stafford fan than me.
But the idea that Stafford is a super Bowl went
away from being top five all time quarterback is obviously,
(13:53):
on its face ludicrous. But if we're talking about the
greatest quarterbacks ever, you have Brady Mahomes manning Montana, you
can argue about the order for them. For me, John Elway,
(14:18):
and I don't know what you want to do with
the old folks, Johnny Unitas, Bart Star, Otto Graham, those guys,
but they've got to be accounted for in some degree.
I can't speak to them, but I can't pretend you
can't do an NBA Top ten and not include Russell
and Wilt. I don't know that you can do an
NF top ten quarterbacks and not include Unitis, Star and Graham.
(14:42):
So I don't know what you want to do with them.
But now we're at eight names, and then we can
start having the Steve Young, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Drew
Brees discussion. I know my colleagues are about to put
Josh Allen in there as well. It's the most talented players.
(15:04):
You see Josh Allen wild guard. We can the oh yeah,
And so I think it's fair if this is the
end for Rogers, one of the greatest players ever who underachieved.
(15:25):
There is an element of Wilt Chamberlain to Rogers in
that a uniquely talented player that up to that point
in his career we had never seen anyone quite like him,
but didn't quite win at the level that that talent
(15:50):
would have demanded, and it was because of some own
leadership and stylistic failings. So there's my Rogers piece of it.
I know you want to ask me about the Tomlin piece.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
So there's rumors about them wanting to move on from
Tomlin the Steelers at that. Do you think that they should?
Speaker 1 (16:12):
I don't think I don't think that they should, but
I would understand if they did that these playoff It's
not just that he's now tied Marvin Lewis for most
consecutive losses in the playoffs at seven. It's not just
(16:36):
that it'll now be ten years since they won a
playoff game, at a minimum, it's that they have been
wholly non competitive in these playoff games. The first one, so, well,
if we're gonna do the full streak, I guess I
(16:58):
gotta be fair. The first one was the conference championship
game to the Patriots, and again you're playing an all
time Patriots seems conference championship game, but you instantly fell
down ten to nothing. You're down thirty six to nine
with minutes left, you lose thirty six to seventeen. So
(17:21):
you get annihilated in that football game that's lost one,
lost two on this Tomlin losing streak. You're at home
with the bye, playing Blake Bortles Jacksonville Jaguars, and twenty
minutes into the game, Demanse, you're down twenty one to
(17:44):
nothing and you end up scoring a bunch of points.
You know, you cut it to seven a couple times,
but you trail the entirety of the game. You lose
forty five forty two, and they get grizzly or from there.
Lost three on this playoff losing streak. You're playing the
(18:08):
Cleveland Browns and Baker Mayfield. You are down twenty eight
to nothing in the first quarter, and you lose forty
eight to thirty seven. Game two, alright, I'm sorry. Game
(18:29):
two where we have game Game five, Game five of
the playoff losing streak. You're playing the Chiefs. You go
up seven nothing on a TJ. Watt stripsack in the
second quarter. You then find yourself down after being up
(18:53):
seven to nothing, thirty five to seven, thirty five to seven.
Game six of the playoff losing streak last year against Buffalo,
midway through the second quarter, you're down twenty one to nothing,
(19:14):
and so you lose thirty one seventeen.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
If they keep calling he has to focus on offense.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
The well, hold on, hold on, just because I got
that wrong. That wasn't the I got the year wrong
on that last one. The Bills loss. That was not
last year when you're down, that was two years ago.
Last year's loss was to the Ravens, where once again,
(19:46):
at halftime, you're down twenty one to nothing and so
and then this year was a weird one because you
were in it, but your offense could do nothing and
then you get annihilated, but in the final score. So
I would understand if Steelers fans are like, I'm I've
(20:09):
had my full here Phil here, But I still think
he is a really good coach, and I would be
scared of getting on that coaching carousel again. Now, what
were you saying, Demanday.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Oh, I just think that maybe focus on something else,
bringing somebody else to help Tomlin on the offensive side
of things. It's clear that he doesn't. That's not his
side of the ball. I think that's a huge problem.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
So here's the thing though, So I think that makes
sense in general, except for in these playoff games. Last night,
notwithstanding the defense has been getting just absolutely crushed. Yeah,
now I want to give the Texans their credit and
we'll talk more about the Texans on Thursday show. Weird
(20:59):
game because CJ was awful. CJ was awful, and it
didn't matter because that defense was that good and that
defense was that ferocious. But you saw how tough it
is to do business that way, because as great as
(21:23):
that defense was and as inept as that Steelers offense was,
that was a one point game or a four point
game deep into the game. Yeah, it felt like they
were one busted coverage away at any point from holy shit,
the Steelers are gonna steal this. I mean that game
(21:45):
seven to six entering the fourth quarter. It's ten to
six in the fourth quarter with the Steelers having the
ball before the Rankins fumble return touchdown that essentially ended
the game. That Texans defense and Demico Ryans deserve massive credit.
But if that's how that offense looked against a good
(22:10):
but not great Steelers defense in a game they had
Nico Collins for a lot of next week that defense
is gonna have to be just as good because I
don't know what that Texans ofphin is gonna be able
to do. And by the way, I want to say
some of the Nico Collins thing, Nico Collins pretty clearly
got concussed on like the third game, Yes, and they
(22:35):
they put him back out there, and I understand it's
the playoffs, and I get they put him back out
there again. This is I this is naked, reckless speculation
by me. It looked to me like he got concussed
on the first drive of the game, they checked him
for it, they put him back out there, and then
(22:58):
when he got hit again later in the game. They
it was such a bad concussion at that point, they
said he didn't know where he was. He tried to
walk back to the huddle and they had to cart
him off. That's brutal man And again, maybe it was
just coincidence that it looked like he got concussed. He didn't,
(23:20):
and then a pretty typical hit gave him one of
the worst concussions of the NFL season. But that's hard
to sell me. And the Patriots Christian Gonzalez got a concussion,
tried to go back out there, and they prevented him
from going back out there, and he went in the protocol.
(23:41):
Maybe so, maybe both those guys are missing next week.
It would be impossible for me to think Nico Collins
gonna be able to play next week. Credit to the
Texans defense. Maybe you know what demands. Maybe Caleb should
call CJ and give him some pointers on how to
get back to the lovely needs to be it. Yeah
(24:05):
he should. Today's show is brought to you by representing
sponsor hard Rock Bet. With Miami making the National Championship,
you know hard Rock Stadium will be rocking and if
you're going to the game, hard Rock Bet is giving
you a ten dollars bonus bet to get in on
the action. If you're watching the game out in Miami,
(24:28):
head to the hard Rock Cafe Miami, Duffy's North Miami Beach,
American Social Miami, and Batch Brickle. Hard Rock Bet is
dropping ten dollars bonus bets there too. You can turn
that free ten dollars bonus bet into a big win
by placing a same game parlay, or even if you're
just watching the game at home, there's still no better
(24:49):
place to bet than Natty than hard Rock Bet because
it's Florida's sportsbook and they're going crazy with promos for
this game. And if you're late to kick off, don't worry.
Hard Rock Bet has live in game betting, so you're
never too late to the action. Find a winner and
live bet between snaps and just a few easy taps.
If you haven't tried your first bet on hard Rock Bet,
(25:11):
there's still time for you to get one hundred fifty
dollars in bonus bets if you win. Just place a
five dollars bet and if it hits, you get not
only your winnings, but also an extra one hundred fifty
dollars in bonus bets. Even if your team may be
out of the playoffs, that doesn't mean you have to
sit on the sidelines between same game parlays, live betting.
I can't miss welcome off for a new chromos dropping
(25:31):
every day. Hard Rock Bet has you covered all postseason long.
That's hard Rock Bet. Download the hard rock Bet app
and make your first deposit today. Payable and bonus bets
not a cash offer offered by the Seminal Tribe of
Florida in Florida, offered by Seminal hard Rock Digital LLC.
In all other states. Must be twenty one plus and
(25:54):
physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Fannessee,
or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about
gambling and Florida, call one eight three three play wise
in Indiana. If you or someone you know as a
gambling problem and wants help, call one eight hundred and
(26:15):
nine with it. Gambling problem, Call one eight hundred Gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan,
New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
John Harball agreed to go to the Giants last night,
and a little bit before that, and shortly after our
last show, Tomlin had stepped down as the Steelers coach.
We'll talk about that in a little in a little moment,
But what do you think about Harble going over to
the Giants.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
I I don't say this often, but I totally agree
with Dan Orlovsky. This is the best thing to happen
to the Giants since they won the Super Bowl. They
sincerely there are There are are two things now, there
(27:04):
are three things that really matter in the NFL to
being a perennial contender and avoiding being a perennial laughingstock.
The first one is avoid having atrocious ownership. So the
(27:27):
Giant Stadium mates the Jets, they just have atrocious ownership
that will always be in their way. I think the
Browns have atrocious ownership that will always be in their way.
The Giants have had one of those three kind of
(27:47):
benchmarks down and they have good to very good ownership
in the Maras. The second thing you need is a legitimate,
true professional coach. They now have that for the first
time since Tom Coughlin. Obviously, the third leg of that stool,
(28:10):
if you will, is the quarterback. I don't think they
have that, but maybe they do, and if not, you'll
see how you can paper it together while you try
to find the quarterback. But if ownership will stay out
of the way and you have a legitimate head coach,
(28:32):
once you have the quarterback in place, you can instantly contend.
The Bears and Patriots are showing you that right now.
That and I've said this before, I will say it again.
If you have the right coach and the right quarterback,
(28:53):
the rebuild is somewhat instant. And if you've had the
same coaching quarterback for two years, not four years, not
six years, two years, and the team is not competing
at the very least where playoffs are the expectation, then
(29:15):
you don't have the right coach or you don't have
the right quarterback. There are no instances of awesome coach,
awesome quarterback, but it took us four years to get
it together. That flatly doesn't happen. And so the Giants
got the best coach that was truly available. And I
(29:39):
say that because I don't think Tomlin is truly available.
I think Tomlin's going to take a year off and
survey the landscape because none of these jobs are great jobs.
(30:01):
I ranked them on the TV show yesterday, but nine
to one the way I had it, let me pull
up my exact list. Number nine was the Browns because
of that ownership problem, because of the cap issues created
(30:23):
by the Watson contract, and because they don't have a quarterback.
Number eight is the Titans. To me, now, if you
love cam Ward, then that job moves up the list.
But even if you love cam Ward, they only have
one other player on the roster you could love in
(30:44):
Jeff Simmons. And ever since Amy Adams Strunk took over,
they have just been a revolving door of front offices.
They move off vrabel that it's been a disaster. Number
seven's the Dolphins, again no quarterback. They have not had
a head coach there since Don Shula, lasts longer than
(31:08):
four years, and they're in a rough cap position. The
Cardinals I put it six because I think it's a
very tough division and they don't have the quarterback. The
Falcons are an interesting one, super soft division. Have won
seven or eight games each of the last in seven
(31:31):
of the eight last years. They do have some talent
and I don't think Blank's a terrible owner, so that
you know, it makes that a decent job. I put
the Giants at four. They've got money, They've got a
d line, they might have a quarterback. I'm skeptical, but
(31:53):
that also is a I think not the hardest division.
The Raiders. I put it three purely because I think
if you believe in Mendoza, that number one pick plus
the fact that, uh, you have a ton of money
(32:16):
to spend, makes that somewhat attractive. But that to me
feels like a better job for a young, offensive minded
guy that wants to grow with Mendoza than sixty two
year old John Harbaugh. Now the flip side of that is, well,
the Raiders don't mind paying coaches. The Raiders since Art Shell,
(32:38):
which was nineteen ninety four. In the last thirty years
the old they have had two head coaches get more
than three get at least three years, Jack del Rio
and John Gruden twice, and they have had a dozen
other coaches get less in three years. So they will
(33:02):
that hamster will will spin and then the Steelers two
Ravens won. Obviously, hardball wasn't going to the Ravens. The Steelers,
I think that they were not going to hire a
coach his age, and because they want that coach to
be there for fifteen some years ideally, and so I
think the Giants are a great job for him. I
(33:23):
don't expect a snap contention, but I do think that
all of a sudden, the Giants could be a five
hundred ish team next year. I think that's a legitimate possibility.
And I want to see what Jackson Dart looks like.
(33:44):
Don't love Scataboo and Neighbors both coming off major injuries.
But this is a great day for Giants fans. Flatly,
this is probably the happiest you've been since the boat
Party playoff game against the Packers with Odell and Eli
(34:04):
at the end of ELI. And it's the best day
for your franchise since you won a Super Bowl. All Right,
let's talk a little Tomlin here, Tomanse.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Yeah, so Reid is now the longest tenured coach over
there in Kansas City. Do you think that Tomlan's potentially
waiting to take over Kansas City?
Speaker 1 (34:28):
So here's I don't think that necessarily, but I also
don't think that's crazy. So the last head coach of
the Steelers was Bill kuer. Bill Cower left after fifteen
years went to CBS and for about five consecutive coaching cycles,
(34:55):
de Monse Bill Kuer was the number one candidate and
he never left the job. He's still doing TV on CBS.
He just stayed there. I do think it's on the
board that Tomlin goes and does TV and never stops.
(35:17):
And it's like, I can make I'm not making coaching
money doing this. I mean, he was making twenty five
million dollars a year reportedly from the Steelers. But I'm
making millions and millions of dollars for two percent of
the work. I love it. So I think it's on
the board. It wouldn't be my bet, but I think
(35:38):
it's on the board that Tomlin does not coach again.
I think that's possible, okay, And because he's going to
have such a great job, he can be and because
he's young enough, he can be very choosy. So for
(35:59):
Mike Tomlin, my if I had to bet on the
next job for Mike Tomlin, my bet would be the
Philadelphia Eagles a year from now. I think that the
(36:23):
is a job that will come open in the next
few years, and that Tomlin that's a that's a great job.
So when we're thinking of it. So the reason I
don't think the Chiefs thing is a ludicrous idea is
because at some point during Patrick's career and he's going
(36:45):
to retire, and the moment that happens, that becomes one
of the greatest job openings of all time. Again assuming
when that, well, I mean, and he's older than you think,
and so I mean, Andy is in two months he
(37:10):
turned sixty eight, So you know, again, the reason I
think it's not far fetched is because or not insane,
is because I could see Tomlin staying in TV for
more than one year. Sean Payton stayed for one year
and then the Broncos traded a pick to the Saints
(37:31):
to get him. If Tomlin comes back in the next
two years, his team would have to trade do some
type of compensation with the Steelers. I don't think the Steelers,
they would throw up too many roadblocks, but I could see.
You just got to think about what are great jobs
that realistically could come open. The Packers are a very
(37:54):
good job, and it looks like Lafloor's, you know, a
little tenuous at the moment. The Eagles I expect to
come open. The Bills at some point let's see, let's
see how this year goes. And like the though, like McDermott.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
Is, is Baltimore insane? Like I know, we don't have
a coach right now, maybe we get a coach doesn't work.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Well, that's the thing. So I mean, I think Baltimore
is insane because it's open now. No, I just think
because it's open now and he's not Taeo. He's not
going there right right now. And and so the what
I was saying about McDermott is McDermott's kind of on
(38:39):
the perma warm seat, and he could end that this
year they win the Super Bowl, he'll be the coach
there for probably the rest of Allen's career, Zach Taylor
and the Bengals. The problem there is, I don't know
that that's a good job, even though Joe Burrow is
(38:59):
awesome because of ownership and so you just you look around.
But my money would be that Mike Tomlin is going
to be the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in a year.
That's where I that's where I would put my money.
(39:20):
But I don't think. I also, I think there is
a chance that in three years he's still doing TV
and he come and what pulls him away from that
is Andy Reid retiring. I think that's possible, right, I
know you got more follow up.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
Do you think this eliminates any chance of Rogers coming
back or at least at the start of the season
for next year.
Speaker 1 (39:45):
He's definitely certainly eliminates any chance of him coming back
to the Steelers certain And I don't think Roger is
gonna be a Week one starter for anybody next year.
I still think he might play again, but it would
be ye know, a mid season edition after an injury.
By the way, if you're thinking about upgrading to the
(40:06):
all new iPhone seventeen Pro, designed to be the most
powerful iPhone ever, but you're also thinking about the traffic
on your way to the store or transferring all your data,
good news. When you order a new phone online with
boost Mobile, they'll send an expert to your home. How
about that or a home or work to deliver your
brand new iPhone Pro and get you set up on
(40:28):
boost Mobile within minutes, no hassle. So I have you
get the new iPhone, It comes right to you and
a tech comes in, get all your stuff transferred, get
you set up on the network. Visit boostmobile dot com
to get started. Delivery available for select devices purchased at
boost mobile dot com. Terms of course do applied. All right,
(40:51):
it's time now for Nick's picks. Reminder all lines from
our friends at hard Rock bet demand's going to go
in order of the games go ahead.
Speaker 2 (41:03):
First off, you've got Buffalo plus one at Denver.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
Who would have thought, Yeah, listen, I think that the Bills.
I understand the Bills are down to three and it'll
be four receivers when they elevate McCole Hardman. I don't
think that's going to matter that much, and it might actually,
as long as those four guys can stay healthy slightly
(41:29):
play to their advantage because it will force them demons
to be in a bunch of twelve personnel, one running back,
two tight end personnel, and that's where the Bills are
at their best. Anyway, the bills past defense is at
the strength of their defense. I think that is going
to impact bon Knicks. I think Josh Allen is not
(41:55):
going to be impacted at all by the altitude in Denver.
Went to college and played his home games in Wyoming,
which is at an actual higher altitude, And I just
think I don't think the Broncos were actually better than
the Bills this year. I know they won fourteen games
and the Bills won won eleven games twelve. I don't
(42:18):
even know if they remember if they won eleven or twelve.
To me, I think the Bills are better, and I
think we have overstated how vulnerable the Bills are. They
have a great running back, they have a great offensive line,
they have a very good pass defense, and they have
a the best quarterback left in the playoffs. I think
(42:42):
Jacksonville is better. Jacksonville right now, I think is better
than Denver, and the Bills just beat the Jags. I
really like the Bills in this spot. And the other
piece of it is if the Bills fall down and
double digits, obviously that's a rough spot to be in,
(43:05):
but they have come back in those spots throughout this year.
They have trailed at halftime a bunch this year. They've
been an unbelievable second half team. If the Broncos fall
down double digits, I just don't think they have a
path forward, and I know they did it against Philly
early in the season. That's the only instance. This is
(43:26):
a step up in class for the Broncos, who had
the league's second easiest schedule. This is my favorite pick
of the weekend is the Bills plus one in Denver.
Bills win this game twenty seven to thirteen, and it's
(43:46):
not some close classic the Bills. The Bills are in
control of this game and win this game, and Bonnicks
makes a big mistake in it. That's my official prediction
for how the Broncos season ends.
Speaker 2 (44:00):
Next I'm there with you. San Francisco to plus at
plus seven at Seattle, all.
Speaker 1 (44:06):
Right, and so I forgot so you're you also have
Bills plus one.
Speaker 2 (44:10):
Yeah, the line had shifted. I think I had chosen.
I chose them minus one, and then yeah, I'll definitely
take them plus one two.
Speaker 1 (44:18):
Yeah, not a huge Listen the lines. The these one
point lines flip back and forth. Abit it' sound a
huge difference, obviously, but you'd rather get the one point
than give the one point. But yeah, I think the
Bills win potentially by margin. And then I am taking
the the Niners plus seven at Seattle. I also expect
(44:39):
Seattle to win. Yeah, I just And if you listened
to yesterday's show, you probably my analysis was expecting Seattle
to win so maybe you're surprised by this. This is
just a lot of points when I think Seattle is
going to be incredibly conservative from an offensive game plan standpoint,
(45:03):
because they aren't going to want to run the risk
that Darnald sees a few ghosts, makes some mistakes and
the Niners all of a sudden are in control of
the game. And I think the Niners have shown even
(45:23):
in Week eighteen with the defense as banged up as
it was, Seattle only scored thirteen points in that game.
So there's something about Robert sala And in Week one,
they held the Niners to what seventeen points in that game?
They once they lost, the Niners won seventeen thirteen, so
(45:49):
they I'm sorry they held Seattle, I said it wrong
to thirteen in both of their matchups. So I don't
think Seattle is going to be able to put up
a big number. And so twenty to fourteen, twenty one, seventeen,
maybe even thirteen to like the over under type of game.
Speaker 2 (46:15):
Say it again, I wonder what the over under is
going to be on that game.
Speaker 1 (46:18):
Well, I mean, we can find what is the total
right now? My guess?
Speaker 2 (46:23):
Oh wait, it's forty five it's forty five. Forty five, Yeah,
kind of surprises me. I'd take that.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
Feels high.
Speaker 2 (46:31):
I take the under.
Speaker 1 (46:33):
Yeah, Yeah, we don't really do totals in this on
this show, but I would take the under if it's
the game script I'm describing all of those. Forty five
is a big number for in how I see this
game going. Now. I imagine Bears Rams total is gosh three
(46:55):
and a half forty nine forty nine. Oh, that's surprising.
So I was way off on that. Maybe that's why
we don't do tolls. I guess that's probably a weather
component because it's gonna be so cold. Yeah, but I
expect there to be I think Bears Rams is gonna
be a shootout, and I think Seahawks Niners is gonna
(47:19):
be a because the Niners are gonna try to limit
possessions run the ball. But I just the Niners getting
seven and I don't think they win. I do think
they cover it. Sounds like you're with me on it.
Speaker 2 (47:36):
Yeah, I'm taking San Francisco plus the seven definitely there.
Next New England minus three versus Houston.
Speaker 1 (47:46):
New England's at home with the far, far, far better
quarterback they just faced a very, very tough defense. Houston's
is better, but still a tough defense, so they're kind
of ready for the challenge, if you will. Meanwhile, Houston's
defense just played an offense that had no plan and
(48:10):
whose quarterback was totally immobile. Drake May, on the other hand,
obviously can and will beat you with his legs. I
think this is a good game, but I'll say twenty
four twenty or twenty four to seventeen that range for
New England, and I think the Texans this year are
(48:34):
twelve to zero when they get to twenty points. I
don't think though they do get to twenty points, so
I will take New England minus the three I am.
I think they are a scary, scary team. If the
Chargers had an opportunity to clip them. When Drake had
(48:56):
his first playoff game, Jitters and the offense could do nothing.
It was shameful that the Chargers didn't have the lead
going into halftime of that game, or weren't even tied
going into halftime. Now, the Patriots, I think have their
legs underneath them. You don't love the fact that Christian
Gonzalez suffered a concussion in the last game, but Nico
(49:19):
Collins suffered a concussion two. So you know, if they
I'm more confident Nico's gonna miss the game than Gonzales.
But if they both missed the game, it kind of
cancels each other out. So I'll lay the three points
with the Pats.
Speaker 2 (49:33):
Unfortunately or fortunately, whatever you want to call it. We
are three for three right now.
Speaker 1 (49:38):
It's gonna be hard for me to catch up with
you doing it.
Speaker 2 (49:42):
Yeah. And then lastly, you have the Rams minus four
at Chicago.
Speaker 1 (49:49):
Yeah. I I just don't trust that the Bears defense
is gonna be able to slow down the Rams at all.
And I honestly think even though it's gonna be freezing cold,
and I know there's a lot of trends I'm going
against about home dogs of more than a field goal
(50:12):
and dome teams outdoors. Matt Stafford played more than a
decade in the NFC North. He played on the road
in Chicago and on the road in Green Bay every
single year. Matt Stafford has plenty of experience playing in
the cold. And there's a lot of fake news stats
going around about Stafford being like one in eight in
(50:32):
cold weather games there. It's just not accurate. I just
think the Rams defense is the Rams offense is too
good for the Bears defense. And I think losing your
starting left tackle in the wildcard round for the Bears
is a really tough spot. This was an unbelievable season
of nothing but steps in the right direction. But I
(50:55):
think it ends for the Bears this weekend. And I
think this is forty two to twenty seven Rams where
they score on like three of their first four possessions
in with touchdowns and they keep it rolling into the
second half.
Speaker 2 (51:15):
Oh, but I got Chicago plus the points here. I
think there's I'm giving them a chance to win the game.
I think they can win the game. I think that
it will at least be a close game. You think
this can be much more dominant on the Rams side.
But yeah, I'm take Chicago. There's your chance.
Speaker 1 (51:31):
Well listen, at least there's a and there's a chance
to rena make up one game. Yes, it's against you
going into the final weekend, all right, and then a
bonus pick, Demon's we have.
Speaker 2 (51:41):
A bonus pick before we get to the other Vets.
So the National Championship Game is this Monday or next Monday,
whatever we want to call it. It's Miami and Indiana,
and the line is set at Indiana minus eight and
a half and it's also at hard Rock Stadium. Who
are you taking?
Speaker 1 (51:58):
I'll take Miami plus the points, and I'll take Miami
on the money line plus two sixty.
Speaker 2 (52:06):
Oh, juice it up a little bit.
Speaker 1 (52:08):
Here is what I think people are failing to recognizing
their handicapping of this game as great. And Indiana has
been great this year. Indiana was neck and neck all
(52:30):
season long with Ohio State. They both went in to
that Big Ten championship game undefeated. It was Ohio State,
you know, led at halftime of that game. Indiana takes
the lead mid third quarter and then hangs on for
(52:51):
the win thirteen to ten. That that is obviously a great,
great win for Indiana, and Indiana during this playoff has
been utterly dominant. So why do I bring that up?
I bring it up because Miami a couple weeks later
played Ohio State and Miami beat Ohio State twenty four
(53:14):
to ten or twenty four to fourteen, pardon me, and
really controlled that entire game. So the idea that Indiana
is just in a different weight class than Miami is
right now. I don't agree with. I think that Indiana
(53:36):
has played better in this playoff than Miami has. Indiana
has just dog walked their two opponents and Miami has
not done that in any of their games. And Indiana
maybe is just an all time team. But getting eight
(53:58):
and a half points in my Miami is to me
far too many. And if it's close late, I like Indiana,
I like Miami's chances, so I'll take Miami on the
money line. Uh. I also think there are gonna be
a lot of NFL betters this weekend. Demnsey that whatever
(54:22):
bets they make on the NFL playoffs, they include Indiana
on the money line as part of a at you know,
add a little juice to my bet free money parlay,
and those tend to screw people over. You've won your
bets in the weekend, you just need the big money
line favorite to cash Monday night, and it doesn't work.
(54:45):
So I will take Miami plus the eight and a
half and Miami on the money line. Demonse, your picks
are Buffalo plus one, the Niners plus seven, New England
minus three, Chicago plus four the one we disagree with,
and Miami plus the eight and a half.
Welcome to the best of the week for What's Right
with Nick Right the best takes in moments from this
week on the show Enjoy.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Wild Card weekend ended with the Texans defeating Steelers. Steelers
offense couldn't do anything, Texans offense couldn't do anything, but
the Texans won the game. When asked about his future
after the game, Aaron Rodgers said, I'm not going to
make any emotional decisions, but at forty two years old,
do you think that this is the end of the
road for him?
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Well, I didn't think that at all going into the game,
because Rogers has been talking about how he thought he
would have one or two teams that showed interest, the
fact that he had seemed to be playing some of
his best ball at the end of the year, Steelers
made the playoffs, all of that, But Buck and Aikman
talked like they knew. The way Buck and Aikman talked
(00:51):
at the end of that game, and the way ESPN
produced the end of that game following Rogers and all
of that, it felt to me like they got a
heads up that he's planning on retireing now. If this
wasn't already the case thanks to Philip Rivers couple game cameo.
(01:14):
The long tail of Philip Rivers coming back after five
years on the couch is going to be that. Certainly
next year and maybe for the next couple after. If
any good team suffers a November or December quarterback injury,
Rogers name will be floated and maybe he would come
(01:37):
back in a setting like that. You know something the
that if next year the Rams are nine to four
and Stafford goes down, could you know, could he come
back in that spot. I also think Aaron likes the
spotlight enough that I don't think we are going to
(02:02):
get a quick resolution on this. I think he's going
to take his time. But I do think that last
night was the de facto end for Aaron Rodgers, and
I do want to take some time here to talk
(02:24):
about how I will remember and think about Rogers, because
last night's game will have no real impact on how
I think about him down the road. I did think
that you saw some things last night that were part
(02:47):
and parcel to why a player as talented and generational
as Aaron Rodgers was not considered a great leader and
was not did not win at the level that his
talent would have made you think he was going to
(03:09):
win at because there was no less than half a
dozen times last night where a play was not made
by the Steelers, or a pass was missed, or the
Texans got pressure quick pressure, and Aaron made it very
(03:33):
clear to everyone on the field, in the stadium and
at home that that was someone else's fault. A lot
of pointing, a lot of gesticulation, a lot of making
it very clear to the whole world he screwed up,
not me also, and I listen, I haven't watched the
(03:54):
All twenty two. I don't know what if the Texans
changed something in their coverage, but I do know that
I've seen Aaron do this in big spots before. One
of his guys let him down with a drop and
he simply stopped going to him DK Metcalf, which was
(04:15):
one of the reasons I thought the Steelers could win
this game, was getting DK Metcalf back. DK Metcalf was
a featured part of the game play early. He then
had a huge drop and Rogers didn't throw him another
pass for two hours, and that is Those things have
(04:38):
always been part of the Rogers experience, and his career
is so interesting because it would have seemed impossible. Demons,
you weren't. You were only twelve years old and you
were not a big football fan as a little kids,
(05:00):
But it would not have seemed believable at all in
twenty ten that Rogers would never get back to another
Super Bowl. It is not different at all from how
people thought about Mahomes after his first Super Bowl one.
(05:21):
An MVP, you know, instantly came on the scene and
was awesome. Obviously, Rogers had to sit, you know, for
three years behind far, but by his second year in
the league was considered maybe the best quarterback in football.
And if in that moment people had said Patrick's never
making another Super Bowl, it would have seemed impossible. That's
(05:44):
what it felt like for Aaron and I know the
biggest Rogers defenders, and once upon a time I was.
I don't know if I was one of the biggest
Rogers defenders, but I was certainly more sympathetic to his
cause than I've been over the last decade. There are
extenuating circumstances and some really unfortunate playoff losses that had
(06:13):
nothing to do with him. Okay, so his first ever
playoff game, demonse. They scored forty five points, and lost
in overtime. Wow, the first ever playoff game was a
fifty one forty five lost to the Arizona Cardinals. Now
the loss was on a strip sack returned for a touchdown.
(06:35):
But that you score forty five points, that should be enough. Yeah,
second year in the playoffs they win the Super Bowl.
I'm now gonna jump to the playoff losses that you
feel like he has no culpability. On twenty twelve, they
score thirty one in the Divisional round against San Francisco
(07:00):
and Colin Kaepernick score forty five and just the Packers
defense has no answer whatsoever. Twenty sixteen, the Falcons put
up forty four on the Packers defense in the NFC
(07:21):
Championship game. Feel like there's not much you can do there.
The very next year, twenty nineteen, the Niners and a
rushing attack that I think in that game they threw
the ball. Was that the game they threw the ball
eight times? Yep? The Niners threw the ball eight times
(07:42):
and scored thirty seven points to go to the Super Bowl.
Those three playoff losses, and those are all huge ones.
It's fair to say, what did you want from Aaron?
What more could he have done. I'll add one more.
(08:05):
The year they're defending their championship, they're fifteen to one.
They're at home against the New York Giants. The Giants
score thirty seven points in freezing cold and send them
home to go on to win the Super Bowl. These ones, right,
those defenses were brutal, right, right. There are some other
(08:32):
ones though, that that was not the story. And people
remember the Seattle NFC championship game, and what they remember
is the Packers were up sixteen to nothing and nineteen
to seven Demons with three minutes left in that game.
(08:55):
Up nineteen to seven with three minutes left in the game,
they end up allowing a fake field goal touchdown, They
allow uh an onside kick.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
They then don't get tough.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
They don't get the coin toss. In overtime, Russell Wilson
hits a thirty five yard pass. They go to the
Super Bowl, end up losing to Tom Brady and the Patriots.
What people don't remember so much about that game was
Rogers was awful. He had one touchdown, two picks, a
fifty six rating, and they couldn't score in the red zone.
(09:37):
The next year, they're playing a Cardinals team this is
the game where Rogers hits back to back hail mary's
to force overtime, and what they were and when I
when I say back to back hail mary's again, if
people can't visualize this situation, they are in a fourth
(10:02):
and twenty demanse on their own four yard line with
fifty five seconds left, and Rogers hits a sixty yard pass.
They then rush to the line of scrimmage, couple deep shots,
and then five seconds left on the forty one Rogers
(10:26):
hits another hail mary. He threw one hundred and one
yards of passes on that possession to Jeff Janis to
tie a playoff game. And then on the very first
possession of overtime, the Cardinals go right down the field
and score the first play off overtime. Larry Fitzgerald takes
it seventy five yards. They score the next play. But
(10:49):
in that game, prior to those two hail marys, the
Packers had fourteen points, had a passer rating in the
fifties again, had one hundred and fifty yards, one touchdown,
one pick, and then obviously people remember the very end
(11:12):
NFC Championship game against Tom Brady and Tampa Is really
bad in the first half, they dig a huge hole.
They then are down eight with two and a half
minutes left. They can't punch it in. Laflora kicks the
weird field goal, and then his final playoff game with
the Steelers, the Niners did not score an offensive touchdown,
(11:33):
but Rogers once again had a really weird game where
all he would do was target Devonte Adams and they
end up losing the game on a blocked punt touchdown
thirteen to ten, with Rogers kind of throwing away the
final possession. So we with all that said, he's a
(11:57):
four time MVP who has it's the all time record
for passer rating and as far as the all time
record for lowest interception percentage, and at times looked like
the most physically gifted player the position's ever seen. But
(12:21):
the combination of his what I would call prickly leadership
style plus it's not me, it's you when things went wrong,
(12:42):
plus not playing to an Aaron Rodgers level consistently in
the playoffs is why a guy that good is gonna
finish his career eleven and ten in the playoffs or
(13:12):
is it eleven and eleven now? Oh? Eleven? And eleven
in the playoffs because they lost yesterday and with only
the one trip to the super Bowl. If I were
doing the all time quarterback rankings, he has the talent
(13:33):
of a no doubt top five guy, but he can't.
And I understand it's become very in vogue to throw
you know a lot of people in top fives. You're
not gonna find a bigger Matt Stafford fan than me.
But the idea that Stafford is a super Bowl went
away from being top five all time quarterback is obviously,
(13:53):
on its face ludicrous. But if we're talking about the
greatest quarterbacks ever, you have Brady Mahomes manning Montana, you
can argue about the order for them. For me, John Elway,
(14:18):
and I don't know what you want to do with
the old folks, Johnny Unitas, Bart Star, Otto Graham, those guys,
but they've got to be accounted for in some degree.
I can't speak to them, but I can't pretend you
can't do an NBA Top ten and not include Russell
and Wilt. I don't know that you can do an
NF top ten quarterbacks and not include Unitis, Star and Graham.
(14:42):
So I don't know what you want to do with them.
But now we're at eight names, and then we can
start having the Steve Young, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Drew
Brees discussion. I know my colleagues are about to put
Josh Allen in there as well. It's the most talented players.
(15:04):
You see Josh Allen wild guard. We can the oh yeah,
And so I think it's fair if this is the
end for Rogers, one of the greatest players ever who underachieved.
(15:25):
There is an element of Wilt Chamberlain to Rogers in
that a uniquely talented player that up to that point
in his career we had never seen anyone quite like him,
but didn't quite win at the level that that talent
(15:50):
would have demanded, and it was because of some own
leadership and stylistic failings. So there's my Rogers piece of it.
I know you want to ask me about the Tomlin piece.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
So there's rumors about them wanting to move on from
Tomlin the Steelers at that. Do you think that they should?
Speaker 1 (16:12):
I don't think I don't think that they should, but
I would understand if they did that these playoff It's
not just that he's now tied Marvin Lewis for most
consecutive losses in the playoffs at seven. It's not just
(16:36):
that it'll now be ten years since they won a
playoff game, at a minimum, it's that they have been
wholly non competitive in these playoff games. The first one, so, well,
if we're gonna do the full streak, I guess I
(16:58):
gotta be fair. The first one was the conference championship
game to the Patriots, and again you're playing an all
time Patriots seems conference championship game, but you instantly fell
down ten to nothing. You're down thirty six to nine
with minutes left, you lose thirty six to seventeen. So
(17:21):
you get annihilated in that football game that's lost one,
lost two on this Tomlin losing streak. You're at home
with the bye, playing Blake Bortles Jacksonville Jaguars, and twenty
minutes into the game, Demanse, you're down twenty one to
(17:44):
nothing and you end up scoring a bunch of points.
You know, you cut it to seven a couple times,
but you trail the entirety of the game. You lose
forty five forty two, and they get grizzly or from there.
Lost three on this playoff losing streak. You're playing the
(18:08):
Cleveland Browns and Baker Mayfield. You are down twenty eight
to nothing in the first quarter, and you lose forty
eight to thirty seven. Game two, alright, I'm sorry. Game
(18:29):
two where we have game Game five, Game five of
the playoff losing streak. You're playing the Chiefs. You go
up seven nothing on a TJ. Watt stripsack in the
second quarter. You then find yourself down after being up
(18:53):
seven to nothing, thirty five to seven, thirty five to seven.
Game six of the playoff losing streak last year against Buffalo,
midway through the second quarter, you're down twenty one to nothing,
(19:14):
and so you lose thirty one seventeen.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
If they keep calling he has to focus on offense.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
The well, hold on, hold on, just because I got
that wrong. That wasn't the I got the year wrong
on that last one. The Bills loss. That was not
last year when you're down, that was two years ago.
Last year's loss was to the Ravens, where once again,
(19:46):
at halftime, you're down twenty one to nothing and so
and then this year was a weird one because you
were in it, but your offense could do nothing and
then you get annihilated, but in the final score. So
I would understand if Steelers fans are like, I'm I've
(20:09):
had my full here Phil here, But I still think
he is a really good coach, and I would be
scared of getting on that coaching carousel again. Now, what
were you saying, Demanday.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Oh, I just think that maybe focus on something else,
bringing somebody else to help Tomlin on the offensive side
of things. It's clear that he doesn't. That's not his
side of the ball. I think that's a huge problem.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
So here's the thing though, So I think that makes
sense in general, except for in these playoff games. Last night,
notwithstanding the defense has been getting just absolutely crushed. Yeah,
now I want to give the Texans their credit and
we'll talk more about the Texans on Thursday show. Weird
(20:59):
game because CJ was awful. CJ was awful, and it
didn't matter because that defense was that good and that
defense was that ferocious. But you saw how tough it
is to do business that way, because as great as
(21:23):
that defense was and as inept as that Steelers offense was,
that was a one point game or a four point
game deep into the game. Yeah, it felt like they
were one busted coverage away at any point from holy shit,
the Steelers are gonna steal this. I mean that game
(21:45):
seven to six entering the fourth quarter. It's ten to
six in the fourth quarter with the Steelers having the
ball before the Rankins fumble return touchdown that essentially ended
the game. That Texans defense and Demico Ryans deserve massive credit.
But if that's how that offense looked against a good
(22:10):
but not great Steelers defense in a game they had
Nico Collins for a lot of next week that defense
is gonna have to be just as good because I
don't know what that Texans ofphin is gonna be able
to do. And by the way, I want to say
some of the Nico Collins thing, Nico Collins pretty clearly
got concussed on like the third game, Yes, and they
(22:35):
they put him back out there, and I understand it's
the playoffs, and I get they put him back out
there again. This is I this is naked, reckless speculation
by me. It looked to me like he got concussed
on the first drive of the game, they checked him
for it, they put him back out there, and then
(22:58):
when he got hit again later in the game. They
it was such a bad concussion at that point, they
said he didn't know where he was. He tried to
walk back to the huddle and they had to cart
him off. That's brutal man And again, maybe it was
just coincidence that it looked like he got concussed. He didn't,
(23:20):
and then a pretty typical hit gave him one of
the worst concussions of the NFL season. But that's hard
to sell me. And the Patriots Christian Gonzalez got a concussion,
tried to go back out there, and they prevented him
from going back out there, and he went in the protocol.
(23:41):
Maybe so, maybe both those guys are missing next week.
It would be impossible for me to think Nico Collins
gonna be able to play next week. Credit to the
Texans defense. Maybe you know what demands. Maybe Caleb should
call CJ and give him some pointers on how to
get back to the lovely needs to be it. Yeah
(24:05):
he should. Today's show is brought to you by representing
sponsor hard Rock Bet. With Miami making the National Championship,
you know hard Rock Stadium will be rocking and if
you're going to the game, hard Rock Bet is giving
you a ten dollars bonus bet to get in on
the action. If you're watching the game out in Miami,
(24:28):
head to the hard Rock Cafe Miami, Duffy's North Miami Beach,
American Social Miami, and Batch Brickle. Hard Rock Bet is
dropping ten dollars bonus bets there too. You can turn
that free ten dollars bonus bet into a big win
by placing a same game parlay, or even if you're
just watching the game at home, there's still no better
(24:49):
place to bet than Natty than hard Rock Bet because
it's Florida's sportsbook and they're going crazy with promos for
this game. And if you're late to kick off, don't worry.
Hard Rock Bet has live in game betting, so you're
never too late to the action. Find a winner and
live bet between snaps and just a few easy taps.
If you haven't tried your first bet on hard Rock Bet,
(25:11):
there's still time for you to get one hundred fifty
dollars in bonus bets if you win. Just place a
five dollars bet and if it hits, you get not
only your winnings, but also an extra one hundred fifty
dollars in bonus bets. Even if your team may be
out of the playoffs, that doesn't mean you have to
sit on the sidelines between same game parlays, live betting.
I can't miss welcome off for a new chromos dropping
(25:31):
every day. Hard Rock Bet has you covered all postseason long.
That's hard Rock Bet. Download the hard rock Bet app
and make your first deposit today. Payable and bonus bets
not a cash offer offered by the Seminal Tribe of
Florida in Florida, offered by Seminal hard Rock Digital LLC.
In all other states. Must be twenty one plus and
(25:54):
physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Fannessee,
or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about
gambling and Florida, call one eight three three play wise
in Indiana. If you or someone you know as a
gambling problem and wants help, call one eight hundred and
(26:15):
nine with it. Gambling problem, Call one eight hundred Gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan,
New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
John Harball agreed to go to the Giants last night,
and a little bit before that, and shortly after our
last show, Tomlin had stepped down as the Steelers coach.
We'll talk about that in a little in a little moment,
But what do you think about Harble going over to
the Giants.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
I I don't say this often, but I totally agree
with Dan Orlovsky. This is the best thing to happen
to the Giants since they won the Super Bowl. They
sincerely there are There are are two things now, there
(27:04):
are three things that really matter in the NFL to
being a perennial contender and avoiding being a perennial laughingstock.
The first one is avoid having atrocious ownership. So the
(27:27):
Giant Stadium mates the Jets, they just have atrocious ownership
that will always be in their way. I think the
Browns have atrocious ownership that will always be in their way.
The Giants have had one of those three kind of
(27:47):
benchmarks down and they have good to very good ownership
in the Maras. The second thing you need is a legitimate,
true professional coach. They now have that for the first
time since Tom Coughlin. Obviously, the third leg of that stool,
(28:10):
if you will, is the quarterback. I don't think they
have that, but maybe they do, and if not, you'll
see how you can paper it together while you try
to find the quarterback. But if ownership will stay out
of the way and you have a legitimate head coach,
(28:32):
once you have the quarterback in place, you can instantly contend.
The Bears and Patriots are showing you that right now.
That and I've said this before, I will say it again.
If you have the right coach and the right quarterback,
(28:53):
the rebuild is somewhat instant. And if you've had the
same coaching quarterback for two years, not four years, not
six years, two years, and the team is not competing
at the very least where playoffs are the expectation, then
(29:15):
you don't have the right coach or you don't have
the right quarterback. There are no instances of awesome coach,
awesome quarterback, but it took us four years to get
it together. That flatly doesn't happen. And so the Giants
got the best coach that was truly available. And I
(29:39):
say that because I don't think Tomlin is truly available.
I think Tomlin's going to take a year off and
survey the landscape because none of these jobs are great jobs.
(30:01):
I ranked them on the TV show yesterday, but nine
to one the way I had it, let me pull
up my exact list. Number nine was the Browns because
of that ownership problem, because of the cap issues created
(30:23):
by the Watson contract, and because they don't have a quarterback.
Number eight is the Titans. To me, now, if you
love cam Ward, then that job moves up the list.
But even if you love cam Ward, they only have
one other player on the roster you could love in
(30:44):
Jeff Simmons. And ever since Amy Adams Strunk took over,
they have just been a revolving door of front offices.
They move off vrabel that it's been a disaster. Number
seven's the Dolphins, again no quarterback. They have not had
a head coach there since Don Shula, lasts longer than
(31:08):
four years, and they're in a rough cap position. The
Cardinals I put it six because I think it's a
very tough division and they don't have the quarterback. The
Falcons are an interesting one, super soft division. Have won
seven or eight games each of the last in seven
(31:31):
of the eight last years. They do have some talent
and I don't think Blank's a terrible owner, so that
you know, it makes that a decent job. I put
the Giants at four. They've got money, They've got a
d line, they might have a quarterback. I'm skeptical, but
(31:53):
that also is a I think not the hardest division.
The Raiders. I put it three purely because I think
if you believe in Mendoza, that number one pick plus
the fact that, uh, you have a ton of money
(32:16):
to spend, makes that somewhat attractive. But that to me
feels like a better job for a young, offensive minded
guy that wants to grow with Mendoza than sixty two
year old John Harbaugh. Now the flip side of that is, well,
the Raiders don't mind paying coaches. The Raiders since Art Shell,
(32:38):
which was nineteen ninety four. In the last thirty years
the old they have had two head coaches get more
than three get at least three years, Jack del Rio
and John Gruden twice, and they have had a dozen
other coaches get less in three years. So they will
(33:02):
that hamster will will spin and then the Steelers two
Ravens won. Obviously, hardball wasn't going to the Ravens. The Steelers,
I think that they were not going to hire a
coach his age, and because they want that coach to
be there for fifteen some years ideally, and so I
think the Giants are a great job for him. I
(33:23):
don't expect a snap contention, but I do think that
all of a sudden, the Giants could be a five
hundred ish team next year. I think that's a legitimate possibility.
And I want to see what Jackson Dart looks like.
(33:44):
Don't love Scataboo and Neighbors both coming off major injuries.
But this is a great day for Giants fans. Flatly,
this is probably the happiest you've been since the boat
Party playoff game against the Packers with Odell and Eli
(34:04):
at the end of ELI. And it's the best day
for your franchise since you won a Super Bowl. All Right,
let's talk a little Tomlin here, Tomanse.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Yeah, so Reid is now the longest tenured coach over
there in Kansas City. Do you think that Tomlan's potentially
waiting to take over Kansas City?
Speaker 1 (34:28):
So here's I don't think that necessarily, but I also
don't think that's crazy. So the last head coach of
the Steelers was Bill kuer. Bill Cower left after fifteen
years went to CBS and for about five consecutive coaching cycles,
(34:55):
de Monse Bill Kuer was the number one candidate and
he never left the job. He's still doing TV on CBS.
He just stayed there. I do think it's on the
board that Tomlin goes and does TV and never stops.
(35:17):
And it's like, I can make I'm not making coaching
money doing this. I mean, he was making twenty five
million dollars a year reportedly from the Steelers. But I'm
making millions and millions of dollars for two percent of
the work. I love it. So I think it's on
the board. It wouldn't be my bet, but I think
(35:38):
it's on the board that Tomlin does not coach again.
I think that's possible, okay, And because he's going to
have such a great job, he can be and because
he's young enough, he can be very choosy. So for
(35:59):
Mike Tomlin, my if I had to bet on the
next job for Mike Tomlin, my bet would be the
Philadelphia Eagles a year from now. I think that the
(36:23):
is a job that will come open in the next
few years, and that Tomlin that's a that's a great job.
So when we're thinking of it. So the reason I
don't think the Chiefs thing is a ludicrous idea is
because at some point during Patrick's career and he's going
(36:45):
to retire, and the moment that happens, that becomes one
of the greatest job openings of all time. Again assuming
when that, well, I mean, and he's older than you think,
and so I mean, Andy is in two months he
(37:10):
turned sixty eight, So you know, again, the reason I
think it's not far fetched is because or not insane,
is because I could see Tomlin staying in TV for
more than one year. Sean Payton stayed for one year
and then the Broncos traded a pick to the Saints
(37:31):
to get him. If Tomlin comes back in the next
two years, his team would have to trade do some
type of compensation with the Steelers. I don't think the Steelers,
they would throw up too many roadblocks, but I could see.
You just got to think about what are great jobs
that realistically could come open. The Packers are a very
(37:54):
good job, and it looks like Lafloor's, you know, a
little tenuous at the moment. The Eagles I expect to
come open. The Bills at some point let's see, let's
see how this year goes. And like the though, like McDermott.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
Is, is Baltimore insane? Like I know, we don't have
a coach right now, maybe we get a coach doesn't work.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Well, that's the thing. So I mean, I think Baltimore
is insane because it's open now. No, I just think
because it's open now and he's not Taeo. He's not
going there right right now. And and so the what
I was saying about McDermott is McDermott's kind of on
(38:39):
the perma warm seat, and he could end that this
year they win the Super Bowl, he'll be the coach
there for probably the rest of Allen's career, Zach Taylor
and the Bengals. The problem there is, I don't know
that that's a good job, even though Joe Burrow is
(38:59):
awesome because of ownership and so you just you look around.
But my money would be that Mike Tomlin is going
to be the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in a year.
That's where I that's where I would put my money.
(39:20):
But I don't think. I also, I think there is
a chance that in three years he's still doing TV
and he come and what pulls him away from that
is Andy Reid retiring. I think that's possible, right, I
know you got more follow up.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
Do you think this eliminates any chance of Rogers coming
back or at least at the start of the season
for next year.
Speaker 1 (39:45):
He's definitely certainly eliminates any chance of him coming back
to the Steelers certain And I don't think Roger is
gonna be a Week one starter for anybody next year.
I still think he might play again, but it would
be ye know, a mid season edition after an injury.
By the way, if you're thinking about upgrading to the
(40:06):
all new iPhone seventeen Pro, designed to be the most
powerful iPhone ever, but you're also thinking about the traffic
on your way to the store or transferring all your data,
good news. When you order a new phone online with
boost Mobile, they'll send an expert to your home. How
about that or a home or work to deliver your
brand new iPhone Pro and get you set up on
(40:28):
boost Mobile within minutes, no hassle. So I have you
get the new iPhone, It comes right to you and
a tech comes in, get all your stuff transferred, get
you set up on the network. Visit boostmobile dot com
to get started. Delivery available for select devices purchased at
boost mobile dot com. Terms of course do applied. All right,
(40:51):
it's time now for Nick's picks. Reminder all lines from
our friends at hard Rock bet demand's going to go
in order of the games go ahead.
Speaker 2 (41:03):
First off, you've got Buffalo plus one at Denver.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
Who would have thought, Yeah, listen, I think that the Bills.
I understand the Bills are down to three and it'll
be four receivers when they elevate McCole Hardman. I don't
think that's going to matter that much, and it might actually,
as long as those four guys can stay healthy slightly
(41:29):
play to their advantage because it will force them demons
to be in a bunch of twelve personnel, one running back,
two tight end personnel, and that's where the Bills are
at their best. Anyway, the bills past defense is at
the strength of their defense. I think that is going
to impact bon Knicks. I think Josh Allen is not
(41:55):
going to be impacted at all by the altitude in Denver.
Went to college and played his home games in Wyoming,
which is at an actual higher altitude, And I just
think I don't think the Broncos were actually better than
the Bills this year. I know they won fourteen games
and the Bills won won eleven games twelve. I don't
(42:18):
even know if they remember if they won eleven or twelve.
To me, I think the Bills are better, and I
think we have overstated how vulnerable the Bills are. They
have a great running back, they have a great offensive line,
they have a very good pass defense, and they have
a the best quarterback left in the playoffs. I think
(42:42):
Jacksonville is better. Jacksonville right now, I think is better
than Denver, and the Bills just beat the Jags. I
really like the Bills in this spot. And the other
piece of it is if the Bills fall down and
double digits, obviously that's a rough spot to be in,
(43:05):
but they have come back in those spots throughout this year.
They have trailed at halftime a bunch this year. They've
been an unbelievable second half team. If the Broncos fall
down double digits, I just don't think they have a
path forward, and I know they did it against Philly
early in the season. That's the only instance. This is
(43:26):
a step up in class for the Broncos, who had
the league's second easiest schedule. This is my favorite pick
of the weekend is the Bills plus one in Denver.
Bills win this game twenty seven to thirteen, and it's
(43:46):
not some close classic the Bills. The Bills are in
control of this game and win this game, and Bonnicks
makes a big mistake in it. That's my official prediction
for how the Broncos season ends.
Speaker 2 (44:00):
Next I'm there with you. San Francisco to plus at
plus seven at Seattle, all.
Speaker 1 (44:06):
Right, and so I forgot so you're you also have
Bills plus one.
Speaker 2 (44:10):
Yeah, the line had shifted. I think I had chosen.
I chose them minus one, and then yeah, I'll definitely
take them plus one two.
Speaker 1 (44:18):
Yeah, not a huge Listen the lines. The these one
point lines flip back and forth. Abit it' sound a
huge difference, obviously, but you'd rather get the one point
than give the one point. But yeah, I think the
Bills win potentially by margin. And then I am taking
the the Niners plus seven at Seattle. I also expect
(44:39):
Seattle to win. Yeah, I just And if you listened
to yesterday's show, you probably my analysis was expecting Seattle
to win so maybe you're surprised by this. This is
just a lot of points when I think Seattle is
going to be incredibly conservative from an offensive game plan standpoint,
(45:03):
because they aren't going to want to run the risk
that Darnald sees a few ghosts, makes some mistakes and
the Niners all of a sudden are in control of
the game. And I think the Niners have shown even
(45:23):
in Week eighteen with the defense as banged up as
it was, Seattle only scored thirteen points in that game.
So there's something about Robert sala And in Week one,
they held the Niners to what seventeen points in that game?
They once they lost, the Niners won seventeen thirteen, so
(45:49):
they I'm sorry they held Seattle, I said it wrong
to thirteen in both of their matchups. So I don't
think Seattle is going to be able to put up
a big number. And so twenty to fourteen, twenty one, seventeen,
maybe even thirteen to like the over under type of game.
Speaker 2 (46:15):
Say it again, I wonder what the over under is
going to be on that game.
Speaker 1 (46:18):
Well, I mean, we can find what is the total
right now? My guess?
Speaker 2 (46:23):
Oh wait, it's forty five it's forty five. Forty five, Yeah,
kind of surprises me. I'd take that.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
Feels high.
Speaker 2 (46:31):
I take the under.
Speaker 1 (46:33):
Yeah, Yeah, we don't really do totals in this on
this show, but I would take the under if it's
the game script I'm describing all of those. Forty five
is a big number for in how I see this
game going. Now. I imagine Bears Rams total is gosh three
(46:55):
and a half forty nine forty nine. Oh, that's surprising.
So I was way off on that. Maybe that's why
we don't do tolls. I guess that's probably a weather
component because it's gonna be so cold. Yeah, but I
expect there to be I think Bears Rams is gonna
be a shootout, and I think Seahawks Niners is gonna
(47:19):
be a because the Niners are gonna try to limit
possessions run the ball. But I just the Niners getting
seven and I don't think they win. I do think
they cover it. Sounds like you're with me on it.
Speaker 2 (47:36):
Yeah, I'm taking San Francisco plus the seven definitely there.
Next New England minus three versus Houston.
Speaker 1 (47:46):
New England's at home with the far, far, far better
quarterback they just faced a very, very tough defense. Houston's
is better, but still a tough defense, so they're kind
of ready for the challenge, if you will. Meanwhile, Houston's
defense just played an offense that had no plan and
(48:10):
whose quarterback was totally immobile. Drake May, on the other hand,
obviously can and will beat you with his legs. I
think this is a good game, but I'll say twenty
four twenty or twenty four to seventeen that range for
New England, and I think the Texans this year are
(48:34):
twelve to zero when they get to twenty points. I
don't think though they do get to twenty points, so
I will take New England minus the three I am.
I think they are a scary, scary team. If the
Chargers had an opportunity to clip them. When Drake had
(48:56):
his first playoff game, Jitters and the offense could do nothing.
It was shameful that the Chargers didn't have the lead
going into halftime of that game, or weren't even tied
going into halftime. Now, the Patriots, I think have their
legs underneath them. You don't love the fact that Christian
Gonzalez suffered a concussion in the last game, but Nico
(49:19):
Collins suffered a concussion two. So you know, if they
I'm more confident Nico's gonna miss the game than Gonzales.
But if they both missed the game, it kind of
cancels each other out. So I'll lay the three points
with the Pats.
Speaker 2 (49:33):
Unfortunately or fortunately, whatever you want to call it. We
are three for three right now.
Speaker 1 (49:38):
It's gonna be hard for me to catch up with
you doing it.
Speaker 2 (49:42):
Yeah. And then lastly, you have the Rams minus four
at Chicago.
Speaker 1 (49:49):
Yeah. I I just don't trust that the Bears defense
is gonna be able to slow down the Rams at all.
And I honestly think even though it's gonna be freezing cold,
and I know there's a lot of trends I'm going
against about home dogs of more than a field goal
(50:12):
and dome teams outdoors. Matt Stafford played more than a
decade in the NFC North. He played on the road
in Chicago and on the road in Green Bay every
single year. Matt Stafford has plenty of experience playing in
the cold. And there's a lot of fake news stats
going around about Stafford being like one in eight in
(50:32):
cold weather games there. It's just not accurate. I just
think the Rams defense is the Rams offense is too
good for the Bears defense. And I think losing your
starting left tackle in the wildcard round for the Bears
is a really tough spot. This was an unbelievable season
of nothing but steps in the right direction. But I
(50:55):
think it ends for the Bears this weekend. And I
think this is forty two to twenty seven Rams where
they score on like three of their first four possessions
in with touchdowns and they keep it rolling into the
second half.
Speaker 2 (51:15):
Oh, but I got Chicago plus the points here. I
think there's I'm giving them a chance to win the game.
I think they can win the game. I think that
it will at least be a close game. You think
this can be much more dominant on the Rams side.
But yeah, I'm take Chicago. There's your chance.
Speaker 1 (51:31):
Well listen, at least there's a and there's a chance
to rena make up one game. Yes, it's against you
going into the final weekend, all right, and then a
bonus pick, Demon's we have.
Speaker 2 (51:41):
A bonus pick before we get to the other Vets.
So the National Championship Game is this Monday or next Monday,
whatever we want to call it. It's Miami and Indiana,
and the line is set at Indiana minus eight and
a half and it's also at hard Rock Stadium. Who
are you taking?
Speaker 1 (51:58):
I'll take Miami plus the points, and I'll take Miami
on the money line plus two sixty.
Speaker 2 (52:06):
Oh, juice it up a little bit.
Speaker 1 (52:08):
Here is what I think people are failing to recognizing
their handicapping of this game as great. And Indiana has
been great this year. Indiana was neck and neck all
(52:30):
season long with Ohio State. They both went in to
that Big Ten championship game undefeated. It was Ohio State,
you know, led at halftime of that game. Indiana takes
the lead mid third quarter and then hangs on for
(52:51):
the win thirteen to ten. That that is obviously a great,
great win for Indiana, and Indiana during this playoff has
been utterly dominant. So why do I bring that up?
I bring it up because Miami a couple weeks later
played Ohio State and Miami beat Ohio State twenty four
(53:14):
to ten or twenty four to fourteen, pardon me, and
really controlled that entire game. So the idea that Indiana
is just in a different weight class than Miami is
right now. I don't agree with. I think that Indiana
(53:36):
has played better in this playoff than Miami has. Indiana
has just dog walked their two opponents and Miami has
not done that in any of their games. And Indiana
maybe is just an all time team. But getting eight
(53:58):
and a half points in my Miami is to me
far too many. And if it's close late, I like Indiana,
I like Miami's chances, so I'll take Miami on the
money line. Uh. I also think there are gonna be
a lot of NFL betters this weekend. Demnsey that whatever
(54:22):
bets they make on the NFL playoffs, they include Indiana
on the money line as part of a at you know,
add a little juice to my bet free money parlay,
and those tend to screw people over. You've won your
bets in the weekend, you just need the big money
line favorite to cash Monday night, and it doesn't work.
(54:45):
So I will take Miami plus the eight and a
half and Miami on the money line. Demonse, your picks
are Buffalo plus one, the Niners plus seven, New England
minus three, Chicago plus four the one we disagree with,
and Miami plus the eight and a half.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
Two Guys, Five Rings: Matt, Bowen & The Olympics
Two Guys (Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers). Five Rings (you know, from the Olympics logo). One essential podcast for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Bowen Yang (SNL, Wicked) and Matt Rogers (Palm Royale, No Good Deed) of Las Culturistas are back for a second season of Two Guys, Five Rings, a collaboration with NBC Sports and iHeartRadio. In this 15-episode event, Bowen and Matt discuss the top storylines, obsess over Italian culture, and find out what really goes on in the Olympic Village.
iHeartOlympics: The Latest
Listen to the latest news from the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Milan Cortina Winter Olympics
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina are here and have everyone talking. iHeartPodcasts is buzzing with content in honor of the XXV Winter Olympics We’re bringing you episodes from a variety of iHeartPodcast shows to help you keep up with the action. Follow Milan Cortina Winter Olympics so you don’t miss any coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics, and if you like what you hear, be sure to follow each Podcast in the feed for more great content from iHeartPodcasts.