September 11, 2026 • 12 mins
NFL on Prime’s James Palmer joined The Dan Mathews Show to share the key matchups he’ll be watching closely in the Texans’ challenging season opener against Josh Allen and the Bills. Palmer laid out what he expects from Houston’s new-look offense, shared his expectations for Allen and Buffalo’s attack, and broke down the matchups that could ultimately determine which team comes out on top.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
James Palmer from NFL on prime bleacher report as well.
Also does the podcast with Steve Weiss JP. Always great
to catch up with you, man. I mean, I guess
we get a hell of a one right out of
the gate for the Texans, a team that you're very
familiar with. How do you look forward to this game
on Sunday and how do you, how do you see
it playing out?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah. I mean, hell of a test out of the gate, right?
You know, it's, it's a, it's a team that's given
Josh Allen some, some fits and let's be honest, his
defense gives everybody fits. Doesn't matter who you are. I
was at those joint, that joint practice in Carolina with
my buddy, Steve Smith watching, you know, practice between the
two fields. And I found myself every time Bryce young
was dropping back and something was going wrong, whether it
(00:42):
was an interception, maybe by Kalen Bullock, or I think
he had two or it's a sack. And I'm like,
counting every time going, they have 11, right? They don't
have 12. They don't have 13 on the field with
this Texas defense. Like that's how swarming they have become
and how good this group has a chance to be.
And so it is, it is a group that I
(01:03):
think we all expect to take another step. And they're
going against an offense that I think is going to
be very different than we've seen. I think DJ Moore
changes the math. for the way this bill's offense operates.
So I'm really excited to see how they operate with DJ.
They now have a threat outside the numbers. A number
of teams that I've always talked to just always said,
we don't have to worry about anything outside with Buffalo.
(01:25):
Like it's Khalil Shakir. It's both tight ends in between
the numbers. It's James Cook in between the numbers. If
he is in the passing game, like everything's there, we
can clog the bill. And now DJ Moore kind of
spreads you out a little bit more from everything I've gathered. Dan, honestly,
it's been really, really good between him and Josh Allen.
Josh actually has somebody out there he can trust. So
(01:46):
I do think we're going to have a little bit
of a different Bills offense than we've seen maybe since
Diggs was there, in all honesty. And so I do
think they're better. But man, I'm really excited. You know,
everybody wants to watch, you know, what a lot of
people think is the player in football and Josh Allen
go against what I think it's almost universal at this point,
the best defense in football. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
And we'll get to the Texan side of it here
in just a second, but I had a guest on
from Buffalo earlier and I'm kind of curious to get
your thoughts on this too, James of like, it seems
like Josh Allen has kind of been able to escape the, Oh,
he can't win this. He can't do that kind of
conversation in the past. But like, if he doesn't get
through this season of reaching the AFC or maybe even
the super bowl, do those conversations start to kind of
(02:28):
ratchet up nationally with him?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I think it depends on how it goes. I mean, obviously,
I think, you know, he would be the first to
admit he didn't play good enough against Denver. I was
at that game. I was in the room when you
could see that the emotions had gotten to him and,
you know, the tears coming down his face, you know,
at that podium. I think the reason that we have
this disbelief with Josh is, and I've been to almost
every one of these playoff games he's played in. um,
(02:54):
it's oftentimes not his fault. It really isn't like he
usually plays really, really well in a lot of those games.
And so I do think that's why we have kind
of that feeling with him is like, okay, he, he,
he has put the team on his shoulders. Oftentimes the
way they've been built, he's had to do that. And
he's had to play like Superman. And oftentimes he does
(03:15):
find a way to do it, but then his kryptonite
is What we believe is maybe the best quarterback we've
seen since Brady, and that's Patrick Mahomes. That's where most
of his losses and big games have come about. And
most people also said that the Chiefs were just a
better organization put together from coaching to complexity to the
defense to everything. And that's where Josh has come up short. Now,
(03:38):
if there's a, you know, a playoff run that falls
short this year. And again, it's, he turns the football
over a number of times in that game. I do
think maybe it does start to change a little bit and, and,
you know, I, whether that's fair or not, we'll see,
but I do think the pressure that's on him and
Joe Brady and maybe, you know, Tara Pagula as well,
(04:00):
the owner, you know, You've made a big change, and
you've been right there for a while here. You're expecting
now to get above what has been sustained success, honestly.
And I think there's more pressure in Buffalo than people realize.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Again, he's James Palmer, insider for NFL on Prime, co-host
of The 89 Show with Steve Smith Sr., and also...
NFL Insider with Bleacher Report joining us here on the
Dan Matthews Show Sports Talk 790. You mentioned that Texans defense,
and I think one of the most intriguing additions they
made this offseason was going out and getting Reed Blankenship.
What does he add to that already very stellar group?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
You know, Reid played in a really, really good secondary, obviously,
that was coached, let's be honest, really, really well. I mean,
Christian Parker ends up, you know, coaching that group the
last couple of years for Vic Fangio, and Vic thinks
the absolute world of him. He goes to Dallas and
blows their doors off in his interview and is now
the new defensive coordinator in Dallas. And in my opinion,
(05:01):
and a lot of people around the league, is a
rocket ship to being a head coach. And so I
say that as in he was coached extremely well. He's very,
very bright. He allows a secondary that can take chances
at times, not be burnt by taking chances. You can
jump routes. Lassiter can jump things. take an extra chance
(05:24):
on something knowing there's, I don't want to say a
safety net, but a guy who just plays really, really
intelligently in the middle of the field. And, and I
do think there's a lot of value to that. I
think Kalen gives a little bit of that because of
the way he kind of plays over the top and
lurks with some things and, and then allows it. Now,
I think you allow it to go even a step further.
I think communication when you have a defense like this
(05:46):
down the back, down the spine, as some people call
it is really, really important. I think his intelligence allows
you to be able to go and do that. And
so what you need is you need players, you need playmakers.
They have tons of them, but also you also need
guys that, that can be a coach on the field
and understand the scheme and understand the way it's put together.
(06:07):
I think that's a glue guy oftentimes. And in those guys,
those guys usually let your star shine.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
And then, as you mentioned, I mean, you and Steve
Smith Sr. out at the Texans and Carolina Panthers joint practice,
you got a pretty good look at this offensive line.
What did you think? Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
It's improved. It really is. I mean, they got some
glass eaters in there now. I do think that is
a big difference. I think what has been kind of
the issue, and I've talked to some people about this,
is if you have an offensive line that is improved
and you have guys that you can trust, but maybe
there's a weak link or a weak link or two
(06:45):
on your line, you know how to fix those issues, right?
You know how to coach and scheme around them. Like, okay,
this Let's just say, for example, you know, our right
tackle is struggling right now. So let's make sure some
of the things we use formationally and schematically, you know,
assist that. And CJ knows where, you know, maybe that
pressure and that breakdown can come from. He's had to
(07:05):
deal with, like, the ball snapped and he's not sure
who's going to miss their assignment. He wasn't sure who
was going to blow, you know, their blocking assignment or
somebody's going to get beat quickly. Like, you have no
idea what that does for a quarterback that every time
they're getting the football, they're going, I don't know. who's
going to wreck this play in front of me. So
I got to keep my eye on all five of them.
That's not the case anymore. And I think there's a
(07:27):
lot better cohesion in that group up front. They definitely,
you know, have been, they're battle tested from camp now. Like,
let's be honest. Like that's a group that really has
had obviously a better test than maybe anybody, maybe Denver.
I don't know. I'm trying to think who, who, who
went through camp repeatedly with a defensive line in front
of them like that. I do think that now there's
(07:48):
a better understanding of how this is going to operate
up front. And I do think they got a better personality.
And I do know CJ really, really likes this group.
Get you out the door on this one.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Again, James Palmer, NFL on prime bleacher report, the 89
show with Steve Smith senior joining us here for a
few minutes on the Dan Matthews show sports talk seven 90,
one for the AFC, one from the NFC, those two
teams who are people not talking enough about heading into
this season.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
And I, you know, I've, I've gotten that asked a
couple of times the last week, it's been prepared for
week one and there's so much parity in the NFL.
that it's hard to have a sleeper, right? Like, there's just,
it really is. To have a team come out of
nowhere is really, really hard. It really is. I don't
think we're talking about the Ravens enough. I really don't. Like,
that was my Super Bowl pick a year ago, in
(08:40):
all honesty. And... Lamar Jackson is still one of the
best players in this league, still one of the hardest
players to, to defend and scheme for. And it's just,
he breaks the math repeatedly for what you want to do.
I have heard unbelievable things about Declan Doyle. Like, I mean,
I know he's a young guy and he's been with
Ben Johnson. He's been with Sean Payton. He is a,
(09:02):
a unbelievable teacher. And from the early indications, Lamar has
bought in full tilt with it. And I'll be honest,
their new head coach, maybe just a change of the
voice of the energy with Jesse mentor. Like the people
I talked to with the chargers were like, he walks
into a room and it's a superstar in the making.
(09:22):
Like it is a guy who just owns the entire room.
So this was not a bad team. The injuries obviously
hit them bad. You know, some things went the wrong way.
Does Baltimore just come back out with a new voice
and a new offensive philosophy and play great? Every year
that Lamar Jackson had a new offensive coordinator, he's won
(09:43):
the MVP. So maybe this is the third time, and
the third time he wins MVP. That would be the
one that I think nobody's really talking about in the AFC.
In the NFC, I don't know why nobody's talking about Detroit.
Like I really don't like they got Buffalo week two.
That's our game in week two here. I think it's
(10:04):
a really, really good team. And then by injuries on
the defensive side of the ball, I do think Drew
Petsik was a good addition on the offensive side of
the ball. They got a lot of really good offensive
minds in there from David Shaw to Mike Kapka to
obviously Dan Campbell. And I just, I don't know why
nobody's talking about about Detroit. Those would be the two
teams that I think deserve more credit that missed the
(10:26):
postseason last year that could really make a run this year.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Now I think that with you and Herbie, it's the
most Buckeyes on TV per capita of any broadcast out there.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
What do you guys think? What do you guys think
this weekend or night?
Speaker 1 (10:41):
What are we going with? Yeah. So I was actually
going to, you know, the, the postscript there, ask you
that we, you know, because I mean, I know who,
who you're going for, but I just, I, I think
that Texas has made the right improvements. I'm, I'm a
believer in what Sarkeesian's built this year. I think they
do get a bounce back tomorrow night.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Yeah, listen, I was actually just talking to my dad
about this before we jumped on, who's just as big
a Buckeye fan as I am, and we were going
over the game. I was just like, listen, I just
hope we don't think we're going to get the same
player that we faced at the beginning of last year,
that players don't think that they're getting the same Arch
Manning that they faced at the beginning of last year,
because that's just certainly not the case anymore. And I
just really think Sark and his group are going to
make sure that Jeremiah Smith doesn't beat them. I believe
(11:22):
he's the best player in college football. He could have
been in the NFL as a senior in high school.
That's literally how good people think he is. They're just
going to make sure Jeremiah Smith doesn't beat him. And
if somebody else steps up, There's not a Cardinal Tate
on that roster right now at Ohio State. Who else
steps up to try to go out and beat Texas?
I think it's going to be a blast. I love
that we have games like this this early in the season.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
September, it's the thing that cures all. There's no question
about it. He's James Palmer again, as you heard him mentioned,
NFL on Prime, and they've got the Lions and Bills
coming up next Thursday night also. You find his work
with Bleacher Report and on the 89 Show with Steve
Smith Sr. But, JP, I know this is always a
very busy time of the year. We always appreciate the
(12:04):
chance to catch up with you, and I'm sure sometime
later on this season we'll be bothering you.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah, hit me up, Danny. You got it.
James Palmer from NFL on prime bleacher report as well.
Also does the podcast with Steve Weiss JP. Always great
to catch up with you, man. I mean, I guess
we get a hell of a one right out of
the gate for the Texans, a team that you're very
familiar with. How do you look forward to this game
on Sunday and how do you, how do you see
it playing out?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah. I mean, hell of a test out of the gate, right?
You know, it's, it's a, it's a team that's given
Josh Allen some, some fits and let's be honest, his
defense gives everybody fits. Doesn't matter who you are. I
was at those joint, that joint practice in Carolina with
my buddy, Steve Smith watching, you know, practice between the
two fields. And I found myself every time Bryce young
was dropping back and something was going wrong, whether it
(00:42):
was an interception, maybe by Kalen Bullock, or I think
he had two or it's a sack. And I'm like,
counting every time going, they have 11, right? They don't
have 12. They don't have 13 on the field with
this Texas defense. Like that's how swarming they have become
and how good this group has a chance to be.
And so it is, it is a group that I
(01:03):
think we all expect to take another step. And they're
going against an offense that I think is going to
be very different than we've seen. I think DJ Moore
changes the math. for the way this bill's offense operates.
So I'm really excited to see how they operate with DJ.
They now have a threat outside the numbers. A number
of teams that I've always talked to just always said,
we don't have to worry about anything outside with Buffalo.
(01:25):
Like it's Khalil Shakir. It's both tight ends in between
the numbers. It's James Cook in between the numbers. If
he is in the passing game, like everything's there, we
can clog the bill. And now DJ Moore kind of
spreads you out a little bit more from everything I've gathered. Dan, honestly,
it's been really, really good between him and Josh Allen.
Josh actually has somebody out there he can trust. So
(01:46):
I do think we're going to have a little bit
of a different Bills offense than we've seen maybe since
Diggs was there, in all honesty. And so I do
think they're better. But man, I'm really excited. You know,
everybody wants to watch, you know, what a lot of
people think is the player in football and Josh Allen
go against what I think it's almost universal at this point,
the best defense in football. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
And we'll get to the Texan side of it here
in just a second, but I had a guest on
from Buffalo earlier and I'm kind of curious to get
your thoughts on this too, James of like, it seems
like Josh Allen has kind of been able to escape the, Oh,
he can't win this. He can't do that kind of
conversation in the past. But like, if he doesn't get
through this season of reaching the AFC or maybe even
the super bowl, do those conversations start to kind of
(02:28):
ratchet up nationally with him?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I think it depends on how it goes. I mean, obviously,
I think, you know, he would be the first to
admit he didn't play good enough against Denver. I was
at that game. I was in the room when you
could see that the emotions had gotten to him and,
you know, the tears coming down his face, you know,
at that podium. I think the reason that we have
this disbelief with Josh is, and I've been to almost
every one of these playoff games he's played in. um,
(02:54):
it's oftentimes not his fault. It really isn't like he
usually plays really, really well in a lot of those games.
And so I do think that's why we have kind
of that feeling with him is like, okay, he, he,
he has put the team on his shoulders. Oftentimes the
way they've been built, he's had to do that. And
he's had to play like Superman. And oftentimes he does
(03:15):
find a way to do it, but then his kryptonite
is What we believe is maybe the best quarterback we've
seen since Brady, and that's Patrick Mahomes. That's where most
of his losses and big games have come about. And
most people also said that the Chiefs were just a
better organization put together from coaching to complexity to the
defense to everything. And that's where Josh has come up short. Now,
(03:38):
if there's a, you know, a playoff run that falls
short this year. And again, it's, he turns the football
over a number of times in that game. I do
think maybe it does start to change a little bit and, and,
you know, I, whether that's fair or not, we'll see,
but I do think the pressure that's on him and
Joe Brady and maybe, you know, Tara Pagula as well,
(04:00):
the owner, you know, You've made a big change, and
you've been right there for a while here. You're expecting
now to get above what has been sustained success, honestly.
And I think there's more pressure in Buffalo than people realize.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Again, he's James Palmer, insider for NFL on Prime, co-host
of The 89 Show with Steve Smith Sr., and also...
NFL Insider with Bleacher Report joining us here on the
Dan Matthews Show Sports Talk 790. You mentioned that Texans defense,
and I think one of the most intriguing additions they
made this offseason was going out and getting Reed Blankenship.
What does he add to that already very stellar group?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
You know, Reid played in a really, really good secondary, obviously,
that was coached, let's be honest, really, really well. I mean,
Christian Parker ends up, you know, coaching that group the
last couple of years for Vic Fangio, and Vic thinks
the absolute world of him. He goes to Dallas and
blows their doors off in his interview and is now
the new defensive coordinator in Dallas. And in my opinion,
(05:01):
and a lot of people around the league, is a
rocket ship to being a head coach. And so I
say that as in he was coached extremely well. He's very,
very bright. He allows a secondary that can take chances
at times, not be burnt by taking chances. You can
jump routes. Lassiter can jump things. take an extra chance
(05:24):
on something knowing there's, I don't want to say a
safety net, but a guy who just plays really, really
intelligently in the middle of the field. And, and I
do think there's a lot of value to that. I
think Kalen gives a little bit of that because of
the way he kind of plays over the top and
lurks with some things and, and then allows it. Now,
I think you allow it to go even a step further.
I think communication when you have a defense like this
(05:46):
down the back, down the spine, as some people call
it is really, really important. I think his intelligence allows
you to be able to go and do that. And
so what you need is you need players, you need playmakers.
They have tons of them, but also you also need
guys that, that can be a coach on the field
and understand the scheme and understand the way it's put together.
(06:07):
I think that's a glue guy oftentimes. And in those guys,
those guys usually let your star shine.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
And then, as you mentioned, I mean, you and Steve
Smith Sr. out at the Texans and Carolina Panthers joint practice,
you got a pretty good look at this offensive line.
What did you think? Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
It's improved. It really is. I mean, they got some
glass eaters in there now. I do think that is
a big difference. I think what has been kind of
the issue, and I've talked to some people about this,
is if you have an offensive line that is improved
and you have guys that you can trust, but maybe
there's a weak link or a weak link or two
(06:45):
on your line, you know how to fix those issues, right?
You know how to coach and scheme around them. Like, okay,
this Let's just say, for example, you know, our right
tackle is struggling right now. So let's make sure some
of the things we use formationally and schematically, you know,
assist that. And CJ knows where, you know, maybe that
pressure and that breakdown can come from. He's had to
(07:05):
deal with, like, the ball snapped and he's not sure
who's going to miss their assignment. He wasn't sure who
was going to blow, you know, their blocking assignment or
somebody's going to get beat quickly. Like, you have no
idea what that does for a quarterback that every time
they're getting the football, they're going, I don't know. who's
going to wreck this play in front of me. So
I got to keep my eye on all five of them.
That's not the case anymore. And I think there's a
(07:27):
lot better cohesion in that group up front. They definitely,
you know, have been, they're battle tested from camp now. Like,
let's be honest. Like that's a group that really has
had obviously a better test than maybe anybody, maybe Denver.
I don't know. I'm trying to think who, who, who
went through camp repeatedly with a defensive line in front
of them like that. I do think that now there's
(07:48):
a better understanding of how this is going to operate
up front. And I do think they got a better personality.
And I do know CJ really, really likes this group.
Get you out the door on this one.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Again, James Palmer, NFL on prime bleacher report, the 89
show with Steve Smith senior joining us here for a
few minutes on the Dan Matthews show sports talk seven 90,
one for the AFC, one from the NFC, those two
teams who are people not talking enough about heading into
this season.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
And I, you know, I've, I've gotten that asked a
couple of times the last week, it's been prepared for
week one and there's so much parity in the NFL.
that it's hard to have a sleeper, right? Like, there's just,
it really is. To have a team come out of
nowhere is really, really hard. It really is. I don't
think we're talking about the Ravens enough. I really don't. Like,
that was my Super Bowl pick a year ago, in
(08:40):
all honesty. And... Lamar Jackson is still one of the
best players in this league, still one of the hardest
players to, to defend and scheme for. And it's just,
he breaks the math repeatedly for what you want to do.
I have heard unbelievable things about Declan Doyle. Like, I mean,
I know he's a young guy and he's been with
Ben Johnson. He's been with Sean Payton. He is a,
(09:02):
a unbelievable teacher. And from the early indications, Lamar has
bought in full tilt with it. And I'll be honest,
their new head coach, maybe just a change of the
voice of the energy with Jesse mentor. Like the people
I talked to with the chargers were like, he walks
into a room and it's a superstar in the making.
(09:22):
Like it is a guy who just owns the entire room.
So this was not a bad team. The injuries obviously
hit them bad. You know, some things went the wrong way.
Does Baltimore just come back out with a new voice
and a new offensive philosophy and play great? Every year
that Lamar Jackson had a new offensive coordinator, he's won
(09:43):
the MVP. So maybe this is the third time, and
the third time he wins MVP. That would be the
one that I think nobody's really talking about in the AFC.
In the NFC, I don't know why nobody's talking about Detroit.
Like I really don't like they got Buffalo week two.
That's our game in week two here. I think it's
(10:04):
a really, really good team. And then by injuries on
the defensive side of the ball, I do think Drew
Petsik was a good addition on the offensive side of
the ball. They got a lot of really good offensive
minds in there from David Shaw to Mike Kapka to
obviously Dan Campbell. And I just, I don't know why
nobody's talking about about Detroit. Those would be the two
teams that I think deserve more credit that missed the
(10:26):
postseason last year that could really make a run this year.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Now I think that with you and Herbie, it's the
most Buckeyes on TV per capita of any broadcast out there.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
What do you guys think? What do you guys think
this weekend or night?
Speaker 1 (10:41):
What are we going with? Yeah. So I was actually
going to, you know, the, the postscript there, ask you
that we, you know, because I mean, I know who,
who you're going for, but I just, I, I think
that Texas has made the right improvements. I'm, I'm a
believer in what Sarkeesian's built this year. I think they
do get a bounce back tomorrow night.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Yeah, listen, I was actually just talking to my dad
about this before we jumped on, who's just as big
a Buckeye fan as I am, and we were going
over the game. I was just like, listen, I just
hope we don't think we're going to get the same
player that we faced at the beginning of last year,
that players don't think that they're getting the same Arch
Manning that they faced at the beginning of last year,
because that's just certainly not the case anymore. And I
just really think Sark and his group are going to
make sure that Jeremiah Smith doesn't beat them. I believe
(11:22):
he's the best player in college football. He could have
been in the NFL as a senior in high school.
That's literally how good people think he is. They're just
going to make sure Jeremiah Smith doesn't beat him. And
if somebody else steps up, There's not a Cardinal Tate
on that roster right now at Ohio State. Who else
steps up to try to go out and beat Texas?
I think it's going to be a blast. I love
that we have games like this this early in the season.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
September, it's the thing that cures all. There's no question
about it. He's James Palmer again, as you heard him mentioned,
NFL on Prime, and they've got the Lions and Bills
coming up next Thursday night also. You find his work
with Bleacher Report and on the 89 Show with Steve
Smith Sr. But, JP, I know this is always a
very busy time of the year. We always appreciate the
(12:04):
chance to catch up with you, and I'm sure sometime
later on this season we'll be bothering you.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah, hit me up, Danny. You got it.
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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.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.