October 2, 2025 • 46 mins
King and Starks evaluate league power rankings and preview the AFC heading into the weekend focusing on the marque matchups.
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):
If you were able to provide the support, care, and
dedication that allow children to thrive, you can be an
adoptive parent. Three Rivers Adoption Council is a nonprofit United
Way agency committed to working with families to help make
the adoptive process easier. If you have a room in
your heart, it's worth your time to find out more.
Contact the Three Rivers Adoption Council at four one two
four seven one eight seven two to two. Because every
child needs a family.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
This is in the Locker Room with Kingon Starks on
Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your neighborhood Forward Store. The
F one point fifty is the official truck of the
Pittsburgh Steelers and by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop
dot Steelers dot com.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
A keep it going optimis you know it's a bye week.
We don't we don't need you to stop by. Just
keep on, keep on truck, and Bud, hopefully you go
somewhere nice and warm and your tires don't shred and
everything else, and we'll see you next week. Bud, that
(01:08):
was thanks for stopping by. Thanks for blowing the horn.
I know you never stopped for us. But we know
you're busy, but we know you're thinking about us as well.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Thank you. Optimis so uh, I never I never get
tired of Optimus and and the bell lap. We get
the bell lap coming up, not just yet, because we
we have plenty still to go. So Max, we have
an a SC preview, and we have the the NFL
dot Com rankings, and I thought maybe we'd go with
(01:37):
the NFL dot Com rankings first if that works for you. Uh,
And you know, they're a little bit different from the athletics,
especially as it relates to where the Steelers sit. So uh,
let's let's run through that, okay, and then and then
we'll dig into the AFC and what's going on this
weekend and the injuries and and how things are are
(02:00):
going to be affected and some of the key games
we're looking forward to as well. I don't think there's
any question about the top two teams right uh, Philadelphia
in the AFS, in the NFC, Uh, Buffalo is uh
the you know four and oh team here in the
a f C. You know, I just I don't. I
(02:23):
don't see how you can doubt that. And by the way, UH,
just real quick for for people that you know, sort
of gripe about, uh, the Steelers getting themselves in so
many close games and and you know, maybe that not
being a good sign. You know, the the Saints had
(02:45):
a chance to beat the Bills this past week, They
had a lot of opportunities to win that game, and
they're winless. Uh it's just then, now, look we'd all
like a few more games, clearly. You know, when you
have a chance to blow out in New England, you know,
put another score up on the board and and take
control of that game and win going away. You have
(03:06):
the same opportunity against the Vikings, win that game going away,
come up with a stop late in the game, and
that thing is just over a heck, maybe even punch
in another score to make it look lopsided. Regardless, I
just wanted to point that out, that that that this
happens a lot where even good teams. When you go
back to the the the Seattle game, couple plays turned
(03:29):
that right that and and the Steelers didn't make them
this time. But anyway, getting back to after that digression,
no complaints there, right, Eagles won Bills.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
To Yeah, yeah, okay, nothing there, Like I said, until
you beat the champ, right, you can't beat the champ.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Yeah, and this is a little different than yesterday. So
that's why we're going through. Yesterday we went through the
athletics rankings. So now we're gonna go. Let me give
you the next three because there is a huge difference here.
If I recall correctly, and I'd like to think I do.
A Lion's number three, okay, sure, Rams number four. Interesting?
(04:15):
You know, the Lions are the same as they were.
The Rams are up two spots. They just beat the Colts.
They're three and one. They're playing tonight on Thursday Night football.
I don't have any problem with that, do you.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Uh you said the Colts are number five?
Speaker 4 (04:34):
No? No, no, no, I'm saying the Rams because they
beat the Colts are four.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Lions. Yeah, I'm okay with that. Okay with that, I
get it. So here's the one.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Here's the one that surprises me a lot. They have
the Seattle Seahawks as fifth.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
No okay, help, no, no, nope, not from what I saw,
And I get it. They beat us, but not number
five best team in the league.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
No, okay. Uh So, And while I do this, so
you're saying that there are four NFC teams ahead of
the second best AFC team, right now, that's that's that's
what you're telling me right now, Yeah, it is, you know, No, no,
(05:32):
you're not buying it.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Nope, nope, nope, doopopopopp. Now maybe it might change, yeah,
because Seattle is not better than Denver. Seattle is not
better than the Chargers. Seattle is not better than uh
who else am I I'm missing here.
Speaker 5 (05:53):
I'll just go with those two.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
So just to get compare, just to compare, the Athletic
had them twelfth. That's the difference. NFL dot Com has
him fifth, Athletic has him twelfth. Yep, that's it.
Speaker 5 (06:13):
Towards where the Athletic has.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
That is a wide gap. Now the green Bay Packers,
they're sixth two one and one. Green Bay Packers sixth
and again, it wasn't that long ago, a couple of
weeks ago. My guess is that they were number one
or two, probably probably number two behind or three.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
Yeah, nobody was. Nobody was usurping Philly.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
No, no, Philly was gonna be number one. Maybe Buffalo
is too. But you know, green Bay had some impressive
early victories. You know, they demolished the Lions in Week one.
Uh now they're two one and one, and it's so funny, man,
It's so funny how these things, these roller coasters up
and down and oh the Packers are going to the
(06:58):
super Bowl and Mike apart and now you're like, oh
my gosh, you're two one and one. And you know,
I love it, man, I love I love the daily
I love the uh the ins and outs and the
debates and where are these teams and and what's going
on and the ebbs and flows over the course of
the season. But they are they're ebbing right now in
my opinion. But there's still six in the in football
(07:21):
on the NFL's rankings.
Speaker 5 (07:24):
Yeah, I think that's a fair location for them.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Yeah, yeah, I think so.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Now we have, uh, Tampa Bay at seven and the
Chargers at eight. The Chargers went down the brow. The
Buccaneers went down two spots, and uh and they had
a chance, they had every they made a bunch of
mistakes against the vehicles and that's cost them two spots,
(07:50):
which kind of surprises me, but so it goes. The
Chargers went down, Okay, I think that's absolutely fair. And
and the Chargers have fallen four spots to number eight
because they're no longer unbeaten.
Speaker 5 (08:06):
Uh then that Joe got I would have them in
front of Seattle.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Okay, Joe got hurt. So uh yeah, So.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Now you have neither one of your starting tackles, I
get it. But the weapons that you have offensively, I
get it. You lost in Najie Harris, but you still
have a lot of weapons at your disposal. And the
defense is you know, defense is doing what it can.
Hopefully you get Khalil Mack back. You know, he had
(08:35):
a separated shoulder or separated elbow, one of those two
something got separated on his arm arm region. Hopefully you
get him back soon, because he was an absolute terror
two weeks ago. So you figure if he can get healthy,
I mean, once again, still better than the Seattle.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
Uh yes, and they are. They're dinged four spots because
they not only lost like all these teams like Tampa
Bay Go's down two spots by losing to the Eagles
in a game in which they easily could have won. Right,
the Chargers dropped four spots because they lost to the Giants,
who are winless. Coming in so understandable, you know, if
(09:15):
you again, and this is the thing with rankings, it's
the same way. And this is the closest you come
to the polls in college and this is what makes
it fun. Right. So, you know, you start with a
team and the preconceived notion is this is the number
two team in the country, and that's what you think.
(09:36):
So if they lose a game, okay, yeah, we're gonna
drop them to eight, you know, and then you know
there's you know, they lost another game, but they're still
pretty good. You know, now they're fifteen. Well they're the
only two loss team it's ranked. And why are they
ranked because you had a preconceived notion that they were
the second best team in the country. I swear max.
For a while, I thought it might have been a
federal law that Alabama had to be ranked. Didn't matter
(09:59):
how many of they lost, they have to be ranked,
and they have to be ranked in the top ten.
You know, another team loses, they drop twelve spots. Alabama loses,
they might go up a spot. Anyway, I digress. So
Kansas Kansas City nine, the Colts didn't have a lot
of believers. I'm I'm interested. You know, they only fell
(10:25):
one spot from nine to ten, so they were ninth
as an unbeaten team. I wonder if maybe there are
more believers in a loss than there would have been
in their three wins. You know, they lost to the
Rams and you know, once again, you know they had
two you know, they had two big play, you know,
(10:48):
the fumble that people have probably seen Jonathan Taylor at a
fifty three yard run that was wiped out. So two
touchdowns get taken off the board for the Colts. Anyway,
I think they're least interesting. Now you have the Commanders
at number eleven. They dropped three spots. Now didn't have
Jaden Daniels. Now he's going to be back this week,
(11:09):
so that's a big addition for them. Obviously they're eleventh
and the Broncos are twelve. I guess I'm okay with those.
Are you okay with that? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:21):
I mean I get that because I think when we
look at this, it is amazing.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
That we still hadn't got to the Steelers.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
Yes, I agree.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
And when I look at where the conference standings are,
so just to give a little bit of a comparative analysis, right, So,
the AFC standings go as this, if the playoffs started today,
Bills are the one seed, Chargers are the two seed,
Colts are the three seed, Steelers are the four seed,
(11:58):
Jaguars five, Bengals six, and Chiefs are seventh, the seventh
seed and the Broncos are the eighth seed right now,
and the.
Speaker 5 (12:08):
Patriots are nine seed.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
So all those teams that have five hundred or better
records in the af seed that's how we look at it.
Right we go to the NFC, same thing, playoff started today.
Eagles won, Niners, two Lions, three Bucks, four wild card,
(12:30):
Seahawks at five, Rams at six, Packers at seventh. Where
are the Commanders right now? They are the twelfth seed. Yeah,
and they are in the five hundred. They're the bottom
of the five hundred. So there are twelve teams that
are at five hundred or better in the NFC, and
there's only nine teams five hundred are better in the AFC.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
And so I'm always leary Max to those teams like
the Commanders who come out of nowhere and have a
great season and they're riding the momentum. And usually when
that happens, things have gone right for a team, and
then that next season they really have to solidify themselves
because now suddenly you're playing a tougher schedule. So I
(13:17):
was a little leery of Houston last year. Turned out
I was wrong. Houston was good. They did solidify themselves
as a top team. They did win their division. That
team this year for me is the Commanders. You know what, now, Look,
Jaden Daniels got Hurts. We have to give him a
pass for a couple of games when he was out
because he is you know, he could be that next
(13:39):
quarterback that joins that very elite group at the top.
We'll see, you know, the Josh Allens and the Lamars
and the Patrick Mahomes. And you could argue whether Hurtz
belongs in there. Whoever Burrow he might be ready to
join that group still, and we'll find out. And if
he is, then any other fears I might have are
(14:00):
completely wiped out. But you know, you're facing a tougher schedule.
Teams are more ready for you. They've they've had an offseason.
The game plan it becomes more difficult to maintain. I
think it's it's harder to do it two times in
a row than it is to just do it once.
But you know, we'll see, And I think that's part
of why Washington is ranked eleventh because the perception is
(14:22):
and we're ranked eighth going into last week, the perception
is that they're they're that team, they're the team that
they were last year.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Yeah, And I think that's where it is. A lot
of expectations don't match up. And when I'm talking about this,
I mean you're talking about teams who are within one
game of a playoff spot, right, or it's a tie
and they just lose the tie breaker, you know. And
I think it's more apparent in the NFC than this
is in the AFC. Teams are a lot more closely matched.
Like I said, there's twelve teams that are five hundred
(14:52):
or better in the NFC, and there's only nine teams
in the AFC that are five hundred or better so far.
And then we have three wins teams, two of them
reside in the AFC and the Jets and the Titans,
and then the only one in the NFC is the Saints, right. So,
but I think it is funny that when you look
(15:13):
at the NFC East Race, the Commanders are twelfth and
they're second in their division, right, and the Cowboys are
right behind them at one two and one and then
the Giants are at one.
Speaker 5 (15:26):
In three, hence why they made the change to Jackson.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Dart And so you kind of look at it right now,
the NFC East only has one representative and the NFC
West has three right now slotted in the playoffs and
the and the NFC North has two slotted.
Speaker 5 (15:45):
So you see where the division of powers.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
And I think these rankings kind of reflect that that
they really want those two divisions to dominate in the
NFC yep, and.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
I think they do. I think those are the two.
I think those are the two to most evenly matched. Now,
the best team might still be in that NFC East.
It might still be the Philadelphia Eagles, but man, oh man,
I think in the NFC West and I think the
NFC North wide open. We don't know how good the
Bears are yet, we don't know how good some of
(16:16):
these other teams are. You know, the Lions, they lose
a couple of coordinators. The Vikings now are gonna have
to go the rookie quarterback. You know it is It
was a great division a year ago. I think it's
still a very good division. I think it's going to
be highly competitive. So let's move on here. So the
Colts ten, Commanders eleven, Broncos twelve. As we mentioned, I
(16:37):
think the Broncos game against Philadelphia, we're gonna get an
idea of where they sit. Now we come to thirteen
and fourteen, and again, let me just recap here just briefly.
Chiefs two and two number nine. I really don't have
a problem with that. I mean, they've just had a
brutal schedule, right, I don't have a problem with that.
He took it to Baltimore. Okay, so teams behind them
(17:00):
have better records. I really don't have any problem with that.
Three and one Colts, two and two Commanders, two and
two Broncos are ahead of the three and one Jaguars
and the three and one Steelers. I think right now,
according to these rankings, I think i'd have the Steelers tenth.
(17:20):
I had to have him ahead of the Colts, I
would have him ahead of the Commanders. I would have
him ahead of the Broncos, and I think tenth would
be just fine.
Speaker 5 (17:31):
Yeah, I'd agree with you on that.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
I think they could and you could still, you know,
make an argument that maybe they are better than the Chiefs,
but they haven't had an apples to Apple comparison, so
you can't put them there, so you can feel safe
putting them right behind them until otherwise noted right, So
I would be happy with that, But fourteenth behind the Jaguars,
that same.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
Squad we saw in the preseason. Yep M, that's tough.
That's tough.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
And by the way, the forty nine Ers are fifteenth.
And if you wanted to say to me, this is
just me and I know they've got injuries right now,
and it's probably a snap shot. This is probably more
of a snap shot than the other rankings, which maybe
take a little more account the body of work. If
you wanted to put the forty nine Ers tenth and
(18:18):
the Steelers eleventh, I'm not gonna argue with you, but no,
but I think they should.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Don't but don't give but don't give me a host
of two and two teams in front of them.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Yeah, and the Jaguars team that you know look nice
win for them over the forty nine Ers, I get it, uh,
but I don't know. So I think that I would
have the I would have the Steelers ahead of them.
I thought they looked better in the preseason playing their
reserves against their starters.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
Then at San Francisco it was a five point difference
in that same frame game.
Speaker 5 (18:49):
By the way, it's only they only won twenty one
twenty six. I get it.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
Yeah, So Baltimore is sixteenth. Now we're gonna get around
the AFC a little bit, so we'll dig into Baltimore
coming up in a little bit. Then it's a Vikings
seventeen the Bears eighteen. Again, I'm really interested in the
Vikings and Bears. You know, their their wins are maybe
(19:12):
wins they shouldn't have had, and the loss to Minnesota
was a win that a loss they probably shouldn't have had.
You could say that about a lot of you can
say that about some of the Steelers games. So they're
two and two, the Arizona's two and two, they've got
them nineteenth, Atlanta's two and two, they got them twentieth.
Then we get into the one in three Texans. Wow,
(19:36):
they needed that win. They got it. Man. That is
that is uh, that's you know, maybe the most disappointing
team in the NFL right now, but again still early,
although it's it's getting to that point. Then the Cowboys
are one, two and one. There's the Patriots to twenty three,
up four spots, up four spots. They had no I
(20:00):
respect for the Patriots twenty seven to twenty three, the
Bengals at twenty four, the Browns at twenty five. At
one and three, the Giants move up four spots to
twenty six. Then it's Carolina, the Raiders, the Dolphins, the Jets,
the Saints, the Titans. I don't think any of those
(20:20):
teams right now. I think as I glance at those teams,
if the Bengals make a trade, I could see them
moving up from twenty four considerably. The Patriots at twenty three,
they're interesting to me. I think that they I think
they're interesting. I'm not a Cowboys believer. We'll see they're
(20:41):
one two and one. And I think the Texans are
a team that we could see leaping up as well.
There are a lot of teams right now that had
high aspirations. The Falcons, the Cardinals, the Bears, the Vikings,
the Ravens, the teams we just mentioned. There is man
(21:01):
This next four game stretch that begins tonight with San
Francisco and the Rams gonna be fascinating as teams begin
to jockey themselves. You know, Kentucky derby Man. We've just
rounded the first turn and we're starting to hit the backstretch.
And in these next four games, teams are gonna start
moving up in the pack or down in the pack,
(21:23):
and not down and out, but losing or gaining valuable
ground over these next four games. Can't wait to see him,
beginning with a big game tonight in the NFC West. Hey,
we wanted to remind you that you can gear up
with the latest game day necessities at the official Steelers
Pro Shops. Get the latest sideline apparel, jerseys, Terrible Towns,
(21:45):
authentic memorabilia and custom exclusives you can only find directly
from the team. Visit one of the official Steelers Pro
Shops located at Akroscher Stadium, Grove City, Premium mount Lets,
or Tanger Outlets, or gear up online at shop dot
Steelers dot com. Get it direct from the team at
the Steelers Pro Shop at shop dot Steelers dot com.
(22:06):
Back more with more in the Locker Room presented by
your neighborhood Ford Store and the Steelers Pro Shop on
Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
This is in the Locker Room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio presented by your neighborhood Forward Store.
The F one fifty is the official truck of the
Pittsburgh Steelers and by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop
dot Steelers dot com.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
And it's time for our AFC preview, presented by UPMC,
the official healthcare provider and health plan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Max,
are you ready?
Speaker 5 (22:55):
I am ready? Roll. Let's do it.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
Okay, So let's look the games, will mix in a
little bit of news as we get to the teams
that appear to be important Vikings Browns in London two
and two, Vikings at the one in three Browns. Excuse me.
Shador Sanders continues to be amusing, especially from Afar. I
(23:22):
guess he was taken to task for something he said. Frankly,
I didn't see what he said over the weekend, but
taking a task for it, And then the reporters were
asking him questions and he was opening his mouth as
if to answer those questions and evidently not saying anything.
So I don't know what to make of that, Max, Yeah,
I don't know what to make of that, other than
(23:44):
he is not going to be starting, Dylan Gabriel is
going to be starting. I don't even know if Shador
will be the number two in this one. But in
London three, okay, you would think Max that this is
advantage Vikings in this game. They've been over there, maybe
a little more acclimated to what's going down as far
(24:04):
as the time change your thoughts on Vikings Browns coming
up in London on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
I would say the Vikings should win this game, but
knowing the injuries that are on that offensive line, I
don't know if they have enough to stop Miles Garrett. Yeah,
that's going to be something, because Miles Garrett right now,
since last season has had at least one tackle for
loss in eleven consecutive games.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
Now, that's notable, but let's not forget that TJ.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
Watt did that for fifteen consecutive games before. So you know,
when I look at this, it's like, that's impressive. But
we've also had a guy who's done it better. So
just make sure we keep things in perspective. I am
not cheering for Miles Garrett at all, but I will
say that right now he's been on a tear and
he leaves the NFL and TFLs. He has eight TfL
(25:05):
so far in the season, so that's gonna be a
big issue for the Vikings, who struggled against our defense
last week.
Speaker 4 (25:10):
Yeah, I'm gonna see a ton of Browns coming up,
obviously starting next week to prep for the game on
Sunday against the Browns at Acriture Stadium. You know, they've
I think again, you know the sort of the notion
that they're copying. You know, it's it's the seniorest form
(25:33):
of sincere form of flatter when someone's copying what you're doing.
I think much as the Steelers are trying to build
in the trenches, and of course maybe you can have
a little do off with the cap to the to
the to the Eagles, all of the students have always
tried to do that. You know, the Browns go out
and get Mason Graham. Last year they took Mike Hall
in the second round. I'm not even sure he's starting.
I don't know what his snapcounts are, but I think
(25:54):
that they even though that's an aging offensive line trying
to get through a year with that offense of line,
it's still a talented group of guys that they're gonna
probably have to turn their attention to that in the
in the coming years. You know, I'll be interested to
see what Mason Graham can do a little bit less
interested in Mike Hall though, you know, second round pick
(26:15):
from a year ago. They're clearly trying to build around
around Miles Garrett and trying to you know, have Swashinger
as a as a second round pick in the middle
of the inside linebacker position. J Okay has been out.
I think they're clearly trying to build in the trenches
and do it that way. So I'll be interested to
(26:35):
watch Mason Graham, uh and interested to watch that game.
So I'm with you. Now. Raiders Colts. Uh, look, Colts
came close, you know, uh to making it four and oh,
but now they're three and one and dealing with their
first losses. They get ready to host the Raiders big
favor by the way.
Speaker 5 (26:54):
Yeah, I mean, yeah exactly.
Speaker 6 (26:56):
It's you know, Ken Daniel Jones and the Colts kind
of bounced back after you know, they had a terrible
Week four and you know, losing to the Rams, even
though only by a touchdown.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
Can they bounce back?
Speaker 4 (27:10):
You know?
Speaker 3 (27:11):
But my other question is can Gino Smith stop throwing
the ball to the other team. That's gonna be the
tail of the tape on that one. So I'm really
interested in that. I do love this combo of young
and quote unquote a little less young. That's Ashton gent
brock Bowers versus Jonathan Taylor and Tyler Warren. Those are
(27:34):
two tight and tight ends and two very good running backs. Yeah,
so that's gonna be a really interesting matchup in this game.
But I really think it comes down to Daniel Jones
and Gino Smith. Can they actually weaponize their weapons or
will they still continue to kind of sputter as as
the as the Raiders have done.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Okay, agreed, So Boys Jets is our next AFC game
because of the Giants are in the Saints. I'm just
going down the list here of games Cowboys and Jets.
Cowboys in New York favored by two and a half.
The Jets are, you know, they're scrappy. I don't know
if they have enough talent. They obviously made a coaching
(28:20):
change in Aaron Glenn right now four weeks in, still
looking for his first victories in NFL head coach.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Yeah, and really the biggest thing for the Jets is
turnover margin. Can they not give the ball away? Because
they actually come into this week. Did you know this,
rob the number one ranked offense in the NFL.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
The Cowboys, No Jets, Oh, the Jets. No, I did
not know that. Yeah. In fact, obviously, as bad.
Speaker 5 (28:50):
As they are, think about this.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
The Jets have scored thirty four or sorry, thirty two, ten,
twenty seven and twenty one point. They are, I mean,
outside of that Buffalo game, they have been a scoring team.
But they've given up, you know, twenty seven, nine, thirty
and thirty four. So they lost by two, lost by two,
lost by six, and then of course the most glaring
(29:15):
one was the Bills lost where they lost by twenty.
But they've been in every game they've been in, and
the Cowboys have the thirty second ranked defense in all
of the NFL.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
That that's that's Matt Maxet is great stuff across the pond,
still digging in. I love it. That's good stuff.
Speaker 5 (29:33):
And you know, I'm just here to provide little nuggets.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
Right now.
Speaker 5 (29:37):
You're the historian. I'm the arbiter. I give the highlights.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
You know, I think it's great. I think it's I
think it's fascinating. I do think that, you know, watching
teams evolve is it's a fascinating process. So the Jets
are playing teams close. They've got a better offense. Lear
need is on defense, and I think we all knew
(30:02):
that going in. And even with the injury on the
offensive line to Elijah Vera Tucker, you know, there's still
a team that can play bully ball. They still have
some weapons on the outside, particularly Garrett Wilson. They have
a stable of running backs, they have justin fields who
can run. Are they ready for the Bills? No, they
showed that, but are they ready for other teams? It'll
(30:24):
be interesting to see if they start winning some games,
what happens to them and if they become a team
that becomes a tougher and tougher out. They've already been
a tough out. Right, there are three and the four losses,
I mean they could have won, right, they could have won,
including the game against the Steelers with the great Boswall
(30:44):
makes a sixty harder otherwise that could be a Jets victory. So, okay,
I'm fascinated by your game. You know, there are a
handful of Look, there's a reason to watch every game.
It's what makes the NFL so wonderful. Like you said, Raiders, Colts.
You know, watch those quarterbacks or watch those tight ends
and and running backs, and there's always a reason to
watch a game. But you know, where are the Broncos.
(31:06):
They they are they look to be an up and
coming team. They're only two and two. They're going in
against the champs to four to oh Eagles. You know
they're going to be revd up for this game even
if they you know, I think at this stage of
a team's evolution, and the Broncos clearly want to get
into the playoffs winning game, start, you know, continue their
(31:28):
rise up the ranks. I think just just giving the
Eagles a scare, just letting the Eagles know they're in
a game, or you know, being able to stick with
them physically, would be a moral victory. Uh. The Eagles
are favored by three and a half. Max, I think
you got a really good one on your on your
hands with Steve Levy on Sunday.
Speaker 5 (31:49):
Yeah, No, I think I think we do have a
really good one. Broncos two losses four points.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
That's the combined number of points that keeps them from
being four and oh is four points, right, You lose
to the Colts by one at the end of the game,
and then you lose to the Chargers by three. So
that's the difference between being two and two and being
four and oh. Whereas the Eagles, on the other hand,
all their games have been one possession victories touchdown or
(32:22):
less that they've won by you know, they beat the
Cowboys by four, they beat the Chiefs by three, they
beat the Rams by a touchdown, and then the Bucks
by essentially six points, so a little less than a touchdown.
So these Eagles wins have not been blowout but they've
won the one possession game moments. They've held their cool
(32:43):
long enough, you know, to make it through the game.
Speaker 5 (32:48):
And so that's kind of where you're at. Difference wise,
it's a little bit of luck.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
And that's where that's where you know, opportunity, you know,
comes in and they.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
Took advantage of it. So this is gonna be a
really interesting game.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
Like you said, three and a half points spread in
this game, but this could come down to the wire.
Who holds the ball last will dictate the victory in it.
And you know, Sean Payton and Bo Nicks have been
doing a really good job to do this and really,
can this be the turning point? Can Bonnicks if he
(33:24):
can somewhat rise, does he now kind of become the
next rising star quarterback in the NFL?
Speaker 4 (33:31):
Agreed, It's fascinating, It's you got a great I can't
wait to watch that one now. I said, every game's
got something going for it, you know, Dolphins Panthers. That
might be the one where I'm getting ready to newclock game.
Let me let me, honey, let me run off to
the store. I'll get some stuff. I can't say I
have a great deal of interesting that game.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
I can tell you that I have zero interest in
the game, and I'm glad my game's on during the
same time.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
Let's move on here. You're a man, oh man, you
talk about a game, the one in three Texans visiting
the one in three Ravens. No Lamar Jackson. You know,
I don't know if the Ravens have actually officially ruled
them out. They haven't said anything on Lamar's injury. I'm
the assumption, I think the wide assumption is he's gonna
(34:19):
miss a couple of weeks and won't be playing this week.
Holy mackerel, is this a huge game for both of
these teams. Can you imagine either the Ravens or the
Texas Now they could each come out one, three and one.
We saw ty last week, but can you imagine one
of those teams being one and four. That's amazing.
Speaker 5 (34:42):
Two teams that won their division a year ago scrapping
for their second victory.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
This that this is something that you know, something's got
to give. You know, either it's the Texas off gets
on track or the Ravens defense gets on track, because
those are the two things that's been really hurting both
of those teams. They've lost, right, so one of them
has to be not as bad as the other. And
that's really what this comes down to. And can can
(35:14):
c J. Stroud actually get his first win? He has
not beaten the Ravens yet and he's played him a
host of times, so you know, maybe a Lamar Jackson
lists Ravens is finally the one that he that puts
him in the win column, you know, but.
Speaker 5 (35:29):
I think it has to be something.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
And then you know, for Derrick Henry, you know, he's
he's been jittery since we had a great performance Week one,
but that fumble seem to have gotten to him and
is carried over since so can Derrick Henry get back
on tray. Everybody wanted to talk about how great he
was and everything, King Henry, this and that.
Speaker 5 (35:48):
I mean, he's he's he's he's looking. He's looking like
you know, Prince John right now, you.
Speaker 4 (35:53):
Know what I'm saying, Robin Hood, Yeah, Friar Tuck, we
don't want to go that far. Largest largest contract ever ever,
fade to a running back over thirty years old. Then
after the fast start he has cooled down. Probably gonna
have to slide through some of these games for time purposes.
Titans zero to four against the two and two Cardinals.
(36:15):
That's interesting, more interesting, I think from the Cardinals in
that crowded NFC West, Can they move to three and
two because someone's gonna Elvis is gonna be three and
two after that game tonight and someone's gonna be four
and one. So an important game for the Cardinals to
keep pace. Another one of the games of the weeks.
This is in the NFC, the Buccaneers and Seahawks, so
it doesn't fall into the purview of what we're doing now,
(36:37):
but a game that I'm greatly interested in watching. Back
to the AFC three and one Lions ten and a
half point favorites against the Bengals. That's like a college
line in Cincinnati. The Lions are favored by that much.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
The Baggals have only scored thirteen points in their last
two games, and they have given up seventy six points.
Speaker 4 (37:06):
So you're saying ten and a half sounds reasonable.
Speaker 5 (37:09):
Ten and a half sounds very reasonable.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
Okay, okay, especially when remember this the lines have already
hung fifty two on Chicago.
Speaker 4 (37:19):
Yeah, yeah, so okay, so I.
Speaker 5 (37:21):
Would say Chicago looks better than.
Speaker 4 (37:24):
The Oh I agree, I agree. Another one of the games,
and again there are five or six games that I
am just fascinated to watch. The Commanders at two and two.
Jayden Daniels apparently back for this game visiting the Chargers.
Chargers are dinged up a little bit. There's still two
and a half point favorites in this game. The two
and two Commanders, three and one Chargers. Again, the Chargers,
(37:47):
they make that statement win earlier against the Chiefs. You
kind of give that back if you lose this game
and the Chiefs. The Chiefs improved to three and two.
Now suddenly you've lost a cuple in a row. And
you dropped the three and two, but the Commanders by
the same token. Man, the Commanders don't want to be
two and three as a as a team considered maybe
(38:09):
one of the contenders lining up to possibly knock off
the Eagles atop the NFC perch. So interesting game, Commander's Chargers.
That's a four to twenty five game.
Speaker 5 (38:21):
Yeah, no, gonna be a good one. Chargers.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
The one thing in their back pocket though, Rob they're
already three and zero in the divisions.
Speaker 5 (38:28):
They've already finished half of their division game though.
Speaker 4 (38:30):
Is that crazy?
Speaker 3 (38:31):
So they played them in the first three weeks back
to back to back, So if the Chargers were gonna slump,
it's okay that you lost to the Giants and that
you know, if you lose to the Commanders both NFC teams, right,
But then you come back and you have the Dolphins,
the Colts, Vikings, and Titans before.
Speaker 5 (38:50):
You see us.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
I mean, they don't want to say they have an
easy schedule, but this, this Commander's game is probably the
toughest of the next stretching games that they're gonna face.
Speaker 4 (39:00):
Going to be feeling really good, Yeah, they're going to
be facing really good, feeling really good if they win
this game another game. The last two games also for
me highly fascinating. The Bills are seven and a half
point favorites over the Patriots. I think, look, no such
thing as a moral victory in the NFL unless you
(39:20):
get a moral victory, and then I think it's worth something.
So I just contradicted myself in the same sentence. I think,
if the Patriots go in there and give the Bills
a tussle, this is a Patriots team that won four
games two years ago, four games last year. Mike Braviel's
trying to get them in a better spot. I think
if they come out and give the Bills a semblance
(39:41):
of a game, that would be an actual moral victory
for the Patriots, and I think they're capable of doing that,
and it's why I'm interested in watching.
Speaker 5 (39:51):
Yeah, two games they lost were by a touchdown.
Speaker 3 (39:54):
Eah, you just come off of having an offensive explosion.
Speaker 5 (39:58):
You score forty two points on the Panthers.
Speaker 3 (40:01):
So, like you said, if you give them a tussle,
you give them a scare, and they don't feel like
they're comfortable going into a victory because outside of Baltimore,
Buffalo hasn't been challenged in the last three weeks.
Speaker 5 (40:11):
So if you could hang neck to neck with them
into the fourth quarter, that that goes a long way.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
And you're already halfway through your win total from the
last two years, you know, with two victories already. I
think Mike Gravels squad could have could get some momentum
going for the rest of the season.
Speaker 4 (40:27):
And then finally on Monday Night Football, the two and
two Chiefs at the three and one Jacksonville Jaguars. Uh,
you know, the the stretch continues, by the way, after
this game. Uh, here's what's next up for the Chiefs Detroit. Okay,
So if you drop to two and three, yikes, Detroit
(40:50):
Vegas shouldn't be a problem. Then you have Washington and
Buffalo before you're by I mean, if you're if you
are the Chiefs that we know, you could very well
be seven and two. If you're six and three, you're
just fine. If you lose this game, man, few I
think that this could this could wind up being a
(41:12):
fall from grace for the Chiefs. I think this is
an important game for Kansas City. Meanwhile, Jacksonville wants to
show that at three and one they're not a Fluke.
Speaker 3 (41:22):
Exactly. It's the old adage are you for real or
are you fake? This is that moment for Trevor Lawrence.
Has he has he made a resurgence, Has he come
alive as as QB one, number one overall draft pick,
or has this all been smoking mirrors up to this point.
(41:42):
That's what this game is going to prove for him
and his Jaguar mates. Can they be a for real
team that has that is on a two game win
streak just like the Chiefs, and can you actually go
toe to toe with good competition and come out the
other side of the victor.
Speaker 4 (41:59):
That's our AFC preview presented by UPMC, the official healthcare
provider and health plan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Back with
just one final thought Max, where Max Starks thinks the
Steelers sit right now at three and one, at his
satisfaction level with where they are when we continue in
the Locker Room presented by your neighborhood Ford Store and
the Steelers Pro Shop on Steelers Nation Radio, part of
(42:20):
the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
This is in the Locker Room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio presented by your neighborhood Ford Store,
the f one point fifty is the official truck of
the Pittsburgh Steelers and by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it
direct from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at
shop dot Steelers dot.
Speaker 4 (42:46):
Com and thanks very much for being with us again.
No show tomorrow, So we're wrapping up the locker room
for this week. Obviously, the Steelers have a buy and
so they're going to be able to do whatever. You know,
Max talked about what happens during a bye week, and
they'll be able to take advantage of that bye week
(43:07):
and whatever way they're allowed and can and want to
over the next few days, you know, kind of thinking
about the schedule and four game bursts. The Steelers are
three and one going under this by they come out
against Cleveland at Cincinnati Green Bay is a Sunday night game,
and then Indianapolis, a game that suddenly looks a lot
(43:28):
more challenging than it may have at the beginning of
the season. So those are all things that lay ahead. Max,
how do you feel about the Steelers three and one start,
and you know what their trajectory is all of that
after the first four games and this by heading into
another work week next week.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
I think the only celebratory thing that I could do
to kind of show my happiness will be.
Speaker 4 (43:57):
Oh no, oh every time, Max, I'm amused. I think
I think I'm actually surprised ninety percent of the time,
which doesn't say much for my mental acuity. But always amused, Max, always.
Speaker 3 (44:19):
Amused, exactly exactly for everybody out there a Steeler Nation,
just make sure you know it's only four minutes till noon,
so make sure you get out there and get you
something good to eat, just like I'm gonna.
Speaker 5 (44:29):
Do for dinner this evening.
Speaker 3 (44:30):
Since I'm now ahead of you guys as opposed to
normally being behind you guys.
Speaker 5 (44:35):
Still in the breakfast time segment, I'm now closer towards
dinner time.
Speaker 3 (44:39):
So I'm really amused at where the Steelers are happy
with it. What I love four and oh absolutely, but
I don't feel like we deserve to win Week two.
We didn't deserve to win against the Seattle Seahawks, and
it showed. But I think it also tested us and
allowed us to win these the last two games before
(45:00):
this buy.
Speaker 5 (45:01):
So I think you kind of had.
Speaker 3 (45:02):
To have that tough moment to reveal the character of
this team. And I think we're starting to pick up steam.
We're starting to see more completeness from the offense. You're
starting to see dominance by the defense in large swaths. Now,
obviously you don't want to give up a Jordan Atison play.
You don't want to you have to depend on two
(45:23):
goal line Stan turnovers like you did against the Patriots.
But it's revealing the character of this team, and they're
learning how to overcome adversity and how to push through
it and thrive in it. So I think when I
look at it from the first four weeks, I'm happy
where they are and I feel confident about them moving forward.
Speaker 4 (45:42):
Okay, I think that's well put. I got nothing to add. Max.
I think that's a Mike trop moment, and that's it
for the locker room. Safe travels, my friend, look forward
to the broadcast. I will be tuning in and can't
wait to hear you on the call and can't wait
to listen to that game, one of many that I
think are going to be interesting. Safe travels, Max.
Speaker 3 (46:06):
Thank you, appreciate it, Rob, enjoy your bye week, and
of course you and justin over there in the studio.
Speaker 5 (46:11):
You guys, take care and we'll be back. Same bat channels,
same bat time on Monday. Look forward to it.
Speaker 4 (46:16):
You got it. As Max mentioned, Justin Miller in at
the controls in our iHeart Studio, Max Starks and Jolly
Old joining us throughout the course of the week. I'm
rob King. We all thank you for being in the
Locker Room, presented by your neighborhood Ford Store and the
Steelers Pro Shop on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of
(46:36):
the Steelers Audio Network.
If you were able to provide the support, care, and
dedication that allow children to thrive, you can be an
adoptive parent. Three Rivers Adoption Council is a nonprofit United
Way agency committed to working with families to help make
the adoptive process easier. If you have a room in
your heart, it's worth your time to find out more.
Contact the Three Rivers Adoption Council at four one two
four seven one eight seven two to two. Because every
child needs a family.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
This is in the Locker Room with Kingon Starks on
Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your neighborhood Forward Store. The
F one point fifty is the official truck of the
Pittsburgh Steelers and by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop
dot Steelers dot com.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
A keep it going optimis you know it's a bye week.
We don't we don't need you to stop by. Just
keep on, keep on truck, and Bud, hopefully you go
somewhere nice and warm and your tires don't shred and
everything else, and we'll see you next week. Bud, that
(01:08):
was thanks for stopping by. Thanks for blowing the horn.
I know you never stopped for us. But we know
you're busy, but we know you're thinking about us as well.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Thank you. Optimis so uh, I never I never get
tired of Optimus and and the bell lap. We get
the bell lap coming up, not just yet, because we
we have plenty still to go. So Max, we have
an a SC preview, and we have the the NFL
dot Com rankings, and I thought maybe we'd go with
(01:37):
the NFL dot Com rankings first if that works for you. Uh,
And you know, they're a little bit different from the athletics,
especially as it relates to where the Steelers sit. So uh,
let's let's run through that, okay, and then and then
we'll dig into the AFC and what's going on this
weekend and the injuries and and how things are are
(02:00):
going to be affected and some of the key games
we're looking forward to as well. I don't think there's
any question about the top two teams right uh, Philadelphia
in the AFS, in the NFC, Uh, Buffalo is uh
the you know four and oh team here in the
a f C. You know, I just I don't. I
(02:23):
don't see how you can doubt that. And by the way, UH,
just real quick for for people that you know, sort
of gripe about, uh, the Steelers getting themselves in so
many close games and and you know, maybe that not
being a good sign. You know, the the Saints had
(02:45):
a chance to beat the Bills this past week, They
had a lot of opportunities to win that game, and
they're winless. Uh it's just then, now, look we'd all
like a few more games, clearly. You know, when you
have a chance to blow out in New England, you know,
put another score up on the board and and take
control of that game and win going away. You have
(03:06):
the same opportunity against the Vikings, win that game going away,
come up with a stop late in the game, and
that thing is just over a heck, maybe even punch
in another score to make it look lopsided. Regardless, I
just wanted to point that out, that that that this
happens a lot where even good teams. When you go
back to the the the Seattle game, couple plays turned
(03:29):
that right that and and the Steelers didn't make them
this time. But anyway, getting back to after that digression,
no complaints there, right, Eagles won Bills.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
To Yeah, yeah, okay, nothing there, Like I said, until
you beat the champ, right, you can't beat the champ.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Yeah, and this is a little different than yesterday. So
that's why we're going through. Yesterday we went through the
athletics rankings. So now we're gonna go. Let me give
you the next three because there is a huge difference here.
If I recall correctly, and I'd like to think I do.
A Lion's number three, okay, sure, Rams number four. Interesting?
(04:15):
You know, the Lions are the same as they were.
The Rams are up two spots. They just beat the Colts.
They're three and one. They're playing tonight on Thursday Night football.
I don't have any problem with that, do you.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Uh you said the Colts are number five?
Speaker 4 (04:34):
No? No, no, no, I'm saying the Rams because they
beat the Colts are four.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Lions. Yeah, I'm okay with that. Okay with that, I
get it. So here's the one.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Here's the one that surprises me a lot. They have
the Seattle Seahawks as fifth.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
No okay, help, no, no, nope, not from what I saw,
And I get it. They beat us, but not number
five best team in the league.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
No, okay. Uh So, And while I do this, so
you're saying that there are four NFC teams ahead of
the second best AFC team, right now, that's that's that's
what you're telling me right now, Yeah, it is, you know, No, no,
(05:32):
you're not buying it.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Nope, nope, nope, doopopopopp. Now maybe it might change, yeah,
because Seattle is not better than Denver. Seattle is not
better than the Chargers. Seattle is not better than uh
who else am I I'm missing here.
Speaker 5 (05:53):
I'll just go with those two.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
So just to get compare, just to compare, the Athletic
had them twelfth. That's the difference. NFL dot Com has
him fifth, Athletic has him twelfth. Yep, that's it.
Speaker 5 (06:13):
Towards where the Athletic has.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
That is a wide gap. Now the green Bay Packers,
they're sixth two one and one. Green Bay Packers sixth
and again, it wasn't that long ago, a couple of
weeks ago. My guess is that they were number one
or two, probably probably number two behind or three.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
Yeah, nobody was. Nobody was usurping Philly.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
No, no, Philly was gonna be number one. Maybe Buffalo
is too. But you know, green Bay had some impressive
early victories. You know, they demolished the Lions in Week one.
Uh now they're two one and one, and it's so funny, man,
It's so funny how these things, these roller coasters up
and down and oh the Packers are going to the
(06:58):
super Bowl and Mike apart and now you're like, oh
my gosh, you're two one and one. And you know,
I love it, man, I love I love the daily
I love the uh the ins and outs and the
debates and where are these teams and and what's going
on and the ebbs and flows over the course of
the season. But they are they're ebbing right now in
my opinion. But there's still six in the in football
(07:21):
on the NFL's rankings.
Speaker 5 (07:24):
Yeah, I think that's a fair location for them.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Yeah, yeah, I think so.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Now we have, uh, Tampa Bay at seven and the
Chargers at eight. The Chargers went down the brow. The
Buccaneers went down two spots, and uh and they had
a chance, they had every they made a bunch of
mistakes against the vehicles and that's cost them two spots,
(07:50):
which kind of surprises me, but so it goes. The
Chargers went down, Okay, I think that's absolutely fair. And
and the Chargers have fallen four spots to number eight
because they're no longer unbeaten.
Speaker 5 (08:06):
Uh then that Joe got I would have them in
front of Seattle.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Okay, Joe got hurt. So uh yeah, So.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Now you have neither one of your starting tackles, I
get it. But the weapons that you have offensively, I
get it. You lost in Najie Harris, but you still
have a lot of weapons at your disposal. And the
defense is you know, defense is doing what it can.
Hopefully you get Khalil Mack back. You know, he had
(08:35):
a separated shoulder or separated elbow, one of those two
something got separated on his arm arm region. Hopefully you
get him back soon, because he was an absolute terror
two weeks ago. So you figure if he can get healthy,
I mean, once again, still better than the Seattle.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
Uh yes, and they are. They're dinged four spots because
they not only lost like all these teams like Tampa
Bay Go's down two spots by losing to the Eagles
in a game in which they easily could have won. Right,
the Chargers dropped four spots because they lost to the Giants,
who are winless. Coming in so understandable, you know, if
(09:15):
you again, and this is the thing with rankings, it's
the same way. And this is the closest you come
to the polls in college and this is what makes
it fun. Right. So, you know, you start with a
team and the preconceived notion is this is the number
two team in the country, and that's what you think.
(09:36):
So if they lose a game, okay, yeah, we're gonna
drop them to eight, you know, and then you know
there's you know, they lost another game, but they're still
pretty good. You know, now they're fifteen. Well they're the
only two loss team it's ranked. And why are they
ranked because you had a preconceived notion that they were
the second best team in the country. I swear max.
For a while, I thought it might have been a
federal law that Alabama had to be ranked. Didn't matter
(09:59):
how many of they lost, they have to be ranked,
and they have to be ranked in the top ten.
You know, another team loses, they drop twelve spots. Alabama loses,
they might go up a spot. Anyway, I digress. So
Kansas Kansas City nine, the Colts didn't have a lot
of believers. I'm I'm interested. You know, they only fell
(10:25):
one spot from nine to ten, so they were ninth
as an unbeaten team. I wonder if maybe there are
more believers in a loss than there would have been
in their three wins. You know, they lost to the
Rams and you know, once again, you know they had
two you know, they had two big play, you know,
(10:48):
the fumble that people have probably seen Jonathan Taylor at a
fifty three yard run that was wiped out. So two
touchdowns get taken off the board for the Colts. Anyway,
I think they're least interesting. Now you have the Commanders
at number eleven. They dropped three spots. Now didn't have
Jaden Daniels. Now he's going to be back this week,
(11:09):
so that's a big addition for them. Obviously they're eleventh
and the Broncos are twelve. I guess I'm okay with those.
Are you okay with that? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:21):
I mean I get that because I think when we
look at this, it is amazing.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
That we still hadn't got to the Steelers.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
Yes, I agree.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
And when I look at where the conference standings are,
so just to give a little bit of a comparative analysis, right, So,
the AFC standings go as this, if the playoffs started today,
Bills are the one seed, Chargers are the two seed,
Colts are the three seed, Steelers are the four seed,
(11:58):
Jaguars five, Bengals six, and Chiefs are seventh, the seventh
seed and the Broncos are the eighth seed right now,
and the.
Speaker 5 (12:08):
Patriots are nine seed.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
So all those teams that have five hundred or better
records in the af seed that's how we look at it.
Right we go to the NFC, same thing, playoff started today.
Eagles won, Niners, two Lions, three Bucks, four wild card,
(12:30):
Seahawks at five, Rams at six, Packers at seventh. Where
are the Commanders right now? They are the twelfth seed. Yeah,
and they are in the five hundred. They're the bottom
of the five hundred. So there are twelve teams that
are at five hundred or better in the NFC, and
there's only nine teams five hundred are better in the AFC.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
And so I'm always leary Max to those teams like
the Commanders who come out of nowhere and have a
great season and they're riding the momentum. And usually when
that happens, things have gone right for a team, and
then that next season they really have to solidify themselves
because now suddenly you're playing a tougher schedule. So I
(13:17):
was a little leery of Houston last year. Turned out
I was wrong. Houston was good. They did solidify themselves
as a top team. They did win their division. That
team this year for me is the Commanders. You know what, now, Look,
Jaden Daniels got Hurts. We have to give him a
pass for a couple of games when he was out
because he is you know, he could be that next
(13:39):
quarterback that joins that very elite group at the top.
We'll see, you know, the Josh Allens and the Lamars
and the Patrick Mahomes. And you could argue whether Hurtz
belongs in there. Whoever Burrow he might be ready to
join that group still, and we'll find out. And if
he is, then any other fears I might have are
(14:00):
completely wiped out. But you know, you're facing a tougher schedule.
Teams are more ready for you. They've they've had an offseason.
The game plan it becomes more difficult to maintain. I
think it's it's harder to do it two times in
a row than it is to just do it once.
But you know, we'll see, And I think that's part
of why Washington is ranked eleventh because the perception is
(14:22):
and we're ranked eighth going into last week, the perception
is that they're they're that team, they're the team that
they were last year.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Yeah, And I think that's where it is. A lot
of expectations don't match up. And when I'm talking about this,
I mean you're talking about teams who are within one
game of a playoff spot, right, or it's a tie
and they just lose the tie breaker, you know. And
I think it's more apparent in the NFC than this
is in the AFC. Teams are a lot more closely matched.
Like I said, there's twelve teams that are five hundred
(14:52):
or better in the NFC, and there's only nine teams
in the AFC that are five hundred or better so far.
And then we have three wins teams, two of them
reside in the AFC and the Jets and the Titans,
and then the only one in the NFC is the Saints, right. So,
but I think it is funny that when you look
(15:13):
at the NFC East Race, the Commanders are twelfth and
they're second in their division, right, and the Cowboys are
right behind them at one two and one and then
the Giants are at one.
Speaker 5 (15:26):
In three, hence why they made the change to Jackson.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Dart And so you kind of look at it right now,
the NFC East only has one representative and the NFC
West has three right now slotted in the playoffs and
the and the NFC North has two slotted.
Speaker 5 (15:45):
So you see where the division of powers.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
And I think these rankings kind of reflect that that
they really want those two divisions to dominate in the
NFC yep, and.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
I think they do. I think those are the two.
I think those are the two to most evenly matched. Now,
the best team might still be in that NFC East.
It might still be the Philadelphia Eagles, but man, oh man,
I think in the NFC West and I think the
NFC North wide open. We don't know how good the
Bears are yet, we don't know how good some of
(16:16):
these other teams are. You know, the Lions, they lose
a couple of coordinators. The Vikings now are gonna have
to go the rookie quarterback. You know it is It
was a great division a year ago. I think it's
still a very good division. I think it's going to
be highly competitive. So let's move on here. So the
Colts ten, Commanders eleven, Broncos twelve. As we mentioned, I
(16:37):
think the Broncos game against Philadelphia, we're gonna get an
idea of where they sit. Now we come to thirteen
and fourteen, and again, let me just recap here just briefly.
Chiefs two and two number nine. I really don't have
a problem with that. I mean, they've just had a
brutal schedule, right, I don't have a problem with that.
He took it to Baltimore. Okay, so teams behind them
(17:00):
have better records. I really don't have any problem with that.
Three and one Colts, two and two Commanders, two and
two Broncos are ahead of the three and one Jaguars
and the three and one Steelers. I think right now,
according to these rankings, I think i'd have the Steelers tenth.
(17:20):
I had to have him ahead of the Colts, I
would have him ahead of the Commanders. I would have
him ahead of the Broncos, and I think tenth would
be just fine.
Speaker 5 (17:31):
Yeah, I'd agree with you on that.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
I think they could and you could still, you know,
make an argument that maybe they are better than the Chiefs,
but they haven't had an apples to Apple comparison, so
you can't put them there, so you can feel safe
putting them right behind them until otherwise noted right, So
I would be happy with that, But fourteenth behind the Jaguars,
that same.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
Squad we saw in the preseason. Yep M, that's tough.
That's tough.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
And by the way, the forty nine Ers are fifteenth.
And if you wanted to say to me, this is
just me and I know they've got injuries right now,
and it's probably a snap shot. This is probably more
of a snap shot than the other rankings, which maybe
take a little more account the body of work. If
you wanted to put the forty nine Ers tenth and
(18:18):
the Steelers eleventh, I'm not gonna argue with you, but no,
but I think they should.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Don't but don't give but don't give me a host
of two and two teams in front of them.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Yeah, and the Jaguars team that you know look nice
win for them over the forty nine Ers, I get it, uh,
but I don't know. So I think that I would
have the I would have the Steelers ahead of them.
I thought they looked better in the preseason playing their
reserves against their starters.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
Then at San Francisco it was a five point difference
in that same frame game.
Speaker 5 (18:49):
By the way, it's only they only won twenty one
twenty six. I get it.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
Yeah, So Baltimore is sixteenth. Now we're gonna get around
the AFC a little bit, so we'll dig into Baltimore
coming up in a little bit. Then it's a Vikings
seventeen the Bears eighteen. Again, I'm really interested in the
Vikings and Bears. You know, their their wins are maybe
(19:12):
wins they shouldn't have had, and the loss to Minnesota
was a win that a loss they probably shouldn't have had.
You could say that about a lot of you can
say that about some of the Steelers games. So they're
two and two, the Arizona's two and two, they've got
them nineteenth, Atlanta's two and two, they got them twentieth.
Then we get into the one in three Texans. Wow,
(19:36):
they needed that win. They got it. Man. That is
that is uh, that's you know, maybe the most disappointing
team in the NFL right now, but again still early,
although it's it's getting to that point. Then the Cowboys
are one, two and one. There's the Patriots to twenty three,
up four spots, up four spots. They had no I
(20:00):
respect for the Patriots twenty seven to twenty three, the
Bengals at twenty four, the Browns at twenty five. At
one and three, the Giants move up four spots to
twenty six. Then it's Carolina, the Raiders, the Dolphins, the Jets,
the Saints, the Titans. I don't think any of those
(20:20):
teams right now. I think as I glance at those teams,
if the Bengals make a trade, I could see them
moving up from twenty four considerably. The Patriots at twenty three,
they're interesting to me. I think that they I think
they're interesting. I'm not a Cowboys believer. We'll see they're
(20:41):
one two and one. And I think the Texans are
a team that we could see leaping up as well.
There are a lot of teams right now that had
high aspirations. The Falcons, the Cardinals, the Bears, the Vikings,
the Ravens, the teams we just mentioned. There is man
(21:01):
This next four game stretch that begins tonight with San
Francisco and the Rams gonna be fascinating as teams begin
to jockey themselves. You know, Kentucky derby Man. We've just
rounded the first turn and we're starting to hit the backstretch.
And in these next four games, teams are gonna start
moving up in the pack or down in the pack,
(21:23):
and not down and out, but losing or gaining valuable
ground over these next four games. Can't wait to see him,
beginning with a big game tonight in the NFC West. Hey,
we wanted to remind you that you can gear up
with the latest game day necessities at the official Steelers
Pro Shops. Get the latest sideline apparel, jerseys, Terrible Towns,
(21:45):
authentic memorabilia and custom exclusives you can only find directly
from the team. Visit one of the official Steelers Pro
Shops located at Akroscher Stadium, Grove City, Premium mount Lets,
or Tanger Outlets, or gear up online at shop dot
Steelers dot com. Get it direct from the team at
the Steelers Pro Shop at shop dot Steelers dot com.
(22:06):
Back more with more in the Locker Room presented by
your neighborhood Ford Store and the Steelers Pro Shop on
Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
This is in the Locker Room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio presented by your neighborhood Forward Store.
The F one fifty is the official truck of the
Pittsburgh Steelers and by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop
dot Steelers dot com.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
And it's time for our AFC preview, presented by UPMC,
the official healthcare provider and health plan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Max,
are you ready?
Speaker 5 (22:55):
I am ready? Roll. Let's do it.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
Okay, So let's look the games, will mix in a
little bit of news as we get to the teams
that appear to be important Vikings Browns in London two
and two, Vikings at the one in three Browns. Excuse me.
Shador Sanders continues to be amusing, especially from Afar. I
(23:22):
guess he was taken to task for something he said. Frankly,
I didn't see what he said over the weekend, but
taking a task for it, And then the reporters were
asking him questions and he was opening his mouth as
if to answer those questions and evidently not saying anything.
So I don't know what to make of that, Max, Yeah,
I don't know what to make of that, other than
(23:44):
he is not going to be starting, Dylan Gabriel is
going to be starting. I don't even know if Shador
will be the number two in this one. But in
London three, okay, you would think Max that this is
advantage Vikings in this game. They've been over there, maybe
a little more acclimated to what's going down as far
(24:04):
as the time change your thoughts on Vikings Browns coming
up in London on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
I would say the Vikings should win this game, but
knowing the injuries that are on that offensive line, I
don't know if they have enough to stop Miles Garrett. Yeah,
that's going to be something, because Miles Garrett right now,
since last season has had at least one tackle for
loss in eleven consecutive games.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
Now, that's notable, but let's not forget that TJ.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
Watt did that for fifteen consecutive games before. So you know,
when I look at this, it's like, that's impressive. But
we've also had a guy who's done it better. So
just make sure we keep things in perspective. I am
not cheering for Miles Garrett at all, but I will
say that right now he's been on a tear and
he leaves the NFL and TFLs. He has eight TfL
(25:05):
so far in the season, so that's gonna be a
big issue for the Vikings, who struggled against our defense
last week.
Speaker 4 (25:10):
Yeah, I'm gonna see a ton of Browns coming up,
obviously starting next week to prep for the game on
Sunday against the Browns at Acriture Stadium. You know, they've
I think again, you know the sort of the notion
that they're copying. You know, it's it's the seniorest form
(25:33):
of sincere form of flatter when someone's copying what you're doing.
I think much as the Steelers are trying to build
in the trenches, and of course maybe you can have
a little do off with the cap to the to
the to the Eagles, all of the students have always
tried to do that. You know, the Browns go out
and get Mason Graham. Last year they took Mike Hall
in the second round. I'm not even sure he's starting.
I don't know what his snapcounts are, but I think
(25:54):
that they even though that's an aging offensive line trying
to get through a year with that offense of line,
it's still a talented group of guys that they're gonna
probably have to turn their attention to that in the
in the coming years. You know, I'll be interested to
see what Mason Graham can do a little bit less
interested in Mike Hall though, you know, second round pick
(26:15):
from a year ago. They're clearly trying to build around
around Miles Garrett and trying to you know, have Swashinger
as a as a second round pick in the middle
of the inside linebacker position. J Okay has been out.
I think they're clearly trying to build in the trenches
and do it that way. So I'll be interested to
(26:35):
watch Mason Graham, uh and interested to watch that game.
So I'm with you. Now. Raiders Colts. Uh, look, Colts
came close, you know, uh to making it four and oh,
but now they're three and one and dealing with their
first losses. They get ready to host the Raiders big
favor by the way.
Speaker 5 (26:54):
Yeah, I mean, yeah exactly.
Speaker 6 (26:56):
It's you know, Ken Daniel Jones and the Colts kind
of bounced back after you know, they had a terrible
Week four and you know, losing to the Rams, even
though only by a touchdown.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
Can they bounce back?
Speaker 4 (27:10):
You know?
Speaker 3 (27:11):
But my other question is can Gino Smith stop throwing
the ball to the other team. That's gonna be the
tail of the tape on that one. So I'm really
interested in that. I do love this combo of young
and quote unquote a little less young. That's Ashton gent
brock Bowers versus Jonathan Taylor and Tyler Warren. Those are
(27:34):
two tight and tight ends and two very good running backs. Yeah,
so that's gonna be a really interesting matchup in this game.
But I really think it comes down to Daniel Jones
and Gino Smith. Can they actually weaponize their weapons or
will they still continue to kind of sputter as as
the as the Raiders have done.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Okay, agreed, So Boys Jets is our next AFC game
because of the Giants are in the Saints. I'm just
going down the list here of games Cowboys and Jets.
Cowboys in New York favored by two and a half.
The Jets are, you know, they're scrappy. I don't know
if they have enough talent. They obviously made a coaching
(28:20):
change in Aaron Glenn right now four weeks in, still
looking for his first victories in NFL head coach.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Yeah, and really the biggest thing for the Jets is
turnover margin. Can they not give the ball away? Because
they actually come into this week. Did you know this,
rob the number one ranked offense in the NFL.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
The Cowboys, No Jets, Oh, the Jets. No, I did
not know that. Yeah. In fact, obviously, as bad.
Speaker 5 (28:50):
As they are, think about this.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
The Jets have scored thirty four or sorry, thirty two, ten,
twenty seven and twenty one point. They are, I mean,
outside of that Buffalo game, they have been a scoring team.
But they've given up, you know, twenty seven, nine, thirty
and thirty four. So they lost by two, lost by two,
lost by six, and then of course the most glaring
(29:15):
one was the Bills lost where they lost by twenty.
But they've been in every game they've been in, and
the Cowboys have the thirty second ranked defense in all
of the NFL.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
That that's that's Matt Maxet is great stuff across the pond,
still digging in. I love it. That's good stuff.
Speaker 5 (29:33):
And you know, I'm just here to provide little nuggets.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
Right now.
Speaker 5 (29:37):
You're the historian. I'm the arbiter. I give the highlights.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
You know, I think it's great. I think it's I
think it's fascinating. I do think that, you know, watching
teams evolve is it's a fascinating process. So the Jets
are playing teams close. They've got a better offense. Lear
need is on defense, and I think we all knew
(30:02):
that going in. And even with the injury on the
offensive line to Elijah Vera Tucker, you know, there's still
a team that can play bully ball. They still have
some weapons on the outside, particularly Garrett Wilson. They have
a stable of running backs, they have justin fields who
can run. Are they ready for the Bills? No, they
showed that, but are they ready for other teams? It'll
(30:24):
be interesting to see if they start winning some games,
what happens to them and if they become a team
that becomes a tougher and tougher out. They've already been
a tough out. Right, there are three and the four losses,
I mean they could have won, right, they could have won,
including the game against the Steelers with the great Boswall
(30:44):
makes a sixty harder otherwise that could be a Jets victory. So, okay,
I'm fascinated by your game. You know, there are a
handful of Look, there's a reason to watch every game.
It's what makes the NFL so wonderful. Like you said, Raiders, Colts.
You know, watch those quarterbacks or watch those tight ends
and and running backs, and there's always a reason to
watch a game. But you know, where are the Broncos.
(31:06):
They they are they look to be an up and
coming team. They're only two and two. They're going in
against the champs to four to oh Eagles. You know
they're going to be revd up for this game even
if they you know, I think at this stage of
a team's evolution, and the Broncos clearly want to get
into the playoffs winning game, start, you know, continue their
(31:28):
rise up the ranks. I think just just giving the
Eagles a scare, just letting the Eagles know they're in
a game, or you know, being able to stick with
them physically, would be a moral victory. Uh. The Eagles
are favored by three and a half. Max, I think
you got a really good one on your on your
hands with Steve Levy on Sunday.
Speaker 5 (31:49):
Yeah, No, I think I think we do have a
really good one. Broncos two losses four points.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
That's the combined number of points that keeps them from
being four and oh is four points, right, You lose
to the Colts by one at the end of the game,
and then you lose to the Chargers by three. So
that's the difference between being two and two and being
four and oh. Whereas the Eagles, on the other hand,
all their games have been one possession victories touchdown or
(32:22):
less that they've won by you know, they beat the
Cowboys by four, they beat the Chiefs by three, they
beat the Rams by a touchdown, and then the Bucks
by essentially six points, so a little less than a touchdown.
So these Eagles wins have not been blowout but they've
won the one possession game moments. They've held their cool
(32:43):
long enough, you know, to make it through the game.
Speaker 5 (32:48):
And so that's kind of where you're at. Difference wise,
it's a little bit of luck.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
And that's where that's where you know, opportunity, you know,
comes in and they.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
Took advantage of it. So this is gonna be a
really interesting game.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
Like you said, three and a half points spread in
this game, but this could come down to the wire.
Who holds the ball last will dictate the victory in it.
And you know, Sean Payton and Bo Nicks have been
doing a really good job to do this and really,
can this be the turning point? Can Bonnicks if he
(33:24):
can somewhat rise, does he now kind of become the
next rising star quarterback in the NFL?
Speaker 4 (33:31):
Agreed, It's fascinating, It's you got a great I can't
wait to watch that one now. I said, every game's
got something going for it, you know, Dolphins Panthers. That
might be the one where I'm getting ready to newclock game.
Let me let me, honey, let me run off to
the store. I'll get some stuff. I can't say I
have a great deal of interesting that game.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
I can tell you that I have zero interest in
the game, and I'm glad my game's on during the
same time.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
Let's move on here. You're a man, oh man, you
talk about a game, the one in three Texans visiting
the one in three Ravens. No Lamar Jackson. You know,
I don't know if the Ravens have actually officially ruled
them out. They haven't said anything on Lamar's injury. I'm
the assumption, I think the wide assumption is he's gonna
(34:19):
miss a couple of weeks and won't be playing this week.
Holy mackerel, is this a huge game for both of
these teams. Can you imagine either the Ravens or the
Texas Now they could each come out one, three and one.
We saw ty last week, but can you imagine one
of those teams being one and four. That's amazing.
Speaker 5 (34:42):
Two teams that won their division a year ago scrapping
for their second victory.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
This that this is something that you know, something's got
to give. You know, either it's the Texas off gets
on track or the Ravens defense gets on track, because
those are the two things that's been really hurting both
of those teams. They've lost, right, so one of them
has to be not as bad as the other. And
that's really what this comes down to. And can can
(35:14):
c J. Stroud actually get his first win? He has
not beaten the Ravens yet and he's played him a
host of times, so you know, maybe a Lamar Jackson
lists Ravens is finally the one that he that puts
him in the win column, you know, but.
Speaker 5 (35:29):
I think it has to be something.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
And then you know, for Derrick Henry, you know, he's
he's been jittery since we had a great performance Week one,
but that fumble seem to have gotten to him and
is carried over since so can Derrick Henry get back
on tray. Everybody wanted to talk about how great he
was and everything, King Henry, this and that.
Speaker 5 (35:48):
I mean, he's he's he's he's looking. He's looking like
you know, Prince John right now, you.
Speaker 4 (35:53):
Know what I'm saying, Robin Hood, Yeah, Friar Tuck, we
don't want to go that far. Largest largest contract ever ever,
fade to a running back over thirty years old. Then
after the fast start he has cooled down. Probably gonna
have to slide through some of these games for time purposes.
Titans zero to four against the two and two Cardinals.
(36:15):
That's interesting, more interesting, I think from the Cardinals in
that crowded NFC West, Can they move to three and
two because someone's gonna Elvis is gonna be three and
two after that game tonight and someone's gonna be four
and one. So an important game for the Cardinals to
keep pace. Another one of the games of the weeks.
This is in the NFC, the Buccaneers and Seahawks, so
it doesn't fall into the purview of what we're doing now,
(36:37):
but a game that I'm greatly interested in watching. Back
to the AFC three and one Lions ten and a
half point favorites against the Bengals. That's like a college
line in Cincinnati. The Lions are favored by that much.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
The Baggals have only scored thirteen points in their last
two games, and they have given up seventy six points.
Speaker 4 (37:06):
So you're saying ten and a half sounds reasonable.
Speaker 5 (37:09):
Ten and a half sounds very reasonable.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
Okay, okay, especially when remember this the lines have already
hung fifty two on Chicago.
Speaker 4 (37:19):
Yeah, yeah, so okay, so I.
Speaker 5 (37:21):
Would say Chicago looks better than.
Speaker 4 (37:24):
The Oh I agree, I agree. Another one of the games,
and again there are five or six games that I
am just fascinated to watch. The Commanders at two and two.
Jayden Daniels apparently back for this game visiting the Chargers.
Chargers are dinged up a little bit. There's still two
and a half point favorites in this game. The two
and two Commanders, three and one Chargers. Again, the Chargers,
(37:47):
they make that statement win earlier against the Chiefs. You
kind of give that back if you lose this game
and the Chiefs. The Chiefs improved to three and two.
Now suddenly you've lost a cuple in a row. And
you dropped the three and two, but the Commanders by
the same token. Man, the Commanders don't want to be
two and three as a as a team considered maybe
(38:09):
one of the contenders lining up to possibly knock off
the Eagles atop the NFC perch. So interesting game, Commander's Chargers.
That's a four to twenty five game.
Speaker 5 (38:21):
Yeah, no, gonna be a good one. Chargers.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
The one thing in their back pocket though, Rob they're
already three and zero in the divisions.
Speaker 5 (38:28):
They've already finished half of their division game though.
Speaker 4 (38:30):
Is that crazy?
Speaker 3 (38:31):
So they played them in the first three weeks back
to back to back, So if the Chargers were gonna slump,
it's okay that you lost to the Giants and that
you know, if you lose to the Commanders both NFC teams, right,
But then you come back and you have the Dolphins,
the Colts, Vikings, and Titans before.
Speaker 5 (38:50):
You see us.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
I mean, they don't want to say they have an
easy schedule, but this, this Commander's game is probably the
toughest of the next stretching games that they're gonna face.
Speaker 4 (39:00):
Going to be feeling really good, Yeah, they're going to
be facing really good, feeling really good if they win
this game another game. The last two games also for
me highly fascinating. The Bills are seven and a half
point favorites over the Patriots. I think, look, no such
thing as a moral victory in the NFL unless you
(39:20):
get a moral victory, and then I think it's worth something.
So I just contradicted myself in the same sentence. I think,
if the Patriots go in there and give the Bills
a tussle, this is a Patriots team that won four
games two years ago, four games last year. Mike Braviel's
trying to get them in a better spot. I think
if they come out and give the Bills a semblance
(39:41):
of a game, that would be an actual moral victory
for the Patriots, and I think they're capable of doing that,
and it's why I'm interested in watching.
Speaker 5 (39:51):
Yeah, two games they lost were by a touchdown.
Speaker 3 (39:54):
Eah, you just come off of having an offensive explosion.
Speaker 5 (39:58):
You score forty two points on the Panthers.
Speaker 3 (40:01):
So, like you said, if you give them a tussle,
you give them a scare, and they don't feel like
they're comfortable going into a victory because outside of Baltimore,
Buffalo hasn't been challenged in the last three weeks.
Speaker 5 (40:11):
So if you could hang neck to neck with them
into the fourth quarter, that that goes a long way.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
And you're already halfway through your win total from the
last two years, you know, with two victories already. I
think Mike Gravels squad could have could get some momentum
going for the rest of the season.
Speaker 4 (40:27):
And then finally on Monday Night Football, the two and
two Chiefs at the three and one Jacksonville Jaguars. Uh,
you know, the the stretch continues, by the way, after
this game. Uh, here's what's next up for the Chiefs Detroit. Okay,
So if you drop to two and three, yikes, Detroit
(40:50):
Vegas shouldn't be a problem. Then you have Washington and
Buffalo before you're by I mean, if you're if you
are the Chiefs that we know, you could very well
be seven and two. If you're six and three, you're
just fine. If you lose this game, man, few I
think that this could this could wind up being a
(41:12):
fall from grace for the Chiefs. I think this is
an important game for Kansas City. Meanwhile, Jacksonville wants to
show that at three and one they're not a Fluke.
Speaker 3 (41:22):
Exactly. It's the old adage are you for real or
are you fake? This is that moment for Trevor Lawrence.
Has he has he made a resurgence, Has he come
alive as as QB one, number one overall draft pick,
or has this all been smoking mirrors up to this point.
(41:42):
That's what this game is going to prove for him
and his Jaguar mates. Can they be a for real
team that has that is on a two game win
streak just like the Chiefs, and can you actually go
toe to toe with good competition and come out the
other side of the victor.
Speaker 4 (41:59):
That's our AFC preview presented by UPMC, the official healthcare
provider and health plan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Back with
just one final thought Max, where Max Starks thinks the
Steelers sit right now at three and one, at his
satisfaction level with where they are when we continue in
the Locker Room presented by your neighborhood Ford Store and
the Steelers Pro Shop on Steelers Nation Radio, part of
(42:20):
the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
This is in the Locker Room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio presented by your neighborhood Ford Store,
the f one point fifty is the official truck of
the Pittsburgh Steelers and by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it
direct from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at
shop dot Steelers dot.
Speaker 4 (42:46):
Com and thanks very much for being with us again.
No show tomorrow, So we're wrapping up the locker room
for this week. Obviously, the Steelers have a buy and
so they're going to be able to do whatever. You know,
Max talked about what happens during a bye week, and
they'll be able to take advantage of that bye week
(43:07):
and whatever way they're allowed and can and want to
over the next few days, you know, kind of thinking
about the schedule and four game bursts. The Steelers are
three and one going under this by they come out
against Cleveland at Cincinnati Green Bay is a Sunday night game,
and then Indianapolis, a game that suddenly looks a lot
(43:28):
more challenging than it may have at the beginning of
the season. So those are all things that lay ahead. Max,
how do you feel about the Steelers three and one start,
and you know what their trajectory is all of that
after the first four games and this by heading into
another work week next week.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
I think the only celebratory thing that I could do
to kind of show my happiness will be.
Speaker 4 (43:57):
Oh no, oh every time, Max, I'm amused. I think
I think I'm actually surprised ninety percent of the time,
which doesn't say much for my mental acuity. But always amused, Max, always.
Speaker 3 (44:19):
Amused, exactly exactly for everybody out there a Steeler Nation,
just make sure you know it's only four minutes till noon,
so make sure you get out there and get you
something good to eat, just like I'm gonna.
Speaker 5 (44:29):
Do for dinner this evening.
Speaker 3 (44:30):
Since I'm now ahead of you guys as opposed to
normally being behind you guys.
Speaker 5 (44:35):
Still in the breakfast time segment, I'm now closer towards
dinner time.
Speaker 3 (44:39):
So I'm really amused at where the Steelers are happy
with it. What I love four and oh absolutely, but
I don't feel like we deserve to win Week two.
We didn't deserve to win against the Seattle Seahawks, and
it showed. But I think it also tested us and
allowed us to win these the last two games before
(45:00):
this buy.
Speaker 5 (45:01):
So I think you kind of had.
Speaker 3 (45:02):
To have that tough moment to reveal the character of
this team. And I think we're starting to pick up steam.
We're starting to see more completeness from the offense. You're
starting to see dominance by the defense in large swaths. Now,
obviously you don't want to give up a Jordan Atison play.
You don't want to you have to depend on two
(45:23):
goal line Stan turnovers like you did against the Patriots.
But it's revealing the character of this team, and they're
learning how to overcome adversity and how to push through
it and thrive in it. So I think when I
look at it from the first four weeks, I'm happy
where they are and I feel confident about them moving forward.
Speaker 4 (45:42):
Okay, I think that's well put. I got nothing to add. Max.
I think that's a Mike trop moment, and that's it
for the locker room. Safe travels, my friend, look forward
to the broadcast. I will be tuning in and can't
wait to hear you on the call and can't wait
to listen to that game, one of many that I
think are going to be interesting. Safe travels, Max.
Speaker 3 (46:06):
Thank you, appreciate it, Rob, enjoy your bye week, and
of course you and justin over there in the studio.
Speaker 5 (46:11):
You guys, take care and we'll be back. Same bat channels,
same bat time on Monday. Look forward to it.
Speaker 4 (46:16):
You got it. As Max mentioned, Justin Miller in at
the controls in our iHeart Studio, Max Starks and Jolly
Old joining us throughout the course of the week. I'm
rob King. We all thank you for being in the
Locker Room, presented by your neighborhood Ford Store and the
Steelers Pro Shop on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of
(46:36):
the Steelers Audio Network.
Popular Podcasts
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.