November 15, 2024 • 26 mins
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Commanders: NFC East Showdown
Join hosts Alex Hardy and Nick Ferguson, former NFL safety, as they dive into the thrilling Thursday night matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders. With the Eagles securing a 26-18 victory, they now hold a significant lead in the NFC East. The episode delves into the crucial performances, including Saquon Barkley's 146 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and the Eagles' defense under the strategic guidance of Vic Fangio. The hosts analyze the Eagles' offensive explosion in the fourth quarter and discuss the defensive prowess that limited Washington's wide receivers to just 28 yards. Nick shares insights from his NFL experience, highlighting the Eagles' ability to mix up coverages and force turnovers.
The episode also previews the upcoming Week 11 matchups, featuring the Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals vs. Los Angeles Chargers. Alex and Nick break down the key elements of each game, from rushing offenses to defensive matchups, and ponder the potential outcomes as teams vie for playoff positions.
00:00 This podcast is presented by Ride the Wave Media
00:15 Philadelphia Eagles beat Washington Commanders 27-18 in NFC East showdown
09:41 Week 11 of the NFL season kicks off Sunday with Pittsburgh Steelers vs Baltimore Ravens
19:03 The Denver Broncos host the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night in primetime
25:31 Nick Ferguson: Anytime you eat ribs, use a napkin
NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, Vic Fangio, NFC East, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers, NFL Week 11, NFL Playoffs, Denver Broncos, Sean Payton, Audrick Estime, Justin Simmons, Cortland Sutton, Ride the Wave Media, Those Guys Podcast, NFL Analysis, Football Strategy, Player Performance
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:13):
We are those guys.
We hope to be your guys bringing you thelatest from the National Football League.
This is our Rapid ReactionThursday night edition.
The Philadelphia Eagles just tookcare of the Washington Commanders 26
18 and here to break it down with meas always, Nick Ferguson, former NFL
safety, 10 years in the league, uh,most notably with the Denver Broncos,
(00:35):
uh, and it feels like, Nick, we've beendoing, uh, pods for 10 years together.
What's going on, my man?
Let's do it, man.
What is happening?
We've got, you know, abattle of NFC supremacy.
The NFC East is now a three game leadwith the Eagles over the Commanders.
And really, you talk about SaquonBarkley, 146 rushing yards and two TDs,
(01:01):
lifting that offense when Jalen Hurtswas inaccurate, I'd say the least.
Uh, but nonetheless, it's the defensethat really made a difference, uh,
that we're going to get into quitea bit because of your familiarity
with their defensive play caller.
But Nick, overall, when you look at theEagles and commanders, it was a one score
game, but just looking at that, those twonumbers alone, it's going to The Eagles,
(01:24):
to me, look like they're in a differentstratosphere than the Commanders.
Well, they may look like theyare in a different stratosphere
because of how the game finished.
But the game didn't really start that wayfor the Eagles and they were not flying
high as both Washington and the Eagleskind of struggled to get things going.
(01:46):
It wasn't until that fourth quarter.
Let's be totally honest.
There was this Offensive Explosion,Saquon Broccoli, 26 carries, 146 yards.
And two sensational touchdowns.
I mean, he was running aroundonce he scored like he was a
little kid and he was having fun.
I guess, I mean, Phillywould do that for you.
(02:09):
I guess they call it the city ofbrotherly love for a reason, but he wasn't
doing that with the New York Giants.
Running around like he was havingfun, but it was great to see the
Eagles finally poured on at the end.
But this is a team, thePhiladelphia Eagles, That once
again, they start so slow.
So if they come up against another teamthat's able to get going offensively
(02:29):
early, that now puts the Eagles behind,you know, the scoring chart, and I
don't think that they have enough inthe tank to kind of overcome a team
that can put 24, 21, 28 points on them.
No, especially with howthat Eagles defense was.
I will note that that battle of thetrenches on both sides of the football,
certainly in favor of the PhiladelphiaEagles, uh, Nick, if you had to guess.
(02:53):
Right.
This offense as a whole 228 rushing yards.
You mentioned a buck 46 comingfrom sake one, Jalen hurts at 40
yards and Kenneth gain while veryefficient for carries 43 yards.
So again, almost 230 yards rushing.
How many yards before contact do youthink those rushers had for the Eagles?
(03:15):
Probably
say before contact before contact.
Right.
And I'll give you a hint.
I would say about 2.
5.
The four yards.
Right, the raw number.
So Saquon's back to back touchdowns,he was untouched for both.
150 rushing yards before contactthis Eagles team had tonight.
(03:38):
So the addition, or I should say, uh,getting Jordan Mailata at left tackle
coming off IR was a huge, huge pieceof that offensive line just bullying.
What is and has been a very capable andquality defensive line that, you know,
has been playing really well with DanQuinn's, uh, tutelage as head coach.
(04:00):
Now defending the run, they'rebetter at rushing the passer.
Uh, they came in, I believe it was29th in terms of, um, Uh, allowing
yards before contact, whereas theEagles just are completely punishing.
Um, so, on that side of the football,they were able to establish the ground
(04:21):
game later on, as you mentioned, um,and make up for the fact that they were
missing kicks, Jalen Hurts missing throws.
And, you know, for a moment there, whenyou enter that blue medical tent being
evaluated for a concussion, that could bethe Eagles season on the line right there.
Instead, they're 8 2, uh, justtrailing Detroit in the NFC standings.
Um, and really, Nick, I wantto get to this side of it.
(04:44):
I've kind of teased it a couple of timesnow, but the effort that that defense
had done limiting the outside passcatchers, the wide receivers, had a total
of Four catches for 28 yards, right?
Austin Eckler, Zachar, it's getting amajority of the work in that passing
game because of Vic Fangio's scheme,shutting down those outside receivers.
(05:09):
So Nick, Vic Fangio, former DenverBroncos head coach, your familiarity
with him throughout his decades in theleague, uh, what is it about his game
plan tonight, or maybe that you've seenfrom the Eagles overall that has them
humming at this point in the season?
Well, for me, Alex, they goteveryone involved from the front end
(05:29):
to the back end, and they're justtrying to mix up their coverage.
And the Eagles, they don'trun a lot of man coverage.
They rely heavily on theirfront being able to get pressure
and force some turnovers.
They run too high.
They run cover three, cover four.
And what they try to do, theytry to force you into mistakes.
We saw tonight where the Eagles wereable to create some turnovers by
(05:54):
utilizing their safeties, droppingthem down and acting as a robber.
The one thing they did great against, uh,Jaden Daniels, who, when he gets the ball
in his hands, he likes to get outside onthe perimeter of the defense, like most
quarterbacks decide to do, but they dida great job of trying to limit those.
Uh, big plays and force him into someerror throws and over the past, uh, two
(06:19):
weeks, he's been sacked three times.
I mean, excuse me, six times,three times, uh, a game.
And that is becoming issues forthe Washington, uh, commanders.
But Big Fan Joe and the Eagles hada great game plan coming in tonight.
They executed well.
They communicate, which always is a bigissue when you are playing a team or any
(06:39):
team at home because of the crowd noise.
But that was one of the things thatkind of got them over the hump.
And they were able tofind ways to communicate.
You know, in the game to kind of put,you know, Jane Danes on his heels.
And a couple of times, you know, JaneDanes started reverting on some bad
habits that I hadn't seen in a while.
And that's why I was back foot.
That's why I'm missing a lot of throws.
(07:00):
And when you play the quarterbackposition, think about Patrick Mahomes.
Being able to throw from different armangles and tonight the arm angles were
not there for Jay and Dan's becausethe footwork wasn't there tonight.
So they've lost back to back games now.
The Steelers and the Eagles.
They're, you know, going to get, um,let's say a good remedy being able
(07:22):
to host Dallas week 12 and then theTitans week 13 before that week 14 by.
So are you necessarily worriedabout their, their stretch here
losing to two quality teams?
Again, one of the best in the NFC,the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of the
best in the AFC in their own right.
Or is this kind of.
A rookie quarterback who's nowplayed 11 straight weeks of football,
(07:43):
especially tonight on short rest.
I know the Eagles had that as well,but a rookie who doesn't have their
by until week 14, do you sort of buyinto fatigue that comes in as you're
acclimating to your first NFL season or.
Jaden Daniels played five years at twocolleges, and he's been a, essentially,
a professional up to this point.
(08:04):
No, I'm not going to buy into that,because everything that we've seen
from Jaden Daniels is proving that,you know, when Washington took
him, they took him for a reason.
The skill sets are there, andjust unfortunate you've run up
against teams that are betterthan you from a talent standpoint.
I mean, look at Dan Quinn's defense.
(08:28):
They gave up a lot of yardsagainst Saquon Barkley.
You go back a couple of weeksand you say, well, when they were
playing the Chicago Bears, the samething happened with DeAndre Swift.
It's the idea of guys being wherethey need to be and making the tackles
when they need to make the tackles.
So, this is not kind of anoverreaction for me because,
(08:48):
look, here in Denver, Denver playBaltimore and play Kansas City.
Two teams that are playing well,Kansas City is kind of a toss
up, but they know how to win.
And that's how I look atthe Philadelphia Eagles.
So you, same thing is for the Eagles.
I mean, for, excuse me,forward or commanders.
You're facing a team, two teams in backto back weeks that are better than you.
(09:11):
They know how to finish.
Because think about how Washingtonlost against Pittsburgh.
Not being able to finishon either side of the ball.
Tonight, they couldn'tget their offense going.
And then, they let the groundgame of the Philadelphia Eagles
take over with Saquon Barkley.
So, this is not an opportunity or the timeto kind of have that knee jerk reaction
(09:33):
or panic and say, Well, Jane Daniels mayhave had success early at the beginning
of the season, but he's just anotherrookie quarterback that's struggling.
No, I'm not going to buy into thatbecause we all know Some nights are
yours and some nights are your opponents.
And tonight was the night.
Well, we will see thePhiladelphia Eagles on NBC.
They've got Sunday night footballweek 12, traveling to where I am,
(09:57):
uh, in Southern California to facethe Rams before going to Baltimore.
Which will be, uh, really, you know, notjust, uh, John Harbaugh, uh, hosting what
was formerly his team that he was the,uh, special teams coordinator for, but
a battle of truly one of the best in theAFC against one of the best in the NFC.
So that'll be exciting.
(10:17):
Once the calendar rolls to December,Nick can't believe I'm saying that just.
Two NFL weeks away from now.
Uh, we have an exciting week 11, not toget too far into the sauce for week 13.
Week 11, nonetheless, Nick, um, you know,it, it kicked off with what kind of was
a lousy game to start, but finished outall right, based on Saquon Barkley's
(10:41):
heroics in the fourth quarter, but Nick,correct me if I'm wrong, if you started
your NFL Sunday this weekend with theSteelers and Ravens, you follow that with
the Chiefs and the Bills in the afternoonand cap things off with the Bengals
and Chargers on Sunday night football.
Could you pick six teams that you'drather watch go head to head and
(11:01):
spend your entire Sunday watching?
I mean, is week 11, am I allowedto build the expectation or?
Like, is it not going to deliver justbased on how good these teams have been?
How good these teams in particular, thedivision matchup in the morning and the
chiefs and the bills, the eighth time thatthey've played in the last five years.
(11:22):
Like, can the expectation, can itdeliver based on how these teams
have played so far this year?
Well, that is what the NFL and theindividuals who made the schedule.
That's what they're hoping.
Because when you think about Baltimore.
Now, then the back half of this, theirschedule, they're going to face a lot
of teams within their own division.
(11:44):
And that's going to make everythingreally exciting because now you're
trying to figure out how the seedingis going to break down, who's going
to be the number one seed right now.
Obviously it looks as though Kansas Cityis that team, but things can change.
Over a couple of weeks,going back to Buffalo.
Buffalo has historically had a problemwith Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.
(12:08):
Right, whether they weretraveling to Arrowhead or the
Chiefs were traveling to Buffalo.
It's just one of those things and JoshAllen and the Buffalo Bills have to prove
that not only can you get past They can'tsee the Chiefs in the regular season,
but can you do it in the postseason?
Right?
All of those things are on the table.
(12:30):
You think about theBengals and the Chargers.
Both of those teams are trying to, orthe Chargers are trying to hold their
position, the number two position behindKansas City and Cincinnati is trying to
keep pace because they have the Broncosthemselves and the Colts all vying for
that, that maybe that number seven seed.
So it's going to be important.
(12:50):
I know here in Denver, we definitelygoing to be rooting for the Chargers
that one, which never usually happens.
And, you know, this, thisis, this is great because.
This is where we started to seeteams start to separate themselves.
Let's just say if this was baseball,usually round all star break, we
(13:11):
see teams trying to put themselvesin position for a late push.
Right now we're, we're getting,we're going to get a chance to see.
All these top teams flying forthe number one seat, buying for
top position in the playoffs.
We get a chance to see all thoseteams and really what they're made of.
Let's zoom in, kind of, uh, maybea couple bullet points or notes
(13:34):
from each of those three games.
Um, when I look at the Ravens and theSteelers, for me, it's who's going
to have the best rushing offense.
Uh, on paper, you say, well, how aboutthe number one offense in the NFL, right?
The combination of LamarJackson and Derrick Henry.
They're clearly the better rushingoffense, but the Steelers pass rush, which
is suffering the loss of Alex Highsmith,who's going to miss a few weeks.
(13:56):
Um, you still have T.
J.
Watt there, of course.
You still have Cam Hayward there as well.
I'm wondering if the Steelers cankeep the Ravens off balance, or even
just You know, the Steelers runninggame can be efficient enough where
they can keep Baltimore off the field.
Does it come down in your opinion,Nick, to the running game?
Or are you looking for Lamar and Russellto be battling it out for just making one
(14:19):
more big play than the other quarterback?
Well, the run game is, uh, rather Andyou have to, uh, tip your cap to the
Baltimore Ravens and say, well, advantageRavens because Derrick Henry is a monster.
He's proven he's a monster.
And I still don't understand why theTitans let him go, but yet I digress.
So, for me, it is going to be how welldoes Russell Wilson and that offense
(14:45):
actually find rhythm and find rhythmearly because they have struggled to
as of early but come on, uh, late.
Uh, Mike Williams caught a touchdown.
Uh, last week, uh, and he tweetedsomething about a Stan offer on the red
line, which I'm happy that he did, butwhat is going to come down to, to be
(15:06):
totally, uh, uh, to be totally honestwith you, how well will the Steelers
play against the Raven secondary thathas struggled mightily against, against
the past, uh, the Broncos couldn'treally get a lot, uh, going there, but.
Looking at what's happened with GeorgePickens, obviously you got Pat Firemouth,
(15:26):
and you have Mike Williams as well.
So that's where I'm goingto lean more towards.
If the Steelers are able to move theball down the field efficiently and
effectively, and those moon balls thatwe know that Russell is known for, if
he's throwing moon balls, you may haveto call Neil Armstrong to help out.
(15:49):
Well, let's see if that, uh, if thatSteelers offensive line can buy Russ
the amount of time and, you know, GeorgePickens does George Pickens type things
and, you know, all of a sudden they can goshot for shot with the Baltimore Ravens.
Um, let's see, uh, at this point intime, the Buffalo bills still kind
(16:10):
of ironing out their offense as well,compared to the Kansas city chiefs.
Um, we're still potentially a weekaway from Isaiah Pacheco returning.
Uh, so the more efficient.
Offense between the Chiefs andthe Bills I think gets it done.
On the defensive side of thefootball, who do you think has the
advantage in terms of the front seventhat can slow that running game?
(16:34):
Well, look, Kansas City in theBuffalo game, obviously, If you want
to look at the Steelers, Baltimore,I'll give the nod to the Steelers.
Who else do we have?
We have, um
We'll do, we'll do Bengals and Chargers.
We'll save for last.
Okay.
But, you know, right there in those twoteams, the Steelers and Kansas City.
(16:59):
Better defensive lines.
And when you think about theBuffalo game against Kansas
City, Look at Buffalo's offense.
I mean, not a lot of impact players.
I mean, they have two talented tightends, but Amari Cooper has missed the
past two games because of a wrist injury.
If he plays, then it changes thescenario just a little because now
(17:21):
when you really think about it, youhave two wide receivers who are on
different teams than they started.
One in Newton Hopkins, Andone in Amari Cooper, right?
Both joining teams that could make apush for appearance in New Orleans.
But for me, I just find that fascinatingthat you got two guys who were, who
(17:44):
were traded, who now find themselvesfacing off against one another.
So I would love, I would love to see that.
But once again, a nod goes toKansas City defense and the
Pittsburgh Steelers defense.
All right, so when we get to the Chargersand the Bengals, which was flexed into
Sunday Night Football, um, listen,the Bengals have had one of the better
(18:04):
offenses each of the last two weeks,but end up on the short end of the stick
here, uh, can they get down into the mudwith the type of game that the Chargers
have been playing, emphasizing runningthe football, uh, whether it's with J.
K.
Dobbins or, I guess, J.
K.
Dobbins.
Uh, Justin Herbert, who's beensnatching ankles, uh, based on the
footage that we saw this past week.
Well, I trust the Chargers, oddly enough.
(18:26):
Not, not because as, you know,here in Denver, we need the
Chargers to win the game.
Kind of knock down theBengals a couple of pegs.
But the biggest thing, the Bengalshaven't been running the ball all week.
as well, right?
And that's why they, they, they pickedup Khalil Herbert from, uh, Chicago.
But their bread and butter isJoe Burrow to Jamar Chase, right?
(18:52):
If the Chargers can do what theBaltimore Ravens could not do.
And I couldn't believe itthat they could not do it.
There's one guy out there who JoeBarrow trusts and he's throwing to.
He wears the number one.
He's wearing it for a reason.
And somehow the Ravers defenderscan't find him on the field
to communicate the program.
If the Chargers make that samemistake, they end up losing the game.
(19:16):
And I'm thinking that the Chargers.
They're not that stupid.
Hopefully, no, that goes withoutsaying, they're not that stupid.
Well, they're going to find Jamar chaseand try to double them and force force
everyone else in Joe Burrow to beat them.
I'm really curious to seeexactly how it all shakes out.
And if, uh, you know, I had the pedometeror I had my step counter strapped to me.
(19:42):
If I can, you know, how many tripsto the refrigerator on this Sunday?
Can I get my 10 K?
Because I don't think there's goingto be a whole lot of game action
I want to miss from this Sunday.
Um, we'll see how it stacks up, right?
We'll be here each week, but I'll justkind of keep a mental note wondering if
we can top what Week 11 has to offer.
Nick Ferguson, former 10 year NFLsafety in the National Football League.
(20:03):
I'm Alex Hardy.
We are those guys we hope to be yourguys, and as always, Nick, we tend
to close things out on, uh, thisprogram by asking something for Nick.
Uh, Nick, before we split, Um, Ihad something in the can I think
I wanted to ask about Bo Nix, butwe're going to pivot instead because
I never give you the opportunityto talk about your Denver Broncos.
(20:26):
However, in support of my wife'sfighting Irish, uh, I got to find out
if this is Audrick Estime's week, kindof tell me this Sean Payton process
of weeding out the guys he didn'tdraft and filtering in his guys.
Listen, five and five I think is abit of a surprise, but Sean Payton
nonetheless is going to do what he does.
(20:47):
Um, should I get excited about Estime?
He was basically A bowling ball withknives, uh, was what I would compare
his running style to at Notre Dame.
I mean, listen, when he had, uh, MichaelMayer there and he had, you know, other,
uh, you know, with the exception ofJoe Ault, I'll just say that Estime
was the best player on Notre Dame'soffense each of the last two years
(21:11):
prior to getting drafted by Denver.
But, uh, I'm interested to see kind ofhow this fits, not just him, you know,
progressing in the National FootballLeague, but Nick, let's zoom out.
Like this is just a SeanPayton thing, right?
We're not playing the rookiesbecause we're giving up on the
season at five and five, are we?
Well, I hope that's not the casebecause that was the narrative
(21:35):
last year with, uh, Russell Wilson.
Oh, sure.
Let's do that again.
Well, well, here, here's what I would say.
There are some rumblings that somemoves are going to be made and
SMA is going to get more carries.
What was phenomenal is that like thisseason we've seen Cor and Sutton have
two back to back a hundred yard games.
(21:56):
Mm.
We've also seen Cor and Sutton.
Now we get a, a Targetand a Thursday night game.
And when you fast forward,you, well, you, well you rewind
rather to the Kansas City game.
So you had Javonte Williams on the field.
Yeah.
Right.
He only got one carry.
He was on the field, but he only got onecarry, which is, while considering that
(22:22):
going into the Kansas City game, he waskind of the bell cow guy, because Estime
had somehow found himself in Sean Payton'sdoghouse, because law security was a
huge issue, and I can tell you, right,being around Bill Parcells, which Sean
Payton himself was around, Bill Parcellswill always say, a running back that
(22:43):
puts the ball on the turf consistentlyis someone else's running back, right?
So we don't really know how this,I guess, Estime experiments or
experience is going to work.
Because the moment Estime puts theball on the turf, here's what Sean
Payton is going to have to do.
(23:04):
The guy who only received one carrylast week, he's going to have to turn
around and say, Now you're my guy!
And how does Gervontabounce back from that?
Where I, I would expect for Gervonta torun angry and run pissed off because he
has been the catalyst for this offense.
(23:25):
Like, there are two people who's,who are actually leading the Broncos
in the past games in rushing.
Bo Nix is one, you lookat Gervonta being two.
Who's leading the Broncos inreceptions, in yards, who's Corley
Sutton and Javante Williams.
So how do you sit Javante in thatsituation knowing what those numbers are?
(23:47):
I have no idea.
I will not pretend to be Sean Payton.
But all I know is thatAudrick Essamay blesses hard.
He runs hard.
But if he puts the ball on the turf,He's going back to the doghouse.
Making Sean Payton's decisionall that much easier.
Denver hosting the six and four AtlantaFalcons, Kirk Cousins coming over
(24:08):
and also still Denver native, JustinSimmons, uh, with the Broncos let go of
this off season, uh, this was the linethat I wanted to share with you, Nick.
This was the quote from,uh, Cortland Sutton.
Uh, I texted him referring to Simmons.
Hey, bro.
When I come over the middle of the field,just remember, we're still friends.
(24:28):
What?
No, that's not how this works, right?
Never once when I wore a different uniformbeing a jet, uh, and, and seeing guys from
Buffalo or becoming a Bronco and seeingguys who play for the jets or becoming
a Texan and seeing guys who play for theBroncos, no, we're in different uniforms.
(24:50):
See, we are friends only two times.
In the game.
Before and after.
During.
I don't know you man.
I don't know you.
Right?
And for Justin, for Courtlandrather, to text Justin and say,
hey man, act as though you know me.
(25:10):
If I am Justin, I'm saying, wait aminute, did Courtland just give me an
idea of what the game plan might be?
Him coming across themiddle, running dig routes.
Oh yes.
If you reach up, I'msauteing all these ribs.
? Yeah, like, like bubble gum, shrimp,you know, barbecue ribs, mustard
ribs, you know, all types of ribs.
(25:33):
I'm eating them all up like Jamieson,
Cortland, Sutton's ribs.
Gonna be a Elway Steakhouselater that night.
Courtesy of Justin Simmons,he is Nick Ferguson.
We are those guys, courtesy ofhim 10 years, uh, NFL experience,
as well as myself, Alex Hardy.
Uh, Nick, I'm excited for week 11.
Clearly we've devoted a time to it,the Philadelphia Eagles, of course,
(25:56):
kicking things off with the, uh,26 18 victory over their NFC East
division rivals in Washington.
So Nick, when I talk to you next week,we're, we're going to be approaching
week 12, you know, moving on clearly tothe back half, but certainly, uh, money
making time for a lot of these teams.
So Nick.
Let's get on out of here.
What do you have to say to the people?
(26:17):
Anytime you eat ribs, make sure youhave the proper napkin to wipe it up.
Just hands.
No, no,
no, no.
That's too messy, man.
I use a napkin.
Bring the beard back.
Little flavor saver.
No, man.
Look, Hey, we're not Neanderthal.
We use napkins.
We are those guys.
We hope to be your guys bringing you thelatest from the National Football League.
This is our Rapid ReactionThursday night edition.
The Philadelphia Eagles just tookcare of the Washington Commanders 26
18 and here to break it down with meas always, Nick Ferguson, former NFL
safety, 10 years in the league, uh,most notably with the Denver Broncos,
(00:35):
uh, and it feels like, Nick, we've beendoing, uh, pods for 10 years together.
What's going on, my man?
Let's do it, man.
What is happening?
We've got, you know, abattle of NFC supremacy.
The NFC East is now a three game leadwith the Eagles over the Commanders.
And really, you talk about SaquonBarkley, 146 rushing yards and two TDs,
(01:01):
lifting that offense when Jalen Hurtswas inaccurate, I'd say the least.
Uh, but nonetheless, it's the defensethat really made a difference, uh,
that we're going to get into quitea bit because of your familiarity
with their defensive play caller.
But Nick, overall, when you look at theEagles and commanders, it was a one score
game, but just looking at that, those twonumbers alone, it's going to The Eagles,
(01:24):
to me, look like they're in a differentstratosphere than the Commanders.
Well, they may look like theyare in a different stratosphere
because of how the game finished.
But the game didn't really start that wayfor the Eagles and they were not flying
high as both Washington and the Eagleskind of struggled to get things going.
(01:46):
It wasn't until that fourth quarter.
Let's be totally honest.
There was this Offensive Explosion,Saquon Broccoli, 26 carries, 146 yards.
And two sensational touchdowns.
I mean, he was running aroundonce he scored like he was a
little kid and he was having fun.
I guess, I mean, Phillywould do that for you.
(02:09):
I guess they call it the city ofbrotherly love for a reason, but he wasn't
doing that with the New York Giants.
Running around like he was havingfun, but it was great to see the
Eagles finally poured on at the end.
But this is a team, thePhiladelphia Eagles, That once
again, they start so slow.
So if they come up against another teamthat's able to get going offensively
(02:29):
early, that now puts the Eagles behind,you know, the scoring chart, and I
don't think that they have enough inthe tank to kind of overcome a team
that can put 24, 21, 28 points on them.
No, especially with howthat Eagles defense was.
I will note that that battle of thetrenches on both sides of the football,
certainly in favor of the PhiladelphiaEagles, uh, Nick, if you had to guess.
(02:53):
Right.
This offense as a whole 228 rushing yards.
You mentioned a buck 46 comingfrom sake one, Jalen hurts at 40
yards and Kenneth gain while veryefficient for carries 43 yards.
So again, almost 230 yards rushing.
How many yards before contact do youthink those rushers had for the Eagles?
(03:15):
Probably
say before contact before contact.
Right.
And I'll give you a hint.
I would say about 2.
5.
The four yards.
Right, the raw number.
So Saquon's back to back touchdowns,he was untouched for both.
150 rushing yards before contactthis Eagles team had tonight.
(03:38):
So the addition, or I should say, uh,getting Jordan Mailata at left tackle
coming off IR was a huge, huge pieceof that offensive line just bullying.
What is and has been a very capable andquality defensive line that, you know,
has been playing really well with DanQuinn's, uh, tutelage as head coach.
(04:00):
Now defending the run, they'rebetter at rushing the passer.
Uh, they came in, I believe it was29th in terms of, um, Uh, allowing
yards before contact, whereas theEagles just are completely punishing.
Um, so, on that side of the football,they were able to establish the ground
(04:21):
game later on, as you mentioned, um,and make up for the fact that they were
missing kicks, Jalen Hurts missing throws.
And, you know, for a moment there, whenyou enter that blue medical tent being
evaluated for a concussion, that could bethe Eagles season on the line right there.
Instead, they're 8 2, uh, justtrailing Detroit in the NFC standings.
Um, and really, Nick, I wantto get to this side of it.
(04:44):
I've kind of teased it a couple of timesnow, but the effort that that defense
had done limiting the outside passcatchers, the wide receivers, had a total
of Four catches for 28 yards, right?
Austin Eckler, Zachar, it's getting amajority of the work in that passing
game because of Vic Fangio's scheme,shutting down those outside receivers.
(05:09):
So Nick, Vic Fangio, former DenverBroncos head coach, your familiarity
with him throughout his decades in theleague, uh, what is it about his game
plan tonight, or maybe that you've seenfrom the Eagles overall that has them
humming at this point in the season?
Well, for me, Alex, they goteveryone involved from the front end
(05:29):
to the back end, and they're justtrying to mix up their coverage.
And the Eagles, they don'trun a lot of man coverage.
They rely heavily on theirfront being able to get pressure
and force some turnovers.
They run too high.
They run cover three, cover four.
And what they try to do, theytry to force you into mistakes.
We saw tonight where the Eagles wereable to create some turnovers by
(05:54):
utilizing their safeties, droppingthem down and acting as a robber.
The one thing they did great against, uh,Jaden Daniels, who, when he gets the ball
in his hands, he likes to get outside onthe perimeter of the defense, like most
quarterbacks decide to do, but they dida great job of trying to limit those.
Uh, big plays and force him into someerror throws and over the past, uh, two
(06:19):
weeks, he's been sacked three times.
I mean, excuse me, six times,three times, uh, a game.
And that is becoming issues forthe Washington, uh, commanders.
But Big Fan Joe and the Eagles hada great game plan coming in tonight.
They executed well.
They communicate, which always is a bigissue when you are playing a team or any
(06:39):
team at home because of the crowd noise.
But that was one of the things thatkind of got them over the hump.
And they were able tofind ways to communicate.
You know, in the game to kind of put,you know, Jane Danes on his heels.
And a couple of times, you know, JaneDanes started reverting on some bad
habits that I hadn't seen in a while.
And that's why I was back foot.
That's why I'm missing a lot of throws.
(07:00):
And when you play the quarterbackposition, think about Patrick Mahomes.
Being able to throw from different armangles and tonight the arm angles were
not there for Jay and Dan's becausethe footwork wasn't there tonight.
So they've lost back to back games now.
The Steelers and the Eagles.
They're, you know, going to get, um,let's say a good remedy being able
(07:22):
to host Dallas week 12 and then theTitans week 13 before that week 14 by.
So are you necessarily worriedabout their, their stretch here
losing to two quality teams?
Again, one of the best in the NFC,the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of the
best in the AFC in their own right.
Or is this kind of.
A rookie quarterback who's nowplayed 11 straight weeks of football,
(07:43):
especially tonight on short rest.
I know the Eagles had that as well,but a rookie who doesn't have their
by until week 14, do you sort of buyinto fatigue that comes in as you're
acclimating to your first NFL season or.
Jaden Daniels played five years at twocolleges, and he's been a, essentially,
a professional up to this point.
(08:04):
No, I'm not going to buy into that,because everything that we've seen
from Jaden Daniels is proving that,you know, when Washington took
him, they took him for a reason.
The skill sets are there, andjust unfortunate you've run up
against teams that are betterthan you from a talent standpoint.
I mean, look at Dan Quinn's defense.
(08:28):
They gave up a lot of yardsagainst Saquon Barkley.
You go back a couple of weeksand you say, well, when they were
playing the Chicago Bears, the samething happened with DeAndre Swift.
It's the idea of guys being wherethey need to be and making the tackles
when they need to make the tackles.
So, this is not kind of anoverreaction for me because,
(08:48):
look, here in Denver, Denver playBaltimore and play Kansas City.
Two teams that are playing well,Kansas City is kind of a toss
up, but they know how to win.
And that's how I look atthe Philadelphia Eagles.
So you, same thing is for the Eagles.
I mean, for, excuse me,forward or commanders.
You're facing a team, two teams in backto back weeks that are better than you.
(09:11):
They know how to finish.
Because think about how Washingtonlost against Pittsburgh.
Not being able to finishon either side of the ball.
Tonight, they couldn'tget their offense going.
And then, they let the groundgame of the Philadelphia Eagles
take over with Saquon Barkley.
So, this is not an opportunity or the timeto kind of have that knee jerk reaction
(09:33):
or panic and say, Well, Jane Daniels mayhave had success early at the beginning
of the season, but he's just anotherrookie quarterback that's struggling.
No, I'm not going to buy into thatbecause we all know Some nights are
yours and some nights are your opponents.
And tonight was the night.
Well, we will see thePhiladelphia Eagles on NBC.
They've got Sunday night footballweek 12, traveling to where I am,
(09:57):
uh, in Southern California to facethe Rams before going to Baltimore.
Which will be, uh, really, you know, notjust, uh, John Harbaugh, uh, hosting what
was formerly his team that he was the,uh, special teams coordinator for, but
a battle of truly one of the best in theAFC against one of the best in the NFC.
So that'll be exciting.
(10:17):
Once the calendar rolls to December,Nick can't believe I'm saying that just.
Two NFL weeks away from now.
Uh, we have an exciting week 11, not toget too far into the sauce for week 13.
Week 11, nonetheless, Nick, um, you know,it, it kicked off with what kind of was
a lousy game to start, but finished outall right, based on Saquon Barkley's
(10:41):
heroics in the fourth quarter, but Nick,correct me if I'm wrong, if you started
your NFL Sunday this weekend with theSteelers and Ravens, you follow that with
the Chiefs and the Bills in the afternoonand cap things off with the Bengals
and Chargers on Sunday night football.
Could you pick six teams that you'drather watch go head to head and
(11:01):
spend your entire Sunday watching?
I mean, is week 11, am I allowedto build the expectation or?
Like, is it not going to deliver justbased on how good these teams have been?
How good these teams in particular, thedivision matchup in the morning and the
chiefs and the bills, the eighth time thatthey've played in the last five years.
(11:22):
Like, can the expectation, can itdeliver based on how these teams
have played so far this year?
Well, that is what the NFL and theindividuals who made the schedule.
That's what they're hoping.
Because when you think about Baltimore.
Now, then the back half of this, theirschedule, they're going to face a lot
of teams within their own division.
(11:44):
And that's going to make everythingreally exciting because now you're
trying to figure out how the seedingis going to break down, who's going
to be the number one seed right now.
Obviously it looks as though Kansas Cityis that team, but things can change.
Over a couple of weeks,going back to Buffalo.
Buffalo has historically had a problemwith Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.
(12:08):
Right, whether they weretraveling to Arrowhead or the
Chiefs were traveling to Buffalo.
It's just one of those things and JoshAllen and the Buffalo Bills have to prove
that not only can you get past They can'tsee the Chiefs in the regular season,
but can you do it in the postseason?
Right?
All of those things are on the table.
(12:30):
You think about theBengals and the Chargers.
Both of those teams are trying to, orthe Chargers are trying to hold their
position, the number two position behindKansas City and Cincinnati is trying to
keep pace because they have the Broncosthemselves and the Colts all vying for
that, that maybe that number seven seed.
So it's going to be important.
(12:50):
I know here in Denver, we definitelygoing to be rooting for the Chargers
that one, which never usually happens.
And, you know, this, thisis, this is great because.
This is where we started to seeteams start to separate themselves.
Let's just say if this was baseball,usually round all star break, we
(13:11):
see teams trying to put themselvesin position for a late push.
Right now we're, we're getting,we're going to get a chance to see.
All these top teams flying forthe number one seat, buying for
top position in the playoffs.
We get a chance to see all thoseteams and really what they're made of.
Let's zoom in, kind of, uh, maybea couple bullet points or notes
(13:34):
from each of those three games.
Um, when I look at the Ravens and theSteelers, for me, it's who's going
to have the best rushing offense.
Uh, on paper, you say, well, how aboutthe number one offense in the NFL, right?
The combination of LamarJackson and Derrick Henry.
They're clearly the better rushingoffense, but the Steelers pass rush, which
is suffering the loss of Alex Highsmith,who's going to miss a few weeks.
(13:56):
Um, you still have T.
J.
Watt there, of course.
You still have Cam Hayward there as well.
I'm wondering if the Steelers cankeep the Ravens off balance, or even
just You know, the Steelers runninggame can be efficient enough where
they can keep Baltimore off the field.
Does it come down in your opinion,Nick, to the running game?
Or are you looking for Lamar and Russellto be battling it out for just making one
(14:19):
more big play than the other quarterback?
Well, the run game is, uh, rather Andyou have to, uh, tip your cap to the
Baltimore Ravens and say, well, advantageRavens because Derrick Henry is a monster.
He's proven he's a monster.
And I still don't understand why theTitans let him go, but yet I digress.
So, for me, it is going to be how welldoes Russell Wilson and that offense
(14:45):
actually find rhythm and find rhythmearly because they have struggled to
as of early but come on, uh, late.
Uh, Mike Williams caught a touchdown.
Uh, last week, uh, and he tweetedsomething about a Stan offer on the red
line, which I'm happy that he did, butwhat is going to come down to, to be
(15:06):
totally, uh, uh, to be totally honestwith you, how well will the Steelers
play against the Raven secondary thathas struggled mightily against, against
the past, uh, the Broncos couldn'treally get a lot, uh, going there, but.
Looking at what's happened with GeorgePickens, obviously you got Pat Firemouth,
(15:26):
and you have Mike Williams as well.
So that's where I'm goingto lean more towards.
If the Steelers are able to move theball down the field efficiently and
effectively, and those moon balls thatwe know that Russell is known for, if
he's throwing moon balls, you may haveto call Neil Armstrong to help out.
(15:49):
Well, let's see if that, uh, if thatSteelers offensive line can buy Russ
the amount of time and, you know, GeorgePickens does George Pickens type things
and, you know, all of a sudden they can goshot for shot with the Baltimore Ravens.
Um, let's see, uh, at this point intime, the Buffalo bills still kind
(16:10):
of ironing out their offense as well,compared to the Kansas city chiefs.
Um, we're still potentially a weekaway from Isaiah Pacheco returning.
Uh, so the more efficient.
Offense between the Chiefs andthe Bills I think gets it done.
On the defensive side of thefootball, who do you think has the
advantage in terms of the front seventhat can slow that running game?
(16:34):
Well, look, Kansas City in theBuffalo game, obviously, If you want
to look at the Steelers, Baltimore,I'll give the nod to the Steelers.
Who else do we have?
We have, um
We'll do, we'll do Bengals and Chargers.
We'll save for last.
Okay.
But, you know, right there in those twoteams, the Steelers and Kansas City.
(16:59):
Better defensive lines.
And when you think about theBuffalo game against Kansas
City, Look at Buffalo's offense.
I mean, not a lot of impact players.
I mean, they have two talented tightends, but Amari Cooper has missed the
past two games because of a wrist injury.
If he plays, then it changes thescenario just a little because now
(17:21):
when you really think about it, youhave two wide receivers who are on
different teams than they started.
One in Newton Hopkins, Andone in Amari Cooper, right?
Both joining teams that could make apush for appearance in New Orleans.
But for me, I just find that fascinatingthat you got two guys who were, who
(17:44):
were traded, who now find themselvesfacing off against one another.
So I would love, I would love to see that.
But once again, a nod goes toKansas City defense and the
Pittsburgh Steelers defense.
All right, so when we get to the Chargersand the Bengals, which was flexed into
Sunday Night Football, um, listen,the Bengals have had one of the better
(18:04):
offenses each of the last two weeks,but end up on the short end of the stick
here, uh, can they get down into the mudwith the type of game that the Chargers
have been playing, emphasizing runningthe football, uh, whether it's with J.
K.
Dobbins or, I guess, J.
K.
Dobbins.
Uh, Justin Herbert, who's beensnatching ankles, uh, based on the
footage that we saw this past week.
Well, I trust the Chargers, oddly enough.
(18:26):
Not, not because as, you know,here in Denver, we need the
Chargers to win the game.
Kind of knock down theBengals a couple of pegs.
But the biggest thing, the Bengalshaven't been running the ball all week.
as well, right?
And that's why they, they, they pickedup Khalil Herbert from, uh, Chicago.
But their bread and butter isJoe Burrow to Jamar Chase, right?
(18:52):
If the Chargers can do what theBaltimore Ravens could not do.
And I couldn't believe itthat they could not do it.
There's one guy out there who JoeBarrow trusts and he's throwing to.
He wears the number one.
He's wearing it for a reason.
And somehow the Ravers defenderscan't find him on the field
to communicate the program.
If the Chargers make that samemistake, they end up losing the game.
(19:16):
And I'm thinking that the Chargers.
They're not that stupid.
Hopefully, no, that goes withoutsaying, they're not that stupid.
Well, they're going to find Jamar chaseand try to double them and force force
everyone else in Joe Burrow to beat them.
I'm really curious to seeexactly how it all shakes out.
And if, uh, you know, I had the pedometeror I had my step counter strapped to me.
(19:42):
If I can, you know, how many tripsto the refrigerator on this Sunday?
Can I get my 10 K?
Because I don't think there's goingto be a whole lot of game action
I want to miss from this Sunday.
Um, we'll see how it stacks up, right?
We'll be here each week, but I'll justkind of keep a mental note wondering if
we can top what Week 11 has to offer.
Nick Ferguson, former 10 year NFLsafety in the National Football League.
(20:03):
I'm Alex Hardy.
We are those guys we hope to be yourguys, and as always, Nick, we tend
to close things out on, uh, thisprogram by asking something for Nick.
Uh, Nick, before we split, Um, Ihad something in the can I think
I wanted to ask about Bo Nix, butwe're going to pivot instead because
I never give you the opportunityto talk about your Denver Broncos.
(20:26):
However, in support of my wife'sfighting Irish, uh, I got to find out
if this is Audrick Estime's week, kindof tell me this Sean Payton process
of weeding out the guys he didn'tdraft and filtering in his guys.
Listen, five and five I think is abit of a surprise, but Sean Payton
nonetheless is going to do what he does.
(20:47):
Um, should I get excited about Estime?
He was basically A bowling ball withknives, uh, was what I would compare
his running style to at Notre Dame.
I mean, listen, when he had, uh, MichaelMayer there and he had, you know, other,
uh, you know, with the exception ofJoe Ault, I'll just say that Estime
was the best player on Notre Dame'soffense each of the last two years
(21:11):
prior to getting drafted by Denver.
But, uh, I'm interested to see kind ofhow this fits, not just him, you know,
progressing in the National FootballLeague, but Nick, let's zoom out.
Like this is just a SeanPayton thing, right?
We're not playing the rookiesbecause we're giving up on the
season at five and five, are we?
Well, I hope that's not the casebecause that was the narrative
(21:35):
last year with, uh, Russell Wilson.
Oh, sure.
Let's do that again.
Well, well, here, here's what I would say.
There are some rumblings that somemoves are going to be made and
SMA is going to get more carries.
What was phenomenal is that like thisseason we've seen Cor and Sutton have
two back to back a hundred yard games.
(21:56):
Mm.
We've also seen Cor and Sutton.
Now we get a, a Targetand a Thursday night game.
And when you fast forward,you, well, you, well you rewind
rather to the Kansas City game.
So you had Javonte Williams on the field.
Yeah.
Right.
He only got one carry.
He was on the field, but he only got onecarry, which is, while considering that
(22:22):
going into the Kansas City game, he waskind of the bell cow guy, because Estime
had somehow found himself in Sean Payton'sdoghouse, because law security was a
huge issue, and I can tell you, right,being around Bill Parcells, which Sean
Payton himself was around, Bill Parcellswill always say, a running back that
(22:43):
puts the ball on the turf consistentlyis someone else's running back, right?
So we don't really know how this,I guess, Estime experiments or
experience is going to work.
Because the moment Estime puts theball on the turf, here's what Sean
Payton is going to have to do.
(23:04):
The guy who only received one carrylast week, he's going to have to turn
around and say, Now you're my guy!
And how does Gervontabounce back from that?
Where I, I would expect for Gervonta torun angry and run pissed off because he
has been the catalyst for this offense.
(23:25):
Like, there are two people who's,who are actually leading the Broncos
in the past games in rushing.
Bo Nix is one, you lookat Gervonta being two.
Who's leading the Broncos inreceptions, in yards, who's Corley
Sutton and Javante Williams.
So how do you sit Javante in thatsituation knowing what those numbers are?
(23:47):
I have no idea.
I will not pretend to be Sean Payton.
But all I know is thatAudrick Essamay blesses hard.
He runs hard.
But if he puts the ball on the turf,He's going back to the doghouse.
Making Sean Payton's decisionall that much easier.
Denver hosting the six and four AtlantaFalcons, Kirk Cousins coming over
(24:08):
and also still Denver native, JustinSimmons, uh, with the Broncos let go of
this off season, uh, this was the linethat I wanted to share with you, Nick.
This was the quote from,uh, Cortland Sutton.
Uh, I texted him referring to Simmons.
Hey, bro.
When I come over the middle of the field,just remember, we're still friends.
(24:28):
What?
No, that's not how this works, right?
Never once when I wore a different uniformbeing a jet, uh, and, and seeing guys from
Buffalo or becoming a Bronco and seeingguys who play for the jets or becoming
a Texan and seeing guys who play for theBroncos, no, we're in different uniforms.
(24:50):
See, we are friends only two times.
In the game.
Before and after.
During.
I don't know you man.
I don't know you.
Right?
And for Justin, for Courtlandrather, to text Justin and say,
hey man, act as though you know me.
(25:10):
If I am Justin, I'm saying, wait aminute, did Courtland just give me an
idea of what the game plan might be?
Him coming across themiddle, running dig routes.
Oh yes.
If you reach up, I'msauteing all these ribs.
? Yeah, like, like bubble gum, shrimp,you know, barbecue ribs, mustard
ribs, you know, all types of ribs.
(25:33):
I'm eating them all up like Jamieson,
Cortland, Sutton's ribs.
Gonna be a Elway Steakhouselater that night.
Courtesy of Justin Simmons,he is Nick Ferguson.
We are those guys, courtesy ofhim 10 years, uh, NFL experience,
as well as myself, Alex Hardy.
Uh, Nick, I'm excited for week 11.
Clearly we've devoted a time to it,the Philadelphia Eagles, of course,
(25:56):
kicking things off with the, uh,26 18 victory over their NFC East
division rivals in Washington.
So Nick, when I talk to you next week,we're, we're going to be approaching
week 12, you know, moving on clearly tothe back half, but certainly, uh, money
making time for a lot of these teams.
So Nick.
Let's get on out of here.
What do you have to say to the people?
(26:17):
Anytime you eat ribs, make sure youhave the proper napkin to wipe it up.
Just hands.
No, no,
no, no.
That's too messy, man.
I use a napkin.
Bring the beard back.
Little flavor saver.
No, man.
Look, Hey, we're not Neanderthal.
We use napkins.
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