December 9, 2025 • 36 mins
Pass the thermometer.
It’s time for a temperature check. Today’s episode of The GIST of It is a tale of three AFC teams — the Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts, and Kansas City Chiefs — who have traveled very different paths this season. With just four weeks left in the regular season, the playoff picture is starting to come into focus, and who’s in and who’s on the brink just might shock you.
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It’s time for a temperature check. Today’s episode of The GIST of It is a tale of three AFC teams — the Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts, and Kansas City Chiefs — who have traveled very different paths this season. With just four weeks left in the regular season, the playoff picture is starting to come into focus, and who’s in and who’s on the brink just might shock you.
Show notes:
Join The GIST Plus
Enter The GIST’s College Football Bracket Challenge
More on The GIST:
☎️ Leave us a voicemail! Call us at 1-437-564-5579 or hold down on this link🎧 Subscribe: thegistsports.com/subscribepod
✉️ Email: pod@thegistsports.com
📷 Instagram: @thegistca @thegistusa
🐦 X: @thegistpod
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
What is upjisters. Welcome or welcome back to another episode
of The Gist of It. Today is Tuesday, December ninth.
We're your co hosts.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I'm Ellen Hisslap and I'm Steph Rotts.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
It feels like a very long time since we last
chatted stuff, but it was really less than a week ago.
But we need to potentially increase the cadence of this podcast.
That would be sad if only or maybe you and
I just need to talk more.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah, also would be sick.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Yeah, everybody, let us know. There's a lot we have
to get to today, so I'm just going to get
right to it. I'm so excited for today's podcast because
we get to talk about the NFL and for those
of you who know me, I'm obsessed with that lee
And it's time to do a little temperature check because
Week fourteen is officially done and dusted, and what I'll say,
(00:55):
stuff say, what is happening in the NFL right now
was one hundred and ten percent not on my Bengo
card in terms of where the teams are at, how
players are shaking out, the narratives that are coming out
of the league right now. I really did not expect it.
I feel like the only thing that I could have
(01:17):
potentially expected is that the Philadelphia Eagles are still pretty
good and are likely still going to make the postseason.
But otherwise, consider me shook.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
F The hook that our producers wrote is, with just
four weeks left in the regular season, the playoff picture
is starting to come into focus, and who's in and
who's on the brink just might shock you? And I
love that. And I wanted to say it word for
word because immediately it made it made me think like
a news segment. Ye, they're trying to hook you before
(01:46):
the commercial break about something, and that's immediately what I thought.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Wait, say it like a news anchor would.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Say it, And who's in and who's on the brink
just might shock you?
Speaker 1 (01:56):
I love it. Have you seen that guy on TikTok
where he basically pretends like he is a on site
or on field reporter, but he doesn't actually say anything,
but he still has the cadence of a newsperson who's
on the ground covering something. Have you seen him?
Speaker 2 (02:14):
I think I have seen him. I need to practice.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
He's this white all learn that he's this white blonde boy,
and he'll just have his hand up to his ear
and he'll be like, thank you tonight, I'm in Brooklyn
eating pizza and like and it's just so funny. Obviously
I can't do it, but he's so talented. And that
you got a wonder with those people who find their
things on TikTok and who end up going viral on TikTok,
(02:37):
how did that start?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Just a dream?
Speaker 1 (02:41):
You know, just a small town boy living in his
life and just somehow figures out he should be a
news reporter talking about nonsense and nothing anyway, no nonsense
and no nothing. On this podcast today, we've got a
lot to go through, especially talking about the tale of
three AFC teams. Again, there's two conferences in the NFL,
(03:01):
the AFC and the NFC. But on the AFC side
and what we want to dig in today is the
Buffalo Bills, the Indianapolis Colt, who I'm exceptionally mad at
right now, in the Kansas City Chiefs, and just what
radically different seasons they are all having.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Very excited to get into all of that and to
see you excited. And I know before we get into
all of that, there is an audible that you would
like to call.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Yes, there's an audible we would like to call so today.
We had initially thought we were going to share some
last minute shopping items for the holidays. However, I can't
do that today. I simply cannot do that, and that
is because Steph. There was a figure skating competition over
the weekend, and at said figure skating competition, another world
(03:48):
record was set by Quad God. His nickname is quad God.
He's a males single figure skater. He set another world
record for the best score ever after completing his free
skate and winning the competition. Ilia molinin Steph we've chatted.
I think we I might have brought him up on
(04:09):
the podcast beforehand. I'm not sure we've certainly covered him
across social media beforehand, but he he Seph is actually
not only defying gravity, but defining the odds when it
comes to figure skating. I have never in my life
witnessed someone so good at figure skating beforehand. And I
(04:34):
have watched figure skating since I was at least three
years old and am truly obsessed with it. Seeing him
skate this weekend, Steph was pure magic. This guy landed
seven quads in his program, which is incredible. Not only
did he land seven quads in his program, but when
(04:54):
you think about the combination jump, so that's when you
do one jump right after another. He did those in
the second half of the program where you earn more
points and where you are also just dead dog tired.
He landed a quadruple axle, where in the past, when
we look at even the last Olympics or the Olympics
(05:17):
before that, a triple axle is exceptionally hard. People had
such a men had such a hard time landing a
triple axle. And this guy's coming out here and legitimately
stuff only doing quads. His skating skills in between. I
still think need a little bit of an improvement. He's
still pretty good at spinning. But as we are, I
(05:38):
don't know, like fifty sixty days out from the Olympics
right now, I desperately need everybody to know about the
quad God, and everybody to know about Iliya Malanan.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I'm at a loss for words after everything that you
just said. Do you know if he is going to
the Olympics, I so, yeah, okay, oh yeah he is.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
He's truly the best figure skater in the world world
and the best figure skater I have ever seen. I
didn't have the opportunity because the event was in Asia,
I think it was in Japan, and I didn't have
the opportunity with the time change to be able to
watch it live. So woke up naturally scrolling saw the highlights,
was like, oh my god, I gotta watch this right away.
I was exhausted after watching that free skate and he
(06:20):
literally came off the ice stef not looking gas at all.
He also had a backflip in there too, Like why
not just have seven quads and a backflip on ice?
This is all on ice. This is literally all on ice,
And it's just so fascinating to me how much figure
skating has grown over the years where I don't know,
like ten years ago, most guys were just doing triples
(06:42):
and if you had a quadruple toe loop, which is
considered the easiest quad, that was pretty cool. And fast
forward to today and it's like you better be landing
every single quad or else you're not going to podium
and you are not good enough. Like it's just fascinating
how far the sport has come and how gnually being
pushed by people like Ilia. And he's pretty cool too,
(07:04):
like He's a pretty fun guy. He gets the crowd going.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
What country does he skate for?
Speaker 1 (07:08):
America? Usa, Basa, And both of his parents were Olympians
and I know for sure his dad was a figure skater.
I assume his mom was too, but his dad was
a figure skater.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Wow, what an audible.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
I'm yeah, sorry, I really guessed it. Okay, watch this,
It's worth watching. Like, go to YouTube search his name,
even just search Quad God if you can't remember him,
which I just I love that.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
He's Quad God, perfect nickname, perfect nickname, and it's just
doing that in the air is incredible.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So that remember Saquon Barkley when he so he's the
running back for the Eagles, but when he first came
onto the scene in the NFL, he played for the
New York Giants, and everybody's looking at this man and
his quads like that's literally all everybody could talk about
when he entered the NFL, that so many people start
calling him say Quad instead Saquon Berkley. And he really
(08:01):
didn't like it.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
He didn't like it.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
No, he got over it really quick.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
There's a woman who bob sleds and I can't remember
what country, but she's on TikTok and boy does she
got some quads the season.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Fand those Bob sleutters, they've got it, they've got it
going on with the lower body. Yeah yeah, so and
you know what, soa figure skaters sactly say the best butts,
the best butts in the game are hockey and figure skating.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Thank you. There you go, There you go. Journalism. The
thing about being a sports fan is it really should
be all about fun. It should be fun, it should
be welcoming. It should be a complete and total vibe.
And that's the entire ethos behind the GISTs. That's why
you're here, So think about the GISTs. Plus, that's our
new premium membership community that will help us build more
(08:49):
of this vibe. When you join, your backing independent sports
journalism that puts women's sports on equal footing and covers
the games and leagues that you actually care about and
gets you in on the conversation, you get to be
a part of all of this. You are unlocking a
richer sports experience for yourself, and you're leveling up your
experience so you'll get access to early podcast drops, extended
(09:11):
deeper analysis on the biggest stories in sports, special partner
offers from leagues like the end of USL, NFL, NHL,
and more. The list does an end there, and it's
the perfect combo of supporting the mission and getting more
of the sports storytelling that you already know and love.
So join the just plus or great gift idea here,
you could gift this is someone you love this season.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
It's perfect.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
If you don't know what to do or you're running
last minute, go to the just sports dot com slash
page slash plus and that'll be in the show notes
if you want to just pop in there now and
give that to somebody you love.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Okay, it is time for an NFL temperature check, baby,
let's freaking do it today. We're zooming in on the
AFC so the one conference of the two, to talk
about three very different teams, the Buffalo Bills, the Indianapolis Colts,
and the Kansas City Chiefs. I have a very frustrating
story about the Indianapolis Colts from this weekend, So just
(10:15):
make sure I talk about that.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Steph. That's her, that's her news hook, you know, just
keeping you locked in for after the commercial break without one.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Yeah, but we're gonna start with the Bills. Right, Yeah,
let's start with the Bills. I think that the biggest
thing as we finish Week fourteen is that the Bills.
I don't think I've won as many games as we
all thought that they would have won by now. But
they've been playing pretty well. They've been a little bit inconsistent,
and I'd say that's mostly on defense. They have an
(10:44):
incredible offense, and that incredible offense was on full display
this weekend, Steph. They won thirty nine to thirty four
over the Cincinnati Bengals. On Sunday, they were playing Joe
Burrow of the Cincinnati ban Who is that guy? He's
Joe Cool, he's sho sisty. But they were playing stuff.
(11:06):
Did you have an opportunity to watch the highlights or
the game at all? Yeah? Okay, snow literally snow everywhere
they were playing in Buffalo Orchard Park. They absolutely covered.
And I feel like that would be your dream state
of playing football. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I think I would personally get cold sitting in the stadium.
So kudos to those fans because you do have to
be moving in that weather.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Yeah, and you know what, just just a few little
shots of fireball before the game and you're good to go.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
This is not health advice.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
This is not health advice, but this is Warmth's advice,
is what I would say. That's what we learn, That's
what we learn on the ski hill, That's what we
learn while we're boarding, you know what I mean, Just
a little shot of fireball and you're good to go.
But no, you have to dress appropriately. But what's so
what was so fun about this game stuff is that
a both of these teams are used to playing in
the snow like it's it's nothing new here, but they
(11:58):
still manage to have this high scoring, super competitive game
in the snow, in the freezing cold, which is normally
not what you're expecting. The biggest thing in this game, though,
is just that Josh Allen proved that he is that girl,
really I think. So. The Bills were trailing by ten
points heading into the fourth quarter, and then they launched
(12:20):
a comeback.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
I mean to be fair here, First Burrow did mess
up yeap, tossing two kind of costly interceptions in back
to back positions. But Josh Allen, of course did not
mess up, So there's that.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Yeah, he rushed for a forty yard touchdown, which means
he ran for a forty yard touchdown, which is the
longest by a quarterback and Bill's history, and that put
the game within three points. And that's something too. Josh Allen.
He's not like a Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens
or a Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals, who are
both Kyler Murray's out for the season and Lamar Jackson's
(12:55):
kind of touch and go right now. But those guys
are like running quarter you know what I mean, you
really you see them and you go, oh, you're athletic,
You're so good. Josh Allen sneaky running quarterback. He's a
big boy, almost built like a tight end as opposed
to a quarterback. And you look at him and you go,
probably not a lot of speed. Joke's on you, Josh Allen.
(13:16):
That man can run like and he runs fast. And
so it's been this really interesting dynamic for the Bills
over the last few years because you have this dude
who can run the ball but in this really sneaky,
unexpected way and in a different way than other running quarterbacks.
So defenses have to prepare a little bit differently, and
he could sling it so well Oh.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
My gosh, it's just like it has been a surprisingly
up and down season for the Bills. Yeah, because like
at times Alan has seemed virtually unstoppable, like you did
in last year's MVB campaign, But at the same time,
there have been some uncharacteristic mistakes that he's been making
to Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
He has thrown ten interceptions this season already, four more
than he threw the entirety of twenty two twenty four,
which I don't hate it, but I don't love it,
and I think that that's why you're seeing some of
these scores be a little bit too close on the
Buffalo side of things, or games coming down to the wire,
because they're just allowing other teams to have so much
(14:16):
more time. I guess you could say, but they're still
looking good, right I would say they're still looking good.
So they are in wildcard contention in the AFC AFC East,
still like kind of ish open right now. We'll get
to that in a minute, But yeah, they're looking good.
I still think that they will or should make the
(14:40):
playoffs from a wildcard perspective. What is so shocking and
so interesting to me, Steph, is that the new England
Patriots are far and away the best team in the
AFC East right now, and that is thanks to Drake May,
their new quarterback. And they're almost back to their Tom bradyways.
They truly have not like this stuff like since Tom
(15:02):
Brady left.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
And that those are big words from Ellen, a huge
Tom Brady fan.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Yeah yeah, I hate to admit it, but I so am.
I'm like, Oh, turns out I just really liked a
quarterback who wins suit me.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
So fair, you gotta do it?
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, Josh Allen is still that guy.
Is he gonna win MVP this year? I don't think so.
Will the Buffalo Bills win their division? I don't think so.
Should they make a wild card spot though, yes? Will
it be a really tough playoff for them?
Speaker 2 (15:36):
One hundred and would you like the floor to be
opened now to talk about the Indianapolis Colts. Yes, yeah,
I know You've got some feelings here.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Yeah. So over so, I just want to set the
scene for the Indianapolis Colts and why we are talking
about them. So, the Indianapolis Colts came out hot and
also out of nowhere this season and literally starting the
season stuff seven and one and When I say came
out of nowhere, I truly mean it. They have not
made the playoffs since twenty twenty and the reason why
(16:10):
they came out so hot and had been playing incredibly
well is because they brought in quarterback Daniel Jones aka
Danny Dimes from the New York Giants, as well as
running back Jonathan Taylor, who has been incredible. Daniel Jones,
before starting play for the Indianapolis Colts, honestly was not
great for the New York Giants. He was very hot
(16:34):
and cold. He showed moments of potential and moments of greatness,
but he really hadn't been playing well. Then the injuries
started kind of adding up for Indianapolis starting in Week twelve,
and since then the Colts have recorded three straight losses
and are no longer at the top of the AFC South.
(16:56):
But there was definitely hope to bounce back. So on
my fantasy football team, which my fantasy football team this year,
Stef is absolute shite. Oh it's really bad.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Aren't you always the winner?
Speaker 1 (17:10):
No, this is only my second year playing fantasy. Last
year I did win. This year, I'm at the bottom,
Like I literally am at the bottom. All our teammates said,
don't let the boss win, and they're making me lose
really bad. Good for them, Yeah, good for them. I
hate it here. So basically I had two quarterbacks, right,
So I killed Williams with Chicago and then I had
(17:35):
Danny Dimes. So I'm like, Okay, they're playing Jacksonville. It's
warmer weather. He's going to be able to sling the
ball a lot more than killed Williams is going to
be able to do in Green Bay when it's freezing weather.
They're going to be running the ball so much more.
So I decided I'm going to start Daniel Jones as
my quarterback, which I haven't really started him much this
(17:56):
year because I was like, is he the real deal
or not? And I went with william a lot more,
wouldn't you freaking know, Seth. Danny Dimes ruptured his achilles
tendon in a non contact injury during the first quarter
of Sunday's loss to the divisional rival, the Jacksonville Jaguars,
and I feel actually so bad, Like I personally feel bad.
(18:21):
I'm like, did I do this to Daniel Jones?
Speaker 2 (18:24):
And you're saying that for context, folks, is Ellen has
tour both of her Achilles both gone. Both, So you're
saying perhaps that you were bad juju.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
I think I might have been bad juju for him
and both.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Don't think I didn't take that on. I'm gonna I'm
gonna take a set back and say that this isn't you.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
It's all my fault. But you know, when you just
feel so bad. I think it's something like eighty percent
of sports fans think that they can that they do
impact the final of a game based off of what
we're wearing or something like that. You know what I mean,
We're all ridiculous, We're all delusional.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
No, No, that's actually just such an interesting, interesting case
study of humanity.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Such an interesting case study. Yeah, and I feel so bad.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
I'm so sorry, Ellen, but yeah, I need you to not.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Take this on. Yeah. So anyway, so obviously after that,
the Indianapolis Colts are like, what the heck is going
to happen from here? Like they were losing three state
three straight. Their running back was injured. Now their star
quarterback is gone. He's only on a one year deal
with the Colts because he was like, I don't know
if I'm actually going to be back, So I just
(19:32):
the question is like, where do the Colts go from here? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Like even even if he was still
healthy and in the lineup like it it, it wasn't
looking good for them to make the playoffs, right, No,
it wasn't looking good.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
And I think because of all of the injuries. But
I think injuries are nothing new in the NFL, and
it's kind of like how deep is your bench and
how do your coaches take care of that? But when
you have so many people out and a backup quarterback
and Riley Leonard who's like so so, I think we
might have gone from like the Colts are surging to
(20:10):
the Colts are going to be lucky to make the playoffs.
That's sad.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
I don't like it when I don't like seeing people
get into especially when they're playing so well and it
feels like a breakout year for them. Yeah, and now
he has to be a free agent essentially.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Yeah, with a horrible achilles But maybe he'll do Aaron
Rodgers recovery and do really well, which everyone go hate
watch that documentary.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
I was gonna say, I knew exactly what we're going
to say, and I still haven't watched it.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Sorry, it was fascinating from a recovery perspective. Okay, yeah, anyway.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
So it'll be a miracle if they miss or if
they make it into the playoffs. And let's move on
to the Kansas City Chiefs, the last team in the
AFC that we have to talk about because they are
on the brink of missing the playoffs altogether this year.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
And know it not on our Bengo card. I feel
like we knew that they weren't going to be as good,
yeah as the last couple of cards, Like that's so hard.
But this is the first time Steph since Patrick Mahomes
has become the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs that
they are not going to even win the AFC West title.
(21:19):
And that's stuff. That AFC WES title they've won the
last nine seasons.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Oh, must be tough, Must be tough. Yeah. Right now,
the NFL has their chances of making the playoffs at
fifteen percent. That's pretty low.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
It's pretty low for a team that has, as we said,
won the AFC WES title for the last nine seasons.
But also when you're looking at who has actually been
in the Super Bowl over the last five years, it
basically has felt like every single year it's Kansas City.
I think they've been in the playoffs, what is this
sef three of the last five years. I can't I
can't remember exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
They played in the last three Super Bowls, winning two
of them that I know for sure.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Last season, of course, they lost to the Philadelphia Egos.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Eagles, the Eagles who now have Egos Baby. So it's
just like, it's really interesting. I think that it's kind
of nice though, because it's like, Okay, Patrick Mahomes is
human and it's not like Patrick Mahomes is playing bad.
But I think and I think that we talked about
this at the beginning of the season. Kansas City didn't
(22:25):
look as good to me last regular season until the postseason,
and then they started to play really well. I think
that Patrick Mahomes this year still has a strong supporting cast,
but he hasn't necessarily been making those like gobs stopping
and probable plays that Kansas City requires him to make
(22:45):
in the last two minutes of the game in order
for them to win. He either isn't in the position
aka doesn't have possession to be able to make that happen,
or he's not making it happen in the same way.
And I think also so many of the teams around
them have just gotten so much better and they've better understood.
I think that Andy Reid offense around someone like Patrick Mahomes,
(23:08):
which is so impressive that it even took this long.
So it's like everybody around them is getting better, which
I think is just putting so much more pressure on
Patrick Mahomes. And then I'd say, Travis Kelcey, like, hasn't
been great.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
I was gonna ask you, can we talk about the
Travis kelce of it all?
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Yeah, dude.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Yeah, he has not confirmed when he will retire, and
I feel like that is the question that everyone wants
to know. After the last game, he did refuse to
speak to the media. He did not play well on Sunday,
and he's had an okay scenes in but it's it
might be safe to say it does feel like he's
passed his prime.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
Yeah, he dropped two passes on Sunday, one of which
ended up as a Houston interception. He is thirty six
and tight end is a really hard position. He has
played in this league at the highest level, arguably one
of the best tight ends that we have ever seen.
In the NFL for a really long time, and you
got to think stuff that he will retire at the
(24:06):
end of this season, that that would be My guess
is he's gonna retire, plan a wedding, live his best
life being a podcast host, actor, actor. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
I think he did a great job in the Adams
Sandler movie Why Am I Blanking You?
Speaker 1 (24:23):
And I ended up watching that happy.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
That was embarrassing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was fun Yeah,
it was funny.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
It was goofy. But then he isn't he in some
like Hororflick or something like that coming up too?
Speaker 2 (24:36):
I don't know, because that's not for me.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Yeah, that's not for us. We don't like to be
scared like that. So but what I will say, well, Indianapolis,
maybe a miracle was too strong, award stuff. Very unlikely.
They'll make the playoffs, the Kansas City Chiefs being at
six and seven still, a part of me is like,
I don't want to count them out. And you'd never
know what is going to happen in the conference right
(25:00):
now because none of the teams outside of the New
England Patriots are blowing gas or smoke or whatever the
phrase actually is. And the way that we anticipated where
someone is just running away with it. And so when
I think there's four games left in their season, I'm
not exactly sure where their bye week is. But if
they win three or four of their next games, all
(25:22):
of a sudden, they could still be in wildcard contention.
So their chances being at fifteen percent, that is low.
But then at the same time, at the back of
my mind, I'm like, this is a Patrick Mahomes team
led by a formidable coach and Andy Reid, and depending
on who they're playing, which is the Denver Broncos very hard,
Las Vegas Raiders winnable, LA Chargers winnable, and Tennessee Titans winnable,
(25:47):
like they could find a way to get in if
all the other Ducks in a row fall as the
way that they should.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
So they are in a position where they can't control
their destiny one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
They can't control their destiny one hundred percent, but if
they win those winnable games, they'll be pretty darn close
to it.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
It's time for our personal training sessh. This is the
segment of the podcast where we would absolutely love to
solicit some of your questions. Please reach out to us
any questions that you have about anything in the sports world.
We would love to field those and to get you
in on this conversation. But today we're going to do
things a little bit differently. We are actually turning the
(26:34):
tables and we are going to talk directly to you,
and we are going to ask for a call to
action from us to you. The College Football Playoff was
revealed on Sunday, and this is just the second year
of the twelve team Playoff, and we realize many just
theres are a bit confused on how this new system works.
So we are reaching across the aisle to you right now.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yeah, and we kind of realize that from the just
plus in our discord, but also just comment and stuff
like that on Instagram of like how does this actually work?
And it is so fair because times they are changing
and the rules keep on changing too, and so it
does get confusing year over year on the college side.
(27:15):
But also because it's only the second year of this
new format.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Because as of twenty twenty four that's when we flip
to the twelve teen college Football Playoff era. So from
twenty fourteen to twenty twenty three, only four teams made
it to the CFP, but the CFP Selection Committee expanded
that pool last year.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yeah, and even to zoom out a little bit more.
The College Football Playoff is almost like the March Madness
for men's football. That is the way that I would
think about it now that we're in this twelve team
format as opposed to the four team format. What is
similar to the four team format is that it is
(27:54):
kind of voted by committee for lack of a better term,
that the top twelve teams ultimately make it in. So
that's where it gets complicated. Basically, the CFP teams are
decided by a thirteen person selection committee that releases weekly
rankings of college football teams six times during the season,
culminating with Selection Sunday, again very similar to what we're
(28:17):
used to with March Madness, but with Selection Sunday, there's
sixty eight teams as opposed to just now twelve teams
as opposed to the four teams. And the reason why
it's selected by committee is because there's so many schools
across the NCAA and they are selected as the best
teams based off of their performance on the field, but
(28:40):
also taking into account their strength of schedule as well
as other factors including even who is on the field,
if there's injuries, what have you. And the strength of
schedule becomes so important, especially because different conferences across the
US are stronger than others. So the SEC is a
really really strong football conference. They're always, well not always
(29:02):
most of the time, they're going to get a higher
strength of score kind of assessment in comparison to other
teams and other conferences.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
So this year, the five highest ranked teams who won
their conference championships, they receive automatic bids, and so let's
break those down. So this year it's number one Indiana,
number three Georgia, number four Texas Tech, number twenty Tulane,
and number twenty four James Madison. And then after the
automatic bids are set, the remaining spots aka the at
(29:32):
large bids are given to the highest ranked teams who
did not win their conference title games.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
And that's where it's not just the best twelve teams
who make the cut. Where it gets a little bit
more complicated. As Seth mentioned, like Tulane and James Madison,
if they just took the best twelve teams, they have
no business being in the College Football Playoff, however, because
they won their conference they got in. I kind of like,
(30:01):
I don't know, well I do, I do, and I don't.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Yeah, fair, I don't know. Like I might have an opinion,
really no, no, no no, if you can have your opinion.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
No, it's good for us to have different opinions sometimes too.
Like I like it in a bigger bracket, I don't
like it in a twelve team bracket. Okay, you know
what I mean, Like I think, I think if you're
gonna go conference winners, okay, then that bracket should be
like twenty four teams, you know what I mean, Like,
I just I don't think twelve teams to me is
still it's such a small playoff pool in comparison to
(30:32):
what we're used to in professional sports that generally ends
up being the top sixteen teams at least, And so
that's where I feel like it makes more sense. And
those top sixteen teams in pro sports are only playing
against like thirty two teams in the entire league, and
that's what we get for the postseason versus these are
like hundreds of hundreds of NCAA teams and then they say, oh,
(30:53):
it's the top twelve, but then like you're sol if
you depending on what conference you're in too, a.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
Lot of data management.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
Yeah. So anyway, the at lard Bridge at least like
kind of fill out the rest, and teams are seated
according to their CFP ranking. So the top four teams,
so that's Indiana who you mentioned, Georgia, Texas Tech, all
of them who you mentioned, and number two Ohio State,
who wasn't mentioned there, but they are number two, get
a first round by So that's where the like conference
(31:24):
kind of goes out the window. It goes back to
the seating, and so it is a little bit complicated,
but what I'd encourage everyone to do is to visit
our website. We're actually hosting a college football bracket challenge
this year, so there's always these March Madness brackets, but
I feel like brackets are so fun to fill out
because I don't know about you stuff, but I find
I'll fill it a bracket and then I'll actually watch
(31:46):
throughout the entire playoff, as opposed to just like cheering
for my team and then not caring or at the
very least.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
Like just want to know what each match ended up with, yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Yeah exactly, or like learning what the heck is actually
happening and the CFP, so we've linked that into our
show notes. The CFP doesn't start until the summer nineteenth,
so you have a little bit of time. I've already
feeled that mine, Ellenett the gist. If you want to
creep what I did, I don't know. I heard you're
losing in fantasy this year. That. Don't do that to me.
(32:15):
Don't do that to me. I'm actually so rattled. I've
lost like seven weeks in a row, and I'm just
throwing in the towel. At this point, I go, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
I know that this actually upsets people.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
My bad.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Yeah, no, my parents are very upset with his NBA
fantasy RIGHTA. So I can understand.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
I love all the tiktoks of the women who love
fantasy football, and they just get so bisso up every
Sunday and it's like, yeah, this is so annoying. Wait,
because sports you never know what's gonna happen, and that's
why we love them, and that's why we hate them.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Oh my gosh, that's yeah, exactly, that's it. You gotta
bake in the excitement, baby.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Yeah. Anyway, so that's a college football playoff. I love
that it's expanded to twelve teams from the four teams.
I think that that was well overdue. I would love
to see you expand to sixteen teams, and then I
would love to see it get up to twenty twenty
four at some point to to twenty four. Yeah, okay,
I think that might be too long, just because of
the like football season is too long, but they gotta
go on. Screw class. They're making millions through name, image
(33:17):
and likeness these days. What they need an education for you? No,
I'm just kidding. Anyway, If you'd like to be featured
on a future episode, call us and leave us a
voicemail one four three seven five six four five five
seven nine, email us at pod at justsports dot com,
or feel free to message me and stephan I g
I'm at Ellen at the gist. Steph is at Seth Rotts.
We love or Stephanie Rots. Oh my god, how Darius Rotts.
(33:39):
We love hearing from you, and we know we have
some DMS that we need to get back to and
that we need to talk about it on the pod
as well, So keep saying tuned to see if you're featured.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
We're doing the admin just slowly.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
Yeah, we're getting it done.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
Yeah, we're getting it done. And with that, we're the
We're done. This is the end of today's episode. Thank
you so much for tuning in. We will be back
in your feet, don't you worry with the new podcast
on Thursday. In the meantime, we would appreciate, as always
if you could rate, review, and subscribe.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
This episode was edited by Savannah Howell to produced by
Lisa Mantillo and Ali Sanderpuccio. Again, I'm Ellen HiSLIP.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
And I'm Steph Rotts, and I'm so sorry for trolling
you today, Ellen and I will try to not do
that this Thursday.
What is upjisters. Welcome or welcome back to another episode
of The Gist of It. Today is Tuesday, December ninth.
We're your co hosts.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I'm Ellen Hisslap and I'm Steph Rotts.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
It feels like a very long time since we last
chatted stuff, but it was really less than a week ago.
But we need to potentially increase the cadence of this podcast.
That would be sad if only or maybe you and
I just need to talk more.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah, also would be sick.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Yeah, everybody, let us know. There's a lot we have
to get to today, so I'm just going to get
right to it. I'm so excited for today's podcast because
we get to talk about the NFL and for those
of you who know me, I'm obsessed with that lee
And it's time to do a little temperature check because
Week fourteen is officially done and dusted, and what I'll say,
(00:55):
stuff say, what is happening in the NFL right now
was one hundred and ten percent not on my Bengo
card in terms of where the teams are at, how
players are shaking out, the narratives that are coming out
of the league right now. I really did not expect it.
I feel like the only thing that I could have
(01:17):
potentially expected is that the Philadelphia Eagles are still pretty
good and are likely still going to make the postseason.
But otherwise, consider me shook.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
F The hook that our producers wrote is, with just
four weeks left in the regular season, the playoff picture
is starting to come into focus, and who's in and
who's on the brink just might shock you? And I
love that. And I wanted to say it word for
word because immediately it made it made me think like
a news segment. Ye, they're trying to hook you before
(01:46):
the commercial break about something, and that's immediately what I thought.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Wait, say it like a news anchor would.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Say it, And who's in and who's on the brink
just might shock you?
Speaker 1 (01:56):
I love it. Have you seen that guy on TikTok
where he basically pretends like he is a on site
or on field reporter, but he doesn't actually say anything,
but he still has the cadence of a newsperson who's
on the ground covering something. Have you seen him?
Speaker 2 (02:14):
I think I have seen him. I need to practice.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
He's this white all learn that he's this white blonde boy,
and he'll just have his hand up to his ear
and he'll be like, thank you tonight, I'm in Brooklyn
eating pizza and like and it's just so funny. Obviously
I can't do it, but he's so talented. And that
you got a wonder with those people who find their
things on TikTok and who end up going viral on TikTok,
(02:37):
how did that start?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Just a dream?
Speaker 1 (02:41):
You know, just a small town boy living in his
life and just somehow figures out he should be a
news reporter talking about nonsense and nothing anyway, no nonsense
and no nothing. On this podcast today, we've got a
lot to go through, especially talking about the tale of
three AFC teams. Again, there's two conferences in the NFL,
(03:01):
the AFC and the NFC. But on the AFC side
and what we want to dig in today is the
Buffalo Bills, the Indianapolis Colt, who I'm exceptionally mad at
right now, in the Kansas City Chiefs, and just what
radically different seasons they are all having.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Very excited to get into all of that and to
see you excited. And I know before we get into
all of that, there is an audible that you would
like to call.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Yes, there's an audible we would like to call so today.
We had initially thought we were going to share some
last minute shopping items for the holidays. However, I can't
do that today. I simply cannot do that, and that
is because Steph. There was a figure skating competition over
the weekend, and at said figure skating competition, another world
(03:48):
record was set by Quad God. His nickname is quad God.
He's a males single figure skater. He set another world
record for the best score ever after completing his free
skate and winning the competition. Ilia molinin Steph we've chatted.
I think we I might have brought him up on
(04:09):
the podcast beforehand. I'm not sure we've certainly covered him
across social media beforehand, but he he Seph is actually
not only defying gravity, but defining the odds when it
comes to figure skating. I have never in my life
witnessed someone so good at figure skating beforehand. And I
(04:34):
have watched figure skating since I was at least three
years old and am truly obsessed with it. Seeing him
skate this weekend, Steph was pure magic. This guy landed
seven quads in his program, which is incredible. Not only
did he land seven quads in his program, but when
(04:54):
you think about the combination jump, so that's when you
do one jump right after another. He did those in
the second half of the program where you earn more
points and where you are also just dead dog tired.
He landed a quadruple axle, where in the past, when
we look at even the last Olympics or the Olympics
(05:17):
before that, a triple axle is exceptionally hard. People had
such a men had such a hard time landing a
triple axle. And this guy's coming out here and legitimately
stuff only doing quads. His skating skills in between. I
still think need a little bit of an improvement. He's
still pretty good at spinning. But as we are, I
(05:38):
don't know, like fifty sixty days out from the Olympics
right now, I desperately need everybody to know about the
quad God, and everybody to know about Iliya Malanan.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I'm at a loss for words after everything that you
just said. Do you know if he is going to
the Olympics, I so, yeah, okay, oh yeah he is.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
He's truly the best figure skater in the world world
and the best figure skater I have ever seen. I
didn't have the opportunity because the event was in Asia,
I think it was in Japan, and I didn't have
the opportunity with the time change to be able to
watch it live. So woke up naturally scrolling saw the highlights,
was like, oh my god, I gotta watch this right away.
I was exhausted after watching that free skate and he
(06:20):
literally came off the ice stef not looking gas at all.
He also had a backflip in there too, Like why
not just have seven quads and a backflip on ice?
This is all on ice. This is literally all on ice,
And it's just so fascinating to me how much figure
skating has grown over the years where I don't know,
like ten years ago, most guys were just doing triples
(06:42):
and if you had a quadruple toe loop, which is
considered the easiest quad, that was pretty cool. And fast
forward to today and it's like you better be landing
every single quad or else you're not going to podium
and you are not good enough. Like it's just fascinating
how far the sport has come and how gnually being
pushed by people like Ilia. And he's pretty cool too,
(07:04):
like He's a pretty fun guy. He gets the crowd going.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
What country does he skate for?
Speaker 1 (07:08):
America? Usa, Basa, And both of his parents were Olympians
and I know for sure his dad was a figure skater.
I assume his mom was too, but his dad was
a figure skater.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Wow, what an audible.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
I'm yeah, sorry, I really guessed it. Okay, watch this,
It's worth watching. Like, go to YouTube search his name,
even just search Quad God if you can't remember him,
which I just I love that.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
He's Quad God, perfect nickname, perfect nickname, and it's just
doing that in the air is incredible.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So that remember Saquon Barkley when he so he's the
running back for the Eagles, but when he first came
onto the scene in the NFL, he played for the
New York Giants, and everybody's looking at this man and
his quads like that's literally all everybody could talk about
when he entered the NFL, that so many people start
calling him say Quad instead Saquon Berkley. And he really
(08:01):
didn't like it.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
He didn't like it.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
No, he got over it really quick.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
There's a woman who bob sleds and I can't remember
what country, but she's on TikTok and boy does she
got some quads the season.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Fand those Bob sleutters, they've got it, they've got it
going on with the lower body. Yeah yeah, so and
you know what, soa figure skaters sactly say the best butts,
the best butts in the game are hockey and figure skating.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Thank you. There you go, There you go. Journalism. The
thing about being a sports fan is it really should
be all about fun. It should be fun, it should
be welcoming. It should be a complete and total vibe.
And that's the entire ethos behind the GISTs. That's why
you're here, So think about the GISTs. Plus, that's our
new premium membership community that will help us build more
(08:49):
of this vibe. When you join, your backing independent sports
journalism that puts women's sports on equal footing and covers
the games and leagues that you actually care about and
gets you in on the conversation, you get to be
a part of all of this. You are unlocking a
richer sports experience for yourself, and you're leveling up your
experience so you'll get access to early podcast drops, extended
(09:11):
deeper analysis on the biggest stories in sports, special partner
offers from leagues like the end of USL, NFL, NHL,
and more. The list does an end there, and it's
the perfect combo of supporting the mission and getting more
of the sports storytelling that you already know and love.
So join the just plus or great gift idea here,
you could gift this is someone you love this season.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
It's perfect.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
If you don't know what to do or you're running
last minute, go to the just sports dot com slash
page slash plus and that'll be in the show notes
if you want to just pop in there now and
give that to somebody you love.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Okay, it is time for an NFL temperature check, baby,
let's freaking do it today. We're zooming in on the
AFC so the one conference of the two, to talk
about three very different teams, the Buffalo Bills, the Indianapolis Colts,
and the Kansas City Chiefs. I have a very frustrating
story about the Indianapolis Colts from this weekend, So just
(10:15):
make sure I talk about that.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Steph. That's her, that's her news hook, you know, just
keeping you locked in for after the commercial break without one.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Yeah, but we're gonna start with the Bills. Right, Yeah,
let's start with the Bills. I think that the biggest
thing as we finish Week fourteen is that the Bills.
I don't think I've won as many games as we
all thought that they would have won by now. But
they've been playing pretty well. They've been a little bit inconsistent,
and I'd say that's mostly on defense. They have an
(10:44):
incredible offense, and that incredible offense was on full display
this weekend, Steph. They won thirty nine to thirty four
over the Cincinnati Bengals. On Sunday, they were playing Joe
Burrow of the Cincinnati ban Who is that guy? He's
Joe Cool, he's sho sisty. But they were playing stuff.
(11:06):
Did you have an opportunity to watch the highlights or
the game at all? Yeah? Okay, snow literally snow everywhere
they were playing in Buffalo Orchard Park. They absolutely covered.
And I feel like that would be your dream state
of playing football. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I think I would personally get cold sitting in the stadium.
So kudos to those fans because you do have to
be moving in that weather.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Yeah, and you know what, just just a few little
shots of fireball before the game and you're good to go.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
This is not health advice.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
This is not health advice, but this is Warmth's advice,
is what I would say. That's what we learn, That's
what we learn on the ski hill, That's what we
learn while we're boarding, you know what I mean, Just
a little shot of fireball and you're good to go.
But no, you have to dress appropriately. But what's so
what was so fun about this game stuff is that
a both of these teams are used to playing in
the snow like it's it's nothing new here, but they
(11:58):
still manage to have this high scoring, super competitive game
in the snow, in the freezing cold, which is normally
not what you're expecting. The biggest thing in this game, though,
is just that Josh Allen proved that he is that girl,
really I think. So. The Bills were trailing by ten
points heading into the fourth quarter, and then they launched
(12:20):
a comeback.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
I mean to be fair here, First Burrow did mess
up yeap, tossing two kind of costly interceptions in back
to back positions. But Josh Allen, of course did not
mess up, So there's that.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Yeah, he rushed for a forty yard touchdown, which means
he ran for a forty yard touchdown, which is the
longest by a quarterback and Bill's history, and that put
the game within three points. And that's something too. Josh Allen.
He's not like a Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens
or a Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals, who are
both Kyler Murray's out for the season and Lamar Jackson's
(12:55):
kind of touch and go right now. But those guys
are like running quarter you know what I mean, you
really you see them and you go, oh, you're athletic,
You're so good. Josh Allen sneaky running quarterback. He's a
big boy, almost built like a tight end as opposed
to a quarterback. And you look at him and you go,
probably not a lot of speed. Joke's on you, Josh Allen.
(13:16):
That man can run like and he runs fast. And
so it's been this really interesting dynamic for the Bills
over the last few years because you have this dude
who can run the ball but in this really sneaky,
unexpected way and in a different way than other running quarterbacks.
So defenses have to prepare a little bit differently, and
he could sling it so well Oh.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
My gosh, it's just like it has been a surprisingly
up and down season for the Bills. Yeah, because like
at times Alan has seemed virtually unstoppable, like you did
in last year's MVB campaign, But at the same time,
there have been some uncharacteristic mistakes that he's been making
to Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
He has thrown ten interceptions this season already, four more
than he threw the entirety of twenty two twenty four,
which I don't hate it, but I don't love it,
and I think that that's why you're seeing some of
these scores be a little bit too close on the
Buffalo side of things, or games coming down to the wire,
because they're just allowing other teams to have so much
(14:16):
more time. I guess you could say, but they're still
looking good, right I would say they're still looking good.
So they are in wildcard contention in the AFC AFC East,
still like kind of ish open right now. We'll get
to that in a minute, But yeah, they're looking good.
I still think that they will or should make the
(14:40):
playoffs from a wildcard perspective. What is so shocking and
so interesting to me, Steph, is that the new England
Patriots are far and away the best team in the
AFC East right now, and that is thanks to Drake May,
their new quarterback. And they're almost back to their Tom bradyways.
They truly have not like this stuff like since Tom
(15:02):
Brady left.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
And that those are big words from Ellen, a huge
Tom Brady fan.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Yeah yeah, I hate to admit it, but I so am.
I'm like, Oh, turns out I just really liked a
quarterback who wins suit me.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
So fair, you gotta do it?
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, Josh Allen is still that guy.
Is he gonna win MVP this year? I don't think so.
Will the Buffalo Bills win their division? I don't think so.
Should they make a wild card spot though, yes? Will
it be a really tough playoff for them?
Speaker 2 (15:36):
One hundred and would you like the floor to be
opened now to talk about the Indianapolis Colts. Yes, yeah,
I know You've got some feelings here.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Yeah. So over so, I just want to set the
scene for the Indianapolis Colts and why we are talking
about them. So, the Indianapolis Colts came out hot and
also out of nowhere this season and literally starting the
season stuff seven and one and When I say came
out of nowhere, I truly mean it. They have not
made the playoffs since twenty twenty and the reason why
(16:10):
they came out so hot and had been playing incredibly
well is because they brought in quarterback Daniel Jones aka
Danny Dimes from the New York Giants, as well as
running back Jonathan Taylor, who has been incredible. Daniel Jones,
before starting play for the Indianapolis Colts, honestly was not
great for the New York Giants. He was very hot
(16:34):
and cold. He showed moments of potential and moments of greatness,
but he really hadn't been playing well. Then the injuries
started kind of adding up for Indianapolis starting in Week twelve,
and since then the Colts have recorded three straight losses
and are no longer at the top of the AFC South.
(16:56):
But there was definitely hope to bounce back. So on
my fantasy football team, which my fantasy football team this year,
Stef is absolute shite. Oh it's really bad.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Aren't you always the winner?
Speaker 1 (17:10):
No, this is only my second year playing fantasy. Last
year I did win. This year, I'm at the bottom,
Like I literally am at the bottom. All our teammates said,
don't let the boss win, and they're making me lose
really bad. Good for them, Yeah, good for them. I
hate it here. So basically I had two quarterbacks, right,
So I killed Williams with Chicago and then I had
(17:35):
Danny Dimes. So I'm like, Okay, they're playing Jacksonville. It's
warmer weather. He's going to be able to sling the
ball a lot more than killed Williams is going to
be able to do in Green Bay when it's freezing weather.
They're going to be running the ball so much more.
So I decided I'm going to start Daniel Jones as
my quarterback, which I haven't really started him much this
(17:56):
year because I was like, is he the real deal
or not? And I went with william a lot more,
wouldn't you freaking know, Seth. Danny Dimes ruptured his achilles
tendon in a non contact injury during the first quarter
of Sunday's loss to the divisional rival, the Jacksonville Jaguars,
and I feel actually so bad, Like I personally feel bad.
(18:21):
I'm like, did I do this to Daniel Jones?
Speaker 2 (18:24):
And you're saying that for context, folks, is Ellen has
tour both of her Achilles both gone. Both, So you're
saying perhaps that you were bad juju.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
I think I might have been bad juju for him
and both.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Don't think I didn't take that on. I'm gonna I'm
gonna take a set back and say that this isn't you.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
It's all my fault. But you know, when you just
feel so bad. I think it's something like eighty percent
of sports fans think that they can that they do
impact the final of a game based off of what
we're wearing or something like that. You know what I mean,
We're all ridiculous, We're all delusional.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
No, No, that's actually just such an interesting, interesting case
study of humanity.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Such an interesting case study. Yeah, and I feel so bad.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
I'm so sorry, Ellen, but yeah, I need you to not.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Take this on. Yeah. So anyway, so obviously after that,
the Indianapolis Colts are like, what the heck is going
to happen from here? Like they were losing three state
three straight. Their running back was injured. Now their star
quarterback is gone. He's only on a one year deal
with the Colts because he was like, I don't know
if I'm actually going to be back, So I just
(19:32):
the question is like, where do the Colts go from here? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Like even even if he was still
healthy and in the lineup like it it, it wasn't
looking good for them to make the playoffs, right, No,
it wasn't looking good.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
And I think because of all of the injuries. But
I think injuries are nothing new in the NFL, and
it's kind of like how deep is your bench and
how do your coaches take care of that? But when
you have so many people out and a backup quarterback
and Riley Leonard who's like so so, I think we
might have gone from like the Colts are surging to
(20:10):
the Colts are going to be lucky to make the playoffs.
That's sad.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
I don't like it when I don't like seeing people
get into especially when they're playing so well and it
feels like a breakout year for them. Yeah, and now
he has to be a free agent essentially.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Yeah, with a horrible achilles But maybe he'll do Aaron
Rodgers recovery and do really well, which everyone go hate
watch that documentary.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
I was gonna say, I knew exactly what we're going
to say, and I still haven't watched it.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Sorry, it was fascinating from a recovery perspective. Okay, yeah, anyway.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
So it'll be a miracle if they miss or if
they make it into the playoffs. And let's move on
to the Kansas City Chiefs, the last team in the
AFC that we have to talk about because they are
on the brink of missing the playoffs altogether this year.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
And know it not on our Bengo card. I feel
like we knew that they weren't going to be as good,
yeah as the last couple of cards, Like that's so hard.
But this is the first time Steph since Patrick Mahomes
has become the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs that
they are not going to even win the AFC West title.
(21:19):
And that's stuff. That AFC WES title they've won the
last nine seasons.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Oh, must be tough, Must be tough. Yeah. Right now,
the NFL has their chances of making the playoffs at
fifteen percent. That's pretty low.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
It's pretty low for a team that has, as we said,
won the AFC WES title for the last nine seasons.
But also when you're looking at who has actually been
in the Super Bowl over the last five years, it
basically has felt like every single year it's Kansas City.
I think they've been in the playoffs, what is this
sef three of the last five years. I can't I
can't remember exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
They played in the last three Super Bowls, winning two
of them that I know for sure.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Last season, of course, they lost to the Philadelphia Egos.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Eagles, the Eagles who now have Egos Baby. So it's
just like, it's really interesting. I think that it's kind
of nice though, because it's like, Okay, Patrick Mahomes is
human and it's not like Patrick Mahomes is playing bad.
But I think and I think that we talked about
this at the beginning of the season. Kansas City didn't
(22:25):
look as good to me last regular season until the postseason,
and then they started to play really well. I think
that Patrick Mahomes this year still has a strong supporting cast,
but he hasn't necessarily been making those like gobs stopping
and probable plays that Kansas City requires him to make
(22:45):
in the last two minutes of the game in order
for them to win. He either isn't in the position
aka doesn't have possession to be able to make that happen,
or he's not making it happen in the same way.
And I think also so many of the teams around
them have just gotten so much better and they've better understood.
I think that Andy Reid offense around someone like Patrick Mahomes,
(23:08):
which is so impressive that it even took this long.
So it's like everybody around them is getting better, which
I think is just putting so much more pressure on
Patrick Mahomes. And then I'd say, Travis Kelcey, like, hasn't
been great.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
I was gonna ask you, can we talk about the
Travis kelce of it all?
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Yeah, dude.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Yeah, he has not confirmed when he will retire, and
I feel like that is the question that everyone wants
to know. After the last game, he did refuse to
speak to the media. He did not play well on Sunday,
and he's had an okay scenes in but it's it
might be safe to say it does feel like he's
passed his prime.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
Yeah, he dropped two passes on Sunday, one of which
ended up as a Houston interception. He is thirty six
and tight end is a really hard position. He has
played in this league at the highest level, arguably one
of the best tight ends that we have ever seen.
In the NFL for a really long time, and you
got to think stuff that he will retire at the
(24:06):
end of this season, that that would be My guess
is he's gonna retire, plan a wedding, live his best
life being a podcast host, actor, actor. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
I think he did a great job in the Adams
Sandler movie Why Am I Blanking You?
Speaker 1 (24:23):
And I ended up watching that happy.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
That was embarrassing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was fun Yeah,
it was funny.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
It was goofy. But then he isn't he in some
like Hororflick or something like that coming up too?
Speaker 2 (24:36):
I don't know, because that's not for me.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Yeah, that's not for us. We don't like to be
scared like that. So but what I will say, well, Indianapolis,
maybe a miracle was too strong, award stuff. Very unlikely.
They'll make the playoffs, the Kansas City Chiefs being at
six and seven still, a part of me is like,
I don't want to count them out. And you'd never
know what is going to happen in the conference right
(25:00):
now because none of the teams outside of the New
England Patriots are blowing gas or smoke or whatever the
phrase actually is. And the way that we anticipated where
someone is just running away with it. And so when
I think there's four games left in their season, I'm
not exactly sure where their bye week is. But if
they win three or four of their next games, all
(25:22):
of a sudden, they could still be in wildcard contention.
So their chances being at fifteen percent, that is low.
But then at the same time, at the back of
my mind, I'm like, this is a Patrick Mahomes team
led by a formidable coach and Andy Reid, and depending
on who they're playing, which is the Denver Broncos very hard,
Las Vegas Raiders winnable, LA Chargers winnable, and Tennessee Titans winnable,
(25:47):
like they could find a way to get in if
all the other Ducks in a row fall as the
way that they should.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
So they are in a position where they can't control
their destiny one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
They can't control their destiny one hundred percent, but if
they win those winnable games, they'll be pretty darn close
to it.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
It's time for our personal training sessh. This is the
segment of the podcast where we would absolutely love to
solicit some of your questions. Please reach out to us
any questions that you have about anything in the sports world.
We would love to field those and to get you
in on this conversation. But today we're going to do
things a little bit differently. We are actually turning the
(26:34):
tables and we are going to talk directly to you,
and we are going to ask for a call to
action from us to you. The College Football Playoff was
revealed on Sunday, and this is just the second year
of the twelve team Playoff, and we realize many just
theres are a bit confused on how this new system works.
So we are reaching across the aisle to you right now.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yeah, and we kind of realize that from the just
plus in our discord, but also just comment and stuff
like that on Instagram of like how does this actually work?
And it is so fair because times they are changing
and the rules keep on changing too, and so it
does get confusing year over year on the college side.
(27:15):
But also because it's only the second year of this
new format.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Because as of twenty twenty four that's when we flip
to the twelve teen college Football Playoff era. So from
twenty fourteen to twenty twenty three, only four teams made
it to the CFP, but the CFP Selection Committee expanded
that pool last year.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yeah, and even to zoom out a little bit more.
The College Football Playoff is almost like the March Madness
for men's football. That is the way that I would
think about it now that we're in this twelve team
format as opposed to the four team format. What is
similar to the four team format is that it is
(27:54):
kind of voted by committee for lack of a better term,
that the top twelve teams ultimately make it in. So
that's where it gets complicated. Basically, the CFP teams are
decided by a thirteen person selection committee that releases weekly
rankings of college football teams six times during the season,
culminating with Selection Sunday, again very similar to what we're
(28:17):
used to with March Madness, but with Selection Sunday, there's
sixty eight teams as opposed to just now twelve teams
as opposed to the four teams. And the reason why
it's selected by committee is because there's so many schools
across the NCAA and they are selected as the best
teams based off of their performance on the field, but
(28:40):
also taking into account their strength of schedule as well
as other factors including even who is on the field,
if there's injuries, what have you. And the strength of
schedule becomes so important, especially because different conferences across the
US are stronger than others. So the SEC is a
really really strong football conference. They're always, well not always
(29:02):
most of the time, they're going to get a higher
strength of score kind of assessment in comparison to other
teams and other conferences.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
So this year, the five highest ranked teams who won
their conference championships, they receive automatic bids, and so let's
break those down. So this year it's number one Indiana,
number three Georgia, number four Texas Tech, number twenty Tulane,
and number twenty four James Madison. And then after the
automatic bids are set, the remaining spots aka the at
(29:32):
large bids are given to the highest ranked teams who
did not win their conference title games.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
And that's where it's not just the best twelve teams
who make the cut. Where it gets a little bit
more complicated. As Seth mentioned, like Tulane and James Madison,
if they just took the best twelve teams, they have
no business being in the College Football Playoff, however, because
they won their conference they got in. I kind of like,
(30:01):
I don't know, well I do, I do, and I don't.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Yeah, fair, I don't know. Like I might have an opinion,
really no, no, no no, if you can have your opinion.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
No, it's good for us to have different opinions sometimes too.
Like I like it in a bigger bracket, I don't
like it in a twelve team bracket. Okay, you know
what I mean, Like I think, I think if you're
gonna go conference winners, okay, then that bracket should be
like twenty four teams, you know what I mean, Like,
I just I don't think twelve teams to me is
still it's such a small playoff pool in comparison to
(30:32):
what we're used to in professional sports that generally ends
up being the top sixteen teams at least, And so
that's where I feel like it makes more sense. And
those top sixteen teams in pro sports are only playing
against like thirty two teams in the entire league, and
that's what we get for the postseason versus these are
like hundreds of hundreds of NCAA teams and then they say, oh,
(30:53):
it's the top twelve, but then like you're sol if
you depending on what conference you're in too, a.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
Lot of data management.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
Yeah. So anyway, the at lard Bridge at least like
kind of fill out the rest, and teams are seated
according to their CFP ranking. So the top four teams,
so that's Indiana who you mentioned, Georgia, Texas Tech, all
of them who you mentioned, and number two Ohio State,
who wasn't mentioned there, but they are number two, get
a first round by So that's where the like conference
(31:24):
kind of goes out the window. It goes back to
the seating, and so it is a little bit complicated,
but what I'd encourage everyone to do is to visit
our website. We're actually hosting a college football bracket challenge
this year, so there's always these March Madness brackets, but
I feel like brackets are so fun to fill out
because I don't know about you stuff, but I find
I'll fill it a bracket and then I'll actually watch
(31:46):
throughout the entire playoff, as opposed to just like cheering
for my team and then not caring or at the
very least.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
Like just want to know what each match ended up with, yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Yeah exactly, or like learning what the heck is actually
happening and the CFP, so we've linked that into our
show notes. The CFP doesn't start until the summer nineteenth,
so you have a little bit of time. I've already
feeled that mine, Ellenett the gist. If you want to
creep what I did, I don't know. I heard you're
losing in fantasy this year. That. Don't do that to me.
(32:15):
Don't do that to me. I'm actually so rattled. I've
lost like seven weeks in a row, and I'm just
throwing in the towel. At this point, I go, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
I know that this actually upsets people.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
My bad.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Yeah, no, my parents are very upset with his NBA
fantasy RIGHTA. So I can understand.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
I love all the tiktoks of the women who love
fantasy football, and they just get so bisso up every
Sunday and it's like, yeah, this is so annoying. Wait,
because sports you never know what's gonna happen, and that's
why we love them, and that's why we hate them.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Oh my gosh, that's yeah, exactly, that's it. You gotta
bake in the excitement, baby.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Yeah. Anyway, so that's a college football playoff. I love
that it's expanded to twelve teams from the four teams.
I think that that was well overdue. I would love
to see you expand to sixteen teams, and then I
would love to see it get up to twenty twenty
four at some point to to twenty four. Yeah, okay,
I think that might be too long, just because of
the like football season is too long, but they gotta
go on. Screw class. They're making millions through name, image
(33:17):
and likeness these days. What they need an education for you? No,
I'm just kidding. Anyway, If you'd like to be featured
on a future episode, call us and leave us a
voicemail one four three seven five six four five five
seven nine, email us at pod at justsports dot com,
or feel free to message me and stephan I g
I'm at Ellen at the gist. Steph is at Seth Rotts.
We love or Stephanie Rots. Oh my god, how Darius Rotts.
(33:39):
We love hearing from you, and we know we have
some DMS that we need to get back to and
that we need to talk about it on the pod
as well, So keep saying tuned to see if you're featured.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
We're doing the admin just slowly.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
Yeah, we're getting it done.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
Yeah, we're getting it done. And with that, we're the
We're done. This is the end of today's episode. Thank
you so much for tuning in. We will be back
in your feet, don't you worry with the new podcast
on Thursday. In the meantime, we would appreciate, as always
if you could rate, review, and subscribe.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
This episode was edited by Savannah Howell to produced by
Lisa Mantillo and Ali Sanderpuccio. Again, I'm Ellen HiSLIP.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
And I'm Steph Rotts, and I'm so sorry for trolling
you today, Ellen and I will try to not do
that this Thursday.
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