January 20, 2025 • 45 mins
Richard Sherman reacts to the Divisional Round of the 2024 NFL Playoff, including Josh Allen leading the Buffalo Bills over Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Houston Texans while benefitting from some controversial penalty calls, Jayden Daniels shocking the NFL world by captaining the Washington Commanders to an upset win over the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions, and Saquon Barkley running for over 200 yards in the Philadelphia Eagles win over the Los Angeles Rams.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
The Bowl championship. That should always do the expectation. A man,
you go ahead.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast. And it's been
an incredible weekend of the divisional games. Mitchell upsets, oh
your Honolulu Blue, Detroit Lions take a tough loss at
home to the Washington Commanders. We're gonna start it off
with our tastiest matchup in a segment we're calling Sunday
(00:40):
Night food Ball, brought to you by Uber Eats. It's
the Baltimore Ravens at the Buffalo Bills. A slugfest that
came down to the last plays of the game. Baltimore
Ravens just made too many mistakes down the stretch. Mark
Andrews is somewhere kicking himself after a critical drop on
the two point conversion, already had a fumble in the
(01:02):
fourth quarter. Oh you feel for Mitchell. I know you
had a tough one yesterday, but he's having a tough
day today.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Blake, we talked about last week, life comes at you
fast in the AFC. This Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills matchup
in the divisional round. It was a game everyone wanted
to see and Frankly, this was the battle of the MVPs.
You had Lamar Jackson going against Josh Allen and the
Ravens come out hot. They score first possession of the game,
(01:31):
and you look at it and said, okay, this might
be a long one for the Buffalo Bills. But then
the Bills answer twenty one to ten and a half, numerous
mistakes by Lamar Jackson. They just can't get it right, Richard.
From the objective mindset, like myself, when I watched the
Baltimore Ravens play football, I think they're the best.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Team in football. I think you have so much to
deal with.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
You got Lamar Jackson, you got Derek Henry, you know,
you got these receivers that are starting to rise up,
and obviously you got the tight ends and Marky Andrews.
Then you got this ferocious defense. They can't even get
to the super Bowl, let alone try to win it.
They can't even get past the divisional round. Right now,
Whe's that going to change? Like what is going on
with Baltimore?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Well, they got past the divisional last year and you thought, hey, okay,
that's them getting over the hump. And this year, you
again you thought, hey, they looked like the best team
in football. And if they lose, it's gonna be because
they beat themselves.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
They turned the.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Ball over, they didn't run the ball enough, something like that,
and that's exactly what happened. You know, give the Buffalo
Bills a lot of credit. They made those plays. Man
Milano was back in this game. He didn't play in
the first matchup. Epanessa made big plays in the game.
They did a great job of really really caging Derrick
(02:50):
Henry and Lamar Jackson and keeping them in there. They
were able to get a few plays. You know, Derrick
Henry broke through a few times, but for the most part,
I think Buffalo did an outstanding job of keeping him
bottled up. They didn't let a lot of explosives happen.
When they did, I mean, when Lamar Jackson needed it,
he made it happen. Though.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
That last drive a huge play.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
To Isaiah likely in a huge scrambled play, hitting him
in the back of the end zone. Again, this came
down to the mistakes that he made. You know, he's
again We're sitting here comfortable in our in our in our.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Man caves, talking about this game.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
When it was twelve degrees and they were playing on it,
in it and they couldn't fill their hands. But Lamar
Jackson drops the ball. Buffalo recovers it. Critical mistake. I
think the Baltimore defense played a really solid game against
a really tough opponent. I think Josh Allen was going
to get his He only threw four one hundred and
twenty seven yards, ran a few in and he was
(03:47):
running hard, running strong. But I think for the most part,
you look at that tape and you say, I think
Baltimore's defense played good enough to win this game. What
made it difficult was the three extra possessions that Buffalo
those defense created with the turnovers. In the fourth quarter,
you were left scratching your head at Mark Andrews because
you know.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
He caught a pass.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
You're like, okay, Mark Andrews, what are you doing after
you caught this pass? Because you could have easily just
got up the field, got tackled, signal first down, and
off off to the races, and I think they would
have scored on that drive. But instead he cuts back,
kind of spins around, and you're you're left like, wait, where.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Are you going? Wait, you're not You're not a receiver.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
And of course the Buffalo Bills punched the ball out
recover it forty three. I think it was Binard recovers
it huge play in the game, and that that likely
was the end of the game. But somehow Baltimore's defense
gets another stop, holds them to a field goal, gives
their offense another chance at it, and Lamar Jackson, I
(04:49):
think it was an eighty eight yard drive, you know,
after a penalty on the on the kickoff return has
an eighty eight yard touchdown drive and the two point
conversion they call a rollout sprint pass to the right,
Mark Andrews to the flat wide open, and you could
see Lamar Jackson like trying his best to say, hey,
(05:09):
I'm throwing it to you, like look at me, look
at me.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I'm giving you this one.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
And he touches touch, passes it to Mark Andrews and
he just drops it.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And it's not much more to it.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
You know, I'm sure this one will haunt it haunt
him for a really long time, just because it was
a routine playing. The conditions are what they are. It's cold,
it's been cold. I'm sure it's he couldn't fill his hands.
I'm sure you know a lot of things were going
on in that game, you know what I mean. I
can't be one to criticize that because I know, I
know it's going But you got to catch that. You know,
(05:45):
you got to catch it. Isaiah likely had just caught
a touchdown pass. You got to have that one for
the game. They weren't able to do it. The Buffalo
Bills and Josh Allen were able to do it. Now
back to the conversation. Did who out played who in
this game?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
I think it's kind of atch. I think Lamar threw
for two fifty made huge plays down stretch. Obviously, the
two turnovers were critical, and those are strikes against him.
Josh played a pretty mistake free football game. He only
threw four one hundred and twenty seven yards, but he
didn't turn the ball over. He didn't put it in
the harms way. He made plays when he had to.
He took what the defense gave him. Sometimes that's enough.
(06:23):
Sometimes that's that's a better performance protecting the ball, putting
your team in position to win the football game. Did
Josh get a little more help from his defense? Of course,
his defense made plays when they need to make plays.
But Lamar Jackson gave the ball away. More so, I
think Buffalo fans would say Josh Allen outplayed him, and
Baltimore fans would say Lamar Jackson outplayed him. All right,
(06:46):
Josh Allen won the game. And again, this is what
frustrates me with fans because they'll be sitting there like,
my quarterback's MVP. No, my quarterbacks the MVP. No, my
quarterbacks the MVP. Then when you say anything about their
quarterback when he didn't play well, and then they're like, oh,
it's a team game. Now it's all on the quarterback.
If they didn't win, it's like, yeah, it's a team game.
(07:06):
It's one hundred percent of team game. I played this
team game. But they give the credit quarterbacks credit. Don't
blame me. I didn't make the rules. I don't like it,
but that's the way they call these games. So I
think they'll give Josh hav them a lot of credit
for this. He beat Lamar Jackson. If he goes on
to beat Patrick Mahoons and potentially playing a Super Bowl,
(07:27):
maybe win a Super Bowl, his legacy will be improved
by this. Like there were so many fans like, how
are you gonna How are you gonna say this is
gonna hurt Lamar when he has two MVPs and he's.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Likely gonna get a third MVP. But you have to win.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
You have to go into playoffs and win that that
matters in this league. You can't just get MVPs, and
then it means, hey, it doesn't matter what happens in
the postseason, he's better than all of them. That's not
gonna be true. And nobody's gonna see it that way.
At least I'm not gonna see it that way, and
I don't think I don't think the public's gonna see
it that way. They're not gonna say, oh, this this lost,
(08:03):
This loss doesn't doesn't hurt Lamar at all. It does.
I'm sure Lamar would say. Lamar would say, hey, this
loss hurts. You know they got me. I gotta be better.
I'm gonna be better, and I'm sure he's gonna spend
the off season watching the tape improving. He had an
MVP season. I mean, you can't play much better than
he did during the regular season. But there were two
(08:23):
or three plays in this ball game that I'm sure
he wants back, the corner route that he was thrown
to Isaiah likely where he where he felt the pressure
from that Milano even though Derrick Henry had picked it up.
He let the ball go before Isaiah likely comes out
of his corner route and he doesn't define the angle
and it's a turnover. The Taylor rap the fumble. You know,
he's in the pocket, he's moving around and I'm sure
(08:45):
his fingers are cold and it's freezing out there, and
maybe he maybe he couldn't feel his fingertips and he
drops the ball. That's a critical mistake in a critical
game and not Those are things that you can't have
and it happened. So it's gonna make for an interesting conversation.
It's gonna make for a tough off season for Mark Andrews.
Of course, Lamar played good enough, you know, I thought
(09:06):
he made plays down a stretch to put this game,
to give it a chance. It would have been cool
to see what Josh Allen would have been able to
do if Lamar did tie it up. Maybe Josh drove
the ball down the field and won the game on
the field goal. Anyway, who knows, But as as we
have it, we get Josh Allen. Patrick Mahomes for the
(09:28):
fourth time, and Patrick has won the first three. So
let's see how I go.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
From my perspective being an NFC fan. You look at
Lamar Jackson just dominate. I mean you see these statistics
against him with against NFC teams. I mean, Lamar Jackson
dominates the NFC landscape, but he can't handle his own
turf the AFC. And as remarkable as statistics are, and
(09:55):
how how much he out plays opposing quarterbacks throughout the
course of the season, you get to these crunch time
games against a similar team, the Buffalo Bills, and you
can't get over that hurdle. I mean, we talked about
it last week. This was gonna be the differentiator between
these two guys, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. I mean
(10:16):
we looked at him both at this mountaintop and who
was going to take home the MVP. Did Josh Allen
play better than Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
I mean, like you said, it was probably a toss up.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
But at the end of the day, this way to
this win that Josh Allen got, I mean, for me,
it tips the scales in his favor because you knocked
off a team like the Baltimore Ravens in snowy conditions
and do it, you know, in a manner with two
rushing touchdowns. That's big time rich And now they got
(10:48):
to go and slay that dragon and Patrick Mahomes.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
What's it gonna take?
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Man?
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Because to me, I think the NFL world is ready
to close the chapter on these Kansas City Chiefs. Maybe
it's time for a new king. And Josh Allen Richard,
what is the mentality gonna be for this Buffalo Bills
team going in next Sunday to try to slay that
dragon and Patrick Mahomes.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
I think they're gonna see him as very mortal. I
think they're gonna believe they can get it done. You know,
if you watch that the tape of the Houston Texans
Kansas City game, you you thought that Houston had a chance,
They had a really good chance to win that game.
A few calls here and there, you know, a few
things that left you scratching your head. A few drops,
(11:35):
a few mistakes by the Houston Texans, and they lose
that game. But if you're if you're Josh Allen, you
look at that tape and you're encouraged. You know, there
were some weaknesses shown by that defense. Joe Mixon found
some running room on the ground at times.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
C J.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Stroud and when they were playing man coverage and they
play a lot of that, found some running room with
his legs and were able was able to extend plays
and and and also just pick up first downs with
his legs, something Josh Allen specializes in. So I think
if you're if you're the Buffalo Bills and you're watching
that tape, you're encouraged. You you look at that tape
and you're like, hey, these guys aren't there. They're not
(12:13):
immortal now they are. They are back to back Super
Bowl champions Championship, Hard Shop Championship pedigree. They are not
gonna roll over for you and let you go into
Kansas City and pull out a win. That's not what's
gonna happen. They're gonna feel as confident about this game
as they've felt in any of the three previous matchups
with the with the Kansas City Chiefs. I think Josh
(12:35):
Allen is in a good mental space. I think Sean
McDermott has his defense playing extremely well.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
Obviously, the Taylor rap injury is gonna be something that
that that's concerning there. They got a little bit banged
up in this game, so you hope, hope some of
those guys are able to return by next week. But
I think Kansas City is vulnerable, you know, I think
they're vulnerable. I think they can be had. Now we'll
get to that game. Let's close this game out because
(13:04):
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responsible gaming resources. We're already talking about it, so let's
talk more about it. The Kansas City Chiefs. I mean,
they get the win against Houston Texans twenty three to fourteen.
You know, I don't even know how we want to
(15:04):
start the conversation about this game, because it's like when
Kansas City wins, you can't even truly enjoy it anymore.
I mean, there's two extremely questionable rough in the passer
calls on Patrick Mahomes, and I don't think that the
game necessarily goes a different direction if those calls aren't made.
I don't think the Houston Texans are going to win
this game. But the fact that we have to talk
(15:25):
about it is my problem. To preface this, Richard and
I were together all weekend. Richard was in Detroit enjoying
the Detroit scenery, bringing unfortunately some bad luck to the
city Detroit with the Detroit Lions. But that's a topic
for another time. But Richard, we were together and these calls,
we were texting, conversating about this throughout.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
What are your thoughts about this? Like why do we
even have to talk.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
About these calls that is going in the Kansas City
Chiefs direction?
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Well, because it's frustrating and you know, and nowadays, if
you know Kansas City face don't care. They're happy with it.
They're there, you know, they see nothing wrong with it,
which is fine. It's your team, so of course you'll.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Feel that way.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
But I think even the most objective fans that are
watching that game are like, hey, that's how I don't
think that was right. I don't think that was right.
I don't think that was right. But what you're gonna
do about it? It keeps happening. The NFL doesn't say anything
wrong with it. Now again, would Houston have won that game,
I don't know, but one of them led to seven points.
It was a third down. They called it roughening passer
(16:27):
on will Anderson on a play where they had he
had overthrown Travis Kelcey on a third down that would
have been fourth down. The it would have been punting,
but instead of punting, they drove the ball down the
field and scored a touchdown. That's seven points. That wouldn't
have happened, at least on that drive that happened. The
other one, they was scrambling around and could have easily
went out of bounds, came back in the field to
(16:49):
play and then slid and everybody's like, well, those guys
were spearing. Look, fans, fans, I have a challenge for you.
I want you to if you if you have a
punching bag or you have a mattress or something, I
want you to try to run as fast as you
can into something. And I want you to lead your
body without your head. And if you can have that
(17:09):
target move a little bit, that'd be great. And I
want you to come back and look yourself in the
mirror and tell yourself the truth. How difficult was that?
Were you able to do it? Were you able to
lead your body without your head? Because I can tell
you the answer is no. It's not physically possible for
you to run full speed, aim at something, go to
(17:31):
drop your shoulder on it and then pull your head
out of it, at least not in this sport. I mean,
maybe you could do it somehow, but you're gonna hurt
yourself trying to do it that way. And I think
a lot of these calls and a lot of these
issues dim from people who don't play the game making
the rules, and they're like and even the people that
watch it, they're like, oh, they can do better than that.
(17:52):
They're putting them in danger, they're spearing, they're doing this.
They're playing football, playing fast. A guy's dropping to the ground.
He's literally the ground. I'm trying to follow a moving
target as it gets lower, and after a while it
gets lower to the point where it's on the ground.
I can't go any low. My eyes are taking me
literally where the target is. So if my eyes are there,
(18:13):
my body's gonna be there, and my body's gonna go
follow my eyes. That's just how it works. I'm sorry.
I'm tired of hearing fans talk about what these players
should and could do, and how they should be able
to take their head out of it, and how they
should You can't do it, and you can't show you
can't show me an example of you doing it, So
shut up, shut up, because I'm so tired of that.
(18:34):
That's one of the most frustrating things to read and
see consistently. He should have just took his head out
of it. He should have just took his head up.
He should have just hit him with his shoulder. If
it was that easy, they'd be doing it. They'd be
doing it. If you can lead your body with your
shoulder and not put your head into it, I'm sure guy.
More guys would do it they try. There are two
different there's a lot of moving factors. There's a body
(18:54):
movie another body movie. But back to this game. The
Kansas City Chiefs won the game. Did they get some
favorable calls? Sure, They're also still a dang good team.
The defense played good football, held Houston at fourteen points,
really got after got after the quarterback. Travis kelce played
a really good game. I don't think Houston had a
(19:15):
great plan for Travis kelcey. I think, you know, they
kind of saw a man. Maybe he's not having a
season that he were used to him having, so we're
not gonna game plan like he's an elite player.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
We're gonna worry about everybody else.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
And I think that was a mistake because he had
one of his best games one hundred and seventeen.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Yards and a TD.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
I think Mahomes was seven for eight with one hundred
and seventeen yards and a TD in a perfect pass
rating when thrown to Travis kelce in this game, and
that can't be it. You know, they played together for
too long for you to allow him to just be
wide open in them to play pitch and catch all
game long. So I think that was a mistake. I'm
a mistake that I don't think the Buffalo Bills will make.
(19:55):
I don't think they're gonna just leave Patrick, leave Travis
Kelce open, repeat and allow him them to play pitch
and catch all all game long.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Cami Fairbeard miss two field goals in an extra point
and one of them was a really long field goal.
Obviously that's tough, but could have been more points on
the board and could have could have changed the outcome
of this game and changed the way that Houston and
Demico Ryans approached this game. In certain respects. Houston outgained
the Kansas City Chiefs by over one hundred yards. I
(20:25):
think this is the first time in the history of
the game a team one out yardage the other team
didn't turn the ball over and lost And could those
could those calls have been part of it?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (20:37):
But you know, at this point, what is there to say?
You know what I mean is nothing you can do
about it? Crying over spild Mill. Can the Buffalo Bills
get it done against the Kansas City Chiefs in in
Kansas City. That's to be seen. That's to be to
be seen. I think they can. I think they have
the team to do it. But again, you have to
(20:58):
slay the dragon in order for the dragon to be
going in order to prove the point. Until they do,
you have to give Kansas City to benefit it out.
They are the champs, they are the reigning champions, and
they play that way and they continue to maybe get
favorable calls that way. But hey, you want to beat them,
you gotta beat them, and you gotta go over and beyond.
You gotta beat them very, very handily. It has to
(21:19):
be a convincing win for you to get a win
and go to the super Bowl and what you want
it any other way? If you're Josh Allen, No, this
is a legacy defining season for Josh Allen. This could
be the season that cements your name and the history
books in a very positive way. You know, there's no
other quarterback outside of Matthew Stafford and Tom Brady has
(21:43):
the super Bowl during the Mahomes era. Can you be
the next guy that etch his name in the history books.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
We'll see back to this Kansas City Chiefs team.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
I think the X factor with this team that you
know it gets talked about but not enough is their defense.
I mean this XCJ Strout eight times. You know, when
you've got a defense that can get after the quarterback,
make timely plays and.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
Turn the ball over.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
That's the ultimate X factor for Patrick Mahomes and Travis
Kelsey in this offense.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
So kudos to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
This game against Buffalo is gonna be much wild, must
watch football, no question about it.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
This team in Kansas.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
City does not look like the same Kansas City Chiefs team,
but they keep winning and winning and winning and winning.
Ken Josh Allen finally slay that dragon. We're going to
see next Sunday. Let's talk about the NFC. And as
much as I really don't even want to talk about
(22:45):
it because I've been depressed all day, let's start in Detroit,
Richard again, you were in town and Detroit, Richard. Now
we're together this weekend a good friend's wedding and downtown Detroit,
and let's talk about that first. For me, I'm a
Lion season ticket older. I mean, I had to forego
going to this game, rich And as much as I
love to see you, you know, I wanted to see
(23:08):
the Detroit Lions take on the Washington Commanders. And our
good friend decided to have a wedding on Saturday night.
And I warned him. I warned him about six months ago.
I said, you do realize what you're doing, right, And
he goes, They're not gonna play Saturday night. They play
on Sundays. I said, no, there's a good chance they
might play on Saturday night. And here we are, Richard,
(23:31):
at a wedding, crowded by thirty forty people at our
table watching this game on these monitors. It was a
rough go, my friend. It was a very much so
rough go. The storyboard material, here is Jadeen Daniels, and
this rookie quarterback does not look like a rookie at all. Richard,
(23:52):
I know you were wildly impressed with him throughout this game, Like,
how impressive is this to do this as a rookie
uplifting a team that hasn't been to the NFC Championship
Game in thirty three years in the Washington Commanders.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
It was really impressive. And let me preface this by saying,
earlier that day, you know, I'm in town. I got to,
you know, sit down and hang out with Bobby Wagner
and got to go over there and have a good
conversation with Dan Quinn and Kenny Norton and the vibes
in that building mentroll. It did not seem like that
the moment was too big. And I'm talking to champions,
(24:28):
I'm talking to people I've I've went to battle with,
I've went into championship games with, I've won super Bowls with.
They didn't seem like a team that was that felt
like they were going to be overwhelmed or they were
punching out outside of their their weight class. They felt
like they had a really good chance, and their young
defense had a really good chance. And I think you
(24:49):
got to give Sandstril, you know, a guy who I'm
sure you don't like because he's a Michigan guy, a
lot of credit played, played a really good football game,
multiple turnovers, Jayden Daniels show incredible poise, and again the
first the wild card weekend, every quarterback that lost their
(25:10):
teams had excuses. They're there, their fan base has had excuses.
So many excuses injuries are you know, he doesn't have
the receivers everybody else has.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
He he doesn't. His own line didn't block for him.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Even the narrative that they created to elevate Josh Allen
this year where they said, hey, this team was not
even supposed to make the playoffs. It's like, well, they
weren't supposed to make the playoffs. That was all like
projection guessing. They made the playoffs the season before. They're
still a playoff team. They still have playoff coaches and
(25:44):
great coaching staff, great organization, uh planthora of talent in
the building, and they went to the playoffs again. They're
headed to another a SC championship. But the Washington Commanders
won four games. Like actually, in real life, all you
heard about an offseason was, man, they didn't do enough,
Like oh my god, really Adam Peters, Like, oh my god,
(26:06):
they went with Dan Quinn. They didn't get one of
the offensive geniuses. How could you get Cliff Kingsbury? Like
we already saw what he could do in Arizona. He's
he's he's a failed experiment. What are they doing, Zach Ertz,
Bobby Wagner, Why are you getting these these washed up guys?
Get some young guys, get some young talent, Like what
(26:26):
do you think, Austin Eckler, what are you doing? Like
that was the conversation in the off season when the
Washington Commanders with the moves they make. Now everybody's looking like,
oh my god. So you got champions in the building,
veteran veterans who've been there and done that. You have
talented rookies and young guys. They had a really good
(26:47):
draft cast. You got guys starting to develop. Diami Brown
had six catches for ninety eight yards. You already have
one Pro Bowl receiver and scary Terry McLaurin, you know,
four for eighty seven and touchdown in this game. And
then the guys that are starting to develop really really
start to.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Grow.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
When you get a guy like Bobby Wagner and Zach
Ertz in the building, they can have conversations with a
young quarterback and help him understand how he's supposed to
be lead and how his team is seeing him, how
his team is perceiving him, and how how he should
be carrying himself so that he could continue to elevate
his team. And that's what he's done. He's elevated the
(27:30):
guys around him. Are you gonna, I know, people aren't
gonna sit here and tell me he has the better
roster than than the other guys that went out in
the first round. Now, now you're let's let's let's make
that argument. Tell me, tell me he's he's got a
better roster than than the Green Bay Packers, you know,
tell me, tell me, tell me that's what you thought
coming into this season, that he has a better roster
than the than the.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
L A Chargers.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
But they're playing better, they're playing inspired football. He's going
out there. It's a different mindset when you have a
quarterback and you're playing defense. Mitchell, and you and you
got a guy that you know can go go get
it regardless of the circumstances, regardless of who he's going against,
he's gonna find a way. So if you can give
him a few extra possessions, you can get him a
(28:15):
stop or two, he's gonna go make some magic happen.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Mitchell. That gotta feel good. That has to feel good.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
And that's what it looks like because these guys look
like they believed because he believes, and they gave him
extra possessions.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
He put up forty five in a playoff game.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
They put up forty five points as a team, you know,
because they did have the pick six, but forty five points,
that's a lot of points. And all you're hearing about
was how Detroit was gonna put up a lot of points,
and you know, I know Jared Golf is gonna take
a lot of heat in this game. He did have
the three interceptions and only one touchdown, But I mean,
what you're gonna do, hey, guys for making plays, Mitchell,
(28:56):
you gotta find a way to I don't know, make
better just decisions. You got to find a way to
execute better down the stretch for sure, Jared. You know,
he's he's a veteran quarterback who's been to a Super Bowl.
You definitely have to make better decisions and you have
to be safer with the football, and he had been
for the most part. And so he's going to get
a lot of well deserved criticism this offseason from both
(29:18):
the fan base and I'm sure the pundits out there,
because it did look kind of like he reverted back
a little bit in this game. At least in this game,
it looked like he reverted back to the younger Jared Golf.
You know, he got kind of flustered. You know, his
footwork wasn't what it used to be. The ball was
kind of floating on him a little bit, and once
they got behind, they weren't able to lean on the
(29:41):
run game like they had in the past. You know,
I still think Jamier Gibbs had a heck of a game.
Fourteen carries for one hundred and five yards, six catches
for seventy yards. He did everything he could one hundred
and seventy five all purpose yards in the game. That's impactful.
But I'm in Rossaint Brown eight catches for one thirty seven,
Sam Laporter fifty one year in the one handed touchdown, Like, sure,
(30:02):
your guys showed up, but those critical interceptions and given
this guy the ball, Mitchell, you cannot give this guy
the ball because he's gonna score it. That's why I
think next week against the Eagles is gonna be a
really interesting game just because how the last game ended.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Now, I know.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
Jalen Hurts was injured at the end of that game,
but Jalen Hurts doesn't play defense, and their defense still
gave up thirty six points.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
CJ.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Gardner Johnson got kicked out of that game. I think
it was in the second half. So yes, that's that's impactful.
But sometimes just seeing your team have success in understanding
that they're having success against the starters against the Philadelphia
equals that was their starting defense. Still, they gave up
thirty six points to the Washington Commanders. I want to
say that might be the most they gave up all year.
And you're banged up. You know, they lost Quinnon Mitchell
(30:50):
this game. I think they lost his backup. I think
they were down to Killey Ringo at the right corner
by the end the game. Now, you still have a
really talented secondary. You've already lost to Kobe Dean, your
second leading tackler on the team, So this is gonna
be a little bit different of a defense. Now, you
still got Jalen Carter and the boys up frount. You
(31:13):
still got CJ. Gardner Johnson back there. Blankenship still got
a really you got Darius Lay who had a really
great game against the Rams. But this quarterback has grown
up before our eyes and starting to show that he's
a top five player.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
He's gonna end this season as.
Speaker 3 (31:29):
A top five quarterback, and if you can, you're gonna
have a hard time arguing that because legacies are defined
in the playoffs and he's playing great football.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
In the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
He was twenty two for thirty one two and ninety
nine yards, passing two touchdowns. He ran in sixteen times
for fifty one yards. When you play at a high
level in the playoffs. He's the first top three pick
to make a championship game in his rookie season. And
if he finds a way to get to the super Bowl,
it's gonna be really dangerous. It's gonna be really dangerous
because you kind of can't bet against this kid right now.
(32:00):
Got the hot hand, he has the poise, he's accurate.
His team believes in him, his offensive coordinator is in
a good rhythm with him, his head coach believes in him.
They're going forward on fourth down. They're one of the
most efficient fourth down teams in the history of the game,
eighty seven percent during the irregular season going forward on
fourth down conversion rate. I got I got them, I
(32:24):
got them. I got them winning in Philly, Mitchell, I think,
I think, I think they got a chance. You know
now that Philly team is incredibly talented, and we can
get to that game against the Rams, because that was
the doll fight in the snow, in the cold. Sa
Kwan had another incredible game, but Stafford gave them all
they could all they could handle.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Before we talk about that game, I gotta say, I mean,
this Jaden Daniels is remarkable. I mean, this rookie year
that he's having, being the number two overall pick again,
I just remember watching him as a fresh in at
Arizona State. I mean, they took on my Michigan State
Spartans and ultimately beat him, and I'm like, who in
the world is this kid? And he was a true
(33:07):
freshman skinny, ran like a deer, you know, all over
the place. But he gave it the Michigan State Spartans
hell and then he ends up transferring to LSU and
ultimately winning the Heisman. You look at this and this guy,
the way he's able to establish winning, you know, develop
a winning culture. He won ed Arizona State, he wonted LSU,
(33:27):
and now he's bringing back winning to Washington. How big
of a mistake do you think the Chicago Bears made
and taking Caleb Williams over Jaden Daniels, because you know,
ultimately yeah, you know, Caleb Williams was the number one
pick by most media pundits that were projecting mock drafts,
(33:50):
but there were a few outliers that said Jade and
Daniels should be the first overall pick and did you
think he should have been that guy at the top
of the draft.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
I mean there were people that said then, but you know,
hindsight is always twenty twenty. It always you know, you
can always go back and say he should have done this,
should have done this.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
You know.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
I think Caleb Williams will eventually be fine when he
gets more stability and consistently you know from an offensive coordinator,
when he gets better systems around him. I think Dan
quinn and and Cliff Kingsbury have created really great systems,
found things that Jayden does well that he likes to do.
I think this virtual reality thing that Jayden has done
(34:30):
since he was in college is something that other young
quarterbacks should probably look into because you know, maybe it
doesn't work for everybody, but it seems to be something
that helps him, you know, play fast and helps him
really see the game and slow it down for himself.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
But you know, I think I think you got to
give it a couple of years. And I know right
now nobody's given it a couple of years. You just
look at Bryce Young. You know, we were talking to
c J. Stroud and see J. Stroud is having a
really cool season.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
But this season, he kind of took a step back,
you know, had some issues turn the ball over a
little bit more. And then you look at Bryce Young
and he had a pretty solid season. You know, he
started to look like the guy who everybody was thought
he'd be coming out of Alabama. And maybe that's David
Kanalis and the systems that they've put in place and
the support that they've put around him and continuing to
(35:15):
encourage him and continuing to inject confidence and belief and
faith into him. But I think Jayden Daniels is special,
and you know, I'm sure the Philadelphia Eagles are really
concerned about all the things that he can do because
they believe they can win, and they know they can win. Obviously,
(35:37):
Sakuon Barkley is having a Player of the year kind
of season. You know, ran for two hundred yards against
La Rams after running for almost two hundred yards the
first game against the Rams, and.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
He was the difference in this game. And that is
just as simple as that.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
And I can't imagine being in the Giants' front office
or his ownership Mara watching these games and being like,
what what were you doing? Yes, they looked like idiots.
They look like idiots for letting Sakwan Barkley out the building.
And they look like they've been wasting his talent for years,
because he looks like the guy that everybody expected him
(36:12):
to be coming out of Penn State, and it looks
like he didn't have any eddy support around him in
New York and could never thrive in the way he
is now. He's behind one of the best offensive lines
in football, a quarterback who can take some pressure off
him because he can take it. He took it in
this game. He kept it forty four yard touchdown to
open this game. So Jalen Hurts can hurt people with
(36:34):
his legs, and so all these things have helped him,
you know, just be able to flourish more and really
let his light shine brightest in this game when they
had to have it, when it was a really really
critical situation, they put the ball in his hands and
he made it happen.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Two really long runs.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
I think one of them was sixty eight the other
one was seventy something yard runs and he really closed
the game out multiple times. And Jalen Hurts was fifteen
for twenty four hundred and twenty eight yards, was sacked
seven times. Aj Brown another underwhelming game, just two catchers
for fifteen yards. But again he's reading his books and
trying not to get frustrated and being a team player,
(37:15):
which you can respect. Jalen Carter. Nolan Smith has had
an incredible playoff run. Another sack in this game. Jalen
Carter two sacks in this game. That's why they won
this game. But Matthew Stafford, he gave him a chance.
And even the last play where Jalen Carter sacked Matthew
Stafford on third and two and forced it to be
a fourth and eleven, he had an open receiver right
(37:38):
over the ball. If Jalen Carter doesn't make that play,
I don't know if they win that game. I don't
know if they win that game because he had an
open receiver, a guy coming open that his defender had
just slipped, coming open, right over the ball. And I
know that's where Stafford was going with the football because
he rarely misses those. But if that's not what happened,
the Philadelphia Eagles were able to win that game. Sakwan
(37:58):
ran for two h five two rushing touchdowns and they
pulled it out. Their defense got the stops they needed,
like we said, big play, sligh to get three pvus
in a game, almost intercepted the ball. Now, now you
got Matthew Stafford. You know, considering what his future looks like,
you know, does he keep going? He's still playing at
a high level. Pookin Nicola made some incredible catches down
(38:19):
the stretch. Kirn Williams ran for one ZH six, but
he had a critical fumble. Matthew Stafford had a critical fumble.
Those turnovers caused by the Philadelphia Eagles defense were another huge,
huge factor in the ball game. Can the Washington Commanders
gain anything from watching his tape? I'm sure they can't.
(38:39):
They're gonna have to be able to run the ball,
and obviously Matthew Stafford isn't the most mobile quarterback. The
Rams offensive line is the best offensive line in football.
They were able to move guys around, they were able
to find lanes. I think I think this is gonna
be a lot better of a game than people think.
And I think Washington has a much better chance than
people will will probably give him or Vegas will get them,
(39:00):
you know, I mean, they'll probably haven't that five points
for something. But it's gonna be a lot closer than that.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
The Philadelphia Eagles identity has shifted quickly as soon as
they got Sakuon Barkley this team. He is the ultimate
glue guy for this team. He dominates and when a
game like Jalen Hurts didn't you know, necessarily put up
the best stats in a game where the weather conditions
(39:25):
were in play, they leaned on him and he produced
and he was the ultimate X factor in it. And
I know you like the Washington Commanders, but I like
the glue guy. I like, say Kuon Barkley Rich. I mean,
he's gonna get them out of so many different situations.
We're gonna see what happens next Sunday, but it's gonna
(39:47):
be a great matchup. These guys know each other. Rich,
I mean, you played against Division Fox numerous times in
the NFC Championship game. When you were with Seattle going
against the forty nine ers, I mean, how much should
it change your mind? Said, knowing that you already seen
these guys multiple times this year?
Speaker 3 (40:03):
Yeah, it gives you a lot of confidence, you know,
familiarity breeze confidence. And I think that's the thing that's
gonna help the Washington Commanders in this game. Obviously, we
need to figure out what's happening with Jalen hurts his knee.
I think he's a really tough game guy, and every
time he's gotten hurt in the pass, he's he's bounced
right back and and really has never really let it
(40:25):
hinder him.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
So I don't think he's gonna let it hinder him
in this game.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Again, like I said, against in this game, the Rams
should have went all out to stop Sakwon Barkley.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
They didn't.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
He broke the game open. He's the reason you lost.
And again, if i'm if, I'm dan Quinn and I
got dan Quinn's number, and I know dan Quinn, well,
I'm not gonna call him for this game. I'm pretty
sure he's gonna go all out to stop Taekwon Barkley.
That's why they got mar Shaun Lattimore and they traded
for him so that he could play man to man
coverage on guys like AJ Brown. Obviously, Sam Stril has
(40:56):
a lot of confidence. Two interceptions in this last game,
so they're gonna have aileen on their secondary. They had
played a lot of man and man covers throughout the season,
and Washington Commanders did Throughout the season, they played a
lot of man and man covers. They got to this
game against Jarreck Golf and played seventy percent zone coverage.
And I think that through Jared Golfall. What are they
gonna do against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (41:17):
I'm not that Joe Gibbs knows. Dan Quinn no, I
don't know, but I think they will have a plan.
And you got to understand, you're not gonna stop Sakuon Barkley.
You're not gonna stop him. You know, stopping him is
one hundred and fifty yards. I mean, stopping him is
one twenty five in a touchdown. That's that's considered. Hey,
when y'all, y'all played really well against him today. But
(41:38):
if you can hold him to one hundred and twenty
five yards and you can again force the ball into
Jalen Hurt's hands seven sacks today.
Speaker 2 (41:47):
He held the ball.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
He didn't want to make a mistake, he didn't want
to push the ball down the field. Now, he had
a really accurate throw, a good throw to Devonte Smith.
Kello Witherspoon knocks it out, you know, gets an unnecessary
rough call. But I think he's trying to make sure, Hey,
I'm playing mistake free football. I'd rather take a sack
than push the ball and put it in harms way.
(42:09):
And I think that's a smart decision because you have
a talented enough team that if you don't make mistakes,
you don't turn the ball over, you'll still probably be
able to pull these games out.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
And they were.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
They were able to win this game, but in this
game against this kid, I don't think you're gonna be
able to play that game.
Speaker 2 (42:25):
I don't know. Now.
Speaker 3 (42:26):
Saquan is good enough, and and Jalen's been to the
Super Bowl, played well in Super Bowls, has played at
a really, really high level of times, but he needs
he's gonna have to play at that level to beat Jalen.
And that's what we're gonna have to see because they're
gonna score points. They just scored forty five. They scored
thirty six in the last game they played. And I
know that the fans are gonna say, well, Jayden got
(42:49):
hurt in that game. Well, Jalen don't play no defense.
Jalen don't play defense. And Sakwam'm still there.
Speaker 4 (42:54):
And so.
Speaker 3 (42:56):
That's the part of the tape that I'm watching where
I'm like, hey, I'm watching tape where they're they're finding answers,
They're they're finding open guys, they're finding holes in his
defense and they're exploiting them. And I and if you know,
maybe maybe obviously Vic fangiol is an incredible coordinator. He's
gonna have answers, he's gonna have adjustments. Jalen Carter's gonna
(43:16):
play a good game. Noah Smith is playing his best football.
So maybe they get home and they get to the
quarterback a lot and they have eight nine sacks, force
a couple of fumbles and we're not talking about nothing,
and it's a blowout. But the way they're playing in
a confidence they're playing with, this is gonna be a
great divisional dogfight.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
And I can't wait for.
Speaker 1 (43:35):
It, no question, rich I mean, we have a final
four and this season is about to conclude here soon, Richard,
We're gonna talk about it a lot more coming up
this week. But that's I mean, that's it. That's a
wrap on the divisional round. I will let you sign
us off my front.
Speaker 3 (43:54):
Yes, that's a rap on a divisional round. I'm sorry
Detroit fans. Oh, I know, I know, you guys, you
know this has been a great season for you, great
for the city.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
Fifteen and two.
Speaker 3 (44:05):
That's a heartbreak, you know, but again, you know, there's
always light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, you're
probably gonna lose both coordinators, but your foundation is still there.
You still have a talented team. Adan Hutchinson's coming back,
You'll you'll pick up guys in free agency, you draft
really well. You got a really talented team and a
great staff. There's still hope for this organization. Obviously, the
(44:28):
division is still tough. Congratulations to the Washington Commanders, the
Philadelphia Eagles, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Buffalo Bills
on making it to the championship. What is there two
different teams in the final four this year? Are three
different teams when the team that's returning is the is
the Super Bowl champs the Kansas City Chiefs. So I'm
(44:49):
looking forward to a very entertaining championship weekend. I hope
you guys have a beautiful, blessed week I know you
guys could be anywhere in the world, but you choose
to be here with me and Mitchell talking about football,
listening to us.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
We love you, we hope, we we care about you,
and we hope you have a great night. Appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
M the volume
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
The Bowl championship. That should always do the expectation. A man,
you go ahead.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast. And it's been
an incredible weekend of the divisional games. Mitchell upsets, oh
your Honolulu Blue, Detroit Lions take a tough loss at
home to the Washington Commanders. We're gonna start it off
with our tastiest matchup in a segment we're calling Sunday
(00:40):
Night food Ball, brought to you by Uber Eats. It's
the Baltimore Ravens at the Buffalo Bills. A slugfest that
came down to the last plays of the game. Baltimore
Ravens just made too many mistakes down the stretch. Mark
Andrews is somewhere kicking himself after a critical drop on
the two point conversion, already had a fumble in the
(01:02):
fourth quarter. Oh you feel for Mitchell. I know you
had a tough one yesterday, but he's having a tough
day today.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Blake, we talked about last week, life comes at you
fast in the AFC. This Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills matchup
in the divisional round. It was a game everyone wanted
to see and Frankly, this was the battle of the MVPs.
You had Lamar Jackson going against Josh Allen and the
Ravens come out hot. They score first possession of the game,
(01:31):
and you look at it and said, okay, this might
be a long one for the Buffalo Bills. But then
the Bills answer twenty one to ten and a half, numerous
mistakes by Lamar Jackson. They just can't get it right, Richard.
From the objective mindset, like myself, when I watched the
Baltimore Ravens play football, I think they're the best.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Team in football. I think you have so much to
deal with.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
You got Lamar Jackson, you got Derek Henry, you know,
you got these receivers that are starting to rise up,
and obviously you got the tight ends and Marky Andrews.
Then you got this ferocious defense. They can't even get
to the super Bowl, let alone try to win it.
They can't even get past the divisional round. Right now,
Whe's that going to change? Like what is going on
with Baltimore?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Well, they got past the divisional last year and you thought, hey, okay,
that's them getting over the hump. And this year, you
again you thought, hey, they looked like the best team
in football. And if they lose, it's gonna be because
they beat themselves.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
They turned the.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Ball over, they didn't run the ball enough, something like that,
and that's exactly what happened. You know, give the Buffalo
Bills a lot of credit. They made those plays. Man
Milano was back in this game. He didn't play in
the first matchup. Epanessa made big plays in the game.
They did a great job of really really caging Derrick
(02:50):
Henry and Lamar Jackson and keeping them in there. They
were able to get a few plays. You know, Derrick
Henry broke through a few times, but for the most part,
I think Buffalo did an outstanding job of keeping him
bottled up. They didn't let a lot of explosives happen.
When they did, I mean, when Lamar Jackson needed it,
he made it happen. Though.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
That last drive a huge play.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
To Isaiah likely in a huge scrambled play, hitting him
in the back of the end zone. Again, this came
down to the mistakes that he made. You know, he's
again We're sitting here comfortable in our in our in our.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Man caves, talking about this game.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
When it was twelve degrees and they were playing on it,
in it and they couldn't fill their hands. But Lamar
Jackson drops the ball. Buffalo recovers it. Critical mistake. I
think the Baltimore defense played a really solid game against
a really tough opponent. I think Josh Allen was going
to get his He only threw four one hundred and
twenty seven yards, ran a few in and he was
(03:47):
running hard, running strong. But I think for the most part,
you look at that tape and you say, I think
Baltimore's defense played good enough to win this game. What
made it difficult was the three extra possessions that Buffalo
those defense created with the turnovers. In the fourth quarter,
you were left scratching your head at Mark Andrews because
you know.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
He caught a pass.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
You're like, okay, Mark Andrews, what are you doing after
you caught this pass? Because you could have easily just
got up the field, got tackled, signal first down, and
off off to the races, and I think they would
have scored on that drive. But instead he cuts back,
kind of spins around, and you're you're left like, wait, where.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Are you going? Wait, you're not You're not a receiver.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
And of course the Buffalo Bills punched the ball out
recover it forty three. I think it was Binard recovers
it huge play in the game, and that that likely
was the end of the game. But somehow Baltimore's defense
gets another stop, holds them to a field goal, gives
their offense another chance at it, and Lamar Jackson, I
(04:49):
think it was an eighty eight yard drive, you know,
after a penalty on the on the kickoff return has
an eighty eight yard touchdown drive and the two point
conversion they call a rollout sprint pass to the right,
Mark Andrews to the flat wide open, and you could
see Lamar Jackson like trying his best to say, hey,
(05:09):
I'm throwing it to you, like look at me, look
at me.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I'm giving you this one.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
And he touches touch, passes it to Mark Andrews and
he just drops it.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And it's not much more to it.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
You know, I'm sure this one will haunt it haunt
him for a really long time, just because it was
a routine playing. The conditions are what they are. It's cold,
it's been cold. I'm sure it's he couldn't fill his hands.
I'm sure you know a lot of things were going
on in that game, you know what I mean. I
can't be one to criticize that because I know, I
know it's going But you got to catch that. You know,
(05:45):
you got to catch it. Isaiah likely had just caught
a touchdown pass. You got to have that one for
the game. They weren't able to do it. The Buffalo
Bills and Josh Allen were able to do it. Now
back to the conversation. Did who out played who in
this game?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
I think it's kind of atch. I think Lamar threw
for two fifty made huge plays down stretch. Obviously, the
two turnovers were critical, and those are strikes against him.
Josh played a pretty mistake free football game. He only
threw four one hundred and twenty seven yards, but he
didn't turn the ball over. He didn't put it in
the harms way. He made plays when he had to.
He took what the defense gave him. Sometimes that's enough.
(06:23):
Sometimes that's that's a better performance protecting the ball, putting
your team in position to win the football game. Did
Josh get a little more help from his defense? Of course,
his defense made plays when they need to make plays.
But Lamar Jackson gave the ball away. More so, I
think Buffalo fans would say Josh Allen outplayed him, and
Baltimore fans would say Lamar Jackson outplayed him. All right,
(06:46):
Josh Allen won the game. And again, this is what
frustrates me with fans because they'll be sitting there like,
my quarterback's MVP. No, my quarterbacks the MVP. No, my
quarterbacks the MVP. Then when you say anything about their
quarterback when he didn't play well, and then they're like, oh,
it's a team game. Now it's all on the quarterback.
If they didn't win, it's like, yeah, it's a team game.
(07:06):
It's one hundred percent of team game. I played this
team game. But they give the credit quarterbacks credit. Don't
blame me. I didn't make the rules. I don't like it,
but that's the way they call these games. So I
think they'll give Josh hav them a lot of credit
for this. He beat Lamar Jackson. If he goes on
to beat Patrick Mahoons and potentially playing a Super Bowl,
(07:27):
maybe win a Super Bowl, his legacy will be improved
by this. Like there were so many fans like, how
are you gonna How are you gonna say this is
gonna hurt Lamar when he has two MVPs and he's.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Likely gonna get a third MVP. But you have to win.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
You have to go into playoffs and win that that
matters in this league. You can't just get MVPs, and
then it means, hey, it doesn't matter what happens in
the postseason, he's better than all of them. That's not
gonna be true. And nobody's gonna see it that way.
At least I'm not gonna see it that way, and
I don't think I don't think the public's gonna see
it that way. They're not gonna say, oh, this this lost,
(08:03):
This loss doesn't doesn't hurt Lamar at all. It does.
I'm sure Lamar would say. Lamar would say, hey, this
loss hurts. You know they got me. I gotta be better.
I'm gonna be better, and I'm sure he's gonna spend
the off season watching the tape improving. He had an
MVP season. I mean, you can't play much better than
he did during the regular season. But there were two
(08:23):
or three plays in this ball game that I'm sure
he wants back, the corner route that he was thrown
to Isaiah likely where he where he felt the pressure
from that Milano even though Derrick Henry had picked it up.
He let the ball go before Isaiah likely comes out
of his corner route and he doesn't define the angle
and it's a turnover. The Taylor rap the fumble. You know,
he's in the pocket, he's moving around and I'm sure
(08:45):
his fingers are cold and it's freezing out there, and
maybe he maybe he couldn't feel his fingertips and he
drops the ball. That's a critical mistake in a critical
game and not Those are things that you can't have
and it happened. So it's gonna make for an interesting conversation.
It's gonna make for a tough off season for Mark Andrews.
Of course, Lamar played good enough, you know, I thought
(09:06):
he made plays down a stretch to put this game,
to give it a chance. It would have been cool
to see what Josh Allen would have been able to
do if Lamar did tie it up. Maybe Josh drove
the ball down the field and won the game on
the field goal. Anyway, who knows, But as as we
have it, we get Josh Allen. Patrick Mahomes for the
(09:28):
fourth time, and Patrick has won the first three. So
let's see how I go.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
From my perspective being an NFC fan. You look at
Lamar Jackson just dominate. I mean you see these statistics
against him with against NFC teams. I mean, Lamar Jackson
dominates the NFC landscape, but he can't handle his own
turf the AFC. And as remarkable as statistics are, and
(09:55):
how how much he out plays opposing quarterbacks throughout the
course of the season, you get to these crunch time
games against a similar team, the Buffalo Bills, and you
can't get over that hurdle. I mean, we talked about
it last week. This was gonna be the differentiator between
these two guys, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. I mean
(10:16):
we looked at him both at this mountaintop and who
was going to take home the MVP. Did Josh Allen
play better than Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
I mean, like you said, it was probably a toss up.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
But at the end of the day, this way to
this win that Josh Allen got, I mean, for me,
it tips the scales in his favor because you knocked
off a team like the Baltimore Ravens in snowy conditions
and do it, you know, in a manner with two
rushing touchdowns. That's big time rich And now they got
(10:48):
to go and slay that dragon and Patrick Mahomes.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
What's it gonna take?
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Man?
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Because to me, I think the NFL world is ready
to close the chapter on these Kansas City Chiefs. Maybe
it's time for a new king. And Josh Allen Richard,
what is the mentality gonna be for this Buffalo Bills
team going in next Sunday to try to slay that
dragon and Patrick Mahomes.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
I think they're gonna see him as very mortal. I
think they're gonna believe they can get it done. You know,
if you watch that the tape of the Houston Texans
Kansas City game, you you thought that Houston had a chance,
They had a really good chance to win that game.
A few calls here and there, you know, a few
things that left you scratching your head. A few drops,
(11:35):
a few mistakes by the Houston Texans, and they lose
that game. But if you're if you're Josh Allen, you
look at that tape and you're encouraged. You know, there
were some weaknesses shown by that defense. Joe Mixon found
some running room on the ground at times.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
C J.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Stroud and when they were playing man coverage and they
play a lot of that, found some running room with
his legs and were able was able to extend plays
and and and also just pick up first downs with
his legs, something Josh Allen specializes in. So I think
if you're if you're the Buffalo Bills and you're watching
that tape, you're encouraged. You you look at that tape
and you're like, hey, these guys aren't there. They're not
(12:13):
immortal now they are. They are back to back Super
Bowl champions Championship, Hard Shop Championship pedigree. They are not
gonna roll over for you and let you go into
Kansas City and pull out a win. That's not what's
gonna happen. They're gonna feel as confident about this game
as they've felt in any of the three previous matchups
with the with the Kansas City Chiefs. I think Josh
(12:35):
Allen is in a good mental space. I think Sean
McDermott has his defense playing extremely well.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
Obviously, the Taylor rap injury is gonna be something that
that that's concerning there. They got a little bit banged
up in this game, so you hope, hope some of
those guys are able to return by next week. But
I think Kansas City is vulnerable, you know, I think
they're vulnerable. I think they can be had. Now we'll
get to that game. Let's close this game out because
(13:04):
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responsible gaming resources. We're already talking about it, so let's
talk more about it. The Kansas City Chiefs. I mean,
they get the win against Houston Texans twenty three to fourteen.
You know, I don't even know how we want to
(15:04):
start the conversation about this game, because it's like when
Kansas City wins, you can't even truly enjoy it anymore.
I mean, there's two extremely questionable rough in the passer
calls on Patrick Mahomes, and I don't think that the
game necessarily goes a different direction if those calls aren't made.
I don't think the Houston Texans are going to win
this game. But the fact that we have to talk
(15:25):
about it is my problem. To preface this, Richard and
I were together all weekend. Richard was in Detroit enjoying
the Detroit scenery, bringing unfortunately some bad luck to the
city Detroit with the Detroit Lions. But that's a topic
for another time. But Richard, we were together and these calls,
we were texting, conversating about this throughout.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
What are your thoughts about this? Like why do we
even have to talk.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
About these calls that is going in the Kansas City
Chiefs direction?
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Well, because it's frustrating and you know, and nowadays, if
you know Kansas City face don't care. They're happy with it.
They're there, you know, they see nothing wrong with it,
which is fine. It's your team, so of course you'll.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Feel that way.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
But I think even the most objective fans that are
watching that game are like, hey, that's how I don't
think that was right. I don't think that was right.
I don't think that was right. But what you're gonna
do about it? It keeps happening. The NFL doesn't say anything
wrong with it. Now again, would Houston have won that game,
I don't know, but one of them led to seven points.
It was a third down. They called it roughening passer
(16:27):
on will Anderson on a play where they had he
had overthrown Travis Kelcey on a third down that would
have been fourth down. The it would have been punting,
but instead of punting, they drove the ball down the
field and scored a touchdown. That's seven points. That wouldn't
have happened, at least on that drive that happened. The
other one, they was scrambling around and could have easily
went out of bounds, came back in the field to
(16:49):
play and then slid and everybody's like, well, those guys
were spearing. Look, fans, fans, I have a challenge for you.
I want you to if you if you have a
punching bag or you have a mattress or something, I
want you to try to run as fast as you
can into something. And I want you to lead your
body without your head. And if you can have that
(17:09):
target move a little bit, that'd be great. And I
want you to come back and look yourself in the
mirror and tell yourself the truth. How difficult was that?
Were you able to do it? Were you able to
lead your body without your head? Because I can tell
you the answer is no. It's not physically possible for
you to run full speed, aim at something, go to
(17:31):
drop your shoulder on it and then pull your head
out of it, at least not in this sport. I mean,
maybe you could do it somehow, but you're gonna hurt
yourself trying to do it that way. And I think
a lot of these calls and a lot of these
issues dim from people who don't play the game making
the rules, and they're like and even the people that
watch it, they're like, oh, they can do better than that.
(17:52):
They're putting them in danger, they're spearing, they're doing this.
They're playing football, playing fast. A guy's dropping to the ground.
He's literally the ground. I'm trying to follow a moving
target as it gets lower, and after a while it
gets lower to the point where it's on the ground.
I can't go any low. My eyes are taking me
literally where the target is. So if my eyes are there,
(18:13):
my body's gonna be there, and my body's gonna go
follow my eyes. That's just how it works. I'm sorry.
I'm tired of hearing fans talk about what these players
should and could do, and how they should be able
to take their head out of it, and how they
should You can't do it, and you can't show you
can't show me an example of you doing it, So
shut up, shut up, because I'm so tired of that.
(18:34):
That's one of the most frustrating things to read and
see consistently. He should have just took his head out
of it. He should have just took his head up.
He should have just hit him with his shoulder. If
it was that easy, they'd be doing it. They'd be
doing it. If you can lead your body with your
shoulder and not put your head into it, I'm sure guy.
More guys would do it they try. There are two
different there's a lot of moving factors. There's a body
(18:54):
movie another body movie. But back to this game. The
Kansas City Chiefs won the game. Did they get some
favorable calls? Sure, They're also still a dang good team.
The defense played good football, held Houston at fourteen points,
really got after got after the quarterback. Travis kelce played
a really good game. I don't think Houston had a
(19:15):
great plan for Travis kelcey. I think, you know, they
kind of saw a man. Maybe he's not having a
season that he were used to him having, so we're
not gonna game plan like he's an elite player.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
We're gonna worry about everybody else.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
And I think that was a mistake because he had
one of his best games one hundred and seventeen.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Yards and a TD.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
I think Mahomes was seven for eight with one hundred
and seventeen yards and a TD in a perfect pass
rating when thrown to Travis kelce in this game, and
that can't be it. You know, they played together for
too long for you to allow him to just be
wide open in them to play pitch and catch all
game long. So I think that was a mistake. I'm
a mistake that I don't think the Buffalo Bills will make.
(19:55):
I don't think they're gonna just leave Patrick, leave Travis
Kelce open, repeat and allow him them to play pitch
and catch all all game long.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Cami Fairbeard miss two field goals in an extra point
and one of them was a really long field goal.
Obviously that's tough, but could have been more points on
the board and could have could have changed the outcome
of this game and changed the way that Houston and
Demico Ryans approached this game. In certain respects. Houston outgained
the Kansas City Chiefs by over one hundred yards. I
(20:25):
think this is the first time in the history of
the game a team one out yardage the other team
didn't turn the ball over and lost And could those
could those calls have been part of it?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (20:37):
But you know, at this point, what is there to say?
You know what I mean is nothing you can do
about it? Crying over spild Mill. Can the Buffalo Bills
get it done against the Kansas City Chiefs in in
Kansas City. That's to be seen. That's to be to
be seen. I think they can. I think they have
the team to do it. But again, you have to
(20:58):
slay the dragon in order for the dragon to be
going in order to prove the point. Until they do,
you have to give Kansas City to benefit it out.
They are the champs, they are the reigning champions, and
they play that way and they continue to maybe get
favorable calls that way. But hey, you want to beat them,
you gotta beat them, and you gotta go over and beyond.
You gotta beat them very, very handily. It has to
(21:19):
be a convincing win for you to get a win
and go to the super Bowl and what you want
it any other way? If you're Josh Allen, No, this
is a legacy defining season for Josh Allen. This could
be the season that cements your name and the history
books in a very positive way. You know, there's no
other quarterback outside of Matthew Stafford and Tom Brady has
(21:43):
the super Bowl during the Mahomes era. Can you be
the next guy that etch his name in the history books.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
We'll see back to this Kansas City Chiefs team.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
I think the X factor with this team that you
know it gets talked about but not enough is their defense.
I mean this XCJ Strout eight times. You know, when
you've got a defense that can get after the quarterback,
make timely plays and.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
Turn the ball over.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
That's the ultimate X factor for Patrick Mahomes and Travis
Kelsey in this offense.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
So kudos to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
This game against Buffalo is gonna be much wild, must
watch football, no question about it.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
This team in Kansas.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
City does not look like the same Kansas City Chiefs team,
but they keep winning and winning and winning and winning.
Ken Josh Allen finally slay that dragon. We're going to
see next Sunday. Let's talk about the NFC. And as
much as I really don't even want to talk about
(22:45):
it because I've been depressed all day, let's start in Detroit,
Richard again, you were in town and Detroit, Richard. Now
we're together this weekend a good friend's wedding and downtown Detroit,
and let's talk about that first. For me, I'm a
Lion season ticket older. I mean, I had to forego
going to this game, rich And as much as I
love to see you, you know, I wanted to see
(23:08):
the Detroit Lions take on the Washington Commanders. And our
good friend decided to have a wedding on Saturday night.
And I warned him. I warned him about six months ago.
I said, you do realize what you're doing, right, And
he goes, They're not gonna play Saturday night. They play
on Sundays. I said, no, there's a good chance they
might play on Saturday night. And here we are, Richard,
(23:31):
at a wedding, crowded by thirty forty people at our
table watching this game on these monitors. It was a
rough go, my friend. It was a very much so
rough go. The storyboard material, here is Jadeen Daniels, and
this rookie quarterback does not look like a rookie at all. Richard,
(23:52):
I know you were wildly impressed with him throughout this game, Like,
how impressive is this to do this as a rookie
uplifting a team that hasn't been to the NFC Championship
Game in thirty three years in the Washington Commanders.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
It was really impressive. And let me preface this by saying,
earlier that day, you know, I'm in town. I got to,
you know, sit down and hang out with Bobby Wagner
and got to go over there and have a good
conversation with Dan Quinn and Kenny Norton and the vibes
in that building mentroll. It did not seem like that
the moment was too big. And I'm talking to champions,
(24:28):
I'm talking to people I've I've went to battle with,
I've went into championship games with, I've won super Bowls with.
They didn't seem like a team that was that felt
like they were going to be overwhelmed or they were
punching out outside of their their weight class. They felt
like they had a really good chance, and their young
defense had a really good chance. And I think you
(24:49):
got to give Sandstril, you know, a guy who I'm
sure you don't like because he's a Michigan guy, a
lot of credit played, played a really good football game,
multiple turnovers, Jayden Daniels show incredible poise, and again the
first the wild card weekend, every quarterback that lost their
(25:10):
teams had excuses. They're there, their fan base has had excuses.
So many excuses injuries are you know, he doesn't have
the receivers everybody else has.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
He he doesn't. His own line didn't block for him.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Even the narrative that they created to elevate Josh Allen
this year where they said, hey, this team was not
even supposed to make the playoffs. It's like, well, they
weren't supposed to make the playoffs. That was all like
projection guessing. They made the playoffs the season before. They're
still a playoff team. They still have playoff coaches and
(25:44):
great coaching staff, great organization, uh planthora of talent in
the building, and they went to the playoffs again. They're
headed to another a SC championship. But the Washington Commanders
won four games. Like actually, in real life, all you
heard about an offseason was, man, they didn't do enough,
Like oh my god, really Adam Peters, Like, oh my god,
(26:06):
they went with Dan Quinn. They didn't get one of
the offensive geniuses. How could you get Cliff Kingsbury? Like
we already saw what he could do in Arizona. He's
he's he's a failed experiment. What are they doing, Zach Ertz,
Bobby Wagner, Why are you getting these these washed up guys?
Get some young guys, get some young talent, Like what
(26:26):
do you think, Austin Eckler, what are you doing? Like
that was the conversation in the off season when the
Washington Commanders with the moves they make. Now everybody's looking like,
oh my god. So you got champions in the building,
veteran veterans who've been there and done that. You have
talented rookies and young guys. They had a really good
(26:47):
draft cast. You got guys starting to develop. Diami Brown
had six catches for ninety eight yards. You already have
one Pro Bowl receiver and scary Terry McLaurin, you know,
four for eighty seven and touchdown in this game. And
then the guys that are starting to develop really really
start to.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Grow.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
When you get a guy like Bobby Wagner and Zach
Ertz in the building, they can have conversations with a
young quarterback and help him understand how he's supposed to
be lead and how his team is seeing him, how
his team is perceiving him, and how how he should
be carrying himself so that he could continue to elevate
his team. And that's what he's done. He's elevated the
(27:30):
guys around him. Are you gonna, I know, people aren't
gonna sit here and tell me he has the better
roster than than the other guys that went out in
the first round. Now, now you're let's let's let's make
that argument. Tell me, tell me he's he's got a
better roster than than the Green Bay Packers, you know,
tell me, tell me, tell me that's what you thought
coming into this season, that he has a better roster
than the than the.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
L A Chargers.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
But they're playing better, they're playing inspired football. He's going
out there. It's a different mindset when you have a
quarterback and you're playing defense. Mitchell, and you and you
got a guy that you know can go go get
it regardless of the circumstances, regardless of who he's going against,
he's gonna find a way. So if you can give
him a few extra possessions, you can get him a
(28:15):
stop or two, he's gonna go make some magic happen.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Mitchell. That gotta feel good. That has to feel good.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
And that's what it looks like because these guys look
like they believed because he believes, and they gave him
extra possessions.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
He put up forty five in a playoff game.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
They put up forty five points as a team, you know,
because they did have the pick six, but forty five points,
that's a lot of points. And all you're hearing about
was how Detroit was gonna put up a lot of points,
and you know, I know Jared Golf is gonna take
a lot of heat in this game. He did have
the three interceptions and only one touchdown, But I mean,
what you're gonna do, hey, guys for making plays, Mitchell,
(28:56):
you gotta find a way to I don't know, make
better just decisions. You got to find a way to
execute better down the stretch for sure, Jared. You know,
he's he's a veteran quarterback who's been to a Super Bowl.
You definitely have to make better decisions and you have
to be safer with the football, and he had been
for the most part. And so he's going to get
a lot of well deserved criticism this offseason from both
(29:18):
the fan base and I'm sure the pundits out there,
because it did look kind of like he reverted back
a little bit in this game. At least in this game,
it looked like he reverted back to the younger Jared Golf.
You know, he got kind of flustered. You know, his
footwork wasn't what it used to be. The ball was
kind of floating on him a little bit, and once
they got behind, they weren't able to lean on the
(29:41):
run game like they had in the past. You know,
I still think Jamier Gibbs had a heck of a game.
Fourteen carries for one hundred and five yards, six catches
for seventy yards. He did everything he could one hundred
and seventy five all purpose yards in the game. That's impactful.
But I'm in Rossaint Brown eight catches for one thirty seven,
Sam Laporter fifty one year in the one handed touchdown, Like, sure,
(30:02):
your guys showed up, but those critical interceptions and given
this guy the ball, Mitchell, you cannot give this guy
the ball because he's gonna score it. That's why I
think next week against the Eagles is gonna be a
really interesting game just because how the last game ended.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Now, I know.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
Jalen Hurts was injured at the end of that game,
but Jalen Hurts doesn't play defense, and their defense still
gave up thirty six points.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
CJ.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Gardner Johnson got kicked out of that game. I think
it was in the second half. So yes, that's that's impactful.
But sometimes just seeing your team have success in understanding
that they're having success against the starters against the Philadelphia
equals that was their starting defense. Still, they gave up
thirty six points to the Washington Commanders. I want to
say that might be the most they gave up all year.
And you're banged up. You know, they lost Quinnon Mitchell
(30:50):
this game. I think they lost his backup. I think
they were down to Killey Ringo at the right corner
by the end the game. Now, you still have a
really talented secondary. You've already lost to Kobe Dean, your
second leading tackler on the team, So this is gonna
be a little bit different of a defense. Now, you
still got Jalen Carter and the boys up frount. You
(31:13):
still got CJ. Gardner Johnson back there. Blankenship still got
a really you got Darius Lay who had a really
great game against the Rams. But this quarterback has grown
up before our eyes and starting to show that he's
a top five player.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
He's gonna end this season as.
Speaker 3 (31:29):
A top five quarterback, and if you can, you're gonna
have a hard time arguing that because legacies are defined
in the playoffs and he's playing great football.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
In the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
He was twenty two for thirty one two and ninety
nine yards, passing two touchdowns. He ran in sixteen times
for fifty one yards. When you play at a high
level in the playoffs. He's the first top three pick
to make a championship game in his rookie season. And
if he finds a way to get to the super Bowl,
it's gonna be really dangerous. It's gonna be really dangerous
because you kind of can't bet against this kid right now.
(32:00):
Got the hot hand, he has the poise, he's accurate.
His team believes in him, his offensive coordinator is in
a good rhythm with him, his head coach believes in him.
They're going forward on fourth down. They're one of the
most efficient fourth down teams in the history of the game,
eighty seven percent during the irregular season going forward on
fourth down conversion rate. I got I got them, I
(32:24):
got them. I got them winning in Philly, Mitchell, I think,
I think, I think they got a chance. You know
now that Philly team is incredibly talented, and we can
get to that game against the Rams, because that was
the doll fight in the snow, in the cold. Sa
Kwan had another incredible game, but Stafford gave them all
they could all they could handle.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Before we talk about that game, I gotta say, I mean,
this Jaden Daniels is remarkable. I mean, this rookie year
that he's having, being the number two overall pick again,
I just remember watching him as a fresh in at
Arizona State. I mean, they took on my Michigan State
Spartans and ultimately beat him, and I'm like, who in
the world is this kid? And he was a true
(33:07):
freshman skinny, ran like a deer, you know, all over
the place. But he gave it the Michigan State Spartans
hell and then he ends up transferring to LSU and
ultimately winning the Heisman. You look at this and this guy,
the way he's able to establish winning, you know, develop
a winning culture. He won ed Arizona State, he wonted LSU,
(33:27):
and now he's bringing back winning to Washington. How big
of a mistake do you think the Chicago Bears made
and taking Caleb Williams over Jaden Daniels, because you know,
ultimately yeah, you know, Caleb Williams was the number one
pick by most media pundits that were projecting mock drafts,
(33:50):
but there were a few outliers that said Jade and
Daniels should be the first overall pick and did you
think he should have been that guy at the top
of the draft.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
I mean there were people that said then, but you know,
hindsight is always twenty twenty. It always you know, you
can always go back and say he should have done this,
should have done this.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
You know.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
I think Caleb Williams will eventually be fine when he
gets more stability and consistently you know from an offensive coordinator,
when he gets better systems around him. I think Dan
quinn and and Cliff Kingsbury have created really great systems,
found things that Jayden does well that he likes to do.
I think this virtual reality thing that Jayden has done
(34:30):
since he was in college is something that other young
quarterbacks should probably look into because you know, maybe it
doesn't work for everybody, but it seems to be something
that helps him, you know, play fast and helps him
really see the game and slow it down for himself.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
But you know, I think I think you got to
give it a couple of years. And I know right
now nobody's given it a couple of years. You just
look at Bryce Young. You know, we were talking to
c J. Stroud and see J. Stroud is having a
really cool season.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
But this season, he kind of took a step back,
you know, had some issues turn the ball over a
little bit more. And then you look at Bryce Young
and he had a pretty solid season. You know, he
started to look like the guy who everybody was thought
he'd be coming out of Alabama. And maybe that's David
Kanalis and the systems that they've put in place and
the support that they've put around him and continuing to
(35:15):
encourage him and continuing to inject confidence and belief and
faith into him. But I think Jayden Daniels is special,
and you know, I'm sure the Philadelphia Eagles are really
concerned about all the things that he can do because
they believe they can win, and they know they can win. Obviously,
(35:37):
Sakuon Barkley is having a Player of the year kind
of season. You know, ran for two hundred yards against
La Rams after running for almost two hundred yards the
first game against the Rams, and.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
He was the difference in this game. And that is
just as simple as that.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
And I can't imagine being in the Giants' front office
or his ownership Mara watching these games and being like,
what what were you doing? Yes, they looked like idiots.
They look like idiots for letting Sakwan Barkley out the building.
And they look like they've been wasting his talent for years,
because he looks like the guy that everybody expected him
(36:12):
to be coming out of Penn State, and it looks
like he didn't have any eddy support around him in
New York and could never thrive in the way he
is now. He's behind one of the best offensive lines
in football, a quarterback who can take some pressure off
him because he can take it. He took it in
this game. He kept it forty four yard touchdown to
open this game. So Jalen Hurts can hurt people with
(36:34):
his legs, and so all these things have helped him,
you know, just be able to flourish more and really
let his light shine brightest in this game when they
had to have it, when it was a really really
critical situation, they put the ball in his hands and
he made it happen.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Two really long runs.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
I think one of them was sixty eight the other
one was seventy something yard runs and he really closed
the game out multiple times. And Jalen Hurts was fifteen
for twenty four hundred and twenty eight yards, was sacked
seven times. Aj Brown another underwhelming game, just two catchers
for fifteen yards. But again he's reading his books and
trying not to get frustrated and being a team player,
(37:15):
which you can respect. Jalen Carter. Nolan Smith has had
an incredible playoff run. Another sack in this game. Jalen
Carter two sacks in this game. That's why they won
this game. But Matthew Stafford, he gave him a chance.
And even the last play where Jalen Carter sacked Matthew
Stafford on third and two and forced it to be
a fourth and eleven, he had an open receiver right
(37:38):
over the ball. If Jalen Carter doesn't make that play,
I don't know if they win that game. I don't
know if they win that game because he had an
open receiver, a guy coming open that his defender had
just slipped, coming open, right over the ball. And I
know that's where Stafford was going with the football because
he rarely misses those. But if that's not what happened,
the Philadelphia Eagles were able to win that game. Sakwan
(37:58):
ran for two h five two rushing touchdowns and they
pulled it out. Their defense got the stops they needed,
like we said, big play, sligh to get three pvus
in a game, almost intercepted the ball. Now, now you
got Matthew Stafford. You know, considering what his future looks like,
you know, does he keep going? He's still playing at
a high level. Pookin Nicola made some incredible catches down
(38:19):
the stretch. Kirn Williams ran for one ZH six, but
he had a critical fumble. Matthew Stafford had a critical fumble.
Those turnovers caused by the Philadelphia Eagles defense were another huge,
huge factor in the ball game. Can the Washington Commanders
gain anything from watching his tape? I'm sure they can't.
(38:39):
They're gonna have to be able to run the ball,
and obviously Matthew Stafford isn't the most mobile quarterback. The
Rams offensive line is the best offensive line in football.
They were able to move guys around, they were able
to find lanes. I think I think this is gonna
be a lot better of a game than people think.
And I think Washington has a much better chance than
people will will probably give him or Vegas will get them,
(39:00):
you know, I mean, they'll probably haven't that five points
for something. But it's gonna be a lot closer than that.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
The Philadelphia Eagles identity has shifted quickly as soon as
they got Sakuon Barkley this team. He is the ultimate
glue guy for this team. He dominates and when a
game like Jalen Hurts didn't you know, necessarily put up
the best stats in a game where the weather conditions
(39:25):
were in play, they leaned on him and he produced
and he was the ultimate X factor in it. And
I know you like the Washington Commanders, but I like
the glue guy. I like, say Kuon Barkley Rich. I mean,
he's gonna get them out of so many different situations.
We're gonna see what happens next Sunday, but it's gonna
(39:47):
be a great matchup. These guys know each other. Rich,
I mean, you played against Division Fox numerous times in
the NFC Championship game. When you were with Seattle going
against the forty nine ers, I mean, how much should
it change your mind? Said, knowing that you already seen
these guys multiple times this year?
Speaker 3 (40:03):
Yeah, it gives you a lot of confidence, you know,
familiarity breeze confidence. And I think that's the thing that's
gonna help the Washington Commanders in this game. Obviously, we
need to figure out what's happening with Jalen hurts his knee.
I think he's a really tough game guy, and every
time he's gotten hurt in the pass, he's he's bounced
right back and and really has never really let it
(40:25):
hinder him.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
So I don't think he's gonna let it hinder him
in this game.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Again, like I said, against in this game, the Rams
should have went all out to stop Sakwon Barkley.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
They didn't.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
He broke the game open. He's the reason you lost.
And again, if i'm if, I'm dan Quinn and I
got dan Quinn's number, and I know dan Quinn, well,
I'm not gonna call him for this game. I'm pretty
sure he's gonna go all out to stop Taekwon Barkley.
That's why they got mar Shaun Lattimore and they traded
for him so that he could play man to man
coverage on guys like AJ Brown. Obviously, Sam Stril has
(40:56):
a lot of confidence. Two interceptions in this last game,
so they're gonna have aileen on their secondary. They had
played a lot of man and man covers throughout the season,
and Washington Commanders did Throughout the season, they played a
lot of man and man covers. They got to this
game against Jarreck Golf and played seventy percent zone coverage.
And I think that through Jared Golfall. What are they
gonna do against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (41:17):
I'm not that Joe Gibbs knows. Dan Quinn no, I
don't know, but I think they will have a plan.
And you got to understand, you're not gonna stop Sakuon Barkley.
You're not gonna stop him. You know, stopping him is
one hundred and fifty yards. I mean, stopping him is
one twenty five in a touchdown. That's that's considered. Hey,
when y'all, y'all played really well against him today. But
(41:38):
if you can hold him to one hundred and twenty
five yards and you can again force the ball into
Jalen Hurt's hands seven sacks today.
Speaker 2 (41:47):
He held the ball.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
He didn't want to make a mistake, he didn't want
to push the ball down the field. Now, he had
a really accurate throw, a good throw to Devonte Smith.
Kello Witherspoon knocks it out, you know, gets an unnecessary
rough call. But I think he's trying to make sure, Hey,
I'm playing mistake free football. I'd rather take a sack
than push the ball and put it in harms way.
(42:09):
And I think that's a smart decision because you have
a talented enough team that if you don't make mistakes,
you don't turn the ball over, you'll still probably be
able to pull these games out.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
And they were.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
They were able to win this game, but in this
game against this kid, I don't think you're gonna be
able to play that game.
Speaker 2 (42:25):
I don't know. Now.
Speaker 3 (42:26):
Saquan is good enough, and and Jalen's been to the
Super Bowl, played well in Super Bowls, has played at
a really, really high level of times, but he needs
he's gonna have to play at that level to beat Jalen.
And that's what we're gonna have to see because they're
gonna score points. They just scored forty five. They scored
thirty six in the last game they played. And I
know that the fans are gonna say, well, Jayden got
(42:49):
hurt in that game. Well, Jalen don't play no defense.
Jalen don't play defense. And Sakwam'm still there.
Speaker 4 (42:54):
And so.
Speaker 3 (42:56):
That's the part of the tape that I'm watching where
I'm like, hey, I'm watching tape where they're they're finding answers,
They're they're finding open guys, they're finding holes in his
defense and they're exploiting them. And I and if you know,
maybe maybe obviously Vic fangiol is an incredible coordinator. He's
gonna have answers, he's gonna have adjustments. Jalen Carter's gonna
(43:16):
play a good game. Noah Smith is playing his best football.
So maybe they get home and they get to the
quarterback a lot and they have eight nine sacks, force
a couple of fumbles and we're not talking about nothing,
and it's a blowout. But the way they're playing in
a confidence they're playing with, this is gonna be a
great divisional dogfight.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
And I can't wait for.
Speaker 1 (43:35):
It, no question, rich I mean, we have a final
four and this season is about to conclude here soon, Richard,
We're gonna talk about it a lot more coming up
this week. But that's I mean, that's it. That's a
wrap on the divisional round. I will let you sign
us off my front.
Speaker 3 (43:54):
Yes, that's a rap on a divisional round. I'm sorry
Detroit fans. Oh, I know, I know, you guys, you
know this has been a great season for you, great
for the city.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
Fifteen and two.
Speaker 3 (44:05):
That's a heartbreak, you know, but again, you know, there's
always light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, you're
probably gonna lose both coordinators, but your foundation is still there.
You still have a talented team. Adan Hutchinson's coming back,
You'll you'll pick up guys in free agency, you draft
really well. You got a really talented team and a
great staff. There's still hope for this organization. Obviously, the
(44:28):
division is still tough. Congratulations to the Washington Commanders, the
Philadelphia Eagles, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Buffalo Bills
on making it to the championship. What is there two
different teams in the final four this year? Are three
different teams when the team that's returning is the is
the Super Bowl champs the Kansas City Chiefs. So I'm
(44:49):
looking forward to a very entertaining championship weekend. I hope
you guys have a beautiful, blessed week I know you
guys could be anywhere in the world, but you choose
to be here with me and Mitchell talking about football,
listening to us.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
We love you, we hope, we we care about you,
and we hope you have a great night. Appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
M the volume
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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