All Episodes

December 20, 2025 56 mins

Colin’s top takes of the week.

First, he’s joined by Danny Parkins, host of “First Thing’s First” on FS1.

They start with Colin offering his new theory that explains the unprecedented drop off from Russell Wilson after seeing Tua on MNF. He argues that when smaller quarterbacks are afraid to get hit, they age overnight. They both agree that Tua’s career is likely over (03:00). 

They discuss the evolution of Justin Herbert, and why they think he could win a title and an MVP under Jim Harbaugh (10:30). They also express sympathy for Joe Burrow after he gave multiple despondent press conferences and they debate whether his discontent is purely with the Bengals or if there are other factors (17:00). They also try to decipher what the trade value for Burrow would be if he forces a trade (25:00).

Then, he’s joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to break down the biggest headlines from the Sunday NFL slate.

They start with the Broncos win over the Packers and explain why it was the best game of Bo Nix’s career (34:00) and why the injury to Micah Parsons spells doom for the Packers Super Bowl aspirations (40:30).

They react to the Chiefs being eliminated from the postseason by the Chargers for the first time in the Mahomes era (42:15), break down why the Chiefs are likely headed for a 1-2 year rebuild (47:30) and learn in real time of the confirmation that Mahomes tore his ACL (49:00)

Finally, they discuss the Bills incredible comeback over the Pats and why Josh Allen might be the greatest quarterback talent in league history (58:00)

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.)

Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!

 #Volume

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
This episode is brought to you by Netflix. Netflix is
basically Santa this year. Two NFL games on Christmas Day,
streaming live at one eastern Cowboys Commanders Dallas is suddenly
red ha could play big for the NFC playoff picture.
Then at four point thirty you've got the Lions struggling
against the Vikings. That's Midwest Football playoff stakes. Two teams
battling it out for the number one seed. Last year,

(00:25):
must win for Detroit. So watching holiday football is a tradition.
The whole family can get into, settle and watch it.
The NFL Christmas Day games live on Netflix starting at
one pm Eastern time. Watching holiday football is a tradition.
The whole family can enjoy, open some gifts, grab some food,
settle in and watch NFL live on Netflix Christmas Day
starting at one pm Eastern time. I love in sports

(00:52):
when I can't figure out something and then you have
an aha moment, and I kind of had.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
One over the last two weeks.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
So for years, the last several years, I could not
figure out how Russell Wilson went from elite to maybe
just a really good backup with no major injury, and
he wasn't that old and I kept saying it made
I mean, it was like literally a two year topic.
I don't understand it. I what great, really good? Is

(01:28):
he a backup? But and then I watched Tua the
last two weeks and I went, wait, two is about
his size?

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Oh? Wait?

Speaker 2 (01:38):
And then I watched Kyler Murray Arizona doesn't want to
play him. And I've come to the conclusion that smaller
quarterbacks could not withstand justin Herbert's career, and that those
hits are more punitive. And if you watch Tua last
on Monday Night, he is afraid to get hit. That's
not disputable. That's been said by Gruden, multiple people out there.

(02:03):
Bruce Arians like he didn't want to get hit. Kyler Murray,
I was told by an NFL guy his rookie year
who sacked him. He's like, bro, he I know when
somebody scared when I hit them. And Russell Wilson didn't
get hit a lot, but he got hit enough. And
so I watched Tua go from Pro Bowl to good too.

(02:24):
Can't play a lick, And it sort of unraveled the
mystery of Russell Wilson, which is size matters at quarterback
smaller quarterbacks age overnight. If they lose elusiveness, if they
get hit too many times, they don't withstand the punishment,
And frankly, I mean, ask yourself if you got hit

(02:47):
by football players who could bench twice your weight, and
how many hits with like Justin Herbert six six. I
had dinner with their GM, the Chargers last week. He goes,
I think he's six seven. Actually, you guys are short.
Chain six seven's an NBA small forward, right, and he's
two thirty eight, So I guess I guess My point was.
I feel like the Tua story is the reality of

(03:10):
small quarterbacks, the age overnight.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
First of all, I hope the Chargers general manager knows
how tall Justin Herbert is. I think he's Sevenely, you
should know if anyone in the world you know exactly
how tall Justin Herbert is, it's the Chargers general manager. Yeah.
I saw you ask Brady on the show about the
hype thing for quarterbacks, and I thought he gave a
great answer. There are outliers, but that doesn't disprove the rule. Right.

(03:37):
It's like Kurt Warner succeeded and he was a grocery
store backer that doesn't mean you should go to your
shop right to find the next great quarterback, right, Like
Drew Brees was six feet tall. He's six feet tall,
and he got better as his career went on, and
he was unbelievable. But he's also like one of the
best throwers of the football ever, you know, like he's

(04:00):
just crazy accurate, crazy smart. His highlights don't really make
any sense, like is he throwing from his tiptoes? Yeah,
he is, as long has he done that for a decade,
Like it's like it's like a week but it's like, well,
but that doesn't mean that. If I was a general manager,
I'd be like, I want to find the next Drew Brees.
Like it doesn't there's one, you know, there's not There's

(04:22):
not many guys that you would like. Yeah, long sustained
career at that size and so yeah, I think it's
totally reasonable. The only thing I would say about Tua is, man,
it's sad, but it's just true. Like he's concussion prone
and he played in an era where we know as

(04:45):
much as we do about concussions that he's clearly been
told you can't get concussions, man, Like I because it
it happened, like when they when he had the multiple
concussions quick and he was having the fencing response and
it was really like tough to watch. He got a
concussion and I don't remember the exact sequence of what happened,

(05:07):
but they put him on IR immediately, and it maybe
he came out of the protocol sooner than that. But
it got to the point where Mike McDaniel was like, well,
I can't. You can't have a concussion and then play
two of the next week. It felt cruel and reckless
and like, you know, like, but then they can't win

(05:29):
without Tua. Apparently no one else can run run his offense,
and so what do you do with that guy? You
probably tell him, hey man, priority number one, don't get
a concussion, don't get hit well. So then you combine
small quarterback, not the strongest arm playing to not get hit,

(05:49):
and you get what we saw the other night. More
I said, what is your career over? Yes? Right, like
it's it's over. His career's over because he's way too
expensive and too accomplished, and he's made too much money
and he's like too young. Is he gonna play for
six million bucks to be someone's to be Patrick Mahomes's

(06:12):
backup next year, Like that would shock me in a
strange way. Not that it would be next year because
of what his contract, but two years from now is
to a five to ten million dollar a year backup
for a great quarterback, that would shock me in a
weird way.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
He got paid, he got his guaranteed money, he sent
good life, and he's probably best served to not play
anymore because of the concussions.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
In a sense, it played.

Speaker 2 (06:37):
Out not beautifully, but it played out or ironically the
way it should have. He made a Pro Bowl, he
got paid, there were concussions, he got better, he got

(06:58):
bad quickly, and it's probably time to leave now, not
stay for four years like most guys could drag it on.
In a way, it all played out. Won a Natty,
drafted first round, made a Pro Bowl, got paid, concussion
stuff really bad, comes back not the same player that

(07:20):
was always probably going to be his career. Right Like ye,
once he had the first couple concussions, you're like, Okay,
it's like a big man in the NBA getting injured.
They'll go eleven years not getting injured. That's just your
body's not meant to be seven to three, right, just not.

Speaker 1 (07:37):
Can you imagine, just as you mentioned the dinner with
the Chargers GM, I would have loved to know next
time you have dinner with him, I'll fly out because
Justin Herbert's probably my favorite non Caleb Williams player in football.
I love watching Justin Herbert play football, have for forever.
I can't imagine being in that draft room being like, God,

(07:59):
I hope the doll take Tua over Herbert. Like what
an insane decision. When you're talking, you're talking about like height,
Like one guy looks like Tua, the other guy looks
like Justin Herbert, and you're like, no, I'm going Tua.

Speaker 2 (08:14):
I just think it's a mind so I have insight
to that. Tom Telesco's a friend.

Speaker 1 (08:19):
I would love to I would love to hear as
much about that as you're willing to share.

Speaker 2 (08:23):
Okay, Tom liked both. Tom was leaning Tua because he
thought he thought Herbert was mechanical. He was a little stiff. Yeah, Tom,
Tom goes I'm going to the Rose Bowl. Oregon's taking
on Wisconsin, and Wisconsin had, if you recall, a great
defense for about a two year stretch. They had the
former NFL player came back and was their decordinator. Okay,

(08:47):
so he went and watched him, and I said, what
did you think? And he's like, yeah, you gotta see
Herbert in person. First of all, he's way bigger in person.

Speaker 1 (08:56):
Than on TV.

Speaker 2 (08:57):
And Tom said, Secondly, he is really really athletic.

Speaker 1 (09:01):
He said.

Speaker 2 (09:02):
Tom came to the conclusion that Mario Christobal did not
have a backup he believed in. So they played a
very super conservative offense. Ohio State did this with c J.

Speaker 1 (09:16):
Stroud.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
They never let him run and then he played Georgie
in his final game and they let c J.

Speaker 1 (09:21):
Stroud run and he was running all over and You're like,
oh what c J. Stroud's athletic.

Speaker 2 (09:27):
Justin, Herbert was a very protect justin we don't have
a backup. We love let's and Mario knew it was
a really good team that could get to a Rose Bowl.
And then then you get to play Wisconsin and you're like, okay, kid,
do your magic. And Tom said, you watched it and went, oh, okay,
this is a different version of the guy. And by

(09:47):
the way, John Snyder feels this way to Seahawk GM,
you got to go to the games you just there's
certain things you got to see. You got to be
on the sideline before the game. You got to look
at their confidence. You got to see you gotta hear
the ball when they throw it past you, can you
hear it? Like, there's a lot of things that you
want to.

Speaker 1 (10:02):
They interact with teammates, do they hang their head?

Speaker 2 (10:05):
I watched bone Nicks, so I went. I had a
place for a while in Utah and the Ducks were
in town, and I had seen Washington, Oregon. I'd seen
bone Nicks and Michael Pennix. I went to the game
because I was a Husky fan and a Duck fan,
but I wanted to see these two quarterbacks. I thought,
I can kill two birds one stone. Go to Husky
Stadium and a few weeks later they played Utah. That
was literally at my house. I'm like, it's just down

(10:27):
the road, I'm gonna go watch the game. And I got,
strangely a great seat two rows in and I was
right behind bone Nicks.

Speaker 1 (10:33):
It wasn't strange. It wasn't strange. You're Colin Cowherd. I
didn't think you were gonna be in section three forty six, Like,
go ahead, sorry, okay, so I don't know how, but
I got a sideline pass and then my ticket was
on the forty yard line in the second round. Like,
I don't know how it happened. I have an idea,
but go ahead.

Speaker 2 (10:51):
So he's cut Bow's cut. When you see him like
he is, like, it reminded me of d Wade's body.
You're like, that guy lives in a gym. The second
was he was on the sideline and they were winning comfortably.
I mean, he was a coach park turn player, and
I was like, holy shit, that is a frickin't He
was intense and they were up by three touchdowns early.

(11:14):
Bon Nix is and I was just like, oh wow, okay,
that's the first round. So I knew Sean Payton at
the time, and I said, Sean, let me tell you
a story about Bonix. I'm like, that guy's impressive in person.
And Sean, you know, he loved him just before he
even saw him on film, and you know his personality.

Speaker 1 (11:33):
The dad was a coach.

Speaker 2 (11:34):
But I guess the whole point being is when you
see Herbert in person, or you see some of these
quarterbacks in person, to hear the ball, to see the
interaction it's different than you and I. That's why I
go to two or three college games a year. I
want to see people in person.

Speaker 1 (11:47):
Yeah, I think that that's I mean, that's that's what
scouting is, right. You can't just watch the film. There's
all sorts of soft factors. It's interesting that the Herbert
mechanical thing, I think that's totally fair. Like he's the
last couple of years, I think it translated to the pros.
I think he was very you know, make the right read.

(12:09):
Sometimes you would throw short of the sticks a little
bit too much, but you know what I mean. I
think I think that that was a fair criticism of him.
But for me, I also was just like there was
always like, man, you know what, that guy's not the problem.
Like his rookie his rookie year, he's not even supposed
to start. Tyrod Taylor has the state in the middle,

(12:31):
the mistake punctured lunk thing. He comes in and he
plays in week two and at the end of the year,
yes my homes yeah right exactly. The end of the year,
he's got thirty one touchdown passes, which is still a
record for rookie players. And I'm like unbelievable, he said.
Three head coaches, he said, I think four play callers.
He's had disastrous injuries around him. Always they just have

(12:54):
terrible luck, terrible special teams until this year finally, Dicker
is an unbelievable kicker. Like he's obviously got a coach
who knows how to win. Still horrifying injury. Look most
offensive line combinations in the NFL, Like I just I
want to see one year and I know everybody gets hurt,
just like one year where Justin Herbert has just like

(13:15):
above average luck around him. Because I'm just to me,
it's like you watch the NFL, well, you can't have
him in your top five because he has zero playoff wins.
I'm like, watch me like Mahomes Alan this year. You
want to say Stafford, fine, but if you think there
are five five quarterbacks in the world better than Justin Herbert,

(13:36):
I just think you're insane. I think it's an I
think it's an insane thought. But it's just got zero plains.

Speaker 2 (13:42):
And people will say interceptions, but right now, seven of
the leading eleven interception leaders in the NFL are Josh Allen,
Mahomes Herbert, Trevor Lawrence.

Speaker 1 (13:50):
Dak Bo Nicks.

Speaker 2 (13:52):
It's like, guys, for the last six Super Bowls, the
winning quarterback through an interception into Super Bowl, Like you
can to get over that?

Speaker 1 (14:01):
Yeah, they and listen. He had four interceptions in that
game against Houston last year, obviously in the playoff game,
obviously not good. Two of them were off his guy's hands,
and his offensive line was decimated in the interior, and
Houston was a great defense, and he had he was
a bad game to have the worst game of his career,
undeniable blew a twenty seven point lead to Jacksonville. I

(14:22):
don't tend to think that's on the quarterback, missed kick,
other team defense, all those things. But you know again,
oh and two, you got to live with it. But
I'm just he's going to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. He's
going to be an MVP, Like I just I think
he's too good not to.

Speaker 2 (14:38):
One of the things that it's one of the things
I always feel bad for athletes. I know they're rich,
yeah sure, but I always feel bad for athletes that
the harder you train in college, the greater you are,
the worst franchise you and I have, So I've thought

(15:03):
about this Joe Burrows situation so many times. So in
his is it six or seven years in the NFL,
he's never had an O line rated higher than twenty
third best in the NFL. They don't make any big trades.
Even their star players are almost forced to hold out.

(15:23):
Zach Tator, by any estimation, is okay. And even if
he wasn't. They don't fire and payoff coaches early. Cincinnati's
a small I mean, people don't understand Los Angeles doesn't
have a bigger economy than Cincinnati. It's hundreds of times bigger.
The game day revenue Stan Cronk makes it so far

(15:43):
in a Sunday is probably almost a season worth of
game day revenue, maybe two SOFI games is an entire
season worth of home games for Cincinnati.

Speaker 1 (15:53):
So I really I and.

Speaker 2 (15:58):
I feel Joe Burrow and Carson Palmer already ditched this organization.
What do you do? Because I think what we're seeing
is Joe Burrow knowing he's trapped, and there's been now
counting three press conferences when he's been asked about this
by SIAT by Cincinnati media. Danny, they are a therapist.

(16:19):
He's on the couch. He's like I think about a
lot of things. I think we are watching the greatest
American football player who's in an awful situation in Cincinnati,
and I feel absolutely I know he's rich. I feel
horrible for him.

Speaker 1 (16:34):
Yeah, I know, so he was, you know, obviously he
was asked about that this week and he said it
has nothing to do with Cincinnati. Hard to believe him because.

Speaker 2 (16:44):
Somebody said, do you think about leaving or something? Do
you think and he said, I think about a lot
of things, And I thought that was the best answer.
Where I hate it here, but I don't want to
throw my teammates or my coaches under the bus.

Speaker 1 (16:58):
So I think it it's hard. We do it all
the time, and so like sometimes like when these things
get clipped, I try I'm like, is the is the
player going to see it? Who the hell does this
guy think he is to psychoanalyze me? So like, I
know your people won't do that, but just we're having
a good conversation. I think people will listen to it
in its entirety and take it there. I Joe Burrow

(17:20):
strikes me as someone and he has said things around this.
He strikes me as someone who loves football but does
not love the things that come with football. Like you
don't see Joe Burrow in a lot of commercials. I
don't think Joe Burrow likes fame, which is totally understandable.

(17:43):
You just said rich and famous. Try rich, It's probably
enough for you, right, Like, but like Patrick Mahomes clearly
is okay with being famous. Clearly he's in a ton
of commercials. He sits courtside at games, he shows up
at celebrity golf tournaments, like he very comfortable being famous.
Josh Allen, same thing, Caleb Williams, same thing. Justin Herbert,

(18:06):
a very introverted guy, does not like it is dating
a model, influencer, singer, song or whatever Madison Beer is,
and she's all of those things according to her Wikipedia page.
He's clearly like getting used to it or trying to
because of the woman that he.

Speaker 2 (18:23):
When I had Justin Herbert on this year, the Charger
said they got calls from even their own employees going
Justin's on television just hides from the media, and he's like,
well he's listened to Colin when he was a kid,
blah blah blah. But the point being is Justin literally
it's not anti media he just he's embarrassed by being

(18:47):
front and center above his teammates.

Speaker 1 (18:49):
He's that kind of guy. Sure, okay, and so that's
like a football thing. But like you know, Joe Burrow,
he loves He did that the Netflix Quarterback thing and
I and I watched it, and he's he's interesting, he's thoughtful,
he's very close with his parents. He's genuinely into fashion.
He you know, he tried to buy the Batmobile then

(19:11):
he had to return it. He likes I think he
liked Pokemon cards and video games. He seems like a kid,
like a big kid who got rich and he's having
to be really good at football. And then you remember
the story about his home invasion. He was he's one
of those athletes who they were on the yes on
the road house got broken into, what got stolen kind

(19:31):
of got reported. Who was there, you know, got reported.
And he talked about it being like a felt very violated,
huge invasion of privacy and like both like the literal
invasion of his home, but then also the reporting around
it and what was revealed about his personal life and
who he was dating that he didn't want revealed. I again,

(19:52):
literally no insight into it. But just how he handled
that press conference after the burglary at his house. Wonder
how much that's sticking with him of just like, man,
is this I'm I'm injured. I've been injured multiple times,
so I'm spending a lot more time rehabbing than playing football.
I'm losing. We are losing, and the cost of this

(20:16):
is coming at like a real expense.

Speaker 2 (20:18):
To Like, especially he's in Ohio. You can't you can
hide in LA. You can't hide when you're an Ohio
boy playing for the Bengals.

Speaker 1 (20:26):
Right, Because I've seen some people think, oh, he doesn't
like fame, looking how he dresses, I'm like, I don't know.
The Netflix thing made it seem like he was just
like genuinely interested in fashion, which is a totally reasonable
thing for people to be interested in, and you have
money and access to whatever. So like, I just I
think he hates fame, he hates being injured. Obviously, he
hates losing. And so where I my guess is where

(20:49):
that time He's like, I don't just like Cincinnati. I've
been in a super Bowl, I've played for I've been
I've played for another super Bowl. I've won here, But
is Cincinnati doing all the things on the margins to
allow him to win. You know, like if if they
if they if they were a small market team that
operated like the Green Bay Packers or the Kansas City

(21:10):
Chiefs or whatever, like, I think he would be totally
fine with it.

Speaker 2 (21:14):
And so Tom Tom Brady was like this in New England.
Tom was taking pay cuts and going where.

Speaker 1 (21:20):
All my receivers? Right? Right?

Speaker 2 (21:23):
So Joe Burrows like, I'm doing all these rehabs because
you can't protect me.

Speaker 1 (21:29):
Right.

Speaker 2 (21:30):
So I think Brady felt like at the end he
chose Tampa because of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin. I'll bring
Gronk like they had. They had three tight ends. I
think Joe and Tom are like and Tom won all
the Super Bowls, but at the end, Tom was trustrated.
I'm not respected. We have no wide receivers that can
get open. I'm taking pay cuts. Where are the playmakers

(21:53):
around me? And I think Joe's like, you won't protect me.
I'm I'm the car. That's that's the insurance policy. You
won't pay the policy known as the old line.

Speaker 1 (22:04):
Yeah, And so I just wonder. I I obviously hope
Joe Burrow doesn't retire like you know I and Diana
Rossini reported that people are taking that too far with
the Andrew Luck comparisons. I hope she's I hope she's right.
But if he's fallen out of love with football because
of the physical toll it's taken on his body and

(22:25):
the toll it's taken on his like mental health and
like the price of fame, then anything's possible, you know.
But I would say also, just like like that's one thought.
Other thought. If you're right and it's man, he's tired
of the Bengals, what do you think twenty two to

(22:45):
twenty six teams should call Cincinnati this offseason and say,
our quarterback plus two first round picks for Joe Burrow right, Like,
he's unbelievable, He's in his prime, him, his contract is
relatively reasonable. Like basically every team in the league should
at least make that phone call if he was If

(23:07):
he loves football and hate Cincinnati, everyone should try to
get Joe Burrow to demand to trade the New York
Giants right now.

Speaker 2 (23:13):
Would have the number one pick, you trade Jackson Dart,
you take the six, five and a half.

Speaker 1 (23:19):
Fernando Mendoza. Absolutely yeah, oh oh okay. I thought you
were saying Joe Burrow.

Speaker 2 (23:24):
Okay, I'm saying, no shit, and that's a college quarterback
that's unproven. Burrow here, if Burull had no injuries, three
first round picks two? Two's one to three and all
I need back is a backup. All I need back
is a player. I mean again, what I think Nick

(23:45):
Wright once said this, like, we have undervalued how much
a great quarterback is worth. If Mendoza is as good
as I think he's going to be, Yeah, okay, is
four first round picks unreasonable? No?

Speaker 1 (24:00):
You you mentioned Nick again, and obviously he's a connective
tissue between the two of us. But maybe my favorite
Nick take ever was he says is that he said
I would trade for Aaron Rodgers. And I know it's
against league rules because it's capped on the number of
picks you could say, but I would trade Aaron Rodgers,
and the trade would be, you can have all of
my first round picks for as long as he's on

(24:21):
the Team's If he's on my team for nine years,
it's nine first round picks. If he's on my team
for six years, it's six first round That is a
great take. It's just it's it's beautifully constructed.

Speaker 2 (24:35):
Well, and it's like, what's funny is so the Packers
have lost Tucker Craft great, Micaeh Parson's great, Kenny Clark
run stopper, and Christian Watson their deep ball specialist.

Speaker 1 (24:49):
Well, and this Zach tom their right tackle he had
the knee injury. Yeah, he's really good too.

Speaker 2 (24:55):
And yet this weekend they're favored over Chicago. If all
of those those players were still there and Jordan Love
was out, you'd be like bears in a blowout. Like yeah,
So so when you nick nick Wright's take is that
there is no there is no the value is it's
it's the old commercial. It's priceless. Is that if Jordan

(25:17):
Love got hurt and you still had Micah and Kraft
and Watson and Kenny Clarkett, season's over.

Speaker 1 (25:25):
Yeah, I mean right, we we we see it. And listen,
you and I gamble enough. You see it in the
point spread. Sometimes when Kyler's out and Jacoby Brissett's him,
there's no movement in the point spread. Other times when
all the times when Lamar Jackson's out, it's like, oh,
that's ten points, like on the point spread, like oh okay,

(25:46):
now I know the difference between Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray.
It's significant, you know what I mean? Like and so
there are there are, there are some of those guys
that are true crazy difference making level players, and you
do anything to get him.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
Want to know where I bet on sports during the
holiday season. Hard Rock Bet great app, not just because
it's the presenting sponsor of our show, but because they
make it really easy to bet on my favorite teams
or favorite players leagues a couple of taps, especially with
a brand new for you page. It's great that recommends
picks based on my favorites and who I like to

(26:22):
bet on. So open up the app, go to them
for you page, you find a bet you like. Bam
bets placed just in time for you to get back
into wrapping present. Sign up today and bet five dollars
on any game if it wins. You also score one
hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets a winning bet
plus an extra one hundred and fifty dollars to bet with,
So that's spreading holiday cheer. Plus Hard Rock Bet fills

(26:42):
your stockings with new promos daily, so whenever you're listening,
just open the app check out what you've got on
any day of the week. Download the hard Rock Bet
app takes ninety seconds. Make your first deposit today, payable
in bonus bets, not a cash offer. Offered by the
Seminole Tribe of Florida. In Florida, offered by seminoal hard Rock,
did youllc and alder states must be twenty one plus
and physically president in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee,

(27:06):
or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about
gambling in Florida, call one.

Speaker 1 (27:11):
Eighty and eight.

Speaker 2 (27:11):
Admit it in Indiana. If you are somebody you know
as a problem wants help, call one eight hundred and
nine with it. Gambling problem called one eight hundred Gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois,
New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. PCs powered by snap Dragon
ex Elite processors are made to go the distance with
blazing fast performance, next level efficiency. Snapdragon processors are built
to tackle at all, from highlight reel editing to intense

(27:34):
player research, making it all feel effortless and with multi
day battery life, you got true freedom. All right without
being tethered to an outlet. So from long video calls
to all day fantasy drafts, your laptop stays ready so
you can be at the top of your game. It's
the kind of performance your lifestyle demand. So make sure
your next PC is powered by snap Dragon. Learn more
at snapdragon dot com Slash Laptops Snapdragon the Heart of

(27:55):
your PC. Battery life feries significantly based on devices, set up, usage,
and other factors. All right, John Middlecoff, former NFL Scout
three and Out podcast. Let's start with Denver thirty four
twenty six over green Bay. Not only a loss for
green Bay, Christian Watson he had been so important.

Speaker 1 (28:18):
The get back.

Speaker 2 (28:19):
He's a great deep threat, big target. Hurt looked ugly.
Micah Parsons kind of a non contact injury looked ugly.
You could say it right now if Mike and Christian
Watson are out. They've been such a part over the
last month of the surge by the Packers offense, at
least Christian Watson. Also, we'll get to it. Bow Nicks

(28:40):
had a.

Speaker 1 (28:41):
Really good Dan.

Speaker 2 (28:42):
I've got thoughts on that, but you know, we keep
saying with the Bears, prove it to us. But this
was really a prove it to us game for Denver.
I thought bow Nicks was really sharp. He and Courtland
Sudden are a great tandem. Consistent pass rush, boon Nick's clever,
deceptive of moving constantly. You know, John, We've said this before.

(29:04):
It's so important for a young quarterback to get the
right coach. It feels like bo Nicks over the last
couple of weeks, I just I'm watching him make play
after play, rolling right, and I mean, clever stuff, last second,
finding the guy. His accuracy has gotten better. I was
kind of blown away by I mean today, I think
bon Knicks four touchdowns, no picks, four different receivers, three

(29:28):
hundred yards, twenty two to thirty one. And this defense
is one we've talked about in green Bay for weeks.

Speaker 3 (29:33):
He probably had some games in Oregon that would match
this statistically, but this had to be the best game
I've ever seen him play. He was remarkable. I mean,
the accuracy over the middle, down the sideline, on the run,
the playmaking. It was twenty three to fourteen, and it
felt like Green Bay was kind of had a stranglehold
on him. They got to pick, then both threw a touchdown.

(29:55):
Then they got a couple injuries and on that interception,
what happened was Christian Watson got injured. Then they score,
Then Michaeh Parsons gets injured, chasing Bo Nicks, who was
excellent with his feet today. This was what we said
early in the season, Sean, let him move around a
little bit, let him move around or Bo just move around.
And today you know, obviously when Micah goes out, that

(30:18):
has to be a huge blow. But that defense still
from a speed standpoint, from a defensive back standpoint, is excellent.

Speaker 1 (30:24):
Yeah, I mean, I listen, I'm.

Speaker 3 (30:25):
Sure in high school he's a huge recruit, but that's
as good of a game when you factor in the
opponent the guy's ever had in his life, don't you think?

Speaker 1 (30:33):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (30:33):
And I think, I mean he generally rolls right Sean
Payton again, rolls him to his favorite side, whether it's
ad libbed or design. But what I like about him,
he's very deceptive, Like he won't John Hill roll right
and you'll think he's gonna run it and then he'll
dump it off. He's got Now I'm not comping him
to Patrick Mahomes, but he's got a little bit of
that late cognitive ability at the very last second to

(30:57):
go from running to throwing or throwing the running. He's
really quick upstairs and that's like a skill. Mahomes was
one of the first I ever saw and like, you know,
just be able to change what he was doing very
quickly and be accurate. So I think there's a lot
of questions on bow Nicks, and certainly the roster helps,
but I thought it was a prove it moment, and
I thought green Bay. Green Bay had two hundred and

(31:18):
fifty yards in the first half. They came out with
a very solid game plan. But Denver, again, second half team.
You know, second half's the coaching half, right, first half,
and the second half is also kind of the roster half,
because how much depth do you have.

Speaker 1 (31:33):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (31:34):
This was a game I thought green Bay would win close.
When it was over, I was like, yeah, Denver is
the better team. And again, I'm not discounting the injuries,
but I thought Denver answered the bell.

Speaker 3 (31:44):
I love Denver in this spot simply because that game
last week for both teams, Chicago and Green Bay was
one of those where they probably even got the ice
tub for a couple of days clearly Chicago was unfazed.
I mean they obliterated, you know, Cleveland, but this game
on the road, you know, then green Bay has to
go on the road again. I thought it'd be a
little bit of a look pass spot, but they didn't.

(32:06):
I mean, they came out fast, they were flying around.
I do think that game really flipped though on that
interception over the middle to Christian Watson, and then because
they were in trouble, let's face it. I mean green
Bay that they were unfazed by last week. They were fresh,
they were flying around. They did not sack bo Nicks
all game. Now, he made some plays with his legs
to get away. Even even the play Parsons was hurt

(32:29):
on his mobility. I think the play you're referencing on
the Patrick Mahomes scrambled.

Speaker 1 (32:34):
To his right.

Speaker 3 (32:34):
He puts it right between two defenders, but he only
had what probably a foot worth of worth of area
to fit it through. There's no question on Denver's defense
right there on the short list, right there with Houston.
Elite defense is best in the league in a league
that doesn't have great defenses anymore. You know, the Rams
are an excellent team. Their defense secondary is a major
question mark right Denver's defensive super Bowl of caliber. It

(32:58):
just came down to, is a quarterback could enough. We
know their coaches, we know their coaching staff is and
if he plays, if he plays like that, And now
with New England losing, you go to Denver. I mean
how many times you'll Belichick their rival early on was
the Shanahan Denver teams going to Denver, and even they
lost there late with Peyton Manning, it's hard to go
there and win, you know that, the elevation, the crowd,

(33:21):
it's kind of got a collegiate feel to it. So
if they can get home field, obviously there will be
a lot of pressure on bow next. But look at
some of the quarterbacks, I mean, look at some of
the teams in the AFC, A lot of question marks.
I think you've got to be pretty really excited. If
you're a Denver Bronco fan, go, if we can get
this thing going through Denver with our defense, we don't

(33:41):
even need Bo to do that. I mean that was
you know, I don't know, like young l Way like before,
you're throwing four touchdowns against an elite defense. You can't
ask for that. But if he can just give you
a couple and they can run the ball and play defense.
You know they can win the AFC for sure.

Speaker 2 (33:56):
Yeah, and he had all sorts of He had an
over the top, beautiful thrown to Sutton that one of
the goal line that was low, that was a perfect pass.
Doesn't make the highlight reel. It was a great pass.
Then he finds Franklin. He just did a lot of
different things today. If you look at the dexterity of
bon Nicks and his ability to throw it short, red zone,

(34:16):
deep timing, move coachability, durability. He takes no sacks. I
feel terrible for Green Bay because I really felt you
could make an argument they were the most complete team.
But I mean the Micah Parson's injury. Even when he
doesn't get SATs sacks, Mike is really disruptive. He stands
out on television. He's always have to double team him,

(34:39):
don't have an option. And I also I think Christian
Watson gives them a bona fide big body. You got
to put a big corner on him. You Watson's just
a straight down the field burner. And by the way,
I thought he was going to catch that ball that
Patrick Artans intercepted and then caught his arm and pulled
it back. He has been injury prone a little bit.

(35:01):
But if those two guys are out, it is not
the same football team. I know that most players are
not even worth a point, but Watson. I think the
fear of getting beat deep with Watson is significant for
their offense. He gives them a component, a deep threat
that they don't have anybody of that size and speed
deep down the field.

Speaker 1 (35:20):
So really bad day for green Bay.

Speaker 3 (35:23):
I'm not trying to be hyperbolic, but that's a crippling
day for green Bay because look at the NFC Seattle one,
LA one, Chicago one, the Niners one.

Speaker 1 (35:33):
You could look up.

Speaker 3 (35:34):
I mean, all of a sudden, you have these injuries,
you come limping into the Chicago game. In Chicago, you
lose that. I mean you could be looking at the
seventh seed. That's how quick it could flip. Because what
was Seattle in the rams. One of them's gonna have ten,
the other one's gonna have eleven by the end of
the next week, right because they play each other. The
forty nine ers get Philip Rivers. So all of a sudden,

(35:55):
you look like you might only get to ten wins.
Their next two games are the Bears. The Ravens really
looked like they had a little more life today. They
could lose the next couple of games. And then when
you factor in Parsons, you know it's knock on Wood.
But if he's out for the season, like you just
no longer the same devastating defense.

Speaker 2 (36:12):
All right, LA Chargers sixteen Kansas City thirteen. Mahomes ugly season,
ugly injury. He'll have to have an MRII before we
get into Kansas City. I mean, this is between they
beat the Chiefs and they beat the Eagles. They are
using backup offensive tackles at one point on a third
string running back. They lost to Bosa. Right quarterback's been

(36:37):
hit more than any other quarterback. This is a Yet
they have ten plus wins. They'll finish with more wins.
What the Chargers are doing. Kansas City's now six and eight.
The Chargers have a decimated offensive line. They're ten and
four in a division with Sean Payton, Andy Reid. It's
a remarkable job of coaching. Derwin James had to pick

(36:57):
to seal it. But you know, Kansas City got knocked out.

Speaker 1 (37:01):
Of the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (37:03):
Obviously, I mean Patrick Mahomes, Mri, you cross your fingers
on that. But as I watched him walk off the
field and Gardner Minshew come in the fact the line
today was Chiefs favored by four and a half, I
think everybody we just couldn't believe what we were watching here,
because Brady made the playoffs every year. He was upright

(37:25):
in New England. Kansas City was not a good team.
They couldn't get people off the field. Chris Jones isn't
the same player. They struggled to have long, successful drives.
I think it's one of those things. This has not
been a great football team. I mean, like a decisive

(37:46):
football team all season long. And I think Broncos Chargers
finishing one two in this division feels right. I just
feel like I have more players and better situational football.
The Chiefs were known as a great red zone situational team.
They've been a bad situational team all year.

Speaker 1 (38:07):
Well.

Speaker 3 (38:07):
The other thing is, and clearly he was banged up before,
even before he heard his knees. Mahomes hasn't quite been
the same this season. He hasn't Herbert's a better player.
Herbert was a better player.

Speaker 1 (38:16):
Today, you know, no question.

Speaker 3 (38:18):
I mean, you watch Josh Allen play today, He's in
a different universe than Patrick.

Speaker 1 (38:22):
Mahomes right now.

Speaker 3 (38:23):
So part of their superpower early on in the run
was they had the best player in the league in
Patrick Mahomes. Well, he hasn't really been that really, you
would say, over the last three years. During the season
now in the playoffs, he's flipped in today. I mean,
he just kind of looks like a you know, better
than a marginal player, but he's just he's not good
enough to take an average team above. And like you said, defensively,

(38:46):
they're not as good. And listen, i mean they lost
some crazy games earlier that they won last year, and
they found themselves behind the eight ball, and clearly they're
just you know, you're not going to score many points
when it's I don't know what the what was it
have been degrees? Ten degrees, Daniel Jeremiah saying the field
fell like concrete. You knew that was gonna be a
game in the teens, Jim Harbaugh has been dreaming about

(39:08):
playing games in the teams since he was a teenager.
Like that's like, here's the other thing. Jim Harbaugh's an
elite coach, Like we've known that for two decades now,
Like he's he's big time. And one thing he always does,
whether it's Fangio, whether it's you know, the guys throughout
his time in Michigan to whether it's now mentor who
came with him from Michigan, their defense is always really good,

(39:28):
you know, so defensively, they just ugly the game. And
Herbert I think he's really kind of earned the Harbaugh
stamp of a like that. The toughness these last couple
of weeks, like holy shit, I mean, geez lo we
The other thing is too, like they draft this guy
in the first round, that they've been lucky that this
late round pick Videll has been good, but they need
Hampton to be solid. He had some big runs today

(39:50):
and that they need him. I think it's gonna be hard,
depending on the matchup, for them to win a playoff
game just because they are I mean, even Keenan Allen,
Like they didn't play it great. They had some drops
that they had some plays that went against them, but
uh yeah, I mean I just think this is a
classic Jim harbop. You give a random coach in the
NFL this roster. What do they win six games? You know,

(40:10):
I mean they've been missing them tackles, their quarterbacks getting crushed.

Speaker 1 (40:13):
I wouldn't say.

Speaker 2 (40:17):
They're they're Trey Harris, Lad McConkie, Trey Harris. I went
to dinner with their GM and Chargers GM last week
and he said, Jim loves Trey Harris. He's really emerging
as a player, he said, I don't think he's dropped
the ball in practice all year. So mconkie, Harris, Quinton Johnson,
they're tight ends are okay, they're they're kind of you
know what I mean, they're kind of you know, it's

(40:38):
it's they're kind of making it work offensively. But they
have a way to win, and it's Dick or the kicker,
play good defense, Herbert run to pick up first downs.
I will say, I believe I wrote this down fourteen
of mahomes sixteen completions, seven to Kelsey who's probably retiring,
and seven to Rashi Rice, who I don't trust to
stay healthy or you know, I just don't trust him yet.

(41:01):
I think he is talented, but I think it's more
of a rebuild than a retool. And my take is
everybody keeps saying, well, there's Reid and Mahomes this division,
now Denver and the Chargers. If the Chargers bring their
offensive tackles back, those are elite teams. So and I
look at the Denver's roster right now, I think it's

(41:22):
much deeper. Look at the wide are receiving. Even guys
like Franklin who get forgotten had a touchdown catch today.
I think they got to retool oer offensive line. Carl
Loftis is probably a bit overpaid. He's a big cap
hit next year. Chris Jones isn't the same player. I mean,
the good news for them they're going to draft in
the middle of the rounds now in which they haven't

(41:42):
done for seven or eight years. They need to hit
on three or four draft picks.

Speaker 3 (41:46):
Well, I think for the first time in a long time,
they're not going to be drafting thirty two. They're better
off now losing out and drafting twelfth because it's not
just twelfth or thirteenth, it's then you draft fortieth. And
they have not had that luxury because they've been.

Speaker 1 (42:01):
In the Super Bowl every year.

Speaker 3 (42:02):
So I listen, Travis kelt is probably gonna retire, right
he retires, I think I was looking at Chris Jones
doing podcasts up this week. You're probably trading him this
offseason because you're not gonna extend him again. His cap
hit is massive. He would still have value, you know,
for the teams that have some cap space. I would
imagine look at Joe Tooney when they traded him to

(42:25):
the Bears. Andy Reid said, he's like one of my
favorite players I've ever coached. It's the crappy part of
the business. When you got some guys making a lot
of money. We couldn't keep him financially. So you got
Simmons who's on injury reserve because he's injured. You hit
on some draft picks, you know, you try to finagle
the cap, get some guys to try to come with Mahomes.
We'll see the Mahomes injury and try to retool it,
but you might be two years away from being back

(42:47):
to really good. Then you know next year. This is
Denver's got a little window right now, this year and
next year because they got this cheap quarterback and they've
hit on a bunch of defensive players. I mean, Hufunga
is as good as any player that Kansas City has
on their day and he's just a free agent that
they added to one of the best defenses.

Speaker 2 (43:04):
It's been confirmed torn ACL for Patrick Mahomes, so that's
possibly out next year. I mean, I always say with
young athletes, they always recover faster than you think. And
you're talking to best. The Hunt family doesn't go cheap.
It'll be the best doctors in the world. You think

(43:24):
he's out next year, and he's he come back somewhere
trade deadline eight, game eight, game nine, game ten.

Speaker 3 (43:32):
Well, when you say young athletes, I mean he's been
around a little. You know, he's not twenty four. I
mean he's thirty. A lot of wear and tearor on
those legs. You just to me, I think we kind
of got jaded by Adrian Peterson when he came back
in like two months, and you see guys randomly come
back in eight nine months. This guy's kind of the
key to the franchise, right, I think I think you

(43:53):
treat this a little different than you do most players.
Does this impact you know, you know Kelsey who most
of us assume he's going to retire or to just
kind of lock that in. You just never you know,
Coach Reads getting up there in age late sixties at
this point in time, what does he have to prove?
I you know, I think just brings in a lot
of question marks with a lot of different things. Obviously

(44:16):
he was he's been banged up, and that's a devastating injury.
I mean it really is, especially late, you know, December fourteenth,
on the day you get knocked out of the playoffs.
I would assume, you know, based on this injury, that
we've come a long way, that he'd be ready to go,
you know, early on the season. But aren't you a
little more careful with this individual than you would be
with ninety nine percent of other players in the league.

Speaker 2 (44:39):
And you've had so much equity built into the franchise
and the fan base, right Like, I think you play
it cautious. You know, you don't rush this stuff back.
You've built in built up so much credibility with your fans.
I mean, nobody's it's like almost you know, when Jordan
left and came back, you know it just like it's
like you never in baseball for a couple of years,

(45:01):
nobody was giving their season tickets up right, Like It's
just I think I think Kansas City, Andy's always been
a good early season September coach. If he comes back
Week seven to eight, I'm not going to speculate too much.
They'll be fine. They just have to hit on some
draft picks. And I think I think it was just
sort of the lost year. You hear about economy sometimes

(45:22):
a last decade, a lost year. It just felt like
everybody was tired, everybody was fatigued. They lacked a little
energy consistency. They started this season without Rashi Rice. You know,
Worthy gets banged up, left Simmons, Josh Simmons left tackle,
couldn't get it right, not available, Joe Tooney had to
move off him, goes to the Bears. This just didn't
feel right from the very beginning.

Speaker 3 (45:44):
You know, I listen, I know Andy and Veitch, and
I know they don't think like this. But if he's
not able to play till let's say late in the season,
what if you could kind of do next year as
a reset year. You know, you end up drafting thirteen
fourteenth this year and he's not ready, and maybe he
gets a red shirt almost next year and you kind
of bottom out, get to retool the roster. So you're

(46:06):
almost looking ahead to twenty twenty seven, maybe you get
like the six pick. Now, he's probably too good of
a coach to be that crappy, even if they had
a garnerment. But maybe you're just drafting tenth again back
to back years of good drafts and kind of get
to siphon out some of these older, high priced guys.

Speaker 1 (46:21):
You get him back.

Speaker 3 (46:22):
Fully healthy in twenty seven. Again, he would fall out
of his chair. He doesn't, you know, they don't think
like that. But like he saw this year, they were
like a car out of gas and you could feel
it when you watch it. And now this injury, I
mean you have to imagine the wear and tear on
Patrick Mahomes. How much have they depended on him to
scramble around and hiss he's taken the last couple of
years and if you probably add up all their playoff

(46:44):
games Bornerline extra season over the last five years. So yeah,
I mean, I think it's also just a devastating as
long as it's not you know, him and Parsons, like,
there's a lot of DeVante got hurt. Had we had
a lot of star power today go down And maybe
it's just the wear and tear or the season these
guys don't practice quite the same as they used to,
so you're just playing these games at warp speed. People

(47:06):
have never been faster. But you looked up at one
time today over of course, about thirty minutes. I mean,
there are some big time names, some big time salaries.
Walk into the blue tanner to the locker room.

Speaker 2 (47:22):
Football seasons here, and if you want to go to
an NFL or college football game, game Time is the
place for you. The Game Time app just gives you
the advantage back to you, the fans. It's a hack
for unlocking amazing tickets and experiences and a few taps.
I love it easy to use. The game Time guarantee
means you can trust you'll get one hundred percent authentic
tickets on time and at the best price one hundred percent.

(47:44):
So they even let you preview your seat on the app.
That special plus fees role was included, so what you
see is what you pay every time. Take the guests
work out of buying professional football tickets.

Speaker 1 (47:54):
With game Time.

Speaker 2 (47:55):
Just download the Game Time app, create an account. If
you use the code columns, see twenty bucks off your
first purchase. Terms of ply again, create an account, redeem
codez l I in twenty bucks off swipe, tap ticket,
go download the game. Time out today Buffalo thirty five,
New England twenty one, Patriots up twenty one nothing and

(48:17):
twenty four to seven. Completely dominate the first half. Now
this is an interesting one because I say I was
gonna bet this game. I like New England. They just
dominate the first half. This is the fourth time Josh
Allen is four and oh. I'm not sure if any
other quarterbacks ever done in this the history of the
league when he has to score thirty points to win.
He's four to oh. He had a sensational second half.

(48:40):
But the two things my two takeaways on this game
is I've been saying this all year, Rabel, Josh McDaniel.
When you have an elite coach and then a top
two or three coordinator either side of the ball, that
is that's a handful. Like right now Shanahan, Robert Sala,
you have an elite coach and a top two or
three coordinator. You have Josh McDaniel's a coordinator. He's probably

(49:02):
the best offensive coordinator, one of the top two in
the league. And then Vrabel is they were great on script, great,
great game plan, but in the end, you can't stop
Josh Allen. But Buffalo, like Kansas City, Great co selp
s out on.

Speaker 1 (49:14):
My show this week.

Speaker 2 (49:15):
It's hard to watch their defense and go, oh, bunch
of exceptional players.

Speaker 1 (49:20):
It's just okay.

Speaker 2 (49:21):
They have James Cook, Josh Allen, Ken Caid. I mean,
this is I think how they have to win. They
have to win shootouts, which considering Sean McDermott supposed to
be the defensive guru, they're just not very good defensively.

Speaker 1 (49:36):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (49:36):
I mean I talked to a buddy in the league
this week and he's advanced them, and he said, one
issue they have is they're not very big, so you
can really lean on them, and I mean New England
was rushing all over them. I think one mistake New
England made in this game is the last couple drives
they had a three and out and obviously the four
and out turnover on downs, they only ran the ball

(49:57):
one of those seven plays, and they hit multiple big
plays in the run, obviously with Henderson, and they kind
of tried to have Drake May turn into Josh Allen
and it kind of bit him. And I thought that
they could have leaned on Buffalo a little bit that
you had time out, you had time and they got
a little pass happy those last couple drives. And listen,

(50:18):
I don't know if it's trying to match Josh or
you know, just thinking that Drake's had a great season.
He can make plays and their offense just sputtered at
the wrong time. But it doesn't it feel like I'm
like you, I don't care that much about awards, you know,
MVP Coach of the Year, so it's pretty clear who
the best guys are, whether they get the award or not.

Speaker 1 (50:38):
It does feel a little bit like Michael Jordan in
the NBA.

Speaker 3 (50:40):
It's like, you give the MVP to someone else if
you want this year. But Josh Allen's the best player
in the league, you know, I oh, yeah.

Speaker 1 (50:46):
You know.

Speaker 3 (50:46):
It's like I see all these the odds and maybe
they'll end up changing these last couple of weeks, Like
Jordan Love was near the top, and listen, Jordan Love's solid,
but he's not Josh Allen, not even close, right, And
this year it feels like, especially down the stretch, I mean,
it's twenty one nothing on the road. I don't know
about you, but you just even if Josh is remarkable
It's like, how are they gonna win that game? This
defense is getting shredded. And then they they had a

(51:09):
stretch where they had five straight drives, five straight touchdowns.

Speaker 1 (51:12):
I mean they're done twenty.

Speaker 3 (51:13):
One to three. All of a sudden, they have, you know,
a commanding lead. So it was these last month for
Josh Allen is like one of the defining moments of
his career. He's just he's the franchise was teetering on
like they might miss the playoffs, and he said, not
so fast, guys, I'll take care of it and listen,
Cook Kinkate Knox, Knox made some big plays, Shakier had

(51:35):
some big plays. They're receivers and the rapport they have
with Josh in these freezing cold games, it's not like
they're playing you watch Golf and Stafford today. I mean,
what's it inside Sofi Stadium? Seventy two degrees is perfect?
You know you're you're hot these games. He's playing down
the stretch of the season in inclement weather. He looks

(51:55):
I don't remember like peak Lway in the mid eighties,
but it has to look something like this does. And
he's even a better runner.

Speaker 2 (52:02):
And I think New England. The second half kind of
confirmed it. Trevon Henderson had a huge game, but I
did think the second half confirmed And this is something
I think we both said multiple times. They're still kind
of john in a small rebuild. It's a good roster.
They don't have a number one receiver, they had their
banged up on their offensive line, they have missing two starters.
I think they need I don't. I think athletically on

(52:24):
defense that Christian Gonzalez is great, but they could probably
use another edge rusher, like I think New England's four
to five draft picks and a free agent signing away
from being like a Denver or a rams So. And
I think in the second half you're like, there's not
a lot of juice. There was a couple of great
catches today by Booty, but there's not a lot of

(52:45):
juice in that receiving corps. And you solve that in
the offseason, you go out and draft somebody high. But
I think, listen, New England has overachieved by any metric.
But I thought when I watched the second half, I'm
like MVP of the league, a team that still needs
about four to five players to be to be like
a number one seed and feel like Denver, where you

(53:07):
may have six seven eight Pro bowlers, I don't think
New England has five.

Speaker 3 (53:10):
Well, I agree, I mean today was their opportunity to
win the division. I mean this was and to be
up twenty one nothing, to be up twenty one three,
to be at home, the place going nuts, you get
two runs, even the second run, right he had taken
retaken the lead, the Bills did, and they'd come storming back.
And then and then Henderson just makes a play that

(53:31):
he probably would make it high school. I mean that
was remarkable. I mean the play was stuffed him run around,
he'd go.

Speaker 1 (53:37):
I mean, he's haid.

Speaker 3 (53:38):
He's been huge for them the second half of the season.
I think they said today that he had ties to
the rookie record for four rushes, four rushing touchdowns for
over fifty yards, ties like Saquon Barkley in his rookie season.
So I that's a that's a loss if you're a
New England that I don't want to say like ruin
your season, because like you said, I mean how they
have been. It's not just last year they were bad.

(53:59):
The last couple of years of Belichick. They've been bad
for a while, but this was an opportunity to kind
of end this run for Buffalo. Now they still got
the Jets and we'll see how the Dolphins look tomorrow
to end the season. But next week at the Ravens,
Buffalo's got a ton of momentum. Now, I think this
is one that you lose some sleep. And you know,
very bol tough guy running offense. I think to get

(54:20):
so pass happy down the stretch when you were rushing
with ease on these guys, I think that's something. Even
if you run like a quarterback. Power to Drake may
is something because like you said, they don't have Randy
Moss and Gronk and Edelman out there. That's not really
They're depending on Diggs and you know Hunter Henry to
make some big catches. So when you put it on
a young quarterback and let's face these human being, he's

(54:41):
got to get a little tight as the game all
of a sudden, we're killing him and now we're down to.

Speaker 2 (54:44):
Well he's looking at Josh League on the other side.

Speaker 3 (54:48):
That is, and this is you start seeing the way
this like Chargers obviously very flawed, the Jags are actually
playing really well right now. Saying with the Texans, uh,
you know, Denver they still got you know, bo Nick's
a young quarterback. It's it's sill prett open. No one's
gonna be shocked at any given outcome in a playoff game.
And Buffalo's got to go, well, we're gonna have the
best player in every one of these games that we

(55:09):
play come January. Now, do we have the best roster? No,
but this guy has proven that.

Speaker 1 (55:15):
You know that. That's where their defense isn't good enough.

Speaker 3 (55:18):
Like that Thursday night game when Houston just sacked him
like fifty times like that, that's New England's not gonna
have the capability to do that. And you just if
you can't do that to him, he can just take over.
I don't know. I mean, I've been a live forty years.
I just don't remember many people with the with the
combination like we've seen Cam Newton the physical runner or
you know, got Brady and Rogers the unreal passers. He

(55:40):
can do them both. He's just an unstoppable force when
he gets when he gets.

Speaker 2 (55:44):
Rolling, No, you get the best of Elway's arm, you
get the best of Cam Newton's size, but he's better
with both he's just he's the he's the best quarterback
talent I've ever seen in my life.

Speaker 3 (55:58):
The volume
Advertise With Us

Host

Colin Cowherd

Colin Cowherd

Popular Podcasts

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Betrayal: Weekly

Betrayal: Weekly

Betrayal Weekly is back for a brand new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack. And make sure to check out Seasons 1-4 of Betrayal, along with Betrayal Weekly Season 1.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.