The Around the NFL.

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Not responsible for the downfall of your favorite team. Take responsibility from the Chris Westling podcast studio. It's Around the NFL. Dan Hans is here. Got the heroes. Greg Rosenthal, Mark Cessler. The week 17 preview in bulk. What's up, guys?

I disagree with what Zomwalt said. I think you are responsible, Dan, for when bad things happen to the Dolphins. It's like, Why don't you like that, man? I love.

Dolphins fans. They are so mad at me all the time.

I feel like you go out of your way to even say, I understand the Dolphins fans. It doesn't matter.

What I say. I'm talking about them and it encourages them because no matter what I say.

They're going to get mad. Why are you so offended? Why not just like, what.

Control is this? I consume enough media, Twitter, and podcasts, and whatnot. I feel like I've heard this from many football analysts over the last three years. At some point, Dolphins fans are mad at them. There's one thing that's the constant among this. You know what?

Some analysts out there or hosts, you know what might get them to shut up about not believing in the Dolphins? Win a playoff game for the first time in 25 years. Let's start there.

That's a good starting point. Win Sunday in the game of the week. There you go.

That's.

Another one. That would be a good one.

I think just beat the Cowboys. I feel like that's a bit of an asset test. But guess what, Craig?

I'll be like, But just wait till the playoffs. Then they get all mad again. Unfair. Oh, it's so unfair.

Please. I'll tell you about unfair. Good ball team. Good ball club.

How about four plays into week one? That's unfair.

That is the signature element of a country that has not faced war on its own soil in a long time, that we're spending time on that.

Okay. Saving for the war podcast. Well, sure. Mark and... No? Greg, I know you want to come in with something about World War II right now.

I know. Here we go.

Three.

Shows in a row.

Let's avoid the old Patrick.

Shout out, Zone of Interest, Hive, out there. Great movie. Really sticks with you. A Hive? I just heard from people that were like, Oh, yeah, that was incredible.

Good. I'm so happy. Keep it up, Greg. Let's go for the ultimate streak. Let's go with the Joe DiMassio Nazi streak.

On this show. You brought it up.

Did I, though?

Yes.

Welcome to Around the NFL, week 17. We're going to get into the previews. Just a reminder, this is our Thursday triple header. We have what you're going to get here. We got later on tonight, Jets Browns' Thursday Night Football with Greg and Chris Wessling's brother, nick Wessling. How about that? And also the Dreamatorium is alive on NFL Plus. Let's start, though. By the way, stay tuned. We're going to get to the Russell Wilson situation and everything going on with the Broncos, a team that is trying to figure out a path forward. So a lot to get to, but let us start where we always start with the Island Games. Saturday night, December 30th, it's that time of year. Saturday is a popular ground for NFL, and we got a good one because it is the Detroit Lions at 11 and four traveling to face the Cowboys who have not lost at home this season. They're 7-0. I'm trying to figure out, Greg, and we look at what's going on in the League right now. With two weeks to go, the AFC, the Ravens have a game in hand over the Dolphins for the first seed there, the bottom of the standings in terms of the wildcard, it is very muddled in both conferences.

San Francisco's stunning blowout loss on Christmas Night has turned the NFC top of conference upside down. It is the Detroit Lions who all of a sudden have something to play for in terms of the number one seed if things break a certain way. The Cowboys, man, the Cowboys just need to get back to their.

Winning ways. Right. The Cowboys can still hope for the Eagles to help them out. The NFC is very unlikely. But yeah, the Cowboys have something to prove to themselves. They're five and a half point favorites here. Look, minus 218, not a lot of respect here on the muddy line for the Cowboys over Under is 53 and a half, or not a lot of respect for the Lions, rather, because the Lions are more consistent overall right now. Their defense isn't great, but their offense is fantastic. I just want to see that matchup about the Cowboys run defense last in the League and success rate allowed against this Lion's offensive line, which as I mentioned, when Frank Ragnau is there, especially in the interior, they're just tough. Gibbs can run inside. Montgomery can run inside. They're going to stay patient. They're healthy on the offensive line. I just think teams are going to continue to try to run the ball down the cowboys throats until they prove they can.

Stop it. Yeah, why not? We asked after that Bill's game, if what James Cook accomplished against the cowboys defense was a bit of a roadmap for future opponents. Until that's proven untrue, keep going for it. That's Detroit's bread and butter. I think we've talked about the fact that Jameer Gibbs and David Montgomery, a completely refashioned backfield, which felt like an odd offseason move for me for a Lions team that ran the ball well last year, it's completely worked out. I would say David Montgomery, if I were to list the players that I was lowest on historically that changed my mind this season, David Montgomery would be near the top of that list. He's been really effective for them. Jameer Gibbs has been part of one of the best rookie classes by any team all year long. We got a version of Detroit last week that came close to giving that game up, but I don't like this five and a half points. I think that's a disrespectful to a Detroit team that is going to give Dallas a fight.

I think it may be factoring in a bit of a come down. They don't have as much to play for. Calgary has been great at home.

Well, if the Lions went out, even shut out everything else, if they get no help at all and they went out, the Lions are the number two seating the NFC, which is not nothing. I mean, your one playoff win and one Niner's upset loss from hosting the NFC title game potentially in your building. It's an interesting set up there for Detroit. I am totally shaken about the Cowboys after these last two weeks, but also it was on the road. I think what I do see and what I think the the desert sees is the Cowboys playing at Jareld World are a totally different team. They are going to be playing with a level of confidence that you just don't see on the road. They're just a more dynamic, effective team. In fact, they've been just not just winning at home this year, they're blowing out teams at home. They have a plus 171 point differential in seven games this year. So as much as Detroit is a great story, and I think we're all rooting for them as a graduate of the team of ATL, do I think their defense is going to have answers on that turf?

In Dallas? No. I think the Cowboys are going to.

Have a big week here. One answer could be Chauncey Garner Johnson, though. And so if he returns and sounds like there's a decent chance of it, him and Melifon, who's been a revelation last two weeks, okay, suddenly you got some movable players that can do a lot of different stuff at the safety position. I'm not expecting them to be a great defense, but neither of the Cowboys been last five weeks, EPA per play. These are the 24th and 25th defenses in the League. Dan Quinn, you're probably getting a head coaching job this year. Let's see it. This Cowboys defense was supposed to be great. They've been good in parts. They're great when they have a lead and it's a certain game script. These are two very even teams. Overall, sixth and seventh in the year in terms of total DV away. I think the Cowboys just had one bad game. People are being a little hard on the Cowboys. Last week was two of the top seven or eight teams in the NFL, and they basically played to a draw and they came out on the short end there on the road. These are, again, two of the top seven or eight teams in the League, and I expect to be close because I'm with you.

I like the five and a half points for the Lions, but if the Cowboys struggle and they barely get this win, Tyrant Smith's not practicing, I'm not going to be panicking.

About them. Nor am I. I'm not panicking about what happened. They got to win. I'm talking.

About both sides right now. Wait, wait, wait. They got to win.

I was going to say if the Cowboys are going into the last week of the regular season on a three game losing streak, please.

No, I'm with you. But I just mean, last week didn't make me feel any differently. Other than Tyrant Smith might be a bit of a jenge piece for them, and he might be out again. Wait, why?

Why does that make you feel differently?

Because I looked at the.

Dolphins-they struggle to score and they can't get a big stop and they're giving up yards all over the place against a.

Good team. Here's why, because Dolphins and Cowboys to me were pretty evenly matched going into that week. I watched the game, I said, Well, those are too even teams. I just felt.

The same. I think it matters that Jonathan Hankins has not been available for Dallas. He's someone that you don't really talk about much or think about much, but he's like a linchpin in the run defense. Without him, they've been beaten up by Buffalo. They were beaten up on third down by Miami. The Cowboys since week 14 are one of the worst third down defenses in the league. I think that links to Jonathan Hankins. I think it links to the run defense. But I don't come out of that Dolphins game. I know where you're coming from, Dan. It's like if you're the Cowboys, you need to change perception and go take some of these games. It's been a late-season gauntlet for all of these heavyweights. The Dallas schedule has been rough.

Had they.

Gone and been blown out the way they were against the Niners, I would just view them as complete frauds.

That's not what happened.

They were blown out.

The week before, by the way. They got to fix their pass- But.

Still they are. They're an up and down team, though.

But see, that's what I'm talking about. All of a.

Sudden, we're moving- Big day for Zadi.

But we're moving the goalpost now in the Cowboys. We went from two weeks ago, everyone's saying, This is a true Super Bowl contender. Look out, Eagles. Look out, World, to, Well, they hung with the Dolphins, and they didn't come out on top of it. I don't.

Think everyone has seen them as a true Super Bowl contender, though.

Wait a second.

Whoa.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Listen to.

Every show on this podcast for.

The last two years. They're in that group of five or six teams, and they've got issues and a lot.

Of it is- We're trying to win a chip here, okay?

The Cowboys- You got to win this. -we're trying to win.

-we're just trying to win the same way. For the first time in a quarter century, the Cowboys, the expectation, the demand here is to win multiple playoff games. I think they need to write the ship and prove, and this is a nice way to do it against a very good lines team at home. Do not.

Lose this game. Prove to themselves. Zadi's got to show- Don't come close. -that he's not just the same old Zadi. I got you. Big week for your Zadi. Big test.

Big test all around. I'm going to send this for nobody's underdog. Not this week. All right, let's move to the other Prime Time Island game on the schedule here. It is New Year's Eve Night. It is in Minneapolis. It is the struggling, fading team of around the NFL, the Minnesota Vikings, welcoming in the Green Bay Packers. Interesting. This is an interesting look at the state of the bottom of the NFC playoff picture, because at one point on this podcast, we were high on both of these teams. There was a time where the Vikings were the team that was fun and sexy, and that's how they became the team of ATN. Then the Packers rose up. If you remember that Thanksgiving performance and the weeks that followed, we were all about them. Now we have two 7-8 teams and essentially, Mark, an elimination game.

Right, and I think that one of the reasons that we became, as we were searching for the team of ATL, which is not like you're not looking for a powerhouse, you're looking for a story. You're looking for someone that you can become fascinated with. It had a lot to do with Josh Dobbs and what he had done in multiple situations this season and what he did even last year. Now right, you're in a situation where you could see Josh Dobbs starting, you could see Jaron Hall starting, you could see nick Mullins.

I think we can rule out Josh Dobbs just because when the media was there, they did this song and dance of splitting the reps between Hall.

And Mullet. Right, and we're at the point where we've hitched our wagon to a team.

That.

Isn't a fair amount of chaos and hard to believe in. That's okay. I don't have a huge problem with that. But so is Green Bay. I think Minnesota came so close to upending the Lions a week ago. If it were me, I would start nick Mullens again. I know we made some critical mistakes, but he is super productive, and that's where I'd go with this because I think the Green Bay defense has become-You.

Said super destructive, right?

Well, he is destructive and productive. He's both. Got them. He's both. Nice job. Nice job there. I just feel like nick Mullins, if anything, activated their wide receiver group. You don't have Jordan Addison right now and TJ Hawkinson is out for the season. You're limited on what you can do. It's like, do you really put this in the hands of Jaron Hall?

I guess so. It is crazy. It's a fifth round rookie. I expect Jaren Hall to be the quarterback. It's bizarre to me. They're doing the thing where nobody seems to know. Justin Jefferson spoke to the media and legitimately didn't seem like he could possibly be acting that he doesn't know. When the media was there, which is just the early portion, it was like, Mullen and Hall were getting the reps. To me, that's a sign that it's probably Hall because I don't know why-Switch, yeah. Why go through all this? But we, it got lost in the shuffle. Hawkinson's injury out for the season, massive. Dj Wannum is now out for the season and has been their second best defensive lineman, I would say, behind the Neil Hunter. That's massive. Byron Murphy, their best cornerback at a position where nobody's playing well right now has been out of practice. Addison might not be there. It's just a bit of a mess. They have no more cornerbacks and they're going against a really productive offense. I looked today and I was like, Man, this Packers offense feels like it's one of the better offense in the league suddenly, Jordan, Lovett, and all those recce.

It made me realize they have better numbers at basically every measurement you could come up with than the 2022 Aaron Rogers Packers offensively right now. Not even just like, Oh, the last six weeks. It's like, No, over the course of the season. That's how well they've played lately. I think it's a toss-up. I like the Packers to win this game, but it does worry me that they suspended Jyer Alexander. Let's talk about this. In theory, their best quarterback. Why don't we start by listing to Jyer Alexander?

Well, let's set the table. Sure. Jair Alexander is the cornerback of the Packers who is a Charlotte native who before overtime of their week 16 game against the Panthers, decides to take it upon.

Himself- Before the game started.

-before overtime started, right? Oh, no, before the game started, he comes out on the field, even though he's not a captain. Okay, so there's the first mistake. And he then called... They win the coin to us. He calls, I think, Taylor. He says, Defense. And that what he was supposed to say was defer. So it became a situation where the officials really wanted to stick it to the Packers. This guy walked up on the field who wasn't the captain, who said the wrong thing once he called the coin toss. They could have given the Panthers the ball to start the game and to start the second half. Huge mistake. Luckily, the head coach of the Packers had spoken to the game official beforehand, and had made it clear what he wanted, so they let him off the hook. Anyway, Alexander gets suspended this week ahead of a playoff game, which tells you how annoyed and over Jahir Alexander, they are with this guy. No matter how talented he is, here was his explanation of this situation.

Were you supposed to be a captain? Because the team.

Announces the three game captains and you were the fourth and you called a toss. What happened there? Yeah, I.

Mean.

It's only shooting. I don't think Coach knew I was from Charlotte. You just did that on your own? I mean, it was like, the guys backed me up. They knew I was from here.

Did you realize you almost made a mistake on the call, though?

What did I do? That's funny. They proceed to walk them through what happened.

See that, J. R. O. Xander doesn't seem to have any idea what's going on at all in the world. I should have been walking out there. I'm from Charlotte. He didn't know that. Also, new drop, we need to clip it. Only suiting.

It's only suiting. I have to say that we've listened to probably 5,000 quotes from athletes on this show, and that has to be one of the most bizarre interactions. To the point where as a young 20-something, I got very into these novels, historical novels by Carlos Castanino, who went down to Mexico and studied peote and the effects of peote on a human being. I was like, What is going on with Jyer Alexander? Is he not? Is he okay?

Well, that was immediately after the game to put it context. That wasn't during the week. Before his suspension. Yeah, unlikely he was on peote, although you never know. Jyer Alexander is a character, and pretty much every time he talks, he leads you in a wonderful direction of surprise. It wasn't totally out of character. I don't think they're suspending him just for this, and that's what Matt LeFleur said. Right, it.

Feels like something else is.

It's never one thing. It sounded like he actually had maybe gone out when he wasn't the captain before. That's a.

Crazy-i'm not going down ranting grumpy sports writer territory to say this guy is the problem with the Packers. But for a defense that is free-falling under Joe Barry, for him, it's just not a good look. He's also wearing sunglasses that maybe Brittany Spears was wearing in 2003 or so during that interview, just if you haven't seen it before. There's just a, I don't know, he seems nuts to me, but maybe a.

Nice guy. He's also not been available for them.

For big chunks of the season. He just returned from a massive injury and hasn't quite been himself. This is a big, I mean, this reminds me a little bit of Packers' line from the week we did last year. It's a chance for the Packers to show their growth. Because I don't know if you guys remember the first Vikings, Packers' game. That was the game afterwards where everyone started making the cutups about how the Packers offense is just a bunch of bumbling morons basically, with penalties and 17 drops and people were playing the Benny Hill music and it was pretty much the the Nadeer of their season. It was mid-season. Now here they are rolling a bunch of rookies, a chance to show how much better they've got.

Big spot for Benny Hill.

I was going to say, can we find... I like this. But I don't know, the Benny Hill music, can we find something new?

Yeah, that's fair.

What did that? Benny Hill, was it like 50 years old?

Well, I guess the almost as old as our music reference.

A pre-Y2K offering that was a little edgy if you were a child watching it, came from Britain.

You're from Britain?

Yeah, but I used to watch Benny Hill when I was seven or eight, which I don't think it's something I'd throw to my children to watch seven.

Or eight. I've never seen that, yeah. Vikings, we have some breaking news are starting Daryn Hall. All right. Well, it's big.

Time.

News. Case closed. This is why the host has to do it. We have some breaking news. Productions right here. Moments.

This episode has issues. Yeah, but that's not fair. That's not fair.

We just came down from Madison behind the Glass. The Vikings are starting the rookie. Greg, Jaren Hall.

I think it's the way to go. He looked good on that one drive we saw.

Kevin O'Connor has been turned off by two quarterbacks at this point.

Two capable-This backup stink, and nick Mollins is so frustrated because I could carve up this defense. Then maybe we'll see him. We might see both.

It's a little shocky, and I think it shows you that as much as the Vikings would like to make the playoffs and actually have a great chance to make the.

Play- They have a 30 % chance.

If they win out, they're in, essentially, though. If they win out, they're basically in. I think they're saying, As much as we want to do that, we don't know if that's going to happen or not. We want to see what Jaron Hall can look like, too. If there is any advantage to nick Mulins, it's not enough that we want to pass on seeing that.

Mark, you could see him in the second half, potentially. You never know. Hold out, Hope.

It's one of these teams where you're going to probably see all of them all over. I mean, if there were more weeks to the season, thankfully, only two.

More to the regular. As much as it feels like it's over for the team of ATN, this has been a weird year. Maybe the Vikings have.

A push. Has this gone any better than the last time we picked the Vikings? I would just.

Ask-for you.

It has. -for me, because I'm not culpable.

Yes, that was more of a disaster. I think we picked them at five and a 0 and they immediately lost.

Right. Yeah, they.

Tanked hard. Mark took it as a personal front to him and was-Yes, I did. -was thankful for seven.

Months afterwards. Yes, I did. Because it's non-stop text being like, Well, I wasn't part of that vote.

In some ways, you're culpable for this, too, because you're Josh Dobbs. But it's fine. That is entirely not...

You want to talk about listening to previous tapes. That's entirely untrue.

It was Dobbs that pushed it over the top. And he.

Was your- I won't listen. Greg, you have to back me on this. What about evidence and facts?

Dobbs was the reason we picked the Vikings.

Yeah, but I'm not the reason we picked the Vikings.

Mostly Mark, in my opinion.

I find that to be annoying.

I know it is. All right, let's get to the draft. It is time now for the first overall pick, presented by draft Kings. I will take this an easy one. The Miami Dolphins at the Baltimore Ravens. This is a early game. Interesting. Interesting time slot for the game, but it's- Unrewarding.

There's a lot of... You know what? I don't mind it. How about a hammer drop early game? We don't have many of those, so it's a nice little.

Change of pace. In theory, they could have flexed out Bangles Chiefs, which would have been nice. But a week ago, I get why they.

Didn't do that. God forbid we don't have Tony Romo talking about Patrick Mohom for another four and a half hours.

The Ravens are given three points here. And a good spotlight here for Iain Eagle and our guy, Charles Davis, with Evan Washburn looking impeccable on the sidelines. So good match up here, great match up. And at this point, it is hard to look at the Ravens and say they're not going to win a big game because they've done it over and over and over. Coming off the way they played against the 49ers, I guess they sag into a different place now, Greg, because now they are no longer going to be the team, I don't think, that is putting up win after win after win, but is seen as a little lesser than. Now you're the big boys. You heard Lamar talked about it this week that we're still the underdogs. We're still the underdogs, but they're not. They're very much the favorite, and I think at least in the AFC. The Dolphins have a chance here, and Dolphins fans, listen up. If you want to shut up people who you think hate your team like me, which I don't really hate them, but if you want to shut people like us up, wow, you have a chance to wrap up your division and stun the Ravens coming off the Niners win.

It's a nice setup for Miami to make a true statement.

Right, and try to get that one seed for themselves. They're not viewed in the desert by as big underdogs. It's only a three-point line, which is pretty interesting. In Baltimore, minus 180 money line, the overrunner is 47. I am surprised by that, but I think rest is part of it. They're coming back from the West Coast. Just a little rest stop action on a short week, a huge win. Dolphins have that extra day of rest and everything. But to see these teams as equal, I think, is surprising because, yes, they're trying to build this underdog mentality where blah, blah, blah. But according to the numbers, like DVOA, for instance, has had the 49ers and the Ravens as two of the best 20 teams of the last 25 years, basically the whole season. Now the Ravens are actually on top of the rings. Both of them have been elite, elite teams, 49ers, Ravens, and pretty far away from the rest of the NFL, including the Miami Dolphins. I do wonder if it's an advantage or a disadvantage for Mike McDaniel to look at that 49ers tape. Yes, the Dolphins and 49ers do things quite differently in terms of how they win, how their quarterbacks win offensively.

But essentially, here's the offense that we're most similar to, the coach I'm most similar to. Here's what the did with their disguise coverages and everything and winning physical matchups against them. How can I adjust what the 49ers did poorly and make it work for me?

Yeah, I think that's absolutely right. Where it's like, yes, you can't just say what Mike McDaniel is doing is the same as Kyle Schanehan, but there are a lot of roots and shared DNA there. This game to me boils down to availability. I think it's very impactful that Kyle Hamilton has not been practicing this week. I think has been a huge piece of what Baltimore has done on defense. Patrick Queen is banged up. Roquan Smith is banged up. Zay Flowers did not practice on Wednesday. For the Dolphins, Jalen Waddell did not practice today. On Thursday, Divana, A-Chant- That's a.

High.

Ankle spray. Right, and they're calling it not overly severe. There's a chance he plays, but what version do you get? Tyrae, Hill is practicing today on Thursday. Divana, A-Chant, is practicing today. The Dolphins, like Taran, Armstead has injuries. Their injury list has just been wild. I think this is such an intriguing matchup, but it really comes down to who is on the field and what percentage of help they have.

I thought this was really interesting. We played it on the last show, but I want to play it again here because it wasn't hard to decode which teams Patrick Queen was talking about. In the aftermath of the Niners victory, he pointed out what makes the Ravens different.

We play a brand of football that people don't want to play. Everybody want to be out here queue playing.

Basketball and stuff. We ain't.

With all that.

You could do all.

That stuff. You just going to hit the mouth every play, honestly.

We could care less.

About all the pretty stuff. We do gimmick stuff. You still have a lot.

Of play, football.

You still.

Have to get touch.

That's our mindset.

That's how we.

Want to come out and just hit.

People in the mouth.

That is what's going to happen with the Baltimore Ravens who are going to take it to the Dolphins, humble their fans. I'm locking up the Baltimore Ravens in this game. I think they're a perfect match. As good as the Dolphins season has been, I think this is a bad match up for them, and I think the Ravens are going to bully this offense and come away with another resounding win.

I think what Patrick Queen said also bakes into the Lamar Jackson MVP conversation, where it's like his numbers don't blow you away, but you can't question his value. I was looking at nick Shook's QB index, and he has, and tell me if you agree with this, number one, Toa, number two, Lamar, number three, best shot.

Wait, he has two and number one in his QB index?

I wouldn't have to do a top five.

Really? I don't know about that. Let me go through it. You'd have to move Josh Allen or Matthew Stafford out of there. Or J. L. And Hertz comes at six. But to me, it's like... Wow. Lamar is not... It's a weird year for MVP, obviously, with the quarterbacks. I would just go Krish McAfrey at this point. But you can argue that Lamar, figures and stats-wise, isn't that guy. But he is based on everything that he's done over the last 10 or 11 weeks, and it's like, We're getting these schedules. That's why I don't like this, is that this is baked into a 10 games happening early in the day in Los Angeles. It's that this is another one of these MVP showdown games. We're getting them week after week. We're reacting off of what we saw literally 24 hours ago and the vote keeps changing.

You know what? Now that my homes has taken a step back, I probably would have it... If I was doing QB, I'd probably have it like Allen, Lamar, either one or two, those two, Daak, and then-You're very high. -then I would have Stafford and Purdy, four and five, probably. But two of them might be in there. They're all close.

I know it's tough. You don't think two is top five?

Well, yeah, I just said he's either five or six. But who is he? Out of those, I think it's all close. I mean, Stafford, I think, is in that mix. I think Purdy is in that mix.

He's got Baker Mayfield number eight right now.

I think that's been amazing. Wow, that's a big try from the top six. That is wild. I am a little worried about this matchup as someone who's locked up the Ravens five times and definitely rooting for them because number one, where's the weakness in the Baltimore Devans? It's definitely a cornerback. I know Marlin Humphrey is playing better lately, but their cornerback is going to be beaten. This is a tough match up for their cornerback. Number two, as much as Lamar played very well on Monday night, I do worry a little bit that their offense has not been in rhythm lately and not a lot of in-rhythm throws. He broke the pocket a lot more and you're just counting on him to improvise, which he obviously can do, but you just would like to see that a little more consistently. It's there one week, it's not the next. And unlike playing the 49ers defense, this is crazy, but I think the Dolphins have been a better defense the last two months. They've been, like Baltimore, an explosive offense and a top five defense that can win games in different sorts of ways. I think you saw that last week.

I am a little worried about it, but I'm locking it up too. I already had it. I already had it locked in and I don't change my mind. You know what? Let's go back to the team that has.

Gotten me here. Yes, and just a counter punch to all that, which.

Is all true. I think it's going to be close. It's not a lot where I'm like, Oh, they're going to roll.

Only one of these teams smoke the 49ers in San Francisco three or four days ago. The Ravens, I just think they're at.

Another level right now. In a way that almost sometimes those worry me because it is so hard to stay at that level back to back weeks. We just saw it with the Bills. It's like the Bills followed up, destroying the cowboy. You're going to be Florio'd.

You're going to get Florio'd. What? Lamar Jackson burying Mike Florio in his postgame press conference.

Why am I burying? I just locked them up.

I don't know. I'm saying they're looking for any type of motivation and people doubting them. You're locking up a team you're.

Doubting a little bit right now. I wasn't worried about... I didn't know about that Florio thing until Lamar threw it out. But he did say that they wouldn't even be worthy of being on the field of them or they were going to get totally sweep.

Florio adores the entire concept of what's happening.

Stay aggressive, by the way, John Harba. I really don't like this new super conservative, unfourthown John Harba.

Florio had a very dignified, extensive tweet response as well. Like a man who just lost a presidential election. It was like a concession speech. All right, let's keep moving here. We got to pick up the pace. Mark, you're up.

I'm looking at the slate early and late, and what I see over and over are quality team versus floating trash bag. For me, it's like I want to see.

How-when you say floating trash bag, do you mean the beautiful kind from that movie, American Beauty, or just an actual-No less.

-the really bad guy.

That was artistic. Beautiful. Very '90s, but that was artistic. This was more like you're driving down the highway and there's a trash bag.

It's going to end up in the ocean.

Sure. It's going to clog things up and be a problem.

A seagull is going to choke on it.

We're ready for it to go away and we're.

Ready for it to go away. That movie inspires one of Dan's least favorite things when movies don't hold up well, because that movies that does not hold up.

It's got some problems.

You.

Know what? Including some of its actors.

Guess.

What?

The main stars. Here's a take. I'm pushing back on the take that has an age goal. Watched it recently. Fun.

It's fine. It's also where you're at in a way. Maybe it's an age well for you.

Maybe it's bounced back because mine was seven years ago.

It's become the prevailing sentiment that it's terrible and now coming back around again. Okay.

West.

Bentley, I believe. You know who ruins it, though? Yeah, Spacey.

Yeah, well, that's hard to-It's.

Tough to dig in.

But the criticism around it hasn't been about him being a creep. It's been that the movie is heavy handed and all that. It's a great performance, though.

Right. We're good to agree with that.

It's Greg Spit.

I'm not betting, but now for you, Greg. I will take San Francisco to Washington. Maybe it seems curious, but I really can actually... And then San Francisco is giving up 12 and a half points, which does not... That feels fine to me. I have no problem with that. Moneyline, minus 750 for the Niners, over under of 50. That's a high over under. But I think that to me felt like a little bit of a Jacobi-Preset factor there because he's been actually really great for them two weeks in a row and he's going to start. The Sam Howell experience might be over forever. -that's nice, man. -in Washington. We know the head coach in experience will be over. I think the whole team blew it, but he was spicy, if nothing else. I want to see how San Francisco responds. I don't have a problem with the idea they're probably going to come and blow Washington's doors off. But this is one of the few teams. It's a pet team to me. Trent Williams is still banged up with a groin injury. Debo Samuel's banged up. I wonder if you're San Francisco, do you push these guys into action?

Do you use Debo Samuel as much as you would normally? Or do you try to get out of here with a win? It still matters. They're still fighting for that number one overall spot in the NFC. You cannot let up. The Niners, I think, have a... This is a statement game in a way for them to turn around after what happened on national television that completely altered the MVP race, completely altered people's confidence in the Niners, which I think is a little bit overbaked.

I don't know if I agree with that. I think if.

There's like a- It would alter the MVP race.

Entirely. Yes, but I suspect they're heavy, heavy favorites to make the Super Bowl. That hasn't changed in most people.

I don't think you can make it. No matter what they do here, possibly, they're not making a statement this week.

I'm just saying come out and their version of a statement is drop 40 points on.

This terrible deal. I wouldn't.

Learn anything.

About them, though. I think I'd like to see it just because I want to see them playing their best at the end of the season and looking like they've looked. They really want to get that 1C. They haven't had those home games in the big spots at the NFC Championship enough. They've really missed Eric Armstead. I think the last couple of weeks, we don't know if he's going to return. Their offensive line to me, especially when Trent Williams is out, it went from being very good to a problem. That's something that's not going to be tested this week because there's no worse pass rush in the league than Washington. They made the Jets offensive line look like the early 90s Cowboys last week. Simeon is just standing back there forever. I'm with you. Especially when the 49ers have the ball, I don't feel like I'm learning much.

You know what I like? A lot. Because I do, yeah, I think the NFC is a little more saucey after that blowout loss in terms of intrigue. I'm already looking ahead and maybe you get a flat 9ers performance because they're doing the same to the Rams. There's a little bit of 2007, week 17, giants, Patriots vibe there where the teams could make one last big statement before the playoffs if they were to get there. The Niners are just trying to lock up a big win to get where they need to be number one seed potentially. I think they're going to be favored, obviously, each of the next two weeks because they're still rightfully seen as one of the best teams in the league, but they were humbled and it's going to be interesting, I guess, to see how they.

React to that. I cannot stand the MVP derby.

I just cannot. Don't talk about it. Don't worry about it.

We don't need to talk about it. No, because I.

Can go find it. You're the one.

That keeps breaking it up. I can go find a game or two where Lamar Jackson underperformed, but it happened months ago.

But that matters. Context matters. Christmas Night Night down matters.

More than week four. It's all about what you do as we get closer.

He didn't have a four-pick game against another one of the big tests.

That- He did not. I mean, he melted down against Cleveland in one game, but that's a-.

Your guy can still win MVP.

No, he can't. I don't think he can.

What do you mean? He's the third or fourth favorite.

Right now. I don't think so. I think he couldn't even be the number one on the Niners right now.

Well, I've thought it was McAfrey all along. I think that's a totally legitimate thing looking at their offense and just how it's built. But all right. Just needs to hope that Lamar loses, basically.

Let's do one more before taking a break. Greg.

All right, I am unprepared here.

Tuffy, your first pick? You're going to get Vikings.

I'll take the Rams at the giants. Rams are five and a half point favorites, minus two-thirty money line. I like the Rams to win this game. I don't like the Rams to win as easily as when I found out Tyra Taylor's taking over. I think it's a pretty big difference. I think it's close to a Dalton-level scale starting quarterback, who for the limited time he's played this year, has unfurled a high amount of big time throws. I don't know if that's going to continue versus maybe the most overmatched starting quarterback in the league. You're going on the road across the country against defense, which has been all over the place. It's gone from absolutely terrible to quite good to back to terrible again the last couple of weeks. I don't know what to think, but they are relatively healthy on defense, and it's just another chance for Stafford in this offense to control the game. They have these long drives, and then suddenly when you're playing the rams, you're like, Wait a second, it's the middle of the third quarter, and we're down 13 points, and we've only had the ball six times. They really have a way of shortening these games because of a very efficient offense that goes on these nine ten-play drives.

When you have Cooper Cup, Pukanakua, and Karen Williams in there together, they have averaged almost 30 points a game. Their offense is fully formed. I think coming into the season, I looked at a team that didn't do a lot along the offensive line after that was their Achilles heel a year ago. Since their buy, which was ages ago, week 10, they've allowed the second lowest pressure rate. Their line is performed and they've been really healthy since their buy and it becomes this NFC team. I love your comment about the Patriots, Giants, end-of-season matchup that happened many years ago where it's like, this Ram's team has completely changed, evolved, grown, developed over the course of the season. It's like we keep propping up different people as Coach of the Year. But Sean McVeigh is right in that conversation. This team was universally counted out as drifting would on a Dead Sea before the season, and here they are. It's like, who wants to deal with them right now?

I think the one thing that I've learned this season is to not doubt the brain trust there at all because it did seem like, and that was the prevailing sentiment, that they bought that Super Bowl on credit and now they were going to go into this tail spin and have to rebuild. But the way they have developed all of these players on both sides of the ball, and you're right about the offense, Greg, it's not just Matthew Stafford having a big year or the rise of Pukanakua. Hal Cooper Cups is not even having a big year. He's been injured a lot. They identified a running back in the draft that became a star. The offensive line playing at a high level. The scheme is elite. You tell me that the Rams are an easy out for anyone in this league. If they stay healthy, they are a true... They're going to be a wild card. That is a true wild card in January.

Well, they couldn't have been happy seeing the 49ers lose on Monday night because now the 49ers are going to be starting week 18. The Rams are far from guaranteed to get into the play.

I mean, or go beat the 9ers and then suddenly everyone is.

Like, Alana, Alana. They also could clinch this week and they could rest starters next week. All they need is to win this game and the Seahawks to lose to the Stealers, which is a reasonable thing to hope for. Then the Rams are in this week. I do think as much as everything else matters and Pukka is a true number one, and God, he was so impressed to see in person. God, whatever the ceiling is, it's even higher than you could imagine for this kid. So much of it is just Stafford improvising. You think of my homes and Lamar is the top second reaction guys in League. I mean, he had five plays in that game that are not in the call sheet. He's just improvising and he's freaking amazing at it. I don't think he's a crazy idea for MVP. I'd have him a little lower, but if it was like the NBA where you voted on five guys, I think he makes my top five. -you're talking to Stafford?

Stafford, yeah.

You said that Pooke is fun to watch in person. I imagine.

Some of those Stafford throws were amazing. Oh, my God. The one where he was rolling left, we had the perfect view where he was rolling left and did the sidearm stuff. I was just trying to tell Walker, I was just like, Did you see that?

Like, Stafford's in that Lamar world where you have to ignore the stats because his TD reception ratio was just never really outstanding. But what he's doing physically is like this new version.

Of Matthew Stafford. I think there was an NFL-plus dreamatory I'm up early a season where I was talking about, is Stafford in the Hall of Fame conversation? Man, a year like this, I think, has completely reframed how special he has been. He's actually the flip side of, and we're going to get to the Russell Wilson drama and the disaster that that's become for the Broncos, the boondogl. That could have been the same thing for the Rams if Stafford came here and couldn't play. Instead, he became a better version of himself and sustained his play in his 30s.

Very interesting. I'm not going to bring up MVP again on this episode. I don't know why I've done that 12 times. You don't like it. You don't like it. That's got to be annoying to the person listening to this.

Do you have something else to say?

No. If you're driving around, you're probably.

Annoyed at this thing. You just brought up MVP.

To say that you're not going to bring it up. I'm just announcing that I won't bring it up again. It's a tedious thread.

Let's set a ban on MVP. Those three letters together, Eric, for the rest of the episode starting now. Let's take a break and we'll continue on. All right, welcome back to Around the NFL, the week 17, preview in bulk. The snake is slithering right back door to old Greggy.

I will take a late game. First one-off the board. Nice. Bengals at Chiefs. Chiefs favored by seven. I don't want to hear Mark complain about Romo in my homes again, so you don't have to watch it. Okay, fair. Moneyline minus 3.05 for the Chiefs got a big favorites considering they were 10-point favorites against the Raiders and they got smacked. How broken is their offense? This is another good test because the Cincinnati defense has been quietly broken as well, one of the worst groups in the league by almost any measurement. It's two of the most disappointing sides, I think, in the NFL, the Bengals defense and the Chiefs offense. I think if you're the Bengals, you're hoping Hendrix and Hubbird can keep winning on the edge. Wanya Morris, we haven't been talking about was a rookie left tackle playing for the Chiefs or second year tackle hasn't played much and has not been good. If Hendrickson and Hubald can keep getting pressure at the tackle position, maybe that sets up another long day for the Chief's offense.

Oh, man. I mean, at this point, you just expect it, right? At this point, you know... We were talking about this for a few weeks now that change probably ain't coming until after the season. But to see them faceplant. I thought it was just really interesting that with the mighty the homes and the great Reed, the fact that those turnovers happened and there was so much game still in front of them and they just couldn't adjust. They couldn't find a way to get it going. At this point and the Bangles are in must win territory just about here, right, Greg? They need it. They don't have tie breakers. They got to win out.

Even if they win both of them, they are not guaranteed. They're in a deep hole.

They were cooled off, obviously. The Pittsburgh loss really took a lot of air out of the balloon there and the idea of what they could be when they were riding that three-game winning streak. This is a game where I don't know what we're going to get from Cincinnati, but I do know what we're going to get from Kansas City, and it will be a steady to very good defensive effort that could scramble Jake Browning, who's an up and down entity here. I see this as crazy as it is, and it's a bummer because if you look in September, who's Cincinnati at arrowhead week 17?

I.

Know. I think this is going to be a low scoring game. I think this is going to be a 17-14 type game, and I think it's a true toss up. I don't.

Think- I wish it was Dolphins and Ravens in this spot.

Yeah, I think it's a toss up. I don't know why they didn't do that. You're absolutely right because Kansas City, 20 or fewer points in eight of their games, and it certainly looks like it. I do think for the Bengals, it's a tough slate down the stretch. Pittsburgh's defense, Kansas City's defense, like four is disappointed as we are by the offense. Their defense has been super consistent game after game for the most part. Cleveland's defense next week. That's pretty tough for Jake Browning. It's a rough stretch for Jake Browning. It's also a chance for him to bring us back into the world where we believe in him. Jamar Chase took part in the walkthrough. He's got a shoulder injury. I think that matters a lot because Chase and Browning have connected pretty well.

It's a playoff game. I would expect him to be there if he has.

Any ability to. You've got to put all these guys in. I'm with you. Cedarius, Tony's banged up for the Chiefs. Isiah, Pacheko's banged up. T. Higgins coming off a huge performance. I don't feel like that the Bengals team that we loved a week ago was floated away entirely. It's just like we'll see.

This could be the last time we see them as we know it. Now I think they'll tag T. Higgins, but in terms of a meaningful game, if they lose this game, they're basically done. T. Higgins, Mixin, Tyler Boyd,tonah Williams, four guys who basically started every game throughout this run, all four might not be there next year. I feel like they'll tag Higgins because he's just too good. But this is the end of something with Cincinnati, which feels weird because Burrow is so young, but they're just going to have to reload on the fly and figure out what was wrong this year.

Dream it all up again. Last word on this game. Let's go to the New Heights podcast, which is by the way, presented by Wave, sports and entertainment. Travis, Kelsey, not having the year you expect from him. The Chiefs obviously not having the year you expected from them offensively. He does that podcast with his brother, Jason, and here are his thoughts on the state of their offense. Everybody's just got to do their job. Every single play, somebody not doing their job. It's me.

One by one, it's everybody on the team. Whether that's prep, whether that's having the confidence and understanding of what the defense is in their coverages, their gaps in the run game, how we're picking up blitzes, how we're running routes versus certain coverages, all the above. We should bring it up here because you could look at that as just cliches there, that we all got to man up and do our job and all that. Or you could say like, is he talking about the level of preparation and coaching with the offense as well? Obviously, Benami is not there anymore. Matt Nagy took on a bigger role there. Obviously, Reed is the architect. Is there frustration in that building? And Greg, you pointed out Rashee Rice, a lot of miscommunications. We know Tony has had mental and physical gaps. Is the offensive lines was having breakdowns? Is this a situation in-house in Kansas City where it's like this offense is not being put in position? Forget about just the skill level put in position to be successful on Sundays.

He's their leading receiver because they don't have a leading receiver.

Well, normally in this situation, an offensive coordinator leaves and you turn from a very buttoned-up unit to one of the sloppiest units in the league by any measurement, people would be going crazy about the offensive coordinator change. I think it's confusing because Andy reads the head coach, but I think it's totally fair to wonder, like Eric, Benami leaves, Matt, Naggy comes on, and suddenly they don't look very well coached.

Right. It was always part of the reason why I think Benami, or one of the reasons he didn't get a head coaching job, it was always very nebulous about what he was actually doing. Then even we talked about it over the summer, that NFL quarterback show you would see during their Super Bowl run last year, it was Naggy that was very involved on the sideline on a game-play-by-play basis. You're always like, Where is B-Enemy? Well, right now they're asking, where is the offense and where is the flow to it? The basic fundamentals is what Kelsey is also getting at. Why aren't we playing at a high level? It's crazy. All right, Mark, back to you.

All right, taking another early game, Saints at Bucks. Intriguing. The Bucks, basically.

That would have been a good number two pick, but you ended up getting it all worked out.

Sure. Well, that's how the draft works sometimes. I don't know why I'm stunned that Greg didn't take his Saints, but that's okay.

I'll report to you what I've observed. They have not been my saints for many years here. I'm rooting Bucks. Let's go win a division.

That's the thing. They're in it. They win. They are the team.

I should have taken this game just because of that.

Aren't we rooting for them to win this division? How can you make an argument for anyone else?

They're the only team that's not a deadbeat.

They've been the best version of themselves for a while. It starts with Baker Mayfield. I think there's a really specific historical, a lot of these historical notes about Player X performance in a certain way against the team begins to become nonsensical because the rosters have changed so much. But the Saints and Bucks, when you put Mike Evans against the Saints defensive backs, who have similar, they're similar. They're nasty, like Marshon, Latymor, and friends.

Although they've really missed him in this matchup where he was so good against that.

Right. Latymor has been the guy. But Mike Evans has been held under 70 yards in nine of his last matchups against the Saints. This has been their player, their guy. I think the one thing that has been such a promising aspect to Baker Mayfield is that that offense was so frustrating a year ago. How many times did I watch Tom braided and Mike Evans unable to connect deep down field. That's not been the case with Mayfield and Evans. I think that's the engine to their offense. Explosive plays in this matchup matter a lot. When they battle the first time, the Saints always made life very tough for Tom braided during his stretch with the Bucks. Baker Mayfield went in and they won 26-9. The performance between Derek Carr and Baker Mayfield was night and day. But Derrick Carr, for all the critique he gets, since week eight, has 140 pass rating on deep passes. I think explosive plays make the difference here.

Bucks favored by two and a half. Man, this is a tempting lock here. Saints have the extra rest coming off the TNF game, but... Man, the Desert has been given the Saints way too much credit for way too long. They were barely underdogs in L. A, got smoked. They're barely underdogs here. They're playing their worst football. The Bucks have won four in a row offensively. They're a very good offense right now. They're a legitimate top 10 offense. Evans leads all NFL wide receivers and touchdowns right now. He's got to get to like 1,300, 1,400 yards. His route running, the jerk route he ran for the touchdown last week against... What cornerback was that? I mean, just made him look ridiculous. Tyson Campbell, he was awesome. This feels like Dennis Allen's last stand. Baker, they're now saying there's mutual interest in keeping him. He's played his best two games in the season the last two weeks. I think Baker's been solid all year, but he's been legitimately really, really good the last two weeks. He's playing a team that just doesn't get any pass rush here like, Man, I like the Bucks. Maybe we should lock them up.

It's not too late. Obviously, we know what Todd Boles is and what he isn't, so he has nothing to do really with the offensive game plan. Have we been talking about Dave Canales on the show?

Early in the season, yes.

Yeah, well, he was Gino's.

Guy a year ago. They went through a little slump, but yeah.

It also tells you because he deserves credit because we were just talking about Kansas City and what's going on? Everybody's out of sync. It's an offense that is in sync and is potent right now. You got the quarterback playing with confidence, and Evans is having an All-Pro year, and even got Godwin going a little bit now. It's just like, Okay, look out now. We shall see. This is also the same. This is why they are the most deserving team to claim this bizarre division. They also did lose six of seven at one point this season. The DNA within them, perhaps, is still there to have a late collapse.

But I'm not there. I think I have to do this. I was going to go somewhere else, but it's like this has been one of the more unexpected quarterback performances of the season by Baker Mayfield, who I think was a Dalton line candidate coming into the year. I'm locking up the Bucks. They're going to do it. I'm up with the saints.

Check you later. Okay. Dalton line, I mean, heck, he was way below that. That's why he got no money this offseason. He got a one year, $3 million contract. He's a bit better than Derrickar, who got whatever.

He got. He has. There's environment, but he's going to be a dad soon, too.

What contract would Baker get?

It is a very trickya tough one and tricky one.

For them. I love Baker at this value.

It is tricky.

I.

This, Baker.

One last thing. The Bucketeers are the only team in the NFL that everything else that matters in terms of their playoff positioning and everything. Everything else in the NFL has no impact on them whatsoever. Literally no other results matter. If they win one of their next two games, they are the fore seed, period. There you go. If they don't win either if they go on two, they're out.

That is mathematically refreshing.

I do like that. To quote the great Mariano Duncan. Remember Mariano Duncan? Nice middle infielder back in the 90s. Not really. We played today. We win today.

That's it. Okay.

That's what the box got to do. All right, I am up and it feels like it's been a long time since I've been up on the clock. Here I am. I'm trying to speed up. I like this game that is still here. Raiders at Colts. I mean, come on, it's a big game in the AFC. You can look at these teams and say, Oh, who cares? It doesn't matter. These aren't Super Bowl teams. I get it. I'm with you. But it matters to the players and it matters to the coach and it matters to the fan base. It's a game with a lot on the line. Colts at eight and seven, and they are with the Jaguars in a freefall. What's going on in the division over there right now?

Where are they at? They're all tied.

Oh, my goodness. The division is there. The wildcard is there.

The Jacks have most of the tie breakers if it all stayed tied, but it's a three way tie.

Then you have on the Las Vegas side of things, the biggest surprise of the last couple of weeks has been what they've done. They put up a 60 burger on the Chargers. Then on Christmas Day, they go to Arrowhead and they beat the artists formerly known as the Chiefs. Yes, the Chiefs are not the Chiefs anymore, at least not this season, but that is still a huge for that organization. Obviously, for Antonio pierce who's trying to get that intern label ripped right the hell off. Take a look at the Raiders now, because if they can beat the Colts in Indy, and we saw what the Colts just got spanked by.

The fucking spank. That was a terrible loss. That was a.

Terrible loss. We know what's going on with the Colts. They are just hanging around here. They could be picked off by anyone. They could beat a lot of teams, too, but they could get picked off. Then they would be the Raiders home against the Broncos in week 18. Hot damn, if they ever win out and make the playoffs, that would be one of the more unlikely rises for any team in.

Recent memory. I mean, it would match the Bessachia experience.

But even more so, that team had some talent. This team.

Was completely written off. They also did it. They had a much longer runway, too, because Gordin got fired so early, you know what I mean?

It's interesting to me how they're doing it because I think your argument for Antonio pierce, and we talked about it a little bit in the recap show, was that if you're going to be a defensive coach in 2023, 2024, your defense better be great. We better see a noticeable difference. I think that's happened with them. They won that game against the Chiefs, where Devante Adams had won reception for four yards. They've had four defensive touchdowns in two games. The Raiders are one of the deepest historical lore operations in all of sports. They've never done that over the course of two games in their entire organizational history. They've had some great defenses and some like ballhawk-type-players. You got a guy like Max Crosby who's played more percentage of defensive snaps than anyone else in the league and has gutted through terrible injuries. That tells me you want to play for your coach. That tells me you want to play for Antonio pierce. I think they'd be one of the most spicy stories around if they ever snuck into.

The wildcard. This is basically a playoff game. Good pick, fun game. An elimination game for the Raiders if they lose their out. Not quite for the Colts, who, just because of the division, actually have a decent chance they could even lose this game, win next week and still have a decent chance to get in. I don't know if Josh Jacobs is going to be back. Julian Blackman has been really good at safety for the Colts is out. They're only three and four at home. The Raiders have also been a much better home team and bat on the road, so something's got to give their. This version of Min Hsu, who's been playing better, I think, in recent weeks, despite I know that the result, it's so weird. I swear he's played better the last three weeks versus this defense. That could be trouble, though. That could be trouble for the Colts. Two teams, good pick. I like this. All right.

We'll see. I want it to be a dramatic affair and we'll see if Jonathan Taylor gets it going again, second game back after the thumb injury. I don't know if you just said it, Greg, but Colts can win out and still miss the playoffs, but they could also win.

Their division. They could also lose this game and very easily make the playoffs next week. There's a lot. It's crazy. The Colts, by the way, three and a half point favorites in the money line is minus 175. I'm taking the Colts. I feel bad, Raiders.

Okay, Snakes to me. You know what? I'm going to keep going down this road and I'm going to pick up these games that are essentially playoff games for these teams. The Steeler is traveling to Seattle to face the Seahawks. This is the Seahawks getting three and a half in this game. Yeah, Mason, Rudolph, he's getting another start. It's been quite a journey for Mason Rudolph, but all of a sudden, he's getting something but maybe, maybe. I mean, you didn't think this would ever be a situation again that here we are in late December turning the calendar over to January and he is playing a quarterback in a huge game for the Steelers. Maybe the craziest thing, it is the obvious right move for this team right now. That tells you a lot. Just tells.

You a lot. Right. We're not sure if Kenny Pickett is even going to be available, although there was some hope that he would be. But Tomlin made it clear early in the week that either way, it's going to be Rudolph who got a lot out of... George Pickett is a very talented human, and they're not doing themselves a service if they don't find a way to use him. Rudolph did in a big way. He's not afraid to go down the field. I'm looking forward to those matches.

You're going to get the bad with Pickens. That's just part of the DNA here. But you might as well get the good while you're at it. They were only getting the bad and not the good. Let the guy make plays, throw it up. It made them, I don't enjoy watching the Steelers. I haven't enjoyed watching the Steelers for years now. Mostly rooted in the quarterback play, even at the end of the Ben era. That was at least a compelling watchable brand of football where you're getting that physical Steelers defense with an offense that has taken chances and throwing.

The damn ball. Rudolph has more touchdown passes than Kenny Pickett with 13 fewer games played.

I can't. Yeah, we're going to rush Kenny Pickett back on the field. Can we.

Calm down? I also think it's interesting, like Steeler's fans- Wait, that.

Can't- He has more touchdowns this season? That can't be true.

No, no, no, career-wise. 13 fewer- I was.

Like, You only played that one game.

That's too far. It should be pointed out that Mason Ruboff came into the league in 1996.

But he's been playing 13 fewer games though. 13 fewer games than Picket. I'm not.

Saying like he's had-He didn't come into the league in 1996.

I do find it interesting that Rudolf, like Steelers fans, they adore him to the degree that they do.

He may seem to like him, too.

I mean, if you had to watch some of these guys that have been playing quarterback for the you would probably want the underdog that you think didn't really ever get a fair shake. Although I feel like we watched a lot of Badmason rough football, too. Yeah. But not last week.

What is it? Not last week. But not last week.

No, it was fine. Devon Witherspoon is possibly returning, which would be really big. That benching of Tariq Willen, I think, worked. He had a great game last week. They put him back in the starting lineup. Carroll does have, and I think you see it with the Russ stuff, Carroll does have a way, I think, of giving players, you see it with Gino, a lot confidence and getting the best out of him. They got Witherspoon in that Russell Wilson trade. I do want to see Gino use the middle of the field more. This is a matchup that you can do it. Everything is to the outside. There's so many great Gino throws. He played really well last week, and yet there's such high degree of difficulty. Can we get something over the middle of the field to Smith and Jigba and the tight ends? He's done it before, and they just don't... Compared to almost any team in the league, they just don't do that. You should be able to against this slow Pittsburgh linebackers and what's going on in their secondary.

They're pretty banged up. Kenneth Walker did not practice on Wednesday. Jackson, Smith, and Jigba was limited. Jamal Adams, who feels like a enigma at this point, maybe not really part of the team going forward, also banged up. Jordan Brooks was hurt in that game. Noah Fant. It's that time of year for Seattle, but it's like part of those guys need to be healthy for you to do.

What you just said. Their tackles got worked last week against Tennessee, and that is a big concern against TJ Watt and Highsmith.

Seahawks have a 69 % chance of making the playoffs. Nice. Even if they lose this week, they do get the Cardinals next week, but then you need some things to fall your way. Win this game, 88 % chance of.

Making the dance. Right. In the AFC, a nine-win team at this point is pretty likely to get in, at least some nine-win team. In the NFC, I don't know, you're playing with fire if you get.

That any possible. We do not need Pittsburgh.

All right.

Mark, back to you, buddy.

There is one final late game, but I'm going to take it later under the assumption that you're not going to steal it from me because this is the special week where the NFL has created a scenario where we'll each be watching three games a piece in the early window. I'm going to take my final one, which is Arizona at Philadelphia. Similar situation. I want to see these best teams in the conference. Show me that they're still going to battle down to the end.

You're hunting for blowouts. That's what you're doing.

That is exactly what I'm doing.

You got the snifer. You're in the sixth.

Floor of the book repository right now.

I tried to dress it up in a different way, but you saw right through that. That's what I'm looking for. If you're going to do three, two of them better be easy narratives. Let's go with that.

That's why you drafted 49ers.

You want to take that purdy victory rat lap on Sunday after waxing the worst secondary in.

The game. Well, I do feel that way.

He is the best player in the league again.

I do feel that way.

Here comes. Everybody get ready.

But you could say The Eagles. There is a fair amount of intrigue around The Eagles because it's like the whole Matt Patricia thing, the whole the fact that AJ Brown at times, is from this offense that Jalen Hertz essentially leads the league in turnovers from the pocket. I think he's an interesting study because he made this huge leap last year where it's like, Oh, that's what we just expected Justin Fields to do this year. Well, that's not how it works. But Jail and Hertz has taken a big step back, and I think that their coaching, their coordinator shifts have made a major difference to that team. They feel like on the brink where there's just this like, the Eagles front office ownership, everything on down was the most consistent, trustable team out there, like the NFC's version of the Ravens almost. In the last Fortnite, everything feels different. It's like, are they on the precipice of implosion if they have another bad performance? Arizona is probably not going to go do that. I want a little spice here with Kyler Murray, but it's like, this is probably a home run for the Eagles. But if anything went south, I want to watch it because I think things get really interesting for a team that's hanging in a.

Weird place right now. It would sting to lose to Jonathan Gennon. It's a big Jonathan Gennon revenge. Now people say revenge. He was a help them get to the Super Bowl. But his whole controversy of how he left in the interviews and the process of that, that all led to Sean Desai getting hired and that didn't work. It all didn't leave them in a good spot. Not the guy. I mean, Jalen Hertz, I think, is coming off one of his best games of the year. I think he's had a very good season. To me, a fourth year player that he hasn't as good as last year, obviously. Very good. Yes, I think he's been a top seven or eight quarterback in the NFL for whereas his development to me, is totally fair. It's the other stuff around them to me that's been more disappointing, namely the defense. The most controversial thing I feel like that happened in the Eagles lately is they're benching Jalen Carter. Maybe didn't have the greatest effort on some plays last week, played 21 snaps. It's weird that no, that hasn't been.

Talked about a lot.

That feels chaotic to me. They just need to get back to running the ball. It was a great, swift game last week. I think you can run it down the Cardinale's throat.

Interesting about Carter. We can see poems, written Mark, about him earlier in the year, and also a guy that came into the league with some question marks about character and things of that nature. Let's see what's going on with him.

Yeah, I think it might just be he never had many snaps in college, neither did Jordan Davis. He's just wearing down and they're trying to save him a little bit for the playoffs because he is running out of gas.

Man, I feel him. I feel that.

Eagle is favored by 11, -600. You get Joe Davis and Darryl Johnston on the call. Pay him, Oliver. How about that?

Big victory for me. Good team. From a broadcasting standpoint.

Greg, you're up.

Let's go. I don't know what you said to me, but I'm going to assume you want me to go next.

I said, Greg, you're up.

Okay. Let's do...

Greg, you're up.

-panthers, Jaguars. How about that?

Okay. Are you all right?

No, I just didn't. Sometimes you have voices in your head. It's all fine. Panthers, Jaguars. Can the Jaguars complete this collapse?

I feel like you're rooting for that. Am I wrong? I sense that.

I thought that they weren't good all year. Just before the season, I did not have them as a playoff team. I am surprised. But that.

Would make you look very smart if they end up.

Face playing. Nobody's going to remember anything. Everyone. None of it. I picked the Chargers to make the Super Bowl.

None of it matters. You didn't need to say that.

Yeah, but nobody cares. That's one thing you've learned. You get older, literally no one's going to care about your predictions, right?

Who did you pick to win the biggest award, individual award? What do.

They call that again? We can't discuss that.

Well, I can't. I actually don't remember. You guys can discuss that. Do you remember?

I don't remember. I think I picked my homes. I know. We're going to revisit all that stuff at the end of the regular season. I think I.

Did, too. No Trev potentially in this game, but he is. He did speak with the media, so I think he's probably going to play. He's come up with a new injury every week. He's just had this terrible luck where he's played every game. It feels like he's missed games. He feels gone. He's not finished three in a row, right?

Yeah, in his last four games, he's had a high ankle sprain that looked terrible when it happened. He's had a concussion and a shoulder injury.

Quick recap, Eric. The last three games for Trevor. Okay, here's game one.

Game.

Two. Game three. He go. I don't even know if that's true.

I think you're close. Well, in terms of leaving the game, yeah. You're close. It sounds like you will play. I don't know what to put on his injuries because he had seven or eight dimes in that game against the... Yeah, but- Big time player. -i don't know what to think about it because he had a bad game because he made so many poor decisions and turned the ball over. But if you made a list of the best throws in that game, he had more great throws than Baker Mayfield. I have a hard time saying like, well, because of the injury. Mark's here. I just mean that like...

I don't need to be protected in.

That front. These things are confusing. It's the defense, the offensive line, everything is collapsing around them. Bryce Young playing a little better. Good. Wow. Go win this game. That's exactly what we need. Go win this game and get out of that one seed maybe. One kick.

Greggy.

All right. What else is left?

I think we could talk about a certain quarter.

All right, let's go Chargers.

Broncos. Isn't that the only late game that I was telling you not to play?

What's a Shuck Game, anyway? -negative 185, -Three and a half.

I'm going to do four one o'clock games if you're on the screen.

We can switch it around. We can get it.

Sounds absurd.

You got your ass. I don't know. I just listened to the host here. He said, Let's talk Russ. I figured that.

Feels like a good time to talk Russ. I don't know.

What a...

You're going to talk to you about it in four minutes.

What a weird 24 hours it's been since the report came out. Initially that like, Oh, they might be going.

To-the whole nation is dealing.

With it. Then 30 minutes later, they are benching Russell Wilson for Jared Stidham. Even though the Broncos have a chance to make the playoffs here, if they win out, they got a shot to make it. I believed Sean Payne, and when he says he admitted that the finances are part of it-.

Always a mistake to.

Start a sentence there. Right, that's a fair point. That's a fair point. I really stepped into it. Where he says the finances are part of it. They're trying to avoid Russell Wilson getting hurt potentially and then being on the hook for all this guaranteed money. But obviously they didn't do it until this week. Until this week, they decided it was worth keeping playing him. Actually, we'd like to see Jared Stidham because we gave him this big contract and we don't think it's going to be some big drop-off. Maybe he'll be better, maybe he'll be worse, and that it's the combination of Russell Wilson's play and the contract. Russell Wilson, you can is putting out all this stuff through his sources that say it's all about the contract. No, it's a combination. If Russell Wilson was balling out and it wasn't coming off one of the worst games of his season, I don't think he would be benched right now.

It's God's plan. Two things. I find it to be refreshing. There's a team at the bottom of the A-C playoff race that's like, We're not kidding ourselves here. We could ride with Russ and risk the financial side to try to get in the playoffs and maybe we'll make some... No, we're already looking ahead to the future of this franchise. I think an old Greg-ism, Greg-y, it's like two things can be true. Russell Wilson is a Dalton line level quarterback at this point. He's not a terrible quarterback, but he's in that soft underbelly. Where would you put him? I don't know, like 14 to 17 in that range. What does not work is to pay a Dalton line quarterback like a superstar, especially when there are risks of guaranteeing money for a quarterback. You've now decided with new leadership this year, Okay, we tried it out for a year. We're moving forward. It all makes sense. Now, Denver just has to eat all the poop and it's unprecedented. Almost levels of financial penalties they're going to incur here to move on from Russ. But still, you got to do it because you did try this year.

I think they did a good job in having patience waiting this long to see if this is a marriage to make work because of the money. It didn't work and they're moving on and I think it makes sense.

I think in theory, you would say that the best possible avenue he could have had to save his career was under Sean Payden or under a coach like Sean Payton. I love what they're doing.

But it's not even about he needs to save his career because I don't think he's some hopeless cause. He's just a guy at this point.

No, but just coming off of last year, his Bronco's career. The version of him in Dender where he would stay beyond this season. He finished. He's top 10 right now in completion percentage, touchdown, pick ratio, and pass rating. It doesn't look.

It. It's like Lamar. You got to watch the games. Yeah, I think- If you're a nutball, he's never...

But I think people are not watching Bronco's game as well. He's just a disaster because he was that lasher. No, he's not. He's just in the middle of the road, like you're saying. But I'm wondering more of like, if you're the Broncos and if you're Sean Payton, who was clearly told before he took the job, you're not tied to Russell Wilson. You can evaluate and see what you want to do. Why are we keeping the general manager who made this trade? They evaluated, Greg, you were saying you were down on Russell Wilson before that trade ever happened, a season before that trade ever happened. The general manager who has hired to make these kinds of decisions and tangle you financially in a wise way towards a franchise quarterback, made a terrible decision. Other people were seeing that Russell Wilson was not the same player.

Russell Wilson is guaranteed a lot of money next year. People are getting it twisted. It's like, Oh, they're getting out of having to pay him next year. It's like, No, he's actually guaranteed money next year. The extension they signed him to, which to be clear, was in the area of the the homes in Josh' one's type extensives, it hasn't started yet, Dan. It starts next year.

That's wild.

It's totally insane.

It's funny money, Greg. You have it, right? What is it again?

I think in terms of the actual money, it's still over 30 plus that they owe them. But in terms of the dead money, the cap space, it's 85 million. In theory, they could eat it all in one year. I don't think they'll do that. I think they'll-Don't think they're not doing that. -they'll spread it out over too. But it might be... I'm tempting that the Falcons were in a somewhat similar scenario and they decided to eat all of Matt Ryan's money, which was 40 or something in one year, to at least get it off the books because suddenly Russell Wilson's going to cost you 49 million in 2025 on the cap. It's like, Man, maybe we just want to take our medicine. That's why it's one of the worst trades in NFL history because the contract and all the picks that led to Witherspoon and all these picks for Seattle, what a coup.

It was. Just to put that in, it absolutely was. Just to put it in perspective, so if his cap hit is near what did you say, 50.

If they spread it out? If they spread it out, it'll be in the 30s next year and then near 50 in 2025.

The cap, at least this year, and it always creeps up, is 225. That's going to be eating up a large part of their availability. It's a type of move that if you hit on it, and I'll use Stafford again as an example, it opens up your window as a contender for several years. But if it goes the other way, this is a mistake that is going to continue to reverberate for multiple years. I wonder if Sean Payton, and he's not a man that lacks confidence, if he ever truly thought that out and if he's now realizing, Oh, wait, okay, I couldn't fix him. Now look, I'm basically handcuffed in a league where coaches don't usually get more than three years to.

Write a ship. I mean, Sean Payton didn't have a lot of other options.

When he took this guy. When he got huge money.

Right. I mean.

That- I think it was a huge part. I would just say this.

He could have waited it out and eventually.

Found something.

He could have. But are we in an NFL that's so absurd and so ill thinking that another team this offseason is going to convince themselves to bring in Russell Wilson as a starter? If that happens, I lose entire faith in what's happening with the front offices in general.

But here's the thing. Again, I don't think he's bad. Look how many bad quarterbacks are watching.

This year. I know, but then it's just like, what are you saying?

But Russell Wilson getting paid like, I don't know, Gino Smith or something, makes more sense. This is what is outrageous, getting paid like this to play like that.

Right, that does-It.

Will get.

Leveled a little bit. He feels a little awkward, though, as a Teddy Bridgewater type. I'm with you, Mark. I don't think there's going to be a starting job. Maybe once all the chairs stop moving, maybe they'll just be some team that needs them.

The Commanders will.

Like the raiders have done to that. I actually doubt it. This is so ugly, though. Jordan Schultz had this reporting and then it was backed up, I think, by the athletic that the Broncos approached Wilson two days before after their upset of the chief, so just almost two months ago now, late October, and told him they were going to make him inactive if they didn't adjust his contract and defer the injury guarantee that I was talking about. That they threatened him and they got into a major dispute. That the NFL PA got involved in it? Who knows? It's interesting to me that Russell Wilson, his side is clearly putting this out there to make Sean Payton and the Broncos look bad. Sean Payton is very aware of what is happening. These two still have to work together the next couple of weeks. Russell Wilson is going to be the backup this week. That's what Sean Payton said. They're having this source war, and he's basically saying, Sean Payton's a jerk. I shouldn't be benched. I'm going to put this out. Then I'm going to go on Twitter and go on a streak of liking a bunch of tweets from all these accounts.

High school.

I mean, that like, it is 2024. Here are the people, J. F. A. Football, her liked JPA, football, that's one of those terrible ones, fantasy fanatics, he did, which I'd been talking about, liking some other stuff of all putting these out there of how poorly Payton's treating him and how great Russell Wilson is. Then his public statement is that I trust in God. I really think it's interesting because these two guys, Sean Payton and Russell Wilson, few people have tried to manipulate the media through sources to make themselves look better and to get money than these two guys. You know what? It's like my Super Bowl of source-offs.

We have been doing this for a long time. No one gets Greg more, not no one, but top five get Greg fired up. Sean Payton is consistently cemented in the top five. But Russell.

Wilson is up there for the players.

See, I get it.

It's why they were yelling at each other. They're two alike.

I also find football the Twitterverse to be exhausting sometimes because it's the.

Truth, Michael, that.

We're always talking about how the owners have too much power and the players, we should always side with players. This thing that's happening, but then it depends on the player. Russell is not an overly popular guy. All of a sudden we're not saying he's being done dirty.

But he is being done dirty. I think that is the thing. I think it's working, what he's doing.

But just like Derek Carr, this, I think, is an unfair loophole. I'll call it the car clause because it happened with him with the Raiders last year, that you sign a certain deal that you expect to protect you, and then they use it against you. In this case, you hold him, put a gun to his head and say, Unless you change your contract, we're going to end your career here and bend your ass.

But here's the thing, they didn't. That's why the reporting- But they did. -but they didn't for two more months, so they didn't actually do it. That needed a little pushback in terms of their point. It's like, okay, they threatened that they were going to do that, and they didn't do it. They waited.

Until he played himself off the team. But context matters, too. That was at the point of the season where things were going really well?

No, it was when they were three and five and they said they were going to bench him right then. You said it was.

After the Chief's upset?

Yes, but they were three and five at.

That point. Okay, well, they had turned the corner after a terrible start. Where were they? They were one and four, right?

They were one and four and then they were one and five. I think they had.

One, two, something. One and five. At that point in the season, things were turning over. I'm just saying sometimes it's like, where do we choose when to side with ownership and when do we side.

With the player? Also, it's not Russell is not being thrown into the breadline where he has to get a job at CVS next week. It's like.

He's making-Okay, if you want to put it through that lens, what are we talking about?

Anything. I am? Well, that's a fair question.

This is what they're in the house. That's how that.

Sausage gets made. He's an incredibly disappointing quarterback for what they thought they were getting. Now we're talking how the.

Sausage gets made.

It's a disaster and he's still making an incredible... He's making way more money than he deserves for what he's given them.

This was one where he's doing the PR thing and it's working. Everyone does. But if we're.

Going to kill Sean Payton, Russell Wilson is equally tedious.

I think Sean Payton needs to handle that.

Better handle. Greg, almost every big name player has representation that works for them. When these crises happen, there's spin and it's part of the game.

Absolutely. But I think it's fair to look at these two guys, Sean Payton and Russell Wilson, and say they've gone above and beyond. Listen, I'm not talking about Sean Payton.

I'm not talking.

About that guy.

That guy is a whole other category.

He's actually been quiet here because I think he knows. I mean, end up with the slogans, Russell Wilson.

I mean, enough with the slogans, Russell Wilson.

All right, let's move on.

All right, let's see. Anything about that game? No, we're good. Mark.

All right, I'm going to take my fourth early game because at this point, someone just find an offer for a firearm and take me out.

What does it matter?

I'll take whatever. But I'm.

Going to.

Tennessee at Houston. Speaking of putting in perspective, you're watching.

Football for a.

Living, Cessler. Tennessee at Houston.

I actually- Wait, but you just took game, so that's not a fourth.

I know what I'm doing.

Old Kaiser-Sauze.

Over there. But you can't have it both ways. You can't say- Greg, I can have it both ways. -i can have it both ways. -i'd be put upon and.

Then do a sneaky thing. You have it both ways like 25 times a shot. I'll have it.

Both ways. I'm happy to take the game from you.

I'm not going to get thrown better. I am happy to take it for myself. In the nick of time, CJ Straud, who practiced, is returning. I found that so depressing for the Texans, who were one of the best stories around to lose this quarterback. This is such a winnable division. The version that we got of CJ Strowd and the Texans are the team I want to win this division. Enough with everyone else. Give me a break. When you look back at the first matchup, one thing stands out to me is that Derrick Henry had 16 carries for nine yards and four receptions for one yard. Historically, you have to go back deep in time to find a player that had 20 offensive touchdowns or 20 offensive touches with 10 scrimmage yards. That's never happened in the Super Bowl era. If you can nullify Derrick Henry, and it sounds like Will Levis is going to come back potentially, but it's like, This is somewhat of a dead offense. Go take care of business, Houston. Win this game. You got throwed back in the lineup. This is the most intriguing team in the A. O. C. South if he's performing the way that we know, and especially if you get guys like Will Anderson and the rest down the stretch back as well.

This is a well-coached team, Coach of the Year potential. I want to see Houston in the playoffs start right here.

Yeah, I'm with you.

They would be-We're giving up five and a half points.

Yeah, they are a favorite here. I guess that's assuming. Well, they should be. Minus 255, it's probably Levis. It's probably the last two games of Derrick Henry's career, according to Derrick Henry in Tennessee, that's interesting. He was talking about he sees where it's going and he wanted to play for one team, but it's just probably not going to happen. Tajay Spears, being fantastic is part of that. Kind of shows you the limitations of a great backfield. I would put them in the top three, four backfields in the NFL and really doesn't matter that much for them.

Well, there's nothing else happening with that offense, too. It can't be just that.

Cj being back, Blake Cashman being back, but might not have Anderson or Grenard, which is what made this defense special. The Texans are definitely capable of losing this game, too. They're not some juggernaut. Stroud was struggling a little bit before the injury, too, and now has missed a couple of weeks. I'm with you, Mark. I really hope they win and find a way in.

All right, up next. Am I going to have five games?

We'll all end up with the exact same game. That's why it was not worth getting worked up. We each have three. We'll each have three. It's very easy.

There's no other show like this where we're consistently complaining about what.

We have to do. This is wild. We got five.

No, has that happened this year?

No, I think we were getting killed with that early slate situation.

All right, I got New England at Buffalo, and it is Buffalo. We got a college spread here. They're given 13 and a half.

That is absurd to me.

Is it, though?

Is it how the Patriots' defense is played?

The idea here, and I am fully on board with it, is that the Buffalo Bills are at home in a have to have it game. This is not a trap game. This is the Bills know they cannot mess around here, and they know they got the Dolphins next week. They survived that little slip up against the Chargers. They had that type of game and they got away with it after finding ways to lose earlier in the season. The idea here is, I get it, Belichick and the defense has been competitive this year, but the Bills, when they are operating at a high level at home, I could just see them going off here. I think the spread actually is fair. I think the the Bills are the great mystery to me of the season. No one, it can't bring it up. But certain things, that hardware that's handed out at award shows, Josh Allen truly was the big winner last week because all of a sudden, he could be in that conversation with a strong finish. But they got to get to the playoffs first and they got to win these games. So it's all in front of the bills.

They could be in two weeks time, they could be the most disappointing team in football this year, and really the most disappointing team in the last couple of years, I think, in the NFL. If this thing went a certain way and they missed the dance.

Or they.

Can go in like a house on fire and the team that people are picking to go to the Super Bowl and it wouldn't seem crazy. A lot to be figured out around Buffalo right now.

I think it's a huge difference to win the division, and we'll get to that. They have to hope the Dolphins lose this week to get there. But it's such a huge difference. I think even going in as a two or three seed and going in as a six or seven, it's just so hard to be the six or seven. They're playing a team that handled them earlier in the year. Certainly, Mac Jones is best game of the year. He's long gone. Bailey Zappi is coming off his best game of the year. This defense, still not consistent to Bill's defense and don't have a consistent enough pass. Van Miller, what a disastrous season he's had with the arrest. But for the Bills, I don't think it's coming. He just isn't going to make an impact. You need your offense to score 30, 40 points. You used to do that reliably against the Patriots defense, and I tend to think you're right, Dan, that they can do it again. It's to say, Patriots defense is good, but let's get carried away. They're a good defense. They're not an unstoppable defense. They can still give up two 90-yard drives to Russell Wilson in a big spot when.

It matters. No, I'm not saying that there's something that special about their defense, but it's been consistent. It's been pretty consistent. The Bills under McDermott, I think these things matter. They're 17 and two in December and January regular-season play. They close seasons well. I think they understand through all the chaos that's unfurled inside and outside the building. It's been a weird year. Last year was a weird year for the Bills. Two years in a row in a weird way. They have to take care of business and they will. There's no reason to expect... There's no element to New England that suggests an upset. Ramondre Stevenson has been put on IR. I think they looked explosive on offense against the Broncos for the first time in a thousand eons. Do I trust that that's who they are for the next two weeks? No.

No. The money line is pretty wild here. Minus 800. At least Christian Barmore is playing a standout defensive. Very good. I always believed in that guy. We have three sacks in that game. Three sacks last week. That's really been great for the second half of the season. At least there's one nice young player. They have none. They have so few.

They've got a lot of work to do.

He is won.

He is won. It's going to be a vitally important draft coming up. Who's going to be in charge of that draft? We don't know a great stat here from the research team. We'll go out on this with this game. With a win versus the Pats in week 17, the Bills will have 10 wins or more for the fifth straight season. Roberts, how old are you? How old are you, Eric Roberts?

I actually just turned.

32 years old. Happy birthday, baby boy. That's right, happy birthday.

Sweet. Thank you. A young-looking throw.

Our beautiful mustachio boy, Eric Roberts, is 32. The end of his 20s, early 30s, he's known nothing but 10 win seasons or more. Buffalo for all the other years, pretty much, of Eric's life, for most of them, had zero such seasons of 10+ wins from 2000 to 2018. Sean McDermott, much maligned in certain corners of the blogosphere. No one even remembers that. He arrived in 2017. Do the math. He's been part of the rise.

Guys, my niece and nephew only know Josh Allen.

There you go.

What a life.

Yeah, it's nice. I'll tell you what I know. I know pain.

I want to tell you one thing about Eric. I went to my desk.

Yes.

I'm sure this occurred to, if it happened to only me, that would be very noticeable. But a really nice Christmas card from Eric, handwritten. Who's doing that anymore? My grandmother is the last person that sent me things like that.

The great Sean Kelly also was sent to me. Sean Kelly is absolutely. That's very nice, Eric.

You guys all should have gotten a note, if not.

That would be awesome if.

You only said to one. I took theirs to compare what you said to me versus them.

All right. I've not been to my desk this week. I'm just going to come.

Straight here. I'll be checking in on that and reading it closely to see if there's any differences in the letters. That goes back to me, and I guess I'm going to toss this over to Cess Dog. Enjoy the Falcons and the bears.

No, I think it's me. We'll figure it all out afterwards.

That's not where it's going. It's not going in my direction.

I'm throwing this hot potato to somebody.

You're not throwing it to me.

Falcons at there is the Falcons keeping their playoff hopes alive just barely with that win over the Colts, a decisive win. You know what, Greg? It's like if you're going to ask me to try to figure out what version of the Falcons we're going to get it this week, you're going to the wrong guy. I don't think anybody really knows. But they have an opponent that also is a bit of a hard team to decipher right now. This could be a close game. It could go in a lot of different directions.

Put it that way. It does feel like a bit of a coach off, like a hot seat off. Next week's Falcon Saints feels possibly like a loser getser, loses their job potentially. If the Falcons won these two weeks, they have a reasonable chance to make it either as the division winner or the wildcard. Almost 50-50, about 38 % chance if they won both of them. It's not too late for them to save their job. The Bearers have been the number one defense in EPA per play allowed since week six. How about that? Since week six. That's a pretty long timeline here. I think these games really matter for Hebriflus. If they have the Packers next week, if they could knock out the Packers. If they win these two games, I don't think there's any chance Hebriflus is gone. It does matter for these two.

Coaches, I think. I think if you want to make an argument for Hebriflus, it's like-Hebriflus?

-what he's meant to be good at, they're good at. I would also even say for the front office, the Montez sweat trade wasn't just a Vanity move. It's absolutely worked. He fits into the defense. They've been really good on that side of the ball. I'm looking at the entire league and I'm like, Are the Falcons the most disappointing team in the NFL? Considering what I thought they would be back in August. There's some competition.

How could a team that has Desmond Ritter or the quarterback be the most disappointing team in the NFL?

I thought personally that they were going to do something that got a lot of talk.

Bangles are up there for me.

But Bangles are injury based.

Yeah, but to me, it's not. They were disappointed with Burrow, and I think they'd be disappointed with him still. But you're right. I'd still put the touch. Who would be? It's-patriots are up there. The Bills need to finish strong, but they have a potential to be up there. But you're right, there aren't many-I'm.

Saying for Arthur Smith, it's like, what is your selling point? It's like you're in that world of deep charges. We know what happened to that coach. I'm just saying Arthur Smith's resume here is rough, rugged.

Last test for that runny attack against such a good run defense. It's not a bad game. I'll take it. I'll take it. It's a final chance for the Bear's home favorites, minus three and minus 1.55..

Per Next Gen stats, the Bear is currently less than a 1 % chance to make the playoffs. If they win, though, Greg, in week 17, Chicago's playoffs chances jump to 1 %. It goes from less than 1 % to 1 %.

They will probably be eliminated.

This week. Data point.

What does that mean, though? Artillery would need to fall on four other organizational buildings. How do you get in with a 1 % chance.

To make the playoffs? There is a path.

In the game. Well, yeah, they're not eliminated. They would need a thousand.

-it'd be incredible.

To see. -a lot of things would need to happen here.

All right, anything else?

No, we've said it all.

All right, this.

Is a-We're going to have a 15-minute post-show draft to figure.

Out the draft. A draft after the draft? Yes, that's coming up for us, but that's private, and you don't need to be involved with that. You don't want to be involved with that. But remember, Triple Header, TNF, Browns Jets, Dreamatorium with and Gregie. Where's Mark? Another trip to the stintest. Remember, need that call.