The Playoff Show: NFL Bracket Is Set - Wild Card Picks Are In

missing the point. It's the playoff show. It's no longer the power rankings. The powers have been ranked the ranked. They've been powered. We, we did it. We talked about the NFL for 18 game weeks. Um, my name is Dave Clarke. Some call me DK Sizzle. Mainly just these two guys actually. And Ray, uh, and Craig. I'm here with the Real BK, Bob Kelly. I'm here with, uh, money. Mike, mark Angelo, and we're gonna talk about the playoffs because everyone's seated. Everyone is seated and we are all seated and we're gonna talk about the playoffs because we know who we're playing now. Everybody, it's gonna be so much fun. Before we get to that, I would like to talk about just holistically overall how you guys view this season, because I think, Mike, if I told you that Lamar Jackson was gonna be injured for a bunch of the season and overall it was gonna play terribly, Patrick Mahomes was gonna be injured for a bunch of the season or the end at the end of the season, and overall was not gonna play that well. Trevin Kel was gonna fall off a cliff. A bunch of the teams that were usually used to being good weren't good. If, if I told you Joe Burrow wasn't gonna win more than six games, you would've told me we were gonna in for a pretty shitty NFL season, I imagine. But. I had a great time. I don't know about you. I had a really awesome time watching football. I don't know if that's because the Bears were playing meaningful football every single week for the first time since, since 2018, um, which is a long time ago now. Even if it doesn't seem like it, it's kind of hard to count the years. Um, but that was like pre COVID, like we were all different people. We hadn't even started this show yet. So it might have been that, or, and maybe it's the same as true of you. I, I mean we have this sort of mirrored, these mirrored destinies now, the Bears and the Patriots. I wanna know how you viewed this whole season. I mean, did you have a good time? We had some amazing regular season games this year, and I hope the playoffs can live up to it. Bobby, I'm gonna ask you the same question after, so you don't think about it while Mike answers. What I, what I do like about the NFL. Uh, is that just when you think that you have, uh, what, what, what is the, the Roddy Roddy Piper quote, just when you thought you had all the, the answers. I changed the questions. Wow. I was actually gonna make a rowdy, rowdy Piper reference, uh, today because last night's game was such a winner, uh, loser leaves town match, but I was surprised that a manager didn't get fired. But yeah, please go ahead. But I thought like. I think we all had, yeah, the Broncos being the biggest problem for, uh, the Chiefs coming into the season. don't think we had at 14 and three, right? Like, there were just so many surprises. I love the fact, uh, that Carolina's in the playoffs. I hate that, Hmm. that there's a, a team under 500. But, uh, I, you know, early on in the season, I, I think we all would've said, uh, baker was, he's playing it at MVP Caliber two, and then he just fucking fell off. So I do love that even like some of the bad teams played really great games. Like, you can say whatever you want, but I thought, uh, I think the Giants won healthy next year. If they have like a good Agreed. general manager, they could be a problem. Like, they could Agreed. eight or nine win team, and then we'll see what happens. So I thought it was, I thought it was a great, great fucking year. As always though, as We actually had a good Thursday night game this year, like maybe the best one ever. I mean, it's, it's nuts. Bobby, what'd you think? No, no. Uh, the Seahawk, the Seahawks, uh, what, what was it? The Seahawks. Rams. Yeah. That was like the best Thursday night game of all time. I thought it was exactly what the NFL needed. You know, we come Yeah. two seasons with the chiefs running rampant on the league. You Farmer's League. Yeah. that, you know, they're starting a new dynasty. Then they get blown out in the Super Bowl last year and coming into this year, it's like, okay. Are we really gonna run this shit back again? Is this really what's gonna happen? And the NFL just said, absolutely fucking not. We're throwing everything into a giant ball and we're just spitting teams out, and that's what we got this year. You look, we talked about it last week, the top three seeds and the a FC might be the most surprising top three seeds that I've seen in 10 years with the Broncos, the Patriots, and the Jaguars. Like coming into this season, if you told me those were gonna be our top three seeds coming into the playoffs, there's no fucking way I would've believed you. Um, nfcs a little bit more predictable with like the Rams and the Eagles, but it just, this year just, it seemed like it was exactly what we needed to kind of spin things up in the NFL and, and give us a different taste moving forward. I, I, I really enjoyed this year a lot. Like you said, Yeah. many good games, like so many notable games, like the Bears played some of the best games of the year. thought the, the finale between the Steelers and the Ravens was honestly one of the funnest games I've watched in a long time. It It was awesome. 49 ERs Well, well, I, it was okay. So are you saying that because the last, like the fourth quarter was good because there was moments, there was moments in that Steelers Ravens game where I was like, can we maybe, like, I was like, I am dragging a little bit here because neither quarterback was playing well for like the majority of the game. You know what I mean? But then both of them sort of stepped up and, and made plays. I was thinking a lot about the 2008 season. You guys remember that season? It was the year after, sorry to bring this up, Mike. It was the year after the Giants won the Super Bowl against the Pats and everybody reset the entire NFL reset. And it really reminds me of that. It was the year that, um, the Titans were the number one seed in the A FC, but then they lost to the Ravens in, I think it was the divisional round. And then we got that amazing. Pittsburgh, Arizona Super Bowl where the greatest like end zone corner, end zone catch of all time was canceled out by the other greatest corner end zone catch of all time. And it's like, I mean it, I, I'm just hoping that means that the playoffs sort of live up to how great this regular season was. And I think it will, because I think the reason why we had such a fun regular season was 'cause of the parody. And, and, and every team, and we're gonna go on to discuss this, but every team look up and down the NFC and up and down the a FC, every single team in the playoffs has at some point shown an egregious flaw. There is no chiefs powerhouse. There's no, I mean the, I'd say the, the Patriots are the closest thing we have to a team who basically went out and played. Borderline perfectly for most of the year. I give them a week one Mulligan, because I think you shouldn't, I I never bet on week one because it's a throwaway week. Like it's essentially still the preseason at this point. And they're all aware that they have 17 games to play now. So I don't really count that one in my head. Just to do you a favor, Mike, I'd say the Patriots are the closest. They just have that strength to schedule thing kind of hanging over their head. I said last week on the show, Mike, that Drake Maye was my MVP. Bobby agreed. I, I think the strength to schedule thing's completely fucking overblown. I like to give you guys shit about it. Uh, 'cause it's funny to me, but honestly, just talking seriously here on the show that we do every week, I, I mean, it's silly. Like you, you can. W if the St the 11 game win game Steelers are the best example of the strength of schedule argument, because you can still watch the games and be able to tell whether they're good or not. You know what I mean? Like, I mean, I was blind to it that season and I was also doing a thing, but you could just sort of tell there was huge flaws in that team. And then they obviously completely shit the bed. When you watch the Pats, they, they not only go out and play the teams in front of them, they play them exact, they beat them how they're supposed to beat them, you know? So I I, I don't think that they're gonna go and, and play a really good team in the playoffs and be absolutely shocked. And I don't think they're a team that anybody really wants to see. So with the exception, maybe the Patriots where they have a couple of flaw, I mean, their o line is a little bit of an issue. Every, they all keep choking people in their off time, which I hope doesn't come back to haunt you. But at the end of the day, most of these teams are flaw. yeah. gonna create, I hope, I pray, I don't wanna jinx it. A really great playoff race, a really great run for the entirety of the, of this playoffs. So what I'd like to do is I'd like to go a FC first, um, discuss it team by team. I want to end with the Pats. So in that case, obviously, we'll, we might talk about the Broncos when we, when we move on to the, to future predicting here. 'cause we'll probably go down the list of, of scenarios for the Patriots. All things considered. But let's start with the Steelers playing the Texans. Um, we called the Texans. The team you didn't want to see about three or four weeks ago. I'm not a hundred percent sure. I feel as strongly about that now. I think the Pats didn't really wanna see him, but. After that Baltimore game, are the Steelers just a horseshoe up the ass type team? Are they a, are they a find a way to win, find a way to get in kind of team? I mean, they seem pretty unified at the end. I was listening to some of the, the miked up sound bites between Rogers and Tomlin. Like they seem really on the same page. Everybody seems to really know what they're doing and as much as that is a crazy anemic offense, at times they won enough games and they won that game last night with it. Just, I mean, someone up there likes them. That would be the only explanation that I could possibly have for that. Unless you have some sort of criticism of maybe Harbaugh not throwing the ball one more time, considering they had two timeouts to get them a little bit closer. Um, who you guys got in this matchup? How do you, how do you see it? I'm just trying to find a way to say the Steelers have a chance to win this game, but I, I don't know if that's true. Like maybe you guys are gonna laugh at me. I, I think that, go ahead, Bobby. I, I think that the Steelers, uh, offense matched up against the, uh, Texan defense is a really bad matchup Yeah. Like, it's, it's bad. Um, I think you, you know, you DK is gonna be back though. Yeah. But, uh, Houston has a top five D defense overall. Like they It's true. They are really good. Yeah. Pass rush. if you, if you get to the point where like you have to make Aaron Rogers beat you and, and you still like, couple that with the fact that I think CJ UD and, and the Houston Texas offense can still put up like 24. 26 points. That's gonna be very interesting. Um, because I, I don't, I, I, I know that, that the ravens Oh, and, and cos always play each other tough. But I would, I would say like, listen, the Ravens defense at this point in time is, is nothing on, on the Texans. So they're gonna be, they're gonna be seeing something different. I think you've seen glimpses O of Rogers over the last couple of weeks, especially last night, uh, he made a throw that only hit him. Mahomes and Brady could make that pass of Thelan was, was stupid. Like, it, it, it was ridiculous. And I, and remember I do hate Aaron Rogers. No, me too. The thing is, I like, I still have that same experience watching Aaron Rogers from time to time that I always had, which is like begrudging respect for certain moments. You know what I mean? Like there's like. For instance, and I, I can, I couldn't believe I found myself saying this. It makes me fucking the bile that comes up in my throat when I say it, but I've never seen a quarterback better at the game management aspect of a football game when it comes to snapping the ball, when the, when the other team goes offsides, seeing that there's too many men on the field exploiting sort of any sort, any penalties or personnel mistakes. On, on the other side, realizing he has a knack, I don't know if they practice this, but he has a knack of throwing it to a guy that's getting pied ev like every single time it's happening. Like he sees guys getting, getting kind of tangled up and he is like, oh yeah, they're gonna, they'll throw that flag. It, it's almost like they try to force it. There was a moment with Friar Moth where he, he just already had his hand up in the air. I'm like, you have a hold of him, dude, that's more opi I than anything. I'm like, what are you looking for there? It makes me sort of hate them, um, if they, if they are looking for that kind of stuff, and I bet. He says shit like that, you know? I bet he like, he's that kind of dude. That being said, like, you're right. There's just moments with Aaron Rogers where you're like, fuck man. He's always been able to do that. That's crazy. You know? I didn't think it's great. What gives me a little bit of hope for the Steelers, like I don't think that they're gonna win this game. Judging by the offense that we've seen for most of the season, um, for, from the Steelers and defense are coming up against, like, I really don't think they have a chance. However, that drive Aaron Rogers put together at the ends of that game was literally vintage Darren Rogers. And if he Yep. a couple moments like that, like if that defense can just keep them in that game and we can get a moment at the end of the game, like, like he just had, 'cause clearly he's fucking capable of it. He didn't just have one drive at the end of that Ravens game. He had two, Yeah. like big ball drives at the end of this game, like showing why he's still a hall of famer. So the fact that he still has that in his, in his back pocket just shows me like they can definitely stay in the game. It's just a matter of if they can get over the hump and, and actually take that last drive. I mean, the, obviously I have my own personal beefs with, with Aaron Rogers, and, and it's made it more difficult for me to support my wife's endeavors in, in watching her team, um, do well. But I cannot help but love Cam Hayward. I cannot help but love Alex Highsmith. I, you know, TJ Watt, whatever, you know, like, I just don't know if he's the same guy anymore. But the rest of that defense, I, they're just fun to watch, man. Like, they, they really are tough. They're physical. Uh, I love Ramsey. Like he, he's a little bit of a liability in, in coverage at this point, but man, is he a great run. Stop in safety. Is he a great tackling safety still? I just like watching that defense play. I think they're really good. Um, defense can get you outta matchups, like this early wild card matchups. It's gonna be a defensive game. It's really gonna come down. And I'll use this as a segue to talk about the Texans. It's really gonna come down to. What CJ Stroud we get and what the Texans offense really looks like, because I think that they, on that side of the ball, have been a little bit trick or treat not quite as bad as the Steelers. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that they have had a little bit of a stop, stop start issue. I'd bet the under on this game, if I were you guys, um, I would, I would smash the under on this game, but uh, I don't even know what it is and I would fucking smash the under. can't. It can't be more than what, 42 41 It is It's gonna be low 30, 39. 39 and a half smash the under still, even though it's in the thirties, it's smash the under. That's completely fine. It's gonna be, it's gonna be 16, nine, uh, like three, three minutes left in the fourth quarter. So smash the under kids. Um, if you're in elementary school and you're asking, you're thinking to yourself, what do I do over or under smash the under kids on the, on this kind of stuff. Um, alright, uh, let me ask you this then. What do the Steelers have to do to win and does it rely on the offense? Is it, is it gonna be, it's gonna need vintage Aaron Rods or do you think that the, that the defense can just stuff the Texans offense? I think the, uh, the, the I. yes This is my, I keep fucking doing that. I keep not saying a name, and then you guys both start talking. I'm so sorry. I'm gonna, I'm gonna say a name from now on. it's, it's the defense. And Rogers, like I said, it's, it's, if the defense can make the big stops and hold the, I think it's under 20, I'd say 20. If they can hold them under 20 and you can get a vintage Rogers drive at the end of that game, that's the recipe to win this game a hundred percent. I mean, there was a couple of bad, I, no, I, sorry, tk, you should have said your name I don't, this is, this is, this is my fault. I, I, I don't know. I've completely lost control of everything. Go continue, Mike. my thing would be is like the, the sealers defensive line needs to show up for the game. If, if they have, if they have a prayer of winning, like they need to Yeah. to, to stroud a few times and, and get 'em, like, get 'em off his spot is what they always say. Right. But I think if you get to 'em earlier, like that's what we've seen, like the Ravens, when they, when they beat, uh, uh, when they beat him, was it last year or two years ago? They didn't have a good defense, but they were able to scheme it to make it look like they were blitzing every single time. And they got him worried. And I think CJ Rad is one of those guys that if you show him enough blitz looks, he's gonna get a little, uh, trigger happy. And that's when a mistake will be made. And Yeah, I mean, I was. couple weeks, Rogers just needs two drives. That's it. Yeah, I was so impressed with the four man rush of the Steelers last night. Like I really was like, cam Hayward has this sort of power rushing ability where he, he's coming for the quarterback and he'll just take the offensive lineman with him. You know what I mean? Like he just, he just shoves him backwards. It's like this, this kind of crazy amalgamation of the two styles of pass rushing, right? Because on the edge, whichever side that watts on, because obviously they move 'em around with, which everybody does, with all the elite pass rushers at this point to throw different looks. But whichever side watts on, they have this really finesse outside rush for the qb. And then they have this like, power through the middle situation going on. And it's just like, man, I mean, they're, they're scary to play at this point and they seem to have ramped up and they seem to be getting healthier. Um, that being said, I see it both ways, right? Like it's, it's such a hard game to call because. Y you, you simultaneously needed Lamar to make like two of the best passes of the entire season. Two of the best plays, I should say, of the entire season when he like slips outta that sack like signal calls, uh, za flowers to run down the field and then steps up and, and throws a dot, right? Like, that's just like, that felt, that looked like a college play. But at the same time, you also need like the horseshoe up their ass Steelers to blown coverage. At one point, the two best, uh, defensive backs on the field like run into each other, like Batman villains. And they both, they both end up in the blue tent for the last drive, which is, I mean, a, a crazy stroke of luck. Um, the, the, uh, cornerback eat shit for that Calvin Austin easy tudy at the end for Rogers. I mean, I know Rogers still has to see it and like lay it out, but he was completely by himself running up because of a slip, right? So, and then of course they needed a guy who was pretty automatic from that range. To miss a kick. And I know it's a notoriously bad place to kick. And I was saying at the time, like, if I'm Harbaugh, you have the second time out. I think the NFL Gods hate it when you don't take that risk and it's not even that much of a risk. Just try to get 10 more yards and call it time out. You have what, what was it, 12 to 15 seconds left on the clock. You take the time out. Then they, then they just like ran it, stopped the clock with two seconds left, kicked, kicked. The field goal missed. You gotta try to get him 10 yards closer. You gotta make it a true chip shot in, in my opinion, because it's a, he's a rookie. It's a really, really tough place to kick. He has missed one, albeit from 50 plus, but he has missed one already that day. And something's in the air about kicking because Boswell just missed the extra point like a second ago. So something's in the air. I also have a theory, and I don't know because this is the first season of kicking balls, but that looked like a throwing ball to me that he kicked when I was watching the, the replay. It looked like, 'cause isn't, aren't the kicking balls like new? Like, that's the whole thing about them. Like they're, they're, they're not weathered at all. And it looked to me like an old, it just looked like it had that like Tom Brady Air shine on it. I, I, I just, I, it might be a conspiracy theory, but I mean, if we're doing conspiracy theories at all, the fucking referees in the Bucs Pans game when it was obviously there to make another interesting game at the Atlanta game the following day, are calling the most egregious plays against the Panthers in order to make it interesting. The following day when, uh, when the Falcons play the Saints, I, I'm like, I'm not trying to put my tin fo hat on, but this would be the game they try to affect. And it seemed like they did. So I don't know. I don't know, I don't know about kicking balls and, and new special teams rules and bad refereeing and a lot of new additions to the refereeing crew this year. But I don't know if you're Harbaugh, you go, you go 10 more yards there, right? Surely. Yeah, you have to, Yeah. you see that, that, that, uh, the Steeler has hired a priest to come in and spray holy water on that exact end zone Genius. I, I doubt they hired him. He probably came in Bo Pro Bono. It's like pre service is available $50 an hour. He's probably a Steelers fan. You know, he is probably like, oh, just let me in there. I'll, uh, I'll see if the, I'll see if the, the good Lord can help. And I'm not, I'm not flying in the face of that at all because the second, the Pope was from Chicago, the Bears started winning a football game. So, like, I'm not, I'm not looking in, in that, in the face whatsoever. Um, but all that being said, despite the fact that they were lucky to get in, my overall opinion, and it seems like you guys think it's a possibility, is that, I mean, they, they're probably the team you wanted the most in the CFC selection, but still, still, still the Steelers, right? Yep. Yeah. So in, in there they had three losses where they scored one touchdown in each game and the three game winning streak. This past, uh, couple weeks, they had 10 touchdowns in those three games. So it really just depends on Not great. what Steeler team you're getting, you know what I mean? Because it really is Jekyll and Hyde. I think DK Metcalf coming back is gonna help them, obviously. Would, would you feel, I mean, I know they lost, so it doesn't matter really, but would you feel like Baltimore had a better chance? Yeah. I guess Like if you're, if you're the, if you're the Texans, you're happier, you're happy with the outcome last night? I mean, wouldn't you be, I mean, I mean, I think Will Anderson, uh, is gonna be able to track down Eric Rogers a little bit better than Mar Jackson. So. Mm-hmm. Yeah, but I, I do think that, uh, the, the defensive capabilities of Pittsburgh far outweigh what whatever, uh, uh, would agree with that too. Yeah. up. Right? So I think, yeah, offensively I'd pro I'd probably rather play the Ravens, uh, if I, if I'm CJ Raub. But I don't know. I think, I think it's, I think either, uh, a SC North team is one and done. Yeah. Also it's in, oh God, what the hell do they call it? Uh, Heinz Field now. Acrisure, Acrisure Stadium. So that's, I mean, that's just a tough place to go. That's always been notoriously been a tough place to go. So I mean, we'll see, we'll see what this Texas squad is really made of, but they can't really afford to be a one and done team this year, in my opinion. Like I, I think that their window has been open for two seasons now and like when, whether that's because they were a little ahead of schedule, that's just the curse of being ahead of schedule. You know, like the, your window's open. I know you're an a FC South team, so that means like you can probably take a little extra time. Um, no one around you is really probably gonna rise up anytime soon. But maybe I, stranger things have happened. Um. I guess we'll see. I guess we'll see. One thing we do know, ladies and gentlemen, is it's gonna be a fucking ugly game of football. It is. It is not gonna be pretty. Uh, so let's see, let's see if that, if that defensive. is the first game. Yeah. Uh, no, because the Carolina Panthers are, are, are coming up. We, we have to talk about that shortly. So let's, let's, let's pump the brakes on, on declaring that. We'll, we'll circle back around, um, the Jags and the Bills. I mean, this is an incredibly interesting game. Mike, have you been on since we Yeah. You have, you've been on once or twice since we embarrassed and crossed them off and then had to sort of own up for it. They're now the, uh, they're now at home playing the bills in the first round of the playoffs. Liam Cohen, possibly winning Coach of the year. Trevor Lawrence. I mean, listen, you were right with that take about the Jags until you weren't. It's one of those things, right? It's if Liam Cohen doesn't come in and perform essentially. A top three, if not top one coaching performance across the course of this season. He and revived tr Trevor Lawrence's career, calling him a bust wasn't completely outta the realm of, of sanity, right? S what? That being said, you are gonna sit there with a very smoke smile on your face if they get bounced out by the Buffalo Bills in the first round, even though the Buffalo Bills are a good team. I'd love to know, Mike, how you see this game going. What kind of Trevor Lawrence performance do you anticipate and which team you'd like to see come outta this, considering your team as an a FC playoff team that has to play the bills twice a year and you have this take about the Jags, I mean, are you still like, fuck it, I wanna see the Jags, like take care of the bills for us or, and what do you think is gonna happen? What do you want to happen, I guess is my question? So I think the Jaguars are gonna win this game. Oh my god. Hot Take alert. I, because I just always had this flashback to, was it 2018 or 2017 when the Jags were really good? We, and the Pats played the game and they beat Buffalo in the playoffs, like ten nine. Like, I just, I don't believe in Shawne McDermott. don't. I think he is their biggest liability. Um, and I, I think everyone is expecting, was, it was 2018. You beat him 24 20 Was it in the conference. 10, it wasn't ten nine. Was there another ten nine playoff game between those two? I think there was. It was, I was, it was it? I, I remember one in like 2003. Josh Allen was the quarterback. Oh, oh, I see. I'm sorry. I thought you meant Jags. Pats. Oh, no, no, no. Uh, Jags bills. It's like Jags. Bills. for somewhat whatever reason when, uh, when they go down there, it's just like offense. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's, It was the wild card. It was ten three. You're right. It was the wild card round ten three. You guys did play them that year though. You played 'em in the, in the conference championship. Yeah, yeah. it it's the Jags it God what? Weirdly similar vibes. That very good point. Like the Jags are frisky. Right. And I think reason, like you talked about the synergy between Tomlin and Rogers, like Cohen and Lawrence have that in spades. I know. team believing that that, that there's something that I don't even think that they are. Um, but I want them to beat the bills because again, not a team left, I think in the playoffs. And this isn't a knock on anybody plays better when they're down three touchdowns. And it's not just against the Patriots. Like they don't care about being down and that, that type of shit, uh, that, that type of shit scares me. Hmm. Bobby, what do you think? I. Have the reason for concern, right. Oh no. What is it? yeah. five has Oh, won a road playoff game and now they're going in as the sixth seed and they're gonna have to win road playoff games the entire way to get to the Super Bowl. There's not a goddamn chance Shawne McDermott's good enough coach to do that. You know, like he's really not. he's, he's just not, there's, there's not a chance he's gonna be able to run the gauntlet of the a FC with the teams they're gonna have to play and win all those games on the road. The only way that happens is if Josh Allen plays out of his goddamn mind. That is the only way That's completely possible for the record. it is very possible. A hundred percent. I do agree though that I think the Jaguars are also good one this game. I really do. Um, I just think the bills haven't been consistent in so long You guys are both picking the home dog, by the way? I like it. Yep. look Yeah. go with the home dogs, especially in the playoffs. but. I, I can't wait to talk about that a little later. The little team in Chicago, but Okay, great. Um, yeah, I mean it really, obviously it comes down to Alan, but I think if Trevor Lawrence can play turnover free football like he has for the last half of the season, right. Ever since they got Jakobi Myers, essentially he's been a Yeah. quarterback. 'cause Brian Thomas has moved in into a different spot. They've really figured out how to use him. Um, it it, it's been much different since they got Jacob Myers, which is crazy 'cause you wouldn't think he'd be such a big difference maker. But he really has been. Um, if, if, if he plays the consistent football like he has been for the past month, month and a half, I really think the Jaguar's gonna win this game. I do, I mean, on top of that, they have some of the best pass rush in the league right now. Who? Josh Hines? Allen and Val Walker. So I, I just think these, these two teams are very evenly matched, but I think the jacks come out on top. I really do. To your guys' point, uh, just as far as if we're doing statistical matchups, the run game of the bills, which I will readily admit is a big part of when they win games. I think when Cook is playing well, they are almost certainly gonna win. That just seems to be the case. If you can stop the run against the bills, you can start to build a platform to beat them. The Jags are number four. And stopping the run. I think that's a pretty big deal. On the other hand, I don't know how much you guys put weather into account when it's warm weather, but the bills have played in cold weather every week since week 13. They get a warm weather game. Now when that happens to teams, it's like you've been walking around with ankle weights and all of a sudden you can fly. I really think it's a tough game to call. It's another game that we're, that we're talking about at the playoffs. That's a tough game to call. I, I kind of feel like it's gonna be a blowout one way or the other. It's gonna be like a kind of a surprise blowout. One way or the other. You're gonna look and be like, oh shit, they're up four scores and I don't know who they're gonna be. I really honestly don't. If it's the bills, I think the Jags might be able to mount to comeback. To Mike's point earlier, if it's the Jags, I think. It's gonna be a long day. It's gonna be a real long day. I don't know why. I just think there's gonna be a lot of scores in this game and I, I just kind of have this gut feeling it's gonna be for one team. Because what happens if, if the bills just get absolutely destroyed, what happens if they get fucked up with the, a added context of Drake Maye coming into that division and Este establishing himself himself as a top three quarterback, if not top one this season. We'll see how the voting goes with Alan's window then looking like, damn, that was your best shot. And you didn't lose to Drake Maye in the playoffs, and you didn't lose to Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs. You didn't lose to Joe Burrow in the playoffs. You lost a fucking Trevor Lawrence. I think it's gonna be bad. I, I think that, I don't know if it's gonna be fair to do that to him, 'cause I think he's gonna come back and the bills are gonna be a good team again next year. But I think a head's gonna have to roll if something like that happens. If it's a close game, we'll see. We'll see. I think the best. if, if you're the bills, you need to blow this team out. I know, that's what I'm saying. it. You have to do it. Yeah. You have to scare everybody in the rest of the playoffs. You have the bills have to come out and really show something they haven't shown since what week 10. But they've shown it, you know, they've been that team at times. They've been a really scary offense and a, and a fairly competent defense to, to, they've been balanced as hell at times. And then shit just starts to look weird from time to time. And I can only ever blame that on the coach. Like I just can't help it. Um, also his face, you know, this is, it's been the same thing for literally the last four or five years it's been elite team. We get into the playoffs and they shut the bed down the stretch because of shitty coaching decisions. It's happened multiple times now, I mean, I just think this is, the air finally hits tell me multiple times to them. Right. That's what I mean to them specifically. Yeah. Um, since week 12, EPA, I don't know how much you put. Credit on this, but I, I tend to not talk about it, but I do think it matters when you're talking about playoff matchups, quarterback to quarterback since week 12, statistically Trevor Lawrence has been a better quarterback than Josh Allen just saying, says, oh, that one, oh, I did not see this coming. Obviously we crossed them off for God sake. lose that game, you have to fire McDermott like right after the game. Yeah, yeah. has to You got you. I don't even know if you fire him. I think you like fucking smash his windshield. I think, I think you, I think you've run him outta Buffalo. Like I think you send movers to his house at that point. New stadium, new coach like you. You just have to clear it Yeah. And like, I mean, come on. Obviously like when you're talking about Harbaugh and the Ravens and you're starting to have these conversations of like, oh man, like Lamar hasn't looked good since he's come back from injury. Like he hasn't looked like Lamar is, are they gonna move on from Lamar? Are they gonna move on from Harbaugh? Are they gonna move on from, you know, that's a legitimate question, right? I mean, I think it would be ridiculous. I think it would be absurd for them to get rid of Lamar Jackson, but. Because you gotta see, you gotta really see if his production's fully dropped off or not. But it's a legitimate question. You're not fucking moving on from Josh Allen at this point. No, not after the season. He had this year and last year and the year before. You gotta move on from McDermott at that point. The problem is, there were another one of those teams that I think Mike we're lucky. We, we had the coaching sweepstakes last year. You know, we, we had the, the, the two best guys. Two of the best guys were available last year, and they became two of the best guys over the course of the season. And we got 'em. And we knew there was a lot of really great coaches available this season. I mean, I don't know, are you hiring Cliff Kingsbury? I don't. You know what I mean? It's, it's another one of those off seasons. We'll, we'll have to see. not, not to go down that rabbit hole, but I would strongly take a look at Kevin Stefanski because you already have a quarterback you can't fuck around with it, and he is a quarterback whisperer. Yeah, that's an interesting point. Um, somebody's gonna hire Matt Naggy and don't do that. Guys don't do that. It's not. Learn from the cowboys. Defensive coordinator, mistakes. Don't hire old coaches, Yeah. Don't, don't, just don't. Um, yeah, don't, don't hire any Bears coaches. Just take a look at all the Bears coaches right now, and don't even look at them again. Just leave all of them well enough alone. Eric Bmy is staying right where he is. Like, don't even worry about that. He's, he's doing just fine in Chicago, but, all right. Uh, you guys both think the Jags are gonna win. I think the bills are gonna win. To be totally honest with you, I, uh. crazy about the bills right now though is they still have, I think it's the fourth highest odds to win the Super Bowl as the succeed in a Yeah, they're still sick. They're still sick. It's it, we're, we're, we're falling into this, we're falling into this trap that we always fall into where it's like they looked a little weird from time to time and their production dropped off towards the end of the season, which I know can mean something, but it doesn't, it also, it it might not. Like they're still really good. I don't, I, Josh Allen's really good at football. I don't, I, I know that we've spent the last three weeks talking about Matt staff versus his Drake Maye, which is a completely viable conversation. And I think that those are the top two guys. Like, I think that tho that is the MVP conversation at the moment, but Josh Allen's better than 27 guys in the league, like, nailed on, like, no question about it. So I, I don't, I if, and that's being generous to, to the league to be honest. So I don't know. I, I'm just, I, I think the smart money's on Buffalo. I, I, I think it's closer than I would've thought it would be. Four weeks ago, even three weeks ago even. But nah, I'm going with Buffalo. Um, but what about the want question, Mike, as a Patriots fan, do you want the Jags to beat the bills? You've beaten 'em already this year, the bills, you know, Yeah. But I think, and you were fucking 'em up in the game that you lost. You might want that back. I, I, I still think if you bring Trevor Lawrence up to a cold weather, uh, a part of the area in, you know, in January that he's gonna fuck it up. I just do. Um, would love to see him in a snow game in the playoffs. That would be so fun. like, would love to see him against a Mike Vrabel Patriots. And like in the snow, in that day in Gillette, that would be an all time meltdown. Like you could, your take would just come back up to life. Like when Tyson Fury stood back up, when Deontay Wilder knocked him out. It's like, it'd be like the undertaker. It's just like, Mike's take, Mike's Jags, Trevor Lawrence take just resurrected from the dead, like the middle of the thriller video. I love it. and listen, uh, I, I, I do fear the bills for the same reasons that most people in the NFC fear the Rams. It's just And you split with 'em this year and you're beating their ass for the, for the whole first part of the second game. right. And we split with them. So Hm. Like, we, we But you sh But you know, you can, didn't you say this to me last week, Bobby? You know, you can, you know, you can get a score on them, you know? can hang 21 points on them Yeah. and five straight drives, they'll erase it. Surely you're not gonna fucking make that same mistake twice. You gotta learn from that. it that's, listen, that's the bill's most impressive win in the last two months. It was a game. They were down by 21 points But it happened. won. did happen. But it's like when you look at the other teams that are hot in the a FC right now, the Broncos haven't lost. I think they lost one game since what? September, October. The Jaguars won nine in a row. The Patriots started out two and two and went 13 and one down the stretch. Yeah. you have the bills who are coming in just backing into the playoffs, have one impressive win over the last month of the season. I think that's why I'm so tepid and, and don't, don't feel the confidence in the bills moving forward against the rest of these teams. Yeah, but I mean the, the Jags running game production fell off. It just happened while Trevor Lawrence started really, really playing well. So nobody talked about it. And they're a really good run stopping team, as I said before. So it's gonna be an air raid game. It's gonna be pass attack versus pass attack. So what are you gonna take in that situation? You're asking yourself the real question here. Am I taking Josh Allen or am I taking Trevor Lawrence? And despite Trevor Lawrence's admirable performance this season, and over the past few weeks, I'm taking Josh Allen every time. are you taking Cohen or McDermott? Cohen what Boil, right? totally. to for me. It just, I guess it depends on who you're, what it boils down to for you. I, I, I think that's fair enough. I, if you're, if you're going, if you think it's gonna be a chess match and you think it's gonna be coach to coach, and you think it's gonna be about, you know, who wins the kind of game of rock paper scissors, if you know what I mean? Like, if it's like, if it's who is reading the other team a little bit better? Who is managing the game better? Who's winning the time of possession battle? And it really comes down to that and it's gonna be a really close, tight game. I can understand why you think that. If you think it's gonna be an offensive game and you think it's gonna be about whose quarterback is playing better, you're on my, you're on my team and you think the bills are gonna win. So I, I, I guess we'll know what kind of game it is pretty early and, and we'll know who's right. Um, Bobby, what kind of game do you think it's gonna be? I think's high scoring game high. Scoring a hundred So, so you should, you should be, you should be with me. You should be with me in that case, that means that, that Josh Allen is the guy that, with the ball in his hand scoring again at some point. And you're gonna be like, why did I go at Trevor Lawrence on the show? That's fair. That's fair. When, when Josh Allen ball minutes the, But you already made your take. Here we are. All right. Um, Pat's chargers. Woo. Boy. Uh, Mike, I'm sorry you didn't get the one seed. There was a possibility that was gonna happen. I think that you're a better team than the team. That is the one seed. I think that the Chargers, even though I know it sounds silly, because it's a bunch of different guys and it's a bunch of different coaches. The Patriots are the daddy of the Chargers now, forever and always. There has never been a more daddy-daughter relationship in the NFL, in my opinion, than the New England Patriots and the formerly San Diego and now Los Angeles Chargers. I think if you're a Chargers fan, this was the last team on earth you wanted to see. They also have to go to Gillette, obviously two seed versus the seven seed. And again, another team. You've had the very firm take that you just don't think Justin Herbert's the guy. And you don't think this Harbaugh Herbert, it's kind of hard to say. I, I kinda hope it doesn't work now. I just realized how hard it's to say, you're kind of hope this Harbaugh Herbert thing doesn't work out because you, you just haven't believed it was real this whole time and now it's in your team's hands to go and prove your take. Correct. And just fuck the Chargers up, which is what I kind of think is gonna happen. Are you happy about this matchup? Is this what you wanted? Yes, and only because like the spin that I can make it is that the Chargers intentionally rested. I mean, obviously Herbert with the broken left Cowards like probably, but they rested ev all, all their starters because they wanted to play the Patriots. It's like, okay. That was a bad move. Who are they gonna play? If not, who are they gonna play? If not, they're gonna play the Jags. yeah, then we would've played the bills, which, you know, great. Like I, I'm, listen, I'm happy that that worked out for us. Sure. uh, I don't think, I, I think Justin Herbert has all the, all the intangibles in terms of like the, the ability to, to do all the things he can do on the field. But at the end of the day, except for last season when we were coached by Gerald Mayo and they came in here and beat the shit outta the Patriots, at the end of the year, have owned him. And yeah. I, I don't think that that's gonna change. Uh, I do love this matchup. I hope that I'm not disappointed. I, because I, one thing that, uh, that the Pats have been doing all season is that they do take a quarter off and It's frustrating, isn't it? do, you can't do that in Which one is it usually? is. The second. Hmm. It's better than it being the first. Well, yeah, well, or, or it's the third after you put up 21 un unanswered points. Yeah. like, they like, uh, doing that. But honestly, um, I think, I think Vrabel can now coach Harbaugh, Hmm. to work with on the field. Um, and if Milton Williams is back, if, uh, if, if our offensive line, which has been fine, like it's it's bottom 10 in the league, but it's been fine. If that can stay the track, then I'm, I'm, I'm happy with this team. Let's see how far we can go. Bobby, what do you think? If you're, put yourself in the mind of a, either what, whichever one you think is easier, either a Chargers fan or a Patriots fan. What's, uh, who's happier? Where are you if, if you have to support one of these two teams? You're definitely happier if you're the Patriots. I mean, the fact you're getting Williams back coming into this week, I think is such a big, uh, a big addition for them. They already had, um, the Did we lose him? We lost Bobby. might like, down 75 yards per game, uh, and three, three point something yards per carry down the stretch. Plus you had mil lilies back in. I just think it, it is just gonna be, it's just gonna be a mismatch coming into this game. Hundred percent. I think it's. I, I Interesting. point out though, like their run defense. I mean, if you want to talk about, uh, inflated stats, that is a very inflated stat for the past this year because against good teams down the stretch, the bills, the, uh, the ravens, they got carved up without Milton Williams and Spline. if you can get those guys back then. Like, listen, if you, if, if you're telling me that in, in the playoffs you're gonna hold whatever team leading Russia to 75 yards or less, think you're gonna be in a good spot. Hmm. I wonder what you think are, are you gonna get mad at me if I ask you to look beyond this game? Because I, I just sort of feel like we all, we all think, we already think what's gonna happen is gonna happen here. You'll play one of the jags or the bills after this, you'll be at home to either one. It's the really nice thing about being the two seed. You, you're guaranteed a a second round home game. The Jags have to come to Gillette. Completely different story than if the bills have to come to Gillette. As we, as we just talked about it, it's potentially the Steelers, the Texans, or the Broncos. If you make it to the conference championship. Of those three, could I sell you on wanting it to be the Broncos? Yeah, because the Patriots are, they went eight no. On the road. I, a good point. as this team does not care about going on the road, they're, they're Which is great. road, It's awesome. But also the Steelers and the Texans both have a great pass rush and you guys have a, I would say mediocre offensive line oh, that's very, as current as currently constituted. I was trying to be complimentary. remember Drake Maye was sacked forth most in the league this year, It's, which is crazy what he's done. Like it's fucking nuts. Wait, I think that's the deciding factor between him and Stafford, to be honest with you. I, I, I 100% think that's the, that's the difference. The second most deciding factor is the fact that as much as he's had Stefan Diggs, he didn't have pka Nacua, I mean, come on. right. PKU almost made the greatest catch I've ever seen. He was, he was a, a half an inch away from making the greatest one hand out of bounds catch I've ever seen. And then they win that game, um, and they complete that comeback. Plus the rushing stats. I mean the, the, the list goes on. It's hard to argue with Stafford's numbers, but what if you get to the Broncos and the a and the a FC championship game? It's not that they have a terrible pass rush, but I think the Steelers pass rush is better and the Texans pass rush is better. So you, I just think it's, I just think it's strange that I'd want you to go on the road, but to your 0.8, no. In the road, it's strange that I'd want you to play the one seed, but you know, to your, to I kind of everybody's point across the league maybe. Maybe the weakest one seed in the A FC we've had since, I can't even really remember. I mean I know they won a lot of games, but there's something I don't fear about this Broncos team. I would really love it if you guys could help me put my finger on what that is and why it's naming bonus. did a quarterback rankings last week that you put your finger on exactly why you don't. Bobby yelled at me for like 18 Places for Bone Nicks. I had him way too low. He was like, no, he's keep, keep growing up. He is like, keep bringing him up. I was like, I just, eh, if I have to accept the fact that Drake Maye in nav draft class is good, I'm not accepting anyone else. right? Well, I don't know what it is about Bow N's game that I don't like, but I don't like it and I know it, and I really hate I spend only Shawne pay. Yeah. Um. There's something, there's just something about 'em. I just think you can get at 'em. I really think you can get at 'em. It's like we're gonna talk about either the Texans or the Steelers playing the Broncos and I'm gonna be like, I'm gonna pick either of those teams to beat the Broncos. 'cause it's just, just 'cause it's the playoffs. And I, even though the Broncos might be better on paper than both of them. I mean, they are better on paper than both of them, just through the amount of games that they've won. I just don't see it. I don't know. I mean, I know they're a storied franchise. I know that we, their, their fan base is used to winning. Maybe not for like a little bit, but they've had many eras of success across my football watching Lifetime. I liked John Elway. You know, I'm not against that. I didn't love how the Peyton Manning win team was constituted, to be honest. And I didn't love that Super Bowl. Um, but I, I know it's not, it's not like we have the Titans with a kind of a weak one, one seed record and we're like, come on, it's the fucking Titans. I know it's not that, but if I'm the Pats and I get, you guys get past the divisional round. I might be hoping for that Broncos team. Bobby, do you think that's a fair assessment or do you think people are gonna think I'm fucking ridiculous, but I'm just talking about the pass rush, mainly though, I think that's a fair assessment specifically 'cause of the pass rush, because we already talked about how the Texans are the nightmare matchup for the Patriots for yo God, yeah, you better hope it's not the Texans. Yikes. That's, like, oh, you're just hoping for the, you're gonna need to cheer for the Steelers, Mike. Like, and if you're talking about the Steelers, I mean, I feel like that's, that's obviously not on the same level as no. the Broncos or the Texans. So like I'd probably pick the Patriots if they're playing the Steelers, but still, right a hundred percent. Um, but no, I I'll probably still pick the Patriots if they're playing the Texans, to be honest with you. It's just, it's just a nightmare matchup. Right. are definitely the nightmare match of the street. No doubt about that. Well, there's, I mean, you, you will get that pass rush version. What we already talked about was, at best, a mediocre patriots offensive line. Like yeah, it's, it's definitely the Texans nightmare. Hmm. Anything else? Uh, Michael? uh, I think this week it's, it's a good week to be a Patriot fan again. Like this isn't like the 2021 season Like most weeks that we've experienced on Earth. Yeah. Like the majority of weeks you've been alive. It's a good week to be a Patriots man. 2021 season when you knew that you were just gonna get your asses whooped, you went up to Buffalo. Like you have a real shot to have to make a real run and, and get hyped up for a, for a couple of games. Like, don't, don't fucking squander this. Because as we've been saying all year, the a FC is wide open. You, I mean, anything literally could happen with any of the other, uh, uh, uh, any of the other games. So just, just do your, not to say like, bill, but just do your fucking Ah, you see, they can't help it. It's just like ingrained. It's like, it's like an abusive father or something. It's just like really, really like put it in there. Just do your job. Here we are on the Boston's Sports Podcast saying, do your job yet again. Oh man. Um, any final thoughts on this matchup, Bobby? I just think, I think the Pats take this one. I think the Pats are in for a run right here. I, if they can get past the bills, I think the Pats have a very legitimate shot to go to the Super Bowl. If the bills were in their game and they get past the bills, I think they have legitimate shot. I think that's the Well, standing their way, them and the Texans. well, let's let, let's hope the bills out. Win their game. That's fair. That's fair. Yeah, I would probably want that too. Um, I think my final thought on this is, I'm not saying this is gonna happen, but, and I don't think it is, in fact, I I, I'm just saying it just to put it out there, just to have it said, we have zero experience watching Drake Maye in the playoffs and there are quarterbacks that are regular season heroes. Right. Those guys do exist. The strength of schedule thing, again, it's not something I factor in. I think he had a great year. I think you can only play the teams you that put are put in front of you, but. I hope, and I'm sure they do, but I hope that Drake and the Pats know that they're in for a bigger challenge starting this week and throughout the remainder of the season than they faced all year. That being said, I know it's New England, and I know that you guys have a really high standard of football and a really high standard of winning established there, regardless of the fact that that previous era is over. I, I don't think you should be all that upset if you don't get to the Super Bowl. I mean, you're still ahead of schedule. I know that hasn't been talked about at all because you've been, you've been winning, right? You should beat the Chargers. I'd be mad if I, if I was you, I'd be mad if I didn't beat the Chargers. I would be mad, especially considering, I mean, I, I'll never get that image of LaDanian Tomlinson storming around the field bitch, moaning and complaining after that beat down, um, fair and square beat down, if you ask me, um, by the Pats and, and how they had a Philip Rivers. sideline. Yeah. Philip Rivers LaDanian Tomlinson not being a Super Bowl team. Not having a championship. Those, that team, as it was, as it was, constituted not having a championship. The Patriots are the reason for that. They Yep. are the, they're the sole reason for that. The, the reason that, that those guys don't have rings and they know that is the crazy part. Right. The, the, the big question mark on Philip Rivers' Hall of Fame, uh, ballot is, well, you know, is he Dan Marino? Uh, you know, you never wanna ring. So, and the that's of the reason for that. So, uh, long may that continue. Um, I'm really excited for that game too. It is the night game on Sunday, or on Saturday, sorry. Uh, yeah, go ahead. You said, you said Drake's. I never played the playoffs. Like there are quarterbacks that are regular season darlings. I don't think that's gonna be the case. Sure. But the good news is he's facing one of those guys. Like Yeah, that's a good point. Herbert That's a good point. I really, I think Justin Herbert's a good quarterback. I, it's hard for me to sort of, he is one through 18. Like he's great. you think he's Kurt Cousins. I. I mean, he was up what, 18 points on Trevor Lawrence in the Jaguars and lost that game two years ago. I mean, sure. Comeback wins happen, though, as, as we know, coach he's also got a really, I mean, I know that I, I, I know that. So does Drake Maye. I know. So does Drake Maye, but he's got a bad Herbert's, got a bad offensive line man. A bad offensive line. He's the most sack cuby this year. So I, you know, it's, I don't know, I don't think it's all his fault so far. I think he's talented. you, you never do. the offensive line is a shamble. It's fucking shambles. yeah, Um, Alt went down. I mean, but listen, they had one of the be, this, is this Slater down too? but just think about it. They had one of the best offensive is he, year, I right? And then they improved it and obviously the injuries happened. We had the categorically, the worst offensive line, uh, like maybe a tie with the bears for last year. yeah. had to use number four overall pick just to be the 27th best line this year. That's how much in shambles we are. I thought Slater was gonna be back. I mean, I know he hasn't played at all, but I thought he was gonna be back. He's not all here. I know, but I thought he was gonna be back that for the playoffs. I thought it was one of those situations. The Aiden Hutchinson situations? No. Oh, well that sucks. They have no offensive line that blows. All right. NFC Panthers ramps. Uh, fucking fucking NFC South dude. don't need, we don't need to do this. We don't need to do this. has there ever been a team that has backed into the playoffs more than went to Carolina? Panthers just pulled off in the last two weeks of this goddamn season. That was the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Was that, was I don't think they're that bad. Was the Seahawks team in 2011? Was that the, like they were seven That was an eight win team, right? No, it was. Oh, you're right. It was seven and nine. Yeah. they were seven. It was seven of nine. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. but the way that was like, oh, Russell, well, Russell Wilson. Frisky. Frisky. And it was like, immediately, no. Immediately. No. all, the way that all went down for like, if you to have like a quote unquote win the division game in week 18, and then to lose that fucking game like they did Well, what do you mean? Like they did the, the, playoffs, was, there was four, there was four I can think of off the top of my head of the most egregious officiating decisions of the entire season. Like a guy got his helmet ripped off and the referees were like, what? I didn't see it. I'm looking over here. I'm looking over this way. I don't, I'm not looking over that way. That being said, like the attempted improvisational, flea flicker was one of the most diabolical plays I've seen for the entire, uh, for the entire season. So who really knows both of those teams look like shit. Neither of them deserved to be playoff teams. I, I do agree. I don't think the Panthers are that bad. And I mean this in comparison to every year we have a. Horrific NFC South team enter the playoffs like an an NFC South team that's either destroyed by injuries, like a lot the Buccaneers or, or just bad this year's Panthers. I think they have decent weapons. For the record, I think, uh, TMAC is a full blown stud. I think you can just say that. I think he's definitely a stud. I think he's making Bryce Young look better. Bryce is real trick or treat. You know, you don't really know what you're gonna get with him. I think you can, he has moments, but then you're just like, oh God, he's about to lose them this game. I don't know what kind of panthers we're gonna get. What I do know is that we are gonna get the Los Angeles Rams playing them and they're gonna win. Um, Yeah, it could be you, you could get the Best Panthers team yeah. And they're still gonna lose. Yeah. And the Rams are still gonna beat them by, by 10 and a half What an, what an ideal situation for the Ram because the Rams were almost to succeed if they didn't come back and win. two weeks ago. The Falcons were on a little comeback tour to try and keep their, have their coach keep his job. But that didn't happen. They were all celebrating like we did it. two. they, they, Yeah, four in a row under Kirk Cousins, and then, Nope, we're just gonna fire 'em. the Kirk Cousins flu game. I was like, wow, we're really having a Kirk Cousins flu game right now. It's happening and he's gonna keep his job. Nope. See you. I think they have weapons. Atlanta, for the record, I think Yeah, of with a new coach coming in, like you can actually probably do something down there. Um, I don't, we haven't seen enough appendix, so like, let's see next year. But that being said, we're not talking about them. We're talking about the Panthers and the Rams. The Rams have the top, a top two qb in my opinion, in a lot of people's opinion. The top one, including Ray who's not here, but he, he seems to think that, you know, I think he might've been trying to reverse Jinx. He does that, but he seems to think, uh, Stafford is the MVP. The Rams have an unbelievable offense. They have had. Semi weird games down the stretch. But I think that happens to a lot of teams, especially when things get cold and you're an LA team. I think going to Carolina is not like a really big deal for them. I think they're gonna fuck 'em up. I don't, I I, I feel like Stafford might be sitting on the bench by the fourth quarter. This, this might actually get ugly. Please. If the Panthers beat the Rams, is, is McVeigh, are we talking at all about like what the hell happens now? You don't? way. You can't, you can't. He got double digit wins with, with, with a Rams team that, that just had no business getting double digit wins in the, over the past few years. Not this year. But you, I mean, come on. He, he's a great coach. He'll be snapped up in one second. a great, yeah, of course. I, and I would hope that he stays employed in LA because one, have to keep him, because how? I don't want him to go there. Damn, that would be actually kind of crazy if that happened. That would be nuts. They, they should really back the money truck up to him. If that's the case, um, you should really be cheering for the Rams if that's the case, because if there's even a risk of McVeigh getting fired and he goes to Buffalo, like, watch out, first of all. Second of all, Yeah. I mean, he is got the worst haircut in the league, but I, I do. Well, him and LaFleur, I don't know. They're kind of in competition with each other. But I, I think if you're looking at No the McVey Rams over the next few years, like they're about to lose Stafford, like they're gonna need a real offensive mind to start to, you know, put the pieces back together. Like their windows closing. He's 37, 38 years old and he's been sacked so many times and it's already improbable that he's playing at this level. That's another thing I didn't mention about the MVP race. I don't wanna factor in, I, I just said to Bobby last week, I don't wanna hand out a lifetime achievement award. It's not, it's for the season. It's not for a career, first of all. Second of all. Is Dak Prescott, the current Matt staffer. If Dak Prescott goes somewhere else with like, with like a, a confident my God. team, comparing said the right. DK. like imagine a team that's one litigated. This has been away. Imagine a team that's a quarterback away. Dak was a top four quarterback this year. Imagine a team that's a quarterback away. is Kirk Cousins. He's not Kirk Cousins. He is He's not, No, he way better than Kirk Cousins. You were saying he wasn't as good as Jalen Hertz. I feel like Dak Prescott might've like burgled your house or something at this point. It's like you were saying he was, he wasn't as good as Jalen fucking hurts as a quarterback. That's bananas. I'm just saying. Jalen hurts out. Played Mahomes in two, two Super Bowls happened not doing this again. though. That's not the show. It hurts. Yeah, I'm not doing this again. just, just last season. You're right. But no, Dak Prescott's not that guy. I, I think outplaying Patrick Mahomes in last year's Super Bowl was as simple as handing the ball to a generational running back and have him run pa run behind the best offensive line I've seen. Get to a Super Bowl at maybe ever. So you think if Dak Prescott goes to Minnesota. If Dak Prescott goes to Not Minnesota, no. well, team is a quarterback away? Because I think it's Minnesota, Atlanta, Yeah, Atlanta. Atlanta. Yeah. Atlanta's a good shout. Uh, Pittsburgh. we've already seen, like when Dak has a good offense, or they are a generational offense for sure, but then you gets in the playoffs and it doesn't happen. So you need a team that has a good defense too. Like what? What team is Pittsburgh player away? Yeah. Pittsburgh. That would be so sad if you went to fucking What weapons do you have in got DK Metcalf. Yeah, you got Pat Pat Fry. He's a top seven tight end. I. so you're gonna leave cd, Pickens, and Ferguson to go play with DK and Mout? I mean, I don't, would I do it, would I leave the Cowboys to go play for the Steelers? Absolutely. I mean, the Cowboys are giving away all your pieces every year. It's like, I don't see the fucking Steelers trading TJ Watt do you for, for a fucking bag of beans. I don't see, I don't see the Steelers not having a first round pick this year because, and I'm not trying to slate your team here, Bobby, but this is the case. I don't see the Steelers not having a first round pick. 'cause they went and got Quentin. Fucking Williams. I mean, at the end of the day, the Cowboys literally are not selecting in the first round this year, Mike, they're not selecting in the first round and they're, they were an under 500 team this year. Like you don't think that's a situation someone might wanna leave if you're a top four qb and that happened. No, no. Listen, I'm just telling you, uh, if, if you gave me three teams that you believe are just one quarterback, uh, quarterback away for winning Super Bowl, I don't, I don't think that you, Everybody's a quarterback away from winning the Super Bowl. In fairness, like Brown, the Browns had six of 'em this year, and they, the, the top five of the draft. Yeah, they should draft a qb. Just, I'm just saying they should. No, he is like, I think the worst statistical QB over the last eight weeks by like a lot. Um, him. Yeah. It do you bad. Yeah, I I've never seen someone throw worse. Interceptions let him warm. Like, and practice with the, the, the, you know, the first, like the starters for the entire season and see what happens. brother. They had a top five defense. They had a guy set the fucking sack record yesterday and they still won. How many games did they win? Four, Three, four. three. Three or four. I think it was four They had a top five defense. They had a, the sack leader of all time, and they still, they were so fucking inept with Shado Sanders as their quarterback that they were able to win no more than four games. Come on. when, when sh um, sorry this is getting off track though, but when I'm enjoying it. set that record wasn't that Giants team also a Shitbag team? Wasn't like they? Were they Probably, I mean, they're only ever good twice. Like in our, in our lifetime. Um, uh, like the sac, uh, well, I mean the TJ Watts. Steelers, right. That was, that's the next comp. Yeah. he, he is the, he tied the Strahan record. Right? Was he 16 games or 17 games? Six. Well, Strahan was 16, which I think, WA was 16 too. I think WA yeah, I think so too. That counts for more miles. Garrett's has an asterisk, sorry. He should have done it last game. That lasts was very Brett, I think that guy kind He did go down a little easy. It wasn't that egregious. 'cause that was gross. wasn't Yeah. Brett Freres like smiling and he is like, here you go. And I'm like, Ugh. My God. Brett Fre if I hope you get in a horrible texting scandal soon. All right. Um, Yeah. Panthers Rams. Everybody's calling the Rams. Smart Money's on the Rams. Eagles. Niners. The Eagles are so bad. Like they're, they're not good. Their offense is terrible. It's truly terrible. Like all they, unless you can convince me they were trying to get the three seed and not play the Packers for some reason yesterday. Uh, dude, they don't look good. They don't look good at all. Do you think that they can just turn it on in the playoffs? I have no idea. I'm taking the 49 ERs all day, seven days a week, twice on Sundays in this matchup. How about you guys? Mike? I'm taking the, the Eagles. Um, on earth have you seen from the Philadelphia Eagles comparatively to the, to the San Francisco four eight DERs over the last few weeks that makes you think they're gonna win this game? that's a great question. Um, so I do think that they do have a little bit of the, they can just turn it on in the playoffs. 'cause they have that, they've made some deep runs over the last four years, so they're kind Okay, to it. I also think of the Niners just putting that out there. Their defense is, uh, the Eagles have a top 10 defense and they and the 49 ERs have a bottom, what is it?