Falcons-Bucs Reaction, Josh Jacobs, CeeDee Lamb injury updates + Philip Rivers prop bets

Summary

Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry

Episode: Falcons-Bucs Reaction, Josh Jacobs, CeeDee Lamb Injury Updates + Philip Rivers Prop Bets

Date: December 12, 2025
Host: NBC Sports, Matthew Berry (absent for this episode); Lawrence Jackson, Jay Croucher, and Connor Rogers
Special Guest: Denny Carter

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode explores the fallout from a wild Falcons vs. Bucs game—highlighting Kyle Pitts’ historic breakout, recapping fantasy football shockwaves, giving critical injury updates for key stars (Josh Jacobs, CeeDee Lamb, and more), and helping fantasy managers with start/sit dilemmas ahead of Week 15. The show closes with prop bets (with an unexpected theme: Philip Rivers as a Colts starter in 2025!) and rapid-fire advice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Kyle Pitts’ Historic Breakout Night

[00:00–08:13]

• The group launches into disbelief about the Falcons’ previous misuse of Kyle Pitts and celebrates his “Mt. Rushmore” fantasy performance in the Thursday game: 166 yards, 3 TDs, 45.6 fantasy points.
• Quote (Lawrence, 01:23): “You say, hey, man, we gonna take you fourth overall, that’s what you get, right? That’s what you want right there.”
• Pitts finally lived up to years of fantasy hype, making spectacular contested catches. The hosts debate why it took so long for Atlanta to unlock him.
• Jay (01:59): “It’s like why haven’t we seen this for the past half-decade from Kyle Pitts, but he delivered last night.”
• The performance is compared to all-time fantasy greats, and the hosts note Pitts’ rare usage as both a tight end and receiver.
• Discussion about Pitts’ future dynasty value—trade or keep?—and scenarios if he lands on a TE-needy contender in 2026.

Memorable Moment:

• Joking about Matthew Berry coincidentally being absent:
  Connor (02:49): “It is a fair question. It’s a little ironic Matthew’s not here after the historic night from Kyle Pitts.”

2. Falcons: Talent Wasted and What Could Have Been

[03:50–05:44]

• Lamenting Atlanta’s lost season—loaded with talent (Bijan, London, Pitts), but a weak 5-9 record despite beating the Bills. Compared to the Jets for underachievement.
• Upcoming matchups: Cardinals (Week 16) look favorable, Rams tougher.
• Jay (05:02): “This season is ridiculous. How are they three games back at the Panthers going into last night? It’s just…it was a kind of reminder of what could have been with the season.”

3. Bucs’ Wide Receivers Shakeout

[13:03–16:52]

• Mike Evans returns and immediately produces: 12 targets, 6 catches, 132 yards.
• Bucs’ passing game pecking order analyzed:
  • Evans and Godwin are locked in starters; Emeka Egbuka is a flex option with a 22% target share but lower snap rate after Evans' return
  • Jay (17:23): “I think I'd still start Egbuka over Godwin…Emeka Egbuka is a better receiver, I think, at this point of his career than Chris Godwin.”
• Detailed breakdown of snap counts and what it means for fantasy lineups.

4. RB Split: Bucs Backfield Conundrum

[18:22–19:41]

• Bucky Irving remains the clear starter (17 touches), but Sean Tucker “snipes” a goal-line TD. Discussion about whether this hurts Irving’s value.
• Lawrence (18:54): “We still keep riding with Bucky Irving. Like you said, Connor, those 17 touches tell the story.”

5. QB Analysis: Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield

[08:20–09:34; 19:41–20:34]

• Cousins torches the vulnerable Bucs secondary; hosts urge fantasy managers to “temper expectations” outside of dream matchups.
• Baker Mayfield's post-injury struggles and how it affects Bucs’ pass-catchers and RBs.

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Fantasy Injury Roundup & Start/Sit Impacts

[20:34–26:15]

• Josh Jacobs: Called himself “day-to-day” (rare for a player), sparking concern about his Week 15 availability. Packers coach LaFleur says he’ll be “limited” in practice—hosts expect him to play but recommend holding Emmanuel Wilson as a backup.
• Ceedee Lamb: Cleared concussion protocol—hosts confidently advise starting him, urge caution/limited usage with other Cowboys pass-catchers.
• Tee Higgins: Officially ruled out; “Scary situation,” expect Mike Gesicki to get a bump.
• Marvin Harrison Jr.: Ruled out—Michael Wilson is an “auto start” with reliable WR1/2 production when Marv is absent.

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Other Noteworthy Team & Player Updates

• Geno Smith: Unlikely to start for the Raiders; backup Kenny Pickett expected. Impacts Brock Bowers’ reliability as a fantasy starter, but Bowers (TE) is still a consideration.
• Colts QB Situation: Philip Rivers (!) prepping to start for Indy in Week 15, years out of the league, likely due to injuries to both Anthony Richardson and backups.
  • Jay (28:29): “It’s going to be a great science experiment for how much of the quarterback position is above the shoulders, because what’s below the shoulders doesn’t look right.”
  • Jokes about Rivers’ age and style (“Old man, sidearm throws,” “hasn’t played in 5 years”).
• Mercedes Lewis: Waived by Broncos but expected to return to practice squad (for the deep dynasty faithful!).

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Fantasy Waiver/Start-Sit Lightning Rounds

[32:10–34:51]

• Strong endorsement for Michael Wilson as a must-start in Marv’s absence.
• Jacoby Myers and Justin Jefferson favored over Terry McLaurin as a secondary WRs.
• Devon Vele over Yoshuvas/Jerry Jeudy due to clearer role.
• Jaden Reed described as a quality flex against Denver’s zone defense.

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Flexual Frustrations Segment (with Denny Carter)

[35:00–39:44]

• Normally inflexible players like Troy Franklin for Denver could see a role spike due to teammate injuries.
• Tyron Tracy (Giants) highlighted as a sneaky high-volume RB with pass-catching upside against the Commanders’ porous run D.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Todd Bowles’ postgame tirade ([11:04]):

  “It’s inexcusable. You don’t make excuses. You gotta care enough where it hurts…It gotta mean something to you. It’s more than a job. It’s your livelihood. How well do you know your job? How well can you do your job?…It was inexcusable and there’s no answer for it. There’s no excuse for it.” — Todd Bowles, Bucs Head Coach

• On Denny Carter’s “Flexual Frustrations” ([35:40]):

  “Look, Vale let me down. I can’t get on the same page with Art Vandelay or Devon Vale. Both of them are just beyond my comprehension at the moment.” — Denny Carter

• On the show’s podcast status ([47:57]):

  “For all our regulars out there who listen to the show on Spotify, first off, thank you. We're aware of the recent episodes not being available. We're working on getting that fixed.” — Connor

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Prop Bets and Pickup Lines (Lawrence Judges)

[49:15–51:48]

• Jay’s Bet: Philip Rivers OVER 151.5 passing yards (Colts @ Seahawks). Logic: Game script, veteran savvy, and underdog status require passing volume.
• Connor’s Bet: Jonathan Taylor OVER 14.5 receiving yards. Logic: Rivers will check it down frequently (“the old man throws to the RB”), matchups and recent Seahawks trends support the over.
• Lawrence’s Pick: Sides with Connor and Taylor due to probable volume, “That’s what helps Rivers get there.”

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Important Timestamps

• Kyle Pitts Phenomenon: 00:00–08:13
• Falcons' Season Lament: 03:50–05:44
• Bucs WR Breakdown/Snap Details: 13:03–17:31
• Bucs Backfield Touches: 18:22–19:41
• Josh Jacobs Uncertainty: 21:27–23:12
• Ceedee Lamb/Other Injury Updates: 23:42–26:15
• Philip Rivers QB Science Experiment: 27:06–30:13
• Start/Sit Lightning: 31:32–34:51
• Flexual Frustrations Segment: 35:00–39:44
• Prop Bets/Pickup Lines: 49:15–51:48

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Tone & Style

• Humor and self-deprecation, especially about past fantasy misses.
• Banter, inside jokes (Matthew Berry absenteeism, “Kyle Pitts Truthers drink for free”), running gags like “Flexual Frustrations.”
• Casual but expert, fast-paced with strong attributions and actionable player advice.

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Final Takeaways

Fantasy Managers Should:

• Start Kyle Pitts and Michael Wilson with confidence; value is peaking in the playoffs.
• Closely monitor Josh Jacobs’ status, keep Emmanuel Wilson as insurance.
• Keep starting CeeDee Lamb; downgrade T. Higgins, Marvin Harrison Jr. to out/bench.
• Expect Mike Evans/Chris Godwin to lead Bucs WR room, but Egbuka is a usable flex.
• Ride Jonathan Taylor’s pass-catching floor if Rivers starts; consider Bucky Irving a weekly RB2 despite goal line vultures.

Prop Bets: Consider Taylor’s receiving yards OVER with Rivers under center.

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If you missed this show:
You’ll be well-armed for your playoffs and might even crack a smile about Kyle Pitts—or Philip Rivers—saving the week!

Transcript

[Lawrence]

Yeah, Kyle pitched the ball in week three. You spent the fourth overall pick of the 2021 draft on this guy.

[Jay]

You didn't take Ja' Marr Chase.

[Lawrence]

You didn't take Jalen Wild. You didn't take Martha Parsons. You could have had any of them.

[Jay]

Instead, you spent it on Kyle Pitts.

[Lawrence]

To do what? We can plead.

[Jay]

We can do a fundraiser. Do you need to do a GoFundMe?

[Lawrence]

What does it take?

[Jay]

And Kyle Pitts the ball. That's what I need to ask you.

[Lawrence]

What do we need to do to.

[Jay]

Get Kyle Pitts the ball?

[Lawrence]

You throw to Brian Edwards in double coverage. Alen Ramsey, when you got Kyle Pitts over there just all by his lonesome, it's single coverage. Now you say it's not fantasy football, and I understand that. You said you're trying to win. What did you win? You want nothing. You want to win? Put Kyle Pitts in.

[Jay]

Fantasy football happy hour with Matthew Barry.

[Connor]

Happy Friday. Welcome to the fantasy football happy hour. Never wrong, just early. Lawrence Jackson. Kyle Pitts Truthers drink for free today. That's right. You want to win. Hopefully you put in Kyle Pitts in the opening round of the fantasy football playoffs. My goodness, fellas, he was in last.

[Lawrence]

And he definitely was in.

[Jay]

I like how it says truth is as well. So. Kyle Pitts has been a conspiracy that Oliver Stone would do a movie about. He has felt very much like that the past few years.

[Lawrence]

Good, good.

[Jay]

Young.

[Lawrence]

Good game for that young man last night, you know, pretty decent.

[Connor]

166, three touchdowns.

[Lawrence]

When you say, hey, man, we gonna take you fourth overall, that's what you get, right? That's what you want right there. And, you know, Connor, I think the stats, aside of it, I think how he did it was looking. He looked like what they thought he would be making contest. It wasn't just busted coverages. He made contested catches. He made the great catch in the end zone for his second touchdown where his butt barely stayed in, like, just making plays. Looked like he was as good as B. John Robinson yesterday.

[Connor]

So, yeah, he looked like the true mismatch. Mismatch weapon that we were hoping for for a long time.

[Jay]

Yeah, that was a. I thought an instructive play where I think it's third down. Bucks blitz Cousins off his back foot and just. Just tosses it up over the middle because he knows that Kyle Pitts is bigger than.

[Lawrence]

That was a good throw by. Yeah, that was a good throw by Cousins. Kirk Cousins.

[Jay]

It's like, why haven't we seen this for the past half? Decade from Kyle Pitts, but he delivered last night. It's crazy. We've got stuff in the rundown. Like, best fantasy performances of all time.

[Connor]

Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous.

[Lawrence]

I mean, you. If you win against Kyle piss this week, you're hurting right now. You're not gonna sleep for the next two, three nights.

[Connor]

You're shaking your fist at the sky. How did this happen?

[Lawrence]

He's like, why?

[Connor]

Brian Hickman said Kyle Pitts finally hits and Barry is where?

[Jay]

He's literally in a gutter in Las Vegas.

[Connor]

It is a fair question. It's a little ironic Matthew's not here after the historic night from Kyle Pitts.

[Jay]

Yeah, we don't. And so the facts are, Matthew was in Las Vegas, Nevada. Now, whether that was in direct response to Kyle Pitts going ballistic, we don't know. But that is where he is at the moment. That is the fact.

[Connor]

All right, let's get into the ROTOR world player news. And don't worry, we got plenty to do. On this Friday. We will answer your questions as we always do on what's on tap. Jay and I have some pickup lines from Lawrence. Denny's going to join the show for your flexual frustrations. But let's start with Thursday night.

[Jay]

Is that what Jonathan Taylor did in.

[Lawrence]

Berlin, Folks, this is not a typo.

[Connor]

Jamar Chase against the Steelers. Level production. Yes, the notable fantasy performances. Think about how many people had him on their bench in the reverse round of the fantasy.

[Lawrence]

I can tell you this, Conor, I wasn't one of them. Ironically enough, I got him in about five leagues, including our league, the League of Assholes, where I actually got a buy. But you know what? I'm not even mad. I'm not even mad.

[Connor]

Sign of things to come, maybe.

[Jay]

I just want to say the Atlanta Falcons have. Their defense is not bad. Like, it's an okay defense is weaknesses, can't stop the run, etc. But it's not a dreadful defense. You have Bijan Robinson, who I think is the best running back in football because of his diversity. Him, Gibbs, Taylor, whatever. But he's one of the three best, I think. You have Drake, London superstar wide receiver. You have Kyle Pitts, who just put up 45.6 fantasy points. You have a good offensive line. And the team came into last night at 4, 9. Like this season is ridiculous. How are they three games back at the Panthers going into last night? It's just. It was a kind of a reminder of what could have been with the season. Because you look at the play, it's like this team has so much talent and yes, four, nine in the NFC south. Go.

[Lawrence]

I always think of them and you probably can attest this to Connor. I always think of the Falcons is like a little bit better version of the jets, but actually the jets beat them. So I don't know who's better now.

[Connor]

Which is crazy because when they started out the year so hot and it was a short amount of time, but they were impressive. And when they beat the Bills and everything like that. Yeah, you're looking at, okay, this defense has all this young talent and when they run play action. Penix looked comfortable and you have Bijan and it's just when it all fell apart, it all caved in at once.

[Jay]

They crushed the Bills. They were one play away from beating both the Pats and the Colts when the Colts were rolling. This shouldn't be a team that is five and nine now they have to.

[Lawrence]

Find ways to win. And you look at the rest of their schedule right here, you know, week 16, they got the Cardinals. That should be another nice matchup for Kyle Pitts, Bijon Robinson and Drake London if he's able to get back there. They got the Rams after that. That'll be tough. But you expect them to be probably more than a touchdown favorite in that game. So. Yeah, very weird season for the Atlanta Falcons when you got five wins and one of them is the Buffalo Bills.

[Connor]

Yeah. And that first week against the Bucks, they missed the field goal as we see here from. Looks like Vinny. Kyle Pitts broke out before we got GTA 6. That's a 10 out of 10. It's true. No denying it.

[Lawrence]

I think everything happened in before that.

[Connor]

It definitely feels that way as we look at the best fantasy performances by a tight end in NFL history. Phenomenal job by our team here that works on the show to dig this up.

[Jay]

So this is a better game than Antonio Gates ever had in his career. Gonzalez.

[Lawrence]

Yeah, it's just one since 1996. Six, which is.

[Jay]

Rob Gronkowski never had a game like this.

[Lawrence]

I. I'll tell you too, like it's funny because going into this week. I'm sorry. Well, heading out of week 15, there's not a way that Kyle Pitts is going to be less than fourth in the NFL in tight end receiving yards. The only one he won't be ahead of is Trey McBride. So he's. He, you know, collectively he's put together his best season. So then you got like, look at it. The past two games before this, he had at least six catches for 80 yards. I think Matthew had him on the love list last week too. So it's been brewing. Especially when there's no Drake London. When there's no Drake London, you should have been starting Kyle Pitts and we've talked about that on this show and I just think it, you know, when all the things aligned. Kirk Cousins playing the Bucs, the Tampa Bay Bucks having the fourth worst passing defense in the league, then it all comes together. You get this.

[Jay]

Do you think he's a bad match with Penix's skill set?

[Connor]

I thought they actually had some good games together. I think it is a little bit more the Drake London. Drake London ate up so much of the volume in this offense with Penix and he would do the same with Cousins that it's almost like you look at the snap count of this game, his pivot. He played 31 snaps in line. Okay. Like a real tight end. But then he played 23 in the slot and still played 9 at 8 outside wide receiver.

[Jay]

Yeah, yeah.

[Connor]

So when you look at like I don't.

[Lawrence]

Right.

[Connor]

I don't know if those nine outside wide receiver snaps exist. If Drake London's healthy, sure.

[Lawrence]

Probably not.

[Connor]

So is he like viable and usable if London comes back? Yeah, you. But this level of elite tight end production, by the way, the five touchdowns in a game that Kellen Winslow caught is the NFL record. He's tied with Bob Shaw and Jerry Rice. So like Kyle Pitts was right under that in terms of.

[Lawrence]

We're mentioning Kyle Pitts with Jerry Rice and Kellen west wins the. The real Kellen wins the first Kellen Winslow.

[Connor]

The original. The original Chublow. Yes. How it makes its way back. So despite all of this or in, you know, effect of all of this, Kirk Cousins, classic Kirk Cousins against the Bucs, 373 yards, three touchdowns. I mean, Lawrence, is this. Is there anything to take away here in terms of sustainability or is this the classic case of he does it again against Tampa?

[Lawrence]

Look, if you're in a super flex situation, you should have been smart enough to start him in this matchup. Just going in, knowing Tampa Bay is a bottom five pass defense in the league, knowing that Kirk Cousin in his last three games against the Bucs averages 386 passing yards and averages three and a half touchdown passes versus this Bucks defense. You see it here on the screen. But next week, again, they're playing the Cardinals. Should be a good matchup. But there have been other good matchups for Kirk Cousins in the Falcons and it hasn't gone so well. So, you know, you have to temper your expectations. You have to bring those expectations back down. But nonetheless, it's a good showing. And don't we just wish Kirk Cousins could play the foul. I'm sorry, the Bucs every single week.

[Connor]

Yeah, he'd be elite. How about this one from pitsmypants? Does this game mean I can finally trade Pitts and Dynasty for a solid return this offseason? By the way, Kyle Pitts is a free agent.

[Lawrence]

I think so. I think so. It's about when you strike, right? It's like you'd have to, you know, you had to trade. You had to think before or after. If he potentially gets to that new team, if he goes to a team like, I don't know, the Cowboys or the Chiefs. Cowboys got a tight end, but I'm just throwing team names out there. You get him on a team like that, then you really could go trade him. But even if he ends the season like he has been these past three games, I think the value. I think his value is as high as it's been since his rookie year, to be honest. In Dynasty.

[Jay]

Yeah. As far as Cousins goes, I think this is largely about the matchup. You go to Bucks defense that can't generate a pass rush without blitzing the corners. Jamel Dingle banged up, briefly, came back in, McCollum went down, didn't come back. Like they just don't have the horses. And also they're going to stop the run either. Bijan was doing what he wanted. So it's like, what can you do? What can you actually do? And it felt like what Bowles fell back on was, oh, he's got to blitz him every time. And that's what they were doing down the end and Cousins was good enough to make the throws. And now the Bucks are looking up at the panthers in the NFC south because you couldn't stop Kirk Cousins from converting 3rd and 28.

[Connor]

Jay, you said what could you do? I think Todd Bowles was asking himself the same thing on the sidelines. We have never heard Todd Bowles like this after a loss. Take a listen.

[Todd Bowles]

It's inexcusable. You don't make excuses. We you gotta care enough where the hurts. You gotta care enough where the hurts. It gotta mean something to you. It's more than a job. It's your livelihood. How well do you know your job? How well can you do your job? Well, you can't sugarcoat that. It was in the excusable and there's no answer for it. As for no excuse for it. That's what you tell them in a lot when they look in the mirror.

[Connor]

Hell yeah.

[Lawrence]

Like intentionally going for the viral moment. Because I don't think you get that many F bombs in a couple that seven F bombs. It's like, like I'm, I'm all with the F bombs. Right. But it's like, man, you got to use that many. It's kind of like, man, where. Where your conversation skills at? He was pissed.

[Jay]

I love it. I absolutely love it.

[Connor]

Stuntman Chuck, of course. Always good to see Todd Bowles with the most and calm tirade of F bombs I've ever heard. Because the tone never changes.

[Lawrence]

Yeah, you chill with it.

[Jay]

The most monotone tirade. Most furious monotone tirade.

[Lawrence]

You can't even hear what he's saying. Except F bomb. That's all you hear.

[Jay]

Here's the thing. If the Bucks, if they lose in Carolina next week. Todd Bohols. I know what you do. I don't know what you do at that point because this is a much better team. This is a better team than Carolina and they should win that game. And it's going to be season on the line.

[Connor]

What's the line of that game?

[Jay]

I don't know what it's got. I don't know what it is at the moment. I think that, I mean, the Bucks in the state that they're in, like, they are a below average team right now with that defense and the Panthers are worse. The Bucks will be favored in that game, I think, but it'll be close. I think it'll be minus one and a half, minus two type of line.

[Connor]

That's incredible. And I think that's fair ved in the chat. Wonder how many F bombs Todd Bowles would say if he heard the Finding Nemo sequel story.

[Jay]

Oh, boy, that's good. Have you.

[Connor]

Have you heard this whole Matthews finding Nemo 2 pitch?

[Jay]

Here we go. Bucks.

[Connor]

We won't tell you box.

[Jay]

Minus one and a half. Bucks a minus one and a half next week.

[Connor]

Right on it. Yeah.

[Lawrence]

And look out of the. Out of Carolina. You're not going to get them to have 19 penalties for 125 yards either. So you got. The Falcons had that and you still lose the game. They should have had F8.8F bombs. Knowing that info.

[Connor]

The entire chat at once demanding that I don't retell the Finding Nemo page.

[Jay]

It was just. It was just long. Wasn't that bad of a story. It's just the duration was the killer.

[Connor]

Like he kind of forgot actually Finding Nemo's brother runs away and then they go to find his brother. I can't believe it didn't get picked up. It blows my mind. Welcome back. Mike Evans in this game pissed off Mike Evans on the sideline and after the game, rightly so. He's, you know, came back for this. 12 targets though, is what he came back for. In fantasy, he hauls in six of them explosive plays, Glory at 132 yards. And I think guys, what was alarming in this too, Jay, is also the snap rate and the usage amongst these guys. While the numbers tell a different story, unfortunately, Godwin gets the touchdown in this one. Kind of feels like it's going to be the Mike Evans and Chris Godwin show now.

[Jay]

It. It does. It was, it was weird because also the other thing too is this is the first game back for Mike Evans and Jaylen McMillan who got run two. And so you would suspect that that is only going to go up, not down. It was surprising that Godwin was the guy who was out there every snap, even though he didn't really do anything until the fourth quarter where he has the octopus at the end. That's the clutch catch that should have won the game for the Bucks to move the chains just before the two minute. But thing is is that Edwin Evans's target share was insane. So you're going to be starting Mike Evans going forward clearly. So the question I think becomes what do we do with the Mecca? Buka who I thought Connor. I thought he actually looked better last night than he had. He was making nice contested catches, he was getting open. Baker just missed him multiple times. Baker should have hit him to win the game on that second down. I don't really know why they were throwing on second and 14 there, but they threw and Baker had Ibuka. And if I Booker makes that catch, then he ends up, you know, in the 80s for receiving yards. He also Baker had him twice in the end zone and missed him once and didn't go his way another time. So. But the snaps going down is the concern. And now Buka, who's been getting this crazy amount of targets because he's been out there every play. It felt like if he's only going to be like a 60, 65% snap guy, then all of a sudden I don't really think you want to start him.

[Connor]

Well, Lawrence, here's the route participation for them last night. God win 95% of the routes. Mike Evans, who we saw, you know, a Little banged up, 70%, Abuka, 63% and then McMillan. 50%. Yeah.

[Lawrence]

And with that info, Connor, I'll answer Sammy Mxal's question. What do we do with these Bucs wide receivers? Well, you start Mike Evans, clearly 12 targets, six catches, 132 yards. Chris Godwin, who you just mentioned had the highest route participation, you're starting him. That's his third straight game with 10 fantasy points. And Emeka Buka, to be honest, you got to start him, too. He's a flex guy. Despite his low snapshares. 22% target share last night. So Baker was. He was. He was throwing all the receivers. It's just, you got to understand the pecking order of how it goes. What it seemed to me like, Jay, is that they got these veterans back. And I was like, hey, we gotta get control in NFC South. We gotta go with the guys who we've been rolling with for years. And that showed in the route participation that Baker trusts Mecca Abuka. He trusts Jalen McMillan, who also got some run. He trusts the younger guys, but he trusts the veterans more. And that's what it looks like. You just had to know what's the order when looking at these Bucs receivers.

[Jay]

Yeah, I would still. I think I'd still start a Booker over Godwin. I just thought, like, Godwin had 20 receiving yards last night. He just doesn't look like the same guy. Booker. I think even with the Booker struggles lately, Emeko Burger is a better receiver, I think, at this point of his career than Chris Godwin. I think that that will bear out over these last three games where they go up against three pretty unimposing secondaries, Carolina twice and the Dolphins in the game in between. So you're not super excited about Ibuka. I agree with Lawrence, more of a flex guy now, but I still think.

[Lawrence]

Yeah, both of him and Godwin is more of the flex play. Mike Evans, after seeing that game, is the guy you don't have to worry about.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Connor]

What did you guys think of coming off the weekend or where Isaiah Likely's touchdown was not ruled a catch? The rule to catch and fumble in this game.

[Jay]

Yeah. I don't know. I don't get.

[Connor]

I don't get the rules because on the slow mo replay, I'm like, ah, it's kind of a catch and fumble. But then when you really watch in full time, it's hard to distinguish the difference.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Connor]

In each of them. Not to get in like the nitty.

[Lawrence]

Gritty, but it's very cloudy. It's a week by week, game by game thing.

[Jay]

Yeah. There's a lot of. Because I was watching the end of the game with the sound off. There was a couple of fumbles where it's like. Well, I just assumed the Tampa recovered. It's just insane. How do you know there was one? Particularly with the penultimate score for Atlanta, where it's like there's six bucks in the vicinity and he's on the ground. I'm just assuming the Tampa have come up with the ball. No. And now their season is on life support.

[Connor]

Yeah, it was. That was shocking to me, for sure. All right, well, one more thing from this game, because Sean Tucker, just when you kind of get ready to write him off with Bucky Irving back, he's there to kind of snipe the goal line touches. I think the question is, can this keep happening? As we show the Bucs backfield, it's, listen, Bucky Irving is obviously the guy. He gets 17 touches where Tucker and Rashad White combined for six. That's not the question. But that little problem is there, Lawrence. Bucky's night looks a lot different with that touchdown that he's not getting down there.

[Lawrence]

And I think you just have to hope that, you know, I don't think the Buccaneers, in their offense mind whichever one of these running backs are in the game when they get near the goal line. So to them, it's just like, hey, Bucky just got us down here. Let's give him a breather. Get in, you know, get Sean Tucker in here, who had four carries, seven yards in a touchdown. So, you know, it's just a tough situation. We still keep riding with Bucky Irving. Like you said, Connor, those 17 touches tell the story. Also, week 14, when he came back, that told the story as well when he actually did get the touchdown.

[Connor]

This looks like Minnie was asking his. Bucky a bench moving forward. No red zone work. I agree with you, Lawrence and J. I mean, there's just. There's just no way you would sit him because of.

[Jay]

I think. So he's getting 18 carries in what theoretically should still be a very good offense. The problem is, like, the problem with this offense, frankly, is that Baker Mayfield has not really played well since, like, week six against the Niners.

[Connor]

I'm not convinced he's healthy at all.

[Jay]

No. And it's strange because he's like, he's ripping the ball.

[Connor]

Right.

[Jay]

And he's still not afraid to move around and he's getting hit. I guess that's just.

[Connor]

It's just adrenaline.

[Jay]

Yeah. But he's just missing throws.

[Lawrence]

It's a. It's you know, guys just going through droughts. You seen it like we see it with Lamar. What's the thing we've seen it with Hertz? Baker Mayfield, I think Baker, Baker Mayfield had a three or four game stretch just a couple weeks ago when he didn't throw for 200 yards. But like you said, Jay, he's still, like, he still got it, you know, because he, Baker and he, you know, he the man. But, you know, just, just a tough stretch. But they, they better get rolling now.

[Connor]

All right, let's look at the week 15 injuries we're tracking. Geno Smith, of course, with that shoulder injury and a back injury. Devon Achan left after the first half with the rib injury, though it sounds like he could have came back into that game. Get back to a lot of these. Josh Jacobs with the knee. Alvin Camara with the knee and ankle. Ceedee Lamb, of course, with the concussion, a scary concussion in the end zone. T. Higgins with a concussion as well. Dimonte Adams with a hamstring, although that's something he's kind of dealt with the last couple years. Marvin Harrison Jr. Still with that heel injury. Roma Dunze, who missed last week with the foot injury. Jake Ferguson with the calf. Let's get right back to Josh Jacobs, guys, because he called himself day to day after his knee stiffened in Week 14 against the Bears. But it feels like there's a very real chance, Lawrence, that he might not be, you know, ready to go this week in the first round of the playoffs. A guy that fantasy managers lean on as much as anyone.

[Lawrence]

Yeah. And I hope those who had Emmanuel Wilson a couple weeks ago, whether you roster Josh Jacobs or not, I hope you held onto him. And what's interesting to me here, Connor, is he said it himself that he's day to day. Usually players is like, especially days away from the game. They're like, I'm going to be good to go. I'll be good. Like, that's just what a athlete going to do. They feel like they could get back. But for him, for him himself to say that is like, it's very alarming. And you should definitely have Emmanuel Wilson ready to go.

[Connor]

We actually have a current update that happened while we were doing the show here. Jay. Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Jacobs will practice today in a limited fashion after he's missed this week. But the quote was, it sounds like he's feeling pretty good. But LaFleur made sure to add that he has to see how he feels after the workout.

[Jay]

Yeah, I suspect he's going to play.

[Connor]

Because he's, he's one of, I mean, he's arguably the toughest player in the NFL.

[Jay]

Yeah, I mean, he's one of those guys Herbert we've spoken about in the part. Like Michael Pittman's the same way, just plays through everything for better or worse. So suspected he's probably going to give it a go. I think previously if you reviewed all of the Josh Jacobs 5050 situations going into a site, feels like he plays 85 of the time. The one thing is, is that they play the Bears next week in Chicago and that is division on the line. Now the thing is, is that they kind of have the 1 seed on the line right now. So it's not like this game is like, oh, you can pass up this game and just focus on the division. Like they have a very real chance of getting the one seed. So it's a huge game against the Broncos. So I suspect that Jacobs is probably going to play. Thing is, it's not a great matchup regardless against Denver. But clearly you're going to be starting Josh Jacobs if he's good to go. And I think you feel reasonable enough about starting Emmanuel Wilson anyway, if Jacobs doesn't go even up against the tough defense just because the packers offense is.

[Connor]

Rolling right now, here's maybe a surprising one. CD Lam practice fully on Thursday. That looked like a very scary concussion. Now, he has had a little bit more time than just the standard week, but whenever you kind of see that fencing pose after a concussion, it's a little scary. As we got an update here from Tom Pelissero, Cowboys wide receiver CD Lam has now cleared. Yeah, concussion protocol. So he will play. And the question, Lawrence, isn't are you starting CD Lam? Of course you are. It's what are the expectations for all the other pass catchers in this offense now?

[Lawrence]

Yeah, it should be pretty much the same as it's been. George Pickens, who didn't have a great game last week, Ryan Flournoy, you kind of got to let that go. Now. He came in and had the big numbers, 115 passing yards. That's the guy you. I mean, that is so far of a desperation play that you'd have to start Michael Irvin in 1995 before him. So I would think it'd be business as usual for the Cowboys offense. So Ceedee Lamb, when you got a concussion and you're practicing fully on a Thursday, that's what you like to hear.

[Connor]

If you're his fantasy, especially to clear the protocol. You have to get into full practice. So you could still be in the protocol and practice fully. And that gets you out.

[Jay]

Yeah. Also just related other superstar wide receiver and concussion protocol. Looks like T. Higgins is not practicing.

[Connor]

That's. That's a scary one. Yeah, that's one of those ones where once again we gotta do the football players play thing. But like all you invested in T. Higgins when this season is officially over for the Bengals, I.

[Jay]

This is this thing too.

[Connor]

We're not rushing that.

[Jay]

No, it's. It is a scary situation. It's kind of. It's like Travarius Ward similar deal where like that is now a serious situation. He's gone on IR for a second time. And so yeah, the Bengals naturally don't want T. Higgins in that situation. He's not practicing today. I suspect that he's just not. He won't be playing weekend.

[Connor]

Hard to imagine that he's been ruled out. So that's. Yeah, that's official right there. As you see from Underdog NFL, T. Higgins ruled out for Week 15.

[Lawrence]

He'll miss both games against the Ravens this year and they were literally three weeks apart. It's like Ravens break. Ravens again. T. Higgins missed both of those.

[Connor]

Another wide receiver that was just ruled out. Guys, Marvin, all these are coming in hot and fast here during our show today. Marvin Harrison Jr. Ruled out Sunday against the Texans with that heel injury. So. And Jonathan Gannon did speak to this. He said he anticipates Marv will play again this season. That he's doing a lot better. I don't really know what to make of that, but what I can make of this week. Jay, Michael already know you are Michael Wilson a no brainer start.

[Jay]

Yeah. Again, just like a borderline wide receiver. 1 don't care that he's going up against the Texans. Derek Stingley don't care. The guys just gets peppered with volume. So yeah, fire up Michael Wilson. Start him as you have the previous few weeks.

[Lawrence]

Double digit catches in at least 15 targets and 115 yards. At least that in these three games that Marvin Harrison has missed.

[Connor]

Geno Smith has not been practicing this week with that shoulder injury. Ian Rapoport said it's unlikely that he starts on Sunday, which would put Kenny Pickett in line to play. Do you trust any Raiders pass catchers with Pickett? Lawrence? I would think Bowers.

[Lawrence]

You gotta go cute with Bowers. You're not gonna get cute with Bowers, but you're gonna be nervous. You're not gonna be cute, but you're gonna be nervous. Going against the Eagles defense who played damn good against the Chargers. So you get Eagles defense versus the Chargers. Justin Herbert, Marion Hampton, all those guys. Now you're going against Kenny Pickett. So yeah, Ashton Genty, Brock Bowers wouldn't mess with Trey Tucker. That's it. That's all you got? Brock Bowers for the Raiders and our.

[Connor]

Last one of course or second to last one. We have a mini sad update at the end here. Stephen Holder, great. Does a great job covering the Colts. Says they're prepping Philip Rivers to start in week 15 against the Seahawks. Philip Rivers who with his 70 overall Madden rating it is higher. You're going to love this Lawrence. Higher than Shador, Anthony Richardson and Russell Wilson.

[Lawrence]

I'll give him Anthony Richardson, not Shador.

[Connor]

I give him Russ.

[Lawrence]

They bought the same. Yeah, that's fair because Russ did had a good game versus Dallas. Phil, I think they just showing him respect, you know a veteran would have had a great career but we'll see. Maybe he might play decent and get bumped up to a 75, you know but for him to just come off the couch after what, what is it, five years and get the. I didn't, I mean I didn't think Riley Leonard looked like, you know, he didn't look great.

[Connor]

Max Brosmer, he didn't look like Max Brosmar.

[Lawrence]

Definitely didn't look like Max Brosman. But like I thought, you know, he's been there. He, he handled it like you would expect a guy who wasn't expecting a play six round rookie like I thought he did slide. So for them to bring in old Philly off the off the couch with his kids and coaching high school football, probably got the little beer gut going. He chilling but we about to see what he could do.

[Jay]

Yeah, it's going to be a great science experiment for how much of the quarterback position is above the shoulders because what's below the shoulders doesn't look right.

[Lawrence]

Yeah, yeah, he definitely, he definitely had that. I think it'll be a lot of quick passes. You want to get the ball out of his hands quick because you for sure don't want to get him hit.

[Jay]

Yeah, I've just. People have asked like what's, how do you set a line on this game? Like where do you set the median expectation around what Phil Rivers is going to show? In my head what I'm thinking is like a slightly worse version of the last year of Peyton Manning where you can like still diagnose a defense but there was just nothing left in the arm or the body at that point. Now Peyton Manning to go into the super bowl that year, albeit with one of the great defenses of modern vintage. But yeah, I really don't know what to expect from Phil Rivers. I suspect that it's not going to go great against the Seahawks.

[Lawrence]

They're certainly going to test them. This is the Seahawks at home. They're going to load that box up and say, all right, let's see what you still got there. Because what the Colts are hoping that they can hand it off to Jonathan Taylor and he could break at least one. Because if they could break at least one, then they're going to be in the game. That's what they need. But Seahawks, if I if we're talking about it, then they obviously know that.

[Jay]

Yeah, line taking up to -14 market unimpressed by Phil Rivers of practice. I think. Look, the thing is is that I think Shane Slacken is a good coach and I think that that that team is filled with solid coaching and if they are making the choice that Phil Rivers gives them the best chance to win over Riley Leonard, still kind of have to defer to the institutional knowledge there, even if from the outside it seems pretty wild.

[Connor]

Yeah. And one thing to note guys, his expected right tackle Braden Smith has not been practicing this week. Braden Smith obviously a stalwart on that offensive line. So.

[Lawrence]

So you didn't tell me that at first.

[Connor]

If you don't want to change the take. Yeah, I give you the floor. Speaking of old people, Mercedes Lewis, waived by the Broncos but expected to be signed back to the practice squad. So the big dog hopefully not going anywhere yet.

[Lawrence]

He represented this tips it for me.

[Jay]

I love packers minus two and a half now.

[Connor]

Yeah. Mercedes Lewis, a favorite of fantasy football Happy hour. If you're missing one of these guys this week, well, you might need to get on waivers for fantasy playoffs here. These guys have availability in over 50 places of leagues. C.J. stroud a top 15 play against Arizona. J.J. mcCarthy a top 20 play because he's playing Dallas. Chris Rodriguez Jr against the Giants. Devin Singletary of course, right back at you against the Commanders. Tajie Spears and Shimere DK against the Niners. Jaden Reed Broncos are a tough matchup, but Jaden Reed heavily involved in his return. Jaden Higgins Theo Johnson a favorite of Jackson Dart and Isaiah Likely. The Bengals have been awful against tight ends this week. Let's get into a couple more questions here as the regulars have plenty to offer here going into the weekend. This first one is from Joshua Stinnett, Terry McLaurin, Tet McMillan or Michael Wilson. Well, Michael Wilson is your written ink.

[Jay]

He chooses himself.

[Lawrence]

Yeah, Michael Wilson is in. And this one's tough because Terry McLaurin came back. Looked good. With Mariota versus the Broncos. I still go Tetaroa here going against the Saints. What say you?

[Jay]

It's a coin flip between those two. Lane, Teteroa, McMillan. Bit more stable of a situation.

[Connor]

Yeah, I think so too. It's nice though to know that with Marv not playing, you have a definite in Michael Wilson there for you. This one from the Foot Brawler. Of course, with T out worth grabbing. Josephus or Devon Vale could also play Jerry Judy, Lawrenceville.

[Jay]

The resident Browns fan.

[Lawrence]

See, Jerry Judy would be interested. Yeah, that's my team, babe.

[Jay]

Cleveland.

[Lawrence]

Jerry Judy would. I would think that was interesting. The thing is, it's going to be 10 degrees out there in Chicago. Filling with the wind chill. Minus five point total is probably like 30, 38 and a half.

[Connor]

Yeah.

[Jay]

The Browns ever played a game in a dome.

[Lawrence]

All of these games, they always cold.

[Connor]

I hope they don't. Yeah, I hope they don't.

[Lawrence]

Ah, man. With. With that being said, shoot. Maybe Vale.

[Connor]

I was gonna say because.

[Lawrence]

Because Yoshevis. When T. Higgins was out the last game, he. He didn't. He didn't do much.

[Connor]

Gasecki. Gasecki gets a bump.

[Lawrence]

Mike. Yeah, he. I would say it's more so that I think Mike Gaseki has always been good when either T. Higgins or Ja' Marr Chase is out of the game.

[Connor]

Here comes wide receiver too, for that.

[Lawrence]

So I would say Devon Velle here.

[Jay]

Mike Kasecki treats every catch as though he's like won a competition to play in the NFL for a day and he's caught the ball for the first time.

[Lawrence]

Do that broke ass gritty when he score.

[Connor]

All right. Hopefully that helps you out, footballer. Our next question rolling in here from domestic. Nico and Michael Wilson are auto starts. Need to pick two. Justin Jefferson, Jacoby Myers and Terry McLeod. I think Myers, you're absolutely starting.

[Jay]

So funny that Michael Wilson's an auto starter.

[Lawrence]

We ain't mad at it.

[Connor]

Oh, God.

[Jay]

I'm still going with Justin Jefferson. Even I know that he hasn't done anything. But I would like.

[Lawrence]

Yeah, I'll go Jefferson in Myers.

[Connor]

Me too.

[Lawrence]

Yep.

[Jay]

I agree. Joey Myers. Yeah. Number one receiving option for Trevor Lawrence, right?

[Connor]

Yeah. The Jaguars are constantly looking his way. Has a pretty good matchup here against the jets secondary right now, obviously, since they traded sauce. So your answer there. Justin Jefferson and Jacoby Myers. Our next one here From Ball Glove Fun.

[Jay]

What the hell is that?

[Connor]

Sure, with the logo.

[Lawrence]

Look at the custom logo. It just made me think of so many different things.

[Connor]

Just saying, you know, Wilson over Josh Jacobs in the Flex. I'm assuming you're talking about Michael Wilson. And my answer would be yes.

[Lawrence]

Yeah, especially he got to be talking about Michael Wilson, right? Not Emmanuel. Because it's. It would be clear what you would do. Right. So as of today, you would say we'd have to go with Michael Wilson because we don't know the status of Josh Jacobs right now. But I think you'll. Hopefully you could get. When we get get to Sunday and you don't have the. If Josh Jacobs is still questionable, then you have to go with Michael Wilson at the one o' clock game.

[Connor]

All right, let's get to a doctor that can answer our flexual frustrations as we welcome on good friend of the Show, Denny Carter.

[Jay]

Dr. Carter, I have a friend. His name's Art Vandelay. He's a latex salesman. You may have used some of his products in your personal life.

[Todd Bowles]

Sure.

[Jay]

And anyway, he's also an importer exporter. Anyway, Art Vandelay, he has a brother named Devon Bailey. This is a very strange situation I found myself in where Art Vanderlei was asking me whether he should start his brother Devon Bailey against the Bucks this week.

[Denny Carter]

Look, Devon Bailey. Eight of eight targets last week. Caught eight of eight targets, 92 yards and a touchdown. This was after I went on the road to World Football show and said, you can't play this guy. Stop. Stop with the valet stuff. And then he called me out by name after the game.

[Connor]

I'm kidding.

[Denny Carter]

But seriously, he could have.

[Connor]

You got flexural frustrations? Our Dr. Denny Carter has the answer. Hello, Denny.

[Lawrence]

Danny.

[Jay]

Hey, guys.

[Denny Carter]

Yeah, look, Vale let me down. I can't get on the same page with Art Vandelay or Devon Vale. Both of them are just beyond my comprehension at the moment.

[Jay]

That's okay.

[Connor]

Let's run it back.

[Jay]

Yeah, it's okay. The valet's let down a lot of people. You don't have to worry about that. You're not alone there, Dr. Carter. I want to talk to you about Love in a group setting of men. I speak, of course, of Jordan Love and his group of wide receivers, which features Jaden Reed, who now is in this big group of men of Christian Watson and on Tavian Wicks and Romeo Dobbs and Matthew golden, if he's still alive, can we start? Jaden Reed in our flex in his second game back.

[Denny Carter]

I Think there's enough love to go around and really there always should be. As a doctor, we, you know, we study, you know, the spreading of love, you know, in a group setting like you're talking about Jay. And, and so I do think that there's enough to go around for Jaden Reed. 65% of the routes last week in his return from injury. We could see that ramped up in this coming week and then into the fantasy playoffs. He was targeted on a pretty strong 24% of his routes last week. And Jane Reed is facing a Broncos defense that is facing 10.15 slot targets per week. That's the eighth highest rate in the league. So slot receivers are getting opportunities against this Denver offense. I, I like love and I like Jaden Reed.

[Lawrence]

All right, Nice. Denny.

[Denny Carter]

Denny Lawrence. Welcome to the second, by the way. Lawrence.

[Jay]

Yeah, Lawrence has done this before. Be careful, my friend.

[Lawrence]

Speaking of love, I have a little family affair thing going on too. Like last week with Jay and Vale. Ben Franklin, you ever heard of him? Guy on the hundred dollar bill. His great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandson Troy is on the other side of that Packers Broncos matchup. Two good defenses. Can he get a hundred bills for us like his great, great granddaddy?

[Denny Carter]

Yeah, look, that's the analytics of DNA, I guess. You know, we, we've, we've looked into that. You know, I've looked into that as a doctor, and I think that you're right. I think you're onto something actually, Lawrence. But yeah, against Green Bay. Here's the, here's the reason. And you know, Troy Franklin has lost his role to Pat Bryant over the past two weeks. But Pat Bryant unfortunately suffered a hamstring injury on Thursday during practice. He's seeming seemingly very unlikely to play this week against the Packers. Troy Franklin, folks may forget, okay, the Zoomers, the young people might forget. Through Week 10, Troy Franklin was fourth in the whole NFL in air yards. He had a 20% target share over the first 10 weeks of the season. If he, you know, reclaims that wide receiver two role for Denver, I think he could be very interesting against the packers who have profiled as a pass funnel lately.

[Jay]

Yeah, people don't actually know this, but Ben Franklin is actually one of Phil Rivers 10 children.

[Connor]

People actually do often overlook that.

[Jay]

People always forget that.

[Lawrence]

And what that makes Troy Franklin related to Philip Rivers. See the thing the more you know.

[Connor]

Denny, Mike Kafka very difficult human to figure out, as we've all learned. And one of those things is his obsession with Motor Singletary Getting the ball over and over again. But Tyrone Tracy, surprisingly, after that hip injury not that long ago, seemingly healthy against the Commanders. Can we get some influence over Mike Kafka to actually feature Tyrone Tracy?

[Denny Carter]

Kafka seems to want, you know, a two way situation here between Tracy and Singletary. And that's okay. That's okay with me. I'm going with Tracy myself against a Washington defense that has been, as you guys know, awful of late, allowing the fifth highest rushing success rate and the fifth highest rate of missed tackles per rush. All the, all the metrics point to the Commanders being really bad against the run and of course against the pass. Washington is allowing 164 rush yards per game since week nine. That's the fifth highest in the league. And the last two times that Tyron Tracy has played a full game, he's seen 19 carries and 20 carries. I'll take that every day in this matchup.

[Connor]

Danny, great stuff as always. We always appreciate you coming on and answering everybody's flexual frustrations. And if everybody has more, don't miss right after this. Denny's live Q and A where you can have even more of these questions solved and answered. Thank you, Denny.

[Jay]

All right, thanks, guys. Thank you, Denny.

[Lawrence]

Appreciate it.

[Connor]

This Sunday, the first round of the fantasy playoffs begins to wrap up with plenty of big names in Dallas as the Cowboys host the Vikings at Jerry World Sunday, 7 Eastern on NBC. And Peacock taking our first break. When we're back, we're answering some of your best questions. What's on tap is right after this.

[Lawrence]

That the sequel was.

[Jay]

Is that you?

[Connor]

That opening scene where there's all these.

[Lawrence]

Eggs and they scatter.

[Jay]

You know, they scatter. I say we shoot, we look at.

[Connor]

That scene, we replay that scene, but.

[Jay]

From a different angle.

[Connor]

And we notice that there is one egg that rolls all the way away and doesn't get destroyed.

[Jay]

And that we see Nemo actually has a brother.

[Connor]

I just remember thinking like fighting Philip Rivers.

[Jay]

But the executive had said to us, the executive. Screw you.

[Connor]

Screw you.

[Jay]

Having a.

[Connor]

Deb, this story makes. Yes, the Finding Nemo sequel.

[Jay]

I think I finally understand why Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles is no good.

[Connor]

Yeah, it all makes sense now.

[Lawrence]

Like, what the hell was going on in that.

[Connor]

Here's the regular power rankings for week 15 where stupid Depp is just an honorable mention. Somehow I voted for him to be number one after that comment. John of the Medici, though, a very deserving, absolutely holder of the top spot. Valiant Vincent, raise the flags. Aloha, Brick. Stuntman Chuck Neck Brace Nation. Lawrence Big fan of yours.

[Lawrence]

Shout out to Neck Brace Nation. Man, they came quick and they came strong, man.

[Jay]

Football is 77 also.

[Lawrence]

I wonder if others receiving votes. Scott McGlory, 8312 is feeling like Notre Dame right now just sitting there.

[Connor]

Same with the sec, man. All right, what's on tap is brought to you by Bud Light, the official beer sponsor of the NFL. Sundays are easy to enjoy when they're full of football and the fridge is filled with beer. And we're going to make it even easier for you by taking some of your questions. The first one from Valiant Vincent, Sam Darnold or Jared Goff this week, rest of the season Jay, what do you think?

[Jay]

I think it's Jared Goff for both this week and the rest of season. This week in particular though, because the total in that Lions rams game is 54 and a half. So for Matthew, Jared Goff comes in at QB13, Sam Donald all the way down at QB20. It's not necessarily a reflection on Sam Donald's talent, but just the fact that he is a 14 point favorite now and again where he's not expected to throw. We've just seen these games where when the Seahawks blow teams out, Sam Donald often has, you know, 20 past attempts and unless he's what I'm worried about.

[Lawrence]

There'S been a game where Sam Darnold had a 135 passing yards and they won 42 to 21.

[Jay]

That Cardinals Gavin, he threw the ball like 11 times.

[Lawrence]

Yeah, they didn't have to throw. On the Lions and Rams side of it though, you like the game environment, Jay, you mentioned the 54 and a half over under that's tied for the highest of the season. It's by far the highest over under of this week here. Lions got a hell of a lot more to play for right now as they're fighting for their playoff lives here against the best team in the NFL in the Rams. So I'm going to go with golf as well.

[Jay]

The other thing too with Donald, so he's got this game where he's a 14 point favorite against the Colts in a couple of weeks he plays the Panthers where they'll be a big favorite there and then the one game where he may actually need to throw and it might be a shootout is against the Rams, which is the team that he threw the four interceptions against and seemed to have real trouble. Seems to have real trouble with. Chris Shula's defense surely got him in the playoffs last year as well. So I think it's a Great slate for Sam Donald in the playoffs.

[Connor]

All right, our second question is from Nopenunya 1. Help burrow or hurts? Jones, Mason, Devin Neal or Quinshawn Judkins? Lots unpack there Lawrence. Let's start with the simple quarterback question. Burrow or Jalen Hurts coming off in.

[Lawrence]

A horrendous game, which is exactly why I take him here. That's the first. I would say that's the worst game in Jalen Hurts career. Four interceptions coming off that game. Now he faces the Raiders. That's a whole different can of worms than going on the road against the Chargers. There you look at Joe Burrow again. He's going up against these Ravens with no T. Higgins. Now Joe Burrow started off slow in that Ravens game a couple of weeks ago, but he picked it up and looked like Joe Burrow the second half. But that Bill's game, some of those turnovers just doesn't look like Joe Burrow. And then when it comes down to it, I'm just going with the quarterback who's already coming off of he can. He's not going to be worse than that. Then you got the better matchup. You're going against a team that's starting Kenny Pickett so your offense is going to have more opportunities. So I'm going to go with Jalen Hurts over Joe Burrow this week.

[Jay]

Yep, I agree that I think like the actual outcome in his performance is diabolical. Hurts against the charges. I thought some of the process elements were good fantasy wise in terms of the fact that there were more design runs for Jalen Hurts. He was actually running the ball a little bit. There were gaps for Saquon Barkley to run as well. Just the offense. There were elements that you like and I think you like as well that A.J. brown continues to show that you know he has made huge strides from where he was at the start of the season. And so if Hertz is throwing to, you know, an awoken AJ Brown and devontae Smith and there's maybe a little bit more juice in the running attack too. I think you prefer him to Joe Burrow without T. Higgins. As far as the other aspect of the question goes, I would go with Quintean Judkins over the Jones Mason tandem and Devon Neal too. Judkins is rushing. Prop set at 70 and a half is a good chance of getting in the end zone. Bears rush defense not particularly imposing. We saw what Josh Jacobs was able to do and to your point, Lawrence can be cold, cold out there.

[Lawrence]

Lean on the run game versus a team that's giving up five yards per carry to running backs this season. Those big dudes that run fast like that get hard to tackle in that cold weather.

[Connor]

Our last one guys 559 EB asks Kyle Manungai, Tyrone Tracy or Chris Rodriguez.

[Lawrence]

Here Lawrence, you know love me some Kyle Manongai how he run that ball. The thing is not much of a pass catcher in that Bears offense but Tyrone Tracy is when he plays for the Giants and he's got 20 plus touches in each of his last two healthy games. That was in week 11 and in week 12. Now expect in, you know, I'm sorry expect Devin Singletary to get those double digit carries but should be plenty enough to go around for both Giants running backs to get those touches in ppr. Obviously Tyrone Tracy get you four to six catches. That's why I give him the edge over to others.

[Connor]

You agree Jay?

[Jay]

Yeah, I think so. Just Manung guy, you worry about the matchup against Cleveland. I understand that the Bears are, you know, more than touchdown favorites in that game, but mostly going up against Tony Pollard. The Browns have been just about the best rush defense in the NFL.

[Lawrence]

So what happened with that?

[Jay]

I don't know. I don't know. I just think they were just, they were just at the right.

[Connor]

It felt like a very one off outlier. Yeah, we'll see if that changes. But it very odd.

[Jay]

They'll bounce back from it. The positive case for Manungai would be that maybe this Bears rushing attack is just so good that it almost doesn't matter who their opponent is.

[Lawrence]

Our Manon guy is not falling backwards when he get tackled. Always falling forward. That's what you love. That's what he brings to that offense.

[Jay]

Yep. But ultimately I would go Tyrone Tracy as well. The most favorable matchup.

[Connor]

That'll do it for what's on tap. Presented by Bud Light. Easy to drink, easy to enjoy. But we do have a very important bonus question from themjor Slick. Hey, what happened? Why isn't the show on Spotify anymore? I like when a question starts with hey, what happened?

[Lawrence]

What happened man?

[Connor]

Why isn't the show on Spotify anymore? For all our regulars out there who listen to the show on Spotify, first off, thank you. We're aware of the recent episodes not being available. We're working on getting that fixed. In the meantime, you can listen to us on Apple or any other major podcast platforms. And of course, don't forget we're live on on YouTube every weekday at noon Eastern and on Peacock at 5pm and even if you missed the show live on YouTube, you could always go back and watch the show again at your best convenience on YouTube. So stick with us. We'll get back to those that are in the routine of listening on Spotify. We'll get that fixed. But for now, just stick with us and use a different platform. All right, we're taking our last break. When we're back, we have our best picks to impress Lawrence this week. Pickup lines finally get to pit. DraftKings Sportsbook is an official sports betting partner of the NFL and new customers can bet $5 and get $200 in bonus bets. If your bet wins down the app and use promo code ffhh when you sign up DraftKings sportsbook, the Crown is yawns. This is done. Gents, last call. Pick up lines. We got them for Lawrence this week. As we look at Jay and Icky. We'll finish strong, don't worry.

[Jay]

Maybe. Well, look, he kept losing.

[Connor]

Hey, I got one last week. Man, did it feel good.

[Lawrence]

All right, go ahead, Jay. All right.

[Jay]

Oh, boy. Oh, boy. All right, Lawrence, here's my pickup line.

[Connor]

Let's go real strong, grandpa.

[Jay]

Phil Rivers over 151 and a half passing yards. Now here's the thing. This is clearly a very vulnerable market. No one knows how to price this market with great confidence. This is calculated guesswork. My man Phil Rivers has 63,000 passing yards. What's another 152? Here's the thing, he is 14 point underdog in Seattle. If they think that he is a better option to start over Riley Leonard, then I think that he has enough left to simply throw to his first read in catch up mode and get to 152. There's no crazy weather. The Seahawks have arguably the best rush defense in the NFL up there with teams like the Browns. I don't think that Jonathan Taylor is going to have a great deal of success on the ground. I just think that they're going to need to throw us underdogs and the Phil Rivers in his current state will still be able to get to 152.

[Connor]

So obviously Jay and I don't discuss these. That's the point of the segment. But we're thinking along the lines of the same thing because I'm going Jonathan Taylor over 14 and a half receiving yards. And here's why.

[Jay]

Number one Colts themed.

[Connor]

There's a very real chance that they're. They're getting smoked or they're at least playing in a script where they have to have the old man throw the Old man, the old man does not, understandably, does not want to be taking deep drops back there and getting clobber. That's not good for anybody. Which means it's got to go to the running back that should always be on the field. And the Seahawks have allowed a running back as great as they are because they're in these scripts, they've allowed a running back to clear this number in six of their last eight games. Jonathan Taylor himself has cleared this number in nine, 13 this year. It's 14 and a half yards. You can get that off of a screen pass. So Jonathan Taylor, I like his receiving prop Philip Rivers. Just last time we saw Rivers he wasn't dumbing it down to Jonathan Taylor, but he was dumping it down into Naheem Hines a lot.

[Lawrence]

And you should definitely do it to Jonathan. It's funny because as Jay is saying his I'm like, well yeah, he's going to get that because he's going to throw it to Jonathan Taylor and he's going to break one and that'll get him halfway there. So because of that is why I got to go with Connors bet because I think that what helps him get there is Jonathan Taylor on those quick passes. So I like both of them. I think both will probably end up hitting but because it's Jonathan Taylor, I got to go with Connor and J.T. here.

[Connor]

What a state of the season, fellas. We are for pickup lines on Friday. We are closing out the week leaning and relying on a 44 year old Philip Rivers.

[Lawrence]

We're sidearms too. He's going to be like the boys.

[Connor]

Are back Sunday morning, of course, for fantasy football pregame, which you can watch right here. But that's it for us this week for Jay, for Lawrence, I'm Connor. Good luck everybody. Have a great weekend.