THE HERD - Hour 1 - The Bears have their guy in Ben Johnson, Bills suffer another disappointing loss

Summary

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd: Hour 1 – The Bears Have Their Guy in Ben Johnson, Bills' Latest Letdown

Date: October 14, 2025
Host: Colin Cowherd
Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd

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Overview

Colin Cowherd dives into a packed sports Tuesday, centering on the Chicago Bears’ resurgence under new head coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams, as well as the Buffalo Bills’ ongoing struggles and lack of creativity under Sean McDermott. The episode ranges from NFL takeaways to MLB postseason reactions and betting chatter, all infused with Colin’s distinct blend of data-driven argument and lively banter with co-host J. Mac.

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Main Topics and Key Discussion Points

1. Chicago Bears’ Transformation Under Ben Johnson

[01:50 – 12:00, 28:50–33:50]

• Statistical Leap:
  • Bears are a touchdown better per game than last year (from 18.2 to 25.2 points per game).
  • Seven of last year's losses were by one possession; the improvement bridges that gap.

    “Between the organizational structure, improvement, the play design and the play calling, the Chicago Bears have found their coach. And he's worth about a touchdown a game to Caleb Williams.” — Colin Cowherd [02:30]

• Leadership and Vibe:
  • Ben Johnson is credited with increased energy, improved first-quarter play, and a more decisive identity.
  • The team’s operational mistakes have been nearly eliminated.

    “He's just eliminated the ridiculous from the Bears.” — Colin [29:30]

  • Significant O-line rebuild showing tangible results, especially in run blocking for DeAndre Swift.
• Caleb Williams Development:
  • Williams improves incrementally and benefits from Johnson’s play calling.

    “What you have with Caleb Williams is all this firepower… and Ben Johnson is just pushing it in the right direction.” — Colin [03:42]

  • Williams is still raw compared to peers but is coachable and flashes elite talent.
  • Running game keeps pressure off the rookie, allowing the Bears to play with a lead.
• Turnover Margin and Discipline:
  • Bears now top of the league in takeaways/giveaways after years of self-inflicted losses.

    “So much of winning in the NFL is playing the cleaner game… Last year they did not.” — Colin [13:20]

• Ben Johnson and Locker Room Culture:

  “I think it says a lot about our locker room right now… Now they're starting to understand that, man, if this thing's close in the fourth quarter, then someone’s gonna step up and make a play for us.” — Ben Johnson [33:29] “That was a team win… Not for one second. Nice and steady, nice and calm the entire way through. And you know what? Whatever it took, whatever it took, we found a way.” — Ben Johnson, postgame locker room [33:54]

• Team Ceiling and Expectations:
  • Acknowledges Bears still have room to grow but have a legitimate shot at a winning streak with an upcoming favorable schedule.
  • Caution advised on trade rumors (i.e., DJ Moore), as the team shouldn’t “mess with momentum.”

    “When's the last time they start talking Bears winning streaks?... I don't want to mess with success.” — Colin [14:45]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “When your kid's gotten Fs and Ds, a B- feels pretty good.” — Colin [05:17]
• “Explosive. Last night, they were coming out of their uniforms. They were flying all over the field.” — Colin [05:40]
• J. Mac: “Caleb looks super comfortable in the pocket. I was pretty stunned.” [12:55]

2. Buffalo Bills: Stuck in the Mud

[09:50–12:55, 34:54–37:54]

• Comparisons to NBA’s Warriors Coaching Change:
  • Cowherd likens Sean McDermott to Mark Jackson and suggests the Bills need their “Steve Kerr” to unlock creativity.

    “Steph Curry needed Steve Kerr. Sean McDermott’s the Mark Jackson.” — Colin [09:55]

• Offensive Stagnation:
  • Bills lack creative play design and seem dependent on Josh Allen’s heroics.

    “When’s the last time you watched the Bills and went, man, they are super creative?” — Colin [09:56]

• Defensive Woes:
  • Personnel losses have eroded a once stout defense; the team is now “bad against the run.”
• Discouraging Trends & Urgency:
  • The Bills have beaten only bottom-tier teams (opponents' combined record: 3-21).
  • “This may be a moment” for seismic change, especially with rivals faltering.
  • Questions whether McDermott is the right leader as Allen enters his prime.

    “How many years can you waste? … You better not waste these years.” — Colin [11:10]

• Sean McDermott, Postgame (after latest loss):

  “We gotta start from ground zero and work our way back up.” — Sean McDermott [12:14]

• Colin’s Conclusion:
  • Bills don’t belong in the Herd Hierarchy’s Top 10.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Buffalo just feels like... they rely on one product. They're Crocs. Kansas City's got an Apple desktop, laptop, iPhone, Apple TV... there's a lot of different ways Kansas City can beat you.” — Colin [37:10]
• “Buffalo was all about Josh Allen. That's what they're about.” — Colin [37:47]

3. Bears and Bills Roster/Strategy Debate

[14:12–14:45]

• J. Mac questions whether the Bears should flip DJ Moore to a WR-needy team like Buffalo.
  • Colin encourages the Bears to “not get greedy," warning against disrupting momentum.

4. MLB Playoff Insights & Mariners Praise

[21:03–28:46]

• Colin raves about Blake Snell’s postseason dominance for the Dodgers.
  • “That was an all-timer… You’re not going to see too many performances like that certainly in the postseason.” — Dave Roberts [21:40]
• Discussion of Yankees and Mariners’ divergent fortunes and roster construction philosophies.
  • “The Mariners and the Brewers have spent their money well, considering the money they have… Seattle is just a smartly constructed team.” — Colin [27:10]
• Lighthearted banter about Seattle's "Trident” home run prop.

5. NFL Quick Hits, Betting Angles & Herd Hierarchy Teases

[43:07–45:34]

• Debates about upcoming NFL upsets and betting lines:
  • Arizona vs. Green Bay, Tennessee at New England.
  • Colin’s “play of the week” is Detroit over Tampa.
• Teases for Nick Wright and Herd Hierarchy upcoming in Hour 2.

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Memorable Quotes & Segments With Timestamps

• On Ben Johnson’s Impact:

  “Organizational structure, improvement, play design — the Bears have found their coach. He’s worth about a touchdown a game to Caleb Williams.” — Colin [02:30]

• On Culture Shift:

  “He’s just eliminated the ridiculous from the Bears.” — Colin [29:30]

• On the Bills’ Stagnation:

  “When’s the last time you watched the Bills and went, man, they are super creative?” — Colin [09:56]

• On Winning Clean:

  “So much of winning in the NFL is playing the cleaner game… Last year they did not.” — Colin [13:20]

• Player Energy:

  “Explosive. Last night, they were coming out of their uniforms. They were flying all over the field.” — Colin [05:40]

• Fan Sentiment:

  “When your kid’s gotten Fs and Ds, a B- feels pretty good.” — Colin [05:17]

• On Locker Room Growth:

  “They’re not just believing, but now they’re starting to understand that, man, if this thing’s close in the fourth quarter, then someone’s gonna step up and make a play.” — Ben Johnson [33:29]

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Additional Notes

• Tone and Style: Colin is upbeat, irreverent, and analytical — mixing statistical evidence with storytelling and a dash of sarcasm.
• Listener Takeaways:
  • Chicago’s coaching/roster decisions are finally paying dividends, with legitimate hope for the future but measured present expectations.
  • The Bills are hitting a wall, and unless something changes, they risk wasting the prime years of their franchise QB.
  • MLB playoff discussion highlights the value of smart roster building, not just high payrolls.
  • NFL analysis includes actionable betting advice and musings on league trends.

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For further analysis and Top 10 Power Rankings, stay tuned for Hour 2 featuring Nick Wright and the Herd Hierarchy.

Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[B]

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You wouldn't believe everything they're into. Healthcare, energy. Yeah, aerospace. This rover wheel has to deal with temperature swings, radiation and rough terrain on the moon, so going to the tire innovation guys makes sense, you know? Learn [e-mail] y michelinnovation Michelin Motion for Life thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports radio at noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go to Tuesday, an incredibly packed Tuesday. Best time of the year this week, next week, following week, college football, NFL, Major League Baseball playoffs. We're live. We're in Chicago. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks for watching us on whatever platform you're watching us on. FS1 iHeartradio and more. So, J. Mac, I went and I burrowed into the stats this morning on the Chicago Bears last year at this time to this year, and I went to all of last year's Bears games and then I went to the five they played. They're three and two this morning, and it's amazing. They're a touchdown better exactly per game than last year. So remember seven of the 12 losses for the Bears last year. We talked about this a lot. In the off season, seven of the 12 losses were one possession. So do you think an additional touchdown? Last year they averaged 18.2. This year, 25.2. So between the organized organizational structure, improvement, the play design and the play calling, the Chicago Bears have found their coach. And he's worth about a touchdown a game to Caleb Williams. A touchdown a game's a lot. I predicted before the season that Mike Vrabel, his staff and the new free agents and the draft picks would be worth about six. And I thought I was being, you know, a little optimistic. Seven a game and much better first quarter team, tremendous energy. Ben Johnson gets credit for that. They can win on the road. They can win close. Caleb Williams was good enough. He's never going to be 69% completion guy. His. His ball placement is still mid, but he's gifted. He makes all the throws. And what you have with Caleb Williams is all this firepower, all this strength, all this horsepower, and Ben Johnson is just pushing it in the right direction. And Caleb is very amenable to all the coaching. That's not always the case. Caleb deserves credit there. A great head coach can't fix everything. But the Bears didn't need to fix everything. They needed to upgrade their O line. They spent money on it. They needed to stop turning the ball over. They needed to, you know, score in the first quarter. So. And again, I look at the Bears today and I think they can go toe to toe athletically and toe to toe physically with probably anybody in the league not named the Chiefs. They can go toe to toe with coaching, toe to toe with athletes, wide receiver, running back, tight end. They got dudes. They got dudes. Roma dunze DJ Moore, Luther Burden. Swift was a monster last night. Now, right now, today, Jaden Daniels is more refined and the more accurate quarterback. But he made mistakes. They had a pick. They had a couple fumbles. And sometimes in the NFL, it's this simple. Win the turnover battle like the team that does wins like 70% in the league. It was the Bears last night that were more buttoned up. It was the Bears last night that didn't make critical mistakes. Anybody in Chicago, any Bear fan, will tell you the mistakes Washington made last night. That's what the Bears have been doing the last 15 years. So sometimes improvement is just incremental. Step by step, head in the right direction. But with Ben Johnson and an ascending quarterback, they are officially worth a touchdown more per game. And oh my, the way they can score first now, meaning they're playing often with a lead. I mean, 13, nothing, boom, we're leading on the road. I don't even know how do you quantify how important that is? So last year they were 28th in scoring. Now they're top 10. And I think we all admit the operational stuff isn't 100% there yet, but it's close. It's not a hundred percent there, but it's close. So I think it, I, I, I think between the money they spent in the O line, Burden, I'd like to see more Loveland, I'd like to see more of him. But I think last night is what the Bears should look like on most Sundays or Mondays. That's what they should look like. Explosive. Yeah. When your kid's gotten Fs and Ds, a B minus feels pretty good. You're not going to call the teacher, have a parent teacher meet, B minus, you'll settle for. So I think a lot of it, they're better statistically. Their production's better, the look is better, the vibe is better, the energy. Last night, I mean, they were coming out of their uniforms. They were flying all over the field. And here's Caleb on his coach. He is a mastermind. And so being able to, to have him, sometimes he's on the headset and it's like, this is a great play call right here. Here we go. And, and so he did that today. And, and he says that to me. And so he has all belief and confidence in himself. And then, you know that those little things actually provide confidence. You know, when you're about to go call the play. I mean, I, if, if you're a Bears fan, you won in the road again. Can you say winning Streak and we'll talk about the schedule later. But I mean, you even took a reclamation project at kicker. Yeah, you had one blocked. Again, this was a B, B minus performance. And, and your quarterback wasn't as accurate, but you took a lead. You win the turnover battle. You were the cleaner team. You didn't make the critical mistakes. Again, when you've been getting Ds, a B to a B minus feels great if you're a Bear fan. The other thing that's very encouraging is, I mean, they can play a lot better than this. I mean, they, they, they can absolutely play better than this. They were solid. They were good. They were good enough to win, but there's a lot left here. We'll talk about their schedule coming up. Okay, now trouble. Remember, Remember when the Warriors. You remember this? The warriors had Mark Jackson, a defensive coach, and everybody liked Mark Jackson, but Steph Curry needed something else and they went and hired Steve Kerr and the rest is history. I know Mark Jackson. I like Mark Jackson. I'd hire Mark Jackson as a coach, but Steph Curry needed Steve Kerr. And I kind of feel like Sean McDermott's the Mark Jackson. When's the last time you watched the Bills and went, man, they are super creative. I watch Andy Reid, I think they're broken or at least stuck. And andy Reid, the McVeighs, Sean Payton, they're like great engineers. They can tweak, go under the hood, rebuild the offensive line quickly. Play design, play calling, nothing but clever. I kind of feel like Josh Allen can feel it once again because they've paid him. You got to cut back on the defense and Sean McDermott with average defensive personnel. They're bad against the run. They're bad against the run. I think you have to make a move at the trade deadline. How many years can you waste? Burrows out again. Chargers beat up Lamar and the. The Ravens are falling apart. This may be a moment. Harbaugh's teams are only getting better. Mike Vrabel got five, six games with Drake May. They've now officially become first place New England Patriots. You think they're getting worse or better, but I kind of feel like they're stuck. And I think Josh Allen knows it, and I think you can see the body language. The Bills have faced the easiest schedule in the league so far, and their four wins are against teams that are 3 and 21. They were not better than New England. That was not a shocker when you watched it. New England was better and they're only getting better. I watched Atlanta last night. They Had Bijan Robinson and Drake London. Those were the two big playmakers on the field. Atlanta was better. Penix, by the way, looks pretty good. So I don't think this is, oh, this is surprising. I just think Buffalo, they need to find playmakers, they need to add juice. And I'm not sure McDermott's it and I think Josh Allen is a great kid and wouldn't say it publicly, but when's the last time you watched the Bills game like you do with the Chiefs regularly or a McVeigh team and you went, whoa. Or Kyle Shanahan? I don't see it. And that doesn't mean McDermott's like a great supervisor, like a total pro, knows what he's doing. But you better not waste these years. Burrow's going to be healthy eventually. Baltimore's gonna, we think, be healthy, er, eventually. Harbaugh and Sean Payton have young quarterbacks. They're not getting worse. Vrabel and Drake may going nowhere, probably better than you. Now here's Sean McDermott after the disappointing loss.

[A]

We gotta figure it out. We gotta dive deep into what we're.

[B]

Doing, how we're doing it, making sure we got the right people in the right positions and then the execution at the end of the day, so. But we gotta, we gotta start from.

[A]

Ground zero and work our way back up.

[B]

The Buffalo Bills, do they make the herd hierarchy top 10? Because I've watched them now back to back weekends and I'm telling you, New England's only getting better. And I'm watching Bijan Robinson and Drake London, Michael Penix. Did you notice this last night, how comfortable he was? You know who's never comfortable? Quarterbacks playing the Chiefs. You watch the Chiefs and you watch the Bills over the last 48 hours. You think Buffalo can compete with that? I do not. So, J. Mac, it was a wild night. The Mariners are now up 20 to the Jays. The Dodgers in a crazy game. What was your take on Chicago?

[A]

Yeah, I thought Chicago looked kind of like a Detroit Ben Johnson team. Run first. DeAndre Swift going crazy and it sets up the pass. Caleb looks super comfortable in the pocket. I was pretty stunned. I will just say though, Colin, you know, if Jaden Daniels doesn't fumble the wet ball.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

You know, we, we're here with a totally different take.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I mean they, they had that game locked up. You were looking good at a five and oh yeah, you know, Washington doesn't fumble.

[B]

Yeah, but they did. And, and by the way, we said this, so much of winning in the NFL is playing the cleaner game.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which last year they did not. So right now, takeaways, giveaways, Bears are at the top of the league. So so much of this stuff. I was talking about this yesterday with a friend about he's a Denver Broncos fan. And I said the Broncos do the best job in the league at protecting their quarterback. And sacking yours like that is huge in the NFL. Our guy doesn't get hit. Your quarterback gets hit all the time. There is something to be said about. We take it away and we don't give it up. You can win 12 games on that. And that's if you had average personnel. The Bears do not have average personnel. Sweat is an all pro. I mean, they're receiving core, their tight end core. Swift. DeAndre Swift's an excellent running back. You're now seeing that.

[A]

Yeah. Let me ask you real quick though. So the Bears wide receivers, they got three good ones. I think Luther Burton has some juice.

[B]

I mean, he didn't do much about nine targets a game.

[A]

That's my thing. Do you try to flip DJ Moore to a wide receiver? Needy team, like, I don't know, the Buffalo Bills, whose receivers couldn't get any separation last night. I know we like DJ Moore, but I think the Bears are more of a next year team that could contend for, like the NFC Championship. I don't think they could this year. Remember, they're a couple of weeks removed from barely beating the Raiders. Do you try to move DJ Moore and get, I don't know. Can you get a second and a fifth?

[B]

I don't know if you want to mess with the Bears. I don't think you want to get greedy. If I'm the Chicago Bears, I'm three and two. I look at that schedule, I'm not sure I want to stop the momentum. When's the last time they start talking Bears winning streaks? I mean, I just. I don't want to mess with success. I understand the point. If I was Buffalo, I would call. I give me one old guy and a bunch of kids. Burdens young. Loveland's young. I. I like what Chicago's doing. I don't think I'd mess with it. I think they rebuilt the old line and the offseason, the interior. That is asking a lot. You couldn't tell the difference in the first two weeks. Last night you saw that money getting spent. That old line last night. Those were gigantic holes for DeAndre Swift. That, that. Listen, great offensive lineman costs money. It takes a while to create cohesion you saw the Bears online last night. That was big boy football. Oh, yeah. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Hi, this is Jay. I'm the producer of the Paulie and Tony Fusco show. Usually in these promos, they ask you to listen to the show. I'm here to ask you, please don't listen to the show. The hosts are two absolute morons who have the dumbest takes on sports imaginable. Don't listen to this show so it can get canceled. Whoa, whoa, whoa. What the hell are you doing in our studio? Get him, Paulie.

[A]

Ignore that fool.

[B]

Listen to the Paulie and Tony Fusco show on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast. He's still moving. Weighted vests are everywhere right now. And it's not just a fad. The science is clear. Carrying extra weight boosts calorie burn, ramps up natural human growth hormone and testosterone in the body, and builds real world strength. Not all vests, though, are built the same. And low quality gear is getting guys hurt. Shifting weights, bad strap, zero support. Just read the reviews. It's a recipe for disaster. That's why I'm all for Wolf Tacticals. True fit weighted vest. Built like real field gear. The vest is heavy duty, breathable, totally adjustable, no bounce. It moves with you whether you're grinding out push ups, knocking out yard work. It is not a gimmick. It's gear that turns whatever you're doing into training. It's excellent. Go towolf tactical USA.com Take your training and physique to the next level. The code is heard15 for 15% off your order. That's H E R D15 at checkout, only at Wolftical. USA.com Thursday Night Football is on and it's only on Prime Video. This week, the AFC north takes center stage as the Pittsburgh Steelers battle the Cincinnati Bengals. Coverage begins at 7pm Eastern with Football's Best Party TNF tonight presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member. Not a problem. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial. It's the Steelers and Bengals Thursday at 7pm Eastern only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details. Welcome back. Herd hierarchy. What to do with the Buffalo Bills? The Rams, the Chargers? I think you'll be surprised by our herd hierarchy. Nick Wright, also 40 minutes from now. Well, there. There are no Dodger games without drama. Their screenwriters couldn't do a better job. There's a little bit of an Avengers feel to the Dodgers if one of your superstars like Ohtani doesn't deliver. Oh, here's Freddie Freeman. But last night was about Blake Snell. The off speed stuff. It was all time stuff. He faced a minimum in eight innings, 24 batters. He had Milwaukee swinging at balls. He had Milwaukee completely overwhelmed. The brewers used six pitchers over the course of the night, and it was, it was the Dodgers using one for eight innings, and they weren't even getting good contact. So. And then Freddie Freeman, because this is what Freddie Freeman does. He's going to be a Hall of Famer. Great regular season guy, also done it in the postseason, launches one again. Ohtani, Phillies playoffs, Brewers is 1 for 20. And it doesn't matter now. The, the brewers swept the Dodgers this year in six games. Six, love, but remember, Blake Snell did not pitch against the brewers. And he didn't pitch that much, period. He had to get healthy. And secondly, Mookie bets until like September, you know, didn't get hot. Mookie did not have a great year by Mookie standards. So now Mookie's hot. Blake Snells your ace. Now the Dodgers bullpen. Okay, this is predictable. Goes in with a two nothing lead. But Roki Sazaki just did not have it. Didn't have. Didn't have his best stuff. Kind of struggling to spot some off speed stuff. So, you know, they end up scoring a run. Dave Roberts has to go to Blake Trinen. Dodger fans, that's not their favorite, but Dave Roberts trusts him, you know, so here you go. You get into a spot. The Avengers, Ohtani, no. Freeman, yes. Blake Snell, yes. And tranon closes the door. But this was about Blake Snell. That was an all timer. They, they said no postseason pitching performance. You had to go back to like Don Larson to what you saw last night. And Milwaukee led the National League in hits, so doing that against the brewers is outstanding. Here's Dave Roberts on his performance. This was as good as I can remember in the postseason against a very, you know, gritty team. Puts the ball in play. The change up was the pitch of the night. His command was great. And yeah, you're not going to see too many performances like that certainly in the postseason. This was, this was pretty special. Yeah. And you know, the bullpen, it looked like. Yeah, I was thinking about this last night. If you're a reliever and you're sitting there watching Blake for eight innings and then you go in and potentially blow it, I mean, I wouldn't want to take the same airplane home. It was that kind of performance on the mound. Dodgers take a 10 lead in the series. And here's J. Mac with the news. No, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the.

[A]

All right, Colin, let's get started with the Thursday night football game. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. And how about your guy, Mike Tomlin here? He is not thrilled that the Browns, that sinking ship, traded Joe Flacco to a division rival. Take a listen.

[B]

It was shocking to me. Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me or us because it doesn't make sense to me. To trade a quarterback that you think enough of to make your opening day starter to a division opponent that's hurting in that area, coming in within eight days of showing up is to start two games for a new team. And if you speak to how hard that is, or maybe it's, you know, veteran guy, that appeared to be hard for Joe Flacco.

[A]

Very rare that you get a coach taking shots at a division rival like that. But it seems like he's genuinely ticked off. He's, like, afraid of Flacco. He. No fear facing Jake Browning. But Flacco, he knows the division. He's faced Tomlin for what, a decade now?

[B]

Yeah, I mean, I appreciate Tomlin being honest. I. Yeah, I mean, maybe that was the only taker. You know, they wanted to get Dylan Gabriel. Listen, we all know what the Browns are doing. They want to have the number one pick, and that's hard because there's this team called the New York jets that may beat them to it. So the Bear, the Browns actually look competent. The Browns are actually competitive. The Browns actually are well coached. The jets are not. They don't check any of those boxes. So, I mean, maybe that was the only taker. I mean, we don't. You don't know what happens on the phone. So, I mean, they probably would prefer to get him out. They don't want him to come back and beat you. But, you know, Cincinnati, you know, the Brown family's not going to spend big money, so, you know, maybe they called and thought they could get Discount Joe.

[A]

It almost feels like Tomlin is calling out the Browns for tanking. Hey, you saw this guy. You thought enough of him to make him your week one starter, and now you're trading him in the division that's on. I mean, honestly, Tomlin makes sense. I can't recall that ever happening. You naming your guy, your. Your week one starter and then trading him a month later in the division. Like, it is kind of crazy when you think about it. I like Mike Tomlin. I'll just leave it at that. I don't love the Steelers this week. I'm nervous about them Thursday against the Bengals. Colin, let's move on to the Philadelphia Eagles. Boy, tough, tough road here for the offense the last few weeks. Nick Sirianni though, says he has full faith in first year offensive coordinator Kevin Petullo.

[B]

We're in the business of finding solutions. It was a little on everything, right. And that's, that's this game of team football. I know that, you know, we live in a world that it wants to assign blame, point the finger, but that's not reality of what good teams do. That's not reality of this sport. And got a lot of confidence in Kevin and the offensive staff and love some of the thoughts that we have. Yeah, I actually like them to bounce back this week a little bit. I mean they're just uneven completely. But it's one of my, one of the games this week. I think Philadelphia will come back. The personnel is too good. I think they actually there is something to be said about playing on a Thursday because you get that extra three or four days as a staff. It's not, it's not the classic bye week, but it does give you extra times to get off the treadmill and sort of examine and self scout. And my takeaway is Philadelphia this week will right the ship a little.

[A]

Let me give you something before you fire on the Eagles, okay. Haven't seen this anywhere online. Colin. So four teams had a buy last week. They went 40 against the spread and all of them won. After their early buy this Pat this weekend they all of them won. Minnesota's coming off a buy, so I know you like the Eagles getting time. Hey, is J.J. mcCarthy gonna play? Is Kevin O' Connell gonna throw in new wrinkles? Dangerous spot here. Now remember that offensive line for the Vikings has been beat up. Let's see the injury report. I don't know about this game and I think, you know, sometimes the Philadelphia media has this sky is falling narrative every week, right? Something's wrong. A.J. brown offense stinks. Sirianni, blah, blah. It's always something in Philly. Can we just chill out and let this first year offensive coordinator work through his problems?

[B]

That's not what Philadelphia sports radio does. It's a loud city.

[A]

You're not going to give him any time. I mean we're six, five or six games in for Philly. Well, and it's like, well, do we need to change play caller what, you want a Super Bowl?

[B]

I think Sean Payton showed up in Denver and immediately you could see the difference. I think Seattle, the Seahawks, you know, change coordinators. I think you can see good coordinators. I think Robert sala by Week 1 with the Niners, oh, the defense, even without Hungan Greenlawn, significantly better. I think. I don't think it takes long to see excellent and it doesn't take long to see mediocre. I mean, Anthony Richardson out, Daniel Jones starts first week, second week. You're like, oh, oh, this is what competency at quarterback looks like. So I don't know. We'll see.

[A]

Okay, final story. Colin, your Seattle Mariners, you're very excited about them. They take a two nothing lead in the ALCS whooping up on Toronto 10 to 3. Julio Rodriguez and Jorge Polanco had three run homers. Josh Naylor added a two run shot. Polanco now the first player in MLB history to have a go ahead hit in the fifth inning or later in three postseason games in a row. No, go ahead. Go get excited.

[B]

Okay, so think about this. The Yankees were humiliated in those two games in Toronto. Seattle, with the 15th biggest payroll, goes and humiliates Toronto. At least in Game 2. The Yankees could not compete. And I said this, it's not that the Yankees don't have money. They don't spend it well. I've been saying this about the Mariners. The Mariners are like the Brewers. They don't have a hole. They don't have a ton of star power outside of Cal Raleigh. But the Mariners have a very good starting staff and Munoz the closer. And they can hit for power. They can do station to station baseball. They run pretty well. They nice fielding team, don't commit a lot of errors. The Mariners and the brewers have spent their money well, considering the money they have. The Dodgers have a ton of money, but you can see it when you watch them play. You can see Snell and you can see Bets and you can see Freeman Ohtani struggling. But you can see the money the Dodgers spend. Take out Aaron Judge. What are the Yankees? Don't run the bases. Don't field well. Too many strikeouts. Home run dependent. Don't play small ball. Now Garrett Cole coming back absolutely changes things. But when you watch what the Mariners are doing, and this has never been a place free agents want to go play because you have so many long road trips up from the Pacific Northwest out. So Seattle is just a smartly constructed team showing that there's, there are limitations to what money can do. You need some pop you need a closer, you need a top 10 staff. You can win a lot of games if you run the bases well. Keep errors to a minimum. And the Yankees got humiliated in Canada. Mariners up 2. 0, going home.

[A]

Thanks for reminding me about the Yanks, by the way. Why can't we just make fun of the Blue Jays for getting embarrassed by the Mariners? By the way, shout out to Seattle for that Aquaman, whatever that tool is that they were carrying around.

[B]

I've been using that all year.

[A]

That thing looks so cool every time I see it. I love it.

[B]

J Mac with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd LIE news, the Trident. So let's not get ahead of ourselves, but the Bears are on a three game winning streak. Don't go crazy. They weren't great last night. They were better than the team they played. But if you go look at the schedule, it's hard not to be optimistic. They host the Saints, Baltimore, maybe with Lamar, maybe not. Cincinnati Giants in Minnesota. There's a lot of second tier quarterbacks. Is it crazy to think eight game winning streak or seven of eight? And I said this, I was watching Ben Johnson last night and you know what he's really done? He's just eliminated the ridiculous from the Bears. Last year they lost a game because the clock ran out and they lost a game with a Hail Mary and one of their players was talking to fans and they lost a game with a block kick. They couldn't score in the first quarter. Last year the Bears scored 27 points in the first quarter. All season they're at 37, five games in. That's what he's done. He's just eliminated the absurd. The block kicks, the Hail Mary. Running out of time. They lost to Seattle six to three. So what I watched last night, the two things I watched, and it's just basic football. Number one, they ran the ball effectively, which as we all know, eats the clock. Very valuable on the road. Keep Jaden Daniels on the side. If you run the ball, you keep the clock going, you shorten the game. So Jaden Daniels can't get 13 possessions. You'd rather him have nine or 10. So that's a real thing. They ran the ball. This is what they paid for on the offensive line. It's not brain surgery. The Chicago Bears now run the ball. The second thing is. Oh, they didn't. They won the turnover battle again. He just eliminated the absurd. They're tied for first in turnover margin. So if for no other reason, you're like, yeah, Ben Johnson, he runs the ball effectively. Do you know how valuable that is? When you're playing a Jordan Love or you're playing a Jared Goff or you're playing a Matt Stafford or a Jaden Daniels or a Dak, you just don't want them getting 13 possessions and having the ball. So you run the ball, you don't turn it over, but you take it away. That's how simple it is. Just basic foundational success. Also, they now score first, occasionally hit field goals. I mean, just, that's how you win close in this league when the turnover battle, make sure when you are in the red zone, you at least get three. Don't turn it over and run the football and keep it away from the other star quarterback. Here's Ben Johnson on now winning close games. I think it says a lot about our locker room right now. They're really, they're not just believing, but now they're starting to understand that, man, if this thing's close in the fourth quarter, then someone's gonna step up and make a play for us. And we had a number of guys here in this fourth quarter that did that. And so I think these wins sometimes can go more a longer way for your program than those blowouts do. Oh, I totally agree. And the other thing is, did you notice the energy? I mean, this is the advantage of a young coach, a first time coach right here. Here is. The Bears had so much energy in the first half over the course of time. You know, you, you use a lot of that energy. But here was Ben Johnson in the locker room after the W watch. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Yeah, man. Let me tell you something. That was a team win. Best part of the game was this. Did it go up and down? You never blinked. Not for a second. Not for one second. Nice and steady, nice and calm the entire way through. And you know what? Whatever it took, whatever it took, we found a way. It's great. And it just jumped through the tv. In the first half, the home team looked flat. The road team had the juice. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd. Weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific. Weighted vests are everywhere right now. And it's not just a fad. The science is clear. Carrying extra weight boosts calorie burn, ramps up natural human growth hormone and testosterone in the body, and builds real world strength. Not all vests though are built the same. And low quality gear is getting guys hurt. That's why I'm all for Wolf tacticals. True fit weighted vest. Go to wolftactical USA.com take your training and physique to the next level. The code is heard 15 for 15 off your order. That's H E R D 15 at checkout only at wolftacticalusa.com Thursday Night Football is on and it's only on Prime Video. This week, the AFC north takes center stage is the Pittsburgh Steelers battle the Cincinnati Bengals. Coverage begins at 7pm Eastern with Football's Best Party TNF tonight presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member. Not a problem. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial. It's the Steelers and Bengals Thursday at 7pm Eastern only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details.

[A]

Start your Saturday strong with big noon. Explosive duo Bryce Underwood and Justice Haynes lead Michigan against Washington at the Big House. It all starts at 10am Eastern with big noon kickoff live on location from Provo, Utah. Then it's Washington Michigan, only on Fox.

[B]

Oh, Michigan. Good luck with those former PAC 12 schools. Very interesting. See UCLA hammer Michigan State this weekend. UCLA beat Penn State. We're all pack 12 teams. I don't know if they'll be able to handle the Big Ten. I just saw Michigan get pushed around for three and a half hours Saturday night.

[A]

So what do you say? What are you saying here? PAC12 is not as soft as it used to be.

[B]

Those guys just did. Oh, the weather. Please get a coat. So last night was crazy. I literally called two people on the staff. One of them didn't even call me back. It was the fourth inning, there's one out. Dodgers have the bases loaded. Listen, if they get a hit here, if they blow it open, it's over. Because nobody for the brewers even got contact on Blake Snell. Blake Snell had a Don Larson like game. So the Dodgers loaded up. One out. Baseball. So weird. There's so much quirky stuff. This play flummoxed the announcers, the umpires, the Dodgers third base coach in something people acknowledge they'd never seen. A strange double play again. Bases loaded, fourth inning, one out. Dodgers about to break this puppy open and take game one. And then this happened. And Muncie skies one to center field hit. Well, this one's got a chance. Free the ball back to the wall. He leaps. It's in and out of his gun, but he caught it. And now chaos on the bases. Might have a play at the plate. The throw. Not in time. No, he's out. He's. It's a force play at the plate. And he is out. It hits the wall off his glove and now it's a force play at home. Let's see. And the throw beat him. So you're gonna have bases loaded in two outs, three outs because Contreras ran to third. He ran the third for another force. For another force. Yeah. TE Oscar Hernandez at third. The third base coach probably should have been in his ear. He tagged up, he went, he came back, and that was the difference. You know, it was just a very confusing play. Will Smith at second base did not know what was going on. Nobody did. The umpires had to huddle. And here was Dave Roberts after a situation. If they had lost last night, this would have been the lead topic. Here's Dave Roberts. Teo knows the rule. I think right there. He just had a little bit of a brain fart appreciating that. When it does hit the glove, it's gonna. You can tag there. But then he tagged, did it correctly, then saw, you know, he didn't catch it and went back. And that was the mistake, but he owned it. And, you know, after that, there's nothing else you can do about it. I, you know, it's funny, Dave Roberts in Los Angeles, it's like a cottage industry to say Dave Roberts isn't the right fit. And they. Their bullpen was a mess all year, and it's actually been pretty good in the postseason. So he solved that. Sometimes crazy stuff happens when umpires are confused. I'm going to give a player a right to be confused. It's like a couple weeks ago when the Chiefs went to the NFL officials on the Jags game and said, no, no, no, no, no, no. This touchdown does count. You know, that's why we have replay. Stuff happens fast. But again, if you're a successful organization, I'm going to give you a pass. This probably should have blown the game open. Fourth inning, bases jammed, one out and a force at home. Okay, so here's something. As I was watching the Bills last night, and it just felt like Atlantis night. Michael Penix had time. Drake London was getting open. What do you have? 10 catches. Bijan Robinson was probably the best football player on the field. Not named Josh Allen. I think Michael Penix is going to work. He's got great weapons, but I'm watching Kansas City dismantle the Detroit Lions on Sunday. And the last three games, Kansas City, and they don't have Rasheed Rice yet, their number one receiver. He now his suspension's over. So they've been doing it with Worthy and Hollywood Brown and juju Smith, Schuster and an old Travis Kelsey. They're getting their number one back and they've been averaging 32 a game the last three weeks without him. And he had really become a dominant number one volume receiver. That's not what Worthy is. Worthy is a two or a three. So my takeaway is Kansas City, I think, is separated from Buffalo and Baltimore in terms of creative coaching identity, wide receiver, weapons and defensive personnel. Ravens and the Bills are bad defensively. So the, the part of this league what matters so much is having an identity. So I think Kansas City's offensive identity is they are twitchy, they are creative, and they are fast at wide receiver. I think they're versatile offensively. They can do a lot of things. Now, Mahomes may lead him in rushing, but it works. And I think they're physical and aggressive on defense. So much of last night watching the Bills is what are they, what are, what are the Buffalo Bills offensively other than a playmaker shy? So, I mean, I, I've, I've said this before that the Bills kind of feel like they rely on one, on one product. They're Crocs, you know, and, and Kansas City's got an Apple desktop, laptop, iPhone, Apple TV, media. There's a lot of different ways Kansas City can beat you. And there's a real identity. Buffalo just feels like. And I felt like this before. I didn't last year, but I do again now. Buffalo was all about Josh Allen. That's what they're about. And so if he throws a pick or he doesn't get protection. But when I, when I think Rasheed Rice is coming back to Kansas City, they finally get a number one. I don't know, it feels like after watching that Detroit game, the Chiefs, I know nobody wants to hear it, have separated from everybody else. Maybe not named Tampa. Here's Andy Reid on getting Rice back. Rasheed coming back in the, back in the building, period. They kind of felt whole and, and that's because they like each other. I mean, they get along, they hang out together, they, they work together on their, their route combinations and they're always talking about stuff to get better there. And they've got a good friendship, which will be needed now because we got more guys and we only have one football. So think about that. A couple weeks ago, you looked at Kansas City and you're like, who does Mahomes throw to? Rice Worthy, Hollywood Brown, juju, Smith, Schuster, they filled it out a one, a two, a three and a four. And Travis Kelsey, who's generally good in big games, he was against Detroit. So, you know it's just, it feels very New England, Brady Belichick, where you got an elite coach, a star quarterback and you keep tweaking, tweaking, tweaking. The difference is Belichick in the last six, seven years wanted to take over personnel and Andy Reid doesn't, so he lets Brett Veach do it. And so I mean, I just think it's interesting when you got watch guys like Hollywood Brown who gets lost, looks like a bust. Or then you take, I mean so much of what Kansas City does, they go get Juju's Ms. Schuster again and he works both times. Like you understand this, right? You watch players leave the jets and they actually are really good like Sam Darnold or the coach Todd Bowles. And then you see that's what really smart teams do in this sport. They take away good players that are lost, that are under coached, under produced, right? And they bring them over and they're all of a sudden it's like Hollywood Brown is something. And juju Smith Schuster in Kansas City is something again. He always felt like a disappointment in Pittsburgh. He feels perfect for the Chiefs. So J. Mac, nobody wants to hear it. As we get ready for Week 7 in the NFL, we can put the schedule up. But I do feel like in the herd hierarchy, these are really long seasons. We've seen this. I mean the Patriots lost their opener to the Raiders and all of a sudden you look up a month later and you're like, oh, New England's actually all those new free agents in the draft class. They're really good. So I always ask you to pick an upset.

[A]

So let me before the upset, and I do have an upset pick for you. Jerry Rice. I'm sorry, Rasheed Rice hasn't played a football game in a year, Colin. I think he got hurt in like week four against the Chargers the early in September and all of a sudden he's going to come back and just he's going to dominate the league and eviscerate everyone. I think we need to pump the brakes. If you put the Chiefs one in the herd hierarchy, we may just need to scrap the segment going forward because that's just absolute balderdash. Okay. The Colts need to be number one anyways onto an upset this week. You're looking for an outright dog.

[B]

Arizona at home against Green Bay is interesting. Arizona at home against Green Bay. Now there'll be a lot of Packer F at that game. It'll be a 5050 crowd. That's one of the ones I'm looking at.

[A]

Who's starting. I mean, is Kyler back or is it Jacobe Brissette?

[B]

But I'll be honest, it doesn't matter. They were good with Brissette and I think, I think I listen. Green Bay is one of these young teams. They're a six and a half point favorite. Green Bay is better. But a young Green Bay team on the road. Now you got to prepare practice wise for two quarterbacks. You don't know who you're preparing for. I think Arizona's got a shot. I would take Arizona in the points. Absolutely. At six and a half.

[A]

I'll give you something gross. This is worse than a dog with fleas. But Mike Vrabel is going home to Tennessee. Everything's going to be made about the Patriots are dominant. They're in first place. Oh my gosh, here comes Rabel and Drake Mason mvp. The Titans will get that coach bump right the hole in locker rooms. Invigorated. To whoever the interim guy is, whoever's calling the plays, I would keep an eye on Tennessee. I'm on purpose. We're alive in Survivor. We're not taking the Patriots even though this is a great spot to take them. No way am I touching them. I would not be surprised if Tennessee came out and stunned the world and beat the Patriots this week.

[B]

My favorite bet right now is Detroit at home against Tampa. That's my favorite bet on the board.

[A]

Lions, right?

[B]

Yeah. Lions get beat up big. You know, beat up on a big standalone game. This is a very good roster. Tampa's been on a crazy run this this rainbow. Eventually you can't get a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow. I think this is and again Baker mvp. But he has got turnover worthy plays. My take is Monday. Detroit home crowd Watch out.

[A]

I like it.

[B]

Yeah, Detroit is my play of the week. All right, we have our top 10, the herd hierarchy and Nick Wright on a Tuesday. Hour two now. Weighted vests are everywhere right now and it's not just a fad. The science is clear. Carrying extra weight boosts calorie burn, ramps up natural human growth hormone and testosterone in the body and builds real world strength. Not all vests though are built the same and low quality gear is getting guys hurt. That's why I'm all for Wolf Tacticals. True fit weighted vest. Go to wolftactical USA.com take your training and physique to the next level. The code is heard 15 for 15 off your order. That's H E R D 15 at checkout only at wolftacticalusa.com Today's episode brought to you by a scent that's made a legendary comeback.° Original Cool Rush the OG is back in better than ever. Cool Rush isn't just a scent, it's a movement kind of fragrance guys remember, ask for by name and rave about online. It's bold. It's fresh all day, sweat protection, cool, crisp vibe that made it legendary. So whether you're heading to the gym, the office, or just trying to stay fresh all day long, Cool Rush has your back. So if you haven't tried it yet, head to your local Walmart. Grab degree Cool Rush the fan favorite scent from the world's number one antiperspirant brand, the Toyota Certified Used Vehicle Sales Event is here. It is packed with great surprises. Choose from a wide selection of low mileage vehicles, all backed by Toyota with warranties that begin on the date of purchase. Because when it comes to quality, the best new cars make the best used cars. So don't miss your chance. Find your certified Toyota today, but hurry. These Great offers end November 3rd Toyota certified used Vehicle Sales Event where every surprise is a great one. Inventory may vary by dealer, participating dealers only. Comprehensive and powertrain are Limited Warranties CTCUV Warranty Supplement Toyota/certified.com or your Toyota dealer for details. Hey, it's Ed Helms, host of snafu, my podcast about history's greatest screw ups. On our new season, we're bringing you a new snafu every single episode. 32 lost nuclear weapons. You're like, wait, stop. What? Yeah, it's going to be a whole lot of history, a whole lot of funny, and a whole lot of fabulous Guests Paul Scheer, Angela and Jenna, Nick Crawford, Jordan Klepper. Listen to season four of SNAFU with Ed Helms on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast.