The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Hour 2: Chiefs' Resurgence, Bills' Struggles, and Greg Cosell (October 16, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this episode of The Herd, Colin Cowherd is joined by longtime NFL analyst Greg Cosell for a deep film-based analysis focused on the Kansas City Chiefs' resurgence, the Buffalo Bills' ongoing struggles, the development of several emerging quarterbacks, and the tactical evolutions across several NFL teams. The hour is a blend of insights into team schemes, coaching influence, quarterback maturity, and the significance of adapting to personnel strengths and weaknesses.

Chiefs’ Offensive Surge: Scheme vs. Mahomes Magic

[03:00–06:30]

• Colin Cowherd observes the Chiefs' ability to transform overlooked or seemingly “gadget” receivers (like Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster) into impactful players, raising the question: Is it Patrick Mahomes’ brilliance, or does Andy Reid's and Matt Nagy’s scheme deserve more credit?

  • Quote — Colin Cowherd (05:07):
    “Only the Chiefs can take Hollywood Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster, and all of a sudden you’re like, ‘oh, these are dynamic players now.’ Is it Mahomes magic or is it scheme?”

• Greg Cosell leans heavily towards scheme in the most recent games, particularly against the Lions, citing a detailed game plan that exploited Detroit’s backup corners and defensive vulnerabilities.

  • Quote — Greg Cosell (05:16):
    “It comes, of course, from Andy Reid and Matt Nagy. A very good sense of what they were getting from the Lions defense... That game was much more to me watching the tape, scheme-based, than ‘wow, look at these great individual plays.’”
  • Credits Mahomes for a specific “special” play, but emphasizes it was an exception, not the norm in that game.

Buffalo Bills: Offensive Staleness & Defensive Issues

[06:34–08:25]

• Discussion on the Bills as former rivals to the Chiefs, now declining. Colin argues Buffalo’s personnel and tactics—especially with Josh Allen—haven’t evolved to maximize their passing game.

  • Quote — Colin Cowherd (08:25):
    “I rarely watch Buffalo and go, wow, that’s creative. Offensively—I don’t.”

• Greg Cosell agrees, spotlighting the Bills’ lack of sufficient pass rush and lamenting the limited scope of their passing game. He believes Josh Allen needs deeper, more creative tactical support rather than “run the ball first, then lean on Allen if needed.”

  • Quote — Greg Cosell (07:09):
    “Your pass game needs to be a little more expansive. I know they don’t have great receivers, but... you attack zone, I think they need to do more things.”

Young Quarterback Evaluations

Caleb Williams: Accuracy & Structure Concerns

[08:25–10:13, 22:36–26:13]

• Both Colin and Greg reiterate that Williams still struggles with consistent ball placement (“ball location”), even when the offensive structure and play design set him up well.

  • Quote — Greg Cosell (09:18):
    “Even some completions that he hasn’t been as sharp with his ball location... that’s an area he must continue to improve.”
  • The design from Ben Johnson, especially on the Swift touchdown, helps Williams, but his ball placement needs to ensure YAC (yards after catch).
  • Quote — Colin Cowherd (23:00):
    “With Brady... Edelman runs like that when he’s at full speed and the ball’s in his hands going forward, you can turn a 44 guy to a 43 guy. Guys get really fast when they don’t have to stop to catch it. So Caleb’s just gotta be more consistently accurate.”

• Jason McIntyre briefly argues this type of nitpicking mainly happens because of Monday night’s visibility, not necessarily because Williams was poor.

  • Quote — Jason McIntyre (24:25):
    “If he played like he did Monday at 1pm on Sunday, I don’t think there’s any of this discussion. While he missed a couple throws? It feels like nitpicking.”

Justin Herbert & Chargers: Overcoming Personnel Gaps

[10:13–12:09]

• Despite lacking key offensive players, Herbert and Harbaugh have kept the Chargers in competitive form through quick passing schemes, minimizing O-line exposure, and heavy tight end sets.
  • Quote — Greg Cosell (11:14):
    “They played that game not to expose their offensive line... Now it’s coaching... you have to understand what you can do and what you can’t do and play accordingly.”

Philadelphia Eagles: Coaching Identity and Run Game Crisis

[12:09–14:24]

• The Eagles’ offense is in flux following OC changes and O-line struggles. Cosell stresses Philly's historical trench strength is gone for now and questions abound regarding their offensive direction. Jalen Hurts’ “pure dropback limitations” further shape the offense’s restricted play calling.
  • Quote — Greg Cosell (12:55):
    “They were built on having arguably the best O line in the league, a really good defensive front... right now neither one of those units is playing at even an average level.”

Jordan Love (Packers): Steady Maturation

[14:24–16:14]

• Colin regards Love as "the best quarterback nobody will admit is good," and Cosell sees steady growth—less recklessness, more efficiency, and versatility to win “multiple ways,” but the team's youth limits explosion.
  • Quote — Greg Cosell (15:17):
    “He’s become a little more efficient in how he plays... a quarterback that I believe is just maturing.”

Aaron Rodgers (Steelers) and Offensive Fit

[16:14–18:06]

• Rodgers’ Steelers offense is large, physical, and uses “condensed” passing schemes. Cosell argues scheme and failures at receiver force an under-the-top, run-heavy, short-passing approach—they’re not pushing vertically at all, but “they’re winning games.”
  • Quote — Greg Cosell (17:14):
    “They’re a very condensed passing game... Right now, they’re very, very condensed, and they’re winning games.”

Drake Maye (Patriots): Early Breakout Traits

[18:06–22:28]

• Drake Maye’s rise is attributed to his calm, calculated rhythm, outstanding third-down/blitz performance, and mature “pocket movement” (not just mobility). Cosell does a film breakdown on a shot play, illustrating offensive design for clean reads, and praises New England's coaching support structure.
  • Quote — Greg Cosell (18:49):
    “One trait that he clearly has—and a lot of young quarterbacks really struggle with—is what I call pocket movement, which is different than leaving the pocket. He moves around the pocket. He keeps his eyes downfield...”
  • Maye’s improvement each week is noted, especially his comfort and poise under center.

Additional Key NFL Storylines

Giants’ New Hope with Dart & Skatterboo

[33:05–35:40]

• Jason McIntyre discusses the “vibes” around Giants’ new tandem (Jackson Dart, Cam Skatterboo), including playful nicknames and unexpected on-field success given draft expectations.
  • Quote — Colin Cowherd (34:51):
    “It’s very rare in the NFL when you draft two guys... and they both deliver. Both are better. Nobody thought Skatterboo would be this.”
• Colin gives the Giants an edge over the Jets for future prospects thanks to a solid QB, defense, and offensive coach.

Niners’ Depth Test, Dolphins-Browns Weather Game

[36:00–41:00]

• 49ers: Brock Purdy’s return is debated, but skill player depth (Iuk, Pearsall) draws more concern, especially with key injuries on defense (Warner, Bosa).

• Dolphins at Browns: Weather could dictate a ground-heavy slugfest; Miami’s offense and Tua may struggle against an elite Cleveland D-line.

  • Quote — Jason McIntyre (39:20):
    “The run defense of the Browns is exceptional. Top five unit in the league. Listen 17-6 Browns, something like that...”

• Quarterback Mobility: Colin closes with a note about the necessity of quarterback athleticism in the current NFL, citing young QBs’ success running for first downs as a key to surviving the adjustment window.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Colin on Chiefs’ continual retooling:
  “I think Kansas City does a better job to patch the holes than Buffalo does.” [46:45]
• Cosell on Eagles’ limited answers:
  “If they can't run it, are they limited in what the answers are? ... I think they're kind of telling you that they're uncertain where to go right now.” [13:48]
• Cosell’s Maye film breakdown:
  “You're going to see a very common route concept on shot plays. It's going to be a corner post and a crossing route... it's a defined, clean look, and that's what you're trying to do with young quarterbacks.” [20:10]

Timestamps of Important Segments

• Chiefs' offense: scheme vs. Mahomes — [03:00–06:34]
• Bills' struggles/lack of creativity — [06:34–08:25], [46:45–47:18]
• Caleb Williams’ accuracy/film breakdown — [08:25–10:13], [22:36–26:13]
• Chargers injury management/coaching — [10:13–12:09]
• Eagles’ identity/coaching flux — [12:09–14:24]
• Jordan Love maturing — [14:24–16:14]
• Aaron Rodgers' offense/film — [16:14–18:06]
• Drake Maye breakdown — [18:06–22:28]
• Giants’ surge with rookies — [33:05–35:40]
• Niners/Falcons, Dolphins/Browns matchups — [36:00–41:00]
• NFL team-building, Chiefs vs. Bills — [46:45–47:18]

Episode Tone & Style

Colin maintains his signature opinionated, analytical, and conversational approach, mixing concrete film takeaways from Cosell with big-picture questions about NFL coaching and roster trends. Cosell's delivery is measured, technically detailed, and focused firmly on the “tape.” McIntyre injects lighter banter and audience-reflecting skepticism throughout.

Summary Takeaway

This hour provides an advanced primer on how the NFL’s best teams adapt through coaching, scheme, and maximized personnel usage (Chiefs, Eagles, Chargers); how teams like Buffalo have stagnated creatively; and how young quarterbacks—thanks to design and coaching—are shaping the next generation. For those interested in football beyond the scoreboard, Greg Cosell and Colin Cowherd deliver hands-on, actionable insight into how and why NFL teams are what they are in 2025.