Matt Hasselbeck (8:57)

Yeah. Well, I heard you today say that the Pope's from Chicago. So, you know, that might be the closest thing that I've heard that makes sense. No, but yeah, I think some of it's playground ball. Both these quarterbacks are really good at playground ball. That's what I always felt like 2 minute was time to take chances, you know, stuff I wouldn't normally do in a 00 game. In the first quarter, I'm going to do that in the fourth quarter. I'm going to do that on fourth down, third down, two minute. Like that's, you know, it's some of its personality that way as a quarterback, some of it's that. But I also think it's a mindset. And you know, I talked to you earlier about Ben Johnson. He's a great play caller, cool trick plays. That doesn't mean you're going to be a great head coach. Vision setter, culture setter, you know, the DNA of our team. And then you go back to, you know, basically August training camp. He calls the team together and has a team meeting and he shows the video of 28 to 3 patriots versus the falcons. Hey, I recognize we got a guy on our team on offense and a guy on our team on defense. That one was on the Patriots and one was on the Falcons. Let me hear from you. Let's talk about this moment. Let's be a teachable moment in August that I think is paying dividends all season long. But also in January, this mindset that it doesn't matter what the scoreboard says. It's all you got for 60 minutes. Don't judge what the score is, and we'll see what happens at the end of the game. And that's how this team plays. They play like they're unfazed. They don't flinch. Ben Johnson, when you look at him on the sidelines, he's not a roller coaster of emotions. He's a steady hand. So I just think the Bears hit a home run, maybe a grand slam with this. Higher Ryan poles. Ben Johnson. It works. Quarterback has improved every single week. And I think that's the, that's the mental toughness that it takes to come from behind and that they've done it each and every week. It feels like.

Colin Cowherd (10:44)

So everybody's down on Matt LaFleur. And my take is, folks, they had Far and Aaron Rodgers for 31 years and got to three Super Bowls. A, it's hard. It's hard to win this time of the year. Secondly, they don't have an owner. So sometimes you can't make that golf Stafford move unless the owner goes, okay, I'll pay for both salaries. They don't get free agents third year in a row. Matt, they're the youngest team in the league. They don't go get older players. Players given a choice, don't always choose Green Bay. I think he's a good coach. I also think the NFC the last couple years is gotten better than the afc. I think it's really good. I. I think Matt's a good coach. When you look at the meltdown, what do you see?

Matt Hasselbeck (11:26)

Yeah, I think he's a great coach. I think fundamentals probably slipped a little bit this year. You know, I think that's probably something that's true. But, you know, they're. They're a field goal or an extra point away from, from continuing on, you know, playing right now. I think if you're that team, you look in the mirror, you lock lafleur up, which I think they've done. And then I think you do everything in your power to keep Jeff Halfley. Jeff Hafley was the head coach at Boston College and just kind of like late in the, like late in this, in the spring schedule, decided to walk away because. Because he basically said, hey, when I'm a head coach, I don't really get to do what I love. And that's coach. I'm kind of like just, you know, CEO. I want to be in there with the guys coaching. And that's why he jumped ship late to go to Green Bay and, you know, coach again. You see what he's done. So give him a healthy Micah Parsons with an off season and I think this team can be right back in it. But Halfley, you know, he might say, I'll be head coach of a pro team. There's no nil and all that craziness. Transfer portal. But if they can keep him in the building plus the floor, I think they got a great thing going.

Colin Cowherd (12:29)

Yeah, so do I. Listen, I think what San Francisco has been doing is unbelievable. I mean, I really do. Once Kittle got hurt, I'm like, oh, they were playing so well. The trick play the opening drive, third down. I mean, I'm sure this happened to you sometime in your career, Matt, where you lost a left tackle. You know, you're banged up, you, you go on the road and you know, maybe it's homegrown, whoever it is, and you just are resourceful. And in a weird way, everybody plays over who they are because everybody knows they have to play over who. That's what I felt like San Francisco is like, guys, we all have to play our A game. We don't. Nobody can just, you know, you can't drop a pass. What did you make of the Niners performance?

Matt Hasselbeck (13:15)

Yeah, they've been incredible all year given the adversity that they've faced. And you know, you mentioned George Kittle and like, I think the easy thing to do would be to quit on this team once again. Everybody's already like left them for dead numerous times this year. But I think the easiest easy thing to do is say, oh, they're going back to Seattle. Offensively, they struggled against Seattle with, you know, Kittle or sorry, with, you know, without this kind of like bad breaking news or whatever. But I think this is a team that's going to play for their guy. If there's a. There's one player on that team that I feel is like the heartbeat of that team and there are many to choose from. I think Kittle's that guy. He plays the game the way that it's supposed to be played. Kind of Gronk esque, if you will. And so like again, I think Brock Purdy's super underrated.

Doug Gottlieb (13:59)

I think he's great.

Matt Hasselbeck (14:00)

Kyle Shanahan, when Kittle went out, he basically said this is going to be a running back game plan the rest of the night. It's going to be Kyle juszczyk and Christian McCaffrey and we're going to do it that way. And oh, by the way, Juwan Jennings was a great high school quarterback. We're going to use a trick play with you. And you know, Jennings just, fun fact, he was rated ahead of Lamar over Burrow, over Sam Darnold coming out of high school. And so Kyle Shanahan, it's not so much what you. What we can't do, but it's what we can do. And I think that's what he's done with his. With his guys offensively, defensively, guys like Kendricks, you know, just been impressive and I don't think they're done yet. Not necessarily.

Colin Cowherd (14:38)

So I think one of the things I watch, when I watch football.

Matt Hasselbeck (14:43)

You.

Colin Cowherd (14:43)

Can see coaching like the opening drive for the Niners, you're like, oh, that was. That was magical. That was beautiful. They, they obviously saw weaknesses and attacked them. When I watch Philadelphia, I don't see like halftime adjustments. Offensively, they average nine points in the second half. I don't know what they are offensively. You know, there's the old. There's the old saying, it's not about who has the best players, it's the best team. Right. And there's also a saying it, like, it's not just calling plays, you know, plays. It's got to be complimentary football. I don't know what Philadelphia's offense is. Do you watching that? What. What is their offense?

Matt Hasselbeck (15:20)

Well, they're probably going to get a lot of shade from people like, you know, on social media because they like to repeat plays. And I can just tell you, as a quarterback, I never had a problem repeating a play. Like, Mike Holmgren is probably one of the greatest call play callers of all time, and he would call the same play often and the ball would just go somewhere else. So I don't have a problem with that personally at all, but I do have a problem with identity. And you know, to me, the identity of this team has to go through Saquon. You know, the last five games, Saquon was pretty darn good. But it just. This team, for some reason feels to me a little bit like when Seattle, there was this push inside the building, like the let. Let Russ Cook movement, if you will.

Colin Cowherd (16:00)

Yeah.

Matt Hasselbeck (16:01)

And like, hey, this quarterback, he can be like Dan Marino, dude. You don't need to be like Dan Marino. Just be you. You. You are really, really good. And, and I'm not saying Jalen is pushing that at all. But. But I think what the, what the Eagles had been doing in the past was so, so good. And what they've been doing, I would say for the last, like, year and a half, it just feels like they're trying to be something that they're not. And so, you know, whatever they want to be, like, go be that. But to me, Saquon's got to be a part of it. And that physicality up front, that needs to be a part of it as well.

Colin Cowherd (16:34)

So, you know, Buffalo is. It's just crazy. I asked all week, how's Jacksonville? I've watched the whole season, Jacksonville's better than Buffalo. Then all of a sudden, about an hour in, I'm like, okay, this is just. This is what it is. Maybe Jacksonville got a little bit tight, but, I mean, I don't know if there is. We said this with Caleb. I feel that with Josh Allen, he feels free. He feels a little freer in the second half. It's a looser offense. And I do think that's the hard part about coaching. When you get this, like Lamar's first three or four years in the league, it's like, okay, there's some things I'll coach and some things I'm like, bro, go. Do you. How much do you think when you watch Josh in these moments in the second half is scheme, is design, is a little bit of, hey, man, we're going to give you a couple options. You do you.

Matt Hasselbeck (17:29)

Well, for sure. I mean, and people play Josh Allen differently. So, like, you know, when I would study film, I would kind of have a good sense of how people were probably going to play us, you know, maybe not always because we, you know, homegrown was a little bit old school how we did things, but there are certain players that people just play you differently because of who you are, not the scheme. And that's Josh Allen, like, he literally is Superman. Like, if the MVP was really just the mvp, not like whose team was the best and you had the best stats, like, Josh Allen's the mvp. Like, he is that guy. He can put a cape on and carry his team. He's done it year after year. So, yeah, does he play better in those moments? I do. I do think that's true, but it's also because he's sparring for a little bit, trying to figure out, okay, well, what's your plan for me today? You know, and I think you saw that on the break, Brandon Cook's play, that. That he, you know, hit him down when the corners, trying to trap the out route. I think you see it in some of the quarterback run game. But this is a huge opportunity for Buffalo with, you know, no Lamar, no Burrow no Mahomes in the playoffs. Like, this is your opportunity to throw the cape on. It doesn't matter if your defense can't stop the run. They do other things well. They're creating interceptions. They're playing well enough. This, this is your opportunity.

Colin Cowherd (18:41)

Okay, I'm going to throw. I have a theory on this. I want to put up the playoff picture so the Seahawks know the Niners are beat up. The Seahawks are a young team. I don't like young teams getting buys. I think young teams should play. Old guys can take a buy. So Seattle comes in at home off a buy. Probably not totally in sync. First Driver 2 and I would guess their takeaway is, guys, we have the better, healthier roster. We're going to wear these guys out over three and a half hours. Let's not, let's not make, let's not beat ourselves early. The Niners come into that game thinking, guys, we gotta, we gotta seize control. We're not going on the road and being passive. We're taking swings. I think Seattle Niners, the world love Seattle, and I think Seattle could come in cautious. Rusty, I think Seattle Niners is a real game, and I would be concerned if I was the Seahawks. How do you view it?

Matt Hasselbeck (19:40)

I think it's a real game, but I'm not, I'm not worried about that. I've seen the way Seattle practices. This is not like a fat cat, a bunch of old vets. Like, they get after it. Even the Saturday before a game. I've seen them like, they're, they're breaking a sweat, the ball's flying around. Guys are, you know, they're, they're competitive. I would imagine that this week, like I mentioned to you last week, is a lot of ones versus ones, best versus best. You know, we're not taking our star players to the ground. We're staying away from Sam Darnold's fingers as he throws the ball in the pocket. We're not squeezing the pocket that way, but we're not taking hits on jsn. We're not tugging at jerseys, hurting hamstrings, like all that kind of stuff. So, no, I think Seattle comes out firing, and I just think you got to be alert for a Kyle Shanahan non traditional game plan, non traditional matchups and trick plays. Like, what do they got to lose? Short week, you had to go across the country. I think, like, third time matchup, they're pulling out all this stuff. You know, he's got trick plays in the playbook. What are you saving them for?

Doug Gottlieb (20:41)

This is.

Matt Hasselbeck (20:42)

This is the week to do it. Will Seattle be ready? That'll be the question.

Colin Cowherd (20:46)

Okay, Rams are at the Bears. Rams are healthy. Bears lofts are left tackle and a top Edwards, a top defensive player. I do worry they come off a wildly emotional game against Green Bay, whereas the Rams are kind of sitting there like, can we get through Carolina? But here's what worries me about the Rams. They gave up 30 plus points to Carolina twice. And I keep hearing how great their defensive front seven is. And Carolina was 4 for 4 in the red zone. I could see Caleb Williams having another second half. I mean, Colston Loveland, Roma Dunzee, Luther Burton, D.J. moore. Bears have a lot of size and a lot of skill. I think Chicago has a chance to win. How do you view it?

Matt Hasselbeck (21:29)

Yeah, I don't disagree at all. But. But I do think people overlook how physical the Rams are up front offensively and defensively. And so you, you mentioned the Bears lose their left tackle, Ozzie Tropillo. I think that's a bigger loss than people realize, you know, because you can have all the creative plays in the world, but if you can't protect it makes it tough. But, you know, when Matthew Stafford's on a heater at the end of the game, that's what the difference is. It's like he didn't have his greatest game, I didn't think, but he had a, you know, a long drive at the end and, yeah, perfect throw to Colby Parkinson. And so, you know, these are two quarterbacks that can do it at the end of the game. And the way the rules are and the K balls are right now, I think this could be a fascinating matchup. Again, Even if it's 21 nothing at halftime, I wouldn't count either one of these teams out.

Colin Cowherd (22:13)

Okay, Buffalo now is going to go to Denver. High altitude. I feel the same way. Bo Nicks young quarterback. I don't want him to have rest. I'd rather Beau keep playing. I think, you know, I mean, the dog is going to be. I don't even know who's favorite in that game. My takeaway is, though, Buffalo playing flying home, flying out. I'm like, I think it's an advantage for Buffalo. Like, I don't think Buffalo needed rest. I think that was a great, great win. And gives them some jet fuel into Denver. Would you worry about the Broncos having a week off?

Matt Hasselbeck (22:46)

No, I don't. I don't think I worry about the Broncos having a week off. And, you know, the Broncos lost to the Bills last year in a Similar situation like this. So, you know, I think there's, you know, you don't have to worry again like about these guys like not taking it seriously, not, not, not making it their all like this is their super in a sense. Like they're, they've got this mindset of like one and oh, this week, play every play like it's your last. This game could be our last. I think Sean Payton will have them ready this, you know, that way for me, if I was the quarterback, if I was Josh Allen, I know I gotta go up against Vance Joseph and of all the guys that I've ever gone up against, like Vance Joseph's gotta be somewhere on the podium. I don't know if he's a bronze, silver or gold medalist, but the study time that it takes to go through his defenses and his disguise schemes and all that kind of stuff, it's something. And now he's got guys that can just rush the passer without any help of a blitz. That's. That's a challenge. That's a challenge. I think think Denver's got a better team than people realize. But again, this is one of those things where Josh Allen is that quarterback that can go above the X's and O's without the other superstars. Mahomes, Lamar Burrow, they're not in the AFC this year. This might be your best chance. Buffalo, like go do it.

Colin Cowherd (24:00)

Yeah. Who do you like tonight? Steelers. Texans.

Matt Hasselbeck (24:03)

It's a really tough one. I think if the Steelers don't try to play the game in empty bat like they love to be an empty Aaron Rodgers in shotgun like it's 10 years ago in Green Bay. If they don't do that then, then I like the Steelers. But if they want to just kind of play like they've always played like oh, Aaron and DK and this and that. I think the Houston Texans defense is. Is really spectacular and they got to do it a different way.

Colin Cowherd (24:28)

Yeah. Pittsburgh has a weird way of. In these games where you're like, I'm not sure they can generate enough offense. They find out a way to get turnovers short field. Tomlin's teams always do this when you really. He's always been a great underdog coach and all of a sudden the ball is tipped and TJ Watts running down the field, you're like, I mean that. Because my old takeaway is can they generate 14 points? But they always figure out a way to do it. That's kind of, that's kind of the Pittsburgh way, is it not?

Matt Hasselbeck (25:01)

Yeah. And it's worked for them for a long time. You know, I just think that at some point, Aaron Rodgers has to kind of. And maybe he's already done that. He's got to change the way he's played in terms of, again, just going more point guard. And that can mean using the running backs more. Okay, but less shooting forward. We don't need the, you know, I would, I would just say it sort of that way, like, make the people around you better. And I think he's got the ability to do that. But the speed and the physicality and the pass rush of this Houston Texans team with Hunter and Anderson, like, I don't care how good of a thrower you are, it won't matter if, if you don't have time to throw.

Colin Cowherd (25:41)

Yeah. Mike Tomlin, 23 and 5 on Monday night. So there, there is a magic to it. No question. Matt Hasselbeck, as always, buddy, great seeing you.

Matt Hasselbeck (25:50)

See you, Colin.

Colin Cowherd (25:51)

One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search her to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Fox Sports Radio is taking over YouTube and you can be a part of it. Pay attention. Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio. Hit that subscribe button and smash that notification bell and catch all the videos from your favorite shows. Two pros and a couple. Joe Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd, Doug Gottlieb, Covino and Rich. The Odd couple with Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington, the Jason Smith show with Mike Harmon and the Ben Ma show. Fox sports radio on YouTube. Subscribe. Hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.

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Colin Cowherd (27:03)

And we're not throwing any shade. The Patriots way. Drake May didn't play. Great game was choppy. New England's the better team. I still contend the Patriots are a draft away. I think Will Campbell coming back at left tackle helps a lot. A lot of people have said, hey, Justin, Herbert. Justin Herbert. Colin, what do you got to say? And my takeaway is Justin Herbert, through three playoff games, his numbers are actually slightly better than Peyton Manning through three playoff games. He threw the ball. He threw a fastball to Keenan Allen underneath. He needed to have a little tempo on that. He had opportunities in the game, but you know, he had two bad coaches to start, and now he's got an awful offensive line. Everybody loved the Chargers and the points. I kept saying, guys, you can't have the 32nd best offensive line. It's bad in pass, pro run blocking. And your Hampton plays a play and he's out. Like they just don't have enough players. For the record, you want to know another quarterback the last two years who have regressed badly? Patrick Mahomes. Why? His own line stinks. It's the one thing, maybe Josh Allen is immune to it. Patrick Mahomes has been blown out twice in Super Bowls. Not because Tyreek Hill left. He won those because his offensive line was bad. So 65% of the rushing yards last night, Justin Herbert, they just can't stay healthy. And all their injuries seem to be offensive line and running back. So where they're thin to begin with. So I mean, I. Justin Herbert is two things. A quarterback and this year a pinata. And so I don't know what you do. I wouldn't touch the Chargers. Everybody liked them. And I said, I love their kicker, I love their coach, I love Justin's toughness. But this offense is not good enough to win playoff games on the road against a really good New England team. So Patrick Mahomes, the last two years, everybody's like, he's not the same. Well, why would that be? It's his offensive line and pass pro. And for the record, Mahomes lack of a run game, you can't put every. You know, everybody says, well, Josh Allen, what does he have? A Pro bowl left tackle, James Cook and excellent tight end. Now, I don't love the Buffalo roster. They have a great slot, couple good tight ends, star back, Pro bowl left tackle. That. That is the Bill Walsh Niners compared to what Justin Herbert's working with right now. J. Mac with the news.

Matt Hasselbeck (29:37)

No, no, no, no.

Colin Cowherd (29:38)

Turn on the news. This is the Herd line news. Yeah, how was.

Doug Gottlieb (29:43)

We're in lockstep on that one, Colin. What one? We were in lockstep with it Wiffed Was that Niners Eagles game. Holy cow. Listen, I was torn, man. I love the Eagles a lot, but, you know, my guy is Brock Purdy and listen, Colin, it's time. Oh, yeah, we got to have a discussion about the most underrated quarterback in the NFL. Brock Purdy, who was sensational, as they like to say in soccer. I mean, listen, I know he threw two picks, but Purdy was excellent, except on the block here. He wanted no part of that on the Juwan Jennings throw. I mean, if you watch the replay, it's hilarious. He's just like, I'm not getting in front of that 300 pounder. Anyway, Juwan Jennings talked about going up against Seattle this week. A tall order.

Matt Hasselbeck (30:22)

I was ready. I was ready, excited. And just to see Christian, you know, pop up open there late, I. I just gave him a chance and I didn't even see the ball, man.

Colin Cowherd (30:30)

But great hands by two.

Matt Hasselbeck (30:32)

Three, man. Great hands.

Colin Cowherd (30:33)

Do you know who you're playing next week?

Matt Hasselbeck (30:36)

I take a wild guess. I hope it's Seattle, though. It is Seattle. Let's go. Let's go.

Colin Cowherd (30:41)

I can't wait.

Matt Hasselbeck (30:42)

That's who we wanted.

Colin Cowherd (30:43)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll tell you, I. I'll defend Purdy. Interceptions don't drive me crazy. The bottom line is when I needed. I think we have the audio of it. When they needed a great play and when the 49ers needed a great drive, Purdy delivered again. Defense is trying to one of the picks. The first really bad. The second one, you know, it's single coverage defender stepped in front.

Doug Gottlieb (31:10)

All pro defender Quinion Mitchell.

Colin Cowherd (31:12)

Yes, that's right. Also windy on the road. For the record, he had a muddy pocket most of the night. He didn't have a ton of time to throw. Jalen Hurts is the guy that had time to throw. So I. I will defend Purdy. I thought that first drive and I also defend him on not blocking on that trick play. You're out of your mind. Get him out of there.

Doug Gottlieb (31:32)

I mean, he was coming at him like a freight train. By the way, did you see on the first highlight who he threw to number five? I'm not kidding, Colin. I'm watching the game and I'm like, five. Who the hell is that? Juwan Jennings is 15. DeMarcus Robinson, the guy didn't have a 50 yard game all season. He caught six for a buck 11. That's Shanahan trusting and Purdy trusting. I mean, Robinson beat Mitchell, the all pro on a slant in the end zone. Did you see that?

Colin Cowherd (31:57)

Yeah.

Doug Gottlieb (31:58)

I'm like, what's happening here? I will say this a note. Listen, reporters are good. We'll give them their props when they miss. We'll do that too. Josina Anderson had a good Note just now. Colin 49ers arrived home 2am Monday morning. Okay. Obviously they're going to get a late start today. No kiddle. They play on Saturday. The league kind of did them dirty. Seattle has extra time. Niners have to play on Saturday after getting home at two in the morning from a Sunday game.

Colin Cowherd (32:24)

Well, the good news is you've already played Seattle twice. Everybody in that building knows what Seattle is. Seattle, meanwhile, everybody goes, oh, Seattle is well rested. I don't want my young red hot team to be that rested. I also think Seattle is a prohibitive favorite. Could come in and be very cautious. Could come in with kind of a, hey guys, let's not take, you know, let's not beat ourselves here. I think the Niners will account for themselves. Well, I do think over the course of four hours, Seattle at home just keeps bringing waves of speed, athleticism and length and power.

Doug Gottlieb (33:00)

One of the funniest notes my buddy sent me was Juwan Jennings, right? The guy who threw the touchdown pass. He threw one in the Super Bowl. He was nearly the MVP in that game against the Chiefs that they lost in overtime. Juwan Jennings was a higher ranked high school quarterback than Joe Burrow.

Colin Cowherd (33:13)

Yeah.

Doug Gottlieb (33:13)

Coming out of high school, like that's how good Jennings is. So shout out to him. I love the Signers team. I'm going to root for them. But Colin, I don't see how you can make a case for them against Seattle. Maybe, maybe first quarter. I don't know about first half. First quarter they'll have some juice, but after that, bro, I don't know. All right. Speaking of Eagles diners, our guy, Tom Brady, who I think is joining the show again this week, he had a really good moment in the booth about quarterbacks throwing through windy weather. Check this out.

Matt Hasselbeck (33:42)

Yeah. So what?

Colin Cowherd (33:42)

You see it and I talk about the point of the ball a lot. You see it from. I'll start from this angle. This is kind of like a neutral plane, this one. The point is slightly down.

Matt Hasselbeck (33:50)

When you're throwing into the wind, it has to be neutral.

Colin Cowherd (33:52)

If the point of the ball is up, any wind friction is going to push that ball up over the top. So as a quarterback, you don't really.

Matt Hasselbeck (33:58)

Like that you throw underneath because naturally.

Colin Cowherd (34:00)

That'S going to point the tip of the ball up.

Matt Hasselbeck (34:02)

You'd like more of a C or an inverse, a reverse C. That's how you kind of control the point of the ball and then you can kind of just snap it off as you.

Colin Cowherd (34:11)

Throw it, but in these windy conditions, you can't be underneath the ball. There's too much wind surface of the ball to knock it off its path. I gotta tell you, that was a science lesson I didn't know I needed. Well done. Yeah. I wish I could have taken that course in college instead of biology. That was interesting.

Doug Gottlieb (34:28)

You think the Eagles offensive coordinator even knew that? I mean, honestly, I'm so disgusted.

Colin Cowherd (34:33)

It was funny in Philadelphia. They kept showing the flag.

Doug Gottlieb (34:36)

Yeah.

Colin Cowherd (34:37)

And Purdy would make a throw, and I'm like. Because twice A.J. brown went down the field, and it was like a center fielder who lost it in the sun, like he couldn't track the ball. And Purdy made a couple of massive throws.

Doug Gottlieb (34:50)

I thought he couldn't throw it when the weather was inclement. I thought he had issues with that.

Colin Cowherd (34:53)

Brady also had a great line when the blue tent came up. He's like, folks, you've just seen everything in the blue tent. There's no. There's not much there. It's a table and a blue tent.

Doug Gottlieb (35:01)

Yeah. All right, let's go to the final story, and that's the Bears comeback against the Packers. Scintillating stuff Saturday night. I know you. I know you were like six beers deep, just going crazy. Colston Loveland and company afterward. Listen, man, I got to give Ben Johnson his flowers. He talks the smack and backs it up. He had that handshake at midfield with LaFleur. Basically a big middle finger right to the guy's face. And then afterwards, here he is in the locker room.

Colin Cowherd (35:27)

Oh, boy. We don't see a kind of motion.

Matt Hasselbeck (35:30)

From you at the buzzer as we did today.

Colin Cowherd (35:32)

It's just the obvious of what are the playoff game. Yeah.

Matt Hasselbeck (35:37)

Yeah.

Colin Cowherd (35:37)

There's.

Matt Hasselbeck (35:38)

There's probably a little bit more noise.

Colin Cowherd (35:39)

Coming out of there, building up north to start the week, which we heard.

Matt Hasselbeck (35:45)

Loud and clear, players and coaches alike. So this one meant something to us.

Colin Cowherd (35:51)

Yeah. Listen.

Doug Gottlieb (35:54)

Bulletin board material.

Colin Cowherd (35:55)

Yeah. But one of the things this always irritates me about my profession, the media, our profession, folks like the Olympics, people train four years and then they win a race or lose a race, and we jam a microphone in their face. The reality is, you used to not get cameras in locker rooms. Now we do. So don't judge what players and coaches are doing in their space. When I got my first job out of college, I got a job doing a AAA baseball team, play by play. And there was a sign, no media. And there was a certain area of the locker room where guys got bandit and they had dirty jokes and they played music and blah blah, blah. And the language was profane. And I always remember that. No media allowed. So now we get all this video all over the place. You're dealing with young men. They commit their lives to it. They're rarely home, they're taking a beating. It's Saturday night. By the way. The same kind of language you hear is what you're hearing in the stands from 70,000 people. They're going, the city of Chicago was nuts. I mean they were. Everybody was walking around with an open container drinking and party. And a Saturday night in Chicago was Mardi Gras. So again, I don't love the language he used, but it's like we have to understand the commitment, the time, the energy. And if sometimes a coach is a little over the top for a player, we're visitors, okay? We're observers. We're not in this battle. We have to understand the, the emotional state these guys are in after W's. The Bears have been losing this franchise forever.

Doug Gottlieb (37:30)

Yeah. Remember Aaron Rodgers famously said they own. He owned the Bears. But so in the locker room there's a video of him saying bleep the Packers. We can't show that obviously. But earlier in the week, what irked him was the packers players were like, oh, we can't play. Wait to play the Bears. Well, obviously they never trailed the Bears the whole season in the two matches. Never trailed at all. And they were dominating this game. But Caleb Williams is moving mountains and that fourth down throw is going to. I mean honestly, if you're looking at the all time great plays in Bears history, that Caleb Williams touchdown pass is up there. And here's some Bears quarterbacks with two wins versus the Packers. Caleb joins elite company, Jim Harbaugh and Jim McMahon. Jim McMahon, the funky QB. Love that guy back in the day. Listen, man, not Caleb Williams is.

Colin Cowherd (38:14)

Even Sid Lockman couldn't do it. Johnny. Johnny Lujak.

Doug Gottlieb (38:18)

Or was that Rex Grossman, Jake Cutler, were those guys. But Colin, do they have a chance against the Rams?

Colin Cowherd (38:24)

Absolutely. I would feel much better if they didn't lose their left tackle. That, that they could lose a linebacker. That worries me.

Doug Gottlieb (38:33)

Yeah. Jared Verse probably excited to be going against a backup.

Colin Cowherd (38:35)

If I Sunday night. By the way, I'm not sure I would root for crappy weather Sunday night that helps the Bears. Yeah.

Doug Gottlieb (38:43)

Have you checked the weather report? It's probably going to be balmy in Chicago, right?

Colin Cowherd (38:45)

40, 40. What is it going to be about 40ish?

Doug Gottlieb (38:48)

14 or 40?

Colin Cowherd (38:49)

14. J. Mac with the News.

Doug Gottlieb (38:55)

Well, that's the news, and thanks for stopping by.

Colin Cowherd (38:57)

The Herd LIE News live in Chicago. It's the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.

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Doug Gottlieb (40:08)

A classic Big east rivalry between Villanova and Providence. Then West Virginia takes on seventh ranked Houston, followed by Maryland versus USC. It all tips off tomorrow only on FS1.

Colin Cowherd (40:20)

I mean, just think about this weekend, all of us. Everybody kind of thought summarily, Rams will handle the Panthers. No, they had to come from behind to win. Well, listen, packers have been here before. The good times are over for the Bears. And then they weren't. I thought Jags are the better team. I've seen it all year. And then there was Josh Allen. And so, I mean you, I mean Philadelphia was a five point favorite. Five's my magic number. Get to five, take the favorite. So this is what is so great about the NFL. You just don't know. And I think Buffalo is one of those teams where I mean 12 for 12 to his favorite receiver. I don't love Buffalo's defensive talent. I love their left tackle, running back, tight end, Josh Allen. I think their offensive talent, they've hit on some good guys. If Keon Coleman wasn't a bust, I would really like their talent. They don't really have a dominant number one, but they're a hard team to gauge because you just have the ultimate wild card, which is Josh Allen. Here's Matt Hasselbeck earlier.

Matt Hasselbeck (41:25)

Denver's got a better team than people realize. But again, this is one of those things where Josh Allen is that quarterback that can go above the X's and O's without the other superstars, Mahomes, Lamar Burrow, they're not in the AFC this year. This might be your best chance. Buffalo, like, go do it.

Colin Cowherd (41:43)

Yeah, I again, I think Denver's got the better team, the better pass rush, the best corner. I mean, there's so many elements where I like Denver in this spot. They're rested, they've got a great. I think, I do think having extra time to prepare with a really clever play designer and Sean Payton is an absolute advantage, no question. But then again, Jacksonville had Liam Cohen, great play designer and play caller. Now, he didn't have an extra week, but you think to yourself, oh, you're at home. You got the offensive guy. So a lot of good offensive coaches. Shanahan McVeigh, Ben Johnson, Sean Payton still remaining. I think I don't know what to make it tonight, honestly. My intuition tells me Mike Tomlin, extra day Monday underdog, probably playing probably their healthiest offensively. But the Texans defense, I don't even know what the over under is. The Texans defense is completely suffocating. So, you know, if you told me Pittsburgh has a history of in these games and in these spots finding points, you know, they just do. They get the turnover, they block a kick, they get a return. We will go to Pittsburgh where the game is tonight. We will go there at the end of the show. 38 and a half for tonight. Yeah, it's probably about where it should be.

Doug Gottlieb (43:13)

Colin, who do you give the chance of a better upset possibility? Brock Purdy on the road or Matt Stafford on the road?

Colin Cowherd (43:21)

Matt Stafford has a healthier team, he's got a healthier defense.

Doug Gottlieb (43:24)

And the other one is, are you surprised that Josh Allen opened as a favorite in Denver? They were minus one and a half. I don't know where it is at this very second, but it was trending toward pick them. Bo Nicks rested. Denver defense rested. Bills. They lost their receiver. Gabe Davis went down with a pretty bad knee injury. I don't, I think he's done. I, I don't know what to make of the Bills, man. It was essentially Josh Allen. Did you see James cook had under 50 yards rushing? Yeah, I mean, we nailed the handicap on that. He's. They're not gonna be able to run. Is Josh Allen going to save them? And he bailed them out with a clutch final drive. He got beat up pretty badly though.

Colin Cowherd (43:58)

Josh Allen, he, by the end of the game he was hobbling. Yeah, I mean it's the knee, the hand concussion protocol. That's why I find the Bears. You know the reason I love the Bears, I thought they're run gas. I was going to snow and I'm like, oh, it's snow. I get the Bears.

Doug Gottlieb (44:16)

It was before the game, right? There was all these photos.

Colin Cowherd (44:18)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then in the end it was actually just a cold, beautiful night. So apparently now the Rams Bears weather forecast is it will feel like minus 8 degrees. That feels like an edge to the Chicago team to me. Hour three coming up.

Matt Hasselbeck (44:38)

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.