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The Herd with Colin Cowherd
What's Wright - Chiefs CRUSH Commanders, Patrick Mahomes & Travis Kelce DOMINATE, NFL Week 8 Reaction | Nick Wright
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- [00:00]
Nick Wright
This is an iHeart podcast. Look, if you smoke or dip, I'm going to give you a few good reasons to try Zyn Nicotine Pouches. First, Zyn is America's number one nicotine pouch brand, and Zyn offers an unbelievable rewards program. There's a lot of options for nicotine satisfaction, but there's only one Zen. Visit zen.com find to find Zen at a store near you. Again, that zen.com find zyn spelled z y N this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.
- [00:39]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Okay, let's talk holiday shopping. When you want to make the most of your Money, head to PayPal's app before you check out. They give you the flexibility to pay in four no fees, no interest. And this is big. Bigger than the 12 foot snowman on your lawn right now. You can get 5% cash back when you pay later with PayPal. So whether it's the must have merch or for that signed jersey you've been eyeing, PayPal helps you make the most of your money this holiday. Save this offer in the PayPal app.
- [01:12]
Nick Wright
Expires 1231 see paypal.com promoterms Subject to approval. Learn more at paypal.com payin4paypal inc.nmls910457 Today's episode is brought to you by a scent that's made a legendary comeback degree Original Cool Rush the OG is back and better than ever. Cool Rush isn't just a scent, it's a movement, the kind of fragrance that millions of guys ask for by name. It's bold, fresh and delivers all day sweat protection with that cool, crisp vibe that made it a legend. Whether you're heading to the gym, the office, or just trying to stay fresh on a long day, Cool Rush has your back. So if you haven't tried it yet, head to your local Walmart and grab degree Cool Rush, the fan favorite scent from the world's number one antiperspirant brand. This podcast is sponsored by Total Wireless, the official wireless partner of ufc. When you're streaming the fight or sharing those takedown highlights, you need a wireless provider that keeps you close to the action. With Total Wireless, you're covered by the Verizon 5G network, so you don't have to worry about your connection being knocked out. And at the biggest moments, it's not something you can usually say about a wireless provider. But Total Wireless really does have your back. They're in your corner every second of the day, so you never miss a thing. Visit totalwireless.com or visit your local Total Wireless Store to learn more about how Total Wireless can be in your corner. 5G access requires a 5G capable device and a 5G service area. Additional terms apply. See website for details. Welcome in what's Right With Nick Wright Episode 384 this episode of what's Right with the Great is brought to you by our friends at Boost Mobile. All right, real quick before we insane night last night that went way too long on the east coast. It was 2:30 in the morning out here and I was like, I don't know if I'm going to make it. I don't know. I don't know. And I will admit I missed the bottom of the 17th. Bottom of the 17th. I fell asleep and I woke up and saw the top of the 18th and the Freddie Freeman walk off. Before we get to that, before we get to the Chiefs being the Chiefs, quick little fun story. Demonte, how are you?
- [03:34]
Damanze
Good pops. How you doing?
- [03:36]
Nick Wright
I'm doing well. So you know this, the audience doesn't. Thursday interesting day because this past Thursday the NBA gambling scandal breaks. The Chauncey Billups poker scandal breaks. And that night I was already scheduled to be at charity poker tournament. And I actually, while I was there, got some legit intel because I may or may not have been able to talk to some people who might have played in either some of those games years back or certainly when they read the indictment they're like, oh, that's odd. I sure know that dealer. And so there was some real, you know, I guess I could write it off, write it off on my taxes. It was a business expense I was investigating. However, here's the reason I bring it up. Hank Azaria, the great Hank Azaria, awesome comic voice of so many of the great Simpsons characters, great actor. He has two charity poker tournaments a year. One is at Citi Field partnering with the Mets and the other is at Casa Cipriani partnering with the Dream School in Harlem. I go to both of them. Last year the Mets won at city field. About 120 people in the tournament. I won it. And that's how we the, we won that trip to Baja Mar in that crazy suite your mom and sisters were staying in with the pool table and the butlers and all that nonsense. That was a. I won that by winning the charity poker tournament. So I won. His Mets won last year. His dream school won at Casa Cipriani Thursday night. Bang. 100 person charity tournament. I'm a two time champ. I've Won both his tournaments.
- [05:41]
Damanze
Oh, my goodness. How about sounds like it's R. For.
- [05:45]
Nick Wright
This one, I got a trophy all in for Dream poker tournament champion, Shout out Hank Azaria. Shout out Dream School in Harlem. Shout out poker pro Andy Frankenberger, who before the poker tournament gives lessons to everyone in there and then gets dusted by me every year. Shout out to my pals Bellen and Meton and everybody who just go there, donate money and then watch me hoist the trophy every year. What a dream. What an absolute literal dream. Dream again, the Dream School in Harlem. It's great. Good money, good food, good people. Really just outstanding. And so I I the prize I I is a suite with 12 tickets at a Knicks game in December. I don't have the exact details on it, but that's the, that's the prize I picked. They were like, oh, you can. One of the prizes is, I don't know, however many nights at the Win in Vegas, like you might like that. I'm like, here's the thing that you guys might not know. And I tell people this and they're like, oh, really? Is that true? It's like, it is true. You can stay in Vegas anytime you want for free as long as one of those times you lose enough playing blackjack. So I like I, I don't need free rooms in Vegas. I, I put my work in on that. I stay at the Aria for free, for life. And so I, so I took the Knicks tickets, but I won the tournament. Very happy about it. So. And maybe got some real intel or some insight on the scandals in the NBA. We're not going to get into that today because I have to vet some of the anecdotal stories I was told. But I, I think more names potentially could be coming out and I think people that you wouldn't expect to be in some financial trouble might have been in some financial trouble. And so the, you know, we will table that for now, but it's there I would like to get to Straight to voicemail brought to you by Boost Mobile before we get to the Chiefs. And this straight to voicemail is going to be a long one because we're going to discuss last night's baseball game, but Luke and Ant out with injuries and which automatically turns Austin Reeves into one of the best scorers in the league. Cam Scatterbo. Scatterboo had a really scary, awful injury. Gladiator successful surgery and shout out to Big Dom sitting sincerely from the Eagles for bringing him cheese steaks and meeting him in the hospital. Big Dom actually does seem like a really good dude. A little the. I know I poked fun at this little run since. Yeah. But he does seem like a really good dude. So I like, I think that's awesome. And then the Dodgers take a 21 lead in the World Series and flatly demons a one of the greatest baseball games ever played apparently. And that, that's not hyperbole. And here's the thing. Sometimes games are incredibly long and because of that people call them all time great games. But they weren't really great games. They were just long went too long. Well, I was fine with how long it went, but the, the, the point I'm making is this. If this thing had ended in nine innings, it would have been one of the best World Series games of the last 25 years. The draw, Ohtani just being fire breathing dragon combined with Vladdy scoring from first. The amazing plays defensively to nail guys either at the plate or at third base. The little controversy early when the ump clearly misses ball four. And so everybody's going to the. I think was Bichette is going to first base. The guy on first is trying to go to second. Instead it's a strike and the guy on first gets picked off. And it was just an un. It was unbelievable theater through nine innings. Then there was another nine innings of scoreless baseball including Clayton Kershaw being dusted off. Hey, no, no big deal Clayton. But it's just bases loaded, two outs, extra innings, World Series even get us out of this jam. And he did all culminating and in Freddie Freeman after hitting a walk off grand slam in last year's World Series, hitting a walk off 18th inning leadoff shot to put the Dodgers in great position going into tonight's game when Ohtani is going to pitch. And Ohtani is pitching the night after becoming the first player in World Series history to reach base seven times, becoming the first player in World Series history to reach base eight times, becoming the first player in World Series history to reach base nine times, becoming the first player in World Series history to have four extra base hits. I mean this guy had two doubles, two bombs and then they just waved the white flag. It was and they. And on it and the Dodgers could have and maybe should have lost. It was a one man offensive show that then got some supporting acting from Freddie Freeman. And Blue Jays really going to be kicking themselves, man. Especially with George Springer now injured and the opportunity that they had. And I just don't understand how you pitched Ohtani in. Was it the seventh or the eighth when he Hit the solo bomb. The seventh, you have taken the lead in the top of the seventh. Ohtani is the only guy on the team who has done anything. He's 3 for 3 with two doubles and a bomb and you pitch to him and he of course hits another bomb. Now then after that, four straight intentional walks and then a regular walk. But man, oh man. Yep, that's going to be one you want back. And what you guys can tell me on Hard Rock bet what the Dodgers are favored by tonight. Yeah, I mean with Ohtani on The mound around minus 200 is what I see. And they are. And Ohtani's got a, you know, pitch tonight after playing that game. Just an insane setup and one of the coolest baseball games anybody's ever seen. I know we had an 18 inning World Series game a few years ago. This to me was a far better innings one through nine game and then just massive edge of your seat drama for innings 10 through 18, even if it was just insanely late. My God, that was a. It was a tough wake up this morning. All right, everybody, reminder like rate, subscribe review to the pod that helps us out. I just got our numbers for the pod through August. We haven't gotten any football season numbers yet, but the pod's doing great. That is thanks to you guys. We greatly appreciate that. And so if you guys will like rate subs. Really? I, I know we say like and rate. That is the secondary and tertiary requests subscriptions we greatly, greatly, greatly appreciate on YouTube or on iTunes or on Spotify or whatever. I'm sure there's a third audio streaming platform that we never mentioned that I'm not aware of. But the, you know, the Iheart app, do it there too. If you're a smoker or dipper ready to make a change, you really only need one good reason. But with Zyn nicotine Pouches, you'll discover many good reasons. Zynn is America's number one nicotine pouch brand. Plus Zynn offers a robust rewards program. There are lots of options when it comes to nicotine satisfaction, but there's only one Zyn. Check out Zyn.com find to find Zyn at a store near you. Warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.
- [14:27]
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- [15:26]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Okay, let's talk holiday shopping. When you want to make the most of your Money, head to PayPal's app before you check out. They give you the flexibility to pay in four no fees, no interest. And this is big. Bigger than the 12 foot snowman on your lawn right now. You can get 5% cash back when you pay later with PayPal. So whether it's the must have merch or for that signed jersey you've been eyeing, PayPal helps you make the most of your money this holiday. Save this offer in the PayPal app expires 1231.
- [16:01]
Nick Wright
See paypal.com promoterms Subject to approval.
- [16:04]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
Learn more at paypal.com payinfor PayPal Inc.
- [16:08]
Nick Wright
NMLS 910457 Limu Emu and Doug Here.
- [16:14]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
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- [16:29]
Nick Wright
Is that guy with the binoculars watching us?
- [16:31]
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- [16:41]
Nick Wright
All right, Damanze, let's get to the Chiefs. Being the Chiefs.
- [16:44]
Damanze
So you called last night's win against the Commanders for your Chiefs a must win and you felt like they win by a lot. They did win by a lot. It was a close game there for a minute.
- [16:54]
Nick Wright
Looked like they were at halftime. Yeah, seven. Seven and a half. So.
- [16:58]
Damanze
So what was your biggest takeaway from yesterday's game?
- [17:01]
Nick Wright
Hold on. I have a question for you. What happened? Because I think in general you root for, you know, me and my success and happiness. But I feel like you maybe during a game like last night, find yourself rooting for the Commanders won't be just taken down a peg a bit. I could just tell it the way you the way you asked the question, like you at halftime you were like, oh, could be at a tough spot for Pops tomorrow. Do I have that right?
- [17:38]
Damanze
It was. I mean, I'm never rooting for them to lose. But you know, certain teams like the Commanders, I understand like the what, what are the optics on the Chiefs as they lose a game like this? I do. I'm never rooting for them to win or rooting for them to lose. But. But yeah, sometimes I find it a little funny when teams hang around with them and stuff and it becomes like a bigger game than what it should have been.
- [18:02]
Nick Wright
But okay, so listen, the. This game's here are my snap takeaways from it. Okay? So Patrick, for just the second time all year, made a costly mistake. The pick that Lattimore got was at the time his third pick of the year. Two of what the Jags pick and the Lattimore pick were, you know, bad throws and, or bad decisions. And then all later in the first quarter, for the second time all year, Patrick made a great throw to Travis that Travis bobbled and got picked. And because of that the Commanders were able to hang around. Luckily, the Chiefs are back to being the Chiefs in full. And because of that it flew flatly. Did not matter. They had a drive in Demon. They had a drive in this game that was 119 yard touchdown drive because they got it started on the six and they got penalties on it to where they had to recoup those yards. And as I have been screaming from the mountaintops for the better part of two years, all Patrick Mahomes needs is a competent offensive line and a league average receiving core which now they have above league average. And he will instantly look like the best player in the sport once again. And that's what's happened last night, by the way. The Chiefs without starting all Pro right guard Trey Smith or certainly Pro Bowler, I don't know if he's been an all Pro. And as they've been the last few weeks without starting left tackle Josh Simmons. And the Josh Simmons absence looked early on like it could be a problem as Jalen Moore was struggling a bit with. Who was it that. Oh, Jacob Martin. But the Chiefs steadied themselves at halftime and then after that it's just a an embarrassment of riches compared to the receiving core that they had all of last season and the first few weeks of this season. And that leads to Travis running wide open, Rasheed Rice just absolutely cutting people up in yards after the catch. And even in a game when Xavier Worthy does not do all that much. And where Patrick doesn't do all that much with his legs, the Chiefs second half drives are just touchdown, touchdown, touchdown and that's it. And so here is the other major takeaway that impacts the season for Kansas City. I don't know if it's because Andy has adjusted his philosophy. I don't know if it's because Patrick has more sway or input on decision making. And I don't know if it's because Bucker had been so shaky to start the year. But for one reason or another, for the first time in Mahomes career, he is on a team that is aggressive rather than conservative on fourth downs. And that changes everything for Kansas City. They went for a fourth down in their own territory early in the game. They went for a fourth and goal. They've been doing it all year long. Kareem Hunt is just automatic on these fourth and one plays and because of that they are getting seven or when they used to get three. And it makes them all the more dynamic and all the more dangerous. And I of course now have to remind the audience that since the tackle that turned the tide, the Chiefs are a guaranteed minimum 28 points a game. Once again they in that Giants game pre and post tackled it turned the tide. They scored what 13 second half points and then after that 37 against the Ravens, 28 against the Jags despite a pick at the one yard line, 30 against the Lions despite taking their foot off. No, they didn't take the foot off. The cast in that game was the Ravens game. 37 against Baltimore through three quarters, 28 against the Jags, 30 against the Lions, the 31 against the Raiders despite going to benching Mahomes in the fourth quarter and 28 against the Commanders despite a honestly nothing first half. And now they do have demons. A a real AFC playoff team gauntlet coming up Sunday at the Bills, then a bye week, then at the Broncos, then home for the Colts. And that will, that three game stretch will determine the AFC West. It will go a long way to determining the AFC east for the bill's purposes and it will go a long way to determining the number one seed in the afc. And so I, I could not feel better about where this team is right now. And oh yeah, by the way, the defense has allowed seven points in the last two weeks. So pretty good. Go ahead.
- [23:58]
Damanze
That's pretty crazy to think about how to think about it. But how are you feeling your confidence level going into this Buffalo game on Sunday? We saw Buffalo just took care of the Panthers after The buyers.
- [24:07]
Nick Wright
So it's weird. It's weird because I don't think, if I'm being totally honest, I don't think any results gonna make me feel good. Because if they lose, obviously that hurts them dramatically in seating and all of that, but they lose to the Bills every year in the regular season and then beat them in the playoffs. And if they win, then in the back of my head I will be like, oh, man, this is the opposite. Is this going to be flipped this year? Is this the year you beat them in the regular season and lose them in the postseason? With that said, I just don't think the Bill's defense is that good. And particularly. Who is it? Is it. Was it Ed Oliver who got hurt for the Bills? Yeah, Ed Oliver is going to be out for the Chiefs game. And so he's their best defensive player. So that. And Taylor Rapp was already out, so that already was concerning for Buffalo. And so that I think the Chiefs are going to be able to move the ball, I don't want to say at will, but with relative ease against the Bills. And then the question is, what can the Bills do against a Chiefs team that all of a sudden has the number two scoring off defense in football? The Houston Texans are allowing 14.7 points per game. The Kansas City Chiefs are allowing 16.4 points per game. And so right now, the Chiefs, the dynasty's over. The sky is falling. Mahomes isn't Mahomes anymore. Right now the Chiefs have the number two scoring defense and currently the number six scoring offense, which is less than one point away from being the number five scoring offense. And so. And they've done it, contrary to what I think Stephen A. Said this morning, they've done it against what's supposed to be elite competition, the Ravens, the Lions, obviously, they lost to the Chargers and the Eagles, but the defense played well in the Eagles game, not so much the Chargers game. And now they're about to. You know, they've got a real. This was, remember, if you remember, to Monze this stretch of games is why I said before the year that if Rashid is going to be suspended, which he obviously was going to be suspended, that I wanted it to be early rather than late. And they survived Rasheed suspension. They're now five and three. And now they have the stretch of football that will determine whether or not they win the AFC west for the what it would be, 10th straight year, 9th straight year, and whether or not they have a real shot at the one seed. Because in the next 30 days, they go to Buffalo, they get a buy, they go to Denver, they host the Colts. And four days after hosting the Colts, they're in Dallas on Thanksgiving in what will be. Yeah. And that Dallas game will be. I'm going to go ahead and say it now. I wish we're a Fox game. It's obviously it's not. It's a CBS game that'll be the highest rated regular season NFL game in years and years and years. And the. It's because Thanksgiving, the Cowboys Thanksgiving game always is the highest rated regular season game of the year. And now it's the Cowboys Thanksgiving against Patrick Mahomes. All right, what else do we have on this? Before we get to other stuff, where.
- [28:28]
Damanze
Do you think Rashid Rice ranks amongst like top weapons Mahomes has ever had? You put him at like two?
- [28:35]
Nick Wright
Well, no, I mean he couldn't be higher than Tyreek or Kelsey.
- [28:39]
Damanze
Oh yeah, okay. I, I was taking Kelsey out. I was just thinking receivers, but I guess.
- [28:43]
Nick Wright
Oh, you were just thinking receivers amongst. Yeah, amongst receivers he would be number two. Amongst weapons he actually, he actually might be number four at the. With Kelsey, Tyreek and number three as far as weapons Mahomes has ever had.
- [29:11]
Damanze
McCall.
- [29:13]
Nick Wright
Who'd you say?
- [29:14]
Damanze
I was going to say McCall. Hartman.
- [29:16]
Nick Wright
No, Mahomes, his first year as a starter before he got kicked off the team. Kareem Hunt. And he's back now obviously, but Kareem the year before Mahomes got there or Mahomes was there. But Kareem and Mahomes were rookies the same year. But obviously Mahomes didn't play his rookie year. Kareem's rookie season he had 1300 yards rushing, 450 yards receiving, almost 1800 total yards and 11 touchdowns. Mahomes, his first year as a starter, Kareem played 11 games. In those 11 games he had 1200 yards total receiving and rushing and 14 touchdowns. And then he got kicked off the team for the domestic violence incident. And the Chiefs have never had a thousand yard rusher in that time frame. And Mahomes whole career as a starter, so that's. He was dynamic and so that's how. But Rasheed has a chance to be without a doubt the third best weapon Mahomes has ever had if he's not already. I mean Rashee is. Rishi is such a great player. He's just a great, great player and the. His teammates adore him, which is helpful given the trouble he got himself in off the field and then obviously him having to deal with the injury all Right. One look at the other side of this game.
- [31:05]
Damanze
So Washington has a pretty tough schedule coming up. They came into the last game with some injuries and they're leaving this game with some more. Do you think it's time to sell.
- [31:13]
Nick Wright
All your Washington so. Well, yeah. I mean so there's. I guess there's two ways to talk about selling with the Commanders. One is selling their stock figuratively, like you're talking about. And absolutely, if you, if you're holding any Washington stock at this point, that's going to zero for this season. They're 3 and 5 next to Seahawks, Lions. Still games left against the Broncos, Cowboys and two against the Eagles. This absolutely could be a year from hell. 6 and 11 season for the Commanders. As far as trading off players, I mean if I don't know what players they have that would be. Teams would be super excited about going after.
- [32:16]
Damanze
Yeah.
- [32:17]
Nick Wright
So I, if you could get a team to bite on Marshawn Lattimore, I would trade him. But you just traded for him a year ago. I don't so I don't think that's realistic. Obviously you want. You just extended McLaren. You just traded for Debo. Those guys you're holding on to Duron Payne. Maybe. I think you would have to consider trading Duron Payne. He's got one year left on his contract after this, but he's probably your best defensive player. So maybe, maybe you just kind of have to stamp Pat if you're Washington because you feel like this is just an unlucky regression year and those are, you know, that you'll be back next season. But Demons A they're done. Like do you. Do you think I'm overstating it? I think they have no shot of being. I picked them to win that division.
- [33:28]
Damanze
Yeah.
- [33:29]
Nick Wright
I think that they are. If we look at the the NFC playoff picture right now, it if just this the way the standings read for the playoff picture. Green Bay, Philly, Tampa, Seattle, Detroit, Rams, Niners, those your five win teams. Then you have Chicago and Carolina is four win teams. Dallas, Atlanta, Minnesota, Washington is three win teams. Even if you feel like San Francisco because I to me Green Bay, Philly, Tampa, Detroit and the Rams are just really good teams that are going to make it. I also think Seattle is a pretty damn good team. It doesn't feel like they have the faith of the rest of the nation entirely. And the Rams are just. I'm sorry the Niners are just so banged up. Right. That you feel like they could regress. But if I'm right that Seattle is just a good team and there's only going to be one of those top seven that could fall off, and that's San Francisco. I would think Chicago or Dallas are far more likely to take advantage of the Niners falling off than the Commanders. Given that the Commanders have Seattle and Detroit two games against Philly left. Now here's what I'll say for the Commanders. I am writing them off already Season officially on the line Sunday against the Lions Sunday night. I'm sorry, against the Seahawks. That's the game. That's Sunday Night Football season on the line against the Seahawks. You because maybe the Seahawks could be a little shakier than I'm giving them credit for. You win that game, they're five and three, you're four and five and you have the head to head tiebreaker with them. The problem is the the Seahawks still have games left against the Cardinals, Titans, Vikings, Falcons, Panthers and a Week 18 game against the Niners team that might be done at that point. I just think, I think the Commanders. I think it's I don't think they're first of all, they've been super injured. Second of all, I just don't think they've played that well. Third of all, I don't know when Jaden's coming back. All that to me says they're done. I just think they're done. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet. New customers can place a $5 bet and if it hits you get not only your winnings but also $150 in bonus bets. Great week to try out the Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook app because there's so much going on this week. Game four in baseball tonight the NBA is back and of course football's in mid season form. Plus Hard Rock Bet drops new promos every day. Tonight you can boost your same game parlay for Toronto versus LA game four and swing for extra winnings. 1 want to see what everyone else is betting on tonight? Top picks or parlays across any other sport The Hard Rock Bet app literally shows you. It's another reason to download the app just for the info tap discover and you can see trending picks and parlays at any time. Download the Hard Rock Bet app and make your first deposit payable and bonus bets. Not a cash offer. Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida offered by Seminole hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states. Must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia to play terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, call 1-888- admit it in Indiana. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-809 with it gambling problem, call 1-800- gambler in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia.
- [37:42]
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- [38:09]
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- [39:09]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Okay, let's talk holiday shopping. When you want to make the most of your Money, head to PayPal's app before you check out. They give you the flexibility to pay in four no fees, no interest. And this is big. Bigger than the 12 foot snowman on your lawn right now. You can get 5% cash back when you pay later with PayPal. So whether it's the must have merch or for that signed jersey you've been eyeing, PayPal helps you make the most of your money this holiday. Save this offer in the PayPal app expires 1231.
- [39:44]
Nick Wright
See paypal.com promoterms Subject to approval.
- [39:47]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
Learn more at paypal.com payinfor PayPal Inc.
- [39:51]
Nick Wright
NMLS 910457 Limu Emu and Doug here.
- [39:57]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
We have the Limu emu in its natural habitat helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.
- [40:11]
Nick Wright
Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.
- [40:14]
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- [40:23]
Nick Wright
Massachusetts all right, Damanze, let's get to your Ravens.
- [40:28]
Damanze
Yeah. Before we get to the game, let's talk about Lamar Jackson and how it seems that Baltimore might have lied on their injury report. You know, we've got the whole thing going on with the NBA right now, so it's a sensitive time. But you think that everybody's missing the real story and this debacle. What. What would that be?
- [40:46]
Nick Wright
Yes. So listen, I don't. I understand why of all the weeks to be like, oh, our bad. Our quarterback that we said was a full participant was actually limited and he didn't take any reps with the ones he was actually out the scout team. And that everybody thinks is playing is not playing. Why this was the worst week imaginable to make that mistake. From a conspiratorial perspective, I understand that, but I do not think that's the story. I think that's secondary to the story. And the story is I believe the Ravens lied on the injury report not to get a competitive advantage, but they lied on the injury report as a way to pressure Lamar Jackson into play. And this deman follows a pattern. And I am going to lay it all out for you with John Harbaugh's own words in twin. And keep in mind, Lamar has no agent. Lamar is self represented there. His mom does it. And the reason I say that is because whenever you hear reports about Lamar's status, it only can come from the team. He doesn't have an agent feeding rapaport or shefter stuff. And so. And by the way, I Can we please get just a sidebar? Can we please get real news at some point again? I mean we. Carson Wentz evidently has been had a broken entire left side of his body for three weeks. Not reported anywhere. Trayvon Diggs, it suffered a concussion at home that has now put him on the ir. We have no info about it. Lamar Jackson, nobody had a clue. He might actually miss time and didn't really practice until Saturday morning. And yet in place of that, instead of getting that real info, what we get is the same five people racing to publish the exact same information seconds ahead of each other about extensions and undrafted free agents signing with practice squads with agents cited and agencies credited. It's just gross. And you also I like you saw it again yesterday with with who is it that oh what's his name? The great Sir Tan. Sir Tan Sir Tan got hurt and Jordan Schultz to his credit had it first. And like hey this is multi week four to six weeks maybe IR is a question and then we get this and this might seem unfair, but from one of the, you know, biggest insiders, Patric Tan, the reigning defensive player of the year, suffered a peck strain in the win over the Cowboys. He's considered week to week and could land on ir, but solid news. Why that's not solid. Again, that's not a positive news story. It sucks. It's football, there's injuries, but everything doesn't have to be framed as avoided. Catastrophe, better than expected, the team is relieved. If everything is better than expected, then nothing is better than expected. But I digress to go to the Harbaugh Ravens thing, A Harbaugh Lamar thing 2021 Lamar hurts his ankle week 14 John Harbaugh says about him playing week 15 Again, there are games week 15, 16, 17, 18 about him playing week 15 I'd say he has a chance. It's one of those things. It's an ankle sprain. If he starts feeling good and everything is all right, we'll check him out probably pregame. So Harbaugh is saying he's going to be a true game time decision. He's in all the preparations and all of that. We'll see where we're at. Lamar did not play again that season. And then after the year, John Harbaugh says Lamar felt like he was going to be back. The first week he thought he had a chance. The second week he assured me he said I'll be back. He missed four straight weeks. Then next year Lamar gets hurt in week 13 during the game. There are five games left plus the playoffs. Harbaugh says it's not a season ending type of knee. We'll get more tests tomorrow and let you know how long it's going to be. We'll see if he can go back, if he can go back this week for week 14. If not, he'll be sometime after that shortly. Lamar missed the rest of the regular season, missed five straight games. The Ravens shifter then reports, because Ravens made the playoffs anyway, that Lamar is expected to play in the playoff game. According to sources, again, there are no Lamar sources other than the Ravens. Lamar then misses the playoff game and then if you remember, tweets out about how it's a grade two, almost a grade three PCL strain. And a lot of us, myself included, speculated that do with remember he didn't have a contract, that he's protecting himself because of the contract, which is totally reasonable. Then there's the hamstring injury this year. After the Rams game 16 days ago, John Harbaugh was asked about Lamar, about his optimism surrounding the team going into the buy and he said, quote, our quarterback is going to be back. That's probably a big one. And then Friday after practice, Harbaugh said full practice today for Lamar. So that was good. There is only one way to read those sequence of events. That sequence of events. Lamar and the Ravens are consistently not on the same page about Lamar's injury timelines. And I believe the Ravens listed him as a full participant and talked about him as if it was a certainty that he was going to play on Sunday as a way to pressure him into playing. And then Saturday morning Lamar shut it all down. I'm not saying who's right and who's wrong in this. It's certainly in play. The Ravens are just far too optimistic and it's in play that Lamar is the type of player who if he just doesn't feel close to a hundred percent, he doesn't feel comfortable going out there, so be it. I'm not judging any of that. I am saying failing to acknowledge that that is the clear cut inarguable history here is failing to just read the transcripts. And it is because of that demons that I while I think Lamar is going to play Thursday night, I am not certain of it. And even though Harbaugh said yesterday full practice we're expecting him to play, I I don't think you can.
- [49:52]
Damanze
I understand that there's like you saying Lamar doesn't have an agent but Lamar has somebody that's looking at his body when he goes to get checked on on this type of stuff. Why are they not just talking to the Ravens? I'm kind of confused on why there's not just a a doctor or somebody telling oh he's out for X amount of weeks.
- [50:11]
Nick Wright
Because what's pretty clear is to me because yeah, he has a doctor, it's the Ravens doctor. And Todd Monkin alluded to this a week ago about whether or not Lamar had been cleared. What is pretty clear given Harbaugh's comments is throughout all of these injuries and again maybe The Ravens team doctor is doing a bad job, but he has been cleared to play each time and.
- [50:47]
Damanze
It'S just his voice.
- [50:49]
Nick Wright
I can't. Right. And that I think is frustrated. Has frustrated the Ravens over the years.
- [50:56]
Damanze
Because.
- [50:58]
Nick Wright
The way it works is this. You cannot play without the doctor clearing you. But once the doctor clears you, you then have to be comfortable to play, obviously.
- [51:10]
Damanze
Right.
- [51:11]
Nick Wright
And I am reading this as a very obvious pattern of the doctor clearing him and him saying, no, I'm not comfortable playing. Again. Maybe it's the Ravens team doctor issue. I'm not. I'm really not banging on Lamar on this. I am saying that there is a clear disconnect between coach, medical staff and player. Now, with all that said, Damanze, the Ravens are now the favorites to win the division favorites and Snoop Huntley saved their season. Awesome performance. And if you look at their schedule coming up and you look at the Bengals blowing a game, just blowing against the jets and the Steelers getting thoroughly outplayed by the packers, you fully expect Monte the Ravens to win their next four. Correct.
- [52:16]
Damanze
I mean they could win the rest of the games with Lamar comes back. But yeah, 100%. Yeah.
- [52:23]
Nick Wright
The. I mean, sure, they could win any of those individual games. The but you would be stunned if they lose any of the next four. At Miami Thursday night at the Vikings, who are a mess. At the Browns, who have the worst offense in football home for the Jets. So they should be six and five going into the meat of going into the stretch run where in those final six weeks they have two games against the Bengals, two games against the Steelers, a Packers game and a Patriot game and throw that schedule back up. They will be favored in every game they play until week 17. They will be favored obviously in all their home games and they will be road favorites against Tua, J.J. mcCarthy, whoever the Browns quarterback is at that point, and Jake Joe Flacco and then they'll be. So they've got a shot. Now here is real scenario we've got on our hands, which would be hilarious. Let's say the Patriots have some gaudy record which they cook. They're 6 and 2 already. Let's say that Patriots go 12 and 5. I think it's totally reasonable given I think The Patriots play one game the rest of the way against AFC teams currently in the playoff picture. Okay. It's their second Bills game. So let's say they go 12 and five and win the AFC east and the Bills also go 12 and five.
- [54:24]
Damanze
Okay.
- [54:25]
Nick Wright
But the Patriots, when the AFC east is a tiebreaker and the Ravens.
- [54:34]
Damanze
Go.
- [54:35]
Nick Wright
Eight and nine, but that's good enough to win the AFC North. They split with Cincinnati, they split with Pittsburgh, they lose the Packer game and what's their record right now, 2 and 5. Yeah, it's. Whatever it is, they go 8 and 9, but it's enough to win the AFC North. The Ravens, the 8 and 9 Ravens hosting in the playoffs the 12 and 5 Buffalo Bills or the 12 and 5 New England Patriots or the 12 and 5 Denver Broncos or if I'm wrong about The Chiefs, the 12 and 5, like the rate the, the worst division winner, no matter the record, will host the best wild card. And the best wild card in the AFC this year is going to have a great record. Be it the Pats, be it the Bills, be it the Chiefs, be it the Chargers, be it the Broncos. One of those teams is going to win 11, maybe 12 games and have to go to an eight or nine win. Baltimore or Cincinnati or Pittsburgh. And it's just what's going to happen, hopefully. And so. All right, all right, flip side is the Bears game.
- [55:59]
Damanze
The Bears. So Caleb made some more errors. That Ravens defense that everybody's been talking trash about, they look pretty good.
- [56:06]
Nick Wright
Well, I don't know if people were talking trash or they were just watching.
- [56:09]
Damanze
They've been bad. They've, they've. No, they've been pretty bad. But yeah. How many more errors or how long will you give Caleb before you give up on him?
- [56:19]
Nick Wright
Well, I'm not going to give up on him anytime soon, but he wasn't good. I mean, I'm not going to act like he was good and that was a huge missed opportunity for them, for him and for them. And you'd like to give him a pass, be like, oh, they were on a four game winning streak, they were bound to lose. But you can't losing that game in that fashion to Tyler Huntley and Caleb playing that mediocre is a huge disappointment. Now I still think, as I was saying when I was doing the playoff picture before, they're super live right now. They're in eighth place and I think San Francisco is going to be trending in the wrong direction. And the their next two to Monze, their next three, I should say are Bengals, Giants, Vikings. So the Bears should be seven and three. They should be seven three going into a really tough stretch of games. And so but Caleb's got to play better. There's no way around it. Caleb flatly has to play better. And I think at this point I think everybody can acknowledge and Accept that.
- [57:34]
Damanze
Do you think the Chicago's more committed to Caleb or Ben Johnson?
- [57:39]
Nick Wright
He's fully committed to both. I mean, the thing is this, Ben took the job because of Caleb, right? So the, he wants to make this work, but Caleb's got to play better. There's no, there's no sugar coating that. All right, let's go to Eagle, Giants.
- [57:57]
Damanze
All right. For the first time all year, Philly looked good on all angles or all fronts. Saquon was doing his thing, Jalen was doing his thing, getting it to his guys. But this all came from a game without AJ Brown. Is there some worry there?
- [58:13]
Nick Wright
I don't think they're going to trade AJ Brown, but this game I think certainly made it slightly more likely. And listen, credit to the Eagles, they looked awesome and Saquon finally looked like Saquon. Now we'll see. Was that a blip for this, what's going to be a down, down season for him, or was that the turning point of the season and they get the buy now and they feel like we haven't even played that well. We're six and two. We're a game out of first place in the conference going into the buy. We've played a brutal schedule. Jalen has 20 touchdowns total, 15 passing touchdowns, and one interception. Like, they just don't throw for a lot of yards, but they're super efficient so they feel good about all that. Do I think, though, it's on the board damanze that Pittsburgh or Buffalo or New England make Philly an offer for A.J. brown that they really have to consider? I do, because I do think this is likely AJ's last year with the team, I just think it's too much. And he's a great player, but the fact that he wasn't satisfied seemingly after last week's game and then this week he missed and the offense looked amazing.
- [59:31]
Damanze
Satisfied after the Super Bowl.
- [59:33]
Nick Wright
Yeah, right. And so I do think that that is the biggest name by far. Trade deadlines a week from today. That's the biggest name by far to watch is A.J. brown. And I, I don't think that they will move off of him, but I don't think it is ridiculous to discuss. All right, I know that we've got it.
- [60:04]
Damanze
There's more, more tush push controversy. Do you see Philadelphia abusing this play before it gets exonerated or obliterated into the shadow room?
- [60:18]
Nick Wright
I mean, I think what happened in this game, if I were a Giants fan, I'd have been beside myself. I mean, that was outrageous. And here's the thing, and here's what's frustrating for opponents. It feels like it's a one way street on forward progress on the tush push. Because what you often see is they stop the initial push and then there's like a beat of progress being stopped.
- [60:47]
Damanze
Yeah.
- [60:48]
Nick Wright
And then Jalen is not down because he's kind of surfing on top of linemen. Gets pushed further. Well, that's fine if that's what we're going to do. But then that is a lot. Unless if it's at the goal line, then so be it because the moment you cross the goal line, the plays dead. But that wasn't at the goal line. And that was as clear of a fumble as you'll ever see. And for the refs to say we whistled it dead. And then for us to hear the audio and be like, no, you didn't. It. The, the ball came out well before there was any whistle. It's, it's like, like, I just feel.
- [61:34]
Damanze
Like we shouldn't be giving any benefits to them for running this play. Like it's.
- [61:37]
Nick Wright
I know.
- [61:38]
Damanze
Come on.
- [61:39]
Nick Wright
And instead it gives me the opposite. You would think it would go that way. Like, we hate this play. We almost ban this play. Yeah, you better not line up in the neutral zone. False start fumble. But instead they get the. It's the other way they're getting rewarded. It's, we hate the play and we let you do things on it you can't do in any other play. So I, I just, I, I keep thinking we're going to be at a tipping point in it and Brady. It keeps happening during these huge Brady Fox games where Brady is pointing out the things wrong with it and nothing changes. So I, I really don't know. All right, hold on. I gotta do something I've never done for the pot. I have to do a quick wardrobe change. So let me take off this, this sweatshirt. If you guys been watching Chad Powers, you know what this shirt represents now, series recap for Chad Powers with streams on Hulu and Hulu on Disney plus for bundle subscribers. Warning for folks out there for if any of you are big enough dopes to not have watched Chad Powers yet, spoilers are coming so it, you know, fast. If you're listening live on YouTube, you haven't watched Chad Powers yet. Come back in about two minutes. If you're watching this or listening to this, you know, once it's already been posted, just fast forward for about, you know, two minutes because there are spoilers to come. All right, I'm going to be totally candid about my Chad Powers experience. When they first announced that this was going to be a show, I had to say I didn't quite get it because I was like, okay, this is like a character Eli Manning created or the Mannings created. And I know the people at Omaha. One of the former.
- [63:33]
Damanze
What?
- [63:33]
Nick Wright
You know, one of my former producers at First Things first is a big wig over at Omaha. The guy who hired me at Fox is the head of Omaha. So I wanted to give him the benefit of. It's the production company that made it. I want to give the benefit of the doubt. But I was like, how is this fake character that the Mannings created for skits going to turn into a show? And then I watched it as part of this sponsorship with our friends at Hulu and Hulu on Disney plus, and I was like, they made a hell of a show. So the context, again, I don't want to give it all away, but here's the context. Star quarterback who and it was actually ended up being very kind of relevant to things that we see in current football. Oddly, star quarterback fumbles the national championship away. And in really embarrassing fashion. Not like, oh, great play by the other team, like, no dropping the ball before the goal line type of fumble. And then flips out and there's a tough incident with a make a wish kids dad and it's all on tv. And now the guy's, you know, smash cut to almost a decade later. And the guy's life's a mess. He was going to be a star NFL quarterback. Instead, this one mistake has kind of ruined his life. And then. And this is where the Hollywood hijinks comes in. He decides kind of what is if you kind of in an illusion to necessary roughness, the great 80s movie with Kathy Ireland and Sinbad and others, and a little bit of ladybugs, the Rodney Dangerfield movie. They're like, hey, what if I create a whole new Persona, Chad Powers, and I go back to college and try to basically remake what my career could have been. So that's the context of the show. And not surprisingly, throughout the course of the season, what you see is, again, spoilers. This guy crushes, but there's a little bit of a love triangle involved. There might be some cheating on spouses involving the coach's family. There's. There's you. There's drama. It's a comedy, but there's drama. All set on the backdrop of this guy trying to keep his identity hidden while he leads his fictitious college team to a national championship. So that is and I thought this was going to be a one season arc, but it's not. Again, this is the end. The, the end of the spoilers. Season one ends on the ultimate cliffhanger as far as the love triangle, the health of one of the main characters, the championship football game, all of it is right there on the brink. Snap season over and they just leave you waiting for season two. So that is that. That's your quick recap. And Glenn Powell, who's a legitimate superstar in Hollywood, obviously is the main character and he's great and he kind of, he has to play. I don't know if you guys saw the Glen Powell movie. Gosh darn it, I should have. He plays an assassin in a movie where he plays a bunch of different characters that are all the same guy. He's the same guy playing a bunch of different characters. He has to. He does something similar here. Here where he plays himself. The not himself, not Glen Powell, but whatever. The, the jerk quarterback that blew it all. And the nerd. Chad Powers is a double life. He's playing both characters. He's really good at this playing two different characters type of thing he did in the movies done in this. So that is our quick Chad Powers season one recap. Again, don't just listen my recap, go check it out to get you ready for season two. Chad Powers Season one streaming on Hulu and on Hulu plus for Disney Bundle subscribers. Look, if you smoke or dip, I'm going to give you a few good reasons to try Zen Nicotine Pouches First. Zen is America's number one nicotine pouch brand and Zen offers an unbelievable rewards program. There's a lot of options for nicotine satisfaction, but there's only one Zen. Visit zen.com find to find Zyn at a store near you. Again that zyn.com find zyn spelled z y N this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.
- [68:34]
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- [69:33]
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- [70:06]
Nick Wright
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Nick Wright
Is that guy with the binoculars watching us?
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- [70:48]
Nick Wright
All right Damanze, let's get to Packers Steelers while I put my my I don't know what this is windbreaker jacket, whatever it is back on, but go ahead.
- [70:59]
Damanze
So we thought that the Packers Steelers game was going to be a Rogers revenge game, but this ended up being a good Jordan love game. Played one of his best games of his career so far. Green Bay remains the number one seed. Pittsburgh standing is in more jeopardy. Who would who do you think this is bigger on? Do you think this is more about Green Bay or is this more about Pittsburgh?
- [71:19]
Nick Wright
Listen, I think it's huge for both. Pittsburgh could be in real trouble and fair's fair. It's you know Aaron Rodgers held up his end of this Pittsburgh deal. The defense has not. Rogers has not. Oh and that chat the the Glenn Powell movie was Hitman. I called Assassin same thing. But the Rogers Rogers is just never going to throw for a bunch of yards again. It's just not in his game, but he's still efficient, he's still accurate. He still can make some wow plays. The defense has been dreadful. Love the jets to score 30 plus, allowed Joe Flacco and the Bengals score 30 plus and just allowed the packers to score 30 plus. And now, and Pittsburgh, when you look at their schedule, demanz, this is one of the. This is why the Ravens are the favorites now. Colts, Chargers, and then in the final six weeks, Buffalo, Baltimore, twice, Detroit, they could be in real trouble. Green Bay, on the other hand, I do think that was the best game of Jordan Love's regular season career. I thought he was fantastic.
- [72:34]
Damanze
And.
- [72:36]
Nick Wright
When Love plays even close to that level, they're the best team in the nfc. And because the defense is great, I know the defense had, you know, a brief moment where it was like, oh, what's going on? The defense is great. And when Love is dealing like that, they're as good as any team. And I think they're the best team in that conference. And so I think Pittsburgh could be in real trouble. And I think that the packers at this moment, if. Let me put it like this. And this is why I call Jordan Love the most interesting person in the NFL this year. If you believe in Jordan Love, you should believe the packers are going to go to the Super Bowl. I'm, I. I'm 60% of the way to believing in Jordan Love, but I'm not fully there. So that's why I don't have them going to the Super Bowl. But if he. I mean, he's played really well. His numbers this year are unbelievable. I don't think he's played quite as well as his numbers, but his numbers are great. All right, demonte, let's go to Broncos. Cowboys.
- [73:42]
Damanze
Yeah. So the Broncos, they went out there, they beat the Cowboys. We said that was going to be a crazy matchup. Cowboys defense obviously sucks, but you got to start to believe in Denver a little bit at this point, huh?
- [73:54]
Nick Wright
Well, this is going to make Bronco fans so mad. Classic one by me. Instantly. Correct. And I should have had the producers pull the tape of our preseason show when I picked Denver to miss the playoffs. And I said, come around week eight, I'm going to be getting dozens, if not hundreds of tweets of people for the 5 and 3 Denver Broncos saying, see how wrong you were ready to admit? Bo Nicks is legit. Now they're six and two, not five and three. And I'll give you my full Broncos thoughts in a second. But when I picked them to miss the playoffs. I anticipated that they would get off to a hot start and then really slow down late in the year. Now, part of that anticipation was I thought the two Raider games they had late in the year were going to be tough. And part of that also was I thought the Raiders were going to be good, which is why I said I had Denver finishing last in the division. The Raiders are not playing along with me on that. So I do have to concede at this point. Denver is not going to finish last in the AFC West. I am not ready at all to concede that. They're definitely making the playoffs and I certainly don't think they're going to win the division. What I do think is this. The way Bo Nix has played the last five quarters makes them one of the best teams in the NFL. I just do not at all believe that is sustainable or really who he is now. If it if he keeps up even close to what he's been the last five quarters from the fourth quarter of the Giants game to through the entire Cowboys game, then that team is exactly what Sean Payton thought it was. Great defense, very good offensive line, stud quarterback, you know all the pieces you'd want. I don't think that's legit. And you know, we'll see. I am so I am not yet ready to concede anything close that I was wrong about Denver because I anticipated they would get off to a good start this year. Now did I think they were going to win the Eagles game? No. But and I would have thought when I was said they'd be 5 and 3 through 8. I thought they'd beat the Colts and lose to the Bengals because I didn't know Burrow was going to be hurt and I didn't know the Colts were going to be this good. Regardless though, I expected them to beat the Jets, Giants, Cowboys. I said it on the preview show. Now those the jets and Giants games were weird and ugly but they got the win and the Cowboys game I got dead. I didn't expect them to beat the Cowboys going into the Cowboys game but but before the year I did going into the Cowboys game I the Cowboys. I picked the Cowboys. I bet on the Cowboys. I got it dead wrong. The defense is awesome. I am worried about the saran injury and I again if B Knicks turned a corner during that Giants game then this team is to be taken very seriously. We'll see on that. And I think he has While I expect the Broncos to win demands a because I don't know how Houston's going to be able to move the ball against the Broncos defense. Bo has a nice test in front of him with the Texans defense. Yeah, that Texans defense is awesome.
- [78:01]
Damanze
I do think that's got to be an opinion changer for you though. Like if he goes in there, plays.
- [78:07]
Nick Wright
Well against Houston defense. Yeah, absolutely.
- [78:09]
Damanze
You gotta start.
- [78:10]
Nick Wright
No, That'll matter, right? 100%. That'll matter. And the Cowboys, on the other hand, they just can't beat good teams. They score 40 a game against teams below.500. They score 25 a game against teams at or above.500. But they've lost or tied all those games. And so, you know, credit to the Broncos, they for totally proving me wrong in that game as far as proving me wrong in the season. We'll see. All right, so you're thinking about upgrading to the all new iPhone 17 Pro design to be the most powerful iPhone ever. But you're also thinking about the traffic on your way to the store, the hassle of transferring all your data. Good news, when you order a new phone online with Boost Mobile, they'll send an expert to your home or work to deliver your brand new iPhone 17 Pro and get you all set up on Boost Mobile within minutes. No hassle. Visit Boost mobile.com to get started. Delivery available for select devices purchased@boost mobile.com terms do apply. All right, let's quickly do MVP before we do the rest of the games. Around the NFL we didn't get to.
- [79:24]
Damanze
So a few weeks ago the MVP was coming down to Mahomes with Baker at second. Baker is now behind Jordan Love and Jared Goff and at eighth place place. But a dark horse has appeared and Jonathan Taylor and you said a while back that Jonathan Taylor had a better case to win than Saquan had last year. Care to explain?
- [79:44]
Nick Wright
Yeah. So I just think Jonathan listen, Daniel Jones isn't as good as Jalen Hurts. We know that the Eagles, the. The Colts don't have the defense the Eagles did. We know that the Colts have good wide receivers. They don't have A.J. brown and Devonte Smith. And as amazing as Saquon's 2000 yards were last year, Derrick Henry had like 1900. Right. And Saquon didn't have these crazy touchdown numbers. Jonathan Taylor right now is that the, the rushing numbers are insane with Jonathan Taylor compared to everyone else. He has 850 yards rushing. Second place has 753. He has I the. I'm trying to see how many like total yards he has because he has 850 rushing. He has 1056 total yards. I think second place is 200 behind him. He has 14 touchdowns to Monza, 14. And I think SEC second place has nine. So I just. And the team's been dominant offensively. So if there was ever going to be another running back to win the award, Jonathan Taylor is checking a lot of those boxes and he's going to get some, you know.
- [81:14]
Damanze
And when you say like as far as stat wise with the quarterbacks going around that the numbers are relatively low this year.
- [81:23]
Nick Wright
Well, the passer ratings are insanely high.
- [81:26]
Damanze
Okay.
- [81:27]
Nick Wright
The yardage number, touchdowns, like, yeah, nobody's on pace for more than 4,500 yards and nobody's on pace for 40 touchdowns. As far as passing, I think Mahomes is on pace for more than 40 total. But yeah, nobody. But the. What's crazy about the passer rating numbers are there are 11 starting quarterbacks with a passer rating north of a hundred. Right now there's five with a passer rating north of 110. So the passer, the efficiency numbers are crazy. The volume numbers have not been. All right, let's go to the quick hitters. The other games very quickly in what was kind of a bad Sunday slate and started with a bad Thursday game.
- [82:19]
Damanze
Yeah. So we had the Chargers defeating the Vikings 37 to 10.
- [82:23]
Nick Wright
Great game by the Chargers. Vikings now begrudgingly go to JJ McCarthy after putting Carson Wentz out there with a totally wrecked left arm.
- [82:32]
Damanze
I felt so bad for him.
- [82:34]
Nick Wright
Dude.
- [82:34]
Damanze
Yeah, that was, that was rough.
- [82:37]
Nick Wright
And it might be, it might be the end of vote. That might have been his last game ever too.
- [82:42]
Damanze
That would, that'd be really unfortunate. I hope that's not the case, to be honest. How old is Carson?
- [82:46]
Nick Wright
But I mean, he's having season ending surgery and I just, you know, I don't know where he'll be next year. But the Chargers got a huge win for them.
- [82:54]
Damanze
Next Dolphins Defeat the Falcons 34 10.
- [82:58]
Nick Wright
So I got this game as wrong as you possibly could. Kirk cousins, not good Tua saves, Mike McDaniel's job, you know, at least for a week. And the Dolphins look good for the first time all year.
- [83:14]
Damanze
Next, jets defeat the Bengals 39 and 38.
- [83:19]
Nick Wright
So I watched football at Danny's on Sunday and the way we had it set up, we had a giant TV with a quad box red zone on another tv and then there was a third TV that we had to pick one of the local games. So obviously we picked Giants Eagles.
- [83:39]
Damanze
Right.
- [83:40]
Nick Wright
And as it turned out, yeah, wrong game. Close game of the whole Day was Jets, Bengals and we, you know, it was the game we probably watched the least of. That's a brutal loss for the Bengals. Up 14 on the jets late. Good for Justin Fields, by the way, after the week he had. And shout out to Aaron Glenn. Down 14, scored a touchdown, went for two and got it. Which is what. What allowed them then to just kick an extra point to take the lead. A lot of coaches don't do that. It's unequivocally the right call. Shout out to him for getting it right.
- [84:15]
Damanze
Next Bell's bills defeat Panthers 40 to 9.
- [84:20]
Nick Wright
Yeah, I. Shame on me for not betting the Bills coming out of a buy when they needed it. And this was not a Josh Allen game. This was a James Cook game. Yeah, and shout out to James Cook for being dominant. Panthers really, that, you know, at home. The Panthers have been tough. They were brutal in that game.
- [84:39]
Damanze
I think they need a Bryce. Texans Defeat the Niners 26 to 15.
- [84:45]
Nick Wright
Great win for the Texans. CJ's best game of the year. And the Niners, you just. And again, I got the downslide, but yeah, the. You worry about. No, I didn't pick this. I didn't get this one wrong. I stayed away from this one. The Niners defensive injuries caught up to him a bit.
- [85:07]
Damanze
Next Patriots defeat the Browns 32 to 12 or 32 to 13. Sorry.
- [85:13]
Nick Wright
Yeah. No, you're fine. Two takeaways here. Three, actually. Miles Garrett was unbelievable. Drake May is playing like an mvp and Dylan Gabriel is one of the worst starting quarterbacks in recent NFL history. And great. I mean, but the safety was that. That might have been the worst safety with respect to Dan Orlovsky, that might have been the worst safety in NFL history. And I don't know how the Browns consider Shador after I was about to.
- [85:48]
Damanze
Say, how many more games does Gabriel have? Like two bad ones.
- [85:53]
Nick Wright
It should be zero. I'd go to Shador. Now you have a bye week. The oddly, that division is so bad, you can't consider yourself out of it with two wins. The Ravens don't consider themselves out of it with two wins.
- [86:06]
Damanze
Next Buccaneers defeat the Saints 23 3.
- [86:11]
Nick Wright
Antoine Winfield might have had two touchdowns unfairly taken away from him. Baker for the second straight game didn't play that well. It didn't matter. That would, you know, that was a important win for the Bucks to stabilize themselves. It was nice for them to get a win without Baker playing well. Rattler is probably done as well. And it's Tyler Shuck time there. And last one.
- [86:33]
Damanze
Colts defeat the Titans 38 to 14.
- [86:39]
Nick Wright
Yeah. So the Titans are a mess even by give the rookie grace scale. I'd be a little nervous about Cam Ward and Jonathan Taylor was simply unreal in that game. Simply unreal. The Colts just annihilate. Annihilate bad team.
- [87:02]
Damanze
Yeah.
- [87:03]
Nick Wright
And we're gonna like they've got the Colts. We're gonna find out a lot about the Colts here over the second half of the year. But they really only they only play one great team all year left at the Chiefs.
- [87:20]
Damanze
Yeah.
- [87:21]
Nick Wright
But they at least play solid teams.
- [87:24]
Damanze
The rest gonna make that MVP race a lot more clear, huh?
- [87:27]
Nick Wright
Yeah, absolutely. And I but right now that game's buried at one o' clock on CBS and so I I wonder I wonder if that I wonder if that game could get flexed. That Sunday night game is Rams bucks. I wonder if they'll make it. Chiefs Colts. All right. Thank you to Blue Duck. Thank you to Volume. Thank you as always a hard rock to boost to Hulu and Chad Powers and of course our great friends at Team Zen. I'm going on with Colin in about an hour. See you on First Things first at three. See you guys back here Thursday morning. Appreciate you guys listening.
- [88:05]
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Nick Wright
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- [90:05]
Damanze
This is an iHeart podcast.