The Herd with Colin Cowherd – “What’s Wright: NFL Week 1 Reaction” (Feat. Nick Wright)

Date: September 10, 2025
Host: Nick Wright (with co-host Damanze)

Episode Overview

In this jam-packed episode of "What's Wright," Nick Wright reacts to every game from NFL Week 1, offering unfiltered takes on quarterback performances, big-picture narratives, and the coaching decisions that decided key outcomes. Nick dives deep into the Bears' heartbreaking loss to the Vikings, dissects the Ravens-Bills thriller, questions the direction of the Lions, and rants about media overreactions to Patrick Mahomes. As always, Nick brings sharp stats, strong opinions, and memorable quotes for football fans who want more than surface-level analysis.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Betting Recap & NFL Week 1 Slate

• Nick opens with a rundown of his weekend bets—highlighting teaser wins and how line movement in the Bills-Ravens game led to disaster for sportsbooks.
  • "Dodged the dance through the raindrops on the producer's stupid offer this week. ... Still a winning weekend." (03:20)
• Emphasizes importance of betting timing as line swings determined profit/loss.
  • "This is the key to actually getting the right side of the line, not even the right side of the game." (04:11)

2. Bears-Vikings: Caleb Williams & JJ McCarthy Debuts

Caleb Williams’ Concerns

• Nick expresses genuine concern about Caleb Williams after his debut and Tyler Dunne’s unflattering multi-part report.
  • "I'm officially a little concerned about Caleb. I was not at any point last year but...That story shook my faith in a real way." (10:24, 17:14)
• Key issues: reported shaky work ethic, leadership, handling play-calling (possibly due to unreported dyslexia), and repeated pre-snap operation struggles.
• Notable moment: Caleb started “10 of 10”, flashed talent, then “ended so poorly.”

Coach Ben Johnson’s Costly Mistakes

• Nick grades new Bears coach Ben Johnson a “C+” for mismanaging timeouts and kick strategies late.
  • "Bad challenge and trusting that Cairo Santos can just boom it out the back of the end zone were very costly mistakes." (22:54)

JJ McCarthy’s Grit

• JJ wasn’t amazing, but his comeback for the Vikings built confidence.
  • "That was an awesome start that was...Pretty good." (24:19, 25:35)

On Context and Future Projections

• Nick’s honest: it’s early—but Bears dysfunction and coaching could overshadow Caleb’s true ability if things don’t get fixed.
  • “If Caleb does what Trevor did, we can just say, yeah, it was all on Eberflus and I think a lot of it was on Bears dysfunction.” (25:49)

3. Chiefs After Week 1: Overreaction to Mahomes

Media Fickleness & Patrick Mahomes

• Nick launches into a classic rant about overcorrection in QB rankings after the Chiefs’ loss without Xavier Worthy.
  • "What I am truly beside myself about is the commentary after that game about Patrick. ... We are so fickle and so what have you done for me lately..." (32:53, 43:26)
• He charts public/analyst narrative flipping between crowning Mahomes as the GOAT and quickly doubting him.
  • “It’s a sad state of affairs that three games ago, folks said, I mean, Josh-Patrick, how can you even make an argument? And now… you have him as the fifth best quarterback.” (43:15)

Chiefs' Real Issues

• Points to the poor run game, defense, and the effect of sudden injuries as actual concerns.
  • "Running game can't be that bad. Just can't be." (34:24)
  • "The pass rush paired with the secondary got carved up in a way I have not seen... in years." (34:38)

On Allen, Lamar, Talent/Win Debates

• Nick argues wins matter more than eye-test talent alone:
  • "If he's the better physical talent, it's a fair fight teammate-wise... Why can he not win?" (44:59)
  • “I’d rather it be my guy’s an all-time, all-time talent. Your guy just is superhuman.” (45:47)

4. Bills-Ravens Thriller: Endgame Decisions and Narrative

What Went Wrong for Baltimore?

• Ravens blow another big lead (17 double-digit second-half leads over Harbaugh’s tenure).
  • "Harbaugh tried to make the point that yeah, we've blown a lot of big leads, but we have a lot of big leads." (52:41)
  • "The Ravens have lost six times [from up two scores in the fourth]; that's not nothing." (56:49)
• Panthers end-around play-calling and Henry usage in crunch time questioned.
  • "You cannot use one of your downs on Zay Flowers. ... It’s got to be Lamar fall in his hands or Derrick Henry." (53:08)

On the Bills

• Praises Josh Allen’s development (now a “killer” after eliminating turnovers), but raises red flags about the defense after it got “carved up for majority of the game.”
  • "If I were a Bills fan...I'd be like, yikes. That defense." (54:18)
• Nick cautiously optimistic about Bills’ 1-seed chances.

AFC Big-Lead Stat Breakdown

(Teams with most 2-score 4th quarter leads since 2022 / record when in those games)

• Chiefs: 24–0
• Eagles: 27–1
• Ravens: 25–6 (worst of top teams) (57:12)

Game Management Critiques

• Nick questions Harbaugh punting on 4th and 2, and Lamar’s decisions on critical 3rd/4th downs. (58:30, 59:47)

Memorable Side Discussions

• Light argument over a cryptic Super-Bowl-champ ramen emoji tweet from Damanze.
  • "I thought you were calling yourself like, the king of making ramen noodles!" – Nick Wright (61:17)

5. Packers-Lions: Green Bay Rising, Detroit Disappoints

Green Bay's Defensive Masterclass

• Nick credits Micah Parsons' defensive dominance and Jordan Love's stability for Packers' massive win.
  • "Micah Parsons is an all time great player... Packers are going to be really dangerous." (63:98)
• Doubts about Lions’ offensive line, missing Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, and new staff.

About NFC Favorites

• All five NFC favorites (Eagles, Lions, Ravens, Bills, Chiefs) looked shaky; Nick puts the Lions most at risk for regression.
  • "Of those five, I think the Lions are in the most jeopardy." (66:42)
  • Lions win total drops from 10.5 to 8.5 after one game: "I don't think it's an overreaction in week one...I think it's how they looked." (66:51)

Rapid-Fire: 20 Seconds on Every Game

(Nick and Damanze keep their promise to comment on every matchup)

Select Highlights:

• Steelers-Jets: Steelers offense a possible fluke; defense will bounce back. Calls out Aaron Rodgers’ attitude toward former team. (72:30)
• Falcons-Bucs: Baker “played clutch,” but rookie A. Buka stole the show. Big divisional road win. (73:40)
• Broncos: Nick has no faith in Sean Payton’s offense; more confident in fading Denver despite win. (76:18)
• Jaguars-Panthers: Bryce Young “might have been the worst QB in the league this weekend”; Jags should win division. (76:58)
• Raiders-Pats: Genty not the reason for win—Patriots offense is a red flag; Drake Maye on “midwatch.” (77:52)
• Bengals-Browns: Bengals' offense stagnated—they had only 7 yards in the second half! "Cincinnati had the worst win of the weekend." (78:00)
• Giants-Dolphins: Daniel Jones played phenomenally, but Miami is probably bad. Mike McDaniel's future is tenuous. (80:36)
• 49ers: Mounting injuries concerning—suggests organizational failure: “You can't be the most injured team every single year... and it's coincidence.” (81:26)
  • Nick becomes a "big Niners fan" just to prove Shanahan QBs > Garoppolo.
• Saints-Cardinals: Watched for survivor pick purposes; both teams looked poor. (83:09)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Caleb Williams' struggles:
  • “His right now deficit on the pre snap parts of being an NFL quarterback to me are going to slow his development.” (13:49)
• On Ben Johnson’s end-game mistake:
  • "Bad challenge and trusting that Cairo Santos can just boom it out the back... very costly mistakes." (22:54)
• On Mahomes overreactions:
  • “I have to just very quickly give folks the sequence of the last 26 months in the NFL... and how many people just have the total inability to remember their own opinions.” (36:47)
  • “All of you in the media that picked the Chiefs in the super bowl did it because of him. You thought the Eagles were better everywhere else. And now that same guy, you're like, I don't know. It's embarrassing.” (41:52)
• On Bills-Ravens collapses:
  • “That's the least surprising stat in the world because ... I can't even conceptualize what it would look like for the Chiefs to blow a big lead.” (56:48)
• On the Lions’ outlook:
  • “Of those five, I think the Lions are in the most jeopardy. ... I think Goff, you get him off his spot, man, he can struggle.” (66:43)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [10:07] – Start of Bears-Vikings / Caleb Williams concern
• [14:53] – Debating Caleb’s pre-snap struggles / Tyler Dunne report breakdown
• [22:54] – Ben Johnson coaching critique
• [32:08] – Chiefs segment: Mahomes, AFC narrative, and media spinach
• [52:17] – Bills-Ravens in-depth: What went wrong for Baltimore?
• [63:39] – Packers-Lions: Green Bay’s rise, Detroit’s fall
• [72:09] – Lightning round: Thoughts on every NFL Week 1 game

Summary

Nick Wright delivers a classic, info-dense post–Week 1 episode, diving into all the key narratives around young QBs, coach blunders, and media hot takes. He’s especially outspoken on Caleb Williams’ concerning debut, the Bears’ ongoing dysfunction, and the NFL’s rapid news-cycle overreactions—especially as it pertains to Patrick Mahomes' place in the sport.

The episode’s high points include Nick’s righteous indignation about faulty narratives, his insight into key coaching decisions, quarterback development, and deep statistical context—paired with quick-hitting takes on every single NFL game.

Perfect for fans who want sharp insight, memorable quotes, and a full breakdown of NFL Week 1—even if you missed the games.