PMS 2.0 1443 - FIRST 15: NFL Week 9 Recap

Summary

The Pat McAfee Show 2.0 – Episode 1443

"FIRST 15: NFL Week 9 Recap" (November 3, 2025)

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Episode Overview

Pat McAfee, with co-hosts AJ Hawk, The Toxic Table, and Tone Digs, delivers a rapid-fire, energetic, and insider take on the wildest stories of NFL Week 9. This “First 15” segment (which, in classic McAfee style, runs nearly 45 minutes) recaps the most notable games, shocking upsets, escalating injuries, and standout performances from Sunday, peppered with jokes, unfiltered banter, and expert insight into what's driving the current NFL landscape.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

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1. NFL Rebounds from a Lousy Week (00:00–01:32)

• Recap of Week 9: NFL bounced back in a big way after "a historically ass weekend" in Week 8 (only one one-score game), delivering nine one-score games out of twelve.
• "The NFL found its fastball... What a week. What a slate." – Pat (01:31)
• The show frames this as evidence of why the NFL remains compelling, despite critics' claims it was “turning into soccer.”

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2. Bengals vs. Bears – Caleb Williams’ Heroics (01:32–06:11)

• Game Recap: Bengals mount a comeback only for Chicago and rookie QB Caleb Williams to steal it at the end.
  • Onside kick drama: Bengals recover away after Bears error.
  • Joey Burrow (“Joey Flack” as affectionately termed) drives the Bengals, but maybe “too fast."
  • Caleb Williams, with one timeout and 50 seconds, runs a breathtaking two-minute drill.
  • Rookie TE Colston Lavin catches the game-winning TD after being left wide open.
• Quote:
  • "Caleb marches down the field, third and 10... Scrambling, doing some Caleb shit. This man walked in to the NFL with the ability to electrify. People were calling him maybe the next Mahomes. Had we seen it yet? No." – Pat (02:35)
  • "Big day for Colston Lavin. That’s a good culture-building win for the Chicago Bears." – Pat (05:41)

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3. Panthers Shock Packers – Bryce Young Clutch (06:11–09:19)

• Game Recap: Panthers upset Green Bay at Lambeau with a walk-off field goal. Bryce Young compared to “the Steph Curry of the draft” for his dramatic late-game playmaking.
  • Rico Dowdell and unsportsmanlike penalty drama.
  • Panthers rookie kicker Ryan Fitzgerald hits the game-winner.
• Quotes:
  • "Ty might be the best player to ever play football." – Pat, joking about Dowdell (08:15)
  • "Every Packers fan knew there was a 0% chance he was going to miss that." – Ty (08:48)
• Special Teams issues continue to haunt both teams.

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4. Vikings Upset Lions – JJ McCarthy’s Moment (09:19–11:51)

• Greenhorn JJ McCarthy leads the Vikings to a major upset:
  • Big fourth-quarter throws despite earlier inaccuracies.
  • Locker room loves him for his leadership and energy.
  • "If he takes the trajectory Josh Allen took in the off season... holy shit, that might be the best draft class of all time." – Pat (10:19)
• Context: Nine-plus point underdogs (Carolina, Minnesota) both won this week after being 0-10 in Weeks 1–8.

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5. Jaguars Survive Raiders – Cam Little’s Monster Kick (11:51–14:16)

• Overtime drama: Jags edge out Raiders, who go for two in OT and fail, ensuring an outright result rather than a tie.
• Notable Kicker Moment: Jacksonville’s Cam Little nails a 68-yard field goal—a new regulation record.
• Expert Note: Current rule changes allow kickers to bring in “their own balls,” possibly leading to a surge in super-long attempts—“everybody’s just assuming a 70-yarder is on the way.” (13:35)

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6. Wave of High-Profile Injuries (14:16–15:51)

• A "brutal" week for injuries to NFL star players:
  • Joe Alt (Chargers), Travis Hunter, Jaden Daniels (elbow dislocation), Tucker Kraft (knee), CJ Stroud (concussion), Marshon Lattimore, Luke McCaffrey (collarbone), and others.
  • The crew despises injuries—“We hate them, hate them.” (15:49)
• Theme: The volatility of NFL fortunes, often decided by health rather than talent.

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7. NFC West Ascendant (15:51–22:47)

• Rams, 49ers, and Seahawks all flex as legit contenders. Cardinals excluded for now as their Monday night result is pending.
• Rams: Matthew Stafford playing at an MVP level, making everyone look good, especially WR Puka Nacua and Devonte Adams.
  • "Stafford looks the way he looks and is still doing what he's doing—insane." – Pat (16:46)
  • "When they're down there, the Rams do: Devontae get open." (17:21)
• 49ers: Mac Jones steps in at QB with the offense rolling, but defense dinged up.
• Seahawks: Sam Darnold (ex-Vikings) playing efficiently, unlocking rookie WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
  • "This Seahawks team is very special." – Pat (21:33)
• "They're being an elementary team,"—Commanders fans on Seattle (22:31)

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8. Bills Hammer the Chiefs – Physicality and Mahomes’ Woes (22:47–24:57)

• Game Recap: Bills dominate up front, punishing Mahomes and keeping the Chiefs in check.
• "That Bills team beat the hell out of Patrick Mahomes. There was like a string of three, four straight plays where he was just taking huge shots." – Pat (23:29)
• Stats (from Hembo):
  • Mahomes: 44% completions (career low), 13.1 avg depth of target (career high), 444 air yards, only 69 YAC.
  • He was hit a career-high 15 times.

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9. AFC Time Warp: Throwback Leaders (24:57–28:13)

• The AFC top seeds mirror those from 2014: Colts, Patriots, Broncos, Steelers.
  • "The Colts still number one. Let's make sure we understand that.” – Pat (25:28)
• Denver Broncos: With head coach Sean Payton, Will Lutz kicks a walk-off winner—Payton’s unwavering faith in Lutz is highlighted, referencing past Saints’ clutch kicks.
• Playoff wild cards are seen as scarier than ever. “The AFC buy this year might be the most important buy the AFC has had in a long time.” – AJ Hawk (27:51)

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10. Injury Deep-Dive with Adam Schefter (28:13–36:06)

• Jaden Daniels: "It's possible his season is over. The whole thing was troubling. You never want to see a player like that go down." – Adam Schefter (29:05–30:31)
• Tucker Kraft: Torn ACL—“just brutal… maybe the best tight end in the game right now… unbelievable.” – Schefter (31:08)
• Travis Hunter: Placed on IR, could be “a while” until his return.
• Joe Alt: Ankle injury now requires surgery; likely out longer than last stint.
  • “Where do the Chargers go get an offensive tackle? You can’t find them." – Schefter (35:12)
• Theme: Star injuries threaten to derail team seasons more than any schematic flaw or in-game mistake.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "What a drive by Caleb Williams. Now a lot of people are going to say that Bengals defense is ass." – Pat (03:12)
• "Can't leave Caleb that much time because he has the number—the first tight end drafted—right there down the middle. Good for Colston Lavin." – Pat (05:35)
• On Cam Little’s kick: "This dude Little hits big ass balls. I mean, he is so incredibly impressive." – Pat (12:42)
• "Big day for Colston Lavin. Especially videos coming out of training camp... It's very cool. That's a good culture-building win for the Chicago Bears." – Pat (05:43)
• "Football’s a tough game. That’s why the Patriots winning for 20-plus years is so crazy to think about." – Pat (34:51)

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Useful Timestamps for Key Segments

• NFL Rebounds & Week Setup: 00:00–01:32
• Bengals-Bears Endgame & Caleb Williams: 01:32–06:11
• Panthers-Packers Walk-Off & Bryce Young: 06:11–09:19
• Vikings Stun Lions/JJ McCarthy: 09:19–11:51
• Jags-Raiders OT/Cam Little 68-Yarder: 11:51–14:16
• Injury Roundup: 14:16–15:51
• NFC West Rundown: 15:51–22:47
• Bills Dominate Chiefs: 22:47–24:57
• AFC Throwback Leaders: 24:57–28:13
• Adam Schefter Injury Analysis: 28:13–36:06

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Summary Tone & Style

As always, Pat leads the loud, passionate, unfiltered conversation—mixing deep-dive football nuance with hilarious analogies and sideline stories. Every host brings humor and insight, but especially vivid is the palpable energy around rookie QBs, injury fallout, surprise upsets, and the “never a dull moment” unpredictability of the 2025 NFL season.

If you missed this episode, you’ll come away up to speed on every major game, jaw-dropper kick, heartbreaking injury, and shifting league narrative—plus you’ll get a dose of McAfee’s signature locker-room reverence (and irreverence) for “the game of football.”

Transcript

[A]

You know what a really good seg is that we have found?

[B]

Huh?

[A]

Well, it's nowhere near accurate to the timer, please. In the lower right corner of the screen. Now, it's nowhere near accurate with the time. You know, this says 15 minutes. It's called the first 15. But remember, first 15 means scripted plays.

[B]

That's right. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

His first 15 plays, the drive. Nobody's saying, hey, first 15 plays that need to be like in the first minute and a half or two minutes of the game. No, no, because that drive might extend first 15 plays driven by Ram, which whenever you hit the gas pedal in one of those Ram trucks, the only sweet sound that you can hear is clouds, obviously. And we're floating on clouds whenever we get a chance to talk about ball. For the first 15 scripted plays of the program. That has gone 42 minutes. But let's go ahead and hit that clock. Start that clock right about now. Top five headlines from NFL Week 9 Sunday slate. Well, the NFL found its fastball, did they not? Nine out of the 12 games in yesterday's slate were one score games. Remember, this follows a historically ass weekend for the NFL. The NFL only had one outcome last weekend that was within a one score game. It was the worst week weekend of NFL football since 1970.

[C]

That's 55 years.

[A]

Then Thursday night goes the way that it goes and all of a sudden you're kind of shit talking the NFL offices.

[C]

Oh, you guys might have lost it.

[A]

First time in 55 years. Now you guys are going to go back to back.

[D]

Oh, no.

[A]

Are you guys turning into soccer?

[D]

Oh, no.

[C]

Oh, no. Is that what's happening to the NFL?

[A]

And then all of a sudden the.

[C]

NFL calls back and says, we up, baby. What a week.

[A]

What a slate. Let's go to Bengals, Bears. Now. This absolute insanity. Let's head right to an onside kick here. 41:35. The Bengals had just scored to make this a one score game. Need an onside kick. McPherson goes to bend one back. It's not going to go 10 yards.

[C]

Ah, it doesn't matter. Touches the foot of a Bears player. Bengals recover. Joey Flack has a chance to bring him back because this guy gave a toe tap to the ball. Bengals rock.

[A]

Joey Flack's got it. Now hold on. Everybody understands what's about to take place. Joey Flack walks him down the field. Maybe too fast. Maybe too fast.

[C]

Delivers an absolute seed to Andre Yosiva.

[A]

Incredibly cool tatted man Higgins head.

[C]

Massive game. Jamar massive. Chase Brown. Massive. Yossi Vos. Massive game. No Puns. This team unstoppable. No, I don't think so.

[A]

You can't give Caleb Williams 50 seconds in one timeout.

[C]

Caleb marches down the field, third and 10.

[A]

We pick up on his own 28.

[C]

Scrambling, doing some Caleb shit. This man walked in to the NFL with the ability to electrify. People were calling him maybe the next Mahomes. Had we seen it yet? No.

[A]

Harry picks up a huge first down, continues to drive. Now in zone 42, first and 10. 25 seconds left, no timeouts. We just spent it. What's he going to do with it? Oh, how about the first tight end drafted?

[C]

Kosten Lavin. Over the middle. One tackler, two tackler. No tacklers gone. Colston Lavlin scores a game winning touchdown after nobody decides to cover him or tackle him in the most important part of the game.

[A]

The final minute of the fourth quarter and the Chicago Bears steal a dub in Cincinnati away from Joey Flack and the Bengals. What a drive by Caleb Williams. Now a lot of people are going to say that Bengals defense is ass.

[D]

Oh, man.

[A]

Certainly a lot worse. A lot of guys on that defense saying, for the love of God, can you get me out of here?

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

There are four guys in the last six months who trade me, trade me. Okay, not happening a lot. Normally it's like agents and teams behind the scenes having conversations. Now it's being made public.

[C]

Boom, get me the hell out of town. Boom, get me the hell out of town. Boom.

[A]

I'm not signing this contract. That's kind of how it's been for the Bengals on defensive side, let alone with Trey Hendrickson. Whenever this whole thing started, draft, super bowl, radio row, I mean, here in the history of the NFL, allowing 160 on the ground and 260 through the sky, one of those or the other is going to be a glaring weakness. People are going to attack it. Well, the Bengals defense says, actually, Willem, do both. Let's go ahead and let them do both. Hey, you have it your way around here.

[C]

Yeah, you can have it your way.

[A]

You want to go on the ground, be fucking best in the league. You got it.

[C]

You want to go through the sky.

[A]

Be the best in the league, you got it. And it's almost as if this was predictable. Was this predictable? I mean, huh?

[D]

Oh, no.

[E]

Interesting.

[A]

Then we the whole conversation, the off season was you pay two number ones, which they are.

[E]

Yes, very good.

[A]

If T. Higgins would have went to another team to be their number one, he would be, yep, by far the number one. And Jamar, same exact for sure. Unbelievable. Pay Joey Burrow now he's hurt. Got Joe Flacco. Good news.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

He'd come here and kind of do the same thing. He's absolutely crushing it. Pay him. Okay. Can you win like that? Everybody was saying going into the year, everybody was saying your defense wasn't good. What you do on that side. He said, we got a new DC has got really ever done. We got a new DC See how.

[B]

Good Notre Dame's defense was last year.

[D]

Cincinnati.

[A]

Has he ever. We got a new D.C. don't worry about it. And they've just been ass. And everybody that saw the way they built their team going into the season says, yeah. It's almost as if every football person told you that's not how you can actually win football games in football. Especially in 2025 when the Eagles just proved that what you need to do is run the ball, stop the run. And the Bengals said, we'll be able to throw it though a lot and we might not be able to stop the run or the pass, which is what stats are saying. But that defensive side was glaring weakness going into season and now it's turning into kind of biting him in the ass. And on that note, Caleb Williams. Okay.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Can't leave Caleb that much.

[D]

No at it.

[A]

Can't leave Caleb that much time because he has the number. The first tight end drafted right there down the middle. Good for Colson. Lovely.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Big day.

[A]

Big day for Coastal Love. Especially videos coming out of training camp. You know where he's singing them boys going crazy. Then in the locker room as soon as he gets a game. But I don't know if you saw the defense. Everybody went crazy for him. It's like, wow, they love this guy in there. It is very cool. That's a good culture building win for the Chicago Bears.

[D]

Yeah. Not to mention Ben Johnson's finding the five in his pocket.

[A]

That was awesome.

[D]

I mean, you talk about coaches that have a sense of humor after a victory. Ben Johnson, one of one knocked that out of the park.

[A]

Yeah, we like. And I appreciate the fact that he's super intense and the boys know that. So in a couple moments in the post game speech, Ben Johnson, his delivery, pretty intense. Boys know it's a lighting, lightful moment. So you go, hey, yeah, yeah. A lot of those from the boys there, you know, kind of keeping it light. Feels like they have built their culture. At the beginning, this was what appeared to be a train wreck wasn't going to work. His mindset, Caleb's mindset the building's mindset. This isn't going to work. And all anybody wondered is how is this guy the bell of the ball for coaching? And why would he go to Chicago? It feels like the complete opposite of what he would want. How's this ever going to work? And here they are. It's working. Congrats to the Chicago Bears making a great play now. Huge win over the Bengals. That was just one of the incredible finishes around the NFL. Let's go to the Panthers upsetting the Packers 7 6.

[C]

Third Quarter Ass Game to watch. Rico Dowdell. The Rico act says hold on. Only two. Only two. One, two.

[A]

All right, that's good. No worries, right? Turn the sound on, please. The ref said actually personal foul. Super unsportsmanly. 15 yards. They back that extra point up 15. They missed that extra point.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. So all of a sudden the double pump actually starts affecting. Oh, oh no. I thought that was okay. Well, key and Peel said it was okay. I don't know if this said NFL ref said it was okay. We all believe that two was good. Three. Way too much. These refs said one, two. We want none.

[D]

Come on.

[A]

Okay. We want none of the hip thrusts. Nonetheless, 1313 packers are able to make it a tie ballgame.

[C]

Let's go to Bryce Young.

[A]

Second and 10. 118 left in the fourth quarter. When Bryce was coming out into the NFL Draft, they said this dude's a Steph Curry of this draft. An absolute ste finds the Irish use tear on McMillan. Wide ass open. Good first down. Let's go to second and 10 now. Later.

[C]

Give it to Rico Dal Dell. This dude is unstoppable.

[A]

Ty might be the best player to ever play football.

[B]

Yeah. Certainly the best player in the NFL this year by far. But yes, I think you could argue he's the best football player of all time.

[A]

So they find themselves into field goal territory. Ryan fitzgerald from 49.

[C]

Give me that.

[A]

48 was the extra point that he missed earlier. 49 was the game winner. And the Carolina Panthers beat the Green Bay packers in a walk off in Lambeau. What a moment. What a time. And Ty, the Panthers are good football team.

[B]

Yeah, I mean they, they dominated this game. Or controlled it. Dominated, I guess is one way of saying it because it was a one score game and it took a field goal to beat him. But I think the packers only had three possessions in the first half. They just knew exactly what they needed to do to win. They knew it was potentially going to come down to a field goal. And on the flip side, you Know the, the packers, once again, special teams kind of kills them. Whereas special teams could have killed the Panthers. But what a, what a kick by rookie Ryan Fitzgerald. It was massive. And when he was lining up for it, every packers fan knew there was a 0% chance that he was going to miss that.

[A]

Let's go to the next game in the NFC North. Vikings, Detroit Lions, fourth quarter, 141. Lions only have one timeout. First down wins it. J.J. mcCarthy in a bucket to Naylor. J.J. scored a touchdown on the ground. He threw a couple. JJ had some inaccurate passes where he missed like by 10 yards. And then whenever the moments, the biggest, JJ locks in and makes a play. His teammates love him. Okay, all the way back from high school. IMG they loved him. College at Michigan, they loved him. And in Minnesota, they love him. He comes into the locker room, boys go crazy. I think his leadership is one of the aspects of him that makes everybody say he is the guy in Minnesota. I think he acts like a guy, they treat him like a guy. And on the field he's able to win these games and he has so much, so much up and to the right. I mean, you, if he takes the trajectory Josh Allen took in the off season, and I know we're comparing a lot of people to Josh Allen and.

[D]

We saw Josh Allen, yeah, that's what you want.

[A]

That's. So that is what you're looking for. But if he takes the trajectory of Josh Allen in his off seasons, it gets more accurate. If he's able to get a little bit more accurate, especially with his leadership and his work ethic that everybody says if he's able to stay healthy, it's like, J.J. hey, all of a sudden you start looking at draft class and it's like, holy shit, that might be the best draft class of all time. Go ahead, comment.

[D]

Yeah, and he is a sicko. Like when Kevin o' Connell's giving him the game ball after in the locker room, like after they walk in and everything. Like him losing his mind before getting the game ball. Awesome. The team reacting to him, doing that was really cool. And just him living up to the moment. Like how many times in the last two years team's gone into into Detroit and beaten them. Like we talked about The Lions being 13 and 3 in primetime games since the MCDC era has started. Like typically the Lions rise to the occasion. The fact that they did it, especially since we were kind of, at least I was kind of talking a bit of junk about him not playing last week when Carl Wentz Had a baby on the way and one arm, like for him to show up like that was incredible.

[A]

27, 24, 27 points against the Detroit Lions team now. And it wasn't, you know, it wasn't the prettiest. There was some blocked kick, There was a block kick. There was a turnover. You get it? There was good field position. But J.J. mcCarthy in Minnesota get a win over the Detroit Lions, which is crazy to think about, especially to your point. Connor, about the convo, about JJ. Here's a little stat from Hembo here. Nine plus point underdogs this season. Weeks one through eight, they were 0 and 10. Week nine, they were 2 and 2. Carolina and Minnesota netted the two largest upsets of the season just yesterday. Congrats to Panthers. Damn good football team.

[B]

Damn good football team.

[A]

JJ McCarthy might be a for real NFL dude. Seems like every moment he needs to step in, he does. Congrats to the Vikings for them. And then the Jags and the Raiders go to overtime. Trevor Lawrence scores a touchdown on their first drive. So that's a big deal. Congratulations to Jacksonville Jaguars. They kick an extra point. They scored on their first drive. They're up seven now the Raiders get a chance to answer. They go down. Are they going to be able to score? 19 seconds left in overtime. They score a touchdown, down one. Could opt to kick the extra point.

[C]

They say for the good of football. We're going for two.

[B]

Love it.

[C]

We love that move. Ultimately it gives them a loss though.

[A]

Instead of having a one at the.

[C]

End, Raiders decide to go for two. Pete Carroll says he was open for.

[A]

The good of ball. They went for two into that. We say thank you Raiders.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

No more ties. And congrats to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Not only a huge win, but also Cam Little. This kicker out of Arkansas, drafted last year in the sixth round, has hit a 68 yard field goal in a regulation football game. He hit from 70 in preseason. And this dude Little hits big ass balls. I mean, he is so incredibly impressive. Obviously he had to drive it a little bit. They say for the side angle. Didn't get blocked. Wasn't even close getting blocked. A lot of guys had their arms up obviously from 68, that thing would have been good. From 71, 72 yards. Unbelievable kick. And obviously we talk about Aubrey a lot. Cam Little hits massive balls. I mean, this dude just murders balls. In the new K ball institution that we're in right now, guys are hitting these long balls at a more accurate clip than they ever have. Guys are also attempting it more than they ever have before. And for those that are sleeping under a rock and maybe don't know this, the kickers are allowed to bring the balls to the game. Now. Used to come out of a box, have a 30 minute like session on when you're allowed to break it down. So it was a little beat up, but it wasn't too beat up. Now just like quarterbacks, kickers are allowed to bring their own balls, have to pass an inspection for how hard it is. Obviously the amount of pressure in there and then what it looks like. And then guys now have gone 7 for 11 from 60 push and a 68 yard field goal has been hit and everybody's just assuming that a 70 yarder is on the way. So right now Cam Little has the record, but I think for the first time in the history of ball, we. It's not safe. Oh, yeah, I do not think it's safe. Especially if you get a situation at the end of half. Okay, let's go to the number four headline as we got 132 left and we're through the first headline here. Injuries.

[C]

We don't like them.

[E]

No, we don't at all hate him, actually.

[C]

We despise them.

[D]

Trying to get rid of them.

[A]

Yeah, multiple times. Yeah, multiple times. Joe Alt, obviously legend for that Chargers team, the way they play with him and without him, a little bit different. He leaves the game with an ankle. Travis Hunter last Friday was listed on the IR after getting hurt in Thursday's practice with a knee. Obviously, T's and peace to all these dudes were pulling for him. But these are electrifying, very important players that note Jaden Daniels last night up 38 7. It dislocates his elbow, it appears, and who knows what else whenever it comes out of testing. But that was nasty, especially for a guy that is as important to the game of football in the NFL right now as he is. Jaden is a big deal for football. We all like the way he plays. We all love watching him. They obviously didn't play their best game. They're down by a lot. He's on the field. Why is he on the field? If he's not on the field though, people say he's not going down with the ship. He ends up getting hurt. Don't love to see that. Tucker Kraft, we were just singing his praises literally last week for taking over a game. He exits with a knee and then obviously CJ Stroud got a concussion as well. Marshawn Lattimore and Luke McCaffrey, both from the Commanders, also Get hurt. Broken collarbone for Luke Lattimore has a knee. Michael Hoyt, Bill's linebacker out. Michael Williams for the 49ers. I mean, just this was a week that was a lot. A lot of big names, a lot of injuries. And we don't.

[C]

We hate them.

[D]

Hate them, hate them.

[A]

All right, now we have three more headlines still to go. Let's go to number three. Headline, the NFC west is a problem. Yeah, listen. Now, obviously tonight the Cardinals will play against the Cowboys. They have a losing record. Let's leave them out of this particular conversation. Even though, hey, a lot of football left. That's right, A lot of football left. Who knows what they're going to have to do. Matthew Stafford's number four right now in the MVP conversation. Okay, Matthew Stafford currently, odds are fourth to win the mvp. He's been put Pukinakua's back. Okay? Pukinakua scoring touchdowns. Puka Nkua actually commented in our Instagram to one of his numerous highlights that were posted and he said, just trying to be good enough to get back on the program, Moose. And we'd like to let you know, Puka, you're welcome anytime. What a perfect superstar for Los Angeles Puka Nakua is. He's a dog. He's tough, and he's got a quarterback thrown to him that isn't scared to break NFL records. If you look at the wide receivers with the best seasons throughout the history of the NFL, you're going to see the quarterback Matthew Stafford, next to the guys that are doing that. He's a special talent. He and I were drafted in the same year. He was number one overall. Got like 175 million guaranteed. I was drafted number 222. I got 47,000, which wasn't enough to pay off the Cadillac Escalade. Okay, so it's a little different life. But what he has been able to accomplish, especially with Kershaw, his high school teammate, or yeah, battery mate, whatever it is, on the baseball team, just wins his last World Series. The fact that Stafford looks the way he looks and is still doing what he's doing, insane. And then Devonte Adams, the amount of touchdowns that he has that are in close distance. So you know the Eagles are doing the tush push whenever they're down there. You know what the Rams do?

[C]

They do Devontae get open.

[A]

And Matthew Stafforde is just delivering him distance of each touchdown in the last three yards, four yards, two yards, one yard, one yard, unguardable. Remember, all anybody talks about is his get off. He doesn't even have to use his hands. He's able to shake everybody. They used to do this with Gronk, the Patriots, anytime they were down the red zone, let's go ahead and get Gronk one on one and then you got a two way go, three way go whatever the hell you want to do. Gronk, we're just going to wait on it. Right now they got Devontae one on one down here and they have to do that because they got Puka and other weapons. Devontae always the number one. Normally going to have two people on him, especially in a red zone area. Now with where he is on that roster, Devontae's getting one on ones down there. And all you got to do is just let Devontae cook basically. And Stafford's just waiting on him. Offensive line has to be able to block for half a second. Not even soon as Devonte's loose, we get it. And it's an easy go. Brilliant by Sean McVay. And if you cover him, Devontae, it's all right. We got Puka over here on the other side and we'll see how it all goes. So, I mean, the NFC west not only Niners get a huge San Francisco 49ers and Mack Jones, Mac Jones playing really good. Yeah. Now their defense obviously very dinged up. We have no idea what the defense is going to be able to be long term. And also trade deadline tomorrow. The San Francisco 49ers are always a pretty active squad whenever it comes to making moves to try to better their team. And this Mac Jones, Christian McCaffrey obviously otherworldly, otherworldly. Okay. I saw Jackson Dart run one in. I saw a couple of touchdowns for this Giants team. And obviously his Giants team looks different now than he did just a few weeks ago with the loss of Scatter Boo. And obviously the Niners look different now than they did a few weeks ago with the loss of Fred Warner and everybody else. But Mac Jones playing quarterback looks more than capable. This San Francisco 49ers team and they get a huge win against the New York Giants. Tone Diggs.

[E]

Yeah, Mack has looked incredible stepping in for Brock Purdy. Like to have him as their backup in this situation to get them to six and three. Like, no, like if you would have looked at all their injuries. So like if you just put that, hey, Niger, gonna lose all these people. Max gonna be the quarterback. What's their record? We never would have gave him six.

[A]

And three at all. And here's the Giants defense to that point last two games, we gave Versa when he had 18 touches, 174 yards and two touchdowns. Week nine, Christian McCaffrey, 33 catches. He's the guy. 173 yards and two touchdowns. Giants defense need to figure out how the hell they're going to cover their running back. Yeah, we need a linebacker that can run. It sounds like is what we're looking for in New York. New York trade deadline day. Maybe some buyers at the, at the trade deadline.

[B]

Yeah, I don't think we're. We're going to be buyers, but it was like we didn't know Chris McCaffrey was on the 49ers. Just a complete embarrassment.

[A]

That's the life of a Giants fan living alongside Bruce. And then obviously last night was just a show of the NFC West. The Seahawks team is a problem across the board. Leonard Williams is what, 6 foot 9? You see him running so big. He chased down Jaden Daniels last night and I, I was just like, there's no way that's Leonard. Leonard Williams been around a long time.

[C]

Yeah.

[E]

Ye.

[A]

And he looks phenomenal. Had no idea he's spear fishing. Okay. They're saying he's going down for five minutes at a time. This guy could hold his breath for five minutes as he's free water fishing out there. Held a tuna the size of him up on the screen. This is how they're feeling time like Leonard Williams is a fisherman. A free diving fisherman. I think they said 80ft, five minutes holding his crazy. I think they said on Leonard. Absolutely. Yeah. Well, I think Collins worse I scuba dive down there, you know. And he said, that is obviously a little scary. Couldn't imagine going down there without a tank. But on that note, they got talent everywhere. They got dogs everywhere. Them talking about how Jackson, Smith and Jigba this offseason said, I want to be the best wide receiver in football. And McDonald said, well, you got this is how we work. And then him just buying in and doing it. Sam Darnold, this guy was let out of the building obviously in Minnesota. I think it's because JJ McCarthy's leadership abilities. I genuinely believe that. I think there's two Alphas in the building. If JJ, everybody's like, well, why don't you let JJ kind of watch somebody? I think JJ's pretty big alpha. I think JJ is a alpha personality at least and leader and kind of everybody gravitates towards him. So I think it would be tough to kind of have a starter in there with him. So Sam Darnold heading to Seattle, what a move for them. And they're special. Always winning on the road. Always winning on the road. And I like the cut of their jib out there a lot. And we all know Seattle, especially if their fans are all in, which it feels like they are and should be, is impossible to play at. This Seahawks team is very special.

[D]

Well, I'm very cool for Mike McDaniel and the Seahawks to like, be good last year and then make McDonald's. Excuse me. Be good last year and then make a change. Like Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks with dk, they were good. And then instead of kind of just riding that out, see what happens. They say, hey, look, look, Sam Darnold's better. Jackson, Smith and Jigba, he needs to get the ball more. I mean, Sam Darnold threw two touchdowns to a guy named Torrey Horton. I get it. I probably should have known who that guy was. I didn't going into the game. Touchdown parlay Builder there, not to mention the third string tight end, he threw a touchdown to number 82, Wilson. No idea who that is either because.

[C]

They got a touchdown parlay builder.

[D]

It would have been, it would have been dynamic. But, but I mean, Arroyo here, AJ Barner, Jackson Smith and Jigba. Jackson, Smith and Jigba didn't even score and they still put up 38 points. The Seattle Seahawks are awesome to watch.

[A]

Yeah, the Commanders fans said they're. They're being an elementary team.

[B]

Yep, they're.

[A]

They're being an elementary team. And here's a guy that Connor was talking about.

[C]

White.

[D]

Excuse me, Not Wilson.

[A]

I'm sorry, Mr. White had a W in Wilson White.

[B]

Steelers actually.

[A]

What's that?

[E]

Steelers actually cut him this year, Mr. White.

[A]

Yeah. Okay, so he looks like he's found a good home out there in Seattle then. Congrats to the Seahawks and the NFC West. We'll see to Cardinals tonight as they take on obviously the Dallas Cowboys. Let's go to the number two headline from the weekend. The Bills beat down the Chiefs.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

And everybody's going to say, well, the Bills, they beat the Chiefs again in regular seasons. You can't beat them in postseason. Well, it's like, what are the Bills supposed to lose in a regular season? It's much better to win than it is to lose in these games. And if you watch the way this game went, boy, that Bills team beat the hell out of Patrick Mahomes. I mean, there was like, there was a string there, three, four straight plays where Patrick was just taking huge shots. Huge shots. Huge Shots. It's like this Bills team has a little bit of a different attitude. Maybe they seem to be the ones that want to be the aggressors. They're the ones that want to be tougher. They beat Don, the Kansas City Chiefs. I think that is a little bit alarming if you're a Kansas City Chiefs fan and also if you're a Buffalo Bills fan. It's like, hey, hold on now we got a little bit of an edge. Feels like this team has. You got Josh Allen obviously on the offensive side, so you're going to be great on the offensive side of the ball. You would assume defense thumping this Kansas City Chiefs team as much as they did and obviously making plays all over the place and getting a huge win. Great for the Buffalo Bills.

[B]

Yeah, great for the Buffalo Bills. But like you're saying, if you're a Chiefs fan, you're just holding your breath every single time you're watching Mahomes play. Now, we've talked about it the last couple weeks about him running the ball and kind of get smacked around more. It's like, you know, obviously this game does isn't the end all be all for them because there is a good chance they see each other in the playoffs. But boy, they Patrick Mahomes needs to take care of himself. We can't have that guy getting hurt and missing a good chunk of time over the next couple weeks.

[A]

Here's some Hembo stats out of the Bills Chiefs game. Patrick Mahomes versus Bills defense 44 completion percent which is career low. I think he had to go back to college since he had a completion percentage below 50%. 13.1 Average depth of target is his career high. Nobody was getting open, just kind of throwing. He threw for 444 air yards and 69 yak. Nothing easy underneath, says Hembo. Little anecdote, he says, and they hit him a career high 15 times. Flawless plan and execution from the Buffalo Bills defense, says Hembo. They literally beat him, Don.

[D]

Yeah, and they had at Oliver out, you know, their best defensive lineman, highest paid defensive line, wasn't even playing and they had that. All that pressure is awesome.

[A]

Good for the Bills. Maybe this is the year.

[D]

Could be.

[A]

Maybe this is the year for the Buffalo Bills. Good to see a bosa cooking out there. And then number one headline from the weekend is turn back the clocks an hour. Yeah, right about 11 years. Look at the AFC leaders. Colts, Patriots, Broncos, Steelers. That's 2025. Let's go back 2014, shall we? Boom. Who's up there?

[D]

Damn.

[A]

Old school tradition. 11 years ago now. Now, did I choose to take this angle for the number one headline so that I could show. Go back 20, 25, please.

[C]

Boom.

[A]

The Colts still number one. Let's make sure we understand that. Okay, let's make sure we understand that. Toff loss of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[D]

Good team.

[A]

But the Pittsburgh Steelers currently leading the AFC north, which is why they're seeding in fourth. Although others might have a couple more wins than them, including the Buffalo Bills, who are 62 who have already had their by New England Patriots lead the AFC East. The Denver Broncos lead the AFC west, and Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts got the north and the south, respectively. It's like this is old school football all of a sudden. And this Broncos team, hey, dude, Denver Broncos are a real deal. Going into the season, the Broncos were some super bowl favorites, some super bowl. What's it called whenever you're like, people love you, darlings. Super bowl darlings by a lot of fans. And the Denver Broncos get a huge win over the Houston Texans down in Houston with a walk off from Will Lutz. And there was a moment before this kick between Sean Payton, head coach of the Broncos, and Will Lutz. Hey, right through. And a little smile.

[B]

That's awesome.

[A]

I love everything about it because you have to think to yourself, hey, the head coach has got to really get along with the kicker. If this is what he's saying to him right before a little bit of a violent motion. Don't know exactly what he said. Just say, hey, Will.

[C]

Hey, look at me.

[A]

Fuck, yeah. We need to make this do it. We need to make this one. Will Lutz makes the kick. Will Lutz now under Sean Payton because he was with him at the New Orleans Saints. Sean Payton brings him up to Denver. Sean Payton and will love 14 of 16 in clutch field goals under Sean Payton. It's all the way back to the Saints. Pretty good game, Tiger. Go ahead. Field goals in the final two minutes of regulation, plus ot. Yeah, I think Sean Payton has a lot of faith and he's just reminding Will, hey, you're going out there to make this thing. Thing. Let's remember that smile. Will says, you got it. Broncos back in a position where it's like, wait, is this the Broncos team that we all thought it was going to be? Is this the Broncos team that can go win a Super Bowl? Sean Payton has been able to do it in the past. Can he do it again? Rebuilding it in his own image? Crazy. To think about in Denver in the.

[D]

Top four is incredible. But if you were to go back to 2014 and look at those top four teams, the Wild card teams are nowhere near how good the wild card teams are now. You know, you're looking at that and you're damn near worried if you're the two seed seed or the three seed or the four seed just because, hey, Chiefs are there, Bills are there, Chargers are there. Like there are a lot of really, let alone the Ravens if they continue to play well, like the buy this year might be the most important buy the AFC has had in a long time.

[A]

Yeah, I. And then who's already out of it? Yeah, you know who's out of it that we think might be in it? You know, there's some teams that might not be able to catch some of these teams. I'll be fascinated to see how the AFC falls. And also congratulations to the Steelers and the Patriots and the Colts and the Colts. Tough one for me to be able to celebrate the Colts, but still number one, the AFC out here.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Don't you worry about it. Joining us now in the best truck down the line. Nothing stops a Ram truck. No, it doesn't. Hey, ride high, ride comfortable. Ride style. Ride with grit. Ride with ram. Hell yeah. I don't know if that's a tagline. Yeah, it's not bad. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, a man who might be able to fill in some gaps that we might have missed, especially on the injury conversation in which there was a lot of superstars injured yesterday. Insider for the NFL at espn. Also a Michigan man, ladies and gentlemen, Adam Shefter. She how you doing, brother?

[F]

Going on there, Pat, how you doing?

[A]

I'm great. Thank you for joining us. Obviously, huge one between the Cardinals and the Cowboys tonight. We'll chitchat about that a little bit later. Through the first 15. One of our headlines was the injuries. Feels like this was the worst weekend around the NFL and and today's the day where we're waiting on scans. Is that kind of how this normally works out? Shefty?

[F]

There have been some bad weeks in the NFL. This is another one of them. Obviously you have Jaden Daniels last night. That was really troubling to see and watch and see him be escorted off the field with his left arm in a brace. Look, here's the deal. He's having the MRI today. It's dislocated his elbow. I mean it's not going to be any different in the result. There's and he's going to be out indefinitely. So Washington would have to keep alive its season and turned it around at 3 and 6 for him to have a chance to come back. And I would think it's safe to assume that Washington is going to be moving forward extraordinarily careful about when it puts back in Jaden Daniels. And so if they're not winning here in the weeks to come, then I think there's a real chance that we've seen the last of Jaden Daniels this season. I think that's in the realm of possibility. He's definitely, it's possible his season is over. The whole thing was troubling. You never want to see a player like that go down. You never want to see a player like that go down. Midway through the fourth quarter, down 31 points. That franchise has been through that before and it, it just, it's unfortunate the way the whole thing unfolded.

[A]

Yeah, I agree. And watching a long live at the time because I couldn't fall asleep because I guess I'm just a sicko. And listening to Tirico and Collinsworth try to fill time was certainly something I was enjoying while I was watching it. And then you see that injury happen, it's like, oh, that's nasty. Nasty. And then this morning I saw they were blurring it out on SportsCenter. That's how nasty it was. So obviously the future of the franchise they're going to be careful with. We respect that. Let's talk about some of the other injuries that took place. Obviously, Tucker Kraft had a knee. Joe Alt had a knee, an ankle. Travis Hunter had a knee in practice. Do we know anything on or any updates on any of those particular guys?

[F]

Tucker Kraft, the test came back today. Torn ACL confirmed out for the just brutal.

[A]

Dude, he just took over the NFL last week, man.

[F]

By the way, I, I, I do think this is Tucker Craft's 25th birthday today. So, Jordan, yeah, Jordan Love had an awful 27th birthday yesterday. Tucker Kraft had an awful 25th birthday today. There are a lot of bad birthday celebrations here with the packers and, and Tucker Kraft had developed into who you could argue maybe the best tight end in the game right now, coming off a huge game against the Pittsburgh Steelers have been unbelievable. He's not only is he a great receiver, but he's a great blocker. He's a vital part of that offense. You see the numbers right there. Jordan Love targeting Tucker Kraft is off the charts. That target is now taken away. So, I mean, it's a tough one. I guess you're at Musgrave try to step up. I wouldn't think that they'll try to do anything at the trade deadline, but just a bad, bad injury.

[A]

Yeah. Sucks. Jaden Daniels. All these suck, by the way, because they're all superstars, which is something to think about. Joe Alt, ankle and Travis Hunter would be the two from that particular. Travis Hunter came out of practice, he's on IR. They said his ACL was intact. That means they were scared it an ACL. It sounds like putting him on IR is just to make sure he's 100%. Or what are you hearing out of there, the news that dropped on Friday from Thursday's practice?

[F]

Well, first of all, Travis Hunter is somebody that doesn't miss time. So when he goes down and he's out for four weeks minimum, that tells you it's not great. And I think it's going to be. My sense is it's going to be beyond that. It's going to be, as I was told, it's going to be, quote, unquote, a while, man, before Travis Hunter comes back. Yeah. And Jacksonville has been winning and as long as they stay alive. I think we could see Travis Hunter again later this season. But I put this a little bit in the Jaden Daniels category. You're going to be careful with this guy. And if, I mean, they're in the playoff race right now and they're doing a great job, but if, if they're not, you're not going to rush this guy back. You're going to be careful. And so I think it will be a little while before we see Travis Hunter again this season. I don't know exactly when, but as I was told over the weekend, it's going to be a while.

[A]

Travis Hunter, we will miss you, brother. Especially in this time where, you know, a lot of growth can still happen for Travis Hunter on both sides of the ball. We'll miss him. Joe Alt with an ankle. We know what the Chargers are with Joe Alt. Obviously the stats were a little bit polar whenever it was with Joel without Joe Walt. What should we be thinking here with Joe Walt? As you, you look ahead.

[F]

Well, I go back and look, he hurt his ankle in week two, I believe it was. Or when was it against the Giants. When did the Chargers play the Giants? What week was that? Is that week two, three, whatever it was, because Neighbors tore his ACL in that game. And before Neighbors went down, Joe Alt basically was carted off in that game with a high ankle sprain to the same ankle. He rested it, rehabbed it, it and was able to come back weeks later. This time, my understanding is he's going to have to have a surgical procedure done to help stabilize the ankle. So whatever he missed last time and I'd have to go look it up, I would think he's going to miss more time now. I'm going to guess he missed about four or five weeks. So again, probably, hopefully, maybe later this season. Maybe.

[A]

Tough game, dude. Tough game. Football's a tough game. It's so hard to win. That's why like the patriots winning for 20 plus years is so crazy to think about because you lose a couple of your pillar guys, which is happening here around the league, we're literally just talking about, you lose a couple of these pillar guys, all of a sudden your team looks vastly different. And it's like, are we even built to win without this person? And it's like, no, it changes everything.

[F]

Some of these injuries, I mean, they got like Mikel Williams for the 49ers, their first round draft Bosa, they lose Fred Warner to season ending injuries. Now you're counting on your first round pick, he tears his ACL yesterday. Like, I mean, it is, it's, you know, where did the Chargers go get an offensive tackle? Now it's not these guys. You can't find them. You can't find them. Where do the Niners, I mean the Niners, maybe, maybe they could go trade for some kind of edge. Maybe. But it's brutal. It's so hard to try to replace that.

[A]

Yeah, it's impossible. Yeah. The injury thing is just crazy. It is. It's a guarantee that it's going to happen. Who is it is going to decide whether or not it kind of sends your entire season off course?