PMS 2.0 1475 - TOP 5: NFL Week 16 Recap

Summary

The Pat McAfee Show 2.0 – Episode 1475

TOP 5: NFL Week 16 Recap
Date: December 22, 2025
Host: Pat McAfee with AJ Hawk, the Toxic Table, and Tone Digs

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the biggest stories emerging from a packed NFL Week 16, featuring action from Thursday through Monday. Pat McAfee and the crew break down the most significant headlines, analyze improbable team turnarounds, question coaching decisions, critique officiating, and spotlight playoff clinches. True to The Pat McAfee Show’s blend of insight and humor, discussions swing from tactical nuance to relatable banter, keeping things lively even when debating contentious moments.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. From "Ass to Class": NFL Rebuild Success Stories

Segment: 00:00–11:36

• Teams Highlighted: Bears, Panthers, Jaguars, Patriots

• Theme: Inspiring turnarounds for "bottom-dweller" franchises, now playoff contenders.

• Pat echoes hope for fans of struggling franchises, noting rapid rebuilds:

  • “If your team stinks, look no further than Charlotte, North Carolina, because the Carolina Panthers can bring you some real hope for what the future could hold.” (01:42)

• Panthers:

  • Once a punchline, now on track to win the NFC South and host a playoff game after years of mismanagement and empty stands.
  • Darius Butler draws parallels between the new-look Panthers and vintage Bucs:
    • “The Panthers really are kind of the new team of that division.” (02:31)
  • Praise for rookie QB Bryce Young’s play-making, evoking memories of Baker Mayfield heroics.

• Jaguars:

  • Quick transformation behind Trevor Lawrence, now on a six-game win streak, blowing out opponents and thriving with new coaching hires (Liam Cohen, Campanelli).
  • Stat of the Day: Jaguars outscored opponents by 113 points during the win streak; Lawrence: 14 TDs, 0 turnovers in 4 games (04:06).
  • Pat:
    • “Jacksonville Jaguars win. In the old days…he potentially tears ACL…Now…he looks like a stud.” (04:44)

• Bears:

  • Massive wins behind rookie QB Caleb Williams and head coach Ben Johnson; snapped long-standing team issues and created a cohesive, confident culture.
  • Conman:
    • “He [Caleb Williams] already has the most fourth quarter comebacks for any Bears quarterback in history. He’s just unbelievable. I’m calling him Iceman going forward.” (07:34)
  • Ben Johnson’s leadership and dramatic onside kick recovery critical to overtime victory against the Packers.

• Patriots:

  • A return to glory with Mike Vrabel coaching and “perfect guy” QB Drake May, drawing comparisons to young Tom Brady in leadership and preparation (per Stefon Diggs).
  • Darius Butler:
    • “Drake May throws for 380 yards, down by 11 in the fourth quarter. Goes on 89 yard drive to win the game.” (11:36)
  • Multiple rookies emerging as potential Hall of Famers; team culture returns.
  • Pat:
    • “Your team goes from ass to class of the league. Life is much better on this side.” (12:55)

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2. AFC North Chaos and Coaching Scrutiny

Segment: 13:20–19:55

• Ravens:

  • Under fire for blown leads; questions swirl around John Harbaugh’s tenure after historic collapses.
  • Conman:
    • “Blowing fourth quarter leads…12 games at that point with seven-plus leads in the fourth quarter and you lost them. Like, that’s historically bad. So something’s got to change.” (15:21)
  • Pat highlights frustration: seeing Lamar Jackson diminished due to injuries and missed electrifying play.

• Steelers:

  • Mike Tomlin’s streak of non-losing seasons continues (19 years). Team wins gritty, dramatic games:
  • Pat Freiermuth:
    • “They had almost 500 yards of total offense, 230 on the ground. Aaron was unbelievable.” (16:54)
    • Notes defense limited opponent’s rushing, lauds Tomlin’s increased aggressiveness on fourth downs (5/5 last two weeks).
  • Steelers’ playoff optimism remains, despite injuries (notably to TJ Watt).
  • Pat:
    • “Can we win it all?” (18:53)

• Notable Banter:

  • Light-hearted riff on offensive linemen and running backs’ nicknames:
    • “Ass and cheeks…Ass cheeks. That’d be the starting five.” (17:27–17:47)

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3. Sideline Incidents & Fan/Athlete Code

Segment: 20:00–23:04

• DK Metcalf–Fan Interaction:
  • Physical confrontation between DK Metcalf and a fan sparks debate on acceptable conductor athletes and spectators.
  • Pat:
    • “Cannot happen. Actually cannot happen. But there are standards for both sides that are going to be obviously examined.” (22:57)
  • Show recognizes athlete restraint is paramount, but acknowledges fans can provoke:
    • Conman:
      • “…Outside of that, like you said, as a professional athlete, you gotta kinda have some restraint. And then fans, you know, there gotta be some line there with what can and can't be said.” (22:15)

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4. Referee Scrutiny: "Contract Year" Woes

Segment: 24:13–28:25

• Officiating Under the Microscope:

  • Multiple bad or controversial calls from the week’s high-leverage games.
  • Pat:
    • “Is there a chance these guys and girls are saying let's show them what it could be like with ass officials? Let's remind them of what it was like whenever we had the replacement refs.” (24:24)
  • Deeper discussions of:
    • Bad pass interference and roughing calls in the Patriots game
    • Complicated fumble advancement rules from Thursday night
    • Impact on playoff seeding

• Darius Butler:

  • “This play right here is going to decide the 1 seed in the NFC. Like, we're talking about the playoffs. A bye…the most important thing some of these teams need…” (27:41)

• Calls for improvement in officiating optics and consistency as postseason looms.

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5. Team Resilience & Playoff Picture: "Mary Clinchmas"

Segment: 28:40–End

• Teams Clinch Postseason Berths:
  • Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, LA Rams, San Francisco 49ers (NFC); Denver Broncos, New England Patriots (AFC).
• Eagles Spotlight:
  • Back-to-back NFC East champs for first time in 21 years.
  • Pat:
    • “When you talk about flying over fuss, it's every day with this team…And Nick Sirianni and the boys somehow remain focused.” (29:05)
• Outlook on Competing Teams:
  • Debate on Philadelphia’s Super Bowl prospects; Lane Johnson’s return expected to revive run game.
• Playoff Race Notables:
  • Panthers and Bucs still vying for NFC South; Packers, Lions, Panthers, Bucs for NFC wild card.
  • AFC largely set, but Colts and other “lurkers” not out yet.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Pat McAfee:
  • “If your team stinks, look no further than Charlotte, North Carolina, because the Carolina Panthers can bring you some real hope for what the future could hold.” (01:42)
• Darius Butler, on Panthers' transformation:
  • “The Panthers really are kind of the new team of that division.” (02:31)
• Pat McAfee, on Jaguars:
  • “Jacksonville Jaguars win. In the old days of Jacksonville Jaguars he potentially tears ACL…Now you have a sick jump over guy…he looks like a stud.” (04:44)
• Conman, on Caleb Williams:
  • “He already has the most fourth quarter comebacks for any Bears quarterback in history. He’s just unbelievable… I’m calling him Iceman going forward.” (07:34)
• Darius Butler, on Drake May:
  • “He’s the next Tom Brady path. But we don’t have to say it. It’s very obvious.” (11:36)
• Pat McAfee, on officiating:
  • “Is there a chance these guys and girls are saying let’s show them what it could be like with ass officials?” (24:24)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:00–04:44 – Top 5 headlines intro; rapid rise of previously bottom-tier teams
• 05:49–09:15 – Chicago Bears, Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams' heroics
• 09:54–12:58 – Patriots turnaround, Mike Vrabel’s culture, Drake May MVP case
• 13:20–19:55 – AFC North: Ravens woes, Steelers resilience, playoff hopes
• 20:00–23:04 – DK Metcalf vs. fan, debate on player/fan conduct
• 24:13–28:25 – Refereeing controversies; complaints on calls, impact on playoffs
• 28:40–End – NFC East champ Eagles, playoff clinching overview, playoff race outlook

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Wrap-Up

Throughout the show, Pat and the crew mix humorous analogies with hard-hitting football analysis, tracing how quick team revamps, bold coaching, and resilient quarterbacks shift the competitive landscape. They preserve the show's high-energy, irreverent tone even while dissecting serious matters like officiating and sideline incidents.

The recurring rallying cry: for fans of “ass” teams, redemption is always possible—if you make the right hires and build the right culture. The crew closes on the playoff picture, leaving listeners energized for the final push of the regular season.

Transcript

[Pat McAfee]

Well, let's get away from college ball and let's talk about the NFL. Every single Monday, we get to a thing called the top five headlines that we saw coming out of the NFL slate. Now, normally that's just Sunday, but this past weekend, they blessed us. We had Thursday, Saturday, Sunday. Now we got Monday Night Football. The NFL is obviously crushing. College football is great. Here's our top five headlines. Driven by Ram trucks. Every time you push that gas pedal and you're sitting in a Ram truck, you know that you're protected. You're going to be riding on clouds. It's going to have enough technology to keep up with today and enough power to pull whatever. And when you hit that gas pedal, it's going to sound like Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram. Well, let's Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram our ass into the top five. Top five, Number five headline. From our perspective from ass to class of the league, here are some storylines from different cities that if your team is ass right now, you can draw some inspiration, you can draw some optimism, you can draw some. You know what? Maybe the future isn't going to be as ass as it is right now. Bears last couple years ass. Carolina Panthers, last couple years ass. Jacksonville Jaguars, last couple years ass. New England Patriots, last couple years ass. Now they're dancing, baby. And they're not just dancing. They got a real chance at this entire thing. Patriots 4 and 13 last season. Now they're 12 and 3. Jaguars 4 and 13 as well. Liam Cohen saying, keep the narrative going that we're asked, please. Small market goes in. Mile high. Denver's best team in football. Right? Best team in football. They get a big time when they're 11 and 4. Bears 5 and 12, let alone all the drama that has happened around the Chicago Bears. And then whenever you think about the Carolina Panthers team. Yeah, right. They should not be anywhere near this. If the football gods were to be holding karma against a team, everything that ownership in this team did to its fans over the last 10 years would be held against Carolina Panthers. For there was one point where there was actually 1,000 people in the stands watching this Carolina Panthers team. It looked like D3 football is what the game environment was. They rolled out this virtual reality Panther that was obviously a joke. They had ownership getting in fights with fans and store owners. Everything was bad, bad, bad, bad. And now they're going to win the NFC South. They are going to host a playoff game. Now. It's certainly still up for grabs. The Bucs can still get it, but a huge win for the Carolina Panthers. And if your team stinks, look no further than Charlotte, North Carolina, because the Carolina Panthers can bring you some real hope for what the future could hold.

[Darius Butler]

It basically felt like the 9 or the Panthers were becoming what the Bucs used to be like. Even if you look at, you know, that last play by Bryce Young, that's a play you would see, you know, Baker Mayfield making to win the entire game. Tet is like a younger Mike Evans. Coker's turning into a younger Chris Godwin. Like, it's insane kind of the comparisons between the two. And then when you look at this play, it really is like, oh, Baker Mayfield's going to go and win the game. And that's what Bryce Young does. Gets away, dodges another guy and then throws a touchdown pass. Like, how many times have we seen Baker Mayfield make that exact same play to win the game? Not in the past, even just earlier in the year. Like, the Panthers really are kind of the new team of that division.

[Pat McAfee]

Shout out to the Panthers. Shout to the Jags too. They're for real. D Buck. It feels like you've been wanting to talk about them a lot over the last four or five weeks. I think the world hasn't really wanted to talk about it, but it's real down there in Duval. And Trevor Lawrence, hey, everything they said, he was seemingly becoming right in front of our eyes right now.

[Conman]

Yeah, we talk about it. You guys always mention it. It's just very, very hard to actually succeed on this level. So people want that instant success. And he was crowned as that guy, the prince that was promised since coming into the league. And now he's hitting his stride. You know, Liam Cohen comes over. He was a hot hire. A lot of people, especially after his introductory press conference, you know, had some thoughts about him. I think absolutely and rightfully so. But he's shown that he is a great football coach and he's setting his quarterback up for great success. Also made a very good hire with Campanelli on defensive side of the ball because they're living and dying with their turnovers right now. But Jaguars are blowing people away and this was a huge, huge statement win in Denver, the number one seed team in the AFC right now.

[Pat McAfee]

And this is all without the number two overall pick that they still have. Here's some Hembo stats about this Jacksonville Jaguar six game win streak. They've outscored their opponents by 113 points. Unbelievable. They spent more time leading by 25 points than trailing at all. And Trevor Lawrence has 14 touchdowns, zero turnovers in the last four games, 77.4 QBR. They are what we like to call rolling. And this is what they talked about.

[D Buck]

In January and we kind of mocked it a little bit because they lost right away to Jake Browning and the Bengals. But now, what, 10 weeks later, it kind of does feel like it's going to go on forever.

[Pat McAfee]

Shout out to Shot Khan, obviously the owner for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Jerry and Jones or Jari and Jones. Just a couple, you know, games removed here from Saquon Barkley jumping over backwards his head, he's on a sideline. You know, some people get rolled up, some people avoid straight up and over the athleticism like a damn cat right there. I mean that is spectacular. He'll go on and get a pick. Jacksonville Jaguars win. In the old days of Jacksonville Jaguars he potentially tears acl.

[D Buck]

Yeah, for sure.

[Pat McAfee]

He potentially tears Achilles. He certainly is getting speared to the ground and maybe taking out a trainer, nine year old doctors. Ah, that is what Jacksonville Jaguars fans would probably expect in the past. Now you have a sick jump over guy looks bad, that got off balance and he looks like a stud. And then oh yeah, he's going to carry it on. Yeah. For the rest of the game. D butt seems like they're rolling.

[Conman]

I don't like it at all.

[Pat McAfee]

Not good for the aforesaid. Not good for the Indianapolis Colts. They got a quarterback who's young. CJ's very young. Let's talk about young quarterback. That can still go the Chicago Bears team.

[Conman]

Hey, what a game.

[Pat McAfee]

Maybe whenever a coach is a bell of the ball, there's a reason. Yeah, you know, it may be a coach turns down years, multiple years worth of nah, I'm not going to. Nah, I'm not going. It can maybe drive people to think this drama. There's only 32 head coaching jobs in the NFL anyways, what can this guy really do? Good, better, best. Never let rest of it good is better and better is best. He comes in there immediately changes the culture. At the beginning, allegedly a little bit rocky, you know. Are him and Caleb going to be able to get along? Caleb wasn't even playing in preseason games allegedly because he didn't really know the offense yet and Ben Johnson didn't want to put him out there. Which led us all to think, wait, Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams ever going to get along? We hear Ben Johnson an absolute dog and we hear Caleb Williams obviously a lot of mocks, a lot of swag, a lot of character. He has been very famous for a long time. Well, these two yeah, they will. And he's about to break every quarterback record that Chicago Bears have. Ben Johnson's got the entire culture ready to win the NFC north and they pick up a massive overtime dub over the Green Bay packers and make some huge plays in critical moments on both sides of ball, including special teams where they get an onside kick.

[Conman]

Wow.

[Darius Butler]

Jeez.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know if I'm putting guardian cap guy out there. I don't know if I'm putting guardian cap out there as the hands guy.

[Conman]

Best hands with a team, not with a guardian cap.

[Pat McAfee]

I think the hands to have a certain level of fuck it to you, I think you have to have that. Now I'm not saying Dobbs doesn't have that. Guardian cap tells me he does have at least some reservations. So I don't know if that's necessarily who I put there, but great kick by Cairo, great recovery by the Bears and obviously they come back. Fourth quarter drive and then overtime winner as well, which has dropped in an absolute bucket. Chicago Bears culture was ass, team was shit. Now when the NFC north dbux and maybe the whole damn thing, man.

[Conman]

King of the north right now. You talk about prime time games delivering all weekend long. This is one of the best finishes I've ever seen for a throw like that. That was obviously the icing on the cake. But just everything down the stretch and this is who Caleb Williams has been this year in second half's ball game, even some of the games that they lost, he has played great down the stretch. He's already has the most fourth quarter comebacks for any Bears quarterback in history. He's just unbelievable. You talk about Ben Johnson, obviously, the running game, the investments they made in the offensive, but once again, when you talk about creating a culture that's not only head coach but it's also the staff, hiring Dennis Allen on the defensive side, Al Harris as well, and they're bringing in some vets that can make big time plays on both sides of the ball. Like he is playing unbelievable right now. I'm calling him Iceman going forward.

[Pat Freiermuth]

Okay.

[D Buck]

I like that.

[Conman]

I love the moxie. And then listen to Caleb talk. Yeah, that's thing, listening to him talk. He sounds like a 12 year vet anytime. Like he's in front of the camera even after that type of moment. Like it was all class talking about the packers and the rivalry and then showing up and doing some stuff in the community with the cheese grater hat. So I love everything that Caleb's doing and obviously it starts with your head coach.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, and even more so to the iceman just being cool as shit. Throws that ball, hands immediately go into the oh man, it's almost like a Steph Curry walk off which we saw from Drake May and the Patriots. It's like Chicago Bears Danu Kings of the north up there in the Bears world. Obviously it was a midway miracle is how we framed it for the headline. Huge comeback, late, obviously make plays whenever they need it. And the Green Bay packers, more injuries here. Now obviously Jordan Love goes down with concussion. Malik Willis goes down. Feels like the last couple weeks the injury bug has hit you guys hard. What does the rest of the season look like for the Packers?

[D Buck]

Ty Schmidt well, luckily because the Lions lost yesterday, the packers just need to win one of their last two games. They have Baltimore on Saturday this week and then they end the season with the Vikings. If they win one of those two games, they'll get in. And right now I mean good question because it seems like concussions this year have been multi week injuries. Not usually. Just hey that guy got concussed on Saturday and I mean yeah, he took one on the button big time. So we'll see if he plays on Saturday. But it's looking like for all intents and purposes, if the packers can win one game they'll get in with the seven seed and then they'll probably end up having to go back to Chicago and play the Bears again in the first round.

[Pat McAfee]

And then the Patriots, the fourth ass, the class team and obviously saying the Patriots in ass together is leaving out the dynasty that they had for 20 plus years. This is the next chapter. Okay, this is when we were supposed to be celebrating New England not having a good football team. This is when the rest of the fan bases around the NFL were supposed to point and laugh at the revolution region. This is what life is like with a real football team. You're going to have to struggle. You're going to have to see the hard times. Now when that parade comes back, you'll certainly enjoy it more. But this is what life is like. And then all of a sudden Mike Vrabel is still available. Somehow he loves the Patriots more than maybe anybody in the history. Okay, maybe he might love the Patriots. I mean this just hit me as it was rolling out of my mouth.

[Darius Butler]

Top five for sure behind me but.

[Pat McAfee]

Top five player coach wise because there was a falling out obviously with a lot of different situations. Now Tom, I think he ends up at Tampa Outrush Julian Edaman. I think maybe Julian Joel's loves whatever the case, Vrabel whenever he gives his hall of Fame induction speech while coaching for another team is like, hey, this is the greatest place on earth. I've seen other buildings, I work in one right now. It is ass compared to what you have here. The fans, the setup, the ownership, everything. This is dream come true for football, basically. And he gets up there once again, culture, culture, culture, and has the perfect quarterback for it. And then he gets stars to buy in. I mean, Stefan Diggs coaching on the sideline. Would we ever think that that's what we would be seeing this year from Stefan Diggs? I don't think so. So this Patriots team is unbelievable. Now, the other side, we'll certainly talk about here in a little bit with Balt, but Drake May, what a perfect guy for New England. And your team goes from ass to class of the league. Life is much better on this side.

[Darius Butler]

Yeah, it looks unbelievable. Not to mention, you know, Mike Vrabel being a football savant. He also drafted four or five, maybe six hall of Famers in this class that they just had Kyle Williams, ridiculous touchdown catch down the sideline, He's a rookie. Craig Woodson, D, Bud. Actually text me during the game. The rookie safety for New England, he's a Hall of Famer. Will Campbell not even playing. Let's keep that in mind too. Drake May throws for 380y down by 11 in the fourth quarter. Goes on 89 yard drive to win the game. At the end of the game, without your starting left tackle, starting right tackle. Missed about a quarter and a half. Starting running back, rookie Treviani Henderson, going to be a Hall of Famer. He also concussion leaves the game. I mean, there really isn't that much you can say about Drake May. He's the guy going forward. I think everybody knows, especially, you know, when you watch him, he's only 23 years old. He looks like he's 43. He's 23. And then Stefan Diggs after the game saying like, you know, I'll tell you what he prepares. He prepares to play games like, and I don't want to say the guy's name, but he prepares like, like, like Tom Brady. Okay, Diggs wasn't going to say it, but everyone knows where he was going. He was walking you down. He's the next Tom Brady path. But we don't have to say it. It's very obvious. I think it's hard to watch that game, especially after watching like a Caleb vs packers game, be like, yeah, Caleb's cool. Jaden Daniels is cool. All these young rookie Quarterbacks are cool. Drake May is in a different tier. He's ridiculous. He's the mvp.

[Pat McAfee]

Mvp odds very high for Drake May. And once again, he's only in his second season. You know, he's only in his second season.

[Conman]

Josh McDaniel.

[Pat McAfee]

Unbelievable. And he'll be there forever. He's already done the whole coaching. Head coaching. Runner on loves the area.

[Darius Butler]

D.C. go, go ahead. Who wants to be a head coach? You want to come be the DC for a little bit? Bobby Spleen's there. Okay. Mike Vrabel's calling plays. You're just hanging out for a little bit.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. It's like the opposite of what the Chiefs had.

[Darius Butler]

Bingo.

[Pat McAfee]

You know, for a long time. Congrats to the Congrats Patriots. And we can all, if our team becomes completely ass and a shite show, we can look to those four teams as like, hey, next season can be better. You need to make a lot of good hires. But next season can certainly be better. Let's go to number four headline coming out of the week. That's AFC north football, baby. Coach Mike Tom win and is it hard Bover and oh, no. It's getting loud. It's getting looo. In Baltimore, Derek Henry scores another touchdown and doesn't touch the ball. The hell are we doing? Has John Harbaugh lost his football sense? Has John Harbaugh lost the team? How come this team looks so different than in the years past? Is the message not getting home anymore? And how are they blowing leads like this all the damn time? Is it a culture issue? Is it a talent issue? Is it a team issue? Is it a stale issue? Is it Coach Har over in Baltimore? D Buzz.

[Conman]

I'm not going to call for his job. He's still a great football coach in my mind. But Baltimore, more Ravens fans, they are loud and have been loud because when you talk about both of these franchise that we just had up on the screen, the Ravens and the Steelers, those are championship caliber franchises. And coming into this season, I think the Ravens were what, either one or two. Okay. Super bowl favorite to win it. So to be looking at a place where you're almost not going to make the playoffs, obviously you have injuries at your quarterback, but just critical fumbles. Once again, Zay Flowers, South Florida guy, I love him. You can't fumble the ball in a big moment like that. Again, Derrick Henry didn't touch the ball for the last 12 minutes. I think with the backup quarterback in game, that's insane. But he had another big fumble in this game as well. These are obviously a great play. Chase it down and punch it out. But you can't, you can't have that in this game. And this is what you've seen over and over again with the Ravens. You talked about blowing fourth quarter leads. They talked about it on telecast last night. I think it was 12 games at that point with seven plus lead in the fourth quarter and you lost them. Like that's historically bad. So something's got to change that.

[Pat McAfee]

Bums out butter. And the boys are, oh yeah. I mean you have the lead and then you lose it. And. And this team was supposed to go to the Super Bowl. A lot of people thought I was excited to watch the Ravens. Continue to be excited to watch Ravens. Anytime I see their name on the screen, like, hey, we got a Ravens game sick. I'm be able to see Lamar Jackson play football. I'm pumped about that. It started great too. They're making really good Zay a couple times. Derek running it. Lamar moving, spinning it. Yeah. Defense doing their thing. It's like, all right, this is what we've been waiting for. This is what everybody's been waiting for. Then he just blew it at the end again. And Lamar doesn't. He had his ankle taped. I saw that. Okay, so I didn't know. I don't know if we all knew, but I certainly didn't remember an ankle being a thing. But him coming onto the field with his ankle and then he had to hamstring this year. Then he was sick. It was like. It feels like we haven't seen the electrifying Lamar Jackson all year either that we've seen through the air. He can certainly spin it, but whenever he was running, it just looked different. This year, the entire year, is it because of injuries? What does next year look like? I mean, there's a lot of convos about that. And then the AFC North. There's one thing that's going to be as steady as death in taxes, brother, and that's Mike Tomlin is going to Tom win 19 consecutive non losing seasons. That's 500 or better as a coach. Tom Landry had 20 winning seasons. He had one 500 season eight and 800. Whatever. Bill Belichick obviously did what he did with New England for so long. And Tomlin has 18 winning seasons with one eight and eight season. And then they have 22 in total as a team. Hey, we're used to winning football around here. Now Tom Wynn gets a big one in Detroit. Steelers fans ecstatic. Right?

[Pat Freiermuth]

We're ready to go More than Ecstatic, Pat. Like, more than ecstatic. Like, because, you know, they won in Steelers fashion. It having to come down to the last play in the last drive and blowing a fourth quarter lead. That is how the Steelers do it. But the other rest of the game was not in Steelers fashion. They had almost 500 yards of total offense, 230 on the ground. Aaron was unbelievable. They only gave up 15 rushing yards to Sonic and Knuckles. I don't want to say their other nicknames. Game 15 rushing yards.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, they're saying ass in cheeks.

[Pat Freiermuth]

I think they are foxy.

[Pat McAfee]

Why are you guys doing that? We cannot call these two running backs ass in cheeks. If you want to call the offensive line ass and cheeks, go ahead. Ass cheeks. Ass cheeks. That's. That'd be the starting five. Is that what you. Except for Penne Sewell. Don't touch him. Oh, sorry. Ass cheeks.

[Pat Freiermuth]

Dogging him too.

[Pat McAfee]

But we love Penny.

[Pat Freiermuth]

I know.

[Pat McAfee]

We do. We do.

[Pat Freiermuth]

We do.

[Darius Butler]

I'm a spaghetti guy.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, I don't mind reggaeton, so. I mean, speaking of reggaeton, Penne Su is. We are big fans of Penny. Go ahead.

[Pat Freiermuth]

Speaking of reggaeton and Sonic and Nuggle and ass in cheeks. Maybe Mario and Luigi and Kenneth Gainwell and Jalen Warren. They were Both under over 100 yards total, each of them. They've been awesome the entire single year. Everything went well yesterday except for the fourth quarter. We decided to go into prevent defense with 12 minutes left. That's been kind of the thing over the last three games. Last year, though, the Steelers went into the playoffs losing four straight. They've won three straight this year. So the momentum.

[Pat McAfee]

That's a running back.

[Pat Freiermuth]

Yes, it is. It is a running back. He has five games this year. Over 100 total scrimmage yards. He has won before this season. So Ken Gainwell has been unbelievable this year. Everything was awesome yesterday. Tomlin, last two weeks, five of five on fourth down. They only have 11 fourth down conversions on the entire year. Five in the last two weeks. So he's coaching a little differently, a little more aggressively. Everything was great yesterday. Everyone feels really, really good about the Steelers right now, where they are, especially with the playoff picture.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Can we win it all?

[Darius Butler]

Yeah.

[Pat Freiermuth]

Yes. I think we.

[Darius Butler]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

TJ still not playing two wins without TJ Watt. That's huge.

[Pat Freiermuth]

That's very abnormal without tj, Without Nick Herbig. Echols, the slot guy, got hurt earlier in the game.

[Darius Butler]

That.

[Pat Freiermuth]

Yes, there's some injuries going on. Hopefully our NFC brother and the packers take care of business on Saturday night. Or we can win on Sunday against the Browns and get in potentially see what the situation is week 18. But yes, I think because like with the AFC, there are really, really good teams. Like the, we talked about the Jags and the Patriots and the Broncos and the Chargers and the Bills. Like those are all really, really good teams. But I don't know if there's like that team where you're like, oh, that's a definite loss. Like I think any, any of these teams in afc, no matter who's playing who, like feels like they have a chance this year.

[Pat McAfee]

I think so too. Patriots are my only difference. Just strictly because I see Vray Vrabe's trying to get cauliflower.

[Darius Butler]

Oh yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

With the left side of his headset. Do you see that? He's got that thing trapped down the top of his thing.

[Darius Butler]

Needs some pain.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he might. Yeah. That legitimate what he's doing. Because every time I see him like the guy he's got to be, he's got to feel that. Yeah. I mean, on your ears.

[Pat Freiermuth]

That's a coach with tax in his shoes.

[Pat McAfee]

So I didn't think about that probably. I mean, there's a chance he's chewing on actual rocks over there too.

[D Buck]

Just keep his head.

[Pat McAfee]

So I think about the Patriots, I'm like, I think the Patriots are going to win most games that they play. I think Josh Allen, tough to pick against Josh Allen, but I think Aaron Rodgers, Tomlin, everybody on that squad. Especially if TJ is able to get back, which we're not saying he's going to. I don't think anybody really knows what's going to happen in that entire situation we're hoping for. It's like Steelers fans, I think rightfully so, thinking they could win it all now if they don't quarterback. Not probably. Unless Aaron, you know, playing right now. Yeah, Thielen's doing it. Scooty. Scott Miller got a ball the other day. I mean, now we got to talk about obviously the incident that took place with the blue hair in the stands. DK Metcalf grab shirt of fan from Detroit in second quarter and then side angle shows shove shirt. But certainly in a very aggressive manner. Blue haired guy celebrates immediately upon it happening because he knows everything that he was hoping to accomplish certainly gets accomplished. There was certainly some physicality there from DK to old buddy. Now old buddy told the Detroit Free Press that he called DK by his full name or something along those lines. Now, DK's actual name on X is his full name. And then there was other reporters that have said like hey, I did a story on his name there. Seemingly not would get him this fired up to do this. Then DK reach out to Ocho and on Nightcap Ocho said that he said the N word, I believe and said something about his mother. Obviously the Pittsburgh Steelers have not said anything yet. I think they are probably waiting. We have not talked to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but we are assuming the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to wait for the NFL to say something first and then the Pittsburgh Steelers will kind of just follow suit in the entirety. We assume that there's mics on DK because he's 30 million a year guy DK Metcalf Steelers on a hopeful super bowl push Aaron Rodgers potential last season. I assume there's a lot of mics on a lot of people and on the sidelines there's a lot of boom mics. So we assume there'll be some sort of investigation on what happened, how it happened. But obviously you can't be touching fans at games. This is a nightmare for the NFL. This is not great news, but I think there'll be a lot more clarity and I think everybody's probably waiting on that as it continues to roll on.

[Conman]

I don't know if I missed any not crazy situation. Obviously, you know, you talked about the Tom Pelissero tweet, talked about the history there and then I think some other fan nearby said they had there and put right now as he say, she's saying till we hear some audio if we ever do. And when I saw the reaction from dk, that was the only thing I thought. It's only one word that I could see to get that type of reaction on the field and then, hey, however you react, you react. But outside of that, like you said as a professional athlete, you gotta kinda have some restraint. And then fans, you know, there gotta be some line there with what can and can't be said. So we always talk about it in public. Hey, once we came back, you can get punched in the mouth and that also counts for people that are in uniform too. So we'll see how it plays out. And dk, we'll see how it plays out NFL as well.

[Pat McAfee]

To that point about in real life, a lot of people on the Internet have gotten very comfortable being chatty. You know, that has become something I think Covid expedited that because it was the only way to really communicate with people. So people got real comfortable with the shit and we gave a warning as Covid ended like, hey, remember now in real life, people Aren't just about the tweets and scrolling like they actually hear it and they're there with you. And that first weekend back in live stadiums, boy, let the bodies hit the floor. Yeah, I mean there was a lot of pent up, a lot happening around there. And we're not saying that's how this should be, but we are saying there's like a moral code, I believe you have to. The fan code that you sign up for whenever you buy a ticket, it's in there. They run the entire thing. So whenever they do and find out what it is not saying that he should ever be a fan, should ever be grabbed. Okay. Performer and audience physicality, not good. Cannot happen. Actually cannot happen. But there are standards for both sides that are going to be obviously examined. And to your point, who knows if we ever find out what it is? You know, I saw a guy take a helmet off and I still have no idea. And everybody in there was miked, so I don't know if we'll ever find out. But obviously this cannot be happening. Okay, let's go to our third headline. The refs are on contract year.

[Darius Butler]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, the refs are on contract here. So normally when you're on a contract year debut, what are you trying to do?

[Conman]

Put your best foot forward every time.

[Pat McAfee]

Trying to run that back up.

[Conman]

Damn right.

[Pat McAfee]

That's what we're trying to do. Right. Is there a chance that these guys and girls are saying let's show them what it could be like with ass officials. Let's remind them of what it was like whenever we had the replacement refs. Because it seems like. And now granted, there's more primetime games. So there's going to be more eyes on all these calls. There are some terrible calls that happen at one o' clock games that are slid into regional television. Then nobody really hears more primetime games. We're going to see more stuff. But even if it is the right call, which we kind of agree with the right call because of the bygones, the three minute talk on the field optically looks terrible. And then coming out of that just cutting a heel promo, we don't think that's the best way to go about doing it. We don't think that is necessarily the best way for a game to end. And then you talk about the Patriots game. The Patriots had multiple. You had to have seen it by now. There's pass interference where the guy is actually. I mean, he's actually hugging him. He's hugging his entire body. And the catch is made. I do Believe. No, I'm sorry, sorry. It should have been made. And then obviously there's no call for pass interference. Marlon Humphrey had a pick in the game, clearly pass interference. What are you watching? If you're not calling that right there and then it wasn't even just that in this game there's also a roughing the passer that takes place that, I mean, I guess there was contact chest to chest and face mask touched each other. But do we need to be calling a rough in the passer which is a 15 yard penalty, a very, a very, very, very gigantic penalty. I mean I'm. 15 yards is a huge thing. A turnover. But also 15 seconds left. I mean, who knows? Just in that moment calling that is just like a bad decision. So a little bit more self awareness we'd like to have. And then obviously Thursday night we didn't get a chance to chat about it. What a game.

[Darius Butler]

Unbelievable. Insane.

[Pat McAfee]

What a game.

[Darius Butler]

Great.

[Pat McAfee]

And then the two point situation where it was a fun and it wasn't a fight, it was deflected and then having the whole set going back and then going back in that moment in the time, it's like, can we work on the optics of some of these things? Even if you get it right, like we need it to be better. Just because you're representing the league, representing the game, let alone getting calls wrong, let let alone having seemingly no football awareness on what should be called, on what particular play. But as we get into the most important time of year here, we need some awareness about what the game needs and what it doesn't need and how it needs it.

[Darius Butler]

Debu.

[Conman]

Yeah, absolutely. The most important thing obviously is getting it right. But when you have that white cap on, you are, you know, you're representing the game, you're representing, representing the league to, you know, the millions that are watching. So you definitely. But getting it right is the number one thing. This play was unbelievable. This is something that I've never seen before. I don't know about you, the replay, I think the players on the field, especially a defense, because you've been around football a long time, we all have. We always preach, hey, pick up the ball, pick up the ball, pick up the ball. And the fact that the Rams. Nobody on the team thought about even going to the ball on like a lateral type play because of it bouncing forward, you know, I think that kind of just almost, almost freezes you. Even on punch, it's like, hey, poison, Poison. Just get away from it, don't worry about it. But Charbonnet having A heads up, been aware picking the ball up and ended up being the difference in this game.

[Pat McAfee]

So wouldn't that be considered a Sam Darnold fumble? He fumbles it because it was a backwards.

[Darius Butler]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

So then how can you advance a fumble? There are so many intricacies which once again ref, these are. This is role almost as opposed to saying touchdown. Yeah, right. We're joking. Like you are representing the game. We think that needs to be talked about in the contract here with the refs as well.

[Darius Butler]

Yeah, and that makes no sense but like this is going to. This play right here is going to decide the 1 seed in the NFC. Like we're talking about the playoffs. A bye. The most important thing some of these teams need, especially in an 18 week, 17 game season like that bye week for the playoffs is massive. And this is the play that's going to most likely define who is the.

[Pat McAfee]

1 seed in the NFC primetime games. A lot of eyes, a lot of important outcomes. Good luck to the refs. You're on a contract here. Remember, we need your best guys. You and also the Guy, the Big 12 crew that read the Texas A and Miami game. Let's get them in the NFL. I don't know how we fast pass. I don't know how we fast pass. So let's get them up there. They seemingly understand ball, all of them. They have like a good feel for it.

[Conman]

A and M fans might not agree why they didn't like the flag not being thrown. The tor hit on. Oh, the helmet when he knocked himself out.

[Pat McAfee]

Would it have mattered? Would they change play call?

[Conman]

They would have had a fresh set.

[Pat McAfee]

Of downs and they probably would have ran it.

[Darius Butler]

That's a big boom.

[Pat McAfee]

Whatever the case, certainly helmet to helmet though. Let's get to the number two headline coming out of the weekend. Philly flies over fuss. The Back to back NFC titles. First time in 21 years somebody has won the NFC East. Back to back times it is the super bowl champs. And when you talk about flying over fuss, it's every day. Yeah, it's every day. With this team seemingly and Nick Sirianni and the boys somehow remain focused. I love the fact that Cooper DeJean is dropping a five knuckle shuffle, especially with everything that was going on in his potential rumored life. And then Jalen hurts playing ball. Saquon Barkley doing his thing. The commander's obviously interesting spot, but whenever you talk about going back to back in a division that hasn't had back to back, you have to respect it. A lot of primetime games Obviously very similar style of football year in, year out. Eagles able to get it done. Do we think they can win a Super bowl again? Go back to back, not only NFC east, but also Super Bowl?

[Conman]

You know, I'm a little biased here. I think so. You know, I think you have a quarterback, you have a coach, a coaching staff, a defense. You know, you have guys pretty much who have done it already. So I think they're battle tested. This was a battle too. This was a cagey affair against a four win Washington commander's team and they found a way to get it done. They'll have to find that running game back and I think when Lane Johnson gets back in there, it'll be a completely different run game. And Jalen Hurts has been looking better down the stretch. It was against what the Raiders and the commanders. Now you obviously be facing some good ball clubs down the stretch, but I think they have what it takes in the building to get it done in the playoffs.

[Pat McAfee]

Devontae Smith blocking down the field here to free him. I mean, that's buy in, that's commitment. Good for them in their biggest ball. And then the number one headline coming out of the weekend, that was for the NFL. Mary Clinchmas. Hey, seven teams punch their ticket to the playoffs. Five in the nfc, two in the afc. There's obviously a couple teams lurking. Congrats to the Seattle Seahawks, the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, the Los Angeles Rams and The San Francisco 49ers who are playing then. I congrats to them.

[Pat Freiermuth]

Congrats.

[Pat McAfee]

Congrats to the Broncos and to the Patriots. Way to go. Way to go.

[Darius Butler]

Thanks, guys.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you. The seeds that would be there would be where they would be sitting. But obviously the seeds can all change and the top four seeds go to division champs. So, you know, that's just kind of where they're sitting at Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers can obviously still make it. Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Who's going to win the NFC south, then in the NFC north, who else is going to get in then the afc. I think it's kind of figured out who's going to be there. Con man has an entire breakdown that he's going to do. Yeah, yeah. But there's still some teams lurking, like the Indianapolis Colts who would do a huge thing for their chances if they were to win tonight.