The Ringer Fantasy Football Show

Episode: Week 11 Recap: The Ugly Eagles, Darnit Darnold, J.J. McCantThrow, Spitgate Pt. 2, and Macaulay Culkin’s Pizza Band
Hosts: Danny Heifetz (“Hyperson”), Danny Kelly, Craig Horlbeck
Date: November 17, 2025

Episode Overview

This week’s episode recaps a wild, often ugly Week 11 NFL slate and what it means for fantasy football. Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly and Craig Horlbeck break down messy prime-time games, disastrous QB performances, the Eagles’ python-like grip on wins, fantasy “burn book” candidates, breakout RBs, controversial officiating (“Spitgate Pt. 2”), and end with their notorious “Fart or Shart” and “Intrusive Thoughts” segments. Memorable moments also include diatribes about the state of Sunday/Monday night football, a debate on Chiefs’ playoff chances, and diversions into food tech, odd player names, and Macaulay Culkin’s Velvet Underground-themed pizza band.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ugly Primetime Games & Officiating Controversy

• Eagles 16, Lions 9

  • Hosts bemoan the lackluster quality and entertainment value.
    • “I don't know how this game was close…It felt like the Lions were losing by 20 the whole time.” — Danny Heifetz [01:08]
  • The game was overshadowed by a “phantom” pass interference call that gave the Eagles the win.
    • “That was horrific, the worst call, maybe one of the worst primetime calls I can remember.” — Danny Kelly [02:17]
    • “If that's the call they don’t get right, then what is the point of replay?” — Craig [06:06]

• Replay and Refereeing Rant [03:12–07:54]

  • Frustration over inconsistency with “expedited replay.”
  • Is the NFL trying to protect referees from looking bad? Is the process too arbitrary?
  • "Sometimes, people in Gotham hate Batman…" — Danny Heifetz on NFL Command Center swooping in [04:14]
  • “Collinsworth should get one expedited replay button a game." — Craig [06:51]

• Prime-Time Woes Continue

  • “Here are the last five Sunday night football games...All been terrible. Five weeks, we've had nothing. I'm ready for the playoffs.” — Craig [07:12]

2. Are Any Top NFC Contenders Actually Better? [07:57]

• Hosts debate if ANY NFC team is truly “better” than last year:
  • General consensus: Rams maybe, Eagles feel like a "worse version," almost everyone else has regressed.
    • “The Eagles are just a worse version of what they were last year, but so are all these other teams in the NFC other than the Rams.” — Danny Heifetz [09:00]
  • Lions' struggles to convert in key situations called out; heavy wind used as an excuse for 4th down decisions.
  • “Dan Campbell was a mess…going for it all game, then punts with five minutes left. You’re essentially ending the game.” — Craig [09:38]

3. Eagles: “Python Mode” & Tush Push Fatigue [14:00]

• Eagles win with conservative, suffocating football; “Tush Push” continues to draw scorn.
  • “The Eagles suffocate you…It’s not cool to watch a snake just crush an animal for three hours. That’s what the Eagles are.” — Danny Heifetz [14:31]
• AJ Brown called out for low effort despite heavy targets; officially burned in the “burn book.”
  • “It’s infuriating to see you not trying when they’re TRYING to feed you the ball.” — Danny Heifetz [16:19]
• Collinworth’s rare on-air criticism cited as a “oh wow, it’s that bad” moment. [06:06]
• Eagles ripped for being “so boring”; Tush Push theater derided, consensus = off primetime.

4. Quarterback Carnage: Most Disappointing & Most Redeeming [20:24+]

Loser QBs:

• Lamar Jackson: Worst fantasy day ever (4 points).
  • “It’s dead last. He doesn’t have any juice…Now he has a career-low rushing yards per game of 32.” — Craig [21:32]
• Sam Darnold: 4 picks in a 2-point loss:
  • “He single-handedly lost the Seahawks this game…This is always the worry with Sam Darnold.” — Danny Kelly [25:14]
• J.J. McCarthy: Bears win but he looks lost.
  • “He doesn’t have the freaky traits, or the ‘knows what he’s doing’ factor…It’s over.” — Craig [62:50]

Winner QB: Josh Allen

• 6 Total TDs, single-game fantasy best of 2025 (42.6 pts)—“He’s like a runaway train of fantasy points.” [46:18]
• Did it despite a horrible early pick: “He started standing in his own end zone, chest to the defense, like he was spotting the Bucs points to start.” — Danny Heifetz [46:19]
• Bills run defense gashed, but Allen unfazed

5. Fantasy Heroes & Zeroes

Cooking:

• Josh Allen (see above)
• Sean Tucker (Bucs): Top RB of the week, “No one played him, but he exploded” [51:17]
• Travion Henderson (Pats): “We fucking did it, boys!” — Craig on his three-TD breakout [53:02]
• Bryce Young (Panthers): “So back” after 448 yards against ATL [55:54]
• Christian Watson (Packers): “He flashed, super explosive, the only way they can move the chains right now.” — Kelly [72:54]
• Trey McBride (Cards): quietly one of the best PPR TEs

Burn Book:

• AJ Brown (finally!) for effort; “I have to put AJ Brown on the board—he’s like a fantasy terrorist.” — Danny Heifetz [16:11]
• Recap of all previous Burn Book-ees (Mark Andrews, Calvin Ridley, Tony Pollard, etc.) [15:53]

It’s So Over:

• JJ McCarthy, Jalen Hyatt (for sabotaging the Giants, and being kept over Lil’Jordan Humphrey for PR)

6. Chiefs Crisis & AFC Playoff Picture [34:21+]

• Broncos and Boot-and-Rally Bo nix Chiefs; Chiefs now risk missing playoffs

  • “After years of invincibility...the shine is off.” — Kelly [35:32]
  • "Do we put an asterisk on the Super Bowl if KC doesn't make the playoffs?" [37:54]
  • Question debated: If you had to pick Chiefs vs. Patriots, Bills, Broncos, etc.—who do you actually trust?
  • “Andy Reid doesn’t have his fastball anymore…Nothing looks easy, nothing looks fun.” — Heifetz [39:11]

• Changing of the Guard:

  • “It’s like 2005 all over again.”
  • Patriots, Broncos, Colts and Steelers trending toward their old dynastic ways.

7. Defenses Dominate, Offenses Struggle

• General feeling: Top teams are all defense-first (Eagles, Broncos, Rams, etc.)
  • “When good teams play one another, these games are slogs—it’s all the defenses.” — Craig [41:40]
• Despite analytics showing top-5-scoring year, feels like “defense is back.”

8. Spitgate Pt. 2 & Weird Moments

• Jalen Ramsey punches Jamar Chase after being spit on; "atmospheric river of loogie."

  • “Is spitting one of the most disrespectful things somebody can do? ‘It is. It’s what pussies do, quite honestly.’” — Jalen Ramsey [67:54]

• More “Icks” and intrusive thoughts:

  • Gross use of hand spit on gloves post big play
  • Announcers using football terminology that becomes sexualized, “Get-off,” “ride the receiver,” “hook up” [98:09+]
  • Clock/refs favoring drama: delay of game calls ignored in key spots (“I believe in my bones they favor drama.” — Craig [85:42])

9. America’s Favorite Segment: Fart or Shart

• Justin Herbert’s 3-point, 81-yard disaster “the worst game of his career.”
  • “I don’t think this team can do anything in the playoffs…so in that regard, yeah it’s a shart.” — Craig [76:16]

10. Fringe and Fun

• Fantasy Court: Should the Giants have kept Lil’Jordan over Jalen Hyatt?
• Macaulay Culkin’s Pizza Underground: The band parodies Velvet Underground songs with pizza lyrics [124:05]
• “Clark Hogback” — If Craig ever makes an adult film, that’s his stage name

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Eagles: "The Eagles are a python…not even cool. Just squeeze the life out of you." — Heifetz [14:31]
• On NFL Primetime: “We’re forced. It’s in front of our face every other week all season…We have to watch this.” — Craig [14:01]
• On Darnold: "He short circuits at the worst time. That’s always gonna be a part of his DNA." — Kelly [25:14]
• On Chiefs: “Andy Reid just doesn’t have his fastball anymore.” — Heifetz [39:11]
• On QB Despair: “All of the quarterbacks except Josh Allen got destroyed today…easy way to tell what kind of fantasy day it is: look at all the red in your league.” — Craig [20:24]
• On ‘Get-Off’ and Football Sexualization: "Normalize fast get-offs…celebrate it, but not too soon.” — Kelly/Heifetz/Craig riff [99:51–100:11]
• On Replay/Refs: “Can’t we just get the fucking calls right?” — Kelly [06:56]
• On Shador Sanders: “Turning 10-yard sacks into 20-yard sacks.” — Craig [102:40]
• On Mark Andrews ‘fake tush push’ play: “Maybe we have to keep this [tush push] because the Mark Andrews thing was like the first genetic mutation of this goddamn play.” — Heifetz [94:50]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Eagles-Lions/Replay Controversy: 01:08 – 07:54
• State of Primetime Games: 07:12 – 07:56
• NFC Contender Debate: 07:57 – 11:10
• Eagles "Python" Play & Tush Push: 14:00 – 18:50
• Fantasy "Burn Book"/AJ Brown: 15:41 – 16:49
• QB Carnage (Lamar/Darnold): 20:24 – 31:09
• Chiefs-Broncos & AFC Playoffs: 34:21 – 40:44
• Defenses Take Over: 41:11 – 44:11
• Who's Cooking (Fantasy stars): 45:12 – 55:23
• “It’s So Over / So Back”: 55:23 – 64:51 (esp. JJ McCarthy [61:50], Bryce Young [55:23])
• Spitgate Pt. 2/Jalen Ramsey/Jamar Chase: 66:03 – 68:06
• America's Favorite Segment – Fart or Shart: 73:09 – 77:59 (Herbert debate starts 75:40)
• Announcers & Terminology: 98:09 – 101:08
• Clark Hogback, Pizza Underground, and outro riffs: 122:08 – 128:46

Flow & Tone

• Classic "Ringer" blend: irreverent, self-aware, loaded with references and running gags.
• Conversational, often vulgar (lots of f-bombs), with tangents to food, pop culture.
• Hosts are as cynical about the league’s product as they are obsessed with fantasy minutiae.
• Quotes range from wonky NFL stat breakdowns to surreal riffs about lactase, woodworking, or atmospheric loogies.

For Listeners Who Missed It

This episode covers big NFL storylines (Eagles’ ugly dominance, damaging QB disasters, Chiefs in real playoff peril) and the fantasy fallout—arguing over panic vs patience, promoting and torching players, and calling out the NFL for poor officiating and stale primetime matchups. It’s loaded with comedic rants, obscure player name giggles, and segments that go hilariously off the rails. If you’re looking for a sharp, funny, and real-time take on where the league, and your fantasy team, stands heading into Thanksgiving, this is a must-listen. For pure football insight or to catch every in-joke and memorable quote, the timestamps above are your entry points.

Additional Segments & Easter Eggs

• Best Play: Mark Andrews’ fake tush push [93:50]
• Ick of the Week: Players spitting in their hands, sideline Jersey swaps gone awry [90:55]
• Intrusive Thoughts: “Do refs and clocks favor drama?” [85:17]
• Announcer critique: Tony Romo butchering “Spagnuolo” [98:14]
• Best Pun (punter): Ethan Evans, Rams, “possibly the best punt ever” [95:54]
• Weirdest Team: Cardinals declared “most irrelevant” [60:06]
• Parents mispronouncing words like ‘Nextflix’ [111:49]
• Pop culture tangents: Macaulay Culkin, Velvet Underground, Weird Al

Email: ringerfantasyfootball@gmail.com for trivia, “Fantasy Court,” dad stories, etc.