The Ringer Fantasy Football Show – Week 13 Recap

Episode: Bears #1 Seed, Hobo Rodgers, Bounceback Bryce, and Jerry Jones Is Cooking
Date: December 1, 2025
Hosts: Danny Heifetz (A), Danny Kelly (B), Craig Horlbeck (C)

Episode Overview

The Ringer crew recaps a chaotic, pivotal Week 13 in the NFL, with massive changes atop division standings and a shifting landscape for fantasy and real football alike. They break down the week's most noteworthy games, reflect on the surprising Bears and Cowboys, argue over the demise of the previous NFL era, dive deep into controversial officiating, and end with classic segments like "Fart or Shart," "The Burn Book," and more. The episode is loose, rant-heavy, and full of memorable quips.

1. Sunday Night Football: Washington vs. Denver Broncos

[02:01] – [14:29]

• Game Recap: The Broncos beat Washington 27–26 in a bizarre, drama-filled game defined by referee confusion, odd happenings, and chaos down the stretch.
• Referee Comedy: Several minutes featured botched, reversed, and corrected calls, leading to long pauses and confusion for all involved.
  • “It was, it was like scripted almost. Not that I'm saying the NFL is scripted... the drama going from an absolute shit show of the refs like fucking up a solid like five minutes of game action.” – Craig [02:34]
  • “I genuinely don't understand what the point of Terry McAuley is. His purpose is to highlight how bad the refs are on the field and how flawed the game is.” – Danny Kelly [08:46]

Key Moments

• McLaurin's would-be game tying TD called back; more flags and close calls ensue.
• Washington fails on a batted 2-point conversion: “The most demoralizing play is a batted pass at the line – that could have been anything!” – Craig [05:36]
• Funny digression on pronunciation of “Mariota” [12:32] and Collinsworth's over pronounced “T”—“He started doing the like when white people say ‘Ibiza’... really hitting the ‘T’” – Heifetz [12:32]
• Shoutout to Broncos’ Alex Singleton returning from cancer diagnosis [14:06]

2. The NFL’s Transitional Era: No Great Teams

[15:25] – [20:59]

• Changing of the Guard: The hosts reflect on how the “dominant” teams of the recent era (Chiefs, Ravens, Eagles, etc.) are fading, with unusual suspects (Bears, Patriots, Denver) surging to the top.
• Lack of Super Bowl Favorites: No team inspires real confidence; parity is high but chaos rules.
  • “I feel like this week punctuated that the era we were just in is kind of over, but the new one hasn't begun.” – Heifetz [15:38]
  • “There are no great teams this year.” – Danny Kelly [17:20]

Memorable Analogy

• Comparing this NFL season to when the Milwaukee Bucks won a weird NBA title: fun, unpredictable, but potentially unmemorable [19:37].
• “I think this is going to be one of the most fun NFL playoffs… so much chaos.” – Craig [19:26]

3. Cowboys Ascend: Jerry Jones “Is Cooking”

[21:01] – [25:29]

• Dallas’ Statement Win: Cowboys beat the Chiefs 31–28, cementing themselves as "for real."
  • “Dak is playing as good as any quarterback right now and Matt Stafford is overshadowing him… If the playoffs start right now, Dallas is one of the best three teams.” – Craig [21:27]
  • Quinn Williams trade transformed Cowboys defense; CeeDee Pickens is a top-five WR.
• Cowboys’ Offbeat Likability: Suddenly, Dallas is America’s Team again.
  • “I actually think right now they are America's team… Cowboys are very likable right now.” – Craig [22:48]

4. The Rams, Panthers, and Bounceback Bryce

[26:56] – [31:44]

• Panthers Upset Rams: Panthers, as 10.5-point underdogs, dominate time of possession and beat LA.

  • Bryce Young throws two 4th-down TDs, looks “super calm, very happy.”
  • “The Panthers are a mysterious team.” – Danny Kelly [29:51]

• Devante Adams’ Unstoppable Red Zone Dominance

  • “They use [Adams] as their goal-line back. He’s just so unstoppable.” – Heifetz [32:07]
  • Adams on pace for 20 TDs, rare territory alongside Randy Moss and Jerry Rice.

5. Bears: From Chaos to Competence

[32:18] – [36:57]

• Bears Lead the NFC: Just a year ago, the Bears were firing everyone; now at 9-3, #1 seed in NFC after beating the Eagles.
  • “The Bears just are competent in all these ways I didn’t think they could be… and they’re a fun team to watch.” – Heifetz [33:08]
• Run Game Renaissance: Best rushing success rate in the NFL, line overhaul is a home run.
  • “They’re number one by a mile in yards before contact rushing.” – Craig [34:21]
• Caleb Williams Steady, If Not Spectacular: The offense is evolving, passing could improve, but Ben Johnson’s second-year jump is legit.
  • “I think I’m going to be very high on year two of Ben Johnson’s Bears.” – DK [36:57]

6. Eagles On the Brink: The AJ Brown Paradox

[37:38] – [44:47]

• AJ Brown Wins, Team Loses: Despite Brown’s monster game (10-132-2; [37:39]), Eagles offense and run game are broken.

  • Play-calling/predictability criticized — minimal pre-snap motion and play action.
  • “The Eagles offense is designed so poorly… they are bottom five in pre snap motion.” – Heifetz [39:23]

• Wild “Intrusive Thought”: Jalen Hurts Should Be Benched!

  • “I actually kind of think [the Eagles] would have a better chance with Tanner McKee. … Hurts should just come in for the Tush Push.” – Heifetz [42:24]

• Fun tangent: Hosts joke about a “backup QB theory” and naming rights (“Ewing Theory” for QB; [44:00]).

7. Rapid-fire Standouts, Playoff Races, and Unit Breakdowns

a) Seahawks Defensive Eruption

• Seahawks score 30 in Yahoo, most of any non-WR [47:21]; Max Brosmer’s epic pick-six ("One of the worst plays I've ever seen" – Craig [48:11]).

b) Packers, Jordan Love Rising

• Love’s clutch, Packers can claim “best in NFC” status after beating Lions (31-24) [50:05]; brutal schedule ahead.

c) AFC North Collapse

• “It’s so over for the AFC North.” – Craig [53:36]
• Ravens, Steelers, Bengals all in various levels of doom; Lamar Jackson in the Burn Book conversation after putrid recent stretch (“I’m not drafting him next year…out.” – Craig [54:19]).

d) Steelers: The End of Tomlin?

• Steelers booed at home, calls for firing Tomlin for the first time ever seem plausible ("Mike Tomlin always says the standard is the standard. The Steelers have not met the standard in like six years." – Heifetz [65:46]).

8. "Fart or Shart" Segment: Are the Chiefs Broken?

[77:28] – [83:52]

• Chiefs lose again; Mahomes looks mortal.
  • Heifetz: “I think this is a shart. The Andy Reid Chiefs have become the late Andy Reid Eagles. I don’t think this is getting fixed.” [78:00]
  • “All the novel stuff they were doing is now so common, it’s not new anymore. … [KC] have no under center running game, and the Chiefs have no play action, and so they have no offense.” [80:29]
• Group discusses if KC’s run is simply winding down due to league catching up — "Moneyball" analogy.

9. Intrusive/Nitpick Thoughts & Fun Segments

Scott Hanson “Is Not a Hero”

• Hosts are tired of the cult of Red Zone’s Scott Hanson, parody his forced segues, and agree he’s "treated like a firefighter," which is too much [86:14].
  • “He does the interviews like he invented it. Like it wasn’t his idea.” – Heifetz [88:09]

Annoyance of Tush Push Fails

• Multiple teams tried, multiple teams fumbled, hosts regret ever asking every team to use it [94:42].
  • “It just disgusted me every single time.” – Heifetz

Most “Ick” of the Week

• DK: Tired of Sam Darnold “he’s just kind of a liability, isn’t he?” [92:41]
• Heifetz: NFL’s failed attempts at automating ref calls with fake “lasers” [103:03]

10. The Burn Book

[110:38] – [114:10]

• Classic “who are we done trusting?” debate: Justin Jefferson officially enters the Burn Book due to his hopeless situation without a quarterback.
  • “You can’t start Justin Jefferson anymore, even though his name is Justin.” – DK [113:13]

11. Other Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On NFL’s cyclical innovation:
  “A team will be really innovative… but then the league catches up.” – DK on the Chiefs’ offensive issues [81:05]

• On fantasy heartbreak:
  “It’s like two hobos fighting over a piece of trash” – Craig, on deciding between starting Lamar or Jefferson [112:51]

• On the College Football Coaching Carousel (Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss mid-playoff-bound season):
  “College football is a reality show, man... the corruption is like, so out in the open.” – DK [108:31]

• Bears' O-line overhaul:
  “The rare offensive line overhaul that completely, immediately worked.” – Heifetz [33:32]

12. Quick-Hit Awards, Segments, Plays

• Play of the Day: Puka Nacua's one-handed (assisted by defender's hand) catch [100:00], and an Eagles fan's double-bird to the team at halftime [99:33]
• Worst Play: Max Brosmer’s “heat-seeking” INT to Ernest Jones [101:19]
• Coach Who Pissed You Off: Lane Kiffin, for jumping ship at Ole Miss [103:35]

13. Timestamps for Landmark Segments

• [02:01] – SNF chaos and ref talk
• [15:25] – End of an NFL era discussion
• [21:01] – Cowboys’ legitimacy
• [26:56] – Panthers/Rams/Bryce Young
• [32:18] – Bears NFC rise
• [37:38] – Eagles & AJ Brown Paradox
• [47:21] – Seahawks D explosion/Max Brosmer
• [50:05] – Jordan Love/Packers perspectives
• [53:47] – AFC North carnage
• [60:22] – Steelers, Tomlin, Renegade booed
• [77:28] – Fart or Shart: Chiefs
• [82:00] – Chiefs future/Moneyball
• [92:20] – Sam Darnold “Ick”
• [110:38] – The Burn Book: Jefferson vs. Lamar

14. Final Tone & Takeaways

This episode captures the 2025 season’s strange, transitional energy, with the hosts veering fluidly between banter, sharp insight, wild tangents, and self-aware jokes. There’s a pervasive sense that the NFL’s power balance is shifting, that anything could happen in the playoffs (“It’s going to be chaos”), and that longtime fantasy and real-world pillars can no longer be relied upon.

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Sign-off:
“Thank you, Lord. Thank you The Verve.”

Compiled and summarized for maximum clarity, laughs, and reference by The Ringer Fantasy Football Show team.