Bengals Victory Friday LIVE | Reacting to Win Over Steelers

Bengals Victory Friday LIVE | Reacting to Win Over Steelers

And we are live. What’s up everyone? Welcome in to Cincinnati Bengals Talk. I’m James. He’s Andrew Fox Miller. And and guess what Andrew? The season isn’t over. Oh, how about that? Season not over. Not over on October 17th. We don’t have to talk about the draft and trading away a bunch of guys today, which could have been the case had Joe Flacco not been amazing last night. How about that? Yeah, they’re busy preserving Trey Hendrickson just in case, I assume. Preserving? No, no, no, they are not. Trey pushed a play like hard behind the scenes. Um, but huge, huge win. Plenty to discuss, plenty to react to. We want to answer your questions, of course, and this live is brought to you by Sleeper. Make sure you check them out today because, well, it’s real easy. You have a chance to win 1,000 times your cash with daily fantasy football. It’s the perfect time to get in on the phone with Sleeper because you don’t have a Bengals game to worry about on Sunday. So whether it’s Justin Jefferson or CJ Strad or any of the stars in in the league, all you have to do is pick on stats for all these players like passing yards, receiving yards, fantasy points, etc. And use promo code Bengals talk. You’ll get up to a $100 match on your first deposit. Uh let’s dive in, Andrew, to really all the fun, all the fallout. I think that this this game very much was a must-win. You posted this morning on our channel right here on Cincinnati Bengals Talk. Me asking Orlando Brown Jr. how big of a win it was and I admitted to him and Ted Carris definitely those two that I thought it was a must-win going into it. I didn’t shy away from that. had a heck last week, a week ago when I gave the the what to watch for and prediction and expectations for Joe Flacco for his debut against the Packers, I was kind of like, “Yeah, we’re going to Lambo and we’re going to be covering it, but the real game is on Thursday.” And so for them to get that win, I don’t want to downplay it. I don’t want to look ahead. I want to really focus on it because it is that big. It matters that much. And I do think that if the Bengals are in in if there was a path to them being a good team this season with Joe Flacco, it had to start with a win against Pittsburgh. You’re you’re saying a path to start with a path to finding season success at you know I can’t help but think it started with Joe Flacco. Like he brought us out of the dredgery. It’s insane to me honestly the the takes out there of just ripping Cleveland for what they did. I know Mike Tomlin sort of beat him to the punch as far as leading up to this game, but the fallout is it has been sublime. It’s been so entertaining and satisfying as a Bengals fan. It it is unreal to me that you they first signed or they first I should say traded for Joe Flacco. A lot of people were like some people were excited. I don’t think anyone was really angry about it, but at worst a lot of people were, “Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Better than Jake Browning, but cool, cool, cool.” I don’t think anyone could have envisioned this. I envisioned maybe a game like this down the road. I didn’t think it would happen this quickly. And it is uh unbelievable. Unbelievable. I I never would have expected I mean, we kind of saw it in the second half against Green Bay and it just continued on and I didn’t expect that either. I thought it was very possible. Let’s keep the momentum going. But not like that. Yeah. I I can’t say I I pictured 31 of 47, 342, three touchdowns, no picks. I thought Flaco would be able to be a significant upgrade from Jake Browning and and get the ball to the weapons, but I thought it would come with turnovers. I thought it would come with turnover worthy plays. I thought it would be ugly at times, and it just hasn’t been. Like that first half against Green Bay. Yeah, it was ugly because the offense was just brutal. But Fleco had gotten there five days prior, four days prior. Really, he had been traded for five days prior. And so for them to go from that and think about where they were in that first half to that second half in Green Bay and basically their their first drive of the second quarter last night on where they score on seven of their last eight possessions, four field goals, three touchdowns, and are just moving the ball and moving the ball and moving the ball. And it’s a little bit of everything. It’s Joe Flacco ripping it to Andre Yosvage for a 37 yard gain. It’s Jamar Chase being used all over the field. A and it’s just a veteran quarterback dropping back, reading the defense, making the right reads, being accurate, taking care of the ball, knowing when to get rid of the ball, and throwing it into the dirt to live for another play. It’s been so much fun watching this. I don’t know how long it’s going to last. The Bengals don’t need it to last for four months. And I I I think that’s the other thing is is the reminder. The other Joe returns to the sideline and Joe Burrow back with his team during the game. He plans on being back this season. I don’t know how many times I have to say it. I I’ll shout it from the mountaintop. He plans on being back, I would say, right around two months from now. and and that’s his mindset. That’s his focus. I know he’s rehabbing like a madman. I had that question on X uh on Thursday like, “Is he even rehabbing yet?” Like, “Oh, hell yeah. He’s rehabbing. He’s rehabbing like crazy.” And uh so we’ll see. But if the the door was cracked for Joe Burrow’s return, it opened up a bit more on Thursday night and and it’s slowly opening because of Joe Flacco and what he’s brought to this team. Because And here’s another topic that I’ve hit on a lot. If this Bengals team is going to be good, Andrew, guess what? The offense has to carry them. The offense has got to do it. It’s what they’re built. That’s how they’re built. That’s how they are. That’s why trading for a quarterback made sense. And at least for for one game, the offense was good enough to carry the defense. Yeah, it especially with late games. You you of course know, James, and I do as well. When it’s over, you’re up late. I’m up late. Yeah. And it that game to me like it felt like I dreamt it by the time I woke up. Maybe it’s because I had four and a half, five hours of sleep and you know, but it it felt surreal. And it’s not to I don’t mean to sort of overstate. It’s not like, you know, it’s not like this is a a complete revitalization of an entire team. There are things to work on. There are opportunities that this team needs to tackle. I get it. But I can’t I got to reiterate like the everything that had to come together offensively either came together or was added upon expanded upon from what we saw in that second half that Green Bay game. Add in the fact that Joe Burr was on the sideline. Like you just those those that almost got I want to say it from a from a broadcast perspective watching the broadcast. I know you don’t see it as regularly as everyone at home watching it does, but I expected more like cutaways to burrow, but there was so much excitement happening in the game itself that they they were fairly conservative with it, I would say. Like I expected Taylor Swift levels of like cutovers to burrow and that’s that’s the kind of game it was, I guess, is my point. It’s funny you mentioned that. By the way, I’m putting on our Instagram story that we’re live right now, just so you know. So, if you see me looking down, it’s because I’m trying to promote that we are live because this is a very special live and we don’t normally go live in the middle of a a Friday afternoon. Um, but uh it’s funny you mentioned that because before the game I mentioned to to to some of the other reporters and writers like I wonder what the overunder is on on Joe Burrow cutaways and just how many times they’re going to look at him and put the camera on him and all those things. man, look at the national broadcast trying to do Joe Burrow dirty with the hair like trying to trying to get get after my guy because he hasn’t been worried. That’s proof, by the way. Proof that he’s rehabbing like a mad man. You you don’t think he’s got a good barber? I know of. Haven’t met him. I know Joe’s barber via Instagram. And guess what? He could get his haircut anytime he wants. All right. So clearly he’s just so focused on that rehab and uh you know, everyone says mid December. Who knows? Maybe he’s thinking in his mind he can get back even sooner than that. Uh I I I doubt it, but I’m sure that’s what he’s hoping for. But yeah, I can’t believe they did they did Joe dirty there because that was it. He He’s like, “All right, I got to put this hat on and uh and put the hat on.” But uh I I I thought that it was interesting that Zack and I I actually clipped this out. Zack talked like an hour ago. I did not go to it at Por Stadium. Um, you mentioned it. It was just kind of like a uh it was a late night. I got home what 3:30ish or so. And the reason I’m saying that, I’m not complaining. I’m just giving everyone an idea uh of what it looks like. But uh I do have a clip of Zach from his his press conference a little bit ago. I’ll play that in a second. But yeah, having Joe there, it can’t be bad. It certainly can help. It sound like it sounds like it did. I I don’t know how much it really truly does help, but knowing that he’s the most important person in the building. I think just having him around is important if that makes sense. Like I don’t really know like Zach said how important it was X’s and O’s wise. I’m not sure that matters a ton. He wasn’t calling plays. I had people joke about that. He wasn’t calling plays, but just seeing him I think is is important for Jamar Chase and even a guy like Joe Flacco who’s basically trying to bridge the gap to to Joe Burrow. Yeah, I think and maybe I’m underestimating or not recalling the correct amount that they cut over to Burrow. I just maybe it was my own intensity and interest in what was happening on the field cuz I had been waiting for that moment for Burrow to to show up and and kind of give like a little bit of a boost just his presence with the offense and sort of the leadership component. But meanwhile, Joe Flacco is holding his own there. In fact, I couldn’t help but think about the fact, and I don’t know that anyone’s talked about this that in anything that I’ve read on social media articles, what have you, thinking about the fact that in Burrow’s career, NFL career, he really hasn’t had a true veteran backup quarterback. I don’t know that he necessarily needed one, but seeing Flacco and Burrow sitting on the bench sandwiching Jake Browning, who was sitting between them for some reason. I had that moment of, oh, Burrow could actually learn something from Flacco and and and he’s not quite had this opportunity. Okay, Brandon Allen, I mean, yeah, what was he in his late 20s, maybe 27, 28 when at at at the youngest he would have been when he was Burrow’s backup quarterback. and it’s not like he had a ton of reps as a starter. So, this is going to be an interesting dynamic, especially if when Burrow returns to the field healthy with Flaco still being on this roster and being able to give him some guidance that again he really hasn’t had. And I find that interesting. I think it’s a really good point and twofold. One, regardless of what happens, I think there would be value in having a guy like Joe Flacco on the roster next season. I’ll just go ahead and say it now. Like he may throw four picks against the Jets or something crazy. I still think it’s valuable because he’s calm. He’s he’s he’s gonna be able to make the right reads and throws. He clearly can get you by in a pinch, which is really what you want from a backup quarterback. And at the same time, he’s physically still gifted and and can still make throws that not a lot of quarterbacks can make. Like did you ever really think like he outdooled Aaron Rogers yesterday, right? Like that that’s a very real thing that he did. Joe Flacco and historically you would never say you know 15 years ago you’re not like oh well Joe Flacco is going to outdo Aaron Rogers or 10 years ago Joe Flacco is going to outdo Aaron Rogers. There’s never really been a moment in their careers where it that felt realistic by the way and Aaron Rogers that had almost no pressures throughout the entire game which is that’s true. Yeah. He’s still sitting at Por Stadium now just kind of like throwing it just right DJ Turner’s knocking it down but he’s still throwing it. Look, I uh and and that’s a topic we can get into, but in the fourth quarter I said that I was like it’s not like ever and really at any moment in Joe Flacco’s career, even the Super Bowl run, there was never a debate there of, oh well, of course Flaco’s in that class with Aaron Ro like the Joe Flacco elite. No one ever thought he was Aaron Rodgers and yet he outplays them. Outplays him when you could argue that Rogers had the not even argue. Rogers had the much easier matchup. He he didn’t have to worry about a pass rush. He had to worry about DJ Turner and DJ Turner and Jordan Battle made a nice play on the dumbest throw I’ve ever seen from Aaron Rogers. It was a really just dumb and bad throw. But like it’s it’s wild to think that that’s what they’re getting from Joe Flacco. And then some are going to say, well, is it sustainable or is it not? I’m not sure that matters. What matters is is like, can Joe Flacco distribute it to the playmakers? Yes. Because after the game, he’s like, oh, it was simple. Just a little out route to Jamar, out route to Jamar. And like, if you’re making it simple on him, well, he’s seen everything. And so, I think that’s pretty big. Uh, but as far as his impact on Joe, before we get off of the the Joe Burrow topic, this is uh what Zack Taylor had to say like an hour ago at Por Stadium when it came to to Burrow being back on the sideline and his potential future availability about staying on the sideline and helping out. Anytime we see Joe walking around being Joe is is a boost for the whole stadium. And he was great on the sidelines. You know, he was he was doing a great job with the receivers, doing a great job with the quarterbacks. I wasn’t listening to everything he was saying, but it was almost like another coach over there talking through some things. So, um, again, he’s he’s that type of guy that’s just going to try to help everybody and and glad to have him out there. Do you see that being the same going forward, Joe Baro, uh, being on the sideline more? Why this game and not previous games? Well, the the movement, just him moving around, staying off his foot, I think, is the best thing possible. Um, again, from a medical standpoint, I I can’t answer that on this was maybe the appropriate time with the boot and all that stuff for him to get out there. I’m not going to speak to future games. I I don’t want to make that statement. That’s I leave that more up to him, you know, from a conference standpoint, from a medical standpoint. That’ll be kind of a game toame thing. There you go. A gametoame thing as I put the end screen on there as well. It looks good. I usually finish a lot of those those social media videos with the end screen. You did a good job on that. Did that a while ago. Yeah. I uh I think it’s good to have them out there. I I don’t know. Again, the X’s and O’s part of it. I don’t know how much it helps. I think he will be out there for moving forward at least at home games. Yeah, road games. I don’t know if it’s necessary for him to travel. Hopefully, he’s starting to ramp it up a bit by the time they go on the road again. They don’t go on the road until November 16th against the Steelers. That’s why yesterday was such a big game. But, um, yeah, I think that, uh, that it was good to see Joe. There there’s plenty of other layers here that I want to get to, but we’ll put a bow on on the Joe Burrow conversation. Well, before we completely put that bow on a quick epilogue, I’ll say I I’m gonna This is going to present poorly because I put it in the wrong area, but I couldn’t help but think that the hair thing. There was so many people trying to compare it. I got to play to the comic book side of this, a comic book movie side of this with Spider-Man 3. It’s what I thought about seeing kind of like Joe. And then, by the way, Jake Browning is sitting between them. I did capture a picture of that while watching the broadcast. And there’s the image of the the three of them. I mean, I just kept wondering like someone gonna swi switch is he gonna maybe like get up to go talk to Zack Taylor, Jake Browning, might and then the two of them can actually like compare some and you were mentioning it. I don’t know how much is needed in terms of X’s and O’s, but it’s the little things I feel as though like think about it. It’s hey, even if it’s just commentary, something doesn’t go well for Joe Burrow on the field. Hey, that didn’t go the way I wanted. Even just Flaco going, yeah, I agree. I saw it and you said that even if it’s just a confirmation, somebody that’s been around for what 18 seasons that can sit there and has success at the highest level and can just kind of again confirm expand upon something and then the occasional question. This isn’t like he’s going to put Burrow through some sort of clinic as a mentor. Yeah. Yeah. I think that’s a it’s a good point and there’s value there in the Bengals quarterback room. You’d feel really good if it was the two Joe’s for sure. And maybe there’s just something about the Bengals and and the name Joe. I I I I don’t know. But Joe Flacco’s playing great and uh Joe Burrow, go wherever you need to go to get healthy as soon as you can, of course. But uh it does feel like that they can stay afloat. That’s what I thought yesterday was. I thought it was a a measuring stick game of sorts where your back’s against the wall and can you go into a into the ring and in heavyweight not even heavyweight title but a heavyweight bout and go win it and no one’s going to say that and deny that they’re not a flawed team. They are a flawed team and there’s plenty of flaws that we should probably get into at some point during this live. But for them to respond the way they did in the second quarter when it’s 10- nothing definitely felt very much like a here we go again. You had a Chase Brown drop, an Andre Yosvage drop. You had a penalty on Amarius Mims. You had the decision to to punt on fourth and four on the opening drive after the Steelers are up seven nothing. Aaron Rogers had 8.6 seconds to throw and find Janu Smith on that first touchdown to put the Steelers up seven nothing. It just felt very much like a here we go again moment. And then something clicked on that drive when they go downfield and score with 442 left on a fade to Jamar where he just cooks Jaylen Ramsay who barbecue chicken. Man, Jaylen Ramsey was so cooked throughout this game. You should never try to put Jamar I mean and he got beat T. Higgins beat him like a drum on the on the game clinching play where he slid down by the way which is just it was rough. Uh Jaylen Ramsey is literally there to help against T. Higgins and Jamar Chase. It’s why they went and got him. Big reason why. But something on on the offensive side clicked then on that drive. They score 17 points in 4 minutes and 42 seconds and and have their first halftime lead since week one. They hadn’t scored a touchdown in four games. They were outscored 79 to in the first half. They they were outscored 79 to9 in the first half. And going into that that possession, it was like, man, you’re one quarter away from doing this for a fifth straight game where there’s no touchdowns in the first half. And instead, they score two touchdowns. the defense does help out, steps up big with two interceptions. A and that’s really the difference in the game. That’s where the the game turned. The Bengals offense got momentum and the defense did just enough to to propel the offense forward. You’re muted, big dog. You’re muted. Sorry, I was adjusting my mic as you were talking and I Hey, it would have been more disruptive had it we made the noises it would have made when I was scooting it around. Now listen, now that you can hear me, listen. Uh what the I couldn’t help but think during the game, and not to bring up a downer topic per se, what as far as opportunities for this defense, still muted. I couldn’t help but think you’re still I get it. I get I get your stick over there. What are you doing over there? Oh my goodness. I couldn’t help but think about the fact that if I’m the Steelers offense, I could have just run the ball literally every play that entire game. And I don’t think the Bengals could have stopped them. I don’t think that I understand why they didn’t. If you’ve got Aaron Rogers behind a line that is protecting him well and an defensive front in the Cincinnati Bengals that is putting next to zero pressures on him, yeah, you’re going to take some shots. I get it. But I was getting nervous as the game was progressing like, hey, at if nothing else, halftime adjustments, they might just run this ball down their throat and there’s nothing they can do to stop it. I am shocked they didn’t lean into that even more. Mhm. Well, they should have because at one point in the fourth quarter, the Bengals had 15 missed tackles and over a 100 yards. The Steelers had gained over a 100red yards on those missed tackles. Ben Baby pulled up the stat and it was like pretty early in the fourth quarter still. So, I’m sure those numbers went up. It uh that that’s the element of this that’s pretty concerning. and Al Golden talked and was talking kind of as we started going live and he talked about the missed tackles and they’ve had too many like those are the things that I can’t that that it’s one thing to get beat because of talent right like DK Metaf his first catch on that third down on opening possession like DJ Turner’s all over him but DK Metaf’s bigger stronger makes the play it’s like well that was a concern in that matchup but you live with it because DJ’s right on his hip What you can’t live with is missed tackles and more missed tackles and blown assignments. Failure at fundamental football. No doubt. Jaylen Warren just running out. You’re right. They should have exhausting. Why are we still talking about miss tackles after all this time? You’re up I mean it’s crazy. What did you feel like when they were up six and the Steelers get the ball back and then the Steelers have to punt. Joe Flacco runs it and you’re like, “Oh, well, they’re just going to go get points.” And then they didn’t. The drive stalls. The Steelers get the stop. They have the ball. Did you have confidence the defense was going to get a second stop up 30 to 24? Did you think that Aaron Rogers was going to go score? I don’t know if confidence is the word. I’ve just seen I’ve just seen the defense step up when you least expect it for a brief moment. And sometimes that’s all it takes. I hate to say it that way, but it’s true. like that all of a sudden you this sort of general identity for 60 70 even 80% of the game of the way the defense looks and for a flash they look different and sometimes it’s not enough a lot of times it is shockingly and I was expecting a moment like that didn’t necessarily expect the outcome to be what it was but I knew anything was possible it’s like any given Sunday this defense is like any given play but usually you kind of know the trends Yeah, I think the moment they had to settle for a field goal and it was 3024, I was like, “Oh, the Steelers are scoring a touchdown.” Yep. Now, that touchdown might matter. It might not. It depends on what the Bengals do on offense. I was like, “But they’re going to get to 31.” And sure enough, they did. Yep. And and I was not confident in it because they just they could not get consistent pressure. They had two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits. That was as as of like two in in the morning when I looked at it. I I could pull it back up here to confirm just in case. By the way, I thought more clock, too, for for what it’s worth. I expected the touchdown, but I expected more clock to be used up. Well, that that was the one nice thing that the defense did is they said, “Hey, we’re going to suck and give up this touchdown, but we’re going to do it fast.” Like, we’re going to do it fast. We’re going to be so bad that Joe Flagger is going to have plenty of time. A and so that that’s what I think is interesting. You got Kirk Herbstreet talking about the the Cincinnati pain, which it was a really weird and and I get it like he’s from here and and feels it and stuff. It was a weird environment almost and because I wasn’t necessarily feeling like oh well the bad like just because Aaron Rogers goes and scores a touchdown, he does that against everybody and certainly does that against a poor defense. Like I I wasn’t thinking in that mindset, but I think that it did when they discussed that put this Cincinnati cloud over this game and it’s like, well, is this great night by Joe Flacco going to get ruined, right? And the thing that is so unique about the Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase era, they don’t feel that. It is not a thing. Joe Burrow after they beat the Raiders in their first playoff game told Sam like Sam Hubard like this is what we do. And Sam’s like, “Dude, you don’t understand.” And no, Joe’s like, “No, this is what we do.” Like it was a very real conversation where Joe’s like, “It’s just a playoff game.” You know, like they don’t feel that stuff. It just is not a thing. And so for then this cloud to be put over it to a degree and a lot of people felt that way. I’m not saying Kirk was wrong for doing it. A lot of people probably felt that way. Like I said, I thought the Steelers were going to get to 31 and then they do. It’s like, “Oh, well, this is where the the miracle night ends. Nine days after they acquire him, Flaco is gonna throw a pick or he’s gonna get sacked or strip fumble or something like that’s going to happen.” It seemed overdue like he was on borrowed time because we we’ve said it time and time again. Like Flaco’s expect that, but everything else you get out of it, it’s totally worth it. I was expecting that at some point as well. A and instead he was Joe calm. I’m I’m going to keep pushing that nickname that Dan Horde pushed out there. He’s Joe calm. He just says, “Oh, okay. Well, and I’m I’m going to pull up the playlist of that final drive because it was really fast. It did not take long.” No. For them to to get downfield here. Uh let’s see here. Flaco passes to Jamar Chase for 15 yards. Uh Jamar Chase for 18 yards. Chase Brown two yards. and they’re already in field goal range then and it was a long field goal range and then the deep ball to to T. Higgins 28 yards. So Joe Flacco says I’m Joe C. I’m gonna go three for three uh for 28 38 46 56 for 61 yards. Three for three 61 yards two to Jamar one to T ball game. Like that’s that’s crazy to think of, especially given the fact that he just had had arrived nine days prior and uh and was kind of operating on the fly at some on some of the play calls with Zach because they’re still working through things. So just crazy. Just I’m trying to put that in perspective because it was it was kind of unique, especially after the fact when I saw the Herb Street element of it down the stretch. as you’re consuming that, you’re probably like, “Damn, this was a fun fun game, but it’s not going to be enough.” And Joe Flacco said, “Ah, I got this.” Yeah. And not only that, talking about how you expected the outcome of this game to be leading up to the final scoring play, which is a field goal by Evan McFersonson. I I I I actually want to hear from the chat on this to be honest. I have to think most people were probably in the same headsp space as I was where you felt all this momentum and I know McFersonson was three for three up to that point as far as field goals are concerned. But you’re talking about waiting for the other shoe to drop with Flaco kind of his times up. He’s got to make a mistake at some point that’s going to be costly and and not because we doubt Flaco. It just seemed overdue just statistically speaking. McFersonson, I did I was clenching the entire time for that field goal because it just felt like you talked about Flacco having this great game and then having a moment that just cost him the game or whatever or some of something occurs on the offense that cost him the game. I was what if it all just comes down to McFersonson? What if it all comes down to a field goal? After all that and the weight of it, I just was like this feels all too familiar. I get that. Obviously, he made it, but more especially after last year and uh we posted I asked Evan about that. Yep. Cuz like it’s not just the thoughts going through your mind when it’s time to go out there and kick. It’s, oh, they’re kneeling it here. And there’s like five real minutes of time, maybe three real minutes, but it was like a significant amount of actual time that was running off that you had to wait and wait and wait for your opportunity to kick and it wasn’t like a 22 yard. I mean, it was a 36 yard and I I get it. He should make it, but man, that is a lot of pressure. And so I thought Evan had some good answers that that you could check out after after the live we posted those. But I just I think Evan’s a great kicker. Last year was weird. I was critical of him last year. I think there was a lot going on. I I think that the Bengals clearly weren’t happy with Cal Adamitis as a long snapper. They bring in William Wagner, who had a high snap last week, by the way. But Evan is is back to the the Evan I remember where he’s just in the moment. Ah, looks like we’re going to the AFC Championship game. He told Joe Burrow before rookie Evan McFersonson walks out there in Nashville and kicks them to the AFC title game. Like that’s just that’s how he’s been is like this happy golucky guy who’s really talented and focused and doesn’t let things bother him and it feels like he’s fully back to that which is great to see and and obviously four for four yesterday 10 of 12 on the year and his two misses 56 into the win at Green Bay and then the other miss wouldn’t have been a miss. Uh 67 yards would have been an NFL record if the first one counted and they the Packers didn’t call timeout. So, Evans having a heck of a year. No doubt. I do want to bring up a few comments I think that are good discussion points, but also some questions. I I I want to emphasize this one. I feel like like I I kind of mentioned this on on Twitter, like after you kind of come down from sort of this adrenaline rush of a win. All of a sudden, I remembered like, oh right, Trey Hendrickson wasn’t in that game. I was thinking about it throughout the game, but then the game just sort of took over and it wasn’t about Trey Hendrickson not being there anymore. All of a sudden, of course, it’s Flacco moving the ball down the field, Jamar making spectacular plays, T having a great game, the run game, so on and so forth, but the fact that they won that game, it almost is, I don’t want to call it overlooked, but for a lack of a better term, it felt like sort of lost in the sauce. Like Hendrickson wasn’t there and now he has a mini buy to recover and potentially be playing Yep. for week eight. That is crazy to me, especially after the product we saw out of that Dline in this game. Um, so I can’t help but feel a lot more optimism knowing that. Well, they need him. They need him. He He’s just he’s the guy that can bring it all together and stabilize it. And what I will say is if DJ Turner is who he looks like, which is this sticky corner that’s got some nastiness and swag to him and confidence, he gives up a play. I mean, you think about it. He gives up that play to DK Metaf and you’re like, “Oh no. Oh no.” Like, this is going to be a problem all game long and he rebounds. And this is to your Trey point. If you have a corner like that and then another corner and Dax I think is really reliable and versatile and then you have a pass rusher like Trey, it’s just it’s going to make life. It’s going to come together. Like I can see the path to it coming together. I really can’t. If DJ is this guy or he’s going to be that that high-end cover player and then on the other side you have Dax and then Trey Hendrickson rushing. I do think that they’re they have enough around Trey for it to come together but without Trey they don’t. Clearly they don’t. Aaron Rogers is still standing in the pocket at Por Stadium wondering if he’s going to get hit. I mean I I really don’t remember them truly hitting him. Did you see his offensive lineman hit Aaron Rogers after the Pat Frymouth touchdown? Did you see that? He hit the hell out of team essentially. That was the hardest. That’s why he was so mad. That was the hardest he had ever gotten hit all night. Like all night. Aaron Rogers doing little spin moves in the pocket. He should get crushed for doing that. And crushed I mean there should have been a defensive lineman in his lap and that didn’t happen. And so they have to figure that out. I I disagree with that comment that the defense played okay without Trey. I thought they stunk last night. I thought outside of Jordan Battle taking advantage and making a really nice play on the ball when Aaron Rogers made a stupid throw, just a really big mistake by the future Hall of Famer and then DJ Turner just made a heck of a play. Like outside of those two plays, what really stands out? The fact that they forced the Steelers to punt twice. That welcome to defense. That’s kind of the job. And so that’s that’s where I’m at. I think they were awful. Now, can they be better with Trey? Absolutely. But they need to fix some things and be and get Trey back. And if that happens, I do think that there is a path for this defense to certainly play better, especially with an offense that’s producing and and doing what they did on Thursday night. Want to just quickly call out the fact that we’ve got uh a little over 300 people joining us. We had no notifications left in the world of YouTube and we didn’t give much runtime as far as scheduling this and getting getting people an opportunity to select notify me. So, I appreciate everyone joining. It is a quiet chat for 300 plus. I feel like we’ve had less that have been busier. And that’s that that strikes me as maybe two things here, James, by the way. One, yeah, hung over. Two, they’re at work or both. Who works? Not me. Who works these days? Appreciate you all joining nonetheless. Uh, yeah. So, I wanted to call Keep talking. Get get whatever. I I have a surprise uh for our viewers in a second. Uh something that uh they have not seen or probably haven’t seen. It’s going to take me a second, so keep going. If I’m looking down though, I’m still listening. I promise. Speaking of things you’ve seen or haven’t seen. I know some of you that subscribe to our channel have seen it. Uh we do have a a membership program and I want to emphasize membership is not to take away from anyone that subscribes to our channels or watches our videos. We’re not taking away anything for that. We’re rewarding people that want to invest in our channel. That inspires me, that inspires James to make content for the people that are funding it. So, it’s out there. It you can go as low as $3. If you want more content than that, there’s other tiers, but I’ve I’ve designed it in such a way that I really want to um almost employ me to do more content for everybody because I I enjoy it. And just throwing that out there. That’s enough of that. But I do want to point out, let’s see, a few comments here that I wanted to throw up. By the way, I wonder if anyone Yeah, people commented about the work. Yeah, there we go. Work. Yeah. Yep. It’s all right. Let’s go. Hey. Hey. Yeah. No, we get it. We get you’re at work, but we appreciate you tuning in, too. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Appreciate you watching at work. Let’s see. We’ve got Oh, man. A lot of comments and some of these I’m digging back. So, I hope some of you stuck around. and I try to I I you know I bookmark them and I want to come back to some of them. Uh yeah, by the way, I love the the thank the thank you Cleveland chant during the post game. I don’t know if you were even out around to have heard that, James, by the way. I saw the clip, but no, I was not. Uh I it was unbelievable. Unbelievable. And it it really is. It’s one of those like wild situations where like I totally agreed with Mike Tomlin earlier in the week. I think he had some some other motives behind those comments, but uh just to to see that and to see how it’s worked out like yeah, I mean the max they moved up is like 60 spots from round six to round five and Joe Flacco is better today guaranteed than Dylan Gabriel. He is better today guaranteed than Chador Sanders. He is better today guaranteed than Kenny Picket who the Browns had in training camp. And the reason I say that is because in Cleveland today at least my friend Ken Karman of of 923 the fan I saw a clip of him and he said see this isn’t working and that’s proof and I agree with him like Jerry Judy they just paid Jerry Judy in Cleveland to be like the dude he’s at best the Bengals wide receiver three and I don’t think the Bengals would would even trust him to necessarily do that and and it’s not because of his physical gifts but it’s because of all the things that Joe Flacco has seen since coming here. The reliability of Jamar. He’s going to be exactly literally exactly where he’s supposed to be and he’s going to make the right play and he’s going to read the defense and just all of those things. So, it is wild to see Cleveland go from a guy who’s clearly better than any quarterback they have and even if he’s not, by the way, can mentor the nothing but youth in that in that quarterback room. But he is. I mean, he is. But even you’re right. even if he’s not perfect guy to be in there and and they he signs there and they kind of yank him around the whole time after he resigns there and uh with the Kenny Picket trade and then they draft two quarterbacks and then he’s splitting reps with these dudes that he’s clearly better than and the reason I I say he’s clearly better than him, I didn’t have to see Joe Flacco throw a ball for me to realize that he was more talented and physically gifted than Jake Browning. You could just tell. And so when I watch Dylan Gabriel and then I look at Joe Flacco, it doesn’t even you don’t even need to see them throw to know which one’s better, which one was the first round pick, which one’s been great in a Super Bowl MVP and which one is, you know, probably a backup, lifetime backup in the NFL at best. So there you go. By the way, I want to call out everyone talking about whether they’re working or not. I should be careful. Maybe I shouldn’t be flashing up the comments in case someone that you’re working with or for happens to also see this, but I like as long as you’re not a surgeon. Uh yeah, like Joe Flacco. Oh, Dr. Joe going to go off script here for a moment. This is a followup from the last live we did. Badlands here ask about Marvel Marvel rivals. That was a hot topic, by the way. I I we had not heard of it. James hadn’t heard of it and people were so mad in the comments that it was so popular and and we weren’t aware of it. Um but yeah, Marvel Rivals I guess on mobile. We do need a play. Yeah, I still haven’t downloaded it. Still haven’t given it any effort. Maybe I will obviously I mean when were we were live? Tuesday. Yeah, Tuesday. So it hasn’t been that long. Uh Wednesday was was pretty busy. Yesterday was busy obviously. And uh boy oh boy did you uh by the way when I was like hey the Bengals so last week before the Green Bay game I I had a few days to reflect on the Flaco deal and I don’t think this had anything to do with being influenced by the Bengals. But I just looked at their process logically who they could have gotten who they could have traded for all those things. When we put the the Bengals got it right. this was the best option video and I explained why. Did you believe that? Like did you believe it? Like I believed it. I never say anything I don’t believe. Just to be clear, I there are people that’ll come out like, “Hey, what do you really think about this?” It’s like I just told you. It’s the same thing I said on camera. So anyways, just to be clear about that, but sometimes that happens in person. But I was like, “Hey, they got it right. I want to do a video on this.” Right. Did you feel that way in that moment? I I don’t think they got it wrong. I know that’s a very political way of answering it, but like I I wasn’t like this is the best possible fit for them or anything that like that. Not that you were saying that either, but I don’t know that that would be my like marquee statement about the move. I just feel felt as though they did the right thing and I knew that much and I knew that it wasn’t going to backfire on them as far as Flaco was not my concern. No matter what they just they upgraded at a position they needed. I knew that much and I knew that Flaco could lead them to wins and lead this offense to better output. But I just didn’t know about everything else, you know. Yeah, totally. Totally get it. I was just kind of curious because I was pushing Russell Wilson. One thing I didn’t I didn’t I didn’t realize that Flacka would be available because the Browns Bengals element, but like it makes a ton of sense. And and the reason why he’s he was ahead to me of a guy like Jameus Winston is because of the maturity because of the ability to to be the the calming presence he the offenses he’s played in how they felt like they could play stylistically plus all the concepts and everything like that. Like I you know and that’s before you even get into trade cost where I think Jameus would have cost a little bit more all those things. I do think they were interested in Jamus, by the way. Like, yeah, they should have been, but like interested enough to like probably make a call, but I also think that Flack was ahead and and it it makes a ton of sense. Real quick, I I teased I I had something coming up. I just don’t want to go too far before we we get out of the the DJ Turner. Appreciate you, by the way. New member live. You’re the man. Appreciate you. Uh DJ Turner, looking for a job. I asked. So, this is before I knew about Cam Taylor Britt. I mean, you work a ton already for the channel. Anyways, uh it’s it’s not like that people think you’re like spend 10 minutes on it, you’re done for the day or something. I love my hours. Don’t believe them. Cam Taylor Britt, we didn’t know he was going to be inactive until he was inactive and was healthy, inactive. Two days ago, three days ago now, Tuesday, I asked DJ Turner about DK Metaf because I’m like, well, DJ leaves the league in past breakups. Cam’s had the success against DK Metaf a couple of years ago. Like, what do they do? Do they go with the big physical Cam Taylor Britt that’s had success against DK or do they go with the the much smaller DJ Turner, but is clearly playing much better? And I just asked DJ the challenges about the challenges of of facing DK. And I really like this answer. This is quick. It’s 19 seconds long. About you guys, but what stands out about DK Metaf? What makes it tough uh when you’re in coverage against him? Um, you know, he bigger receiver. Uh, but you know, I got I mean, I just keep saying it’s about us. It’s about what I do. Uh, it’s not about what you know, whoever lines up against what they do. Um, you know, our preparation throughout the week. He basically said, “I don’t give a damn what DK is or how big he is. as long as I do my job, it’s not going to matter. Like I just it’s not about it’s not about them. I And he said that a few times with different answers. He’s stonefaced. It’s not about DK Metaf and how big he is. I just got to go out there and do what I need to do. Yeah. And it’s true. It’s just funny that he he had that. I don’t know. I love that mindset. It was funny. Yeah. And actually speaking of the Yeah. a lot of people just talking about the uh interception. So the interception was crazy, right? Like but that’s you you bring up we’re talking about Cam Taylor Britt. Even if even if Taylor Britt was having a a rough game or a rough stretch well prior to this, like he had he had ups and downs. One thing that could justify the idea of him being out on that field as a starter or getting any significant snap count really up until this during this season and even some of last season was the fact that big playability can create those turnovers. DJ Turner didn’t really have that reputation. Not that he couldn’t do it or hadn’t done it, but he he wasn’t that splash, you know, ball hawk type, if you want to call it that, for a lack of a better term, guy that would do that. That play right there was I felt like almost like a coming out party for DJ Turner. Like it was just a a huge moment from where I was sitting where that’s what they need. And without Cam Tread if you had any fear of losing that element even though you knew all the ugly that could potentially happen out on the field in this particular game like it was not even okay totally fine. Like it’s an afterthought now as far as this game is concerned in Cam Taylor Brit not being out there. Yeah. I I I think it’s interesting. Zach was asked in his press conference today and I Jay Morrison’s going to have something on this at benglestoalk.com, but he was asked about DJ and six weeks ago, seven weeks ago, Zack Taylor had to tell DJ Turner, “Hey, you’re not starting against the Browns.” And he told him that and it was Cam and it was Dax and it was Joshua. Like, those are the guys that were starting. And DJ clearly took it the right way and handled it the right way and kept working. And I I think it’s because he has that confidence. It’s about me. It’s not about them. And I I just I love that mentality because as a corner, you’re going to get beat. You’re going to give up plays. It’s inevitable. And if you remember during training camp, it was there was a lot a long stretch there a few weeks where it’s like, why is DJ Turner getting beaten all these clips? And it was just over and over and over. It felt like just social media wise. And then he has that big practice where he has five pass breakups and it was just DJ Turner day in the indoor. Yeah. I remember making a thumbnail a thumbnail just of him because of his day in a in a practice like and and so like you saw it and it was like he was so good and the ball skills were there and he was just gliding and I’m like man and and that’s that practice was foreshadowing how well he was going to play because now we have a a multi-game sample size of DJ Turner playing at a really really high level and uh it’s huge because that’s that’s what you needed. That’s what this season was about on defense and continues to be about. You need young guys to emerge as real dudes. And it I think Dax is one of those. I think DJ may be one of those dudes dudes dudes with the way he’s covering right now and just his mentality and mindset. I I I love it. So, we’ll see. He’s got to continue it. But when you look at it and you see that he’s gone up against some of these great receivers, Justin Jefferson, he’s given up a bunch of uh size to DK Metaf. I mean, the reason Aaron Rogers threw that ball, that first interception that Jordan Battle picked, is he was like, DK’s against that little guy, launch it. And it was a bad ball that both DJ and Jordan probably could have intercepted and Jordan made a heck of a play. No doubt. I want to say uh by the way speaking of I don’t know that you can get a decent edge rusher for Cam Taylor Burton like I’m not even trying to be funny like right like I I don’t know that you can I mean call the Browns hey we’ll give you Cam Taylor Brit Germaine Burton and Browns are like yeah and we’ll also send you some picks with that let me get you let me get Miles Garrett yeah by the way code red Omega is a owner suite VIP member so appreciate you and he ends screen bragging rights feeding my family. Look at you code red Omega. Shut up, dude. If you don’t uh thanks code red, it’s bothering you. I Oh, I hate it. Yeah, I hate that. But yeah, uh co code red is my favorite Mountain Dew, by the way. But uh yeah, I think that pass breakup is is an example of DJ understanding the game and playing like with complete instincts. like he’s understanding the scheme, understands where he needs to go, and he literally, you’re right, he came off of where he was and said, “Oh, I’m gonna I’m gonna knock this away and able to knock it away.” Just it’s a really good example. Good point, Code Red. Uh what’s going on with Germaine Burton? Same thing with I mean, him and Cam are kind of in the same situation now. Like, you got to be consistent and you got to earn the trust. You got to build some equity. You got to build some equity, man. I mean, and so that’s it. Like there were some that especially after Andre had that drop last night early like how is Andre still on the field and Germaine’s not getting a shot? Well, when you’re reliable, when you’re working hard, when you know where to go, and when you’ve built up equity, well, then you can withstand a few drops without getting benched, right? That that’s what it is. You build up equity. And I that’s a big word in my in my world. You build that And then yeah, if you mess up, you’re not getting yanked right away because you have you have some some trust in the building. So I think that’s what Germaine Burton and for different reasons, Cam Taylor Britt, that’s what those guys have to earn and build and maintain. And when you don’t have that, that’s just those are major cracks in a foundation when you’re trying to to build up. And uh it’s unfortunate. And I’m not saying we won’t see Germaine Burton at all this year. I just think he’s got to earn earn that trust and and continue to build something with this coaching staff and with his teammates. Yeah. Uh I wanted to point out the I didn’t mean to point this out just just for you. James Andrew’s locked in the editing room. Only gets to eat when you become a member. Anyway, so the we got to 40 plus members. That’s the only reason only reason he has power at his house right now. No, there’s not. These are just battery powered lights. The lights are off right now. Oh, I Those are the battery ones. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Working my way up. Yeah. So, Gino Stone. Uh, I don’t want to spend a lot of time on Gino Stone, but I hate how much I noticed Gino Stone. I thought going into yesterday he was all right. Like this season, like just fine. Uh, he had a few big hits yesterday, but yeah, I mean, he you can count on it’s kind of like what I was saying with Cam Taylor Britt, like you can count on that maybe happening, but it’s equity. You just said it. I don’t know where we’re at with that, you know. Yeah. I I just wonder where they’re I thought Jordan was awful against Green Bay. I thought it was a little better yesterday from those guys. Uh like as a collective, but not not great. And here’s the problem with Gino. You can’t get beat on Pat Fry. Like, you got to be there, man. You got to be there. Assuming that’s him and not just some coverage breakdown. But uh yeah, there we go. Rob, I didn’t even see I didn’t even see that coming. The moment you said it, look at me. I’m I’m on fire. You wouldn’t know that I slept four and a half hours. C Can I tell? Must be nice. I’ll tell you how much I slept in a second. I uh I’m going to take a nap right after that. No, I take a nap. I um was walking my way down. So, the Bengals had to punt. And when I saw the Bengals had the punt, I looked at how much time was left and I was like, “All right, what I’m going to do, I’m going to walk my way down uh to the media room.” And by the time I get there Oh, here. This is when I get to brag, especially live. Look, that’s my sleep. Look, are you What’s wrong with you? 3 3:35, brother. 3:35 on your watch. Yeah. Okay. I don’t wear my watch. I charge it when I’m sleeping. 3. God, 3:37 because you you’re going to make it a competition. 3:37 the day before. God, I need to sleep. James loves to show off how hard he works. Loves it. Loves it. Hey, when you build up that equity, you can do it. Anyways, William works hard. LFG. See, you’re criticizing me for talking about putting food on my kids plate, but this campaign is working, James. You can’t deny it. May I have some more? All right. I can’t. You’re killing me. What was I? Oh, anyways. So, the Bengals have to punt and I you have to make a decision at some point during the game. If you’re me getting video and everything that I do postgame, when are you going to make the trek down and it’s not a long walk, but you’re making a walk and you’re going down four flights and sometimes there’s fans and if you wait till the end of the game, there’s going to be a lot of fans in your way. And so, you know, there’s two whatever left. Steelers are getting the ball and as I’m walking into the media room, Pat Frier Mouth is catching that pass and I’m like, “Here we go.” And they’re like, “Oh, Frier Mouth and he’s going to go into the endzone.” And I’m like, “Oh my gosh, here we go.” So that was my vantage point. And then the final two and change. I was sitting there in my seat finishing up the story. Of course, I had both versions. Um, which stunk because if if they had lost that game, only the beginning part was going to be about the loss and then everything was going to be about how awesome the offense was and then it was going to be, hey, this defense was trash and that was at the bottom on win or loss. And uh, well, they were able to pull it out, so I was able to to really lay it on from an offensive standpoint since they sealed the deal. I got to point out that I have a lot of footage from that Green Bay game that I didn’t know what I was going to do with and it was just talking with fans prior to the Green Bay game and I was like, “Well, now what am I going to do with this? They lost the game. I’m going to sit on this footage. I don’t know if it’s going to be a member video. I don’t know if it’s gonna be one I’ll put out for the public, so to speak.” But now I think I got some stories here for that. You got me thinking about it. So, yeah. Uh, I’m going to pull up I I know there’s been a lot of chatter about this. I want to get this up there. And by the way, Germaine Burton and I just got to go back to that for one second. I did want to say something about that from a a fan non-inssider perspective. I will vouch for what James is saying in terms of what he knows and what he doesn’t know in that on that trip to Green Bay and I’m not giving any thing away, James. No worries, Harry. Don’t I don’t want you getting all nervous. On that trip to Green Bay, I sat with four three three other beat writers including James and there was plenty of conversation about Germaine Burton. There was nothing going on. I was sitting there thinking, “Oh, maybe there’s gonna be some real info here like we had last year.” Everyone’s what I heard in those conversations, exactly what James said. So, I’m all I’m saying to everyone here is that you’re hearing authentically what is known by people in James’ position because I heard it amongst a group of them. So, yeah. Yeah. Okay. I see what you’re saying. It’s not like you’re holding back like, “Oh, did he really do something? They’re covering it up.” And it’s not I mean, not from your vantage point at least. Sure. Oh. Um, reli everyone says abil availability is the best ability. Reliability is the best ability. A lot of chatter about guards. Daltton ris because Germaine’s available. Yeah. But is he reliable? You You know what I’m saying? I I mean, it really is. I’m coining that reliability is the best ability because health goes in there. And there’s something to go with liability in there as well. Uh on a number of fronts. Oh man. So, I’ve seen some Daltton Risner comments. I’ve seen some guard offensive line comments. You know what? Did they figure out their guard situation? Andrew Sandman asks, “Reyniser looked good at left guard.” It’s amazing, Andrew. What happens? And I moved back. I didn’t want to hit my computer. My computer’s under the camera. It’s amazing what happens when you give a veteran a few weeks of practice. It’s amazing. They get their football legs under them, especially at a a physical position, right? Like Joe Flacco is put in an impossible spot, but he was at least practicing. Daltton Risner was in the building for 10 days and now suddenly he’s playing against Cleveland. Shocker. Not the best run blocker in the world. Then the next week against Jacksonville. Oh well, wasn’t that great? Well, you know why? Because he had had like four practices and that’s really really hard as an offensive lineman. So, the thing that I really like, and this is this is something that Cam Taylor Britt could really use, honestly. Dton Risner signs here because he wants to help protect Joe Burrow, and they’re like, “Hey, you’re not going to start. We’re going to get you in there initially and get you sped up and and and get you comfortable.” And and and then Lucas Patrick gets hurt and he’s thrown to the Wolves and he puts out some bad tape. He struggles. I talked to him ahead of that Denver game when they had benched him for for Jaylen Rivers. This is a revenge game. This is a game that Daltton Riser would certainly want to play in, right? Um or it was the Minnesota game and then the Denver game, whatever. I I think I I maybe both regardless whenever he was benched. I think it was during the Minnesota game that happened. So, ahead of the Denver game and he’s like, “You know what? It’s a tough spot. I just got to stay ready. I I got to attack it.” No excuse that I wasn’t necessarily because because I I was like, “Come on, man. There’s no way you were the where all these other guys were that were in training camp the whole time. And now you’re seeing like, oh well, maybe he can pass protect. Maybe he can’t play at a pretty high level. Duh. You know, he didn’t forget how to play football. He just hadn’t played it the the way you need to play it to be ready to go for the regular season. So, no, I I’m excited about Dalton Risner. I hope they keep playing him. And I wonder I wonder if they go the Fairchild at left, Risyner at right, and Rivers as a backup. Like I I I wonder if that’s the weak link at this point. I mean, that was kind of the original plan till things got derailed by injuries, right? Yeah. But and you still have Lucas Patrick. He served as the backup center last night. Easy to forget that. Yeah, you’re right. I mean, he’s any day, any week now. But if Risner’s performing well and you’re confident in Dylan Fairchild being a guy and I do think Jaylen Rivers has flashed some and been okay at times, you know, like now you have options. Lucas Patrick is is extremely versatile, can play all three spots on the interior. So that is a good spot to be in. I am not shocked that Daltton Razner has played well the past two weeks though. Jay, uh definitely see you um join just joined as being a member, but he’s also sending some super chats our way, which we appreciate. But yeah, he’s I want to I want to clarify because I know we’re flashing up this, but it’s not just thoughts on the pass rush, but he also wanted and I’ve seen comments about Shamar Stewart, so we might as well incorporate that into this. Um his snaps. I’ve seen others bring up Shamar as well. Some critical of the of the way he played. Uh others that are saying what what what’s going on with the pass rush in general, knowing that Shamar Sewer is out there. I want to quickly say about that, James, because I was thinking about this, too, and I’m curious on your take on this because we haven’t talked about it yet. I see what people are saying. I know he looked a little lost out there based on what I saw on the broadcast. I haven’t gone back and watched anything else from this game, but I also look at it as he’s a rookie that hasn’t had a lot of meaningful NFL snaps yet. I don’t know that I expect him to just tear it up, especially without Hendrickson out there for support and leading the way, I should say. And I I don’t know. I don’t I’m not going to look at this game and even formulate a fraction of the the mind or the thought I’m going to make up with Shamar Stewart at this point. Well, he missed a month with the ankle, right? He played a game and change and was really good in that first game. He’s probably playing at less than 100% with the ankle and the knock on him was, you know, the awareness and him getting out of position at times. And so, it’s twofold. Like I get the frustration. I do. You want him to be productive. He’s your this uh the 17th overall pick. He he’s a pass rusher that you’re hoping can be part of the pass rush and part of the a good defensive front this year and moving forward. I also think that banking on him to be your number one and I think that’s when you look at that defensive line certainly at defensive end like what you go into that type of game looking at it as I think he’s better than Joseph Osai I do from a physically gifted stand like I just do I I’ve seen it in practice when he’s healthy when he’s right and so yeah you want him to be a chaos causer is is how I would describe Shamar Stewart. That’s like the goal. I don’t necessarily look at does he need eight sacks or 10 sacks. Can he cause chaos and and and be disruptive? He wasn’t disruptive enough yesterday. Needs to be better. And hopefully now with this mini buy, he can get that ankle e even healthier and and be more productive, especially if Trees on the other side. That’s that’s where I would look at it. But Shamar, he is unique because they’re going to use him all across that front. And I do think it’s coming. I do think he’s going to be productive. Even though he made some mistakes yesterday, it’s far far um from perfect, but I I still believe because I’ve just seen I’ve seen enough of healthy Shamar being disruptive that I do think he’s going to matter this season. Yep. Exactly. I’m seeing a lot of comments like some didn’t even notice him out there. I noticed him because of moments where he looked out of place. I’m not saying it was good yesterday. It wasn’t good. They stunk. They could not rush the passer. I it was unbelievably bad. Like like terrifyingly bad. I I I don’t even know when you finish with two quarterback hits on a quarterback that really can’t move and he’s spinning out of the pocket and he’s rolling out and he’s comfortably running and sliding like it wasn’t like a read option like Joe Flacco. And part of the reason Joe Flacco was only sacked twice is they were getting the ball out out. Aaron Rogers was hold rolled his right rolled his rocket and he’s still not getting hit. Like he got hit on that touchdown pass to John Smith after 8.6 seconds. That’s unbelievable that it took that long to get someone close enough to him to to put hands on him. Why does the dude on the left always look depressed? I’m assuming my left. And if it’s me, it’s because I’m reading all these comments. I’m I’m trying to scan and formulate thoughts and reading what you all are saying. I mean, our names are right there. Who is it? Me? You think I look depressed? I don’t know what’s going on there. You think I look depressed? Try getting 3 hours and 35 minutes of sleep looking depressed. I was going to bring up the sleep, but I didn’t need you flashing like how many hours you’ve had in the year 202. I hadn’t looked and I was just kind of curious. I was curious. That’s all. I’m tired. I’ll get more tonight. All right, let’s This is a big one. Uh, appreciate Tony, by the way. your predictions for a record at the at the buy. Are you calling this the mini buy or are you saying at the upcoming? What are we saying here? No, the the buys in two weeks. So they they play the Jets by the by week. So what are we going to win the next two games is what the question is. Yep. Go ahead. Five and four, four and five, three and six. I was just looking I was just thinking two games, but yeah, I could do math, too, apparently. Uh, but I was just thinking these next two games I’m expecting I think they’re they they’re very winnable. I think they should be two and0 these next two weeks. I’m going to be conservative in that there are a lot of things that need to be worked on in this team. And I feel like something’s going to get exploited whether it’s call it a trap game or just something not matching up the way it should, the defense needing to get themselves together, people needing to get healthy. I’m going to say one and one these next two weeks. They can survive going one and one. You can’t lose to the Jets. Fair. be the Bears game isn’t as as meaningful. Like if if you tell me they beat the Jets and the Steelers on November 16th, then lose to the Bears. That’s fine. I’ll take that. But you can’t you you can’t drop the Jets an AFC game in this weird AFC. And I said it before yesterday, like sweeping the Steelers would be huge. So yeah, first first things first, get to four and four. But I I said it at the top. Enjoy this. Like, enjoy this win. Don’t start focusing on that. Got plenty of time to talk about the Jets and think about the Jets. And we’ll cover it all, of course, but enjoy this. Like, how many times over the past month did you wonder as a Bengals fan like, “Hey, is there going to be a moment like this this year where it still matters and you’re excited?” You know, like I I I guarantee we have 300 plus watching and I’m sure a lot of people didn’t feel like that was going to be realistic to to have that kind of feeling at any point this season. Well, you have it. So, enjoy it now. Doesn’t mean it’s not coming again, but enjoy it now because you have a few extra days to do so. And by the way, and I could say the same for the Green Bay game, but certainly this one, I obviously was coming to terms with the idea that they they could easily lose this game. This the rug could get pulled out from under them. And I remember sort of I we’ll call it coping in the moment of this is a fun game to watch. And I’m not gonna sit here and say I wanted a moral victory. Far from it. It’s not that. But my point is that I felt like I was having fun watching football for probably the first time all season from like for an entire game beginning to end. Yeah. And there’s something to that. Again, I’m not saying it’s okay that they lose, but it’s hard anymore. I feel like watching this team this season to have that feeling knowing that a loss is still very possible and just accepting the fact that this is enjoyable and that’s I don’t know again it’s by the way I I’m going to go back to this for a moment. I I just I’m not I don’t really want to give this guy a ton of attention. People are calling out the guy that said that dude on the left looks depressed why he didn’t call out names. They’re saying he’s a Steelers fan and that that tracks. Okay. And marshmallow fluff. Thank you for your input. Marshmallow fluff. Anyway, I could use a little marshmallow fluff on a little ice cream or something. I don’t know. Right. You put No, you don’t use marshmallow fluff on ice cream. What does that is that tracked on your on your phone? You have an app that tracks how much marshmallow fluff your What? What? No, I’m just saying I could you I’d love some competition. I’m sure. Uh, by the way, just just so you guys know, uh, these labs are also brought to you by or this live is also brought to you by our local sponsor. Shout out to uh WinWin Athletics, their flag football kit that let’s film that. By the way, you you and me flag football, man. Honestly, you see, did you see it? Someone needs to I’m going to clip it. Do it in slow motion. The moment the words came out of my mouth, you saw James’ face. It was like a a switch just flipped and he went he went from like, “I’m going to talk about this and promote Win-Win Athletics.” And then his face goes, it was like a snap. It was like, you see this competitive mode? I have to say, I can’t accept these words. I I I don’t want to get too Anyways, cones, flags, boom. You got the end zone, you got the out-of- bounds, the the the win-win flag football kit. It is perfect for well anyone, especially those that can’t guard me, which is pretty much everyone, right, Andrew? Uh the point is though, like five on five on the fly. Your son or daughter flag football is huge and uh I love the win-win flag football kit. You will too. The flags, best flags on the planet. I have yet to try them out myself, but we’re gonna have a we’re gonna have a sequel to the Icy Hot Bowl, you and I. You’re not going to be able You’re not going to be able to try them out on me because you’re not going to be able to get them. It’s just going to be We will document it. Maybe it would be a membersonly video, a live stream of so that you I then you can’t accuse me of editing something. You know how Jamar Chase and T Higgins on that final play that mattered made Jaylen Ramsay look like he was about 97 years old? made him look like he was part of the enk bull, right? That would be just a a snippet of what it would look like if if we lined up. Just to be clear, I think you know that. I think you know very well that that we won’t do that. We’ll have you throw the ball. We’ll have you throw the ball. I’ll throw it like Rogers at the end of that game that you might not get results, but I’ll get it there. There you go. That game was a blast. Any football fan other than the Steelers should have enjoyed that. I wanted to call this out, Rob Duncan, simply because I feel that reasonable Steelers fans, cuz I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it on social media. I’ve seen it on Reddit. They’re chiming in. The ones that are not just tunnel vision blind anger, they’re having a good time with that game, too. It was a good game. And Steelers fans that again are reasonable and thinking clearly are coming out and saying, “Hey, that was a really fun game. I hate that we lost. That’s okay. I mean, I’m saying that’s okay that you could you can hate that you lost, but they’re coming out like this was fun. That’s the point. Thursday Night Football, geriatrics playing each other. Come on. You couldn’t have expected that. It was It was insane. I thought it would be a fun game and competitive, but what did I say? I I think I said 2623. I didn’t think it would be that offensively just driven where there was no stops. Even last throw by Rogers, I know I mentioned it. I knew that was coming. I’ve seen it time and time again. And I was like, “Oh, here we go.” And I didn’t expect it to be. Obviously, it’s not, you can’t expect it to go right to this target. He’s just launching it downfield. It’s a Hail Mary for a reason. But I’ve seen crazy things happen with Rogers against Arizona. It’s time and time again. That’s guy. Well, the broadcast that was the other thing is they did this whole Cincinnati cloud thing like, “Ah, I’ve been here, done that.” And then they’re crowning the Bengals and they’re still three seconds. And you see Aaron Rogers like, “I’m going to launch it.” And I’m telling everyone in the media room, like, guys, this play is still a play, right? Like, I’ve seen it, too. I I did the same thing. And it it really didn’t have to do with Cincinnati or the Bengals or anything. It had to do with Aaron Rogers. It’s a bad dude. People were surprised. I saw the reactions. I mean, I’m talking about professional like broadcasters, athletes, and you name it. People saw how deep he got that ball. Was nearly 70 yards. I don’t know what the exact number was, but like I wasn’t. People were surprised. I like wasn’t. How are you? I think maybe they thought age was going to catch. Maybe they hadn’t seen him throw bombs like that in recent memory. I don’t know, but I was ready for it. Shout out to DJ Ivy knocking that thing down. Good awareness. Secures the win. Uh because if it gets knocked up, you just you never know. We’ve seen that. We saw that last year in Washington. And uh boy oh boy, if that would have happened anyways. Yes. I think that’s going to do it for us. Yeah. You have anything else? You want anything anything else you want to mention here other than the fact that I I know some some CNC Greens Bay stays in Green Bay Pay. That’s a Green Bay. That’s a reference to the fact that I’ve got footage from my time wandering around Lambo and not being able to get a ticket to the game. And uh I’m I don’t know. I’ll make something out of it. I’ll I’ll put it up for members. Maybe I’ll put it out for everybody. I don’t know. We’ll see how it turns out. But you know why he couldn’t get a ticket? Because he didn’t have enough members. Not enough me weren’t enough. Stop. No. Trust me. All right. That those tickets were insane. So there’s there’s a ton posted right now. Zack Taylor from last night early this morning, Jamar Chase, Joe Flacco. My instant reaction, which is definitely different than than what we we have. And then this morning you posted Chase Brown, Orlando Brown Jr., Ted Carris, and Evan McFersonson. Check it all out, please. Thank you. The Bengals are alive. And uh that was a seasonsaving win. Thanks for watching. Thanks for supporting us. And for Andrew Fox Miller, I’m James Renee. Have a great weekend. This is Cincinnati Bengals talk.

The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night, ending the team’s four-game losing streak. James Rapien and Andrew Fox Miller are LIVE to react to the win, – including Joe Flacco’s dominant performance, Ja’Marr Chase’s HUGE night, ups and downs on defense and more!

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00:00:00 Initial Reaction to Bengals WIN
00:07:09 Joe Burrow on the Sideline
00:10:58 Impact of Joe Flacco’s Presence for Joe Burrow
00:17:29 Bengals’ Resilience
00:23:33 “The Cincinnati Pain”
00:27:27 Evan McPherson
00:30:29 Winning WITHOUT Trey Hendrickson
00:39:32 Bengals Made the Right Choice with Flacco
00:42:23 DJ Turner II coming out party
00:48:40 What’s going on with Jermaine Burton?
00:51:13 Geno Stone concerns
00:55:52 Guard situation and Dalton Risner
00:58:55 Shemar Stewart’s struggles
01:03:17 Predicting Weeks 8 and 9
01:08:40 Fun football is back

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