Reaction to Chiefs-Bills, Bears-Bengals, Lions-Vikings, Colts-Steelers | Colin Cowherd NFL Week 9

Reaction to Chiefs-Bills, Bears-Bengals, Lions-Vikings, Colts-Steelers | Colin Cowherd NFL Week 9

Welcome to the official YouTube channel for the Colin Coward podcast. Go on, hit that subscribe button if you’re new so you don’t miss any of our great football content this season. This episode is presented by Uber Eats. When football makes you hungry, order Uber Eats. I do every weekend. All right, time to look at this weekend’s tastiest matchup in this week’s Sunday Night Food brought to you by Uber Eats, a company I use all the time. All right, John Middlev, former NFL scout, has his own podcast, Three and Out. Can’t tell you how many people come up to me in Chicago. It’s GMs. They’re like, “Oh, I love I love Middle Cough so much.” They never say that about me. They love you. Well, tell them I don’t know if Middle’s going to the Hall of Fame like uh like you. So, congratulations, by the way. That that’s that’s pretty appreciate it. Buffalo 28, Kansas City 21. I looked at this number today. To me, this was um this was really the game is that Mahomes was uncomfortable and Josh Allen was really comfortable. He was sacked three times, hit 15 times. And when Momes John doesn’t trust his offensive line, it changes it changes the way he plays. He presses. Um he takes more risks. And I thought the game really came down to that is that I just thought Josh was in really comfortable and Patrick wasn’t. I just know this. If the Bills can find a way to play like they do against the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season in the postseason, they will win the Super Bowl because they thoroughly outplayed him today. Outgained him by 100 yards. We’re up double digits in the fourth quarter. I mean, it took a fourth and 17, which only Andy Reid would have a fourth and 17 play that would come wide open. But listen, that Bills team that we just saw, that team can win the Super Bowl, but we see them on a weekly basis not look as good on defense. The pass rush isn’t always there. Joey Bosa looked like, I don’t know, his third year with the Chargers today. So, I I don’t know where that version of the Bills is always because they make a ton of plays when they have to against the Ravens. And in the regular season, I mean, Colin, this is now kind of a theme, obviously at home, and this is why I’ve been I’ve said from the jump, getting home field for the Bills is really big. And today was was a bigger game for them because at the end of the day, like Chiefs have already won Super Bowls, like I I think they will eventually win another one. But if they get bounced in the first or second round one year or whatever, this year for the Bills, you just have to hold serve with the Patriots. They have an easier schedule than you. They keep taking care of business. If they would have lost today, they would have been at a one-ame deficit and they’ve already lost to them. So, there was a lot of pressure and in fairness, I I thought they answered the bell beside a couple plays in the second half. They were really good. Well, I mean, and the other thing that’s I mean, Bosa is healthy. He’s 30. Uh Greg Russo was uh 25. AJ Epana is 27. You know, these guys are in their athletic prime and they’ve drafted pretty well in the back end. So, Denver is now on a heater. Denver’s 9-2 and now plays Kansas City next. And Kansas City is five and4. And so now Joe Alt got banged up today, but the Chargers are 6 and3. Um, so you get into a really weird situation here where if Denver beats I mean it was a the worst thing possible for Denver. I don’t know what the line is. I’m taking Kansas City against Denver when when Kansas City loses. But I think the thing that jumped out to me today was that, you know, we’ve talked a lot about the defense. Ed Oliver uh didn’t play, but we talk a lot about Buffalo’s defense all year. So much of defense is effort, right? Like I I was I got a I was talking to somebody the other day um about this is that, you know, offensive players out of high school, they’ll follow a coach. Offensive players want the coach. you know, defensive players, you know, they high schoolers, they want to go to big schools, right? They they most defensive coaches they see as the same thing. Defensive players are about wrecking things. And I do think when you take that Buffalo defensive front and they play Momes, they play differently. It’s just a different It’s different than playing Michael Penn. And I’ve always felt offense is about choreography, but I felt like I felt like the defensive front today for Buffalo knew the red light was on. That’s what it felt like to me. It felt like they played with way more energy. Many of the same players played above what they’ve been playing at all year. I just I feel like defensive players can play at a different in intensity level depending on the opponent. 10 times they’ve played five and five and I don’t know. I thought that was the difference. I thought the defensive line for Buffalo was great. Well, can I piggyback off what what you just said about the defense? I I think and I’ve said this now for a while that when you look at the NFL and they’ve tried to clean up the game, right? So now when you watch, you know, guys are much safer. They they take a uh very conscious effort to officiate dirty calls. And I think most guys now, if you’re 25, you have gone through college in the NFL being taught how to hit, right, and not use your helmet. But I do think if we miked up defensive coordinators, like if if you got the defensive meeting room on Saturday night and before the team came out this week and probably all week, fans would be uncomfortable what’s being said in there, especially from the Buffalo side. And I you could go around the league. I bet if you if you got Brian Flores miked up this week on Wednesday night, on Saturday night, it it would make a lot of people uncomfortable with what they want. I enjoy that and I know what I’m but I still think that the way they talk and the what they preach is still has similarities going back to the 80s and the 90s. And you know, Buffalo’s front is really talented. They just lost Ed Oliver. The the uh the first round draft pick from Kentucky. I mean, Patrick Mahomes, listen, I’m with you. His offensive line was in tatters. you can’t throw that interception late in the game because they never got the ball back, you know, essentially, right? So, it’s like that was killer and they just need some more impact plays on defense. We’ll talk about the Steelers. Well, what happened today? They’re highriced guys, especially up front, made huge plays. So, when when you’re playing in playoff games, I’m sure we’ll talk about the baseball game, too. Sometimes you just need a random guy to make a big ass play, whether that’s a tip for a pick, whether that’s a fumble, and obviously your stars to make big plays. So, you know, Buffalo and and Coach Reed and all the Brett Vats, all those guys would tell you Josh Allen is the best player they play and has been for now 5 years. I mean, he cuz not only he matches his play against the other randoms against them and he’s one of the rare ones, if not the only guy who has consistently done that now for Well, they were 60% on third down. They hadundred um 40 yards rushing. I thought, you know, and I I thought it was going to be highscoring. Uh, and I was I said I’ll take Kansas City, but when these two teams play, you know, you never count Kansas City out, but I felt like today this was this was Buffalo’s day cuz Buffalo had lost at home to New England. So again, I watched that game, the intensity felt different today. It feels different in the stadium when Kansas City plays there. You get Nance, you get Romo, it just feels different. And you know, Josh Allen, they had a they said this during the game, 79 rushing touchdowns in eight years. Jesus, that’s just insane. He is one of the things when I watch, and I feel this way to a lesser degree with Lamar Jackson, but I do think there are certain things. I guess I would say this. I feel generally Kansas City has slightly better personnel than Buffalo, but right now does Buffalo have the right ingredients, star running back. Mahomes doesn’t um better defensive front with more highlevel guys, right? Chris Jones has not had a great year. So, we know Buffalo and Kansas City have good GMs and great quarterbacks, and we know Andy’s very clever in these games, but a lot of times, John, it’s units. You know, the two times Mahomes has been blown out in Super Bowls, he had he had a bad O line. The O lines are both fine, although Kansas City has got overwhelmed today. But that defensive front right now for Buffalo, it it reminds me it it just there’s just a lot of guys. I feel like there’s just a lot of guys that play. throw Milano in there when he’s healthy. I mean, Josh is only 29. He’s going to have six more cracks at the Super Bowl minimum. But I I felt today watching him, I’m like, that’s they’ve got it. They’ve had it before. But Cook playing at this level, Buffalo’s got all the ingredients. I would say this too, if Concaid is going to look like that, that’s what they drafted him high to look like a Leaporta, to look like a Tucker Craft, a KD, a Kelsey. So, if he’s gonna play like that, I mean, Cook, if you had to look at 2025, you would say Jonathan Taylor’s had the best year at running back, right? McCaffrey is just week in week out bringing it. And you would put Cook, I mean, he’s been one of the best running backs in the NFL this year. And you watch him on a weekly basis, not really debatable. So, you get high level tight end play, you get high level running back play. I I would say since Cook has become a high-end starter, it’s really changed the Bills offense and has made Joe Brady look a lot better. The other thing is if you have a good defensive line, the Chiefs are missing their star rookie left tackle who’s been gone now for several weeks. Today they had multiple injuries at right guard, at right at left guard, and at right tackle. Well, that means your backup left tackle is starting because Simmons is gone. So, you actually are going to like a backup’s backup. The domino effect was pretty big and you just saw him kind of under duress. And the reality is sometimes when he’s under duress, he will make decisions like, you know, other run-of-the-mill quarterbacks and not one of the great players we’ve ever seen. And he did today. That was this week’s Sunday Night Food brought to you by Uber Eats. When football makes you hungry, get game day deals on Uber Eats. I do every week. The official ondemand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now. I just left guard and right. Chicago Bears 47, Bengals 42. What a game. I mean, it shouldn’t have come to this. I mean, Chicago had it wrapped. The um I was thinking about this with the Bears. So, they got that block field goal to beat the Raiders, the Jaden Daniels fumble to beat Washington, the 58- yard touchdown to beat Cincinnati. You make your own breaks mostly. But um I thought the really the thing that I’ve noticed about Caleb and I said this Friday in the herd is that against I like the Bears today against Cincinnati and Dallas when he gets that extra beat and a better run game. He’s very effective. He today while trailing Caleb at 124 passer rating, three touchdowns, no picks. No, it’s the Bengals defense, but I think what we’re seeing with this Bears team, they’re winning these weird games, John. The Bears lose weird games. It’s like what they do. Totally. They’re winning all these weird games. When they lose, they’re outclassed by Baltimore, right? They got they couldn’t run the ball, but they’re winning the weird games. And I mean, Caleb today is 20 of 34. He’s never thrown a lot of picks. He had five carries, 11 yards a carry. I I do see growth. I absolutely do. Operationally, there was another moment that I just drives me nuts, but there’s a there’s something to be said for a losing organization. You saw the horsepower. He does not throw a lot of picks. Um I just think there’s there is value in winning games you have lost for the last decade. you know, blocking a field goal. Uh uh you when they hit that big play to Loveland, I’m like, “Oh my god, they they just would not have done that in the last 10 years.” So, I I I’m I’m going to give the Bears credit, by the way, with the Packers and Lions losing. NFC North is wide open today. Massive day for the Vikings in uh JJ McCarthy and Caleb Williams. I wrote this down probably early in the third quarter. Can you win a shootout? Because we’ve seen them win some ugly games, right? their defense was leading the league in turnovers and I didn’t know and they did and it shouldn’t have been as they were up double digits right when DJ Morris they they went to challenge it it ended up being a touchdown which was an explosive play Johnson’s a stud you know when part of the reason I like the Bengals in this game cuz like oh DeAndre Swift’s out well he’s been one of the hottest players in the league and then he turns this Ruter seventh round pick I think he ran for 170 yards Colin so he was fantastic the Bears defense morphed into the Bengals defense. So, it even put more pressure on Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams and they were awesome. The other thing is there’s kind of the elephant in the room with Tyler Warren looking like one of the best tight ends in the league. Like, hey, you guys drafted Lovelin. Huge day for him. I think Lovelin got the game bowl. Lovelin and the running back. So, you had two rookies come through. Good day for Pace, right? Taking some heat with the Drake May emergence and people are kind of looking at his at his draft. So, Lovelind the the rookie running back and overall like the thing that has stood out to me has been how good Ben Johnson is and he he’s really kind of said to me Caleb when he scrambles around it it doesn’t really work. He’s got to learn to kind of calm down a little bit but like you said doesn’t turn the ball over hit explosive plays and and Lovelin and the running back were they had 580 yards Jesus that’s a lot of yards they averaged 7.6 six yards a play, dominated time of possession, and you know, they were much, you know, they were very good on third down. So, again, they had a shootout with the Cowboys, blew him out, shoot out with the Bengals on the road, pick up a W. There’s value in all this stuff. And I think, you know, the other thing is we’ve seen it with Boone Knicks. He’s tremendous in the fourth, but he he has he has long gaps where he struggles. Drake May didn’t have a great day today. He had some he struggled a bit. Uh Pennock made some really good nice throws today. I think all these young guys, the difference between a great quarterback like Allen and Drake May is you know almost exactly what you get with Josh Allen. Like Steph Curry, he may have a bad every eighth game he just may be off and it’s usually for a half. The great players are Kobe in his prime was was you got the same damn guy every night. And I think with with Caleb Williams I think it’s official. I can see growth. I there’s no question he is a better football player this year than last. Would you agree that that you can see you can see growth? Yeah, he’s definitely better. He’s he’s solid. He has not been It’s his bad plays when he scrambles around it feels like the offense is just so out of sync because it’s like could he just sit in the pocket for an extra second, even throw the ball away and a lot of his scrambles don’t turn into explosive plays. But today when I I can live with the bad if you’re making explosive plays and throwing touchdowns. I’ll say the same thing with JJ McCarthy. I can live through growing pains if you’re accounting for several touchdowns a game, right? And I think you saw it today with both guys is they’re good or scoring plays. So if you’re giving me touchdowns or big chunk plays in the passing game, I I I can live with a bad sack or or a misplay on third and seven, right? that it’s when you’re not getting eat. You’re not getting the layup stuff and you’re not having, you know, scoring touchdown level explosive plays. So, yeah, Caleb, they have explosive play. Oh, there’s no question. I I like Chicago skill players. Like him a lot. I mean, to be able to go to a backup running back and he’s kind of a gender bug. He’s a smaller guy. Might be kind of the pitterpatter of his feet. He’s He’s a He was running fast. Yeah, he was really moving. All right. Minnesota 27, Detroit 24. Before we get to JJ McCarthy, Goff got sacked five times, hit 11, 10 tackles for loss. Brian Flores was on his game today. They couldn’t run the football at all. So, it was um Omar on St. Brown and Sam Leapora were excellent, but Detroit could not run the ball. And that’s kind of the engine that makes everything slick and click there. JJ McCarthy was um after the first couple of drives he he was about 50% again but I got two touchdowns ran for another um okay on third down I thought he was very good in the scripted stuff early overall he moves well he looks I it’s funny about size he looks a little small to me it’s it’s so funny Mahomes is 6’1 and a half feels huge to me I don’t Aaron Rogers is 6’1 and a half he feels 6’4 uh McCarthy if sometimes feels like he gets engulfed But overall, I thought he moved well and played pretty well. Did you have a strong take on him? I I think your take on the weight, I think it’s a girth thing. Size, your thickness, cuz Russell Wilson never felt like he was small, right? Even though he’s 5’10”, he cuz he’s 220 lbs. Caleb’s a good example. Shorter, but feel he’s Caleb’s 6 feet tall. I’m taller than Caleb by like an inch, but he’s thick. One thing we said about JJ last year during the injury and I think Albert Brerier and a bunch of guys he lost a bunch of weight and was like 185 lbs. So I think it’s harder for Mahomes probably weighs 230 lbs. So I I think that factors in the number one thing with JJ today were the good plays were touchdowns. So if you’re going to account for three touchdowns, you could have 20 incompletions and have some terrible plays. It’s when you’re not scoring and bringing none of that to the table, it’s just a complete disaster. Flores, I thought if you were going to give one game ball to coach today, it’d probably have to go absolutely because you’re on the road in Detroit, that was that that was excellent. I mean, his guys were flying around. Goff’s good against the Blitz and early on, I think they had blitzed like five or six times. They had sacked him on two of them. Goff was all out of sync. Their offense was out of sync. And I it it felt like he gave the speech, we’re gonna have to win this thing because in fairness coming into that game and they they kept hitting on it on the broadcast of I I thought Tom did a good job. He said there’s no one disputing his arm strength, but you know, Birkhart must have come in late from the baseball game last night, was there. Talk about a guy grinding. And Brady’s big thing was clearly he knows Kevin pretty well. It’s like sometimes you need to do a change up. Sometimes we need to get some off speed. Sometimes you need touch balls because you watch the arm strength is fine. But on some of these balls over the middle on third and eight and even at his interception was a little behind his like Caleb like some of these guys is a work in progress. Yeah. JJ’s interception was low and down and it and the Lions player came over it. No, that’s that’s Matt Stafford is the master of tempo. Like he can sling it sidearm. He can throw heat. And I think of it’s just it is a little bit like being a baseball pitcher. I what I worry about with JJ McCarthy is and I felt like this with Brock Pury, you know, when the Niners Christian McCaffrey is upright, I don’t even care who the quarterback is. I mean, like if if Christian McCaffrey plays today, he had half their yards. It doesn’t matter if it’s M. Jones or Brock Pretty. I do feel with Kevin Oonnell, Justin Jefferson, good left tackle. I I kind of feel like it’s hard to evaluate JJ because the coach, the left tackle, and the receiver are so good. It’s like San Francisco with Kyle and Chris McAffrey and then when KD’s healthy and and Jennings can be, you know, highly productive, how valuable is the quarterback? So, this isn’t anti-J McCarthy. I just think I think again I think I just need more of him. I just have to see more games. I thought Brian Flores was game ball. All right, today’s show is brought to you by our new presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet. They’re a great partner. There’s always something to bet on. If you haven’t tried your first bet on Hard Rock Bet yet, there’s still time for you to get 150 bucks in bonus bets. If you win, just place a $5 bet. That’s it. Five bucks. If it hits, you not only get your winnings, but you get $150 in extra bonus bets. The NBA is back, which means it’s time to shoot your shot on Hard Rock Bet, your home for all the hoops action all season long. If you need a little help with your first bet, check out the streaks heating up inside the Hard Rock Bet Stats Hub. You can find live odds to bet on all of these streaks right in the Hard Rock Bet app. Download the Hard Rock Bet app today and make your first deposit. That That’s why I think it’s fair for JJ McCarthy. The bar of how he’s being judged should be higher than a lot of random young quarterbacks on bad teams. When you play for crappy franchises and you lose, I expect that. Like, whoever the Carolina Panthers draft, I I don’t expect it to look great. But when you get Justin Jefferson in his prime, Hawinson, Jordan Addison, Kevin Okonnell, if we had a coaching draft, where would Kevin, he’d go in the top five. So everything, and this was Trey Lance’s thing when you get drafted to a team whose expectations are, yeah, let’s win 14 games and compete for the conference championship. You you just get judged a lot differently. And I’ll give JJ credit in the Bears game. He had huge moments in a big time. today at the end of the game with the game on the line. His coach put it in his hands and he delivered. And that’s where I think a lot of his defenders go with the quote unquote he’s a winner. There is some winning characteristics when you’re comfortable in big moments. You go back to that moment against Alabama where it looked like Harbaugh had this all-time great roster and he was going to lose in the in the playoffs to Nick Sabin on probably I bet Nick would say one of his worst ever playoff teams. JJ made some great plays. You watched his first start against the Bears big spot. made some great plays and today on I thought they were just going to run it and just hey lean it on floor as they put it in his hands. Great throw, Colin. Not a good throw, a great throw. Yeah. Well, when I watched him at Michigan, that was always my take. Moves well, gritty kid. Didn’t make a ton of big throws, but he’d make one or two NFL Sunday throws. He can make the big throws. So, I just don’t have a ton, you I mean, like, say what you want about Bo Knicks. I’ve got like a six-game winning streak and he he’s got a 119 passer rating, nine touchdowns, no pick in the fourth quarter. I’ve got a lot of samples of Bo Knicks. He can have gaps, but late he’s really good. So, I with JJ, I I’ve never been a huge believer, but I thought, you know what, to go to Detroit, you got the Well, you know, you win a lot of different ways. Not every Sunday for Brady was great. that Teddy Bruski crew, they there were days that Tom didn’t do a lot of heavy lifting. He was 20 of 28 with a lot of underneath stuff. So, um yeah, if I was going to defend, you know, JJ hasn’t been playing. Carson has or but definitely Caleb Williams. Their de I mean Caleb’s defense I sometimes you watch the Bears on defense and they just look at and Minnesota till today they had been pretty bad this season, Colin. I mean, today was the and even today they gave it’s not like they gave up 10 points. I mean, and they had some drop balls. I mean, there were plays to be made like the defenses on those two teams. I mean, Bo Knicks, we we might have just watched the two best defenses in the league play each other today, right? The physicality of Denver and Houston and how good their defensive lines are. So, anytime you have a defense that is that good, it does back you up when you’re not making plays. But, uh, I I’d say all three of these guys have one thing going for them. JJ McCarthy now obviously Caleb and Bo Knicks making plays in big spots and I think when you look at Caleb and Bo Knicks they’ve had a lot of snaps now. Well, they also have Shawn Payeyton. I mean, look at the look at the coaches. Ben, Kevin O such an advantage. Such a huge advantage. Steelers 27, Colts 20. Pittsburgh’s defense is is completely feast or famine. In the two best wins for the Steelers, New England and Indie, 11 takeaways. In the other games, they can be the Bengals. They have huge holes. So, I I’ll say this. Aaron Rodgers, I’ve defended them all year. Aaron Brett Favre’s first season with the Vikings. Remember that magical season Brett Favre had with the Vikings? Favre had 33 touchdowns and completed 68% of his throws. Aaron is on pace to have 36 touchdowns and complete 68% of his throws. Both struggled with the Jets, which is Siberia, right? Nobody, Darnold Favre Rogers, nobody can win with the Jets. Um, but I, this was a great example. Daniel Jones did not have a consistent run game. You know, the Steelers defense and again, we saw it with I mean, it’s amazing. We saw it with Minnesota today. Their defense is like, “Oh, we’re in Detroit. JJ McCarthy is starting. This is on us.” Um, we saw it with the Steelers today. It’s like, “Oh, here come the Colts. They’re favored over us. This is the hottest team in the league.” And that offensive line for Indie for the first time this year got pushed around a little bit. So, um, and and I, you know, Daniel Jones 31 to 50. Again, he I don’t think Daniel Jones should be throwing 50 times. when you don’t run the ball, that’s what you have to do. But this was another example. We we’ve talked about this all all day today. Uh Buffalo’s defense playing Momes. Defense is about like energy and juice. And I thought Pittsburgh just feasted today. Looked like a different defense than they had in most of the weeks this year. You uh bringing up that Minnesota team with Favre, I think it was 09. I I just look Jared Allen who just went into the Hall of Fame, had 15 sacks that year. And I think the last couple weeks you’ve been watching, you just gave TJ a hundred million dollars. Where has he been? And today I I thought their season was on the line th this game. You know, this is a Tomlin spot as an underdog. He was just in the same spot against the Packers and got killed. So if if you would have played the results before the game kicked off and said, “Well, the the Steelers lose.” So I’ve seen him lose at home to Seattle, Green Bay, and Indie, three playoff teams. Like you got Baltimore running you down, written all over you. you need to win this game because all of a sudden you lose. You have four wins, the Ravens have three and they are trending up and you are trending down. I thought this was a kitchen sink game and it was seven nothing and Indie had the ball and they were driving. I went I I feel like they score a touchdown here and go down 14 nothing. The Steelers season’s basically over around Halloween and TJ Watt made the play, forced the fumble, they got the ball back, they scored and then I think they scored like 10 more points. It’s 17-7 at half. You’re like, “Okay.” and and then they just started creating turnovers, sacks, picks. It’s like, well, if their defense plays like this, they can be a terror. They they could be a 10, 11 win team that could make some that could win a playoff game. But the defense we’ve seen the previous two weeks, Colin, they not only have no shot in the playoffs, they weren’t going to win the division. So, it’s just what TJ Watt, who’s kind of the heartbeat really of their team, which is classic Steelers, right? A a pass rusher, but when he plays like that, the other guys feed off him. Yeah. They could beat they they didn’t just make Indie look bad. I mean, they were killers. They made Daniel Jones I wrote down like Does this give you any pause? Because if he plays a good defense, he I don’t want to say he just completely melted, but it was cuz he’s getting hit a lot, but man, it did not look good. No, he didn’t play, you know, the Rams game again. He he wasn’t as dominant. the I think it’s really interesting that you know Mike Tomlin I don’t think is terribly current in terms of you know line development and run game and this is where I think Aaron deserves a lot of credit. Aaron Aaron didn’t play safe much in his career unless he unccorked a couple of bad interceptions and then Aaron would like bring it down in a game uh like he was protecting a passer rating and and I noticed it. But I don’t think this team I think he’s playing this team I’ve said it 10 times. I think he’s really playing the position the way a Steeler quarterback should play the position. This is a high completion percentage offense with big targets that you can get the ball, they can break a tackle. Um, this kind of team and I think Aaron has to lead the offense. Tomlin on his own over the last seven years has not shown an ability to get the old line of the run game right. But, um, you know, Pittsburgh’s always been under Tomlin such a good dog. And also the Ravens won Thursday night. So that put more pressure on the Steelers as they watched the Ravens blow out the Dolphins. So it’s like, oh crap. So I think I think a lot of things I mean Daniel Jones had one touchdown and uh three picks today. And I I thought it was fairly obvious that from the very get-go there was a different attitude. When you back Tomlin into a corner, his teams have always played differently. That’s where I thought they were he was kind of at a fork in the road spot because if he couldn’t win this game, his time with the Steelers is over because this is his spot. The other thing looking at obviously they couldn’t I mean they had the lead all the second half they ran for 38 yards Colin they they average under two yards a carry. Did you see Diana? She put out a bunch of like trade scuttlebutt I think yesterday and one of the things were Bree Hall with the Jets who Aaron knows like listen you miss on Caleb Caleb Johnson maybe in a couple years he’s fine but right now he can’t help you. You’re all in on this season. I if Aaron goes listen I like that guy a lot. I think he would help. Shouldn’t they be really interested in that? Because they feel like they need a running back desperately. Well, yeah, they’re asking Jaylen Warren to carry the load, and that’s just not really his thing. I mean, they’ve done a great job through the years to draft edge rushers and wide receivers. They’re hit and miss on quarterbacks. I I I could make an argument. It’s go time. I I honestly think Aaron’s going to play this year and next. Do you? I I think he’s going to I think he’s comfortable. I think I I don’t know. I just He’s not getting hit a lot. I kind of feel like this is about, you know, I said before the season I thought they’d went eight and nine games. Um, it’s gone better than I thought for Aaron. I I really has. It’s a little smoother. I I totally agree. I I thought he would look older. Same. He’s He’s looked He’s been a little bit of a fountain of youth. No question. He just He’s just moving around a little bit younger. I expected it to get worse. I know people say second year off in Achilles. It’s one thing when you’re 28, it’s another thing when you’re 41. I I do think when you look at Tomlin because he’s a good example what you’re saying why Aaron might return. I think a lot of people go why wouldn’t you want a fresh start because he’s coaching the Steelers. It’s kind of a sweet job. Just like I bet Aaron who’s been with the Packers realizes this is pretty awesome. Like playing for Ohio State or Alabama football doesn’t suck. I I think most guys that played basketball at Kansas or North Carolina enjoy the experience. You know, being the coach or the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers kind of has its perks. So I if you’re Aaron, you feel pretty good. It’s like, hey, we’ll pay you another $15 million. And the other thing is they have a lot of old guys on the team. Part of the reason, you know, Tom, I I think that Tampa Bay experience went well because by his second year there, most of those guys, even the Tampa Bay guys are veteran players. He got to bring some other veterans. A lot of like-minded people, married kids, multiple kids, pickup lines at school. So I think Aaron looks around, TJ Watts over 30. Cam’s 35, 36. Tomlin’s like this player version of a coach. They they just it’s it’s pretty tailor made for a veteran type quarterback to go in and enjoy his time there. I would say sports fans love a comeback. So the underdog that kind of defies the odds. So uh that’s the story of Green River Whiskey. Uh in 1918 their distillery burned to the ground. 40,000 barrels of bourbon gone. uh most would have quit and uh they rebuilt from the ground up on the original site in Owensboro, Kentucky. And today they’re producing some of the great bourbons and rye whisies in the game. Uh Kentucky Straight Bourbon weeded foolproof rye. Uh it’s it’s a lineup built on resilience. So if you love a good comeback in sports or in your glass, Green River’s got you covered. Head on over to green river whiskey.com to learn more. Try some for yourself and always uh please drink responsibly. Carolina Panthers beat Green Bay 16-13. I had said on FS1 Friday, I think I said it three times. I said, “This has a weird trap game vibe for Green Bay.” Um, it’s really weird. Green Bay averaged six yards a play, had 400 yards and 13 points. They were good on third down. You know, when I and Packer fans are just can’t, they’re just beside themselves with Matt Laflur. I was watching Green Bay today and my take was Tucker Craft, by the way, looks like he could be out for the year. Torn ACL. That’s devastating. Brutal. He’s a great player. They’re not running the ball very well. I don’t know why this is, but I feel with this wide receiver and tight end group, I feel they should just give the offense to Jordan Love. Now, you made a horrific throw that was dropped in the end zone by Carolina. Uh Bryce Young. I mean, what’s disappointing is Bryce Young didn’t even play well. I mean, this was not yet a weather advantage. It was a little cool and windy. Bryce Young did not play particularly well. Rico Dowl, by the way, is the most underrated player in the league. Carolina’s running back, former Cowboys, great. But I feel like this is why I think the Rams are the best team in the NFC. Philadelphia and Green Bay have an identity crisis. They I I Green Bay does not know what they are offensive. I watched the Rams today and they know exactly what they are. They are fast and aggressive defensively. Offensively, it’s all about efficiency. They They love to run the ball. It’s highly efficient. I watch the Rams and I feel like they just they just lean into what they are. They absolutely have complete utter confidence in what they are. I don’t know if Green Bay knows yet. And I kind of feel like Matt is being conservative. That’s my take that you’re picking up the yards. But they they were just it was weird today. They had a they had a fourth and like eight at the 13 or 14 yardd line and they went for it instead of kicking a field goal which is I I wrote that down. I may have the yard. Yeah. It was 13 to six. That was when he threw it across his body and the guy dropped. Yeah. And it just I So So that was like what what are you doing? I’m not I just don’t think they know what they are. I they were the most disappointing team of the weekend by far. I mean, coming off the momentum they had, they had such a great half last week against the Steelers. I mean, they they flipped a switch. It’s like this is one of the best teams in the league. I would have said coming into today there would we’re doing this before Seattle, but Seattle, the Rams, it’s hard to include the NerS with their injuries. So, I’d go Seattle Rams, Pittsburgh, or excuse me, Philadelphia, and then the two teams from the North. But you you watch obviously the Lions, their quarterback can’t really move, and if you can hit them, and then whatever goes on with this Green Bay offense, at one point in time, I look down, they had like almost 250 yards of offense and six points, and they were 0 and4 in the red zone. They they were just atrocious in the red zone. I saw Matt Leforce after the game is like, “Hey, they’re taking away our explosive play, so we’re just dinking and dunking to death.” But I don’t know. I mean, I obviously Carolina’s a little better. I mean, they are five and four and I think the dust is going to settle and they’re going to win eight, nine games and be very competitive and have some upsets, but at home that should be a huge advantage. Yeah, Bryce Young missed. They were atrocious. Yeah, he missed. T-Mac was wide open. Uh Xavier Legette, like it Bryce Young did not play particularly well. This should be and you have 400 yards and average 6 yards a play. This was not a game in which you couldn’t move the ball. I will say I do think Carolina defensively is fast. Like Carolina’s draft, you know, they’ve had a lot of high draft picks. And you know, people always look at the first round pick, but you’re drafting high in the second and the third and the fourth and the fifth and the sixth. So Carolina’s got some guys. I mean, they can they can get really physical. They’re quick. Um but I just I think this is something that is really under discussed in sports. What are you I remember when we started the volume I would tell my guys um bar stool is something you know I ringer is we have to become what are we like you have to identify what are you and without doing a big branding campaign you just have to become something and I look at the best teams in this league. Buffalo I think has a real sense of what they are right now. I I don’t think Green Bay knows. And I And it’s weird because Matt’s an offensive guy. He should have a greater sense um of what they are. Offensive coaches generally like like Shawn Payeyton, Andy Reid, McVey. I I rarely doubt the identity of the offense. I mean, Kyle Shanahan knows basically Christian McAffrey is the offense. The quarterback’s less relevant than the star running back. But I I look at Green Bay right now and I think they have to that’s a team that needs like a bi-week or a come to Jesus meeting. That’s what it feels like. Matt Laflur needs a come to Jesus meeting with Jordan Love. Give him the keys. They’re not running the ball consistently and go for it. Well, I think in their two losses against um the Browns and obviously today, the offense really let them down because their defense is not allowing points. I mean, I think the Browns game they lost 13 to to 10. In this one, they lost 16 to13. So, that is squarely on your head coach’s side of the ball and ultimately your quarterback who you’re paying a lot of money who we just saw last week. I mean, I understand the Steelers defense was a little off, but how good did Jordan Love look last week? How is is there a more, you know, Jacqueline Hyde player right now in the league that on any given game he can look like the MVP of the league and then today you go, what the hell was that? And part of it, I think it’s very fair to combine him with the coach. I I do think at the end of the day, Laflur has proven he’s more like Kyle. He wants to run the ball than he is an Andy or And Josh Jacobs is a very I mean Josh Jacobs um is a very good player. He he’s a top 10 12 running back. He’s a very very good player. But I if Craft if Craft is injured that’s that’s devastating. It is. I I it’s not that Green Bay can’t run the ball, but they don’t cons to me when I watch them, I don’t feel like that’s their identity. I I to be honest with you, I think that I think craft and love sometimes like that’s who I trust. No, I’m with you. Um 49ers 34, New York Giants 24. Uh Christian McCaffrey had 28 carries. He led San Francisco in catches, rushing, rushing touchdowns, 50% of total yards. He’s so good. They dominate time of possession. Um, I will say this, Jackson Dart again, I I it was I talked to Jason McIntyre today and he he’s a Jets fan, so he’s like, I don’t know what he is. He moves really well. He plays You can see his confidence. He hits seven different receivers. I I mean I to me I feel like they found their guy. That’s what I mean that no neighbors, no Scataboo. I watched him today. I don’t think personnel wise this is a great 49ers defense. But I don’t know. My my take is I just see the confidence kind of the thickness, the arm. He moves well. I if I’m if I’m the New York Giants, honestly, I don’t care if I win games. I want another great draft pick. I think they found their guy. Yeah, I think the big picture question mark with them is does Dable get another year because this was his guy or do you just blow it up and you get him on the cycle of all these young quarterbacks over the last three or four years that derails their career? And to me, he’s shown enough that I you can make the argument. Either way, I I think that Scataboo injury Yeah. from just uh from an energetic just uh there was some oomph that he brought to the team that is you you can’t replace once you lose that to go hand in hand with Dart and they’ve already lost neighbors. So, he’s throwing I mean, look at the guys he’s throwing to here. Darius Sllayton, Ju Robinson. It’s not. Now, you could say the same thing for the Niners, but the Niners still have more healthy players and Kyle’s a better coach than the table. So, you saw Kyle Shanahan roll in with M. Jones and and control the game. The other thing is, you know, M. Jones a good example that after that first year in New England when Josh was there, they won 10 games. Over the next two years when he was the starter and he he got banged up a little bit during that time. He won a total of eight games over last two seasons in New England. He’s won five this year for Kyle Shanahan. And I think Kyle mentioned after the game with Pertie’s turf toe like it’s all year. If he is able to come back, he’s just going to reinjury. It’s not one of those things that go away. There’s a decent chance that M. Jones is just starts the rest of the season and and they win 10 games. Some years uh Sean’s had a couple of these the last couple years when you’re not going to win the Super Bowl or even get there, but it’s kind of a uh you know, a little bit of a pelt on the wall. This is a big year for Kyle kind of muscle flex winning all these games with M. cuz you watch all these teams get to their backup quarterback and they just crumble and he he should beat the Giants. But to just go in and handle a team on the road with your backup quarterback like that is it’s really been pretty this is a team that ceiling is limited now because of the injuries. But they look like they’re they’re barreling toward 10 and seven with they they might just lost their first round pick today to an ACL the kid from Georgia. Yeah. You know I’ll die on this hill. I think Mack throws a prettier ball than Brock Pury. I think he’s a little less reckless and I think he throws a prettier ball. I think he throws a first round draft pick ball. I think Pertie moves better. I think Pertie sees the field really, really exceptionally well. But when I watch M. Jones and he’s got time to throw, I think he throws a really good ball. Yeah, I would say neither of them where I would disagree is neither of them have first round ball out of their hand. But I I I think Mack is probably more natural because he’s a little taller throwing from within the pocket. And Pertie’s just a dynamic thrower on the run and pretty accurate down the field. But Mack over the middle of the field, I mean, they they just signed Kendrick Bourne off the uh literally just in the airport. Didn’t have a job. They signed him. He just every single game makes plays. But like you said, McAffrey, it’s just it’s pretty crazy. I mean, they have they play the Rams this week at home, which they probably shouldn’t win with their injuries, but that that they’re even in this position. If if Kyle does win a game like that and sweeps the Rams and just has them more than 10 wins, it’s I probably not going to win coach of the year, but he should be in the mix because what he’s doing with the the team he’s rolling out, the difference of his team and the Giants team injuries is not much. Well, all the guys he’s lost. May he’s probably lost more. I don’t think any team in the league has lost more guys than maybe. You know what’s remarkable to me and maybe it’s I was thinking about this today. So the Rams beat the Saints 34-10. Time of possession was 43 minutes to 17. I mean it was it almost felt like a practice. um is that whereas Philadelphia and Green Bay kind of struggle to figure out what they are because the Dodgers are taking so much glare in Los Angeles away from football and should um the Rams are really good. I mean, we forget they went in London and they blow out Jacksonville like 35-7. Rams right now, John, are really, really good. Uh, Puka came back today. Um, Cororum played okay. Uh, they have a two-headed run game now. They have four healthy tight ends. Um, Jordan Winningham, that sixth round draft pick. They have a sixth and a seventh round wide receiver that can play a little bit. The defense is excellent up front. I think quietly. I mean, if you took and I really believe this, I think the Rams are the most consistent, best coached right now, healthiest team. I don’t think the O line is great. I think it’s very good. They I think they have a great guard tandem. Um, but I I you know, and I had this was a lower righthand corner game as I was watching Kansas City and Buffalo, right? But Jesus, I mean, it was I mean, we’ve seen a lot of upsets this year and a lot of weird That thing today was a practice. It was just it was just easy peasy. And I mean, Stafford at one point, I don’t know what he finished. He had four touchdowns, no picks. Jesus, they were getting seven seven yards a carry. It the Rams are really good. He was 3432 for 280 yards at 42. 3442. the other SK the the other or no 20 2432 for 280. So he had eight incompletions. I’d say the scary thing these last couple games is Devonte has five touchdowns. So when that you figure out that report to go along with Puka now Puka at any moment, you know, takes some vicious hits. He runs guys over, you know, it’s can this guy stay healthy? But when those two guys are on the field right now, they’re they’re as good of a one-two combo as like in terms of production and what they bring to the table is like Jason Higgins that they’re un kind of unstoppable. And the one thing with Devonte, he’s very comfortable with a high-end veteran quarterback in in his prime with Aaron. It’s kind of starting to feel like that those guys cohesion, especially in the uh in the red zone. has Matt Stafford kind of quietly because you know today I don’t think super a lot of people are dialed into the Saints game but four touchdowns five the Jacks he I think he threw three in that loss against the ners he he’s got to be directly in so I I have said this before this sounds crazy so he was better than Aaron Rogers in high school and he was better than Aaron in college and he was better than Aaron for the first four years of his NFL career he’s been better than Aaron for the last four years of his NFL career. Aaron had a 10 11-year stretch at Green Bay where Matt Stafford was um you know he was with a losing organization and Aaron had the um well-run outfit. What if Matt Stafford wins another Super Bowl? Now think about that. He’s got a better playoff record. He was better early, better late. Um if Matt Stafford win, well, he’s already a Hall I think he’s a Hall of Famer now, right? Matt Stafford’s a Hall of Fame right now. I’d put him in. What if Matt Stafford wins a second Super Bowl? He’s always been considered one of the best arm talents of our generation. That’s indisputable. You could ask anybody. The Bradies, ask Aaron, ask Favre, they all go, “Yeah, Stafford’s it.” Where do you put him all time? Serious serious question. Matt Stafford wins a second Super Bowl. I I’m telling you, there’s not a lot of guys I’d put above him. I mean, he doesn’t have he doesn’t have quite the gravitas of your Brady, Montana, Manning, and Elway, but Marino’s got new no Super Bowls. He’s got two. I don’t know. I I Stafford is watching him this season. man. He is He is dialed in. He’s comfortable. I don’t know. What do you do with him all time if he wins a second? Well, to me, the it’s it’s hard. I mean, I you could make the argument Aaron’s a top five guy, you know, with with Manning, Montana, Brady, Elway, uh, pretty short list. To me, I don’t think most people would include Stafford in the top 10 of quarterbacks. Now, granted, he played for the Lions and not the Dan Camp. Would you put him if he has a second Super Bowl, he’s a better arm talent than Drew Brees, Matt? Yeah. To to me, there is not if if I could get here, here’s the argument. If you could get 23-year-old Matt Stafford or and start listing out quarterbacks, he would go ahead of a lot of guys because he’s showing now. What if Matt Stafford had been drafted by a Harbaugh brother, an Andy Reid, a Shawn Payeyton when he was 23 instead of going to the Lions who always drafted high, right? And their two best players beside him quit at 30 years old. I mean, it’s it’s a pretty the Lions that if you’re a 12-year-old kid right now, you you can’t even comprehend this conversation. But I I I do think that the time in with the Lions, he has had years where he’s thrown a lot of picks. He can be a little reckless. The way he’s playing right now, though, like his ceiling, the one one thing I will say about this, his ceiling is as high as any player ever. Like he he can go toe-to-toe when he’s on I say this about Cam. Cam can have individual games where he can outplay any guy in the league and that was prime Brady, prime Manning. Now Stafford’s a better player than Cam, but in that same vein of like if you get Stafford in the right day or the right month, he can just be the best player in the league now. And he’s I do think this second kind of iteration of his career with Shawn is going to be a really powerful moment for his career and he’ll have like the the Curt Warner type the individual seasons. I I just think it’s hard to shake that that lion stretch because well, winning and losing isn’t a quarterback statistic. Most good quarterbacks win a lot. Not all his fault, but I do think he probably developed some bad habits there. We have cuz he had to. Football season’s here. And if you want to go to an NFL or college football game, Game Time is the place for you. The Game Time app just gives you the advantage back to you, the fans. It’s a hack for unlocking amazing tickets and experiences in a few taps. I love it. Easy to use. The game time guarantee means you can trust you’ll get a 100% authentic tickets on time and at the best price 100%. So they even let you preview your seat on the app. That’s special. Plus fees roll is included. So what you see is what you pay every time. Take the guesswork out of buying professional football tickets with Game Time. Just download the Game Time app. Create an account. If you use the code Colin C l I N 20 bucks off your first purchase. Terms apply again. Create an account, redeem code O L I N, 20 bucks off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go download the Game Time app today. Let’s talk some World Series. So, that’s about as good a World Series, especially game six and seven as I’ve ever seen in my life. So I, you know, I thought it was really interesting, you know, Dave Roberts pulled all these levers, uh, you know, like he just pulled all these levers and to win a World Series where, you know, he puts in Rojos and then the out the defensive outfielder in the ninth and he goes with Yoshi. Uh, again, everything worked. But I think, you know, as I was I was talking to a friend about this is that Otani, Roki, and Yoshi, and right now Yoshi is arguably the best pitcher and Otani is the best player. Roki’s been moved to the pen, but these Japanese stars and Japanese baseball is like really high higha. It’s not quite the bigs, but it’s it’s there’s great players and it’s a the Dodgers have so separated financially from everybody else on I mean on the West Coast that I mean they always had money, but the gap now between the Dodgers and the Giants and everybody else, the Angels and the Mariners, is that these Japanese stars, between weather and proximity and how well-run the organization is, And the Dodgers are smart. So they said, “Listen, the only downside, the taxes, just defer the payment so you can get paid when you’ve retired and live somewhere else.” Is that I a friend of mine in New York was saying, “God, our teams are bad.” But I said, “New York is cold. It’s intense. A much harsher media, the city tax. LA is spread out. You can hide.” I mean, I never see I was in LA 9 years. I’m here right now. You never see proathletes in LA. You can just hide. You never see celebrities in LA. And they’re everywhere. There’s writers, directors, star. I mean, look how many pro teams were in LA. You never see athletes ever. It’s just so spread out. There’s so many gated communities. Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Malibu, you know, everybody’s got these enclaves. Beverly Hills, Bair, Windy Roads. You can hide Thousand Oaks. And I think I think they I think the Dodgers right now, Steve Cohen’s got money with the Mets. The Yankees have money. They just feel like with these Japanese stars and you know the other thing, John, those guys don’t listen to our media. It’s like international NBA players. They come here, they play, and then they go home. They don’t get caught up. They play so I mean, Yoshi plays so loose in these big spots. He’s so unaffected by the intensity and the chaos of the World Series. It’s I I I don’t know. I just look at the Dodgers and I’m not sure there’s another organization in North America that’s run like they are. One of my best friends played college baseball and one of his teammates, you know, was like a fringe big leager AAA guy and signed a deal with the Japanese team when Otani right before he came over when he was alleged over there and they went over and visited and went to the games and they were at the highest level and they said it that it felt like an SEC football game. the intensity in the environment in Japan the way these Yamamoto and and Otani grew up playing. I mean they they make it right when they’re 16, 17, 18 years old start playing in that league and they just said the intensity of the crowd would be like going to Alabama Auburn. How much these people know about baseball and how much they care. So these guys the bright lights completely unfaced. when when Otani was like one of 25 through the first whatever of the playoffs, it wasn’t because he was overwhelmed, just he couldn’t see the baseball, right? But the difference I would say of baseball, like the Warriors can’t win unless Steph is incredible during the playoffs, right? In the NFL, you could have a random guy make a big play in a Super Bowl or an NFC Championship, but your stars, your star quarterback, your star pass rusher have to come through or you were loose. In baseball, that’s not really how it works. I mean, I was a Giants fan. Cody Ross in 2010 hit home runs off Roy Halliday that no one saw coming in Philadelphia. The Dodgers won the World Series last night. You could argue because they rolled out four guys they’re paying a combined $1.5 billion to or because their ninth hitter in the in the ninth inning hits a game-tying home run where they were going to lose the World Series and then that same guy almost falls throws home and then their backup center fielder who had been benched. I’m watching with my wife. She falls out of her chair. She’s like, “What just happened?” That had to be one of the crazier plays in World Series because it looked like he was gonna basket catch it and this random center fielder tackles him like he’s Ed Reed across the middle and saves the game. But that’s baseball. It’s not It wasn’t Otani. It was Will Smith. Will Smith Rohos and that big guy in center field. Yeah, it it’s um and and I think that’s what makes baseball pretty unique in the playoffs. It’s not just your start. Yeah. And I think and again even when if you go back and look at the great Yankee teams with Jeter and Bernie and Pada, you know, it was uh Scott Brochious from McMinnville, Oregon coming up big. So like nobody had a problem when the Yankees were buying the best players. Um because people understood that Pada and Jeter, that was part of the Yankee farm system. Well, go look at the Dodgers. Um they haven’t missed. I mean, they they draft I mean, Max was released from Oakland. They they I think they traded for Blake Snell. I mean, these guys are available on the market. Um, the Steinbrunners could have afforded to buy Yoshi. They spent 300 million. The Dodgers had 335. There’s they they don’t win the series without him. So, they identifi they identify who they want. They are aggressive. I think where the Dodgers where I see their money being an advantage because Mookie Betts did not outside of September just didn’t hit this year. Played a very good shortstop didn’t hit. Uh Freddy Freeman’s more offensive the defensive player and Otani had real struggles at the plate throughout the playoffs. Where the Dodgers have an advantage a the Asian stars obviously but it’s to get a to get a a glass now or a snail who may not give you a ton of starts during the regular season. Most teams cannot afford to pay a guy if he’s not giving you 25. I mean, Yoshi’s the only guy that never misses a start. Like, he’s a true bonafide ace. Like Verlander in his prime, you’re getting 30 starts. They can go get a snow and a glass now. Remarkably talented guys and get 10 12 starts in the regular season and just push them off to September. That’s the advantage they have. Um, but you can also lots of teams could defer payments and they don’t. The Dodgers do. So yes, money is clearly an ex, but I think to your point, Yoshi was great, but there were a lot of guys slumping. I mean, if you go back to this World Series, the Blue Jays out hit the Dodgers. I mean, the Dodgers in game six won, I think they had four hits. I mean, they they they struggled the whole series to hit. I actually think baseball is much closer to football in terms of, didn’t the Dodgers, was it two years ago? I mean, almost got beat by the Padres’s in the play. It’s the baseball. I don’t care how good your team is in basketball. When I got the Kevin Durant Warriors, I’m going to need Achilles tears and ACL tears to lose. Other than that, I’m a lock to win. Shaq, Kobe, Lakers, some of these teams, it’s going to be 90% chance I win. The Dodgers roster can’t get much better. And and it was really difficult for them to win. Honestly, they probably should have lost. No, that’s that’s basic. They won a World Series last year with really average starting pitching and they won a World Series this year with a really average bullpen, which uh is virtually impossible to do if you’re leaking in the back end. I mean, Yoshi basically is why they won the World Series. But I will say, having spent nine years full-time in Los Angeles, they just don’t make a lot of mistakes. They don’t I mean, they let Zack Grinky go. Um they they they they could have made a big bid for him. He went to Arizona. They let Manny Machado go. Um, they don’t make a lot of mistakes and and and they’ve also let uh Cody Bellinger go. They’ve let good players, you know, leave. So, um, money’s obviously a part, but, you know, I mean, the truth is, uh, in the NBA during the David Stern years, money was a part, but the New York Knicks weren’t winning. Some people don’t spend the money as wisely. I mean, we know game day revenue, the Giants and the Jets have much greater game day revenue than Green Bay. Green Bay spends their money more wisely. So, when I was working in radio, I got to go to a lot of the A’s were really good then, kind of in Billy Bean’s prime and the Giants were winning a, you know, a bunch of World Series. And I think sometimes in baseball, especially probably over the last decade, it gets overlooked because we spend so much time talking about these kind of the quote unquote nerds running the sport. I do think the best kind of nerds understand character and cohesion. And one thing you watch with the Dodgers like feels like all these guys like each other and they got a good I would say with the Blue Jays it jumped off the screen. It was like this this team looks like a college team all playing together. The San Francisco Giants always had that. Billy Bean always did a really good job of finding the right mix of guys. Baseball is about more. And you watch the Yankees, it seems like missing a little something. That’s the knock. Like at the end of the day in baseball, you still got to have some fast guys that can run. And you watch the Dodgers and definitely the Blue Jays, they gota Their best players are athletes. The Yankees are a good example. Their best players all look like, you know, move like defensive tackles. It’s like, well, the Yankees strike out too much. They don’t play small ball. The the Dodgers have the ability to I mean, listen, Toronto hit the ball more consistently. The Dodgers had the better starting pitching. U I mean, if you go back to the last year’s World Series, the only time the Yankees competed with the Dodgers is when Garrett Cole pitched. The Yankees didn’t look athletic enough, didn’t run the bases well. They’re not a very good defensive team. The Yankees strike out too much, and they have tons of money. So, you know, I mean, it You think that’s one of the most thrilling endings to a World Series you’ve ever seen? I mean, I I think game six and game seven, uh, the final innings are the greatest, most drama-filled. You’d have to go back to the 75, I think it was 75 World Series, it was Reds against the Red Sox. that Carlton Fisk Homer at Fenway where he’s, you know, waving at it. Um, and I remember watching that as a kid. I mean, that’s the first baseball memory I have is like the 74,7576 Cincinnati Reds cuz I was in Seattle. We didn’t have the Mariners yet. And that’s when I I fell in love with football over baseball. But mid70s, the big red machine, I fell in love with it. And that had I mean I can go back to that series and throw names at you of guys you’ve never heard, but I I thought the magnitude it was just so I mean you had Dave Roberts had to pull so many damn levers, you know, uh going with um Rojos like old guy. I’m not even sure when his last home run was. Dave Roberts said after his wife kept telling Rohos the whole series, you’re going to hit a home run in this series. You are. And he’s like, I’m not playing. I’m not getting out. She’s like, “You’re going to hit a home run tonight.” So, I just thought it was it was just uh everything, the announcing, the imagery, Fox, uh the Blue Jays. I mean, Blue Jays overunder was like 78 and a half. Talk about a team that just mashed and overachieved. Good for them. Before we get out of here though, we do got to mention, you know, LA last night was a pretty big win for the Trojans where not going to lie, at halftime, 14 to6, it felt pretty bleak. went, “Is is Lincoln about to be the skinny Brian Kelly here?” Because he can’t win a road game. Listen, so USC beats Nebraska. Um I thought it was an uncreative, uninspiring effort. I mean, they completed nine passes. Uh now Nebraska’s corners are pretty good. So, you know, I think it was a tough environment. It was. And they had a a walk-on right guard and a walk-on running back. So, they they were off a buy. They’re still beat up at running back. They they found this kid out of Calabasas High. This walk-on, he is as good a walk-on. I mean, it’s just amazing how good this running back is. Uh I It’s a Is it Miller? King or King? Yeah, King. King, I’m sorry. King Miller. You know, USC when they’re humming, they get random guys like was Klay Matthews a walk-on. So they they they should get their walk- on should be a little better than but I think watching USC last night, this was my big takeaway is that they’re always offensively clever. Lincoln runs the football may way more than people give him credit for. He loves to run the football. He’s very much Shawn McVey. You think of smart guy, high energy, uptempo. Shawn McVey loves to run the football. Lincoln Riley loves to run the football and he deserves a ton of credit. Jaden Mayava, I watched him at UNLV. I never even thought he was close to a pro player. Last year at USC, he didn’t start the year starting. I thought he was sloppy and reckless. I didn’t trust him. He has been coached way up. He’ll get drafted probably second or third round, maybe third round. He has been coached up dramatically. But I I come down to this with USC. We’re four years in. You can’t just be good at home. You You can’t just be good when everything hits 72 degrees. And I watched them in that first half get pushed around. They couldn’t throw the ball. I I don’t know what they are beyond clever offensively. And I just I feel like they’re an uneven program. Now, their recruiting class in 2026, uh, now it’s high schoolers, so a lot of guys won’t make impacts. But I think when I watch USC, John, my takeaway is this roster is a direct result of poor Southern California recruiting prior to next year’s recruiting class. They just they Lemon is a very good player. The other kid that jumps out is Eliia Paige. They they flipped him from Notre Dame, but they just don’t have a lot of great Southern California LA kids on that roster. Hell, the walk-on running back pops. Uh Kamari Ramsay, the safety, well, he’s from UCLA. He they got him over. They just don’t have a lot of great LA kids, and that was the pride and joy of Pete. Uh they’ve done a much better job in the last 12 months in that regard, but they they feel like they just don’t have a ton of juice athletically. That’s my take. Well, obviously Ohio State’s the cream of the crop, and I always get forwarded to these games, these big games down in Southern California. It’s like, well, this guy’s going to Ohio State, this guy’s also going to Ohio State. It’s like, well, if you’re if you’re ever going to go from barely be able to beat Nebraska with their backup quarterback who felt a little overwhelmed, right? So, it once Dylan Riyola was out and I give a kid a lot of credit. He looked like he wanted to come back in, he broke his leg or foot. So, it’s like he was clearly in a lot of pain. kid and isn’t the backup quarterback for Nebraska’s from Southern California. So, I was like, “Hey, if this guy looks good, this is this is going to come on Lincoln.” Now, luckily, he looked a little overwhelmed. I I thought whoever that was a massive game for whoever was going to win it for either one of those guys. You know, Matt Rule, okay, we keep you from going to Penn State. Here’s 30 40 more million. Let’s win a big game. And hey, Lincoln, we’ll give you a little bit of a break not being able to beat Oregon, Ohio State, but can you at least beat the Minnesota and Nebraskas on the road? And it felt like I I didn’t have much faith for you, Colin. I thought now once he missed that field goal and they drove right down and they scored that touchdown and got that two, you could you don’t Lincoln is not like Mr. emotional Kirby Smart. He got so Oh, he was fired up last night. Field goal. I went, whoa, he knows this is this is getting everyone off his ass a little bit. He needs this. No, I I kept thinking during the game, man, that flight home is going to be dark. That is going to be a I thought That’s a big win, too, for your uh your conference realignment. That game on TVs kind of pops. That that works. It does. It’s a good TV product. It was. No, it was really fun to watch. I mean, I two screened it. I was um um you know, the Dodger game. Like I don’t like like I do a lot of Twitter stuff during the day. At night, I don’t do a lot. You know, I’ll pour a cocktail. I watch a game. I put the phone away. I want to watch the game. But I I thought there was a time there Saturday, early Saturday night about eight o’clock. I thought, boy, this is going to be bleak. Jen Cohen is gonna have to sit down with them, the AD. Um because they’re going to get they’re going to get beat at Oregon. They may win out beyond that. They’ll beat UCLA probably. But when I watch USC, my take is four years in, I just don’t see enough great elite LA kids. I don’t Yeah, I think Big 10’s probably a little disappointed they’re not a little better because they’re probably just going to get Ohio State, Indiana, and Oregon into the dance. And if if USC had a little more oomph, you know, they would be a for bid four bid league. All right, last week I took a big favorite, Kansas City and covered for Hard Rock bet on Monday Night Football. I’m going to take the Cowboys at home to cover against Arizona. Kyler Murray is healthy. They’re not starting him. They’re going with Jacobe Brassette. Here’s the thing about Dallas, and this has been true for years. Dak is really, really good at home. His splits are dramatic. And I’ll give credit to Brian Shottenheimer. They have used George Pickkins excellently. Um, because of Pickkins and CD Lamb, safeties can’t cheat. The run game is substantial. I think Arizona is a franchise that’s trying to find an identity. Cowboys have one, especially at home. I’m going to take Dallas to win by about a touchdown and cover that spread. I’m gonna take the other side, Colin. Uh, Jacobe Brassette almost took down the Indianapolis Colts. So, when he’s played their offense, I think Kyler got benched for a reason. Jacobe might be better. Plus three against that defense. I I don’t mind taking the Cowboys to win, but I I I think the Cardinals cover. Great stuff. [Music]

Colin Cowherd is joined by John Middlekauff to react to Week 9 in the NFL. They start with Josh Allen & Buffalo’s Bills win over Patrick Mahomes & Kansas City Chiefs. Are they worried about Kansas City and is this the year Buffalo finally beats the Chiefs in the playoffs? Next they hit Caleb Williams & Chicago Bears crazy win over Cincinnati Bengals. JJ McCarthy leads the Vikings to an impressive win over the Detroit Lions. Aaron Rodgers & Pittsburgh Steelers bounce back to get a big win over Indianapolis Colts. Biggest upset of the day was Green Bay Packers losing to the Carolina Panthers. What were their biggest takes on Jordan Love, Matt LaFleur & Packers offense? San Francisco gets a road win vs the New York Giants and the Rams dominate the Saints. They react to the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the World Series over the Toronto Blue Jays. Also hit USC’s win over Nebraska and give their predictions for Cardinals-Cowboys.

TIMELINE
0:00:00 INTRO
0:00:52 Chiefs-Bills
0:10:26 Bears-Bengals
0:16:23 Vikings-Lions
0:24:33 Colts-Steelers
0:33:12 Panthers-Packers
0:39:39 49ers-Giants
0:43:58 Saints-Rams
0:51:19 Dodgers-Blue Jays World Series
1:02:48 USC-Nebraska
1:08:27 Cardinals-Cowboys

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