GET UP | “Don’t sleep on Seahawks” – McCourty: Darnold is making Vikings regret it after beat Texans
on Monday Night Football last night. So, while you were probably sleeping, Sam Darnold with the Seahawks hosting the Texans. And we pick it up. Final seconds, first quarter, Seattle already up 7 nothing. And Nick, I give you Jackson Smith in He might be the best receiver in football. Explosive plays after explosive plays. And even in these short catches, he can make himself open and concentrate in that situation. And he’s got high. That throw was crazy. Seahawks up 14-6 at the half. Third quarter, same score. CJ Strad. Jay Mackey’s throwing this ball where exactly to a guy that’s on the ground. Ernest Jones been up make the interception. CJ Stout was under fire all night long. Couldn’t get away. First pick he’s thrown since week three. Seattle takes a field goal. 176. Now Jeff, the one thing you can’t do is give them an easy score. Sam Darnold. I’m not sure what Darnold was thinking on this play right here. Like it. Don’t First of all, don’t go in. Throw it away. Do something. Don’t try to spin out in your in your end zone. And then the fumble on top of this. You even even deal with a safety. The whole thing was trash. Will Anderson Jr. the sack, the score. They go for the two, they don’t get it. So it’s 1712. But then it’s Jackson Smith and Jigba again. Run the same play all night. All night. Yeah. Eight catches 123 yds later in the drive. A very dry. Charbanet takes it in for [Applause] I’m having a rough day. He’s one of four. He’s he’s he’s one of four right now. Midway through the fourth quarter. Now, here’s a strange play. Darnold picked off by AJ Barer. Jackson Smith and Jigbas coming in to try and make the tackle. His helmet’s going to come off. We got pushing and shoving. I want the MVP of the night is the ref. You’re going to see him get in there and save this man. Look at this play. Yeah. Well, I mean, this is it’s a clean stiff arm. Just a little extra. No, that’s all fine. But now they’re coming after him. He’s got no helmet on. Look at the efficiency in there. Back up. Back up. I get ref that is the ref on his fantasy team. That is Nate. That is Nate Joles, former DB from Ruckers played in the league as well. Oh, now him getting in there. This is a Texans fourth down. Sort of a last gasp effort there. Straoud doesn’t have it on the night. Sam Darnold didn’t have one of his best nights, but the Seahawks get the win nonetheless. They needed that win just to keep pace with the Rams and 49ers in what is without question the best division in football. Look at that. the only one where there were three teams, three games over 500. Those top three teams bunched up in the odds as you see to win the division at ESPN bet. So, let’s start with that. We started big picture. Was that a PL? Was that 10,000? I didn’t know how many zeros that was on the cardinal. So many zeros. I didn’t boost that. I didn’t look closely at it. That might have been boosted already. We started big picture on the first game. Let’s start big picture on this one as well. You see those three big teams there. Niners, Seahawks, Rams. I got people telling me yesterday the Rams are the best team in the whole NFC. Who’s the best team in this division, J-Mack? I’m going with the Seattle Seahawks. That was a team I picked in the beginning of the season to win the division and nothing has told me anything different. The way they play on the defensive side of the ball and Sam Darnold and Jackson Smith and Jigba. That connection between those two players every single week, it’s an explosive play and it’s Jackson Smith and Jigba ending up in the end zone. I I mean, I think I agree with you. However, the Rams won 35 to7 over the weekend against the Jaguars, who are not a bad team. And we know that uh Matt Stafford and those receivers, even without Puka, we know they can score with anybody. And that defensive front that they have in LA is just as scary as Leonard William and them boys in Seattle. So, I don’t know. The Rams going to give him a run. I I I’m still leaning Seattle here. I I I like what they do. I think they’re a physical team, especially defensively. They get after you, they pressure you. Sam Darnold is playing extremely good football. I know last night wasn’t his best, but he still made some throws that make you go, “Wow.” Like he made he made some things and then and then uh JSN is just he’s a differencemaker. We haven’t even mentioned the 49. No one has mentioned the for who just find a way to keep winning with everybody hurt and McCaffrey having an MVP kind of season. Danny and absolute credit to the 49ers for doing what they’re doing. But you look over the I mean there there’s a lot of season left and Nick Bosa and Fred Warner are not coming back and I just think eventually that catches up to the ners especially in a division like this where you have two other extremely good teams and by the way the Cardinals are no fun to play. All their losses are by four points or less. So I I think eventually that catches up with the 49ers. I I still like the Rams to win it. I just feel like you know Seattle has everything you want except you know proof of concept. We haven’t seen them win the division. We’ve seen Shawn McVeyy’s Rams win it. We’ve seen Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers win it. But, uh, Seattle capable. There’s no question about it. Can we put up B9 really quickly, Cindy? Because there’s another thought that I think a lot of people probably have as they watch Daniel Jones dominating the league and playing as well as he did on Sunday and then Sam Darnold last night. The Vikings made the decision to walk away from or let Sam Darnold walk away from them. So far this year, he has 12 touchdowns, four picks. His QBR is sixth best in the league. the Vikings collective QBs with a QBR of 37. That would be 29th in the NFL. And a reminder, it wasn’t just Darnold, but Daniel Jones that got away as well. And so, we sit here on this morning and I get it that they haven’t had JJ McCarthy yet, but I don’t know exactly what that even means. Go ahead, Dan. It’s part of the problem, right? I mean, like that’s JJ McCarthy was coming off an injury and we hadn’t seen him play. So, now he’s played two games, didn’t play particularly well in either of them, and hasn’t played since week two. So, you know, yeah, it’s e at this point, like if you trusted Kevin Oonnell to get this decision right, then you can still do that and there’s 11 games left for them to to show you he was right. But based on the way the season’s gone so far, it’s worth questioning whether they made the right decision when they let Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones leave, told Aaron Rogers, “No thanks,” and said, “We’re going with the Yeah, I I think like in a vacuum that would make that that that plays out.” But Sam Darn didn’t play well at the end of last season, right? Like part part of the reason why they moved on is because in the final week against the Lions, he struggles and I I think he had less than less than or right about 150 yards, no touchoff game and the playoff hit sacks nine times. So I think they decided to move on because of their potential at the end of seasons. And so I would just say this if I’m going to air I’m going to air on the side of KOC. So if he thought JJ McCarthy is their guy, unfortunately you can’t control injuries in the NFL. He he’s been banged up if he gets back. But I would not have I would not have sold my franchise to bring Aaron Rogers in or even Daniel Jones for that matter if you got to pay those guys as opposed to building from within with KO. I mean, I assume you wouldn’t have to wouldn’t have to have paid Daniel Jones as much as you would have for Darnold. But either way, like I agree with you in your defense of KOC. However, you can’t argue it right now. Like it’s kind of inarguable. You look at the two quarterbacks that were just there, what they’re doing in different places and what you have quarterback. Like right now, they made the wrong decision. But they made a decision that’s for help the city heal. Yes. Jackson Smith and Jigba celebrating by dunking the football home. Well, that’s a penalty now. He said it was just spontaneous at the time. Seahawks lead 14 to6 at the break. He’s one of actually he’s one of one in Seattle history to have 100 receiving yards and a touchdown in three straight games. JSN 819 receiving yards on the season. That leads all NFL receivers. That leads everybody as a matter of fact. And then Zack Charbanet second touchdown of the night. He has four home rushing touchdowns this season. That’s tied for the most in the NFL. But Sam Darnold was a little generous with the football picked. Derek Stingley Jr. doing the honors. And then mixing it up with JSN on the sideline. You relieved him of his helmet and then a helmetless Smith and Jigma got hit. And that is your field judge Nathan Jones stepping in to protect JSN on the sideline. Okay. CJ Strad threw a pick as well in this game, but he’s got a chance to make this thing closer late. It’s one of 13 offtarget passes for CJ Strad in this game. That’s tying a careerhigh as Seattle gets his fifth win of the season. Seahawks are one of seven teams in the NFC with two losses. They’re tied with the Niners and Rams in the NFC West. Look at how stacked that division is. The Niners currently owning the tiebreaker. And with help from the tie against the Cowboys, it’s the Packers as the one seed because they are the only one loss team in the conference. Gary, a lot of wins on that graphic. We are winning now this morning on Sports Center because his name Jeff Saturday on the program. [Laughter] It’s so good. You’ve been so high on the Buccaneers this season. You had them as sort of your NFC favorite before last night. Obviously, Detroit showing out. Shamir Gibbs. What a night. After seeing what you saw yesterday, Jeff, give us your new updated, if they are, NFC power rankings. Yeah, a bunch of shakeups, right? And and so as I looked at Detroit, Detroit played the best uh the best game I thought against a really good quality opponent, especially the Bucks defense, and I thought they showed out. They were very physical at home coming off a bad loss the week before. So, here it is. And and I could go Green Bay San Fran, honestly, at five. And I know I just didn’t think Green Bay played sharp this week. I know they got the win, so I didn’t put them in there. I got San Fran. I got the Bucks because I had them at one. I couldn’t drop them all the way out of the top five after losing to the Lions who who I had at three. So it’s it’s Lions one, Eagles two, Seahawks three, Bucks four, and then 49ers at five. Kind of slash with Green Bay at five for me. Okay. Yeah, you said Green Bay not as sharp as you wanted to see them. That’s why they’re not on the list this week. Hey, just a real quick tease to what’s to come on overreaction Tuesday. Jeff, is it an overreaction to say you’re not missing that block like Penn Su did yesterday, Jir Gibbs, do before him getting into the end zone? Right. What? Well, don’t don’t tell Penet. But no, I don’t miss that block cuz I don’t want him mad at me. But I I I make that block, Pen. That’s what I do. And I probably run as fast. That’s a pancake.
GET UP | “Don’t sleep on Seahawks” – Jason McCourty: Sam Darnold is making Vikings regret it after beat Texans
