“Bo Nix is elite! Denver Broncos are team to beat” – Matt Ryan ‘breaks down’ AFC Playoff Picture

Well, Mike, good morning. You and your team riding an eightgame uh win streak, undefeated on the road right now. What was the message to the team this week to keep their heads level and just continue this momentum? Yeah, I think that’s a great point is is trying to stay focused and trying to understand uh how these games are so important down the stretch. And you know, we’ve talked a lot about joy and just finding joy in what we’ve been able to do uh with each other. And I think that you know, they’ve tried to continue that and we’ll have to do that today. Yeah, there’s a lot of speculation this week as to which quarterback you’d be facing. We now know it’s Joe Flacco, but what was it like preparing with that uncertainty this week? Well, there wasn’t a ton of um preparation that you know it was different. It was um you know, the offense was going to be the same. We felt like if Joe played it maybe a little bit more mobile uh as opposed to um you know, Burrow would be a little bit more mobile than than Flaco. So, uh but other than that, I don’t think there was a lot of preparation differences. Okay. you get back two key pieces of your offense today and Kahan Booty and Raandre Stevenson. With Raandre returning, what can we expect that workload in the back field to look like? I mean, I think that it’ll um you know, it’ll probably be what it’s been here in the past. I think that uh you know, Trey Vion is continuing to to find ways to help us and he uh played a lot, you know, larger role. Uh but I think that they’ll both play and they’ll both have an impact. Coach, thanks. Good luck today. Appreciate it. Thank you, Melanie. Melanie, coach, we appreciate it. Taking a look at the odds to win the AFC. Uh despite their incredible record, the Patriots right now not the betting favorite. It is the Colts followed by the Broncos, the five in5 Chiefs. So, who really could come out on top when it comes to the AFC? Matt said earlier this is when the real work begins. Kyle, I’m going to send it over to you, but can we also mention I feel like Ves is uh stealing Coach Cow’s look. Yeah, you know, and I was just asking Coach C about that mustache in the break and he says, you know, he’s doing all right with it. It looks okay. I got I got the right people here to talk AFC hierarchy. We can talk mustache hierarchy all we want off camera, but we shout out to Tom. We made me mention the Patriots. The Chiefs obviously got a huge threeame run here to determine their uh their future. What do you guys think is going on in the AFC? Who are the real favorites? Obviously, there’s different ways that all these teams play, the Broncos, the Colts. What are you guys seeing from the AFC right now? I’ll start with you, Nate. I love the Colts uh because they have that true downhill identity with Jonathan Taylor. I mean, it really starts with him. The offense opens up with him. Um the play action obviously is so much better when he gets going. Now, I know people will say, “Well, what about that game a couple of weeks ago when they lost to the Steelers?” Now, that was a big time loss and I heard the jokes. People were saying, “Well, Daniel Jones, he’s starting to look like Daniel Jones.” And that’s a reference to some of his struggles early on in his career. But here’s the thing about that game. You turn the ball over six times. You only lose the game by seven points, which means you are playing your worst football. You still have a chance to win. And you have to shout out that defense that still put you in a position where you had a shot to win that game. And then they bounce back overseas in a unique setting in Madrid and show that they know how to correct their mistakes. So I love what the Colts are doing all the way around. No, you go. Okay. He’s trying to set you up, bro. Hey. No. No, no, no. You No, no, no. And I, and I will say this about the Colts. I think we will find out. And I think Matt, you’ve said this before. I think that their their schedule right now, they still got to play the Houston Texans twice. They got to play the Jacksonville Jaguars twice. Every team they play from here on out has a winning record. Yeah, they have taken care of business to this point. No question about it. Um, the Denver Broncos, I like the Denver Broncos. And again, I think with what they’re doing, my only question with the Denver Broncos, if you see one, if there is one, is their lack of a running game. I I’m not so sure they have one or committed to one. I think it’s more of the quarterback. They got a very good defense. I like New York Patriots. I just because I think they’re the most balanced team out there. I love their coach. He’s been there before. There’s a there’s a simplicity with by which he attacks each week. He will make it personal. I’d like to actually see him lose a game somewhere along the way here to see how they respond to that. But the biggest question I have with those two teams is you talk about Drake May and Bo Knicks. You get in the playoffs, it’s a different animal. And we’re not talking about Lamar. We’re not talking about Patrick. We’re not talking about Josh Allen in any of these teams right now. If you have to play them in the playoffs, they’ve been there before. Fenality has a way of putting a little bit more pressure than you’ve experienced in the regular season. But they have to get there. You mentioned the Josh, the Lamar, the Patrick. You have to get there to give yourself a chance. I think the interesting thing is that there are question marks about all of these teams at the top which has not been the case I think the last four or five years in the AFC where it has been it’s the Kansas City Chiefs. It is the championship pedigree and it is can Josh Allen get over the top and beat them? Can Lamar Jackson get over and beat them? They might not be in. Right. Right. So, we’re talking about young quarterbacks in those organizations. And Daniel Jones, who’s not a young quarterback, but a new quarterback in a place and an inexperienced uh when it comes to multiple playoff type games, right? He’s inexperienced in that space. Somebody’s got to win. Yeah. One of these young guys is going to have to win at that point. But I’m with you, coach. I don’t think I do not think any one of those teams is going to want to see Kansas City in the AFC wild card round or they’re going to want to see Baltimore in the AFC wild. You’ve seen this up close and personal. What’s your take on all this? You’ve seen Kansas City in camp. You know those guys well. So, it’s funny cuz when we talk about the top teams, it’s Daniel Jones, is the Bo Knicks and Drake May. You trust them? Or is this the year that the wild card team is the one that makes the run? Come on now. And to me, it’s one of those teams that we just talked about, right? It’s the Lamar Jacksons, it’s the Josh Allies, the Patrick Mahomes. Those are the guys you don’t want to see coming into your house when you got homefield advantage and it’s a no-brainer. The crowd’s going crazy. Everybody’s excited. That’s a fact. So, you’re saying you’re saying it’s something like a six seed from the AFC coming in to make a run about that. Yeah, right. We both do. We do. I know you’ve done it. I mean, six seed. We’ve done it and I And you know what’s funny? It took us losing three games in a row in November to hit the bottom. And all of a sudden, back yourself into a corner, get a little chip on your shoulder and say, “Okay, everyone start telling you you can’t do things.” And all of a sudden from that time on it was like every game became very personal. And so I think that’s that’s the thing to me. It’s like okay tell me I can’t do something. There’s no greater motivation in life to do something know somebody oh you can’t do. I think one of the things that’s interesting though when we talk about some of the inexperience at the quarterback position in the top end. Yeah. What’s the best thing you can have if you’re an inexperienced quarterback though going through playoff games? Running game. A running game and a good coach. A fantastic defense. A hell of a defense. Hell of a defense. Hey, we’re literally naming everything. Running game, good coach, fantastic defense, have a good wife at home, good food on a daily basis. Those are I think they’re all valid points. But I think the one thing that can bail you out as a young quarterback is a defense that’s just dominant and can go get after a passer. Guys, we were there last week. We watched it live. We watched the Denver Broncos defense and I look at them and I say, I think they’re going to keep you in every game. And we can knock Bon Knicks all we want for inconsistent play across four. He’s a closer, bro. He’s been excellent. Excellent at the end of the games. I recognize November and December football is different from uh September and October. And January is certainly its own set. Yeah. But he’s given us clues. He’s given us clues about how he’s going to perform at that. That’s a very good point. But getting back to those teams on the outside looking in, the Baltimore Ravens, right? For the last handful of years, they have been playing with uh the thought that they should be in the Super Bowl. There’s a different type of pressure. And I think that’s why we’re so hard on Lamar because every year he’s playing unbelievable. They get in the playoffs and then he doesn’t take that step or his team doesn’t take that step to get into the big game. The catch. Now they are playing from a different angle, looking from behind the field running this long race. And that type of pressure alleviated from their shoulders. That might be exactly what they need. Coming in, surprising teams, crashing the party, punching teams on a weekly basis, and then getting in without that pressure of knowing you were supposed to be in the Super Bowl. Guys, this is a great conversation. We could do it all day. We could talk AFC, NFC, anything. But I got to throw it back to Amanda here. Amanda, what’s going on over there with the Hila brothers? Uh, nothing right now because we’re going to invite Nate and coach to come. Oh, yeah. I was waiting. He’s ready. I lost my mic. I got it. I got it. I got it. Coach, while while we’re while we’re coming over here to get ready, you had a famous trick play in the Super Bowl. That was your winning drive. Tell us about that. There it is. Oh, wow. That was That was That was That was the play right there in the fourth quarter. It was a trick play. Lot of bounces, Nate. Need more bounces, Nate. Nate’s used to going deep. There we go. We’ll have you tell us about it in a minute. Get in here and and and have some fun. Did you get close to Nate? I I did I got pretty close there right there. I’m gonna go from an angle. Hold on. Wait. I told you these guys are competitive. They’re getting it quick. Uh APL. No, I found out they’re Giants fans. Oh. Oh. Oh. Yep. Get up. Could be it. Coach, when you’re in a game, when do you decided to pull a trick play? Um, I think at some point you get across the 50 yardd line right there. Keeps on going, right? We had that play in our back. We were not doing much in this for the Super Bowl. And you know what? I always think it was a it’s Oh, you know, sometimes you got to be willing to take some chances and taking some risk. Particularly in big games, I always felt like I didn’t want to leave that game without overturning any stone and taking risk and chances I didn’t take before because I don’t want to have regrets. [Applause] Oh, you’re honest. I don’t want to have regrets. The biggest thing you can have can come over. I can have You can come over here. I got good leg. So, you’re analyzing it. So, I get a feel got a good balance going on right now. He’s all over it. Let me get out of the way. Get in. Sheesh. This is tough. There it is. Oh. Oh, that one looked good. Is it a back spin? Do you need a back or forward spin? Is it? I think I think it’s forward. Just forward spin. Yeah. Oh. How long if you guys like had all day, how long would you keep doing this till you got it? Uh, play home tonight. Well, you know, you know what, Amanda? A game is 60 minutes, you know, and you play the whole game. You don’t win a game in the first half. You don’t win a game in the third quarter. You got to be able to close a game. Sometimes it takes a trick play. Sometimes it’s a tush push and sometimes come on. Last one. Come on, coach. Come on, coach. Come on, coach. [Applause] Okay. Okay, no more shots right now. We’ve been to cut it off. Coach, you were so close. So far, you’re the winner. So far, he’s the winner. I would have four quarters and sometimes more. Hey, I’m not talking to him today. It’s the Steelers against the Bears. All right, coming up as the guys, yes, you were still hearing the ping pongs. They have not stopped. Tony Romo on the call for the Colts at the Chiefs taking a look at Daniel Jones arriving. Can he fix turning over the ball though AP? We’ll talk to Tony Romo about that coming up. Quarterback

“Bo Nix is elite! Denver Broncos are team to beat” – Matt Ryan ‘breaks down’ AFC Playoff Picture

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