FULL REACTION: Cowboys beat the Eagles & Rams DOMINATE the Bucs | SC with SVP

FULL REACTION: Cowboys beat the Eagles & Rams DOMINATE the Bucs | SC with SVP

The Rams jump the Buccaneers early and cruise to victory. Tim Hasselbeck as he is most every Sunday night with us here in studio. And Tim, you know, I’ve been saying for I don’t know month, month and a half. I like the Rams better than anybody else now because of what’s happened today. They’re one in the NFC. Doesn’t mean they’re the best, but I love how they’re playing. Your list of superlatives as it relates to what they did tonight and maybe just in general, where does it start? I think the two things it starts with the quarterback for sure and I think we do we have do have to give credit to their defense but I will say Stafford’s playing at a level that’s look he’s probably played at this level before but it’s a level right now that’s as good as any quarterback in the game and I think when you look at that that’s one of the things that makes him special just use one play as an example they’re down in the red zone one of the things they like to do here’s Puka Nakua they a lot of times will stack him because in the wake of a release meaning you know one receiver in this case Parkinson goes down the field in the wake of the release. You can get him open by by doing that. Now, as they do this, here’s what’s going to happen. And I know a lot of people make a big deal about Stafford and the no look stuff, okay? But he’s looking exactly right there. Now, the defense just because you think about it’s third down. You got defenders that are going to defend the goal line. Like, that’s what’s going to happen. But because of Stafford’s eyes, watch what happens. It just draws defenders down. a great and then because of it you get to see what happened. Now those two defenders are driving on Nua and there’s Parkinson. You see him here in the screen like he’s wide open and then that ball’s right there and you think, man, that looks so easy. But it’s only easy for guys like Stafford and there aren’t many guys like Stafford and there aren’t many guys playing like Stafford. So it does it starts with him. He separates them, makes them different than other other teams. There’s other good things about their team, but he’s playing at a level that’s pretty special. It’s 25 touchdowns, no picks in the last eight weeks. I mean, that’s preposterous. This is a guy that couldn’t even practice in in August, right? Couldn’t practice during training camp and weren’t sure what he was going to be able to do when, you know, he’s definitely playing better than anyone right now. You like the Rams better than anybody? I do. And and I’ll give you credit. Sometimes probably easy to come on a show and be like, “Hey, I’ve been saying it. I sit with you and watch your games for weeks. You’ve been saying you’re going to have some company with, you know, talking about the Rams now.” Well, I mean, I want to parade. I just they’re they’re pretty good and they continue to play a really hot level. Again, we’ll get Tim’s thoughts on that big comeback in a moment. This Sunday nighter, three quick touchdown passes from Matthew Stafford. There’s that in close to Devonte. Hit him again a little bit later. They jump the Buccaneers, get a defensive touchdown as well, and are able to cruise to a 34-7 victory. And the old gray beard himself, there he is, Matthew Stafford, kind enough to throw on the headset. I always say that about you because your your beard’s got a little gray in it, but that’s okay because my man, you are playing like as high a level you’ve ever played. And I want to start with the Devonte touchdown in there close because you two have developed this remarkable rapport, especially down in there close. How has that come together you Matthew? Well, I mean, I’m lucky to get to throw to him. You know, I used to be sitting over there in Detroit and watching him do that week in and week out against us when he was in Green Bay with Aaron. So, I’m just lucky to play with a guy like that. He’s unbelievable at the line of scrimmage. I think Shawn does a great job of giving him options on where we’re going on each play and he’s doing a great job of winning. I’m just trying to keep it uh, you know, in the zip code. He’s making great plays. Understood. And you as a team collectively, both sides of the ball are playing at such a high level. Matthew, I I’ve been saying on the show for the past, I don’t know, month and a half, I feel like I like y’all better than anyone else just because it’s such complimentary football. What have these last couple of months been like? and and within your within your facility as as you guys are playing at this kind of level, what what accounts for how you guys are are doing what you’re doing? It’s been a lot of fun, but it’s been really steady to be honest with you, Scott. Like whether we win a game by a bunch of points or barely win a game, lose a game, whatever it is, we got the right group of guys that just come up, show up every day ready to work, get better. We love being there. We love enjoy, you know, enjoy practicing against each other, playing, you know, the games, uh, you know, as a team. But uh it’s been steady and that’s that’s a sign of a good team to me. Um we’ll try to continue to be that way and and keep learning from what we can learn from and find way to keep stacking some wins. So in the summer as your back is causing some issues and you’re really taking it slowly and I think we all kind of wondered all right like how how much runway is left here and now you’re playing at truly an MVP level like absurd numbers h from August to now Thanksgiving week. How do you kind of describe your physical journey and how you’re feeling as you stand there right now? Um, I feel pretty good. It it was uh it was touch and go there for a little bit. I got to, you know, give a ton of credit to our our team, our training staff, everybody that I work with to uh help kind of piece me back together. I felt great throughout the run. Our guys are uh doing a great job of protecting me up front, which always helps. Um, but I’m feeling good. Excited to uh continue to keep playing. I mean, I’m having a blast doing what I’m doing. I can understand that. And just one last thought on what you’re doing. I the stat I think is like 25 touchdowns against no picks for eight weeks. I mean, you’ve had some incredible years. You’ve won a ring. You There’s nothing you haven’t done. Do you feel like right now like the Matrix or something where it’s slowed down to a point where you’ve Have you ever played better than this is really what I’m kind of trying to ask in a very long question. I feel like I’m more like Keano Reeves in the Replacements, you know, just uh just going with that guy. But uh no, I’m having a blast. I am uh I’m having a blast playing. No, I’m having a a bunch of fun playing and uh No, I feel good. I I’m lucky to be a part of a great team and I honestly I chuck up so much of it to that. I play for a great coach. Uh you know, I’ve got a bunch of great players around me. I’m I’m lucky to be doing what I’m doing and I’m just uh happy to be a part of it. Scott. All right. The message I hear this Thanksgiving week is a dude who’s thankful for his situation and that makes a ton of sense. So enjoy uh enjoy Thanksgiving with the fam. My best to you guys out there. Thanks for throwing the headset on and be good until next time. All right, you got it, man. Thanks for having me on. Appreciate it. Always Matthew Stafford and then the replacements. That’s a good line out of him, but that’s ridiculous because he’s playing at a insane level. 22 touchdowns through the year against the Blitz this season, which is the most since ESPN began tracking such things back in 2006. What a comeback by your football team in the second half. What was your message in the locker room in the second half to come out and win this game? Yeah, just stick together. We understood we shot ourselves in the foot over and over in the first half. We got that score right before the first half ended and said, “Hey, we continue to do that. Execute and focus.” Shotty always says, “You can’t win the game in the first, second, and third, but you can win in the fourth.” And that’s what we went and did. Can you win the game in the first quarter? No. Can you win the game in the second quarter? No. Did we spot him 21 points? But what about Hey, can you win the game in the third quarter? No. What about that? We’re going to get Tim’s thoughts on this comeback and some of the components of it in a moment. The Cowboys scored 24 unanswered after trailing 21 nothing in the first half, which is tied for the largest comeback in the history of the franchise. And that’s a franchise with some history, an all-time collapse for Philly after scoring three touchdowns in the first three drives, zero points their final eight drives. Taquan Barkley, as you would understand, dejected after this tough loss in the NFC East. Defense is doing a really good job. Um, I just got to I’m not playing well. Just got to play better. That’s really it. What changed for the 21 nothing lead? Um, we made too many mistakes. Uh, as a whole, obviously, I had a mistake there. Um, they played they wanted a little more. Uh, so you got to give hats off to them. Just coming out of that Eagles tape and you hear from a downtrodden and Seaquin you and I in these past couple years, particularly last year, we had to figure out new ways to do Eagles tape on offense, right? Like, okay, how are we going to describe it this week? It’s a very different look at the moment and Squan is kind of in the middle of it because it’s not quite what it was last year. What What accounts for that? Think of how many explosive plays they got last year in the run game. It was like that that was where their explosive plays were coming from is just handing him the football. He really just hasn’t gotten it going. I mean, there haven’t been the games where you think, yeah, it was blocked, okay, and then there goes Squan, and he’s still a really good player. I do think they’ve been banged up on the offensive line. They’ve they’ve played a different combination of guys up front. That can’t impact your run game, but it almost doesn’t make sense in a game where you’re up 21 to nothing to think that it is not a huge Saquon Barkley game. So, look, I I think there are a bunch of factors to that in terms of guys up front. also how you call the game. Philadelphia has the oddest in-game splits of any team I can think of, right? Like they’re down 19 to the Rams at home, come roaring back, you’re up big on Tampa Bay, have to hang on and win. Like you’re up 21 against Dallas and then you end up losing that game. Now, let’s give Dallas’s defense credit. They go out and they add some some pieces. Overshawn coming back is a huge difference maker. How were they able to kind of hang in their role in it, I guess, is what I’m asking. Yeah, I think they won up front. I think they made it hard for Jaylen Herz and I think that really was the difference in terms of the comeback. What really starting early second quarter, I mean, it’s basically what happened. Here’s Cam Jurgens up front and he just loses right away. And because he loses right away, I mean, Herz doesn’t have a chance. He’s actually fortunate that ball wasn’t wasn’t picked off. A similar thing here on third down. You think as a quarterback terms of when you have a clean pocket, you said it in the highlight for Herz early in the game. Clean pocket, he’s good. But when everything’s in his lap, it’s not nearly, you know, as easy. And so I think it’s a combination of that. And then when they said, “Okay, hey, we’re going to run him some. This is kind of desperate times. We’re going to run him some. He’s going to try to keep the ball out the back end.” No, you know, they have guys sitting there waiting for him. I do think, and you pointed out, I celebrating there. He’s done a good job with that. If you think about it, that group in general, yes, they’ve gotten guys back, but really they came into the season after the trade saying, “Who’s going to rush the passer? How is that going to happen? And so I think a different combination of things of of some new players, some dialing up some pressures, doing things like that. That group has continued to play hard and because of that, they’ve stayed in games, you know, when they’ve been high scoring. And today they gave him a chance. I said this the other night when we were in Vegas for Monday Night Football to Troy. I said, I feels like it reasonable that they could join the playoff conversation in Troy. I think he was polite to me, but I didn’t I think he thought I had maybe gotten into the tipsy Welshman early in Vegas. I mean, it’s high-profile games, Kansas City and Detroit coming up, but I mean, if they’re going to play like this, like they did in the second half, maybe sneak around and hang around till the end. You know, their offense is good. I mean, George Pickkins is a problem for people. Big- time problem. CD had probably three drops today, including a touchdown. Correct. So if he’s playing well, like yeah, like you don’t have to hold people under 20, you know, you just you need to just give yourself a chance to for Dak and crew to score more. Hey, look, I grew up rooting for the then Redskins in Washington. I’m not rooting for it, okay? I mean, I was a rival forever as a kid. I’m just saying I’m reasonable enough now to look at him and say if they’re going to play like they did in the second half, you never know. [Music]

On SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt, Tim Hasselbeck joins to react to the Dallas Cowboys’ 27-24 win over the Philadelphia Eagles as well as the Los Angeles Rams’ 34-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

0:00 Bucs vs. Rams reaction
2:22 Matthew Stafford joins
6:37 Dak after win vs. Dallas
7:26 Saquon Barkley from the locker room
8:06 Eagles vs. Cowboys reaction

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