บทถอดความฉบับเต็มของ NFL Week 8 Reaction: Bears DOMINATE Seahawks, Chiefs FIRST LOSS vs. Broncos, Lamar DONE with Ravens?

best team in the league on November 3rd does not mean that team is going to win the Super Bowl. It doesn't even mean that team deserves to be the favorite to win the Super Bowl. It doesn't mean they would be my pick to win the Super Bowl. Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn't. But as we sit here today, Election Day 2026, Tuesday, November 3rd, if I had to cast my ballot for who the best team in the NFL was this moment, I would vote for the Chicago Bears. That's what last night meant to me. I thought they were going to lose. I thought that that Seattle defense, while I did not expect it to dominate the Bears the way they dominated the Chiefs, I thought the Bears would be the team that came out of that game with 17 points, not Seattle. I thought, incredibly mistake-averse Caleb would make at least one. And I thought Seattle, after having, you know, a little unlucky, a little eye-off-the-ball stretch of football between Weeks 3 and 6, had reannounced themselves in Week 7 against Kansas City as the team to beat, record notwithstanding. And they were going to continue that in another night game against a fellow contender. Instead, Chicago beat them up and down the field on both sides of the ball. The Jeffrey Simmons trade instantly paid dividends. He was all over the field from the opening drive of the game. There was a play where I thought he might have torn, retorned Sam Darnold's butt muscle. The thing that hurt him in week one when he grabbed him by the play that one of his teammates got a post play. Yeah. Like face mask. That's unnecessary roughness. Number 50. I forget who got a post play penalty on that play. I thought Simmons might've hurt Darnold. I thought the bears defense was flying around the field and, and more importantly, Ben Johnson did. Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams did what honestly only McVay and Stafford have done over the last few years, which is make the Seattle Seahawks defense look regular. So again, I don't know What that means for, you know, at this moment last year, the Vegas favorite to win the Super Bowl, God bless it, was the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs kind of mar this a bit because I think they were the Vegas favorite two years ago as well. But two years ago, it might have actually been Buffalo. I'm not sure. But the Vegas favorite at the midway point of this... And by the way, the Bears aren't the Vegas favorite right now. I mean, my guess is on Polymarket right now, you guys can tell me, they might be the NFC favorites at this point. But I'm sure Buffalo is still... the actual overall favorite. You guys can put the, you know, the top five percentages in the doc when you get a chance. But to me, DeMondse, the Bears right now look like the best team. And Caleb is really announcing himself as, oh, wow. Okay, so on Polymarket right now, the Niners are at 16%, which is just under six to one. The Bills are at 14%. The Bears at 12%. Jacksonville and Kansas City both at 8%. So it's a little surprising the Niners are markedly you know, better odds or worse odds, depending on how you see it. Oh, hold on. And the Seahawks down to 6%. Now that's a, that starts to be a math problem for Seattle. You know what? We'll get to Seattle in a second. I don't want to interrupt myself. I want to stay on Chicago. Thank you for putting that in there. And it's such a weird spot for me because I think Caleb's mad at me. Caleb included me in that video. I was, you know, before Danny came into, you know, our national television lives, I was kind of the Caleb guy. I don't even know if it was kind of the Caleb guy. And I, so I am not. surprised that he is this excellent this quickly. I am surprised at how dominant he looked last night. And Ben Johnson gets a ton of credit. That team can run the ball effectively. Caleb can make every throw on the field. You're starting to see a bit of the peak Kyle Shanahan where the TV angle when they when it spans from the quarterback throwing it to the receiver what you see is 18 yards down the field a receiver looking like he's running wide open and they are incredibly dangerous and what when you look at the schedule And you say, okay, week two, the best defense in football or one of the best defenses in football really undressed them in the rain. Week five, they lost badly to the Packers with a backup, which does, those two losses are extra damaging because they're divisional losses. But there is a bit of a... There's not a yeah, but on the Vikings game. You just lost. I understand the weather's bad. Weather's bad for both teams. Caleb did get hurt in that game. But this team, it is fair to say that in games that Caleb has started and finished, they've scored... 59, 31, 30, and 34. And they are... When you add to it that what I was worried about Chicago for the year to Monzae was that they were going to be a little... Yeah, a little Bengals of the last couple years, Cowboys of the last couple years. The defense already was... playing better than I had expected. And Jeff Simmons seems to have made an instant, instant impact. Right now, they look like the best team in the NFL. We'll see if it maintains, but you start looking at their schedule and you say, okay, at the Lions on Thanksgiving, home for the Jags the week after Thanksgiving, at the Bills on mid-December, and you have real measuring stick games. They also have– I mean, they do– starting with that Lions game, I mean, we're going to get to find out, like, there is a chance that we are at the peak of the Bears for this season, right now, this moment. Yeah. There's also a chance they're just the best team. But they get the Bucs and the Saints the next two weeks, and then their final seven games are– At the Lions, home for the Jags, a nice little midseason bye in Miami. And then at Bills, home Packers on Christmas, home Lions at Vikings. So it's going to be test after test after test. It's a very tough run, but right now they look like the best team in football. All right, let's talk

Seattle. 00:16:06 Speaker 2: Seattle deserves the benefit of the doubt, but they're 4-4. Do you think that it's clear that they've taken a step back at this point? 00:16:17 Speaker 1: A little concerned about Seattle. Not hugely concerned, but a little concerned. Because I do think, and I know this is going to feel unfair, the guy just won a Super Bowl. But man, Darnold has looked... Like he regressed significantly post Clint Kubiak. I mean, he is, we're halfway through the year. His passer rating is 79. He has 10 touchdowns, 9 picks. Even in that dominant win over the Chiefs, what kept the Chiefs in the game was a big darn old mistake. Yesterday, He threw another pick in the end zone that got waved off because of holding on Jackson Smith and Jigba, but he wasn't throwing it to Jackson Smith and Jigba. Now, maybe you want to give him the benefit of the doubt. He knew there was a penalty, so he took an extra risky pass. I don't know. He has been more than shaky. So that is a real concern. They got their running backs back yesterday, Jadarian Price and Zach Charbonnet. We'll see how much those guys improve, but I think it's pretty clear they're not going to have the impact Kenneth Walker had. And it just feels offensively that they have one option right now. spamming the Jackson, Smith, and Jigba button, which is not a bad button to spam, by the way. He's phenomenal. But I am a little worried about Seattle like that. I'm not worried about their defense, even though Ben Johnson and Caleb did what they did. I'm not worried about the defense. Here is the other piece of it. The NFC South, the Monzae, is going to get a playoff team. The NFC East is going to get a playoff team. So that means the West and the North are going to have five spots available for the following, I have that math right, yeah, seven teams. Basically everyone in both divisions except for the Cardinals. Niners, Seahawks, Rams, Bears, Vikings, Lions, Packers. At four and four, Seattle all of a sudden has lost its buffer with the Rams. And here is what I do think. I do think at this point, we are trending towards the NFC North getting three spots and the West only getting two, which would mean That end of the year, the Rams and the Seahawks play each other two out of three games. And in week 16 and 18, and those games will determine the final play. Not necessarily the final, but which of those two teams makes the playoffs. 00:19:47 Speaker 2: Be a rough spot for Darnold. 00:19:49 Speaker 1: Could be a very rough spot for Darnold. And again, I'm not ready to say the Rams are all the way healed. Just because the Rams beat up on the Chargers, I don't really care. But the Rams. 00:20:07 Speaker 1: Still have, in addition to two games against Seattle, a Packers game, a Chiefs game, a Niners game, and Seattle, in addition to two games against the Rams, still has a Niners game. I guess that's really the only tough one, now that I look at it. So that does lean Seattle, because Seattle's got Cardinals, Raiders, Niners, Niners tough, Cowboys are a mess. The Giants will see. The Eagle in Philly looked like a tough game. It's not now. Then Rams, Panthers, Rams. So I do think that actually leans Seattle now that I look at it that way. But Darnold's got to play better. Flatly. Darnold just has to be better. And he looks frazzled, DeMondsey, which concerns me. 66%. A lot of tip passes, a lot of just... 66% of the chat says Chicago's the best team in the NFL. Again, it's probably a little recency bias the morning after. 00:21:15 Speaker 2: I think when you do a team like that, that's got like, you know, coming off a Super Bowl, they made that look easy. They did not struggle really at any point in the game. So for folks that are saying that Chicago's the best team, like, I totally understand. 00:21:32 Speaker 1: I mean, they just... And they had, listen, they had, was it Colson Loveland? I think it was Loveland who had the bad fumble that Seattle instantly turned into points. And they responded to that by just marching right down the field and scoring a touchdown. I mean, they look really, really good. All right. We need to get to a collapse the likes of which my team hasn't suffered literally in five years. But first, let me tell you guys about my friends at Polymarket. Basketball season's here, and it's the best way, the best way to trade on basketball season is Polymarket. In the past, if you wanted action on the game, put some money in, if your team was doing well, you wanted to cash out, maybe you couldn't. They'd lock the trade, fees would be crazy. Polymarket's different. It's a prediction market, which is similar to a stock exchange for sports, where you buy in sellout on your own terms. I've tried all of them, and Polymarket is hands down the best prediction market out there. They're so confident, you'll never go back to any of the others. They'll give you a free $ 25 on your first trade when you deposit just 10 bucks. Every bucket, every block, every scintillating matchup in basketball trades on Polymarket. So download the Polymarket app today and use code Nick Wright. When you sign up, That's code NICKWRIGHT to get $ 25 free if you deposit just $ 10. 00:22:59 Speaker 3: 18 plus only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur. See polymarket.com slash TOS for more information. The Polymarket US app serves as an independent software provider and affiliate of Polymarket US and Polymarket Clearing, the CFTC-regulated exchange and clearing organization. 00:23:24 Speaker 1: All right, Demondze, let's talk about the catastrophic fourth quarter that was the Chiefs. 00:23:30 Speaker 2: Yeah, so Bo Nix and the Broncos pulled their comeback gimmick against your squad. Bo Nix now has 15 game-winning drives in his first three seasons in the NFL. So you guys obviously handled business with him earlier in the year. Do you think that this is the strength of schedule

just getting harder, or is it time for concern? 00:23:49 Speaker 1: I am oddly... Before the year, when I picked the Chiefs game by game, we're now 7-7 from before the year. In the sober light of the preseason, I picked them to start 5-0 and then lose these next two games. If people are interested in what exactly that preseason prediction was, it was just what I told you. They then win the next three, Jets, Falcons, Cardinals. I then had them losing in Buffalo and in Los Angeles against the Rams, then winning three straight, tough, at Bengals, home Patriots, home Niners, losing to the Chargers, ridiculous, beating the Raiders, and that's how they got to 12-5. Obviously, the Bengals and Patriots, and Niners for that matter, are better than I thought they would be. The Rams are a touch worse. The Chargers are way worse. So we'll see how it goes. The reason I even mention that is, losing in Denver to split the season series, there is no shame in that. Losing the way the Chiefs lost, there is massive shame in it. And I am not panicked, but I am also not going to lie and pretend like, ah, that happens. That doesn't happen to the Chiefs. Under Mahomes, 80-2 with a double-digit lead going into the fourth quarter or in the fourth quarter, one of the two. 00:25:32 Speaker 3: 80-2. 00:25:33 Speaker 1: The two losses were one was in 2018 against the Chargers that I remember vividly when the Chargers were down 14, scored back-to-back touchdowns and went for two at the end to win. And one was one of the dumbest games ever in 2021 against the Titans, I think. They hadn't blown a game like that in five years. And here is why, Demanze. Here are the micro about the game reasons for concern, and then macro need-to-be-addressed reasons for concern. Because Mahomes was sensational. Kenneth Walker got stymied a bit, but Emmitt Johnson was out of this world. 00:26:21 Speaker 2: And. 00:26:22 Speaker 1: They invented a way to lose that game. So micro reasons in no particular order. Teams that deserve to lose games that they otherwise would win are teams that don't start all their best players because one of their best players has some behavioral problem where he is now twice in seven games been benched by the coach before the snap, before the kickoff. That's Kingsley Suomataya, who against the Raiders, got benched from Mike Caliendo, and now against the Broncos. And if you watch that goal line stand Denver had at the end of the game, sure feels like had you had your best offensive line in there, maybe you get that yard. Maybe Mahomes has a little more time on that fourth down from the sixth. And I'm not... People want to. 00:27:22 Speaker 1: I will criticize Andy in this conversation for what I think Andy deserves to be criticized for. He is a very player-friendly coach. So the fact that he has twice now benched this guy is evidence to me more of an indictment on the player than of Andy. But regardless... Buttoned up championship teams don't have much of this shit. As

the Chiefs have made five of the last seven Super Bowls, they haven't had a lot of it. That's one thing you got to overcome. Speaking of Andy, Andy's game management in this game was very poor. And I will give you a few instances of it that I think are noteworthy. So let me go to something Sean Payton did that I think was outrageous, but it happened. On the Chiefs' final drive, it started with a long return by Emmitt Johnson. The refs spotted the ball at the 50. Sean Payton believed that Emmitt went out at the 44. It was inside two minutes, so he couldn't challenge. He didn't want to waste a timeout. So instead, he threw a fit on the field, took out his challenge flag like he was going to challenge, and then... just to buy time for the replay assist and then move the ball back six yards. Now, did those six yards matter? I don't know. I know they got stopped at the one, but again, everything would be different. And it was, by the way, it was the correct call. But that was Sean Payton really bending the what's allowed there. Technically, that should have been a charge timeout for Denver. You can't just stall the game because you want replay assists involved. You can't challenge inside two minutes. But he got the result he wanted. I believe... Andy should have absolutely flipped out after that. That's not his nature. He didn't do that. Had he flipped out after that and explained to the refs that's what just happened, there's bullshit, is there a slightly greater chance that the refs are less likely to call that false start? Maybe. I don't know. But Andy let him let it go. Now let me go backwards to when Andy was in a similar spot and he didn't press every lever Sean Payton pressed. When the Chiefs still had control of this game, they are up 11 early fourth quarter. There's a weird play that is supposed to be a pitch to Emmitt Johnson So the offensive linemen are going downfield because it's supposed to be a run. The play comes out a little funky. So it ends up having to be a forward pass to Emmitt Johnson, even though it's a pitch, which makes the entire offensive line, the illegal men downfield. Sean Payton declined that penalty and the ref, because the refs have spotted it at fourth and two. So at fourth and two, which is a borderline, maybe you should just go for it, but you're up 11, Denver hasn't moved the ball, so be it. Send the punt unit out. They then replay assist and move the ball to where it's fourth and this much. But don't give the Chiefs the opportunity to then make a new decision. Do we want to go for it? Do we not? My guess is this is what would have happened had they respotted it correctly. And there have been time. Andy sends out Mahomes. Sean Payton then says, I changed my mind. I want to accept the penalty. And all of a sudden, it's third and 11 instead of fourth and inches. And we see what the hell happens. Maybe Sean Payton doesn't accept the penalty and the Chiefs just go for it. Regardless... Andy didn't press the leverage button there to make the referees give them extra time after they misspotted the ball. That to me was a mistake. Another obvious mistake was when it looked like all of a sudden they might actually be able to run out the clock with eight minutes left in the game because they were just so methodically moving the ball down the field. They have a third and two at the Denver 30. Denver is approaching having to use timeouts. Instead of just running the ball, seeing if you get it or get close. Andy calls a pass play. Patrick gets sacked. Now you're in no man's land. And he did the one thing that I thought going for it would have been okay. I thought punting would have been okay. What I did not want was... A field goal attempt that I don't even know if I wanted him to make. Because the only thing I don't want is to be up six. I've talked about this before. Being up six in the final 90 seconds or two minutes of a game is terrifying. The other team's four down territory has to go for the end zone. You don't want to be up six. Sometimes, oddly, being up three is better than being up six. That's either here or there. The other thing is this. Your kicker stinks. And so... he's probably going to miss and then they're just going to have even better field goal position. So I didn't love any of that. 00:33:17 Speaker 2: I think Justin Tucker, why do they, why do they get it? Okay. 00:33:23 Speaker 1: So, well, let me get to that. No, no, you're fine. Let me get to that in a minute. So I didn't think Andy's game management was, was great. Despite all of it, they get down to the one yard line. You have second and goal from the one. You've got to be able to bang that in there. I thought they let far too much time run off the clock after they ran the ball at 35 seconds and Kenneth fumbled into the end zone, but he didn't actually fumble. He was ruled down. That's got to be, if you do a snap timeout, because you only had one more timeout left at 30 seconds, then you can if you want run it on second down if you don't get it hurry up run it again if you don't get it call your final timeout then figure it out they waited a while to call timeout which put them in a position where they felt they could only run it once pat throws incomplete They do run it. He gets Kenneth Walker's kind of like pauses in the backfield and then goes get stuffed. And then the false start on fourth down, which listen, it was a false start. It was close, but it was a false start. I'm not in the blame the refs business. That was a false start. It sucked, but it was. And then your backup left guard got blown up on fourth down and Patrick didn't have enough time to hit Kelsey and you lose the game. So I didn't love how that game ended. You got Bo Nix into multiple fourth downs at the goal line, both plays. You allow them to run this little rubber out and the guy runs wide open. That's, oh, and by the way, you have a bad kicker now. Listen, Harrison Butker, I do not agree with his views on the

world. I did, we did a whole thing on this about my thoughts on Harrison Butker's what I called Christian fundamentalism. We did it years ago at Trentage after he did that speech. I can separate that from Harrison Butker, the chief, the player. Harrison Butker, the chief, the player, deserves one day to be in the ring of honor. He has made massive Super Bowl winning kicks, okay? Super Bowl winning kick and playoff game winning kicks. He's not good anymore. Now the Chiefs, for reasons that really frustrate me, have made the situation where if they get rid of him, the guy who replaces him, instead of me being like, well, I have a problem with his views on the world, I just feel like is a downright bad, bad guy. I would just add it to the list of bad guys that I have had to, you know, kind of just swallow and root for while they're playing for the Chiefs. But they've got a bad kicking situation. Those are a lot of the hallmarks of flawed teams. And a lot of the things that allowed the Chiefs to make seven straight AFC championship games are things that, are not showing up on this year's team. So those are the micro to Monza. The macro are two major issues that we knew about coming into the year and we will see. One is the pass rush. Okay? They spent a ton of resources on the defense this offseason. They still cannot get a pass rush. Now the hope there is Those are young players. In this particular game, Mansour Delane was out and Snead went to IR, I think. So he was out. So you had newer guys, lesser guys in the secondary. So they were maybe a little more concerned about sending big blitzes. In fact, you saw it on the Broncos' final offensive drive after the missed field goal. They did send a big blitz. There was a miscommunication on the back end. Jonah Coleman's going for 60 yards down to the five. The pass rush. Maybe they trade for Khalil Mack. More than likely, what they need is the young players to play better and Chris Jones to turn it on. Because Chris Jones has not been an impactful player the first eight games of the year, five, seven games of the year. So a macro issue is the pass rush. The other macro issue is this. Amazingly, Tyquan Thornton was a load-bearing piece of this passing game. They have not been able to replace him. They have given Xavier Worthy try after try after try to be a wide receiver one. He's not up for it. Rasheed is very good at what Rasheed is very good at. They have to add a receiver. Now, Garrett Wilson is not realistic. I don't think the Jags will trade Brian Thomas Jr. to the Chiefs. The Cowboys are delusional, so they're going to keep trying to think that they're close. They're not gonna trade George Pickens so it's it's probably going to be a Josh down Stefan Diggs type which will help but again we're gonna be asking Patrick to make chicken salad and but they at this point it's incumbent upon them to trade for a receiver and the young kid all of Chiefs Twitter loves the fifth round pick Cyrus Allen finally got some more opportunities Mahomes threw a perfect 50-yard bomb and Cyrus stopped running for a moment instead of it being a touchdown and the Chiefs win the game it's an incompletion so with all that said Demanzeh Oh, and there is the fact that they could have locked up the division and now they're going to be in a dogfight all year. So, like, that's the other damaging piece of it. With all that said, I like their chances against any team that's going to be in the AFC playoffs. Any team. And Buffalo is clearly, right now, better than them. 00:40:34 Speaker 4: But. 00:40:35 Speaker 1: If you have a team that really struggles with receivers getting open, going up against maybe the worst secondary in the playoffs is a good recipe for that, plus the mental edge that Patrick has over Josh. The Bengals and Jags look different versions of scary, but what I'm upset about is they had an opportunity to lock up the division. put that behind them, be looking at the one seed, and fix these problems from a position of strength. Now, they are going to be in a dogfight for seeding and for the division all year while trying to address these problems. So that's where they're at. They're going to be 8-2 going into Buffalo. They are flatly going to beat the Jets, Falcons, and Cardinals, and they'll be 8-2 going into Buffalo, and it'll be another measuring stick game. And they'll have a new receiver on the team, and we'll see who it is. But that's where they're at. They don't deserve to be discussed like they're a great team like I was talking about them two games ago. The games have to matter. They got undressed by Seattle, and they collapsed against Denver. That is what it is. But I also don't think it's quite as dire as some folks make it out to be. But that's a bad loss. It's a bad loss you want back. Amazingly, not even close to the worst loss anyone suffered in the AFC this weekend because now we get to your team. 00:42:11 Speaker 2: Yeah, so my guy Lamar came back off the ankle, went out immediately first game. He messed up his fingers. So Tyler Huntley came. his thumb, Tyler Huntley came in, got turf toe would appear. So we are third string undrafted free or free agent for fifth round free agent guy. Um, so the season's kind of pretty much over and this could be the end of Lamar in Baltimore. Um, yeah, I was, so it's rough. 00:42:39 Speaker 1: Yeah. I, so do you have a team you think you'll root for if the Ravens are out? Is that, do you have like a secondary team? 00:42:46 Speaker 2: I was just talking to Daniel about it this morning. Um, And it is the Bears. Like, I kind of was like, I think they'll go to the Super Bowl at the beginning of the year. And I hate how, like, this isn't just because of last night. And if Lamar goes, though, next year, whatever team he goes to, I will be a fan of that team. If Lamar goes Jets, I'm a Jets fan. 00:43:07 Speaker 1: He goes Miami. I would start, yeah, I would start checking out the Dolphins roster. So here's the

deal. Okay. I think this is one of the most fascinating stories in sports. I'm going to spend a fair amount of time on it here. This is obviously brutal luck for Lamar. He hits his thumb on Russo's helmet and his season's over. That's bad luck. But we also have one of the most unique situations contractually any player's ever had. which is let me lay it out for you guys as simply as possible and correctly as possible, because I think a lot of people are going to get some of these details wrong. Lamar Jackson has one year left on his deal. That averages $ 52 million a year. Because of the salary cap chicanery the Ravens have engaged in, his cap hit for next year is $ 84 million. And then he has void years tacked on after next year that, let me give you the exact number, that if Lamar were to play next year and then leave, they have a $ 42 million cap charge in 2028. That cap charge in 2028, that void year cap charge, assuredly is going to go up quite a bit because if they don't get a deal done with Lamar, because they... can't sustain an $ 84 million cap hit for next year. So if they don't get a new deal worked out with him, their only mechanism is to move more of his current money into those void years, not his actual money with the cap hits, but that puts them in a tricky financial spot. So they are deeply incentivized to get a new deal done with him. The question is, how incentivized is he and how much of an appetite for it do they have? So here are the other important details. The Baltimore Ravens cannot franchise tag Lamar Jackson at the end of this deal. So if they don't get a new deal done with him, he just becomes a true free agent. The Baltimore Ravens cannot trade Lamar Jackson to the highest bidder. Excuse me. Because Lamar Jackson has a no-trade clause. So if they want to trade him, he has to agree to it, he has to agree to where he's going, and he has to agree to the, you know, everything, because he has a no-trade clause. Which therefore means Lamar holds every single card imaginable here. He also... has a pretty well-documented history of believing he deserves a fully guaranteed deal. And the whole world knows Dak makes $ 60- ish million. Patrick and Josh effectively make a little bit more. So it would not be irrational for Lamar to say, five years, $ 65 million a year, which is 330 million, and I'll take it fully guaranteed, please. Given the fact that Lamar Jackson, four of the last six years, the Raven season has been derailed by a different Lamar Jackson injury, that type of contract would make me quite nervous. I do not believe Lamar is going to take anything short of that type of contract. Which then brings you to what teams out there, A, would Lamar accept a trade to, and B, would be willing to take that contractual risk? And the only team that I think checks both of those boxes is a team that might end up with the number one pick of this year's draft that they could send to Baltimore and that is the Miami Dolphins Lamar also

obviously from Florida not from Miami but from Florida and spends his off seasons in Florida if I'm Baltimore I am very I have they really put all of their eggs in a, we're going to win a Super Bowl during this Lamar contract basket. They didn't, and they're not going to. They tried to get a deal done with him this offseason. They never got close on it. Lamar also, now the one piece of leverage, if you will, the Ravens have is, If Lamar gets hurt next year, nobody's giving him that type of deal. He can't have three straight years that get derailed by injury as at that point and 30 plus year old mobile quarterback that would then be, you know, capital I P injury pro. So they're going to do a very interesting dance. And I think it is a very, realistic possibility to Monse, that sadly, the last snap Lamar ever played with the Ravens was Sunday. I'm not, I'm not saying that is my full on prediction, but I think it's close to a coin flip. And if that is the, I know everyone's bringing up Paul's team, the Vikings, that the Vikings should trade whatever it takes for Lamar Jackson. Let me tell you something. Lamar Jackson is not accepting a trade to Minnesota. He's not. He's just not. And, I mean, Baltimore is a little chilly for his tastes. I don't think Minnesota, I know they play in a dome. I don't think that's going to play. I really think, and I think there are people within the Dolphins who one of the reasons they took all the cat medicine that they took this year and stripped it down and tried to add extra picks where they could was to try to prepare for this possibility. I also think they are one of the teams, I don't think they would have to give up a ton of future picks if they have a top three pick to trade away. If they can trade away maybe the number one pick of the draft, You could probably get Lamar for the number one plus just a little something more, given the fact that Lamar can really dictate where he's going. Now, I know some people are under the assumption what Lamar would do is just play next year on an expiring contract, and then you could go to a team like Miami, and they don't have to trade anything. They just sign you. That is... Given Lamar's injury history, that is very risky to go into a true contract year. And I don't know what his risk tolerance would be. But I think there is. 00:51:23 Speaker 2: With Miami's roster and all the holes in it, that it's an area that he would want to go to. I mean, him being from Florida is probably a big part. 00:51:32 Speaker 1: I think Lamar probably feels like if I'm there, I cover up a lot of those holes. And, you know, teams turn around quick, man. Like the. 00:51:44 Speaker 2: Yeah, the rejuvenation of a guy like Lamar Jackson coming in. 00:51:48 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, listen, in the last, you know, in just in the last decade, The Titans made a conference championship game. Now they're the absolute dregs. You know, I was going to say the Jets and the Browns are the two teams that don't, but the Browns won a playoff game a few years ago. They were playing the Chiefs in a divisional round playoff game to go to the AFC championship. 00:52:16 Speaker 2: Miami was just in the hunt. 00:52:17 Speaker 1: I mean, a few years ago. That's what I was going to say. Miami was just in the playoffs. Now, Miami hasn't won a playoff game in a quarter century, but Miami was just in the playoffs. Like, The teams get it, can turn it around, relatively speaking, quickly. And so, I do feel, here's the, and Ravens fans don't want to hear it, but it's true. You were supposed to win the Super Bowl in 2023. You were. And you were the favorites to win that Super Bowl almost wire to wire. Up until the moment, Justin Tucker started practicing his kicks in the Chiefs end zone. And in that moment, when Travis Kelsey threw the kicking tee, and he and Mahomes had a game of legends, that was your best chance. And then the next year, the window was still open, and Mark Andrews dropped the two-point conversions. And last year the window was closing because the Harbaugh era had run its course and the defense wasn't quite good and Lamar got hurt. And this year you have a downright bad defense. Lamar's hurt again. You might be starting an injured Fagnano, whatever the hell that means. I don't think our defense is terrible. 00:53:45 Speaker 2: I don't think our defense is terrible. 00:53:47 Speaker 1: They've allowed 71 points in the last six quarters. 00:53:50 Speaker 2: Oh, all right. Even when Lamar went down in this last game, we held up. And even in the game before that, the offense has to put points on the board to make it competitive. So you think the defense is. 00:54:01 Speaker 1: Just letting go of the rope? Yeah, it's like the defense. 00:54:04 Speaker 2: Can't just hold on the whole game. But yeah, I don't. 00:54:08 Speaker 1: Think it's been atrocious like you said. And they're an aging roster. And so, like, Zay Flowers and Kyle Hamilton are not aging. I mean, everybody's aging. You know what I mean. They're not old players. But your best players are all old, except for those two guys and Lamar. And so, that might have been the chance. And, again, maybe they get a deal worked out with Lamar. It is going to be a very risky proposition. In 2021, the Ravens were in great shape. Lamar sprained his ankle. They never won again, and they missed the playoffs. In 2022, the Ravens were in great shape. Lamar hurt his knee. They ended up making the playoffs anyway and being tied with the Bengals. Tyler Huntley trying to QB sneak at the one-yard line in a playoff game, take the lead. He fumbles. Bengals return at 99 yards. They lose. 2023 and 2024, we just talked about. 2025, Lamar's multiple injuries kind of derailed the season. In 2026, Lamar's unlucky ankle sprain and then the thumb injury have derailed the season. I just think it's kind of the end of an era in Baltimore. And it sucks. 00:55:40 Speaker 3: And.... 00:55:41 Speaker 1: If he does leave Baltimore

to Monza, it's one of the most unique 10 years ever. He will have had four healthy seasons. And three of those four years, he was first-team All-Pro quarterback. And two of them, he won league MVP. 00:55:59 Speaker 2: It's really unbelievable. 00:56:00 Speaker 1: But the biggest concern. 00:56:11 Speaker 1: A star quarterback can have, is Izzy an injury risk? And the second biggest concern a star quarterback can have is, is he a star quarterback come the playoffs? And sadly for Lamar, those are both big question marks. And so I don't know what this means, big picture. Like it could mean a bunch of different things, but that's, it's a tough, if you're a Ravens fan, if you're a Ravens fan, you're probably not listening to this, but it's brutal spot. Go ahead. 00:56:42 Speaker 2: If it's over, I appreciate you, Lamar. It's been a fun ride. 00:56:45 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:56:45 Speaker 2: And got me in the football. It's just a great time. And it's just unfortunate it's gone the way it has. But I'm following you wherever you go. 00:56:54 Speaker 1: And, I mean, his career is not going to be over. Yeah, of course. 00:56:57 Speaker 2: I'm following you wherever you go. 00:56:58 Speaker 1: But his time with Baltimore very well could be. All right. So, the other side of this game. This is what I want to say about the Bills. Right now, their offense is a juggernaut. And Josh wasn't even playing well for half that game. And they end up with 36 points. 00:57:19 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:57:19 Speaker 1: Like that's, that is, I mean, he was real. I think he was like nine of 19 to start that game. And it didn't matter. They still scored 36 points. They deserve right now to be the favorites in the AFC. I, the defense we'll see how much, The defense improves over the course of the year. Yeah, the defense looked good against Baltimore, but they were from Lamar to Huntley to Fagnano tough. But the Bills deserve to be the AFC favorites right now. Boost Mobile, proving you don't have to overpay for great wireless. Unlock the savings with $ 25 a month forever. Unlimited plan, permanent price, no contracts, and no price hikes. You can keep your phone and your number online. but you save up to $ 600 a year compared to the major carriers. Stop overpaying and switch to a fair price at BoostMobile.com today. Based on average annual single-line payment of AT & T, Verizon, and T-Mobile customers, compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited plan as of January 2026. For full offer details, visit BoostMobile.com. All right, let's talk Dallas for a minute. Come on, Jake. 00:58:32 Speaker 2: Dallas had a 24-10 lead against the Cardinals in the fourth quarter and managed to lose. Dak called it one of the toughest losses in his career. Everybody thought that with Philly being down and losing hurts, the Cowboys could have a chance to be at the top of the division. It's obviously the Giants right now. Will the Cowboys make the playoffs? I mean, maybe, but I don't care. I like that every division gets a playoff team. I think that is a good feature of the NFL. I do not think they should change that. You break the league down into 14 buckets. That way, you know, it is hard. 00:59:10 Speaker 1: Like, let me put, because of the way the NFL does the playoffs, there are only, here are the only fan bases in a 32 team league that are like, we are cooked. The Jets are the Dolphins, the Colts, the Titans, the Chargers, the Cardinals. That's the entire list. There are 26 teams that right now believe, ah, get hot and see. So I like it. It does not mean all 26 teams deserve our attention. Oh, but they could be a playoff team. I don't give a shit on some of these teams. If the only reason you can be a playoff team is because you spun the dice and got the awful division dice this year, that doesn't mean you deserve... We don't need to spend time talking about the two 4-1 Washington commanders just because they're alive for the division. With that said, I do want to spend some time talking about Dallas because them being in this position is mortifying. The Giants have played three quarterbacks this year. The Commanders have played three quarterbacks this year. The Eagles have played three quarterbacks this year. The Giants have played Jackson Dart, Jameis Winston, J.J. McCarthy. The Commanders have played Jaden Daniels, Marcus Mariota and that Greek kid whose name I don't know. The Eagles have played Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, and one throw from Andy Dalton that wasn't interception. The Cowboys have just played Dak. CD's been there. Pickens has been there. Quinton Williams has been there. You've had leads in these games. And you invent ways to lose. That Cardinals loss was an abomination. And I had the Cardinals plus seven. And it went on the show. DeMonte, you weren't here. I said, this feels like Dallas up 10 late. And Jacoby Brissett drives a late cover the spread touchdown. Cardinals lose by three. I nailed that, except the fact Jacoby Perced had already been benched. It was Gardner Minshew, and the Cardinals, that's exactly what happened. Then the Cardinals won the game. Prior to that game, Demanze, there had been, in the last three years, 110 teams in the last three years that attempted an onside kick during a game. Those teams, as far as Did you attempt an onside kick? Did you win? Not even did you recover, did you win? Those teams were 1-109. The only other team to attempt an onside kick and win was the Bears against the Packers last year when Romeo Dobbs muffed it and the Bears ended up winning the game. The Cardinals attempted an onside kick, didn't recover it. The Cowboys returned it to the 20s. 01:02:40 Speaker 4: And the Cardinals could have won in regulation if not for a missed extra point. It was, and then the Cowboys got, and this is where I will hammer Dak a bit. 01:02:55 Speaker 1: I know they scored 30. I know the problem is the defense. I get it. But I, I look at folks who blame the Cowboys defense for their struggles

in games like this. Like somebody that blames DeMondsey if people stop listening to the pod. Like, okay, maybe it's a little bit on him, but I'm responsible. The money is on this side. The expectation is on this side. It should be on me. And everybody like, yeah, I mean, it's right. Like, listen, it's not that you have no responsibility, but ultimately I'm the one who should bear the blank. Dak, you got to get a first down to end the game in regulation. You don't. The defense then amazingly bows up and forces a three and out in overtime. And now you can pull it out of the fire. 01:03:56 Speaker 4: You got a kicker that can hit from 70 yards against the worst defense in football. 01:04:06 Speaker 1: A Cardinals team this year that when they're not playing the absolute impossibly bad offense that is the Chargers, has allowed 31, 36, 36, 45, 30, 30, 30 again, and I guess 16 against the Rams. What a weird game. And you go three and out in overtime and give the ball right back to them. The Cowboys cannot string together back-to-back wins. And some of that's on the coach. The Cowboys, since Schottenheimer has taken over, here is, in order, their win-loss record. Last year, they started off like this. Loss, win, loss, tie, win, loss, win, loss, loss. So it would be 3-5-1. Then after the bye, to their credit, they strung together three straight wins. Then it was three straight losses, then win-loss. This year, the Cowboys have loss, win, loss, win, loss, loss, win, loss. The defense is underperforming. Dak and the offense promised they were going to be the best offense in football this year. Nobody's been great for them. And they're 3-5 with a loss to Tampa Bay's undrafted free agent quarterback, a loss that helped Green Bay turn their season around, a loss to Baltimore where it, they could have gone to overtime, but they, they allow Baltimore to get a field goal with, remember that one? That was the, they started driving seven seconds left. 01:06:16 Speaker 2: That was beautiful time. 01:06:16 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. 01:06:17 Speaker 2: It was Tyler loop. 01:06:18 Speaker 1: That was Baltimore in Lamar saying loops. You're my guy. I mean, it's mortifying for the Cowboys and Jerry Jones. I think it's like almost okay with it. 01:06:30 Speaker 2: Let's say, what about the coach? 01:06:32 Speaker 1: Well, that's the thing. I mean, this is a bad look for Schottenheimer. And I said this on the show, but I'm going to say it again, even though I think coach doesn't coach, I don't think would have taken this job. And I coach does not feel this way, but I don't care. I had, I tried to be unbiased and fair or open my biases at all times. I also, if I'm ever deferential, you know, I, some of those guys that I take shots at and sports media ombudsman like live in KW's neighborhood and I make his life way awkward and I don't care. Like I just do it. I think it's good content. The one time I pull punches a bit is if I think coach Mangini has a personal relationship with one of the coaches. Because I feel badly, and I just feel badly. And I know that Brian Schottenheimer was Coach Mangini's coordinator with the Jets. So I know they have a relationship. So I don't want to say I've soft-pedaled, but I've given him the benefit of the doubt. And then, three weeks ago, when the Cowboys defense was in total disarray, And they were like, we need a veteran defensive mind to come in and just oversee the operation. He didn't even call my guy. He hired Mike Patton. So you know what? I'm not pulling punches anymore. This guy has not been good. He stinks. So I'm not happy about it. Yeah, and listen, the Cowboys, if they make the playoffs, it'll be because... The Giants, that J.J. McCarthy's a mirage. But it won't be because they're all of a sudden good. All right, speaking of J.J. McCarthy, let's talk about his other team, his former team. 01:08:40 Speaker 2: The Vikings are no longer undefeated. They lost to Detroit. They still cannot get anything going, even though Detroit has that bad defense. And Green Bay took care of business against the Panthers, and they get Micah Parsons back soon. That division's getting pretty dicey. Who do you think is going to make the playoffs there? 01:08:55 Speaker 3: I mean. 01:08:58 Speaker 1: Right now, it feels like the best teams are the Bears and the Lions, but the Packers have looked great as of late. And, you know, it's so funny. Like you play on a Thursday and we almost forget about you. The Packers have won four of five. including that dominant victory over the Bears. And then there's the Vikings, who have an unbelievable defense and an untenable quarterback situation, who desperately need Kirk Cousins, and I don't know that Kirk Cousins is available. I do know that the Vikings are potentially very lucky that the Giants were on a bye this week. Because if J.J. McCarthy had played and had cooked, And I don't know that he would have cooked. But if he had played and he had cooked, I don't know how some of the Vikings front office looks himself in the mirror. And that includes Kevin O'Connell, who let's be very clear here. It wasn't only that they were so adamant, we have to get JJ out of the building. We have to get him out of the building. Even though Our top two quarterbacks, one is injury prone in Kyler and the other is injury prone in Carson Wentz. We still got to get him out of the building. It was also, I am convinced that Kyler Murray is just going to be awesome. Or at least we're going to have no problems. And what's crazy about this game is this is one of Kyler's better games of the year. He went into it with three touchdowns on the year. He had two in this game. So I... The Vikings defense is unbelievably good. Holding Detroit to 19 or whatever they held them to is a really good job. But that offense is. 01:11:05 Speaker 1: An actual fatal flaw. And, you know, Danny has been saying he thinks the Vikings are about to go from 6-0 to 6-4. I won't go that far. But the Lions

game, you know, was there for the taking at the very least. And the next three to Monzae, Bills at Packers, home for the Niners. And so... It's tough. The J.J. 01:11:40 Speaker 2: McCarthy thing, I think a lot of it was his personality and his wackiness in the locker room. It kind of seemed like there was some other stuff going on there. 01:11:50 Speaker 1: Yeah, and that he didn't take well to being demoted. But you know what? That's a coach's job to get your arms around guys and figure that stuff out. I don't really give them a. 01:12:03 Speaker 1: Benefit of the doubt there. And Parsons, by the way, for the Packers, is coming back. And so, yeah, that division's unbelievable. I understand the AFC North also has four teams with good records. Well, we've got to look at Baltimore differently now, sadly, because the quarterbacks are. But they were in that spot. The NFC North just has four very good teams. The Vikings are a very good team. I mean, they have the best, tied for the best record in the NFL. I'm not trying to minimize them, but they just have a fatal flaw that they're not going to be able to overcome. And I think that, I think all four of those teams, we could be in a position, Amanze, where in week 16, a team is playing a game that if they win, they lead the division. And if they lose, they're out of the playoff picture. Like that's how close that's going to be. That's kind of how the division was last year as well. And so we'll see how it goes. All right. We've got a few other things to get to. 01:13:06 Speaker 2: Bengals needed OT to beat the Titans. Weird game for Joe Burrow. He had six touchdowns and threw three picks all to the same guy. He's number two in MVP odds after Josh Allen. Do you think the Bengals are for real? 01:13:20 Speaker 1: What a weird game. I mean, needing overtime to beat the Titans is 12.5 point favorites when the Titans just traded their best player is not a good thing. Joe Burrow throwing three early picks to the same guy is not a good thing. But holy shit, was it fun to watch him come back. Burrow, for the first time in his career, trailing with eight minutes left in a game. 01:13:42 Speaker 3: Oh, yeah. 01:13:43 Speaker 1: Was he 0-4, right? Was that the first one? He was 0-38. Yeah, he was 0-38, so that streak is done. Credit to him. Listen, I kind of like the Bengals' all-pass, no-run offense. It's just fun. Chase is such a superstar. Higgins is awesome. It's just... I don't mind watching it, and their defense has been... Incredible enough. Now, two of the last three games, you know, Malik Willis put up 24. Cam Ward had the best game of his career. Cam Ward actually looked good. Like, credit to Cam Ward in this game. I know they probably won't. I really wonder, because Chase Brown's supposed to be good. But, man, it'd be fun if the Bengals traded for Jonathan Taylor. If they were the team that said, we want to upgrade the running game there. Go ahead. Yeah. 01:14:41 Speaker 2: I mean, I do think Chase Brown has, he's been pretty good and they don't really use them like that. So for, to like try to get a premium running back, like. 01:14:48 Speaker 1: Chase Brown historically has been pretty, he's been, but this year he hasn't, you know, he's three and a half yards per carry this year has one touchdown as long as runs 14 yards. Like the last couple of years, he was pretty good. So I just wonder if they want to be a little more balanced. Now they have a better defense, but here's the other thing that the Bengals are in this, you know, the eight, I'm not going to go as far as say the AFC playoff picture is set, but it sure feels like DeMond's a, the chiefs and the Broncos are coming out of the West. The bills and the pats are coming out of the East. The Steelers and the bangles are coming out of the North and the Jags are coming out of the South. And that's it. Now the Browns, the Browns have been weird all year. in the Browns, the, you know, the Steelers beat the Browns. 01:15:44 Speaker 2: Just lost the head to head. 01:15:45 Speaker 1: Yeah. The, well, but also the other thing for the Browns, that's so weird is this, they win games and Deshaun is just miserable throughout the game. And then excellent late this game, Deshaun 27 of 39, 324 yards, no turnovers. They score six points. What? Like it just doesn't, it doesn't even make sense. Now, Here's why those numbers are misleading. For the second time this year, Deshaun was sacked eight times. Deshaun's been, like, some of these are on the line, and some of those are him running into sacks or trying to do too much. Also, I said on the TV show, I'm going to say it again, take of the day. Unrelated to anything you think we're talking about. Do you remember DeManzay? The team that wanted to draft Shador Sanders and Shador's camp said don't draft him. 01:16:49 Speaker 2: Was it the Raiders? 01:16:49 Speaker 1: Because he doesn't want to be a backup. 01:16:52 Speaker 3: Oh. 01:16:54 Speaker 1: Your Baltimore Ravens. Your Baltimore Ravens. 01:16:59 Speaker 2: Oh, get him. 01:17:01 Speaker 1: Oh, get him. 01:17:01 Speaker 2: I would love to see him. 01:17:02 Speaker 1: Oh, so. Oh, that's. You know what? That's an even better take of the day. I wasn't even thinking that. What I was about to say was. What a thing, what a moment Shador would like to have back. He would have played last year, would be playing this year. I didn't even think about the fact they might still just be able to go get him. 01:17:20 Speaker 3: Yeah. 01:17:21 Speaker 1: Yeah. Especially if Funiano's in, like Huntley's got turf toe. Oh, interesting. Maybe they should do that. Listen, I think the Bengals are going to be in the playoffs for the first time in four years. I didn't think that before the year. And it is hard to handicap all of the AFC teams. have a different glaring weakness, and the Bengals right now, people want to knock the Chiefs' strength of schedule, which I understand is a fair knock, but they did clock Denver and

then just play Denver again in Denver and dominate them for three quarters before they collapse, and they did collapse. Bengals' wins are Bucs, Texans, Dolphins, Ravens, without Lamar, Titans. And their losses are Steelers and Jags. The Bengals are a good team. Yeah, need some more games. The only team in the AFC that has looked awesome start to finish of the year is Buffalo, and Buffalo's defense is just, their secondary is objectively bad. Here's one team that's looked bad every single week of the year. It's the final big story we have today. Let's get to it. 01:18:37 Speaker 2: Chargers are 0-7, and everybody's pointing fingers at the coaches. Herbert had another two-interception game. Why is it that he's such a good quarterback and he doesn't get the scrutiny and it's always pointed to his roster or his? coaches? Or do you think it's more his team and the coaches at this point? 01:18:54 Speaker 1: Listen, we had said we were done talking Justin Herbert, and then I made an executive decision that it's gotten so awful, it's now a stunning story. I thought Justin Herbert was overrated. I thought his apologists were, had strict, like, on the, I don't think quarterback wins are everything, but some of his apologists acted like they wished the games they didn't keep score. And I thought they had gone too far. But at no point did I ever think Justin Herbert was a bad quarterback. And this year, it's not that he's been bad. It's that he has been, arguably, the worst quarterback in the entire NFL. His team has scored 14, 14, 16, 23, but thanks to the fact they were down three scores late and got two garbage time touchdowns. 17, 6, and then out of a bye, 9. He has run for zero touchdowns. He has thrown for five, along with 10 interceptions. His passer rating this year is 69. And so there can be circumstances that turn, make a great quarterback have mediocre numbers. There should never be circumstances that that make a great quarterback, or even a very good quarterback, be at the forefront of the league's worst offense, while, again, like, across the board, he is having a worse season than Tanner McKee, than Cam Ward, than the just-now-benched Jacoby Brissett, than Malik Willis. He has put up similar numbers on a per-game basis to Tyson Bajent. It is seeing this level of snap decay from a player who's supposed to be in his prime. There is no precedent for this stretch of this ineffective of football for what's supposed to be a great player. Which is to say... Go ahead, Demonte. Oh, no. 01:21:44 Speaker 2: You sound like you're about to get to a really juicy point there. 01:21:48 Speaker 1: Okay, no. Which is to say. 01:21:51 Speaker 2: It. 01:21:54 Speaker 1: Is now an unacceptable opinion to consider Justin Herbert to be a great quarterback. It's unacceptable. If you want to say... he's a good quarterback at this moment in time, the evidence is against you, but I suppose you can hold on hope. But these folks like my dear friend and colleague and best friend of 20 plus years, Danny Parkins, who still believe that one day he's going to win an MVP, that one day he's going to be a Superbowl champion guys. It, You can't be like, oh, well, think about Stafford and Detroit. There was never this for any of the 40 greatest quarterbacks ever. There was never something like this. First of all, they've lost 10 in a row. But seven straight games of awful offense. A lot of the games, the defense holding up its end. And I understand he's in a bad circumstance because of the injuries. He's not in the worst circumstance in the league. And he has been the worst starting quarterback in football this year. It's just absolutely stunning what's happened here. And it's unprecedented. Absolutely unprecedented. Go ahead. 01:23:28 Speaker 2: How do you think Brock Purdy would look? On the Chargers. 01:23:32 Speaker 1: I think every single starting quarterback in the league would look better than Herbert has looked. There is something happening to him that has turned him from talented but overrated. too talented, but truly awful at the position. He just has clean pockets and he's throwing picks left and right. I've seen him throw these god-awful turn one way, throw the other, pick right to a corner that's just sitting there all year long. He just keeps throwing the same interception. It's really, really remarkable. um too many beers i mean the pick he threw against the chiefs he has thrown a pick to that portion of the field a half dozen times this year it it's just it's and so the team and harbaugh is not going to be able to pull him out of it harbaugh's got no experience dealing with a terrible team it's not what he's used to it is it it it's just unbelievable um This is a great cut up. I mean, I think if I were the Ravens, I would never do that. You can't trade Lamar for Justin Herbert. At this point. You can't. Maybe last year. Herbert's terrible now. I don't. No, I mean, I had said the Jets should consider giving up. They have three first rounders in this year's draft. Those for Herbert. I'd offer one. He might just be broken, guys. And I don't... I mean, they're 0-7. They're the only winless team in the league. And it is... It is not unfair to say their biggest issue on the team right now is the play of the quarterback. It is not the offensive line injuries. It is not the wide receiver. It is certainly not the defense. You can blame Mike McDaniel, who everybody loved. It's the play of the quarterback. All right. Let's go to the quick hitters quickly. 01:25:45 Speaker 2: I'm glad this one's first. Tampa Bay defeats Atlanta 16-0. They need to just have a dome. This is the second game this year that's been delayed because of weather. This one wasn't delayed, but the weather obviously had a huge impact on the game. Baker Mayfield's 0-3. Put a dome over the stadium or close it when it's going to rain. 01:26:04 Speaker 1: I like it. I like the bad conditions. I don't like the lightning delays. I will admit that. But

they didn't have that here. But seeing, listen, not a good day for my guy Baker, who completed zero passes and was the best quarterback on the field because Penix was that terrible. Tampa, super alive, deep sleeper, might be back asleep. Remember, you know, we make this joke sometimes when a quarterback has a really terrible game that if you just spike the ball, your quarterback rating is 39.6. So anytime you have a passer rating below 39.6, it means you're better off just spiking the ball. We saw that played out in real time. Baker was 0 for 3, which is the same as spiking the ball with no picks, 39.6 passer rating. Penix was 8 of 24 with four interceptions, a 12 passer rating. Yeah, it is unbelievable. Throw the ball in the rain. 01:27:02 Speaker 2: Jacksonville defeats Indy 42 to 7. 01:27:06 Speaker 1: The Jags are awesome. And they are maybe... They have some bad... They have a couple... You know, they just lost to the Texans. And they obviously... They were another team this year that went to Denver and lost. Denver's just been this juggernaut at home. But the Jags are right in the mix with Kansas City and Denver and... Cincinnati. They're right there. This is, do not make this a social video because for two reasons, one, this is Simmons was the first person to really go here on this take. And I, he deserves credit for it. So I don't want to be, you know, kind of stepping on his toes. And While I believe this, the people who would see this, if this were a social video and be like, amen, man, are some of the worst people in the world. So I don't want them as allies, but I have to say what I have to say. The ones that shaking his head. Here's what I'm going to say. If we had a nepotism owner, who was the grandchild or whatever of the longtime owner who inherited the team, and this person was a man who stood on the sideline and wore a headset and took notes and the team was a train wreck we would all make fun of that guy If all of a sudden, Stephen Jones' kid inherited the Cowboys, and he's standing with the coaches, wearing a headset, listening to the plays, taking notes, and the team every week just gets curb stomped, and they make outrageous trades for Sauce Gardner and extend Daniel Jones, that guy would be a laughingstock. And so while I am not a big believer typically in reverse sexism and nonsense that the, I don't know if it's red bill, black bill, one of the stupid bills, the stupid people on the internet are always talking about. I am going to say, I do think Ms. Ursae has gotten a bit of a pass from the overwhelmingly male media because we don't want the, the, the, Some of. 01:29:57 Speaker 2: The backlash that comes with it. 01:30:00 Speaker 1: No, it's not even we don't want the backlash. We just don't want. Nobody wants to have a take that Whitlock has. Nobody wants to say something and have that guy be like, amen. But blind squirrel every once in a while. It's a fair critique, guys. Next game. 01:30:22 Speaker 2: Vegas defeats the Jets 38-33. 01:30:27 Speaker 1: Listen, the Raiders, Kirk Cousins has been awesome. Aaron Glenn, come on, bro. He's just not a good coach. The defense, just your defensive coach and the defense has been terrible. Speaking of terrible, we are in a bit of a, there is a long gambling of truism, which is the market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent. And so it's one of the reasons why, like, so let me give you an example of this. Spend a minute here. This is a fun little gambling talk. Do you know what a Martingale strategy is, Demonse? 01:31:05 Speaker 2: Martingale strategy? I do not. 01:31:08 Speaker 1: Okay. 01:31:08 Speaker 2: Wait, honestly, I feel like I've. 01:31:09 Speaker 1: Heard of it before, though. So Martingale strategy is you go to the roulette wheel and your only goal is to win $ 100. 01:31:19 Speaker 3: Okay. 01:31:19 Speaker 1: So you put $ 100 on black. and it comes up red. So now you're down a hundred bucks, obviously. So you double your bet. So you put 200 on black. And then if it comes up black, you've now won your hundred, you're done. All right. So it comes up red. So now you have to put 400 on black. Comes up Black, you've won your 100, you're done. It's just simply on a 50-50 bet, you just, whatever you want to win, you bet. And then you, if you lose, you just double, you only have to win one time and you get your stake back. The reason that that is not an effective gambling strategy is it can come up red 13 times in a row and you're bust. 01:32:11 Speaker 3: I know. 01:32:12 Speaker 1: You go $ 100, $ 200, $ 400, $ 800, $ 1, 600, $ 3, 200, $ 6, 400, $ 12, 800, $ 25, 600, $ 50, 400. Selling those. All of it. And by the way, also the casino might be like, no, sorry, sir. We have a max bet limit, but whatever it is. And you're just cooked. The market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent. It's a good lesson out there for any gamblers out there that, like, ah, well, it's got to come around this time. Eventually, yeah, but you might be out on your ass. I don't know if that is a good anecdote for what I feel like I'm going through right now with my picks on this show versus my picks on the TV show. But here's what has happened in four of the last five weeks or three of the last four weeks. I have gone, Demanze, three and two on this show. I then pick my favorite three to use them, the same picks on the TV show. And every single time, what I have picked is, of those three, the two losers. 01:33:28 Speaker 2: Two losers, one winner. 01:33:32 Speaker 1: So I, once again, this week, on this show, I did... Jags minus nine and a half. We just talked about it covered by a million. Didn't use it for TV. Raiders plus one and a half. One outright. Didn't use it for TV. And then for TV, I used Cardinals plus seven. One outright. And then the Chiefs and Seahawks lose them both. So I'm now on TV. I think I'm nine and 15. And on the pod, a game above 500. It's not like I'm crushing it on the pod, but I'm fine. Like, you know, a game above 500 and then, you know, maybe I'm exactly 500 or whatever it is. So that's my takeaway from Raiders Jets is I'm just annoyed that I didn't include it on the show. We already did Pittsburgh Cleveland a bit. And last but not least, Patriots Dolphins, which I'm going to be honest, I was not dialed in on because I was watching the Chiefs collapse. It was a later game. The Dolphins had a nice halftime lead, and then they fell apart. That was week eight in the NFL. Thank you to Pauly Murgat. Thank you to Boost. Great to have you back, DeMondse. We will be back on Thursday. Go vote, folks. Go vote. And I feel like, if you see the world the way I see it, tonight's going to be a night of celebration. We'll see. My official predictions are out there. We'll see how I do on those. Thank you to Blue Duck. Thank you to Volume. See you guys later. We'll try.