2025 NFL Week 16 Saturday and Early Games Preview

21:55Jourdan Rodrigue:And Odafe Owe has seven sacks in nine games. He really was, I guess, the Damoshek Jenga piece for this defense to help bring what they really want to do to life. And the crazy part, and this is courtesy of the Guilty as Charge podcast, they had this, you know, I really like what they're doing. And Owe is basically rushing on the interior. And last week, they really scrambled Mahomes, and I went back to watch it after I heard them point it out. They just rushed three, like most of the big passing downs. OA on the inside. The other two on the outside. And they created a ton of pressure. It's so rad, dude.

22:32I mean, you can't do that type of stuff every week. But the three of them, in terms of their pressure rate, they are three of the top 20 edges, if you count OA as an edge, in the NFL in terms of QB hits and big play rate. And so that is a great combo. And it's taken, no offense to Bud Dupree, him off the field. So then it's just been a big upgrade. And Mac, as great as O.A. is, Mac is kind of the key because re-watching that game, my God.

22:58Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah. Stuffing the run. He might be the best run-stuffing edge in the league in addition to what he's doing. That dude's ageless, obviously like a Hall of Famer. But it does remind me a little bit of like Kurt Warner with the Cardinals where it's just like, man, he's just making sure he's a Hall of Famer with this Chargers streak late in his career. You know what I mean? It's just like it's another whole chapter of an incredible career. There will be no need to come back at 44 years old to play for the Raiders or the Bears. It's like Khalil Mack will be in and good. And I just wish, you know, prior to the completion of the trade, if little brother had told big brother, hey, we plan on rushing him on the inside.

23:36Have you guys thought about doing that before, like, you know, the numbers go through the roof? And Adafi Owe is the best defensive pass rusher in the history of the NFL after the trade. They're basically not making him do stuff he's bad at. I know. What a concept.

23:51Jourdan Rodrigue:And I love that. And I'm not trying to mansplain the listener, but think about when you're rushing three, right? Think about that's eight people behind them that you can put a quite the cap over the back of this defense. And that's part of the reason they're getting some of the takeaways that they're getting, and they're able to confuse these quarterbacks. I love what you said early about winning in unconventional ways and leaning on this defense with so many injuries. And obviously Justin Herbert's been amazing, but like so many injuries along that offensive front, leaning on what is like a, like a stability factor that happens to be incredibly decisive and, and really influence a game in significant ways.

24:34Jourdan Rodrigue:It's not just like a, a stable piece of the equation that is like maybe hidden, like a kicking game or, which is great or something like that. No, this actually affects the outcomes of these games. And it's really been great since the bye week, especially now. This will be the best offense they've faced since the bye week. So I'm looking forward to it. And you do get the full Cowboys, you know, arsenal that you're going against, except the offensive line is a little banged up. I went into the season talking about I thought this was the biggest boomer bust offensive line. They've had great moments.

25:04They've had bad moments. They're definitely not playing their best right now.

25:07Jourdan Rodrigue:They're so hurt. And they're injured. And we don't have all the Tylers available. Let's hear from Shadi, your guy, talking about Dak Prescott's availability down the stretch. Joe Milton, if you guys are eliminated, is there at any point where you'd want to see him play? I want to win. So the plan would be to play Dak. Yeah. All right. I never understand. I mean, I guess I understand the question, but why would you sit Dak Prescott or any starting quarterback? It always seems like a strange idea to me. Yeah. I just wonder if you're Joe Milton, how do you feel? Because you got directly invoked there.

25:46Yeah. And it's like, well, we're not going to win with Joe Milton.

25:48Jourdan Rodrigue:Took a little side swipe. Took a little side swipe. Why am I in it? Oh, my God. My concern for Dallas is ever since that first half, like George Pickens went up for a catch against the Detroit Lions, came down hard, has been listed with knee injuries since. And the performance has fallen off. And, of course, CD playing through all the different things. Like, that's the Cowboys' superpower. and you know with bland like to a certain extent you look at a particular rep of the cowboys defense and everybody is coming back from a major surgery yeah and and like they they can't cover they can't rush the passer and like i i know that the greg roman of it all and the chargers we've concerned about the offense so guys are going to be open lads are going to be running by himself we'll see well i mean the last two weeks it's been rough the greg roman he has not beaten the allegations that he had in Baltimore.

26:40Like, there just weren't guys there for Herbert. I actually thought the offensive line played pretty well last week for the Chargers. That wasn't necessarily, and it reminded me of the game I was at watching in person where I could see it. None of those receivers who are very talented were open, although they were often in the same area. You would think this week could be different because, yeah, they've struggled in Dallas. And Quinnen Williams, this is a big absence, is in the concussion protocol and not at practice, meaning he's probably not playing. Deron Bland, also not at practice.

27:08Jourdan Rodrigue:And Matt Eberflus, I mean, for all the denissance commentary, Matt Eberflus is quite under the microscope here. And Jerry Jones has even said that they're looking at everything, which is like the death knell for anybody on the staff. And they're evaluating over the last couple of games. And you could see it. It might not matter that receivers are running the exact same routes and stacking on top of each other in confusing ways by Greg Roman. because there's not a lot of people covering other people when you're talking about the scheme of that Iberflus defense right now. I have a little trivia for you before we take a break.

27:49And this game is interesting. I'm obviously taking the Chargers. I might have to take that on the pick show with Cynthia. I think you should. Which the streak's still going. The greatest streak in sports. 11 straight winning weeks. 3-0 last week. There was a man playing for the Los Angeles Chargers last week. He played 43 snaps. That was very recently a member of the Baltimore Ravens and was once, I believe, atop my free agency rankings in a given offseason. Can you name that man? I was stunned when I went and looked. I was like, who is that number 31 on the field? I believe it was last week. All right, so the number, like, it's not Tony Jefferson.

28:31It was a different number on the Ravens. I believe he was 32 on the Ravens. This is great podcasting here. A disappointment, I would say, with the Baltimore Ravens. He's playing for the Los Angeles Chargers right now. Oh, multiple of them. That's nice. Well, yeah, that's true.

28:45Jourdan Rodrigue:I looked it up, so I can't say. Marcus Williams. I mean, maybe only I'm interested in this. No. But former New Orleans Saints great. I don't think he was. He wasn't in the league until last week when he played a full complement of snaps for the Chargers. So they're just making it happen all over the roster. It's funny. that's like it's either Tony Jefferson or Marcus Williams. I would have been here for a long time. I did not think Marcus was back. I did not know that either, but that's why you watch, I guess. All right, let's take a break. We'll come back on the other side for a game that's been disrespected.

29:19It didn't even make it into the first block of our show. And it's disrespected, frankly, by the announcers, Fox, the signs of the game. Wow!

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34:19But Fox ranks the announcers. They tell you before the season, what's our number five team? What's our number six team? I'm just going off of that. And they essentially assign their number six team to the battle for the NFC South title. That's kind of crazy. So who are you saying is being disrespected here? The team. The NFC South. The Bucks and the Panthers deserve better. and you're saying that based off the hierarchy yes from Fox not necessarily your evaluation Fox is telling you that the Vikings Giants is a better game okay than that right

34:54Jourdan Rodrigue:Greg sometimes sometimes you just walk right into it your Greg heat check warrant commission here as we look forward to the game of the year in the NFC South the Tampa Bay Buccaneers three-point favorites in Charlotte against the Carolina Panthers the over-under is 45 and a half Chris Myers and Mark Slareth, who we love and appreciate, are on the call. Jordan? Yes. It was an annoying as predicted game for the Panthers against the Saints. They lost. They lost the big opportunity. Do they get it back against Baker? This is quietly one of the best games of this slate. Their stakes are so high for both of these teams.

35:34Jourdan Rodrigue:And I think the Panthers are so streaky in, like you mentioned, such an infuriating way where the teams that you maybe, whether it's the line or, or, you know, us as analysts or whatever, that you would not expect them to beat, they dominate or at least come down to the wire and win at the last second. Um, and then the teams that you would expect them to struggle against, um, or excuse me, the teams that you would expect them to beat easily, they just don't. And this is one of those games where I think Tampa Bay has kind of shown a little bit of those streaky qualities too. So it's two teams that have just been unsteady against a variety of different types of opponents and schemes and game plans all season, or at least for Tampa Bay, the second half of the season, and now colliding in the ultimate back-against-the-wall game.

36:24Jourdan Rodrigue:And I expect pure chaos. I mean, these teams are both 7-7, and I think it's fair to say neither of them are as good as their record. I mean, the Bucs are 2-5 in their last seven games. The Panthers, yeah, in theory, you expect them to win, I guess, big against the Saints. But there was a reason like the line wasn't that big. Like they don't beat anyone big. They had that one Falcons win, but everything else comes down to the wire. And the thing that concerns me the most about them is that they're a bad running team. Like their whole identity was about running the football. Since week 10, they are either 30th or 31st in EPA per rush or success rate.

37:03And that's where it was just one play that the game turned in New Orleans. And it was a simple play. It was not being able to pick up a fourth and one where the Saints stuffed them. But the whole game changed then. And it was part of a running game they just haven't been able to rely on now for a while. I actually thought Bryce Young played very well in that game. Their offense actually played very well. There just wasn't many possessions until that fourth quarter, basically until that moment. but I think it's asking a lot for Bryce to have like a better than average passing attack if the running game's not good and the defense is at best.

37:41Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, Rico Dowdle's taking a step back from the excitement earlier in the season. And, you know, this offensive line is still, to me, is still perfectly capable of being an above average group. And I think they're one of the more underrated groups in the league as a whole. The player that I really am interested in seeing continuing to emerge is Jalen Coker for Bryce Young, because over the last couple of weeks, he's played fantastic. He obviously was injured. He started the bulk of the season dealing with an injury that he received at the very, very end, right before the season actually began.

38:14Jourdan Rodrigue:And where we thought Tett McMillan was going to start lining up in all of the receiving spots, because he had a couple of games that were highly productive doing so, and there's a lot of excitement about it. Jalen Coker sneaky is that guy. He's lining up wide 35 % of the time per next gen. He's in the slot 60 % of the time. And then, you know, obviously he can come out of the backfield, very rare occasion, and then lining up tight next to the condensed formation or close to the stack. And he's giving the quarterback above a 100 passer rating at any alignment and he's producing, he's getting open.

38:48Jourdan Rodrigue:And so for me, it's like, okay, does he now start to become somebody who can really affect this passing game in a way that I think we thought and it's a rookie it's a rookie season for T-Mac there's no doubt coming from me on him but Jalen Coker is the one who's really affecting defenses right now and I think it's a you need Jalen Coker in this game considering the way that Jamel Dean has played and the the side matchup between Dean and T-Mac it's going to be a lot of Jamel Dean yeah on on T-Mac and I want to pick the Carolina Panthers in this game obviously like i'm a huge bryce uh supporter there's no secret to anybody that listens to this podcast but the bryce numbers against the blitz where you need to be able to play and have success offensively against the blitz and if the run game is bogged down like bryce's epa per drop back is negative 30 uh against the blitz wow uh this season that's five or more you know five and and up because you have to add in the heavy blitz numbers he's right there with uh shador and Dylan Gabriel and also Baker Mayfield, where I'm trusting the Bucs' defense a little bit more than the Panthers' defense.

39:58Although, Tyler Shuck's getting people here late. I don't think it's as big as an indictment as it would have felt several weeks ago, the way that they played. I know J.C. Horn had a shot at one of those game-changing interceptions that just kind of glanced off his fingers. It was the Saints really limiting the opportunities, and that's what it's been like for the Panthers in these close games where it's like, it is that one fourth down. It is that couple of opportunities because the defense is either getting the ball out and getting the offense back on the field or it's long, laborious drives over and over.

40:34I mentioned how bad they were running the ball. They're equally bad stopping the run. So in terms of what football coaches back, certainly in the 70s and 80s, but they still talk about it. It's like, you want to run the ball? You want to stop the run? The Panthers are one of the worst teams in the NFL at doing that right now. That needs to turn around. But we don't know if the Buccaneers are really ready to be a team that takes advantage. Let's listen to Baker Mayfield this week because the expectations, they were different than where this team is at. And yet everything's still in front of them if they can get their act together.

41:07The finger pointing is only happening if you have bad culture in the building. So that's not a problem we have to deal with. We met on Monday with the offense, and I told him what I said in the post-game press conference. I said, it's on me, it's on this group. I expect us to be able to score more than 28 in a situation like that and put the game out of reach. So you just nip it in the bud in the beginning. The easy thing to do is point at the defense because of the situation. It's the last thing you see in the game. But if you look at the whole game, you look at the way it played, blame me. Don't blame Todd.

41:34Jourdan Rodrigue:A little recency bias commentary from Baker Mayfield. Don't look at the last thing you saw in the game. I will say, and I appreciate that he's doing that, the Bucks have turned into from one of the best defenses in terms of success rate that they started the season with they are very susceptible especially to the explosive play they've given up 111 explosive plays this season and that's that's worse than like the Ravens for example or the Saints and so that where you can some of the like bits and pieces look stable and some of the like Like little pieces that offenses take out of them look stable for most of the game.

42:12Jourdan Rodrigue:They have been for weeks highly susceptible to the explosive play. I don't know what to think about this game. Zion McCollum, by the way, is out for the year. The Bucs cornerback who got a big contract and struggled all season. Didn't seem healthy, but was kind of picked on. Like Bucky Irving has not been the most effective running back on that team. Sean Tucker and Rashad White have been better on a per snap basis. It's a big offensive rookie of the year battle. If you look at TMAC and Emeka Abuka's stats, they're almost identical in every capacity. I'm not saying they're even the only two candidates, but it's interesting they'll go against each other twice in the final three weeks.

42:50I'm feeling generous. It's the holiday season. I might just give this game to Jordan. I feel like you can enjoy...

42:58Jourdan Rodrigue:I'm going to get in the mud and love it. Myers and Schlereth on the call. No, I really want this game. It's great, but it does feel like a big-time Jordan game. And also, speaking of... I look forward to what other games he gives me and then gives himself as a, you are sounding like you've got something plotted here. That, that Herbert game. I want to watch Herbert every week. And to circle back to how we started this segment of the podcast, I believe it was Baker Mayfield in the school book depository with the Cleveland Browns driving through Dealey Plaza when he talked about bad culture and a chance to pick up his team, but also maybe send some rounds down the range.

43:36also like a little bit of a humble brag. It's like, Hey, you got to score more than 28 points. It's like, well, 28 points per game would be like the best offense.

43:45Jourdan Rodrigue:All I can do is put up, you know, 28 points. And that's on me. Like, okay. How about an offense that consistently scores 28 points? That's the Buffalo bills who are favored by 10 on the road at the Cleveland Browns defense, which has seen a lot of things go the other direction these past few weeks. The over under is 42 and a half. Ian Eagle and JJ Watt. Greg, on the call, the only thing that I am interested in this game, does Miles get one and a half? I don't think so. Well, because, okay, Josh Allen does take some sacks, I believe more this year. Now I'm doing that off the top of my head. Traditionally, he doesn't, but this is a great offensive line.

44:28And it's obviously a situation where I think they could be playing with a positive game script. And so you think of Spencer Brown, and you think of Deion Dawkins, there's not many tackle combos in the NFL that are better than that. And considering how easy it's been to run on the Browns defense the last couple of weeks, a little surprising.

44:47Jourdan Rodrigue:Josh Allen has taken the second most, tied the second most number of sacks he's taken in a season in his career. Since 2019, that was 38. Right now he's at 33, tied for his 2022. Yeah, so that's been a problem for them this season. Such a big change from last season. Took 14 all season, which is incredible. I just don't know if he's going to be dropping back more than 20, 25 times in this game. Yeah. I hope you're right, but it doesn't seem like they need to. They're just worried about winning a ball game. Yeah. And run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, run the ball. I don't have much to say about this Cleveland Browns unit.

45:23Jourdan Rodrigue:Like let it end. Right. I said that about the giants last week. Let it end for God's sake. Let it end. Let's actually hear Josh Allen, a last minute edition. great producing behind the glass by Eric Roberts and Jason Klein. No, I haven't thought about it. I do like highlight tapes, but I don't like being a part of other people's highlight tapes. I mean, he's an absolutely tremendous football player. He's one of the greatest of all times. And yeah, I mean, he's a force to be reckoned with. I should have noted that was Josh Allen talking about the sack record, not Eric Roberts and Jason Klein. Talking about Miles Garrett coming at him.

46:02Jourdan Rodrigue:it might as well have been you know eric roberts you know he had that clip queued up it's probably what he's you know oh he's he's seeing all the national heads are like well i guess if you have to pick an afc team the bills are as likely as anyone and they need to they need to keep winning there's a lot of reasons to believe that i'll continue this week yes we believe in the buffalo bills also again shout out to and again it's been a lot of tortured discussion but the cleveland Brown's 2025 draft class top to bottom things have panned out especially considering Harold Fannin as well and yet I don't think that should save their front office when they're paying three or four different offensive linemen who are no longer playing well or healthy and aged into next season even if they're not on the team and the same thing with Njoku and of course Deshaun Watson like they are in a rough situation I don't want to get into a long one with that I did want to No, one thing I noticed last week is Brandon Cooks had a drop at the beginning of that game.

46:59And then he has one catch in 65 snaps for the Bills. And Keon Coleman is back to just playing significantly more than Brandon Cooks. So that's on the offensive side. On the defensive side, you know who's been getting it done? Like, all the old guys. Like, last week, it was Jordan Poyer off the couch. Matt Milano looked pretty good.

47:22Jourdan Rodrigue:Tredavious White. Tredavious White. Who is that man? look totally different than he has. Daquan Jones. I don't know how old Daquan Jones is, but it feels like he's been in the NFL for 15 years. And just shout out to those guys. Getting it done. They got in the right spots. Yeah, look at this play. What a great play by Tredavious White for that interception against New England. And we talked about this too. The second half of games, if we want to talk about defenses bringing it consistently, now across the entirety of a game, we want to see it still. But the Bills in the second half of football games have been rock solid all season.

47:52And there's this idea that they're somehow lesser than they've been in previous years. Look, the team that they almost made the Super Bowl, at least I thought they would have if they won that overtime game against the Chiefs. They lost six games that year. Two seasons ago, when they were right in the mix, they lost six games that year. Like last season, they lost four games. You know, they were a better, but I don't think they're that much different. You know who's leading the NFL right now in yard differential, which I think is a good stat. Yeah. You've gained more yards than your opponent. The Buffalo Bills, like leads the NFL.

48:22They're a good football team, and yet they're very likely to be a wild card.

48:26Jourdan Rodrigue:I like how you posed the question as if we could possibly guess that it was the Cleveland Browns. It's the Browns. I would have thought it'd be the Rams or someone else other than the Bills, but it's the Bills. The Bills are very likely. I don't want to disappoint all the fans out there to be the wild card because even if the Patriots lose to the Ravens, they will hold the tie breaks if they win their last two games against the Jets and dolphins, which is not a definite, but so even if the bills lose out and they get a little help this week with the Patriots losing to the Ravens, even then in a tie scenario, the Patriots do win the division over the bills because of that dolphins loss.

49:08Jourdan Rodrigue:I know you're glad to fit that little note in right at the end of the segment here. No, he just wants to, he wants to prepare. I don't want to, I don't want to in the Patriots cause that we've got more ball game. to talk about you know yeah let's get let's get to a ball game we talked about an afc perennial afc contender with a generationally talented quarterback this is another one but they're not a contender anymore the cincinnati bangles are favored by five and a half points at the miami dolphins we're gonna run trent excuse me quinn ewers uh out and jordan uh do we have a do we have crystal updates uh how are we feeling crystal updates where the vibes could be down horrendous for everybody involved.

49:49Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah. I mean, we sort of kind of read the comments from Mike McDaniel correctly here that Tua Tungabailoa was likely going to get benched. And now he has been, he's not even the backup. He's the emergency third quarterback for this Miami Dolphins team at this point. And among the many contracts that have been, uh, have sort of bogged down this team over the years, this is going to be one of them. In fact, I think what surprised me was some of the reaction coming from a player who's like not even in the building right now via Tyreek Hill on social media. Yeah, he had he had a tweet with just a peace sign who knows I think that it's normally a gif of the guy chucking the deuces and vanishing.

50:35Yeah.

50:36Jourdan Rodrigue:And so that's yeah, that's Tyreek Hill and then I'm also like are you do you know if you're going to be there next year buddy like well, I think that's what he's saying. See ya and extra see ya since to his bench too. But he also said that Teron Armstead, T-Stead in his words, started all this by wanting to be a podcaster. I don't know if I take Tyreek Hill's comments too seriously. I think he's lightly jabbing Teron Armstead. Heck, left tackle has been the least of their problems, by the way, this year, Patrick Paul. So yeah, Quinn Ewers. Quinn Ewers. There it is. One of the most highly recruited high school college players of the decade.

51:13Didn't really work out that way.

51:14Jourdan Rodrigue:this quarterback to a start since Chris Sims? No, we've had Colt McCoy. Oh, I forgot. You know what? People always forget about Colt McCoy. I'm trying to think. There's got to be other ones. No, that's it. People always think. Vince Young, certainly. Offensive rookie of the year, Vince Young. Vince Young, yeah. Couldn't forget about Vince Young. So I want to point out, because people didn't believe this when I sent it out on Blue Sky today, that Quinn Ewers did have one of the best throws of the year. And so if you're watching us on YouTube, we appreciate you. Like and subscribe. But you can see Quinn Ewers deliver a dime 50 yards, air yards down the field while getting run over.

52:00And when I showed you this the first time, Patrick, you said, well, I wouldn't have believed it until I saw it. And now you've completely forgotten it. You can see it from multiple angles. Getting hammered. Drops it in a bucket. I believe that's to Westbrook Akine down the field. No, it's the Eskridge. That's it. The Quinn Ewers, the Eskridge connection, a highlight for the 2025 Miami Dolphins, where hopefully, you know, Tua finds a spot and he gets healthy. Clearly, there's something physically going on with Tua Tungvalo. The velocity falling off of the map, the hot air balloon to waddle was when I thought, like watching that game in a game that I wanted and needed the Miami Dolphins to win.

52:42Not a cold weather quarterback. Well, when the velocity's gone, because I promise to those just discovering the Tua Tonga-Vailoa in 2025, he used to have more of an arm than this. You know what's crazy, though? That the line moved like five points with Tua to Quinn Ewers. So I was like, that seems aggressive, just for the difference between the two of them. I'm sure Mike McDaniel's thinking, I know the team's not as good, but when they put a little scare in the playoffs with, why am I forgetting his name, Thompson? Skyler Thompson a couple years ago. I'm sure he's wanting to show his wares and it's against a vulnerable defense that will be without Trey Hendrickson.

53:23Shout out to Miles Murphy first round pick from a few years ago who's playing pretty well.

53:27Jourdan Rodrigue:Do you know what really struck me? I know this whole situation is a mess in Miami but what really struck me was the word choice that Mike McDaniels that Mike McDaniel used. He said he needed convicted quarterback play. I'm like, oh Because to me, that speaks about decision making and confidence and a lot of things in the subtext of using that word versus deciding to say literally anything else. Yeah, not a quarterback that's throwing, playing with confidence. I do think just because teams always need quarterbacks, they could probably get someone to pay. I'm going to put over under$15 million of Tua's 55.

54:07And the cap hits a little less if it's a trade versus a cut. And you save it off the$15 million. I just think someone will maybe take him on as like a backup 1B. What about Tua Tonga-Vailoa's entry into the Kyle Shanahan school for quarterbacks who used to throw good and throw good too? Okay.

54:24Jourdan Rodrigue:What is that? A school of France? Yeah. You send Mac along to some team that's willing to give up too much for Mac Jones. And then you bring in Tua as a discount for Brock Purdy. I like that as a backup next year. That makes sense. Let's take a break and we will wrap up the early game from Sunday.

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56:28EBCLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to EBCLIS. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with EBCLIS. Before starting EBCLIS, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection.

56:44Jourdan Rodrigue:Ask your doctor about EBCLIS and visit EBCLIS.lily.com or call 1-800-LILY-RX or 1-800-545-5979.

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59:15Jourdan Rodrigue:like our 15-acre tropical water park, wildlife sanctuary, world-class golf course, and so much more. Visit Bahamar.com today. Back on NFL Daily, we got three more games to get to, and it's sad none of them have playoff ramifications, but we're good broadcasters. We're good podcasters. We're going to make them interesting. And also, we've got the late game preview. That's coming up, too, in the feed. Oh, it's more than interesting, Greg, because you have a tale of two cities and two quarterbacks because J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings, fresh off a win against the Dallas Cowboys, Jordan Roderick, looked pretty good on offense, other than throwing the ball to Justin Jefferson against a Giants team that has the hopes, the fates of the most important city in the world where people have to try extra hard because of the media and Jackson Dart getting a whole lot of attention, which quarterback has the better rookie performance this time.

1:00:16Jourdan Rodrigue:What a setup. It's impactful. JJ has played like a rookie, but not technically a rookie. He's, he's given him a red shirt. He's given him a red shirt. he did. Yeah. So I, I liked what I saw for the most part from JJ McCarthy last week. This is similar. remember last year we would watch some Caleb Williams and Caleb would make these throws that you don't believe are even possible every once in a while. And then there would just be a lot of learning curve in the middle. And then obviously, you know, the, the scheme and everything was such a mess there, not the case in Minnesota, but I'm kind of getting those vibes where like he's starting to understand his variance a little bit more now, whether or not he understands the dance moves he's supposed to do in the end zone or not, I'm not sure.

1:01:04Jourdan Rodrigue:but I think we heard a little bit from him this week on the gritty. I did it in practice and I was told not to do it. So it's just me, you know, being who I am. It's like, oh, now I'm more enticed to do it. But if it's that open, obviously just get in the end zone no matter what and be coachable and do what my coach says. So, yeah, I'll definitely get a minus for that one. That's nine right there. I'm going to touch the butt. It turned from nine to JJ mid conversation Because then he realized how it sounded. He was like, if Kevin O 'Connell, who did laugh about it? When I first read the quotes without their face.

1:01:42It looked so bad in print.

1:01:43Jourdan Rodrigue:It was totally fine. Yeah, like he's laughing. Kevin O 'Connell's laughing about it. But I was like, oh, he told him not to do it. And so then he did it. That's kind of funny. Nobody tells. But then nine just turns right into JJ. What's that movie with? Is it James McAvoy is the actor? Splice or something like that? Yeah, Split. Split, yeah. One of the regrettable Shyamalan franchise. So many to choose from. JJ is now leading or the NFL in big time, full weight, which is really kind of an indictment on the, uh, really? He's tied with Stafford. Yeah. I mean, I'm not surprised just because, I mean, I am surprised.

1:02:21What am I saying? I'm shocked. But last week he had a ton and he hasn't had a ton of throws. Big time, full weight. Um, it's just a stat. And usually, it's the best quarterbacks in the league that are at the top of that stat. It's not like it's usually a fluky player. So he has made, to your point, some big-time plays. And I do think his final three weeks is going to be really important for how we kind of evaluate his offseason and season. If he continues to play like this for three more weeks and the last two games are against the Packers and the Lions and he looks good, I want to feel completely different than I did.

1:03:00Salvaging it. And speaking of, you know, like James McAvoy, occasionally we do see Jackson Dart have great performances within a regrettable franchise. And there's that Jackson Dart. And then there's the absolute opposite. First read isn't there. Oh, well, YOLO, I'm going to run down here and smash my head into somebody. Stay safe, please, Jackson. Which one do we get here?

1:03:22Jourdan Rodrigue:Or on the ground. This is a brutal matchup, I think, for him. Oh, yeah. Against this defense, yeah. To figure out. The first half of that game was as bad as he looked last year. I mean, this year against the Commanders. And then second half, he played well. I just think they're going to throw a lot at him. Now, they do have a good offensive line that, you know, maybe they can communicate and figure out the protections better than most would. But one of the things on the other side, too, is JJ, like they've gone almost all 11 personnel the last couple of weeks. And that's really helped them like to the point where people are like, maybe we should have done this sooner.

1:03:56Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah. Well, when people talk about simplifying something, I mean, that's what they mean. They're running most of their concepts out of one look and where that could sometimes bite you in the butt against certain defenses. In this case, it's fine because it gives everybody clarity and speed with which to make decisions because they're not sifting through multiple personnels or changing the formations. I mean, they are, but they're not changing the personnels within the same play, which I think would help a younger quarterback out. And technically still alive here. One of my worst over under picks of the year.

1:04:28Vikings over eight and a half. Not eliminated. Oh. I mean, they would have to beat the Packers and the Lions in a row, but not eliminated. Little daylight. Little daylight with this winning streak. The daylight has.

1:04:42Jourdan Rodrigue:You guys almost lost me there for a second. Oh, my God. The daylight has come to a close in Florham Park. The New York Jets going on the road to the New Orleans Saints, who are favored by four and a half points. Tom McCarthy. Whoa. And Ross Tucker on the call. where the odds makers have noticed the same thing we have. Tyler Shuck playing pretty good ball right now, Greg. That is a real look in the mirror moment for the Jets that they're four and a half point underdogs against New Orleans. And I don't think it's enough. I'm taking New Orleans. Easy. I mean, this is one of the worst defenses we've seen with the Jets.

1:05:19We've seen Shuck look pretty good in tougher situations. The thing about Shuck that I love, and you're seeing it on his highlights is if it's a third and 13, that man is throwing it 15 yards. There's no checking it down. His guy might be covered pretty well in man coverage. He's throwing that ball in there. And for the most part, it's going to be accurate. And Devon Bailey is going to be making some plays for him. Devon Bailey has been great the last couple of weeks. He got banged up at the end of that game, but he's really helped him out. Olave dominated in the final two drives of that game after being quiet.

1:05:56Shuck has really opened my eyes. And it's what the end of the season is all about for a team like the Saints.

1:06:02Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah. And the Jets, they can't get pressure. So they blitz a lot, which is great news if you're Tyler Shuck. Because, yes, his season overall is a limited sample size. But he's thrown three touchdowns, no interceptions against the Blitz this season. Her next gen. One of nine quarterbacks who have not thrown an interception against the Blitz this year. And so it's there's nine, right? Oh, the real nine. oh the authentic no but I feel like it's good because they're going to throw the kitchen sink at him because again they're not getting pressure any other way this is another build out your offense type of game this is another we've said this about some of these matchups over the last couple of weeks especially for teams that are beyond the pale at this point this is a try stuff a figure stuff out kind of game especially for that Saints offense that's putting it together Saints defense is much improved as well Tyler Shuck used to wear the number nine.

1:06:57Jourdan Rodrigue:Can't wear it there, obviously. Now he wears six because six is three less than nine. That's the explanation. It's close enough. Maybe it's the upside down nine. They missed a field goal? That's legitimately the... I don't know. That was the explanation that I found for it. He couldn't wear the nine there. Quick eyes. Quick eyes, Tyler Shuck. He's making quick decisions. and he's seen a lot of football Greg he has seen a lot of football that man has been around a long time you know who else says Aaron Glenn whose defenses have not performed how he's wanted them to the last couple of years he fired Steve Wilkes defensive coordinator this week we hadn't hit that yet and yeah I think it's going to be more of Glenn I guess now calling the plays for the Jets looking forward to the future in Lauren Park a lot of picks see what they do with them We'll see.

1:07:54Chuck's got to keep it going, too, because Michael Penix, you know, Michael Penix had a great four games. Everyone got excited about Jackson Dark after three or four games. I think we felt differently about than we do now. So that the real test being an NFL quarterback, like we've seen guys pop up. Will Levis had some moments as a rookie quarterback. I want to see him land the plane here.

1:08:14Jourdan Rodrigue:Shout out to Chase Young. Very, very, very, very, very quietly having a little bit of a comeback here. A little resurgence. Played really well. And how about the Saints? Like, they might have a high pressure rate. You know, this year where everyone was saying they would draft one overall. Hell, they're over under very much on the table. And they might not be drafting in the top eight or nine pick at this rate. You know why? Front office. Great decision. Oh, yeah. They're going to re-sign Mickey Loomis to a 40-year contract after this. Oh, let's go crazy. We lost double-digit games again. So let's get eight.

1:08:49Jourdan Rodrigue:Nine. Excuse me. It was ten before. let's get a 40-year deal for the best in the game kevin harlan and trent green on the call for cbs as the mahomes list kansas city chiefs are favored by three and a half but they are on the road at a tennessee titans team that has the hottest running back in the game right now in tony pollard going up against a good rushing defense am i crazy jordan for thinking that cam and the titans have a good opportunity to knock off Gardner Minshew here. You're not crazy at all. No Mahomes. Chiefs are eliminated. Like, bad vibes. Rebuild vibes in multiple phases of their team.

1:09:30Jourdan Rodrigue:Dealing with the aftershock of the Mahomes injury. The Titans just kind of have been playing for the hell of it for most of this season. Yeah, I do think, absolutely, I think the Titans have a shot in this one. Well, the Chiefs also, their practice report, and you never know. But it just felt like a practice report of a team that no longer has anything to play for. Maybe not. But Dwan Taylor, he's been out. Wanya Morris has been out. But Trent McDuffie also injured. Rasheed Rice, I believe, was out of practice. He's in the concussion protocol. So they're not going to push players maybe to play.

1:10:08Not that you would escape the protocol without being able to pass the test. But I don't know. they might not they might not be pushing players to play through injuries right now understandably so yeah the especially the vets when you talk about the kelseys and the chris joneses of the world i mean we say it it was true three seasons ago you go on these extended postseason runs where they've they've come out of the wild card on a couple of these times to go to the super bowl and gone on the road to go to the super bowl they've played extra seasons worth the football like it's not you know it's not like questioning their fortitude if they choose to sit some guys here after being eliminated and you know shout out to Gardner Minshew and the run that he had after he invented RVs and facial hair where you know he garnered a lot of attention uh in the national media but you know you asked famously Greg when does he stop getting away with it I think you're December 2025.

1:11:04Maybe when Gardner mentioned that, not a bad matchup for him, though.

1:11:08Jourdan Rodrigue:Jeffrey Simmons coming right up at him, right up the A gap right there. Potentially a threat in the passing game, too. That's true. His two-way star. I thought it was going to be Travis Hunter, but it's Jeffrey Simmons. I went and checked this because on the podcast previously, I was like, I think Jeffrey Simmons could be the first team all pro. He's actually never been that before. And I was like, well, I got to think. Like, are there any other options this year before I just make a statement? And it's like, no, Jeffrey Simmons is clearly one of the two. He's pretty clearly the one. His pass rush win rate is miles beyond any interior rusher.

1:11:42His pressures, anything that you would want to look at, miles beyond. So just an awesome season. And yet, this team is one of the worst pass rush teams outside of him in the NFL. Brock Purdy did not get sniffed a week ago. And so, I don't know. Gardner-Minch is a good player as a backup. Remember that cold season? I wouldn't, you know, I'm still picking.

1:12:02Jourdan Rodrigue:All I remember is. I remember how it ended. Yeah. I was going to say, all I remember is the true disappointment emanating from Shane Steichen after Gardner Minshew missed that fourth down throw. That's what I remember. I also. Jeffrey Simmons has 51 pressures. Just wrap your head around, wrap your brain around that. That is wild. 51 pressures. I also do want to address, since this is the Kevin Harlan game, I've received a lot of criticism From members Inside the building Really just one member Of how I Read the Hanukkah prayer In the voice of Kevin Harlan Which I thought It was more of the spirit That's what the Hanukkah season Holiday season Is all about But to quote the slack I received During it You sucked at the blessing I mean that seems harsh And I got that in person too That's very direct Yeah, it is It was very direct But I stand behind it And I know some of our Jewish listeners And other listeners said they enjoyed it At least So I'm not going to do it again It was spirited and I loved it Let's take a quick break We're going to come back and we're going to talk about Some of the biggest games of this week We got Steelers, Lions We got a big time Jags spot We got Patriots and Ravens on Sunday night football.

1:13:26That'll be in our late and primetime game preview coming up in the field.

1:13:30Jourdan Rodrigue:And the Raiders are there too. What's up, cousin? I want a new phone. Have you seen any good deals? Everyone has free phones. But when I switched to T-Mobile, I got more value and so much more. Nice streaming included. And trouble benefits. And the best part? The price of your talk, text, and data is guaranteed for five years. Get more benefits and more value. At T-Mobile, families save and get a five-year prize guarantee. Switch now at T-Mobile.com. Qualifying plan requires. Price guarantee on talk, tax, and data. Exclusions like taxes and fees apply. See T-Mobile.com. When you own your own business, you own every decision.

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1:15:27Jourdan Rodrigue:Ask your doctor about EBCLIS and visit ebglis.lily.com or call 1-800-LILY-RX or 1-800-545-5979. I'm U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The sound of a seatbelt is one of the most important sounds in our car. It means everyone is ready and everyone is safe. Make it a priority. Buckle up every time. Hear the sound? Make it a habit. Paid for by NHTSA. It's called soccer. It's called football. Uh, soccer. Football. Domino's best deal ever lets you get any pizza, including stuffed crust, with any toppings for$9.99. We can agree on that. Yeah, fully. So, pineapple? Don't ruin it. Get any pizza, including stuffed crust, with any toppings for$9.99.

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