Championship Weekend Recap: Super Bowl LX Is Set!

22:46Nick Shook:He turns around cam curl with a corner post. And that sets up the touchdown just before half that you mentioned, how do you finish halves? How do you finish games? That was a big swing in the game right there. So it's a credit to two teams knowing each other really well, but also Clint Kubiak taking advantage of a weakness that we've all seen in the Rams, save for the divisional round against the bears, which has been their secondary and especially downfield. And it was a big reason why the Seahawks were able to win this game.

23:07Patrick Claybon:I think that was the thing that they saw on the film. So it's, it's the, the Rams defensive secondary and an opportunity to make a double move and shield them off and take advantage of the size advantage that almost everyone has. The difference is, you know, where, you know, DJ Moore comes up a little bit short on an opportunity to get the inside track football. The Seahawks did not come up short with their so mad at the Rams defense watching this. Well, it was it was, you know, and they came up short. They came to be fair. This is not they're not playing our sister of the valley over there. Seahawks are very talented and gifted receiving corps with veterans and talent and all kinds of opportunities where they could take advantage of a team like the Rams.

23:53Patrick Claybon:But you have to be able to get one. Either you get some pressure on Sam or you get the inside track to a football. They didn't do either. It wasn't a great day for Chris Shula's head coaching candidacy in general. Like they, if they've done well, kind of overachieving for the talent that they had in the back seven, it all kind of collapsed tonight. And yet they're right in this game. So much went wrong. And I don't want to get out of this game without talking about Stafford playing great, that they blew a great Stafford game. He goes for 374 yards and three touchdowns in this game. You know, they don't get that red zone trip at the end.

24:34The Seahawks go four for five in the red zone. I mean, the Rams just had to be perfect, and they weren't. They go two for three at the very end. We mentioned them going with that short drive before half, but we're picking those out because they're the only times that they didn't score. I mean, the Rams played awesome on offense. The Seahawks defense gave up four drives this season of 85 yards or more. One was against the Rams, by the way, in Week 16. Two more were tonight, and they were one more yard away on that last drive from doing it again. Like they would have like basically had more good drives in this game, big, long drives than anyone did all season.

25:13They fall down two scores early. They survive it. They blow the end of the first half situation. They survive it. And they get to the point where they do have the ball with a chance to win in part because of that big two-play sequence that I alluded to earlier that involved all the different reekwilling emotions that we've watched throughout his career. It was like his entire career in 60 seconds.

26:05Patrick Claybon:kidding reek woolen instead of an la punts puts matthew stafford back in his huddle matthew with a new first down in plus territory three left higby right he's away from center play action pass spins his head around and he whistles one to the end zone caught by puka at the front left pylon on one strike matthew to puka he puts it in the paint and the rams are back One of the great parts of this game was just the emotions. You think the Seahawks are going to get the ball back with a few minutes left in the third quarter, up 11. And instead, two plays later, Matthew Stafford, to paraphrase his teammates, is out there snatching souls by going after Rikwil.

26:51And you know Sean McVay called up that play to go right after Rikwil. And Puka Nakua goes 9 for 165 in a touchdown in this game. Like how good is Puka and Jackson Smith and Jigba that I haven't even mentioned? Like the two best receivers of the season deliver nine for 165 and a touchdown for Puka, 10 for 153 for JSN. Just two of the best receiver scenes you ever want to see. But there were different moments in this game when I thought, oh, the Rams are just going to do this. There was that moment and it was the Stafford breaking Demarcus Lawrence's tackle on a fourth down scramble where I'm like, oh, they're going to do that because that was some badass like that reek will and throw like everyone's saying like oh you got lucky with the taunting call cool true you you did but not everyone is gonna hit you with a dime for 45 yards like

27:39Patrick Claybon:immediately afterwards yeah and i don't know how much of it was specifically like hey take this because puka had 225 yards receiving i do i do think the next play he was like let's go after reek will and let's do this let's do what they don't expect we'll throw the ball to puka I think they would have liked to have that opportunity, not necessarily just against Reek, but against Witherspoon, against really any coverage, as good as he's been, as good as Stafford has been in this game. And I think I felt that way too about the Rams and their opportunity to win this game. They just had to be able to get off the field on third down.

28:14Patrick Claybon:But in terms of the Rams' offensive production, I thought it was a great Blake Corham game where Blake Horham had the hot hand to the extent that we didn't even see Kyron run the ball in the second half, especially with a team that's in the Rams that only had 238 yards running out of shotgun all season long. There were a lot of McVay tendency breakers in this game. We had a couple of long shotgun runs for Blake Horham where the play calling, everything was just working so well until it didn't. Right. Like, I was trying to think of other, you know, reasons why the Rams lost. And, you know, you can look at their success rate rushing 35%.

28:53It's not great. But you run for five yards per carry against the Seahawks over 100 yards. Like, you'll take that every day. This is the Seahawks defense you're going against. They obviously played fantastic throwing the ball. I don't think there's that much more to know other than the defense and the special teams. Like, let Stafford down. Stafford had to be perfect to win this game. And there were opportunities. Like he was pretty close to being perfect. There are those two drives we talked about that they'd like to have back. He was he was so good in this game. And it's why we get mad about quarterback wins and losses like this hits me a little bit like the Brady loss to the Eagles in the Super Bowls.

29:34Like that was one of his best performances ever. And they lost the game because his defense ultimately let Matthew Stafford down today.

29:41Nick Shook:I mean, this is why we thought that these are the two best teams in the NFL because they played like it. I mean, they played like any team that's not the Rams or not the Seahawks that falls down by 11 in Seattle in the NFC championship game in a crushing turn of events in which your punt returner muffs it and they score a touchdown in the very next play. They fold. It's over. It's too loud. It's it's it's the pressure's too high. We can't get the job done. We're shooting ourselves in the foot. But the Rams have Matthew Stafford, who just comes out and call me, fires the ball downfield and they score a touchdown in four plays covering 75 yards.

30:10Nick Shook:And I'm like, oh, I forgot. He's a dog and he's not letting them go down like that. And that's why it ended up being such a good game. It's just that in these types of games where the teams are so close, that turnover legitimately swung the game in the favor of the Seahawks. That and their defense standing up at just the right time, the strength of this team delivering in the big spot. And that's why it was such a great game. That's why it felt like even though the Rams defense let them down, let Stafford down, I'm not surprised. Like both teams largely played true to who they were, save for the Seahawks defense getting kind of shredded by Matthew Stafford, but it's Matthew Stafford.

30:43Nick Shook:So I don't have any qualms or regrets about the way this game played out. I thought it was hilarious that Rick Wollin even went so far as to pull his sheisty down before talking smack to the sideline and getting the flag. I mean, that all played out perfectly. That trash talk was so long. They had to break it into two different parts in the broadcast. Cause I was like, I was like, he was trash talking for like eight seconds, but it wasn't like too crazy. I was like, ah, that was a little weak actually. But then they showed like part two was like the sequel where then he actually ran at the coach and then got in his face and yelled.

31:11I was like, I guess you got to call it. You don't have to call that, but just don't make that.

31:15Patrick Claybon:There's no obligation to call it. There's been plenty of discussions, heated discussions had on sidelines that don't necessarily do that. And to the what do I teach my kids community, the broadcast didn't even show any of it. It was just the punt team run out there and it would have been a kick and nothing would have ever happened. But the Seahawks overcome that. And, you know, you talked about Stafford. the tight window percentage was over a quarter 28.6 % tight window percentage against the 2025 Seattle Seahawks defense. A lot of them like including that, you know, Shook was referencing that after the drive, after the Bobo touchdown, where they breeze down the field, the layered ball to Parkinson, where it's just like defenders jump.

31:59Patrick Claybon:They reach, they think they have a chance. They don't. He's just placing the ball out there. And they played such heavy man coverage in the first half, like more than any time all season by far. The Seahawks are not a man coverage type of team. And they backed off it in the second half trying to adjust. Really, none of it worked because the Rams go touchdown, touchdown, get the ball to the six yard line to start the second half. It just was a game without a lot of possessions. Let's hear from McVay talking about his quarterback after this one, after a epic season. Do you expect Matthew Stafford to be back next season?

32:32Yeah, I mean, that's I mean, if he if he still wants to play,

32:35Nick Shook:the hell kind of question is that the answer is yeah you have to ask him and we've been totally present um he's i know that if he wants to he's still playing at a pretty damn good clip i mean he's the mvp of the league and if he's not you know i mean i got respect for everybody else but this guy played at a level that's just different i appreciate you guys this year thank you that's how he says goodbye matthew stafford turning 38 years old uh in a couple weeks right the day after the Super Bowl, I believe. Look, Stafford being negotiated down to take less money from the Rams last offseason is kind of funny to think back on.

33:15It would not surprise me at all if Stafford rightfully asked for more money and a raise going into next season and you're making eyes saying like, yeah. Because it's kind of insane to think about. They basically made him take a pay cut and were willing to let him possibly go to the Giants or Raiders before this amazing season. But I feel McVay's pain because he starts that press conference off by saying how it's hard to fathom that they're not playing football anymore, that they expected to be getting ready for the Super Bowl. They expected to win a championship. They were a championship level team.

33:57And I think two great teams just played today. And the Rams do not come out on top. And he knows how hard it will be to get back there next year. And that's why you got to enjoy it when you do get there. And you know who was enjoying it. Surprisingly, after the game, how about Mike McDonald on the stage with just a little bit of sauce with Michael Strahan?

34:19Patrick Claybon:Now, coming into the season, you were an afterthought to the Rams, to the 49ers. How did it feel to go through both of those teams to earn your trip to the Super Bowl? We did not care.

34:35it's about us. It's always been about us and what we do.

34:40Patrick Claybon:And now we're going to the Super Bowl. I loved it. That was like his third answer. Do you have a Mike McDonald impression from the stage? Well, it's just the way that his eyes lit up when he got the pop. And he realized, oh, this is cool. We do not care. It's about us. And before that, he was like, the 12s? I'm the greatest. And then the crowd all happened. And it was honestly like it was like Eddie Murphy at his first. We did not care.

35:14It was like Eddie Murphy at his first open mic and just feeling that laughter. And he's like, I'm going to do the rest of my life just like this. Like Mike McDonald is going to be chasing that feeling shook for the next two weeks at the very least. because he could get on an even more important podium in Santa Clara. What a season from this Seahawks crew. Let's take a break. Let's get to the AFC before we start talking about this matchup. The NFC absolutely delivered everything we wanted out of a conference championship. And weirdly, I think this AFC championship kind of played to type two, the ugly stepbrother of conference championship games.

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38:46Ellis and Drake May and the Patriots take the hand off to Stephens and the quarterback.

38:53Patrick Claybon:The Nate can bootleg out to the left as a first down that should allow the Patriots to clinch it. Unbelievable. Hey, America. We're back. Oh, no. The worst nightmare has returned. When you thought the team was down, the organization is down. Mike Vrabel and his staff. and your 23-0 quarterback, who should be the MVP, are going to Super Bowl XVI. Oh, my God. I am America. That is my worst nightmare. Because I'm a Patriots fan, and I want to enjoy it. And we got Zolak representing us on WBZ. We're not all that obnoxious, but we do have that obnoxious gene in us. It's Bob Sochi. It's Zolak. It's on WBZ.

39:40It's a 10-7 victory. Hey, America. And it's a really fitting play. I love a good highlight to start the game and the discussion that is incredibly fitting. Because in a game where there's only so much X's and O's to break down in what turned into a total blizzard, Drake May's legs were the difference. He had six first downs on seven non-kneel-down runs. they only had 12 first downs on the entire day that was the difference and the craziest thing is that's the first time I've watched that play since learning shook that that was not the play call that the offensive line had no idea he was going to do a naked bootleg he called that himself he didn't even tell the offensive line and when you watch it they're all blocking zone blocking the other way.

40:36And he just read it. And that is a ballsy decision by a second year quarterback who looked and quickly saw that he did not think anyone on the Broncos was going to have contained that he could get to the outside. And Garrett Bradbury, their starting center, said after the game, he was completely confused about what happened on that play. And May told him, I was going to tell you guys but I thought that might mess it up so I just did it oh my god that

41:08Nick Shook:is that is the moxie of a guy who's been in the league that's something that Aaron Rodgers would do that's something I know I wouldn't say Tom Brady because he was never footed foot but that's somebody who's been in the league for a long time and earned that type of cachet to make that call not even tell anybody I don't know if that's like I mean if it goes wrong he looks terrible but I mean congrats it worked out for you and it worked exactly as you intended because you're right the The edge defender there goes with the zone block as he's taught to do. He's instructed to do, and he loses contain and can't win the race.

41:34Nick Shook:That's Drake may trust in his legs. That's what it is. He goes, you know what? I know I'm a superior athlete to whoever's on the edge, and I'm going to send us to the Super Bowl myself. And I don't care if nobody else knows. I'll deal with that later, which is crazy. But I'll tell you this, as an offensive lineman, when you're told to block a certain play, and you expect a ball to go in a certain direction, eventually you're like kind of looking around, like has the running back cleared? Did he ever get anywhere? Did he get stuff in the backfield? I can't imagine the bewilderment of all those linemen when they're all flowing to the right.

42:03Nick Shook:They're waiting for something to happen behind them. And then they all look over about 25 yards to the left of the sideline. There's Drake May signaling first down, probably wondering what the hell. We're going to the Super Bowl and I have no idea how we just did it. And I know it's like one play and it seems like almost a silly point we're making, but it does kind of, I think, explain like why Drake May is cool because he also stiff arms Jonah Ellis on that play. There's a very real situation where Jonah Ellis drags him down, but Drake mays athleticism. And despite kind of struggling in the playoffs in a lot of the just pure drop back situations for a variety of reasons, he has enough plate making to make him special, to make him one of them ones and get them over on the road in Denver against this defense.

42:48Yeah.

42:48Patrick Claybon:It's ultimately the difference in this game or quarterback is able to make plays with his feet. I wondered how conservative the Patriots were going to be. Well, once the snow fest began in the second half, it was fully constricted murder ball. It was running on third and long with like six minutes to go. And so that's ultimately the difference where you believe that good things could happen with the ball in the quarterback's hands. For the Denver Broncos, it was the absolute opposite of that situation save the first drive where it's not the worst thing in the world of Drake. It doesn't. If Ellis is able to drag him down short of the line to gain there, because I didn't believe the Broncos were capable of gaining any substantial yardage with Jarrett Stidham.

43:36Yeah. You know, Jarrett Stidham had a lot of haters coming into this game. A lot of people who thought I was getting over my skis, kind of talking up the high ceiling. I did say low floor and early in this game. Why don't we at least have one more Broncos highlight this season? Very early in this game, like it looked like the high ceiling part of it might actually come true.

43:59Patrick Claybon:Stidham under center. Stidham rolls to his right. Throws wide open. Touchdown. Touchdown, Cortland Sutton. Stiddy on the money. You could see it from here. Nobody covered Cortland. So I was saying wide open because he was in Denver on the board first. That first drive, he hits Marvin Mims on third down with a beautiful throw for over 50 yards. Shook and they go into the end zone. They're driving pretty consistently in the first half of this game. And you think it's going to be OK. hey, what did you see for Stidham after that? Because look, they at one point had a yardage advantage of 125 to 12 until they went for it on fourth down deep in the Patriots.

44:55And after that, and that's pretty early in the game, they only had 56 yards the entire rest of the game.

45:01Nick Shook:You know, it's funny. I'm glad we started with the May bootleg to clinch the game because it started in the exact opposite fashion for both teams. That was actually the Broncos second drive, but their first drive ended so quickly. Everybody forgets about it because Stidham looked completely unsettled. May looked largely unsettled. Neither both teams tried to run the ball on the first two downs of each of their series. Neither got anywhere. I was like, Oh, I guess we're in for a defensive battle where both quarterbacks don't really know how to handle the situation. And then Stidham settled in. I think it was that deep ball to Mims.

45:30Nick Shook:He's got the arm. We always knew he had the arm. He puts it on him perfectly. That gives him the confidence to finish that drive off. And they were rolling. They go on another drive later in the first half where they get a fourth and one and they come up short, but they were moving the football well. And then, like you said, they had 24 yards for the rest of the first half going into halftime to miss a field goal. They lost their mojo. And part of the reason they lost their mojo is because the Patriots were able to upset him and unsettle him. They were able to pressure him. They were able to complicate the picture.

45:57Nick Shook:And you saw a lot of jittery feet in the pocket. He never really looked comfortable after those first few possessions. And then the weather set in and it threw everything, you know, askew. And basically from there, it was trying to ask somebody to throw his way out of a wet paper bag. And he doesn't understand that he's in the wet paper bag. That's basically what the Broncos offense was for the remainder of this contest. But it was a fun start. It was a fun start. It was one of those games where you have to really capitalize on your early opportunities because you never know if you're going to get them.

46:21Nick Shook:And we certainly saw that they were not going to get them when it ended.

46:24Patrick Claybon:Yeah, there was a good amount of field goal scolding for Sean Payton at the on the fourth down where they elect to throw. Coach Payton said that they had a run called, but Mike Vrabel, the master of timely timeouts, takes a timeout there, causes Coach Payton to reconsider the call that they had. He said in hindsight that it would have been better to go with the run. They played a heavy 6-1, and two guys got through on the fourth down where that was their best and last scoring opportunity. Well, I mean, I think because of the situation, you know, where Lutz is going to skate here. You're just like, Oh, you can't make a field goal.

47:04They missed two field goals in this game. Well, I'm almost 57 with the impending,

47:09Patrick Claybon:the impending snow coming in, pushing the kick to the right. So I'll, I'll give Lutz the 50, 54, I believe yarder. But yeah, that would have been considerably closer. I believe it would have been 38. It's well within Lutz's range, but, but I, I am acknowledging coach Payton's honesty there. the run call probably would have been the right one. If, you know, if Bo Nix is your quarterback, you feel good about that. But getting Jarrett Stidham in that situation on fourth and two. It was rough. And Stidham ultimately in this game, like had to just not cost them the game. And he kind of did. And Sean Payton's coaching on that fourth down contributed it.

47:51Let's listen to Sean Payton talking about that second quarter play. Just to back it up, at this point in the game, It is seven, nothing. The Broncos are absolutely dominating yardage. They are on the Patriots 14 yard line. They got a fourth and one Peyton asked about it after the game.

48:11Patrick Claybon:Coach, do you have regrets for not taking the field goal and going up to nothing? There's always regrets, you know, I felt like, you know, here we are fourth and one. We felt close enough that and it's also a call you make based on the team you're playing and what you're watching on the other side of the ball. So, yeah, they'll always be second thoughts. That's brutal. At that point, you know, they had three straight drives where it wasn't like they were just motoring down the field, but they had multiple first downs on all those drives. Three on that one. They did not have a single drive the rest of the game in eight more drives where they had more than one first down.

48:55And it's going to be a talking point for these next couple of weeks of like, well, who did the Patriots actually beat? You know, in terms of like the opposing offenses that they've faced. And they got some breaks, certainly with Nico Collins out. And, you know, the Chargers offensive line isn't great. And Jarrett Stidham playing him is the biggest break. but they've also allowed like a ridiculously few amount of points and they've had their big time players step up in big moments. Christian Barmore with a huge sack today. I thought Milton Williams had a bigger impact on this game than Nick Benito or Zach Allen or any pass rusher.

49:32He had the most quick pressures by far in this game. And then Christian Gonzalez, who does get beat early ends up making the key interception in the fourth quarter.

49:44Patrick Claybon:Shoulder high snaps. Stanton stands in. Throws a deep ball down the right side. That's out. Yeah! And intercepts for New England. He waited out a quarter. He bumped into the receiver. He has the pick. No, they tried to double him. He didn't bite on it, too. He sat. He watched his hips. More importantly, he watched the flight of the football. He timed it perfectly. It's so funny because it's a three-point game at that point, and that's an interception to basically seal it, and it felt so anticlimactic, like you just expected it to happen. and you're laughing.

50:14Nick Shook:Yeah, because it was a beach ball. The thing was in the air forever.

50:19Patrick Claybon:It was bad. The call is perfect. He waited on a floater. Like, you can't even say, like, all love to Christian Gonzalez. He's fielding a punt back there. And to call it a double move, like, Mims is, you know, kind of just, I don't know what, I don't, I would like to know what Jared Stidham was hoping to do with the way that. Well, I think what he was doing was regretting that he didn't let the pass before go, which Tony Romo thought was a good, you know, turndown that ultimately Mims, you know, kind of ran into coverage on the play before, but he had a chance actually. It was one of the few times you saw a receiver with a little bit of space in the second half and he didn't throw that ball.

50:57And then he kind of went to the next play and thought, well, I'm just going to throw this thing. It reminded me a lot of the Jared Goff interception to Stefan Gilmore in the Super Bowl. Not quite, you know, Goff wasn't quite as much of a lollipop, but considering that was indoors, they were kind of similar situations and just poor efforts we got to talk about the weather because after the game some of the players talking about it basically just said like yeah you couldn't really Evan Ingram I think said after the game you couldn't really see where the defenders were you couldn't see where the ball was especially when you were going in the direction that the Patriots were going in the fourth quarter and that the Broncos were going in the third, you couldn't see anything.

51:46You couldn't do anything. He was like, I didn't know how much depth to get. I didn't know where we were. And you also couldn't cut confidently. So it was too much weather. I'm on the too much weather. I'd rather see football played at a higher level camp. I don't know how you stand on it.

52:05Nick Shook:Okay, so Midwestern guy, have played in the snow, have played in the cold, very much the throwback. No football's a game that should be played outdoors today. Changed my mind because with the trip to the Superbowl on the line, I don't need the football reduced to whatever this was in the second half. The visibility was so bad, which by the way, hat tip to the Patriots equipment staff for inadvertently choosing the snow camo uniforms this week. Great voice foresight on your part. Just fantastic. Is that good though? I don't know if they could see their own teammates in the snow. I didn't matter.

52:35Nick Shook:They had the lead. Didn't matter. And that's the beauty of having a three point lead in a snow storm. But yes, this is a terrible viewing experience for those of us at home, just because we couldn't figure out where they were on the field. It was so bad that Nance and Romo, before the start of a drive, were waiting to be fed where exactly the ball was on the field, because we couldn't tell. That was after they took the lines that were superimposed on the field off the screen that cut off Caleb on Chason's head. Look at poor Chase on here. If you're watching on YouTube, he's Ichabod Crane. They took the poor man's head off.

53:07Sorry, Shook. Continue.

53:08Nick Shook:Yes, because technology is limited. even in these elements even in the year 2026 we can only do so much and both of these teams could only do so much so like yeah you know what i'm fine with building the domes i just thought like maybe next year it's january and the bills are back in the playoffs and they have a home game and it's snowing like hell in western new york and everybody's mad at the bills for not building a dome even though they have a canopy and they're like oh here we go another game ruined by snow it's i i actually understand the dome argument now and that's the i hate to say it because you know it's still an AFC championship game, but this was a game that was between two very, very closely matched teams that felt like it was going to come down to the final few possessions.

53:48Nick Shook:Every play really felt like it mattered because of the low score and just the thin margin for air. And I feel like we were kind of robbed of that because the Patriots go on this nine and a half minute drive to start the third quarter. They ended up getting three points out of it. And then here comes old man winner coming in and just dumping snow on the field and everything goes completely off the rails for both teams. But I guess that that's football.

54:09Patrick Claybon:Yeah, doubly robbed in this game. I think, you know, the institution of precipitation can blame Jarrett Stidham that they have lost great snow fans like Nick Shook. Because, you know, the watchability. It's Stiddy's fault. He's saying everything is Stiddy's fault.

54:25Nick Shook:It is because I'm a guy who went and watched Jameis Winston lead the Browns to a win over the Steelers in a similar snowstorm last year. And that was incredible. This was worse. My only thing on that is that the Patriots, had 65 net passing yards today. You know how horrible that is? I mean, Drake May had the same amount of rushing yards as they had passing yards. Marvin Mims almost had more passing yards on that one play than the Patriots did the entire game. So I guess I just would say, and Drake May missed, and I don't know if it was all weather, because some were early too. He missed about five throws that were just open in this game.

55:04No one was getting anything done through the air is my overriding. It was like a Raider game.

55:08Patrick Claybon:Well, I think if the snow robbed us of the pleasure of enjoying the football game, then the final moments in overtime of the divisional round, taking Bo Nix out of this. This was this was the Bo Nix game where you saw Drake May with that game ceiling run on third down. the creativity that Bo Nix has in the pocket, the antithesis of that with Jarrett Stidham fumbling on his feet and refusing to throw the ball away and ultimately giving the Patriots points where it's, we got robbed of some great opportunities. And I really think like if the schedule works, because I know folks talk about the schedule and having this, the polar vortex was going to be in Foxborough, probably would have even been worse.

55:56It was even, it looked worse. I mean, it maybe depends on the quality of the snow and the way it was. The wind was blowing in this game really hurt. And the fact that we just saw the views early in the first quarter were pristine. The fact that changed so much also was bizarre. But yes, they're getting about a foot and a half of snow in Foxborough right now. And CBS actually showed the shot of Foxborough. And they were underneath it, even in a more dramatic way. So this storm that's hitting everywhere. but sunny's California was a problem. I'm glad you mentioned the fumble. So Stidham's fumble in the second quarter to me was the biggest play of the game.

56:38You know, before that, the Patriots weren't getting absolutely anything done on defense. And Stidham just has to get rid of that ball, dirt it, take a sack, throw it out of bounds, anything. And I was making the case that he's an athletic quarterback, but he didn't look like, he is a run fast in a straight line type of quarterback, but he was one of 10 today under pressure for four yards, took three sacks, had this fumble, also had the interception under pressure. And that was early in the game when they were sending a ton of blitzes. They actually adjusted and stopped doing that and just started playing man coverage once the snow started.

57:18But basically, he just had to avoid a play like this. and they might have won this game. You know what I mean? Like, if they just punt this ball, if it wasn't for this one particular play, Shook, they maybe get it. Hell, let's actually listen to what the Patriots did on the other side, because it fits in with everything we're talking about. Drake May did take advantage, and the only way he really knew how in this game, which was with his legs.

57:43Patrick Claybon:The ride is May. Drake points with his right hand to separate protections. Takes the step. He stands in. Quarterback draw. Touchdown, Patriots!

57:59I need to stop calling for these highlights.

58:11I need to check the stats on our podcast for how many people just turned it off.

58:17Patrick Claybon:Hey, America. We're back. after each one of these calls. It is really crazy to think about how their only points were from his legs because there's that, right? There's the touchdown. There's the long run at the end of the first half to set up a field goal attempt that Boragallis missed and let you crow about a Miami kicker not being able to deliver in the cold. How long ago did you have that take, Shook? December 1st. Okay. And then you came back and the second he missed the kick, You just texted me right back and you, and you did the thing where you replied to the text that you sent on December 1st.

58:54Nick Shook:That's the beauty of modern technology is that you can keyword search your text message. And luckily I don't text about Andy Borg Alice very much. That was almost mean spirited, but also an incredible pat on the back. Cause you, you did call it. So, okay. So he had that setting up that field goal. He had the fourth down sneak, which was questionably, you know, not a first down that set up the, the field goal in the second half, the game, quote unquote, winning field goal. He also had a 28 yard run earlier on that drive. So their big chunk play on that drive was a big run, too. And yeah, he had another 13 yarder mixed in.

59:32And I do think that drive after halftime that you point out, you're like, oh, it's just three points. They had the ball for 21 minutes in the second half. They went 42 percent in terms of their six offensive lineman package. It was Thayer Mumford. They've almost not done that all season. I know that's been popular around the league, but they have not been a, you know, extra offensive lineman type of team. And they went by far higher on that in this game than any game all season. So I do think you can give the Patriots coaching staff and team credit for their, they've been very good at adjusting and shape shifting within a game.

1:00:07And that drive reminded me a lot of the fourth quarter drive against a really good Texans defense where you burn clock and you showed you could run the ball in a big spot. And in this game, like a drive like that was the difference.

1:00:20Nick Shook:Yeah. And it really speaks to how the Patriots have gotten to this point. This this postseason, it hasn't really been pretty in any game. There's been the explosive plays in previous weeks. But what they've done more than anything on both sides of the ball is they've taken advantage of the moment. They've come through in the big moment. The big plays, the Drake made touchdown pass to Hunter Henry, the Drake made a touchdown pass to Kayshawn Booty, a touchdown run or a big run to set up a field goal, dominating time possession in the second half, defensively forcing a takeaway and then converting that into a touchdown.

1:00:47Nick Shook:It hasn't been by a wide margin, but they've consistently come through because I think they're a more disciplined team. They're better prepared, better coached by Mike Vrabel and they deliver now not to go all Super Bowl preview on you, but I think in the Super Bowl against the team that they're about to play, they may need more than that because this is a much better opponent that they're going to be facing in the Super Bowl. Let me give you a couple of the stats. So through the first three rounds, for any team that played three rounds, they have the fewest amount of points in the Super Bowl era to make the Super Bowl.

1:01:2554 points. That's lower than the Ravens and the Giants. That's not the lowest scoring playoff team because previously there was a Rams team, I guess, in 79 that only played two games. So their points per game were lower. But basically in this era where you got to play three games, they have the lowest scoring. On the flip side, though, they have allowed the second fewest points in the first three games of the Super Bowl era. Only 26 points. And you look at this list of teams, and it's like the greatest defenses of all time. It's the 2000 Ravens. And I forget who else was in the mix. I think the Bucs were close on that.

1:02:02And ultimately, you add up those points. They have a pretty big scoring margin here. What is it? 54 to 26 in three games. That's ridiculous. That could be one game. That's three games. So they've they're going to get a lot of questions about the manner to which they got there. I think Drake may, even though he's not going to relish this matchup. It's a very difficult defense for the fourth straight game. I think he's going to relish being in better conditions because they did not handle conditions particularly well on offense.

1:02:31Patrick Claybon:And the conditions weren't ideal in the previous rounds either. This was, you know, unique in the snow and the cold and the wind uh but the to be able to have a drive like the one we were just talking about where they start off with a screen pass they have seven consecutive run plays wow then he scrambles they take a shot play action then they run another screen pass then they have three consecutive run plays uh get the sack and then the field goal but there's a couple of scrambles uh involved in there where you just kind of see the difference and i know we we celebrated the athleticism right because jared stoodham is a large person who is capable of running fast, but there's levels to this in terms of, you know, being aware and having the spatial awareness of where defenders are, having a plan to where you can get to where you need to go in those situations.

1:03:20Patrick Claybon:The picture is constantly changing. And Drake May is capable of doing that. Jared Stidham was not. That is fair. That is fair. And Stidham did say after the game, I should have ate that sack. The Patriots with some fun post-game sound in general. They've kind of adopted the Warriors come out and play thing between Mike Frabel, screams that to them. They're 9-0 on the road. I guess that's why. They're road warriors. So they got to the Super Bowl without losing a game on the road. We also have Milton Williams, who is delightful and has been a great quote at the podium and when he's one-on-one with our friend Cameron Wolfe.

1:03:58Patrick Claybon:Everybody doubted us. Everybody talking about we ain't this, we ain't that. They got number one all this and that. I want to hear something today. Talk that s*** today. I want to hear it.

1:04:08Nick Shook:I want to live Milton Williams' life. He wins the Super Bowl with the Eagles last year, gets a bag, and he's going back to the Super Bowl now, and he's talking his trash the whole way there. Yeah, he did it. I mean, Cameron Wolfe had a great day. He also had a one-on-one with Cardi B during this. And, yeah, Stefan Diggs also talking about all the teams that didn't want him and thought his career was over. and his biggest play, do you know which one I'm going with here in this game, Shook? Because I didn't realize it until I saw like a different angle replay pretty late in the game. It was not one of Stefan Diggs' five receptions for 17 yards.

1:04:44What an ugly game this time. It was the very first third down of the entire game. Drake May basically threw it right at Talaneo Hufanga. Could have been an interception. Could have been going back the other way. and Hufanga didn't catch it and that happens a lot and I thought he just dropped it but when you saw it from the other angle like Hufanga's got it in his hands and Stefan Diggs knocks the ball out kind of like Pukunakua a few weeks back for the Rams and had a big pass defense for this Patriots team who gets it done. And I know on the road that the defense has forced eight turnovers in the playoffs only allowed two touchdowns and I saw this stat which blew my mind from a depressed, I guess, Dolphins reporter who pointed out this is the Patriots' 10th Super Bowl appearance since the last time the Dolphins won a playoff game.

1:05:41It's kind of outrageous. Sorry to the Dolphins for the... I don't know why the Dolphins had to take a stray, but there's... Well, he said that, and I was just like, that's crazy. Is that true? How is that possible? But it is crazy. everybody doubted us everybody did doubt i mean nobody doubted them in this game yeah i had i had patriots in this game uh i had patriots in this game shook he's been doing great with the picks what about you i had patriots and seahawks look at you narrow margins in both so you you nailed it

1:06:14Nick Shook:and uh i have a couple things i want to point out from this weekend because despite that game being ugly and i love a snow day a lot of people love a snow day but what i love more than anything is the storylines. And in Ram Seahawks, we got storylines of revenge for Cooper Cup and Ernest Jones. Two guys the Rams didn't want anymore. They went to Seattle. They beat the Rams, stop them from going to the Super Bowl. And then the other one we just mentioned, Stephon Diggs. In his third attempt, he finally clears the conference title game bar and he's going to the Super Bowl for the first time. Those are all fun things to track and Lord knows we'll be tracking them endlessly over the next two weeks.

1:06:47Joel Anderson from The Ringer had a tweet. He said he doesn't know if Stefan Diggs needs the two weeks of Super Bowl attention. Fair point.

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1:10:16Patrick Claybon:Best punting game I've ever seen. It was so good. He's a rookie. He's Australian. I mean, he is incredible. He was so much better than the Patriots punter, Bryce Berenger. Like, that almost swung the game for them. Crenshaw is making it happen. Eric's looking at me like, are you really doing punting talk now? We could be getting out of here. Three phases. Three phases, baby. We're doing punting talk. You might as well do my weather report that I texted you. Oh, I didn't see that. You give it to me. You're the weatherman. It's, you know, San Francisco, Santa Clara. Okay. No dome, no canopy, guys.

1:10:50So there will be weather talk this year. 69 degrees and cloudy at kickoff. Is that the forecast right now? That's the forecast. Two weeks out, you can get them. Okay. No snow, but San Francisco Bay Area, anybody from the area knows, it can get wet and sloppy. It will get cold there. So if you happen to.

1:11:06Nick Shook:Yeah. And is the field going to be in decent shape? Because I think the last Super Bowl there was a little slippery. Well, that's a little. It's you get you get the nighttime do and that's where it gets slippery in layer.

1:11:17Patrick Claybon:It really is the worst. But also, let's not reside the field on Friday night. Please just just if it doesn't look great, who cares? I don't want to see tackles out there sliding around. Right. Because it's what a 330 kickoff. So the sun's going down, you know, by halftime or before. And yeah, then the moisture is in the air. It's getting into the low 50s. and people could be slipping around. But yeah, it should be better. Before we get out of here, just some notes. Nick Foles, remember we brought up that tweet he did about the Patriots and how backups have a good record? He deleted the tweet during this.

1:11:51No! I mean, I'm not saying they should take away the Eagles Super Bowl victory, but... Take away his nickname. They should be punished in some way.

1:12:04Patrick Claybon:I don't know if you can take that one away. That's true, but the sentiment of it, Maybe we can take it away. That's awesome. Kirk Cousins involved in the halftime. Oh. And I've got a Kirk Cousins take. He likes this. He likes this a lot. And I think he seemed fine for, he's pretty good at it, actually. And so I think we're going to have Kirk Cousins as part of our life in the media moving forward. I like it. I think he's, no offense to Tom Brady,

1:12:31Nick Shook:he's better than Tom Brady. Tom Brady's gotten a lot better this year. Well, he's on the halftime show, so that's a different skill. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. I think he was a good replacement for Matt Ryan. So then he would need that panache of perhaps the Steelers quarterback job

1:12:48Patrick Claybon:over the Browns quarterback job to spring him on to his broadcast. Or he could just have Matt Ryan, who he just replaced at CBS, just fire him and he just stays at CBS. You don't have to keep playing football. Keep your brain.

1:13:01Nick Shook:He's going to have to stop shopping at Kohl's, though. I think the wardrobe department is going to have to upgrade him if he's going to be on TV all the time. I do think that Brady's improved a lot. And in general, Tom was good today. Tom was absolutely good. Chris Rose wanted to point out for you, Shook, that the Rams' loss was good news for the Browns because they might be looking to hire Nate Sheilhaus. And now those coordinators are going to be available. They might want to be talking to Chris Shula so that there's a little bit of a Browns angle for you. I think this is going to be tricky.

1:13:39Like, I've already seen a lot of, like, you know, it's almost painful for the Jets to see Sam Darnold do so well. It's a reminder of the struggles that they've had. But I think most Jets fans love Sam Darnold and will probably be rooting for him. You know, Sam Darnold's a good guy. I'm just glad they're still watching football. Right. And, oh, by the way, Mike McCarthy's the new head coach of the Steelers. Congratulations. Steelers fans. We'll spend more time. Now it just does not feel like the show to do it. So we're going to hit McCarthy and all the big coaching news at a future show in which we'll probably make Nick Shook and or Patrick Claibon do some work.

1:14:21You're not done, Shook, and you're going to the Super Bowl. This will be our last recap show with Patrick, but it's weird to say goodbye when I'll see you on Wednesday. We'll see you on Wednesday. I guess that's it. Let's get out of here. Patriots Seahawks Super Bowl 60. You know who's happy about this other than the fans of both teams? Malcolm Butler. Malcolm Butler is making so much money endorsing products you've never heard of for 15 minute spots. We'll accept you, Malcolm, working on that guest list. We'll see you next time.

1:14:58March is here and Uber Eats is delivering deals all month long. Score big savings on all the delicious food you need to fuel your sports fandom. Whether you're ordering in or hosting the whole crew, Uber Eats is serving up deals on wings, burgers, pizza, all from your favorite restaurants, plus snacks from top stores. Perennial powerhouse, underdog. However the madness unfolds, these deals keep it going all month long. Visit the Uber Eats app for all the latest deals and start saving today. You know how it's never really about where you're going. It's about who you're going with. The right people can turn any drive into a great memory.

1:15:35That's something Toyota really believes. They design vehicles around real life and real people, the ones who make plans happen and bring everyone together. Inside, everything's built with passengers in mind, comfortable seating, smart layouts, and space that actually works so everyone can relax and enjoy the ride. There's room for the people, room for the stuff, and room for the moments that happen along the way. because when people are the destination, your ride is important. Learn more at toyota.com and find the vehicle that fits your people.

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1:16:44Patrick Claybon:So tackle your home improvement projects by Saturday and earn your Sunday with great deals on LG and Bosch appliances, select Bounty and Swiffer cleaning products, and more. Then once your to-do list is done, get ready to kick back, relax, and enjoy the game. Shop in-store or online now and earn your Sunday with help from Lowe's, official partner of the NFL.

1:17:11Nick Shook:This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.