Hour 1: Jaguars’ Statement Win, plus Inside the NFL’s Chris Long

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0:22Rich Eisen:Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracell.

0:31Rich Eisen:This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required, compatibility and availability varies 18+. This is The Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere.

1:05Rich Eisen:Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. Defense! Dominate on three! Picked off! Devin Lloyd, what a year. This is The Rich Eisen Show. Touchdown! Devin Lloyd's right in the end. Live from The Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Today's guests, host of The Greenlight Podcast, Chris Long. ESPN senior NFL writer, Jeremy Fowler. Actor, Tom Pelfrey. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

1:56Rich Eisen:Well, hey everybody. Welcome to this edition of The Rich Eisen Show. We are live here on Disney Plus on the ESPN app everywhere and ESPN Radio presented by Progressive Insurance Sirius XM Channel 80. We say hello to all of you, those who are listening to us on our podcast all three hours at your right to do so. Also listen to our Overreaction Monday podcast and No Contest Wrestling podcast. Those are all fresh. Those are all recorded in the last day. check us out every single time on our youtube channel as well youtube.com slash rich eyes and show be the millionth subscriber why don't you we're closing in on that so uh lots of uh a reason for for us to be happy to be here today and then there's you as i mentioned 844-204-rich is the number to dial chris long uh he's going to join us he's first up he's always got some fresh takes uh on what's just happened in the national football league and a lot happened in week five jeremy fowler has all the information certainly on what's going on in baltimore We're sitting there at one and four, one of the big stories of this season unfolding.

2:54Rich Eisen:That's been a surprise. Hour number three, the actor Tom Pelfrey stops by. He and Mark Ruffalo are crushing it in this wonderful show that's on HBO Max right now called Task. It's a seven-episode series, and it's one and done, and it's pretty amazing. And Tom's going to join us. And the only thing, I guess, sadder than his character, and that is his beloved New York Giants. Oh, no. Losing to the Saints this past week. So lots to talk about with Tom. Good to see you over there, Chris Brockman. How are you? Hey, Rich. I'm great, man. What's up? DJ Mikey D is nuts. Good to see you. TJ Jefferson, the candle's lit over there.

3:27Rich Eisen:Good to see you, sir. What's up, fellas? How's everybody? We're great. Let's just jump into it. Listen, we always know the way things work in our media industry. That is when a team that has Super Bowl aspirations, or let's just say has been to the last three Super Bowls begins to struggle in a way that gives one pause that they're going to continue to be Super Bowl worthy and they lose a football game. You talk about that team and not the team that's won. That's the way you normally start. But I am well aware of the people of Duval County and their sensitivities when it comes to all that. certainly when uh every single time when i used to be on twitter i would look down while hosting an nfl draft and see massive complaints that we're always going to a break when the jaguars are on the clock there's a lot of sensitivities down there and i understand i get it so i'm going to start this program talking about the team that won on monday night football despite the fact everyone's wondering what in the heck is happening with the two and three Kansas City Chiefs.

4:4113 penalties and a pick six by Patrick Mahomes.

4:46Rich Eisen:Well, one team was playing well enough on defense and on special teams and on offense to create those 13 penalties to be thrown, whether they were all valid or not. And one did come up with a pick six, Patrick Mahomes, 99 yards to say the least with Devin Lloyd and four of his interceptions leading the league right now because these Jacksonville Jaguars are taking the football away and scoring points and in back-to-back weeks go out to Santa Clara, California and beat the San Francisco 49ers, hand them their first loss of the season, and then come back and tell the Kansas City Chiefs, who are up 14-0 in this game, you haven't turned the corner just yet, have you?

5:30Rich Eisen:And that's the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are at 4-1, tied with the Indianapolis Colts through five weeks atop the AFC South that everybody thought the Jaguars would be in the bottom half of with the Tennessee Titans. Let's get them all. Let's hit them all now while we've got the us. And what they have is muscle. I understand Trevor Lawrence scored twice with his legs last night, including a mind-boggling one-yard run to finish it, which we'll get to in a second. But the Jacksonville Jaguars' defense lights out. and what they are is the best in the National Football League at taking the football away.

6:06Rich Eisen:Now, 14 takeaways through five weeks. That's 14 takeaways. That's two touchdowns and an extra point worth of takeaways, including that 99-yard pick six, the longest pick six by a linebacker in the history of National Football League regular season action. Notice I had to parse it with regular season. Yeah, I was just about to say. Our Wednesday guest and my colleague with whom I'll be calling the next two London games, Kurt Warner, every single time he thinks he's out. James Harrison pulls him back in. See, Kurt had nothing to do with this. He had nothing to do with Devin Lloyd stepping in front of that pass that Patrick Mahomes was intending for a touchdown to cap off a long drive of his own to Juju Smith-Schuster.

6:50Rich Eisen:And, oh, Devin Lloyd steps in front and takes it 99 yards. The distance in a matrix-type run where you thought he's going to get caught. He's definitely not that fast. He's definitely not getting the end zone. Oh, wait a minute. Just like James Harrison did to Kurt in Super Bowl XLIII. So, I don't know. I think Kurt was calling the game for Westwood 1. I'm not going to ask him when he's on his usual Wednesday spot on Wednesday's show. The only team to have more takeaways through five games in franchise history was the famed 2017 Saxonville Jaguars. Remember that? Oh, yeah. four games with three or more takeaways in 2024 already uh by the way four games with three three more takeaways in 2024 um and uh they're they're they're pretty great this year i'm pardon me not 2024 um they're great on defense so far we'll see if they can sustain it um same thing with trevor lawrence he played one of his yeah he played his best game this season uh and and and he wasn't perfect he was not perfect uh one interception though uh shouldn't have happened there was a defensive pass interference call not called on the chiefs don't don't say anything chris you you can give voice to everybody out there cooper was screaming and yelling about that one because he thinks the chiefs have the refs in their back pocket just like many other people i don't know why i'm raising a conspiracy theorist in our household i don't know how it i don't know how that happen but trevor lawrence last night 18 of 25 221 pass yards the pass touchdown um that interception and you know ups and downs but at the end of the game in the fourth quarter with the game on the line and the chiefs having just scored the go-ahead touchdown to make it a game in which the jaguars had to score a touchdown themselves in order to win field goal no good so that you You couldn't have Cam Little setting up from Brandon Aubrey range to try and win this thing.

8:47Rich Eisen:And he marches down the field a 33-yard dot to Brian Thomas Jr. What a throw. On the sideline on third and seven with a minute one to go. It's as good as it gets. Maybe his best throw ever. And he followed up with a De 'Ami Brown ball as an out route. On the other side, yeah. That was remarkable as well. And then the one that we'll all be talking about. This is going to be one of those, when we see at NFL Honors at the Super Bowl, a montage of plays of the season. We'll see this one where Trevor Lawrence goes down. No timeouts left. 38 seconds to go. His guard steps on his foot. He's on the ground.

9:24Rich Eisen:He's stumbling around like he's, you know, had too much to drink, looking for his keys on the ground. And he finally writes himself and then runs in the end zone. Whoa. and gives the Jaguars that touchdown they needed to take the lead on the Chiefs with just 20 some odd seconds to go. And in so doing, by the way, joins only one other player with two or more rushing touchdowns on a Monday night football game on his birthday. I know that's a very interesting subset because it was his 26th birthday. He 16 turned 26 last night. the only other player to have two rushing touchdowns or more in a monday night game on his birthday wait for it is named bo jackson oh wow that's what trevor lawrence did on monday yes sir blown out the candles so that's pretty sick cue trevor lawrence talking about that play after the game in victory yeah you know we had a good a good goal line play that we liked off a little play action and um but never got to see it because i was going down as i came out of the center so i mean i'm just panic honestly because i was trying to get up i was just hoping like no one was near me when i got up at that point because i needed a second to get up and just throw the ball away i couldn't stay down because we didn't have timeouts so you know whatever i could do to just get up as fast as possible and i ended up tripping again so that was that's great i'm sure it looks pretty funny on the on the tape so uh but yeah i mean what a Crazy, crazy finish.

10:52Rich Eisen:It makes sense because the rest of America was tripping watching it. That's for sure. That was wild. Yeah. I might have said, holy ass, he scored. You can ask Susie when she's sitting in this chair hosting the show on Thursday. I believe that's what I said in a direct quote. Cooper in the room and everybody else. Listen, the question is how sustainable is this moving forward? Four and one, you are what you are, and the Jacksonville Jaguars are tied for first in the AFC South. And their next game is against Seattle at home. And then I see them calling a game against the Rams in Wembley Stadium, their home stadium, if you will, in London before a bye week.

11:28Rich Eisen:And then they start getting into the meat of their their division lineup, including a massive game week 10 at Houston. They could sweep the Texans and really do some damage for them. And the Indianapolis Colts games don't start until week 14, week 17. So there's a lot of games down the road that they're going to have to win, including the ones to set them up for success to even win their division, if not conference. If not conference. Don't forget, they were set up to win the conference a couple years ago when Trevor Lawrence turned his ankle, and then everything started to change on a Monday night against Cincinnati, and Jake Browning, by the way, that started going south.

12:05Rich Eisen:Doug Peterson no longer there. I mean, it really went south from that moment where all they had to do was win, and they'd be in a position to win the conference a couple years ago. but they're talented man they are talented they've got defensive players buzzing everywhere travis hunter made two circus catches last night one just leaping as a 50 50 ball and then another another one with yards after the catch looking like he's in the matrix and in winning close games this is what uh liam cohen the head coach was pointing out at the podium get up break what three tackles or whatever it was two tackles and shed some dude off and go running in the end.

12:43I mean, that's an unbelievable individual effort. Yeah, we'd love it to be cleaner.

12:47Rich Eisen:It's a goofy finish, but what a tough moment for him to be able to say, like, he just wasn't going to lose. And that's kind of really what it comes down to. He wasn't going to lose, and he made an unbelievable individual effort that hopefully can continue to springboard us. Yeah. That's the sort of stuff. And then winning close games. against a Chiefs team that used to do that? It wasn't perfect by any means, but the resiliency is really what I think this team has and has continued to show. There was really no flinch or blink when you're down 14-0. Huge win. Huge win for us, especially with the one-score game thing.

13:32That team has historically won the majority of their one-score games, something that obviously was a struggle for this team last year and proud of the guys.

13:43Rich Eisen:So Jacksonville wins that game and they should feel proud about themselves. As I said, let's see how sustainable it is moving forward. But you are what you are, which is a team that is dominant in taking away the football on defense without much of a pass rush that we saw last night. And opportunistic on offense if Trevor Lawrence is playing like that. If you told me that Travis Etienne would be struggling

14:08Rich Eisen:and Mahomes would not have much of a pass rush in his face and they would double they would score like as many points they did with almost 500 yards of offense i'd say jacksonville's in trouble but the great equalizer is taking the ball away opportunistic and then having um big moments from your quarterback so let's take a break we'll come back um and we'll get chris long's thoughts on all this and then on the back end i'll talk about the chiefs who you know used to be dominant themselves in one score games. So we'll take a break and we'll come back, talk to Chris Long, talk about the Chiefs, get Jeremy Fowler, his two cents, and then overreaction Monday on a Tuesday, work in your phone calls as well.

14:53Rich Eisen:That's the roadmap on the Rich Eisen show on this Tuesday.

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16:11Rich Eisen:Coverall delivers long-lasting shine. Visit your O 'Reilly Auto Parts store or OReillyAuto.com. The Rich Eisen Show podcast. This pin radio is presented by Progressive Insurance. Save when you bundle motorcycle, RV, and boat insurance. Visit Progressive.com. All right. We haven't had him on in a few weeks, so he's back here on the Rich Eisen Show. one of our favorites to break down everything we just saw in week number five especially last night ladies and gentlemen the host of the green light uh with chris long podcast chris long back on the show rich what's up man i'm pretty good how are you i am uh i'm missing you i'm thrilled that you are back on this program good to see you good to be missed good to be missed it's better to be missed than people being like man every week with this guy you know you know what um you're talking to a guy that's on the air three hours a day every day so uh i'm becoming rich eyes and never at my network ladies and gentlemen more is more with chris long uh back here in the program all right let's just jump into it the kansas city chiefs uh we always enjoy having a level of concern conversation with you right around this time of year um what are you concerned about unconcerned about after we saw what happened in Jacksonville on Monday night Chris well uh I suppose it depends on what your aspirations for the team um are I think if you think they're a Super Bowl contender there are there are some concerns I would have I mean like defensively you said that coming into the year I don't know that they're the team that they've been in the past defensively um I think a lot of people got real panicky about the offense in the form that it was in the first month of the season where you didn't have anybody outside.

18:05You can see how much Xavier Worthy helps being back on the field. I think you're going to see more too high. You see people playing off a little bit more where you can run the football. The run game was improved last night. I think one thing that probably gets lost in the shuffle is that this offensive line, by the end of the year, I would think is going to be the best group that he's thrown behind in a couple of years because of Simmons at left tackle and Kingsley guards doing a better job. And in the run game, he's a force. So I think the offense is going to be fine. And you see the screen game opens up everything and it will be even more so when Rasheed Rice gets back.

18:44But the defense, I think, like the lack of pass rush to me is a problem outside of Chris Jones. I know Spags can manufacture pressure with the best of them. And I know that they are working some things out in the back end. And Spags is the guy who tinkers with the lineup throughout the season. So I don't think we'll see the final product until late in the season. But I think the level of concern would be more on the defensive side of the football for me. I think the offense is going to look really dangerous by the end of the year, especially when they get Rasheed Rice back. Look how much the zones expand when you play a team like Jacksonville, who's down Trayvon Walker and can't really get a pass rush.

19:21You know, as the down goes on, Patrick Mahomes has options. that's not going to be a problem as the year goes on.

19:27Rich Eisen:That said, they're, um, they're now two and a half games behind the Jacksonville Jaguars. Then. And so, um, the Colts at foreign one, the bills at foreign one, and the Steelers are coming off of a bi-week at three and one. Um, there's enough time in the remaining parts of the season for the chiefs to catch up to them, if not overtake them. Um, but you're seeing the penalties, 13 penalties on, on Monday night. You're seeing the little things like holding penalties on the same guy on two kickoff returns. That's kind of like, you know, the runny nose of a team that's not a Super Bowl team that you're seeing the Chiefs have that you haven't seen in the past.

20:12Rich Eisen:So I go back and forth. I mean, I just led the show kind of going back and forth where you're, I'm wondering because I did choose the Chiefs to win it all this year. Me, you're looking at them. I said, ooh, not who. Oh, okay. Okay, good. Yeah, yeah. Oh, okay. You know, I don't see it. I just don't see it. I mean, like, certainly it could happen. I just, they look like more of a team that has joined the pack. And I don't mean the, you know, the league at large, but I mean, like, the elite teams in the NFL, like, this year, the great thing that I guess all the good teams have going for them is the parity.

20:47Like, I don't see a far and away best team in the league. You know, I just don't see that. I think Detroit, the way that they've steadily just retooled and improved every week with their reputation, they've got to feel like they're in that mix. We can go down the list, but I think the NFC is deep. You talk about the Bucs, you talk about the Eagles, even with their problems, the Packers. I'm sure I'm forgetting teams. The Commanders looked really good the other day. And in the AFC, it feels like the good thing that the Kansas City Chiefs have going for them is there's less teams that are traditional powers playing their best football, like the Ravens being one of those teams that might be 1-5 at the end of this week.

21:28That's a big deal. Now you look at the newcomers like the Jags and the Colts, and we'll see if that stuff holds true. I think the Chiefs are a really good football team that is not immune to making dumb mistakes, and that's what's gone on at different points over the last couple years with this team, like whether it was the drops or the issues up front, pre-snap penalties, and, you know, last night it's another thing. And for the love of you-know-who, can we stop taking kickoffs out under 30 seconds at the end of a ballgame, especially if you have a quarterback that can probably get you 50 yards in two plays?

22:06We saw two primetime games in a row. It's a pet peeve of mine. I don't know why you take the kickoff out. Only bad things happen. Take the ball to the 20, take a couple shots, and get it over midfield.

22:16Rich Eisen:Chris Long here on the Rich Eisen Show. Is Jacksonville part of the elite now? Could you say that? They're 4-1. I mean, Trevor Malarins made some great throws, and Devin Lloyd's out of his skull and headlining a group that is suddenly the king of takeaways on defense. Chris, what do you think? Yeah, I think they're earning their way into that group. It's a pretty small sample size to be like, yeah, that's an elite team in the AFC, but boy, do they look really good early in the season. The thing I love about the defense is how opportunistic they are. You can tell they have a defensive coordinator who empowers them to go try to make plays.

22:54And I love the look down there in the red zone. I hadn't really seen that look from them this year. I had seen them mugged up in the low red, but that was a look that I hadn't exactly seen, and they saved it for a big time in the ballgame. And Devin Lloyd is a perfect example of the ascension of this defense. He was a guy that a lot of people were questioning throughout his young career. Like, hey, you know, was he worth the pick? You know, are we going to read him up? That sort of thing. This is a big year for him. He's going to absolutely get paid. He looks re-energized. And, you know, the perfect guy to make a play on the football last night.

23:32He was going to be a guy that had to play well. You know, backers have to play well when you play Kansas City. And I thought he looked great generally last night and then making that huge play. It was like a James Harrison pick six kind of. It was crazy. I don't want to put it on that level. But I thought for sure he was going to run out of gas at some point. Thornton, if you watch him on sideline tape, he starts at the pylon and almost catches him. That's the effort that you need if you're the Kansas City Chiefs. I think a lot of people are making a big deal out of the Chris Jones thing at the end of the game.

24:06That's part of it. When you see things like that happening, you're like, Like, are these the Chiefs that we're used to seeing? Like, you know, the effort, the execution, you know, some of the finger pointing. I mean, like, I think what happened at the end of the Chargers game is pretty run of the mill. Like, a guy took an inside move and the linebacker's yelling at the defensive end. And in that case, it was Chris Jones. But, like, this stuff is popping up a lot with this Chiefs team. And for Trevor Lawrence, man, you know, I'll admit I haven't been totally sold on Trevor Lawrence. and you know I think there's reasonably a lot of um evidence of why you might not be sure of the guy uh but I thought last night that drive at the end of the game is what you got to do if you want to prove that you're one of those guys and uh you know the drop in the bucket on the right sideline was gorgeous uh the throw to Diami Brown was awesome and then in the most Trevor Lawrence fashion, like winning the game with his legs, like tripping and falling and getting up.

25:09Unbelievable. I mean, it was crazy. So that game was absolutely cinema. And, you know, the Jags look like a good football team. Are they one of the best teams in the league? Let's give it some time. I don't know who the best teams in the league are, really. I named a few earlier, but a lot of those are traditional powerhouses that have proven it before this team last year was. I mean, this team was tied, Rich, with, I think, two other teams for the worst record in the NFL since December of 23. So this is a wild turnaround, and it speaks to how much a good coaching staff can elevate a group, and Liam Cohen's doing a great job with the run game as well, which is something that Trevor's never had.

25:46Rich Eisen:Chris Long here on the Rich Eisen Show. Before we move on, though, to another subject matter, what do you think of when you see Chris Long essentially take that last play off, it looked like? I have no idea he could have been gassed. Chris Long would never take that last play. Sorry, Chris Jones. I mean, Chris Jones. I wish I was Chris Jones. What does Chris Long think of Chris Jones? I mean, a lot has been made of that last play from Chris Jones last night. Yeah, well, at first I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, you know, because you wondered if they were trying to let him score. Like, I don't know if that was part of the calculus for that team.