In short
Week 3 NFL power rankings and quarterback market fallout from multiple early-season injuries, with discussion of the Giants’ QB situation, Jaden Daniels’ elbow injury, Caleb Williams’ status, Kyler Murray’s return, and Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. trade possibilities.
Key claims
Jackson Dart’s knee injury worsened from an initial MCL concern to additional meniscus damage, making him out for the year; the Giants likely won’t make a big QB trade immediately because backup QBs are rarely moved cheaply and Dart’s timeline is “career-altering” even if not career-ending. Jameis Winston looked “as bad as ever,” and the schedule (Tennessee/Washington/Arizona at home) gives the Giants winnable games with a backup. Daniels is expected back in 3–4 weeks after seeking specialists. Chicago may start Case Keenum or Tyson Bagent due to Tyson Bagent in concussion protocol; Caleb Williams’ injury seems week-to-week. Vikings are a playoff-caliber defense; Kyler Murray will be a difference-maker. Steelers could see trade interest for Joey Porter Jr., but Pittsburgh’s policy limits negotiations.
Notable examples
Falcons QB depth (Case Keenum), Vikings/Commanders QB injury comparisons, Chargers 0–2 prompting “calls” for Justin Herbert, and Steelers vs Bengals as a potential timing point for Porter.
Guests
Tom Pelissero (The Ringer/NFL Insider; previously at NFL Network/coverage of league injuries and transactions).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOMonday Night Football Recap
1:50 to 2:20
Discussion on the disappointing performance of the Giants.
“What a disaster of a Monday night for the Giants.”
Injury Update on Jackson Dart
2:20 to 3:18
Details about Jackson Dart's injury and its implications.
“Number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air.”
Quarterback Depth Issues
3:18 to 6:22
Exploration of the Giants' quarterback situation post-injury.
“I mean, for instance, Chris, would you as a Patriot fan be willing to flip Tommy Cutlets back to the Giants at this part of your season?”
Trade Market Dynamics
6:22 to 10:36
Analysis of potential trades and quarterback market strategies.
“These are games you should be able to win even with a backup quarterback here.”
Injury Updates and Future Implications
10:36 to 14:01
Discussion on Jaden Daniels' injury timeline and recovery.
“I mean, the stat that was out there last night of how often Jackson and Malik Nabors and Cam Skadaboo have been on the field together, it's like 4 % of snaps.”
Injury Updates: Jaden Daniels and the Commanders
14:01 to 15:43
Insights on Jaden Daniels' injury and its impact on the Commanders' season.
“I don't anticipate he's going to play this week.”
Quarterback Situations: Chicago and Beyond
15:44 to 17:44
Discussion on the quarterback situations in Chicago and the implications for Caleb Williams.
“do we even pick up the fifth year option on the guy?”
Analyzing Kyler Murray and the Vikings
17:45 to 20:28
Exploring the return of Kyler Murray and the Vikings' changing dynamics.
“I feel like any season, any time of year, we're like, well, the Eagles don't look that great.”
Steelers' Trade Talks and Defensive Strategies
20:29 to 22:28
Insights into the Steelers' potential trades and their defensive challenges.
“The team that your contacts, people you chat with, you know, I love asking this question, blowing your phone up about this team through two weeks is which, Tom?”
Listener Calls: Giants and QB Decisions
26:40 to 28:00
Listener questions on the Giants' QB situation and potential trades.
“Evan in Denver, Colorado wants to chime in.”
Show all 17 chapters
Giants Quarterback Controversy
28:00 to 29:18
Discussion around the Giants' quarterback situation and possible trades.
“I mean, like, hey, maybe the Giants could pull something off.”
Insights on the 49ers' Success
29:18 to 35:12
Analysis of the 49ers' roster stability and impact on their performance.
“I think they're looking for a right trade bait.”
Jalen Brunson: The Unexpected Savior?
35:12 to 36:41
A humorous suggestion about Jalen Brunson saving the Giants' season.
“ask your son what his favorite part of school was today.”
Power Rankings Revealed
40:05 to 40:48
Rich reveals his NFL Power Rankings and discusses team performances.
“Very rare to actually have a Thursday night game to work in to a power rankings.”
Power Rankings Revealed
40:49 to 42:00
Rich reveals his NFL Power Rankings and discusses team performances.
“That weight held you back a little, Rich.”
NFL Week 3 Power Rankings Discussion
42:00 to 46:39
Learn about the top NFL teams and their performances heading into week 3.
“One of the few Notre Dame people I really, really like.”
NFL Week 3 Power Rankings Discussion
46:40 to 46:50
Learn about the top NFL teams and their performances heading into week 3.
“By the way, I might program that channel again soon.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Tom Pelissero:Hey, I've got some game time tips to share with Frigidaire. When you're hosting during football season, you've got to be ready for every kind of craving. Somebody wants fresh pizza. Somebody wants crispy wings. Somebody's asking if there's sliders. That's when you need more than one call in the playbook. Frigidaire offers ranges and wall ovens with over 15 cooking modes so you can tackle hosting with confidence. There's Stone Baked Pizza for restaurant-quality pizza in as little as two minutes, Air Fry Mode for crispy favorites, and Air Sous Vide for juicy tender sliders. Plus there's slow cook, no preheat, and more.
0:35Tom Pelissero:Stone Baked Pizza and Air Fry, both built right in your oven. That's the game-time MVP combo. So when you're hosting before kickoff, Frigidaire helps you cover every craving. Available at the Home Depot, how doers get more done. Only when using stone-baked pizza mode, cook time requires preheat and reheat and may vary based on ingredients.
1:18Tom Pelissero:Download the new PayPal app to get started. See paypal.com slash protection terms.
1:23Rich Eisen: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. 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 richeisenshow and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. Check, check this out. What the hell is happening here? This is the Rich Eisen Show. What a disaster. What a disaster of a Monday night for the Giants. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.
2:06Rich Eisen:Earlier on the show, Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. Coming up, the ringer NFL insider Tom Pelissero. Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Cower. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. Great hour. In hour number one, Kurt Warner joined us. I gave my top five most disappointing teams for the first two weeks of the season. I was disappointed for Giants fans because the news is, in fact, the worst when it comes to Jackson Dart. He's going to have season-ending surgery, according to everybody who covers the National Football League. He's going to be out for the season.
2:47Rich Eisen:He did, in fact, suffer a season-ending knee injury on Monday night after all of that. And, you know, Tom Pelissero of Netflix is about to join us and the ringer to let us know what's going on on that front. And we just finished our number one about there's no real options for the Giants to go acquire a quarterback unless I'm missing anything. No one's going to trade them quarterback depth at this point of their season because they're but for the grace of the football gods go they. I mean, for instance, Chris, would you as a Patriot fan be willing to flip Tommy Cutlets back to the Giants at this part of your season?
3:26Rich Eisen:He's backing up Drake May. No. Not a chance. Yeah, no chance. I mean, Barron Morton, a rookie that they got in the seventh round out of Texas Tech. would be backing up Drake May in their follow-up of the AFC championship season. Can't do it. Just not. You know? And joining us back on the program, one of our favorites, Tommy P, is here, everybody. Tom Pellicero. Good to see you, Tom. Tommy P! Good to see you, Rich. What's up to the boys in the studio? Hey, what's up, everybody? Good to see you, yo. That is a crystal clear 4K camera. Look at that. All these people from Netflix and The Ringer or hiding there or hiding their screens in the zoomer.
4:12Rich Eisen:All like, what, what, what's happening? Right. This is the regular, this is the regular when you show up. How do we do it? Good to see you, pal. Good to see you. Why did Jackson Dart, walk us through, walk us through the decision and, and, and what next?
4:26Tom Pelissero:So the initial hope was that Jackson Dart just had an MCL injury. Those a lot of times are non-surgical. You can be back anywhere from two to six weeks, depending on the severity of the injury. You know, all the signs at the stadium were the MCL was the concern, Jackson standing on the sideline. He apparently wanted to go back in the game and they had to take his uniform away from at halftime. The issue that they ran into was really with the meniscus. And I had a doctor explain this to me right after the injury. It's, you know, the meniscus and the MCL are attached. So if you have damage to both, your options are much more limited in terms of how you deal with that meniscus.
5:03Tom Pelissero:Normally, if it's just a meniscus injury, you could opt for a trim, which a lot of young players don't do because you can't your knee can't regenerate the cartilage you get the full repair and that's long term somebody like jackson who just wants to play might be predisposed to go with that but when it also involves the mcl that becomes a virtual impossibility so he sought a bunch of different medical opinions ultimately it was that additional meniscus damage uh that led to uh the final decision uh he's going to be out for the year and as of right now the quarterback that they just paid a couple of weeks ago Jameis Winston on a new extension to be their number two he did not look good that's as bad as we've ever seen Jameis Winston look like normally at least when it's bad Jameis Winston it's the entertaining bad Jameis Winston where it's three touchdowns and three interceptions he looked like he forgot how to throw in that game I don't anticipate that's the Jameis that comes out this week and at least the schedule is favorable for the Giants over these next few weeks here.
6:02Tom Pelissero:They got Tennessee at home. I believe they've got a game against Washington and they've got a game against, yeah, Arizona is also a home game. Jaden Daniels probably not back at that point. Those are three winnable types of games. So while Joe Shane and John Harbaugh, I'm sure, are exploring all the different options here, my anticipation would be, let's see how these next few weeks go. Let's see what our record is. These are games you should be able to win even with a backup quarterback here. And if they're afloat and Jameis is the thing that's holding them back, maybe that's when you start to think a little bit bolder.
6:33Rich Eisen:Yeah, there's no market, right? Like we were talking at the end of our one top before you zoomed in here, Tom, that why would any team trade their quarterback depth? I mean, case in point, Falcons on QB four in quarter number eight of this season, right? Obviously, and we'll get to the Bears quarterback situation in a moment. Case Keenum might be starting on ESPN on Monday night. And J.J. McCarthy right there in your home state of Minnesota, he was one snap away from potentially getting back in the game for the Vikings in Chicago where he had his first big start as a Viking last year. I mean, why would anybody – is there a market?
7:14Rich Eisen:Is there a possibility? Are the Giants kicking tires, best you can tell, Tom?
7:19Tom Pelissero:The Giants are going to explore every option here. But again, I don't anticipate them doing something right now. You don't give Jameis that contract extension if you're thinking, hey, if something happens to Jackson, we're immediately replacing Jameis. Having said that, most backup quarterbacks, you're just hoping you can get through four games. Nobody's planning their quarterback room going, all right, if our quarterback goes down, we got a guy who can step in and play the next 15. That's just if a guy was good enough to do that, he wouldn't be a backup quarterback. He'd be making a lot more money and being a starter.
7:48Tom Pelissero:So there is a price at which teams will move guys. Almost every player in the NFL, unless you're Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, there's a number at which you can be traded. The immediate names that would come to mind would be Mack Jones in San Francisco. Yes, Brock Purdy misses some time virtually every year. But Mack would like to be a starter again. Could they get a call on him? Is there something that would make sense? Maybe there's a player involved that could increase the price tag. that would be one that I think until we get past the trade line deadline every team that loses a quarterback is going to be at least having to think about Mac Jones you do have J.J.
8:27Tom Pelissero:McCarthy that one's probably a little bit different where Minnesota has Carson Wentz there he was the two going into the season I don't know that you know they're really all that concerned necessarily even though Kevin O 'Connell said over and over we've seen we need three if not four quarterbacks here but there's a price at which I believe that they would be willing to move on from J.J. McCarthy You got other teams that are carrying, you know, three quarterbacks on the 53. You know, Spencer Rattler, there were calls to New Orleans about him during the regular season. You know, Joe Flacco got traded last year.
8:57Tom Pelissero:Different situation. Again, Joe Burrow's another guy who misses time basically every year, and they value Flacco, where last year Cleveland, you know, Flacco was not going to be the difference between them going to the Super Bowl or not, so they traded him for what they could get. We know Anthony Richardson wanted to trade early in the offseason, but he's the two behind Daniel Jones who also misses time every year. The price would have to be significant. I don't anticipate any of those guys, you know, getting dealt for like a conditional seventh round pick. You're going to have to step up to the plate.
9:27Tom Pelissero:And that's one reason that I don't foresee the Giants jumping out right away and making a big trade. Now, as we get further into the season, that's where, Rich, some of those other, the wild card scenarios come into play. You know, right now, the LA Chargers are 0-2. You look at their upcoming schedule. If they're 1-5, 0-6, I don't think that they trade Justin Herbert, but you can bet they're going to get calls about Justin Herbert because why not? Bad teams, if you're having a bad season, people are going to sit there and frankly try to take advantage of you and go after your good players. That's where the way the season plays out is going to determine a whole lot of different things.
10:06Tom Pelissero:And the more quarterbacks that get hurt, the more the price might go up to a point where a team goes, gosh, for our number two quarterback, it's hard to turn down, say, a third-round pick.
10:15Rich Eisen:Yeah, I know that, but the Giants also don't want to give up significant draft capital for a quarterback, one would think, because this is not a career-ending injury for Jackson Dart, right? I mean, like, he's going to come back from it, so you're not going to give up a bunch of draft capital for somebody that would supplant him, one would think. Although, oh, you're giving me this. Well, the injury is not career-ending,
10:37Tom Pelissero:but the timeline is career-altering. The Giants have not had Jackson Dart. I mean, the stat that was out there last night of how often Jackson and Malik Nabors and Cam Skadaboo have been on the field together, it's like 4 % of snaps. That's supposed to be your young core. Dart is not available. And he took it. I mean, it's a bad luck, high-low hit. We all saw the knee cave in to the inside. The reality is he's a young quarterback who just hasn't been available. So think about the other teams, Rich, that have had that type of trajectory with a young quarterback that they invested a lot in. Anthony Richardson with the Colts, two injury-plagued years.
11:11Tom Pelissero:What do they do? They go out and they sign Daniel Jones to be their starter. J.J. McCarthy, two injury-plagued years. What do they do? They go out and they sign Kyler Murray, and they bring in back Carson Wentz to be the third quarterback in the room. At some point, you're losing the advantage that you have with these rookie quarterback deals. Jackson Dart's going to be in year three. The last cheap year, I guess year four is the last cheap year, but you're getting deeper into the contract here. at what point did the Giants go hey we love you we believe in you we gotta draft another guy and then have maybe have a competition here or sign somebody or trade for somebody that the timeline alters how they have to look at this and it won't be driven entirely by how they play this season without Jackson Dart it'll also be about how does this college draft class do remember new head coach from when they drafted Dart there's a lot of different questions that this raises even though ultimately you know they didn't have a lot of good options with dart and the one they chose
12:08Rich Eisen:is the one that's the best for his long term this is why you're bill simmons and ted sarandos his new best friend information like that and then throwing out those breadcrumbs like you're like hey maybe maybe eli's nephew you know i mean who knows how high of a draft choice they have yada yada yada okay i said it you didn't tom pillow teams we all sat there at the start of
12:35Tom Pelissero:the season and looked at the teams rich that could be drafting a quarterback high in next year's draft and you were obviously looking at miami you're looking at the jets with three first round picks you're looking at cleveland with two first round picks you're talking about arizona with jacoby brissett um back you know in a contract here talking about minnesota because collar murray's got a no tag clause and he controls his future but the way seasons evolve Like there are times where a completely surprising team ends up with a really high draft pick. You know, it happened where, you know, the Colts didn't have Peyton Manning for a year and all of a sudden they take Andrew Luck.
13:07Tom Pelissero:And that ended in a way that they couldn't have envisioned. But that set a totally different course than you would have ever thought with one of the dominant team teams of the entire late 90s and the 2000s in Indianapolis. Who knows what team that is? Maybe it is the Chargers if this season continues to go that direction. Again, I'm not sitting here telling you they're going to trade Justin Herbert. We all know Jim Harbaugh has made abundantly clear how he feels about Justin Herbert, but they've got murderer's row on the schedule over the next four to six weeks here and an 0-2 record against two of the worst teams in the NFL from a year ago.
13:40Tom Pelissero:That's how fast the NFL turns.
13:42Rich Eisen:Hey, brother, Josh Rosen once said nine mistakes were taken before me, and he knew the call was – he had no idea the call was eventually going to come from within the house for Kyler Murray, who's now on Minnesota, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Um, what's the deal with Jaden Daniels in our conversation so far, Dan Quinn took to the microphone, uh, in the DMZ DMV and said, um, that, uh, no timetable on his return. Tom, what do you, what can you tell me?
14:10Tom Pelissero:I don't anticipate he's going to play this week. Uh, I would think that this is at least three to four weeks for Jaden Daniels. I don't get the sense that Jaden wants to go down the path of IR or surgery. Could he come back wearing a brace and be able to protect the elbow? He got hurt on a play, Rich, frankly. And I say this with all respect to all professional athletes. But that's not the type of play you expect somebody to dislocate their elbow, where literally he gets stepped on and just bracing himself. He stayed up well enough to throw the ball away. Those are the things you look at, and it's like, all right, we have to approach this differently.
14:44Tom Pelissero:He's had three injuries to that elbow now. We have to do things a little bit in a different way, which is why he's seeking all these different opinions. He's visiting with another specialist today. I anticipate by Thursday, Friday, we're going to know what the path is, whether it is surgical, whether it's a longer-term type of a thing. But Jaden Daniels will be back at some point this season. The commander's problem is they're 0-2, and they've got the Seahawks on Sunday. That looks like 0-3 unless Marcus Mariota plays at an exceptional level. Jaden Daniels looked good prior to the injury. That was one of my main takeaways out of week one was, gosh, when this guy is healthy, he's running all over the field.
15:22Tom Pelissero:They took the Eagles to the wire. They're in that game against the Cowboys until he goes down. It's just, it's tough. It is tough when you, you know, have just the repeat types of injuries. And oh, by the way, you know, these are some of the same guys who you're talking about, whether it's Jaden, whether it's Caleb, whether in another year it would be Jackson Dart. Like, are these the guys that are going to help move that quarterback market? Now you're sitting there and when guys are getting hurt, it's like, do we even pick up the fifth year option on the guy? I would certainly think the commanders are approaching this like that's a no-brainer.
15:51Tom Pelissero:but at some point you got to stay on the field and be available because when he's out there jane
15:55Rich Eisen:danos is electric so it's mariotta versus winston coming up in a few weeks like it's 2015 all over again it's unbelievable it is you know what's the scoop with the quarterback situation in chicago case keenum might start monday night tom well tyson basin bajin is in the concussion protocol
16:14Tom Pelissero:most players when they're in the protocol miss a week but there's different severities of concussions. People are on a different timeline. There's a five-step process that we all know about, and they got the extra day. It's a Monday night game. They like Tyson Bajan enough that they did the same thing with him that the Giants did with Jameis Winston, which is sign your backup quarterback to a pretty solid money extension. Ben Johnson is a big Tyson Bajan believer. So let's see how we go through this week. The good news that I reported on Monday was Caleb Williams went down in such a way that I think everybody watching, including Tom Brady, who said a word that you usually don't, that was in the Jaden Daniels one, but the announcer sounded very worried about what happened to Caleb Williams.
16:58Tom Pelissero:You heard Caleb screaming out. You heard the things that were on the sideline and the scene with the card. You thought this guy's done for the year. The thing I was drawn to, Rich, was Caleb is scrambling and he kind of looks over his shoulder. He's not looking for a defender. He felt something pop. So my first inclination was this guy either had a hamstring tendon avulsion where it ripped off the bone or he popped his Achilles. For it to be a hamstring injury that even though it's unlikely that he plays Monday night, they haven't ruled him out for that game against the Eagles. It's all going to be about how he rehabs, how he's feeling, and can he protect himself on the field knowing that his legs are usually a great asset.
17:37Tom Pelissero:You know, the fact that this is a week-to-week deal with Caleb Williams is a huge relief for Chicago. and whether it's Baygent or it's Case Keenum, they got their work cut out against an Eagles team that, as usual, Rich, I feel like any season, any time of year, we're like, well, the Eagles don't look that great. What's the record? They're 2-0. Yep, they're on top of the division, and we just kind of have to get used to it. They're going to win games in different ways, and Jalen Hurts is a big reason they're winning them.
18:01Rich Eisen:So sooner rather than later scale, it's Caleb, then it's Jaden Daniels, and obviously Jackson Dart next year. That is correct.
18:11Tom Pelissero:yep kyler's back this week i mean sam darnold i would say 50 50 right now if he plays this week um really weird injury you know i mean he it's a announced as a hip you know it's in the same area as the glute it was a tendon deal um but again a scary injury you saw him limping off the field it's like is this guy going to be out long term no he's been on a rehab path he's going to practice this week um and i think it's a coin flip if we see sam darnold out there against the
18:37Rich Eisen:commanders okay um what am i missing here um okay so so how about this one uh this is a kyler murray how much runway does he get situation in minnesota i mean carson wentz i know the weather was a huge
18:54Tom Pelissero:factor but they just won a game scoring nine points i i don't know i don't think that even if carson had gone in there and scored 30 on the bears that they weren't going to go back to kyler once he cleared the concussion protocol, because they feel like Kyler is a difference maker, not just in terms of what he can do, but what he makes defenses do. It's really hard to spy Kyler and double Justin Jefferson. And that, even though you've seen the chemistry with Jefferson and Carson Wentz, it just, it alters the numbers of how defenses can play you. Minnesota, you know, they, I don't know when the last time was that they just won a normal game.
19:26Tom Pelissero:Like it always seems to be some type of catastrophe or they're down or it's low scoring. Brian Flores with a essentially a no-name defense I think people are getting to know Dallas Turner at this point he's a really good player obviously Harrison Smith coming back and being the quarterback on that side of the ball really helps them but Brian Flores is out there taking a Bears team that scored 59 and holding them to six again with the weather I understand that was a factor DeAndre Smith Swift's fumble was a huge factor in that game but we know this Vikings are really good on defense they can find some level of offense this is a team that's that's a playoff contender if not a Super Bowl contender.
Read the full transcript
20:03Tom Pelissero:So with Kyler, yeah, they want to see him play better than he did in the opening game. But, you know, he threw an interception. I think it was his first pass, and then he got knocked out on the second. We haven't really seen Kyler, honestly, in the offense just yet. If he can distribute the football, they got some issues in the running back room right now where Aaron Jones is really the only healthy guy. But they're pretty good up front on both sides of the ball. Like, they're a more dangerous team than I think a lot of people would have given them credit for going into the season.
20:28Rich Eisen:All right, last one for you. The team that your contacts, people you chat with, you know, I love asking this question, blowing your phone up about this team through two weeks is which, Tom?
20:40Tom Pelissero:I would say to a certain extent it's the Steelers, and that's on a couple of different planes here. One, you know, Aaron Rodgers just got shelled last week. He was under constant duress, and if they can't protect a 42-year-old quarterback, it's going to be a long season on offense. I'm confident that Mike McCarthy and his staff are going to come up with a plan, to take some of those hits off of him and go in. But like DK hasn't played his best. Pittman's been hurt. Defensively, the Steelers are really good. But they also have an issue with their cornerback, Joey Porter Jr., that we're going into week three, and we still have no idea when or if he's going to play for the Steelers again.
21:16Tom Pelissero:I would certainly tell you, Rich, Omar Khan's phone has been ringing about this. There would be trade interest. There are some obvious teams that could use an upgrade, one of whom had their owner walking through the bowels of the stadium last week saying nothing more dangerous than an old man with money could the cowboys go out and swing a trade for joey porter jr could a team like the lions that's super shorthanded at that position it's not going to be cheap that's the thing they have no reason to give joey porter jr away there's no contract talks at this point they may have run at it before the season organizational policy the steelers don't negotiate beyond week one.
21:52Tom Pelissero:So far, that's held true with Porter. So his options are you either play it out in Pittsburgh and come back. They got the Bengals this week. They could certainly use them. You get traded someplace else and play it out there or maybe get paid there, but probably at this stage, play it out there. Or you don't play at all. He does have this back thing, tightness, whatever you want to call it. It keeps cropping up. Is he going to be out there this week i just anything's on the table but i would say that you know there's an equal likelihood at this point rich of him being traded at some point as there is that he plays this thing out with the
22:26Rich Eisen:steelers the ringer nfl show and social media is where you can find tom pellicero every day and every week as well depending on how you wish to consume um his material and uh keep it up and you'll wind up on the diplomat in a few future seasons keep going that would be amazing by the
22:44Tom Pelissero:I just want to be on this. Is it cake? That's all I want. That's my only. Man, because my kids. Big hit. That's where I would have made it.
22:51Rich Eisen:This is what happens. See, look behind you, man. Is that helmet a cake? Yeah, football. There's so many items behind you. We can wonder if it is cake. You know what I mean?
23:00Tom Pelissero:Yeah.
23:00Rich Eisen:Let's do that.
23:01Tom Pelissero:To be clear, I would want to judge not bake. Understood. Me baking, they would just go, that one. That's not cake.
23:07Rich Eisen:Okay. We make wishes come true. You could host. Fill in for Mikey Day. Yeah. You know, you filled in for us. Never know. Tom, great to see you, pal. Great to see you guys. Ladies and gentlemen, also, he writes his own sub stack, The Sweep. The Sweep. Check out that as well. Tom Pelissero, The Ringer, and Spotify. So many different ways to find Tommy P. There he goes. I signed up for that newsletter. Dude, you locked eyes at me when he's just like, hey, if the Chargers keep losing, phone lines are going to ring. And that was the overreaction Monday tweet you sent. you because again you've been getting tweets from people on sunday night saying just ask this an overreaction wild ass takes and we're going to start we're going to start using them at the end of overreaction monday every single week we're doing a tweet of the week and the one this week was you know if they start out you know oh and whatever vikings have a good defense should they godfather for herbert and you said it was crazy and i'm like next time choose one that's a little closer to the strike zone the abs had it a foot outside and he's just like hey in a few weeks maybe get out of here 844 204 rich number to dial right here on the show my power rankings he did refer to jerry jones saying nothing's more dangerous than an old man with money oh you didn't see you didn't hear that i'm walking in the bowels he has since followed up on that comment okay great about what he means by that excellent excellent the sean watson's that sounded like something straight out of succession man a sofi personal loan is here to help you achieve something once thought impossible and that's overcoming high interest credit card debt walk the tightrope of your finances with one low fixed rate monthly payment no fees required and as soon as the same day funding that's correct you can pull off your own debt-defying stunt with a SoFi personal loan.
24:59Rich Eisen:Visit SoFi.com slash trick to learn more right now. Loans originated by SoFi Bank and a member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply NMLS 696891. I have no idea what that means at the end. I keep reading it. I've been wondering. You know what I mean? Google me. Not to go full signet-y on you. Power Rankings coming up in your calls. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.
25:27Rich Eisen:Rich Eisen here with some advice. If high-interest credit card debt is grinding you down, it might be time to call an audible with a SoFi personal loan. It consolidates your debt into one low monthly payment with no fees required. And with as soon as the same day funding, you can make the right play fast. Call an audible on your debt today at SoFi.com slash debt play. Loans originated by SoFi Bank N.A., member FDIC, terms and conditions apply nm ls 696891 fast funds terms apply at sofi.com slash debt play rich eisen here running a small business means every hire matters a bad hire costs time and money but the right one helps your business grow the challenge finding that person without sorting through resumes that's where linkedin hiring pro comes in it screens candidates so you can focus on conversations with qualified talent with hiring pro you can hire with confidence and build the team you need.
26:18Rich Eisen:Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash eisen. Terms and conditions apply. Buy five quarts of mobile one full synthetic motor oil and receive two times O rewards points. Plus, get a$10 gift card and receive a 2311 die cast after rebate. Terms and conditions apply. Get details at O 'Reilly Auto Parts. 844-204-RICH, number to dial. Let's take some phone calls here. Evan in Denver, Colorado wants to chime in. What's up, Evan?
26:51Tom Pelissero:Hey, how's it going? Hey, I was just wondering, it doesn't make sense for the Giants to trade for QB right now, but what do you think might be stopping them, or what do you think about them calling up Jimmy G and see what he's doing?
27:05Rich Eisen:I would do it. I just don't know. I have no idea why he doesn't play football now. What's the scoop? He might be done. He might not be done. I don't know. If I was the Rams, I would never have entered this season without a veteran behind, who's done it before, behind Matthew Stafford. He's only 34. I would kick a tire on him. And again, the only reason why the Giants, this is even in a conversation, is because of how poorly Jameis Winston played on Monday night. It was just a shocker. I thought he was going to come out and start winging it around. And this would be one of those legend of of Jameis games on a Monday night that we'd be talking about the next day.
27:54Maybe they didn't win, but at least it would be one of those like, all right, they're, you know, a higher register, which is our Thursday show.
28:01Rich Eisen:All right. I mean, like, hey, maybe the Giants could pull something off. I don't even think any three of us, if I may, not to speak higher register or regular register, are going to endeavor that as a conversation tomorrow on our higher register segment. Evan, thanks for the call. I mean, that's not a bad idea. But again, anybody you bring in, you know, could potentially upset the apple cart in terms of locker room. hey we're all Jameis guys we're going to rally around Jameis and now you're bringing in somebody else like you don't believe in him it's not just that it's just like the next step you got to bring in a third you got to bring in a backup they didn't have a backup like it would have been Braxton Berrios right right you know what I mean if Jameis couldn't answer the bell on they have to sign one or two right somebody's coming in.
29:00Rich Eisen:Yeah. And so you might as well bring in somebody that's got experience, I would think. Al in Connecticut wants to chat in here on the program. What's up, Al?
29:15Tom Pelissero:Good to hear you, Royce. Hello, gentlemen. Long time listener. First time caller. Okay, very good. Always wanted to say that. I'm a Giants fan. I'm 63 most of my life. Been a Giants fan. I think the Giants should go after J.J. McCarthy. He's a third stringer. Clearly, Minnesota doesn't want him. I think they're looking for a right trade bait. Giants should go after him. I saw Sunday night's game or Monday night's game. Jameis is probably great in the clubhouse, but the guy couldn't hit the broadside of a barn if the barn walked up to him. So they need to do something.
29:57Rich Eisen:I appreciate the call, Al. my thoughts on McCarthy you know how I feel about him
30:03Tom Pelissero:look at you yelling at me yesterday about it
30:07Rich Eisen:hold on a minute I'm just hey you mentioned it with like 30 seconds to go so I had to shorthand it I wasn't as I told you giving you the high hat the high hat you know I'm just looking here because again to have a full conversation about this, you've got to look at the Vikings practice squad. Is there a quarterback on the practice squad? I'm trying to find this on the fly here. Is Max Brosmer still in the system? Because he's not on the 53-man.
30:51Rich Eisen:And you have to look at that. because if you send J.J. McCarthy somewhere else, then the practice squad is going to – you're going to have to hire a third stringer, I would think. And so I would disagree with the Minnesota doesn't want him anymore. I disagree with that. They just don't want to start him anymore because they have better options in their minds to win right now. But if you are the Giants, you call him up and say, we'll give you a three or a four for him, bring him in, and you start coaching him up in your system. And if Jameis struggles, you throw the kid out there, and then all of a sudden it's a Jackson Dart, J.J.
31:41McCarthy training camp the next year?
31:46Rich Eisen:I mean, there have been worse conversations to have.
31:54Rich Eisen:or there have been worse class problems to have. Have we determined? Brosmer's on the practice squad. Okay, so then you bring him up, you send McCarthy to the Giants, and then now you're back to Max Brosmer, or you really do like J.J. McCarthy. You don't know what's going to happen. You're going to hold on to him. It's entirely possible you have to turn to him, and he's a better option than Brosmer.
32:25Rich Eisen:but I found the Vikings. I'm like, forget it. It's no other teams place to help them. You're right. You know,
32:33Tom Pelissero:this isn't fantasy where we can ask for someone to trade you someone. So you don't get a cut in the sleeper league.
32:39Rich Eisen:This is real. Or it's like, it's like Cooper's fantasy where 15 year olds call other 15 year olds and say, I want somebody. And then spends the next five minutes denigrating that somebody to make you trade him away to that person. very different. Right. Right. You know. I'm doing you a favor. I'm doing you a favor. I don't want him. I want this person, but you're not that bad. Just give him to me. Yeah, like I said, or offer somebody money to.
33:04Tom Pelissero:I was trying. You did your best.
33:06Rich Eisen:Jason in Asheville, North Carolina just chimed in. Let's take Jason's call. What's up, Jason?
33:12Tom Pelissero:What's going on, fellas? First time in a long time. Last time I called, my son was a newborn baby, and now I'm about to go pick him up in first grade. Hey. Wow. I know that you and Brock, me and Brock, we're kind of in that same boat. I know that boat, buddy. Cheers to you boys. Okay. Hey, I wanted to talk about, as far as the Niners go, something that I don't hear talked about a lot is all the players, excuse me, all these top players that are on the squad, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, Dre Greenlaw, I don't know of another team in the last decade plus that's been able to, you know, maintain a core, so to speak.
33:53Tom Pelissero:and have tenured players, Kyle Juszczyk, another guy. And I have to believe that that has something to do with success, familiarity, and especially starting off hot this year. So I was curious of what you had to say about that.
34:08Rich Eisen:Listen, when you have Hall of Famers on your roster and you can keep them intact, and then you've got a coach that's not going anywhere, and you heard how Kittle spoke about Kyle Shanahan yesterday, you're going to win more often than not. I mean, that's for darn sure. And they just, I don't know. Yeah, I mean, I love the job that Lynch does. And then obviously they've had a revolving door defensive coordinator last couple years. But when you can replace Robert Sala with Raheem Morris, that's not bad either, you know?
34:46Tom Pelissero:Yeah, I just find it interesting. in 2026 where players are you know not able to stay with teams as long as they were able to back in the day and and you know i think of the eagles as one of the few squads and maybe even kansas city out there that are able to keep their guys and kind of have sustained sustained success um just
35:08Rich Eisen:think it's a rare thing to see nowadays okay jason and again when you pick up your son remember ask ask your son what his favorite part of school was today. Don't say how was school because you're not going to get the answer you're looking for.
35:19Tom Pelissero:He's going to tell me lunch was incredibly insane. He's still not used to it, man. Okay. Too many kids out there.
35:24Rich Eisen:Check that box. That's Jason in Asheville, North Carolina. How was school today? Good.
35:29Tom Pelissero:Good.
35:30Rich Eisen:By the way, here's one last suggestion on who the Giants can turn to to save their season. Do we have the photograph? Put it right up on the screen there. There he is. I mean, number 11. Jalen Brunson. He is the king of New York, right? Only one man can save New York. He probably could do it. Great meme right there. What if Brunson gets signed, right? Comes in, throws for about 240 and 220. And by the way, pulls a Dion, helicopters from one spot to the next. I'm not convinced he couldn't do it. You are not dealing with the tunnel traffic. No. That is for sure. I'm not making that from one game to the other.
36:03Rich Eisen:No. You are not. Not a chance. Going to be dealing with tunnel traffic. No.
36:07Tom Pelissero:Also, he's 6 '2". It's not like he'd be Kyler Murray out there.
36:10Rich Eisen:You know what I mean? Look at you.
36:11Tom Pelissero:He's small on the NBA court. But on the field. NFL, I mean, he's big. I'm a little disappointed in myself that he wasn't the first person I thought of. Whoever did that, bravo. By the way, sign OG to play wide out. Oh, right?
36:26Rich Eisen:Right.
36:27Tom Pelissero:Throw up a Hail Mary. Have Cat be on like, go-go block.
36:30Rich Eisen:One thing you don't have to work on in practice with those two is the tip drill. Tip drill. Right? I mean, just saying. Orange and blue skies, baby. You know what?
36:38Tom Pelissero:I mean, it sounds funny, but if I'm a Giants fan, I don't really have a lot of faith in the season. I mean, we can try to sugarcoat it, but I remember when Dak snapped his ankle on that Giants field when we played them. I knew the season was over. It just isn't even Stevia.
36:52Rich Eisen:Brunson's unavailable because he's got SNL first up later, I believe. Is it this weekend? I think it is Saturday night. Live. Jalen Brunson is probably right now in a script meeting in New York City. Absolutely. I'd imagine. Yeah. December 26th this weekend. This weekend. Jalen Brunson hosting SNL. But after that. Available. Yeah. For a couple weeks. Against the Cardinals week four. Coach them up. They should do it. All right. Take a break. 844-204-RICH. Number to dial right here on the program. My power rankings and Bill Cowher. That's how we're rolling. The Rich Eisen Show. The podcast.
37:33Rich Eisen:Rich Eisen here for Gusto. On my shows, we talk a lot about what happens in the spotlight, the games, the highlights, and the moments that get replayed and debated. But in any successful operation, what happens behind the scenes matters just as much. Small businesses are no different. Payroll, hiring, onboarding, benefits, and all the details that keep things moving may not be the most visible part of the job, but they still have to be handled right. That's where Gusto comes in. Gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. It's all-in-one, remote-friendly, and incredibly easy to use, so you can pay, hire, onboard, and support your team from anywhere.
38:09Rich Eisen:Automatic payroll tax filing, simple direct deposits, health benefits, commuter benefits, workers' comp, 401k, you name it. Gusto makes it simple and has options for nearly every budget. And it's all built to save you time with built-in automated tools for offer letters, onboarding docs, direct deposit, and more. Plus, you get unlimited payroll runs for one monthly price. No hidden fees, no surprises. Try Gusto today at gusto.com slash rich and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash rich. One more time, gusto.com slash rich.
38:47Rich Eisen:Did you know every 36 minutes a child in the U.S. is diagnosed with cancer? Which means some of the bravest warriors you'll ever meet aren't professional athletes or superheroes. They're the kids in this fight. That's why I'm proud to support Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For the past 28 years, with support from Hyundai, their dealers, and every new Hyundai sold, Hope on Wheels has contributed over$300 million to childhood cancer research, helping save more than 40 ,000 kids. Join our fight at HyundaiWarriors.com. You're on the program? Everybody, Pella Windows and Doors when it comes to your home. They're the experts at taking care of you and your home.
39:24Rich Eisen:Because at Pella, they find the products that meet your needs, their experts install them. And what this means is it's you are working with a company that builds and installs a quality product with real pricing, real simple, really beautiful. And when a trusted name like Pella chooses to partner with the Rich Eisen Show, that says a lot. 0 % financing options are available. Certain restrictions apply. Find your local Pella Windows and Doors showroom today at Pella.com slash Eisen for details. Make life brighter with Pella Windows and Doors. it was at this point last week i was under general anesthesia i salutes you sir and madam whoever your general anesthesia is i salute you it was right around this time suzy was doing a live shot from the local hospital here great backdrop at all i don't know how she found a step and repeat that's uh that's suz i mean come on it's suzy it was great so i didn't make my appointed power rankings round that day.
40:27Rich Eisen:We had you covered. I understand that. You didn't like it, apparently. I had to do my own. I did it on Friday. Very rare to actually have a Thursday night game to work in to a power rankings. We're back on a Wednesday. This is my first power rankings I have ever done without an appendix. Brought to you by SoFi. Hit it.
40:54Rich Eisen:Power Rankings Power Rankings It's my first one I've done without an appendix On a Wednesday Without an appendix A whole new world's been open up You have no idea You have no idea Maybe you'll run a faster 40 this year Think about it Your first 40 without an appendix
41:20Tom Pelissero:That's perfect Let's wait Okay. Exactly, Mikey. That weight held you back a little, Rich. Let's get on the same page. We're going to run a 4-7 this year.
41:28Rich Eisen:Listen, I've got three new teams on my power rankings and three that have stayed the same, and everything else is kind of up in the air. I know the Saints won, and they're 1-1, the same record as this team. But the Ravens look so impressive in week one. I can't quit them yet. I can't quit them yet. I'm keeping them in my top ten. At 1-1. There are so many other 1-1 teams to choose from, and there's a couple more on this list. But, man, 8-22. 8-22. That's it. 8-22 or a difference maker. What? Zero. Roquan. 14. My guy. One of the few Notre Dame people I really, really like. Zayfars did not practice today.
42:15Rich Eisen:He didn't?
42:16Tom Pelissero:He did not.
42:17Rich Eisen:Come on. Gotta get him out there in Brazil.
42:20Tom Pelissero:I get it.
42:21Rich Eisen:Did you see that? Lamar said, you know, somebody asked him about playing America's team, and he goes, that's America's team. This is Brazil.
42:28Tom Pelissero:Yeah, he's not in America.
42:29Rich Eisen:That could be a bad turf, too. Did you hear all that? Huh? Grass is not good. Jerry's fine with it. We're not fine with it. Jerry said he's fine with it. Well, Jerry doesn't have to play on it. Well, anyway, the Ravens are 10th on my power. Rich, I'm afraid that the Ravens might rush for 300 yards against my boys. Number nine on the list here is Denver. Denver. That's more like it, Denver. Jalen Waddell, Jonah Coleman stepping up. It just took to week two before R.J. Harvey wasn't dressed. And then J.K. Dobbins went out. And week three is going to be a big rubber meets road game here. But Denver's defense coming up big.
43:10Rich Eisen:Second half took care of Jacksonville and knocked Jacksonville off my power rankings list entirely, by the way. Number eight. Their defense ruled the day. I'm putting the Vikings here at eight. Oh, okay. They're 2-0.
43:27Tom Pelissero:Interesting.
43:28Rich Eisen:They're 2-0. And they're at Tampa. 0-2. What a dire straights game for Tampa. Yep. Brian Floor is coming in to make things worse for Baker. Aaron Jones, by the way, really sore after he became the bell cow back with Jordan Mason on IR for a while. and it's going to be Kyler's gig again. We'll see. They're just a fascinating team and I'm putting them in my power rankings at 8. Up one spot the Los Angeles Rams. Never quit on them. Never quit on them. You know? Just didn't like their plans to Australia. I thought they'd be one again. Okay. Okay. Alright. Okay. They're 1-1. They're 1-1. Let's see what happens in Denver.
44:14Rich Eisen:I loved the Devontae Adams performance I loved everything about him Yeah it was awesome The uniforms They look like this They're honoring the 51 team I get it Number 6 on the list Up one spot I don't care what people say As you know about this team How I feel about Jalen Hurts I'm moving up the Eagles one spot I'm moving them up one I'm moving them up Six There's six on my list now And they're going to take on, it could be Case Keenum, it could be Tyson Bajan. If Caleb Williams comes out like the Undertaker, is that how he should come out? Should I have Seth Rollins introduce him? Apparently he's going to be part of the Good Morning Football Roadshow on Monday.
44:58Rich Eisen:Seth is? Yeah. That makes sense. Will Caleb out in a coffin and then he just pops out during pregame warm-ups? Or Caleb comes out with crutches for the coin toss, and he's got a money in the bank case, and he throws away the crutches. Here we go. Hey, man, Seth knows all about that. That would write Dad himself. Top five. Here we go. Three, four, four, five. Bengals are on the list now at five. Let's go. They play Jeopardy. Bengals juice. They play Jeopardy in the quarterback room. I learned that with Zach Taylor yesterday. And they predicted the play that would score the first touchdown, and it's this one that Jamar Chase toe-tapped.
45:33Rich Eisen:How about that? Unreal. And the defense, man, the defense is winning them. football games. Number four on the list, up five spots. Yeah, man. Chiefs are a top five team. They're 2-0. Mahomes looks as great as ever. Kelsey looks as great as ever. Kenneth Walker looks as great as ever. The defense gave up 30. I don't care.
45:55Tom Pelissero:You don't care? I don't. To the Colts, though. I don't care. You might want to care.
45:59Rich Eisen:And then the top three are the same. The same. They're the same. I'm going to move the Niners over the Seahawks. Or the Seahawks over the Bills. I had them one last Friday. They weren't going to knock him out based on what other people did. I don't do that sort of thing. Niners 3. Seahawks 2. Hit it, Mike. Hit it. My goodness. And the Bills. The Bills were one and out. Hit it again. Hit it again. Like the Rent in Godfather Part 2. Only show that has that drop. Only one. I think you're right about that. Please. I know you're right about that. I mean, they don't use drops on. Any other show. Turner Classic Movies, do they?
46:40Rich Eisen:That would be awesome. By the way, I might program that channel again soon. I've offered. Anyway, that's it. That's my power rankings. Power rankings are brought to you by SoFi. Get your money right. Or should I say it a different way? Get your money right. Get your money right. That's a little bit too aggressive. You can say it like walking. Get your money right. All right. How would Lou Holtz say it? Get your money right. Oh, God. See, that's a good one. Hey, listen, you can get your money. Dimes and quarters and nickels. All right. Penny. Wow. Giants, Bears, and Jaguars off. Bengals, Vikings, Broncos on.
47:20Tom Pelissero:Man, I want to see the Raiders on this list.
47:22Rich Eisen:I was toying with it, but I'm not yet. Not yet. Bill Cowher's coming up hour number three. Keep it up. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast. You can watch and listen to the Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
47:50Rich Eisen:This episode is brought to you by State Farm. No two football players are exactly alike, and the same is true off the field. That's why State Farm gets to know you so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
From the publisher
The Ringer’s/Netflix’s NFL Insider Tom Pelissero tells Rich why Giants QB Jaxson Dart opted for season-ending surgery instead of trying to rehab his knee and if New York could pull off a trade for another quarterback if Jameis Winston can’t fill his shoes, if the Chargers could part ways with Justin Herbert if their season continues to spiral, how long the Commanders could be without Jayden Daniels in the wake if his latest elbow injury, when Caleb Williams and Sam Darnold could start again for the Bears and Seahawks, what Kyler Murray’s return means for the Vikings (and Carson Wentz), and if the Pittsburgh Steelers could trade CB Joey Porter Jr. Rich reveals his brand-new power rankings of the NFL’s top 10 teams heading into Week 3.
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