Ohio State vs Miami, Upset Radar, And A Wild Week 17 Recap

Stakes are high, spreads are loud, and the calendar is about to flip—so we went all-in on clarity. I open with a straight-shot preview of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, anchored by Ohio State vs Miami. The question everyone’s asking: can Miami’s speed off the edge recreate the chaos that tripped Ohio State before? I lay out why Ryan Day reclaiming the play sheet, a healthier receiver room, and a quick-adjust plan should tilt the field against a defense that relies more on speed than deception. From there, it’s Oregon’s protection plan against Texas Tech’s front, a potentially soggy Rose Bowl that favors Indiana’s balance over Alabama’s one-lane offense, and a Georgia vs Ole Miss rematch where coaching continuity and four-minute football matter more than fireworks.

Then we rip through a no-fluff NFL Week 17. Houston flashed both ends of its identity—explosive starts, ice-cold lulls—and why that’s a playoff ceiling cap if it persists. Baltimore rediscovered inevitability with Derrick Henry, while Cincinnati looked like itself with Burrow dictating tempo. I get brutally honest about Steelers-Browns: over-obsessing on Myles Garrett’s sack record shrank the offense and bled away the red zone, turning a clinch into a coin flip in Week 18. Eagles-Bills came down to one decision and one miss on a clean read on a 2 point conversation. The Bears and 49ers traded haymakers as Caleb Williams and Brock Purdy each elevated, with San Francisco finding the lone defensive play that decides a classic. And on Monday, Stafford’s MVP case slipped, Bijan Robinson took over, and the Rams’ spacing problem without Davante Adams showed up in full.

We close with key headlines and injuries that can actually swing seeding and matchups, plus a quick map of Week 18’s must-watch windows. If you’re here for concrete edges—line play, red zone adjustments, weather leverage, coordinator impact—you’ll leave with a plan for your picks and a sharper view of who’s built for January. If it sounds like I’m nervous about Ohio State on New Year’s Eve, you’re not wrong; I’ve held the remote hostage before.

Enjoy the breakdowns? Tap follow, share this with the sports fan who argues back, and drop your upset pick. Your boldest call might make Friday’s show.

Chapters

• 0:00 Solo Host Sets The Gameplan
• 2:48 Ohio State vs Miami Deep Dive
• 22:53 Oregon vs Texas Tech Preview
• 31:57 Alabama vs Indiana In The Rain
• 40:00 Georgia vs Ole Miss Rematch Stakes
• 46:34 CFP Quarterfinal Picks And Upset Watch
• 48:53 NFL Week 17 Recap Begins
• 1:00:45 Steelers Browns Meltdown And Takeaways
• 1:16:20 Eagles Bills Chaos And Choices
• 1:23:28 Bears 49ers Shootout Breakdown
• 1:36:50 Rams Falcons And Stafford’s MVP Slip
• 1:43:20 League News: Diggs, Releases, Injuries
• 1:50:40 Week 18 Slate And Next Pod Plans

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:09

Welcome back to the Jamie Sports Podcast. Today is Tuesday, December 30th, and we are back for another pod. Unfortunately, it's just gonna be, well, fortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it. It's just gonna be me today, kind of sitting here rambling on all rambling along all by myself. Because my brother slash co-host Jace is dealing with a move this week. So I think on Friday or Saturday, he's gonna have to be moving up pretty much his whole life to a whole different place. So he has a lot of packing to do, he has a lot of things going on. So I figured I'd give him again. I I know I said last week we're gonna have us both on, but it's it's just a little bit much for him this week. So I'm gonna go ahead and try to give him that time. If he we get him on on the Friday pod, because again, that's another day much closer to when his move-in date is, so I'm not even sure we'll even get him then. But I'll try if I can, but if not, I'm not gonna worry too much about it. So but the pod still has to go on, so it's just gonna be me sitting here talking to the wall, slash you guys, whoever decides to listen, and uh that'll be about it. So that's all I got. So other than that, so let's get to what we have to get to today. So the itinerary going on for this podcast is I'm gonna do the start with college football, go into like doing the like looking at the previews of all of the college football playoff games and the that are gonna be, what is it, the quarterfinals in the second round. So I want to talk about that because tomorrow we have the one game, the New Year's Eve. So we have the one game between Miami and Ohio State, and then the day after New Year's Day, we have the other three matchups happening throughout the day on New Year's Day. So I want to talk about those, give my preview thoughts on like what I think keys of the game are and everything like that. And then from there, we'll switch over to the NFL. We'll do the recap of everything that happened in the NFL in week 17, and then give whatever stories and stuff like that I wanted to talk about in the NFL as well. Give the I'll give some time to talk about that. But that's pretty much it. I hope I don't go on for two hours again. Can't necessarily promise anything, but I'm gonna try because I just I don't want to necessarily want to go that long. And because you know, you're just sitting here listening to me kind of ramble on, so I think it even makes it even longer. But if you again, if you're able to listen to this whole podcast and me just kind of sitting here rambling on, I definitely appreciate it. So without further ado, I'm done apologizing. Let's go ahead and get to what we have to get to today. So, College Ball playoff. We have, like I said, the first game going on tomorrow between Miami and Ohio State. The game is the Goodyear Cotton Bowl that's happening in Texas. It'll be between number 10 number 10 Miami and number two Ohio State. Obviously, I am a lot more locked in on that, obviously, because I'm an Ohio State fan. If you guys haven't listened for a while, if you've never listened, I'm I'm a big Ohio State fan. I'm diehard. That's like my team, number one, number one. And uh and obviously, if you've been listening for a while, you understand where I'm where I sit with all this. So this game is where I'm gonna be the most locked in. It is New Year's Eve game. So it makes me that just that much more nervous about this whole thing because the last time that I had to experience Ohio State playing on New Year's Eve, it potentially led to one of my probably my worst moment as a sports fan in general. This would be back in 2021, 2021 going into 2022, Ohio State facing Georgia, New Year's Eve. I think that game started at like 8 or 8.30. And then literally, as the clock strikes midnight, we have this same kicker who just missed a kick for us against Indiana this uh few weeks ago in the Big Ten Championship game. That same kicker attempted a field goal in the waning moments of the game slash of the year and missed it wide left for Ohio State to lose against Georgia. And again, Georgia went on to go play TCU in the championship game and destroyed them. So essentially, that kick took away a chance at a national title as an Ohio State fan. Again, I know I didn't do anything actually to win the national title, but watching my team go ahead and win it, it's almost like I get to claim it for myself because I'm so locked in as a fan and I'm such a diehard. So one of my worst moments as a fan was watching my team, Ohio State, the one I'm a diehard for, lose on New Year's Eve. First off, I feel more confident that will happen this year because the game is actually starting earlier. So the kickoff is supposed to be at 7.30. And again, whenever they give a give you a kickoff, it's probably always like 10 or 15 minutes later than what they give you. So let's just say the game starts at 7.45. Unless something crazy happens and the game goes to multiple overtimes over, I don't think we'll necessarily have the same issue of the game ending as midnight is approaching. And again, I totally need that to be the case because the last time that happened, I was watching the game. I had people, I was around with my family, people I love, trying to enjoy the New Year's, and they all essentially tell me I ruined New Year's because they didn't get to watch the ball drop. This is more of a Jace thing than anybody, to be totally honest with you. But he says I ruined New Year's because he didn't have a chance to watch the watch the ball drop because I was holding what is it? I was holding the remote hostage to watch what happened with that kick at the end of the Ohio State game. Again, I will do it again, no questions about it, so I don't necessarily feel bad, but I will say that I would I don't think I'll have to deal with that this time around because I think the game will be over well before that unless something crazy happens, which again, I would hold on to the remote and hope and stop everybody from watching the ball drop. They can go watch it somewhere else because that's that's just what it is. So first off, that's the reason I think that won't happen this year, tomorrow. Second off, I think that coming into this matchup, as long as Ohio State does what they're supposed to do, I think Ohio State should win this matchup. Ohio State coming into this game is a nine and a half point favorite, which is the biggest spread of all four games that are happening over these next two days in the quarterfinal corner finals of the playoff. I think that's for a good reason. Everybody wants to. So this is where I I obviously as a podcaster I listen to everything, but even if I wasn't podcasting, I listen to everything anyway, and I kind of want to get a lot of people's thoughts about how they think the game is gonna go, who has the edge, against people that know a lot more football than me. Because as much as I as much as a football as I think I know, I'm not gonna sit here and say I know more than anybody else out there, especially people that, you know, have played the game or like pay get paid real money to go out there and do it and talk about football and have their reputational line when doing so. So I get I watch a lot. So one of the so this is where I get annoyed to us to a certain extent, right? Because the going thing, the go the going saying about how this game is going to go is where a lot of people believe that the nine and a half points that Ohio State is getting is too big, and that these teams are a lot closer than what people think, and that if Ohio State, the two games they have played against the best defenses they have played this year are against Texas, when they only scored when Ohio State only scored 14 points against that Texas defense, and then against Indiana, where Ohio State only scored 10 points, one of those games being in a win against Texas, the other one being against Lawson, Indiana, where they Ohio State lost 10-13-10. And a lot of people want to make the claim that Miami can do the same thing to Ohio State's offense as those other teams. And I'll just do this point by point because I think there is there's a little bit of credence to what the argument they're trying to make. Miami's strength of their team is their front seven. Okay? They have a very good defensive line, not a necessarily like a huge defensive line, not a very physical defensive line, but they have the defensive ends in Mezzador and who's the other one, the more popular one. Why am I forgetting his name? McKee Mezador and who's the other one? Hold on, he's on the other side. He's the one that's gonna be like the top ten pick, everybody's saying. Let me give me a second here. I want to get the guy's name right if I'm gonna be talking about him. Let's see here. Defensive ends. Um, they have him as linebackers? No. No, that's not it. They just have him all as defensive linemen. Um, Ruben Bain. That combo of defensive ends is a very good combo. And from what I have seen, and from what people that actually know football have said, is that like they are awesome. And again, I totally I don't disagree with that whatsoever. Those two guys are very atro uh ferocious, they get after it. They are guys that both have like they don't have double-digit sacks, I think they have like eight and a half, they both have like eight and a half sacks, something like that on the year. And they say that Ohio skis Ohio State's gonna have real issues against that very good Miami. This is not even the front seven, it's more of like the front four, front five, that they're saying Ohio State's gonna have trouble with because they think Miami can kind of sim do that same thing than what Indiana did. And where I like, are they a more talented like defensive line than what Indiana has for sure? But I also think based off of what I've seen, what I've watched, is that what Indiana does is a lot of stunts and they do a lot of moving around. They kind of show you different things along with doing what they want to do on the back end, where they're trying to confuse what like what they did, what they did to Julian Saiyan in that Big Ten Championship game is they were trying to confuse Julian Saiyan and make him hold on to the football to then allow the defensive, the defensive line to do their stunts and get up to Julian Saiyan and sack him and get him, like not have him get the rid of the football the way he needed to. And again, for the first half of football, it had that absolutely worked against Julian Saiyan. He did not know what he was looking at, and then the second half he did kind of come alive and did a lot better in getting the football out and having the answers to the test, if you say, but it didn't work out in the red zone where you know Ohio State kind of shot their own their own selves in the foot because of just bad play calling and all of that, which again, if Ohio State they were in the red zone three times, one time they gave they did a um they turned it over, the other time they missed a field goal, and I think there's another time as well. No, there was those are the two times. If they score on both, just get points on both of those drives, they win the game. Ohio State only lost the game by three points against Indiana. And I think people are trying to create the same kind of defense out of Miami than what Indiana has, and I just don't think that's the case. I think Miami plays with a lot more, they have a lot more talent on their defensive line, and I think their secondary has like more talent, but I just don't think they have the same type of defense that can do what Indiana did against Ohio State. And what I don't think people are given enough credit for for Ohio State's offense is again once one thing is that Ryan Dave's taking over play calling because he has kind of taken over from Brian Hartline, because they they pretty much have decided that Brian Hartline calling the plays and having that ultimate responsibility for the oh for Ohio State in this last run in the playoffs is a little bit too much added on to the fact that he is now the head coach, the going to be the head coach at USF, and he has to kind of run things going on down there while still trying to help Ohio State at the same time. So Ryan Day is gonna have the play calling again, and he'll kind of like he'll have the sticks. Again, it's always been collaborative. Ohio and Ryan Day has always had veto power, but I think ultimately now that Ryan Day doesn't have to deal with the all the other stuff, recruiting and all this other thing, all these other things, he gets to have a little bit more of his time and effort going towards the game plan, and I think this tends itself into being the best thing for the offense because what Ryan Day does best is putting an offense together. And I do think that with that, along with the idea that Julian Saiyan now has gone through that moment of going against a defense that has confused him, and now he has had 25 days to review it, learn from it, and understand what he has to do differently the next time something like that happens. I don't think people give enough credit to Ohio State in that scenario because they have gone through it before that they just think that Ohio State hasn't learned anything from that scenario, Ryan Day hasn't learned anything from that scenario, and that Miami's just going to be able to recreate that, and it's gonna be a huge problem for Ohio State. Again, and and also think about Miami and the way they play their defense, they don't do a lot of crazy stunts up front. They let their guy, their athletes go aft get after you, and they are going to let those crazy good defensive ends are they're just gonna play fast, fast, not as physical because they're not necessarily as big as what you think they are when you talk about them being like high draft picks and all of that. They do with a lot more speed than they do with power, and they don't do a lot of crazy stunts up front, and they're in their secondary is susceptible to play good wide receiver play. And as much as people want to talk about how crazy good about Miami Hurricanes defense is, is that they were going against the ACC all year long, and that those don't have crazy good offenses that have to deal with. And what happened against Texas AM, and people in my Miami fans want to try to give the Miami offense credit for that game against Texas AM to where, like, oh, it was the wind, it was a problem, that is what led to the Miami offense struggling as much as they did, but you also have to give that same credit to Texas AM and how their offense struggled as well because they were dealing with those same with that same weather out there in Texas during that game. So I just think that people are overstating the idea that Miami is going to be able to recreate what Indiana did to Ohio State, and that my Ohio State won't be able to deal with that a second time. And that's where I'm like, I'm I'm not sitting here saying that Miami can't do anything against Ohio State's offense. I because I think if anything, that's what they what they have to do in this game is Miami will have to really drag Ohio State into the mud and hope that Ohio State doesn't actually try to use the the athletes on the outside, and they have to hope that Ohio State can't get the running game going. Because if that's the case, I think Ohio State's going to be able to go up and down the football field against this Miami team because I just think their secondary is very weak, and I just think don't think they have dealt with a pair of wide receivers like Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, and not to mention, those two guys will be the healthiest they have been in a long time, including that game against Indiana. I think those two guys will be a lot more healthy. I think that Ryan Day will learn his lesson from how that how the red zone stuff happened and how they were using way too much of the two, three tight end person, like three or four tight end personnel. And I think taking off your best taking away your best players in the red zone only takes away from the offense and it makes it easier on the defense that you're playing against when you're when they're trying to worry about what's coming next. So I think Ohio State's gonna learn a lot of those web uh lessons from that game against Indiana and play a lot better offensively. On top of the fact that I think when it comes to Ohio State's offensive line versus Miami's defensive line, I think that I don't think Miami's gonna turn like into a much a different team altogether in these last 20 days to become a different defense than what they've been all year. And I think Miami's probably gonna do a little bit of stunting and trying to help, trying to like help out their defense and do something that they they have seen work against Ohio State before, but I don't think they're gonna be able to like transform their defense in that time and do something totally different. And I think even if that was the case, I think Julian St. be more ready for that if that were to happen. And Ohio State's offensive line, I think they'll be uh have a better chance of going against the just more talented defensive line of Miami if they're a little bit more simple in not trying to do a lot of the things to try to confuse the offensive line as to what's coming next. And I think Ohio State will be able to deal with that. And I think even if they're not, I'm not sitting here saying they're gonna turn it all the way, turn it all the way on. I know they're replacing a right guard, but I just think in general, all of that, I think Ohio State will be able to handle it. And I think I just I'm not gonna sit here and say they're gonna lock down Miami's defensive line altogether. I just think that Julian Sands is gonna know what he's getting himself into. The offensive game plan will be a lot better, and I think he'll be able to get the ball out effectively and just keep the offense moving. I think Ohio State will be able to run the football with Bo Jackson enough to keep Miami's defense on their toes. And I think Ohio State will be able to find some success in getting up and down the field that way. Not to mention everything that Jeremiah Smith has said about what people have said about him going to Ohio State instead of going to Miami where he is from his home state. And people he's talked about how so many people have said very bad things about him being a trader and all the other things. And he says he's gonna make Miami pay in this matchup for it. And I'm so ready to see very um as talented of a player as Jeremiah Smith is, and now he's gonna be properly motivated. I'm not even saying properly, I'm saying overly motivated in that way. I think he's gonna have a crazy night. I really do, because I just don't think they have anybody that can go one-on-one against Jeremiah Smith. I think there are bigger receivers. Again, Miami has a bigger secondary, I don't, but I just don't think they've dealt with receivers of this caliber. And not to mention, they're missing their um, Miami is missing one of their starting corners. And guess what? Now Carnell Tate's gonna have to go against the number three corner on their team. And I just think that Carnell Tate's gonna eat against whoever he has to go against, and I think that's gonna be an even bigger problem against Ohio State because I do think Miami is going to try to limit Jeremiah Smith as much as they can by giving him double teams, and I think that only opens up the offense for car for Carnell Tate to go ahead and get some big plays and do it that way. So all in all, I think Ohio State's offense is gonna be able to deal with what Miami's defense is going to bring. And I think that's gonna be a thing, something that can go in Ohio State's favor. Now for the other way between the Miami offense going against the Ohio State defense. And this is where I think that Miami is not going to be able to put up the same game plan as a team like Indiana and be able to have success against Ohio States because let's start with Car. Beck is the quarterback from Miami. I think he is not close to the quarterback of what Mendoza is. And again, Mendoza's Heisman Trophy and the Heisman Trophy winner. He has been nails in every situation. And in that game against Ohio State, he didn't even have the most awesome of day. I think Ohio State did their job defensively for the most part, other than giving up the um some of the some of the bigger plays. But I think that as a player, I think Mendoza is a much better one than what Carson uh Carson Beck is. I think Carson Beck, as talented as he is, I think he has a lot more problem with pressure coming into his face. And I think Ohio State will be able to get a lot of pressure against against him. I think that once that pressure does come, he is prone to make mistakes. He's not going to sit there and take the big hit and make a good play and make a good decision. I think that he has one to throw the football to either team, and I think Ohio State's secondary will be able to take advantage of that. And the offensive line for Mish for sorry for Miami, I think they are good. I don't think they have nearly this, like I just think that by comparison, again, this is comparing the only team that Ohio State has lost to, to Miami, which is what Ohio Miami is trying to do to become that next team that Ohio State has lost a game to. I think as an offensive line, I think Miami has a potentially more talented offensive line. But do I think they work in the same way? And like the world, do I think they as a fully line together work the same, like are as efficient and as good at stopping the pass rush and all that? I just don't think so. And here's what I'm and this is where I will kind of give Ohio State a little bit of credit here. If there is an officiating crew that is willing to call um holding at all in this game, I think Ohio State will be able to be just fine because I think in that game against Indiana, Ohio State got held practically every play, and those referees never called it. Like never, ever, ever called holding in that game. And that was like the most annoying part of that game whatsoever. So I just think that if the officiating crew is willing to call holding, well, as it's happening, like it always like it happened to Ohio State in that game against Indiana, I don't think Miami is going to be able to totally lock down Ohio State's um pass rushers from getting after you, Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson. I think they're gonna be able to be able to get after Carson Beck. And I just think that there's no way Miami's gonna be able to run the football effectively against Ohio State on a play-in-play out basis. And again, as much as I think Mark Fletcher, their running back, is very good, I just don't think he is gonna be able to like do it all by himself. And I just don't think Miami's offensive line is gonna be able to really create open holes for Ohio State for their running game because Ohio State really hasn't given up a lot of yards rushing all year long, and they're very disciplined and they stay in their gaps. And even if you do get past the defensive line, then you have to deal with the two crazy linebackers that we have, Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese. And I think they're gonna be more than in uh Caleb Downs as well. Those three guys are all gonna be ready to fill up the gaps and kind of come get you if you do get past that first line of defense. So I really do think it's most this game is most gonna be on Carson Beck having to get the ball down the field. And I think he's gonna have a lot of pressure in his face. I feel like he's gonna make some mistakes. And thirdly, I just think when it comes to their their wide receivers, like they have Malachi Tony, who is a very good receiver, but he is small, he's not overly fast, and I just think he's very shifty, and I think he's a superstar in that effect of like getting the ball after the catch and making a guy miss and like making big plays that way. So that is where I think that Ohio State is probably a little bit more what is the word I'm looking for, capable of dealing with him because I think in the secondary we have a lot of good athletic players that are gonna be able to get him down to the ground. And if the in this offense for Miami has been the same way all year, if they're not getting the ball to Malachi Tony, they don't have a lot of other guys when it comes to wide receiver and tight end that are going to scare you. And I think that with Ohio State secondary being as good as it is, I think that like they don't have to deal with a big set of wide receivers from Miami. And I just think that and not overly fast. I just feel like Ohio State secondary is gonna be able to deal with Miami's wide receivers and not give up a lot of big plays. And if that's the case and they're gonna make Miami earn it all the way down the football field, that's only gonna be more plays for Carson Beck to have to make good decisions rather than bad decisions. And I think more often than not, he's gonna be making bad decisions and giving the potentially giving Ohio State a chance to get the ball back and get it back for the offense for Ohio State. So I just think all in all, I give Miami a puncher's chance because I'm not crazy enough to sit here and say 0% Ohio there's 0% Ohio State loses this game because I think like I I think Ohio State can be more than susceptible of shooting themselves in the foot like they did against Indiana earlier in the Big Ten championship game. I think that is a possibility to happen. But I just think that what Ryan Day showed last year and then this year is that he's not gonna make the same mistake over again. I think Julian Sand has shown the exact same thing if he's not gonna make the same mistakes as he did um once before, he's not gonna make those same mistakes again. And I think all in a and not to mention, I think Ohio State is gonna be more healthy than they've been in a while. And I think that all together, I think Ohio State probably wins that game. Do I think they win this game by nine points or more? That is where I get a little iffy. If I had to lean one way or the other, do I think that it's more likely that Ohio State wins close or wins this game by multiple scores? I think it's probably closer to Ohio State winning the game by multiple scores. And at the end of the day, when it comes to coaching, Ryan Day is a much better coach than what Mario Cristobal is in Miami, especially in-game making adjustments. That's never been Mario Cristobal's strength. His strength is recruiting and having like being able to spot talent in the trenches, and I think he's very good at that. But when it comes to in-game adjustments and like making good decisions, like Mario Christopher isn't close to what Ryan Day is on an in-game basis. So I think all in all, Ohio State has a lot of things going its way, and I think Ryan Day is not going to be a coach that's going to let his team come out flat and be like kind of like Oregon from last year, where Oregon had to face Ohio State in that first round in their first game that they had to play since they had a bye. So I just think all in all, I think Ohio State wins the game, and I think we win the game relatively comfortably. So I would probably say if I had to make a score prediction, I'd probably say Ohio State 24. Ohio State 24, Miami 10 is probably where in I might be get might be a little co like a little generous by giving them 10 points. I just think I just don't think their offense is going to be able to move up and down the field against Ohio State's defense defense. I just don't think that's going to be the case. And I think in general, I didn't mention this before, but I do think this is a game Arvell Reese is going to be able to turn on the pass rusher mode, is what they kind of haven't done in the last couple months because they've been dealing with a lot more mobile quarterbacks, and I think Carson Beck can't run away from pressure at all. So if they can engage Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles to be able to blitz a little bit and get after um Carson Beck a little bit, I just think that's going to be even more in making Carson Beck make some bad decisions. And I think it's going to play too into Ohio State's hands. So all in all, I think Ohio State wins the game, and I think they probably win it by the 10 points. But again, this is a lot of points. A lot of points that have to be guaranteed to win by, but I think Ohio State can for sure do it. Um next game, we have Oregon at Texas Tech, but this isn't really a matter at because this game is in Miami, I believe. I think it's the Orange Bowl, right? Or am I crazy? It's the Orange Bowl. So this game's gonna be played all the way in Miami. Both of these fan bases are gonna have to make a really far dis make try to they're gonna have to make a very far travel in order to get to the destination of the game. Texas fans will Texas Tech fans will be a lot easier for them to get there than Oregon. Heck, Oregon's pretty much going as far as you could possibly go from place to place in order to watch that game, at least in person. And the way I see this game going, I think Oregon probably wins the game, to be totally honest with you, because the way I look at it is that Oregon offensively against Texas Tech defensively. I think Texas Tech's biggest weakness defensively is in their secondary. And I think the front seven is where Texas Tech does have a that's like where they put all their money in NIL and all of that. But I just think that Oregon's offensive line is gonna be able to hold up, at least I think for the most part. And if Oregon's offensive line can hold up against the pressure that Texas Tech can bring, and then not only that can start hitting some bigger plays downfield running the football, I'm not sitting here saying Oregon has to run the football like I'll be like run it for a bunch of yards, but if they can just keep Texas Tech on their toes and to not be able to just pin their ears back and get after, um why am I forgetting quarterback's name now? Um no, this sucks. Why? Um it's uh Dante Moore. If they can't pin their ears back and go out, get after Dante Moore all night long, because Oregon's able to run the football effectively and kind of get the ball going that way. I just think that it's gonna be very hard for Texas Tech to stop Oregon from getting up and down the football field and eventually scoring. And I just think that Oregon's gonna be able to run the football relatively. I'm not sitting here saying they're gonna dominate and run the football that way, but I just think that they're gonna be relatively effective at just moving the football no matter what they do, running the football and then being able to do play action pass. And then Dante Moore, once he does have to throw the football, usually makes very good decisions. And I think as long as he can stay upright and clean, I do think they should be able to like do what they want to offensively. And then Texas Tech, when it comes to their offense against Oregon's defense, I think that Morton, the quarterback for Texas Tech, has claimed that he is healthier than he is than he has been in months. And they're saying he's out of the boot, and because he was playing with a hairline fracture, I believe, in his hairline fracture in his fibula, I believe. He's saying he's very healthy, he's gonna be able to go out there and give his all and be like be better than what he's been in a while. I'll give them that and say that that's the case. I just think that Oregon's defensive line will be able to get after Morton and be able to get through Texas Tech offensive line for the most part. And I think if that's the case, I think it's gonna make it very hard on Texas Tech to be able to score. And I think Texas Tech's, I think their biggest issue that all year has been scoring in the red zone and being able to convert not like field goals but touchdowns. And I think Oregon's defense is gonna be able to get after Texas Tech and really keep that from happening. So, all in all, I just think this game kind of plays into Oregon's hands. There's a reason why Oregon coming into this game is a two and a half point favorite, even though they're the lower seed in this matchup. And I also think that Texas Tech's fans will be able to be a lot more. I think the Texas Tech fans will be able to take over that stadium they're playing in in Miami a lot more than what Oregon fans will, because of the difference in the travel that'll have to happen in order to get there. I think all in all, I think Oregon does have some things to have to deal with in this game, but I think they're more than capable of doing so. And I think Texas Tech really does, as much as they're a good team and they have some real like some real dudes on that team, I just don't think they have enough overall. And I think that secondary for Texas Tech is really going to be an issue against Oregon's playmakers um wide receiver-wise and their tight ends. I just think overall, I think Oregon is the better team in this matchup. I think I think they win. Oh, I didn't mention Jace. He also made his picks, even though he's not here. Jace picked Ohio State to win, and he also picked Oregon as well as I did. So but yeah, I think Oregon wins that matchup against Texas Tech on New Year's Day. Next game we have number nine Alabama at number one Indiana. Indiana's a seven seven-point favorite. This game is happening in the Rose Bowl. Let's see here. The weather. This is something I've been w looking for, looking, watching a lot of what's the coverage of what this game is gonna be on New Year's Day. And one thing that not a lot of um people have talked about is that usually it's California. They say that's every day, it's a sunny day and looking perfect. Especially for the Rose Bowl, man. It's like one of those things where it's like the perfect day, it's supposed to be like very nice, it's gonna be good weather. But in this matchup, it's gonna have some real rain. Like it's gonna be a downpour. Like they're gonna have some real rain in a way that like California usually isn't used to. And I think that in this game, I think weather is really gonna be a really gonna be a problem, even if it's not a total downpour, it's they're gonna be dealing with a downpour over the next couple days, and I think that'll mess with field conditions and all that. So I think this probably is a messier game than what you would usually get out of the Rose Bowl. It's not gonna be perfect conditions because usually it the game is outside, obviously, because it's being played uh in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl, but because of the weather and what it's gonna be, it's not gonna be that whatsoever, especially if the rain actually happens during the game, which it looks like it'll probably will be when it comes to what how the forecast looks as of right now. And I think that does impact the what the fee what the game on the field is going to look like because both of these teams, more Alabama than Indiana, Bama is not a team that can run the football at all. Like they can't, even in their best games, running the football is not really an option for them. And I think that for Alabama offensively against Indiana, the only chance they have is to really just throw the football over and over and over again. That's what they've been doing all year. Putting the game in Tyson and Ty Simpson's hands and having him get the ball to their playmakers on the outside are is really their only op really avenue to win this game at all. And I think because of that, and because this weather might play into Indiana's hands, because I think I think Indiana offensively is a lot more multiple. They can run the football, they can throw if they needed to. I think they have a lot more avenues to be able to go down to win the game if they if they have to, and I think Alabama doesn't. And I think all in all, if they can't put the football in Ty Simpson's hand and he can't like throw them to victory, I don't think they have much of a chance to get the job done in this scenario. Because I think, like I said, can't run the football. Wide receivers are with like really that like throwing the football as their only way to do it. And I think Indiana, even though they don't have their best pass rusher, why am I forgetting the guy's name? He's like their best defensive lineman. Hardy, I believe. He's their guy leading in sacks. Is it him? No, it's not Hardy. Who is the defensive lineman? I'm forgetting his name. He's like their best one. And he's their guy that's like the most it doesn't really matter, but he's like their their best defensive lineman is got hurt after playing Ohio State. He was like celebrating with the fans in the stands, and he was jumped up to try to give high fives and his knee buckles, so he he isn't even gonna be able to play in this game. But I think even with that, I think Indiana has a lot more. I'm not sitting here saying they're monsters and are able to like get after Alabama in that way, because I just don't think that's what their game really is. Their game is to like a lot of stunts up front and they're gonna try to confuse you on the back end. And I think that they're gonna be able to do enough to kind of keep Ty Simpsons on his toe, especially if the weather kind of plays in Indiana's favor. I just think that Indiana's defense has a lot of guys that can make it make life hard, and they all they're always in the right spot. You're never going to, especially because from what I've seen from Indiana this year, their defense is not gonna get beat because they are in the wrong spot and giving up big plays. Like their defense is gonna get beat because you're gonna have to earn it all the way down the football field and you're gonna have to score the long way. And I think that if Alabama can't throw the football the way they need to with Ty Simpson, it's gonna be very hard for them to do so. And with that, I just think that this game, I just think Indiana has more ways to win than what Alabama does. And going to the other side is against for Indiana's offense against Bama's defense. I think for uh Mendoza, the quarterback for Indiana, is nails. I feel like he has been a baller in every scenario. And I think Bama's defense is very good. And I think that they're gonna be able to play one-on-one against Indiana's wide receivers more often than not. But here's the problem is that what Indiana likes to do, they do a lot of um run pass options. And again, Mendoza's not gonna be the guy to run the football. It's more gonna be like, hey, I'm gonna show run, and then if you give me the opening to throw it, I'll do so. And I think he's very good at that. And I think that they have very good wide receivers on the outside to throw the football to. And again, if the weather's gonna be going against Alabama, it's definitely gonna go against Indiana when it comes to throwing the football around. But the thing is that Indiana has a very good set of backs, and I think they're gonna be up, they're gonna be more than happy to go and run the football for 150 yards, 200 yards to win the football game as well, in a way that I don't think Alabama is going to be able to. And I think Bama's strength defensively is not gonna be in their front seven. It's more of their back, their um, their their backfield is where their probably their strength is of their defense. And I think that if this game turns into an ugly matchup where running the football is gonna be the way to get the job done, I think Indiana is more than capable of doing so in a way that Alabama isn't. And I think Indiana is gonna be more than happy to kind of do what they have to do in order to do so. And then if they need to throw a little bit less, that's exactly what they'll do. And I think Mendoza, when given the opportunity, will make the right play when the moment arises in a way that I think Ty Simpson is more likely to make the mistake, especially with how he's been over the last few months, like last month or so, where he's been a lot more prone to making the bad mistake. So, and not to mention, Mendoza is not gonna do the same, make the same mistake as what um Oklahoma's quarterback did. Why am I forgetting that guy's name? Hmm. Why am I forgetting? Hold on, let me get back to it. Uh, John Matteer. He is not like Mendoza's not gonna make the same mistake John Mateer made and have an open, like, make a very bad mistake of giving and making the pick six, throwing the pick six that Mateer did in that in the first round of the playoff game. That's just not what Mendoza's going to do. And I think if he's not gonna make that same mistake to kind of help out Bama's defense, I just don't think there's a real way for Alabama to win this game straight up if Indiana doesn't cough the ball up to Alabama. So all in all, I think Indiana wins the game by seven is probably gonna be a little weird, especially if the the weather goes as badly as what they're saying it's going to be. So Jace and I both pick Indiana to win that game. It might be a little bit closer than the seven points, but I do think Indiana wins. Um next let next and last game, number six. Ole Miss going to number three, Georgia. Georgia's favored by six and a half. They've already played before, and Georgia won the game, and that was with Ole Miss having their guy in Lane Kiffen being their coach and their play caller and doing it that way. Ole Miss did make that game very difficult, but in the end, they just weren't able actually. No, was that game? Georgia won that game the first time, right? Hold on. Yeah, Georgia won the game the first time. So it was a scoring matchup. 45-35 is what Georgia ended up winning that game, and that was with Omis having Lane Kiffin as their play caller and head coach, and now they're going to be without him in this matchup. So that is going to be a big downgrade for what Ole Miss is going to have to deal with in this game. On top of the fact that I think Georgia, even though I just don't think they've been necessarily consistent offensively, I just think Ole Miss defensively is not going to be good enough to lock down Georgia from being able to do what they want to do in this game. I think that all year, Gunnar Stockton, even though he isn't amazing, he's not going to blow you away with what he does on the field. But he is a gamer. He is going to make some good decisions, and if you're going to leave him some open guys to throw to, he's going to get the job done. And I think Georgia's kind of figured out the running game a bit to where they are running the football more effectively now than what they were at the beginning of the year. So I just think all in all, I just think Georgia offensively is going to be able to at least be more consistent in what they've been all year in comparison because I think Olmus' offense, even though they have all the same dudes, Chambliss as their quarterback has been nails all year long. He's been very good. But I just think that if he can't go insane and if they don't have the same coach and play caller and Lane Kiffin to kind of open up the offense and kind of scheme some things open for them, it's going to all rely all on Chambliss to go out there and be absolutely insane, not only running the football, but throwing and making good decisions. And I think that's a little bit too much to put on his plate. And Kyron Lacey, their running back, is a very good running back, but I just think that Georgia defensively is going to be able to kind of key in on that. And I think all in all, I think Georgia will want Chambliss to no. They're probably going to want to stop Chambliss and make them run the football to win the game. That's really not has not been Olmis's MO all year long. I don't know. I just think that Georgia's a better football team. They have all their coaches, Olmus without Lane Kiffin, without a lot of their guys, um, when it comes to their coaching staff offensively. They do have this the offensive coordinator in um he did come back from Lane Kiffin's staff to like coach in this in this um in this playoff run, but I still think don't think that's enough. I think Lane Kiffin really has kept all the play calling duties to himself. So just assuming that it's going to be just as good without Lane Kiffin there to call the plays is probably a mistake. So I just think all in all, this game already happened once in Georgia 1. I just don't think it's going to change this time around. And I think not I how do I say this without feeling like disrespectful? I do feel like Ole Miss in that first matchup against Tulane. Again, it was against Tulane. I think Ole Miss had one time where they could go like screw Lane Kiffin for leaving us. We're gonna show him. Okay. Do I think they can hold on to that for a whole playoff run? I don't think they can do so, especially against a Georgia team that has seen what seen this team before. And I just feel like Georgia's gonna know what's coming, and I think they're gonna be ready for it, and I think that Georgia offensively is gonna be able to like they're gonna be able to move up and down the field against Ole Miss's defense, because Ole Miss's defense has been their problem all year long. So I think if this does become a a shootout, I think I believe in what Georgia has a tab it more, even though Georgia's kind of been up and down all year. But I just think that Ole Miss is not gonna be able to force Georgia into doing what the stuff they do not want to do in this game. Again, I think it will just take a complete collapse by Gunnar Stockton and that offense for Georgia in order for them to win. I just don't think that's gonna happen. So I think Georgia Ole Miss, I'll take Georgia to win. Jace also picked Georgia. Um, and I they're a six and a half point favorite. Do I I think it probably sits it around that number? They don't have to deal with whether they've seen each other before. I don't think it's gonna massively change in the game plans and stuff like that, but I think Georgia's ready to go out there and win that game. And I think Olmus kind of like I think their run ends here, to be honest with you. And I think George is gonna be the one to do it. So that's it. So that's all the Coswell playoff games that are gonna happen over the next two days. And hopefully, if everything goes correctly, I'll be a very happy guy when you when I'm when I come back on in the next pod and do the reaction to this to all these games that happened. I'll be a very happy camper. But if not, it won't be great. Well, uh I'll I'll talk about it then. But I do think Ohio State's gonna get the job done. I think I'll be a very happy camper on the next pod. So all in all, I think that these games should be fun. I think all the favorites probably win because I just think these teams are just a lot better than the teams that are coming in. Not the yeah, because Oregon's considered a favorite, even though they're the lower seed. So I think all the favorites win. And I think this will be a little more, a little bit more chalk, but if I had to pick a team that I think the upset can happen, maybe Bama, maybe Texas Tech. I I oh I don't I just don't think Ole Mess is gonna be Georgia. So I think if I had to pick the most likely underdog to win, I think Miami is definitely an opportunity, but if I had to pick one team that has the best chance to kind of pull off an upset in this scenario, I would say maybe Texas Tech. Yeah, maybe Texas Tech is the best one I had to pick. Yeah, that's all I got. Alright, so that's it for the College Football Games, and let's go ahead and go on to the NFL where we'll do the recap of the games that happened in week 17. And again, there were a lot of things that happened. So let's see here. Should I talk about the new the news and stuff first, or should I get to or just talk about the games? Run through those and then get to it. Let me think. How should I do this? Because some of the news is based off of what happened in the first matchup. I mean, some of the news is based off of some of the games that happened in the week 17. Let me get to the recap of those games first, and then I'll get to the news stories afterwards. That's probably the better way to go here. So I'll run through the games, give reactions, and kind of talk about what happened in those, and then I'll get to the news after that. So let's run through these. So Saturday games, uh, first one was Houston going to the Chargers. Houston won the game, I believe, 20 to 16. Sorry, I had to clear out. Okay. Houston won the game 20 to 16. This was a tail of two halves for the most part. Houston dominated the dominated the game for the first. I think honestly, not even the first half. It was more like the first quarter or so. I think Houston got off to like they they had like three. What was it? Their first two um their first two drives they had in this game, they scored two touchdowns, but what it was like a 75-yard touchdown pass from CJ Stroud to Jaden Higgins, and then the next drive that they had, they CJ threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Knowle. And from there, it just kind of felt like in these and so that they had a very fast start in this game, which is what Houston has kind of struggled with all year long. But in this game, they came out fast. CJ Stroud was making some plays early on, and they got off to a decent lead. But from then on, it just kind of felt like Houston was kind of hanging on, especially in that second half where the clip chargers was able to score like 13 points and kind of make the game close there at the end. Even with Houston's defense being as good as it was, I just feel like they were holding on until uh the bitter end to win this game. So the way I look at it is that I've always viewed Houston as a very capable, scary team if they figured it all out and were able to play full like four quarters worth of great football, not only defensively but offensively. And I think that in the first quarter where they were I they were very hot, and CJ was throwing the football down the field to his guys, and this was a game where they didn't even get to use really um Nico Collins at all because they kind of locked him down the Chargers did defensively. So I just think that if Houston can not have the bad, totally bad half, if they could just play a full four quarters worth of great offensive football, they're gonna be a very hard team to stop because defensively, Houston's gonna bring it. I've been saying all year I think Houston's defense is the best in the NFL. And I think that if Houston can figure it out offensively and they could just play consistent football, I have been that guy that's been more on the bandwagon of talking about how Houston can be the best team in the AFC and kind of run through it and maybe get to a Super Bowl. But in this game, first half to second half, it was a bit of a struggle. And I think that it just shows that if if Houston's not Houston can be as great as they are in that first quarter where they were looked like they were gonna be gonna just blow out the Chargers. But in the second half, they were sticking the mud and they couldn't figure anything out offensively, like really make some real drives down the field, that can be their Achilles heel because no matter how good your defense is, is that you can't defense does travel in the playoffs, and I think that's the most important thing is having a great defense. But I just think against some of these better teams in the AFC that can get hot that has some pretty decent quarterbacks. I feel like that be can become an issue if Houston can't play at least normally offensively from it on a down and down out basis, and they can't go ice hot and then sorry, if they can't go red hot and then go ice cold all of a sudden in from quarter to quarter. So I think that in this game they showed if they are running at full capacity what they can be when it comes to having some explosive plays, but I think they also showed that they can be a stick in the mud and kind of it can happen very quickly, and that if that if that happens and their defense isn't able to hold on like they did in this game against the Chargers, especially against the Chargers team offensively, where Herbert, as great as he was in this game, especially in the second half, like their offensive tackles are bad. They've had so many injuries at offensive tackle, like their off like their offensive tackles couldn't block anybody, especially against a very good Houston defense. But if they were still able to put up like 13 points in the second half against that Houston defense, even with as good as they are, and their offensive line being as bad as they are for the Chargers, I think that it does show a little bit of an issue. And I think that again, this is a team they might see in the Houston might see in the playoffs. So I think this is playing against Herbert and having a very good good player, like a good quarterback in that way that can kind of heat up and play some decent football, play some really good football in a big moment, I feel like can be an issue for Houston if their offense can't handle its side of the bargain, you know? But I do think it was a good game by Houston. I think they showed to be pretty explosive when they have everything going right, and they can run the football effectively with Woody Marks when they can do so. But, you know, I I just think that Houston really just they just need to find some consistency and I think they can be a very dangerous team. And the Chargers, they need to get um Herbert healthy. I think they said that he's not gonna play next week because I think the Chargers are pretty much locked in where they're at playoff wise. So winning next week doesn't matter at all against the Broncos. So Herbert's gonna rest and get healthy because he's been going through the ringer for the past month because of how bad their offensive line has been. And he's still dealing with that broken left hand. I think that just giving him that extra week off will be very good for him, and hopefully he'll be able to be his best self by the time they get to the playoffs. Because they need him, man. If he's not playing his best ball, I just don't think the Chargers are a team that can like go and make a run without him being his best self. And uh, I think resting him next week against the Broncos is a very good thing to do, especially with how bad that offensive line has been. The Broncos will only get more and more pressure on Herbert, and like potentially injury will happen because he's been one of the more sacked quarterbacks in the NFL all year long, Justin Herbert has. So good decision by resting him, but I think in this game against Houston, I think Houston kind of showed they can be flying high and then be a stick in the mud in the next moment, and it kind of sucked. Um, next game on Saturday, Baltimore at Green Bay. Baltimore won the game 41-24. Lamar Jackson didn't play. He was dealing with a back injury, I believe. And Baltimore came into this game and said, hey, we're just gonna give the football to Derrick Henry over and over and over again. The Marshawn Lynch um mantra, and it absolutely worked in this game. Derrick Henry was a freight train. He had 36 carries for 216 yards and four touchdowns. Like he was unstoppable against the Packers in this game. And I think that was the right way to go because this was a matchup with the Packers, who also did not have Jordan Love playing in this game. So this is a battle of the backups. And I think that even with backup quarterbacks, I think Malik Willis is the better backup between the two, between him and Tyler uh Snoop Huntley for the Baltimore Ravens. Huntler, Huntley did what he had to do, 16-20 in a touchdown, 107 yards, 107 yards total passing. Malik Willis played better, 288, 18-21 in a touchdown. I think he had a r I think he had a rushing touchdown. Sorry, he had a passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns, but again, they just weren't able to get enough stops defensively against Baltimore because Baltimore just kept running the football down the Packers' throat, and they really couldn't stop it whatsoever. And and this is like what people have been talking about with Baltimore and how they've been struggling all year long, and people have been saying give the ball to Derrick Henry Moore, which I think they give him the football plenty. I don't I think he's like top, I think he's like number one in yards, like not number one in yards, but he is like top five in all the rushing categories, and they give him the football a lot, and it's just sometimes it doesn't work out that way. And if Derrick Henry, if you have a defense that can stop him, get to him in the backfield before he has a chance to really get moving, and that's always been the formula to stop Derrick Henry, and the Packers weren't able to do that in this game. And as soon as Baltimore, like they had an explosive, like as soon as Derrick Henry gets going, it's gonna be very hard to stop him. And it's always been the thing, if he keeps going and kind of get keeps getting the ball over and over and over again, and he's still going strong while the Green Bay Packers defense is struggling in the fourth quarter. That's where ball, that's where Derrick Henry is at his best because he's gonna be able to be a lot better than what your guys will be, and he's just gonna keep running them over and keep pounding them until they just want to give up. And that's exactly what happened in this game, and Baltimore played very well in this matchup to where the defense didn't even matter. And this was a win in this is like a playoff game for them because if they lost this game, they were definitely gonna be out of the playoffs no matter what happened next week against Pittsburgh. But Baltimore came into this game knowing what they had to do, and they they got it done. This was on the road. A very hostile environment in the Green Bay Packers and a better team in the Green Bay Packers. And Baltimore went in there, did what they had to do, got the ball to Derrick Henry, and they did what they had to do in the moment. And that is something I have to give the Ravens credit for because they have been borderline garbage all year long. And it's just when the big moment had to happen, they didn't have Lamar Jackson, they saw what they had to do, they went out, went out there and did their thing. There's no even guarantee they'll even have Lamar Jackson for this upcoming game next week against Pittsburgh on Sunday night because he's still dealing with that back. So even if that's still the case, guess what they're gonna do? They're gonna try to do the same thing with Derrick Henry, running the football, and having Huntley just kind of like manage the game from there. And that's what they're gonna do because they just know in the moment they just know how to offensively, more often than not, they just know how to go ahead and get the job done in a way that some other teams don't. I'll get to who I'm talking about in a minute. But they were just they were just a much better team that that night against Green Bay. And I think with Jordan Love, I think it'd be a different game, but I just think that it didn't matter because Baltimore just got out to such a fast start and they were running the football so effectively, it just didn't really matter. But Malik Willis played great. I think he's probably one of the better backups in the NFL, and I think that in the offseason, man, there was gonna be some teams that tricked themselves into thinking he can be a real starter, and they're gonna give him some real money. He's gonna probably go and play relatively well, but he's but not nearly as good as what he has shown to be with this Packers team, having a very good offensive coordinator slash head coach to lead the way, and I think that's gonna take away from it a little bit what he can be for other teams. But Malik Willis played a very good game, man. He had 288, 18 to 21, and then he also had nine carries for 60 yards and two more touchdowns on top of the passing touchdown than he had. Christian Watson, five catches, 113 yards, and a touchdown. So the Packers in most games probably would have probably would have won the game, but it's just they Derrick Henry had one of those Derrick Henry games, and he was absolutely awesome. Anybody that had him in fantasy, he absolutely destroyed. He was insanely good. Alright, next game. We are on to Sunday. We have Arizona at Cincinnati. Cincinnati won the game 37 to 14. Joe Burrow, 305 yards, played an absolutely amazing game. Um Chase Brown? Chase Brown. I don't know why I act like I didn't know his name when I did. Uh 22 carries, 101 yards, and two touchdowns. Jamar Chase had a Jamar Chase light game, seven catches, 60 yards, and two touchdowns. Um let's see here. T. Higgins, four catches, 59 yards. Geseckki, a couple catches for 47. It didn't really matter. Cincinnati absolutely destroyed Arizona. This was at home. And like I said, Joe Burrow, when he's playing at his best, like they just can't be stopped, at least offensively. And Arizona, unfortunately, could not get come into this game and score at the same clip as what Cincinnati did to start off this game. And they just they just got in a hole they couldn't dig themselves out of for the most part. Jacoby Brissett, 21 of 37, 212 yards, two touchdowns, zero picks. He didn't do anything bad, but it's just that they just could not score at the same clip as what Cincinnati was able to do in this game. Uh they couldn't run the football as effectively as the Cardinals did, but again, it didn't really matter because they got down so early, so fast, that it kind of took them out of running the football the way they would usually like to. They only had like 42 yards rushing in this game. It didn't help that Cincinnati was able to run the football as effectively as they did in this game as well. They had over 120 yards. With Chase Brown having such a good game running the football, it was kind of uh it helped Cincinnati keep stay on the field and kind of have longer drives and be able to score touchdowns. Michael Wilson, there was the one play that he had the touchdown, it was like the 38-yard touchdown pass, I mean catch that he had, and he was running down the sideline, and multiple Bengals defenders, like two or three of them, all had a chance to try to get him out of bounds to hit for him not to score the touchdown, and they let him score because they all tried and they just didn't do good enough to get him on this get him on the sideline. That was a weird play because it just shows how. Media like how bad the Cincinnati Bengals defense truly is. But other than that, like Trey McBride, 10 catches, 76 yards, and a touchdown. Like, Marvin Harrison didn't do anything in this game. He had one target. I think he's been dealing with the foot issue, a foot injury, and he he's been playing the last two games, but he's been doing absolutely nothing, so maybe he's more hurt than what they would like to say. But it's just the Cardinals just were not able to score at the same the clip necessary to kind of keep up with Cincinnati in this game with Joe Barrow playing as well as he did in that game. Next game, Pittsburgh at Cleveland. Cleveland won the game 13-6. What do I say, man? As a Steelers fan, this happens to me every single gosh darn year. I start off negative, keep being negative, and then I get to the point where I start feeling positive, and then they do something stupid to make me be negative about the team again. And that's what it'd been this year. Like I've been totally down on what Pittsburgh can do. And it I got to a point a couple games ago where I was like, oh, after the Lions game, where I'm like, I had fun watching that game, and I'm like, you know what? If they're gonna make the playoffs anyway, being a stick in the mud is not going to be good for anybody, especially for myself. And why not have fun while I can, enjoy the ride, as they say. And if they're gonna make the playoffs, like try to have fun with as much as I can. And then the Steelers, all they had to do coming into this weekend, this past weekend, was either for the Ravens to lose, which they did not do because you know they're a good better organization that knows what they have to do in the moment and they can rise to the occasion. So all the Steelers had to do in this game against the Cleveland Browns is win. All they had to do is win, and the game next week doesn't matter at all. Win this game against a bad Cleveland Browns team that was had three wins on the year coming into this game, and you don't have to worry about next week whatsoever. You get to rest your guys. It'll be it was a perfect opportunity for the Steelers to take care of business. And the Pittsburgh offense scored six gosh darn points. Six. Again, and the Cleveland Browns defense is awesome, and Miles Garrett has been a as a has been a menace all year long. And one of the main storylines coming into this game is how Miles Garrett needs one more sack to break the all-time sack record. And I I make the claim that the Steelers offense and Aaron Rodgers was so worried about giving up that sack to Myles Garrett that I think they gave away this football game. I really do. I really think that he was so watching Aaron Rodgers in this game, he was so he was so worried about anybody breathing down his neck. It wasn't just Miles Garrett, because I think it'd be crazy just to say they were worried about one hit and one guy, even though they kind of they kind of shifted the line towards Miles Garrett no matter where he was every single time, which I think they did put a good great amount of resources in trying to stop Myles Garrett from getting that sack record, which happened it worked. He didn't get a sack, but I think that the Steelers paid the price and losing this game because of how much Aaron Rodgers was worried about it every single time. Anybody was anybody in a Browns uniform was breathing on him, he was throwing the football away and not trying to hold on to it whatsoever. And I think without DK Metcalf being your big your your number one guy, your big play receiver, I think that it they could not keep the Browns honest at all defensively because they couldn't throw the football down the field whatsoever because they don't have a guy that can win a one-on-one matchup at all. And especially once um Washington went out the tight end, he is a big play, even though he's not getting big plays down the field, but he's just a big target that Aaron Rodgers could rely upon. And he I think he hurt his forearm and couldn't really play in the second half. And I think the Steelers ran the football relatively well. I think Jalen Warren had 64 yards rushing, and Gainwell had another. I think they ran the football for like 131 yards total in this game. So like they ran the football relatively well, but it's just in the red zone where they had it a couple times, the Steelers just could not convert and get points the way they needed to. Especially at the end of the game where all they they they had they were down the seven points, all they had to do was score, and they'd tie the game to get it to overtime, and they couldn't get it done because guess what? They don't have a one-on-one guy that can go win his matchup, and not to mention, they had four plays in the red zone, and there was a couple plays where Aaron Rodgers missed because he was so worried about the pressure in his face that he didn't make the right read because he's so worried about getting sacked by Myles Garrett and being on the wrong side of history, and that offense was so worried about Myles Garrett. I'm just like, and this is what got me, because I had this feeling well before anything I'd heard any heard Myles Garrett say anything, and then he said the exact same thing after this game in his press availability was that he said they were so worried about me breaking the sack record against them that that's what bit them in the butt, and that's how they lost this football game. And I I felt that way before he said it, and then it pissed me off even more that he had the opportunity to say it, and it was a smug look on his face while saying it. Again, I've never doubted he's a great player, but it's just I always hate that dude. Not as like I hate him as a human, but like as a as a competitor, as a a player that plays for a team that does is not my own. I'm not a fan of his at all. And the fact that he got to say that to again about my team, and he was right, and I already felt that way, made me very upset. And I'm not gonna blame the Steelers defense. They did their job for the most part, they gave up that one touchdown drive in the first quarter. But other than that, they locked down Shador Sanders, they got multiple picks out of Shador Sanders in this game that put the Steelers in good field position to go out on there and score, and they only managed only managed to score six points. Other than that, one touchdown drive, the Browns only scored six points in that game. And one of those drives is the Steelers had to in the second in the fourth quarter try to go forward on fourth down, they didn't get it, and that set the Cleveland Browns up to go and get the last field goal to go up to seven points. But like the Steelers' defense did their job, it wasn't their fault in this game. It wasn't. They gave up the one touchdown drive, which sucked, and it was off the big play to Harold Finn, and he went there and make a big play and then didn't play the rest of the game. But the defense did what they had to do, and the Steelers' offense didn't hold up their end of the bargain, and it absolutely sucked to watch them lose the football game the way they did. Because, like I said, just take care of business. Next week doesn't fucking matter at all. But guess what? Now we have to go play a winner-takes-all game against the Ravens, whether it's with Lamar Jackson or not. And do I have any confidence they can get the job done? No, I don't. I don't. And partially DK Metcalf is to blame because without him, that is a big piece of our offense missing. And that was because DK Metcalf couldn't be an adult in the moment. Whether again, the reports are nothing was said. Who knows what was the case? Who knows? At the end of the day, we're never gonna get true proof as to what happened in that moment and whether he had a real reason to do what he did to that fan. But all in all, you would just hope that he would never put himself in that situation to be suspended like that to not be there for this team in the big moments. And that he has to take on. That is on him. That's on him. That part is on him, and I think without him, that is one of the big reasons why the Steelers lost this game. But I think the other reason was because the Steelers are so worried about the record. I just think I'd have been more than happy with because Miles Garrett's gonna break that record more often than I think he's gonna break it. I really do. He's probably gonna go against the Br the Cleveland, uh, sorry, the Cincinnati Bengals next week. And he's gonna get a couple sacks, he's gonna break that record. So what does it matter if he does it against you or not? He's gonna break it. He's gonna be in the history books forever. So like putting all of your all that effort and energy and thoughts into it just didn't really matter. Winning that game mattered more than Miles Garrett in that record. It just did. And unfortunately, the Steelers played the price because they put too much effort towards that, and it didn't, they didn't put all their energy towards the right things. And they lost the game, they're probably gonna lose against the Ravens next week because that's just how I feel. That's just but again, I'm gonna feel this negatively, and then the Steelers are gonna go out and win the game next week and then force me to watch them play another game of football in the playoffs. It's gonna suck. This is my life as a Steelers fan, man. I'll be more than happy for them to lose next week and not make me have to go through the torture of watching them lose in the first round of the playoffs and get a better draft pick and all of that. So again, my my dreams aren't not necessarily dreams, but my ones are definitely not gonna be helped, not gonna be helped. Again, if the Ravens go out there and do their jobs next week against the Steelers on Sunday night, they'll put me out of my misery early. But I just don't think it's gonna happen. I think it's gonna be closer, and I'm gonna be on baited breath waiting for how that game ends. And if the Steelers win, I'll be there again to watch them go lose to whoever they're gonna lose to in the playoffs. So, you know, it is what it is as a Steelers fan. I've accepted it. Next game, New Orleans Saints going to Tennessee. Um, Saints win the game 34-26. You know what's crazy? Um Tyler Shuck is not that bad. Again, this is two bad football teams playing each other in this matchup. Saints are 6-10, Tennessee Titans are 3-13. Shuck, 333 yards, 22 of 27, a couple touchdowns. Um, Chris Olave, eight catches, 119 yards, and a touchdown. Olave's been awesome all year long. He has career highs in catches, yards, and touchdowns this year. Awesome for him to do what he had to do. Chase Young had a strip sack that he took to the house, so he's able to take that ball right out of Cam Ward's hands and then take it all the way back for a touchdown. Awesome to see another Buckeye having a great game here. Cam Ward didn't play terribly though. 21 of 40, 251, and two touchdowns. He did what he had to do. Like he was not bad in this game. And I just can't I think he's shown all year the wins haven't come, but I think Cam Ward has showed that he has he is a he has the potential to be a real dude in the NFL. And I think they have a real future with him at the helm. I think they just need to get him guys around him, receivers, running backs, a real defense. And once they can get all those things, I think they could be a real a real team that to have to deal with in the AFC. Um, but the Saints have been playing a lot better football as of recently. I think I can make the claim as of the last couple weeks is that the teams in the NFC South that are playing the best football are are the teams that are the that don't have a chance to win the division. The two teams being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers, they play each other next week for the right to win the division, um, go into the playoffs. Those two teams are not playing the best football in this division. It is the Falcons and the Saints playing their best football right now. And it's just crazy how that goes because it's just it's just that's the NFC South for you. But the Saints are playing some really good football right now. That was a very as a guy with no skin in the game, I think that was a very fun game to watch on Sunday. Next game, Jacksonville going to Indianapolis. Uh Jacksonville won the game 23-17. Trevor Lawrence had another great game. 23-37, 263, and a touch in a he did have an interception. But Trevor Lawrence did have like another two touchdowns rushing, I believe. Yeah, Trevor Lawrence, eight carries, 26 yards, and two touchdowns. Um Travis Etienne, 17 carries, 76 yards. I think they ran the football for like 121 yards total in this game. Um Parker Washington had a great game. Eight catches, 115 yards. Uh Brenton Strange had 54 yards off, three catches. Brian Thomas Jr. had four catches. Joby Myers had six. It was a little bit of a rock fight. I'm not gonna lie to you. Um the Jaguars weren't able to score at in the red zone as much as they needed to, like as much as they would have liked in this game. But they got the job done. They did what they had to do. Again, they're playing against the Indianapolis Colts team that was eight-seven, now eight and eight after losing this game. Phillip Rivers wasn't great. 17-30, 147 yards, one touchdown and one pick. Jonathan Taylor, 21 carries, 70 yards, and a touchdown. And it's just the Colts just weren't able to score enough to win this game, especially in that second half where Jaxville kind of turned it on. Um, but it was a close game, though. You have to give, I have to give Phillip Rivers a lot of credit. He came back and played in these games a lot better than I ever thought he was going to. I think they've already said that he's not going to be starting the last game of the season. They're going to throw in Riley Leonard to be the starter for the the 17th game next week. So Phillip Rivers coming back and playing the games that he did. I think played a lot better after a five-year layoff. He's 44 years old. A lot better than I ever thought. And I have to give him a lot of credit for that. And um, I don't know. They say that he probably did it for the insurance because he has so many kids, and it makes sense to reset the insurance time frame. Because I think now that he came back, the NFL is going to pay for insurance for him and his family for the next five years or so, because it was about to expire because he's been gone from the NFL for so long. So if this was all he had to do to was play three or four games and come back, and he played relatively well, and now he gets his insurance pay with all those children that he has, like, he didn't do a bad job. He really didn't. Um Tyler Warren, five catches, 43 yards, Josh Downs, a couple catches. Like, they just couldn't get enough done offensively to win this game. But it was a rock fight, and they made it tough on the Jaguars offensively and made the game pretty close. But I just think at the end it was just the Jaguars were just the better team. They're gonna win this football game. Um, let's see here. And I will I will have to say, and I hate to say this because I'm not the biggest Trevor Lawrence fan, but like he is playing awesome football. And it's it just goes to show that the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, why am I forgetting that guy's name? It doesn't really matter, but he leaves. He goes to be the head coach for the Jaguars and all in the play caller, and he there it just goes to show that Trevor Lawrence, after getting the new play caller, is now playing the best football of his career, and then you see Baker Mayfield playing some of the worst football of his career. Again, he's look they say he's injured, so he's that may be a part of it, but it just goes like he's not playing his best football right now, and they're not looking great offensively as of this year after the coach moves on, and it's just kind of crazy to see how that goes. So I do have to give the Jags a lot of credit, they're playing great football. Trevor Lawrence is playing awesome, he's running the football with his legs a lot more, and I think that it's kind of unlocked his game, and he's playing a lot better football, so I have to give him a lot of credit for that. It remains to be seen if he can keep doing that in the playoffs and playing his best football when the when the uh lights are brightest. But as of right now, I have to give Trevor Lawrence a lot of credit. He's playing some great ball. Next game, Tampa Bay at Miami. Miami wins the game 20-17. Baker Mayfield played better in comparison to what he's been in the past weeks, but he had a two very bad picks that he threw in big moments that ended up losing them this game. He went like, other than that, Baker Mayfield 33-44, two touchdowns, two picks. He had 346 yards passing. They couldn't run the football at all in this game, which was kind of crazy because like Miami is not good at stopping the run whatsoever. And Buck Irving had 19 rushing yards off nine carries, so that's nowhere near what Bucky Irving usually is. The offensive line for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not have a good game at all in this game. Um, McMillan, the wide receiver for Tampa Bay, was the best guy. He had seven catches, 114 yards. Chris Goblin had seven catches for over 100 and a touchdown. Mike Evans had a touchdown, he only had three catches for 31 yards. Ameceg Buka kind of tailed off the end of the year. Like he was having such a hot season the first half of the year. Got the calf, got the hamstring injury, and then he had had never been the same since. And he only had three catches for 20 yards, like he did barely anything in this game. And like I said, like Tampa Bay played, like their offensive line played terribly, and their defense could not stop anything. But Baker Mayfield with those two bad intercepts, especially at the end of the game, where they had a chance to go win it, and he threw the bad pick. Tampa Bay has just kind of fell falling apart at the teams, man. And it's crazy that as bad as they have been, they still have a chance to go beat the Carolina Panthers next week, and they can still make the playoffs by winning the division, which is kind of insane because of how bad Tampa Bay has been as of recently. But getting to Miami, their side of this game, Quinn Ewers played a decent game. 14-22, 172 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. I mean, two touchdowns, zero picks. He made some real plays and he got the ball down the field. They were making some plays that he helped out the running game. And as a seventh round pick, again, the Miami with the pick they're probably gonna have. If they can have a chance to get a quarterback, they will. I don't think Quinn Ewers has shown he's gonna be their next guy for a long period of time, but I think he has shown that there is some potential there if they kind of keep pouring into him. And if they can't find a quarterback in the draft that they really like, that Quinn Ewers could be a guy that can like maybe become something if they give him enough time. Um he played fine in this game. Devon H. 18 carries, 83 yards. Uh their backup running back had five carries for 56. They ran the football for 145 total yards in this game. Again, not really the biggest feat because of how bad Tampa Bay's defense has been this year. But I think Quinn Ewers played very good and made some very big plays in this game to kind of help out that offense. Uh receiving wise, Theo Wees, one catch, 63 yards and a touchdown. Uh their tight end, Greg Dolchich, five catches, 58 yards and a touchdown. Devon Achan had 29 yards receiving. And it's just Miami with uh their offense showed a little bit of life in this game, again, against a very bad Tampa Bay defense. But I again their offense has been so bad this year that I do have to give Quinn Newar some credit. He went out there and he showed himself at least to be an effective quarterback in this game. And I do have, and again, there was times that it didn't like that was even possible for him in the NFL. So give him a lot of credit. He had a very good game against Tampa Bay. Next game, New England going to the Jets. It didn't really matter. New England won the game 42 to 10. Drake May, 19 of 21, 256 yards and five touchdowns. Trevion Henderson, 82 yards off, 19 carries. Stephon Diggs, six catches, 101 yards and a touchdown. I think he did a lot more after the game. I'll talk about that here in a bit when I talk about recent news stories. But in this game, the Jets didn't have any chance. Drake May played great. He didn't even play the fourth quarter. I think this is like a college football game, the way it played out, because of how stark of a difference between these two football teams are. And Drake May might have won the MVP based off of how the Rams, how uh Matthew Stafford played on Monday night. So I think he might have won the MVP based off of Matthew Stafford kind of fumbling the bag. New England played played great. Drake May played great, and I hate to say it, but Patriot fans have some real hope, man. And again, whether they get far in the playoffs or not doesn't really matter because the way I see it, that this they were here early. What are they, 11-3? Hold on, let me check through the records are. They're 13-3. Sorry, I just can't count. They're 13-3. First year under um. Why am I forgetting the coach's name? A Mike Vrabel. First year under Mike Vrabel. Drake May is playing his his best football right now. He's probably going to win the MVP this year. They won the division. They have a chance at winning the number one overall seed. And it's just they're a year early, man. They're nowhere near the team they will be over the next couple years when they keep drafting. Keep they don't even have a lot of money in their books for signing in players. So I just think all in all, they're a team that's going to be ascending. And they're here early and they're playing very good football right now. You have to give Drake May and that team a lot of credit. They're just playing very good football. And I give Mike Vrable a lot of credit for turning over turning around that franchise so quickly. And uh he has them playing absolutely amazing football, and they're going to be playing in the playoffs because of it. Seattle at uh Carolina. Seattle won the game 27-10. This game was pretty close from the get-go. But it's just as this game went along, Bryce Young just had one of those Bryce Young games that kind of shows that he's not going to be a game in, game out starter for them. He's not going to be a franchise guy for them. That's probably the way to say it. Because I think he can be a career backup and have a decent career because he can he can in the big in some moments can have some decent games, especially as a backup, he'd be awesome. Bryce Young had 14 of he was 14 of 24 for 54 yards and a pick. Again, against a very good Seattle defense, but it's just that being that inept offensively is kind of insane. Sam Darnold, 18 of 27, one touchdown, one pick. Didn't have his best game. He only threw for 147 yards. Zach Charbonnet was leading rusher for Seattle in this game. He had like 18 carries, 110 yards, and two touchdowns. JSN, nine catches, 72 yards, you know, normal JSN type of day. He didn't have his touchdown, though, so that is one thing he didn't have in this game that he usually does. AJ Barner, three catches, 43 yards, and a touchdown. But it's just Seattle played, uh didn't play their best offensively, but defensively, they can suffocate you, and that's what Carolina had to deal with in this game. Like I said, Bryce Young didn't have a good game. They only ran the football for like just under 100 yards, and it's just the Panthers did not have any chance to win this game the way that Seattle defense was playing. And that was even with Sam Darnell not having his best day, and it's just like they won this game convincingly. Again, against a mediocre Carolina team at best, but Seattle did what they had to do. And now they're gonna be going into next week against uh San Fran battling for the number one overall seed in the NFC, having the bye, and then having home games as long as they're playing in the playoffs. So Seattle did what they had to do, took advantage of the situation, and got out of there and won the game without much of an issue. Next game, the Giants going to the uh Vegas. Uh Giants won the game 34-10. Jackson Dart played fine. He did threw the football for just over 200 yards. He went 22 of 30. They ran the football relatively well. Um Wandale Robinson, 11 carries to 113 yards. This Raiders team just sucks. They didn't have Max Crosby because they wanted to sit him. They say he has a knee injury, but then he posts on Sunday a video on Instagram of him going out there playing basketball with his children. So who knows how injured he actually is and whether he actually needs uh surgery or not. So who knows? Like that's that's a whole saga within itself. It's a very bad Raiders organization. Geno Smith did not play well out there, 20 of 28, 176 yards, one touchdown and two picks. I think he managed to he got hurt later late on in that game and had to leave. Kenny Pickett had to come in and play. Genty, 16 carry, Ashton Genty, 16 carries, 60 yards. Didn't really do much else outside of that. They really couldn't get their offense going whatsoever. They didn't have uh Brock Bowers in this game, so that definitely hurt their offense a bit. Michael Mayer, the other tight end for them, did have a good game. Nine catches, 89 yards. But it's just they just weren't able to stand this game whatsoever, especially with um New York being able to run the football as well as they did. Like I said, uh Tracy had 14 carries, 62 yards. Jackson Dart had nine carries, 48 yards, and two touchdowns. And then Devin Singletary had eight carries, 45 yards, and a touchdown. Three touchdowns just rushing. So, all in all, they just played a lot better game all around offensively. And it's just the Raiders are just a bad organization that even though the Giants are bad, there's even a gap between what the Giants and the Raiders are for how what they are looking like as football teams. And uh Giants played a very good game. Uh credit to them. Uh let's see, this was the next game here. Philadelphia going to Buffalo. Philadelphia won the game 13 to 12. This was three quarters of Buffalo playing at like absolute garbage. And whether that was again, it was very bad weather. It was an absolute downpour for most of the game. Um, the Eagles defense, I think, really has turned themselves around like they've gotten better throughout the year, and I think they're playing their best football right now. So I do think they have to give the Eagles defense a lot of credit for Josh Allen playing as badly as he did for three out of the four quarters that he was playing in that game. But even still, even with the Eagles defense playing as well as they did, it was in the Philadelphia did what they normally do. They have a very good one half, and then the other half they play like garbage. In the first half, Philadelphia scored 13 points. Jalen Hurts, 13 of 27, 110 yards. Saquon Barkley, 19 carries, 68 yards. AJ Brown, five catches, 68 yards. It was the first half, Philadelphia was able to play relatively well offensively, at least with the weather with how bad as it was. And I think in the second half, they had negative yardage passing in the second half. They had like a negative 11 yards passing. I think I'm not sure about the exact number, but it was I knew it was negative yardage when it came to passing in the second half. While Buffalo, in that fourth quarter, with how bad Philadelphia was, was able to come back in the game. Josh Allen, 23 of 35 for 262. Um James Cook, 20 carries, 74 yards. Brandon Cooks, four catches, 101 yards. And it's just Buffalo Bills in that fourth quarter were able to turn around a little bit. Josh Allen was able to. I think this game came down to Josh Allen having three big mistakes. The one was where they were in the, I think this was in the second half. They were getting, they were in field goal range, and Josh Allen was trying to make a big play on third down and took like a 20-yard sack. That was, and then it took him out of field goal range. That was a big mistake that he made. He also had the fumble that happened, which I don't think was a fumble. I think was kind of close, but it could have gone either way. I don't think it was, but you know, the referees saw differently. So the fumble that he had that they lost that turned into points for Philadelphia. That was a big mistake that he had. And then at the end of the game, where Buffalo had come all the way back and they scored the touchdown with Josh Allen running having his second rushing touchdown of the game, they go for two at the end, trying to win the game instead of taking the going to overtime, which I understand the decision because the way that game was going, and with Josh Allen looking a little bit gimpy um in that game, I think he has an ankle injury or something like that. They said he had X-rays and everything came out negative, so I think he will be able to play. Um he's not gonna be hurt long term, but he was a little bit gimpy, and the way that game was ending and they had all the momentum on their side, I understand them going for two. But once they had that play go on and Josh Allen had an open, uh, I think who was open? It was Khalir Shakir, I believe. Open in the back of the end zone. All he had to do was hit the pass and he missed it. Again, he'll make that pass uh 99 times out of 100, but this was just the one time that he was going to miss that play. He missed, he totally missed him. It was such an easy play to make and he didn't make it. Again, this is a guy of his talent. For a guy of his talent, that was an easy play to make and he just didn't make it in that game. But I understand them going for two. I could have seen it go, I understand it either way. If you wanted to kick the um extra point, go to overtime. I understand that because of how bad the Eagles were offensively in that second half. Why not go for it go for it in the overtime and see if you could just kind of get the win there? But then I also see the Buffalo Bills wanting to take advantage of the moment they had all the momentum on their side. Again, the play turned out to be to be a good play as long as Josh Allen makes that pass, and unfortunately, he just didn't make it. And I so I understand it both ways. I'm not necessarily mad at them, but I just think that the Buffalo Bills defense was part of the reason why Philadelphia played so bad in that second half. So you do have to give the Buffalo Bills a little bit of credit. But this has been the Eagles MO all year long is having one good half, decent half of football offensively, and then the second half, the other half they play terribly. Whether it happens in the first, second half is a is a different question. But usually it's one good half of football offensively for the Eagles and the other half they play terribly. So I do think that if Buffalo's defense is going to be able to play better defense like that and like kind of hold down hold down teams, I think it'll give Josh Allen a little bit more wiggle room to not necessarily have to be Superman on every single play. But again, it's just it was a very it was a competitive game, but it was an ugly game to watch if you just kind of looking at it the way that I saw it. So and Buffalo still had a chance to win, and Josh Allen played terribly for three out of the four quarters. But you know, this is just one of those games where he wasn't able to turn it on at the end and kind of get the win as he has all year long. So it was a good win for the Eagles, man. That defense is for the Eagles is very scary again. It's just can the offense get it together enough to help in the in the playoffs against the better teams they'll be facing is the biggest question for them. To the Sunday night football game. Where am I at where we at time-wise? Hour 30, not too bad. I'm doing better time-wise than usual. Um Sunday night football, Chicago at San Fran. This was the game of the day. San Fran won the game 42 to 38. This was an absolute when they say barn burner, does that mean it's a good game or a bad game? Doesn't matter. It was an awesome game all around. It was all offense, though. Neither defense could really get a stop at all, until maybe the San Fran a little bit in this in the uh fourth quarter at the very end. But either either way, it was like Caleb Williams probably had his best game as a pro. 25 of 42. Not very efficient, but he was still very explosive. 25 of 42, 330 yards, two touchdowns. Um DeAndre Swift had 54 yards rushing off nine carries and two touchdowns. Um I think they ran the football for like 110 yards in this game, Chicago did, so very good on them for that. Luther Burton was the leading receiver for Chicago in this game. Eight catches, 138, and a touchdown. Colson Loveland, the tight end, had six catches, 94 yards, and a touchdown. And this is with without um, why am I forgetting the wide receiver's name for them? It is it's their best guy. I'm forgetting his name. Hold on. This is without Roman Dunze, their best wide receiver, at least the one that um Caleb Williams has like the best rapport with as a wide receiver. But like that was without even him, and they were able to put up the numbers that they did in this game again. The defense for the Bears is definitely an issue because they couldn't stop a nosebleed at all, and it felt like every time the Niners got the ball, they were gonna score in this game. But I think the Bears, I think this is the first time the Bears in a long time that their offense is probably the strength of their team. And I think with that, I think they're probably not gonna be go far like too far in the playoffs because they're gonna face teams that actually have some real defenses that they're gonna have to deal with. And I think that asking Caleb to keep scoring 30 points a game in the playoffs is gonna be kind of difficult, especially if you're not gonna get any help from your defense. And this was with them getting a pick six at the beginning of the game from Brock Purdy. So I think if Brock Purdy doesn't throw that pick six, this game is even more out of hand, and San Fran's winning this game by even more, and it wasn't gonna be as close. But I have to say, Caleb, as much as I've been a little bit of a negative Caleb guy throughout his NFL career so far, I think he has shown to like really be taking steps forward and he's playing his best football right now. But it's just that defense will probably be the reason they lose in the playoffs because just they they they can't stop anybody. Um to the San Francisco 49ers side, Brock Purdy, 24 of 33, 300 yards, three touchdowns, one pick. I will have to say, I have been a little bit of a Brock Purdy hater. I've been more of like a guy of that's on the hating side of Brock Purdy because I'm not necessarily hating as a human, but it's just as a quarterback, I think he's a little bit kind of propped up by the fact that he has so many guys to throw to and he has such a good team around him. And he's been a guy prone to be making mistakes. Again, that pick six, literally his first pass to begin the game, was definitely a problem. But outside of that, he had an awesome game. He was cooking in that game. Getting he was moving around in the pocket, he had a couple rushing touchdowns in this game. I think he had his best game. Is it it might be a little a little strong to say his best game as a pro, but he was absolutely awesome in this game. Um Chris McCaffrey was great, 23 carries, 140 yards, and a touchdown. I think without Christian McCaffrey doing what he did in this game, I think the Niners weren't able to weren't going to be able to put up nearly the game that they did offensively, but it didn't really matter because I think Chris McCaffrey did his thing. Brock Purdy, Brock Brock Purdy, six catches, 28 yards, and two touchdowns. So like that was also a big help in this game as well. Um Ricky Pears, they ran for like 200 yards total in this game with all the guys they had running the football. Ricky Pearsall, five catches, 85 yards. Jake Tonges, the backup tight end, because George Kittle couldn't play in this game because of an injury that he had. Um Jake Tonges, seven catches, 60 yards and a touchdown. Juwan Jennings, two catches, 42 yards and a touchdown. Kyle Hushek had a touchdown catch in this game, their their fullback. So, like the Niners are really hitting their stride and playing very good football offensively right now. Again, the Niners' defense isn't much better because their defense really can't stop, they couldn't stop the Bears at all on Sunday night, really, at all. So, but again, they at the end of the game, um, Caleb Williams had a chance to go for the touchdown to kind of end the game and win it. But the Niners made the play they needed to at the end to win the football game because I think they do have a good defensive mind. In what am I forgetting? Uh Robert Sala, their defensive, their defensive uh coordinator is very good. He knows what he's doing with the defensive side, even with all the injuries that injuries that they've been dealing with. I think they can at least make one play, a player, a play here or there when necessary, in a way that I don't think the Chicago Bears even have that opportunity. I think they've been very good at getting turnovers. But outside of that, the Bears defense has been kind of a struggle all year long. But again, this game was absolutely amazing. San Fran was awesome. Chicago was it was a very good offensive game plan. But if you you like defense at all, this this was not the game for you. And I do think San Fran playing as well as they did. I think Christian McCaffrey is they I think he's hurt, so I think he didn't even practice today. So he's gonna be looking towards San Fran has to go play Seattle for the number one overall seed this upcoming Sunday. So like that's gonna be a real they need to play. Like, I don't I don't think I think uh San Fran really does want to have home field advantage throughout the playoffs, and especially getting that by would definitely be a huge deal for both of these teams. So and Chris McCaffrey is not healthy, not necessarily all the way healthy right now. Maybe they're just trying to um they're just trying to like manage his workload and stuff like that throughout the week, maybe, but like it's not necessarily a great thing that he has to make mispractice because he's a little bit dinged up. So keep an eye on that. Hopefully he'll be able to play on Sunday against uh Seattle because they'll definitely need him. So we'll see how that goes. But it was a very good game against Chicago. And then last but not least, the Monday night football game last night, LA Rams going to Atlanta. They lose the football game to Atlanta. Uh Falcons win the game 27 to 24. Um, it was a very good football game, I have to say. I didn't think it was gonna be. Um, the Rams were like a seven-point favorite in this game because I just think that even Vegas thought that the Rams could really run away in this football game. That's not what happened at all. Stafford, I think, fumbled the MVP with how he played last night. He had those three picks were bad. They were not good. I think two of them were for pick sixes, I think, right? So he did not have his best game last night. And I think he is like him having bad games is two of those pick sixes. I think they were. Hold on, let me check here. He threw the one pick six in the second quarter. And then no, it was a one pick six. It was that so he threw the one pick six, but he also threw another two another two picks. So I think he fumbled a uh MVP last night. Um, but I think, again, even with the mistakes that he made, they still had a chance at the end of the football game to go ahead and win it, especially with them kind of being down. There was a point where they were down 21 to nothing in this game, I believe. I think that's how they went to halftime, right? Yeah, they went down at they were down at halftime 21 to nothing. And the Rams still managed to come back and like have a chance to win the football game at the end. So I'm not gonna say the rate, the Rams are definitely leaking fluid right now when it comes to how they're not really playing their best football of the year at the end. I do think not having Devontae Adams playing for them is definitely a hindrance on what they have been as of recent because without Devontae Adams on the other side of Puka Nakua, I think it really does allow defenses to focus in on Puka. I think last night Puka did not have a great game. I think he had like one big catch that was nullified due to like a holding call. But outside of that, Puka, five catches of 47 yards and a touchdown. So he did not have his regular explosive game as he is that he has had throughout the year. And with those picks that Matthew Stafford threw, they still ran the football relatively well. They had 115 yards total rushing in this game. Kyle Williams, 13 carries, 92 yards. Blake Coram got hurt, so he wasn't able to play a full game. He saw six carries and 18 yards. But Xavier Smith was leading receiver in this game. He had four catches, 67 yards. Uh Terrence Ferguson, their tight end, had two catches, 54 yards, and a touchdown. Like I said, Puka had the 47 yards off five catches and a touchdown as well. Um, but it's just without Devontae Adams on the other side, I think it really does allow defenses to be able to focus in on Puka. And I think it makes their their offense a lot easier to deal with. But again, they're saying Devontae Adams will definitely be healthy by the time the playoffs start, and they just weren't. He was I think he was doing pregame warm-ups last night, and he looked relatively Good, but they're saying it's a hamstring injury, so they just want to make overly they want to be overly cautious and make sure that once he's able to come back, there's not going to be any setbacks, and he's have to leave again because it makes the injury kind of worse if you try to come back too early. But if this Rams team is playing at their best, they're just a very hard team to stop. But it's just unfortunately in this game, you had the big mistakes by Matthew Stafford that led to them losing this football game. Um, Kirk Cousins, though, played fine, 13 to 20, 126 yards and touchdown, not explosive whatsoever, but he didn't have to be because you know why? Bijan Robinson is all that in a bag of chips. And again, I've that's such an old saying, but I couldn't help it when I thought of it in the moment. Bijan, 22 carries, 195 yards and a touchdown. And again, I think they robbed him of having a 200-yard game because at the end where the Falcons were trying to run out the football. Guess who they had a chance to give the ball to to give him the last five yards they needed, but they gave it to Tyler, Tyler Algier instead. So I think they did rob him of having a 200-yard game. So I think that kind of sucked. But otherwise, B. John Robinson was awesome in this game. Like I said, 195 and a touchdown. He also had another like 34 yards receiving and a touchdown as well. He was awesome in this game. Um, Drake London didn't do anything, he had one catch for four yards. Kyle Pitts did nothing in this game, two catch for 16 yards, but it didn't freaking matter because of all the mistakes that Matthew Stafford made when it comes to those picks that he threw. And then the the pick six pick six obviously helped the Falcons a lot in this game, giving them the free seven points. But just B. John was who's awesome in this game. He was very good. And I've as much as I've been talking about all these other running backs, B. John Robinson's a top five guy without much of an issue here, guys. He's awesome. He's insanely good. And I just hope at some point the Falcons are able to put a team around him that can get him to the playoffs so he can go out there and have a put on a great show in the biggest moments because he deserves that as a player, dude, because he's so good. If they can just get a team around him to kind of get him there, I just think that he'll be able to show out in the brightest moments, and I think that he deserves that as a player because he's just that freaking good. He was awesome last night. Um, and like I said, the Rams fumbled the bag. I think they lost their chance at winning the I think they were out on being the number one seed, so now they think they're locked into a five, six, or seven seed in the playoffs as a right now, so they'll be they'll be playing on the road, so it's gonna make their job a lot harder. But still, I just think if Matthew Stafford heats up and he has his weapons at in Devontae Adams and Puka Nakua on top of all the the tight ends that they have that they can throw to and the defense playing relatively well and getting after you, I think they are probably the best team in the playoffs. But it's just if Matthew Stafford has those mistakes, it definitely could turn around their team really fast. And again, you're gonna be playing against real teams that have real defenses like Seattle. And um I think I think Seattle and the Rams are probably the two teams with the best defenses in the NFC. So if you do have to deal with Seattle, that is definitely gonna be a problem defensively because they're gonna be able to make it take advantage of any mistakes that Matthew Stafford makes. But I don't know, it just makes the job a lot harder without Devontae Adams, and I do have to give him that credit that even with all the mistakes that he had, they still had a chance to go win it at the end. So I don't know. Rams, I stay, I don't think I feel down on the Rams at all based on how that game went. But I just think that he Matthew Stafford definitely lost the MVP, and I think that I just think that if they don't if they don't have Devontae Adams back and they just can't play their best ball, I think that it could mess them up in the playoffs. But I just think I think I think Devontae Adams will be back in the playoffs. I think they'll be ready to go, whoever they had to face. But I think I think their road gets a lot harder because now they'll be playing on the road throughout the playoffs, no matter who they play. I think that's gonna be the part that kind of sucks for them. Alright, so that's all the games. Did all recaps on that. I did say I wanted to go through any stories I want to talk about after I did the game. So story-wise, Pat Stefan Diggs uh faces some assault charges because I think they said that he choked out and assaulted his cook, his chef that he had, that apparently there's an issue on payment and all that, and apparently that he got it got a little physical. And depending on what the NFL decides to do on that, they he he could be not in the playoffs with the pet Patriots based on if the NFL decides to take to uh take action and kind of be a little bit more proactive and making sure about what the whole situation was and suspending him early, maybe taking him, putting him on the commissioners' exempt lists based on this scenario. I think the charges have already came out. It's a like I said, strangulate strangulation and assault charges that he's gonna have to be dealing with. I don't think it's looking great. I think that I think the victim also posted a like a text thread of like the whole situation as well. It doesn't really prove anything, but I just think that this is a situation that definitely could hurt the Patriots because Diggs has been their best wide receiver all year long, and I think they've been dealing with a more than a few wide receiver injuries as of recent. So if there's a chance that he might not be able to play with them in the playoffs, I think it only hurts their chances once whoever they have to face. So that's definitely gonna be a quite uh a story to have to keep track of. So I don't know, depends on what the NFL does. They decide to be proactive. I think this could get really dicey for the Patriots quickly, but if not, and he's able to play, I just I think it's just a matter of time based off of the charges coming out so quickly. I think he has a court date uh already. So this is definitely something to keep an eye on if you are a Patriots fan because I think it can really impact what your chances are in the playoffs. Um, next story Cowboys released two-time pro bowler uh Trayvon Diggs, the brother of Stephon Diggs. I didn't mean to do this in succession, but it kind of turned out this way. Apparently, there was a whole ordeal with him wanting to stay in um Washington to deal to be with family. Apparently the coaching staff didn't like it. They ended up dropping him. Apparently he's healthy. So he's gonna go through the um why am I forgetting the um go through waivers and bring a f be a free agent, so there's a chance he might be able to play for somebody, that team that might need him in the playoffs this year if somebody picks him up. But I don't know what that whole situation is. Apparently they were trying, they were probably gonna get rid of him in the offseason anyway, because they didn't want to pay him the rest of his contract. So that is a big story to have to deal with because again, Cowboys aren't going anywhere. Like I said, they were probably gonna get rid of him anyway, but it's just a weird scenario for him just wanting to stay home with his family, kind of leading to all this happening, which is kind of weird, but again, they were gonna get rid of him anyway, so it's just sooner rather than later. Let's see, other stories. Like I said, CMC is not gonna be able to play. Well, sorry, he's did not practice today. Hopefully, he'll be able to play Sunday against the Seahawks when they're playing for the number one overall seed in winning the division. And then what am I saying? What else do I got here? No, I don't have anything else to talk about here. Let me think. Oh no, I'm just checking to make sure I don't have any other stories I want to talk about. TJ Watt could play next week against the Ravens coming off of the surgery that he had to fix the collapsed lung that he had a couple weeks ago. They said he might be able to play to come back and try to help the Steelers win that game to get to the playoffs. Again, who knows whether he'll actually be able to help us out in that scenario or not? I think that has yet to be seen. But if he can play, it's only gonna help because I think this I think the Steelers defense as of recently have actually been playing relatively well even without him. So the chance to have him out there have relative relatively fresh legs, if he can be effective, I think could be a help for the Steelers. Again, doesn't really change how I feel. I'm very negative, and I think we probably lose that game, but having TJ Watt out there could definitely be a help. Let me see. I don't have anything else. No, I don't have any other stories I want to talk about here, so I really don't have anything. So without all the stories are done, did all the recap for all the games uh from week 17. There's no Thursday night football game to talk about because they're gonna end up playing most of their games on Saturday. I think they're gonna be playing three games on Saturday. And then hold on here. Let me make sure I have the schedule right. Schedule for week 18. So no Thursday night, no Thursday game. They're gonna have two games on Saturday, and then they're gonna have the rest of their Sunday slate with the Monday night football. Sorry, was that Sunday night or Monday night? No Monday night football. So it's gonna be the two games on Saturday, and then you have the Sunday slate with the Sunday night game being the Baltimore Ravens game against the Steelers, playing for the number playing for the win of the division and making the playoffs. So it definitely makes sense they made that the Sunday night football game. So we'll make sure to do our next pod, I think, on Friday, where we'll be able to do the recap of all the cost of all playoff games that happen over the next couple days in the second round, and then we'll do the previews of all of the games that are happening on uh Saturday and Sunday for week 18 in the NFL. So that'll be our next pod. Hopefully we'll have both me and Jace there, but again, I'm not gonna guarantee anything he's dealing with a lot when it comes to moving and all of that. So if it is just me doing it, we'll it'll be what it's gonna be. I'll try to come out, do what I gotta do. If if it is just me, if not, if it's me and Jace, you'll get the best of what we are. So uh that's about it. So without further ado, let's kind of go ahead and end the podcast here. If you've been listening for a while, we appreciate you. If you're just now jumping on, hopefully you like us and enjoy us enough uh to join us on this ride and talk about sports in the dumbest way possible. If you this is the first one you listen to with just me here, hopefully you go listen to a different podcast with both me and Jason so you get a better idea of what we are at our best. We have both of us on as co-hosts, as brothers, sitting here talking sports, talking shit, jokes going all around. Um, that is what we are at a best. So hopefully you can go listen to a different pod, and uh that has us both on to get a better idea of what we are when we are at our best. And then if you do like us and enjoy us enough to uh join us on this ride, we would appreciate it if you could do a couple things for us. Make sure you like our podcast, subscribe to the podcast, and rate the podcast five stars. Wherever you listen to us, we're pretty much available on all audio platforms out there. And if you do enjoy us, hopefully you can share podcasts with friends, family, enemies. Anyone you feel like can enjoy the podcast we put out on a weekly basis, with two it being two times a week during football season. We would love if you can do that. And then last but not least, if you could follow us on Twitter and or X, whatever you would like to call it, at JB Sports Pod is the podcast handle, at Javante Boozer is my handle, and at Jace Boozer1 is Jace's handle. And without further ado, um this is where we ended. So have a great day, have a great night, have a great holiday, happy new year. Um, and uh that's about it. So goodbye, y'all. See y'all in a couple see y'all next year. I hate that joke, but uh yeah, we'll see you in a couple days.