NFL CONFERENCE PICKS & PREVIEW! Bills vs Chiefs and Commanders vs Eagles Breakdown, Lions, Ravens, Texans, and Rams Outlook + Best Bets of the Week!!

On today's episode of Worst 2 First - Bryan, Matt, Bass Daddy, and Farah take a run at the NFC and AFC Conference Championship games! The boys give their full break downs for the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Commanders, and Philadelphia Eagles. Highlighting the Keys to the Game, make their picks, and discuss all the swirling narratives!

Then the boys talk through the fallout of the Ravens, Lions, Texans, and Rams. As well as their teams' prospective futures.

They close out the show with their Best Bets of the Week!


Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Championship Weekend
03:08 NFC Championship Breakdown
06:00 Home Field Advantage and Team Dynamics
09:05 Quarterback Comparisons and Team Strategies
11:50 Making Predictions for the NFC Championship
14:59 Transition to AFC Championship Preview
17:50 Chiefs vs. Bills: Historical Context
21:12 Refereeing Controversies and Game Impact
24:08 Key Players and Matchups in the AFC Championship
27:05 Final Predictions for the AFC Championship
43:40 Game Predictions and Psychological Factors
44:25 Michael Jordan's Competitive Nature
46:40 AFC Championship Showdown: Bills vs. Chiefs
49:46 Reflecting on Team Failures: The Detroit Lions
57:13 Baltimore Ravens: Postseason Heartbreak and Future Prospects
01:07:24 Houston Texans: A Call for Change
01:14:50 Final Thoughts and Best Bets

Transcript

Bryan Stewart (00:02)
Okay, it's conference championship weekend. W2F with a fresh new episode hot off the press. Brian here as usual joined by Matt, joined by Bass Daddy and we have one of our recurring guests, Kay Breezy, Farah. Kayon is in the house. And of course, we've got our recurring W2Fers I know who are out there who are with us every week.

BassDaddy (00:12)
you

.

Bryan Stewart (00:29)
I suspect this time of year we might even have a few noobs. And if you made that choice, we appreciate it and stick with us to the end. We're going to be picking both of these games. We're going to be breaking them down in detail. And at the end of the show, we'll even have some conversation about some of the teams that lost last week, maybe where they go from here.

So should be fun. But without wasting any more time, guys, NFC Championship.

commanders actually scratch that. I don't call them the commanders. I either call them Washington or I'll call them the skins, what have you, because I just we've went over this in our listeners football team. That's the I'll accept. Who would have thought? Actually not entirely true. Matt and I both had him in the in playoffs this year preseason. And I remember

BassDaddy (01:10)
Thank

Matt Stewart (01:11)
football team.

Bryan Stewart (01:29)
It was after the Monday night against Cincinnati. I can't remember. I think most of you guys kind of agreed, but I had said, I don't know when, but Jayden Daniels is going to take this team to a Super Bowl and probably do it within the next few years. Little did we know it may be as a rookie. What stands in his way? An Eagles team that's favored by six points at home at the link, Saquon Barkley,

over under 47 and a half and Matt, kind of what I just was talking about, know, Washington's exceeded expectations, but at the same time, are we that surprised that we're here having this conversation?

Matt Stewart (02:12)
You know, I think a lot of the world is, but this particular podcast, I don't really think so. I think for whatever reason, we have been a little bit quicker, like you mentioned, on the commander's train a little bit. And I remember we did our, like halfway through the season, Mark, where we repicked the post season. And for some reason I threw the commanders in the NFC championship game. Did I have them beating the lions to get there? No, but you know, well, I think we've been hot on this trail. You know what saying?

Bryan Stewart (02:40)
Yeah, and it comes down to the fact that it's all about the quarterback, right? I think even as a rookie, is there another guy in the NFC you would take over him right this second? You could make an argument for a couple guys, but it's remarkable. And he did go to the right conference to have his career take off. I think if he's in the AFC right now, it's not like he would have unseated Buffalo or Kansas City in my mind. But still yet, Bass Daddy,

You know, all things equal with this game. The Eagles, they have a great chance to win. Like I said, they're favored by almost a full touchdown. The big caveat, Jalen hurts. We saw him get hurt late against the Rams. He kind of, you could tell the movement was limited. Do you think that that's going to be a thing? And if so, how, you know, to what degree is it? Is it something that you think may foil their plans?

BassDaddy (03:38)
I don't think it's no big deal at all. He'll either play or else I think he can pick it comes in and takes care of business just fine.

Bryan Stewart (03:45)
Whoa,

whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. There's no question that he's playing. But the question is how effective? We know he's kind of been on a little bit of an up and down roller coaster this year.

But forget it.

Matt Stewart (04:02)
I always spoke like

BassDaddy (04:03)
Well, I'm just...

Matt Stewart (04:03)
a true, that's a true Pittsburgh Steelers fan right there. Like, yeah, can he pick it in that championship game?

BassDaddy (04:12)
Gotta get him in there, man. I don't know. I don't want to go into Philly and play. I wouldn't want to go into Philly and play. Regardless of who you are, the fans are ruthless and horny and pissed off. Philly is just not a place you want to go, especially this time of year. I'd like to see Jaden Daniels win this game.

Matt Stewart (04:14)
He had to get there soon, why he didn't leave the team.

BassDaddy (04:38)
get a new team and they're representing the NFC that we haven't seen in a while, obviously cool rookie story. But I think the Eagles get in, especially if they're healthy offensively, defensively. I think they're going to make the best Super Bowl represented team from the NFC, but should be great game.

Bryan Stewart (05:04)
Farah, bringing it over to you now, past daddy mentioned it, Eagles at home, that crowd is definitely one of one, for some reasons good and bad. Actually Washington, when they went and played earlier this year in their house, it was on a Thursday night, short week, and they lost by eight points. Do you believe that home field is a big weight in this one? Does it even?

BassDaddy (05:10)
you

Okay.

Bryan Stewart (05:33)
Maybe does it favor Philly or is it potentially a bad thing? And I can explain that a little later.

Farah (05:40)
Well, I think similar to what we kind of saw with the Lions game. don't think home field advantage really means anything at this rate. You know, it's, who's coming down, you know, who's coming in

and ready to play some ball. But the real question to me is can Jalen hurts. Make the plays when he needs to, right? Or, know, when, say quants coming off a 205 yard rushing game against the Rams at some point, that's not going to be a consistent 200. Right? So I mean, it is.

BassDaddy (06:00)
Okay.

Farah (06:08)
It's hurts going to be able to throw over 120

yards in a title game when they need them the most. I don't know. I sure hope so. 14 yards receiving from AJ Brown is just not going to cut the chicken ultimately. So do I think home field advantage plays a pivotal role a little bit to an extent, but I think this skins team, AKA commander's team is hungry. And I think they're a little more hungry than Jalen Hurts and crew.

So I like the commanders here, I do. I think everyone's writing them off. I think deep down nobody really wants to see another Kansas City, Philly Super Bowl anyway. So why not let the commanders ruin the party and make something happen come Sunday?

BassDaddy (06:54)
Did say they were jacking them off or writing them off?

Farah (06:58)
Well, I think writing comes with jacking. I think either or.

BassDaddy (07:02)
Yes, sir.

Matt Stewart (07:06)
Yeah, you you make an interesting point about the commanders. A big part of the discourse, right, is, hey, we're playing with house money now. It goes on one side or the other, right? Either, hey, we've had a great season, we can pack it on in and call it a day, or hey, we are playing with house money. We have nothing to lose. Let's go all in. We have a great young rookie quarterback who's not afraid of the big moment, and let's see if he can do it one more time. And I think that's an interesting dichotomy as well.

You too, Brian.

Bryan Stewart (07:45)
Yeah, sorry, just to shoot you guys straight real quick and you know this from previous episodes, I just feel like for whatever reason, this Philly team being at home, sometimes I don't know that that's for the best, right? I think, especially when Jalen Hurch isn't playing well, and you watched his Sunday with the Rams game, it just gets kind of awkward in there whenever he's struggling and the crowd's real silent and then they're booing when they're coming off the field and...

and it's different with Washington. Yes, Matthew Stafford, the Rams, great offense, hung tough, but this is another level and we've already seen him beat this Eagles team. I know it was with Kenny Pickett for the most part, but he performed, right? He scored, I can't remember how many points. It was a good number.

So I'm not sure if being at home is even a good thing right now. I'm really not. If it starts slow, I think it could backfire. you know, I guess the question, Matt, is how much do we value vibes and synergy? To me, it seems like Washington is playing as one. They are kind of that hot road team, that underdog that...

seems to pop up every couple years. Some years it doesn't happen. Those teams are hard to beat and you throw the records out the window and you just look at how are they playing and they just went into Detroit, a place that I didn't think anybody could win this year and they kind of handled it.

Matt Stewart (09:23)
Yeah, no, absolutely. think, like you said, the vibes of synergy, think that is crucial in the postseason, right? Even more so maybe than the home field advantage, like you mentioned. And the thing is, I don't want to stay on it too long, but let's throw it back to last week, right? The difference maker for the Eagles at home was strictly the weather, in my opinion. Had it not been that weird sleet snowstorm, I don't know that it would have been much of an advantage at all for the Eagles, you know? Obviously it had an effect on Puka.

things like that and obviously slow down the Rams to think a little bit and ultimately is maybe the deciding factor that helped them elevate over them. But you're right outside of that, more vibes are gonna be weird. It's always tense in Philly and frankly, I think they gotta be a little nervous, right? Because you're supposed to win this game, but those are always the games, especially in division and a conference championship game. It's gotta make you a little nervous, a little weird, right?

Bryan Stewart (10:01)
we have always taken it

Well, and guys, if you didn't know, the skins did lose the right guard, Cosme. He's looked at as maybe their best offensive lineman. So he goes down with the ACL last week. Does that show up against this team, Jaylen Carter? I'm afraid it might. If it does, Farah? Well, and that's just it. We're basically talking about, and it's crazy to say this two years after what he did in the Super Bowl, but the quarterback...

disadvantage that the Eagles seem to have against the commanders is that big enough to counteract the roster? Because we know the Eagles roster 2 through 53 is better than any that's left probably, right? I mean they've got everything you want. And going back to what we were just saying, it's just can they get on the same page? Can they click? Can Sirianni do that as the head coach? I don't know.

It makes it really challenging to predict this one.

Farah (11:21)
Yeah, does, Brian. It's tough, right? Because I think it all, you know, I think the defense is going to come to play. think Carter's coming and he's going to, and he's going to walk whatever he's got to. And I think Darius Slay is going to come play. I think the defense is going to show up when needed. especially when stopping that run game, with Eckler and Robinson. But ultimately I think it comes down to can Jalen hurts, make the plays when he needs to. And I think what's kind of silence of the lamb or however you want to call it.

is that AJ Brown and Devante simply still have beef with Jalen knowing that they can't get the rock when they need to the most. And I think people are shying away from, well, they're disliking what Saquon's given, right? Yeah, Saquon's rushing for anything from 150 to 200 plus a game. Great. It's working. But you're in an NFC title game. And at some point, you're going to run out of gas with Saquon or with a Derek Henry. It doesn't matter. With an elite court.

running back like that, something's gotta give. So I think can Jalen make the plays? And I think the route we're going, Jaden's just gonna be able to simply outplay Jalen when he needs to the most. And I think he's more hungry. And who knows, is Jalen hurts 100 % going into this title game? Nobody knows that answer other than him. So I think that's what it comes down to. Is Jalen even healthy? Is there more to the story than we know?

Bryan Stewart (12:48)
I don't think he is particularly healthy. And even if he was, we've discussed, know, it's been a struggle. Am I wrong? Maybe you guys can remember this. The year the Niners went to the Super Bowl with Garofalo, he had that run where he threw like 20 combined passes in the playoff games before that game.

I kind of feel like if the Eagles are gonna get this done, it's gonna need to look similar. I mean, not to that extreme, but it's gonna need to be Saquon Barkley running for a buck fifty, maybe more. Maybe he does need a 200 game. I just, I don't see Philadelphia, especially if he's restricted, if he can't move back there, Bastati, I don't think, you know, he's just gonna...

be able to, with his arm, dominate this game. It's putting a lot of pressure on the talent around him, which they can handle. So many Pro Bowlers. But, even still, I guess that takes us to a point where it's time to make our picks. I'll hand it off to you.

BassDaddy (14:00)
Well, to be honest with you, I really wasn't sold on the lines all season. And I thought towards the end that their defense was kind of fraudulent. And then after they beat Minnesota, I was like, okay, no, they're the real deal. I really didn't see any team from EFC getting past them, especially, I mean, I knew Washington was good, but I didn't see them going into Ford Field and completely dominating golf and Ben Johnson.

so I don't really know shit about football, I guess. So I'm just going to go with the home team here and I'll go with Philly. And, you guys pretty much sold me on the Redskins. but whatever teams not fucking pick, it's always the opposite. So, I'm going to roll with Philly. I'm not going to pick against Saquon at home after doing what he did. it's hard to pick against Jayden Daniels after going on the road and doing what he did as well.

but postseason experience.

I'm going to roll with that in terms of, you know, the quarterback. Even if first isn't a hundred percent with that defense, with the running game, with the wide receivers, tight end.

I just see him being able to do enough, who knows, 31, 27, Philip.

Matt Stewart (15:42)
All right, best. All right. Very interesting takes there. I like a lot. We had to say as far as it goes when it comes for me making my choices, a very tough game, but vibes, right? Washington. I like what they got going on here. Believe in and Jayden and I see I'm a believer. Who knows, man? Maybe he's a top three quarterback at this point. But the fact that Jaylen is going to be compromised, I think the rushing attack is going to be huge.

for Philly. mean, Jaylen's rushing, not the Saquon aspect of it. And what's that going to do with the tush push? Is that still going to be there? Is Saquon going to have to run it? I don't know. These are questions that we're going to have to wait and see. obviously Philly is the better defense for sure, but I don't know. Can Jayden keep the foot pressed down and just put the pressure on, shoot from the hip? A little bit of that gunslinger mentality. know, just like, kind of like Detroit would in the way that Washington did as well.

Farah (16:12)
Thank

Matt Stewart (16:39)
If it's fourth unmanageable, just keep that pressure on. Because here's the thing also with Philly, we've talked about this throughout the season. Internally, one of the most awkward, weird, frustrating teams there is, and maybe AJ Brown is going to have a copy of The Secret on the sideline or something and be able to figure it out. I don't know, but I'm not confident in that. I'm not. So guys, I'm taking the upset here. I'm going to take the commanders. It's going to come down to the wire. I just like Jayden's confidence. 27-24, late field goal wins it.

It's going to be pandemonium out there at the link.

BassDaddy (17:13)
Is AJ Brown

working on his AR reading? Trying to, you know what I mean? Do good on the AR reading test.

Matt Stewart (17:18)
Yeah.

Bryan Stewart (17:22)
Yeah, Bassett. Good question. Yeah, no, I, if he is by now, he's probably in a better place with that than he has been with receiving production, at least during these playoffs, you know, they can't get him going. And that's just it. I think, think about historically in the NFC, when you have a team like what Washington is right now, a sixth seed.

Matt Stewart (17:22)
Honestly, honestly, Brian, take it off.

Bryan Stewart (17:50)
and they really get hot like this. That's usually been a good omen. As far back as I can remember, there were Farah, there were the Packers of 2010. I believe they were a sixth seed. There were the Giants the year to follow. The Giants actually a couple of times. Even the Rams a few years ago, they were like a fourth seed. So it's hard to stop a group whenever they're this unified and the quarterback's leading the way. I think in this one Sunday,

Washington's down late by let's say 23-21 and that's a spot where I just trust Daniels to find it, find a way. And the Eagles at that moment, they're going to be worried, oh, is he going to go down and kick a field goal? No, he's going to go down and score a touchdown. They're going to win this game 28-23. Send the Commies to the bowl for the first time since the 80s, 90s. I'm not quite sure. think...

Matt Stewart (18:49)
91 maybe?

Bryan Stewart (18:51)
Yeah, they might have played Buffalo, Matt. Actually, I think it was Super Bowl XXVI or something like that. So, hey, maybe that's a foretelling. But yeah, so that's two for Washington, one for Philly, and Breezy to go.

Farah (19:11)
think you guys all make good points and Brian like I said I think What you when you kind of touched on is it's going to come down to the wire late What I Feel is going on right now is you have a quarterback in Jayden Daniels that's coming off back-to-back playoff dubs Throwing for almost 300 yards. I simply think there is not enough footage on Mr. Daniels for Sirianni and crew to prep for you

since we're talking about a rookie quarterback. I like what I see from the commanders. like what I see from McLaurin. I think that defense is just as nasty. Not as crazy as Philly's, but I think Jonathan Allen, Wagner and crew are coming to play ball. So I like the commanders in this man. think one quarterback is just gonna simply outplay the other and that's what it's gonna come down to. I'm gonna go 24-20 commanders.

Bryan Stewart (20:07)
three picks for the commanders and I think we'd all probably rather see that even if the odds maybe aren't as good as we believe. But it'll be great. I'm glad it's the first game of the day. I feel like that's a good fit and we'll see what happens. Either way, probably not the last time we see these teams playing deep in the postseason against one another. That takes us to the AFC, CBS, Nance and Romo.

in their usual catbird seat they get to call Alan versus my homes gosh what is this now

I think it's nine. And that blew my mind, I guess before I go any further. Right now, over under 48 and a half. Chiefs favored by one and a half. Matt, did you know, you know, this is gonna be the fourth matchup between these two in the playoffs. Mahomes is 29 now and 28. Guess how many times Brady and Manning faced off in the playoffs in their entire career?

Matt Stewart (21:12)
I feel like it's one of those sneaky statistics where you're like, think it's a lot more than it actually was. It's probably going to be like, give me like three, dude.

Bryan Stewart (21:21)
Little under, but five. But five, yeah. And maybe even more surprising, guess you had the winning record.

Matt Stewart (21:24)
Yeah.

No way. Manning did not have the winning rep.

Bryan Stewart (21:34)
He was three and he was three and two against Tom and playoff games All that to say I think these two are gonna be they're gonna surpass that as far as how many times they they play they're already at four and Guys I'm just gonna get it. I'm gonna get it off right away. I mean I've been obviously consuming a lot of the coverage this week about this game

Matt Stewart (21:35)
For real.

Bryan Stewart (22:01)
picks are really starting to roll in today. And for a team that has this thing rigged and the refs in their pocket, there have been a lot of people picking the Buffalo Bills. Interested to see how many of us do that? But Matt, what's your instant, you know, thoughts as we get ready for what I think is the game of the year?

Matt Stewart (22:21)
Well, yeah, to speak to that, Brian, you've obviously been gaining a lot of traction online, speaking about this ref situation. It's been the main storyline, right? It's basically the Chiefs and the refs versus everybody. that's just the main story. It's the main take people have, and I get it. We're trying to build narratives. It's basically a wrestling promotional type thing. It's okay. Roger Goodell's Vince McMahon. The refs are Shawn Michaels. And they're looking to screw somebody over.

Bryan Stewart (22:43)
and Rodney's treatment.

Matt Stewart (22:50)
and that's the Buffalo Bills and before we get too deep into this ballgame, let's touch on it because you touched on it. The Houston Texans, right? Those two calls. Can we get a grip as a nation, as football consumers? Come on, let's say those don't get called. There's no chance. No chance in hell they were gonna beat the Kansas City Chiefs. So don't know what we're talking about. You know what I mean?

Bryan Stewart (23:16)
Yeah, it would have been quite the upset considering how they performed, you know, especially when they have the ball. And I'll have a whole separate thought on the Texans later, Matt, when we kind of touch on those teams. But look, I mean, if nothing else, it'll be interesting to see if all this talk has an impact on the game Sunday. You know, do these. And the elephant in the room, this officiating crew that we've drawn,

Matt Stewart (23:29)
Okay.

I think it absolutely will.

Bryan Stewart (23:46)
is known for being a, they throw a lot of penalties. They call a lot of penalties. So where do they, do they meet in the middle and kind of become an average or do they just swallow the whistles and basically only call, you know, non-subjective things that are obvious to anyone and everyone? That is going to be fascinating to follow.

Matt Stewart (24:08)
Yeah, absolutely dude. And that was kind of the thing I wanted to lead into. Like with that being such a heavy storyline, I think in a place where typically teams like the Chiefs are going for a three-peat or something like that, they start to get little bit complacent, right? Because people are just talking to them as, ah, they're the favorites, know? Odds are they've been here before, they can get it done again. And you obviously people are gonna be rooting against that. But I think what you're doing is you're giving mountains of bulletin board material to a team that has shown

Once they have any little sliver of chip that they can put on their shoulder, you best believe they're gonna utilize it and do what they can to motivate themselves.

Bryan Stewart (24:51)
Absolutely. Breezy. One thing that I think is not getting enough traction. And is a huge part of this game. Maybe maybe we end up looking back and saying it kind of swung it. James Cook. James Cook is producing at an immense level right now. This offensive line seems to be able to move bodies at will.

Do you kind of see it that same way or do you feel like this is just quarterback versus quarterback? Somebody's gonna have to win it with their arms start to finish.

Farah (25:27)
Well, Brian, that's a good point. But which quarterback last week was really that impressive? Was Josh really as good as vice versa? Was Pat or Josh very impressive going into this game come Sunday? They both threw under 200 yards.

So is it a game of quarterbacks? I mean, on paper, obviously it is because that's 3-0 against Josh, right? But I think maybe we should be looking more at the running backs, right? James Cook didn't look too crazy. What, he's 68 yards rushing last week? I mean, that's not going to get the job done in the title game at Arrowhead. So what's it going to come down to? Is it Pacheco versus James? I don't know, because I sure don't know who Josh can trust in the title game either.

Can he trust Matt Collins and Shakir to get the job done? I don't know. I like what I saw from Kelsey last week, and I think D-Hop is a veteran at this point and knows how to get the job done from the get-go, because he's worked with a gazillion times worse behind center. So is it a game of quarterbacks? Because we could argue and say that these guys may not, neither Josh or Pat might do anything crazy come Sunday. It might just be a game of chess.

Bryan Stewart (26:43)
Mm-hmm.

Farah (26:46)
I think personally it does come down to running backs and I think in order for Josh and the Buffalo Bills to get past the Arrowhead and to get to the promised land, James Cook is going to have to have one hell of a day. And I'm going to say at least if James Cook doesn't have a hundred plus yards rushing, there's no shot they have a chance at.

Bryan Stewart (27:04)
Hey, and you said, you know, Josh is gonna have to go through Arrowhead. I pulled some stats earlier today. Blew my mind a little bit. Well, the ones this year not so much, but career-wise. So real quick, stick with me boys. This year, at home, both the Chiefs and Bills, including the playoffs, unbeaten at home. Chiefs are 9-0 at Arrowhead. Bills were 10-0 at Orchard Park. Now...

If you take away the week 18 games where they both lost on the road due to playing backups, if you will. Buffalo on the road this year is a five and three team. They're five and four if you include the backups game. I'm throwing that out. So five and three, but digging in deeper, okay, Mahomes and Allen specifically. In his career, Mahomes at home has an 80 % win percentage at home. On the road, his win percentage.

Also 80%. He's the same guy. They win the same amount of games. 80%. Josh at home, a 77 % win percentage in his career. On the road, it dips over 20%. 56.9 % win percentage. I just said that a lot. But you get the point. There is a historical and accurate to this year, a data point.

that suggests this might be a lot different than the game we saw earlier this year. And maybe more pertinent to the whole thing is just the way the teams are constructed. I feel like, you know, last year Kansas City was kind of built to go on the road. And they did. Their record was better on the road last year, even in the regular season. This Bills team, Bass Daddy, offensively, they depend on motions. They're the best in the league at it, probably shifting and...

just kind of making defenses confused. That's harder to do in a loud road environment. You have to be clearer and simpler with your communication. Did anything I just said, does it hold weight to you or do you think maybe I'm drawing dead on this?

BassDaddy (29:14)
No, I think you're right. I think this game is going to come down to strictly quarterback play only because.

to be Kansas City in the AFC championship game. I don't think it's going to be because of James Cook. I think it's going to have to be because of Josh Allen. He might have to run in another couple of touchdowns like he did last week. Yeah, you know, it's Patrick Mullens. I don't see them having any sort of chance against Buffalo if he doesn't play great football. Turnover free football. I think whatever quarterback can take care of the football and not turn it over.

I think that Josh Allen has having a better season than my homes. I think he's looking better this year than my homes. I'm not saying he's better than moms. I'm just saying this year he's looking better playing better football. I just trust Kansas city's coaching a lot more. not only offensively, but defensively and, arrow heads a tough place to fucking win.

So, but anyways, playoffs a different breed. Josh Allen has struggled and Sean McDermott as well has struggled at these stages. So until I see them have a stronger performance this late in a season, Josh Allen is going to pull his dick out and do something with it. Do you know what I mean? He's going to have to do something a little bit better than what he's been doing in the past to get the job done.

Bryan Stewart (30:36)
Mm-hmm.

I'm not mad. I'm kind of with him. I don't know. I don't know about you and no offense to K because I'm I posed the question. I do think James Cook needs to play well. It can't be like all this guy disappeared. But. You know if the bills are to win this game, I think at the end it's going to be like well, Josh put on the Superman Cape in the fourth quarter and you know maybe it's like the last game where he runs a touchdown in from distance. I'm not sure. But I know it ain't going to be as easy.

as it was in November whenever that game was played. Because the emotions are high. This game, I mean, let me just put it this way. Who's got more to lose? Who's got more to gain? Because on the Chief's side, it's history, potentially. And then on the Bill's side, it's so much. It's obviously the last five years, but maybe a first Super Bowl.

lot at stake.

Matt Stewart (31:52)
opportunity scarcity things of that nature. Brian I want to throw back you mentioned the game in November I have some thoughts about that game call me conspiracy theorist if you will. I don't think Kansas City put their best foot forward in that ballgame I just don't if you look back at the offensive play calling if you look back at the fact that Patrick Mahomes didn't have a single rush in that game I think what an X factor here that a lot of not a lot of people talking that. I think what we could see on the Kansas City side of the ball offensively is.

Potentially that team that we thought we would see going into this season, right? All these offensive weapons kind of growing developing coming to fruition and getting a Xavier worthy That's a little bit more developed got the Audrey Hopkins a little bit more acclimated We've got Kelsey coming out of the garage You know as we saw last week trying to put things all together and like I said Patrick Mahomes are scrambling out of the pocket. That's that's an X factor, right? That's a guy you're gonna have to have spying him to account for leaving somebody else open around the field vice versa

You know what mean? I don't know if I'm crazy for that thought but that's that's where I'm at with it and plus I just thought the play calling was just bland so I think maybe they're like hey we're gonna have to see Buffalo down the road here we want to win this game if we can but hey we're not gonna put all our cards on the table quite yet

Bryan Stewart (33:09)
Matt, Buffalo and their fans at this point need to hear something good, those who might be listening. Look, I mean, when Kansas City has the ball, this is just me being, I'm going try to be as unbiased as possible. I do not think with the injuries they have, rap is most likely going to be out. The nickel to Ron Johnson is banged up. He will see, probably plays, but at what percent? The corner, Benford, he's in concussion protocol.

Matt Stewart (33:15)
for me.

Bryan Stewart (33:39)
And this is before, you know, we're talking about a defense that a month ago, we watched them play against the Rams and Lions and we all said that defense is not good enough to go to a Super Bowl. But how quickly we forget that we were just saying that. So what am I getting to? I don't think their DBs can handle the speed Kansas City is going to throw at them. If they do, if they make that huge shift to play deep and keep Hollywood and worthy in front.

I think you're going to see Kelsey go back to the well. I think you're going to see Hopkins have what he wants. That's before we talk about what Kareem might be able to do or Pacheco when they sprinkle him in. However, where can Buffalo gain an advantage? Obviously it's at the line and particularly these freaking defensive ends with long arms that they have, they got Russo and Eponessa and Miller's still looks pretty good. They get their hands up, they bat balls up.

It's happened more than once before where they'll knock one up and intercept it. That shit scares me because the Chiefs have relied on the Click Passing game a lot lately. I don't think we can afford to do that in this one. Our protection needs to get the job done and let these receivers have time to run open because there's gonna be space. You just gotta be able to block for a little bit. But on the Buffalo side, I'm sure they're gonna see it differently.

Breezy, what's your key that you're looking at? I know we talked about Cook earlier on that set. What about when the Chiefs and the Bills are on defense?

Farah (35:16)
Well, when the bills are on defense, Brian, I think it's going to come down to containing Kelsey because we've seen when Kelsey turns up that the game's pretty much over, right? We saw him do it against the Texans last week. And I think that's what's going to come down to is, is what do you hold Trav to? Do you double Trav? What do you do? Right. But more than anything, aside from the defense, I think Josh simply has a chip on his shoulder knowing that his MVP is going to get stripped from him.

for more.

And that's my that's my opinion. You can take it how you want it.

But ultimately, I think that's what it's going to come down to is that chip. And I think that 3-0 burden is going to sit on Josh's shoulder. Now, you've got to realize too, Pat's not going to always swing by Buffalo, right? Big Ben got past over the years, right? Peyton got past through Tom over the years, vice versa, right? So it's always going to be a mix of bouncing. And we're going to see this with Pat. We're going to see it with Josh. We're going to see it with Burrow. I think it's just going to be a mix of these three guys for the next 10 plus years.

But I think this year's a little different, so I'm not gonna give my prediction yet, but ultimately I think this is the year perhaps, Josh gets by.

Bryan Stewart (36:37)
Little tease. One thing, both these teams, different than years past, the quarterbacks are, and you kind of said it earlier, under 200 passing yards, a little bit more of a elite game manager type of approach. The Chiefs, as a team, hold an NFL record right now. Most games without a turnover, they've went eight straight, which blew my mind. I had no idea that was even going on. But Buffalo's not far behind.

You know, Alan's not turning it over either. I think Cook's put it on the ground a time or two, but we know ball security is being coached up this week as it should be. So that's always a key. And maybe that's the difference. Turnover differential. Let's see. Big key, both teams have guys coming back from injury. So I would really throw the first matchup out for the most part, just based on the names that are returning.

But the one I'm looking at, Matt, is with Watson coming back at the corner position. That is going to enable the Chiefs to put McDuffie, who did not cover Shakir the entire game last time. They had a safety covering him. McDuffie's going to be able to go in there, and I think Shakir's a really good receiver. I don't think he wants that.

I don't think that's a matchup that favors him. So then Josh has to look outside and maybe Amari Cooper makes those plays that he did in November. Or maybe Mack Hollins, who is probably my least favorite player in the league right now. I don't know. Guy, thinks he is an all-pro and I don't know why. So that I think is key. Like the way that that's gonna shake out now, so much different than November.

could also be the difference.

Matt Stewart (38:41)
Yeah, no, absolutely right. mean, it's kind of like these guys are kind of coming together, getting fully healthy again at the right time. And that's obviously going to be an X factor. Another point I to make, you know, like you said, Matt Collins and fear rating. Absolutely. I went on a rant weeks ago about that guy. I don't know why the no shoes thing just, just doesn't, doesn't sit well with me. It just rumbles me in my gut and I don't understand it, but I'm

Bryan Stewart (39:03)
Yeah.

Matt Stewart (39:10)
I don't know, think there's a lot of interesting aspects to this game. I think it's gonna come down to a lot of the brain power too, right? It's something we haven't really touched on. We got Reed versus McDermott with Spagnolo and Joe Brady. And I think it's gonna be interesting to see the chess match, right? Kind of what I was alluding to earlier, like what we're seeing in the November game. Was it decoy? Was it setting up for this one? I don't know. That'll be kind of fascinating to know.

I don't know, I think all that's gonna combine for quite the interesting tale, for sure.

Bryan Stewart (39:46)
And maybe Buffalo by now after losing three times in the playoffs, maybe they've learned a thing or two about, we do need to hold some cards in the vest. If they've done that, they've obviously got a much better shot, gonna be a great game. With that being said, Bass Daddy, it's time to make our picks. Who's going to the Super Bowl in your mind to face the Eagles?

BassDaddy (40:17)
Coming from a Steelers fan,

Years ago, you didn't want to see Tom Brady and the Patriots go into the Super Bowl every fucking year.

Didn't want to the Patriots come into Pittsburgh and beat our ass. Chiefs are that team.

I love them for you guys, but as a Steeler fan...

All those years with Brady winning all those rings and Manning only being able to win two, Rathlasberger only being able to win two, Rodgers only being able to win one, Eli Manning having one or two, I don't know. But I think Josh Down, I think this is his time, this is his year to get that one. Maybe he gets another one in two or three years and that's it. Patrick Mahomes is going to win another four five.

I'm taking the bills on a score that may be by one or two points winning our last second field goal It's risky picking them because of the coaching because like I said earlier I trust I Trust Danny Reed and spagnolla a lot more than I trust McDermott

But it's wishful thinking. I'd like to see the bills in the Super Bowl instead of the DM sheeps. Let me say the 2931.

I gotta say it. I gotta say it.

Bryan Stewart (41:57)
Now I

respect the honesty. I'm glad I respect the honesty, Matt. I'm sure you do too, right?

BassDaddy (42:01)
Yeah.

Matt Stewart (42:04)
Absolutely.

I wanted to see him do it. I was like, is he going to? Is he going to flirt with it? He's like, yeah, you know, I picked the bills last time. I'm not going to do it again this time. No, he's had enough. He's like the rest of world.

BassDaddy (42:14)
you

Bryan Stewart (42:15)
And speaking of the rest of the world, so right now, I guess as of earlier today, 70 to 75 % of the money is on Buffalo. Interesting thing, the spread has not moved. What does that mean? The books, at least right now, don't feel like they're in a bad spot. It would be the interpretation. We'll see as things get closer. I think this thing moves to a pick by kickoff, Matt.

BassDaddy (42:17)
Have a nice shift.

Matt Stewart (42:27)
Wow.

that's crazy I had no idea about that- not fascinating man- this is just one for the books right guys there's so many different aspects like we mentioned. Teams getting healthier- I think the mound of bulletin board material as something that's gonna be able to elevate Kansas City just a bit- because frankly.

What do they what do they got to play for? They said besides history, but now I think they've got something to prove. You know, weekend week. I also hear about how they only win because they cheat because of the refs. I think this week they should. They changed it. They put that on its head like we are going to go above and beyond to do what it takes to regardless of what happens as far as flags go. But there's no doubt that they were the better team on the field. They got the better coaching. I think they have the better quarterback. I think they have the better team as a whole, and maybe I'm crazy to say that.

But I got them winning this game and I got them not as close as one might think. I got to spin 32 to 23 and I don't even know if it's that close. I'm being honest with you. think this game's in the back of the Bill's head. like, can we do it? Can we get the job done when it really matters? Because think about all the heartbreaking losses that they've had against Kansas City in the postseason. It's one of those things as an athlete, you guys have probably been there. You're like, it starts to get in your psyche a little bit. You're like, when it comes down to the wire, can we do it? Can we make that one extra play that's gonna get the job done?

And I'll be honest, I don't think so. I'm sorry, America. Chiefs get it done and you see them in the Super Bowl at least one more time.

Bryan Stewart (44:25)
Guys, earlier maybe a day or two ago, I meet this guy for the first time, just passing, right? I'll hold back his name. But he starts talking to me. This guy just so happens to be, I guess he wouldn't say a friend, but he knows Michael Jordan. He's played golf with him. He's hung out with him socially.

And the connection is through his trainer. know, he's buddies with Michael's trainer and has been for many, years. And he's just telling me stories. the first story he tells is about how Michael is this psycho competitor and everything he does. And he went to a Ferrari dealer in this suburb that they lived in, in the Chicago area. And he tried to talk down the dealer from...

250 grand to maybe two hundred thousand dollars and the dealers like Michael. I know you have this money. Why are you doing this and It's just that competitive nature and you know, he told a couple other stories. I'll spare the time But as he's doing this I realized that he's describing Michael, but he's also describing in my opinion My home and I think even though we didn't get to watch him Jordan that is none of us did

I think we are now in a new sport. Just the mixture of talent and psycho competitor together to where they're doing things that you just haven't really seen. And one of those being potentially three titles in a row. The last time a team did it was the Bulls in a major American sport in the late nineties.

And I, as a fan, have no choice. I'm going to predict that that's what we're headed towards. So I think he finds a way and I've got Chiefs 28, Bills 21 and a nail biter. It's not going to be particularly fun until it's over, hopefully. Then I'll breathe and relieve Farah. So you're going to tie us here? You going with Buffalo 2 or is it Chiefs 3-1? We'll see.

Farah (46:40)
Well, look, you guys all know this. I'm not in the AFC part of the world, right? You know, we've got some Chiefs guys, we've got some Steelers guys. I'm strictly NFC North. So I have no bias whatsoever when it comes to the AFC, right? And I agree. I think we all want to see a 3P. Deep down we do. Whether we want to admit it or not, we want to see it

Bryan Stewart (46:46)
Thanks.

Farah (47:06)
But unfortunately, I don't think that's going to happen come Sunday. I think Josh is coming to town with vengeance. And dare I say it's going to be a TLC match.

And I think that not only is it gonna be a TLC match, but it also could even be a very live match. Who knows? We don't know what we're going to get. Barring any weather, could be bearing alive. But look, I understand Pat's three and I against Josh, but I do think that comes to an end come Sunday. Not only is that chip of three and I want his shoulder, I think that that MVP is about to get stripped of him like I stated earlier to Lamar as well.

So I think he's coming in red hot. think Josh, think, what are we going to get from Amari Cooper? I think if his supporting cast just gets the job done. And I know I stated that James Cook is going to be one of the main decision makers, but James is going to have to help put that cape over Josh in order for him to take off as Superman. And I think he's going to get that come Sunday. I'm going with the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead with a dub facing the Washington commanders in the Super Bowl. 33-27.

Matt Stewart (48:17)
Ho ho ho.

Bryan Stewart (48:20)
So, let's see. Let's do some housekeeping. Bath, you've got Eagles versus Bills. Maybe America's preferred Super Bowl, but I think it really might be K's, which is the Bills and Commanders. It would be fun from an entertainment value, and then Matt and I, we agree. Nobody had Chiefs-Eagles. I'm sure that's because none of us really wanted that bad.

because it is maybe the most likely if you just go by the odds. We'll see you guys.

Matt Stewart (48:56)
Well,

I mean, you also got to look at it this way, right? If you and I are on the Kansas City side of things, I mean, we try to not let our bias get in the middle. Let's be real, who do we want to see in the Super Bowl? Probably probably the commanders. I mean, I think they have the better quarterback, but you're like, I think that's an easier mountain to climb. So that may be somewhat playing in our psyches.

Bryan Stewart (49:19)
Yeah, could be, could be. We'll see in a matter of hours. Before we cap the show, stick with us. Okay, we're going to take a little time to talk about the teams that got laid to rest. Farah, rest in peace in terms of the casket match, right? Last week, and don't we have to start with Detroit? Let me preface.

When that game was going on and they went down late and it was like, it was over. I just immediately thought back and we talked on this show after Dan lost to San Francisco and he went up to the press conference and he said, you know, it's going to be 10 times harder next year. And the crazy thing about it is they didn't, it didn't look that way all year long. It looked like it was going to be easier. They were the best team in the NFC. I will give them some credit in that.

Injuries definitely sunk the ship. Okay, they got bit by the bug worse than anybody But they still weren't supposed to lose that game. They were favored by 10 and now The way I'm looking at this bass How does he get that with the brain drain going on the offensive and defensive coordinators gone How does he get these guys back on the horse next year ready to make another run? They didn't make progress. They got kicked down a step

BassDaddy (50:22)
But.

Bryan Stewart (50:44)
after pouring it all out. just, I gotta be honest, I think there's gonna be a hangover here.

BassDaddy (50:52)
Yeah, I think it starts with first and foremost in the locker room. Not recording videos of your teammates with a whole bunch of offensive plays in the background. Get a whole bunch of stuff like that gathered up. And I think that's where Daniel needs to start. And to be honest with you, after that San Francisco game, I was saying like,

You know, the Vikings are going to fuck this team up. Their defense just got, you know, pretty much exposed by Brock Purdy and Josh Woodovs. And then their defense comes down and shuts down Darnold, shuts down Justin Jefferson, Addison, TJ Hawkinson, Aaron Jones. And then I'm like, okay, I guess the Aiden Hutchinson injury, you know, I guess, I guess Detroit's okay. They got to figure it out. And then, uh,

You know, they get their assholes completely blown out at home by a rookie. And Washington's defense ain't nothing to write home about either. I mean, they've been playing obviously better, but I'm just saying it's not like a Philly defense. They just got walked all over and I don't know, Dan Campbell.

He's gonna have to figure out something else, different body parts or something. The kneecaps just aren't in. He's gonna have to start biting somebody's dick head off or something. Get these guys in line. The kneecaps just aren't working.

Matt Stewart (52:34)
I think that's a good point. But yeah, to speak to both what you guys are saying, Brian, I think that is one of those losses that is devastating that lives in team lore forever until Detroit is able to ultimately slay that dragon and win a Super Bowl. Because like you said, nobody thought that that was going to happen. They came out there and I don't know, they just like seem to shoot themselves in the foot time and time again. And they ran into a team that wasn't afraid to take risk, take a chance because they have no reason.

Bryan Stewart (52:46)
Mm-hmm.

Matt Stewart (53:04)
to be afraid, right? Cause they had nothing to lose. And I don't know if Ben Johnson's gone, Aaron Glenn's gone, which I'd like to speak on that part a little bit later. I don't know. I think that's the main component of their team, right? The Ben Johnson offense, the trick plays. And obviously Dan does bring that attitude and that vigor, but I'm with you, man. It's going to be very hard to overcome this. don't know. I don't know what you do. I don't know how you hit reset after that kind of loss, you know?

Bryan Stewart (53:14)
What?

Farah (53:37)
Yeah, yeah, Matt, that's a, that's a good point. I think it just comes down to you're not going to be able to win a Superbowl with Jared Goff behind center. And I know it's a tough pill to swallow. but I mean, you see, you see it with Minnesota. It was the same story different year. You're not going to win a Superbowl with a mid-level quarterback. And then no matter how good your defense is, okay, you lost Aiden Hutchinson. So be it.

Bryan Stewart (53:48)
this one.

Farah (54:05)
If Aiden Hutchinson is on the Kansas City Chiefs roster, that really doesn't tarnish them that much because their quarterback is that elite. So I think that's what that comes down to. It's unfortunate. Yeah. Home field advantage. Great. Again, it means nothing. Home field advantage always reminds me of Green Bay when San Fran came and destroyed us in the divisional round. Oh, it was snowing. Everything was supposed to be so unfavorable for San Francisco. And what did Jimmy G and crew do? They come and spank this up, right? So that home field means nothing, right?

We have a title game come through. Same thing. The year Tommy goes to the Super Bowl with Tampa and plays Kansas City as well. Comes through Lambeau. Everything's favorable for Green Bay. What happens? You get spanked at home and ultimately you don't get to your final destination. And I think the same thing is to be said for this year with the Lions. You have home field advantage. You have the commanders come to town and you don't let your horses loose.

Bryan Stewart (54:44)
Mm-hmm.

Farah (55:04)
because you don't take this rookie quarterback seriously. And I understand what perspective you're coming from, but it took a hit on you. And unfortunately, I think that roster is filled with many Divas. Amon Ras-Saint-Brun being one of them. Eventually the clock is ticking. He's going to force his way out of there and it's just going to get nasty. And I don't like it long-term. So I don't know. I don't know what Campbell and crew can do to keep those boys steady mobbing, but it's going to take.

It's gonna take more than we realize.

Bryan Stewart (55:36)
I wish we had Alliance. I wish I knew Alliance fan like a real diehard, because I really do want to talk to one and just get to the heart of how they might be feeling. You think about these last two years in the build. mean, Bass Daddy always talks about edging. It was the ultimate edge, you know, the ultimate approach to completion. And now after this loss with losing the coordinators, I know you're about to talk about Matt.

The roster, it's gonna, as these guys get more expensive, it's not gonna be as good as it was this year. It might be close, we'll see. But if you're gonna sit there and say, hey, we're gonna be right back here next year, that puts a lot of faith, a lot of pressure on Dan Campbell. He might be that guy. But I think it's kind of a microcosm of...

life as an NFL fan. You literally go from one day, one month, one week, feeling on top of the world. They were Super Bowl favorites, not even seven days ago. And then 60 minutes of play clock goes by, and now you're asking yourself, are we ever going to get back to that NFC title game after we've already waited our entire lives just to get there? Still never been to the Super Bowl? It's a cruel world being a fan of a team.

who has real hopes and to your point Breezy, the quarterback just may not be enough to get you back there year after year after year. It's going to take such a good operation to make that possible.

Matt Stewart (57:13)
Yeah, you guys, I mean, guys said it very well. And now it's like gonna come down to who can fill the shoes of Ben Johnson, who's gonna be able to. Here's the thing. I think the weapons that the Lions possess outside, and I think Goffs is still good. He's still a good quarterback, right? But yeah, he's not elite by any means, but with the speed of Gibbs, Jameson Williams, Amon Ra, if you can get somebody in there that's competent, you know, maybe you've got a shot again, but it's gonna be tough. Tough shoes to fill and...

You know, frankly, personally, my taste, don't know that they were, they probably were expecting it, but I don't know that I would have, if I was New York Jets, been looking to hire Aaron Glenn. I don't know about you guys. This is kind of another thing, the Detroit defense with Aiden Hutchinson, even, I'm not overly impressed with, right? Like I think that's still a question mark, especially when you play some of these better teams. And I don't know, I don't know, on the Jets side of things, like not to get too deep into that, I feel like we're just.

doing the same thing we always do. It's like, let's take the hot NFC team and take their D coordinator and try to do it again and see how that works out. But I don't know. It's kind of, it's depressing for Detroit fans, like you mentioned, and kind of, kind of a little bit for everybody. I think everybody like a little bit roots for Detroit. They're like, yeah, you know, they've suffered enough, but the suffering just got worse.

Farah (58:33)
Matt to piggyback off of what you said hiring D coordinators never really fixes the problem right because what happened when we when the Jets hired Robert Sala all your problems were supposed to resolve

Matt Stewart (58:43)
Exactly, and the defense was never quite the problem, right? For New York this season even, while Salah was there. absolutely, dude.

Farah (58:45)
I don't know. I don't know.

Bryan Stewart (58:53)
Matt,

let me stand for Jets fans for just a second and I could be wrong. I'm just playing devil's advocate. So many times teams will have that guy, Robert Sala, let's say, fire him and then just say, whatever we do, we're gonna hire the opposite of that. We're gonna go get the hot OC.

Matt Stewart (59:13)
Hmm.

Bryan Stewart (59:14)
maybe they deserve a little bit of credit for saying, no, you know, let's go through this process. Whoever we think the best guy is, we're going to hire. And I feel like that's what they hopefully did. But at the end of the day, know they would have, they would have probably went with Ben Johnson if he even wanted to go there. He clearly didn't. So I keep that in mind. Yeah.

Matt Stewart (59:36)
Yeah,

I mean, that's a great point because I mean, what was the last offensive higher they had Adam Yates? I'm not even sure. So I get maybe why they're a little hesitant to want to flip to that side of the ball. You know, I'm an offensive minded guy, so that gets me going. that has me wishing they'd went that route. But I mean, you make a solid point there.

Bryan Stewart (59:42)
Yeah, yeah.

to change.

Guys, let's talk a little bit about Baltimore and Bastati. You being familiar, I'll let you start us off. Look, that game was a heartbreaker and a half. watching it from start to finish, Lamar, you know, he finished strong. He kept him in the game after trailing by quite a bit at half. But first game all year, he has two turnovers. First game since last year in the AFC title that he had.

BassDaddy (1:00:20)
and

Bryan Stewart (1:00:32)
Multiple turnovers. I'm not saying it's all his fault, but was it another sign perhaps that there's just a hard ceiling on this franchise?

BassDaddy (1:00:44)
I mean. It's tough because of the way the game ended and if that throw would have been. A couple foot a couple feet higher. And uncatchable. I felt like we would be completely talking about how the more was. You know, wasn't clutch anymore. He.

drove down the field and with little to no time to put up those eight points that they needed to. You know what I mean? Good players make mistakes in games and the really good ones recover from them and give their team a chance. And he was able to do that. So, I mean, I get the interceptions, but it's hard to make a case for the Baltimore Ravens because their postseason success.

Bryan Stewart (1:01:21)
Mm-hmm.

BassDaddy (1:01:42)
I've seen a stat saying that over the past so-and-so years, they have the most wins in the postseason without a Super Bowl appearance in the Super Bowl era. And it's legit. They just can't make it. So I don't know if that's an organizational thing. I mean, it's tough to call it the way the game ended, I guess, for me.

But fuck the Ravens.

Bryan Stewart (1:02:16)
Matt, Mark Andrews. And there's been some time since the game, I think. It's not like Sunday night when I'm sure there were people giving him death threats and stuff. But is it all on him? I mean, that's a rough sequence he had there. It seemed like he couldn't shake past the fumble, obviously, mentally. And, you know, you can do the math pretty quick and see that in this particular game, as great as he is,

He kinda cost him this one.

Matt Stewart (1:02:48)
Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's something that you definitely have to talk about, because I mean, what five plus years easy Mark Andrews has been a top five tight end year in year out for the most part outside of, you know, injury seasons. It's tough, man, like to have that fumble. It was like, I guess the rock was just cold, you know, some some bad weather situations and then the drop. Yeah, man. I mean, is it the easiest catch in the world?

No, but is it a play that Mark Andrews would make any other day in any other game? I would say yeah. It's tough man. I can't say he shoulders all the blame obviously because you know Lamar he had his fumble he had his pick as well. It's tough man. It's tough because in my opinion I think Baltimore. Roster roster better than the bills I would say and look coming out of this you know it's gotta be playing in Lamar's mind now if it wasn't before like.

I've got to get it done in the postseason and what moves is there to be made now? Like, mean, bringing a receiver, because I mean, the team's good, they've been good. And it's like, I don't know, I don't know where you go from there. It's also really heartbreaking loss. Another one, two in a row that just absolutely shattered a fan base. And I don't know, I don't know. I don't know what you start to do.

Farah (1:04:09)
And like you said, Matt, I think it's disappointing when you assess Lamar and the Ravens as a whole. Sure. I think, I think it's disappointing the performance Mark Andrews had that ultimately cost them the game. You live and you learn. is what it is. but Lamar is three and five in the playoffs now. It's not very impressive. You have a potential three time, almost potential three time NFL MVP.

Bryan Stewart (1:04:35)
Mm.

Farah (1:04:37)
There was a guy in Green Bay once upon a time that was a four time MVP, but kind of just fell short year in and year out. So is, is this the same trajectory we see for Lamar where it's just a guy that's an MVP caliber type player that's just going to not really get to the big game like we expect them to, you know, and I don't want to take it to another upper echelon, but I think we could see Lamar not even as a starter in the next six to seven years.

It means already 28 years old that athleticism is going to fall. We've seen that happen time and time again. The clock is ticking, but nobody's kind of talking about that right now. I think it's a little concerning.

Bryan Stewart (1:05:21)
Yeah, he threw the balls, I thought, by far the best of his career this year. And so that'll preserve him maybe longer than we thought a year or so ago. But you're right. I mean, this, combination of speed and pocket movement and being able to throw now, that's what makes him MVP again. and I like watching the guy play. really do. I he's

We're lucky to be able to watch guys like that. And maybe it is just, you just never know. Check back next year. We were just talking about Detroit and how everything seemed like it was looking their way and then out of nowhere it's not. And you don't know where things go. Maybe Baltimore right now, maybe that's them too, or maybe a year from now they're playing in this game and it's like, okay, here we go again.

Tough, tough to say, guys. Anything else to add on Baltimore before we move on?

Matt Stewart (1:06:25)
No, not overly. Just tough, man. Just tough to see for a fan base. I mean, I know they've had some success,

Bryan Stewart (1:06:26)
you

Yeah.

BassDaddy (1:06:34)
They

definitely will have to make a move offensively, I would say, at receiver, whether it's they got to find the true number one. I don't know if they find it in free agency or find it in the draft, but the Steelers are going to be in the same boat actually as well.

Bryan Stewart (1:06:52)
Yeah.

Yeah, they definitely miss Zay, I think, you know, and why wouldn't you? He's their most productive white out or slot receiver mostly, but so they'll look forward to having him back and maybe adding on top of that because there's really not depth. You you saw it. If Zay Flowers gets hurt, it gets tough. know, it's they still got Henry in company. We'll see. Yeah.

Feel free to chime in on other teams guys on the Texans Matt you kind of mentioned them before I Just I had a lot of respect for them. I picked them preseason to make the AFC championship the postgame Saturday Just really rubbed me the wrong way because it's one thing whenever players start saying stuff about You know basically blaming officials But once it became clear that it came from the head coach

You know, he went up there and more or less said the same thing. You could tell it was something they talked about leading up to the game. Hey guys, you're going to be playing the refs this week. Come on. That's not a serious operation. You're not going to be able to string together three playoff wins against the Buffaloes and Kansas cities and Baltimore's of the world. It ain't happening. So honestly, until they make big changes, I'm just not taking them that seriously. And maybe that's extreme.

but it just tells me mentally they're not dialed in where they need to be.

Matt Stewart (1:08:30)
No, I echo a lot of the sentiments a thousand percent, right? Because I mean, like you said, when you start that discourse before the game even begins, what you're doing deep down is you're giving yourself an excuse to lose that game before it's even begun. And now you're still giving yourself an excuse on why you lost the game and not looking at the real reasons on things that you could actually be doing to fix. And maybe next time, you'd have a better outcome, right? And it's, I don't even know if it's just internally, right?

don't know you saw some of the comments made by JJ watt Justin J. Watt. He kind of did the same thing. He was like, yeah, this is outrageous. What's going on here? You know, the Mahomes thing and Brian, you did a whole Twitter thread breaking down everything. Why this is just downright silly. You know, helmet to helmet contact and the Will Anderson play and the. Honestly, I don't understand the maybe you guys will on the other end here will have a have a.

BassDaddy (1:09:06)
.

Matt Stewart (1:09:29)
Rebuttal right on the second roughing the passer call where I don't know what the fellow's name was Brian you meant made mention of it the guy that totally launched himself with the crown of

Bryan Stewart (1:09:37)
Yeah.

Yeah. Well, the unnecessary, yeah, was an unnecessary roughness and they actually called it on 39 because it is forearm that hits the helmet. But honestly, what you're getting at the other guy, the big guy, he was, you know, inches away from probably knocking his ass out.

BassDaddy (1:09:46)
Yeah.

Hoo!

Why did it say that he did that? I was just thinking about that. Why did he do that? Why did he attack you?

Bryan Stewart (1:10:05)
What's that bad?

BassDaddy (1:10:13)
Why did the player attack the...

Matt Stewart (1:10:13)
the-

BassDaddy (1:10:17)
Yes. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that's what you guys were talking about. I'm sorry. It was funny as shit. Do you guys know what I'm talking about? Oh, okay, sorry.

Bryan Stewart (1:10:18)
Oh, yeah. Well, you're good. That is we should talk about that. We should talk about that.

Yeah.

Matt Stewart (1:10:28)
I don't know.

Farah (1:10:30)
yeah

Bryan Stewart (1:10:30)
Yeah, yeah.

Matt Stewart (1:10:31)
absolutely,

absolutely.

Bryan Stewart (1:10:34)
first play.

Matt Stewart (1:10:34)
No, we were just,

we were talking about the rough or unnecessary roughness, but no, yeah, that was a great point. Cause I think they tried to spin that as like, nah, he was just fired up. You know, he was just vibing. But if you saw his, I believe he was a special needs coach. That guy was fearing for his life. You know what I mean?

Bryan Stewart (1:10:50)
Or really pissed, one of the two. He was not... he wasn't feeling it, that's for sure.

BassDaddy (1:10:55)
That was not a joke. I don't care how they set that up. That guy was ready to fucking end his coach's life. You know what mean? The first play of the game, how can you... The first game in the playoffs as a starter, how can you come out after the first play and want to fucking kill your coach? Chill the fuck out. It was...

Bryan Stewart (1:10:58)
No.

Makes no sense to you.

BassDaddy (1:11:23)
The game hasn't been going on for five seconds and you already got a player that fucking mad.

Bryan Stewart (1:11:27)
Right.

BassDaddy (1:11:29)
I was just confused.

Matt Stewart (1:11:31)
don't know, what

happened to the guy? he continue in the game? Did they pull him? I don't even know.

Bryan Stewart (1:11:39)
I don't either. I think he continued to special teams, man. I really do.

Matt Stewart (1:11:44)
I mean, I guess you want a dog like that on your special team. Someone that's just not totally all the way there. It's kind of willing to fight a fight coach. Why not?

Bryan Stewart (1:11:51)
He did force the fumble.

BassDaddy (1:11:53)
I don't know. I will say too that I can't believe how unprofessional like Troy Aigman and Joe Buck were. Much text in the guys about it and Troy Aigman on his calls like, know. He's a, he, Joe, I don't know about that one, you know.

Bryan Stewart (1:12:15)
Hehehehe

you

BassDaddy (1:12:23)
I don't know, you know, just

Bryan Stewart (1:12:27)
Fuck.

BassDaddy (1:12:28)
I don't know about that shit. Man, he was like getting pissed off. And then Joe Bucks like, yeah, I don't get that one, man. Like, yeah, come on. And the more you listen to it, you would have thought they had their life's bet on Houston. Like one time, on the Hunt touchdown, they're like,

Troy Aitman's like, touchdown! And then it goes silent for like 15 seconds. And then the next drive, Straud throws it to Schultz for like a three yard completion for a first down. Aitman's like, God, Joe, that was a great throw there. Excellent execution. That was a great use of his hands right there. And it's just an unbelievable catch.

And I'm just like, are you fucking serious? Like, I don't know, just really biased and they were really hating on the Chiefs. Well, more so the officiating crew, not the Chiefs, sorry.

Matt Stewart (1:13:41)
mean you make a good point I think his fans a lot of times we caught up in the game like man that announcer he's going against us and typically you know it's it's our own stories our own feelings that kind of get in the way that was the most blatant obvious example that I've seen in a while like best of your Steelers guy you're like what's going on here this is this is just weird and I understand that Aikman has this weird hatred and rivalry in his mind with Patrick Mahomes that's crazy

Bryan Stewart (1:14:12)
Yeah guys, so Texans, it's gonna be an interesting offseason. They got a lot of work to do if they want to make progress. And let's see, who are we forgetting?

Matt Stewart (1:14:22)
I am or before

you dive in there I want to make one thing clear real quick. I'm I don't know if I'm speaking for everybody here but I'm speaking for most people this is an anti Troy Aikman podcast just so you know dear listener anti Bastad he's had a long standing feud with this guy it it it just is what it is man he's he's a tool we're not fans here you know Joe Bucks fine but Aikman no.

Bryan Stewart (1:14:26)
Go ahead and shoot.

Akeman can suck our asses from the back and front.

forever.

Matt Stewart (1:14:59)
Absolutely. And Farrah, no offense if you are an ignorant.

Farah (1:15:03)
No, I was going to join the sucking as well, so.

BassDaddy (1:15:11)
Thank you, brother.

Matt Stewart (1:15:12)
You

Farah (1:15:14)
Don't mention it.

Bryan Stewart (1:15:16)
Gosh, we may ought to end the show on note. Now, I'll of course let anybody speak up who had something they needed to get out, I don't think we can punctuate it much better than that.

Matt Stewart (1:15:29)
Did you wanna run through the best bets?

Bryan Stewart (1:15:31)
Holy shit. You know what? Yeah, we have listeners. Well, I just, say dessert, right? That's all it is. Yeah, let's do it, Matt. Let's do it. And per standard protocol, we'll let Farah, the guest here have tip off. Bass, you can follow after him and then Matt, and then I'll, and I'll carry us out. One pick each spread.

BassDaddy (1:15:35)
You stupid fuck!

Matt Stewart (1:15:58)
Sounds good.

Bryan Stewart (1:16:00)
over under. Yeah, there we go.

Farah (1:16:07)
Give me the I'm gonna take the spread here commanders Eagles. Give me plus six commando

Matt Stewart (1:16:17)
I it.

Bass, you're muted, buddy.

BassDaddy (1:16:31)
My bad. I'm going to take the spread. I'm going to take the Buffalo Bills. They are getting a point and a half.

Matt Stewart (1:16:42)
mistake best any mistake for sure. There's some good. There's some good bets here guys and I know we're not picking prop bets here but there's some good props out there you know for Kansas City faithful Deandre Hopkins he's now plus two eighty five for touchdown I feel like that's going be an underutilized target the people are going to see coming and you know Patrick plus three seventy at a rushing touchdown which he seems to always get in a conference championship game don't hate it.

BassDaddy (1:16:45)
I know.

Matt Stewart (1:17:07)
But that's not what I'm going to with. I'm going go with the spread as well, Bass Daddy, but I'm going take the opposite of you. KC minus one and half, and they're going to cover that with no problem. I'm pretty confident.

Bryan Stewart (1:17:18)
Oh man, it's like really picking off the scraps of the plate here. I'm screwed. It'd be fine if I took the Eagles, but didn't. Give me the over Chiefs Buffalo. I think it may not be by much, but they'll get over the 48 and a half. I actually had it at 49, so there you go.

Matt Stewart (1:17:25)
Yeah, you're screwed.

There you go. Feels right.

Bryan Stewart (1:17:46)
Next time we're on this show, will be looking at, well, we'll really be recapping these games, but at some point, of course, looking to Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans and whoever that might entail. Until then, thanks for making it to the end. Make sure you follow, like, subscribe wherever you see W2F and catch us here next week. Spread the word. It is time.

Matt Stewart (1:18:16)
Let's go.

Farah (1:18:20)
Good sh-