Why Your Favorite Team Won't Win the Super Bowl | Saints & Falcons

The Why Your Favorite Team WON'T Win the Super Bowl series continues! This episode, Spencer and James break down why the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons won't be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after the 2026 NFL season.

Can Tyler Shough take the next step under Kellen Moore? Will the Saints' defense and injury concerns keep them from contending? Is the Falcons' quarterback battle between Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. enough to overcome another disappointing season? We dive into the biggest reasons both NFC South teams fall short.

Plus, we wrap things up with another No Huddle segment featuring:

• Ryan Clark's departure from ESPN
• The NFL Top 100 controversy (Bo Nix vs. Lamar Jackson)
• A wild Mercedes-Benz Stadium playoff trivia challenge

0:00 Intro - World Cup Final Reactions
3:33 Why the Saints Won't Win the Super Bowl
12:16 Why the Falcons Won't Win the Super Bowl
22:02 No Huddle: Ryan Clark Out at ESPN
25:16 Bo Nix Ranked Ahead of Lamar Jackson?!
28:34 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Playoff Trivia

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#NFL #NFLPredictions #NewOrleansSaints #AtlantaFalcons #Saints #Falcons #NFCSouth #SuperBowl #Football #NFLNews #LamarJackson #BoNix #TuaTagovailoa #MichaelPenix #BigGameEnergy

Transcript

Spencer 0:00

All righty, big game energy. It is Tuesday, July 21st coming at you. James and Spencer back together again. James, we have some stuff to discuss. We are gonna talk about the Falcons and the Saints today and- Uh-huh our why they won't win the Super Bowl series. We also before we get into that, though I'm, I gotta admit, I'm a little sad 'cause the World Cup is officially over. Spain is the champions- Yeah of the world. Whoa. Like who said at the very beginning of the World cup? Yours truly. I did predict Spain at the very beginning of the World Cup. Just throwing it out there some of those haters on Instagram that said I don't know footy.

James 0:39

I thought Spain should've won four-nil, three-nil, however you wanna cut it, i'm starting to believe some of the conspiracies regarding the refereeing versus Argentina, and somehow gotta get Argentina and Messi to penalty kicks. But Spence, whoo, I ain't never seen anyone tuck their tails in a final. Imagine if you called a guy your GOAT And he tucked his tail and just looked like fr- the frozen one, LeBron James versus the Mavs. In the fi- look man, it could've been one thing. You get beat, okay, what it is. But I don't know what Argentina's game plan was, and again, I'm not gonna act like I know what it truly was, but one team was the super aggressive and the other team was just like, Is there a way we can get this to penalties?" I saw no effort into Argentina. I know homeboy got a red card, and other guy walked right out 'cause he was hurt. But damn, Messi and Argentina, what the f- Man, you didn't even, like, try. You're down one-nil and freaking... I don't see no effort, really, to try to score after the extra time. So I was shocked, Spence, on the effort of Argentina. I wasn't-- I was glad Spain won because that's who I picked to, to win that game and win me some money. I was a little shocked by Argentina's effort.

Spencer 1:59

If any of these, uh, any of the haters on our Instagram and TikTok hear you talk about their GOAT like that, oh, you're the, the you don't know ball allegation's gonna be loud for you too, James. They're not gonna just come in my way, but yeah it was a great World Cup. I, I will say this is my thing. After we had the World Cup, it was a great tournament. Yeah. The next World cup is going to be over in Europe, but if they are true with what they're saying about it's going to expand to 64 teams in the future- Mm-hmm I promise this will not be the last World Cup that we have on American soil in our lifetime. 'Cause if we're gonna have 64 teams in the tournament and it's gonna be... That's a ton of groups. That's a ton of group play. That's a- Yeah that's a full slate of round of 32, round of 16, all the way- Mm-hmm to the final. If we do expand to 64, there's not a whole lot of places on Earth-

James 2:51

Yeah

Spencer 2:51

that they can have this tournament- The USA is definitely gonna be seeing another one in our lifetime. That's my bold prediction after the World Cup. L-

James 2:58

look, and your bold prediction is right. You know why? 'Cause guess who, who hosts March Madness? We can host all them damn cities and all them games. I don't care who it is. We'll even throw a damn game in Idaho. W- I don't know who's gonna show up, but somebody's gonna be there. But we don't need

Spencer 3:13

to. We have enough stadiums in every other state that's not pointless.

James 3:16

Yeah. Just make sure, A, next time if you wanna do the NFL stadiums, let's put some college football stadiums in there. That's what I wanna see next time.

Spencer 3:23

And when you take the turf out and you put the grass in- Ooh and the World Cup ends, leave the grass. That's for you, George Kittle. Leave the grass.

James 3:33

Leave the grass, right?

Spencer 3:34

All right, so we are continuing today our Why They Won't Win the Super Bowl series. The New Orleans Saints- and the Atlanta Falcons. The Saints are poised to take a big step forward in 2026, but they will not win the Super Bowl next season. So last year, after they started the season one and eight- Ooh the Saints finished strong, finishing five and three down the stretch, largely in part due to their defense and Tyler Shuck breaking out in his rookie year. They go into this off-season, they sign Travis Etienne at running back, they add talent to the offensive line with David Edwards coming over from Buffalo- to bolster that unit. That got Tyler Shuck sacked quite a bit. And they also drafted Jordan Tyson in round one to add to their offensive weapons. So on paper, the Saints are looking pretty good as they go- Really? They are into the season. There's a lot of hope, a lot of optimism there in New Orleans. James? To cast water on the fire that's down in New Orleans, the first reason they will not win the Super Bowl is if the offense does not improve from what we saw last season. They were one of the bottom 10 teams in terms of offensive output in both points and yards. Now, a lot of that was before Tyler Shook took over and it was still the Spencer Rattler show. But for the Saints to actually contend- Mm-hmm they're gonna have to figure out something on the offensive side. And other than adding Jordan Tyson and Travis Etienne, which some might argue are marginal upgrades over the talent that was there before-

James 5:08

Right

Spencer 5:09

I don't know. I don't see a case that if this offense does not improve drastically, that they'll contend next year.

James 5:15

No, you got a point. Even though the improvement that we saw from Tyler Shook, still, even through 11 games, he only threw 10 touchdowns. That's not a lot, when you gotta, when you gotta beat NFL teams, you gotta score points, and if he's not putting the ball in the end zone, it's just gonna be tough. Hell, his QBR was 48.8, which was, again, bottom second, bottom two-thirds of the NFL. So yeah, we hope he does improve later on, but if he doesn't improve, again, you look, what difference does it make? If the quarterback's not gonna improve, how does that help Travis Etienne? How does that help a 30-year-old aging Alvin Kamara? Even though, yes, they restructured his contract, he'll retire as a legend there in, in the Bayou County. But Then you look at the receiving corps, so again, you say on paper it looks great. Again, this does have to make sense. And I know Kellen Moore will fix things here and there and make sure things go right, but we need Tyler Shuck to improve 'cause if not, this team, like you mentioned, bottom tier in scoring last year, they'll still s- they'll stay the same if they don't improve on the quarterback side of things.

Spencer 6:17

Yeah, and Kellen Moore being their head coach I know he came over from Philly after winning a Super Bowl. It was a great offensive mind there as the Eagles' offensive coordinator that season. But let's not forget what happened before that. The season before that when he was with the Chargers- Yeah fizzled out with an offense that had a lot of talent. Before that, was basically fired along with Mike McCarthy from the Cowboys job, and a lot of people thought that maybe he was gonna be the heir apparent to that head coaching job. They kicked him out to the curb with Mike McCarthy. They wanted nothing to do with it. So even though he's looked good through the past two seasons when it comes from an offensive play caller standpoint, I'm not sold that Kellen Moore can create an offense that is elite for an entire season. We haven't seen it in quite some time, to be frank, save for the one season that he won a Super Bowl with the Eagles.

James 7:11

Yeah. It'll be tough., You never know what happens in the NFC South.

Spencer 7:14

Now, reason number two why the Saints won't win the Super Bowl, despite having a pretty strong defense last year, they were top 10 in yards per game as a defense, their defensive secondary is shaky at best and potentially terrible at worst. You have Kool-Aid McKinstry. He should be a solid piece, not elite, but he's a good starting cornerback. After him, though, you're looking at projects like Martin Emerson, who didn't play all of 2025, Quincy Riley, T.J. Hall, Isaac Yiadom, right? This is a unit of guys who they are hoping and banking that one of these guys from this group, after Kool-Aid McKinstry can break out and become their cornerback too. But of all those names, none of them really inspire hope for me, so you're potentially looking at what could be one of the worst secondaries in the entire NFL. And for me, the front seven, despite not being bad, I don't know if it's good enough to hold tight and get after the pass rusher lo- or get after the passer for long enough that those corners can hold up in coverage. It- it's a little bit of a sketchy ask for me.

James 8:24

Yeah, no, you mentioned it. That's where I was basically going. With the depth of this secondary, again, real tight on Kool-Aid McKinstry, but you mentioned it, the previous... But after, before last year, Cameron Jordan had sacks of two and four the two previous seasons. Last year, he had 10 and a half. At 37, are you cornerbacks gonna rely on that guy? Again, we know Chase Young, always been a project, had the high draft capital with the Commanders, went to the Niners, now is with the Saints. Again, very productive. Will he have that same output? And you think about it, again, you're relying on guys like Tyree Wilson, who was a former first-round draft pick, a top 10 pick with the Raiders, and you grab him, but he's listed third on your depth chart Again, are we relying on a 37-year-old Cameron Jordan? I hope not, secondary, so please step it up. If not, this will be a long season fishing for y'all.

Spencer 9:22

Yep. And the last reason why, and this one hurts to say, but unfortunately, the wide receiver group for the Saints with Chris Olave and Jordan Tyson, while extremely talented on paper, these are two wide receivers that through their career, one longer than others- Right one, like Olave being more established than Tyson- Mm-hmm going into his rookie season, but throughout their careers respectively, have had a lot of trouble staying healthy. And I think to ask both of these guys to be healthy for a full 17-game schedule is a near impossible ask. And if your offense is that reliant on these two guys to stay healthy I struggle to see them having a path towards contention.

James 10:08

now we treat Chris Olave like Tua Tagovailoa, he might've played one full season, but he is still one hit away, one concussion away from being in a documentary on Netflix with CTE. Mm-hmm. And then with Jordan Tyson, a lot of capital's invested on this guy. He missed 34% of his games in college, which, torn ACL, MCL, PCL at Colorado in '23, broken collarbone in '24 at Arizona State, and then he strained both of his hammies. We make fun of Mike Evans for straining his hammy, but when you strain both of your hammies at this young of age and you miss your last three games in college and you have to skip the combine because you can't stay healthy, woo. Saints, man, hey, watch out.

Spencer 10:49

Yeah. Now, as we do this series and as we go through all 32 teams and tell you why they won't win the Super Bowl, we're gonna come across teams like the New Orleans Saints that me and James are both fans of in terms of how they're looking for this upcoming year. Yeah. I don't have their win total in front of me, but I would probably bet the over on their Vegas win total. That being said, predictions for 2026, James.

James 11:13

I think they go 8-9. In this NFC South, that just might be doable to win first place in this division.

Spencer 11:19

Eh, that is possible, but James, I'm going bold. I, this is a team that is gonna be a darling for me in 2026. I have the Saints not winning the Super Bowl, obviously, but I have them winning the division, and then in classic New Orleans Saints fashion- they lose in the playoffs in heartbreaking, all-time epic proportions- Mm like we saw with the Minneapolis miracle and like we saw the following year- with the no-call pass interference in the NFC Championship game. The Saints always find creative ways to lose in the playoffs. But good news, Saints fans, I have you getting there. Mm-hmm. But you will have another chapter when you inevitably do lose in the playoffs- because you are not winning the Super Bowl in 2027. But y'all let us know in the comments, how do you see the Saints finishing this season? Will their wide receivers be able to stay healthy? Who will emerge in the secondary opposite Kool-Aid McKinstry? And can this offense improve from last year? Y'all let us know down below. Now the next team, James. The Atlanta Falcons have one of the most talented offenses in the entire NFL- but they will not win the Super Bowl in 2027. Last year, the Falcons started off very hot, making bold moves, bold trades in the 2025 NFL Draft, having two first round picks, and by many accounts, overpaying to get those two first round picks. But they started 3-2 and things were looking good. Then they went on a stretch of games where they lost seven of eight- and once again, for the second consecutive year, finished at 8-9, thus resulting in them firing Raheem Morris to start their off-season. They then bring in Kevin Stefanski to replace him as head coach.

James 13:05

Okay.

Spencer 13:06

And then after that, the Falcons didn't do a whole lot. They signed Tua Tagovailoa to compete with Michael Penix for the starting job. They re-signed Kyle Pitts and Drake London to big contracts, two guys that are top of their position. But other than that, they really kinda treaded water and didn't make a ton of moves to improve on their roster from last year. So James, reason number one they are not going to win the Super Bowl. We're gonna start with their one offensive move they did make this year, and that is Tua and Michael Penix, the two guys that are gonna be starting, or the two guys that are gonna be competing for a starting job in Atlanta, are both lefties- and they are both bad at football.

James 13:47

Dude, this can't get any worse. Recipe for disaster. Two lefties, and like they say, if you got two, you ain't got any quarterbacks. And I just feel bad because you know how I feel about dissing on Tua, 'cause woo, it's hot again. But man, Spence, the injury history between these two and being lefties, look, I get it, for Tua, needs a new scenery. We get all that fun jazz. I'm not even impressed with how I looked at him in photos, even in training camp. He looks like he's put on a couple pounds. Stay away from the Magic City wings, Tua. You're a married man. We don't need all that there. I know they'll get you at Magic City. But in all honesty- For me, it is this quarterback room. Every room could be a make or break, but literally this is a walk-on-egg-shells quarterback room with Tua and Michael Penix. You look at both of their histories. Tua, of course before he got drafted, the knee, the hip, the high ankle sprains. Then since being in the NFL, five documented cases of concussions. So, wow. Again, one hit away from him. And then you look at Michael Penix. The list of ACL, MCLs, PCLs, LCLs, LLCs. Whatever acronym Michael Penix can tear, he will tear for you, and that's just been his career. And unfortunately, there's a lot of upside, and that was one of the main reasons why this last head regime got fired because they took this huge risk on Michael Penix, and now they're not even satisfied and they don't even feel like they need to pick up his fifth-year option. So it's a bad case to be in Atlanta, and hopefully this does revive Tua's career 'cause if not, Tua might be done

Spencer 15:25

Yeah, and this is a, an offense, a- again, Bijan Robinson, one of the best running backs in football. They have Drake London, one of the best wide receivers in football. Kyle Pitts finally emerged last year after some disappointing seasons- Yeah but was one of the best tight ends in the whole NFL last year. So the talent's there. The offensive line leaves a little bit to be desired, right? You got guys like Jawan Taylor there, Mr. False Start King, and Chris Lindstrom's one of the best interior linemen in the league. Really they need a quarterback that can come in and can make things happen on their own and can be Superman a little bit, and I just don't see Tua or Michael Penix, either of those guys having that in their potential outcomes. Right. Either of those guys need to be system quarterbacks at best, where there's a, a set offensive line, there's established weapons around them, a good offensive play caller, and I do like Kevin Stefanski a- and his ability to call an offense. I do think he's, he was a good hire for the Falcons. But year one with these two guys I think it's far more likely that the Falcons are gonna be picking in the top five than they would be picking in the bottom five of the first round.

James 16:33

Whoo! All right, man. Buckle up, Atlanta.

Spencer 16:36

Yeah. Now, reason number two, and it's a little bit more of an iffy kind of thing, but the defensive front seven does not look like it could be in for a good season for the Falcons. Now, James, last year this group was middle of the pack on defense, right?

James 16:53

Right, yeah. Yards, points, you name it. But sacks Number two in the league.

Spencer 16:59

Yes.

James 16:59

And you mentioned this top seven, this front seven might have a bad outlook because we don't know what's gonna happen with James Pierce Jr. Again, we know some of the charges have been dropped. He's facing three felonies. If he gets slapped with an extensive suspension, a guy who had 10 and a half, 10 and a half sacks last year, that's 20% of your production. Spence, who are you gonna rely on to get 10 sacks?

Spencer 17:20

Yeah, after that, they brought in Samson Ebukam. They signed Azeez Ojulari from the Giants and the Eagles. These are guys that I would kind of put in the JAG territory. They're just a guy. They're not scrubs, but I don't think they're gonna be anyone that is gonna be inking long-term extensions. They bring in Christian Harris from the Texans, who you hear that he's from the Texans defense, and that seems like it's pretty good, but he was a cast-off, and he did not get a lot of snaps with that unit last season. He was not one of the ones that was making that Texans defense- Correct a formidable unit. He was the guy that was on the outside looking in of playing time, and that's why he left for greener pastures in Atlanta. Now, maybe they can use him a little bit differently and have him in a more featured role on that defense. Right. But all this to say is this front seven, it could be in for a tough year. I love what they did in the secondary. You got the Terrell brothers there as your cornerbacks. You got Mike Hughes there as well. Jesse Bates Jesse Bates, Xavier- Yeah Watts. This is a good secondary, but can that front seven get after the pass rusher, stop the run to hold up that secondary and help them succeed? That remains to be seen for me.

James 18:30

Yeah. And again, I know we mentioned it just a bit earlier- Not having James Pierce is gonna make a difference. So it'll be a tough one, and again, with what we project from some of these teams who are gonna get better, like the Panthers who went to the playoffs last year, the Saints who looked really good at the end of this last season, they're looking to be better. And you got the Bucs, who it seems like Baker is the Iron Man and he'll find a way to throw 5,000 yards on one knee, one ankle, and whoever's catching the ball.

Spencer 18:58

Yep. And the final reason why the Falcons will not win the Super Bowl, we mentioned it at the beginning, but this is a, a team that this off-season, after a second consecutive eight and nine season, they approached the off-season, with some cap issues and some guys they needed to pay, so it wasn't ever gonna be a lucrative off-season, and they didn't have draft capital to add in the draft. This resulted in them making very minimal moves, basically at the margins. They didn't hand out any big contracts, they lost a couple of key guys. Again, their headlining move is signing Tua to a one-year minimum contract because he doesn't need to sign a big deal, 'cause he's getting s- paid a ton of money from the Dolphins. Money. So at least they struck a bargain there. But when that's your headlining move after a season you went eight and nine in the previous year I don't see a pathway for them to finish i- any better than eight and nine. And s- transitioning over into our predictions I think it's possible, I'm gonna have them at eight and nine, m- missing the playoffs obviously, but I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that the Atlanta Falcons are in the top five and they're in the Arch Manning, Dante Moore sweepstakes.

James 20:06

Yeah, you mentioned it, they didn't do much in the off-season. Again, a lot of it's being capped. They didn't have really any draft capital 'cause they traded their pick last year to the Rams, so they're the ones who took their pick. It seems like with the Falcons, what they're doing is they throw a lot of crap on the wall and hopefully it sticks. And they have all these pieces and they're willing to try new things, but there's something inside the organization. They need to change up the process and if it's firing the coach every two to three years, I don't think that's the answer. It might be something else to investigate, you know, into that organization. I'm not gonna say, "Arthur Blank, you're done. You gotta sell the team." I won't do it that far. But again, I see this team also going eight and nine. I wanna joke all year and say everyone's gonna be eight and nine and the only way this team-- someone's gonna win this division is dependent on how you lost to the Jets by so many points. And that's who's gonna be the number one team in this division. But I hope, in my eye- That Tua is the one who can play a full season and get through and actually look productive. I, but other than that, yeah, I'm with you. This team, uh, didn't do much to be up, up in a way to win the Super Bowl, and guess what? That's why they won't win the Super Bowl.

Spencer 21:19

Yeah, unless you're a big fan of Jahan Dotson, which I low-key am. I do think there's some talent there, but- I

James 21:23

was for, like, two years.

Spencer 21:25

Yeah, he, but now him as the number two option behind Drake London, I'm just not sure, that's a, a big, upgrade from even Darnell Mooney from a year ago, but- Right y'all let us know in the comments, what is your outlook for the Atlanta Falcons in 2026? What do you see them finishing at? Will they improve on their 8-9 record from last year? Can Tua or Michael Penix take the reins and actually contend with this team? And what's gonna happen with the James Pierce situation, and what will be the fallout for that defense after that? Y'all let us know in the comments. Now, James, let's wrap up this episode. We got about four- Ooh four minutes and some change. We can do a little no huddle here.

James 22:02

Oh, man, it's gonna be tough with the first one, Spence.

Spencer 22:05

Yeah. James, the first thing we need I, first thing I wanna just throw out there Ryan Clark fired from ESPN.

James 22:11

Whoo! Oh, man, I don't wanna say, "Oh, happy day, oh, happy..." 'Cause you know somebody's gonna be like, "Oh, Race

Spencer 22:20

Baiter mother..."

James 22:21

At the end of the day, hey, look, ESPN paying their top guys big money, and at the end of the day, somebody's gotta get cut. Yeah. Just like LeBron and them said, "We're top-heavy and all these other guys we just gotta deal with."

Spencer 22:33

Yeah, apparently Pat McAfee is getting, like, $60 million a year from ESPN. And that's a big reason why they're having to cut some of these other personalities. So I'll just say it like this: 60 million for Pat McAfee seems like a crazy number, but If cutting Ryan Clark to make room to pay Pat McAfee is what had to happen, I think that's a trade that 90% of sports fans- would take in a heartbeat, 'cause we all love Pat McAfee, and very few people actually like Ryan Clark. At this point, no one likes Ryan Clark, and you mentioned the race-baiting stuff. I don't even think you have to do that. I think you can just look at how much of an ass he is and the clip that's been going viral today- Oh, yeah was his exchange with Peter Schrager- Yeah on Get Up earlier this season early, at the beginning of football season last year, where he basically was like, "Hey, you didn't play the game like I did, so shut your ass up." And Peter Schrager- is a respected NFL journalist who has worked in the NFL for years and years. He has- Yep plugs and he has, he, he's very plugged into NFL teams around the league. But yeah, sure, he didn't play football, but I immediately lose respect for anyone that pulls that card, 'cause here me and you are, James. We are two sports fans that haven't played sports at the highest level- No or anywhere close. The, the highest either of us have is, a little bit of high school sports.

James 23:53

Tryout for JUCO basketball, yeah. That's about it for me.

Spencer 23:56

But that being said, and we talk about this a lot, I can't tell you how many times we have seen and we, the comments can let us know, there are so many times that former professional athletes come out on their podcast or to the media, and they just have objectively terrible takes. But no one is in the comments in there being like well, d- gosh they played football, so what they said has to be correct." For example- Right like here's an easy one and this one's a polarizing one, but Scottie Pippen played with Michael Jordan, and he says LeBron James is the GOAT. Now, I don't care what side of the GOAT debate you are on, if you're Jordan, if you're LeBron. If you're the type of person that says, "Well, hey, if they're a pro athlete, we gotta take it fr- from what they said," then you cannot be a Jordan is the GOAT guy. You have to be LeBron is the GOAT guy because Scottie Pippen, the former pro athlete that played with Michael Jordan, is saying that LeBron is better. So again, I'm not saying that's my take on it, but if you are that person that thinks we always have to listen to the pro athlete's takes over anyone else's because they played the sport, LeBron James is your GOAT. Congratulations.

James 25:02

Thank you. I love to hear it. GOAT James, man. GOAT James. All right, Spence. Hey, man. I know you wanted me to be quick, but this No Huddle has got me thinking. Spence, I've seen the list come out, top 100 players this year in NFL. Bo Nix ranked 59th, 10 spots above- Lamar Jackson, who ranked at 69. We like that number, but not in this debate right now. Spence, what are your thoughts, man? Bo Nix is ranked ahead of Lamar Jackson.

Spencer 25:27

Top 100 players list, it used to be something as a kid I was always hyped for. Back in, like, 2011, 2012, 2013, 20- like, those years where, they would do a weekly episode on Wednesday nights, and it would give 10 players at a time, and they did that- Yeah in the summer leading up. That was when this list was peak, and that's when it actually honestly made sense. Ever since then, I've now questioned constantly, are they actually asking the players this question? 'Cause I cannot believe for a moment Most fans aren't gonna feel this way unless they're an absolute hater, but I especially can't imagine being a linebacker that has been tasked with covering the Baltimore Ravens, and Lamar Jackson is the quarterback, and you have to spy him, and then you spy him. Well, now you have one less man in the secondary. Now he's gonna dice you up with his arm. And I know he's not put it together yet, right? But look, he is-

James 26:19

Man, uh, I can't believe you said that. Can't put it together, and he's a what? Time MVP?

Spencer 26:24

He is a two-time MVP. He has not gotten to the Super Bowl yet, but let's say it like this. Unfortunately, the, the truth is, whether you like it or not, he's been to the same amount of conference championships as Bo Nix, and he has two MVPs to his name. I'm not gonna sit here and pre- no one can sit here- with a straight face and pretend that Bo Nix is better than Lamar Jackson. That is just preposterous. And players sh- agree with that. I know for a fact that list is not made by NFL players. No chance.

James 26:51

So I will say this, agree to the players, yeah, they would say, "I would rather face Bo Nix over Lamar Jackson with the features that Lamar Jackson can bring." But I'm gonna be on the other side of this, Vince, and say, "Hey-"

Spencer 27:05

Are we actually disagreeing on something?

James 27:07

Bo Nix did play better than Lamar Jackson last year. And I just look at it as a last year thing, not a resume thing.

Spencer 27:13

See, but the top 100 list is the top 100 players going into next season, right? Right. So it is a big chunk. What you did for me last year matters too. Right. But it also matters what you've done your whole career, and Lamar Jackson has just accomplished so much more than Bo Nix has in his two years. I, I don't see how you can truly make that case unless you're just being a hater.

James 27:38

Look, I'm not saying a hater, but by your tactics, LeBron James is the best player in the NBA. No one should be ranked above him.

Spencer 27:45

That's not what I said. If we're gon- hang- I said it's both. You have to factor in both. There's nuance here. Fair, it's

James 27:49

Just last year. No, no resume.

Spencer 27:50

Last year. That's not true, though, 'cause it's not just last year. It's not the top 100 players f- just last year. It is the top 100 players for 2026, going into the 2026 season. That's the criteria they're asking. So yeah, you're factoring in the last season a lot, but you can't just ignore what everything they did in their career up to last year. It's not last year in a vacuum. Look- There's a lot more nuance than that

James 28:13

all you Oh, look, you said it to me. All you said, look, I'll... Yeah, I agree with you. The players are gonna wanna face Bo versus Lamar, but you said it, man. Last year, Bo played better than Lamar, and you mentioned just a second ago, even Lamar with two-time MVPs, blah, blah, still ain't got it together

Spencer 28:29

Oh, hey, how about this one? Who's played in more championship games? Lamar Jackson.

James 28:37

All right, Spence, we still staying in football. Earlier we talked about the Falcons. Now, the Benz has been open since 2017, but the Falcons have not hosted a playoff game in the Benz or won a playoff game in the Benz. Since the stadium's been open since 2017, 12 other teams have won a playoff game in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Can you guess those 12 teams right now?

Spencer 29:02

No, I'll try to guess this.

James 29:03

Oh, but there's gonna be- I'll give you a hint it's gonna be

Spencer 29:04

all the teams, huh?

James 29:06

I'll give you a hint. There is pro football, college football, and soccer on this list.

Spencer 29:12

Okay. Let's get Atlanta United.

James 29:15

Yes. One.

Spencer 29:16

Okay. As I know they went on a little championship run a couple years ago. All right, how about this? Can I get Georgia?

James 29:23

Yes. Number two.

Spencer 29:25

Can I get Alabama?

James 29:26

Yes. Number three.

Spencer 29:28

Okay. N- what are the sports again? So I got pro football

James 29:31

You got one pro football team, you got six college football teams and you got five soccer teams.

Spencer 29:38

Oh, I... You're gonna have to help me with the soccer teams

James 29:41

and the- you probably know the soccer more than you think, actually. Some of these teams... You guess one. There's three you do know because they just either, A, won some games at the bins for the World Cup-

Spencer 29:52

Oh

James 29:53

so there's a few teams on here. And then I know you know this one team. It's an acronym. It's a three-letter team. I give it to you. You know this team. I don't know what league they play in, it's the one that everyone played for, Mbappé and Messi, um-

Spencer 30:07

Oh, PSG.

James 30:09

Boom. Okay. There we go. What the

Spencer 30:10

hell? Did they win in Atlanta?

James 30:12

Yo, at this moment, hey, man, they won a playoff game. I don't know what league and what they did before

Spencer 30:19

the balcony. Yeah, this stat's gonna give me cancer. I ca- I'm gonna have to figure this one. Let's see. Okay. Then let me just name some fricking... Are they European teams or are there MLS teams?

James 30:29

So there's three soccer teams. Like I said, two of them played in the World Cup, so you gotta guess the two of them. But

Spencer 30:34

they're international teams? Yeah. Let me just name some European teams. Let's just start off, I'll start with Germany. Bayern Munich.

James 30:41

No.

Spencer 30:42

How about Dortmund?

James 30:43

There you go. All right. Oh. So we got three soccer teams. All right. You need two

Spencer 30:46

more. How about that?

James 30:47

You do. Look at that. You're, you are just racking it up.

Spencer 30:49

So I need... There are two international teams. I don't even know who all played in Atlanta in international. And it was a playoff game, so it had to have been the round of 32. Let's go with can I get France?

James 31:02

No.

Spencer 31:03

Can I get Spain?

James 31:05

No.

Spencer 31:05

Can I get England?

James 31:07

Yes. There you go. Team number four, and then you got the fifth one. Get it.

Spencer 31:10

Is Argentina?

James 31:12

Number five. All right. Okay. So five soccer teams have won a playoff game. All right. You have also named one college football team. We need f- oh no, you named two.

Spencer 31:20

I named two. I got 'Bama and Georgia.

James 31:22

So we need four more.

Spencer 31:24

Okay. I need to figure out, the pro football team's gonna be hard. Who has won a playoff game in Atlanta? Has the Super Bowl been in Atlanta?

James 31:31

Yep.

Spencer 31:32

It's okay. Who won a Super Bowl recently?

James 31:36

It's only been there once, and you'll know

Spencer 31:37

the Super Bowl. Yeah. I forgot the year it was in Atlanta. Who was in it?

James 31:40

If

Spencer 31:41

I tell you,

James 31:41

if I tell you the number you'll know it, so I can't tell you.

Spencer 31:44

Let's just throw the Chiefs then.

James 31:45

No.

Spencer 31:46

So it's not the Chiefs. It wasn't the Rams, wasn't the Eagles wasn't the Seahawks Why can't I think of who has won a Super Bowl since

James 31:54

then? This, this one's gonna be a... Yeah, you're gonna be-

Spencer 31:56

Oh Patriots.

James 31:57

There you go, the one NFL team, Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta.

Spencer 32:00

Yeah, all right. So there it is. Now we're down one. That was against the Rams, right?

James 32:02

Yeah.

Spencer 32:03

Okay.

James 32:04

So now

Spencer 32:04

we're down one. That's why I don't remember that one. That Super Bowl sucked.

James 32:07

That one did suck.

Spencer 32:08

Four- It's all Tony Michelle

James 32:09

four college football teams right now, two Big 10, two SECs right now.

Spencer 32:13

Okay, let's go Michigan.

James 32:15

No.

Spencer 32:16

Ohio State.

James 32:16

Yes.

Spencer 32:17

Oh, I know that Ohio State will know... That was the UT game.

James 32:21

No, that was in Dallas. They won the national championship game against Notre Dame at the Benz.

Spencer 32:26

Okay, got it. Well, that's fine, I'm still taking Ohio State. Um, an SEC team and I already got Georgia and I already got Alabama. Won a playoff game. Can I get Texas?

James 32:36

Texas, number 14.

Spencer 32:38

Okay. An SEC team that won a playoff game LSU There you

James 32:44

go, number five Okay. Yeah, they beat Oklahoma like 100 to six in the first half

Spencer 32:51

Yep And then it was done. All right. Yeah, A- Atlanta's one of those stadiums, like I have to visualize, but you can actually visualize how that dome looks different than the other domes.

James 33:00

You know what I mean? Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, definitely. All right, man, you got one more team. Big 10. This should be an obvious one. You'll be upset cause I just did this

Spencer 33:08

Oregon?

James 33:09

No

Spencer 33:10

Oh, Indiana

James 33:11

Indiana, there you go, man. Those are the 12 teams that have won a playoff game in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium except the Atlanta Falcons. That

Spencer 33:19

is, that's a crazy stat.

James 33:21

And I will wrap it up, man, 'cause I got some ones that there's no time sensitive on these other ones. Okay. So we'll see it on Wednesday with? Hey, man. A new guest?

Spencer 33:30

Potentially. We're cooking up some stuff.

James 33:32

Cooking.

Spencer 33:33

We're cooking up some stuff. Cooking. All righty, James. Good episode. We will be back later this week. Quick turnaround. We will be back on Thursday this week, and we are continuing the NFC South. We will talk about the Bucs and the Panthers and why they won't win the Super Bowl. But for James, I'm Spencer. We'll see y'all next time on Big Game Energy. Y'all take it easy.

James 33:53

I guess we're sticking with American football, like our haters say.