17. Scratching, Spitgate 2.0, and All Time Scoring Records: Week 11 in the NFL

We break down a wild Week 11: a controversial flag in Lions–Eagles, the tush push officiating mess, the Broncos’ defensive rise, and Travis Kelsey’s milestone while the Chiefs wobble. We also talk accountability, mental health, QB shuffles, and a kicker cut after OT in Europe.

• NFC North order shaken by Lions’ stumble
• Phantom PI call and fourth down failures
• Why tush push is breaking officiating
• Broncos defense driving their win streak
• Chiefs vulnerability vs Kelsey’s record
• Bills’ healthy scratch and team standards
• Spitgate suspension and consistent discipline
• Shadur’s context vs results in debut
• Justin Fields benched for Tyrod Taylor
• Europe game drama and kicker release
• Where identity, culture and coaching collide

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Transcript

Cold Open And Welcome

SPEAKER_03 0:27

You a baby, baby. You better win on a smelling it threes. You better on it on a space.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

The game's on. The game is on. Game's on. Games on. Games on. Games on. Games on.

SPEAKER_02 0:43

You better.

SPEAKER_04 0:45

I'm Victoria.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

I'm Giovanna.

SPEAKER_04 0:48

The game's on. Welcome back to another episode of your favorite NFL podcast by the girls for everyone, the game. Today we are chatting about everything that happened over the weekend, week 11 in the NFL. This might have been my favorite week so far. So we just have a docket of a bunch of stuff that we loved from the weekend that we want to talk about. We're going to try and go in 45 minutes today. So quick episode for you, for us. So we're excited to do that for you, cover everything that you need to know. So let's get into it. Giovanna, wait, where are you in the world? Because you're not in Dallas where I am, where you live, where I don't live.

SPEAKER_02 1:35

I know, right? We like switch spots. Victoria is quite literally in Dallas. And I actually flew out of Dallas. I'm in Cabo, San Lucas right now, guys. Insane. It's like like insane. But this is my one week of true, not really true vacation, but like kind of vacation. I'm still working, you know, hustle girl, still have to grind. But hustle girl. One one week of vacation in Cabo with a bunch of friends and my man, my man, my man. So it's fun.

unknown 2:04

Okay.

Jameis Winston Gets The Nod

SPEAKER_04 2:04

Shout out. Okay, so since you're in party mode, cabo mode, what do you want to start with today?

SPEAKER_02 2:11

I fear I might have to start with one of my favorite players and I start with him because he actually got to play this weekend. He's technically he started at QB three on the roster and now has moved up to like kind of QB2. Talking about Jameis Winston, started for the Giants. His stat line wasn't the best, right? I don't expect a lot of Winston. He's just a likable guy. If you could tell if I can choose like the top three favorite players in the league, it'd probably be Jameis Winston, Cam Scattaboo, and the third of all. It's maybe like Josh Allen. But Jameis Winston's up there on my list, and it was just it was just really good to see him play. Mainly because the things that he says, it's just outrageous. Like his press conferences, he like had a Hamilton reference. He was like, In the greatest city in the world. And I was like, oh my gosh, this guy is literally a walking, I know. Put him on Broadway, guys.

SPEAKER_04 3:04

No, actually put him on Broadway. Yeah, if you guys haven't seen Jameis Winston, like just Google him. It's it's you'll find everything you need to know immediately. But like watch his videos. Like, don't look up his stats, don't look up his plays, like just look up the videos because I think in a different life, like he was a storytelling TikTok star.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

Yes, I would agree. I would agree. He he didn't play terrible. Giants lost to the Packers. Everyone kind of saw this coming, right? I mean, the Giants weren't gonna get a win against the Packers, but they only lost by seven points. He did throw an interception, but he completed 19 out of 29 passes, threw for 201 yards, didn't have a passing touchdown, but that's okay. Again, not really expecting any great things out of him. He's stepping into a role, trying to keep these Giants franchise with somewhat of a wheels going. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 3:51

So he's trying to keep them doing anything question. Because I think like a 20 to 27 loss to the Packers is like not it's not bad. Like everyone's been saying the Packers' defense is so strong all season. Like the Packers are, you know, taking out or coming close to taking out good teams. So I think a 20 to 27 score with Jameis playing is pretty good.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Yeah, me too.

SPEAKER_04 4:18

They ran the ball well, and we love to see him because you know, this is part of the reason why we had to start a show like this because the girls recognize good people, you know. Exactly. Other announcers aren't like we just like him because he's a good person and we want good people to win.

SPEAKER_02 4:31

Yes, yes. And you can just tell, like, he unwavering faith. That's like one of the biggest things he'll always say. And he's like really big, he's he's a really big inspirational kind of guy. But he also just says like the stupidest.

SPEAKER_04 4:46

He's like the kind of boyfriend who actually gives unconditional love and means it.

SPEAKER_02 4:51

Yes. And you know he means it because he says he uses like the most outlandish things to explain his love and how much he cares to you.

SPEAKER_04 5:01

Wait, I actually think now that you kind of said that, because you know I love a comparison, I think me and him would be really good friends.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

I wish Jameis Winston was my dad. Was your dad? Yeah, imagine having him as a dad. That'd be so fun.

NFC North Shakeup

SPEAKER_04 5:17

I think he's like my age, so I can't even imagine him being my dad. True. But it probably would be really freaking fun. Okay, we love Jameis Winston, so you know, but let's talk about talking about the Packers. The NFC North is crazy right now because the Bears are number one. Yeah. It's Bears, Packers, and Lions have slid down to number three, and then we have the Vikings, but nobody cares about the Vikings right now. Sorry. The Bears are number one, Packers are number two, Lions. I don't even know if I was ready to get into the Lions this early in, but the Lions played the Eagles last night. That was one of the lowest scoring games for two, I have to put it in quotes now, top teams because the Lions are not a top team right now. The Lions are out of the playoff picture, but the world is freaking out because did you see they are calling it a phantom call? Have you seen this?

SPEAKER_02 6:18

The call at the very end of the game? Yes. The pass interference calls?

Lions vs Eagles Phantom Call

SPEAKER_04 6:22

Yep. At one minute 51 seconds, they the refs call pass interference on the Lions. And if you watch it, there is literally no pass interference. Like, there have been so many worse, like this wasn't even pass, it's just not pass interference, and that's a fact. Yeah. And so the world's freaking out, and Lions fans are like, you know, we could have won. And like, I don't know if we should go so far to say that the Lions would have won had this call not happened. But basically what happened is the call got called, and then the I'm literally blanking on who they were playing because it's so tragic. The Eagles were able to run out the clock so that the Lions couldn't get a possession, but it was a third and eight. And so they would have had to punt it and given the Lions another shot. And the reason why I don't really think, you know, necessarily that the Lions would have gotten it is the Lions, I mean, they the offense just didn't play that strongly. The play calling was like okay at best. And the wind was so bad that making any kind of field goal was like nearly impossible last night. So I don't know that they would have won, but I think that the opportunity did get just like absolutely ripped out from under them.

SPEAKER_02 7:36

I agree.

SPEAKER_04 7:37

So that's like really sad to watch, especially in such a low-scoring game. And I think a low-scoring game to me says it's two really good teams whose defenses are playing lights out. So I feel like the real loss for the Lions was the defense because the defense played so well against the Eagles. They didn't let the Eagles tush-push them into oblivion. They didn't let the Eagles run up the score on them. They didn't let the Eagles play like the Eagles, essentially, but they still couldn't put enough points on the board to make it happen. So that was disappointing. But I mean, I don't like something. Are the refs getting paid by the Eagles because the tush push calls? I like this is feeling scripted.

SPEAKER_02 8:27

It it does feel scripted. Like everyone's saying it's a Vegas call. Everyone's comparing the Eagles to the Chiefs now, like how the refs are favoring them. 1000% really, really bad call. The announcer said it when it was on Sunday night football. 100% bad call. Was it a game costing call? No. And I I 1000% agree with you on like, let's be so honest, there was what, like not that much time left, fourth quarter. The Lions had to do a lot to win that game, even if they if that call didn't get called. So don't think it was a game-costing call, but definitely shouldn't have been a pass interference in the beginning. The play that I thought was really interesting was a touch push, actually. And I don't know if you've seen this, but it was essentially the Eagles lining up to do the touch push. There is an offensive lineman, the guard, I think it was the right guard, he was tapping the defensive lineman on the lions. So the defensive lineman on the lions kind of line up in the neutral zone. If you don't know what the neutral zone is, it's pretty much you have the line of scrimmage, right? Offense is on one side, defense is on one side. The neutral zone is when you're lining up pretty much in the middle of that line, thus for calling it the neutral zone. So defensive player on the lions is kind of a little bit pushing the boundary. He was lined up in the neutral zone. However, the Eagles offensive guard was using his hand and tapping him before the touch push, before the play started. So then it got called as a false start on the lions instead of neutral zone infraction on, I mean, sorry, false start on the Eagles instead of a neutral zone infraction on the Lions on defense. So it was kind of confusing, but the whole play, and if you haven't watched it, you have to at least go like look at it, but it proves my point and what I've been saying and what a thousand other people are saying that the tush push cannot be refereed and officiated correctly. And it's increasingly getting worse and worse and worse because it's not just the Eagles, the other teams are doing it. The Baltimore Ravens ran a fake touch push and lined Mark Andrews up under center. And I mean it was a fake tush push, so I actually didn't do it, but Mark Andrews actually ended up ends up scoring.

SPEAKER_04 10:35

They listened to the game because literally, didn't I say tush push fake out? Come on.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

Exactly. I mean, we manifested a couple things on the show, aka the Broncos beating the Chiefs this week. Anyways, we'll talk about that later. But yes, I it's just like this Lions Eagles game. We all talked about it, it was my matchup going into this week for week 11, and it continues to prove my point. When is the NFL gonna do something about refereing and officiating the Tush Bush? It's bad.

Tush Push Officiating Mess

SPEAKER_04 11:04

So the Eagles player is tapping the Lions player. I missed this play. It must have been I went home from the bar that I was at, like kind of towards it was like after halftime, but sometimes. So literally I was in an Uber whenever this was happening.

SPEAKER_02 11:18

There's there's some sort of rule that when the defense is lined up in the neutral zone and the offensive player uses like touches them or uses part of their body to move, it signals that they're in the neutral zone. However, because it was a tush push and because it low-key was a false start by that Eagles offensive guard, it got called on him instead of the Lions defensive lineman. So it's it's really complicated. But bottom line, all you need to know needs to be officiated better. Gotta do something.

SPEAKER_04 11:54

Like it needs to be Yeah, we just need there needs to be like some some outward clarity. That's just like what the what the hell? That's what I have to say about that. Like, what the hell is going on? You know, so Dan Campbell went into play call, which was controversial for a lot of people last week that John Morton is no longer play calling for the Lions, but I didn't think the play calling was that good. And it was super windy, right? It was super windy, but Amon Ross St. Brown, everyone knows he's a top three receiver in the league. Like he can go up against any team, any defender, any safety, and make a play at any point. Any he dropped like one pass like in the first four weeks, and he you know came out saying, like, uh, that was an absolute failure. Like, I should not have dropped that pass. Like, he's clean and he only had two receptions last night. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:57

Which is just, I mean, wild. Like, he did have a lot of targets, but two receptions. It's just, it's, it's rough. I don't know. Something was going on over there. I think that they're having a little bit of a synergy problem going on. They said it in the press conference that it just wasn't not clicking.

SPEAKER_02 13:13

Somehow, some way. This was interesting to me.

SPEAKER_04 13:16

And now they're third place, and now they're like out of the playoff picture in the NFC North. Like, if the Bears are gonna win, the Lions have to win because the Packers are doing well enough.

SPEAKER_02 13:27

Yeah, and that's embarrassing because Ben Johnson is now the head coach, and it it's like been like a storyline that I've been watching all season long of how Ben Johnson is gonna fit in with the Bears' offense and how he's gonna fit in with Caleb. And now we see this happening. Here's an interesting start line, and mind you guys, we have a new format we're doing. So, this the first episode is like our Yap and recap. Our second episode of the week is a full stats episode. And I feel like Victoria and I kind of killed it last week. So make sure you go tune into that. And then obviously, our last episode is the juice and the tea with some of our favorite people in and around the league, Wags, other girls working in the league. So make sure you tune into all the episodes. But here's a stat line around this Eagles-Lions game. Only two teams since 2000 have gone 0-5 or worse on fourth down in a game. So that means you're not converting on fourth down. Both of those teams are the Lions. They were 0-6 through week five in 2022, and they're 0-5 currently, right now, through week 11 and 2025. So they can't convert on fourth down, and which is like already a hard position to be in when you're already talking about trying to convert on fourth down. They think about Dan Campbell taking a replay call, and you think about Amon not getting all these receptions as the number one guy for this Detroit team. So it's it's a lot.

SPEAKER_04 15:50

Yeah, yeah, it's wild. And like, like what is go what's going on there? Like, if Amon Ra has 12 target, I think it's 12 targets last night and two receptions, like yeah, yeah, rough.

SPEAKER_02 16:01

Um really bad.

Lions’ Fourth Down Woes

SPEAKER_04 16:04

Yeah, it's like what 5% or something? Less than okay. That's pain. So I feel in pain as a Lions fan today. Honestly, like, I mean, excellent game to watch Sunday night football, but painful as a Lions fan, painful to see them slip down as such a promising team. They do have the same record, I believe, though, as the Bucks, which is interesting because the Bucs are another team that I feel like this season, like everything that we expected is not happening.

SPEAKER_02 16:36

Yeah, which I kind of love about it. No, me too. It's unpredictable. And I love the the NFL last season felt very predictable. And it's felt predictable for the last couple of seasons. But if you would have told me the Chiefs are third in AFC West and got beat by the Chiefs and are sitting at five and five right now, insane.

SPEAKER_04 16:57

Yeah, yeah. Let's talk about that game really quick. So, Chiefs lose to the Broncos, they're now five and five, which is worse than the record of the Panthers, who I love. Yeah, who we'll talk about in a second. But the Chiefs lose to the Broncos, and it wasn't a bad loss, but it's still a loss. And the Broncos, we were talking about it last week, like the Broncos are good. I know you don't really think so, but they're still winning.

SPEAKER_02 17:24

It's their defense, and I will always be a big proponent of defense win championships. I will always say this. But Bo Knicks, it's their I'm just gonna leave it at that. It's their defense. The Broncos are winning games because of their defense.

SPEAKER_04 17:37

Because yeah, they're holding, they're not letting teams score that much on them. But then I've been saying it all season. I I don't know if I should say this, but I was on a date yesterday and and we were outside and there's like TVs inside. And so then I'm like, wait, can we like watch this game right now? And I was like, listen, the Panthers are good. And I said, Nobody thinks so, but I've been saying it, and it's one of my most proud things on this podcast that I've been saying this whole time the Panthers are kind of freaking good, and now the Panthers have a better record than the Chiefs. Victoria did that than the Super Bowl playing Chiefs, Patty Mahomes. So go Panthers. Go Panthers. We're proud of you. We're probably gonna start talking more about you because we have to, because now you're pushing into potential playoff territory, which nobody saw coming.

SPEAKER_02 18:31

Nobody. TT had a game, TT McMillan. He's on my fantasy team, shut out. He had like 30 points. Also, my fantasy team might put up 200 points this week.

SPEAKER_04 18:40

So not the flicks, but whoa, that is wild. I set all 108 lineups and fixed my notifications this week so that now the player's out. I don't have a hundred thousand notifications from sleeper and scamming your phone. Yeah, so I'm really proud of myself because now I can actually tell my players are out, um, which was somewhat of a struggle prior to this. So pats on the back for both of us.

SPEAKER_02 19:06

The last thing about the Chiefs game, though, there was history being made. Travis Kelsey, I believe, broke the Chiefs' all-time record for touchdowns. So not a receiver, but tied in, big Travis Kelsey is the all all big Travis Kelsey is the all-time like touchdown leader in this Chiefs franchise history. So good job.

SPEAKER_04 19:27

Tight end.

Unpredictable Standings And Surprises

SPEAKER_02 19:28

Definitely going yes. Well, no, I think it's like period.

SPEAKER_04 19:32

Receptions total?

SPEAKER_02 19:33

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's period receptions total record breaking. I'm double checking right now. Most, yeah, most touchdowns in franchise history, period, not just for a tight end total. That's why I mentioned I was like over any receivers, over any position. Most touchdowns in Chiefs history.

SPEAKER_04 19:54

Wow. Okay. And then Travis Kelsey has been in the NFL for 13 seasons, was drafted by the Chiefs in 2013 and spent his entire career there, 13 seasons, and now has most touchdowns ever. I mean, if you can, I feel like it's crazy with these because it's like if you can stay healthy and stay in it for that long, like you better be breaking some records.

SPEAKER_02 20:19

You you better.

SPEAKER_04 20:20

I mean, you kind of have to because otherwise you would have retired by now.

SPEAKER_02 20:23

Yeah. And I'm thinking, I'm thinking that's coming for him. If not the end of the season, maybe one more. I mean, people were already speculating he was gonna be out of there. They didn't think that he was gonna play this season. So we'll see.

SPEAKER_04 20:34

Yeah. I do think it's like such a fun, like high for him to like be playing the sport that he loves, be engaged, having Taylor come off of the Eras tour. And I think I think what's it could be a good time for him to leave the NFL this year with a wedding coming up, because I feel like one of the things that athletes like I talked to Allie Ridgway about this in our first interview. Uh if you go back and listen to that episode, but like when you leave college, a lot of people leave sports after college. Like I left gymnastics after college, and then there's like an entire identity crisis. Yeah. And I do think that like Travis has other things going on, a lot of business ventures. They just open their steakhouse. He's now getting married to Taylor, but I think there's still like such an identity crisis that you even if you have other things going on, like what happens next? And not that many.

SPEAKER_02 21:23

Who is Travis without football?

SPEAKER_04 21:25

Yeah, and like he's probably the most in spotlight. We talk about Travis way more than we ever talk about Patrick Mahomes. And I think that that was maybe different two years ago, is that people were talking more about Patrick, and now it's like just Travis. So I'm kind of interested. I think that this may fare better for him with his identity crisis if he can kind of pour into a wedding. But he also has the podcast. I don't know. Because like when you retire, are you just like gone? Like you're just done.

Chiefs Stumble, Broncos Surge

SPEAKER_02 21:57

Well, I mean, look at his brother. His brother retired, and now he's broadcasting, like he's on the Amazon Prime Thursday night football team. He's doing a lot of things with ESPN, he's still doing the podcast. So I think for Jason, especially, like you, he wasn't nearly as popular as Travis's, and especially with Travis's relationship. But now he's really capitalized on his platform outside of football and his wife as well. So I think if he he already has, I mean, Jason, if you look at their story, Jason really brought Travis out of the trenches. Like Travis was not gonna go to the NFL. Like, if it wasn't for Jason, like Travis might not have been in the NFL. So I think he has a really good role model to follow, and I think he's gonna follow in Jason's footsteps and possibly being a broadcaster, doing colour commentating, still doing his podcast, like you said, pouring his his life, maybe being a dad, having some Swifty babies. I don't know, singing.

SPEAKER_04 22:50

I know that'd be so I mean, I'm sure they'll get pregnant within the next like three years if they're going to. Like, who even knows if they want to, but like please give us those children. Because, like, what animals? Like genius children. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 23:04

They're gonna be singing football playing beast, songwriting, singing, songwriting, football playing kids.

SPEAKER_04 23:13

Yeah, yeah. It's interesting what kids also have access to with parents who have access to everything in the world. Like, what do they end up doing? But like the thing that I like about Travis and Taylor is that they seem to be such good people. And so I feel like having that stability on like other celebrities, like I don't necessarily like you can't always speak to a celebrity's character, but based on how much these two are in the spotlight, and just like the things that Taylor does for her team and like the way that Travis acts in the press, the way that like the Kelsey's in general act in public. Like, I don't know, I think like having a kid raised with two seemingly great parents is also really interesting in the spotlight, you know, different than like, you know, Northwest, like Kim and Kanye, they are a little bit more checkered, I would say.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:00

Than like a Taylor and Travis.

SPEAKER_02 24:02

Yeah, no, they're gonna have really good behavior. And I'm actually gonna switch this around and talk about some bad behavior. But I'm gonna give you two stories this week that wreak bad behavior. First one, second one's like pretty obvious and like what a really big story. But the first one, Keon Coleman, wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills, was a healthy scratch this week. I at first didn't think anything of this until I was watching some videos last night and realized he's been missing meetings. And like if you miss meetings, that's a big deal. Like, you can't just not go to your meeting, like you go to practice, you go to meetings, you go home, you maybe recover, you wake up, do it all over again. He's been missing meetings multiple times. And so then the coach pretty much decided to bench him. Now, when you look at this Buffalo Bills team, and I've already said it, they don't even have the depth to be benching this guy, or just the receivers to be benching this guy. So if you're putting him as a healthy scratch, that is saying a lot. And there's been teammates that have come out and said it in other press conferences after that Bills game, which mind you was a complete hero ball by Josh Allen, absolutely went off. He had 44 points also on my fantasy team this week, contributed to my 200-scoring fantasy team. Iconic. But iconic. But when you look at that Bills team, you cannot a receiver cannot sacrifice not playing for Josh. And so a teammate came out and said, Yeah, I talked to him. What we said, like, you know, this is unacceptable. He knows what he needs to do, he has to step up to the plate. They also interviewed Keon Coleman. Was basically like, yeah, we gotta do better. No, a lot, not really a lot of expression on his face. So I'm confused about that situation. And I don't know what's going on with him, if he wants to be out. He played basketball and football in college, so he's a very good athlete. But it's just interesting to see his lack of wanting to show up for this Bills team who you're on, you're on a winning team at that. Second behavior, bad behavior of the week is Spitgate 2.0 with Jamar Chase.

SPEAKER_04 26:13

2.0.

SPEAKER_02 26:14

2.0, guys. What's I actually saw a video that people talking about? What is with spitting? Like spitting on somebody is probably one of the most dehumanizing things. And I'm like, what what what genuinely makes you want to look at somebody and be like, Hoktua? Like, what? That's crazy.

Kelsey’s Record And What’s Next

SPEAKER_04 26:32

Not bringing back Hoktua. But is uh is a name of one of our one of the Living in the Fantasy teams because it's like you know, because Tua Tagloo Taglow Yo I'm so sorry, Tua. I I can't say her. I I will work on it. You know what? This is on me. But that's one of our fantasy names is is Hawktua. And my friend, my one of my best friends, Sarah, her husband, texted me that one day. And I was like, Yeah, that's one of the names. That's awesome. Yeah, but like spitting without.

SPEAKER_02 27:02

And then lied about it. And then he lied about it. He literally was he got asked about it after the game, and he was like, I didn't spit on that man. I didn't spit on that man. Caught in 4K. Literally caught in 4K.

SPEAKER_04 27:15

Yeah, so he's suspended. Came news came out about 30 minutes ago, recording this on Monday evening. And yeah, he's suspended for the next game against the Patriots, which sucks for the Bengals. Like, not that I was really counting on them winning against the Patriots, but this sure isn't gonna help them in any capacity. But yeah, what's with spitting? Like, I think this goes back to my feelings earlier in the season. Except, you know what? Actually, I'm fired up about this because I'm still pissed at the Cardinals, and I'm still pissed that all that happened was a fine when a coach hit his player. Because if we're keeping players out of integral games for them, like I don't think they're gonna win, but still for like spitting, but we're not gonna suspend a coach for hitting his player on the sideline. Like, have some more effing accountability, NFL. Like, let's have some more accountability because you can't hit people. You can't spit on them, and you sure as hell can't hit them. But if somebody's gonna do something to me, I would way rather get spit on than get hit.

SPEAKER_02 28:19

And well, and Jamar Chase got a big slap in the face. Jalen Ramsey literally sucker punched.

SPEAKER_04 28:26

He Because Jalen Ramsey also got ejected.

SPEAKER_02 28:30

Yeah, well, Jalen Ramsey is not a man to be played with, first of all. So the fact that Jamar Chase even had the cojones to spit on him says a lot. Like you don't care.

SPEAKER_04 28:42

Yeah, like oof. And then he's like, I didn't do that. Like, I think they're both nudges. I think that's the thing. Which I was at a stars game, a Dallas Stars hockey game, the other night. And my sister and I were there, and we were like, he just hit him. Like, you can't hit him. And I was like, wait, I think you can in hockey. Like it's legal.

SPEAKER_02 29:02

It's so normalized in hockey. Yeah, they get into full-on fist fights. It's the greatest thing ever.

SPEAKER_04 29:06

And people like it stresses me out personally.

SPEAKER_02 29:10

Oh, I love it.

SPEAKER_04 29:11

Okay, except one thing that I really want to bring to the NFL, and I don't know how I would do this. Everyone blow this podcast up so we can get this to happen in the NFL. Okay, so in hockey, if you score three goals, if one player scores three goals in a game, it's called a hat trick. And if you get a hat trick at the Dallas Stars, then everyone takes off their hats and throws them onto the ice. And it is so cool. It is so cool. So one of the players, I'm sorry, I forget his name, but he scored two. And my sister's like, oh my God, I really want a hat trick. She's like, I've never seen one in real life. And then he scores another one. Everyone threw their hats. It was the coolest thing in the world. And I'm like, the NFL needs something like that, except it'd be way harder to pick it up because the field's way bigger, but like, so I'm obsessed with that. So it was, it was super, super cool. Okay, anyway, I want to go back to the first one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:04

Keon Coleman.

Behavior Watch: Bills Scratch And Spitgate

SPEAKER_04 31:06

Keon Coleman. I have to believe that there's something else going on here. I don't know if we're ever gonna know what it is, but I think that this could be either a mental health thing, I think this could be a family thing. I had a professor of psychology in college. I studied psych at UC Davis. And in one of my classes, the professor was like, listen, if you go through a breakup and you have a test to the next day, I will excuse you from the test because there is no pain like heartbreak. And she's like, I'm not gonna ask you to like do that if you just got your heart broken. And I think that it was like one of it was so impactful to me. And I never got broke, I don't, I didn't get broken up with. I don't think anybody like abused that with her. I mean, I'm sure some people have, but not that like I knew of. But I think there's definitely something else going on here because I don't know, like, has he done anything else that's like like is he is he historically questionable? No, that's what there's there has to be something going on. Like his I agree with her parent. Maybe he like gotten a bumper thumper and it like really rattled him. Maybe there's like a mental health thing because mental Health like doesn't discriminate.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

No, it doesn't. It happens to the best of people. And you know, we actually did not talk about it when it happened, but mental health is like so important. I think we obviously the whole NFL world was shocked by a very, very, very tragic passing of Marshawn Neeland. And I don't even know if I told you this story, but that happened like 10 minutes away from my house. And I'm actually driving home to my boyfriend's house, and I see Marshawn's car crashed out. And I had no clue what was happening at the time. It was the night before. It was a very, very, very bad thing. And I when I saw his car, like I knew something really bad was happening. And then obviously the news broke that morning, come to find out his girlfriend's pregnant, and you know, he had lost his mom. You know, so there was a lot of things going on. I know the Cowboys organization specifically is very, very rocked by that very tragic passing. So these players in the NFL are not excused, they are real life humans too. And I think, you know, it has to has to has to be prioritized that, you know, these players' brains and their minds and their feelings have to come first before this game that we love that we call football. Right, right.

SPEAKER_04 33:33

And we're like speculating that in this situation it's that. But I think, yeah, with like Marshawn, it's just like you you just never know what's going on with people. And I think another thing to like note is a lot of times when things like this happen, we like talk about all the things that are going on or like heavy stuff, but like mental health can affect you when like nothing's going on, when it's just like an average day. And if somebody reaches out to you for help and you don't have the answers, you can always like do research or tell someone else who may be able to help. I mean, someone who's like, you know, in the past struggled with mental health in, you know, a couple of different capacities, just a text saying, like, hey, checking in on you today, like, how are you doing? Can I support you in any way? Like those messages go super far away. So if you're gonna, if you're struggling, you're gonna tell someone, like, tell a friend who, you know, like maybe is an accountable friend or someone who is more apt to check in on you. And then obviously you always have like suicide hotline. Um, you can check yourself into like mental health hospitals, things like that. But yeah, I don't know. I just think like missing meetings, I there's gotta be something else going on.

SPEAKER_02 34:45

So yeah, I'm curious to see what the what the the news and the storyline will break and what we're gonna find out more over time. I don't know if it's an issue he doesn't want to be there anymore, but I find that really hard to believe because who wouldn't want to play with Josh Allen?

SPEAKER_04 35:01

Yeah, yeah, like it feels it feels like it wouldn't just be like a I don't like the Bills anymore. Yeah, you know. I don't know, maybe he's getting bullied or something. But yeah, so essentially back to the to the start, a healthy scratch is a term used for a sports player who is not injured but still declared inactive for the game. When I was a gymnast, we had what you call the scratch, and you would like salute, and then you like tap the bar, you have to like touch the equipment, and then you have to like salute again.

SPEAKER_02 35:27

And it's that's like a healthy scratch.

SPEAKER_04 35:30

Yeah, a healthy scratch. Yeah. Also, if you're a girl and you are struggling with your mental health in our community, we can at the least like give you resources. So just know that like this really is a community. And especially at this point where we're still like growing and I have time, like I went and I got somebody a Josh Allen fat head at the Bills game because like it's like the right thing to do. So just know that like the girls have your back for sure. And we will always have your back. And if you're struggling, like I promise that there is another side and like a light at the end of the tunnel, even if it doesn't feel that way. So don't be afraid to ask for resources because we can absolutely pull together resources and just know that, like, if you're going through it, like I've been through it too. And I just want you to know that like you go through it and then you'll be okay. Like, I promise you'll be okay.

SPEAKER_02 36:16

We got your back.

SPEAKER_04 36:17

We got your back, you know? Yeah, the girls, yeah, the girls. And if you're a guy listening to this and you don't have anybody to talk to, like, we're all girls and we still have your back, okay?

SPEAKER_02 36:26

Don't discriminate.

SPEAKER_04 36:28

We do not. Okay, so let's talk about the NFC West. Rams defeat the Seahawks. So now they are the sole leader in the NFC West. Good close game was two points between them at the end.

SPEAKER_02 36:44

Yeah, but Sam Darnold threw four interceptions, which people are kind of overreacting to him because he has we've talked about this on our stats episode. Sam Darnold is one of the best, statistically, one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now. And people are really calling for his head because he didn't have uh the best game. He did play bad four interceptions in one game is pretty bad.

Mental Health, Loss, And Support

SPEAKER_04 37:08

But yeah, everyone has bad days. But also, Jared Goff last year through a five-interception game, somehow they won, but like through a five-interception game, and he's still franchise quarterback. Also, I saw one of the Seahawks coming out, one of the players, I don't know who it was, but he was like, they were like, Oh, what do you think about this? And he's like, He's our guy. He's like he's taken us this far. He's been playing phenomenally, like he had a bad game, but he's not the reason why we lost. And I was like, you know what? An accountable king. Let's go. Somebody that takes care of their quarterback.

SPEAKER_02 37:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 37:39

Yeah. The last game in Europe, Commanders lose to the Dolphins 16-13 in overtime. Um I mean, both of those teams are not really very good. So I I don't I didn't I don't think anybody really had expectations for that game, but it ended up being a really good game. Like great game. Matt Gay. Okay, last quarter was good.

SPEAKER_02 38:01

Last quarter was good. Yeah, it wasn't a good game. I think it was only only good game because we got to see it overtime. Yes. But it yeah, you like it was it's always a good game when you get more football than you expect to get.

SPEAKER_04 38:12

Yeah. And I, okay, also full transparency. I only watched the fourth quarter because I was being tortured in the hardest Pilates class I've ever done in my life. And then I got home and I turned on the game. And yeah, Matt Gay, kicker for the Commanders, missed two kicks and was released today. I was gonna say T.

SPEAKER_02 38:36

He actually I picked him up this week in fantasy and I was like, not my kicker getting released.

SPEAKER_04 38:41

Yeah, I literally like kickers mean nothing to me in fantasy.

SPEAKER_02 38:45

Like, I oh kickers, kickers are like my I have a roster of kickers. Like, literally, like it is a you have a roster of men, you have a roster of kickers. Yes, it is a revolving door on my fantasy team every single week. Maybe I'll have two kickers in one week. Maybe I'll pick one up on Tuesday and decide I don't want to talk to you anymore, and I'll pick another one up to play.

SPEAKER_04 39:06

Yeah, the only kickers that I stand by is Matt Prater, because you guys know he's one of my favorite players in the NFL. So I love having him, and anytime I can get him, I get him. Also, all the girls in the Living in a Fantasy League sleep on Rush or sleep on oh no, Rashad White. I've picked up Rashad White as a running back who scores like 15 points a game in like at least 12 of my leagues. He's just like sitting there, not even on waivers. He's just chilling. So if you guys are struggling, like just go on your running backs because the girls in Living in a Fantasy are sleeping on Rashad White.

SPEAKER_02 39:40

Um be careful because when Bucky, when Bucky Urban comes back, that role's gonna be he's gonna be sweating the backfield again.

SPEAKER_04 39:46

But yeah, for you know why he's not here right now. So don't say it and try to help you. One of my favorite beginning of the season topics came up this week. Mr. Shadur Sanders.

SPEAKER_02 40:01

Oh horrible, horrible. Okay, well, okay. You know me. I am I wouldn't say I'm a Shadur hater.

SPEAKER_04 40:11

You are you are okay.

SPEAKER_02 40:15

I actually you're gonna be surprised. I have sympathy for the man because I I okay, I did not watch the game at first. So I I I even said to the girls in the substack, I was like, I am gonna hold out judgment until I go back and watch the game. Stat line, absolutely abysmal. When I saw that, I was like, oh, here we go, here we go, horrible. But then I realized from a coaching perspective, Chadur as the QB3, now QB2 on that Browns team, had no reps with the ones. And with the when you're in practice, right, you have the ones and the twos. The ones are the people that are their starters. So typically it's your number one, your starting quarterback playing with your starting receivers, you're starting offensive line, you're starting everyone. Yep. Typically, you're going to let your QB two get some reps at some point during the week over the course now week going into week 12. Your QB2 should get some reps. Now that might look a little different on the grounds because of the quarterback situation has been all over the place, but Shadur has had no practice with the ones. So then putting him at a game, forcing him to play and have chemistry with people he's never even practiced with is a tall task. Do I think from an IQ standpoint, he could have made better decisions 1000%? But I'm in whole judgment and I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna give him some grace this time because of that fact that he didn't back to the ones.

SPEAKER_04 41:44

Okay, maybe we'll talk about this more in in our stats episode, but so they lose 23 to 16, Browns lose 23 to 16 to the Ravens. Dylan Gabriel gets a concussion, Shador goes in, and he completes four of 16 passes for 47 yards.

NFC West Lead And QB Overreactions

SPEAKER_01 42:04

Four of 16 is this is so sad.

SPEAKER_04 42:07

It marked the lowest passer rating by any player with 15 plus pass attempts in their NFL debut since another Browns quarterback, Brandon Whedon, in week one of 2012. Brandon Whedon. Never heard of him, but he was a Browns quarterback once and he did really bad in his debut, just like Shador.

SPEAKER_01 42:28

So not looking too good.

SPEAKER_04 42:32

You know, I've cooled down on my feelings about Shadur.

SPEAKER_02 42:36

You've cooled down, and I've I've heated up that we're like both lukewarm about it now. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 42:41

Yeah, yeah, I've cooled down about my feelings about him, but I want to see him win. Like I I want to see him non-controversial. Yeah, and I don't know if I'll ever get that.

SPEAKER_02 42:53

Yeah. That's a wish. You know, another quarterback that we're hopeful on that his future is not looking too bright. Justin Fields. Justin Taylor. Breaking news today, when we're recording this on Monday, he is officially getting binged for Tyrod Taylor.

SPEAKER_04 43:11

How long has Tyrod Taylor been around for?

SPEAKER_02 43:14

A while. I mean, he's probably he's been in the league. I mean, I wouldn't I mean I would call him a veteran, but it's it's just it's hard. Because I feel like, yes, has Justin Fields played good football? No. But have you even taken the time to consider to develop, to train, to actually build a team around Justin Fields? I don't know. There's just a lot of things that I think contribute to. A rougher than rough situation.

SPEAKER_04 43:49

With a new head coach, with like an entire everything's new. It really makes me sad. But Tyrod Taylor has been around for quite some time. He is 36 years old. Okay, this is crazy, but is it like kind of the move to be a QB2 for a good QB1? Because you're just like I mean, you're making like you're not making great money, but you're not making bad money either.

SPEAKER_02 44:17

No, you're not making bad money. If you're a QB2- I mean I'm getting sacked every week. You're not, you're chillin'. I mean, you have to at some point be like ready to go in at any time, but you are chilling. I actually was just having this conversation. The brother and I were talking about Quinn Ewers, who is the Texas quarterback in college, and then he gets drafted to the Miami Dolphins. He's behind two a right now. We're like, where's Quinn playing? Where's Quinn playing? We found out he's playing with the Dolphins, and we're like, oh, he has like kind of a cool job because every week you're kind of on the edge of your seat because you don't know if you're gonna play, but you're also like chilling and you're making money. And again, you're not getting sacked, you're not having like people in the media talk bad about you every single week.

SPEAKER_04 44:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:59

So not a bad spot to be in.

SPEAKER_04 45:01

Yeah, but I guess like the moving and whatever. I I want to do more research on him, but he 2011 gets drafted to Baltimore, plays four seasons with Baltimore, then 2015 to 2017 is in Buffalo, played a lot in Buffalo, 2015 to 2017. 2018 goes to the Browns, 2019, 2020. Chargers played a couple games in their eight and 2019, two games 2020, then went to Houston, then to the New York Giants, now to the New York Jets. This is his second season at the Jets. So he really hasn't. He played in 2023.

SPEAKER_02 45:36

I think he's been the I think he's been in the league for 15 seasons, but just to give you a crazy comparison, Justin Fields was selected 11th overall in the 2021 NFL draft. Tyrod Taylor was selected 180th.

SPEAKER_04 45:52

I love him.

SPEAKER_02 45:53

Overall.

SPEAKER_04 45:53

I'm a fan. I'm excited. I'm officially excited about the Jets again.

SPEAKER_02 45:58

Dang. I had I still have I I'm sad because I I like Justin Fields, but I love Justin Mental Health. I'm hoping he stays in a good headspace.

Europe Game, Overtime, And Kicker Fallout

Sponsor Message: Cuso Cuts

SPEAKER_04 46:07

You know who I'm curious to get his opinion? Barbecue with Johnny Jett. My new friend. If you don't listen to our last week's episode, I met I met one of the Colts players families, and Barbecue with Johnny Jet is his Instagram. And he was grilling on Sunday, yesterday. I saw his story. It was awesome. All right. Well, we chatted about a lot. Today's pretty true episode. Interesting week in the NFL. Let us know what you thought. What's your favorite storyline? You can find us on Substack at thegame the podcast.substack.com. You can find the Living in a Fantasy Leaderboard at thegame the podcast.com, Giovanna on Instagram, Giovanna Scroggins, or TikTok, the GameThePodcast. Rachel is doing our social media for us and posting a bunch of clips. So if you're not watching us, if you can't like listen to the whole episode one week or you just want a little bit more of us, follow us on TikTok and Instagram, The Game the Podcast. I'm Hey Victoria Henderson. If you need links to anything, you can go to the link in my bio and there's all the things in there. We love you. And we will see you for a stats episode on Thursday morning. So look out for that. Yay. Okay, well, Giovanna, have fun in Cabo. See you tomorrow to record. I'll have fun in Dallas and try not to die in these Pilates classes because my lord.

SPEAKER_02 47:29

And guys, stay tuned for Victoria and I meeting in person.

SPEAKER_04 47:33

Oh my gosh. Yeah, we're gonna record all of that too. That'll be so fun. We're gonna meet in person for the first. I literally can't believe people are like, you don't they're like, why where'd you find her? I'm like, TikTok. And they're like, they're like, you just met a girl on TikTok. I said, yeah. I said I met everyone who I interviewed to be my co host on TikTok. And no, I've never met her in person because we just haven't, and everyone's shocked. And they're like, you guys seem like you're friends. And I'm like, we are friends. We're pen pals.

SPEAKER_02 47:57

We wouldn't like do this if we weren't.

SPEAKER_04 48:00

Yeah, we would have quit.

SPEAKER_02 48:01

Okay. Stay tuned for our first meet cue.

SPEAKER_04 48:05

Yeah, stay tuned for me cue.

SPEAKER_02 48:08

Love it. I love it.

SPEAKER_04 48:09

Okay, love you, bye. Love you bye.

SPEAKER_03 48:16

You a patty, baby. You gotta order on a smelling a grace. You better own it on. The game's on.

SPEAKER_00 48:22

The game is on. Oh my god, the game is on. Game's on. The game's on. Game's on. Game's on. Game's on. Game's on.

SPEAKER_04 48:34

We'd love to thank our sponsor, Cuso Cuts, for supporting the girls at the game. If you didn't know, Cuso Cuts is seasoning blends and sauces. They were created. The owner lives in Buffalo, New York, is a huge Bills fan, does a lot of grilling out there. And he created a company with clean, fresh, high-quality ingredients, flavor, seasonings that are super bold. So they will make any dish better. It will make any grilling day easier. And you know, sometimes you want to do the most, and sometimes you want something to make your life easier. And this will make your life easier and tastier. So if you want 10% off, use the code THE GAME, no space at checkout, and you'll get 10% off your order. And thanks to Kusos for supporting us. Thanks to the girls for supporting us. We love you. Let's get back into the episode.