32. Hot Girls Love a Wild Card

The bracket’s set, the TV is yours, and the schedule gods delivered mercy: no overlapping games. We break down every Wild Card matchup through the lens of momentum, injuries, and real on-field tendencies—why Rams vs Panthers may be tighter than you think, how Bills vs Jaguars becomes a joy-pain duel, and why Texans vs Steelers screams field position and fourth-quarter nerves. We share the live notes that shifted our picks, from contested catches and tackling angles to pass-pro cracks that turn into drive-killers.

Off the field, the league churns. Black Monday hit hard, with teams cleaning house at head coach and GM. We talk what those moves signal, where they surprise, and why representation matters when quick hooks are the norm. Culture gets a spotlight too: Lamar Jackson’s push to strip locker room distractions says as much about standards as it does about style. And if you care about defense, you’ll love the context behind Miles Garrett’s sack record—why snap count efficiency shuts down the “extra game” argument, and why pausing the action to honor a true all-time mark makes sense.

We also confront the human side of the game. A missed field goal shouldn’t invite cruelty, and one play never happens in a vacuum. Strategy, injuries, and earlier miscues set the stage; empathy and analysis can coexist. Add our ongoing beef with penalty inconsistency, some stadium advantage talk, and a few social gems—Trevor Lawrence glow-ups, dads with sideline cameras, and corgis racing at halftime—and you’ve got a full ride through a wild, weird, and wonderful weekend.

If you’re a fan who loves clean schedules and messy storylines, pull up a chair. Subscribe, rate, and share with a friend who needs a smarter Wild Card preview. Then tell us: which upset are you calling, and what stat swings your pick?

Transcript

Welcome And Wild Card Setup

Full Weekend Schedule Breakdown

SPEAKER_01 0:10

The games the game is on the game. I'm Victoria. I'm Giovanna. The game's on. Welcome back to another episode of your favorite football podcast by the girls for everyone, the game. We're going in to wildcard weekend. And we know hot girls love a wild card. So let's get into chatting about the week, our ins and outs lists, and our favorite follows on socials. If you're not following us on socials, follow us at the game the podcast. You can also chat with us at thegame the podcast.substack.com in the chat tab for all things wildcard weekend. We just finished week 18. You already know that. So let's just recap what is happening in the wildcard this coming weekend. So the Broncos and the Seahawks both clinched the number one seed, giving them a first round buy. Then on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., notice there are no overlapping games this weekend. So you do not have to do a double box screen or use your phone and watch the game at the same time, which honestly less up. I was at the Rams game this weekend, and the people behind me were like low-key making fun of me for having red zone on the quad box and watching the Rams game at the same time. But like, you gotta do what you gotta do. So no double boxes this weekend. Wildcard round Saturday, January 10th at 1:30 p.m. Pacific. So 4:30 p.m. Eastern, Rams at Panthers. Those tickets are only like 200 bucks. Did I almost buy some? Yes. Did I refrain? Also, yes, but I anything could happen. Then we have wild card round Saturday in the late hour, 5 p.m. PST, 8 p.m. Eastern, Packers at Bears. Then we have Bills Jags Sunday, January 11th at 10 a.m. PST, 1 p.m. Eastern, 1:30 or 4 p.m. Eastern, 49ers, Eagles, then Chargers, Patriots at 5 p.m. on Sunday or 8 p.m. Eastern, and Monday, Texans, Steelers. So that's what we're going into. Looking at maybe we'll talk about. Well, do you want to just start with like our favorite matchup that we're most excited to watch this weekend?

SPEAKER_00 2:38

Probably, oh, it's so hard because I feel like there's a lot of things that could go really well and like really wrong at the same time.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

Yeah.

Games We’re Most Excited About

SPEAKER_00 2:49

Jaguars and Bills is really interesting to me because I I have this like fascination with Josh Allen winning the Super Bowl this year. Do I think he's gonna get there? I don't know because there's a lot of teams that I think he has to go through that are gonna pose a problem for the Bills. But I have like, I just want him to make it so bad. So I will be tuning into that game. Another game that kind of stands out to me is between the 49ers Eagles game and the Texans Steelers game. And only the Texans Steelers game was interesting to me. Obviously, like coming off the loss, we're recording this on Monday, it'll come out on Tuesday, but coming off the loss, the win on Sunday for the Steelers, which kind of came down to Baltimore fumble. It's gonna be interesting for me to see how the Steelers go up against this phenomenal Texans defense. I think that game is gonna be super low scoring. And I think it's gonna be a defensive play for both teams. So that's what makes that game interesting to me. If the 49ers can go in and handle former Super Bowl champions with literally an injured team, I saw something on social today about like how every single one of their like linebackers or something for the 49ers team is just injured, gone. So the 49ers can go in and handle business against the Eagles. I will be very impressed. Not the best game for the 49ers in their last game of the season, but I don't know, we'll see. So those are my games of the week.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

I don't well, I think that's interesting because the whole season we've been talking about the Eagles sucking, but now that they're in the playoffs, we're like, oh, they're the Super Bowl champions. So I feel like the script is like flipping in general, right? Like, not just you, just like overall, it's like we've gone from like the Eagles are trash to like the Eagles could take it all. And I'm like, wait a second, hold on, everyone.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

I saw something, and it's like when Jalen Hurts have has thrown for under 200 yards, he's been winning games, which is so interesting to me. So I don't know. I mean, they're like that fact is you can't negate it. Have they been playing the best football? No, but unfortunately, a win is a win, and they've gotten to this point. There's a lot of other teams that should have been in the playoffs that didn't get there.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

So yeah, yeah, I agree. I think I think the uh Texans Steelers, if the Steelers win, I'm gonna be upset. Just because I feel like the Texans are much better than the Steelers. I mean, they're both in the same wild card matchup, but I just think that the Texans are gonna take it away. But I think that the Steelers, with how much age and experience they have, are gonna put up a really good fight. And I feel like coming off of this game, they know that they can play super hot. I think last night was the hottest game for both them and the Ravens all season. So I think if the Steelers play like they did last night, then I definitely agree with you that it's probably gonna be low scoring and like an absolute dog fight.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Well, and DK Metcalf comes back for that game off of his two-game suspension.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

And I think he is going to be on a terror because he is yeah, that I mean for his sake, thank God they won. Because if he had been out, that would have been awful.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

I would have been so upset if they had to play and help my team and they lose.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Yeah, yeah. And then that game is just hard to watch. Yeah, it is hard to watch. Chargers Patriots use what did you mention? You didn't mention them.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

I did not because I I could that game's gonna go either way to me. I like the Patriots have been like so dominant this season, and I'm kind of tired of talking about them because I have a different opinion on how the Patriots, like, yes, they're a good team, but I don't know. I think this is the the postseason's gonna be a real test for the Patriots. So if they rise to the occasion, great. Congratulations. If they don't, wouldn't be too surprised.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

Yeah, you wouldn't be upset about it. Yeah, and then I feel like the Bills jags, like, I want Josh Allen to go, but Trevor Lawrence is so hot everywhere right now. He's all over the media, he's all over social media. He's being a good dad, he's wearing grills, he's more of a teammate than ever. He's one of the best quarterbacks in stats, in yardage, in everything right now, towards the end of the season. And I kind of feel like the bills are hanging on. Yeah. And the Jags are getting hot. And that makes me like very nervous.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

I know. I feel like all of these wildcard matchups, like I want both teams, and a lot of them, like I want both teams to win, which kind of sucks. Like, yeah, that Bills Jaguars game, I would be happy either way, but I also would be sad either way. You know what I mean? Like seeing Trevor or Josh lose would be really sad, but seeing Josh or Trevor win would also be really happy. So I don't know. It's that one's gonna be hard. It's like a lose lose for us as fans.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

It sounds like we need to drink during that game.

unknown 7:54

Yeah, facts.

Eagles, 49ers, And Injury Questions

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Just like just like two glasses of wine, you know, like something a little cheeky where we can just like like we'll brush off whatever, whatever happens because we'll be a little, a little on the looser side. I yeah, I actually think that the we'll talk about one more game, then we'll move on. But I think that the Panthers-Rams game is gonna be way better than we anticipated. Now I know Matt Stafford is the MVP and Puka Niku has more one-handed catches than anybody else ever in existence. And, and, and, and, and. Okay. I'm not saying anything, I have nothing negative to say about the Rams. However, I did watch the Rams yesterday versus the bottom of the barrel Cardinals. And the Cardinals really held the Rams. Like the Rams were completing passes, but the Cardinals were hitting them like right at the end of the pass. So, like, the Rams were making completions and making runs, but the the Cardinals were right there. And I did not think that yesterday was as dominant of a performance for the first three quarters as they'll need to go up against a scrappier team. And I say scrappier because anytime a team claws their way out of the depths of doom, they're a little scrappier. And the Panthers beat the Rams earlier this season. So it's not like they're going in saying, oh my gosh, we've never beat the Rams, and the Rams are so good, and we're not, we don't deserve to be here. Because they already beat the Rams. Granted, it was earlier in the season and it was a three-point win, but it was still a win. And I think that mindset is crazy. So I think that game's gonna be better than people are thinking it's gonna be. Because I think a lot of people are just shoving the Rams forward when I don't think that they should, based on IRL experience yesterday. And also I love the Panthers.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

Yeah, yeah. You think the Rams got it? So I hear your like I don't I do think that this game is going to be better than like a lot of people are anticipating it to be because the Panthers have already beat the Rams, and I think they're gonna be looking at that mindset. And mind you, the Falcons just beat the Rams too. So is it possible for the Panthers to, I guess it would be considered an upset 100%. It's just hard for me to overlook the fact that the Panthers have a losing record and they're in the playoffs over a lot of other teams. And you know how I feel about the Panthers. So yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:35

Speaking of losing to teams that aren't as good as you, the Patriots week one loss is the reason why the Broncos got the one seed because they have a tie record, and it went to wins against like opponents is like the number line that they use to determine who was the one seed. Week one loss takes you out of the bye. And you know who it was against? Do you know who they lost?

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Yeah, yeah, absolutely crazy. Yeah, I'd like I can't. That's that's why I'm like, ugh, the Patriots. But that's the same thing that happened in the NFC South with the Panthers, the Bucks, and the Falcons.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

So who all have the same record? Yeah, which is also insane that they all have the same record. And you know who also all has the same record? The NFC North spot two, three, and four. They're all like 12 and 5 or something. They all, yeah, they're nine, eight, and eight, I believe. Let me fact check really quick. But they're all it it all looks the same. It's insane. Okay, so Packers, oh, I guess not totally the same. Packers are nine, seven, and one, Vikings are nine, eight, and oh, and lions are nine, eight, and oh. So technically Packers are better, but I don't recognize ties. If you tie, you lose to me. So that's why I had it in my head. But they are nine, seven, and one.

Texans vs Steelers: Defense And Vibes

SPEAKER_00 12:08

So does that mean the Panthers lost then?

SPEAKER_01 12:11

Yeah, a tie is always an L. That's funny. No matter what, in my eyes, because a tie is an ick. Okay. Speaking though, of our boys at the Raiders, you want to go through head coach firings?

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Yeah, the this one was sad to me. And like the Raiders are the at the top of the pack in the category of most head coaching changes over recently, like they have moved on from head coach in a year. And I wouldn't say it was surprising that they fired Pete Carroll because you know Pete Carroll's up there. I think he's like 70 something. So, but it just sucks because it was a year. He like barely just got there, and they bring in Geno Smith. And I don't know if that was the right decision. Obviously, in hindsight, I don't think they thought that was the right decision either, but him getting fired after a year is crazy. Other head coach openings, and I want to welcome everybody to Black Monday. If you don't know what Black Monday is, it is the Monday after the end of the regular season where typically NFL teams clear house. And we've seen a lot of NFL teams clear house, whether it's at the GM position or the head coach position. So as of right now, the current NFL landscape, there are a couple of head coaching openings. Obviously, we saw the Giants and the Titans that came earlier in the season. Additions between last night and today have included the Falcons, the Cardinals, the Browns, and the Raiders. Poor Pete. I knew I knew Kevin Stefanski probably was out there. Kevin Stavansky was the head coach of the Browns after yeah, I kind of, I kind of, I kind of once we have the five quarterback room, everyone was like, Well, you gotta go. Yeah, then all the chadur mess, like he he had to go. The Falcons was interesting to me because I feel like they have a recipe for success over there. And like I saw a kind of a meme, and it's like, this is what it is like to be in the NFC South when you're eight and nine. One team is eight and nine, they're firing their head coach, and the other team is eight and nine, going eight and nine going into the playoffs, referring to the Falcons and the Panthers. But kind of speaks to like the the record, because if you're eight and nine, obviously you don't have a winning season and you gotta look at changes, and so that's what the Falcons did. But I don't know. I I like Raheem Morris, and it's obviously tough for me to see black head coaches getting fired because I feel like you know there's not enough representation in the league when it comes to that, and so that was a sucky thing. But I don't know. Well, I think he'll land on his feet somewhere. Is there any teams that surprised you when it comes to firing their head coach? Or teams that you think to? Oh, great question.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

I think the Falcons was a surprise. I it just feels like uncalled for. If you have a winning record, you shouldn't be getting fired.

SPEAKER_00 15:03

Well, they had a losing record because they were eight and nine. Yeah, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

I'm a little disappointed.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

They were pretty close. One one more, one more.

SPEAKER_01 15:14

But they got the one when it mattered. So yeah, facts to me. But yeah, so I I just don't I think that that's too close to be firing some, it just feels unnecessary, and like you have something good that's like you're kind of rolling at this point, you know. Like now you can make little upgrades, and I think pulling the rug at any point forces your whole organization to change in some capacity, and I don't think that's always the right decision. Like a lot of times it is, but I don't think that this is the time for that.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

And to mention, they also fired their GM for the Falcons. So they did a true, true clean house.

Rams vs Panthers Upset Case

SPEAKER_01 15:55

Well, they also probably, though, saw the Saints who cleaned house and had a whole new regime this year and got six wins. So they could have been like, okay, well, if we have the Panthers in the Bucks who have made us irrelevant in the storyline, essentially, by kind of being the dominators of the NFC South. And then we have a Saints team who is fireball rolling down the hill at this point. They're probably like, if we don't get it together now, we're gonna be the losers. So maybe they just wanted to have a dog in the fight. Cardinals make sense to me. NFC North, I don't think there's any firings. I mean, I don't know. I'm I'm sure there's some conversations about what's going on at the Commanders. I mean, the Commanders beat the Eagles last night, but it wouldn't, I don't think head, I don't think they're gonna take out Dan Quinn, though. Also, that would make me so sad. Um we talked a lot about about Mike McDaniel earlier in the season, and I don't really see him going. Um I don't either.

SPEAKER_00 16:51

I don't I don't think they're gonna fire him. I don't know. They already got rid of the GM, and so I think that was enough of a shakeup for them for the Dolphins. And I think they have bigger fish to fry than Mike at the moment. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

And then the Titans. I think the Titans, oh, Titans request multiple interviews in search for head coach.

SPEAKER_00 17:12

When did they they fired their head coach in the middle of the season? So the two in-season head coach firings were the Giants and the Titans. So it was kind of like old news, but now that everyone's getting fired now, it's like resurfacing.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think the Titans obviously need it. I I need to do some more research on the Titans, I just never think about them. I'm sorry, guys. I'm sure you're so nice. Down there in good old Tennessee. Good old Tennessee. Okay, you have a note in here that says that you have an update on when the guys took all of their stuff out of the locker room.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

Yes. So we talked about this one of the very this happened like pretty early on in the season. I forgot what week.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

I believe that it was like three or four.

SPEAKER_00 18:00

Yeah, it was super early on in the season. And it basically was the Ravens cleared out their entire locker room of all their little like fun toys, basketball hoops, and like video games and like this and this. And I think we and I were like debating like who does this come from? Like, what decision was this made? Was it a player's decision? Was it a coaching decision? It came down, I think we like uncovered that it was a player's decision. But Marlon Humphrey, who is, I believe, a defensive player on the Ravens, was on a podcast talking about the person that made this decision. And he was kind of alluding to it. He was like, he's the best player on our team. And eventually he just said it outright. He was like, it's it was Lamar, it was Lamar Jackson. So now we know the truth. I don't know if we should have said that on a podcast. Kind of interesting, but Lamar was the reason why, you know, he he wanted everything in the locker room, all the fun toys to be taken away. Do I disagree with the reason? No, because clearly Lamar Jackson is really in there trying to get the Ravens to the Super Bowl. And time and time again, it comes down to other players on the team that can't finish the job and do it correctly. So oh, that Ravens loss was so sad for them. But that was the update. It was Lamar Jackson, guys.

SPEAKER_01 19:15

That's actually insane. And I love it. And I feel like if it was anybody except Lamar Jackson or Derek Henry, I would have been like, ugh, pick me move. Like that's so annoying. Yeah, facts. But the fact if it was Lamar or Derrick Henry, who are two of my current favorite players, I feel like that's okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That loss, that game, I was crashing out. If you guys don't follow me on TikTok, I literally posted the most embarrassing TikToks of me like legitimately crashing out during that game. Like when they scored at 220, I was like, there's not enough time. There's too much time. There's two, you can't give Aaron Rodgers two minutes, 20 seconds. Like that was an insane, insane pass on the play call. You really needed to like. Like run it, run it, run it, run it, run it until you literally couldn't anymore. We needed short runs and first downs on third downs. And we did a long lob, which is like, you know, we can blame like fumbles and turnovers, but I think that that's really the play that changed everything because then you fired up the Steelers, you fired up one of the greatest of all time. You can't fire up one of the greatest of all time. Just like you can't fire up Baker Mayfield, which, if you watched that game, Baker Mayfield, oh my gosh, I forget who it was, but one of the Panthers players was getting in Baker's face and they were going at it. And in their previous matchup, those two had also gone at it. And starting quarterbacks, I'm like glitching, starting quarterbacks, you cannot fire them up too much because they will beat you. Starting quarterbacks with experience will beat you if you piss them off. Yeah. And so you can't piss off Aaron Rodgers or give him, you can't give them the chance to play Hero Ball because if you do, they'll take it. And so then we saw the banger from the Steelers that got the touchdown. And the Ravens did everything that they had to do to come back from what I would consider a missed play call at 220. They did everything they could to come back. And unfortunately, cutie boy, Tyler Loop misses. I think that was the third missed field goal in the game. So, like, what was in their Gatorade? I don't know.

Seeding Tiebreakers And Division Parity

SPEAKER_00 21:28

Yeah, Chris Chris Boswell was not for the Steelers. He missed a lot of field goals, which is always so interesting to me. Like, obviously, it was like a game-winning field goal for Tyler Loop. But like Chris Bodwell, who's like one of the most accurate kickers in the league, missed maybe two. I think he actually missed two in that game. Yeah, so four total missed field goals in that game. So it's like kind of crazy to think about he he missed one or two, but it's crazy to think about like Chris Boswell did that. But like everyone's gonna talk about Tyler Loop, which how the cookie crumbles. But I I don't I think the call was right because I feel like you can't pass up an opportunity like that. And I think the Ravens had so much faith in their defense. But a key loss for the Ravens was Kyle Hamilton going out, ran into his own teammate. The teammate was fine, but Kyle Hamilton goes out and concussion, which obviously postseason implications that he was going to be in concussion protocol, was going to be without the Ravens, anyways, for their first wild card game. So I don't know how that would have fared for them. But Kyle Hamilton is quite literally the backbone of that defense. And so playing without him, it's not. I was listening to the broadcasters literally, as soon as he went out the game, Aaron Rodgers was just targeting the middle of the field because that's always kind of where he sits in the zone. And now that he was gone, the absence was felt tremendously on the Ravens' defense. And Aaron Rodgers kind of capitalized on that.

SPEAKER_01 22:48

So but given that, don't you think that it was the wrong play call if they found a slot to get through the defense that they were struggling a little bit more with earlier in the game?

SPEAKER_00 23:01

Yes. On paper, yes. But it's also like if he was wide open, kind of how he was, yeah. I don't I don't think you can pass up on an opportunity to do that. How can you pass to anybody else in that moment? Yeah, or like run the like I just and like you don't know what's gonna come next after that play. Like if y'all converted, or like let's say you're driving down the field, what's it said that you would have turned into a touchdown? So I don't know, it's it's it's hard for me because like yes, they should have ran. I literally thought about that when I was watching it. Like, oh my god, there's so much time left, but you can't pass up. Like, I don't I don't think you can pass up an opportunity like that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:35

I mean, I just because like I think that in the situation, it was the right decision for Lamar, but I still think it wasn't the right play call. Like, I think they could have used that play call later, like they could have run one to two more plays, hit the two-minute warning, and then rocked it that way. But I don't know. Hindsight's 2020, and they did get the job done.

SPEAKER_00 23:59

They got the freaking touchdown, and it was Lamar did his Dougie in that game for sure. Gotta that one play where he was like slinging defenders off of them and then somehow is throwing the like insane. Insane. Yeah, yeah, insane.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Okay, there's a couple more things I want to talk about before ins and out. Super quick, Miles Garrett, he's everywhere. So if you guys haven't seen it, I literally don't know what rock you're living under, or you're just not on NFL social media, which maybe you're not because we have a lot of girls. So if you're not, Miles Garrett broke the all-time sack record with 23 sacks immediately after, runs to his mom in the stands. Then his dad is on the sideline taking photos. So his dad is taking photos for the NFL, not with his iPhone, like real camera NFL thing on, just like Simone Biles last week. And he also got a new relationship with Chloe Kim. What a year. What a year. What? I think he's my favorite player of the year.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

Yeah, I think he's gonna win defensive player of the year. He has to, right? He has to. This is kind of on my outs list. So we'll we'll run back through this because I have a little drama. Miles Garrett's on your out list. No, no, no, not Miles Garrett, but it's involving the situation.

Black Monday: Coach Firings And Fallout

SPEAKER_01 25:16

Okay, okay. You guys know that I hate the Cardinals, okay? So I can't be a Rams fan at all. So you guys know that I'll go to some games and I'll wear the home team jersey. Like when I'm in Buffalo, I wear a Buffalo jersey. When I'm in Detroit, I wear a Detroit jersey. I'm a Lions fan. I'm mostly in Lions gear like I am today. But I can't wear a Rams jersey because the Stafford golf trade and rivalry every year, not for me, not wearing a Rams jersey. I can respect you, but I'm not wearing your jersey. Cardinals, you guys know I hate the Cardinals, and I hate the Cardinals. One, because their rivalry jerseys are so ugly. And number two, because I hate their head coach. I did find out today, though, that the head coach who was just fired, and I'm not gonna say his name because I don't want to say his name on this show, was fined for$100,000 for hitting his player. And then he got fired. And I can't think of a more deserving firing of the season and worst karma. You cannot hit people. So I'm gonna get off my horse on that one, but I just did want to note that there was a$100,000 fine. I think we should have talked about it more, which is why I talk about it on this show all of the time. Like, violence is just not okay. So moving on, one note. I had this idea of like, what if? So there's there's so many random officiating calls, like illegal formation, annoying, ick. Why is it like you can be on the field in any way, but not that way? You're two inches off, bro. Like, no, can't do that. You can have 19 guys in the backfield, but like if you're six inches to the right, like penalty, ridiculous. Tripping penalty, I don't effing care. If you can trip someone and they fall, it's tackle football. It's insane. So, anyway, I was thinking, what if every season they just picked out of a hat the penalties that you can call and exactly how many yards those would be every single time? And so it's you pick like five out of a hat. So it's like horse caller, like helmet, anything safety always gets called, right? Like helmet to helmet gets called. Safety gets called. But all the other BS ones pass interference, illegal formation, false start. What if we just picked five and only used five so that there would be some consistency so that we wouldn't see so many bad ref calls policies?

SPEAKER_00 27:26

I don't know. I've it's funny because I always feel like the bad ref calls come from was it a catch? Was it not a catch? Did he have two feet in? Did he step out of bounds? Was it PI? Like those are the calls that I feel like that get muddied so much when it comes to officiating. Uh, illegal formations are tough, but I mean, I feel like some of those rules are in it's really funny. Like the one that gets me is like offside, it's like lining up in the neutral zone, or like there's like one illegal formation where the the defensive lineman's helmet has to break the line of the person in the center, and it's just it's so crazy. But yeah, I don't know. There it'd be interesting, it'd be an interesting like thing to only I I just don't know if there's a way to like make it consistent, you know?

SPEAKER_01 28:15

Because I just feel like the NFL loves rules, you know, and I feel like people love rules, and it's like shut up. Who cares where your helmet is? Are you on are you in the are you in position? Also, I saw one guy. Oh my god, I wish I would have videoed this. But there was one guy who was literally like on his hands and knees, like looking like he's about to do some cat cow stretches before he like got into position. He was literally just like sitting there with like his head kind of down. I thought it was so funny before, like obviously pre pre getting ready, pre-snap, but I thought it was so funny. We want to thank our sponsors. Uh Cuso Cuts, thank you for supporting us here at the game. If you need bold flavors, if you need something to grill with, if you need something to put in your air fryer, head to kusocuts.com slash the game and get yourself some new seasoning. I just reordered my lemon pepper seasoning. I talk about it all the time. There's also a cowboy butter seasoning that like smells buttery and delicious when you cook it up. There's so many good ones. When I ran out of lemon pepper, I used some that I hadn't used yet. And honestly, salmon was fire. My mom tried some, and my mom never compliments my cooking. Mom, if you're listening, I love you, but you literally always say my cooking is like mm. And she complimented both my Brussels sprouts and my salmon, which I used Cuso seasonings on. And that's a huge compliment. So if you want 10% off your order, head to Cusocuts.com slash the game. No additives, no crazy ingredients, just healthy, happy, bold, delicious seasonings. And it supports the game every time that you use our code when you shop. So thank you so much for supporting us. Thanks to Kusos. And let's get back to the show. Okay, should we do some ins and outs? Let's do it. Okay, in halftime corgi races.

SPEAKER_00 29:57

I saw that on your story and I was dying.

SPEAKER_01 30:00

I loved it. They did like three heats. The corgis were going crazy. Some of the people who were hired to like take care of the corgis or their owners like couldn't catch the corgis. So the corgis are running around and the people are running around trying to catch the corgis. It was so cute. Loved it. Also, side note the Rams have a better game day experience than the Chargers. And I'm not really gonna say too much about that, but just in case you wanted to decide Rams versus Chargers, Rams game day experience in terms of like light show, full experience, better with the Rams. My out teams waiting till week 18 to do anything, aka the Falcons. Baker Mayfield, wait waiting, waiting till week 18.

SPEAKER_00 30:38

Did you did you see him watching watching the game, the Falcon Saints game on the couch? Yeah, he looked like a lost, sad puppy.

SPEAKER_01 30:48

Dude. He did. I know. I felt really I do feel sad for him. And the Bucks really had like a fall from favoritism grace.

SPEAKER_00 30:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:00

Bad too. Yeah. Yeah, that's sad. I'm I'm I'm interested to see what they do next season already. I don't like to like jump too far into next season while we're still here and the Super Bowl hasn't happened, but I'm like, I'm interested to see what they do. Do you want to do one?

SPEAKER_00 31:15

Yeah, let's see. Okay, an in that I have is High Mark Stadium. Last game played in High Mark Stadium. Iconic. I wish I got to go experience because I feel like when they move, it's not gonna be the same. Like you have the fans out there shoveling snow. And I think they get paid for that, by the way. It's like$20 an hour or something. You get they like pay you to go shovel the snow.

SPEAKER_01 31:41

Yeah, yeah, which is crazy. But the new stadium isn't a dome. Oh, it's still gonna be outdoors. It's still outdoors because Buffalo is like, this isn't an advantage. Oh, low-key, it is. See, that's why like I'm like, make it consistent. But you know what? Hot take. I think Miami's a bigger advantage than Buffalo. Because snow games are painful and it's cold, but nothing hurts more than heat exhaustion.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Is uh is hard rock closed though? I think hard rock's closed. Like the Dolphin Stadium? I think. Yeah. Honestly, I don't know. Or my there might be like a small opening. Yeah, but like Bucks is open. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:22

Yeah. So like Florida Florida teams. Yeah. Also, did you see the stat that all of the Florida teams have like the same record since 2020 or something like that?

SPEAKER_00 32:31

Really?

SPEAKER_01 32:32

Yeah, they're all they all three have the same record. It's like 35 and 23 or something like that. But yeah, they're all they're all like tied, which is funny. Okay, what's your out?

SPEAKER_00 32:43

Okay, my out is Michael Strahan, which, if you don't know Michael Strahan, he was a former NFL player, really, really, really good Hall of Fame type guy. He now is on the broadcast team. But Michael Strahan was one of the sack record holders that Miles Garrett just beat. And he had some comments that he said on his broadcast, basically saying that because the we because they have an 18-game season versus when he played, they didn't have an 18-game season. I know, right? And like at first, I was like, you know, just be happy for him.

SPEAKER_01 33:22

You're retired, get over it.

SPEAKER_00 33:24

At first, I was like, you know, I can kind of see his argument, but I still thought it was a little ridiculous that he said that in national television because like it's Miles Garrett, and like everyone loves Miles Garrett. And I kind of saw the argument a little bit because, like, it, I mean, to have more games played, like obviously you're gonna get to that record until I saw this. So snaps required for each sack record, Michael Strahan had 567 in which he got to 22 and a half. Miles Garrett only had 437 in which he got to 23. So you might have played, Miles might have played more games, but when you look at the snap count, which is very important, when you look at the snaps that that were played to get those sacks, that's the thesis. So you can't play.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

I think he's probably getting heat for that. Oh, yeah. But also, I feel like it was probably his off-broadcasting brain and like his ego brain, which is like a bummer. Because if he would have said that like at his dinner table, it wouldn't have mattered. Like unrighteously, it was just like on TV.

SPEAKER_00 34:29

He said it on the broadcast. Also, people, not only is Michael Shaghan hating, the whole Bengals team was hating because obviously, like the refs stopped the game when Miles Garrett got his sack and like they celebrated, they did like a whole thing for like a couple of minutes. And Bengals head coach and Jamar Chase to that. I might add post-game was like, yeah, the fact that we stopped the game for that was just crazy. Like we're playing for our lives out here. Hello, this game did not matter. Like, there was no playoff implications. Like, yeah, you're playing your last game. So I don't know why people were hating on that, but I think there's like the consistency thing.

SPEAKER_01 35:07

Like, we're not recognizing Travis Kelsey in the middle of the game, in the middle of the field for like all the records that he's broken or anything like that. So I think it's just the consistency. Like, if it was a normal thing that anytime a record was broken, we celebrated, then like great, but I can understand how like Bengals because the it does mat like the games don't matter, but the games do matter to the players because it's like their numbers and that's what they're gonna get paid for, and that's what they're gonna get traded for. And like, unless you have a long-term contract to get it, but like why aren't we being consistent with that? Like, why was that one so so much different than any other than any other record being broken, you know?

SPEAKER_00 35:44

I think it was just because like the caliber of the record and like looking at who's broken it. I mean, Michael Strahan, I think, said that in like 2001. And I don't know when TJ Watt said his, but I think it was just like the caliber of the record. Cause like Travis Kelsey, like his records that was were broken were like Chiefs franchise records, not like all time like NFL records. So I think it's just yeah, that's kind of what it comes down to. I see their argument, but I also was like, bro, like it was in the fourth quarter, the sack was kind of suspect, I will say.

Locker Room Culture: Lamar’s No-Toys Rule

SPEAKER_01 36:16

Like it wasn't really a sack, but but like someone Shador tripped the other day and they credited a sack to someone, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:25

Like, like it wasn't really like that's stupid. If you go back and look at it, questionable, but I'm happy for Miles. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:33

So like why can when somebody trips, you can get credit for a sack even though you don't touch them. But if you trip them, it's a penalty. Yeah, facts. Make it make sense, make it make sense. And this is why we need more women in sports. Okay, let's let's move on. My in the Panthers, thanks to the Falcons, and honorary mention, the Saints. You guys hear me talk about it enough. On my out, okay, I'm gonna try and do this quickly. Men acting like football is the only thing that they do or ask for, as if it's a one hour a week commitment. And I met this guy at the at the game over the weekend, and honestly, I loved him. He was he was super great, really fun time, like diehard Rams fan, was at the last Super Bowl, like awesome, awesome guy. But at one point in our conversation, he's like, he's like, football is like the only thing I ask for. And I was thinking about it on my way home, and I was like, if football is the only thing you're asking for, you're actually asking for three nights a week and an entire Sunday for 18 weeks straight, plus random Saturdays, plus random other games, plus your hour on the toilet that becomes an hour and a half in the morning because you're reading sports news. So, like if you're a man listening to this and you think that like football is the only thing you ask for, or if you're a girl, because I know that I was like this when it's football weekends, that's all I'm doing. It's like all I'm thinking about, it's all I'm doing. And that's a big ask. So just note that's a big ask. Um, and just like be aware of it. Like it's not the only thing you're asking for. Like the only thing you're asking for is like for your girlfriend to like make the coffee on Saturday morning because you make it the other six days of the week. Like, that's an only ask, you know? So okay, you got any more?

SPEAKER_00 38:20

Let's go. This is actually on my ends list too. On the ends, Trevor Lawrence, because he did a lot of things over the weekend. Not only did he get his team to the playoffs, which is great, do all on top. So interested to see what they're gonna do next season when Travis Hunter gets back. Really cool. Hope he keeps it up. My okay, the girls was kind of funny after the game, they all like got him grilled, they got him grills for Trevor Lawrence. And he said in a post-game conference, he was like, I think my wife has something to do with this because like the girls fit perfectly. So, like, he's pretty sure his wife was in on it to like get the measurements and stuff right. And so that was really cute. But speaking of his family, it was his daughter's birthday, and he walks into the stadium, and like you know, those like t-shirts like that have like girlfriends will make for their boyfriends to wear, like, it's just like their face just plastered all over it and says their name. He had he was wearing one of those before his daughter, which was the cutest, and she was just like a little nugget, like so baby baby pictures of her. It was the cutest thing, and like he rocked it the hair and all that it was working for him. It really was. Yeah, that's on my ends list as well. I mean, how could it not be the one? Yeah, facts on my outs list. This is probably on both Victoria and I've outs list, but Tyler Loop. However, the hate needs to stop for Tyler. He needs like I I haven't been on social, but like, are people hating on him for real? Bad, like commenting because like he's engaged right now, and so like commenting on his fiance's posts or like how he sucks, and like obviously Baltimore is like not a fun place to be when like you're hated, like a lot of crime, and so people are like when you step when you step. Foot back on Baltimore soil, like it's up, bro. And I don't know. People are hating on him. Maybe your team shouldn't have left it up to chance. Little people are hitting on him a little too much, in my opinion. Yes, should he have made the kick 100% because it wasn't even that far? But rookie guy, men make mistakes. There were all humans in the sport of football. So, you know. Yeah. And like, not even like I'm it's obviously Lamar and like all those guys in the Ravens, like they're never gonna like blame him and like look on him, but like I'm sure he already feels like immense guilt and like just depression from this. So it's like I don't think social media and people that don't play the sport of football need to tack on to that.

SPEAKER_01 40:47

Yeah. Okay. Also, this is one thing that I got fired up about randomly this morning because men always are like, well, if I was on the team. And so I officially want to say that if you are a man and you say that your like your beer belly is because, you know, like life is just hard and you're old or whatever, you can no longer say that you could have done better. You can't simultaneously complain about like your beer belly and being old if you're gonna say that you could do better than someone in a game. Okay. Last ins and outs. I'm gonna go through these super quick. Mike Tomlin, I just love him. Cutie boy, cutie boy. I'm happy he won. I'm not obsessed with the Steelers team, but I like TJ Watt, and I really like Mike Tomlin. So that's my last in. And then I have a couple outs I wanna run through uh illegal formations. We already talked about that. The Rams, cheerleader, men's uniforms. Girls, we hate it when men put us in polo. So why are we putting those men in these horrible outfits? Rams literally do better because I know it's a woman running that team. You could do better. Those guys are dancing their asses off, and they're in these just mediocre at best, blue on blue, long sleeve with just like a towel to roll. Like, they don't need palms, but like, couldn't we like make the edge of the towel silk or like something sexy? I don't know. We can do it. Teams faking injuries out. Theo Johnston was ruled out by illness and then posted on social media, I'm not sick. So what is going on? Not into it. Derrick Henry lost under pressure, or I mean on his birthday, out. That's sad. He did not deserve to lose that game. That was a bummer. And my final out teams that use winning under pressure as a strategy. Any other ins and outs you want to go go through?

SPEAKER_00 42:38

Nah, that was great.

SPEAKER_01 42:40

Okay. And then let's go over our favorite things on social to close it out. People have been weighing in heavily on their bodyguards, so we'll come back with a bodyguard report. Miles Garrett's dad on the sideline. They have photos of that, which is so cute. Phillip Rivers has been said that he's a potential head coach candidate from Yahoo! Sports. So that is very, very interesting.

Late-Game Strategy And Kicker Pressure

SPEAKER_00 43:09

What?

SPEAKER_01 43:10

What?

SPEAKER_00 43:11

Oh my gosh, that's insane.

SPEAKER_01 43:14

I know. Okay, the past four seasons, the Jags, Bucks, and Dolphins all have the same record. 35 wins, 33 losses. So that's the Florida stat. Drake May passed Tom Brady's accuracy record. Brady's highest was 68.9. And Drake May is 71.9. So an entire 3% higher. The Bills made beer out of the snow from the stadium. Love. So cute. There is no other fan base like Buffalo. There's no city that I've seen that's rallies around their team as much as Buffalo. And I just love that they're all so dramatic about it. Like it's unabashedly dramatic. And I think that's hot. And I think that that's all I saw on social media. Oh my gosh. Bucks Elijah Roberts mom sang the national anthem. Are you kidding? Cutest thing I've ever freaking seen in my life.

SPEAKER_00 44:11

That's cool.

SPEAKER_01 44:12

And Amika from the Bucks is engaged to a girl named Laney. So Amika Buka, one of Giovanna's favorite players to talk about, is now engaged on the Bucks.

SPEAKER_00 44:27

Pika Buca, yeah, he kind of disappeared in the rest of the season. So that's uh my social media finds for the week were two cutesy videos that I absolutely love. They're not really cutesy. The first one was this random girl at a bar that saw Trevor Lawrence. She was like, Hey, can I bench press you? And I guess he was like, Yeah. And so now they're in the middle of the bar outside, and she just bodying Trevor Lawrence and like. Oh wait, she's squatting him, right? She's like, Yeah, she's sorry, I said bench, but yeah, she's squatting him. Literally insane. So that was a fun video I saw on social. My second favorite social video that I saw this week was Fred Warner climbing, not even climbing, scaling the like the beam on, I think it was like either stairs of a parking structure or something. Fred Warner is a linebacker, it's for the 49ers. He's one of their probably best defensive players. He went out on an ankle injury this season, and so he's been rehabbing and getting better. Really haven't heard from him until he posted this video. And like when I say he scaled the wall, like he looked like Spider-Man. He literally was Spider-Man and he climbs all the way up, no support, just yinking. And I was like, wow, impressive.

SPEAKER_01 45:45

And a man. That's honestly crazy. That's like one of those moments where you're like, oh my god, these guys are athletes. Like, they're not just guys, like these are no, they're not real.

SPEAKER_00 45:53

Like that, that that was insane. I don't even think I could do that if I trained for it. Like, that's it's a lot.

SPEAKER_01 46:00

Anyways, honestly, I think I could do that. But maybe give me a couple weeks. It's been a while since I've climbed a rope. Actually, wait, I climbed a rope like three weeks ago at a CrossFit class.

SPEAKER_00 46:15

Yeah, I do not have good grip strength.

SPEAKER_01 46:17

So honestly, I would recommend that everyone learns to climb a rope. Like it's really empowering. Anyway, couple teams are gonna need to climb the rope into the Super Bowl spot or the divisional championships this weekend. So don't forget, Saturday, there is football, no overlapping games. So tuck yourself in, get yourself some snacks. If you need new merch, I have a great little guide for new merch. The link in my bio. So you should go check that out because I uh put all the cute stuff together for you because there's too much ugly merch out there, and I don't like it. Okay, that's all we have for you. Love you. Bye. Mate.

SPEAKER_00 46:56

You a patty, baby. You gotta own it on a scaling grace.

unknown 47:00

You better own it.