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NFL 2025 | WildCard Round Recap | Banter with the Boys - Gridiron Updates · Banter with the Boys

0:00
Get laced up! Let's go! It's time for Banter
0:04
with the Boys! Yo, yo, yo! Welcome back to Banter
0:19
with the Boys Gridiron Updates. This is Smelty,
0:22
of course, as always. Yes, I'm here. Well, not
0:24
as always. Sometimes I'm not here, but, you know,
0:26
whatever. Roberto is next to me. What's up, dude?
0:29
Living, loving. Ready? Playoffs. Yeah, live,
0:31
laugh, love. Great weekend. Yeah, no, great weekend.
0:34
One of the best wildcard weekends of football,
0:37
I would imagine, in my short lifespan here. But
0:41
Jake is also here. Yeah, you could say it was
0:44
pretty wild. Oh, shit. It's already getting hot.
0:49
Trademark infringement. He's trying to steal
0:51
it. Yeah, anyway. Kev, he's also here. Yes. Jake
0:58
is not here this week. I'm here. It's probably
1:01
because it's Packers loss, right? No, I'm just
1:03
kidding. Or no, not Jake. I'm Justin. It's the
1:07
J. It's the J. Because he said that if the Packers
1:10
won, he would show up next week and tell us how
1:12
they did it and what the secret was. Right on.
1:14
And they didn't win, so yeah. It's all right.
1:17
It's all right. No, but we... Justin will hopefully
1:22
be here next week with us. Not Jake, because
1:24
Jake will probably be here. Well, we might let
1:26
him go. Anyway, let's move on. Actually, we're
1:32
going to ask you to step down, or we're going
1:35
to show you the door. You get the option. However
1:37
you want to play. Oh, got it. Teaser for later?
1:42
Maybe you have to listen to our tent talk. episode
1:47
damn it roberto i heard you set it up too mother
1:49
all right kev let's move right into our wild
1:52
card game recaps what it is all uh our first
2:06
game the number five rams traveling to the number
2:10
four panthers who kind of, by definition, backed
2:14
their way into the playoffs, but they closed
2:15
out the season strong, and they played strong
2:17
in this game. This game was actually probably
2:19
way closer than all them professionals probably
2:22
thought it was going to be. Why? Who did you
2:24
pick? I can't remember. Actually, I have it on
2:27
the sheet right here. We all went Rams. Yeah,
2:30
but the spread was 10 .5, right? It was the biggest
2:33
spread of the week. So the Panthers showed all
2:37
of us. 100%. Rams getting the win 34 -31, by
2:41
the way. Is there concern if you're the Rams
2:47
right now, or do you think the Panthers just
2:48
played that well? I think there's a little bit
2:51
of concern for the Rams because the Rams let
2:54
the Panthers hang around over the course of the
2:56
entire game. They were up two scores early, right?
3:01
Yeah. And then when they were trying to, I guess,
3:05
maybe... A semi dagger towards the end of the
3:09
second. They went for it. They had the turnover
3:11
on downs. Aggressive. Yeah, and then the Panthers
3:16
came back and turned that around and got three
3:18
going into the half, which can be a big momentum
3:21
swing for you. Momo. Yep. Love the Momo. And
3:26
then the Panthers were able to capitalize on
3:28
the Rams' turnovers. Excuse me, in the second
3:36
half, because they had the INT. They got points
3:38
off of that. They had the block punt late. And
3:41
then they got points off of that, too. So the
3:44
Rams were kind of shooting themselves in the
3:46
foot and allowing the Panthers to hang around.
3:50
So I think I would be a little bit concerned.
3:52
And they kept getting calls, too. Yeah. So it's
3:55
just real uncharacteristic of the Rams, it felt
3:57
like, going into this game. Roberto, what comes
4:01
to mind for you? Now you kind of know why the
4:04
Panthers beat them three weeks ago. I think they
4:08
match up defensively pretty well with them. I
4:11
did think the Panthers did figure it out early
4:13
off probably that three weeks ago. But that Panthers
4:17
defense is okay. Bryce Young actually looks like...
4:21
He's a franchise quarterback. Four lead changes
4:24
in the fourth quarter. I mean, how sweet is that
4:27
for a game? There was 12 fourth quarter lead
4:29
changes this weekend. Exactly. That's insane.
4:32
That's the most ever for wildcard weekend, by
4:34
the way. Ever, ever. Ever, ever. You know what
4:36
I mean? But Stafford's that 71 -yard final drive
4:39
was pretty epic. So it was just a great, fun
4:42
football game at the end of the day. Am I concerned
4:45
about the Rams moving forward? Not really because,
4:49
I mean, I don't think they were. they're that
4:52
much better than the rest of the field you know
4:54
it's i it'd be hard to pick one team versus the
4:56
field right now i think something to the rams
4:58
advantage and this goes to if you listen to the
5:01
post -game press conference with davante adams
5:03
what matthew stafford said to the the team as
5:06
they were taking the field on that game -winning
5:07
drive of theirs yeah he's like let's go and steal
5:10
or let's go and take their hearts like he's been
5:13
there and he knows it like he's got a like a
5:16
killer mentality there. And I think that that's
5:18
what we've all loved and appreciated about Stafford.
5:21
And then just hearing that, you're just like,
5:23
oh, they're going to be a tough out. He wants
5:26
another one. And we keep saying like how much
5:30
older Stafford is now, but isn't he only like
5:33
33, right? Or how old is he? Oh, he's 37. Who
5:36
am I thinking of? I'm thinking of somebody else.
5:37
You think he retires if he gets the Super Bowl?
5:39
Why not? I mean. Another good way to go out.
5:42
Could be. Is that what Mike Tomlin's doing? No,
5:45
I'm just kidding. I'll get there. He's not coaching
5:48
next year, by the way. Okay. That's what I've
5:50
heard. Damn, where was I? I distracted myself
5:52
now. But anyway, Stafford. Retiring? No. Yeah.
5:56
I mean, two -time Super Bowl champ. Probably,
6:00
if he wins, I think he's already going to be
6:02
Hall of Fame. But if he wins a second Super Bowl,
6:04
I mean, that's a freaking lock. That's a lock.
6:06
At this point. Because if you don't get remembered.
6:08
And if you can go out healthy, you can retire
6:11
healthy. You know what I mean? For the most part,
6:12
anyway. I'm sure every quarterback's shoulder
6:14
is just effed by the end of their career. But
6:17
why wouldn't you? So if they do pull it off,
6:20
maybe he does. Or, that's the problem. It could
6:26
make you hungry, more hungry. You know what I
6:27
mean? Get another one. Well, it's his back. Because
6:30
if you guys remember, preseason, there was a
6:32
question whether he was even going to play this
6:34
year. Right, right. So how many shots has it
6:37
taken to get through the season? He probably
6:39
has been all season. It's just been not really
6:42
talked about. And so what website is that? Where
6:46
can we track that? How many shots? My knee. Anyway.
6:57
All right. We got to move on. But Rams getting
6:59
the win. Thirty four. Thirty one. And get to
7:01
move on in the playoffs. Playoffs. Playoffs.
7:05
Second game. Number seven. Green Bay Packers
7:08
traveling to the Chicago Bears and taking the
7:11
L. Bears getting the win there, 31 -27. No more
7:17
doing this, Packers, ever since he did that against
7:19
the Vikes five L's in a row. Oh, is that the
7:24
curse? That's the curse. Oh, okay. You know who
7:26
was extremely upset about this game? Other than
7:28
probably Justin. Any Packer fan? Correct. But
7:32
Ben, Ben, he's been on the show last year, I
7:35
believe. He was calling for the Packers to fire
7:38
LeFleur. How do you feel about that? I mean,
7:42
it's shiny object syndrome. Everyone likes something
7:45
new. And everybody's firing people right now.
7:48
Or they're stepping away. Aaron Rodgers, I mean,
7:51
we'll maybe get into it. Aaron Rodgers' post
7:53
-game press conference in their game, he had
7:55
nothing but great things to say about LeFleur.
7:57
So I think from the outside looking in, that
8:01
would be a mistake right now. I mean, this game
8:04
could have went either way. Oh, yeah, for sure.
8:08
My source that's close to KOC, if we dare, says
8:13
that KOC says to him directly that LeFleur's
8:17
probably got nothing to worry about. He does
8:19
not think that he's going anywhere. Okay. Allegedly.
8:22
Okay. Allegedly, for what it's worth. Is this
8:24
guy the source and owner, too? No. No? So maybe
8:30
the only concern that I... So this... Yeah. Sorry.
8:35
The squirrel? Sorry. The squirrel, yeah. I don't
8:39
know how interesting this is, but... Well, tell
8:42
us. I'll tell you. All right. I'm waiting for
8:45
the interesting part. The only loss that LeFleur,
8:48
like worst loss that LeFleur probably ever experienced
8:51
was when he was quarterback's coach for the Atlanta
8:54
Falcons, and then they lost to Tom Brady. Yeah,
8:59
the 28 -3 game. So, yeah, a mini replica here.
9:03
And I think I was messaging in our chat, like
9:07
during the game, that Chicago's got Green Bay
9:09
right where they want them ahead, Play, I don't
9:15
know, kind of like streetball. Streetball. OK,
9:18
fair enough. Then when he's on, he's really good
9:21
at playing that. Yeah. Out of the pocket. That
9:24
late drive was just a thing of beauty. They went
9:26
10 for 19 on third downs in the game. That's
9:28
a pretty high clip across the board for other
9:32
teams. Somebody missed Micah Parsons really bad.
9:36
Oh, no kidding. Oh, and the other thing that
9:38
we didn't touch on, it was. Green Bay had the
9:41
missed field goal and the missed extra point.
9:44
Like, man, you really need to. Well, kickers
9:48
in general in the cold weather were pretty terrible
9:50
across the board. Like I was telling my brother
9:53
-in -law, it's like McManus is going to have
9:55
to change his last name to McMrs. McMrs. Trademark
10:00
that. Get the t -shirt at gridironupdates .com.
10:04
Do you think that, like, it's such a. Do you
10:08
think they've released McManus this offseason?
10:11
You don't think so? No. Okay. But, I mean, who
10:15
knows? I mean, it's shiny new objects. Kickers
10:18
always have probably the shortest leash in the
10:20
league. You miss a couple, and all of a sudden
10:23
you're out of a job. Oh, yeah. That is a very
10:25
fan -driven job. So Jay Love still went 323 for
10:31
four touchdowns, no picks. Christian Watson really
10:34
only had that one catch. You know, otherwise
10:36
he was really quiet. Do you think the Bears are
10:38
just suffocating? Yeah, I think they were bracketing
10:40
because you saw Golden actually come alive a
10:42
little bit. So obviously they were going to the
10:45
two receiver lot. Dobbs had a couple of nice
10:48
catches, too. They just could establish the run
10:52
enough. The Packers in general, I feel like I
10:55
don't know. I know, but I don't know if Jacobs
10:58
is fully healthy. I don't think he was something,
11:01
you know, because he was in. going into the playoffs
11:03
and, you know, give credit to the Bears defense,
11:06
you know, holding them to 55 yards. And this
11:10
is, I mean, this game too, the previous game,
11:13
the Rams -Panthers, and I think we continue to
11:18
see this through the course of the entire weekend
11:20
is all of the running games of every team struggled.
11:24
Nobody really excelled. And so you're just like,
11:28
well, let's maybe try to be okay with it. So
11:31
if you're getting north of 75, close to 100,
11:35
you're going to be okay or happy with that. But
11:38
it was tough sledding for any run game. Either
11:42
way, Bears get the dub number two. Bears moving
11:46
on in the playoffs after beating their division
11:49
rival. But we have to keep moving on as well
11:52
as we got six of these puppies to get through.
11:54
The number six 49ers traveling to the defending
11:58
number three Eagles. And the Eagles take a loss
12:02
as predicted by yours truly. But, I mean, gosh,
12:07
this was a really great game, too, to be honest
12:09
with you. I'm so impressed with that San Francisco
12:12
defense, to be honest, with what they've been
12:14
able to do with the pieces they're missing. And
12:16
now rumors that Fred Warner could be coming back
12:18
for the Seattle game, allegedly. It's an outside
12:23
chance, but there's reports coming out. They
12:25
don't need him. They got Hendricks. They don't,
12:27
but that's the point. They were able to. Yeah,
12:30
Kendricks. I mean, who played outstanding, by
12:33
the way. He got the last play, but the last few
12:38
weeks he's actually been playing pretty well,
12:40
which is nice to see considering his counterpart,
12:43
Anthony Barr, retired from the Vikes. You know,
12:46
he's extending his career. I love it. Brock Purdy
12:51
kind of gave us the same thing as Jalen Hurts,
12:53
you know, kind of trying to do just enough, it
12:54
felt like. But his ability to extend plays, I
12:57
think, just make a huge difference. It's crazy
13:00
how good he is, how elusive. uh snaky like i
13:05
have not been on his camp like all season yeah
13:08
he just he just just finds a little crack in
13:10
between the tackles or the dn and gets out and
13:12
extends the play and he's got enough shimmy to
13:15
him too yeah to really even break down a linebacker
13:18
and make a miss um so he's been very impressive
13:22
eagles are just i don't know mate they fired
13:25
their oc yep You know, obviously, there's something
13:28
new that needs to be changed. You know, you did
13:31
see the head coach and A .J. Brown get into it
13:33
during the middle of the game. I don't know exactly
13:35
what that was. They didn't really. Listen, A
13:39
.J. Brown needs to catch the frickin' ball, dude.
13:41
I mean, right in his effing hands, like three
13:44
of them. Two of them, yeah. At least the two,
13:46
for sure. I thought he had a third one. Jalen
13:49
Hurts missed him a couple of times, too. For
13:51
sure. Which is on Jalen. But, yeah, their offense
13:54
was, while their passing game, Was out of sync
13:57
the entire time. Well, for the most part. I mean,
14:00
almost the entire game. Dallas Goddard was the
14:03
passing attack. Yep. It'll be interesting to
14:06
look at their roster and see where they're at
14:08
for money. Because, I mean, they're pretty star
14:11
heavy, I would say. But I'd say on the defense
14:14
of those, those guys are young. So they're all
14:16
still, there could be a contractor two coming
14:18
up. Yeah, I'm talking like Smith, you know, is
14:20
Brown gone, you know. I think A .J. Brown's gone.
14:23
Yeah, you're probably going to have to trade
14:25
Brown. Goddard, I don't know where he's at. I
14:28
know they're definitely going to probably get
14:29
an offensive lineman or two. I'm going to need
14:32
that. And then that – but, yeah, and I think
14:34
– The defense is, while it's young, I mean, you've
14:38
got some of those rookie contracts are about
14:40
to come due. Come up, yeah. Jalen Carter, Davis,
14:42
and then after next year, you're probably seeing
14:46
Quinion Mitchell and Cooper DeGene, too. DeGene,
14:50
yeah. So, yeah, they got a lot of guys that are
14:53
going to need to get paid here in the next couple
14:55
years. I wonder, I mean, Jalen Carter could just
14:59
come on to Minnesota. That'd be fine. I was surprised
15:03
with the 49ers pulling off this one. I thought
15:05
the Eagles at home would have enough. Always
15:08
a tough place to play. And come back, Jalen Carter
15:11
was playing. And then Kittle tore his Achilles,
15:16
too. And you're like, how is that going to impact
15:18
the 49ers' offense? Their defense just played
15:22
lights out. Wasn't it extremely windy this game,
15:26
too? Was that this game? One of these games was
15:28
extremely windy. It was the Packers -Bears game.
15:30
Yeah, if I remember from my weather report from
15:33
last week. It was on the ticker last year. I
15:37
didn't do the weather this time. Dang, I didn't
15:40
even see you added the weather. That's kind of
15:41
badass. Yeah, it is. All right, let's move on
15:44
here. Let's move on. We got three more. Congratulations
15:47
to the 49ers. But the Niners move on to take
15:49
on the old number one Seahawks. and the 12th
15:54
man. So we'll talk about them in the divisional
15:56
preview and picks episode. Don't forget to check
15:59
that out. Game four here, the number six Bills
16:02
traveling to the number three Jacksonville Jaguars.
16:05
Just another game. That was just outstanding
16:07
start to finish. But Bills getting the better
16:10
of the Jaguars, 27 to 24, ending kind of a fun
16:14
season for Jacksonville. Probably one of the
16:16
most more fun seasons they've had in recent years.
16:19
Coach, you're officially in on Trevor Lawrence.
16:23
He said last week. Me? Yeah. Yeah. No, I think
16:26
they have no reason to change that up. You're
16:28
still in on him after that game? Yep. Okay. Nope.
16:31
I'm fine. I'm fine. Why? Why are you not? You're
16:33
out on him, it sounds like. You're looking for
16:36
Jackson to make a change? I think he's going
16:39
to be, over the course of his entire career,
16:41
he's going to be okay. I don't think he's like
16:43
transcendent or anything like that. One of the
16:45
best of the mediocres? Yeah, he's probably going
16:47
to be that. Better than Kirk Cousins? Kurt Cousins
16:49
is like my benchmark for mediocre quarterback.
16:51
You know what I mean? Like a decent mediocre
16:53
quarterback. Probably be better than Kurt. I
16:55
think for me, it was really that last drive where
16:59
he threw the interception. And I was watching
17:02
that, and I was looking at it, and I'm like,
17:05
I understand you're running out of time, and
17:08
you need to just get it to the 50, so you can
17:10
take a shot down the middle. And I get that.
17:14
When you looked at the other, when you looked
17:17
at the other, he had two other receivers open
17:20
going to the outsides. If he just looks off the
17:23
safety with his eyes or a pump fake, he's probably
17:26
got one of those other wideouts for more yards,
17:30
and they're going to get out of bounds with it.
17:32
And stop the clock. So the moment's too big for
17:34
him is kind of what you're getting at. Which
17:35
is crazy to me, considering some of the big games
17:38
he's played in over his career. I mean, dating
17:40
back to college, even playing some of those,
17:42
you know, minor league NFL teams of Alabama.
17:45
Yeah. You know, those are some big games. And
17:47
he was able to do that at a younger age. So it
17:49
just sucks if that is what it is. Like, he can't
17:52
handle the big moment. Now, arguably, it's just
17:54
like the first big moment he's had in Jacksonville.
17:58
Yeah. Well, you could probably make a case for
18:01
it at the time and when the Chiefs came into
18:03
town. But now they've got to go and play a first
18:07
-place schedule next year. So I'm real curious
18:12
to see how they can bounce back. On the other
18:14
side of things, Josh Allen. Who's your daddy?
18:18
Did you guys, did you guys, did he limp at all
18:21
this game? I feel like I didn't really see him.
18:23
Dude, he got pimp walk, dude. He got so, he got
18:27
so beat up in that first, in that first quarter.
18:30
I just felt like I wasn't, it wasn't as noticeable
18:32
to me as the game before, but maybe I was just,
18:34
uh, let's just say maybe I had power vision.
18:37
He just powered through it. A little adrenaline,
18:39
you know, you know, that was Josh Allen's first
18:42
game winning playoff drive in his career. Write
18:47
that down. His first game -winning playoff drive
18:51
in his career? Wow. He's not had that many playoff
18:56
games, though. I know, but he's at least had
18:58
five, six, eight of them, right? Also, he's probably
19:03
just always winning. Until he's losing to the
19:10
Chiefs. If I heard that out of... who would be
19:15
a good example of that right now. Not Drake May,
19:18
but who's like a fifth -year quarterback in the
19:21
playoffs right now. Trevor Lawrence? Yeah. Or
19:29
like if it was Matthew Stroud, it would be another
19:32
one that's been in the league for a little bit.
19:34
What was impressive to me was Jacksonville's
19:37
defense kind of being able to contain James Cook
19:39
a little bit. Yeah. So I'm kind of looking for
19:43
a little more. James Cook action, hopefully,
19:46
against Seattle, whether that's just trying to
19:47
get him involved even in just the passing game.
19:50
Get him outside the tackles or something at this
19:53
point. You know what I mean? And that Seattle
19:54
defense is going to be suffocating. And I don't
19:56
want to get too far into that game because we've
19:57
got a whole episode for that. Who, James Cook?
19:59
Is he going against Seattle? I'm sorry. No, the
20:03
Broncos. Broncos. Geez, I'm all over the place
20:05
today. No, he's playing the Broncos. Same situation.
20:10
Still got to have him. Anyway, Kev, where are
20:12
we at? We should probably move on, huh? Yeah,
20:14
yeah, yeah, all right. Well, Bills getting the
20:16
win, 27 -24. Again, we will be talking about
20:19
them very shortly here. Game five, man, this
20:22
is one we don't need to spend a lot of time on.
20:25
Defensive battle, you know, Chargers fired their
20:28
OC today, but Patriots getting the win, 16 -3.
20:35
But the three points isn't impressive at all.
20:37
But Justin Herbert had... Nor is giving up six
20:40
sacks. No, for sure. And Herbert had no time
20:43
the whole game to get anything done. And when
20:45
he did, he was just... I don't know if it was
20:47
happy feet at that point or what, probably. But,
20:49
I mean, guys are in his face the entire game.
20:52
And they weren't really blitzing that much either.
20:55
It was just, like, pressure from the front four.
20:57
And if your front four is going to be able to...
20:59
Put pressure on the quarterback. Then everybody
21:01
else just gets to go play. And when everybody
21:04
just gets to go play freely, you have no chance.
21:07
It was the first time that both tackles out,
21:09
I've seen the Chargers just be like, whoa, you're
21:12
a whole different team without those two tackles.
21:14
Yeah. I didn't see, did Omarion go down? Did
21:19
they just decide not to put him in? I mean, he
21:22
was kind of questionable before the game. I don't
21:25
know if he retweaked it last week. Yeah, because
21:27
the whole end of the season, he was kind of dealing
21:29
with a deal, a thing. Yeah, and he only had,
21:31
what, the one touch? Yeah, right. So I don't
21:33
know if they just maybe the one touch. I'm assuming
21:35
he wasn't ready. He got the one, and he was like,
21:38
yeah, it's not there. For sure. But again, he
21:41
hasn't been quite the same since he came back
21:43
from injury anyway at the end of the season.
21:45
Just all in all, not a good game for the Chargers
21:48
in any way, shape, or form. Well, no, defensively,
21:49
they played amazing. They kept him in for the
21:52
entirety of the game. Because the Chargers offense
21:56
did not help them out at all. And they were on
21:59
the field all day. Which is a good point, considering
22:03
the Patriots have been putting up, looks like.
22:06
Over 24 points at least on every team they've
22:09
played this season. I mean, they had 40 possessions.
22:12
Look at you trying to save face for the Chargers
22:15
a little bit. Well, you're knocking them, and
22:17
I'm like, no. I opened it with saying it was
22:19
a defensive battle. Two sides of the coin here.
22:21
But zero offense from them at all. The Patriots,
22:25
they get to go play. Speaking of zero offense.
22:27
They get to go play a very difficult team this
22:31
weekend. I guess we'll touch on that later. I
22:35
don't even know what to say about the Patriots.
22:37
I hate seeing them at 14 -3 and winning playoff
22:39
games again. I think that's my biggest problem.
22:42
It's a problem. That's what I grew up with, I
22:47
guess. You boys are a little older than me. Yeah.
22:51
Yeah, I mean, yeah, the Patriots have had a nice
22:53
last... Couple decades, we'll say. Before that,
22:58
it was not good. But, yeah, I mean, they still
23:01
got a bunch of hurdles they got to get over before
23:04
I even worry about them consecutively winning
23:07
Super Bowls. Yeah, the East is still going to
23:10
be challenging. I feel like you're going to say
23:12
this is where the train stops for them when we
23:14
get to that episode, Rob. Well, there's a possible
23:16
end. At some point, you got to pull it in for
23:19
maintenance. Maybe wait a couple weeks or next
23:25
offseason. We'll go from there. Fair enough.
23:29
Well, the Chargers, I'm just looking for them
23:31
to get healthy and hopefully get back to competing
23:33
next year because that 11 -6 felt very fake almost
23:37
the entire season even. See if they can bounce
23:41
back. You said they hate on your Chargers. For
23:43
all the injuries they had, I think 11 and 6 was
23:46
an amazing season. All of the injuries the 49ers
23:49
had, you just praised them like crazy. Yeah,
23:52
true, but... And true, the Chargers did lose
23:55
almost half their defense at the beginning of
23:57
the season. And they beat the Chiefs. And you're
23:59
a fan of them. And I'm a fan of them, which is
24:02
why I'm extra critical. But losing the two games,
24:06
getting into the playoffs. So they fire Harbaugh?
24:08
What are you saying here? No, no, no, no, no,
24:12
no, no, no, no, no. Don't be doing all that.
24:14
All right, Patriots move on. Getting the win
24:16
16 -3. The final game. Which could be the final
24:21
game of Mike Tomlin's career? Final game of Aaron
24:24
Rodgers' career? We don't know. But Texans getting
24:27
the win 30 -6. What did you say? Or Dewey. Oh,
24:29
what do you got? I don't know. Is it Aaron Rodgers'
24:32
final game? No, I figured Rob had some kind of,
24:34
like, connections. I thought he had some sources.
24:39
He goes to the dark retreats. Keeps everybody
24:42
out. Exactly. I feel like he has a year left
24:48
in him. I think he's not going to say anything
24:50
for a while. For sure he's not. He's going to
24:54
let him marinate. Not until after the draft.
24:56
I think he's got it still in the tank, too. From
25:00
the neck up, his arm is still super sharp. Still
25:02
got the arm talent. He's a little bit slower
25:05
in the pocket, but that's okay. You can work
25:08
around those kinds of things. Made the playoffs
25:11
with an average team, right? Yeah. I think the
25:14
question is, where does he... Go, because he's
25:18
on record as saying he came to Pittsburgh to
25:21
play with Mike Tomlin. Kev says Minnesota. I
25:25
don't know. Oh, complete the circle. Complete
25:29
the circle. And the Vikings keep saying they're
25:33
going to stack the quarterback. It would. All
25:37
right, well, let's hop off that train real quick.
25:40
Kev says Aaron Rodgers is going to the Vikes,
25:43
but I'm just trying to think who else would even
25:45
take him because you'd think he'd want to at
25:47
least play for a somewhat contender. Yeah. You
25:50
know. Yeah, he wouldn't be going to Carolina.
25:52
Is he going to start over to the Hurts in Philadelphia?
25:55
Indianapolis. It just depends on the coaches,
25:58
who gets hired where, I think, at that point,
26:00
because they've got to be able to deal with him.
26:03
And whatever he's going to bring to the table
26:05
in the locker room. But not a great showing for
26:10
him or the team as a whole. But the Texans, kind
26:14
of like how we were talking before the pod, Jake,
26:16
I mean, they're exactly who we thought they were.
26:17
Yeah, that defense is legit. They thumping and
26:22
taking balls away and scoring touchdowns on the
26:25
defensive side. Don't get me wrong. The Pittsburgh
26:28
Steelers defense did a really great job through
26:31
three quarters. slowing down cj stroud and i
26:35
stroud wasn't ready he had issues with with those
26:39
snaps fumbles um and so the pittsburgh steelers
26:44
defense gave him a chance that offense and it
26:47
was my thought was aaron rogers was going to
26:50
be able to outsmart the texans defense just enough
26:55
and the deep that texas defense just too fast
26:58
flying too hard just like after that fumble return
27:00
it was just They kind of took all the gas out
27:03
of it. It felt like they were just barely hanging
27:06
on anyway. Even though it was 7 -6 almost the
27:08
most of the game, it still felt like they were
27:11
barely hanging on, and then that fumble return
27:13
for a touchdown kind of just took the air out.
27:16
And then to turn around and have to punt, I believe,
27:18
right after that, it's just like, all right.
27:20
You've got to answer that for sure, and they
27:23
didn't, and that's when that proverbial mo -mo.
27:27
Oh, it drastically changed after that. And then
27:30
to think about it, if Aaron does retire, that
27:32
pick six will be his last play. That's going
27:35
to bug the crap out of him. And honestly, that
27:38
might be just enough. It probably is. He's going
27:42
to just come back for a game. Whatever. I'm done.
27:46
It's probably not going to be in Pittsburgh.
27:47
Because, you know, everyone's going to be shouting,
27:49
oh, your last play. Oh, for sure. And nobody
27:52
would ever let him live that down. No, for sure.
27:55
For sure. I mean, we're not right now. Not even
27:57
his buddy, Pat McAfee, probably wouldn't let
27:59
him live that down. No. Yeah, well. Oh, he's
28:04
still running. Better luck next time, Steelers.
28:07
But the Texans do look like a force to be reckoned
28:10
with, and we'll be touching on them in our divisional
28:12
preview and picks episode. Gosh, any closing
28:16
thoughts from this weekend as a whole? Saturday
28:20
started out amazing and it continued through
28:23
Sunday. I felt like it kind of petered off a
28:26
little bit at like the Sunday night game and
28:27
the Monday night game, but still with how great
28:31
the defense, how great the defenses have been
28:33
for all of the teams this past weekend. I'm excited
28:38
for divisional championship. Like we're going
28:42
to continue to see. Amazing defenses. Then we're
28:46
getting two new defenses again because the Seahawks
28:48
and Broncos are back. Two good defenses, too.
28:52
So more hard -hitting, great defense, probably
28:56
low scoring. Maybe we'll get something topsy
28:58
-turvy. Give us a teaser to the divisional preview
29:00
and picks just real quick. You don't need to
29:03
say who, but is there a number one seed that
29:05
falls this weekend? I feel like you're putting
29:09
me on the spot. Don't need to make the whole
29:10
decision. Now you're making me make a pick. I
29:13
think it's possible. You're going to have to
29:15
come listen to the Divisional Preview and Picks
29:17
episode. It's possible. You got to see who Jake
29:19
thinks is possible. Wait, who? All right, you
29:23
know who I'm talking about. Roberto, any closing
29:27
thoughts on this week? No, it was awesome. What
29:28
a great weekend. Road teams, I mean, coming back,
29:31
a bunch. It was just competitive, awesome football.
29:35
It was a lot of football. When it's so spread
29:38
out like that, you know, it's trying to, you
29:40
know, balance the life still and not be just,
29:43
like, focused in my man cave. And we got college
29:47
football, too, leading up to that, too. Thursday,
29:49
Friday. Football! But it was awesome. It was
29:53
a good weekend. I'm excited, you know. Yeah,
29:56
I would agree with you. Not too many controversies.
29:58
There wasn't too many penalties that decided
30:00
anything. Yeah, which was good. I mean, there
30:02
were some questionable penalties during the game,
30:04
but nothing too egregious that really changed
30:06
the outcome of the game. Well, what is the one
30:09
I'm thinking of? You're thinking of the Indiana.
30:13
Are you thinking of the college game? The Miami
30:16
game? Oh, yeah, for sure. Ole Miss, Miami. Yeah,
30:20
that was not passing. For sure. I don't think
30:23
so either. But that is what I was thinking about.
30:25
I was like, Blue Jersey. Was it the Panthers?
30:27
No. Anyway, sorry. I'm tripping, though. Kev,
30:30
thanks for being here, of course, as always.
30:32
Thanks, Kev. Again, don't forget to check out
30:35
our next episode, our wildcard recap and division
30:38
tent talk episode. And then after that, divisional
30:43
preview and picks. Don't forget to check that
30:45
out. Obviously, like, comment, subscribe, wherever
30:48
you listen to the banter, whether that's YouTube,
30:49
Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or iHeartRadio. And
30:52
we will see you in our next episode. Peace. Don't
30:57
forget to follow, like and subscribe. Tune in
31:01
next time for more banter with the boys.