Latest / Banter with the Boys / NFL 2025 | Week 17 Recap | Banter with the Boys - Gridiron Updates

Transcript

NFL 2025 | Week 17 Recap | Banter with the Boys - Gridiron Updates · Banter with the Boys

0:00
it's laced up let's go What's going on? Welcome
0:16
back to Banter with the Boys. Gridiron updates,
0:19
week 18. I am one of your hosts, I think. Smelty,
0:24
yep, that's me. Coach! Yep, that's it. Just coach?
0:28
Yeah, that's as far as he's going. And then right
0:31
next to me, of course, our other co -host, Roberto.
0:34
What's up, what's up? Final. Week 18. We're getting
0:37
there. Week 18. That's it. Love it. It's over.
0:39
It's not over. Well, for us Vikings fans, it
0:41
will be. Yes. Jake, hoping his Ravens aren't
0:44
over. Yeah, we're not over yet. Hey, Rob, we
0:47
got a chip and a chair. Oh, there's a chip, man.
0:51
Unbelievable. We'll probably pull that chair
0:53
from underneath you. Oh, God. I hope not. Oh,
0:56
is that of things to come in our preview episode?
0:59
Don't forget to check that out. Spoilers. Spoiler
1:02
alert. Also here, who's probably wishing he wasn't
1:07
anymore, Justin. Welcome back, our Packer fan.
1:10
Uh -oh, he's just doing the Jettas, huh? Yeah.
1:12
Yeah, there it is. Wishing, hoping, not going
1:15
to happen. And then Kev, behind the old camera,
1:18
getting everything done for us as always. In
1:21
the Nordic lot? No, I'm just kidding. All right,
1:23
anyway, let's move on. No, but it's Nordic because
1:25
of the tree, so you got the tree here. Oh, we
1:26
do have a Christmas tree for you YouTube listeners.
1:29
You're like, why? It's not Christmas. This is
1:31
a Norway pine. What? No, it's not. Yeah, it is.
1:37
It's one of my favorite conifers. Kev, you know
1:39
what? Let's just get into our Week 17 game. We've
1:41
got to fact check that later. Welcome back to
1:52
Banter with the Boys. Oh, wait. We already did
1:54
that. We're in the game recaps. Let's just settle
1:56
down. All right. Too many wins in a row. I'm
1:59
getting confused. Well, I was about to do the
2:00
tent talk thing. You know what I mean? Oh, man.
2:03
That was perfect. Where the hell were you? I'm
2:05
sorry. I'm not used to sitting so close to you.
2:10
I think that's what's going on. First game. We're
2:12
talking about football here. Not playing football.
2:14
What a week 17. What a week 17. Let's start off
2:20
with our first game here. The old Chargers playing
2:23
the Houston Texans. Chargers at home and not
2:26
able to get it done. Losing 20 -16. And for me,
2:30
as a... Chargers fan. Chargers fan. Obviously
2:33
wearing my Harrison Smith jersey. Ah, you know.
2:37
Hall of Famer. Hall of Famer. HOF. Possibly last
2:40
intercept. We'll get to it. I think the lack
2:44
of the stud top tier tackles are finally starting
2:48
to catch up with the Chargers. That Houston defense
2:51
like you two have alluded to for the last few
2:53
weeks is just on a different level right now.
2:55
And I think we absolutely saw that on display
2:57
this week. Yeah, defensive slugfest from both
3:01
sides, but Texans definitely continue to just
3:05
get after the quarterback, what, five sacks,
3:07
eight additional hits on Herbert, just beat them
3:11
up just all day long. So shout out to them. And
3:16
then poor special teams play, because we talk
3:20
about, especially as postseason's upon us. It
3:22
matters. Everything matters. Yep. All three phases
3:25
of football. Not the time. Special teams matters.
3:31
You have your Pro Bowl kicker miss an extra point
3:34
and a field goal. Those aren't easy. That's the
3:38
game. I don't even know what to say about that.
3:41
Anyway, Justin, did you catch any of this game
3:43
at all? I watched every single game this week,
3:45
yes. It was incredible. I would not feel comfortable
3:52
being an AFC fan and having to play the Texans.
3:54
Their defense is elite, and now that you have
3:57
C .J. Stroud back and that offense is just starting
4:00
to kind of put it together at the right time,
4:02
they're really dangerous. It's going to be a
4:05
fun playoff. I mean, Woody Marks is at least
4:07
serviceable. He's came on the last number of
4:09
weeks, what, five, six weeks now. done a decent
4:11
job for them so i think he's had a little bit
4:13
of we were injury too right so he hasn't been
4:15
able to be out there as often as he'd like to
4:18
but i think if they can feed him the ball more
4:19
he's he's good 100 especially as again like you
4:22
said head into the playoffs and that's what we
4:24
were calling for all earlier this season is texans
4:27
you got to figure out this running you got to
4:28
get a running game got to get a running game
4:30
so now they kind of Have a little bit of one.
4:33
Still not amazing, but they got some going on
4:35
there last few weeks. It just changes that offense.
4:37
And then, like you said, being able to add C
4:38
.J. Stroud back, you know. I mean, they're like
4:41
watching a little better version of the Vikings
4:44
right now. Defense literally keeping them in
4:46
every game. Offense kind of limping along here.
4:49
Yeah, Marks, he's been doing a little bit better.
4:52
What, are you totally disagreeing on this one?
4:54
He's just got his leg over his head. You know,
4:57
a little bit like the Vikings. Are you saying
5:00
that the— Vikings are worse. Vikings are better
5:02
than the Texans? No, worse, worse, worse. Oh,
5:03
okay. Didn't they beat them? They kicked their
5:07
ass last year, like 35 -3. That game was fun.
5:11
CJ Stroud is just a better quarterback than we
5:14
currently have playing in the position right
5:15
now. That's what almost scares me, though, is
5:19
when they get to the playoffs. Yeah, that defense
5:21
is very scary, and I definitely don't want to
5:24
play them, but if you can stop their running
5:26
game, then it just becomes how much that defense
5:28
can hold on. That's my only concern with Houston,
5:33
though. I don't know if they do have an And that
5:36
passing game totally doesn't scare me. He's effective.
5:40
Nico Collins is a beast. But there's no two that's
5:44
really kind of scaring me. I mean, I'm sorry,
5:47
I'm looking a little further down the line of
5:48
this. But that's kind of how I was viewing this
5:50
game and the thought process of it. Yeah, Chargers,
5:53
those two tackles being gone, absolutely, they
5:56
can't compete. Yeah, and it's affecting their
5:58
running game. I mean, the Marion Hampton was
6:00
pretty much a non -factor. Their running game
6:02
in general was a non -factor. So, again, as we
6:04
continue to... running game who's non -existent
6:06
for the chargers yeah i think to that point though
6:08
really quick when you look at their offense their
6:10
offense is not scary on paper you look at the
6:12
stats they're like middle -ish of the path they're
6:14
doing the texans they're doing just enough to
6:16
to get by but that defense that's what's gonna
6:19
that's what's gonna do it so i can understand
6:21
the comparison to the vikings when that's what
6:23
their defense is doing for the offense it's just
6:25
obviously at a different level agreed all right
6:28
let's move on to our second game here uh of course
6:31
it is the vikings uh detroit Lions traveling
6:34
to the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day. Goodbye.
6:37
Goodbye. I heard somebody was at that game. I
6:40
was at that game. I was actually doing that to
6:42
a lot of Detroit fans. Did you not get a tell
6:44
from that game? Oh, I did get a tell, but this
6:45
is. But you didn't bring it. No, the whiteout.
6:47
But that's the one. Yeah. Snoop was nice. Halftime
6:49
show was dope. I was the first time seeing that
6:52
whole production. 98 % of the fans showed out
6:55
in white. Yeah, which is awesome. I didn't see
6:58
a ton of Lions fans, actually. They probably
7:00
sold their tickets after they were out of the
7:01
playoffs. I was like, you know what? We don't
7:03
want to go. in somebody else's stadium right
7:04
now. Well, they needed to win. They would have
7:06
still been alive. Yeah. Oh, yeah, that's right.
7:08
That's right. So I give it out to the Skull Nation,
7:11
you know, all the true fans that, you know, went
7:14
and bought tickets and went to the game. It was
7:16
a cool atmosphere, a cool event, and we got the
7:18
dub, you know. Offense didn't look great, but
7:20
the defense looked amazing. Beef. I think it's
7:23
that offense. They did look amazing, but I've
7:25
never seen offense perform so badly, I don't
7:28
think. I mean, is it? They were all over them.
7:31
Yeah, your dumb stat for the week is three net
7:34
passing yards. Yep, for Ws. Yeah, and you still
7:39
get a W out of it. Seven sacks, though. My God.
7:42
Yeah. What's a turnover? It's like you look at
7:46
the TV as you're trying to do stuff for Christmas
7:48
Day, and you're like, oh, there's another turnover.
7:49
Detroit just turned the ball over again. Six
7:51
turnovers, I believe, during that game. Yeah,
7:53
you're right. Yeah, six. That was my first football
7:55
game that I sat down. We ate right as the opening
7:58
thing. Didn't leave my seat the whole game. Because
8:01
the halftime show, you didn't want to miss that.
8:03
No, for sure. It was just that type of day. Awesome.
8:07
Yeah, no, it's fun. It's fun at U .S. Bank when
8:10
the team's winning, 100%. It's loud. And that
8:13
defense gets on the field. I mean, we obviously
8:15
love our team here. A little bit. But, man, that
8:18
Detroit offense, I mean, that's. No wonder they're
8:22
not going to the playoffs. And we've seen it
8:24
kind of the last few weeks. It's kind of not
8:25
been where it was earlier in the season when
8:28
everybody was like, well, Detroit's just going
8:29
to be the number one seed again. Well, you'd
8:31
think they would have figured it out. You look
8:33
at who they were last year, and a lot of times
8:35
people are like, well, it's the Ben Johnson,
8:36
it's the Aaron Glenn, it's those pieces missing.
8:39
And then they figured something out about halfway
8:41
through the season, and then it tapered off.
8:43
And I think what you're really seeing, I hate
8:45
to give him so much credit because he's kind
8:46
of smug, but this is the Ben Johnson hole that
8:49
you're seeing right now. he's doing with Chicago
8:52
that's what they're missing and it would be very
8:54
different if he was still still there and like
8:57
to give Viking fans credit that place was electric
9:00
it gets electric even when things are tough and
9:04
then to see the post game interview with Harrison
9:06
Smith and how emotional he got about Minnesota
9:08
knowing this is towards the end and what the
9:11
team means to the state is so fun so fun for
9:14
him to get that pick and uh what it meant to
9:17
him what it meant to vikings fans and yeah he
9:19
said he threw the ball away but he wanted it
9:22
but he just didn't know what to do with it so
9:23
he threw it so fun Absolutely. Vikings getting
9:27
the dub, 23 -10 at home. Don't worry, plenty
9:31
more Vikings talk forever on this show, so don't
9:33
even worry about it. So we'll move on. And eliminating
9:35
Detroit. And eliminating Detroit. Best Christmas
9:39
gift ever. I was like, hey, we didn't even have
9:41
to do anything. Yeah, right, right. Merry Christmas.
9:44
Where's my gift? Next year. All right. Our third
9:49
game here, the Philadelphia Eagles taking on
9:52
the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo. Eagles getting
9:56
the win 13 -12, but, man, this game. What a weird
10:02
game this was. I mean, truly, neither offense
10:05
looked outstanding. Buffalo really turned it
10:08
on late, and that final drive, their offense
10:11
actually looked. Kind of what we've seen. Yeah,
10:15
like it looked legit. Was it the offense is not
10:17
being outstanding? Because to me, it felt like
10:20
the defenses just were. I mean, Eagles defense
10:24
performance. Eagles defense. I expected to do
10:26
that 100%. Yeah. Jalen Carter blocking an extra
10:30
point. Yeah, boy. Yeah. And then. Buffalo in
10:35
the second half holding Philadelphia to 17 yards
10:40
before they took that knee. Yeah, that is impressive.
10:42
So I think maybe not so much. deep like a an
10:47
offensive struggle so much as like a defense
10:50
is just showing out uh and there's cause for
10:53
concern if you're going into if you're going
10:55
into Philadelphia or if you're going into Buffalo
10:57
uh in the playoffs that those are two stout defenses
11:01
and you're gonna you're gonna have a really tough
11:03
time with it Yeah, I mean, I think that's the
11:07
Jalen Carter effect right there, especially for
11:09
the defense there. I think we talked about that
11:10
last week, whether he's going to play or not.
11:13
I mean, he just changes the whole aspect of,
11:16
you know, Buffalo really had to pass the ball.
11:20
James Cook was pretty ineffective. It was just
11:24
a classical game. I'm very surprised with the
11:26
Bills. But then I also wonder about the Eagles'
11:29
offense. The Eagles' offense really hasn't been,
11:31
last four or five weeks, have not really, I don't
11:34
know, scored over 30 once, if even? I think you're
11:38
correct there. So that was a little combination,
11:41
too. So that's just playoff -looking. What Eagles'
11:44
offense are we getting? Eagles don't have any
11:46
injuries in their O -line, do they? Lane Johnson
11:49
was. There's been two up and down over the last
11:52
month. The Eagles offensive line, at least what
11:56
their interior hasn't been run blocking very
12:00
well. So they have room for improvement there,
12:03
and that's probably causing a lot of issues.
12:05
They're not able to push the pile in the middle,
12:08
and they're going to have to start trying to
12:10
get him to the outside more, which I think is
12:13
to his advantage anyways because of how quick
12:14
he is. They're three of their last four, and
12:20
I think there was a wake -up call when they played
12:21
Chicago during that Black Friday game, and I
12:23
think after that game is where you saw a lot
12:26
change. And when I look at that version of the
12:30
Eagles, that's not a version anyone wants to
12:32
play. That's the defense that you were expecting
12:34
to see the full year. And it just hasn't been.
12:37
And when I look at their offense, there's been
12:39
something weird with Saquon and Jalen Hurts and
12:42
A .J. Brown. And if A .J. Brown tweets about
12:44
it, it gets figured out. And now it's getting
12:46
figured out. Nobody tweeted about it the last
12:48
time. They're rolling. They look good. Don't
12:51
want to make excuses for the Bills, but you could
12:54
see clearly whatever Josh Allen has going on
12:56
with his foot is changing how he is as a quarterback.
13:00
He's a great thrower, but what's so special about
13:03
him that I don't have to say is it's the run
13:05
and the throw and when you limit one of those.
13:07
That team looks so different. And I don't know
13:11
if this is a hot take or not, but they need to
13:13
figure out something with their head coach. In
13:15
too many important moments, he makes these boneheaded
13:18
decisions where he likes to go for a two -point
13:20
conversion. I feel like they're going to start
13:25
to waste his career if they put leadership like
13:29
that in front of him. Definitely on my sheet,
13:31
too, is the question is, should they have gone
13:33
for two in the win or just attempt the extra
13:35
point and then just go into overtime? Now, the
13:38
receiver was open. Yeah, and Josh Allen missed
13:41
it. He did miss him. So, arguably, could have
13:45
been the right call. Like, if he scores a touchdown.
13:48
Yeah, we're not having this call. If he gets
13:50
a two -point, are we still talking about it?
13:53
No, not at all. And I wonder how much his foot
13:56
and just them probably looking a little banged
13:58
up played to it, and they just wanted to get
14:00
the heck out of there after they knew what type
14:01
of slugfest it was. They either win or lose.
14:04
Even with Josh Allen being banged up, your defense
14:10
wasn't allowing Philadelphia to do anything.
14:13
So why not have the mindset of continuing to
14:16
ride your defense, be like, all right, we're
14:18
going to go into overtime, we're going to hold
14:19
them to maybe three points, and then I know and
14:22
put my trust in my offense and Josh Allen and
14:26
go be Superman for one drive. Man, he's not playing
14:32
this week, though, right? Sorry, you can go ahead.
14:35
They play the Commanders. They play the Commanders.
14:37
Is there anything else that... They can't win
14:39
the division. They've already locked playoffs,
14:42
but I don't... They are... But to what we were
14:44
talking about a little bit ago... They are playing
14:45
for seeding. Yeah. What can they... Five, six,
14:48
or seven. So the... All right. Bills have a 21
14:53
% chance at the fifth seed. You know what? None
14:55
of... Playing away. and any of those teams don't
14:58
scare me other than like denver would suck just
15:00
because the whole altitude thing and blah blah
15:02
but like playing away at the patriots at jacksonville
15:06
who's who's four would be steelers or the ravens
15:09
like right now neither i don't i think i'm okay
15:11
sitting josh allen if it means we know we can
15:15
maybe get like another 30 on that foot or something
15:17
you know what i mean and just be like man if
15:19
we're seven we're seven yeah or depending on
15:21
how he feels this week do you play him for a
15:24
little bit do you get up and then put in the
15:26
backup little bit playing it makes me nervous
15:30
with what he said it is nervous because we went
15:33
through it last year with christen with christian
15:35
watson playing the bears in a game that was still
15:37
meaningful he tore his acl so i get the risk
15:40
of it but you also When you don't have the buy,
15:43
I understand you want to rest, but you don't
15:45
want to rest at the detriment of you come out
15:47
rusty and then you get smoked in the first round.
15:49
Who's his current backup? I think it's Trubisky,
15:52
isn't it? Is it still Trubisky? Dang, really?
15:55
I think it's Mitch Trubisky. I think you're right,
15:57
but I did see that on that NFL, one of the hard
16:00
knocks. Can he win a playoff game, whoever it
16:02
is? Can he win a playoff game? Who is it, right?
16:04
You know what I mean? So if you do play Josh
16:06
Allen and it gets worse and he can't play, can
16:09
Mitchell Trubisky go and... I guess the Commanders,
16:12
maybe. Now I'm a little worried about some of
16:14
these other places, like in Pittsburgh or something,
16:16
but I don't know. We're getting deep. Yeah, we're
16:19
getting deep. We've got to move on. We have other
16:23
exciting games. What's the official verdict on
16:25
the two -point thing? What did we come up with?
16:27
We're okay with it? We're not okay with it? They
16:31
got the play call right. It worked out. Because
16:36
he was open in the back of the end zone. Josh
16:38
Allen just missed it. So I'm not. upset about
16:41
it, but it was a questionable decision. There's
16:45
a trend going on in the NFL right now with these
16:47
two points to end the game, and I don't like
16:48
it. Continue the game. Two points in every single
16:51
fourth and one, fourth and two. It feels like,
16:53
ah, I don't know. Let's try it to win or lose.
16:56
I don't like that. But the analytics are there.
16:58
But also, if Jalen Carter doesn't block that
17:01
extra point on the first touchdown. Are we still
17:03
talking about this? Right. They're not even going
17:05
for two. Anyway. What a game. Just a brow rubber.
17:11
Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, all right. Just
17:13
a brow rubber. Coach Brown. All right, all right.
17:17
Let's go on to the next game. I love it. Oh,
17:19
my God. I got to come up with something for you.
17:20
This is pissing me off. No, you don't. All right,
17:22
game four. Game four. Arguably, not even arguably,
17:24
game of the week, probably. 42 -38. Pew, pew.
17:28
Pew, pew. Just a high flyer. Chicago Bears traveling
17:32
to San Francisco. Niners getting the win. Did
17:34
I say that already? No. Oh, it's been a long
17:37
day. 42 -38. Man, right away from that pick six
17:43
to start the game, it's just like, this game's
17:46
going to freaking go crazy. And Caleb Williams,
17:50
love him or hate him, man, I'm really loving
17:54
the way that dude's playing right now. For me,
17:55
I kind of feel like I was watching Brock Purdy
17:58
play too, and I'm like, man, is this the kind
18:01
of like what I'm hoping J .J. McCarthy becomes
18:04
kind of? Because I've been kind of like down
18:06
on Purdy almost all season a little bit. You
18:10
want salsa dancing Purdy? Man, what a slugfest.
18:13
That was his attempt at the Dougie. Somebody
18:16
take this thing. What a slugfest between two
18:18
quarterbacks. It was amazing. You look at that
18:21
first quarter, and you knew that there were going
18:23
to be fireworks. You knew the first play there
18:25
were going to be fireworks. I wasn't able to
18:27
turn it on until it was 21 -14, and it was like
18:29
14 minutes in the second quarter. I'm like. what
18:32
did i miss i had to go look it up immediately
18:35
i really struggled with both teams because i
18:37
got excited watching them you're like oh my gosh
18:39
their offenses are really good but i had to take
18:41
myself back for a second and say okay their offenses
18:43
are good but is it that the defenses are just
18:45
not that good too i think there's a little bit
18:48
of both playing in there where i'll give The
18:51
49ers, some credit, is when their defense needs
18:53
to tighten up, they can, and they show that towards
18:55
the end of the game. But it showed both of these
18:58
offenses, if they're not there yet, they are
19:00
on their way to being elite, and they have two
19:01
really good leaders at the helm slinging the
19:04
ball. And to your comment about Purdy and the
19:07
comparisons to JJ, the only thing I'd tell anyone
19:10
in Vikings world is it took Purdy some time to
19:13
get there. He went through some lumps. It took
19:14
him years to get there. He wasn't amazing at
19:16
Iowa State either. But it does show you what
19:18
it could be potentially with the right leadership,
19:20
the right people around him. It was such a great
19:22
game. And not having George Kittle I thought
19:25
would hurt them more, and it did in certain moments.
19:28
Like I think you had Jawan Jennings at the very
19:30
beginning of the game should have caught that
19:32
ball, and instead it went the other way for six.
19:35
some of that hurts but what both teams did having
19:37
key guys out it was really great to see yes especially
19:41
that that Niners defense definitely like I like
19:43
what you said that how they were able to tighten
19:45
up but heading into the playoffs you really hope
19:49
they get some of these guys back, you know what
19:51
I mean? Because that defense can be something
19:52
special when they're healthy. And unfortunately,
19:55
the last three weeks, they gave up 24 points
19:58
to the frickin' Titans, then went and gave up
20:00
27 to the Colts, and now have given up 38 to
20:03
the Bears. They're trending in the wrong direction
20:04
as they're getting close to the playoffs, so
20:06
I agree 100%. And as for the Bears, their defense
20:09
really hasn't... I came into this season really
20:12
holding their defense on a high pedestal, but...
20:15
It's not like they've been seriously shut down
20:17
at any point this season, it feels like to me
20:19
either. No, they give up a ton of yards. They're
20:21
the definition of bend but don't break, where
20:23
they'll give up the yards, and then they get
20:25
the turnover. So it's high risk, high reward,
20:27
where they're getting the turnover, but they're
20:29
going to give you a ton of yards, and it's just
20:31
a matter of if you can beat them before they
20:34
beat you. I'm excited for the playoffs. I feel
20:36
so bad for the 49ers. They have hurt themselves.
20:40
There you go. The 49ers have hurt themselves
20:44
since the Falcons Patriots Super Bowl. Still
20:49
following Shanahan. I don't know. Every year
20:53
they look like they're still great. It's these
20:55
injuries constantly. Every year. I feel like
20:58
Shanahan is just kind of like whatever about
21:00
that. About that moment in time. And he's just
21:03
like, whatever, we're moving on. Hey, let's talk
21:05
about another individual. Brandon Ayuk sitting
21:07
out there. He's healthy, isn't he? Oh, I didn't
21:11
know he said that. He hasn't talked to the team
21:12
in over a month. How fast does it hurt to watch
21:15
your team just dominate? Offensively. And offensively
21:19
without you. And you just signed a huge contract.
21:22
Expecting to be a huge part of their offense.
21:24
And we don't need you. What was the deal with
21:27
that? He just left? I can't remember how all
21:29
that started. He was injured and then something.
21:32
something i don't know yeah i just remember the
21:35
coach made a comment within the last month saying
21:37
he hasn't heard from him in a month so they had
21:40
to move on yeah he hasn't been from my understanding
21:42
released him no no he hasn't been released yet
21:44
getting paid no he's not getting paid because
21:46
they're essentially like revoking or canceling
21:50
out his contract for not showing up oh wow um
21:53
so he's most likely just going to be a free agent
21:58
But who's going to pick him up if he's just going
22:00
to pull this crap? I don't know. I'm not about
22:03
to compare. That's where my head went. Mine went
22:07
there, too. I'm not trying to hate on the guy,
22:10
but driving triple digits videotaping the stadium,
22:15
too. That was wild. I mean, what are we doing?
22:18
You know, I don't know. Somebody needs to go
22:22
check on Brandon. CMC needs to go over to him
22:26
and be like, hey, yo, get your head right and
22:28
be comeback player of the year because CMC, I
22:31
think, is that person. You could also make an
22:35
argument maybe that he's on the verge of being
22:37
offensive player of the year. His numbers don't
22:39
really reflect it. But, yeah, he's so dynamic.
22:43
It's the impact, right? Huge elephant in the
22:45
room at the beginning of the game. PFF. rating
22:48
of CMC was at 18. He's the 18th best running
22:53
back according to pro football. Are you putting
22:58
in a complaint with Chris Collinsworth about
22:59
that? Oh my gosh. No, I turn the volume off as
23:04
soon as I hear his voice. I think I only heard
23:07
one Mahomes reference and it was him making fun
23:09
of himself too. He's like, yeah, it was so funny.
23:13
He was like, you know, I would usually say that's
23:16
a Mahomes thing. would end up on the internet.
23:18
At least he knows. At least he knows. Self -aware.
23:21
Hey, that's all right. Embrace the glaze. That's
23:23
all right. Embrace the glaze. Oh, God. All right.
23:28
Yeah, we got to move on. Whatever. All right.
23:31
Yeah, Niners getting the win. Big win against
23:33
the Bears. Two heavyweights heading into the
23:36
playoffs. We'll see who gets the better of it.
23:39
Final game here on our list, right? Yeah. Yeah.
23:42
Yeah. The game that started out. Ridiculously
23:45
sloppy. I then kind of picked up, well, for one
23:48
team anyway, in the second half. Seattle getting
23:50
the win 27 -10 over the kind of streaking a little
23:55
bit here Carolina Panthers. Up and down. You
23:59
still have a chance. Not going to use your line.
24:03
Good. Thank you. I was saving that. You were
24:04
probably expecting it. I almost said it because
24:06
it was like a perfect time. I should have let
24:08
you have it. What do they have, Rob? No, it's
24:12
gone. Put the ball in the tee. I was just swinging.
24:14
Anyway, sorry. CX getting a win, 27 -10 over
24:18
the Panthers in Carolina. Yeah, what a weird
24:23
first half that was, too. A lot of weird first
24:25
halves this week. Sloppy, sloppy, but Sam Darnold
24:30
able to get some of this stuff under control
24:34
and went for it here in the second half and showed
24:37
kind of what Seattle's been about. Yeah, six
24:40
in a row. Is that what they're at now? Yep. I
24:44
did not see that coming at the beginning of the
24:45
season. Most games have been, lately, since the
24:49
Vikings kind of exposed them, they've not had
24:52
a really good first half. Yeah, they've been
24:54
pretty sluggish. Other than the Rams. I don't
24:56
remember how they did in the Rams game. But they've
24:58
been able to right the ship in the second half
25:00
and really get that ground game going with Charbonnet
25:04
and Kenneth Walker. Charbonnet, Dom. Come back.
25:09
Mr. Consistency. And hats off to their offensive
25:13
play calling because they're just continuing
25:15
to, they understand who they are and they're
25:18
just going to, in those close games, they're
25:19
not going to lose their identity. They're continuing
25:21
to run the ball. They had like over 35 carries
25:23
between the two of them. Which you should do.
25:26
Absolutely. When you got two backs like that.
25:28
We're going to run the ball. We don't need Sam
25:31
to throw up $9 ,000. We're going to play defense.
25:34
They're second in. like, average points allowed
25:38
per game. So you know that it's going to be next
25:41
to impossible to put up a lot of points against
25:44
them. So ball control, run it. Sorry, I'm squirrel
25:49
moment here. But that's who the Vikes need to
25:51
go pick up is Kenneth Walker. Don't pay Aaron
25:54
Jones. Sorry. It's not going to happen. Kenneth
25:56
needs to get paid, too. And he needs to stay
25:58
on the damn field. But anyway, sorry. Anyway,
26:02
what did you say? Yeah. squirrel um to end that
26:06
but uh yeah so seahawks are doing what what seahawks
26:10
do they're sea chickens whatever you want to
26:12
call them yeah um and bryce young has progressively
26:16
gotten better as the year has gone on um where
26:19
he's only thrown one interception over the last
26:21
four games even though they're two and two he's
26:23
they haven't lost because of him, which is a
26:28
good sign for them moving forward. And in a position
26:32
to still win the division. Yeah, and so we're
26:34
going to see next week whether or not he's got
26:36
it in him to carry that team to a W when it matters
26:40
the most. It's probably going to be the biggest
26:41
game of his NFL career next week. So if you had
26:45
to go play, if Seattle wins, right, because they
26:48
can still win their division, right? Yep, because
26:50
they got 49ers. So if they win and somebody's
26:53
got to go into Seattle. Are you scared of the
26:56
Seahawks right now? Defensively, sure, maybe.
26:59
But does that often scare you heading into the
27:02
playoffs at all? Are you expecting Sam Darnold
27:05
to do something different than what he did in
27:07
the playoffs last year? Different team, obviously.
27:08
I think the best way to put it is it can. Right
27:11
now, no. But it absolutely can. You look at all
27:13
the pieces around there, they have the ability
27:15
to do it. It's just been, like you said, since
27:18
the Vikings game, I thought that too, watching
27:21
the Vikings. great defense led by B flow expose
27:24
them. And I think a lot of people are starting
27:26
to see the blueprint of when you have these.
27:29
It happens every year where there's one great
27:31
team on offense and there's a great defense that
27:33
comes and exposes, gives the blueprint, and then
27:35
it's not the same. And I think what's happening
27:39
is Seattle's not creating enough wrinkles as
27:41
they go throughout the rest of the season to
27:43
show, okay, this is how we can be a little different.
27:45
The last one I remember that was able to overcome
27:46
it was McVay during their Super Bowl year with
27:49
Stafford, first year having him. I think some
27:52
teams figured them out and then they changed
27:54
things with Cup and some other people that led
27:56
them to a Super Bowl. So if Seattle can figure...
27:58
that out going into the playoffs and they're
28:00
just hiding things from people right now to save
28:02
their best till then that's great i think that's
28:04
what you're hoping for right that's what you're
28:06
hoping for but you look at the stat line and
28:10
you look at what they've been doing like it like
28:13
Sam Donaldson numbers do not pop off the screen
28:16
like they did last year in Minnesota consistently.
28:18
He was chucking that ball, great play action,
28:21
great design, and I think he can do it, but we'll
28:24
see what happens for the rest of the year. Their
28:25
defense is keeping them in play, and I think
28:27
one of you two said it a few minutes ago. Between
28:32
the run game, between the defense, he doesn't
28:33
have to do as much as he did. But when you play
28:36
these really good defenses, like the Panthers
28:38
have a really good defense, they struggle a little
28:41
bit. That first half scares me if you're a Seahawks
28:44
fan, if that happens in the playoffs and you
28:46
have to play the Panthers again. And then you're
28:48
down by 17 suddenly. Hold on. They showed their
28:52
ability to come back against the Rams last week.
28:55
They did. So while I understand the concern is
28:58
like, well, are we going to get like Rams? James
29:01
Darnold, which is essentially what it was being
29:03
referred to, throwing interceptions, turnovers
29:06
like crazy, like not producing. But they figured
29:10
it out in the second half and they were able
29:12
to come back in and get that W. So I think that
29:15
there's there's a piece of confidence there or
29:17
some kind of blueprint or identity where it's
29:19
like, all right. we're not out of it if we suck
29:23
in the first quarter or the first half. That's
29:25
huge. That's huge confidence, right? I think
29:27
where I get scared is if they get one more of
29:29
those big wins like that, because that was a
29:31
signature win where that was huge. But sometimes
29:33
with a lot of these teams, you go have that big
29:35
win, and it almost weirdly enough deflates you
29:38
for the rest of the season, and you're just not
29:40
the same. So I'll be really curious how they
29:42
respond. Can they get back to that, or was that
29:44
that one win, and they can't get back to that?
29:46
And they should have won that Seattle game anyways.
29:50
That was a great game. That was amazing. And
29:52
they had seven points at half in that game, too.
29:54
So back to consistency. And they got down to
29:57
a team. I mean, if the Rams just put them away,
30:00
then we're having all different conversations,
30:03
which the Rams typically normally did. So that
30:05
was a little odd. And there were some obviously
30:07
weird bounces in that game, too. Oh, yeah. But,
30:10
yeah, I mean, Seattle. They could easily end
30:14
up in the NFC Championship game. Their defense
30:16
is good enough. Sam's good enough. They can run
30:18
the ball. JSN's tough to cover. But I'm also
30:23
not super scared of them all at the same time.
30:26
If they win this week, are they the one? Yes.
30:29
So that's huge, too, right? That would be huge.
30:32
But Jacob said the 12 is gone. Or are they back
30:36
now? We'll find out. Okay. We'll find out. With
30:40
that, you're going to have to find out about
30:43
our tent talk episode and our week 18 preview
30:48
episode. Don't forget to check those out. Justin
30:52
is drinking something right now. Jake, thanks
30:54
for being here. Thanks for having me. Of course.
30:57
We'll see you in the next episode. Justin, thanks
31:00
for being here, man. Good to see you again. You
31:03
should probably... Hope that Justin, Kev, and
31:07
I do some card video sometime soon or something.
31:08
That'd be lit. All right, yeah, they're about
31:10
it, so we'll figure it out. Roberto. In the house,
31:13
coach. Still is. Still will be for the next two
31:16
episodes. Come back and listen to Ted talk. Dang,
31:20
that's a lot harder when you're the one listening
31:22
to it. Yeah, yeah, a lot harder. Dang, anyway.
31:24
I was setting up for it, too. Our Spotify listeners
31:26
are like, what is going on? There's a clap. What's
31:29
going on? Yeah, they keep clapping. Anyway. Yeah,
31:33
Kev, thanks for being here, of course. Lucky
31:35
he had a choice. Don't forget to like, comment,
31:37
subscribe wherever you listen to The Banter,
31:38
whether that's YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts,
31:40
or iHeartRadio. And we'll see you in our next
31:44
episode. Peace. Don't forget to follow, like,
31:50
and subscribe. Tune in next time for more banter
31:54
with the boys.