Latest / NFL Power Rankings / #16: Broncos, Jaguars climb; Packers head in wrong direction

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#16: Broncos, Jaguars climb; Packers head in wrong direction · NFL Power Rankings

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  Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
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  Speaker 1: partnership with iHeartRadio.
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  Speaker 2: Welcome to a brand new edition of NFL Power Rankings.
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  Speaker 2: Along with Eric at Holme, Mike am with you.
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  Speaker 3: A complete list of all thirty two teams and analysis
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  Speaker 3: on all of what Eric thinks around these squads.
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  Speaker 2: You can find it on NFL dot com and Eric.
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  Speaker 2: We'll get to the rankings in just a moment.
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  Speaker 3: But coming off of Week fifteen action, we have some
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  Speaker 3: major injuries.
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  Speaker 2: Mahomes done for the year, Mike had done for the year.
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  Speaker 3: How much does those injuries and some of the other
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  Speaker 3: things that we've seen have a ripple effect, not just
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  Speaker 3: for the rankings, but what we're going to get in
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  Speaker 3: the NFL.
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  Speaker 4: I couldn't knock the Chiefs too much farther down. I'd
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  Speaker 4: already done enough damage to their Power rankings standings. But yeah,
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  Speaker 4: the Mahomes injury is a serious blow for next year too.
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  Speaker 4: But mikeh and the Parsons, I mean Mike and the Parsons.
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  Speaker 4: Parsons and the Packers, I should say, took a hit
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  Speaker 4: this week. There's no doubt. Are they a Super Bowl contender?
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  Speaker 4: I don't know yet.
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  Speaker 3: Well, let's talk about the top half of the rankings,
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  Speaker 3: or at least more specifically one through eight. We will
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  Speaker 3: get to Green Bay coming up in just a bit, because,
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  Speaker 3: as you could see, not one through eight.
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  Speaker 2: On Eric's rankings, the Rams. No change for them.
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  Speaker 3: Sitting at number one, the Denver Broncos Mam bon Nicks.
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  Speaker 3: I get more and more impressed every single week watching
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  Speaker 3: him play there. At number two, Seahawks drop a spot
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  Speaker 3: after surviving a game at home against the Colts against
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  Speaker 3: Philip Rivers the Buffalo Bills, once again flirting with danger,
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  Speaker 3: they still figure out a way to get it done.
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  Speaker 3: They move up two spots to for the Patriots, the
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  Speaker 3: team that they beat, they drop a spot to five.
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  Speaker 3: It's the Bears, the Jags, and the Niners rounding out
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  Speaker 3: the top eight. All right, let's focus him on number
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  Speaker 3: one here. No change to the top with the Rams.
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  Speaker 3: They have a huge game against Seattle, who did drop
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  Speaker 3: a spot in the rankings. But break this down for me,
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  Speaker 3: because I think there's a ton of impressive things. First half, though,
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  Speaker 3: they're knocking on the door from being a down ten
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  Speaker 3: as big as a fuel goal can be before halftime,
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  Speaker 3: Rams were able to get that at so far stadium,
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  Speaker 3: But what do you make of what is one of
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  Speaker 3: the more significant games, not just for the NFC West,
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  Speaker 3: but more specifically the NFC.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, obviously this past week you saw saw the
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  Speaker 4: Rams rather flip the switch, as you said, down ten
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  Speaker 4: to up ten and about the span of a quarter.
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  Speaker 4: You know, even without DeVante Adams out there he got hurt,
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  Speaker 4: they were still able to lead what was ended up
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  Speaker 4: being the game winning drive. So just that firepower offensively
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  Speaker 4: that they have is so impressive. Defensively, yes, there are
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  Speaker 4: some wards, but look, this is a desperate Detroit team
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  Speaker 4: that had to have that victory, or at least felt
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  Speaker 4: like they had to have it in order to keep going.
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  Speaker 4: And you know, you start thinking about Thursday and everything
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  Speaker 4: that's on the line for this massive game. Obviously, the Seahawks,
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  Speaker 4: I think with the one team that really kind of
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  Speaker 4: pushed the Rams in a win where they could have
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  Speaker 4: won the game. Obviously, the turnovers were a big issue
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  Speaker 4: in that one, but I say Seattle can still hang
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  Speaker 4: with them, didn't drop them too far, still within striking
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  Speaker 4: range of the top spot.
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  Speaker 2: You want to go and make a pack for me, Well.
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  Speaker 4: I'm leaning Rams. You know it's a short week on
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  Speaker 4: the road. I just still feel like they're the most
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  Speaker 4: complete team, and maybe Seattle's slightly training in the wrong direction,
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  Speaker 4: but I think that's kind of where I'm leading a
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  Speaker 4: close win in this one. I think, Yeah, you've.
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  Speaker 2: Been going back and forth.
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  Speaker 3: In my mind, felt like Seattle was the most complete team,
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  Speaker 3: but after what I saw against Indianapolis, I'm starting to
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  Speaker 3: hedge here. The Rams still looking like a very dangerous squad,
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  Speaker 3: maybe the most complete team in the NFL. You have
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  Speaker 3: at number two right now. I made reference to a
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  Speaker 3: bone Nicks again in these critical moments, continues to deliver
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  Speaker 3: the defense we know is certainly as impressive as it comes.
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  Speaker 3: Where do you think the ceiling is for this Denver
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  Speaker 3: Broncos team.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, if Boon Nicks can consistently play like you did
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  Speaker 4: on Sunday, even with a couple of drop picks. Believe me,
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  Speaker 4: I've had Packers fans telling me reminding me of those
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  Speaker 4: throughout the day and throughout the weeks and Sunday. But
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  Speaker 4: for the most part, I thought he played really, really well,
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  Speaker 4: especially on those money downs in those key situations. Had
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  Speaker 4: a couple turnovers on downs late. But the Detroit I
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  Speaker 4: mean are the Denver defense rather cleaned it up. They
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  Speaker 4: really didn't. They had their hands full early. You know,
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  Speaker 4: Jordan Love was moving the ball, the Packers were having success.
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  Speaker 4: First five drives they scored, and then that Patrick Certan interception.
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  Speaker 4: I felt like that was the turning point of the game.
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  Speaker 4: They only allowed three points to sixty five yards after
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  Speaker 4: that point, so you saw them kind of flex their muscles.
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  Speaker 4: Here's that great play, and that's why you have the
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  Speaker 4: reigning defensive player the year guarding Christian Watson, their best
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  Speaker 4: D threats. So yeah, it made sense that they would
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  Speaker 4: get that interception and then turn it straight into points
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  Speaker 4: and dominate the Packers from that point out. So had
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  Speaker 4: to move them up. Felt like their performance earned it,
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  Speaker 4: deserved it, and they're closing in on the number one
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  Speaker 4: seed in the AFC. That's a great development for that
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  Speaker 4: Branich eyes.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, any sneaky good game against Jacksonville. We'll talk about
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  Speaker 3: the Jags who continue to just surge here, especially on
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  Speaker 3: the offensive side. That's coming up in just a few moments.
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  Speaker 3: The Buffalo Bills.
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  Speaker 2: Moving up two spots.
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  Speaker 4: Eric.
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  Speaker 3: I don't know whether to love them up because they're
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  Speaker 3: winning some of these games or be concerned because once again,
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  Speaker 3: it's deficit after deficit that they're able to overcome.
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  Speaker 2: Which way do you lean?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, They've obviously been a few games this year where
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  Speaker 4: Buffalo hasn't been over able to overcome those, the Miami game,
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  Speaker 4: the Atlanta game before that, But lately they've been flexing
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  Speaker 4: their muscles, at least for part of the game, right,
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  Speaker 4: all of them really crank it up after halftime. Really
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  Speaker 4: the final thirty five minutes of the game. They were
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  Speaker 4: probably better than the Patriots on both sides of the ball.
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  Speaker 4: I thought, you know, the job that Josh Allen did
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  Speaker 4: manipulating the Patriots defense with his legs and his arm.
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  Speaker 4: James cooked, tough running, you know, credit to the Bills
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  Speaker 4: defense is tough and unprepared as the things were early
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  Speaker 4: in the game. Really made it hard for Drake May.
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  Speaker 4: He had a terrible fourth quarter, and I think a
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  Speaker 4: lot of that had to do with Buffalo's defense. So
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  Speaker 4: I hear you. You know, I understand the hesitation with
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  Speaker 4: the Bills. They haven't looked as sharp, But I go
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  Speaker 4: back to Peyton Mannings for a Super Bowl that was
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  Speaker 4: not the best Colts team we had seen in that era.
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  Speaker 4: They had much stronger teams top to bottom prior to that,
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  Speaker 4: and it was Peyton Manning and a couple of key
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  Speaker 4: players on that team that really kind of helped turn
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  Speaker 4: things around late. I kind of see a similar pattern
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  Speaker 4: here for Josh Allen and this Bill's team. Look, he
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  Speaker 4: might be the best player left in the AFC bracket
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  Speaker 4: when it all settles down, and he really played his
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  Speaker 4: best ball on Sunday and may have stolen some MVP
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  Speaker 4: votes from Drake May as well.
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  Speaker 3: No, I agree with that, and I think that race
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  Speaker 3: is looking a little different right now. I think MVP aside,
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  Speaker 3: if you said best player in the NFL right now,
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  Speaker 3: Josh Allen is probably that guy you mentioned Drake May.
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  Speaker 3: On the Patriots side of things, this is still a
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  Speaker 3: team that's got a ton of upside right now. But
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  Speaker 3: I think there's some concern based off of what we
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  Speaker 3: witnessed here. I know people had pointed to that schedule
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  Speaker 3: and say, hey, a little soft. They did beat Buffalo
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  Speaker 3: earlier this season, but what do you make of this team?
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  Speaker 3: What is the Achilles Heel for New England?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, if you followed my power rankings throughout this season,
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  Speaker 4: I know you have Mike right You've seen a lot deloadentation,
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  Speaker 4: of course, right. I mean, you know, they've had this
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  Speaker 4: amazing record. Like you said, they've beaten up on some
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  Speaker 4: bad teams, and I've helped back just ever so slightly
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  Speaker 4: because of some questions on their defense because of the
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  Speaker 4: offensive line injuries they're currently enduring right now, patching things
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  Speaker 4: together in a couple spots, not able to crank up
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  Speaker 4: the pass rush. And look, Drake may as great as
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  Speaker 4: he's been this season, you saw some of those third
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  Speaker 4: and fourth down throws late in the game. He finished
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  Speaker 4: only one for his final eight. Had a bad fourth
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  Speaker 4: quar or no other way to say it, and the
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  Speaker 4: Bills pressure had something to do with that. So you know,
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  Speaker 4: you credit Buffalo and then also look at New England
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  Speaker 4: and say they can't ask Drake made to bail them
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  Speaker 4: out every time. Maybe there should have been more run game,
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  Speaker 4: you know, more Trevon Henderson. He had that one big run.
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  Speaker 4: But it's also tough to beat Allen in this team
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  Speaker 4: even if they're not at full strength. So you know,
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  Speaker 4: I give them a lot of credit for the season
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  Speaker 4: they've had, but there are still some some lingering worries
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  Speaker 4: I have whether they're super Bowl quality or not. That's
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  Speaker 4: the big question I have about New England.
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  Speaker 3: And this is a Patriots team that will face the
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  Speaker 3: Baltimore Ravens, a squad that is also thinking about the postseason.
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  Speaker 3: I think that race looks a whole lot different based
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  Speaker 3: off of what we saw on Monday night from a
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  Speaker 3: Pittsburgh Steelers squad. We'll talk more about both of those
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  Speaker 3: teams coming up in just a moment. Odds to win
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  Speaker 3: the AFC, let's take a closer look here. The Denver
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  Speaker 3: Broncos still the favorite. We got Buffalo not far behind,
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  Speaker 3: so plus three hundred plus three seventy for those two teams.
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  Speaker 3: The Patriots at plus five hundred, The Texans I think
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  Speaker 3: you can make an argument they're the most dangerous team
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  Speaker 3: and the scariest team right now in the AFC at
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  Speaker 3: plus five fifth and the Jags right now at plus
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  Speaker 3: seven hundred. I highlight that Jags team because they'll go
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  Speaker 3: on the road and match up against a Denver squad.
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  Speaker 3: They move up two spots in your power rankings. Before
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  Speaker 3: this year started, Eric, I felt like the conversation around
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  Speaker 3: this team was this is a make or break here
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  Speaker 3: for Trevor Lawrence.
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  Speaker 2: Like enough let's see.
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  Speaker 3: What he can do consistently. And it was going like this,
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  Speaker 3: I mean up and down earlier. This year, this team
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  Speaker 3: is surging and Trevor's bawling out. What do you appoint
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  Speaker 3: to as the reason why they continue to rise in
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  Speaker 3: your rankings?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, they kind of limped out of the by a
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  Speaker 4: little bit. Had you know that loss of the Texans,
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  Speaker 4: the close win over the Raiders, and you kind of wondered, hey,
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  Speaker 4: is this team gonna maybe heads south a little bit?
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  Speaker 4: But go back to twenty twenty two when Trevor Lawrence
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  Speaker 4: I thought, played his best ball that kind of eight
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  Speaker 4: to nine games stretch at the end of twenty two season.
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  Speaker 4: Of course they had the comeback and the playoffs there
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  Speaker 4: against the Chargers that year as well, but Trevor was
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  Speaker 4: a big part of it, and he was playing the
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  Speaker 4: kind of the way we saw Sunday, and really for
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  Speaker 4: the last four games or so, you know, he's been
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  Speaker 4: playing some great football. The explosive players are there. They've
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  Speaker 4: survived the trad Hunter injury. He's been able to make
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  Speaker 4: plays with new receivers like Jacoby Myers. The run game, obviously,
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  Speaker 4: ETN had three receiving touchdowns on Sunday, he was great.
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  Speaker 4: Offensive line is held up and defensively they're back to
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  Speaker 4: creating turnovers. Takeaways are so important for this team to
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  Speaker 4: create more opportunities. So you know, they're just playing good
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  Speaker 4: ball right now. It's look great. I'm not gonna get
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  Speaker 4: too excited about Sunday. You know, Jets defense no interceptions
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  Speaker 4: has fired their coordinator, but still you love to see
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  Speaker 4: that level of execution and it gives them a lot
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  Speaker 4: of confidence. They hit into some big games.
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  Speaker 3: Now, Eric, am I wild in my thought process If
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  Speaker 3: I say to you, depending on how the season plays out,
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  Speaker 3: Travis etn should be Offensive Player.
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  Speaker 2: Of the Year.
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  Speaker 4: Maybe a little bit of a stretch for me. There's
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  Speaker 4: some great candidates out there, but hey, I mean he's
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  Speaker 4: been fantastic and he's been a remember this back in
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  Speaker 4: training camp, we wonder does he have a place in
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  Speaker 4: Liamskullens offense, but he clearly does.
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  Speaker 3: I just think he is one of the more underrated
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  Speaker 3: guys that's not getting enough love. Do I think he
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  Speaker 3: wins that award? Probably not. It's just my way of
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  Speaker 3: highlight and a guy that has been balling out because
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  Speaker 3: those conversations look a whole bit different today.
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  Speaker 2: Than they did.
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  Speaker 3: Let's say week five, since or seven, we were talking
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  Speaker 3: about Jonathan Taylor, We're talking about Baker Mayfield for MVP.
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  Speaker 3: This once again the calculus. It's a long season and
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  Speaker 3: we'll see how it all plays out. But a lot
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  Speaker 3: of love for Travis etm number eight. It's the San
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  Speaker 3: Francisco forty nine ers. Is there a team in the
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  Speaker 3: NFL more under the radar than Kyle Shanahan's team.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, it was easy to sort of write them off
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  Speaker 4: after three major defensive injuries Bosa, Fred Warner, Michael Williams.
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  Speaker 4: You thought, how are they going to stop people? And
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  Speaker 4: really their only problem has been stopping kind of the
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  Speaker 4: elite offense is aka the Rams and a handful of
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  Speaker 4: other teams. For the most part, they've been able to
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  Speaker 4: manage those injuries pretty well. We know they can move
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  Speaker 4: the ball offensively. Ricky Pearsall had kind of a re
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  Speaker 4: emergence game. You know, Brock Perdy has started to answer
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  Speaker 4: all the questions about his long layoff and him being
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  Speaker 4: the starter again. He's been terrific. You know, two different
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  Speaker 4: starting quarterbacks have had success with this team this year.
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  Speaker 4: That's a pretty good statement for Kyle Shanahan and a
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  Speaker 4: pretty good forty six birthday on Sunday, winning that game
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  Speaker 4: and keeping the hot streak going. So I think they're
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  Speaker 4: just going to go into the playoffs with a ton
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  Speaker 4: of confidence. Assuming they don't win the NFC West and
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  Speaker 4: have to go out on the road. Who's to say
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  Speaker 4: they can't beat the NFC South champs or scare the
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  Speaker 4: daylights out of the Eagles or something like that. I
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  Speaker 4: mean absolutely possible that they could go on the road
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  Speaker 4: and win a playoff game this year. They've got the
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  Speaker 4: firepower and can get enough plays on defense, I think
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  Speaker 4: to compete in those situations.
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  Speaker 3: And I'll say this, who's to say that they don't
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  Speaker 3: go and win that division? Because that's still not locked
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  Speaker 3: in right now. It's wild to think about that scenario,
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  Speaker 3: but it is more than possible. A really significant game
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  Speaker 3: on the road against the Colts. A lot of eyeballs
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  Speaker 3: when it comes to Monday Night football.
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  Speaker 2: More to come here.
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  Speaker 3: On NFL Power Rankings, we made reference to Michael Parsons
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  Speaker 3: any very significant injury out for the season Green Bay.
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  Speaker 3: Where does that leave Jordan Love and the Packers. The
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  Speaker 3: answer to that and where they send on the Power
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  Speaker 3: Rankings is coming up next. I'll back here on power rankings.
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  Speaker 3: Eric at Holmes teams nine through sixteen. The Green Bay
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  Speaker 3: Packers the biggest faller of the week time with the
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  Speaker 3: Detroit Lions, Packers sitting at number nine.
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  Speaker 2: The Texans move up a spot. They're ten.
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  Speaker 3: The Chargers get it done against the Chiefs at eleven Philadelphia.
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  Speaker 3: All is okay when you get a get right game
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  Speaker 3: against the Raiders. The Steelers victorious on Monday Night Football,
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  Speaker 3: the Lions at fourteen, the Ravens at fifteen, and don't
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: look now, Philip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts. They dropped
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  Speaker 3: just one spot. Boy, they almost got it done in Seattle.
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  Speaker 3: They are at number sixteen.
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  Speaker 2: All right.
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  Speaker 3: I made reference to Micah in ra Block, especially at
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  Speaker 3: the top of the show.
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  Speaker 2: Done for the season. How much does the fall four
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  Speaker 2: spots for you?
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  Speaker 3: Hinge on not just the loss, but maybe the best
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  Speaker 3: defensive player in the NFL not being available to this team.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, losing at Denver, even if you have a nine
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  Speaker 4: point lead in the second half, wasn't going to drop
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  Speaker 4: you four spots in and of itself. Right, I sort
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  Speaker 4: of folded in the Parsons injury. Didn't know any clarity
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  Speaker 4: on Christian Watson and some of the other guys who
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  Speaker 4: got hurt during the game, to kway Walker, Evan Williams,
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  Speaker 4: Zach Tom, you know, four or five different Packers who
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  Speaker 4: play a lot got hurt on Sunday, So that was
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  Speaker 4: a big development, but none bigger than Parsons. We know
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  Speaker 4: the price they paid for him, we know the stats
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  Speaker 4: he's put up this year. Maybe not Miles Garrett like,
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  Speaker 4: but still his impact was felt. He was playing very
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  Speaker 4: well in that game too, chasing around bow Nix and
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  Speaker 4: trying to make him do things off balance. And look,
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  Speaker 4: you know, Denver kind of turned the game after that point,
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  Speaker 4: and you know, maybe the tide or returned at that point.
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  Speaker 4: But I sincerely wonder Mike whether this isn't sort of
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  Speaker 4: a death blow. I'm not saying they can't win a
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  Speaker 4: playoff game, not saying they can't win the division, can't
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  Speaker 4: beat the Bears on Sunday. Absolutely could all happen. However,
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: in order to get to the super Bowl, you need
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  Speaker 4: these kinds of superstars, these impact players. That's why they
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  Speaker 4: went out and traded for him. They believe they were
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  Speaker 4: a Super Bowl or contender this year, and I think
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  Speaker 4: taking him out of the lineup is a massive blow,
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  Speaker 4: and boy, I just think it's gonna ultimately be the
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  Speaker 4: undoing of this team.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, this is a huge matchup, once again being played
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  Speaker 3: on Saturday. When you also consider that these two teams
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  Speaker 3: just matched up against each other.
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  Speaker 2: Eric and I gotta tell you Chicago in that second half.
• 14:14
  Speaker 3: I know they didn't win that game, but I thought
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: they wore down Green Bay. It's gonna be fascinating to
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: see the amount of pressure now on Jordan.
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: Love in a game like this.
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: All right, at number eleven, you got a Chargers team
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: that take down the Mighty Chiefs. We were waiting for
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: this to happen. You see Denver now hester pass Kansas City.
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: The Chargers have now surpassed Kansas City, and they're on
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: the wrong side, officially eliminated. Here At what point do
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: we start saying that this Chargers team really can make
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: a run in the postseason.
• 14:42
  Speaker 4: I don't get too excited about beating teams with losing records.
• 14:44
  Speaker 4: I'm kidding, right, there's still the Chiefs R. You go
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: into Kansas City, that's still a tough assignment. Fall behind
• 14:49
  Speaker 4: thirteen to three. They really did control the game from
• 14:52
  Speaker 4: that point on and made some plays defensively, you know,
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: two weeks in a row, beating the two teams that
• 14:56
  Speaker 4: were in the Super Bowl and doing so with their
• 14:59
  Speaker 4: defense right justin Herberts had an interception in four straight games.
• 15:03
  Speaker 4: The turnovers have been a problem, He's sort of forced
• 15:05
  Speaker 4: the issue. The protection has been a problem, But defensively
• 15:08
  Speaker 4: they're playing their best ball the season right now. You
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: saw Derwin James big play at the n yard line
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: as time was dwindling down there, so you know, harassing Mahomes. Obviously,
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: the injury as a fluke thing, but for them to
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: make as many big plays defensively as they did the
• 15:23
  Speaker 4: last couple of games and especially the last four really
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: kind of shows you that, hey, they're back to play
• 15:28
  Speaker 4: in that elite level d that they were last year.
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: Jesse Minter maybe get some head coaching mentioned in the offseason.
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: We'll see, But I think that as much as Herbert
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: is what's going to carry them through. I think that's
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: going to be the big difference maker right there is
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: you know, the ability to kind of stop people in
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: their tracks, hold them to field goals, create turnovers, sacks,
• 15:46
  Speaker 4: big plays, and hope that Herbert can kind of cut
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: down on the turnover worthy plays if you will. Yeah,
• 15:52
  Speaker 4: you know what's wild.
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: I don't know where this Chargers journey ends this season,
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: next season, or five seasons from now, but if it
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: does continue on this trend, I think a lot of
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: us will remember what happened this past weekend and say, hey,
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: maybe this is that moment where you beat Kansas City,
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: you beat the Chiefs on their home field. Maybe this
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: is the start and that really this turning point for
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: this franchise. All right, the Steelers at number thirteen, they
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: move up one spot. I actually thought they looked pretty
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: good at times.
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: There's no TJ. Watt in this game. On Monday Night Football.
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: Aaron Rodgers and what he did against Miami that had
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: been surging winners of four straight. I thought he looked
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: surgical out there. The quick game was good, and gain
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: Well was a beast.
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: Absolutely. Obviously. The first twenty five minutes or so were
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: a little tense. You know, Steelers were held off the scoreboard,
• 16:37
  Speaker 4: Miami's having a little success moving the ball, and you thought, oh,
• 16:40
  Speaker 4: they gotta lose this one, right, And this is a
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: game that look is even as well as Miami has played.
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: You figure they should come in believing they're the favorites.
• 16:48
  Speaker 4: Sante Samuel with a big play that helped kind of
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: turn the tide in this one. Defensively, they really clamp
• 16:53
  Speaker 4: down Miami negative twenty yards in two possessions in the
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: third quarter. That's hard to do, right. So the pressure
• 16:59
  Speaker 4: up front, even without TJ. Watt was great And to
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: your point too, Aaron Rodgers had a nice game. Throw
• 17:04
  Speaker 4: the ball downfield all that much, but with only four incompletions,
• 17:08
  Speaker 4: not taking a ton of hits, some sacks intentional, right,
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: but I thought he was on point and got some
• 17:14
  Speaker 4: guys involved. DK metcalf first touchdown since I think week
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: six or week eight maybe it was, so it's been
• 17:19
  Speaker 4: a while and now getting him back in the end
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: zone getting that offense cranked up in the second half
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: was a big deal. The run game too, that's also
• 17:25
  Speaker 4: a bread and butter. What they do when they run
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: the ball well, that Steelers offense tends to have success.
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: I love that DK touchdown that third quarter. It looked
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: like a little bit of a basketball player with the
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: juke and heading in and sort of like not going
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: to die down, which is just kind of impressive because
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: he's just bigger than everyone else. Ravens right behind them
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: on these power rankings, sitting at number fifteen on this list.
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: Do we say, hey, all is right now?
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: They figured it out after a completing a shoutout against
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: Joe Burrow and company.
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: Look, I thought this was one of the more complete
• 17:55
  Speaker 4: games of the season. Maybe not explosive offensively, they only
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: ran forty offensive plays in the game. But you know,
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: right when the Bengals starting to threaten here or in
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: the fourth rather the big interception Kyle van Noy, the
• 18:07
  Speaker 4: nice little assist here to Allie Gillman who runs it
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: back and you know, great defensive performance. There's no question
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: about it. Even if you said, like Joe Burrow is
• 18:15
  Speaker 4: off or the Bengals aren't the same, fine, I'll give
• 18:18
  Speaker 4: you that. But they really kind of got in his
• 18:20
  Speaker 4: head and really kind of controlled the game. I thought
• 18:22
  Speaker 4: so Dereck Henry one hundred yards on only eleven carries.
• 18:25
  Speaker 4: He had a resurgent game in some ways too. So
• 18:28
  Speaker 4: you know, Zay Flowers after some early drops, big plays,
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: I'm telling you, they're still dangerous. They're still in a
• 18:33
  Speaker 4: stocking position, and they've got everything to play for down
• 18:36
  Speaker 4: the stretch. So we'll see if they can keep it going.
• 18:38
  Speaker 4: But you know they're playing. That's a playoff like performance
• 18:41
  Speaker 4: we saw on Sunday, and that's exactly what you want
• 18:43
  Speaker 4: to see in a team that's trying to fight to
• 18:44
  Speaker 4: get in the dance.
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: I always say this at this time of the year,
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: it's a trust game. And who do I trust more Steelings? Right,
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: Ravens in this North. I don't know the answer to
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: it at this point. We'll find out. We can revisit
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: this topic next week after we get a little more
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: clarity with the Steelers on the road against Detroit and
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: then obviously the big matchup for the Ravens on Sunday
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: Night football against the Patriots. To the Colts at sixteen,
• 19:06
  Speaker 3: I was legitimately concerned for Philip Rivers. If I'm being
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: totally honest, I hadn't played in five years. I'm just
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: gonna let you just give him his flowers because that performance,
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: to me, is as impressive as you're going to see
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: in the league.
• 19:18
  Speaker 4: Hey, look, I know how sore I get even walking
• 19:20
  Speaker 4: up the stairs these days, and I'm older and phil,
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: but look, this guy to come off the bench, so
• 19:25
  Speaker 4: to speak, for a five year layoff and be as
• 19:28
  Speaker 4: relatively accurate as he was, even if he didn't quite
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: move around all that great, even if the throws weren't
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: that deep down the field, he did what he was
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: asked to do and he put him in a position
• 19:36
  Speaker 4: to win the game. And the defense played so well
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: all day long, but gave up that last field goal
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: drive to give it to Seattle. So look the interception.
• 19:45
  Speaker 4: Obviously at the end, he's just trying to make a play.
• 19:47
  Speaker 4: And I just didn't know what to expect going in, Mike,
• 19:50
  Speaker 4: and I'm sure you felt similarly, what are we going
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: to get out of Philip Rivers? What are they going
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: to ask him to do? What is he capable of?
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: You know, he answered almost every question they threw his way,
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: and that beating the blitz on that touchdown and seeing
• 20:01
  Speaker 4: the reaction from his high school players in Fair Hope,
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: Alabama was on fit so media. What a great thing.
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: Imagine watching your football coach go to the NFL and
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: play a game and almost win it. I mean, pretty
• 20:11
  Speaker 4: crazy stuff. But Colts, obviously you had a tough run
• 20:15
  Speaker 4: here and as well as they've played defensively, just couldn't
• 20:17
  Speaker 4: get it done. To end that losing streak.
• 20:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I thought it was a masterful game plan to
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: put him in a good position to succeed. I figured,
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: you get a heavy dose to Jonathan Taylor, that was
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: the case. I was worried about timing. There's a back
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: shoulder pass that he throws to Pierce and I paused
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: for a second when I saw, and I said, oh,
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: my lord, like, that's not supposed to happen like that,
• 20:35
  Speaker 3: because that's a timing throw and a rhythm throw where
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: this dude, you know, a week prior, didn't even know
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: you'd be tarting in an NFL game. So kudos to
• 20:43
  Speaker 3: the Indianapolis Colts, even in a loss. I know no
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: one likes to hear about moral victories, but my god,
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: to me, that's one of them. Baker Mayfield, what is
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: going on in the NFC South? Who wants to win
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: this division? We dissect that coming up next on Power Writings.
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: I'll back here on Power Rankings, Eric, I got your
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: team seventeen through twenty four, the Tampa Bay Bucks, Carolina
• 21:10
  Speaker 3: Panthers sitting again seventeen and eighteen.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: My god, who is going to win this division? At nineteen?
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: It's the Dallas Cowboys.
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: Kansas City, officially eliminated from postseason play at twenty the
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: Vikings score and a win, They're at twenty one.
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: The Dolphins, it was a nice ride.
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: They're at twenty two, also officially eliminated from postseason contention.
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: The Falcons at twenty three, and the Saints scoring that
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: win against Carolina at twenty four. All right, break this
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: down for me, because I got a Bucks and I
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: got a Carolina team. The two squads will meet in
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: Carolina this week.
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: What happens?
• 21:44
  Speaker 4: They say someone's gonna win. I guess it could end
• 21:46
  Speaker 4: a tie, but right, I mean, both the Falcons and
• 21:49
  Speaker 4: Panthers have given two games away, and obviously the Panthers
• 21:52
  Speaker 4: on Sunday, having known what the Bucks did on Thursday,
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: is a little less excusable. But fourteen point lead at
• 21:58
  Speaker 4: home in the fourth quarter, I mean, boy, that's a
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: tough one to swallow, especially with third and twenty eight
• 22:03
  Speaker 4: and fourth and fourteen and get a stop on either one.
• 22:05
  Speaker 4: You saw them like Evans, I mean, this Buck sideline
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: was irate at the way this game unfolded, and I
• 22:10
  Speaker 4: understand why. So they've got a fine rhythm offensively avoid
• 22:14
  Speaker 4: those Baker Mayfield force plays like the interception late and
• 22:17
  Speaker 4: then defensively, don't give up those big explosive plays. That's
• 22:20
  Speaker 4: been their weakness lately.
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: Yeah, this divisional come down to these two games, Carolina
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: and Tampa Bay playing each other two times over the
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: next three weeks of the season. The Cowboys, Man, I
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: was on the train following that trade deadline. They're winning
• 22:33
  Speaker 3: these games. The defense is looking good. I knew what
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: the offense was, and now they've dropped two in a row.
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: What do I make of? What's happened to Big d Well?
• 22:41
  Speaker 4: It was always hard to know what the Cowboys expectations
• 22:43
  Speaker 4: would or should be this season, right, and obviously we
• 22:45
  Speaker 4: had the Parsons trade and then the Quinn Williams trade
• 22:48
  Speaker 4: which helped kind of boost them back up. It's been
• 22:50
  Speaker 4: a fun ride since Thanksgiving. They really had a nice
• 22:53
  Speaker 4: little post By burst there, but not enough consistency in
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: terms of protecting Dak Prescott, not enough big plays out
• 23:00
  Speaker 4: of George Pickens. The last few games Ceedee Lamb had
• 23:02
  Speaker 4: some strong moments, but you know, pretty much after that
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: first play interception from Williams, they had their hands full
• 23:08
  Speaker 4: defensively and couldn't stop JJ McCarthy it's been a little
• 23:11
  Speaker 4: bit hot lately. But at the same time, you know
• 23:13
  Speaker 4: that they've been doing better defensively, and this was a
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: step backward.
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: Kansas City chief sitting at twenty season done for Patrick Mahomes.
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: Playoff elimination is already now complete. I think there's some
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: real questions that this organization is going to have to
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: answer in this offseason.
• 23:28
  Speaker 4: What's next, Who's calling plays, who's on the offensive line,
• 23:31
  Speaker 4: who's in the backfield? Right? I think they need another
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: explosive back. There are questions defensively too, getting after the
• 23:36
  Speaker 4: pass rusher. But you know it's gonna be interesting. Ma
• 23:39
  Speaker 4: Holmes is going to be out for a lot of
• 23:40
  Speaker 4: the offseason, right, and so it's going to require the
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: other quarterbacks to step up. How do you fix things
• 23:46
  Speaker 4: when your starter isn't in there? I don't know the
• 23:47
  Speaker 4: answer to that.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: The rest of the rankings here at twenty five, it's
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: the Commander's the Bengals at twenty six, Arizona at twenty
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: seven in the Cleveland Browns, I think we can pump
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: the brakes on some of the excitement round door at
• 23:59
  Speaker 3: twenty eight, the Jets in twenty nine, the g Men
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: sitting at thirty and we got the Tennessee Titans and
• 24:04
  Speaker 3: of Raiders closing things out. Boy for Vegas fans, man,
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: it has not been pretty. Eric breaks out by you
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: as os and we'll talk.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: To you next Weekning NFL Power Rankings is a production
• 24:22
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• 24:26
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• 24:30
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