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NFL 2025 | Divisional Round Preview | Banter with the Boys - Gridiron Updates · Banter with the Boys

0:00
Get laced up. Let's go. It's time for Banter
0:04
with the boys. Welcome back to Banter with the
0:15
Boys Gridiron Updates. Ooh, I like the old -timey
0:18
intro. We're back there. Divisional preview and
0:22
picks. Did I say this is Banter with the Boys?
0:24
I don't know. This is Gridiron Updates on Banter
0:26
with the Boys. Yeah, all right, cool. Roberto.
0:28
What's up, coach? Nothing. What's up with you?
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Ready to talk some football after an awesome
0:34
wild card weekend. We got wild card. The one
0:37
seed's coming out of hibernation. Bringing their
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D, so. Great matchups. All the Ds are coming
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with. Jake, yes. What's up, buddy? Yo. Yo. Yo,
0:48
yo, yo. Yo, yo, yo. Oh. Jake is also here, of
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course. Kev, without further ado, let's just
0:54
not waste any time. Oh, Kev's here. Duh. He's
0:56
right there. I hope he is. Let's head right into
0:58
our divisional preview and picks. In the first
1:11
corner, we got the number six Buffalo Bills traveling
1:14
and playing the team in the other corner, the
1:17
number one Denver Broncos. Jake, who do you have
1:22
in this matchup right here, sir? Wow. Yeah, Kevin's
1:27
going to have to. I clipped for sure. Guaranteed.
1:29
That's, yeah. I'll let Rob. Talk about the spread.
1:36
Oh, yes. Should we go to Rob for the spread?
1:38
No, we don't have to talk to Rob about the spread.
1:40
Yeah, let's close it off. One and a half. Let's
1:41
not talk to him at all. Thanks, Rob. One and
1:44
a half? For the Broncos. Wow. That's pretty close.
1:49
Tight. Yeah. Dom, Justin, Ben. Oh, no. Dom, Justin,
1:55
and Coach Dan went Bills. Ben, our Packer fan,
1:58
other Packer fan, he went with Denver, but there's
2:01
a lot of expletives there. It was a tough one.
2:05
I don't think he's very fond of them Broncos.
2:08
I think it's going to be probably the spreads
2:13
accurate. We're going to have this question about
2:17
rest versus rust. We'll have that conversation
2:20
a little bit when we discuss Seahawks 49ers.
2:24
There's always that question. And you got Bill's
2:28
traveling again. Bill's defense was played super
2:32
strong, and they were able to put some points
2:36
together when they needed it against Jacksonville,
2:39
keeping it close. I think Sean Payton's a better
2:43
creative mind there. At home in Denver, obviously.
2:49
I don't know. I'm pretty split on this, but I
2:53
think and I think I don't feel. Man, you're a
2:57
really strong one. Yeah, I am. This is a really
3:00
tough one. Get it together. Usually that's me
3:02
every single game. No, I won't. I'm going to.
3:06
No, you're not. I'm going to take Broncos. And
3:10
I think ultimately the reason why I'm going to
3:12
take Broncos is. The Bills haven't had a true
3:17
number one wide receiver this year, and I think
3:19
that that's finally going to come back to bite
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them against that Denver secondary. They're not
3:23
going to have to match up. They're just going
3:26
to be like, we're going to play our positions,
3:27
and we don't think that you're going to be able
3:29
to beat us over the top. And that Denver front
3:33
four just continues to get after the quarterback.
3:38
put pressure on Josh Allen. Who knows if he's
3:41
healthy, healthy. He's probably still banged
3:44
up. So I'm going to take Denver at home. It's
3:49
a tough game. Yeah. Why do we have to start with
3:52
this? It's an absolute tough game. And I threw
3:53
it to you right away, right? Yeah. But, I mean,
3:57
there's something to be said about that, you
3:59
know, rust potentially. It'll be interesting
4:04
to see. For me, it'll be. About Bo Nix and how
4:07
he kind of comes out in this game. I'm not really
4:10
concerned about the Denver defense at all. I
4:12
think the Denver defense is a little bit better.
4:16
I mean, not a little bit. I do think they're
4:17
a solid bit better than the Bills defense. But
4:21
for me, it's going to be Bo Nix. Can he take
4:23
advantage of some of those injuries that the
4:26
Bills still have defensively? Yeah, I mean, I
4:32
got to go Denver here, even though I want Josh
4:35
Allen and the Bills to win. I want the Bills
4:37
to go win a Super Bowl because, like we've stated
4:39
before, there's no Lamar, there's no Patrick
4:41
Mahomes. When is the next time that's going to
4:43
happen? We don't know. Drake May is still trying
4:46
to establish a name for himself, too. But that
4:49
Texans team is probably going to be arguably
4:51
probably the team to beat right now. We'll wait.
4:55
We'll wait. to see if the texans have to play
4:58
the broncos in the afc championship game because
5:00
that's that's i gotta go texans there already
5:02
but i'm we'll get there we'll get there bills
5:04
could still win this game but i gotta go i gotta
5:07
go broncos here um to end the bills run this
5:10
season or roberto yeah this is a great matchup
5:14
like you said uh this is that window of opportunity
5:18
for josh allen to get in there with without lamar
5:22
there without mahomes there He is missing a bona
5:25
fide one. Diggs was supposed to be that opportunity.
5:30
James Cooks carried a lot of that extra weight,
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minus having that one receiver. The tight ends
5:37
are a... Good option if they are going to attack
5:41
that Denver defense. I think that's maybe where
5:43
they can get a little bit. Cook is shifty enough,
5:47
I think, whether they commit enough into the
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box to stop them. They do have an excellent front
5:52
four, the Broncos. But just like generally, I'm
5:56
thinking the Broncos are going to... Be the Cowboys
6:00
and circle the wagons around the Bills and dominate
6:04
this because the Broncos are 20 -8 coming off
6:08
what we consider Russ coming off the bye. So
6:12
if you're looking at that now that the bye has
6:14
been so prevalent since 2003, the old Russ theory
6:18
is kind of depending on each franchise versus
6:21
reality. So I'm going Broncos. We did just see
6:26
it at the college level too. In the CFP, I mean,
6:28
yes, it's different, right? We're talking about
6:31
a lot of different age players here, but they
6:35
didn't go well for the teams that had to sit.
6:37
So curious to see how it goes in the NFL this
6:40
year in that sense. Were you looking up something,
6:42
Clay? Yeah. I heard you type it. What was your
6:44
super fun record stat? Broncos are 28 after the
6:47
bye. No, that's actually good to know. And so
6:51
my other thought was like, well, what's Sean
6:53
Payton's record after the bye? Oh. So quick.
6:57
Did some googly -goo on the internets. Sean Payton
7:01
is 4 -0 in the playoffs after a bye, and he's
7:05
12 -6 in the regular season. That's pretty good.
7:10
Okay. We're saying no rust. All right. We got
7:13
the WD -40 out. The stats are saying no rust.
7:16
The stats are saying no rust. But you're going
7:18
Bills. No, I'm going Broncos. We're circling
7:21
the wagons with the Broncos and the Cowboys,
7:23
you know? Putting those Bills in a pen. All right,
7:27
all right. I'm going to let that settle down.
7:31
All right, number six, 49ers, traveling to our
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other number one seed, the Seattle Seahawks.
7:39
Or chickens. Well, the sea chickens, yes. Very
7:41
good, very good. All right, hold on. Let me tell
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you what everybody else said here. Dom went sea
7:48
chickens. Justin went sea chickens. Ben. Sea
7:54
Chickens. Wow. And Coach Dan, yes, sir, went
7:59
with the 49ers, which is who I'm going to go
8:01
with. I'm going to ride the 49ers being a little
8:04
hot. I'm going to ride the fact that I think
8:05
Seattle might have a little rust coming out of
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this. I don't think a lot of people expected
8:09
Seattle to even get this far, let alone be the
8:12
number one seed in the NFL this season. I got
8:17
to go with the 49ers. I think there's some Momo.
8:20
Seven is the spread. There's some Momo behind.
8:22
I don't give a damn. That's big. I know you don't.
8:24
I don't give a damn. And you're picking against
8:27
your team. My team? What? My team? I'm not a
8:31
sea chicken fan. You've been a sea chicken fan.
8:33
You're a closet sea chicken fan. No, no, no.
8:36
He's a closet lot of things. No, I liked Sean
8:38
Alexander. I was about that. That's a long time
8:40
ago. That's just because you had him on your
8:41
fantasy team and all you did was score touchdowns.
8:43
No, I was like five when Sean Alexander played.
8:44
Okay, calm down. I was probably like 12. But,
8:47
all right, what are we doing? Oh, yeah, 49ers
8:50
Seahawks. I said the 49ers. Why? Tell me why.
8:54
I think. I think CMC, he still had over 100 yards
8:58
from scrimmage last week. And the two touchdowns.
9:00
Yeah, so I think he's going to be the X factor
9:04
in this game. Just get him the ball any way necessary.
9:09
We know Purdy can extend the play. Losing Kittle
9:14
really sucks in this game. Kittle would have
9:17
been a great option to have against that pretty
9:20
elite defense currently. And the 12th, man, gosh,
9:24
it's going to be a tough place to play. But I'm
9:27
taking the Niners in like a weird one. It's going
9:30
to be like 19 to 17 or something goofy. We took
9:34
a little trip. Yeah, this is where the NFC West
9:39
rubber match split. Rubber? Both games. Seattle,
9:44
I think, winning the last one two weeks ago or
9:46
last final game of the season. Yeah, final game
9:49
of the season. So that was only two weeks ago.
9:52
That is really interesting. And without Kittle
9:55
and Ricky Pearsall, it didn't play last week
10:00
at all. Also correct, yeah. Once Kittle was out,
10:03
you kind of saw the 49ers offense going, eh,
10:07
ah, ah, ah. Well. You've been wrong before, so
10:12
that's why. I think Seattle's got enough to get
10:15
it done. Defensively, I think they're in a smother.
10:18
McCaffrey, Purdy's going to have to play out
10:22
of his mind for them to have a little chip in
10:25
the chair. Better than last week, arguably, for
10:26
sure. I'm going Seattle Seachickens. Chalk? I'm
10:35
going to take Seahawks. I know you feel that
10:38
Seahawks are going to feel that rust. I think
10:42
that they're not. They're rested and ready to
10:44
go. Yeah, because a running game, I feel like
10:48
you can just kind of pick that up and go. Like
10:51
ride a bike. Yeah, whereas the passing game,
10:56
you can get out of sync real quick. Just ask
10:58
Philadelphia. But if you've got too much rust,
11:01
those run blockers are not coming off the ball
11:03
very well. Those chains aren't spinning. What
11:06
do you mean? He's just like, no, Jake. Oh, God.
11:11
All right. Oh, I'm in trouble. Coach is upset.
11:16
Doghouse. Oh, I'm sorry. Is it this? No, no,
11:20
it's even worse. Sorry, coach. I'm going to take
11:26
Seattle. They're at home. That place is going
11:29
to be absolute ruckus. And again, that running
11:34
back tandem, they're just wrecking balls, both
11:38
of them. Kenneth Walker, Charbonnet. Is that
11:42
Miley Cyrus? Yeah. Oh, nice. They're coming in
11:45
like a wrecking ball. And Shanahan's going to
11:49
have to try and continue to get creative, I think,
11:51
to get points on the board like they did against
11:54
Philadelphia. But just playing them three, this
11:58
is the third time now. It's tough to play a team
12:00
three times. So you just take any scripts that
12:03
you have, any plays, and you just kind of start
12:05
all over. But I think Mike McDonald is just going
12:08
to have that defense. tuned in, and just ready
12:11
to go. So give me sea chickens. Going sea chickens.
12:16
Yeah, seven's a big number on the spread. All
12:20
right. We got to move on, though. It is. It is.
12:23
But 49ers still get the win. All right. The number
12:28
five Texans traveling to the number two Patriots.
12:35
Another place that'll probably be pretty rocking
12:37
for a game of this magnitude. Is that still Gillette?
12:41
No, I think they changed. Some other company
12:44
bought them? Oh, no. No, it is still Gillette.
12:48
Son of a B. For a clean shave. I think, was it
12:52
this year their first year with that brand new
12:53
lighthouse thing up there above their thing?
12:56
Anyway. All right. Coach Dan's going with the
12:59
Patriots. Justin going Patriots. Justin sent
13:05
this picture saying the Seahawks have added extra
13:09
tents. That's funny. Extra medical tents. Oh,
13:14
man. Let's see. Anyway, what did I say? Justin's
13:18
going with the Patriots. Dom going with the Patriots.
13:22
Was that everybody? Oh, Ben. They all said Patriots?
13:25
Ben going with the Patriots as well. You guys
13:28
are nuts. Nuts, nuts, nuts. Who, them or us?
13:33
They are, because I'm going Texans. With Nico
13:37
Collins? I'm not worried about the offense as
13:40
much now. I mean, I think that defense is going
13:43
to carry the game. Defense is going to carry
13:45
the game. It's going to be the Woody Marks and
13:46
who the hell else is there running back? It's
13:50
not Chubb. Chubb. Is it? Yep. Yeah, okay. Yeah,
13:53
because Joe Mixon is like a... MIA or something.
13:56
He texted me one. Yeah, Joe Mixon's just... Ducted
13:58
by aliens. Yeah, probably, probably. But I think
14:02
that Texans team, just how they closed out the
14:05
season on the run that they did against the teams
14:07
that they did, they continued it in the first
14:10
weekend. So you're living out the past heavily.
14:13
Not necessarily. That sounds like it. Okay, well,
14:15
if we're talking about last weekend, that was
14:17
the pass, right? Yep. Okay, well, then fine.
14:20
Let's talk. Oh, my God, dude. This guy. I get
14:23
it. I get it. It's going to be fine. They're
14:26
going to be just good. Correct. Correct. No,
14:28
they didn't do jack shit to start that game.
14:31
All right. So you're saying the Steelers defense
14:33
is better than the Patriots defense? Huh? So
14:36
you're saying the Steelers defense is better
14:37
than the Patriots defense? Kind of. A little
14:42
bit. A little bit. A little bit. I'd like to
14:44
see the Steelers and Patriots play, but we don't
14:47
get to see that. Well, we're going to find out
14:49
because the Patriots get to play them. I was
14:53
talking about the Steelers real quick. Anyway,
14:56
Texans for me. What do you got, Robert? Oh, I'm
15:00
going Patriots. Nico Collins is the difference
15:03
maker of not playing in this game. He doesn't
15:07
scare me enough. Gonzalez on the outside can
15:10
match up to whoever. I mean, he is one of the
15:13
best corners. Is he going to be healthy enough,
15:15
though? Because he got banged. He did get banged
15:17
up. But there's such a swarming. They just got
15:22
him just swarming all over the field. I'm more
15:26
nervous about the offense for the Patriots. Not
15:30
making any mistakes. You know, Gonzalez. Gonzalez
15:33
is. But I still think their running game, even
15:39
against that Texans, I mean, that's where you
15:41
can get them is to run the ball. And that's what
15:43
I think. I think this is a bad matchup for the
15:45
Texans, actually. So if the Patriots can especially
15:50
get up. by 10 uh which they like doing i think
15:54
it could get ugly quick actually so uh if they
15:57
get up 10 they don't have you so if they get
15:59
up 10 you're thinking the texans don't have a
16:01
chance to battle back probably just not enough
16:03
i say and it could just get ugly i could get
16:05
to the point where then stroud feel like he's
16:07
got to do it extra especially without collins
16:10
in and yeah okay okay i just like upset city
16:15
man for me i like upset city too Yeah, give me
16:19
Texans. Give me Texans. We saw him beat the Pittsburgh
16:25
Steelers up for four quarters. The Nico Collins
16:29
injury concerns me, but Christian Kirk stepped
16:31
up in his absence. So as CJ Stroud, I would feel
16:38
pretty comfortable with my receiver group. And
16:43
I don't want to knock Nico Collins, but he's
16:46
kind of got an injury -prone moniker to him.
16:49
Kind of, yeah. They've still got Dalton Schultz.
16:53
And they've continued to be successful even without
16:55
Nico Collins, so I'm not too concerned. Their
16:58
offense is distinctly better with Nico Collins,
17:02
but I don't think it's like... I don't think
17:07
that they're going to miss him that much. in
17:11
this because again i think it's going to be hard
17:16
nose defensive football low scoring we're going
17:19
to see a lot of running i guess my question is
17:23
whether or not cj stroud is actually going to
17:25
have the the snap stuff figured out because um
17:29
yeah he had what three or four fumbles yeah the
17:35
fumbled snaps like you can't have that uh so
17:38
that's got to get sorted out but i just love
17:41
what D 'Amico Ryan has going for that team. They're
17:45
all buying into it. If that game even, like,
17:47
sniffs where it stays close, like it was against
17:50
Pittsburgh where it was 7 -6 for three quarters,
17:52
how long is any offense going to be able to hold
17:55
up to that defense continuing to attack and attack
17:57
and attack? So if it stays close most of the
17:59
game, you think Texans can absolutely do it?
18:02
Yeah, 100%. I mean, yeah, that's exactly what
18:05
they have to do to stay in it. Which he's agreeing
18:09
with you, technically, too. And that's why that
18:11
10 -point barrier, that's where it gets real
18:13
difficult for the Texans. Yeah, because then
18:16
you don't have your elite pass rushers just pinning
18:20
their ears back and attacking. Exactly. Let's
18:26
head right into our final game here. Oh, that's
18:28
two and a half. Sorry, I didn't know if I got
18:30
that out there. Oh, that changes my mind. No,
18:33
it doesn't. Not at all. Not at all. It might
18:37
change coaches. Nope, nope. Yeah. Nope, nope,
18:41
nope. Good answer. Nope, nope, nope. The number
18:44
five, L .A. Rams traveling to the number two
18:48
Chicago Bears. Oh, here, let me get you their
18:51
picks first because I'm pretty sure they're all
18:54
Rams. Justin, Rams, screw the Bears. Don, Rams.
18:59
Ben, Rams. Coach Dan, feel me. Dang it, Rams.
19:04
I'm not going Rams here. It's just a little sour
19:07
because... Well, maybe. You can't possibly be
19:14
frustrated about last game. No, I got to go Chicago
19:18
Bears here. I think they've been a fun electric
19:21
team most of the year. They've made some mistakes
19:23
because they're a young, up -and -coming team
19:25
with a first -year head coach, a quarterback
19:29
that's still figuring it out, but he is figuring
19:31
it out this year. I really like how he closed
19:33
out the game against the Packers, and I think
19:36
there's no reason the Bears can't win this game.
19:38
If they do, they're just allowing Matthew Stafford
19:42
to throw all over them, and it's really going
19:43
to come down to Stafford versus that. Bears secondary
19:46
for me, which we know Stafford can absolutely
19:48
shred them, so it's a big concern to me because
19:51
I do think they have an injury in their secondary
19:53
as well for Chicago. I can't remember, but I
19:55
have to go with Chicago right here. I mean, at
19:59
Chicago, they were pumped for that game. They're
20:01
going to be pumped for this one. It's going to
20:04
be a tough game. I'm looking forward to that
20:06
game. Yeah, I mean, the X factor I'll jump in
20:09
here is obviously it's going to be cold. I mean,
20:11
right now here in Minnesota, it's... Five degrees
20:15
right now. And the game is, I don't know, four
20:17
days away. So I'm assuming this weather is not
20:19
going to be much different that direction. It's
20:22
going to be worse. Probably. So that's where
20:25
the opportunity for the Bears really gets in.
20:27
If they can get the running game in, which they
20:29
didn't really fully establish in the Packer game.
20:33
They relied on Williams. None of the teams really
20:36
established that. And Loveland. But they are
20:39
playing against a little different front four
20:41
with the Rams. And the Rams can also run the
20:46
ball, too. Yeah. Is Blake Quorum back or is he
20:50
out for the year? I don't think he's going to
20:52
be available. I don't think he's going to be
20:54
available. So, I mean, that would help with the
20:56
Rams in my decision here. But the Chicago Bears
21:00
probably don't have enough to get this one done.
21:05
So I'm going Rams. Going Rams. Ramming it. That's
21:09
a good pick. The Bears is a good pick, too. Three
21:12
and a half. Three and a half. I think this is
21:16
going to be the most exciting game of the four
21:18
this weekend. So I'm really looking forward to
21:22
watching this game. Because, yeah, you've got
21:26
really solid offenses and really solid defenses
21:29
going at each other. To your point, I think.
21:32
It's a special teams game. It very well could
21:34
be because it's going to be stupid cold. There's
21:36
already conversations that this is potentially
21:39
going to be one of the coldest games ever on
21:41
record. Colder than, I was at the third? Yeah,
21:45
Vikings one was the third, yeah. Yeah, at TCF
21:48
where we don't talk about it. Correct. Yeah,
21:52
good job. And then you had the Chiefs -Dolphins
21:56
game from two years ago, I think that was. Weather's
22:02
going to play a significant role. Kick in. Yeah,
22:05
let's kick frozen balls. It's going to be 9 -3.
22:09
No, I don't think it's going to be 9 -3. I think
22:12
Ben Johnson has built that Bears offense, and
22:17
I've continued to say this, that running game
22:19
is, everybody's underestimating that running
22:22
game. Swift and Menunga. I think you just like
22:26
saying Menunga. Well, I do. It's just a really
22:29
fun name. They're up there. They're as close
22:35
to David Montgomery. Wow. Wow. That's what I
22:40
thought he was going with. I don't know. Think
22:42
about this. So Swift was actually in Detroit.
22:49
Yep. And then they traded him away. And Ben Johnson
22:52
now has had DeAndre Swift again. Okay. So he's
22:58
got. Where did he go for a year? He went to Philly.
23:03
And then he went to Chicago. So what I'm getting
23:07
at is the Bears have a running game that is going
23:11
to work really well in that cold weather. And
23:14
you're going to get sick and tired of tackling
23:17
in stupid cold weather. And so that's going to
23:22
wear out that Rams defense. I love that Rams
23:25
defense. I love that Rams offense. But I don't
23:27
think that either of those are going to travel
23:29
that. in that kind of cold. Give me Bears. Chicago
23:34
moves on to the NFC Championship game for them.
23:38
Who do you have them playing? Oh, the Sea Chickens.
23:40
That would be a great game. It'll be Bears 49ers.
23:46
Roberto. I'm excited. Thanks for being here,
23:49
man. Thank you. I'm ready. Pumped for some football
23:51
this weekend. Yeah. A little less. Not as many
23:53
games. I'm kind of excited for a little less
23:55
because it's hard to... Not as many games to
23:57
recap next week. Commit sick, too. Six games.
24:00
I'm on the internet re -watching. I'll make sure
24:03
I'm not missing anything. It's a lot of football.
24:05
A lot of football. Less football, more quality
24:07
football this weekend, if you can believe it,
24:09
when last weekend was such high quality. Jake,
24:12
thanks for being here as well. Thanks for having
24:13
me again. Of course. Of course. He's slowly...
24:16
He's going to slowly start wearing Vikings purple.
24:18
Pretty much. Now that he knows what not to say.
24:21
He knows what's up. We'll get him a Vikings hat.
24:24
Kev. Kevin. Thanks for being here, brother. Of
24:27
course, as always. Thanks, live studio audience,
24:29
for being here. Of course, as always. Oh, when
24:31
did they show up? Yeah, exactly. Exactly, yeah.
24:35
Let's see. What are we doing? Oh, yeah. Don't
24:38
forget to like, comment, subscribe, you know,
24:39
wherever you listen to the banter, whether it's
24:41
YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or iHeartRadio.
24:43
And we'll see you next week as we prepare for
24:47
the conference championship games coming up.
24:48
But before that, don't forget to check out the
24:50
divisional round games this weekend. And we'll
24:54
see you next week here on Gridiron Updates. Peace.
24:57
Skol. Don't forget to follow, like, and subscribe.
25:03
Tune in next time for more banter with the boys.