Latest / NFL Now / Jalen Hurts' Shoulder Sprain,Bills -Bears, Giants - Viking Matchup, & Jonathan Taylor on IR

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Jalen Hurts' Shoulder Sprain,Bills -Bears, Giants - Viking Matchup, & Jonathan Taylor on IR · NFL Now

0:05
Speaker 1: NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
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Speaker 1: with I Heart Radio. Listen. We're not the Weather Channel,
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Speaker 1: although one of these days I'd like to be Jim
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Speaker 1: Cantory in another life. But weather is going to be
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Speaker 1: the story this coming Saturday. Welcome to NFL Now. We
0:26
Speaker 1: are storm trackers. My name is Andrew Siciliano. This man
0:29
Speaker 1: right here is Steve White, who is going to be
0:31
Speaker 1: on the sideline Saturday evening when we celebrate the fiftieth
0:34
Speaker 1: anniversary of the Immaculate Reception in Pittsburgh. Steve, I'm looking
0:37
Speaker 1: at the forecast now. It is going to be a
0:39
Speaker 1: high of twelve, a low of ten, with wind gusts
0:43
Speaker 1: at forty miles an hour. Are you ready? Am I
0:49
Speaker 1: the hell it's gonna be ready for that? I mean,
0:51
Speaker 1: I've got all this stuff, but I am soft man,
0:54
Speaker 1: but I'm not complaining. I'm not complaining. I'm admittedly soft,
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Speaker 1: but there's gonna be a lot of other people working
1:00
Speaker 1: harder than me. I'm just gonna be there trying to
1:03
Speaker 1: talk football. Steve bought one of those vests that you
1:06
Speaker 1: could put under your jack battery battery operated. You put
1:10
Speaker 1: that thing into concur and get it again. Question is
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Speaker 1: who's going to start a quarterback with Steve on the sideline,
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Speaker 1: and it looks as if it is going to be
1:17
Speaker 1: Kenny Picketty has not officially officially clear concussion protocol, but
1:20
Speaker 1: Mike Tomlin says he does expect pick it to start
1:23
Speaker 1: after sitting out this past week, and Mitch Traviski got
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Speaker 1: the win for the Steelers in Carolina. Meantime, the first
1:30
Speaker 1: game of the week is gonna be Thursday at MetLife Stadium,
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Speaker 1: and it's gonna be Zach Wilson at quarterback. As Robert
1:37
Speaker 1: Sala says, Mike White is still not cleared and it's
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Speaker 1: still not good to go. So another start for Zach
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Speaker 1: Wilson against Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars. And Jalen hurt
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Speaker 1: status is very much up in the air for the
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Speaker 1: Eagles game Saturday against the Cowboys. Nick Serriani did confirm
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Speaker 1: today what we told you yesterday. It is a sprained
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Speaker 1: right shoulder. I do not put it past Jalen Hurts.
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Speaker 1: I don't anything past Jalen Hurts um as far as
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Speaker 1: his mental and physical toughness. So there's a chance he
2:10
Speaker 1: can play this week and so, Um, he is one
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Speaker 1: of the toughest guys I know. Um, and he heals fast.
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Speaker 1: He's a free His body is not like part of me,
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Speaker 1: yours or mine? Right, and so I'm I'm shaming myself.
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Speaker 1: They're a little bit too. His body is not like ours. Um.
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Speaker 1: He heals fast. I didn't he came back fast from
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Speaker 1: his injury last year. Um, and you know I don't.
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Speaker 1: I don't. I will not rule him out, will not
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Speaker 1: put a timetable on him. Um. And we'll see, We'll
2:40
Speaker 1: see what happens this week. But both guys will be
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Speaker 1: He'll be ready to go if if he can play
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Speaker 1: this week, and so will uh, so will Gardner. It's
2:50
Speaker 1: a it's a it's a week where we're keeping everything
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Speaker 1: business is usual. Um. You know, we're playing a really
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Speaker 1: good team, a really good opponent, and doing everything we
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Speaker 1: can on the short week to be at at full
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Speaker 1: full health. A win for the Eagles would wrap up
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Speaker 1: home field in the one seed throughout the NFC playoffs.
3:11
Speaker 1: But is it going to be Gardner, Minshew or Jalen Hurts,
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Speaker 1: Mike Garafolio, James Palmer with us now Mike, uh they
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Speaker 1: really gonna put him out? There with that injury. I mean,
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Speaker 1: don't you just say, Gardner Minshew, cross your fingers and
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Speaker 1: hopefully get the one seed. Yeah, which is what they
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Speaker 1: did last year when the team faced the Jets and
3:29
Speaker 1: they came away with a victory. Now, I expect this
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Speaker 1: game to be a bigger challenge than the Jets were
3:35
Speaker 1: for Gardner Minshew. But he's a guy that you brought
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Speaker 1: in for a reason because you can rely on him
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Speaker 1: in situations such as these. And I know that the
3:42
Speaker 1: Eagles would love Jalen Hurts to be out there and
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Speaker 1: continue his m v P push, But I also know
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Speaker 1: that they would love to have him healthy for the postseason, right.
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Speaker 1: That's the biggest goal here, And all indications when we
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Speaker 1: reported yesterday that he was very much in doubt for
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Speaker 1: this weekend were that they were going to say, well,
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Speaker 1: we wanted to be fully healthy, which nobody's ever really
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Speaker 1: fully healthy once they suffer something like this. But the
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Speaker 1: point is, can he do everything he needs to do
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Speaker 1: to be effective number one, but also to protect himself?
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Speaker 1: So I understand Jalen Hurts is tough physically and mentally.
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Speaker 1: I am not calling that in the question at all.
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Speaker 1: I'm sure he's gonna do as much rehab as he can.
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Speaker 1: He's going to listen to as much Anita Baker as
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Speaker 1: he possibly can James Palmer to get himself in the
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Speaker 1: mental and physical state to play this game. But I
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Speaker 1: still expect it to be Gardner Minshew. Well, if you
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Speaker 1: expected to be Gardner Minshew, Mike, you mentioned that Jets
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Speaker 1: game a season ago. Who went off catching the football
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Speaker 1: from Gardner? Minshew? In that game it was Dallas Goddard
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Speaker 1: with his best game of his career, a hundred five
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Speaker 1: receiving yards and the only game he's had two touchdowns
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Speaker 1: in in his NFL career. He comes back for this game,
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Speaker 1: and whoever's playing quarterback, he is a massive boost for
4:50
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles in that building believe that
4:53
Speaker 1: he has an argument to be the best tight end
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Speaker 1: in all of football because of his versatile as he is.
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Speaker 1: And you talked offensive coordinator Shane Styke and he'll tell
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Speaker 1: you that they use him in the screen game. They
5:02
Speaker 1: use him as a vertical threat. This sounds crazy. He's
5:05
Speaker 1: one of the best vertical threats in the NFL and
5:08
Speaker 1: they use them in the intermediate passing game as well
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Speaker 1: as well as a great blocker in the run game
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Speaker 1: as well. So he does all those different things for them.
5:16
Speaker 1: But the other added aspect of things are the five
5:19
Speaker 1: games that he missed. You saw them change the way
5:22
Speaker 1: they did some things with their formation. Steve changed the
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Speaker 1: way they did some things with their personnel. That allows them.
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Speaker 1: They believe to be more complex now that other guys
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Speaker 1: stepped up in his absence. Now he returns, guys like
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Speaker 1: Us Watkins a little more confidence. Running backs catching the football.
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Speaker 1: They feel like they can do more now that he's back. Yeah,
5:38
Speaker 1: a lot of things going on. I'm gonna sample need
5:39
Speaker 1: a baker and try to give you giving you the
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Speaker 1: best that I've got right here. And so so the
5:44
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys, you know, let's let's take a look from
5:47
Speaker 1: this perspective, because now you still have to plan that
5:49
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts is gonna come in and play quarterback. And
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Speaker 1: if he doesn't, you know, the Eagles are not gonna
5:55
Speaker 1: change their offense that much. You talk about the addition
5:57
Speaker 1: of Dallas got that's just something else. Have you got
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Speaker 1: a scheme for. They're nicked up on defense, But this
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Speaker 1: is where the Cowboys have got to focus on them
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Speaker 1: selves and to get their run defense in tech. You
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Speaker 1: don't know if Laton vander Esh who had that neck injury,
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Speaker 1: is gonna be in there. They have been vulnerable up
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Speaker 1: the middle in the run game, so they have got
6:14
Speaker 1: to work on that aspect of it. Because he saw
6:18
Speaker 1: a J. Brown right there. You see somethings in the
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Speaker 1: passing game again, your Dallas, you focus on fixing your
6:23
Speaker 1: run defense. You're passing game. You slipped up last week
6:26
Speaker 1: against Jacksonville in some elements, but a lot of that
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Speaker 1: was to some turnovers as well. You fix that run game,
6:32
Speaker 1: maybe you slow some things down. Pilly Philadelphia likes to
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Speaker 1: do with Gardner minshew, so they don't put too much
6:36
Speaker 1: on him. Put the game on his arm if he's
6:38
Speaker 1: the guy who plays, and then you would have surprised
6:42
Speaker 1: you didn't go sweet love you have given you. We
6:45
Speaker 1: love you know he's gonna get getting from the copyright police.
6:49
Speaker 1: Be careful their mike. Um, you can see this. No
6:52
Speaker 1: one thinks that sounds like a need a banker. Don't worry. Hey,
6:59
Speaker 1: we love you guys, Thank you. Let's get the Monday
7:01
Speaker 1: night football. It was cold at Lambeau, not as cold
7:04
Speaker 1: as we're gonna see on Saturday, but it was cold
7:06
Speaker 1: last night. Rams landed Sunday evening. It was one degree.
7:10
Speaker 1: They landed and with all the injuries, they could not
7:13
Speaker 1: stop A. J. Dillon. On the second night of Hattka,
7:16
Speaker 1: A J. Dillon had two big touchdowns, eventually left the
7:19
Speaker 1: game and he is in the concussion protocol. Rams were
7:22
Speaker 1: hanging around late. They got a deep dp I at
7:25
Speaker 1: A two two at well played, but Baker threw a
7:27
Speaker 1: pick here. This is to Russel Douglas Packers. When it
7:30
Speaker 1: Packers are alive, twenty four to twelve with the w
7:35
Speaker 1: they get to six and eight, Rams called to four
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Speaker 1: and ten. Here's Cayle Burton with the rookie Christian Watson. Christian,
7:44
Speaker 1: you guys able to pull this one off offensively in
7:46
Speaker 1: the beginning. It took a sec for you guys to
7:48
Speaker 1: get going. What sparked the momentum um my matthrew was
7:51
Speaker 1: just the consistency. I mean, we all have we all
7:53
Speaker 1: have that same energy, the same vibe, you know, regardless
7:55
Speaker 1: of you know, the success or not. We knew that,
7:57
Speaker 1: you know, our preparations got the week was gonna carry
7:59
Speaker 1: us through. So we guys kept on going and then
8:01
Speaker 1: we started executing a little better and they started, uh,
8:03
Speaker 1: you know, working for us a little bit better. Well.
8:04
Speaker 1: Speaking of consistency, you have been a consistent rookie so
8:07
Speaker 1: far this season. Prior to this point, you've had a
8:10
Speaker 1: receiving touchdown in four straight games. How would you evaluate yourself? Um,
8:14
Speaker 1: I mean I'm definitely, you know, happy with the success
8:16
Speaker 1: that I've had, but um, you know, I'm not never satisfied.
8:19
Speaker 1: You just gotta keep on working. I know there's h
8:20
Speaker 1: you know, a long way to go to be to
8:22
Speaker 1: be the player that I really want to be. Uh, So,
8:23
Speaker 1: just gonna keep on working. Speaking of moving on, you
8:26
Speaker 1: guys have three more games left. You know, the playoffs
8:29
Speaker 1: are still in reach for you guys, What does it
8:31
Speaker 1: take to keep this momentum going and try to win
8:34
Speaker 1: out here? I always gotta keep on working one day
8:36
Speaker 1: at a time, Uh, you know what, we gotta win
8:37
Speaker 1: each and every day. Uh and then obviously you know,
8:39
Speaker 1: you know, win each and every week. But I mean
8:41
Speaker 1: we're focused, We're focused on one game out of time,
8:43
Speaker 1: one day at a time. Yeah, they're in it. They're
8:47
Speaker 1: very much alive, and they are happy this morning in
8:50
Speaker 1: Green Bay. I think they're also realistic in green Bay
8:53
Speaker 1: that they are gonna have to win out here. They
8:56
Speaker 1: are gonna have to be the Dolphins, the Vikings, and
9:00
Speaker 1: the Lions. That would also help their strength of victory,
9:03
Speaker 1: which is one of the type rakers here. Potentially that
9:06
Speaker 1: Lions game, who knows, maybe flexed into Sunday Night, Week eighteen.
9:12
Speaker 1: Stacy Dale's Aaron Rodgers last night says he had been
9:15
Speaker 1: looking ahead and trying to figure out the numbers and
9:17
Speaker 1: that they did what they had to do. They checked
9:19
Speaker 1: the boxes the last two weeks and got wins over
9:22
Speaker 1: teams that they knew they were better than. What's your
9:25
Speaker 1: take away from last night? Really nothing surprised me. It
9:28
Speaker 1: really was just a matter of time Andrew for the
9:30
Speaker 1: Rams to be eliminated officially, and then with the Green
9:33
Speaker 1: Bay Packers, you know, maybe it's too little, too late.
9:36
Speaker 1: I always believe in Aaron Rodgers, So the fact that
9:38
Speaker 1: they have three games to go and could win them out. Yeah,
9:41
Speaker 1: Miami is obviously struggling right now, and then you look
9:44
Speaker 1: at the division. Minnesota has been up and down, and
9:47
Speaker 1: after that come back against the Colts this past weekend,
9:50
Speaker 1: we'll see how they come out. And then Detroit to
9:52
Speaker 1: me right now, is the best team in the division.
9:54
Speaker 1: The two things that are constant with the Packers, they're
9:57
Speaker 1: two best offensive players outside of Aaron Rodgers, the future
10:00
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame quarterback have been the running backs. A J.
10:02
Speaker 1: Dillon had a couple on the ground getting to the
10:05
Speaker 1: end zone and then Aaron Jones obviously the lone passing
10:08
Speaker 1: touchdown for Aaron Rodgers. Christian Watson is developing and that
10:12
Speaker 1: is a good sign as we look towards next year.
10:15
Speaker 1: Do they still have a shot? Sure, they still have
10:17
Speaker 1: a shot, but they have to hope that the Giants,
10:19
Speaker 1: the Commanders in the Seattle Seahawks lose some games and
10:22
Speaker 1: again they close out the One great surprise I think
10:25
Speaker 1: that the Packers can look at is Keishaw Nixon, right
10:28
Speaker 1: and what he's done in the return game. Eight kickoff
10:31
Speaker 1: returns this season thirty plus yards. That is outstanding. And
10:36
Speaker 1: then he leads the NFL with four games a hundred
10:39
Speaker 1: plus kick return yards. So Rich Basaccia chasing him down
10:42
Speaker 1: the sideline is a good sign heading into next season.
10:45
Speaker 1: But hey, they still got three games to go. We'll
10:47
Speaker 1: see nice that they found a kick return of the
10:50
Speaker 1: hon Keyshan. Absolutely, they still have three games to go
10:53
Speaker 1: games that Aaron Rodgers went home to rest up for
10:56
Speaker 1: saying on the podium last night. He was tired and
10:58
Speaker 1: old and Monday night football isn't as fun as it
11:01
Speaker 1: used to be. But he's happy they got the win.
11:03
Speaker 1: Thank you, Stacy Ails after the Packers last night beating
11:08
Speaker 1: the Rams. All right, let's get some more news from
11:11
Speaker 1: around the NFL. Here from our Mike Garret follow news
11:14
Speaker 1: from Baltimore where the Ravens, I mentioned cordinally three points
11:17
Speaker 1: this past Saturday. Mike, you were there, their fewest against
11:21
Speaker 1: the Browns since a Kyle Bowler game. And then yesterday
11:26
Speaker 1: there were some fire Greg Roman notes left in Owings
11:30
Speaker 1: mills outside the facility. That's always fun. Yeah, fired, Greg Roman,
11:37
Speaker 1: you got fired. Jonathan Gannon was one of the best
11:40
Speaker 1: defensive coordinators in the league. You've got fire a bunch
11:43
Speaker 1: of coordinators, right, that's the note that people love to hit.
11:45
Speaker 1: And I understand the frustration because the Ravens aren't putting
11:48
Speaker 1: up points like they used to, and Lamar Jackson not
11:50
Speaker 1: being out there certainly is a factor. We can't overlook that.
11:54
Speaker 1: But Greg Roman is the one that really put together
11:57
Speaker 1: this offense to really take advantage of what the Baltimore
12:00
Speaker 1: Ravens do, what Lamar Jackson do? What? What does what
12:03
Speaker 1: Tyler Huntley is supposed to do? Obvious didn't do it
12:05
Speaker 1: effectively the other day, So I'm not surprised that John
12:08
Speaker 1: Harball is standing by Greg Roman and supporting him. Harball
12:12
Speaker 1: has been a guy who has been a staunch supporter
12:15
Speaker 1: of many of his assistants over the years. So the
12:17
Speaker 1: hope is just go back to the drawing board, get
12:19
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson back if you can, and hopefully work out
12:22
Speaker 1: of this rut alright, And they hope to get it
12:24
Speaker 1: back maybe this week, but that is still very much
12:26
Speaker 1: in the air for Saturday. Also up in the air
12:28
Speaker 1: for Saturday is Ryan Tannehill's status. Mike what Mike Vrabel
12:33
Speaker 1: say it? Well, let's go with our what our Tom
12:37
Speaker 1: Pellisero said. Uh, he called it an uphill battle. We
12:40
Speaker 1: couldn't bother Tom to actually be here to discuss it.
12:43
Speaker 1: Lord knows what he's doing right now, probably eating lunch,
12:45
Speaker 1: which sounds nice. I'd like to do that. But Pellasero
12:48
Speaker 1: reporting that his understanding is Tannehill despite battling through that
12:51
Speaker 1: ankle injury the other day in Tannehill, saying it was
12:54
Speaker 1: extremely painful to do, so that probably not likely to play.
12:57
Speaker 1: So you're looking at Malik Willis returning to the starting
13:00
Speaker 1: lineup for the Tennessee Titans. They won earlier this year
13:04
Speaker 1: when he started again to the Houston Texans, so the
13:06
Speaker 1: hope is that they'll be able to pull out a
13:08
Speaker 1: victory here. So don't expect Tannehill on the field. According
13:12
Speaker 1: to Pellicero, I'm sure it's a nice salad with some
13:14
Speaker 1: grilled chickens something like that. That sounds good right about now.
13:17
Speaker 1: The best part of the show is the behind the scenes.
13:20
Speaker 1: Co host jabs here right before Garret fold, I'm gonna
13:23
Speaker 1: read that. I'm gonna read your text. You're cool with
13:25
Speaker 1: that right before, not all of it, but I wouldn't
13:27
Speaker 1: read all of it. I have it eaten and I
13:29
Speaker 1: can't get out of this chair, So prepare for a
13:33
Speaker 1: cranky hit. I don't think you were that just I mean,
13:38
Speaker 1: that's that's like it was saucy. Yeah, don't get saucy
13:41
Speaker 1: with me Burnet's but I mean you take a shot
13:43
Speaker 1: at Tom any day that ends in a y. So
13:48
Speaker 1: Rappaport hasn't been on the air. We can go after. Yeah,
13:51
Speaker 1: that's that's the perpet There it is, right there, there
13:53
Speaker 1: you go, that's it. Mike angry Ian's probably somewhere grilling
13:58
Speaker 1: or putting together some Instagram content. That's what he does.
14:02
Speaker 1: He's Mr Instagram. Probably has a filter on right now,
14:05
Speaker 1: you know, with like stars floating around his head telling
14:08
Speaker 1: you about the holiday classics Saturday, the Christmas Eve fiftieth
14:13
Speaker 1: anniversary right here on NFL Network of the immaculate reception,
14:17
Speaker 1: Steve White will tell you why it was neither immaculate
14:20
Speaker 1: nor a reception. I kid the raiderslers, I'm kidding. So
14:33
Speaker 1: that Buffalo defense was playing in the snow this past Saturday.
14:36
Speaker 1: They've played indoors as well. They don't care the conditions.
14:40
Speaker 1: They play well, the conditions in Chicago Saturday evening might
14:44
Speaker 1: be or Saturday afternoon might be snow with forty to
14:47
Speaker 1: fifty mile in our winds. Justin Fields knows it's a
14:51
Speaker 1: challenge either way. They have a great defense, of course,
14:56
Speaker 1: you know they've they've had a great defense, and um,
14:58
Speaker 1: you know, every time I think of Buffalo, I think
14:59
Speaker 1: of last year preseason when I got you know, my
15:01
Speaker 1: home and not golf. But you know, they have great,
15:04
Speaker 1: great front set. Then, um, you know Save he's a
15:06
Speaker 1: great of course, Michael Poter, he's a he's a great player. Uh.
15:09
Speaker 1: You know, they're Mica linebacker, he's he's also a good player.
15:12
Speaker 1: And they're they're d lion. You know, they're they're forced too.
15:14
Speaker 1: And I think their Nichol has been playing pretty good too.
15:16
Speaker 1: So you know, a great challenge for us. You know,
15:19
Speaker 1: of course we're excited, and you know we're excited to
15:21
Speaker 1: see what we can do. We'll talk more about the
15:23
Speaker 1: weather a little bit later. Stacy Dale's back with us
15:25
Speaker 1: live in Chicago, where everyone is lighting up at the
15:28
Speaker 1: Jewel in the Oasco to get all the supplies for
15:30
Speaker 1: that big storm coming on Thursday and Friday, and the
15:33
Speaker 1: Bills are coming to town. Hopefully they can get there
15:35
Speaker 1: with a clinching scenario. Dales for the a f C East, Yes,
15:40
Speaker 1: because I put so much work into the board, I
15:42
Speaker 1: had to do it again, and well I misspelled it
15:45
Speaker 1: on the first You added the dolphins. We didn't want
15:48
Speaker 1: to call you out before because you have beautiful partnership
15:50
Speaker 1: and great artwork, but you added the ancient dolphins. Well done, Yes,
15:54
Speaker 1: thank you. The Bills have to win or tie, and
15:59
Speaker 1: they are They are the a FC East champions. The
16:03
Speaker 1: Dolphins have to lose or a tie and they're still
16:06
Speaker 1: the champion. So decided to make it right because I
16:08
Speaker 1: did draw that freehand and I thought it was decent.
16:11
Speaker 1: I mean for a white board sketch. But listen, hey,
16:14
Speaker 1: they they accomplished their first goal. The Buffalo Bills, they're
16:16
Speaker 1: in the playoffs now. They want to get that division
16:19
Speaker 1: title and they have a great shot at it because
16:22
Speaker 1: this Bears team, Jack Sanborn defensively just headed to I
16:25
Speaker 1: are with that ankle injury. We have good news. Tevin Jenkins,
16:28
Speaker 1: that offensive lineman that went down with a very scary
16:30
Speaker 1: neck injury. Maddie Brufuset is day to day. So that
16:33
Speaker 1: is really good news. Maybe not as bad as we
16:35
Speaker 1: thought it looked. But what's concerning for me with these
16:38
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills is their center Mitch Morse. Uh, the heart
16:42
Speaker 1: and soul is Josh Allen, the quarterback calls him of
16:45
Speaker 1: this offensive line. He said that he knows all the calls,
16:47
Speaker 1: he makes all the calls, and UH knows this offense
16:51
Speaker 1: inside and out. He's got a concussion suffered at it
16:54
Speaker 1: suffered it in the Miami win this past Saturday. That
16:57
Speaker 1: is the sixth concussion of his career, which makes it
17:01
Speaker 1: ultra concerning for him and maybe how long will he
17:04
Speaker 1: be out or how will this affect him moving forward?
17:07
Speaker 1: Obviously they were without uh Ryan Bates who had an
17:11
Speaker 1: ankle injury. The hope is that he'll return this week
17:14
Speaker 1: to the right guard, maybe shift inside to center because
17:17
Speaker 1: Greg Van wrote and had to step in and move
17:20
Speaker 1: into center with David Cassonbury then stepping into that right
17:24
Speaker 1: guard spot, but make shift offensive line potentially heading into
17:27
Speaker 1: this one. This Mitch Morse one is really a concern though,
17:30
Speaker 1: because we all know how much the Bills rely on
17:32
Speaker 1: him and need him as they make a push really
17:35
Speaker 1: not just into the playoffs, but for a Super Bowl
17:38
Speaker 1: this season, absolutely, especially in a game that could be
17:41
Speaker 1: one on the ground if the weather is that bad
17:44
Speaker 1: in Chicago on Saturday, Mattie Reflus was asked today have
17:48
Speaker 1: they thought about moving the game to Sunday? He said no,
17:50
Speaker 1: he hasn't heard that conversation, but the Bears are ready
17:53
Speaker 1: for any possible change to that schedule. Thank you, Stacy Dale's.
17:58
Speaker 1: They're live in Chicago, Bears and the Bills coming up
18:02
Speaker 1: coming up in Minnesota, the Giants and the Vikings. The
18:06
Speaker 1: Giants are guaranteed thanks that they win on Sunday night
18:09
Speaker 1: to get in if they went out, But that schedule
18:13
Speaker 1: is not going to be easy here. First off, they
18:16
Speaker 1: have to beat the Vikings in Minnesota this coming Saturday,
18:20
Speaker 1: and if they do so, they get a couple of
18:22
Speaker 1: other things like a Lion's loss Commanders or a Seahawks loss.
18:27
Speaker 1: They could actually get in this week. We know that
18:30
Speaker 1: the Vikings got in last week. Tom Pelaso was there
18:33
Speaker 1: for Live on NFL Network. They rallied, they won somehow,
18:37
Speaker 1: they are champions of the North. But Tom, you also
18:39
Speaker 1: reporting on the sideline, talked about a conversation here between
18:42
Speaker 1: Kevin O'Connell and his wide receiver Justin Jefferson when he
18:45
Speaker 1: took another hard hit, had to go to the sideline
18:47
Speaker 1: to get checked out. Um, and this has been a
18:49
Speaker 1: trend here with Justin Jefferson really getting drilled when he
18:54
Speaker 1: goes up to try to catch passes. And you go
18:57
Speaker 1: back a couple of weeks ago, Andrew and there were
18:59
Speaker 1: a couple of hillacious hits on Justin Jefferson in the
19:01
Speaker 1: Jets game, including one by safety Jordan Whitehead that was lagged.
19:05
Speaker 1: He was he was fined later and Jefferson somehow held
19:09
Speaker 1: onto the ball and stayed in the game. Well, then
19:11
Speaker 1: you fast forward to the game on Saturday against the
19:14
Speaker 1: Colts and the remarkable comeback. Jefferson left at one point
19:16
Speaker 1: where a chest injury came right back in, then took
19:19
Speaker 1: a hit from Stefan Gilmore that really upset the Vikings
19:22
Speaker 1: sideline because Gilmore left his feet, he went up into
19:26
Speaker 1: his chest area. To be fair to Gilmore there, but
19:29
Speaker 1: Kevin O'Connell among others were all saying get him out,
19:32
Speaker 1: throw him out of the game. They want to try
19:33
Speaker 1: to protect one of the game's top players. No O'Connell
19:36
Speaker 1: talked yesterday about the fact that he does not think
19:38
Speaker 1: some of those hits are by accident, all of which
19:40
Speaker 1: plays into another conversation. At the time that the Vikings
19:43
Speaker 1: are on track for the number two seed potentially could
19:46
Speaker 1: be a Super Bowl contender. How much are you playing
19:49
Speaker 1: your guys now that you've wrapped up the NFC North,
19:51
Speaker 1: including Justin Jefferson. Well, O'Connell spoke to reporters just a
19:54
Speaker 1: few minutes ago here said Jefferson is one of those
19:56
Speaker 1: guys who's gonna fight me at every turn. He's gonna
19:59
Speaker 1: want to be out there and rightly so. He's an
20:01
Speaker 1: impactful player as a competitor. And he's also got Calvin
20:04
Speaker 1: Johnson single seed and receiving record in his sights. Meanwhile,
20:08
Speaker 1: speaking of bright young stars, the Giants may have one
20:10
Speaker 1: on their hands with Cavon Thibodeaux coming off the best
20:13
Speaker 1: game of his short and new NFL career here uh
20:16
Speaker 1: come this this past weekend. Obviously, had twelve tackles in
20:19
Speaker 1: that game, had the big sack script fumble recovery in
20:22
Speaker 1: the end zone. Brian Dable talked about it after the
20:24
Speaker 1: game that this is what they saw when they drafted
20:27
Speaker 1: Cavon Thibodeaux. He fell right into their lap with the
20:29
Speaker 1: fifth overall pick. The Giants think that they've got a
20:32
Speaker 1: good one. He's now going to be going after at
20:34
Speaker 1: Christian Dry saw the Vikings bright young offensive tackle coming
20:37
Speaker 1: up in this game on Saturday should be a fun
20:39
Speaker 1: matchup to watch his Vikings try to keep Kirk Cousins
20:42
Speaker 1: clean again so he can do similar things what he
20:45
Speaker 1: did on the second half against the Colts. And yeah,
20:47
Speaker 1: and by the way, just you and I haven't had
20:49
Speaker 1: a chance to talk that that was great where he
20:51
Speaker 1: was like, really, Tom, I that was that was the
20:53
Speaker 1: best comeback ever. I need a moment. Great TV there,
20:57
Speaker 1: Tom pell Sarah. That was real. It was real and
21:00
Speaker 1: in the building there today. Thank you Tom. The Vikings,
21:03
Speaker 1: there's some cemetry here. Could they've the two seed and
21:05
Speaker 1: have to go to Philadelphia in an NFC championship game?
21:10
Speaker 1: The Eagles dealing with the quarterback injury down the stretch.
21:12
Speaker 1: I mean, what a symmetry here from five years ago.
21:16
Speaker 1: But the Vikings right now are the two seed and
21:18
Speaker 1: trying to hang on too, said two Seed Giants. Let's
21:22
Speaker 1: get to their side of things. As mentioned, the Giants
21:24
Speaker 1: are guaranteed a spot if they went out. Let's talk
21:27
Speaker 1: about Sa Kwon Barkley here, who has been doing both
21:30
Speaker 1: on and off the field since Kwans donated countless hours
21:34
Speaker 1: to the Covenant House in New Jersey as a homeless
21:37
Speaker 1: shelter that also provides job training and social skills to
21:40
Speaker 1: the homeless and homeless kids. He is the official spokesperson
21:44
Speaker 1: for Covenant House, New Jersey and the Giants two. Walter
21:48
Speaker 1: Peyton Man of the Year nominee. When I hear a
22:01
Speaker 1: phrase inspire change, the maintain that pops to my head
22:04
Speaker 1: just giving back. I feel like that's the best way
22:07
Speaker 1: to create change in the world, using your platform, using
22:10
Speaker 1: your opportunity, and trying to have a little impact on people.
22:14
Speaker 1: Class Um say Kuon Barkley running back for New Ye Giants.
22:30
Speaker 1: When I got dropped to here, I was like, okay, hey,
22:32
Speaker 1: my mom and dad. I was like, all right, what's
22:34
Speaker 1: something we can do. You know, We've got to contact
22:35
Speaker 1: on my agent figured out, you know, let's covering House
22:39
Speaker 1: Jim White. I'm an executive director of Covering the House
22:42
Speaker 1: here in New Jersey. We're covering in House. We serve
22:44
Speaker 1: homeless and run away young people who come to us
22:47
Speaker 1: in great need. We provide them everything that we can,
22:50
Speaker 1: from housing and food and shelter and clothing, legal support,
22:53
Speaker 1: perhaps and medical support, everything they need to stabilize and
22:57
Speaker 1: then to move forward in their lives. The relationship with
23:00
Speaker 1: Sai Kwan has just been special, but it really came
23:03
Speaker 1: from Sei Kwan. There's a point in time when I
23:06
Speaker 1: was homeless, we had struggles at the family. We got help.
23:09
Speaker 1: We know, with that little impact and that little chance
23:11
Speaker 1: can have on our lives and how I know how
23:13
Speaker 1: much it helped me and you know, catapult me into
23:15
Speaker 1: the right direction. Because someone likes they grant to believe
23:18
Speaker 1: in our young people and to careen, to listen is
23:21
Speaker 1: huge wind in this sales. He's been with us over
23:23
Speaker 1: four years. He's been consistent in his care. He invites
23:27
Speaker 1: to young people to the games, he meets with them,
23:29
Speaker 1: after which he gives them time. The special thing is
23:32
Speaker 1: after those games, you know that sit there and they
23:34
Speaker 1: gets to ask me these questions will be all right
23:36
Speaker 1: to me a young black man, or will be an
23:38
Speaker 1: advice to um you know how to education and like,
23:41
Speaker 1: those are the Those are the moments that I really
23:43
Speaker 1: cherished because it's one on one, it's looking at I.
23:52
Speaker 1: One of the greatest challenges that we have is having
23:55
Speaker 1: enough resources for the young people who needed. Covenant House
23:59
Speaker 1: is privately funded. We only get twenty percent of our
24:02
Speaker 1: money from the government, so we have to raise money
24:05
Speaker 1: and that's where s Quan has been a real champion
24:08
Speaker 1: for us. Collectively, he's helped us raise close to six
24:10
Speaker 1: million dollars over the last four years so that we
24:13
Speaker 1: can get kids into school and support kids to stay
24:16
Speaker 1: in school and scholarships to keep them and give them
24:19
Speaker 1: opportunities in the educational world. I'm five, but got started
24:23
Speaker 1: as when I was twenty one, and at first it
24:25
Speaker 1: was like day, I'm really telling twenty year olds and
24:28
Speaker 1: eighteen year olds, like you know, like what's the things
24:29
Speaker 1: that they can do, like hw they can continue to
24:32
Speaker 1: take that next step. Four are young people come at
24:34
Speaker 1: a really interesting time in their life right as they're
24:37
Speaker 1: moving from adolescence to adulthood. So it's really important that
24:41
Speaker 1: they get to support and the nurturance they need, but
24:43
Speaker 1: also the skills. The Dove Learning Center is really a
24:46
Speaker 1: special place here at coven In House. It really helps
24:49
Speaker 1: our young people build resilience in education and work. For
24:54
Speaker 1: those on the educational path, we are for them computers
24:57
Speaker 1: and we are for them connections, and we also teach
24:59
Speaker 1: them how to use the technology. We couldn't do what
25:02
Speaker 1: we do without Stake Kue. The words encourages that I
25:10
Speaker 1: have to give someone who's bout homeless is don't out,
25:14
Speaker 1: Let's keep going. Um, everything happened for a reason. I
25:16
Speaker 1: know in a moment may not make sense. There's beautiful
25:19
Speaker 1: places out there like Coving House where you can get
25:20
Speaker 1: a fresh start and a fresh opportunity that you feel
25:22
Speaker 1: safe as long as you continue to keep your head
25:24
Speaker 1: down and continue work and have the right mindset, surround
25:26
Speaker 1: yourself with the right people, um everything that you want
25:29
Speaker 1: to accomplish and want to achieve to Still out there
25:38
Speaker 1: for sake, Quan story and more on his work in
25:41
Speaker 1: the community right there on the screen NFL dot Com.
25:44
Speaker 1: Slash causes Slash inspired change. So just into our newsroom.
25:53
Speaker 1: As we told you yesterday would likely happen. The Coults
25:56
Speaker 1: are placing running back Jonathan Taylor on injured reserve. His
26:00
Speaker 1: season is over. The man who won the rushing title
26:03
Speaker 1: a year ago. It's gonna finish with really a thousand
26:06
Speaker 1: fewer rush yards than he did in twenty one, six
26:10
Speaker 1: team fewer touchdowns. It has not gone the Colts way
26:13
Speaker 1: nor Taylor's way this year for a litany of reasons.
26:17
Speaker 1: But it is going the Lions way right now. They
26:19
Speaker 1: have won six out of seven, They are even at
26:22
Speaker 1: seven and seven, and they are very much in the
26:25
Speaker 1: conversation for their first playoff trip in six years. They
26:30
Speaker 1: get the Panthers this week. I don't care who you're playing.
26:34
Speaker 1: Man to win in this league, is a good thing.
26:37
Speaker 1: I don't care who it is. So we found a
26:40
Speaker 1: way to win. You know, we got to win on
26:42
Speaker 1: the road again. And every every good team I've ever
26:46
Speaker 1: been a part of, Um, you do normally you do
26:49
Speaker 1: a couple of things. Not normally you do. You you
26:52
Speaker 1: win multiple games at multiple points in the season, which
26:55
Speaker 1: we've done. We're on three in a row two different times.
26:57
Speaker 1: And you went on the road, which we're figuring out
26:59
Speaker 1: how to win on the road. So um, you know,
27:02
Speaker 1: and that's not by accident. Our guys are playing good
27:04
Speaker 1: football right now and they are on the road again
27:08
Speaker 1: this week at Carolina and Sam Donald, who is going
27:11
Speaker 1: to be the starting quarterback for Steve Wilkes. The Panthers
27:13
Speaker 1: Steve White would have been six and eight and in
27:16
Speaker 1: first in the NFC South if they had won last week,
27:19
Speaker 1: but they could not do that. But now they have
27:21
Speaker 1: a red hot Lions team coming at seven and seven.
27:23
Speaker 1: Last hour, we went through the a f C teams
27:26
Speaker 1: who we think could sneak in. What do you think
27:29
Speaker 1: about Dan Campbell's Lions A lot? I mean, and look,
27:32
Speaker 1: you know a lot of times in the strength of
27:34
Speaker 1: schedule of this and that it doesn't matter who the
27:37
Speaker 1: Lions are playing, because they're playing such a good football
27:39
Speaker 1: right now. Yeah, the Carolina Panthers are playing good football
27:42
Speaker 1: their opponent this week. But the fact that the Lions
27:44
Speaker 1: can score the way they can score or manufacture points
27:48
Speaker 1: like this right here against a very good Jets defense.
27:51
Speaker 1: They are creative, They've got a little bit of that
27:53
Speaker 1: it to them, and they're the hot team right there.
27:55
Speaker 1: The team now that we're saying, like you really don't
27:57
Speaker 1: want to play them at this point of the season.
28:00
Speaker 1: But the fact that they're scoring points and they're getting
28:04
Speaker 1: pressure off of the edges from two rookies now, James
28:07
Speaker 1: Houston Atan Hutchinson. That's showing what they've done in the
28:09
Speaker 1: draft room and how they developed these young players to
28:11
Speaker 1: mature at the right time of the season. A very
28:14
Speaker 1: dangerous football team that should they get in, and I
28:17
Speaker 1: think they will, could be something to deal with with
28:20
Speaker 1: the teams that have already won their division. Okay, so
28:23
Speaker 1: the only way in for the Lions would be as
28:25
Speaker 1: a wild card because the Vikings did win the division.
28:27
Speaker 1: There is a path in despite the loss last week
28:30
Speaker 1: for the Panthers to win their division. You think they
28:35
Speaker 1: could pull it off after what we saw against the Steelers. Yeah,
28:38
Speaker 1: I mean, they're only one one game behind in the
28:40
Speaker 1: NFC South, and I love how their interim head coach
28:42
Speaker 1: Steve Wilkes, I really hope gets some serious consideration for
28:44
Speaker 1: the full time job, said after the loss to the Stealers.
28:47
Speaker 1: I don't want to hear the words playoff come out
28:49
Speaker 1: of anybody's mouth right now until we do something. The
28:53
Speaker 1: way they run the football, Okay, we saw that against
28:56
Speaker 1: the Steelers. Not so, I'm sorry. I gets the Seahawks
28:58
Speaker 1: not so much. Against the Steelers. They've got an opportunity
29:01
Speaker 1: because they can take away possessions, takeaway clock and pounded,
29:05
Speaker 1: but they've got to keep that run game going. Again,
29:07
Speaker 1: was tough sledding last week, But they've got an opportunity
29:10
Speaker 1: against the Lions to run the football because the Lions
29:12
Speaker 1: are not that stout, especially on the interior. Right, the
29:15
Speaker 1: Panthers get the Buccaneers next week. The Falcons also get
29:20
Speaker 1: the Buccaneers, still in the remaining three. So the Falcons
29:23
Speaker 1: despite five and nine and last in the NFC South
29:28
Speaker 1: and five days before Christmas, the Falcons are in this. Yeah.
29:31
Speaker 1: They've got to keep winning though, because the tiebreakers do
29:33
Speaker 1: not sit in their favor. They've got a bad division record,
29:35
Speaker 1: not a great conference record. But you know, look, Desmond Ritter,
29:38
Speaker 1: they made the quarterback change last week and it was
29:40
Speaker 1: really tough initially against the Saints, but as the game
29:43
Speaker 1: we're on and they were running the ball, well, I
29:45
Speaker 1: still have to play act and you can see him
29:46
Speaker 1: makes him think. Him and Drake London, the two rookies
29:49
Speaker 1: have a great chemistry. So now he only has to
29:51
Speaker 1: go to Baltimore and try to put points on the
29:53
Speaker 1: board against that defense. Good luck. But I mean the
29:56
Speaker 1: fact that the Falcons play the way they do, they
29:58
Speaker 1: run the ball the way they do, the combination now
30:00
Speaker 1: of rookie Tyler Algier and Corderel Patterson. Again, these young
30:05
Speaker 1: players for the Falcons are starting to emerge with the
30:07
Speaker 1: with the opportunities are getting to this point of the season,
30:10
Speaker 1: it's tough sledding. But again they're playing a Ravens team
30:12
Speaker 1: this week. They can't score that well. And again the
30:15
Speaker 1: Falcons can run the ball even halfway as well as
30:18
Speaker 1: they did against the Ravens. They've got an opportunity to
30:21
Speaker 1: steal an upset right here. For Lamar doesn't play for
30:23
Speaker 1: Bolt and they're down one running back as Caleb Huntley
30:26
Speaker 1: has an achilles right, so you're not gonna see him.
30:28
Speaker 1: Desmond Ritter fewer than a hundred yards passing less than
30:31
Speaker 1: a hundred yards passing last week, but there's a shot.
30:35
Speaker 1: That's all you want, This want here. NFL Now is
30:42
Speaker 1: a production of the NFL in partnership with I Heart Radio.
30:45
Speaker 1: For more podcast from my Heart Radio, visit the i
30:48
Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.