Latest / NFL Power Rankings / #20: Bills, Bears and 49ers among risers heading into Division Round of playoffs

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#20: Bills, Bears and 49ers among risers heading into Division Round of playoffs · 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: It is a divisional edition of the NFL Power Rankings.
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Speaker 2: It is presented by energizer Mike M.
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Speaker 3: Eric at Home with You, Eric.
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Speaker 2: Before we even get into the divisional round and the
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Speaker 2: rankings and the whole deal, I got to tell you,
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Speaker 2: and you let off with it on your article on
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Speaker 2: NFL dot com. I don't know if we could have
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Speaker 2: asked for better games than the Wildcard round.
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Speaker 4: You know, since we've expanded to six opening games in
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Speaker 4: the Wildcard round, I mean, you know you're bound to
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Speaker 4: have a few clunkers, and it did sort of tail
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Speaker 4: off at the end there, But to start, what a
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Speaker 4: strong start. The first four were epic and even the
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Speaker 4: fifth one was pretty darn good. So I don't know
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Speaker 4: how you can ask for more than that. That was
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Speaker 4: pretty epic.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, and even the Monday night matchup where the
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Speaker 2: score looked a little more lopsided than it was, super
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Speaker 2: competitive through three quarters and clearly more of a defensive
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Speaker 2: struggle than offensive, getting offenses getting up and down the field.
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Speaker 2: But regardless, the sage is sets for the games this
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Speaker 2: coming weekend. Looking forward, to seeing the one seed. It's
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Speaker 2: getting an opportunity to play. It's the Bills going to
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Speaker 2: Denver to take all the Broncos the Niners to get
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Speaker 2: a rematch against Seattle, third time these town teams played.
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Speaker 2: And then on Sunday, Texans, with that win against the Steelers,
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Speaker 2: they get the Patriots, who deserve a whole lot of love,
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Speaker 2: and the Rams somehow survived again in Carolina they take
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Speaker 2: on the Chicago Bears. We will talk all about these
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Speaker 2: teams in these matchups, but let's get to the rankings.
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Speaker 2: Sitting at number one and two, no change. She earned
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Speaker 2: a bye and you earned a seat at the top
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Speaker 2: of Eric's rankings. Seattle sitting at one, the Patriots at two.
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Speaker 2: You got the Broncos sitting at three. Now, I know
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Speaker 2: we give you a little bit of flak last week
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Speaker 2: talking about that Patriots team, Eric sitting in that two position.
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Speaker 3: And the Broncos at three. We'll discuss more about that
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Speaker 3: in just a moment.
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Speaker 2: You got the deals at for the Texans at five,
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Speaker 2: the Rams, Bears, and San Francisco forty nine ers. The
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Speaker 2: rounding up your top eights, Let's focus in on the
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Speaker 2: number one team, Seattle. How much does, and we saw
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Speaker 2: a little bit with Green Bay and Chicago. But how
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Speaker 2: much does that division familiarity impact how you're thinking about
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Speaker 2: this matchup against San Francisco.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean they started the season with the Niners
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Speaker 4: and then close the regular season, so this is essentially
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Speaker 4: back to back the same opponent. You don't see that
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Speaker 4: too often in the NFL, occasionally in the playoffs, and
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Speaker 4: you know, they've had an extra week to study the
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Speaker 4: Niners and figure out what they can do better. But
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Speaker 4: that last performance was pretty tarn strong, you know, turnover
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Speaker 4: in the red zone, dominant defensive performance, shutting down the
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Speaker 4: Niners offense that had scored ninety points in two games
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Speaker 4: and had been on fire for longer than that. So
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Speaker 4: if they can come anywhere close to replicating that kind
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Speaker 4: of defensive performance, it's going to be very hard for
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Speaker 4: San Francisco.
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Speaker 5: To get out of there with a win.
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Speaker 4: Of course, on the other side, you've got the Seahawks
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Speaker 4: offense that really leaned on the run game, that.
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Speaker 5: Two headed attack huge part of what they do.
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Speaker 4: I think the one chance for the Niners might be
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Speaker 4: if Sam Donald turns turnover prone, you know, if he
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Speaker 4: starts throwing the ball at the opponent's hands putting it
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Speaker 4: on the ground.
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Speaker 5: But you look back in the two matchups, he's.
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Speaker 4: Only had one turnover, zero interception, so he's been pretty
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Speaker 4: sharp with the ball against that defense.
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Speaker 5: And look, Robert Salas done a great job.
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Speaker 4: But they have so many weapons, including these running backs
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Speaker 4: but also Jackson Smith and Jigba, So the balance is there,
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Speaker 4: assuming they don't have a terrible game on special teams
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Speaker 4: like we saw from Jason Myers in Week eighteen. Just
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Speaker 4: a lot of firepower to deal with that San Francisco
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Speaker 4: team right now.
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Speaker 2: Look, we'll talk more about this Niner squad, and you're right,
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Speaker 2: I think the Sam Donald turnovers is something to keep
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Speaker 2: in mind, but we've been saying it the last couple
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Speaker 2: of weeks. The way that he's played, he almost can
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Speaker 2: just squash some of the negative vibes and that negative
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Speaker 2: narrative around him in big moments folding because he has
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Speaker 2: delivered some significant performances.
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Speaker 3: Number two it is the New England Patriots. Now.
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Speaker 2: Once again, last week I said how you got this
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Speaker 2: team number two?
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Speaker 3: Considering denverri is sitting.
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Speaker 2: With a one seed, But the reality is they looked
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Speaker 2: pretty darn impressive and maybe a very complete performance against
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Speaker 2: the Chargers. Drake May speaking of first playoff game for him,
4:03
Speaker 2: he really didn't shrink in any for the moments, at
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Speaker 2: least in my mind. I know it was a little
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Speaker 2: bit slow out of the gate here, but I felt
4:08
Speaker 2: all all of a sudden, pretty good about this team
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Speaker 2: potentially even getting another win.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, shakey early, right, Mike, if we had the interception
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Speaker 4: backed up. But I think the defense when they got
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Speaker 4: that fourth down stop, you know, I mean, Drake didn't
4:19
Speaker 4: look dismayed coming off the field, and he looked re
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Speaker 4: energized after he came back on it after his defense
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Speaker 4: had kind of bailed him out. So you know, this
4:27
Speaker 4: is a complete team that Mike Rabel's put together there. Obviously,
4:30
Speaker 4: you know, you think about the roster from last year
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Speaker 4: to this year, wholly different guys like Milt Williams up front.
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Speaker 5: On defense, they.
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Speaker 4: Got some bodies back from the ir that was important too, but.
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Speaker 5: Still some issues protecting the quarterback.
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Speaker 4: Obviously not as bad as what the Chargers endured, you know,
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Speaker 4: with Justin Herbert taking a ton of hits, but you'd
4:48
Speaker 4: like to see a little bit better protection. That's gonna
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Speaker 4: be something of a concern against a Houston front that
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Speaker 4: can really get after it. But if New England's defense
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Speaker 4: comes through the way they did against the Chargers and
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Speaker 4: puts that same effort forth, you know, I think they're
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Speaker 4: going to be in pretty good shape.
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Speaker 5: They're at home, they're feeling good.
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Speaker 4: The vibes are really high right now for a team
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Speaker 4: that was down and out for several years, but certainly
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Speaker 4: last year. And I'm fascinated to see if Drake can
5:13
Speaker 4: improve on what he did. He had some special moments
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Speaker 4: last week. Now if he can put just more of
5:17
Speaker 4: a complete game together, more like we saw in the
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Speaker 4: second half, you know, especially with vermondre Stevenson running the
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Speaker 4: way he has, you know, New England's gonna be tough
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Speaker 4: to beat.
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Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, I think at the end of the day,
5:27
Speaker 2: we'll talk more about the Houston Texans. We saw, we
5:30
Speaker 2: saw that D line get after justin Herbert r most
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Speaker 2: D lines did so far this season. But I don't
5:35
Speaker 2: think CJ helped himself coming off of this Monday night win,
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Speaker 2: just with some of these turnovers. He didn't look all
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Speaker 2: that sharp. He's gonna have to clean things up. Meanwhile,
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Speaker 2: your three and four teams happen to be playing each other.
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Speaker 2: We got the Broncos and the Buffalo Bills getting after it.
5:49
Speaker 2: How confident should Josh Allen be? And I preface this
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Speaker 2: by saying, I get that he's superman. I get that
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Speaker 2: he's an MVP. I understand the success that he's had,
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Speaker 2: But to score a win on the road is something
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Speaker 2: that they haven't done before. I feel like they erased
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Speaker 2: some of these these playoff demons.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, now one game is gonna cleanse everything, obviously, but
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Speaker 4: it was a big statement. This is a Jackson baul
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Speaker 4: Field team that hadn't lost the eight games. I mean,
6:11
Speaker 4: they've been absolutely tremendous in the second half of the season,
6:13
Speaker 4: one of the best teams in football. So, you know,
6:15
Speaker 4: for them to go in there, flawed as they may be,
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Speaker 4: and for Allen to sort of pitch almost a perfect game,
6:21
Speaker 4: you know, nothing terribly flashy, obviously, a lot of completions,
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Speaker 4: a lot of runs. He had eleven, took a ton
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Speaker 4: of hits. His toughness was certainly on display in that game,
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Speaker 4: and just kept firing and kept coming back for more,
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Speaker 4: and he was just you know, a handful of throws
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Speaker 4: better than Trevor Lawrence. And the defense made some plays
6:38
Speaker 4: and obviously when they got close to the end zone,
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Speaker 4: it was Josh time. So the challenge is going to
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Speaker 4: be different against the Denver Broncos. We know they can
6:45
Speaker 4: rush the passer, we know that pass defense is real.
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Speaker 4: But you know, I think last week sort of answered
6:50
Speaker 4: a lot of questions about.
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Speaker 5: This Bills team, and in this field, We've been talking
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Speaker 5: about it for a few weeks.
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Speaker 4: Now, you know, no Burrow, no Mahomes, no Lamar, they
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Speaker 4: can get it done.
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Speaker 2: I hate to say it this way because I actually
7:02
Speaker 2: love the Jags heading into this postseason. You know that
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Speaker 2: Eric actually mentioned them being the team that would I
7:07
Speaker 2: would not want to play at all, and I know
7:09
Speaker 2: everyone will talking about the Texans.
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Speaker 3: I just felt so confident in this team.
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Speaker 2: They don't get it done, but because of some of
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Speaker 2: those names not playing, You're right, it does feel like
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Speaker 2: maybe Josh can deliver here.
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Speaker 3: To get it done.
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Speaker 2: Against this Denver defense might be a tall task. But
7:22
Speaker 2: Bo Nicks, is he the biggest question you have regarding
7:25
Speaker 2: this Broncos team.
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Speaker 5: I think he is, and he's played well. That's the thing.
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Speaker 4: We want to sort of preface that by saying nothing
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Speaker 4: Bo has done this year has been disappointing or upsetting
7:33
Speaker 4: or anything like that. But they're just times when this
7:36
Speaker 4: offense falls cold. And granted, some of their run game
7:39
Speaker 4: limitations have kind of forced him into a situation where
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Speaker 4: he's scrambling more. We see him on the move and
7:44
Speaker 4: it's yielded some fruit, no doubt about it. He's made
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Speaker 4: some big throws Hee and Troy Franklin's connection has been
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Speaker 4: much better this year.
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Speaker 5: We know Sutton can go up and.
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Speaker 4: Get it like you just did in that clip right there.
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Speaker 5: So there's a lot to like about this.
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Speaker 4: The Broncos offense, however, they are one sided.
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Speaker 5: What do the Bills do well?
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Speaker 4: They stopped the pass well, they don't defend the run well.
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Speaker 4: So if Denver can find some semblance of a run
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Speaker 4: game and lean on that a little bit and really
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Speaker 4: put Buffalo on their heels, it helps open up things
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Speaker 4: for bow Nicks. And look, Sean Payton's been probably thinking
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Speaker 4: about this for a while now, but you know that's
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Speaker 4: kind of the scenario they have right there.
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Speaker 5: They've got to be pretty.
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Speaker 4: Clean on offense, I would say, but also a little
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Speaker 4: bit more physical and hope to dent that Buffalo's run
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Speaker 4: defense that has struggled.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, I do get a little concerned just because I've
8:31
Speaker 2: seen them win some of these games in those marchines
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Speaker 2: so small, but that narrative could flip very quickly and
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Speaker 2: just say, hey, they're protested and they know how to
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Speaker 2: win some of these close games. Meanwhile, the Houston Texans
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Speaker 2: sitting at number five. I know A touched on this
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Speaker 2: with CJ.
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Speaker 3: Stroud. I don't want to use the word regress.
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Speaker 2: I don't know how else to describe it, though, Like
8:47
Speaker 2: it almost feels like mental breakdowns during the game, where you.
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Speaker 3: Know, like just holding out, holding on to the football.
8:52
Speaker 2: I couldn't get over what I saw on Monday night
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Speaker 2: against the Steelers.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, for a quarterback has sled his team into the
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Speaker 4: divisional round of the playoffs each of his three seasons,
9:01
Speaker 4: this was not a guy who looked like he was
9:03
Speaker 4: ready for a playoffs. Obviously, Pittsburgh was on fire Monday night.
9:07
Speaker 4: The fans were into it. They knew what was at stake. So,
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Speaker 4: you know, close game up until the final twelve minutes
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Speaker 4: or so. Really, but yeah, the snaps from center, you
9:15
Speaker 4: can sort of blame some things on that. You can
9:18
Speaker 4: also blame his own ball handling fumbling twice. That red
9:21
Speaker 4: zone interception, I don't think he'd had one in the
9:23
Speaker 4: red zone since like twenty twenty three, So just some
9:27
Speaker 4: uncharacteristic stuff. Now, we may not have seen the best
9:30
Speaker 4: of Stroud this year, but we're expecting better. Thankfully, that
9:33
Speaker 4: defense knows how to get after it, and I don't
9:35
Speaker 4: think anyone doubted that. But the performance they put on
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Speaker 4: the Monday night, and especially pouring it onto the fourth
9:41
Speaker 4: quarter with the fumble six and also the pick six
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Speaker 4: was just a testament to how good these guys are.
9:47
Speaker 4: And you know, look, Broncos are amazing Seattle too, but
9:50
Speaker 4: they might be the best defense for maining three elite
9:53
Speaker 4: groups still left in the playoffs out of eight teams,
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Speaker 4: and a couple more who can do pretty well on
9:57
Speaker 4: that side of the ball. But you know, to have
9:59
Speaker 4: rushers like Anderson and Hunter just completely getting after it,
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Speaker 4: the coverage, linebackers, the secondary, it is a complete group
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Speaker 4: and a really tough unit to move the ball against.
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Speaker 3: Yeah it is.
10:09
Speaker 2: Look, I mean the defense scores fourteen points, where if
10:11
Speaker 2: they get that production against the Patriots, you start to.
10:14
Speaker 3: Say, all right, well maybe they can get a win.
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Speaker 2: I don't know how you have three turnovers in a game,
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Speaker 2: and you still figure out a way to get a w.
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Speaker 3: By the way, third time in CJ.
10:22
Speaker 2: Strout's career he's had three turnovers in a game, his
10:24
Speaker 2: team's three to zero in those situations. That's about one
10:26
Speaker 2: of those statistical anomalies that's not supposed to happen the Rams.
10:30
Speaker 2: And we do this every single week, Eric, and really
10:33
Speaker 2: you do, because you're doing all the hard work actually
10:35
Speaker 2: analyzing film, watching the games, and coming up with the rankings. Here,
10:38
Speaker 2: I felt like the Rams were a good stretch of
10:40
Speaker 2: the season, were the best team in the NFL, and
10:42
Speaker 2: then I see him lose against Carolina, you dropped him
10:44
Speaker 2: in the rankings. They figure out a way in the
10:46
Speaker 2: playoffs to redeem themselves on the road and they get
10:48
Speaker 2: the win against Bryce Young's team, But it didn't look
10:51
Speaker 2: as dominant as maybe I expected. They needed some big
10:53
Speaker 2: plays for Matthew Stafford. Like, can I just say maybe
10:57
Speaker 2: it's just a bad matchup. Styles make fights and this
10:59
Speaker 2: one just isn't one that is advantageous for the Rams
11:02
Speaker 2: to just dominate.
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Speaker 4: Well, first of all, are you que using me of
11:05
Speaker 4: recycling my material here? Yes, that is true. I do
11:07
Speaker 4: it all the time. I'm sorry, but I'm like you.
11:09
Speaker 4: I saw this Rams team are where in the season
11:11
Speaker 4: not that long ago, and thought, if I had to
11:14
Speaker 4: put my money, if I had to sort of throw
11:16
Speaker 4: my support behind one team, it would probably be this one.
11:19
Speaker 4: But things have gotten a little bit loose on defense.
11:22
Speaker 4: You know, DeVante Adams great to see him back. His
11:24
Speaker 4: absence in the lineup certainly meant something. And you know,
11:27
Speaker 4: I think he's still kind of knocking off the Russ
11:29
Speaker 4: Quentin Lake too. I think, you know, him not being
11:31
Speaker 4: out there for several weeks, made a couple of plays
11:33
Speaker 4: early in the game and then was victimized and covered.
11:35
Speaker 4: So there's some explanations for some of this stuff. And
11:39
Speaker 4: you know, Matthew Stafford's going to keep gunning. He did
11:42
Speaker 4: sort of have his hand banged up. Is that going
11:43
Speaker 4: to be an issue that carries over into Chicago? Could
11:46
Speaker 4: be a night game, cold weather game, So that's something
11:48
Speaker 4: to certainly watch. But with another week with Adams in
11:51
Speaker 4: Lake in the lineup, that pass rush is certainly something
11:54
Speaker 4: that's viable. We know the tight ends have stepped up
11:57
Speaker 4: when called on, and even the running back to duo
11:59
Speaker 4: as well, So there's a lot to like about this
12:01
Speaker 4: Rams team. Have we seen that perfect synergy where the
12:04
Speaker 4: defense is ranking the special teams are.
12:06
Speaker 5: Tight, No, we have not.
12:07
Speaker 4: But if they can find a way to do that
12:09
Speaker 4: and minimize the special team's errors, minimize the big plays
12:13
Speaker 4: on defense, and just do what they do offensively, they're
12:16
Speaker 4: gonna have a great chance to go in and be
12:18
Speaker 4: the better team in Chicago, whether they win or not.
12:20
Speaker 4: As another situation obviously, but I still like their ceiling
12:24
Speaker 4: and I still think they can play up to the
12:26
Speaker 4: big boys when they have to.
12:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, a time is now though, because we are in
12:29
Speaker 2: the divisional round, and I was saying this like the
12:31
Speaker 2: Eagles hadn't hit their ceiling yet. That's not gonna happen
12:34
Speaker 2: this season. More on them in just a bit. But
12:36
Speaker 2: you mentioned the Chicago Bears. Time for Power Most presented
12:39
Speaker 2: by Energizer. You have this Chicago team sitting at number
12:43
Speaker 2: seven right now in your rankings. You know, in one
12:47
Speaker 2: hand you say, hey, like it doesn't matter, it's close,
12:51
Speaker 2: and they'll they'll figure out a way, or maybe it's
12:53
Speaker 2: not close, they'll still figure out.
12:54
Speaker 3: A way to get it done.
12:56
Speaker 2: How does a win like that against a team that
12:59
Speaker 2: you don't necessarily, like, get it done in the postseason
13:02
Speaker 2: when you're down. What's the level of confidence that they
13:05
Speaker 2: have to have heading into the game against the Rams.
13:07
Speaker 4: I would love to watch these guys at the poker
13:10
Speaker 4: table at some point, because I mean, they're gonna get
13:12
Speaker 4: a hot streak at some point. But it's hard not
13:14
Speaker 4: to ignore, you know, you have to look at these
13:17
Speaker 4: stretches where they're not playing well, Like the first half
13:19
Speaker 4: against Green Bay.
13:20
Speaker 5: I thought they'd dug too big a hole.
13:22
Speaker 4: Caleb Williams started firing, the defense got four straight punts,
13:26
Speaker 4: made some big stops late.
13:27
Speaker 5: Can you say that the Packers imploded? Yes, I think
13:30
Speaker 5: you can. But did the Bears execute when they absolutely
13:33
Speaker 5: had to? And? Boy, how good is Colston love One?
13:35
Speaker 5: He's been awesome.
13:36
Speaker 4: Swift had some big plays in this game. You know,
13:39
Speaker 4: obviously he's a key iss The late touchdown after not
13:41
Speaker 4: doing much show you know they'll use everybody on the roster.
13:44
Speaker 4: Give Ben Johnson credit for really manipulating that defense after halftime.
13:48
Speaker 4: But like you, I still have these reservations about whether
13:50
Speaker 4: they can get it done, especially without much of a
13:53
Speaker 4: pass rush on defense.
13:54
Speaker 3: Yeah, how cold is it going to be in Chicago?
13:56
Speaker 3: You think on Sunday.
13:57
Speaker 4: I never make predictions about Chicago weather, but after a
14:00
Speaker 4: kind of mild game the other week, I think it's
14:02
Speaker 4: going to come back and swing the other way.
14:04
Speaker 2: Can I just tell you this, I'm pretty confident that
14:06
Speaker 2: it's going to be colder there than it is in
14:08
Speaker 2: southern California. I'm just saying so, I'm not sure that
14:12
Speaker 2: that might be a factor as we dissect what.
14:14
Speaker 3: Potentially could happen between the Rams and the Bears.
14:17
Speaker 2: Meanwhile, the San Francisco forty nine ers, I know we
14:19
Speaker 2: touched on them very briefly talking about their opponent in Seattle.
14:23
Speaker 3: George Kittle goes down.
14:25
Speaker 2: I'd say it's a big deal, but Eric is it
14:28
Speaker 2: because it feels like it doesn't matter who gets hurt
14:30
Speaker 2: on this roster, they still figure out a way to
14:33
Speaker 2: find wins.
14:33
Speaker 4: It is a big deal, of course, yes, but they
14:35
Speaker 4: have played without him, and I think this win kind
14:37
Speaker 4: of encapsulated what they've done all season long.
14:40
Speaker 5: The major injury, you know, Brock Purty hot and cold.
14:43
Speaker 4: But making the big plays at the end, Christian McCaffrey
14:45
Speaker 4: coming through, and how about Kyle Shanahan and his bag
14:48
Speaker 4: there with a great trick play touchdown pass. That was
14:51
Speaker 4: something else that I think that really kind of caught
14:53
Speaker 4: Philly off guard.
14:54
Speaker 5: Plus they're great on the road.
14:55
Speaker 4: They're eight and two away from home this season. So
14:58
Speaker 4: and just you know, even the last play of the game.
15:00
Speaker 4: I mean, Eric Kendrick's a guy who played less than
15:02
Speaker 4: fifty defensive snabs all gay all regular season, goes in there,
15:06
Speaker 4: plays every single defensive snap all seventy three and makes
15:09
Speaker 4: the game winning pass defense at the end there. So
15:12
Speaker 4: total forty nine ers win doing what they do. And again,
15:15
Speaker 4: like the Bears, you sometimes say, how do they get
15:17
Speaker 4: it done? But great coaching, great execution, and clutch play.
15:21
Speaker 4: We'll do that every time.
15:22
Speaker 2: I gotta go back to the drawing board, though, because
15:24
Speaker 2: we just saw this matchup. Seattle held San Francisco three
15:27
Speaker 2: points that tied for the loyalist output San Francisco has
15:30
Speaker 2: had under Kyle Shanahan since his debut back in twenty seventeen.
15:34
Speaker 2: So something tells me in Kyle I trust though, based
15:37
Speaker 2: off of this season and what I saw against the
15:40
Speaker 2: Philadelphia Eagles. Speaking of the Eagles, what is going on
15:44
Speaker 2: with this team? What is next for an organization that
15:47
Speaker 2: had dreams and aspirations of winning another Super Bowl doesn't
15:50
Speaker 2: get done.
15:51
Speaker 3: And what do the Packers and Steelers do next?
15:54
Speaker 2: The answers coming up next on power rankings. Nay, I'm
16:00
Speaker 2: back here on power rankings. Eric's teams nine through fourteen,
16:03
Speaker 2: the Jags being six spots following that loss at home
16:06
Speaker 2: against the Bills, the Eagles sitting at ten. Chargers their
16:10
Speaker 2: season is over as well at eleven, the Steelers at twelve,
16:13
Speaker 2: the Green Bay Packers and the Carolina Panthers rounding out
16:15
Speaker 2: thirteen and fourteen.
16:17
Speaker 3: Let's focus in on this Jag squad here. I know
16:19
Speaker 3: I made reference to it. I really like this team
16:21
Speaker 3: heading into the playoffs. They want to slew a games.
16:23
Speaker 2: The offense is rolling, they had all these takeaways. This
16:26
Speaker 2: was still a success, right. That's how you characterize your
16:29
Speaker 2: one for Lian.
16:29
Speaker 5: Cohen absolutely and I share those sentiments too.
16:32
Speaker 4: I mean, having seen them play as much as I
16:34
Speaker 4: did down the stretch, I thought, you know, they're really
16:36
Speaker 4: going to give the Bills everything they can handle, and
16:38
Speaker 4: to a degree they did, but left too many points
16:41
Speaker 4: out on the field. Ran out of gas obviously the
16:43
Speaker 4: late turnover. Both picks by Trevor were gut shots. He
16:47
Speaker 4: also had that fourth down run that was stopped short
16:49
Speaker 4: in the red zone. So just opportunities missed there for
16:52
Speaker 4: the Jaguars in a you know, the crowd was behind them,
16:55
Speaker 4: everything was set up for a great win for him,
16:58
Speaker 4: but just couldn't turn it out.
16:59
Speaker 5: I say this all the time too.
17:01
Speaker 4: I mean, look, it has absolutely been an unexpected gem
17:04
Speaker 4: of a season from Liam Cohen and what we saw
17:06
Speaker 4: from the Jags, who were, you know, kind of a
17:08
Speaker 4: forgettable football team last year, didn't have anything exciting. Travis
17:12
Speaker 4: Hunter goes down, they somehow get better. You know, he's
17:15
Speaker 4: going to be back and I can't wait to see
17:16
Speaker 4: what the full potential of this offense is. But in
17:19
Speaker 4: the NFL, missed opportunities are just that you look back
17:22
Speaker 4: all the time and say, how did this team not
17:23
Speaker 4: get past this certain point. It happens every single season,
17:27
Speaker 4: every single generation. So you know, they still have a
17:29
Speaker 4: lot of work to do to prove they belong among
17:31
Speaker 4: the heavyweights. But I think this season did a lot
17:33
Speaker 4: of impressing around the league.
17:36
Speaker 3: You know, Eric, I'm going to ask you the same
17:37
Speaker 3: question for two teams.
17:38
Speaker 2: So I'm going to combine the Eagles at ten and
17:40
Speaker 2: the Steelers at twelve here because I think the question
17:42
Speaker 2: applies what's next for both of these franchises.
17:46
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean it's hard to say what's going to
17:48
Speaker 4: happen with the Eagles obviously, maybe not as many dramatic changes,
17:51
Speaker 4: but you know, Kevin Petullo certainly has to feel under
17:54
Speaker 4: fire given the way the offense really kind of ground
17:57
Speaker 4: to a halt, no touchdowns the last thirty six minutes
18:00
Speaker 4: of the game, that's really the biggest thing there. And
18:02
Speaker 4: Aj Brown failing to come up with several passes that
18:05
Speaker 4: hit his hands you know where they all perfect throws, know,
18:08
Speaker 4: but this whole Brown situation has been brewing all season long.
18:12
Speaker 4: And another guy that wouldn't be shocking if he's not
18:15
Speaker 4: an Eagle the next season. So you know, a lot
18:18
Speaker 4: of the same personnel couldn't find that same magic they
18:21
Speaker 4: did in the twenty twenty five season.
18:22
Speaker 5: I'll be fascinating to see what changes they make.
18:25
Speaker 4: We know Howie Roseman's always aggressive, always looking for ways
18:28
Speaker 4: to upgrade his football team. But you know, even the
18:31
Speaker 4: miss extra point hurt and Jake Elliot could be somebody
18:33
Speaker 4: that they look at and try to upgrade over.
18:35
Speaker 5: But man, it is tough.
18:36
Speaker 4: I you know, as much respect as I have for
18:39
Speaker 4: this team at what they did last year, and at
18:40
Speaker 4: times this season, it just never felt like they were
18:43
Speaker 4: fully cohesive, fully together, on the same page, and sometimes
18:47
Speaker 4: that magic just escapes.
18:48
Speaker 3: What about from the Steelers' perspective.
18:50
Speaker 4: Yeah, from Steeler's perspective, you obviously a're starting with Mike Tomlin,
18:53
Speaker 4: who's been there the longest twenty year run.
18:56
Speaker 5: What's his future as we tape this.
18:58
Speaker 4: We certainly don't know. He wasn't willing to talk about
19:00
Speaker 4: it postgame Monday night.
19:01
Speaker 5: What a legacy he's left.
19:03
Speaker 4: But obviously a lot of people are frous traded with
19:05
Speaker 4: the lack of playoff wins, you know, the number of
19:07
Speaker 4: seasons where they've barely been above five hundred. But still
19:10
Speaker 4: you would trade that with a lot of other franchises.
19:12
Speaker 5: And then comes to Aaron Rodgers question. You know, he
19:15
Speaker 5: was doing his best.
19:16
Speaker 4: And trying to make completions and make things happen the
19:18
Speaker 4: first three quarters, but everything just fell apart in the fourth.
19:21
Speaker 4: The fumble, the stripsack run back, and also the pick six.
19:24
Speaker 4: I mean, Aaron Rodgers does not throw pick six historically,
19:27
Speaker 4: but he did on what could be one of his
19:29
Speaker 4: final passes in the NFL. We just don't know what
19:32
Speaker 4: his decision will be, and we may not know anytime soon.
19:34
Speaker 4: It's hard to know what his thinking is so obviously big,
19:38
Speaker 4: you know, the two biggest pillars of the franchise, the
19:40
Speaker 4: head coach and the quarterback, those are in major doubt
19:43
Speaker 4: right now. And you know, kind of an aging roster
19:45
Speaker 4: in some spots too.
19:47
Speaker 2: From a Green Bay Packers' perspective, it's never easy to
19:49
Speaker 2: lose in the postseason, even worse.
19:51
Speaker 3: When it's a division rival.
19:54
Speaker 2: Is it worth pointing a finger at someone? Is is
19:56
Speaker 2: someone to blame for this? Well?
19:58
Speaker 5: Brandon McManus's.
19:59
Speaker 4: Look, I mean, you can make your mind up about
20:02
Speaker 4: you know, Matt Lafleur and whether he should go or not.
20:04
Speaker 4: All know is the guy who's won a lot of
20:05
Speaker 4: football games, and he had nothing to do with the
20:07
Speaker 4: field goal and extra point operation there. And look, if
20:11
Speaker 4: you want to blame the offense for being you know,
20:13
Speaker 4: kind of turtling up there early in the second half
20:16
Speaker 4: and you know, and not doing what they should have
20:18
Speaker 4: done and put this game away, stepping on the throat
20:20
Speaker 4: of the Bears when they had him bleeding, you know,
20:23
Speaker 4: I can accept that, but you know, too many missed
20:26
Speaker 4: opportunities there in the second half, both offensively and defensively.
20:29
Speaker 4: Letting Caleb Williams make this throw on fourth and eight,
20:32
Speaker 4: one of the improbable throws of the NFL season. Incredible stuff,
20:36
Speaker 4: just like last time, three or four plays where you
20:39
Speaker 4: know they kind of needed a miracle to make it happen.
20:41
Speaker 4: The Bears got it done and Green Bay couldn't.
20:43
Speaker 5: So you know, it's it's easy.
20:46
Speaker 4: To be reactionary after such an emotional loss, but you
20:48
Speaker 4: also have to think about the big picture and what
20:51
Speaker 4: comes to deff Jeff Affley, you know, I mean he's
20:53
Speaker 4: up for several other jobs, head coaching jobs. He's got
20:56
Speaker 4: several interviews, so they maybe you need a new coordinator
20:58
Speaker 4: on defense too, So changes coming in Green Bay as well.
21:01
Speaker 3: You know, it's wild.
21:02
Speaker 2: You think about the Bears fans and that faithful fan
21:05
Speaker 2: base who have endured a whole lot that Roma dune
21:08
Speaker 2: es a canting four down in that strike from Kayleb Williams,
21:10
Speaker 2: something that all of them are ever going to forget.
21:13
Speaker 2: We still got more here on power rankings, though, Eric
21:15
Speaker 2: a little bit of a twist. We know the teams
21:17
Speaker 2: that are in the postseason, but what about their quarterbacks?
21:20
Speaker 3: Eric was doing a.
21:20
Speaker 2: Deep dive on a QBS and we're ranking the ones
21:22
Speaker 2: that are still playing.
21:24
Speaker 1: Still the next.
21:33
Speaker 3: A right, a new twist on power rankings.
21:35
Speaker 2: Eric took a look at the quarterbacks that are still
21:37
Speaker 2: playing and he ranked them one through eight. Drake May,
21:40
Speaker 2: Matthew Stafford one and two, Josh Allen three, Brockberty here
21:43
Speaker 2: we go at number.
21:44
Speaker 3: Four, member he's just a system quarterback. CJ. Stroud at five.
21:47
Speaker 2: We got Sam Darnold at six, Kleb Williams seven, and
21:50
Speaker 2: Bon Knicks rounding out the top eight. I think you
21:51
Speaker 2: can make an argument at number five c J. Stroud
21:54
Speaker 2: should be a little bit closer to eight. But how
21:56
Speaker 2: did you actually come up with this? Because look, Josh
21:58
Speaker 2: Allen's an MVP, and you're not saying that one of
22:00
Speaker 2: these guys better than Josh, but maybe it's who's playing
22:04
Speaker 2: right now.
22:05
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I did joke with a Hypha, our producer
22:07
Speaker 4: after that Monday night game. I think I might drop
22:09
Speaker 4: strout a little bit after watching him. But I think
22:12
Speaker 4: you set it up pretty perfectly. To me, this is
22:14
Speaker 4: like the top three and the bottom five. Can any
22:17
Speaker 4: of the bottom five play up to that elite tier. Absolutely,
22:21
Speaker 4: could any of the top three play down to that
22:23
Speaker 4: bottom tier. Sure, So to me, it's a reflection of
22:26
Speaker 4: where these guys are right now. That's why Drake May
22:28
Speaker 4: is on top ahead of Josh Allen, who's got you know,
22:31
Speaker 4: more skins on the wall and more experience and can
22:33
Speaker 4: be a better quarterback at times. But you know, his
22:36
Speaker 4: poise in year two has been remarkable, a true dual
22:40
Speaker 4: threat guy who's used his legs as a weapon, not
22:42
Speaker 4: just as a last ditch thing.
22:44
Speaker 5: And you know, I just think settling in and.
22:46
Speaker 4: Having Josh McDaniels his coordinator has been huge. Kaysehaan Booty
22:50
Speaker 4: has stepped up step on Diggs has been important. Hunter
22:53
Speaker 4: Henry with years without catching fifty balls finally getting back
22:56
Speaker 4: in the offense and so a balanced attack and a calm,
23:00
Speaker 4: cool guy who overcame his first playoff interception pretty early
23:03
Speaker 4: in that game and handle himself with a plomb.
23:05
Speaker 2: I thought, yeah, look at where once again, And it's
23:08
Speaker 2: interesting because Sam Donald's name we'll pop up on that
23:10
Speaker 2: list and I know what he's been able to accomplish
23:12
Speaker 2: this season and lifting Minnesota and now Seattle. This is
23:17
Speaker 2: a different narrative around this guy. Is there a world
23:20
Speaker 2: in your mind that Sam Donald could not only move
23:24
Speaker 2: up that list but also win a Super Bowl this year?
23:26
Speaker 5: Yeah?
23:26
Speaker 4: No, I think we've had times in the past where
23:28
Speaker 4: we've doubted, you know, Eli Manning coming into the playoffs
23:31
Speaker 4: in two thousand and seven or Joe Flacco entering the
23:34
Speaker 4: playoffs when he ended up winning a title. So you know,
23:37
Speaker 4: it happens where these quarterbacks sort of gain a reputation
23:40
Speaker 4: for not being clutched, not coming through in the key moments,
23:43
Speaker 4: or throwing interceptions and whatnot. And that's been Sam for
23:46
Speaker 4: a lot of his career, even last year when he
23:48
Speaker 4: was brilliant most of it and came up short at
23:50
Speaker 4: the final two games.
23:51
Speaker 5: And you know, this season he's.
23:52
Speaker 4: Answered a lot of questions, but the turnovers are still high.
23:55
Speaker 4: That's what sort of keeps me from bumping him up
23:58
Speaker 4: to that elite tier. Can he get there?
23:59
Speaker 5: Yes?
24:00
Speaker 4: And he's got the team to support him, which is
24:02
Speaker 4: the most important sort of quality a quarterback can have
24:05
Speaker 4: is a great environment around him to help support his cause.
24:08
Speaker 2: We will find out how all of these quarterbacks looks
24:11
Speaker 2: in the divisional round and if they will move up
24:13
Speaker 2: those rankings. Eric, it is always good to be with you.
24:15
Speaker 2: Wildcard rounds it was amazing. I think we're all in
24:18
Speaker 2: store for some really epic games this weekend.
24:21
Speaker 3: Always appreciate everyone watching, and we'll do it again next week.
24:30
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