After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself, because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. BetterHelp is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online, and it matches you with a licensed therapist. Let therapy help empower you. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp.com slash positive. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself, because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. BetterHelp is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online, and it matches you with a licensed therapist. Let therapy help empower you. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month.

That's betterhelp.com slash positive. There was certainly plenty of traffic on my way into work. Of course, New York City is always a different animal. But as I was driving into our CBS Sports Radio headquarters, I noticed a lot of people out and about. And so if that's you and you're out of your regular routine because it's the Sunday of a holiday weekend, well, hola, bueno noche. Thank you for joining us. Or I guess it could be bueno tías if you are awake.

Ouch. But if you are awake on your Monday morning, well, we're glad to keep you company because here we are. Super-sized wildcard weekend with one game to go, of course. I actually appreciate as much as I make fun of the NFL for its urban sprawl. It just kind of spreads out all over the calendar. So now it's a 12-month-a-year sport and there isn't a day of the week that the league won't put a game.

So I do make fun of it for that reason. Also, I told you during the COVID year that the NFL, once it tried playing all seven days of the week, was never going back. It was going to be a thing moving forward.

And lo and behold, yes, it is. Anyway, I joke about that because it's easy to make fun of the NFL for some of its marketing policies. However, I appreciate that there are only, quote-unquote, five games this weekend because that gives us this full show to go over five games and to really dive into the nuances and the anomalies and the back and forth, the twists and turns. And even as you hear me say and are open there, we can't even predict what will happen from half to half.

That is so true. And boy, does it apply to, say, Chargers, Jaguars, or even Seahawks, Niners. You may not remember because you have to go back, back, back, back, back to Saturday afternoon. And yeah, it turned into a blowout, a double-figure win, but the Seahawks had the lead at halftime in San Francisco. Man, turnovers, the great equalizer. Holy cow, did we see some critical and dynamic slash devastating turnovers this weekend. So we've got to post up on Twitter and Facebook, and you're also responding to my tweet from earlier.

Fill in the blank, peeps. The best thing I saw during this NFL Wildcard Weekend is what? On our Facebook After Hours with Amy Lawrence, show Twitter After Hours, CBS, a lot of you are weighing in, and I promise to share those as we head through the show. Couple of other headlines from outside the NFL world, we'll get to those, we'll work them in, just to make sure that you are abreast of the situation. But for now, we're still making our way through Sunday's action in the NFL.

So find us on Twitter, Facebook, also our phone number, 855-212-4227. The Minnesota Vikings, the New York Giants. Kirk Cousins under the microscope, of course, because of his, well, his tendency to not come through in big moments.

But really, it's not just Kirk. This is also about the Minnesota Vikings, right? The number of incredible playoff victories and unlikely playoff moments they've had are coupled with playoff disappointment. A disappointment that you had to see to believe.

Now, I don't think this game falls into that category. And as much as the Vikings were the number three seed in the NFC, we know their resume includes 11 wins by one score. Eleven wins. And so this team refused to blow anyone out, number one. Number two lives and dies by this teeny margin of error. You know that old adage? Well, it really is true these days in the NBA. You live by the three, you die by the three. Well, ultimately, if you play with fire, like these one score games, single digit games, games where you can't ever really get a full head of steam or a double figure lead.

Well, then you are, in fact, going to see it bite you in the rear end at some point. I will give credit to the Giants because they had not one but two double figure leads in this game. The Giants also don't do a whole lot of blowing teams out. There are a couple of reasons for that, but their defense, as I said on Thursday night, Friday morning, always keeps them in games. I'm a big fan of their defense. Now, there were stretches in this game where the defense was taking a backseat, shall we say.

On the back burner, shall we say. But I love the atmosphere in Minneapolis. The skull chants were early and often and loud. And actually, you maybe have heard the flapper, have seen some of the social media reaction to the fact that there were players and then picked up by media members talking about how it's not so loud in Minneapolis. OK, first of all, it's a closed stadium, which means it's going to be loud. And second of all, if it's not loud and you say it's not loud, well, then, of course, the fans are going to stick it up your butt by being super loud.

I mean, that just seemed to me counterproductive to speak it out loud. But regardless, it was a great atmosphere. I enjoyed it. It felt like playoff football to me. And right away, off the top, you could say this was going to be a game with plenty of offense. Barkley gets a block. Barkley to the 25. Barkley to the left sideline, to the 10, to the 5. Touchdown, Giants! Saquon Barkley on a 28-yard burst. First and 10 at the 14.

Tied at 7. 1.08 to go in the first. Jones takes the snap, fires it deep into the end zone. Touchdown, Giants! Isaiah Hodgins, he just ran the post. Jones to Hodgins, a winning combination. And the Giants take the lead with 1.03 to go in the first. Oh, and we're just getting warmed up. Bill Allen on Vikings radio, one of our favorites.

Bob Papa on Giants radio. And New York actually has a pair of touchdowns on its first two possessions. Man, Saquon Barkley and that offensive line was ripping holes into the Minneapolis defense.

There were not only runs around and up the left side, there were runs straight down the gut. I'm telling you, Saquon Barkley, when healthy, is a game changer. He is someone who makes it so much easier for Daniel Jones to have room to operate and also to have options. I'm not telling you he's Christian McCaffrey, but he has a similar impact. And there are games where he can do it all just like Christian. So it's amazing to see him run. I'm so glad for him to be healthy.

He said this was a year in which he would come back with inventions, and boy has he. So not only does he get the 28-yard run to pay dirt on their first possession, but how about the 16-yard run with the spin moves, first one way and then the other. It was a double spin.

It's like something you'd see on the roller skating rink when I was in elementary school. And then Daniel Jones is on target. Darius Slayton with a 47-yard crossing route as well. And it seemed to me as though the patience of Daniel Jones, the runs, of course, of Saquon Barkley, the offensive line creating space too, that all led to this idea that the Giants were dictating. They weren't reacting to what they were seeing from the Minnesota defense.

Instead, they were the ones who were dictating. And the touchdown pass to Isaiah Hodgins is a 14-yard dart. And that's the lead at the end of the first quarter, 14-7. Now, the second quarter was a little more ball control. How often, and I think it's happened several times in the NFL this season, but it's not common, 20-play drive, a 20-play drive, 85 yards over nearly 11 minutes. But here's the kicker.

Well, haha, that wasn't even intended to be a pun. It's only a field goal at the end of it. My gosh, your offense is on the field for 11 minutes, 20 plays, 85 yards, and you come away with a field goal. Yes, it's points, but, and yes, it wears out the defense, but holy cow. So Minnesota gets the ball back late in the second quarter.

Why? Because the Giants have nearly used up the entire second quarter with their one drive in their field goal. But you can feel the urgency for the Giants. About three and a half minutes to go. Did T.J. Hawkinson have 300 yards in this game?

Because it certainly seems like it. He has a 27-yard grab and the 28-yard grab from Kirk Cousins on this one particular drive. Remember, they picked him up from the Lions at mid-season, the trade deadline, and I couldn't help but think during this game, wow, would the Lions have potentially been over the hump? Would they have been a playoff team with T.J. Hawkinson?

Now, I don't remember exactly what their record was at the trade deadline, but they started out 1-6, which is about halfway through the season. Hawkinson was everywhere, and it seemed like he had so much space to operate, too. And so Kirk Cousins is looking for him. Justin Jefferson is getting the yeoman's attention from the defense. And they quickly move into the red zone late in the second quarter. First and goal Minnesota from the 9, trailing by 10 with 50 seconds to go in the first half. Kirk, out of the shotgun, takes the snap, deep drop, passes over the middle, caught. KJ, touchdown! KJ caught it at the 2, and he walked in untouched for a 9-yard touchdown, 17-13 Giants. Paul Allen on Vikings radio. Vikings?

I don't know where I got that from. I was quick. I was quick with my syllables. KJ Osbourne with the 9-yard touchdown, Paul Allen on Vikings radio. And yes, this was a tight one all the way through. The teams battled back and forth into the second half as well. And I loved it.

I loved this feeling of punch and counterpunch. To me, it was one of the more well-executed games of this playoff weekend. Now second down and seven at the 9 of Minnesota. Jones under center, got the snap, fakes the handoff, rolls and throws wide open the tight end far sideline. Inside the pylon, Bellinger, touchdown! The Giants have scored again. Another touchdown pass, this of 9 yards.

To the tight end, Daniel Bellinger, a rookie out of San Diego State. And the lead of the Giants has grown 23-14 early in the second half in downtown Minneapolis. Smith and Munt to the left, second and goal from the 3, flag on the play. Cousins to the end zone, touchdown Irv Smith Jr. We got a flag on the play though. Yep, middle of the third quarter unofficially, it's 24-20.

Paul Allen and before that our friend Kevin Harlan on Westwood 1. So not only did you have the Giants building a 24-14 lead early in the third quarter when Daniel Jones finds Daniel Bellinger, but then you once again have Minnesota fighting back. And in fact, 10 points over their next two drives that takes them into the fourth quarter. Irv Smith with the 3 yard grab and then a Greg Joseph field goal and the 10 point lead is gone.

Poof. They're back to even, 24-24. So they, I don't want to say they cough up, but the Vikings rallied from 17-7 down in the second quarter and then 24-14 down in the third quarter. And as much as people want to point to Kirk Cousins, my one question for you is, was Kirk Cousins also playing defense? This was not on Kirk Cousins. The Vikings defense, sounds funny to say, because it hasn't been the case for quite a while, the Vikings defense could not stop the Giants. This is not on Kirk Cousins. He played a really good game. Are there throws that he'd like back?

Sure. I mean, that's the case for Daniel Jones. It's the case for Joe Burrow. Josh out is the case for any quarterback.

Nobody goes perfect. But this is not on the Vikings offense. Twice rallying to come back from 10 point deficits.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. But as I say, and as the game gets down into the later stages, a little more sense of urgency, a little extra tension. What impressed me so much is that Daniel Jones was in complete control. There were runs that were designed runs where he would take his time. He was patient.

There are other moments where he let the play develop. There was no skittishness. Is that a word? No skittishness.

No happy feet. No. And early in his career, you got that from him. It was really impressive to see because it was it was emblematic of the growth of Daniel Jones this season. But also, yes, Saquon Barkley. Jones takes the snap, handoff Barkley, hit and dives ahead. Is he in for the touchdown?

Yes. Touchdown Saquon Barkley. And the Giants have the lead with 747 to go in the ballgame. So Saquon finishes with a two yard touchdown and they go up again by a TD. So again, 31-24. That's middle of the fourth quarter. And it included a fourth and one on the seven yard line. I like it.

I like the Moxie. A lot of coaches this weekend showing Moxie and going forward on fourth down, even inside the red zone. And then it's up to the New York defense. The Vikings have two more tries. Their final shot is a fourth down.

Of course, they had no other options. A fourth and eight with 144 left. Fourth and eight from the Minnesota 48.

Cooked to the right of Cousins. Cousins calls out signals, takes the snap. He's back to throw. He's under pressure, got hit as he throws, completes it to his right. But he's short of the first down as Hawkinson.

He's wrapped up. What a play by the Giants. Yes, what a play by the Giants. However, to take nothing away from the Giants. Why? Why? And I'm assuming this is on Kirk Cousins, so I'll give you this.

This was not his finest moment. Why are you throwing the ball four yards downfield when you need eight yards? It doesn't make any sense. And yes, you certainly would hope that Hawkinson would make a play. But. Pass the ball six yards, then seven yards. I just don't like it. The play should be for eight yards, not for four, and hope that your tight end is able to wriggle away from the defense.

No. In that situation, with your season on the line, you cannot call a play or again, it may have been Kirk Cousins with the check down. It may have been him feeling like he had to get rid of the football and that was the best option.

It's not the best option. You can't throw the ball four yards when you need eight. It's a tale as old as time in the NFL. And so that was the squashing of any last hope for the Minnesota Vikings.

Certainly disappointing. But for the New York Giants, how about this and fresh blood? First the Jaguars on Saturday night and then the Giants, their first playoff win since Tom Brady, New England Patriots, 2011 Super Bowl. Wow, that's been a long time. Producer Jay, has it been a long decade? It's been a very long decade. A very long decade. I mean, it's a nice memory. You got two Super Bowl wins in there, but whew, that equity. They're fading. It only lasts for so long. So congratulations to the New York Giants.

Love what we saw from them offensively, but also defense had to stand up at the end. On Twitter, a lot of people calling Daniel Jones Danny Dimes. I also saw Vanilla Vic. Is that a thing? He's the Vanilla Vic?

I wish somebody would ask him about that. Is that the best thing you saw this wildcard weekend, Vanilla Vic? I don't even like, I don't even, I can't even say it. It's just, it just, ew, it's very tasteless.

Why are you laughing? It's true. It's out there everywhere. I don't like that. I'm not a fan of that. Okay, but don't give me that throat slash, like I'm about to get fired because I said something offensive. I didn't come up with it.

It's all over social media. I even had female football fans send me that on Twitter this weekend. Vanilla Vic?

Vanilla Vic is the last time you're going to hear it here because I don't like it. It's a little tasteless, but even so, Daniel Jones playoff debut is a doozy. And you will hear from him as well as his head coach, who is a man of few words.

Plus, Kevin O'Connell, Kirk Cousins, not able to capitalize on what was a regular season in which you would think they were battle tested and ready for games that are close and tight and uncomfortable in the end. We're just getting started on Twitter, A Law Radio, also on our Facebook page. Well, just getting started.

Time flies when you're having fun. We're an hour and 20 minutes in. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. The Minnesota Vikings. The New York Giants. Fourth and eight for the Vikings down by seven at their own.

Forty eight in the gun. Cousins against the snap. The left tackle block. They rush four pass, caught Hawkinson with the leap at the 50. And you'll be shy of the first down.

He picks up three. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself. Because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. BetterHelp is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online, and it matches you with a licensed therapist. Let therapy help empower you. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive to get 10 percent off your first month.

That's better help dot com slash positive. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best.

Version of yourself. Because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. BetterHelp is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online, and it matches you with a licensed therapist. Let therapy help empower you. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive to get 10 percent off your first month.

That's better help dot com slash positive. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself. Because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. BetterHelp is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online, and it matches you with a licensed therapist. Let therapy help empower you. Visit better help dot com slash positive to get 10 percent off your first month.

That's better help dot com slash positive. And on downs, the ball is going to go over to the New York Giants with 144 to go, and the Vikings cannot stop it. The Vikings are out of timeouts. What a defensive play by New York. It's time to pull on the pads and hit somebody. On After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio.

Kevin Harlan on Westwood 1. Under two minutes to go, and the Vikings could not convert the fourth and eight to extend their drive. They had plenty of time to try to rally and get the game tying touchdown. But ultimately, you throw the ball four yards when you need eight, and you are playing with fire and not the kind that is pretty and makes everyone go ooh and ah. Not the fire emoji. The fire that burns you.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. For the New York Giants, this is their first playoff victory since they won the Super Bowl early in 2012. So 2011 season, we're in the 2022 season now. We're talking 11 long years and a lot of coaching changes. What, four? Five?

Not four, maybe. Not to mention the number of coordinators, the number of different quarterbacks they've had in there, too. Not a ton, I guess, because you're talking about Eli Manning to Daniel Jones. But the offense around him and the people, the voices, the schemes, a lot of that has changed multiple times over the course of these last 11 years.

And now we get Eli Manning on Monday night, actually with his brother Peyton doing the Monday night Manning's for a playoff game, a Tom Brady playoff game, which is going to be fantastic. So thinking about Brian Deball and the impact he's had on this team, one of the things that stands out to me is he's really raised the level of expectation. His expectations are high.

But you know what that communicates to the team? I believe that you can meet these expectations. These are not unrealistic. I know who you are.

I believe in you. We're setting the bar higher to the point where, yeah, actually, he doesn't get all crazy. Now on the field, I feel like he's going to spontaneously combust half the time.

The man has never seen a penalty flag that he agrees with. And yet when it comes to walking into the press room, taking a deep breath, asking him about his quarterback, he's calm, cool, collected. Play good. Play good. Yeah, play good. Winning football.

I'm not a writer. I'm just a coach. Look, Daniel, I've said it all year, he's been good for us. He continues to be good for us. And he played a good game. And I think there's a lot of other people that play good games, too, to help him play a good game. He'll be the first to admit it.

But as the leader of our football team, I'm proud of him. Definitely some anticipation and some hype going into it. But once we settled in and played, it was very similar. Same things that went in the regular season, went in the postseason. So Daniel Jones finishes 24 of 35 for 300 yards, a couple of touchdowns. He had a 114 point something QB rating. But I was impressed with his demeanor. There have been a few times this season where Dayball has taken him to task on the sidelines, given him an earful. But again, treating him like a man, treating him like he has high expectations, treating him like he's an elite quarterback.

Dare I say that E-word was thrown around following this playoff game. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Now, true to form, true to what Dayball said, Daniel Jones gave credit to the defense. Defense played great.

They came up with some big stops there at the end and closed out the game. So a lot of credit to them. We're going to fight to the end. You know, we're a bunch of humble cats and we were blessed with the opportunity, man. We're proud to be here. We're proud to have this opportunity.

So we're going to take it with the most up respect. I don't think that I would go humble with Kayvon Thibodeau. However, I do like his moxie. I think he's one of those guys who brings not just the energy, but the expectation. Defensive end, Oregon! As a very high draft pick, as a guy who I think not just talks a big game, but plays a big game.

Now he got his hand cleated, which doesn't help, but he tends to run his mouth, but also back it up. And I don't have any problem with that if you can back it up and you don't put your team in an awkward position. Justin Jefferson, by the way, the big dog for the Minnesota Vikings, seemed to be active really early and then they were having trouble finding him. So once again, credit to the Giants defense because they were able to limit him to seven catches and under 50 yards. Wink and the staff did a good job. They hit some plays, they're going to hit some plays, they got some good players, but one of the keys was not to let 18 beat us.

And I thought the plan and then most importantly, the execution by the players, that's what's most important. Maybe it all went horribly wrong when Justin Jefferson took a lateral from Kirk Cousins and then attempted to throw it back to him. And look for Cousins to pick up, what was it, three or four yards by running out of the flat. That was odd. Maybe they were hoping that the defense would all follow Jefferson, except Cousins ran right into two blue shirts and that was the end of that.

It got stuffed and it probably gave him a headache. But for Jefferson, as I say, he was active early, had a bunch of looks early, and then the Giants defense was able to take him out of the game. He never wanted to end the way it did.

I mean, I had a lot of plays where I came shorter than zone and didn't really get close to it. But it's just devastating to lose this type of way. You know, you live by seven. It's a tough situation, but you know, we're all leaning on each other. We all got each other's back. There was always belief at halftime or even when we were down 17-7 and then clap our way back.

I think there was always belief and I guess why it hurts is because you expect to find a way. Especially the way this team has gone all year, you expect to find a way. It probably adds to the frustration, adds to the disappointment, just because we feel like we had a team that could go a long way.

Obviously, you can think what you want, but you've got to go prove it on Sundays. We didn't do that today, but again, so proud of being a part of this organization. So proud to be a part of this locker room and the people that are involved have made my days much better. Just the people that are involved and having the season we had. Adam Thelen with a disappointment.

You can hear it with Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson as well. If I'm not mistaken, this weekend was five years to the day of the Minneapolis Miracle. How has it been five years already?

Number one. Number two, it was the best of times and it was the worst of times. I think that describes the Vikings' playoffs, the playoff history, except still have never won a Super Bowl. And so last time in the postseason was 2019. Yeah, they had that incredible overtime win against the New Orleans Saints. But then losing to the Niners and two years before that was the Minneapolis Miracle. Then they go on the road and they fall to Philadelphia and it was not even close. So even when they do tend to get a first round victory or a wild card victory, the Vikings can't seem to follow it up. And as much as you could point to Kirk Cousins and say he choked, which I think that is such an irresponsible opinion.

It just tells me you're not paying attention or you're being lazy. Your opinion is lazy if you tell me that Kirk Cousins choked. Because this was about the defense more than it was about the offense. Twice the offense clawed back from 10 points down. Meanwhile, the Vikings defense, which has been porous against the pass all year, gave up 431 yards to the Giants. I think there was some issues with explosive big plays again tonight. They schematically did some things to maybe take advantage of some things we were doing. But across the board, you know, we're going to take a look at everything.

That's my job. I'm responsible for all three phases of our football team. And, you know, we'll definitely take a deep dive into it and find a way because I do think all three phases of our team can improve. It's not happened a lot over the last four years that opponents have had to worry about Daniel Jones as a major weapon. The way that they would for Josh Allen. The way that they would for Joe Burrow. And Burrow's not even a running quarterback.

The way that they would for Patrick Mahomes. But he's becoming dangerous. He showed it. Oh, dangerous, Daniel.

That's better than vanilla Vic. He showed it in this game. As I say, he was patient. He was in control. He was confident. And he had options and he knew it. He never got out of.

He never lost. I thought that composure. But at the same time, if you get lulled to sleep by the composure, he's a Eli Manning clone.

You're in danger of getting exposed because it what is a six six. He's lanky. He can run. He can certainly throw the ball. And he was a major problem for the Minnesota Vikings. We wanted to try to keep him in the pocket. We wanted to try to get a rush, you know, change the game with some of our playmakers up there, but not let him get out and have an impact. He had some impacts on some design runs as well, all of which, you know, does not break any news to us in that locker room. Our coaching staff, they just happen to make those plays.

And when you play a mobile quarterback like that, that can make plays with his arm and his leg and his legs, you know, you just have to have a plan to to maximize your chances of limiting those explosive plays in addition to some of those crossing routes and things they do. They were able to do pretty much whatever they wanted in this game. Some momentum and there's some history. The Giants have won a Super Bowl as a wild card.

I'm just saying, just pointing to history. This was a great game. I really enjoyed it. It was good tension all the way through a good give and take. But honestly, that was the case for almost every minute of these wild card games. Second half, four Niners and Seahawks got out of hand courtesy of some Seahawks giveaways. But for the most part, this was a game.

Well, excuse me, this was a weekend that kept you hooked, kept you sucked in. So typical of the NFL. All right, coming up, we're going to get started on Ravens and Bang.

No, wait, I take that back. We did that game. See, this is what happens. My brain is mush on Wild Card Weekend. Actually, maybe we should stick with the NFC.

Be a little bit of a shorter segment. How about we do that? We'll do Niners, Seahawks next as we're talking about it, because the Niners have won 11 games in a row. And then at the top of the hour, mark your clock, Dolphins, Bills.

Also, not a 13 and a half point spread. You can find me on Twitter, A-Law Radio on our Facebook page, too. Glad to have you fill in the blank for us, please.

The best thing I saw this wild card weekend is what you are. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself. Because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. BetterHelp is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online, and it matches you with a licensed therapist. Let therapy help empower you. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp.com slash positive. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself. Because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. BetterHelp is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online, and it matches you with a licensed therapist. Let therapy help empower you. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp.com slash positive.

Get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today. They finally pull him down on the 20 yard line. First time he touches the ball as a 49er in a playoff game.

That's an inside play action by Purdy. Cox to throw, not going to roll out to his right. Wide open McCaffrey. Touchdown San Francisco. Walker takes the handoff, trying to turn the left side. He's got the corner. He's going to score. Touchdown Seattle.

Kenneth Walker took the handoff, sprinted near side left. And great blocking up front. No 49er touched him. And a huge answer for the Seahawks on that touchdown run. They get the playoff back to throw. Here's a toss near left sideline for Metcalf. Got it at the 15.

10-5. Touchdown Seattle. What a rainbow throw by Geno Smith. Metcalf had a step on the defender.

Caught it in stride. And now the Seahawks with the extra point can take the lead. That's a 50 yard touchdown pass.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Ooh, it was back and forth in the first half. Seattle putting up a fight in the Bay Area. And it was kind of fun actually.

I think a little bit symbolic. Pouring down rain when the game starts. And then as they go through the first half, the sun comes out. And it was a brief respite for the Seahawks and the Niners in the game that kicked off Wild Card Weekend. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. First you hear Greg Papa on Niners Radio.

And then you hear the Westwood One calls, the national calls. 17 points second quarter for the Seahawks after falling behind 10-0 early. And so we talked about punch and counter punch with the Giants and the Vikings. Well this is a little more extended, but Seattle was able to come up with back to back touchdown drives. Kenneth Walker had a 7 yard run that capped a 7 minute possession.

If you can do that on the road, first of all the crowd gets antsy. Second of all you keep all of those offensive weapons for the Niners on the sidelines. And then Geno goes deep to D.K.

Metcalf, a 50 yard bomb. Love the Geno Smith storyline, it's been one of the best of this NFL season. Believe it or not, the Seahawks are up 14-13 at the half. In the second half, the game hangs in the balance because of mistakes and also missed opportunities by the Seahawks. So everything they were doing so well in the first half came unraveled there in the second. And San Francisco is relentless. You give them a scent, it's like sharks with blood in the water.

You give them the smell, you give them the scent. And they are attacking and they are aggressive. And it's both sides of the ball, right? It's offense, but it's also that incredible defense. Young and Locketer left, Fant, Johnson and D.J.

Dallas are right. Here comes Bosa, fumbles the ball away, it's free. Bosa dives on the ball. It's a play action, Purdy going to roll left. And he gets away from Bruce Irvin, throws on the run, wide open. Elijah Mitchell, touchdown! San Francisco!

Can we call them playground, Purdy? Haven't heard that one yet. That's Tim Rice along with Greg Papa on Niners Radio. Yeah, relentless second half for the Niners. Four straight scoring drives, 25 unanswered points. And really they were able to do a little of that ball control game that's so effective to get your crowd back into it and fire it up, right?

They go eight minutes to start the third quarter. It's Christian McCaffrey with a lot of possessions so that they can keep their offense on the field. And then Brock Purdy caps it with the one yard touchdown run. But after that Geno Smith fumble, it's a quicker tempo. And Elijah Mitchell finds pay dirt and into the end zone.

Also, great to see the... Wait, don't tell me. Wildback, that's what he called himself.

He called himself a wildback. We got introduced to him this time last year in the playoffs, Deebo. Fake the toss, they roll Purdy to the left. Purdy going to throw back middle, wide open Deebo Samuel. Down the sideline, 50, 40, Deebo 30, Deebo 20, Deebo 10, Deebo touchdown!

San Francisco! Well, I told you that it may be a breakout game for Deebo Samuel. Yeah, you think? 74 yard touchdown catch and run is the final nail in the coffin and get this, as much as the Niners are known for that tenacious, tough, smothering and stifling defense.

Those are the good adjectives that I can come up with. 505 yards of offense in this game for the Niners, so they turn it into an 18 point blowout. But the Seahawks deserve credit for showing up and playing their hearts out like they have all season.

And I would say exceeding expectations. 181 yards on the ground in large part because of Christian McCaffrey. Great to see him in a playoff game. And Brock Purdy, 18 of 30, 332 yards and four total touchdowns, putting it away there in the second half. Coming into halftime, Kyle just straight up was like, hey man, plays are there.

The opportunities are there. We just got to keep it simple and get it to the guys. And so we knew what our plan was coming out of halftime into the second half. And I thought we just executed everything. And we finished drives where we didn't do the stalling. We didn't overthink things in the second half. We didn't have the luxury to sit there and worry about stuff the way the game was going.

We just had to call plays to try to win the game. And he did such a hell of a job and he's done it every time since. So we got a lot of confidence in him and he gives us more and more confidence each week. And as it turns out, even if Jimmy Garoppolo does return, which could be, I suppose he could be healthy by the NFC Championship, if they get that far, Purdy will remain the starting quarterback. Gino Smith, he was a revelation this season. But Pete Carroll knew it going all the way back to spring trading. 25 of 35 in this game, 253 yards, a couple of touchdowns.

He did have an interception in there that led to some Niners points. His ability to stay poised and calm throughout the season, throughout the year, with all of the hype and the buildup, he could have gone south five different times and he didn't. He never wavered. His leadership was really stood out.

His voice in the locker room, his voice with our players, he said the right stuff all year, right up until today. You know, what I see for this team is a team with a bright future. You know, a lot of guys, a lot of young guys on this team got a lot of experience.

First playoff games, my first playoff start. So we've got a long ways to go. I'm excited about the future. I know we can be a lot better and it's just going to take a lot of commitment. And so, you know, I'm in it for the long haul. I'm ready to go. Gino wants to remain in Seattle.

How about that? He has found a home, one that fits him well, and 30 touchdown passes in this regular season would speak to the fact that he and Pete Carroll are on the same page. And that he's taking care of the football the way that Pete Carroll wants him to. Also that 50-yard strike to D.K.

Metcalf, he can air it out as well. So congratulations to the Seahawks on what was, I think, a season that not only surprised a lot of people but exceeded expectations. And they finish in a tough battle against the Niners who have now won 11 games in a row. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. So get started and download the free Odyssey app today. The NFL playoffs live on Odyssey. Nonstop coverage from the biggest sports radio stations in the country. Podcasts dedicated to each NFL team and postseason games streaming live for free. The NFL playoffs live on Odyssey. The NFL playoffs live on Odyssey.