After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp Online Therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone, or online chat. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month.

This is your operating system talking, not your computers or your phones, but your internal human operating system. I'm feeling a little overloaded. Here's how you can ease my stress. Close your eyes or softly gaze at something in front of you. Now inhale for four counts, exhale for six. Keep repeating. Much better. Longer term, there's BetterHelp Online Therapy. They'll match us with the licensed therapist we can connect with via video, phone, or chat.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on our first month. It becomes a little cliche, maybe stated too often, but I hope you have not become immune to this idea that the NFL laughs in your face when you make predictions. Now, I will say this about the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

The Cowboys were the favorite. I do not know how much, I don't pay attention to betting lines. One of our house rules here on After Hours is storylines, not betting lines.

But I did hear one of the reporters indicate that the Vikings were taking it personally, that they were underdogs at home or that they were not favorite at home, which I think is fascinating. Again, I know nothing about betting lines. I wouldn't know how to set one any more than I would know how to fix a carburetor. And I would probably have parts that didn't go back in after I, I once tried to take apart a pipe underneath my bathroom sink because I dropped something down the drain and somehow it did not all go back together again.

I had parts left over. Okay, on that note, it's not my finest moment. The fact that the Cowboys beat the Vikings is not a huge surprise. How they beat the Vikings?

Coming off of another game on the road in the NFC North in which they lost to the Packers in overtime, despite having a two touchdown lead in the fourth quarter. That one stung. It was a kick to the stomach. It's not what I was going to say initially. It was a kick below the belt was about what I was going to say before that. Thought better of it than I said it anyway. You know, it's well, I wasn't going to say that I was going to say something about the, it doesn't matter.

I was going to say below the belt below the stomach. And so the, the Cowboys had something to prove and no doubt came in feeling like they couldn't possibly drop two games in a row on the road in the NFC North. They couldn't do that if they had any designs on tracking down the Eagles and also wanting to take advantage of the fact that the Eagles just lost a game their first of the season. This AFC or NFC East and the AFC East actually is so competitive. You now have every team in the NFC East above 500. Crazy enough, there are entire divisions in football where there are no teams above 500 or only one team above 500. And yet in both the NFC East and the AFC East, we'll include them both. Every team is above 508. The East is a beast.

Oh yeah, there's an East Coast bias. What do you think about dem apples? Apples are great for Apple Crisp at Thanksgiving. I made one over the weekend, so that's what I think about now when I think about apples. We're live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios.

When you need cash out of your home in a simple way to get it, Rocket can. Please find us on our show Twitter after our CBS. Also on our Facebook page, man, we've got so many super cool moments to get to from this week 11 Sunday in the NFL. And of course we're going to turn around and have a triple header on Thanksgiving Day. Some of you won't even be done cooking by the time the first football game kicks off. Or if you're not cooking, you're going out.

You may not even be dressed and ready to go yet. We put a spot up on both our Facebook page as well as on Twitter. And you can find me on Twitter, A Law Radio, asking you to name the current duos in sports who are better, more productive, more talented, more in sync than Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey. The first duo that I thought of were the Splash Brothers, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. I know Klay missed a bunch of time, but that was the first duo that I thought of when I thought about guys who played together for a long time, who have incredible chemistry, and just know instinctively where the other is going and how to set the other up. And also they serve as two parts of a whole, essentially. They're different strengths, different weaknesses. They complete each other's sentences.

So that's one duo I thought of in sports that has that same type of productivity and even nonverbal communication. They just know. And it's about experience. It's about reps. It's about wins. It's all of that. Forged through the fire. But you can find that post up on Twitter and Facebook. Love to hear from you. Our phone number always 855-212-4227.

That's 855-212-4CBS. So let's get to this Cowboys performance on Sunday. And yes, it was that lopsided. Of course, you know it was against the Vikings.

There's no need to really mention the Vikings. From the very beginning, Dallas was dominating the ball, dominating time of possession. In the first half alone, nearly 20 minutes with the football, plus 8 of 10 on third down. And before the dust had settled on the opening half, they were already up 20 points. Dallas scored on all five of its drives in the first half. And it was a back and forth between Ezekiel Elliott, who was on the field again, and Tony Pollard. Speaking of duos, now Pollard was doing more of his work through the air.

But it was amazing how efficient, how methodical. They even had an eight minute drive for a field goal. Dak and the Cowboys were not in a hurry. It doesn't mean every play went perfectly, but they kept moving, kept marching.

And it seemed as though the Vikings were absolutely powerless to stop it or even slow it down. Prescott under center from the one, they'll give it to Zeke, left side, crashing at the goal line, pounding it in, touchdown Elliott. Prescott in the gun, back looking, standing, hurry up, throw to the right, flat clock. Elliott, Pollard, 25, 20 on the right sideline, Pollard streaks in, touchdown Tony Pollard. Prescott under center from the one, they'll give it to Zeke, left side, crashing at the goal line, pounding it in, touchdown Elliott. Prescott in the gun, back looking, standing, hurry up, throw to the right, flat clock. Elliott, Pollard, 25, 20 on the right sideline, Pollard streaks in, touchdown Tony Pollard.

Brad Sham with the highlights. We couldn't possibly play them all because it would take the rest of our show. That's Cowboys radio. Once there were a pair of quick touchdown drives to begin the third quarter, so think about it. First seven drives of the game the Cowboys scored. That included Tony Pollard's second touchdown catch for 68 yards and another Ezekiel Elliott rushing touchdown. After a 35 yard chuck to Noah Brown, it was 37 to 3 in favor of the Cowboys after the third quarter. And you know sometime in that third quarter, I had already turned the channel and was watching NFL Network I think at this point, CBS cut away from the broadcast. CBS with their top crew, Jim Nantz and Tony Romo, they dumped them for the Bengals and the Steelers, at least where I was.

Not sure what game you ended up with, but yes, we're talking total bloodbath. We're talking so lopsided that it reminded me of week two for the Vikings against the Eagles. And so yes, the Vikings are still one of the best teams in the NFC and certainly in the NFL. And maybe this is just a blip on the radar. But on both sides of the ball, the Cowboys not only put up incredible numbers, but it passed the eye test.

It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio. I tweeted this. I got some flack. I don't care.

I said what I said and I'm not backing down. This version of the Cowboys, the version that runs the ball, that is creative with its offense, that has a Dak Prescott who's on target and spreading the ball around, that has a C.D. Lamb who is using the toe drag swag on the sidelines, gorgeous catch by C.D.

Lamb to set up Brett Maher's two 60-yard field goals right before halftime. This Dallas defense, we cannot overlook the defense. They were a strength last year and have gotten even better this year.

Micah Parsons, we'll just highlight him, two sacks, five quarterback hits. But overall, the Dallas defense allows just 183 yards to a Vikings team at home that has Dowland Cook, Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, T.J. Hockinson, who had a couple of balls go right through his hands in this game. We're not talking about a slouch offense. And yes, the Vikings are still for real. I'm not taking that back either. But this version of the Cowboys can compete for a Super Bowl ring. They can. I don't know if we'll see this version of the Cowboys come playoffs.

That seems to be the nemesis, right? Once they get onto the playoff stage, have not made it back to the NFC championship in decades. But if they can play like this against a winning team on the road in a hostile environment and the Vikings fans were well, they were still dressed up for Halloween. They were raucous. They were loud.

They made it really difficult to operate. And yet the Cowboys coming off that loss in Green Bay. They were cool as a cucumber after last week, had a good week of prep and just wanted to come in and set the standard and expectation that that I've talked about that we have for ourselves. And just as you said, just being able to go and get points on the first seven drives, honestly, was just staying in the moment as all the guys were and honestly couldn't have told you that it was very huge. You know, we needed it. I mean, just everything that was riding on, you know, just this game and just understanding us as a team in a display that we put out the following only the week before. Play with a little chip on our shoulder. A CD lamb talking about how they came out of the Packers loss as for Dak 276 yards and a couple of touchdowns.

He only misfired on three passes the entire game. Now here are the numbers for their run game. Well, for their running backs, actually. They're running backs who were also catching passes. So they end up with 151 total yards rushing. Pollard has 15 carries, so does Ezekiel Elliott. 15 carries, 80 yards. Zeke has 15 for 42, but he's got the two touchdowns on the ground. Pollard catches his touchdowns through the air. 109 yards for him on six catches, and again, his scores go through the air. So between Zeke and Pollard, four touchdowns.

And a boatload of yards. And of course, while Zeke was out, Pollard was carrying the load. But you have a tandem like this that's so productive thinking Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt type productive. When his offense is rolling, when we're rolling, I think it's tough. It's tough for those defenses to stop us. Two fresh backs at all times. It definitely puts a lot of stress on those defenses.

We just feel like as long as we can keep each other in and out, fresh on the field, just keeping the defense guessing, not knowing what to prepare for, we feel like we had to invent it. I mentioned Micah Parsons. He had a couple of sacks and five more quarterback hits. But the Cowboys as a whole had seven sacks of Kirk Cousins. And there were some next-gen stats out there.

I'll just throw them out. He was under siege, under pressure, more than 60 percent of the snaps in this game. It just says that we're capable of what we put our mind to. People want to come out and run the ball, but we've got to buckle up and understand what they want to do.

People want to come up and pass. We've got to set the quarterback and get stops and do what we do best. Certainly when you get behind, then you allow a lot more of a dropback game. And so that certainly played into their ability to rush us and play for that. We've got to coach better, like I said, play better across the board, but a huge opportunity for our team to really look inward.

We expect to really only in these tough times to be able to rely on our locker room. I just know we had a good week of preparation and it didn't translate to us playing our style of football in any way, shape, or form. I thought we were sloppy. I thought there were too many penalties. Got to play better with a short week this week.

It's important that we get right back to it and we're going to be at home Thursday night, so it's important to have a much better performance. And we can't forsake the kicker and his role in this, hashtag adventures in kicking. As I say, it was total domination on both sides of the ball because the Cowboys, Brett Maher, now has the most 60-plus yard field goals in NFL history. I don't think they counted both before halftime. Poor guy makes his first and then realizes there's a review going on in the whistle blue or maybe the whistle didn't blow, but the referee stopped the game or called for the replay of that C.D. Lamb catch right before he kicked it. And so he did make it. And they're raving about the kick and there's plenty of room over the crossbar, but honestly, if you're watching this game on CBS, the second kick was even better.

And so, yes, Maher making a living on those 60-plus yards. We're going to get to the Eagles and the Giants next and also the commanders who have a major announcement. But suffice it to say, this division wasn't just out of the gate impressive. No, it's going to be fighting tooth and nails.

It's going to be a load, the gauntlet the rest of the way. Every team in the NFC East is above.500 and this is the type of win that shows you the Cowboys' potential. As for the Vikings, it's back to the drawing board. Let's not worry about the Vikings so much in the NFC North. They still have the second most wins in the NFC. And in fact, they have the same number of wins as the Kansas City Chiefs. So don't cry for me, Argentina, with the Minnesota Vikings.

They're good. They have a four-game lead in the NFC North, even with this loss. This is the type of loss, though, at home that leaves a bad taste, that for the best locker rooms, the best leaders, the best coaches and players, you go back and you think that is never going to happen again. We are never going to be embarrassed like that again. And this is how we prevent it. We work our tails off because that sucked and it was embarrassing and it was humiliating and it was on national TV and the TV broadcast actually cut away from our game because it was that bad.

All of those things you remind yourself every time you're even tempted to get complacent or go half speed. This is the kind of game that you don't forget because it was that embarrassing. All right, you can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio. Something tells me the Vikings will be appearing in our miserable, mortified and morbid Monday poll. We call it a mortification Monday and the Vikings haven't appeared there very often.

But this is your week, Minnesota. So we don't have the poll up yet. We'll get to it.

We always have candidates, but find us on Twitter after our CBS, also on our Facebook page. We're meandering our way through kind of. I don't want to sound hurried or harried or hangry. I'm actually hangry. No, I'm not hangry. I'm just hungry. I'm in a good mood, but I'm still hungry. I don't want to sound any of those things, but all those things apply on a Sunday night coming out of an NFL crazy schedule.

So Eagles and Giants, you're up next from the NFC beast. It's after hours. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp Online Therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone or online chat.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp Online Therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone or online chat.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp Online Therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone or online chat.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month. With Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Golf up under center, single back Jamal Williams. Golf takes, gives to Jamal. Left side, finds a crease. Head down, into the end zone. Touchdown Detroit Lions. Golf takes, hands to Jamal. Fighting off tacklers.

Diving. Did he get in? Yes, sir, he did. Touchdown Detroit Lions.

And a big hit. That's it. That's it. That's it. That's it. That's it.

That's it. Touchdown Detroit Lions. And a big spike with a left hand from Jamal Williams. His second rushing touchdown of the day. And the Lions extend their lead. Golf up under center.

He turns, gives. Jamal Williams bounces it outside right into the end zone. Touchdown Detroit Lions. Number three on the day for Jamal. It's a football feeding frenzy.

After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Oh, watch out. The Detroit Lions are feeling themselves.

I don't think we can call them a juggernaut just yet. But man alive. To see what Jamal Williams and Jared Goff and also the Detroit defense was able to do on Sunday. And do it on the road at the New York Giants. Where the crowds are getting excited. Cold.

Obviously extremely windy. And yet they were game. And they were tough. And they were physical. And they really took control of this game from the beginning. Were able to use that run game. Use their stars.

Rely on the talent. I love the fight of this team. And I could make jokes about them winning three in a row.

Sure. It's still the Detroit Lions. And they have a long way to go. But there's hope there. There's hope with the Detroit Lions.

How about that? It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You can hear the hope in the voice of Dan Miller on Lions Radio. Yes, Jamal Williams. 17 carries.

64 yards. Three touchdowns. And as for the Detroit defense. So you had the tandem.

Right? You had the run game of the Lions. You had the ability to spread the ball around. But you also had 14 points off turnovers for these Lions.

You had extra opportunities because of the takeaways. Three turnovers by the Giants is really the major problem. It's one step forward.

It's two steps back. Aidan Hutchinson with a huge interception. Man, he brings next level energy to the Lions defense. Right after that pick, they're instantly in the red zone. That is the type of mistake the Giants cannot make.

They can't make. It's killer. Jamal Williams has his first and second TDs before the half. His third of the day gives him 12 on the season, which is the most in the NFL.

And it just kind of went from bad to worse for the Giants. A fumble in the fourth quarter leads to DeAndre Swift's touchdown. And a third straight win for Detroit. By the way, in case you're keeping score at home, the first three-game win streak for the Lions since, are you ready for this?

November of 2017. As in five years. It's been five years since the Lions have won three games in a row.

That doesn't happen by accident. Everything we talked about, we stayed the course. What you guys have done, man. And we're playing some pretty clean physical football, man.

Defense, you've come to life. We didn't take away offense, man. We dominated when we needed to. We dominated the ground game, man. We made the throws we had to.

We were efficient. That's the way to win, man. Now you're figuring it out. Now we're figuring it out. That's three.

Everything will be mental if we go for four against a really good opponent. That's outstanding, gentlemen. You earned it, man.

Courtesy of Lions YouTube, that bunch has energy. And what did Dan Campbell tell us during hard knocks? I promise I'm not a lunatic.

No, he is. And it's okay. And the team follows his lead.

So you had the two pieces, as I say. You had the run game for Jamal Williams. You had a breakout game for Jamal and for that running attack, which was really setting the tone for the offense and taking pressure off Jared Goff, right? You don't need pressure on Jared Goff.

The man throws the ball. He can move the ball. He's got a good rapport with his receivers.

But when Jared starts to press, he starts to crack, and the wheels come off. That's not what you want from Jared Goff. And so you need this type of a run game.

Every team in the NFC North needs this type of a run game and the three TDs for Jamal. Came out, was playing tremendous, and I think that right there was another reason why we was getting loose, too. So we just wanted to play complementary football to help defense, help the offense.

Offense helped the defense. So I feel like we was doing that. We're not done yet. So not satisfied, grateful for three wins, but we still got a lot more. Now we know what winning looks like, what it looks like on a consistent basis. And now we just got to keep it going and make it a standard here. How about that?

What did I say? Hope. Jamal Williams tells you, now we know what winning looks like. We know what it smells like.

We know what it tastes like. We know how it feels. Once you get a taste of winning in the NFL, it's intoxicating. The Lions not only rush for 160 yards themselves. Okay, so there's the rushing part. There's the ball control. There's the offense that takes pressure off of Jared Goff. They also limit the Giants to 89 yards, but you break that down. Saquon Barkley, only 22 yards on 15 carries. So their point of emphasis was obviously to take away any rushing lanes, any room for the NFL's leading rusher.

Pretty much speaks for itself. We knew he was the key. We could not let him get going and we did that. I mean, you just said it.

I don't know what that average is. 1-4 or something. But, I mean, that was huge because everything did run through him. So that was the main focus of our defense this week and they performed it perfectly. They did a good job up front. They went up front, made tackles in space.

Bottled up the run game pretty good. That's obviously a big part of what we do. That's obviously not the outcome that we wanted. But it's hard to win a game when you have three turnovers and don't get any. You know, there's some things we did well, but not good enough.

Give Detroit credit for the win. Sometimes when Brian Daball is screaming on the sidelines, I feel like he's going to spontaneously combust. The man gets so fired up, he's a little bit scary. Thankfully, that's not the Brian Daball.

Actually, it would make for great radio. It would be Radio Gold if that was the Brian Daball we got in his press conferences. They gave him a little cooling down period. He is not afraid to go after his players, too, and to get in their faces. He brings that passion. He brings that intensity. He brings a standard, which means there are expectations. And when there are expectations, if you're not living up to them, well, you're going to get an earful. But yeah, sometimes when he is yelling on the sidelines, I'm waiting for him to go poof into blue giant smoke.

Glad that hasn't happened yet. Dan Campbell had that Detroit defense fired up. As I say, it was about the run game. It was about limiting Saquon Barkley. They also have a couple of interceptions off Daniel Jones.

And you get the yin and the yang. This is what winning football looks like. The Giants know about it. They're still a winning team, but this one definitely stinks. I think we're all pretty disappointed with our effort today and how we played. And not up to our standard, not up to what we're capable of doing. So I think that's the disappointing part of it. I don't love the question that was posed to Saquon Barkley.

That's Daniel Jones, who has a couple of touchdown passes, but also a couple of picks. I don't love the question that was asked of Saquon how much the team's confidence will take a hit with this loss. Because I think that's unfair. And I had people, life is not fair, I had people find me on Twitter and say, oh, these teams are wobbling. They're taking a step back. Now, this is just part of life in the NFL. Very few teams look locked in, all buttoned up, put together, and living their best life. Such a millennial phrase.

Living their best life on any given Sunday. That's why the game is so competitive. It's about matchups. It's about preparation. It's about how you show up.

It's mental as much as physical. Yeah, so there are plenty of teams out there that are heading to the postseason or that will eventually get to the postseason. The teams that will end up in the Super Bowl in Arizona.

They're all going to have games in which they look wobbly and don't play their best football or let one get away. And that's the case for the Giants. But I'll say the same thing about this game as I did, actually, about the Vikings. This is a game at home against a losing team or a team with a losing record, though they keep winning and it's going to change. This is one the Giants played poorly in, didn't take care of their business, and they're going to think about it. So when a reporter asked Saquon Barkley how much the team's confidence will take a hit, I love his answer.

Zero. I mean, at the end of the day, it's the NFL. You know, every team is a great team.

They came out here to play great. We're not going to panic. We're not going to worry. We're not going to waver at all. And that's for you guys to go out there and see what we want to say about this every day.

The only focus we have is the man and woman in our home and in the facility. Lots of pounding and banging going on in the Giants locker room. Plenty of that going on, I guess, in the visitors locker room, too, at MetLife.

All right, we've got our poll up. Now, just to be fair, because life may not be fair, but we try to be fair on after hours, we have done much positive analysis, positive conversation about the Jets and the Giants. These are two of the surprise teams this year in the NFL. Both teams still have winning records, and both teams are not only alive for the playoffs but are alive for division titles. But both teams deserve to be in the Monday mortification poll.

As these teams wake up on Monday, we've given you four options, but you certainly can send your own write-in vote. Which teams, which fan bases wake up on Monday miserable, mortified, morbid? Oh, New York. Not to mention, everybody I talk to these days wants to know if Aaron Judge is going to re-sign with the Yankees, and it's becoming more and more of a pessimistic attitude that Judge will in fact be in pinstripes next season. The New York football teams are the bright lights right now, but they had tough weeks.

And we'll get to the Jets, who, just like the Chargers with the Chiefs, cannot figure out the Patriots, may never figure out the Patriots, as long as Bill Belichick is there. All right, so find our poll on Twitter after our CBS on our Facebook page too. If you got a spare second, you want to check out our new YouTube video. It's got a Thanksgiving and food and, well, all of them have food, food and holiday flair to it.

Our latest video edition of Ask Amy Anything with your questions that producer Jay was hoarding and keeping away from me. But I promised you the NFC East on a silver platter, and that's what we're doing, marching through the NFC East. So we've talked to Cowboys, who moved to seven and three. The Giants fall to seven and three. There's a team above them. There's a team below them. We'll get to Eagles and commanders.

This is your operating system talking, not your computers or your phones, but your internal human operating system. I'm feeling a little overloaded. Here's how you can ease my stress. Close your eyes or softly gaze at something in front of you. Now inhale for four counts, exhale for six. Keep repeating. Much better. Longer term, there's BetterHelp online therapy.

They'll match us with the licensed therapist we can connect with via video, phone or chat. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive and save 10% on our first month. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp online therapy, which connects you with the licensed therapist via video, phone or online chat. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month.

This is your operating system talking, not your computers or your phones, but your internal human operating system. I'm feeling a little overloaded. Here's how you can ease my stress. Close your eyes or softly gaze at something in front of you.

Now inhale for four counts, exhale for six. Keep repeating. Much better. Longer term, there's BetterHelp online therapy. They'll match us with the licensed therapist we can connect with via video, phone or chat.

Visit betterhelp.com slash positive and save 10% on our first month. Straight ahead. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Hurry up for Houston. They better watch that Monday night game. That worked early for Philadelphia against the Washington defense. Second to 10, to 32. Snap the mills and throw it again. This time partially picked off by Fuller. 35-30. Down the sideline he goes. Pick six.

He's in. Touchdown. Touchdown Washington. Samuel gets an end around call. Couple blockers, hits the five, cuts back to the goal line. Touchdown. Touchdown Washington. A nifty run from Samuel from 10 yards out.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Commanders didn't need a whole lot of offense. They didn't need a whole lot of points at Houston. But that Kendall Fuller, 37 yard pick six on the very first Houston possession. Well, that set them off on a high note and the commanders never trail in Houston.

They're up 20 to nothing at the half. And they end up cruising thanks to that defensive effort by the commanders. Man, Ron Rivera, this is the type of game that I feel like fits his personality. And after everything he's gone through, what the team has gone through, big decisions made by the commanders after this convincing game. Big decisions made by the commanders after this convincing win against the Texans, who've held a 1-8-1, worst record in the NFL.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We don't put the Texans in the miserable, morbid, mortified Monday poll because they're just stuck there in perpetuity. I don't think they have hopes. See, the hopes get dashed. That's when you're miserable. When you have expectations that are unmet, you know that you can play better. You expect more of yourself. My gosh, that's so typical of us as humans too. If we never get our hopes up and we never have expectations, then we're never disappointed.

That's so not me. I'm the queen of expectations. I'm the queen of getting my hopes up and I'm the queen of being disappointed.

It's just part of my personality. So if you never get your hopes up, well then you got no reason to feel bad. That's kind of where the Texans are now. It's not where the teams in the NFC East are. They're all developing expectations, as are their fans.

And unless all four of these teams make the playoffs, well, then someone's going to be disappointed. There's really no room for error. There's a very small margin of victory. Very small margin of defeat.

There's a very small margin for error in the NFC East. But in this game, Washington gets that early lead, as you hear with Bram Weinstein on Commander's Radio, and the defense does the rest. Five sacks of Davis Mills, two interceptions, only 148 total yards allowed.

How about that? The commanders had more yards rushing than the Texans had total yards. We talked about this ball control game of the commanders. They worked a duperfection last Monday night against the Eagles. And while the Texans may not be on the same scale, same plane offensively as the Eagles, this was just as impressive. No turnovers for Taylor Heinecky, plus 10 minutes in time of possession, and as I say, more rushing yards than the Houston Texans had total yards. It was a defensive gem, starting with that pick six, and Jonathan Allen says, hey, we're capable of this. This is who we are. I think it's a case of having a good scheme, having a good week of practice, and guys are winning their one-on-ones today. We're really playing well off each other, feeding off each other, and playing with a lot of energy and high effort today, and I think that really showed in the first half. Meanwhile, Ron Rivera makes a big announcement following this game.

We're going to go with Taylor, and we'll work Carson back in and see where Carson is in terms of if he's ready to be a backup, and then we'll go from there. It's a special moment. This is something I've been working for my whole life, to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. It's every kid's dream. So it means a lot to me.

It's very special to me, and I just want to keep this thing rolling. What were those conversations like? They were very good. With Carson in particular, obviously he didn't come here to be a backup, but was he generally understanding? He was very good.

He really was. What was it Taylor has shown you to lead you to this decision? Winning. Boom.

That's a mic drop by Ron Rivera. Winning. I love the um, as in duh. When people use um, it's duh, or this should be obvious.

I'll just be fair, I've sent those texts to producer James before. Um. Winning. Winning. And winning they are.

Five wins in their last six games, and while they're not always ugly, and they're certainly not, they're not always ugly, they're not always pretty, and they're certainly not all blowouts. For instance, the Bears beat them by five points. The Packers, two points. The Colts, one point. The Colts, one point. The Vikings, they lost two by three points, so they were there.

The Eagles, they beat by 11. And the Texans, they beat by double figures as well. And the defense has really been a huge piece of that as, as we talked about the ball control too. Meanwhile, for the Texans, as we say, it goes from bad to worse, and Brandon Cooks hates it.

I seem like I'm coming up here saying the same thing every week. It's difficult because at the end of the day, we didn't score enough points to be able to help our team win. As for Damian Pierce, who's been the one bright light for these Houston Texans, without him, they don't have a snowball's chance in Hades to win, and the commanders did what they had to do. In fact, they did the same thing the Lions did against Saquon Barkley, even more stifling. Ten carries, eight yards for Pierce. Any offense will be frustrated, so of course, you know, there was frustration, but we were trying to keep a clear head, keep our head level, and try to play our game and try to do some things that, you know, worked in our favor on offense. But, you know, that's just how the day went.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Yeah, not putting the Houston Texans into our poll because this is a team that doesn't have any expectations. The Eagles, meanwhile, lose their first game of the year on Monday night against the commanders. We just went over that, and they come back on Sunday looking like they're still battered and bruised against the aforementioned Colts. The Colts actually go up at the half, 10-3 in this game, and ever since they went back to Matt Ryan, now remember it's Jeff Saturday that's making big waves, but ever since they went back to Matt Ryan, I feel like he's steadier. There's not the same number of fumbles, stupid mistakes, almost realizing that, hey, I'm the adult in the room here.

I'm the one that's got 15-plus years of experience. I'm the one that needs to take some responsibility for making sure this team has a chance to win, and he did that early. Jonathan Taylor deserves better.

There I said it. One-yard rush, Matt Taylor on Colts radio, and the Eagles still had a fumbling problem. Jalen Hurts fumbled on a sack.

A.J. Brown fumbled. Both of those led to Indianapolis field goals, and they still were protecting the lead in the fourth quarter when Philadelphia finally wakes up and realizes, Rutro, we are looking at two straight losses. Second down and 10.

Ball up the Colts, 22. Kainwell in the game, standing to the right. Back goes Hurts again. He's looking. He steps up. He fires, complete, and it is a touchdown! Quaz Watkins! That's the first Philadelphia touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and then with just under five minutes to go, still a one-possession game, Philly starts its final drive, 11 plays. The last nine of them are rushes, so this, again, a ball control game. They go 75 yards. They convert on a fourth and two, and it's all done except for Jalen's run.

Three receivers right, two left. Hurts takes it, starts the run. He's got the first down! He's got the first down at the six. Game on the line.

Hurts in the gun. Hurts takes the snap. He's back. He's going to run.

He's in! Touchdown! Jalen Hurts! Jalen Hurts on the quarterback draw scores, and the Eagles can take the lead with the extra point. And that they do, the final 80 seconds.

That's Merrill Reese on Eagles radio. Jalen Hurts has 86 yards rushing, nearly 200 yards passing, a couple of touchdowns, and they're back in the win column after that loss to Washington. It's a special feeling because, you know, I look back at, you know, after every game and I assess it honestly about what could we have done better to put ourselves in a better position. Not to win, of course to win, but to play to the standard that we strive to. We put a lot of work in every day. We put so much work in every day to try and play this game a certain type of way.

Tough one, right? We had everything in front of us. We didn't execute enough to get the win. Disappointing loss, obviously. Just too many mistakes. I mean, too many penalties, too many negative plays. Defense was playing good. I thought they were playing, you know, good enough to win, so I thought any points were good points. But, again, the negative plays that set us back in the field goals, you know, those, I mean, it takes you out of any kind of aggressive mindset. Jeff Saturday, second game as the coach of the Colts, and he admits this one is tough to swallow. The Philadelphia defense did its job for sacks, also a takeaway of Indianapolis, and they really never let the Colts have breathing room there on that final drive. There was time left on the clock, but there was a big sack, I think, and they didn't end up getting across midfield to the point where they could be effective or try a Hail Mary, so the Eagles moved to 9-1, Colts fall to 4-6-1, and we're halfway through.

Bills in Detroit next. It's after-hours CBS Sports Radio. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

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