10-9-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

Imagine you're looking at a balancing scale, with everything you do for other people on one side, and everything you do for yourself on the other side.

If it isn't balanced, maybe it's time to spend a little more time on you. And therapy is a great place to start. BetterHelp connects you with a licensed therapist online who can help you find that balance and stick to it. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month.

That's BetterHELP.com slash positive. Hey, is that the new iPhone 15 Pro? Yeah, it's made with titanium and the Pro camera is epic. Just got it at T-Mobile. Nice. Yep, and I got their Go 5D Next plan, so now I have the freedom to upgrade my phone every year. Whoa, I gotta get to T-Mobile. Get our best deals on iPhone 15 Pro at T-Mobile.com.

One year upgrade requires Go 5G Next plan, financing new qualifying device, and upgrading in good condition after six months with half paid off. What, what? We can talk some football. Is that what you'd like to do on this Monday morning? October 9th. Oh, happy brother. Happy brother. Oh, lordy. It clearly is a Monday morning after a football Sunday.

Let's try that again. Happy birthday to my little brother. My little brother. Actually, I have two brothers. Both of them are taller than me and bigger than me, but they're both younger than me.

But this is my little little brother, my kid brother, if you will, who was born when I was 16, and so he's a little bit younger. But happy birthday to Dean. Excited to see him at the wedding.

That'll be so much fun. That's all the personal talk you get because we don't have time. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Would you like to talk some football?

It's a Monday morning. It's, well, it's likely to be the first show this week in which I, or first show this month in which I'm unable to give you what I promise. I may not be able to deliver on my Sunday night into Monday morning promise that will get to every NFL game. I'm going to do my darndest, but because of baseball and just some other factors, some games that have some pretty serious weight to them and need a little more discussion, we may not get to all of them.

But we'll do our darndest here in this final hour of the show. A lot of you out of your regular routines because it is a holiday weekend for some, not all, Indigenous Peoples Day. So it's a day where there are some schools that are out, some schools that have half day. Don't ask me why.

That makes zero sense. Some businesses that are closed. And so we've got people who are weighing in. Hey, I've never heard you before.

I haven't heard your show in a really long time. And then some of you, like us, are in your regular workweek routine. And this is nothing different. We take all kinds. On Twitter, ALawRadio, if you want to vote in our Monday MVP poll, it's on our show Twitter.

After Hours, CBS, also on our Facebook page. And I do not envy you the choice. Let's start with Sunday Night Football and then we'll circle back and get to London across the pond, as well as what is quickly becoming an alarming trend for the New England Patriots, even at home. The Cowboys and the Niners was your choice by far and not just yours. It was the choice across the board for game of the weekend, week five. That's why it was in prime time.

And yet if you showed up a little bit late, well, if you got stuck in, oh goodness, the traffic I hear getting into Levi's Stadium and Santa Clara can be brutal in or out. So I hope you didn't miss the beginning, but you missed what was an attack mode from the Niners against a team that's considered to be one of the stigiest defenses in the NFL. We're going to call this the George Kittle game. Purdy back.

Time. Steps around from Demarcus Lawrence. Throws for the end zone. Caught by George Kittle. Touchdown San Francisco.

Boy, what a start. First drive for this offense. I figured Brock Purdy was going to have to use his legs a little bit in this game. He feels the pressure out to the right. He steps up, steps out to the right and finds Kittle running a corner route. And there's just nobody around him and drops it right on the five of the 85 for an easy touchdown. What a play by Purdy. Here's an end around and a flea flicker back to Brock Purdy. Takes a shot down the sideline to George Kittle. Kittle all the way to the end zone. Touchdown San Francisco.

With a little razzle dazzle reverse flea flicker. They flip it to McCaffrey. He flips it back to Deebo. Deebo flips it to Purdy. And Purdy drops it to George Kittle down the sideline.

On Niners Radio, Greg Papa, play by play voice. Lions fans would like you to believe that Kyle Shanahan pilfered that play call from Detroit earlier in the day. Since they also had a successful touchdown on what was a reverse slash double flea flicker type of a thing. So the Niners, they are rolling early. Maybe one drive where the Cowboys settled into a rhythm.

But honestly, not a whole lot that they could do as an answer. And certainly not when Dak Prescott throws three interceptions on three consecutive drives in the second half. So it was offense, it was defense, it was full tilt. And our guest from the Bay Area who was on the field for the game, her name is Kate Rooney. She joined us earlier in the show and she said it was like a playoff atmosphere. If you missed that conversation, good stuff, good insider.

Insider, intel, but also some interesting information for her about the reaction following the game. George Kittle ends up with three touchdowns on three catches, his first three of the year. And Brock Purdy, he throws for four touchdowns before he departs in the fourth quarter.

Yeah, the fours were wild in this one. Brock had four scores, the defense had four sacks and four takeaways, 42 points put on that Dallas defense. And I don't know, Fred Warner, what kind of message does this send out into the atmosphere for the rest of the NFL? Obviously that we're dangerous, but it's not even about the other teams to us. You know, it's all about us every single game. It's all about us. You know, we understand the opportunity that we have and it's about just taking it one week at a time. Regardless of who we're playing, we got to uphold the standard and play to the best of our ability every single game.

And if we do that, then we'll like the result. Such a fun win to be a part of, man, when you have so many guys who played so well and man, the defense played lights out. It's a good, that's a good defense. And to win like that is a testament to, you know, the character of this team and how well we can play. I thought that was our best complete game with all three phases. I thought our defense was amazing today, going against some real good players and a good offense there.

And I knew that was going to be a challenge and those guys were unbelievable. I thought it was their best game yet. Yeah, 170 rushing yards. So you run the ball and then you stop the run. Dallas was behind and really couldn't get a whole lot going with the run game anyway. The sacks, the takeaways, the four for five in the red zone.

I'm telling you, fours are significant in this game. Meanwhile, the Niners defense only allows 197 yards. So it was a pretty impressive, though lopsided performance for San Francisco in what people were billing as either a rematch of last year's playoff game in the divisional round, which of course it was, or more pertinent, a measuring stick against two teams that are expected to be among the best in the NFC and expected to be Super Bowl contenders. Neither the Cowboys still have a ways to go. I don't know what's going on with Dak Prescott. I understand it's new offense. It's a new voice in his head with Mike McCarthy calling plays. But Dak does not look like a veteran QB to me at times. He's still Dak Prescott in flashes, but it seems as though he's hesitant. He's second guessing himself, maybe a lack of confidence.

I'm not sure what it is, but he does not look like himself all the time. There are moments where I think, huh, that's something more like a rookie quarterback would do. Meanwhile, Eric Armstead, he's maybe got a word for this game that I wasn't expecting to hear. It was fun. It was fun, but it was a little boring at the same time.

It was a lot of fun. You know, it's hard to win in the NFL. So it's a lot of fun anytime you get a win. But, you know, I didn't even play in the fourth quarter. So sometimes the close games with the pressure can be a little more fun in my experience. Didn't see it coming.

As you said, put everything into this and got punched in the mouth. Called a couple of weeks ago humbling against Arizona. But this may be the most humbling game I've ever been a part of.

Felt good about the preparation. Felt good about everything, honestly, coming into this game, matchups. And they beat us in every aspect. Clearly just shows where we are as a team.

We're 3-2. You know, our consistency, you know, even when we played really well and did some things when you look at the three games that were won by a big margin and then the Arizona game where, you know, the pre-snap penalties and, you know, that showed up again tonight. Yeah, the Dallas Cowboys can be undisciplined.

We know that. We know they've not been extremely consistent the whole time. The defense has given them a margin for error. But in this one, it felt like one step forward, two steps back. Or, again, more to the point that Dak Prescott just making some mistakes that he can't make. And is it always on one guy?

Absolutely not. But he's the leader. He's the guy that signed the fat contract. And he's the one who's got so much experience that it's supposed to be showing them the way.

And I don't love what I've seen from him in a couple of these games. Or really, the defense has been the powerful side of the ball, right? The side of the ball that you could kind of hold up and say, wow, for the Cowboys.

But this one was a setback. And it was gut check time for every member of the Cowboys locker room, not just Dak. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. A different version of NFC West hosting the NFC East, that one taking place in Los Angeles. Yesterday afternoon, the Eagles on the road trying to move to 5-0, just like the Niners did. And crazy, weird change or shift at halftime. So there are four touchdowns between these two teams in the first half. Welcome back, Cooper Cup, Spark for the offense, Pukunakua catches a touchdown, so there's 2-2 Atwell. Philadelphia, their quick strike, they've got A.J.

Brown all over. It was impressive to see these two teams go back and forth. And then in the second half, crickets. The Rams go scoreless, so the Eagles ratchet up the defense and make it a lot harder for the Rams. But at the same time, the Eagles, they couldn't get into the end zone either.

And actually, this is what blows me away. First half, they go up and down the field, right? Second half, the Eagles want to change the pace of the game. They want to do the ball control thing, so they start to slog it down a little bit. They start to run the ball a little more. They want to use that offensive line, not only to create some space, but also they want to use the offensive line to be able to control the ball, control the game.

And they can do that. I love the way that, similar to the Niners, the Eagles can beat you a variety of ways. And so for the Eagles, in the second half they have two field goals, and the drives to get those field goals take a quarter off the clock. Fourteen minutes for two field goal drives, and that's really all they would need.

Uh, because of what they did in the second half, Jalen Hurts has a season high in rushes, and a season high in rushing yards. They only go two for six in the red zone, but I suppose that's the part that you can take where he's still not psyched about. Just the lack of execution. There's a lack of execution, you know, and I think that's something that's developing in itself, but that's purely on us, and that's controlling the things that we can, and ultimately finding identity in that area. So, you know, we, I have no doubt, I have no doubt in that, in that coming here soon.

But it's just a matter of just, you know, being diligent with it. Our offensive line did a great job, and I thought we were really physical out there today. You know, we got some dirty yards out there in the run game today.

That might be my favorite phrase of week five so far, dirty yards. Also, Robert Sala saying probably could have whooped that team. I mean, just be careful.

Be careful, Robert Sala. Probably could have blown that team out of the water. Oh yeah, sorry, blown that team out of the water. The last I knew Aaron Rodgers wasn't coming back for week number six, so just be careful.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. Yeah, the Eagles, they can speed you up. They can slow you down on offense.

They can beat you different ways. The defense provides that margin for error, but so does their ability to run the ball. They don't want to give it back to Matthew Stafford.

They don't want to allow him to try to distribute the ball to his weapons because he's got some young weapons. Then Cooper Cup back in the mix, and it was kind of disjointed and discombobulated and at times downright ugly in the second half, but the Eagles don't mind winning that way either. As for the Rams, they get Cooper Cup on the field for the first time this year. His debut, eight catches, 118 yards, but apparently there's plenty to go around because Puka Nakua also had a touchdown and they were distributing the ball.

It's a good problem to have. So the Eagles moved to 5-0. The Niners moved to 5-0. Cowboys dropped to 3-2. Rams are now 2-3.

I know it's a lot of numbers in there. Mostly though, the two teams that are undefeated obviously have established themselves having met in the NFC Championship game a year ago, and while I feel like the Niners have shown the rest of the league what they're capable of, I don't think we've seen the best of the Eagles yet. It's either not a full four quarters or they have a couple of moments where they're just not playing their best football at this point, though they have the two-game lead already in the NFC East. We talked about the Giants earlier. They lost Daniel Jones to a neck injury, but they had nothing for the Dolphins anyway, and then the Dallas Cowboys.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde over the last three weeks, four weeks. That would leave us with in the NFC, one team that is at 4-1. One team at 4-1. The Detroit Lions. Uh-huh. The Niners weren't the only team that were throwing a lot of offense on the board. In fact, what if I told you in week five the Niners and the Lions would score the same number of points?

What? Maybe you would have believed me, but would you also believe me when I tell you I can't even say it out loud again. No, I can't. I can do this.

Cleansing breath. Jared Goff is my early season MVP. Candidate. I'm qualifying there. Fine.

He's an early season MVP candidate. And sure, you can yell at me. Yelling is fun on a Monday morning.

And that's fine. I swear to God, I'm not a lunatic. Isn't that what Dan Campbell's told us? I swear to God, I'm not a lunatic. Well, I am a lunatic, but I love what we're seeing from the Lions so far.

And while it is everybody in the pool for Detroit, this is what happens, right? Jared Goff is playing extremely well, very efficiently. He's starting to sport some swag. Seriously, when was the last time Jared Goff walked around with this kind of swagger?

And yet he is like he's Aiden Hutchinson or something. Anyway, I'm going Jared Goff through five weeks as as one of the early season MVPs. I know there are other options out there, but they know exactly who's coming. A-LOL radio on Twitter. Take our poll for Monday MVP. Yes, Jared Goff is in it. Uh, coming up, we're going to look at the rest of the AFC East here. The Bills were on the road. Well, they were the home team, but they were on the road in London.

And the Patriots probably wish they were on the road. It's after our facts are facts like how contributing to employees. Financial security makes them want to work harder for their company. In fact, according to a 2023 study by principle, 87% of employers say that better employee financial security means employees are more engaged and productive at work. The fact of the matter is that employees want to feel financially secure in their future. So consider this principle helps you invest in your employees by providing customized benefits and retirement plans to help keep your employees more engaged and productive. When you take care of your team, they take care of business.

That's a fact. Learn how principle can help you find the right benefits and retirement plan for your team at principle.com slash benefits. Products and services offered by member companies of the principal financial group, Des Moines, Iowa.

For important information, visit principle.com slash disclosures. I'm here to tell you about pom pom at home where comfort meets elegance. Pom pom at home is offering 20% off site wide for a limited time. See why so many of the top designers use pom poms luxury, easy care bedding.

They have created a timeless, beautiful coastal living look that incorporates subtle tones and natural fibers offering a unique touch. Create your dream bed now. Get 20% off sheets, duvets, throws, and more right now at pom pom at home.com. Easy to use, easy to love luxury bedding.

Just enter code pom pom at checkout. Greetings, podcast listeners. This is world renowned self-proclaimed couples therapist, Dr. Sheila. And I'd like to invite all of you to experience my couples therapy podcast.

Say more on the pod. I talk to couples and you get to listen in on other people's problems and then feel better about your own. Say more with Dr. Sheila features Amy Poehler as Dr. Sheila. Listen and follow to say more with Dr. Sheila on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

First with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio, you are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Third and six empty backfield for Mac Jones, but now brings Stevenson to his left and trying to move a few people around takes the snap out of the shotgun. Saints bring four and call grants to the boss picked off.

That's Tyron Matthew, 15, 10. He will walk into the end zone. Pick six for the Saints.

That's how you do it. Don't wait on your offense. Let the defense do it. That is the third hit six for Mac Jones, and this is week five. It's time to pull on the pads and hit somebody.

On After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. It's not as though I didn't believe the Patriots would come back to Earth at some point. Tom Brady is arguably the best quarterback to ever play in the NFL, and when he left, of course there was going to be an adjustment.

But this is astonishing. Is it possible the Patriots offense has regressed this season even though they actually have an offensive coordinator? Last year, that's primarily where a lot of the blame was focused. That Bill Belichick did not have an offensive coordinator. Really, he had Joe Judge and he had. Matt Patricia, and it was to the detriment of Mac Jones. OK, but now he's got Bill O'Brien. Mac looked great in the preseason or trading camp for whatever that's worth.

And he's shown some flashes, but honestly, this is. It's brutal to watch. Unless you're one of those fans out there who is just so tired of seeing the Patriots win that now you're exulting and how bad it's become at Gillette Stadium in New England. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Tyron Matthew with a pick six early on. It was a tipped pass that was taken then 27 yards for the touchdown. The Patriots themselves only managed 76 yards in the first half against the Saints. 76 yards in the first half. They were one for seven on third down. They finished one for 14 on third down over the course of the game.

The Saints were able to do whatever they wanted at Gillette Stadium, and the Patriots didn't even come close to finding a rhythm. Once again, Mac Jones gets benched. Bailey Zappi comes in. Trust me when I tell you it wasn't any better with Zappi. They end up with a single first down in the entire fourth quarter.

Bailey Zappi. That's what kind of a charge he put into the offense. We'll get to the question of Mac Jones and whether or not he should lose his job. But the team, the Patriots as a whole, everybody. Barely 150 yards of offense. The Saints were able to get up and down the field as much as they wanted.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. You can only ask your defense to do so much, right? Alvin Kamara.

Welcome back to him. A touchdown and he breaks the Saints career touchdown record, which is huge for the Saints. They've got, they've got the Derek Carr element, right? They've got a defense that has been real stingy at times.

A very crowded NFC South. But this is a moment, even in a blowout, that we want to share with you. Second and goal. Ball of the six. 13-17 clock moving. Saints trying to dig a 31-0 lead. Snap to Carr.

Rolls to his right. Pitch pass on the inside to Foster Morrow, who's going to get pushed into the end zone. Foster Morrow, the Jesuit and LSU star, slams the ball to the ground as the Saints put the exclamation point here in the fourth quarter. Six yard touchdown.

Cancer survivor Foster Morrow, and that's my cost and company on Saints radio. I mean, this was as bad as it gets for New England. If this is rock bottom, then I hope they can bounce back. It's painful to watch. And for Mac Jones, who gets benched again, the question becomes, what about your starting job? Why is the offense look so miserable?

Bill Belichick, for now, doesn't have any answers either. Yeah, there was a lot of problems. It certainly wasn't on him. Oh, well, in case you couldn't hear him, he was talking about Mac Jones. A lot of problems. Certainly isn't all on him at this point.

He's sticking with Mac, though. You would imagine everything is subject to change because it has been it's been worse than it was last year. And that's saying something really just not being ready to go, I guess. I mean, as an offense, you want to go out there. You've practiced all week and you feel confident. So definitely want to get improvement on that.

And not any any of these games are not starting off very hot. So we just got to improve. Mac goes 12 for 22 with 110 yards and two interceptions. He also loses a fumble.

He sacked a couple of times. His passer rating 30. I bet Zach Wilson had a higher passer rating than that this week while we're talking about the AFC East.

But again, Bailey Zappi wasn't any better. One of the issues that we see with the Patriots over and over is they really can't establish the run. Now, when you're trailing right off the top, it makes it a lot harder to run the ball.

And when you're turning the ball over. I'd said this earlier in the season, I felt like the biggest issue for the Patriots was they put themselves in a hole right away. And it happened again against New Orleans. 17 points off turnovers for the Saints, too. They rushed for as many yards, almost as many yards as the Patriots have total. So good for them. New Orleans dominates the time of possession. And according to Chris Alave, they haven't even gotten to who they really are and who they can be.

That's a standard right there. I feel like we could be a lot better, too. We missed on some plays. We missed on a couple of throws and I feel like we could be a lot better.

And that's just the start. I mean, we got it done. We had 34 points, so I'm excited. You never want to lose two games in a row. And so, you know, I think as players, you got to kind of take that accountability and that responsibility. So, you know, I thought throughout the week, you know, guys just showed up, you know, doing a little bit extra, you know, watching a little bit more film because you never want to lose three games in a row.

Or two in a row, really. Tyron Matthew talking about how they desperately needed to win. And I would think the Patriots were in that same boat, but it got off the rails quickly.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. So we'll stay in the AFC East for now. Just quick talk about the game in London, because the Bills had come off a pounding of the Dolphins and they decided to travel Friday to London. Now, the Jaguars had been there all week. I don't know if there's actual science behind that, but to start the game, it was a clinic in ball control for the Jaguars. They were calm. They were cool.

They were collected. They were keeping the ball away from Josh Allen, which is critical when you face the Bills. Buffalo, meanwhile, is lethargic, slow, kind of lackluster to start, and penalties the whole time for the Bills. 11 penalties for 109 yards in this game against Jacksonville. It is really difficult to win when you give up 109 yards in penalties. Jacksonville was able to grab a pair of takeaways, dominated time of possession. Gosh, it felt like these were some of the longest drives that we had seen in the NFL all season. So credit the Bills defense. They hung in as long as they possibly could, but in the fourth quarter, the defense was exhausted and the Jags still were, they were possessing the ball. They were running the ball, which was huge, and they were keeping Josh Allen on the sidelines. Single back as ETN gets the handoff running over the left side, finds a hole at the 30.

He's free at the 20. Left numbers to the 10, breaks a tackle, and he's into the end zone. Touchdown, Jaguars. A 35-yard run for Travis ETN Jr. His second touchdown of the game, and this one should ice it in London. Jaguars 24, Bills 13, 2.56 to play in the fourth.

Our friend J.P. Shadrach doing the play-by-play on Westwood 1. So yeah, it was a game in which it was 11 to 7. That's like a bad baseball score.

Probably could have been, maybe was, one of the scores for Rangers Orioles on Sunday. Anyway, the game is 11 to 7 at halftime. Stevon Diggs gets into the end zone. Maybe Josh Allen and the Bills offense have a little life, but then Jacksonville kind of pounds you into submission, or at least they did, because they were fresh.

They had stayed in London all week. A 17-play, eight-minute drive that actually comes up with no points, right? So they were able to take that much time off the clock, though they did end that drive with a fumble, but then Josh Allen turns right around and throws an interception. In the fourth quarter, you saw some quick strikes from Buffalo, but the Jaguars were able to answer, and they did it with their run game.

And they get 26 carries for 136 yards for Travis, a couple of touchdowns. And so that was the part that I felt like we saw some maturity from Jacksonville in that every time Buffalo mounted any type of a drive, some momentum, threatened potentially to steal this game, the Jaguars squashed it out. It's just us being resilient. We have to just go in there and do our job each and every play.

We've got to find a way to kind of stop stalling out at times, but we answered the bill every time they run it. So that's what you got to do as an NFL team, and we were able to do that. And to play great teams, you have to make plays, and we made plays whenever we needed to, and happy we got the W. We're making the plays when we have to make them in crunch time. And I think some of the other two games that we've lost, we didn't do that. When the moment was there, we kind of let the opportunity slip.

So I think that's the biggest difference. And so I think if we clean up even more of the mistakes and the execution and the sloppiness, it'll be even cleaner. But it's never going to be perfect, and it's really just about winning. It's crazy that in the NFL, and we see it all the time, you can dominate a team.

One week, that's great competition, right? The Miami Dolphins going into Buffalo last week and getting stomped. I mean, Buffalo's defense was so good, and there were some good moments for the defense in this one as well. And actually, they had the adrenaline rush of what felt like a home crowd. There was a ton of Buffalo fans that made the trip, excited about that, and they really made a lot of noise. But Jacksonville was able to control the ball.

Jacksonville got off to a hotter start and had that run game that established them and made them difficult to rally against. Mind the gap. Do you think they were minding the gap?

Mind the gap. For Stavon Diggs, 121 yards and a score, it wasn't enough. Tired or not or whatever, you're going to get up to play a football game. I'm saying you get up to do the things that you love and play this game because it's a blessing. Also, prayers for the guys. We got hurt, but I won't ever use an excuse.

You can obviously look at the data or whatever, but I ain't really trying to hear that s***. I feel like we could play better. We will be better and we must. Great energy in the stadium.

They showed out and seemed like there's a lot of Bill's mop in the house, which is great. Just wish we could have gave them one. At the end of the day, we got to be ready to play on Sunday and it doesn't matter if we traveled on Saturday, Friday, Thursday, and Monday, two weeks ago, it didn't matter.

Two weeks ago. We didn't put out our best stuff and they did and that's why they beat us. Be a little bit difficult to handle Miami on your own field if you traveled two weeks ago, but his point is taken.

I don't think there's any tried and true formula. It's hard to imagine the entire team was worn out from the travel. It's not that long of a trip to get across the pond to the UK, but they didn't come out with a lot of energy, so it was evident and maybe it did help that the Jaguars stayed there, but that's no excuse.

I mean, you knew what was ahead of you and as Tavon points out, whatever, you still have to bring the energy. You have to get up to play a football game. By the way, he references the guys who got hurt and the devastating blow is the Pro Bowl defender, Matt Milano, who ends up with what I read was a broken leg. According to John McDermott, it was a knee and lower leg injury, but the report out there is that it was a broken leg for their great linebacker, so that's a bummer for sure for him and for the team. All right, we're cramming as much as we can following the update.

I'm going to do my absolute best. Available in limited quantities and select states only. Jaguars, by the way, win two games in London. They're now three and two.

Same record as the Bills. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Burrow is set. Stops the right foot. Catches the snap from Karas.

Looking right. Scrambling right. Throws it back to the left and it is caught in the back of the end zone.

Jamar Chase Burrow will fake to Mixon. He's going to fling it deep downfield for Jamar Chase. He catches it at the 10 and takes it into the end zone. Now rolling to the right.

Backpedaling to the 13. Throw caught. Jamar Chase on the back line of the end zone with his third touchdown catch as he sets a new Bengals record with his 14th catch of the game. Bam, bam, bam, bam.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. It sure is and we got to start this segment with the Bengals offense because the Bengals actually have an offense. Takes a trip to the desert for them to find it. It's like their oasis in the desert.

Damn, sometimes I'm really creative. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. I'm just kidding. Don't.

Just ignore me. The Bengals do finally score on the opening drive and that's when I felt like this could be what we were waiting to see from Cincinnati and Jamar Chase translates that opening drive with a touchdown into a three touchdown day. Sets the franchise record for catches in a single game. 15 of them for nearly 200 yards, which is one reason why he is a candidate for After Hours Monday MVP, so you can find the poll up on Twitter.

After Hours CBS, it's on my Twitter as well. Also on our Facebook page, many of you with the write-in votes. I know a lot of you are pointing to Devon Achan of the Miami Dolphins, man. He's been a revelation, but we decided that these were the four most deserving candidates. Well, and you know, Jared Goff is an early MVP candidate. I think Achan won it two weeks ago and was in it again last week, so we gotta go to some other guys.

Okay, so producer Jay wants some wondrous variety. All right, Jamar Chase it is then and Joe Burrow over 300 yards, three touchdowns. He did have an early pick after his wide receiver fell down, but the team delivered on what he'd been saying this week. They could not afford another loss. I knew we had to win it. We had to win New Orleans last year too, so a similar feeling.

On the Dolphins, on the Bengals radio network, Dan Horton, Dave Lapham, they always make it a lot of fun. Part of the reason that this game flowed and the offense was in more of a rhythm is because Joe Burrow's feeling better. He said, I felt like I could extend plays. I felt like I could move around.

He calls himself a lot closer to being healthy. And yeah, that is music to the ears and a sight for sore eyes for Zach Taylor. They're going to extend plays sometimes when you're thinking they shouldn't. They're going to hang onto the ball for a second longer than people feel comfortable with. And usually great things happen when that happens.

And that's the special magic that he's got that you don't want to ever take away from him. When you can strain together more plays and overcome some of the second longs and third downs we had, we just haven't done a great job of necessarily all of us, myself included in these last couple weeks. And so we were just able to free up and play the style ball we're used to playing. Mmm, Cincinnati putting the pedal to the metal in the second half. And again, I felt like this is the Bengals we were waiting for. Three scores in four drives. Jamar Chase, Joe Burrow hooking up again. The Bengals defense pitches in. They have three takeaways from Josh Dobbs, who may not be long for this world. And also for, you know, for empty possessions in that second half as the Bengals are pulling away. So it was a 1-2 punch for Cincinnati.

I don't know that they fixed all of their issues or worked out all of their kinks yet. They're dealing with some guys who are on and off the field. And they also have a deficit in the AFC North. Now, it's not a huge one because Steelers beat the Ravens in what was an epic fourth quarter performance in that, gosh, that rivalry that is so close all the way through their history. But Steelers, Ravens now at 3-2 atop the division. Browns have the week off. So they're one of the earlier buys. Bengals are now at 2-3.

But because they're all knotted together, it's easier to make up ground. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. I got to keep tabs on our rookie quarterbacks. We talked about Bryce Young earlier. The Lions defense, they bullied him. He had a miserable day. The Panthers had a miserable day. But this is what the Lions can do to people now.

Wow. Jared Goff, MVP candidate. But elsewhere are other rookie quarterbacks. You got CJ Stroud, who still has not thrown an interception.

How about that? Texans on the road at Atlanta. And Houston was actually holding the lead at the end of the third quarter with nothing but field goals. I mean, it wasn't pretty.

But a win is a win is a win is a win if you can get it. Except the Atlanta defense forces a pair of three and outs. We don't see a lot of that with CJ Stroud. Lately, he and the Texans offense. Damian Pierce, specifically.

They've had a lot to offer, and it's been a lot of fun to see them. But Atlanta has Bijan Robinson. Did you see the catch, the touchdown catch for Bijan Robinson?

If you haven't, you need to Google it immediately because it was brilliant. The Falcons are into the red zone. And as Desmond Ritter is looking around for a target, Bijan kind of cuts through the middle with this big hole in the offensive line. And CJ, not CJ, sorry, as Rizman, oh heavens, stop it. As Desmond Ritter pitches it to him, you see him kind of catching on his hip with his left hand, and then he somehow rolls it forward into his midsection where he can wrap it up.

Gosh, it was fire is what it was. And so Bijan Robinson, amazing, so much fun to watch for him. Atlanta, they get several big catches for Drake. London late in this game, and Young Ho Ku, Young Way Ku, Young Way Ku, he has the game-winning field goal as time expires. So yeah, the game-winning drive, maybe a moment where Desmond Ritter, see, I can say his name, is growing up on the job. Really one of my first true two-minute drives, obviously go win the game, whatever it was. And like we said, just that it was calm, cool, collected, didn't rush anything, didn't try to force anything, just played it as it came.

Desmond was ready to respond to the critics, right? The last couple of games have been tough for him and for the Atlanta Falcons, but back home, he looks like a different guy, and it was impressive. As for CJ Stroud, the Houston Texans, that offense just couldn't count. The offense just couldn't capitalize on its opportunities. So as Ritter's going, two touchdowns, no turnovers, what you have for the Texans is just some missed chances. They did get a lot of Damian Pierce at a Dalton Schultz touchdown, but just not quite enough late and the Falcons had the ball and did some damage with it last. Speaking of last, one more game.

I'm so proud of us, I didn't think we were going to get to it. Jonathan Taylor returning for the Indianapolis Colts, but actually it was Zach Moss, the backup running back, who did all the damage. Quick shotgun snap for Richardson, big run for the Colts, there they go! Indianapolis inside the 20, Zach Moss with 10, he's at the 5, touchdown! Zach Moss rips it away from 56 yards out. Indianapolis scores a touchdown with Zach Moss with 41 seconds to go in the first quarter.

Three-year, $42 million contract for Jonathan Taylor. We did see him on the field, but Zach Moss stole the show. 23 carries, 165 yards, and two touchdowns. Just preparation, I mean, we had a good game plan, the coaches put us in good positions the entire week, and you know, we just had to come out here and execute. We knew this was the division game at our house, we hadn't beat these guys in a while, and we hadn't won in front of our fans in a while, so you know, everybody was just pumped up to get it done, and you know, thankfully, you know, the coaches put me in good positions to make plays, and my O-line did a great job. That was a physical game, so just being able to work yourself back in, felt great.

I mean, I don't know anybody who says this, but it felt great getting hit, just because, you know, you haven't felt that in a while. Zach Moss with the NFL on CBS, and then Jonathan Taylor back in action. So it's good to have him, and the Colts had nearly 200 rushing yards in this game. They lose Anthony Richardson, though, late in the second quarter. He's tackled on a run play, and this is the problem with quarterbacks getting out and running a bunch. He lands hard and awkwardly on his right shoulder. They think it's a sprained AC joint, but between the defense of the Colts, mistakes by Ryan Tannehill, but also stuffing Derrick Henry on the five-yard line, so he doesn't get into the end zone. That was huge, too. So the Colts get this victory, and that wraps it up for us, but we got to everything! It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. Boom!