1-1-24 After Hours with Amy Lawrence: Hour 2

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Yep, Graybar does that. Hello listeners and welcome to the end of the year edition of the Hey Did You Know Podcast. So year end means holidays. Hey, did you know Americans eat 1.4 billion pounds of turkey every Thanksgiving? Well, year end also means the Hyundai getaway sales event. Hey, did you know it's the best deals of the season on Hyundai's most popular vehicles? Well, isn't that interesting?

And since we were talking turkey, hey, did you know only male turkeys gobble? Hey, did you know every new Hyundai comes with America's best warranty and three years or 36,000 miles of complimentary maintenance? Hey, did you know the Statue of Liberty is the largest holiday gift ever given? Hey, did you know when the year ends, so do the deals?

December 30th is National Bacon Day, you know. It's your journey on every mile at the Hyundai getaway sales event. Sign and drive a 2024 Hyundai Palisade with zero down, zero first month's payment and zero security deposit. Now during the Hyundai getaway sales event, offer ends January 2nd.

Call 562-314-4603 for details. I'm on a football clock. My entire week now revolves around the NFL schedule. We are so thrilled with the response we've had from you since we kicked off football. The excitement, the electricity, the interaction.

It's all different. It's amped up. Bring it on. I'll tell you all the story about the joke around the thief in the night.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Happy New Year to those of you in the Pacific time zone. That includes all of our great affiliates and listeners up and down the West Coast of the United States, of course. So we're talking everything from Portland, Oregon to Seattle to our huge audience in the Bay Area. So San Francisco Bay Area, not just KNBR, but we've got an affiliate in the Sacramento area as well. On down through San Diego and 93 797 3. Shoot, I get it back.

I get it wrong every time. And all of our awesome affiliates, including Las Vegas in the Pacific time zone that will be hosting Super Bowl 58 as we work our way into January of 2024. Wowzers. And then north of the border, just got a call from British Columbia. I also see another listener who's found me on Twitter in BC, the left coast of Canada. So TC Happy New Year to you. Thank you for listening. For those of you who have found us, whether it's still your 2023 New Year's Eve, so Alaska and Hawaii, they're straggling along.

That is okay. You all take your sweet old time. And then for those of you who are still awake or maybe you're already starting out, I don't know how many of you are working on New Year's Day, we are working on New Year's Day.

But it doesn't seem like many of you would be. But if you are, whether you're driving like Steve, our Uber driver, or you're working as a paramedic or police and fire, thank you for your service. There are some of us working.

So Happy New Year, whatever the case. I know we've got our New York affiliate, the great WFAN. It's also engaged with us on this edition of the show, not an affiliate that we typically have. So if you're listening in the New York area, it's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. Our phone number 855-212-4227.

That's 855-212-4CBS. The New Year is already three hours old for the Philadelphia Eagles and their fan base. And it doesn't feel any better in 2024 than it did at the end of 2023.

And this one may actually hurt the most or sting a little more. Maybe with some salt in the wound, if you will. Philadelphia was up 21-6 over the visiting Cardinals 21-6 at halftime, because Julio reminded people that he is still a fantasy football. Should we call him a keeper? I don't know.

Do you do you trust him? He's still a fantasy football flash in the pan. How about that? I think it was for the first time since 2018. Julio Jones, the former Atlanta Falcons, great. He last had two touchdown catches in a game in 2018. But he does. And Sydney Brown has a 99 yard pick six for the Eagles.

Great, sitting pretty, staying in the running for that top seed in the NFC and trying to lock down the NFC East crown. Except in the NFL, well really in every sport, where they play two halves. It's never just about how you start. It's also about how you finish.

Or in this case, don't finish. And the Arizona Cardinals, they come roaring back. So the Eagles are going to fight for their lives because the Cardinals can't be stopped in the second half.

11 extra minutes of possession just based on the third quarter. It was incredible the way the Cardinals were coming out of the locker room, grabbing all of that momentum. And we say momentum is fleeting in sports, but that momentum and that moxie, the confidence. It looked like Arizona was the team that was going for the division crown as opposed to playing out the string. Although for Kyler Murray, he's only a few games into his season, so he's got a lot more health in spring probably. So Jalen Hurts and the Eagles, they're fighting, they're scratching, they're clawing in a game that they thought they had already put away.

And even early fourth quarter felt like they were on the cusp. Empty backfield. Hurts is back.

Hurts looking. He dashes out to the far side of the field. He's going to run.

He's going to throw. He's got a touchdown! He's got Goddard!

He's got Goddard! And then we cut him off. That's Merrill Reese on Eagles Radio. One of my New Year's resolutions in 2024 is to explain to our tape department here kindly in CBS Sports Radio is how you don't need to end the cut the second that the guy's name comes out of the announcer's mouth. It's radio.

We like theater of the mind. We like for you to hear what was happening there in Philadelphia. And at this point, what was happening in Philadelphia is that Dallas Goddard got into the end zone to cap a seven yard drive and Philly was back in front 28-21.

But that is not where the story ended. As I say, the Cardinals could not be stopped in the second half and that includes a pair of scoring drives in the final six minutes. Snap to Murray. Blitz coming. Murray backing up. Floats into the end zone.

Middle of the end zone. Pulled in by Wilson for a touchdown. What a throw by Kyler Murray.

Facing pressure. Murray has been brilliant here in the second half. His third touchdown pass. Second and goal on the two. The Cardinals break the huddle. Murray under center. Two tight ends to the right.

Quick snap. Handoff. Conner straight ahead. Geese to the goal line and across for the go-ahead touchdown. James Conner punches it in and the Cards take the lead. 34-31 with 32 seconds to go in the game.

Do you hear the booing behind that Cardinals touchdown call with Dave Pash on their radio network? James Conner with a five yard touchdown catch and that was earlier in the game but he was feeling it. The go-ahead rushing TD comes with 30 seconds remaining in this one. But the big play is Kyler Murray to Craig Dortch. A 36 yarder.

So here are the Eagles. They had a field goal right before this so they're up by three. But they give up a 36 yard pass play from Kyler to one of his weapons.

It's a big chunk there on the final drive. And rather than having to settle for a field goal to tie it, maybe send it into overtime, instead they go the distance. 70 yard drive in seven plays and James Conner definitely feeling it to start a new year. And then the Cardinals defense intercepts a hail Mary by Jalen Hurts to end it.

And this is a stunner. Kyler Murray with three touchdowns passes himself. A fantastic second half where we see the potential for the Cardinals. Now I heard one announcer call this the Jonathan Gannon revenge game and I thought that was odd considering that he chose to leave.

The former defensive coordinator of the Eagles right so last year with them in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs. Both he and Shane Steichen end up leaving. So Gannon takes this job in Arizona where Kyler Murray is not going to be available for probably the first two thirds of the season if not longer. Has to build up what he can without Kyler. They're missing pieces, kind of divesting themselves of pieces.

And yet you can see some of the potential there. And what he wants most is to put the ball in the hands of his quarterback with the game on the line. And so they really wanted the defense. Just make quick work of the Eagles, play tough, play physical, get the ball back, give it to Kyler. With five minutes left, what they've shown is they're not going to give you the ball back. And I wanted to make sure at all costs, Kyler had the ball in his hand at the end of the game, whatever you're down. And that's what we did.

So it's just funny how it came up. But no, I thought the defense did excellent. Focusing on the play that was, you know, in the moment, just being in the moment, focusing on that play, understanding the concepts and what we're trying to accomplish and execute.

Not worrying about anything before or after, letting it go. And also, man, just like I said, hitting a groove, getting these reps in and continue to play football. And so for Kyler, there's a lot of promise. And it seems like he and Gannon already have a good rapport, though for the Cardinals, another lost season. With one week to go, they're sitting at four and 12. Now the Eagles, they've lost four or five. So theirs, in terms of these first couple months of the new year, their story is maybe more agita-inducing, more stomach pains for Eagles fans.

They've dropped four or five now. And coming up next weekend, the Dallas Cowboys, with a win, can earn the NFC East crown, which would result in the Eagles falling to the five seed. So you're talking about either the two seed or the five seed. And that's the major difference between winning your division or winning the wild card.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. I don't want to go into all the different tie breaks, but I will say this about Dallas. They've got it. They've got the tie break over Detroit, so the two, three seed based on head to head win percentage. And again, with the Eagles, if the Cowboys win next week, Dallas will have the NFC East crown, which would be a flip flop from a year ago. I think the Eagles are a veteran team with a formula that is proven, but we've not, similar to the Chiefs who were their opponent this Super Bowl last winter, we've not seen either the Eagles or the Chiefs play up to their potential. And we'll get to the Chiefs coming up. But there's got to be some anxiety around this Eagles club, even at 11 and five, they still could win the division based on what the Cowboys do next week. But there seems to be still mental mistakes, more turnovers, out of sync at times, not as reliable. Though I still think AJ Brown and Devante Smith have the ability to break out at any point. Dallas Goddard does too.

That's the part that doesn't make sense. Maybe makes a little more sense with the Chiefs because they've got a younger group of receivers. Now it doesn't make sense that they're turning the ball over or they're getting so many penalties, but the drop passes. Some of that is because this receiving core is just not as good. It's just not as what they've had in the past. And relatively new in the Chiefs system, not in the first year necessarily.

There are a couple, but for the most part, they're just a young, kind of greener, not as good receiving core. So defenses are able to key on Travis Kelce. And if they can get to Patrick Mahomes, it makes life a lot easier. Now what you saw with the Chiefs on Sunday is that Isaiah Pacheco is, in my opinion, the necessary ingredient for them to be successful as an offense.

Along with Pat, of course. So with the Eagles, you're talking about a lot of the same guys that helped them to the top seed last year in the NFC and got all the way to the Super Bowl. You would think they'd be another year wiser, more experienced, more disciplined, and keeping that unfinished business in mind because they lost to the Chiefs last year. But instead, what we've seen is inconsistency.

At times, just can't seem to settle into a rhythm and stay there. And so that leaves the door wide open for the Cowboys. And we'll talk about Cowboys and Lions in that Saturday night finish and some of what I've heard in reaction on Sunday.

Our phone number is 855-212-4227. Again, here's what we know about the NFL now. The Niners are the top seed and the NFC Ravens have locked up the top seed in the buy in the AFC. We've still got, gosh, one, two, three, four division crowns up for grabs.

So eight divisions, half of the crowns, half of the titles in the division races are still up for grabs going into week 18. This is music to the ears of the NFL. Good to the last drop. Let's go back to the phones here. David is listening in New Mexico. David, welcome to After Hours.

Hello, Amy. Thanks for having me. Of course.

I want to say congratulations to you and Hubby. I'm a first time caller. Awesome. I'm listening on 610 AM, the sports animal at Albuquerque.

Oh, neat. Okay. I'm a Niners fan. So how do you feel about them rewriting the ship on Sunday? I think they can do it. The only concern I have is when they get into the Super Bowl is them Ravens. The Ravens have owned them.

Right. And even though history doesn't matter as much, the formula with the Ravens is tough. They're so tough. They're so physical and they match the Niners in that department.

Yes, they do. Well, last year, all three of the quarterbacks were hurt. And I believe it was Garoppolo was hurt. And the other one was... Trey Lance. Ailey Zappi was the other one. And so was the current one. He went back in, like you said. Right, Brock Bertie. His dude was hand-off.

He couldn't pass. And so they keyed off on him, you know? Yeah. Well, Bertie has had this on his mind all year. He's very competitive, but also very hard on himself.

So you can see that. He takes all this to heart. When he has a bad game, he blames himself. And his teammates have to keep him up so he doesn't internalize all of it. But I do love where the Niners are.

They're battle-tested. And to me, that's a huge deal. And even though Bertie's only his second year in the NFL, he's surrounded by guys that can lift him up, can pick him up. He's surrounded by a coaching staff that makes him better. My question mark right now going in is just, what about Christian McCaffrey? So it's huge that they have the bye. Because I think with Christian, sometimes these injuries can take longer to heal.

I hope he's back next week and the calf is nothing more than a tweak. But if it takes longer than that, the bye will be critical for San Francisco. Yeah. It's very important that they stay healthy.

That was shown last year when they went up against the Ravens. Right. Right. For sure. All right, David. Well, Happy New Year to you. Anything else before I let you go?

Yeah. You were speaking earlier about your cat that you left at home for 18 days and it was upset when you got home. Well, she's still upset. I have a cat that I've rescued.

I'm an animal lover. And yeah, when I first got him, I had an experience with him where I left him. I left him for like eight days. And when I got home, he didn't like it much. And he was just there. He went outside, sprayed, got it on himself, came back in and put it on me.

Ew. Yeah, he did. He did. That's a TMI, David. No one wants to hear that story. Yeah.

Well, cats, what he was doing was if he had ever come looking for me, he'd know it was me. Ew. But OK. I don't know if that's true or not, but OK. They're characters.

They're characters. Cats are. And they don't like it when change happens, especially if they, you know, if they pick you and they bond with you. Which, you know, cats, if they if they don't want if they don't like you, you might just go just send them on down the road.

Well, here's the funny part. So my new husband is not well, wasn't let's say past tense, was not a cat fan. And so there's a bit of a compromise going on because he's got a dog that sleeps on furniture and sleeps on the bed. That dog can no longer do it.

The dog that dog has been booted. But my cat is not allowed on the bed either. But the funny part is I asked him, why don't you like cats?

And his response was, well, for his first response was, well, they're aloof. Yeah, not my cat. Sugar is like you wish she was more aloof. She's all up in your grill all the time. And so she's actually adopted my husband as her favorite person in the family. She's, I think, angry about the fact that I left her there for 18 days, not without multiple visitors every day, by the way. But I did leave her for that long. So she's angry at me. But boy, does she love the hubby. I'll tell you that she loves him.

She's getting back at you, though, because you left her by putting all her attention on him. Good point. It's all right. I don't mind.

She can do that all she wants. All right, David. Happy New Year to you. Thanks so much for your phone call. Yes, and Happy New Year. Prosperous New Year. Thank you.

And a healthy New Year for both of you. I appreciate that. So important.

Glad that you called for the first time. Talk soon. Yes.

855-212-4227 on Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page, After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Have you yawned yet? No. OK, so Hubbs is saying no yawning. But since he's over to my right, producer Andrew, I'm going to expect you to inform me the second that there is a yawn coming out of my co-host's mouth, because that is not allowed. He assured me that he would be up and peppy and happy and excited.

Couldn't wait to come in and see how the sausage is made from ZB. What are you flashing him? Producer Andrew, what did he just show you?

I couldn't really tell exactly. Oh, OK, because I'm pretty sure he pulled cash out of his wallet to keep you quiet. Do not, under any circumstances, if you ever want to work on the show again, take the money from him. Absolutely not. Whose side are you on, Andrew? Whose side are yours? Thank you. Thank you.

He's on my side. Sorry, babe. So, right, so no yawning over there, because you promised me that you would be all in for the show.

I offered multiple times the last second. You can stay home if you want. You don't have to come in.

Oh, no, I can't wait! Which means if you fall asleep on the desk in the final hour, there will be photos. Who's the one who did the driving back? I drive. So, OK, full disclosure, his first time ever in New York City, right now. So he's seen it from the outside.

He flew to JFK, I think, one time, but it's never been in New York City and Manhattan until right now. And so I drove because I don't trust him in New York traffic yet. Also, his mom is still awake. So, mom, he just sent a photo to mom from in-studio and she said a radio man. I had to respond with a silent radio man. He's the silent partner in this relationship. And actually that applies to both on radio and off the radio. All right. That's not entirely true.

Not entirely true. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. Hello, listeners, and welcome to the end of the year edition of the Hey Did You Know podcast. So year end means holidays. Hey, did you know Americans eat 1.4 billion pounds of turkey every Thanksgiving? Well, year end also means the Hyundai getaway sales event. Hey, did you know it's the best deals of the season on Hyundai's most popular vehicles? Well, isn't that interesting?

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Get 40% off right now at Blinds.com. La la la la la LaBlinds.com Rules and restrictions may apply. Jim was at the laundromat when he heard. His ear said, maracas, senor, but his nose said, hey, freshest scent ever. Following his nose, Jim found a man pouring gain scent beads into the washer. The scent, the freshness. Jim blurted, sir, your scent maracas smell amazing. You could call them scent maracas, but most noses call them gain scent beads.

Try gain scent beads, way fresher than detergent alone. Holmes looks to the left side, senor fires back, and the end zone caught. Touchdown, Kansas City. Actually a circle route by Isaiah Pacheco. The Chiefs went four by one after the Pacheco motion, and he circles into the end zone.

A new wrinkle for the Chiefs. Placement is down. Butkers kick.

It is up. Nailed it. Six made field goals by Harrison Butker. At 259 to go in the game, that is a career high for Harrison Butker. Here you make the call, not the refs. Light up Amy's phone lines now.

855-212-4CBS. The Kansas City Chiefs, do you trust them moving into the AFC portion of the playoffs? Because once again, they are a team like the Eagles that kind of leave you scratching your head this season. We know what the potential is for Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and Isaiah Pacheco, who when he's healthy is a huge piece and a huge wrinkle in their offense.

His versatility provides AD Rhee with so many other options. We know what they can do. We know what their potential because they're the defending Super Bowl champions. But this road to the playoffs is different. This road to the playoffs has featured more mistakes, more miscues. In my opinion, mental focus that's lacking at times. Too many penalty flags. They lead the NFL in drop passes. Lot of turnovers. And at times, this is sacrilegious to say, but the defense has been better than the offense.

Now that's not a bad problem to have, but in the Patrick Mahomes era, it's just abnormal. It's After Hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Love to hear from you, so many of you weighing in and I'm retweeting from our show account After Hours CBS. But you can listen and tweet or message us on Facebook at the same time to let us know where you are on this New Year's Day. Because for almost all the country now, we're into New Year's Day and north of the border.

855-212-4227, we'll get back to your calls. And also, top of the hour, now many of you are asking me, we'll get to that Cowboys-Lions finish. And why, sure, it's controversial, but it may not be, oh, the NFL is rigged. My mother insists that some sports are rigged and I keep trying to tell her. That's ridiculous. Nobody can keep a secret like that.

That may be the only reason why. Anyway, Bengals and Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. And what you hear with Mitch Holtus there on Chiefs Radio is not only is Isaiah Pacheco back and goes for 165 total yards in that receiving touchdown in his return, but Harrison Butker, 6 for 6. Your annual reminder, even as we morph into 2024, kickers are people too.

So Harrison Butker goes 6 for 6. Now the final possession has the Chiefs up 8 points. Alright, so the defense really set the tone in the second half.

We saw it over and over again. First of all, the Chiefs only managed four field goals in the second half. But the Bengals were held without points. So credit a veteran Chiefs defense.

They're opportunistic. They may not get as much of the attention, of course, with Mahomes and Reed and what the Chiefs can do offensively. Or this season, what they've not done offensively. Either way, the defense gets overshadowed.

But we've seen them win games this season. And so the defense stuffs the Bengals in the red zone early in the third quarter. That was huge. Willie Gay busts through the line of scrimmage from the defensive line. He wraps up Joe Mixon for a 3-yard loss. And they turn the ball over on down. So that was early in the third quarter. But then final possession with the Chiefs up 8 points. Do you know what you saw?

I hope that you watch this. It was really impressive. We were counting them in the living room. Four sacks of Jake Browning on that last drive. The pressure on him was intense. So the defense finishes with six sacks and 14 hits overall. But I swear the majority of the hits, and of course four of the sacks, come on that last possession. And so the Bengals were clinging to any playoff hopes with the ball in Jake Browning's hands. Browning, again, stepping up. He's throwing long down the right sideline. And the pass is going to be broken up, broken up, broken up. Tee Higgins, the intended receiver.

Shamari Connor, the rookie out of Virginia Tech, dropping the nock it down at 107 to go in the game. And the Kansas City Chiefs are going to win the AFC West for eight consecutive years. It was a good game to get. It was great to have the guys have a championship with the AFC West. So, I mean, that's a positive thing. I know how they are. They're not going to rest on that.

But it is exciting for them to get a taste, especially the new guys that haven't had that experience. Congratulations to Andy Reid, who has led the Chiefs to nine straight seasons in which they've had 10 or more wins. Nine straight years of double-digit wins. And, as you hear with Mitch Holtus on Chiefs Radio, their eighth straight AFC West crown. That's similar to what the Patriots were doing with Tom Brady.

Right? I mean, that's the type of dominance we're talking about in the West. Not without adversity, not without some moments they'd like to forget, or maybe just moments they need to learn from. So with their win, the Broncos are eliminated, despite the fact that they get a victory on Sunday. The Raiders eliminated themselves earlier in the day. Chargers, they're a disaster. They're already looking for a new GM and new head coach.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. So the Chiefs are not going into this playoff run with a position of strength. I mean, yes, they're division champions, but do you know they haven't gone on the road for a postseason game since Patrick Mahomes took over as their quarterback? Every single playoff game for them in the Mahomes era has been at Arrowhead Stadium, which is intimidating regardless of how many times you've done it. Now, I know the Bengals have had success there. The Bills have had some success there.

These are really good teams with veteran leadership. But, and sometimes I feel like I say this every year, just because it's important to note, I think, that is one of the toughest and most intimidating places to visit during the postseason, specifically during December, January. I once stood on the sidelines of a Big 12 championship game at Arrowhead Stadium. And by halftime, I could not feel my feet, number one. Number two, it's so loud you can't hear yourself talk.

You can't hear yourself talk. And so Arrowhead is a huge advantage, but the Chiefs will not have the top seed. They will not have the bye, but I think more critically, they will not have the top seed. Right now, actually, they're a three seed.

That's based on Baltimore and Miami as one and two in the AFC. So if they're going to win a Super Bowl, more than likely, or get back to the Super Bowl, more than likely, they're going to have to do it on the road. And yet, for this team, I think because they've seen it all, except for a road playoff game, right, during the Mahomes tenure there with Andy Reid, they're just thrilled to be where they are despite all the problems and issues and challenges they faced this year. Everybody's been so positive through it and supporting each other. I mean, you've seen it on the sidelines, guys supporting each other, the want to by Chris Jones, by Patrick, by Kels.

I mean, and then the guys follow them. And when they bring that energy like they do every week, I mean, guys believe that it's going to get changed. Dealing with some adverse situations over these last few weeks and for guys to respond against a good football team and find a way to win, even when the game wasn't going in our way at the beginning of it. It was special.

I mean, I told the guys celebrate it, enjoy it. But I mean, our goal is obviously to continue to win, so we have to continue to build off this momentum and get ready for the playoffs. Interesting question that we'll ask maybe before we get to the postseason. Do you trust the Chiefs? Do you trust the Eagles? The Ravens and the Niners, they're also veterans and battle-tested. They've got the byes, which is helpful. I think if I asked people, do you trust the Cowboys, the majority of people would say no.

But with the Eagles and the Chiefs, the two teams that met in Super Bowl 57, man, it's got to feel different a year later. All right, on Twitter, ALawRadio, retweeting from our show account. But you can let me know where you are and how you're listening on this New Year's night, New Year's Eve into 2024, which is crazy. Just got this tweet to our show account, which I want to read. You didn't send it to me, but Suzy wrote to our show Twitter account. Hi, Amy, listening from Chicago. 70-year-old woman who always wanted to do what you do, but women couldn't do it. Love listening to you on a regular radio.

Keep up the great work. You know what, Suzy, when I was in college, actually coming out of high school, going into college, my principal in high school said to me, women don't do what you do. You should have a backup plan. In fact, most of the people who were close to me, the adults, said to me, make sure you have a backup plan because no one's done what you want to do.

And that's true. At 16 years old, I started telling people I'd be the first female Johnny Most. For those of you who don't know his name, he was the longtime iconic broadcaster of the Celtics on radio for years. And that's always been my dream job. Somewhere along the way, I realized I'm kind of good at the sports talk show thing, and that was how I paid the bills to go along with my play-by-play. And so I know this is what I've wanted to do since I was 16 years old, but it's a path that didn't have a whole lot of worn-out steps, I suppose.

Didn't have a lot of the weight cleared for me. And so people told me the same thing, Susie. I'm glad that you listen.

That makes me happy. I certainly understand that it's a path that still women, a lot of women, don't do and that it's an honor to be one of the few in sports radio. And gosh, I'm old now. My career, more than 25 years.

And as we start a new year, 2024, for CBS Sports Radio, we're going into year 12. Best career move I ever made. It was hard. It was to pick up my whole life and move it and to start over fresh and to leave an established network where I had been for eight years. This was scary.

But I had two incredible bosses who believed in me, and it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. And now here we are, 11 years later. So thank you for listening, Susie. Happy New Year to you. So glad to have a sister out there listening from Chicago who understands.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. We'll get to your phone calls coming up. Where are you? How are you listening? And yes, Happy New Year.

Many blessings and breakthroughs for you in 2024. Here's our latest sports update, and here's Manny Rodriguez. I'm Tony Kornheiser, and this is my show. My friends come on, and you know them. We talk about the sports you care about. Football, and now basketball, too, though we don't really pay attention until later in the year and the absurdity that is our lives. Line etiquette at your local pharmacy, the current phase of the moon, the importance of talking to a human being on the phone, and most importantly, the power of a box of that.

Listen on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. It's Najee into the middle of the line, and the pile moves grudgingly but goes forward. The word goes on the goal line. What are they going to call? That's a touchdown. They call touchdown. All we can do is win the games that we're in, and that's this time of year.

That's any time of year. You can't spend a bunch of time scoreboard watching and things of that nature. It's professional ball.

We got to beat the people we play. It's a football-feeding frenzy. After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The unmistakable voice of After Hours favorite Mike Tomlin. And before that, Bill Hilgrove on Steelers radio. Yeah, what a performance for the Steelers offense, and even without Kenny Pickett, this is the Mason Rudolph experience, but also Najee Harris. Credit Najee and the run game, so that means the offensive line for the Steelers. For Harris alone, two touchdowns, a season-high 122 yards, and then for the team as a whole, 202 rushing yards for Pittsburgh.

When was the last time you could say that? No turnovers, despite not having their starting QB or the QB they began the season with. Mason Rudolph running the team up and down the field against the Seahawks in Seattle.

So Jalen Warren also has a touchdown run. This was a run-first, beat-your-brains-in type of performance by Mike Tomlin and the Steelers. So Pittsburgh and Seattle are both still alive for the playoffs, but they will need help.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. One more thing about Pittsburgh and some people, depending upon who you are, there are two types of Steelers fans in this world. The Steelers fans who love Mike Tomlin, appreciate his value and the consistency with him as the head coach. Once again, the Steelers will not have a losing record under Mike Tomlin. The majority of these seasons have been with Ben Roethlisberger, a Hall of Fame quarterback, but not since he retired, and here they are second year without him. And yet again, we'll have a winning record. They could actually finish at 10 and 7, so a double-figure win season. But the people who don't appreciate that say, oh, that's celebrating mediocrity.

I disagree. There are a lot of teams in the NFL that would take this kind of consistency over now 15-plus years with Tomlin. The Seahawks meanwhile fall back to 8-8. Their offense was spotty this year, had some real impressive games in which Geno Smith could go deep downfield, but not on a regular basis.

I wonder. And this is kind of ironic considering that Russell Wilson has been benched as the starting quarterback by the Broncos. We'll hear from him next hour. But I wonder if they're going to look to move on from Geno Smith. It's not all on Geno, let's be fair.

They want Kenneth Walker to establish the tone for them, but they do have some veteran receivers, and their passing attack, it was hit or miss for a lot of 23. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio, so on Twitter, ALawRadio. I'd rather ring in the new year here on air talking about the NFL and what's to come with the college football playoff, whatever else that floats my boat. You know how that brain of mine works.

It takes us places that no man has ever been before. This year with a special guest in studio, hi babe, new family member. Aw, so nice to have a new family member.

Well, him and his dog, so you know. There's no place I'd rather be than right here. And we're going to get to your calls. Now, top of the hour, we'll break down that end of the Dallas Cowboys game, Cowboys-Lions on Saturday night.

I was home in time for that home sweet home, but first let's talk to Kyle who's in Dallas. Kyle, welcome to after hours CBS Sports Radio. Hey, thanks for taking my call, Amy. I've really appreciated and really enjoyed listening to your show for the first time. Oh, awesome. Thanks so much.

Are you listening on 105.3 The Fan? Absolutely. Cool. Well, happy new year to you. Well, thanks.

You too. Man, I'll just say this. How about them Cowboys on Saturday?

We got the tiebreaker now with Philly because they are just in a downfall right now after listening to the Cardinals, which I can't say much because we lost the Cardinals, but I'll take it. Right? Hello, Kettle, you're black. Exactly.

Yes. I'm willing to admit where our faults are. But what are they? Where are your faults? The fault for the Cowboys is, man, we suck. Well, we didn't suck too bad against the Lions when it came to stopping the run. We're not great against the run. We can't run the ball.

That's mainly our fault right now. I think special teams were OK passing the ball. I think we're well, I would say our number two receivers a little every. We went away from Brandon Cooks and that hurt us. I think the last couple of games we went back.

We went back to him a little bit against Detroit. Obviously not enough because he had 227 yards. But I don't think that's really bad about the team and the fact that if we end up getting a two seed, I don't see us losing the playoffs up until we likely face San Francisco in the championship, the NFC championship game.

But no counting your Cowboys before they hatch. But I do think that the home field for them, if they could get that two seed, I know it wouldn't stand against San Francisco, but it would be massive because they're a completely different team at home. They look more comfortable. They look more in sync. I would agree with you about the run game. I still think they need more. Some of that's on the offensive line. At times they've had some injuries to deal with, but boy does Dak look like a world beater at home. I mean, that's just what we've seen from them. He and C.D.

Lamb have a special connection. Now seems as productive as, say, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. It's actually even more productive this year. And so, yes, I love what they've done at home. It bothers me that the defense doesn't play as well on the road, so that bothers me a bit. And they're just not the same team away from home, so it may not be the case for other teams in the playoffs, but for the Cowboys, they need to be home to be successful. Yeah, and that's the big thing. And obviously, I'm not a native from Dallas. I'm originally from Arkansas.

But being in Dallas, I listen to 105.3 a good bit. And the big thing, I think, that's the problem on the road is, offensively, for the offensive line, they have a really hard time communicating. And you saw that in the game against Miami. Our left tackle, who, Tyron Smith was out, so I can't remember who it was that replaced him. But our left tackle, there were like three times where he basically just let Bradley Chubb come in unabated and get a free shot on deck. And that's just, it was a clear miscommunication. It happened at least three or four times. But that didn't happen at home. The secret to consistency on the offensive line very often is just time.

And there's no shortcut to that experience when you plug and play a new guy. Sometimes that happens, especially when you're replacing a veteran like Tyron. So we'll see what happens. But I do appreciate that the Cowboys have put themselves in a position to win the NFC East title. And they did that, in part, because of a big victory over Philly at home. They took good care of their business there.

And I know it's been spotty, but I like the fact that it's a lot of veterans and that we see what they can do when they're at AT&T Stadium. All right, Kyle, good to have you. Happy New Year to you. Thanks so much for listening. Yes, ma'am. Thank you.

In Texas, they call me ma'am. All right, so on Twitter, After Hours, CBS, or my Twitter, A-Law Radio, plus our Facebook page. A lot of you weighing in, letting us know where you are and how you're listening.

There's no place I'd rather be to ring in a new year, so happy 2024. Now, coming up, we're going to get to the end of that Cowboys game against the Dolphins. No, not the Dolphins, duh. That was the week before. Against the Lions and talk about why it may not be as controversial as what it appears, but also we'll get back to your calls. 855-212-4CBS. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. Thousands of professionals rely on Graybar to help keep them up and running.

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