After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

Nobody wants a surprise in their jelly donut.

It's toothpaste? That's because the middle is the most important part. At Graybar, we're at the middle of electrical and datacom jobs across the country. Connecting installers, facility managers, and business owners with smart solutions for their most challenging projects. Which means stocking and delivering crucial products on time and on budget with no surprises thanks to our nationwide logistics network.

Yep, Graybar does that. Around New Year's, we get a little obsessed with changing ourselves and forgetting the things we're already doing right. Like taking our supplements every morning or scheduling me time into our day. Therapy helps you recognize those victories and keep up the good work in the new year without changing everything. BetterHelp offers affordable online therapy so you can try New Year's same you with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash grow today to get 10% off your first month.

That's BetterHelpHELP.com slash grow. Music playing. The Detroit Lions and their fans, the pride as they're called, are waking up after a playoff win. It has not happened in 32 years. A playoff win. If they even got to sleep last night, if they could even manage a couple hours shut eye after the adrenaline surge from watching the Lions survive, former quarterback Matthew Stafford. And the Rams at a raucous Ford Field, a single point. It was a single point and we will go through the twists and turns but for the first time since the early 90s.

I mean, the 90s are back baby. Lions fans, you wake up victorious on a playoff Monday. Here we go. Golf works out of the gun, second down and nine, two minutes to go. There's golf back looking looking throws it is caught.

Bob and Ross St. Brown first down. That's going to do it. That's going to do it.

That's going to do it. Jared Goff delivers against his former team. Now all they have to do is take a knee three times and this game will be over.

Thank you. You've waited for this one proud nation stand up. You've waited for this. We play next Sunday back here at home. All right, we got the winner of Tampa and Philly, which is tomorrow. We'll be here at three o'clock back at Ford Field because you got earned it. Dude, how electric was it out there? It doesn't get any better.

It's everything you dream up and then more. That's outstanding work. We have Jared Campbell in the locker room addressing the Detroit Lions. When Jared Goff entered the locker room from his press responsibilities, this is what he heard. I appreciate you guys more than you can know. I promise you that I love you guys so much. This is just the beginning, boys. This is just the beginning. We got three more of these next week at home at our place against whoever wants to come in here. When was the last time you heard Jared Goff? That fired up or that vulgar?

He's like against whoever the bleep wants to come in here. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.

We'll be right back. We'll also have the Niners hosting the Packers and that is your Saturday night game. For the Packers, again, they get to get out of the snow. First they go to Dallas, now they'll go to San Francisco. It'll be a 7.15 start central time. So Niners and Packers is the late game. Texans is the early game on Saturday. They'll be on the road somewhere. We don't know where yet. Let's see. They would be at the Bills, correct? If the Bills win. Interesting stuff. I love it.

I love the fresh blood. Alright, so 4.30, 8.15, these are Eastern times, next Saturday. And then Sunday we know the Lions play in the early game. We don't know the late game.

So much yet to be decided. But back to the Lions, back to their other quarterback, Jared Goff. Man, did they come out aggressive from the start. Right away, able to move the ball around, right away able to spread it out to a bunch of different receivers. They were mixing in pass and run. But something that stands out to me and has all season is that this team, this Lions team finally has a run game that deserves respect. It finally has a run game that can help to keep defenses honest. And I think back to them drafting Jameer Gibbs and the surprise there.

But coupling him with David Montgomery, the former Chicago Bear. Oh, it's all in the family there in the NFC North. And these guys were doing the damage early. In fact, they had the first two touchdowns after extended drives by the Lions. Now, because it is Matthew Stafford and they're all too familiar with what he can do. And because of the weapons that he's got with him on offense, we knew the Rams weren't as good on defense, even with an Aaron Donald, a very young team on defense. And so they got carved up a bit by Jared Goff.

But still, even in the loss, it was fun to see Matthew Stafford do what he did for so many years in the Motor City. Ready? He has it. Against a four-man rush.

Well protected. Deep down the left side. Pukka behind the defense. Cause a 20. The go inside to 10.

Slips into the end zone. Touchdown LA! 50 on the number for prime time Pukka. positioning from left to right.

Pukka Nakua. 4-10 to go. Matthew Stafford has it. Back to the logo. Stands in. Hitches. Fires right side.

It is caught. 2-2 Atwell. Too fast.

Too furious. 2-2 Atwell with a flip and a touchdown. Pair of long TD's in the first half for Matthew Stafford and Pukka Nakua, he's terrific. In traffic, he doesn't care about close quarters and he'll break out and run like the wind. But also has the fancy footwork on that touchdown. He runs into a couple of Lions near the goal line and just does a spin move and splits right through them and backs into the end zone. He's a lot of fun to watch. I love Pukka Nakua. Yeah.

How can you not? He ends up with, hmm, what did I write down for him? He ends up with another big game where he's, I'll look it up real quick, where he's over, over 150 yards. In fact, nine catches for 181 yards with that 50 yarder being the long one. And then 2-2 Atwell, who's not even among their top three receivers most of the time, but a ball gets zinged right back to the ear of the defender and he's there to catch it and nobody behind. So those were some sweet moments for Matthew Stafford and that Rams offense. But ultimately, what we saw from the Lions and the way they were able to incorporate so many different guys into the offense and the fact that Sam Laporta was healthy, that was huge.

He's going to work out of the gun. He's got Montgomery to his right on fourth down at about a yard and a half. Shotgun snap, golf back, golf looks, golf pumps, now throws, end zone caught, touchdown Detroit Lions, Sam Laporta. He's back, he's playing, and he's in the end zone.

Fireworks, baby, fireworks. That's Dan Miller on Lions Radio. He actually joined us live in the first hour. He was just driving home from the stadium after his various postgame responsibilities.

We'll bring back part of that conversation. This is history for the Lions. So in the first half, we saw fireworks.

We saw Sparks flying. But in the second half, there's only three field goals. The defense was really the difference. And honestly, isn't that one of the big differences under Dan Campbell is the defense. It wasn't for Matt Patricia, even though defense was supposed to be his calling card before he went back to New England where he was the offensive coordinator, which was weird. So the Rams twice have drives that go over six minutes and twice they're stopped inside that red zone. Forced to settle for field goals. This is, in my opinion, what gives this team depth, right? So we know that both these teams have offense.

Who was going to make a defensive stand? And it was impressive to see. And then you had the Lions get the ball back with four minutes remaining after they forced a couple of field goals. They've gotten one of their own. So they're just in front by a point. They get the ball back with four minutes to go.

And this is not your granddaddy's Detroit Lions. Jared Goff to Amunrah St. Brown for what they ended up with a pair of first downs. But that was the last one they needed. And they're able to kneel this one out. Jared will wait to move in behind center until that clock goes all the way down. Play clock at one takes the snap takes the knee one more time.

One more time, Jared. Oh, Ford Field, you are beautiful. Sixty five thousand strong standing. Best fans in the world.

Yes, sir. They have waited for this. They have endured so many gut punches.

And here they are tonight. One final time, Jared, one final time moves in behind center, takes the snap, takes the knee. This game is over. Oh, the Detroit Lions have won it. Celebrate, boys, celebrate.

You're coming right back here next week to take on the winner of the Philadelphia Tampa Bay game. What a night. What a night. It was surreal. You know, it was it was something that you kind of imagine for so long. From the moment I got here, you imagine getting that playoff win and having this type of atmosphere in front of our home crowd and being able to sit on the ball like that and finish it out. And yeah, it kind of all hit me there.

Wow. Not only do they end their playoff drought, but they do it at home in front of those fans that Dan Miller calls the best in football. And it's Jared Goff with his arms raised in salute. How about his game? Twenty two of twenty seven, two hundred seventy seven yards in the score and the major difference between these two? If you look at the stat sheet, which I always do, team stat specifically, the numbers are nearly identical. Same number of drives, same number of plays, the exact same conversion rate for the Rams and Lions on third and fourth down.

Nearly the same. I think there may be there was a bit of a yardage disparity, but not much. I mean, the numbers were so similar, but the one that jumps out is the conversion, the conversion in the red zone.

The Lions go all for three in the red zone, and that kept Matthew Stafford and the Rams from doing any more damage. That was the difference. That was the difference. And we wanted to be disruptive today. We were going to be aggressive.

You know, it wasn't perfect. But at the end of the day, we knew we had to limit points, keep them out of the out of the end zone. We did that. We put an emphasis on our red zone and come in the middle of the season.

You know, we kind of real. I mean, maybe a little later in the season when we realized it wasn't really up to par. And, you know, it's kind of hard to describe how you change a red zone defense.

But I think it was more of a mentality shift. And now we just got to stop the just stop the self-inflicted wounds. Aidan Hutchinson with a couple of sacks and five quarterback hits. Poor Matthew Stafford.

This seems all too familiar. He's battered. He's bruised. He's bloody. Detroit knows that well.

He's got a swollen hand and knuckles that are bleeding. And yet he's out there slinging it the best he can. Sean McVeigh traded for him. They won a Super Bowl together.

You cannot fault McVeigh for making the move. You can't fault the Rams for making the move and pulling the trigger on the trade. And they are probably back in the playoffs maybe a year earlier than a lot of people thought with so many young guys as they rebuild. Disappointing for Stafford, but I can't imagine he's upset about the Lions finally winning a playoff game. We would have never been in this situation without Matthew Stafford's leadership, his guidance, his resilience. He was one of the main catalysts for what was right about this football team.

And I know I know he'll be excited about coming back next year as well. It was a good playoff atmosphere. You know, obviously it was a loud crowd.

I thought we did a great job communicating the whole day. It was a good playoff atmosphere. They finally got over the playoff hump in Detroit. And they did it without Matthew Stafford. But again, he's got a Super Bowl rings.

I don't have to feel bad for him. Dan Campbell came in, changed the culture. We focused on the kneecaps. But this guy is consistent and they will run through a wall for him. I've got controlled fury.

Which I think is really impressive. Oh my gosh, did you hear the cheers? The mock cheers? When he sent Taylor Skinner in to report. Oh wait, is that his name?

Taylor? I can't remember his first name. Anyway, he was doing that not because he intended to use him.

Or at least they didn't use him. But it was just funny the cheer from the crowd. And Dan Campbell deserves all of the credit and the love and just that fresh anticipation for what's to come. To be able to do something that's greater than yourself, it takes everybody around you doing their job, doing it on a high level. And you've got to be able to trust them. It's special. It's different than anything, man. And it's why you do what we do. It's not the money. It's about the competition.

It's about the comradery and to be the best of the best collectively. Had to put the ball in the hands of his quarterback. Now he's really aggressive. He goes for it on fourth down more often than not. Remember that end of the Cowboys game where he refused to take no for an answer?

I'm good. And he puts the ball in the hands of his quarterback. And we've seen Jared Goff blossom along with Ben Johnson, the two of them together. But he wanted it in the hands of Jared and he wanted to use his top receiver and let them make sure the ball would not go back to the Rams. Ultimately, man, we did what we had to do to win that game and played it the right way. And in the critical moment, seal the game. We put it in Goff's hands. He gets it to Saint and we're able to kneel on it. Saint. I like it. Is that his nickname? I've not heard that before. Football.

Always comes up with the fun names. Well, really every sport. But I feel like in hockey, all they do is add a Y to the name. That's it. If you're Jones, you're Jonesy. If you're Smith, you're Smitty.

That's it. On Twitter, After Hours, CBS or my Twitter, ALawRadio. Who is your Monday MVP on what is a Martin Luther King Jr. day? And a lot of people are, of course, out of their regular routines, not in school, not working. That doesn't apply to us. And who would want to miss a Monday like this? Waking up for the first time in 32 years as playoff winners, you Lions fans revel in it with more to come. I swear to God, I'm not a lunatic. Just embrace it. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. No surprises, thanks to our nationwide logistics network.

Yep, Graybar does that. Around New Year's, we get a little obsessed with changing ourselves and forgetting the things we're already doing right. Like taking our supplements every morning or scheduling me time into our day. Therapy helps you recognize those victories and keep up the good work in the new year without changing everything. BetterHelp offers affordable online therapy so you can try new year, same you with better help. Visit betterhelp.com slash grow today to get 10 percent off your first month.

That's betterhelp.com slash grow. Babysitter paid. Pizza ordered.

Flowers delivered. You can do a lot of things with your phone. And with Blue Link Plus, you can even access your Hyundai Tucson Limited remotely. Doors unlocked.

Temperature set. Lost car found. Oh, there it is. Get complimentary class leading Blue Link Plus. Just another way we make owning a Hyundai Tucson Limited more convenient than ever. Learn more about the new Tucson and Blue Link Plus at HyundaiUSA.com.

Call 562-314-4603 for complete details. After Hours podcast. Jared Gove takes the final knee and the final seconds are going to come off the clock here at Fort Field in Detroit. The Detroit Lions have got their first postseason win in 32 years.

January 5th, 1992. They outlast the Los Angeles Rams. They win it 24 23 and the Lions are moving on to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. What a moment.

Kind of cool to think about. Is Jared Gove and his revenge the Monday MVP? Are you going with Jordan Love? Man, the NFC North is shining on this holiday Monday and we've got more to come. A doubleheader later on today that we're inside now of 11 hours until the Steelers and the Bills kick off on CBS. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

No joke. He wasn't even home from the stadium yet. And the radio play-by-play voice of the Detroit Lions, Dan Miller, agreed to spend a couple of minutes with us here on the show.

This goes back to the very first segment a few hours ago and it was awesome to get his perspective. And I asked him, why? Why is it working with Dan Campbell? Why is his system and his culture getting the Lions where they've not been in decades?

Well, I would take you, I'll come back to Dan, but let me take you to our owner Sheila Ham. Because when she fired the previous regime, she could have just hired a general manager and a head coach and said, OK, we've got two good ones here. But she did more than that. She took a deep dive into the organization and found out that it was fractured. That there were a lot of people that didn't feel valued.

A lot of people that had been left behind and it just wasn't a healthy organization. And she knew she needed a culture change and she brought in Chris Spielman. She had Rod Wood in place.

She had Mike Disner in place. And those four decided what they wanted to be. And whoever they hired had to fit into that. And Brad Holmes fit into that. And Dan Campbell fit into that.

And they've lived that culture, that vision every day. And look, Dan Campbell is exactly what you hear and what you see. It starts with the fact that he's a good person and it moves to the fact that he is incredibly consistent. He doesn't change. He doesn't waver.

He doesn't have ups and downs. He tells you what he thinks and you know exactly where you stand. And that's been so important for this organization and these players that, to use a cliche, would literally run through a brick wall for him because they believe in him and he knows they believe in him. And it's just, he's the perfect guy from the day he walked in the door till tonight to lead this organization as the head coach. I got to say he's got a great sense of humor too. Not only the way that he addresses people with the mic, but even the game after the Dallas loss where he's having an O-lineman report in for almost every single snap.

He's funny. Yeah, I mean that's who he is and that personality has been an important part of the whole mix. Because it, you know, and it's funny because there was a 90 minute press conference the day he got hired and everybody picked out 20 seconds of him talking about fighting kneecaps. But if anybody took the time to listen to that entire press conference, it was amazing. And it was exactly what people in Detroit needed to hear and exactly what the members of this organization needed to hear.

And it's unfortunate that all that kind of got lost in one line that became the headline from it. But, man, his vision matched the organization's vision and it just, it's part of what has driven this team, this organization, this group of players, to this moment tonight. I couldn't get over the fact, though, Dan, that Matthew was part of that playoff futility and the tough years for the Lions for over a decade. And yet he was going to be there in another uniform trying to extend that futility. Man, even though he does play for another team, he's a Super Bowl champion, still, though, I can imagine he would like Detroit to succeed as well. Yeah, and I'm not going to lie, that would have been doubly painful to see him come back here and do that. It's just, look, that's just human nature. I mean, that was our guy. But let me say this. There's another storyline tonight that was really important, and that's our guy that wore number 16, who was ushered out of town by Los Angeles because he wasn't the guy.

Oh, yes. And came here and took a lot of lumps when this team had nothing his first year, and he did everything he could to try to find a way to win a game, just a game, and then comes back the next year and gets better and comes back this year and wins the division. Jared Goff is a story. It seemed like so many people went straight to Matthew Stafford, and Jared Goff, this was a massive night for him. Just think about what he was feeling. When he looked at that other sideline and saw the head coach and said, you're not my guy.

And you know what? Credit to the Rams and their decisions. They won a Super Bowl, but tonight wasn't a Super Bowl, but believe me, this was a big night. This is me talking, not Jared Goff. This was a big night for Jared Goff. In my mind, this is some closure for Jared Goff. Yeah, they won the Super Bowl, but tonight I think he can walk out of there feeling real good that he sent them out of the playoffs packing.

That doesn't mean that this is equal to a Super Bowl or anything like that. This is what was in front of him, and he delivered tonight. And to see him deliver on that second and nine to ice this game was a beautiful moment. 22 of 27, 277 yards, the touchdown.

Obviously, they came out firing, really aggressive, able to spread the ball around, work the ball to multiple different people, including Sam LaPorta, who was out there, which was great. But yeah, as Dan points out, this was some vindication for Jared as well. Why does it work so well with him and Ben Johnson? Man, they just get each other. I mean, look, when Jared came in, Ben wasn't the offensive coordinator.

He was in year two. They worked together in between when Ben was working with the passing game. There's just something that clicks between these guys, and look, they're both really talented. Jared's a heck of a quarterback. Ben's a hell of an offensive coordinator who's going to be a heck of a head coach here real soon. So, I mean, they just get each other. They both kind of needed something at the same time.

Ben was a first-year coordinator. Jared was looking to get this thing moving in the right direction. And they just really found kindred spirits in one another that were able to move this thing forward. And it was the perfect match for Detroit, and it still is going into next week. So it was, I think, the perfect time in both their careers for them to come together, and it's a really cool thing to see. And look, not messing around. This has been one of the highest-scoring offenses in the league for the last two years.

I heard you talking about it a moment ago. We haven't had a running attack. Matthew Stafford, it is defense, never had a running attack in Detroit. I think the best they ever were were 13th. We're second in the league in, or top five, maybe second, whatever it was, top ten or whatever in the league in rushing this year. And we're second in rush defense.

But, I mean, look, it's just, it's a different game now. It's a balanced offense. It was never balanced under Matthew. That wasn't his fault.

Much of what happened to Matthew here was the failure of people around him. Does he deserve some of the blame? Sure, he had the ball in his hands, but you know what? Matthew Stafford never had the type of team around him that Jared does tonight.

But credit to Jared, he did what you said. He's patient. He moves the ball around. Whatever's available, he takes it. And he's been, you know, the perfect guy for this offense.

And leading this team to a division that they hadn't won in 30 years. More with Dan Miller. Long time play-by-play voice at the Lions, including the atmosphere, what he saw, what he heard. Great stuff. It'll be available on our podcast right after the show is done.

We always share the link on both our show Twitter after our CBS and our Facebook page. While you're looking for it, you can vote for Monday MVP Jared Goff is one candidate. Jordan Love is another. What a game for Aaron Rodgers. Replacement. Bombs.

It's a... Get over it. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Okay, what's the number one reason you should try Instacart? Shopping over 1.5 million unique products from over 1,000 retailers. And get everything delivered right to your door in as fast as one hour. All in one app.

So you can spend more time with the ones who matter most. Visit Instacart.com to get free delivery on your first three orders. Offer valid for a limited time.

$10 minimum per order. Additional terms apply. When something happens to your car, you might say... No!

My car! But what you really need to say is something that can actually help. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. And just like that, State Farm is there to help you file your claim right on the State Farm mobile app. So just remember, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. State Farm.

Bloomington, Illinois. Tacovas is a terrific boot brand and they're bringing a fresh perspective to heritage boot making. So they've carried forward all the time honored traditions and quality you find in a great pair of cowboy boots. But they've innovated on comfort, style, and service.

As someone who tries to pursue a minimalist lifestyle, I highly value quality over quantity. And I'm telling you, you can't find a higher quality boot than Tacovas. Their western boots for men and women are handmade.

From the most premium leathers with over 200 time honored individual steps. Also, did I mention that they are Austin designed, Texas tested, and handmade down in the boot making capital of the world, Leon, Mexico. And also, if you've ever wondered if you can pull off cowboy boots, which is something that I was thinking, you should pull on a pair of Tacovas and you'll see. Just do a quick search for Tacovas on social media and you'll see how adorably styled these boots can be.

Visit Tacovas.com, that's T-E-C-O-V-A-S dot com and point your toes west. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Back in the end zone, two feet down, beat Gilmore for the touchdown. A 20 yard strike, and the Packers have taken a 20 to nothing first half lead.

C.D. Lamb motions to the left side, Prescott on the shotgun, Pollard to his left. And he takes the snap, fakes the handoff, tight pocket. Intercepted back the other way. It's going to be a pick six for Darnell Savage. Oh my goodness. Darnell Savage with his first interception of this season. Wow. And the Cowboy fans are in shock.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. What a playoff debut for Jordan Love and really for the majority of the Packers. The youngest team in the NFL going into a place where the Cowboys hadn't lost in their last 16 tries. Who would have expected a 27 to nothing start by the visiting Green Bay Packers? Not me. It's not that I would have been surprised if the Cowboys had lost because it's the playoffs.

Anything can and will happen. But from the very beginning, the Packers serve notice by doing what? Oh, they won the coin flip and received the kick.

When was the last time you saw that? Almost universally playoff teams that win. Well, not playoff teams, NFL teams that win the coin flip. They defer because they want to have the ball to start the second half. Not the Packers.

They went with the hot hand, which is Jordan Love. Last eight games going into this battle against the Cowboys, 18 touchdowns, one interception. They'd been a buzzsaw on offense. And right away, they used the first eight minutes to score a touchdown. And it's heavy Aaron Jones and they're establishing the run against that Cowboys offense. His second touchdown comes after a Dak interception. Of course, Jair Alexander, because he's had the craziest month of anyone in the NFL.

But it's the physical defense. It's muscling up on Brandon Cooks. And then it's just a really bad throw by Dak Prescott on his second interception that turns into a pick six. Darnell Savage, the clear path for 64 yards.

And you hear it there with Wayne Larrabee on Packers radio. We've seen Jordan elevate the level of some of his receivers, right? Some of these young guys, Dontavian Wicks being a great example. As Jay just said to me, he came out of nowhere. Well, Christian Watson's been hurt a good portion of the season. Aaron Jones was hurt early. But Romeo Dobbs, another career day for him, 151 yards.

Wicks caught another touchdown. It's funny because I was watching about seven, eight minutes behind. And my mom's husband is always very careful because he knows a lot of times I start later. I'm taking notes from an earlier game or I just don't like to watch commercials.

So sorry. So I'll start it a little bit later. I happened to be walking the dogs right when kickoff happened. So I was a few minutes behind. And I think I said to him, oh, I just saw the first interception.

I just saw the Dontavian Wicks, something like that. And he says, just wait. Actually, we texted and you said, I'm a little behind. This game's nuts. I was like, oh, you don't even know yet. The pick six. This was me in my living room.

Audibly scared the dogs and probably Bob too. Hand over my mouth. You've got to be kidding me. But it was 27 nothing. And even though the Cowboys managed to touchdown before half, this game was really never in doubt.

Why? Well, because Matt Lafleur and the Packers made sure they didn't let their foot off the gas. We came in at halftime and I asked the guys, I said, hey, what's the score?

And they all said zero zero. And I know it's one thing to say it and it's another thing to go out and do it. But fortunately, you know, we we built a lead that was too big to overcome.

I think there's a little bit of freedom with that in terms of how you go out and play. And, you know, these guys, they went for it. And that's that's exciting to see, you know, every phase.

I thought you could see it. Can't say enough how proud I am of everybody in the locker room. You know, it's been a long season. We've been counted out a lot of the season. So just the way everybody keeps keeps battling, keeps competing, getting better. And obviously putting on great performances like tonight.

So it's a great feeling. Jordan Love, 16 for 21, 272 yards, three touchdowns, a near perfect passer rating. And do you remember when Brian Gutenkutz came out out of mid-season maybe and said he actually did a press conference. We're going to give him the time.

We believe in Jordan Love. He just needs a little more time. Well, I'll be damned if that wasn't exactly the truth and not just that, but he's played MVP like football in the second half of the season. And in doing so, he leads the Packers over the Cowboys and the guy that I actually thought should be worthy of the MVP in Tech Press Cop. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. This one was painful, according to Jerry Jones, might have been the most painful loss in the playoffs that he's experienced.

And he's now into his early 80s. Right away the question, what about Mike McCarthy's future? The only thing that was on my mind almost this entire game was not an analysis of our strategy, not an analysis of the play. It was do we get to play here again next week? And we can't.

And that could have happened by a point or it could have happened the way it happened out there. And that's all I'm thinking about. And that's all I thought about. I think the biggest thing is, you know, we're disappointed. I got a whole whole team in the locker rooms.

It's that's hurting. And that's I haven't thought past the outcome of this game. I've had the season that I've had because of him. This team has had the success that they've had because of him. And I understand it's about winning the Super Bowl. And that's the standard of the league and damn sure the standard of this place. So I get it.

But add me to the list in that case. Dak was asked why or not why, but what did the Cowboys have to do to to stop falling short in the postseason under Mike McCarthy? They've got three consecutive 12 win seasons, two NFC East titles, but just one playoff win. And that came last year before they ended up losing to San Francisco. Dak said, I don't know.

I'm if I knew we would fix it. Certainly what we saw from Dak this year, as he points out, is a huge credit to Mike McCarthy. And even though CD Lam finished with some impressive numbers, if you weren't watching the game, he dropped a couple of critical passes. Dak appeared to be forcing the ball or trying to force the ball to CD. And it wasn't until much later in the game where there was any success. The the interception that he threw was one that he was trying to get to CD. I guess I should say the second interception that he threw, the pick six. He nearly got picked off again in the end zone.

And so why? Why was he out of rhythm most of the game? Maybe my mind was moving, which I think in that sense, a little faster than than my body was. Right. Just being prepared and getting from one to another, maybe maybe a second too fast or half a second too fast. And with that right, the ball jumps a little bit more.

C.D. Lamb was also asked about them not being on the same page. Remember, this is one of the most prolific connections in the NFL in twenty twenty three. Couple miscues, everyday things, I mean, as completions that we normally have, obviously on my part, I could have been better. And I'm sure he could say the same as for his, but not really pointing fingers.

I feel like I could have did a better job of making the completions. So who's to blame? That's the question. And that's one that. Yeah, I actually have a bit of a pit in my stomach for Mike McCarthy. I don't I like him a lot.

I think he's a great coach and I think it would be a mistake to fire him. That's just me. Just my opinion. I don't run the team.

I don't pay his checks. But I look at what they've done and those kind of coaches, this kind of success. I know it didn't translate the postseason, but it doesn't come along every day. And the way that he and Dak were able to work together this season, it was Dak's best season as a pro. And McCarthy was calling plays and giving Dak the authority, giving him some freedom. Allowing him to. Take ownership of the offense. And the other thing that I think is important. Even if it is Bill Belichick. Is.

This idea of starting over and I don't know that's healthy. I understand it's disappointing and I guess I wouldn't be surprised if he got fired. But think about the number of other teams and coaches out there that would say, what, three straight 12 win seasons? Never happened in Cowboys history. Isn't some of this on Dan Quinn?

If you're going to blame Mike McCarthy, shouldn't you blame Dan Quinn for the defense getting shellacked? Or as I said earlier, getting shivved? What did you say, Jay? Getting shanked? We're using prison terms.

I feel like I must be offending someone. Anyway, Dan Quinn is supposed to be this really hot coaching candidate. How is this not on Dan as well? That defense got embarrassed. Not just by Tony Pollard, but by a bunch of young receivers and Romeo Dobbs.

Point blank period. Who seemingly caught every ball that was thrown to him. The defense couldn't get to Jordan Love. They tried.

They came close. Especially on that Wicks touchdown pass. Which touchdown pass? It was the Musgrave.

The Musgrave one, he was one. So that was the one that was the broken play and he was back on his back foot and Micah Parsons nearly got to him but didn't get to him in time. The defense deserves some of the blame as well. If you're going to fire Mike McCarthy, are you going to fire Dan Quinn? You're probably going to lose Dan Quinn if that's the case.

I'm just saying, there's a lot of dominoes that could drop and the transition is not necessarily an easy one from what you've had to what could be. We'll see. We'll be back here on Monday night following two more games.

Talk to you then. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. home says here that gray bar is a distributor yeah we support electrical and datacom projects all over the country so you can get me the products i need where and when i need them yeah thanks to our national logistics network any industry yeah construction industrial plants schools hospitals so you could say gray bar is much more than a distributor yeah you could say that when you need a hand powering connecting or maintaining your operations doing the thousands of professionals rely on gray bar to help keep them up and running yeah gray bar does that around new year's we get a little obsessed with changing ourselves and forgetting the things we're already doing right like taking our supplements every morning or scheduling me time into our day therapy helps you recognize those victories and keep up the good work in the new year without changing everything better help offers affordable online therapy so you can try new year's same you with better help visit better help.com slash grow today to get 10% off your first month that's better help h e l p.com slash grow babysitter paid pizza ordered flowers delivered you can do a lot of things with your phone and with blue link plus you can even access your hunday tucson limited remotely doors unlocked temperature set lost car found. Get complimentary class leading blue link plus just another way we make owning a hunday tucson limited more convenient than ever learn more about the new tucson and blue link plus at hunday usa.com call 562-314-4603 for complete details.