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Now, on with the show. I'm living my best life, yeah, yeah This is the Rich Eisen Show Flacco, floats one high into the air, left side, chase Live from the Rich Eisen Show studios in London, England I think it's great for all the old guys, you know Earlier on the show Super Bowl champion, Tori Holt ESPN NFL analyst, Ryan Clark Coming up NFL Network insider, Tom Pelissero And now, it's Rich Eisen. Hour number three of the Rich Eisen Show of our two-day residency in London, England. We are live here on Disney+. We're live on the ESPN app everywhere and also this Rich Eisen Show terrestrial radio affiliate.
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844-204-RICH is the number to dial on the program. Great chats in hour number one with Tori Holt and in hour number two with Ryan Clark. We did What's More Likely on a Friday. Coming up on this program, my top five other games for the rest of week number seven that we're looking forward to seeing. TJ Jefferson and Chris Brockman are here with me in London as they have been for the last two days.
If you're watching right now, you see that Chris has on a sequined sport coat that is way too small for him. It's because his shirt was blending into our Rich Eisen show set background here at ABC News in London. And we asked the good folks here at ABC News, maybe there was a jacket for you. This is the only one they found. Yeah, this is it.
We found out from Trilly, our makeup artist, who's here giving you elocution lessons. My best friend Trilly.
Okay. She says this jacket belongs to an English journalist, the chief international correspondent for ABC News, James Longman, a Brit who wears this jacket. It's interesting that a man named Longman has short arms, it looks like, for you, Chris. I'm guessing we're not. It's not looking great.
but he's known for reporting on global conflicts, which is why he's maybe not here today, and human rights issues, and I'll say you wearing this jacket is a new human rights issue. It's a violation. I think the United Nations is calling up the Rich Eisen show right now. Let's just step in. Get off.
Let's just step in. She also mentioned something about him calling bingo numbers.
Okay. I feel like I should be giving away cash and prizes, which I know is your line. And so I've been here for almost a fortnight. Three months? Yeah, it feels like I've been here a while.
And kind enough to sit in the host chair for as long as he did while I've been here in London. Ladies and gentlemen, back on the Rich As It Goes, because we can't quit him. Tom Pelissero back here in hour number three, our final hour here in London. Good to see you, Tom. How are you, sir?
Hey, Tommy P. Good to see you, Rich, and the boys over in the studio there. I am curious, does Long Man know that Brock Man raided his closet? Is he on board with this?
Now he does.
Somewhere he's tuning in and saying, I stole that jacket from Liberace. How dare you wear a filthy American? That's what he's probably saying. Right now, his phone lines are burning up at whatever serious issue he's covering, saying what the heck's going on. All right, so, Tom, what is the backlash from, if you will?
Is everybody else talking about the Flacco acquisition by Cincinnati in the same way that Mike Tomlin was from the podium league-wide? Tom, is that the reaction you're getting league-wide? We talked about it a lot on this show on Wednesday, setting up this game, because I don't ever remember a head coach in my time, 20-plus years covering the league, coming out and directly calling out a GM over something that did not directly involve him. And it sounds like that was a very honest moment from Mike Tomlin, who on some level was proven correct when Joe Flacco went out last night and looked like Joe Flacco we haven't seen in a decade. This was Super Bowl run 2012 type Joe Flacco absolutely throwing darts all over the field, targeting Jamar Chase like 57 times and finding ways to move a football on a Bengals team that was in a spot where they lose that game last night.
It's five straight losses. They're two and five. They're buried in the division. And we're spending time on this show today saying, all right, when are they going to trade Trey Hendrickson or anybody else that might be available on the roster? Instead, he goes out and performs at a very high level that certainly, I mean, I got a few calls and texts and people asking about what the reaction is going to be in Cleveland.
I think that there are founded reasons why Andrew Barry decided to make that trade. It's a guy who, you know, listen, they wanted to see the rookie quarterbacks once they benched Joe Flacco sooner than they had planned to bench Joe Flacco. It was obvious that he was not going back in the lineup. And if at some point Dylan Gabriel had seen they'd seen enough of him, they were going to go to Shadour Sanders next.
So you offload close to two million dollars in salary. You upgrade from a sixth to a fifth round pick next year at a time that you are gathering all kinds of ammunition to go up to get the quarterback that potentially you might want in round one. though at the current rate, the Browns are in a position where they might not need to trade up. They might have that number one pick or top five pick that they need to go and get a QB. You know, the optics of it are certainly not friendly in this case, especially because Mike Tomlin drew as much attention to it.
The fact that there were full screen graphics on the prime video broadcast as Al Michaels was doing a dramatic reading of the Tomlin quote about Andrew Barry last night. And now you've got a 1-5 Dolphins team coming in and taking on the 1-5 Browns who have not been home for a while. They're going to be in some type of a thunderstorm, it sounds like, on Sunday morning. And it definitely adds a little bit of extra edge around what has, by all appearances, appeared to be a rebuilding project in Cleveland, one that now includes the quarterback who was their week one starter, going and winning games and maybe keeping a Bengals team afloat within the division.
So let's talk injuries, Tom. Terry McLaurin's out, huh? And if you look at it, this is this fourth straight missed game. I guess they missed the opportunity to throw him on IR. Why is this lingering?
How serious is this for him? It's a quad, a hip flexor. It's something in that area that can cause complications along the way. Terry McLaurin practiced on Wednesday, granted on a limited basis, but they really believed, and I said this on game day kickoff on Sunday, They thought there's an opportunity here. From my understanding, Terry McLaurin thought he had an opportunity to play in a really big game on Sunday against the Cowboys, but he clearly did not feel right in practice on Wednesday.
That's why they ended up holding him out, or he held himself out of practice on Thursday, now officially ruled out for this game. There's not been, to my understanding, any type of a setback. It's more a matter of him trying to get comfortable on the field. He's not there yet, and so the commanders now are once again in this position like they have been for a month. It might be the most acute that it has been.
Noah Brown just went on injured reserve after he had sat how many games, three or four, before they put him down for another four games. And Debo Samuel dealing with that heel injury, he has not done a whole heck of a lot. He told reporters today, we'll see if he's able to go. It sounds like there's real concern about Debo potentially not being on the field either. If he's not able to go, then, you know, again, in a really big game against Dallas, you might be down your top three wide receivers, which is as good as Jaden Daniels is.
That creates quite the tall task.
Okay, and the 49ers injury scenarios that are playing out right now for that Sunday night game against Atlanta. Kittle's back. We're going to see him. Is he starting on Sunday night? That is what it sounds like is that Kittle, it sounds like he maybe had a chance to come back last week, but much like CeeDee Lamb with the Cowboys, it's do you want to come back and be on a snap count or do you want to get completely healthy and be full go?
It sounds like Kittle is going to be closer to the ladder and is going to be playing a lot for the 49ers on Sunday. In terms of their quarterback situation, it seems like this is probably going to be another week of Mac Jones. Kyle Shanahan said that Mac's been less limited than Brock Purdy through the course of this week. Obviously, Mac won his first three starts. They had a tough game last week, weren't able to pull it off.
But Mac's played good football. He's dealing with a knee. He's dealing with an oblique. He's wearing the knee brace. and all that stuff.
With Brock Purdy, remember, last time he missed two games, came back and immediately aggravated the toe.
Now he's missed two games. Maybe giving him a little bit more of a breather is going to make sense for the long haul here. It's not a quarterback controversy. Brock Purdy will be the starter when he's healthy, but the fact that Mac Jones has played well has certainly bought them a little bit more time to be cautious about it this time around and make sure, okay, let's not run the risk of another setback that takes Brock Purdy on another two, three, four weeks. Let's make sure he's 100% himself before he's back on the field.
And what about Juwan Jennings? He was mentioning how banged up he is. And I don't know how there seems to be some smoke in that situation right there.
Well, remember, Juwan Jennings, you know, he was going through a situation and his agent put out something saying he's requested a trade. Then the 49ers said that didn't happen. They ended up giving him like a small uptick in incentives. but it was all product of the deal that he signed last year and signed away another season of his career. It's been pretty apparent that he's not been happy with the contract situation, you know, just with the general state of things.
And now the 49ers have proceeded again. They're well within their rights to enforce the contract that he was on. They gave him a little something to get him into camp. But now, I mean, Juwan Jennings on the injury report with like three different things. He said he last week, he's got to take a low ankle sprain and a mid ankle sprain or a high ankle sprain.
He's got five fractured ribs. he's dealing with a lot remember Ricky Pearsall who every time Ricky Pearsall gets banged up it seems like it takes him a little bit longer than they're initially anticipating he still hasn't practiced since he injured the knee a couple of weeks ago of course Brandon Ayuk it getting closer but he still probably a month or so away you know from having a chance to get back onto the field There just so many moving parts with this 49ers team And though, yeah, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, one of the other guys has been filling in, he popped up on the injury report and didn't practice yesterday. I mean, that's a lot for them to overcome. Kyle Shanahan is as good at scheming people open as anybody, but it helps when your good players are available. Jennings has been a limited participant.
It seems like he's going to try to go, but he's probably going to be listed as questionable again, and they'll see exactly how he's feeling by Saturday night, Sunday morning.
Some quick headers here. C.D. Lamb's coming back, correct? C.D.'s back. You know, I said that last Sunday.
It sounded like it was 50-50. They just had to see how he looked once he got onto the field. He's looked great by all accounts since he got back on the practice field this week.
So it seems like no restrictions for C.D. This will be the first glimpse we've gotten of the C.D. George Pickens combo since Pickens really broke out, Rich, and kind of became the focal point of the offense. I'll be interested to see just how Brian Schottenheimer and that crew kind of keep all the mouths fed here coming back. But it's a great problem to have, especially because the defense has not played well.
Now Trayvon Diggs is out for the game because he apparently suffered a concussion at home in some type of an accident on Thursday. One more challenge. I don't know how great, honestly, of a scheme fit Trayvon Diggs is. He hasn't seemed like he's been running the same way that he was before his injury situation.
So I won't say addition by subtraction, but certainly might be an opportunity for them to get a look at some other players in that position, and they hope try to get things back on track defensively this week. The Chargers. Joe Ault got back in some form of a practice. Khalil Mack, I got to tell you, man, when I saw his injury in week two, I would not have thought it was humanly possible to have a practice window opened up prior to week seven. I mean, that is unbelievable.
Quinton Johnston appears to be on the mend. What can you tell me about the Chargers' health? Quinton Johnston got back to full participation yesterday, so no guarantees. They've got to see how his body responds, but that's usually a sign that a guy is trending toward playing this week. As far as Joe Ault, I mean, that was another one that looked bad.
It's a high ankle sprain. It happened in week four, so we're not even three weeks out from the injury.
Now, I don't know if you saw the photos of Joe Walt, but it looks like he's wearing like 1980s moon boots on one of his feet. I mean, that thing had a couple of whole rolls of tape on it yesterday. But, you know, Justin Herbert taped up his high ankle sprain a couple of times last season and rolled out there looking much the same. We'll see. Usually when a guy doesn't practice on Wednesday and he's been out a while, that's a sign he's not going to be able to go on Sunday.
But, you know, the fact that Joe Walt's out there, whether he plays this week or not, great sign that he's trending back in the right direction. And then you're right. I mean, the Cleo Mack injury looked bad when it happened. But the word that next day was, you know, he dodged a bullet in the bigger picture here.
So they are they're optimistic that he could be out there as soon as this week. It's just a matter of, you know, whether or not they want him to go out there, kind of ease back in in terms of the snap count or give him another week. But for a Chargers team that's been gutted by injuries the entire season, Rich, this is probably the first time, honestly, since the opener that we've talked about things, at least on the upswing from a health perspective. A few minutes left here with Tom Pelissero, my colleague from NFL Network and Yeoman's work sitting in my chair over the past week plus while I've been over here in London. Moonlighting is a play by play man.
So I'm looking at one five Tennessee with an interim head coach. Interestingly enough, just in time for Vrabel to pull back into town as the AFC East division leader. Browns, 1-5. Dolphins, 1-5. Saints, 1-5.
A handful of 2-4 teams. I only mention this along with the 1-5 Ravens. Anybody who's playing this week, playing their way into being sellers as opposed to anything else in the trade deadline that looms? I know you and the guys talked about this a little bit early on this week, but what about now that we're on the cusp of losses that could actually affect something? Tom?
Let's start with the Titans. They have been open for business. They traded Jarvis Brownlee a couple weeks ago, but that was a pretty specific type of situation. They're willing to listen on just about everyone on the roster. Yes, we talked about it with the guys.
I don't think that they deal Jeffrey Simmons, but in a position like the Titans are, when you're in the midst of a large-scale rebuild, the early stages of a large-scale rebuild, you kind of are willing to listen to anything. Calvin Ridley would be another logical target. He's out this week because of his hamstring injury, which makes the situation that much harder to try to get Cam Ward going. But the Titans will be there. We've got 18 days until the trade deadline.
Doesn't mean that they're going to go full fire sale and make eight different trades. But in terms of listening to calls, they're absolutely already in that mode. I do not get the sense the Saints are open to listening at this point. Mickey Loomis has never been a big sell-the-trade deadline guy. He feels like I've got the players.
There's a lot of long-time types of guys on that team. We heard Alvin Kamara say yesterday, you know, and Ian reported this last weekend, that they'd come to him like, hey, we've got interest in you. Would you want to be traded? Kamara said no. He said yesterday if he finds out that they traded him anyway, he'll just go drink a pina colada on a beach somewhere rather than playing for a different team.
So I certainly anticipate that might change if the Kansas City Chiefs hand him a uniform, Tom. That might change if the Chiefs hand him a uniform. You know what I mean? Kamara's a unique guy, though. He loves the city, and you just have to get there.
I mean, I haven't fully crossed him off the list, but it sounds like that's not something they're looking to do. The more logical targets would be Chris Alave, Rasheed Shahid. But again, the sense I've gotten is that they are not in any way in cell mode at this time. You heard Mike McDaniel earlier today saying that any suggestion that Dolphins players are on the trade block is false. That makes sense for the moment because, listen, they've got to win some games.
They got a big one this week against Cleveland to quiet down all the noise that was largely created by their quarterback this week. They got a bunch of veteran pass rushers between Bradley Chubb, Matthew Judon, Jalen Phillips. They've obviously got Jalen Waddell. I don't get the sense at this point they're eagerly looking to trade any of those guys. But if one in five becomes one in six, seven, eight, certainly there's going to be a lot of calls that are made to Miami.
With Cleveland, they clearly are already willing to make trades, not just trading Joe Flacco to Cincinnati, but they traded Greg Newsom in a deal for Tyson Campbell that was an unusual trade, but makes sense when their vision is on 2026 right now. Greg Newsom, who was in a contract here, probably wasn't going to be a part of that.
So you get a cost-controlled Tyson Campbell in return. There potentially could be other players the team's target. We know we've heard David Njoku on like 20 different occasions over the past few years. It's one of Andrew Barry's favorite players. I don't know that he'd be traded.
Plus, he's out this week because of an injury. But players like that, I would anticipate that there are calls. And then, you know, you've got other teams like the Raiders. You know, at some point, do they go into sell mode? They won last week.
They're not completely out of it in a wide-open AFC West where nobody's better than 4-2. But if you get a couple weeks further down the road here, you know, do they end up trading at Jacoby Myers, who it sounds like his status is up in the air for this week because he's got a knee injury that he's dealing with here. They're not going to trade the big ticket items. Max Crosby just did a new deal. He's not going anywhere.
I don't think that there's a market for Geno Smith, even if they wanted to trade him, and I've not gotten any indication that their plans for Geno or anything out of play through it and keep him as QB1. The Jets is the other team, 0-6 at this point. Again, you'd like to think you're building some type of momentum here. It just gets something going in the right direction. But, you know, the only significant trade that they've made thus far was acquiring Jarvis Brownlee, who's actually played pretty well for them so far this season.
But they've got they've got a bunch of tradable assets on that roster. Brees Hall is the one that a lot of the focus will be on leading up to the deadline. Would they be willing to listen on Quinn and Williams? Again, there's there's not a lot of players, Rich. And this is not me reporting like, hey, they'll trade Quinn and Williams.
I just know this. Sure. There's maybe a few dozen players in the entire NFL that are off the market. Everybody else, there's a price at which any team is going to go, that's pretty good value for that guy. But I think one of the things to point out here, and I've had this discussion with a bunch of GMs this week, is how quiet it's been this week, just 18 days now until the deadline.
Usually you'd start to see it. We saw a few trades last week, but that's driven in large part from the fact that there's not that many teams that are completely out of it. Even the likes of the Raiders are sitting there going, we got a chance to get back into this thing. Let's see what we can do. A lot of these trades, if they happen, might come right after Halloween, right after, and as we lead up to that deadline that's on the Tuesday, I think it's November 4th.
You might be really up against that before you see some of these deals. But again, whoever loses in the Miami-Cleveland game this weekend, And if Tennessee, if the Jets, if the Saints, those teams sink over these next week or two here, things can always ramp up quickly. But it is pretty quiet right now. You're the man, Tom. Before I let you go, the usual question I ask you, it's been a while.
You know, I've been out of the chair. The team or situation that everyone around the league is blowing your phone up about for tea to be spilled. Which team is of interest league-wide right now?
Well, now that we are beyond the Mike Tomlin, Browns, Bengals love triangle that we had going there, I would say that was the thing early in the week. I would now say the number one thing is how do the Dolphins respond to a week of really weird and unusual adversity? Because the moment that Tua came out and gave that long rambling quote, wasn't even asked about anything in particular, and then starts mentioning players-only meetings and guys being late to players-only meetings.
So we make it mandatory. The leadership has to get better. Number one, people I talked to in Miami that night and on Monday morning all said, like, we don't really know what he's talking about. There's not the traditional types of players-only meetings where it's like, hey, guys, we all got to get on the same page. Rah, rah, let's push through.
No, he apparently is referring to, like, defensive players getting together to watch tape on their own, which, by the way, happens in 32 buildings across the league. Every group, different position groups will get together. It's not always a formal type of thing. It's just guys get together and they watch extra tape or they have various discussions. The quarterback gets the receivers here.
That's completely normal. But when you call out the locker room that way, and then when Mike McDaniel has to go to the podium and basically say, I don't know what he's referring to, but I'm sure he had a reason. They're doing the right things for me, but whatever he's referring to, hopefully we get it cleaned up. People sit back and go, Mike McDaniel sounds clueless about what's happening in his own locker room.
Well, anyone would be clueless about something that's not happening in their locker room.
So for the next three days four days Tua was going directly to players on Sunday night and apologizing and explaining himself Monday he has to go Mike McDaniel has to go to the podium and basically say Tua shouldn have said that Wednesday Tua back at the podium These guys need to win a game Rich You need to focus everything you got on trying to beat the Browns, not going on a four-day apology and explanation tour. From what I've heard, the offense has had a good week so far. They do have some positive things going for them. Devon Achan's been really good. Jalen Waddell has played excellent.
Obviously, Darren Waller is a comeback player of the year candidate based on what he's done over his first few games. And Tua, granted, again, three turnovers last week, but throws a touchdown pass in the final minute. But for a long kick return and a play where they couldn't get Justin Herbert or Ladd McConkie on the ground, they win that game. We're talking about it being different here. There's reasons to believe the offense will come out again if the weather holds up, which is a complete unknown.
at this point. It sounds like, I mean, they're bracing for 50 to 60 mile an hour wind gusts, rain, thunder. It could be a weird day in Cleveland, but they've got some momentum offensively. The defense just has to play better. We'll see if they step up to the table.
But the last thing you want is the proverbial distraction. And this was a distraction, unlike Rich, frankly, very many I've ever seen in the NFL.
So an actual perfect storm for a team that's proverbially been through their own. Tom, I appreciate the two cents.
Next time on your appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, a special announcement. A new member of the NFL Insiders team commenting on all trades. Mike Tomlin will be part of the new split screen. I thought you said next time I'm on, I'd be wearing that sequined jacket. No, we've got to leave it here.
Mike Tomlin is the extra member of the Insiders. We have to leave it here. Rich, before Tom goes, we found out something weird and unusual about him. And his quest to be, you know, the top information man story breaker.
Okay. He sleeps with his earbuds in.
So when a text comes in or a voicemail, it'll just play right into a subconscious brain. That's next level. That's next level. Not always. Expecting something.
I've gotten burned a few times. Just try to be cautious as much as I can. And by the way, Brockman, real quick, before I go, I will bid $1. Ladies and gentlemen, Tom Pellicero, ears in, antennas up. Ears in, antennas up.
Tom Pellicero. See you, buddy. All right, we're up against it. That was a nice long segment. Let's take a break.
Phone calls and top five other games I'm looking forward to seeing as we wrap things up from London, England. As many of you know, supporting pediatric cancer research is something I care deeply about. That's why I'm proud to share what Hyundai's doing through Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For over 27 years, with every Hyundai sold, they've helped fund pediatric cancer research. Alongside over 850 dealers, they've raised more than $277 million, helping over 25,000 kids and supporting more than 1,400 research grants at 175 institutions nationwide.
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Oh, my word. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, everybody. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. ESPN Radio is presented by Progressive Insurance. They make the claims process easy so you can get back on the road in no time.
It's why over 43 million drivers trust Progressive. See for yourself at Progressive.com. Is Christian in Toronto still on the phone line? Is he still on the phone line? Is he still hanging on?
Let's take his phone call. What's up, Christian? How are you, sir? Christian. Hey, guys.
How's the UK? Everyone doing good? We're good. You must be pumped up, man. You must be pumped up, down being 0-2.
And now we've got a three-game series. The bats are alive. Yeah. We've got a three-game series. It was a good game to watch.
It was funny. Me and my buddies were watching Scherzer inning by inning going, give us one more, like the guy in the rookie of the year, the pitcher. It was a good game. The bats are going. Jimenez is the nine-hitter, like hitting home run after home run.
it's pretty unbelievable and it's a positive after the Bears lost last week to be honest with you it's been a good week since that well your Chicago Bears you're referring to because they keep winning I'm a Commanders fan I'm sorry the Bears I'm sorry I gotcha hey man Scherzer was not coming out of that game last night it was vintage Mad Max I loved it thanks for the call Christian And keep your Blue Jays right there. One of our new regulars, I would call Christian, right? Scherzer. Old school. Reminded me of, do you remember when Messina barked at Joe Torrey to not even leave the dugout?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Torrey got up. Torrey didn't even get to the mound. Got to top step. He got top step, and he just said, all right, I got you.
Yeah, I do remember that. And he basically pointed up and said, no, you stay there, is what he said to Joe Torrey. Scherzer just screamed at him and be like, let's go. I got this. What did he say?
Do we know? I'm okay at one point. There was something to that effect. He said, let's go. Is that what he said?
I can't tell what he said before that. He definitely did not say let's go. No, right before it, he says something else, probably a four-letter bomb, but then says, let's go. Yeah, he did at the end. Yeah, I mean, John Schneider's head is blocking.
Yeah, he's kind of blocking. What? Oh, he said, I'm good. Let's go. That's what Hoskins said.
Okay. I'm good. That's one of those moments where... What a lunatic. In the best way.
And so, of course, Snider's like, okay, you got it. And then he got out of the inning. But if you give up a bomb there...
So it's 5-3 at that point in time, right? Still, I mean, yeah, it's 5-1. Hey, man. If he gave up the bomb is what I said. That was great.
That was very well done by the Blue Jays to even the series. Are you ready for a parade in Los Angeles? for the Dodgers. Oh, you just assume they're winning the World Series. I mean, that's a good assumption.
Their best player isn't doing anything. Yeah. At some point, he's going to have to. Yeah, and when he does, then it's truly a win. Does he?
Really? Because last year he didn't. Last year he didn't. Although, wait a minute. He tripled to start game three.
Dude, the same way that TJ, you said that you said it's crazy watching a guy with 55 home runs start a game by striking out someone with 56 in a game that he started against the Phillies have we ever seen the game 4 pitcher lead off game 3 with a triple and then he plates the first run that happened he's doing stuff that we've never seen the game 4 starter of the NLCS let off game three with a triple. That happened.
So, yeah. He's hitting 158 in the playoffs. I get it. I understand. He had a one for 20 stretch.
I get it. You still got to. Last year doesn't count. He was playing the Yankees. Anybody could beat them.
All right.
Okay. Thank you, Jay Philly. All right.
Now we've got to move on to the top five list. And I wanted to talk more baseball. But now I've. Because, again, I saw the Yankee press conference yesterday about... Run it back.
They are. They're going to run it back. But although Garrett Cole won't be ready for the 2026 season, and now Rodone's getting some cleanup work on his arm, he won't be ready for the 2026 season. He was awesome this year. He was.
He was. Alright.
Okay. As always, now that the Thursday Night Football game is complete, I look forward to the rest of the week. It is my top five matchups for week number seven, presented by Hyundai. High five. One, two, three, four, five.
Rich's top five. I have removed for, I guess, fairness purposes.
Okay. I've removed Jaguars-Rams from this list.
Okay, that's fair. It's four and two versus four and two. You were professional. I'm calling the game. That game's going to be awesome.
It's on NFL Network. Clearly, I want you to watch it. Clearly, I'm not going to say it's a game that I'm looking forward to seeing when I'm calling it. You know, it'd be really weird. Hey, you know what I'm looking forward to seeing?
What's that? The game that I'm required to see as a play-by-play individual. I just want to see first downs be strung together. A couple tutties. You know what I mean?
All right.
Positive passing yards. Positive passing yards. I do. Yeah, well, I mean, again, Fields had positive passing yards. Just not net team total.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay. Number five on the list is the final game of week seven. The Texans coming off of a bye week. at two and three. They've got a tough assignment up there in Seattle.
Now, Seattle's one and two at home. That's one of the weirder stats of the season. Right. Sam Darnold has just been cooking with gas. Notice I used the phrase cooking for a Seattle quarterback.
And then C.J. Stroud went into the bye on a bit of a heater. Yep. But the Texans kind of lead. I just went high register a little bit.
The Texans lead the league in the who have they really played yet?
Okay. Because Baltimore was completely banged up and they took on the Tennessee Titans when, to keep it a buck, they were ass. Like they were in the deep throws of assness. Assdom. Of Assdom.
Careful there. You were. All right.
So that's what I'm looking forward to seeing. Yes, Sam Darnold weighs the NFL in yards per attempt. There we go. uh number four on the list the philadelphia eagles having lost two in a row visiting the minnesota vikings who are coming off a bye and starting former second overall pick for the philadelphia eagles carson wetz who has played against philadelphia once before uh 211 yards 25 of 43 took nine sacks when he was a commander quarterback holding onto the ball too long That was in week three of 2022 The Philadelphia Eagles defense would love to replicate that They've lost two in a row, though, man. Only three of the 16 previous Super Bowl champs to lose three or more games in their title defense in a row to make the playoffs.
Period. Only three of the 16 made the playoffs. The last three are, in order of doing it most recently, the 2000 Rams. We had Torrey Holt here in studio earlier. He was part of that team that lost in the wild card after losing three in a row in their title defense season.
The 1984 Raiders had a losing streak of three or more games, lost in the wild card. And in the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers were the first defending Super Bowl champion to actually lose these many games in a row during the regular season and make the playoffs. They wound up making the AFC championship game and losing to Raiders. Looking forward to Eagles and Vikings, especially since their two game losing streak brings about the commanders and the Cowboys on this list. I'll tell you what, man.
I'll tell you what, man. I'll tell you what, man. I'll tell you what, man. The Eagles slipping up have opened a door here. Yep.
For who? For everybody. I would say the winner of this game would be in a better position. I'm not falling for that, Rich. Why not?
There's cheese out there, man, and C.D. Lamb's coming back. The one thing I will just say, listen, I don't usually tell coaches what to do, but I'll just address the camera to Brian Schottenheimer. Coach, the play in the playbook that has C.D. Lamb running the football, Let's just take that out and rip it to shreds, never to be seen again.
Okay? That misses for me, too. How about that? And Jaden Daniels has never played against Dak Prescott. Dak was hurt for both of those Commanders-Cowboys games last year.
So right now, the Commanders are 12th in conference, the Cowboys 13th in conference. The winner of this game, though, takes a big step potentially towards winning the division if the Eagles slip up again. Number two on the list is currently one and two in the AFC.
Now that the Steelers have lost, the Chargers are back as the number two team in the AFC right now. And the Colts at 5-1 are number one. They're also number one, not only in the AFC standings, but number one in point differential. They're plus 78 in point differential. They're the only team above plus 50, and they're plus 78.
Since 2000, only one non-rookie quarterback has led his team to the number one seed in conference in the first year with the team. And it's a guy who's got a statue in front of the building that Daniel Jones is attempting to become the second such. That's Peyton Manning in Denver in 2012. The Chargers, if they win, they will be 5-2, 4-1 in conference. They would overtake the one spot in the AFC.
That's what's at stake there. And then number one, it's real simple. It's the Patriots-Titans. Nope. It's the Buccaneers and the Lions on ABC, ESPN, Family of Networks, Monday Night Football, Tampa Bay 3-0 on the road, the Lions 2-0 at home.
Something's got to give. Top six in offense, both of these teams.
Sonic and Knuckles going against the top five run defense. Let's go. That's my top five list. You have one more. I did not know this.
There's my boy. What's up, Coop? I was toying with going with Saints Bears just because it's Caleb versus Spencer Rattler. And Spencer Rattler might be cultivating this this revenge caper for years. Yeah, for sure.
For years. Just seeing how that plays out. Right. And the Bears needing to win, you know, the game that they should win to win their fourth in a row for the first time in a in a in a in a season in quite some time. But I'm going to go with the Sunday nighter, Falcons and Niners.
Good one. I kind of dig this one. The Falcons at 3-2. They've won two in a row, a round to bye. Penix appears to be a lot better and a lot more consistent at the quarterback spot.
And then Bijan and Christian McCaffrey, the two yards from scrimmage kings of the NFL right now, with all due respect to anyone else that is very good in that regard. on the same field going against the other team's defenses. Kind of dig it. I dig that Sunday night matchup, certainly with the Niners banged up at 4-2. This could be another one of those that, well, they don't expect you to win it.
Boom, they're 5-2. Kittle's back to the world is always a better place when George Kittle is active in playing football. Those are my top five matchups for the rest of week number seven. Let's take a break. We come back here.
We'll wrap up our two-day residency here at ABC News in London. don't go anywhere i'm back with more in a moment the rich heisen show the podcast the hyundai hope on wheels campaign i've been talking quite a bit about it because as you know i care deeply about pediatric cancer research and awareness and hyundai Hope on Wheels is all about that. For over 27 years, every Hyundai sold has helped fund life-saving pediatric cancer research. Together with over 850 dealers nationwide, they've raised more than $277 million supporting over 25,000 kids in their fight against cancer. Visit HyundaiUSA.com and search Hyundai Hope on Wheels to learn more, because at Hyundai, hope isn't optional.
It comes standard. Jimmy in San Antonio, Let's finish up with one of our favorites. What's up, Jimmy? Que paso, mates? Nice.
Hold on. Muchacho? I said mates. No? You did.
They don't like that, Jimmy. I'll tell you that much. No, I just don't like it from you. He's crushing it. Different.
I don't mind it if there's an actual Londoner who says it.
Well, he ain't from London.
Okay. He's from San Antonio. What's up, Jimmy? Oh, gosh.
Well, congratulations, Brockman. Obviously, you're the new fill-in host for the Graham Norton Show. By the way, Graham Norton is outstanding. I'll take that. He is.
I was thinking more of like, this is from the Liza Minnelli connection. Exactly. Del Tufo can drive me around. Yeah. Okay.
It's true.
Okay. Speaking of fill-in hosts, TJ, I think you know where I'm going with this. Come on, Jimmy. Let's not do this here. Fill-in hosts on Monday that you and I know.
Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Colleen Wolfe.
So, hey, bud, are you going to drop your dopey English accent on Colleen Wolfe? Nope. He will not. Definitely not, Jimmy. He will not.
He will not. I got some new cologne I might wear on Monday, though. It's called the cologne of the Commander's two-touchdown victory. That's going to be the cologne. It's called what it's called.
It's fingers and mash. Don't wear it, dude. Yeah, exactly. Ladies and gentlemen.
Okay, Rich, I have an update. I have an update on the Spurs. and their new arena in the marble vote.
Okay. Right now, the new arena is losing in the polls, and early voting happened this week, and the Spurs still have a seven-year lease on their current arena, but things are looking shaky in San Antonio, and fans are getting nervous.
Well, I think the last thing that the commissioner is going to want is to move a franchise. I don't think so. Wemby to Vegas. Wemby to Vegas. The only way it could be moved by the commissioners if you have a majority vote from the other owners.
So I think that's our saving grace.
Well, let's just see how it all goes down there, Jimmy. Let's see how it all goes down there. But thanks for the call. Appreciate it. Always great to be here.
Telly-ho, Jimmy. Take travels, everybody. Telly-ho, James. All right.
Thanks, bud. Appreciate it. We'll be back on the air. You're good, man. Monday, I'll be flying home.
Nice. Finally. Because, again, the games here kick off at 2.30. and so again i get back to the hotel like around seven o'clock at night in the middle of the first games um of the second window um so i'm not gonna be able to fly home till monday so i'll be flying the entire show having no idea what's going on uh hoping that the um studio is still standing um that that chris brockman doesn't need to step in as the human resources chief of the of the rich Jaisen show. Colleen Wolf's going to do a great job.
I'm excited for her to be hosting. And then as soon as I land, I'm making my way to the studio, and you and I, Chris, will be recording Overreaction Monday. Yes, sir. Which we will then post. And then comes two Monday Night Football games.
That will be done with seven weeks of the NFL season. Speaking of NFL and wrestling, we, right now, it's looking like we may have George Kittle on No Contest Wrestling on Monday night. That's what we're working on right now. He spoke with O'Shea. He said he could do it, but only after six.
So we'll probably be pulling late night at the studio Monday night. Hopefully we'll have George. We're going to talk a little football and wrestling.
Okay. That will be great. He'll be fresh off of, hopefully for him, a Sunday night win. Hopefully it goes through, yeah. Sunday night win.
And please take that jacket off. I don't think I can. What do you mean you can? It's tight. It's very tight.
It's like stuck to you now? I'm going to need help. Skin tight? Really? Yeah.
You need some sort of jaws of life to get you out of that thing? I'm not that flexible. It's just like a wrestling valet to help you take your jacket. I want to thank everybody here at ABC News. They could not have been more welcoming and inviting.
They gave us everything that we need, including this jacket. That jacket.
Well, I mean, do we need it? It was required, a jacket required because of your garb blending it with the background. It was requested because of the shirt. But they've been awesome. Everybody here has been so welcoming and so inviting.
And all we've done is just disturb them. I mean, we did kind of come in and kind of, you know, they had a routine. We disturbed it a little bit. Can you let us in? Can we go to the bathroom?
Trilly tuck so I can make fun of you. How does the printer work? Like, literally, they're covering world affairs here. And they're like, let's find a sequined jacket for the jackal from New England. You know what I mean?
Like we're trying to be good hosts. We don't want to be the ugly Americans. They're trying to be good hosts. Yeah, we're trying to, you know what I mean? Good guests.
We're trying to be up and up. Enjoy the game. Enjoy the game on Sunday. And check out the Jaguars and the Rams and all the points. All the points on Sunday.
Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast. You can watch and listen to the Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
