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Now, on with the show. Wow! This is the Rich Eisen Show. Another pick for Houston. There is your dagger!
The leaping interception! The Rich Eisen Show from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Stafford Surgical in LA is blowing out Arizona. On today's show, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. College football playoff breakdown.
And now, it's Rich Eisen.
Well, hey everybody, welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show. That's been out of the mix for the last 13 weeks, and then we were off last week, and now we're in the play. Wait a minute, I'm told that's college football. Mm-hmm. 844-204 Rich is the number to dial right here to have a conversation with us with so much going on in the world of football, collegiately and professionally.
Week 14 in the NFL. We knew it was playoff implicating action all over the place. Check that box. Matthew Stafford, nice bounce back performance against the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams are back on top of the NFC because the Packers took care of the Bears.
The Steelers took care of the Ravens. The Bills took care of the Bengals just when it looked like Joe Burrow was going to keep that. Season alive, so much to talk about. The Jaguars are in top of the AFC South right now through 14 weeks of action. The Eagles are in the home of the Chargers tonight in SoFi Stadium on Monday night football.
We'll preview that game. With our special guest, the Positivity Rabbit will join us from Philadelphia. I don't know what's going on in the world of sports anymore, half the time. Indiana beat Ohio State. That was a big game, obviously.
The AFC, the Pardon me, SEC championship game. Georgia took care of Alabama. And Matthew Stafford, as I mentioned, bounce back game. He's joining us to talk about all of. Anything he wants to talk about in the middle of this program?
We're live on Disney Plus. We're live on the ESPN app. We're live on ESPN Radio, presented by Progressive Insurance Sirius XM Channel 80. As well, I believe the table is all set. Chris Brockman, you and I did Overreaction Monday, the pod that's available for everybody to watch on our YouTube channel right now or listen wherever.
Get your podcast. Good to see you over there. How are you, sir? Rich, you're going to have to drag me out of here with a helicopter here in the middle of the show. Hey, you know what I mean?
Roger from College Worth off the top. Good to see you over there, Jay Felly. How are you, sir? What's up, Rich? Good to see you.
Good to see you. Thanks for not doing a bit. You're welcome. What's going on, TJ Jefferson? How are you over there?
What's going on, brother?
Well, I had a bit, won't do it now, so I'm just saying, hey, everybody. How are you doing? It was awesome to be able to watch football on Sunday without your team being involved and, you know, just be able to really concentrate and enjoy football.
Well, it was fun. What I'm going to do later on in this first hour when we talk about the college football playoffs is I'm going to do something. I'm going to be as. A professional as I possibly can. That's how you do it.
Caping for Notre Dame requires a lot from me. That is. Oh, okay. That t it requires a lot. For your finest professional.
I have to dig deep. I understand. This is for that one. This won't be Emmy worthy. This could be Oscar worthy.
I mean, as you know, on the petty scale, my love for Notre Dame. Way up there, like, what is it, Richard? Yeah, on our petty scale. Actually, Richard now is a good one. We got to put 50 cent.
Oh, yeah.
Okay, you know, you know. That might be number one. He is now the top petty scale. Thank you. Thanks for the update.
Yeah, appreciate that. That's coming up. Listen. the folks out there. who are chiefs fatigued.
And there's a lot of you out there, I know. For those of you out there who have been waiting for the Chiefs to finally stumble, and not get up.
Well, guess what? The first alert. Kansas City Chiefs have arrived. They have fallen. And I don't know if they're going to be able to get up.
Because at this point in time We will. Have a A new AFC West winner for the first time. In 10 years. We know for sure. We are assured of that.
when the Kansas City Chiefs lost last night and the Denver Broncos earlier in the day took care of business for their tenth win in a row.
Okay. That now gives them a Lead over the Kansas City Chiefs. Too large for the Kansas City Chiefs to overcome with their four remaining final games. They cannot get to 11 wins. The Broncos have 11 wins.
That is all she wrote on that front. And the question is. Can the Kansas City Chiefs make the playoffs at all? And I don't know if they're going to be able to. Chiefs fatiguers out there.
It's your special day. That day has arrived. Because Everything has gone wrong. for the Kansas City Chiefs that could go wrong this year. Every single break that they used to get, everybody thinking, well, you know what?
The refs are in the bag for them. The football gods are in the bag for them as if. They weren't talented enough on their own to do what they were doing. Every single thing seems to be going against them right now. and many of it self-inflicted.
The Houston Texans deserve a lot of credit for what We saw on Sunday night to bring all of this about. That Houston Texans' defense is as good as anybody else's. And we see some pretty darn good ones. The aforementioned Denver Broncos, the Kansas City Chiefs. Um so both of those defenses already this year and lost both of them.
The Green Bay Packers have a pretty darn good defense. The Seattle Seahawks are just boat racing a bunch of people on that side of the ball. The Rams have got a terrific defense. I could go on and on. The Chiefs Defense has let them down.
at times where the Chiefs defense needed to pick them up. And the Chiefs' offense has let the Chiefs' defense down at times when the defense. needed to be picked up. Honestly, nothing's working. And I'm just wondering if The chiefs could wave a wand.
And go back. to Brazil. Week one, I was sitting in that booth. It's São Paulo, Brazil. Here's Kurt Wonder, am I right?
Yeah. Without the puffy jacket? Belly full of cheese bread. And we were, oh boy. Can confirm.
Oh boy. Third snap of that game. Xavier Worthy goes one way. Travis Kelsey goes the other way. And they met right in the middle of the field.
Worthy knocked out of the game. knocked out of action. for a couple weeks. And that Was the beginning of a nightmarish season that just feels cursed. That's how the game began.
The game ended with the Chargers needing just one more first down and the Chiefs defense getting the Chargers to a third down on offense, needing to just get off the field. Chris Jones takes the wrong path to Justin Herbert, who. Runs around the end. That Chris Jones. Was supposed to occupy, slides for the first down.
Drew Tranquill goes in Chris Jones's face. They start barking at each other, and the Chiefs lose.
Next week, they go home to Arrowhead, taking on the Philadelphia Eagles. This game. Was a struggle. As it Should be against the defending Super Bowl champs in a rematch right off the bat in their home opener in Arrowhead. Chiefs are down by three, but inside the 10-yard line, six.
Yard line to be exact. Second and goal from there. Fourth quarter. Mahomes sees Kelsey, doesn't put it right on him. Ball pops up in the air.
Interception taken. Essentially, the midfield from there, no points, and the Eagles go down the field and score. Make it a two-score game, and that was all she wrote. The Chiefs RO and 2. You could take a look at every single one of their losses this year.
Jacksonville. Want to talk about a red zone interception as well? Marching right down in. Mahomes flips the ball. There's Kelsey.
There's Juju Smith-Schuster. But Devin Lloyd snatches it out of the air. and recreates essentially A James Harrison moment. Pick six. Flips that game.
And just the brakes that normally go their way, like, say. Uh a team decides to Yeah. Go for it because they need that touchdown. They're basically out of timeouts. The Quarterback and Trevor Lawrence slips and falls.
Normally, that's a break the Kansas City Chiefs get and win the game. He gets up and runs it in the end zone. And Chris Jones is caught on all 22 standing there. Future Hall of Famer, first battle Hall of Famer. Talking about how breaks sometimes don't go your way, and then basically had to come out later on that week and say, My bad, everybody saw what they saw.
That happened to the Chiefs. They lose to Jacksonville on a Monday night. Just when they thought they could get above 500, but nope, they're now two and three and then go on a nice little win streak. That comes to an end in Buffalo. What happened there in week nine?
Well Mahomes on third and ten. Joey Bosa comes in. In the fourth quarter of a 28-21 game, Because sometimes the offensive line has not been able to protect Mahomes. Forces Mahomes to put it up in the air, throws it into double coverage, interception. Massive turnover.
They lose that one. 2821.
Next week in Denver. They're actually up in Denver. They could basically say, nice win streak you've had here, Broncos, but this is our division. We're in your house. We're up on you in the fourth quarter and stop you and get the ball back up by three, but two straight three and outs.
Denver does what it's done all fourth quarter. Season long. Come back and win and win in a one-score game. And at that point in time, the Chiefs. who had been undefeated in one score games.
The previous season, part of the reason why they went to the Super Bowl. Fall to O and five in them. They pull one out of their orifice at home down 20-9 against the Indianapolis Colts. Need overtime the next week in Arrowhead. They're back.
They're back going into Dallas. On a Thanksgiving. We all know what happened there. A game that is a one-score game, 28-21. Mahomes is driving down the field, third and eight.
There's Rashi Rice wide open over the middle. Hits him right in the hands and he drops it. Dallas gets the ball back. Marches down the field, makes it a two-score game, almost pulled it out. Will Mahomes escaped a sack twice, kept his balance, and found a wide open Xavier Worthy down the field.
I think it's going to happen again until it didn't. Too many mistakes there. Then last night. We saw Three interceptions by Patrick Mahomes. And no touchdowns.
Three of them. Last time that happened, where a Kansas City Chiefs quarterback had no passing touchdowns and three interceptions in the same game. Tyler Pelco, everybody, has entered to chat. Who? Week 12, 2011.
That's how long it's been. And the Texans' defense came in and hit him in the mouth. That Jalen Petrie tipped one in the air and then recircled back to grab it. He was flying his body all over the place. And so when Mahomes is just a hair off, and the defense is laying the wood.
you're going to see drops. Or You're going to see a moment where Andy Reid starts to get impatient. And says I'll make the mistake this time. I'll go for it. On fourth and one for my own 31 with 11 minutes to go, and my defense is looking like the Texans' defense.
I'll go for it. Doesn't work. Mahomes is hectored. Tries to flip it to Rice. Doesn't connect.
A gift. A gift. to an offense that had not been doing a lick. Short field touchdown. Then another moment.
Going for it this time on fourth down with Five minutes to go. This one was a little bit more understandable from their own 40 one. This one Ray Rice just had it in his hands. I don't know what happened to him over the last couple of weeks. Oh, man.
Rashi rice, pardon me. Dropsies. And then one last moment. Similar to the week two loss to Philadelphia, ball not right on Kelsey, up in the air interception. And that's all she wrote.
Too many. Mistakes. from all the folks that know What it takes to win in this game is such a slim margin. And they're now under 500 through 13 games for the first time. Since the 2012 season when they were 2 and 14.
I don't know what's going on. I'm shocked as anybody else. And I know all you Chiefs Fatiguers are loving seeing people like me pound the table saying, I will have to. See it to believe it. And, you know, and you heard Collinsworth last night.
All the people who think that Collinsworth. Has been uh It's been a lot. It's been a bit much. I'll say tonsil tickling, to use the phrase of the day. You know, that they have, they were just loving that.
Coop is one of them. I don't know why I'm ready. It's because his older brother loves Taylor Swift, even though she appears two seconds, and I love her too, and so does her sister, and so does his mother. I don't know. Coop, the Patriot fan, he's sitting there at home.
He's. He's like you. He's texting you having a party. Coop's my boy. I don't know why I'm raising a chiefs hater.
It's not from dad, but I know all you folks out there are loving watching people like me going, I don't have answers. It's Uncle Brock. I think I see my homes keyed up. Hit it. Yeah, I mean you're just getting late in the season and you're not gonna get um These opportunities back, and that's a good football team, but we had chances, and we didn't execute at the right time to win it.
We know the chances are getting lower and lower, but I know the guys on this team are going to give everything they have, every opportunity we get. The next-gen stats machines give them a 16% chance. That seems high.
Well, I mean, you have to win out, so they have to remove all these mistakes. I just keep on saying that crops up. I did say last week, I identified the Colts as the team. Because they've already beaten them. That's the team that.
Finishes second in the AFC South. And he is in a wild card position, and the Chiefs can pop out of their back pocket that tie break. That they have because they beat the Colts. The problem is the Colts are now no longer a wildcard team, and I don't even know. how they're going to finish with Daniel Jones now out.
And the Texans are now sitting there in that seventh spot, and they're two and a half games behind them. I don't know, man. There's a mosh pit of teams at six and seven right now. That's two behind a Colts team that's not even a wild card team right now. That's how bleak it is.
And the division's gone.
So Congratulations, Chief Satigers. You're getting what you want. I don't like the way you put that. It's the truth. What's wrong?
This type of season and regression was easy to see coming. I don't know how that's the case. Based on last year, they literally got every bounce and break. Ref stuff, whatever, that you could possibly get 11-0, whatever the number was in one score games. That just wasn't going to maintain.
That's not sustainable. And the way the roster is constructed, it's just not a good roster. They're old, they're slow, they're not. They're old and slow. I'll push back on that.
There's zero explosivity in this offense. Your best runner is the quarterback. And Andy Reid, I think we need to have an honest conversation. He's lost a little bit on the fastball. That was a major, major blunder last night, especially the way his defense was playing.
Well, let's have him give the reasoning behind it. Hit it. I thought we could get it. That was the decision. You know, I was confident we could.
you know, we could do that.
So it's it's important. That you take advantage of opportunities. I thought it was an opportunity. I was wrong, no. I mean, hindsight, it was wrong.
We've been pretty good on fourth downs. Um Yeah. Um yeah. And that's that one up. I mean And why?
And why wouldn't he think that? That's earned arrogance the way they've played in these situations in the last eight seasons. Again, I was talking to the team with Kurt before week one. They were all like: Xavier Worthy is going to have a much bigger role in this offense. Three snaps in, he's gone.
He's not only just gone for the game, he's gone for the month. Rashid Rice gets suspended. He's gone. Again, I'm wondering if they go back in the DeLorean. You know, do they go and grab Brees Hall from the Jets for a three?
How does that change things? I bet they wish they would have done it. Or do they go back in the DeLorean and they go back and find whatever. Whatever they did. To Step on a rake.
and then have the entire season go just feel cursed. They go back there and they just. Have Worthy and Kelsey run routes of a different depth. It just started a whole season.
Now, I understand you're saying, hey, you can't get the breaks and yada, yada, yada, but they still had the roster. And they also believe they had the left tackle who's now gone. who also was gone for a couple of weeks due to personal reasons as well. I'm not making excuses. I'm just saying that I believe if anybody feels that the window is completely closed, I would pump the brakes on that a little bit.
They need kind of an overhaul.
Well, they have the general manager who, the last time he saw something so glaring in a Super Bowl, lost, they hit it. And then they went on a run. For the ages, I might add. That does appear to be over, certainly on the front of the AFC West, and maybe just for the playoffs at all. Let's take a break.
When we come back, We talk about a sport where head-to-heads matter. Uh in results. Only when I guess somebody actually pays attention to them after talking about something completely different, is a metric as to who makes the playoffs for weeks. We'll talk college football. Everybody, there are some pissed-off people.
Certainly in Notre Dame. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial right here on the show, The Rich Eisen Show, on a busy Monday. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Back here on our radio here on ESPN Radio, presented by Progressive Insurance, talking about what happened with Indiana and Ohio State. That third down call.
To end the game and call ball game with your Heisman trophy, hopeful, if not potentially winning quarterback. Who is Post-game. Chit chat on the field after the game. Serious Kirk Cousins vibes. It's great.
Could have been better. Oh, please. I don't care. It's great. Kids nice.
Everybody's nice. He's using the word flipping on TV. But Signetti man This is what he had to say about the decision afterwards to go for it. I wasn't going to play not to lose. We're applying the win.
And the one thing, you know, we do spend a lot of time on the clock, how many plays are left in the game, things of that nature. We've kind of figured we had to. get about three uh first downs. That's why I told the team so. You got to get a first down.
I wasn't going to punt the ball back to them with two minutes to go and no timeouts. Wow. We had to give our guys an opportunity to make plays. We were getting on top of them at certain points in that game, and Fernando was throwing great deep balls, and it was a great play. It sure was.
I just love his default look of just like And it's like, I can't tell you. Why wouldn't I do that? Yeah, he's disinterested, or he's just like, what do you mean? It's obvious. He's just a football coach.
He is football coach. Like, central casting football coaching is Indiana's. And Two things. If Indiana wins at all, In the year that Lee Corso signs off. would be unbelievable.
And also For a school that comes out of the mist. and builds a team with a head coach and an idea. And transfer portals, sure, but in the NIL world, where supposedly Indianas, the Indianas of the world, are supposed to be left. On the side of the road. And in this world where there's nothing.
In college football, except nauseating headlines and results. And mind-blowing decisions made by people, which we'll get to from the College Football Playoff Committee, and a world in which one coach leaves for another school right before the college football playoffs are even announced because one school rightfully says get out, but then says the offensive coordinator, you could stay because we still have to win games. And there's gajillions of dollars in buyouts and all of that stuff. And the ultimate. Snapshot of the sport is fans showing up.
At a chain link fence. To scream obscenities at a coach leaving on a private jet sent from the other school that just paid a gajillion dollars of a buyout, if that's the world of college football, to have Indiana win it all? would be what we call a palate cleanser. A palate cleanser.
Now, Ohio State could still win it all, too, because you know. Last time Ohio State lost their Last big ten. Game of the season by a final score of 13 to 10. They went on to win it all anyway. While not winning the conference championship.
Either. All right, I'm going to leave it alone. But One of my favorite posts that I saw over the weekend. that popped into my timeline was um Indiana should be Number one overall in the college football playoffs, unless the committee considers that Ohio State is the more impressive loss of the two. That's pretty funny.
Which perfectly encapsulized the absurdities of the college football playoff committee's. Thought process. and processes and the way it's been described By an athletic director who got thrust into the role of college football playoff committee chairman to be the face-front individual to explain. to America and the college football fans and Um Also, programs and athletic directors and chancellors, what the thinking of the committee is.
Somebody who absolutely is not ready for the spotlight. And It perfectly that post encapsulized how all over the place this entire process has been. And then out comes the work of the College Football Playoff Committee. Miami should be in over Notre Dame. They beat him.
It's just that simple. And Alabama getting in is something else, also. Because BYU, oh, I mean, they played for their conference championship game, they lost, that's a penalty for them, man. They shouldn't be in. They lost.
Oh, but Alabama played for their conference championship and lost. But that doesn't count against them. But it counts against BYU. But the team that doesn't play for their conference championship, just sitting at home, gets in. in Miami They don't play, but they get in.
Alabama plays, their loss doesn't count against them. BYU plays, their loss does count against them. And the Notre Dame lost to Miami. Counts against them. That makes sense.
The fact that they almost beat Texas AM and should have had a holding penalty on the game-winning touchdown that the whole country saw. But the refs didn't. Again, my professionalism caping for Notre Dame football. Look at you. Look at me.
I'm proud of you. I know. I still think Rudy was all sorts. At any rate, I'm sorry, I got to put the Wolverines to bed here. Mike, listen.
It's absurd. That we are sitting here. And we're saying the 12 best should play for college football's championship. We've all been clamoring for this playoff system. I know I have been.
I did a sports center. Um Piece back in the late 90s, I think, or the early aughts about how there should be a 16-team. Playoff. I even wrote it out. I produced it.
It was. thrown out on the air. I thought it was brilliant, if I may say so. Ahead of your time. I was ahead of my time.
Sometimes you're so I've been taping for this, but I want the best 12. Notre Dame is one of the best 12. How are they not in it? Yeah, I hate to be this guy. Like Tulane and James Madison.
I don't care about watching you play football, and you're not going to win the championship. I hate to break it to you. Like, what are we doing? Let me just put it this way.
Okay. I'll put it this way, out of respect. This isn't the participation trophy. I get it. I get it.
Well, here's the difference. Because I think what college football is trying to do is create a UMBC setup here. They're trying to get what we see in March Madness, which is that 116 game that suddenly out of nowhere. Wow, that was something else that somebody's coming into the college football playoffs with a slingshot. And they are hitting Goliath right between the eyes, and it's going to be something that everyone's talking about for.
Ever.
So I look at the camera. And I'm talking to those Tulane and James Madison. It's on you. It is 100% on you. Because the whole world is thinking exactly what Chris Brockman just put into a microphone.
That you Shouldn't be there. You are not equipped to go into James Madison, Oregon. And two lane. Omiss. And by the way, thanks to the College Football Playoff Committee.
I mean, we were all kind of. How many people have called me to this show saying, you know what, we need to see. A rematch of Ole Miss Tulane after that 45-10 beatdown Ole Miss put on him earlier this year. We got to see that again. Nobody.
So it's on them to go in and ball out. and make a run of it. Because all we're going to be doing is sitting there saying Notre Dame could have done better than that, BYU could have done better than that. Miami's in because they beat Notre Dame. I get it.
But they didn't even play for their conference championship. Duke with five losses won the ACC. But let's put an ACT team in, you have to do that. Yeah. I mean, shouldn't we just sit in a room?
But the only way that this thing and come up with the 12 best Period. End of story. Regardless. Of whose In what conference? But the reason why this even exists is because they had to gerrymander this thing to get everybody in the same room to agree to do it.
You know, like we're hearing now from Pete Pavakwa, the AD of Notre Dame. In future years, if we're in the top 12, we're in. Like, if this was next year, we'd be in because we'd be ranked 11th and top 12 get in. I've got a more radical idea to fix it. I mean, just hear me out.
Hear me out. We get in a room.
Okay. Yeah. And we figure out Which programs In college football, Should be in the boat. of college football playoff Committee Eligibility? And which teams do not?
And we create our own league. based on those sports. And then wait for it. We put contracts on the table. For the players And for the coaches, hey coaches, no more buyouts.
You are Under contract. Nobody can come in with their private jets. and their private equity and buy you out. And players. You're under contract.
There is no transfer portal. That's it. No portal. Portal's done. Portal's gone.
But you can maybe have a portal by your junior year. Right.
So you're asking for a two-year commitment. Yeah. Plus one. I don't hate that. Player option?
I don't know. We can figure this thing out. And then you tell the players, you have a union. Wait for it. There's also A front office For the entity with a commissioner and with a group of people who come up with a schedule.
Mm. A schedule. You don't decide what Slappy gets a million bucks from you to come play in your spot. You don't decide. You don't.
There's a Actual Construct. Imagine that. To it.
So it's not people sitting in a room with their coffee breath and their B.O. and some guy who gets. to have the front facing job of explaining all this to everybody. who gets thrust in the role because the original guy got bounced. And Rhys Davis is asking all the right questions, and we're not getting the answers we need because they're all over the place.
And then there are people who think, well, the networks have something to do with it. An agent has something to do with it. The kids playing the game should have something to do with it. And the coaches coaching should have something to do with it. When are we going to get adults in the room to do this sort of thing?
When is it going to happen? Who's going to do it? How many times are you going to see Nick Saban on game day saying, we should do this thing? Who's going to be the person to do it? Don't look to Congress.
That's for sure. Don't look to the government. Who's gonna do it? Because this whole process stunk. Like, you couldn't get a straight answer.
And the best 12 should be in, and the best 12 aren't in. We don't think. Ole Miss, 17-point favorites over Tulane. Oregon, 21-point favorites over Tamil Madison. Everybody wants to see.
Not a single soul is club, but congrat the kids at James Madison. Congratulations. The kids at Tulane should shut us up. Go ahead. You have James Madison that brought Kurt Signetti to the world.
In part. Let's go. Shut us up.
Now then. Notre Dame Has every right to tell the Pop-Tart bowl we ain't coming. Yep.
Okay, in the same way, people are turning down the NIT because in college basketball, because that's what bowl games are becoming. That's what they're becoming.
Now, you could say Notre Dame has blown the opportunity. These seniors thought they got one more game.
Now they don't. They've blown the opportunity to get kids. For next year, up and running?
Now they don't. Now they're cutting their nose off to spite their face. They're putting their... Uniforms on the desk. And saying we're not playing.
It's every they have every right to do it. It runs completely counter to what football is all about. Hey, adversity, fight through it. Hey, stuff's not going to go your way in life. Fight through it.
Show everybody else. What you're made of. You're running away. You're taking your ball and going home. That's not a football.
Program football programs don't do that. But okay.
So You tell the staff and the players, oh, you're not home for Christmas. You're doing two a days. For what? Play another school in the Pop-Tarts? Again, I keep using that.
Because that's what I read: that it was them versus BYU in the Pop-Tart situation. Yeah. They're like, screw you, you and your toaster. I don't want to do it. We're a brand.
That's not our brand. You want to make money off our brand. Put us in the college football playoff. Yeah. over Tulane or James Madison.
You want us to play BYU? Match us up in a college football playoff. We both wanted to play.
So On its face, it sounds like they're running away, they're taking their ball, like they're doing things like not playing Michigan until 2030. Listen, whatever. I gotta stop this. I can't quit. I really only know one speed.
Can't stop low. But honestly, like, what? What do you want them to do? They're pissed? I totally agree.
Every right to be pissed. Yeah, absolutely. Again, they shouldn't be pissed that Miami made it. They lost to Miami. And it doesn't matter.
Oh, it was in week two. It was our. Young quarterback's first game on the road, and all that stuff. You got to play them when you play them. And you got, and these are the results.
Ask the New England Patriots who might have to go to Denver for the AFC Championship game because they lost week one of the Raiders. Week one. Glorified accounts against them right now. Yeah, exactly. And could count against them on making the Super Bowl, but it is what happens with results.
But the fact that Notre Dame didn't make it, but Tulane and James Madison make it because the rules. mandate that those teams make it. As opposed to giving us fans the matchups we all want to see, what we all want to see on a New Year's Eve. Who the hell wants to watch college football on New Year's Eve? Exactly.
Think about it if it was Notre Dame at Oregon. Or Notre Dame at all. You're going to make me stop what I'm doing on a New Year's Eve with my kids and my family and traveling if that happens. If you're asking that of anybody, give me something compelling to watch. The whole thing, soup to nuts.
Makes me feel like the only palate cleanser would be somebody like James Madison or Tulane going on a run for the ages. Or Indiana. with all due respect to every one else. In this day and age. Where all this stuff feels like it's turning to S.
Here comes a program out of the muck. Out of nowhere to become dominant. Sign me up. That's kind of cool. 844-204 Rich, Notre Dial, Bears, Packers.
Came down to it. Bears. Matthew Stafford, now we're two. Let's take a break. This is the Rich Isand Show on a Monday with tons to talk about.
Yeah. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. ESPN Radio is presented by Progressive Insurance, Progressive Commercial Insurance, Protecting Your Business Vehicles 24-7. See if you can save at Progressive Commercial.com. Matthew Stafford's coming up on this program hour too.
I'm in a mood today, as you can tell. I love it. You know, I'm not a chief's fatiguer. I'm just, I think this league's better when they're good and they're in. I feel.
Listen, I also like being right.
So close. What did Mangonello call them? The Nouveau. Nouveau Reese? Yeah, Nouveau Rich or something.
Well, because he's a Steeler fan. Come on. Listen, so close. I love being right. I love being right.
Joe Burrow's up by 10 in western New York in the snow, looking like Joe Burr, throwing it to everybody, looking like Joe Burrow. T. Higgins making catches. You bet. And I thought to myself: here we go.
I kept thinking about the whole game. Five and eight. They're going to be a game behind the loser of Steelers Ravens, just two behind the winner with four to go, winnable games. And then all of a sudden, Burrow flips it and um Two plays later, two interceptions later, on real. And the uh The snowstorm really hit.
And then Josh Allen, man. I'm just. How amazing is he? He is just he's again, he's the Mandalorian quarterback. He is the Mandalorian quarterback.
That's what he is. This is the way. And the bills now Are your Five seed. We'll see what happens on Monday night football. But the Bills now are the five-seat.
And if they wind up the five-seed, they take on the Patriots next. Patriots win, and they. Go back on the AFC East throne. They will cl clinch the division. But the Bills are two back and have a shot.
And even with a couple of fumbles from James Cook. The Bills' defense didn't do well on third down, but on defense. They um they Outrushed the Bengals. They held the Bengals just 62 rushing yards. They've allowed fewer than 70 rush yards in back-to-back games now.
And they outrushed the Bengals a buck 83 to 62. This is the way. To use the Mandalorian phrase, run it, stop the run, and let Josh Allen do the rest. And You know, Christian Benford, man. A defensive touchdown in back-to-back games, funnel recovery against the Steelers, and then this one.
The pick six that flipped the game on its head. Yeah, that play was sick. Flip the game on its head. And the Bills win. And this is what Josh Allen had to say afterwards.
You know, we stress with this team all the time: we don't blink, we don't panic. It doesn't matter if our defense is playing outstanding, we're not playing great, and vice versa for our offense. You know, we have supreme trust in each other that we're going to figure it out, we're going to play for each other, and that's all we try to do: just not ride the wave, stay as calm as possible, and find a way to figure it out.
So, what they are as a five-seed, and if they stay there, let's just assume, again, the Patriots win this division because. They probably will.
Okay, let's just assume it. The Bills as a five-seed are going to be that team that goes into the house of the defending. of the uh of the AFC North winner and can easily won and done that team. And then whoever wins the AFC South, if the Bills fall to six, because the Chargers might overtake him, or maybe the Texans might catch him, who knows? The Bills are going to be one of those teams with Josh Allen on the road in the playoffs, maybe similar to the Chiefs a couple years ago.
You don't want to see him there. The ultimate don't want to see him because Josh Allen could, out of the blue, just turn into some guy. You know what I'm going to do today? I'm going to count for six touchdowns. What about you?
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Joe Burrow accounted for four yesterday, but those two picks in back-to-back. Throws, plays, snaps.
So random, too. Put the Bengals season on the brink. Hit it. That's how the cookie crumbled this year.
Alright. You know, obviously, I would have loved to have been out there more. and and be able to to make an impact by Um that wasn't the case and You know, I fought my fought my butt off to get back to this spot and to be able to be out there with everybody and for our organization in the city.
So that's what I'm going to continue to do. I uh I take it very seriously. I I love what I do and I'm going to continue to do it. Mm, somebody's been caping how the season is not over to hear Joe Burrow talk about it in the past tense. Hits me in the gut.
I wanted to use this bit so badly for the next month, but the bit's gone. The bit is history. 'Cause yeah, they're three behind the Steelers in fourth play. That that's all she wrote. But the bills, man.
In the snow. What a game. Barrow versus Allen. In the snow. Week 14.
Early window. Two punts in the game. Turnovers galore, momentum swinging and changing, and the Bills are going to go to the playoffs and be a tough out. Matthew Stafford coming up. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.
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