REShow: Christian Kirk - Hour 3

This is the Rich Eisen Show. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.

Can they avoid charger like things? The Jaguars have won it! They have come back from 27-0! Earlier on the show, two-time Super Bowl champion and Greenlight podcast host Chris Long, Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons. Coming up, Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number three of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. 844-204 Rich is the number to dial here on the program after we watched Wild Card Saturday kick off with a nearly doubling up of the Seahawks by the San Francisco 49ers. And then we watched the Chargers take a 27-0 lead on Jacksonville. I thought to myself, well, Wild Card weekend, we need to find a different adjective than Super. But then the second half hit in Duval County.

And that's the way I now turn to the Rich Eisen Show phone line and welcome in. The guy whose touchdown grab in the fourth quarter made it a two-point game. And then we all saw how the Jaguars got the final field goal with no time left to complete. The biggest comeback we have seen in the playoffs since the Colts came back.

28 down on the Chiefs in the Wild Card round of 2013. And joining us here on the phone line is a man who grabbed that ball, Christian Kirk, back here on the Rich Eisen Show. How are you doing, Christian? I'm good. How are you doing? I'm all right. I mean, not like going to the Waffle House and partying like I'm Trevor Lawrence type good, but I'm pretty good.

I'm pretty good, you know. Did you see that? Did you see that? That video? Yeah, I did. Yeah, I saw it the next morning.

Okay. Where did you go after the game Saturday night? What was your night like?

I went straight home. I was exhausted. I think I felt a little delirious. I didn't, you know, it was hard to really process what had just happened. I think for a lot of us, you know, just the emotions and everything that had happened. I had to get home and lay down and, you know, kind of wind down from everything that had just happened. So let's talk about the everything that had just happened when the game starts with back-to-back interceptions. And that's the way Trevor Lawrence's career starts with back-to-back interceptions. And then a third one came and a fourth one came. Did you go up to him?

Did you chit-chat with him at any point in time about this, Christian? I mean, I don't think we talked specifically about, you know, the interceptions, but, you know, more just positive reinforcement. Just everybody, you know, letting everybody know that, you know, we still believe and we still believe in one another.

You know, there's nothing negative that, you know, came from anybody on the offense or defensive side of the ball. And, you know, just told them, take it one play at a time and just, you know, don't forget to have fun in these type of moments. You know, obviously with these games and what's all on the line, you know, some of that energy and emotion can kind of get pent up.

And, you know, you just forget to go out there and just play free and have fun. And so just told him to go out there, have fun, and just play his style of football. And, you know, we were able to do that in the second half and turn things around. Before we get to that turnaround, though, you know, so was there, again, just watching him try and navigate this thing. And I'll be honest, at some point I thought, does he need to come out of the game for a bit? And that moment happened when you were wide open on a third down on a throw that I think Lawrence could make in his sleep and probably did when he was a five-year-old.

And he threw it behind you, Christian, and I'm wondering what you were thinking at that moment. You know, it's definitely a tough play for us, you know, especially, you know, we felt like we had an opportunity there to finally get some things rolling. You know, got on a third manageable situation and, you know, just, you know, we missed the play.

And, you know, that happened. And obviously it was disappointing, you know, at the time. Because it kind of just felt like, you know, nothing could go our way. You know, we had dug ourselves into such a big hole and it just, you know, early in that first half it just felt like one of those nights where, you know, nothing was going to go our way. And I think, you know, that definitely was a point to where we had to really make a decision of, you know, are we going to turn this thing around, are we going to believe, or are we going to, you know, just pack it in and try to, you know, end this thing and try to get some type of momentum. But like I said, you know, nobody blinked, you know, came back to the sideline.

And one thing I love about Trevor is, you know, he's never afraid to, you know, be accountable for mistakes. And, you know, he said that's a throw that I need to make, you know, that's on me and, you know, we're okay, we'll get back right. And I'm not sure, I think it was, you know, that next year as we went down there and we were able to score before halftime and that kind of, you know, turned things around for us. What was it like in the locker room after that score?

It's 27-7, right? I mean, you actually got points on the board, something positive had happened. What was the locker room like, halftime? Yeah, you know, it was positive. You know, we had had three other games, if I'm not mistaken, earlier in the season where we had, you know, faced deficits, you know, that were pretty similar. You know, down 17, down 20, down 10, you know, and spots were, you know, maybe looked a little improbable coming back in. You know, we knew with our defense coming out taking the field that, you know, hey, defense, you go out there and get a stop, you know, offense is imperative that we score, put some points on the board and we can turn this thing around and get some momentum. And defense did just that and, you know, once that happens and, you know, we're able to go and score, you know, there's no, you know, disbelief in our minds that, you know, we're not going to be able to get back into this game. You know, just able to, you know, talk about what we need to do and go out there and execute it and take it one play at a time. And, you know, there was a lot of belief and that's all it was in the locker room, just reinforcement that, hey, you know, we've been in this moment before, let's go out there, do the same thing we've done in the past, band together and just take it one play at a time.

And so when you were talking about this in the locker room and then you needed to execute it and you're beginning to execute it, at what point did the belief begin to become rampant on the sideline, Christian? Well, I think definitely, you know, one of the big scores was, you know, the long pass today. You know, I think we were able to close the gap to 14 at that point. Defense was, you know, getting some stops and once they get going, start pressing the quarterback and, you know, they're stopping the run and they're having success, you know, offensively, you know, we're on the side saying, hey, we're going to get this ball back.

Jamal Agnew giving us a spark too, giving us some great field position as well. And so when things start coming together a little bit and, you know, we're able to kind of start closing the gap and, you know, you look at the clock and you say, hey, we got some time here and, you know, we're able to put this thing together. You know, for us, it's just a sense of urgency to, you know, go out and do it. And, you know, I think that's the big thing is we've done it so many times this season that it's just going back to what we know and just believing in one another and just having that confidence and, you know, the confidence really, you know, kind of sparked in those moments. Christian Kirk here on the Rich Eisen Show.

I am mandated to ask this question. Could this have happened, you know, in the belief in everybody else under the previous administration prior to Doug Peterson? Christian, could this have happened last year?

You know, obviously, you know, I wasn't a part of it, you know, just like everybody else, you know, one of the outsiders looking in, you know, but just from hearing, you know, from the guys and, you know, their experiences, I don't think, you know, would have happened or even, you know, gotten to this point. But I just know that, you know, Doug from the first day that he came in, you know, he instilled this culture and this mindset for us that, you know, we can accomplish everything that we want to accomplish and it's all right here in this building, in this locker room and on this team. And everybody just bought into, you know, just the championship mentality, you know, fear nothing and attack everything. And, you know, guys have really bought into that and it's really helped us, you know, in these moments of adversity that we faced throughout the year. What was it like in the locker room after the game?

This, you know, is unbelievable. I mean, obviously, for the most part, just a sigh of relief, you know, but just so happy for everyone that has been, you know, in the building for a long time that hasn't had to, you know, get a taste of these type of moments. And, you know, winning in the playoffs is not easy, you know, by any means and just all the hard work and effort and the dedication and sacrifice that everybody has put in, you know, on a daily basis to just kind of get over that hump and get that first win in the playoffs. I think it meant a lot, you know, but quickly, you know, kind of narrowed our focus back into, you know, the next round and getting ready, you know, for, you know, the divisional round this Saturday. Well, I found it interesting, Christian, that, you know, after the game, Trevor Lawrence said that the four quarters, kind of a microcosm of the season where, you know, the first half you weren't playing up to your potential and then the second half of the season, look out anybody else.

Bad news for everybody else. And I'm just wondering how you feel about your team's prospects going into Kansas City and shocking the whole world and winning this thing, Christian. Yeah, you know, you mentioned it going into the bye week where three and seven, we had actually just lost to Kansas City and, you know, coming out of it, it was, you know, just making a decision of where we want to take this thing. And, you know, we knew, you know, we had a win out and, you know, obviously we didn't do that.

We dropped one to Detroit. But, you know, for the most part, everybody bought into, you know, it's the win to get in and everybody bought into that. And obviously we faced a really good opponent, you know, who beat us earlier this year, you know, with a great offense and great defense, obviously the environment down there is, you know, second to none. So it's just banding together and, you know, we've been counted out all season long and, you know, still even we string together some wins, you know, people still say, oh, you know, it's the Jacksonville Jaguars and, you know, still kind of give us that underdog mentality. And, you know, we're going to keep embracing that. And so I think for us going down Kansas City this Saturday, it's going to be us versus the world. And we've been in this position, you know, so far throughout our whole season.

So it'll be nothing new to us, you know, it's just playing our brand and our style of football and going down and executing. And then let's talk about you for a little bit here before I let you go, Christian Kirk. Obviously the conversation in March surrounding you was about your contract and how Jacksonville paid you handsomely and whether you were going to be able to be a number one receiver worthy of being paid like that. You got an 1,100-yard season, eight touchdowns in the regular season, the big one in the playoffs that got the team within two. Any sense of satisfaction for you, Christian?

I would be lying if I said no. I'd definitely like to say just to be able to get the last laugh. But it's the opportunity I wanted and, you know, through scrutiny or not, I know what I've worked for. I know what I've earned. And I've always believed in that, always believed in the type of player that I can be. And, you know, just stuck to that and just kind of closed out the outside noise and really just focused on, you know, how good of a teammate and a player and an impact player I can be, you know, on this team.

And, you know, help us get to moments in games like this. And, you know, been blessed to, you know, be out there for every opportunity and just go out there and have an impact. And that's all I can really ask for. And, you know, just, you know, really happy.

And, you know, would do it 100 times over again to be able to come here to Jacksonville. And just, you know, really grateful for the opportunity and the belief that, you know, they've put in me. And, you know, the rest has kind of been history, but, you know, definitely have been happy with, you know, how this first year has gone and, you know, ready to just, you know, keep going and keep believing in an impact. Yes, how the season has gone and is still going.

Those are the key words at the end of that statement, still going. And then I would be remiss if you don't mind me asking, are you surprised about your old spot on the coach being fired, general manager out? I mean, total restart where you left in Arizona, does that surprise you in any way, shape or form, Christian Kirk? Well, I mean, you know, I have nothing but love, you know, for Arizona, you know, what they've done for me. And, you know, Steve Keim, you know, bringing me to Arizona, I got to play for my hometown team.

So that's an opportunity that, you know, I'm always grateful for and will never forget. And, you know, I thought Cliff did a great job, you know, with what he had and, you know, just putting guys in the right positions, you know, to succeed. But, you know, sometimes, unfortunately, like I said, it's hard to win in the fleet.

And, you know, when things aren't going right and, you know, there's a lot of outside noise that can be, you know, a little bit, it can kind of blur your focus and your vision and can get a little distracting at times. But, you know, I definitely was following them the whole year and, you know, felt for those guys. But, you know, when a change is needed and a change is needed and, you know, I know everybody's parting ways and, you know, looking for, you know, a new journey, a new venture. But definitely, you know, from our guys that are over there, you know, looking, you know, excited to see, you know, what their new venture is going to be and, you know, who takes over over there.

And, you know, hopefully they can turn things around. All right. And you are aware where the Super Bowl takes place this year, right, Christian? You're very well aware of that, correct?

I've been well aware from that when they first announced it. So there's nothing more that I would like. Could you imagine? I mean, are you imagining? Do you let yourself go for a split minute to think about that, Christian? You know, 100%, I think it keeps you motivated.

You know, not that you don't need any motivation with weeks like this and you're in the playoffs and you're moving on. But that's my backyard. I grew up there and I've been going to games there since I was a little kid and I've been an Arizona Cardinals fan. And, you know, to have been in that stadium, obviously I've played in that stadium so many times. And so to now obviously, you know, be here and have the opportunity and, you know, with the guys that we have here in Jacksonville and, you know, for the love and bond that I've created here in Jacksonville. It would just be, you know, a dream come true. And so it's definitely some added motivation to get down there and be able to play, you know, on that stage, you know, in that game at home.

Wouldn't that be amazing? Christian Kirk, I really appreciate you taking the moment here on an off day or a down day, certainly since you had to go after that game and just get some rest. I greatly appreciate it. And in that regard, I'm going to give some advice, free advice for you to pass along to Doug Peterson, if you wouldn't mind for me, Christian Kirk.

OK. Tell coach, don't spot Mahomes 27. OK. All right. Don't do that. I got you. OK.

I'll let him know. Free advice. It's free. It's free. It's free.

There's no there's no quid to the pro quo. Just don't do that. And I appreciate the time. Take care of yourself.

Sounds good. Thanks, Rich. There you go. He's one of the best in this national football league. And Christian Kirk, love talking to him. He's got some I mean, that's the guy you want in the huddle, right? Calming presence.

He's kind of calming when you talk to him. Yeah. I love it. OK. Eight for four to offer rich number down. So much to discuss on this program. We have really not hit the Chargers and what I think they're going to do to teams, everybody thinks that they're they know what they should do.

Or you think they should do a little zig when all they do in their entire time under the current administrations is zag. And that's coming up next. Eight for four to four, rich. And then we hit the Monday night game to don't go anywhere. Monster Dotcom can help you tackle the job hunt and make your next career move in football and in life. There's the regular season and then there's the playoffs. Monster Dotcom knows that scoring your next job.

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844-204-RICH is the number to dial right here on the program. Alrighty then. So, let's talk about some teams that are out of the tournament and what now. Let's do it. Seattle and Los Angeles, the first two out. Seattle in the first game of Super Wild Card Weekend and then the Chargers in the second. And what are they going to do?

The big questions about both. Let's take Seattle. What are they going to do at quarterback? I had that in overreaction. We didn't get to it.

And I'm glad to hit it now then. What are they going to do at quarterback? Doing a little more. I'm telling you what they're going to do at quarterback. Ride with Geno? What they're going to do at quarterback is ride with Geno. They love him. The teammates love him. They do not look at him and think, well that's the guy who washed out in New York. They don't look at him and say, well that's the guy that Ben McAdoo put in to start in place of Eli Manning to break up his streak in New York. They don't look at him and say, well that's the guy who came in for Russ mid-season last year and couldn't keep the ship nearly as afloat as he did this year. They don't look at him and think that at all. They look at him and think, that's our guy. They look at him and see the 50 yard throw in the playoffs to D.K.

Metcalf. They look at him and see the runs that he comes up with as well. They like his arm. Take a look at Chris. Look it up.

Will you please? Look up how many attempts Geno Smith made this year. Passing attempts? Yes sir.

How many times did they fade them back or roll them out and let them cook? Take a look at that number. Geno Smith had 572 passing attempts.

How about that? Almost 600 passing attempts. Do you think Russell Wilson would have liked that in previous years?

Yep. They believe in Geno. And the way that they're playing is the way that Pete likes to play. And the way that they're playing put them in the playoffs this year. Say what you will about their second half of the season and how that game against the Rams ended. Apparently Schefter reported that the Lions and the Rams were livid with the officiating in that game as well they should have. Seattle got some gifts from the officials in that game from a roughing the punter penalty that I didn't understand where that came from. And also a taunt in the direction of Bobby Wagner that wasn't called on an interception that came at a crucial moment.

At any rate, say what you will about all that. But the Seahawks made the playoffs and they had a halftime lead in San Francisco. And they've got the fifth overall pick and I don't think there's a quarterback there that will make them think we're just going to start from scratch. I think they like Geno a lot and the only thing I imagine that would prevent them from signing a deal is if Geno overplays a hand. Where they're like yeah that's just too many years.

That's too many dollars. We'll just find another direction. We'll go in a different direction. We like Drew Locke just as much and then we'll go into that season saying oh are they crazy? Then they'll make the playoffs again. They've got the fifth overall pick. I think they're going to use it on a defender or if there's some offensive linemen that they love they fell head over heels in and go to work. And let Kenny Walker run it and let Geno sling it. I think the players love him.

I saw it in person in Munich. That's the way they zag. Or that's the way they zig. What are they going to zag with who? The kid from Kentucky? Stick him up there? Fifth overall? That's the spot for him.

I don't think so. I think they liked Geno to begin with and the rest of the country was saying what the hell are they thinking? And they made the playoffs. That's my two cents on Seattle.

Now then, the Los Angeles Chargers. I just feel for the fans. I really do.

I really really do. I tweeted out that of all the soul crushing losses this has to be the most soul crushing loss of them all. Up 27 nothing. I mean to say it's the worst blown lead in the history of the Chargers, that's carrying a lot of water.

But it was. Just the first team to lose with a turnover differential of plus five or more in the history of the NFL playoffs. It's never happened before. Teams are now 26 and 1 in those situations. I did my best to try and find, and we'll show this later, where there was a momentum switch.

It was kind of just like, there really was, it was just a long slow car crash. And the fact that Eckler had just 43 scrimmage yards when he had almost 100 on the season, averaged it. And no Mike Williams, man. I'm telling you. I mean that's a red zone problem.

And then you take a look, and this may be unfair, I don't know, but you know. Joey Bosa throwing his helmet and then Brandon Staley picking it up for him? I got that for you. You're just so frustrated.

I'll just get your helmet for you and hand it back to you and have you throw it down at my feet a second time. It makes you think, does Joey respect this guy or not? And fair or not, I know that people lose cool on sidelines and we think they just hate each other and it's just a flashpoint moment.

But here's the thing that I think has got some credence. In the same way that Brian Dabel and that offense has cracked the code for Daniel Jones, and Kevin O'Connell had Cousins playing really well. And we're talking about Doug Peterson is the perfect guy for Trevor Lawrence, isn't he? And we just all know that Mahomes has had Reed and you know, Dabel was the guy. And look, you know, Ken Dorsey's a perfect guy for Allen.

Dialing it up to him. Hopefully he can come back. Mike McDaniel dialed it up for him. Kyle Shanahan is the perfect coach for Brock Bertie. You hear that, right?

I mean, just name some of them off the top of my head. We hear that about Justin Herbert? We do not. And so yes, Chargers fans are sitting out there. Fair or not?

Fair or not? I mean, Brandon Staley calls a defensive place, but as you know when he's been on this program, he's a former quarterback. He knows the position. He's no dummy. He knows the position.

He knows what Herbert can do. And we're, you know, we're talking. We are talking about a team that went up 27-0.

We are. And that's the potential that clearly this team has had, but then the Chargering happens. They also settled for a 22-yard field goal and a 23-yard field goal. Not like they were getting it done in the red zone when they got gifted those turnovers.

That's the problem. I mean, the muffed punt is the one that you really have to point to. I mean, that was, you could have broken them in two over your knee like Bo Jackson snapping a bat, you know, if they had scored touchdowns instead of field goals there.

And then of course, Dicker missing a field goal was a crusher. But this lends to everybody saying, Sean Payton is sitting out there. And I don't know when this report came through.

It was, what, a month plus ago? He liked to coach in Los Angeles. And we're like, hey. Hey, how about that? I like to play for him myself.

I love it here. Hey, good for him. Good for him. It never rained since, oh wait a minute.

That's not true. Well, I think it's finally stopped raining. But hey, McVeigh, maybe you heard McVeigh was having a tough year.

McVeigh thought about it. And it took him about 72, 90 hours to clear his head. He's back. That happened, I think, when we walked out the door on Friday, right?

Good afternoon, yeah. So then here's Brandon Staley here in Los Angeles. And so that checks the box for Sean Payton, right?

Checks the box. What about ownership? Well, it's a family-owned business. They haven't, they haven't, they're not going anywhere. It's not like all of a sudden they put this thing up for sale and then... To the Target family? Exactly, the Target family. And then you can talk about Commissioner Goodle.

And then all of a sudden, what happened here? So, you know, there's that. And then do they have an all-world quarterback who's young that he can hook up with?

Yes, they do. So everybody's like put two and two together. Payton's sitting out there. Sean Payton's sitting out there. And we got a team that just absolutely, you know what, to the bed. And this is after last year ended with the Raiders knocking them out in the final seconds of the final game.

And they missed the playoffs entirely, but lost a de facto playoff game in Vegas last year. And how can they possibly come back from this and run it back with a coach who retrieves a helmet for somebody and has it thrown at his feet? And then, you know, could use Mike Williams, but he played him in a game that meant nothing and lost him. And makes these fourth down decisions that are head scratchers and, you know. And Sean Payton's there.

It's a no-brainer, right? Well, again, Staley's no dummy. This team was up 27-0. And the Chargers, this is the way they zig. They're going to stick with them. I would be absolutely surprised if we find out, Chris, TJ, Rich Eisen's show viewing and listening audience, in the next 24, he's not listening, 24-48 hours, that we find out that the meeting between Spanos and Staley is done and Spanos is firing him. He's out.

He's cleaning house. Maybe Tom Telesco stays and they are in the market for a coach. And they are going to not only fire the coach and pay him off, but they are going to hire Sean Payton and pay him an insane amount of money knowing that they have to pay the quarterback annually. Annually, what? 1x, if not, you know, one and a half x of the 20 million that Sean Payton apparently wants. What if he wants 15 million? So you're going to end up paying the quarterback maybe 2x on that front. Because kids, when they get drafted and they play like Justin Herbert, they get paid after year three.

And if they don't, it's a problem. And so they get paid after year three. And by the way, this is coming for the Bengals once their season ends for Joe Burrow, which is why all of a sudden Mike Brown says, you know what we need to do? We need to get a, we need to get a naming rights deal for our stadium.

Oh, yeah, really? Paycor Stadium should be renamed Pay Joe Stadium. Pay that man his money. This is what the Chargers are going to do. They're going to stick with Staley. They're going to probably find a new play caller for him.

Because in the same way that even Kraft made Belichick put out a press release saying we're looking for an offensive coordinator, we're even naming the coach that when Belichick never talks about titles for his coaches. This is one of those things where it's just, yeah, we need to get somebody to get Justin Herbert to the level we need to get him to when we're paying him all that money. And I think they'd like Staley.

I think they do. And they're going to stick with him. Yeah, that's kind of what Ian's been saying today.

That's common. I'm telling you this is happening. So Gino's going nowhere and I don't think Staley's going anywhere. I don't. Do you give Gino, what type of deal do you give him? Do you franchise him next year and then figure it out? I don't know. What if you pay him, you know, 25 per for three? The fourth year option or something like that? Would he say no to that? Probably not. I don't think he's getting a better deal anywhere else.

I don't know. Well, he might get a better deal somewhere else. But it's not the spot where he's comfortable in and they're comfortable with him and he knows the system. He's grown in it now.

It's part of his DNA. And Pete loves him. And I'm telling you, the players love him.

They love him. The whole mentality we talked with Tyler Lockett about that whole mentality of I was written off, but I never wrote back is exactly the Seattle Seahawks mantra of the 2022 season. Well, soup to nuts. I ain't right back, though. I mean, you made it more. Thank you. Thank you for holding me to that.

My feet to the fire that I didn't know existed. But there you go. You know, and then the Dolphins. The question will be about what to what happens with tour. Does he want to play? Should he keep playing? What does the team think? There's also the Vikings.

I think they're just going to run it back and get a defensive remake and maybe some of those players on defense and keep it going on offense. And then the Ravens. It is going to be all about what happened to Lamar at the end of the season and the fact that not one, but two seasons in a row, he could not finish due to injury. This one was a playoff game that he didn't personally attend for whatever reason, whether it's team policy or who the heck knows. The Ravens don't have to answer it. I guess the next time we hear from them, I don't know if they're going to have an end of year press conference this week will be the combine. See what happens then, because it will be just right around the new league year and the rumor mill is just going to keep flowing. But they hold the card of franchise tagging him.

Just do it again. All right, Lamar. And then if he gets hurt again, what happens then? I mean, I don't know. As of right now, Rich, you would say that's probably, as of January the 16th, the number one story going in the offseason, right? Well, we'll see what happens tonight, T.J. Jefferson, won't we? Oh yeah, I forgot about tonight. Because we'll see what happens this evening because the top five West in like two weeks.

I don't know. We'll see what happens tonight. That's part of the reason of what is at stake this evening.

Why are my hands sweating so bad right now? Because how do the Cowboys play this evening and does their season end in a heartbreaking fashion similar to last year, similar to what the Chargers just went through, similar to what just happened to the Vikings? You know, or is Tom Brady free and clear to join any organization he wants from Fox Sports to fill in the blank of teams that already you know right now need a quarterback or other teams that might create space for him that ordinarily might not? And then Tom's got to make a decision whether he's a broadcaster or still a quarterback pretty darn fast because these teams are going to need to make available the spot for him roster wise and salary cap wise before the new league year hits in the middle of March. That clock could start tonight sending Dallas to San Francisco or the clock on Mike McCarthy's future even though Jerry says that's not the case or the clock on Dan Quinn's future. Last year we thought he gone and we thought maybe that wouldn't happen this year because Denver wouldn't have an opening and look who's got an opening again.

Denver. And is Quinn's clock starting tonight? Is there a chance that Dak's clock starts tonight as he would be halfway through his monster contract with no playoff wins?

How does that land at the star when the Joneses are having their exit meeting? None of this might actually materialize with the Cowboys loss but we got to see how it all plays out tonight. That is what is at stake and unfortunately for Dallas and fortunately for Tampa is Ryan Jensen Pro Bowl center from 2021 who went down two days into training camp and didn't play all season long. And all the pressure that Tom had in his face all year long that drove him nuts and all the number of times that Lombardi Lenny and Rashad White ran between the guards and got stuffed. All those times that frustrated Brady and threw this team off kilter and put them behind sticks when Brady's used to being on schedule. Ryan Jensen returns tonight and if he can play like Ryan Jensen well then Tom's not thinking about long term future he's thinking about Arizona and I'm not saying because he wants to be a quarterback there for them. This is what's at stake tonight. Can't wait.

So we might recalibrate your list of top non-playing season storylines but Lamar and his future in Baltimore will definitely be up there for a while. Because that was weird last night. It's been weird all week. It's been weird for a month. It's been weird for a while.

Correct. Even though the Ravens have tried to make it seem normal. We love him. He's just not back yet.

And he's not there because it's team policy or what have you or whatever it is. I have a top five list. Let's do this to wrap up the show. I've got the top five big momentum swings of wild card weekend. Breaking down all five games.

There were five games and it's perfect for a top five. That's coming up. Welcome to Talkville. The Ultimate Smallville rewatch podcast where each week we watch every episode of Smallville. A show that changed our lives forever and perhaps your lives too. I'm Michael Rosenbaum. Hello.

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NetSuite.com slash Rich Radio. Ben in Mississippi. He's been holding on since we came on the air. What's up, Ben?

Rich and crew. What's up, Ben? Happy New Year.

Same to you. What up, Ben? We got a couple things so let's get straight into it. Chris, looking forward to our conversation the next couple days. I think it's going to be one for the folks I'm excited for.

Also, the overreaction Monday segment. I think you got the wrong number one seed that we need to be worried about coming up this week. I think the Jaguars present a unique matchup for the Chiefs and if I was a Chiefs fan, I would be nervous.

So now let's get into exactly why I call. The New York football Giants. We talking playoff for what? No doubt.

Are we talking playoff for what? No doubt. As a Giants fan, we got our quarterback. We got our quarterback. No doubt. We ain't got to worry about that.

So now let's get into exactly why I call. The L.A. Chargers. Now you have been one of the faces of NFL media for 20 years and you have covered the sport and you have talked about and covered the sport for longer than that. The Chargers thing, as we know, is a generational curse. It doesn't just start with Brandon Staley. So firing him ain't the issue.

We can go back to Schottenheimer, North Turner, Mike McCoy at the new end. And here's my theory on the issue. Whatever the charges have done to somebody, excluding the fans of San Diego. So we know that's a gift. Whatever they have done to somebody. Yes.

This individual has the Voodoo doll. And they don't get them. They don't get them for every little thing. They pick them out. They wait till we think the charges are good and they can make a run at the Lombardi troll. And you know what they do?

They like they like a great sniper. They pick them off every time, every time. So this can't just be bad luck.

Whatever it is, whatever it is, the Chargers need to go hat in hand on bended knee and apologize to whoever this individual is. This is just bad luck. You can't keep telling me that. Ben in Mississippi, everybody. Thank you. You and I. No, no. Look, the Chargers and the Jets can just have a seance together.

Thanks very much. Rack him. That's Ben in Mississippi. Five wild card games this weekend, right? Yeah, buddy. And five momentum changing moments, right? Five overs. One, two, three, four, five.

I didn't know that. So that just requires NFL Films music and a top five list of the top five biggest momentum swinging moments, one from each game of Super Wild Card Weekend. May I hear the music, please?

To get me in the music. Thank you. Thank you. Number five on the list is Bill's Dolphins. The Dolphins had this game, man.

They did in western New York. They got a force fumble for a touchdown to take the lead and then two more punts from the Bills. They're deep in their own end. It's third and forever. And for some reason, Mike McDaniel got too aggressive with Skylar Thompson and had him fade back to pass. Mike McDaniel just handed off and played defense. Skylar Thompson throws a pick. Cole Beasley scores a touchdown. Train Will Sizzle going off and the game totally swung back to the Bills.

I know it got tight at the end. But the Bills, they could have just tried this thing out. Just play defense. Don't put the ball in the hands of your kid and say, make a throw and try and get a flag.

Just not everything needs to be pedal to the metal. Number four. This is the game changing moment, as far as I'm concerned, between the Giants and the Vikings. The Vikings are marching down the field. They are down three. They can score a touchdown and make the Giants have to score a touchdown to retake the lead. It's fourth and inches.

They go for it. And Christian Darrisau has a false start and that fourth and inches false start forces the Vikings to settle for three. The Giants get seven. Now the Vikings have to get seven and totally change the tenor. The Vikings had the momentum. They could have gotten the score. And as a matter of fact, you know, they were feeling it in that stadium. And I know that because there was, by the way, write this down for fantasy team name, not one, but two premature joller horns. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You can't fire the joller horn prematurely.

How do you spell that? They picked up the first down. There's no play. False start. That's number four in this list.

Number three. The biggest momentum change in San Francisco. The Seahawks are driving down the field to try and counter the second half opening touchdown drive for the 49ers. The Niners retake the lead. We got a lead change. What do the Seahawks do? They get the ball back and they drive down the field.

It's there. They're on a 10 play drive. And here comes a second down and Geno Smith flips it to Tyler Lockett to bring up third and short, except a member of the offensive line drifted downfield. Five yard penalty, wiped out the third and short, created a second and long. Next play was throwing it for DK Metcalf in the end zone. Incomplete now third and long fumble. The defensive player of the year recovers the fumble. It's the first turnover of the playoffs. Nick Bosa recovers it and the boat race was on.

Game over. Seattle had a third and short in the mid red zone instead it turned into eventually third and long turnover. Niners never looked back from here. Totally changed the game.

Number two on the list. I mean if you have to choose the momentum changer in the slow car crash that was the second half of the Jaguars comeback on Los Angeles. It's when Dicker the kicker missed because it was a 10 point game. The Jaguars make it a 10 point game. You know what the Chargers did?

They marched down the field. It was a 10 play drive and they set up Dicker the kicker from 40 and he made everything all year and he missed that and it opened the door up and it changed the whole thing. Instead of it being 13 it was still 10 and then suddenly it was six and then Bosa throws his helmet and then the two pointer and it all went downhill the minute Dicker the kicker missed.

And then number one the number one momentum changer from the weekend it's obvious. It's the Sam Hubbard 98 yard dash. I mean the Ravens are going in. It's a quarterback sneak. It's set up for Tyler Huntley to go low. He goes high. Ball gets knocked out. Hubbard has a drop in his lap and he runs. And I know Ravens fans are like Mark Andrews got blocked in the back.

Maybe. But instead of it being a seven point lead it's a seven point deficit and we all know what happened after that. And that's my top five momentum swingers of wild card weekend.

Pardon me. Super wild card weekend. Thanks to Chris Long. Thanks to Micah Parsons. Thanks to Christian Kirk. Michael Irvin will be our first guest tomorrow. Let's wonder what we're going to talk about with him.

Let's go wrap up the show on the Roku channel in a moment. For over 40 years Jim Ross has been the voice of wrestling. Nobody has stories like Jim Ross and he shares his tales with co-host Conrad Thompson on Grilling JR. Vince McMahon was the top heel in the Attitude Era. It was a fresh character. It was new. It was material that we had not seen or heard to that date. We couldn't have created a bigger or better heel. We wanted to make more heels and we tried to make more heels and we did. But nothing compared to Vince. The Grilling JR podcast. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.