Anyone Placing The Bills Loss On Josh Allen Is Way Off

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This is the Rich Eisen Show. What do you like in the Super Bowl? I like the Chiefs.

You're really going out on a limb, aren't you? Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Hey, listen, the Eagles are really good, but I also chose... Oh boy, are they?

I chose the Chiefs... Not by at least 30 points. Today's gasps, host of pro football talk, Mike Florio, Fox Sports NFL analyst, Julian Edelman, University of Washington head coach, Jed Fish. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

That's right. Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show, the Tuesday after championship Sunday. It is Pro Bowl Week. It's also East-West Shrine Game Week. It's Senior Bowl Week. We're starting the talent evaluation portion of the calendar for all 32 teams. And only two are left standing for the Lombardi Trophy.

We're going to be talking about that with Julian Edelman in the middle of this program. Jed Fish, the head coach of the University of Washington Huskies football programs in town. We still have him stop by here. He's got a lot of connective tissue to these two teams remaining and the NFL as a whole and people who are in the headlines right now. Former assistant of Pete Carroll, new head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. He was also on the staffs of Jim Harbaugh and Bill Belichick all back in the day. And his college roommate, believe it or not, Howie Roseman. What?

Yes. I mean, when I was going over all this with Coach Fish, I'm like, you're like the Forrest Gump of football. So, he's going to be joining us in hour number three to talk about all of that. We had some new head coaches introduced yesterday.

We didn't really get a chance to discuss it because we were so deep in on overreaction Monday and it being championship Sundays, Monday after championship Sunday. And then Bill Burr came in here and blew this place up. Check all that out on our YouTube page, youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show. We'll talk about Aaron Glenn's opening press conference, Liam Cohen's opening press conference for the Jacksonville Jaguars. There's stuff that stood out. So, we'll talk about all that. We kind of only hit on Pete Carroll's opening press conference for the Raiders at the very last second going out the door. So, we'll discuss all this with Mike Florial, our first guest coming up in 18 minutes time.

So, the table is set. There's you at 844-204 Rich. Number to dial if you're watching us, streaming us on our Roku channel, Roku Sports Channel feed, 12 to 3 Eastern every day. Or you're streaming us on Odyssey, the app, odyssey.com as well. Sirius XM channel 375.

And of course, the Infinity Sports Network coast to coast 120 terrestrial radio affiliate stations and growing for the Rich Eisen Show. Please call us at 844-204 Rich being the number to dial. Much to discuss. Good to see you over there, Chris Brockman. How are you? Hey, Rich. I'm great, man. What's happening?

DJ Mikey D is in D's nuts. Good morning, Rich. Okay. Okay.

TJ Jefferson, good to see you, sir. I poked myself in the eye earlier and I'm going through it right now. Oh, really? Yeah. How does one poke oneself in the eye when you're wearing glasses? Well, they weren't on when I poked myself. Ah, okay, good. Good to know.

Because glasses, at the very least, protective eye work. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Oh, TJ.

Listen, we've done this. This is our 11th Super Bowl that we're covering. I believe so. For the Rich Eisen Show? Yes, correct. Yes, 11.

This is going to be 22 for me with NFL Network, I believe. I've lost track. But there's a cadence to everything. There's a cadence to everything.

And once you know who's in the Super Bowl, it's quick to turn the page from Championship Sunday. But I'm not there yet. I'm not there yet.

Because I'm seeing something out there that's ticking me off a little bit. Oh. This is kind of opening the show with, and another thing. Oh, I like that.

That's fun. You know, I like caping for people who I like. I'm aware. I know. I think you consider that a little bit of a flaw.

A character flaw. You know what I mean? You like everybody, and you want to be liked.

It's fine. I don't like everybody, and I do like being liked. Of course I do. Yeah. I'm an on-air talent. I get it. As people might refer to me. Sure.

Bill Burr comes in here, and he likes pointing that out. Okay, you're a great guy. I understand.

You're a good guy. Right. You know? That's what he said at one point.

He even accused me of being a different person behind this chair. Yeah. And this chair, and in the green room.

In the back. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Green room rich-izing. Green room rich-izing.

Not the same as on-air rich-izing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I will push back on notions from this chair. In the green room, I'm welcoming. You know, like, and I've got two and a half minutes to be in the green room. I'm coming back. Right.

From commercial break. At any rate. Anyway. Let me bring this up to say, anybody that's out there who's placing yet another disappointing season-ending loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on the lap of Josh Allen is way off. I understand it's a results-oriented business.

I get it. And in this results-oriented business, there is no position in professional sports more in the spotlight. Than being a quarterback.

And thus, of any athlete, of any athlete in professional sports, what's more of a results-oriented position than quarterback? I guess, I guess star outfielder in baseball. For the Mets. You know, everyone talks about Aaron Judge. For the Mets.

No, no. The Mets haven't been in the World Series in recent days. But Aaron Judge is a perfect example.

Like, a results-oriented business. Great. I'm glad you had 60-something home runs again, you know, or threatened it. But Josh Allen, 0-4 against the Chiefs in the postseason. He's yet to win a game on the road in the postseason because three times he's faced the Chiefs and Arrowhead.

And the first time he made it to the playoffs, he lost in Houston in another heart-wrenching postseason exit for the Bills. And I cannot sit here and say he's never going to do it. You cannot sit here and say he's never going to do it. And as a matter of fact, what he did this year was maybe his most valuable performance ever with a – and I know he doesn't want to hear it because he talks about how terrific this group is as a unit. And I have said from this chair that the team that Allen had this year may be the best team he's ever been on, some of its parts team. But man, did the playoffs have a way of spotlighting weaknesses in the moment.

And you're left wondering two things. Does he need more playmakers on offense after all when push comes to shove in Kansas City, when you've got to play a perfect game? And the one playmaker he does have that is superior to the rest didn't touch the ball after the nine-minute mark of the fourth quarter and only 16 times on the day. And James Cook wasn't on the field when the Bills got the ball with 3.33 to go, down three in all three timeouts left. I think basically if you put in front of the Chiefs – I mean in front of the Bills on the bus, choose a representative of the Bills. Is it the owner, Terry Pagula? Is it the coach? Is it the quarterback? Take a contract, put down on a piece of paper saying you have the ball, you're down three, it's 3.33 to go and arrowhead. And you got all your timeouts left. Would you sign that piece of paper if you're a member of the Buffalo Bills in charge of representing the Buffalo Bills?

Would you sign that piece of paper? The answer is hell yeah. A hundred times out of a hundred.

And they had it. And man, you know, speaking on behalf of James Cook fantasy owners this year, I had him in two leagues. The number of times that you would expect to see him out there and instead it's Ty Johnson or Ray Davis, I lost track. And those guys are good, but they're not James Cook. And I thought we were saving James Cook for the playoffs every single time that you would see someone else out there on the field. And you're, oh, I mean, James Cook isn't in the pass package. That's Ty Johnson.

So put him in it. Well, push comes to shove your opening play on the opening drive. I mean, on this drive that you have to have it, Johnson loses it, loses a yard.

Chief snuff it out. You know what happens next? Josh Allen gets a 13 yard game, wipes that out. And that set in motion the final four snaps of their season in which he and Shakir weren't on the same page.

He and Curtis Samuel don't connect. It's now third and ten. They get half of it with Amari Cooper.

And then we all know what happened after that. The Chiefs won the snap. Spagnuolo won the snap. He won the moment.

He blitzes Allen, who makes an incredible play, and the ball hits Dalton Kincaid in his arms. It's a tough grab, I understand. But I'm not, you can't place it on the lap of this guy, Josh Allen.

I'm just not going to do it. And, you know, he still has a long way to go. And he's also just a perfect guy you want to have out front. Because everything I just said from not enough James Cook touches, what the hell was that in the final drive of the game? You know, who is going to beat man coverage defensively? What happens if, say, one of your best corners goes out with a concussion right off the bat? That was a huge... What happens when your all-world quarterback carries it multiple times, and it's clear that the Chiefs are kind of on to the game on short yardage carries?

You know, what happens then? Is it Josh Allen's fault? He could even allude to all that stuff that I just threw out there. Quite the opposite is what he had to say in his end-of-season press conference yesterday. Every year, right, there's, I feel like I've said this every year, there's 31 unhappy teams. But I will say this about our team, emphasis on team. I think this is one of the more special units I've ever been around in my entire life, from Pop Warner, through high school, through college, in the NFL. Guys truly cared about each other. Everyone kind of understood their role and their assignment.

We had a huge internal belief when we all got here for camp, and we worked extremely hard to get to where we got. And we're constantly knocking at the door, and when you're playing a team like the Chiefs, who have done it so well for so long, you got to not just knock, you got to kick the door down, and we didn't do that. Chiefs are still in the mode of got to play a perfect game, and Arrowhead to beat them.

We'll see if the Eagles have to play that perfect game in the Superdome to beat them, but that's for another day. And the Bills didn't do it. And Allen wasn't perfect either. I mean, he fumbled it three times, didn't lose one, and he almost threw two interceptions on the first drive.

Yeah, he was pretty jacked up. I'm not sitting here saying that. I just can't sit here and say, this is, you know, he'll never do it. He can't do it. He clearly has the skill set to win it all. He clearly does.

And this franchise does have the front office that could potentially get the people there seeing what their roster looks like right now. And we were discussing quarterbacks under the most pressure, right, going into the playoffs. I didn't peg this guy. I know you did, Chris, and I know you did also.

And I shouldn't just single you out. A lot of people did peg him and Lamar. Like these guys, if they don't do it, their legacy is just being, you know, tombstones as Mahomes whistles past them. That's why I said the Friday before they played, one of these guys is going to lose this game.

And the whole Monday, all we're going to talk about is they're not good enough. Well, I guess Mark Andrews bailed Lamar out in that regard, right? Because everyone was pointing the finger of blame at him in the same way some are pointing it at Kincaid. And I'm just saying to sit here and say Allen doesn't have more than half his career in front of him is absurd. And that's why, well, that's why I don't put him and Lamar under the pressure of the category of under the most pressure because they still have a ton of roadway left.

And, you know, they have the unfortunate circumstance of having to play in the same conference as Mahomes. And I'm just saying at some point, Mahomes will not be part of a Chiefs team against whom you must play a perfect game in order to win. Or if he still does, one of these days, Allen or Jackson or Burrow, as he was on one day in Arrowhead, did play the perfect game and did get rid of him. And I can't sit here and say Allen doesn't have the skill set. And the reason why it didn't happen this time is because of him.

And I'm seeing all the finger of blame pointed in his direction. It's crazy the number of franchises that would swap spots with him right now. And it's a matter of, you know, for him right now with their current quarterback, you'd fill up the rest of the show having that conversation. Chris, put it out there on at Rich Eisen Show, will you please?

What do we got? Which quarterback from Championship Sunday would you take to win the Super Bowl first? Allen or Jayden Daniels?

Put it out there. I know a lot of people would throw Jayden Daniels in there because he doesn't have Mahomes to deal with. Who's going to win it? Not just make it, win it. Josh Allen, Jayden Daniels.

That's it. So if I just said make it, Jayden Daniels would run away with it because he doesn't have to deal with Mahomes to make the Super Bowl. Win it.

I will put that out there. Who would you take? Allen or Jayden Daniels? You know, it's so funny.

From Championship Sunday. These two quarterbacks also kind of play in the game we talk about all the time. Would you rather, knowing that you're going to lose, lose like Daniels did or lose like Allen did? You know how I feel about it. I know. I just thought it was funny that that played out that way.

It's always the having better to have loved and lost than never loved at all. So 844-204, Rich is the number to dial. We'll dive deeper into this conversation about Jayden Daniels and Allen from Championship Sunday. Who would you rather have to win their first Super Bowl? But I just don't want to hear any more of the Allen slander.

It's absurd. 844-204, Rich, number to dial here on the program. When we come back, Mike Florio, he was pounding the table for the technology advancements to be put into place in terms of spotting the football.

We want to talk about with him with that and all the coaching carousel that's coming up right on the Rich Eisen Show. All tax forms, all 100 percent free. Now this is taxes. See if you qualify in the TurboTax app. Excludes TurboTax Live.

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Prices vary based on how you buy. Ah, yes. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, Mike Florio will be joining us in a moment. I know I like to have my say off the top.

I'll give you the floor and what I just said about Alan. You point the finger at him? No, I mean, he loses a team. He played a really, you know, pretty good game, all things considered. You know, the last play, what was he supposed to do? He did everything to buy himself enough time to even get a throw off.

And then he hit his guy in the arms. It was a miraculous throw. Well, he just kind of threw it to a spot. You know, Kincaid was running full speed to his left, had to stop and then kind of dive back. I don't really give Kincaid any grief for missing that.

I mean, it would have been an amazing catch had he got it. It's just one of those things, man. Like some sometimes you just can't beat a team, you know, and you just don't have it. Yankees, Astros of recent days. I mean, but those were that was a matchup problem. But even the even the Pats had trouble with the Dolphins and like the Broncos. Like sometimes you just can't beat a team and Giants for whatever exception of one night.

Yeah. And for whatever it is, they just can't beat these Chiefs team, man. And I don't know if it's going to happen any time soon, as long as Andy Reid and Pat are there. So, yeah, the Eagles might be one of those teams where it's just like couldn't do it again. That's why Saquon's the difference maker, man. Oh, for sure. I mean, like the difference the Eagles lost last time on a pretty ticky tack call at the end of the game.

Let's be honest. So I mean, that did that game that game was incredibly even and all things considered, now the Eagles are a little bit better than that last team. So I like their chances in two weeks. Yeah, I know what that penalty that you're referring to in the last Super Bowl between the two of them did was it prevented Philadelphia from having an opportunity to tie the game. Right. Right.

So, you know, it did kind of ruin the ending in that regard that we would have loved to have seen that right. Tempt. You know, back on the Rich Eisen Show radio network, I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk, furnished by Grange with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grange has the right product for you.

Call clickgrange.com or just stop by. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Peacock, NBC Sports and more back here on the Rich Eisen Show. Good to see you, Mike. How are you, sir? What's up, Rich? Hey, you know, I'm just surviving this winter that people say we're dealing with. OK, for those who are listening, Mike Florio just went full Stephen Jones air quote.

You know, huh? I know he air quoted drought, man, when he was talking about what people are talking about, the drought for the Cowboys in their in their NFC championship game and things of that nature. OK, so let's let's start. Let's start with the Cowboys. Why do you think Brian Schottenheimer was hired as the new head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Mike?

I think this was all about two things. One, Dak Prescott is under a contract that can't reasonably be exited for three more years. That's the result of the Cowboys painting themselves into a corner not once, but twice in their negotiations with Dak. They dragged their feet, they dragged their feet, they dragged their feet.

And then when they finally wake up, they say, oh, no, how do we get out of this mess? They woke up the first day of the regular season, 60 million a year structured. So it's four years where they're tied together. Dak wants continuity. He would have preferred Mike McCarthy.

And that leads to the second reason. Rich, what happened was McCarthy's contract expired. Now, they say there was no negotiation. The deal fell apart, as I understand it, and common sense suggests on the basic reality that the Cowboys want to do a short term deal. McCarthy wanted a longer term deal.

That's the impasse that prevents hard negotiations from ever happening. Why would the Cowboys want a short term deal? Because Jerry Jones doesn't want to pay someone to not work for him. He doesn't want to be tied to McCarthy because he almost consistently changes coaches when their contracts end so he doesn't owe them any money to not work for the Cowboys.

So McCarthy goes, what do we do? It's either Brian Schottenheimer or Kellen Moore. Either guy is somebody who has worked with Dak and can give Dak the continuity he wants because it all starts and really ends with that quarterback relationship because they can't get away from that contract for three more years. I think that's the explanation, plain and simple. Schottenheimer will be there as long as Dak is there or unless they move on from Schottenheimer, if it's only a two year deal, then they'll promote the offensive coordinator for one year and then move forward.

I think that's the simplest explanation. And the fact that they leaked it at 9.43 p.m. Eastern on a Friday night and announced it two minutes earlier, that tells you all you need to know. They know that this isn't the kind of hire that's going to get people excited to buy season tickets and jerseys and hats and otherwise pay attention to the Cowboys is going to drive fans away.

And now yesterday was an effort to try to undo some of that damage. What's your, you know, your your ear to the ground on Dion? Was that was that just a phone call that got out or was there any there ever there between these two for this gig, Mike? The Cowboys are masters of Bigfooting news cycles. The Dak Prescott contract.

You were on the air. What happens first morning of the first Sunday of the regular season? All of a sudden, Dak's got a deal.

Don't talk about the games that are coming up at one o'clock Eastern. Talk about the Cowboys. When they parted ways with Jason Garrett five years ago, that news was leaked during an Eagles playoff game.

During the game, they big footed that game. So the Monday night playoff game Vikings Rams, boom, all of a sudden everybody has the report that Dion and the Cowboys have spoken. And even for days after that, people were saying there's mutual interest, there's mutual interest.

Jerry says yesterday we just had a conversation. I think that was never going to happen. I think it was part of the idea of puffing up the balloon and getting people talking about the Cowboys. And I believe the reason there weren't more names of that same ilk and caliber and PR generation potential. I think they realized pretty quickly we can't play this game of throwing all these big names out there and then say, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, we introduce you to the new coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

Drum roll, please. Brian Schottenheimer. Mike Florio here on the Rich Eisen show. OK, so how did Pete Carroll become the head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders?

This one is this one is just fascinating on so many different levels. Sure is. Mark Davis yesterday talking to reporters after the press conference had introduced Pete Carroll and props to Pete Carroll for realizing you don't need to wear a suit and tie to an introductory coaching press conference. You never wear a suit and tie again as a head coach of a team. You don't wear it on the sidelines.

You don't wear it anywhere. He's the only one in this cycle that has deviated from the suit and tie uniform. And I congratulate him for that. But Davis said that they pivoted to Carol after another candidate took a different job, which means Ben Johnson. And then he said he didn't make an offer to Ben Johnson.

Well, he couldn't make an offer to Ben Johnson because they were playing until last Saturday night. And he made a beeline for the Bears immediately after the Lions season was over. So enter Pete Carroll. When you look at the candidates they'd spoken to, Carroll was far and away the most accomplished, the most seasoned, the most ready to come in and turn this thing around. But where it gets awkward, Rich, when Mark Davis says that Tom Brady is now the guy to provide stability and they haven't had that since. And to use Davis's words, John Bruton had his head chopped off. If I Pete Carroll, I'm like, well, what am I?

What am I in this? I've been coaching football longer than Brady's been alive. I've won a Super Bowl as a coach. Why is Brady all of a sudden the voice that brings balance to the silver and the black that stabilizes the organization? So you got some weird dynamics that are going to be awkward, to say the least, because if Carroll is saying something to Davis and Brady is saying something different. And Davis listens to Brady instead of the guy who's there every single day and not the guy who can't even go to the games because his primary job creates a conflict almost every day the Raiders play. It's going to get awkward.

It's going to get weird. And it's going to take some some delicate navigation by Brady, by Davis and by Carroll. Well, I mean, was Belichick ever in play over the last few weeks? Because I'm assuming he's not going to be he's not in line for the Saints job.

That ain't happening. So Belichick is going to be week one on the sidelines of University of North Carolina football. So was he ever really, truly in play over the last few years? First of all, I don't think it was a coincidence that he signs his contract with North Carolina once it's clear that there's no avenue back to the NFL this year, even though he could still come back. The 10 million dollar buyout is firm now before he signs the contract.

The term sheet clearly said this is not a binding agreement. He could have, in theory, left Chapel Hill without the Tar Heels getting a single penny in the form of a buyout. But what came out a couple of weeks ago, the report that Brady had spoken to Belichick and that the Raiders and other teams had reached out to see whether or not Belichick was committed to stay in college football.

I think. And I kind of know that was a favorite of Belichick at Belichick's request, because Belichick was never going to be hired by Brady. And it's a somewhat delicious irony that the 70 something Super Bowl winning head coach who ends up a year after being fired, coaching the Raiders, isn't Bill Belichick, but Pete Carroll.

Mike Florio here on The Rich Eisen Show. Let's let's move on to Championship Sunday, Mike. Your your first blush reaction to the AFC Championship game victory by the Chiefs over the Bills is what, Mike? Well, it's that fourth down stop that could have changed everything. There was still a lot of time left in the game. We don't know what would have happened after that. But if the Bills had finished that drive when they were holding a twenty to twenty one lead, they get the touchdown. Let's say they go for two and make it a two score game, which I think Sean McDermott would have been tempted to do, because you got to kill the beast decisively.

You can't just nick it. And he's learned that the hard way in the past. That play exposes so many flaws with the way the NFL does things by way of measurement for a first down. They're still using the same technology, i.e. none at all, that was put in place in 1921 after they had the meeting at the Hupmobile dealership when they decided two sticks, 10 yards of chain link and the bear naked human eye augmented by this weird mating ritual that happens when the two officials on opposing sides of the field, the line of scrimmage on a short yardage play, each guy picks his spot and then they move toward each other. And one of them defers to the other.

One becomes the alpha, one becomes the beta. And in this case, if the guy and it's Jeff Seaman who was on the far side of the field, if Patrick Holt, the guy who had the spot that was short, had deferred to Seaman who had the spot that was first down, if it had just flipped, they get a first down there. That's as simple and basic as these decisions are made, devoid of any technology. And I think we all, every stakeholder in the game of football, fans, media, everyone needs to say no excuses. No, well, this won't work because of this.

This won't work because of that. We need more time. It should have happened already. There needs to be a fully digital embrace that tells them where the ball is when it's in the middle of a scrum like that.

No more human eye. Let's go digital and let's know where the ball is. It needs to happen. The stakes are too high. The money is too significant. The gambling is too prevalent to not do it. I was going to say yesterday, but two days ago. It needed to be in place for that play.

So I never really thought I'd have a Marlon Perkins reference in the history of the Rich Eisen show, but the calling a mating ritual here, I'm going to date myself. This is not animal planet. That's what I'm saying. No, no, no.

A wild kingdom is what a wild the Chiefs kingdom, you know, certainly on top of it, since so many people come to the table right now thinking that the Chiefs have a thumb on the scale in their favor. And so I ask, is this going to be this year's version of, say, the missed pass interference penalty in the NFC Champions game between the Rams and the Saints or the overtime game between the Chiefs and the Bills in which Josh Allen didn't touch the football? Is this going to be this year's postseason version of let's address it right here, right now in the upcoming owners meeting? Do you think this will actually happen? How close are we to the technology here being used?

I think the difference this time around is it wasn't so glaringly obvious as it was in those other cases, that change needed to be made. And also, this time around, the mechanism is already in place with optical tracking technologies that the league talked about last year. Sports Business Journal had an interview with Donna Ponte, the chief administrative officer for the NFL, March one of last year, that they're testing it out. They're developing it. I think the message moving forward is put this thing into high gear, hyperdrive. We've got to get this in place.

We can't have more moments like this where, when it's all unbundled and it's amazing there was no pool report that would have featured an interview between one reporter, a designated reporter, and Clete Blakeman, the referee, just to get an explanation of what happened and why there was nothing that only adds, of course, to the tinfoil hat wearing crowd who thinks everybody's in on the conspiracy, including the reporters. But I think this is the sign that they need to accelerate the embrace of technology. Whatever it costs, whatever it takes. We've got the money. We've got the technology. We have to do it because there's too many people out there who are going to supply their own narrative if we can't supersede their narrative with facts. I'm going to ask you a question as we wrap up our chat here, Mike.

It just popped into my head. And Chris and TJ, I might ask this of many others who come into our midst between now and the Super Bowl, depending on how this one goes. No pressure. So if you could choose anybody in the NFL, front office, league office, other coaching staffs, other players, you choose one person to watch Super Bowl 59 with to watch their reaction to the game and the ultimate result. Who would it be, Mike? I have one in my head. I'm going to throw one in your direction to you.

How about that one? A watching buddy for Mike Florio for Super Bowl 59. I'd probably say Roger Goodell, OK, just because I'd want to hear what he's saying and thinking and I'd want to see the facial expressions and the reaction and the phone calls he might be getting during the game. That's probably the first one that would come to mind because I want to see what he goes through during the premier sporting event in the entire country as it unfolds, as mistakes might happen, as things might occur that could feed this narrative that the NFL is trying to to rig things for the Chiefs, which is just ridiculous. I mean, let's just be clear. The narrative is ridiculous, but it's impossible to get people to not believe what they firmly believe.

If we've learned nothing else in our political discourse over the past 10 years, it is impossible to get people to yield on the things they fervently believe. I'd want to see how he handles that whole morass of factors and issues and pressures as the game unfolds. Here's my guy.

You ready for this, Mike? I would want to watch Super Bowl 59 with John Mara. That's who I'd want to watch. That's good. That's a good one.

That's a good one. I would want to watch it with him. He's not watching the game. What are you crazy?

Are you crazy? Of course he's watching the game. Why would he do that to himself?

It's not what he'd do to himself. By the way, first of all, his dad's name's on the football. He's a football guy through and through. He's watching the Super Bowl. I don't know if he's going to be there.

I doubt it, but I have no idea. He's watching it. And again, every single time we see one ripped off by 26, he's literally the first person I'm thinking of. What is he thinking watching the Eagles get to the Super Bowl with 26 doing what he's doing? Arguably the most valuable Eagle. That's the guy I'd kind of want to watch the Super Bowl with. That's a great one. That would be even better than sitting next to Newman with a giant bucket of popcorn.

That would be awesome. You know what I mean? I keep thinking of it right now. And I understand part of it is kind of unfair, too, because the Giants... The bed wasn't made really this past offseason, but the one before it when they couldn't get a job done and decided to go ahead and franchise tag Saquon and make the long-term deal with Daniel Jones, if they could flip that, it might be a different story. The Eagles might not be going to the Super Bowl right now. You know what I mean?

But I still would want to get his two cents watching it, you know? Rich, the biggest unforced off-field error committed by any NFL franchise in the 23 years I've been doing this is the decision of the Giants to submit to the offseason hard knocks last year because we got to see how the deliberations unfold. We got to see how badly they missed the mark. This trend toward interchangeable parts at running back has finally been exposed in its flaw. You can find a running back anywhere who can get you 1,000 yards if you have blocking, if you can trust them to hold on to the ball, if you can trust them in blitz pickup. There are guys in every major college, sea to shining sea, that could play at the NFL level. But there aren't many guys who are special, and that's where they got it wrong. And we saw it play out.

And if John Mara had a worst possible case scenario of not keeping Saquon Barkley as all of these conversations were happening a year ago, the worst case scenario is he goes to a division rival, he leads them to the Super Bowl, and he has 250 yards and three touchdowns, and that division rival wins the Super Bowl with the ultimate gift that the Giants gave them. I don't disagree with a single syllable. It just came out of your mouth, Mike.

Thanks for the time. Always appreciate your two cents on this subject matter. And do you got a prediction? I mean, it's real early, but it's too early. It's too early. But last time around, two years ago, Rich, the Eagles were one and a half point favorites going into the game.

And the consensus was they're the better team. I picked the Chiefs because they have Patrick Mahomes, right? Patrick Mahomes is the difference maker.

Never bet against Patrick Mahomes. This time around, the Chiefs are favored. The Eagles are arguably better than they were two years ago, especially with Saquon.

No doubt. The Chiefs arguably aren't as good as they were two years ago, and they're favored. This one, if they pull it off and get to the top of the mountain for the third straight time, Super Bowl era, I know Packers fans get around three in a row, but it wasn't the Super Bowl. This is unprecedented.

If the Chiefs do it, they will have earned it, because this may be the toughest challenge they faced in any of the Super Bowls they've won. Mike, you're the man. Greatly appreciate it.

Thanks, Rich. You bet. Everybody check out Pro Football Talk, as always, not just online, but obviously through Peacock as well, every single day.

And you can see Peacock right here on Roku Portal. There's Mike Florio. We have watched the Super Bowl with Roger Goodell.

Yes. And so we know how he watches the Super Bowl. He's making fun of me the whole fourth quarter.

I'm just saying, he's not sitting there grinding out every snap. It's a wedding, in a way. There's a lot going on.

There's a lot of people that come in and want to speak to him. Who was in that suite at one point? This was in Minnesota, between the Patriots and the Vikings. He was making fun of you because you showed up to the commissioner's suite in a Red Sox hat. That's not why. Okay. He definitely made a mention of it.

I was pacing in the fourth quarter. Right. And so he was kind of having fun at your expense. He was. While he was also paying attention to about a hundred people that are tugging at him.

And he's interested in the game. J.J. Watt, Russell Wilson, Ciara, Steve Young, Chris Berman, all these people just rolling through. Yeah. It was nuts. Nonstop. Joe Mauer.

Nonstop. Joe Mauer was sitting next to us. In Minnesota, right? Yeah. So he's not grinding out snap to snap. He did step away at one point to make a phone call. That was kind of weird. Nice.

He's the one who dialed up the Phillies special. Is that what you're saying? I think so. It was kind of strange.

That's weird. Yeah. Because at the time everybody thought he had his thumb on the scale for the Patriots. Same thing. It's the same Madlib, the same Madlib as the Bradyers.

Just change the proper names, man. And the number of Super Bowls that they won. As the Chiefs close in on it. Crazy. Let's take a break. 844-204-RICH. Number to dial. The play of the weeks coming up next. Your phone calls as well. But right now on the Infinity Sports Network, here's a sports update with Andrew Bogusch.

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Is that a true story, Jodie Foster? I am. I did not play last year because of the present administration. I had to be on the top of that and you can't get all those alerts all at once. It was just too much for me. Too many badges on your phone. Yes, exactly. Too many alerts on your phone. I had to choose.

I don't know, I think next year, I think this year I'm going to choose fantasy for sure. Well, I mean, it's an escape though, right? I would not call it an escape. I would call it a hyper-focused art form. Interesting. Yeah. Fantasy football is a hyper-focused art form. If you're going to do it, you want to win.

Okay. Have you been so fortunate to win a fantasy league? I can't even say it. Who are you in a fantasy league with? A bunch of 16-year-olds. Yeah. Who else?

Like a random league? Yeah. And I have to say, I do enjoy it. None of them will trash talk with me because you can do that thing where you sort of type in like, you're going down. Right.

And nobody will do that. They're just very polite. 16-year-olds being polite in a fantasy. So what's your team name?

What was your fantasy team name? I can't tell you. Why not? I'd have to kill you if I told you. Plus, I don't even remember. Okay.

Because I would love to know. I mean, because that's most of the fun that we thought. Is it? That's most of the fun?

It kind of is. Okay. Yeah. But you finished in second. I did come in second. Do you recall who was on your team? Well, I got seriously burned by Todd Gurley. It was his first season with the Rams.

He just disappointed me pretty severely. That was a bad year to be holding Todd Gurley the entire time. Do you have a real football team that you love? Yes.

I love the Green Bay Packers. How'd that come about, Jodie? Somebody gave me a cheese head and it was all over. That's it?

Yeah, that's all it took. Who was it? Was it De Niro? De Niro gave you a cheese head? Who gave you the cheese head?

I have a friend of mine who has an in with them. It was not just a cheese head, but it was a cheese head everything. Okay. There was a cheese mug and there was a cheese ring and there was a cheese headband. Okay. So you got into that. Yeah.

The cheese dog outfits. Have you ever been to Lambeau Field? Have you ever been there? I never have. It's unbelievable.

That's what I've heard. You're just in there. It's a Midwest town and you're driving down a road and there's a gas station.

There's a Kmart. There is the cathedral of football where Lombardi used to play. I can dream. I can dream. If I do well, you know, if I do pretty well in fantasy, maybe I'll head out there. Maybe you can.

You can do such a thing. I did. I had, you know, I've decided I discovered Devante Adams. So, because I had him the whole year. He's my, my guy.

I call him my man, Devante. Does he know that? He doesn't know that.

Maybe he'll know it now. Okay. I haven't seen that conversation in, I guess, what now? Coming up on seven years when Jodie Foster was here talking fantasy football. And then the best thing was bringing up to her that Jeff Van Gundy mentioned her in a broadcast during the NBA finals and she didn't remember him. And then Van Gundy accused me of bagging him. Right. And then got very upset because Steve Kerr saw that and made fun of him when he saw Van Gundy again. By the way, currently now on the bench of the Los Angeles Clippers. Mm-hmm.

Talk about your underrated assistant to help you out and get in your ear for Ty Lue, right? You know, that's when his stars actually play in the game. Oh, that's the truth. I'm sorry. I'm serious.

I got- Kawhi's played the last two games in a row. That's, that's good. Very pleased about it. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show Radio Network.

What are you doing, baby? 844-204 Rich. Number to dial here on the program. Let us go to our friend Terzo in Iowa. Terzo.

All rise. What's up, Terzo? How you doing, sir?

Mikey. I'm doing well, Rich. Hey, I tuned into you guys a little late yesterday and I kind of felt bad for TJ, kind of down in the dumps with your new hire. I just wanted to reach out to you, give you a little hug, bud, and say it's going to be all right. We're going to get through it, all right?

I don't even know what you're talking about. Wow. Wow.

A new hire? Okay. This guy. I'm here for you, buddy. We got the shot.

He's going to be just fine for you because- Oh, that new hire. Oh. Terzo, that tells you how much I'm paying attention for it.

I legitimately had no idea what you were talking about because I'm trying to put them out of my mind right now. I'm on a basketball season. Terzo, we need to take it easy on TJ because he knows Super Sunday's coming around the corner and the Eagles have an opportunity to win it all, and he just knows there's a certain all-star sitting in New York City who, despite having a lot on his plate, leading the New York Knickerbockers to hopefully new heights, he knows Karl-Anthony Towns still thinks of him every day. It's not weird. I think it's special, actually. I think it's special. Don't you, Chris, wouldn't you call it special instead of weird?

I don't think you guys would. I think it's hilarious, actually. So he just- Living that free in his head.

You know, and then shoddy on top of it doesn't really inspire. So let's just take it easy on TJ, okay? Yeah. And that's why I just call him just to give him a hug, just be there.

Doesn't sound like you really do, Terzo. He's been there for me through my ups and downs, so. Well, I understand that. It sounds like you're kind of high on the mount with your Niners right now. You know what I mean?

But why? Well, I'm happy at this point we got Salah back. You know, I don't think it was his fault in New York, and he's a great defensive coordinator, so I'm happy to have him back. By the way, that was exactly what the Niners were trying to do the minute that Salah got bounced by the Jets, and I think it's great. The Niners are going to be really good again on defense like that, for sure. And that's what I want us to get back to if we have a chance next year to try to get back into the postseason and make another run. Thanks for the call, Terzo.

That's Terzo in Iowa, right here on the Rich Eisen Show. The sleep number play of the week. It's a no brainer.

It's a no brainer. The NFC Championship game, 3-0 in Washington after Washington has an 18 play opening drive, convert on two fourth downs, and it is apparent that the Jayden Daniels, who didn't know any better for a rookie, was showing up in Philadelphia, and then the Philadelphia Eagles got the benefit of starting the ball in the 40 yard line and have the benefit of being able to hand it off to Saquon Barkley, Hall of Famer Meryl Reese at the mic. Pitches it out to Barkley, takes off to the outside, he's at the 50, he's at the 40, he's at the 30, he's going to go! 15, 10, 5, touchdown Saquon Barkley! 60 yards on his opening touch! And again, Saquon Barkley set a record for three or more touchdowns in a single postseason of 60 or more yards, and that's a record for any type of touchdown, 60 or more yards, receiving or running. Saquon Barkley, remarkable, as terrific as it gets, and that's the play of the week presented by Sleep Number.

Sleep better together, save 50% on the new Sleep Number limited edition smart bed, limited time exclusively at a Sleep Number store. And Saquon has a chance to have the greatest rushing season ever. Most rushing yards in a season, most rushing yards in a single postseason are all within his reach. If he has a day against the Chiefs like he did against the Commanders and the Rams, yes, that's what's at stake. He just treats everybody, he's an equal opportunity abuser, you know?

He hits home runs off everybody, baby. Packers as well in the wildcard round. Yeah.

And he's going to do it in two weeks. We had other choices. I know you were suggesting for the play of the week beforehand, that fourth down sequence that ended the AFC Championship game. I just felt like that blitz was an incredible play. Dude, spags coming out off the front side too. Could you imagine if they were sliding Allen and the protection the other way? The other way, and Shakur was in.

Yeah. He was kind of wide open on that, and everyone keeps saying, why not throw there? Well, it's because Allen was getting his ass handed to him post snap, as soon as the snap happened.

Just watch that play again, and you see if you can make that play, which he almost did anyway. You mentioned that they had all three timeouts, right? But there was still three minutes to go at that play, right? How much time was left when that play happened? No, 3.33 is when the drive began.

Okay, got it. And the drive was a pitch to Ty Johnson that was a one yard loss. Then Allen scrambled for 13 yards to erase that fresh set of downs. He wasn't on the same page as Shakur. He did miss Samuel.

Third down, got half of it on that throw over the middle to Amari Cooper, and then the fourth down, and that was it. Oh, actually it was the two minute warning. And James Cook was standing there. So they did have a timeout, essentially. It was a two minute warning. Yeah. Got it. Oh, you meant when he sees it, call a timeout, if he sees the boards coming? Before the play, yeah. I see what you mean. That's- I don't know, Matt.

I mean- Obviously, the easiest thing in the world is to sit on your couch. Of course. Barkley joined Hall of Famers, Terrell Davis and Marcus Allen, and Arian Foster is the only players to have 500 or more rush yards and five or more rushing touchdowns in their first five career playoff games. Arian Foster was so good. He was a beast those first couple of years. Barkley's seven career rushing touchdowns are tied for third most all time in his first five career playoff games. The only ones who have more are Hall of Famers, Curtis Martin with eight, and Terrell Davis with nine. I mean, TD had that 2,000 yard season, and he had those three, four seasons as the lead back for Denver. And I know his career was short, but he's in the Hall of Fame for his postseason work just as much. And we've got a guy coming up in hour number two that could make a similar case one day.

And Julian Edelman, his postseason work is superior to his regular season work, which is superior than most regular season work as well. That's coming up in hour number two. Hey, it's Rich Eisen here. Join me and my compadre, Chris Brockman, every Monday on the Overreaction Monday podcast. You're also saying the record's going to go down.

I'm saying the record's going down anyway. I don't think you're off on this at all. Like you're spot on here. I don't think this is an overreaction because we have no idea what we're reacting to. Come react or overreact with us. Overreaction Monday, follow and listen on your favorite platform. It's game over. We'll be right back.