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This episode is brought to you by Progressive. Most of you aren't just listening right now, you're multitasking, but what if you could also be saving money by switching to Progressive? Drivers you save by switching save nearly $750 on average, and auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. So multitask right now. Get your quote now at progressive.com. Progressive cash, we're the insurance company and affiliates national average 12 months savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary discounts not available in all states and situations. Good afternoon and welcome to AT&T stadium in Arlington, Texas for this wild card round. I expect Jordan just to be Jordan. Down the right side. Romeo does wide open. Wow. Now throw back the other way. He's got him wide open. Down the right side. Let's go. Benzo, touchdown. A dagger right through the heart of the Cowboys. All right, here we go. Fourth down. Love bootlegs right throws it back against the grain. Touchdown on a diving grab. And the Packers are piling it on the Cowboys. First seven seed in the history of the NFL, you win a damn playoff. That still sounds better than it was because they've only been doing seven seeds for a few years. But somebody had to be the first in the Packers were last year in embarrassing and dominating the Cowboys with Jordan loves looking a lot like Aaron Rodgers look like Aaron Rodgers a lot the next week to against the 49ers until his last throw when he looked a lot like Brett Favre. But but all in all, Jordan love after kind of a rough start to the season last year found his footing and has become Shireen borderline franchise quarterback. If not already, I mean, he's already top 10. The question is, when does he make it to top five? Yeah, I think that's the difference for him is getting there, you know, over 4,000 passing yards last season, the 32 touchdowns, Levener receptions. It was a great year and even better in the postseason. I was there for that Cowboys game and it wasn't that close 48 32, I think was the final and it was not that close. I mean, we all know the Packers dominated that game and they dominated that game because of Jordan loves play. He was that good. And I think that's the game really that solidified him as that top 10 quarterback and he's going to need more games like that to get in the top five and they'll get that opportunity and he'll get it tonight that that'll be his first opportunity to do it against a team, by the way, that gave up 31st in the NFL and passing yards allowed. Only Washington was worse. I know they've changed that defense. They have a new defensive coordinator. Big game for Jordan love, big game for that Eagles defense. That's going to be a key matchup in this game is impressive as his full season numbers were. His second half was incredible and if he plays like that for a full year, he's the MVP for 20 24. Here he is with Maria Taylor. You'll see more of it tonight in the pregame show and the full interview will be available at the YouTube.com slash NFL on NBC love talking about the time that he spent backing up Aaron Rodgers. We had the opportunity to kind of sit back and watch, which is different where we're used to seeing both things. We've seen the CJ strat have to come in and play immediately. You had an opportunity to be an understudy. What do you speak to learning during that time period of your career? Yeah, I mean, I'm grateful for it. It was a I did the best thing for me in my career is to be able to sit here for three years buying Aaron Rodgers, you know, one of the greatest to do it and just learn and watch him do it. Watch him how he operates and handles business and plays quarterback at the highest level and just see. So I learned so much just from being able to watch him and who knows, you know, if I was in a different situation, I had to go in and start my rookie year. Who knows where I'd be right now, if I'd have been ready, if I'd have been the player, I would have been last year. So you know, I'm grateful for that opportunity to be able to sit and learn and just develop my game. Yeah. Look, I recall saying many a time that when the drama was unfolding in Green Bay between Aaron Rodgers, front office, Matt Lefloor caught in the middle. The only guy I felt bad for was Jordan Love because he's the only one who had no say in his involvement. He was drafted by the Packers. Matt Lefloor wasn't drafted. Brian Goudacunz wasn't drafted and Aaron Rodgers was but by that point in his career, he had signed and resigned and he could have done something else. Everybody else chose to some degree or another to be there. Love was just kind of like, what the hell am I doing? And he was rewarded for his patience with exactly what the Packers were looking for. Transition from Hall of Famer to Hall of Famer to now a guy who has a long way to go to get a bronze bust in Canton, but so far it looks like they made the right call when they traded up, pissed off Aaron Rodgers, sorry London and got the next guy who is looking pretty good based on his one season under center for the Green Bay Packers. Yeah, and the original plan Mike was for him to be the starter in 2022 and guess what happened? Aaron Rodgers goes out and has an MVP, he can't let the MVP walk away and they didn't let him walk away, played one more year for the Packers before leaving to go to the Jets and finally Jordan Love ascended to that starting position, but it's the same tactic they used with Aaron Rodgers and look what happened to him and it's a value sometimes and not many teams. The Packers may be the only team to have done it for sure twice, but to draft quarterbacks that high and let them sit that long, watch, learn, invaluable. And we used to see it all the time, Mike. We don't see it hardly ever anymore except with the Packers because teams draft those quarterbacks high and they draft them high for a reason. They need that quarterback, they throw them in there, if they don't work out, they throw them out and let's get another one and let's get him in there. And so we just haven't seen that, I think for Jordan Love, it paid off for him to sit and learn behind Aaron Rodgers as painful as that might have been for the three years. I think he's a better quarterback because of that. And there are parallels to Aaron Rodgers arrival and Jordan Love's arrival. I still haven't finished the Aaron Rodgers biography for me in O'Connor. There are some very real differences. Brett Favre had been musing about retirement for multiple years. When they finally decided we need to be prepared. Aaron Rodgers fell from potential number one overall pick into the twenties. And to make the argument, what are we going to do best player on the board by far? Why wouldn't we take him, especially when our quarterback keeps talking about retiring. With Jordan Love, they traded up to get him. They didn't need a quarterback. Rodgers was talking about finishing his career with the Green Bay Packers and playing into his 40s and it worked because Rodgers won the MVP award in 2020 and 2021. He got a kick in the ass from that. But it still drove a wedge that ultimately led us to where we are and the Packers are fine and we'll see how fine the Jets are. A lot of it depends on whether or not Rodgers can stay healthy. Played all the four snaps last year and, you know, dream matchup. I'll do respect to the Chiefs or anyone else in the AFC and I'll do respect to my pick of Chiefs over Packers for Super Bowl 59, Jets Packers would be something if Rodgers and Love could meet and settle it all on the field in New Orleans. There's Matt Leflor talking about his team taking the field in Brazil to start their season. Do I need to do that again? Bon día! Well, this is our second international game in three years, so I'm sure we're going to be playing more of these and it truly is a privilege, though. I mean, to any opportunity that we get to go anywhere, whether it's home, away, overseas, it's a great opportunity for our players, for our team to show what we're all about. I forgot about that London game a couple of years ago when Giants fans were chanting out in the parking lot, shove the F and cheese up your arse and I don't know what the Portuguese translation is, but they might be hearing it in the parking lot today. Yes, they might. This can be a fun game I think to start the season and first game in Brazil, we'll see how it turns out for them. And hey, we've heard a lot of, not a lot, but some, consternation from Eagles players about having to go to Brazil to start the season. We really haven't heard much from the Packers about it. Josh Jacobs said some things months ago, I mean, the Packers kind of know, and I know you're not a believer in the Packers. Most of the PFT writers based upon our preseason prognostications believe in the Packers. I have them going to the Super Bowl. I think multiple others have them going to the Super Bowl as well. You don't, but they have that kind of, that kind of glow and gleam to them because of how they finished last season. I'm a big fan and carryover, although I understand that there's a significant amount of the roster that doesn't carry over from year to year. It's not like it was in the 70s and 80s where you've got that big kick at the end and it plugs right into the next year. You do have a lot of changes to make, but the key positions quarterback and coach, they've upgraded with Josh Jacobs, the receivers are young and improving. There's reason to believe that the Packers, that finish from last year, was a sign of things to come. And I think it makes this match up even more intriguing because the Eagles were crumbling down the stretch as the Packers were ascending, the Philadelphia Eagles were falling apart. I agree with you, Mike. I love the coach. I think he's one of the best coaches in the NFL, probably underrated a little bit. We don't talk about him enough when we start talking about the best coaches in league. I do think he's there and Jordan loves. Certainly you mentioned the second half of the season, there were that nine game stretch to end the season, which included that playoff game against the Cowboys. 21 touchdowns and interception. He ascended. He was much better in the second half of the season, very, very good. The rest of the roster, I just, I don't like it very much. They did upgrade at receiver. I mean, at running back, I agree with you. I think Josh Jacobs is better than what they had. This will be a big test for them. Big tests really for both teams because the Eagles did crumble. I just think when you look at that division, it's improved. Now the Vikings, your Vikings, I think are fourth in that division clearly, but the Bears are going to be much improved. You still have the Lions. To me, somebody in that division has to get left out and I love the Bears. They haven't done it yet, but I love where they're headed. If Caleb Williams can play like we think he can play like the Bears think he can play, I think they're going to be the number two team in that division, but you're right. The Packers have shown it more, they've proved that they can be that team and perhaps even win the division if things go right for them. When the NFL plays games in London, there's a fascination with extra points in field goals because that's the thing that reminds them of the dominant sport in that country. I assume that same dynamic applies to the dynamic kickoff, which was not so dynamic last night and field goals and extra points in Sao Paulo. Here's Matt Lefloor focusing on the rushing angle, both sides for tonight's game. I think the run game is going to be critical for both teams tomorrow. Certainly we both have new backs, so that'll be exciting to see. I think two premier backs in this league, obviously Philly's ability to run the ball with Jalen is always a challenge. I think last time we played the Eagles, he ran for over a hundred yards and it was a long day for our team, our defense in particular. It's always a great challenge, I think they do a great job running the football. I think when you look at their front, both offensively and defensively, it's a pretty dominant front, but at the same time I'm looking at our guys, really excited to see what we're able to do. Like I said, it's going to be a great challenge, but one that we're looking forward to. I really do see this as an excellent opportunity for the Green Bay Packers to make a statement, prime time standalone game, even though it's a funky looking stadium very far from home. This is kind of not a reminder, but just an announcement. We we're here when when you're thinking about your teams that you should be paying attention to for 2024, do not forget about us. We are here and it it as I've been saying for the past few weeks, I hope the folks in Brazil, Shireen appreciate. We've been exporting not great games to London for a long time. I hope the folks in Brazil appreciate what they're getting for their first NFL game. Yeah, this is two of the premier teams in the NFC Mike and going to be competing for that NFC title. So they got a really good one and it's talked about the running game. It's going to take some getting used to, especially for Saquon Barclays since they were in the same division, but seeing him in that Eagles green is it's going to be really weird initially. I'm really going to have to take some time to get used to seeing him in that Eagles green. I'm sure giants fans will never get used to seeing him in Eagles green, but I expect him to have a big year and I expect Josh Jacobs to have a big year and this is their both debuts with their new teams, two of the best running backs in the NFL. So that's going to be something to watch tonight. The two guys who were at the center of the off season and pre-season contract controversy franchise tag didn't get long term deals in 2023 finished their contracts, became free agents. There was never any serious belief that Jacobs was going to stay with the Raiders or that Barkley was going to stay with the Eagles. I think in hindsight, if the Eagles or if the Giants excuse me had known that Barkley was going to go to the Eagles, maybe they would have approached the situation a little bit differently, but that's what the Giants now have to deal with is Barkley gets ready to get his start in Philadelphia. And on that point, here's Tony Dungees sit down with Eagles coach Nick Siriani on this issue of the new running back in Philadelphia. The $5 meal deal at McDonald's means you get to pick between a Madduple or a Michigan. Then get a small fry, a small drink and a four piece McNuggets. That's a lot of McDonald's for not a lot of money. Get the $5 meal deal today. Prices and participation may vary for a limited time only. Hey Applebee's, congrats on becoming the official grilling bar sponsor of the NFL. How does it feel? I'm glad we'll be able to bring some extra heat. Any plans to celebrate? Yeah, we're going to serve up America's favorite bonus swings for this 50 cents each to kick off the season. Limited time price participation is selection may vary, tax number two would be excluded. When it comes to hiring, the best way to search for a candidate isn't to search at all. With Indeed, don't search, match. 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And so now that I have that on your team, he's always out there giving them a sideline look. I mean, because that's what good, you know, Vic says this to me and I've said this to the team a lot, good teams have good players, great teams have great teammates. And Saquon's a great teammate, his play speaks for itself, but what a great teammate. Has Saquon energized the team a little bit knowing that he's here? Anytime you add the talent to the guys, the guys get excited anytime, you know, and when you're watching tape as a team, you know, after every practice, we watch that tape as a team, not, you know, as a full team, right? I think it's really important to do that, where the offense is seeing the mistakes of the defense and vice versa and the good place because I want them to get excited about it. So yeah, it's, it's energized everybody because we know what a special play area is and what a special teammate is and what a special person he is. Sometimes you need a veteran like that who can come in and maybe shake things up, whatever went wrong for the Eagles last year down the stretch, Saquon Barkley can be a key ingredient in hitting the reset button and moving on from it. We still don't know why specifically things went haywire and I do have concerns that maybe it's not going to be fixed so quickly, but Barkley can be the key ingredient to forgetting about last year and focusing on this year, especially because his main focus is going to be make the Giants look stupid for not keeping him around. Well, and that could be his biggest impact. My is in the locker room as a leader because he is that and he can be that for the Eagles and maybe they wouldn't have had the collapse last year that they had if Saquon Barkley had been there, but he's going to have an impact on the field too as long as he stays healthy. We know that he indicated I was reading and I couldn't get into the art. I need to further investigate it, but that the Giants stifled him really and he's going to get his first opportunity to really show what he can do. Well, this this is your opportunity, Saquon, to show that you the Giants didn't get everything out of you that that you think you can be left to meet on the bone. So to speak, this will be his opportunity this year to show that stifled him. He was the best player they had, exactly, but for injuries which are inherent to the position, he would have probably been on some historic paces. He would have been Christian McCaffrey really over the past several years. He proved that he deserved to be drafted as high as he was back in 2018, third overall pick in that draft by the New York Giants. So he's been spectacular. The real question is, and I think back to the hard knocks off season addition with the New York Giants, I feel like Joe Shane, the GM of the team, had the mindset of running backs are interchangeable. You can find somebody else, you don't overpay anyone at the position, and there were some voices in some of those meetings, which was one of the big reasons why I thought it wasn't good for the Giants to have this out there. But there were some folks who were like, Saquon might be different. And that's just an extra little reason for him to be motivated to prove that that they got it wrong in not keeping him. So who makes the bigger impact? We've been talking about Josh Jacobs going from the Raiders to the Packers, Barkley going from the Giants to the Eagles. Which of the two do you think makes the bigger impact? This is the hardest question that we'll face today because I don't know. I think they both have an impact. And you said there's certain running backs who are going to have that impact, who deserve to be paid more. And I think both of these guys are, I'll go with Saquon. And the reason is, I just think that offense is so good that he's going to have more opportunities because the offense is so good. But on the other hand, you know, he's going to be, Josh Jacobs is going to be a big part of the Packers. It's a tough question. I'll go with Saquon, but reluctantly, because I think Josh Jacobs is going to have his big impact in Green Bay as Saquon has in Philadelphia. I think it's going to be Josh Jacobs, and I'm glancing down here at the contract details. I had forgotten that the Jacobs deal is basically a one year deal with a year to year option held by the Packers after that. Barkley's guaranteed two years. So there's going to be a greater urgency with Jacobs to unlock the second year of the deal. And when you've got Jordan Love, I'll do respect to Jalen Hurts, but Jordan Love has developed into a better passing threat already than a lot of quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts isn't the only one that was leapfrogged by Jordan Love last year. But you bring in a battering ram running back to augment that passing game. That's one of the reasons why I think the Packers are going to the Super Bowl. And this is so out of character for the Packers. Yeah, it is. They don't spend on free agents. And when they do it's usually defensive, not offensive, the idea that they went out and chased a guy who plays a position where when you're a draft and develop team, the ultimate draft and develop position is running back. You go out and pay in this guy. And again, it's only 12 and a half million. It looks like a bigger risk than it is. I think Jacobs might have the bigger impact because I think we're not anticipating it the same way that we're looking at, Hey, say Juan Barkley, what get whoa, he's going to step into that offense and he's going to be dual threat and he's motivated. And I just think we're not paying attention to Jacobs the way we should be, which will lead as a practical matter to the perception that he made a bigger impact. And they're both really good. And I think both have a really big impact on their teams if they stay healthy. And that's, that's been part of the problems, especially with say Juan is just staying on to the field. But if they both do that, I think it's going to be an equal impact for both of them. I think they, they both really impact their teams. And I think the Raiders and giants probably are going to look back with some regret that they let these guys go. And I know the philosophy of you pay any running back and they're going to come in and they're going to do it. Cowboys are trying that this year running back by committee. I don't think it's going to work. I think the Eagles are way better off in their division with a solid running back and say Juan Barkley, one of the best backs in football than the Cowboys are with an over the hill, Ezekiel Elliott as they're starting running back and Rico Duado coming in and probably getting more carries than Elliott. And I think that's probably going to be a difference for the Eagles winning the division over the Cowboys is at the running back position. Let's take a break. One return. We're going to focus on the quarterback position. Three of the six rookies drafted in round one make their debut. Well, more still could play, but three of them definitely will. On Sunday, we'll talk about that next year on PFT Live. Giraffe King Sportsbook is the number one place to bet touchdowns and new customers can bet five dollars and get two hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets instantly plus get one month of NFL plus premium download the app and use promo code PFT Live when you sign up and please bet responsibly. Okay. One time in the last four years, three rookie quarterbacks will start week one, twenty twenty one. It was Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Matt Jones, twenty twenty three. It was Bryce Young, CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson. This weekend on Sunday, Caleb Williams for the Bears, Jaden Daniels for Washington and Bo Nix for Dendre and really when you look at twenty twenty three in twenty twenty one, it's a three thirty three batting average. Now Richardson could still turn it around and he expects to this year. Bryce Young could still turn it around and we don't expect him to this year. Zach Wilson and Matt Jones are back ups now. So just starting week one does not mean you have passed the test. You're still a sixty six point six, six, six, seven percent chance that you will fail. And thanks to everyone in the room there for this stat because it's a great one. The last rookie to win in week one was Sam Donald in twenty eighteen against the Lions. I would not have guessed that at all. But that's what it is. Mike, it's been a long time since a rookie quarterback has won in week one. They're not very good in openers just because it takes a while to develop in this game. C.J. Stroup had a great season last year. He didn't beat Baltimore in week one last year. It takes a while to get going for a rookie quarterback. It's different than the preseason. They're going to find that out. Rookie quarterbacks are sixteen thirty five and one in openers. Oh, seven and one the past five years. Let's start with the first overall pick in the draft, Caleb Williams, the Tennessee Titans come to town. Bears are favored by three and a half points. It is the largest rookie point spread. Wait a minute. Let me try that again. It is the largest point spread. I blame the sleep sleep deprivation for a rookie in week one since Terry Bradshaw all the way back in nineteen seventy when he was playing for the Steelers. I'm surprised, but I'm not. And I think that the Bears will win and the Titans will cover. I think we picked at twenty three twenty yesterday and by the way, Sims and I both picked twenty seven twenty last night. He cares except us, but we were very happy when we get, when we realized the Isaiah likely touchdown didn't count, we were like, holy crap. We both got lucky and pick twenty seven twenties, the final score. So I think the Titans are better than people realize and the Bears might not be ready to waltz right into the postseason. There's a lot of hype and a lot of pressure and expectation, but it is going to be different Chicago. They have not had a high end offense in our lifetime, Shireen, or for more than a few years before we arrived on the planet. Sid Lutman's last season Mike was nineteen fifty. He went into the Hall of Fame in the great year of nineteen sixty five. So it has been a long, long, long drought for the Bears to have a truly great quarterback. Since then last sixty years, Mike, they've had three Provo quarterbacks, two of them are pretty easy. Can you name, can you name two of the three? I wouldn't have gotten the third. Well, Jake Cutler is the no-brainer and probably, Jake Cutler wasn't a pro bowler? Nope. Wow. Well, let's see. How about Eric Kramer? Did he make it? Nope. Wow. Well, who the hell else would it be? Jim McMahon? Yep. Jim McMahon in nineteen eighty five. Yeah. Well, because the Bears were so good. So that makes sense. Who else? Trubisky in twenty eighteen and Bill Wade in nineteen sixty three, I have to admit I had no idea Bill Wade, so I wouldn't have gotten that one. Lord. Well, yeah, we talked earlier this week that, you know, Caleb Williams could set the franchise single season passing record this year because it's thirty eight hundred and thirty eight yards. Devin McCordy called out the back room. He thought there were factual errors in our statistical recollection and research. So no, that's the truth. Thirty eight thirty eight is the all time single season passing yardage record. The Bears are the only team that does not have a quarterback who has thrown for four thousand yards in a single season. The high watermark is three eight three eight from nineteen ninety five by said Eric Kramer. Um, and look, who knows when you're dealing with a situation where the defense is game planned for you. But Williams looked special in the preseason and that moment where, you know, it was a sluggish start, one of the preseason games, but I think we learned from hard knocks. There was an issue with the communications and then once they got that settled, he really does look like play like my homes. I do believe because he was sixteen when my homes arrived on the scene, he was influenced by this awakening that we all had that you can play quarterback in a different way and be successful and you can do things with your body and do things with your arm that we see short stops do and it's worked for Caleb Williams and I think it's going to work for the Bears. Yeah, I do too, Mike. I had them as a playoff team and I think they will be, but it all depends on Caleb Williams. First Ricky quarterback to have a thousand yard rusher and two thousand yard receivers and it's a great offense that he's walking into that defense the second half of last year was a top five defense. They were very, very good. I think they're going to be better this year. So he's got all the parts, but it's going to come down to how he plays, how the offensive line can block for him and then ultimately how he plays is going to determine the Bears fate this year and we saw it last year. We just talked about the top two picks last year. Bryce Young didn't get it done with the Panthers and CJ Stroud did. So now with what Stroud's done, everybody's expecting their rookie quarterback to walk in and play just like that. We saw it last year and it's not that easy and it won't be that easy for Caleb Williams. I think it's going to be very good, but it's not going to be that easy. And that leads us to the next game, the debut of the number two overall pick in the draft, the Heisman Trophy winner, the guy that all of the SEC defensive players when we met with them at the combine and said, who's the toughest guy you've ever faced? It was Jayden Daniels, Jayden Daniels, Jayden Daniels, commanders taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the woefully underrated Buccaneers. Daniels to me is in a situation that tracks better to CJ Stroud than Caleb Williams beyond the fact that it's the number two overall pick each year, Stroud last year and Daniels this year. Stroud benefited from low expectations and anonymity. Go about your business one o'clock Eastern every week up until week 18 out. Look, the commanders get started at 425 Eastern, but no one's going to be paying attention to that game. It's Cowboys, Browns. And if you haven't heard Tom Brady making his historic debut as a broadcaster, they've set the bar for that guy as high as they possibly could. Good luck, Tommy. So while everyone's focused on that, the commanders will be playing the Buccaneers and it'll probably be delayed by storms. Why do you start a game at 425 Eastern in Tampa in September? I don't know, but Jayden Daniels, I think has a chance to be really good. And it was between the bears and the commanders for me stealing one of the low playoff spots on the playoff tree that absolutely means nothing except to us and only for a short period of time. I think the commanders in a better position with Jayden Daniels to have an impact this year because the division is not as difficult as the division Caleb Williams is in. Well, he does have an opportunity, I agree with you. And I do think he's special and I think we're going to see that right away. He has a chance to do, I think in this game, Mike, what RG3 did in his first game, if you remember, 4032 over in New Orleans, it was a great game, 320 passing yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions. He had a 139.9 passer rating was just outstanding in that first game out and who knows what RG3 would have been if not for the knee injury late that year. But he has a chance to make that impact right off the bat with this team. And I agree with you. They've got a chance because nobody's talking about them. Nobody's except you had them go into the playoffs, but I think they could be that team that sneaks in there and ends up with a wildcard berth, something they haven't done since they won the division with what they ate Nate record a few years ago. But they've had 12 different starters in the last six seasons. This guy is going to make 13, obviously, but I think they found their franchise quarterback and I think he's going to be there a long time. I actually made the playoffs with seven and nine, not eight. Oh, yeah. That's right. Losing right. And I'll be completely transparent. I picked the commanders to make it the playoffs just because I knew it would make Gary happy. And as a commander's fan, there aren't many occasions for happiness, but they may be coming because I do believe in Jay Daniels and in any other year he would have been the first to borrow pick in the draft. All right. Bronco's at the Seahawks. Another game that will not be noticed two years after these two teams started the season in the same spot on Monday night football with a pretty significant game with Russell Wilson going back to Seattle for his first game out of Seattle. This is the dreaded four oh five regional broadcast, which will be seen in Denver and Seattle and that's it. But those who do get to see the game will see Bonix making his debut and the first rookie with the sea on his jersey since long before they even started putting seas on the jerseys. 1967 for the Broncos. Floyd Little was a captain, Bonix a captain right out of the gates. Here's both Bonix and Sean Payton on the fact that Nix was given that distinction for his first season. Yeah, it's an honor. It's a privilege. I'm excited to be with this group, excited to be a captain. I don't take it lightly. I know it's a big deal and it hasn't happened often, but I'm not going to take it for granted. I've got to come to work every single day and just prove that you can be a captain. But I'm excited to work with these other guys and I think it's good that we can get out there and set the tone and it's always good to be a captain. So first for me, just say rookie period in fairness to the process and yet I think it is what it is. I think it's credit to him and I think his teammates felt that he belonged in that position. Sean Payton, yeah, trying to find another Drew Brees and there were moments in the preseason where Bo Nix looked the little Drew Brees-ish, someone who can run that offense exactly the way Payton wants. Add in new plays on the fly, put them in the walkthrough in the ballroom at the hotel the morning of the game and figure it out and make it work, make all the checks that the line of scrimmage, get the plays called, get the plays communicated and be very robotic in doing exactly what Payton wants. And Nix is the guy that Payton, Payton wanted, I mean, and who knows how much of its revisionist history or itself serving, but it sure sounds like the Broncos sat back and hoped that Nix would be there at 12 and were pleasantly surprised that he was. Yeah, and you know, he wanted Patrick Mahomes in that draft and I think if he had gotten Patrick Mahomes, he would still be coaching the Saints but now he's in Denver and has Bo Nix as his franchise quarterback and Nix, in your average rookie Mike, he started 61 college games at power five schools, I guess power four now, but when he was playing those power five schools at Auburn and at Oregon and played great at both of those schools. So opposite of Anthony Richardson, who hasn't had much experience has not started many games. This guy has started a ton of games, which gives him an opportunity to be good right out of the gate. And those are the three who will be starting right out of the gates. We could still see Michael Pinnick's junior, but that would be only in the event of injury. And we know that JJ McCarthy won't be playing. He's on season ended injured reserve and Drake may could make an appearance if Jacobi Prissette would be injured. And I feel like at some point this year may will become the starter. Pinnick's ideally won't. So we'll have four most likely at some point unless there is that injury and then we could have five of the six rookies playing this season. Let's take a break. It is definitely not rookies under consideration in Pittsburgh. Russell Wilson, the aging veteran, is the starter unless he isn't because an injury for him from the first day of camp has reared its ugly head. We'll discuss that next year on PFT Live. Can you sign this for me? No, I'm not. Stop him. Holy jumble eye. Oh my god. I do it for him. Oh, wait. I get this for him. Nice. Wait a moment. You said it. Anyway. Wow. Wow. That guy looks like me. Trump boners. Trump boner. Is that what they call it? For real? When you find Trump boner, you're a Trump boner. Okay. Looking like a young Jim Halpert in that photo was Cameron Dicker with the Dunder Mifflin office attire. That's a nice move. Chargers do some fun things and finding the old photos and presenting them for autograph. I like that. The Chargers get started with a new head coach against a Raiders team that got the last head coach fired. Stop asking. Stop pointing it out. Stop talking about how bad the Chargers have been. It was an embarrassment that Thursday night in December, but now Jim Harbaugh is there. The Raiders come to LA. He's 4-0 in week one games. He would tie Raymond Berry as the only coach to be 5-0 in week one games. And I fully believe in Harbaugh as nutty as he is. As big of a lunatic in a good way as he is, I think it works and it will press the right buttons and it will get the most out of the Chargers, especially against a team that they should be able to beat. Yeah, I think they win this game. The thing I worry about is Justin Herbert in that foot, Plunter Fashia injury in his right foot. You know, he had two weeks where he was in the walking boot, but I'm not so sure. He wouldn't talk a lot about it this week. I'm not so sure that that thing's not going to linger all season and he will have to manage it and probably play through a little bit of pain. I hope not. I hope he's 100% the whole entire year, but it's just something that we have to watch and see how he's going to perform with the foot after missing time and camp the way he did. He was off the injury report on Wednesday, completely, creating the impression everything's fine. And then we find out Thursday he's back on because the league told the Chargers you got to put him back on. So look, I didn't know they'd already hired Conner Stallings to work in the training staff with the LA Chargers, but here we are. Okay. I'm kidding. I'm, I think I'm kidding, but look, the injury report's already worthless, but if you got a guy who's getting active treatment on the foot and I'm sure that's what it came down to. Well, he fully participated in practice. So we don't put him on the report, but if you get an active treatment on it still, even if he fully participates, you list him as having the injury and that he fully participated in practice. It's not that complicated. All right. It's not that complicated in Pittsburgh. You play great defense. You have a running game and you hope you get something out of your quarterbacks. That formula made the Steelers confident that Russell Wilson should be the starter they take on the Falcons on Sunday. The problem is Wilson was legitimately off the injury report on Wednesday. He was fine. The calf injury that he suffered to start training camp had healed on Thursday. Mike Tomlin, Steelers head coach said that Russ felt tightness. So he was limited in practice and now all of a sudden it's up in the air as to whether or not it will be Russell Wilson or Justin Fields at quarterback when the Steelers visit Atlanta. Sure. Well, another injury. I think Mike, you're going to have to watch the whole entire year. We don't even know if he's going to play this week. We'll find out today what his status is when they put out their status report. Questionable. Questionable. I suspect it'll be questionable. Probably be questionable, but we could see just the fields. There's no question about that. But another lingering injury that you would just a soft tissue injury that you worry about lingering for a while. I mean, he had that early in training camp and now it's popped back up again. So something again, these Steelers are going to have to watch the whole entire season. You know, these players change position. I almost said the Broncos, like you get used to them with one team and then they change teams and you really got to think about which team are they with now. As we age, those tendons and ligaments and muscles rebel against dramatic application of forces to them. And that's what happened to Aaron Rodgers last year. He had a calf injury early in camp before it became the Achilles tear and who knows if there's any connection between the two and you've got Russell Wilson now with this chronic problem and whether it's a hamstring, a calf, it needs time and you think it's healed and then something happens. It grabs. You feel that grab. I've had both. I've had calf and hamstring and you, hey, I'm fine. Wait a minute. I thought I was fine. And that may be where Russell Wilson is right now. Okay. Cowboys at the Browns. If you haven't heard, it's the Tom Brady broadcasting debut historic Gus Johnson told me last week while I was watching the Mountaineers get embarrassed by Penn State. More importantly, the Cowboys 12 and five each of the last two years, the Browns led the NFL in total defense. They had enough from comeback player of the year, Joe Flacco to make it to the playoffs and look like they were potentially going to go on a run until the Texans got in the way. This is an intriguing game. Sims and I disagreed on this one. I could see it going either way, Shireen, your Cowboys going to Cleveland to take on a pretty good team, but a lot of questions about what the Cowboys are, who they're going to be. And you talked about the running game earlier, CD lamb had the hold out, Dak Prescott's contract is still hovering over everything and creating a distraction. This is a tough test for the Cowboys to get things started. It is 12 ones over the last three seasons the Cowboys have had. That's the second most wins in the NFL behind the Chiefs. They've been very good in the regular season. Obviously just haven't got it gotten it done in the postseason. I think the Browns win this game. I do. And the interesting matchup to me is Tyler Guyton at left tackle who is very good in the preseason rookie first round draft pick going against Miles Garrett. They do move Miles Garrett around, but I think he's primarily going to be lined up over that rookie at left tackle, and that's going to be the key matchup and how much help does Tyler Guyton have to have. To me, the real question is Mike. Does Dak Prescott get his contract before the season opened? He seemed to indicate last week that his deadline, his personal deadline was the start of the season. I don't think it's going to happen. People I've heard from and talked to within the organization and elsewhere seem to indicate that this may not be as close, they're making progress, but maybe not as close as they want it to be. So if he doesn't get his contract by Sunday, Mike, I think he's headed to free agency. I don't think there's any chance that he agrees to a deal during the regular season. What a shock that there would be reports leaked by the Cowboys that maybe there's going to be a deal or just feigning progress. Just so people will talk about the Dallas Cowboys. We need to remember we're being grifted to a certain extent by Jerry Jones. Step right up, folks, pay attention to the Cowboys. Give us your money. Give us your time. Give us your emotions. Give us anything and everything you will. And we'll worry about whether or not we actually deliver on any of our various promises at a later date. That pretty much sums up the last 30 years, the Dallas Cowboys. All right, let's go ahead and take a break. They say you can't go home again, but Matthew Stafford is going home again again. Again, and he's ready for whatever the Lions fans might have in store for him. That's next on PFT Live. Unbelievable, unbelievable. Our fans. I mean, this was crazy. We came out, I told our players before we came out and I said, man, do you understand this is the best environment you're going to find in a preseason game for sure. And we're not even in the regular season yet, guys. So you talk about home-filled advantage. You can only imagine what this is going to be like in two weeks from now on Sunday night. This is the best. Like our fans are the best. And that's why we just got to keep doing our job. We got to keep winning and give them something to cheer back because they're going to do their part. That was amazing. I mean, it really was. They say you like to take the home crowd out of the game and, you know, winning against the home team. We'll do that. The flip side is the better the home team does, the louder they tend to get it. And that was that preseason game against the Steelers. It was from what I can tell, watching it on TV, pretty damn loud. It felt like regular season, big third down play when Russell Wilson made throw to George Pickens and I think cemented his status as QB1 for the Steelers. But the Lions fans love this. They've been waiting years for it and they are all in with its sold out regular season tickets for the second year in a row, which is significant because they jacked up the prices after the 2023 season. Lion demand finally applies in Detroit to something other than cars. Yeah. It's exciting for the Lions, exciting for Detroit and Mike always root for those teams that have never won a Super Bowl. I just want everybody to experience that and there's a handful of them now in the NFL. And this is one of the teams, obviously, I love being Campbell too. But this is one of the teams that I'm going to be rooting for this year to get it done and win their first. Well, you weren't rooting for the Vikings to win their first Super Bowl back in 1975 when Drew Pearson shoved down Nate Wright because the Cowboys already had their Super Bowl. They won Super Bowl six. Was it six? It was Super Bowl five. Wait a minute. Super Bowl six. So four, two, three, four, five, six. Yes, you're right. Six. Ultimate one five. How about that? Take that. I've been wrong about the last five or six things we've disagreed on. It feels good to win one for a change. All right. Matthew Stafford, it would feel good for him to win one for a change in Detroit. He lost a lot there while he was with the team. He went back as a member of the Rams and lost in the postseason. Here he is on feeding off the booze that he expects from the Ford Field crowd. Yeah, I feel the crowd, 100 percent. Motivating factor. Love it. You know, I'm one of the guys that walks into the opposing stadium, everybody has their headphones on. I don't want to hear all of it. I don't want to smell it. I want to feel like it's football and that's part of football, especially going to in a way game. So that stuff, you know, just motivates me. That hat with the black logo looks a little Honolulu blue-ish, frankly, for the LA Rams. And the Lions have new jerseys that don't really look Honolulu blue. They look like the Seahawks throwback jerseys that they're going to wear this weekend. So I'm disappointed that a town so far from Honolulu that adopted Honolulu blue as the football team's calories is deviating from the Honolulu blue. I know that's very important to the outcome of the game this weekend. Mike, this is one of the rear win-win trades in NFL history. Stafford won a Super Bowl his first year with the Rams. And then those three draft picks and golf have the Lions as one of the favorites this year. And this trade worked out for both teams. They got what they wanted out of it. And I'm surprised that the Rams were able to rebuild as quickly as they did. They went all in in that Super Bowl year. And then I thought, well, it's going to be a while before they ever have a chance to go back. But they've done it very quickly despite not having some of those draft picks. And they're right in it. They have an opportunity and they dress so well at the receiver position that it keeps that offense firing at a high level. They'll be there again. This is going to be a good game. Win-win with a caveat because the Rams were offloading their trash onto the Lions. They tucked a first round pick into the trade package to get rid of the Jared Goff contract. So it's been far more of a win. I mean, it's been small win, big win, small win for the Rams because they got a Super Bowl, but they kind of sold their soul in the process. And who knows how they're going to be this year with Aaron Donald and injury issues already have popped up. The Lions, even though they haven't gotten to a Super Bowl, it's got that vibe of they're laying the foundation for sustained success. They picked up two first round picks from the third round pick and a quarterback that felt like he was going to be a placeholder for a couple of years. And it's like, well, wait a minute, wait a minute, no, this is, this is our guy and they're paying him accordingly. All right. Let's go ahead and take a break. When we return are week one. Show me something draft. I already did it once in the preseason just, you know, because we need a preseason too. This is the first one that counts. Show me something next on PFT Live. Wait, what do you remember, like the first over here at the point of my game? I played like ****. It's not what I was talking about. It's also over here. Yeah. That's true. There was nobody here. And I also played like ****. Joe Burrow speaking truth and he plays like the opposite of it now, especially that he's healthy. Although he's still on the injury report with that wrist that knocked him out for the balance of 2023. It'll be interesting to see how well he throws grips, etc. The ball now that the wrist has been surgically repaired. So we get into our Friday staple throughout football season. Show me something week one, Shireen Williams. You are up. I'm going to start with Joe burrow, I think it's a good place to start had the start of the year with the calf injury was absolutely abysmal in the opener last year and then had the wrist injury played 10 games. Second time he's had injuries that had cut his season short. So needs to stay on the field for the Bengals to have a chance to do what they think they can do this year with with Joe burrow quarterback. And if he does, he has a chance Mike to win the MVP award. He's that good, but he needs to stay on the field and show it. This gives him this week to start it off right. My first pick goes to one of the many former college players on Shireen Williams personal list of traders, Kyler Murray. Show me something tough environment to start the season. The first full season that he will have been healthy since 2022 when it tore the ACL last year he came back and there were moments where I was like, maybe he's still the guy. No one is taking the Cardinals seriously. They're sleeping on the Cardinals and they love it. It provides great motivation. Nobody's head is too big and Kyler Murray, if he can be the guy that he was with the explosion with the effectiveness, he could maybe give the bills a run for their money. Chris Simms actually thinks the Cardinals are going to win that game straight up regardless win or lose. We need to see that Kyler Murray is back to be in the guy that was the first overall pick in the 2019 draft. Show me something Kyler Murray. I'm going to go with Gino Smith. It came out. He confirmed yesterday that he did approach the Seahawks. His representation approached the Seahawks about a contract extension this offseason. They said, "Yeah, thanks, but no thanks. They have a team policy, of course, of not extending contracts that have more than one year. He's got two years left, but Mikey has no guaranteed money next year. This is a prove it year for him. They're either going to probably extend that contract in the offseason or to say, "Yeah, you know what? We're going to go look for a better option." First year with Mike McDonald and that new offense, and we'll see what he can do with his new offensive coordinator and his new offense, but a huge year, I think, for Gino Smith. I hate those informal rules. We don't extend contracts that have more than your left. It's a year to year contract. It always has one year left. Okay. Show me something. Sam Darnold. This is your opportunity, Sam. You're going back to MetLife Stadium where your NFL career began with a Jets team that has ruined many a quarterback over the years. Prove my narrative accurate that when you get drafted into a bad situation, you end up being a bad quarterback even though you could be better somewhere else. Now Sam Darnold is somewhere else with a good offensive line, with a great group of zivers, with a running game that will be very effective while Aaron Jones is healthy, a defense that is good enough. The table is set for Sam Darnold to finally become the guy who was the presumed number one overall pick going into the 2017 college football season. He fell to number three. He has fallen since then everywhere. He's been. He didn't get a chance last year in San Francisco. This is your time. This is your moment. This is your opportunity. No JJ McCarthy hovering over your shoulder. It's yours all season long. Let's see what you do with it starting on Sunday against the Giants. Let's take a break. We'll do round three of the Show Me Something Draft right after this. All right, there are the selections that have been made so far in the Show Me Something Draft for week one. Round three is upon a Shireen Williams. You are on the clock. Well, we can do all quarterbacks like there's so many other choices. I'm going to go with Joey Bosa because the Chargers need him to step up. He's still being paid as one of the top edge rushers in the NFL, but he has not played like one of the top edge rushers in the NFL because he hasn't been on the field. The last two years, five games and nine games is what he's played the last two years. Twenty twenty one was the last year with double digit sacks. The last time he made a Pro Bowl, the Chargers need Joey Bosa to be good if they're going to be good this year. I am going to go with another quarterback, but not a quarterback who will be playing in any game on Sunday. Show Me Something Tom Brady. He been hearing it for two years now. They've built this thing up to the point where he has nowhere to go but down all the practice games, all the experience, how critical is he going to be? Is he going to blame coaching when he's otherwise blaming players? Is he going to blur it out? That guy sucks when he doesn't really want to say that and most importantly, how effective will he be when he has no access whatsoever to the teams? Can't go to the facilities, can't go to practice, can't go to production meetings because he has a deal in place to become part owner of the Raiders and he refuses to pick a lane. This is the guy who has gotten everything. Well, what he's getting on Sunday, and he's earned a lot of it. Don't get me wrong. What he's getting on Sunday, Shireen, is an opportunity to go straight downhill if he doesn't perform because we know what happens on social media. Ask Tony Romo what happens on social media if you're not perfect when you're calling a game. So show me something, Tom Brady. That's a good one because it is a big week for him, Mike, and he doesn't need to show that his head's in the game and he can do this. Hopefully we've showed that we can do this, specifically me on limited sleep. I am going to pass out now in the hallway. I'll see you tonight for Football Night in America in advance of Eagles Packers. What do we want? How about Chicken Wings. Why do we want them? They're the official wing of watching Football. At 599, 4, 6-piece. When do we want them? When we're watching the game. That's right. Game time is winged. Time! That's Chicken from Football. And participating US restaurants, prices may vary. First of all, congratulations on becoming the official grilling bar sponsor of the National Football League. How does it feel to serve up the NFL? Man, it's a real dream come true. I'm glad we'll be able to serve up some extra heat this season. Do you have any plans to celebrate? Absolutely. We're going to serve up America's favorite bonus wings for just 50 cents each to kick off the season. Any of our sources, whether it's in restaurant or to go, it don't matter. It's all 50 cents all the time. Are you worried at all about any competition this season? What competition? Limited time price, participation in selection may vary, tax and gratuity excluded. [ Silence ]
