NFL Week 5 Bold Predictions + What Lane Johnson’s Retirement Means for the Eagles (Ep. 2251)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
40 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Oct 9, 2026
Published
Fri, October 9, 2026
16
Player insights
16
Players mentioned
Topics
C.J. StroudCarson WentzCase KeenumChris BrooksDrake MayeFernando MendozaJayden DanielsJustin HerbertJustin JeffersonKeon ColemanKirk CousinsKyler MurrayLamar JacksonPuka Nacua
Player analysis
Player insights
C.J. Stroud
NegativeUsage10:24
Due to the Texans' defensive struggles and inability to control the line of scrimmage, CJ Stroud has been forced to pass significantly more than was anticipated prior to the season.
Insight pageCarson Wentz
PositiveRole29:06
There is growing sentiment that Carson Wentz gives the Vikings the best chance to win, with speculation that he could soon take over the starting quarterback role.
Insight pageCase Keenum
PositiveRole35:28
Case Keenum looked surgical in his dissection of the Eagles' defense during a recent Monday night game.
Insight pageChris Brooks
NegativeInjury23:31
Chris Brooks is expected to be out for the upcoming game, potentially opening up more opportunities for other running backs in the rotation.
Insight pageDrake Maye
PositiveProjection24:15
Drake Maye demonstrated his elite arm talent in his recent performance, showing he is among the top five in the NFL for arm talent despite occasional rookie mistakes.
Insight pageFernando Mendoza
NegativeDepth Chart26:53
Fernando Mendoza is currently behind Kirk Cousins on the depth chart and is unlikely to start soon, as the team prefers not to throw him into a difficult stretch of games.
Insight pageJayden Daniels
NegativeInjury11:52
Jayden Daniels is practicing in full but will need to wear an elbow brace moving forward. There is concern regarding whether the injury will affect his mindset or fearlessness in the pocket.
Insight pageJustin Herbert
NegativeUsage34:29
Justin Herbert looks frazzled and is sustaining frequent hits and injuries, with the Chargers' offense appearing disjointed and struggling to protect him.
Insight pageJustin Jefferson
NegativeUsage29:02
Justin Jefferson remains in his prime, but the Vikings' current offensive struggles and quarterback instability are wasting his talent.
Insight pageKeon Coleman
NegativeBreakout18:52
Keon Coleman remains a boom-or-bust prospect. While he has shown flashes of his Florida State highlight-reel talent, he is still adjusting to the NFL level, which often takes receivers two to three years.
Insight pageKirk Cousins
PositiveProjection25:08
Kirk Cousins looks rejuvenated and mobile in the Raiders' system, showing improved arm strength and the ability to handle pressure better than expected.
Insight pageKyler Murray
NegativeProjection27:22
Kyler Murray has struggled significantly, leading the Vikings to a touchdown on only one of 26 offensive possessions this season, leading to questions about his status as the starter.
Insight pageLamar Jackson
NegativeInjury4:06
Lamar Jackson has a realistic chance to play in Week 5 against the Falcons after his ankle sprain was diagnosed as neither low nor high. While he has looked fantastic in the new offense, there is concern about him returning too early, as he was not the same player after a premature return from injury last year.
Insight pagePuka Nacua
PositiveUsage17:27
Puka Nacua returned to the Rams' offense and immediately resumed high-level production, recording over 100 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown while contributing as a blocker.
Insight pageTyler Huntley
PositiveRole5:21
Tyler Huntley has filled in admirably for the Ravens whenever he has been called upon to replace Lamar Jackson, maintaining the offense's functionality.
Insight pageTyson Bagent
NegativeRole35:06
Tyson Bagent has played well enough to keep the Bears' offense functioning and scoring touchdowns, despite not being spectacular.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. Welcome to Jace Medical at Jace.com.
0:04That's J-A-S-E dot com. Join the thousands who trust Jace Medical and get your Jace case now at J-A-S-E dot com.
0:11Welcome into the tailgate. It's week five. I'm Derek Brown joined by Pat Fitzmaurice.
0:15We're talking predictions for this week, Pat, and so much more.
0:19We got a lot of news and stuff going on right now.
0:23It's just been a weird week. It's been a very weird week.
0:26We've got players retiring, players getting traded, injuries we thought would take longer are becoming shorter.
0:32So without any further ado, let's jump into it.
0:34I know the big headline from yesterday before recording this was Lane Johnson retiring, citing mental health and personal reasons, right?
0:41After that, the Eagles then trade away Cam Juergens and a seventh round pick to the Ravens for a fifth and second
0:48round pick, fifth and 27, second and 28. I think my question here is not to not to bypass the Lane Johnson
0:55of it all, but are the Eagles kind of giving up here?
0:59Like this is this is a real question that people are having.
1:03Yeah. Are they waving the white flag? And it seems like it with the Cam Juergens trade, they traded Juergens and a
1:102027 seventh round pick to the Ravens for a fifth in 2027 and a second in 2028.
1:15It does make it seem like, you know, one of these dynasty league trades in fantasy football where you're trading current assets
1:22for future assets and kind of a strange thing for a team that's two and two been disappointing so far.
1:29But they're certainly not out of the playoff chase by any means.
1:33They've got a lot of injuries they're dealing with.
1:35But yeah, this offensive line is just going to look different.
1:39Like the Jason Kelsey era of this offensive line is pretty much over the Kelsey Lane Johnson era.
1:45They're transitioning and it's been kind of bad so far.
1:48They've also lost Jeff Stoutland, their longtime offensive line coach.
1:51Big things are just completely different on this offensive line.
1:54I don't know whether they're giving up on the season yet.
1:58They've still got a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball and some good talent on the offensive side, too.
2:05But just everything has looked disjointed for the Eagles so far.
2:09Yeah, I think this is just what happens when everything starts to snowball, right?
2:13Like they've had all the injuries. The offense has not looked nearly as good as we thought.
2:19Like Pat, you and I both, if I remember correctly, we're kind of excited about Sean Mannion taking over this Eagles offense.
2:26And it has just not looked very good. And we can make excuses left and right with injuries.
2:31But one way or another, they're just they're just not playing well.
2:35And listen, moves like this are going to happen when that starts to happen with an NFL team.
2:41Let's go on to our next lineup here that we find this out from Adam Schefter reporting.
2:46There's a realistic chance, quote, realistic chance that Lamar Jackson plays in week five against the Falcons.
2:52And we found out the day before that Lamar Jackson's ankle sprain was neither low nor high, which would I assume make
2:59it a mid ankle sprain or something like that.
3:02Now we're finding out he might play. Pat, I have no idea what to make of this man.
3:07Like new news keeps coming out. Is this one of these where we just have to wait for game day to see what's happening?
3:15And and once again, not to minimize Lamar and his obviously MVP caliber play, does it matter with this offense?
3:21Because every time Tyler Huntley comes into the game for the Ravens, he ends up filling in pretty admirably.
3:28Yeah. Tyler Huntley, who made the Pro Bowl famously a few years ago.
3:32So, man, obviously we want to see more of Lamar in this offense because he's looked fantastic in the Declan Doyle offense for the Ravens.
3:40Like playing under center seems to suit him and he's been throwing over the middle, which he didn't always do in the past.
3:47Everything's looked really good. But yeah, it's been a strange twist.
3:50Derek going from in less than a 24 hour span, going from what we thought was maybe a multi-week injury to now.
3:58Oh, maybe he's not going to sit at all.
4:00He's going to play this week. Yeah, very weird.
4:03I know like Lamar Jackson fantasy managers. I think there's a part of us that wants him to play.
4:09And there's another part of me that's just like, just go rest a week, man.
4:14It'll be fine. Quarterback is easy to stream. I just don't want to lose my league winning player here for the rest of the season.
4:22Because last year when he came back early from injury, he wasn't the same.
4:27And I think that's the thing that we don't want to see happen, whether you're a Ravens fan or just a football fan in general.
4:35When Lamar Jackson is playing, it's good for the NFL.
4:38So you want to see him healthy out there.
4:41Definitely. He's from defensive coordinator Matt Burke. Anyone that's been watching the games could have seen this coming.
4:46Yeah. Matt Burke, former Miami Dolphin coach as well.
4:49So I'm familiar with his work. Texas defense, man.
4:52It just has not looked good. This is a defense that is filled with stars all over the place.
4:58And it was typically seen as one of the best, if not the best defense in the league.
5:04And things just haven't been going their way. I think some of it has to do with scheduling, playing against some good opponents.
5:11And also there's injuries as well that have been taking effect.
5:15But making a coaching change after just four weeks usually signifies there is something just not going right within that team's building.
5:22Yeah. There is too much talent on the defensive side of the ball for the Houston Texans.
5:27For them to be allowing 27.3 points per game, 7th most in the NFL through four weeks, 343.4 yards from scrimmage per
5:34game, the 13th most in the NFL so far.
5:37They rank 15th in defensive DVOA, 24th in DVOA against the pass.
5:41So this defense is definitely underachieving based on, I think we all thought coming into the season, in the short list of best defenses in the league.
5:50Seattle, Houston, maybe Minnesota and Denver, but certainly Houston on the Mount Rushmore of 2026 defenses.
5:55And they have not played up to that. Right now, really all we've been seeing is just Daniel Hunter and Will Anderson
6:02have been looking good and combining for some sacks.
6:05But outside that, this team really hasn't been stopping anyone.
6:08And that has needed to be the backbone of the team.
6:11And that's what everyone expected, right? They can control the line of scrimmage, control everything from their defensive side, and then be able to run the ball.
6:20And that was coming off of a year where they couldn't run the ball.
6:24They didn't have a good offensive line. Now we're talking about CJ Stroud and the Texans having to pass a bunch, which
6:31was not, that was not on the menu early in the season or prior to the season here.
6:37So we're looking at a very different Texans team.
6:40Speaking of very different, Washington Commanders. Last week, they got all the way down to Kaliak Manas.
6:45Did I say it right? Yes. Nathan Nathan Kaliak Manas.
6:49The third string quarterback that, I'm going to be real with everybody, I did not know was a person.
6:55You could have told me that was a Greek god or a philosopher, and I would have been like, yep, for sure.
7:02But he played quarterback last week for the Washington Commanders.
7:05Actually looks good. He was throwing deep. He was ripping some balls.
7:09Marcus Mariota also got hurt last week. But now we get the news that Jaden Daniels is practicing in full for the Commanders.
7:16And something he said is that wearing this elbow brace is just going to be part of my life now.
7:22He is ready to just keep wearing it. We had similar comments from Roma Dunze in the offseason where he's like, oh,
7:30you know, foot pain is just part of, you know, how I'm going to be running now.
7:35How does that make you feel with Jaden Daniels being back in, knowing he's got this elbow issue, he's got the brace?
7:42This is not the first injury he's had like this either.
7:45Yeah, it makes me feel a little nervous if I'm a Commanders fan or if I'm a Jaden Daniels stakeholder in fantasy football.
7:53But it makes me feel better than if I was having to watch Nathan Kaliak Manas play quarterback this week against the New York Giants.
8:01And, yeah, I knew who he was, Alfredo. He played.
8:04Was it Rutgers? I think he finished there. He was at Minnesota for a while.
8:09And since the Golden Gophers are the arch rivals of my alma mater, the Wisconsin Badgers, I was familiar with Mr.
8:15Kaliak Manas. But, yeah, just I'm glad this is not a long term thing, because when you saw that injury, there was
8:23obvious concern that he was going to miss months rather than weeks.
8:26And now if he only ends up missing one week out of this, that seems like a great result for the Commanders.
8:33Yeah, I think the whole thing is going to be is when he does play, can he be the same player?
8:40Right. Is he going to be able to run the same way he has before, be relatively fearless the way he has before?
8:47I think the concern with a guy like this, even if it doesn't affect his throwing motion or, you know, his ability
8:54to start games, it's does it change his mindset?
8:57And that's going to be a big thing. Does he kind of panic a little bit more in the pocket now when
9:04the pass rush is coming rather than stand in there and deliver the ball like he needs to?
9:10That's that's always the biggest hurdle with players when they get injured.
9:14So I'll be curious to see how that works out this week.
9:18And we've got a lot of big games this week, and we're going to talk about some of our biggest games.
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10:08Now, let's talk about the games that matter the most this week in week five, which I think every team and every
10:16coach would contend that their games all matter every single week.
10:19But there's some really fun ones this week and some good lines as well.
10:23First one here, Buffalo at the Rams. Bills at Rams.
10:27The line right now is Rams minus two and a half over under fifty four and a half.
10:32What are the thoughts on this game, Pat? That the over under sounds spot on that we're going to get a shootouts on Monday night.
10:40One of the best games we've had. Best looking games like this is a really fun matchup to end the week on.
10:47And I'm excited about it. And the Rams seem like their offense is whole again with Puka Nakua returning last week and
10:54immediately doing Puka Nakua things and going over a hundred receiving yards and scoring a rushing touchdown and blocking his tail off.
11:01So that was fun to see. And going against a Buffalo defense that has not looked that great under Jim Leonard and
11:09maybe it's the adjustment to a new system that's understandably going to take some time.
11:13But, man, you need to speed up the clock on that because you've got the Rams this week and that's going to
11:20be such a major challenge for this defense. So I'm really looking forward to it.
11:25You know, Josh Allen is going to be making plays.
11:28It's going to be a really fun game. I can't wait.
11:32We getting the key on Coleman back to back big games or does he go back into hibernation for like eight more
11:39games and then pop off eventually again? The so boomer bust.
11:42You know, I want to I want to give these guys grace.
11:46There used to be a time Alfredo when it commonly took guys two or three years to pop as wide receivers.
11:53And in recent years, we've been spoiled by the guys who come in right away and are just great from the get go.
12:00But Keon's taken a little time. I want to I still want to think the guy who made all those crazy highlight
12:07reel catches at Florida State is lurking there somewhere.
12:10Yeah, we always want to hope that those guys are still in there deep down.
12:15Next game on here, San Francisco at Seattle. Line has Seattle minus three over unders at 47.
12:20So another another high scoring game here. Not quite as high as the Buffalo Los Angeles game.
12:26But this is going to be, I think, one of the toughest games to try to predict.
12:31San Francisco's 4-0. Seattle, every time I'm ready to count them out, whether it's losing Sam Darnold or them not having anyone
12:38else they can count on in the offense, besides Jackson Smith, the Jigba.
12:42And it just does not matter. They lose Jadarian Price.
12:46It doesn't matter. Emmanuel Wilson comes back. What's your read on this one?
12:50Is Seattle for real? And San Francisco is another one that's kind of just being held together by duct tape and some popsicle sticks at this point.
12:58Yeah, but I think both of these teams are pretty legit.
13:02Like these are two of your Super Bowl, absolutely 100% legit Super Bowl contenders in the NFC.
13:07This is going to be really telling. Like you mentioned it, Seattle's resilient.
13:11They can take some hits and just kind of keep coming.
13:15And the 49ers offense is just a machine. And you just hope they can keep all the pieces intact because this is
13:22a pretty fun group when you've got Christian McCaffrey and Mike Evans and Debo Samuel and George Kittle.
13:28And obviously Brock Purdy, who's a shortlist MVP candidate right now.
13:31And those guys are all playing together like this is a fearsome group.
13:35Seattle's been dominating the series. They've won three out of the last four.
13:40And since 2003, Alfredo, Seattle's 30 and 15 against the 49ers.
13:43So big test for the 49ers going into Seattle.
13:46And it would be huge for them if they could pull off a mild upset in Seattle.
13:51And I was going to say, how much stake do you put into them being in Seattle for this game?
13:58I know it's always a tough place to play.
14:01Yeah. And it just seemed like Mike McDonald had their number last year.
14:05But, you know, there were some injuries that the 49ers were dealing with.
14:09So that's just such a great chess match. I mean, Kyle Shanahan versus Mike McDonald, that's what you want to see.
14:16What does it look like when the 49ers offense has the ball against the Seattle defense?
14:21So that's going to be really fun to watch.
14:24Now, while I think those two games might be two of the best games to watch this coming week, one of the
14:31most interesting games here, because we have a team that coming off a Super Bowl and they are weirdly on a downward
14:38trajectory, while another team was worse than the league last year.
14:41They are on such a massive upward trajectory. It's the Las Vegas Raiders at the New England Patriots.
14:47New England minus three and a half on this line here.
14:50The over-unders at 45 and a half. Patriots finally got the monkey off their back.
14:55They get the win in Buffalo. Drake May looks like Drake May again.
14:59He still had a couple of those like weird how'd you fumble that play going on there.
15:05But Pat, I will say, man, on the other side of this, I was shocked when I went to go chart Kirk Cousins for reception, perception.
15:13And Kirk looks good. It's not just that he's running the system.
15:17He looks rejuvenated. He looks mobile. He's got arm strength again.
15:20This looks like Kirk from five or six years ago when he was playing really well.
15:26I think Kirk Cousins always looks good when he has time to throw, when he is not getting harassed in the pocket.
15:33When the protection is shaky for Kirk Cousins, that's when Kirk starts to look bad.
15:37Oh, I'm saying he looked even good against pressure.
15:40I was shocked because I have the same mindset as you.
15:44And I was like, no shot. And as I was watching first half of the game, no pressure.
15:49And I'm like, OK, yeah, of course he can make these throws.
15:53And then he had a couple of these moves where I'm like, is that Kirk running out of the pocket and avoiding a blitzer?
16:01I don't think he can still do that. And I'll be honest, Alfredo.
16:05I figured by early October, Kirk Klinkubiak was going to be sick of seeing Kirk throw short of the chains on third and 10.
16:13And we'd be seeing Fernando by now. But looks like Fernando is going to have to cool his heels for maybe another month.
16:20I think that the Raiders 3-1 and 4-0 against the spread.
16:24They are a plucky underdog here going to New England.
16:27But it was nice to see Drake May get it together last week and have a good game.
16:33And yeah, there were some weird plays where things looked a little Keystone Cops.
16:37But he also made a bunch of those Drake May throws where you're just like, OK, yeah, this dude is top five in arm talent in the NFL.
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17:22I'm former U.S. Women's National Soccer Team player Carly Lloyd.
17:25I'm Fox Sports reporter Jenny Taft. And on our new podcast, Whatever It Takes, we're talking motherhood, marriages, careers and figuring out how to balance it all.
17:34And we'll discuss the game that brought us together because nothing is off limits.
17:38Do you remember your initial reaction when Fox called you to be a part of the World Cup?
17:44I was like, no, I don't want to do it.
17:47You said no? I played with players that didn't, I don't think that they really truly love the game.
17:53I found the love with the ball at my foot.
17:56But in my head, it was the long game.
17:59It was like, I don't care what I'm being asked to do at Fox.
18:04I'm going to go get some reps and I'm going to learn it and love it and embrace it.
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18:17And it is your job to make sure that you enjoy the moment.
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18:28Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everybody.
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18:38We decided to start a golf comedy podcast because we're both big golf lovers and we wanted to spread that joy.
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19:37Back to those Raiders. They've got a really tough schedule.
19:40I know they got New England this week, but then it's Buffalo, the Rams, the Jets is kind of meh, and the Niners, and then Seattle.
19:49That is a rough stretch of games there. And I almost wonder if you are Clint Kubiak.
19:54Whether you're winning or losing those games, I think you let Kirk finish out those games because you don't want to throw
20:01Fernando Mendoza to the Wolves against any of those teams.
20:04Yeah. I think you're right about that. And that's it.
20:07You don't want Mendoza to have to run that gauntlet in his first stretch of NFL games.
20:13Because there's a nice stretch later. Week 12, he would be able to start against Cleveland, get the Week 13 by to get his bearings again.
20:21And then you just finish your last few games here.
20:24You got the Chargers, Broncos again, Tennessee, Arizona, and Kansas City to finish it off.
20:29You get a decent sample size here. But it's – you know what?
20:33I didn't think we'd be talking about this, about Kirk leading the Raiders to potential playoff berths.
20:39But here we are, 4-0 Raiders, man. It's wild.
20:42Let's talk about your team. Not the Chicago Bears.
20:44The Green Bay Packers. So we got Chicago at Green Bay in this game.
20:49Chicago minus three. It turns out it doesn't matter who's playing quarterback for the Bears.
20:54They just – they can still score points. The offense still looks good.
20:58It's a different receiver every week. But, hey, things are working out for them right now.
21:03Chicago's favored on the road despite Tyson Bajit being under center.
21:06Do you think, Pat, that Tyson Bajit can kind of keep the magic going?
21:11He wasn't particularly amazing. But he was good enough that the Bears' offense could still function and score touchdowns.
21:17Yeah, they had more first downs than the Jets' head offensive plays last week, which probably says more about the Jets than the Bears' offense.
21:25But, yeah, for two straight weeks with two different backup quarterbacks.
21:28First, we saw Case Keenum look pretty surgical in a dissection of the Philadelphia Eagles in a Monday night game.
21:35And then last week, Tyson Bajit played pretty well against the Jets.
21:39So, yeah, this offense is rolling. I mean, Ben Johnson's offensive expertise.
21:43He clearly is an S-tier offensive play caller and designer.
21:46So it's going to be tough because he has made it be known that he does not like the Green Bay Packers.
21:53He has put steam into this rivalry, and this was a one-sided rivalry for a really long time, Alfredo.
21:59Now Chicago's won three of the last four in this rivalry.
22:02But going back to 1994, the Packers in this rivalry, 50 wins, 16 losses.
22:07So I'm in the Chicago area. I'm a Wisconsin native living behind enemy lines.
22:11And that could normally be a tough situation for a Packers fan.
22:15Bears fans have not been very chirpy in the nearly 30 years that I've been in Chicago because they didn't have anything to chirp about Alfredo.
22:23They didn't win many games in this series, and they are starting to get very chirpy.
22:29And I totally get it. Even the defense that everyone thought was going to be a train wreck.
22:34Dennis Allen has this defense overachieving. Austin Booker looks like one of the best young pass rushers in the league.
22:41They've been sneaky good. Yeah, this Bears team is legit.
22:44And Matt LaFleur, I mean, he just signed a contract extension.
22:47He's not on the hot seat. But Packers fans are not going to be happy if the Bears come up and beat the Packers in Lambeau Field.
22:56And we saw some major line movement in this game, which was interesting.
23:00The Packers opened his favorites, and that was quickly bet over to the Chicago Bears being two and a half point.
23:07I think it started Packers minus one and a half, and now it's Bears minus two and a half.
23:13So a lot of people seem to feel like Ben Johnson has got Matt LaFleur's number.
23:18There's a part of this Packers offense that has not been able to get going, and it's the run game.
23:24Is there any saving grace there? Is there any hope?
23:28I believe, if I'm not mistaken, Chris Brooks is supposed to be out for this game.
23:33Does Caleb Johnson get bigger run in this? Because he's had some flashes.
23:37He's had some moments. But no matter what, the running back situation just has not looked good.
23:42But he had a goal line fumble last week, so I don't know if that's going to help with his case for more playing time.
23:50But I will say, Alfredo, the offensive line did look a little better.
23:54They added three veterans off the street. You better look better.
23:58Yeah. Laken Tomlinson, Kevin Zeitler, and Mekhi Becton. And Zeitler didn't play last week.
24:02The other two guys did. And they actually, I think they averaged over four yards a carry against the Buccaneers, which felt like a major accomplishment.
24:11But it's, I think, the Bears' run game that's probably going to be the dominant one here this week.
24:17The Bears always run the ball well. And the Packers just lost their best run defender, linebacker Edron Cooper, to a torn Achilles.
24:24So it's going to be a real challenge for the Packers to stop the Chicago running game.
24:30And, Pat, we're about to make some big calls here this week.
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25:32Now, Pat, let's make some big calls this week.
25:35You and I each have a couple of big calls we're going to make on this.
25:40Maybe something that feels a little bold, feels a little spicy.
25:43Pat, why don't you kick us off? I don't know how spicy this one is, Alfredo, but there are currently three undefeated teams in the NFL.
25:52The Chiefs, the Vikings, and the 49ers. The Chiefs are on bye this week, but when they come out of their bye,
25:59they will be the lone remaining undefeated team. The 49ers are going to lose in Seattle on Sunday.
26:04Seattle takes care of business there, and the Vikings are going to lose in New Orleans.
26:09The Vikings' offense is kind of a mess right now.
26:13Like, as good as they've been on defense, I believe they are 27th in offensive EPA.
26:18And that was before... That's crediting Carson Wentz with a lot, too.
26:22That is crediting Carson Wentz with a lot. And now they've got offensive line problems.
26:26They just lost left guard Donovan Jackson to a torn meniscus.
26:30And left tackle Christian Derasaw has a concussion. Not sure about his status for Sunday, but if he doesn't play, I mean,
26:37the strength of that offensive line was on the left side.
26:40And it's possible both of those guys are out.
26:43You and I did not look at your call before putting mine on here.
26:48And you and I, we mind melded because I said very similar things.
26:52Saints bounce back to beat the Vikings. Tyler Shuck, typically one of the better quarterbacks against the Blitz.
26:58Kyler Murray has just really struggled. Being able to watch it against the Miami Dolphins, where I've just sat here and been
27:05like, yeah, the Miami Dolphins have no chance against any team.
27:08And then as a Dolphins fan, getting into the fourth quarter and being like, oh, my God, we might win.
27:15We might beat the 3-0 Vikings. That was wild to see here.
27:18Kyler Murray, this is an interesting stat that I pulled.
27:22Kyler Murray has led the Vikings to a touchdown on just one of their 26 offensive possessions this season.
27:28That can't be it. Like, that can't be it if you trade away your former first round pick that you gave up on.
27:35And you go and sign Kyler and you do this whole offseason back and forth.
27:40Will they, won't they? Who's the starter? And you take on all this attention and you go through all that mess to
27:47have Kyler be your starter and the offense not work.
27:50Especially after we just saw Michael Penix and the Falcons be able to run all over and be able to pass all over the Saints defense.
27:58If Kyler and the Vikings can't do it, not only do I think you have to start asking questions about Carson Wentz over Kyler at this point.
28:07Vikings fans are going to get to the point where they have to start asking questions about Kevin O'Connell.
28:13Oh, definitely. And it was just kind of assumed after the same Darnold year that everything Kevin O'Connell touched turned to gold, that he had the Midas touch.
28:22Not really. Didn't work out with J.J. McCarthy. Easy to throw J.J.
28:26McCarthy under the bus. Blame him for everything. But now it's not working with Kyler Murray either.
28:31Kevin O'Connell was a guest, I believe, on the Pat McAfee show.
28:35Or Barstool. I get them mixed up. But he was a guest over there.
28:39And they were going back and forth talking about Super Bowl winners.
28:43And one of the hosts on there mentions Sam Darnold winning the Super Bowl.
28:48And you just see the life leave Kevin O'Connell's eyes.
28:51It was the Hello Darkness, my old friend meme of just zooming in on him with the sad music.
28:57And you know, Alfredo, like they are right now, Justin Jefferson is squarely in his prime.
29:02And they've got Jordan Addison, who's a pretty good receiver in his own right.
29:07And like you are wasting these guys. 13 targets for T.J.
29:10Hawkinson last week. Yeah. And like they have Kyler Murray on this dirt cheap contract, which is great for them this year.
29:17If that worked out, I mean, that would have been perfect.
29:21Get the one year out of him. Decide whether to lock him up long term.
29:25They're going to be back to the starting point at quarterback if Kyler Murray doesn't work out.
29:31And what do you do when you've got this team that has been amazing defensively with Brian Flores, that has all this
29:38talent at wide receiver, that has a good offensive line when they're healthy, and you're just lost at the quarterback position.
29:45It's a bad spot to be in. You know what?
29:48And I'm doing it again. I'm going out into other sports media here.
29:52People say what you want about Dan Orlovsky. But when he made the comment that Vikings fans will be cheering for Carson
29:59Wentz to take the field, and everyone was like, boo this man.
30:03Guys, guys, look at where we're at. It's happening.
30:06We're pretty close to the Carson Wentz takeover. It's happening.
30:09I think he gives them the best chance to win each game this week at this point, honestly.
30:15Let's do this, Pat. We're going to head to our final segment.
30:18One thing to watch here. Before we do, please tell us your calls for the upcoming week.
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30:59All right, Pat. Final segment here. One thing to watch this week.
31:03What is it for you? It's the London game, Alfredo.
31:06And I want to see what the Eagles look like against the Jaguars after the collapse against the Rams last week, then
31:13the retirement of Lane Johnson and the trade of Cam Juergens.
31:17Like, is this team ready to fold up the tents at two and two and just not contend for the NFC East, not contend for a playoff spot?
31:25Or is this team able to reset on the fly?
31:29But it seems like betters are betting on the former, the folding up of the tents, because I think this game went
31:36from like a two and a half point spread early in the week to seven and a half.
31:41Last I checked. Yeah. And we know the Jaguars have the lowest implied point total this week.
31:47That is crazy. And we know the Jaguars. Yeah, they've got all the skill position injuries.
31:52No Saquon Barkley, Devontae Smith, Dallas Goddard. The offensive line is in quite a state, but there's still so much talent on the defensive side of the ball.
32:01But man, then having to do this whole London trip against a team that's very used to making the London trip and
32:08knows how to turn it into a business trip.
32:11So it's a tough spot for the Eagles right now.
32:14It's this is a tough one. I actually do think the Jaguars not only win that game, I think this is one
32:21of those where it just snowballs and the Jaguars just absolutely mop up the Eagles in this one.
32:27The Eagles just you can you there's no way that as a team you are hyper focused on this game after everything
32:34that's been going on, whether it's been losing players due to injury, getting a player traded and having another player be get
32:41retired, you know, all within the week. There's no shot that they're that focused on this game.
32:46And you've been kind of one of the the bullies of the NFC for a while.
32:51And all of a sudden, it's like your identity has been stolen.
32:55It's it's wild to me, man. It is. It's going to be definitely one thing to watch over there.
33:01On my side, I am so curious to see what ends up happening with the Chargers.
33:06This is like a slow motion car accident that we can't look away from.
33:11The injuries are just piling up. But I want to read some of them that are on the week five injury report for the Chargers versus the Broncos.
33:20You got Joe Walt DNP, Rashawn Slater DNP. You got no Alec Ingold, who is limited.
33:25No Dante Jackson, no Derwin James, no Khalil Mack, who's just getting rest.
33:29But then you got no Ladd McConkie, no Trevor Penning.
33:32You're missing so many starters from the practice field and the injuries just keep piling up, especially on the offensive line.
33:39And I'm also kind of at the point where I wonder, even if these people were playing, how good is this team?
33:46How good is this offense? I think that we were sold a bill of goods that Mike McDaniel would do some changes
33:53and do some good for this offense. And I think Mike McDaniel might actually just be getting in his own way.
34:00He was so excited to have a quarterback that could throw the ball deep and do things that Tua Tungabailoa couldn't.
34:06It's like the Jurassic Park thing where your scientists were so fixated on what they could do.
34:12They asked whether they should do it. That feels like Mike McDaniel here.
34:16Like he made a Los Angeles Chargers Jurassic Park and the dinosaurs are loose and it's just not going well for this Chargers offense right now.
34:24Nothing is working in the passing game. Justin Herbert looks absolutely frazzled every single game.
34:29The dude is getting nearly knocked out of every single game.
34:33I feel like every game he's getting hit to the ribs by a defender coming in.
34:38He's getting a shoulder injury. He's getting a leg injury.
34:41I not only am I worried that if he's going to make it through this season, I think we're probably going to
34:48see some changes here in Los Angeles very soon.
34:51And you can sort of feel the desperation in some of the play calling with like these option passes, reverses to wide receiver, like things that just.
34:59Getting too cute. Yeah, it's like the anti Jim Harbaugh playbook.
35:03You know, Harbaugh would probably just like to run it down your throat and steal your soul.
35:08And it doesn't seem like Mike McDaniel's offense is going to operate that way.
35:13And it just everything that the way he was able to maximize Tua Tungavailoa's abilities in Miami.
35:18And then, yeah, you just figured he'd be able to expand his playbook because Justin Herbert could make throws that Tua could
35:25only dream of and everything was going to be fantastic.
35:28It just hasn't worked. And it's looked really clunky.
35:31And you've got, you know, guys, backs running out into the flat and colliding with the left tackle as he's backing up and getting into his pass set.
35:40And it's just everything is looked so disjointed with this Chargers team.
35:44And yeah, it would not have been far fetched to think of an Eagles Chargers Super Bowl a couple of months ago.
35:51And we are not headed towards an Eagles Chargers Super Bowl, Alfredo.
35:55Yeah, we're actually at the point here where I think if the Chargers lose this week against Denver, then they play Kansas City next week to.
36:03I mean, Denver hasn't actually been great, but I think they're good enough here where their defense can pull them through this
36:10game and then Kansas City, who would be a buzzsaw for them.
36:14There's a real chance the Chargers are 0-6 going into the bye week.
36:18And I just don't see how Mike McDaniel makes it out of that bye week if the team is 0-6 losing to
36:25three division rivals, Raiders, Broncos and Chiefs. There's no shot you can have that, especially if you're not getting, like you mentioned,
36:32the run game going, not getting Omari and Hampton going, not being able to get the passing game going, like nothing.
36:39You can only blame so much on injuries at this point.
36:43Yeah. Yeah. And it's just, it's been bad. And the offensive line, like that was the one hope you had if you were a Chargers fan.
36:51Well, there was hope with McDaniel to turning things around, but like you had to play the whole last season, most of
36:58it without your two stud tackles and the offensive line in the middle was just a complete disaster.
37:04It's still a disaster in the middle. And now those two tackles are hurt again.
37:08So it's hard to see this offensive, this offense showing improvement with the offensive line right back where it was last year.
37:15Yeah. It's, I think we're going to see the Chargers try to get back to just simple football after the bye week
37:22if they lose these next two games, which could mean trouble for Mike McDaniel.
37:27But Pat, that's going to do it for us here, man.
37:30An exciting week five coming up. This was a great show to be able to wrap back and forth with you.
37:37And everyone that's been listening or watching, if you enjoyed this and you enjoy the Fantasy Pros content, be sure to check
37:44out the Betting Pros podcast for the best NFL bets during each week of the season.
37:49As always, I want to thank you all for watching or listening all the way through.
37:54For myself, for Pat, we'll see you next time.
37:57Adios. I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, standup comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess podcast.
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38:27Hi, this is Kylie Brakeman. Angela Jaritana. Jeremy Culhane.
38:30Patrick McDonald. And we're the hosts of the Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists podcast.
38:35The Improvised Character Comedy podcast, where each week, a new panel of artists discuss their craft.
38:40Join us for a panel of Eurovision participants. And we do a little Halloween sometimes.
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39:06In February of 2024, celebrated illustrator and children's book author Petra Mathers and her husband Michael mailed letters to dozens of friends
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39:17Dear honeys, this is goodbye. By the time you get this letter, both Petra and I will be dead.
39:23Next stop, Wonderland. Why did they do it? And what did it do to the people they left behind?
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