# The Insiders Podcast: Giants QB Jaxson Dart will miss rest of season + Bears QB Caleb Williams considered week to week

An episode of [NFL: The Insiders](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1543090622), 24 Sep 2026, 43 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/0414225e-5167-477f-9f83-ae390070e4d2/5b5daccc-9489-46d3-8eda-b4cf00031d1a/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=3e412703-0644-468e-9001-ae390070e4db

Rhett Lewis is joined by NFL Insiders Adam Schefter, Mike Garafolo and Judy Battista to talk about the latest headlines. Giants QB Jaxson Dart is expected to have knee surgery and will miss the rest of the regular season. Commanders QB Jayden Daniels will be out Sunday against the Seahawks as Marcus Mariota will start. Seahawks QB Sam Darnold returns to practice but uncertain to play on Sunday. Bears QB Caleb Williams is considered week to week as his status of MNF is uncertain. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:08] Speaker 1: A loss on Monday night, and now Giants quarterback Jackson
[0:11] Speaker 1: Dart lost for the season.
[0:12] Speaker 2: Path forward is next.
[0:14] Speaker 1: Also in the NFC East, Jaden Daniels down in Washington
[0:17] Speaker 1: as Marcus Mariota steps in to command the offense. And
[0:20] Speaker 1: to South America, where the international series resumes with the
[0:23] Speaker 1: Cowboys and Ravens searching for their second wins of this season.
[0:29] Speaker 1: Welcome everybody, another episode of the Insiders presented by Progressive Insurance.
[0:32] Speaker 1: Now off and running, digging into the info for us today,
[0:35] Speaker 1: Mike Garofalo, Judy Bautista, and Adam Schefter.
[0:38] Speaker 2: I am Rhett Lewis.
[0:38] Speaker 1: Friends, let's begin with what's new today, which of course
[0:41] Speaker 1: is bad news for New York. Giants quarterback Jackson Dart
[0:44] Speaker 1: expected to have knee surgery, which would cause him to
[0:47] Speaker 1: miss the rest of the season.
[0:49] Speaker 2: Happened on the final play of the first drive Monday night.
[0:51] Speaker 1: Initially some optimism on the recovery, imaging said otherwise Tuesday.
[0:56] Speaker 1: John Harbaugh, the head coach, noncommittal on dart as we
[0:58] Speaker 1: went on the air yesterday. Now, though, Harbaugh coming to
[1:01] Speaker 1: grips with the unfortunate reality.
[1:04] Speaker 3: I think he's determined. You know, he's bummed. It's hard.
[1:10] Speaker 3: The season's not over, but it is for him. And
[1:15] Speaker 3: we kind of talked about that, too.
[1:17] Speaker 4: That was part of it.
[1:18] Speaker 3: That was part of the deal. It's like, you know, injuries,
[1:20] Speaker 3: there's a certain mourning that takes place. You know, we
[1:23] Speaker 3: had the same thing for Calvin, you know. and even
[1:26] Speaker 3: over the years, because you realize how hard it is
[1:28] Speaker 3: for the player, really. But it's tough on the team.
[1:30] Speaker 3: It's tough on all of us. But as we said,
[1:34] Speaker 3: you wake up and you feel like it's the end
[1:36] Speaker 3: of the world. Then you wake up and the world's
[1:39] Speaker 3: not done. The world keeps spinning. The games keep getting played.
[1:43] Speaker 3: Nobody feels sorry for you. It's time to go play
[1:45] Speaker 3: the next game. Sunday at 1 o'clock, the ball's going
[1:47] Speaker 3: to get kicked off, and we're going to have to
[1:49] Speaker 3: be the best football team we can be.
[1:50] Speaker 2: And that's the thing.
[1:51] Speaker 3: It's not a one-man game. It's not like tennis. You
[1:54] Speaker 3: don't forfeit. We're going to have our team out there.
[1:56] Speaker 3: The Giants are going to roll out into that field
[1:59] Speaker 3: out there and play the football game. And we need
[2:01] Speaker 3: to be the best Giants we can be. And that's
[2:03] Speaker 3: really the message that you have.
[2:07] Speaker 1: Well, Mike, certainly a roller coaster of emotions, right, from
[2:10] Speaker 1: Monday to this point now. And look, the MCL was
[2:14] Speaker 1: one thing, right, which we talked about in the aftermath
[2:16] Speaker 1: of the actual injury. But it sounds like the associated
[2:18] Speaker 1: damage really started to turn the tide here.
[2:21] Speaker 5: Yes, it's the meniscus for Jackson Dart that's the great concern.
[2:25] Speaker 5: There is an MCL injury. I mean, we reported that
[2:27] Speaker 5: on Monday night. There is an MCL injury, but it's
[2:30] Speaker 5: the meniscus that was really the point at which season-ending
[2:34] Speaker 5: surgery was on the table because... There's two ways to
[2:37] Speaker 5: repair a meniscus. Well, there's one way to repair a meniscus.
[2:39] Speaker 5: You can trim it and you get rid of some cartilage.
[2:42] Speaker 5: You lose some cartilage there, though. Or you sew it
[2:44] Speaker 5: up and you repair it. The problem is that takes
[2:47] Speaker 5: longer for the recovery process. But it's better for the
[2:50] Speaker 5: player in the long run because there's no lost cartilage.
[2:53] Speaker 2: And while it sucks.
[2:55] Speaker 4: That Jackson Dart.
[2:56] Speaker 5: Is losing the 2026 regular season, this is going to
[2:59] Speaker 5: be the best thing for him, a full recovery for
[3:02] Speaker 5: 2027 and beyond. Now Harbaugh did leave open the possibility
[3:05] Speaker 5: that Dart could return if the Giants make the postseason
[3:08] Speaker 5: because the recovery from this surgery is about four to
[3:12] Speaker 5: six months. That takes us into January at that point,
[3:15] Speaker 5: at the earlier part of that time frame. So a
[3:17] Speaker 5: lot's got to go right. Jameis Winston's going to have
[3:19] Speaker 5: to play a lot better, although that game plan the
[3:22] Speaker 5: other night was tailored for Jackson Dart, not for Jameis Winston.
[3:25] Speaker 5: But the long and short of it is, good in
[3:28] Speaker 5: the long haul for Jackson Dart, not so great in
[3:30] Speaker 5: the short term. He is done for 26.
[3:34] Speaker 4: And it's got to be devastating for him and for
[3:36] Speaker 4: this football team that put so much into this season
[3:39] Speaker 4: and had all these plans around him. And now when
[3:41] Speaker 4: we look back at the last two years, last year
[3:44] Speaker 4: he missed two games, was evaluated for concussions on five
[3:48] Speaker 4: separate occasions. Now this season... Two games into the year,
[3:53] Speaker 4: he tears up his knee. It's a brutal injury. And
[3:56] Speaker 4: it just leaves you wondering whether this team, as good
[3:59] Speaker 4: as Jackson Tartt is, as talented as he is, if
[4:02] Speaker 4: they're going to be able to count on him for
[4:04] Speaker 4: 27 with all that he's been through physically. There's no
[4:07] Speaker 4: question the talent is there. But what does this team
[4:10] Speaker 4: do in the draft in 2027 when it's faced with
[4:14] Speaker 4: the distinct possibility that there may be one of these
[4:17] Speaker 4: franchise quarterbacks sitting out there in the draft? Do they
[4:19] Speaker 4: bypass that, or do they think long and hard about it?
[4:22] Speaker 4: It'll be something to track, and a lot will be
[4:25] Speaker 4: dependent upon how this season plays out.
[4:29] Speaker 6: Well, and a lot about how this season plays out
[4:31] Speaker 6: is going to be in Jameis Winston's hands. He is
[4:34] Speaker 6: going to be the starting quarterback now. As Mike referenced,
[4:37] Speaker 6: it was rough against the Rams, but that was with
[4:39] Speaker 6: a game plan tailored for Jackson Dart. The expectation among
[4:43] Speaker 6: the Giants is that it's going to look much better.
[4:46] Speaker 6: Now with a game plan tailored for Jameis Winston, John
[4:50] Speaker 6: Harbaugh called it like changing lanes, not really a change
[4:53] Speaker 6: of direction, just changing lanes. He was asked, well, what
[4:56] Speaker 6: does Jameis like to do?
[4:57] Speaker 7: And he said, well, he can throw it.
[4:59] Speaker 6: Anybody who's watched knows that. So maybe we'll see some
[5:02] Speaker 6: deep shots from Jameis. But ultimately, this team wants to
[5:04] Speaker 6: be successful. run first offense anyway so they're going to
[5:08] Speaker 6: lean on the running game play action and then they
[5:11] Speaker 6: are certainly going to have to bring in another quarterback
[5:13] Speaker 6: they only have Josh Hainer now available so they need
[5:16] Speaker 6: another quarterback an experienced quarterback John Harbaugh said all options
[5:21] Speaker 6: are on the table in terms of potentially could they
[5:23] Speaker 6: trade for a quarterback it's not like there are a
[5:26] Speaker 6: ton of great quarterbacks just sitting out there waiting to
[5:29] Speaker 6: be picked up by the New York Giants. The biggest
[5:32] Speaker 6: name is Jimmy Garoppolo. Derek Carr is still on the
[5:34] Speaker 6: reserve retired list for the Saints. Others would require a trade.
[5:38] Speaker 6: And of course, teams are not dying to trade their
[5:41] Speaker 6: backup quarterbacks to the New York Giants right now. So
[5:44] Speaker 6: they would probably have to overpay Mike if they go
[5:47] Speaker 6: the trade route. But for right now, it is Jameis
[5:49] Speaker 6: Winston again. The hope is that he silences all the
[5:53] Speaker 6: question about whether they need another quarterback who could potentially
[5:56] Speaker 6: become their starter.
[5:58] Speaker 5: Jake Hayner is going to be the number two quarterback
[6:00] Speaker 5: for the Giants this week. Judy, you referenced Jimmy Garoppolo.
[6:03] Speaker 5: He toyed with the idea of retirement, in the end
[6:06] Speaker 5: decided not to retire. Now the Rams wanted him back,
[6:08] Speaker 5: and some other teams have been interested in Garoppolo as well.
[6:12] Speaker 5: I do sense that this would be one of the
[6:14] Speaker 5: few jobs that he would come back for. It seems
[6:16] Speaker 5: like he's got a small list of scenarios and locations
[6:20] Speaker 5: for him that he would want to go to franchises
[6:22] Speaker 5: that he would want to go to so I expect
[6:24] Speaker 5: him at least to be part of the discussion that's
[6:26] Speaker 5: been going on here for a couple of days and
[6:28] Speaker 5: think about it from the Giants perspective potentially Jameis Winston
[6:31] Speaker 5: who you just gave an extension to could go out
[6:34] Speaker 5: and play well Sunday and play well moving forward and
[6:37] Speaker 5: then you don't necessarily need a quarterback so you don't
[6:38] Speaker 5: want to rush and make a decision to trade for
[6:41] Speaker 5: somebody in the short term. But if Winston goes out
[6:44] Speaker 5: in a game plan more tailored for him and bombs,
[6:46] Speaker 5: then I think a lot of things are on the
[6:47] Speaker 5: table because, Rhett, it's still so early in a season
[6:50] Speaker 5: with a team that believes that it's talented enough to compete.
[6:53] Speaker 1: And, Mike, more trouble for quarterbacks in the NFC East.
[6:55] Speaker 1: Jaden Daniels out this Sunday as he deals with the
[6:58] Speaker 1: dislocated elbow injured at the end of the first half
[7:01] Speaker 1: of the loss for the Cowboys. Dan Quinn and the
[7:03] Speaker 1: Commanders now getting Marcus Mariota ready to start against the
[7:06] Speaker 1: stingy Seahawks defense.
[7:09] Speaker 8: The nice part with Marcus, like, man, does he have
[7:11] Speaker 8: a real command on things that we need. And so
[7:14] Speaker 8: there's a specific way, like, in each game that you
[7:17] Speaker 8: have to go about and what it takes to win.
[7:19] Speaker 8: We hit that with the team today. But with Marcus, like,
[7:23] Speaker 8: he's one that's really in control, like, has good vision
[7:25] Speaker 8: of it, what it is, where to go. You can
[7:27] Speaker 8: hear that type of communication with him. So I think,
[7:30] Speaker 8: you know, like, A, number one, him running the system
[7:33] Speaker 8: gives everybody, okay, like, a calmness about them knowing, like,
[7:37] Speaker 8: all right, A will.
[7:37] Speaker 9: Take care of it.
[7:40] Speaker 1: Well, certainly fortunate, Adam, to have Marcus Mariota there who
[7:43] Speaker 1: started in place of Jaden Daniels for 10 games last year.
[7:46] Speaker 1: Of course, unfortunate that we're talking about the same injury
[7:49] Speaker 1: again here for Jaden Daniels.
[7:51] Speaker 2: What are the commanders?
[7:52] Speaker 1: How are they approaching the quarterback situation here moving forward?
[7:56] Speaker 4: Well, Jaden Daniels continues to seek out more medical opinions
[8:00] Speaker 4: about the best way to handle and treat this dislocated
[8:03] Speaker 4: left elbow injury that he has suffered yet again. And
[8:06] Speaker 4: he's been meeting with doctors, going over their recommendations, taking
[8:10] Speaker 4: in their advice before he and the commanders come to
[8:13] Speaker 4: a decision about what's best and whether or not he's
[8:16] Speaker 4: able to avoid a stint on injured reserve, which would
[8:19] Speaker 4: sideline him for a minimum of four games. It sounds
[8:22] Speaker 4: like they're getting closer to getting more information about and
[8:25] Speaker 4: reaching a decision. They're not there just yet. But we
[8:27] Speaker 4: do know that Marcus Mariota is going to start in
[8:30] Speaker 4: Jaden Daniels' absence. He'll start Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.
[8:34] Speaker 4: The chances are he'll start next week's game as well.
[8:37] Speaker 4: But they want to see how soon they can get
[8:40] Speaker 4: Daniels back. And I would imagine if he is able
[8:43] Speaker 4: to avoid going on injury reserve and he does come
[8:46] Speaker 4: back sooner, he will be come back wearing a brace
[8:49] Speaker 4: on his left elbow in much the same way that
[8:51] Speaker 4: he did last season.
[8:53] Speaker 1: Well, quarterback uncertainty on the other sideline in this game
[8:56] Speaker 1: as well. Sam Darnold returning to practice this week with
[8:59] Speaker 1: his glute on the mend after missing.
[9:00] Speaker 2: The week two win in Arizona.
[9:02] Speaker 1: Mike McDonald and company still undecided, though, if Darnold will
[9:06] Speaker 1: suit up this Sunday.
[9:08] Speaker 10: If it was something where like he was at risk
[9:11] Speaker 10: of getting worse. That over than over the normal risk
[9:15] Speaker 10: you take by taking a field.
[9:17] Speaker 11: Yeah.
[9:19] Speaker 10: That might be part of the conversation, but really it's
[9:22] Speaker 10: a function at this point of does he feel good
[9:26] Speaker 10: enough to play?
[9:26] Speaker 1: Okay, well, it sounds like there's some positivity on the
[9:31] Speaker 1: Darnold front, Mike. What are you learning about the quarterback
[9:33] Speaker 1: situation in Seattle?
[9:35] Speaker 5: There is, and the plan is to ramp him up
[9:36] Speaker 5: throughout the week, see how he responds. They really can't
[9:39] Speaker 5: make a call right now. They have to see how
[9:41] Speaker 5: he does as he gets throughout the week. But you
[9:43] Speaker 5: heard it right there from Mike McDonald. It doesn't sound
[9:46] Speaker 5: like there's a real fear of a re-injury on this one.
[9:49] Speaker 5: It's just a question of can he move, can he operate.
[9:51] Speaker 5: And then in the end, you decide whether you want
[9:53] Speaker 5: to go with Sam Darnold at less than 100% or
[9:55] Speaker 5: Drew Locke, who you have complete confidence in as your
[9:59] Speaker 5: backup quarterback. that has been playing for Sam Darnold for
[10:02] Speaker 5: most of the last two games here. So it's something
[10:04] Speaker 5: where we're going to watch how the week goes. It
[10:06] Speaker 5: sounds like he is on the earlier side of the
[10:09] Speaker 5: window that they thought about for his potential return. It
[10:12] Speaker 5: was within the four weeks. That's why they didn't put
[10:14] Speaker 5: him on injury reserve. This was the one that seemed
[10:17] Speaker 5: like a smaller percentage of a chance for him to
[10:19] Speaker 5: return with next week being the realistic target. But let's
[10:23] Speaker 5: see how the week goes for Sam Darnold here as
[10:26] Speaker 5: they ramp him up and feed him more throughout the week.
[10:28] Speaker 2: Okay, keeping an eye on that one.
[10:30] Speaker 1: Also, ahead of the Monday nighter in Chicago, Caleb Williams,
[10:34] Speaker 1: considered week-to-week with his injured hamstring, suffered late-night loss to
[10:37] Speaker 1: the Vikings.
[10:37] Speaker 2: He's back up.
[10:38] Speaker 1: Tyson Bajet not at the facility today after entering concussion
[10:41] Speaker 1: protocol while filling in for Williams, which means it could
[10:44] Speaker 1: be Case Keenum. Starting Monday against the Eagles, Bears head
[10:48] Speaker 1: coach Ben Johnson on Caleb not practicing but still contributing.
[10:53] Speaker 12: Just the day-to-day coming in today, it's foreign. It is,
[10:56] Speaker 12: and so... We've got to get a cadence and a rhythm,
[11:00] Speaker 12: not just so that he's healthy and getting back and
[11:03] Speaker 12: helping this team win games, but how can he impact
[11:06] Speaker 12: those around him in the meantime? Still being a great
[11:11] Speaker 12: supporter in the quarterback room, walk through right now, making
[11:15] Speaker 12: sure he's contributing ideas for what we want to get done.
[11:20] Speaker 12: It's one of those things. I know he's an antsy individual.
[11:23] Speaker 12: He's a competitor. He wants to be out there on
[11:25] Speaker 12: the grass going full speed, so It is a little
[11:27] Speaker 12: bit more challenging to hold a guy back like that.
[11:30] Speaker 12: But if you could build a player, that's what you'd
[11:33] Speaker 12: want him to be like.
[11:35] Speaker 2: Okay, Adam.
[11:36] Speaker 1: So trying to stay active is Caleb Williams in the
[11:38] Speaker 1: game planning as they prepare for the Eagles on Monday night.
[11:41] Speaker 1: But what is the plan of attack for Williams with
[11:43] Speaker 1: the injured hamstring?
[11:46] Speaker 4: Let's go back to what Ben Johnson initially said right
[11:49] Speaker 4: after the injury. He said that he expected Caleb Williams
[11:53] Speaker 4: to miss a little bit of time. Those were his words.
[11:56] Speaker 4: He also said he wouldn't practice this week. He's dealing
[11:59] Speaker 4: with that hamstring injury. When he went down, everybody could
[12:01] Speaker 4: see how much pain and discomfort he was in. He's
[12:05] Speaker 4: not going to practice all week long. Tyson Bajan is
[12:08] Speaker 4: in concussion protocol. And today, Case Keenum ran practice as
[12:12] Speaker 4: QB1 for the Bears. So Bajan has to clear protocol
[12:16] Speaker 4: to be able to play on Monday night against the
[12:18] Speaker 4: Philadelphia Eagles. I think it's hard to imagine that Caleb
[12:21] Speaker 4: Williams would be back on Monday night, but the Bears
[12:24] Speaker 4: certainly are leaving that possibility open at this point in time.
[12:28] Speaker 4: But it does seem like it'll come down to whether
[12:31] Speaker 4: Beijing can be cleared. And if he can't, then it'll
[12:33] Speaker 4: be Case Keenum's turn at the helm for the Chicago
[12:36] Speaker 4: Bears in a big Monday night matchup versus the Eagles.
[12:39] Speaker 1: And if Caleb can't go, we'd be looking at five
[12:42] Speaker 1: new starting quarterbacks through two weeks of this season due
[12:47] Speaker 1: to injury. Okay, Jalen Arts and the Eagles traveling to
[12:49] Speaker 1: Soldier Field. Face DeAndre Swift and the Bears in a
[12:52] Speaker 1: QB to be named later for an NFC showdown.
[12:55] Speaker 2: Catch it all on Monday, 8 p.m.
[12:57] Speaker 1: Eastern on ABC ESPN and streaming. on the ESPN app. And,
[13:00] Speaker 1: of course, our friends with Good Morning Football will be
[13:03] Speaker 1: there taking the show on the road to the Windy
[13:05] Speaker 1: City to get you ready for all the action starting.
[13:07] Speaker 2: At 8 a.m. Eastern time right here on NFL Network
[13:11] Speaker 2: and the ESPN app.
[13:13] Speaker 1: Okay, Dan Campbell gave Aaron Glenn his first chance to
[13:16] Speaker 1: be a defensive coordinator in the NFL. Now Glenn hopes
[13:18] Speaker 1: to deny Campbell his first win of the season inside
[13:22] Speaker 1: the familiarity in this Lions-Jets matchup ahead.
[13:25] Speaker 2: Plus, Rio de Janeiro in for a treat.
[13:29] Speaker 1: Two of the best quarterbacks in ball bringing their teams
[13:31] Speaker 1: to Brazil, while Lamar hoping he can bring his top
[13:34] Speaker 1: target with him.
[13:35] Speaker 2: But no Zay today. Status for Sunday, next.
[13:43] Speaker 1: All right, Lamar Jackson in the Ravens put on one
[13:44] Speaker 1: of the best offensive shows of opening weekend in a
[13:46] Speaker 1: win over the Colts, including a hat trick of TDs
[13:48] Speaker 1: for Derrick Henry, but couldn't replicate that success against Saints
[13:52] Speaker 1: falling at home in week two, which felt like a
[13:54] Speaker 1: tale of two weeks in Lamar Jackson.
[13:59] Speaker 13: We definitely upset, you know. and not taking anything away
[14:02] Speaker 13: from our fans, they're going to be more upset because
[14:05] Speaker 13: they're not in the building and working with us. So
[14:07] Speaker 13: they don't really know what's going on until we pay
[14:10] Speaker 13: this Sunday. So, yeah, I probably got over it yesterday.
[14:14] Speaker 1: Well, certainly didn't help the Ravens' cause that Lamar's top target,
[14:16] Speaker 1: Zay Flowers, was out with a hamstring in that Week
[14:19] Speaker 1: 2 loss.
[14:19] Speaker 2: Didn't practice once again today.
[14:21] Speaker 1: In that absence, no joke, considering he put up 150
[14:23] Speaker 1: receiving yards in the first half of the opener before
[14:26] Speaker 1: the hammy forced him from the game. To help us
[14:28] Speaker 1: get ready, Jane Slater joining us live now. And Jane, look,
[14:32] Speaker 1: you know, certainly no Zay Flowers would help the Cowboys'
[14:36] Speaker 1: cause here, but they still have to deal with Lamar
[14:38] Speaker 1: Jackson and Derrick Henry on the ground. How are the
[14:41] Speaker 1: Cowboys prioritizing this Ravens' attack?
[14:46] Speaker 14: Yeah, that's plenty for them. You know, the big thing
[14:49] Speaker 14: is at least the Ravens are familiar with this international series, Rhett, albeit,
[14:55] Speaker 14: you know, not the entire team. But this is a
[14:57] Speaker 14: first for the Cowboys going back to 2012. What they're
[15:00] Speaker 14: essentially going to do is they got a meaningful practice
[15:02] Speaker 14: in today, Rhett, and then they'll wake up tomorrow. They'll
[15:05] Speaker 14: come here for meetings, a little bit of a walkthrough.
[15:09] Speaker 14: Then they'll return later that night, and it's a 10-hour
[15:12] Speaker 14: flight to Rio de Janeiro once they get there. Then
[15:15] Speaker 14: they are immediately to the hotel and then to practice.
[15:18] Speaker 14: And look, that's all of the challenge, getting your sleep in.
[15:21] Speaker 14: But the bigger challenge, absolutely, is when you.
[15:25] Speaker 7: Talk about Lamar Jackson.
[15:26] Speaker 14: You know, we've already seen through two weeks the problem
[15:29] Speaker 14: that Dallas has had with some of these mobile quarterbacks.
[15:32] Speaker 7: I take you to week one. Jackson Dart, 54 yards.
[15:36] Speaker 14: Jaden Daniels added 69 Sunday with 9.9 yards per carry.
[15:41] Speaker 14: That's 123 yards for opposing quarterbacks in two weeks. So
[15:45] Speaker 14: Coach was asked, against Lamar, is it more important to
[15:48] Speaker 14: get him on the ground or just simply affect him?
[15:52] Speaker 15: Getting him on the ground is the biggest deal. You'd
[15:54] Speaker 15: like to get the sack, but I think if you
[15:56] Speaker 15: affect him, hopefully you're making him make poor decisions. He's
[16:00] Speaker 15: loose with the ball. Maybe he throws the ball in
[16:03] Speaker 15: a double coverage. We've gotten to the point where you're
[16:06] Speaker 15: playing a guy like Lamar. If you move him off
[16:08] Speaker 15: the spot, sometimes they become more dangerous, which is why
[16:11] Speaker 15: we have to be better at containing. He's looking at
[16:13] Speaker 15: the film. He's seeing... The seams that we've created and
[16:15] Speaker 15: given to Jackson Dart and Jaden Daniels, and he's going
[16:19] Speaker 15: to be aware of that. But this is a new week.
[16:21] Speaker 15: It's a different deal. We've got some different things that
[16:24] Speaker 15: we're looking at that we kind of like going into
[16:25] Speaker 15: this game. And hopefully those things perform well for us.
[16:32] Speaker 14: And speaking of run game, let's talk about the Cowboys.
[16:34] Speaker 14: It has not really been that robust. It led Jerry
[16:38] Speaker 14: Jones on Tuesday to suggest, well, maybe we'll use Kavante
[16:42] Speaker 14: Turpin and CeeDee Lamb. Fans did not love that, guys,
[16:45] Speaker 14: when I posted that on the internet. And when we
[16:47] Speaker 14: asked Brian Schottenheimer about it today, he said, you know,
[16:49] Speaker 14: it's not my first choice. But he says the bigger
[16:52] Speaker 14: issue for them is that they are not blocking enough
[16:54] Speaker 14: in the run game. That's why he's not calling their
[16:55] Speaker 14: running plays. But as we kick that around with George Pickens,
[16:58] Speaker 14: You know, they're doing pretty good in.
[16:59] Speaker 7: The passing game. So if it's not broke, don't fix it.
[17:02] Speaker 14: But we saw what happened when they tried to get
[17:04] Speaker 14: creative with Lamb before.
[17:06] Speaker 7: Don't do it.
[17:06] Speaker 6: Don't do it at all.
[17:08] Speaker 1: When in doubt, just ask the internet. They'll tell you
[17:10] Speaker 1: the truth, Jane, as we all know very much. Thank you,
[17:13] Speaker 1: Jane Slater, live for us. Getting us set for the
[17:15] Speaker 1: international series to resume. Also getting you set now for
[17:19] Speaker 1: Jaguars and Patriots. Trevor Lawrence, when going up against Mike
[17:22] Speaker 1: Brable when he was head coach of the Tennessee Titans
[17:24] Speaker 1: as a rookie, not great, right?
[17:26] Speaker 2: Five interceptions, just one touchdown.
[17:27] Speaker 1: Been a lot better against Brable's defenses since 2022, though,
[17:31] Speaker 1: as Brable sees some real growth in Trevor Lawrence's discretion.
[17:36] Speaker 16: I think you can always count on some turnovers maybe
[17:41] Speaker 16: three or four years ago. I don't think that's necessarily
[17:43] Speaker 16: the case now. He's done a really fantastic job of
[17:46] Speaker 16: being able to move the ball downfield but keep it
[17:49] Speaker 16: out of harm's way. He's decisive when he scrambles. It's
[17:55] Speaker 16: a guaranteed first down if not longer when he decides
[17:59] Speaker 16: to scramble. Those aren't even the design run plays. Those
[18:04] Speaker 16: are drop back passes that turn into play extensions and
[18:08] Speaker 16: he's either keeping his eyes downfield and hitting somebody or
[18:11] Speaker 16: he's decisive and he's willing to scramble. Just see a
[18:14] Speaker 16: lot of maturity and he's playing at a high level.
[18:19] Speaker 1: Plenty of familiarity on the sidelines when the Jets and
[18:21] Speaker 1: Lions get together as we continue looking at Trevor Lawrence
[18:26] Speaker 1: and the Patriots here. Lawrence in the Jags struggling against
[18:31] Speaker 1: the Broncos in week two and Now we'll get to
[18:38] Speaker 1: the Jets and the Lions. So the familiarity, obviously, starting
[18:43] Speaker 1: with Dan Campbell, gave Aaron Glenn his first defensive coordinator
[18:46] Speaker 1: opportunity and parlayed that into the head coaching gig in
[18:49] Speaker 1: New York.
[18:49] Speaker 2: But Glenn, not one for nostalgia this week.
[18:53] Speaker 17: A place that I coached, a place that I have
[18:56] Speaker 17: fond memories, a place that we want to win.
[19:01] Speaker 18: I mean, I think some of this will be, you know,
[19:04] Speaker 18: there's things that, that he knows we want to hang
[19:08] Speaker 18: our hat on. I mean, that's just going to be there.
[19:12] Speaker 18: And things that I know he wants to hang his
[19:15] Speaker 18: hat on, we do. So some of those are always
[19:19] Speaker 18: going to be, it doesn't matter, those are going to
[19:20] Speaker 18: show up. But then there'll be these other things, because
[19:23] Speaker 18: we know that, he knows that, that there'll be these
[19:26] Speaker 18: wrinkles that get thrown in. And it can be everything
[19:28] Speaker 18: from a front to a pressure to a third down.
[19:31] Speaker 18: You get a couple of these other looks that they
[19:34] Speaker 18: haven't put on tape yet. And for us, we don't
[19:36] Speaker 18: entirely know that personnel. All we know is two games
[19:39] Speaker 18: worth of what they've shown, what they do. But I
[19:43] Speaker 18: know enough to know that AG's got Rolodex looks now
[19:47] Speaker 18: and pressures, and he's got it all. all and coverage disguises. So,
[19:53] Speaker 18: you know, we kind of got to be prepared for everything.
[19:55] Speaker 18: And really, you know, you're going to do the things
[19:58] Speaker 18: you feel good about and that your offense does well,
[20:01] Speaker 18: players do well. But also we're going to need some
[20:04] Speaker 18: catch-all plays, you know, just to be able to handle
[20:07] Speaker 18: anything that they throw at us. It could be a
[20:10] Speaker 18: little oddball, man. Just play the look. Let's go back
[20:12] Speaker 18: to camp, and it's some of our staples, and let's
[20:15] Speaker 18: just play football.
[20:16] Speaker 1: All right, still to come, Josh Allen taking the lead
[20:20] Speaker 1: by a storm through two weeks, again playing at an
[20:22] Speaker 1: MVP level, but head coach Joe Brady not ready to
[20:25] Speaker 1: print the Super Bowl t-shirts just yet. Details on the
[20:28] Speaker 1: growth mindset in Buffalo just ahead.
[20:33] Speaker 2: Hey, we're going to the Super Bowl, and you can too.
[20:36] Speaker 1: Enter for a chance to win four tickets to Super
[20:39] Speaker 1: Bowl 61 and a three-night vacation to Disneyland Resort. To
[20:43] Speaker 1: watch the Super Bowl champion cavalcade, you can just scan
[20:45] Speaker 1: that QR code right now on your screen or visit
[20:48] Speaker 1: ESPN.com slash S-P-L-X-I to learn more.
[20:52] Speaker 5: If you didn't get chills when he was introduced, then
[20:59] Speaker 5: you're not freaking alive.
[21:02] Speaker 4: Donald got him.
[21:03] Speaker 2: Aaron Donald plugged the gap.
[21:05] Speaker 9: That felt good to be back out there, man.
[21:07] Speaker 2: I'm a little sore right now, y'all.
[21:12] Speaker 1: All right, the Rams and the Broncos both rebounding in
[21:14] Speaker 1: week two after lackluster outings to start the season, now
[21:17] Speaker 1: meeting up in a clash of contenders on Sunday night.
[21:20] Speaker 1: Devontae Adams, big part of the Rams' resurgence with a
[21:23] Speaker 1: pair of touchdowns from Matthew Stafford in the win over
[21:26] Speaker 1: the Giants and in the absence of Puka Nakua. So,
[21:29] Speaker 1: Mike Garofalo, are the Rams expecting that absence to continue
[21:33] Speaker 1: this week?
[21:35] Speaker 5: Seems like it might. Sean McVay saying that it's not
[21:37] Speaker 5: a sports hernia. I know a lot of people were
[21:39] Speaker 5: putting the clues together there and saying it might be
[21:43] Speaker 5: that core muscle injury. I know some people don't call
[21:46] Speaker 5: it a sports hernia anymore, but it's the one that
[21:48] Speaker 5: requires surgery and an extended six to eight week absence.
[21:53] Speaker 2: It's not a hernia.
[21:56] Speaker 4: But it's not a hernia.
[22:01] Speaker 5: Good job, Brett. It is a hip and groin injury.
[22:04] Speaker 5: He needs to rest it. So as he starts the
[22:07] Speaker 5: week not practicing, it seems like that might wind up
[22:09] Speaker 5: being the case once again. Kanata Mumfield got a bunch
[22:12] Speaker 5: of playing time the other day. He was used as
[22:13] Speaker 5: a blocker a bunch. They've got tight ends that they
[22:15] Speaker 5: can use.
[22:16] Speaker 4: So they don't want to rush it if.
[22:17] Speaker 5: They don't have to. Again, not a hernia, but rest
[22:20] Speaker 5: needed for Puka Nikua.
[22:23] Speaker 4: Well, Mike, neither of the Broncos running backs, none of
[22:26] Speaker 4: the Broncos running backs have a hernia, but they do
[22:28] Speaker 4: have other injuries right now. J.K. Dobbins has been dealing
[22:30] Speaker 4: with hamstring cramps. R.J. Harvey missed last week's game with
[22:34] Speaker 4: a hamstring injury. And while those running backs were taking
[22:38] Speaker 4: some time off, Jonah Coleman emerged. the rookie running back
[22:41] Speaker 4: to become a force in the Broncos backfield. But guess what?
[22:44] Speaker 5: At practice today.
[22:45] Speaker 4: Jonah Coleman didn't practice. He's got a sprained ankle. So
[22:49] Speaker 4: he was the one of the three running backs that
[22:51] Speaker 4: didn't practice at all. Harvey was limited. Dobbins was limited.
[22:55] Speaker 4: Coleman was a no-go. So while Pook is dealing with
[22:58] Speaker 4: whatever core muscle injury he is dealing with, the Broncos
[23:02] Speaker 4: have major running back questions today. going into Sunday night's
[23:05] Speaker 4: game against the Rams. We'll see which of these three
[23:08] Speaker 4: running backs are able to return. It certainly sounds like
[23:11] Speaker 4: Harvey and Dobbins could be back, and the question is
[23:15] Speaker 4: whether the rookie running back, Jonah Coleman, also will be
[23:18] Speaker 4: able to join them on Sunday night.
[23:21] Speaker 2: Well, Adam, not as much injury, more.
[23:23] Speaker 1: inefficiency and ineffectiveness for the chargers so far talk about
[23:27] Speaker 1: opposite sides of the statistical spectrum after two weeks chargers
[23:31] Speaker 1: crumbling bills falling buffalo number one scoring offensive football so
[23:35] Speaker 1: far 77 combined points.
[23:38] Speaker 2: But even the best can get better.
[23:42] Speaker 11: We got how we have a lot to improve on
[23:43] Speaker 11: like it's um we knew two games wasn't going to
[23:46] Speaker 11: define our season one way or the other whether we
[23:48] Speaker 11: were two and oh oh and two one and one
[23:50] Speaker 11: like you know, the growth that we need to see
[23:53] Speaker 11: from week two to week three is, you know, there
[23:56] Speaker 11: has to be a lot of growth from it. And
[23:57] Speaker 11: I thought, you know, we were really intentional in the
[23:59] Speaker 11: in meetings today about, again, small sample size, but it's still,
[24:03] Speaker 11: you know, stuff on tape that's like this is the
[24:05] Speaker 11: house isn't catching on fire. But, you know, smoke is
[24:09] Speaker 11: showing and we got to make sure we're doing a
[24:10] Speaker 11: good job of cleaning some of the things up. And,
[24:13] Speaker 11: you know, like I said, there's just there's a there's
[24:15] Speaker 11: a lot on all sides of the ball that, You know,
[24:17] Speaker 11: we've been able to obviously overcome and find ways to
[24:19] Speaker 11: get the victory. But, you know, if we want to
[24:22] Speaker 11: continue that and find ways to get better, we can't
[24:24] Speaker 11: continue to do this stuff.
[24:27] Speaker 5: OK, Judy.
[24:27] Speaker 1: So, yeah, they've been scoring points, but they've also given
[24:29] Speaker 1: up 31 in each of the first two weeks. So
[24:31] Speaker 1: how do the Bills look for improvement on that side
[24:34] Speaker 1: of the ball defensively?
[24:36] Speaker 6: Yeah, the 31 points given up each week is like
[24:39] Speaker 6: in very tiny print because the Buffalo Bills offense is
[24:43] Speaker 6: scoring at will right now. So it hasn't mattered that
[24:45] Speaker 6: they're giving up that many points, but that's probably not
[24:48] Speaker 6: sustainable throughout the season. The good news for the Bills is...
[24:52] Speaker 6: They are getting to the quarterback. They've already got seven
[24:55] Speaker 6: sacks this season. Gregory Rousseau on Miami Hurricane, by the way,
[24:58] Speaker 6: has four of those sacks. So the pass rush is effective.
[25:02] Speaker 6: That is certainly good news when they are going against
[25:04] Speaker 6: the Chargers. Justin Herbert obviously has been struggled. They have
[25:07] Speaker 6: been struggling to protect him. So perhaps this will lead
[25:11] Speaker 6: to the Bills finally getting a team under 31 points.
[25:15] Speaker 6: But certainly when Joe Brady talks about things that need
[25:18] Speaker 6: to be cleaned up, that the house isn't on fire,
[25:20] Speaker 6: but there is smoke, that is one of the smoke
[25:22] Speaker 6: signals that they would like to tamp down right now.
[25:26] Speaker 5: On the other side of the ball, how about the
[25:27] Speaker 5: start that Dalton Kincaid is off to? 12 catches, 225
[25:29] Speaker 5: yards through two games. This is mostly about health, number one,
[25:36] Speaker 5: for Dalton Kincaid, because he's had a PCL injury he's
[25:38] Speaker 5: had to deal with in his knee over the previous
[25:41] Speaker 5: two seasons. It sort of flared up last year. And
[25:43] Speaker 5: then he said this off-season, well, I didn't have surgery.
[25:46] Speaker 5: Doctors advised me to just strengthen the knee. And it's
[25:49] Speaker 5: the best I've ever felt. Yeah, okay, you and every
[25:51] Speaker 5: other NFL player. No, no, no, no, really. You can
[25:54] Speaker 5: see it on display for Dalton Kincaid. And now you're
[25:57] Speaker 5: seeing what he is. He's a matchup problem because if
[25:59] Speaker 5: you match him up with a corner like Derek Stingley,
[26:01] Speaker 5: he bodies him and makes a catch down there in Houston.
[26:05] Speaker 5: This is the play I'm talking about right here. If
[26:06] Speaker 5: you try to cover him with a linebacker or a safety,
[26:09] Speaker 5: he runs right by those guys. So Dalton Kincaid has
[26:12] Speaker 5: been unlocked his previous high, 73 catches in, and 673
[26:16] Speaker 5: yards in his rookie season. If this continues, it's going
[26:18] Speaker 5: to blow right by that. They are super stoked about
[26:21] Speaker 5: what Kincaid has done so far this season.
[26:23] Speaker 1: Mike, an AFC North rivalry renewed this week in Pittsburgh
[26:26] Speaker 1: with Steelers trying to find their way on offense against
[26:31] Speaker 1: the Bengals, who do not offer.
[26:33] Speaker 2: A reprieve on that front.
[26:35] Speaker 1: Since he's defense, one of the best in football in
[26:37] Speaker 1: the subject of Joe Burrow's praise this week.
[26:41] Speaker 19: Well, I was talking about an old training camp. I
[26:42] Speaker 19: was just excited to get out there and watch him
[26:44] Speaker 19: They've lived up to the hype through two weeks, but
[26:48] Speaker 19: just as we've talked about in our meetings and in here,
[26:50] Speaker 19: it's two weeks. We're still in September. We're not even
[26:54] Speaker 19: close to where we want to be, nor is anybody.
[26:58] Speaker 19: 2-0 is not going to get anything done in this league,
[27:01] Speaker 19: so we just got to keep going.
[27:03] Speaker 1: Wise words from Joe Burrow, Judy, but Dexter Lawrence, a
[27:07] Speaker 1: big piece of the Bengals domination so far on the
[27:09] Speaker 1: defensive side of the ball as one of their acquisitions,
[27:12] Speaker 1: you know, here this offseason, does that feel like or
[27:15] Speaker 1: do they feel like that this is like part of
[27:16] Speaker 1: the plan finally coming together on that side of the ball?
[27:21] Speaker 6: I mean, Dexter Lawrence, literally the big piece, but they
[27:24] Speaker 6: also spent other resources and got other players on the defense.
[27:28] Speaker 7: But this was part of it, right? I mean, this
[27:29] Speaker 7: is what.
[27:30] Speaker 6: Joe Burrow has been lobbying for for a few years,
[27:33] Speaker 6: and it is finally coming to fruition. They broke character.
[27:36] Speaker 6: The trade for Dexter Lawrence was out of character for
[27:38] Speaker 6: the Cincinnati Bengals.
[27:40] Speaker 7: And they did it.
[27:40] Speaker 6: And it has been transformative. This may be we are
[27:45] Speaker 6: not overstating it to say this may be one of
[27:48] Speaker 6: the biggest changes in a unit in the NFL this season.
[27:52] Speaker 6: They have thirty nine quarterback pressures. That's second only to
[27:55] Speaker 6: the Vikings. We talk about how great the Vikings defense is.
[27:58] Speaker 7: All the time.
[27:58] Speaker 6: They're tied for the league lead, again, with the Vikings,
[28:02] Speaker 6: among others, with eight sacks.
[28:04] Speaker 7: So this defense that.
[28:05] Speaker 6: Has been a hindrance for so many years is now
[28:08] Speaker 6: a strength of the team. And you saw it last
[28:10] Speaker 6: week when Joe Burrow himself said, He had an average game. Well,
[28:15] Speaker 6: this defense now allows for Joe Burrow to have the
[28:18] Speaker 6: very occasional average performance, and they can still win. It
[28:21] Speaker 6: takes a lot of pressure off that offense to feel
[28:24] Speaker 6: like they have to score on every down.
[28:26] Speaker 7: So really a huge change for the Bengals.
[28:30] Speaker 4: Well, Judy, the Bengals' defense poses a big challenge for
[28:33] Speaker 4: the Steelers' offense, which is averaged through two games, eight
[28:36] Speaker 4: points per game. The offense has not been highly productive.
[28:40] Speaker 4: Aaron Rodgers has been under constant pressure. So if the Bengals'
[28:44] Speaker 4: defense is getting that much pressure, it could be a
[28:46] Speaker 4: long Sunday for Aaron Rodgers, who already has been sacked
[28:50] Speaker 4: six times this season. And then we throw in the
[28:53] Speaker 4: fact that the Steelers are dealing with some key injuries
[28:56] Speaker 4: at key spots. Both their running backs did not practice today.
[29:00] Speaker 4: Rico Dowdle dealing with a toe injury. Jalen Waddell or
[29:04] Speaker 4: Jalen Warren dealing with a shoulder injury. Michael Pittman limited
[29:08] Speaker 4: a practice. So there are some key offensive parts that
[29:11] Speaker 4: are in question for Sunday's game at a time when
[29:15] Speaker 4: they have a matchup against the now tough Cincinnati Bengals defense.
[29:20] Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly.
[29:20] Speaker 1: And that will stay in the Keystone State, actually, Adam,
[29:23] Speaker 1: here tracking another big injury in Philadelphia.
[29:25] Speaker 2: We're running back.
[29:26] Speaker 1: Saquon Barkley dealing with a stinger. He's having an MRI
[29:30] Speaker 1: to determine severity there.
[29:31] Speaker 2: It happened early in the Titans win.
[29:33] Speaker 1: He would return, but no practice yet this week for
[29:35] Speaker 1: the Eagles as they prepare for Monday night football. More
[29:40] Speaker 1: injuries to follow for receivers around the league. Malik Nabors,
[29:45] Speaker 1: limited with that shoulder injury, suffered in the Monday night
[29:48] Speaker 1: loss to the L.A.
[29:50] Speaker 2: Rams.
[29:50] Speaker 1: Everybody else you see here, DJ Moore, Mike Evans, Nico Collins,
[29:53] Speaker 1: Dave Flowers, all DNP did not practice today, so something
[29:57] Speaker 1: we've got to continue looking to monitor some good news
[30:00] Speaker 1: for the Chiefs and the Steelers. Chris Jones and Joey
[30:03] Speaker 1: Porter limited today in practice, while a couple of big
[30:06] Speaker 1: pass rushers like Brian Burns and Trey Hendrickson did not
[30:10] Speaker 1: practice for the Giants and Ravens, respectively, on that front.
[30:13] Speaker 1: All right, when we come back, we'll talk about Michael
[30:20] Speaker 1: Penix getting ready for his season debut against the Green
[30:23] Speaker 1: Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football.
[30:25] Speaker 2: That's next.
[30:27] Speaker 1: Well, every Sunday is game day, folks, and we got
[30:29] Speaker 1: you covered from sunrise to the final whistle. Game day
[30:32] Speaker 1: morning gets you set. Game day live keeps you in
[30:34] Speaker 1: it with all day long highlights. And then game day
[30:37] Speaker 1: and game day final catches you up on every big
[30:39] Speaker 1: play you might have missed. Tune in Sunday only on
[30:41] Speaker 1: NFL Network and now also streaming on the ESPN app.
[30:46] Speaker 2: Michael Penix inactive first.
[30:47] Speaker 1: Two weeks of the season as he continued his recovery
[30:50] Speaker 1: plan from the offseason knee surgery, but will make his
[30:53] Speaker 1: debut this week as the Falcons travel to Lambeau Field.
[30:56] Speaker 1: Head coach Kevin Stefanski now on how he's setting Pennix
[30:59] Speaker 1: up for success.
[31:01] Speaker 20: I think there's a lot of conversation that occurs between
[31:04] Speaker 20: the play caller and the quarterback in this case so
[31:07] Speaker 20: you want to make sure that the game plan is
[31:10] Speaker 20: a bunch of stuff that Mike's comfortable with and then
[31:13] Speaker 20: you get to a day like today and you say
[31:15] Speaker 20: okay what plays you want early what calls do you
[31:17] Speaker 20: want so there's a great rapport between Tommy and Mike
[31:20] Speaker 20: and they've had those conversations but like you mentioned I
[31:22] Speaker 20: mean it's first time for Mike in there with with
[31:25] Speaker 20: us and Of course, there's going to be things that
[31:27] Speaker 20: come up and you're going to work through it, but
[31:29] Speaker 20: that's no different than any quarterback.
[31:31] Speaker 1: Okay, Mike Garofalo, what's the confidence level for the Falcons
[31:36] Speaker 1: that the extra ramp-up time here for Pennix will allow
[31:39] Speaker 1: him to feel prepared and ready to roll on Thursday night?
[31:42] Speaker 2: Pretty high, Rhett.
[31:43] Speaker 5: And compared to where he was, let's say, a week ago,
[31:46] Speaker 5: having the extra practices under his belt, I mentioned to
[31:50] Speaker 5: you on the air here that when he was running
[31:52] Speaker 5: the scout team, he got run into a couple of times,
[31:55] Speaker 5: even though you're not supposed to hit the quarterback. And
[31:56] Speaker 5: a little bit of that contact is about as best
[31:59] Speaker 5: as you can simulate leading into what's going to be
[32:01] Speaker 5: his first real contact here. And so he just needed
[32:04] Speaker 5: a little bit more time to feel good about it.
[32:06] Speaker 5: There's a physical element to this. And there's an emotional
[32:10] Speaker 5: slash mental part to this for a guy who's been
[32:13] Speaker 5: through this a couple of times before. That was part
[32:15] Speaker 5: of the process here. So they feel better. He feels better.
[32:19] Speaker 5: Now let's go out and prove it on a short
[32:21] Speaker 5: week for everybody else. But for him, really an extended
[32:23] Speaker 5: week because last week was really about starting to get
[32:25] Speaker 5: him ramped up because you can't have the full practices
[32:28] Speaker 5: the way you normally would for a Thursday game.
[32:31] Speaker 2: And this is a bit of a red alert there
[32:32] Speaker 2: for the Falcons.
[32:34] Speaker 1: They have not been to the red zone yet this year,
[32:36] Speaker 1: hoping Michael Penix can turn the tide on that front.
[32:39] Speaker 1: Looking at the other quarterback injuries in the NFC, it's
[32:43] Speaker 1: too many.
[32:44] Speaker 4: Dart, out.
[32:45] Speaker 2: Daniels, out.
[32:46] Speaker 1: Caleb Williams, still uncertain. Same with Sam Darnold. But good
[32:49] Speaker 1: news for the Vikings. Kyler Murray is coming off this list.
[32:51] Speaker 1: He's out of concussion protocol and back in the lineup
[32:54] Speaker 1: for Justin Jefferson and the Vikings.
[32:57] Speaker 17: Yeah, looking forward to it. Obviously, what we've built throughout
[33:02] Speaker 17: training camp, throughout the offseason, leading into the season, that
[33:06] Speaker 17: definitely has been exciting and something that we've all been
[33:09] Speaker 17: waiting for. The time was limited the first game, so
[33:15] Speaker 17: for him to be back out there and for us
[33:17] Speaker 17: to get back started with him, it's going to be
[33:20] Speaker 17: a joy to see.
[33:21] Speaker 1: Vikings running back Aaron Jones a little banged up, though.
[33:23] Speaker 1: Did not practice today as he deals with a knee issue.
[33:26] Speaker 1: Jones with 105 yards in the win over the Bears.
[33:28] Speaker 1: His first 100-yard game since Week 12, 2024. And his
[33:33] Speaker 1: 23 carries, the most since Week 10, 2022. All right,
[33:38] Speaker 1: still to come. The Raiders have to like what Kirk
[33:40] Speaker 1: Cousins has given them through two weeks. Three touchdown passes
[33:43] Speaker 1: in each win.
[33:44] Speaker 2: And now could get his biggest receiving threat back in
[33:47] Speaker 2: the lineup. More on Brock Bowers.
[33:54] Speaker 1: All right, back here with you on the Insiders, presented
[33:55] Speaker 1: by Progressive Insurance, Deshaun Watson and the Browns heading back
[33:58] Speaker 1: to Cleveland for the home opener with a win. Deshaun Watson,
[34:01] Speaker 1: a big second-half effort to take down Tampa. Grateful for
[34:04] Speaker 1: the support from head coach Todd Munkin, now hopeful to
[34:06] Speaker 1: hear it from Browns fans as well.
[34:10] Speaker 21: It always means good for someone to be able to
[34:12] Speaker 21: support me, to support anybody as a human. Hearing positive things,
[34:17] Speaker 21: it builds confidence, it builds courage, it builds that team chemistry.
[34:22] Speaker 21: It makes a person feel good. When you get that
[34:27] Speaker 21: from the head man and the guy that's leading this organization,
[34:30] Speaker 21: this team, that means a lot. The biggest thing, I
[34:33] Speaker 21: never try to go to war with the fans, so
[34:36] Speaker 21: the biggest thing is just... Ready for support, ready to
[34:38] Speaker 21: feel their energy, ready to get this big dub for
[34:41] Speaker 21: the city of Cleveland and, you know, continue this great
[34:44] Speaker 21: feeling that we have this week. So that's my motto
[34:47] Speaker 21: is just keep pushing forward, finding ways to win on
[34:49] Speaker 21: Sunday to, you know, take advantage of the opposing team
[34:53] Speaker 21: and get a W.
[34:55] Speaker 1: Yeah, that play from Deshaun Watson. Denzel Boston from Deshaun
[34:59] Speaker 1: Watson was one of my favorite of the week there, Judy.
[35:02] Speaker 1: Certainly a bounce back effort from Deshaun, but how the
[35:05] Speaker 1: Browns harness that moving forward is really the question.
[35:10] Speaker 7: Yeah, that is the question.
[35:11] Speaker 6: That really has been the question about Deshaun Watson during
[35:14] Speaker 6: his time in Cleveland, is which Deshaun Watson are you
[35:16] Speaker 6: going to get? Are you going to get the player
[35:19] Speaker 6: we saw against Jacksonville, who certainly looked rusty after not
[35:21] Speaker 6: playing for so long?
[35:23] Speaker 7: Or are we going to.
[35:24] Speaker 6: Get the player that we saw in the second half
[35:25] Speaker 6: against Tampa, who looked pretty good, good enough to keep
[35:29] Speaker 6: the job for at least another weekend, certainly good enough
[35:31] Speaker 6: to win games?
[35:32] Speaker 7: If that's the player they are going to get now,
[35:35] Speaker 7: he is healthy.
[35:36] Speaker 6: If the rust is knocked off and if that is
[35:38] Speaker 6: his level now, That's good enough for Cleveland to win
[35:40] Speaker 6: some games and certainly for Deshaun Watson to hold on
[35:43] Speaker 6: to the.
[35:43] Speaker 7: Job for a while longer. If it goes back to being.
[35:46] Speaker 6: Up and down Deshaun Watson, then the Browns will eventually
[35:49] Speaker 6: have a decision to make about the future. Don't discount, though,
[35:53] Speaker 6: the Carolina Panthers defense. They were on the receiving end
[35:56] Speaker 6: of the 50 burger from the Chicago Bears in week one.
[35:59] Speaker 6: But last week they forced five turnovers and allowed only
[36:02] Speaker 6: three points. They are not to be overlooked. This will
[36:05] Speaker 6: be a challenge for Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns,
[36:08] Speaker 6: but certainly lots of hope in Cleveland that they are
[36:11] Speaker 6: going to get the Deshaun Watson they saw against Tampa,
[36:15] Speaker 6: that that is the Deshaun Watson he can still be
[36:17] Speaker 6: when he's healthy.
[36:18] Speaker 1: Yeah, continue to target Denzel Boston. And how about the
[36:20] Speaker 1: tight end, Harold Fannin, really showing up with five catches.
[36:23] Speaker 2: Speaking of tight ends. Arguably the best in the league.
[36:26] Speaker 1: Expected to make his season debut on Sunday.
[36:29] Speaker 22: In New Orleans.
[36:30] Speaker 1: Brock Fowers at the late summer knee procedure ready to roll.
[36:33] Speaker 2: And that's music to Kirk Cousins receivers.
[36:38] Speaker 22: Yeah, I think it's something you build. You know, I
[36:40] Speaker 22: think even the other guys I'm throwing to, you're kind
[36:43] Speaker 22: of building this rapport as you go through the real thing.
[36:46] Speaker 22: OTAs is one thing. Training camps are one thing. Preseason
[36:48] Speaker 22: games are one thing. It's all building a foundation. But
[36:51] Speaker 22: there's nothing quite like real games. And so these last
[36:54] Speaker 22: two weeks have been great experience for us as a
[36:56] Speaker 22: unit to kind of gather together. And with Brock, he's,
[37:00] Speaker 22: if you will, two weeks behind, but great to have
[37:02] Speaker 22: him back. And we'll be building that rapport as well,
[37:06] Speaker 22: every snap we have together this week and on Sunday.
[37:10] Speaker 1: Yeah, and that chemistry that he's talking about with the
[37:12] Speaker 1: receivers and with Brock Bowers, I mean, that's one thing,
[37:14] Speaker 1: but the chemistry within this offense is what the Raiders
[37:18] Speaker 1: were hoping for when they made him the starter, brought
[37:21] Speaker 1: him in to this franchise, and it feels like all
[37:24] Speaker 1: things are trending upwards here, Mike.
[37:26] Speaker 5: A lot of things are trending upwards for Kirk Cousins
[37:28] Speaker 5: and the way that he is vibing with the coaching
[37:30] Speaker 5: staff right now, the way that he is locking in
[37:33] Speaker 5: on the system. He's been in different variations of this
[37:36] Speaker 5: same system that he's in right now and it's clicking
[37:40] Speaker 5: for him. And the other thing, the other part of this,
[37:43] Speaker 5: you know, we talk so much about what is Kirk
[37:46] Speaker 5: Cousins going to do for Fernando Mendoza? Some of the
[37:49] Speaker 5: vibe I'm getting is what Mendoza's doing for Cousins. There's
[37:51] Speaker 5: that youthful energy. There's that feeling of being at the
[37:55] Speaker 5: beginning of his career with so much that he can
[37:57] Speaker 5: soak in. And Cousins is not only the chance to
[37:59] Speaker 5: do that, but to be around a guy that can
[38:01] Speaker 5: interject some energy with him. It's sort of working both
[38:04] Speaker 5: ways right now for Cousins.
[38:05] Speaker 4: It's a good vibe.
[38:08] Speaker 1: All right, let's get to the Cardinals and Niners NFC
[38:10] Speaker 1: West matchup here. The Niners, 2-0, despite dealing with injuries
[38:16] Speaker 1: all over the place, especially at the wide receiver spot.
[38:18] Speaker 2: But that affected Brock.
[38:20] Speaker 1: Purdy, 492 passing yards and 592 touchdowns.
[38:25] Speaker 2: And Kyle Shanahan recognizing how well.
[38:27] Speaker 1: His QB is playing.
[38:30] Speaker 7: Brock is a rookie.
[38:31] Speaker 23: The seven games he played, he played as good as
[38:34] Speaker 23: any quarterback I've had. And those were his first seven.
[38:36] Speaker 23: And then I think his second year, he was top
[38:39] Speaker 23: five for MVP of the league and took us to
[38:41] Speaker 23: the Super Bowl. So Brock's played at such a high
[38:43] Speaker 23: level since then. his first game versus Miami so to
[38:48] Speaker 23: say like how much better he's gotten I mean it's
[38:50] Speaker 23: you can't get that much better I think he's gotten
[38:52] Speaker 23: been extremely consistent and I think he gets more comfortable
[38:55] Speaker 23: just with everything he's faced he's been in everything every
[38:58] Speaker 23: situation I think he's been comfortable with the offense since
[39:00] Speaker 23: the beginning but you know just the more you play
[39:03] Speaker 23: the more you see defenses you see certain fronts you
[39:06] Speaker 23: see disguises you know what it feels like to be
[39:08] Speaker 23: up a lot to be down a lot I think
[39:10] Speaker 23: Brock learns from every life experience he's in and that
[39:13] Speaker 23: just makes him better as a player and better as
[39:14] Speaker 23: a man as he gets older.
[39:17] Speaker 1: But one of those receiver injuries the Niners are dealing
[39:20] Speaker 1: with is to the stud Mike Evans. Didn't practice Wednesday
[39:23] Speaker 1: with the hip. It's something Kyle Shanahan said wasn't serious
[39:26] Speaker 1: post game on sunday something though to monitor ahead of
[39:29] Speaker 1: this matchup with the cardinals all right still to come
[39:33] Speaker 1: uh here what that doesn't take a genius to monitor
[39:36] Speaker 1: the success of patrick mahomes coming off the knee injury
[39:40] Speaker 1: of last year playing at a very high level looking
[39:42] Speaker 1: to continue that heading into week three Not a bad
[39:47] Speaker 1: start for Patrick Mahomes coming off the knee surgery, right?
[39:51] Speaker 1: 566 yards through the air thus far to go along
[39:54] Speaker 1: with five touchdowns, plus the rushing touchdown from the opener.
[39:58] Speaker 1: And even with all of that success, a transparent self-account
[40:02] Speaker 1: from Patrick Mahomes this week on how the knee has
[40:04] Speaker 1: felt through these first couple games.
[40:08] Speaker 9: I definitely took a big jump, I think, just mentally,
[40:10] Speaker 9: just kind of being able to trust and be in
[40:12] Speaker 9: the pocket and stuff like that. There were still times
[40:14] Speaker 9: where you could tell I was kind of rushing up
[40:16] Speaker 9: and kind of just trying to throw the ball away
[40:18] Speaker 9: quickly whenever there was maybe other opportunities to step up
[40:20] Speaker 9: in the pocket and find a check down. And so
[40:22] Speaker 9: that's stuff that I'll continue to work with. But definitely
[40:26] Speaker 9: felt a lot more comfortable. And I think running the
[40:28] Speaker 9: ball so well the first week gave me more time
[40:31] Speaker 9: to kind of see stuff and it became clearer. And
[40:33] Speaker 9: so that's I think just having other guys around me
[40:35] Speaker 9: have so much success has kind of helped me be
[40:37] Speaker 9: more comfortable quicker.
[40:38] Speaker 1: Mike, I don't know how many times I asked you
[40:42] Speaker 1: about Mahomes' recovery throughout July and August and into this
[40:46] Speaker 1: regular season even, and the answer was always, yeah, he's
[40:48] Speaker 1: feeling good. I would imagine the proof is in the
[40:50] Speaker 1: pudding here.
[40:52] Speaker 5: Yeah, feeling good. Not going to be 100%, but close
[40:55] Speaker 5: enough to 100% and better at 95, 90, whatever. I mean,
[40:58] Speaker 5: however I phrase it, that's what we're seeing right now
[41:01] Speaker 5: with Patrick Mahomes. We're going to see the ball go
[41:03] Speaker 5: down the field a little bit more. Had some throws
[41:05] Speaker 5: to Tyquan Thornton that connected the other night. Those were huge,
[41:09] Speaker 5: but they want to have more of a downfield passing
[41:12] Speaker 5: attack at some point. And Tyree Kills is lurking out there.
[41:17] Speaker 5: I keep being asked, like, you know, is he going
[41:22] Speaker 5: to play this year? Yeah, he's going to play this year,
[41:24] Speaker 5: and these are two teams that he's played for. Now, listen,
[41:26] Speaker 5: he's not going to Miami, but with Kansas City, it
[41:30] Speaker 5: just feels inevitable that there's got to at least be
[41:32] Speaker 5: a conversation at some point. There's nothing on the front burner,
[41:36] Speaker 5: but it's got to be somewhere on the back burner
[41:37] Speaker 5: for a burner that could stretch defenses in this offense.
[41:40] Speaker 2: Look at you putting it all together here.
[41:42] Speaker 1: Oh, by the way, the Colts, you know, might be
[41:44] Speaker 1: in need for a receiver here at some point, especially
[41:47] Speaker 1: looking at what they have done here on the defensive
[41:50] Speaker 1: side of the ball. It's been a bigger struggle. Here's
[41:52] Speaker 1: Shane Steichen.
[41:55] Speaker 24: Yeah, I have a lot of conversations with those guys,
[41:57] Speaker 24: you know, going there and talk to them. Obviously, I
[41:58] Speaker 24: have a lot of one on ones with Lou as well.
[42:01] Speaker 24: But again, I got a lot of confidence, you know,
[42:03] Speaker 24: in this team and this defense, you know, moving forward.
[42:05] Speaker 24: I mean, it's early in the season. Obviously, we got
[42:07] Speaker 24: a lot to clean up, but we got a lot
[42:08] Speaker 24: ahead of us, too.
[42:09] Speaker 12: All right.
[42:11] Speaker 1: A couple of teams here that were considered contenders in
[42:14] Speaker 1: the AFC South still searching for win number one.
[42:17] Speaker 2: Judy, Judy, what do we make here?
[42:20] Speaker 6: Well, the Colts are having a historically bad start on defense.
[42:25] Speaker 7: As for the Texans, C.J.
[42:26] Speaker 6: Stroud leads the league in both dropbacks and pass attempts.
[42:31] Speaker 6: They are not running the ball very much, and that
[42:34] Speaker 6: is what they would like to do.
[42:35] Speaker 7: They have David Montgomery.
[42:36] Speaker 4: The Colts are.
[42:36] Speaker 6: Giving up a ton of rushing yards, a ton of
[42:38] Speaker 6: passing yards. We will see if they can tighten up
[42:41] Speaker 6: against the Texans this week.
[42:42] Speaker 1: All right, a lot of storylines to watch there for
[42:44] Speaker 1: those two teams searching for win number one. Plus, we
[42:46] Speaker 1: get game number one of week three coming up here
[42:50] Speaker 1: from Lambeau Field with the return of Michael Pennix. Falcons
[42:53] Speaker 1: and Packers looking forward to it.
[42:55] Speaker 2: Enjoy the game, everybody.
[42:56] Speaker 1: Thanks for being here with us on the Insiders. We
[42:58] Speaker 1: are right back here with you on Friday at 7.

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