Welcome to football.

Army Week fifteen is right around the corner.

And if you've been following the NFL this season, you know the feeling.

Oh yeah, it's not like a normal race to the finish line.

It's more like a high speed demolition derby.

That is the perfect way to put it.

Volatility, Yeah, I mean we haven't seen a season with this level of just pure chaos in years.

Right.

We came into twenty twenty five thinking, you know, the usual pillars would be there, the Chiefs, the Eagles, the Bills, the.

Ravens, familiar faces.

Exactly, and instead, their struggles, I mean, their implosions are the reason the whole league feels wide open.

The parody is just it's unprecedented.

And that's really the heart of what we're going to get into today.

We are going to unpack the absolute shockwave from Kansas City officially losing their division.

Crown and the long term effects of that.

We'll also dive into the i mean, the truly desperate quarterback crisis in Indianapolis.

It's a situation with massive financial.

Fallout, and we can't ignore what's happening in Philadelphia and brutal meltdown.

Yeah, and We're also going to check in on the rookie quarterbacks, including one who's just you know, forcing the ball downfield at a historic rate.

And there's so much coaching buzz.

The lines between the NFL and the NCAA are getting blurrier and blurrier.

Plus the league's going global Australia, Brazil.

We'll touch on what that means for the future.

The margins for error right now are just razor thin, and the pretenders are getting exposed very very quickly.

Okay, let's just start with the biggest shocker.

It has to be the AFC West, no question.

Following that brutal twenty to ten loss to the Houston Texans, the Kansas City Chiefs are officially, you know, eliminated from winning their division.

It's over that nine year streak of dominance, the longest active streak in the league gone.

It's more than just losing a division title, right it feels like the end of an era of I don't know certainty it.

Is the Chiefs were synonymous with the AFC West title.

Now mathematically sure, they still have a nine point one percent chance of squeaking into the postseason as a wild could.

A slim chance a very slim chance, but losing the crown for the first time in nine years, it fundamentally changes how you see this team and honestly, how you see the entire league.

And what's so fascinating is how quickly the criticism has shifted to Patrick Mahomes himself.

Instantly, it's always the quarterback against the Texans.

He throws three interceptions.

Now, when you look at the film, it's not like it was all on him, right.

You have to break them down.

They're not all created equal, not at all.

Two of those picks, Okay, they were genuinely poor, ill advised throws.

He'd want those back.

He was forcing it, you could see it.

But that third one, that was just an awful, uncharacteristic drop by Travis Kelci that turns into a pick.

Six, sounds right off his hands.

I mean, that's a game changing play that has zero to do with the quarterback's decision, and it just.

Speaks to the tiny margin of error they're operating with right now.

It absolutely does.

And this this actually ties into a really bizarre statistical thing that analysts have been flagging for weeks.

Rice correlation Exactly Mahomes' interception totals just they skyrocket when Rashie Rice is on the field, which is so strange.

And to be clear for everyone, none of the interceptions against Houston were even intended for Rice.

No, not a single one.

But the fact that the correlation exists suggests something broader is wrong.

It could be about timing, spacing, the rhythm of the offense when that specific personnel group is out there.

So defenses know something.

They know how pressure might affect Mahomes in those sets or where the ball is likely to go.

They have a tell.

And if the issue isn't the specific target, then you have to look at this scheme or the protection right.

Well, yeah, because the whole game was described as a quote scramble heavy indictment of the front office and the coaching staff.

It was a brutal indictment.

I mean, you had a depleted offensive line against a really strong, surging Houston defense.

So Mahomes has no time.

He has no time, and he knows his receivers aren't getting open on schedule, so he's forced to extend plays to bail out these scheme deficiencies.

And you can't live like that.

Eventually, that pressure cooker explodes that's where the turnovers come from.

The force throws, and you know the losses.

They just couldn't convert on third downs against Houston.

The burden on Mahomes this year has been almost impossible.

But doesn't this still fall back on the coaching.

I mean, if your receivers can't get separation and the line is a mess, the play calling.

Has to change, it has to adapt.

You need high percentage throws, more motion.

Quicker reads the fact that he's forced into the scrambled drill offense suggest the whole infrastructure, the scheme, the players they brought in, it's failed him.

That is the core takeaway.

The front office gambled on cheap, unproven receivers, and the coaching staff failed to evolve the scheme to hide the O line problems that have been there since week one.

It's not just about getting talent when you have Mahomes.

No, it's about getting complimentary talent, and they failed that mission this year.

And yet even with this collapse, you see people coming to his defense.

We saw Kevin Durant of all people, defending Mahomes's legacy.

Yeah, and he's right.

He basically said, questioning the legacy of a three time champ over what looks like a one off year is just nonsensical.

And the hard ware speaks for itself.

It does, but it shows you the emotional reaction this season has created.

When the best quarterback of his generation struggles, people immediately look for these huge explanations or they start the decline narrative.

But those three rings are a pretty good shield, a very good shield.

This season won't define Mahomes' career, but it absolutely defines this moment of chaos in the AFC.

And you can't talk about that offense struggling without bringing up the fallout around Travis Kelson.

Oh Man Kelshay, who's thirty six, final year of his contract.

He had a miserable night, just one catch, one catch for less than ten yards on five targets.

That is, I mean, that's unheard of for him.

And after the game you could see the frustration.

He gave the media this fiery quote, vowing to treat every game like it's the most important world.

The fire is one thing, but it's the silence that's really telling here.

He skipped the postgame interviews, he skipped.

The mandatory interviews, and when you factor in his age, his contract.

The frustration in that building, that silence just pours gasoline on the retirement speculation fire.

It's palpable.

When a guy who's used to winning nine straight division titles suddenly hits this wall.

The mental and emotional exhaustion just becomes visible.

Absolutely when a player of his status does that after a huge loss, the signal is powerful.

It's frustration, it's reflection.

Maybe it's just exhaustion, but you can see the weight of this thing collapsing on their biggest stars.

The Chiefs crisis really shows how fast things can unravel.

And speaking of unraveling, there's nowhere that's more acute than with the Indianapolis cults.

The Colt situation is I mean, it's a strategic nightmare.

It's this catastrophic mix of bad luck with injury and some questionable front office decisions.

They were the surprise of the league, sitting at eight and five, looking like a real playoff.

And it all just ended.

It all ended when quarterback Daniel Jones went down with that season ending achilles injury.

And this injury is just devastating, not just for this year, but for the entire future of the franchise.

Oh yeah, he was on that one year, fourteen million dollar prove.

It deal, and he was proving it.

He was having a career year playing effishient football, and was on track for a massive long term contract easily.

We're talking forty maybe fifty million dollars a year before that injury.

So now the Colts are stuck.

They're facing these impossible business decisions.

How do you even begin to negotiate with a quarterback coming off a major Achilles tear.

You have no idea if he'll be ready for twenty twenty six, let alone what his long term effectiveness will be.

And here's the real kicker, right, some other desperate team with a ton of cap space could easily swoop in and outbid the Colts for him, even with the injury.

Which forces Indianapolis to either overpay or just lose him for nothing.

And the timing of their other big move, in hindsight just disastrous.

The Sauce Gardner trade back in November.

They traded away their twenty twenty six and twenty twenty seven first round picks to get him.

That was an all in move, the move of a team that thought they were one Super Bowl piece away.

It was a total commitment to this current window with Daniel Jones leading the way, and now because of that trade, they have zero high end draft capital to go get a new quarterback until the twenty twenty eight draft.

They are completely locked in.

They have to hope Jones comes back healthy or they have to find some low cost stop gap solution.

They bet the sarm on the Daniel Jones era, and that Achilles injury just blew up the foundation.

So with all that strategic disaster as the backdrop, what is the immediate week fifteen plan?

Because their backup is hurt too right.

Neck, the backup, Riley Leonard has a Grade one PCL spring.

His status for Week fifteen is uncertain at best.

Which leads to this, this unbelievable move.

It's stunning.

The Colts signed forty four year old retired quarterback Philip Rivers to the practice squad.

Phil Rivers, he hasn't played professional football since January of twenty twenty one.

This isn't just nostalgia.

This is a full on emergency flare.

And he's even gonna wear Jones is number seventeen, Yeah, which is just.

It's a powerful symbol of their desperation.

The connection makes some sense.

Though the Shane Steiken connection exactly.

Stiken worked with Rivers for years when he was an assistant with the Chargers, and you remember Rivers had that one successful year in Indy when eleven and five.

Threw for over forty one hundred yards.

So Stikeen is banking on that familiarity and maybe a little bit of magic.

He's the one who will decide if Rivers gets activated and starts in Week fifteen against Seattle.

But this whole hail Mary situation is compounded by their schedule.

Oh it's brutal.

The Colts have the league's hardest remaining schedule.

Their opponents have a combined winning percentage of point six nine to two.

So after the Jones injury, their playoff chances just plummeted to what thirty two percent?

It's a free fall.

They're not just facing an identity crisis, They're facing an existential crisis on the field for the next month.

Such a profound pivot.

A few weeks ago, they're this feel good story, a Super Bowl dark horse.

And now they're just fighting for relevance, pinning their hopes on a quarterback who has been retired for almost five years, all while facing a draft handicap that's going to hurt them for years to come.

So in complete contrast to all that AFC chaos and implosion, you have the team that's actually thriving in.

It, the Houston Texans.

You could argue they are the most dangerous team in the conference right now, and they're doing it with real battle tested strength.

They absolutely deserve that title.

At eight and five, the Texans are the only winning team in the entire league that has faced a strength of schedule of point five, seven zero or better.

So they've earned their record.

They have absolutely earned it.

They're on a five game win streak and their schedule actually gets easier now they've got the Cardinals and Raiders at home.

So a run for a top four seed and hosting a playoff game is entirely possible.

Very possible.

And while we talk a lot about CJ.

Stroud's growth, which has been incredible m hmm, we need to put a massive spotlight on that defense, specifically safety jail In Patry.

His turnaround has been one of the most astonishing and visual stories of the season.

It really has.

Last year he was a liability and coverage he allowed a passer rating of around one hundred and thirteen when he was.

Targeted, which is borderline awful.

It's terrible.

This year he is second in the entire league, allowing a passer rating of only forty three.

That's a seventy point swing, a seventy point swing in efficiency.

What's causing that kind of improvement?

Is it scheme or is it just him?

It seems like a mix of both.

The defensive coordinator, Demico Ryans is putting him in better positions to succeed less deep zone isolation.

Okay, but Bittri's own execution, his discipline, his eye positioning, his reads, it's all improved dramatically.

He had that huge interception against the Chiefs, tipping the pass to himself to seal the win.

He's the embodiment of their defensive rise.

He is.

He's the physical and statistical proof of what's happening in Houston and a huge reason why they're not just competing anymore.

They are kicking down the AOC playoff door.

All right, So we've established the AFC is defined by collapsing dynasties and the rise of new threats.

Let's pivot and see if the NFC is doing any better.

I have a feeling it's not, you would be correct.

The traditional powers in the NFC are also showing some deep, deep cracks.

The Philadelphia Eagles are in what you can only call a full blown meltdown.

They lose to the Chargers twenty two to nineteen in overtime.

That's their third straight loss, and.

The core issue is terminal.

It's turnovers and just complete offensive stagnation.

Jalen Hurts had five turnovers in that one game.

Five, four interceptions, in a fumble, and to put that in perspective, he's the first Eagles quarterback to do that since Bobby Hoying in nineteen ninety seven.

Wow, that is a truly awful distinction to have.

It is, and the offense has just become punchless.

They've only scored eighty one points over the last five games.

Hurts is in a brutal slump.

His decision making looks terrible, He's missing open guys, and the most alarming thing to meet, he refuses to.

Run the ball exactly.

We've seen him just dancing in the pocket trying to force these throws into coverage.

When the old Jalen Hurts the play we all know.

Is it just take off and get fifteen yards?

Yes?

Is he trying to avoid hits?

Is it coaching?

Is it a mental block from the pressure, whatever it is, the feeling around that team is that the offense isn't getting fixed, and.

The criticism isn't just coming from the outside anymore, It's coming from their own legends.

Seth Joyner, the legendary Eagles defender, delivered a absolute brutal assessment of the offensive coordinator, Kevin Patula.

He basically accused him of having no situational awareness, describing his play calling as a grab bag of plays, and.

Joyner's point was so specific in damning.

He said, you tell me how many plays that we run and have success with.

Do you see us flip the formation run it on the other side?

How many times do you see it again?

It doesn't make any sense.

That's more than just a vague complaint.

That is a highly specific technical indictment of the coaching.

It suggests that even when they find something that works, they don't build on it.

They don't create variations off of it, which lets defenses just key and on them.

It implies a complete lack of tactical evolution.

They're trying to reinvent the wheel on every single drive instead of building momentum.

And yet, despite this three game losing streak and an offense that looks broken, next Gen stats still gives the Eagles a ninety two percent chance to win the division.

Which tells you everything you need to know about the utter weakness of the rest of the NFC East.

But the Eagles, I mean, they look like a paper tiger heading into January.

Now, let's flip to the team that took advantage of those turnovers.

The Los Angeles Chargers get a huge ninth win.

And they're Head coach Jim Harbaugh gave one of the quotes.

Of the year, ranking that overtime win in the discussion of the best moments of his life, right.

Up there with the birth of his seven children and his marriage.

Classic Harba, classic Harbaugh hyperbole, for sure.

But you can feel how much that win meant.

It was huge for them, and it was pretty much all because of the grit of Justin Herbert.

Unbelievable toughness he played just days after having surgery on a broken bone in his hand.

Harbaugh called him a superhero, and we saw it in overtime.

He's refusing to go down and he actually tries to stiff arm an Eagles defender with that broken left hand.

Car Boss said watching that made him WinCE.

I mean, that is just raw toughness.

You have to respect it, you do.

But this leads us right into a discussion we have to have about media accountability.

The double standards.

Right, despite that heroic game, Herbert thinks criticism for being what rude to reporter Laura Rutledge after the game.

It feels completely contradictory.

On one hand, you praise the guy for being a superhuman warrior, and.

On the other you criticize him because he wasn't perfectly courteous in a moment when he's in pain and running on pure adrenaline.

Exactly.

We just talked about Travis Kelce, who skipped interviews entirely after a bad loss, and the backlash was mostly just speculation.

Right, Herbert, the face of the team shows up and gets dinged for his demeanor while playing through a broken hand.

It perfectly illustrates the impossible standard the public wants the gladiator who plays through fire and also.

The polished corporate spokesman.

No matter the context, it's just.

Another layer of pressure on these guys beyond just playing the game.

It is okay.

Moving down to the NFC South, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are at seven and six and their division race is interesting for all the wrong reasons.

Their defensive regression is just glaring.

That's the main reason they're struggling.

Todd Bowles defenses are historically great in the red zone then, but don't break not this year.

This year they are ranked thirtieth in red zone efficiency.

They're giving up touchdowns on a staggering sixty eight point eight percent of opponent drives.

And just for comparison, in twenty twenty three of that number was forty two point six percent.

That massive shift from top tier to allowing basically two out of every three drives to end it a touchdown.

It's completely unsustainable for a player team.

It's a fundamental breakdown.

It is.

And on offense, you have this fascinating case study with their rookie receiver Emika Egbuca.

He seems to have a serious case.

Of the yips because his usage is off the charts.

Since they're week nine by he has a thirty two percent target share and forty eight percent of the team's air yards.

That is alpha receiver volume, but the production isn't there.

He's averaging a dismal ten point one fantasy points per game.

Yeah, and the problem is simple.

He's second in the NFL in drops and third to last in fantasy points over expected.

And he started the season as the number one receiver in that efficiency metric.

So this is a shocking drop off.

It has to be mental.

It has to be The coaches clearly trust him, but if he can't hold under the ball, that massive target share becomes a liability.

There is a little bit of good news for them, though, a glimmer of hope on the roster front.

Yeah.

Veteran pass rusher Jason Pierre Paul, who was on their Super Bowl team, was signed to the practice squad.

He brings leadership and you know, approven pass rush.

And more importantly for that offense, Mike Evans, who broke his collarbone back in Week seven, has apparently shown everything he needs to in practice to be activated for Week fifteen, and.

Getting Evans back, even if he's not one hundred percent, should immediately take some of that pressure off Egbuka and help them in the red zone.

The Bucks are still the favorites to win that division just because it's so weak, but they are on life support right now.

We've spent enough time on the struggling veterans.

Let's shift to the new blood.

The Ricky QB class is still showing some really high end flashes.

Definitely especially in Cleveland where Shedder Sanders has officially been named the starter for the final four games.

And this is a huge opportunity for him.

In Week fourteen, he put up great numbers three hundred and sixty four yards, three passing tds, one rushing.

TD and crucially, his performance ranked ninth best in EPA per play for the week.

He's generating high value plays on a high volume.

What really jumps out from the analytics, though, is his aggression.

Oh, the sheer level of it.

He is stretching the field in a way Cleveland just hasn't.

His average depth of target his ADOT is eight point five.

Yards, and that eight point five EIGHTT just dwarfs the six point four that Dylan Gabriel had.

That two point one yard difference is strategically massive.

It tells you Sanders is not content with the checkdowns.

He is forcing the ball downfield and challenging defenses, and his.

Deep throwing rate is thirteen point six percent.

That's the eighth highest in the entire NFL.

Compare that to Gabriel's league low four point three percent.

I mean Sanders is injecting real risk and dynamism into that offense.

But that style comes with a cost for sure.

While you get the big plays, his completion percentage is still down at fifty two point four percent.

He's prone to what some people call stressed out prayer throws into traffic.

It's that classic high risk, high reward approach.

Right and the question for the Browns is can they keep the aggression while polishing the efficiency.

And now he faces a massive, maybe even devastating challenge in Week fifteen against the Bears.

The offensive line situation is a potential massacre.

It is a nightmare tests for any quarterback, let alone a rookie.

Their starting center Ethan Pocic is out for the season with an.

Achilles and the starting rate guard Wyatt Teller is expected to miss the game too, And if.

Right tackle Jack Conkling can't come back, Sanders could be playing behind three backup offensive linemen.

Three backups including a new center, against a Bears defense that ranks first in the NFL and turnover rate over the last two months.

It's a recipe for disaster.

We've already seen him take eight sacks and three starts.

The pressure he's about to face is a true trial by fire.

It forces them to change the game plan entirely.

They can't ask him to stand back there and through.

Deep No, it has to be quick releases, screens, a heavy, heavy dose of the run game.

If he gets through this game without multiple turnovers, it will be a huge win for him.

And speaking of coaching decisions, we have to mention that two point conversion disaster that cost them the Titans game.

Oh Man, losing thirty one to twenty nine because of a failed wildcat two point attempt with your rookie QB watching from the sideline.

Coach Kevin Stefan took full blame, which you have to respect, said he planned the play well in advance.

He's owning it.

But regardless of the strategy, the execution was poor and the timing was just catastrophic.

The silver lining, though, is how cautious they've been with Sanders development.

Right, letting him sit for half the season, meeting with Stefanski three times a week.

It suggests they see him as a long term piece.

If he plays really well down the stretch, it could erase any doubt about them needing to draft a QB early next year.

Let's check in on a couple of the other rookie qbs.

JJ McCarthy and Minnesota had a really encouraging game against Washington.

It was his most efficient performance of the season for sure.

Now, the Commander's defense can make a lot of qbs look good, true, but McCarthy showed real developmental steps.

He was moving around efficiently, not just scrambling to scramble.

He was making quicker, smarter decisions and avoiding those dangerous throws that played him earlier.

So that slow, gradual approach from the Vikings might finally be paying off.

It seems like it.

And down in New Orleans, Tyler's is quietly making a case for himself.

He's kind of flying under the radar.

He's looked really composed in his five starts.

The passing numbers aren't explosive, but he handles pressure well.

And he uses his legs.

He's got two rushing touchdowns.

The Saints have won two of his five starts, and the word is the organization is already thinking of him as a possible twenty twenty six starter.

He seems to have the poise for it.

He does, which brings us finally to Jaden Daniels in Washington.

After a strong rookie year, he seems to be hitting that sophomore.

Slump wall and hitting it hard.

Yeah, he's definitely struggling.

The commanders wanted his scramble rate to go down this year to force him to trust the pocket, and.

It's actually gone up.

It's up to fifteen point seven percent.

So he's reverting to his legs whenever pressure hits instead of executing the system.

And now his health is a major red flag.

He re injured that left elbow.

The exact same injury that sidelined him earlier this season, So Washington is walking this very thin line.

They need to protect him, but he also desperately needs the reps to break out this slump.

And if he's et for Week fifteen against the Giants, it'll be Marcus Mariota.

Yeah, And for fantasy managers, it's worth noting Mariota actually put up decent numbers when he filled in earlier this season because of his rushing ability.

But for Washington.

The long term health and development of Daniels is everything.

Let's move over to the coaching carousel, which is already spinning like crazy.

We're seeing the lines between college and the NFL just get blurrier and blurrier.

They really are, and Notre Dame is actively fighting to keep their head coach, Marcus Freeman.

His name has been all over the place for NFL openings, the Giant's job, the Titan speculation, and.

Notre Dame knows it.

Their athletic director basically promised publicly that Freeman will be placed at the top, top, top tier of college coaching, pay every single year to keep him.

But Freeman has all the leverage here, doesn't he.

He's not a coach who has to jump at the first NFL chance he gets.

He has the luxury of being able to wait for a stable, high quality job.

We're talking about potential openings down the line, like the Steelers, the Ravens.

Or even the Chiefs if Andy Reid retires in a few years.

Exactly, why take the high risk Giants job when you could wait a couple of years for a stable organization like Pittsburgh which almost never fires a coach or inherit Patrick Mahomes.

It gives him immense power romans power.

Now on the flip side of that, the Detroit Lions are actually losing a coach from their staff to the college ranks.

That's right.

Their tight end's coach, Tyler Roll is leaving to become the offensive coordinator at Iowa State.

And this is a big loss for Dan.

Campbell because he saw a role as a future OC in Detroit.

He did.

He was someone Campbell was grooming for a long term promotion.

It really highlights how valuable it is to develop your staff internally.

And that tight end's coach role in Detroit is becoming a revolving door.

It is.

This now opens the door for assistant te coach Seth Ryan, who is former Jets coach Rex Ryan's son.

He's been with the Lions for five seasons, so he's likely the next man up.

And while Detroit deals with coaching departures, the Chicago Bears are dealing with physical setbacks.

Coach Ben Johnson was clearly frustrated talking about CD Kyler Gordon's constant soft tissue injuries.

Yeah, he called it a rut, and he noted that the biggest predictor of a soft tissue injury is a previous.

One which Gordon has had a hamstring before the season, then groin in calf issues.

Johnson said they're going to exhaust all of our resources to get him healthy, which just shows how debilitating those seemingly minor injuries can be for defense.

And that frustration was probably made worse by the lack of production from Djmore last.

Week, oh Absolutely with their number one receiver Rono Dunze out with a foot injury, Johnson expected a massive game for More to carry the offense.

And the opposite happened.

He was targeted just three times.

One cash for negative four yards, the first time in his entire seven year career he's ever had negative receiving yardage.

Johnson basically had to admit after the game that the result was not the intent, which.

Is a nice way of saying they failed in either their game plan or their execution to get the ball to their best player.

Let's shift back to the NCAA for a minute and this huge debate around name, image and likeness, nil money.

It's changing everything about college football and Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman had some incredibly strong thoughts on it.

He stated flatly that he is done with nil and he told this one story that just perfectly sums it up.

The UCLA player.

Yeah, he gave a sizable check to a UCLA player he never even met.

The player stayed for one year, immediately transferred to another.

School, and Aikman never even got a thank you, No.

Not even thank you.

Yeah.

It just encapsulates the purely transactional nature of college sports.

Now players are basically year to year free agents, moving to the highest bidder.

It rips away any idea of loyalty or building something, and.

It has a huge downstream effect on the NFL.

If players are just chasing a paycheck instead development, it impacts their pro readiness.

Aikman said he's just tired of a system that lacks basic gratitude.

And looking ahead to the twenty twenty six NFL Draft, we got a big announcement from the college.

Ranks, a huge one.

Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods is foregoing his senior year to enter.

The draft and this is a massive talent injection into that class.

ESPN already has him ranked as the third best player overall in the entire class, and the top defensive tackle.

When a DT is ranked that high, it means he's viewed as a legitimate game wrecking force, the kind.

Of guy who can alter how an entire offense hop rates.

Let's quickly hit some GM and roster buzz.

In San Francisco, John Lynch had to address the Mac Jones trade speculation.

Yeah, and he downplayed it significantly.

He invoked the old Bill Walsh philosophy that you can never have too many quality quarterbacks in the room.

So they believe in Purty, but they trust Jones too exactly.

They value having high quality, proven depth at the most important position.

And we saw some interesting practice squad signings involving former Alabama players.

We did.

Wide receiver Javon Baker signed with the forty nine ers and guard Darien Dalcourt signed with the Browns to help with that offensive line crisis we talked about.

And finally back to the Giants.

They're having another tough year, but they have key players in contract years who are making a strong case for a big payday.

One Dale Robinson is having a career year.

He's on pace for ninety five catches and over one thousand yards.

And he leads all receivers in slot yards.

That's phenomenal production.

That kind of production gets you paid no matter who the coach is next year.

And right tackle Jermaine Ale Muner is another one.

He's openly talking about extensions.

Says he feels he's one of the best right tackles right now, and he's.

Got leverage when you see other guys getting huge deals after only a few starts.

His self assessment is probably right in terms of market value.

But that leverage is complicated by the coaching situation in New York.

It is he's thriving under the current O line coach.

If the Giants do a complete reset, does the new staff value him the same way That uncertainty makes any long term deal tricky.

Before we wrap things up, we have to look globally.

The NFL is continuing this massive, aggressive push toward international expansion.

And it's hugely important for the league's growth and their revenue.

That means some major announcements this week.

Regular season games are officially coming back to Munich, Germany in twenty twenty six and twenty twenty eight.

Germany has proven to be a massive hungry market for American football, but they're also breaking entirely new ground in twenty twenty six, first.

Ever regular season games scheduled for Melbourne, Australia and Rio di Jenio, Brazil.

Those are huge leaps.

They're tapping into entirely new continents.

Plus they'll have two games in London again, and.

The Detroit Lions are already being talked about as a strong candidate for one of those Munich games.

Which makes sense the Lions resurgence, Dan Campbell's appeal, It's a popular brand right now.

The long term goal is clear, keep that popularity in revenue soaring worldwide.

You know this whole atmosphere heading into Week fifteen, with all the QB crises and defensive shocks, it really brings up one final provocative thought that ties all this together.

We have watched former MVP candidate like Mahomes and Hurts have these turnover filled nightmares.

Five turnovers for Hurts, three interceptions for Mahomes, and.

At the same time you see these defensive standouts rising up.

Houston's Jalen Peatrie goes from allowing a one to thirteen passer rating to just forty three.

He's become a shutdown threat.

Or Arizona's Josh sweat leading the entire league and forced fumbles.

These guys are actively creating the chaos we're seeing the Yeah.

So it raises this critical question about the parody in the league.

For years, the story was that the top qbs, helped by the rules, would always win.

Out right, that offense was king.

But if the top defenses are finally finding the counter strategies to generate pressure and force turnovers, even against superstars like Mahomes or Herbert, is this parody signaling a fundamental strategic shift where defense is finally starting to consistently counter the league's best quarterback talent.

It absolutely feels like a pendulum swing.

Yeah, the margin for air for elite quarterbacks has shrunk dramatically.

When the Chiefs, the team that define the offense revolution, are scrambling and turning it over and the Eagles look totally lost on offense, it's not just a slump.

It's a signal that the cost of poor execution, especially against a rising, well coached defense like Houston's, is instantly season changing.

So the era of the untouchable, guaranteed thirty point offense might be fading.

It seems like it's being replaced by a much more volatile, turnover driven landscape.

A lot to chew on as we head into Week fifteen.

The stakes are just astronomical, and it feels like every single snap now carries the weight of a playoff elimination game.

It's going to be a truly wild final month of the season.

You need to watch every single snap.

That's all the time we have for today.

We appreciate you joining us here on football Army.

We'll catch you next time.