- 13 hours ago
Seth and Sean talk with Audacy NFL Insider Ross Tucker about the Texans toppling the Chiefs and if they could end up taking the AFC by storm in the playoffs.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00So on the heels of a fifth straight win
00:02and exercising some demons in Kansas City on Sunday night,
00:06where are the Houston Texans in your power rankings right now?
00:10You know, it's so funny because I do the power rankings
00:12and then I send them to my producer, Jeff, okay?
00:17Because one of our sponsors,
00:19and I don't know if they're in Houston or not,
00:22but westshorehome.com slash Ross,
00:25they do the most improved team of the week
00:28because they're like a home improvement, bathroom, whatever.
00:32And so I just send them the rankings
00:34and then he has to go to figure out who moved up the most.
00:38And the Texans moved up the most.
00:41I think they moved up six or seven spots.
00:43Six, seven.
00:45Six or seven spots and they're 10th now.
00:49I have the Texans as the 10th best team in the NFL
00:53ahead of certainly some teams with better records than them.
00:56But the Texans are going to be a tough out.
00:59And the thing I would be very encouraged by if I'm a Texans fan is,
01:06are you really that afraid of like the Broncos?
01:09Are you really that afraid of the Patriots?
01:12I mean, it feels like there's a Super Bowl berth there for the taking in the AFC.
01:22Now, I'm not telling you the Texans are better than those teams,
01:25but could the Texans beat them?
01:28Absolutely.
01:30I don't think I would feel that way if the Texans had to go in the NFC
01:35and play like at the Seahawks and at the Rams back-to-back weeks.
01:39I think those two teams are really good.
01:42I think they're my top two teams in my power rankings.
01:45But I don't think there's any AFC team that the Texans should be afraid of.
01:51I mean, even the team that maybe has the best pedigree that's likely to be in the playoffs,
01:57the Bills, the Texans kind of own them or have their numbers.
02:01So I'd be really, really fired up if I were a Texans fan right now.
02:06I guess I think the thing about where the Texans are in a lot of the power rankings right now
02:11is that it doesn't take rocket science to figure out why they seem to be capped right around 10 or 11.
02:18It's that the offense is a mediocre to less-than-mediocre offense.
02:25Ross, just with you watching them, where do you think this offense can improve
02:30or how much do you think it could realistically improve over the course of four weeks?
02:36Well, it's weird because, you know, I felt that the last couple years
02:41and then in the first playoff game, they, like, lit up the Browns a couple years ago.
02:47They lit up the Chargers last year.
02:49So I feel like with these young receivers, with Nico, with some of the plays that CJ made Sunday night
03:00and getting enough out of the running game,
03:04I feel like the potential is there for them to score enough.
03:08I mean, they're not going to score 30 points, you know, in playoff games,
03:13but I feel like playoff wins for the Texans will look a lot like Sunday night.
03:22Playing against a good team, defense dominates, defense turns them over a few times,
03:28and you win 20-13, 20-17, 17-13.
03:35It's funny because you can definitely win a Super Bowl that way.
03:39You know, the 2,000 Ravens, 2,002 Bucs, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
03:44My question is, and you'd have to tell me if you guys have talked about this,
03:49who's the last team that kind of did win it that way?
03:53Who's the last team that...
03:53The Patriots over the Rams?
03:55I would say the Broncos in 2015, Peyton Manning's last year,
04:01when he was replaced by Brock Osweiler at one point during the season,
04:05but they had Von Miller playing at an elite level on that team.
04:07They had a high-level defense on that team.
04:09I would say that's the last one I can think of because since then, Ross,
04:12it's been a slew of Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes every year.
04:15But that Tom Brady, the Patriots over the Rams, was 13-3.
04:19You know, like that was the one that...
04:21It wasn't pretty.
04:23It wasn't like an offensive outpour.
04:24But that was...
04:25You're talking about...
04:26You're talking about, Seth, though, the actual Super Bowl game.
04:30Yeah.
04:31It's not like that was how the whole run was for the Patriots.
04:35Whereas what Sean's talking about, the Broncos, like,
04:39that was very much a defensive-led team.
04:41And the offense just kind of did enough,
04:45which is basically what the Texans have to do.
04:49Yep.
04:50Yeah, that's in the playoffs that year,
04:52the Patriots beat the Chargers 41-28.
04:55And then the Chiefs 37-31.
04:59Right.
05:01It's funny because five or six weeks ago,
05:05we were talking about where the Texans go from here
05:12and disaster of a season and what the changes are.
05:16And now Sean's like,
05:19I'm just not sure our offense is good enough to win the Super Bowl.
05:24Things have changed.
05:26Yeah.
05:27You get a five-game winning streak going,
05:29and all of a sudden you're in the playoff hunt.
05:32And things do change.
05:33And, Ross, I mean, you've got 32 teams you cover.
05:35So I don't know how much you dissect schedules looking for.
05:38Texans got an easy schedule the rest of the way, too.
05:40They could.
05:42Anything less than 11-6 is going to be a major disappointment for this team now.
05:47And they're 8-5.
05:48And I think they should go 12-5.
05:50I think they're better than all four teams that they play.
05:52Now, that said, big picture with C.J. Stroud, where are you right now?
05:57Is he – because he's going to be the next guy that's in line after this season
06:01to be the next $55-60 million guy.
06:05We've seen lesser quarterbacks than C.J. Stroud get 50-plus million-dollar contracts.
06:10Where are you with C.J. Stroud right now?
06:14Well, that's a really good question.
06:17He made some big-time throws.
06:20Big-time, I thought.
06:22Big-time throws and big-time plays Sunday night.
06:24If you go back and watch – and actually, some of them – more of them were second reaction
06:29than I think of when I think of C.J.
06:34I think he's pretty clearly the guy, like, good enough to be the franchise quarterback
06:42for years to come.
06:44But the question there is, is he a top-of-the-line guy or is this, like, a Purdy contract?
06:55Where, you know, he's going to get his 50 mil, but he's got to realize he's not really at the top-five level
07:05where he should get, you know, the 60 mil.
07:10That'll be an interesting discussion.
07:12If I'm the Texans, it's like, listen, man, you know, we love you.
07:16We want you to be our guy.
07:18We're going to give you over $50 million a year, but you've got to work with us a little bit.
07:24We're doing it two years before we need to, and we haven't, you know, gotten over the hump in the playoffs.
07:31Maybe this year they will, like, what can we do here so that we're, like, structure this the right way now
07:38with two years remaining on your rookie deal so we can spread out the bonus money over five or six years,
07:45try to free up cap space, give you enough guarantees and enough per year
07:50that you and your kids and your kids' kids are set for life,
07:55but that you're not feeling like you need to be at the top of the market.
08:02Because if he really pushes to be at the top of the market, then I would probably slow play it.
08:08I'd be like, okay.
08:09Now, other people have different philosophies on that.
08:11Other people would, like, the Eagles would probably just pay him top of the market
08:14and then realize by two years from now that that would actually be under market
08:19and not worry about it.
08:21But I don't know.
08:23I don't feel like he's done what Hurts had done at that point to kind of get that.
08:29So that'll be a negotiation.
08:31You know, I think if he's willing to be the third to fifth highest paid guy right now,
08:37that they would probably get it done.
08:39How do you see, I'm not trying to look past the Cardinals here or anything,
08:45but people are a lot more focused in on the Chargers right now,
08:48who the Texans will face in three weeks.
08:50Where do you have the Chargers in your power rankings compared to the Texans?
08:54I think I had the Chargers still at, like, 14,
09:00and I had them behind the Eagles, even though they beat them last night.
09:05I mean, if you watch that game, like, it's hard to look at that game and say
09:10if the Eagles and Chargers played seven times in Wichita, Kansas,
09:14that the Chargers would win, you know, the majority of them.
09:18I mean, how many games are you going to have where Hurts has five turnovers,
09:23four interceptions, two turnovers on one play, which set an NFL record?
09:28I mean, like, that's just not going to happen very often.
09:31Jake Elliott misses a sub-50-yard field goal.
09:35I mean, I don't think the Chargers are better than the Eagles.
09:38They won the game last night, which is all that matters.
09:40It probably meant more to the Chargers in terms of the playoff race to win it.
09:45The Eagles are still very likely to win the NFC East and be the three seed.
09:52It seems like it's almost – it's not locked in because they got a –
09:57their magic number, if you will, is three.
10:00So, out of the last four games, there needs to be some combination of the Eagles
10:06winning and Cowboys losing a total of three games.
10:11Yeah.
10:11So, if the Eagles go 2-2 and the Cowboys win out, then the Cowboys will win that division.
10:17I don't think that's going to happen, but it's possible.
10:20Ross, okay, I want to get your perspective on this from an offensive lineman's viewpoint
10:24because, you know, offensive linemen will always complain about, like,
10:27well, I had an awesome game, but just because I let up one sack,
10:31people act like it was a bad game.
10:33I felt like the Chiefs game was the opposite in that the Chiefs only allowed two sacks,
10:38but the offensive line and them having to account for the offensive line being so bad
10:46is why Pat Mahomes had the worst performance of his L career.
10:51Because I had a lot of comments from people saying, like,
10:54oh, the Texans pass rush only got two sacks in that game.
10:57Like, yeah, and because they had to do everything they could to try to protect Patrick Mahomes
11:04from those haphazard slackers they had up there.
11:10That's exactly right.
11:11I mean, Mahomes was running for his life.
11:15Now, I will say I thought those guys held up better than I thought they would.
11:19Well, yeah, when they got eight guys in protection.
11:22Yeah, given the circumstances, I thought they held up better than I thought they would.
11:27But, yes, they certainly were trying to help them.
11:31And Mahomes was under duress a lot.
11:34I don't know what the quarterback pressures numbers are or quarterback hits,
11:38even if it was only two sacks.
11:40You know, you think about the fourth down plays and stuff.
11:44He was hurried, right?
11:46I mean, like, there were a lot of plays where Mahomes was hurried.
11:50Mahomes was scrambling for his life.
11:52But he's amazing, by the way.
11:55Like, I think he ran a 4.8 or 4.9 at the combine.
11:59I swear he's the fastest 4.8 or 4.9 guy.
12:02Mahomes, yeah.
12:03He's just fast enough to get the exact yardage he needs every time.
12:08Yeah, it's amazing.
12:09Hey, Insider Calls brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs.
12:13As far as the pressure rate, you know that pressures are a dicey stat because it's not an official stat.
12:21But at least according to one place, that was the most pressures the Chiefs had allowed all season.
12:25Makes sense.
12:26Looks about right.
12:27What really bothers me is quarterback pressures.
12:35Like, there's these stats that more than one statistical compiler company tracks.
12:44So, like, this week I have the Jets at the Jags on Sunday for CBS.
12:50So, which is cool because I've actually never done either Jets or Jags for TV.
12:54I've done, like, other teams, like the Browns or Texans or Titans a handful of times.
13:00But for whatever reason, I've never done either the Jets or the Jags.
13:05But, like, you read it and it's like, this guy has this many pressures.
13:10And then another thing, you'll read another thing they send you, this guy has this many pressures.
13:15Same guy.
13:16I'm like, well, what number are we going with?
13:18Right.
13:18And the one will say he's number one in the NFL.
13:21The other one will say he's fifth in the NFL.
13:23I mean, that's a big difference.
13:25Or even I did the Lions-Cowboys last Thursday night.
13:29And, you know, I got three different numbers as to what the win probability or the playoff probability was for each team with a win or with a loss.
13:40And, first of all, I'm convinced somebody's just making these numbers up anyway.
13:44Like, they have a 53% chance if they win, a 22%.
13:49Like, I mean, these are nerds that went to classes that Seth and I refused to go to in college.
13:56But I still think they're just making them up.
13:59Like, what are those numbers even based on?
14:02Yeah.
14:02Yeah, it's crazy.
14:04All I know is that wherever you go, the Texans are like 90% now.
14:07That's all we care about here.
14:08You know what, Ross?
14:09I choose to believe those numbers.
14:10Now that they favor the Texans, those numbers are 100% correct.
14:14That's how I feel.
14:15Well, and obviously, you know, with the Daniel Jones thing, that changed the dynamic significantly.
14:22Yeah, that last thing, and I know you've got to get out of here, but this is quick, along those lines, because I love power rankings.
14:28I love your power rankings.
14:30You mentioned the Texans are 10th.
14:32How do you treat the Colts in your power rankings with Daniel Jones out now?
14:36They're 8-5, but they might have Phillip Rivers at quarterback coming up here.
14:40Are you like the college football playoff committee where you look and go, whoop, quarterbacks hurt, dropping you in the power rankings?
14:46How did you treat the Colts this week?
14:48Well, so unlike the college football playoff committee, okay, I do drop you if I know who your quarterback is.
15:01And for the Colts, it's either Riley Leonard or supposedly, potentially, Grandpa Phillip Rivers, which would just be unbelievable for a grandfather to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
15:14I'm rooting for that.
15:15So I dropped them.
15:18I dropped the Colts a decent amount because I think whoever it is is a major drop-off.
15:24My frustration with the college football playoff committee is, how did you know how good the backup was?
15:32What if the backup was unbelievable?
15:35To me, if you dropped Florida State out of the college football playoffs because their quarterback got hurt, then you can make a real argument about dropping Ole Miss out of the playoffs because Lane Kiffin left.
15:50They went up from seven to six after he left.
15:54Yeah, that doesn't make any sense.
15:56I mean, you know, he was so sought after that three programs or whatever offered him $13 million a year.
16:04And, you know, everybody thinks he's the greatest coach ever.
16:07Yet, that doesn't affect their ranking at all.
16:10But Florida State totally dropped out.
16:12I mean, obviously, put it this way.
16:15LSU is not paying their starting quarterback $13 million.
16:19They're probably paying them three.
16:21So they don't think that Garrett Nussmeyer or whoever is more valuable than Lane Kiffin.
16:26I mean, we could do this all day.
16:28Sure.
16:28Sure.
16:29Ross Tucker is our Odyssey NFL insider.
16:31Insider Call is brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs.
16:36Nationwide is on your side.
16:38Hey, Ross, safe travels.
16:40Have a great call on Sunday on that Jets-Jags game.
16:42Go get a win for the Jets.
16:43It helps the Texans, okay?
16:45I knew you were going to say that, and I cannot do that, and I can't even comment on that.
16:50I'm going to call, hopefully, an excellent football game between two teams.
16:55And if you have a rooting interest, Sean, then that's up to you.
16:58That's my problem.
16:58I get it.
16:59That's the great Ross Tucker.
17:01Hey, Ross, we appreciate you, man.
17:02We'll talk to you next week.
17:03See you guys.
17:04All right, you too.
Be the first to comment