00:00All right, so yesterday, Joe, we talked about this just a little bit.
00:03Jacksonville gets this big win in Denver.
00:05I want to start – let me start with this.
00:09Do you think Jacksonville has a case to be conference favorites today?
00:16Yes.
00:16I think they clearly have a – I think they have a case to be the best team.
00:20Favorites, though.
00:20You think so?
00:21I do.
00:21I do.
00:22I like their weapons.
00:23I like the rushing attack.
00:24Again, their offensive line, to me, can run the football.
00:29You know, and we've seen it against, you know, Kansas City.
00:32We've seen it against multiple teams in the conference.
00:36I feel confident in them.
00:37I like the identity that Liam Cohen has now.
00:40He looks like a confident signal caller and play caller.
00:43This team now, he's confident with the players.
00:46He understands how to utilize the talent.
00:49He creates one-on-one mismatches.
00:52And, again, Brian Thomas still hasn't emerged, right?
00:56So, ETN, they made – I mean, think about the move that they –
01:01they shipped Hank Bigsby to Philly, who's now a pedestrian running back,
01:07when – with Doug Peterson, he was the pure number one.
01:10And Travis ETN looks like he's back in Death Valley,
01:13pounding the rock, catching the football out of the backfield.
01:16Strange now is a security blanket and an above-average tight end.
01:20Parker Washington is great.
01:21I mean, I like the talent, and defensively, that secondary is good.
01:26I like them.
01:27So, yeah, I would bet – again, I wanted to see this game yesterday.
01:31I got you.
01:32And I said that I liked them with the three-and-a-half.
01:35If they could go in, I thought it was an emotional letdown spot.
01:38They're winning six straight.
01:39They knocked off a team that had won 11 straight.
01:42I mean, what better – what more can you ask for?
01:44So, this is why, for me, I think they have a very real argument
01:47as the best team in the AFC.
01:49I really believe that.
01:52I don't think I can get to them being booked as favorites in the conference
01:56because, despite the fact the path is there,
01:59I do not think they're going to grab the one seed.
02:00I think it will still either end up being Denver or New England.
02:03That's what I anticipate.
02:06It doesn't mean that they can't win it.
02:08And I think what you have right now in this conference, Joe, is a group.
02:12You look at the AFC Championship odds.
02:14We're booking – we're flashing nine teams.
02:16I could sit here with my eyes closed and tell you why all nine aren't going to win it.
02:21The trick is actually getting to a team.
02:24The problem, though, is how much of this seeding stuff is up for grabs.
02:28So, your favorite today is the Denver Broncos.
02:31And if the Denver Broncos are the number one seed,
02:33I think they belong then as favorites.
02:35They don't have to play in the opening round.
02:37Could be messy.
02:38They're going to have a home game off by where we have seen Sean Payton be very,
02:42very good just throughout his career, but perfect since coming back to Denver.
02:46And then it would be at home in a conference championship game if they're there.
02:50But all of a sudden now, if this team loses to the Chargers in week 18,
02:57Chargers are going to have to beat the Houston Texans next week.
03:00Easier said than done, but booked as favorites.
03:04The Broncos are going to go from the one seed to the five or the six.
03:07Right.
03:08And then, here's the reality for Denver.
03:11Good luck finding a soul to pick the Denver Broncos to win a game,
03:17much less the AFC, if they're a wild card team.
03:20Yeah, very good.
03:21Nobody is going to pick them in that spot.
03:23No chance.
03:23Very difficult.
03:24And again, if they have to play down the road against Josh Allen,
03:28are you giving Bo Nix and Denver the matchup or the advantage in that type of situation?
03:34No.
03:35But, you know, I will say this about L.A.
03:38That's a rematch of last year's playoff game with Houston.
03:40They got smashed in the second half of that game.
03:42You know, you would think that Houston does have the defensive advantage in that matchup,
03:47the way they contained Justin Herbert and held them to four interceptions
03:51or forced four interceptions in that playoff win last year.
03:56I can't get – here's the thing.
03:58When we're talking number one seeds right now, week 16 ending, week 17 on the horizon,
04:06I would say Jacksonville, to me, is the team that I feel most confident about.
04:11Again, I think that's fair.
04:12I don't feel confident in Houston.
04:13I think that's fair.
04:14Houston, to me, again, you look at that game.
04:17Yeah.
04:18You said it.
04:19You said it.
04:20You saw it a mile away.
04:21You saw it a mile away.
04:23You play that in a playoff game, you're going to get clipped.
04:26I know.
04:27You have that mentality where my defense is better than anybody,
04:30and they can carry us.
04:32When your defense doesn't step up in a playoff game,
04:35and you're going to need to rely on your offense,
04:37you're treading water in rough seas.
04:40Well, I can't wait to watch that game next week between the Chargers and the Texans, though.
04:43Because here's the thing, all of a sudden, if you're at L.A.,
04:45so this team started to be your 3-0, 3-0 in division.
04:48Yeah.
04:48And then all of a sudden, they felt left for dead when it at least came to the division, right?
04:53They were going to miss the playoffs kind of situation.
04:58You control your destiny if you're the Chargers, right?
05:01You do.
05:02You control your destiny.
05:03It's right there in front of you.
05:04And I know, hey, win out, right?
05:06It's much easier said than done.
05:07You know, be a team that goes from 14-3 to 13-4.
05:11But it's right there for the Los Angeles Chargers.
05:14Because they're another one of these teams.
05:16You think I bet Justin Herbert when his first playoff came on the road?
05:20But that's my point.
05:21That's my point.
05:22Out of all the quarterbacks, Knicks, Herbert, Lawrence, who are you betting on?
05:26And, look, so often that is what it comes down to.
05:31But I think it's also about feeling better about the guys around these guys there.
05:35And those Chargers guys, everyone stepped up in Dallas, both sides of the football.
05:39I did think that was impressive.
05:40I did think that was impressive.
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