NFL Week 5 Bold Predictions + What Lane Johnson’s Retirement Means for the Eagles (Ep. 2251)

0:02 Welcome into the tailgate. It's week five. I'm Alfredo Brown joined by Pat Fitzmaurice. We're talking predictions for this week, Pat, and so much more. We got a lot of news and stuff going on right now. It's just been a weird week. It's been a very weird week. We've got players retiring, players getting traded, injuries we thought would take longer are becoming shorter. So without any further ado, let's jump into it. I know the big headline from yesterday before recording this was Lane Johnson retiring. citing mental health and personal reasons right after that the eagles then trade away cam jurgens and a seventh round pick to the ravens for a fifth and second round pick fifth and 27 second and 28 i think my question here is

0:43 not to not to bypass the lane johnson of it all but are the eagles kind of giving up here like this is this is a real question that people are having Yeah.

0:51 Are they waving the white flag? And it seems like it with the Cam Juergens trade. They traded Juergens and a 2027 seventh round pick to the Ravens for a fifth in 2027 and a second in 2028. It does make it seem like, you know, one of these dynasty league trades in fantasy football where you're trading current assets for future assets and kind of a strange thing for a team that's two and two been disappointing so far, but they're certainly not out of the playoff chase by any means. They've got a lot of injuries they're dealing with, but yeah, this offensive line is just going to look different.

1:28 Like the Jason Kelsey era of this offensive line is pretty much over. The Kelsey Lane Johnson era. They're transitioning and it's been kind of bad so far. They've also lost Jeff Stoutland, their longtime offensive line coach. Things are just completely different on this offensive line. I don't know whether they're giving up on the season yet. They've still got a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball and some good talent on the offensive side too, but just everything has looked disjointed for the Eagles so far.

1:59 Yeah, I think this is just what happens when everything starts to snowball, right? They've had all the injuries. The offense has not looked nearly as good as we thought. Pat, you and I both, if I remember correctly, were kind of excited about Sean Manning taking over the Eagles offense, and it has just not looked very good. And we can make excuses left and right with injuries, but one way or another, they're just not playing well. And listen, moves like this are going to happen when that starts to happen with an NFL team. Let's go on to our next lineup here that We find this out from Adam Schefter reporting. There's a realistic chance, quote, realistic chance that Lamar Jackson plays in week five against the Falcons.

2:37 We found out the day before that Lamar Jackson's ankle sprain was neither low nor high, which would, I assume, make it a mid ankle sprain or something like that. Now we're finding out he might play. Pat, I have no idea what to make of this, man. Like new news keeps coming out. Is this one of these where we just have to wait for game day to see what's happening and And once again, not to minimize Lamar and his obviously MVP caliber play, does it matter with this offense? Because every time Tyler Huntley comes into the game for the Ravens, he ends up filling in pretty admirably.

3:08 Yeah, Tyler Huntley, who made the Pro Bowl famously a few years ago. So, man, obviously we want to see more of Lamar in this offense because he's looked fantastic in the Declan Doyle offense for the Ravens. Like playing under center seems to suit him. And he's been throwing over the middle, which he didn't always do in the past.

3:28 Everything's looked really good. But yeah, it's been a strange twist. Alfredo going from in less than a 24-hour span, going from what we thought was maybe a multi-week injury to now, oh, maybe he's not going.

3:42 To sit at all. He's going to play this week. Yeah, very weird. I know like Lamar Jackson, fantasy managers, I think there's a part of us that wants him to play. And there's another part of me that's just like, just go rest a week, man. It'll be fine. Quarterback is easy to stream. I just don't want to lose my league winning player here for the rest of the season.

3:59 Because last year when he came back early from injury, he wasn't the same. And I think that's the thing that we don't want to see happen, whether you're a Ravens fan or just a football fan in general. When Lamar Jackson is playing, it's good for the NFL. So you want to see him healthy out there.

4:12 Definitely.

4:13 Let's go to our next note on here. Texans head coach D'Amico Ryans is taking over defensive play calling duties from defensive coordinator Matt Burke. Anyone that's been watching the games could have seen this coming. Matt Burke, former Miami Dolphin coach as well, so I'm familiar with his work. Texas defense, man, it just has not looked good. This is a defense that is filled with stars all over the place, and it was typically seen as one of the best, if not the best defense in the league, and things just haven't been going their way. I think some of it has to do with scheduling, playing against some good opponents, and also there's injuries as well that have been taking effect, but Making a coaching change after

4:51 just four weeks usually signifies there is something just not going right within that team's building.

4:58 Yeah, there is too much talent on the defensive side of the ball for the Houston Texans for them to be allowing 27.3 points per game, seventh most in the NFL through four weeks, 343.4 yards from scrimmage per game, the 13th most in the NFL so far. They rank 15th in defensive DVOA, 24th in DVOA against the pass.

5:25 So this defense is definitely underachieving based on, I think we all thought coming into the season, the short list of best defenses in the league, Seattle, Houston, maybe Minnesota and Denver, but certainly Houston on the Mount Rushmore of 2026 defenses, and they have not played up to that.

5:48 Right now, really, all we've been seeing is just Daniel Hunter and Will Anderson have been looking good and combining for some sacks. But outside that, this team really hasn't been stopping anyone. And that has needed to be the backbone of the team. And that's what everyone expected, right? They can control the line of scrimmage, control everything from their defensive side, and then be able to run the ball.

6:08 And that was coming off of a year where they couldn't run the ball. They didn't have a good offensive line. Now we're talking about CJ Stroud and the Texans having to pass a bunch, which was not, that was not on the menu early in the season or prior to the season here. So we're looking at a very different Texans team. Speaking of very different, Washington Commanders. They, last week, they got all the way down to Kali Akmanis. Did I say it right? Yes. Nathan Kali Akmanis, the third string quarterback that, I'm gonna be real with everybody, I did not know was a person. You could have told me that was a Greek god or a philosopher and I would have been like, yep, for sure. But he played quarterback last week for the Washington commanders actually looks good.

6:47 Like he, he was, he was throwing deep. He was ripping some balls. Uh, Marcus Mariota also got hurt last week, but now we get the news that Jayden Daniels is practicing in full for the commanders. And something he said is that wearing this elbow brace is just going to be part of my life. Now he is ready to just keep wearing it. We had similar comments from Roma Dunzay in the off season where he's like, Oh, you know, foot pain is just part of, you know, how I'm going to be running now. How does that make you feel with Jane Daniels being back in knowing he's got this elbow issue? He's got the brace. This is not the first injury he's had like this either. Yeah.

7:24 It makes me feel a little nervous if I'm a commanders fan or if I'm a Jane Daniels stakeholder in fantasy football, but it makes me feel better than if I was having to watch, uh, Ethan Kaliak Manas play quarterback this week against the New York giants. And, uh, Yeah, I knew who he was, Alfredo. He played... Was it Rutgers?

7:47 I think he finished there. He was at Minnesota for a while. And since the Golden Gophers are the arch rivals of my alma mater, the Wisconsin Badgers, I was familiar with Mr. Kali Akmanis. But yeah, just... I'm glad this is not a long-term thing because when you saw that injury... there was obvious concern that he was going to miss months rather than weeks. And now if he only ends up missing one week out of this, that seems like a great result for the commanders.

8:18 Yeah, I think the whole thing is going to be is when he does play, can he be the same player, right? Is he going to be able to run the same way he has before, be relatively fearless the way he has before? I think the concern with a guy like this, even if it doesn't affect his throwing motion or his ability to start games, it's does it change his mindset?

8:35 And that's going to be a big thing as he kind of panic a little bit more in the pocket now when the pass rush is coming rather than stand in there and deliver the ball like he needs to. That's that's always the biggest hurdle with players when they get injured. So I'll be curious to see how that works out this week. And we've got a lot of big games this week and we're going to talk about some of our biggest games. Before we do that, I need to tell you all about this new prediction market called Polymark. It's a stock exchange for sports, buying in and selling out on your terms. When your team goes down to 20%, you can buy in and sell it off at 40% when they come back to double your money.

9:06 They're so confident that you'll never go back to the other guys. They're giving you a free $ 25 in your first trade when you deposit $ 10. And now they've launched a new feature called Squads, a group chat, where you can see what everyone is trading on. So download the Polymarket app today and use the code FPPOD when you sign up. That's code FPPOD to get $ 25 free after you deposit just $ 10. Now, Pat, let's talk about the games that matter the most this week in week five, which I think every team and every coach would contend that their games all matter every single week. But there's some really fun ones this week and some good lines as well. First one here, Buffalo at the Rams. Bills at Rams. The line right now is Rams minus two

9:46 and a half over under 54 and a half. What are the thoughts on this game, Pat?

9:53 That the over-under sounds spot on, that we're going to get a shootout on Monday night, one of the best games we've had.

10:00 Had.

10:01 Best looking games. This is a really fun matchup to end the week on. I'm excited about it. And the Rams seem like their offense is whole again with Puka Nakua returning last week and immediately... doing Pukunikua things and going over 100 receiving yards and scoring a rushing touchdown and blocking his tail off. So that was fun to see.

10:23 And going against a Buffalo defense that has not looked that great under Jim Leonard, and maybe it's the adjustment to a new system, that's understandably going to take some time. But man, you need to speed up the clock on that because you've got the Rams this week. And that's going to be such a major challenge for this defense.

10:45 So I'm really looking forward to it. You know, Josh Allen is going to be making plays. It's going to be a really fun game. I can't wait.

10:52 We getting the Keon Coleman back to back big games or does he go back into hibernation for like eight more games and then pop off eventually again?

10:59 He's so boom or bust. You know, I want to, I want to give these guys grace. There used to be a time Alfredo when it commonly took guys two or three years to pop as wide receivers and In recent years, we've been spoiled by the guys who come in right away and are just great from the get-go. But Keon's taken a little time. I still want to thank the guy who made all those crazy highlight reel catches at Florida State is lurking there somewhere.

11:27 Yeah, we always want to hope that those guys are still in there deep down. Next game on here, San Francisco at Seattle. Line has Seattle minus three over-unders at 47. So another high-scoring game here. Not quite as high as the Buffalo-Los Angeles game, but this is going to be, I think, one of the toughest games to try to predict.

11:51 San Francisco's 4-0. Seattle, every time I'm ready to count them out, whether it's losing Sam Darnold or them not having anyone else they can count on in the offense besides Jackson Smith-Jigba, and it just does not matter. They lose Jerrion Price. It doesn't matter. Emmanuel Wilson comes back. What's your read on this one? Is Seattle for real?

12:11 And San Francisco is another one that's kind of just being held together by duct tape and some Popsicle sticks at this point.

12:16 Yeah, but I think both of these teams are pretty legit. These are two of your Super Bowl, absolutely 100% legit Super Bowl contenders. in the NFC. This is going to be really telling. Like you mentioned it, Seattle's resilient. They can take some hits and just kind of keep coming. And the 49ers offense is just a machine. And you just hope they can keep all the pieces intact because this is a pretty fun group when you've got Christian McCaffrey and Mike Evans and Debo Samuel and George Kittle and obviously Brock Purdy, who's a shortlist MVP candidate right now.

12:56 And those guys are all playing together like this is a fearsome group. Seattle's been dominating the series. They've won three out of the last four. And since 2003, Alfredo, Seattle's 30 and 15 against the 49ers. So big test for the 49ers going into Seattle. And it would be huge for them if they could pull off a mild upset in Seattle.

13:18 And I was going to say, how much how much stake do you put into them being in Seattle for this game? I know it's always a tough place to play. Yeah.

13:25 And it just seemed like Mike McDonald had their number last year. But, you know, there were some injuries that the 49ers were dealing with. So that's just such a great chess match. I mean, Kyle Shanahan versus Mike McDonald. That's what you want to see. What does it look like when the 49ers offense has the ball against the Seattle defense? So that's going to be really fun to watch.

13:46 Now, I think those two games might be two of the best games to watch this coming week. One of the most interesting games here, because we have a team that coming off a Super Bowl and they are weirdly on a downward trajectory, while another team was worse than the league last year. They are on such a massive upward trajectory. It's the Las Vegas Raiders at the New England Patriots. New England minus three and a half on this line here. The over-under is at 45 and a half.

14:15 Patriots finally got the monkey off their back. They get the win in Buffalo. Drake May looks like Drake May again. He still had a couple of those, like, weird how'd you fumble that play going on there. But, Pat, I will say, man, on the other side of this, I was shocked when I went to go chart Kirk Cousins for reception perception. And Kirk looks great. Good. It's not just that he's running the system. He looks rejuvenated. He looks mobile. He's got arm strength again. This looks like Kirk from five or six years ago when he was playing really well.

14:50 I think Kirk Cousins always looks good when he has time to throw. When he is not getting harassed in the pocket. When the protection... Is shaky for Kirk Cousins. That's when Kirk starts to.

15:03 Oh, I'm saying he looked even good against pressure. I was shocked because I have the same mindset as you. And I was like, no shot. And as I was watching first half of the game, no pressure. And I'm like, OK, yeah, of course he can make these throws. And then he had a couple of these moves where I'm like, is that Kirk running out of the pocket and avoiding a blitzer?

15:20 I don't think he can still do that.

15:22 And I'll be honest, Alfredo, I figured by early October, Clint Kubiak was going to be sick of seeing Kirk throw short of the chains on third and 10. And we'd be seeing Fernando by now. But looks like Fernando is going to have to cool his heels for maybe another month. I think that the Raiders three and one and four and oh against the spread. They are a plucky underdog here going to New England, but it was nice to see Drake May get it together last week and have a good game. And yeah, there were some weird plays where things looked a little Keystone Cops, but he also made a bunch of those Drake May throws where you're just like, okay, yeah, this dude is top five in arm talent in the NFL.

16:05 Back to those Raiders. They've got a really tough schedule. I know they got New England this week, but then it's Buffalo, the Rams- The Jets is kind of meh. And the Niners and then Seattle. That is a rough stretch of games there. And I almost wonder if you are Clint Kubiak, whether you're winning or losing those games.

16:23 I think you let Kirk finish out those games because you don't want to throw Fernando Mendoza to the wolves against any of those teams.

16:29 Yeah, I think you're right about that. And that's it. You don't want Mendoza to have to run that gauntlet in his first stretch of NFL games.

16:39 Because there's a nice stretch later. Week 12, he would be able to start against Cleveland, get the week 13 by to get his bearings again. And then you just finish your last few games here. You got the Chargers, Broncos again, Tennessee, Arizona and Kansas City to finish it off. You get you get a decent sample size here, but it's you know what? I didn't think we'd be talking about this, about Kirk leading the Raiders to potential playoff berths.

17:00 But here we are for no Raiders, man. It's wild. Let's talk about your team. Not the Chicago Bears. The Green Bay Packers. So we got Chicago at Green Bay in this game. Chicago minus three. It turns out it doesn't matter who's playing quarterback for the Bears. They just, they can still score points. The offense still looks good.

17:19 It's a different receiver every week, but hey, things are working out for them right now. Chicago's favored on the road, despite Tyson Bajet being under center. Do you think, Pat, that Tyson Bajet can kind of keep the magic going? He wasn't particularly amazing, but he was good enough that the Bears' offense can still function and score touchdowns.

17:39 Yeah, they had more first downs than the Jets had offensive plays last week, which probably says more about the Jets than.

17:47 The Bears' offense.

17:48 But yeah, for two straight weeks with two different backup quarterbacks, first we saw Case Keenum look pretty surgical in a dissection of the Philadelphia Eagles in a Monday night game. And then last week, Tyson Bajent played pretty well against the Jets. So Yeah, this offense is rolling. I mean, Ben Johnson's offensive expertise, he clearly is an S-tier offensive play caller and designer. So it's going to be tough because he has made it be known that he does not like the Green Bay Packers. He has put steam into this rivalry, and this was a one-sided rivalry for a really long time, Alfredo. Now Chicago has won three of the last four in this rivalry, but... Going back to 1994, the Packers in this rivalry, 50 wins, 16 losses.

18:42 So I'm in the Chicago area. I'm a Wisconsin native living behind enemy lines. And that could normally be a tough situation for a Packers fan. Bears fans have not been very chirpy in the nearly 30 years that I've been in Chicago because they didn't have anything to chirp about Alfredo. They didn't win many games. In this series, and they are starting to get very chirpy. And I totally get it. Even the defense that everyone thought was going to be a train wreck, Dennis Allen has this defense overachieving. Austin Booker looks like one of the best young pass rushers in the league.

19:17 They've been sneaky good.

19:19 Yeah, this Bears team is legit. And Matt LaFleur, I mean, he just signed a contract extension. He's not on the hot seat. But Packers fans are not going to be happy if the Bears come up and beat the Packers in Lambeau Field. And we saw some major line movement in this game, which was interesting. The Packers opened as favorites, and that was quickly bet over to the Chicago Bears being two and a half point. I think it started Packers minus one and a half, and now it's Bears minus two and a half. So a lot of people seem to feel like Ben Johnson has got Matt LaFleur's number.

19:55 There's a part of this Packers offense that has not been able to get going and it's the run game. Is there any saving grace there? Is there any hope? I believe, if I'm not mistaken, Chris Brooks is supposed to be out for this game. Does Caleb Johnson get bigger run in this? Because he's had some flashes. He's had some moments. But no matter what, the running back situation just does not look good.

20:13 He had a goal line fumble last week. So I don't know if that's going to help with his case for more playing time. But I will say, Alfredo, the offensive line did look a little better. You had three veterans off the street.

20:27 You better look better.

20:28 Yeah, Laken Tomlinson, Kevin Zeitler, and Mekhi Becton. And Zeitler didn't play last week. The other two guys did. And they actually, I think they averaged over four yards a carry against the Buccaneers, which felt like a major accomplishment. But it's, I think, the Bears' run game that's probably going to be the dominant one here this week. The Bears always run the ball well. And the Packers just lost their best run defender, linebacker Edgerin Cooper, to a torn Achilles. So it's going to be a real challenge for the Packers to stop the Chicago running game.

21:01 And Pat, we're about to make some big calls here this week. Before we do that, you watching, listening, whatever you're doing, if you want a chance to win one of the most unique pieces of NFL fan gear out there, the large NFLPA wall smack, courtesy of our good friends at Trophy Smack, the number one destination for epic fantasy football hardware, then this is your shot. Their oversized, officially licensed NFLPA wall smack are bold statement pieces that are perfect for your fan cave, office, or living room wall.

21:30 It's not just decor. It's a way to rep your favorite players and style. To enter, all you need to do is subscribe to the Tailgate YouTube channel right now. That's it. Just go ahead and click it. Click the little button that says subscribe. You'll get a little fun You know, happy movement there, happy motion there on your screen.

21:43 That's it. Simple. It's so easy. We'll be announcing the winner here on the channel, so make sure you turn on notifications. Just click that little bell here on YouTube or wherever you're watching so you don't miss your chance to claim this epic prize. Now, Pat, let's make some big calls this week. You and I each have a couple of big calls we're going to make on this.

22:03 Maybe something that feels a little bold, feels a little spicy. Pat, why don't you kick us off?

22:08 I don't know how spicy this one is, Alfredo, but there are currently three undefeated teams in the NFL. The Chiefs, the Vikings, and the 49ers. The Chiefs are on bye this week, but when they come out of their bye, they will be the lone remaining undefeated team. The 49ers are going to lose in Seattle on Sunday. Seattle takes care of business there. And the Vikings are going to lose in New Orleans. The Vikings' offense is kind of a mess right now. Like as good as they've been on defense, I believe they are 27th in offensive EPA.

22:42 And that was before.

22:44 That's crediting Carson Wentz with a lot too.

22:47 That is crediting Carson Wentz with a lot. And now they've got offensive line problems. They just lost left guard Donovan Jackson to a torn meniscus. And left tackle Christian Derusaw has a concussion. Not sure about his status for Sunday, but if he doesn't play, I mean, the strength of that offensive line was on the left side and it's, possible both of those guys are.

23:06 Out you and i did not look at your call before putting mine on here and you and i we mind melded because i said very similar thing saints bounce back to beat the vikings tyler shuck typically one of the better quarterbacks against the blitz uh kyler murray has just really struggled being able to watch it against the miami dolphins where I've just sat here and been like, yeah, the Miami Dolphins have no chance against any team. And then as a Dolphins fan, getting into the fourth quarter and being like, oh, my God, we might win. We might beat the 3-0 Vikings. That was wild to see here.

23:40 Kyler Murray, this is an interesting stat that I pulled. Kyler Murray has led the Vikings to a touchdown on just one of their 26 offensive possessions this season. That can't be it. Like, that can't be it. If you trade away your former first round pick that you gave up on and you go and sign Kyler and you do this whole offseason back and forth, will they, won't they, who's the starter? And you take on all this attention and you go through all that mess to have Kyler be your starter and the offense not work, especially after we just saw Michael Penix and the Falcons be able to run all over and be able to pass all over the Saints defense. If Kyler and the Vikings can't do it, Not only do I think you have to

24:21 start asking questions about Carson Wentz over Kyler at this point, Vikings fans are going to get to the point where they have to start asking questions about Kevin O'Connell.

24:29 Oh, definitely. And it was just kind of assumed after the same Darnold year that everything Kevin O'Connell touched turned to gold, that he had the Midas touch. Not really. Didn't work out with J.J. McCarthy. Easy to throw J.J. McCarthy under the bus, blame him for everything. But now it's not working with Kyler Murray either.

24:47 Kevin O'Connell was a guest, I believe, on the Pat McAfee show or Barstool. I get them mixed up. But he was a guest over there and they were going back and forth talking about like Super Bowl winners. And he mentions– one of the hosts on there mentions Sam Darnold winning the Super Bowl and you just see the life leave Kevin O'Connell's eyes. It was just– it was the Hello Darkness, my old friend meme of just like zooming in on him with the sad music.

25:16 And, you know, Alfredo, like they are right now, Justin Jefferson is squarely in his prime and they've got Jordan Addison, who's a pretty good receiver in his own right. And like you are wasting these guys.

25:30 13 targets for TJ Hawkinson last week.

25:33 Yeah. And like they have Kyler Murray on this dirt cheap contract, which is great for them this year. If that worked out, I mean, that would have been perfect. Get the one year out of him. decide whether to lock him up long term. They're going to be back to the starting point at quarterback if Kyler Murray doesn't work out. And what do you do when you've got this team that has been amazing defensively with Brian Flores, that has all this talent at wide receiver, that has a good offensive line when they're healthy, and you're just lost at the quarterback position? It's a bad spot to be in.

26:10 You know what? And I'm doing it again. I'm going out into other sports media here. People say what you want about Dan Orlovsky, but when he made the comment that Vikings fans will be cheering for Carson Wentz to take the field, and everyone was like, boo this man! Guys! Guys! Look at where we're at!

26:29 I think we're pretty close to the Carson Wentz takeover.

26:33 It's happening. I think he gives them the best chance to win each game this week at this point, honestly. Let's do this, Pat. We're going to head to our final segment. One thing to watch here. Before we do, please tell us your calls for the upcoming week. All of you that are watching and listening, hit us in the comments. If you're watching over on YouTube, leave your favorite call in the comments. Hit the like button. Subscribe to the Tailgate channel. If you're listening on the podcast, follow the show. Leave us a comment. Give us a rating and review. Tell us what you like about the show.

27:01 What would you like to see us do differently? What do you want to see added? It really helps more NFL fans find this show, get in front of more eyes and ears. If you want to watch us on YouTube, just search for us at Tailgate NFL. All right, Pat, final segment here. One thing to watch this week. What is it for you?

27:20 It's the London game, Alfredo, and I want to see what the Eagles look like against the Jaguars after the collapse against the Rams last week, then the retirement of Lane Johnson and the trade of Cam Juergens. Is this team ready to fold up the tents at 2-2 and just not content for the NFC East, not content for a playoff spot, or is this team able to reset on the fly? But it seems like betters are betting on the former, the folding up of the tents, because I think this game went from like a two and a half point spread early in the week to seven and a half last I checked. Yeah. And we know the Jaguars.

28:03 Have the lowest implied point total this week.

28:06 That is crazy. And we know the Jaguars, yeah, they've got all the skill position injuries. No Saquon Barkley, Devontae Smith, Dallas Goddards. The offensive line is in quite a state, but there's still so much talent on the defensive side of the ball. But man, then having to do this whole London trip against a team that's very used to making the London trip and knows how to turn it into a business trip. So it's a tough spot for the Eagles right now.

28:36 This is a tough one. I actually do think the Jaguars not only win that game, I think this is one of those where it just snowballs and the Jaguars just absolutely mop up the Eagles in this one. There's no way that as a team you are hyper-focused on this game after everything that's been going on. Whether it's been losing players due to injury, getting a player traded, and having another player get retired all within the week.

29:03 There's no shot that they're that focused on this game.

29:06 And you've been kind of one of the bullies of the NFC for a while. And all of a sudden, it's like your identity has been stolen.

29:16 It's wild to me, man. It's going to be definitely one thing to watch over there. On my side... I am so curious to see what ends up happening with the Chargers. This is like a slow motion car accident that we can't look away from. The injuries are just piling up. I want to read some of them that are on the week five injury report for the Chargers versus the Broncos. You got Joe Walt DNP, Rashawn Slater DNP.

29:40 You got no Alec Ingold, who is limited. No Dante Jackson, no Derwin James, no Khalil Mack, who's just getting rest. But then you got no Ladd McConkie, no Trevor Penning. You're missing so many starters from the practice field and the injuries just keep piling up, especially on the offensive line. And I'm also kind of at the point where I wonder, even if these people were playing, how good is this team?

30:04 How good is this offense? I think that we were sold a bill of goods, that Mike McDaniel would do some changes and do some good for this offense. And I think Mike McDaniel might actually just be getting in his own way. He was so excited to have a quarterback that could throw the ball deep and do things that Tua Tungabailoa couldn't. It's like the Jurassic Park thing where your scientists were so fixated on what they could do, they asked whether they should do it. That feels like Mike McDaniel here. He made a Los Angeles Chargers Jurassic Park and the dinosaurs are loose. And it's just not going well for this Chargers offense right now. Nothing is working in the passing game. Justin Herbert looks absolutely frazzled

30:43 every single game. The dude is getting... nearly knocked out of every single game. I feel like every game he's getting hit to the ribs by a defender coming in. He's getting a shoulder injury. He's getting a leg injury. I not only am I worried that if he's going to make it through the season, I think we're probably going to see some changes here in Los Angeles very soon.

31:01 And you can sort of feel the desperation in some of the play calling with like these option passes, reverses to wide receiver, like things that just getting too cute. Yeah, it's like the anti-Jim Harbaugh playbook. Harbaugh would probably just like to run it down your throat and steal your soul, and it doesn't seem like Mike McDaniel's offense is going to operate that way. The way he was able to maximize Tua Tungavailoa's abilities in Miami, and then, yeah, you just figured he'd be able to expand his playbook because Justin Herbert could make throws that Tua could only dream of and everything was going to be fantastic. It just hasn't worked. And it's looked really clunky. And you've got guys'

31:47 backs running out into the flat and colliding with the left tackle as he's backing up and getting into his pass set. And it's just everything has looked so disjointed with this Chargers team. And yeah, it would not have been far-fetched to think of an Eagles-Chargers Super Bowl a couple of months ago. And we are not headed towards an Eagles-Chargers Super Bowl, Alfredo.

32:10 Yeah, we're actually at the point here where I think if the Chargers lose this week against Denver, then they play Kansas City next week to I mean, Denver hasn't actually been great, but. I think they're good enough here where their defense can pull them through this game, and then Kansas City, who would be a buzzsaw for them.

32:26 There's a real chance the Chargers are 0-6 going into the bye week, and I just don't see how Mike McDaniel makes it out of that bye week if the team is 0-6. Losing to three division rivals, Raiders, Broncos, and Chiefs, there's no shot you can have that, especially if you're not getting, like you mentioned, the run game going, not getting Omari and Hampton going, not being able to get the passing game going, like nothing. You can only blame so much on injuries at this point.

32:49 Yeah, and it's just... It's been bad, and the offensive line, that was the one hope you had if you were a Chargers fan. Well, there was hope with McDaniel, too, turning things around, but you had to play the whole last season, most of it without your two stud tackles, and the offensive line in the middle was just a complete disaster. It's still a disaster in the middle, and now those two tackles are hurt again. So it's hard to see this offense showing improvement with the offensive line right back where it was last year.

33:23 Yeah, I think we're going to see the Chargers try to get back to just simple football after the bye week if they lose these next two games, which could mean trouble for Mike McDaniel. But Pat, that's going to do it for us here, man. An exciting week five coming up. This was a great show to be able to wrap back and forth with you. And everyone that's been listening or watching, if you enjoyed this and you enjoy the Fantasy Pros content, be sure to check out the Betting Pros podcast for the best NFL bets during each week of the season. As always, I want to thank you all for watching or listening all the way through.

33:55 From myself, from Pat, we'll see you next time. Adios.