GMFB Monday Hour 2: Steelers win, Packers Impress, Mendoza debut, and Game Balls!

0:04 Good Morning Football is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeartRadio.

0:22 Good morning football.

0:25 That's right.

0:25 This is good morning football. Everybody presented by Old Trapper Beef Jerky.

0:28 Monday, October 12th.

0:29 Jamie Erdl, Manti Teo, Sam Ocho.

0:31 Those are the facts. Kyle Brandt is in New York. Kyle, I know you have some.

0:35 Business to take care of, but we have a gift for you at the end of this segment. You just wait and see. Somehow it matches the energy.

0:42 What is it? A segment off?

0:43 It's not a segment off. No, you can get that.

0:45 At the end of the show. It's going to make you feel like you're off though. Yeah, that's true. Make you feel like you're just chilling on a beach somewhere.

0:51 Yes, it is.

0:52 But instead, it's going to prepare you emotionally for football. But can you take us to Lambeau yesterday?

0:57 Yeah, I'm going to be chilling on the beach somewhere. Manta, are you going to pass me a gummy? All right, let's go to Lambeau.

1:03 Legendary Bears head coach Mike Ditka passed away on Friday.

1:05 We talked about it.

1:06 On the network, and there was a lot of feelings even in Lambeau, and then the Bears responded with a game that would have made Mike Ditka.

1:12 Spit on the ground. Let's get into it. Jordan Love, Christian Watson, boom! This was the story of this game.

1:19 Deep bombs one after another after another against a helpless Bears secondary. Tyson Bajans in for Caleb and Case Keenum apparently intercepted. intercepted by Xavier McKinney.

1:33 That's McKinney's second interception of the season. Caleb looks on. Watch this. Marshawn Lloyd, boom!

1:40 Oh, Jalen Johnson, it was a tough day. It's going to be a tough highlight package. And Marshawn Lloyd, we will see you tomorrow on Good Morning Football. You bet your butt you'll be in that segment. It's his first rushing.

1:51 Touchdown of the season.

1:52 He goes up and does a Lambeau leap. Third quarter now, it's 14-7. Guess what happens here? jordan love waiting waiting all the time in the world just chuck.

2:03 It deep.

2:05 And touchdown christian watson that is over the rookie safety dylan thenaman who was in perfect position just didn't make a play on the ball watson six for 143 and two that's why he paid that big look at micah he's like and i'm coming back in a few weeks maybe later in the third.

2:22 Quarter Jordan Love going deep.

2:26 Matthew Golden over Jalen Johnson.

2:28 Golden had six for 123. Everybody in the Packers had six for 123 and three touchdowns.

2:34 It was an incredible butt whooping. Marshawn, a sequel, a walk-in.

2:40 No one within eight yards of him. Another Lambeau leap. He had 10 for 31 and two touchdowns. He also had six catches for 123 yards.

2:47 Not really.

2:48 31 to basically nothing.

2:51 A butt kicking.

2:52 We didn't even show you the handshake because who cares? The game was so one-sided. Green Bay destroyed. Now, Luther Burton, the young receiver, said earlier in the week that they wanted to make the Packers quit. After the game, Zaire Franklin responded to that.

3:07 They were going to come in and make us quit. You know, it's a lot to that. So, you know, I feel like it's all about us. You know, I feel like it's just about how we prepare, how we went into the game. And we're going to see him again, possibly another two times. So we know, you know, what's coming with that. So we just got to keep our head down and keep moving forward. Well, they do a whole lot of weird stuff. Like, since I've been here, like, they do a whole lot of stuff that worried about us.

3:32 You know, we worry about ourselves. So, you know, hopefully they learn to stop dissing us real talk.

3:37 Real talk.

3:38 Real talk, KB.

3:40 I kind of don't like this from Zaire Franklin because I want it to keep happening. I want the gasoline on the fire and then the wind to come through. I just want all the parts of it that make that big fire between these two fantastic. So what do you make of this game and the rivalry and the fact that it just.

3:53 Kept going, KB?

3:55 Just absolute butt-kicking annihilation.

3:57 They were the better team from start to finish.

3:59 I actually think this was the worst game of the Ben Johnson regime.

4:02 I really do.

4:03 They've lost by more than this. They got pasted by Detroit last week. But this was a chance. Boot on the throat of the Packers. Beat them three times in a row. Beat them in Lambeau. Everything was there. And there's been so much arrogance about the Bears and their players and their coach.

4:18 And it turned into.

4:20 Hubris, I think, with the treatment of Tyson Bajent, who just didn't have it in this game. I don't think he had it in the last game. Casey Keenum sitting there on the sideline, finally went in. And I just think this is not really a Bears story. This is a Packers story. The Packers looked great. They were great.

4:33 Remember the last time they.

4:34 Were in Lambeau, they were booed off the field after getting annihilated by the Falcons. Their only wins this year have been in overtime against the Jets, and they barely survived Jalen Daniels down in Tampa Bay.

4:44 Just a great performance by them. And Matt LaFleur, Matt LaFleur, Really good coach, man.

4:50 He's been under fire, and he's got this guy in Chicago just picking at him and picking at him all the time, and he refuses to sink to Ben Johnson's level, and in this game, Ben Johnson couldn't get up to his level. So I think it was a great day for Matt LeFleur, a guy I have a respect for, a guy who picks away. He goes about his business, and in this particular time, he flicked that Chicago Bears mosquito, and it died against the wall. They'll play again, and I know Caleb's not there, and Micah's not there.

5:17 I get that.

5:18 But I don't care right now. This was a butt whooping by the Packers and a great day for Matt LaFleur.

5:22 Yeah, I was shocked by this result. And the reason why is, I mean, generally speaking, you think, okay, backup quarterback, Tyson Bajent, right?

5:28 You're going to struggle.

5:29 But for whatever reason, Ben Johnson has built this belief.

5:32 In Bears players, Bears fans, even.

5:35 NFL fans that this team is going to win despite this team is going to win regardless yet this performance looked like what you probably would have expected from a backup quarterback would have expected from a team that's playing without their number one overall pick it was it was an embarrassing performance it was a poor performance offensively defensively bears couldn't run the ball but It was just surprising in that even the last several weeks without Caleb Williams, whether it was against the Eagles and Case Keenum, just dismantling and destroying them, whether it was running for 300 yards the week after that, it just seemed like the Bears were going to find a way, and for whatever reason,

6:10 this week they didn't. Now, the good thing is that before the game, Caleb Williams was warming up, looked like he was going to be back healthy sooner than later, and so help is on the way, but definitely a surprising and shocking performance based off of Ben Johnson's history.

6:23 You know, it was also shocking.

6:24 I don't know if you watched it live, but the broadcast, I think it was after one of the turnovers that the Packers defense created against the Bears. Going into the commercial break, the song that they played was a Be Humble song.

6:36 Like, sit down, be humble. And so even the.

6:39 Broadcast was kind of feeding into what the Green Bay Packers were doing to the Bears yesterday.

6:44 Usually the run opens up the pass game.

6:46 And you know with the Green Bay Packers, they haven't had no run game. And Jordan Love came into yesterday's game and said, hold on. Let me just throw this ball at least 40 yards down the field and let that open up the run game, right?

6:57 So you saw all of those deep shots.

7:00 By Jordan Love to Christian Watkins, to his Titan Tucker Kraft. And that was the best run game performance that they've had, right?

7:09 They had two rushing touchdowns because those safeties, that play right there to Christian Watson.

7:15 They were in like a prevent defense, and they showed that on the replay where all the DBs were about 15 yards back.

7:20 They were in.

7:22 Two shell, and yet still Christian Watson gets through the seam, and he catches that circus catch for a touchdown. Jordan Love, in my opinion, had his best game. I think Jordan Love heard a lot of the critics talking about, man, what are you? What type of quarterback are you the first four games of the season? And he came out there against their biggest rival and said, hold on, let me go to work and let me do my thing. So, you know, shout out to the Green Bay Packers for responding after four games where a lot of people were coming.

7:48 Down on them.

7:49 This game has a lot of star power, too. And one of them was standing on the sideline of Micah Parsons. But then it goes on and on after that. For example, Javon Hargrave went down. So Ian Rappaport, what do we need to know on the Green Bay side of things?

8:00 But also, when will the Bears get their quarterback back?

8:03 We'll start with the Green Bay side of things. You mentioned Javon Hargrave. He is going to be out for the season, almost certainly with a torn Achilles. Malifour confirmed to reporters after the game that this is what they feared. And generally, when you fear a torn Achilles, it is a torn Achilles.

8:17 It's one of those things. He's going to get the MRI.

8:19 But they basically know immediately because the Achilles is essentially up around your calf. It's actually the second torn Achilles for the Green Bay Packers in as many weeks. Standard linebacker Edgeron Cooper last week lost for the season with a torn Achilles himself. And then you mentioned the Caleb Williams, because of all the things that happened in this game, the fact that Caleb Williams was working out before the game in a pretty strenuous workout, looking pretty good, looking like himself.

8:46 I mean, he looks like Caleb Williams, right?

8:48 I mean, you guys are watching this like I am.

8:50 This is a very, very good sign. My understanding at.

8:53 The beginning of this whole thing was three to four weeks with a hamstring.

8:57 He has missed three weeks. The fourth week is next week.

9:00 He was working out hard before the game, and he returned to practice the Friday before. All signs point to Caleb Williams being back on the field this week for Chicago, which considering the way it went this past Sunday, would be quite good news.

9:17 Yeah, let's rock and roll. I think I've seen enough of the warm-ups. Let's get in the real deal. All right. They used to terrorize the Bears all the time.

9:24 Colts up 3-0 on the Steelers. Jalen Warren had a day. I'll just tell you now, he's gone. He is gone. 80 yards for the running back. We've loved Jalen Warren on this show for a long time. He's won angry runs several times, but this was just an all-around football play. Rodgers with 580 career touchdown passes. Quick hit Warren, just down the sideline. Great blocking, great speed. Love to see it.

9:48 Seven to six now.

9:50 Rodgers. Yes. Third touchdown of the season. He had five for 44 and a second touchdown. Jalen Warren. I'll tell you right now, he's gone. He's gone. He's the first healer.

10:04 In franchise history with a pair of 50 plus yard touchdowns when one is rushing and one is receiving in the game he's not no one's ever happened he still isn't around for 300 years another one there's that second touchdown fire moved rogers 166 career regular season wins passes big bet for fifth all-time a great day for the steelers tough day for the colts the steelers now three and two like three other teams and then afc north only baltimore is ahead 34 to 22 is your final let's talk to rogers.

10:40 Wait wait let me set it up aaron rogers how old are you now 42 coming to the stage.

10:52 Keep it moving.

10:53 Keep it moving.

10:55 Fast and furious, huh?

10:59 We don't get to hear anything else.

11:00 I was waiting to hear.

11:02 I'm like, I want some analysis on how the Steelers beat up on the Colts, Manti.

11:06 But there he is.

11:07 Slow clap.

11:07 No one else wanted to clap, I guess.

11:08 Manti, what do you think?

11:09 And he deserved that, right? He deserves to be recognized that way. But somebody else who deserves to be recognized that way is Jalen Warren. Listen, the most consistent player for the Pittsburgh Steelers has been Aaron Rodgers, has been DK Metcalf, hasn't been Pat Frymouth offensively. It's been Jalen Warren.

11:22 Jalen Warren for the past three weeks has had over 100 total yards three weeks in a row. Yesterday, The guy had 15 carries for 101 rushing yards and a TD. He paired that up with six catches for 87 yards and a TD. This man has played second fiddle since he got into the league to.

11:41 Various running backs.

11:42 The first three years in the league was to Najee Harris, last year was to Kenneth Gainwell, and then Rico Dotto comes from Carolina, and we know what Rico Dotto can do with the rock in his hand. And we're like, man, he's second fiddle again. Well, Rico Dotto gets hurt. And all Jalen Warren has done for the Pittsburgh Steelers has been a reliable source, not only in the run game, but in the pass game. And you know this, Sam, for an OG quarterback like Aaron Rodgers, that is huge.

12:05 Because once somebody like him can trust his running back to be effective and consistent in the run game and passing game, now he's going to vote for you. Now Aaron Rodgers is like, keep Jalen Warren in the game.

12:16 As long as Pittsburgh.

12:16 Steelers keep Jalen Warren in the backfield, good things has happened.

12:19 And it's so interesting to watch this team develop. Remember last week, there was a lot of fighting going on, arguing on the sideline, defensive guys yelling, you know, TJ Watt was upset, Cam Hayward was upset. There was so much drama, so much action. All of a sudden, I look at that and I say, man, that's what good teams do. That's how good teams develop. That's how good teams grow. That's how any good group grows. You go from that norming stage, that forming stage, that... fighting stage and all of a sudden you go and you show what you can do and so for me uh the impressive part about this team or maybe more the thing that maybe people might need to fear is that this team is actually becoming a team the defense is playing

12:55 obviously at a high level but they're becoming more of a team aaron rogers is playing some of his best football of course it's not the mvp level that we saw statistically but he's distributing the ball at a high level you're seeing dk metcalf playing really well some of the blocks downfield were outstanding Pat Frymuth is doing his thing.

13:11 Garner Washington as a blocker and a receiver is doing his thing as well. So this team is gelling at the right time. That's probably what's most impressive for this Pittsburgh Steelers outfit.

13:22 You know, there's so many week-to-week ups and downs where you jump on one team, then praise another team.

13:27 And there's just a few pump-the-brake teams.

13:29 When it's going really badly, or maybe even when it's going great, just chill a little bit. This, too, shall pass. Same thing with the Steelers. I mean, it was a week ago. Everyone's tearing them to shreds. The Rodgers sort of stayed retired.

13:41 It's like.

13:42 relax the Steelers have a way of staying afloat I know their head coach from last year is gone but I just still feel like the institution the defensive players and the veterans like they get through things and I thought I'm with you Sam I thought that like Rogers and McCarthy I said it on the show I think they have one of the healthiest relationships in the NFL they actually say the stuff that is inside them when they're pissed off instead of internalizing it telling the huddle they scream at each other. And then they come out and they get another win. I mean, I hate to be checked the schedule guy on a Monday morning but.

14:13 They got Tampa next. They got New Orleans.

14:16 Both teams that are flawed and or struggling, depending on which you look at.

14:20 And then they got a division game against Cleveland. This team's going to matter. If anybody thought they're.

14:25 Like, oh, Rodgers came back and they went 6-11 and he should have stayed retired. I just don't think it's happening. I don't know if they're going to make the playoffs, but I know that they're going.

14:32 To be a factor.

14:33 Pittsburgh is always going to be a factor. So it's wins like this, this sleepy little kind of instantly forgettable 34-22 win over the Colts.

14:42 In December, when we're looking at the In the Hunt.

14:44 Column and they're there, count this win in it because they will be there.

14:48 They always are.

14:49 Kyle, thank you. It's the brand. It's the logo.

14:52 It's synonymous with the playoffs. It's the same way that we feel about the Rams. Or if you go to a home game at SoFi Stadium, there are just certain things that are synonymous.

15:00 With that game day experience.

15:02 Kyle, here's what we were talking about.

15:09 Yes! Oh! Yeah!

15:22 It's our friends from SoFi.

15:26 A long day for these guys today.

15:35 Vibes. Vibes.

15:37 Vibes.

15:38 Rams Mariachi Band, everybody.

15:39 They're going to be moonlighting at the game tonight.

15:43 The Bills Rams, and they're on GMFB with us this morning. Look at these guys.

15:48 Good morning, football.

16:02 Joe Burrow had four touchdowns yesterday.

16:04 Here's one of them, Bengals Dolphins. The good thing about nine, the.

16:08 Bengals nine, is that he had both Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins back and available after a scary.

16:13 Injury last week. Concussion protocol for Jamar Chase. Up and got him.

16:17 Drops his booty into the end zone. Makes a case for touchdown catch of the year. He's got a couple of them already.

16:21 He's got a couple of them, Jane. One against Houston.

16:23 There it is.

16:24 Bengals win this one, 31-24.

16:24 They sit at 3-2. Actually, best start for them since the 2021 season.

16:30 Yes, let's stay in the AFC, but let's come here to West Coast to SoFi Stadium.

16:33 There's Sean Payne.

16:34 He took over offensive play calling after Davis Webb.

16:37 Did it from weeks one through four.

16:39 Fourth quarter, Broncos trailing 17-10 to the Chargers. And Drake, no, not Drake, man. Bo Nix hits Cortland Sutton for a five-yard touchdown. The Broncos were tied up 17-7. Later in the fourth quarter, They're trying to make a comeback, the Chargers are. And Justin Herbert fires an interception to Brandon Jones.

16:57 It looked good, guys, for about three.

16:59 And a half quarters. And then it just fell apart. The Broncos would win 23-17. The Chargers would go 0-5 first time since 2003.

17:08 All right, Patriots-Raiders, there's a theme here.

17:10 Everything was bad for the Patriots and Drake May, and now everything is getting better.

17:14 Scoreless early.

17:15 Drake May is going to lob it up into the end zone, waiting, waiting to Mario.

17:18 Douglas' touchdown. You're going to see the pattern here.

17:21 That's Douglas' first receiving touchdown this season. That's May's longest-passing touchdown this season.

17:27 A lot of facts in this game that end with this season. Second quarter now. Patriots, 14-7. Hunter Henry.

17:35 That's his first receiving touchdown this season.

17:38 Okay? 21 points in the first half. Most in a half this season. Again now.

17:44 Straight fire deep to Kyle Williams.

17:48 Touchdown!

17:49 Mr. Kraft on his feet next to Adam Vinatieri.

17:53 That's May.

17:54 He has been bad on 10-plus yards on the field.

17:57 He's been great lately this season.

18:00 May, he's going to run one day now. It's a designed run. Sheds the tackler on his way to a three-yard touchdown. The Patriots are killing the Raiders at 38-17.

18:10 Look at this. DeMario for the 40-burger.

18:15 May is the second player in team history to have four passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.

18:18 In a game. Steve Grogan, 1987. We got a brief Mendoza sighting in this game. They pulled Cousins.

18:24 The Patriots absolutely destroyed the Raiders, 45-17.

18:27 Here's Drake May.

18:31 I'm going to come in at every game and every week and attack it. And I'm confident in myself and my abilities and the guys around me. And part of it in the first touchdown to pop, I'm back there, you know, credit offensive line eating a ham sandwich.

18:41 So, I got all day back there.

18:42 And I think that's, you know, things I'm working on back there when I got time just to sit in there and find somebody open. And I've credited those big guys and credited Coach McDaniels and the coaching staff for, you know, putting us in a good place to execute it. And we did that today.

18:55 He's not fully influenced in the New England culture yet or should really be sitting back there having a lobster roll or something.

19:01 But hand sandwich works. Got a lot of time. We got back there.

19:04 Drake May 7th touchdown passes in the last couple weeks. Looks much more comfortable. Back to the version we saw of him last season, Sam.

19:09 I love the way that Drake May has handled the adversity because earlier this year, season there was a lot of talk about who is drake may going to be and was last year fluke and all this and all that and he did struggle early in the season but notice the words they use in this interview we talked about taking responsibility not just this week but also last week there's no talk about man there's an injury or this or that he's taking full ownership and then he's backing it up that's what you want to see from leaders especially at the quarterback position if you're not playing well quarterback or coach etc take the ownership and But don't just talk about it, be about it, right? Do the work to get better. And so the most impressive

19:42 part about this is that this is who Drake May is. It's not, all right, man, you know, good rookie year, maybe second year was great, and we're not sure who he's going to be.

19:50 He's shown who he's going to be.

19:51 Another side note will campbell did their left tackle did go down in this game even after will campbell went down still throwing a lot of touchdown passes this season and so shout out to new england patriots for more than anything the ability for drake may to handle the noise to hear the adversity and have it make it.

20:06 Better Yeah, I can't emphasize how huge that is for somebody like Drake May. Within two, like three weeks ago, the conversation was totally different. And there's a lot of quarterback, there's a lot of players in general in this league that two years after having a good year still hasn't recovered. So for Drake May in the span of two weeks to go back to this conversation of Drake, Drake May, May in such a short amount of time, I think is huge. Now, when I look at this score, If this was the Raiders from 2025, 2024, no big deal.

20:36 But this isn't the same old Raiders. So for the Patriots to come out and beat them in that way, in that fashion, I also think a lot of credit has to go to their offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels. Because in that first quarter, they went for it on fourth down twice, and they converted twice.

20:49 Then they did a little hook and ladder thing.

20:51 And Josh McDaniels was one of those guys that, had a lot of criticism as to how simple his play calling is, that he's not putting Drake May in the best possible situation to be successful. Yet yesterday, that offense put up numbers. Drake May looked comfortable, and everybody was getting the ball. And keep in mind, KB, this is also without their main wide receiver, one, still yet to play a full game. So I'm excited to see what this Patriots team looks like when A.J. Brown gets back into the conversation, because right now they're looking like the old Patriots of last year, and they're playing guys like the Raiders that have been a surprise of the 2026 season so far.

21:23 Problem is that the Raiders look like the Raiders of last year too. My sweet, sweet Raiders. What the hell happened here?

21:30 They lose to KC, and I feel like there was so many opinions coming off that game like, all.

21:35 Right, that was a good game. You guys did all right. That was okay. You lost, but you look good. And then there's just this. Like, this was nothing. Like, they were never in the game. They didn't compete.

21:46 It seems like they're exclusively responsible for taking Drake May by the hand nice and gently and ushering him back to his MVP form.

21:54 Thank you to the Raiders for that. They should send him. There's an edible arrangement at the end of this season. It was so bad.

21:59 And now it's like, now the Raiders, they got to go on and they got to play some other really good games.

22:03 They have really good teams coming up now. I just don't.

22:06 Wanted the dream run to be over. And by the dream run, I mean that magical 3-0 start in which I and some other people were like, they're back. It's very naive of me. And I hope they don't keep making me look bad. But that was a nothing. They had nothing in that game. They got completely annihilated.

22:20 Edible arrangements are fire.

22:21 That's a good idea, actually.

22:23 Let's check in with Ian Rappaport once again. Rappaport, please, the latest. Sam mentioned it, the fact that Will Kimball went down. And now we need to know how the offensive line will fare with or without him moving forward.

22:34 It sounds like probably without, at least for a little bit, Will Campbell went down with an injury. My understanding is it is a knee sprain based on the initial observation, the initial analysis, similar to the MCL sprain that he had last year. The hope is it's not a major injury, and that would be good, but he's going to get an MRI today to determine. Actually, it looks almost exactly the same as to what happened last time. Remember, his performance was dramatically affected. So I wouldn't be surprised if we missed some time now to get this thing fully healthy.

23:02 We're going to be monitoring that.

23:04 And updating that one. Meanwhile, the Patriots running back Travion Henderson also was knocked out of the game, not with a knee, but with an ankle injury. It remains to be seen how long he is going to be out. He's going to have tests today to determine what is going on with his ankle and how much time he will miss. But, of course, if he does miss time, Ramondre Stevenson, a more than capable back, to step in and take.

23:24 The full load.

23:25 All right, Patriots, they bounced well after their beat of the Bills two weeks ago. Now they continue to look strong, but those are good things to keep in mind. Rap Sheet, thank you very much. Speaking of the Bills, they're.

23:35 In town to play the Rams. Monday night football, but that's later.

23:41 Next on our show, if you could hear me, we're doing game balls.

23:46 This is Vamos Mariachi Rams! Kyle doesn't have this in Buffalo.

23:57 Nope. You're always invited, though, big hoots.

24:00 He might have a harmonica.

24:01 Yay!

24:01 This is a new game I'm playing.

24:05 It's my Points of Palooza game of the week, and it always involves the Lions. Two weeks ago, it was Lions-Panthers, and now it's Lions-Cardinals. This was fantastic. Jared Goff, he's on nine straight against the Cardinals. That goes back to his time with the Rams, I'm sure. Here's Sam Laporta, wide open for a 38-yard TD. This is already in the second quarter. Lions take a 14-7 lead on that.

24:23 Third quarter now, Lions up comfortably already, 24-7. Goff airs it out.

24:29 Deep to Jamo in the corner right over the S.

24:33 That's Jamison Williams, 39 yards. Lions take a 31-7 lead. You see the trend that's happening here?

24:38 Look at those two. Perfect connection. Not as good as this one, though. Here we go. Jameer Gibbs. Hit the left, hit the right.

24:46 Goff comes over and celebrates with him like, thank you.

24:49 Thank you, brother. You read the read. You read the line the right way. Great for him.

24:54 Lions win 45-21. They're so fun to watch. But this is even better. Dirt bikes for everybody, like I said. Jameer Gibbs now passes Barry Sanders for most touchdowns before the age of 25. Here's the thing, though.

25:08 He doesn't turn 26 until after the football season ends.

25:11 So take this number, add however many more touchdowns Jameer Gibbs is going to score, and get Kyle's kid a dirt bike.

25:18 KB?

25:22 Jamie is in the weeds with the good morning football chatter, but it is all true.

25:26 And we are to the Superdome.

25:27 You know this, Jefferson, Louisiana native, played the championship game there.

25:31 And look at this.

25:32 After a fumble by the Saints on the kickoff, he's not open at all. There's three guys there. Tyler drops it in perfectly to his credit. Jefferson takes it.

25:40 We're gritting.

25:40 It's cool.

25:42 It's all going Vikings' way. New Orleans, we thought they were going to be a thing.

25:45 Maybe they will be, but they better get their act together because they lose every week.

25:48 13-all.

25:49 Aaron Jones up the middle.

25:52 Will we see it tomorrow on this program? We'll find out. He had 25 for 113. Just a great player. One of my favorite running backs of this era. Just keep playing ball. Tyler Shuck! No!

26:05 Byron Murphy comes down with the interception. He couldn't hide it alive. The Vikings win by double digits. They are 5-0. They were losing at one point in this game, but they are never losing at the end of a game. They are, simply put, Jamie Erdahl, 5-0.

26:22 23-13.

26:23 All your Calebs and Jordan Luggs and Jameer Gibbs, they're all looking up at the Vikings.

26:27 Yes, they are.

26:28 KB and Dean, the beautiful sound.

26:30 Thank you very much. Audio board, Justin Jefferson said after the game, Manti, he first answer out of his mouth in the postgame interview with Christina Pink. Prolific thanks for the training staff that got him back on the field to go back and play in New Orleans where he's from.

26:42 So fantastic to see.

26:43 Also just fun to watch the Vikings five games in.

26:46 It's fun to watch that defense, Jamie.

26:47 That's what it is.

26:48 Brian Flores and that defense, they allowed 13 points, 142 total yards, total. They didn't allow more than 100 yards passing, and they didn't allow over 100 yards rushing.

27:00 That is pure dominance.

27:01 And you kind of expected that a little bit after what the Atlanta Falcons front did to the New Orleans Saints last week. and he knew what Brian Flores was going to do to that offense and to Tyler Shuck and just put him under pressure. That two interceptions yesterday, it was just a total clinic, and Brian Flores and that defense continues to put on a similar clinic every single week. I love watching it as a defensive player.

27:23 I love to see how he moves his guys around. He keeps them at the line of scrimmage. He pops them out. It's a complete chess match, and I'm.

27:29 All here for it, Sam.

27:30 And you know, that's how sometimes people look at teams, records, and schedules, and they.

27:33 Say it's a fluke. For example, I just thought about this.

27:36 Maybe 2011 or 2012, I was with the Arizona Cardinals. We started off 4-0. We actually beat the Patriots. And we had our coach at the team meeting say, and that's the Patriots.

27:45 Yes, yes, yes.

27:46 And he said, hey, man, who all here honestly thought we'd be 4-0? And out of our 53 man team and the coaches, maybe like eight.

27:53 People raised their hand. Yeah.

27:55 And our coach was like, man, I didn't think we'd be foreign or either. We weren't a good team.

27:58 Okay. We ended up 5-11. Where are you going with this? I'm going here. We ended up 5-11 that year, Jamie. It was bad, right? This Vikings team is not a fruit. Okay. Right there. No, no, no, this is a legit 5-0 team.

28:12 People talk, man, okay, well, it's the defense, haven't been playing well, what are they going to do offensively? Man, they're winning despite the fact that Carson Wentz was starting for a bunch of games, so they didn't have a plan for.

28:22 It was supposed to be J.J.

28:23 McCarthy winning with Kyler Murray not playing well, at least not until this last week and going through injury.

28:28 This team is actually legit.

28:30 It's not one of those teams that you're wondering, okay, when will the other shoe drop, right? You're waiting for it. They're not waiting for the other shoe to drop. Honestly, the defensive performance yesterday was impressive, but it wasn't like a, whoa, this team is dominating. You just blink and it's like, oh, wow, 142 total yards. You didn't hear a lot of Dallas Turner yesterday. You didn't hear a lot of Jalen Redman yesterday.

28:50 You didn't hear a lot of, no, Byron Murphy did have that.

28:51 Pick at the end.

28:53 It just was like a methodical, like dominating performance that we're coming to expect. And so for me, this is a legitimate 5-0 team, not a team that's like, well, maybe they'll come down to Earth.

29:04 No, this is Earth.

29:05 Listen, 5-0 is such rare air, and it makes you so unique in the league. When you hit 5-0, the question is, can you win the Super Bowl this year? That's all I'm saying. Like, 5-0 is, yes, we believe we're going to make the playoffs. Yes, we think we can win a playoff game or two. Can you win the Super Bowl this year? And for me, one of the most important, maybe the most important player in the NFL right now is Kyler Murray. This guy controls so much because the defense is going to be there, right?

29:34 This defense is very good. This is a Super Bowl defense right now. Is Kyler going to be there? I just think if you.

29:40 Are someone in the NFC or the NFC North, wherever, you don't want to see him have chemistry. with Jefferson.

29:45 You don't want to see Jefferson get cooking. You don't want to see Kyler get comfortable at all. And he's got a lot of work to do. It's still a work in progress. But if Kyler Murray can get to the level, not even where he's playing like A-plus football. If he can play B-plus football, they can win the Super Bowl.

30:00 That's what I mean.

30:01 I look at him in the NFC a lot like we looked at C.J. Stroud in the AFC coming into this year. Like, man, that Texas defense, they're amazing.

30:09 If C.J.

30:09 Stroud could play, now the Texans have struggled. But now I take that same conversation to the Vikings. Kyler, if he figures out a way to be pretty good, not even great, never mind great, just pretty good... This guy's the limit because they have that defense. But if he can hold them back to if he's just average flat, can't really figure it out.

30:28 They'll get knocked off in the playoffs. But when you hit five and.

30:30 Oh, and you have that much experience and you have a coach, you have a coordinator and you have a defense and a very talented quarterback, not a great quarterback, but very talented one. The question is, can this five and oh team win the Super Bowl? That's what we'll be asking for weeks.

30:43 Knock on wood, if you can guarantee three points every time you get on the field because you're getting to, like, the 40-yard line.

30:48 You've got Will Reichard. That's a pretty good flip.

30:51 He's, like, 100, I think. I don't think he's next year. There you go, Jamie. This plexiglass underneath.

30:56 It's under the.

30:56 Wood underneath the table.

30:58 Ian Rappaport, our NFL Network insider with us today. Rappaport, what do you got for us?

31:04 There's news here. On the Rams tonight.

31:07 Sorry. Yeah, let's focus on tonight's game.

31:09 Los Angeles Rams obviously return to Monday night football facing the Buffalo Bills. Got some good injury news leading into the game, starting with Aaron Donald, their standout defensive lineman, making his return after a couple years of being retired. He's been in and out of the lineup battling a back injury. No injury status tonight. Aaron Donald is good to go. That is an excellent sign. Looking forward to seeing that one.

31:31 That is not all.

31:31 They got some other good injury news as well. Jalen Watson, the really good cornerback, he's been dealing with a shoulder injury. He was a full participant when Lake has been dealing with a hip injury.

31:42 He's questionable.

31:43 He is trending toward playing, which really seems like the Rams are going to be as close to full strength as they could possibly be without Myles Garrett in the lineup. But his return is coming, hopefully, in the next.

31:54 Couple of weeks.

31:55 Good to know, Rap Sheet. We look forward to that game. It's across the street tonight. We'll talk to you in a little bit.

32:00 Oh, it's the gritty.

32:13 Good morning football.

32:15 All right, time for game balls. Manta, you're up first.

32:18 Well, there's one thing to put a whooping on just a random team in the NFL, but when you can do it against a rival, which the Packers did against the Bears yesterday, game ball Jordan Love. Jordan Love had an incredible day. at home against the bears he went 25 for 31 367 yards two tds and that's against a bear's defense that is not the same bear's defense as last year this is a bear's defense that has been the top 10 defense in a lot of different categories yet jordan love said hold on i got a word with him and he had a word and he made it profound uh and he and he was hitting all of his targets jordan love for me sam game ball that's who gets it Nice.

32:55 First one.

32:55 I like that.

32:56 I'm going to give the game ball to head coach D'Amico Ryans from Houston, Texas.

32:59 Here's why.

33:00 D'Amico Ryans last week took over play calling. The defense was struggling. The team was struggling. He said, you know what?

33:05 I got this. And what did he and also Will Anderson do? Will Anderson had three sacks. But his team dominated. And I get it.

33:11 It's a Tennessee Titans team that hasn't won. Remember, Sean Payton took over play calling duties as well for the Broncos, and their offense was kind of struggling until late in.

33:18 The fourth quarter.

33:19 So game ball to Dabiko Ryans and also that Texas defense.

33:22 But hey, man, you say something, you back it up. Game ball, head coach.

33:25 So good for us.

33:26 The NFL Network International game this week is Texans-Jags in London.

33:29 So the Texans have a win.

33:30 The Jags have a win, too, or they escaped against the Eagles with a win. And a lot of that has to do, Sam, you mentioned at the top of the first show with special team efforts. emergency special team efforts Devon Hamilton come on down you're the third round pick from a 2020 the big old D tackle who kind of found himself in a situation because last year with the Jaguars he started practice long snapping and he actually had to back up Ross Matysik last season in week 13 help out just a couple times but yesterday he was a downright hero as the emergency long snapper early in the game Matysik goes down Devon Hamilton's like yeah I got this Some.

34:08 Snaps were errant. I will leave it at that. But he got the ones that counted to count.

34:13 It was a high snap on that field goal. The holder got it down. And you know what, Devon Hamilton, you get my game ball, KB.

34:19 Yeah, it's not about the few snaps that were errant.

34:23 It's about the few that were good. I think that's a great game ball. And I'm thrilled to give out this game ball.

34:28 Thrilled.

34:29 I would like to give a game ball to Drake May. Drake, let's go, baby!

34:35 You're back! You're back. I love it. You went away. You went away for a while.

34:40 Remember when I was a kid, there was a book that was called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

34:47 Well, we were having the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad May. And I'm glad that it's over.

34:53 I still don't know what the hell was happening against Seattle or Jacksonville.

34:56 I know those are good defenses. But I know the Raiders have played some D this.

35:00 Year, too, and I see the numbers 45 next to their logo and 374 and 4 with a rushing touchdown next to Drake Mays. Don't ever leave us again, Drake Mays. You're supposed to be a future superstar in this sport.

35:13 And you played like one yesterday. I'm thrilled to give you the game ball, my man. You earned it.

35:17 I like the return to strength and power for him, but I'm kind of, let's go beyond the Drake, Drake, May, May, okay?

35:23 Let's leave that for 2025. That was last season. Yeah, exactly.

35:27 Let's find a new way to call him a leader, right?

35:31 Yeah. Go ahead, man. Oh my God, oh my God.

35:34 Sam macho UTS up on rewind that we need to leave time though for the Mariachi Rams at the end of the show.

35:39 So take it to go ahead.

35:40 Well, there was a play yesterday from Justin Jefferson where I mean, I watched it and I said, okay, I got to rewind that. Then I watched it after with one of our producers, Dan Omehan. Hopefully Domer is his name.

35:49 Domer, Domer. And I was like, bro, we got to rewind that.

35:52 So does Justin Jefferson catch, not the one in the back of the end zone.

35:55 Just watch this play top of your screen.

35:58 How does he?

35:59 Rewind that, rewind that.

36:00 This is literally what this segment was created for.

36:03 Late hands over Kool-Aid McKinstry.

36:06 I don't know how the ball melts to his helmet and face mask and just, this is amazing catch. That was before that back of the end zone catch, but rewind that outstanding grab in a day full of outstanding grabs from a lot of really good receivers.

36:18 Yeah, it seems like him and Jamar Chase consistently are battling for that. Well, we have the Mariachi Rams in here and they kind of get me in this vibe and this groove and it's just music to my ears. There's something happened yesterday that is truly music to my ears and I want you to listen to this.

36:37 One more time. Just listen.

36:44 You see, that right there, guys, that is a rewind that. That is a Manti, that's a Ush type of rewind that. I want to bring that type of music back to football. There's beauty in the harmonies of a hard hit, a clean hit.

36:57 Malik Mustafa kept his head up.

36:58 He came 100 miles per hour and took out a wide receiver and showed that this game can be violent and be beautiful at the same time.

37:05 That's just music.

37:08 No flag, you know, hopefully no fine. I'm the only person who has a visual aid. I'm going to go to my guy, Trey McBride. For the two of you who weren't Lions fans watching the end of Lions Cardinals, did you see.

37:22 The catch that this dude made? Come on, Trey McBride. He is so good. This is quitting time if you're the Cardinals.

37:28 Roll the videotape of Trey McBride.

37:31 On the bottom part of the end. So watch what's going to happen here. Oh, my God. It's a bullet. It's bobbled. He gets it back. It's a touchdown. Touchdown.

37:37 This guy is down 45 to 14 when he makes this catch. There's two minutes left. He doesn't have to do this. He could mail it in. You could get off the field. You could just get home. And he's making crazy catch of the year type stuff in the corner of the end zone. And then immediately goes to the official and says, yeah, you saw that. And, you know, it's been a weird week with Trey McBride, the official.

37:57 So he did it anyways. Jack Campbell shoves him. And my guy, Trey, I love him. He is one of the best football players at any position in the NFL right now.

38:07 You son of a boom. He's like, yes, yes, yes.

38:11 Thank you, thank you, thank you. Yes, you got it right, exactly.

38:14 We started the show with this, but we got to make sure we see it one more time.

38:17 Mike Evans, again, all-time good guy.

38:19 In the NFL, checking on who he is actively trash-talking with.

38:22 Full history, Trayvon Diggs, Mike Evans, they have gone head-to-head.

38:25 In games four times. This is the fourth time, including the playoffs, that these two have played against each other. So Mike Evans, after the game, admittedly, was like, I honestly wasn't sure who it was inside the helmet.

38:35 But you know what? With the Seahawks and the.

38:36 Niners, it got a lot of people thinking, who else would be good at this? And then he chimed in. Richard Sherman with the tweet of the day. Mike Evans checking to see the name on the back of the jersey. All-time trash talk moment.

38:47 That I wish I would have thought of. I think Richard Sherman needs to un-retire. I think he should play again just so we can.

38:54 Do that to somebody.

38:55 Because it is so appropriate.

38:57 There's certain people that can do that. Mike Evans definitely can. That's called sunning somebody. Totally.

39:01 I bet that's not the last time you're going to see it today either. Here's what you can look forward to ahead of Monday Night Football.

39:07 Game is tonight, but the aftermath starts at.

39:09 Noon Eastern right here on NFL Network. And look at our friends who have showed up again on GMFB. Here is Santiago, the band leader for the Mariachi Rams. Santiago, fantastic to see you.

39:21 Happy to be here.

39:22 So how many years are we into the Mariachi Rams now? When did you guys start? We started in 2019.

39:27 And are you a touchdown celebratory experience for the Rams?

39:31 When are you guys playing throughout the game? We always play pregame. show and the first quarter break.

39:36 Pregame show and first quarter break and at GMFB. We appreciate you guys so much for being here so early this morning.

39:42 KB, your thoughts on the Mariachi Rams?

39:45 It's so great to have you guys. I love the pageantry. I love the musicianship. You're very talented. What song do you guys play when the Bills win by 14? Oh, they can't hear you.

39:54 Kyle just said, what song do you guys play when the Bills win by 14?

39:57 Don't answer that.

39:58 Santiago.

39:58 He's trying to trash talk like a joyful celebration.

40:03 They're like, and boom. What do you guys do for the rest of the day, Santiago? Up until game time.

40:09 We're going to hang out.

40:10 We're going to practice, of course, to get ready for the game. We're excited to be there, and we love sharing our music with everybody.

40:15 Oh, it's fantastic.

40:16 And it's perfect at SoFi Stadium. Game tonight, 8 p.m. Eastern is the kick. Watch all the coverage ahead of NFL Network, ESPN, and enjoy the Mariachi.

40:25 Rams as they play you off.

40:27 Vamos Rams! Vamos Rams!

40:37 Thank you.