GMFB Thursday Hour 2: Peter Kings joins! 49ers or Chiefs? Nick Sirianni or Dan Quinn?

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Good Morning Football!

Game on, baby. Welcome inside. Good morning, football. Presented by Old Trapper Beef Jerky. It's Thursday, October 15th.

Jamie Erdahl, Matt Diteo, Isaac Rochelle back at the breakfast table here.

In Los Angeles.

And Kyle Brandt holding things down in Buffalo Bill's basement. Kyle, are you going to be Buffalo Bill for Halloween? I was really considering this yesterday.

Well, Jamie, you asked that not knowing the movie very well. But don't make me do that because there is a dance that Buffalo Bill does that I would have to do if I dressed up him as Halloween. And it's very, very inappropriate for television.

So just trust me.

It's probably not a good idea.

I was about to say, give me a teaser.

I was like, no, OK, never mind. We've been kicking around.

Like, what are we going to do? What are we going to do? And I'm like, maybe Kyle will be Buffalo Bill.

No, no, no.

You don't even want to know.

They had it ready.

There he is.

Yikes.

There he is.

That looks creepy.

Hey, guys, that's me getting ready to do good morning football every single morning in this basement setup, especially during angry runs.

It's incredible. Imagine that.

Hey, you want to come down to my basement and talk about the Seahawks?

That's me. Great setup. I love it this year.

Best I've ever had.

Kyle's holding his coffee cup and looking down the stairs of his basement like, I've.

Got to go down there again. Hey, you want to go do whiteboard Wednesday?

Yeah, sure. Great.

Perfectly sufficient for me and my talents.

It's a great setup.

Okay, good. We'll keep workshopping the Halloween idea, all right? Moving on, it's time for Throwdown Thursday.

The power of the NFL.

Yeah.

Let's do Throwdown Thursday. That's hilarious.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, speaking of power, are undefeated, and they're coming off a bye week, and they're set to host the Chargers. Mahomes is so focused on this season right now that he's lost track of what month it is, and this perfectly tracks with the conversation that we just had.

It surprised me, I forgot about Halloween. Because Brittany's like, what are we going to be for Halloween? And I'm like, I didn't even think about that. I'm so locked in on this week and the season and stuff like that. And so the bye week, it happens when it happens. But at the same time, you've got to go out there and execute. It's different every year, and so every year is different.

What are you guys going to be?

I can't tell now.

I have– there's options because you never know with kids. So we have multiple options. So I don't even know yet.

I just know a couple of the options.

Such a good point.

You're like, I've got to see which costume the child tolerates getting into, and that's the one that I get to do then.

Shout out Mahomes.

We always look forward to their creative family costumes around Halloween time. Chiefs and 49ers, though, these are the two undefeated teams playing this week. Of course, the Vikings are in that group as well, but they're on a bye. So let's look at the Chiefs and the Niners and have this conversation about which undefeated team do you.

Believe in more right now?

Is a more believable costume that they are wearing?

Manti, is it the Chiefs or the Niners?

Man, the Niners right now, they look like, to me, the best team in the NFL. And they have the most challenging offense. Their defense is playing at a high level. Fred Warner continues to be the best linebacker. And right now, I don't know how you stop them. As long as Mike Evans is in the game and Christian McCaffrey is running the football the way that he does. It's very difficult for me to go opposite of the San Francisco 49ers.

But I'll go back to what that reporter asked Patrick Mahomes. He said, what are you guys going to be come Halloween? And that's the question that I asked the San Francisco 49ers. Who are you going to be? Who's going to be playing for you? And that's why, even though they are the best team in the NFL right now, the question is, what undefeated team is more believable? I got to go with the Chiefs because I don't know who's going to be suiting up for the San Francisco 49ers come week 12, week 13. If they can't stay healthy, I'm all in it.

I just don't have that confidence knowing what has happened the past few years based on week 12, week 13, what that roster looks like. And it hasn't been looking really promising lately with the injuries. I'm going to go with the Chiefs, Isaac.

I love it. I love it. But here's the thing.

The 49ers have proven now for a couple years that even in the midst of injuries, they can battle the storm. I mean, even last year, people were talking about the 49ers, and they had injuries.

They were tore up with injuries.

You know, they got the conspiracies, all these things.

Whatever. We won't get into that here.

Yeah.

This team has proven that they can do it. And the thing that I look at, I really love this Mike Evans piece. I just like who Mike Evans is on this team. I love the Brock Purdy Mike Evans piece. I like Mike Evans flipping around people's jerseys looking at him. For some reason, for me, that just feels right, and that gives me confidence. I look at who he's been.

You talk about injuries. Mike Evans has been a guy. He's dealt with injuries.

He's been with a rip thing.

But just in general, you talk about a guy who stacks seasons, right? Stacks seasons and gives teams opportunities year after year. I love him on this team. So I really like this 49ers team, and I feel like they're not even at their peak yet, right? I feel like there's so much more for them to continue to do and continue to get better. So right now, I can't not think about the 49ers. And the last thing that I'll say is... You have to look at just, like, the current what-have-you-done-for-me-lately body of work, which is them being 3-0 in this division. We talk about football. We talk about divisions. There's no better division in football other than the NFC West. Like, that is football right now, and

they're 3-0 in it. So what they've done right now is win big games. They've proven they can do it. I mean, I'm very confident with the 49ers moving forward.

Kyle, what do you got?

Yeah, it's a great question, and it just makes me– honestly, my answer to this question is– Can we get round three of these guys in the Super Bowl? Who would say no to that? We've done this. We've done this a few times. We've done it with different quarterbacks for the Niners. But we did it in the first one, and the Niners had a double-digit lead going on the fourth quarter and lost.

We did it in the second one.

The game went to overtime.

I mean, I would sign up in a second for this at SoFi Stadium in February. Niners, Chiefs, three. But we got a long way to go. I think my answer is... It's probably the Chiefs. I don't believe in curses and hexes and all that nonsense. I really don't. And yet, despite that, I just get nervous about the Niners.

It's always a tragedy with this team. There's something that always happens. You mentioned it, Isaac. It's like there's always an injury. There's always something that just messes them up. I know the Chiefs have some real, real tough games at Seattle and at Denver over the next few weeks. Also, these two teams, you mentioned it. Week 16, they play.

It's a long time from now. We're going to be different people by week 16. I can't even think of what the world's going to be like by week 16. But at least the schedule says Niners versus Chiefs, so we'll find out. I give a slight nose to the Chiefs, especially because of what Walker's been doing.

But the Niners look amazing.

I don't know.

I could go either way. I just want them to play in the Super Bowl again. I got a quick question for you guys.

And I.

To answer the question, I said the 49ers, right?

But I do look at Shanahan, and I kind of put him in the same category right now as people put Josh Allen. And they have this curse in the playoffs. Like you said, what keeps happening? Do you look at Shanahan like that? He's got to prove it this year or people are going to start saying, well, yeah, sure, he can win during the regular season. His teams aren't doing anything when it matters.

Do you see it the same way?

For the past couple years, you asked what has been happening, and it's the other logo that we're talking about with the Chiefs. I mean, you talk about what's happened with Josh Allen, how come he can't get past the playoffs, what's happened with Kyle Shanahan, what happened... it's always comes up with Patrick Mahomes and you're eating the chiefs. They run into the same monster, the same demon that just comes down there and takes away their dreams. And so that would be my answer to this KB is, is for some reason they run into the same nemesis and as Patrick Mahomes, and it's always the same results. The chiefs come out on top.

I hear you.

I'm go ahead, Jamie.

What do we got next?

Oh, um, I was just gonna, I was thinking about the curses and the hexes and I was just wondering if you believe in substations, Kyle, but I'm sorry.

I was just, my mind was elsewhere.

The word, uh, Nick Sirianni says that despite all that we have watched go down with the Eagles as of late, that that final two minute against the Jaguars, he's still considering it a learning moment and he can move.

Forward from it.

I go through a certain thing to study each and every week without getting too much into that, what they are or anything like that.

And every week you do that, you test your rules.

The important part is you can't, Just say that play changed my life without going back and studying it again.

Right.

And just so that's kind of, you know, where we're film warriors.

We're going there and watch as much film as we possibly can and and try to come up with the best thing.

And it definitely tests rules. And then you go from there.

All right, in week six, it's Panthers at Eagles. It's an Iron Eagle Ross Tucker special on Sunday. And then on Monday night, it's Commanders at Niners.

Here's the question.

With the game coming down to the wire, considering all that has gone down with the Eagles and the Commanders last couple of weeks, you have two options. Which game are you flipping to immediately knowing that they have end-of-game decisions to make and you need to see it unfold? Is it Nick Sirianni and the Eagles, or is it Dan Quinn and the Commanders?

I'm going to go with Nick Sirianni and the Eagles.

Why?

Because when I think about the commanders and the mishaps they had last week in that situational awareness or lack of awareness, I still don't know who made that call or who didn't make that call. With the Eagles, I know exactly who made that call, Nick Sirianni. And Jalen Hurts said after his game, he said when he was asked about, hey, would you say something, he said, ultimately, that's not my place. He then continued to say... When I'm up at night, yeah, I think, should I have said something? Should I have took a step back and said, wait?

That is what I want to see. I want to see the head coach and the quarterback come together and have those type of conversations. Because right now, I don't know what conversations are taking place for the Washington Commanders. I don't know who's making the calls. I don't know what caused it. I know exactly what that situation looks like for the Philadelphia Eagles. And, you know, that's a big respect to Nick Sirianni and say, listen, that was my call.

I did that.

I wish the Commanders would do that, Isaac. So I'll have to go to Eagles.

Yeah, I'm one of those guys with this commander's Jane Daniels situation where I'm like, look, this is this.

Is on Jane Daniels.

So I'm going to talk about it as such. I'm not an expert on how the headphone thing works in the helmets, but I'm pretty sure it shuts off at 15 seconds, 15 seconds. So I can imagine Dan Quinn's headset was him and the coaches. And I would imagine that conversation was the special teams coordinator being like, didn't we talk about this on Thursday? OC's like, didn't we talk about this on Friday? Somebody else is like, we went over this in situational on Saturday.

I know they were losing it.

You said you were going to close the garage door. No, you were going to close the garage door. Like, they're fighting about when this conversation went down.

Yes, and just more so, like... How is Jaden not executing this? You know, like the frustration that coaches have in those moments. We've seen it, Manti, on the sideline. Like they lose it to each other. And I would have loved to be a fly on the– I mean, this is reality TV. This is like top tier.

You're in it.

So I would have loved to listen to Dan Quinn and the boys just kind of fire off.

Look at this. He's going down the headset.

I don't want to hear it anymore.

He's over it.

Yeah, that was good. Kyle, what do you think?

I still can't believe there's been finger wagging online at people who dare to put any blame on Jaden Daniels.

What are you talking about?

He snapped that ball and then just ran around and fell down.

He had no idea what he was doing. It was just.

I know that the sideline has responsibility as well. The fact that he looked at the clock or didn't snap the ball and did this, it doesn't make any sense. It's like if you would call it a senior moment, but he's like really young. It's just the strangest thing that someone has done on a football field in a long time. I don't care what the coaches were or weren't saying.

The headset.

Oh, I would say this week I'll go to Washington, too, because they're in prime time.

Why the hell not?

It would be it would be even bigger and would be an even more massive, glaring contrast to what's going on there at San Francisco.

The Shanahan sideline seems to be pretty dialed in.

I would love to hear if they're actually contending in this game. What's going on in the final minutes as we're doing the game on Monday Night Football? And it's Buck and Aikman trying to dissect.

What the hell's happening.

It's fascinating.

I read this thing recently about Washington that in the last two Monday Night Football games that they have played road games, they have faced teams that are 5-0 and better. If you remember, Washington was a team that ruined the Eagles' perfect season a couple years ago, and now they have the chance to do it to the Niners. It's a strange quirk to that W, and perhaps they'll be extra motivated come Monday Night Football to make.

Sure that they... aren't the team that we're talking about for the rest of the week.

Our final throwdown brings us to tonight's game in what could be a throwback uniform matchup of the season. That's very specific, but trust me, when you see it, you'll understand why.

And there it is.

Both Seattle and Denver will wear their classic throwback.

Uniforms in the game tonight.

The Seahawks are 4-3 in these unis since reintroducing them back in 2023. And the Broncos are a perfect 5-0 since they started playing them in 2024. So, who has the better throwback uniform? Take a gander, Manti. Take your pick, Seahawks or Broncos.

Both the top two throwback uniforms. Two of my favorite. It doesn't even come close. I mean, I would say that I'll throw the Eagles in there for the throwbacks. I do like theirs, but I would have to go with the Broncos. It's hard to beat that creamsicle orange team. With that helmet, whether they go the blue one or the white one, I do like the Broncos jerseys in general.

I like the additions they made, but this throwback retro one, I need one.

I would love to get one.

It kind of reminds me of the Waterboy type of vibe to it, like that retro. I love what Seattle has going. I love that silver helmet, but there's no beating Devon Broncos throwback uniform.

Yeah, it's nice.

But it's giving, like you said, Waterboy, Florida Gators. You know, it's not what Seattle has, right? The color combos that Seattle's putting together on this throwback uniform, it's one of one. The silver with the, I don't know what type of green. They probably have like a very specific color.

A specific green.

Like mint green.

I don't know what it is.

And then the blue, like these are unique color combos. I think this is one of the crispiest uniforms in sports history, honestly. This is a nice uniform right here.

So, yeah, I'm wearing that. That's top tier. This is a good question, too. It's a tough throwdown segment. It really is.

I look at Denver and I immediately am stricken by just the nostalgia of what that time was and what those victories were and John Elway and all that stuff. And I feel like their heights in those uniforms are were higher than Seattle's heights in those uniforms. But the hell with that. That silver helmet is ice cold. I love that thing. John Elway, due respect, all you guys, this looks good.

Really good.

Silver and blue with like a little hint of green is beautiful. And you know it's beautiful because every time they wear these, every. Every putz on the internet says, oh, they should bring him back full time.

No, they shouldn't.

You've got to keep him special. You've got to keep him exclusive. You've got to make it a holiday when they come out, which is why we're so excited about them. Respect to the Orange Crush.

These things are awesome.

I love how we went through very serious end-of-game decision-making in Throwdown Thursday, and Kyle kept his voice like this, and then we get to the throwdown topic on the jerseys, and he's.

Like, you only wear them on certain.

Games, okay?

Yeah.

I hate the people who say bring them all back. I can't stand it.

You know what?

Let's dress up for Halloween every weekend of the year, 52 times.

See if you like that, too.

It's once a year.

That's what makes it special.

Just because you like them, you don't bring them back every week.

It's like that's what makes them.

Them special all right just trust me on this you.

Want to keep it exclusive occasion you know the only other thing that makes Kyle's voice do that is if you were to ask him to go to a themed adult holiday costume party around this time of year right Kyle you definitely love those too.

Yeah Jamie Jamie's just poking me around just poking me on a Thursday morning he's poking me stop poking me you know what I hate.

This is new.

I didn't know this.

This is great.

It's great.

Let's welcome in NFL Network insider Ian Rappaport with GMFB and more information today about the status of a couple quarterbacks ahead of week six.

Can we start with the latest on Lamar Jackson, Rappaport?

Let's start right there.

There was some optimism this week for the Baltimore Ravens that Lamar Jackson would be back on the field this Sunday, and certainly that is still possible, but not off to a great start. Lamar Jackson was not spotted at practice for the Ravens on Wednesday, one of the most important practice days of the week, probably the most important big game plan day, was not able to go with his ankle, opening up the possibility that it could be Snoop Hundley, for the Baltimore Ravens. We're going to continue to track this one and see if Omar is able.

To practice today on that ankle sprain. Some good news, though.

Jacoby Lane was a full participant, looks to be ready to come back for the Ravens.

For the Chicago Bears, much better news.

Caleb Williams, who's missed the last three games, with a grade two hamstring strain, was not only back at practice, but was a full participant, indicating that he is likely to return on Sunday, barring a setback. Three games without Caleb is enough for the Chicago Bears. Worked out hard before the game on Sunday. Looks to be trending toward playing.

Same situation for Michael Penix Jr.

And the Atlanta Falcons.

He also was a full participant at practice yesterday.

He's dealing with a rib injury.

He was kind of touch and go whether or not he would practice. Not only was he able to practice, he was able to do anything. Penix himself said after the game that he believes there is a very good chance that he will play on Sunday, and that.

Seems to be the direction it is going for the Falcons.

And if it wasn't him, is it still Tua as the backup, Rapshi?

I'd say, Jamie, that's a question that the Atlanta Falcons really hope to not have to answer.

That's a great ping-pong back-and-forth, Rapshi.

Thank you.

We need more information, though, on Rams left tackle Eric Jackson. Not only what went down on the sideline, but also an update on his suspension with an outside football situation.

When we last heard of Alaric Jackson, it was a couple days ago when he was suspended two games for punching Bradley Chubb in a post-game confrontation.

You're seeing it right here. He was suspended two games.

Then Derek Brooks, the appeals officer, jointly appointed by the NFL and NFLPA, reduced that suspension late last night to one game.

So Alaric Jackson is only going to miss two games. This game for the Los Angeles Rams.

If you're wondering what led to that mush, not really a punch, more of a mush, right there at Bradley Chubb telling reporters yesterday.

That basically he was talking trash.

He was telling Eric Jackson that next time they played, he shouldn't need the chip. He shouldn't need the tight end. He should just block it himself. Jackson didn't like that. Mushed him in the face. Led to the suspension.

Only one game for Jackson and the Los Angeles Rams.

I don't love that we're trying to clarify the difference between a punch and a mush rap sheet.

I just feel like let's clear all hands in the postgame.

I don't know.

I feel like Trayvon James is more of a mush than Aleric Jackson. But again, we can discuss this in commercial break. Thank you for the information, rap sheet. All right, from his early days as a writer for the Cincinnati Inquirer and the popular Monday Morning Quarterback column in Sports Illustrated to his retirement in 2024, he's still not done yet.

Our next guest spent over 40 years covering the NFL and delivering some of the league's most iconic stories. And today, we are pleased to welcome him to our L.A. studio at our breakfast table to talk about his latest book titled The Game, which dives deeper into some of the best stories he knows. This is legendary sports writer Peter King.

On GMMV, everybody.

Let's go, Peter.

Let's go, baby.

Thanks, Jamie. Appreciate that.

Absolutely. This is a true honor.

This is, as Kyle just said, and we all mean it really, like we can't wait to get our hands on this and dive into it. Because if you care about sports and the stories that really matter and that are really entertaining, like you got all the details.

In here.

So this is 40 stories and it features one from every year beginning in 1984. What a fun way to structure the book. How did you come to decide on that's the way it should be and what inspired this?

A buddy of mine named Jeff Perlman, who I used to work with, as I told me, he said, listen, you've been everywhere and seen everything. You ought to take your 40 favorite stories and go back and do some new reporting on them. And I have always felt a little curiosity about a lot of the stories I've done.

Like I really heard in 88 that Bill Walsh was cracking. under pressure in his last year. And boy, he was. And I always heard that maybe Reggie White didn't want to choose the Green Bay Packers. And I think there's a lot of evidence that he didn't and that he really wanted to go to the 49ers. And I mean, there's a lot of stuff. And one of the other things, one of the more modern stories, I really wanted to find out how in the Pulled off what he pulled off, scoring 41 points on the great Belichick and outdueling Tom Brady when Brady throws for 505 yards. How in the world did that happen? And I went back, spent time with him, and he said, you know, the key is I usually don't write about religion. I don't. But in

this particular case, religion, all this, the Corinthians, all of this stuff for Nick Foles was a gigantic part of why he said it was the most peaceful he's ever felt on a football field and allowed him to go out and play at his absolute best. So I had all of these questions raised. that I really wanted to have answered. And luckily, I had two years to be able to go get him. Awesome.

Awesome.

Peter, last week, we lost Mike Ditka, who, great player, great coach, but also, he was a figure who represented something even more than football to a lot of different people.

You covered him. You've been around him. What do you remember about Coach Ditka? Uh, Kyle, uh, good to see you by the way. And I would just say this thing about this thing about Ditka that I loved. Nothing was ever off the record with him.

Nothing.

He never, I mean, he may not tell you everything he knows.

Okay.

But the one thing I loved about, I'll never forget in 1987, I went to bears training camp, Platteville, Wisconsin and, and he had just brought in Doug Flutie. McMahon was getting hurt a lot. He wasn't sure how much he was going to have him. He had McMahon and Mike Tomczak, and he wanted to bring in somebody else. Brings in Flutie.

And after we spent some time talking, Jim McMahon has a golf cart that he's going to ride out to practice. Tomczak's in the front seat. There's enough room for Flutie to get on. He walks out of the locker room, and McMahon floors it. And he leaves Doug Flutie there without a ride. And Ditka just blistered McMahon for being selfish, for not being a team guy. And he didn't care that I was going to write it. He didn't care about that at all. He was true. to himself. He was true to his team. And I mean, I'm like everybody else. I had great, great, great admiration for the guy.

That's so awesome, Peter. Now, there's a quote that says, power isn't what you know, it's who you know. And over the years, you've had exclusive access to So many different teams that I know most journalists would dream of having. Is there one story in this book that when you look back at it and as you're writing it, you were like, man, I'm so lucky that I got to tell that story.

I mean, logically, the best one would be when I spent three days in a bus with John Madden going from Pleasanton, California, to the Dakota in New York. He lived in this apartment building. Next door neighbors with Roberta Flack. Good friends with Yoko Ono. You know, and so but we went along the way. And what was so cool about it is that John Madden is absolutely exactly what you think he is from watching him on TV. He's maybe not quite as boisterous. as you think, but he is who, I mean, he would stop, we stopped at a steakhouse in the middle of nowhere, Nebraska, and he's greeting everybody who comes to the table happily, doesn't view it as a burden. We went to Clarion, Pennsylvania, and he just loved the fact he just got out to

take a little walk in the middle of a long day. And he gets out and there's a hippopotamus drinking fountain that kids are designed. It's designed for kids. And Madden goes, oh, I got to have a drink there. And he goes, there was a huge picture in Sports Illustrated. But he's exactly who you think he is. And look, there's a lot of those stories. I absolutely love my favorite story I've ever done is a week in the life of an officiating crew. And the reason I did that in 2013 because nobody had ever done it before. Nobody had ever gone to an AP social studies class with the back judge in an NFL game. And on a Wednesday afternoon, nobody had gone home to see Dino Paganelli have to take care of his three kids as a single dad

and then study film after everybody goes to bed. That is the kind of stuff that I just got such a kick out of over the years.

Peter, this is honestly inspiring. I had a question I was going to ask you, but I'm just genuinely curious. And you mentioned this, Manti. So many reporters want to have this access. Like, who wouldn't want to be on the Madden bus and do that for three days?

What do you think you have?

What is the thing that you're doing that's gotten you this access?

Isaac, the reason is because I came along at a perfect time. In 1989, when I got to Sports Illustrated, SI was huge. I mean, and so at that time. I think just going and being at Sports Illustrated when everybody wants to be in the magazine or wants to be on the cover, like I really always felt like that was my biggest advantage. And I need to use that edge to be able to do some of these stories that I really wanted to do. And the other thing.

I think that's really, really important. I think you have to be genuinely curious. And I think you also have to be able to say, like, I met Andy Reid in 1995. And Andy Reid, when he went to Brigham Young, you know what job he really wanted to do? He wanted to be a writer for Sports Illustrated covering the NFL.

I mean, if I can't use that to my advantage, I'm an idiot. You know, come on. So every time, you know, we'd always have these great conversations. And so the last three, I mean, the three Super Bowls that they won, I found myself alone with him in his office. After the game, breaking down the winning play in the game against the 49ers to jet chip wasp, you know, where he is just so excited to talk about this play that got Tyreek Hill loose and somehow some way they were able to make this play. The great part of this play right here is that when Patrick Mahomes comes to the sidelines during a replay review and He says to Eric Biennemi, do we have time to run WASP?

Andy Reid did not want to run the play.

Wow.

You know why he did? Patrick said, let's do it.

Wow.

And that is why Andy Reid is a great coach to play for. He empowers the players if he really feels that they want to run a play. He says, let's go. And it pays off. It's paid off for the Chiefs over the years.

Fascinating.

Peter, I'm doing some radio work on Monday nights with Westwood One, and I get.

To work with Kurt Warner and Kevin Harlan.

And every week, the producers change around the call that says, like, and here's who you're listening to.

Doug Peterson is on this show with us as well.

Oh, I love Doug Peterson.

And we never change Doug's call because what we always say for Doug's voice is, you really know what we want to call it?

Philly Special.

It's one of the best plays, and it's what Doug is known for. It's what that Super Bowl is known for. Chapter 34 in your book is called Outsmarting Belichick. What did you learn more about the Philly special that has just cemented it as one of those memorable plays in the NFL?

I don't know if you will remember this, but there was a different play called for that play. And Doug Peterson didn't like it. And he ran down the sidelines to call time. And so Nick Foles comes to the sidelines and he goes, want to run Philly, Philly? and Doug Peterson, for like two and a half seconds, he didn't want to run the play. But the exact same thing is Reed Mahomes. He said, my quarterback wants it.

I'm going to give it to him. But the best part of this is when Nick Foles ran onto the field, He knew that it was going to work. He has never caught a ball in an NFL game, and Trey Burton had never thrown a pass in an NFL game. Now, he threw some in Georgia. I'm sorry, in Florida. He threw some in Florida. But anyway, he comes into the huddle, and he specifically does not want to smile because he knows that he doesn't want to give any sign, oh, my God, we got him now. But the other part of it is you'll notice that The thrower of the football, the tight end who had never thrown a pass in an NFL game, has tight end gloves on. He didn't want to have gloves on when he threw this. The reason why he had gloves on is that Nick Foles...

did not want to give him any warning that the play was going to happen because he didn't want him to tighten up.

Yeah.

And so he threw this incredible pass with these big, thick tight end gloves on instead of how he wanted to throw it with just his hand.

Yeah.

And so that all of that stuff combined just fooled the Patriots.

And knowing a Belichick coach team, that's the kind of thing that he would have seen and called a timeout and said, whoa.

Whoa, whoa.

Wait a second. Why did this just happen? Jamie, that is exactly what Doug Peterson and Nick Foles were thinking. That's why they didn't want to give any hints whatsoever. And I just think that the other thing they did in that game that was so cool, they used pro football focus in that game to help them design the winning touchdown pass. Zach Ertz. on Devin McCourty. Devin McCourty's a great player, but he's also seven inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter than Zach Ertz. And he was going to be singled against Zach Ertz. And the great part of that is NFL Films has Matt Patricia, the Patriots defensive coordinator. Hey, we got a double 86, double 86.

And the defense didn't do it. What what I have found over the years is that it's absolutely amazing that play won a Super Bowl. How in the world did the Patriots make that mistake with Bill Belichick? You got a double 86. We are going to double Zach Ertz. OK. And they didn't do it. And sometimes it is so human.

football it can't be scripted it can't be overly designed because things happen in the heat of battle that aren't supposed to happen because you can't predict everything and you can't script everything that's of all the things i miss about the game that's it that's it i love what happens when the lights go on when the 42nd clock ticks down to zero and you gotta you gotta make a play It's.

Why even the best to coach them up, the film still keeps them up at night because they can't quite figure it out and they have to let the game unfold. This will keep you up at night, but in the best way possible. Peter King, please stay around a couple more minutes. Could you do that for us? Because this is all within the book and the history and the storytelling, but we're still playing a season in 2026 and we want to hear your.

Thoughts on it.

But check out the game by Peter King. Get it for holidays. Get it for whoever in your life that needs to know more about the NFL. This is fantastic. We'll be right back with Peter King. If the commercials could talk, wouldn't you like to hear about it? Welcome back to GMFB. We're still hanging with our friend, veteran sports writer Peter King. He's got a new book coming out called The Game. 40 years with The Game before your retirement in 2024, Peter. But we've got to get caught up on what's been happening.

Recently in the NFL.

And look no further than the final play, couple plays of the Commander's Giants game.

What? What? I mean, in the 43 seasons I've been closely following the NFL, I've never seen anything like that. And Jamie, Jamie, imagine, you know how on social media after a football game, when it ends in a terrible way, everybody's got the answers. They say the coach should have done this. Quarterback should have done that. This guy should have done that. They're all right this time. This is unquestionably a fan would be correct in saying that he should have either thrown the ball away or kneeled down something. Anything. Anything.

But what really bothers me about this, what really bothers me is that two things. David Blau should have said in his in his helmet right at the thing. You know, when he's when he's got his 40 seconds going down to 15 seconds when the when the microphone shuts off in his helmet, he's got to say, you have got to make sure that, you know, you either throw the ball away or you kneel. And obviously he didn't do that.

And then does his Jaden Daniels been playing quarterback for 10 minutes?

Yeah.

How as a quarterback, do you allow that to happen? It is a debacle, total debacle. And look, I'm not one to call for people's jobs, but I am one to say, If that is wrong for a team and an organization, if you don't have that straightened out, then what else is wrong? What else don't you have taken care of? So I think if I was Josh Harris meeting on Monday, I would have just you know, I would want a full explanation. And I would want to say basically, listen. If this ever happens again, I don't care what time of year it is or whatever, but I'm cleaning house. We won't allow this to happen.

Peter, about a pitching wedge away from where you're sitting right now is where the Rams play their home games. This is a very unusual team, very high-profile team, and the results so far have been underwhelming. What are your thoughts right now after five games about the L.A.

Rams 2026? I don't think the house is on fire. I just don't. I think that they lost a game in Denver where you could easily argue that the officiating went against them in a in a terrible way and an unjust way. But that happens to everybody. That happens to everybody. And then you could easily argue on Monday they played a great team. And sometimes when two great teams meet each other, you know, it doesn't go your way.

And that's just the way it is. But look, here's the thing I say. You know, if you look at the next five weeks, they play four teams total, including Arizona twice, with a combined record of 6-18-1. And everybody said, oh, my God, they're 2-3. You know, the sky is falling. I think if you're just asking me, I think they'll be 7-3. And this will be a distant memory. I picked them for the Super Bowl before the year. I still pick them for the Super Bowl.

Now, Peter, the Rams aren't the only team that play there. There's another team called the Chargers. Now, the Chargers are 0-5. It's not looking good. One, what are, in your eyes, what's the issue there? And then number two, how do they kind of get this thing turned around?

When I watch the Chargers, I see a team that is playing totally without confidence, led by the quarterback who's playing totally without confidence. Has he bought into Mike McDaniel's way? Has he bought into Mike McDaniel's system? I don't know. You know, Justin Herbert is a is, you know, publicly anyway, he's kind of a church mouse. He's a quiet guy.

He just wants to let his play do the talking. Absolutely fine. But I mean, you go back to Christmas Day and this team is 0-8. And I think at some point, Jim Harbaugh really, I mean, he has been a word salad press conference guy for the last three or four weeks. He doesn't know what's going on. And if he does, he's not saying. And I think at some point soon, if they don't play better on offense, he's got to take it away from Mike McDaniels.

Yeah, no doubt.

You wonder what's going to happen as a former Charger. I watch them closely, and I'm just like, something's got to give. When you say 0-8 since Christmas, and then their schedule's unforgiving.

How can Justin Herbert lose eight games in a row? It's impossible. How does that happen? Now, I think you have to have success in the playoffs before you're anointed. I have no idea why Jim Harbaugh feels necessary to say that Justin Herbert's going to be better than Johnny Unitas, Otto Graham, and Tom Brady combined. I don't know why you do that. There is no reason to do that.

He must think that your quarterback has no confidence and I have to pump him up. But if I were Justin Herbert, I'd be embarrassed. listening to that stuff. Oh, coach, stop. Stop.

Peter, if there was your, your career is fantastic. The book is great, but you're, you're looking at it in the rear view. Now there was a young reporter trying to cut their teeth and make a name for themselves with their byline. What is there a story right now? Something that has a low rumble to it in the NFL that you would say, Hey, go sink your teeth into that. And why would it be the substation with the 49ers?

Just kidding.

Uh, You know what? I'll tell you the story that I would really want to do. OK, I'd want to dive very deeply into Brock Purdy. And here's why. Because I'm amazed when I hear smart people still. Find fault with Brock Purdy. Are you watching the games? Do you see him hold the ball to the last second before he's going to get blasted and then throw a pass on a dime to somebody?

I don't.

But what I would want to do. Because people have done it with Tom Brady. What didn't you see? Why was Spurgeon Wynn taken ahead of Tom Brady? And what was this all about? I got a bunch of stuff about that in my book, too, about Giovanni Carmazzi, who was taken ahead of Tom Brady. And anyway, but. What I would do is here's what I want to know with Brock Purdy. I would want to go back to Iowa State and I would want to talk about the value of playing big time college football for years. And I would want to say this is why it's idiotic to take a quarterback, not necessarily to take Mitchell Trubisky.

But to take him so high in a first round because he's only played whatever it was, 12 or 13 games of football. Come on. Since high school, let a guy Bill Parcells says that is the biggest thing about quarterbacks coming into the NFL. He only wanted guys who. have played a lot of football. Talk about that as the value. Go and talk to 10 people at Iowa State about Brock Purdy. I would want to, I'm going to spend two weeks on Brock Purdy in his past.

Mm-hmm.

You get sold on size. You get sold on potential. But sometimes experience goes by the wayside. And Brock Purdy is a living, breathing.

Example of that. Plus his mind. His mind. He is so smart. And he's not afraid of anything.

So good.

Everybody, Peter King, thank you so much.

Unbelievable.

Thank you, Jamie. Thanks. Thanks, guys.

Wherever you get your books.

Kyle.

Got it.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Love you, Peter.

Can't wait for the book.

See you later.

Absolutely. Guys, thanks.

Congratulations, Peter. This is really cool.

Thanks so much. All right.

Yep, absolutely. We'll be right back on GMFE.

GMFB Thursday Hour 2: Peter Kings joins! 49ers or Chiefs? Nick Sirianni or Dan Quinn?

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