Drive9.21.26Hr2: Around the NFL

0:05 You're tuned to The Drive on your 24-7 home of the black and gold.

0:09 Steelers Nation Radio.

0:28 Good evening, Steelers Nation. How we doing?

0:30 Eh?

0:31 Yeah.

0:33 Clam Chowder was good.

0:34 Clam Chowder was good. We're just going to make that. You know what, Matt? Maybe this season, every Monday, when we have to come in here and talk about a loss, the Clam Chowder was good.

0:42 Yeah, Clam Chowder was good.

0:43 Wes, how was Paris? Clam Chowder was great, I tell you, man. It's like a bunch of New Englanders over there. Hour number two of The Drive. We're getting through it together. It was a bummer yesterday.

0:54 It was.

0:54 But it is week two. Everything in perspective. And yeah, as we laid out with Rob King, though, man, Sunday all of a sudden looms very large for an early season matchup.

1:03 It amazes me every year, and I've done this for a thousand years, how quickly that happens in this league.

1:08 Yep.

1:08 They play two games. Yep. Pens, Pirates, 76ers, whoever, go 0-2. Nobody cares at all. You're 0-2. And the Steelers aren't even 0-2.

1:16 Nope.

1:17 Imagine if you were doing Chargers Nation Radio right now.

1:20 Texans Nation Radio.

1:21 Yeah, right, right, right.

1:22 Yeah, Texans and Chargers. Not a great.

1:24 People think you can write the story the whole season because you watch two football games.

1:29 It's a leap.

1:31 It's a leap.

1:32 Sometimes.

1:33 Sometimes you're dead on. Sometimes you're dead on.

1:35 Yeah.

1:35 But sometimes you've absolutely missed the mark.

1:38 Like I look at the Dolphins and be like, they don't really have any good players. Every game's going to look like that. You know.

1:45 Matt, let's run the gauntlet here and discuss these other games that are in the books from week two of the National Football League season. And Matt, maybe the most under-discussed story in football right now, because it's early in the season. There's a lot of big injuries, a lot going on. Aaron Donald seemingly is going to return tonight.

2:05 We'll talk about that a little bit before we get out of here. But how about Bryce Young and what he's done in the first two weeks of the season as the Panthers 34-3 beat down the Falcons in Atlanta?

2:16 I hope I'm wrong about him. I always thought that I would not have taken him first overall. I would not have extended him. I always thought he was going to be a bottom-of-the-tier starter, maybe really, really good backup after watching him in the league for as long as he has. Their offense is humming, and he's playing great football back-to-back weeks, you know? Playing for a contract just like Stroud, and he's playing better than Stroud right now.

2:40 He sure is.

2:41 Yeah.

2:42 Was really, really impressive, really sharp.

2:44 Yeah.

2:45 As the Panthers just absolutely decimated the Falcons there in Atlanta. They blew them out.

2:51 I know that Steelers just played Atlanta, so we're focused on them a little bit more too, but like Drake London's unhappy on the sidelines. They're starting to be, the ship is starting to get off kilter here. It's getting early late. It's getting real early late.

3:03 In Atlanta.

3:03 In Atlanta.

3:04 For their sake, I hope at least Pennix gets out there soon so you can at least see it. I think it's bound to happen this week, yeah.

3:17 Matt, I don't think a lot of people saw this one coming, but in Chicago, a 9-3.

3:21 9-0.

3:23 Old school. I mean, this is like, this is like Halas football. The Vikings beat the bears nine to three, Minnesota, a surprising two and O and two and O in their own division. They're really sitting pretty to start the year. They are sitting pretty.

3:36 And by an hour or two ago, they announced Kyler's back. Yep. I don't know. I'm not saying he's Fran Tarkington or the best quarterback of all time, but their defense is big time. Legit Dallas Turner. Their first round pick from a couple of years ago is really turned into a star overnight. Their whole line's really good. I think Minnesota's pretty legit.

3:54 Yeah, I'm with you. I don't think they're going away. And for the Bears, a huge scare with Caleb Williams, but it seems that they dodged a bullet. And Schefter actually repeated earlier today that he might be able to play Monday night. They're on Monday night football against the Eagles a week from today.

4:09 That seems like a coaching ploy, but I think it's too weak.

4:13 I think you're right. But regardless, I mean, originally it looked like, is that an ACL or an Achilles or is he going to be gone for the season? So not a great Sunday for Chicago, but in the bigger picture, they lost the battle Sunday, but they're still alive for the war.

4:30 Yeah.

4:30 Yeah, they are. I guess their defense must've played a little better. They didn't let up a ton of points like they did against Bryce Young and the Panthers. I found it interesting, you know, like in major league, if your shower shoes are disgusting, nuclear loose, you know, like you talk to the movie major league. Yeah, not, no, not major league. Bull Durham, Bull Durham, Bull Durham. So in the show, if you have disgusting shower shoes, you're colorful.

4:59 If you win 20 games, you're a pig. If you're in the minors and yeah, of course. And the bears offense kind of reminded me of that. Like, okay, you put up 59 points, but you didn't get the ball to a dunes, a Loveland burden. Who cares? You put up three points, you don't get the ball to those guys. It's not so cool anymore. You know what I mean?

5:21 You've seen the movie Step Brothers?

5:24 I should never admit this, but no. Okay. Because it's like the biggest blemish on my movie resume.

5:29 My goodness.

5:30 Because I'm totally aware and right.

5:31 There's a scene where Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly go for a job interview at a sporting goods store.

5:36 Yeah.

5:37 And Seth Rogen is like the GM there. And they sit down with him in tuxedos. And he's like, oh, I love it. Tuxedos. This is funny for an interview at a sporting goods store.

5:47 Yeah.

5:47 And then they fart in the interview. And he goes, all of a sudden, the tuxedos are seeming a little weird. They're seeming a little strange.

5:54 Yeah. Exactly. Perception goes a long way.

5:58 It turns on a dime there, partner. It sure does. How about the Titans? Hanging tough at home with the Eagles. A drive by Jalen Hurts at the end to give Philadelphia a 24-20 win in Music City.

6:07 Yeah.

6:07 Yeah.

6:10 First good thing we can say about the Titans really since the coaching staff took over. Ward and company and the whole team took a step forward in this game against a quality opponent. Good. We don't expect them to win the Super Bowl this year. I think the Eagles all of a sudden are fascinating because Hurts and the passing game are playing great, but they have like the worst running.

6:31 Game of the league. Their offensive line has been bad.

6:33 The offensive line's bad. Barkley has nowhere to go, and he got hurt in this game.

6:38 Mm-hmm.

6:38 Yeah.

6:39 He sure did.

6:39 It's a very different situation going on in Philly than it has been the last five years or whatever.

6:45 You know, since last year, Matt, I've been a card-carrying member of the Devontae Smith is way underrated and is probably a top 10 wide receiver in the World Club. Ten receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown. Yeah, you're right. The Eagles are 2-0, but it's been a bumpy 2-0.

7:03 It's not their usual approach either.

7:05 They have got to start running the football more effectively. The Jets, another one, Matt. Hey, you know, they're not terrible. Week one, they go out and win and you're like, all right, is it is it just a fluke? Is there something there? And they're not terrible. They end up falling to the Packers in overtime in a game they probably should have won at home. But 20 to 17, the Jets hung around. The Jets played tough.

7:26 Yeah, I think.

7:29 And you know I'm a little partial to him, but I think Geno has proved that not that he's a league winner or anything like that, but that he wasn't the absolute disaster that we saw last year in Las Vegas. I thought he played pretty well, but the Packers, one of those teams that desperately needed a win to avoid falling to 0-2, they get it done in overtime.

7:48 They had to get it, and I fear for the Packers, and I optimistically think for the Jets, I kind of feel like if these teams played 10 times, it might be 5-5. You know, the one's better than we expected, one's worse than we expected. You know, a lot of people had Packers as preseason number eight on the power ranks and the Jets 28th.

8:08 Yeah.

8:09 They both might be 16th. 16th. You know what I mean? Yeah.

8:13 Matt.

8:14 Side note, I might say this about Minnesota, but I think it's very true of the Jets too. Like just having competent quarterback play compared to last year. I mean, some of the dudes at both those teams tried it out. It goes a long way.

8:25 Yeah.

8:26 It goes a long way. Matt, leading rusher in that game at MetLife Stadium, Caleb Johnson. Now, eight carries for 32 yards to lead all rushers. It wasn't like Barry Sanders and Walter Payton were out there.

8:39 I have to tell this story because my Twitter feed, as I'm sure anyone that covers the Steelers, was not real pleasant after about 4 o'clock yesterday.

8:49 People weren't in your mentions talking about Clem Chowder?

8:51 And I even got one along the lines of, and now Caleb Johnson's blowing up without the Steelers. They don't know anything. And I didn't go watch the tape. Maybe it's better than I thought. And I responded. I'm like, he had eight carries for 32 yards. I don't know.

9:09 That's when you know you're down bad and you really need something to hang your hat on on offense when you're gushing over the guy with 32 yards.

9:15 I'll still take the seventh round pick they got for him, considering what he looked like when he was here.

9:19 I'll still take Jalen Warren.

9:21 Yeah.

9:21 But yes.

9:22 But I mean, people are just in such a bad mood and the Steelers are so dumb. Look, Jalen, Caleb Johnson's the next Kevin Dotson going to go to Pro Bowls and they hung up. They don't know how to evaluate talent.

9:31 Maybe it's a good starting point for him and he ends up having a fine year.

9:33 I hope he does well. But eight carries for 32 yards. I'm not putting them in Canton all of a sudden.

9:39 You know this. I work the Steelers games on Sundays. I'm very laser focused. Yeah, I'm looking at what's going on around the league. During the halftime show, we do an NFL scoreboard segment, which is always good for me because I get to kind of run through the games and see what's going on. But it's tough.

9:55 I'm there.

9:55 I'm doing a job. I'm the broadcast engineer right in charge of our entire operation and i'm trying to not only do my job but watch intently what's going on with the steelers in front of me yeah you're in group chats with all your i think everyone now in 2026 right you've got group chats with your buddies and all that stuff and during that game my phone is i'm seeing all these texts caleb johnson caleb johnson caleb johnson and i'm like.

10:18 What did he do?

10:19 What did he do?

10:21 32 yards.

10:21 Come on, guys.

10:23 By all accounts, he had some nice carries.

10:24 No, he did.

10:25 That's great. Okay. I hope he does well.

10:27 He averaged four yards a carry.

10:29 You're not going to convince me that the Steelers don't have any clue what they're doing and should have kept this guy. He's the answer to all the problems.

10:35 Listen, I think you can question plenty of the decisions of the Steelers here at the start of the season.

10:39 Yeah.

10:39 But I don't know if getting rid of Caleb Johnson.

10:41 I'm not getting in that Twitter fight.

10:42 Could be a different conversation a month from now. But that is funny. I did see you quote tweet that and be like, Eight carries for 32 yards? I'm like, okay. Matt, an eventful one in Tampa Bay where the Browns come back late and beat the Bucs. Sorry, Baker Mayfield. No vengeance for you. 23-19 after about, what, a 90-minute, two-hour weather delay in a monsoon.

11:06 With only two minutes to play in the game. What a miserable situation.

11:09 By just absolute nightmare fuel, like I said, in the first hour of the show. But the story here might be, Matt, Deshaun Watson? Yeah, I want to.

11:20 Be as impartial as possible because nobody's really rooting for the guy. No. By far, his best game is a Brown. Just was. Yeah. And Boston looked really, really good as a rookie receiver, too. I was going to say, man.

11:33 I'll tell you what.

11:33 Yep. So Browns fans should be happy today. Bucs fans, 0-2 when you were kind of the leader in the clubhouse to win that division. Mayfield's been all over the place. Defense has been bad now two weeks in a row. It was already kind of a warm seat for the head coach. I don't like the vibes at all in Tampa right now. They could feel like Mike Evans as a stabilizing force is missed.

12:00 Well, you know who would be a very stabilizing force for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? This guy that I see on Sunday Night Football now every week.

12:06 Yeah, yeah.

12:06 Mike Tomlin.

12:07 I think he worked for him at one point.

12:09 You know, Tampa, you might have a relationship with him there. That might be the exact type of coach you're looking for as kind of a figurehead for an organization that's not the most popular and doesn't get the most spin. Yeah, Tampa, pick up the phone and give us a call. We could talk about it.

12:23 Make a deal.

12:23 First round pick. Let's make a deal. Matt, speaking of that division, the New Orleans Saints. Hey, how about those Saints, baby?

12:30 They're the fun team right now.

12:31 15 points in the fourth quarter to storm back and beat the Ravens 24-17. That's good for the Steelers. Baltimore falls to 1-1 as well. And the Saints, man, I tell you what, I'm liking the, as much as we are disliking the early season vibes for Tampa Bay. new Orleans. I mean, they are, they are two yards away from winning that game in overtime against the lions. It doesn't go your way, but I still think they played well.

12:55 Then they go on the road against the team. That's kind of the proverbial AFC favorite. Them or Buffalo.

13:01 And they've been on the road in Detroit, in Baltimore, two.

13:04 Tough places to win an easy start. And you're, I mean, you are two yards away from being two and Oh, I'm not saying they're seeking any comfort in that, but you're one in one. I think that's a real solid start to the season for them.

13:15 It looks like they lost their left tackle, who I like a lot, Kelvin Banks, for a while. That's not great. Chase Young's a blast from the past. He's playing phenomenal. Olave's phenomenal. I retweeted some stuff today about Tyler Shuck's second half numbers versus first half numbers. They're They weren't terrible in the first half, but just goes crazy late in games, starting to figure things out. All those things to me just indicate a well-coached team from the Saints.

13:42 They're getting a lot out of a little. Baltimore really missed a flowers from what I saw. I mean, Bateman and Andrews are not the driving receivers that you need. I think I read this on the way in. I think Lamar only has one designed rush attempt this year, maybe two. So they're not doing that quite yet.

14:03 Hmm.

14:04 It's a tough loss for Baltimore though oh here's the other thing Mike Sando put this out today he does a Monday column and basically said you can't blame Harbaugh for this one you go back to like the last five years the amount of big leads that the Ravens have given up I put that on Twitter as well is massive you know like.

14:25 Leading by eight or more yeah they did that in the postseason a few times they've done it a.

14:29 Lot yeah they've blown big leads.

14:33 What a shame too bad so sad the bangles matt good start to the season for them they go down to houston against a texans team that lost week one and they win 22-6 they hold houston to just two field goals cj stroud threw the ball 55 times.

14:51 So you know how we do success rate the texans had one successful run play holy cow and look at their rushing numbers i mean they are hideous Thus, Stroud was throwing the ball.

15:05 C.J.

15:06 Stroud was their leading rusher.

15:07 Yeah.

15:08 With 29 yards on three carries.

15:09 No running game whatsoever.

15:11 Woody Marks, eight carries for eight yards. That's a one-yard average, Matt.

15:15 I can do the math on that one. Not good.

15:17 Montgomery, six for 10 yards.

15:20 Wow.

15:21 Oof.

15:21 Yeah. Bengals D is real legit through two weeks. And then the other thing.

15:26 They missed Nico Collins big time.

15:28 That was yesterday. I'm not even worried about the Texans. Two really tough battles.

15:32 Yeah.

15:33 But where was I going with this? Oh, they had Jonathan Allen, Dexter Lawrence, uh, the second round pick how from a and M and boy, a Moffay, all those guys had at least six pressures on the quarterback.

15:50 Maybe we should have seen that coming, but that's a good group.

15:52 That's a, and none of them were there last year. You know, like those guys up front are making a lot of plays, a lot of tackles for loss, a lot of sacks. Um, The offense, and since he's still kind of figuring things out, but Chase had an unbelievable catch and two big touchdowns, and they'll be okay over there.

16:11 Cincinnati 2-0 and heading to Pittsburgh this weekend.

16:14 Folks, foreshadowing here, warning, the next three, four days of the drive, you're going to hear a lot of stuff about the Bengals you're not going to enjoy after two games. They're doing some really good things. I'm not convinced they'll win the Super Bowl or anything, but they've They've improved.

16:30 Let's talk about the Ravens instead, I mean, and their struggles. Matt, in Denver, mile high, another one of those games you and I said it's tough to see the Broncos start in 0-2, especially with this one at home. They needed a big fourth quarter, though, to get it done.

16:43 Yeah, it's a pretty close game.

16:45 I thought Bo Nix really— I was actually watching this one on the plane flying home. and kind of waiting there on the runway to take off. That was the game we were able to get on the plane. I thought Bo Nix really struggled, and then in the fourth quarter, put it together when he had to, and Denver gets a much-needed win, 20-13 at home over the Jags.

17:06 And I'm not worried about the Jags. Again, I always bet against teams in Denver the first couple weeks of the year. It's a tough spot, yeah. Their O-line had a tough day, but the Denver D started to look like it has in all last year. They got Waddle heavily involved after him doing nothing in week one. And very quickly, Jonah Coleman, the rookie out of Washington, is basically the number one back there already and paid off, paid some dividends. Dobbins predictably got hurt again. But I think the Broncos are back on track.

17:37 Matt, and perhaps the surprise result of the weekend, the Chargers fall to 0-2.

17:43 They're a disaster.

17:44 The ladies.

17:45 Kubiak Nation improves to 2-0, 26-14, a big fourth quarter for the Raiders to shut the door on that one. Kirk Cousins, you like that, 250 yards and three touchdowns. Even without Brock Bowers, that offense.

18:00 Your best player hasn't been there either game, and you're 2-0.

18:03 Able to score some points, and if we're talking vibes and all that stuff, Matt, rough start to the season for the Chargers.

18:08 Vibes couldn't be any different. I mean, no expectations for the team at the first overall pick. No rush to get Mendoza in there. Cousins playing really well. They're rushing the quarterback really well. Max Crosby was destroying Joe Alt, let alone the interior line issues. You thought the tackles were fine. There's no shame in losing to Max Crosby, but, I mean, it was over and over. Their offense looks very, very clunky. Herbert's under a lot of scrutiny right now.

18:33 Minter being gone looks like it's really affected their defense. I mean, I think they have to be most disappointing team so far.

18:41 I mean, them or the Texans, but at least the Texans have faced.

18:44 Texans have quality losses, though. They've faced maybe the.

18:46 Two best quarterbacks in the NFL.

18:48 Yeah.

18:48 I mean, week one and week two.

18:49 Like, I'm not worried at all about the Texans' D, even though they've let up a ton of points.

18:53 No, no.

18:53 I'm sure they'll be fine. The one thing you'll say about the Texans is they lost both of those games at home, and you can't start 0-2 at home.

18:58 Agreed.

18:59 Man, the Chargers... The Chargers also lost both of theirs at home as well, though, now that I'm thinking about it.

19:03 Good point. Although, I guess that was, like, all Raiders fans, too. Oh, yeah.

19:06 Of course.

19:07 Of course. To the Cardinals and the Raiders, two teams that picked in the top three... Last year.

19:12 It's not Buffalo and Cincy.

19:13 That ain't great. That ain't great. Cowboys bounce back, Matt, and look the part on offense. 37-20 over the Commanders. Listen to this line for Dak Prescott. 26-31, 279 yards, four touchdowns for Dak. He looked on form. And then Matt, you hate to see it, but another scary injury for Jaden Daniels.

19:33 They really featured CeeDee Lamb more so than Pickens, just in terms of how the things were structured.

19:38 CeeDee Lamb, eight for 153 and two touchdowns.

19:41 Pretty dominant. Dallas D did not look great. And that daniel singh is really the story because it's again it's a hyper extended elbow that i think it's the same injury it's the.

19:51 Same one yeah it's on his non-throwing arm but it's the same same arm that he hurt last year.

19:56 But it looks like at least a month not a lot of great vibes coming out of washington right now.

20:01 No after a strong they lost but a strong showing.

20:04 Yeah better than i expected in philadelphia right Now they're 0-2 in the division. I didn't think of that.

20:10 I worry that Jaden Daniels is one of those guys that just his body is not built for it. That goes back to college, too.

20:16 That was a big knock.

20:17 He wouldn't be the first one we've seen in that regard. He wouldn't be the last one.

20:20 And he was playing really well. I liked how he looked before the injury.

20:23 A special talent who just.

20:24 Tom Brady said a bad word or two, and it happened, too.

20:26 He did, and I don't blame him. That was gruesome looking. A couple more here, Matt. As the Seahawks, they improved the 2-0. They beat down the Cardinals in Arizona.

20:34 Total blowout.

20:35 I think we thought a win would come even without Sam Darnold. But my goodness, Drew Locke, 235 yards, three touchdowns. Jackson Smith and Jigba with an unbelievable day.

20:44 I would say he might have been the star of the week.

20:46 Nine for 155 and three touchdowns for JSA.

20:50 And they don't have much. I mean, it's pretty amazing that everyone on the planet knows where the ball's going. Right. And it doesn't matter at all. They're not, like, flush with weapons. And they won the Super Bowl and just blew out the Cardinals a lot on his back.

21:03 He sure did, and he is a special, special talent. Matt, the game that I think we all thought would get out of hand, and it did, the 49ers. They improved to 2-0. They rolled the Dolphins 35-13 at home. Not a lot of surprise there. Kittle looked good and healthy. That's big for them. You know, Malik Willis made a couple plays that, okay, if you're trying to find something if you're Miami.

21:26 I don't even know you can blame him or even evaluate him this year, which is unfortunate.

21:30 Yeah.

21:30 They're really rough. I mean, to no one's shock, the Dolphins are the youngest team in the league on offense. Okay. They're also the youngest team in the league on defense. And they look it.

21:40 Yeah.

21:41 They look like they have some college dudes out there. You know what I mean? Like, they just have the least talent in the league, too. And they're building for another day. And the Niners are rolling. I mean, the Niners look great. All the advanced metrics, only Josh Allen had a better game or week two than Purdy. Purdy was really sharp.

21:59 Matt, across the desk here from intrepid producer Mr. TV, the Atlanta Falcons have named Michael Penix Jr. the starting quarterback Thursday night against the Packers.

22:08 So he must have been close.

22:10 Maybe this was their plan all along.

22:12 Yeah, yeah.

22:13 And then last, but certainly not least, last night, Matt, overtime. The Chiefs.

22:17 Good game.

22:18 Good game against the Colts. The Chiefs moved to 2-0. The Colts fall to 0-2. Some of that field goal luck that wasn't there for the Chiefs, as we talked about when previewing them, came back to work in their favor. I tell you what, though. If I'm a Colts fan, I'm feeling much better this Monday than I did last Monday after you kind of got.

22:37 It was a pretty equal game.

22:38 You kind of got boat raced at home by the Ravens, and it was like, oh, no. And then you go into Arrowhead Sunday night, crazy atmosphere, and you go toe-to-toe, and you end up losing in overtime.

22:48 Yeah, I thought they played a quality game and better than I expected. Another recurring injury. Pierce got hurt. Not great. I hated how the Colts handled the end of the game. There was that crazy... call with Treadwell that was to me was as close to a coin flip that they got it right but then they got real conservative there's no way I'm giving my homes the ball back I mean I it's like fourth and eighth and they they ran it I think twice before that as well no way am I you.

23:18 Gotta you gotta treat that as four down territory and yeah you start down to set up a fourth and manageable.

23:23 Yeah they kind of went into a shell when it mattered most Against Mahomes at home, I mean, like, no way am I giving him the ball back without a substantial lead. One note, though, about the Chiefs, I thought Kelsey was going to have a real old man game to him this year. You know, catch and fall down, catch some touchdowns, be crafty, old man at the Y.

23:45 He's moving around pretty well. They may get quality work out of him.

23:50 Old man moving around at the Y. That's a wealthy man moving around there at the Y, I tell you.

23:56 Quite the offseason.

23:58 Everyone.

23:58 I heard he got married.

24:00 Everyone. She was at the game.

24:02 Did you see her point to her ring?

24:04 That's my husband.

24:05 I said to my wife, I said, honey, that's what you do when you see me drinking beers at the tailgates on Saturday.

24:10 But she watches the drive. When she watches the drive, she's like, that's my husband.

24:17 So there's some thoughts on a busy week, too. A lot going on across the league. A lot of big results. A lot of surprising results. A lot of key injuries. And that's kind of Matt and I's thoughts on most of what we saw yesterday.

24:31 The division went 2-2.

24:32 Yes.

24:34 I don't mind the Browns winning.

24:35 I don't mind the Browns winning. It's good to see the Ravens at 1-1. Let's get ready to give Cincinnati that first loss on Sunday. Matt, when we return, we got to preview tonight's Monday Night Football game a little bit, an intriguing one. I think we're going to see the return of Aaron Donald, and we will start to get to some questions, comments, concerns, and reactions from the audience here in hour number two as well. Plenty more ground to cover. Euler and Williamson, it's The Drive, Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network.

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26:01 Get that hot dog costume ready.

26:03 Bruh.

26:07 You're tuned to The Drive on your 24-7 home of the black and gold.

26:11 Steelers Nation Radio.

26:31 Back on the drive here as we head down the homestretch of this Monday show. And we anxiously anticipate a big week for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's our buddy Jerry Dulac.

26:43 Great Jerry Dulac poking in.

26:44 Poking his head in the door here. Matt, a fun one on tap tonight for Monday Night Football.

26:51 I'm really looking forward to this one.

26:52 Yeah, out in Los Angeles.

26:54 Doesn't it feel like two months ago that they played in Australia?

26:56 It really does.

26:57 Yeah.

26:57 Feels like a long time ago. And it's weird how that always happens during the football season.

27:02 It does.

27:03 Um, and you know, part of that for me too, is like the weekends are just chaos because I'm working the games and traveling and, and all that stuff. That's a lot of fun, but just does, uh, does wear you down quick side note for you. Uh, our buddy, Brian Backo and I, we did some poking around the North end of Boston on Saturday night. One of the best areas to poke around in the country. I, I think it's just a really cool area there. The North end of Boston, uh, We stumbled into, it was recommended to us by someone in the Steelers organization who's from Massachusetts.

27:35 That's all I'm going to say.

27:35 Okay.

27:36 Said, check out this place called Sullivan's if you guys are around there. This place looked like if you walked in there 40 years ago, it looked exactly like it did in 2026.

27:46 Okay.

27:47 It's just Bobby Orr and Larry Bird all over the wall. No Patriot stuff because no one knew anything about the Patriots until Tom Brady and Bill Belichick got there. Little bit of Red Sox stuff, you know. It's just Bobby Orr and Larry Bird and all these old.

28:01 You might get like Fred Lynn or Jerry Rice. Or not Jerry Rice, Jim Rice.

28:06 Jim Rice. It was just funny because it was like, Backo and I were both like, I bet you if you walked in here 40 years ago, it looks just like it does right now.

28:13 Yeah, there's Pudge on the wall maybe. Baseball cards on the wall and stuff.

28:17 Like, yeah, McHale and all that kind of stuff. Oh, it was Pedro Martinez over here.

28:22 The departed. It was.

28:23 Yep.

28:25 When I tell you to dump some clam chowder in the mosh.

28:28 In the mosh.

28:28 You dump the clam chowder in the mosh. Rams, though, Matt, back home, and this is a real opportunity for both of these teams because if you're the Rams, obviously you don't want to fall to 0-2.

28:40 Yeah.

28:40 The Seahawks are already 2-0. The Niners are already 2-0. You'd be putting yourself behind the eight ball, and you'd have two NFC losses as well. For the Giants, it's the opposite, though. Like, you're almost playing with house money tonight.

28:52 I think they are playing with house money. I mean, the whole season might be house money for them because they know they have a coach, do they have a quarterback, but there's definitely a foundation there, and it's physicality, and it's big people, and all those things. I like where the Giants are at. However, and I do not mean this to give the Steelers a pass, I think you and I underrated a little bit Patriots' home field advantage and massive discrepancy in time to prepare.

29:24 Yeah. The time to prepare thing's huge.

29:26 The time to prepare thing is huge. There's just so much evidence in NFL history that if you give me a couple more days to prepare than you, no matter what time of year it is, I win more often than I lose. And I just think the Rams, McVay, maybe they hated going to australia to no end and they lost miles garrett but they didn't become a bad team and they did not become a bad organization or a bad head coach and a bad quarterback coming off an mvp year and everyone on the planet watched every snap of that game And that's a wounded animal in the corner right now with a long time to think about it. And this dude from Pitt coming out of retirement.

30:05 Earned Donald.

30:06 He may cause some problems, just a hunch.

30:09 I imagine there'll be a little bit of attention on him this evening.

30:11 Yeah.

30:12 Just a smidge.

30:13 And the Giants, with all due respect, not only do they have a rest disadvantage, but they also have a night game. It's almost like an extra day of disadvantage.

30:22 And they've got to travel across the country.

30:23 And they've got to travel across the country.

30:24 That's one of the furthest road trips you can make.

30:26 When I first saw this was the Monday nighter, I was like, ooh, Giants might play them tough. They're physical. They'll run the ball like crazy. It's got to be, you know, Richard and Patrick Ricard and neighbors looks like he's out. And those edge rushers could give the Rams tackles big problems, which is an area I worry about.

30:43 Puka's questionable. But then I've been thinking about it. I'm like, I'll take big bags.

30:48 The buzz. I think the Giants are walking into it. Although they'll probably have 50% of the crowd there, maybe more. But I think they're coming up against a bit of a buzzsaw this evening. Rams favored by six and a half, Matt. Do they cover?

31:00 I'm going to say yes.

31:03 I think so too.

31:03 Yeah.

31:04 I just think the Rams are going to. The emotion of Aaron Donald's return.

31:07 Yeah.

31:08 The desperation, the time to prepare.

31:10 I don't think they'll take their foot off the gas either.

31:13 And maybe some of this too, you know that some people might say, yeah, really? It's just one week and just one game. There's a human element to this. Maybe the Giants are feeling themselves a little bit after that performance last weekend. We got a coach.

31:25 We're set.

31:26 We got a coach. And Dart's the guy. And Scataboo's the guy. And we're the toast of New York. And finally somebody's talking about something other than the Knicks because of what we did last week.

31:35 Yeah.

31:36 I think it might be a little bit of a back to earth for Big Blue this evening.

31:40 It could be. And I believe everything I just said. For the Giants, it wouldn't blow me away, though, if they are the more physical team. They run the ball. They get after the quarterback. And they build on what they did in week one.

31:50 But.

31:51 I mean, hosting a game in New York on 9-11 weekend, the 25th anniversary with a Hall of Fame type new head coach. They were riding the crest of that wave. And now you've got to walk into still what might be the best team in the league. Yes. No one's even considering them like the best team in the league.

32:09 They lost one game. Yes. In Australia.

32:12 Going to be very interested to see how tonight transpires. One more segment to go. When we return, Matt and I will go to the tweets. We'll go to the YouTube comments. We'll hear all of what you people have to say. That should be fun. I'm sure the temperature is going to be a little warm, but we will get through it together.

32:33 We won't avoid it.

32:34 Euler and Williamson. Sometimes you guys steer into the skids, you know? We will wrap this thing up. We'll wrap up the day's proceedings when we return on the other side. It's The Drive, Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network.

32:49 And now a word from our sponsor, Bud Light. There's nothing better than the clean, crisp... There's nothing better than the clean, crisp... Uh, what if we just got out of here and grabbed some Bud Lights? But man, we're on air for four more hours.

33:05 I'll figure it out. Sounds good to me. Anything for the clean, crisp taste of Bud Light.

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33:17 Louis, Missouri.

33:19 I used to have cable internet, but I'm a 100% kind of fan, so I switched to Verizon Fios. It's 100% fiber internet that's super reliable. So I streamed 100% of the NFL draft live with ultra low lag. And after what went down in the first round, still getting video calls from my best friend, rubbing it in that he called all the picks.

33:35 I told you they were building their own line. I win the bet.

33:38 Get 100% fiber internet with Verizon Fios, because when it comes to your team, it's 100% or nothing. Call 1-833-VERIZON to switch today.

33:46 Get that hot dog costume ready.

33:48 Bruh.

33:54 You're tuned to The Drive on your 24-7 home of the black and gold.

33:58 Steelers Nation Radio.

34:03 Matt, we've got a few minutes left here on the show, and I think there's only one thing left to do, and that is turn it over to the people.

34:19 Questions comments concerns and reactions before we get out of here on this Monday Mike McKeesport Mike says hey guys love the show success rate on first down needs to improve a lot but I keep reminding myself of Aaron Rodgers comment to the media a few years ago while he was still in Green Bay R-E-L-A-X we're going to be.

34:40 Okay I lean that way as well I mean I think this will be and almost has to be the low point, the low points of the offense.

34:49 Yeah.

34:49 I mean, it's a work in progress. Not that you and I have a, you know, a crystal ball and can tell these things, but many times in training camp and preseason, we both said this offensive line is not going to be built overnight. And the offense in particular might take some time, you know, patience here, I think is important on that side of the ball with all the moving parts and new system. especially with all the youth on the offensive line. So I don't know that we should be as shocked as a lot of people are that are listening, but it's been bad. I mean, I didn't think it'd be this bad either through two games.

35:29 I didn't think it would be 16 offensive points through two games, one touchdown. Yeah. And our, our buddy Ian pointed this out on Twitter too, and said, you know, right now, and, and, Again, folks, it's two-game sample size. Yeah, yeah. But the Steelers' defense is on track to be the No. 4-rated defense in the league. The offense is on track to be the No. 31-rated offense in the league.

35:50 Mm-hmm.

35:50 Good for the defense. Keep it up.

35:52 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

35:53 Offense, get back to average, and you're going to like the way you look.

35:58 Rob said this, and it shocked me at halftime, too, and after, because it wasn't that type of game. But the Steelers did win time of possession against pretty substantially and are over 30 minutes through two weeks. Time of possession can be misleading. Sometimes you just allow a touchdown to happen quicker or whatever, but I'm not sure how that exactly happened.

36:19 Seven tweets us and says, have the Steelers really built the nest for a franchise quarterback? The offensive line has looked horrific and they don't have a number one wide receiver.

36:29 Good points.

36:30 But again, though, has the offensive line looked horrific?

36:33 Yes.

36:34 Does that mean that they're going to be horrific and none of those guys can play?

36:38 Right.

36:39 And next year they're going to be horrific. And yet I would pump the brakes on that.

36:43 Yeah.

36:43 I've been disappointed. Even as someone who said, Matt, it's going to take time. You got a lot of movement on that offensive line, new coaching staff. Your offensive line is as young as some of these offensive lines in college now with all these sixth and seventh year guys. But it better be better by October, by November. If we're still worried about the offensive line being an issue in 2027, then that's a real concern. But for now, I'm not there yet.

37:16 Because I very much.

37:17 Maxi Honachor hasn't started a game yet.

37:19 He's been on the field. Side note. I don't know if you noticed it because I didn't. When Rudolph came in for the last three snaps.

37:27 Yes, it was Hoffman and Honachor.

37:31 I just wonder what they're thinking there. Anyway, more of that to come during the week, I have a feeling. That's what I was going to say, too. I very much condone and appreciate the process of building the O-line nest through the draft exactly how the Steelers have done. We have not seen the benefits of that yet. If this tweet comes at us and is holding water at Thanksgiving, I'm scared.

37:56 Different conversation. Absolutely different conversation.

37:58 I'm scared. That being said, too, one good note out of the offense was Jeremy Bernard, by the way, since he brought up the receivers. But if you told me right now what their second biggest offseason need is, I might say wide receiver. Maybe. I mean, quarterback of the future is one way up here, but it might be wide receiver.

38:18 Pittman and DK are both going to be 30 at that time.

38:20 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

38:23 Speaking of which, Alan asks, please explain how they only threw to germ four times all on the same drive, three on consecutive plays, then nothing the rest of the game.

38:32 I can't really explain it.

38:34 I can't really explain it other than, and a lot of those situations, Aaron Rogers had no time to throw and was in, in the rare occasions he did. This is another thing too, that maybe I should have brought up. Maybe I'm going to rewatch the game tonight. Maybe we can talk about this.

38:46 More on our Tuesday. Rewind. I still have to look into it more, too.

38:49 It was only a couple times, but the couple times that the offensive line did hold up in pass protection, Aaron was still getting rid of the ball like he was under siege. And I'm not saying that I blame him for that. He probably had that egg timer in the back of his mind, get rid of this thing because your offensive line's been getting pummeled. But the couple times that they didn't get pummeled, where he had times to stand in the pocket and let the play develop for an extra second, he got rid of it. Again, I'm not saying I blame him for that, but... I think there's some of that, too, that would have maybe lended its hand to Germ having a few more receptions.

39:20 Yeah. I mean, I think that's a little bit of an unfair criticism because I'm trying to think as those around you think and think of it, the coaching staff. Yeah, it probably is. If week one ends and Bernard had played three snaps going into this game, you think you may or may not have Pittman. Bernard's probably running with the ones at least in three receiver sets all week while Pittman's doing rehab or whatever. I don't think you go into the game saying we get this guy 12 targets. No, he played three snaps in the NFL at that point.

39:52 Him and you're absolutely spot.

39:53 Coincidentally, him and Roman both played 55 snaps. They end up playing the same amount in different roles, often together, sometimes, you know, alongside each other or whatever, something Roman more out of the slot. But I think it was a very successful debut for Bernard. And if you don't have Pittman this week, maybe he does catch six or seven balls, you know? But you're not going to just throw him in there and be like, well, let's treat him like he's Justin Jefferson. That's our guy. You got to earn that.

40:23 Matt, we got like 60 seconds here. Sudesh says, do you think that maybe we should have played the offensive starters more during the preseason?

40:31 That's a fair question as it sits now.

40:34 Okay, but more. If they would have played all the starters for a half, three straight times, everyone would be screaming and yelling, what the hell are you doing? You're way too much risk for injury. Why are you playing them that much?

40:46 And we might be like, boy, it'd be nice if they McCormick he's out for the year or, you know what I mean? Or Washington or right.

40:52 Played them together an extra eight, nine, 10 plays. Does that really move the needle that much?

40:57 Right.

40:58 So it's like, I don't know.

40:59 I do think they're trying to get to know each other on the field in real live action with bullets flying, all those things. But which is another thing we said that, If the offense looks bad the first two weeks, McCarthy's going to get killed for not having a tough enough practice and backs on backers and all that stuff. But no one's going to remember in December when they win a playoff game or they're looking fresh or they're healthier than their opponent that this was a big picture thing.

41:26 But I knew these questions were going to come. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they're not bad questions either.

41:30 They're not bad questions. Again, I think sometimes we look into that too much because– Yeah.

41:34 Yeah.

41:35 I think people are probably thinking, oh, a couple extra series. Okay. Does an extra 10 plays make a world of difference?

41:43 Maybe a little.

41:44 If you give them an extra 30 or 40 plays, then maybe, yeah, that makes a difference. But then you're also bumping up that. And like you mentioned.

41:50 You might be down two starters right now.

41:52 Zach Frazier gets rolled up on his ankles.

41:53 Right.

41:53 And all of a sudden we're screaming and yelling, what the hell are you wasting them for in August for?

41:57 Boy, we wish you had Jalen Warren.

41:59 Right.

41:59 Yeah.

42:00 Right.

42:00 You know.

42:01 A ton of tweets that we couldn't get to. We'll get to more of those throughout the week. Thanks to everybody, as always, for the participation. Thanks to Rob King for joining us today. And as always, a big shout-out to video producer slash statistician slash Mr. Do-It-All.

42:16 I wasn't super looking forward to this show, but it ended up being a fun show. It always is to talk through a loss, too.

42:22 It's almost cathartic.

42:23 Therapeutic.

42:24 It's therapeutic. It's cathartic in a way. We'll do some more of that tomorrow when we have the Tuesday Rewind, but that will do it for us today. For Matt Williamson, I'm Wes Euler. Take care, everybody. We'll talk to you tomorrow. As always, you know where to find us. It's on your 24-7 home of the black and gold. Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network.

42:44 And now a word from our sponsor, Bud Light. There's nothing better than the clean, crisp. There's nothing better than the clean, crisp.

42:55 Uh, what if we just got out of here and grabbed some Bud Lights? But man, we're on air for four more hours.

43:00 I'll figure it out.

43:01 Sounds good to me. Anything for the clean, crisp taste of Bud Light. Stock up now.

43:07 Bud Light.

43:08 Easy to drink, easy to enjoy. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser-Busch Bud Light Beer, St.

43:12 Louis, Missouri.

43:14 I used to have cable internet, but I'm a 100% kind of fan, so I switched to Verizon Fios. It's 100% fiber internet that's super reliable. So I streamed 100% of the NFL draft live with ultra low lag. And after what went down in the first round, still getting video calls from my best friend, rubbing it in that he called all the picks.

43:31 I told you they were building their own line. I win the bet.

43:34 Get 100% fiber internet with Verizon Fios, because when it comes to your team, it's 100% or nothing. Call 1-833-VERIZON to switch today.

43:41 Get that hot dog costume ready.

43:43 Bruh.