Big changes in Atlanta, some say they saw it coming.
It is massive news, seismic news.
Kirk Cousins has been benched by the Atlanta Falcons.
They were not going anywhere with that version of Kirk Cousins,
so it was worth taking a swing.
Kirk Cousins' time with Atlanta is likely done.
One of the strangest situations
we've seen with a veteran quarterback.
Raheem called Tuesday evening, and just said he wanted to connect,
so I, uh, went in to see him,
and he told me they were going to make a change, and, um…
And so that was that.
And, uh… it didn't need to be a long conversation.
You know, it just… the ball was in my hands.
And, um…
I… I just hadn't played
at the standard that I expected of myself,
that he expected of me.
And, um, in pro football, you know, that's just the way it's going to go.
You know, I think any time you don't deliver, it hurts.
And it hurts… you…
It hurts when you factor in, you know, the other people that it affects, um…
But you just want to deliver.
And… And when you don't,
it… it hurts.
Um…
So…
I have to hold onto hope that
there's more to the story,
that there's more up ahead,
um, that… you know, there's purpose in it.
And, um…
Just… you just kind of hold onto that because you don't know what's coming.
And so it's just going to be interesting to kind of see
where it all goes.
But I think that's been my football journey for
almost 20 years,
where you just… you just never can tell where things are going to go
until you're able to look back, and see it with the benefit of hindsight.
No one loves a Christmas puzzle more than me.
I got a two-pack, and I finished this one.
My kids are old enough now to, like, play amongst themselves,
do their own Lego project, and then I can kind of
sit here with everybody while working on it.
It's great therapy, I figured out.
It's been quite a week.
I don't…
I usually, uh, pride myself on not riding the rollercoaster
of the NFL season.
But I think this week got the best of me.
This month got the best of me, really.
I think the tough times kind of started at the beginning of December,
um, in my opinion,
from… from my perspective.
Um, but Tuesday,
after theMonday Night Footballgame,
I was reading Twitter.
And so I was seeing a lot of the "Bench Kirk" tweets.
Um…
and I just…
I didn't want to tell him, "Hey, this is all over Twitter." So…
But I did ask him, "What do you think?"
"Do you think they might do that to you,
um, today or tomorrow?"
And he's like, "I don't know, we'll see."
And so it just kinda felt like it was looming.
Um, I was wrapping Christmas presents on Tuesday.
And I saw his phone.
He didn't have his phone. I saw it lighting up in his office.
And it was Raheem.
And it was like 7:30 at night.
And so I said, "Raheem's… Raheem called you."
And he knew what that meant, and so did I. And…
Um…
He was gone for about an hour. And, uh…
that was a really sad time. I…
My kids…
My kids were playing, and I was crying. They're like, "What's wrong?"
Trying to explain it to them.
They're like, "Is he not on the team anymore?"
Um…
It was just a very somber night.
And then he came back and sat in the garage.
When I went out there, he was actually calling Michael,
which I thought was really cool.
It's like, "Who does that?"
Hey, hey.
Turner, look!
How we doing?
You just drove home from one of the hardest conversations you've ever had,
and you're going to call Michael
to say, "The job is yours."
I mean, that brings tears to my eyes.
That is the kind of man he is.
Fourth and goal. You better be thinking about your best play.
Set-hut!
He wants to Moss him.
You got the Drake London route.
Maybe we do too good of a job at trying to keep our house,
you know, upbeat and optimistic.
Because both of them were not sad for a second.
It's complicated to say that he's not the starting quarterback anymore.
"Mr. Michael's going to be the quarterback now."
Turner thought surely he's not on the football team at all anymore.
He said, "Dad, it's okay you're kicked off the team,
because now you can spend more time with us playing football in the basement."
And I thought, yeah, he doesn't quite understand what we do here.
I'd always said I want to play long enough that my boys
would be able to understand what Daddy does.
And those comments reminded me I may still need to play a little longer
for them to truly understand what Dad does.
Merry Christmas, people.
Do you like being on the water?
-Not really. I don't like boats like that. -Yeah.
If you go on a boat,
you're committed. Like, you're there for hours.
I like a boat for, like, 45 minutes,
but then after 45 minutes, I'm like, "Okay, like, I've seen it all."
"We're on the water. Like, I get it."
That's just what is fun about football. You spend so much time together.
You can't talk about football for 12 hours every single day.
Did you go to the little iguana island?
They got…
Bro, at Turks, they got a whole island that nobody can have build…
You can't build on it. It's just for the iguanas.
There's just tons of iguanas on it.
-I'd be scared to go to that bitch. -Fuck no, I ain't doing that shit.
Iguanas, bro?
Not like the normal… The Florida iguanas. They're called rock iguanas.
They big?
Not as big as the big as the green ones.
That's the ones on poles?
No, those are… I believe those are frilled-necked lizards.
They got venom in it.
Those are venomous. Stay away from those. Those are in Australia and shit.
Those look creepy as hell.
Frilled-necked lizards, I believe.
The season's about over, and I feel like I'm just freaking getting started, baby.
Take a look at the Bengals. Did you think at the start of December,
when the Bengals were 4-8, they'd even be on a list like this?
What would it take for Cincinnati to actually make the playoffs now?
This is the Christmas wish list
for Cincinnati Bengals fans coming into this week.
And what do they need now? Bengals gotta win that huge game
against Denver next week. Bengals will…
Every game from 4-8 on was win or go home.
Fourth quarter upon us, Bengals on the move, tied at ten.
-If Denver wins, they're in the playoffs. -Turbo set-hut!
Bengals have got to win tonight, next week, and they need help.
-Are you guys, like, worn out right now? -Yeah.
You've gotta be worn out.
-Are you? -We are, yeah.
-Imagine Joe. -Oh God. Yeah.
I love when people come to games.
I have pride that I do something that people are proud of,
that they want to come and support me,
and that also brings people together.
Basically all my friends and coaches from home at that one.
White-80, vice-hut!
Burrow… to the end zone for the lead.
Higgins!
They beat Moss! Touchdown!
What a stupid ball. What a stupid ball.
-Can't fuckin' hold me! -That's what I'm talking about, Tee!
Let's go, man.
Bo Nix, biggest NFL game he's played in.
Going deep. Oh, he's got him!
He's got Mims.
Touchdown!
Let's go win this football game.
Bengals fighting for their lives this season.
They have to win this game in order to stay alive in the playoff hunt.
Gives themself a chance.
White-80, vice-hut!
They bring pressure. Here goes Chase into the secondary.
What a play.
Yeah!
Set-hut!
White-80, white!
They push him across. Touchdown!
A touchdown run by Joe Burrow. His second of the season.
I got up after the touchdown.
Nobody was around me, so I couldn't just, like,
hug somebody or, like, spike it.
And then I saw Ja'Marr, and he went like this.
Like, what are you going to do?
And so once I saw him, I was like, "All right, I'll give it a shot."
Joe Burrow doing the Griddy!
Griddy? Oh, that's great.
Oh!
Joe Griddy!
Good shit, baby!
You hit it?
I hit it.
-How'd it look? -It looked good.
All right. All right.
The ball is at the Bengal 25.
Fourteen seconds to go.
Fourth and one for Denver.
No timeouts.
And Nix will throw it.
It is…
It is… caught! Touchdown!
Touchdown!
Was that ball moving? You can see it right there.
The ball touched the ground right there too. Look.
Right there. Right there.
After review, the ruling on the field stands.
Touchdown!
We go to overtime between the Broncos and the Bengals.
On one.
C'mon, Tee.
Tee was on fire that game.
When Tee is out there,
the defense, they have to worry about multiple different things coming at them.
They can't just focus on number one,
and cue in on him because they got number five on the other side,
who'll make you pay if you don't plan for him as well.
White 80, vice-hut!
They bring the linebackers, going deep. He's looking for Higgins.
Oh, what a beauty!
That was a Tee game, so I'm looking for Tee.
Thirty-one-yard beauty
thrown by Burrow.
And does Burrow have some more magic in that arm?
The Bengals trying to win it from the three-yard line of Denver.
White-80!
Vice-hut!
End zone. Caught! Higgins, touchdown!
Bengals win!
And they are alive in the playoff race!
Yeah!
Let's go, man!
The fuck are we talking about? Yeah!
Come on, man! Let's go!
-Hey, good shit! -Let's go!
-The greatest of all time!
What a game by Joe Burrow.
Over 400 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions.
You have ice in your fucking veins, bro!
Fucking go, man!
I'll bring that one out sometimes if I'm feeling really good.
Yeah, baby! Whoo!
Hell yeah!
Let's go, man. Let's go!
Ball game!
Tee!
What up, boy?
They can't hold you. What are we talking about?
-We know that shit. -Love you, bro!
That's what I'm fucking talking about.
Burrow, three-plus touchdown passes
and 250 passing yards in each of his last eight games.
No quarterback in pro football history has done it.
MVP! MVP! MVP! MVP!
That's why you play.
On the field is great,
but when you walk into the locker room, that's the special moment.
-Unbelievable. Unbelievable. -Let's fucking go.
You like that one?
-Fucking believe it! -Let's go, baby!
-Let's go! -Ah!
There's not a lot of words for that one, men.
I mean, that took everybody in this locker room
fighting for five quarters of football to find a way to get that win.
Here you guys are, week 16,
okay, 16th game of the season,
finding a way to stay alive.
Love you guys. Appreciate you.
Let's go get one more. That's all I got.
I don't know that anybody can watch Joe Burrow
and say he's not the best player in the world.
I would not trade Joe Burrow
for any player… in the universe.
That's MVP to me.
-Great job. -Appreciate it.
What's going on? Hello, everybody.
Hey!
Good night, Joe. Good job, buddy.
-MVP! -What's up, Burrow?
-MVP! -Great job.
I feel like we've been in, like, six of those games this year,
and it was the first one we were able to pull out.
It's nice to get it done, though.
Sit back and chill and watch some football.
Hello.
That was impressive.
-My goodness. Y'all don't make it easy. -Good job.
-Could you make it a little easier? -You did it.
That would've been nice.
I think staying in touch with people that are important to you is
important in life.
-Coach. Good to see you. -What's up, brother?
-Great game. Thanks for having us. -What's up? Good to see you.
It gives friends and family a reason to come together, and see each other, and…
laugh, joke, drink,
whatever they want to do.
Um, I take pride in that.
-Why are you looking at me like that? -I like your jacket. I got the same one.
Do you want it?
-Good game, bro. -No shirt under that baby?
-Huh? -No shirt under that?
No shirt under that. You like that?
That blond's good.
Is that chain mail leather right there?
You got the Ducati in the fucking back, buddy?
You did great, Joe.
That was pretty exciting, huh?
-That was brutal. -I mean, that shit was crazy.
I like it. Yeah.
-Oh goodness. -How you feeling?
Tired and not tired at the same time.
Yeah.
Energized but exhausted.
Mm-hmm.
Do you have a shirt under that jacket?
I don't.
Nice.
You like that?
I just wondered.
With the Detroit Lions at home last night,
dismantling the Minnesota Vikings 31-9,
Detroit now claims the top seed, and the bye in the NFC.
I missed the picture when Jah scored at the end.
Because you were saying in the huddle they were all going to take a picture.
He's in the huddle going, "When we score, we're all going to take a picture."
And I'm like, "I can't even think about that right now. Hold on."
When we score, next time come watch me take a flick.
-In the end zone. Group photo. -Say what?
-Next touchdown… -All y'all a flick.
I barely heard that,
because I was like, "I'm not worried about our touchdown celebration, dude."
I hand it to Gibbs, and he scores.
I'm walking off the field, I see them running there,
and I'm like, I'm not going to be a part of that, I guess.
They're little kids.
You're an old man.
We're so old. We were horizontal.
-Jared fell asleep in the theater. -What'd you watch?
Timothée Chalamet, Bob Dylan movie.
-Oh yeah. -It was good.
I fell asleep for about 15, probably.
-Woke up and said, "What happened?" -The seats in that theater are like… cozy.
Did you do the blue hair again this year?
-I did, actually. -I'm seeing a peek of blue.
-You know, part two. -Can I see it?
Yeah, of course. It's a little darker than last year.
-You dye it yesterday? -It's a really nice color.
I can't believe we just get to, like, watch… the games this weekend.
-Yeah. -We've never done that.
It's so crazy.
-How many days do you guys have off? -Three.
-We have tomorrow off. -Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
-You have tomorrow off too? -They, like, broke it up.
-What'll I do with my time? -Literally.
I need to, like, keep him busy and entertained. So…
Good luck.
I know, same. I feel like they go crazy after, like, a day of being home.
I know. I'm running out of stuff to do.
-Already? -You don't play video games?
I do play video games, but that gets exhausting too.
I can only play the same game for so long.
Oh my gosh. These next few weeks are gonna be crazy.
Crazy! It's just crazy 'cause you don't know what's going to happen.
It's just weird to be week-to-week and… not being able to plan anything.
But it's exciting.
All right. Cheers. Cheers to the one seed.
-Cheers to a bye week. -Cheers.
-A little break. Some fun. -Yay! Finally.
Entering the final three weeks, Atlanta is still very much alive.
One game back in the NFC South.
So, what went into this decision to bench Kirk Cousins?
It goes back to the torn Achilles, and coming back from that,
they didn't feel like he was driving the ball the same in September.
That resolved itself in October, but then in November,
in a game against the Saints,
he banged up his shoulder and elbow, and he really hasn't been the same since.
He's had a turnover issue, lost some confidence.
Now they'll turn to Michael Penix.
Once I lost my shoulder and my elbow, should I have sat out?
Should I have done something different in my rehab?
You have all those questions. Um…
With the information I had at the time, I made the best decision.
But you also know that if you sit down week ten,
and take two or three weeks or more to let it heal,
um… you may never get your job back.
You know?
I remember reading Drew Brees' book back in 2010 when he first wrote it,
how he made the point that he tried to never let his backup see the field,
even if it was, you know, somebody who was really no threat.
He felt like you should never do that. That Doug Flutie taught him that. And so…
That was something I always was aware of, that, in this league,
if you give someone else the chance… if you wanna be Wally Pipp
and there's Lou Gehrig behind you… you know, that can happen.
You gotta make the decision with the information you have then.
Confident?
Sure. I mean, I'm one play away, so… I've gotta stay sharp.
-I'm just talking to you. -Yeah.
I want to make sure you're okay with everything.
-Yeah. Yeah. -If you want to do scout team, you can.
-I just gotta stay sharp. -Let me know what you wanna do.
You're good either way? I just want to leave it to you. I'm giving you a week.
CB, I'm taking my first scout team reps here
in, uh… in probably ten years.
I'm trying to think. I don't think I've taken a scout team rep in ten years.
-But today's the day. -That's insane.
We'll get some work in today, you and me.
Our building rallied behind Kirk,
and to find a way to find those winning moments
that we found earlier in the season,
but were just not able to do it.
And, uh, ultimately, when we played that last game,
on that Monday night in Vegas,
that's when I had to make the change, which is tough.
There it is.
Good ball, Mike.
Good ball. Good ball, Mike, good ball.
Well thrown.
To watch him go out and be able to support our guy, be able to help him,
um, I thought was a very special thing that he was able to do for us.
Basic.
Yeah. Good job, Mike.
Man…
Nothing wrong with that.
It's not easy. It hurts, you know, to go into work,
but… you gotta be an adult.
You know, you gotta be a grown man, and, um… and handle it with maturity.
I feel sorry for myself, and, um… you know, it's hard to do,
but that's what you gotta do and, um…
So that's kind where my focus went.
Hey, last time I was on scout team, they wouldn't call us the twos.
They'd call us the 1-Bs.
-It's third and nine, all right? -Third and nine.
You're in short motion. We'll just go chin shallow with cheddar.
-You good with that? -I am good with that.
-Chin shallow with cheddar. -Three jet. Okay.
All right. I got a short motion here, so let's go, uh…
Let's go silent quick. Ready?
Chin shallow with cheddar. Interesting.
-All right. Birds, birds, birds. -Walk up. Walk up.
You're going to stay back. Okay.
So when Kirk told me he was gonna be the best backup QB in the NFL,
I had no doubt.
He might've went out and put on one of the better practices I've seen
when he was our scout team quarterback the day after he was benched.
Yeah!
Good shot, Curtis!
I literally haven't done that in ten years.
It's been a long time. It was good for my soul.
Don't want to be in the position to do it,
but it was good for my soul to get back to, uh,
where I was ten years ago.
Yeah.
All right. Here we go.
Oh, that's loud!
Being the guy getting reps every week,
to go back to not getting any reps, felt really strange going into the game.
On the left side on F counter flare.
Grizzly seal. F Rabbit XCB against 18-1 at six.
Another double A.
One for three on third down.
Penix with the blitz coming. It's picked up. He throws.
There it is.
Finds Drake London, that's a first down.
First down and goal, Atlanta.
McCloud in motion. Robinson with the cut outside.
And he will walk in for an Atlanta touchdown.
Good drive, Mike!
Good run, B! Good run! Good job!
You're so accustomed to all this preparation
centered around gettingyouready.
And so when you don't have that, you sort of feel a little lost.
Atlanta's gonna be 8-7.
They beat the Giants, who fall to 2-13.
Somebody made a comment, "Thanks for handling it the way you did."
And I said, "Well, there's only one way to handle it."
The main focus is don't make it about yourself.
This is about the Falcons. This is about, you know, Michael.
And… you know,
stay out of his way and the team's way enough.
You know, be ready to play, but,
um, you know, be… be a backup.
Hey, guys. How we doing?
-You're the QB! -Give me your autograph!
All right.
Fourth and goal.
Penix. End zone! Touchdown!
Got it. He got it.
He drilled it in there.
He drilled it in there to KP.
-Quarters. Was it quarters? -Yeah.
Third and goal from the two.
It is Jayden Daniels. End zone! It is…
caught for the touchdown!
And Washington wins 30 to 24.
For Atlanta, they fall to 8-8.
Played your heart out, man.
It was an unbelievable throw on the 4th and 13.
Played your heart out. Great job. Many more to come.
The Falcons come up short of the playoffs.
And they come up short in week 18.
You played great today, man. Three in a row.
You played three great games. You can build on it.
Thank you.
How are you doing?
Yeah, man. It's been three weeks, it's felt like three months.
-Yeah. -Oh, my goodness.
'Cause you're going through all the emotions, like, the initial sting…
The, like… Man…
-Lot of regret. Lot of regret. -Yeah.
You played well when they benched you.
You were losing, but you were playing well.
I was turning the ball over. I couldn't figure it out.
And it was just like, "Man." So…
A lot of weight comes with all that.
-So, uh… -Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, for me, the turnovers have come in bunches at times in my career.
In Washington, I got benched my third year, threw a bunch.
One year, I was leading the league in picks halfway into the year.
Then I was able to play a lot better after the bye.
But the same thing again happened this year.
-It's hard too, later in your career. -Right.
So… and moving and everything.
We just moved into our house, and now we're like, "Ugh…"
-It's hard, but it is what it is. -Right.
Congrats on the AFC Player of the Week.
Thanks.
Is that your first this year? Heard you won one--
I got Player of the Month, but no Player of the Weeks.
This year? Or…
-You've had it before in previous years? -Yeah.
Did you hear the MVP chants when you went off the field?
-I did. -What were your thoughts?
MVP! MVP! MVP!
I'll win one one day.
You feel like this year might be the year for you?
-I doubt it. -Why?
Mm, usually, you gotta win your division.
Is Joe Burrow the MVP?
How could he not be?
What you're watching… is what a franchise quarterback is.
And if they sneak into the playoffs this year,
yeah, they're not a favorite,
but they're dangerous, as we've said.
Look at him.
You good?
Battling.
It's been a long year.
All right. First slate.
Got it?
Burrow is one of three players all-time to throw for 4,500 yards,
40 passing touchdowns,
fewer than ten interceptions in a single season.
Who else did that?
Tom Brady in 2007.
Aaron Rodgers in 2011.
They both won the MVP.
How does that make you feel, bro?
I'm proud of the season that I've had. You know.
I'd love to win an MVP at some point in my career.
This year is probably not that year just 'cause of how the season has gone for us.
Uh, I think I'm deserving of it, but…
you know, that's…
That's the MVP award, usually goes to the quarterback of the best team…
Yeah.
…and that's not us this year.
What's your approach going into this game?
I'm just excited for the opportunity
to go out and…
one, play in the NFL on prime time with everything still in front of us.
It's a big opportunity for us in front of the world.
We got a chance to go and make a statement.
We obviously need help on Sunday,
but, you know, we can control what we can control
and finish our season the right way.
And, you know, guys are excited about that opportunity,
myself included.
Cincinnati, they're fighting for the number seven seed.
They need a win here tonight, and a loss or tie by Miami,
and a loss by the Denver Broncos at home to Kansas City.
This is what we fucking live for right here.
-Feels like playoffs to me, Joe. -Fuck yeah it does, baby.
Joe Burrow, what a year he has had.
Leading the NFL in touchdown passes, touchdown yardage.
Thanks.
And this has looked awfully easy against this Steelers defense.
That's Chase, and what a start for Cincinnati!
It's just not even fair.
Good shit, number one!
Extra man on the rush, and the ball is out.
Recovered by Herbert, it's fourth down.
It's always tough to understand
what is happening to you in the game because you don't feel a lot… physically.
They've gotten after Joe Burrow pretty good, roughed him up.
Great start for Joe Burrow tonight. Since then, pretty frustrating.
-Guys are coming today, huh? -Stop getting it out so quickly.
I've got to. You guys are fucking coming. Golly.
Burrow is under pressure.
And sacked!
Back just inside the 20 by Nick Herbig.
Heyward had pressure too, and now Burrow can't get up.
-What'd you get, babe? -Neck.
Neck?
Neck. Got his neck. Got his neck.
In the back, babe?
I knew I got driven into the ground very forcefully,
and felt my neck and jaw crunch,
so I thought I might have broken my neck.
But I rolled over and… moved everything around,
moved my neck around,
and… felt…
felt okay.
-Here, all right? -I'm all right.
-How about there? That's okay? -It's all good.
-On the side here, I'm good. -I'm good.
Turn your head this way. Just turn it. That's okay?
-Yeah, that's okay. -Turn it this way for me.
-That's okay? -I'm okay.
I think the crunch that I felt…
Oh shit.
Chill. Chill. Clear.
…might have just been my jaw getting smashed into my face.
But I was all good.
Fuck.
-You good? -I'm good.
-It's tough. -Gimme my helmet.
You're just worried he's not gonna get up, but…
-All right, nine? -…he keeps getting up.
And you just have to
put out of your mind what could be, and…
pray.
-You all right, niner? -Yeah, I'm good.
Had some large humans fall on top of me right on the old neck.
We'll be sore tomorrow, but we'll be all good.
That's why you do the workouts.
-That's why you got that big, strong neck. -That's right.
Bengals have to win, period. They lose, they're out.
They win, they need help tomorrow.
Steelers, they need about 24 more yards or so
to give Boswell a chance.
Nope, no.
Come on, Trey, where you at?
Wilson is… sacked by Hendrickson again.
Yeah!
Fifteen seconds left, fourth down and 12.
Wilson… incomplete.
And Cincinnati will take over.
Let's go.
And a five-game winning streak to end the year for Cincinnati.
Will it be enough?
-Let's go, 9-1. Let's go! Yes! -Let's go! Let's go, man!
Let's go, man! Yeah!
Come on!
-That's a big fucking win right there. -Hell yeah!
-That's how you fucking do it! -Victory on one.
They need a Kansas City win over Denver tomorrow,
and a Jets win or tie against Miami.
White-80. Vice-hut.
Let's go. Ha!
Good job, Patrick. Love you.
-You good? Love you too. You sure? -All good, bro. Yep.
Little neck crunch. It's all good, though.
Five consecutive wins now, yet you still don't know if it's enough.
What's tomorrow gonna be like
watching with, you know, your fate in someone else's hands?
Not great, but we put ourselves in this position.
Nobody to blame but ourselves.
We'll enjoy this win, watch football tomorrow, and hope for the best.
-Good luck. -Thanks.
Let's fucking go, man.
I know you guys appreciate how hard it is to win on the road,
in the AFC North, in prime time, winning five in a row,
in December and January,
and all you guys did was put yourself in a position, man,
to sit on your couch tomorrow, watch some football, cheer like a fan,
and pray to God we get into this thing, 'cause you deserve it.
That's all you need to know right now. Get a break.
Of course, the Bengal Nation is watching this game very closely.
Cincinnati won yesterday.
They need a Jet victory and a Kansas City win and then they would be in.
Anything can happen any given day.
Jets looking for the end zone. Rodgers looking for 500.
-He's got it to Tyler Conklin. -It's frustrating, but…
we put ourselves in this position, so…
Fifteen-and-one Kansas City Chiefs.
They will be sitting a lot of their stars today,
taking on a team trying to get into the playoffs
for the first time in years.
They gotta figure out a way to get stops.
They gotta stop the run against these guys.
…from the 32. They fake it to him. They fake the end around to Franklin.
And here they come back to near side to Mims.
He breaks it inside the 20,
and he takes it home for the Denver touchdown!
It's tough to win a game without playing your starters.
Stepping up to the end zone, and that ball is caught for the touchdown.
It's Sutton again!
I mean, not great.
But there's nothing I can do about it.
All I can do is sit here and watch.
That has gotten away from Kansas City,
and broken the hearts and wishes pretty early
for the Dolphin and Bengal faithful.
The season's a lot.
It's very
difficult to be that… disciplined and…
always on edge for that long.
I made some pretty cool plays, I thought.
But, like, stats…
I mean, they're great, but they don't mean a ton.
Final score, Denver 38, Kansas City nothing,
but it's on to the postseason now.
It's offseason pretty much.
Which in ways is a relief,
and also frustrating and annoying,
and a lot of different things.
You didn't ultimately do what you wanted to do, and that was…
It's not great, but… when you get to the offseason healthy,
that's a… a weight off your shoulders, I'd say.
I've had a lot of not healthy offseasons.
Welcome to the divisional playoffs.
We're in Detroit, the number one seed Lions
taking on the Commanders.
The Lions have been the best team in the league, 15 wins.
They've been building to this under Dan Campbell,
a place they've never been before, the number one seed in the NFC.
Now, though, as the top dog, how can they live up to the pressure?
It feels like it's been so long since we played a game. It's weird. I'm like…
-We all got the memo. -We all got the blue.
Blueberries. It's blueberry night.
To know that we have the opportunity to play the next two games here,
it's so exciting, and to get that bye week, it just feels good.
Go get 'em! I love you!
When the playoffs start, everyone's intensity goes up.
-Another one! Be great, buddy! -Yup.
It's like you're back to the beginning. Everyone's 0-0.
Expectations are to win a Super Bowl.
This is what you asked for
Heavy is the crown…
Jared Goff, he's been special.
The last three years, more touchdowns, more yards
than any other quarterback in the league.
I can't wait to see what he's got in store tonight.
Heavy is the crown
Whoo-woo-woo!
Whoo!
Ahh!
Now, that's the pyro!
These Commanders, an amazing year. They're a 12-win team.
They upset the Bucs last week.
Now, will that magic carpet ride continue?
Let's fucking go now! Let's fucking go now!
Set!
Here's Goff. Back to throw, protected.
Deep out Williams, and a dime from Goff.
-See if they give it to Gibbs. -White-80!
They will. Left side, Gibbs! Touchdown!
Let's go!
Yes, baby!
Whoo!
That's how it's gonna be, boys!
Felt like we had a good game plan, and felt like we had ability
to exploit some things that we wanted to, and, um… yeah, we felt good.
Turbo-set!
Come on!
Goff in trouble. Ball is out!
It's recovered by the Commanders!
Damn it!
It's okay!
He's pissed about that. I feel bad.
I just had some pressure from my backside,
hit on the ball and got it out.
I wish I'd have done a better job of taking care of that in that situation.
Help me out, defense.
Let's go, D!
Commanders have been so good in the red zone.
See if they can punch it in.
Second down, Robinson, up the middle. Touchdown, Washington!
And they're in front.
Right in there.
The Commanders in this game,
they've got 173 yards of offense already.
Take care of it. Smart, smart.
Smart, smart, smart.
Turbo set!
Third and three, Goff. Looking, going deep again.
Tries to throw. He's got it! What a throw and catch to Amon-Ra.
He actually makes a perfect throw.
St. Brown, right in his hands.
White-80, set!
Fake, Goff, pressure.
In trouble, throw!
He caught it! Touchdown, LaPorta!
Let's go!
Whoo-hoo!
Let's go!
I'm watching Goff scramble, going, "Throw it away."
And he's like, "Oh no, I'm going to hold this."
See if someone can uncover.
-Right in his face, under duress. -That was sensational.
-Jared Goff has been surgical this year. -He sure has.
I think all the adversity in his career led him to this moment.
Great fuckin' catch, buddy!
-Great job! Yeah. -You stay on it.
I ain't happy till the last two minutes.
I know.
Daniels quick throw, far side, get it out there to McLaurin.
Breaks through!
You're kidding me.
Oh shit.
McLaurin is going to win!
Touchdown, Washington!
-They're not gonna stop us. -Nope.
We haven't played from behind that much.
We should be, like, killing them.
That's what's scary.
There's just an emotional letdown when you are
the number one seed in the playoffs.
You fully expected to have a lead here in the second quarter.
This is where you can't panic.
Goff, some pressure, then lets it fly. High!
It's intercepted! Picked off by Quan Martin.
Martin with some blocks. Inside the 20, still going.
-Get him! -Martin, pick six!
Nightmare fuel for Lions fans right now.
Oh my God!
It's a bad throw. Just a bad throw.
He just sailed it probably two or three yards too high.
He's got LaPorta right underneath wide open.
That's just Jared trying to take the big play over the easy play.
The ball came out high. I wish I could have it back.
Something that still wakes me up, and bothers the hell out of me.
Something I think about quite a bit.
Guy made a great play on the back end. He was able to take it back and…
Um… yeah, I got smoked by Luvu.
Jared Goff got popped at the end of that play.
Is that a legal hit?
After the interception, the quarterback is considered defenseless.
You can't hit him in the head or neck area, which Luvu did.
So this should have been called a 15-yard penalty from the 5-yard line.
Ooh…
Yup!
-You gotta check out. -I'm good.
They just called down, ATC spotter.
-We have to bring you in. -Where we going?
-We're going to the tent. -I'm good, though.
Hey, I'm going back in, just so you know.
Jared's not out there.
Jared's being evaluated for a concussion.
You're frustrated because it takes me out for a drive, for a handful of plays.
-How long does this take? -Soon as they're done, you go.
-How have they not watched yet? -They have to re-watch it.
Our docs have to.
He took a heck of a shot, and I was worried.
Y'know, I was worried.
I mean, honestly, I was already in the mode of get Teddy ready
because there's a lot of guys might not have got up from that.
That was a hell of a hit.
So they took him into that blue tent,
and they do, like, a test, but…
he came out, so that's good.
The reliance on the backup QB is so important,
even in this, three or four plays, hold down the fort,
gain a first down until we see if Goff can come back in the game.
I'm like, "Oh shit, this is the first time all year
we've played without Jared at quarterback."
-Yup -You sure?
I'm 100%.
I'm even better now.
-I know you are. -I've been hit harder than that.
Gibbs, little trickery. Jameson Williams, end around.
Williams needs a block. Gets it…
Williams cuts back!
Jameson Williams is gone!
Sixty-one yards!
This is crazy!
This is some first half.
-I'm good. -Yeah.
The offensive explosion, the back and forth.
We got a shootout.
Daniels. Zips it in.
-Caught by Zach Ertz. Touchdown. -Let's go get one.
-Let's get a touchdown! -Yup!
They're called the Cardiac Commanders because
they've done this to teams all season long.
Jayden Daniels had a hell of a year.
We knew going into that game he was gonna play well.
So I think it was another one of those games.
Offensively, we needed to be on point.
That was how we had to play most of the year.
Gibbs, up the middle. Gibbs, shoulder down.
Touchdown Detroit.
You're only down three. That was the moment we knew
we had a good chance to come back and win, despite what happened in the first half.
Hey! One play at a time!
This is what we do here! This is what we do! Let's go!
One play at a time!
This is the biggest drive of their season.
Gotta find a way to get points on this drive.
White-80, white set!
Look at this trickery. Jameson Williams has it.
Looking to throw. Gonna throw it downfield. Intercepted!
No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no…
No.
The fourth turnover of the day by the Lions.
You guys, this is… I can't believe this is happening.
Well, Ben Johnson dials up the trick play like no one else.
They normally work, but that was a disaster.
Jameson Williams throwing into a crowd,
and now the Commanders with a chance to put the hammer down.
Up ten, 12 minutes to go.
You think you're invincible, untouchable, and right when you do,
you get knocked down to your knees.
Bottom line is this. We turned the ball over,
and we didn't get any takeaways on defense.
That was the story of the game.
You don't have the luxury of making errors,
and we just did on that day.
And they capitalized on them, and it cost us.
I can't accept this is happening.
I don't know what to do.
I can't-- I literally, like, can't handle this.
Lions fans stunned.
Best season in their franchise history, and the Commanders have had every answer.
No.
And Washington will be going to the NFC Championship
for the first time in 33 years.
And the number one seed Detroit Lions are headed
for a very, very long offseason.
When you're the one seed and have the bye week, you're kind of anticipating
making it further than… than the divisional round.
-Hey, super impressive, buddy. Good job. -Appreciate you.
-Hey, Coach. -Hey, man.
-Hell of a season. -Appreciate you.
I know this stings, but you had a hell of a season.
For it to be so suddenly over,
you know that's how it goes every year if you don't win the whole thing, but…
We were always humble but very confident,
and we knew we had the team that could win it all.
Just came up short, and it sucks.
Sucks that it happened in the first round, at home.
We got the bye week, the one seed, and we had everything we wanted.
We just didn't get it done when it mattered, that night,
and the Commanders did.
I just can't believe we're not going to be here next weekend. It's just like…
God, it sucks so bad.
Sucks, sucks. Worst part of this job.
And you hate it when you feel like you let guys down,
and I'm so painfully disappointed and sorry to our fans.
And… it's a humbling game.
We were on the top of the world after that Minnesota game,
and it's hard standing here right now and trying to, uh… process it all.
Had I played better, do we win? Possibly. You know?
And that's the part that'll eat me alive for, um, the whole offseason.
Appreciate you, buddy.
I'm so fucking sorry.
You're good, buddy.
Oh man.
I remember my rookie year,
Mike Shanahan made the point only one team is happy at the end of the year.
And that stuck with me, and the truth of that statement
became more real to me as I've played longer
and realized that… it's difficult for a season to end on a positive note
unless you're the one holding up the Lombardi Trophy.
At quarterback, you're so tied to wins and losses…
Great seeing you. Thanks.
…and only one guy can be happy at the end of the year,
so failure is so much more common
than success.
It is challenging, and it is the hard part of our job, and…
But you wouldn't trade it for the world. It's the greatest job in the world.
We're so lucky to be able to do it in front of the fans we have,
the fans that love us.
Jared Goff! Jared Goff!
-Jared Goff! -Yeah, baby!
Vice-hut!
Joe Burrow, joining us here at NFL Honors.
Hello, Joe Burrow. How you doing tonight?
-Ooh, you're wearing Alo. -I am.
-I got some planets down here, I think. -That's fire. Yo, that is different.
No one's had that.
-I thought that was cool. UFOs. -That is very sick.
Honestly, don't nobody dress better than Joe Burrow.
Yeah, you gotta get me and Joe Burrow, man. Come on.
NFL Honors is the awards show for the NFL.
It's basically the Oscars for football players.
I got you, bro.
When we went to the Super Bowl in 2021…
Thanks, everybody.
I won Comeback Player of the Year…
I'm excited for this weekend.
…not going to an awards show like that
and getting ready to play is obviously much more satisfying
than being there, but you're trying to have fun.
It's all right, it's all right
It's all I've ever known
The 2024 NFL Comeback Player of the Year is
Joe Burrow.
It's all right, it's all right
It's all I've ever known
It's all right, it's all right
I was… I was proud of that.
That's, uh… second time winning it.
Um…
You only get that award if the season before
didn't go the way that you wanted it to go.
So… I don't want to be up for it again.
If I am up for it again, I'm gonna win it.
Thanks, guys. It's an honor.
My expectations for myself will never change.
Because when you lose,
then you hate that feeling.
You think about never having to feel that again.
Then when you win…
Yeah!
…there's just something addicting about that.
So you try to work as hard as you can to put yourself in position to win,
and have that happiness and that joy and that satisfaction.
There's been speculation about the future of Kirk Cousins in Atlanta.
The Atlanta Falcons picked up Kirk Cousins, $10,000,000 bonus.
He's staying there.
Currently, he sits as the backup to Michael Penix, Jr.
I've learned over the years that I make plans and God laughs.
And so as a steward, not an owner, I gotta let the owner handle it.
I just want to finish with a world championship
and be able to kind of complete that memory room at my house in Michigan.
The builder of the house said that he put this notch in here,
by design, for a Lombardi trophy.
I always talked about how, whether it's a game, a season, a career,
you want to start fast, you want to finish strong.
And so… I'm gonna have a fire in my tank
to go finish strong here with wherever this thing goes.
Here we go!
There's times I need direction There's times I need to roam
Pretty good.
I move station to station
I showed up here alone
Hard climb. Alert.
-There it is. There it is. -We're done on that. Ball game.
That looked easy.
For quite some time after, you wake up in the night thinking about it.
In the morning, the first thing you think about is,
you know, "What could I have done better to give ourselves a chance to win?"
But I think time heals in these situations.
Our family is beginning to grow now, and, um, I can't wait.
Okay, here she is.
Aww…
That's so crazy.
We couldn't be more excited. I think it'll give you even more purpose in your life,
and something to really… you know, play for and win for.
I know she's gonna be a great mom,
and I'm gonna be as good of a dad as I can be as well.
There she is, little peanut.
-Cute. -Little alien in there.
Cute little alien.
I'm going to record her heart.
We get another chance next year, everyone's 0-0.
Good. Relax.
Then I get back to it, start working out, throwing again.
Greatest part of our sport. It starts over again…
-In your face! -…and here we go.
Year ten. Still got it.
Still got it.
I am my own arrow
I am my own home
Yes.
Yikes.