2026 NFL Week 1 Late and Primetime Games Preview

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2:04wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to NFL Daily. That's your how we feel about Division Matchups in Week 1, but we love Week 1. I'm Greg Rosenthoff. I'm here in the Chris Wesleyan podcast studio. I'm with my friend Jordan Rod Rieg. We are previewing the afternoon games in Week 1, the prime time games. We're going to start with, go back and listen to the early games if you missed it. And yes, we got some big prime time division games. That's where I started. Oh my gosh. What is... We got kind of a major slate here. It is my favorite week of the entire season because like possibility is endless for all the teams. It's been proven wrong as our producer Eric Roberts points out all the things we talked about all off season are going to look stupid on Sunday if they don't already. All right. It's the division game that will be waiting all night on Monday for the Broncos and the

3:08chiefs. The chiefs are favored over the Broncos in Kansas City. It's on ESPN. It's the Joe Buck Troy Ackman game with Lisa Salters. Man, the confidence of the NFL schedule makers to put Patrick Mahomes's return from ACL surgery in prime time week one. Andy Reed won't even tell us for sure that Patrick Mahomes is starting. I think we feel pretty safe that that is going to happen. Andy Reed did tell us Josh Simmons, their left tackle, not expected to start because of a back injury. He says that's all that it is. You know, last year he missed time for other reasons. This time it's an injury, but that makes my first question even more important. We're going to have an opening question for each one of these games. Does Andy Reed have any tricks up his sleeve because he's going to need him? Well, we're going to see a lot of Cleo Benson. I know that he will be the left tackle.

4:09We believe Jalen Moore will be the right tackle. Cleo Benson entered training camp as an undrafted free agent, rookie, who was supposed to be competing at right tackle with Jalen Moore. And then even played a little right guard because of some injury and competitive stuff. And now we'll be starting at left tackle. Hey, hey, hey, now stop Nick Benito. Just why not? It'll be fine, right? So yeah, Andy Reed must have some tricks up his sleeve where I think those tricks will come into play are in Kenneth Walker. And I think right or wrong, this offense and this football team is heavily, heavily, heavily counting on Kenneth Walker to have a huge impact in the passing game and in the running game for them. And I think that's extra important in this matchup because they've had more success on the ground, like most teams against the Broncos than throwing the ball. And I think the path towards the Chief's winning division, as I predicted them to do, is through a dominant offensive line. It looks a lot worse without Josh Simmons out there.

5:10But the interior with Tunein Creed Humphrey leading the way, of course not Tunein, Tray Smith and Creed Humphrey leading the way, like has very high potential. And I mentioned does he have any tricks up his sleeve because that used to be his thing. Like he used to come out really hot in September and create all the plays that all the rest of the league copied for the rest of the year. I feel like that hasn't been happening lately. I think my home is going to need a bit of an advantage because he's just rolling back with most of the same guys. If it's going to happen, it to me will be a little bit of a call back to exactly what you just said, which is what he used to do, which is he would use motions and he would use shifts to create different blocking matchups in the second layer, specifically of the defense, to account for out of screens. So basically he would motion players and set up little stacks and little things to the side of the main formation that would not only get the runner or the ball carrier pass first contact,

6:11but then set up these different levels downfield that could create explosive plays. Kenneth Walker, we have talked about this all off season, one of the best screen game runners in the NFL and was last year, just very creative and artistic the way that he operates those. It is something that they've been doing a lot already all through training camp. I've been reading the reports on it. And to me, it's like, is it a new trick? I don't know, but it is something that what it used to be was was every single coach in the league would watch Andy Reed screen cut ups, you know, first thing Monday morning week two. I mean, when's the last real difference making running back? They had Jamal Charles. Like it's it's been a minute. It hasn't been in the Patrick Mahomes era cream hunt. Great. The Pateco had his year, but not but truly. Yeah. Yeah, I'm going to give you some numbers. The last games Patrick Mahomes has faced this defense against Dender. Last year, 48 dropbacks, 249 yards passing. That's a lot of dropbacks. It's a lot of work for not a lot of production.

7:11The year before 46 dropbacks, 243 yards, sheep net passing, the year before that, 41 dropbacks, 212 yards passing. Drop the ball. Yeah, you had to go back to because he only played him once last year. You had to go back to 2023 to find kind of an explosive offensive game. Oh, intrinsically, Eric B. Enemy. That's true. But even then they only scored 19 points in that game. And then you want to go, well, like one more just stat. I'm going to throw at you. Xavier Worthy has taken 32 snaps against Jake Juan McMillan and Riley Moss. He doesn't have a catch. It's kind of a crazy, crazy stat. Yeah. Like it's just gotten locked up in these press coverage. And like they need Xavier Worthy to do something. Well, they need all their receivers to do some things. They need their veteran tight end to do some things. I mean, this Broncos defense, we know what it is. It's tough. It's a veteran group. It's established. Vance Joseph is in his bag of late. These recent seasons where it's not just that they're front, maybe interior took like a very small step back last year,

8:13but still very, very dynamic in every single phase communicates well. And understand we talked all I could talk all I want about setting up layers against the second and third level with your with your formations and things like that. These guys know what they are. They've seen it. They've seen so much football at this point. They really complement each other. They limit explosives. They take the ball away. They rush the quarterback. It Patrick Mahomes is movement. We talked on the previous show about Daniel Jones. And what is his movement going to look like? What is Patrick Mahomes movement out of structure going to look like? I am so curious. Against the defense, every starter was on the roster last year. Basically every player was on the roster last year, except for third round pick Tyler Onyum, they, the defensive tackled. They probably butchered. They are without Jonathan Cooper, who's on the commissioner's exemplest. So the path pressure, maybe not as much use a flipping sides quickly. Like what interests you the most about the Kansas City defense with such young players matching up against another side of the ball for Denver, where it's a lot of experience.

9:13Jalen Waddle, Jalen Waddle, Jalen Waddle, Jalen Waddle, Jalen Waddle, Pat Bryant, Cortland Sutton. Like it's going to be cool because I think Jalen Waddle is going to move all over the formation. I think that Sean Peyton is going to basically see which corner and which safeties and perhaps the linebackers to give him the most leeway against using a player. Like we know he loves to do all over the formation. I understand that you know this JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey, like this running backs room is pretty established. Jonah Coleman is the newcomer in there. He was on my feature hits list that I released for the athletic this week. A player who I think is going to be a real factor in the past and the run for the Broncos. Very, very early on, no matter what the rest of the group looks like. So figuring out like for me, it's because we trust Spags so much the Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator. We also trust that Sean Peyton is going to find the math advantage wherever he can. And now he has enough receivers enough dimensionality in his receiving room

10:17enough layers he can build to do it. We can't not talk about the bonus injury recovery too. I mean, he that dude's coming off an injury too. Yeah, he's coming off a couple surgeries on the ankle. He looked good throughout training camp. And so there's no reason to believe he'll be compromised, but attacks absolutely a good shout out. And yeah, it's going to be interesting to see these young chiefs defenders. They need to have some hits. So Mansor Delane, top 10 pick. You also have upfront armace and Thomas rushing the pass or Peter Woods was a first round. Pick. It's a young group. I think the Broncos really did well schedule wise here. You're going to have to play at chiefs at some point, right? This is the perfect time to do it. I know you're, you know, you're, you're without Jonathan Cooper. So that's, I guess a negative that you're going to have early in the season. But even though I pick the chiefs to win this division, I don't think they'll win this game. I think this is the time when the Broncos and their maturity sounds weird to say that they're the more established side to me compared to Kansas City. This is kind of sneaky.

11:18The Rosenthal Rodriguez bowl because I picked the Broncos to win. Sure. But I, yeah, I think I think the Broncos win this game. And so that's a pretty good hint of where I might be leaning with one of my three picks tomorrow because they're underdogs. Let's go to Sunday night football. The Cowboys are favored on the road by two and a half. Like if the Cowboys are favored on the road, like, why can't the Broncos be? They're in New York. It's the NBC crew, Mike Toreco, Chris Collinsworth and Melissa Stark. What's your big question? My one big question is big picture. Cowboys all season. Can the Cowboys defense get to just the middle? That's all I need. Yeah. The Cowboys defense to do. I don't need the Cowboys defense to overachieve in any way. I think that this offense is going to be so good and so explosive in multiple areas that run and pass that getting to from worst in the league on defense to just like 14 through 17. That's great. That's where you want to live.

12:18It's like the scene and hitch where he's teaching him where to stay when he's dancing. Right here. That's where you're at. Don't try to deviate from that. And I don't think Christian Parker is the type of coordinator who's going to ask some of their limitations, especially in the secondary and this with this personnel to do things that they're not capable of doing. I think there's some really exciting players on this defense. Caleb Downs front and center on that one. Quinn and Williams is a great anchor for them up front building their past rush around him is really important. But to me, it's like just get to the middle. Let your offense roll you the rest of the way. Let's listen to Brian Schott and Heimer talk about his new defensive coordinator, Christian Parker who came from Philadelphia now running that Cowboys defense. Very confident. But listening, sitting in on his meetings and the things that he talks about, like I said, there's a very clear plan. This is a unique opportunity because they don't know what we're going to do on defense. And we don't know what they're going to do on offense. They've got Matt Nagy who's a terrific coach.

13:20Greg Roman. Very, very different. One's the off-go guy and sub personnel. Name and some guys. Name and say he'd be great to have on. Name and some guys. Wait, who's the other giants offensive staff member? Kafka. It's a wild group there that Matt Nagy. Oh, they're now. I thought you were talking about Greg Roman. I'm forgetting that the three offensive coaches of the offensive apocalypse. I'm going to be curious because Malik neighbors is going to be out there. He practiced fully and he is expected to play according to John Harbaugh. And this is an offense that struggled throughout most of the preseason. Brian Callahan. Yes, of course. Of course. He's the third. It's just so many voices. John Harbaugh is the most important one among them. And yeah, it's a great test for two really unproven sides. And you mentioned the excitement that the Cowboys have about some of their new players. Malik I Lawrence is a rookie pass rusher.

14:23Might not play a ton week one. We'll see Caleb Downs. Like how will they use him? Will they use Jason Barham at linebacker in practice? It was like they were lining up him next to Demarvian overshone. So it's just a lot of new pieces there on the flip side. How good is this giant's defensive line going to be? I think the only way that this team has a winning record this year is if Abdel Carter ascends. If Abdel Reese is in defensive rookie, the year conversation, Brian Burns is who he is. Kavantibito is who he is. And suddenly you have one of the more compelling pass rush groups in the entire NFL. And no Dexter Lawrence there in the middle anymore. So for me, it's like, yes, I love their pass rush potential. Can they defend the run? Right. And they couldn't last year. They were one of the worst defenses of all time really stopping the run for the last two years combined. And then one year with Dexter Lawrence, one year without, but it is a big loss. And on paper, they didn't look like they get much better.

15:24They're just counting on coaching from John Harbond and Art Wilson, their new coordinator. One of the things that really frustrated me about the giant's defense last year among many, many things was that they had such talent and such high ceiling players and real blue chip players that they'd gone out and drafted. But it almost seemed like they drafted them. And then it was like, okay, that's it. Like go play football. So for me, much more cohesive plan, how they rush off of each other, how they understand each other's space using the, just the multiplicity of some of these players like an R. Valries, for example, like Brian Burns, like an Abdul Carter, like using these guys in different ways is going to be really, really important. I think for the Cowboys with Tyler Smith out, I mean, he's obviously on the interior, but still having your best offensive lineman out against a pass rush that could potentially be very, very good out of the gate is a huge question mark for me. And I think they'll use Reese to rush the passer and blitz sometimes from the linebacker position. They'll use cave on Tibido or sometimes Carter on the inside, certainly on stunts and

16:26everything. I mean, they did a great job with that last year. And it's a lot for the Cowboys offensive lineman to deal with. That's a big X factor. There's this assumption that the Cowboys are just like a top five offense, you know, it's just going to happen. I mean, they weren't last year. They were like, they were a little more inconsistent, but I think they're going to be able to run the ball with your guy Clayton Adams running the show. I think Chavante Williams is going to be good. And I think this is a good week one matchup. I think it was that they were a really curious case study last year because you're right. They were streaky in some areas and they did fluctuate offensively in terms of their output. You know, their run game, it wasn't as explosive. They normally a Clayton Adams design run game is normally going to lead the league in explosive runs, but it's interesting when I talked to him this summer, it was a lot of conversation about how can you create more explosive still understanding that defenses are really going, they're really playing your quarterback first and foremost. And so everything you do, which, you know, wasn't always necessarily case when he was in Arizona because Kyler was injured a lot or couldn't, you know, didn't finish the season.

17:30Everything you do is predicated around, okay, what are they going to present in their shell looks? And how will they then try to defend our run explosives out of that? How can we create? They have to va and they will see just not that explosive. Yeah. And they don't mind. I don't think they mind like you would think that they would want to be a really like, especially with Brian Schottonheimer kind of gets the reputation of like an old school guy. They're actually thought like they're so pass heavy. They're so happy to be pass heavy, especially on early downs. You would think between those two guys, Shady and Clayton Adams, they would be running heavier on early downs, but they weren't. So it was a little bit of these anomalies here and they're sprinkled in that I'm curious to see what presents out of those and what the year, the second year of both of those things look like. Cause for me, their results were a bit streaky, but their ceiling was so high and the process looked good. When I see a process that looks good and I believe in the players and I believe in the quarterback, to me, I think I think there's such a high ceiling for them. They also had a lot of injury, CDLAM missed a lot of time. The offense of wine missed guys throughout the course of the season.

18:31It'll be great to see those two receivers and they're matching up against a surprising duo for the Giants. I'm kind of shocked that the starting cornerbacks for New York are Greg Newsom, they brought in and Deonte Banks, the former first round pick. So the high draft pick Colton Hood did not get a starting job. They're expensive free agent pickup from a year ago. Paulson Devo did not get a starting job. Now it's because they got outplayed, but that's a tough matchup against pickens and CDLAM. We might not see them run the ball one time. No, that's what I like about Brian shot in the Heimer. He's very aggressive and not like his dad in terms of the new shot in Heimer. That's a good one. Packers, Vikings love this one. The Vikings are favored by one and a half at home. This is the gym dance JJ Wat game. JJ Wat getting the elevation with Tony Romo out of the mix now following his arrest, Tracy Wilson is there. This matchup has a lot to it. And like I said, another division matchup, like we have four straight division

19:32matchups in this like prime time and late window and just it just gives this extra weight and this extra turbo boost because I always think it's you win a game and a half when you win a game in the division. So what an advantage. Let's say the Packers can win this game on the road to have a road division win in your pocket right off the bat. What's your question? Well, I'm going to imitate the rest of the Green Bay Packers beat all week this week, all week last week when they were asking the coaching staff, including head coach Matt LaFloor and, you know, offensive coordinator and quarterback's coach, who is starting on the offensive line? No, seriously, who? Dave, you saw a lot of different players throughout the course of the preseason and training camp and so I can only can only go off of what the beer reporters saying locally, because obviously preseason games are not the most indicative of what's actually going to happen. They've been dealing with injuries. So he's right now, according to my colleague, match Nightman says Jordan Morgan at left tackle.

20:36So that's not a position he had started in Sean Ryan at center Jacob Monk at right guard. And then Zach Bacoboile and Aaron Banks have been limited, right? The former Zach Tom. Yeah, the former Zach Tom, but they spoke to Zach Bacoboile. As we're taping this, basically, and he told the reporters that he's not only definitely playing Sunday, but he plans to play the entire game. Okay. So and he'd be the right tackle. I think there's a lot of questions about their offensive line, but they have been better than the some of their parts throughout the course of the Packers time with Matt LaFloor. Like, I think they are an offensive line that you give them the benefit of the doubt, but on paper, it doesn't look great. And oh, you get to play the Minnesota Vikings week one. You think they're going to blitz a lot, right? Which just like adds a level of difficulty planning week one. Now, Jordan love very good against the blitz last year in general. And yet, it's kind of confusing.

21:36One of the worst quarterbacks in the league against pressure in terms of the difference between how he was statistically when he was protected well. He was the best quarterback in the league essentially. And it fell off a cliff a little bit. Him and Jared Goff are kind of the two most dramatic guys in terms of how the numbers change. So what that tells me is he was reading the defense. He's getting the ball out against the blitz for the most part. When you do get him to hold on to the ball and create some confusion, you can make some hay against the Packers. Who likes to do that? It's Guy Brian Flores, who by the way, got Harrison Smith back recently. Nice. So nice for them. Seems like teammates were expecting this. Josh Mattellis had his face photoshopped onto a photo of Prince. I think, and that was a deep cut from March that he just kept retweeting. So I feel like they knew that this was coming. Got the one where Prince is naked on the cover? It wasn't. Okay. But I appreciate your creative thought. Well, it's more of my knowledge of how Prince albums.

22:38What a flex, Greg. I'm old. But he has some interesting guys in the secondary. Josh Mattellis is healthy. Harrison Smith being back. Not really sure how. I think he's playing. Yeah, but I'm not sure how up to speed. He's going to be, but still good news for them. And for me, the other thing I'm most curious about with the Vikings is on the other side of the ball, which is the favorite talking point of one of ours all season, which are all off season, which is Kyler Murray. What is he going to look like? And also, by the way, Carson Lance is apparently the backup. Yes. JJ McCarthy will be QB3. Was announced by Kevin O'Connell. That gives us the best chance to win. Steve JJ McCarthy is still on the team. Post trade deadline probably will be because I think they're just keeping them in case they need to start three quarterbacks because they have in multiple seasons under Kevin O'Connell. And he's a better option than than most third quarterbacks. Let's hear from Kyler Murray's former coach, Jonathan Ganon.

23:40Yes, Jonathan Ganon, the former Cardinals coach is now the defensive coordinator for the packers. So if ever there is a guy who knows how to attack Kyler Murray's weaknesses, it is Jonathan Ganon in week one, even if he still brows with Kyler. Yeah, Kyler Murray, really good player. He's in a really good offense with some elite players. Obviously I got nothing but love and respect for K1. These competitive, he's smart, can make all the throws and he can beat you with his leg. So a big time challenge. All the reporting in Arizona was that those two guys kind of were in it together to the end and really appreciated each other. So from a bondage. Yeah, I believe him. I think talking about the weapons around him is well said because it's a mismatch in terms of talent. I don't think there's a lot of talent on this packers defense. Definitely not in their pass rush without Michael Parsons. And there's a lot of matchup problems potentially at cornerback when you have Jordan Addison

24:43and in Juan Jennings as you're two and you're three. Oh, and by the way, that Justin Jefferson guy can get them. Right. He's got his work cut out for him and he's going to have to get creative, Jonathan Ganon. He's going to have to get creative and it is true to like what he hopes that is not happening. I mean, I think he is. He wants to be, he wants to be firing crazy blitzes. Well, yeah, he does want to be firing crazy blitzes. He was doing that since basically they put the pads on and they're very sort of self-aware about this that there's going to be two versions of this defense. The pre-Michael Parsons and the post-Michael Parsons and the pre-Michael Parsons one is going to be very, very blitz heavy somewhat ironically. This packers team will now be very blitz heavy going against, you know, on the other sideline obviously, but the Brian Flores, we know that's going to be very, very blitz heavy. With Kyler though, I don't know that that's going to work out the way that they think it will or hope that it will. And it's really the only way you're going to get pressure. I do not trust this defensive line from the packers before Michael Parsons gets back.

25:46I think that when you send a blitz the way that they can, you're automatically just saying, all right, well, we're not going to have at least three guys, you know, at least an extra guy downfield to help bracket or to help cover over the top of one of these 11 personnel, three receiver sets with three very, very, very good receivers where you want all of your defensive backs covering and or bracketing around whatever those like route concepts are. And you don't want Kyler to escape with his very specific running style. You don't want him to escape and then create as a byproduct of that escaping. That's what he does so well. That's what he has done so well and creating explosive. I want to see him run. I mean, I want, I'm not saying what I would like to see, but I'm saying if you're Jonathan Ganon, you don't, you almost don't want to have to lean too much on the blitz in this way, but you, but you, you where else are you going to get pressure? Yeah, it is a catch 22 and I'm very curious how much Kyler really will be willing to run. He tends to enter the season or different parts of the season, be like, okay, now I'm going to run.

26:50Now I'm not going to run and hasn't always been natural for him even though he's one of the most gifted runners I've ever seen. He hasn't always been a journey man. So this could be interesting. The Minnesota run game too. All season long and they have talked about it's going to be cool. It's going to be different. It's going to be better. It's going to be a lot of zone blocking. So we'll see. Like I'm looking forward to seeing what they do there with Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones. Let's go to our last division game in a row here, which is commanders at Eagles. The Eagles favored by four and a half Kevin Burkard Tom Brady, Aaron Andrews on the game. A lot of disrespect for this Eagles team. NFL.com 12 out of 19 analysts chose the Cowboys. I happen to notice Yahoo. I think it was Yahoo fantasy. Seven out of eight of their, uh, Josh Norris. Analyst did strong with the Eagles took the Cowboys. It's like the Eagles still have one of the best rasters in the entire NFL. The Eagles are always going to be the favorites to me until proven otherwise.

27:53I chose the Eagles. I think it's going to turn out that way. And I have the question in this one. And it's just, are you ready? And excited for the year of Devon Tassman. Ooh, yeah. Yes, I am. I've been waiting for this for some time. I he's been one of my favorite receivers in the league for a long time. I like that, uh, a player approximately the size in terms of narrowness of Mina Kimes is out there making things happen. I need he so strong somehow. Yeah, we're so she, you know, sure. Yeah, I mean, she's not at the catch point. I don't know. Like she going up against, you know, we get, we need to do some, some analysis, I think, on this. But yeah, I can't wait for this. I think that this with the combination of Sean Manion, really wanting to distribute the ball or at least get the, you know, get the concepts and that ask for the ball to be distributed, ask for Devon Tassman to do a lot of different types of things. They, they obviously, you know, minus a j brown, that's going to be, I think, the big topic

28:53and the big question on everyone's mind. Mine is, I'm more curious about what actually this offense looks like and what the run game does with sake one, Barclay, because if whispers out of camp are to be, you know, believed, it looked a lot like they were installing the 2018 version of the Los Angeles Rams. Offense, you know, and so getting a really strong zone predicated running game, which it sounds like they're doing and featuring it around one running back who can really create extra space out of those zone concepts, which I'm curious to see how sake one, Barclay does it with that type of scheme and using it to set up the under center play action game to set up the middle of the field throws to set up some of these deeper digs and crossers and then to like sort of pick your spots on the perimeter. That is exactly what all of that was. And Sean Manion, who's the new offensive coordinator for the Eagles for Shiro Sea, going to be calling it from up in the booth. Nick Sireon he said today is, let's see what you got. Yeah. It's four sides of the football in this game with

29:57very different expectations and continuity. You have three sides, you know, including Sean Manion running that Eagles. So that he has veteran players, but he's a brand new play collar. You have totally different rosters on offense and defense, especially for Washington with first time play collars. And then you have the Eagles defense, which is very predictable in some way is star is so talented. Got Jonathan Grenard back this week to practice. So it sounds like he could make his Eagles debut in week one. He's been out with a pectoral injury and Vic Fangeo and a group in the back end with Quinyan Mitchell and Cooper Jean that is just hitting their stride. And so I look at this game and I see like four major question marks. I see four separate teams. Right. I see four like mate, like three major question marks and then the friggin Eagles defense. And to me, it's a little bit of a nightmare of a start for David blower, the new coordinator of the car, the commanders and for Jaden Daniels to have to go against week one, especially on the interior of their offensive

31:01line against Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis and coming off of a really, really long break where he hasn't been playing a lot of live football. The injury obviously was the factor last year. Coming off of of questions still, you know, at receiver, there's a little bit more variety built in there now, but it just I would like to know. I have no idea what this offense is going to look like. I can read the pieces about David blower. I can read the articles about what they think this is going to look like, but I don't know until I see it. I actually have a much easier time conceptualizing what the shamanian offense and system is going to look like because I feel like it is basically just a copy paste of something that we've seen work. I don't know what this other is and also to David blower and you hear sort of whispers about this is like once they're on a similar type of system once to run it sort of a tree guy system. I don't know if that works with this particular set of players that they have. It never a great sign when you're playing a bunch of

32:08starters that weren't on the team until like late in the off season like Stefan digs. It made sense for this team, but it's not a great sign for your team building process that he's immediately your wide receiver to starting at corner back is Rosal Douglass who's signed with the team in late July partly because Tray Amos is hurt partly because they just don't have other players. Starting at center, they hope is Nick Allegretti who just has been hurt throughout the course of training camp and then at left tackles Brandon Coleman who's filling in for Laramie Tundsell. So that side of the ball specifically, it's tough and I do feel like Jane Daniels just publicly, you know, he's not used to not being like the the bell of the ball, the most popular guy in the world. The LSU thing like really good, good names though. The combination of that and the quarterback show where he was just like a little guarded and a little boring. I just feel like Jaden Daniels in a much different place entering this season. They booed him at LSU when they put him up at the

33:09scoreboard. That was tough. I saw that. Nobody wants that. Well, it is a tough challenge. I hope he moves a little bit. I hope he plays free. I hope we see shades of the guy that we saw during his rookie season where he just gave commanders fans something to hope for. There's a lot of mold moving pieces and in a case like this when there's so much new like you pointed out, you really want to feel patience. You really want to feel continuity at the head coaching job, the GM spot ownership. I don't know how patient this group is going to be with all of this. It is weird because they're year three of the regime and yet they're year one of these two first time play collar. Toronto Jones could be spicy though. I love his story. He's from the Brian Flores coaching tree. Like he players love him. Colleagues love him. I really like it. So they could throw a lot at this John Manion, Jalen Hertz, Seekone Barkley offense and it could be a little bit of a messy game. I'm feeling I'm feeling an NFC East September like 20 to 14 game.

34:13I'm kind of wondering if the Eagles are predicting that too and that's why Sean Manion's up in the booth because as a former quarterback himself, I was really surprised to see that he's calling the game from up in the booth. But you obviously if someone's going to throw a lot of funky pressure at you, that's a better view, truly to have of it and kind of to see where all the ripple effects of that are. So I that that actually normally I don't pay much attention to who's on the field, who's in the booth, but that one I do pay attention to. Jacoerie Croskey Merit. I believe is expected to be back as the starting running back for the commanders in this game. Bill. So we know more about that than we do about the Eagles backup quarterback situation, which is one of the most tightly held secrets in the entire NFL next year. We don't have to make that decision quite yet or announce that decision, I think for competitive reasons again. I don't want them to be able to study one guy or over the other. I'm not saying we don't have an answer of who that is yet, but I just don't have to share that quite yet publicly. I mean, are they really studying Andy Dalton?

35:18They break out your old VCR. I mean, like how much are they studying Andy Dalton or Tanner McKee? It's going to be McKee, by the way. Competitive reasons given the commanders a lot of a lot of, you know, respect there. Right. That they're going to have such an advantage knowing who you're back up and get over yourself. I mean, that's another we can't have two tiny table predictions in one show. Yeah, that's the rule. We famously did it on our early games per week. We'll do it, but I'm saying it's Tanner McKee's job. You're not taking it away from him. Let's take a quick break and we will wrap up the week one afternoon slate with one of the weirdest games of the entire week. It had to go last. Dolphins Raiders. We'll finish with that one. I'm Britt Coleman and I'm Trevor Sikama. If you ever watched a game and wondered what really made the difference beyond the final score, that's exactly why we created NFL Pro.

36:19It's got a man wide open. Come down. Stay up. Every week we use exclusive next-gen stats insights and NFL content to break down the biggest stories, matchups and moments from around the league. We go beyond the box court to uncover the numbers, the tendencies and details that help explain what actually happened on the field. Fires it out the flat to Barclay, who beats one man, spends past another, leaps over a phone. And don't worry, this isn't just a show for stats experts. We use advanced analytics to help tell the story behind the game, turning the numbers into insights that every fan can understand and enjoy. So whether you're a casual fan learning more about football or a hardcore fan who can't get enough analysis, our goal is to help you see the game in a whole new way. If you've ever wanted to know why a playwork, how a matchup was won, or what most fans missed on Sunday, NFL Pro delivers insights you simply can't get anywhere else.

37:19Listen to NFL Pro on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. You know the feeling. You make a pick in your fantasy draft in the entire room groans because they wanted that player. Or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in prime time. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast. Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. We've got data-driven analysis, historical trends, and the strategies that separate winners from the rest. And your dominance doesn't stop with the draft. All season long, we have our 15 transactions, 10 trends, sleepers, and the mailbag, data-driven, quick hitting episodes to help bring home that league trophy. Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.

38:24Hey everyone, I'm Mike Yev. And I'm Trevor Sikama, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Show. Fantasy season is upon us. Are you ready to dominate your league? Because if you aren't locked in with us on the NFL Fantasy Football Show, you're already playing from behind. Every episode, we're going to dive into the biggest fantasy headlines. Injury updates that you'll need before kickoff. The best starts and sits across every position. And matchups, you can exploit to destroy your leaguemates. You know, we're talking sleepers, breakout stars, and the guys you cannot afford to bench. From rookies on the rise to longtime star still at it, we cover it all. Whether you're a first time player or a grizzled vet chasing another championship, we give you the advantage and the confidence you need to make every move count. Weekly analysis, hot takes, and unique insider knowledge all in one place. Does fantasy dominance sound appealing to you? Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football Show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. The NFL never stops and neither does its newest podcast. The NFL report hosted by me, Andrew

39:32Ceciliano. It is your home for everything football. Williams, Thursday, Spring Different Space, in all times the trouble for you. Forget the other day, they got it. For the touchdown, they've done it again. We're tapping the biggest news stories, giving you expert analysis, fantasy previews, game picks, and more. We fly around every single play. We dominate every single play. Wanna hear from the league's top stars, add to the biggest matchups we've got you covered. That's a really good football team. We gotta have all hands on dead. Join me at an all-star cast of analysts for everything you need to know from around the league. Get new episodes of the NFL report Monday through Friday, all season long. Listen to the NFL report podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Rappin' up NFL Dailies. We won. Preview. With a pair of games, including one that's

40:32gonna be called by a man who tried to interrupt and ruin the show that we did earlier. Daniel Jeremiah, who's on the radio call for the Chargers. It's a home game. They're hosting the the Cardinals. The Chargers are nine and a half point favorites. The Los Angeles Chargers are the biggest favorites of week one. How about that? I disagree with that. What can go wrong? I feel like the Jaguar should be bigger favorites in them. I had to choose one team. I agree. Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, in Melanie Collins or on the call for CBS. I think I would take the Cardinals. Maybe I will even will on our picture, but we can only pick three. Would they be one of my top three picks? That's tough. What is your big question, Jordan? I legitimately want you to answer this, Greg, because I feel like I've spent all off season talking your air off about this. Will the Cardinals offense be better than most people expect? Yes. Tell me why. Because they have better weapons than people recognize. The fact that Jeremiah Love is RB2

41:36on the Dept Chart going into this week. I don't love to see that, but I love it. That's just the status. Yeah. Coach, do that dumb stuff all the time. It sounds like he'll probably return from the high ankle sprain this week. So if you combine him with Tramick Bride, who, according to his peers, is the top 15 player in the entire NFL at any position. And a really fun young receiver group led by Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr., but a nice three in Kendrick Horan. Like, you're cooking with gas. You have a franchise love tackle. It's a better infrastructure offensively than half the than just about half a league. And I'm not saying Jacobi Berset is better than half a league's quarterbacks, but it's a good offense. And guess what? You can play. I know Tip Raymond's hurt. It has been kind of coming back from an injury. He's like their number three tight end in a normal situation. But you can play 11 personnel because you got Kendrick born who has a longstanding relationship with Michael Flore, who I almost always call almost call Matt when I first introduce him. And you could play 12 personnel with McBride and Elijah Higgins.

42:42You can play a lot of 11 personnel with Marvin Harrison, Michael Wilson, and Kendrick born. You can mix your different running backs looks because you got two running backs you can use. You can throw a full back in there. They can do a lot of different types of things. They've got at least continuity. Like I think it's a middle of the league-ish offensive line. And with a higher ceiling, especially with this type of a scheme, I just I really buy it. I really buy it especially as your guy is Michael Flore. Does he have the juice? Because that all that works. Like just take if I give Matt LaFlaur all those players. You think Matt LaFlaur is like kind of kind of mad looking at the seroster. Oh, that's a no. I think he's rooting for his brother. You're only getting so many chances to be a head coach. So I think he wants him to have sure, but he think he's kind of like you would take it. Oh man, that roster. I would not if he has to give up Jordan Love. But if yeah, I think if you could big big point here, the quarterback situation. If you could trade out everything but the quarterbacks, I actually would take

43:44the the Cardinals over the Packers. That's including the offensive line. If you gave Matt LaFlaur to the Cardinals, I'm changing my own personal line on this game to Chargers minus let's say six instead of nine and a half. Because I just need to know that Michael Flore actually can communicate. You know, everyone can come come up with a different schematic ideas. Like can you teach it? Can you install it? It's tough week one against what's now a veteran Chargers defense. It's been in you know, period. Oh, no, I'm not going to judge them too harshly if they don't cover here, but I think they could give the defense of the Chargers and problems. I think that and I don't play fantasy football, but this this particular could be a great fantasy football matchup because you do expect against a defense if this family is they don't want to give up the explosive play, but you could get a lot of yards and you could see a lot of productivity from some of these skill players. Crystal Leary's first year defensive coordinator for the Chargers. I like the potential. I'm curious to see he's of the Jesse Minter coaching tree. Essentially the former defensive

44:49coordinator and other Ravens that coach and Jim Harboh really believes in him and Jim Harboh hires good coaches. So for me, I give him a little bit more benefit of the doubt and enough talent. Like not not top five. You're maybe not even top 10 talent, but talent that consistently out produces kind of what it looks like on paper. And I think that's and I think that's important. Yeah. I like this game. I like it. Sneaky really fun game. Yeah. You can have this game if you want it late. This is a fun one. I mean, I would be happy to. I always love listening to Kevin Harlan. Oh, Kevin Harlan's on this. I'm taking this game. I want this game. I would love it if they mixed it. You know, they changed a lot of the groups and stuff. Let's give someone Kevin Harlan can joke around a little bit more with saying, I think the Chargers have to win this game. They are going to play a compromise Raiders team week two in LA. You got to go two and no on paper, like strength the schedule, all this nonsense. Chargers have one of the toughest schedules in the league. And yet they have the easiest weeks one and two of

45:52any team in the NFL two straight home games against two of the worst teams in the league on paper. So you got to go two and no. And you have Mike McDaniel. And he's been a September guy. Now that kind of fell off as the dolphins tenure continued. But he started with being the Andy Reed guy, where he had a ton of ideas. And he killed people in September. And as high as I am compared to consensus on the Cardinals offense, I'm not on the defense. I think most people think the defense is not going to be good. And I think that's the direction they're headed. And you know, they have to prove it otherwise. The potential for this being a points game for both teams to me is much higher than my extremely limited understanding of what that number is. I haven't even been going with the over-unders. I'm not that into me there. It's 47 and a half, which I would say week one is a little high. Yeah. It's a little higher than average, but not that high. But part of it too is because I agree with you. I think Mike McDaniel, there's so much potential in this offense. Offensive line yet again, still somewhat of a question nice to have. The two,

46:58you know, ends on the outside at tackle. We assume we assume our shot and players playing. Yes, we hope because it's just more fun that way. We'll be back. Coyote, I was, excuse me, I'm going to butcher this, but Coyote, Aushika and Trey Pippkins have been competing at left guard. Don't love that. That that hasn't been like totally solidified. The most talked about guard battle in the NFL. There's guard battles everywhere. For some reason, it's all anyone talks about with the chargers. Well, one of the chargers cursed positions has to be on the interior offensive line somewhere. Right. So for me, though, it's important because I just, I love the way and the interior, it becomes so much more important because I really, really love the way Mike McDaniel, especially mixes the run in the past together, uses so many different types of personnel, which the chargers have on this roster. I think Charlie Colar, we saw it in camp is going to be the tight end. It's going to be absolutely one of the X factors on this team. I think they're going to try to have tight end one on the depth chart. I think they're going to try to have them on the field every snap.

47:59If they possibly can playing a variety of different positions, they obviously, they use fullbacks that are very savvy. With the system, I love their size at running back. I expect big things from Marri and Hampton. Like this to me, there's so much fun potential. I can't stop thinking about that Rams Chargers preseason game that I called where the chargers on both sides of the ball throughout a lot of different types of things. I think that they just, they called a lot of stuff that you don't usually see in a preseason game. I think about how multiple they ended up being on defense. They ran like six one fronts against the Rams. Then on the other side of the ball, that beautiful, Justin Herbert throw to Quentin Johnson that was sprung open by a motion. I think about how much space Mike McDaniel somehow can always find on the field for any type of player. I get really, really excited about this for the chargers and nervous for the Cardinals defense. The Cardinals defense path is my guy Walter Nolan, who was one of my five making the leap picks for this year. Becoming a superstar and Joshua having kind of a tag team partner, we assume

49:05Joshua is going to be out there. He's back at practice. He missed a lot of camp. There's trade rumors. They have some depth in terms of their past. They have some hope that the secondary gets better. Better Garrett Williams is a good young player who's coming off a serious injury. Will Johnson is a high draft pick. A lot of people believe in boot of Baker still back there. There is a path to their coordinator Nick Rallis getting weird and throwing a lot of stuff at the chargers off at the line and making them look like they're not quite ready for it week one. I don't think that's going to happen. I'm with you. I think there's going to be a lot of points in that nine and a half number. Yeah. I'm smelling like a 35 to 26 game. The Cardinals slide right on. This could, this could easily turn out to be one of the most fun games of the week one just for just for scoring and weird stuff happening. I'll take you the weird Cardinals chargers. I'll raise you dolphins at Raiders. Weird. Three and a half is the number. The Raiders are favored by more than a

50:05field goal. I know you don't know much about how this all works. That's like that basically is saying like they're better. It's not just they're at home. What's a field goal? Okay. Is this the last time all season? The Raiders are favored by more than a field goal? Well, I mean, it's got to. That's not my question. What is your question? I just was throwing that out there. That's an interesting thought experiment. If you looked like the odds are, yeah, probably, but they do have a home game against the Titans. That's probably the other chance. They have a road game against the Cardinals doubt that. I'll give you a real question. Okay. My question for this team is just like what is this grand social experiment that are the 2026 Miami dolphins actually look like on a football field? Because to me, they're like a process concept, but they actually have to play football. Can I give you some numbers to like back up this question? Yeah, but they're like one of those. You know, when you see those cars and they've got all the painted like squigglys all over them because they're a test

51:06car. No, they're driving around the road and they've got these weird patterns so that the cameras can't like pick them up and see no on camera and see what they are model actually looks like. Have you never seen this before? I should know that. I mean, you just got a new car. There's a lot of crazy waymo's out there, you know, with branding that I now notice that. Sure, they're a test waymo. Yeah, that's the dog. Okay. Some numbers. And this is from Doug Klossen at CBS Sports, but it just was like, wow, all these numbers are crazy. They, as we've mentioned on the show before, have the most dead cap money. So like money on players and not on the roster. It's spent of all time. But here's just a few things that go along with that. They're still paying more on the cap to to a tongue of ILOA than the rest than their entire offense combined. That's fun. They have more rookies and more undrafted free agents than any team in the NFL. When they did cut down day, no other team claims more than three players because you've got to, cut three players from other teams. They claim seven players. Never a good sign from other teams.

52:10And then here's the one I like best in terms of total starts at least dating back, I think it was the 2001 when NGS started. They are the least experienced roster ever. Like in terms of NFL starts going into this season. Also, they're starting at White Receiver. Chris Bell, who tore his ACL during last season, a rookie and Caleb Douglas, a rookie at White Receiver. Glass half full. They are soon to be not the least experienced team ever because all of these guys are going to get a hell of a lot of snaps this year. And that is the point. This is a concept. This isn't a team right now. It is a concept. And Jeff Hathley just came right out and said it. He said, we just need to get better. That's all we need to do. That's why I am insulted for the Cardinals that there's only two teams in the NFL, whose win total is three and a half. And like everyone else is up at five or six and a half. And one of them is the Cardinals and one of them is the dolphins. Like these two teams should not be similar. But the schedules, you know, more favorable for the dolphin. This is a winable game for the dolphins. If you're going to win one,

53:11this Raiders team, they have all sorts of questions as well. They're so new on defense. They spent so much money thinking that they weren't going to have Max Crosby. And now they do have Max Crosby on top of all the money on Quitte Pay and the linebackers that they spent. And Clint Coupiac is a guy who has shown at least with New Orleans. But overall, like he can he can get his team starting fast. Do you think they start fast and in what's going to be their most favorable matchup maybe in the season? The Brock Bauer's news sort of. Oh, I buried I buried the lead to it. My bad. We're taping this on Wednesday. Right as we started taping, we learned that Brock Bauer's out one to two weeks with a trim of his meniscus. Man, that is really disappointing news because he's been struggling with this knee injury now for over a year. Yeah, it's a bummer. He I got to saw a little bit of him in camp. He was the only player who really could make productive plays against the Texans defense. And that was few and far between anyway. Clint Coupiac is actually pretty typically good at getting out to a fast start. He just kind of throws heat in these first couple

54:14of games of the season. He really likes to test space for defenses. Not as easy to do in one of your best downfield weapons will not be playing. And so for me, I'm if I'm going to pick the thing that I'm most excited about the Raiders to watch what they can do conceptually, but then also in actuality. So run game title Inter bombs there at center. And Ash and Jan T is probably going to play. There seems to be a lot of optimism that he's going to be able to be available week one. Our guy, Mike Washington Jr. behind him is a little bit of a one two punch. I think you can get Ash and Jan T involved in the passing game as well. Clint Coupiac historically likes to do that with the with the scheme that he designs. To me, I really I'm weirdly excited for this game because I just want to see ideas in action. I am too. I think Malik Willis as a starting quarterback is going to be fascinating. I think he has a chance to break the all time record for rushing yards for a quarter back in a season. It's been Lamar and then Michael Vick and Justin Fields like pure running ability.

55:15He's right there with the bet. I think the best starting quarterbacks ever as just like how he can run. And I think he's going to need to run. It's just fascinating to see what this is going to look like. But this is a matchup where some weeks are going to be really hard. He could get pretty good protection. And I think he could find some open receivers in a state offensive line. If they can scheme up, I think the Raiders are going to like their past rush. But in the back end, I think there's real questions. And then I am curious about how Kirk cousins is going to look. I think he could be pretty good in this offense. I think he could play well enough that they don't have to play Mendoza for a little while. I've been saying over under is like week five or six. But I think cousins is going to kind of do his part to not just make it easy. That he'll play a little better than than people think. The only thing that I worry about with him because I think mentally he's there. He's competitive still the arm is sharp like all the stuff. I don't buy that he can move the way that you need to move on some of the longer developing handoffs, the play action and the

56:18bootlegs that this offense will never quit in a million years. He might hurt the running game too. Yeah. It's just the play act and all that exactly in a million years. If we are still, you know, if humanity still exists and there's football being played, the Kubiak system will still feature long ass bootlegs. And so that we're not even going to make it to the end of the decade. I don't know apparently so apparently so I was like, does that mean we have a decade more just another thing to worry about according to the AI folks or like literally the end of this decade because if that's the case, I'm out of here. Big question. There is no week to preview. I want to spend some time with my family. Do I want to be spending my time with you? I love this. You got to love what you do and we do. We love football. I would want to do this on some level. But I yeah, I would maybe over the phone. I would want to spend a lot of time with my family. Just figure like we're running out of time. We have our picks coming up later in the week. And most importantly, Jordan and I will be part of

57:21this preview show, making predictions all season long. And we'll get some fun friends to join us. Yeah. And this time we have to go with the Texans crew. That's us this year. You keep fist bump. I don't know why. I just whenever I think that we pick the same Super Bowl, basically NFL daily, like our integrity is based on the Texans this year. We'll see you next time. I'm Brett Coleman and I'm Trevor Sikama. If you love football and want to understand what's really happening on the field, check out our show NFL Pro. Every week, we break down the biggest plays, trends and matchups using exclusive next gen stats, insights and NFL content you will not find anywhere else. Whether you're new to football, a fantasy football fanag, or a die hard fan, NFL Pro will help you analyze the game like a pro. Listen to NFL Pro on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Mike Am. And I'm Trevor Sikama. And together, we host the NFL Fantasy Football Show.

58:28Are you ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Because if you aren't locked in with us on the NFL Fantasy Football Show, you're already playing from behind. Whether you're a first-time player or a grizzled vet chasing another championship, we give you the advantage and the confidence you need to make every move count. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football Show on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Whether you're a seasoned NFL fan or new to the game, there's one place to keep up with all of it. The league's newest podcast, the NFL Report, hosted by me, Andrew Sassiliano. It is your home for everything football. Breaking news, expert analysis, game picks and here from your favorite players too. Join me and at all starcasts of experts for everything you need to know from around the league. Get new episodes of the NFL Report, Monday through Friday, all season long. Listen to the NFL Report Podcast on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The entire draft room grows because you just took the guy they wanted. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy

59:31football league. I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the award-winning late-round podcast. Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. Listen to the late-round fantasy football podcast on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.