NFL Best Bets: Bo Nix is Denver's Starting QB for 2024 NFL
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00:00It is what we expected when the Denver Broncos drafted Bo Nix 12th overall in
00:06the 2024 NFL Draft that Nix would be the starter in the mile-high city from the
00:12very jump week number one for the Broncos on the road against the Seattle
00:16Seahawks. But what made it confusing was the Broncos initial depth chart where
00:21Bo Nix was listed behind Jared Siddham and Zach Wilson as the third string
00:26quarterback. But Nix has shown out throughout training camp and in
00:30preseason football for Denver so yesterday Sean Payton made it official.
00:35Bo Nix is the starting quarterback for the Broncos. He will start the season
00:39opener in Seattle against the Seahawks week number one. This is what's supposed
00:44to happen when you're a bad football team which technically the Denver
00:47Broncos were last year moved off of Russell Wilson. You're looking for your
00:51franchise quarterback. You draft a quarterback in round number one and it's
00:54not a 19 year old per se right Ben that's only started eight games and
00:58you're saying hey he's got a high upside let's see if we can get after it. No this
01:01quarterbacks been around the block and has shown his moxie in college through a
01:04couple major conferences. So he comes in just wanted to see him like OTAs and
01:08camp just have a good preseason but also let's get down to the crux of this year.
01:12The Green Bay Packers in the past we use this you know so many times. Draft a
01:16quarterback wait three or four years put him in and it's worked out. Why? Because
01:19you're going up against Hall of Fame quarterbacks where maybe you don't
01:22expect a rookie quarterback to actually be able to line up and say I can beat
01:27out Aaron Rodgers in his prime. I can beat out Brett Favre in his prime. But
01:31as you measure up with the Denver Broncos it's Jared Stidham. Like come on
01:35like is that really who you're beating out at this point? Jared Stidham and Zach
01:38Wilson? Of course you expected your high round number one rookie quarterback to
01:43beat them out. Otherwise what did you draft them for? But also the one thing I
01:46do like is it wasn't as if they just handed over the torch and said this is
01:50your football team day number one. They actually let him earn it. Gave a little
01:53adversity. Hey you're third on the depth chart. Play your way into this position
01:57here. Probably fully well known he could do that. But I loved what I saw to Bo
02:00Nicks. Seized the opportunity but again it's still Jared Stidham and Zach Wilson
02:04he beat out. It's not as if it's like wow that was a major upset. This is what
02:08should have happened and happened. Bo Nicks let's go man. Let's see what you
02:11got. And Donnie we often talk about a first round quarterback selected in the
02:15opening 32 picks. Especially in the top 10, top 15. They are expected to start
02:21right away. The grace period of learning behind a Wiley veteran is not
02:25necessarily now the standard in the last five to seven years around the National
02:30Football League. So if Drake May is the backup to Jacoby Brissett maybe it's
02:34still raw and unrealized potential at this moment. Of course we know the
02:39situation with Michael Pennix Jr. in Atlanta. But Nicks was expected to be the
02:43starter and now he is. Bo Nicks has looked great throughout the preseason. He
02:49has led six offensive drives for Denver. Every drive has resulted in points. Three
02:55ending in a touchdown. Three ending in a field goal. And Nicks himself has been
03:01sensational and efficient. Eight of nine for 80 yards and a touchdown. Week number
03:06two for Denver at home against the Packers. The Broncos offense has put up
03:1034 points in its preseason debut against Indianapolis. 27 points on
03:15Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. And to Donnie's point, Bo Nicks is not a 19
03:21year old redshirt sophomore who had a promising second year and is now
03:24expected to do a ton making a huge leap to the National Football League.
03:28Obviously it is a new level but Bo Nicks made history at the FBS level in
03:33college. First at Auburn and then in Oregon. 61 career starts. The most we have
03:39ever seen for a quarterback in FBS college football. So he does have the
03:46experience in a starting role. And his offensive rookie of the year price
03:50growing slightly shorter yesterday after being named the official starter for
03:55Denver. 13 to 1 became 11 to 1. To have the most rookie passing yards it's plus
04:00350. His season-long passing yards prop still not up but Donnie in that clip
04:06from late July that SportsGrid tweeted out where we said Bo Nicks would be the
04:10starter in the Mile High City. His number was 2850 and a hook. I bet it then
04:15it has not come back up on the FanDuel Sportsbook. It was taken off when he was
04:20listed as the third string quarterback in that first step chart by Sean Payton.
04:25But I would still feel pretty comfortable about laying that wager
04:28here and now. Yeah exactly and also when you're going to your rookie quarterback
04:33and granted again it still gets but the backup quarterback situation. There's not
04:36really anybody pushing him. So if he is gonna have some struggles let's just say
04:40weeks three four and five just throwing that out there. He's not gonna get benched
04:43the following week said hey maybe you got to sit back and learn at this point.
04:46Unless he's really bad Ben. Three to four interceptions a weekend which we're not
04:49anticipating. But you figure barring health issues he'll be your starter week
04:53one. He'll be your starter all the way up to week 18 at that point and he should be
04:57able to throw for that amount of yards. Because again he threw for a lot in
05:00college. It's not anything new. Like you can even date it back to the 1990s. You
05:04know Steve Aaron McNair comes out of Alcorn State. Back then it was called
05:07Division 1 AA. Hey look hasn't really had a pro set offense. An unbelievable
05:11talent. Let's sit him down for just a little bit and then we'll let him go.
05:13Bo Nix has been around the block. A lot of pro sets here. He's ready to throw the
05:16football. Earn that job here. So no surprise. And we expect good things out of
05:20Bo Nix. This is like oh my goodness. I hope he can throw for the Justin Fields
05:24125 yards a game which some sportsbook used to hang on him. He should be up
05:28there priced appropriately because why? We actually think he's a pretty good
05:30throw with the football. And listen you can use last year as an example both for
05:36the Broncos and their outlook in 2024 and what that passing yards prop is
05:41going to be for Bo Nix. Sean Payton is many things but he is an offensive guru
05:45first and foremost. Russell Wilson wasn't great last year but he wasn't bad. Very
05:51efficient in terms of touchdowns to interceptions. 26 TDs to only eight
05:55INTs. But he's still through for 3,070 yards in only 15 games for Denver. Only
06:01throwing for more than 250 in three of the 15 and just once from week three on.
06:08If Bo Nix is even consistent in place 15, 16, 17 games for Denver it's why I like
06:14the prop of over 2850 and a hook. Now for the Broncos overall. Donnie week number
06:21one. Bo Nix's first NFL career start is going to be in Seattle against the
06:26Seahawks. You will see how Denver is reflected in the odds market. They're a
06:30four and a half point underdog against the Hawks up in the Northwest. Seattle's
06:34win total is seven and a half. Denver's win total five and a hook in the over
06:39has the slight juice. Even last year that was not considered a success in Denver
06:44the Broncos still stumbled their way or at least found their way to an eight and
06:48nine record. A team now with a five and a half win total enter in 2024. Yeah
06:53quarterbacks making debuts. Correct me if I'm wrong. I think maybe two years ago
06:56was an opening day Russell Wilson of the Broncos going to Seattle to play and
07:01certainly I believe he got upset in that game. So interesting that those
07:04scheduling quirks happen where Denver's gonna bring a new quarterback up to
07:06Seattle. But it should be an entertaining game overall. I don't know
07:09which way I would lean just yet because I like what I see out of Bo Nix but
07:11maybe not against starters. Probably still lean to the 12s up there in
07:15Seattle in that game. More NFL training camp news on the other side of a break
07:19here on the early line. I am quick to criticize the New York Jets. I am quick
07:23to make a joke at the expense of Aaron Rodgers. So the last few days I've eaten
07:28my words because the updates we have received out of Jets training camp have
07:33been positive and focused on football. For the last year and a half I didn't
07:38know that was a thing for gang green. But this was Robert Sala yesterday at
07:42training camp for the New York Jets talking about the status of Aaron
07:46Rodgers being fully ready and healthy and able to go for the week one opener
07:51Monday night to end out week number one in Santa Clara against the 49ers.
07:56Quote, I think he's absolutely ready to go says Rodgers was quote where we
08:00needed him when he first walked in his arm is still 30 and he's got plenty of
08:05mobility. Again, I'm quick to make a joke, but these have been positive
08:09updates about a team gelling on the football field. That's a good sign for
08:14the New York Jets led by Aaron Rodgers. It is and look, we're not going to get
08:18political on this show, but RFK Junior is going to make an announcement on
08:21Friday. Could he be bringing Aaron Rodgers back into the fold? Is that
08:24what he might have? So as much as we love football inside the building for
08:27the Jets, watch out on Friday afternoon for Aaron Rodgers coming maybe on
08:31Twitter on X or doing a podcast at this point might throw everything out of
08:34whack. We've had so much kumbaya moments here. If you watch deep passes
08:39down the sideline for touchdowns against the Giants, it all feels good
08:42right now. It just does. But maybe something can still throw that off
08:45because we know Aaron Rodgers might be ready for that. Just might be here. I
08:49was here. I was folks trying to be nice to you all trying to set the stage for
08:54the New York Jets and what could be a successful year 24 Aaron Rodgers his
08:59second with this Jets organization and Donny right side had to go there.
09:05Listen, that's what DRS does better than most. I do find it fascinating and
09:10we have talked about this ad nauseum for the last year and a half, both in
09:14the offseason optimism entering Aaron's first year in New York and now year
09:18number two after a very quickly stunted four play 2023 NFL season for Aaron
09:25Rodgers. If he is fully healthy at the age of 40 often Achilles injury off
09:31the worst full season of his NFL career in 2022 in Green Bay. Can Aaron
09:37Rodgers find his footing again to lead the Jets to snap a 13 season NFL
09:43playoff drought? Here are the numbers for Aaron Rodgers getting ready for
09:48year number 20 in the National Football League, 25.5 passing touchdowns,
09:533600 and a hook his passing yardage prop a 25 to one number to win the NFL
10:00MVP award, something that he did in back to back seasons as recently as
10:052020 into 2021. Donny can Aaron Rodgers look like what we had seen for most of
10:11his tenure in Green Bay and not the guy that we saw in 2022 and barely saw
10:17anything of in 2023. I think we can see that, but also the measuring stick for
10:22the Jets just basically goes back to last year and it's not so much that I
10:26need the Aaron Rodgers of 2015 or the MVP Aaron Rodgers. I just need a
10:31competent quarterback behind center and I think we're going to get that. No,
10:34certainly he's getting up there and age was injured last year, missed the
10:37entire season. There are questions beyond that. But if we're just looking
10:40at like football acumen and saying, okay, Aaron Rodgers will be healthy
10:43this year. Why can't they make a run? And also when you're looking at the
10:47team that's supposed to win that division, the Buffalo Bills, Matt
10:50Milano goes down, they have a tumultuous offseason here and you take a look at
10:53the Miami Dolphins who, yes, there's good vibes all around them. They signed
10:56their quarterback, their wide receivers, got a new defensive
10:58coordinator, but still some mixing pieces there. And then New England
11:01Patriots, like I'm finding myself more and more looking at the Jets going
11:04like, why can't they win 10 to 11 games and win that division? And if they do,
11:08you can lean on Aaron Rodgers and that defense in the playoff. So I'm a little
11:11bit more optimistic now than I was, let you say, to start the offseason here,
11:15Ben, me as well. And I have been quick to dismiss the New York Jets and
11:20capitalizing on the optimism of Aaron Rodgers. But outside of the
11:24quarterback, there was so much talent on this roster that if Aaron Rodgers
11:28even looks like he did in 2022, which by his standards over a 20 year NFL
11:33career is very mediocre. The New York Jets should be a double digit win
11:37football team and make the postseason 25 and a half. The passing touchdowns
11:42prop for Aaron Rodgers in fully healthy seasons where he has played at least
11:4715 games. He has gone under that number only one time. It was back in 2018. He
11:54threw for 25 touchdowns. That's where I would look first and foremost at Aaron
12:00Rodgers, who will return to Northern California for his season debut in 2024.
12:06A Monday night is the scary thing for Aaron Rodgers to start off a new NFL
12:11season as of this moment, but they head to San Francisco. The line was five and
12:15a half at open. It's now four to hook in favor of the Niners. I look at that
12:2044 and a half and I understand like both of these defenses on paper are
12:24very good. But come on, it's Shanahan in that Niners offense and it's Aaron
12:27Rodgers getting back under center with the Jets with even more weapons. Like
12:30shouldn't we see high forties at least in that game? I can't wait to watch you
12:33play out, though. I cannot wait. What an end to week number one live right here
12:40into our number two. We go on this Thursday on the early line on sports
12:44grid. I'm Ben Stevens. He is Donnie right side. Two more hours to go up
12:49until 11 a.m. Eastern time. A lot of football talk in this second hour and
12:55really from here on out until the middle of February. It is week number
13:00three of the NFL preseason. It starts on this Thursday with a double header of
13:05action. Will you see your favorite stars and starters around the National
13:10Football League? More than likely no. But if your team still has some job
13:16positional battles to figure out, maybe there is an incentive for NFL
13:21preseason week number three. And Donnie and I will talk a couple of the QB
13:26competitions that are still outstanding around the NFL to start off this second
13:30hour. I'm excited, man, like talking a lot of football. I feel like now is the
13:34time of the year been that you know us content providers come together and we
13:38don't even have to do any preparation. Like we could just turn on the camera,
13:40have some fun and let it rip. Like it seems like an easy time of the year for
13:44us to not prepare for shows and still bring it. What do you think about that?
13:47Yeah, I like that DRS. We are bringing it right now. We are getting ready for this
13:53season. I'm gonna be honest. I was looking at the rundown. I didn't even hear
13:56what you had to say. So I'm sure I know what you say. Do it again. Do it again.
14:03Yeah, so basically happy that we don't have to prep or do any like pregame
14:07postgame stuff. We can just let it rip at this point and have some fun. Like the
14:10work, like a figure like once the Super Bowl ends, like you have to work really
14:13hard until football season. Then you just coast here and that what we all do in
14:17this industry. Like just you know what? Hey, let's get after it. So you're saying
14:21that football season is just an easier thing to talk about, although being more
14:25important and busier. You spend less time getting ready for it. Yeah, we don't like
14:31we don't need any prep work at this point. Now we could just cruise, put it,
14:34turn that camera on, let us loose. It's our time to shine. That's what I'm
14:38saying. I don't know DRS. We're going to be in studio a lot during football
14:44season. The lights are bright. They expect the most out of us. You know who
14:48would have hated that comment and not just ignored it because he was looking
14:52at other things. Okay, doves would not have been too happy. Bring it up on the
14:56money line today and see what he has to say. That was good though. I just pulled
15:01the Donny right side to Donny right side, making one of his bits and
15:04ignoring what you have to say live on national television and radio. All
15:09right, let's have a conversation DRS around the two quarterback jobs that
15:13are still outstanding in the National Football League. We have a hint of where
15:17both are going to go. Who's going to be the week one starter for both the New
15:21England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers. But there are odds associated
15:25it with at least in one spot or at least there were we start New England. The
15:30odds are off the board for Jacoby Percet and Drake May. Oftentimes when
15:35the odds go off the board, it can mean one of two things that either it is such
15:40a strong price and somebody is such a strong favorite. It is not worth
15:44associating odds with that market any longer or there is such confusion. It is
15:50not worth the risk for the oddsmakers in this market to even post a number when
15:56you see O. T. B. For the Patriots. What's your first thought? I've fumbled
16:01the bag like that's what it should say at this point. Like that should be the
16:03initials. They're up there because the reason I bring this up is this is such
16:07an easy call for a head coach. Yeah, this is such an easy call for, you
16:12know, coach and an organization to make. You're a football team and deep down
16:16the Patriots. No, this is a rebuilding year. We didn't go out crazy and free
16:19agency. We don't expect to have a good team, but let's find out about our
16:22football team. If they came out day number one, we drafted Drake May. He's
16:26our future guy. We have Jacoby preset. Let's get something straight here.
16:30Reset will be the starting quarterback for the majority of next year while
16:33Drake May learns on the fly. Drake May is going to be our franchise guy. We
16:37love what we see out of him, but we just think this is the best course of
16:40action to have him play. Do you see some of the quotes coming out right now
16:43from Gerard May on that organization and talking to the quarterbacks
16:46themselves? They have no idea what's going on, which is the way like you
16:50this should be the easiest spot because I'm like, Oh my gosh, if I make the
16:53wrong choice here, we're gonna miss the playoffs and can't win the division.
16:56Patriots, you're going nowhere. Just set the right direction so everybody
17:01understands and put the least amount of pressure on Drake May that you can
17:05actually have. That's what I'm like. This is the easiest scenario to come
17:08up with, and they're bumbling it on a bad football team. Then
17:13this time I listened to every word you had to say, and it was spot on because
17:18the Patriots have a wind total of four and a half. Does Gerard Mayo know
17:22that? I'm not entirely sure. Does Gerard May go take Gerard Mayo take
17:26that into consideration? I hope not. You're an NFL head coach in your rookie
17:30year, trying to win as many games as possible, even if you are aware and
17:34realistic about what your true season outlook appears to be. But this year
17:40success could mean many things for New England, starting a new era under
17:45Gerard Mayo. After 24 years under Bill Belichick, you were trying to get
17:49younger. You are trying to get fresher. You are trying to put the building
17:52blocks in place for 2025 and beyond. And I think it would be mismanagement to
17:58put out Drake May early on in the season, not at some point to start
18:03games and get that NFL experience. But from week number one, with the Patriots
18:07having the second most difficult schedule around the National Football
18:10League in a seven game gauntlet, you would not wish on your most bitter
18:14rival around the NFL to start off 2024. It would be malpractice. It would be
18:19mismanagement to put your rookie quarterback out there when your
18:23expectations are not those of Caleb Williams in Chicago and have the onus
18:28in the blame placed on his shoulders. That's how you ruin his entire career
18:33outlook in the first five weeks of his NFL career. And early on, Donnie, what
18:39bungles the mind early on is Gerard Mayo did say the right things. We have
18:43Jacoby Brousset, a veteran around the National Football League that has been
18:47here in Foxboro before. He is the more pro-ready quarterback. He is the guy
18:51unless proven otherwise. What has he done? Thrown an interception during a
18:56preseason game? And what has the Patriots done throughout their preseason? They
19:00have played their four quarterbacks in both of their games. They reinserted
19:04Bailey Zappi last week against Philadelphia to try to win a preseason
19:10game. I have no idea what they are doing with the quarterback room, but it does
19:14not make me feel overly optimistic about Drake Mays time in New England. No, it
19:19doesn't. And also you're right about that because like Joe Milton is there
19:22and understand we know how talented he is not ready to be an NFL quarterback
19:26just yet. But the reason you have preseason is to put guys in scenarios
19:30where it's like, let me see if this kid can actually succeed. And they basically
19:33told you a male get out of the game. You're two of 72 of eight, whatever you
19:36are, we're gonna put Zappi and who's probably gonna make the team and not
19:39start, but see if Zappi can actually win this football game for us late. So
19:43some things they're doing rookie head coaching mistakes, but we get back to
19:46the original point. This was the easiest scenario, not a sink, but talk to a
19:51Patriots fan, talk to any fan of the NFL. They're not expected to do anything
19:55this year. The only goal is set the stewardship for a perfect season,
19:59meaning they might win five games or four games, but the direction has been
20:03set with your young quarterback. They just seem like they're flailing around
20:06right now. And also, let's not forget about a week and a half to two weeks
20:09ago. They're trying to trade for Brandon. Are you guys their number one?
20:12Why? I have no idea the direction that this actual franchise is going right
20:16now. I just don't. We have said it many times. You will hear it many times
20:21throughout this season. New England's roster, regardless of who the
20:24quarterback is, is not highly talented again. I have argued that Bill
20:28Belichick's real crime in Foxborough the last few years, even after a four
20:32and 13 campaign in 2023 was his mismanagement as a front office
20:37personnel, not even as a head coach. Terrible drafting decisions that lost
20:42all the talent you had to build around in weird free agency moves, spending
20:47money in places that were not necessary. That is actually the worst
20:52of where I think Gerard Mayo has to pick up the bootstraps. We'll talk
20:56more about this on the other side of the break as we spent a while on the
21:00pats. But the Steelers, there is odds out there still on Pittsburgh. Russell
21:06Wilson minus 5 20 as the favorite to be the week one starting quarterback for
21:10Pittsburgh. Justin Fields at plus 3 50. Donny, do you agree with the odds
21:16makers on the FanDuel Sportsbook? Is Russell Wilson a very strong favorite
21:20to start game in week number one for the Steelers? I can only go by what the
21:26head coach has been telling me, and that's Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh
21:29Steelers. Ben, he's been telling me no matter if Russell Wilson doesn't
21:32complete a pass goes over 19 with 19 interceptions in the preseason, he is
21:37the best choice at quarterback for our football team. That's what I'm going
21:41with right now. We'll talk about it after the break, but you talk about the
21:43two teams right now, the Patriots and the Steelers. You can't have worse
21:46off seasons for setting the direction of your 2024 football teams can't have
21:50it when there should have been just positivity and there has not been more
21:55quarterback conversations next live right here on this Thursday on the
21:59early line on sports grid, a Thursday doubleheader that will kick off week
22:03three of the NFL preseason, the third and final week of preseason football
22:08because after this Donny training camp really comes to a close. You have to
22:12make those crucial decisions. Who's a part of the active 53 man roster? Who
22:16is going to win position battles across your roster? And if you have a QB race
22:21to determine that's first and foremost. We talked about New England. Now it's
22:26Pittsburgh. The Steelers have Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. The odds
22:32makers expect that rust will be the week one starter for the Steelers. A
22:36minus 5 20 price plus 3 50 the number on fields. You said, Donny, you are
22:41trusting Mike Tomlin's word. I would have to agree. He has been adamant that
22:46Russell Wilson is the starter and there's very little even based on
22:50performance that Justin Fields can do at the jump. I agree with the odds
22:54makers. I think it's Russ minus 5 20 is a price point that like, let's just
23:00understand how the NFL works here. Typically, if you're going to get a hall
23:04of fame caliber quarterback, what are you paying for him? Been a lot in
23:07compensation for the draft picks and even more in compensation on the
23:11football field. You are basically getting Russell Wilson a call of fame
23:15caliber quarter. I'm not saying he's that right now, but in his career
23:18trajectory at roughly a veteran minimum salary. So you as an
23:22organization shouldn't have the obligation to say, Hey, look, as a GM,
23:26typically I spent a lot for this quarterback, you know, Mr Head coach,
23:30you better put him out there or we're gonna have issues between me and you.
23:33But when you get him at, I don't know, a million dollars a year, maybe you
23:37could say, you know what? Let's see what he has. If he doesn't, it's no
23:39big deal. We can toss him to the side. But I just get back to Russell Wilson
23:42and fields on the same roster. And when I heard fields was coming over, I
23:46said, You know what? This makes too much sense for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
23:49They're gonna bring in two capable quarterbacks and let them do battle
23:53over the next 4 to 5 months to determine who the starting quarterback
23:56is going to be and just made the best man win the job and the guy who loses
24:00out. Hopefully you push that starting quarterback to make sure he was better.
24:03But that's not we got out of the Pittsburgh Steelers all the way
24:05through the offseason. Ben, we got. Why are you asking me a question? Yeah,
24:09we just brought Justin Fields. You're talking as if I'm Mike Tomlin. Why
24:12would you even ask? No field. There's no chance to win. But why did you
24:16make the move? And he's on his final year. So you don't want him to compete
24:20for the job. You don't want him on the football field. So at the end of the
24:23season, you hope he just leaves. Why did you actually acquire the guy in the
24:27first place? Because I think everybody like Ben saw that move and go, Wow,
24:30you know what? Pittsburgh's like, You know what? Let's find out our
24:33quarterback here. Let's go this route and see who's going to win this. And
24:36Mike Tomlin, every separate and also Ben would be much different if you
24:39were getting the reports that Russell Wilson has been nothing short of
24:43lights out from March all the way through to August 22nd. Nobody would
24:48have an issue with this. But Russ came out in that preseason game and looked
24:51horrendous. Like he lost a step like he couldn't read the defense at that
24:55point. Now we're having issues and Tom was like, Why do you guys care about
24:58this so much for? I'm not answering your questions all the way down. It's
25:01Russell Wilson at this point. It's crazy.
25:04I thought it was a win win, Donnie, much like you and I kind of baked in
25:07that Russell Wilson, the veteran, a little bit more proven and again a
25:10disastrous two year tenure in Denver. But last year, Russ wasn't actually all
25:15that bad. More than 3000 yards as we shared 26 touchdowns to eight
25:19interceptions. He wasn't prolific. He wasn't thrown for 2 52 75 plus each and
25:25every week, but he wasn't bad. And I thought Russell Wilson at that level,
25:30not even the Russell Wilson of a couple years ago in Seattle or even Justin
25:35Fields. And I've been a fields guy for a long time. I still believe in his
25:38promise of playing quarterback at this level would be an upgrade at the
25:42quarterback spot, maybe more so than the Steelers have seen the last 3 to 4
25:46years, even the final year or two under Ben Roethlisberger. And you bring in
25:50Arthur Smith. We can debate his head coaching acumen, but a good offensive
25:54mind, a better offensive coordinator than Matt Canada, who was much maligned
25:58in the Steel City, was fired midway through last year. And you have a
26:02Steelers team that is consistently successful. So if the quarterback play
26:06was a little bit better, the Steelers are not only just a team that will win
26:09at least eight games, but a true playoff contender from the very start, not just
26:14as a year develops as it often does in Pittsburgh. And that just hasn't been
26:19the case. You look at Saturday against Buffalo. Buffalo didn't play their
26:24starters and they won. They played their starters on defense. They won 9
26:28to 3. The Steelers scored three points. Justin Fields and Russell Wilson each
26:33got five offensive possessions, which makes it seem like there is a
26:37quarterback race that continues and it was only Fields leaving a field goal
26:44drive. He was also Pittsburgh's leading rusher. It just seems like a bad
26:49scenario now where it felt like a win win that now appears more to be a lose
26:53lose. It does. And also maybe you're looking at GM Omar Khan at this point
26:57saying, All right, let's just take a look at the past couple years of what
27:00we've been doing in Pittsburgh. Drafting Kenny Pickett is our franchise guy
27:03throwing him out real quick and saying, You can't do this. Oh, yes, we're
27:06gonna get Russell Wilson and we're gonna get Fields in here, but not
27:08letting them start even on an even playing field to say the least. And
27:12you're right about Justin Fields. Say what you want. You wish that Justin
27:15Fields leaving Chicago has to be real bittersweet for him going like you
27:20drafted me high up. I had a lot of expectations here. You gave me nothing
27:23to work with. Now I see Caleb Williams over there with three unbelievable wide
27:27receivers and an officer coordinator that I'm ready to put work in. And now
27:31I'm here with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who again have a solid offensive line.
27:34You have a good running game and a couple quality wide receivers, and I'm
27:37not even getting the chance to show my stuff right now. And we're not saying
27:40better aren't saying here. Start Justin Fields. That's a 12 win football team
27:43on the pathway to a Super Bowl. But it's just been an oddness going around the
27:47Steelers where the minute you got both of these quarterbacks, we were told,
27:50Why are you asking about Justin Fields? He's never going to see the field.
27:54They're like, Well, why did you actually get the guy? And we're never
27:56gonna get those questions answered. Apparently, they traded a sixth round
28:00picked depending on playing time could become a fourth rounder back to
28:03Chicago. There was a thought that Justin Fields might garner a first
28:07round draft pick or a day to draft pick in the deal back from the Bears. A lot
28:12of times, Donny, we look at quarterbacks and we call them a bust for where they
28:16were drafted in the National Football League, never fulfilling the promise
28:19that they showed in college or worthy of that first round selection. You can
28:23look at Justin Fields as the prime example of a situation being worse than
28:28the player never got the facilities in Chicago did not necessarily perform at
28:34the level that was needed to forego a first round and first overall pick in
28:39Caleb Williams. I understand that and now hampered here where Justin Fields
28:43in the final year of his contract and the Steelers have not picked up his
28:46fifth year option is going to be a free agency, maybe to flounder around the
28:51National Football League, depending on what happens this year in the Steel
28:54City, despite what talent or promise he could still possess in the way that he
29:00plays quarterback. I feel bad for the guy. Now we're going to have a little
29:04fun. A new department compartment, whatever you want to call it, has opened
29:08up on the FanDuel Sportsbook of some futures fusion, some match bets around
29:14the National Football League from FanDuel. Up next, a new category
29:18available to bet on the FanDuel Sportsbook ahead of the 2024 NFL season.
29:22That's futures fusion, basically a match bet that combines a couple of things
29:27around the NFL for what is going to happen this year in the National
29:31Football League. Here is one that combines the two teams in New York to
29:35play their professional games in New Jersey. It's the Jets and the Giants. What
29:40is more likely, DRS? The Jets win at least twice as many games as the Giants. It's a
29:46plus 110 price. Or in the NFC South, the Atlanta Falcons win at least twice as
29:51many games as the Saints. It's a plus 270 price. What is a better bet?
29:56And by the way, fusion, Ben, not good for food. And if anybody goes, we're going to a
30:01fusion restaurant. Just don't go to that restaurant, people. Don't do it here.
30:04Fusion for football, very, very good. Because again, get your mind turning here.
30:08And these are two equal opportunities here that we're going to look at. The
30:12Jets to win at least twice as many games as the Giants, which means again, you're
30:15just doing fundamental numbers in your head. Okay, what happens if the Jets have
30:19a good season? It's 12 wins, let's just say. Does that mean the Giants, you know,
30:23need to win six games or less? Because quite frankly, if you get 12 wins out of
30:27the Jets, I actually think that's going to be the case. But I don't know if I can
30:31bet it that way because you sort of have the Jets around 10 or so, the Giants at
30:35five. You should just, you know, it's like the SAT, sign your name. You get a
30:39certain amount of points for an NFL. Typically, you sign your name to get at
30:42least four wins on the season. It's just the way it typically works here. Bad
30:45football team, good football team, no football team. But also take a look at
30:48the Falcons win twice as many games as the Saints. I don't know if I trust that
30:51one. I do think the Falcons win that division in the NFC South, but I don't
30:56think the Saints are just going to be trash. So again, a bad football team is
31:00what? Six to seven. That's a bad team. Six to seven wins is a bad team here. I
31:05don't know if the Falcons are going to win 12 plus games on this season. So if I
31:09had to bet, I'm not really high on the Giants. And I think the ceiling on the
31:13Jets could be very high. So I'd be willing to go that route with the plus
31:171 10. And quite frankly, that's why that's a plus 1 10 and not the plus 2
31:2070. I think that route is a little bit safer to go than the Falcons doubling up
31:24on the Saints. Again, it's kind of chalk in this scenario, but you have to agree
31:29with the plus 1 10. The Jets win total nine and a half. The over has the juice
31:33at a minus 1 68 number. The Giants win total of six and a half. The under has
31:39the juice at minus 1 42. If we follow the juice, six wins for the Giants, 10
31:43wins for the Jets. That's not at least twice as many, but it's much closer than
31:49the juice for the Falcons and the Saints. Nine and a half to win total for
31:52Atlanta, seven and a half to win total for New Orleans. Both have juice on the
31:57over eight wins for the Saints, 10 wins for the Falcons. I don't think New
32:01Orleans is going to be great. I don't think they lose more than 10 games. So I
32:05think there are seven and 10 football team at bare minimum. You're telling me
32:08the Falcons have to then win 14? Not a chance that happens, despite the fact
32:12that I agree the Falcons are correctly priced as the favorites to win the NFC
32:17South. A division, by the way, oh, that the Bucks won with nine wins last year
32:22that the Bucks won with eight wins in a losing record in 2022. I do think there
32:27is a chance in the New York Jets need to get the double digit wins if they're
32:31going to sniff the postseason in the AFC. And I think the Giants could be
32:36really bad this year with Daniel Jones. So that's the way that I would look. The
32:41Jets twice as many wins as the Giants. This is a good one, Donnie. The Lions or
32:46the Texans to be a conference number one seed, of course, the Lions, NFC, Texans,
32:51AFC at a three to one price, or the Bears and Commanders to go over 19 and a
32:58half combined wins to get to 20 combined at plus 450. What do you think is the
33:05better bet? It's no question this one at least is a little bit better than that
33:08plus 110 plus 270 split. I'll take the plus 300 here. I'm taking a look at
33:12teams I expect to be on the Ascension year, which means the Lions will
33:16challenge for that number one overall seed and the Texans will do the same.
33:19But you're saying like, I like the Commanders this year, Ben, I like the
33:23Bears this year. But you know what the common denominator between those two
33:25football teams are? Rookie quarterbacks getting their starts and if you just
33:29divide it half and half each one of those teams basically to get around 10
33:33wins, that's tough to do with the rookie even though we have high
33:36expectations. So I'm going to look at that three to one price at this point
33:40and say, I think that's more than likely because be honest, would you be
33:43shocked if the Bears and the Commanders both had 10 wins for me? Yes. Would you
33:47be shocked? Like, oh, look, the Lions are the top seed in the NFC. I'm not
33:51shocked by that or boy, nobody saw that coming from the Texans to be the one
33:54seed. No, they're going to be a good football team this year. Give me the
33:57three to one price. Give me the Lions and the Texans and it's no shade on the
34:00Bears and Commanders. I think they're gonna have solid football teams, but
34:02you're asking rookie quarterbacks basically to win double digit games
34:06right out of the chute.
34:08Donnie, I completely agree with you. It's the three to one price on the
34:11Lions or the Texans. Listen, I think there's actually a good shot that
34:14Detroit could contend for that number one overall seed when all is said and
34:18done. We'll talk more about it on the other side of the break, but Detroit
34:22tied for the third best price at a 10 to 1 number alongside Philadelphia and
34:26Baltimore for the best regular season record in the national football league.
34:31So we'll continue the conversation with some futures fusion and one for the
34:35mind, not a fan duel, but Frieza next futures fusion for the 2024 National
34:41Football League season. Here's one that we really enjoyed on the fan duel
34:45sportsbook. The Detroit Lions of the Houston Texans to be a number one seed
34:50in either the NFC or the AFC or the Bears and the Commanders to combine for
34:55at least 20 wins. Both Donnie and I agree with the three to one price on
35:00the Lions and the Texans, as opposed to the plus 4 50 price on the Bears and
35:05the Commanders. All right, guys, for the second second question, you are
35:08going with the shorter number, the more likely outcome. But I really do think
35:14there's a good chance Detroit could end up as the number one overall seed in
35:18the NFC for the Texans and a more competitive AFC. Not so sure, but I do
35:23think Detroit can get their win total for the Lions 10.5. The over has the
35:29juice Detroit and 11 win football team a season ago. I think they can get to
35:3411 or 12 wins to challenge the 49ers to challenge the Eagles for that number
35:40one overall seed in Detroit. D. R. S. A 10 to one number alongside both the
35:45Eagles and the Ravens tied for the third best price to have the best
35:49regular season record in the National Football League this year. Yeah, no
35:53doubt about it. And there's a by the way, I saw Penne. Sewell went down
35:56yesterday with a foot injury. Didn't see anything back. So I'm assuming it's
35:59really not that big of a deal, hopefully. Otherwise, that news would
36:02travel pretty fast. Maybe they're getting some tests today, but that
36:05would shake it up just a little bit if he was down for any certain time. But
36:08we're expecting monster things out of that offense and rightfully so. Every
36:12component works from running back to tight end to offensive line to wide
36:15receiver to offensive coordinator and quarterback. I love what I see out of
36:19the Detroit Lions, so that's something to keep an eye on. But no, we're not
36:21gonna be surprised when the lines are there at the end. Quite frankly, they
36:24were there at the end last year and for some questionable calls by the head
36:28coach, maybe they would have been standing up the podium, holding up a
36:31Lombardi trophy, but it's a new season to get underway and we wait for that. By
36:34the way, talking about fusion here, Ben, I have been to one fusion restaurant.
36:38Can you? Can you guess? I should say what that fusion restaurant I used to
36:44go to.
36:47Oh, wow. Um, it's national. What's national? It's fusion, though. Yeah, I'm
36:53gonna say, uh, Japanese, Italian, something crazy. You know what? You're
36:59very close to that. But no, the best fusion restaurant I've eaten that is
37:03probably Taco Bell. Like, man, what are you talking about? Taco Bell Fusion. The
37:06Mexican pizza, pal. Look, combines Italian heritage, Mexican heritage, and
37:11it is quite good. But again, as I said, I don't really like fusion. Just give
37:15me the pizza itself. But the Mexican pizza was very underrated when I was
37:19growing up. It was very underrated.
37:22So let me let me ask from Donny right sides perspective. What? What is your
37:27heritage again? You were saying Italian and what? Yeah, it's I got Italian in
37:32me. I got English in me. I got German in me. And then it's a real big question
37:36and a fight in the family, whether I had been in the or Spanish in me. So
37:40that's a big fight over here. So maybe I would say the right side family is
37:44from Cuba. The other would say the Seymour family is from Spain. It's a big
37:50really, really big fight, I guess. In a way, I've had fusion before as well.
37:54Japanese Italian would be like a tuna taco. You ever had that fried crispy
37:59rice? What? What? With like, with spicy tuna on top? Fantastic. That's not
38:06Italian. Tuna taco would be Japanese Mexican. All right. Anyway, enough for
38:13that fusion. And by the way, as Donnie said, when we were debating lions to be
38:17the one seed in the NFC or the Texans to be the one seed in the NFC, they
38:21better bet in the Bears and the commanders with the two rookie
38:24quarterbacks that want one two off the Williams and Jaden Daniels. I would
38:29actually bet or advocate for betting both the Bears and the commanders over
38:33their season win total eight and a half for Chicago juice on the over six and a
38:37half for Washington juice on the over. But for those two teams to combine to
38:41get 20 wins seems a little bit steep this year. You would need the Bears if
38:46you follow the odds to get to 11 or 12 really for exceeding. And even the
38:50commanders at that point to have eight or nine just seems a little bit too
38:56steep for both. Speaking of Chicago, they are a part of our doubleheader on
39:02this Thursday night to kick off week number three of the NFL preseason. But
39:07we do not expect to see Caleb Williams for the Bears. And although he played
39:11in the first two preseason games for Kansas City, we do not expect to see
39:16Patrick Mahomes for the Chiefs. The first ones were actual bets on the
39:21FanDuel Sportsbook in terms of those futures fusion. This one from the mind
39:25of our producer extraordinaire Joe Frizzo. Patrick Mahomes wins either the
39:30regular season or Super Bowl MVP hardware or Caleb Williams wins
39:36offensive rookie of the year. What is the better bet? Usually you're never
39:41going to take the rookie quarterback then. But this instance, I'm going to
39:43take the rookie quarterback here because let's understand one thing. You
39:46have to be the single best player in the entire league to win the MVP. Can
39:52Mahomes do it? Absolutely. But also we understand there's always a bias out
39:56there. It's like, look, anybody that comes close to Patrick Mahomes, we'd
39:59love to give it to the other person as opposed to Patrick Mahomes. That's just
40:02the way it is. And even if it isn't is a guarantee that that always happens, we
40:06understand that the human psychology works that way. Let's give it to
40:09somebody else and somebody we don't see every single year. Then again, you're
40:13going to win a Super Bowl. That's hard to do and say, well, Don, we watch you
40:16every day here. Come on, say you don't care about the rest of the NFL as long
40:19as Mahomes is healthy. It's still extremely hard to get every break during
40:23the regular season to wind up in the Super Bowl and win it. Now, granted,
40:27Caleb Williams coming in here. Sure, there's a lot of other rookies that are
40:31very good. They're going to get a lot of playing time this year. But when I
40:33just look at the setup for him, the success level in the success rate of
40:38him being a dynamic quarterback, rushing the football, making those
40:41splash plays, which are so important, like you want your Heisman moment, you
40:45say, Hey, I don't know who I'm going to give it to. Wow. Do you see that guy
40:47with that super highlight last week in a big game? Highlights matter in this
40:50environment, because as much as we want to say, beat writers are voting on it.
40:53They're not just watching every Chicago Bears game. A lot of times they're
40:57winning their own thing. Oh, what did Caleb do? 18 of 23, 275 yards to
41:02touchdown to interception. But did you see that unbelievable play that he had?
41:05So I would actually be willing to go with Caleb Williams winning the
41:09offensive rookie of the year over Patrick Mahomes being an MVP and or
41:13Super Bowl champion. Completely agree. Listen, if the Chiefs win a third
41:18consecutive Super Bowl, which has never happened in the history of the National
41:22Football League, Patrick Mahomes is going to win Super Bowl MVP. The three
41:26Lombardi trophies that the Chiefs have with Mahomes. He has taken home the
41:29hardware as the Super Bowl MVP as well. He has two regular season MVP awards in
41:352018 and in 2022. We'll see if he makes that three in a row. I appreciate the
41:42question, but again, the odds do stack up and they favor Caleb Williams. Mahomes
41:47is the favorite to win the NFL MVP award entering 2024 at a plus 4 50 number.
41:53The Chiefs are co favorites to win Super Bowl 59 at a 6 to 1 price. So again,
41:58there's a really good chance that Mahomes can accomplish one of those two
42:02things that we just showed you on your screen. But Caleb Williams is a plus
42:071 20 favorite to win offensive rookie of the year plus 1 20. And Jaden Daniels
42:12has the second best number at 6 to 1. Oftentimes the R. S. Most NFL seasons
42:18before the year gets underway. I would actually advocate for not betting on a
42:22quarterback to an offensive rookie of the year, despite their short numbers,
42:26because as we have seen in this award, oftentimes a quarterback doesn't win it
42:31in the last 10 years. Only four QBs have won it, but CJ Stroud did so last
42:37year in 2023. Three of the last five winners, in fact, have played the
42:41quarterback position. But the reason the margin of winning offensive rookie of
42:47the year can be tough for a quarterback is if you are drafted early in your
42:51rookie year, you often go to a bad team that won 56 games the year before, and
42:57you are expected to win maybe six or seven the following season in your
43:01rookie campaign. Not the case for Chicago. Expected to be a winning
43:06football team expected to contend for an NFC playoff spot. And if Caleb
43:11Williams can get the Bears even close to that, he's going to win offensive
43:14rookie of the year. Yeah, and he should. And I think he will. And I think he
43:18deserves to be the favorite because everything's setting up around them. It
43:20hasn't proved us wrong. Like, Hey, man, watch the preseason and you know the
43:23beat writers from camp saying as a terrible camp. That's not the case
43:26here. Ultra talented and expected to do so. But also keep in mind, you know,
43:29last year, Lamar Jackson wins the NFL MVP. Now you take a look at Patrick
43:33Mahomes, who's coming back this year with an even better offense with a lot
43:37more tools to work with. So he's certainly going to be reinvigorated and
43:41also doing something that nobody's ever done. You know, instead of say,
43:44you know, what's this? I'm going to three time Super Bowl champion. I don't
43:48think it's happened, right? We've never had back to back to back. So history is
43:51on the horizon for them as well. Something looking into also. So it's
43:55preseason week three. You break it down next preseason week three around the
44:01National Football League. Get started tonight with a double header of games
44:04in Arrowhead Stadium between the Chiefs and the Bears. And first up the
44:08Bengals and the Colts in Cincy. But because we just debated Kayla Williams
44:13versus Patrick Mahomes, not who's the better quarterback is some flag
44:17football guys might have been saying. But who has a better shot of winning
44:20hardware in their associated markets this year? We start in KC. Now, if you
44:27are a preseason hater, congrats, week three is going to suck. It does not
44:32look very good around the National Football League, but it still is
44:36football. And I also say congrats because it's the final week of
44:40preseason football, which means that after this weekend, teams around
44:44training camp make their final roster decisions. And then it's game week in
44:48the National Football League because exactly two weeks from today, the true
44:52regular season starts inside Arrowhead Stadium between the Chiefs and the
44:57Ravens. So it's still football, although we are not going to see the
45:01Storrs really on either side. No Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. No
45:05Caleb Williams for the Bears. It's a one and a half point spread in favor of
45:10Chicago minus 1 25 on the money line. And as you will see, if you go up and
45:15down the FanDuel sportsbook for the preseason week, three lines all weekend
45:19long. The totals are very, very small. 32.5 the number tonight in
45:24Kansas City. And that's where it should be, because, you know, much like games
45:29one and two, you're still trying to figure out who's going to make the
45:31roster, who you got to get some gameplay for. You got to maybe, you
45:34know, break them in before the season starts. Game number three, quite
45:38frankly, is the old game number four, where you're so much closer to the
45:42season that your only goal is to not put anything on tape that an opposing
45:46team can use. And number two, not getting anybody injured who even might
45:49be playing in week number one, which means you get a lot of backups. They're
45:53gonna get a chance to shine out there with very vanilla game plans and the
45:56clock running all the way through. That's why you're getting a low number
45:59like a 32.5 because it's based about the backup quarterbacks. And quite
46:02frankly, I don't even know if Kansas is okay. Carson Wentz. Let this be your
46:06game because that might actually be pretty decent. He's been a quarterback
46:09in the NFL and Beijing has started some football games for the Chicago
46:12Bears. So if they're getting the majority of the time, maybe you can see
46:15an over 32 because you'll give them something to work with and chew on
46:19because you don't expect them to play in the regular season. You want to get
46:22them their reps now. But that line is telling you that Chicago and Kansas
46:26City aren't caring about this football game. So we'll see what we get out of
46:29the quarterback position. But the only rule of thumb in week three right now
46:32is don't get anybody injured. That's it for sure. And Donny, it's so
46:37interesting to see, right? Because in certain spots in week number two, it
46:42was almost treated as the end of preseason around the NFL. We didn't see
46:47Josh Allen, although he played in week number one. We didn't see Joe Burrow
46:51out there for the Bengals, although he played in week number one. We thought
46:55just based on where the landscape is around the National Football League
46:59that week two would be the most we see starters. Not necessarily the case. I
47:04don't expect to see really any starters week number three unless there is still
47:08an ongoing quarterback battle looking at you, the Steelers on Saturday in
47:13Detroit and the Patriots, who I believe playing the tripleheader on Friday
47:17night. No, the Patriots are actually later in the weekend. Where is New
47:21England? Oh, Sunday. And one of the three games that we have on Sunday to
47:24round out the preseason week number three. With that being said, it might
47:30not be a battle for starting jobs at stake this week. It's making the roster.
47:35It's earning a backup role. 32.5 is a small total. If you watched hard
47:41knocks, if you watch the Bears in preseason week number two, Tyson
47:46Bagent was slinging it and the offense was moving. The Chiefs put up 24
47:50points or 23 points as well in the highest scoring game against the Lions
47:55in week number two. Now it's hard to advocate from when we see reserves from
48:01the very start that you could see even 33 points tonight. But 32.5 is
48:06such a minimal total. As we look at the scope for both of these teams
48:11entering 2024 two teams we have discussed and debated at a lot of times
48:17throughout this NFL offseason and now into preseason, the Bears expected to
48:22be a winning team. They have a minus money price to make the playoffs. The
48:26Rams a slightly better number for what would be the seventh best price to see
48:30the NFC postseason. The Chiefs, the win total is 11 and a half. Last year only
48:3611 games, but in the previous four years in Kansas City at least 12 wins. To win
48:42the division for a ninth consecutive season it's a minus 270 price. I expect
48:50the Chiefs to be back at the Pantheon that we have seen in all six years with
48:54Patrick Mahomes as the starting quarterback. Yep, win your division which
48:58means you get a minimum of one home playoff game and probably means for the
49:02Chiefs this year they'll have home field advantage, which again is so crazy. I
49:05know I keep on belaboring this point last year. Get the Chiefs out of
49:08Arrowhead. The NFL, you should have said the AFC, did that last year and still
49:12wasn't able to knock down Kansas City as they won the championship once again. But
49:15also a key point here, Chicago and Kansas City playing. If you are watching hard
49:19knocks. Now I don't watch the episodes all the way through. If it's on TV I'll
49:22watch for a couple minutes. But you know what I did catch? The home game which the
49:26Chicago Bears played for the preseason. You know, Caleb Williams was excited to be
49:29out there, said he wasn't nervous. That wasn't the focal point for me. If you
49:33focused on the backup quarterbacks with Tyson Bajan talking to the other kid
49:36which again, who's their third string quarterback? Austin Reed.
49:39Austin Reed talking to him and Bajan goes, yeah I got 81 people here. So I had to
49:44buy 81 tickets at $100 a pop. You say, what are you crazy? Number one, you don't
49:48make starter money particularly. Why would you spend that much? Because he
49:51understands he's never going to be the starting quarterback in Chicago again. So
49:55any playing time he gets now, the family will be there. So you can sort of cycle
49:58out into Kansas City where there's much as we talk about players that starters
50:02don't really care about the game. This is some of these players Super Bowl out
50:06here. And that was referenced like, why would you pay 81 tickets here to come
50:10see a preseason game? Because hey, I'm going to get the play and the family
50:13wants to see me play and I'm going to take this seriously. So still something
50:16to keep an eye out for with the Chicago Bears, that minus one and a half favorite.
50:19I don't know if Carson Wentz is paying 81 tickets to get into a preseason game,
50:23but you know those Bears quarterbacks who won't be playing at all this season
50:26probably going to be pretty excited for that. But again, Chiefs, they're going to
50:29win the division. I expect them to make a run into the Super Bowl again, but this
50:32preseason game, maybe it's the Bears backups that might shine a little bit
50:35brighter.
50:37Yeah, I agree with the odds expectations for both of these teams and I expect
50:41them to live up to what we anticipate in 2024. But it's one of the reasons
50:47Donnie outside of the season outlook, because we'll start to focus on that
50:50even more next week that you do love preseason football, because it's not the
50:55starters. It's not the prettiest brand of football, but for these guys that
50:59might not play throughout the regular season, or four guys trying to earn a
51:03job and a spot on the 53 man roster. This is the Super Bowl tonight, and it
51:09carries that significance. We will go to the first game of the evening in
51:14Cincinnati as well between the Bengals and Colts. A doubleheader of NFL
51:19preseason football to kick off week number three, the third and final.
51:23Tonight, we talked about the second game of the evening. It starts about 20
51:27minutes after the first game in Cincinnati, the Chiefs and the Bears
51:32will end out the night the first game up is the Bengals and the Colts much like
51:36we talked about in Arrowhead. We do not expect to see a ton of starters
51:41tonight on either side. The Colts a six and a half point favorite against the
51:46Bengals, the over under 34 and a half. It is a large spread, which makes me
51:52wonder about Anthony Richardson trying to earn all of those game reps for
51:57Indianapolis. I'll dive in to see if Shane Steichen gave us a hint at all.
52:01But I will say this the R. S. In terms of the joint practices this week in
52:05Cincinnati between the Colts and the Bengals. Apparently there has been some
52:09jarring between both sides where the Bengals defense has had some very harsh
52:14words for a are in that he has not performed very well in the joint
52:19practices. Of course, Anthony Richardson only four games last year only
52:24completed two in his rookie season before it was cut very short with
52:28season ending shoulder surgery. Yeah, I can't imagine he'll play in that game
52:32tonight, which again you're looking at the battle of the backup quarterback.
52:34So if you take a look and say, all right, Cincinnati, who do you have
52:37Logan Woodside and basically Rocky Lombardi tonight getting that, you
52:40know, first half, second half split, whatever it might be. But if you look
52:44at the Colts, if it is Joe Flacco, if it is Sam Ellinger, if it is Slovis and
52:49being, I think those backups much better than Cincinnati's backups
52:52overall, which is why you're seeing that price point at a minus six and
52:55half. And maybe it does mean that you're going to get a series or two out
52:58of Anthony Richardson. I haven't looked to see exactly who the start is going
53:00to be. It'd be crazy if he was actually getting extra time, but you can't
53:04fault. Let's just say Shane Steichen for saying, I want to play this guy's
53:07like, Hey, let's just hope he didn't play really last year. So you want to
53:10get him into the fold as many times as you can. And I understand why NFL teams
53:14do look at those joint practices much more than the actual game itself for
53:19the preseason. But that's six and a half tells you one team is actually
53:22going to take this a little bit more serious than the other team. And
53:24that's the way I'm going to lean. I think the Colts have the better
53:26quarterbacking situation all the way through tonight, as opposed to the
53:30Cincinnati Bengals. So here's what we got from our producer, Joe Friezo,
53:35which I believe is correct. Freeze. This is a quarter and a half for the
53:40starters is the plan for Indianapolis tonight on the road and ahead of us.
53:44But we're excited to get those guys out there on Thursday and quote, that's a
53:50whole lot of nothing out of stiking. But apparently the plan is at least a
53:54quarter for the cold starters tonight in Cincinnati. That means a scoring
53:59drive. That's basically coaches speak right there, which means he's giving
54:02himself some leeway. I told you to play for a quarter and a half. Now they go
54:06like, let's just say, Russell Wilson had or even Caleb Williams. Hey, look,
54:09man, I'm not pulling this guy out of here after three straight three and
54:11outs like we're gonna go on a scoring drive. So that's basically what he's
54:14saying. And quite frankly, Anthony Richardson gets four series against
54:17backups and they don't score any points. That's not gonna be a great look. So
54:21that's basically what he's telling you. Get him out there on the first drive,
54:24seven plays 78 yards in a touchdown. Anthony Richardson, that first team
54:27offense will not be on the field anymore until they score. That's when
54:31they're coming out of the football game. I thought it was fascinating watching
54:35hard knocks to hear Matt Eber flues talked through the process of what he
54:38was saying to his coaching staff in the headset after Caleb Williams second
54:42drive of the game. They had had 14 offensive plays, so he said they wanted
54:46to get to 21 more drive. I wonder if there is a pitch or play count for
54:51Anthony Richardson, who did not play in week number two. Neither did the
54:54veteran backup in Joe Flacco. It was all the young guys, Sam Ellinger, Jason
54:58Bean, Keaton Slovis for Indianapolis. I would expect to see a lot of them. The
55:03Colts actually have been a pretty good scoring team throughout the preseason,
55:0830 week number one and a loss to the Broncos 21 week number two without a R
55:14or Flacco on the field without expect a ton out of the Bengals. Just want to
55:20say this. If you believe in the fact that Anthony Richardson will play a
55:23drive or two and that is the plan, you can always look at the first half line.
55:28The Colts are a 3.5 point favorite in the first half. If you want to lay the
55:33money minus 2 60 or maybe a first half total over 17 and a half. Here is the
55:39outlook for both teams in 2024. Again, we have spoken about this a ton. The
55:43Bengals win total 10 and a half. They are favored to make the postseason at
55:47minus 2 50 second best price, but ever so slightly behind the Ravens in the
55:52A. F. C. North. The Colts much more of an intriguing team. I think with that
55:57win total of 8.5, a nine win football team a year ago, but that was really
56:02without Anthony Richardson and Gardner. Mitch, our three comes your way up now.