About this episode
RJ Bell, Steve Fezzik and Mackenzie Rivers talk NFL recap for NFL Week 14. RJ Bell, Steve Fezzik, and Mackenzie Rivers review NFL Week 14 with a focus on Pittsburgh’s upset win over Baltimore, debating Tomlin’s coaching, luck, and officiating while agreeing the matchup is historically tight and favors underdogs. They discuss league-wide quarterback volatility, pointing out that Mahomes, Lamar, and Burrow all risk missing the playoffs, something rare in the modern era. Fezzik calls Steelers-Ravens a “Plinko game,” essentially a coin flip, and similar dynamics are noted in Houston-Kansas City, where Fezzik criticizes Reid for an overly aggressive fourth-down try in a low-scoring script. They challenge win-probability models, especially Ben Baldwin’s, arguing game flow and defensive dominance weren’t reflected. The group examines AFC playoff odds, leaning toward Denver or New England due to easier paths, while seeing Houston as dangerous but limited by road-game disadvantages. They highlight Denver’s late-game strategy mastery, contrasting it with a controversial Raiders field goal that shifted betting outcomes and raised questions about intent. They emphasize how margins, analytics, and coaching incentives shape end-game decisions. The conversation expands into tanking, identifying Cleveland as suspicious after odd play-calling and unusually poor run-defense metrics despite overall strong performance. They criticize offensive inefficiency in Washington and note Sam Howell’s injury accelerating collapse. Miami’s explosive run game and McDaniel’s coaching resurgence are praised, though cold-weather struggles for Tua temper expectations. Chicago is credited for improvement under Ben Johnson, while Detroit is viewed as regressing without him. Green Bay is labeled a “stat darling,” Seattle and the Rams as the NFC’s most complete teams, and Buffalo as deeply flawed despite flashes of elite quarterback play, especially with a run game ranked near bottom by EPA. They argue the NFC deserves to be favored in the Super Bowl given multiple balanced contenders versus AFC inconsistency. They assess Jacksonville’s uneven season, Denver’s upward trajectory, and Las Vegas' structural issues. The show ends with commentary on coaching value, GM analytics, league parody, betting markets, and narrative bias driven by win-loss ordering, not performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices