Super Bowl LVIII is set: Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers. But before we dive into the Super Bowl rematch in Las Vegas we have to decompress from a wild Championship Sunday. Matt Harmon and Dalton Del Don recap the NFC and AFC title games and where the losing teams in Detroit and Baltimore go from here.
Del Don, a life long 49ers fan, also shares his experience being at Levi Stadium on Sunday and witnessing San Francisco’s historic second half comeback.
To end the show the two look ahead at the matchups they’ll be focused on the most in the Super Bowl and what a win would mean for the legacies of Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy:
0:00 – Intro
0:35 – Dalton recounts his wild experience at the NFC title game
4:20 – Lions vs. 49ers: Did Detroit blow it or did Purdy take it?
16:58 – Where do the Lions go from here?
31:20 – Chiefs vs. Ravens: Mahomes, Reid and Spagnuolo are inevitable
40:30 – Where do the Ravens go from here?
44:33 – Which fantasy offensive ecosystem do you like more in 2024: Ravens or Lions?
50:15 – Yahoo Fantasy Football Show is going to the Super Bowl 🙂
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It’s Monday January 29th I’m Matt Haron welcome to the Yahoo fantasy football show it is a hell of a day to talk ball and joining me to do just that off a wild weekend for all of us but a particularly Wild Weekend for him is Dalton Delon Dalton what is going on
Buddy still recovering Harmon we’re recording this Monday morning after my niners somehow won that game I still don’t understand how they made that comeback especially a team that was you know ow and 30 entering the fourth quarter down Five Points just a couple weeks ago just came back from the
Largest halftime deficit in Conference Championship history so sick um it was it was brutal man at halftime the they were chanting Jared Goff in the bathroom and and and lions fans saying don’t hear any Niners fans now and chanting G Jared gof it was uh miserable I mean there was
More Lions fans there than the week before the Packers uh at times pie couldn’t even hear his is Cadence so it was an impressive turnout for the Lions fans and man they deserved better they uh they kicked ass the first half and wow what a comeback what can I say it
Was wild and uh like I said I’m still recovering I just I we’re GNA recap the games like we always do um we’ll go through the winner we’ll go through the loser you know kind of postmortem on the losers you know we’ll look forward a little bit with the with the winners
Here and kind of also in the full encapsulation of their season but again dton you know I do just this roller coaster uh em of emotions for you so um you actually had a little bit of experience you took us live into the experience with a with a few videos
Let’s take a listen of those uh and talk about it on the other side let go no idea that it’s won that game take it so again Dalton for for the people just give me like again not not the game but you your emotional state if we couldn’t get it
From there just talk talk me through your specific emotions being a 49er fan being there on Sunday like dive into the whole thing yeah I did my best with a video or videos because it’s difficult a lot of background noise there let me tell you some Rowdy fans the tailgate
Started early but um uh so yes halftime it was devastating honestly 31 to 7: my wife’s like we’re out of here I’m like ah I just had YouTube clips coming up to me when the ners came back from 24 points down against the Giants in the playoffs uh in that crazy game where
Owens caught and they had to get two-point conversion everyone but that would have been pretty brutal down 24 I was surprised that Campbell didn’t go for the throat at the end of halftime um you know going going for the touchdown there but I understand that part of the
Reason going for it uh when you’re in close is you get the advantage of uh field position if you don’t get it and that wouldn’t have mattered there at the end of half but a lot of decision ingame decisions we can talk about later with Campbell but but yeah it was the motions
Were out of control and and to have it end uh we decided to stay there and watch the ceremony Harmon and that decision cost about 2 hours of traffic at least CU I know another buddy that left after the onside kick was recovered and he was at home and in bed couple
Hours before we got home and even stopped it in and out which we did not so it was still cool to watch the celebration in the confetti the last uh the last NFC Championship game my wife and I drove all the way to the Rams uh
To LA and watched the ners lose that one so this was a little better we’ll talk about the Super Bowl at some point uh it’s a tough task ahead but man the Niners just faded down the stretch that was really not the same team we had watched all year these last couple games
I mean the Packers and Lions totally deserve credit but man the Niners are kind of on their heels right now they’re not playing even close to their best football but uh somehow they made that that comeback and a lot of luck was involved I’m not going to gonna gon to
Hide from that I mean that how you play and some other drops Reynolds um but a wild game 3431 65 points scored total championship game a big comeback the weather was perfect uh what a fun game I I can’t wait to rewatch it I ideally I would rewatch it before we record this
But I haven’t had the time but um but man uh how how was it watching from the TV version man did was it did was it as intense as it was live oh it was crazy um and just getting into the the the whole game here it was insane to watch
It even just being at home uh and like honestly I felt you know with number one just the actual size of the deficit we’ve all seen the dumb stats about like Kyle Shanahan is you know oh and whatever uh when he’s behind by double digits in the fourth quarter all that
Stuff like we all know that’s a stupid stat because every coach has a bad record in those situations but we’ve heard those stats with him and you know all of the questions about prie and everything like in the back of my mind I’m like this game’s over like the the
Lions are going to win this game and and what an incredible thing and just for that for things to happen in that way for for a a team to come back from a historic deficit number one you’ve got to have so many things going wrong in
The first half things that like sort of got fixed in the second half but also just didn’t you mentioned these lucky breaks and like by the way that’s sports like I I don’t know why we run from the idea that oh yeah you know you got to
Get lucky a little bit sometimes in in sports like especially in a single elimination playoff tournament like this you’ve got to have some breaks you got to have some bounces of the ball and the 49ers certainly had some uh in the second half and not even to get into the
4 down decision making stuff like I saw Ben solak point this out on Twitter that expected points lost by Detroit Gibbs fumble minus 5.5 the auk reception off the face mask 3 minus 3.3 Josh Reynolds fourth down drop minus 3.2 incomplete to St Brown on Fourth and three minus 2.6
Like yeah you got to have things go your way they went the way of the 49ers but uh obviously again a lot had to go wrong to get to that position in the first half I definitely remember and my my biggest feeling I can think of of early
In the game watching it and seeing the Lions just establish the hell out of the run I mean for you watching the game as a fan that has to be so demoralizing because you knew this was going to be an issue and we talked about the ways that
It would be an issue like schematically for Detroit versus San Francisco and that’s exactly how it played out to start the game yeah Niners missed a field goal and that pretty hit correct me if I’m wrong but that could have been a personal foul at the end setad of a
Field goal that drive it looked like I think he was blooded up right so wasn’t 100% all lines but yeah definitely breaks on the SF side I was the one thing I’d mentioned on the way over on the car r right is I hope the ners short
Up the defense against the toss I mean be Bosa talked about it after Aaron Jones the Packers average nine yards per carry against it the week before yes one came on that long 50- yard run but they were clearly vulnerable and then the opening drive they open up with multiple
Tosses and just uh and get gashed and it was interesting a couple of the Campbell decisions in in short yardage he doesn’t run when you think he is and then he passes or then he runs when you don’t when he does the timeouts are so crucial at the end but they were getting
Dominated uh against the ground the ners and secretly they were you look at the EPA numbers they kind of like the Cowboys not really as good against the run as their overall numbers suggested because of game script you know teams uh had the most third most pass attempts
Against the ners this year uh they’re often not able to to to run the ball like they wanted but even missing Jonah Jackson that Detroit offensive line was impressed and Montgomery was awesome Gibbs was was was impressive so yeah that was demoralizing and you have big deficit
Against a team running the ball like that it wasn’t they were ahead a lot because of fluke here you know fumble lost here they were getting you know beat up and it looked like the Lions might be able to control the game clock in that second half down you know 17
Points so not only did they come back but it was crazy they erased that 17o deficit in like the first what seven eight minutes of the second half yeah what do you make of the struggles on on defense for San Francisco because OB obviously this is going to be a big
Talking point as we go into the Super Bowl in a couple of weeks here um is it is it a schematic issue is it an issue up front like what is at the heart of San Francisco’s one struggles generally to to to stop the run I mean that has
Become a massive issue and it was always going to stand out against Detroit like we said but overall this has just not been the same like I I I thought it was kind of crazy people coming in this weekend like yeah the 49ers defense just
As good as the Ravens like and I know the Ravens lost and we’ll talk about it but not even close like schematically metrics wise like it’s just not it hasn’t been that type of defense for for quite some time now no the Chiefs defense is uh unquestionably playing uh
Better football I don’t know the answer to those to those questions uh specifically run defense I mean their defensive line has been addressed and healthy I mean Chase young is the Niner fans are very disappointed in his play recently Bosa got home a couple sacks
You know he had been a sackless in like four straight playoff games but you knew the pressures would would eventually get there but yeah the run run defense is uh is a a suspect right now and they’re going to have two weeks to address that
Um but yeah I don’t know I don’t know the reason behind it I know wils has gone from coaching candidate to will he be fired you know if they had lost this game so it is his first year in the system but ever since week 11 um they
Lost to hunga the safety yeah but it also coincides with a much tougher schedule I think Aaron chats pointed that out in dvoa if you strip week 18 uh when they sat all their starters and and you look at the schedule he it’s not the one player missing has been all the
Difference so um yeah they’re they’re they’re certainly not playing their best football entering the most important game of the season that’s for sure but they are pulling it out at the end like results wise it that’s what matters you know we if they win the Super Bowl in
Two weeks nobody’s going to remember like oh yeah but they weren’t playing their best football in in in January late December whatever like we’ll we’ll just remember that they won the Super Bowl I do think obviously when we’re previewing that game when we’re talking about that game that’s going to be a big
Talking point but you know regardless like I think there’s I don’t know there’s in like we talked about in the playoffs there’s an element of luck to it there’s also an element of like just getting the job done and prie has certainly not been perfect there’s been
Issues but I I’m curious what you thought thought of his performance yesterday because I think it’s going a little underrated like obviously yeah he had yeah I thought Rich rebar I’ll bring up another smart person here uh Rich rebar Lord rebs on Twitter had a great
Uh point about this uh quote tweeting a the sideline toet tap completion to Kyle yusek uh late in the second half like that was a great throw but uh as Rich points out here yes perie did complete a pass off the face of a Defender that should have been an interception but he
Also made several off-script plays that were great plays two completions to use check including this one on the sideline toet catch I was just talking about one to Jennings on third down and scrambles of 2121 and 10 yards I mean I did not have five for 48 on the ground for Brock pie
On my bingo card but when we’re talking about why he is better than Jimmy Garoppolo why he has elevated what he’s of course we all know like it’s not an insightful thing to say he is elevated by the situation and he has great Supporting Cast around him we all know
That that’s all accepted but I think we’re talking about what makes him stand out and what makes him a great player in this environment and a better player than some of the other guys we’ve seen like those scrambles are a great way to
Say it I mean he is he is very good Off Script and he’s willing to throw off platform like Jimmy Garoppolo could never and would never make any of those plays I think it’s a big reason and look they went to a Super Bowl with Jimmy they’re going to Super Bowl with Brock
Py he he obviously has to win the thing I think to cement this gap for many people but for me like watching those plays like they’re coming back they’re they’re they’re easing these deficits partly because of his playmaking ability Off Script well the ners 1,00% lose this game if Garoppolo is the starting
Quarterback right um on on one hand this is a crazy stat uh the Lions entered this game as the first team in NFL history to allow 300 yards passing and multiple touchdowns in five straight games that that’s the stat supposedly I don’t know if that is true double check
If you want but suppose it’s the first time in NFL history not just playoffs or anything that A team’s allowed five straight games 300 yards passing and multiple TDS so it was a good setup for for pie here um and he did not come through with some massive fantasy line
That said 8.6 ypa again and he just made the I I don’t think it’s crazy to say the difference in this game was his legs I mean a couple of those rushes were just massive so huge uh And Timely and then the other play to Jennings Jennings
Third in Jennings it was his only catch of the game and he’s calling it The Greatest catch of his life but that such improvisation to get to even get the ball there by perie so yeah the same short shuttle speed as Lamar Jackson right uh it showed uh this game it was
Impressive and uh he didn’t slide once either he’s going he’s going forward uh I mean taking taking the hits bloodied up but uh yeah man we love BCB but um once again some shaky moments uh the pick um could have been another pick um so yeah he is blessed when it comes to
These uh Defenders uh somehow not catching his passes as much as his receivers our guy auka will say dropped a key third down ended a drive before that was a great pass by pie at least from the stadium in the replay I saw looked like auk should have caught it
But of course he more than made up for it when that highlight R pass oh did he score or not the guy did touch him because I was kind of upset shanan didn’t challenge that I I thought he did I F like my first instinct was that he
Had scored and they that he didn’t get touched but I I don’t know looking back on it um maybe maybe I think he probably should have it was worth a challenge I’ll put it that way yes exactly Shan H he doesn’t challenge the fourth down play for devont Smith last year that
Resulted in a touchdown instead of getting the ball at Midfield so why in the world would a weird relationship with those timeouts man I mean even at the end of the game it was like I think it was two timeouts for the ners and three for for the Lions like well that
Was the biggest for sure that was going to happen if one coach was gonna have two timeouts and the other was gonna have three it was definitely going to be uh Campbell to Shanahan there yeah that was burned weirdly and then I’m I’m very curious what uh if Justice wasn’t served
And iuk didn’t catch that touchdown to end that same drive on Third and goal curious what Shanah hen would have done there on fourth fourth and goal uh down with double digits but he would had a decision there and he probably would have kicked the the short field goal but
Um but yeah where were we so excited all this no I mean look it was awesome uh the IU catch is one of the most in one of the craziest bad breaks for the Lions and just unbelievable breaks for uh for the 499ers but again like this is how it
Happens okay you can go to the Super Bowl being like a quote flawed team I think neither nether one of these teams Kansas City or San Francisco is a is a perfectly smooth operation um and really that’s going to come into play when we talk about Baltimore later on that
There’s no guarantees with these things like you can go to a Super Bowl you can win a Super Bowl being a a deeply flawed team but it doesn’t it doesn’t really matter like as long as you win and I I don’t know if um I just don’t know if there’s
Something to I I definitely think there’s something brewing in Kansas City we’re just like yeah you know what things aren’t going well like at the end we know we can pull this out I feel like San Francisco is sort of kind of starting to get that belief in itself as
Well and I think a lot of that stems from confidence in just the overall players in this ecosystem in man I mean you could you could just go down the list talking about huge plays from mcaffrey huge plays from Debo uh the third and Jennings like you said
Obviously auk uh coming in clutch there with the with the conversion the touchdown and just the insane play to catch off the face mask like these guys are popping up at critical moments but then use Che like we said he’s he’s had had some incredible moments here they’re
Just such a well-built operation on offense that they have definitely been messing with the margin for error but they have a huge margin for error because of the guys they have there yeah that juice catch on the sideline was nice and more pry improv improvisation where he just I think that’s when he
Looked like he was surely gonna get sacked um so yeah perie py had his moments just like last week and his his his down moments and certainly is reasons why they won the game were was just his plays I mean it was outside of shanan system for few of them but yeah
Uh he he’s definitely uh shaky at times and it’s like uh oh well there’s no excuse for rain this week you know early on there so but um but yeah without question the Niners lose that football game by double digits if that’s Garoppolo at the quarterback he ain’t
Coming back from in that situation Debo by the way forced eight missed tackles on 11 touches per PFF is that good uh playing with a crazy player yeah insane what an insane player Debo samel is all right let’s talk about the the lons we’ll have plenty of time talk
About the 49ers here over the next couple of weeks this stings this sucks use this use this quote twice in my recap article uh kind of just breaking down the losers but um Robert Maye shared a thought from Philip Rivers um he said I remember Philip Rivers telling
Me about Norv Turner’s speech after the AFC Championship game lost to the Patriots in ‘ 08 said they were such a good team that they’d definitely be back Rivers was 26 their defensive stars were young it never happened that was in resp response to Dan Campbell actually in a
Huge moment of honesty again said he was this is from Justin Rogers Dan Campbell said he was honest with the locker room that this might have been their only shot he doesn’t believe that he doesn’t think that but it’s the reality of the NFL said it will be twice as difficult
Next year and I mean he’s right and you can say this and I was saying this the same thing about the Ravens we’ll talk about it later when we get to that game it’s easy to say like oh yeah the LI especially especially the Lions because they’re so young Brad
Holmes has pitched almost nothing but gas in the draft especially great free agency signings this is one of the best he has to be one of the best rebuilds of all time in the NFL this should be just the beginning this should be like the very start of their Journey with the
Lions and like if I had to bet on it I I think they can certainly be back but you just never know and that’s what makes it sting especially in the fashion that they lost this in and that that is especially true when we’re talking in
The NFL when we’re talking about a team without a Star Quarterback it’s it’s tough to go back I mean that’s you know Mahomes can hide off Seasons warts here and there you know but I mean golf is is great I he perfectly average maybe better than average maybe top 10 now
Better better than better than average maybe top 12 I’m not gonna go as far as top 10 but definitely better than 12ish 12ish around there but you know again you get them out I think the Lions have had a losing record on on grass this season so I mean they still are that’s
Yeah I remember that stat at halftime when they were getting blown out um my ners but uh they uh so but it’s tough to get there it really is and it’s tough to win one I mean Niners are always even knocking at the door it’s but never getting through there and um yeah
They’re they the Lions have a good infrastructure great line young Stars Hutchinson on both sides of the ball Branch um and uh Gibbs is a star what if Williams develops Williams where did that come from two touchdowns and a catch on fourth down that he drops that
Ball T typically all year long mvs and Williams funny that those guys coming up with crucial well not so crucial for but catches in the playoffs there but yeah I like Campbell as a coach both his decision- making on the field and prepare preparation and and just who he
Is and and it’s great to see that uh you know that total sincerity out of him because there is truth behind it and it does suck and yeah especially hits home you know when you you had a 17-point lead in two quarters away from the Super
Bowl and yeah they fought hard dead a great year the season started with a win in Arrowhead on Thursday night no Road team ever wins that game against the defending champ and Champs and uh they’re they they did not get through by any flukes and um frankly they deserved
Better and um the Lions definitely have a bright future but at the same time it’s it’s tough to get this far in the NFL yeah and like we can basically shoot all this fourth down discourse into the sun um I I don’t want to sit here I
Don’t know if you want to sit here and break it down for 10 minutes but I certainly do not like you have a shaky kicker you’re there you’re in that game because of Dan Campbell’s aggressiveness and like you want him to change Stripes now I don’t I don’t think so like we can
Second guess and do every like well yeah but this that is that like well if Hees if he kicks those field goals the entire game plays out differently so you just never know you can’t write anything in pen that way so I’m not gonna I’m not
Gonna hate on the man for being who he’s been all season long only thing I’ll add on the fourth down decisions in his defense even is the for it’s not like it was crazy windy in Levi Stadium for whatever it’s worth that the side and one of the decisions he made the kicking
Was tougher it seemed tougher we looking at the kickoffs it was like a 10 yard difference on the kickoffs and as you said he’s shaky and and his career whatever from that range is nothing special at all below average I think and also Reynolds dropped the fourth down
Catch don’t just look at results man I know people laugh at the process over results but you’re going to make fun of get criticize a coach for calling a play where that he put his player in position to make a an easy play as a Niner fan almost every decision Campbell made I
Was like upset with I would like you know what I mean so that to me was that he was making the smart moves except the kick at the end of half frankly I was pumped when he when he brought the field goal unit out I was like that would go
For the throats with the touchdown there I know on the other side to give the ners momentum but uh P that was the only one that I was like I’m glad that Campbell’s decision all the other going for fourth down as a Niners fan life or death I would have absolutely preferred
Him make the opposite decision yeah lions were 10 of 20 75% at converting fourth and three or fewer in the regular season and they’d been two of two in the postseason so far Michael Badgley was nine of 20 45% in his career from 48 plus yards uh so again it’s not as if
They had like Justin Tucker on the other side of this thing okay like the the field goal is not guaranteed uh look no further than your 49ers I mean right like they take that Jake Moody it’s a it’s a perfect encapsulation of it so
Again I don’t want to sit here and do a bunch of fourth down uh nonsense but I do want to talk about Detroit going into next year because like they’re shoot by the time this podcast is up probably by the end of the week I think Ben Johnson’s going
To be the head coach of the Washington commanders I think that’s been the worst kept secret in the NFL for the last few weeks that he’s probably ticketed for that job at least that’s everything I’ve been hearing I don’t know maybe that’s not what ends up happening maybe they
Interview Mike McDonald after the Ravens loss and they love that guy and they go with him I think it’s probably going to be one of those two players and again everything I’ve been hearing is that it’s like it’s Ben Johnson it’s been Ben Johnson for a long time I would be
Stunned if Ben Johnson is back as the head coach of the or excuse me of the as the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions in next season just would be completely stunned and it’s easy I think to look at the 49ers winning this game and be like
That’s a great example of a team that has survived an intense brain drain right and and this matters for us in fantasy right the these offensive coordinators and stuff because like the 49ers offense just been able to keep chugging along keep chugging along despite the fact that their coaching
Staff gets plucked clean every single year because it all flows down from Kyle Shanahan as the play caller and chief the offensive designer and everything that comes along with it the Lions it’s not that way I mean Dan Campbell I think is a differenc makak head coach and a
Great head coach and like I would he could coach my team tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day love that guy but he’s not the offensive play caller right he’s not the offensive designer in fact he had a couple moments as the play caller when
They were moving away from Anthony Lynn before they landed on Ben Johnson and it didn’t go that well for Detroit uh like that’s not where his specialty is he’s been basically able to farm all that stuff off to Ben Johnson which has been great for the team so Dalton I’m curious
Like what’s your concern level uh if Detroit has to lose if Detroit does lose Ben Johnson and by the way there’s reports that he could take offensive line coach Hank fry with him he Fry’s been a stud as the offensive line coach there that that coaching that that line
In general has been great because it strikes me a little bit similar not to induce nightmares for for Lions folks and those that want to draft these guys in fantasy next year but it strikes me a little similar to the Eagles last year right like because we have a ready-made
Replacement in Brian Johnson our quarterback coach fast forward one year later Brian Johnson’s been fired and Nick serani is on the ropes you know they’re they’re hunting for a new offensive coordinator and like NF season numbers were fine for the Eagles but we all know that wasn’t a good offense and
We all and it wasn’t any different schematically like all this stuff about oh the Eagles should motion more they should get under Center more they should be a little less static with the person you know what they were doing in 2022 when they went to the Super Bowl all
That stuff it’s just they had a guy in Shane styken who got it who was one of the guys like who had the who just had that at the tip like at the in the palm of his hands at the tip of his fingers he had the play calling juice they lose
That guy and it doesn’t all fall apart but it’s just not as good I don’t think the lions are going to fall apart by any means but I’m just curious like what’s your level of concern what should our level of concern be if Ben Johnson is calling plays for insert rookie
Quarterback here in Washington next year and not Jared go amanra St Brown and all these guys in Detroit I think it should be high level of concern as you I mean I was going to bring up the saying the Eagles are just a stark example of
Something we just saw happen that was a dramatic effect and we’re talking about a play caller I mean that’s the thing here it’s not just an offensive coordinator it’s the full-blown play caller in Campbell I don’t I think you’re going to absolutely need someone to just take over Johnson’s role um
Jared Goff uh Under Pressure against the 49ers went 0 for eight with zero yards uh so all of his production was clean Pockets so he needs the conditions and Johnson seems like an Innovative play caller and he’s been like that for years and that’s part of the reason we a lot
Of people really like the Lions this year is because Johnson was head could have left for head coach last year and this offense was going to be legit with him coming back yet had unfinished business and he just proved it even further um missing Jonah Jackson didn’t
Matter banged up Frank ragn now didn’t matter um so yes I think Johnson going if he goes to to Washington draft AR guy McLaren draft Brian Robinson uh and I don’t know Gibbs is going to go in the second round even despite Montgomery taking over all the goal line roles he’s
So good uh in fantasy drafts but um Aman raw is GNA go high and leapor is gonna go high but their offense absolutely could take a hit with the loss of Ben Johnson what are your thought I mean how significant do you say high concern I
Said I said yes there’s a level of concern I don’t I think there’s just a level of risk right so um if you’re if risk concerns you then yeah I guess it’s a concern but but like we have to do a lot of maybe when we’re talking about
The Lions next year like maybe Dan Campbell elevates I mean they have a lot of good coaching coaching candidates on this staff right like Mark Brunell quarterback’s coach done a great job with Jared gof uh Tanner angrand a name I’ve I’ve heard from you know from Lions
Fans and certain folks like in League circles you know the passing game coordinator he’s the guy who’s on the rise JT Barrett assistant quarterback’s coach like they have a pretty good pipeline here Hank Frey like I said probably going with Ben Johnson to wherever he goes next so maybe it’s not
Him which by the way would be super valuable if you could just stick your offensive line coach um like if you could just have that because that’s been such a difference making unit I mean how many times was panul on the move once again in this game against the 49ers
Like stealing the edge so again there’s maybe these one of these guys steps up into Ben Johnson’s role and it’s fine we keep on moving but there’s a level of risk to it and like neither I I don’t think you’re probably on the same page with me here that I don’t think this
Lions offense is about to fall apart but it’s pretty simil to like what we saw with the Eagles this past year where I don’t think the lions run game is about to completely go to hell next season but we wouldn’t have said that about the Eagles right like after last season and
That run game was a mess all year long um you know it’s not as if like AJ Brown was a fantasy bust he he was wide receiver seven but at certain times of the year you thought he was going to be the number one overall receiver Devonte
Smith wasn’t terrible but he was drafted in the second third round and he finished his receiver 20 like what if Aman rosan Brown who probably is like a first round pick in fantasy next year what if he has just a really really good season and he’s wide receiver seven you
Might take that as a small disappointment what if Sam leapa like he has 700 yards again but he scores four touchdowns five touchdowns instead of 10 like those are the margins for error that we’re talking about that a great coach brings you and I think that might
Just it might be a little bit riskier with with Detroit next season yeah put really well in leor is going to be the number one fantasy tight end going off the board too I would imagine and uh maybe the lions running backs remain productive but maybe they both don’t
Finish top 15 like this year and Eckler uh has to shave his eyebrows so yeah that’s a great way of putting it though it’s just like no they’re not gonna be a disaster but maybe they just all collectively slightly disappoint their adps next year I I could I could
See that 100% being the outcome here yeah and we are emphasizing maybe maybe because if Brian Johnson had just had it with the Eagles this past year and he he just doesn’t have it or he didn’t have it he didn’t have it at this point in
His career if he has it like we’re we’re not having this conversation about Philly and if one of these guys like Brunell or angrand or or or you know whatever on the coaching have Antoine Randall I mean God he’s coaching receivers so many players uh that you
Like remember if you just go through this coaching staff um maybe one of those guys has it and they’re able to keep what they got going in Detroit and it’s good stuff but there’s a risk to it and there there’s a risk that like hey Brad Holmes who’s a great GM maybe
Doesn’t have a good draft this year like great GMS don’t just keep pitching heat every single year like Brad Holmes has been so that’s why this loss I mean I don’t have to tell Lions fans that it stings and it sucks and it’s awful but that’s why losses like this are painful
Because it’s easy to say yeah we’ll be right back no big deal you just never know man and there’s always risk to it Mark Brunell was my original cheat code at running back he would run in the mid90s at Fantasy let’s go when still hand hand score those when the USA Today
Would come out on Tuesdays Mark brenell was the man I I have seen dating myself a little there oh I have SE I have seen a suspicious amount yeah you are dating yourself but I’ve seen a lot of um a a very large amount of Mark Brunell Games
Live uh you know living near the Washington uh football team stadium growing up seen I’ve seen a lot of Mark Brunell play not just on TV but bit went to those games and yeah he did he could he could he could move a little bit yeah
He pulled a big upset too on the road Buffalo or something playoff games yeah they had they had their moments that that that team yeah I didn’t I don’t even think I realized he was uh on that coaching tree all right uh we’re gonna jump into the AFC title game put a bow
On this whole weekend right after this quick break and we’re back Chiefs 17 Ravens 10 the Chiefs man um I don’t even know where you where you want to start with this thing Um I I have I have a lot of thoughts so I what what was your how much of this game did you get to see um uh going into the 49ers game later in the afternoon and just kind of what’s your feeling uh coming out of it yeah as much as I could
The iPad on the phone on the way there and then inside the stadium at the end but definitely missed some stuff it was wild 77 the first 10 minutes into this game and then 10 points uh scored the rest of the way um that not shockingly I mean these teams are really strong
Defensively um I know there was one no call late on on the Ravens but correct me if I’m wrong but it seemed like every play that could have went both either way went against the Chiefs um and uh but at least they they they did get the
Break at the goal line fumble from from the week before but Mahomes I know everyone says this team is uh or a lot of people The Narrative is he’s playing with these receivers and yes he finished first in unrealized air yards drops and it’s horrible but there’s two sides of
Of the ball here and he’s playing with by far his best defense of his career and it’s a big deal I mean what that the same with pie gets gets knocked because of his receivers but but Lamar and the MVP boating not for having a historically good defense to just won
The first Triple Crown I mean the defense is huge here and and now we have arguably the League’s best defense I believe the Chiefs win healthy with all those guys Bolton and everyone they allowed the fewest yards per play this season and they just shut down the
League’s MVP uh Lamar in Baltimore um so this is a really impressive defense with uh maybe the goat at quarterback what the most second most playoff wins of all time he’s 28 years old or something I mean this is crazy now Andy Reid two weeks to prepare so yeah missing thy is
It thuny is that how you pronounce his name Jo T tuny I’ve heard it both ways Joe Toney sounds like he might actually miss the Super Bowl too but they doesn’t matter you know go into Baltimore uh Mahomes just so so impressive uh it’s crazy that NBS secures the Circus catch
After all the all the drop and does the does the SH afterwards yeah of course not as bad as our guy my guy c c Gardner Johnson waving the ners when it was 20 to7 he and Debo have beef dating years back yeah so that that that that was
That was even worse but oh yeah that was an all-time tough look uh for CJ Gardner Johnson waving off uh the waving goodbye to everybody at side too oh he’s wav waving goodbye to on himself well hello CJ Gardner Johnson Dalton and the 49ers are all still here um and so are the
Chiefs the Chiefs are still here man and it’s just crazy to me I’m so glad that you brought up this Narrative of oh this is the worst Pat momes team you know that’s that’s GNA go it’s just different man and I think our brains are so wired
By fantasy and of course I mean it’s a damn fantasy show Yahoo fantasy football show that’s the show like we’re wired by fantasy we’re wired by offensive players and and skill positions and yeah the receiver position they used to have Tyreek Hill now they have a mess I mean
Sort of it’s not really a mess anymore it’s just like it’s a we it was a mess for long times of this year but you know cadarius Tony’s inactive and yapping on Instagram live he’s not out here messing up games by the way if you haven’t seen
Kary Stony from on Instagram live I mean unbelievable stuff what wild Wild player I don’t think he’s gonna be in Kansas City next season maybe not the league maybe not the league dud he might not be in the league because this is exactly how things went for him in the GI nights
And by the way I’ve said this all the time with Kus Tony if you think that like in-game mistakes inability to stay healthy and being a knucklehead on Instagram live are all not intertwined like you don’t understand real life okay so that’s my thoughts on that but again
The receiver position is a weakness there’s been issues at offensive tackle but this is a great defense bro and you you said it so perfectly because that’s part of football man like yeah you have the Terminator at quarterback and Patrick Mahomes is gonna he’s literally ruining careers and I that
Sounds silly when I say that but what I mean by that is like at the end of Josh Allen’s career and Joe Burrow’s career uh and Lamar Jackson’s career we’re GNA look back and be like oh man all these guys were so good how come they didn’t win more Super
Bowls number 15 and the Kansas City Chiefs this well-built team that’s why they didn’t win more Super Bowls because momes is just that damn good like he’s undeniable he’s clutch it’s crazy did not take a sack I was going to go there 100 dropbacks right or 100 attempts or
Something yeah I saw that stat of the game and I was like wild in the playoffs against the best opposing defenses in Baltimore where everyone’s going nuts how loud it was the week before insane environment yes continue didn’t take a sack in more than a hundred attempts or
Something in the in the postseason finally yes and and same thing Eagles last year led the NFL with sacks 70 sacks they had zero versus Mahomes in the Super Bowl Ravens led the NFL with 31 takeaways this season they the league in sacks no takeaways versus Mahomes
Yesterday I mean just like tough and Baltimore was up for this game man the team you could feel it by the way like how tense the team was just with all the personal fouls and all the miscues and stuff like that I mean z flowers again we’ll get to all
That with Baltimore but you could tell that they were tense for this game they they thought that and they felt it slipping away at times the the city was alive you know I have relatives in Baltimore I have friends in Baltimore Charles McDonald are colleague was at
Baltimore and he he was saying it yesterday like and and Mahomes just goes in there and does it that being said Dalton and like I am not I’m obviously giving Mahomes all the deserve praise and not being like yeah but this that or the other like I do think if they win
The Super Bowl this year dton will look back on it as the Steve spagnolo year because spags now at this point um the 20123 Ravens and the 2007 Patriots are both among the top five greatest teams of all time in dvoa they both held their opponents to
17 points in that Super Bowl and in this game Chiefs or the Ravens held their opponent 17 points but they lose to spags like he’s the common denominator here and he’s been this defense has been unbelievable this year the young Talent they had free rushers coming at Pat
Mahom or coming at Lamar Jackson Every Which Way they were confusing coverages on the back end they’ve been doing the stuff they’ve been doing all year long so yeah it takes more than just having Pat Mahomes to win the Super Bowl it takes having one of the best defensive
Coordinators in the NFL who’s never going to get another head coaching job in Steve spagnolo and it takes having Andy Reid who like has there I don’t think there’s any sign that Reed is about to retire anything like he has a chance to really cement himself
As the maybe the best coach of all time if they continue on this dynastic Pace man I mean that’s this is the type of stuff we’re talking about with the Chiefs at this point spags was a defense that shut down the undefeated Patriots Super Bowl too right yes and um yeah and
Then on the other side rice is emerging as a viable uh receiver and suddenly Travis Kelce looks healthy too so I mean this team is is is dangerous at the right time but yes spags a fantastic job this defense is did a great job drafting
The young just hit hit home runs at the draft over and over and um yeah uh Chris Chris Jones was a nightmare last time the ners faced him in the Super Bowl so um it’s uh it’s it’s remarkable they have a great defense and then a quarterback which is sack is a
Quarterback stat and he’s the best at avoiding those so yeah it’s a it’s a good combination having arguably the best defense in the league and arguably the best quarterback to ever play and and one of the greatest coaches I mean that’s a pretty good combo pretty good infrastructure to continuously go to a
Championship and Super Bowls year after year pretty good yeah um Andy and I are doing an episode later in the week about things that happened in the playoffs um that you should care about uh that that that matter for fantasy next season this Travis Kelce run you know if he continues to
Play we’re going to be talking about that right because he’s been so oh yeah he finished the regular season I think the last three games averaging 29 yards per game well he’s been on a complete heater in the playoffs which is not so um is not so dissimilar for other
Seasons of Travis Kelce actually if you look back at it so um Chiefs everything is going up right now love what rashed Rice gave them in this game I feel like that was um my two most confident bets of this weekend were the under in this
Game which I felt like an idiot to start like you mentioned it looked like these two teams were going to go back and forth and everybody I was watching the game with had bet the over I was the only like idiot that took the under I
Was like oh man I’m going to I’m going to come out of this looking like such a but that game eventually did go under but the other one was the rash rashed rice catches we talked about it it was so mispriced uh plus odds you
Could get on Rasheed rice over six and a half catches and that one was I think it was set and done in the first half um because he was just so important beating that zone coverage I can’t wait to talk about him all offseason we have plenty
Of time to do that but let’s talk about the Ravens here um because again it this one really really stings I mean maybe stings more than the Detroit Lions loss when we’re talking about like oh yeah don’t worry about it they’ll they’ll be back and I don’t know what is your
Reaction to what I think was like look it takes you can’t take away how good Todd monin and Lamar Jackson were in the regular season like Lamar’s gonna win MVP Todd monin was an A+ higher at the perfect time for this Ravens team but I think both of those guys are going to
Come back come out of this game feeling like man we collectively them those both of those two guys come out looking pretty bad from this game I guess the Ravens had three early down runs the entire game um against you know they had four R like true running back carries in
The first half I think either four four or five yeah uh yeah Warren Sharp’s tweeting three early down runs the entire game which is a weird strategy uh you know against the Chiefs run defense um say flowers yeah wild you know the the the penalty and then the the fumble
There um yeah disappointing season to the Ravens they the defense dominating leading the league and takeaway sacks and allowing the fewest points per game first team to ever win that triple crown and Lamar is going to win the MVP you get home field you know and then you
Just run into momes I mean what what more can you say uh this game no no outcome would have surprised me uh but Chiefs winning by double digits on the road would probably been the most surprising to be honest um but it shouldn’t at this point with with
Mahomes um an impressive performance I know people are saying which team lost it more you know the Lions or or the Ravens but um you know they they went up against two two two tough teams and um I don’t know what else to say other than you’re disappointed like crazy if you’re
A Ravens fan after that season they just had they set the record for most double digigit wins against winning opponents this year you know I mean dominated the ners in San Francisco uh Jackson’s going to win the MVP great coach great special teams yeah frustrating I think they’ll
Be right they’ll be a contention again next year it’s Lamar injury the last few years you know and it’s just wild that the league didn’t all try to get him as a free agent but now um with Lamar there and that that that INF another team with a good infrastructure that they’ll be
Contenders for for for you know years to come yeah producer Colin pointed out that NFL media did that America’s team doc spin-off called The Missing Rings greatest teams to never win a Super Bowl um and I think like this Ravens team probably would be considered because
Like I said they’re top five team by dvoa by a ton of metrics they’re like an elite tier team well well they were the highest weighted using weighted dvoa highest team ever at this point the season in NFL history and that’s right because they smoked good teams this year
They smoked teams they demolished some of the best offenses in the NFL um scoreboard wise like they took it to the 49ers they took it to the Lions I mean but they like so many before them they get to the end of the road and there’s Pat Mahomes and there’s Steve spagnolo
And there’s Andy Reid there’s the Chiefs there’s Travis Kelce and like just can’t get over it can’t get over the hump and I think that’s why like I said you can’t take away what Baltimore did in the regular season to evolve this offense and all of that but it’s when they do if
They do this again next year in the regular season just from like a true NFL perspective it’s going to feel really like Hollow and like okay this is great but talk to me in January talk to me when we get to the point like can you
Get and it’s not even like oh Lamar can’t win the big one or Lamar can’t win big games like that’s not what we’re talking about here but it’s just like can you beat Patrick Ms can you take the them out of the AFC not just the title
Game because that seems just a given but you go to the Super Bowl over them that’s what we’re going to be talking about with this team but um sort of want to follow up our point you talk about the Lions and some of the like projecting their ecosystem and some of
The risks here Dalton which team like would you rather be next year like which which offense would you rather have let me let me give you the positives here on Baltimore side Todd monin had a bad game in the AFC Championship game can’t take away from that that was awful not a good
Performance uh not a good performance from Lamar Jackson either I mean can’t throw that interception to is likely I don’t care if you got bumped in the route at any point can’t throw that ball like you can’t throw that um not a good performance by those two
Guys but Lamar is gonna be back Todd monin is not getting a head coaching job he’s gonna be back next year like this was just year one of the Lamar Jackson Todd monin experience and those guys by all accounts seemed to love working together they seemed to really vibe in
Terms of how they saw the game looks like that’s going to be a great marriage for years to come Z flowers um somebody tweeted me during the game like I compared him to Deontay Johnson in the pre-draft process uh for being an electric player who separates easily but
Kind of has some boneheaded moments and man did that did that comparison didn’t really hit it too much this year but it hit uh on on Sunday in terms of the boneheaded play stuff rough sequence for him but that guy’s going to be a a star he was wide receiver 30 this year
Wherever he’s going in drafts next year I like as long as it’s within reason consider me a buyer I’m in on him they can add to the receiver room that probably will move on from Odell Beckham probably moves on from Nelson aalor um I think that toddm can get in the lab and
Figure out like hey how can we get Isaiah likeley and Mark Andrews activated at the same time the running game which they neglected on Sunday because I think hey you want to put the game in Lamar Jackson’s hands or do you want to put in Gus Edwards and Justice
Hills hand what if they have another great running back next year like for all the concern I have with Detroit I feel like there’s a lot of reasons to be Al like optimist optimistic and and and and like excited about what Baltimore could be so if I’m putting the question
To you Dalton Detroit Baltimore which ecosystem are you more excited to invest in next year um before we get to that first of all that fumble rule I believe is going to get changed after these two glaring things in these final two games and it sounds like the league is going
To push for that I know you may not yeah stupid to change it you mean right you like it yes stupid to change it I mean the sa flowers thing is exactly why you don’t change it because that was a stupid thing to do stupid stupid the
Taunting I don’t care about let the guys taunt I don’t care oh of course yeah but bro like you can’t reach out on the goal line it wasn’t it like first or second down too um you can’t do that don’t do it because you fumble and then you lose
The game they like if he scores or if they he goes down at the one they score on the next couple possessions which I know is not a lock but that it’s a totally different ball game like you should be punished for being foolish at the goal line that’s what happens okay
Secondly just a brief I want your opinion on Lamar he’s going to have now as many MVPs as he does career playoff wins um but and that was a bad interception but at the same time this Kansas City defense hadn’t allowed a receiver to reach 90 yards in two months
I mean it’s so so good so just the tough defense right in Lamar ball the second half like week before there’s no like worry about him in the playoffs or anything right no I don’t think so um that was a rough performance by Lamar but like I said they weren’t able to
Pick up those blitzers uh this is a bad matchup spags is a great defensive coordinator it’s a great defense so um like defense gets paid too that would be kind of how I I view this game okay yeah I don’t have a strong feeling about which ecosystem I like more next year in
Fantasy between Baltimore and Detroit the the Ben Johnson uh you know variable is definitely part of this answer here will Andrews and likely split work uh who do the Ravens bring in at running back I was all over JK Dobbins this year and I was I think it would have turned
Out well if he had not you know torn is Achilles week one um but yeah there’s upside to both Z flowers can be probably drafted as high as a top 20 fantasy receiver if you wanted to the upsides there for that and Lamar is going to be drafted as the top three fantasy
Quarterback so both have uh of of big bright future there I mean Gibbs I said’s gonna be taken in the second round of fantasy drafts despite Montgomery getting all gon to be a favorite to lead the league in Red Zone work um and then uh as we said I could
See a because of the Ben Johnson situation here and because like Z flow’s going up and you know maybe St Brown you know maybe there’s question marks there because he’ll get overdrafted with the coordinator change I mean I guess I guess I could see an argument for
Baltimore if they draft a running back in the first round Frank Gore Jr in Baltimore then then suddenly that maybe that tip the scales their way yeah I mean look these guys in Detroit are goingon to go way higher I mean Lamar is gonna go higher IND and it’s yeah yeah
They’re going to go higher in drafts than they should uh Gibbs and St Brown should be taking in the top two rounds like lepto is gonna be if he’s not the first tight end he’s he’s just gonna be right there in terms of tight ends off
The draft board I don’t think I will actively be avoiding the Detroit Lions just because Ben Johnson’s going to be gone but I’m gonna think about this risk because I didn’t think about it enough with the Eagles this year I’m going to think about this risk with them and like
I said maybe not fullon avoid them or anything like that but I’m just going to bake that into my projections a little bit whereas with Baltimore because there’s coordinator stability even though the last thing that we see with them it’s going to leave a bad taste in
Our mouth I’m going to think about the ways that they can progress as a unit and and all of the things that are on the table for them uh we got a long offseason ahead of us buddy to to like settle these things but I think right
Now that’s a that’s kind of where I’m at but hey Dalton appreciate you doing this pod man after what would had to be an absolutely wild uh Sunday for for multiple reasons and your Niners back in the Super Bowl against Kansas City once again dude I wasn’t out of the parking
Lot before I lost the random drawing for a Super Bowl allotment of season ticket holders get uh a chance of the Super Bowl tickets but that’s uh yeah I wasn’t even literally out of the parking lot before it told me I lost that drawing so uh it’s like it’s laughable it’s like 10
Grand or something for like the worst seat in the house right now so it’s uh not not cheap to uh attend this football game I guess Super Bowl will be the 15th straight Super Bowl where the it’s the the favorite is favored by four points
Or fewer pretty cool man when I was a kid they were blowout after blowout so um yeah yeah I know a lot of people uh think this the wrong team’s favored here and I expect I expect the Chiefs to be heavily uh bet bet on uh in the next two
Weeks but I know you guys will talk a lot about the Super Bowl I’m fired up uh what a game I still can’t believe they came back from that it was crazy and appreciate your uh your your text to me uh and yeah it was a it was a good time
Man it was H it was crazy yeah man I’m just glad you survived and honestly like it didn’t even dawn on me till halfway through the game where I was like you know what like Dalton’s on the podcast with me tomorrow oh my God like at least
Let them come back and make it competitive in the second half not an outright embarrassment and they did all that and more which I know America wanted the Lions to win they want they didn’t want the Chiefs back in the Super Bowl whatever I am for for no other
Reason than uh Dalton’s in better shape this morning uh and we got to have a great recap pod and I’m happy for my guy Dalton I’m glad that the four uniters pulled that thing out so uh appreciate you Dalton like you said we have a ton
Of content coming up uh for the Super Bowl little programming note yaho fantasy pod is going to be at the Super Bowl Super Bowl week that is all week in Las Vegas we have great shows coming up for you early in the week the Athletics
And Yahoo Zone Nate Ty joins me for a Super Bowl stat nerd preview style pod there’s no replacing Dalton Delon but I think Nate’s going to bring some great stuff to the table there that’s going to be next Tuesday and yes he’s back Austin and his eyebrows for now are going to
Join me in Vegas for the season finale of Eckler’s Edge next Thursday we’re going to have a ton of other great interviews content in general um I mean listen going to be some big time NFL Superstars coming through this week with Yahoo you do not want to miss it you can
Follow all that if you just follow me on Twitter Matt Harman forbb and Yahoo sports Yahoo fantasy on all the socials shout out to Dalton that’s going to do it for us today Andy Barons is going to join me on Thursday to put a bow on the
Postseason so far like I said some lessons we can take away from January football that we don’t account but we should account for in our 2024 fantasy projections secret list style of course and also going to have some special guests one of the best wide receiver
Duos in the league is going to sit down with me for an interview you’ll have to wait and see which Duo I’m talking about until then we’re out
