Episode 10 The NFL Show

And it will be time for these

two teams to settle it

between the white lines.

He's going to fire

towards the end zone.

Montana throw.

Touchdown.

Rodgers looking downfield.

The one-man wrecking crew.

Unbelievable.

Let's go!

How did he do that?

In the end zone.

Caught!

Unstoppable.

Welcome to the NFL Show.

We are pretty much halfway

through the regular season

which means that it's time

for our half-term report.

And later in the show we're

going to be, no doubt harshly,

judging your beloved team's chances

of success.

Also we will be showing

you highlights between the AFC East

rivals the Buffalo Bills

and the New York Jets.

And we're going to talk

one-handed catches.

Are there more now

because of the gloves?

Or are the modern players just

better than the old ones?

And of course we'll bring

you all the best action from Week 8.

This is probably a horrible time

to mention I've got to pee.

You never know about a player

really, truly, until you get

them in your building.

And you can work with guys.

This kid is unbelievable.

The way he prepares,

the way he practices.

As long as we don't

screw him up, right?!

We're going backwards,

dammit, let's go.

Before I lose my freaking mind,

we better figure this BLEEP out!

Let's go!

How many tackles have you got?

Last weekend there was one game that

stood out above all others.

It was the Houston Texans

at the Seattle Seahawks.

Both teams started the game

within clear sight of the top

of their divisions and so both teams

had plenty to gain by a win.

And this was certainly a "let's play

this game to win" rather

than a "let's play it not

to lose", wasn't it?

It was entertaining

from start to finish.

Yes, it was.

I couldn't wait to watch this game.

Because I wanted to see how

Deshaun Watson was going to respond

against the Legion of Boom,

Seattle's defence.

And boy did he put up

some numbers, man.

And I'll stand up for that guy.

He got off to that great start,

finding Will Fuller for 59 yards.

Which is some way to

start against Seattle.

There were mistakes as well

from Deshaun Watson,

but when you're looking at a rookie

quarterback in his first

year, taking on Seattle,

you will expect mistakes,

I suppose?

Especially against the

Legion of Boom, right?

This is arguably the best

secondary in football.

But what was so fantastic

about his performance,

and you see this right here,

I mean he got lucky

with the one before.

Not lucky, but it was a good throw.

Right here this is what

a good safety does.

Reading his eyes.

We talk about that all the time.

And we talked about that

on the Tuesday night show and we did

some quite in-depth analysis

on this game.

Still our pictures have

Tony Romo's arrows all over it!

As they did on Tuesday night.

But that's absolutely fine.

It's the way he bounced

back, you know.

As a rookie, you make a mistake,

you say is he going to go under

the tank or is he going

to perform well?

And he did that, man,

it was a highlight film!

He did that in Seattle, now, Mark,

I've literally seen people,

quarterbacks, go down

there and disappear.

Nowhere to be found.

But he showed up over

and over and over again.

Battled back through some

adverse situations.

And yet he was up against

a superstar quarterback

who showed his superstar

qualities numerous times.

As we will see over the course

of these highlights.

I mean, just the bigger

picture of this game is,

you show it to somebody who as we're

showing you now, isn't massively

into American football maybe

or hasn't discovered the sport.

This is the game that

would get them into it.

Absolutely.

Because the main thing you always

want to see is the deep ball, right?

The touchdown.

The ball flying in the air.

And that's what you saw.

Both these guys can do that.

They are a rare breed.

As you said by the time

we are into the second

quarter it is 14 up.

And it's not just the deep ball,

but it is both quarterbacks,

how they get themselves

out of trouble.

Dissecting the defences,

doing everything, running,

scrambling, getting out of trouble.

I mean, they showed

a plethora of weapons, man.

So many different things that these

two quarterbacks were able to do.

And here's another deep ball

from Russell Wilson.

53 yard strike to Tanner McEvoy.

Do you think, I mean,

have you been in games similar

to this where in some ways,

both quarterbacks are

spurring each other on?

Yeah and you know, as a defensive

back, the worst thing you can feel

is like this guy is just

going to throw it right every time.

And it seemed like both those

guys had their rhythm

and they were competing

against each other.

Even though they were

both on offence.

The crazy thing about this is these

teams believe in their quarterbacks.

And you can see it.

They feel like no matter

what the situation is,

their quarterback is going to get

them out of that position and get

them into the right play.

And they did it time

after time again.

At 21-all going into half-time,

from a defensive point of view,

we talk about the Seattle legendary

descents, why wasn't it

legendary in this game?

-- defence.

Why did it allow the

Texans so many points?

Mark, there's a song that goes...

# Mamma said there'd

be days like this!

And some days it just

happens like that.

I think they went in thinking this

is a young rookie quarterback,

we are the Legion of Boom,

we are Seattle, we are going

to shut this guy down.

But obviously this

man had other plans.

Seattle literally had

no answer for him.

Even though they did

get some interceptions,

but they had no answer for him

the whole day.

Let's watch Deshaun Watson

again evading the rush.

Exactly what we were talking about.

Just watching quarterbacks

get out of trouble.

And then finding Miller

for that two yard touchdown.

And then that took them to 31-27.

Just from the Texans'

defensive point of view,

as great as Russell Wilson

and the Seattle offence was,

does it just highlight

that the injuries that they have

had, the injury problems they've

had, is going to weaken them?

No question about that.

But what you have to understand

is the Houston Texans,

they couldn't have imagined

that the defence would give

up this many points.

And they would still

have an opportunity to win

this football game.

Yeah but now their secondary

is getting exposed, right,

with the loss of JJ Watt.

They're used to having

more pressure.

These guys have got to cover longer.

Even though Jadeveon

Clowney was bawling.

He was.

He still doesn't have the same

amount of pressure

that they used to have.

So we have said that

going into this, Houston

were still in touch

with their divisional leader.

And now as you can see Seattle 34-31

up and yet a couple of plays

later, Watson finds DeAndre Hopkins,

who then goes 72 yards.

And that then takes

Houston 38-34 up.

Oh, man.

I mean, just as you watch

all these highlights,

it is whatever you can do,

I can either do as well

or I can do better.

Russell Wilson too, man,

I mean everybody kind of forgets

how great this guy is.

Why?

You know what, because he's

a middle-of-the-road guy

as far as his age, right.

You've got the older guys that

you always talk about.

Tom Brady, Aaron

Rodgers, Drew Brees.

You forget about this guy.

You forget that he has arguably got

one of the best deep

balls in the league.

You know, the way it drops in.

And he is a playmaker and always

running for his life and making

plays and it works out.

So he found Jimmy Graham,

that put them 41-38 up.

20 seconds on the clock,

I think we saw there.

And having done all that

and praised him to the hilt,

we now have to report that

during the week Deshaun Watson

damaged his ACL and is now

out for the season.

So this is devastating, isn't it,

for Watson, for Texans,

and actually for fans of the sport?

Absolutely, no way they're

going to be able to recover

from something like this.

Obviously they lost JJ

Watt who was the heart

and soul of their team.

They lost Whitney Mercilus,

also an outstanding football player.

And now to lose this

quarterback who had become

the face of the franchise,

a young superstar, there was talk

about this guy possibly

being MVP of the league.

And to lose this guy for the season,

absolutely devastating

for the Houston Texans.

I don't see a way

to recover from this.

He definitely was going to get the

rookie offensive MVP of the year.

You just feel bad for the guy.

Hopefully he bounces back.

I feel bad for the Texans.

Too many injuries, way too many.

Now they found a quarterback!

OK, thank you very much.

Here's what else

happened in week eight.

The question trick or treat?

All treat tonight.

Remember when you were a kid

back playing popcorn,

when you didn't care anything

about money, you didn't care

anything about politics.

You went out there and you played

every day for the love of the game.

For the love of just wandering

around with your friends.

So today go back to

that popcorner in you!

The Pittsburgh Steelers

at the Detroit Lions.

Keeping up with

the Joneses, a Smith.

Juju Smith Schuster.

97 yards!

The Steelers strong

at the top of the AFC North.

The Minnesota Vikings

at the Cleveland Browns

in that old slice of Ohio

known as Twickenham.

And the Browns have the lead

for the first time in

the first half this season.

They built a lead and

then saw it disappear.

The Vikings six and two in

the driving seat of the NFC North.

Touchdown, Vikings!

The Oakland Raiders

at the Buffalo Bills.

One of those days for Derek Carr.

Intercepted!

And the Bills keeping it high-class

and keen in the AFC East.

He is in the clear!

He is going to score!

The rain fell in Washington

as the Dallas Cowboys

came to the capital.

Ezequiel Elliott

with better control.

The Cowboys four and three

above the Redskins, three and four.

Intercepted!

Touchdown, Maraschino Cherries!

It was a rotten way to lose a game.

The Chicago Bears at

the New Orleans Saints.

And he is going to score!

What a great weapon

that rookie has got.

The Saints top of the NFC South.

The Denver Broncos at

the Kansas City Chiefs.

In a week of the fumbled football,

this was a purer piece of bourbon.

Marcus Peters.

The ball is ripped up!

Touchdown!

Kansas City!

The Chiefs rediscovering winning

ways to stay ahead of the Broncos

at the top of the AFC West.

The Atlanta Falcons

at the New York Jets.

Might Josh McCown and

Robbie Anderson steal

the show from the Jets?

He's got it.

Perfect pass from Josh McCown.

Matt Ryan, as they say,

was having trouble on the snap.

Another fumbled snap.

Fourth of the day for the Falcons.

Until he found, as he

does, Julio Jones.

Looking for Julio Jones,

who has got it.

The Falcons four and three,

hanging on in the NFC South.

So here are all the results

from week eight.

A couple to pick out

that you didn't see.

Philadelphia Eagles continue

to march on with the 33-10

win over the 49ers.

And the New England Patriots

getting some momentum

after their early-season blip.

They beat the Chargers 21-13.

So we will focus on

the AFC first of all.

As you can see plenty of teams

with winning records in the east.

But the Patriots top it six and two.

The Steelers also are six and two.

As are the Chiefs in the West.

The South much tighter

with the Titans, Jaguars and Texans

all still hoping to get top spot.

And therefore we are at that stage

where if the season was to end

today, the division leaders

who all go into the play-offs

automatically would be the Steelers,

the Chiefs, the Patriots

and the Titans.

And then the two sides with the best

records who are not the division

leaders become the wild cards.

And at the moment they are

the Bills and the Jaguars.

And if you want to see

where all the other teams

are who are in the hunt,

the Dolphins, the Ravens,

the Texans and the Bengals

complete the top ten.

So that is what it would be then

if the season ended now.

But we're going to ask you to look

into the future and try and predict

what will happen at the end

of the season.

So the four divisional

winners first of all.

I suppose the south

is the hardest to call?

Yeah, that's going

to be a tough one.

And I'm going to jump off the deep

end and say Houston Texans

are going to win that.

As a former Houston Texan!

And I like what is happening now.

OK, so you say the Texans

will win that division.

Who do you think will

win that division?

I will have to go with Jacksonville.

Yeah, I like the way they're playing

defensively and defence

is always going to...

And towards the end

of the season defence

is what is going to carry your team.

So I'm going to go with

the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Now when you look at the other three

divisions, is it easy to pick

the divisional winners?

Yeah, it's pretty easy right now.

Everyone that's on the top

is dominating right now.

They are dominating,

they're playing well in all facets.

So Patriots, Steelers, Chiefs?

Yes.

OK.

So that leaves us with

the two wild cards.

The two other teams who will have

the best records to get

through with the divisional winners.

Osi?

Tennessee Titans.

OK.

Tennessee and who as your wild card?

Tennessee and the Baltimore Ravens.

OK.

Why!

Laugh now, cry later!

Sometimes I feel like crying

now and laughing later!

I'm going Buffalo and then

I'll go Jacksonville.

Right, because you've got Houston

as the divisional winners?

OK.

So you think as well

that Jacksonville will

be able to get to...

What would be a wild card,

nine and seven, ten and six?

In the AFC ten and six.

OK.

So that's what you think as far

as the AFC is concerned.

Now let's switch to the NFC.

And as I said with the

results, Philadelphia

flying in the East.

They are seven and one.

Minnesota have a bit

of a lead in the North.

It is tight in the NFC South

but the New Orleans Saints got five

on the trot and the Seahawks

and the Rams are tied in the West.

So again if the season was to end

today, your divisional winners

in the NFC would be the Eagles,

the Vikings, the Seahawks

and the Saints.

And the two wild card teams

with the best records elsewhere

would be the Rams and the Panthers.

And here are the other teams that

would be in the hunt.

Falcons, Packers, Cowboys and Lions.

Completing the top ten.

I mean there are a couple

of divisions that have

a little bit more debate.

But again your eyes are drawn

to the south as the one

that looks wide open?

And we knew that was

going to be competitive

at the beginning of the season.

I didn't know New Orleans

was going to be playing this well!

Obviously they are dominating,

I think they're going

to pull that out.

OK, so the Saints for you?

Saints for me.

I'll take the Saints also.

OK and I'm assuming that

you would both go reluctantly maybe

for the Eagles in the East?

Yeah, they're running

away with it, man.

Arguably one of the best teams

in the NFL right now.

They're flying!

Very good!

The North?

Minnesota of course.

Jay Bell's best

friends in Minnesota!

That defence?

Probably the best in

the league right now.

Got to go with defence.

And the West?

Seattle Seahawks.

They are the veteran team.

I know Los Angeles Rams

are playing really well.

But the Seahawks are the veteran

team and I think later in the season

the defence is going to...

Experience will tell?

All of that.

Everything is going

to come into play.

OK, so we are at the same point

where we need the wild cards.

Who would like to throw

one up first of all?

I'm going to go with the Atlanta

Falcons as my wild card team.

Oh, you're losing your mind!

Slowly but surely!

Rams.

I'm going to throw

another one out for you.

Carolina.

So why would you go Carolina

and him go Atlanta?

Because he doesn't know football!

All right, that's why!

I only played 12 years!

You know what I mean?

I don't know!

And won...?

And won two Super Bowls.

I don't know anything

about football!

And set records.

But I don't know

anything about football!

Jason knows football, not me!

Anyway!

Right, Carolina.

Why?

Because I like, I mean, listen.

I think they're going

to play steady defence.

And I think Cam's going to get hot,

I think he's going to get hot.

I pick Atlanta because Atlanta has

the better quarterback.

And late on in the guy with the hot

quarterback or the guy with a more

experienced quarterback is the one

who's going to win

the game is for you.

Can Newton is entirely

too inconsistent.

Hasn't played that well outside

of a couple of games this year.

Atlanta for me.

Would you throw

the Rams in, as well?

Definitely.

Both Rams.

You go Panthers, you go Falcons.

OK.

I'm sure you will want to debate

with them or criticise them.

More to the point, rather

than debating, you can find them

both on social media.

You can also use hashtag BBC NFL.

You can tell them

exactly what you think.

Let's go from one debate to another.

One-handed catches.

Is it because of

talent or the tools?

Great catch and into the end zone!

Hauls it in.

On the board again.

Incredible!

I've never seen that.

I've never seen a guy catch it

on his nameplate on the back

and then keep his feet...

Oh, my goodness.

Touchdown at the far

corner of the end zone.

He is amazing.

# I'm a rock star.

Stretching out.

He's got it.

I need a pair of gloves.

So to put the glove theory

to the test, we have

all been given gloves.

You have a pair of Rams ones

that took ten minutes

to get your hands into,

because you're hands are so big.

Jason has Minnesota Vikings ones,

because his friend plays

for Minnesota Vikings.

Is that Harrison Smith's signature?

It is on the inside.

For no reason whatsoever,

I have Cardinals ones.

You think these make a difference.

It might be difficult to get

across on television

but when you put them together,

they are very sticky.

Exactly, man, and I think

that is why you see these

great one-handed catches.

I was in the league 12 years,

I've been watching football

20-something years and only recently

have you started to see these

one-handed amazing catches.

OK.

I think it's because of the gloves.

Get up and throw the

ball to each other.

Hang on.

A word of warning.

In rehearsal you threw

it at his head.

Right.

I'm sorry.

With anger.

I'm sorry.

How did you see who was catching

the ball when you had your head

in the dirt for 12 years?

No, on tape.

I watched a lot of film.

Throw the ball to each other.

You know what I mean?

Boom.

One-handed.

Anybody can do it.

Anybody.

It must be more

than just the gloves.

Do you think there is a confidence

that happens with people

when they have these on,

in that they will try catches that

maybe they wouldn't try?

I'm a defensive lineman.

Look how easy I'm

making that look, man.

I think everybody, because they have

these gloves on, they stick them on.

They think they can do

whatever it is they want.

What about the guys

who don't wear gloves?

Those guys are the special guys.

The Jerry Rices.

The real receivers

who do not wear gloves.

Why doesn't everybody

wear gloves now then

if they make such a difference?

I think some receivers

like the natural feel.

They like the feel of the ball

to hit their hand like that.

They don't like to have these gloves

on because they think it might make

them drop the ball.

And also, when it rains,

these get really slick.

When it's raining you definitely

don't want to have these on.

Do you think they are good

for the game in the sense

that we see a lot of

spectacular catches that get

us up off our seats?

I think so.

Especially, I mean, look,

I might have been good

if I have these gloves,

let's be honest.

People want to be entertained.

What I like is you can't talk

and catch at the same time.

If I drop this ball, it's over!

I'm not messing around here.

Theoretically, they should

help anybody catch?

Anybody, man.

Let's see what you've got.

Even Mark Chapman can do it!

Eat your heart out.

Sit down.

You put extra spin on that.

That was naughty.

To the highlights of Thursday's game

between AFC East rivals

the Buffalo Bills and the New York

Jets.

Both teams played beyond what we

would have expected this season.

With the Bills in particular looking

to keep the Patriots honest.

Every time I try it,

you still do it.

Patriots are top of the division.

You guys rehearsed this.

No, we didn't.

COMMENTATOR: So, from the pocket.

Now flushed out.

McCown can take off.

He has got the touch!

38 years old, looking like he's 25.

Jets have already rushed for more

yards in this first quarter

than they did week one at Buffalo.

Time for Taylor.

Touchdown.

Buffalo.

Jones has his first NFL touchdown.

We just mentioned it.

Here we go.

Anderson.

Did he hold on?

Yes, touchdown Jets.

The power, and breaking out of it.

What a run by Powell.

They had him twice.

My goodness, the effort

of the night by Powell.

51-yard run by Powell.

Leans across.

And it is a touchdown.

That's game-changing right there.

Taylor.

Falls out of his hands

and it's scooped up by

Davis, down to the five.

What a big-time play coming

from behind by Jenkins

to create the fumble.

They had three giveaways

on the season coming in,

tonight they've given it

away three times.

Able to stand up and take it home.

To the end zone.

For the touchdown.

Deonte Thompson.

The kick and right into

the hands and the drop

and recovered by the Bills.

How did he not hold onto that?

Watch this.

He's like, don't hit me!

Drops it.

Thomas makes the recovery.

He might motion down this

receiver right here.

And he is able to pick

up the 1st down.

Take us to the two-minute warning.

Bills can't stop it again.

It should all but finish it off.

Everybody was clicking on all sides

and playing at a high level.

It was a great win.

The most important

because it's the next one,

but when you are coming off

a three-game skid, especially

the manner in which those games

were lost, to close this one out,

albeit a little shaky,

but to close it out is a great

feeling and a big one for us.

So a good win for the Jets

and here are the rest

of the week nine fixtures.

Several to pick out.

First of all, let's look

at Atlanta at Carolina,

which given the argument you had

earlier in the show,

it could continue.

A big game for both teams.

Huge game, divisional match up.

Both teams have to win.

Carolina, I love that

home-field advantage.

I think they're going

to make this happen.

So you're going Carolina?

Got to.

And I'm guessing you won't.

You know what this is, Mark?

The dirty bird.

The dance.

You know that?

Yes, because you told me it before.

Just wondering.

Do it again.

It's the dirty bird.

Just like that.

Old-school dance.

There it is!

Do not try to out-dance me!

New Orleans, Tampa Bay next.

Both teams have been a surprise

for different reasons.

Nobody expected the Bucs to be

as bad as they are and nobody

expected the Saints to be

five and two.

You know Drew Brees

is going to light it up.

Their defense has been a problem.

That is where they

have figured it out.

They are playing well on defense.

They figure things out at the back

and they are communicating better.

Their defense is playing well.

This is a trap game

for New Orleans Saints.

Tampa Bay is a desperate

football team.

The wounded lion.

A team that has to win this game.

I think Tampa Bay Buccaneers

are going to win this game.

Because it's a must

win for the Bucs.

The Saints have leeway.

Exactly.

The Buccaneers have

to win this game.

This is a team with

tremendous pride.

I think they will come out

on top of this game.

Another divisional game to look

at in the north and bearing in mind

when we did the predictions,

you had Minnesota flying in this

division and these two teams gone.

Both have not...

Green Bay are four and three,

so it seems daft to say they have

not quite fired but the Rodgers

thing has

taken the wind out of their sails.

I mean that was their catalyst.

He is their guy.

Losing him changed everything.

I think there are

problems at Detroit.

Why?

Where?

I think in the locker room

something is going on.

Jim Caldwell made a comment

about the discipline.

You don't see coaches

saying things like that,

like they're losing control

of their players.

Something is happening over there.

But you could not put

your finger on what?

Something is not right.

I think the quarterback

is very inconsistent.

Matthew Stafford, who has

all the talent in the world.

And all the money in the world.

Just has not been able to put it

together this season

like he was doing towards the end

of last year.

The Green Bay Packers

obviously struggling

without their quarterback Aaron

Rodgers.

I think this is a game

the Detroit Lions must win

and they will win this game.

What Stafford was doing last season

was he was rescuing them

in the fourth quarter comebacks

and you can only do that so long

before time catches up.

Unless you're Aaron Rodgers.

Yes.

What he is not doing well

is he is not doing well

inside the 20, inside the red zone.

It seems between the 20-yard

lines he is doing well.

He's not scoring points.

You have gone for?

I've gone Detroit, this game.

And you have gone?

Have to go Green Bay.

Because he went Detroit?

Right, let's end with the highs

and lows from this week.

Look out at the gloves

in all of this.

Did not necessarily

help Travis Benjamin,

who dropped that punt.

And then went backwards.

And got tackled by the

Patriots for a safety.

Robbie Anderson had

that spectacular catch.

Played well this year.

He can run.

And catch.

Look at that for a hit.

That's what we call coming downhill.

He did not even stop

stride at all, man.

Diggs on Antonio.

Will Fuller beating

Richard Sherman for this

touchdown in the Texans-Seahawks

game.

He got two interceptions.

He got two picks.

He got beat a lot.

Whilst they argue we will show

the highs and lows.

George Kittle's one-handed snagged

against the Eagles and Sanu's diving

game-winning catch for the Falcons

against the Jets.

A pumped-up celebration, as well.

He used to wear gold cleats.

I did.

He looked fresh, I give you that.

And here are some other

good celebrations.

I like that.

That was at Twickenham.

The bench-press celebration.

They work on them, don't they?

Those guys are making it fun.

And they are winning.

NFL This Week, we have more in-depth

analysis of all the games -

Tuesday 11:15pm on BBC Two.

From myself, Jason and

Osi, it's good night.

Before you know it, the halfway

point of the regular season.

Eight games to go.

Eight stepping stones.

Eight milestones.

12 playoff places to fill.

The long haul to the New Year.

It could be over in a flash.