Episode 22 The NFL Show

VIDEO MONTAGE: And it will be

time for these two teams

to settle it between

the white lines.

Elway, he's going to

fire towards the end zone.

Watch the ball up

the nearside field.

And Montana throws...

Rogers looking downfield,

going deep.

The one-man wrecking crew!

Unbelievable!

Let's go!

How did he do that?!

In the end zone...

and caught!

For the win!

Unstoppable!

Hello and welcome to the NFL Show.

I'm once again joined

by Jason Bell and Osi Umenyiora,

and tonight we'll be talking

about last week's

championship games,

which kind of upset these two.

We'll be reviewing what a weird

and wonderful season it's been,

and we'll be looking forward

to the Super Bowl.

Where would you rather be tonight?

No place - no place in the world.

Got to give you chills, man.

We one step away.

The disrespect

will not be tolerated!

All year they done told you

what you couldn't do,

what you couldn't be!

So last weekend the two conference

champions were crowned,

and with that honour they earned

a place in the Super Bowl.

In the AFC Championship Game,

the Jacksonville Jaguars travelled

to the reigning Super Bowl

champions, the New England Patriots.

And in the NFC,

it was the Minnesota Vikings

at the Philadelphia Eagles.

Does winning a conference

championship really matter

when the greater prize

is still to come?

Oh, absolutely,

it shows that you were right there,

you had an opportunity

to make it to the Super Bowl,

you were one of the best teams -

it gives you a lot for next year.

Do you get something

when you win the conference

championship, as a player?

There is a trophy, isn't there?

But I don't know

if you get anything as a player.

Mark, I don't know, I've never

been in a position to...

Because I always won the ultimate

prize in the end, you know,

when we made it that far,

so I don't really...

I think they give you

a little trophy or something.

You get a ring?

You get a ring?

I've never gotten a conference

championship ring, no.

Just a step on the way

to greater things for you.

You know how it is, Mark.

I certainly do know

how it is with you, yeah!

To highlights of Jacksonville

and New England, then,

the Jags one of the new teams

in the NFL,

never won a conference

championship.

The Patriots, on the other hand,

had won nine -

seven of them since the start

of the Brady-Belichick era.

It was the mighty versus

the minnows,

David versus Goliath,

good versus...

Let's leave it there,

roll highlights.

1st & goal.

Still with Bortles,

and it is caught by Marcedes Lewis!

Well, watch right here.

He is guarded by Lee,

and Chung has to help.

And watch, he's going to block,

block, block and throw,

and Patrick Chung gets caught

looking in the backfield

with his eyes.

They hand it off, Fournette,

he's driving,

and he's in for the touchdown!

Wow!

Wow, take that, they say!

This is not a good start

for New England right now,

right through the A gap

with about five Patriots there.

Fournette showing the power.

This pass is incomplete,

Barry Church,

that is going to draw a flag.

Barry Church hit him.

Oh, Jim, that is a penalty for sure,

Church goes right helmet to helmet,

you can't do that, it's the correct

call, but I can tell you right now,

the bigger picture is going to be

whether or not, when he gets

right at him, he's got to go

into the concussion protocol -

he's done for the half, for sure.

That's a "Oh, my goodness" blow

to the New England Patriots

if he cannot play

the rest of this game.

White in for the touchdown.

Just a great job by New England,

being prepared to get up

at the line, Jacksonville is not

prepared to give them their gaps.

Oh, boy!

Field position, everything, points -

this is huge, Jim!

Make it, you got a seven-point lead.

Miss it,

Patriots take over at the 44.

Lambo from 54, look at that kick!

It's good.

Back to Brady it comes,

just standing there like a statue,

as he unloads it, and it

is caught by Dorsett!

Good protection -

Amendola for the touchdown!

2nd & goal.

Fake it to White, looking around,

has time, throws it.

Did he get the feet down?!

What an effort!

Touchdown Amendola!

Tom Brady does it again -

right foot, left foot,

that is a touchdown, Jim,

New England has the lead

and a shot at heading

to the Super Bowl!

Rushing forward, Bortles

in trouble, the ball is down.

Fallen on by Robinson.

It was James Harrison

who got to him first.

Stepping up and throwing,

and it is knocked down by Gilmore!

It's really a pretty good ball

by Bortles, gives a chance,

it's just incredible

defensive play by Gilmore.

Just an incredible play.

It was a good throw, Bortles did

a great job, stepped up - oh!

It is Lewis, Lewis, running free,

and that could very well do it.

Dion Lewis found

a tiny little opening

and used that burst of speed,

and Belichick knows he's got it now.

New England does it

in one of the toughest years,

we thought they lost a lot of guys,

you lose Gronkowski,

give Bill Belichick credit,

this team finds a way -

special, unique, we're never

going to see this type of thing

happen again over the last 15,

17 years, it's truly generational.

So here are the basic stats,

then, after that.

The Patriots the first team to

accrue ten Super Bowl appearances,

they now have the chance

to tie with the

Steelers for the most

Super Bowl wins with six.

They've also won the last four times

they've been down by double

digits in a playoff game.

I mean, I know what your feelings

are towards them, but even you're

shaking your head in disbelief

at the stats they've racked up.

You've got to give credit

where credit is due,

and this team has been phenomenal,

especially in the way

they've handled themselves.

It doesn't matter how many points -

they always find a way to come back.

And you know what's even more crazy?

As we're watching, and they're down

by ten, 14, 20 points,

you still kind of get the feeling

that they're about to make a run.

So can you imagine what

the other team on the field

playing against them feels like?

It's crazy.

Arguably, the greatest

dynasty in football ever,

and we're watching that,

we're witnessing that,

and you know, you've got

a defensive-minded head coach

that makes great adjustments,

and the best quarterback

of all time, it's hard to lose

with that combination.

How long can it keep going for?

As long as Bill Belichick is there,

they're going to keep going,

because as good as Tom Brady is,

I've seen them take Matt Cassel

and make a huge run,

like I've seen them take

quarterbacks who went to other teams

and didn't perform...

Now, granted - Jimmy Garoppolo did,

and performed really well,

but as long as they have

Bill Belichick there,

they're going to be able to succeed.

As far as Jacksonville

are concerned,

are they built now for a few years

of being contenders?

Oh, without a doubt.

I mean, they've done right

by building that team

throughout the draft,

getting great defensive players,

and I hate to keep getting

on Blake Bortles,

but they are a quarterback away.

And honestly maybe

he gets a little better -

maybe he is that quarterback

for them next year.

Well, what would you do

with Blake Bortles?

Would you keep him for next season?

You can't ditch your quarterback

who's taken you to a lead

up to the fourth quarter

of a conference championship.

It's all about price, Mark,

it's about what he's worth next year

and what we're willing to pay.

He's got a fifth-year option,

I think it's 19 million -

I'm not paying that.

But if we can negotiate

a decent price, maybe,

because then I could use that money

to go get other players

to put around him.

Of course you can ditch him,

I mean this is the cruel

business of the NFL.

Yes, you got them to this

particular point and,

yes, I think he played very well

over the last couple of games,

but here is the thing about the

quarterback position in the NFL.

At some point, you have to rely

on your quarterback to go out

there and win games for you,

and I think Blake Bortles,

given the chance, even though

the defense wasn't playing

as well as they had been,

sometimes your quarterback has to go

out there and win games for you.

And I'm just not quite sure

that he's the guy that

can do that for them.

You got to pay for that, Osi.

Yeah, of course.

And that means you're

going to really disrupt,

keeping some of those defensive guys

you want around in future -

if you pay a quarterback

a tonne of money.

Not the way that the Jaguars

are built, because they're young,

and a lot of the players

who they have that are really good,

they're not going to have to

pay for a couple of years.

So they can afford to invest

right now in a Drew Brees kind

of quarterback, you know,

short-term quarterback,

and then build for the

future with the draft.

To the NFC Championship Game

between the Minnesota Vikings

and the Philadelphia Eagles, then.

Historically, with regards

to disappointment,

both franchises have been

top of their game!

Neither team has won

the Super Bowl -

in fact, they've lost six

between them.

Two teams with defensive prowess

and stand-in quarterbacks

who were relishing

their underdog status.

But for one team, it was time

for the fairy tale to end.

Who's going to Super Bowl LII,

the Vikings or the hometown Eagles?

Five-step drop, fade,

Rudolph, touchdown!

Five-step drop, fade,

Rudolph, touchdown!

Could the Vikings possibly come down

from the upper atmosphere

where the game against the Saints

had taken them?

It seemed they could.

Keenum takes the snap.

He's hit, and it's intercepted!

Picked off by Robinson.

Now he's at the 20, he's at the 15,

the 10, the 5, touchdown!

Yes!

The handoff is to Blount.

That, my friends, is power.

He's in!

Yeah, yeah!

Foles steps up, he is going deep,

and in for the touchdown is Jeffery!

The Eagles brought the Vikings down

to earth, and the landing was hard.

They come right back,

it's a flea flicker.

And it is caught -

touchdown, Torrey Smith!

And the Philadelphia Eagles

are blowing the Minnesota Vikings

out in the NFC Championship Game.

Holds back, he looks, he fires,

and it is caught by Jeffery,

touchdown!

For the first time in 30 years,

the Eagles are heading

for the Super Bowl!

You don't know

how happy I am for you.

Nobody deserves this

more than you do.

You're going to the Super Bowl, men!

Let's go! Let's go!

So much like the American

government last weekend,

the Vikings were shut down -

a bit of politics for you!

Have you recovered?

No, I haven't.

I was emotionally drained,

literally, I felt like I played

the game, and it's been a long time

since I felt like that!

Why?! Why?

I was too...

It mattered too much

to me, you know?

Usually, I sit back,

and I try to be a pundit,

and I try to watch the games.

I was there, I wanted to be there,

I wanted them to win.

I was sick, Mark, I was sick.

Because if you only just

joined us for the show,

where have you been for the rest

of the season?!

But over the course of the season,

Jason has claimed that

the majority of this Vikings team

are his friends.

Haven't called anybody.

Have you not?

I haven't called or texted anybody.

Today I'm starting reaching out.

Who do you think needs

reaching out to?

In all seriousness,

who do you think will actually

be affected most by the defeat?

I mean, they're all hurting,

you know, nobody individually,

I would not find anybody out,

cos they are my friends.

But I'm going to hit up

Harry, Harrison first.

OK.

Send him a text, cos he doesn't

respond to phone calls.

Because he struggled, yeah?

It was a rough day,

it was a rough day for him.

Do you think they targeted him?

Absolutely, with that run-pass

read option, it was all on him.

Because he was the one

you wanted to target,

and that's what they did.

You know, he was in a box,

and they...

Stop laughing!

I'm not laughing, man!

I was emotional, man!

You were, you were.

It's because whilst you're talking,

I'm looking at him,

and he's looking at me, and I can

see him trying not to laugh!

He's trying to laugh!

I told him, he knew

I was struggling, and I said,

"The Vikings brought me in this

year, the Giants failed us,

I needed a team that brought us

win, brought me in."

And yeah.

I give you that,

but ultimately, man,

it was too much

for them to overcome.

Do you think partly

because of what happened

against New Orleans Saints?

No question, and I said this

to Jason, like, remember,

when we won the Super Bowl...

Have you won the Super Bowl?

We won, twice.

Twice, yeah, sorry!

Two times!

Tyree caught the ball off his head,

little helmet catch or whatever.

And after something like that,

after you've been put in such

an improbable position and you win

a game, you can't now go back

and play a game the next week,

you're emotionally spent,

you're physically drained,

you have nothing left to give.

And I knew this was what was going

to happen to the Minnesota Vikings.

There's no way they get beat

by that many points

by the Philadelphia Eagles.

I mean, Philly could have

won the game,

but not dominated Minnesota

like that - they were done.

Terence Newman mentions that, man,

you got to respect what he says,

he said, "We just didn't

have the same energy,"

and he's the veteran

in that locker room.

And if they didn't have

the same energy,

then, boy, did Philadelphia

have energy!

I mean, coming from the stands

and the crowd and the players,

I mean, it was as pumped

as you could possibly get.

That whole underdog motivation,

I mean, they held onto that,

and ultimately who knew Nick Foles

was going to be throwing deep

bombs like that all game?

That is just not what we thought

he was going to do.

We knew he had to do

that to win the game,

but ultimately I thought

he was going to stick

to the intermediate routes.

Obviously, I'm not a coach.

The one place on earth you don't

want to be in a situation

like that is Philadelphia.

That is the last place

on earth you want to be,

because those fans and those people

are so rowdy, they're so intense,

and they let you know

everything about you,

your mother, your father, your kids!

And they're so hungry for victory,

they're so hungry that,

in a situation like that,

it creates a chaotic atmosphere,

and Minnesota just was no match,

man, they ran into a buzzsaw.

There we have it, then,

the number-one seed in the AFC

will play the number-one seed

in the NFC.

It's the New England Patriots

against the Philadelphia Eagles

in Minnesota on Sunday

the 4th of February.

For the entirety

of the 21st-century,

the New England Patriots have been

the pre-eminent presence

at the Super Bowl.

Eight times since 2000,

they have been to the great

February showdown...

It's good!

The Patriots are

Super Bowl champions!

The best feeling in the world.

This is what football is about!

And been the powerhouse

of the Super Bowl.

Five times champions...

They have completed the greatest

comeback in Super Bowl history!

And in all these 21st-century years,

Bill Belichick has been

the coach, and Tom Brady has

been the quarterback.

This isn't a football

franchise, it's a dynasty.

The Philadelphia Eagles,

in all their 85-year-old history,

have never won the big one...

He fires for the end zone...

A leaping reception for a touchdown!

Come on, now!

And there, at Super Bowl XXXIX...

They lost to the Patriots.

Intercepted, that is it!

The Patriots will be

Super Bowl champions again.

But they are not stern

of face in Philly.

The Head Coach only two years

into his job with the Eagles,

one of his first signings

was a quarterback

named Carson Wentz.

He is starting to run.

Now he fires downfield...

And what a signing he was!

Caught!

Touchdown, Eagles!

Carson Wentz pulling

something out of the hat.

This kid is unbelievable,

the way he prepared,

the way he practices.

As long as we don't

screw him up, right?

Only for injury to strike

him down in December.

Foles has filled in,

and found his feet, and his range.

But Carson Wentz wasn't

the only signing.

Jay Ajayi, born in London,

was signed in late October this

season and he take some stopping.

Welcome to Philadelphia, baby!

Boom!

The Patriots and the Eagles,

neither likes being stopped.

They meet head-on on the first

Sunday of February at the US

Bank Stadium, Minneapolis,

Minnesota.

They come at full speed

into the Super Bowl...

So it is the dynasty, or

the dy-nasty, against the underdog.

As we said on Tuesday's show

and as we will say all next weekend,

and possibly for quite a long time

afterwards, this is your worst

possible Super Bowl

outlook, isn't it?

It couldn't have

been anything worse!

I've talked trash about

the Philadelphia Eagles not

winning the Super Bowl,

I've talked trash about Tom Brady

for I don't know how long,

only to see them here right

in front of me!

And I have to be professional

and act like, oh yes...

And keep a straight face.

It's unbelievable!

Actually, we will be able

to get our revenge on him.

You will be able to

laugh at him for once!

He doesn't want any part of this.

He's like - I don't want

to talk about these teams,

but you know good football!

You've got to give

them credit, right?

Does this matchup, Philadelphia?

There is this underdog status that

they'd been able to play on,

they wouldn't have been able to do

that had Carson Wentz been fit,

but with Nick Foles,

everybody wrote them off

through the playoffs,

they have been the underdogs

and they got the underdog masks,

and in many ways they will be

able to keep their role

going against the dynasty

that is the Patriots.

Does that suit them?

Definitely.

It is going to be

a hard game to call.

Ultimately, whenever you run

the ball, we talk about it,

we beat a dead horse with this

but it is the truth.

Whenever you can run the ball

and play great defense,

you've always got a chance.

I saw last week the defensive

backfield that I thought

couldn't matchup.

Well, in Philadelphia,

really matchup and play well.

They are going to have to do that.

They have all of the tools to match

up well with New England.

This is not a situation

where Philadelphia

should be the underdogs.

If you have actually studied

and watched how they have played

over the entire season,

they should not be the underdogs

going against New England.

Granted, New England is New England,

and they have Tom Brady,

that plays into people's psyche

and their minds but look at how

the Philadelphia Eagles play.

They will pressure the quarterbacks

and bring waves of people at them.

They can go up the middle

with Fletcher Cox, and offensively

they can run the football.

Play action past.

This is a team hungry for victory

and a team that matches up extremely

favourably against the New England

Patriots.

They will know that

in-house but publicly,

they will want to stir the underdog

against the favourite, won't they?

It has worked for them so far.

But against Atlanta and Minnesota,

they were the underdogs?

That is what everyone

on the outside will be saying.

People who know, Mark,

people who know will be

looking at this game

and going, yeah?

No, New England isn't going to run

all over these people,

it isn't going to happen.

How far ahead do you think

the Eagles might have to be

going into the fourth quarter?

I tell you what I think they should

do, I do not think that they should

be that far ahead at all.

I don't.

Because it seems the further you get

away from the Patriots...

The more you expect them

to come back and win!

So yeah, I'm just going to run

the ball here and keep it close

and see if we can get

into the fourth quarter

and that is normally how

you beat the Patriots.

That defensive line,

because of how they rotate

with the Philadelphia Eagles,

if it is fresh in the second half

and the fourth quarter,

that is the advantage to me.

Whatever is going on,

you can get after Tom Brady

with a fresh batch of guys.

You've got to eliminate him.

He is the head of the snake

and you've got to cut it off.

We will be talking more about this

game next Saturday for our preview

show from Minnesota where two of us

will look normal, one of us

will be in disguise...

Right now we will take our

opportunity to look back

at the season that has been full

of inspiration,

injuries and insults...

The season starts now!

Let's go!

Let's go!

My boy!

Get in!

Touchdown, Cincinnati!

What are you thinking?

They had a potato sack race!

Leapfrogging...

It's a blast.

Who else?

Antonio Brown!

Deshaun Watson...

Hoping to keep things hot!

Time for this team to take it

to the next level...

He's got loose!

Oh, my god, no way!

Touchdown!

What a miracle finish.

Let's hand out some awards, then,

with your decisions on...

Pundit of the Year!

Pundit of the Year!

LAUGHTER

My vote goes to Tony Romo!

Tony Romo!

MVP?

Hmm...

That has to be Tom Brady.

It has to be.

40 years old, carrying them on his

back as he does every single year.

But without him on the team,

I don't know, obviously

because they got rid of Garoppolo,

I don't know if they would go

anywhere near as close

as they have done so far.

I have to go with him, man.

The man is a real pundit,

he's going to tell you the truth!

Would you go along with it?

I'm going with my man, Tom Brady.

Same.

Why?

I mean, he is the best.

He had a great year.

You see what he did last week.

The guy can bring you back at any

moment, at any time.

Do you think your MVP has

to be in the Super Bowl?

No, for me, the MVP has to be a guy

the team won a lot of games

with and they wouldn't be able

to win without that

particular player there.

That's why I have to give it

to Tom Brady this year.

OK, so if the Steelers had

been in the Super Bowl,

would you have given it to Antonio

Brown?

Ooh...

No, I wouldn't.

They could win games

without Antonio Brown there.

And they actually won a couple

of games without Antonio Brown.

I wouldn't have given it to him.

I agree with you, Mark,

I don't know if I agree with you,

but that statement, I agree with.

I would have given

it to Antonio Brown.

I don't know if you would have given

it to Antonio Brown,

but I would have.

At the moment, you are not in

the running for Pundit of the Year!

Just on the basis of that answer!

You know what you are good at!

Rookie of the Year...

Kamara, you've got to

give it to that guy.

He was 70% of the offense

for the Saints.

He was Mr Everything!

And if you follow your logic,

about the teams struggling

without that person,

when we saw them at Atlanta,

when he went off with concussion,

they were a completely different

team for that game.

The whole game plan changes

when he's off the field,

what an MVP should do.

The whole game plan changes

when he's off the field,

what an MVP should do.

That is the significance.

Rookie of the Year for Kamara?

Yes, he is such a dynamic

and explosive football player.

He energised not only

the New Orleans Saints,

but he energised the entire NFL

with how he played football.

So definitely him.

I'm really happy with how he has

progressed as a player.

And Team of the Year,

do you want to go first?

I will, the Los Angeles Rams!

Why?

You see what Sean McVay did over

there with those guys.

He's got them believing,

it's a different team.

Everyone in the NFL

loved watching them.

Number one offense,

Team of the Year.

OK, Team of the Year?

I like the Rams.

But it has to be the Philadelphia

Eagles, it has to be.

Nobody gave these guys

the chance to do this...

These guys are playing

in the Super Bowl,

who would have thought that?

They did have some good football

players, they drafted well

and I thought it would take them

a couple of years to get

to where they are right now.

But for now, it has

to be the Eagles.

All right, some

interesting suggestions.

Those are the awards

from on the field but off the field,

we do have an award.

This is a tie.

The Press Conference

Performance Of The Year.

It jointly goes to Bill

Belichick and Cam Newton...

HE SIGHS.

I know we didn't make enough plays

we need to make to win.

I told you so.

It is harder for me to kind of talk

to certain people with them not

being able to understand

where I'm coming from.

That's the way it's

been for a long time.

This is a hostile environment.

Give me a break...

Sometimes you've just got

to overcome coaching...

I've got to coach better.

Got to practice better,

got to play better.

Everything I was told

not to do, I did.

The fundamentals

weren't good enough.

Just tone it down, just a second,

so we can clear our minds.

Really, nothing was

good enough, so...

Just bad vibes and energy.

Look, whatever they are, they are.

Let's just kind of put this

car back in third gear.

Improve pretty much everything.

I've got to take Kira to school,

give her some cupcakes.

And some pizza for her class.

Whatever you call on him to do,

he seems dependable in doing it.

Persistence, persistence,

persistence.

Was good at everything.

The Titanic still has to go.

We are going to do a better job.

I look forward to that.

Yeah, I got a lot of

ridicule after that.

Any questions about

the game, or not?

That was very well

edited by the team!

I could have just watched half

an hour of their press

conferences, to be honest!

The contrast!

The contrast is amazing.

Oh, man...

We have had over the course

of the season serious

discussions on here as well.

We have talked concussion,

and the flag.

We talked Colin Kaepernick but do

you think the product

is in a good way?

You have your issues year-on-year

but the competition committee goes

in and they try and fix those

and alleviate the pain points.

They try and make the game cleaner,

better and safer, you have hurdles

with that this year but they always

figure it out.

The game keeps getting better.

I keep on saying the same

things I've said before.

If I was a betting man,

if I was a gambling man,

I would bet every single penny I had

in the NFL.

The product is too good.

When you watch the games, right?

Especially the last half of

the season going into the playoffs,

things going on in the football

field are incredible.

The storylines, the underdogs,

the people supposed to win winning,

the team is not supposed

to win, winning.

The teams who are

meant to win, losing.

It's upside down,

everybody has a chance.

There is nobody untouchable.

Nobody who is too big to fail.

Everything that happens outside,

you have a select group

of people controlling...

It doesn't happen in the NFL.

Everybody has a chance to win.

I love it, man.

And we still have one game to go...

The NFL Show will be

from Minnesota next Saturday,

we will build up to the game

and give you a taste of festivities.

That surround the biggest

sporting event in the world,

then we bring you live coverage

of the game itself,

and we have the highlights of it

at 11:15pm on Monday

the 5th of February.

But that's all from us in the studio

this year, before we go,

let me thank everybody who helped

get these shows to air.

These two think it's

all about them, they don't

really want to thank

anyone, do you?

Can you remember the

crew's name, Jason?

To everybody out there,

I want to say thank you!

I really appreciate it!

Here we go...

Goodbye!

Jason, to stay

between me and that dog.

Don't you just want to

grab your blazer and...

You are watching yourself, are you?

Of course I'm watching myself,

what do you think I've

been doing all year?

I love having you on the show.

It reminds me of the day I got

a rather strange phone call

from a man who was 100% certain

he was my wife's husband.

I hope you will be able to get...

That was impressive, Jason!

Ballin'!

So to our first game...

Tom Brady's book, it's designed

to help the ageing athlete stay fit

mentally and physically.

This is hot!