12-30-24 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4
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Good morning to you. It's a Monday, December 30th. How did that happen? I don't know. I just can't believe we're down to the final few hours of 2024. But football keeps us busy. I think that's how the time passes so quickly.

Thanks for hanging out with us on this Monday morning. If you're heading to work, maybe you're back into a couple days of your familiar routine or you're traveling. I know I've got family members that are up early heading to the airport at this hour to fly back from their holiday excursion. Whatever adventure you're on, um,

Or maybe it's more mundane and routine. Thanks for making after hours a part of your Monday and the final couple days of this 2024 year. I'm blown away by that. I know I keep saying it has just been a crazy year. And I think because there wasn't a whole lot of time to slow down or take a breath much.

That means you just kind of lose track of the weeks. They fly by in a blur from month to month. And I know many of you are sending kind messages about the holidays and the new year, which I appreciate. And also about Miss Flower Power, Flower Girl, Flower Bud, Flower Bell. I've tried a bunch of different nicknames. I think we're going to stick with Flower, though, because she knows it. She is a shelter dog that we adopted on Friday from a...

I mean, it's just an animal shelter, the kind where you walk in and you look at dogs that are lining the walls in cages. And I know that that's what they have to do. And that in Texas, they're trying in many cases, as long as they possibly can. They're keeping animals, dogs and cats and others without euthanizing them. They're looking for homes for them. But unfortunately, in Texas, they're inundated with animals who've been abandoned or who ran away, who are strays, who need homes.

I don't know that this was ever where I expected our dog search, our journey to take us, but it really is a privilege to be able to adopt a sweet girl who desperately needed a home. It was a tough situation. There was a smaller dog in a shelter that had a couple hundred of them loud all the time. Not a lot of fresh air, daytime space out in the yard and to be able to grab her and

Not literally to be able to grab her on Friday to see her on Monday and to get back there on Friday. My goodness, it was nearly a seven hour round trip because of traffic and accidents and construction and just people on the roads in Texas. For those of you who know the corridors, I 10 we ended up on because all the other routes were going to take us even longer. But

And then we had to wait an hour because there were so many families adopting dogs on Friday, which is great. I'm so glad to hear it. I wonder if it was just a holiday thing and families telling their kids that they can get a dog for Christmas or for New Year's. So, yeah, there was a long wait there as well and a long drive back. But had a chance to adjust to her, she and Daisy, riding butt to butt.

in the back seat. I don't know if that means anything. I just know that they were okay together. And Flower is now here experiencing her first radio show. If you haven't seen the photos, well, she's been all over the place until she collapsed about an hour ago. She is snoring again. I'll take that as a compliment. She's comfortable. She's happy. So you can check them out at ALawRadio and on our Facebook page too, After Hours with Amy Lawrence. And while you're there,

Why not vote in our poll? So we're not doing Monday MVP. We're doing NFL MVP as we kick off this work week or this week. That's weird. It's more of a holiday week, I guess. If you think about the NFL MVP candidates, it may be the tightest race in years. And it's not just a two horse race, if you will.

It's not just a two bird race between say the Ravens, Lamar Jackson and the Eagles, Saquon Barkley, but certainly Josh Allen. And you've got guys inside the Bill's locker room who are stumping for him.

They're out there campaigning for their guy. But Derrick Henry has still got to be an outlier. Who else? Joe Burrow. The team is 8-8 despite how bad the defense has been. So there are a lot of different ways that you can calculate value. Maybe Sam Darnold gets a couple of...

outside votes. He's not been as steady as some of the other quarterbacks, but for heaven's sakes, he has 35 touchdowns through the air and then has only 12 interceptions. His numbers, terms of passer rating and QBR, the nearly 4,200 yards passing, what a revelation he has been for the Vikings, who are still...

Still alive for the one seed in the NFC. So it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on this Monday, 855-212-4227. Again, ALawRadio and our Facebook page as we dive in. We'll start with Sunday Night Football because this is also part of the NFC playoff picture for better or for worse.

I don't think it's quite as drastic as the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. That's more about the playoffs. But what the commanders have been able to do in the first year with Dan Quinn and Jaden Daniels as a rookie and a bunch of other new guys, new ownership, of course. How cool for this long-suffering fan base. How cool for this...

Team that's kind of been around the mountain again and again and again. And I'm not blaming Ron Rivera. I love Ron Rivera. Mostly put the blame on how poorly run and how poorly managed this business under Dan Snyder. And finally to be out from under the thumb of Dan Snyder in the NFL, finding a way to force him out.

when they couldn't keep it under wraps any longer. But the NFL has culpability in this as well. But that's all in the rearview mirror for the commanders, not to mention...

their different name changes too. Having not made the playoffs since 2020, remember that was the crazy year where the NFC East was one with a losing record. They hosted the Buccaneers that year in the wildcard round of the playoffs and Bucs obviously went on to win the Super Bowl. But here is Washington now doing it the right way. They're not backing in Bucs

this is the beginning of something special for the commanders and what we saw against the Falcons. Yet another example of their resiliency, of course, but also the poise, the calm kind of on other worldly, uh, calm for a rookie quarterback reminds me a lot of what we saw with CJ Stroud last year in the pressure cooker. He rises to the occasion. Um, and to be honest, Michael Penix did the same. Um,

Falcons started out great. They were running the ball. They were riding Bijan Robinson. And then for some reason, very few rushing yards in the second half. I don't know why they went away from it, but that was really their base, their bread and butter. So we see instead kind of a shootout

unfold late stages. Michael Penix, awesome in what was the last scoring drive for the Falcons. Converts on a couple of fourth downs, including the touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts, which comes on fourth down late in regulation. They go on into overtime. Seven plus minutes. The commanders have the ball.

They see their rookie quarterback run knife through the first and second levels of the defense. 42 rushing yards in overtime. I'm worried about him a little bit when he gets down to the two yard line, it gets hit by three different defenders kind of bandied about my gosh at times. And this is not a knock on Jaden. So please don't take it this way. I'm not criticizing him, but he's relatively slight. He's not a big dude. And so you,

You see him hit by multiple defenders, kind of gets knocked around like a pinball or like a rag doll. And I worry about him getting back up. He's been great about that despite some of the nasty hits that he's taken. And so I'm excited for that. But I do worry about him running too much moving forward. That's a problem for another day. He was still standing on the two yard line looking for a receiver in the late stages of overtime.

Daniels out of the gun with Rodriguez next to him. Two receivers left, one to the right. Zaccheaus comes in motion. Daniels takes the snap, looks left, throws left, passes. Commanders, Zach Ertz and Jaden Daniels will take Washington into the postseason for the first time since 2020.

How about that? Tom McCarthy with the call on the Westwood One radio network. He got rid of the ball so quickly that you almost...

If you blinked, you missed it. It was so different than what he'd been doing earlier on this drive. And so to watch Jaden Daniels execute in overtime, I don't want to say to perfection, but to execute in such a way that really belies his status or lack of experience in the NFL, of course, raving, more people raving about him.

as they watch on national TV. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence, the playoffs really being the big thing. But how cool is it that in Dan Quinn's first year, they now have locked up a playoff spot. They do it in overtime and,

And I love over and over that what we hear from not just the commander's locker room, but from Quinn himself is about how excited they are for this fan base that has waited and hung on at times, probably didn't keep the faith, but now it's back and they are roaring for their team in the DC area. Good to see you guys. I can feel the juice already from you guys as, uh,

It's a really cool night. And the first thing I want to acknowledge is as the fans and feeling their energy tonight for five quarters, man, we felt every bit of it. And they really deserve a cool win like that. And so for us to have that connection with them, they're as big a part of it as you can imagine when you're feeling it on the sideline, the energy and all the way through. God bless me again. Give me another opportunity to go out and try to win a football game, just like you did last week.

Jaden Daniels, he was talking about his emotions after the fact and how he's just, he's tired.

This game takes a lot out of you. I appreciate the honesty, to be sure. But this is kind of what we've seen from the commanders over and over. They showed the highlight on this broadcast of the Hail Mary to Noah Brown. Remember that one? And then last week as well. And it's...

It's a credit to the team that they've been able to win these games in the late stages and that they've come up with multiple ways to do it as they go to 11-5 with a rookie QB. They've won four games in a row. And these last two are the big ones, right? Because the Eagles, they're already in the playoffs. That's a division rival. They end up winning by just the three points in the late stages. And then the Falcons...

who are trying to get to the playoffs and they get stymied there late as well. Kind of last possession of the fourth quarter missed field goal there. But really the big thing is just how they did not give the ball back.

in overtime. I love that. I love that you can be not just a quarterback who leads your team and can make the big plays, but how important is the possession? The possession, keeping it away from Michael Penix, keeping it away from the Falcons and not allowing them to have another shot at the end zone for seven plus minutes. So congratulations to the commanders and really love the

the Jaden Daniels wrinkle, and the fact that we've got a bunch of young quarterbacks this season who are already leaving.

a mark or already leaving kind of an imprint on their franchises and on the greater NFL. So it's kind of fun. Not that we're going to get too far down the road, but to think about this rookie class with Caleb Williams and the bears got some work to do, but he's, he's the centerpiece there with Jaden Daniels, Drake may obviously taking over in new England though. I know they're a mess too, and could end up with the number one overall draft pick.

That's something that developed on Sunday where the Giants end up winning. The Raiders end up winning. And so now you've got the Patriots who are in that number one, not the seed, number one draft pick spot. We'll see what happens in week 18.

They would honestly rather be in the playoffs like the commanders are. But that's how you build. You can get, if not a quarterback, obviously they can get another major weapon, someone to add who can be a game changer instantly.

So it's awesome to think about what Bo Nix has done in Denver. They know they've found their franchise quarterback now. We'll see what happens with J.J. McCarthy. Michael Penix has taken over. All of these young QBs will continue to bring down the average age of the starting quarterback in the NFL to begin the season. Let me find my number. I want to make sure I got it accurately. I think it was 27.9.

which is funny. Yes, 27.9 was the average quarterback age in 2023. It's obviously coming down now in 24 because of the number of rookies that are starting. And then even going back to 2017, it was over 30. But we've seen...

I'm going to say a mass defection, but we've seen retirements of these older QBs. And if Aaron Rodgers ends up out of the league after this season, he wants to play again. I just, I don't know where. That's a question for another day. But it's clear that the Jets internally as well as externally don't think

they have a place for him. Don't want him back. I don't think they want it to be acrimonious. I just think they're ready to move on. So once Aaron Rogers retires, uh, Kirk cousins may not be starting next year. Is that, that's weird to say that number is going to continue to drop. So in 2017, it was over 30. Now it's under 28 and it will be even younger. Um,

with the starting quarterbacks in the NFL following this season. And honestly, the case with coaches too, right? Because Bill Belichick is out. Pete Carroll is out. I know Andy Reid still in. We'll see who we, in terms of the veteran coaches who stay, but who we end up bringing back, maybe of Mike Vrabel and maybe a Pete Carroll too. But yeah, the, the,

The trend toward youth in the NFL is pretty drastic. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. The Commanders, they get this playoff spot, which is awesome. Falcons, though, this is rough because they had much higher expectations. I know they turned to Michael Penick, so you're going to have some moments with rookie quarterbacks. They give it and they take it away. I just think this one is really tough because after...

bringing in Kirk Cousins and then drafting Pennix. They felt like they not only had the quarterback of the present, but the QB of the future. And how often do we hear about the Falcons? They're one quarterback away. They're just a quarterback away. And I know they believed that. And I believe in Raheem Morris. They've made some positive strides. It's just, it's,

It's not been enough yet. Right. And it's easy to blame cousins and the stretch. He had the five games where it was. Oh, my gosh. Felt like a turnover on every other play. That's not fair. The defense has not done its job this year. The defense is still not been great at the pass rush. And that's been a woeful weakness for them for a few years now. Just not been good enough. The pieces haven't fallen into place yet.

Which, just as it pops into my brain, makes me think about the Bills and the turnover on their roster, even the Rams, and the turnover on their roster in the last couple years. And yet, because of leadership at the top, because of the key pieces they've got, they've managed to withstand a lot of that turnover. But it's not been the case for the Falcons, and they've not made a lot of steps forward.

I think they can. They just haven't yet. But Raheem Morris is a bright light and a lot of people in Atlanta really like him. But this one's tough. There's a rookie quarterback out there. He likes his rookie quarterback. But I mean, this is this is not where they wanted to be. I mean, even with Michael Penix getting out there showing off some impressive skills, this is a woeful underachievement.

I mean, I love the kid. I mean, I love the kid's fight. I love his desire. I mean, anybody can go out there and stand in the face of adversity and throw that strike like he threw the cow pits to give us an opportunity to win that football game. I mean, that's what it's about. He represents us. He represents Atlanta. He represents everything that's good about us.

Yeah, I mean, it's always tough losing, you know, but we play in the National Football League, man. We play against the best of the best each and every week. We got to come with our A game. You know, it's things that, you know, we wish we could have had back, and it's things that we did good. But at the end of the day, you know, we'll go back to the drawing board, you know, and try to see what we can do better so that we can get this win next week. And, you know, yeah, it was tough.

They are still alive. I mean, there's another one left out there on the field, but they are still alive. So here's what we know about the NFC. The Eagles have...

The East Division title, the Commanders are a wild card team. The Eagles are still a long shot for the number one seed. And we've talked about them and Saquon Barkley and what they might do in week 18. Already on the show, you can grab the podcast either on Twix or Facebook, or you can bookmark that link. It's an evergreen link. It'll be available right after the show is done. The Eagles...

may or may not try to throw it all out there for the number one seed when it is a long shot. Other dominoes would have to drop. We'll talk about the North coming up. We still don't have a division title holder there, but three teams into the playoffs. The Rams end up

I don't want to say through the back door because they certainly have done exactly what they needed to do with the five consecutive wins. But how cool that they aren't still playing for the division title coming up in week 18 because of what happened on the field on Sunday after the game.

After they take care of their business, Seahawks get eliminated, which is a big deal. And so the Rams and the Cardinals actually. So the Rams are the division title winners there. And that leaves just the NFC South. So we need a North winner, though we know the teams that are in. We need a South winner and then Seedings. But everything else is set in the NFC. Still need one more playoff team from the AFC. Wow, it's coming together, you guys. At ALawRadio, who...

Right now is your NFL MVP. Poll is up there. It's also in question form on Facebook if you prefer that. And straight ahead, we'll talk Vikings and Packers. And man, what a revelation. What a surprise for the Vikings. And think about it. Vikings have never won a Super Bowl. Lions have never won a Super Bowl. Bills have never won a Super Bowl.

incredible possibilities there. Good morning to you. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You are listening to the After Hours podcast. No huddle operation. Darnold looking to go on second down and here he goes out of the shotgun. He pumps, fires to the touchdown!

Jalen Naylor with his sixth touchdown this season, and Sam has thrown 33. First and 10 from the Green Bay 18. The Vikings are chewing on the clock here in the third quarter. Play action, and Sam throws to the right, throws to Addison, caught.

Jordan Addison with his ninth receiving touchdown this year. Jefferson left, three receivers right. Akers jumps to the right, now back to the left. Darnold out of the shotgun, takes the snap, swings it to Akers, turns it up to the 10, to the 5. Cam Akers with his third touchdown this season. It's time to pull on the pads and hit somebody on After Hours with Amy Lawrence.

Man, some incredibly dramatic finishes in the NFL this weekend. But don't know that I put Vikings and Packers in that category, though the Packers made it a little closer and a little more delicious at the end. But the story of this game, especially in the first half, is that there were a lot of yards for the Vikings and not very many yards for the Packers. At one point...

It was such a disparity. It was over 100 yards more in favor of the Vikings. And Sam Darnold locked in a career-high 377 yards through the air for him. I know they've changed the rules for Comeback Player of the Year, but I think it would be incredible if Sam Darnold could win it. Paul Allen with the calls on Vikings radio. Yeah, you only see the score of this game. You may think this was a tight one. Eh.

Packers found some footing, but their issue over and over and over again is that they put themselves in early holes over and over and over again. And it's distressing for a team that really can't afford those types of players.

games in which they spot their opponent, two touchdowns or three touchdowns. It's not impossible to come back in these situations. Um, but against teams in your own division who are so freaking good in the lions and, uh, the Vikings, and then also against the Eagles, we've seen this, um, where they fall into a hole early and they just don't have enough against a good team to dig out. Yeah. I mean, it obviously bothers me. Um,

You know, I just think that you can't get down against good football teams. And if there's a lesson there, that is the lesson because it's tough to come back. I think our guys continue to fight and battle and scratch and claw. But ultimately, we just can't put ourselves in a hole like that. Yeah, I mean, belief's there. We know it wasn't good enough in a lot of areas tonight. You know, off to a very slow start.

Obviously not putting up any points early on didn't help us. But yeah, I mean, obviously we know what type of team we are and there's just a lot of stuff to clean up.

Only one positive drive for the Packers in the first half of this game in Minnesota. Are you kidding? You're on the road. It makes it even worse because the fans are even more juiced and fired up. Meanwhile, the Vikings put up points on five of six drives around half. And yes, the Packers, they were able to pull in into the barn late, but it wasn't enough. And it was actually a missed field goal by Minnesota that kind of sparked their run. Back-to-back touchdown drives.

But Minnesota able to get the ball back, moves the chains on a third and two just inside the two-minute warning, and Green Bay never had another opportunity. As for Darnold, how about this? He goes from being a cast-off who's seeing ghosts in New York to then also no good in Carolina. I mean, what do the Jets and Panthers have in common? You can tell me. Then he finds a new home in San Francisco, a professional organization where...

They've got their stuff together. They've had years of winning until this one. And even though he's not the starter there, it's just a reset, kind of a reset button on his career. And now in Minnesota, he's

Where maybe they were expecting J.J. McCarthy to be ready by midseason or late season. Who knows how this plays out if J.J.'s healthy. By the way, he was tweeting after the game, I love this team, which I think is really cool for a rookie who hasn't been able to play a snap. But here's Sam Darnold now doing interviews with Tom Rinaldi after the game for Fox Sports and then chatting with Tom Brady, right? I mean, this is the kind of thing that Sam Darnold has earned.

because of the way he's played. He's had a game with five touchdowns, now a game with 377 yards. He looks poised. And it's...

easy to say, oh, well, look at all the weapons around him. And that is the case. But man, we give other quarterbacks credit for raising the level of play. And so Sam Darnold deserves that too. He completed passes to eight different targets. He certainly is getting terrific plays, leaping catches. Then there's JJ, Justin Jefferson, who can catch pretty much anything within his zip code. You've got other guys that are

stepping up and having career years and a lot of that has to do with coaching but it also falls on Sam to execute and so he does deserve the credit and yeah a post-game conversation with Brady

No, it was great to be able to obviously talk to the best to ever do it. It's always special whenever you get to have him call your game and talk to guys like Tom Rinaldi after the game. I don't take stuff like that for granted ever. It's a special moment to be able to share with those people. Like I said, just all around, just my teammates, every single person in this organization, I'm just happy to be here.

I do not in any way believe that the NFL operates with a script. Every now and then, I get people who tell me they believe the league is rigged. I think you'd have to be...

an ostrich with your head in the sand, which apparently doesn't really happen. You'd have to be blind to not think that the NFL is just every single week, a total crap shoot. Although we do have a winner on survivor Island, a guy who's still standing. I need to update you on that situation. But here we are in week 18. And while a lot of the playoff participants have been decided, we do not know a couple of key numbers, key,

division winners like the NFC North. And as I'm going to use my air quotations, as luck would have it, this is what I mean. The NFL can't, they can't draw this up any better. It is like a movie script because here we go into week 18. They have flexed Lions and Vikings into the Sunday night football game. So very last game of the NFL regular season is for the one seed in the NFC as well as the NFC North title. Kind of like

a survivor winner right after the way the division has gone and how tough it's been. I know the bears are not a winning team, uh, to put it mildly, but they do play tough and these rivalries are tough. So yeah, it all comes down to week 18 for Vikings and lions and how neat for Kevin O'Connell and his crew. Now we get to go on the road and, um,

have a chance to compete one more time. That's all we ask for is just another new week, new challenge. Really, really one of the best teams in football all year long. We got to go to their place and roll it out there for 60 minutes. So we're going to put our work in this week and try to find a way to go 1-0 this week. Flexed into Sunday night football. Wasn't it just two years ago? Was it two years ago?

when Dan Campbell and the Lions were in their first year and the Packers, all they had to do was win on Sunday night football at Lambeau to go to the playoffs and they lost. And I kind of believe that was the launch point for what we've seen with the Lions. I know Campbell was hired before that, but remember they were three and 13 in his first year and he was lamenting about not getting flexed and all that jazz. So now here they are into this season,

Next season, post-NFC Championship game appearance, and the Vikings are pushing them. Harder than any other team in the NFL, the Vikings are pushing them. But it's made both Detroit and Minnesota better. Not to mention Green Bay, who still has some work to do, but is in the playoffs. And man, this division transformed in 2024. Maybe we expected worse.

the Lions. A lot of people feeling like they were building, they were on their way up, even after losing in the NFC Championship game. But how about the Vikings, who come...

out of proverbial nowhere and the Packers who in their own division after what they did against the the Cowboys in the playoffs last year have struggled to win against these two teams at the top of their division but three of them headed to the postseason which will be a lot of fun because the traditions in the NFC North are amazing they go back for a hundred years

At ALawRadio, at Amy After Hours. By the way, if you have not seen the reception for Sam Darnold in the locker room, he got done with all of his interviews on field. And he gets into the locker room where there's more than 100 people waiting to greet him. It was kind of fun. So check out that video. Producer Ryan retweeted it at Amy After Hours. Who is your NFL MVP? With a week to go in the regular season, who is your NFL MVP?

Who deserves your vote? We've got that poll up or you can find us on Facebook. Pictures of Flower Power, who is currently snoring behind me. Brand new puppy that we were able to adopt from a shelter here in Texas on Friday. She's well, she's a lot of energy getting to know her. And so far, so good on the radio show because right to sleep, except for when I was eating leftover ham. Then she was awake and in my face wanting some ham.

But she's currently asleep with her fried egg on a bagel toy. That's her favorite right now. Good morning to you. It's Monday. Let's go. Here's our latest sports update. Hey, guys, it's Jim Costa from Cash the Ticket. If you're betting the NFL playoffs, you need to be listening to Cash the Ticket. We're breaking down every single game, totals and sides, all the way to the big game. Subscribe to Cash the Ticket on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. It goes back to Barkley. Barkley breaks the tackle. He's at the 40. He is at the 25-yard line. He is 25-yard line. Let's see what he has right now as he goes to the 25-yard line. He has just broken the 2,000-yard rushing mark.

- John Barkley goes into NFL history. - Being a fan of the game and the running back position to reach a milestone and put myself up there with eight other backs that I respect and some of them I grew up watching definitely means a lot, but at the same time, I wouldn't be able to do that

This team, like I said, you can't be great without the greatness of others. I'm just happy I was able to be a part of the team and be able to reach a milestone like that. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The voice of one Saquon Barkley. He is humble, which I appreciate about him. But over 2,000 yards, only the ninth player in NFL history ever to achieve this in a single season of rushing yards.

and I just think his story is so much fun. It's not that typical. Derek Henry could have had the same story, right? Because of the way that his career with the Titans ended and how he found a new home with the Ravens.

I think about Saquon in the same division. The fact that he'd had some injuries that people said made him a waste of a number two overall pick. And now here he is helping the Eagles settle into an identity again. And once again, they are a Super Bowl contender and actually still alive for that number one overall seed, though several different dominoes have to drop for that to happen.

You hear Merrill Reese with the call on Eagles radio. He's sitting at 2004 yards right now, 2004, which means he's 101 shy of Eric Dickerson. All right. So that's the record for a single season, 2105 yards and,

What we heard from Nick Sirianni is that he's not sure whether or not they'll play Saquon Barkley in week 18. Again, since they really have a long shot at the number one seed, they are still alive, but likely are going to end up as the two after winning the NFC East would be behind either the Lions or the Vikings as that one seed. But still, this is significant, and I don't know that he'll have another shot at it. This is a

I mean, it's an indication of how much had to go right this season for the offensive line. Of course, for the offense and the play calls, him staying healthy, the number of carries he's received, but also what he's done with them. How do you know this chance will ever come around again? So I say go for it. Now, if he gets hurt, of course, people are going to say, what was he doing out there on the field?

And that's always a risk. It's not any riskier in week 17 or week 18 than it was earlier in the year. So if Saquon wants to and it matters to him, then I think Sirianni should allow Saquon to make the decision. And if he wants to, I don't think you should limit him. Because again, this is lightning in a bottle type of stuff. It may never set up this way again. And yes, Saquon was asked about it after the game.

The way I look at it, if it's in God's plan, then it is. I'm not overly trying to go get it. I'm not scared of it. I would love to, but at the end of the day, also, we got bigger things that we're focusing on, and we're able to clinch the division right here. Whether it's we play next week or not and rest, I'm fine with that, too, because I didn't come here and sign here just to rush for 2,000 or break a record. I want to do something special.

I appreciate his approach. I love how humble he is. I think that he has handled all of his business the right way this season. You know, his team, maybe a little smack talking against the Giants, thanking them for letting Saquon Barkley go. But Saquon really just wanted to get through

that the hurdles against facing the Giants back at MetLife and now is focused on bigger goals but yeah it'd be kind of cool now that brings us to the MVP conversation the poll is up at ALawRadio yes we have one week to go but who is your NFL MVP at this point I'll just raise my hand I voted for Saquon

For a couple of reasons, some of which I've just mentioned. The fact that this type of situation does not come around every day. And the fact that Saquon is one of just nine. Now, if he breaks the record next week, if he plays and he breaks the record, I don't know how you can not...

give him the MVP award. But right now he's probably running third to Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. So we're asking you to pick and Ryan did a great thing. He made this a six day poll. So it's going to run most of this week. We'll be able to, to talk about it on the air and see the results as they maybe change. So retweet it, get other people to vote as well. And we'll see where we're standing at the end of this week.

We've also got it up on our Facebook page. And on Facebook, we're seeing write-in votes because we do give you the other option on Twix. Some writing in for Patrick Mahomes. I've seen a couple for Joe Burrow. Derrick Henry was such a popular candidate earlier in the season. He stayed healthy and he's made a massive impact in the Ravens' backfield. I mean, think about the Ravens and the points and the yards and the production for that offense this season.

Maybe, just maybe, outside chance that Lamar Jackson does all of that on his own. But I think most people who watch football would tell you that, in fact, Lamar himself would tell you that it's not been all him. That it's been a lot of Derrick Henry carrying the load.

So yeah, Bill on our Facebook page, Lamar Jackson, his stats are unbelievable. Check them out. Well, that's true. But how much of the attention has been focused on Derrick Henry and trying to stop Derrick Henry or slow down Derrick Henry, which means that some of the pressure and some of the defensive focus is away from Lamar. So pick your poison with this team. I think Josh Allen has less around him.

though the guys that he does have, James Cook has played terrific. Amari Cooper being added midseason. Keyon Coleman, when he's healthy, has played really well. What have we seen from Matt Collins and Khalil Shakir? These guys, because of Josh Allen and just because of the opportunities, have had career seasons. And that counts for something too. But I think Lamar's got...

major weapon, one other fellow MVP candidate with him in the backfield, which could tip the scales in favor of Josh. Or maybe Saquon ends up with the all-time rushing record. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. We still don't know the winner of the NFC South. The Falcons spit the bit on Sunday night. They have an opportunity to stay in control of their path. They don't do it. And meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Bulldogs

Buccaneers are roaring and Baker Mayfield played his best game on Sunday with five touchdowns and no turnovers, no interceptions. So that's a big deal. We know that Todd Bowles was raving about Baker even as he first got there. What do you call him? A warrior? Even before Baker had taken a snap as the starting quarterback and I

know there have been some dips he's still kind of a gunslinger which means he'll try to go for broke on plays where he has no business forcing a football but what we've seen from Baker in trying to lead his team back to the NFC South title this last month is really impressive

He really played a heck of a ball game intelligently. We didn't turn it over offensively. We were very good on third down, and he controlled the ball, got it, spread it around, got everybody touches, and he played a good ball game. Yeah, he definitely did. I mean, that's not Todd Bowles yelling, it's exciting, like he did at the beginning of the season. It's exciting! Right? It's almost...

Not almost. It is still hard to believe that's him, which is why we bring it back. But the Bucs got five touchdowns from Baker, two of them to Mike Evans, who was fired up. I'm so glad he's healthy again now. They go five for eight in the red zone. The Panthers' defense was abysmal.

Over 200 rushing yards, though, for Tampa. And that's huge. Bucky Irving, as a rookie, is over 1,000 yards. They love what they've gotten from him. So they're getting a bunch of transition as well as they move forward. But Mike Evans is the key, especially after losing Chris Godwin. The relationship that he and Baker have established previously.

and you've got to give a ton of credit to Mike Evans. I know the quarterback often gets more credit, but in this case, Mike Evans is the glue. He's the constant. He's a big reason why they've continued to have this offensive success with Baker. So after the guys up front, I thought they protected extremely well. And then, you know, obviously our pass schemes, we had some guys running pretty open. So it goes to the staff and then guys making plays. So everybody was detailed, prepared,

You know, obviously we'd like to have a few more touchdowns in the first half and settle in for field goals. But, yeah, guys were on point.

I like it. They scored 27 points in the first half, and he's talking about how much more they could have scored. Every single quarter, they get to 48 points. They're 9-7 now, and if they win in Week 18, they will own another NFC South division title, and the Falcons will be left to wonder, what if? So one spot available in the NFC, still one spot available in the AFC. We've got seeds and division titles that still need to be handed out, which means there's drama.

in week 18. Thanks for joining us. Have a great Monday. Back with you tonight. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Boom!