THE HERD - Hour 3 - Who survives between John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin, is the NFL MVP race settled?

All right, third hour and worth the wait—Nick Wright’s here; I tried to keep him in the second hour, but schedules are brutal.

Listen, being bumped for Joel Klatt is a humbling reminder I’m not Tom Brady, and that’s healthy for the ego—happy to be here, Colin.

I still don’t buy Buffalo; you can’t spot teams leads every week and expect a title run, and I’ve got them slotted around ten.

Every contender has a crack this year; Buffalo’s defense finally showed real backbone, Josh Allen made the costly mistakes, and without a perfect team in the field, the door’s open for a deeply flawed group to make it—though three straight road wins is a big ask.

Philadelphia’s talented but chaotic—public sideline tiffs, odd halves with no passing juice, and a coach who stokes fires; that’s not nothing.

The seeding math could drop a hot six seed on them, and with how they’re playing, I’d take San Francisco or Los Angeles to go into Philly and win; Fangio’s defense is nails, but the offense doesn’t feel fixed.

Quarterback taste check: I like big, heavy movers with juice, which is why Brock Purdy messes with my wiring, because he keeps delivering.

Purdy’s been excellent the last two weeks and traded haymakers with a top-tier talent, but I still spread the credit to Shanahan and Christian McCaffrey, and I’m not putting him above the elite tier yet given what similar quarterbacks have looked like in this exact setup.

Drake May isn’t flashy but he’s been steady since early fall, and there’s a Brady with mobility vibe to how he solves problems before the snap.

I’ve got Drake May firmly in the top group, but the MVP race has become a December sprint for pre-approved candidates; over the full season I think Stafford’s been the best, with May a close second.

I’ve got a show and a demanding podcast boss riding me today—happy holidays, brother.

Nick’s a blast; quick thought—Brady was the greater share of New England’s success, and Drake May’s efficiency echoes that ethos without the histrionics.

Dallas cut cornerback Trayvon Diggs, which is peak Jerry to address immediately, and it’s more dead money in a messy reset.

They’ll target a top corner and an edge in the draft, and the bigger question is whether you believe in this staff and how they’ll handle the receiver room decisions.

Chargers clinched but Jim Harbaugh is resting Justin Herbert and other starters, smartly taking the long view as they head to Denver as big underdogs.

Matchup-wise, Herbert’s experience is real, but a rookie’s first playoff start against that pass rush and Jesse Minter’s plan is a tall order, and Denver’s built to be a nasty winter host.

NBA gut punch: Nikola Jokic hyperextended his knee; ligaments are fine, but he’ll miss weeks, and the games-played threshold likely nukes his MVP shot.

This is a window for others, but the Lakers defend like a sieve—no true three-and-D wings—and that’s roster construction, not on JJ Redick to magically fix overnight.

College note: Oregon–Texas Tech is a great stage for Dante Moore, but the best move is another year; thrusting a twenty-year-old into a shaky franchise can stunt a career.

I love his talent, but the data says another dozen-plus starts meaningfully improves his odds—go back, then go big.

We’ve seen this movie with young quarterbacks in bad spots—give the kid runway to grow before the league eats him.

On USC–Notre Dame pausing: with auto-bids, Notre Dame’s carve-out can push out a team it lost to, which is bad business for USC; remove auto-qualifiers and it’s a different discussion.

It’s savvy by Notre Dame—they protect playoff access without a league, cash an NBC deal, and schedule flex keeps them viable even with one loss.

USC’s Big Ten slate is already a gauntlet, so skipping an extra landmine makes sense; college football’s a beautiful mess, and we don’t need a tenth heavy hitter when nine conference games will do.