Best of the week on The Herd

Here we go, hour two: big week, big stakes. Sean McDermott is out in Buffalo, Seattle loses Zach Charbonnet to a knee surgery, and if you’re playing the Rams, you’d better run it, drain the clock, and keep the ball away from that top offense.

Quick hits on what I nailed and missed: Denver was my pick to take the West with Bo Nix, and they look legit despite his rough month; Josh Allen’s talent is undeniable, but those giveaways sink you in January.

I’ve been loud on New England all year—tough, clean, extremely well coached, and Drake May brings poise; meanwhile C. J. Stroud’s late‑season errors were the wrong kind at the wrong time.

Seattle as a surprise riser? Loved the front office, the athletic jump to Sam Darnold, and Mike Macdonald’s defense; I never bought talk of Matt LaFleur being in trouble, and Oregon keeping Dante Moore always made sense.

Top‑end talent check for the AFC title game: Denver stacks star power across the roster, but New England owns the most vital edge with Drake May over Jarrett Stidham, and that can swing it.

In the NFC, Seattle and the Rams were the steadiest teams for most of the year; Rams have the headline duo with Puka Nacua and Matthew Stafford, Seattle counters with speed, length, and a defense that travels.

Kenneth Walker running downhill has kept Seattle on schedule and let Sam Darnold throw less; ideally they stay balanced and let the defense dictate pace rather than asking Darnold to drop back all day.

Seattle’s defense and special teams grade out better, but you don’t want many quarterbacks throwing forty‑plus unless their names are Brady, Mahomes, or peak Rodgers; young, fast teams like Seattle can overwhelm you once they catch a rhythm.

Tom Brady is on the call for Rams‑Seahawks, and I asked him how you handle that surge of youth, speed, and momentum.

When a return goes ninety‑plus and the building erupts, it’s hard to stem the tide; if Seattle hits on special teams, plays great defense, and lands some explosive passes, they’re a handful, but the Rams are one of the few built to match it.

Coaching shows up as clean football—New England and L.A. didn’t flinch in brutal weather with no slop. What’s the practice secret behind that?

Daily urgency, constant ball‑security work, and making practice tougher than Sundays; we used slick footballs so backs learned to protect it, and that discipline underpins the Rams’ precision offense going into a top offense vs top defense showdown.

Year one with a new team can be bumpy; what’s the hardest part for a quarterback like Darnold in Seattle?

It’s the total reset—terminology, timing, line calls, center mechanics, receiver chemistry—and you chip away until it clicks; in Tampa it took about a dozen games before we leaned into what truly worked.

These two have traded blows all year and are separated by basically a point and a yard; round three demands everyone’s best.

Switching to Patriots‑Broncos: Denver can be a house of horrors. Why is it so tough there?

Altitude, volume, and when their defense hunts, rhythm disappears; Sean Payton’s set a relentless standard, and New England will need its cleanest game to win in that building.

Give me the quick read on Jarrett Stidham.

Natural thrower, smart, quietly mobile, and capable of winning by protecting the ball; this weekend likely comes down to field position, red zone execution, and who trades kicks for touchdowns.

I think humility separates great quarterbacks, and Drake May reminds me of you in that way.

Humility is how you lead—serve your teammates, praise others, and accept every opponent’s best as your standard; Drake lives that, just like Mahomes does.

I caught the college title game with my son and loved how composed the young guys were; no one’s a finished product, so the right environment and an obsession with improvement are everything.

Go crush that production meeting—this one feels like the game of the year. And yeah, Drake May and Mendoza have that same grounded presence at the mic, and it matters.