Colin Cowherd Podcast - Broncos SILENCE Doubters, Mahomes Tears ACL, Philip Rivers Returns, Bills STUN Pats

Dec 15, 2025

John Middlekauff, a former NFL scout and host of '3 and Out', joins to dissect intense NFL matchups. They spotlight the Broncos' crucial win and Bo Nix’s breakout performance. The conversation touches on the Packers facing significant injury challenges affecting their season outlook. They also discuss the return of veteran Philip Rivers and the effectiveness of experienced quarterbacks. With Mahomes sidelined due to a torn ACL, they analyze the Chiefs' future and highlight Josh Allen's stellar play in the Bills' comeback.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Bo Nix's Breakout Performance

Bo Nix delivered his best career game, showing improved accuracy, mobility, and late-stage decision-making under Sean Payton.
Colin and John view Denver's defense plus Nix's growth as a legitimate AFC contender when he performs like this.

INSIGHT

Injuries Could Derail Packers' Season

Green Bay suffered potentially crippling injuries to Christian Watson and Micah Parsons that remove key speed and disruption from their roster.
Colin and John warn those absences could flip Green Bay from contender to a team fighting for a wild-card spot.

ADVICE

Bring In Veteran Pocket QBs To Stabilize

Use experienced pocket quarterbacks who know the offense to stabilize undermanned teams in short-term situations.
Colin argues veteran QBs like Philip Rivers or Kirk Cousins can efficiently move the chains and keep offenses clean.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Colin’s joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to break down all the week 14 NFL action.

They start with the Broncos winning a heavyweight fight with the Packers and agree it was the best game of Bo Nix’s career and that the Broncos stepped up big time in a “prove it” game (3:15). After key injuries to Christian Watson and Micah Parsons, they call it a “crippling game” for the Packers (9:45).

They move to the Seahawks win over the Colts in the return of 44 year old Philip Rivers. Colin argues that older, immobile quarterbacks that know the offense like Rivers and Cousins can be effective and wasn’t surprised at the close result (11:30).

They recap the Chargers win over Kansas City that eliminated Mahomes from the postseason. They agree that Justin Herbert has been better than Mahomes all season and laud the coaching of Jim Harbaugh for finding ways to win (23:45). They also explain why the Chiefs are headed for a 1-2 year retool/rebuild in a division with two other elite teams (29:00). They also react to the update of Patrick Mahomes tearing his ACL and discuss what that means for the future of the Chiefs franchise and why they need to be careful bringing Mahomes back too quickly (30:30).

They move to the Bills comeback win over the Pats & argue that the Bills have to win in shootouts due to a lackluster defense and highlight an incredible second half by Josh Allen… who they agree is the best player in the NFL (35:00).

They recap the Bears beatdown of the Browns and Colin explains why the Bears look and feel like a playoff team on both sides of the ball and argues Ben Johnson might be the best coaching hire since Sean McVay (43:00).

They move to the Rams playoff clinching win over the Lions and highlight the weakness of both teams’ secondaries, but point to a nearly unstoppable Rams offense that should carry them to a division title (56:30). Staying in the NFC West, they recap the 49ers win over the Titans and they explain why the Niners are a team that nobody will want to see in the postseason (1:02:15).

Finally, they survey the standings and make their picks for teams that can win a playoff game versus teams that can win it all (1:06:30).

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.)

Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!

#Volume

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.