Conor and Jenny are here to take you through a bewitching Week 8 in the NFL. We start with the big upset in New Orleans, where the Saints haunted Tom Brady to take down the defending champs, even after losing Jameis Winston early in the game to a knee injury.Then, we discuss the thrilling wins for the other back-up QBs: Cooper Rush leading the Cowboys over the Vikings on Sunday Night Football, the Jets' Mike White throwing for 400 yards against the Bengals and Geno Smith notching his first W as a starter for the Seahawks. The Patriots and the Steelers also deliver big wins for their proud franchises in what is a frighteningly wide-open AFC. Plus, Jimmy G scares away his critics, the Titans have a death-grip on the AFC South and the ghoulish blowout losses brought to us by the worst rosters in the NFL. All in a Halloween's work.Have a question for the show? Email themmqb@gmail.com or tweet at @GGramling_SI, @JennyVrentas or @ConorOrr. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It’s been more than seven months since news of the first civil suit filed against the quarterback first came to light, and ever since it’s been a mess of rumors, misperceptions and incorrect information. Jenny and Gary, who have reported the story more deeply, thoroughly and independently than anyone in the industry, discuss what’s true and what isn’t when it comes to the Deshaun Watson situation.That starts with Roger Goodell’s first public comments regarding the league’s lack of action on Watson, the basis for which doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Jenny and Gary also—once again—address the stubborn conflation of license massage therapists and paid sex workers when it comes to the details SI has independently corroborated, as well as the absurd and insulting Houston-area rumors that SI’s reporting was influenced by a plaintiffs’ attorney who was heavily criticized throughout the process.Finally, a look at the trade rumors themselves and who they’re affecting—as well as who’s escaping accountability—in the final days before the trade deadline.Have a question for the show? Email themmqb@gmail.com or tweet at @GGramling_SI, @JennyVrentas or @ConorOrr Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Week 7’s slate might not have been the best one we’ve seen this season, but it did give us a better grip on more than a few teams. First and foremost: The Bengals are really good. Jenny, Conor and Gary break down not just the emergence of Joe Burrow and the (controversial, at the time) addition of Ja’Marr Chase, but the overlooked defense that is fueling their early success just as much.Then, a look at everything going wrong for the Chiefs, coming off their worst game of the Mahomes era, sorting through a wet win for the Colts on Sunday night and figuring out just where Carson Wentz stands.Plus, a discussion on the continued absurdity that is the Deshaun Watson rumor mill, in light of reports that the Dolphins and Panthers are ready to leap without looking.Have a question for the show? Email themmqb@gmail.com or tweet at @GGramling_SI, @JennyVrentas or @ConorO Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It seemed the Steelers were heading toward—at best—a tie with the Geno Smith-led Seahawks on Sunday night. That’s when T.J. Watt did what he does best, the most important thing a defensive player can do in the modern NFL: He took the ball back.Turnovers have been declining at a steady rate over the history of the NFL, and the number is on-pace to hit a new low again this season. Jenny and Gary discuss just what the takeaway means at a time when defenses are struggling more than ever to get off the field.Also, a look at how Watt is doing his part to keep defenses afloat with his aggressive approach to forcing turnovers. And a discussion of Trevon Diggs’s historic pace on interceptions, and whether he can make a run at an INT record that hasn’t really even been threatened since it was set in 1952.Have a question for the show? Email themmqb@gmail.com or tweet at @GGramling_SI, @JennyVrentas or @ConorO Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The sixth Sunday of the NFL season brought the extremes, with a number of weird and wild games sprinkled in with some absolute blowouts.Jenny, Conor and Gary start with the Cowboys’ rollercoaster ride in New England, where they overcame a ton of penalties, a ton of third-down struggles, and a late, long Mac Jones touchdown pass to beat the Patriots in overtime. What does it say about Dallas as a potential Super Bowl contender? And what does it say about the Patriots and their rookie QB?Then, a look at the things that went very wrong for the Browns in a lopsided home loss to the Cardinals, and how the Ravens are overcoming plenty during their current winning streak.Also, T.J. Watt takes over overtime on Sunday night (a difficult thing for a pro-Geno Smith podcast to admit), the post-Gruden Raiders get off to a great start, the Chiefs prove that—at least for one day—some sloppy turnovers can be easily overcome, a closer examination of Aaron Rodgers’s claim that he owns the Bears, Kirk Cousins gets it done in Carolina, what’s next for the Giants after a meltdown against the Rams, and much more.Have a question for the show? Email themmqb@gmail.com or tweet at @GGramling_SI, @JennyVrentas or @ConorOrr Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Monday brought one of the most stunning developments the NFL has seen in recent years: Jon Gruden, once perceived as untouchable in Las Vegas, stepped down as head coach after a series of racist, misogynist and anti-LGBTQ emails were released to the New York Times.Gruden’s language—and his presumption that he could use such words—is problematic. But it points to a larger cultural problem that exists in places across to the NFL, and raises the biggest question of all: Why hasn’t the NFL released any details regarding the investigation into the Washington franchise’s toxic workplace environment?The impact of Gruden’s words and the consequences he is now facing, what’s next for a Raiders franchise in which he once held near absolute power, and what’s next for the league office that now might have no choice but to act.Have a question for the show? Email themmqb@gmail.com or tweet at @GGramling_SI, @JennyVrentas or @ConorOrr Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Chiefs fall again, this time on Sunday Night Football. Jenny, Conor and Gary run down how it’s going wrong for K.C., from the defense’s disappearing stars to the offense’s lack of patience. But also, a look at how the Bills finally got their white whale, scoring a convincing road win in the elements.Then, a discussion of the undeniably beautiful game between the Chargers and the Browns, in which Justin Herbert continued to establish himself as an MVP favorite, and the undeniably not-as-beautiful game between the Cardinals and the 49ers, in which you start to wonder how much longer Kyler Murray can be a superhero and exactly what we should have expected from Trey Lance in his first career start.The Giants limp into Dallas and... well, limp out of Dallas, the Bears win ugly in Vegas, another one for the Urban Meyer lowlight reel with the most bizarre challenge in recent memory, whether the Steelers can repeat Sunday’s impressive offensive performance, the Patriots and the Texans get weird, Matt LaFleur makes things interesting by taking the ball out of Aaron Rodgers’s hands, and much more!Have a question for the show? Email themmqb@gmail.com or tweet at @GGramling_SI, @JennyVrentas or @ConorOrr Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

From an otherwise meaningless five-yard run at the end of a lopsided game came one of the most intense, delightful and senseless coaching feuds the NFL has ever witnessed.Jenny, Conor and Gary take a look at the utter absurdity—of all parties!—in the Vic Fangio-John Harbaugh feud that came out of Harbaugh’s desire to go for a record streak that, quite possibly, no one but him and a few Ravens coaches knew was a thing. We smile along with Lamar Jackson’s reaction, wonder whether player safety should have been taken into account, and ask the most important question of all: Whose side are you on?Inspired by this whole ordeal, the three-person panel of self-appointed football historians then reveals their favorite feuds from over the years, including a mysterious answering machine message the cheap shot it inspired, accusations of pre-game introduction shenanigans, and plenty of childish name-calling.Have a question for the show? Email themmqb@gmail.com or tweet at @GGramling_SI, @JennyVrentas or @ConorOrr Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The biggest game in the history of sports (that actually doesn’t have that big an impact on the standings) was played in Foxboro on Sunday night, as Tom Brady played kinda O.K. in a game that his current team won against his former team after a last-minute field goal attempt bounced off the upright. Should Bill Belichick have gone for it on fourth down? Hypothetically, would Mac Jones have gotten it done against Todd Bowles and the Bucs’ shorthanded secondary? Will we talk about this game forever and ever? Maybe.Then, a discussion of the undefeated Cardinals, the difference between the 2020 and ’21 editions, and whether or not this year’s early success is sustainable. Plus, everything that’s going so very right for the Cowboys, the Giants finally show what Daniel Jones can become if they let him, the Browns are dominating with the defensive line, the 49ers don’t show much in Trey Lance’s first extended action, the Steelers look ugly as ever, and a very neat day for Zach Wilson.Have a question for the show? Email themmqb@gmail.com or tweet at @GGramling_SI, @JennyVrentas or @ConorOrr Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

You are in the same place. You are in the same time. But this world is very different. Different because of one thing: Tom Brady is still the quarterback of the New England Patriots.What would have happened if Brady re-signed with the Patriots in the winter of 2020? Travel the multiverse and find Jenny Vrentas, Gary Gramling and Conor Orr (with the help of alternate reality host Mitch Goldich), recapping the adventures of the Brady-led 2020 and ’21 Patriots, their success (or lack thereof) with their aging quarterback, the fate of Rob Gronkowski, and how it all would have played out heading into Sunday’s Week 4 home game against the Tampa Bay Bucs. After the exercise in sci-fi is through, an earnest discussion of why the Brady/Belichick split made the most sense for all parties, even as Brady lifted the Lombardi for the seventh time. In short: Why the greatest coach-QB pairing the league has ever seen had run its course. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy