NFL Conference Championship REACTION: Seahawks, Patriots, Broncos, Rams | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD

What this episode is about

The main topic discusses the NFL Conference Championship games, highlighting Sam Darnold's impressive performance and resilience, which earned him a spot in the Super Bowl with the Seahawks. Key points include Darnold's journey from a challenging start with the New York Jets to proving himself as a talented and athletic quarterback, while underscoring the strengths and weaknesses of both the Seahawks and Rams teams during critical moments of the game.

Key takeaways

• Sam Darnold: the ultimate chess piece, proving patience beats panic in the chaotic game of NFL careers.
• In sports, it’s easier to throw stones than to build bridges; Darnold’s journey highlights this painful paradox.
• Remember the 2018 draft? It’s officially the Sam Darnold draft class now—who knew a Super Bowl could reshape legacies?
• Darnold's secret weapon? Believing in himself while the doubters piled on; self-confidence is the ultimate underdog story.
• Seattle vs. New England: Football’s brutal blizzard of ownership decisions; even legends fall when facing tough truths.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Colin Cowherd (Host) · 33 min speaking
• Mike Vrabel (Guest) · 2 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Sam Darnold, Super Bowl, Seattle Seahawks, Matthew Stafford
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Super Bowl, Mike Vrabel, Sam Darnold, New England Patriots
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Hard Rock Bet, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, NFL
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Super Bowl
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Super Bowl, Drake May
6. 25:00 – 30:00: Super Bowl, Sam Darnold
7. 30:00 – 35:00: Super Bowl, Sam Darnold, New England Patriots, Drake May

Notable quotes from "NFL Conference Championship REACTION: Seahawks, Patriots, Broncos, Rams | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD"

• Channel. Make sure to like and subscribe. Don't forget to check out the Colin Coward podcast, all of our NFL instant reactions, and more football content.

  about NFL · at 0:01

• The general manager that decided to go get him was John Snyder. A couple of weeks ago, I was texting John Snyder, the Seahawks GM. He said, God, I love Sam. Why do people just bash him so.

  about John Snyder · at 3:23

• Slinging Sam Darnold is going to a Super Bowl and will be a favorite in the Super Bowl. Here's his head coach after.

  about Sam Darnold · at 4:22

• But despite the unplayable blizzard in the second half in Denver, New England was the better team and they have been really all year. They never lost a road game and that's because coaching travels. So does toughness and.

  about New England Patriots · at 5:58

• That's rough. You have to admit you're wrong. and he did. And if he doesn't do that, he doesn't get Mike Vrabel. Vrabel talked about Drake May as quarterback in August camp. Came on our show about a month ago. He kept telling Drake May in.

  about Mike Vrabel · at 7:10

• Patriots Seahawks. Hard Rock Bet going to be a lot of different ways you can get it on next Sunday's action. if you haven't signed up with Hard Rock Bet, never been a better time. This week.

  about Hard Rock Bet · at 12:37

• Outside of third down, Stafford was magnificent. He even ran for a first down. He didn't do that all regular season.

  about Matthew Stafford · at 14:52

• Thing, please. So, it's just again, you don't have to be great everywhere in this league. The Seahawks and the Patriots are going to meet in the Super Bowl. Both offensive…

  about Super Bowl · at 17:18

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Sam Darnold — Person · Primary subject (referenced player) · 13 mentions · first at 0:18
  Central figure of the segment: framed as having an unlikely career arc culminating in leading Seattle to the Super Bowl and being contrasted with Stafford and other 2018 QBs.
• Mike Vrabel — Person · Referenced head coach (Patriots) · 4 mentions · first at 6:15
  Presented as a key driver of New England’s Super Bowl run—discipline in extreme weather, leadership messaging, and development/management of Drake May.
• Drake May — Person · Referenced quarterback (Patriots) · 6 mentions · first at 6:30
  Positioned as New England’s young, aggressive downfield QB and a stylistic parallel to Darnold; also debated as a potential weakness due to low passing output in the AFC title game.
  That's rough. You have to admit you're wrong. and he did. And if he doesn't do that, he doesn't get Mike Vrabel. Vrabel talked about Drake May as quarterback in August camp.…
• Matthew Stafford — Person · Referenced opponent quarterback · 2 mentions · first at 1:57
  Used as the comparison point to highlight Darnold’s third-down excellence; portrayed sympathetically as playing well despite a loss due to team weaknesses (special teams/corners).
• Robert Kraft — Person · Referenced owner (Patriots) · 2 mentions · first at 6:55
  Discussed as the ownership force behind difficult organizational decisions (coaching changes) that enabled hiring Vrabel and returning to the Super Bowl.
  Robert Craft had to make two really tough decisions. He had to fire Bill Bich, considered the great greatest football coach of his era. He had to fire him and then he had to fire Gerard.
• John Snyder — Person · Referenced executive (Seahawks GM) · 1 mention · first at 3:25
  Credited as the decision-maker who acquired Darnold; appears via anecdote (text exchange) reinforcing belief in Darnold amid public skepticism.
• Baker Mayfield — Person · Referenced peer (2018 draft class QB) · 1 mention · first at 5:16
  Used to contextualize Darnold’s draft cohort and to argue for reframing 2018 as “the Sam Darnold draft class” because Darnold reached the Super Bowl first.
  For the record, let's go back to the draft class that Sam Darnold was involved in. It include Baker Mayfield as the number one pick. Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Sam Darnold.
• Zack Sharbon — Person · Referenced injured/missing player · 1 mention · first at 2:20
  Mentioned as a missing Seahawks running back, used to explain why Darnold had to carry the offense against a strong Rams front.
  Six. Most impressive though to me and everybody knew this in the locker room in Seattle, they were missing Zack Shar Sharbon, a good running back and the Rams defensive front…
• Lamar Jackson — Person · Referenced peer (2018 draft class QB) · 1 mention · first at 5:18
  Mentioned as part of the 2018 QB class comparison set (along with Allen/Mayfield/Darnold) to emphasize Darnold’s Super Bowl milestone.
  Draft class that Sam Darnold was involved in. It include Baker Mayfield as the number one pick. Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Sam Darnold.

Companies & orgs

• New England Patriots — Company · Main team · 5 mentions · first at 6:01
  One of the two teams competing in the Super Bowl, highlighted for their coaching and toughness.
• Seattle Seahawks — Company · Main team · 4 mentions · first at 1:28
  One of the two teams competing in the Super Bowl, noted for their athleticism and young quarterback.
  Slinging Sam Darnold is going to a Super Bowl and will be a favorite in the Super Bowl. Here's his head coach after.

Concepts & topics

• NFL — Concept · Core topic · 4 mentions · first at 6:49
  The league organizing the Super Bowl, central to the discussion of the teams and the game.

Places & events

• Super Bowl — Event · Core topic · 23 mentions · first at 0:12
  The main event discussed in the podcast, featuring the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.

Sponsors

• Hard Rock Bet — Product · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at 12:37
  The presenting sponsor of the podcast, promoting betting on the Super Bowl.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Welcome to the Herds official YouTube channel. Make sure to like and subscribe. Don't forget to check out the Colin Coward podcast, all of our NFL instant reactions, and more football content. Here we go. The Super Bowl is set. What a broadcast. What a game. What an unbelievable journey for Sam Darnold. We are live in Chicago. It's the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, thanks for making us a lot of choices out there. Part of our day. Well, you know, I'm happy uh slinging Sammy D in a Super Bowl. Say that 10 times. Say it a hundred times.

0:46 Sam Darnold proved two things. Number one, everybody takes a different path. Some kids get great parents. Some kids get the New York Jets. It just takes longer for a lot of people. And the second thing, if you believe in yourself, don't listen to the noise. Don't listen to the doubters. Darnold never stopped believing in himself. And until that game officially ended, 90% of people in this country, sports fans, still didn't think Sam Darnold's Super Bowl sounded right. But he's a perfect fit for this franchise. He's young. He's athletic. He takes swings. He's a risktaker. He's tough. Playing with an oblique where it hurt on every throw.

1:28 Sam Darnold is the Seahawks. A little bit at times reckless, super talented, athletic. Tom Brady had a great way of describing Darnold. He's more explosive than surgical. And that's what I would say about the Seahawks. Two exceptional teams yesterday and two exceptional quarterbacks. But maybe most impressive on the biggest down in football, third down. You got about 15 of those a game. And Matt Stafford was unbelievable yesterday. But on third, it wasn't close. Darnold had 142 passer rating, 6 for9. Brilliant. Maybe he's not surgical. He was on third down and Stafford was 0 for six. Most impressive though to me and everybody knew this in the locker room in Seattle, they were missing Zack Shar Sharbon, a good running back and the Rams defensive front is a lot more talented than the Seahawks offensive line. So Darnold was going to have to carry the Seahawks yesterday and that's exactly what he did beyond third down

2:38 against a strong pass rush. and Chris Schula considered one of the smart defensive coordinators in football. Talent everywhere. Sam threw for 346 yards, had 128 passer rating, was 25 of 36, and for the third straight game, no interceptions, no turnovers. Sam isn't too reckless. Sam at times is more explosive and dynamic than surgical. His journey has a little Christopher Columbus to it. Five teams, five coaches, five, six, seven coordinators, a bunch of different parts of the country, and he's still only 28 years old.

3:23 The general manager that decided to go get him was John Snyder. A couple of weeks ago, I was texting John Snyder, the Seahawks GM. He said, "God, I love Sam. Why do people just bash him so much?" And the answer, of course, is it's so much easier to pile on. That's what the internet is, right? It's just so much easier to join the avalanche and pile on people and quit on people. It's much harder to grab a shovel and support people who had a bumpy first few years in any business. And that was Darnold. Too reckless became three straight games with no turnovers. But until it was over, nobody believed it was possible.

4:06 And how poetic is it that he did it? He had the best game of his career against the one team that had his number and the one defensive coordinator. Again, say it 10 times, say it a hundred times. Slinging Sam Darnold is going to a Super Bowl and will be a favorite in the Super Bowl. Here's his head coach after. Can't talk about the game without talking about our quarterback. I mean, he just shut a lot of people up tonight. So, I'm really happy for him. Every time they went and scored again, he came back, made some big time throws on third down, two-minute drive, the fourminute drive.

4:49 Um the guy barely practiced all week, you know, just really happy for him. He deserves it.

4:56 I'm happy to be a part of this team, man. This group and and this coaching staff is just uh you know, I'm really happy to be here. um happy to be in this position and I'm just going to continue to do the best that I can to put this team in position uh in positions to win football games.

5:11 For the record, let's go back to the draft class that Sam Darnold was involved in. It include Baker Mayfield as the number one pick. Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Sam Darnold. From this point forward, at least on our show, 2018 will be known not as the Josh Allen draft class, as the Sam Darnold draft class. The first guy to get to a Super Bowl. When you look at his salary, when you look at his GM, when you look at this young roster, he's not going anywhere for a long time. Now, let's go to the JV game. Um, I've always been a fan of moms more than mother nature.

5:58 Uh, but despite the unplayable blizzard in the second half in Denver, New England was the better team and they have been really all year. They never lost a road game and that's because coaching travels. So does toughness and defense. They didn't lose a road game. Mike Vrabel's teams yesterday in a blizzard, one penalty, didn't have a turnover. excellent on third down in key spots in absolutely ridiculous weather. These teams, Seattle and New England, are actually very similar. Quarterbacks in Drake May and Sam Darnold that move well and love to attack downfield. No Dink and Dunk guys here. two excellent defensive head coaches, top five defenses, both unbelievably good on the road, but also so much of the NFL is ownership.

6:55 Robert Craft had to make two really tough decisions. He had to fire Bill Bich, considered the great greatest football coach of his era. He had to fire him and then he had to fire Gerard Mayo after one year. That's rough. You have to admit you're wrong. and he did. And if he doesn't do that, he doesn't get Mike Vrabel. Vrabel talked about Drake May as quarterback in August camp. Came on our show about a month ago. He kept telling Drake May in August, leadership is every day, not just today. Drake May against excellent defenses. It's the Chargers. It's the Texans. It's the Broncos. And now he'll face another in Seattle. But at least there'll be no Blizzard and it'll be on a neutral field.

7:41 New England was the better team. I don't want to hear about weather. They were the better football team. No turnovers, one penalty, good tackling. Here's Mike Vrabel after.

7:57 I can't tell you how proud I am to be associated with these guys and this organization. I want to thank Robert and Jonathan. Love our quarterback. I love our football team. I love our staff. I I'm a lucky head coach. Matt Hasselbeck and Drew Brees both stopped by today. I I I I don't want this to get lost on everybody. What is that? The 11th Super Bowl for Robert Craft. There are four teams that have never four franchises never made the Super Bowl. Like it's really hard to do that. Fire Bill Bich. Looks easy now, but the line in New England for years was in Bill we trust. And they had to move off him. And then he hired Gerard Mayo and you had to move off him. And Mike Vrabel took a year off coaching, sort of waiting and waiting, had multiple suitors, but he smartly chose the place he knew and the place he trusted, that is New England. I think it's a great Super Bowl. And I think the two teams, for the record, the two best

8:57 road teams in the NFL, the New England Patriots won, the Seattle Seahawks, too. athletic, young, aggressive quarterbacks who move and were great yesterday. One in a blizzard, one at home in crucial situations, excellent defenses. Defensive coaches finally get back to making a Super Bowl. I can't wait. I think it's really good. I There's one advantage, and I'll get to this later. There is one big advantage New England has in this Super Bowl and it is a major advantage and we'll talk about that after the break. Jmack, listen. Um, the playoffs have been wild. For as much as we talk about offense, so many of these teams that advance did it on defense. It I was watching that game yesterday for the Rams and once Bo Knicks got hurt, I just didn't consider them a Super Bowl team.

9:55 In fact, I I was like, I I I I don't want that to get to the Super Bowl. I I'm going to go with New England. I think New England's the play. I think it's a better story. They're still, I would argue, about a draft away.

10:07 Also, between Seattle and New England, I mean, it's amazing how similar they are. If you looked at both teams, it said, "What's the weakness?" You'd say offensive line for both, but neither has a hole. Both have great secondaries. Both get a good pass rush. young quarterbacks who love to attack downfield defensive coaches. This is a little mirror image of each other. People don't see that one coast and the other coast, but the these these rosters, the Rams have holes like like Seattle doesn't have a hole. Their O line's not great, but I did think it held up pretty well yesterday in crucial passing downs when you had to get like JSN down the field because they were attacking down the field. Yeah,

10:49 I thought the Seahawk line, considering the Rams pass rush, held up pretty well.

10:54 Yeah, no, they excellent job uh by Seattle. I I thought the Rams kind of gave him the game. I thought the Rams were a better team yesterday, especially offensively. Stafford was a machine. Didn't love the McVey call on fourth and four with five minutes left. I mean, you could have kicked to cut it to one, then you just need the field goal to win. Um and Seattle did a great job taking away that uh the running back coming out of the back field. But Colin, this New England Patriots team, come on. Did you see all the historic records they broke

11:20 for futility offensively in the playoffs? This is the weakest offense postseason run.

11:26 Let's contextualize it. It's also the hardest run against best defenses ever. Certainly.

11:31 So, Houston was great defense almost always makes offense look uneven. So, let's let's be honest. The Patriots offense looked very good against mid average and bad defenses. Well, when you face the Chargers and Jesse Menter and then the Houston Texans, you know, guided by Demo Ryan, and then you play a blizzard again and and for the record, Denver's Dline in the first half totally dominated New England's O line. So, I I I I would be careful about saying it's bad offense. I think the AFC this year had excellent defenses, but I think the NFC was the better conference. Yeah,

12:10 and I think what we're going to see is I mean there's a reason Seattle should be favored in my opinion by about three and a half to four and a half points.

12:17 It's I think it's up to five already at some spots. I think Seattle kind of kills them. Did Drake May threw for like 80 yards in the AFC Championship game. I mean Jarrett Stum had more than that. Like I don't know. I was just befuddled by this Patriots offense. Yeah.

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13:27 and make your first deposit today. You know, in the NFL, the coaching's so good. You don't have to be great everywhere, but you can't be bad anywhere, okay? You're as you're as strong as your weakest link. And all season long on this show, we talked about the liability that is the Rams special teams and their corners. Carolina almost beat Seattle. Excuse me. Carolina almost beat the Rams twice because they have big receivers and attacked the smaller Ram corners. The Rams high-end head coach, quarterback, tight ends, skilled players, Dline depth, I think, is better than Seattle.

14:13 I mean, the tight ends, both running backs, wide receivers, it's star studded. But you if you got a leak in the engine, the car breaks down. And Seattle doesn't have a special team issue. In fact, it's a strength. Seattle doesn't have a cornerback issue. That's a strength, too. Seattle is a little bit like New England. The O line is okay, but there's nothing they're really bad at. I saw this line yesterday. I feel so bad for Matt Stafford. He's the first quarterback to throw for 350 yards, three touchdowns, have no turnovers, and lose a playoff start.

14:52 Outside of third down, Stafford was magnificent. He even ran for a first down. He didn't do that all regular season. The Rams last two games against Seattle, they had more yards on the Seahawks and go 0 and2. And it's because of the hole, the corners, the special teams. This had an oie Frasier feel to it. Yes, it felt like we were watching the Super Bowl. It was just in Seattle. I watched it and I kept thinking at the very end, Shawn McVey is never going to have a quarterback again in his career that has 52 touchdowns and nine picks. He's never going to have an offense this perfect.

15:31 Devonte Adams, Abuka, Blake Corm, Kairen Williams, three tight ends, four tight ends. Unbelievable interior O line. I don't think Shawn McVey is ever going to have an offense this talented. He's never going to have a quarterback that plays like this in a single season. And yet at 0 and2 out gaining him. It's just it's just one of those things. He's going to be watching the Super Bowl at home like everybody else. So I do feel bad for people who are committed. This organization is great. They've got a stacked roster. But you saw it. You talked about it. We addressed it multiple times. the special teams felt like they would lose them a big game eventually and they did. Here's Sean after.

16:18 You know, I love our group really. Uh I think uh the finality of all of it. Didn't ever really expect this. We came here with the expectations to win. We had our chances. Um you know, they made their plays and um it was a great back and forth game by uh by two great teams. But uh there was a couple critical errors that ended up costing us, but love this team. It's one of my all-time favorites. I'm pretty numb. You know, I I don't think I think the finality of all of it, you know, when you don't allow yourself to even think about anything other than just advancing. You know, I felt like we were going to be the team on that podium and and we weren't.

16:50 Uh I I'm telling you, that is one of the best, most competitive games I've ever watched. I thought the Rams played really well, and I feel bad for the kid that dropped the punt. Um you know, everybody chirps about officiating. These teams are so fast and these offenses are so dynamic. Uh, it happens and and McVey addressed it during the season. He fired the special teams coach. He pulled that kid after he dropped the punt. He went and gave it to Kairen Williams. Just go catch the thing, please. So, you know, it's just again, you don't have to be great everywhere in this league. The Seahawks and the Patriots are going to meet in the Super Bowl. Both offensive lines are mid, but they're not bad. And neither the Patriots or the Seahawks have something. Both have great secondaries that you can pick on over and over and over. You don't have to have the biggest sack leader, but you have to create

17:41 pressure. The Rams did it. The Seahawks did it. Actually, Denver did it. So, if you look at the totality, the holistic picture of the final four teams. They all had very good defenses. They all had excellent coaching. Mike McDaniel, Mike McDonald, Shawn McVey, Mike Greyel, Shawn Payeyton. Um, just really good and just a blizzard got in the way. Jac with the news.

18:05 NO, NO, NO. TURN ON THE NEWS. THIS is the Herd line news. Let's start with that Blizzard game cuz in the first half, Colin, uh, it was sunny. It was beautiful as everybody expected. And the Broncos had a seven nothing lead and made a horrific decision with your backup quarterback, Shawn Peyton said, "Ah, we're going to go for it." Not only did he go for it, he had the backup quarterback rolling out on a just an embarrassing play decision. Colin, under no circumstances should they have gone for that. You take the points, you go up 10 nothing. Now, if they knew that there was a blizzard coming, I mean, that's even more reason to go for it. You saw what kicking was like in the second half afterward. Um, here's Payton talking about his poor decision.

18:49 Felt like, man, we had momentum um to get up 14. It felt like we had a good call. I think the feeling was, man, let's let's be aggressive. There's always regrets. You know, I felt like, you know, here we are fourth and one. We felt close enough that um and it's and it's also a call you make based on the team you're playing and and and how what you're watching on the other side of the ball. So, yeah, there'll be there'll always be second thoughts.

19:20 Yeah, I don't think that's why they lost. I think the truth is is Jarrett STDM I thought made a huge mistake in the game. I don't think it was going to be his last. If the weather got sunny. Um but I do think in that instance if you take a 10- nothing lead at home in a playoff game your chances of winning I think are over 85%. But again you're talking about very aggressive. Shawn McVey went for it on fourth and four. Why? Because Shawn McVey trusts his offense and Shawn McVey is an aggressive offensive coach. So sometimes your great strength in life becomes your burden.

19:55 Shawn Payeyton, we can get a yard. I don't care. Now I think if I had Bicks, I would understand it. With Jared Stam, I don't think I would do that. So I I mean I think I I tend to not be somebody that thinks because Shawn McVey is aggressive all the time and he got to within a play or two of getting to the Super Bowl again for the third time in his young career. And Shawn Payeyton's a great coach. I my takeaway on this is if you can go up 10 nothing and I don't know if they knew the weather report, but if I can go up 10 nothing at home and my defense, remember Denver's defense in that first half, J-Mack was excellent. 10 nothing felt like 20 nothing. I mean that Drake May New England's O line was getting bullied in the first few series. So I I think it's a mistake. But I also think offensive coaches just by na defensive coaches by nature kick the field goal. Offensive coaches Dan Campbell's made a brand out

20:51 of it. Go for it. So I don't love it, but I don't think that's the reason they lost.

20:56 Compounding matters. So they got to the red zone obviously on the big bomb to Mims. Then they get to the red zone on this drive.

21:02 At some point you got to be a realist Shawn Peyton. Look in the mirror. Man, I got I got my backup Sty by the way. Stitty is a terrible nickname. He was not good throughout the day. They didn't get back to the red zone after that, Colin. They didn't have a drive. 20 yards.

21:16 You got to remember, take a deep breath. The blizzard ended the game. I mean, at halftime, nobody could do and you couldn't my TV. I I didn't know where the yards were. So, I almost look like it was a half a game and then the weather won the second half. I don't think at that point basically New England decided at that point at halftime. I mean, how many times did they just run the ball? Yeah.

21:37 Nance and Romo, they'd be like, "Okay, it's third down and four." or they're like, "No, they're going to they're going to run the ball." They survived.

21:43 That's what you do with 10 nothing leads. Well, no, it's what you do in a blizzard in the second half.

21:49 I mean, I again, I just the second half is an unplayable conditions. And so, I think basically,

21:55 um, you know, whoever let it half, whoever had the advantage once halftime hit, you can't do anything. It's all about who has the wind at their back. I I know that obviously the weather you don't expect 80 yard drives, Colin, they didn't have a drive over 20 yards the rest of the game after failing on fourth down. Rest of the game couldn't move 20 yards, couldn't get a flag, couldn't get a breakout run, anything. I mean, it's it was kind of sad. Um I don't we'll see what happens with the Broncos next year. I mean, this team, let's just be real, they were not a great football team.

22:25 They were good and Lamar went down and Joe Joe Burrow went down and Mahomes went everything broke right for them. I don't I don't know. You think this is a team that could get back to the Super Bowl again in the next like three years?

22:36 I don't know if you get back to the Super Bowl, they're going to win. They're going to be a really good double-digit win team as long as Bo Knicks is on that rookie deal and Payton's the coach. They have a very good roster. I I I don't think Denver's going anywhere.

22:50 Yeah. All right. We haven't talked about the Patriots, but Stefan Diggs is going to his first Super Bowl. He's very excited. Um, obviously remember that he was with the uh Buffalo Bills and wouldn't leave the field with a loss to the Chiefs. Um, here he was talking to Christina Pink about the unbelievable run that the Patriots have had.

23:11 We got a hell of a team, bro. We fought long and hard, man. We never made any excuses. No apologies for our success. No excuses for our failures, man. We made it this far. I'm just so thankful to be a part of this team. Be a small puzzle piece. We got a hell of an engine in the wide receiver room. Guys that make plays, man. We got stars on this team. I hope that we earn the respect of everybody else. But we didn't do it for them. We did it for us.

23:36 Good for him. Yeah, it's it's interesting. So J-Mack, my two teams that you disagreed with, I think I know you disagreed with one. My two surprise teams in the NFL this year were Seattle, which I called a playoff team over the NerS. I said that Seattle is going to be really good. And I said, "New England is going to double their win total and make the playoffs." I don't know if I I don't think I picked a Seattle New England Super Bowl. No. But I think people are looking at Seattle and going, "What a great team." And people are looking at New England and going, "Well, New England's coaching is elite. Their coordinating is elite." Uh, by the way, their wide receiving group made big plays all year. Drake May is excellent.

24:14 Run game fortified by drafting Trayvon Henderson. Hunter Henry a good tight end. They get a pass rush, great secondary. Like, I think New England's talent is way better than everybody think. You don't get to Super Bowls by luck. I I think New England's they spent $250 plus million dollars on free agency. They plugged all I mean, their defensive line is excellent now. And and by the way, remember when the season started, I said, "Don't judge New England in September because they had so many new people. They've got six rookies playing, five or six rookies, 250. New England to me just they had one really awful half this year against Buffalo.

24:53 Remember they beat him in Buffalo, they came home, they had a really bad second half and they also had a bad half if I recall against the Steelers way back early in the season.

25:02 They lost to the Raiders. They've been a very consistent team for the last 10 weeks. You kind of know what you're getting. great coaching, stud quarterback, big play down the sideline throws, and a good a good tough defense.

25:15 It's just tough to look at like this Patriots team and think of recent Super Bowl teams we've seen that are utterly dominant and beastly and dynastic and like this Patriots team is none of that. Now, they're going to, like you said, they're going to win double digit games like the Broncos and be frisky because they got May on the rookie deal. But, uh, you use the word lucky, Colin. Let's use that to pivot to our third story cuz Shawn McVey used the word lucky to describe the Seahawks defense on that fourth and four play. They indeed got lucky. If you're watching it on FS1, you see them double Kairen Williams out of the back field and it wasn't by design according to McVey. Here he is breaking it down.

25:54 That was a situation where we just kind of came up short. They kind of lucked into having two guys peel on Kairen right there. I know that that can't be part of their design. So, it's a fortuitous bust by them. You know, they're an excellent team and you don't take away anything. You know, they they they earn the win and uh you know, they're NFC champs for a reason.

26:11 Yeah. People got upset with that, but he what he's saying is basically they would not peel off two guys to guard him. They kind of had a guy miss an assignment and it just so happened that was the target the Rams wanted. I don't buy into this sore loser stuff. But, folks, it's like when you compete at the level these guys do and then you get asked questions. Do you want a politically correct answer? No. So, the media has got to lighten up. Shawn McVey was brutally honest. They kind of lucked into a bus. They literally had two guys covering a position they shouldn't have had and it worked out because they're great. And, you know, I mean, listen, they did a very good job against Stafford on these third and fourth downs. That's the reality of it. But, you just you can't ask questions to competitors and athletes and coaches and expect these plastic synthetic answers. They're they're raw. the the these, you know,

27:02 these guys are raw. They're beaten. They're I mean, they these these coaches talk about not seeing their families for four months during the season. This stuff is tough.

27:11 Yeah, I I'm with you. I think I this sore loser nonsense. I haven't seen that personally. I stayed off social media. Obviously, I had the Rams in this one and and that stung, but they did get lucky. I mean, Kyron Williams is open on that probably 80% of the time. Look at the matchup. He's against a linebacker. I mean, Kyron Williams had a really good game. I mean, the Rams, Colin, against this mighty Seahawks defense averaged 8.3 yards per play. 8.3. I want to hear it like that. The Seahawks unbeatable defense. I mean, I do I already did pull out some money on a home equity line of credit and bet on the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl. I mean, I feel confident in that one, but um yeah, that's a tough one for the Rams.

27:49 Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by. The herd line. Okay. So, I'm going to give you one and I I am I mean this is a hill I'm going to die on. There is one advantage New England has and when you're talking about young 23 25 28 year old athletes this plays New England is going to hear now for the next two weeks they're going to get rolled by the Seahawks. Huge advantage Patriots. Remember in the national championship game, Miami heard for a week, nobody's going to beat Indiana. Do you remember what that first quarter was like? Miami, the Hurricanes were playing with their hair on fire. They bloodied Fernando Mendoza's lip. They were angry when you take young people and you tell them, "No, you're going to get embarrassed." Stuff kicks in. New England is going to hear because Seattle is so athletic and the NFC is better and they beat the Rams and the Darnold

28:49 story. I'm already hearing it. Oh, New England. They're lucky to be here. Mike Frabel used that against the Houston Texans. Remember when the Patriot players came out of that game and said, "All we heard all week was, what do we do? We're going to get we're going to get beat by the Texans." Vrabel is taking media clips for the next week. He is going to play that over and over. It's don't forget how the New England Patriot dynasty started in a snow game. The Tuck Rule got to a Super Bowl and were a 14-point dog to the team the media loved fastest show on turf, the Rams. A 14point and everybody loved. I mean, they gave Brady and Bellich no chance.

29:38 It's the same damn story. And this is only a five-point underdog. So, it's so easy to focus your players during Super Bowl week when they're told they're going to get run. And it it's funny. I lived in a New England region for a decade. It's a great place to live. It's a great place. There is something about the the New England region. Uh you know, they always say fences make great neighbors. People keep to themselves. They're not as rich or as sexy or as flashy or as New York. But look at all the New York teams. The Celtics are smarter than the Knicks. The Patriots are always smarter than the Jets and the Giants. In New England, there's something about the character. They kind of like being an underdog. They kind of like being doubted. They kind of like being told they don't have a chance. And they're just going to keep their head down. and Vrabel, who is so good situationally. I mean, one penalty in a

30:33 blizzard, no turnovers in a blizzard against a really good team, but I I'm just telling you, you giving me five points in New England. I'm taking it. I don't know how it's going to do. I think Seattle's better. Yeah. But they're very similar teams. Both of them need about another draft to solve their offensive line issues. defense. They're both good coaching. Defensive guys, excellent quarterback. Um, still young, athletic, love to throw the ball down the field. JSN is the best receiver in the game and Walker is a handful. I think Seattle is better. That's why they're a five-point favorite, but um, for the record, Darnold in his career against the Patriots is 0 and4 with a 41 passer rating.

31:25 No, it's a it's a different Sam Darnold. Um, but I don't buy that this is a mismatch at all. I think that's complete absolute nonsense. I think this is a field goal game either way. I think Seattle should be favored, but all varel. The messaging for two weeks is, by the way, New England doesn't have to go on the road. Neutral field and no blizzard. It's all I'm saying. Christian Gonzalez of the Patriots, a great corner out of Oregon. Uh his thoughts on being an underdog in a Super Bowl.

32:04 I mean, it's been two weeks in a row is it was always, you know, whoever the Texans, you know, they talked about the Texans defense and then this week it was all about the Broncos defense and um I mean, like Mil said, I think it's it's shown we have a we get that chip on our shoulder. I mean, it's it's it's cool. It's it's great if you want to count us out cuz, you know, we just going to go out there and show what we can do.

32:29 I mean, think about that. The dynasty started as a 14-point underdog to the greatest show on turf. We just watched the national championship where nobody gave Miami a shot to win and they came out and were so ticked off and Miami was hitting late on Indiana. And one of the reasons cuz Mario Crystal Ball sold that all week. You're the dog. Nobody trusts you. that is so effective with young athletes. I I all year long all I keep hearing is, you know, New England, tell me where they're bad. Tell me where you don't like New England. Tell Tell me the weakness.

33:05 Am I here Drake May is the weakness. I don't know. That's the greatest weakness of all time. Coaching, coordinating, toughness. They're great on the road. I mean, that to me, their road record tells you all you need to know. Coaching travels. Toughness travels. Smart travels. Flashy offenses don't travel. That's what doesn't travel. A flashy air attack in bad weather doesn't tra all of New England's assets all travel. Well, the two best teams in the NFL this year on the road, they're playing in the Super Bowl. Yeah. I'm I think you're getting a mirror image of each other. I think the Seahawk roster is a little deeper and more complete. It just takes one bad fumble at your own eight. I mean, it just that evens the whole game up. One block punt, we're even. I'm I'm taking the points in what I think will be a great Super Bowl. It's the herd.

34:04 So, the Pittsburgh Stealers, the Stalers hired Mike McCarthy. Very safe. Not actually shocking. There was a lot of talk about other candidates, but you know, Mike McCarthy is not a bad coach. Mike McCarthy will win a lot of games. To me, he's the offensive version of Mike Tomlin. Um, you know, he'll win games. He knows what he's doing. I do think he'll make it more of an offense first franchise. They've been stuck spending a fortune on old defensive players. It is time to pivot. Uh, does it feel edgy? Is it what the Rams would do or the Seahawks? No. Does it feel aspirational? No. But Pittsburgh isn't.

34:47 That's not Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh loves Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's going to do what feels right for Pittsburgh. So, this has always been a franchise that's insular that doesn't operate like the rest of the league. Um, you know, it just feels kind of safe. So, they haven't pivoted to offense. What would make any of us think they're going to pivot to a young, clever, aspirational, edgy, risky offensive coach? I mean, they can't even get the offensive coordinator position right. They they don't show enough u urgency at quarterback. I mean, what were the AFC playoffs this year? A bunch of 20-year-old quarterbacks and one team with a 40-year-old quarterback, the Pittsburgh Steelers. So, um and they just spend a fortune on defense where the rest of the league is spending it on offense. So, it's kind of what they do.

35:34 Um, you know, they're they're when you watch the Rams Seahawks play yesterday, you're talking about GMs that take big swings, big risk. I mean, the Rams have had one first round pick in like nine years, Jared Verse. So, the Seattle and the Rams and the Cities are very tech cities. They've got a lot of young people in the city. They're, you know, Seattle and the West Coast and Los Angeles. It's just their DNA is to take swings and take risks. And that's not Pittsburgh. That is not Pittsburgh. That they're very comfortable being good. So, they chose a Pittsburgh guy. Um, and you know, it again, I think he's the offensive Mike Tomlin.

36:18 He knows what he's doing. They'll win a bunch of games. I mean, every time Dak Prescott was healthy, they won like 12 games. But I will say this with Mike Tomlin over the last seven or eight years and Mike McCarthy, when you do get into a game with like an Andy Reid or a Bellich in his prime or a McVey, you don't necessarily feel like you have the best coach. You don't have a bad coach, but you always kind of feel like the other guys get better on the details, little more buttoned up. So that's where we stand today with the Pittsburgh Stealers. Um, the other thing is people are going to beat up on Shawn McVey for his play call. Uh, and I would have gone with a field goal, but the one thing, and there's a distinction here, I'm I'm offensive coaches tend to be more aggressive on like fourth down than defensive coaches, and the entire brand of Dan Campbell is going for it. What I didn't like about the move, because I

37:10 don't think anybody thought there was going to be a blizzard. Uh, maybe they did. What I didn't like about the move is even if you pick up the first down, you're at the 13 yardd line. It's not like you got point. It'd be one thing if you were it was at the one. So, you go for it and if you succeed, 14- nothing. That is worth the risk. But the play design was not a play design. They rolled him out. That was not a design for a touchdown. It was a design to get the first down. So even if it was successful, all right, you're at the 12 yardd line, 13 yardd line, so what? That that doesn't guarantee anything. So I didn't think the the risk was worth the reward with a backup quarterback. Again, Bo Knicks, I would go for it. I I I would feel different about Bo Nicks because Bo is so Bo would, by the way, not have pulled up there. Bo would have beaten the edge rusher to the corner because Bo is so

38:06 athletic and never takes sacks and never takes negative plays. So if you watch that play with Bo Nicks, he would have moved outside of the defensive end. He's the most underrated athletic quarterback in the league. Bo Nicks, he would have moved past the pass rush and then bought time or run for it. But that's not STDM. Stumm's taller, less athletic again, just hasn't been in this spot very much. So I I just didn't What was the What was the payoff? A first down. all goal for it. Because remember, if you lead by 10 in a conference championship game, at any point in a game, your chances of winning are 89%.

38:47 And a lot of these analytic numbers I roll my eyes at, but I don't roll my eyes at taking a 10-point lead at home when the weather is not ideal. And I the teams had to know that the weather was going to get worse. I don't know if they knew it was going to be that, but I my guess is they knew it was going to get kind of bad. Coaches tend to be uh you know very intense on weather. They're also superstitious. They know you know Payton knew the weather was turning. So here was Shawn in the fourth down decision. Again

39:15 felt like man we had momentum um to get up 14. It felt like we had a good call. I think the feeling was man let's let's be aggressive. There's always regrets. You know I felt like you know here we are fourth and one. we felt close enough that um and it's and it's also a call you make based on the team you're playing and and and how what you're watching on the other side of the ball. So yeah, there'll be there'll always be second thoughts. Yeah, I tr I generally stay out of play calling because I think there are certain things analytics can't measure and but in that instance if you pick the first down up you're still 12 13 yards away from a touchdown. So you you have there's a likelihood uh you know the way New England's defense is very good uh there's a likelihood you're going to be doing that same thing in in 90 seconds or 2 minutes you're going to have to make that decision again if you're at the one or

40:18 two I get it at that point I think there is something to be said about momentum young athletes you're at home it's 14 nothing the weather's getting bad then it feels I mean there's a big difference between 14- nothing and 10- nothing when the weather's getting By the way, Bo Nick's first career start in the NFL. He was the second fastest ball carrier in the entire league. That's interesting. Staff just sent that. So, he's got a totally different gear than Jared Stidum. Totally different gear. Bo Nicks, I could call that play and live with it. Jared Stidum, I'm going with a field goal. Um, all right. Good stuff. Colin right, Colin. Top of next hour. Matt Hasselbeck stops by. Can't wait to talk to him. He was in Seattle and I have been told was partaking in some of the festivities after the game with the Seahawks.

41:13 I love to hear that. What an environment. What a game to to be involved in. What a what a day in Seattle. Wasn't the weather perfect? No like that in Seattle in January.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "NFL Conference Championship REACTION: Seahawks, Patriots, Broncos, Rams | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD"?

Colin Cowherd (Host), Mike Vrabel (Guest).

What is "NFL Conference Championship REACTION: Seahawks, Patriots, Broncos, Rams | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD" about?

The main topic discusses the NFL Conference Championship games, highlighting Sam Darnold's impressive performance and resilience, which earned him a spot in the Super Bowl with the Seahawks. Key points include Darnold's journey from a challenging start with the New York Jets to proving himself as a talented and athletic quarterback, while underscoring the strengths and weaknesses of both the…

What is mentioned in this The Herd with Colin Cowherd episode?

14 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Super Bowl, Sam Darnold, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Mike Vrabel, NFL. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "NFL Conference Championship REACTION: Seahawks, Patriots, Broncos, Rams | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD"?

The episode runs 41 min; the transcript is about 7,409 words in 74 timestamped sections.

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