It’s the biggest game of the year and it’s come down to Baltimore at Pittsburgh for the AFC crown. The Ravens are a 3 1/2-point favorite to beat the Steelers and host a playoff game after a 1-5 start and a wild weekend for Derrick Henry in Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers without D.K. Metcalf in Cleveland. Nothing makes sense. But here’s what we do know…
Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the upcoming Ravens-Steelers game, highlighting the significance of the matchup as both teams are 9-7 and 8-8, respectively. They debated the potential impact of Lamar Jackson’s injury on the Ravens’ strategy, noting Tyler Huntley’s efficiency in his recent start. They also analyzed the Steelers’ offensive struggles and the importance of running Derrick Henry. The conversation included speculation on the future of coaches like Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh, and the broader implications for both franchises in the playoffs.
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Create contest-oriented content and promotions for the WNST tech service so listeners receive breaking news first and can participate in contests (launch before or during the upcoming holiday week).
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Drive back up to Pittsburgh on Sunday night as planned (coordinate logistics for arrival and show coverage).
- [ ] Monitor Lamar Jackson’s injury status and all related developments while present in Owings Mills through New Year’s Eve and report updates for the show.
- [ ] Bring cookies (peanut butter and oatmeal-raisin preferred) for Nestor when driving to Pittsburgh on Sunday night if responsible for transporting him.
Discussion on Ravens and Steelers Season Recaps and Upcoming Game
- Nestor Aparicio welcomes listeners to WNST AM 1570 and mentions the upcoming game between the Ravens and Steelers in Pittsburgh.
- Nestor talks about the Maryland craft cake tour presented by the Maryland lottery and mentions the Festivus playoff edition of the show.
- Nestor introduces Luke Jones, who will monitor Lamar Jackson’s injury status until New Year’s Eve.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the Orioles’ Zach Eflin’s return and his potential role in the rotation.
Analysis of Ravens and Steelers’ Season Performances
- Nestor and Luke discuss the upcoming game between the Ravens and Steelers, highlighting the significance of the matchup.
- Luke notes the imperfections and trials both teams faced during the season, leading to their 9-7 and 8-8 records.
- They discuss the historical context of the game, noting it as the first time the Ravens and Steelers are playing a winner-take-all elimination game in week 18.
- Luke compares the current game to other significant games in NFL history, such as the Saints vs. Seahawks and the Carolina vs. Tampa Bay game.
Strategies and Player Health for the Upcoming Game
- Luke emphasizes the importance of running Derrick Henry and the potential challenges Pittsburgh might face in stopping him.
- They discuss the potential game plan for the Ravens, focusing on ball control and running the ball effectively.
- Nestor and Luke debate the pros and cons of starting Lamar Jackson vs. Tyler Huntley, considering Jackson’s current health status.
- Luke highlights the importance of Lamar Jackson’s health and performance in the game, noting the need for him to be at his best for a deep January run.
Impact of Coaching and Player Decisions on Game Outcomes
- Nestor and Luke discuss the impact of coaching decisions on the game, such as Arthur Smith’s play-calling and the Ravens’ defensive strategy.
- They analyze the performance of the Ravens’ defense against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, noting the team’s vulnerabilities.
- Luke mentions the importance of getting an early lead to lean into a ball-control game with Derrick Henry.
- They discuss the potential impact of TJ Watt’s injury on the Steelers’ defense and how it might affect the game.
Potential Scenarios and Outcomes for the Ravens and Steelers
- Nestor and Luke explore various scenarios for the game, including the potential outcomes if Lamar Jackson starts or if Tyler Huntley plays.
- They discuss the implications of winning or losing the game for both teams, including the impact on coaching jobs and player contracts.
- Luke emphasizes the importance of the game for the Ravens’ playoff hopes and the potential challenges they might face in the playoffs.
- They conclude by discussing the overall health and performance of key players, such as Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and the Ravens’ offensive line.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Ravens, Steelers, Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley, Derrick Henry, Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, playoffs, injury, defense, offense, NFL, football.
SPEAKERS
Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 to Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. This is Happy New Year 2026 out there. Gonna get my planet fitness funny hat to wear. If you saw our segment that Luke and I did with funny hats at Planet Fitness and Timonium last week, off to the new year, a buck down, and you’re off to like a healthier thing, and certainly healthier for me, if I could eat some of Mr. Rooney’s cookies on Sunday night in Pittsburgh, like this guy, we are putting the family roadster together. We’re head back up to the Burg on Sunday night, and we’re gonna do a Maryland craft cake tour all the presented by our friends at the Maryland lottery. I’ll have candy cane cash, maybe a Festivus playoff edition of the show, if we lean into that next week, Luke Jones is now here. He will be there in Owings Mills here through New Year’s Eve, through the holiday to monitor all things Lamar and injury. If you’re on the wnst tech service, by the way, I’m dreaming things up for the wnst tech service that are going to be fun and contest oriented. Jump on that. You get breaking news first. It’s all brought to you by cold roofing and Gordian energy. Speaking of that, before we do any Confluence here, I was going to be flipping funny with you, but Zach Eflin back with the Orioles, speaking of the tech service on Sunday night, right? So you’re in the know. When you’re in the know and you get it all first, we’ll have you got anything on the Z ecklin. You like efflin? Right? Good thing, right?
Luke Jones 01:29
I like it as long as there’s still a top of the rotation guy, yeah, you’re gonna, you want him to spend some I got you, I like Evelyn as the an option for the back of the rotation. If that’s the case, then, hey, thumbs up. Kind of like I talked about the Shane buzz, like, if there’s another bigger move coming, then I like those moves even more. So we’ll see.
Nestor Aparicio 01:49
Okay, we’re playing a football game in Pittsburgh on Sunday night, and let’s take away everything we’ve talked about, and we’ll get back to this renegade Tomlin in the fryer Monday morning. If they lose, I still think if they go up on Sunday night and they lose and some blow a double digit lead fumble the ball, something is perceived as hard balls fault, they’re going to play with the backup quarterback, at least for now, and we’re going to have all week into the by 2026 Well, no, if Lamar is playing on Sunday night or not, I look man soup to nuts with this whole thing. There’s so much meat on the bone here, just on the Green Bay game for the Raven side, defensively, offensively, Steelers and where they are. DK Metcalf, this has got all the markings, right? This is, there’s a reason the NFL flexes this in the Sunday night, the lights will be on. And I really do believe, despite the mediocrity that you and I can go through and, you know, blow holes in both of their boats about whatever it is, they’re coaching their quarterback, they’re scouting their line play, whatever it would be. It’s pretty juicy. This is, this is about as good as it gets, other than them both being 11 and four and playing this game, right? Yeah, yeah, of course.
Luke Jones 03:10
I mean, obviously, when you’re when you’re talking about a nine and seven team playing an eight and eight team for the division in week 18, there were clearly some warts and some significant warts for both teams and some some trials that both teams went through, and imperfections and reasons why. Let’s face it, this is a punchline for a lot of people, not because of the teams themselves, but when you just look at the records, right? I mean, we all remember what was it? The Saints playing the Seahawks and the Marshawn Lynch game, right? But whenever you have a team that’s 500 or sub 500 or a Game Over 500 at nine and eight, you kind of look at it and say, oh, and the league wants to expand the playoffs even more. I mean, we want to. We want more teams like this in so But that aside, it’s the ravens and the Steelers, right? It’s the first time these teams have ever played a winner take all elimination game in week 18, right? They’ve had some you know, the Christmas game in 2016 was close to it. Remember, Pittsburgh sealed up the division with that win and knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs. But that was the penultimate week of the season. So this is, you know, whenever the league gets this, they love it. I mean, they, they actually have a few of these. You know, obviously the Carolina, Tampa Bay game, which has way less appeal, because those teams don’t have the cachet that Pittsburgh and Baltimore and Aaron Rodgers and maybe Lamar Jackson, but definitely Derek Henry, that Carrie, whereas, you know, Tampa Bay is the team that Tom Brady went there for a couple years and won a Super Bowl. And Carolina is Carolina, right? I mean, people in Charlotte barely care about the Panthers, let alone the rest of the country, but you have that. And even the Saturday night game, it’s for the NFC West and the number one seed. So that’s not a Knockout Game. Him, but the NFL loves how this broke. I mean, yeah, in an ideal world, the ravens and the Steelers would be, you know, better records would be in better shape. DK Metcalf would be playing. TJ watt would be playing Lamar Jackson would be playing. One team would be 11 and five, and the other would be 10 and six. Let’s say, you know, make it, make it look a little bit better in that way. But, you know, it’s still Raven Steelers, and as we talked about in our previous segment, as we’ll continue, continue to talk about, all the way into Sunday night, no matter what this looks like on paper, and I’m in full agreement that on paper, it’s trending favorably towards the Ravens. You know, not just because of the results of this weekend, but just where these teams are, health wise, which is crazy to say that not health wise, personnel wise, because Metcalf’s not an injury. It’s crazy to say that, because I’m saying that with the acknowledgement of Lamar Jackson status being unknown and in doubt here, until it’s not but what they were able to do with Tyler Huntley, no, it’s not a great passing game with him. It hasn’t been a great passing game for most of the season, right? I mean, even with Lamar playing it, it was throw, throw the ball as a flowers and then hope, right? I mean, that it’s kind of what their passing game has been. That’s, you know, that’s a factor I look at and say that’s where I’m skeptical that they can make a deep January run if they win on Sunday night. But can Derrick Henry carry you to victory on Sunday night? Sure. I mean, we’ve seen Pittsburgh have its issues stopping the run here in recent history, even to the Ravens. You know, we’ll go back to last the last two games last year, when Derek Henry ran all over them. It’s a mindset. I’ll say this. I’m not sure that the ravens are just going to expect to line up and run Derrick Henry 36 times for 216 yards, you know, to that degree of success against Pittsburgh that they did against Green Bay. I mean, it’s an AFC North opponent. There’s more familiarity there. But that’s still going to be the for that. That’s still going to be what to be what they’re going to try to use to carry them the victory, right? That they’re going to try to run ball control and run the ball and whether it’s Tyler Huntley or Lamar Jackson, let’s face it, even if Lamar is coming back, this isn’t a game that profiles, that you’re going to throw it around the field 40 times, right? I think even if Lamar comes back, I think the game plan needs to be the same. I think you want to be in a position where you’re only throwing the ball when you know, either when you absolute have to, or if it’s advantageous, a spot that they’re kind of expecting you to run, and then you can throw and you can catch them off guard. I mean, what was it? The first play of the game on on Saturday night, ran a play action passed to Andrews, worked well, right? And then they got into Derek Henry and Derek Henry and Derek Henry. So there are different ways you can do that. You know, the idea isn’t to just make it three yards in a cloud of dust, but, yeah, I think there’s going to be plenty of that, right? I mean, shame on them if they don’t ride Derek Henry until he can’t go anymore. I mean, that’s just where it is at this point, when we’re into the month of January, and, you know, they’re playing a playoff game Sunday night.
Nestor Aparicio 08:08
But wasn’t that the way it was always going to be? Isn’t the way we drew it up when I was in, like dreams two years ago, bringing Derek Henry in? Wasn’t it like, over these five weeks, we’re going to do that to you, and they got a quarterback that can razzle dazzle. We ran eight times for 60 yards. Runs better than Lamar right now. And I, you know, I’ll throw this to you to sort of widen the conversation a little bit in a week where we’re gonna, you know, have New Year’s, and there’ll be plenty of oxygen to talk about all this stuff on the other side of what happens to Lamar, what happens to horrible what happens to Tomlin? You know? What happens to these franchises for the winners and the losers as it goes on, but for this week, and for my purposes, and the thought of Lamar and discussing him, I almost feel better about Snoop Huntley playing than I would a debilitated Lamar. And I don’t think they’ll hold Lamar back from playing on Sunday. But I have a feeling 100% of Snoop Huntley at this point is better than 80% of Lamar when the legs already an issue and all of that. And I don’t know that, but I think going out and losing with a Gympie Lamar would be not so good for anybody. I you know, I don’t know where that decision is, because in every other week, it’s been Lamar. Lamar. Lamar. We got to get Lamar on the field. I don’t know. Man Huntley gave me some thought going into green bay with this running game that not that he’s the better option overall. It’s Lamar Jackson, of course, but maybe right now, you know, and that’s for that’s a hell of a thermometer for him, his mother, his agent, how he’s playing it, going out, losing when he doesn’t feel like he can do what he’s supposed to do, where his latitude to put himself on the field or take himself off the field right, like he runs the building kind of, sort of right and. So I man, it’s complicated. It’s more complicated just to gain than the vision this week because of his health, because of his health, yeah,
Luke Jones 10:09
and there’s a lot of nuance here, right? I mean, it let’s not and I see some of the debate on social media, and that’s where, you know, obviously there’s no nuance or very well,
Nestor Aparicio 10:20
this isn’t barstool. We’re not in the gutter. Rights
Luke Jones 10:24
to this in the sense that, if Lamar can play, okay? But where is that? Right? We know it’s not. It’s not just a pass fail proposition, right? I’ve talked about this a lot. I mean, this goes all the way back to what was a 22,021 going into 22 when they had all the season ending injuries and guys coming back from ACLs and things of that nature. And you always talk about it in terms of, okay, there’s healthy enough to play and there’s healthy enough to thrive, and that’s where the question will come into week this week, especially with a back right, even with taking a toradol shot or a numbing agent or whatever it might be, there’s still the question of range of motion. He might be feeling pretty good, but how well is he moving? Right? A 50 year old can feel pretty good. That doesn’t mean he’s going to move as well as a 35 year old compared to a 20 year old, right? I mean, like so these are the types of things we all deal with on a daily, everyday basis, when you’re just getting up and going to work or taking your kids to school or what have you, but it’s a far different animal when you’re talking about a professional athlete, and especially in a sport like football, where you need to protect yourself and you need to be able to move at the highest level and be as healthy as you can be. Now, if the threshold is Lamar has to be 100% no questions asked, then, yeah, I’m really skeptical that he’s gonna be ready Sunday night. And that’s, you know, that’s kind of what we have been talking about for the better part of the season, right? I mean, in terms of what he’s looked like in terms of the immediate future, I think there is nuance to this in terms of what Tyler, Tyler Huntley was able to do, not so much from a passing standpoint. I mean, he was, he was very efficient. From a completion percentage standpoint. He was at 80% but he completed 16 passes for 107 yards, right? He was at 5.4 yards per pass attempt. That’s not, it’s not a great passing game right there. That’s a he threw to the outside, through underneath, got the ball out quickly, which, hey with the state of this offensive line in a big picture sense, how many times have you heard me say I’d like to see the Ravens play more quick game with Lamar Jackson, so they did that kind of thing with Tyler Huntley. Can Can you ride that approach to a Super Bowl? No, I don’t think so. And I think that’s where, you know, you get into the if they win Sunday night, you know, where’s Lamar at that point? Because you’re going to, if this team, you know, going back to your point where you’re saying that, how they can still win a Super Bowl, if they can, not that they will, but they can. Lamar Jackson’s gonna have to be back on the field. They’re not, they’re not riding Derrick Henry and Tyler Huntley to a Super Bowl like I just, I’m not going to believe that. But for Sunday night, can they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers with that approach? Yeah, and that’s where you do look at this and say, Where is Lamar, physically, right? Okay, maybe he’s back on the practice field. Maybe he’s back on Wednesday. Maybe he’s back on Thursday. Is he limited? How does he look? How’s he looking throwing the ball. But I think that the interesting dynamic, again, is going back to what Huntley was able to do with his legs, which watching him do what he did, and obviously he carried eight times compared to Derek Henry at 36 right? We’re not talking about him running the ball a ton, but when he ran, when he scrambled, when the couple times where it was a design run to the quarterback, it looked good, right? I mean, he he carries for 60 yards. We haven’t seen that version of Lamar Jackson for quite some time because of the injuries. And I’m not, you know, it’s not even getting into this discussion of what that looks like next year and beyond, or a long term question, just in the here and now, we haven’t seen that from Lamar. So that’s where you do look at this thing and say, yeah, all things being equal, if Lamar is healthy enough to play, he’s going to play, right? I mean, if it’s like, if it’s he’s healthy enough to play, and he’s, I don’t know, 90% right, he’s gonna be out there. But if it’s an if your version of him, if it’s a version of him, that kind of goes back to what we were talking about, how he looked five, six weeks ago, with his legs, but also now his back. Yeah, I think there is some discussion here in terms of what’s best for them, for right now, what’s best for them in terms of beating Pittsburgh. Because, again, forget about Houston. Forget about all the teams in the AFC that you might run into. If you do make the tournament, you have to get there first. I mean, you just do or it’s over, right? In the same way that it was tough for anyone to think about it, and even after they won in Green Bay on Saturday night. Because, you know, yeah, there. An acknowledgement that the Browns could win, and we knew what the recent history was, but until you actually saw it, you couldn’t really think, allow yourself to think about the possibility. So you’re you’re very simply asking yourself, what is the best approach to try to win this game on Sunday night? And I do think it is fascinating because of everything you just said, but there’s also the element of, if Lamar really wants to play, and he’s out there practicing, but it looks okay, but not great. That is a kind of a tough question there, because you also he’s your franchise quarterback. And this almost goes back to, it’s funny, it kind of used
Nestor Aparicio 15:40
your season to go down with the back of a quarterback. Playing, right? We dealt with that in Cincinnati a couple years.
Luke Jones 15:45
But there’s also, there’s also the big picture element of, if Lamar is healthy enough that he wants to play, feels he’s ready to play, but it doesn’t look great. How do you approach that as an organization, knowing that you also have a contract negotiation coming up here in the next few months. And I know people will say, you know, an old school person would say that shouldn’t matter. It’s going to matter in the same way that it, you know, what? It reminds me of a little bit. It’s, you know, it just popped into my head. It kind of reminds me of the 2018 wild card game when Lamar was and the Ravens were just completely lost on offense. I mean, just like a disaster. And Joe Flacco standing there on the sideline, and there was an argument to be made that, what do you see?
Nestor Aparicio 16:29
Oh, it was like Bad News Bears, you know, put them in. Put them in. But I think
Luke Jones 16:34
there was also a long term play there at work that that that would have said, What’s this say to your guy, to your guy moving forward, if you just benched him in his first playoff game. This isn’t exactly like that, but, but there’s like, it’s a similar kind of, like a conflicted feeling. I think, if Lamar is healthy enough that he says he’s ready to go, but you’re kind of looking at it, and it kind of reminds you of what he looked like. Say, against Cleveland, you know, when they needed the mark Andrews hurricane play to win the game, right? Because the largest didn’t look very good in that game. So, like, it’s, that’s, it makes a, you know, a, there’s a different storyline here with that that does complicate things. And, oh yeah, let’s also not shy away from the fact that Lamar doesn’t have the greatest history in terms of his performance against the get of the Pittsburgh Steelers over the years. Now, if TJ Watts not out there, that’s certainly a different element for Pittsburgh’s defense, of course, but you know, it’s, it’s, I guess it’s a long way of saying it’s, you know, it’s a little more complicated than just, is he healthy enough to play? Yes or no. How does he look? Because there is a thought to say maybe Snoop Huntley is the better option for you for this game he
Nestor Aparicio 17:52
played on Saturday night, enough to give you a chance to win this Saturday, Sunday night. And that’s the thing is, it is Snoop Huntley good enough to give you a chance to win the Super Bowl or to make a deep January run? No, I’m just not good enough to bring you back from 30 points down because somebody has fumbled, or the ball goes over Marlon Humphrey’s head on every set of downs. And I don’t know that the ball can go over the head of anybody sure this week, given how Huntley throws the ball and what Rogers has to throw to but I don’t know. Man, I saw Roger showing darts on that last drive down the field with everything on the line again, getting them down to the goal line for those three plays where they couldn’t get it done, but they were on the cusp of winning the game. I mean, I still sense some danger anytime Aaron Rodgers is out there, because he’s going to identify your defense and put his offense into a play to beat you.
Luke Jones 18:47
And that’s where I go back to what the Ravens defense looked like on Saturday night. And now this is a major caveat, because they did this, and they deserve credit for this. The shutout in Cincinnati aside, I’m not sure. I’ve really loved the direction the Ravens defense has gone over the last month, right? I mean, we saw them get on a roll during the five game winning streak, and obviously they were beating up on JJ McCarthy and Dylan Gabriel and shador Sanders and Tyrod Taylor, and go down the list.
Nestor Aparicio 19:14
But Aaron Rodgers going to give them fits with matchups.
Luke Jones 19:17
I don’t know. I don’t know who Aaron Rodgers is throwing the football too, but I suspect he’s going to be able to diagnose what they’re trying to do. Now, that doesn’t mean that he and whoever he’s throwing to will be able to execute and literally make the plays, but I will suspect that he’s going to be able to figure out some of what they’re trying to do. And by the
Nestor Aparicio 19:41
way, did you see the the clip of him last week sending the guy wide? Yeah, just literally, he was in protection and said, Go wide and go long. And that’s that,
Luke Jones 19:55
I think the and I think the other fascinating factor is, look this. Is a low bar when you’re talking about a team that only scored six points on Sunday. But when did Pittsburgh move the ball the best in two minutes, right at the end of the first half? Spread it out the end of the second half? Yeah. And who’s running the show at that point in time? Aaron Rodgers. So, you know, we’ve talked about Arthur Smith. I mean, he’s a
Nestor Aparicio 20:19
better offensive coordinator than the offense I think he is. I mean, no, and he’s also, he was yelling at Arthur Smith about subbing in, like, like, I’m trying to put them on the run.
Luke Jones 20:31
Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think it’s proven out here over now, Arthur Smith, being with multiple teams, he looked a heck of a lot smarter when he had Derrick Henry running the ball in Nashville, right? I mean, that’s kind of, it’s kind of the story there. So I do wonder, with that in mind, as much as it’s counterintuitive, because they’re going to want to try to do all they can to keep Derek Henry and the raven and maybe Lamar Jackson off the field at the same time. I do wonder if they would be best off kind of going into no huddle and just having Rogers call the show. I’m not saying that means they’re going to score 30 points. I’m not saying that the Raven should fear that, per se. But man, you kind of look at how Pittsburgh functioned offensively, or didn’t function offensively, really. I mean, it was kind of two minute was the only, only part you know that, to me, looked decent, you know? I mean, they, they were awful. I mean, that was a really, really bad offensive performance. And I get it miles, Garrett is miles. Garrett and Cleveland has a really good defense. We saw the Ravens struggle against them offensively, right? I mean, when they went to Cleveland, six, seven weeks ago, whenever it was but so I wasn’t shocked that Pittsburgh had issues. But to look that in app, that’s where you look at that and say, All right. I mean, how are they going to move the ball? But that said, the Ravens just made Malik Willis look like, I don’t know, Warren Moon, 2019 Lamar Jackson, I mean, like that was a, it’s not a great, encouraging performance by the Ravens defense on Saturday night. So, you know, we’re going to see how this you’ve
Nestor Aparicio 22:11
already said you’re picking them to win, so I’m not dealing with you. You and I are driving up here. You’re going into the game, picking them, watching at some sports bar with yens and not but, you know, like, put it this way, it’s this week’s momentum, dude. We spent all of last week beating harbor up about not running the pub, looking at my statuses. I’m looking at the front of our website. It’s amazing how the temperature changes on all of this week to week, and how much it’s going to change in a thud for both of these franchises that aren’t going to win the Super Bowl, right? I mean, you’re not, you’re not thinking that. But if the ravens, if the Ravens can go with the back of quarterback and win in Pittsburgh, get Lamar back, play well enough to win against Houston, go to wherever they’re going to go, Jacksonville, New England, wherever it’s going to go and lose that game in some credible fashion that isn’t the coach sending Billy Cundiff out with a timeout in his pocket to shank a field goal. Somebody Mark Andrews dropping the ball and running out the back door and
Luke Jones 23:16
Jack throwing the ball four times from the two yards,
Nestor Aparicio 23:18
any of the dumb ish that they’ve done if they just play a game that’s clean enough that and they get beaten by a better team, by a Trevor Lawrence, by a young quarterback, by Lamar not being healthy enough, whatever it would be, they have the ability here to salvage this disaster, disaster like for har ball, for Decosta, for for Lamar, for all their embarrassment, for the emptying out of the stadium, for you beating on them 12 times already this week, about how lousy they’ve been at home this year and how having a home game isn’t even a benefit to them. They go win it next week, they all of that. I hate to be Brian Billick here, but I’m, you know, staring at the Super Bowl star and hearing Brian Billick say it’s all sitting right there for you. Don’t let Luke beat on you about your record. Don’t let anybody beat up the Henry har ball Todd monkey thing, or say that Lamar soft because he’s not playing, or, you know, whatever, we’re in a position to win the division. We’re the better team on Sunday night. We feel like we’re the better team, even then they kicked their ass two weeks ago, even with our backup quarterback, we feel like we’re the better team, like, I think they can have that confidence to go in there and at least think that they should, and I are going to think that until they played on Sunday night, whether Lamar plays or whether Lamar does, because if Lamar plays to your point, he put himself in, and if he’s putting himself in, he feels like he can go do it, and he doesn’t want to go out there and not do it, yeah, and wind up on his back. So the. This is a thick week, bro. It’s sure it’s really thick, man, and it’s good. You know, it’s really going to get thick. When you and I are in the stadium and the towels are going and the lights are on, it’s gonna be real thick, whether it’s Snoop or whether it’s Lamar. What’s at stake? Who gets their feelings hurt? Who gets fired over
Luke Jones 25:15
it on Monday morning? Yeah. I mean, who’s gonna weather the early storm? Right back up.
Nestor Aparicio 25:18
Quarterback comes in and beats the Steelers and not like, I don’t know how Tomlin can survive that. I mean, I love Mike, but I don’t, and I don’t think,
Luke Jones 25:28
well, and that would be 10 years then without a playoff win, right? I mean, that’s what they’re talking about then. So, I mean, it’s look, I mean, it’s it’s fascinating, and to go back to your point, I mean, who cares what I have to say. I’ve been wrong a lot this year. I’ll continue to be wrong, right? I mean, anyone who sits here and acts like they’ve got this league figured out, I mean, you’re full of it. Look what happens on a weekly basis. I mean, go. Look at the quote expert picks right? I mean, we’re all trying to figure this out, you know? I mean, the sky was falling last week. Week before that, everyone was everyone was feeling great because the Ravens had gone into Cincinnati and shut out Joe burrow, and then they lost to the Patriots, right? I mean, like, it’s so up and down. That’s why, like, you know, just because of what I saw Saturday night doesn’t mean that I’m saying Super Bowl back on they need to win on Sunday night. Are they favored? Yes. Should they be favored? Sure. Do I think the ravens are going to win? Yeah. But am I going to sit here and say that I have this extraordinary conviction that, okay, they, they, they finally got it through their heads to run Derek Henry all the time, right? I mean, like, it’s not quite that simple. And part of that is the this wasn’t like the formula that they should discover that, like, that’s the that’s my point, earlier in the season, and for large chunks of this season, there were plenty of times they gave the ball to Derrick Henry, a lot. And guess what was happening? He was getting stuffed, not because Derrick Henry stinks, because their offensive line. So that’s why I said, Look, Derek Henry was fantastic on Saturday night. I’m taking nothing away from him. That was, they had the all time rushing game for an opponent at Lambeau Field. I mean, Lambeau Field, not, not a stadium that’s been open for 20 years or 30 years. Lambeau Field, he set a record there for an opponent that’s that’s massive, and absolutely he deserves his flowers for that. But don’t forget the Ravens offensive line that we all love to beat up on those guys played their asses off and the Ravens tight ends and go look at Patrick record playing a season high in snaps, right? I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 27:29
they’re gonna try. I think that dude that was missing in week 3456, when they were getting their ass kicked,
Luke Jones 27:35
it was, but he’s also been back for a long time, and there were other weeks where that didn’t look so great, right? So and the Packers, keep in mind, the Packers are banged up. And, you know, they lost the Lamar Jackson of their defense, dude, you
Nestor Aparicio 27:47
keep mentioning these guys, Ricard, different, Stanley, Humphrey Smith, down, just down the Andrews, all of these guys, ain’t one nothing, and they’re going to chin strap this up and come out on Sunday night and have it all on the line against the team that this is winnable. This is not Hines Ward. This isn’t even TJ watt. This. This is not any of that. So the stakes are different. If you go up there and you don’t win, even though they’re supposed to win with their backup quarterback on the road in mighty Pittsburgh. I mean, we’re making it sound too easy, because it because we watched them play this weekend. Yeah. And the temperature, the thermometer is always how it feels lately, but I know all the way back to last week when Santa came down in the chimney and we did all of that. You know, the temperature was completely opposite.
Luke Jones 28:40
It’s Drake ray or Drake may rip their heart out a week ago, right? I mean, it’s, it’s a week to week League, I mean, and
Nestor Aparicio 28:47
they refuse to run the ball with Eric Henry and the same thing this week that the Steelers are going to get the whole time you’ve already been Arthur Smith throwing the ball down in the end zone three times, throwing that stupid end zone go on fourth and one
Luke Jones 29:00
like, I mean, I couldn’t believe that. Like you’re, what are you doing? I mean, it was bizarre.
Nestor Aparicio 29:08
Every other team in the league would have put five asses up on a line of scrimmage and touch pushed it and gotten a first down and live for four more downs. Instead, they’re going low percentage end zone throw a like, what kind of slinging garbage was
Luke Jones 29:21
that, although I I honest to goodness, I was texting with my pastor even when that happened. Is this a Steeler fan? Pass? Yeah, he’s a Pittsburgh fan. And Father, how are you happy new year? Not father, just pastor. Yeah, no, that’s all right. That’s just clarifying. But you see it every week in the league, though. I mean, I see third and 1/4, and one plays where teams throw deep, and I just, it’s one of those things where I just think it’s like, it’s like, what happened to the Ravens at the end of the Patriots game? You just, you overthink things when it, when you, when you really break it. Down. It’s a basic game. I mean, it really is, of course, it’s, it’s complicated, and that anyone who’s listening right now, and you and I, you know, what we understand a scheme is just a tiny fraction of what these guys fully grasp. But those are the spots where I look at it and say, You just completely overthought that situation, right? I mean, it’s just but, but that said it’s a it’s a different game, and that’s also the team that went into pits, or went into Detroit and, you know, beat the lions. You know, the ravens are the team that has lost six games at home this year, right? I mean, even though it’s in Pittsburgh on Sunday night, but it speaks to the vulnerability and the inconsistency and the fact that they’re not that good. I mean, it’s nine and seven against eight and eight here. I mean, let’s call it what it is. It’s two mediocre teams fighting it out to win a mediocre division, right? And they’re going to get a chance. Whoever’s going to win is
Nestor Aparicio 30:52
going to get a mediocre conference. Yeah? For now, for sure. For now, yeah, not going to convince me. Jacksonville, Denver, New England power. I think we need, I think the Chargers are a Power team. I think
Luke Jones 31:04
we need to say unproven. I you know? I mean, we are talking about teams that are 13 and three, right? I mean, it’s not like the number one seed has an 11 and six record, right? I mean, I think New England’s really good. I mean, I just do, and we saw it firsthand last Sunday night. I mean, Drake may, you know, whether he’s going to be MVP or second or third. I mean, he’s, I think, I think the Patriots have won, you know, after their five long years of suffering without Tom Brady, you know, I think they, I think they’ve got their next guy, but, but they’re unproven, right? I mean, the entire field is unproven now, with Kansas City out of it. I mean, the proven guy that did it once, 15 years ago, is Aaron Rodgers, on a team that where he has nobody to throw to, right? I mean, and that’s assuming they even get in, you know, if they get in. I mean, it’s Denver, it’s New England, it’s Jacksonville, it’s Houston. You know, Houston’s been in, but they don’t have a whole lot of six, you know that what? They beat the Chargers last year. That’s it. So and defense, I think Houston. That’s why I met that next week. I said if the Ravens win and they’re playing the Texans, I mean, that’s
Nestor Aparicio 32:12
we got a lot of talk about next week, either way, sure, literally, I mean, we’re talking about really bad things happening and this whole thing coming off off, we’ll be talking about how bad they played at home this year if there’s no home game next week.
Luke Jones 32:25
Yeah, sure. Yeah. I mean, you want to have that opportunity, you want to at least have the opportunity to lose to the Texans.
Nestor Aparicio 32:33
Well, that’s the thing here, man, as bad as they don’t even all year long, as disappointing as they’ve been, as many times as people have thrown dirt on them, although I never have. I still go back to like what I believe. And this is my 40 years of doing this dude is the pedigree of what they have. If they get into a gunfight against Trevor Lawrence, we’ll find out. Maybe Trevor Lawrence is the guy he was at Clemson, and maybe this is about parts, and maybe it’s about their coach going to the Hall of Fame. Maybe that’s Liam Cohen, I don’t know, but this is where bones are made, and guys like Harbaugh, who’ve are playing to try to go to a Hall of Fame. Every guy on his team has won nothing. Literally, they’ve won nothing. None of them and
Luke Jones 33:19
and his ring has a ton of dust on it at this point in time. I mean, let’s just call you. Call, you know, it’s 13 years ago. Put some tarnish on it, if you want. I mean, I’m just, I’m just saying, I mean, and that’s the thing. I mean, they have, they’re more experienced in a lot of these other teams, but they’re just, they’re more experienced in January failure than than these other teams. So I still think, you know, this goes back to a couple weeks ago. You know, probably after the Pittsburgh loss, and we were kind of talking about it then, I mean, when they were kind of circling the drain at that point. And, you know, I still, I still think what happened in week one, on the heels of an entire offseason to think about what happened in Buffalo, and then it happened in Buffalo again, right off the bat. I still think that’s something that mentally has, is a hurdle that I’m not sure they’ve gotten over, right? I mean, I just, and I’m not saying that’s the by no means is that the sole reason why they’re eight and eight, I’ll continue to go back to, let’s not lose the you know, the headline of why they’re eight and eight is because their two time MVP quarterback got hurt in week three, and really hasn’t been right since then. You know he hasn’t. He’s only missed four games, but we haven’t seen full healthy, generational dynamic Lamar Jackson since the beginning of the season. And that’s not to say that that guy won’t come back in 2026 but, you know, with the back injury now, on top of all the other leg injuries, it’s like, you know, what exactly is that going to look like, whether he plays Sunday, whether he plays a wild card round, whether they get, you know, if they get eliminated, it’ll just be a hypothetical. So, you know, but, but that said. They’ve got a chance to make the playoffs. Sunday night. Go win, and then you see what happens. Right? I can’t lie to you and say that I have belief or much confidence in this team’s ability to make a January run, but starts out with a win, right? Starts out with another win, starts out with another win, and then before you know it, at that point, you’re in the AFC Championship. And then who the heck knows after that, right? Or, or you go to Pittsburgh on Sunday night and you turn the ball over three times, and Tyler Huntley has to play because Lamar is not ready, and Pittsburgh has answers for him. That Green Bay did it, and you lose and the season’s over, right? I mean, like
Nestor Aparicio 35:43
the possibilities are the case for all of these teams. You know, where Jacksonville is on the precipice of duvaling, and they had this whole European thing that they could tap into if they ever did suck, and where New England is now sort of back and expected the win, especially if they get a week off, and the chargers and the Texans sort of coming on, like, where is that road team going to break through and go on the road and win a little bit here and do some and buffalo? By the way, I can’t, I just, I can’t recommend anything about the defense. I can’t recommend them on the road, and I can’t recommend sort of a banged up. Josh Allen, you mentioned not having tools and not having weapons and stuff. Yeah, watching him through this period, he’s such a great player. Man. Like, I mean, it’s, he’s fun to watch. He really is. And he’s, he’s got a way about him, for sure, for that community and for everything they’re trying to do up there, but don’t feel like it’s their year. You know, doesn’t feel like they’re going to go three in a row win on the road. And with that defense, where it feels like, yeah, Houston’s got a young quarterback with a guy who’s done it in the collegiate level and moving through this and they got a defense that could steal games. You know, I mean defense to me. I i Like defense this time of year, I do,
Luke Jones 37:02
yeah, I don’t know. I think you’re, I think you’re really quick to write off buffalo. I mean, okay, they lost by one point to Philadelphia, who, by the way, is the defending Super Bowl champ. And their defenses looked really, really
Nestor Aparicio 37:14
way they stormed back in that game. It was really, if the weather looked like something on the movie set. Dude with the
Luke Jones 37:20
water, yeah, I mean, but I guess you know the point I’m trying to, I mean, Buffalo had just won four in a row. I mean, look, let me be clear, this isn’t me saying that. I think buffalo is like the favorite and is just going to roll through the AFC. But I’m not
Nestor Aparicio 37:35
certainly Josh Allen can go down the Jacksonville and just take a game over. I would go hear all that. But I just they got to play defense. And I, I mean, games with turnovers and weird stuff that’s going to happen in these playoffs. They gave up
Luke Jones 37:47
13 points on Sunday, man. I mean, you know, I mean, I believe me, I’m not saying they have a great defense, but I remember everyone completely, you know, wanting on their defense last year, and well, they seem to hold the ravens and check in the divisional round, right? I mean, so who knows. I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 38:03
but Are you happier about seeing the Texans next week, or the or the or the bills if the Ravens win?
Luke Jones 38:12
Right? I’m not, can’t say that I’m excited about seeing either one of them, because I just, I don’t think the ravens are very good, and I think, I think Houston’s defense is a major problem, especially if you’re I mean, if the ravens are just relying on Derrick Henry at this point in time, I think that’s, I don’t want to say that’s easy to stop, but how many, how many Super Bowls did the Titans win just relying on Derek Henry? You know what I mean, like, at some point in time, you’re going to have to do other things. So, you know, that’s why it’s that much more important that Lamar Jackson, one gets back, and two, you know, hopefully can look like he did pre back injury, because the couple weeks leading into that it was looking better, right?
Nestor Aparicio 38:56
Or that they don’t fall behind where they have to throw the football, yeah. I mean, you’re gonna happen. You’d like to think that that won’t happen against the Steelers. The Steelers unless you caught the ball up three times and you’re losing 17 to nothing somehow, you know?
Luke Jones 39:07
I mean, you have to be able to throw the football. But yeah, you don’t want to be, of course, you don’t want to be in a script where you’re down 10 or, you know, I mean, no one wants to be in that position, as I’ve said over and over over the years. But yeah, you would certainly not love their capability of being able to do that, but that’s why, I mean, they’ve got to stay on schedule, and that’s why it’s important to run Derek Henry and run Derek Henry and run Derek Henry some more. And you know, one thing I want to you know, because we didn’t talk in too many specifics about the game, because we’re already a couple days removed and everything that happened Sunday with Cleveland, but I like the fact that they deviated from their rotation. There were even a couple series that weren’t quote Derek Henry, series where he came back on the field for a third and short situation. I’ve said all year long. Look, Derek Henry can’t carry the ball 36 times every. Week, right? He would, if you did that, he’d be done by Thanksgiving, right? He’d just be worn down even, even you have to think about workload load management, how many times a guy’s touching the ball all that, right? I mean, even for someone who has carried the ball like it’s 1975 in his career, right? Compared to most running backs today. So I couldn’t completely understand that. But you know, you kind of look at this thing in terms of, all right, it’s go time now. And if it’s third and short, doesn’t mean Derek Henry must get the ball every single time when it’s third and short. And we’ve said that all year long. But for me, how you don’t have him on the field in those situations, even if it’s Lamar keeping it, or, in this case, Tyler Huntley keeping it. Or you throw a quick hitter to Andrews, or a quick hitter to likely, or some you know, you throw it to, I don’t know, zay flowers on a shallow cross or on a third and short, right? I mean, it doesn’t have to be Derek Henry every single time on third and short. But you know what? It should be every single time him on the field being a threat to run the ball every single time, and that and that, that’s the part for me, that over the course of the season, I just didn’t get it. It made zero sense to me for it to be third and 1/3, and 2/3, and three and Justice Hill comes into the game, you know, obviously pre Justice Hill injury or Rashid Ali comes into the game there. So I like the fact that Saturday night felt like a much more. Hey, let’s tighten this up and like, let’s use our heads a little bit, rather than just this, this pre, you know, predetermined rotation, this autopilot way of handling our personnel. So I’m hoping that’s something that’s here for good, but that said coaches players. I mean, like, there’s a lot of thinking. You know, we talked about it with Pittsburgh on Sunday, throwing deep on fourth and one. It’s a lot harder to do it from the sideline, or to do it even from the booth, when you have 40 seconds in between each play and you’ve got what, or 25 seconds to communicate with your quarterback. So, you know, when the bullets are flying, it’s way easier, that said, than you and I talking about it, you know, the next day or two days later, you know, the Monday morning quarterbacking thing? Yeah, it’s way easier to talk about it in those terms. So we’ll see how they handle that, how they handle that environment on Sunday night in Pittsburgh, and of course, just like it was in Green Bay, it’s going to be critical for them to get an early lead. So you can lean into a defense with Derek Henry in the ground game once again.
Nestor Aparicio 42:38
Yeah, Jerome Bettis bar is now a Jason Aldean, so I definitely don’t want to sit in the country bar watching this game. Luke and I are driving up to Pittsburgh on Sunday night. One of us will be in the wnst, Baltimore positive press box seat pressed up to the glass. I wonder what kind of roast Mr. Rooney’s going to have on a buffet. Please get some cookies for me, if nothing else, if I drive you up to Pittsburgh on Sunday night, whether they win or lose or better be peanut butter cookies involved, oatmeal raisin too. They make them nice up there. We got a whole full week of this nonsense. We’ll begin in this year, and we’ll end in next year, and we’re off to Pittsburgh yet again for fun. He is Luke. I am Nestor. We are. Wnst. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore, Happy New Year. Happy holidays. Hope early. Everybody’s got a little bit of pumpkin pie left over, I know I do, and some eggnog. We’re going to need it. We got a big football game on Sunday night. It’s fun. It’s Baltimore. Positive. You.
