Kyle Rudolph and Francis Ngannou on Brady, Fighting, and NFL Week 7
The vibes on Thursday Night Football have officially returned to their natural state: disgusting, gross, and oddly beautiful. Bo Nix and the Broncos absolutely dismantled a Saints team that seems to have completely checked out on their season. While Bo Nix wasn't exactly a surgeon through the air, he was effective in a very specific, Sean Payton-approved way.
Bo Nix is the Taysom Hill of passing
If you've ever wondered what Taysom Hill would look like if he was a little bit better at passing and a little bit worse at running, you got the full Bo Nix Taysom Hill experience tonight because Sean Payton was doing the old Taysom Hill playbook for Bo Nix.
While the Broncos are finding ways to be feisty, the situation in New Orleans is reaching a breaking point. The injury report is a mile long, the cap space is nonexistent, and the effort level is cratering.
The Saints are officially on 'Quit Watch'
The Saints are officially on quit watch. Dennis Allen, Richard Sherman said at halftime, he's like, they're trying to get Dennis Allen fired. I wouldn't be shocked. And the Saints are just like—this was so—this was a bad game.
Big Cat and PFT actually enjoyed the slop, mostly because high-level Thursday night games feel like a lie. If Al Michaels isn't actively complaining about the product on the field, is it even really Thursday night?
Thursday Night Football is at its best when the games are objectively terrible
Thursday night football should be bad. Yeah. We should just embrace the bad and just like, just bathe in just shitty gross football. 'cause you know, you got all the football coming up, it's like the entry point to the weekend. I kind of enjoyed the fact like even that first pass that Bo Nicks had where he split his wide receivers that were both [open].
NFL Week 7 Picks and Preview
After a week where favorites absolutely dominated and Vegas got crushed, Big Cat is sounding the alarm for everyone who thinks they finally have the league figured out. The regression to the mean is coming, and it's probably going to be painful.
NFL Week 7 is a massive trap weekend for favorites
Just remember that on Monday it was reported that it was the worst weekend Vegas has had in like 20 years. It was one of the best weekends for favorites of all time. So this is a trap weekend. Watch out. Don't fall for the traps.
One team Big Cat is finally ready to show some respect to is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It turns out his season-long pessimism wasn't rooted in logic, but in the trauma of sitting next to Steven Che during games.
I apologize to the Buccaneers; my previous hatred was 100% caused by 'Che Bias'
I've retracted my take. I've done some soul searching about the Buccaneers. I apologize for saying the Buccaneers aren't very good. It is a hundred percent Che bias. I sat with Che for an entire game watching him and it just, it sits with you and it really eats away at you.
Looking ahead to the weekend matchups, the guys are appalled by the Green Bay Packers' fashion choices. The "Winter Warning" all-white look might work in a December blizzard, but wearing them in 70-degree sunshine is an insult to the history of the Frozen Tundra.
The Packers' all-white 'Winter Warning' uniforms are a disgusting affront to football
The Packers going with the all-white uniforms and all-white helmets are a disgusting affront to football color rush. It's a disgusting front. The Green Bay Packers—and I hate them—their football jerseys and color scheme are football. They should never do any type of gimmicky alternate bullshit. If you're a Packers fan, you should be disgusted by this.
In the NFC North, the Lions and Vikings are set for a massive showdown, but Big Cat is worried Detroit might be heading for a letdown after putting their absolute best stuff on tape against the Cowboys last week.
The Lions are susceptible to an emotional letdown after their blowout win over the Cowboys
I'm a believer in the Lions long term. I don't know about this game because I really do think that, that that Cowboys game, they were like, they had that circled, you could tell they had it circled. It was an emotional game. ... That was an emotional win. Losing Aidan Hutchinson is an emotional letdown. Vikings off a bye. I don't know.
As for the Cowboys, the trade rumors are swirling. While Jerry Jones usually prefers to overpay his stars, a radical shift might be necessary to fix a roster that looks increasingly top-heavy and thin.
Jerry Jones should trade Micah Parsons to reload on draft picks
If I were Jerry Jones, reload on draft picks and trade Micah Parsons. You have to pay him and your problem right now is it seems like you have lack of depth going forward. What's gonna happen yet? You locked up Dak, you locked up CD, you're gonna have to pay Micah Parsons. You could probably get a lot for him.
Kyle Rudolph in Studio
Old friend Kyle Rudolph joined Big Cat and PFT to catch up on his retirement and his time with the Vikings and Bucs. He walked the guys through the reality of catching Tom Brady’s final regular-season touchdown pass—and how he might have accidentally ruined a piece of sports history by getting the ball painted to commemorate his own 50th career touchdown. Kyle also gave some incredible insight into why Brady was able to play at such a high level for so long by simply treating the game like recess.
Tom Brady makes football easy by simply throwing to the void in zone coverage regardless of the route depth
It was more so the way in which he just simplified everything. Like if, if if I'm running a corner route and it's zone coverage and there's a massive void in the defense, like when I come outta my corner route, like turn around, I'm gonna throw the ball. ... Whereas Tom was like, almost at times like recess. ... I turn around and he is like, 'bro, what are you doing? There's no one there. Like, turn around.' ... Gronk for sure would've done that.
They also touched on the Pro Bowl, which everyone agrees needs higher stakes. If players could actually earn career-altering perks by winning the game, maybe they'd stop treating it like a glorified walkthrough.
Winning the Pro Bowl should grant players a 'reverse card' on the franchise tag
Especially think about the guys that are in that game... Or no franchise tag. Like they get basically an Uno card reverse on a franchise tag if you win the Pro Bowl. I feel like that—Roger Goodell, give us a call.
Francis Ngannou via Hologram
In a PMT first, the guys interviewed Francis Ngannou through a hologram machine. It was a bit trippy for everyone involved, but the Heavyweight champ was a great sport about it. Francis discussed his return to MMA in the PFL, the difference between boxing and cage fighting, and his legendary appearance in Jackass Forever. He admitted that punching those guys was actually more stressful than a real fight because he had to be told to hit them for real after initially trying to hold back.
After a quick check-in on the Mets' playoff struggles and a very weird Fyre Fest involving Max nearly getting evicted for a lack of autopay, the guys are ready for a massive Week 7.
Hopefully, Bo Nix stays Auburn Bo Nix and we get some more beautiful slop.

