Parity is King: Record Lead Changes & Justin Herbert’s Crushed Soul

Le Batard & Friends Network

Dan Le Batard

Sports

4.9 • 8.3K Ratings

🗓️ 12 January 2026

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We've been saying it all year, "Parity is King!" We just the saw highest number of fourth-quarter lead changes ever witnessed in a single NFL postseason. We learned a ton. Matt Stafford is a gunslinger. Carolina should sign Bryce Young to a Sam Darnold like contract. Ben Johnson's rivalry with Matt LeFleur and Green Bay is good for the game. Josh Allen's tush is pushier than Jalen Hurts. The 49ers are dead in the water without George Kittle. Drake Maye and Company got their stinker out of the way--and crushed Justin Herbert's soul in the process. Dave Dameshek and former NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz review the game-tape and let you know what you need as the playoffs continue on Football America! (Photo by Julio Cortez/AP) AUDIO Football America! is available wherever you listen to podcasts. Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/football-america/id1831757512 Follow us: Dave Dameshek: https://x.com/dameshek Geoff Schwartz: https://x.com/geoffschwartz Host: Dave Dameshek Guests: Geoff Schwartz Team: Gino Fuentes, Mike Fuentes Director: Danny Benitez Senior Producers: Gino Fuentes, Mike Fuentes Executive Producer: Bradley Campbell Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, Washington Commanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi and hello my fellow football Americans. I hope you've enjoyed the return from Cloud 9 back here to planet Earth
0:06.5	after a glorious wild card weekend, good and drunk. Not me, the games, and maybe some of the broadcasters.
0:14.5	You see, like we've talked about here, the NFL's got two basic types of QBs. They're the gun slingers born from Elway, Favre, and Rathesberger,
0:23.1	guys more inclined to throw caution and the ball and the design play to the wind. And now
0:27.9	we have Stafford, Allen, and Caleb Williams, who I hereby rebrand Emo Elway. They are the moonshine
0:35.7	to the more sober Cubies cut from the cloth of Brady, Peyton,
0:38.9	and Breeze. Now they've been marginalized with the name game manager, but these guys are
0:43.5	calculated and lethally accurate. That's why I call them assassins. Good title for someone
0:49.8	like Brock Purdy, but he's also kind of the human version of a Shirley Temple, which is fine
0:55.2	for him, but some QB's just plain ain't cut out to be teetotalers.
1:00.0	I'm looking at you, Hertz and Herbert.
1:02.0	For what it's worth, Kyle Shanahan must know him onto something, considering he took a shot
1:05.5	and had his wide receiver throw the go-ahead fourth quarter touchdown pass.
1:10.0	Fun! I don't know. Maybe the Russell
1:12.2	Wilson interception at the goal line at the end of Super Bowl 49 created some sort of enduring
1:16.8	cautionary tale for QBs and their coaches. Maybe even a commentary on class warfare with an elite
1:22.5	being taken down by a butler. Either way, I got half of Football America screaming the bill
1:27.0	shouldn't try to score
1:28.0	from the one with a minute left was a fascinating paradox of conservative and aggressive,
1:33.5	a crash at the intersection of gunslinger and assassin.
1:37.0	I get it, of course you don't want to give Trevor Lawrence that much time, but suggesting
1:40.6	they take the snap and run around but not lose yardage but also not fumble
	...

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