Albert Breer on Chiefs’ Loss to Seahawks, Giants’ Big Win and AFC North Dominance

It didn't look great.

It didn't look great on Sunday night.

All right.

Welcome in.

It's the Brew Report for Monday, October 26th.

We are now 1 game short of week 7 being complete.

We got a lot to get to.

Wasn't the most appetizing Sunday slate, but there's certainly a lot of information, a lot of interesting results to dig through in the aftermath.

So we'll do that right here, right now.

Our first topic of conversation is the Seattle Seahawks going into a Sunday night game against an undefeated Chiefs team.

And just thoroughly, physically dominating them from the beginning of the game to the end of the game.

And I think there's a number of things that you can be really encouraged with here, if you're the Seahawks sitting at 4 and 3.

they, of course, now are chasing the 49ers in the, the NFC West.

They're 2 games behind the 49ers now and still a game ahead of the Rams.

I don't think that that division race is done yet by any measure.

And I'd, I'd start with the Seahawks with the way that they ran the ball because this has been a big question, and of course, it was a spotlight item on Sunday night with Kenneth Walker coming back and playing in the stadium where he was the Bell cow running back for 4 years and against the team that he won the Super Bowl MVP with, um, the Seahawks were able to grind out.

153 yards rushing on 41 carries.

They did that without having a run of more than 21 yards.

So this was really about being consistent.

And being able to move the chains and stay on schedule, and they were able to do that, and that is massively encouraging, especially since they don't yet have Zach Charbonnet, they don't yet have Jada and Price back from injury.

When they get those guys back, you would think that that line that's anchored by, of course, Grace Zel and Charles Cross and, and Abe Lucas, that line gets some confidence here.

And now you get their premier backs.

Charbonnet, who was playing really well before he got hurt last year.

We'll see what he looks like coming off the ACL and then the rookie first-round pick Price, and you would think they would be able to take a step up and level up in that area of the game.

Um, the second thing with Arnold, um, was, you know, he did have that, that, that, that moment that he'll have sometimes where it seems like his brain almost short circuits, but, um, Sam Darn.

Arnold was outside of the pick, very efficient , was able to get the job done.

He went 20 of 28 for 257 yards, a touchdown and the pick.

Again, an efficient night.

And he, of course, leaned on Jackson Smith the jigba, who is probably right there, um, to repeat as Offensive Player of the Year.

Uh, Kenneth Walker, of course, is gonna have something to say about that, but JSN was another.

9 catches , 150 yards last night, and a touchdown is on pace now for 141 catches, 2,106 yards, and 19 touchdowns.

And what I like about what the Seahawks did too is you saw flashes from AJ Barner, you saw Cooper Cupp contribute, Rasheed Shaheed was in the mix, it didn't really work as much with him.

But, you know, what they're gonna have to continue to do is develop options outside of JSN.

We know.

The talents there though.

And then defensively , um, and this is where we'll flip it over to the, to, to, to, to the Chiefs, um, the ability to corral Walker.

They're the first team to do this all year.

They hold Walker to 36 yards total, they hold the Chiefs to 50 yards rushing.

The other 14 yards were on two Patrick Mahomes scrambles.

And so the Chiefs, the, the, the, the Seahawks' defense was able to put the brakes on the Chiefs' running game.

Which brings us to the Chiefs side of this, which is this is the first time that post-knee surgery, the game has been put in Patrick Mahomes's hands, and he had to go win it on his own.

And it didn't look great.

It didn't look great on Sunday night.

Now, it's important to remember, he's still just over.

10 months post-op.

So, this isn't like all of a sudden now, you snap your fingers and you're OK, and you've had the time to recuperate.

He healed fast, he got back on the field fast, but there's still that timeline piece here.

And so, what he looks like going forward, what he looks like on a night where the run game isn't rolling.

Those are questions that I think are fair to continue to ask.

And on this night, he was 19 to 33, 165 yards, through the pick, had a passer rating under 60.

Not his night, not the Chiefs' night.

It's no time to panic.

Again, the Chiefs are 5 and 1, and the Chiefs are in really good shape going forward.

Their division is still a little bit of a mess.

Denver looked like it got attacked together a little bit.

So there is some time here for them to catch their stride, and I'm sure they will.

The one thing I would keep an eye on is do you add a receiver at the deadline.

Last night, The two leading receivers with 4 catches apiece, were Travis Kelsey, and all due respect, Travis Kelsey has been a great player over the course of his career, one of the best tight ends of all time.

But I don't know if in 2026 you want Travis Kelsey to be your leading receiver in a big game like this, in a spotlight game like this.

And then Kenneth Walker.

So clearly they're not getting as much from the receiver spot.

Their 3rd leading receiver, Noah Gray.

You get to Xavier Worthy, he had 3 catches, 11 yards.

You go to Cyrus Allen, the rookie that has shown some promise, 1 catch for 18 yards, Justin Watson, a catch for 7 yards.

It's just, they're gonna need more out of that position.

So whether it's Tyreek Hill, whether it's somebody like a Jerry Judy in a trade, it feels like they're gonna have to do something there.

All right, our second topic, and this one's interesting.

The New York Giants go into Houston and beat a Texans team that really needed a win, that was starting to play really well offensively, 17 to 14 in overtime.

And maybe more interesting is the fact that they might have solved their quarterback question.

Now, most people started to doubt where John Harbaugh could take the Giants in year one, when Jackson Dart went down a few weeks ago, and rightfully so.

And it didn't look great under Jameis Winston.

And then they trade for JJ McCarthy.

And then they roll the dice and they start JJ McCarthy for the first time in Houston against that defense after he nearly led a furious comeback last week against the Saints.

And JJ looked pretty good.

JJ was 20 of 28 for 252 yards.

He looked comfortable.

It didn't look too big for him, and it certainly seemed as if the offense was built for him, and there's a reason for that.

He's stylistically a lot like Jackson Dart.

The RPO game suits him.

He, he played, he played with, uh, in a system heavy on RPOs in college just like Jackson Dart.

That's in there for him.

They moved the pocket for the quarterback in New York, that's built for Dart.

It works for McCarthy.

Um, they're both really good athletes who can make plays on the edge, who can make plays with their legs.

Um, I'd say McCarthy probably has a little stronger arm.

Dart is known for having better arm talent, but we saw McCarthy layer some throws against the Texans.

He just looks really comfortable.

He looks like he's playing free.

It's really interesting.

Again, if he can be what a lot of people thought Dart was gonna be.

Now do we have a Giants team that can win the NFC East and maybe make some noise in the playoffs, and I say maybe make some noise in the playoffs because some of the other elements that are coming together too.

Malik Neighbors obviously was huge for JJ.

It looks like they already have a rapport, and then in overtime, to be able to do what they did against that defense, where Cam Scatabo goes for 42 yards on the second play, the second offensive snap of overtime for the Giants, and then Devin Singletary takes it home right down Main Street, 30 yards for the game-winning touchdown on the next play.

Behind what has been a maligned offensive line with a little reconfiguring with, you know, you still have Iluminor and, and Thomas out there at the tackles, you add Francis Mauinoa, the rookie out of Miami, the 10th overall pick to the group.

Um, they were able to take it to the Texans and they were able to outlast the Texans at the very end of that game.

So, the run game, competent quarterbacking, a #1 receiver, and then the defense, right?

Like where you have Arvel Reese and And, and, and Abdul Carter playing at a very high level, and that's even without Brian Burns out there.

And then Deonte Banks who looks very comfortable in Dennard Wilson's Dennard Wilson's defense.

This just has the look of a team that is going to be a very tough out for the rest of the year.

It looks like a team that's bought into what John Harbaugh is selling.

It looks like a team that has an identity, and that identity was clear in overtime.

It looks like it's got a roster that is behind its quarterback now, which, again, there's long-term long-term implications to that too.

The, the Giants still have JJ McCarthy under contract for for 2027.

Um, so, could be a factor in their future too if he plays well enough.

Just a good feel all the way around with the Giants through seven games, 4-2 and 12 full games.

Games up on the Cowboys and Eagles in the NFC East.

Presumably after tonight, that'll, that lead will shrink to a game and a half as long as there's not a tie, either Dallas or the Eagles will pull to win within a game and a half of the Giants, but really good vibes, uh, for New York.

Not so much for the Texans, they're now 2 and 5.

Last year they were 3 and 58 games in.

And they didn't lose another game until the playoffs.

Can they pull a run like that off again?

Um, we shall see.

All right, and our third and final topic, the AFC North, maybe the best division in football.

The NFC North can stake a claim to that as well.

You have the Browns and the Steelers tied atop the division at 5 and 2.

The Bengals a half game out at at at 4 and 2.5 game behind them, you have the Ravens at 4 and 3.

And 3 of the 4 teams looked awesome on Sunday.

The Bengals were playing against the Ravens, so that'll explain why the Ravens are left off this list.

The Ravens carried a 13 to 0 lead in the halftime.

They were dominating, and then the entire game flipped.

In the second half, 5 possessions for the Bengals' offense, 5 touchdowns, averaged nearly 9 yards, averaged over 9 yards per play.

Joe Burrow, 16 of 18 for 249 yards.

T T Higgins had about 150 yards, um , and the defense, man, the defense, all the big acquisitions, Boy Mafe, Dexter Lawrence, Brian Cook, Jonathan Allen making plays.

So we saw the ceiling for the Bengals in the second half of that game in Baltimore, and that ceiling is very, very high.

I think it's a Super Bowl ceiling.

The Browns, hey, you gotta give Deshaun Watson his credit.

In their 5 wins, 5 4th quarter comebacks.

That team believes in him.

We're seeing why Todd Monken was sold on him.

We see, we see why to Todd Monken, despite everything that happened in August in that stadium and in that market, we see why Todd Monken stuck with him.

And you have to think about it this way, right?

OK.

The guys you're relying on the offensive side of the ball, Denzel Boston, rookie, Casey Concepcion, rookie, Spencer Fno, rookie, Dylan Sampson, year 2, Quinshaw Judkins, year 2, Harold Fannon, who had a huge catch, year 2.

It's a young group, and it's a young group that clearly benefits from having a veteran voice out there at the most important position.

So the Browns are rolling, the defense is playing well, Watson's doing what he needs to do at the end of games to win, tied for 1st, and that's what the Steelers, who, again, I love where the Steelers are, because I think we're starting to see what the vision was, which was veteran coaching staff, complex schemes, experienced, aging players that are able to leverage those schemes.

We saw Jalen Ramsey make a big play at the end of the game.

We saw Aaron Rodgers play well.

Um, I, I, I think the construct of the team makes sense for where the Steelers are.

It's only a one-year thing, and that's, that's the downside to all of this.

And the risk is that all of a sudden, we're gonna get to week 12, to week 14, to week 16, and the injury is gonna start to hit, and then we have problems.

But Uh, like I, if the Steelers can find a way to stay healthy, if the Steelers can find a way to keep their older guys' legs, that's gonna be a dangerous team down the stretch and maybe into the playoffs.

And then, of course, you have the Ravens, the last-place Ravens, who've been without Lamar Jackson the last few weeks, and I would expect them to jump right back into the race, um, when Lamar comes back off of the high ankle sprain.

Great drama coming in the AFC North heading into November.

Appreciate you guys coming out.

As always, you can leave your comments, your questions down below here on the YouTube page, or you can get to me on my social media at Albert Breer on TikTok, at Albert R.

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Appreciate you guys coming out.

We'll have a mailbag coming for you on Wednesday morning.

I'll see you guys then.