Overreaction Tuesday: Rich Talks 49ers, Seahawks, Eagles, Texans, Broncos & More

Overreaction Monday landed on a Tuesday this week, and Chris came armed. Rich signed off on a couple of his takes, swatted down the rest, and ended up planning a Halloween costume around the concept of a glass half full.

First up: if Michael Penix had been Atlanta's quarterback from the jump, the Falcons would be undefeated. Rich did not even flinch. "I don't think that's an overreaction at all." The Falcons are averaging 40 points a game with Penix, and Rich thinks they will look back at the Week 2 home loss to Carolina and rue it. If the Falcons and Panthers, both now 2-2, are the teams battling for the division, the Week 18 meeting at Carolina "could be for all the marbles," maybe even the final Sunday Night Football game of the year.

Rich was impressed by both. Carolina did it without Jalen Coker and its two top defensive backs, Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson. Atlanta's defense, meanwhile, kept Tyler Shough and Chris Olave out of the end zone, leaving it to Alvin Kamara to score twice and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to make a toe-tap catch that made the final look closer than it was. Vegas, the table noted, does not expect Lamar Jackson on Sunday night either, and has the Falcons as three-point favorites.

The next take got a different reaction. Chris declared the winner of this week's 49ers and Seahawks game will be the NFC's top seed. "That's an overreaction," Rich said. When Chris guessed the objection was that the Rams would be the one seed, in an impression Rich did not appreciate, Rich shut it down. "I don't sound like that. I get that enough from my children at home. I don't need it from my children here at work."

His real objection was Minnesota. "There's a 4-0 team in Minnesota as well," Rich said. Justin Jefferson is healthy alongside Jordan Addison, Aaron Jones is running behind the offensive line, and T.J. Hockenson "just looked like Kellen Winslow Sr. against the Dolphins," minus getting carried off the field. Offered the 49ers and Seahawks against the field for the one seed, he took the field. "There's still 12 more games of football."

Chris saved his true belief for the Texans, saying they will be the first team since the 1992 San Diego Chargers to start 0-4 and make the playoffs. (Rich insisted he was not reading his notes when the '92 Chargers came up. "I've been at this a while.") Chris made the case: Stroud is playing well, the offense looks different with Nico Collins back, the defense has come around, and Will Anderson "looks like the defense." Rich agreed the ingredients are there. A week from now, Houston should be coming off its first win at Tennessee before heading to London to face Jacksonville. "Look out," Rich said. But with the margin for error gone, he had to call it an overreaction.

He also noted that the current Chargers are trying to pull off the same 0-4 escape, and shared the post of the day from Threads: if anybody is going to be able to ruin both San Diego and Los Angeles, it should be the Chargers.

On the Eagles, Chris said the struggles are par for the course and they will still make the playoffs. "I don't think this is an overreaction at all," Rich said, though he admitted concern. He is worried about the right side of the offensive line, and Tank Bigsby is out about eight weeks with core surgery, which brings Will Shipley into the picture. Rich admitted that for the first time in a long time he was saying he is concerned, after repeatedly telling Eagles fans to relax, with DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert also on his list. He also loved a line from Mo on GameDay Morning, who said "next man up" is "all coach speak," because there is a reason the next man up is the next man up.

Chris then said the AFC West only gets two playoff teams, the Raiders and Chiefs, leaving out Denver. Rich noted that read would also mean "Davis Webb is going to lose his play calling," all off one loss. "Let's put a pin in this and see what it looks like after Denver visits the Chargers this weekend," he said, calling it an overreaction for the moment while admitting, "I'm picking up what you've just put down."

The last take: with five 0-4 teams right now, there will still be multiple winless teams at Halloween. The Dolphins, Titans, maybe the Chargers, and Tampa came up as candidates. Rich went the other way. "I'm going to go glass half full on you," he said. "There will be no winless teams."

That gave him his costume. Rich plans to dress as a glass half full for Halloween, and when people ask whether he is full or empty, "it'll be a window into the soul of people I run into while trick or treating." The table pushed for a return of the banana costume instead, which came with a warning: the Dodgers have won the World Series twice in a row since anyone saw that guy.