Jason Kelce opened the third episode of his late-night sports talk show, They Call It Late Night, with a hilarious recap of the Wild Card Round. He showered praise on those who balled out and showed up for their respective teams, while throwing a jab or two at those who were sub-par, including Chargers QB Justin Herbert, who was arguably the most sub-par while facing the Texans.
Advertisement
“My favorite name in the league, Ladd McConkey.” Jason said about the Chargers receiver, who caught nearly 200 yards during Wild Card weekend, humorously adding, “Was perhaps the only Charger to generate electricity, while Justin Herbert threw more interceptions than I have children.”
The joke was met with much laughter as Jason poked fun at the young superstar. Herbert threw a career-high four interceptions last week, including one that was returned for a Pick-Six. It’s also worth noting that Jason has three kids—Wyatt, Elliot, and Bennet—with another on the way.
However, the pick that was returned for a touchdown should be blamed on Ladd McConkey, who failed to catch the ball, even though it looked catchable. It was instead picked off by safety Eric Murray for a 38-yard score. Another one of Herbert’s interceptions came during an all-in effort, with the Chargers throwing verticals downfield while trailing by multiple scores.
The QB’s performance left a stain on Charger Nation. Some fans are even questioning if Herbert is the right man for the job. We’ll leave the complaints in the box, though, as it was Jim Harbaugh’s first season as head coach. And a successful one at that.
That said, Jason also discussed other matchups during his segment, cracking jokes along the way. He talked about Isaiah Likely and Dallas Goedert and the monster stiff arms they landed this past weekend.
“Must have injected some Cialis into their forearms,” Jason quipped. “Because those rock-hard stiff arms sent the Packers and Steelers into premature elimination.”
Of the two stiff arms, Goedert’s was the most eye-popping. He caught a pass over the middle, made his way to the sideline, and stiff-armed Packers DB Carrington Valentine. The move created separation, but Valentine started to close in on Goedert again as he neared the end zone. So, Goedert slowed down and stiff-armed him once more as he cruised across the goal line for a score.
Even Goedert said himself that the final stiff arm wasn’t necessary. Regardless, it was one of the best highlights from the Wild Card.
Jason then went to the sweet Ty Johnson catch in the back of the end zone for the Bills v. Broncos game. He coined it as the “toes out, tush in” catch. The former center then talked about the Sam Darnold game against the Rams.
“Sam I am, oh Sam I am. I do not like to play the Rams,” Jason said to much laughter. “Especially when my offensive line can’t block anyone. Like, what the f*ck guys?”
Darnold was sacked nine times in the excruciating loss to the Rams. A 14-win season was suddenly flushed down the drain to an LA team playing for families affected by the wildfires. It’s unfortunate that Darnold didn’t perform up to his standards. Now, resigning with the Vikings is uncertain. At the very least, he lost a significant amount of money he was expected to receive just two weeks ago.
Jason ended the segment by talking about Zane Gonzalez’s doink that secured the Commanders the game as time expired against the Buccaneers. He mentioned how cool the name “Zane Gonzalez” is because it starts and ends with a “Z”. All in all, it was a fun end to a new show that Jason was trying on.
They Call It Late Night is a new SNL-like show that the elder Kelce is trying to make work. So far so good, as the show has had sold-out audiences in the first three episodes. But critics want him to try to focus more on comedy rather than dry sports talk. Hopefully, this segment is exactly what the critics were looking for.
