ESPN’s Mina Kimes on What’s Ailing the “Confounding” Cowboys & Seahawks

According to Rich, the merger of NFL Network with Disney and ESPN may have been filed in paperwork months ago, but it became official on Sunday. That was the morning Mina Kimes appeared on NFL GameDay Morning, put on the lone wolf hat, and howled.

Kimes thanked Rich for not dwelling on what she howled for. "Trust me to be the lone wolf in a game where the team I pick lost to a team that didn't complete a single pass," she said. "I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse." The consolation from the studio: "It's history, you know, so it's always good to be a part of that." And by the end of the conversation, Kimes made her position on that team clear: "They're not my Falcons. I don't want them. I disown them."

From there, the ESPN analyst covered the league at the near-halfway point: the most confounding teams, where Jonathan Taylor should land before the deadline, the AFC playoff picture and what the Chiefs need.

The confounding Cowboys

Kimes proposed the question herself. We have a good idea who is bad and who the contenders are, she said, so who is the team that confounds you the most? Her first thought was the Falcons. Rich countered with Dallas.

"We know what they are," Kimes said of the Cowboys, at least on defense. "That defense right now is the worst in the NFL. And I think what's so alarming is that they've not gotten better." Watching Gardner Minshew and Tyler Allgeier tear them up, she said, it was "just appalling to see them fail against the exact same offensive concepts they were failing against at the beginning of the season."

Rich pointed to the roster. When you acquire Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams for a defense that can't stop the run, add Rashan Gary, draft Caleb Downs and add Joey Porter Jr. midseason, "it should improve."

Kimes agreed it shouldn't be happening, but said the truly confounding unit is the offense. Against the Eagles, the offensive line looked dominant, the run game worked, and Dak Prescott was "throwing like these gorgeously placed touchdown passes." Then, week to week, "sometimes they look average at best." The defense is worse, she said, but "the offense is confounding for Dallas week to week."

What's ailing Seattle

Rich then offered a candidate closer to Kimes' home: Seattle. She said she has a good feel for the Seahawks. The defense is still extremely good, even if she thinks Chicago is probably the best team in the NFL right now. The problem is the offense. "They haven't been able to run the ball all season long," she said, and the passing game has been inconsistent, with Sam Darnold turning it over.

Learning Darnold played with a cracked rib explained a lot. "He was just so off target on passes and jittery," Kimes said. "I would be jittery in the pocket with a cracked rib against Jeffery Simmons, too."

Rich asked how an offense with a receiver who can make the case for back-to-back Offensive Player of the Year honors ends up average. "Because he's it," Kimes said. "The entire offense is JSN." She argued it shouldn't be surprising. Seattle was basically average on offense last year too. People remember Darnold's strong performances late, the Rams games and Kenneth Walker's finish, but the second half of last season was up and down. They also lost offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, and the offense now looks unbalanced.

Darnold, she said, needs a run game. He isn't like Jordan Love in Green Bay, performing "this high-wire act" of pushing the ball downfield regardless. "You have to be realistic about the quarterback you have," Kimes said, "and they got to figure out how to run the football better." Rich noted the Quenton Nelson trade and getting Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price back together as good developments.

Where Jonathan Taylor should go

That brought Rich to Jonathan Taylor, "such a delightful human," and the question of which team should damn the torpedoes and get him in the next 90 hours.

"I'm going to pick the obvious one, which is the Minnesota Vikings," Kimes said. "There's a reason why it's the obvious one." The offense has been inept compared with the defense, and everyone knows the kind of run that defense can make. Carson Wentz might start this week, she noted, with a Kyler Murray injury, "read into that what you will." The point is that Minnesota can't find a Jonathan Taylor at quarterback. It doesn't seem like Vegas will move Kirk Cousins, and Jacoby Brissett is now a Raven. With Taylor and some tweaks, Kimes said, the Vikings could make the run game more of their identity, "and that might be enough with that defense."

Rich laid out the arms race context: Nelson to Seattle, DeForest Buckner to San Francisco, the Rams getting Myles Garrett on June 1, and the Bears getting Simmons. Then he pitched the Giants. They're 4-2-1 with the division right there, and Rich asked whether Cam Skattebo is really a 25-touch guy. Maybe he becomes a 15-touch guy alongside Taylor, who is from Jersey. "Bring him home. Why not?"

"I don't hate it," Kimes said. She thinks the Giants have found their offensive identity. J.J. McCarthy, she said, is at his best with a good run game, which forces safeties down and creates the single-high looks he loves. He was "amazing" against single-high coverage in his last start, throwing one-on-ones outside. Her only hesitation is that she likes the back the Giants already have, though she was open to a one-two punch, joking about putting both on the field with Patrick Ricard to "go really old school."

The bigger question for New York, Kimes said, is honesty. The Giants could absolutely win the division with the Cowboys struggling, the Commanders facing the Rams and the Eagles imploding. But "I think we all agree they're not ahead of those NFC West and NFC North teams," she said. Are you willing to give up a ton "just to probably lose your first game in the playoffs?"

The AFC seven and the Texans

Rich ran Chris Brockman's Overreaction Monday idea by Kimes: that the seven teams currently in AFC playoff position, the Bills, Broncos, Steelers, Jaguars, Chiefs, Bengals and Patriots, will be the seven at the end. "I think it's right," Kimes said, though the Bengals and Steelers might swap places. It's hard to feel good about the Ravens with Lamar's situation, and she said the Browns don't really believe in their offense.

The one team she would watch is Houston, despite her disappointment in the defense against New York. "They were supposed to be the best defense in football," Kimes said, and now "that defense is not even average." She still thinks C.J. Stroud is playing really good ball. Rich ran through the Texans' next four, Chargers, at Cleveland, home for Indianapolis and home for Baltimore, and said a run is feasible. Kimes said this is a good moment for an emotional check-in. She kept assuming the Texans' defense would be a difficult matchup, until she realized, "This isn't the Texans defense of last year."

The Chiefs need a receiver

Finally, Rich asked whether Kansas City's near-miss in Denver erased the notion that Seattle exposed the Chiefs. Kimes said they moved the ball pretty well, especially with Emari Demercado running and catching. Seattle's defense remains a unique bar. But both games showed the same thing: "They desperately need a receiver right now." Screens to the backs and a few Kelce third downs aren't enough, she said, because they aren't challenging teams downfield.

Her wish list: Brian Thomas Jr. is probably unlikely, since Jacksonville shouldn't help an AFC rival. Josh Downs has been mentioned. And she likes Dontayvion Wicks, though he has been injured. "They could really use anything," Kimes said.

As for Lenny, the dog from her podcast, he was downstairs taking a nap. Next time, the show wants Lenny in the mix. "We're a very dog friendly show."