Apex Josh Allen, the Goofy NFC North, Week 2 Picks, and Bill’s Breakup Letter to the Clippers | With Tom Pelissero and Joe House
September 18, 2026
AI Summary
5 min read"He's Clearly the Best Player in the League Now"
The Bills scored 77 points across their first two games, beat both the Texans and Lions, and Josh Allen is on pace for a season that might redefine what a quarterback can be. On Thursday night against Detroit, he threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more—the tenth time in his career he's done that, more than double anyone else in NFL history. Through two weeks, he has the most fantasy points scored since 2000. He's halfway to Emmitt Smith's career rushing touchdown record. He's 30 years old.
Tom Pelissero, who joined The Ringer and launched a newsletter called The Sweep, put it plainly: "There's a lot of good quarterbacks right now, but if you see Joe Burrow barreling down on you inside the five yard line, you like your chances. With Josh Allen, it's 'Do I even bother trying to get in his way, or should I just become shrapnel here?'"
The Bills' Identity Shift
The most revealing change in Buffalo isn't Allen—it's the coaching. Sean McDermott was fired after the playoff loss to Kansas City, and the team replaced him with offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Owner Terry Pegula said he saw Allen with his head in his hands after the Denver playoff game and decided they'd gone as far as they could with McDermott. The team ran a real coaching search, but the fix was always going to be Brady.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:30) **Intro: Lions-Bills Thursday Night & Tom Pelissero Joins** - Simmons sets up the impossible schedule spot for Detroit after an OT game and introduces Tom Pelissero, who launches *The Sweep* newsletter.
- 2 (02:56) **Apex Josh Allen: Best Player in the League?** - The core argument that Josh Allen is peaking and is now the single most dominant player in the NFL.
- 3 (06:46) **Joe Brady's Offense: "Fuck It, Don't Let the Defense on the Field"** - The tactical shift under new OC Joe Brady, who is unleashing Allen and the offense to outscore everyone.
- 4 (11:51) **Sean McDermott's Legacy & the "Mark Jackson/Steve Kerr" Dynamic** - Discussion on whether firing McDermott was the right move to push the Bills over the top, and how Joe Brady has changed the team's vibe.
- 5 (16:05) **Detroit's Running Back Crisis & Ben Johnson's Shadow** - The Lions' unsustainable workload for Jahmyr Gibbs and the long-term narrative around Dan Campbell vs. his former OC.
- 6 (21:12) **The Goofy NFC North: Who's the Best Team?** - A breakdown of the four NFC North defenses, all of which have major flaws, making the division a wide-open mess.
- 7 (23:48) **Hot Seats & Early Overreactions (Chargers, Herbert, Harbaugh)** - The first coach/team on the hot seat watch and the strange disconnect between Jim Harbaugh's praise for Justin Herbert and the team's flat performance.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by Tom Pelissero to react to the Bills defeating the Lions in a Week 2 'TNF' matchup. Then, Joe House joins to listen to Bill’s letter to the Clippers, answer some mailbag questions, and make their Ringer 107 picks for Week 2.
(0:00) Intro
(1:07) Lions-Bills reactions and more with Tom Pelissero
(42:57) Bill’s letter to the Clippers
(51:18) Mailbag
(01:07:43) Ringer 107 picks
Host: Bill Simmons
Guests: Tom Pelissero and Joe House
Producers: Chia Hao Tat, Eduardo Ocampo, and Chris Wohlers
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