The Buffalo Curse, a Mega-Mailbag, QB Roulette, and Week 3 Picks With Joe House and Tom Pelissero

September 25, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Bill Simmons opens with a confession: he has been using the word "zag" wrong for years. A listener named Payton from Charlotte calls him out, pointing out that if the whole point is to "zig when everyone else zags," then Simmons has been planting his flag on "zag" so consistently that "zag" has become the consensus move—which means he is actually zigging. Simmons and Joe House spend a genuinely puzzled minute trying to figure out who is right, and they never fully resolve it. It is a perfect entry point into an episode that is less about settling arguments than about watching two very smart, very online sports fans work through a pile of them in real time.

The Deshaun Watson Reckoning (and the Zombie Quarterback Problem)

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What you'll learn

1 Timestamped Outline
2 (03:02) **Mailbag Opening and House's Midweek Golf Trip** - Joe House arrives fresh from a business/golf trip in Richmond, and Bill reveals he didn't send House any mailbag questions ahead of time for a no-prep segment
3 (03:58) **Deshaun Watson: "Shaun of the Dead" and the Zombie Quarterback** - A listener coins the nickname "Shaun of the Dead" for Deshaun Watson, and the hosts debate whether the zombie version will show up against Carolina
4 (08:36) **The Crock Pot Hot Seat: Jim Harbaugh and Other Coaches** - A listener analogizes coaches on the hot seat to a slow-cooked stew that's not ready to eat yet, with Jim Harbaugh as the prime example
5 (13:10) **The Tony Movie Review and A24 Fatigue** - Bill admits his body is "starting to reject the A24 over-campaigns" but loved the Tony movie, calling it his favorite film of 2026 so far
6 (14:04) **Conspiracy Theory: Commander's Data Center Electromagnetic Radiation** - A listener from DC claims the Commander's practice facility in Ashburn is surrounded by massive hyperscale data centers that are "literally radioactive" and causing the team's injury epidemic
7 (16:01) **The "Eat a Fat Dick" Segment is Born** - A listener proposes a new recurring segment where House invites teams, players, or fan bases that have displeased him to "eat a fat dick," and House immediately endorses it

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Joe House Tom Pelissero

Show Notes

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by Joe House to dive into the mailbag and answer some questions from the listeners. Then, Tom Pelissero comes on to talk about six fascinating topics in the NFL before House returns to make their Ringer 107 picks for Week 3.

(0:00) Intro

(2:01) Mailbag with House

(56:40) Six fascinating things in the NFL with Tom Pelissero

(1:30:23) Ringer 107 Week 3

Host: Bill Simmons

Guests: Joe House and Tom Pelissero

Producers: Chia Hao Tat and Eduardo Ocampo

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