The Unflappable 49ers, Bad Coaching Galore, Drake Maye’s Rally, Tua’s Rough Cameo, and Guess the Lines With Cousin Sal

October 12, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The 49ers are 5-0, and they keep losing players. Brock Purdy threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns against Seattle, and the game wasn't as close as the final score. Mike Evans, who is 33, made a one-handed catch that looked like he was posting up an 11-year-old. The 49ers have now beaten three of last year's four conference champions. Bill Simmons compared them to the early Belichick Patriots teams where you just start to feel like they're going to win any close game. "It's not arguable anymore," Simmons said. "He's one of the best quarterbacks in the league."

The Coaching Crisis

The episode's throughline is that NFL coaching is in a state of crisis, and it's not just one bad week. Simmons and Cousin Sal spent the episode cataloging a series of catastrophic decisions that suggest something systemic is wrong. The most spectacular failure came in the Giants-Commanders game, which ended in a tie after Washington's Jayden Daniels let the clock run out while his team was in field goal range. "Has there been a dumber game?" Simmons asked. "No, I don't think so." The coaches all say the same thing afterward: "I gotta do better. We have to communicate better." Simmons noted that these guys have headsets on and are still not communicating. "You need skywriting," he said.

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What you'll learn

1 (01:35) **Opening and Week 5 Overview** - Bill and Cousin Sal recap the 14-hour Week 5 NFL marathon, comparing the chaotic final game to a bad Halloween movie.
2 (03:30) **Falcons-Ravens Overtime Collapse** - The Falcons blow a lead in overtime, with Tua Tagovailoa coming in cold to throw a game-ending interception in one of the dumbest endings of the season.
3 (07:28) **Cousin Sal’s Kidney Stone Update** - Sal provides a painful and humorous update on his ongoing kidney stone procedure, which failed to break up the stones properly.
4 (08:28) **Cross-Off Teams and League Power Rankings** - The hosts identify the “cross-off” teams (Miami, Tennessee, Chargers, Arizona) and debate the top three teams in the league, all of which are in the NFC West.
5 (11:10) **Giants vs. Washington: The Funniest Game in NFL History** - A deep dive into the absurd ending where the Commanders fumbled a game-winning field goal attempt, resulting in a tie.
6 (15:58) **NFC East Embarrassment and Primal Fear Dave Chang** - The hosts receive an email asking if there’s ever been a more embarrassing week for a division, and Bill recounts Dave Chang’s schizophrenic fandom of the Washington Commanders.
7 (22:20) **Eagles-Jaguars London Disaster** - A recap of the chaotic London game where the Jaguars did everything possible to lose, culminating in a miracle teaser cover for the Eagles.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Bill Simmons Cousin Sal

Show Notes

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by Cousin Sal to recap Ravens-Falcons and the rest of the Week 5 games. Then, they Guess the Lines for Week 6 before ending with Parent Corner and remembering their friend Paul Koehorst.

(0:00) Intro

(1:08) Ravens-Falcons and Giants-Commanders

(21:47) Eagles-Jaguars and Broncos-Chargers

(42:36) Raiders-Patriots and Bears-Packers

(52:49) 49ers-Seahawks and Colts-Steelers

(01:01:08) Lions-Cardinals and Browns-Jets

(01:07:22) Bengals-Dolphins and Vikings-Saints

(01:10:00) Guess the Lines Week 6

(01:26:38) Parent Corner

(01:33:58) Remembering Paul Koehorst

Host: Bill Simmons

Guest: Cousin Sal

Producers: Chia Hao Tat, Eduardo Ocampo, and Chris Wohlers

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