🏈 When Love Conquers All: Broncos Sleepwalk in London, Bengals Lose … AGAIN | Episode 252

Far End of the Bench Podcast Companion Blog

🎙️ Episode Overview

There are two guarantees in every coach’s life — the day you’re hired and the day you’re fired.
This week, Penn State finally fired James Franklin after another meltdown as a 20-point favorite. Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos forgot to pack their offense but somehow escaped London with a win over the New York Jets. Back in the States, my Cincinnati Bengals still can’t catch a break — but with Joe Flacco in the mix, things are at least interesting again.

October means chaos: the NFL is in full swing, college football is flipping coaches faster than pancakes, NHL hockey is back, and MLB playoffs are heating up. If you can’t keep up, we’ve got you covered.

🎂 Birthday Week and Show Updates

Coming off my 28th birthday, I got reminded by TikTok that I’m officially “closer to 30 than 20.” Thanks for that.
We kept things low-key — dinner with Carlye, Dom, and my family, a new Bengals hat, and the joy of a quiet night. The best part? It’s fall break, which means I finally have time to lock in on content creation for FEOTB: shorts, clips, streams, and all the behind-the-scenes work that keeps this show rolling.

If you’re not already, make sure to subscribe on YouTube and follow @FEOTBpod everywhere — more content is dropping every week.

🏫 College Football Chaos: James Franklin Out at Penn State

The headline of the week — Penn State fires James Franklin.
He walks away 104-45 with a $49 million buyout, but those 15 losses in marquee games tell the story. It’s the oldest rule in the business: coaches don’t retire, they get fired.

Franklin resurrected Penn State from the depths of the post-Paterno fallout and made them nationally relevant again. But when you keep losing the big ones, the alumni money eventually runs out of patience.

He’ll coach again — maybe at Oklahoma State, maybe in the Big 12 2.0 — but for now, he’s getting paid to watch football on a couch. Not a bad gig.

🔥 Coaching Hot Seats and Future Openings

If you love chaos, this year’s coaching carousel is spinning at full speed.
Florida, Oklahoma, and now Penn State are all staring down major decisions.

We talked through it on the show — Florida might be the biggest prize (and the biggest trap). Oklahoma looks like it’s heading toward another meltdown under Brent Venables, and Indiana’s win at Oregon might have vaulted Curt Cignetti into every AD’s contact list.

Don’t forget Alabama — they’re creeping back under Kalen DeBoer. We ended the segment with our weekly “Buy or Sell”: Is Bama fixed?
My answer: Sell. You’re not “back” until you beat Tennessee, LSU, and Auburn in the same season. Alabama’s standard is perfection, not progress.

🏈 NFL Talk: Flacco, Bengals Frustration & Reality Checks

Thursday Night Football was kicking off as we recorded, and I said what every Bengals fan was thinking: There’s just something about Joe Flacco I can’t quite put my finger on.

The man’s 41 years old, built like a refrigerator, and still launching rockets into tight windows. He’s never had receivers like Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, and if the offensive line can protect him for more than two seconds, he’ll give them a fighting chance.

As a Bengals fan, I’m used to chaos. Hope and pain usually arrive in the same drive.

🇬🇧 Broncos in London – Winning Ugly Still Counts

If you missed the Broncos’ win in London, consider yourself lucky. It was the football equivalent of cold pizza — ugly but somehow satisfying.

Nine sacks. Minus-10 passing yards for Justin Fields (the worst since 1962). And a defense that single-handedly dragged Denver to victory.

Sean Payton has to figure out the offense. He can’t keep turtling with a lead and hoping the defense bails him out. If this team ever pairs that pass rush with competent offense, they’ll scare anyone in the AFC. Right now, they’re just scaring their own fans.

🗑️ Jets: The Gold Standard of Misery

Let’s be real — the New York Jets are the worst franchise in sports.
Clock management? Nonexistent. Offensive line? Turnstiles. Talent? Wasted.
They’re a team built on misery and bad luck, and every year they find a new way to sink lower.

Even the Rockies and Sabres have more hope. At least Colorado has mountains to stare at while they lose.

🧮 NFL Pick’em Standings – Week 7

Both hosts stayed hot in Pick’em — each coming off a 3-1 week and both over 70% on the year.

Jimmy (17-6-1) is rolling with:

• Chiefs over Raiders

• Patriots over Titans

• Bears over Saints

• Colts over Chargers

Niko (19-5) is taking:

• Chiefs over Raiders

• Patriots over Titans

• Falcons over 49ers

• Packers over Cardinals

Two guys making gut calls and somehow beating Vegas — don’t ask how, just ride the wave.

🏅 Player & Benchwarmer of the Week

Every week we hand out two honors — one for excellence and one for embarrassment.

Player of the Week

• Jimmy: Roman Hemby (RB, Indiana) – Carried the Hoosiers to the biggest win in program history at Oregon. Power, vision, and toughness — he earned it.

• Niko: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B, Blue Jays) – Heating up at the right time, Vladdy’s bat is turning heads again in Toronto.

Benchwarmer of the Week

• Jimmy: Brent Venables (HC, Oklahoma) – When your offense scores six points and you still talk about defense, grab a seat next to me.

• Niko: Jets Offensive Line – Nine sacks allowed. Enough said.

🥊 The Broncos Are Basically Rocky Balboa

This team is Rocky Balboa. They get beat down for fifteen rounds and still find a way to stand up.
They can beat Philly one week and lose to the Jets the next — that’s just who they are.

When you hear Broncos fans panic, remember this: Bo Nix looked lost for a month last year, then turned into a playoff quarterback. The sky isn’t falling. It’s just cloudy over Mile High.

🧟‍♂️ Halloween Vibes & Final Thoughts

Right now, the only team that still scares anyone is Kansas City.
The AFC is wide open, the NFC feels upside down, and the Chiefs are once again the Michael Myers of football — you think they’re dead, then you hear the theme music.

The Broncos are scrappy, the Bengals are stubborn, and somewhere James Franklin is counting $49 million reasons to smile.

🎥 YouTube: When Love Conquers All | Episode 252
🎧 Spotify / Apple Podcasts: The Far End of the Bench

⚙️ Start Your Own Show

Thinking about starting a podcast or live stream? We use StreamYard, and you can too.
👉 Start Here

#Broncos #Bengals #NFLWeek7 #JamesFranklin #CollegeFootball #PennState #JoeFlacco #BroncosCountry #SportsPodcast #FEOTB