Browns Win the TNF Thriller | Weekend Best Bets: CFB & NFL — Coach and Company Friday 10/2/26

Thursday night in Cleveland went the way Coach said it would. The Browns led by eight late, Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown and converted the two-point try himself to tie it 24-24, and Andre Szmyt hit a 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds left to win it 27-24 (Cleveland Browns). The Browns are 3-1 and alone in first in the AFC North, with Deshaun Watson leading a game-winning drive for the third straight week. He went 24-of-33 for 268 yards and called the night "electric" (Yahoo Sports). Coach says the atmosphere could revive downtown Cleveland and that sports is the great equalizer. Raphael Esparza says he has to eat crow on Watson. Mikey P won't: he's standing on his take that Cleveland shouldn't build its future around Watson, and Coach challenges him to judge what Watson is doing right now. On the other side, Rodgers threw for 299 yards but was sacked five times after a heated sideline exchange with head coach Mike McCarthy (CBS News), and the 2-2 Steelers get 10 days off.

Then the weekend's best bets. Mikey P is fired up for undefeated Pitt at Virginia Tech and likes Northwestern +2.5 as it opens its new Ryan Field against Penn State (Northwestern Athletics), and the crew can't believe the visitors' locker room. Raphael likes the over in Florida–Missouri (SI) and questions how many SEC teams deserve their rankings. In the NFL, Raphael takes the Panthers +3.5 at home against the Lions with rain in the forecast (SI), and Coach and Raphael run through Teaser 101. Mikey P likes the Bears' team total against a Jets team missing Breece Hall, Adonai Mitchell and Mason Taylor (PFT), and says Ben Johnson will start Tyson Bagent over Case Keenum. Coach says that would be a mistake after Keenum's Monday-night win, and Ben Johnson hasn't said (Chicago Sun-Times). All picks are the hosts' opinions, and lines move.

The show opens with Mikey P's Fight Time preview: UFC 332 is live on CBS this weekend (UFC), plus guest Destiny McCubbin. It closes with Howie Mandel walking away from a burning car (Yahoo) and Coach on Friday night high-school football in Texas.

Housekeeping: Coach and Company is live every weekday at 10 AM ET. Mikey P and Brandon Combs have a college football show on Saturday mornings, and the Sunday VOD segment has the NFL picks. Afternoon Drive with the Coach is live at 2 PM ET (Thursday's was the biggest show yet). Coach and Bro is on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Fight Time with Mikey P is out now. All seven BTT shows are at one link in Coach's bio.

Episode Timestamps Time Segment 00:00 Cold open and the rundown 01:42 Raphael Esparza and Mikey P join 02:49 Fight Time preview: UFC 332 and Destiny McCubbin 03:36 Dana White's fighter mix-up and the Kick stream 05:36 TNF recap: Browns 27, Steelers 24, Szmyt from 56 06:48 Mikey P: "These aren't the same Browns" 07:50 Coach vs. Mikey P: "I told you" 08:57 Raphael: The Dawg Pound is back 09:52 Downtown Cleveland and Watson's postgame 11:15 Mikey P: Watson has nothing to lose 12:10 Coach: Sports is the great equalizer 13:13 Raphael eats crow on Watson 14:15 The Browns' next six games 15:27 Mikey P stands on it: Is Watson the long-term answer? 17:00 Rodgers vs. McCarthy: Where do the Steelers go? 18:18 The Steelers' schedule 18:53 Best bets, plus a North Texas–Tulsa shout-out 19:44 Mikey P: Pitt–Virginia Tech and Northwestern +2.5 20:43 The Northwestern locker room comparison 23:15 Raphael: Florida–Missouri over 24:07 How many SEC teams are playoff-caliber? 25:51 NFL: Raphael takes the Panthers +3.5 vs. the