Nikki Glaser Shows Off Her Two Globes, CBS LIB Margaret Brennan Is Unfathomably Dumb & Shedeur Sanders STINKS!

I know Joe defended it this morning, but I'm gonna go ahead and call absolute BS on it right now: this is, easily, the worst Monday of the year. 

Which is both good and bad, if you think about it. The good news is we're getting it out of the way today. Every other Monday from here on out will be infinitely better than this one. 

The bad news? We still have to grind our way through today, and it's just awful. 

The ‘Ber months are over. Done. The best time of the year is now a closed book, and we won’t reopen it for another eight months. Eight. 

There is no Monday Night Football tonight. Our first Monday without football since the week before Labor Day. I honestly don't know what to do. Does Cozi TV still down King of Queens reruns from 8-10? I hope so. 

But it's also the first day back to work in weeks. The real first day back. Last week didn't count. All the meetings were canceled. For those who did show up to work, it was more ceremonial than anything. Like getting a key to the city. We were there, but we weren't really there. Today, we're here. And it stinks. 

That's life, though. That's just how the calendar works. January is such a grind, and it starts today. Let's grind. 

Welcome to a Monday Nightcaps – the one where Nikki Glaser shows off her globes and offers some hope as we jump back into reality. 

What else? I've got the best of the rest from a big weekend of #content, Mike Tirico was NAILS last night (even though I fell asleep at halftime), and is Shedeur Sanders, somehow, the worst QB in Cleveland Browns history? 

Doesn't seem possible, but … you'll see. 

Grab you whatever you need to get you through this horrid day – yes, that includes you, Dry Januaryers – and settle in for a Monday 'Cap!

I didn't even come close last night

Yeah – I fell asleep at halftime last night. Did I miss the best NFL game of the regular season? Maybe. Possibly. But, after two weeks of holiday crap, the wheels finally came off. I almost made it, but I think I just ran out of steam towards the end. 

And I didn't even try, really. After we got both kids down, I shut down the living room, and ran to the bed. I couldn't get there quick enough. I left it all out on the field this holiday season, but I knew I had no shot last night. I could feel it in my bones starting around 5 p.m. I knew I was cooked. 

But, I do have a couple thoughts as we end the regular season and start the playoffs:

- Mike Tirico was excellent. Between him and McDonough in last week's Sugar Bowl, I think we may have gotten two of the best games, and two of the best calls, of the entire football season in the past five days. 

I mean, this is just absurdly good:

I know it's ‘inside baseball’ stuff because I live in the sports media world, but nothing ruins a great game more than an awful announcer. You see it ALL the time with Romo and Nantz. Tirico was excellent last night. He also gets the Super Bowl next month. We're in good hands. 

- Speaking of the Super Bowl … I think this is the most wide-open AFC of my lifetime. I also think the Jags might be the sleepiest of sleeper teams to watch. 

- Feel like the Rams are coming out of the NFC. 

- Rams-Bills is probably the Super Bowl we all want. 

- Patriots-Eagles is probably the one we'll get because time is a flat circle. 

- Sam Darnold and Bo Nix are current 1-seed QBs. Ain't exactly Brady/Manning/Mahomes. 

- Texans-Steelers next Monday has 16-13 written all over it. 

- I don't think this ESPN ref will be invited back next year:

What a weekend of #content!

"Refs ass…rules analyst.. also ass." An all-time tweet from McAfee, given he also works at ESPN (sort of). This Mike Chase fella STUNK on Saturday. For those who remember the old CBS guy, Mike Carey … he gave off Mike Carey vibes. 

Mike Carey was almost always wrong. And it was must-see TV:

What a video. It's the best I could find. No clue why this dude is dressed up as a bank robber, but I enjoyed it. 

OK, weird pivot. Back on track! Let's get to the best #content from a big weekend of kidnapping foreign leaders!

Nikki, Shedeur and a WIDE range of mail 

I mean, what a weekend. What a start to 2026. The six-minute Trump war while we were all sleeping Saturday morning led to maybe the greatest day of Twitter #content I'd ever seen. And it was the first Saturday without any college football! Clutch. 

Couple thoughts …

1. Margaret Brennan is truly the dumbest Lib in all of media, which is such an incredible honor if you really think about it. Rubio can't believe he's being subjected to this. I don't blame him. 

2. The final Red Zone sign-off every season is such a kick in the dick. It hurts my soul. Scott is devastated the season's over. So are we. 

3. Pete Carroll's done, right? Feel like this was it. What a miserable way to go out. 

OK, let's rapid-fire this Monday class into a big Monday night with nothing on TV! Speaking of miserable seasons …

18.8 QBR for Shedeur Sanders this season. 18.8!!!!!! Look, I know QBR sort of sucks as a metric – so does the actual QB Rating, by the way – but my God, that's so impressive. 

Is Shedeur the worst Browns QB in history? No. Come on. Well, maybe, but that list is so long, I would need weeks to dive in to give you a true answer. 

But an 18.8 QBR is quite the milestone. #WeComin!

Next? My mailbox was overflowing when I came in today. Some of you called me homophobic AND gay at the same time. Others just wanted to talk about Sean McDonough. 

And hey this class isn't diverse enough! 

From Jon in Iowa, who verified that Sean is, indeed, the man:

Hi Zach. 

Started reading you and Joe about a year and an half ago. Have not emailed yet, but love the work from both of you. Sean puts me on the board. 

Met him a couple times when I used to volunteer to run the Trackman for the amateurs during the ProAm at the Phoenix open several years ago. He is not only one of my favorite game callers, he is a great guy. Most of the amateurs that play are sports people and higher up business people. Most are nice enough, but you can always tell who are dickheads. (A lot of them). 

Sean talked to me like a real person. Asked personal questions about me and was very down to earth. His game calls are great and he has my vote as one of the best in the business. 

Thanks, Jon! Glad to hear that. Not surprised, though. Sean's always given off those ‘Just one of the guys’ vibes. He and Buck seem like two dudes I'd like to go to a bar and watch football with. That's usually how I judge people. They both pass the test. 

And hey! I just said I'd go to a bar with two dudes, which would be news to someone named Thanh Bui, who spent all day Saturday calling me homophobic for writing my VERY NASTY story on the two dudes kissing on ESPN at midnight. 

From … Thanh:

When you are repulsed by something, there’s a source for it, whatever it is. Perhaps you’re a closet homosexual and desire men. Perhaps you’re in conflict with your feelings towards gay sex. 

Or perhaps you’re just an ignorant, immature and hateful individual who hasn’t normalized gay sex in your mind. Likely this applies to Van Pelt too. To say every guy feels this way is a damn cop out. That’s an assumption and lacks critical thinking.  

Thanks, Thanh! By the way, I have no problem with gay sex … I love it when I see two women kissing at midnight! Don't sell me so short, pal. 

If I went into an office, I reckon this would be me today as I spiral from Thanh's email. Am I gay, as he hypothesizes? Who knows what 2026 will bring!

Anyway, here's Nikki Glaser letting 'em rip to end the day. 

Yep, definitely not gay. 

See you Wednesday. 

OutKick Nightcaps is a daily column set to run Monday through Friday at 4 p.m. (roughly, we’re not robots).

Super Bowl/playoff predictions? Email me at Zach.Dean@OutKick.com.