Leave it to Chris Russo to wholeheartedly sell a sports take that nearly the entire world disagrees with. Filling in as host Thursday on First Take, Russo also took over the “A-List” segment typically run by host Stephen A. Smith, with Russo listing off his top five challengers to the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL. After Russo riffed through teams like the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Brown, First Take beamed in NFL analyst Mina Kimes to dismantle Russo’s arguments. She did not disappoint.
“This is one of the worst lists I’ve ever seen,” Kimes told Russo after introducing herself kindly to the sports media legend.
Mina Kimes with a systematic takedown of Mad Dog's A-list of the top five challengers to the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Chris, great to meet you. First time long time. Huge fan. This is one of the worst lists I've ever seen." pic.twitter.com/ltMFudg5Cc
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 14, 2024
It didn’t exactly take a ton of hard-hitting analysis for Mina Kimes to break apart Russo’s opinions. Detroit may have played in the NFC championship game, but the Lions lost to San Francisco, who Russo had fifth on the list. Russo also included Cleveland, but not the Houston Texans team that beat the Browns in the AFC playoffs.
Meanwhile, a healthy Cincinnati Bengals squad and annual contender Philadelphia Eagles are nowhere to be found.
Being contrarian has never stopped Russo in the past. It’s a wonder he didn’t just pick the teams with the oldest coach or the deepest ties to Otto Graham, given his proclivity for the sports days of old.
It was a rough day for Russo on First Take. Standing in as the primary host where he usually plays defense against Smith, the Mad Dog absolutely botched the names of his fellow panelists Domonique Foxworth and Brian Windhorst, as well as anchor Molly Qerim.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.