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Friday, February 10, 2023 |
Ladies and gentlemen, Super Bowl weekend is finally here! |
Before we get to today's newsletter, I have some good news and some great news (we don't do bad news here). The first bit of good news is that this ISN'T your final newsletter before the Super Bowl and that's because you'll be getting a special SUPER BOWL LVII edition of the newsletter around 11 a.m. ET on Sunday. I'm going to be waking up at roughly 5 a.m. mountain time to make sure that gets in your inbox, so please pray for me. |
As for the great news: I'll be at the game on Sunday and if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, I promise to keep sharing photos until my phone breaks. Let's hope it doesn't break. |
Although the Super Bowl is just two days away, that won't be the only thing we're talking about today and that's because there was an AWARDS CEREMONY last night. We'll go over the winners of all the NFL's major awards, plus take a quick look at this year's Hall of Fame class. |
Basically, we have got a huge newsletter today, so let's get to the rundown. |
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1. Today's show: Top Super Bowl props to bet on |
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With the Super Bowl just two days away, you can probably guess what we spent all of our time talking about today and if you guessed the Super Bowl, you are 100% right. For today's show, Ryan Wilson, Will Brinson and I revealed our favorite Super Bowl props. |
Here are five of the props that we talked about during the episode: |
First touchdown scorer |
- Best bet: Travis Kelce (+550). Kelce already has 15 career playoff touchdowns, which is the second most all time, and it won't be surprising at all if he ends up scoring the first TD of the game.
- Long shot: Boston Scott (+2100). Scott has scored in THREE straight playoff games for the Eagles and if they get down inside the 5-yard line, I could see Nick Sirianni turning to him again.
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Patrick Mahomes OVER 18.5 rushing yards (-119). Mahomes went over this total 10 times this year and I think his injured ankle might work to his advantage here because the Eagles won't take him as seriously as a run threat due to the injury. |
Jalen Hurts yards of first completion UNDER 7.5 (+130). With Hurts playing in his first Super Bowl, I'm fully expecting him to have some jitters and because of that, I think Nick Sirianni will ease his QB into the game with a relatively short and easy throw for his first pass. |
Jake Elliott OVER 1.5 field goals (+100): The Eagles trust Elliott a lot and that's mostly because he has NEVER missed a field goal in the playoffs. Although Nick Sirianni has a tendency to get aggressive on fourth down, I think he'll gladly take points in the Super Bowl and because of that, I won't be surprised if Elliott hits two or three field goals. |
Game to be tied after 0-0: Yes (-115) This prop has hit in five of the past eight Super Bowls and I'm thinking it's going to hit again. |
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2. NFL Honors: Patrick Mahomes wins second MVP in five years |
With Kelly Clarkson hosting NFL Honors last night, I had no idea what to expect, but I have to say, she was surprisingly entertaining. I mean, she sang a duet with Kirk Cousins ( which you can see here). |
The only problem with NFL Honors this year is that there just wasn't much drama surrounding the awards. For instance, everyone has been assuming for the past month that Patrick Mahomes was going to win MVP and that's exactly what happened. The Chiefs QB took home the award for the second time in his career. |
Actually, there was a small bit of drama and that came from the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. Garrett Wilson won the award even though he didn't get the most first-place votes. That honor went to Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III, who received 19 first-place votes compared to just 18 for the Jets receiver. However, Wilson won the award thanks to the new scoring system (Wilson finished with 156 points while Walker got 129). |
Here's a look at all the awards that were handed out on Thursday night: |
- AP Most Valuable Player: Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs)
- AP Coach of the Year: Brian Daboll (Giants)
- AP Offensive Player of the Year: Justin Jefferson (Vikings)
- AP Defensive Player of the Year: Nick Bosa (49ers)
- AP Comeback Player of the Year: Geno Smith (Seahawks)
- AP Offensive Rookie of the Year: Garrett Wilson (Jets)
- AP Defensive Rookie of the Year: Sauce Gardner (Jets)
- AP Assistant Coach of the year: DeMeco Ryans (49ers)
- Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year: Dak Prescott (Cowboys)
- FedEx Air Player of the Year: Joe Burrow (Bengals)
- FedEx Ground Player of the Year: Josh Jacobs (Raiders)
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One interesting note about the MVP race is that Bills assistant trainer Danny Kellington, who played a major role in reviving Damar Hamlin, received an MVP vote. Hamlin was actually in attendance on Thursday night and he was introduced with the medical team that helped save his life (You can see the clip here). |
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3. 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class revealed |
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Although the NFL's biggest awards were handed out on Thursday night, that wasn't the only thing that went down during NFL Honors. The Pro Football Hall of Fame also revealed its class of 2023 and here's a look at who got in: |
- Ronde Barber, CB/S: Buccaneers (1997-2012)
- Darrelle Revis, CB: Jets (2007-12, 2015-16), Buccaneers (2013), New England Patriots (2014), Chiefs (2017)
- Joe Thomas, OT: Cleveland Browns (2007-17)
- Zach Thomas, LB: Dolphins (1996-2007), Cowboys (2008)
- DeMarcus Ware, LB/DE: Cowboys (2005-13), Broncos (2014-16)
- Chuck Howley, LB: Bears (1958-59), Cowboys (1961-73)
- Joe Klecko, DL: Jets (1977-87), Colts (1988)
- Ken Riley, CB: Bengals (1969-83)
- Don Coryell: Cardinals coach (1973-77), Chargers coach (1978-86)
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4. Super Bowl LVII picks: Six writers are exactly split |
I've basically spent half my week tracking down everyone's Super Bowl pick here at CBSSports.com and although we don't have every pick in yet -- I promise I'll have all of them by Sunday -- I did have several sent to me over the past 48 hours, so I'm going to share them with you now. |
With that in mind, here is what six of our writers see happening in the Super Bowl in a game where the Eagles are currently favored by 1.5 points. |
- Pete Prisco: Chiefs 33-30 over Eagles. "Give me the best quarterback in the league on the biggest stage. Mahomes will close out the season with the award trifecta: League MVP, Super Bowl MVP and another ring to add to his first one. The Chiefs dynasty will be in full force come late Sunday evening." For a full explanation of Prisco's Super Bowl pick, be sure to click here.
- Jeff Kerr: Eagles 27-24 over Chiefs. "The Chiefs offensive line is good, but the Eagles pass rush is historic. That will play the difference in a close contest between the two best teams in the NFL." For a full explanation of Kerr's Super Bowl pick, be sure to click here.
- Cody Benjamin: Eagles 28-26 over Chiefs. "This isn't as simple as comparing lineups on paper. It never is. And for that reason, it's hard to pick against the all-world contingent of Reid, Mahomes and Kelce, but I'm going to anyway. The Eagles have a more consistent ground game, plus Nick Sirianni's much more aggressive compared to Andy Reid's penchant for occasional clock-management miscues. We'll give the Birds the slightest of nods here." For a full explanation of Benjamin's Super Bowl pick, be sure to click here.
- Jordan Dajani: Chiefs 27-24 over Eagles. "I'm a little surprised the Chiefs are underdogs in this game. I'm more surprised they are plus money on the moneyline. That just sounds wrong. Mahomes has never been a playoff underdog in 13 career starts, and he is 7-1-1 against the spread and 6-3 straight-up in his career as a regular-season underdog. With a record like that, I'm going to take it every time." For a full explanation of Dajani's Super Bowl pick, be sure to click here.
- Tyler Sullivan: Eagles 27-23 over Chiefs. "There have only been seven Super Bowls with a point spread of of 2.5 points or less. The favorites in those games have gone 6-1 straight-up and against the spread. History is on Philadelphia's side so I'm taking them." For a full explanation of Sullivan's Super Bowl pick, be sure to click here.
- John Breech: Chiefs 27-24 over Eagles. "I'm absolutely torn on this game. I've changed my mind at least nine times about my pick only to change it back, which I think means I've technically changed it 18 times. No MVP has won the Super Bowl since 2000 and the regular-season passing yards leader has NEVER won the Super Bowl. I think Patrick Mahomes puts an end to that with a huge game against an Eagles secondary that hasn't faced anyone even remotely as good as Mahomes this season." For the rest of my pick, be sure to click here.
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5. 57 bets to make for Super Bowl LVII |
The only thing more fun than watching the Super Bowl is betting on the Super Bowl. Whether you're betting one dollar or $1,000, making a bet definitely adds some excitement to the game. If you're thinking about making a bet, but can't decide what you want to bet on, I have some good news for you: Jordan Dajani came up with 57 bets for Super Bowl LVII. |
I have no idea how long it took him to write this, but I'm guessing he locked himself in a room and didn't see his friends or family for at least three days. |
With that in mind, let's take look at seven of Jordan's bets: |
- Will there be a score in the last 3.5 minutes of the fourth quarter? YES -190. The"yes" has hit in eight straight Super Bowls, and in 14 out of the past 15.
- Will the team that scores last win the game? YES (-210). This prop has hit in nine straight Super Bowls.
- Total interceptions in game: OVER 1.5 (+140). There have been multiple interceptions thrown in four straight Super Bowls.
- Total players with a passing attempt in game: OVER 2.5 (+115). This prop hit last year with FOUR different players attempting at least one pass.
- Largest lead in game: Under 14.5 (-130). Since 2003, there has been a lead of 15 or more points in just five of the 19 Super Bowls played. This line just sounds too high.
- Harrison Butker made field goals: Over 1.5 (-154). Butker has crossed this line in each of the Chiefs' two playoff games.
- Jalen Hurts passing touchdowns: Under 1.5 (-125). Hurts has thrown two touchdowns in two postseason games. He failed to throw one in the NFC Championship, making it the third time in the last four games he failed to throw a touchdown. Hurts should throw one on Sunday, but two? I'm not sure.
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6. Rapid-fire roundup: Brett Favre files lawsuit against two former NFL players |
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It's been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you, and that roundup involves a lot of coordinator firings. |
- Favre files lawsuit against Pat McAfee and Shannon Sharpe. The former Packers QB is suing McAfee and Sharpe over defamation of character related to the Mississippi welfare scandal. The lawsuit alleges that McAfee and Sharpe each used the media to further false accusations and implications regarding Favre, who has denied that he deliberately used money designated for Mississippi's poor population for his own purposes. For more on the lawsuit, be sure to click here.
- Michael Irvin files $100 million lawsuit. Two days after being pulled off NFL Network's Super Bowl coverage, Irvin has filed a lawsuit against his accuser and the Marriott hotel. The lawsuit, which was obtained by TMZ , offers a few more details about the alleged incident from Sunday night. Apparently, it was a hotel employee who accused Irvin of misconduct. One reason Irvin filed the lawsuit is because he wants to clear his name.
- Sean Payton goes out to dinner with Russell Wilson. The Broncos quarterback is already hanging out with his new coach. Wilson and Payton are both in Phoenix for the Super Bowl, so they decided to get together and have dinner (You can see the photo here ). If the Broncos are going to be good next season, Payton is going to have to fix Wilson and taking him out to dinner seems like a solid start.
- Drake just made $965,000 in Super Bowl bets. The singer just bet a ton of money on Super Bowl LVII and he's going to win big if the Chiefs come away with the victory. Not only did he bet $700,000 on the Chiefs' money line (+110), but he also bet $50,000 on Patrick Mahomes to score the first TD and $25,000 on Travis Kelce to win MVP. You can see all of his bets here.
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| | | | | | This weekend, the PGA Tour on CBS tees off at one of the most electric atmospheres in all of golf, where the world's best players including Mcllroy, Scheffler and Cantlay will be on the course competing at the WM Phoenix Open. Tune In | | This weekend, CBS is covering all your college hoops needs. Saturday, #9 Kansas takes on Oklahoma. Then on Sunday, it's a matchup between Michigan State and Ohio State. Watch Live |
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