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| Wednesday, December 9, 2020 |
| The Philadelphia Eagles shook up the NFL headlines this week by inserting a guy with a full-sentence name as their starting quarterback: Jalen Hurts. Seriously, try reading that slowly. It's a complete sentence! It's only fitting, then, that today's Pick Six Newsletter is delivered to you by a guy with his own unique name -- a guy, in fact, with two first names: Cody Benjamin. That's right. I'm back and fired up to serve as your trusted John Breech Fill-In on this fine Wednesday afternoon. |
| Now let's get to it. Because we've got quite a bit to get to. (And please, do yourself a favor and make sure you're signed up to receive this newsletter every day! You don't want to miss our daily offerings of everything you need to know around the NFL.) |
| We've got Week 14 power rankings, big-game predictions, Jalen Hurts analysis, and much more: |
| Today's shows: Eagles turn to Hurts; where do Cowboys go from here? |
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| The NFC East is in shambles (half of it, anyway). That's been apparent all season long, but boy has it been amplified over the last few days. The Pick Six Podcast crew was all over arguably the two worst offenders of 2020 -- the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles -- in their latest episodes (listen and subscribe here!). First up were the Eagles, who made a long-anticipated move from Carson Wentz to rookie Jalen Hurts ahead of Week 14. Former NFL QB Brady Quinn offered some instant insight on Philly's big turn away from its franchise signal-caller. |
| "It's the right move right now, because they're not gonna win the division," he said. "They need to see what they have in Jalen Hurts. You obviously thought enough (of) him to draft him in the second round. You ... signed up for this decision. (Next year), either it's a competition between Hurts and Wentz, or he can take over at some point in 2021, or he needs more development, he's a good backup, and that's all it is. Because of Carson's contract, I just do not foresee them getting out (of his deal)." |
| Things might be even worse in Dallas, who fell to the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday night. Will Brinson, Jared Dubin and John Breech each expressed some major concerns about the Ravens as contenders in 2020 and beyond, but their words for the Cowboys were on another level, with Brinson suggesting the Cowboys, as presently constructed, "might be worse than the Jets," who of course have yet to win their first game of 2020. |
| You'll want to check out both episodes to get the full analysis of where the Eagles and Cowboys go from here. |
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| 2. Power Rankings: Chiefs overtake Steelers at No. 1 |
| The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't just lose their first game of 2020 on Monday night. They also lost their top spot in Pete Prisco's weekly power rankings. You can decide which is worse. In all seriousness, Pete is probably spot on by thrusting the Kansas City Chiefs atop his pecking order. Are the Chiefs winning big and cleanly every week? No. Are they justified favorites to repeat as champions? Yes. They're just too darn talented. Here's a sneak peek of the top 10 in Prisco's latest rankings, which also feature jumps by the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins: |
| Chiefs (+1) Steelers (-1) Saints Packers Bills Browns (+2) Seahawks (-2) Colts (+1) Rams (+1) Dolphins (+2) |
| 3. Prisco's Picks: Bills roll past Steelers, Ravens edge Browns |
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| If you're a Steelers fan and happen to be upset by Pete Prisco taking Pittsburgh out of the top spot in his power rankings, we've got more bad news for you. Prisco dropped his weekly NFL predictions on Wednesday morning and forecasts more disappointment for Steel City, with the hot Buffalo Bills set to host maybe the most anticipated matchup of Week 14. He's also got Tuesday night's AFC North winners putting a halt to the Cleveland Browns' hype train: |
| Steelers at Bills |
Both teams are playing on a short week after playing Monday, but Buffalo comes in feeling much better about themselves. They are playing well after Josh Allen lit up the 49ers. The Steelers have a better defense, but they showed some flaws against Washington. They can't run it, which is a problem. I think the Bills keep rolling.
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| Pick: Bills 27, Steelers 23 |
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| Ravens at Browns |
| This is a huge game for both teams, but it's more important for the Ravens. They need this in a big way to keep their playoff hopes alive. But it's more of a proving game for the Browns. I think the Ravens will come in and play with their season on the line and I think they will get a tough hard-nosed victory. |
| Pick: Ravens 24, Browns 23 |
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| 4. QB Power Rankings: Josh Allen enters top five, Baker Mayfield moves up |
| As goes Josh Allen, so go the Bills. And both of them are on a roll after Monday night's impressive rout of the San Francisco 49ers. Allen hasn't been the most consistent QB of 2020, but he's certainly been one of the flashiest. That's why he made a major leap into the top five of this week's QB Power Rankings , all the way ahead of fellow dual threats like Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson. It's just hard not to like what you see from Allen when Brian Daboll's offense is in rhythm. Baker Mayfield and Ryan Tannehill were among other QBs who saw a bump up in this week's pecking order. Here's a look at the latest top 10: |
| Patrick Mahomes Aaron Rodgers Russell Wilson Deshaun Watson Josh Allen (+2) Kyler Murray (-1) Ryan Tannehill (+1) Ben Roethlisberger (-2) Lamar Jackson (+3) Tom Brady (+1) |
| 5. Week 14 teaser rankings: Trust the Steelers to rebound |
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| Betting expert R.J. White isn't so sure we should bank on the Bills cruising past Pittsburgh. (Sorry, Prisco.) In his weekly forecast of the best teaser bets, he's got the Steelers as his No. 1 choice against Buffalo this weekend: |
We took one team as 8.5-point underdogs last week against the Bills and that didn't work out for us, but there's a massive difference between rolling with Nick Mullens and what's been an uneven San Francisco defense versus trusting Ben Roethlisberger and one of the unquestioned best defenses in the league. I can't imagine this Buffalo team beating one of the best overall teams in the league by more than a touchdown, so this is an easy play for us.
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| 6. The race for the No. 1 pick: Five games to watch |
| Who knew teams already out of the playoff picture could be so entertaining at the end of the season? Bryan DeArdo decided to take stock of all the teams in contention for the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft (and, presumably, a bee line toward consensus top QB prospect Trevor Lawrence) and highlight five games to keep an eye on in Week 14. All five games could have serious implications on the top of the draft order, and with a handful of teams potentially in the market for a new signal-caller, wins and losses this time of the year could mean a whole lot more than a bump up or down the standings. Here are Bryan's games to watch: |
| Jets (0-12) at Seahawks (8-4) Titans (8-4) at Jaguars (1-11) Cowboys (3-9) at Bengals (2-9-1) Falcons (4-8) at Chargers (3-9) Saints at Eagles (3-8-1) |
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