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| Monday, October 16, 2023 |
| Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! |
| If you bet on both the Jets and Browns to win yesterday, then congratulations, you are now the fourth-richest person in America. The NFL went off the rails over the weekend and most of it had to do with those two teams. |
| The Browns, who were a 9.5-point underdog, handed the 49ers their first loss of the season, and then, just hours later, the Jets did the same thing to the Eagles. With those two losses, that means there are no more undefeated teams in the NFL. It also means that Champagne sales likely skyrocketed in South Florida because the 1972 Dolphins tend to celebrate by uncorking a bottle when the final undefeated teams lose each season. |
| Anyway, we have a lot to cover today, so let's get to the rundown. |
| As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. |
| 1. Today's Show: Biggest questions after Week 6 |
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| If I sound tired right now, it's because I stayed up until 3 a.m. last night recording a podcast with Will Brinson and Ryan Wilson. |
| The three of us touched on our 10 biggest takeaways from Week 6 and here are a few of the biggest questions that we tried to answer: |
| Who's the best team in the NFC right now? With the 49ers and Eagles both losing, that means the DETROIT LIONS are now tied for the best record in the NFL. It's hard to say who the best team is in the NFC, but I think I'd give my vote to the Lions. If the 49ers are fully healthy I think it's them, but they're dealing with a lot of injuries. As for the Eagles, they just don't look as dangerous as they did last year. Which 3-3 team has the best chance to make the playoffs in the AFC? There are currently five teams with a record of 3-3 (Colts, Texans, Jets, Raiders and Bengals) and not surprisingly, we all agreed that the Bengals have the best chance to make the playoffs. Since that was an obvious answer, we also voted for a second team and the Texans actually came on top there.Should the Falcons bench Desmond Ridder? We seem to have this debate every other week and after watching Ridder throw three interceptions against the Commanders, I feel more confident in my answer than ever. The Falcons should at least start to think about giving Taylor Heinicke a shot. |
| To check out the rest of our takeaways from Week 6, be sure to click here so you can listen to the entire episode of the podcast. You can also watch the episode on YouTube here. |
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| 2. Week 6 grades: Browns get an 'A' for shocking 49ers |
| Every week I team up with six of my colleagues here at CBSSports.com to hand out grades, and this week, the Browns got an 'A' from our imaginary football school. |
| Here's a look at the grades from two notable games that were played Sunday: |
| Browns 19-17 over 49ers (Click here for full game stats, analysis) |
| 49ers takeaway: The 49ers ran into a lot of problems on Sunday and that led to their first loss. They lost two key players to injury (Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel) and their rookie kicker cracked under pressure. With no McCaffrey and no Samuel for a chunk of the second half, the 49ers struggled to move the ball. Brock Purdy was indecisive and mostly inaccurate against a Browns defense that had him under constant pressure. As for Jake Moody, he missed his first two field goals of the season, including a 41-yard attempt that came with six seconds left in the game. The 49ers are still one of the best teams in the NFL, but the offense could struggle some going forward if McCaffrey and/or Samuel miss any substantial time. Grade: C- Browns takeaway: When you beat the 49ers with your backup QB, you get an "A." That's how things work around here. The Browns defense has been one of the best in the NFL this year and it showed the 49ers why. This unit punched San Francisco in the mouth and the 49ers never really recovered. They had Brock Purdy running for his life (he got sacked three times and completed just 44.4% of his passes) and they shut down San Francisco's vaunted rushing attack. Offensively, the Browns were carried by Amari Cooper (108 yards receiving) and Jerome Ford (4.9 yards per carry). Although P.J. Walker wasn't perfect, he did lead a drive that ended with Dustin Hopkins' eventual game-winning field goal. If the Browns proved one thing in this game, it's that their defense is so good that they can compete anyone no matter who's under center for them. Grade: A |
| Commanders 24-16 over Falcons (Click here for full game stats, analysis) |
| Commanders takeaway: After getting lit up for 40 points by the BEARS in Week 6, the Commanders defense bounced back with a huge game against the Falcons. The defense came up with three interceptions in the second half and all of them were huge. Kendall Fuller caught the first one and it set up a 27-yard TD drive in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Jamin Davis iced the game with a pick. The Commanders offense is still struggling with some big issues, like protecting the QB -- Sam Howell got sacked five times -- but those problems are a lot easier to deal with when you're coming off a win like Washington is this week. Grade: BFalcons takeaway: It's become pretty clear this season that the Falcons are only going to go as far as Desmond Ridder takes them, and on Sunday, he led them to nowhere. The Falcons QB had a total meltdown in the second half with three interceptions, including two that came in the final six minutes of the game. The Falcons defense only gave up one drive of more than 27 yards over the final three quarters -- while only surrendering 193 total yards in the game -- but that wasn't enough to overcome Ridder's turnovers. With the loss, the Falcons became the first team in two years to hold a team under 200 yards of offense and still lose. Arthur Smith might want to give some serious thought to starting Taylor Heinicke. Grade: C |
| As for all the other grades that we handed out on Sunday, you can check those out by clicking here. |
| 3. 13 crazy facts from Week 6: Dolphins continue to make history |
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| Every Sunday night, I get an email from our research department here at CBS Sports, and every Sunday, that email always includes some amazingly wild facts about the games that were just played. |
| With that in mind, here are 13 crazy facts about Week 6: |
Comeback kids. With their 42-21 win over the Panthers, the Dolphins became just the fifth team in NFL history to win a game by 21 points or more after trailing by 14 or more after one quarter. The Dolphins join the 1959 Packers, 1995 Raiders, 2006 Cowboys and 2011 Patriots as the only teams to pull that off. Hill is making history. With 163 yards against the Panthers, Tyreek Hill just became the first player in NFL history to record four games of 150 yards or more in the first six weeks. Hill has the most receiving yards (814) through six weeks since Don Hutson in 1942.
Dolphins in good company. The Dolphins are just the second team in NFL history to score at least 15 rushing touchdowns AND 15 passing touchdowns through their first six games. The only other team to do it was the 1958 Colts and they ended up winning the NFL title that year (via ESPN Stats ). Philadelphia's first loss to the Jets. Going into Sunday, the Eagles had NEVER lost to the Jets -- they were 12-0 all time -- but that streak ended with New York's shocking upset win. Mac attack is back in the end zone. After scoring a TD against the Browns, Christian McCaffrey has now scored at least one TD in 15 straight games, which is the longest streak in 49ers history. He's also now tied with O.J. Simpson and John Riggins for the second-longest streak in NFL history trailing only Lenny Moore (17). Not so Purdy anymore. Brock Purdy finally lost a game. The 49ers quarterback won his first 10 starts before losing to the Browns on Sunday. Purdy's streak was tied for the second longest in NFL history behind only Ben Roethlisberger, who won the first 15 starts of his career. Living legend. Justin Tucker hit six field goals during Baltimore's 24-16 win over the Titans, marking the second time in his career that he's hit six field goals in a game. That makes Tucker one of just six players in NFL history who has hit at least six field goals in a single game multiple times in his career. Folk hero. With three field goals from inside 40 yards against the Ravens, Nick Folk has now hit 70 straight kicks from inside 40, which is tied with Tucker for the NFL record. Jaguars might be for real. At 4-2, the Jaguars are two games above .500 for the first time in more than five years. The last time it happened came during Week 5 of the 2018 season. Lions might be for real. At 5-1, the Lions are tied for the best record in the NFL. This marks the first time since 1993 that the Lions have had the best record or been tied for the NFL's best record this late in the season. Home sweet home no more. Going into this week, Desmond Ridder had a career record of 31-0 when playing in home games in the NFL or college. That streak finally came to an end with a 24-16 loss to the Commanders on Sunday, a game where he threw three interceptions.First-half horrors. The Giants did NOT score a first-half TD against the Bills on Sunday night, which means they still haven't scored a first-half TD this season. That makes them just the fourth team over the past 73 years to do that, joining the 1976 Buccaneers, 1998 Buccaneers and 1998 Chargers. The Giants have also gone three straight games without an offensive touchdown for the first time since 1976. Browns defense is a brickwall. Through five games, the Browns defense has surrendered just 1,002 yards, which is the lowest total a team has surrendered through five games since 1971 (Colts).
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| If you see any other fun facts, feel free to tweet them at me. |
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| 4. NFL Week 6 winners and losers: Defenses for Jets and Browns shine |
| You can't have a week of NFL action without having winners and losers, so we have some winners and losers. |
| Cody Benjamin came up with this week's list, which you can check out below. |
| Winners |
| Jets defense. "The Jets pulled off a minor miracle on Sunday by upsetting the reigning NFC champion Eagles. Robert Saleh's defense forced four turnovers and embarrassed Jalen Hurts in crunch time, and suddenly the Jets are 3-3 with Rodgers seriously pushing for a late-year return."Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. "Schwartz's defense made Brock Purdy look mortal, stuffed Christian McCaffrey on the ground and showed physicality late. The Browns may not be a trustworthy contender, but their "D" has kept them in every ballgame." Texans coach DeMeco Ryans. "Houston's 'D' once again proved tough, containing Alvin Kamara and limiting Derek Carr and Co. to 13 points. New Orleans may not be great, but for the Texans to be sitting at 3-3 after Ryans' first six games is impressive." |
| Losers (QB Edition) |
| Desmond Ridder. "A week after restoring some of his job security with a three-TD win over the Texans, the second-year QB reverted to turnover-happy against the beatable Commanders, throwing three tight-window picks; he's now got six INTs in six games."Gardner Minshew. "The Colts backup had a chance to stick it to his old team, the Jaguars, on the day we learned starting QB Anthony Richardson might be done for the year. Instead, Minshew threw 55 passes, completed just 33 of them and had three picked in an ugly defeat." Mac Jones. "On a day where Brian Hoyer replaced an injured Jimmy Garoppolo for Las Vegas, Jones and the Pats' shoddy offense still couldn't claim the 'W.'" |
| If you want to see Cody's full list of winners and losers, be sure to click here. |
| 5. Monday preview: Prepping you for Cowboys at Chargers |
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| The Cowboys got a shocking gift on Sunday when the Jets upset the Eagles 20-14. The loss by Philadelphia means that the Cowboys can take a step closer to the top of the NFC East if they can knock off the Chargers tonight. The Cowboys are currently favored by 1.5 points on the road, but a win won't be easy. Not only will they be facing a Chargers team that's coming off a bye, but the Cowboys are also going to have to deal with Austin Ekeler, who's returning tonight after missing three straight games. |
| My good buddy Jared Dubin put together our deep-dive preview for this game here at CBSSports.com, and here's how he sees the game playing out: |
| Why the Cowboys can win: Dak Prescott hasn't thrown for 300 yards in a single game this year, but that could change tonight. The Cowboys quarterback will get to face a Chargers defense that's surrendering an average of 299.8 pass yards per game this season, which is the most in the NFL. The Cowboys are going to need Prescott to take advantage of that, and if he can, then Dallas should be in good shape. Why the Chargers can win: The Chargers have an offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore who spent eight seasons in the Cowboys organization, so he knows the team inside and out. That should help Moore plan his offensive attack. The last time we saw the Cowboys defense on the field, they were getting torched by a 49ers offense that put up 42 points. The 49ers have versatile weapons on offense that they used to attack the middle of the Cowboys defense and the Chargers are also capable of that, especially with Keenan Allen and the return of Austin Ekeler. If those two have a huge game, it's hard to see the Chargers losing. |
| You can get a full preview of the game from Jared by clicking here. |
| If you're thinking about betting on the game, here's one prop I like: |
| ONE PROP I LIKE: Tony Pollard OVER 66.5 rushing yards (-120). Pollard has gone over this number in three straight games and I don't see that streak ending tonight. Although the Cowboys will certainly look to take advantage of the Chargers' horrid pass defense, I don't think Mike McCarthy will stray too far away from his bread and butter, which is running the ball. Pollard has averaged 20.7 carries per game over the past three weeks and if he hits 20 carries tonight, he'd have to average just 3.35 yards per carry to hit the over. |
| My prime-time prop record is 9-3 this year. |
| Finally, if you're wondering who we're picking, here's who we have tonight: |
Jared's pick: Cowboys 26-23 over Chargers
My pick: Chargers 30-27 over Cowboys |
| Over on our CBSSports.com picks page, our eight experts are split down the middle with four of us taking the Chargers and four of us taking the Cowboys. |
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| 6. Extra points: 49ers hit hard during rough week for NFL injuries |
| It was a busy weekend 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. |
49ers hit hard by injuries. The 49ers lost three key players on Sunday with Christian McCaffrey (oblique), Deebo Samuel (shoulder) and Trent Williams (foot) all being forced to leave the game. Right now, it's not clear how serious these injuries are, but if any of these guys miss extended time, that would definitely be a blow for the 49ers. Anthony Richardson could miss the entire season. The Colts QB could end up missing the entire season. Richardson is dealing with a shoulder injury and he's now considering undergoing surgery on the injury, which would end his year. If Richardson is done for 2023, that means the Colts will move forward with Gardner Minshew.
NFC quarterbacks take a beating. Justin Fields and Baker Mayfield both suffered thumb injuries on Sunday. Although Mayfield was able to finish the game, the same can't be said for Fields, who had to exit the game because he couldn't grip the ball. Fields will be undergoing an MRI today on his dislocated thumb and there's definitely a chance that he could miss some time. AFC quarterbacks also take a beating. Jimmy Garoppolo (back), Ryan Tannehill (ankle) and Trevor Lawrence (knee) all got banged up in Week 6. Garoppolo was actually taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons following his injury. On Tannehill's end, the Titans have a bye in Week 7, so he'll have an extra week to heal. However, the same can't be said for Lawrence. The Jaguars will be playing on Thursday against the Saints, which means he could be hobbled this week and that's if he even plays. Injury roundup. The injuries piled up on Sunday and if you want a full list of every key player who was injured, then be sure to check out our roundup here. NFL contemplating a Super Bowl in London. The NFL could eventually be moving it's biggest game to England. During a fan forum last week, Roger Goodell admitted that the NFL has considered the idea of putting a Super Bowl in London. For more details on this, be sure to check out our full story here. |
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