Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

The Chargers delivered themselves an early Christmas present last night with a huge 34-27 win over the Broncos. It was a wild game that included one of the most bizarre things that you'll ever see in the NFL: The Chargers converted the league's first fair-catch free kick since 1976. If you have no idea what that is, don't worry, we'll explain it further down. 

Speaking of Christmas gifts, the NFL will be giving us two early ones tomorrow with a Saturday doubleheader. The first game will kick off at 1 p.m. ET on NBC with the Chiefs playing host to the Texans. At 4:30 p.m. ET, the second game will feature an AFC North showdown in Baltimore between the Steelers and the Ravens on Fox. These four teams will also be playing on Christmas with the Steelers facing the Chiefs and the Ravens playing the Texans. 

As for today, we've got a full newsletter: We'll be handing out grades from last night's game, plus we'll be making some Week 16 picks and bold predictions. 

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. Let's get to the rundown. 

The Chargers didn't clinch a playoff berth on Thursday night, but they took one giant step closer by overcoming a 24-13 deficit in the second half to beat the Broncos, 34-27. 

The Chargers can now clinch a spot by winning one of their final two games. They could also clinch a spot this weekend if the Dolphins lose to the 49ers AND the Colts lose to the Titans. As for the Broncos (9-6), this is a painful loss. They can still clinch a playoff spot by winning one of their final two games, but that won't be easy because they face the Bengals (Week 17) and Chiefs (Week 18). They could also clinch a playoff spot if the Dolphins, Colts and Bengals all lose on Sunday. 

Here are our grades from the game: 

BRONCOS GRADE: B-

The Broncos came out on fire during a first half where they jumped out to a 21-10 lead. Not only did they run the ball well, but Bo Nix was sharp in the first two quarters, throwing for 155 yards and two touchdowns, but in the second half, the wheels fell off the wagon on both sides of the ball. Denver's rushing attack totaled just 21 yards in the final two quarters, which put all of the offensive pressure on Nix. He certainly could have played better in the second half (On one long throw, he missed a wide-open Marvin Mims for what would have been an easy TD), but it's hard to pin all the blame on a rookie QB who got almost no help in the second half. The Broncos defense also had a big letdown in the second half with the Chargers putting together three TD drives of at least 70 yards on their first four possessions of the half. The Broncos had a chance to clinch their first playoff berth since 2015, but they choked away that chance by blowing a 24-13 lead in the second half, and now, things could get dicey down the stretch. 

Broncos notes

• Broncos can't beat anyone good. The Broncos dropped to 9-6 on the season, which breaks down like this: They're 8-0 on the year against teams that are .500 or below, but they're 1-6 against teams that are above .500. If they do make the playoffs, it could be a short trip to the postseason if they can't figure out how to beat good teams. 
• Bo knows football.  The Broncos got off to a hot start on Thursday night by scoring a touchdown on their first three drives of the game. The only reason that's notable is because they had never done that in a road game at any point over the past 33 years. The three TD drives allowed the Broncos to jump out to a 21-10 lead in the first half, but it's a lead that they eventually let slip away. 

CHARGERS GRADE: B+

Justin Herbert has played some great games this year, but this might have been his best one. The Chargers quarterback was nearly perfect, completing 74.2% of his passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns. Every time the Chargers needed a big play, Herbert came up with it, including a wild 19-yard TD pass to Derius Davis in the fourth quarter that put the Chargers up for good (You can see the play here ). The unsung hero of this game might have been Gus Edwards, who kept the offense rolling by rushing for 41 yards in the fourth quarter on a night where he totaled 68 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. As for the defense, whatever Jim Harbaugh said to his unit at halftime definitely worked, because the Chargers looked like a completely different team in the second half. After getting gashed up for 89 yards on the ground in the first half, the Chargers limited the Broncos to just 21 yards in the second half. Since the Broncos couldn't run the ball, they put the game in the hands of Bo Nix, who was no match for an experienced Chargers defense. This was a solid all-around win that included Cameron Dicker hitting the NFL's first fair-catch free kick since 1976. The Chargers are now on the cusp of clinching just their third playoff berth over the past seven years. 

Chargers notes

• Chargers pull off rare sweep of the Broncos. The Broncos haven't been very good over the past few years, but no matter how bad they've been, the Chargers had not been able to sweep them until this year. The Chargers went 2-0 against Denver this season, marking the first time they've swept the Broncos since 2010.  
• Ladd is rad. Ladd McConkey caught six passes for 87 yards, which means he's now finished with at least 50 receiving yards in eight straight games. That's the longest streak by any rookie receiver since 2014 when Odell Beckham Jr. did it in nine straight games.
• Fair-catch free kick!  For the first time since 1976, we saw a successful fair-catch free kick. The Chargers took advantage of one of the most obscure rules in the NFL rulebook at the end of the first half. Basically, the rule goes like this: If a team fair catches a punt, it is allowed to attempt a free kick on the next play. The kick isn't a typical field goal, either: The "free kick" is more like a kickoff, except the kicker has to attempt the field goal off the ground and there's also a holder. On the penultimate play of the first half, Derius Davis called for a fair catch from his own 38-yard line. That was too far back to try a free kick, but the Broncos were called for fair-catch interference on the play, which is a 15-yard penalty. That gave the Chargers the ball at Denver's 47-yard line, which gave Cameron Dicker a chance at a 57-yard free kick and he drilled it. If you want to SEE the kick, you can do that here. You can also check out my full story on the free kick by clicking here. 

Finally, you can check out our full takeaways from the game here. 

With last night's game officially in the books, that means there are 47 regular-season games left on the NFL schedule this year. When it comes to the playoff race, some of those games are definitely more important than others, so Cody Benjamin decided to take a look at 10 of the most important games left on the schedule. 

Let's take a look at five of the games from his list:

• Week 16: Eagles at Commanders (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET -- Fox). "Philadelphia can clinch the NFC East by sweeping Washington (9-5) on the road, while a loss by the Commanders would suddenly threaten Jayden Daniels' path to a rookie-year playoff run, considering two NFC West squads also have just six losses going into Week 16. If the Eagles also want any shot at the NFC's top seed, they'll likely need this victory to keep pace with the Detroit Lions."
• Week 17: Chiefs at Steelers (Dec. 25, 1 p.m. ET -- Netflix).  "Christmas Day promises a juicy, if extremely physical, AFC clash in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers still figure to be playing for playoff positioning even though they've secured a postseason berth.
• Week 17: Packers at Vikings (Dec. 29, 1 p.m. ET -- Fox). "The last time these bitter NFC North rivals met, Jordan Love nearly led a dramatic comeback on a bad knee, falling 31-29 at Lambeau Field. Now, the gunslinger will get a chance to win another potential shootout on the U.S. Bank Stadium turf. At 10-4 going into Week 16, the Packers may well clinch their postseason ticket before this matchup, but that doesn't mean it won't help shape the North."
• Week 18: Seahawks at Rams (Jan. 4 or 5). "The NFC West is a total crapshoot, which means this regular-season finale may just determine the division champion."
• Week 18: Vikings at Lions (Jan. 4 or 5). "Detroit has been the belle of the ball all season, but a shootout loss to the Buffalo Bills coupled with a rash of big-name injuries suddenly has people wondering if the Lions can hold onto the NFC's top seed. Provided the Vikings keep their own streak going, this finale could end up determining not only the North but home-field advantage in the playoffs."

If you want to see Cody's full ranking, be sure to click here. 

With the NFL playoff picture starting to take shape, Jeff Kerr decided to take a look at what the best possible matchups will be for the wild-card round. Basically, we should all be rooting for these games to happen. 

Let's check out three of the games on Jeff's list: 

• (5) Vikings at (4) Rams. "The Vikings and Rams had a showdown in SoFi Stadium in Week 8 on "Thursday Night Football," with the Rams prevailing 30-20. What would a rematch be like? Matthew Stafford threw four touchdown passes in the first meeting, the game that turned around the Rams' season. This is only one of two losses the Vikings have all year -- and both came in a span of five days."
• (5) Ravens at (4) Texans.  "This game would be a litmus test for the Texans, who were blown out by the Ravens in the AFC divisional round of the playoffs last year. Houston has experienced its share of issues this season, yet still was able to capture the AFC South. If Baltimore doesn't win the AFC North, there's a good chance the Ravens are the top wild-card team and will head to Houston for their first playoff game."
• (6) Broncos at (3) Steelers.  "This one is strictly quarterback related, as Russell Wilson would be going against the team that cast him aside after two seasons. Denver cut Wilson last offseason and absorbed $85 million in dead money as a result. The decision did pay off for Wilson with the Steelers, as Pittsburgh clinched a playoff berth and Wilson is having a career resurgence with his new team (103.0 passer rating is his highest since 2021 with the Seattle Seahawks). Wilson could get his revenge against his former team, while the Broncos could prove they were right by beating Wilson in Pittsburgh. The Steelers and Broncos would also meet in the playoffs for the ninth time. "

You can check out Kerr's full list of dream wild-card matchups here . One game that didn't make Kerr's list that I would absolutely include is Ravens-Chargers. If Baltimore wins the AFC North, which will become a realistic possibility if they beat the Steelers on Saturday, then that could set the stage for a brotherly showdown in the wild-card round with John Harbaugh facing Jim Harbaugh. In this situation, the Ravens would be the third seed and the Chargers would be the sixth seed. John's Ravens beat Jim's Chargers, 30-23, back in Week 12. That game was played in Los Angeles, but this hypothetical rematch would be in Baltimore. 

Also, if the Bengals sneak in as the seventh seed, a Bengals-Bills opening-round playoff game in Buffalo would be wild. 

It's officially time for your favorite part of the Friday newsletter, which is where I round up five NFL writers and we all make some picks for the upcoming week. Just in case you've forgotten, our five writers are: Pete Prisco, Jason La Canfora, Jordan Dajani, Tyler Sullivan and myself. In Week 15, we went 3-2 both straight up and against the spread. For the season, that means we're now 38-37 ATS and 41-29 straight up. 

If you're new here, here's how things work: I'll give you one pick from each writer and then direct you to the rest of their picks. That way, if you like their pick, you'll be able to click over and check out all of their Week 16 picks, but if you hate their pick, you can ignore the rest of their picks and move on with your life. 

• Pete Prisco -- Vikings (-3) 30-21 over Seahawks. From Prisco: "Sam Darnold will get back on track after a so-so showing last week as Minnesota keeps pushing to the top seed." For the rest of Prisco's Week 16 picks, be sure to click here.
• Tyler Sullivan -- Buccaneers (-7) 27-20 over Cowboys. From Sullivan:  "This season, the Cowboys are 1-6 against the spread at home. On the flip side, the Buccaneers are surging. They've won four straight to jump to first place in the NFC South and will need to keep the winning up to fend off Atlanta. Given that motivation and the fact that Tampa Bay is 5-2 ATS on the road this season (2-1 ATS as a road favorite), we'll lay the points." For the rest of Sullivan's Week 16 picks, be sure to click here.
• Jason La Canfora -- Bills (-14) to cover against Patriots. From JLC:  "The Bills have the second best overall cover margin in the NFL and have rolled up 30 points in eight straight games. New England's defense is falling apart, allowing 29.25 points per game over the last four. The Pats have lost by 21 (NYJ!), 20 (HOU), 16 (JAX!), 19 (MIA) and 13 (AZ). This margin of defeat is not new to them." You can check out the rest of La Canfora's best bets for Week 16 here.
• Jordan Dajani -- Texans (+3.5) 21-20 over Chiefs. From Dajani:  "The Texans are 3-0 ATS in their last three games vs. teams currently above .500, while the Chiefs are 0-4 ATS in their last four home games. I do believe Kansas City should be on upset alert." For the rest of Dajani's Week 16 best bets, be sure to click here.
• John Breech -- Eagles (-3.5) 27-20 over Commanders.  "The Eagles defense seems to somehow get better every single week while it seems like Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown are finally on the same page. There's a reason this team has won 10 games in a row and they're going to make it 11 straight here." For the rest of my Week 16 picks, be sure to click here. 

For more Week 16 NFL picks, you can check out out our CBSSports.com picks hub here.

After giving you some bold predictions for Week 15 last Friday, Garrett Podell is back with five more for Week 16. And if last week is any indication, he might nail them all. In Week 15, Garrett correctly predicted that Josh Allen would lead the Bills to an upset win over the Lions.

Let's take a look at two of his bold predictions for Sunday:   

• 1. Ravens destroy Steelers. "The Steelers have had a decisive edge in this series, winning eight of the last nine, but all by one score. This time around, the Ravens are going to win, and they are going to do so emphatically by scoring at least 30 points on a Steelers defense that is allowing the sixth-fewest points per game in the entire NFL (18.9)."
• 2. Seahawks shock Vikings.  "Prior to the Green Bay Packers running all over the Seahawks in a 30-13 Week 15 victory, Seattle had allowed 15.5 points per game during a four-game winning streak. That defensive effort comes to play Sunday in Seattle, and Smith outduels Darnold despite his struggling offensive line. The Vikings haven't won in Seattle since 2006, and their road losing streak against the Seahawks gets extended to six in a row. This Seahawks win will keep them in contention for the NFC West title while a Vikings loss opens the door for them to tumble down the conference standings in the final weeks of the regular season."

Podell made a total of five bold predictions for Week 16, and you can check out all of them here. 

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.

• Patrick Mahomes gets no injury designation for Week 16. Not only did Mahomes practice in full all week, but he wasn't even given an injury designation for Saturday's game, which means he'll be the starting QB against the Texans. Mahomes injured his ankle in Week 15, but he's apparently bionic, and it appears he has mostly healed from the injury. 
• George Pickens out for Steelers. The Steelers receiver is set to miss his third straight game due to a hamstring injury. The loss of Pickens is definitely a blow for a Steelers offense that's getting set to face a Ravens defense that has struggled to stop the pass this year. Although Pickens won't be playing, the Steelers will have T.J. Watt, who had been battling an ankle injury all week. 
• Garrett Wilson not sure he wants to stay with Jets. After three seasons in New York, it seems that Wilson might be burnt out on playing for the Jets. The receiver was asked on Thursday if he would like to stay with the team long term and he gave a pretty telling answer, "I don't know, man," Wilson said. You can read his full comments here. 
• Saints set to start Spencer Rattler at QB. With Derek Carr battling a hand injury, the Saints will be turning the offense over to Rattler for this week's Monday night game against the Packers. Rattler has already started three games this season for New Orleans and the Saints went 0-3 in those games. Rattler will be starting in place of Carr, who's battling a hand injury. 
• Saints likely won't have Alvin Kamara on Monday night. The Saints star running back is dealing with a groin injury and it's looking like his season could be over. If Kamara can't go, that will be a huge hit for a Saints offense that already won't be at full strength with Derek Carr out. It will also be a huge hit to anyone who was planning to start Kamara in their Fantasy playoffs this week. You can read more about his injury here.  
• David Montgomery could return for playoffs.  When Montgomery's injury was announced earlier this week, it looked like he was done for the season, but now, the Lions are much more optimistic about a possible return. Montgomery, who sprained his MCL, could be back for the postseason if the Lions make a deep playoff run. You can read more about his injury here.