Howdy ho and happy day! It's barely mid-November, but if you look closely, Christmas lights just might be popping up around your neighborhood as families ready themselves for the holiday season. How fitting, because we've got an early gift for you on this fine Wednesday morning: A tour around the NFL with me -- Cody Benjamin, the man with two first names and John Breech's trusty midweek newsletter partner! John decided to take today off in honor of Andy Dalton also enjoying his bye week, so you're stuck with me as we traverse the latest from around the league.

This is the Pick Six Newsletter. Now let's get to it. (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 midseason awards picks, playoff projections, Week 10 picks and much more:

We're just past the midway point of the 2020 season, so Brady Quinn and Will Brinson used the latest edition of the Pick Six Podcast (listen and subscribe here!) to take stock of the various awards races occurring around the NFL, while also offering revised predictions for Super Bowl LV. Perhaps the biggest revelation came in the duo's MVP discussion, during which Brady suggested Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook deserves MVP consideration, perhaps above even Russell Wilson:

"I don't think he's getting any love, but if you look at what he's done when he's been healthy this year, and how he changes the entire dynamic of the Vikings offense ... like, the Vikings are a bad football team without Dalvin Cook," Quinn explained. "When they have Dalvin Cook, Kirk Cousins can actually complete some passes, their defense all of a sudden looks better, they are an entirely different football team ... Dalvin Cook, when he's not playing, the Vikings have no chance."

As for Super Bowl picks, Brady stuck with his original preseason forecast of a championship showdown between the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers. You can catch all his other predictions, including for every major 2020 award, on the show.

Pete Prisco is back with another round of weekly predictions, and boy does he have some bold prognostications for Week 10. Here's a sneak peek at some of the most important ones, including Justin Herbert edging Tua Tagovailoa in a battle of rookie QBs and a second straight loss for Russell Wilson and the Seahawks:

Chargers at Dolphins (-2.5)

This is a long trip for a Chargers team that has suffered a lot of heartbreaking losses. The last time Miami was at home two weeks ago they beat up on the other Los Angeles team. This will be different. I think Justin Herbert wins the passing duel with fellow first-round rookie Tua Tagovailoa. The Chargers will win a tight one. 

Pick: Chargers 23, Dolphins 21

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Seahawks at Rams (-1.5)

The Rams are coming off the bye, while the Seahawks are playing a second straight road game. That's a challenge, but even more so because the Seattle defense is so bad. This will be a game where Jared Goff and the Rams get back on track offensively and the Rams do just enough to slow down Russell Wilson. 

Pick: Rams 31, Seahawks 26

The Indianapolis Colts may be playing for a top spot in the AFC South when they take on the Tennessee Titans this week, but that doesn't matter as much as what the team plans to do at quarterback, per CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora:

Indianapolis has a QB crisis. For as great as the defense is -- and it is quite formidable with perhaps the fastest linebackers in the league and a defensive MVP-type in tackle DeForest Buckner -- the Colts seem like an outfit destined to be stuck in neutral. They are a playoff team, but, given the current limitations at quarterback, not a true contender. As said here long ago, I never would have signed Rivers in the first place, and  Jacoby Brissett got a raw deal; getting a more mobile, stronger armed, faster QB out there ASAP would be the way I go. Before it's too late.

Rivers, of course, got big bucks from the Colts this offseason (a one-year, $25 million deal), but he's been hit or miss during Indy's 5-3 start. Thursday's game against the Titans could go a long way in determining his job security.

Cody Benjamin (sound familiar?) dropped his latest rundown of all 32 starting QBs on Wednesday, and for the first time in a long time, there were multiple new faces in the top 10. Guys like Derek Carr, Tom Brady and Ryan Tannehill -- who've all held top-10 spots at some point this season -- haven't necessarily been bad lately (unless you're Brady!); it's just that youngsters like Josh Allen and Justin Herbert are really flashing when they're in rhythm. This week saw big jumps for both Herbert and Drew Brees inside the new top 10:

1. Patrick Mahomes (+1)
2. Russell Wilson (-1)
3. Aaron Rodgers
4. Kyler Murray
5. Ben Roethlisberger
6. Drew Brees (+2)
7. Deshaun Watson (-1)
8. Lamar Jackson (+1)
9. Josh Allen (+3)
10. Justin Herbert (+3)

Is it too early for playoff talk? Nonsense! It's always time for playoff talk. That's why John Breech rounded up all kinds of data from SportsLine number-cruncher Stephen Oh to project postseason chances for every single NFL team, and then forecast the most likely scenarios for the 2020 tournament. Things could still change now that the NFL has approved a contingency plan to expand the postseason by two teams in the event of COVID-induced cancellations, but here's what the playoff picture -- seeding and all -- is currently projected to look like come season's end:

AFC

1. Steelers
2. Chiefs
3. Bills
4. Titans
5. Ravens
6. Colts
7. Dolphins

Just missed: Raiders, Browns

NFC

1. Saints
2. Seahawks
3. Packers
4. Eagles
5. Buccaneers
6. Rams
7. Cardinals

Just missed: Bears

Betting expert R.J. White has released his top teaser picks for the Week 10 slate, and two contenders are atop his list: The Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks. Baltimore is a safe bet to benefit from a prime-time meeting with the battered New England Patriots, whereas Seattle appears poised to at least keep things close against their NFC West rivals:

It took four Russell Wilson turnovers for Seattle to lose by 10 points against the Bills  last week, so we have to expect he's able to keep this one closer, even though the Rams sport one of the top defenses in the league. Will that be enough to slow down the top scoring offense in the league? We expect the Rams to score points against a bad Seattle defense, but we can trust Wilson to bounce back with a performance that covers this teased line as well.