I never thought I'd see a day where someone would out-Charger the Chargers, but that's basically what the Raiders did Thursday during their 30-27 loss, and let me just say that out-chargering the Chargers isn't easy. I mean, they're a team that missed two field goals over the final four minutes of regulation and then opened up overtime by letting the Raiders drive straight down to their 3-yard line. 

It's fitting that the game was played in Vegas, because this game played out like two drunk guys on the strip at 3 a.m. fighting each other over a free ticket to an all-you-can-eat buffet that they found on the ground. There's no way I would take my eyes off that fight, just like I wasn't able to take my eyes off the game. 

Speaking of the Vegas strip, CBS Sports is giving away an awesome prize package next week and you don't even have to gamble anything to win it. Just in time for the holidays, we're giving away a prize package that includes 10 cutting-edge products from Westinghouse. Everyone loves free stuff and if you want to win this free stuff, all you have to do is click here and sign up. 

Anyway, if you love free stuff, then you're also going to love this newsletter, because it's also free, so let's get this thing started. If you know other people who love free stuff, then you should definitely sign them up for the newsletter. Just click here to grab the link and then send that link to everyone on your email list. 

If I've learned one thing about watching the Chargers this year, it's that every game they play somehow seems to have a completely bonkers ending and they delivered once again on Thursday. Due to the fact that the game went into overtime, our podcast also went into overtime, which meant a late night for me, Ryan Wilson and Will Brinson.  

Before we get to the meat of the podcast, let's go over a few highlights from the Chargers' 30-27 win.    

• Justin Herbert is the real deal. It's become pretty clear that the Chargers have a budding star in Justin Herbert, who likely locked up the offensive rookie of the year award with his play on Thursday night. Not only did he throw for 314 yards, but 53 of it came in overtime on a huge play to Jalen Guyton that set up the Chargers' game-winning touchdown, which of course, was scored by Herbert himself. 
• Raiders might want to fire their defensive coordinator again. If Jon Gruden thought his defense was going to get a spark from Sunday's firing of defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, he was wrong. The Raiders defense arguably looked worse than it has all season. Not only did they regularly give up big plays -- the Chargers had four plays that went for more than 25 yards -- but they also allowed L.A. to convert 7 of 12 third downs.  
• Marcus Mariota wows everyone. After Derek Carr went down with a groin injury in the first half, the Raiders were forced to turn to Mariota, who responded by having a huge game. The former Titans quarterback threw for 226 yards and rushed for 88 while also helping the Raiders convert 4 of 4 times on fourth down. The Raiders didn't win, but Mariota definitely made himself some money with the performance (I'll tell you how much money he made for himself further down).     

With both of these teams out of the playoff race, the podcast turned into a debate about what the future will look like for each team. The main topic was the future of both coaches: Should the Chargers stick with Anthony Lynn? How many more years should the Raiders give Jon Gruden? Should Las Vegas seriously think about benching Carr for Mariota next year? We talked about all of that and more. 

To listen to today's episode -- and subscribe to the podcast -- be sure to click here.   

The best part about Friday -- besides the fact that it's Friday -- is that you get two episodes of the podcast in your feed. After the recap of the Thursday game, Brinson kicked Wilson and I to the curb and brought in a new crew to make some Week 15 picks. The new, but less handsome crew consisted of Pete Prisco, R.J. White and Kenny White.

The guys spent nearly 60 minutes going over the best bets for every single game being played in Week 15 and we're going to cover three from each guy below.  

Will Brinson 
Titans (-11) to cover against the Lions
49ers (-3) to cover against the Cowboys
Panthers at Packers OVER 51.5

Pete Prisco 
Washington (+6) to cover against the Seahawks
Giants (+6.5) to cover against the Browns
Jets at Rams UNDER 43.5

R.J. White
Ravens (-13) to cover against the Jaguars
Cowboys (+3) to cover against the 49ers
Dolphins (-2) to cover against the Patriots

Kenny White
Broncos (+6) to cover against the Bills
Bears (+3) to cover against the Vikings
Seahawks at Washington UNDER 44.5

To hear what the rest of the best bets are for Week 15 -- and there are quite a few -- be sure to click here so you can listen to the entire episode of the podcast.

For most of the season, I felt like we were lucky if we got one exciting primetime game in an ENTIRE MONTH, but through some sort of Christmas miracle, we've now gotten two in four days. First, we got the insane Monday game that ended with the Ravens beating the Browns 47-42. And of course, last night gave us the Chargers crazy win over the Raiders.  

With that in mind, let's take one last look at Los Angeles' win by going over five crazy things that happened:

1. Derek Carr gets injured. Carr has been in the NFL since 2014 and over that time, he's only missed two regular season games ever. However, that total is likely going to go up and that's because he suffered a groin injury against the Chargers that Jon Gruden described as "pretty significant ." With the Raiders all but out of the playoff race, there's really no need to rush Carr back. The Raiders are paying Marcus Mariota a lot of money to be their backup, so it would seem to make sense to just let him start the final two games so they'll know exactly what they have in the former Titans QB. 

2.  Marcus Mariota made bank and he also made some NFL history. Mariota signed possibly the most incentive-laden contract ever this offseason and putting those incentives in his deal paid off on Thursday. Under terms of the contract, Mariota was to receive a $200,000 bonus for playing in 60% of the snaps of ANY game during the season. He hit that number on Thursday, which means he'll pocket an extra $200K. That same benchmark will also earn Mariota a $625,000 raise on his base salary for next season, which means this game just earned him an extra $825,000 in income. It's nice work if you can get it. As for making history, Mariota became the first QB since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to throw for 200 or more yards and rush for 75 or more yards in a game he didn't start. 

3. Justin Herbert makes history. Actually, Herbert didn't make history, but he did tie it. With two touchdown passes against the Raiders, Herbert now has 27 on the year, which ties him with Baker Mayfield for the NFL's all-time rookie record. If he throws just one TD pass over the next two weeks, then the record will be his. As for Mayfield, he broke the record of 26 that had previously been held by Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson.  

4. Darren Waller makes history. The NFL's western divisions somehow seem to have the three best tight ends in football. Besides Travis Kelce and George Kittle, there's also Waller, who has turned into an unstoppable force. Waller racked up 150 receiving yards against the Chargers and has now tallied 150 or more receiving yards in two of the past three weeks. To put that in perspective, only three tight ends have ever even had multiple games with 150 or more yards over the course of an ENTIRE SEASON : Shannon Sharpe, Kellen Winslow, and Todd Christensen. Somehow, all three of those guys also played in the AFC West. Waller also now has 425 yards over the past three weeks, which is the most ever for a tight end over any three-game span.   

5. Michael Badgley might want to get a new nickname. The Chargers kicker trademarked the nickname "Money Badger" back in 2019, but he might want to think about giving up that trademark because he's been anything but money this season. Not only does he lead the NFL with nine misses in 2020, but two of those came last night and they both came with under four minutes left to play. First, Badgley missed a 47-yarder, which gave possession back to the Raiders. However, Badgley would get another shot from 51 yards out after a Mariota interception, but he wasn't able to redeem himself as he also missed that. Chargers coach Anthony Lynn definitely didn't sound too thrilled with his kicker after the game. 

If you want a normal recap of the game, be sure to click here. 

If you've ever wondered how long it takes 11 broken ribs and a punctured lung to heal, it looks like we now finally have our answer. Those were the injuries suffered by Drew Brees back on Nov. 15 (Week 10) and after nearly a month of healing, it looks like the Saints quarterback is ready to return. 

According to multiple reports, Sean Payton has decided that Brees will be the starter for Sunday's game against Kansas City, which is a decision that will probably come as a surprise to anyone who has been following this situation closely. Although Brees was designated to return from injured reserve on Wednesday, Payton didn't sound overly optimistic that his quarterback would be available this weekend. 

"He's got a ways to go still, and he's someone we're not gonna just hurry back and just put him in the game," Payton said Wednesday. "I think the significance of the injuries are such that you've gotta make sure he can function and feel confident." 

I'm not sure how you go from "he's got a ways to go" to "Yup, he's our starting quarterback" in a span of 48 hours, but that's what has happened here. 

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but here's why I would sit Brees and let him heal for at least another week or two: 

• Christmas Day game in Week 16: The craziest thing about all of this is that the Saints have to play on Christmas Day in Week 16 and when you have a QB coming off 11 broken ribs and a punctured lung, I feel like asking him to play two games in fives days might be a little much. 
• Two-game division lead: The Saints only have to win ONE of their final three games to clinch the NFC South. They can do that without Drew Brees. Also, in terms of conference tiebreakers, the loss that hurts you the least as an NFC team is a loss to an AFC team, so if there's any game over the final three weeks that you don't really need Brees for, it's the one on Sunday against the Chiefs. 
• Top seed likely out of reach: The Packers have a head-to-head win over the Saints, which means New Orleans is going to have to finish a full game ahead of Green Bay to get the top seed. The Packers remaining opponents have a winning percentage of .487 while the Saints' opponents are at .564. Basically, it doesn't seem like the Saints are going to be able to catch the Packers no matter who's at QB in New Orleans. 

If you can't catch Green Bay WITH Brees, but you can win the division without him, then there's no reason to rush him back. If Brees plays this week and gets injured or gets injured because of the short turnaround to Week 16, then you lose him for the playoffs and you've thrown away your season. I don't usually question anything Sean Payton does, but this decision is a little crazy.  

This is the final newsletter of the week, which means I feel morally obligated to cram as many picks as possible into this space. I crammed 19 baby toys into one stocking for my eight-month old, so I know I'm good at cramming. 

With that in mind, we've got more Week 15 picks coming your way and those will be coming from Will Brinson, Jonathan Jones and CBS Sports NFL writer Tyler Sullivan. Here's how things are going to work: I'm going to give you one pick from each guy and then direct you to the rest of their picks. That way, if you like their pick, you'll be able to read the rest of them, but if they pick against your favorite team, you can ignore the rest of their picks and move on. 

• Will Brinson: Eagles (+5.5) at Cardinals. Brinson will be the first person to admit that this pick could blow up in his face, but he doesn't seem to care, because he's decided to jump on the Jalen Hurts hype train. PICK: Eagles 21-17 over Cardinals (Money line: +230). For the rest of Brinson's Week 15 picks, be sure to click here.
• Jonathan Jones: Patriots at Dolphins (-1.5). No one is better at shutting down rookie quarterbacks than Bill Belichick. However, even if Belichick does slow down Tua Tagavailoa, it won't matter, because Cam Newton isn't going to be able to move the ball on Miami's defense. PICK: Dolphins win (Money line: -125). For the rest of Jones' Week 15 picks, be sure to click here.

• Tyler Sullivan: 49ers at Cowboys (+3). Both of these teams might be bad this year, but they're both still hanging on by a thread in the NFC playoff race. For the loser, that thread will be cut and they'll fall into the oblivion that is playoff elimination. Tyler is going with the upset and predicting that the 49ers are headed for oblivion. PICK: Cowboys 24-21 over 49ers (Money line: +140). For the rest of Sullivan's Week 15 picks, be sure to click here. 

The only thing on my Christmas list this year was for Saturday football to return and for the 500th straight year, Santa has come through in the clutch. Although Thursday football is now over for the season, we will be getting two Saturdays of NFL football over the next three weeks and that will start tomorrow with two games. 

Let's take a quick look at each game: 

Bills at Broncos (+6), 4:30 p.m. ET (NFL Network): This is a big game for the Bills and that's because a win in Denver would allow them to clinch their first division title since 1995. It would also give them a playoff berth for the second straight year. For most teams in the NFL, it's not a big deal to make the postseason in consecutive years, but for the Bills, it's huge news, because the last time it happened came during the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Breech's pick: Bills 27-24 over Broncos

Panthers at Packers (-8), 8:15 p.m. ET (NFL Network): With fans staying at home due to the pandemic, there hasn't really been a home-field advantage in the NFL this year, but I think that's going to start to change as the weather gets colder and this game is a prime example. It's supposed to be about 30 degrees and possibly snowy when this game kicks off. That's ideal weather for Aaron Rodgers who is 19-2 straight-up and 17-4 against the spread in December home games since the start of the 2009 season. Also, the Panthers have nothing to play for, they're going to be freezing and if the Packers score some points early, I think that will demoralize them. Breech's pick: Packers 31-20 over Panthers

Besides these two games, we'll also be getting three Saturday games the day after Christmas. 

Michael Badgley wasn't the only special teams player who struggled on Thursday night, so did Raiders punter AJ Cole. Just before halftime, the Raiders needed a big punt out of Cole, but instead, they got a 19-yard shank. NINETEEN YARDS. I bet you could go in your backyard right now and punt a football 19 yards. Not only was it the shortest punt of his career, but it was also the second-shortest punt of the NFL season that didn't involve a situation where the ball got tipped or blocked. If you want to see what a 19-yard punt looks like, feel free to click here. 

After the punt, the Chargers needed only four plays to get a touchdown and that score came with just 19 seconds to go until halftime. As if that's not bad enough, COLE ALSO ROBBED US OF THE CHANCE TO SEE A 65-YARD FIELD GOAL ATTEMPT. 

Literally nothing excites me more in an NFL game than to see a kicker line up so they can attempt to break the all-time record for longest field goal and that's what we got on the final play of regulation when Daniel Carlson lined up for a 65-yard attempt. However, the kick never happened because Cole bobbled the snap. 

Let me just say that I hope your weekend goes better than AJ Cole's Thursday did.