Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
Today’s not just any Monday, it’s Cyber Monday and because of that, I’m morally obligated to offer you a sweet deal, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Everything in the CBS Sports store is 30% off until midnight if you use the promo code “CYBER” so I’d highly suggest that everyone take advantage of that by purchasing as many things as possible (You can click here to find the store). I already own a Pick Six hoodie and I might buy three more since they come in various colors.
Alright, I promise I won’t ask you to buy anything else in today’s newsletter, but we do have a lot to cover, so let’s get to the rundown. We have winners and losers, plus grades and we’ll even be taking a look at the playoff picture.
As always, here’s your weekly reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the Pick Six newsletter. To get your friends to sign up, all you have to do is click here and then share this link with them.
1. Today’s show: Week 12 winners and losers, plus full recap
It’s Monday, which can only mean one thing: I stayed up until 3 a.m. last night recording a podcast with Will Brinson and Ryan Wilson that touched on everything you need to know about Week 12, and let me just say, it’s probably for the best that you listen. We covered all 12 games from Sunday, which means we likely spent some time talking about your favorite team.
One thing we do every week is hand out our weekly winners and losers from Sunday’s action. Here’s a look at who made our list.
Ryan Wilson
- Winner: Jacoby Brissett. In what was likely his final start of the season for the Browns, Brissett went out on top by out-dueling his old teammate, TOM BRADY. With Deshaun Watson eligible to play in Week 13, Brissett will now head to the bench after starting the first 11 games of the season for Cleveland.
- Loser: Kliff and Kyler. These two seem to end up in our loser group at least twice a month and here they are again. Their relationship definitely seems to be headed to the point of no return, especially after Kyler Murray used his postgame press conference to call out Kliff Kingsbury for calling a bad play on a failed fourth-and-1 against the Chargers (You can see Murray’s comments here). It’s starting to seem like there’s not enough room in Arizona for both of these guys.
Will Brinson
- Winner: Trevor Lawrence. The former No. 1 overall pick finally played like a former No. 1 overall pick. Lawrence came up huge for the Jaguars in their 28-27 win over the Ravens. With the Jags trailing 19-10 in the fourth quarter, Lawrence engineered a comeback while playing nearly perfect football over the game’s final 15 minutes.
- Loser: Zach Wilson. Not only did he get kicked to the bench, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be getting his job back anytime soon after his replacement (Mike White) thrived in a 31-10 win over the Bears.
John Breech
- Winner: Josh Jacobs. The Raiders running back is in a contract year and based on the way he’s playing, he’s definitely going to be getting a big paycheck from someone in 2023. Not only did Jacobs set the franchise record with 229 yards rushing in a 40-34 win over the Seahawks, but he scored the game-winning touchdown on an 86-yard run in overtime. With 1,159 yards through 12 weeks, Jacobs is now the NFL‘s leading rusher by more than 100 yards.
- Loser: Sean McVay. This season has been a total nightmare for the Rams‘ coach and that nightmare continued on Sunday. Not only did his team lose 26-10 to the Chiefs, but he also got caught in some friendly fire when a Rams player accidentally hit McVay in the head with his helmet (You can see how it happened here). It doesn’t get much worse than losing by 16 points and being sent to concussion protocol on the same day.
Not only did we list our winners and losers, but we also recapped every game from Sunday. To listen to today’s episode, be sure to click here. You can also watch the entire episode on YouTube by clicking here.
If you don’t have time for a podcast, but would like something else to read, you can check out our story on the five wildest moments from Week 12 by clicking here.
2. Week 12 grades: Jaguars earn an ‘A-‘ for wild win, Titans get a ‘C-‘ for loss to Bengals
Every week I team up with six of my colleagues here at CBSSports.com to hand out grades, and this week, the Jaguars scored an ‘A-‘ for their upset win over the Ravens.
Here’s a look at the grades from two notable games that were played Sunday:
Jaguars 28-27 over Ravens (Click here for full recap)
- Ravens grade: C. The Ravens are going to be kicking themselves all week for this loss and that’s because they let this one slip away. Offensively, the Ravens (7-4) did a good job of moving the ball, but the problem is that Baltimore lost two fumbles and the Jaguars were able to convert those turnovers into 10 points. The Ravens’ defense then had a fourth quarter meltdown as the Jags’ were able to score on all three of their possessions in the quarter, including a 75-yard drive that culminated with the game-winning TD being scored with just 14 seconds left to play. Even then, Baltimore still had a chance to win, but Justin Tucker’s 67-yard field goal came up short on the final play (You can see the kick here). The Ravens were playing with fire in this game and they got burnt in a loss that drops them into a tie with the Bengals for first place in the AFC North.
- Jaguars grade: A-. If Trevor Lawrence turns into a superstar, this might be the game that we end up pointing to as proof that it was going to happen. The Jags’ QB came up clutch during a fourth quarter where he threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns as erased a 19-10 deficit. Overall, Lawrence threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns while completing 29 of 37 passes. If Lawrence plays like this going forward, the Jaguars (4-7) could be a dangerous team over the final stretch of the season. The Jags offense kept the Ravens guessing with five difference players catching at least three passes, including Zay Jones, who caught 11 passes for 145 yards. The Jags’ defense also played a key role in this win by coming up with two huge turnovers and holding the Ravens to just two touchdowns on five trips to the red zone. Doug Pederson also deserves some props by making the call to go for the win with a two-point conversion after the Jaguars scored a TD with just 14 seconds left to play.
Bengals 20-16 over Titans (Click here for full recap)
- Bengals grade: B. The Bengals didn’t have Joe Mixon or Ja’Marr Chase, but that didn’t matter, because they had Joe Burrow. With the game hanging in the balance, Burrow went 6 of 7 for 112 yards and a touchdown on Cincinnati’s final two offensive possessions. With Chase out, Tee Higgins filled the void by catching seven passes for 114 yards and a TD. Of course, the most impressive thing the Bengals did in this game was shut down Derrick Henry. The Titans running back was limited to just 38 rushing yards on 17 carries. It was a masterful performance from a Bengals defense that seems to be getting better every week. The Bengals are now 7-4 and with three wins in a row, they’re letting everyone know that they’re back to defend their AFC title.
- Titans grade: C-. When Derrick Henry can’t get going, the Titans offense tends to sputter and Henry couldn’t going against the Bengals. With Henry struggling, the Titans just didn’t have enough firepower to compete with the Bengals. The Titans offense has now scored 19 points or less in five of their past six games and if that number doesn’t improve, they’re going to have a tough time beating teams like the Bengals, Chiefs and Bills (They’re 0-3 against those teams this season). Defensively, the Titans’ biggest weakness has been stopping the pass and Joe Burrow was able to exploit that.
As for the other 18 grades we handed out on Sunday, you can check those out by clicking here. You can also check out our Thanksgiving grades by clicking here.
3. NFL playoff picture heading into Monday night
With the NFL season heading into December this week, now seems like a good time to take an extensive look at the playoff picture heading into the Monday’s game.
Here’s a look at the top seven teams from each conference:
AFC
1. Chiefs (8-2)
2. Dolphins (8-3)
3. Titans (7-4)
4. Ravens (7-4)
5. Bills (8-3)
6. Bengals (7-4)
7. Jets (7-4)
First teams out: Patriots (6-5), Chargers (6-5)
The AFC wild-card race could get interesting down the stretch and that’s because the two teams that currently hold the final two wild-card spots — Cincinnati and New York — have the two toughest remaining schedules out of any AFC teams. On the flip side, the Chiefs and Ravens have the two easiest remaining strength of schedules in the entire NFL, which means those two teams have a much easier path to the playoffs.
NFC
1. Eagles (9-1)
2. Vikings (9-2)
3. 49ers (7-4)
4. Buccaneers (5-6)
5. Cowboys (8-3)
6. Giants (7-4)
7. Commanders (7-5)
First teams out: Seahawks (6-5), Falcons (5-7)
The NFC playoff picture has undergone a major change this week with the Seahawks now on the outside looking in. Two weeks ago, the Seahawks were sitting at the top of the NFC West, but after two straight losses, not only have the lost the division lead, but they wouldn’t even be in the playoffs if the season ended today. Also, the NFC East currently has four teams in the playoffs and if that holds, the division would become the first division since the NFC Central in 1997 to send four different teams to the playoffs.
If your favorite team is currently out of the playoff race, then you probably don’t care about the updated playoff picture. If you’re in that camp, we have something else for you: The current draft order! You can check that out by clicking here.
4. 10 crazy facts from Week 12
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 10 crazy facts about Week 12:
- Comeback kids. Sunday marked the first time in NFL history that four teams won on the same day after trailing by seven or more points in the final two minutes of regulation. The four winning teams were the Browns, Jaguars, Chargers and Raiders. The Jags and Chargers both won with a two-point conversion, becoming just the third and fourth teams since 1994 to score the game-winning points on a two-point conversion in the final 15 seconds of the fourth quarter.
- Josh Jacobs makes history. The Raiders running back is the only player since 1950 to have at least 225 rushing yards and 70 or more receiving yards in a single game. Jacobs finished with a franchise-record 229 rushing yards along with 74 receiving yards, making him just the 10th player in NFL history to total at least 300 yards from scrimmage. Jacobs’ 86-yard walk-off scoring run was the fourth-longest offensive TD in overtime in NFL history.
- Hurts so good. With his performance against the Eagles, Jalen Hurts became the first player in NFL history with at least 125 passing yards (128) and 125 rushing yards (126) in a half. Hurts also became the second QB in NFL history — along with Colin Kaepernick — to rush for at least 150 yards, throw for at least 150 yards and pass for two touchdowns.
- White out. During the Jets’ 31-10 win over the Bears, Mike White became the first QB in NFL history to have multiple games with at least a 75% completion percentage, 300 passing yards and three passing touchdowns within his first 4 career starts. (via ESPN Stats and Info)
- Ravens keep blowing big leads. The Ravens became the fourth team in NFL history to hold a two-score lead in each of their first 11 games, which is impressive. The not-so-impressive part is that the other three teams that accomplished this feat all started 11-0. The Ravens are 7-4 after blowing their fourth game of the season where they led by at least two scores.
- Jaguars make rare comeback. The fact that the Ravens blew a 27-20 lead against the Jags was ugly because Jacksonville doesn’t really do comebacks very well. Before Sunday, the Jags had been 0-162 since 2000 when trailing by seven points or more in the final two minutes of a game. The last time they accomplished such a comeback before Sunday came in 1996, and you’ll never believe it, but that last comeback 26 years ago also came against the Ravens.
- Tom Brady’s amazing streak comes to an end. Before Sunday, Brady had been 218-0 when his team held a lead of seven points or more in the final two minutes of regulation. However, that 218-game winning streak ended when the Browns fought back from a 17-10 deficit to beat the Buccaneers 23-17 in overtime.
- Highlight-filled half for Dolphins. The Dolphins led the Texans 30-0 at halftime, giving Miami its second largest halftime lead in any game over the past 30 years. In news that probably won’t surprise you, no NFL team has ever lost when leading by 30 points or more at the half. Including the Dolphins’ win, teams are now 165-0 in NFL history when leading by at least 30 at the half. The Dolphins also scored at least 30 points for the fourth straight game, which is tied for the longest streak in franchise history.
- 49ers have the Saints‘ numbers. The Saints’ 13-0 loss to the 49ers on Sunday marked the first time since Week 17 of 2001 that New Orleans has been shut out in a game, and in a twist, the 49ers also shut them out in that game 20 years ago. This gets even crazier: The Saints have only been shut out four times since 1997 and in all four instances, they were shut out by the 49ers. The Saints’ 336-game streak without getting shutout had been the longest in the NFL.
- 49ers join rare club. With their shutout win over the Saints, the 49res have now gone FOUR straight games without giving up any points in the second half. To put that in perspective, the next best team in the NFL has given up at least 26 points in the second half over their past four games. The 49ers are just the eighth team in NFL history to surrender ZERO second-half points in four straight games.
If you see any other fun facts, feel free to tweet them at me.
5. Monday preview: Prepping you for Steelers at Colts
If you love low-scoring games, then you’re likely going to love tonight’s game and that’s because it features two of the five lowest-scoring teams in the NFL this year. This game is especially interesting for the 4-6-1 Colts, because if they can somehow find a way to win, they could sneak back into the playoff picture.
My good buddy Jared Dubin wrote our deep-dive preview for this game here at CBSSports.com, and here’s how he sees the game playing out:
- Why the Steelers can win: The Steelers defense has gotten a huge boost over the past two weeks with the return of T.J. Watt and having him on the field tonight is huge because the easiest way to beat the Colts is to pressure Matt Ryan and the offense into making mistakes. The Colts are just 1-4-1 this season when they turn the ball over at least two times in a game. The Steelers need to cause trouble for Ryan and force him to make mistakes, which is something they’ve been good at this season with other quarterbacks. The Steelers have totaled 12 interceptions on the season, which is the tied for the third most in the NFL.
- Why the Colts can win: The Colts will definitely try to run the ball with Jonathan Taylor tonight, but that might not be so easy and that’s because the Steelers have one of the best run defenses in the NFL. However, you can definitely beat Pittsburgh through the air. The Steelers are surrendering 272.1 passing yards per game this season, which is the second-worst number in the NFL. The Colts’ pass protection has been horrible this season, but if they can give Ryan enough time to throw, Indy could have a surprisingly good passing game. Also, the Steelers will likely be focuses on stopping Taylor, which should make life somewhat easier for Ryan.
You can get a full preview of the game from Dubin by clicking here.
If you’re thinking about betting on the game, Jordan Dajani put together a full gambling preview (odds via Caesars Sportsbook). You can check out Dajani’s’s full gambling preview by clicking here, but if you don’t feel like clicking over, here’s one prop from both of us for tonight’s game.
- ONE PROP JORDAN LIKES: George Pickens OVER 3.5 receptions (-151): “The Steelers love throwing him the ball and Pickens has averaged four catches per game in Pittsburgh’s past six games. Last week, he caught four of six targets for 83 yards and a touchdown.”
- ONE PROP I LIKE: Parris Campbell OVER 45.5 receiving yards (-106): Since getting the QB job back, Matt Ryan has locked in on one receiver and that receiver is Campbell. Since Ryan’s return in Week 10, Campbell has finished with 76 yards (Week 10) and 67 yards (Week 11). I expect Ryan to keep targeting Campbell, which will allow the Colts receiver to easily top this number.
Finally, if you’re wondering who we’re picking, here’s who we have tonight in a game where the Colts are currently favored by two points:
Dubin’s pick: Steelers 16-13 over Colts
Sullivan’s pick: Steelers 25-20 over Colts
My pick: Colts 20-17 over Steelers
Over on our CBSSports.com picks page, six of our eight experts are predicting that the Steelers will pull off the upset in Indianapolis.
6. Rapid-fire roundup: Aaron Rodgers injured plus Odell Beckham drama
It’s been 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.
- Packers lose Aaron Rodgers to injury. The Packers QB was already playing with a broken thumb and then he added an oblique injury to that on Sunday. The injury was serious enough that Rodgers was unable to finish the game. If Rodgers misses any time, the Packers will turn to Jordan Love, who actually played pretty well during his short stint on the field against the Eagles.
- Odell kicked off airplane. The free-agent receiver got kicked off an airplane in Miami after a bizarre situation. The airline claims Beckham wouldn’t put on his seatbelt for takeoff and that he was going in and out of consciousness. You can read all of the details here.
- Deshaun Watson officially set for reinstatement. The suspension for the Browns quarterback is finally over. Watson was banned for 11 games and now that he’s sat out those 11 games, he’s officially eligible to start this week against the Texans.
- Matthew Stafford might be done for the year. According to ESPN.com, the Rams are uncertain if Stafford will return in 2022. With Stafford battling so many injuries and the Rams hopelessly out of the playoff race, it almost seems pointless to bring him back if he’s still banged up at all. Although it’s unknown if Stafford will return, Allen Robinson definitely won’t be back on the field. Sean McVay revealed that Robinson will undergo surgery on his injured foot in a move that will end his season.
- Buccaneers lose another offensive lineman. Tampa Bay’s offensive line has been banged up all year and you can now add another injury to the list. According to NFL.com, offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs is expected to miss the next three to four weeks with an ankle injury. That’s a major blow for a Buccaneers team that can’t really afford to be taking major blows right now.
- Lamar Jackson sends vulgar tweet to fan. The Ravens QB could be in hot water after sending a vulgar tweet to fan, who called for the Ravens to let Jackson walk at the end of the season. You can check out more details on that story by clicking here.
