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| Tuesday, September 17, 2024 |
| Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! |
| And I'd like to especially welcome everyone from the Kirk Cousins fan club. The Falcons pulled off a stunner on Monday night with a 22-21 win over the Eagles and it was all thanks to Cousins. For most of his career, Cousins was known for wilting under the Monday night lights, but not this time. The Falcons QB engineered a wild comeback, and we'll be covering that today. |
| We'll also be breaking the down the Panthers' shocking decision to bench Bryce Young, and of course, since it's Tuesday, we'll also have Pete Prisco's Power Rankings, which underwent some wild changes this week. |
| As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends and neighbors to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. |
| 1. Bryce Young benched: Details on Carolina's surprising decision to bench the former No. 1 overall pick |
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| The Carolina Panthers made a stunning decision on Monday when they decided to pull the plug on Bryce Young. Although Young hasn't looked good so far in his short career, it was a shocking decision because you rarely see NFL teams give up on a first-round quarterback this quickly, and certainly not a QB who was taken with the first overall pick. |
| With Young on the bench, the Panthers will be turning to Andy Dalton in hopes that he can jumpstart an offense that has scored just 13 points through two weeks. |
| Here's what you need to know: |
Why Young was benched. New Panthers coach Dave Canales, who was just hired in January, said that benching Young is a move that gives his team the best chance to win games right now. "Ultimately, this comes on me, and my No. 1 responsibility is to help the Panthers win," Canales told the media . "And so this move, I believe, puts us in the best chance to do that this week." The Panthers' next game will come on Sunday in Las Vegas against the Raiders. Young was apparently blindsided by the move. Despite getting off to an ugly start this year, Young had no idea he was about to be benched. According to ESPN.com, Young "didn't see" the decision coming. In two games this season, Young was averaging just 122.5 passing yards per game while throwing three interceptions compared to zero touchdowns. Young was historically bad. In 18 starts with the Panthers, Young went 2-16. Since 1950, that's the third-worst record for any QB with at least 15 starts. Only DeShone Kizer (0-15) and Chris Weinke (2-18) were worse. Panthers make an unprecedented decision. Benching the No. 1 overall pick during just his second year is pretty much unheard of in the NFL. JaMarcus Russell, who was one of the biggest draft busts of all time, got benched during his third season with the Raiders. Jameis Winston also was benched early in his career. After being taken with the first overall pick in 2015, the Buccaneers ended up benching him in 2018. If you want to see the full list of No. 1 picks who have been benched, you can check that out here.
Dalton set to go on revenge tour. If Andy Dalton ends up starting the rest of the season, it's going to be quite the revenge tour for him: Carolina will be facing ALL of Dalton's former teams this season with games against the Bengals (Week 4), Bears (Week 5), Saints (Week 9) and Cowboys (Week 15). |
| You can check out our full story on Young's benching here. If you want to read even more, our native North Carolina resident, Will Brinson, broke down why the Panthers are actually making the right decision by benching Young, and you can check that out here. |
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| 2. Recapping the Falcons' shocking win over the Eagles: Six things to know |
| The final game of Week 2 was a wild one. The Eagles appeared to have things in hand in the fourth quarter, but Kirk Cousins engineered a comeback over the final 100 seconds to give Atlanta a shocking 22-21 win over Philadelphia. |
| If you missed the game or just want a refresher, here's a quick breakdown of what happened: |
| Kirk Cousins comes up clutch in the second half. Cousins didn't look great in the first half, but he caught fire in the second half. Over the final two quarters, Cousins completed 13 of 16 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns. His most impressive drive came late in the fourth quarter. With the Falcons trailing 21-15 and just 1:39 remaining, Cousins engineered a 70-yard scoring drive by going 5 of 6 for 70 yards. The Falcons QB won the game with a seven-yard TD pass to Drake London with just 34 seconds left (You can see every pass from the drive here). Cousins used to have a history of choking in Monday games, but he's now 4-1 in his past five Monday games after opening his career 0-9. Bijan Robinson carried the Falcons offense for a good chunk of the game. The Falcons offense looked like a jumbled mess in Week 1, but it took a big step forward this week, and that was thanks mostly to Robinson. The running back totaled 97 yards on the ground while also adding 25 receiving yards. With Robinson running the ball so well, that took some pressure off Kirk Cousins, who seemed to get more comfortable as the game went on (Cousins was just 7 of 13 for 75 yards in the first half). Barkley's blunder costs the Eagles. There are a lot of reasons the Eagles lost, but the biggest one is because of a dropped pass by Saquon Barkley. On a third-and-3 play with just under two minutes left, Jalen Hurts rolled out and threw a perfect ball to Barkley. If he had caught it and gotten the first down, the Eagles could have simply taken a knee and ran out the clock, but he ended up dropping the pass (You can see it here ). The drop stopped the clock for the Falcons, who were out of timeouts. The drop also overshadowed an impressive game by Barkley, who totaled 116 yards (95 rush and 21 receiving). According to CBS Sports research, Barkley now has 19 drops since the start of the 2021 season, which is the most among running backs. Jalen Hurts also makes a big mistake. After Atlanta took a 22-21 lead with just 34 seconds left, the Eagles still had a chance to win. After getting the ball at their own 30, they just needed to get in field goal range and they had two timeouts to help make that happen. The Eagles only needed about 28 yards to give Jake Elliott a chance, and it looked like they were going to get there after gaining 13 yards on their first play. However, Elliott never got a chance to try the field goal because Hurts was picked off by Atlanta's Jessie Bates III on Philly's final offensive play of the game. The pick sealed the loss for Philadelphia and overshadowed an otherwise solid game from Hurts, who threw for 170 yards and a TD while also rushing for 85 yards and a TD. Sirianni is going to be second-guessed. Barkley's drop at the end of the game wouldn't have happened if the Eagles simply would have run the ball. Peyton Manning was shocked to see Philly throw a pass in that situation, and here's why: The Falcons were out of timeouts. If the Eagles had run the ball, they could have burned another 40 seconds off the clock. In that situation, the Falcons would have gotten the ball back without about 55 seconds left while trailing 21-15. Instead, they got it back with 1:39 left. Sirianni also made a questionable decision to go for it on fourth-and-4 from Atlanta's 9-yard line in the first quarter. The Eagles could have taken an easy field goal, but instead, they went for it and got stopped. Sirianni faced almost the EXACT same situation TWICE in the second half, and both times, he ended up kicking the field goal (One came on a fourth-and-3 from Atlanta's 6-yard line, the other came on a fourth-and-3 from Atlanta's 10). Sirianni made some interesting decisions that are definitely going to be second-guessed. Eagles keep collapsing. The Eagles' loss to the Falcons marked the fourth time since the start of the 2023 season that they've blown a lead in the final two minutes, which is the highest number in the NFL. The Eagles' late-season collapse might be starting early this season. |
| Anyway, if you want to check out more of our takeaways from the game, be sure to click here. If you want to see what kind grades the Falcons and Eagles earned, you can see that here. |
| 3. Prisco's Week 3 Power Rankings: Saints and Vikings make huge jumps |
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| The Power Rankings underwent one of its biggest shakeups ever this week with FOUR different teams moving up at least 13 spots and nine different teams moving down at least six spots. I've been reading Prisco's Power Rankings for more than a decade now, and I've NEVER seen anything like this. |
| Even the top five was impacted with two new teams this week: |
| Chiefs (Same as last week)Bills (Up one spot from last week)Texans (Up two from last week)Buccaneers (Up five from last week)Vikings (Up 13 from last week) |
| I'm not going to spoil the rest of the Power Rankings here, but I am going to give you a few nuggets. Here's what has changed since Prisco's last Power Rankings: |
The biggest jump this week went to the New Orleans Saints. After watching the Saints blow out the Cowboys on Sunday, Prisco is finally ready to admit that New Orleans might be for real. Prisco moved them up 19 spots this week, from 25th to sixth. I'm not the official record keeper of the Power Rankings, but I believe that might be the biggest single-week jump in the history of Prisco's rankings. The biggest jump in the AFC went to the Raiders, who got rewarded for pulling off a huge upset against the Ravens on Sunday. Thanks to that win, Prisco moved them up 16 spots from 30th to 14th. The biggest drop in the rankings went to the Miami Dolphins. With Tua Tagovailoa out, it was a given that the Dolphins were going to fall and Prisco ended up dropping them 13 spots from 10th down to 23rd. The biggest drop in the NFC went to the Eagles. After getting shocked by the Falcons on Monday night, Prisco dropped them 10 spots from eighth to 18th. Now, let's talk about the worst team in the NFL, and there's no drama here. The Panthers have been ranked dead last since the end of last year and they're still in that spot heading into Week 3. The Panthers are clearly turning to Andy Dalton in hopes that he can pull them out of the bottom of the rankings.
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| If you want to know where your favorite team ended up in Prisco's Week 3 Power Rankings, be sure to click here. If you want to argue with Prisco over his rankings, you can do that on Twitter by clicking here. I argue with him all the time about everything. |
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| 4. Ranking the top rookies of Week 2: Marvin Harrison Jr. steals the show |
| After a quiet debut where he caught exactly zero passes, Marvin Harrison Jr. exploded onto the scene in Week 2 with a huge game during Arizona's 41-10 win over the Rams. |
| Josh Edwards ranked the best rookie performances this week and Harrison was at the top of his list. Let's take a look at his top five: |
| 1. Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. "Some had concern about Harrison's future based on how it played out in Week 1, but that is standard irrational microwave hot takes. .... Harrison finished with four receptions for 130 yards and those two touchdowns." |
| 2. Giants WR Malik Nabers. "Nabers ran 27 routes on Sunday, according to TruMedia. He was targeted 18 times (10 receptions for 127 yards, 1 TD), which means he was targeted on 66.7% of routes ran. Nabers was snapping off routes and creating separation for a Giants offense that desperately needs it." |
| 3. Steelers RT Troy Fautanu. "Fautanu almost threw a perfect game on Sunday against a Broncos pass rush that had some success against the Seahawks in Week 1. There may have been some confusion on one stunt, but otherwise he held Denver in check all game." |
| 4. Chargers LT Joe Alt. "Alt does a really good job playing with balance and sealing run lanes. He is always calm and in control working through his pass arc. When Los Angeles asked him to work to the second level, he was comfortable doing that as well." |
| 5. Saints LT Taliese Fuaga. "The Saints have been the surprise of the season. They made some schematic adjustments to give the rookie left tackle a bit of help, but he did an impressive job against a Cowboys pass rush that gave the Browns some trouble in Week 1." |
| Edwards ranked a total of 10 rookies, and you can see his full list by clicking here. |
| 5. Breech's Week 3 NFL picks: Ravens fall to 0-3, Eagles lose another game |
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| If it's Tuesday, that can only mean one thing around these parts: It's time for my weekly picks. |
| If you ignore all of my picks this week, I will understand. As a matter of fact, I might ignore my own picks after seeing how badly I did last week. It was so bad that I've repressed it from my memory and I will never be talking about it again. I went 4-12 straight-up and eight of those 12 losses came in a game where the team I picked lost by six points or less. Basically, EVERY ONE-SCORE GAME WENT AGAINST ME. HOW IS THAT EVEN STATISTICALLY POSSIBLE? |
| Anyway, as always, this newsletter will feature three of my picks, and then if you feel like reading the rest of them, you can click through here and check them out. |
| With that in mind, here are three of my main picks for the week, starting with the Thursday night game in Miami: |
| Patriots (+6) at Jets: This will be the Jets' third game in 10 days, so I won't be surprised at all if the Jets look sluggish. Due to that fact, I think the Patriots can keep this close, but I don't think they'll have enough juice to pull off the upset. PICK: Jets 20-17 over Patriots.Eagles at Saints (-1.5): Through two weeks, the Eagles defense is surrendering an average of 399.5 yards per game, which is the fourth most in the NFL. When you have one of the worst defenses in the NFL, the Saints are the last team you want to be playing. PICK: Saints 34-24 over Eagles.Ravens at Cowboys (+1): If the Ravens lose this game, they'll fall to 0-3, and a loss might actually happen. Through two weeks, the Ravens have given up the MOST passing yards in the NFL and I feel like Dak Prescott is going to be able to take advantage of that. PICK: Cowboys 30-27 over Ravens. |
| Once again, to check out the rest of my picks for Week 3, be sure to click here. |
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| 6. Extra points: 49ers star to miss multiple weeks |
| It was 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. |
Deebo Samuel will miss some time with an injury. The 49ers have already lost Christian McCaffrey to injury, and now Deebo Samuel is also going to miss some time. Kyle Shanahan said that Deebo will miss a "couple of weeks" due to a calf strain that he suffered against the Vikings, which makes it sound like Samuel will miss at least two games, if not more. Cooper Kupp to miss multiple weeks. The Rams have already lost Puka Nacua to injury, and now, Kupp is also going to miss some time. Sean McVay said that Kupp will miss an "an extended period of time" after spraining his ankle against the Cardinals. The Rams have already been decimated by injuries, and now, not only are they adding Kupp to the injured list, but guard Jonah Jackson and safety John Johnson III are also expected to miss some time.
A.J. Brown could be out multiple weeks. The Eagles star missed Monday's loss with a hamstring injury, and apparently he could end up missing more games. Brown told ESPN that he "expects to miss a couple weeks." However, Nick Sirianni disputed that timeline after the game, so it remains to be seen how long Brown will be out. Steelers sticking with Justin Fields in Week 3. It looks like Russell Wilson will be spending another week on the bench. Mike Tomlin announced on Tuesday that Justin Fields will be getting the start on Sunday when the Steelers host the Chargers. The Steelers are 2-0 in two starts with Fields, but they only have one offensive touchdown.
Dolphins haven't made an IR decision on Tua. The Dolphins still haven't made a decision about whether they're going to put Tua on injured reserve. If they make the move, then Tua will have to miss at least four games, but right now, coach Mike McDaniel says that team doesn't have "enough information." If Tua goes on IR, he'd actually be out for five weeks since the Dolphins have a bye in Week 6, which means he wouldn't be able to return until Week 8 (Oct. 27). If the Dolphins feel he can play sooner, they could let him return after the bye, which would mean only missing three games. Returning after the bye would give him five weeks to heal from his concussion. Pacheco out 6-8 weeks. We mentioned on Monday that Isiah Pacheco was going to be placed on IR, and now, we have a better idea about the timeline of his return. The Chiefs running back is expected to miss six to eight weeks, which means he'll be sidelined until November. Jets lose defensive starter for the season. Jermaine Johnson will miss the rest of the 2024 season after tearing his Achilles during New York's Week 2 win over the Titans. With the defensive end now out, this could push the Jets to try and get a deal done with Haason Reddick in an effort to end his holdout.
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| | | | | UEFA Champions League | | WNBA | UEFA Champions League is BACK for Matchday 1! Watch AC Milan take on Liverpool today at 3 PM ET as they kick off an exciting new season, streaming on Paramount+.
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| | Tonight, watch as the Phoenix Mercury go up against the Los Angeles Sparks at 10:30 PM ET on CBS Sports Network.
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