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| Monday, September 9, 2024 |
| Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! |
| The first full Sunday of the season is officially in the books, and if the first weekend was a sign of how crazy things are going to be this year, I'm not sure we're going to be able to handle it. In a span of one hour on Sunday, we saw a star player get detained by police (Tyreek Hill) and another player (Dak Prescott) get a record-setting contract that's worth $60 million per year. |
| I'm starting to think that Jerry Jones doesn't know how negotiations work: He milked this thing out as long as he could and then just gave up and gave Prescott whatever he wanted. |
| Anyway, we'll be covering Dak's contract today, plus we'll he handing out our weekly grades and taking a look at some winners and losers. Oh, and we'll also be previewing tonight's game between the Jets and 49ers, so let's get to the rundown. |
| 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. |
| 1. NFL Week 1 grades: Browns and Bengals both get a big fat 'F' |
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| You guys don't have to call me Professor Breech, but that's what I call myself during the NFL season since I'm in charge of handing out the grades for every game. There have been 15 games played in Week 1 so far and we've graded them all. |
| Here's a look at the grades from two notable games that were played Sunday: |
| Patriots 16-10 over Bengals (Click here for full recap) |
| Patriots takeaway: Bill Belichick isn't the coach of the Patriots anymore, but he probably appreciated the way New England won on Sunday. The Patriots used a strong run game and an even stronger defense to take down the favored Bengals. Jerod Mayo's defensive game plan had Joe Burrow flustered for most of the game. Rhamondre Stevenson was the star for the Patriots offense, rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. The Patriots might not win the Super Bowl this year, but they've got a formula that could help them pick up a few more upset wins this year. Grade: A Bengals takeaway: The Bengals always seem to get off to a slow start to the season under Zac Taylor, and that trend continued in this game. The offense sputtered in the first half by going three-and-out on its first three possessions. The passing game looked out of sync on a day where Joe Burrow threw for just 164 yards. The Bengals also lost two fumbles, which is the same amount they lost during the ENTIRE 2024 season. The defense also got run over by a Patriots rushing attack that totaled 170 yards. Going into this year, the Bengals were 1-9 under Taylor during the first two weeks of the season, and now, they're 1-10. Grade: F (Note: Chris Trapasso took a look at whether Bengals fans should be concerned about the team's sluggish start, and you can check that out here). |
| Cowboys 33-17 over Browns (Click here for full game stats) |
| Cowboys takeaway: The game was a defensive masterpiece for the Cowboys, who only gave up one drive of more than 13 yards through the first three quarters. The Cowboys kept constant pressure on Deshaun Watson, which allowed them to rack up six sacks with Eric Kendricks and Demarcus Lawerence each recording two of those. The Cowboys special teams also came up big with 19 points that included four field goals from Brandon Aubrey and a punt return touchdown from KaVontae Turpin in the third quarter. The offense wasn't perfect, but it didn't need to be because everything else was working for the Cowboys as they coasted to the win. Grade: ABrowns takeaway: It's make-or-break season for Deshaun Watson, and so far, he looks broken. The Browns offense struggled to move the ball, and that's mostly because Watson had trouble throwing downfield. The Browns QB completed just 53.3% of his passes while also throwing two interceptions. It didn't help Watson's cause that the Cowboys seemed to be in Cleveland's backfield a good chunk of the game on a day where the QB was sacked six times. If Watson doesn't get things turned around soon, the Browns are going to have to start asking themselves some difficult questions about their future at the QB position. Grade: F |
| As for the other 26 grades that we handed out in Week 1, you can check those out by clicking here. |
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| 2. NFL Week 1 winners and losers |
| You can't have a week of NFL action without having winners and losers, so we have some winners and losers. |
| Cody Benjamin came up with this week's list, which you can check out below. |
| Winners |
| Derek Carr (Saints 47-10 over Panthers). "Most fans might've said they preferred the upside of Bryce Young to the known unevenness of Carr going into Week 1. But, wow, did the quarterbacks look worlds apart in live action, with Carr zipping the ball all over Carolina's secondary in a blowout win. Missing just four of his 23 throws, the veteran may be aging and overlooked, but he made the Saints look like a potential division winner out of the gate"Mike Zimmer (Cowboys 33-17 over Browns). "The former Vikings coach caught some understandable flak for recent commentary about his old squad, but his Cowboys defense was lights out against the predictably shaky Cleveland Browns, chasing Deshaun Watson all over the field on the road to kick off the 2024 slate. The performance took the pressure off a newly paid Dak Prescott even if Dallas' offense didn't need the boost"Sam Darnold (Vikings 28-6 over Giants). "In his first go-round as the Vikings' quarterback, the ex-New York Jets castoff was smart and steady in a perfect game script under Kevin O'Connell, going 19 of 24 to coast past the New York Giants ... in his old East Rutherford stomping grounds, no less. It won't always be this easy, but Vikings fans will take victories when they can get them after losing J.J. McCarthy before his rookie year could begin."Matt Eberflus (Bears 24-17 over Titans). "Sunday wasn't necessarily the inspiring debut he might've wanted for No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams (14 of 29, 93 yards), but everyone anticipates the rookie quarterback will improve. Besides, the Chicago Bears coach's defense showed up when it mattered most, embarrassing Will Levis down the stretch to steal a gut-it-out victory from the Titans." |
| If you want to see Cody's list of losers, be sure to click here. |
| 3. 13 crazy facts from Week 1: Bears and Steelers win without scoring an offensive touchdown |
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| 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 13 crazy facts about Week 1: |
Comeback kids. There were three teams that came back to win on Sunday despite trailing by at least 14 points during the game (Bears over Titans, Bills over Cardinals, Dolphins over Jaguars), which marks the first time in 45 years that three teams have come back from at least two touchdowns during the opening week of the season. The Bears comeback might been the most impressive, because they became just the third team in NFL history to overcome a 17-point deficit without scoring an offensive touchdown. Top pick drought is finally over. With the Bears' 24-17 win over the Titans, Caleb Williams became the first No. 1 overall pick to win his debut since 2002. From 2003 thru 2023, top picks combined to go 0-14-1 in their debut game. Williams finished 14 of 29 for 93 yards, making him just the second QB in NFL history to throw at least 25 passes in his debut while also throwing for under 100 yards (Desmond Ridder is the other). Bears and Steelers combine for rarity. Pittsburgh and Chicago both won without scoring an offensive touchdown, marking the first time in 13 years that multiple teams won during the same week without scoring an offensive TD. The last time it happened came in Week 7 of 2011 when the Browns and Jaguars both won without scoring a TD on offense. Josh Allen makes history. The Bills quarterback had two rushing touchdowns AND two passing touchdowns, marking the fourth time in his career he's pulled that off. That puts him in a tie with Steve Young for the most games in NFL history with multiple rushing touchdowns and multiple passing touchdowns in the same game. Kicking from long range. The NFL's 30 kickers combined to hit 19 field goals from at least 50 yards, which is the new NFL record for a single week. Chris Boswell and Ka'imi Fairbairn both hit three field goals from beyond 50, marking the first time in NFL history that two kickers have pulled that off in the same week. Bengals punter sets NFL record. Bengals rookie Ryan Rehkow punted four times for 258 yards, which is an average of 64.5 yards per punt. That's the highest gross punting average in a game in NFL history for a punter who had at least four kicks. The biggest boot from Rehkow went for 80 yards, which set the franchise record for longest punt. Bengals get covered in Mayo. With New England's win over the Bengals, Jerod Mayo become the first Patriots coach to win his debut game since 1991. He also became the first to coach since 2010 to be an underdog of seven points or more in his debut game and still win (Jason Garrett was the last coach to pull that off). King of the Hill. Being detained didn't seem to have any impact on Tyreek Hill. The Dolphins receiver had seven catches for 130 yards and one touchdown. Over the course of his career, he is now averaging 112.1 yards in Week 1 games, which is the highest number for any player in NFL history who's played in more than one Week 1 game. Hill also had an 80-yard TD, which means he now has 12 TD receptions of 75 yards or more in his career, which is tied with Randy Moss for the third most in NFL history. Cardinals get historic kickoff return. DeeJay Dallas became the first player to score a kick return touchdown under the new rules. Dallas' 96-yard score came in the second half against the Bills, and you can see it here. Jayden Daniels has a solid debut. The Commanders rookie rushed for 88 yards in Washington's loss to the Buccaneers, which is the second-highest rushing total for QB in his first career game (Kevin Hogan had 104 yards for the Browns in 2016). Daniels also had two rushing touchdowns, which is tied for the most ever by a QB in his first career game.
Broncos pull off an NFL rarity. The Broncos recorded two safeties against the Seahawks, becoming the first team in seven years to record multiple safeties in the same game. They also became just the third team in NFL history to record multiple safeties in Week 1. Deshaun Watson whiffs on long throws. The Browns QB went 0 for 10 on throws that traveled 15 air yards or more on Sunday, which is the worst zero completion showing on deep throws by any QB since air yards were first tracked in 2006. Brandon Aubrey unofficially ties NFL record for longest field goal. This wasn't a record, but I'm including it, because it was wild. Just before halftime Aubrey hit a 66-YARD FIELD GOAL against the Browns, but the play got called back due to a delay of game penalty on the Cowboys. Dallas could have let Aubrey try from 71, but Mike McCarthy decided to send his offense back on the field instead of letting Aubrey try the long field goal. You can see the 66-yard kick here. |
| If you see any other fun facts, feel free to tweet them at me. |
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| 4. QB news from Week 1: Jordan Love out for multiple weeks, Dak Prescott gets record-setting extension |
| The opening week of the season was a rough one for the Green Bay Packers. Not only did they lose in Brazil on Friday night, but Jordan Love is expected to miss multiple weeks with an injury. |
| Here's what you need to know: |
| Love suffers sprained MCL. Love's injury happened with under 15 seconds left to play in the game after he got sandwiched by two defenders. CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones has reported that Love is expected to miss 3-6 weeks with a sprained MCL. Looking at games Love might miss. Under the best-case scenario, Love would only miss three games and those would come against the Colts (Week 2), Titans (Week 3) and Vikings (Week 4). If Love has to miss six games, then you can add the Rams (Week 5), Cardinals (Week 6) and Texans (Week 7) on to that. Packers QB options if they look to sign someone. According to NFL.com , the Packers aren't currently planning to reach out to any veteran quarterbacks, but if they do, Ryan Tannehill would probably be their best option. They could also try to pull off a trade for someone like Jameis Winston. You can check out all the options we came up with here. |
| In other quarterback news, Dak Prescott finally got his extension done with the Cowboys, and based on the money, it was definitely worth the wait for him. |
| Here's a look at Dak's deal: |
| Prescott gets record-setting contract. The Cowboys quarterback was given a four-year extension worth $240 million, which means he'll be getting an average annual salary of $60 million per year. Not only is that an NFL record, but Prescott will also be getting $231 million in guaranteed money, which is also an NFL record. Prescott's deal was set to expire after the season. The Cowboys quarterback was headed into the final year of his contract, but thanks to the extension, he's now signed through the 2028 season. If he plays out his entire contract, he'll be the longest-tenured starting QB in Cowboys history, which is kind of crazy to think about. Dak said there's no added pressure. Prescott has never taken the Cowboys to the NFC title game and he's not feeling any extra pressure now that he's the highest-paid player in NFL history. "I put the most pressure on myself," Prescott said Sunday, via ESPN. "Nobody's a bigger critic than I am personally, and I expect greatness out of myself with my standards, my expectations and the same for this team. ... So there's no added pressure." |
| In his first game under his new deal, Prescott threw for 179 yards and a touchdown in a 33-17 win over the Browns. If you want to check out our full story on Dak's historical contract, you can do that here. |
| 5. Monday night preview: Picks and best bets for Jets at 49ers |
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| For the second year in a row, the New York Jets will be playing in the first Monday night game of the season, but Jets fans will certainly be hoping that this year's game doesn't turn out like last year's game. In 2023, Aaron Rodgers played exactly four snaps before being tearing his Achilles. |
| Rodgers will be facing a 49ers team that he grew up cheering for and a 49ers team that famously passed over him in the 2005 NFL Draft. |
| Jordan Dajani put a preview together for this game, and here's how he sees the game playing out: |
| Why the Jets can win: The Jets had one of the best defenses in the NFL last season, but that essentially went to waste, because their offense couldn't do anything. With Rodgers running the show now, the offense should be much better. The Jets have plenty of offensive weapons, they just need a healthy quarterback who can take advantage of those weapons, and now, they have that with Rodgers. Not only do they have Rodgers, but they have an upgraded offensive line that will be protecting him, which is a big deal, considering the Jets will be facing a 49ers defense that has players like Nick Bosa and Leonard Floyd (Floyd is the same player who injured Rodgers last season while playing for Buffalo). Why the 49ers can win: The 49ers have one of the most unstoppable offenses in football and they have a quarterback who knows how to run it. With Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, it's almost impossible to figure out how to stop San Francisco. That being said, the 49ers do have several question marks right now. For one, Christian McCaffrey is questionable for the game with a calf injury. Also, Aiyuk and left tackle Trent Williams will both be playing after skipping all of training camp, so they might not be in football shape yet. If the 49ers are firing on all cylinders, they'll be tough to beat, but there's no guarantee this offense will be in sync just yet. |
| You can get a full preview of the game from Dajani by clicking here. One other note about this game is that Haason Reddick won't be playing. The Jets' pass-rusher is still holding out for a new deal and by skipping this game, he'll be losing out on an $800,000 paycheck. |
| If you're thinking about betting on the game, here are a couple of props. |
| ONE RECEIVING PROP I LIKE: Deebo Samuel OVER 47.5 receptions (-120): Christian McCaffrey is dealing with a calf injury and Brandon Aiyuk isn't expected to play every offensive snap, which means someone is going to have to pick up the slack and I won't be surprised if it's Samuel. The fact that he doesn't even have to hit 50 yards for this over to hit makes me feel good about it. ONE KICKING PROP I LIKE: Greg Zuerlein OVER 5.5 points (-140): The Jets kicker went over this total in five of New York's final six games last season and that was with Zach Wilson and Trevor Siemian playing quarterback in those games. With Aaron Rodgers now at QB, I think the Jets will be able to move the ball tonight, which should mean more points for Zuerlein. |
| The guys over at SportsLine have a full betting preview that you can check out here. |
| PICKS FOR 'MNF' |
| Dajani's pick: Jets 23-20 over 49ers |
| My pick: Jets 23-20 over 49ers |
| And no, that is not a typo. Jordan and I are somehow picking the same score for this game. |
| Over on our CBSSports.com picks page, five of our eight experts are taking the 49ers to win straight-up. However, when it comes to the spread, six of our eight experts are taking the Jets to cover as a four-point underdog. |
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| 6. Extra points: Tyreek Hill gets detained before game |
| 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. |
| Tyreek Hill has to deal with legal drama. The Dolphins star was detained outside Hard Rock Stadium just a few hours before the game on Sunday. It was a bizarre situation that led to one officer already being put on leave. After Miami's win, Hill said he had "no idea" why he was detained. You can get more details on the story here. Josh Allen dealing with hand injury. The Bills QB injured his non-throwing hand on Sunday, and right now, it's not clear whether the injury is serious. Even if it's a minor injury, it could be enough to bother him in Week 2 since the Bills have to play on Thursday against the Dolphins. Super Bowl halftime show announced . Kendrick Lamar will be headlining the Super Bowl halftime show this year. The game will be taking place on Feb. 9 in New Orleans. With the first Sunday of the NFL season happening, this news got buried yesterday, so maybe the NFL won't announce it on the first Sunday next year. You can read more about Lamar here. Injury roundup. There were a lot of injuries on Sunday and we're tracking all of them here. If you click over, you'll read about David Njoku's high-ankle sprain (The Browns tight end could miss some time). Also, Steelers punter Cameron Johnston suffered a season-ending injury, which means Pittsburgh will now be in the market for a punter this week. |
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