LAS VEGAS -- Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
I don't know how it happened, but the Super Bowl is now only three days away. At least, that's what I've been told. I actually have no idea how far away it is because I've lost all sense of time out here in Las Vegas. If I've learned one thing this week, it's that time does not exist in Vegas. No one ever goes to sleep, the casinos don't have clocks and everything is always open because nothing ever closes. What I think I'm trying to say here is that time has lost all meaning to me.
Anyway, we have a huge newsletter today: Not only will we be making predictions for NFL Honors (which is tonight), but we'll also be ranking the best QB matchups in Super Bowl history. With that in mind, let's get to the rundown.
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1. Today's show: Two former NFL players break down the latest NFL news
For today's episode of the "Pick Six NFL" podcast, we brought on two former NFL players to break down all of the latest NFL news: Brady Quinn and Leger Douzable.
Quinn and Douzable were joined by both Will Brinson and Ryan Wilson in LAS VEGAS. The four of them spent 45 minutes breaking down the biggest matchups in Super Bowl LVIII and they also also talked about where Andy Reid will rank on the list of all-time greatest coaches if the Chiefs win on Sunday.
"I think if he wins this one, he has to be considered, if not the best coach of all time, then the second-best coach of all time," Douzable said. "Let's not forget, not only is he having the success that he's having with Kansas City, but when he was with the Eagles, he had a run with four straight NFC championship games and a Super Bowl appearance. For him to do it with not just one team, but two, he's won at multiple places at a high level."
Quinn agreed that Reid is a great coach, but he felt like Douzable's ranking was slightly too high.
"He's up there, but he's still obviously not at Bill Belichick's level, probably not at Chuck Noll's, but I think he's in that next group," Quinn said.
If you want to hear Douzable and Quinn breakdown the Super Bowl, then be sure to click here so you can listen to today's episode. If you prefer your podcasts in video form, you can watch today's episode on YouTube by clicking here.
2. NFL Honors: Awards being handed out tonight
If there's one thing that always seems to get lost in the shuffle during Super Bowl week, it's the fact that the NFL hands out all of its major awards. That will he happening tonight during the NFL Honors ceremony.
This year, that means if you want to know who's going to win MVP, you'll need to tune in to the NFL Honors show, which will be airing at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. During the two-hour ceremony, which will be hosted by Keegan-Michael Key, we'll see every award handed out from Coach of the Year to Offensive Player of the Year to Defensive Rookie of the Year and everything in-between.
Here are all the details on how you can watch:
Show: 2024 NFL Honors
Date: Thursday, Feb. 8
Location: Resorts World Theatre (Las Vegas)
Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: CBS/NFL Network | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Here are some of my predictions for tonight:
- MVP: Lamar Jackson (Ravens)
- Coach of the Year: Kevin Stefanski (Browns)
- Defensive Rookie of the Year: Will Anderson Jr. (Texans)
If you want to check out the rest of our predictions for tonight, then be sure to click here.
3. Ranking all 58 QB matchups: Purdy vs. Mahomes doesn't crack top 30
In the history of the Super Bowl, there have been a lot of great QB matchups, but this one doesn't feel very special, according to Bryan DeArdo. The CBSSports.com writer ranked all 58 QB matchups that we've ever seen in the Super Bowl and Patrick Mahomes vs. Brock Purdy didn't even crack the top 30.
Let's take a look at the top-three matchups on DeArdo's list, plus where he has Purdy vs. Mahomes:
1. Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes (Super Bowl LV). "No, this is not recency bias. And though the game didn't play out as one of the best, the QB matchup is our No. 1. ... Mahomes and Brady are the only players with multiple regular-season and Super Bowl MVP awards."
2. Joe Montana vs. Dan Marino (Super Bowl XIX). "Before Mahomes and Brady faced off, this was the mostly highly anticipated Super Bowl quarterback matchup ever. Montana was in his prime and three years removed from leading the 49ers to their first title. Marino was coming off of an MVP season that saw him throw for then NFL records of 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns."
3. Joe Montana vs. John Elway (Super Bowl XXIV). "The game was a dud, but Super Bowl XXIV featured two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in Montana and Elway."
...
36. Brock Purdy vs. Patrick Mahomes (Super Bowl LVIII). "Don't be shocked if this year's QB matchup moves up the ranks in the coming years. Mahomes is one win away from becoming the eighth starting quarterback to win back-to-back Super Bowls while Purdy can really alter the course of his career with a win on Sunday."
If you want to check out his full rankings, be sure to click here. We also did a full breakdown of the Purdy-Mahomes matchup and you can check that out here.
4. Players from Super Bowl LVIII who could make the Hall of Fame
With the NFL getting set to announce the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame tonight, we thought now would be a good time to try and predict which players from this year's Super Bowl might make it to the Hall of Fame at some point down the road.
Our resident NFL historian Bryan DeArdo came up with 13 players from this year's game who might one day make it to Canton.
Hall of Fame locks
- Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
- Chiefs TE Travis Kelce
- 49ers OT Trent Williams
Close, but not quite there
- Chiefs DE Chris Jones
- 49ers DE Nick Bosa
- 49ers TE George Kittle
- 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey
If you want to see his full list of potential Hall of Famers playing in this year's Super Bowl, be sure to click here.
5. Players who can become household names with a huge performance in the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the perfect time for someone flying under the radar to make a name for themselves, so we decided to make a list of three players from each team who could possibly make a name for themselves with a huge performance on Sunday.
Here's our list for the Chiefs, which was put together by Tyler Sullivan:
- Rashee Rice. "Rice has become a trusted weapon for Mahomes and already is putting together a historic postseason. Coming into the Super Bowl, Rice has the fourth-most playoff receiving yards (223) by a rookie all time. He'd need a monster 145-yard receiving game to tie Ja'Marr Chase for the record, but that may not be as far-fetched as you think as Rice already has a 130-yard game under his belt this postseason."
- George Karlaftis. "The 2022 first-round pick is coming off a strong sophomore campaign where he totaled 10.5 sacks (tied for the team lead), 17 quarterback hits, and 35 pressures in 16 regular-season games.... While San Francisco does have a sturdy offensive line, Karlaftis does have the talent to turn this game on its head. When pressured this postseason, Brock Purdy is completing 13 of his 27 pass attempts (48.1%), has just 190 passing yards and an interception."
- Trent McDuffie. "The corner has been stellar in coverage this postseason, allowing just a 44.4% completion percentage when he's the primary defender in coverage. While he's stood up strong in coverage, where McDuffie shines is applying pressure on the quarterback. His nine quarterback hits this season are the most by any corner since the stat was first tracked in 2006... If defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is looking to throw Purdy off of his game with the corner blitz, you'll likely hear McDuffie's name a ton in Super Bowl LVIII."
If you want to see our 49ers list, be sure to click here.
6. Extra points: Patriots are keeping a Belichick on their staff
It's been 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.
- Brian Belichick staying with Patriots. Although Bill Belichick won't be coaching the Patriots, his son is staying in New England on Jerod Mayo's staff, according to ESPN.com. Brian served as the team's safeties coach over the past four seasons and he's now going into his ninth season with the Patriots.
- Cowboys interview Rex Ryan for vacant DC job. The Cowboys have been busy over the past few weeks holding interviews for their open defensive coordinator job and one of their latest interviews came with Rex Ryan. Ryan is one of at least three former NFL head coaches who have interviewed for the job, joining Ron Rivera and Mike Zimmer. You can read more about Ryan's interview here.
- Steelers will consider all QB options, including a trade. The Steelers might not be locked into Kenny Pickett at QB. Team president Art Rooney II was asked if the team might consider trading for a QB this offseason and he didn't rule it out. "As we sit here in early February, we're not closing the door on anything," Rooney said. You can read more about the Steelers' QB situation here.
- Skyy Moore activated off injured reserve. The Chiefs receiving group could be getting a boost on Super Bowl Sunday. Moore is now back on the active roster, which means the Chiefs could have him back on the field this week for the first time since Dec. 17 (Week 15).