Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
If you watched "Monday Night Football" last night, I would like to apologize on behalf of the NFL. In what might have been the least exciting doubleheader in NFL history, both games turned out to be duds with the Bills destroying the Titans, 41-7, and the Eagles dominating the Vikings, 24-7.
The only upside to last night is that the Vikings were so bad that most people were probably asleep at halftime of that game, so everyone in America should be feeling extra refreshed today. Although the games weren't very exciting, we'll still be going over them in today's newsletter. We'll also be making some Week 3 picks and unveiling Pete Prisco's latest power rankings.
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: Recapping the Bills' and Eagles' dominating wins
Although the games weren't very exciting, the podcast we recorded after the doubleheader more than made up for it. Ryan Wilson, Will Brinson and I spent a total of 45 minutes breaking down the big wins by Buffalo and Philadelphia.
With that in mind, here are three key things we talked about during the podcast:
- Josh Allen looks unstoppable. The Bills offense was firing on all cylinders against the Titans, and that was mostly thanks to Josh Allen, who threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns. The crazy thing is that his numbers could have been much bigger, but the game was such a blowout that the Bills decided to bench him at the end of the third quarter. One reason Allen had so much success is because the Titans had no idea what to do with Stefon Diggs, who got open with ease on a night where he caught 12 passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns.
- Eagles are for real. If the Eagles proved one thing Monday, it's that they might be the best team in the NFC. If there were any questions about whether Jalen Hurts is a franchise QB, he answered those against the Vikings. Not only did Hurts throw for 333 yards and a TD, but he also rushed for 57 yards and two MORE touchdowns. One reason the Eagles offense is so good is because it's impossible to predict where the ball is going to go. In this game, the Eagles had four receivers finish with 65 yards or more and two rushers finish with 55 yards or more. The scary thing about the Eagles is that as good as their offense is, their defense might be even better. The Vikings had two possessions in the game that started inside of Philly's 30-yard line, and they came away with zero points on both possessions.
- Kirk Cousins melts down under Monday night lights again. Cousins has historically been a bad quarterback whenever he's forced to play on a Monday, but he took that to another level of putridness against the Eagles. Cousins threw away any chance Minnesota had of winning with three interceptions in the second half. The Vikings came up with several big plays in the second half, including a pick that gave Minnesota the ball at Philly's nine-yard line, but Cousins killed all the momentum by throwing an interception a few plays later. Basically, the Vikings had no chance to win this game with the way Cousins was playing. Cousins is now 2-10 all-time in Monday games, which is the worst record in NFL history for any QB who has started at least 10 Monday night games.
We talked about those three things, plus everything else you could possibly want to know about Monday's games. If you want to listen to the rest of our recap, be sure to click here. You can also watch today's episode on YouTube by clicking here. We added some excitement to the show by introducing a NEW producer, so you're definitely going to want to watch.
2. Prisco's Power Rankings heading into Week 3
With Week 2 officially in the bag after Monday's doubleheader, Pete Prisco got busy last night rearranging his power rankings. Although I'll be honest, he didn't do much rearranging in the top five: There's only one new team this week and that team is the Packers!
Here's a look at Prisco's top-five teams heading into Week 3:
- Bills
- Chiefs
- Buccaneers
- Eagles
- Packers
Dropped out: Chargers.
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 last week.
- The biggest jump this week went to the Arizona Cardinals, who moved up nine spots following their wild comeback win over the Raiders. The Cards are now ranked 12th after being ranked 21st last week.
- The biggest jump in the AFC was the Patriots, who got a huge bump from Prisco for beating the Steelers. Last week, the Patriots were 22nd, but this week, they're up eight spots to 14th.
- The biggest drop in Prisco's Power Rankings went to the Colts, who might have had the biggest tumble ever. The Colts fell 11 spots from 14th to 25th following their SHUTOUT loss to the Jaguars. I think Pete is officially off the Colts bandwagon.
- At the bottom of the power rankings, Prisco still has the Falcons in the cellar. Apparently, he wasn't impressed with the fact that Atlanta only lost by four points to his seventh-ranked team (the Rams).
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.
3. Breech's Week 3 picks: Tom Brady beats Aaron Rodgers
If it's Tuesday, that can only mean one thing: It's time for my weekly picks.
If this is your first season with us, here's how the formula works around here: I stay up until an insane hour every Monday night so that I can give you my picks every Tuesday morning. This newsletter will feature three of my picks, and then if you feel like reading the rest of them, you can do that below.
Last week, I went 9-7 with my straight-up picks, which I'm only telling you about because I want to take the focus off the fact that I went just 5-11 against the spread. That record would have been 7-9 if the Browns didn't choke away a 30-17 lead in the final 90 seconds and if the Raiders didn't blow a 20-0 halftime lead. You know what, 7-9 isn't much better. I'm just going to stop talking and get to the next batch of picks.
Here are three of my picks for Week 3:
- Chiefs (-7) at Colts (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Part of me wants to pick the Colts here because it's their home opener and more importantly, I feel like their season is on the line in this game. They don't want to fall to 0-3, but unfortunately for them, they have to play a Chiefs team that has looked like one of the best teams in the NFL through the first two weeks. PICK: Chiefs 31-20 over Colts.
- Bills (-4) at Dolphins (1 p.m. ET, CBS): The Bills have won seven straight games in this rivalry and those seven wins have come by an AVERAGE of 19.3 points per game. Josh Allen has thrown at least two touchdown passes in EVERY game he's ever played against the Dolphins, which definitely isn't good news for the Dolphins. I think this turns into a shootout and the Dolphins run out of ammo. PICK: Bills 37-27 over Dolphins.
- Packers at Buccaneers (-2) (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox): I can't pick the Packers here because they're playing in Florida and that seems to be the one state where Aaron Rodgers forgets how to play football. Rodgers is 3-5 all-time in Florida and in his last two trips to the Sunshine State, the Packers have been outscored 76-13. I'm not sure if it's the humidity or if Florida is just Rodgers' own personal Kryptonite, but I can't pick him to win in this spot. PICK: Buccaneers 20-17 over Packers.
To check out the rest of my picks for Week 3, be sure to click here.
4. NFL coaches on the rise -- and on the decline -- heading into Week 3
The second week of the NFL season went pretty well for some coaches but not so well for other coaches. With that in mind, Cody Benjamin decided to take a look at the coaches who are trending up and the coaches who are trending down after two weeks of play. In a twist this week, Cody also added some coordinators to his list.
Trending up
- Jaguars coach Doug Pederson. "Is it possible the Jaguars are suddenly the favorites in the AFC South? With Dougie P at the helm, yes. While the Titans pick themselves up off the mat after a Bills beatdown, and Jim Irsay starts eyeing his next quarterback, and the Texans fail to move the ball in ugly games, Pederson has revived Trevor Lawrence's confidence. Anything seems possible in Jacksonville."
- Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. "After failing to scheme up late-game pressure on Jared Goff in a Week 1 battle with the Lions, Gannon upped his blitz count in Monday night's home opener, and Eagles fans ate it up. Why? Because it worked, forcing Kirk Cousins into one desperation throw after another. With top-level personnel at every level of the defense, Gannon has no excuse but to deliver, and his guys were both tenacious and opportunistic when faced with one of the NFL's top skill groups in prime time."
Trending down
- Bengals coach Zac Taylor. "He doesn't deserve all the blame for the perpetually shoddy offensive line in front of Joe Burrow, but as the CEO of their on-field operation, he's not exactly propping up his best weapons. The play-calling has been suspect since Cincinnati's Super Bowl loss, and it's ultimately on him to ensure Burrow gets rid of the ball before absorbing big hits or forcing high-risk throws."
- Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. "The 65-year-old former Broncos DC got the best of Aaron Rodgers in Week 1, but he deployed a similar sit-back approach against Jalen Hurts on Monday night, and the mobile Eagles QB proved early he would pick it apart. The worst part is that Donatell seemingly didn't make any adjustments after that."
To see Cody's full list of coaches who are on the rise and his list of coaches who are on the decline, be sure to click here.
5. NFL Week 2: Overreaction or reality
Everyone on the internet loves to overreact to things, and that's especially true when we're talking about the NFL. With that in mind, Jeff Kerr decided to take a look at several things that happened around the NFL this week to decide if we're all overreacting.
Situation: Frank Reich is on the hot seat.
Overreaction or reality: Reality. "The Colts looked pathetic in Sunday's shutout loss to the Jaguars, going just 2 of 10 on third down and gaining 218 yards of offense. The Colts, who were expected to rule the AFC South this season, now have a loss to Jacksonville and a tie against Houston. That's inexcusable."
Situation: The Giants are NFC East contenders.
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction. "Give New York a lot of credit for its first 2-0 start since 2016, but a win over a good team is needed for this to be a reality. Whether the Titans are good or not is to be determined (even though the Giants deserve a ton of credit for the impressive road win), and the Panthers are shaping out to be one of the worst teams in the league -- again. "
Situation: Garrett Wilson is the best rookie receiver.
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction. "Wilson had his breakout performance in the NFL on Sunday, finishing with eight catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns in the Jets' crazy comeback victory over the Browns. It's too early to crown Wilson as the best rookie wideout, though, with what Jahan Dotson is doing in Washington and Drake London is accomplishing in Atlanta. Wilson is a really good football player, though, a potential game-changer at his position."
There are plenty more overreactions from Week 2, and if you want to check those out, be sure to click here.
6. Rapid-fire roundup: Police investigating Kyler Murray incident
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.
- Kyler Murray appears to be slapped by fan during postgame celebration Sunday. Police in Las Vegas are investigating an incident where "a spectator struck a professional football player" on Sunday. Although the police didn't name Murray specifically, that appears to be the player who got hit. Following the Cardinals shocking win over the Raiders, postgame video from the field shows a fan slapping Murray in the face. If you want more details on the story, along with video of what happened, be sure to click here.
- Buccaneers sign Cole Beasley. Due to injuries and the one-game suspension of Mike Evans, the Buccaneers don't have a lot of depth at receiver right now, so they decided to try and fix that problem Tuesday by signing Beasley. The 33-year-old has tallied at least 60 receptions in each of his past four seasons, including 82 last year with the Bills.
- Chiefs defensive starter suspended for four games. The Chiefs are going to be without Willie Gay Jr. for the next four weeks after he was hit with a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. The suspension is punishment for an arrest in January for misdemeanor property damage that involved the mother of Gay's son. The linebacker will miss games against the Colts, Buccaneers, Raiders and Bills.
- Trey Lance has surgery. The 49ers quarterback successfully underwent surgery Monday. According to the team, the surgery ended up repairing two injuries that the quarterback suffered: "a fibula fracture and ligament disruption." Lance shared a post-surgery picture Monday, which you can check out here.
- Rams take another hit on the offensive line. It's been a rough year for the Rams offensive line. The latest hit came Sunday when right guard Tremayne Anchrum fractured his fibula, according to NFL.com. The injury will cause him to miss a substantial portion of the season, if not all of it. Anchrum made the first start of his career in Week 2, and he was only starting because the normal right guard, Coleman Shelton, had to move over to center due to a minor injury to Brian Allen. When the Rams take the field in Week 3, they'll only have two of their five starting offensive linemen from the Super Bowl.
- Dane Jackson released from the hospital. The Bills cornerback had to be taken off the field in an ambulance last night after taking a hit from a teammate while trying to make a tackle. The good news is Jackson appears to be OK. The Bills announced Tuesday morning that he has been released from the hospital and that he didn't suffer any injuries to his neck or spinal cord.
