PHOENIX -- Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six Newsletter!
With the Super Bowl right around the corner, we'll be going big on the Super Bowl today. Not only will we be ranking Super Bowl storylines, but we'll also be looking at some of the craziest Super Bowl bets that have been made so far, plus I'm also going to reveal MY PICK for the game. I slept exactly zero hours last night as I worked to finish up my pick, so if the newsletter is completely incoherent today, that's why.
On a completely unrelated note, if you want to see me in video form this week, the higher-ups decided to give me an hour each day to talk about the Super Bowl with Ryan Wilson and Will Brinson. That will be coming to you at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and if you want to watch for free on CBS Sports HQ, be sure to click here.
Alright, I'm done stalling, let's get to the rundown.
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: Ranking Super Bowl storylines
With the Super Bowl just five days away, we decided to get ourselves excited for the big game by going over all the BIGGEST storylines heading into Super Bowl LVII. Not only will both head coaches be looking for revenge, but we'll also be getting a set of brothers playing against each other in a Super Bowl for the first time in NFL history.
Here are a few of the storylines we talked about for Tuesday's episode:
- Andy Reid can finally get revenge on the Eagles for firing him.
- Nick Sirianni can get revenge on Andy Reid for dumping him from Kansas City's coaching staff after Reid was hired in 2013 (Sirianni had been a part of the prior coaching staff).
- Both quarterbacks -- Patrick Mahomes (ankle) and Jalen Hurts (shoulder) -- are dealing with injuries so we debated which injury might be the bigger factor on Super Bowl Sunday.
- Travis and Jason Kelce will be the first pair of brothers to play against each other in a Super Bowl, so we debated which brother will play a bigger role in the game.
- Haason Reddick and Chris Jones both ranked in the top four in sacks this year, so we debated who would have more sacks in the game.
- How much would a Super Bowl win help Hurts' legacy? We spent some serious time discussing whether a win on Sunday would put him in the conversation for best dual-threat QB ever.
- We also spent some time talking about whether Sirianni got snubbed since he wasn't named a finalist for Coach of the Year.
We spent a good three to five minutes talking about each of these storylines, PLUS more, so you should definitely check out today's episode.
To listen to today's episode -- and subscribe to the podcast -- be sure to click here. You can also watch today's podcast on YouTube by clicking here, and I would recommend doing that because it will allow you see how much fun we're having in Arizona.
2. Breech's Super Bowl LVII pick: Chiefs beat Eagles in thriller
It's a good thing there's an off week between the conference title games and the Super Bowl, because I definitely needed that extra week to think about this pick. Making a pick in this game is difficult because this might be the most evenly matched Super Bowl of all time. Everything about these two teams is so even that I'm actually kind of frightened.
- Both teams are currently 16-3.
- Both teams scored exactly 546 points this year.
- Both teams produced six All-Pros.
- Both teams led their conference in sacks.
- Both teams have a quarterback who's dealing with a nagging injury.
This is like choosing between right Twix and left Twix: They seem even on paper, but we both know one side is better and that's the side I'm taking. So which side am I taking?
- Chiefs (+1.5) vs. Eagles: I'll be honest, I think this game ends in one of two ways: Either the Chiefs win a close one in the fourth quarter or this turns into a replay of Super Bowl LV where Patrick Mahomes got destroyed by the Buccaneers defense in a game the Chiefs would lose 31-9. If Mahomes aggravates his ankle injury, I don't like Kansas City's chances, but if he stays healthy, I think he'll be able to pick apart the Eagles defense and I have a feeling that he's going to stay healthy. The Eagles are 4-3 this season when their defense surrenders 310 yards or more to the other team and I think the Chiefs are going to easily cross the 310-yard mark. PICK: Chiefs 27-24 over Eagles.
For a way more in-depth look at my pick that includes about 2,000 more words, be sure to click here.
3. Tom Brady has a busy day: QB reveals plans for Fox, hosts Belichick on his podcast, doesn't rule out return
With Tom Brady officially retired, he now has some free time on his hands and he used that free time on Monday to make the media rounds. Not only did Brady do multiple interviews, but he also had a special guest on his podcast Monday night and that guest was none other than BILL BELICHICK.
Here's everything we learned about Brady over the past 24 hours:
- Brady revealed when he'll be headed to the broadcast booth. Brady has a 10-year, $375 million waiting for him at Fox and although he's now retired, he won't be headed to the network just yet. Brady said he won't be starting until the "fall of 2024." That's an interesting timeline because it means he could take a year away from everything, but it also leaves the door open for a possible NFL return.
- Brady thinks he can still play. The seven-time Super Bowl winner was asked if he could still play and he gave an interesting answer, "There's always gonna be a part [of me] that wants to play and a part of me that, you know, feels like I can play," Brady said, via PFT. "I think there's just a decision to know that it's the right time." Brady was asked directly by Colin Cowherd if there's a 1% chance that he might come back and play and although he gave a long-winded answer, he never said no.
- Brady's dad says his son retired because he was tired of getting hit. Apparently, a big reason Brady retired is because he doesn't really want to get hit anymore. "He once said this, he said, 'I'm getting tired of getting hit,'" Brady Sr. said of his son this week, via Boston.com. "Having played 23 years and he holds the ignominious record of most sacks against in the NFL ... and there must be another two or three thousand knockdowns. At 45 years of age, you say, 'Hey, do I want to get hit one more time?' The answer's really nah, I really don't want to unless everything's flipping. Unfortunately, it wasn't clicking this year and I think it was a foregone conclusion."
- Belichick stops by Brady's podcast. For the past few years, there's been some speculation that there might be some bad blood between these two guys for the way things ended in New England, but based on Monday night's conversation, that doesn't seem to be the case. Belichick spent nearly the entire interview praising Brady while also calling him the "greatest player." The Patriots coach then explained how Brady made him better at his job as a coach, "I never played quarterback and I never saw the game through the quarterback's eyes," Belichick said. "I saw it through a coach's eyes. And Tom would tell me what he saw and how he saw it." You can read more about Belichick's comments here in a story that's definitely worth checking out.
- Brady tweets out weird picture. Now that Brady has retired, he has apparently decided to become a part-time underwear model. The 45-year-old shared a photo of himself on Monday that was promoting his Brady Brand underwear and yup, he was wearing just his underwear in the picture. If you missed the tweet and want to see it, you can check it out here.
Last year, Brady only stayed retired for 40 days. This year, we're six days into his retirement and he's already tweeting out pictures of himself in his underwear, so I feel like the retirement might stick this time around.
4. Super Bowl news and notes: Opening night takeaways, plus Mecole Hardman headed to IR
With the Super Bowl just five days away, we'll be sharing plenty of Super Bowl stories with you this week and that's what we're going to do right now.
Let's check out the Super Bowl news and notes:
- Mecole Hardman won't be playing in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs announced Monday that Hardman will be placed on IR with a pelvis injury, which will keep him out of the Super Bowl. However, the Chiefs did get a double dose of good news: Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been activated from injured reserve and L'Jarius Sneed has cleared concussion protocol, which means both players will likely play Sunday.
- Super Bowl Opening Night takeaways. The circus known as Super Bowl Opening Night was held on Monday night. I got photobombed by the Chiefs' mascot while filming a segment for CBS Sports, which you can see here. Of course, there were also much more important things that happened -- like Donna Kelce making cookies for his sons -- and you can read our full takeaways from Opening Night by clicking here.
- Eagles sound ready to pay Jalen Hurts. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was asked Monday if he feels comfortable saying that Jalen Hurts is the long-term franchise QB that Philly has been looking for. Lurie made it clear that Hurts is the QB of the future and that he has "nothing to prove" anymore after having led the Eagles to the Super Bowl. You can check out our story on Lurie here.
- Nick Sirianni motivated by snub. Although most people few the Super Bowl as an Andy Reid revenge game, it's also a revenge game for Sirianni. The Eagles coach was on the Chiefs' staff in 2012, but he got let go in 2013 after Reid got hired, which means Sirianni is now coaching against the guy who essentially fired him. "Do you always have this little chip on your shoulder? Sure, yeah, you do," Sirianni said, via ESPN.com. "And sure, you hold on to some of those things." That sounds like a guy who's out for revenge.
- Historical QB matchup. This will be the first Super Bowl ever where both starting quarterbacks are Black, so Cody Benjamin decided to take a look at the complete history of black quarterbacks in the Super Bowl and you can check that out here.
- One player who could be an X factor. If Patrick Mahomes is stuck dealing with the Eagles' pass rush, it will be imperative for the Chiefs' rushing attack to have a big day if Kansas City wants to win. With that in mind, Tyler Sullivan took a look at why rookie Isiah Pacheco might end up being an X factor in Super Bowl LVII.
- Pending free agents. As soon as the Super Bowl is over, the offseason will be immediately starting for both the Eagles and Chiefs. To figure out what they're up against, Jeff Kerr decided to take a look at how many pending free agents each team will have to deal with this offseason and you can see that here.
- How do first-year coaches fare in the Super Bowl? Tyler Sullivan took a look at how coaches do historically when they're coaching in the Super Bowl for the first time like Nick Sirianni is this year. Although first-time coaches are nearly .500 from a historical standpoint (28-31), they're 1-3 in their past four appearances. You can check out Sully's entire story by clicking here
Finally, Cody Benjamin got a little crazy and decided to write 57 things that you need to know about Super Bowl LVII. If you want to check out Cody's full list, then be sure to click here.
5. Three of the craziest Super Bowl bets that have been made so far
If there's one thing that we all know is going to happen every year at the Super Bowl, it's that people are going to throw their money away making some of the craziest bets possible. CBSSports.com's Bryan DeArdo decided to make a list of some of those bets and here are the craziest ones that he's found so far:
- No kickoff or punt return for a TD. One person has bet $35,000 that there won't be a kickoff or punt return TD in the Super Bowl. The catch here is that the odds of this bet are -1400, which means even if the bet cashes, our gambling friend will only make a profit of $2,500. The upside to this bet is that there's never been a punt return TD in the Super Bowl, but there have been 10 kickoff return touchdowns.
- Eagles score exactly four points. Someone decided to bet $8 that the Eagles would score four points. The odds of this happening are 10,000-to-1, which means our gambling friend will walk away with $80,000 if it happens. I'm going to go out on a limb and say this doesn't happen since only one team has ever scored exactly four points in a game and that came all the way back in 1923.
- Someone is extra confident in the kickers this week. One bettor put $500 on each kicker to win Super Bowl MVP. Both kickers -- Harrison Butker and Jake Elliott -- are listed at 200-to-1 odds, so the bet would pay out $100,000. For a kicker to win, the game would almost have to be a defensive struggle. If one team wins 22-19 with five field goals from the winning kicker, that could certainly lead to an MVP. Of course, no kicker has ever won MVP, so this bet is long shot. In related news, my dad (Jim Breech) had a shot at MVP in Super Bowl XXIII after scoring 10 of Cincinnati's 16 points against the 49ers. If the Bengals win the game 16-13, he probably gets MVP, but instead, Joe Montana threw a game-winning TD with 34 seconds left to give the 49ers a 20-16 win in a game where Jerry Rice was named MVP.
If you're interested in checking out a few more crazy bets, be sure to check out DeArdo's full story by clicking here.
6. Rapid-fire roundup: Vikings hire Brian Flores
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.
- Vikings have a new defensive coordinator. Yesterday, we mentioned that Brian Flores was a finalist for the Cardinals' job, but he's now officially out of the running after being hired by the Vikings on Monday. The Vikings' biggest weakness in 2022 was their defense and if Flores can turn the unit around, this team could be a Super Bowl contender in 2023. Flores spent the 2022 season as a senior defensive assistant for the Steelers.
- Sean Payton holds first press conference with Broncos. The Broncos' new coach held his introductory press conference on Monday and he had a lot to say. One of those most notable things is that Payton won't be allowing Russell Wilson's personal coach at the team facilty. If you want to check out everything Payton had to say, then be sure to click here.
- A.J. Green retires. One of the most underrated receivers of the past decade decided to call it quits on Monday. Green, who was the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, spent the first 10 seasons of his career in Cincinnati, before playing his final two years in Arizona. The seven-time Pro Bowler will finish his career with 727 receptions for 10,514 yards and 70 touchdowns. All three totals rank in the top 51 all time.
- Kim Pegula went into cardiac arrest back in June. Eight months ago, the Bills noted that co-owner Kim Pegula was dealing with a health issue. Although the Bills didn't offer any details at the time, Jessica Pegula revealed Tuesday that her mom went into cardiac arrest back in June. Jessica is a professional tennis player and it's definitely worth reading her story, which covers everything her family has gone through over the past few months. You can check out that story here.
