Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
Usually, I open things up on Mondays by writing about how crazy things got over the weekend, but let's be honest, things actually didn't get that crazy. There were 14 games played on Sunday and there was only one upset (Bengals over Chiefs). Overall, teams that were favored to win went 12-1-1 on the day. That's boring. I want upsets. I now want to see an upset so badly that I'm officially rooting for the Saints tonight.
Although we didn't see very many upsets, there were a few injuries that could end up turning the NFL playoff race upside down. We'll be covering those injuries along with all of our other normal Monday stuff, so let's get to the rundown.
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1. Today's show: Week 13 winners and losers, plus full recap
It's Monday, which can only mean one thing: I stayed up until 3 a.m. last night recording a podcast with Will Brinson and Ryan Wilson that touched on everything you need to know about Week 13, and let me just say, it's probably for the best that you listen. We covered all 13 games from Sunday, which means we likely spent some time talking about your favorite team.
One thing we do every week is hand out our weekly winners and losers from Sunday's action. Here's a look at who made our list.
Ryan Wilson
- Winner: Josh McDaniels. Three weeks ago, McDaniels' seat was so hot that it felt like he might spontaneously combust, but since then, things have cooled down considerably for the Raiders coach. McDaniels has his team on a three-game winning streak, and right now, they're playing their best football of the season.
- Loser: Deshaun Watson. Sunday marked the first time in 700 days that Watson had started a regular-season football game and he played like someone who hadn't seen the field in 700 days. Watson was rusty and erratic in his first game as the Browns' QB, and although Cleveland came away with a 27-14 win, it was no thanks to him.
Will Brinson
- Winner: Dan Campbell. Whatever Campbell's doing in Detroit, it seems to be working. The Lions have won four of their past five games and Sunday's win might have been their most impressive: They went out and destroyed the Jaguars 40-14. It might be time to start taking this team seriously.
- Loser: Jeff Saturday. It turns out there is a downside to pulling someone off the street to coach your NFL team. The Colts got embarrassed 54-19 by the Cowboys on Sunday night and a big reason was because they got outscored 33-0 in the fourth quarter. That's the most points any team has ever been outscored by in a fourth quarter in NFL history.
John Breech
- Winner: Joe Burrow. Burrow must own stock in the Chiefs, because it's starting to feel like he owns them. For the third time in the 2022 calendar year, Burrow's Bengals were an underdog to Kansas City and for the third time in 2022, the Bengals pulled off the upset. Cincinnati's three wins all have one thing in common: Burrow outplayed Mahomes in each one. Burrow has been on a tear over the past four weeks and if he keeps playing like this, the Bengals seem like a serious threat to get back to the Super Bowl.
- Loser: Mike Vrabel and Jon Robinson. For some reason, the Titans decided they would be better off without A.J. Brown and Brown showed them why they were wrong. During the Eagles' 35-10 win over Tennessee, Brown got some serious revenge on his old team by catch eight passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
Not only did we list our winners and losers, but we also recapped every game from Sunday. To listen to today's episode, be sure to click here. You can also watch the entire episode on YouTube by clicking here.
If you don't have time for a podcast, but would like something else to read, you can check out our story on the five wildest moments from Week 13 by clicking here.
2. Week 13 grades: Commanders and Giants both get a 'C' for tying
Every week I team up with six of my colleagues here at CBSSports.com to hand out grades, and this week, we weren't sure what to do with the Commanders-Giants tie, so we just gave them both a 'C.'
Here's a look at the grades from two notable games that were played Sunday:
Commanders 20-20 tie with N.Y Giants (Click here for full recap)
- Commanders grade: C. Both teams tried to give this game away, but the other team wouldn't take it, which is why we ended up with a tie. Washington made two glaring errors to start the second half (a lost fumble that set up a Giants TD and a missed FG) and those errors put the Giants in control of the game. With New York leading 20-13 in the fourth quarter, the Commanders looked to be left for dead, but then Taylor Heinicke engineered a game-tying TD drive in the final two minutes that included a fourth-and-4 conversion from his own 27. If the Commanders learned one thing from this game, it's that they should feel comfortable sticking with Heinicke for the rest of the season. Both of these teams played exactly average football, which is why they're both getting a 'C.'
- Giants grade: C. The Giants defense, which came up with five sacks and a turnover, played dominant football for the better part of three quarters before letting the Commanders drive 90 yards late in the fourth quarter to tie the game. Offensively, the Giants kept shooting themselves in the football with mistakes that ranged from a lost fumble from Daniel Jones to a huge dropped pass from Darius Slayton late in the game. As I mentioned above with Washington's grade, both of these teams played exactly average football, which is why they're both getting a 'C.'
Raiders 27-20 over Chargers (Click here for full recap)
- Chargers grade: C-. If Brandon Staley wasn't yet on the hot seat, he might be after losing this game where the Chargers blew a 10-0 lead. Staley is a defensive-minded coach, so it definitely doesn't reflect well on him when two of the other team's biggest stars -- Josh Jacobs and Davante Adams -- absolutely torch his defense. Also, the Chargers had a nightmare second half that included a lost fumble, a missed field goal and a failed fourth down from the Raiders' 42-yard line with under three minutes left. It feels like the Chargers (6-6) have way too much talent to be a .500 team, but that's exactly what they are with just five games left in the season.
- Raiders grade: B+. The Raiders (5-7) had an ugly first quarter that included two punts, a lost fumble and a pick-six thrown by Derek Carr, but once they got all of that out of their system, they absolutely dominated the game. Josh Jacobs played the role of a human wrecking ball while steamrolling through the Chargers defense for 144 yards. Davante Adams was just as good, catching eight passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Chandler Jones also finally had a breakout game with the Raiders as he racked up three of their five sacks. If the Raiders had been playing like this all season, they would be in the thick of the AFC playoff hunt, but instead, they're barely on the fringes at 5-7. The Raiders are a dangerous team that has now won three in a row and although they might not be able to sneak back in the playoff race, they could end up playing spoiler down the stretch.
As for the other 22 grades we handed out on Sunday, you can check those out by clicking here.
3. NFL playoff picture heading into Monday night
With the NFL season coming down to the home stretch, now seems like a good time to take an extensive look at the playoff picture heading into Monday's game.
Here's a look at the top seven teams from each conference:
AFC
1. Bills (9-3)
2. Chiefs (9-3)
3. Ravens (8-4)
4. Titans (7-5)
5. Bengals (8-4)
6. Dolphins (8-4)
7. Jets (7-5)
First teams out: Patriots (6-6), Chargers (6-6)
The biggest winner in the AFC playoff race on Sunday was a team that didn't even play: The Buffalo Bills. After playing on Thursday, the Bills got to sit at home on Sunday and watch both the Dolphins and Chiefs lose. The loss by Miami bumped Buffalo to the top of the AFC East while the loss by Kansas City bumped Buffalo up to the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Bills now control their own fate: If they win out, they'll get the division title and the AFC's only first-round bye.
NFC
1. Eagles (11-1)
2. Vikings (10-2)
3. 49ers (8-4)
4. Buccaneers (5-6)
5. Cowboys (9-3)
6. Giants (7-4-1)
7. Seahawks (7-5)
First teams out: Commanders (7-5-1), Lions (5-7)
The injury to Jimmy Garoppolo could end up having a major impact on the NFC playoff race. If Brock Purdy struggles with the 49ers, that could put the Seahawks in a position to steal the NFC West. As for tonight's game, if the Saints beat the Buccaneers, that means we'd be heading into Week 14 with ALL four NFC South teams within one game of first place in the division.
If your favorite team is currently out of the playoff race, then you probably don't care about the updated playoff picture. If you're in that camp, we have something else for you: Mock drafts! You can check those out by clicking here.
4. 10 crazy facts from Week 13
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 10 crazy facts about Week 13:
- Packers have the most wins in NFL history. The Packers' win over the Bears gives them 787 all-time, which is the most by any team in NFL history. The Bears, who now rank second with 786 all-time wins, had ranked first since 1921.
- Cowboys-Colts ends with a scorigami. If you're unfamiliar with a scorigami, it's when an NFL game ends with a final score that's never happened before in NFL history and that's what happened Sunday night. The Cowboys' 54-19 win over Indianapolis was the 1,074th different final score in NFL history and marked just the second time this season that we've seen a scorigami.
- Cowboys get colossal fourth quarter. The Cowboys outscored the Colts 33-0 in the fourth quarter on Sunday night which is notable for two reasons: The 33-point scoring differential is the largest in NFL history for a fourth quarter. The 33 points was also the second-most that any team has ever scored in the fourth of a game in NFL history.
- Browns light up the scoreboard without their offense really scoring. The Browns scored 27 points against Houston without scoring an offensive touchdown, which is impressive, because it's the most points that any NFL team has scored without an offensive TD since 1999 when the Seahawks scored 29 on the Steelers. It also marked the first time in Browns history where they had a punt return TD, an interception return TD and a fumble return TD in the same game.
- Chicks did the long ball. Greg Zuerlein hit a 60-yard field goal for the Jets, which was the fourth kick of 60 yards or more in the NFL this year. That number is tied with 2021 for the most 60-plus yard field goals in a single season in NFL history.
- Christian Watson is in good company. With a TD catch against the Bears, Watson now has seven over the past four games, which is tied with Randy Moss and Odell Beckham for the most TD receptions by a rookie in a four-game span since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
- Tie is like kissing your sister. The Commanders and Giants gave us the second tie of the NFL season, marking the first time since 2018 that we've seen two ties happen in the same year. In a twist, this was the Giants' first tie since 1997 when they also tied Washington. For the Commanders, this was their first tie since 2016 when they faced the Bengals in London.
- Hurts so good. Jalen Hurts threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns while also adding a rushing TD in Philadelphia's win over the Titans, which is notable, because it makes him the first player in Eagles history to finish with 350 yards passing or more along with at least three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in a single game.
- Field Day. The Bears didn't win, but Justin Fields did have a 56-yard touchdown run, making him the first QB in NFL history to have at least three CAREER rushing touchdowns of 50 yards or more. That's a career record and Fields has broken it in less than one season as Chicago's starter.
- Aaron Rodgers still owns the Bears. With Green Bay's win over Chicago, Rodgers is now 25-5 against the Bears, making him the third QB since 1950 to win 25 of his first 30 starts against a single opponent. Rodgers joins Tom Brady (vs. Bills) and Ben Roethlisberger (vs. Browns).
- Rough ride for the Rams. At 3-9, the Rams have the worst record of any reigning Super Bowl champ through 12 weeks. They're also on track to finish with the worst record by a reigning champion since 1999 when the Broncos went 6-10 after John Elway retired.
If you see any other fun facts, feel free to tweet them at me.
5. Monday preview: Prepping you for Saints at Buccaneers
The Saints (4-8) could throw a wrench into the NFC South race tonight if they can somehow find a way to beat the Buccaneers (5-6). A win by the Saints would would put them just a half game behind Tampa Bay in the division (It would also put them in a tie with the 5-8 the Falcons). Although the Panthers (4-8) would be in last place in this situation, they'd only be a game back .
My good buddy Jared Dubin wrote our deep-dive preview for this game here at CBSSports.com, and here's how he sees the game playing out:
- Why the Saints can win: The Saints have gone 4-1 in their five regular season games against Tom Brady since he signed with the Bucs and a big reason for that is because Brady has struggled against the Saints defense. In those five meetings, the Saints have held the Buccaneers to an average of just 14.6 points per game while also sacking Brady an average of 2.8 times per game. Saints coach Dennis Allen has done a good job of scheming a defense that gives Brady fits. If Allen can continue that run of success tonight, then that should put the Saints in a spot where they can steal a win.
- Why the Buccaneers can win: Since Brady has struggled against the Saints in the regular season over the past two years, the Buccaneers' best bet to win might be to get their ground game going. The Bucs have topped 100 rushing yards just two times this year, but it's worth noting that they're 2-0 in those games. If Rachaad White and Leonard Fournette can find some running room, that should open things up for Brady and when you can open things up for Brady, that's usually a good thing for your team.
You can get a full preview of the game from Dubin by clicking here.
If you're thinking about betting on the game, Tyler Sullivan put together a full gambling preview (odds via Caesars Sportsbook). You can check out Sullivan's full gambling preview by clicking here, but if you don't feel like clicking over, here's one prop from both of us for tonight's game.
- ONE PROP TYLER LIKES: Chris Godwin OVER 67.5 receiving yards (-117): "Brady has thrown Godwin's way early and often. He has double-digit targets in five of his last six games, including last week where the wideout caught 12 of his 13 throws from Brady for a season-high 110 yards. Godwin has also gone over this receiving yards total in back-to-back games coming into Monday night."
- ONE PROP I LIKE: Alvin Kamara OVER 30.5 receiving yards (-121): Kamara has basically become Andy Dalton's security blanket. Over his past six games, Kamara has gone over this total five times and that includes going over 30.5 yards in two straight games. Even when the Saints did nothing last week in a shutout loss to the 49ers, Kamara still managed 37 receiving yards and I think he can hit 31 here.
Finally, if you're wondering who we're picking, here's who we have tonight in a game where the Buccaneers are currently favored by three points:
Dubin's pick: Buccaneers 20-16 over Saints
Sullivan's pick: Buccaneers 27-21 over Saints
My pick: Buccaneers 20-17 over Saints
Over on our CBSSports.com picks page, all eight of our experts are taking the Buccaneers to win, but only four of us are taking the Bucs to cover.
6. Rapid-fire roundup: Jimmy Garoppolo out for the season, Baker Mayfield gets released
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.
- 49ers lose Jimmy Garoppolo for the season. The 49ers QB broke his left foot against the Dolphins on Sunday and will miss the rest of the season. Brock Purdy ended up finishing the game for San Francisco and it looks like the rookie is going to be their starter going forward. The 49ers also signed Josh Johnson from the Broncos' practice squad. Of course, there's also another possible option out there...
- Panthers release Baker Mayfield. If the 49ers are interested in signing a QB, the Panthers just did them a serious favor. On Monday morning, Carolina released Mayfield, who has gone from being the Panthers' opening day starter to no longer being needed by the team. If Mayfield clears waivers, he'll be able to sign wherever he wants, but another team could snatch him him to prevent him from going to San Francisco. Mayfield doesn't have a lot of connections with the 49ers, but he did play five games with Christian McCaffrey in Carolina this season.
- Lamar Jackson could miss time. The Ravens QB was ruled out of Sunday's 10-9 win over the Broncos with a knee injury. When asked how long Jackson might be out, John Harbaugh said it was going to be a number of "days to weeks." Based on that vague answer, it won't be surprising at all if Jackson misses some time. However, Harbaugh did note that the injury isn't season-ending.
- Tua Tagovailoa suffers ankle injury. Tua was knocked out of the game late in the fourth quarter, but the good news is that his ankle injury isn't expected to be serious. According to NFL.com, Tua should be able to play in Week 14 against the Chargers.
- Matthew Stafford placed on injured reserve. The Rams QB was placed on IR over the weekend and it appears that his season is now over. Rams coach Sean McVay revealed that Stafford is dealing with a spinal cord contusion, which is why we likely won't be seeing him back on the field this year.
