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| Friday, November 20, 2020 |
| I'm not sure if the person who's in charge of making the NFL schedule is reading this, but if you are, can you put every Seahawks home game in primetime for the rest of eternity? |
| Every time the Seahawks play at home in primetime, the game is absolutely bonkers and their 28-21 win on Thursday over the Cardinals was no exception. Sure, 28-21 sounds like a normal final score, but this is the Seahawks we're talking about, so you know there was nothing normal about it. A normal team would have scored four touchdowns to get to 28 points, but the Seahawks aren't normal, they went with a safety, two field goals and three touchdowns to get to 28. |
| If you don't believe me about this whole "every Seahawks primetime game is insane" thing, here's a quick list of every home game they've played at night since the beginning of the 2019 season: |
Week 5, 2019: Seahawks 30-29 over Rams (Rams miss 44-yard field goal with 11 seconds left)
Week 13, 2019: Seahawks 37-30 over Vikings (Vikings fumble away final possession)
Week 17, 2019: 49ers 26-21 over Seahawks (Seahawks stopped at one-inch line on final play)
Week 2, 2020: Seahawks 35-30 over Patriots (Cam Newton stopped at one-yard line on final play)
Week 5, 2020: Seahawks 27-26 over Vikings (Seahawks score game-winning TD on fourth down with 15 seconds left)
Week 11, 2020: Seahawks 28-21 over Cardinals |
| I'm pretty sure I could have taken this list all the way back to 2012, but we have a newsletter to get to, so let's get to it. As always, if you want to share this newsletter with everyone you know, I will not be offended. Just click here to grab the link and then send that link to everyone on your email list. |
| 1. Today's Show: Seahawks win NFC West showdown with Cardinals |
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| To recap the Cardinals-Seahawks game, we brought in a very special guest who has more Super Bowl rings (2) than me, Will Brinson and Ryan Wilson combined (zero) and that guest was Bryant McFadden. Not only is McFadden a former NFL corner, but he also has some direct ties to Thursday's game and that's because his cousin is Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson. They actually host a podcast together here at CBSSports.com, which might actually be my favorite podcast to listen to on our website (Sorry Brinson). The pod is called "All Things Covered" and you can subscribe to it by clicking here . |
| As for the game, here are three reasons why the Seahawks won. |
| Russ didn't have to cook all by himself. The "Let Russ cook" thing was fun while it lasted, but the Seahawks finally realized that Wilson needs some help in the kitchen and he got that on Thursday. Instead of having to do everything like he usually does, the Seahawks actually had a strong ground attack to support Wilson. Carlos Hyde carried the ball 14 times for 79 yards and a touchdown as the Seahawks totaled 165 yards on the ground. The win marked just the second time this season the Seahawks have rushed for at least 165 yards in a game. Seahawks defense actually showed up. It took 11 weeks, but I think someone finally let the Seahawks defense know that the season has started. After getting torched for nine straight games, Seattle's defense finally showed up in a big way. Not only did they force four three-and-outs AND record a safety, but they also sacked Kyler Murray three times, including one by Carlos Dunlap that iced the win on Arizona's final offensive play of the game. Kyler Murray's shoulder got banged up. I'm not going to sit here and make excuses for the Cardinals, but after a Seahawks defender fell on Murray's shoulder in the first quarter, he didn't look like the same quarterback. Following the hit, his throws were inaccurate and he almost seemed afraid to run the ball. Murray rushed just five times for 15 yards and the Cards are now 0-5-1 in Murray's career when he rushes for less than 20 yards. |
| Not only did we talk about the game during the podcast, but since we had McFadden on, we dove into some other topics. We asked him which receivers were the toughest to cover during his playing days. We also asked him what goes through a defensive back's mind when they're on the field and let me just say, it's way more than you would ever think. We also spent some serious time debating who's going to win the NFC West (Spoiler alert: I think it's the Seahawks). |
| To listen to today's episode -- and subscribe to the podcast -- be sure to click here. |
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| 2. Today's show Part II: Picking Week 11 games |
| The best part about Friday -- besides the fact that it's Friday -- is that you get two episodes of the podcast in your feed. After the recap of the Thursday game, Brinson sent Wilson and I to the children's table so that he could bring in Pete Prisco, R.J. White and Kenny White for a discussion about their best bets and picks for Week 11. I hate the children's table. |
| Anyway, the guys spent nearly 60 minutes going over the best bets for every single game being played in Week 11 and we're going to cover three from each guy below. |
Will Brinson
Colts (-1.5) to cover against the Packers
Rams (+4) to cover against the Buccaneers
Falcons at Saints OVER 50.5 |
Pete Prisco
Packers (-1.5) to cover against the Colts
Eagles (+3) to cover against the Browns
Rams (+4) to cover against the Buccaneers |
Kenny White
Vikings (-7) to cover against the Cowboys
Broncos (+3.5) to cover against the Dolphins
Titans at Ravens UNDER 49.5 |
R.J. White
Titans (+6.5) to cover against the Ravens
Patriots (-1.5) to cover against the Texans
Browns (-3) to cover against the Eagles |
| The group also has a three-team parlay that involves betting the UNDER (48) in the Rams-Buccaneers game combined with the Vikings (favored by 7 over Dallas) and Patriots (favored by 1.5 over Houston) to both cover. The parlay has hit in four out of 10 weeks so far, which is actually a pretty crazy hit rate for a three-team parlay. This parlay has odds of +595, which means you'd win $595 on a $100 bet. To hear what the rest of the best bets are for Week 11 -- and there are quite a few -- be sure to click here so you can listen to the entire episode of the podcast. |
| 3. Browns being hit hard by COVID |
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| The Browns are playing the Eagles this week, but based on what I've seen over the past few days their toughest opponent might actually be COVID-19 and that's because the virus is slowly taking down their team. The team has put a total of six players on the COVID/reserve list this week and one of them (Myles Garrett) definitely won't be allowed to play on Sunday, which is a devastating blow to the Browns' defense. |
| Through 10 weeks, Garrett has been one of the best defensive players in the NFL, ranking first in sacks (9.5), forced fumbles (4), and strip sacks (4). Losing Garrett is a devastating blow for a Browns team that went just 2-4 without him last season while he was suspended. |
| The other five players on the COVID list are fullback Andy Janovich, starting right tackle Jack Conklin, backup offensive lineman Chris Hubbard, kicker Cody Parkey and long-snapper Charley Hughlett. Janovich and Hubbard both tested positive while the other three were close contacts. Although these guys could still end up playing Sunday, there's also a chance they don't get off the COVID list, which means they won't be allowed to play. Basically, the Browns could be dealing with some serious issues on their depth chart come Sunday if no one gets cleared between now and then. |
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| 4. NFL Week 11 picks |
| This is the final newsletter of the week, which means I feel morally obligated to cram as many picks as possible into this space. I once crammed eight slices of pumpkin pie into my stomach in one sitting, so I know I'm good at cramming. |
| With that in mind, we've got more Week 11 picks coming your way and those will be coming from Will Brinson, Jonathan Jones and CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora. Here's how things are going to work: I'm going to give you one pick from each guy and then direct you to the rest of their picks. That way, if you like their pick, you'll be able to read the rest of them, but if they pick against your favorite team, you can ignore the rest of their picks and move on. |
| Will Brinson: Bengals at Washington (-1). I come from a family of Bengals fans and I'm thinking that Brinson hates all of them, because that's the only way to explain why he would be picking against the Bengals this week in their most winnable game of the year. PICK: Washington 24-21 over Bengals. For the rest of Brinson's Week 11 picks, be sure to click here. Jonathan Jones: Falcons (+4) at Saints. With Drew Brees out this week, the Saints are expected to turn to Taysom Hill as their starting quarterback and based on what I know about Jones, he has zero faith in Hill leading New Orleans to a win. PICK: Falcons win (Money line: +175). For the rest of Jones' Week 11 picks, be sure to click here. |
| Jason La Canfora: Chiefs (-6.5) at Raiders. For La Canfora, this pick is pretty simple, "The Chiefs are better on special teams, the Chiefs are better on defense and the Chiefs are better on offense." I don't disagree with any of that. Andy Reid is also coming off the bye here, which is notable, because he's 18-3 in his career coming off the bye. PICK: Chiefs cover. For the rest of La Canfora's Week 11 best bets, be sure to click here. |
5. Russell Wilson and DK Metcalf want to break unbreakable record
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| During Thursday's win over the Cardinals, Russell Wilson and DK Metcalf connected for a touchdown, which marked the ninth time this season that the two players have connected for a score. The touchdown pass means they're now just 98 scores away from tying Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison for the most QB-WR touchdowns ever. The Colts duo connected for 114 scores between 1997 and 2008. |
| Normally, when someone is 98 touchdowns away from breaking a record, I don't talk about it, but I'm making an exception here, because Wilson and Metcalf seem to think they have a chance of catching Manning and Harrison. During an interview with ESPN.com, Metcalf revealed that Wilson had been talking about the record, and now, Metcalf is all about breaking it. |
| "I keep that in the back of my mind every time I go play, every time I go practice," Metcalf said. "That's the record that has to be taken down by us. That's who we're chasing." |
| Including last season, the two have connected on 16 touchdowns, which means at the pace they're going, they'd break it in either 2027 or 2028, but that's only assuming they manage to keep up the pace, they stay healthy and that Metcalf doesn't leave in free agency. |
| To put into perspective how hard it is to get to 114 touchdowns, just consider that NO OTHER DUO IN NFL HISTORY has even reached 100. |
| Here's a look at the top-10 scoring connections in NFL history: |
1. Manning to Harrison: 114
2. Tom Brady to Rob Gronkowski: 94 (Active)
3. Steve Young to Jerry Rice: 92
4. Philip Rivers to Antonio Gates: 90
5. Dan Marino to Mark Clayton: 82
6. Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown: 78
T-7. Drew Brees to Marques Colston: 76
T-7. Manning to Reggie Wayne: 76
9. Jim Kelly to Andre Reed: 71
10. Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson: 70 |
| Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski could eventually get to 100, but that will likely require both guys sticking around for one more season. Besides Gronk and Brady, the only active teammates even remotely close to cracking the top 10 right now are Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, who are currently at 65 scoring connections. I'm not sure if Wilson and Metcalf will break the record, but I definitely won't be betting against them and that's mainly because I've made a rule of never betting against anyone who's three times my size, which basically describes Metcalf. |
| For more on their chase, be sure to click here. |
| 6. Jaguars fan on hilarious crusade to get Yannick Ngakoue to the Pro Bowl |
| After the ugly way things ended between Yannick Ngakoue and the Jaguars, you'd think that fans in Jacksonville would be rooting for his failure this year, but as it turns out, that's not the case. If you missed all the drama during the offseason, Ngakoue basically forced his way out of Jacksonville by complaining about the team, which eventually led to a trade that sent him to Minnesota. |
| In the deal, the Jaguars received a second-round pick and a conditional fifth-round pick. The fifth-round pick can be bumped up to a fourth-round pick if Ngakoue makes the Pro Bowl, and I'm not sure if you can see where this is going yet, but let's just say one Jaguars fan is now on a personal crusade to get Ngakoue voted into the Pro Bowl. |
| Even though Ngakoue now plays for the Ravens, the original trade terms between the Vikings and Jaguars regarding the conditional fifth-round pick still apply (according to ESPN), which means if Ngakoue makes the Pro Bowl, the Jags get a fourth-round pick. One Jags fan on Reddit realized this and now he's trying to get everyone to vote for Ngakoue (Fan votes count for one-third of Pro Bowl voting). He's asking fans of the Bears, Lions and Packers to vote for Ngakoue, because if he gets to the Pro Bowl, that would hurt the Vikings. He's also asking fans of the Saints to vote for Ngakoue, since Saints fans likely hate the Vikings at this point over the way the past two seasons have ended for New Orleans. |
| Apparently, the plan worked so well that the NFL has now pulled Ngakoue's name from the Pro Bowl ballot. Talk about the No Fun League. |
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| 7. The Kicker! |
| Seahawks kicker Jason Myers, who may or may not have been named after a combination of Jason from Friday the 13th and Michael Myers, has been quietly having one of the best kicking seasons in NFL history. After hitting two field goals against the Cardinals on Thursday, he's now 12-for-12 on the season and let me just say that this isn't an easy 12-for-12. Not only has he been perfect from 40 to 49 yards, but he also has a 61-yarder under his belt. |
| Making all your field goals is almost impossible, no matter how good you are. If Myers can finish the season making 100% of his field goals, he'd become just the sixth kicker in NFL history to make all his field goals in a season where he attempted 15 or more. The crazy part is that there are actually two other kickers this year -- Mason Crosby and Chris Boswell -- who are also perfect, which means this is probably the part where I should mention that there's never been a season in NFL history where two or more kickers have both been perfect. |
| Basically, "Perfect Kicker Watch 2020" is on because I'm going to start keeping tabs on those three guys until they finally miss a kick. Speaking of perfect, I will be making myself a perfect margarita tonight that will feature a lot of tequila and most likely no actual margarita ingredients. I hope you guys have a perfect weekend! See you Monday. |
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