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| Friday, February 2, 2024 |
| Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! |
| In just two days, the Chiefs and 49ers will be headed to Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII, and in equally big news, I'll also be headed to Las Vegas. And yes, I fully plan on gambling all of my money away within 37 minutes of landing. Please don't tell my wife. |
| Anyway, this means that the newsletter will be coming to you live from the Sin City all next week, so you're going to want to make sure to check your email inbox every day so you don't miss a thing. If you want to follow my Super Bowl adventures, you can do that by following me on Twitter or Instagram. |
| Let's forget about next week, though, because this week isn't quite over yet. We've got a huge Friday newsletter that includes our annual Super Bowl simulation on Madden that NEVER misses, plus, we'll be ranking dynasties. |
| As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. Actually, you don't even have to tell all of your friends; just tell three of your friends and I'll be happy. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. Let's get to the rundown. |
| 1. Today's show: Ranking the best dynasties in NFL history |
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| If the Chiefs win the Super Bowl, that would be their third Lombardi Trophy in five years, and if that happens, that would pretty much make them a full-fledged dynasty, which led to today's conversation on the podcast. |
| During today's episode, we had a 45-minute discussion about dynasties and you're definitely going to want to listen to it and that's mainly because I was the host. I was joined by Tyler Sullivan, and not only did we spend a good chunk of time talking about the Chiefs, but we also ranked the best dynasties in NFL history. |
| Here's our top five: |
1. Patriots (2001-18): Nine Super Bowls in 18 years with six wins
2. 49ers (1981-94): Nine NFC title game appearances in 14 seasons, five Super Bowl wins
3. Steelers (1972-79): Six AFC title game appearances in eight seasons, four Super Bowl wins
4. Cowboys (1992-95): Four NFC title game appearances in four seasons, three Super Bowl wins
5. Chiefs (if they win): Six straight AFC title game appearances plus two Super Bowl wins with a chance to add another one |
| If you want to hear our entire dynasty debate, then be sure to click here so you can listen to the full episode of today's podcast. You can also watch the episode on YouTube here. |
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| 2. Pro Bowl highlights: NFC off to hot start thanks to Baker Mayfield and Cowboys punter |
| The Pro Bowl is a two-day event this year and after the first night of action, the NFC is absolutely dominating. |
| The festivities kicked off on Thursday with the Pro Bowl Skills Challenge and I'm not going to lie, it was actually pretty entertaining to watch. If you missed it, here's a quick recap of what went down: |
| There was a showdown between Baker Mayfield and C.J. Stroud. The Buccaneers QB participated in the precision passing contest and he ended up beating Stroud in the finals by a score of 9-8. Mayfield didn't earn the win until Stroud just missed on his final throw, where he attempted to throw a deep pass for 10 points. You can watch the two players go at it here. Closest to the pin. For some reason, when it comes to golf, kickers and punters are usually the best golfers on most NFL teams and they showed why in this competition. Cowboys punter Bryan Anger won this contest when he hit a shot that landed just TWO FEET away from the hole. If you want to see Anger's amazing shot, you can check it out here. AFC and NFC battle to a draw in dodgeball. The AFC offense beat the NFC defense in dodgeball, but the NFC got its revenge when its offense beat the AFC's defense. The play of the day went to Derrick Henry, who knocked out two NFC competitors in a span of about five seconds. First, he caught a ball thrown by Micah Parsons (which knocked Parsons out of the game), and then he followed that up by drilling Budda Baker in the head. You can see the Henry dominate dodgeball here. |
| You can get a full recap of the skills challenge by clicking here. After the first night of challenges, the NFC leads the AFC, 12-6. |
| There will be even more points up for grabs on Sunday. If you're planning to watch, here's what you need to know: |
Date: Feb. 4 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: ABC/ESPN | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Location: Orlando, Florida |
| As you may or may not know, there is no actual football game this year. If you tune in on Sunday, here's what you'll see: |
| Flag footballKick-tac-toe (which is exactly what it sounds like: Kickers playing tic-tac-toe)Move The Chains -- Four teams (two teams from each conference) will compete side by side in a weighted wall pull that will showcase their strength, speed and ingenuity.Gridiron Gauntlet -- A side-by-side relay race showcasing strength, speed and agility, six players from each conference will compete to see who finishes first and wins three points for his team. |
| There will also be a tug-of-war competition and a head-to-head Madden competition with Puka Nacua and Micah Parsons facing Tyreek Hill and David Njoku. Speaking of Madden, we went ahead and simulated who's going to win the Super Bowl, so let's get to that. |
| 3. Super Bowl on Madden: We simulated Chiefs-49ers and here's what happened |
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| The Super Bowl is still nine days away, but we didn't want to wait that long to find out who's going to win, so we had CBSSports.com's Tyler Sullivan simulate the entire game on Madden. Yes, this means Sullivan got paid to play video games for two hours, and yes, I'm jealous, but the important thing here is that if his simulation turns out to be correct, then we now know who's going to win the Super Bowl. |
| Here's what happened on Sullivan's Madden simulation: |
| The 49ers got off to a hot start. On the 49ers' opening possession, they went straight down the field and scored a touchdown with Brock Purdy hitting Brandon Aiyuk for an 18-yard score. The twist here is that this ended up being the ONLY touchdown of the game for either team. Patrick Mahomes had a chance to win it. With 1:43 left to play in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs got the ball at their own 23-yard line with no timeouts while trailing by four points, which meant they were going to need a touchdown to win. Instead of leading a comeback, though, Mahomes got picked off by Charvarius Ward. Winner and MVP. The 49ers ended the game by winning their sixth Lombardi Trophy, thanks to a 10-6 win over the Chiefs. With the 49ers defense absolutely shutting down Mahomes, the MVP ended up going to Ward, who got the game-sealing pick. This is where I mention that in last year's simulation, the MVP went to Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton, who actually ended up SCORING A TOUCHDOWN in the 38-35 win over the Eagles. |
| This is the fourth year that Sullivan has done a simulation of the Super Bowl and the sim is 3-0 so far, which would seem to bode well for the 49ers. |
| If you want to know every detail about how this simulation played out, plus watch highlights from the game, then be sure to click here. |
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| 4. Under-the-radar players who could make a difference in the Super Bowl |
| When it comes to the Super Bowl, we know that Patrick Mahomes will be a key player in the game, but he's likely going to need some help if his team is going to win. With that in mind, we thought we'd take a look at some under-the-radar players who will need to have a big game if the Chiefs are going win in the Super Bowl. |
| We'll also take a look at some under-the-radar players for the 49ers, but let's start with Kansas City. |
| LB Nick Bolton. "Bolton is not only responsible for calling the shots on defense, but patrolling that all-important second level as well. His linebacking unit can't allow Christian McCaffrey to break loose into the third level, and they have to account for George Kittle and limit his YAC as well. ... Bolton had a monster Super Bowl last year, as he recorded nine combined tackles and a fumble recovery he took back for a 36-yard touchdown."RT Jawaan Taylor. "Kansas City's right tackle will be in charge of containing Nick Bosa. Neutralizing one of the most feared pass rushers in the league is a key to victory."CB Trent McDuffie. "McDuffie had nine QB hits this season, which are the most recorded by any cornerback in any season since the stat was first tracked in 2006. That's big because Brock Purdy's passing game works on timing, and a McDuffie blitz can throw that timing off. McDuffie also has some big assignments in the passing game containing Deebo Samuel and the other 49ers weapons. He could be an X-factor in a Chiefs win." |
| Jordan Dajani came up with five under-the-radar players for the Chiefs and you can see his full list here. |
| As for the 49ers, here are three under-the-radar players to watch for in the Super Bowl: |
| LG Aaron Banks. "Maybe we should just put 'the entire interior offensive line' here. Quarterbacks are most uncomfortable when they face pressure from the inside. That's what Chiefs star defensive tackle Chris Jones is great at. He recorded the second-most sacks (10.5) and QB hits (33) among defensive tackles this season. ... Banks has started 16 games including playoffs this season, and hasn't allowed a sack on 528 pass-blocking snaps this season."DL Javon Kinlaw. "The Chiefs have a great offensive line -- especially when it comes to their three interior players. Nick Bosa is going to register some wins on the outside, but can you imagine if Kinlaw and the 49ers interior defensive linemen can collapse the pocket or win those battles to quickly stuff the run? It would be a complete game-changer."WR JaJuan Jennings. "Jennings is one of the more underrated wide receivers in the NFL. He's got hands, but also blocking ability. He's a legitimate football player, and if one of the 49ers wide receivers go down, he's the next one up, and he usually comes through." |
| If you want to see our full list of five under-the-radar 49ers players, you can check it out here. |
| 5. 58 things to know about Super Bowl LVIII (or news) |
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| Since there's no newsletter for the next two days, I thought I'd send you into the weekend with a story that might take you two full days to read: 58 things to know about Super Bowl LVIII. |
| Cody Benjamin has apparently been locked in a room for the past 72 straight hours, because that's the only way to explain how he found the time to write all 58 things. |
| I would cover them all here, but your scrolling finger would break off, so I'm going to list seven here: |
| This is the Chiefs' fourth Super Bowl appearance in five seasons. They are just the third team in NFL history to enjoy such a stretch, after the 2014-18 New England Patriots and 1990-93 Buffalo Bills.Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be the first player at his position to ever start four different Super Bowls before the age of 30. He won his first title at age 24 in 2019 and is now seeking a third ring at age 28. Kyle Shanahan has been involved in two Super Bowl collapses. When he was offensive coordinator for the Falcons, Atlanta infamously lost a 28-3 lead to Tom Brady and the Patriots, marking the largest comeback in Super Bowl history. Shanahan's 49ers then lost a 20-10 lead to Mahomes and the Chiefs, who scored 21 unanswered fourth-quarter points to win in 2019. That comeback by Kansas City is tied for the second largest in Super Bowl history. San Francisco will be the first team to have five different Super Bowl-starting QBs, with current signal-caller Brock Purdy following Jimmy Garoppolo (2019), Colin Kaepernick (2012), Steve Young (1994) and Joe Montana (1981, 1984, 1988-89).Chiefs coach Andy Reid is just the fourth head coach in NFL history to make at least five Super Bowl appearances. Prior to his title bids in K.C., Reid led the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX in 2004, when Brady's Patriots prevailed.If the 49ers were to beat the Chiefs, they would tie the Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl titles (six). The Chiefs will wear their home red uniforms, which they also used for their 2019 Super Bowl win over the 49ers. San Francisco will wear its away white jerseys. Teams wearing white have gone 16-3 in the past 19 Super Bowls. |
| That is just a taste of what Cody has put together and if you want the full meal, you'll have to click over to his story. |
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| 6. Extra points: Kliff Kingsbury is returning to the NFL |
| Here's a small roundup of some of our latest stories about the AFC and NFC championship games, along with some other news: |
Raiders hire Kingsbury for OC job. After one full season out of the NFL, Kliff Kingsbury is returning. The Raiders are expected to hire him as their new offensive coordinator. You can read the full details here. Kingsbury spent the 2023 season at USC after being fired the Cardinals in 2022. New Raiders coach Antonio Pierce has also added former Bengals coach Marvin Lewis to his staff. Titans have a new offensive coordinator. The Titans have also found their OC with the team getting set to hire Nick Holz, who spent last season as the Jaguars' passing-game coordinator. Titans new coach Brian Callahan actually went to high school with Holz, so the two men are definitely familiar with each other. Brian Callahan getting his dad on board. As soon as Callahan got the Titans' job, there was a belief that his dad -- former NFL coach Bill Callahan -- would follow him to Tennessee and it looks like that's going to happen. Bill is currently the offensive line coach for the Browns, but Cleveland has given him permission to interview with the Titans, which makes it seem all but certain that father and son will soon be reunited. Rams tab Chris Shula as defensive coordinator. Shula was scheduled to interview for the DC job in Miami this week, but that won't be happening because the Rams decided to promote him to the DC job in Los Angeles. Shula, who has been on the Rams' coaching staff since 2017, goes way back with Sean McVay. The two spent four years as college teammates at Miami (Ohio). Fun fact: I went to college with both of them, but McVay has not reached out to me about a job yet.Patriots have a new offensive coordinator. The Patriots are turning to Alex Van Pelt to run their offense with the team officially hiring him on Thursday. Van Pelt spent the past four seasons as the Browns OC before surprisingly getting fired following the 2023 season. Ravens find a replacement for Mike Macdonald. With Macdonald now in Seattle, the Ravens needed to replace him at defensive coordinator, and they did that by promoting Zach Orr to the job. Not only did Orr spend the past two seasons as Baltimore's inside linebackers coach, but he also PLAYED three seasons under John Harbaugh (2014-16). At just 31, Orr will be one of the youngest coordinators in the league.
Buccaneers working to hire Liam Coen as offensive coordinator. There's a good chance the Bucs will have a new OC by the end of the day and it looks like Coen is going to get the job. If that's the case, it would seem that the Bucs plan on keeping Baker Mayfield around. Coen was Mayfield's OC during the QB's brief stint with the Rams in 2022. You can read more about the Coen news here. |
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| | | | | College Basketball on CBS | | PGA Tour on CBS | This weekend, back-to-back days of college hoops are on CBS. We begin on Saturday at 1 PM ET with Wichita State meeting Memphis. Then on Sunday at 1 PM ET, it's an enormous top-ten matchup when #2 Purdue goes on the road to take on #6 Wisconsin. Watch all weekend on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
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| | This weekend on CBS, the PGA Tour heads to one of golf's most beautiful courses. Defending champion Justin Rose headlines a fantastic field including Homa, Fowler, Scheffler and Wyndham Clark competing at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Live coverage begins Saturday and Sunday at 3:00 PM ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
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