Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
If I sound tired this morning, it’s because I stayed up all night rewatching EVERY throw made by Andrew Gregory Dalton. As the unofficial president of the Andy Dalton fan club, I wanted to fully appreciate what he did on Sunday.
I was going to spend this entire newsletter gushing about Dalton over things like the fact that he’s the ONLY quarterback in the NFL who’s thrown for 300 yards and three touchdowns in a game this year, but I won’t do that, because I feel like we should probably also talk about other teams and other players in the NFL, but don’t worry, we will be talking about Dalton.
As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here.
- NFL Week 3 grades: Cowboys get an ‘F,’ Packers earn an ‘A-‘ by winning without Jordan Love
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You guys don’t have to call me Professor Breech, but that’s what I call myself during the NFL season since I’m in charge of handing out the grades for every game. There have been 14 games played in Week 3 so far, and we’ve graded them all.
Here’s a look at the grades from two notable games that were played Sunday:
Packers 30-14 over Titans (Click here for full recap)
Packers takeaway: Less than a month ago, the Titans gave up on Malik Willis by trading him to Green Bay, and on Sunday, he got his revenge. Willis put on a show, becoming the first Packers QB since 2010 to throw for at least 200 yards, rush for at least 50 yards while scoring a rushing TD and throwing a passing TD. Packers coach Matt LaFleur drew up a game plan that utilized Willis’ skill set, which is something they were never able to do in Tennessee. The Packers also got a dominant performance from a defense that forced three turnovers, including a pick six from Jaire Alexander. The defense also sacked Will Levis eight times, with two of those coming from Devonte Wyatt. If the defense keeps playing like this, the Packers will be able to beat anyone no matter who their starting quarterback is. Grade: A
Titans takeaway: It turns out the Titans might have traded away the wrong quarterback. The QB they have (Will Levis) has been making back-breaking mistakes all season and that streak continued on Sunday when he had three turnovers against the Packers, including a pick six. Levis, who was under siege all game, got no help from an offensive line that gave up eight sacks. To make things worse, the QB that the Titans traded away (Malik Wallis) diced up the Titans defense with 275 total yards and two touchdowns. Although most teams tend to improve as the season goes on, this team has somehow taken a step back in every game it has played this year. Grade: D-
Panthers 36-22 over Raiders (Click here for full game stats)
Raiders takeaway: The Raiders pulled off an upset over the Ravens last week, but they couldn’t handle Andy Dalton this week. In their home opener, the Raiders didn’t give the fans in Vegas much to cheer for. The defense got embarrassed by a Panthers offense that totaled 437 yards. It wasn’t just the defense that struggled for the Raiders, though; they also had two failed fourth downs, a missed field goal and an interception by Gardner Minshew in the fourth quarter. Minshew struggled for most of the game before getting benched for Aidan O’Connell late. This was a surprising loss for a team that had a chance to improve to 2-1, but instead falls to 1-2. Grade: D
Panthers takeaway: Carolina’s decision to bench Bryce Young and turn to Andy Dalton is looking pretty brilliant so far. With Young on the bench, Dalton carved up the Raiders by throwing for 319 yard and three touchdowns, making him the first QB in the NFL this year to throw for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in a game (Young has never done that in his entire career). The biggest benefactor of Dalton’s play was Diontae Johnson, who went off for 122 yards receiving and a touchdown. Defensively, the Panthers weren’t forced to play from behind, which seemed to revive them. With Dalton under center, the Panthers are suddenly a more entertaining team and a team that could win a few games this year. Maybe the Panthers should have given him the starting QB job earlier. Grade: A+
As for the other 24 grades that I handed out in Week 3, you can check those out by clicking here.
- NFL Week 3 winners and losers
You can’t have a week of NFL action without having winners and losers, so we have some winners and losers.
Cody Benjamin came up with this week’s list, which you can check out below.
Winners
Vic Fangio’s defense (Eagles beat Saints, 15-12). “Six days after Kirk Cousins embarrassed the Philadelphia Eagles with a flawless game-winning fourth-quarter drive, Fangio had his unit locked in to outlast the equally physical New Orleans Saints. Derek Carr and Co. came into Sunday’s matchup as the NFL’s highest-octane attack, but they got next to nothing on the ground and/or in the red zone. If not for the Eagles “D,” Philly might be 1-2 right now.”
Mike Tomlin (Steelers beat Chargers, 20-10). “Even the all-time coach’s biggest defenders probably didn’t expect the Pittsburgh Steelers to be sitting at 3-0, fresh off a decisive win over the Chargers, with Justin Fields still under center. Fields has done the job well enough so far, allowing Tomlin’s defense to run the show. And Russell Wilson is still waiting around as veteran insurance under center for a team that once again looks primed to hang around the playoff picture.”
Vikings’ reputation (Vikings beat Texans, 31-7). “It was impossible not to highlight Minnesota’s surprisingly solid start after the first two weeks, but now Sam Darnold and Co. have logged back-to-back home upsets of legitimate contenders — first the San Francisco 49ers, now the Houston Texans. Darnold has been exuding legitimately elite command in an impressively deep lineup, and Brian Flores’ defense might be the most versatile and physical in the entire NFL.”
If you want to see Cody’s list of losers, be sure to click here.
- 14 crazy facts from Week 3: Rams end unique 50-game winning streak by 49ers
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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 14 crazy facts about Week 3:
Rams do the impossible. During his time with the 49ers, Kyle Shanahan had NEVER blown a second-half lead of 14 points, well, before Sunday, that is. Going into Week 3, Shanahan was 50-0 in that situation — he had WON 50 GAMES IN A ROW — but he’s now 50-1 after the Rams came back from a 21-7 deficit to win. The win also ended a streak of 101 straight losses by the Rams in that situation.
Andy Dalton pulls off a feat that no QB had accomplished this year. In this first start with the Panthers, Dalton threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, making him the FIRST QB in the NFL this year to throw for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in the same game.
Steelers in rare company. The Steelers moved to 3-0 on the season and they’ve done that even though they’ve only scored three total touchdowns. Pittsburgh now joins the 1988 Buffalo Bills as the only other team to start 3-0 with three or fewer touchdowns (The Bills made it all the way to the AFC title game in 1988).
Sam Darnold makes history in Minnesota. Darnold threw four TD passes in Minnesota’s 34-7 win over the Texans, making him the first QB in Vikings history to win the first three games of the season AND throw multiple TD passes in each of those games.
Purple People Eaters are back in Minnesota. With five sacks against the Texans, the Vikings defense now has at least five sacks in every game this season, making Minnesota just the third team since 1990 to record five sacks in each of its first three games of the season. The Vikings join the 2000 Buccaneers and the 2001 Saints.
The Steel Curtain is back. The Steelers have given up 10 points or less in each of their first three games, making them just the fifth team since 2000 to pull off that feat. The Steelers joined the 2009 Broncos, 2005 Colts, 2004 Seahawks and 2001 Packers.
Derrick Henry marching toward history. The Ravens running back finished with 151 yards and two touchdowns against the Cowboys, marking the 12th time in his career that he’s rushed for at least 150 yards with multiple touchdowns. That’s the second most in NFL history and trails only Jim Brown, who did it three times.
Dolphins all alone. There are 32 teams in the NFL and the Dolphins are the only team that hasn’t held the lead for a single second this season. The Dolphins did win in Week 1, but that came on a field goal that went through the uprights with zero seconds remaining.
Malik Willis is magic for the Packers. With his performance against the Titans, Malik Willis pulled off something that Jordan Love has never accomplished: He threw for at least 200 yards with at least 50 rushing yards along with a rushing TD and a passing TD. Before Sunday, the last time a Packers QB pulled that off was Aaron Rodgers in 2010. Willis also became just the fifth QB to record a passer rating of 120 or higher in his first two career starts, joining Brad Johnson (1999 with Washington), Jeff George (1994 with Atlanta), Jim Plunkett (1980 with the Raiders) and John Hadl (1973 with the L.A. Rams).
Malik Nabers makes more history. The Giants receiver made history last week and he’s back at it again this week. Nabers has caught 23 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns this season, which makes him the first player in NFL history with at least 20 receptions and three touchdown catches in his first three career games. Nabers also became the youngest player in NFL history to catch two TD passes in a single game.
Brandon Aubrey almost makes history. The Cowboys kicker drilled a 65-YARD field goal against the Ravens, which is the second-longest kick in NFL history. He came one yard short of tying Justin Tucker’s record of 66 (You can see Aubrey’s monster kick here).
Undrafted hero. Adam Thielen caught the 60th TD pass of his career, which is impressive when you consider that he entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent. Thielen is just the third undrafted player since 1966 to catch 60 TD passes, joining Antonio Gates (116) and Rod Smith (68).
NFC teams can’t beat Lamar Jackson. With the Ravens beating the Cowboys on Sunday, Jackson is now 21-1 in his career against NFC teams, which is the best winning percentage by any QB in NFL history against the NFC with a minimum of five starts. Jackson has won nine straight games against the NFC, which is the longest active streak for a QB against the opposing conference (Joe Burrow could tie that streak on Monday if the Bengals beat the Commanders).
Mahomes stands alone. The Chiefs QB picked up his 77th career win, which is the new NFL record for most wins by a QB through his first 100 starts. Mahomes had been tied with Tom Brady and Roger Staubach at 76, but now, he has the record to himself and he could add at least one more win to the record since he’ll be making his 100th start in Week 4.
If you see any other fun facts, feel free to tweet them at me.
- NFL Week 3 overreactions: Is Mike McCarthy in trouble?
Everyone on the internet loves to overreact to things, and that’s especially true when we’re talking about the the NFL. With that in mind, Jeff Kerr decided to take a look at several things that happened around the NFL in Week 3 to decide if we’re all overreacting.
Statement: Mike McCarthy won’t last the season in Dallas
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction. “The Cowboys have looked very poor over the last two home games, getting off to slow starts in each of them. … but here’s why McCarthy should last the season: Dallas still plays for McCarthy, as evidenced by scoring 22 straight points in the second half to make what looked to be a blowout a ball game. Garbage time or not, the Cowboys were a stop away form tying the game up. McCarthy is under fire with this 1-2 start, especially with both losses coming at home, but the Cowboys aren’t in trouble yet. Let’s see what happens Thursday against the Giants.”
Statement: Sam Darnold is the best QB in the NFL after three weeks.
Overreaction or reality: Reality. “Darnold leads the NFL in passing touchdowns (8), ranks second in passer rating (117.3) and is fourth in yards per attempt (8.4). Darnold is the fifth quarterback in the last 25 years to start 3-0 with eight-plus passing touchdowns in his first three starts with a team, and he’s the first quarterback in Vikings history to win his first three games of the season and throw multiple pass touchdowns in each of them. The Vikings are getting excellent quarterback play from Darnold, setting up their defense to dominate games late. Without Darnold, Minnesota likely isn’t 3-0.”
Statement: Andy Dalton will be the Panthers QB for the rest of the year.
Overreaction or reality: Reality. “This one might be the slam dunk of the NFL season. Dalton is the first quarterback this season with 300-plus passing yards and 3-plus passing touchdowns in a game, and he has more 300-yard passing games in two starts over the last two seasons (2) than Bryce Young has in 18 starts (1). … The Panthers have to go with Dalton moving forward — top draft pick be damned. Carolina is learning there might be some talent on this team, after all.”
There are plenty more overreactions from Week 3, and if you want to check those out, be sure to click here.
- The Monday night doubleheader is back: We’ve got two games tonight
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The NFL is throwing a curveball at us tonight by giving us a Monday night DOUBLEHEADER. If you’re wondering why this is happening, it’s one of the perks that ESPN got in its new media contract with the NFL. There will be a total of four Monday night doubleheaders this season. Besides tonight, there will also be one in Week 4, Week 7 and Week 15.
The first game of the night will feature Jacksonville at Buffalo in a game that kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Jared Dubin put a preview together for this game, and here’s how he sees things playing out:
Why the Jaguars can win: Trevor Lawrence had arguably his best game of the season when these two teams faced off last year in a game Jacksonville won and the Jags are likely going to need a similar performance if they want to win again. Lawrence needs to have a big game because there’s a chance that this could turn into a shootout. The Jags have one of the five-worst pass defenses in the NFL this year, so it won’t be surprising if Josh Allen lights them up. If that happens, Lawrence has the weapons to to keep up, it’s just a matter of whether he can figure out how to use them.
Why the Bills can win: If the Bills can get after Trevor Lawrence, there’s a good chance they can walk away with a win on Monday night. The Jags’ offense seems to fall apart when Lawrence starts taking a lot of hits and if you need proof, just look at the numbers: Over the course of his career, the Jags are 4-14 when Lawrence gets sacked three or more times, including 0-2 this year. Lawerence has also lost seven straight games, so if the Bills can demoralize him early with a few sacks, that will likely put them on a track to victory.
You can get a full preview of the game from Dubin by clicking here.
In late game, we’ve got the 0-2 Bengals hosting the Commanders at 8:15 p.m. ET on ABC.
Jordan Dajani put a preview together for that game, and here’s how he sees things playing out:
Why the Commanders can win: The Commanders have averaged 176.5 yards rushing per game through two weeks and the good news for them is that they’ll be facing a Bengals team that’s surrendering more rushing yards than almost any team in the NFL. Brian Robinson (173) and Jayden Daniels (132) have combined to rush for more than 300 yards this year. The Bengals are giving up 159.5 yards per game and if the Commanders get anywhere near that number, they’ll likely feel very good about their chances of winning.
Why the Bengals can win: The Bengals’ early season struggles are well known, but it should be noted that they usually recover by Week 3. Joe Burrow has never lost in Week 3 — he’s 3-0-1 — and he’ll likely be feeling confident tonight knowing that the Bengals offense will finally be at full strength with Tee Higgins returning to the lineup. The Commanders defense hasn’t been great this year, which means Burrow should be able to take advantage of them, especially with Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase both on the field. The three Bengals superstars were only on the field together for 121 snaps in 2023 and they averaged an impressive 6.6 yards per play on those snaps.
You can get a full preview of the game from Dajani by clicking here.
Teams that went into Week 3 with an 0-2 record went 6-1 on Sunday, and now, the 0-2 Bengals and the 0-2 Jaguars will try to keep that impressive run alive.
If you’re thinking about betting on the game, here are a couple of props.
ONE PROP I LIKE FROM BILLS-JAGUARS: Khalil Shakir OVER 3.5 receptions (-130 at Fanatics Sportsbook): Through two games this season, Josh Allen has been perfect when he targets Shakir, going 8 of 8 for 96 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers make me think that Allen will be extra comfortable targeting Shakir tonight, which could lead to quite a few receptions for the Bills receiver.
ONE PROP I LIKE FROM BENGALS-COMMANDERS: Mike Gesicki OVER 2.5 receptions (-135 at BetMGM): In just two games, Gesicki has turned into one of Joe Burrow’s favorite targets. He has 10 catches through two weeks, and since Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will both be playing tonight, the Commanders likely won’t be paying as much attention to Gesicki, who could be in line to have a big game.
ONE KICKING PROP I LIKE TONIGHT: Evan McPherson OVER 7.5 points (-125 at BetMGM): I fully expect the Bengals offense to be firing on all cylinders tonight and because of that, I think we’ll see a lot of scoring opportunities for McPherson. The Bengals kicker scored 13 points in Week 2 against the Chiefs, and it won’t be surprising to see him at least hit double digits this week.
Of course, we also have some picks for tonight, so let’s get to those.
PICKS FOR THE MNF DOUBLEHEADER
JAGUARS-BILLS
My pick: Bills 30-20 over Jaguars
Dajani’s pick: Bills 27-21 over Jaguars
Prisco’s pick: Bills 28-17 over Jaguars
COMMANDERS-BENGALS
My pick: Bengals 24-17 over Commanders
Dajani’s pick: Bengals 27-17 over Commanders
Prisco’s pick: Bengals 29-16 over Commanders
Over on our CBSSports.com picks page, all eight of our NFL experts are taking the Bengals and Bills to win straight-up. However, when it comes to the spread, we have a slightly differing opinion. Although we all have the Bills covering as a 5-point favorite, we’re split on whether the Bengals will cover as a 7.5-point favorite. Underdogs of six points or more are 9-1-2 this year against the spread.
- Extra points: Dolphins legend passes away
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.
Mercury Morris dies at 77. The Dolphins legend, who played a key role for Miami during the team’s undefeated season in 1972, passed away on Sunday. The two-time Super Bowl winner led the Dolphins in rushing during each of his Super Bowl-winning seasons with the team (1972-73). You can read more about his legendary career here.
Several teams have inquired about Bryce Young. It’s still not clear if the Panthers are going to trade Bryce Young, but if they decide to, it seems there’s plenty of interest. According to ESPN.com, several teams have already inquired about making a possible trade for the benched quarterback. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones reported on Sunday that the Panthers were planning on giving Young his job back at some point this season, but those plans might be out the window after the way Andy Dalton played on Sunday.
Steelers place right tackle on IR. The Steelers offensive line took a hit over the weekend with rookie right tackle Troy Fautanu being placed on injured reserve. Fautanu missed Sunday’s win over the Chargers and will also have to sit out Week 4 (Colts), Week 5 (Cowboys) and Week 6 (Raiders).
Injury roundup. There were a lot of injuries on Sunday, and we’re tracking all of them here. If you click over, you’ll read about how Justin Herbert aggravated his ankle injury against the Steelers. If Herbert has to miss an extended amount of time, the Chargers season could be over before it really even starts.