Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
Happy Holidays to everyone, except for my sister, who knocked me out of the fantasy football playoffs by beating me in the semifinals. I had Jalen Hurts and I knew I was doomed after he got injured five minutes into the game on Sunday. I also had the Packers defense, which almost pulled out a miracle win for me, but we came up just short, and now, I’m out. In related news, my sister’s team is fraudulent and I will not be rooting for it in the finals.
Now that we have that out of the way, I have some good news for everyone: I ran into Santa last night, and it appears every one of you made the nice list this year. So, as a present from me to you, you’re getting a newsletter today!
The NFL is also giving us some presents, and those will be coming on Christmas in the form of two big games. The Chiefs and Steelers will be starting the Christmas fun tomorrow with a game that kicks off at 1 p.m. ET. After that, the Ravens and Texans will play at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Since the first game doesn’t kickoff until 1 p.m., that should give you plenty of time to do everything you need to do on Christmas morning. For instance, I’m pretty sure my day is going to go something like this: Open presents, eat 14 pancakes, take a nap, drink some egg nog, take another nap, put together the complicated toys I got for my 4-year-old that I didn’t need to get because she would have been just as happy with stuffed animal, and then watch the games.
In today’s newsletter, we’ll be previewing the two Christmas games. Plus, we’ll be handing out some grades from Green Bay’s Monday win over New Orleans and also be making some Week 17 picks.
As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends and neighbors to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here.
Saints: Grades and notes from Green Bay’s Monday night win
Getty ImagesThere’s usually not much drama at the end of a blowout win, but there was Monday night and that’s because the Packers were going for the first shutout of the NFL season, and they ended up pulling it off in a 34-0 win over New Orleans. Every season in NFL history has had at least one shutout by Week 8, but this year, the first one didn’t come until the final game of Week 16.
Here are our grades from the game:
SAINTS GRADE: F
With Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave all out due to injury, this game was essentially over before it started. As bad as the Saints were, Spencer Rattler did drive the offense into Green Bay territory twice, but both of those drives ended with a turnover by Rattler. With zero points, the Saints became the first team this season to get shut out, and for that, they get an ‘F.’
Saints notes
Saints are first team to get shut out this season. Going into Week 16, there had been zero shutouts in the NFL this season, but that changed Monday night with New Orleans becoming the first team to score zero points in a game. This marks just the second time that the Saints have been shut out in their past 369 games. This was the Saints’ largest shutout loss since a 38-0 setback to the 49ers in January 2002. Saints off to worst start in nearly two decades. This team was once 2-0, but they’re now 3-12 after losing 12 of their past 13 games. This is the worst start for the Saints since 2005 when they also started 3-12. After the 2005 season, the Saints hired Sean Payton, and now, they’ll have the same opportunity after this season to make another big hire.PACKERS GRADE: A+
The Packers were so good in this game that they made the win look easy. The offense moved the ball at will on a night where the Packers scored a touchdown on each of their first three possessions. Matt LaFleur did a good job of getting everyone involved on offense, as eight different players carried the ball at least once and seven different players caught at least one pass. Josh Jacobs carried the load early for the Packers with 91 total yards and a touchdown in the first half before being sent to the bench early in the third quarter. Defensively, the Packers couldn’t have been better: They pitched the first shutout of the NFL season. The upside of the blowout win is that the Packers got to bench their starters in the fourth quarter, which is a huge positive for a team that has to turn around and play the Vikings on Sunday.
Packers notes
Green Bay clinches a playoff spot. The Packers can’t win the NFC North, but they did officially clinch a playoff spot with this win. The Packers still have a shot at the five seed in the NFC, but the most likely scenario is that they’ll end up with the sixth seed. The Packers are now in the playoffs for the fifth time in six years under Matt LaFleur. Big-time shutout. Not only did the Packers pull off the first shutout of the NFL season, but it was tied for their second-largest shutout win of the Super Bowl era. Since 1966, the only bigger shutout win came in 2001 when Green Bay beat Washington, 37-0. This win marked the third time they’ve beaten a team 34-0.Finally, you can check out our full takeaways from the game here.
2. Prisco’s Week 17 Power Rankings: NFC North takes over the top five
The NFC North has officially taken over Pete Prisco’s Power Rankings. After the Packers won Monday, Prisco moved them into his top five, which means the division now has THREE of the top-five teams in Prisco’s rankings.
With that in mind, let’s check out Prisco’s top five:
Chiefs (up one spot from last week) Bills (up one spot from last week) Lions (up two spots from last week) Vikings (up one spot from last week) Packers (up one spot from last week)I’m not going to spoil the rest of the Power Rankings here, but I am going to give you a few nuggets. Here’s what has changed since Prisco’s last Power Rankings:
The biggest jump this week went to the Carolina Panthers. I’m not sure what happened to Bryce Young when he got benched, but something apparently clicked. Since returning from the bench, Young has been playing at a high level, and that was one of the reasons Carolina was able to upset the Cardinals on Sunday. Thanks to the 36-30 win, Prisco bumped the Panthers up six spots from 26th to 20th. The biggest jump in the AFC went to the Las Vegas Raiders. With Aidan O’Connell at quarterback, the Raiders looked somewhat competent in their 19-14 win over Jacksonville. Prisco rewarded the Raiders for their win by moving them up four spots from 32nd to 28th. The biggest tumble this week went to the Arizona Cardinals. To stay alive in the NFC West race, all the Cardinals had to do was beat the Panthers, but they couldn’t even do that. Prisco dropped them five spots for their overtime loss with Arizona falling from 16th to 21st. Finally, let’s get the bottom of the Power Rankings. For the past two weeks, the Raiders were at the bottom, but this week, we have a new team in the cellar: THE NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS. And based on how they’ve been playing the past few weeks, I won’t be surprised if they stay at the bottom for the rest of the season.If you want to know where your favorite team ended up in Prisco’s Week 17 Power Rankings, be sure to click here. If you want to argue with Prisco over his rankings, you can do that on Twitter by clicking here. I argue with him all the time about everything.
NFL picks: Bengals and Vikings pick up big wins
Getty ImagesIf your Christmas wish is for me to get all of my picks right this week, that’s kind of crazy, because that’s also my Christmas wish. Please make it happen Santa.
With that in mind, let’s get to three of my picks for Week 17:
Denver (9-5) at Cincinnati (8-6): Over the past four weeks, the Broncos have given up 497 yards to Jameis Winston and 284 yards to Justin Herbert, so I’m not sure they’re going to be able to stop Joe Burrow, who’s playing better football than almost anyone right now. PICK: Bengals 27-24 over Broncos Green Bay (11-4) at Minnesota (13-2): I feel like these two teams are pretty even, but with the Packers coming off a short week after playing last night AND being forced to go on the road for this game, I think I have to roll with Minnesota. Also, the Packers are 0-4 against teams that currently have at least 10 wins, but 11-0 against everyone else. And unfortunately for Green Bay, the Vikings fall into that first category. PICK: Vikings 30-27 over Packers Atlanta (8-7) at Washington (10-5): The Falcons could throw a wrench in the NFC playoff race with a win here. Not only would it take them one step closer toward clinching the NFC South, but it means the Commanders would likely be in a spot in Week 18 where they have to win just to make the postseason. The good news for the Commanders is that I don’t think there will be any wrench-throwing. In this battle of rookie quarterbacks, I think Jayden Daniels outduels Michael Penix Jr. PICK: Commanders 30-23 over FalconIf you want to check out the rest of my picks for Week 17, be sure to click here.
4. Ranking the teams best equipped to stop the Chiefs from a three-peat
The Chiefs might not look invincible this season, but the fact of the matter is that they’re 14-1 and just one win away from clinching the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC. If they get the top seed, it’s going to be tough to stop them from making another Super Bowl run, but there are teams out there who could do it.
Chris Trapasso decided to take a look at the team that are best equipped to stop Kansas City in the playoffs, and here are the top four teams on his list:
1. Vikings. “Offensively, the Vikings bring it with a wide array of options, headlined by superstar Justin Jefferson. Then there’s Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson. And even ...
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Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( NFL picks and best bets for the Christmas doubleheader, plus Saints-Packers grades and Prisco’s Power Rankings )
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