Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
I hope you like the AFC North, because we’re going to spend a good chunk of time talking about that division in today’s newsletter. And when I say we’ll be talking about the AFC North, I only mean half the AFC North. We’re not going to talk about the Bengals or Ravens, but we will be talking both the Steelers and Browns.
The Browns made the biggest move in Pete Prisco’s Power Rankings this week. How far did they move up? You’ll have to wait to find out. Also, we’ll be covering the Steelers’ big 26-18 win over the Giants. With the victory, the Steelers now hold sole possession of first place in the AFC North.
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.
1. Steelers beat Giants: Grades and notes from Pittsburgh’s Monday night win
The Steelers look like a new team with Russell Wilson. The Steelers QB is now 2-0 as a starter in Pittsburgh after leading his squad to a 26-18 win over the Giants.
Here are our grades from the game:
GIANTS GRADE: B-
The Giants were actually in a position to steal this game, but Daniel Jones committed two back-breaking turnovers in the final three minutes and that’s just been the story of his career: He just hasn’t been good enough. The Giants defense also wasn’t good enough in this game. And really, the Giants haven’t been good enough at anything this season, which is why they’re now 2-6. One of the few bright spots for New York was Tyrone Tracy Jr., who bulldozed through the Steelers defense for 145 yards and a TD before leaving to be evaluated with a concussion in the fourth quarter. The rookie running back, who was taken in the fifth round this year, continues to be an unexpected surprise.
Giants notes
- Giants might want to bench Daniel Jones for Monday games. With the loss, Daniel Jones is now 0-8 as a starter on Monday nights, which is the worst Monday record in NFL history. Jones is also now 1-15 in all prime-time games, which is the worst record for any QB who has made at least 10 prime-time starts.
- Rookie runs through the Steel Curtain. Tracy ended up having one of the best games in franchise history for a rookie. Tracy ran for 145 yards, which was the third-highest total ever for a Giants rookie, trailing only Saquon Barkley (170 in 2017) and Ahmad Bradshaw (151 in 2007). Tracy’s total was also the second-highest ever for the Giants in a Monday game, trailing only Joe Morris’ 181 yards in 1986.
STEELERS GRADE: A-
The Steelers have suddenly turned into an offensive juggernaut with Russell Wilson. Wilson has made two starts and the Steelers have gone over 400 yards in both games, marking the first time in six years that they’ve gone over 400 yards in back-to-back games. Wilson did have a late fumble, but he was mostly sharp (he threw for 278 yards) and did a good job of spreading the ball around with six players finishing with at least two receptions. The offense also got some help from Najee Harris, who has turned into a wrecking ball. Harris finished with 114 yards and has now gone over 100 yards in three straight games. The Steelers also got a huge momentum bump from Calvin Austin III, who scored the first TD of the game with a punt return score in the third quarter. The biggest surprise of the night was that the Steelers defense struggled to slow down the Giants, but despite the struggles, they still came up with some big plays, including a strip-sack by T.J. Watt late in the fourth quarter. This team isn’t flashy, but they win games and that’s all that matters in the NFL.
Steelers notes
- Russell Wilson sets franchise record. With 278 yards against the Giants, Wilson now has 542 over the past two weeks, which is the new franchise record for the most passing yards for a player in his first two games with the Steelers. Wilson broke a record that Earl Morrall had originally set back in 1957 with 504 yards.
- Mr. Monday night. Austin stole the show on Monday with two touchdowns. Not only did he score on a 73-yard punt return, but he also tacked on a receiving TD. That makes Austin the first player since 2010 to record both a receiving TD and a punt return TD in a Monday night game (Devin Hester was the last player to pull off this feat).
Are the Steelers for real? Bryan DeArdo attempted to answer that question, and you can check out what he had to say here (Short answer: Yes).
Finally, you can check out our full takeaways from the game here.
2. Prisco’s Week 9 Power Rankings: Browns make big move
It turns out the best QB on the Browns’ roster just might have been Jameis Winston all along. In his first game as Cleveland’s starter, Winston engineered a huge 29-24 upset over the Ravens, and because of that win, the Browns made the biggest move in Pete Prisco’s Power Rankings this week.
Before we get to Cleveland, though, let’s check out the top five teams, which includes TWO new teams this week:
- Chiefs (Same as last week)
- Lions (Up two spots from last week)
- Bills (Up three spots from last week)
- Packers (Up one spot from last week)
- Texans (Up two spots 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:
- As I mentioned at the top, the Browns made the biggest jump this week. After watching Cleveland stun the Ravens, Prisco rewarded them by moving the Browns up seven spots, from 30th to 23rd.
- The biggest jump in the NFC went to the Los Angeles Rams. Heading into Week 8, this team was thinking about trading Cooper Kupp, but after beating the Vikings, the 3-4 Rams are right back in the thick of things in the NFC West. Thanks to to their win, Prisco moved them up five spots, from 24th to 19th.
- The biggest tumble this week went to the Chicago Bears. All they had to do to pull off a win in Week 8 was stop a Hail Mary and they couldn’t even do that. Classic Bears. Prisco was not impressed with how the game ended for Chicago, which is why he dropped the Bears six spots from eighth down to 14th.
- Now, let’s talk about the worst team in the NFL: The Panthers have been at the bottom of the rankings for the past two weeks and after losing by 14 to Denver (28-14), you probably won’t be surprised to hear that they’re also at the bottom of the rankings this week.
If you want to know where your favorite team ended up in Prisco’s Week 9 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.
3. Ranking new head coaches: Dan Quinn is at the head of the class through eight weeks
There were eight new head coaches hired this offseason, and now that we’ve just finished made it through Week 8, it seems like a good time to rank those coaching hires based on who’s doing the best so far.
Cody Benjamin ranked the hires from first to worst and we’re going to take a look at the top three names on his list.
1. Commanders coach Dan Quinn (Record: 6-2). “There’s little doubt that rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is the biggest reason Washington is a surprise leader in the NFC East, much like C.J. Stroud single-handedly elevated everyone’s stock with the Houston Texans in 2023. Still, Quinn outfitted his young signal-caller with a perfect coordinator in Kliff Kingsbury, and the head coach’s veteran defense has quietly beaten up on inferior foes along the way.”
2. Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh (Record: 4-3). “The former 49ers coach entered a unique situation, bringing a dominant resume to a rebuilding lineup. So far, he’s done about exactly as expected, restoring the Chargers as a tough, respectable challenger in the AFC West.”
3. Falcons coach Raheem Morris (Record: 5-3). “It’s one thing to scrape by each week to stay in the win column. It’s another to earn genuine buy-in from around the locker room. Morris seems to have the pulse of his group, including veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, and they’ve produced some high-wire performances against legitimate opponents, including a sweep of the rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers.”
If you want to see Cody’s full rankings, you’ll have to check out his story here.
4. Grading rookie quarterbacks after Week 8
Our NFL Draft guru Chris Trapasso has been grading the rookie quarterbacks every week this season and after what Jayden Daniels did on Sunday against the Bears, we thought now would be a good time to check in on Chris’ weekly grades.
Let’s take a look at three of his grades:
Commanders QB Jayden Daniels
Grade: B
Season Grade: B
Week 8 summary: “Daniels had his ‘typical’ performance, or what is normal for him when he’s not piecing together a masterpiece. A few moments in which he looks like the rookie that are countered by a few seismic strikes downfield and with his legs. The momentum continues for Daniels from his Hail Mary victory as time expired.”
Broncos QB Bo Nix
Week 8 grade: A-
Season Grade: C+
Week 8 summary: “Against what is probably the worst team in the NFL, Nix looked very comfortable at home. Plenty of typical Sean Payton dump offs and screens, but the arm talent flashed on a few occasions, especially on throws to Sutton and the touchdown to Trautman. Quality start for the rookie.”
It will be interesting to see if Nix’s strong performance carries over to this week when he’ll be facing a much tougher opponent in the Baltimore Ravens.
If you want to see more rookie QB grades from Trapasso, you can check those out here.
5. Breech’s Week 9 NFL picks: Jets shock Texans, Bills take full control of AFC East
Every Tuesday, I unveil three of my weekly picks here in the newsletter and if my picks go anything like they did last week, then you’re going to want to memorize them so you can share them with everyone you know. In Week 8, I went 11-5, which means I’m now 33-12 over the past three weeks.
Of course, no one cares about what I did last week, so let’s get to this week’s picks:
- Texans (6-2) at Jets (2-6): Not only will the Texans be missing Nico Collins for this game, but they likely won’t have Stefon Diggs on the field, either. So they’ll be missing some serious firepower and they’ll be going up against a desperate Jets team that will be trying to save their season. PICK: Jets 23-20 over Texans
- Chargers (4-3) at Browns (2-6): Jameis Winston led the Browns to an upset on Sunday over the Ravens and I think he’s got another one in him. With Nick Chubb and Winston, the offense looks rejuvenated and I won’t be surprised if the suddenly resurgent Browns pull off a shocker here. PICK: Browns 20-17 over Chargers
- Dolphins (2-5) at Bills (6-2): The Dolphins could save their season with a win over the Bills, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. If there’s one team that Josh Allen always manages to dominate, it’s Miami. In his past 13 games against the Dolphins, Allen has gone 12-1. The Bills currently have a 3.5-game lead in the AFC East, and if they win this, they might have the division clinched by Thanksgiving. PICK: Bills 34-27 over Dolphins
If you want to check out the rest of my picks for Week 9, be sure to click here.
6. Extra points: Colts could bench Anthony Richardson
It was a busy 24 hours 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.
- Colts could make QB change. After watching Anthony Richardson complete just 31.3% of his passes in Week 8, it sounds like Shane Steichen is considering sending his QB to the bench. Steichen was asked on Monday if Richardson would be starting this week against Minnesota and he definitely left the door open for a possible benching. “We’re evaluating everything,” the head coach said. The Colts could start Joe Flacco, who’s 1-1 this year as a starter. You can read more about Steichen’s comments here.
- Jordan Love gets positive news with his MRI. The Packers QB got some good news on Monday after an MRI showed that he did not significantly injure his strained groin. Love is now considered day-to-day and there’s even a chance that he could play this week against the Lions. We have the full update on Love’s health here.
- Jets could make a change at kicker. It’s been a ugly year for Greg Zuerlein. The Jets kicker has hit just 60% of his field goal attempts this year, which ranks dead last in the NFL. After watching him miss two more kicks against the Patriots, it looks like the Jets might be ready to move on. The team is going to hold a tryout today that will essentially be a kicking competition. “The beauty of the kicking area, you don’t need the rest that the rest of these guys necessarily need, so we’ll have a competition, bring some guys in and the best guy will play on Thursday [against the Texans],” Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich told the media Monday. This means there’s a very real chance that the Jets will have a new kicker on Thursday.
- Chiefs pull off another trade. The rich get richer. The Chiefs already made one big trade this offseason when they acquired DeAndre Hopkins and they made another one Monday by getting Josh Uche from the Patriots. To make the deal happen, the Chiefs are sending a 2026 sixth-round pick to New England. Uche has two sacks in six games this year. You can read more about the deal here.
- Bengals-Cowboys getting a ‘Simpsons’ alternate broadcast. When the Bengals and Cowboys meet in Week 14, ESPN will be unveiling a new alternate broadcast. The alt cast will feature the “Simpsons,” and if you’re wondering how that will work, all I can tell you is that Bart will be joining the Bengals, Homer will be teaming up with the Cowboys in what will be a live animated presentation. The way these two teams are playing, this might be the only exciting thing about that game. You can get the full details here.
