Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
The NFL postseason is finally here! Over the next three days, we’re going to see a total of six playoff games and I’m excited for every single one of them. And just to make things interesting, the NFL moved the Vikings-Rams game to Arizona, which makes it the first playoff game in 88 years to be relocated.
We’ll be taking a closer look at that Rams-Vikings game, including how the relocation could impact the Rams’ home-field advantage. Also, since the playoffs are starting, we’ll be bringing you plenty of picks today, plus we’ll also be unveiling our All-Pro team and ranking every Super Bowl possible.
By the way, if you need a reminder of when each game will be kicking off this weekend, you can go here to check out the entire postseason schedule. The fun starts at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday with Chargers at Texans on CBS, Paramount+ and Nickelodeon.
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. Let’s get to the rundown.
1. NFL moves Vikings-Rams to Arizona: Four things to know
With wildfires raging through Southern California all week, the NFL decided to move the Vikings-Rams game out of Los Angeles. The game will now be played in Arizona at State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Cardinals. Although the location is changing, the time (8 p.m. ET) and date (Jan. 13) will remain the same. This will be the first neutral site playoff game in the Super Bowl era that’s not a Super Bowl.
Here are four things to know about the change:
- Rams are losing home-field advantage, but they might still have an advantage. This matchup will now be going from a home game for the Rams to a neutral-site game and it’s impossible to know which fan base will have a bigger turnout in Arizona. Rams fans will have the first crack at buying tickets, so it’s certainly possible that the Rams could keep their “home-field” advantage. Tickets will go on sale to Rams season-ticket holders at 1 p.m. ET today and they’ll have to two full hours to snap up tickets before the NFL opens things up to the general public, which will come at 3 p.m. ET.
- Rams playing in familiar surroundings. Although the Rams won’t be playing at home, State Farm Stadium might be the next best place for them. The Rams have gone 9-1 in their past 10 games played at the stadium, but that one loss did come this season. As for the Vikings, they’ve only played in the stadium twice over the past 10 years and they lost both games with the most recent setback coming in 2021.
- Oddsmakers now like Minnesota even more. Although it’s not clear who will have home-field advantage, the oddsmakers definitely think this move favors the Vikings. Minnesota was listed as a one-point favorite at most sportsbooks before the move was announced, but just minutes after the game was moved to Arizona, the Vikings shot up to a 2.5-point favorite at most books.
- Moving an NFL playoff game is rare. This will mark the first time in 88 years that the NFL has moved a playoff game to a different city. The last time it happened came during the 1936 season when the NFL Championship game between the Boston Redskins and Green Bay Packers got moved from Boston to New York City. However, this will mark the second year in a row that the NFL playoffs have been impacted by Mother Nature. Last year, a wild-card game between the Steelers and Bills got moved from Sunday to Monday due to a snowstorm in Buffalo.
Not only do both teams have to travel to Arizona for this game, but the winner will also be on a short week for the divisional round, so if the Vikings or Rams make it to the Super Bowl, they’ll definitely have earned it.
2. One reason each team can win the Super Bowl
There are 12 teams playing this weekend and we want to give EVERY fanbase a reason for optimism, so we had Bryan DeArdo come up with one reason why each team can win the Super Bowl this year. Do the Texans have a chance to win it all? Probably not, but DeArdo almost has me convinced that it’s possible.
Let’s check out his reason for optimism for four different teams (two from each conference):
- Texans: Formidable pass-rush duo. “The Texans are known more these days for their offense, led by quarterback C.J. Stroud, but it’s the duo of pass rushers Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. … The duo led a Texans pass rush that finished the season one sack shy of 50. Houston’s pass rush will be vital this weekend against Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who, like Anderson, battled through his own injuries earlier this season.”
- Steelers: Best kicker in the playoffs and strong defense. “Pittsburgh’s season has been full of ups and downs, but two constants have been Chris Boswell and a defense that has been among the league’s best when healthy. Boswell is coming off arguably his best regular season to date that included his second Pro Bowl selection. The Steelers’ defense, which was without several key players during the team’s late-season swoon, should be near full strength on Saturday.”
- Rams: Life on the edge. “It’s safe to say that the Rams are built for the pressure cooker that is the NFL playoffs. Of the Rams’ 10 regular-season wins, eight came in one-score games. The Rams won in a multitude of ways, too, which is another reason why Sean McVay’s team will be a tough out.”
- Commanders: Jayden Daniels magic. “Football is a team sport, but it’s hard to not focus on Daniels when looking at the Commanders’ playoff prospects. Daniels has enjoyed a historic rookie campaign while leading Washington to its first playoff berth since 2020.”
DeArdo came up with one Super Bowl-winning reason for each team in the playoffs, and you can check out his full list here.
3. Wild Card Weekend picks from your five favorite writers
It’s officially time for your favorite part of the Friday newsletter, which is where I round up five NFL writers and we all make some picks for the upcoming week. Just in case you’ve forgotten, our five writers are: Pete Prisco, Will Brinson, Jordan Dajani, Tyler Sullivan and myself. During the final week of the regular season, we closed things out with a winning record, going 3-2 both straight up and against the spread, which means we’re now 46-44 ATS and 51-34 straight up on the season.
I’ve told everyone they have to be better for the playoffs and they’ve all agreed to try at least 19% harder, except for me, I will be trying 110% harder, because that’s all I know.
If you’re new here, here’s how things work: I’ll give you one pick from each writer and then direct you to the rest of their picks. That way, if you like their pick, you’ll be able to click over and check out all of their Wild Card Weekend picks, but if you hate their pick, you can ignore the rest of their picks and move on with your life.
- Pete Prisco — Chargers (-3) 27-20 over Texans. From Prisco: “The Chargers have the top-ranked scoring defense in the league, which will make this a challenge. I think their pass rush will be an issue against C.J. Stroud’s offensive line. Justin Herbert will play well and find a way to win his first playoff game. ” For the rest of Prisco’s wild-card picks, be sure to click here.
- Tyler Sullivan — Ravens (-9.5) 33-17 over Steelers. From Sullivan: “From Week 11 to Week 18, the Ravens gave up the fewest points per game in the NFL (15.4), the fewest total yards per game (261.7), and opposing teams converted just 30% of their third downs, which put the Ravens at the top of the NFL in third down stops. Match that against a Steelers offense that is limping into the playoffs, and we’re in for an AFC North blowout.” For the rest of Sullivan’s wild-card picks, be sure to click here.
- Will Brinson — Rams (+2.5) to beat Vikings. From Brinson: “These two teams already squared off once this year, with Matthew Stafford posting one of his best games of the season. Stafford threw four touchdowns, averaged over 8 yards per pass attempt and completed 75% of his passes against Brian Flores’ defense earlier this year, including an impressive 9 of 12 against the blitz. The Rams’ key starters are fully healthy and they got a week of rest, essentially a bye. Kevin O’Connell’s an incredible coach but Sean McVay is too — I’d give the Rams the advantage at both coach and quarterback in this matchup.” You can check out the rest of Brinson’s best bets for Wild Card Weekend here.
- Jordan Dajani — Bills 26-21 over Broncos (+8.5). From Dajani: “The Bills are one of two teams in the Super Bowl era to go an entire season without losing the turnover battle (2011 Packers), while the Broncos have not lost the turnover battle since Week 9. … I think this matchup could be like the Bills’ Week 16 win over the Patriots — close, even though it felt like Buffalo was always going to win. If that doesn’t happen, hopefully Nix can get us a backdoor cover.” For the rest of Dajani’s wild-card best bets, be sure to click here.
- John Breech — Buccaneers (-3) 30-27 over Commanders. “The Bucs had five games this season against the three worst rushing defenses in the NFL and they went 5-0 in those games and they outscored their opponents by an average of 37.8 to 20.6. In related news: The Commanders had one of the three worst rushing defenses in the NFL. If you can’t stop the run, the Bucs have shown that they can dominate you. I’m not sure they’ll dominate here, but I do think they win.” For the rest of my wild-card picks, be sure to click here.
For more Wild Card Weekend picks, you can check out out our CBSSports.com picks hub here.
4. Ranking every possible Super Bowl, from the one we want to see the most to the one we don’t want
With 14 teams in the playoffs, that means there are 49 possible Super Bowl combinations heading into Wild Card Weekend, so Will Brinson decided to rank EVERY single one of them, 49-1.
First, let’s take a look at the one Super Bowl he DOES not want to see:
- Steelers vs. Commanders: “Look, Jayden Daniels in the Super Bowl his first year would be wild and Steelers fans would travel like crazy but aesthetically I’m not sure this is what we’re looking for, I’m sorry.”
I thought for sure that Texans vs. anyone would be at the bottom of Brinson’s list, but I was wrong.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a look at his top five most preferable Super Bowls:
1. Bills vs. Lions. “Two all-time fanbases, accustomed to years of losing, neither with an actual Super Bowl victory. New Orleans filled with rabid Bills and Lions fans would be incredible and the matchup is just as good.”
2. Ravens vs. Lions. “Major, major shootout potential here with all the explosive weapons on both sides. The Ravens defense has improved significantly down the stretch but I’m not sure anyone is slowing down the Lions’ lethal offensive attack. Conversely, the defensive injuries to Detroit would likely allow Lamar Jackson to cook.”
3. Chiefs vs. Lions. “We’ve seen these two square off before, with Detroit winning the opener in K.C. The ultimate “Final Boss” for the Lions as they try to win their first ever actual Super Bowl.”
4. Ravens vs. Eagles. “The first-ever ALL BIRD Super Bowl, the pressure and stakes for Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts would be incredible here.”
5. Chiefs vs. Eagles. “A rematch from two years ago that delivered an incredible Super Bowl plus the added bonus of Andy Reid once again taking on his old team at the highest level looking for a threepeat.”
If the Bills and Lions play, it would mark the first time since 1999 that both teams in the Super Bowl have never won a Lombardi Trophy, so that seems like a solid game to have at the top of the list. As I said, Brinson ranked all 49 Super Bowl possibilities and you can check those out here.
5. CBS Sports All-Pro Team: Lions and Ravens dominate the list
With the regular season officially in the books, that means it’s time to hand out some awards and we’re going to start that today by naming our All-Pro Team at CBS Sports.
We had 13 writers vote on the All-Pro team and based on their votes, the Lions and the Ravens came out the biggest winners. The Lions landed the most players on our All-Pro team with seven, including three first-teamers. The Ravens had the next most with five, including three first-teamers. The Chiefs were the only other team that had three first-team All-Pros.
Let’s check out the CBS Sports All-Pro offense:
OFFENSE
QB: Lamar Jackson (Ravens)
RB: Saquon Barkley (Eagles)
WR: Ja’Marr Chase (Bengals)
WR: Justin Jefferson (Vikings)
WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown (Lions)
TE: Brock Bowers (Raiders)
LT: Tristan Wirfs (Buccaneers)
LG: Joe Thuney (Chiefs)
C: Creed Humphrey (Chiefs)
RG: Chris Lindstrom (Falcons)
RT: Penei Sewell (Lions)
If you want to check out our full list of All-Pros, you can do that here.
The NFL’s All-Pro list is voted on by Associated Press and it was also released today (You can check it out here). The most notable part of the AP’s All-Pro team is that Lamar Jackson beat out Josh Allen for the title of first-team quarterback by getting 30 votes compared to Allen’s 18. The AP also votes on the MVP, so that would seem to indicate that Jackson is now the clear front-runner to win MVP this year. That award will be announced at NFL Honors next month.
6. Extra points: NFL reveals home teams for 2025 games in London
It’s been 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.
- Three teams headed to London. The NFL has revealed the three home teams for the London games that will be played in 2025. The Browns, Jets and Jaguars will all host one game in England. The league will also be playing in Spain and Germany in 2025, but the home teams for those games weren’t announced. The NFL is expected to play eight or nine international games next season, so there will definitely be a few more announcements coming. For the full details on the London games, you can check out our full story here.
- Mike McCarthy could return to Cowboys. McCarthy’s contract officially expires on Jan. 14, so the Cowboys could let him walk, but it appears they’re interested in keeping him. According to NFL.com, the two sides have opened talks about a possible extension. You can check out our full story on McCarthy’s future here.
- Deshaun Watson tears his Achilles again. For the second time in 12 weeks, Watson has torn his Achilles. The second injury happened recently while Watson was recovering his original Achilles tear, which he suffered in October. Due to his latest injury, it seems highly unlikely that he’ll be able to play in 2025. You can read our full story on Watson here.
- Zay Flowers out for Ravens-Steelers game. The Ravens offense won’t be at full strength on Saturday night and that’s because Zay Flowers, who injured his knee in Week 18, has been ruled out. Not only was Flowers Baltimore’s leading receiver in 2024 with 1,059 yards, he was the only pass catcher on the team to finish with more than 760 yards, so this will definitely create a hole in Baltimore’s passing game. You can read more about Flowers’ situation here.
- Snoop Dogg to host NFL Honors. The NFL has been hiring a celebrity host for the NFL Honors show for the past few years, and this year, that celebrity host will be Snoop Dogg. The NFL Honors show, which is where the league hands out every award from MVP to Coach of the Year to Rookie of the Year, will be taking place on Feb. 6 at 9 p.m. ET from New Orleans.
- Raiders to interview Pete Carroll. The former Seahawks coach has been a busy man. After interviewing with the Bears on Thursday, Carroll is planning to interview for the Raiders’ head-coaching job next week, according to ESPN. There are coaching interviews going on every day around the league and if you want to keep that tabs on all of them, you can do that here by heading to our coaching tracker.
