Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter.
The NFL lost a legend on Thursday with the death of Dick Butkus, who passed away just hours before the Bears were set to take the field against Washington. The Bears definitely honored his memory, though, destroying the Commanders by a score of 40-20.
We'll be handing out grades from the game. We'll also be looking back on the life of Butkus, so let's get to the rundown.
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1. Today's show: Best bets for Week 5
If you're a regular listener of the "Pick Six NFL" podcast or a regular reader of this newsletter, then you know what we do on Fridays: We make picks. And then just when you think we're done making picks, we make more picks.
For today's show, Katie Mox was joined by Will Brinson along with R.J. White and Alex "PropStarz" Selelnick -- two of our gambling gurus over at SportsLine -- and the four of them offered some of their best bets for Week 5.
The crew spent an entire hour handing out picks, and we're going to go over a few of their best bets here:
Will Brinson (1-2 in picks we shared here last week, 7-5 on the season)
Falcons (-2) to cover against Texans
Lions (-10) to cover against Panthers
Titans (-2.5) to cover against Colts
R.J. White (1-2 in picks we shared here last week, 4-8 on the season)
Bills (-5.5) to cover against Jaguars
Steelers (+4.5) to cover against Ravens
Patriots (+1) to cover against Saints
Katie Mox (1-2 in picks we shared here last week, 6-6 on the season)
Rams (+4.5) to cover against Eagles
Texans team total over 20.5 points (vs. Falcons)
Jets ML to beat Broncos (+105)
As for PropStarz, he handed out a few of his favorite props for the weekend, because when your nickname is PropStarz, that's what the people expect.
- Titans at Colts: Derrick Henry OVER 75.5 rushing yards (-115)
- Giants at Dolphins: De'Von Achane OVER 50.5 receiving yards (-115)
- Eagles at Rams: Dallas Goedert OVER 33.5 receiving yards (-115)
PropStarz went 2-1 last week and is now 5-7 on the season.
To hear what the rest of the best bets are for Week 5 -- and there are quite a few -- be sure to click here so you can listen to the entire episode of the podcast. You can also watch the episode on YouTube here.
2. Remembering Dick Butkus: NFL legend passes away at 80
The NFL lost a legend on Thursday when Dick Butkus passed away at the age of 80. Butkus is one of the few players who transcended the game while he was still playing.
Here's a few things you may not know about Butkus:
- He only played nine seasons. Butkus became an NFL legend even though he only played nine seasons. The Bears selected him with the third overall pick in the 1965 NFL Draft, and he ended up spending his entire career in Chicago.
- He dominated from the start. During his rookie year in 1965, not only did Butkus make the Pro Bowl, but he was also voted a first-team All-Pro. Overall, he went to the Pro Bowl EIGHT times in nine seasons and was voted a first-team All-Pro in five of his nine seasons. Butkus was also named to the NFL's all-decade team for the 1960s AND THE 1970s. The linebacker was also a member of the league's 75th anniversary team and the 100th anniversary team.
- He was a ball hawk. Although Butkus is mostly remembered for his bone-crunching tackles, he also had a nose for the ball, which is one of the many things that made him great. Over the course of his career, not only did he pick off 22 passes, but he also recovered 27 fumbles, giving him a total of 49 turnovers in just nine seasons.
- Butkus never played in a postseason game. One of the most surprising things that people learn about Butkus is that he never got to play in a postseason game. The Bears only finished with a winning record twice in his nine seasons.
- Butkus went to Hollywood after his NFL career. The linebacker took his larger than life personality to Hollywood after he was done playing. He appeared in more than 10 movies, including "Any Given Sunday." He also appeared on several television shows, including "My Two Dads" and "MacGyver." If you want to know more about his Hollywood career, we covered that here.
If you want to read more about Butkus, be sure to check out our full story on his life here.
3. Thursday night grades after Bears' 40-20 win over Commanders, plus Chase Claypool gets traded
On a day where Dick Butkus passed away just hours before kickoff, the Bears seemed to channel the inner-spirit of their legendary linebacker. The Bears came out on fire in a 40-20 win that was never close. The loss was so ugly for Washington that Commanders co-owner Magic Johnson called the team out after the game.
Here are our grades from Chicago's win:
BEARS GRADE: A+
For the second straight week, Justin Fields player a nearly perfect first half. During the game's first two quarters, Fields threw for 189 yards and three touchdowns as the Bears shot out to a 27-3 lead. Fields ended up throwing for 282 yards with almost ALL of that going to D.J. Moore, who finished with 230 receiving yards and three touchdowns. It was like the Commanders forgot about Moore, who was running wide open nearly all night. As good as the offense was, the biggest surprise for the Bears was the play of their defense. Going into the game, the Bears had only totaled two sacks through four weeks, but they more than DOUBLED that total by picking up five sacks on Sam Howell. This was a masterful performance from a team that looked much better than its 0-4 record.
Bears notes
- Streaks end here. With the win, the Bears snapped several streaks. For one, they ended their 14-game losing streak, which was the longest in franchise history. They also ended their 14-game streak of surrendering at least 25 points, which was the longest in NFL HISTORY. The win also prevented the Bears from starting 0-5 for the first time since 1997. The Bears needed this win big time and they got it.
- I want Moore. The 230-yard game by D.J. Moore was the second-best in franchise history, trailing only Alshon Jeffery, who once finished with 249 yards in a game. However, Jeffery didn't also tack on three touchdowns. With Moore scoring three times, he became the first Bears player since 1954 to finish with at least 200 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
- Bears trade Chase Claypool to Dolphins. It was pretty clear that the wide receiver's time in Chicago was done after he got sent home this week and that became official on Friday. The Bears are shipping Claypool off to Miami, where he'll be joining the Dolphins. The Bears will get a 2025 sixth-round pick in the deal while the Dolphins will get Claypool and a 2025 seventh-round pick. For more on the trade and what it means for both sides, be sure to check out our full story here.
COMMANDERS GRADE: F
The Commanders played so badly that giving them an 'F' is almost too generous. Washington was especially bad in the first half, with the offense and defense both falling on their face to start the game. In the first two quarters, the Commanders totaled just 84 yards of offense against a Bears defense that has struggled all year. Not to be outdone, the defense was even worse, surrendering more than 300 yards in the first half alone. The most embarrassing part of this game for the Commanders is that Sam Howell got sacked five times by a defense that only had two sacks through the first four weeks. As bad as they were, the Commanders had two possessions in the second half where they could have cut this to a one-score game, but they botched both of them: The first one ended with a lost fumble and the second ended with a missed field goal. This was an all-around failure for a team that's suddenly fading fast after a 2-0 start.
Commanders note
- Sam Howell is being sacked at a record pace. The Commanders QB was sacked five times on Thursday night, which brings his season total to 29. Howell is now on pace to be sacked 98.6 times this year, which would smash the NFL record of 76 that was set by Texans QB David Carr in 2002. Of course, that was during a 16-game season, and the sad part is that Howell would still be on pace to smash the record if the Commanders were only playing 16 games. In that case, he'd be on pace to take 92.8 sacks. The Commanders have a serious problem on their offensive line, and there's no quick fix for it.
If you want to check out more of our takeaways from the game, be sure to click here.
4. NFL Week 5 picks: Jets, Pats pick up close wins
I hope you're not tired of reading our picks yet, because we have even more of them coming at you right now. This batch will be coming from NFL senior writer Pete Prisco, along with Will Brinson, Jordan Dajani, Tyler Sullivan and myself. For the second straight week, the five of us combined to go 4-1 against the spread with our picks here. Overall, heading into Week 5, we're a combined 13-6-1 with our picks that have been featured in the newsletter.
Here's how things are going to work: I'm going to give you one pick from each guy and then direct you to the rest of their picks. That way, if you like their pick, you'll be able to read the rest of them, but if they pick against your favorite team, you can ignore the rest of their picks and move on.
- Pete Prisco: Patriots (-1.5) 21-17 over Saints. From Prisco: "These two are both coming off losses where the offenses were horrible. Mac Jones is really struggling for the Patriots, while Derek Carr looked hurt last week. This will be a game dominated by the defenses. At home, give me the Patriots -- even with the bad offense." For the rest of Prisco's Week 5 picks, be sure to click here.
- Tyler Sullivan: Jets (+2) 27-23 over Broncos. From Sullivan: "In Week 4, New York's defense gave Patrick Mahomes fits while starting to look like the shutdown unit we saw last year. What do we think they'll do to Russell Wilson?" For the rest of Sullivan's Week 5 picks, be sure to click here.
- Will Brinson: Falcons (-1.5) to cover against Texans. From Brinson: "Desmond Ridder and Arthur Smith are on the hot seat to a degree, with people wanting Taylor Heinicke and Smith's play-calling at least in question. I think they bounce back here in a surprising spot at home as favorites. The defense shows up in a big way while Ridder moves to 5-0 at home." For the rest of Brinson's Week 5 best bets, be sure to click here.
- Jordan Dajani: Titans (-2) 20-17 over Falcons. From Dajani: "Containing Anthony Richardson as a rusher and forcing him to beat you with his arm down the field is the key for Tennessee defensively, and I have faith in Mike Vrabel to do just that. The Titans are 3-1 ATS this year, so I'll take them here." For the rest of Dajani's Week 5 best bets, be sure to click here.
- John Breech: Bengals (-3) 20-16 over Cardinals. Through four weeks, the Bengals have looked like one of the worst teams in football, which might actually work out in their favor here. If they were 4-0 going into this week, this would definitely be a trap game, but there's no such thing as a trap game when you're 1-3. The Bengals are going to be desperate for a win and I think they get it. For the rest of my Week 5 picks, be sure to click here.
For more Week 5 NFL picks, you can check out out our CBSSports.com picks page here.
5. Bold predictions for Week 5: Ravens blow out Steelers
After giving you some bold predictions last Friday, we thought we'd do the same thing again this week. Garrett Podell has five bold predictions for Week 5, and he's got some pretty interesting ones that just might hit. His best prediction last week was that the Bills would hold the Dolphins under 30 points, and that's exactly what ended up happening with Miami only scoring 28. Garrett also predicted that the Texans would upset the Steelers. Overall, he hit on THREE of his five bold predictions in Week 4.
Here's a look at three of Garrett's predictions for Week 5:
- 1. Jets upset Broncos and Zach Wilson throws multiple TD passes. "This is a bold prediction because Wilson has never had consecutive games with multiple passing touchdowns in his NFL career (He threw two TD passes in Week 4). In fact, he has two passing touchdowns and nine interceptions in his five games following a multi-passing touchdown contest. Wilson will have a positive touchdown-to-interception ratio on Sunday, shredding Denver's defense that ranks last in the NFL in scoring defense (37.5 points per game allowed), total defense (461.5 total yards per game) and yards per play allowed (7.0)."
- 2. Ravens blow out Steelers. "Lamar Jackson is set to play in his first game against the Steelers in 672 days and the Jackson that is set up to take the field in Pittsburgh in Week 5 is on fire. Also, Pittsburgh's offense is cooked under offensive coordinator Matt Canada as their 18.8 points per game since 2021 with him as their OC ranks 28th in the league. Their struggle will continue on Sunday, breaking a longstanding run of fun, competitive affairs with the Ravens, their archrivals."
- 3. Joe Burrow finally completes some long passses. "Burrow is 2-for-22 on throws of 15 or more air yards this season. This is unprecedented for Burrow, as he only had one game without a completion of 15 or more air yards in his first 42 career starts. Now, he has done so in three games in 2023. The prediction here is that Burrow will snap out of it Sunday against the Cardinals by completing at least three passes of 15+ air yards, one of which will go for a touchdown. The Cardinals are allowing the ninth-most passing yards per game in the NFL (242.5), and their 112.5 passer rating allowed on passes of 15 or more air yards is the sixth-highest in the NFL."
Garrett has five bold predictions for Week 5, and you can check out all of them by clicking here.
6. Extra points: Tom Brady's bid to purchase a stake in the Raiders has hit a snag
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.
- NFL still hasn't approved Tom Brady's stake in the Raiders. It's been five months since Brady supposedly bought a piece of the Raiders, but the deal still hasn't gone through. According to The Washington Post, the NFL hasn't approved it because the league is concerned about the discount that Mark Davis is giving Brady. Before Brady can become a minority owner, 24 of the NFL's 32 owners have to approve the deal, and apparently that likely won't happen here unless Davis revises his selling price.
- Von Miller likely playing Sunday It's been 10 months since Miller tore his ACL, and it looks like he's finally ready to return to the field. The Bills star pass-rusher is in London with the team, and after practicing all week, he said there's a 94.5% chance that he's going to play Sunday against the Jaguars.
- Jonathan Taylor likely playing Sunday. According to NFL.com, the Colts running back is expected to play Sunday against the Titans. Although Taylor demanded a trade during the offseason, he said Thursday that he's committed to the team "right now."
- Cooper Kupp likely playing Sunday. The Rams star receiver is expected to make his regular-season debut Sunday against the Eagles, according to The Athletic. Kupp started the season on injured reserve after injuring his hamstring in training camp. The Rams offense has been surprisingly good without Kupp, and with his return, it should only get better.
