Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
There were two quarterbacks who threw five touchdown passes on Sunday (Lamar Jackson and Jared Goff), but no one is talking about them today because everyone is talking about Josh Allen. For the second straight week, Allen put on his Superman cape, but this time around, the Bills actually won.
Allen totaled 430 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Bills to a wild 48-42 win over the Lions. I'm not sure he's locked up the MVP yet, but I feel like they can start engraving his name on the trophy. In other quarterback news, the Chiefs are dealing with a nightmare situation this week after Patrick Mahomes suffered an ankle injury against the Browns. Everyone on the team will now be crossing their fingers and hoping that Mahomes doesn't have to miss any time.
We'll be taking a look at Allen's historical performance, plus breaking down whether the Chiefs should be worried about Mahomes. Plus, we'll he handing out some Week 15 grades and naming some winners and losers.
Also, I would like to point out that we saw three teams clinch a playoff berth on Sunday: The Steelers, Texans and Vikings. The Steelers got in even though they lost and the Vikings got in without playing (They don't play until tonight).
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. Signing someone up makes a great birthday present, which I'm only mentioning because it's my sister's birthday. Happy Birthday, Ruth! Alright, let's get to the rundown.
1. NFL Week 15 grades: Colts and Chargers choke in big games
Every Monday, we hand out grades, so that's exactly what we're going to do right now. Here's a look at the grades from two notable games played Sunday:
Broncos 31-13 over Colts (Click here for full recap)
- Colts takeaway: The scoreboard says this was a blowout, but the Colts might have been able to run away with this game if Jonathan Taylor didn't pull off the most inexcusable mistake of the season. Taylor appeared to score a TD on a 41-yard run in the third quarter to put Indy up 20-7, but he let go of the ball before crossing the goal line, which led to a touchback for Denver. The Colts offense never seemed to recover from that mistake with three turnovers, three punts and two failed fourth downs on their final eight possessions. The Colts defense played great football for two quarters and if they had been given a 20-7 lead, there's a very real chance Indy would have won. Taylor didn't just cost the Colts a win; he might have cost them a playoff berth. Grade: D
- Broncos takeaway: When you have a rookie QB, they're eventually going to play like a rookie and Bo Nix did that on Sunday with three interceptions against the Colts. However, the Broncos were still able to come away with the win thanks to a defense that forced five turnovers. The biggest one came from Nik Bonitto, who picked off a backward pass (which is technically a fumble recover) and returned it 50 yards for a TD to put the game out of reach. The Broncos have had one of the best defenses in the NFL all season, and Anthony Richardson had no chance against them. The Colts QB threw two interceptions while being held to just 172 yards. The Broncos defense was especially impressive during a second half where they pitched a shutout while forcing four turnovers. The Broncos will now be hoping that Nix got this bad performance out of his system, because when he plays efficient football, the defense is so good that this team becomes tough to beat. Grade: B+
Buccaneers 40-17 over Chargers (Click here for full recap)
- Buccaneers takeaway: The Buccaneers pulled off one of the most impressive wins of Week 15, and they did it by destroying the Chargers. This was a game where everything was clicking for Tampa Bay: Bucky Irving kept things moving on the ground (117 yards), Baker Mayfield was solid through the air (288 yards, four touchdowns) and Mike Evans was unstoppable (nine catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns). The Buccaneers pass-rush dominated the Chargers offensive line with three sacks (Lavonte David had two of those) and Jamel Dean became the first player to pick off Justin Herbert since Week 2. The Buccaneers have control of the NFC South, and this team has proven it can beat anyone with wins over the Lions, Eagles and Chargers. The Bucs could be a dangerous team if they make the playoffs. Grade: A+
- Chargers takeaway: The Chargers shot out to a 17-10 lead, but everything fell apart after that. Things were especially ugly during a second half where Los Angeles only put up 65 yards while getting outscored 27-0. The Chargers' rushing attack wasn't working, Justin Herbert threw an interception for the first time since Week 2 and the defense had no answers for Mike Evans. The Chargers also came up empty on every big play, going a combined 0-for-8 on third and fourth down. This loss hurts, but the Chargers will have a chance to quickly rebound with a huge game in Week 16 against the Broncos. Grade: F
As for the other 24 grades I handed out in Week 15, you can check those out by clicking here.
2. NFL Week 15 winners and losers: Josh Allen looks like the MVP
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, and we're going to check out his winners below.
WINNERS
- The Eagles offense (Eagles 27-13 over Steelers). "Saquon Barkley didn't break off any crazy runs against the Steelers, but it didn't matter, because the Jalen Hurts-led passing game got all the way back on track, despite the off-field hubbub in the lead-up to the matchup. A.J. Brown once again made all the layups over the middle, and DeVonta Smith also shined moving the chains with a heavy workload. It was a total package despite an early turnover on a Hurts fumble, confirming the Birds as a legitimate contender, now 12-2 on the year."
- Jayden Daniels (Commanders 20-19 over Saints). "The Commanders star looked like an Offensive Rookie of the Year again, leading his squad in both passing and rushing to guide a tight win despite also absorbing eight sacks from the Saints' front. With close to 300 scrimmage yards, he was the heartbeat of Washington's must-win matchup, keeping the Commanders firmly in the wild-card race with his trademark fluid athleticism."
- Josh Allen's MVP case (Bills 48-42 over Lions). "Lamar Jackson did his very best to get back in this race for the Baltimore Ravens, tossing five touchdowns in a rout of the Giants, but the Bills' best player showed up for a second straight road game, this time against the powerhouse Detroit Lions, and lit up Aaron Glenn's defense, not only through the air with more than 360 yards but a couple of scores as a runner. The Lions clawed back to make things close late, but Allen's dominance made it so that Motown had too deep a hole to overcome."
If you want to see Cody's list of losers, be sure to click here.
3. 14 crazy stats from Week 15: Josh Allen makes history again
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 stats about the games that were just played.
With that in mind, here are 14 crazy stats about Week 15:
- Bills are lighting up the scoreboard. With their 48-42 win over Detroit, the Bills have now scored at least 30 points in eight straight games, which is tied with multiple teams for the longest single-season streak in NFL history. The last team to pull it off was the Broncos, who did it in 2013. The Rams once scored at least 30 points in 14 straight games, but that was over two seasons.
- Bills join exclusive club. The Bills scored 48 points against Lions in a game that came one week after they lost to the Rams, 44-42. That makes Buffalo just the second team in NFL history to score 40 points and allow 40 points in consecutive games. The 1966 Giants also managed to do this.
- Josh Allen makes history again. After making history last week, Allen was at it again this week. In Buffalo's win over Detroit, Allen became the first player in NFL history with at least two touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns in consecutive games. He also became the first player in league history to have at least two TD passes and two rushing touchdowns in three games in a single-season.
- Lions invent new way to lose. In Detroit's loss to Buffalo, Jared Goff finished with 494 yards and five passing touchdowns, making him the first QB in NFL history to lose a game where he threw for at least 400 yards with at least five touchdowns. Before Goff's game, quarterbacks were 16-0 all time with those stats. Goff is also the first player in NFL history with four career games with at least 400 passing yards, four touchdown passes and no interceptions. Goff had been tied with Joe Burrow, Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers, who all did it three times.
- We got a scorigami. The Bills' 48-42 win over the Lions marked the first time in NFL history that a game has ever ended with that exact final score. It will now go down in the books as the 1,090th unique final score.
- Chiefs still haven't topped the 30-point mark. The Chiefs have won 13 games this year despite the fact that they still haven't topped 30 points in a single game (They've scored exactly 30 twice, but haven't gone over that). They're the first team to hit 13 wins without scoring at least 30 points in a game since the 1925 Frankford Yellow Jackets. For the season, the Chiefs are one of just four teams that has yet to top 30 points in any game (The Patriots, Raiders and Giants are the others).
- It's never sunny in Philadelphia for the Steelers. The Steelers haven't won a game in Philadelphia since 1965 and that streak continued on Sunday with their 11th straight loss in Philly over the past 59 years.
- Jalen Hurts joins exclusive club. Hurts has the Eagles on a 10-game winning streak for the third time in his career. That makes him just the fifth QB since 1950 to have at least three career winning streaks of 10 games or more, joining John Elway, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.
- Davante Adams goes off in the second half. The Jets receiver finished with 198 yards against the Jaguars and the shocking part is that every single one of those yards came in the second half. It was the biggest second half performance by a receiver since 1994 when Irving Fryar went off for 211 yards during a second half while playing for the Dolphins.
- Bengals win ugly over Titans. The Bengals' 38-27 win over the Titans saw the two teams combined for 10 turnovers and 26 penalties, which marks the FIRST time in NFL history that two teams have combined for at least 26 penalties and 10 turnovers. It also marked the first game with at least 10 combined turnovers since a Lions-Vikings game in 2007.
- Joe Burrow sets Bengals record. With three TD passes against the Titans, Burrow now has 36 for the season which breaks his old franchise record of 35.
- Giants hit rock bottom. With their 35-14 loss to the Ravens, the Giants have now lost nine straight games, which tied the franchise record for longest losing streak. They could set the all-time record with a loss to the Falcons in Week 16. They're also 0-8 at home for the first time in franchise history.
- Action Jackson. The Ravens QB had a huge game against the Giants, completing 21 of 25 pass attempts (84 percent) for 290 yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions while also tacking on 65 rushing yards. With those numbers, Jackson became the first player in NFL history with five touchdown passes, at least 50 rushing yards and a completion percentage of 80 or higher in a regular-season game. Jackson also became just the second QB in NFL history to reach 6,000 rushing yards. At 6,001, he trails only Michael Vick (6,109) in the NFL record book.
- Mark Andrews sets Ravens' TD record. With a touchdown catch against the Giants, Andrews now has 49 in his career, which is a new franchise record for the Ravens. Andrews had previously been tied with Jamal Lewis for the all-time mark.
If you see any other fun facts, feel free to tweet them at me.
4. Patrick Mahomes injury: Chiefs QB unsure if he'll be able to play in Week 16
Everyone in Kansas City will be holding their breath his week as they wait to hear the latest updates on Patrick Mahomes. The superstar quarterback suffered an ankle injury during the fourth quarter of Kansas City's 21-7 win over the Browns.
Here's what you need to know:
- How he got injured. Mahomes got sandwiched by two Browns defenders on a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter. As soon as the hit happened (You can see it here), it was pretty clear that Mahomes was in pain. Not only did he limp off the field, but he used a cart to get around outside the locker room at one point following the game.
- Severity of the injury. CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones has reported that Mahomes is dealing with a high ankle sprain. According to Jones, Mahomes is currently week to week, but that could change after he's evaluated today.
- Mahomes has no idea if he'll be able to play in Week 16. Mahomes' ankle isn't going to have much time to heal and that's because the Chiefs have a short week due to the fact that they're playing on Saturday against the Texans. "It's hard to say right now,'' Mahomes said of his status for Week 16, via ESPN. "You still [have the] adrenaline rolling and usually it's kind of the day after when you kind of get a good sense of it."
- Why the injury is coming at an inopportune time. Not only do the Chiefs have to play on Saturday (Dec. 21), but they have to turn around and play another game four days after that on Christmas against the Steelers. Even if he's able to play, Mahomes' ankle is going to have to survive two games in five days starting on Saturday. The only upside is that he'll get 11 days off to heal after the Christmas game.
The Chiefs have already clinched the AFC West and they need to go just 2-1 to clinch the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC. The top seed comes with a bye week and it's a bye the Chiefs will definitely need if Mahomes enters the postseason with a banged-up ankle.
If this injury is serious and Mahomes has to miss even one game, that could have a huge impact on how the AFC playoffs shake out. You can check out our full story on Mahomes' injury here.
5. Monday night preview: Picks and best bets for 'MNF' doubleheader
For the fourth and final time this season, the NFL is throwing a curveball at us by giving us a doubleheader tonight. 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.
The first game of the doubleheader will feature Chicago (4-9) at Minnesota (11-2) in a game that kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Here's one reason why each team should be feeling confident going into tonight:
- Why the Bears can win: The Bears went toe to toe with the Vikings in a 30-27 overtime in loss in Week 12 and if they want to pull off the upset, they'll probably need a similar performance. In that game, Caleb Williams threw for 340 yards and most importantly, he didn't turn the ball over. The Vikings thrive on forcing turnovers: They're 9-0 this season when forcing two or more in a game, but just 2-2 when they force one or zero turnovers. If the offense plays smart football and Williams has another big game, the Bears should be able to keep this close.
- Why the Vikings can win: When it comes to playing on the road, the Bears are the worst team in the NFL at 0-6, so the Vikings can probably play the slow game here and just let the Bears beat themselves. The Bears are 0-5 this season when their opponent throws for at least 230 yards, so if Sam Darnold can hit that number, that should put Minnesota in a good spot to win. When Darnold is playing well, that opens up the rest of Minnesota's offense, so don't be surprised if the offense has a big game, especially since it will be going up against a Bears defense that's surrendering 30.3 points per game over the past three weeks.
You can get a full preview of the game from Jared Dubin by clicking here. The Vikings are a 7-point home favorite against the Bears.
In the second game, we've got the Raiders (2-11) hosting the Falcons (6-7) at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Here's one reason why each team should be feeling confident going into tonight:
- Why the Falcons can win: Kirk Cousins has been struggling over the past four weeks, but if there's one team he might be able to fix things against, it's the Raiders. The Raiders are surrendering an average of 27.8 points per game this season, which is the second-most in the NFL. They've also struggled to stop the run, which means this could be a game where the Falcons get back on track by getting Bijan Robinson involved early and often. If Robinson gets going, that will take a lot of pressure off Cousins, who's thrown eight interceptions and zero touchdowns over his past four games. The good news for Cousins is that he won't have to worry about Maxx Crosby, who's out for the season.
- Why the Raiders can win: The Raiders won't have Maxx Crosby defense and they're possibly going to be down to their third-string QB on offense (Desmond Ridder will start if Aidan O'Connell can't go), but they might be able to win this if they can get after Kirk Cousins. The Falcons are 0-4 this season when Cousins throws multiple interceptions in a game and based on how he's played over the past four weeks, that's something that Raiders could certainly force him to do tonight.
You can get a full preview of the game from Cody Benjamin by clicking here. The Falcons are currently a 5.5-point road favorite against the Raiders.
If you're thinking about betting on the games, here are a couple of props I like:
- ONE PROP I LIKE FROM BEARS-VIKINGS: Sam Darnold OVER 252.5 passing yards (-115 at BetMGM): Over the past three weeks, Darnold is averaging 304 passing yards per game and he's gone over 330 yards in two of three games in that span. That includes a Week 15 performance where he threw for 330 yards against the Bears. I don't necessarily think he'll hit that number again, but even if he has a 75-yard drop-off from his first game against the Bears, he'll still hit the Over here.
- ONE PROP I LIKE FROM FALCONS-RAIDERS: Bijan Robinson OVER 115.5 rushing + receiving yards (-115 at BetMGM): With Kirk Cousins struggling, I have to think the Falcons will be going all Bijan Robinson all the time tonight. Robinson has gone over 100 scrimmage yards in seven of his past right games and I won't be surprised if the Falcons give the Raiders a heavy dose of their star running back.
- ONE KICKING PROP I LIKE TONIGHT: Will Reichard OVER 7.5 points (-105 at BetMGM): This prop kind of scares me because Reichard has gone 0-for-3 on field goals in his past two games. However, the Vikings have a high-powered offense, so he should get plenty of scoring opportunities, and my gut tells me that Reichard has gotten the bad kicks out of his system, so let's hope my gut is right on this one.
And in case you're wondering, my props are now 35-28 on the season (18-12 on kicker props and 17-16 on all other props).
The guys over at SportsLine also have a full betting preview for both games. You can check out Falcons-Raiders preview here while the preview for Bears-Vikings is here.
Of course, we also have some picks for tonight, so let's get to those.
PICKS FOR THE 'MNF' DOUBLEHEADER
BEARS-VIKINGS PICKS
My pick: Vikings 31-17 over Bears
Dubin's pick: Vikings 24-13 over Bears
Prisco's pick: Vikings 33-17 over Bears
FALCONS-RAIDERS PICKS
My pick: Falcons 24-13 over Raiders
Cody's pick: Falcons 26-17 over Raiders
Prisco's pick: Raiders 21-20 over Falcons
Over on our CBSSports.com picks page, our eight NFL experts are unanimously taking the Vikings and Falcons to win, but we are not unanimous about whether they'll be able to cover.
6. Extra points: Geno Smith injures knee
It was 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.
- Geno Smith status up in the air. The Seahawks QB injured his knee on Sunday night, and right now, it's not clear if he's going to miss any time. Coach Mike Macdonald said the knee will be tested today and after that happens, the team will have a better idea about whether Smith will have to miss any games. The Seahawks are in the thick of the NFC West race, but it could be tough to win if Smith is forced to sit out. You can read more about Smith's injury here.
- Lions decimated with injuries: Not only did the Lions lose a shootout with the Bills on Sunday, they might have lost three key players for the rest of the season, including star RB David Montgomery and DT Alim McNeill. You can read about Montgomery's injury here and the banged-up Lions defense here.
- 49ers set to suspended De'Vondre Campbell. There's a good chance that Campbell is never going to play another down for the 49ers. The team is expected to suspended him for three games, according to multiple reports. The 49ers could have released him, but then he could have ended up with a contender, so the team decided to suspend him, which means he won't be paid over the final three weeks.
- Belichick inquired about the Jets' coaching vacancy. Before taking the North Carolina job, Bill Belichick called the Jets about their job. The Jets obviously showed no interest, which is why Belichick ended up at UNC. If I were the Jets, I might have brought Belichick in for an interview, but the Jets are the Jets and they decided to pass on talking to the coaching legend. You can read more about the situation here.
- Browns plan on bringing back GM and coach. The Browns are having a bad year, but head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry won't be losing their job over it. CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones has reported that both men will be returning in 2025. Deshaun Watson is also expected to return, but there is a question about whether he'll be the starting quarterback.
- Randy Moss battling cancer. The NFL legend revealed over the weekend that he's been receiving treatment for cancer that was found outside his bile duct between his pancreas and liver. Moss shared the news in a video on social media and you can see his full comments here.
