Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Friday newsletter where I would like to start with some big news: For the first time in 18 years, the New England Patriots aren't going to win at least 10 games.
As you've probably heard by now, the Patriots lost to the Rams 24-3 last night, which means the best they can do this season is 9-7. The last time the Patriots didn't win at least 10 games came all the way back in 2002 and I'll be honest, the only thing I remember about 2002 is that I may or or may not have listened to N'Sync three hours per day for the entire year. OK, I actually did do that, I just didn't want to admit it right away, I wanted to feel you guys out first.
As for the Patriots, their streak of 17 consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins is an NFL record and I'm guessing no one will ever catch them. The previous record was held by the 49ers, who had 16 straight seasons with double-digit wins (1983-1998). Other than that, no one has even had 10 straight seasons.
Anyway, I'm going to stop talking about the Patriots because we're going to talk about them in the rundown, along with Tom Brady's new house and a bunch of other fun things, so let's get to the newsletter. As always, if you want to share this newsletter with everyone you know, I will not be offended. Just click here to grab the link and then send that link to everyone on your email list.
1. Today's Show: Recapping Rams' big win over Patriots
The Rams' win over the Patriots was so ugly on Thursday night that I couldn't muster any words to talk about it, so I decided to recuse myself from the podcast. With me out, Will Brinson and Ryan Wilson invited on noted Patriots homer Tyler Sullivan to take my place. Fun was had by all.
Before we get to the meat of the podcast, let's go over a few highlights from the Rams' 24-3 win.
- Cam Akers steamrolled the Patriots defense. If the Rams had wanted to, they probably could have gone the entire game without throwing a single pass and that's because Akers had his way with the Patriots defense. The running back had 41 YARDS on the Rams' opening drive and things only got uglier from there for New England. Overall, Akers ended up carrying the ball 29 times for 171 yards, which was the second-highest rushing total that any Rams player has had since 2006 (Todd Gurley rushed for 208 in 2018).
- Patriots red zone offense was ugly. The Patriots had four trips inside of the Rams' 20-yard line in this game and they came away with zero touchdowns. The first trip ended when Cam Newton threw a 79-yard pick-six to Kenny Young. Two other trips ended after the Patriots went for it on fourth down and failed. The other trip ended with a field goal from Nick Folk, so at least they got those points. As bad as this game was for New England, if they had shown any competence in the red zone, they might have been able to keep it close.
- Rams defense smothered Cam Newton. The Rams have one of the best pass rushes in football and that pass rush smothered Cam Newton. Every time Newton dropped back to pass, he had a new defender in his face. Overall, Newton ended up getting sacked four times in the game and that number would have been higher, but he got benched in the fourth quarter for Jarrett Stidham, who ended up getting sacked twice himself. In news that won't surprise you, Aaron Donald led the Rams by recording 1.5 of their six sacks.
After the loss, two main topics that came up on the podcast were Cam Newton and the Patriots' playoff chances. Cam hasn't been great this season and he seems to be getting worse. As for New England's playoff chances, they're basically dead, which means we should all pour one out for the Patriots' playoff streak, which is about to end after 11 consecutive years.
To listen to today's episode -- and subscribe to the podcast -- be sure to click here.
2. Today's show Part II: Picking Week 14 games
The best part about Friday -- besides the fact that it's Friday -- is that you get two episodes of the podcast in your feed. After the recap of the Thursday game, Brinson had Wilson and Sullivan's internet disconnected so that they couldn't join him for the Week 14 picks podcast. With those two out of the picture, Brinson needed some other people to chat with, so be brought in Pete Prisco, R.J. White and Kenny White for a discussion about their best bets and picks for Week 14.
The guys spent nearly 60 minutes going over the best bets for every single game being played in Week 14 and we're going to cover three from each guy below.
Will Brinson
Giants (+1.5) to cover against the Cardinals
Bills (-2.5) to cover against the Steelers
Vikings at Buccaneers OVER 52.5
Pete Prisco
49ers (-3) to cover against Washington
Ravens (-2.5) to cover against the Browns
Cowboys at Bengals OVER 42
R.J. White
Bears (+1) to cover against the Texans
Colts (-3) to cover against the Raiders
Steelers (+2.5) to cover against the Bills
Kenny White
Packers (-7.5) to cover against the Lions
Titans (-7.5) to cover against the Jaguars
Vikings (+6.5) to cover against the Buccaneers
To hear what the rest of the best bets are for Week 14 -- and there are quite a few -- be sure to click here so you can listen to the entire episode of the podcast.
3. Steelers, Bills and Packers can all clinch a playoff berth this week
If the Bills make the playoffs this year, it will mark the first time in more than 20 years that they'll have made the playoffs in consecutive seasons. That drought could end as soon as Sunday and that's because the Bills are one of three teams that could clinch a playoff berth this weekend.
Let's take a quick look at a few of the clinching scenarios for each team. I'm not going to mention any of the scenarios that involve ties, but if you're interested in those scenarios, feel free to click here. If you do click over, be sure to bring your TI-83 calculator, because things get complicated when you include clinching scenarios that involve ties.
Steelers
Easiest way to clinch: Beat Buffalo.
Other ways: Raiders lose to Colts OR Dolphins lose to Chiefs OR Titans lose to Jaguars.
There's a good chance the Steelers will have already clinched a playoff berth before they even take the field on Sunday night and that's because they just need one of three teams to lose. For instance, if the Chiefs beat the Dolphins, then Pittsburgh is in, and I'll be honest, I think the Chiefs are going to beat the Dolphins. The Steelers can also clinch the AFC North title in Week 14, but that will only happen if they win AND the Browns lose to Baltimore.
Bills
Easiest way to clinch: Beat Steelers AND Ravens lose AND Dolphins lose AND Raiders lose AND Patriots lose
There's only one way the Bills can clinch a spot in Week 14 and it involves five things going their way. Although that seems highly unlikely, the Patriots have already lost, which means the Bills only need four more things to happen. With the Dolphins playing the Chiefs and the Raiders playing the Colts, it won't be surprising at all if we get to Buffalo's Sunday night game and the Bills still have a chance to clinch a berth.
Packers
Easiest way to clinch: Beat Lions AND Seahawks beat the Jets.
Other ways: Beat Lions AND Cardinals lose to Giants
All the Packers have to do to clinch a playoff spot is beat the Lions and then hope that the Seahawks can take care of business against the Jets. Usually, I'd say that's simple enough, but with the Seahawks right now, who knows if they can beat anyone? The Packers could also clinch the NFC North title with a win combined with a Vikings loss or tie to the Buccaneers.
Divisional notes
AFC West: The Chiefs can win the AFC West on Sunday with a win over the Dolphins. If they somehow lose, they could also win the division if the Raiders lose to the Colts.
NFC South: The Saints could win the NFC South on Sunday with just a win over the Eagles. New Orleans could also clinch if the Buccaneers lose to the Vikings.
4. Marshawn Lynch might come out of retirement?
Like most of you, I go to Conan O'Brien for all of my breaking NFL news and if you were watching on Wednesday night, Conan definitely delivered. During an interview with Marshawn Lynch, O'Brien asked Beast Mode if there's any chance he might come out of retirement to play this season and let's just say that Marshawn didn't rule out the idea.
"If the situation is right, then I mean, it could happen," Lynch said. "I've been asked the question by a couple teams here recently. Like, 'Are you ready?' I'm ready if you all are Super Bowl ready. That's what it would take me to come out, to come and play again. It would have to be a guaranteed Super Bowl game for me."
The most interesting thing here is that Lynch has apparently already talked to a couple of teams and as you can tell by his comments, he pretty much only has one stipulation for any team that wants to sign him: They have to be a Super Bowl contender. So I think that rules out the Jets.
As for every other team, if Lynch is truly only willing to sign with a team that has a great shot of getting to the Super Bowl, then his short list of teams would likely include the Chiefs, Saints, Packers, Steelers and Rams. Of those five teams, the Steelers are probably the most in need of some help at running back.
The obvious option would be the Seahawks and the wild-card option I feel like would be the Bills. Lynch was originally drafted by the Bills back in 2007 and they're definitely one team in contention this year that could potentially use a veteran presence in the backfield.
5. NFL Week 12 picks
This is the final newsletter of the week, which means I feel morally obligated to cram as many picks as possible into this space. I crammed down an entire Hot Pocket while watching the game last night, so I know I'm good at cramming.
With that in mind, we've got more Week 14 picks coming your way and those will be coming from Will Brinson, Jonathan Jones and CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora. 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.
- Will Brinson: Giants (+2.5) at Cardinals. After watching the Giants beat the Seahawks in Week 13, Brinson is officially on their hype train. Although there's a 50% chance that train could crash into a brick wall this week, Brinson is sticking with the G-men and predicting a second straight upset. PICK: Giants 17-14 over Cardinals. For the rest of Brinson's Week 14 picks, be sure to click here.
- Jonathan Jones: Cowboys (-3.5) at Bengals. In the Andy Dalton revenge game, Jones isn't picking the Cowboys because of Dalton, he's picking against the Bengals because he doesn't trust Zac Taylor and Brandon Allen, which makes two of us. PICK: Cowboys win (Money line: +190). For the rest of Jones' Week 14 picks, be sure to click here.
- Jason La Canfora: Washington at 49ers (-3). Although Brison jumped on the Giants bandwagon, La Canfora will not be doing the same thing for Washington following the Football Team's upset of the Steelers in Week 13. After playing on Monday, Washington has to fly across the country on a short week to face the 49ers, which is usually a recipe for disaster. PICK: 49ers win and cover. For the rest of La Canfora's Week 14 best bets, be sure to click here.
6. Tom Brady apparently moving to Miami
There's a reason older people tend to move to Florida after they retire and that reason is because of the weather. After 20 years in New England, Tom Brady finally got a taste of the Florida weather and let's just say he likes it so much that he might not ever leave the state again.
So Tom, would you ever consider moving back to the New England area or even to New York, where you once owned a $40 million apartment?
"You won't catch me dead living in the Northeast anymore," Brady said this week. "I'm loving the warm weather and it's been a great feeling."
Basically, I think this means that if Brady plays until he's 50, he'll only consider playing for your team if you're located in Florida, California or Phoenix.
"It's amazing just to be at this point in the season and to still be outside practicing today. It turned into a beautiful day and I know we have a warm one coming up on Sunday," Brady said. "I always came down to Florida late in the year – we always played the Dolphins [because] they were in our [division]. It was pretty tough to adjust to. Just being in it really prepares you for the heat because it definitely takes a toll if you're not used to it."
It appears Brady and his family will be making their permanent home near South Beach. According to one report, Brady and Gisele just dropped $17 million to buy a property in an area known as "Billionaire's bunker" in Miami. I was thinking about living there too, but if that's going to happen, I'm probably going to have to start a GoFundMe.
7. The Kicker!
If you're a Patriots fan, there wasn't much reason to watch the game after halftime last night, EXCEPT FOR JAKE BAILEY, who had one of the best punting performances of the 2020 NFL season. Not only did Bailey average 51.7 yards on six punts, but he also uncorked a 71-YARD PUNT in the third quarter, which is the second-longest punt of the NFL season (Buffalo's Corey Bojorquez currently has the longest punt of the year at 72 yards).
Heading into Week 14, Bailey has arguably been the best punter in the NFL this year. Not only does he lead the league in net yardage (46.1), but if that number doesn't go down, he'll break the NFL record for highest net punting average (46.0), which was set by Johnny Hekker in 2016. Honestly, at this point, I only tune in to Patriots games for the punts.
Speaking of punts, I'm punting on the rest of this newsletter. See you guys Monday!
