NFL

Steelers make jump into top 10 of Prisco’s NFL Power Rankings, plus Monday grades and Ravens’ historical start

by
SaC Bot
October 22, 2024

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

This is not an ornithology newsletter, but I have to warn you, we’re going to be talking a lot about birds today. For one, we’ll he handing out grades from the two games that were played on Monday night, which were both won by bird teams (Ravens and Cardinals).

Also, we’ll be unveiling Pete Prisco’s latest Power Rankings and those also have a bird theme: The three teams that moved up the most this week are all bird teams.

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. Monday night grades: Ravens earn highest mark of Week 7

We hand out grades for every game each week and that includes the two games that went down on Monday night. Let’s check out the grades from the doubleheader:

Ravens 41-31 over Buccaneers (Click here for our full recap)

Ravens takeaway: We’re not even halfway through the season, but maybe we should just give Lamar Jackson the MVP right now. The Ravens offense was unstoppable on Monday night a lot of that had to do with Jackson. The Ravens QB had five TD passes on a night where he threw for 281 yards while also tacking on 52 rushing yards. Derrick Henry then threw the knockout punch in this game with 169 rushing yards, including 146 in the second half. The Ravens got contributions from almost everyone on offense, including Mark Andrews (two touchdowns) and Rashod Bateman (4 catches for 121 yards). If the Ravens offense continues to play like this, it’s hard to seem them losing many more games this season. Grade: A+
Buccaneers takeaway: When you’re facing the Ravens, you can try and stop Lamar Jackson or you can try and stop Derrick Henry or you can do what the Buccaneers did and stop neither guy. The Buccaneers defense got steamrolled for more than 500 yards, marking the second time this season that they’ve let an opponent reach top 508 yards. Offensively, the Buccaneers looked like they were going to be able to hang with Baltimore in a shootout, but that hope ended after Baker Mayfield threw two ugly interceptions on consecutive possessions in the second quarter, including one that game in the end zone. The scoreboard says this game was close, but it was 41-18 with four minutes left to play. To make matters worse, the Bucs also lost Mike Evans and Chris Godwin to injury. This team has a lot of issues to fix and they won’t have much time to do that with a short week before facing the Falcons in Week 8. Grade: D

The injury to Godwin was a serious one. Coach Todd Bowles revealed after the game that Godwin will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his ankle. Godwin was the team’s leading receiver this season with 576 yards (No one else even had more than 350).

Cardinals 17-15 over Cardinals (Click here for our full recap)

Chargers takeaway: The Chargers literally fumbled this game away. Teair Tart lost a fumble in Cardinals territory after picking off a Kyler Murray pass and that wasn’t even the worst fumble of the night for L.A. because Jalen Reagor lost a fumble that went through the end zone for an Arizona touchback. It was that kind of night for the Chargers. With no rushing attack, Justin Herbert was forced to carry the offense, and although he mostly got the job done with 349 passing yards, the offense couldn’t get the ball in the end zone and that was the difference in the game. All of the Chargers’ points came from Cameron Dicker, who kicked five field goals. Based on how this game went, the Chargers might want to give some serious thought to making a trade for a receiver before Nov. 5. Grade: B-
Cardinals takeaway: This was the Kyler Murray and James Conner show. Murray was actually held in check for most of the game, but then he exploded for a 44-yard TD to put the Cardinals ahead in the fourth quarter. Conner then carried the Cards to a win with 57 of his 152 total yards coming in the fourth quarter, including a 33-yard reception that set up Chad Ryland’s game-winning kick. The Cardinals definitely weren’t flashy, but they made plays when they had to, especially on defense. This was a textbook version of “bend, but don’t break” as the Chargers drove up and down the field, but Arizona kept them out of the end zone. The Cards also kept the Chargers running game in check, holding them to a season-low 59 yards. At 3-4, this team is suddenly very much alive in the NFC West. Grade: B

As for the other 26 grades that we handed out in Week 7, you can check those out by clicking here.

2. Ravens offense is off to historical start: Details on how unstoppable Baltimore has been

The Ravens have now won five games in a row and their offense has been an unstoppable force during that streak. To give you an idea of how unstoppable the Ravens have been, CBS Sports senior researcher Doug Clawson put together a few stats, so let’s check them out.

1. The Ravens are the first team in NFL history to average at least 250 passing yards per game and 200 rushing yards per game in any seven-game span. The Ravens had their most well-rounded game of the season Monday night with 264 passing yards and 244 rushing yards. There have only been six games this season where a team finished with more than 240 rushing yards and the Ravens have three of them.

2. Henry is on pace for an NFL-record 2,120 rush yards this season. Henry has 873 yards through seven games, which puts him on pace for 2,120 yards. If he hits that number, that would top Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105.

3. Lamar Jackson is on pace to be the first player in NFL history with 4,000 pass yards and 1,000 rush yards in a season. Jackson is easily having the best passing season of his career. Through seven weeks, he has 1,810 yards, which ranks fifth in the NFL. He also has 455 rushing yards, which is not only the highest total for a QB, but it ranks 11th overall in the league. The NFL record for most rushing yards by a running back and quarterback combo is 2,442 and we could see Henry and Jackson break that by Week 13. Dickerson and Rams QB Dwayne Crutchfield set the record in 1984.

If you want to see a few more crazy stats, you can check out Doug’s full story here.

3. Prisco’s Week 8 Power Rankings: Steelers crack top 10

Mike Tomlin’s gamble to start Russell Wilson in Week 7 definitely ended up paying off for the Steelers. Not only did they beat the Jets, but more importantly, they’ve now cracked the top 10 in Pete Prisco’s Power Rankings.

Before we get to Pittsburgh, though, let’s check out the top five teams, which includes one new team this week:

Chiefs (Same as last week)
Lions (Up two spots from last week)
Ravens (Up two spots from last week)
Vikings (Down one spot from last week)
Packers (Up one spot 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 Steelers are now in the top 10. After watching Pittsburgh put up 37 points on the Jets, Prisco rewarded the Steelers by moving them up three spots from 13th to 10th.
It was a big week for birds with the three biggest jumps going to the Eagles, Cardinals and Seahawks, who all moved up four spots. The Eagles made the move from 15th to 11th while the Seahawks were bumped up from 16th to 12th. As for the Cardinals, Prisco moved them up from 23rd to 19th after watching them beat the Chargers on Monday night.
The biggest tumble this week went to the Atlanta Falcons. Yup, another bird team. I told you that we had a bird theme going today. After getting run out of their own stadium in Week 7 during a 34-14 loss to the Seahawks (another bird team), Prisco dropped Atlanta SIX spots from eighth down to 14th.
Now, let’s talk about the worst team in the NFL: The Panthers were at the bottom of the rankings last week and after losing by 33 to Washington (40-7), 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 8 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.

4. NFL trade deadline: Five receivers the Chiefs should target for a deal

It doesn’t seem possible, but the NFL trade deadline is just two weeks from today (Nov. 5). Yes, that also happens to be Election Day, but trades are way more fun to talk about, so we’re going to do that today and we’re going to focus on Kansas City.

One reason Patrick Mahomes is struggling this year is because he doesn’t really have anyone to throw to, so Cody Benjamin came up with a list of several receivers the Chiefs should try to acquire in a trade.

Diontae Johnson (Panthers). “Typically teams don’t trade for a veteran starter and then trade him away the same season, but the Carolina Panthers don’t have Johnson under contract beyond 2024, and at age 28, with no clear quarterback plan in place, he’s a questionable long-term fit.”
Christian Kirk (Jaguars). “It’s unlikely the Jacksonville Jaguars want to forfeit any of their skill weapons while trying to salvage a boom-or-bust year for Trevor Lawrence and Doug Pederson, but Kirk has had curiously streaky usage two years after clearing 1,100 yards as the top target.”
Darius Slayton (Giants). “The sixth-year veteran has occasionally looked like a true No. 1, but the New York Giants offense is stuck in mud, with Daniel Jones flailing behind an embattled line. Besides, Malik Nabers is in tow as the future face of the receiving corps.”

Cody came up with five players who the Chiefs should target and you can see his full list here.

5. Breech’s Week 8 NFL picks: Injured 49ers find a way to beat Cowboys

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 7, I went 10-5, which means I’m now 22-7 over the past two weeks.

All right, I’m going to stop tooting my own horn, because I sound ridiculous. Let’s get to the picks:

Vikings (5-1) at Rams (2-4): Every team that has played the Lions this season has lost their following game. The Vikings played the Lions on Sunday, so obviously I have to pick against Minnesota here. Also, flying halfway across the country on a short week to play a Rams team that should have Cooper Kupp back has me putting the Vikings on upset alert. PICK: Rams 23-20 over Vikings.
Cardinals (3-4) at Dolphins (2-4): There’s a good chance that Tua Tagovailoa will be returning in this game and if that happens, I think he’ll kick-start a Dolphins offense that has basically done nothing since he went down with an injury in Week 2. PICK: Dolphins 30-20 over Cardinals (If Tua doesn’t play, then I’m picking the Cardinals to win)
Cowboys (3-3) at 49ers (3-4): I’m not even sure the 49ers are going to have enough players to field a team, but if they can scrounge together 11 guys to play offense, I think that offense can have some success against a Cowboys defense that’s been pretty bad this year. With Brandon Aiyuk definitely out and Deebo Samuel likely out, the 49ers will need to rely on their rushing attack, which is a good thing, because the Cowboys have been one of the worst teams in the NFL at stopping the run. PICK: 49ers 24-16 over Cowboys.

If you want to check out the rest of my picks for Week 8, be sure to click here.

6. Extra points: Tua Tagovailoa could return this week

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.

Tua Tagovailoa on track to play in Week 8. The Dolphins QB will be practicing this week and if he gets medically cleared to play, then he’ll be the starter on Sunday against the Cardinals, according to coach Mike McDaniel. Tua hasn’t played since Week 2 when he suffered the third known concussion of his NFL career. You can read more about Tua’s situation here.
Jameson Williams facing two-game suspension. This one came out of nowhere. The Lions receiver is facing a two-game suspension for the violating the NFL’s PED policy. This would be the second suspension of his young career. You can get the full details of the suspension here.
Browns add QB to their roster. The Browns now have two healthy quarterbacks on the roster after signing Bailey Zappe off the Chiefs’ practice squad. With Deshaun Watson out for the season and Dorian Thompson-Robinson dealing with a finger injury, Jameis Winston was the only healthy QB on the roster. Kevin Stefanski hasn’t announced a starter for Cleveland’s Week 8 game against the Ravens, but Winston is probably the best bet at this point. You can read more about the Zappe signing here.
Raiders add QB after placing place Aidan O’Connell on IR. The Raiders signed Desmond Ridder off the Cardinals’ practice squad on Monday. Ridder will serve as the backup to Gardner Minshew for the team’s Week 8 game against Chiefs. O’Connell had been the starter, but he broke his thumb on Sunday and is now headed for IR, which means he’ll have to miss at least four games.
NFL uses first Sunday night flex of the season. The Jaguars and Eagles were originally scheduled to play on Sunday night in Week 9, but that game has been booted to 1 p.m. ET. The new Sunday night game will be Colts at Vikings. The Vikings weren’t originally scheduled to play any Sunday night games this year, but the league obviously wanted to showcase them thanks to their 5-1 start. You can read more about the NFL’s decision here.