Urban Meyer under fire in Jacksonville plus Chargers beat Raiders, NFL Week 5 picks, Prisco’s power rankings

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six Newsletter!

We’ll be going into uncharted territory, and that’s mostly because we’ll be covering two things I never thought I’d have to write about: a lightning delay at an INDOOR stadium and an NFL coach who went viral because he decided to go to a bar over the weekend. 

I think the moral of today’s newsletter is going to be “don’t go to bars in Ohio” and “don’t go to indoor sporting events in Los Angeles.” There could be a few other morals, but we’ll figure those out as we go along. 

We’ve got some Week 5 NFL picks for you today plus Prisco’s Power Rankings and a look at the Chargers‘ 28-14 win over the Raiders last night, so let’s get to the rundown.   

As always, here’s your weekly reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the Pick Six newsletter. To get your friends to sign up, all you have to do is click here and then share this link with them. 

1. Today’s show: Recapping the Chargers’ dominating win over the Raiders

If you turned this game off at halftime last night, I can’t blame you. Not only did it start late due to the lightning delay, but the Chargers jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead. Although the Raiders did show some life in the second half, that only lasted for about five minutes. 

Just because there’s a blowout doesn’t mean we get to skip the podcast, though, so we buckled down and recapped the game for Tuesday’s episode. 

Here are three key things from the game that we touched on: 

• Justin Herbert is playing at an MVP level. Before the season started, CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson made the bold prediction that Herbert would win MVP this year, and so far, the Chargers QB is making Wilson look like a genius. Herbert threw for 222 yards and three touchdowns against the Raiders, and those numbers probably would have been higher if this game had been closer. In the first half alone, Herbert completed 20 of 25 passes for 175 yards and all three touchdowns. 
• Austin Ekeler is a true weapon. After the Chargers decided to let Melvin Gordon walk prior to the 2020 season, there was some question about whether Ekeler would be able to shoulder most of the running back load. It may have taken more than a year to get the answer, but right now, the answer appears to be yes. The Chargers running back totaled 145 yards and two touchdowns in this game on just 18 touches.  
• Raiders’ early woes continue. The Raiders might be 3-1, but they’re not going to have a winning record for long if they keep falling on their face out of the gate. For the third time in four weeks, the Raiders fell behind 14-0 to start the game. Although they ended up coming back to beat both the Ravens and Dolphins, there was no comeback to be had here. If they don’t start getting things figured out in the first quarter — they only have five points in the quarter all season — it could be a long year.  

We talked about those three things plus everything else you could possibly want to know about Monday’s game, so be sure to check it out. To listen to today’s episode — and to subscribe to the best daily NFL podcast out there — be sure to click here.

2. Prisco’s Power Rankings heading into Week 5

With only one undefeated team left in the NFL, you can probably guess who Pete Prisco has at the top of his power rankings this week. 

Although the top spot is obvious thanks to the 4-0 Cardinals, the rest of the rankings got jumbled up this week thanks to a wild Week 4 that included the Jets shocking the Titans.  

Here’s a look at Prisco’s top 5 teams heading into Week 5, which includes his new No. 1 team in Arizona. Also, the Browns have officially entered the top 5, which is probably going to make Prisco at least the fourth-most popular person in Cleveland: 

1. Cardinals
2. Packers
3. Buccaneers
4. Bills
5. Browns

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 last week: 

• The biggest jump from any team this week went to the Dallas Cowboys. Prisco moved America’s team up a total of eight spots in his rankings, from 16th to eighth. That’s a win for the Prisco, the Cowboys and America.    
• The biggest tumble in this week’s rankings went to the San Francisco 49ers, who look completely lost at the quarterback position. After their loss to Seattle, Prisco dropped them NINE spots, from seventh down to 16th. The Steelers also took another big tumble, as Prisco now has them as the FIFTH worst team in the league at 28th overall. 
  
  
• The biggest jump in the AFC this week went to three different teams as the Bengals, Colts and Chargers all moved up four spots. The Colts’ jump took them from 26th to 22nd while the Bengals’ move took them from 17th to 13th. On the Chargers’ end, they moved up from 11th to seventh. 
• In news that probably won’t surprise you, the Jaguars are ranked dead last. Not only are they winless, but their coach is in hot water after a video emerged of him over the weekend doing things that NFL coaches don’t usually do in public.      
  
  

If you want to know where your favorite team ended up in Prisco’s Week 5 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. 

3. Breech’s Week 5 picks

It’s Tuesday, and that can only mean one thing: It’s time for my weekly picks. 

Last week, my picks were so bad that I thought about retiring from making picks ever again, but the people have demanded more picks, so I’m going to give more picks. (I’m not sure which people demanded them, but I’m sure they exist.) For Week 4, I went 10-6 straight up and an ugly 5-11 against the spread. I blame Washington and New Orleans. I’ve whiffed on every game those two teams have played this season. 

With that in mind, here are three of my picks for Week 5:  

• Patriots (-9) at Texans: If I’m getting Bill Belichick against a rookie quarterback, I’m taking the Patriots every time. We all know Belichick is a defensive mastermind, and when you put him up against a rookie, it’s almost unfair. That’s like putting me vs. Celine Dion in a karaoke contest. I would get destroyed, which is what’s going to happen to the Texans. Belichick is 10-1 in his past 11 games against rookie quarterbacks, including a 19-point win over Zach Wilson this year and a 45-0 win over Justin Herbert in 2020. PICK: Patriots 23-13 over Texans. 
• 49ers at Cardinals (-5.5): The Cardinals have the highest scoring offense in the NFL, and they’ll be going up against a 49ers team that has, well, I’m not sure what they have. One thing they definitely don’t have right now is any continuity at quarterback. The 49ers are either going to start a hobbled Jimmy Garoppolo or let Trey Lance make his first-career start, and neither of those options is ideal. PICK: Cardinals 30-24 over 49ers. 
• Bills (+2.5) at Chiefs: As we all know, Kansas City has one of the best offenses in football, but the problem for the Chiefs is that they also have one of the worst defenses in football, and I’m not sure they’re going to be able to stop the Bills a single time in this game. The entire population of Buffalo might simultaneously smash themselves through a folding table if the Bills pull off the upset Sunday night, so be on the look out for that if you live near Buffalo because I think the Bills are going to win. PICK: Bills 37-34 over Chiefs.  

To check out the rest of my picks for Week 5, be sure to click here. 

4. One thing we learned about each team in Week 4

Now that all 16 games from Week 4 have been played, CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin decided to wade through the aftermath to figure out what we learned about each team.

Here’s a look at what we learned about five teams: 

• Falcons: The team might stink but Cordarrelle Patterson is for real. “His usage and production have only gone up as the surprising centerpiece of their offense.”
• Ravens: Marquise Brown looks like the No. 1 receiver the Ravens drafted him to be. “It’s been more apparent pretty much every other week, but Marquise Brown is emerging as a true No. 1. What an extension he had for the 49-yard touchdown in Baltimore’s big win.”
• Bengals: Zac Taylor might not be a bad coach. “We’re as guilty as any of writing him off, and there’s still time for a collapse, but he’s sure got Joe Burrow and Co. playing with fight and more cohesion early on.”
• Raiders: Vegas looks lost on offense early in games. “While Derek Carr again showed second-half fight, their offensive strategy needs some work. Josh Jacobs was too often the focal point of the passing game early against the Chargers, and the whole unit took way too long to get going.”
• Chargers: Justin Herbert looks like an MVP candidate. “It’s a crowded one, no doubt, but he was ultra-efficient out of the gate in prime time — enough to let Los Angeles basically go on cruise control for much of a Monday night win over the Raiders.”

If you want to see the one thing we learned about each of the NFL’s 32 teams, you can check out Cody’s entire story by clicking here. 

5. Urban Meyer under fire in Jacksonville

At the rate things are going, Urban Meyer might not make it through the season in Jacksonville. Actually, he might not even make it through the week. The Jaguars coach is dealing with somer serious blowback following the release of a video that showed him cozying up to a woman at an Ohio bar over the weekend. 

Meyer is currently in some hot water with the Jaguars, and here’s a look at where things stand right now: 

• Front office isn’t happy with Meyer. According to former NFL GM Michael Lombardi, the Jaguars brass has been having some serious conversations about letting Meyer go following his viral video. Although Meyer apologized, another video emerged after the apology that showed that his original apology wasn’t fully truthful. 
• Meyer has already lost the team. According to NFL reporter Mike Silver, Meyer currently has “zero credibility in the locker room, which seems like it could be an issue going forward. One source told Silver, “It’s bad. I don’t know how he’s gonna function.”
• The Jags coach didn’t actually meet with the full team to apologize. According to Silver, Meyer actually canceled a team meeting that was scheduled for Monday. Instead of meeting with everyone, Meyer went to each positional group meeting and apologized there. Players were apparently skeptical of his apology and laughed at his explanation. 
• Meyer still has the support of the owner. Jaguars owner Shad Khan released a statement Tuesday saying he appreciates Urban’s remorse and that he felt the coach’s apology was sincere. However, Khan did add that Meyer is going to have to regain the team’s “trust and respect.” Basically, Khan is supporting his coach, but it will be interesting to see what the team’s next move is if Meyer can’t regain the team’s “trust and respect.”

Once a coach loses his locker room, it’s not easy to get anything done, which is why it wouldn’t be totally shocking if the Jaguars end up making the decision to move on from Meyer at some point down the road. However, Meyer still has the support of the owner, so there’s a good chance he’ll end up sticking around for the near future.  

For more details on what happened over the weekend, be sure to click here. 

6. Rapid-fire roundup

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. 

• David Montgomery will return this season. The Bears running back avoided a major injury Sunday. However, he did sprain his knee, and that’s expected to keep him out for the next five to six weeks, according to ESPN. Under that timeline, Montgomery wouldn’t be back on the field until Week 11 on Nov. 21. (The Bears have a Week 10 bye.)
• Bears make trade with Dolphins. The Bears acquired Jakeem Grant in a trade Tuesday. To land the receiver, the Bears are sending a 2022 sixth-round pick to Miami, according to NFL.com. 
• Jimmy Garoppolo could play Sunday. Although Garoppolo originally said he would likely be out for a few weeks, it seems that’s not the case. According to Kyle Shanahan, the calf injury wasn’t as bad as the 49ers thought, and there’s now a chance Jimmy G could be on the field against the Cardinals this week. Of course, the other possibility is that Shanahan is just playing mind games and that he wants Arizona to prepare for both his quarterbacks. 
• 49ers working out kickers. One injury that was as bad as the 49ers thought was the one to Robbie Gould, who injured his groin. With Gould likely out for the next few weeks, the 49ers worked out several kickers, including Michael Badgley, Brett Maher and Joey Slye, according to NFL.com.    
• Washington trainer being investigated by feds. Washington’s head athletic trainer, Ryan Vermillion, has been placed on leave after it was announced that he’s a part of an ongoing criminal investigation. The DEA is leading the investigation, although it’s not yet clear what specifically Vermillion is being investigated for. The trainer has been with Washington since January 2020. 
• Marcus Maye dealing with DUI arrest. The Jets safety could be facing NFL discipline after it was discovered that he was charged with a DUI in Florida all the way back in February. The case came to light this week because Maye has a court date set for Oct. 20. Maye is also facing a civil suit filed by the driver of the vehicle he hit. The suit is “in excess” of $30,000. For more details on the case, be sure to click here.