Russell Wilson injury update, plus NFL Week 5 picks and recapping the Rams’ victory over the Seahawks

Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six Newsletter!

“Sleepless in Seattle”  isn’t just a movie anymore, it’s also how everyone in the city is going to be feeling over the next few days as they wait for the prognosis of Russell Wilson’s injury. If you didn’t watch the game last night and if you’ve been avoiding the internet all morning, then let me be the first to tell you: Wilson injured one of his fingers during the Seahawks‘ 26-17 loss to the Rams. 

We’ll tell you everything we know about the injury in today’s newsletter, plus we’ll rehash the Rams’ win and make some Week 5 picks. So let’s get to the rundown. 

Remember, your job this weekend is to get as many people you know to sign up for the 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 Rams’ win over the Seahawks

Whenever there’s a prime-time game played in Seattle, things always seem to get crazy and Thursday night’s game between the Rams and Seahawks was no exception. 

The only thing crazier than the game was the podcast we recorded afterward. In today’s episode, we covered every aspect of the Rams’ wild win over the Seahawks. If you missed the game, here’s a quick rehash of what happened and what we talked about on the podcast (We’ll be covering Wilson’s injury further down in the newsletter):

• Matthew Stafford goes off in the second half. For the first two quarters, it looked like the Rams showed up to Seattle without an offensive game plan. However, that all changed in the second half when Matthew Stafford caught fire. The Rams quarterback threw for 234 yards and a touchdown in a half where his team scored 23 points. Stafford’s most impressive drive came in the fourth quarter after the Seahawks cut the lead to 16-14. After that happened, Stafford answered by leading a TD drive where he went 4-for-4 for 71 yards. Stafford ended up throwing for 365 yards in the game and he did all that even though he injured his finger in the first half (it was a bad night for quarterback finger injuries). Robert Woods also had a huge night, catching 12 passes for 150 yards.  
• Seahawks defense is historically bad. Maybe we shouldn’t give Stafford total credit for gashing up the Seahawks defense and that’s because everyone seems to be doing that this season. The Seahawks gave up 476 yards of total offense and they’re now on track to surrender the most yardage in NFL history. The current record is held by the 2012 Saints, who gave up 7,042 yards. The 2021 Seahawks are currently on pace to give up 7,663 yards over 17 games. The ugly thing is that even if the NFL was only playing 16 games this season, the Seahawks would still be on pace to smash the record with 7,212 yards. 
• Michael Dickson pulled off one of the craziest plays you’ll ever see. In what was easily the wildest play of the night and possibly the craziest punt of all time, Michael Dickson pulled off the rare double punt. After the Rams BLOCKED his initial punt, Dickson picked up the ball and started running with it like he was going to go for the first down. After realizing he had no shot to get it, he punted the ball ON THE RUN and somehow got off a 68-yard kick that landed at the Rams’ 11-yard line. You can see the crazy play by clicking here. There’s been a lot of debate about whether the play was legal and the answer is yes. If the ball doesn’t go past the line of scrimmage, you can punt it multiple times. Also, for the punt to be illegal, Dickson’s ENTIRE body has to be past the line of scrimmage and the officiating crew ruled that it wasn’t. You can see the spot where he punted the ball from by clicking here. 

To listen/watch today’s episode on YouTube, be sure to click here (Seriously, you can WATCH the podcast). You can also check out our takeaways from the game by clicking here. 

2. Today’s show Part II: Best bets for Week 5

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 politely asked me and Ryan Wilson to leave so that he could bring in Pete Prisco and R.J. White for a discussion about their best bets for Week 5. 

Actually, Brinson didn’t politely ask us to leave, Wilson had to go to bed and I voluntarily left the podcast so that I could watch a replay of Dickson’s punt, which is what I will probably be doing all weekend. 

Anyway, the guys spent nearly 60 minutes going over the best bets for every single game being played in Week 5 and we’re going to cover three from each guy below.  In their picks last week, the three guys went a combined 7-2 in picks featured here. 

Pete Prisco (2-1 last week in picks featured here)

Bills (+2.5) to cover against the Chiefs

Steelers (-1) to cover against the Broncos

Saints at Washington UNDER 44.5

Will Brinson (2-1 last week in picks featured here)

Panthers (-3.5) to cover against the Eagles

Chargers (-1.5) to cover against the Browns

Packers at Bengals OVER 51

R.J. White  (3-0 last week in picks featured here)

Jets (-3) to cover against the Falcons

Bengals (+3) to cover against the Packers

Buccaneers (-10) to cover against the Dolphins

The three guys also have a parlay they like that pays out +595 and that parlay is: 

• Ravens (-7) to cover against the Colts
• Titans (-4.5) to cover against Jaguars
• Browns at Chargers UNDER 47

That parlay will pay out $595 on a $100 bet.  

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.

3. Russell Wilson injures his finger

Wilson injured the middle finger on his throwing hand late in the third quarter against the Rams and he wasn’t able to return to the game because he wasn’t really able to grip the ball. If you want to see what the finger looked like after the injury, feel free to click here. 

It’s not yet clear if Wilson will miss any time, but obviously, if he’s out for any period of time, the Seahawks will be in trouble. 

Here’s what we know about the injury: 

• Pete Carroll says it’s a bad sprain. Here’s what Carroll had to say about the injury after the game, “He’s got a badly sprained finger that we need to figure out. There’s work to be done in assessing all of that. Russell’s one of the great healers of all time and he’ll do whatever he can to get back as soon as absolutely possible.” 
• The injury might be more than a bad sprain. Wilson is scheduled to have an MRI today, according to NFL.com, but right now, the initial belief is Wilson has mallet finger. According to Dr. Jessica Flynn of the Boston Sports Journal, mallet finger is when there’s “a complete disruption of the tendon that straightens the joint at the tip of the finger.” Flynn noted that “regular people” with this injury usually wear a splint for about eight weeks. 
• Will Wilson miss any games? We don’t know the answer to this question yet, but it could happen. According to multiple medical websites, a sprained finger usually heals in two to six weeks, depending on the severity. Of course, if it’s mallet finger, Wilson could be staring at six to 10 weeks. That being said, those timelines might not apply to Wilson because he might be able to play even if his finger isn’t completely healed. The upside for Wilson is that the Seahawks don’t play again until Oct. 17 (against the Steelers), so his finger will have had a full 10 days to heal. The following week, they play on Monday, so he’ll get an extra day of recovery there. If he sat out just the Steelers game, that would give his finger 17 days to heal. 
• Wilson has never missed a start in his career. One reason why it’s impossible to guess how much time Wilson might miss is because he’s never missed ANY TIME in his career. Since his first start in 2012, Wilson has started in 149 consecutive games, which makes him one of only six quarterbacks in NFL history who have started 149 or more consecutive games.  
• What happens if Wilson is out? The backup quarterback in Seattle is Geno Smith, which I’m guessing most people didn’t know until he took the field on Thursday night. Smith actually played pretty well considering the circumstances: He led the Seahawks on two scoring drives and finished 10 of 17 for 131 yards and a TD, but he also threw a game-ending interception in the final two minutes. Also, Smith had the element of surprise against the defense here — there’s a good chance the Rams didn’t study him at all going into this game because Wilson never gets injured — and he won’t have that element of surprise going forward. 

The Seahawks have a bye in Week 9 and if Wilson has mallet finger, that could end up being the date he eyes for a return. Under that timeline, Wilson would miss games against the Steelers (Week 6), Saints (Week 7) and Jaguars (Week 8) before returning in Week 10 to face the Packers, which would give his finger just over five weeks of recovery time. 

4. NFL Week 5 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 once crammed four Pop Tarts into a toaster that only had two slots, so I know I’m good at cramming. 

With that in mind, we’ve got some Week 5 picks coming your way and those will be coming from Will Brinson, Tom Fornelli and Jonathan Jones along with CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora and CBSSports.com writers Jordan Dajani and Tyler Sullivan. 

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: Bengals 31-28 over Packers (Cincinnati covers +2). I thought I was the biggest Bengals homer here at CBS Sports, but apparently that honor now belongs to Brinson, who is picking them to UPSET the Packers on Sunday. For the rest of Brinson’s Week 5 picks, be sure to click here.
• Jonathan Jones: Saints over Washington (New Orleans -135 moneyline). “No one seems to know what to make of the Saints from week to week or Washington’s defense. I see Alvin Kamara being the ultimate X factor in this game.” For the rest of Jones’ Week 5 picks, plus his insider notebook, be sure to click here.
• Jason La Canfora: Titans over Jaguars (Tennessee covers -4.5). “The Jags can’t make in-game adjustments, they have nothing going for them right now and their defense is going to have its hands full with Derrick Henry. The Jags get worse as the games go on and the Titans will get their play-action stuff going here. This is the perfect bounce-back spot for Tennessee and it will take advantage.” For the rest of La Canfora’s Week 5 best bets, be sure to click here.
• Tom Fornelli: Patriots 23-16 over Texans (Houston covers +9). “It’s important to eat your vegetables. Sure, they don’t always taste as good as the other options, but they’re part of a balanced diet. This week, the Texans are our vegetables. Just hold your nose and shove them down your throat as quickly as possible because as bad as the Texans are, I’m not here to trust a team with Mac Jones at QB as nearly a double-digit favorite on the road.” For the rest of Fornelli’s Week 5 best bets, be sure to click here.
• Jordan Dajani: Panthers 27-23 over Eagles (Carolina covers -7). “The Eagles defense is struggling. Over the last two weeks they rank dead last in the league in average points allowed per game, average rushing yards allowed per game and third-down percentage. I’m going to lay the points with Carolina at home.” For the rest of Dajani’s Week 5 picks, be sure to click here.
• Tyler Sullivan: Cowboys 33-23 over Giants (Dallas covers -7). “While Daniel Jones has looked strong this season, I don’t believe New York has the horses to keep up with Dallas and for what it’s worth, the Giants are also 2-6 ATS in their last eight meetings with the Cowboys.” For the rest of Sullivan’s Week 5 picks, be sure to click here.

5. London keeps getting stuck with bad NFL games

After a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the NFL is headed back to London this weekend and it’s a good thing everyone there seems to love football, because for the 30th straight time, they’re getting a bad game. The NFL has been putting games in London since 2007 and in that time, there hasn’t been a SINGLE GAME where two teams with a winning record faced each other. 

On Sunday, that streak will continue with the 1-3 Jets facing the 1-3 Falcons. In Week 6, London will get to play host to the Dolphins and Jaguars, who are currently 1-3 and 0-4. The games sell out no matter what so I guess the NFL has zero incentive to send good teams abroad, but if I’m a fan in London, I’m a little annoyed that I don’t ever get to see two playoff contenders facing each other. 

Here’s a look at the last five years worth of games in London along with each team’s record at the time of the game (via Pro Football Talk). 

2019: Raiders (2-2) vs. Bears (3-1)

2019: Buccaneers (2-3) vs. Panthers (3-2)

2019: Bengals (0-7) vs. Rams (4-3)

2019: Texans (5-3) vs. Jaguars (4-4)

2018: Seahawks (2-3) vs. Raiders (1-4)

2018: Titans (3-3) vs. Chargers (4-2)

2018: Jaguars (3-4) vs. Eagles (3-4)

2017: Jaguars (1-1) vs. Ravens (2-0)

2017: Saints (1-2) vs. Dolphins (1-1)

2017: Cardinals (3-3) vs. Rams (4-2)

2017: Vikings (5-2) vs. Browns (0-7)

2016: Colts (1-2) vs. Jaguars (0-3)

2016: Giants (3-3) vs. Rams (3-3)

2016: Washington (4-3) vs. Bengals (3-4)

2015: Jets (2-1) vs. Dolphins (1-2)

2015: Bills (3-3) vs. Jaguars (1-5)

2015: Lions (1-6) vs. Chiefs (2-5)

Of the 17 games listed above, there were six games where neither team had a losing record, which is nice, but I’m guessing the people of London would love to get a game like Bills-Chiefs over Jets-Falcons. If England ever declares war on us, it’s going be because of this. 

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. 

• Falcons won’t have Calvin Ridley on Sunday. The Falcons announced that Ridley won’t be traveling with the team to London due to a personal issue, which means Matt Ryan won’t have his favorite target on the field against the Jets. Ridley has 27 catches for 255 yards this season.  
• Buccaneers place Carlton Davis on injured reserve. Richard Sherman might end up getting a few more starts for Tampa Bay and that’s because the Buccaneers have placed starting corner Carlton Davis (quad) on IR. With Sean Murphy-Bunting (elbow) also on IR, the Bucs now have both starting corners on injured reserve and neither guy is expected back anytime soon. 
• Jets reach extension with John Franklin-Myers. The Jets defensive end landed a four-year extension worth up to $55 million, according to ESPN.com. The deal also includes $30 million in total guarantees. Through four weeks, Franklin-Myers already has three sacks, which is tied for the 14th highest total in the NFL. Franklin-Myers was drafted by the Rams in 2018, but has made a name for himself with the Jets. 
• NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith could be on his way out. The NFLPA’s 32 team player representatives will be holding a conference call today at 6 p.m. ET to determine Smiths’ future. If 22 of them vote to keep Smith, then he’ll stay on board, but if he doesn’t get 22 votes, then he’s out and the job will officially become open. 
• Eli Manning finally talks about why he didn’t want to play for the Chargers. Manning was originally drafted by the Chargers in 2004 and if you want to know why he didn’t want to play for them, then you’ll want to click here to read the story. Basically, Manning thought they were a trash organization (My words, not his, but that’s how I interpreted his words). 

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