Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
As everyone knows, the first big decision any team has to make for the Super Bowl is which jersey color they're going to where and the Bengals and Rams both made that decision Wednesday.
In today's newsletter, we'll let you know what they decided, plus we'll also let you know how successful they've been in the jersey color they'll be wearing. Of course, this isn't a fashion newsletter, so we won't only be talking about uniforms today, we'll be taking a look at who the Vikings will be likely hiring as their next head coach. Plus, we'll have the latest on Brian Flores' damning allegations against Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, so let's get to the rundown.
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1. Today's show: Super Bowl mailbag
With the Super Bowl still 10 days away, we thought we decided to get crazy for Thursday's podcast by doing a Super Bowl mailbag. The premise of this episode is pretty simple: We asked our listeners to shoot in some questions about the Super Bowl and then we proceeded to answer them.
Here's a look at three of the questions we answered on the podcast.
Q: How different do you think the outcome of the playoffs would be if Joe Burrow was on the Rams and Matthew Stafford was on the Bengals?
A: I think the biggest difference here is that the Bengals would have lost to the Titans 57-10 if Matthew Stafford had been their quarterback. When teams are able to get pressure on him without blitzing, Stafford has struggled this year and I'm not sure his 33-year-old body would have survived nine sacks. As for the Rams, I think Burrow is good enough that they probably would have still ended up in the Super Bowl.
Q: Do we think we get another nail-biter of a game to finish out this postseason or does one team just dominate the other?
A: I think we get another nail-biter and that's mostly because the Bengals are a tough team to blow out. Their offense is good enough to keep up in a shootout and their defense is good enough to keep them in a grind-it-out game, so I have a tough time seeing one team destroying the other in this game. Basically, you better plan on gluing yourself to your couch and getting a toilet hooked up in your family room, because you're not going to want to leave your seat once this game starts.
Q: What team is the most likely to pull a Bengals-like turnaround?
A: We actually have a STORY on this in today's newsletter so I won't go into very much detail, but my personal pick here is the Giants. If Brian Daboll can make Daniel Jones just half as good as Josh Allen, the Giants could be really good in the next year or two. (For this question, we only considered teams that won five or less games in 2021).
To listen to today's episode -- and to subscribe to the best daily NFL podcast out there -- be sure to click here. You can also WATCH today's episode on YouTube by clicking here. Watching it is definitely more fun than listening to it.
2. NFL to investigate Flores lawsuit; Hue Jackson also makes damning claims
The lawsuit filed by former Dolphins coach Brian Flores this week included some damning accusations against the NFL and its teams. Although the lawsuit was filed to fight racial discrimination in hiring, Flores also made an allegation against Dolphins owner Stephen Ross that could have some serious repercussions around the league.
According to Flores, the Dolphins owner wanted the team to tank so badly in 2019 that Ross offered Flores $100,000 per loss for the tank, which could be construed as an owner trying to fix a game. As noted by PFT, if that's the case, Ross could potentially be prosecuted for violating the sports bribery act.
Here are the latest details on the situation:
For a closer look at this entire situation, be sure to click here.
3. Vikings appear to have found their new coach
After more than three weeks of searching, it appears the Vikings have finally found their new head coach. According to CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora, the Vikings are set to hire Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell. However, the hiring can't become official until after the Rams' season is over. O'Connell would replace Mike Zimmer, who was fired after compiling a 72-56-1 record over eight seasons in Minnesota.
The hiring of O'Connell means that Jim Harbaugh won't be returning to the NFL this year.
Here's what you need to know about O'Connell:
For more on O'Connell's likely hiring, be sure to click here.
4. Bengals and Rams pick their uniforms for Super Bowl LVI
Even though the Super Bowl is being played in Los Angeles this year, the Cincinnati Bengals will actually be the home team for the game and because of that, the Bengals got to make the first choice on which uniform to wear for Super Bowl LVI.
The Bengals announced their pick on Wednesday and then shortly after that, the Rams also announced which uniform combo they would be wearing.
Here's what you need to know about the uniform selections:
By the way, if you're wondering why the Bengals are the home team, it's because the NFC and AFC alternate that honor every year. Even-numbered Super Bowls go to the AFC, which is why the Bengals will be the home team even though the game is being played in the Rams' stadium.
5. Ranking last-place teams that could make a jump to the Super Bowl in 2022
With the Bengals playing in the Super Bowl this year, that should give a lot of bad teams hope that they might be able to turn things around and get to the big game next year. Just two years ago, the Bengals had the worst record in the NFL, and now they're playing for a Lombardi Trophy. It's been a remarkable season for a team that went 4-11-1 while finishing in last place in the AFC North last year.
With that in mind, our Tyler Sullivan ranked the last-place teams from 2021 that have the best chance of getting to the Super Bowl in 2022.
1. Ravens2. Seahawks3. Broncos4. Giants5. Jets6. Jaguars7. Panthers8. Lions
The top spot on this list is hard to disagree with. The fact that the Ravens finished in last place is still almost impossible to believe. As for every other team on this list, each has some serious questions. One team I would've ranked higher is the Carolina Panthers. With Tom Brady no longer in the NFC South, that division feels wide open and it wouldn't be a total surprise to see the Panthers steal it. I'd probably slot them behind the Broncos and move everyone back a spot.
If you want to check out Tyler's explanation for his rankings, then be sure to click here.
6. Rapid-fire roundup: Saints likely headed to London in 2022
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.