LAS VEGAS -- Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
Things are heating up here in Vegas and I definitely mean that metaphorically and not literally, because it's cold and rainy here. As a matter of fact, I've been here since Sunday morning and I haven't seen the sun a single time, but that doesn't matter, because you don't need to see the sun in Vegas. All the fun stuff happens indoors, and that was the case last night at Super Bowl Opening Night.
In today's newsletter, we'll be covering every thing that happened at Opening Night, plus I'll finally be unveiling my Super Bowl pick. Speaking of myself, if you want to see me in video form this week, the higher-ups decided to give me an hour each day to talk about the Super Bowl with Ryan Wilson and Will Brinson and we'll be doing it in PRIMETIME. Our show will be coming to you at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and you can watch for free on CBS Sports HQ by clicking here.
Alright, I'm done promoting myself, let's get to the rundown.
As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. All right, let's get to it.
1. Today's show: Reaction from Super Bowl Opening Night
Super Bowl week officially kicked off on Monday with Super Bowl Opening Night, which was held at Allegiant Stadium. Ryan Wilson, Will Brinson and I were all in attendance and we spent today's episode of the podcast breaking down what we saw.
Here's a small sample of what we talked about.
- 49ers fans are everywhere. There were just over 23,000 fans in attendance and our estimation is that roughly 80% of them were 49ers fans. Every time the Chiefs did ANYTHING, they got booed. If you want an idea of how bad things got for the Chiefs, just click here so you can hear how loud the 49ers fans got with their boos at one point while Travis Kelce was talking. If Super Bowl Sunday is anything like tonight, then the 49ers will definitely have home field advantage.
- Taylor Swift talk dominates. In what ended up being the least surprising thing of the night, both Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes were asked plenty of Swift questions. After watching Swift win a few Grammys on Sunday, Kelce said he needs to match her by winning some hardware of his own. Kelce was also asked about the possibility of proposing to Swift if the Chiefs' win, but basically ducked the question by saying that he's only focused on one right right now.
If you want to hear our full conversation about Super Bowl Opening Night, then be sure to listen to today's show by clicking here. You can also WATCH today's episode on YouTube by clicking here. And if you want to see a picture of the ridiculous jacket I wore to Opening Night, you can see that here.
2. Super Bowl Opening Night takeaways
With more than 100 players and coaches being interviewed on Monday night, it's hard to keep track of everything that happened, but we get paid to do that for you, so that's what we did. Here are some of the most notable stories and quotes that came out of Super Bowl Opening Night.
- Shanahan not worried about the 49ers' practice field. The 49ers aren't thrilled with their practice field at UNLV, but they've decided not to do anything about it. "Not worried about it at all -- it is what it is," Shanahan said on Monday, via NFL.com. "We here, we won't change anything." The 49ers think the field is too soft, which is an assessment that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell didn't agree with when he got asked about it on Monday (more on that later).
- Mahomes declined to talk about his dad's arrest. With Patrick Mahomes Sr. getting arrested for a DUI on Saturday, Mahomes knew he'd be asked about it on Monday night, and he was ready with a short, simple answer when the subject game up. "It's a family matter, so I'll keep it to the family," Mahomes said, via PFT. "That's all I have to say." Despite the arrest, a judge in Texas has ruled that the elder Mahomes is allowed to attend the Super Bowl.
- Charvarius Ward talks some trash. The former Chiefs corner, who now plays for the 49ers, was asked "what's it like being on the 49ers instead of the Chiefs?" Ward then gave a simple answer, "It's better over here in every way possible." I feel like Patrick Mahomes is now going to go out of his way to throw every one of his TD passes over Ward on Sunday.
- Mahomes not thinking about catching Tom Brady. If the Chiefs win on Sunday, Mahomes will take one step closer to catching Tom Brady for the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history, but that's not something he's even thinking about, and that's mainly because, even with a win, he'd still be four Super Bowls behind the NFL legend. "I'm not even close to halfway, so I haven't put a lot of thought into it," Mahomes said. "I mean your goal is to be the best player that you can be and I know I'm blessed to be around a lot of great players around me."
- Kadarius Toney finally comments on his bizarre rant. The Chiefs receiver went on a wild rant the night before the AFC title game, but apparently, his rant was NOT directed at the Chiefs. Tony said someone edited the sound to make it sound like he was going after the Chiefs when he was really bashing the Giants. "I got interrupted so it got like a mixed message behind it, I guess you could say," Toney said, via PFT. "Then, a lot of footage got chopped up in the release, so it made it like I was attacking doing what I love the most. ... I never attacked the Chiefs, never said anything about the Chiefs. Who I was referring to was the Giants fans and the people in my comment box, not even on my live recording, so you wouldn't even know they were there."
- Jason Kelce might not be retiring. Travis Kelce was asked if he thought his brother would be playing next season: "I think so," Kelce said. "I'm not a betting man, but I think he has some football left in him." There was a report that Jason Kelce was going to retire, but now, it seems like that decision is still very much up in the air.
If you want to see our full takeaways from opening night, be sure to click here.
3. Breech's Super Bowl LVIII pick: Chiefs go full dynasty mode in dominating win
I'm not sure if there's a glitch in the Matrix, but I'm starting to feel like there's a glitch in the Matrix, because this Super Bowl is giving me a serious case of deja vu:
- We're getting a rematch from four years ago.
- We have the same referee as four years ago (Bill Vinovich).
- We have the same two head coaches as four years ago, marking just the fourth time in NFL history that we've had a coaching rematch in the Super Bowl (The coach that lost the first game has never won the second game).
- And Brock Purdy has a career record of 21-5, which is the same exact career record that Jimmy Garoppolo had in 26 starts with the 49ers going into Super Bowl LIV with the Chiefs.
Is history going to repeat itself? Let's get to the pick.
- Chiefs (+2) vs. 49ers: The 49ers were definitely the more dominant team during the regular season, but that has flipped during the playoffs. San Francisco has looked beatable in two postseason games while the Chiefs have been destroying everyone. The problem for the 49ers is that they haven't been able to stop the run in the playoffs and I think the Chiefs are going to try to exploit that. If the Chiefs get their run game going, that will open things up for Patrick Mahomes. If that happens, it's game over for the 49ers, especially when you consider that the Chiefs are 15-2 over the past two seasons in any game where they rush for at least 100 yards and Mahomes throws for at least 200 yards. History always tends to repeat itself and I don't want to pick against history, so not only am I picking the Chiefs, but I'm predicting the same final score that we saw four years ago. PICK: Chiefs 31-20 over 49ers
For a way more in-depth look at my pick that includes about 2,000 more words, be sure to click here.
And if you need me, I'll be heading straight to the nearest sportsbook here in Las Vegas so that I can bet on my Super Bowl pick.
4. News and notes from Roger Goodell's annual Super Bowl press conference
Every year, Roger Goodell holds a press conference at the Super Bowl, and for some reason he decided to hold it on Monday this year. Not only did this mark the first time that he had ever held the press conference on a Monday, but it was also an invite-only event and I DID NOT get an invite. Thanks, Roger.
Fortunately for us, Tyler Sullivan was keeping tabs on the press conference. Here are his biggest takeaways from Goodell's talk.
- Goodell says 49ers practice fields are fine. The NFL commissioner did NOT agree with the notion that the 49ers practice fields weren't in great shape. "We had 23 experts out there. We had the [NFLPA] out there. All of them think that's a very playable surface," Goodell said. "It's softer than what they have practiced on, but that happens. It's well within all of our testing standards. It's something that we think all our experts, as well as neutral field inspectors, have all said unanimously that it's a playable field." It sounds like the Goodell thinks the 49ers are crying over spilled milk.
- Goodell wants the kickoff to stay in the game. Over the past 15 years, the NFL has made a lot rule changes to the kickoff in order to make it a safer play. Although there's been some speculation that the league might eventually get rid of the kickoff, it doesn't sound like that will happen under Goodell's watch. The commissioner said the NFL needs to "find a way to keep the kickoff in the game," which is good news for special teamers. "It's an exciting play, it's important for us, the same as punts, but when you see a higher injury rate for that play, you can't ignore that," Goodell said, via PFT.
- The Super Bowl won't become a streaming-only event. With the NFL holding a streaming-only playoff game this year, there are some TV executives out there who think the Super Bowl will eventually become a streaming-only game. However, Goodell said that won't be happening under his watch.
- NFL is willing to use technology to make officiating better. Goodell complimented NFL officials for doing a good job, but he also added that the league is more than willing to embrace technology if it helps the officiating crews do a better job. "I think our officials do a great job," Goodell said. "They are superior. But at the end of the day, no one's perfect. Whether it's all of us that watch the games or play the games, coach the games or the officials, we have to continue to try to get better. We have to work to use technology where we can to try to improve their performance."
If you want to read Sullivan's full takeaways from Goodell's press conference, be sure to click here.
5. Eagles are headed to Brazil
For the first time ever, the NFL will be holding a regular-season game in Brazil, and we now know more details about that game.
Here's what you need to know:
- Eagles are headed to Brazil. The Philadelphia Eagles will be the home team, which means they'll be headed to a foreign country for a game for the first time since 2018. Six years ago, the Eagles played the Jaguars in a London game.
- Brazil game will be a rare Friday opener. The game in Sao Paulo will officially be the second game of the 2024 NFL season and that's because it's going to be played on a FRIDAY (Sept. 6) in Week 1. It will mark the first time the NFL has held a Friday game in the opening week since 1970.
- Possible opponents. The NFL didn't announce who the Eagles will be playing, but we know there are nine possible options: Giants, Cowboys, Commanders, Panthers, Falcons, Packers, Steelers, Browns and Jaguars. The Jags and Panthers are already scheduled to play an international game in 2024, so it seems unlikely they'd be sent. Also, the NFL hasn't scheduled a divisional international game since 2019, so that could take all of the NFC East teams off the table, which leaves us with four options: Falcons, Packers, Steelers, Browns. Out of those four, the Falcons went to London last year, so I don't feel like they'll get the nod. My early guess would be Cleveland, but we won't find out for sure until May.
The NFL will he holding a total of five international games in 2024 and we now know the home teams in each game. Besides the Eagles, we'll also see the Jaguars, Bears and Vikings all host a London game while the Panthers will be hosting a game in Germany.
6. Extra points: Giants have a new defensive coordinator
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.
- Giants hire a defensive coordinator. Nearly one month after parting ways with Wink Martindale, the Giants finally have his replacement. The Giants are set to hire former Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. For more on Bowen's hiring, be sure to head here.
- Rex Burkhead retires. The veteran NFL running back has decided to call it quits after 10 seasons. Burkhead was a solid role player, who made it to the playoffs in five of his 10 seasons, which includes winning a Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2018. Burkhead played for three teams in his career: the Bengals (2013-16), Patriots (2017-20) and Texans (2021-22).
- Fired Packers DC lands job with Dolphins. Less than two weeks after being fired by Green Bay, Joe Barry has already landed on his feet. The former Packers defensive coordinator is being hired by the Dolphins, according to NFL.com. Barry will be the linebackers coach/run game coordinator in Miami.
- NFL Draft rankings. Believe it or not, we're only three months away from the NFL Draft and to celebrate that fact, Ryan Wilson unveiled his Top 50 Big Board, which you can check out by clicking here. Caleb Williams and Marvin Harrison are the top-two players in Wilson's rankings.
