Grades for 49ers and Seahawks after San Francisco’s big win, plus NFL Week 6 bold predictions

Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

I hope everyone remembers to set their alarms for Sunday morning, because we have another early international game this week with the Bears playing the Jaguars in London at 9:30 a.m. ET. 

If you live on the West Coast, that means you have to be up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 a.m. ET. Speaking of the West Coast, that’s where all the action was last night with the 49ers beating the Seahawks 36-24 in an NFC West showdown. In today’s newsletter, we’ll be handing out grades from that game, plus we’ll be making some bold predictions and taking a look at a Monday night game that might be flexed this year. 

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. 

1. 49ers beat Seahawks: Grades and notes from San Francisco’s big win

After a slow start to the season, the San Francisco 49ers are back where everyone thought they would be: At the top of the NFC West. Thanks to their 36-24 win over the Seahawks on Thursday, the 49ers are now in a first place tie with the Seahawks at 3-3. 

Here are our grades from the game: 

49ERS GRADE: B

One reason the 49ers offense is so dangerous is because it has so many weapons and that was on display in this game. Deebo Samuel finished with 102 receiving yards, George Kittle caught two touchdowns and someone named Isaac Guerendo led the team in rushing with 99 yards. Guerendo, a rookie running back, was forced to play after Jordan Mason suffered a shoulder injury (Mason was able to total 82 yards before leaving the game). Once again, Brock Purdy was the glue guy for the offense: The 49ers QB had a solid night with three touchdown passes. The 49ers also got an impressive performance from a defense that picked off Geno Smith twice. Although Smith was only sacked once, he faced constant pressure from Nick Bosa, which led to an inaccurate night from the Seahawks QB. Going into Week 6, the 49ers had two big problems: They couldn’t score in the red zone and they kept blowing big leads. For one week, they put those problems behind them. This was the kind of performance that could catapult the 49ers into a big midseason run. 

49ers note

• Brock Purdy loves playing the Seahawks. The 49ers QB has now faced the Seahawks five times in his career and he’s now 5-0 against them following Thursday’s win. In those five wins, Purdy is averaging 276.2 yards passing per game while also throwing 12 touchdowns compared to just two interceptions. As a team, the 49ers have now won six straight against the Seahawks.  

SEAHAWKS GRADE: C-

When your QB is struggling and you’re turning the ball over, you’re not going to beat the 49ers, and both of those things happened to the Seahawks on Thursday night. Geno Smith threw an interception on Seattle’s first possession and things didn’t get much better from there. He was especially erratic during a first half where he completed just 50% of his passes (9 of 18). Smith threw two picks on a night where the Seahawks turned the ball over a total of three times, including a fumbled kickoff. The 49ers got 13 points off of those turnovers and that was the difference in the game. The Seahawks rushing attack was non-existent and the defense surrendered nearly 500 yards. Based on everything that went wrong, it was actually impressive that the Seahawks had this down to a one-score game in the fourth quarter. The only silver lining for the Seahawks is that they’ll leave this game knowing they possibly could have won if they hadn’t made so many turnovers. If they can cut down on the turnovers, which has been a problem this year, they might be able to turn around their season after losing three straight games. 

Seahawks notes

• Seahawks might want to bench Geno Smith for Thursday games. With the loss to the 49ers, Geno Smith is now 0-6 in Thursday games, which is tied with Daniel Jones for the worst record in NFL history for any QB with at least five Thursday starts. The Seahawks still have one Thursday game left in Week 17 (at Chicago), so Smith will have one more chance this season to pick up the first Thursday win of his career. 
• Seahawks produce longest kickoff return of the year. Laviska Shenault fumbled away a kickoff in the first half, but he made up for that by returning a kickoff for a touchdown in the second half. His 97-yard return was the longest under the new kickoff rule and just the second return that’s gone for a TD this year (You can see the play here). 

You can check out our full takeaways from the game here. 

2. NFL already eyeing a possible Monday night flex game

This year marks the second season that the NFL is allowed to use flex scheduling for Monday night games and although the league can’t officially flex any Monday games until Week 12, it’s looking like the NFL already has one game under consideration for a possible move. 

• Troy Aikman offers the details. During a recent appearance on “Pardon My Take,” the ESPN announcer said that the league is already looking at the possibility of moving the Broncos-Browns game out of Monday night in Week 13. “We’re at Denver … Cleveland at Denver that may end up being a flex, is kind what it’s looking like,” Aikman said.  
• NFL has more than a month to decide. For Monday games, the NFL has to announce any possible flex at least 12 days before the game, so the league has until Nov. 20 to make a decision. 
• Monday flex rules. When it comes to flexing Monday games, there are essentially three rules: Only Monday games between Week 12 and Week 17 can be flexed, only Sunday afternoon games that kick off in the 1 p.m. ET or 4 p.m. ET windows can be moved to Monday and if the league is going to utilize flex scheduling, the decision has to be made at least 12 days in advance

I think the fascinating thing here is how early the NFL starts targeting possible flex games. The NFL has only flexed one Monday game ever and that came last year in Week 15 when Chiefs-Patriots got the boot for Seahawks-Eagles. You can read our full story on the Monday flexing here. 

The NFL is also allowed to flex Thursday games, but that’s slightly more complicated. The league has to make a decision 28 DAYS before the game, so it’s not an easy move to make, which is likely why we’ve never seen it happen. That being said, the Browns play the Bengals on Thursday in Week 16 and if those two teams don’t turn things around soon, it wouldn’t be surprising if NFL also contemplates moving that game.  

3. Bears owner confirms that Chicago tried to sign Tom Brady

This technically happened four years ago, but it’s new information to all of us now, which is why I’m bringing this up today: The Bears went after Tom Brady in 2020. 

• Brady mentioned this in during one of his recent broadcasts. During a Week 4 game between the Buccaneers and Eagles, Brady casually mentioned that the Bears went after him in free agency. “Chicago was a team — and I never told that story before — they were very stealth in their recruitment, I was seriously considering them,” Brady said. 
• Bears owner confirms the news. During an interview on Thursday, Bears owner George McCaskey was asked about Brady’s comments and he definitely didn’t deny that they went after the seven-time Super Bowl winner. “I do remember we were interested in pursuing him,” McCaskey said. “It didn’t work out for us. Worked out great for him in Tampa.” 
• Bears had an interesting QB situation in 2020. During the 2019 season, the Bears went 8-8 with Mitchell Trubisky. As they headed into 2020, it was pretty clear that they were going to look to add a QB. By going after Brady, that means they were ready to send Trubisky to the bench. After Brady ended up signing with the Buccaeneers, the Bears ended up adding a QB by trading for Nick Foles. Trubisky and Foles led the Bears to an 8-8 record and a wild-card berth in 2020. The Bears also beat Brady’s Bucs in 2020, although Brady would get the last laugh because he ended up winning the Super Bowl. 

Brady might not have won a Super Bowl in Chicago, but he almost certainly would have re-written the team’s record book. The Bears have never had a 4,000-yard passer in franchise history and they’ve never had a QB throw 30 touchdown passes, which are numbers that Brady hit during each of his first two seasons in Tampa Bay.  

4. NFL Week 6 picks: Jaguars pull off upset in London, Broncos beat Chargers

Welcome to your favorite part of the Friday newsletter, which is where I round up five NFL writers and we all make some picks for the upcoming week. Just in case you’ve forgotten, our five writers are: Pete Prisco, Will Brinson, Jordan Dajani, Tyler Sullivan and myself. After going 2-3 in Week 4, we had a slight rebound by going 3-2 in Week 5. That means we’re now 12-13 ATS on the season with the picks that we’ve featured in this part of the newsletter (and 10-12 straight-up). 

If you’re new here, here’s how things work: I’ll give you one Week 6 pick from each writer and then direct you to the rest of their picks. That way, if you like their pick, you’ll be able to click over and check out all of their Week 6 picks, but if you hate their pick, you can ignore the rest of their picks and move on with your life. 

• Pete Prisco — Jaguars (+2.5) 30-27 over Bears in London. From Prisco: “The Jaguars won for the first time last week and Trevor Lawrence played well. … I think both teams will score a bunch. The Jaguars defense has issues that Caleb Williams can attack. In the end, Lawrence will make one more play to win it.” For the rest of Prisco’s Week 6 picks, be sure to click here.
• Tyler Sullivan — Broncos (+3) 21-17 over Chargers. From Sullivan: “I picked the Broncos last week and the same logic applies here: This defense is top tier, tied for the fewest points allowed (14.6) and third-fewest yards per game allowed (271.2) this season. They have the highest blitz rate in the NFL and have tallied the third-most sacks in the league thus far as well. … As long as Bo Nix can remain efficient as he has the previous three weeks (zero interceptions), this winning streak for Denver should continue.” For the rest of Sullivan’s Week 6 picks, be sure to click here.
• Will Brinson — Cardinals at Packers OVER 47.5 total points. From Brinson: “Arizona’s been a fun team this year, and the pace so far in terms of scoring has been impressive. The Packers have looked sharp on offense all season and should be capable of some explosive plays in this matchup with Jordan Love rounding into full health.” You can check out the rest of Brinson’s best bets for Week 6 here.
• Jordan Dajani — Lions (-5) 35-27 over Cowboys. From Dajani: “I view the Lions as one of the best teams in the NFL, but I can’t say the same about the Cowboys. Dallas may be 3-0 on the road this season, but it is 0-2 at home in 2024. To make matters worse for “America’s Team,” the Lions are coming off of their bye week. Detroit is 10-2 against the spread over the last 12 games following a bye week.” For the rest of Dajani’s Week 6 best bets, be sure to click here.
• John Breech — Bengals (-3.5) 30-27 over Giants. At 1-4, it feels like the Bengals’ season is on the line in this game and I don’t see them losing with their season on the line. For the rest of my Week 6 picks, be sure to click here. 

For more Week 6 NFL picks, you can check out out our CBSSports.com picks hub here.

5. NFL bold predictions for Week 6: Browns pull off huge upset

After giving you some bold predictions for Week 5 last Friday, Garrett Podell is back with five more for Week 6. And if last week is any indication, he might nail them all. In Week 5, Garrett correctly predicted that the Jaguars would pick up their first win of the season by shocking the Colts. 

Let’s take a look at two of his bold predictions for Week 6:   

• 1. Browns pull off upset win over Eagles. “Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts leads the NFL in giveaways (27)  since 2023, and he is struggling this season. Hurts has been sacked 10 times in his last two games and thrown interceptions in three of his four starts in 2024. … That’s not an ideal place to be in when facing Myles Garrett. The 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year along with the Browns defense will do just enough by pressuring Hurts into a turnover or two, and Deshaun Watson helps guide the Browns offense down the field against an Eagles defense that is allowing the sixth-most total yards per game (365.8) in the entire league this season for a stunning road triumph.”
• 2. Bengals 2024 tailspin continues with loss to Giants. “The Bengals have the NFL’s second-worst scoring defense (29.0 points per game allowed), and they rank bottom five in the NFL in numerous other defensive metrics. On the Giants’ side of the equation, Jones has continued to show improvement each week: he has thrown for two touchdowns and no interceptions in three of the last four games and increased his yards per pass attempt every week of 2024. New York’s defense also boasts the NFL’s best pass rush: The Giants lead the NFL in sacks (22.0) and sacks rate (12.3%) and rank 10th (36.8%) in quarterback pressure rate.”

Garrett made a total of five bold predictions for Week 6, and you check out all of them here. 

6. Extra points: Christian McCaffrey eyeing early-November return

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.

• Christian McCaffrey could be back in Week 10. The 49ers star hasn’t played a single game this year, but it looks like he’s targeting Week 10 to get back on the field. That date makes a lot of sense, because it means he would return after the team’s Week 9 bye. That being said, if he’s out for Week 7 and Week 8, that means he’ll be missing big games against the Chiefs and Cowboys. You can read more about McCaffrey here. 
• Haason Reddick gets fired by his agency. We have another twist in the Haason Reddick drama. The Jets pass-rusher has been dumped by his agency, which means he now doesn’t have an agent. Reddick has been holding out for a bigger contract and in the process, he’s missed out on nearly $4 million in game checks and he’s been hit with nearly $5 million in fines. We’ve got more on this bizarre situation here. 
• Jon Gruden’s case against the NFL is still alive. The lawsuit filed by Gruden look to be dead in May, but it got new life this week when the Nevada Supreme Court ordered a re-hearing that will take place in front of all seven justices. Gruden’s original appeal was shot down by three justices, but with all seven set to hear the case, he might win his appeal. If that happens, it would open the door toward possibly finding out who leaked the emails that led to Gruden being ousted as the Raiders coach in 2021 (PFT has a good explanation of the situation here). 
• NFL looking into George Pickens‘ eye black The Steelers receiver is being investigated by the NFL after wearing eye-black in Week 5 that included a curse word. The eye black included the message, “Open F—ing Always” and that message was clearly visible to the Sunday night audience. It won’t be surprising if this situation ends with a huge fine for Pickens. You can check out the full details of the story here.