NFL title game picks for 49ers-Eagles and Bengals-Chiefs plus details on Panthers hiring Frank Reich

Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!I'm not sure how it happened, but there are only three games left in the NFL season, well, unle s you count the Pro Bowl, and you know what, let's count the Pro Bowl, because we're actually going to be talking about it today.If you forgot that the Pro Bowl existed, don't worry, so did everyone else, but we now have a lot of details on what's going to go down next week for the game. Of course, we won't be spending too much time on the Pro Bowl today and that's because we have TWO CONFERENCE TITLE GAMES TO TALK ABOUT.Both games on Sunday currently have a point spread of under three points and if things stay that way, it would mark just the third time ever that both conference championship games have a spread that small (The other two times it happened came in 1982 and 1997).As the resident homer here at CBS Sports, I probably won't be able to sleep for the next two nights, so it's probably a good thing that there's no newsletter on Saturday or Sunday. Anyway, we have a huge newsletter today, so let's get to the rundown.Remember, if you're hanging out with family and/or friends this weekend, you should tell them all to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do .For today's podcast, Will Brinson rounded up R.J. White and Pete Prisco so they could argue about who's going to win the conference title games on Sunday.The three guys spent nearly 45 minutes going over the best bets for both games and we're going to cover three best bets from each person below. The twist here is that since there are only two games, they had to come up with some best bets that didn't just involve the point spreads. I usually don't trust Brinson to come up with anything on the fly, but I will this week because he actually beat both Prisco and R.J. with his picks last week. Pete Prisco(1-2 last week in picks covered here, 34-25-1 on the season) (-2.5) to cover against the Bengals (+1) to cover against the Bengals at Chiefs OVER 47.5 pointsR.J. White(1-2 last week in picks covered here, 35-23-2 on the season)Eagles (-2.5) to cover against the 49ers49ers point total UNDER 22.5 (-110) OVER 24.5 receiving yards (-113)Will Brinson(2-1 last week in picks covered here, 30-28-1 on the season)Bengals (+1) to cover against the Chiefs OVER 1.5 field goals (-120) OVER 83.5 receiving yards (-120)To hear what the rest Tony Carr Jersey of the best bets are for the two games being played on Sunday, you .After nearly three weeks of waiting, we finally have our first coaching hire of the offseason. The Panthers announced on Thursday that Frank Reich has been hired as the sixth head coach in franchise history.Here's what you need to know about Reich:Reich gets a four-year deal.After giving Matt Rhule a six-year deal, it seems that David Tepper has learned his le son. According , Reich will be getting a four-year deal (Terms of the deal haven't been reported yet). If Reich can succe sfully get the Panthers to the playoffs during the first few seasons, there's a good chance he'll be coaching the team for a long time.Panthers still need a QB.Reich's biggest i sue during his time with the was that he never found a franchise quarterback, and now, he's going to have that same problem in Carolina. One of the first things he's going to want to figure out in Carolina is the QB situation. The Panthers used three different starters in 2022 -- , and -- but Mayfield is already gone and it won't be surprising if Darnold and Zion Williamson Jersey Walker are both soon gone since they both have expiring contracts (Walker did spend some time on the Colts' practice squad while Reich was the coach in 2018, so it's po sible the new coach could hold on to him since there's some familiarity there). The Panthers have another QB option in , who was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but Reich will likely look to bring in a veteran.Reich lands in a solid spot. Of all the open coaching jobs, this is probably the one I would have signed up for, because it gives you the best shot at immediate succe s. The Panthers have a strong defensive nucleus in place -- with players like , , and -- and if they can get their QB situation figured out, they could hold the upper hand in what is currently a very weak NFC South.Reich will get a shot at revenge on his old team. The new Panthers coach will get a chance to exact some revenge on his old team next season. Thanks to the way the scheduling formula works, we know that the Colts will be playing at Carolina next season. We won't know the time and date of the game until the schedule is released, but I'm gue sing that date will be one that Reich circles on his calendar.Reich has history with the Panthers.Reich spent 13 seasons in the NFL as a player and he actually played for the Panthers during the team's expansion season in 1995. Not only did he start three games for Carolina, but he was actually under center to take the team's first offensive snap 28 years ago. He also threw the first TD pa s in franchise history.Hiring of Reich condemned by Steve Wilks' legal team.The hiring of Reich is coming with some controversy. Reich was chosen over Panthers interim coach Steve Wilks, who led the Panthers to a 6-6 record over their final 12 games. Wilks is currently a part of the Brian Flores lawsuit that's alleging racial discrimination by the NFL and several teams. After Reich was hired, Wilks' legal team released a statement, "We are shocked and disturbed that after the incredible job Coach Wilks did as the interim coach, including bringing the team back into Playoff contention and garnering the support of the players and fans, that he was pa sed over for the Head Coach position by David Tepper. There is a legitimate race problem in the NFL, and we can a sure you that we will have more to say in the coming days." Based on the wording of the statement, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Panthers the NFL, , , , , and . For more details on the legal situation, .One other finalist for the job was offensive coordinator and it's not surprising at all that the Panthers decided to hire an offensive-minded coach. For one, the QB situation is their biggest i sue right now and the quickest way to fix that is with an offensive-minded coach. Also, the Panthers had NEVER hired an offensive-minded head coach in franchise history before Reich, so obviously, it seems the team wanted to try something different with this hiring. After going 7-1 with our collective picks over the past two weeks in this section, I have dragged Pete Prisco, Jordan Dajani and Tyler Sullivan back to make more picks this week.Here's how things are going to work: I'm going to give you one pick from each guy and if you like the pick that we're sharing here, then you can click through to read their other pick. If you don't like their pick, you can click through and hate-read their other pick.Pete Prisco -- Bengals (+1) 27-24 over Chiefs.From Prisco:To see Prisco's pick for the NFC title game, .Tyler Sullivan -- Eagles (-2.5) 24-20 over 49ers.From Sullivan:To see Sullivan's pick for the AFC title game, .Jordan Dajani -- Bengals 28-26 over Chiefs.From Dajani:To see Dajani's pick for the NFC title game, .John Breech -- Eagles (-2.5) 23-20 over 49ers.Only four rookie quarterbacks have ever made a start in a conference title game and all four times, things got ugly for those rookies, who went a combined 0-4 with nine interceptions compared to just four touchdown pa ses. has been nothing short of amazing so far, but I feel like this is going to be the game where the clock finally strikes midnight and he turns back into a pumpkin. To see my pick for the AFC title game, .With the point spread so close in both title games this week, that would suggest that no one really has any idea who's going to win either game. With the teams so evenly matched, Jeff Kerr decided to take a look at the biggest mismatches in each game that could end up deciding the outcome. Here's two mismatches he found for each game49ERS AT EAGLESBrock Purdy vs. the Eagles pa s rush. vs. 49es pa s defense on deep throws. BENGALS AT CHIEFSJa'Marr Chase vs. the Chiefs secondary.Bengals vs. Chiefs in fourth quarter.You can .We also wrote about who has the edge at each position in each game. For a look at 49ers-Eagles, . If you want to see who has the edge in Bengals-Chiefs, .With the Pro Bowl just nine days away, I was starting to think that the NFL maybe had forgotten that it was holding a Pro Bowl this Solomon Hill Jersey year, but apparently, that's not the case. The Pro Bowl is being totally revamped for 2023 and the NFL has finally released the details on what those changes are going to look like.There will be several days of skills competitions leading up to the actual Pro Bowl and here's what kind of games the Pro Bowl players will be partaking in (All descriptions from the NFL): Dodgeball (Feb. 2): A multi-round tournament of cla sic dodgeball featuring four teams of five players that begins with the offenses and defenses from both conferences squaring off and culminates in an AFC vs. NFC showdown. In the first match, the AFC offense will face the AFC defense to determine the AFC winner. In the second game, the NFC offense squares off with the NFC defense to determine the NFC winner. In the finales, the AFC winner and NFC winner meet to determine which conference will earn three points. Lightning Round (Feb. 2): New this year, each conference will select 16 players to compete in a three-part elimination challenge that will leave one player left at the end to earn three points for his conference. In the first event, "Lightning Round Splash Catch," teammate pairings from each conference will to s water balloons back and forth from increasing distances. Each tandem that completes all of their to ses advances to the second phase. In part two, "Lightning Round High Stakes," advancing players will attempt to catch punts from a JUGS machine to earn a place representing their conference in the final round of the competition. In the final part of the challenge, "Lightning Round -- Thrill of the Spill," the remaining players from each conference will aim at targets attached to a bucket hanging above the head of an opposing conference's coach. The first team to dump the bucket on the opposing coach wins and earns three points for his conference.Best Catch(Feb. 5): On Sunday, the top vote-getters from each conference will compete head to head, as they perform in front of panel of celebrity judges. The pa s-catcher who accumulates the highest score from the judges will be determined the winner. Gridiron Gauntlet (Feb. 5): A side-by-side relay race showcasing strength, speed and agility, six players from each conference will compete to see who finishes Stanley Johnson Jersey first and wins three points for his team. The four-part gauntlet -- each segment 40 yards in length -- includes a series of breakaway walls, a section of climbing over walls and under tables, a tire run and a blocking sled carrying a legend coach acro s the finish line. Kick Tac Toe (Feb. 5): Each team's kicker, punter and long snapper compete in a giant Tic-Tac-Toe competition to showcase their respective skills. The first team to complete a connecting line of three squares or hit five squares total will be declared the winner and earn three points for his conference.I will personally be clearing my schedule so I can watch "Kick Tac Toe" and I highly suggest you do the same. The winning conference in each competition will earn three points and the conference with the most points at the end of Pro Bowl week will be declared the winner.Each of these skills competitions will be played on a special field and if you want to see what the NFL's completely redesigned field is going to look like for the Pro Bowl, . Also, Cody Benjamin talked to the guy who helped come up with these skills competitions and if .It's been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it's nearly impo sible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you, and that roundup involves a lot of coordinator firings. Cowboys keeping their defensive coordinator.Although the Cowboys cut ties with six a sistants on Thursday, there is one coach who definitely won't be leaving and that's Dan Kira Lewis Jr. Jersey Quinn. After interviewing for three different head coaching jobs, the Cowboys defensive coordinator announced that he's . Cowboys might not be keeping their offensive coordinator. Although Dan Quinn is sticking around, there's no guarantee that Kellen Moore will be on the coaching staff in 2023. Mike McCarthy was asked about Moore's future on Thursday and he didn't guarantee that his offensive coordinator would return, "Kellen Moore, just like the rest of the coaches, will be evaluated," McCarthy said. For . hire a new offensive coordinator. After getting dumped by the in mid-January, Mike LaFleur has already found a new job. CBS Sports NFL insider Josina Anderson that LaFleur has been hired as the Rams' new offensive coordinator. Liam Coen was the team's OC last year, but he left to take the same job at the University of Kentucky. This will be the second LaFleur brother to serve as McVay's OC. Back in 2017, Matt LaFleur was the Rams' offensive coordinator for one season.Mahomes gives update on ankle. The Chiefs QB says his ankle feels good, but he's not sure how it will feel when he starts scrambling around Sunday, "We'll see during the game," Mahomes said, . "You can't fully do exactly what it's going to be like in those moments in the game. All I can do is prepare myself the best way po sible and then when we get in the game you hope adrenaline takes over and you can make those throws when you need to." If Mahomes' mobility is limited, that would definitely be an advantage for the Bengals.One owner hates the idea of neutral-site conference title games.If the NFL wants to start holding neutral-site conference title games, the owners will have to vote it through, and right now, there's at least one owner who's adamantly against it. Pittsburgh's Art Rooney II said on Thursday .Jets will be looking to sign a veteran QB. Don't be surprised if the Jets make a splash at QB this offseason. Coach Robert Saleh has made it clear that landing a veteran is one of the team's top priorities. Saleh said he had a conversation with new offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett about what the Jets should do at QB. "The quarterback position was the No. 1 concern and rightfully so," Saleh said, . "It was simple. We're committed to finding a veteran, we didn't get into names ... it was talked about, though, that we do plan on bringing in a veteran quarterback."Sean Payton interviews with Cardinals, denies rift with Broncos' ownership.The former coach interviewed with the Cardinals on Thursday as he continues to decide whether he wants to coach this year. Payton that suggested he didn't want to coach the Broncos because he thought he might have a rift with someone in the ownership group. As we mentioned yesterday, going back to Fox for another year is definitely still an option for the 59-year-old.In other coaching news, the Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale will be getting a second interview with the Colts on Saturday, . We're not going to list every coaching interview here, because it would triple the length of the newsletter, but if you want the latest updates on every coach and GM interview being held this offseason, then be .
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