Monday Night Observations
Greatest Game Of All Time
It’s rare that everything goes right in a game, but this was one such case. I needed Ja’Marr Chase to score 26 PPR points to lock in a second-place playoff spot for my best BCL, and he scored 45, locking in not only the weekly win, but first place by two points!
And how it happened was even more insane because the Bengals had a punt blocked with two minutes left, but the Cowboys, who were out of their usual return formation due to the block, touched the punt, and the Bengals recovered. Then instead of driving for the game-winning field goal, the Bengals get the ball to Chase who does his thing and outruns the entire defense for the TD (which gives him the 45 points) and also improbably covers the spread! This was important because it meant another tie in my home picking pool, meaning we have a 5x week next week instead of someone (other than me) winning it. Just insane.
I also had CeeDee Lamb going (along with Chase) in the Steak League, and those two put me out of buying danger for now. Just a perfect overall game.
Micah Parsons is such a difference maker — Joe Burrow was under pressure all game.
The Cowboys did the best they could with that offense, but Cooper Rush is an adequate backup, nothing more.
Rico Dowdle is solid, nothing special. He doesn’t go down easily and has a little wiggle. He’s been boosted by facing soft defenses the last two weeks.
The Cowboys forget about Lamb for long stretches, but some of that is just Rush’s limitations.
Chase Brown has a lot of wiggle and is a decent receiver out of the backfield. Not sure why they traded for Khalil Herbert if they’re barely going to use him. Now that they’re essentially out of the race, they should use Herbert more, but they didn’t.
Burrow is a great quarterback. He put up another 369 and three while under constant pressure. He moved well in the pocket, and most of his throws were on the money.
What else can you say about Chase? He’s got 93 catches and 15 TDs in 13 games. And so much of his production this year has been after the catch when he takes a short throw and outruns the defense to the house. If he stays healthy the rest of the way, it’ll turn out to be a good thing for him the Bengals didn’t get him that extension. What do you pay a 25-YO with 130 catches for 1,800 yards and 20 TDs?