Monday Night Observations

Two is too much.

I hate the two Monday night games, just gives me two to watch and write up Tuesday morning, screws up my routine. At least they didn’t have the score in the upper right corner of the screen spoiling the other game this time.

• Jim Harbaugh is hilarious. Up 11 on 4th-and-1 with 8:14 left in the game, he not only went for it at midfield but called some kind of botched WR jet sweep that resulted in a fumble and a turnover on downs. It didn’t matter, but it shows how little regard he has for conventional wisdom.

• People drafted Omarion Hampton in the third-round because the Chargers were supposed to be a run-first team and Ladd McConkey in the second because he was the only game in town in the receiving corps. Turns out Keenan Allen (seven targets) and Quentin Johnston (seven targets) are big parts of the offense, while Hampton and Najee Harris saw eight carries each.

• Hampton is in trouble after fumbling late in the game and giving way to a more effective Harris. The Cyclops runs hard, weighs 245 pounds, has gotten 1,000 yards every year of his career, was a first-round pick and has never missed a game.

• Justin Herbert is smooth and athletic. Now that Burrow’s hurt, he’s the fourth best real-life QB in the NFL behind only Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen.

• The Chargers can support three wideouts so long as they have no TE of which to speak.

• Ashton Jeanty was lax on his pass protection, but he passed the eye test for me. Don’t panic.

• Geno Smith is high-end backup quality, like Mac Jones or Jake Browning. The Raiders should be auditioning someone, but Kenny Pickett is no longer a prospect.

• Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers got targets, but it was mostly dink and dunk.

• Nick Chubb looked okay, especially on that last TD he never should have scored if the Texans had hoped to win the game. (He gave the Bucs two minutes, down five, with all three timeouts, rather than a first down for the Texans who were already in position for a game-winning field goal down one.)

• The Bucs conserved their timeouts for too long at the end, which didn’t cost them as they were able to score with nine seconds left. But they had only two or three plays to do it rather than four as a result.

• Baker Mayfield was awfully clutch for the second week in a row. Maybe it wasn’t Liam Coen.

• Bucky Irving didn’t get the last second score, but saw 17 carries and caught six passes. He’s basically got Bijan Robinson’s role in a good offense. The GigaRachaad also ran well and was rewarded with the game-winning TD.

• Mike Evans was shadowed by Derek STINGY, and Emeka Egbuka got another TD, but otherwise had a modest game.

• Chase McLaughlin was awfully shaky for the second straight game. The Bucs might need to find a Younghoe.

• The Texans have a good defense, but their offensive line is still bad.

• CJ Stroud is good, but he’s not really mobile enough to play behind that line.

• Woody Marks showed a spark on his 37-yard catch and run. He’s the No. 2 behind Chubb, it seems.

• Nico Collins had a long TD early, barely getting his feet in bounds, but not much else, though they did try to force-feed him near the goal line. I had high hopes for Jayden Higgins with Christian Kirk out, but the Texans just can’t pass protect well enough for Stroud to go through his progressions. I own no Collins or Stroud this year after watching Stroud play behind that offensive line last year and for his punt-friendly, run-heavy coach.

• The Colts have to be big favorites to win the NFC South now.