Monday Night Observations

I had the Chiefs -2.5, but I neglected to price in Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s hands. My bad — the model has since been adjusted to subtract three and a half points for each one.

I had Devonta Smith going in the Primetime which was nice and Jake Elliott going in the Steak League which was not so nice. It could have been better, and it could have been worse.

• The short-yardage push play the Eagles run is such a massive advantage, I can’t understand why other teams won’t just watch the tape and copy it. If you have 3rd-and-3, you can just run it twice.

• Patrick Mahomes missed two throws, but otherwise played an almost flawless game under pressure. There are QBs who can run like Lamar Jackson and go through progressions like Tom Brady, but no one makes better decisions when pressured and on the move. The only one I can remember who came close was peak Aaron Rodgers.

• Rashee Rice is the only convincing receiver out there other than Travis Kelce. MVS shouldn’t be on this team, Skyy Moore has disappeared and Kadarius Toney is fun for gadget plays and punt returns. Mahomes could probably win another Super Bowl with Justin Watson as the leading receiver, but they’re making it unnecessarily hard on him.

• Kelce’s fumble was also a crushing turning point in the game. He also had a third-down drop for which he made up on the next play.

• Isiah Pacheco runs hard every play irrespective of the imminent punishment he’s about to take. I don’t think he’s long for the league, but he’s a solid player.

• Jalen Hurts didn’t play especially well, but you never have to worry about him in fantasy with all the automatic goal line TDs. The real-life contrast between him and Mahomes was stark though.