Thursday Night Observations

I wanted to take the Niners and the points, but in my home picking pool the line was only 5.5, and the real line was 8.5, so I switched to the Rams for the “value.” Always annoying when there’s a wide gap between the pool line and the real-time one, and you feel obligated to hold your nose. It was likely these division rivals would have a close game, and there’s no major difference between Brock Purdy and Mac Jones. At least the Rams had the decency to lose outright and bounce some people from my two re-buy Survivor pools.

• Mac Jones is good. He delivers the ball on time with accuracy, doesn’t make a lot of stupid plays. He will be an NFL starter somewhere soon.

• Christian McCaffrey’s usage (22 carries, nine targets) is still off the charts. The Niners are 4-1 now, so they might want to dial it back to keep him fresh for when Ricky Pearsall, George Kittle et al come back. Give Brian Robinson more of the early-down slop.

• If you were desperate enough to use Kendrick Bourne, you are in good shape to start your week. More like Jason Bourne.

• Jake Tonges had 11 targets, didn’t do much with them. Kittle’s return will be a big playmaking upgrade obviously.

• Eddy Pineiro drilled a 59-yard FG to give the 49ers a lead. The improvement in NFL kicking over the last 20 years is one of the craziest things in professional sports. It would be like if people suddenly started running three-minute miles.

• Kyren Williams had a monster game, but also cost his team the win with a fumble near the goal line. Fantasy and reality sometimes diverge.

• Davante Adams led the team in receiving but didn’t get into the end zone for once. Puka Nacua caught 10 of 12 targets and scored a TD, but it was mostly short stuff. A disappointing 24.5 PPR points for him.

• The Rams oddly target receivers in streaks. Like Adams will get three targets in a row after it was all Puka on a drive. They even went to Jordan Whittington twice in a row. It’s almost like bringing in a running back for a series.

• Matthew Stafford is climbing up the all-time yardage board with another 389. He’ll pass Dan Marino next week and will probably finish his career as top-five all time, behind only Brady, Brees, Manning and Favre. If he plays three more years, he’s got a chance to finish as high as No. 3.