We had been asking for weeks and this past Sunday Kliff finally decided to give the people what we wanted. And, the results were pretty much exactly what everyone expected. Two touchdowns, 111 yards on 14 carries, and 39 more in the air. People around me have compared him to LeVeon Bell and Ladanian Tomlinson. I’d like to think he’s a mix of both but I think it’s just easier to call a spade a spade and say he is a flat out baller. Before week 6, he has already won rookie of the week twice. He leads the NFL in yards per carry, signed an endorsement deal with Nike, and has become a fan favorite across the league. Not bad for a 7th round pick if you ask me.
For the first quarter, it looked like we had a season spiraling loss on our hands. We couldn’t tackle anyone or cover them. Herbert was doing anything he wanted. It looked really bad when Frankie was jogging after him during his 40 yard run. We were jumping offsides handing them points. Our offense had zero gas. Time of possession in the first was 10 minutes and 35 seconds to the Chargers. At one point, they showed the graphic with the Chargers at 100+ yards on offense meanwhile we had 5. We had 8 plays on offense. I’ll hand it to the them. They got the burgundy and gold crowd out of it early but they forgot to land the knockout punch. Although, the thought of live betting us didn’t cross my mind for a second.
Never would I have guessed they would be done scoring after the first quarter. Once we got to the second something happened which we aren’t exactly used to yet. We showed resilience. Quan Martin, the most underrated player on our team, caused a turnover leading to Marshon’s best play in DC. He didn’t actually do much. He just recovered a fumble. But still, it is his best play here so far. The offense turned it around thanks to Bill and just like that we were back in the game.
It wasn’t until the end of the half when the momentum shift took place. Tress Way’s plant leg took one for the team. The real winner from that play was McConkey. If Tress wasn’t dinged up, he probably would’ve sent Ladd to the hospital with how hard he would’ve hit Ladd. But in all seriousness, that first down led to the best play of Luke’s career. Like Brady said, you can’t guard a perfect pass. Also helps when your receiver makes a phenomenal catch. Jayden followed it up with a 20 yard ball to Deebo. One thing to note was Luke and Deebo both sprinting to get the ball clocked. Let’s be real. DQ probably wouldn’t have used the timeouts even if we had them. Either way, just like that we somehow went into the half with a 10-10 ballgame. Did this game have any business being tied? Absolutely not.
27 unanswered points. I have barely evened talked about Jayden yet. If anyone forgot and had maybe changed their opinion, he is still in fact very, very good at football. Even with the knee brace, he is still faster than everyone trying to tackle him. He can make every throw. He is the best. Still the craziest thing is what he does to our defense. When he is our quarterback, our unit actually looks competent. It has become the only somewhat reasonable explanation I can put together to understand why, for example, Justin Herbert puts up donuts for three straight quarters yet Michael Penix lights us up like it’s Brady throwing to Randy Moss. Does it have more to do with the fact that with injuries the Charger’s offensive line is arguably worse than the Raiders or because Jayden is playing quarterback? I genuinely think it’s the latter.
The Chargers had a little spark going in the second half. They were on the goal line with a chance to make it a three point game. These plans were faltered by two Adam Peter’s draft picks. I was glad Mikey got one back. His jump offsides in the first half was unacceptable. I must say; however, I was rooting for a Keenan Allen touchdown there. A friend had a $10 to win $50,000 parlay and the last leg was a Keenan touchdown. I would be lying if I said the group I was with wasn’t rooting for him to get in the endzone. What makes it even worse is that Keenan was targeted twice in the endzone on that drive. I would’ve loved to watch my friend cash in big now knowing it would’ve have effected the outcome anyways.
The touchdown pass to Deebo at the end of the game was the icing on the cake. Going for it on 4th and 7 up 10 late wasn’t the most disrespectful thing that took place. Jayden and Deebo were practicing their touchdown dance before the play even happened. The confidence and connection with these two is apparent. Now, all we need is to get Terry back to his healthy, old self. That duo is going to be dangerous and very fun to watch. Throw in Bill and Jayden to create threats on the ground and we’ve got ourselves quite the offense. My favorite play from last game was the direct snap to Bill who ran an option with Deebo. We haven’t had the weapons to run anything like since I can remember. If the defense can get it figured out for more than one game, I like our chances against anyone.
I am back to thinking we are a playoff team. It felt good to watch us get our first win against a team that isn’t in poverty. All it takes is one win to reset the vibes. The goal is to now start stacking them. We have one of the bigger rematches of this year taking place under the lights tonight. According to all the Bears fans, this one game essentially determines if Jayden or Caleb is the better quarterback. While we all know who really was the right pick of the two, they need something to hold onto as a means of reducing the dissonance. Bears fans have become my least favorite fan base on twitter. The amount of brain cells their fan base has accumulates to maybe a single one. I think that’s a generous estimate if I am being honest. Either way, they are still very upset about last year. Rightfully so, but it would feel awesome to remind them that they in fact still the inferior team.
Their two wins so far this year are against the Raiders and the Cowboys. Neither of which I would consider anything special. What does worry me slightly is that they are coming off a bye week and have had two weeks to prepare. This is not only a revenge game for their team but also for their new head coach. His tenure with the Lions was ended by Jayden and company last January. Also, ex Washington Redskin Montez Sweat was laying into the they didn’t want me talk. He can kick rocks after calling our franchise toxic in his first week with the Bears. Clearly, he was apart of the problem too. With all that being said, it’s safe to say this squad is coming into Washington with a chip on their shoulder and some extra motivation. This win would be big for them. That’s a sense of satisfaction I don’t want them to feel.
I don’t feel much of a need to continue on with the very one sided rivalry topic. To them, this is their Super Bowl. To us, this is a week 6 prime time football game. That is the difference between our franchises. We escaped poverty thanks to their bad decision. When I phrase it like that, it actually makes me like the Bears a little bit more. Ryan Poles saved football in DC. Maybe, we can get him a plaque or a name a bathroom after him once RFK is renovated.
Now, to get into the bets I will be placing for this one. To start, I believe we will win this football game and cover the spread. I will take whatever number is put in front of me before the game. Last week, I advised to take Bill’s rushing over. The line was 32.5 to start the game. Talk about the easiest winner of the year. His line has now moved to the 70s and guess what? I am still going to be taking it. Also, his longest rush number is 15.5 yards. It wouldn’t shock me if he hits that in his first three carries. Also, I’m taking him to get in the endzone. At the moment, he’s on wagon watch and this week is a heat check. The Bears having the worst rushing defense in the league doesn’t hurt our chances either. Lastly, Luke McCaffrey first touchdown. This is the week.
Sitting at 4-2 would be incredible relative to where we were at 2 weeks ago. We will be playing at home in a stadium packed with people from DC. It is insane that we don’t have a game at 1pm for the next 7 weeks. Jayden does play his best football when the world is watching. Now might be a good time to get the MVP bet in. I could not be more excited for Monday night. We only have so many more prime time games in Landover. I will be making the most of every one of them while I still can. Wishing everyone a great weekend. Looking forward to writing back after the win.
Photo Credit: AP Photo / Eric Thayer