Section 400’s Week 9 Monday Night Football Roundtable

Week 9 of the NFL season concludes on Monday night when the 3-4 Los Angeles Chargers travel to MetLife Stadium to take on the surprisingly 4-3 New York Jets.

We’ve already had our fair share of Chargers prime-time games, and if you’ve followed along you know how we feel about this fraudulent team. Justin Herbert and company have been the definition of inconsistency under head coach Brandon Staley.

The Jets have been much the same, mainly because of erratic quarterback play from Zach Wilson. Wilson has been better as of late, but is it enough to take down the talented Chargers?

As will be the case every Monday during the NFL season, the guys from Section 400 are here to give their takes on the game.

Here is what Section 400 writers Brian Hauch, Jack Albanese, and Matt Kolen are thinking heading into this AFC clash.

The World is Yours

The Jets are 4-3 and have a shot at making the playoffs despite Zach Wilson starting at quarterback. If Aaron Rodgers can use his holistic medical voodoo to make a miraculous comeback, is this team a Super Bowl contender?

BH: I truly don’t understand what kind of magic Aaron Rodgers is using, but it truly does look like he is coming back this year. If he can make a return with two or three regular-season games remaining I think the sky is the limit for this team, assuming Zach Wilson can keep them in the hunt. The Aaron Rodgers to Garrett Wilson connection can be THAT good.

MK: I’m not sold on the Jets as a Super Bowl contender until I see what Aaron Rodgers looks like in the offense. With that being said, I wouldn’t want to be the opposing team in a playoff game against the Jets defense and a healthy Rodgers at quarterback.

JA: The Jets have a really good football team all around and I had them circled as a contender in the preseason. Even if Rodgers does come back, the offense won’t have the required time to gel correctly and that will be the Jets’ downfall. I’m not even sure New York makes a bid to get into the playoffs because the AFC is so deep. The Jets are not contenders this year.

Made you look

The Chargers are a mess but did get a big win on primetime last week. Can Los Angeles do anything to convince you they are a contender?

BH: I’ll stick with my take that I’ve had all year. The Chargers will always be a fringe playoff team that cannot get over the hump until Brandon Staley gets canned. “The Bolts” are good enough to rip off a winning streak and secure a wild card, but the below-average defense combined with the offensive inconsistencies are a horrible mixture come playoff time.

MK: I will never be convinced by this team until they hire a competent head coach. If they put a better coach in there I could see something working out for them. Brandon Staley is not the guy.

JA: I agree with Brian. I don’t think Staley can ever gain my trust. Between the very questionable coaching and the many injuries to this team, I can’t consider the Chargers anything more than a fringe wildcard team.

Notorious

Justin Herbert gets a lot of hype. Do you consider him a top 7 quarterback in the NFL?

BH: I think that the top 7-10 range is right where he deserves to be. The NFL has a clear-cut top 3 quarterbacks; Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Jalen Hurts. After that, I have Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson as fourth and fifth, respectively. From there, any combination of Tua Tagovailoa, Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers, and CJ Stroud (yes CJ Stroud) can make up your top 10. I personally have Herbert at 7 behind Tua, but Stroud is fast on his heels.

MK: Yes he is. think it’s fair to have him in the 5-7 range. There simply are not many quarterbacks as talented as Herbert in the league right now. He played well enough to win a playoff game last year had Staley and the defense not choked the game away.

JA: Herbert has the talent to be an elite quarterback, but I haven’t been impressed with him overall this season. You could make a case that these 7 quarterbacks are better than Herbert right now; Trevor Lawrence, Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Tua Tagovailoa are all ahead of him on my list.

Juicy

We swept the board with our best bets last Monday night fellas. Let’s do it again. What are you loving tonight?

BH: Boys… I have a lock of the year. Breece Hall is going to murder his over 20.5 receiving yards in this game. Take a look at some of the running back receiving lines over the Chargers games this season; Darrynton Evans 22, Isiah Pacheco 28, Jerrick McKinnon 24, Tony Pollard 80, Josh Jacobs 81, Alexander Mattison 32, Alec Ingold 34. Add on the fact that Hall is averaging 49 yards through the air over his last 3 games, and this number is a joke.

MK: I’ve been hot with the weird player props so I’m sticking with them. I’ll take Joshua Kelly under 21.5 rush yards.

JA: This game has ugly written all over it. Give me the under 40.5

Final Score

Who will be the last team in the win column this week?

BH: Matt took the Jets on the podcast and I liked his reasoning. I’ll take New York in a close one, 21-20.

MK: The Jets just keep finding ways to win, while the Chargers normally find ways to lose. New York wins in “JetLife”, 19-17.

JA: Jets get it done to move to 5-3, 17-13.