This is the last weekend of games for which I'll be in Berlin - we're moving to Lisbon, Portugal next Thursday. Lisbon's on Western European time, so we'll be an hour closer to the US, and there's even a chance I'll stay up to watch the first half live next week. A very small chance.
(A view of the soccer field across the street from us. Above, Van Loon restaurant, a moored boat on the Landwehrkanal canal, three blocks from us and one of our favorite places for lunch.)
• Hunter Henry is good. He's faster and more explosive than 36-year old Antonio Gates, and he was the Chargers' only effective weapon on offense. He has a chance to be a top-five TE.
• As expected, the Chargers outside receivers (and Philip Rivers) did very little, though Tyrell Williams caught a ball just short of the end zone.
• Melvin Gordon is terrible. He managed only 3.5 YPC, but that includes a 49-yard run where he ran through a cavernous hole and was untouched until 35 yards down the field. He didn't fumble for once, but he's a bad short-yardage runner, incapable of closing out games and not especially talented as a receiver. In fact, whenever someone looked fast coming out of the backfield, you could be sure it was Dexter McCluster. Gordon will see a heavy workload, and that's worth something, but that's all he's got going for him.
• Joey Bosa's nickname has to be "The Boss"
• The Chargers defense dominated. Trevor Siemian got 4.6 YPA, and it would have been much worse but for garbage time.
• Devontae Booker looked spry and has nice hands as a receiver. I thought C.J. Anderson was on the ropes at one point, but he bounced back in garbage time with four catches for 34 yards and a couple decent runs. Anderson was also unlucky - he had his two longest (10-plus-yard) runs called back due to penalties and also lost a 30-yard TD reception on which he broke tackles and shook defenders near the goal line. Basically he lost 50 YFS, one catch and a TD. I'd guess it's still his job, but Booker looks good.
• The Denver receiving tree expanded in an unsightly way with Jordan Norwood, Bennie Fowler, John Phillips, Virgil Green and Jordan Taylor all seeing at least three targets. And Demaryius Thomas was credited with 10 targets, but maybe six were catchable.
• I actually used San Diego's defense in one important league because I thought Paxton Lynch would be starting and forgot to take them out when Siemian was able to go. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Unfortunately, I dropped Josh Lambo for the difficult matchup.
• Philip Rivers passed Dan Fouts to get to 13th all-time in passing yards. People always talk about the Dan Marino-John Elway-Jim Kelly QB class of 1983 and rightly so. But Rivers, Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger should all pass Elway in passing yards and have a shot to catch Marino. Different era, of course, and the '83 class was still better.
• What a weak Hail Mary by Siemian at the end of the game - it was 10 yards short of the end zone!
• There's nothing Phil Simms seems to love more - rightly or wrongly (and usually wrongly) than advocating for teams settling for a field goal. It gives him so much joy.