Jim Harbaugh is a clown and the Chargers are his circus

There were 13 minutes remaining in the third quarter when it became clear that Jim Harbaugh checked out. Houston was up 24-9, Tre Harris had just been hurt, adding another injury on offense the Chargers couldn’t endure. Harbz marched along the sideline pre-snap, not watching the next run play, looking like a man who just wanted to keep walking, out of the tunnel, and out of Los Angeles altogether. Perhaps he should.

The woes the Chargers have faced this season aren’t entirely of Harbaugh’s creation, but his staggering inability to make changes, or accept what’s best for the team’s future — those are on his shoulders. Harbaugh made headlines prior to Sunday for infamously, nonsensically remaining insistent that the Chargers won’t be trading players away at the deadline because it sends “the message of giving up on the season.” News flash: The Chargers are 0-8 right now. They are dead last in the AFC West, the AFC as a conference, and the NFL as a whole. They are the worst team in football by a country mile, and while Harbz might not like the message they’re “giving up on the season,” they need to give up on the season, because at this point the Chargers are facing another rebuild.

It’s impossible to calculate everything wrong for the this season. Injuries wrecked the offensive line, and that started some dominoes falling. The defense is doing its best despite being an afterthought, and while they’re not good by any stretch of the imagination, I hesitate to lump them in with the team’s issues as a whole — because at least they’re performing the basic elements of the job. Offensively, this team has become a dumpster fire. I don’t know the last time a player fell off the map the way that Justin Herbert has this season. Watching him play against the Texans was painful, because it’s as if he’s forgotten how to make the simplest of throws and is consistently trying to generate explosive plays, regardless of whether they’re good or not. This results in all of his best traits: decision-making and processing fly out the window, turning him into a one-dimensional JUGS machine that doesn’t care who catches the ball. More often than not it’s been the opponents, as Herbert moved to 11 interceptions on the season and only six touchdowns.

We’ve lost the version of fiery Harbaugh who will do anything to win. That guy would bench players on principle when they weren’t doing their jobs. He would chew out his assistants, demanding something improve. Now he’s in this mode of performative competitiveness, doing dumb things like going for two while down 38-15 in the fourth quarter to show that he hasn’t quit — despite doing everything else to indicate that he has.

This is a coach whose heart just isn’t in it. He made the switch to the NFL to avoid the fallout from the Michigan investigation into Connor Stallions, not because he really wanted to be a professional football coach again. It’s just so clear that he’s going through the motions, and Michael Peterson who runs our Chargers blog, put succinctly the risks of continuing down this path and letting apathy build.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Chargers. I don’t really know why. I have so much empathy for a team that comes agonizingly close to greatness only to absolutely fail every single time — it’s a big reason why I’m a Spurs supporter in the Premier League.

Fans deserve better than what Jim Harbaugh is giving them. He has become the clown king of Los Angeles, and every week the circus in back in town. The only difference is that the circus is entertaining. The Chargers are not.

It’s not exactly an accomplishment beating the Eagles this season — but beating Philly was critical in the ongoing mission for the Giants to prove they can take the next step to take over the NFC East. It wasn’t always pretty for the G-Men in The Linc, with both teams struggling on offense and it being mostly a defensive affair, but this was a very John Harbaugh football game and showed the edge he’s brought to the Giants since arriving.

It remains to be seen whether or not J.J. McCarthy is good enough to really lead the Giants, but he’s playing good enough football where he can take care of the ball, make some solid throws, and most importantly, not give away games. McCarthy also earned some serious locker room points by playing through the pain after taking a big hit, and continuing to play despite taking a big hit to his ribs. There’s a lot of football left, but the Giants have the momentum right now.

As we approach the trade deadline it’s the Giants who I’m looking closely at. Perhaps no other team could benefit more from going in and making a deal for Jonathan Taylor than this one. I understand there are thousands of Cam Skattebo fans, but between his general inconsistency and routine injury issues, it doesn’t make sense to saddle so much of the organization’s hopes to him. Getting a legitimate three-down back like Taylor would take pressure off McCarthy, open up the play-action pass, and really bring another element to this team.

What happened between the Broncos and Panthers is going to be swept under the rug very, very quickly by the NFL — because the incredible end zone interception by Denver never should have happened. Here’s what went down:

The issue isn’t Key’s pick, because it was INCREDIBLE. The issue isn’t whether or not Payton threw the flag before the play, because the timing is immaterial. This issue is that referees cannot go back and retroactively allow a past play to be reviewed in order to cover for their own mistake. Payton threw the flag, the refs missed it — end of story. This is extremely clear from Rule 15, Article 2 of the NFL rulebook:

The Replay Official may only initiate a review of a play until the next legal snap or kick. The Replay Official may consult with adesignated member of the Officiating department at the League office regarding whether to initiate a review.

Referees did not blow the Hubbard run play dead, or give any sign prior to the snap that they were going to review. Furthermore, Carolina did not hurry up to attempt to avoid a review. This all happened at normal game pace; the Hubbard run was a legal snap — and they changed the rules anyway. Officials tried to justify their decision after the game, but their explanation is still not legal.

Just because you review to realize you missed the flag doesn’t mean you get to take back the entire play.

This happened in 2001 with the Cleveland Browns in what is referred to as “BottleGate.” This occurred when Tim Couch completed a pass which was questionably ruled as a 1st down. The Browns then ran to the line and Couch spiked the ball to make a legal play. Refs ignored the spike, went back and overturned the call — giving the ball to Jacksonville. This led to fans showering the field in bottles, and being dubbed “BottleGate.”

The refs did the same thing on Sunday.

Everything is beginning to break for the Bengals in the AFC North. The Ravens are without their quarterbacks and praying at this point that Jacoby Brissett can do something for them. The Browns lost to the Saints, putting them a little further back in the picture, and the Steelers, while solid, are winning unremarkable games.

The Bengals are getting hot at the right time. We know their offense is already solid, but the way they ensured that Bijan Robinson didn’t kill them on the ground bodes quite well for how they’ll approach other run-heavy teams down the stretch. All Cincinnati needs to do is bed, not break on defense — knowing their high-powered offense can get them over the hump. They’ve struggled to do this in the past, but 2026 feels different.

The Steelers are a legitimate test, beating the Bengals in their last meeting — but Cincinnati has changed a lot since the teams last met. It feels very much like Joe Burrow and Co. have the momentum right now, and will be better prepared to face the Steelers in their next meeting.

The NFC North lose this week because all the teams are winners. Look how brutal this division is, and how someone is going to be one of the best teams in the NFL and still miss the playoffs.

The NFC South win this week because all the teams are losers. Look how ugly this division is, and how someone is going to be one of the worst teams in the NFL and still make the playoffs.