‘Monday Night Football’ picks and open thread: Chargers at Colts

The Indianapolis Colts just surrendered “the worst blown lead in NFL history,” according to Andrew Thomison of Stampede Blue. Well, not just according to Thomison, the Colts quite literally just did what no other team has done and lost a game after jumping out to a 33-0 lead at halftime. That has to sting... or maybe, it makes you so numb that you just don’t feel much of anything. Either way, Indy will return home this week to face the 8-6 LA Chargers, who are currently hanging on to the 6-seed in the AFC. LA isn’t without their share of ups and downs this season, but it shouldn’t come as any major surprise that they are favored in this one; DraftKings Sportsbook has the Chargers as 4.5 point favorites on the road over the reeling Colts.

After posting his first 5K season and throwing for 38 touchdowns in 2021, Justin Herbert has generally performed well, even if he isn’t lighting the league on fire like some expected following last season. The Chargers have a shot at posting their best record since they made the playoffs in 2018, when Geno Smith was Philip Rivers’ backup and Uchenna Nwosu was a rookie. While the Colts may be motivated after that collapse, I have a hard time believing that they are going to be overly motivated to do much of anything at this point, especially against a capable squad that is battling for postseason contention.

The Pick: Under 46 points, Chargers win straight up and cover the spread.

Here are the Field Gulls staff picks: