For the first time since November 28, the Philadelphia Eagles are back in action. The Birds will be taking on the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Southern California.
In order to preview this Week 14 matchup, I reached out to our enemies over at Bolts From The Blue. The magnanimous Michael Peterson kindly took the time took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming battle. Let’s take a look at the answers.
[For my answers to Michael’s questions about the Eagles, stay tuned to BFTB.]
1) How would you assess the confidence level in Justin Herbert right now while adjusting for his hand injury? Do you feel like he’s going to play well on Monday night? And is there any hope for the Chargers if Trey Lance has to enter the game?
Justin Herbert has played through a myriad of injuries thus far in his career and it’s not out-of-bounds to call him an ironman of sorts. He’s played with broken bones before but this is the first time he’s played with an injury that has affected his non-throwing hand. While this doesn’t necessarily stop him or burden the process of throwing a pass, it does change how he has to hand the ball off and will affect his grip while holding the ball in the pocket.
Herbert will most certainly play on Monday, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lane make an appearance or two on a short-yardage situation. Both Harbaugh and OC Greg Roman each lamented not using Lance on a tush push against Raiders where they instead used a shotgun run that was stuffed.
2) To what extent are Chargers fans satisfied with the Jim Harbaugh experience so far?
I think the fans are very satisfied with the Jim Harbaugh experience thus far. They won 11 games in his first season (with a rough roster) and are currently 8-4 despite having gone all year without start left tackle Rashawn Slater and most of the year without right tackle Joe Alt. Most of the names on either side of the ball do not collectively paint the picture of a very good football team, but Harbaugh and his staff have done wonders in getting the most out of their players.
3) The Chargers’ offensive line seems to be their biggest weakness. Can you take us inside the expectations for that unit in this game?
My expectations for the Chargers offensive line this week is a bit of a toss up. Even with the Eagles defense ranking 25th overall, they’ve always been a football team that wants to dominate the trenches. However, that hasn’t been the case — at least in the stat sheet. Philly’s leading sack-getter is Moro Ojomo with four. Before being ruled out, Jalen Carter was also having a down year, especially as a run defender. Injuries haven’t helped them, but the Chargers know all too much about that fact of life, as well. Defensive tackle Jordan Davis will likely give the Chargers interior all they can handle by himself, but I do feel much better about this matchup now than I did in recent weeks leading up to it.
4) What is the strongest matchup working in the Chargers’ favor against the Eagles?
I think the best matchup the Chargers have right now is their pass defense against the Eagles passing offense. The Bolts are second in the NFL at defending the pass, allowing only 168.3 through the air per game. Through 13 weeks, the Eagles are 23rd in passing yards per game at 196.3. It’s been a decent year for wideout DeVonta Smith and an up-and-down campaign for A.J. Brown, but I think they’ll find it to be tough sledding this week against a secondary that’s been great at limiting opposing air attacks.
I just can’t see the Chargers playing well enough to compete here with all their injuries. I foresee an Eagles win by field goal or less. If I had to give a final score prediction, I’d go with 27-24 Eagles.
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