This week we are joined by Brandon Lee Gowton of our Eagles sister site, Bleeding Green Nation, to help us preview this week’s primetime matchup.
BLG is one of the best in the business so it’s always a pleasure to gather some insight from him into the team he knows best. This is a pretty pivotal game for both teams (for their own respective reasons) and I’m sure both sides will be watching this game on the edge of their seats.
Will the Eagles find a way to bounce back after two consecutive losses?
Can the Chargers continue their positive momentum coming out of their bye? Let’s go ahead and jump in to see how BLG foresees this game playing out!
1.) The Eagles are 8-4 but are somehow falling short of the lofty standard they’ve set for themselves in recent years. The offense ranks 24th while the defense is below them at 25th out of 32 teams. I guess to put it simply: What gives?
There’s no good reason for the offense to be THIS bad. It’s the most expensive (cash spending) offense in the NFL by a significant margin; the difference between the Eagles and second place is the difference between second and seventh.
Kevin Patullo is facing a lot of heat as the new play-caller this season. The Eagles offensive coordinator certainly seems to be part of the problem but he’s hardly the only issue. Jalen Hurts has been uneven. The offensive line hasn’t been able to create room for Saquon Barkley. A.J. Brown has been more productive recently but it’s obviously been a really weird season for him. Nick Sirianni isn’t providing any answers.
The defense deserves more grace. They’re the youngest and most inexpensive defense in the NFL. And they’ve carried their weight much more often this season; just look at when they allowed two total touchdowns during the span of back-to-back wins over the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.
They’re hardly above criticism; the run defense was obviously really bad against the Bears. But they also had to play 87 (!) snaps in Week 13. Part of that is their fault; they need to get more stops and get off the field. But a big part of it is the fact that the offense leads the league in three-and-outs and can’t stay on the field to give them rest.
Some of the Eagles’ struggles can be attributed to the toll that last year’s Super Bowl season took. It’s not easy to repeat. But while some things are out of their hands, they could still be doing a better job of addressing the things that are in their control.
2.) Saquon Barkley and the offensive line performance on the ground has regressed quite a bit this year. Jalen Hurts is still scoring plenty of rushing touchdowns but Barkley is far off his pace for rush yards compared to a year ago. Is there anything going on with that unit that casual fans may not be aware of?
The Eagles’ offensive line ultimately hasn’t paved the way for Barkley’s success like they did last year. His current average yards before contact mark is the lowest of his career. Yes, even below those terrible offensive lines he played behind as a member of the New York Giants.
For the most part, Barkley doesn’t look like a player who logged such a major workload last season. He’s passed the eye test more often than not. The offensive line, though? They’ve really worn the brunt of last year’s massive rushing workload. Jordan Mailata is having a relatively down year. Landon Dickerson has been banged up all season long. Ditto for Cam Jurgens. Lane Johnson is currently injured. The healthiest offensive lineman they’ve had is Tyler Steen, who was a backup behind Mekhi Becton last year.
There are other factors at play here. Teams obviously had an entire offseason to really focus on stopping Barkley and the Eagles’ run game. Hurts has been running at the lowest rate of his career, which makes it easier for defenses to key in on Barkley. It’s hard to argue the offensive coaching staff is doing a great job of maximizing the run game.
But it feels like the Eagles offensive line playing better would go a long way towards reviving the run game.
3.) If you were Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, how would you go about attacking this Eagles defense? Which matchup would you look to exploit?
Well, the Eagles just gave up 281 rushing yards to the Bears. So I’m looking to pound the rock and make the Eagles prove they can stop the run. Especially now that an injured Jalen Carter isn’t even in the lineup.
I’d also suggest throwing to the players not covered by Quinyon Mitchell or Cooper DeJean. Adoree’ Jackson is the most gettable cornerback in the Eagles’ secondary. He’s wont to allow soft cushions underneath in fear of getting beat over the top.
4.) If you were Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, how are you planning to stop this Eagles offense? Where are Philly’s weak points that Minter must press on?
The Eagles are their own worst enemy on offense so I’m not even sure the Chargers need to plan to attack this unit. OK, that’s extreme, but the sentiment still stands. The Eagles have long stretches every week where the offense shoots itself in the foot with dumb penalties and a total lack of execution.
The Chargers should be looking to go after backup right tackle Fred Johnson, who is a credible player but isn’t a full-time starter for a reason. I could see Tuli Tuipulotu (brother of former Eagles defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu) giving him trouble. I’d also look to get Khalil Mack lined up on that side at times.
Hurts has been blitzed more often recently but he’s had success against the blitz at times. He’s been worse against four man rushes so, if I’m the Chargers, I’m looking to dedicate more resources to coverage than to sending extra rushers at the Eagles quarterback.
5.) Let’s finish this off with a game prediction. Give us a few lines on how you see this matchup going and don’t forget to top it all off with a final score prediction.
I can see the Eagles having some success on defense. That unit typically comes to play and Justin Herbert is obviously dealing with the hand injury.
I can’t give the Eagles’ offense any benefit of the doubt right now. That unit looks broken. And I struggle to see a get-right game taking place against this Chargers defense.
So, give me the Eagles to lose a close one to the Chargers … 20 to 16.
