The Chargers will cap off the Week 14 slate of NFL games by playing the Eagles on Monday Night Football. Both teams are 8-4 and need this win as much as the other in hopes of keeping their playoff hopes healthy.
Good news, though. The Eagles will be without starting defensive tackle Jalen Carter after having surgery this week. That helps a ton with a weak Chargers interior offensive line.
Will it be enough bounce this game the Chargers’ way? We’ll have to wait until Monday Night Football to find out.
With that said, here are the three things I’ll be watching closely when the Bolts take the field in primetime.
1.) How will the Chargers attempt to attack the Eagles’ defensive front?
The news of Eagles DT Jalen Carter being ruled out after having surgery on both of his shoulders this week was likely music to the ears of the Chargers fan base. The interior of the Chargers offensive line has been the weak link for the offense and not having to face one of the league’s top pass-rushing tackles is a huge advantage heading into a do-or-die stretch for the Bolts.
One would think that means the Chargers should curtail their run game plan to attack more between the tackles than outside, and I think you’d mostly be right. The thing is, the Chargers have been much better this year at running outside the tackles than between. Before Carter being ruled out, I would have said the definitely need to get the ball out on the edge, but now it sure seems like the Bolts can pick whichever gap they want outside of where mammoth defensive lineman Jordan Davis is lined up.
The Chargers should also be watching a ton of tape from the Eagles’ loss to the Bears on Black Friday. Chicago rushed for over 200 yards and had two backs go over the 100-yard mark. That film needs to be studied feverishly to make sure the Bolts have a chance to capitalize on the same shortcomings in their matchup this Monday night.
2.) How will Justin Herbert’s injury change the look of the Chargers offense?
When Herbert first fractured his hand against the Raiders, Roman essentially cut out all under-center plays form his play sheet to make sure he wasn’t putting his star quarterback in harm’s way. Having had surgery on Monday, Herbert’s been working at practice this week to get acclimated to the padded glove he’s expected to wear on Monday night. Earlier in the week, Herbert said he had yet to try and grip a ball while wearing the glove but he planned to attempt it later in the week. If the grip is that weak in that hand/with the glove, Herbert will have to find a way to give handoffs entirely with his right hand.
That’s not the craziest thing in the world, but it’s certainly a weird changeup from something you practice every single day.
One question I’ve seen raised is whether or not Roman will actually have plays drawn up specifically for backup Trey Lance. While this does sound a bit crazy, Harbaugh and Roman both said they were kicking themselves after running from the shotgun against the Raiders on a fourth-and-one situation instead of sneaking with Lance or tight end Tyler Conklin.
Maybe it’s as simple as that, though. Maybe Lance will just be the guy for quarterback sneaks, or maybe he’ll get some designed runs since Roman wouldn’t want Herbert running anymore than he needs to with the injured hand.
Either way, I’m expecting at least some changes to the operation this week.
3.) Will the Chargers stick with the same offensive line that played vs. the Raiders? How will they fare together again?
Last week, and coming out of the bye, the Chargers decided to give Jamaree Salyer an extended look at left tackle. Salyer played left tackle in college and filled in for Rashawn Slater there for most of the 2022 season when the former suffered a torn biceps early on in the season.
Against the Raiders, Salyer allowed two pressures (including a sack) but finished with a decent pass block grade of 72.2. That performance was seemingly good enough for him to get the nod once again as the Bolts have been using the same lineup through this week’s practices.
It also probably helped Salyer’s case that he was able to play a role in Kimani Vidal’s 59-yard touchdown run against Las Vegas. Salyer pulled out into space and executed a block on an edge defender that opened up a lane for Vidal to run up the left sideline and eventually into the end zone.
Of course performances in the NFL can vary wildly from week to week. Against an underwhelming Philly defense (by their own recent standards), the Chargers are hoping to snag some much-needed momentum with a win at home in primetime before traveling to Kansas City to face the Chiefs.
