The Philadelphia Eagles are 8-5 after losing to the Los Angeles Chargers in overtime at SoFi Stadium on Monday night. It’s their third straight loss. Final score: 22 to 19.
So much for the positivity rabbit saving the season.
Jalen Hurts isn’t the only reason the Eagles lost this game. He was wasn’t helped by some key drops and the offense was a whole was pretty bad once again; they scored just a single touchdown all night. But whenever the starting quarterback turns the ball over FIVE times (four interceptions, one fumble), it’s really hard to win. (That’s analysis, baby.)
The result is a shame for an Eagles defense that absolutely came to play on Monday night. Vic Fangio’s side of the ball produced seven sacks and three takeaways. Allowing just 19 points in regulation should be enough to win the game.
But it’s not the winning formula when the offense is this bad, in no small part because the quarterback is struggling to play well. His final stats from this one: 21/40, 240 yards, 0 TD, 4 INT, 31.2 passer rating … 4 carries, 8 yards, 1 fumble. Hurts must be better down the stretch or the Eagles risk losing control of their NFC East lead.
Speaking of, the magic number for the Eagles to clinch their division remains at three.
Next up for the Eagles: a home game against the listless Las Vegas Raiders. If the Eagles can’t win that game, why even bother to play the final three after that?
Read on for a recap and stay tuned for BGN’s postgame coverage.
FIRST QUARTER
- The Chargers won the coin toss and elected to defer to put the Eagles on offense first. The Eagles began at their own 33-yard line. Jalen Hurts went downfield to A.J. Brown on a second effort but the wide receiver couldn’t make the catch with his hands extended. Brown didn’t exactly look very fast or extra motivated on that play. Then Saquon Barkley ran for one yard. Facing 3rd-and-9, Hurts hit Dallas Goedert (on a hitch!) near the marker for a first down. Not a three-and-out! Awesome start! Facing 3rd-and-4 after going up tempo, Hurts got sacked while trying to throw from an empty backfield. Six plays, seven yards, punt. More boring and bad offense.
- The Chargers took over at their own 20-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-7, Herbert dumped off to Kimani Vidal for a 60-yard catch-and-run with Nakobe Dean messing up in coverage and then missing a tackle in recovery and Zack Baun eventually managing to push the Chargers running back out of bounds. Then Omarion Hampton took a toss for a first down into goal-to-go. A couple plays later, Justin Herbert hit Hampton for a touchdown with some uncalled OPI assistance. EAGLES 0, CHARGERS 7.
- The Eagles took over at their own 35-yard line. Barkley took a carry that picked up 19 yards. Then another that picked up another first down. Run blocking back!? Then the Eagles got set back with a Tyler Steen holding penalty (really weak call). Hurts took another deep shot, this one to DeVonta Smith, and the ball was overthrown/off target. Facing 3rd-and-11, Hurts hit Goedert over the middle (!) for a first down. Nice to see they didn’t just run the ball and give up! Facing 3rd-and-9, a bubble screen to DeVonta picked up just one yard. Thanks, I hate it. Jake Elliott came in for the 41-yard field goal make. EAGLES 3, CHARGERS 7.
- The Chargers took over at their own 34-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-7 after a big Jordan Davis TFL, the Chargers got hit with a false start due to crowd noise by Eagles fans in LA’s stadium. Facing 3rd-and-12, the Chargers had a free play with Moro Ojomo jumping early (Cooper DeJean’s interception didn’t count). Facing 3rd-and-7 again, a blitzing Nakobe Dean was left unblocked and got to Herbert to force an incompletion that should’ve been called intentional grounding but wasn’t.
- The Eagles took over at their own 10-yard line. They gained five yards on two plays to bring up the end of the first quarter.
SECOND QUARTER
- Facing 3rd-and-5, Hurts overthrew his target and the pass sailed for an interception. Bad decision and bad throw. Upon expedited review, Hurts was very fortunate that the ball hit the ground for an incompletion instead of a pick. Three-and-out.
- The Chargers took over at their own 22-yard line after Derius Davis ran backwards and got tackled by Kylen Granson (nice special teams play!) for a 10-yard loss. Facing 3rd-and-15 after picking up a first down but getting knocked back by a holding penalty, Herbert’s downfield pass was knocked down by Cooper DeJean. Very sticky coverage on Ladd McConkey.
- The Eagles took over at their own 26-yard line after a solid 14-yard punt return by Britain Covey. Hurts took a big shot from an unblocked blitzer as his downfield pass went incomplete … but Brown drew a defensive holding penalty for a first down. The Eagles went with 22-personnel on back-to-back plays, the second of which resulted in a first down completion to Goedert, who made a defender miss after the catch. Then Hurts ripped a throw over the middle to Brown for 22 yards to move into plus terirtory. Facing 3rd-and-1, Hurts threw an interception to Chargers defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand … that was fumbled by the Chargers (kudos to Will Shipley) … and recovered by Hurts … and fumbled by Hurts … and recovered by the Chargers. Wild sequence to end an Eagles drive that looked like it was going to maybe produce some points.
- The Chargers took over at their own 43-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-2, Herbert rolled left and made a really nice completion for a first down. Chargers fill-in tackle Trey Pipkins went down with an injury to make LA’s offensive line even weaker. Facing 3rd-and-4, Hunt got to Herbert in a collapsed pocket for a sack. The Chargers settled for a 45-yard field goal make from once-Eagle Cameron Dicker the kicker. EAGLES 3, CHARGERS 10.
- The Eagles took over at their own 28-yard line. Hurts got picked off by Donte Jackson on what was supposed to be ANOTHER HITCH ROUTE to DeVonta.
- The Chargers took over at the plus 30-yard line. Nakobe Dean immediately strip-sacked Herbert for a Byron Young fumble recovery! Very lucky bailout for the Eagles’ offense.
- The Eagles took over at their own 42-yard line. Two Barkley runs resulted in a first down and Chargers star Derwin James got banged up. Another Barkley run picked up another first down into field goal range. Then Hurts hit Brown on a slant to move into the red zone at the two-minute warning. Tank Bigsby saw his first carry of the game (and his first touch since Week 12) go for four yards. Bigsby was on the field again but the Eagles faked a run to throw to Goedert to move to goal-to-go at the 2-yard line. The Eagles had to burn a timeout with the play clock expiring. Cam Jurgens and Tyler Steen tried to double team Teair Tart only for the Chargers defender to tackle Barkley for no gain. Then Jordan Mailata’s holding penalty negated a Hurts touchdown throw to Brown. Facing 2nd-and-goal from the 12-yard line, Hurts was pressured into a throwaway. Derwin James returned to the field for the Chargers. Facing 3rd-and-goal, Hurts was nearly strip-sacked but review ruled it an incomplete pass. The Eagles had to settle for a 30-yard Jake Elliott field goal after previously reaching 1st-and-goal at the 2-yard line. So pathetic. EAGLES 6, CHARGERS 10.
- The Chargers took over at their own 31-yard line with 0:43 on the clock and one timeout to work with. Jaelan Phillips got pressure while going up against the Chargers’ third-string right tackle and impacted Herbert’s arm to force the ball to hang in the air for an Adoree’ Jackson interception! An unnecessary roughness penalty on the Chargers gave the Eagles an additional 15 yards.
- The Eagles took over at the plus 30-yard line with 0:10 on the clock and two timeouts to work with. Hurts threw a pass out of bounds to take five seconds off the clock. Then Elliott came in for the 48-yard field goal attempt … that hooked wide left. Unacceptable miss in a dome. Also could’ve been nice if the Eagles actually tried to make it a shorter attempt.
THIRD QUARTER
- The Chargers took over at their own 33-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-4, Herbert ran for a first down. Facing 3rd-and-2, Hampton picked up a first down up the gut. Facing 3rd-and-7, Herbert escaped a collapsed pocket (with Dean destroying the Chargers’ running back again) to run 15 yards for a first down. Facing 3rd-and-2 in the red zone, Marcus Epps made a nice tackle for no gain. Cameron Dicker made the 36-yard field goal attempt … but then Moro Ojomo got called for the ol’ “leverage” penalty to give the Chargers 1st-and-goal at the 9-yard line. Brutal mistake. Byron Young got to Herbert for a coverage sack. Facing 3rd-and-goal, Herbert’s screen pass wide went wide of his target and incomplete. Dicker made the 34-yard field goal attempt that counted this time. 16-play, 51-yard drive that took 9:28 off the clock. EAGLES 6, CHARGERS 13.
- Britain Covey recovered his own fumble on a kickoff return to have the Eagles take over at their own 36-yard line. Hurts immediately ripped a throw to Brown for a 26-yard completion. Facing 3rd-and-15 after a 2nd-and-10 Barkley run resulted in a five-yard loss (stop running on 2nd-and-long!), Hurts threw to Brown short of the sticks to set up a 54-yard field goal attempt. Elliott’s kick was good this time. He needed that. EAGLES 9, CHARGERS 13.
- The Chargers took over at their own 25-yard line. Jalyx Hunt forced a fumble on a scrambling Herbert but the Bolts were fortunate to recover the ball. Facing 3rd-and-22 after a blitzing Zack Baun and Jordan Davis were each credited for half of a sack, the Chargers made Nick Sirianni happy by going coward’s draw to set up a punt.
- The Eagles took over at their own 39-yard line. An immediate offside penalty gave the Eagles 1st-and-5.
FOURTH QUARTER
- The Eagles’ offense actually did something nice for once by quickly breaking the huddle and rushing to the line of scrimmage in a tush push formation to instead toss to Barkley for a 52-yard touchdown run! It only took until the fourth quarter for the Eagles to finally find the end zone! EAGLES 16, CHARGERS 13.
- The Chargers took over at their own 26-yard line. The Chargers moved near midfield. An unblocked blitzing Dean whiffed on a sure-fire sack to allow Herbert to run for a short gain. Facing 3rd-and-3, Herbert’s downfield pass was overthrown with DeJean having good coverage. Jim Harbaugh helped the Eagles by being overly conservative and punting the ball.
- Covey’s 22-yard return (which involved an uncalled obvious facemask penalty) turned the Chargers’ punt into a field position difference of 24 yards with Philly taking over at their own 27-yard line. The Eagles picked up a first down with a Hurts completion to Darius Cooper (!) but then a high Hurts throw to Brown was not caught and instead tipped for a Chargers interception. Hurts’ third interception and fourth giveaway of the night. Not a great throw by Hurts and not a great effort by Brown.
- The Chargers took over at the plus 45-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-5, Herbert hit Keenan Allen for a first down. The Chargers moved into the red zone. Facing 3rd-and-3, Herbert threw the ball out of bounds to bring up a field goal attempt. Dicker made the 31-yard kick to tie the game. EAGLES 16, CHARGERS 16.
- The Eagles took over at their own 25-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-6, Hurts got hit as he threw to Brown for an incompletion. More bad effort from Brown. Three-and-out.
- The Chargers took over at their own 25-yard line. Jaelan Phillips immediately got to Vidal for a TFL. Facing 3rd-and-7, a scrambling Herbert got sacked by big man Jordan Davis. Three-and-out.
- The Eagles took over at their own 40-yard line with 3:33 on the clock after another good Covey return (18 yards). The Eagles picked up a first down with a Hurts completion to Brown, who made a defender miss. Hurts hit Brown again for 19 yards and another first down. Facing 3rd-and-11 after Brown couldn’t hang on to a perfect pass by Hurts in the end zone, the Eagles called their first timeout to discuss third down. Facing 3rd-and-11 for real, DeVonta dropped a quick blitz beating throw to stop the clock prior to the two-minute warning. Elliott came in for the 44-yard field goal attempt … and made it to give the Eagles a lead. EAGLES 19, CHARGERS 16.
- The Chargers took over at their own 28-yard line with 2:11 on the clock and one timeout to work with. DeJean helped to break up a downfield pass to McConkey to bring up third down. Facing 3rd-and-10, Herbert’s throw was incomplete but Quinyon Mitchell was called for defensive pass interference by hooking Quentin Johnston. A Chargers handoff moved the Bolts into plus territory. Facing 3rd-and-4, Herbert ran for a first down. And then he ran for another on a keeper to have the Chargers call their final timeout at 0:21. The Chargers moved into position for a 46-yard Dicker make to tie the game with 0:08 remaining. EAGLES 19, CHARGERS 19.
OVERTIME
- The Eagles won the overtime coin toss and elected to kick to put the Chargers on offense first (note that each team now gets to possess the ball in overtime, barring a defensive touchdown on the first overtime possession). The Chargers took over at their own 30-yard line. Herbert took a keeper for a first down. Then the Chargers ripped off a first down run into plus territory. Facing 3rd-and-7, Nolan Smith got to a running Herbert to limit the QB to a 1-yard gain. Good stop. Dicker came in for the 54-yard field goal make. EAGLES 19, CHARGERS 22.
- Needing a touchdown to win the game, the Eagles took over at their own 31-yard line. Hurts missed a throw to Brown to set up third down. Facing 3rd-and-6, Hurts took off running but a holding call on Cam Jurgens set the Eagles back. Facing 3rd-and-16, Hurts ripped a pass over the middle to DeVonta for a first down. Big-time throw. Facing 3rd-and-4, Hurts floated it up to Brown who couldn’t fight through Donte Jackson to make the catch. Nick Sirianni correctly kept the offense on the field to go for it … and the Chargers took their first timeout. Facing 4th-and-4, Jordan Mailata reacted to the Chargers jumping early to get the neutral zone infraction penalty. Sirianni had to be over the moon with that one! Critical conversion. Hurts targeted Jahan Dotson near the goal line but had his pass tipped up and intercepted to close the game. Tough way to lose.
FINAL SCORE: EAGLES 19, CHARGERS 22
EAGLES LINEUP NOTES
- Marcus Epps took first-team reps at safety next to Reed Blankenship in pregame warmups. Epps then officially started at safety, as expected.
- Jihaad Campbell was on the field as early as the second quarter after not playing a single defensive snap in Week 13.
EAGLES INJURY NEWS
- Landon Dickerson (calf) limped off the field to the sideline later in the second quarter. Brett Toth entered the game at left guard. Dickerson headed to the tunnel before halftime. He was ruled questionable to return coming out of halftime. Dickerson returned to the field very late in the third quarter.
- Adoree’ Jackson entered the medical tent after his interception late in the second quarter. He was back in the game to start the second half.