The Eagles need to stick with the run game if they want to take down Los Angeles on Sunday

Nick Sirianni had a complete 180 with his play-calling last Sunday. After weeks of forcing passes and RPOs, the Eagles went ground and pound and tore up the Detroit Lions in the run game. Philadelphia rushed for 236 yards, by far the most this season. Despite some saying otherwise, don’t expect the Eagles to abandon the run game when it is working so well.
If there were any other team to play this same style of football against, it would be the Los Angeles Chargers. LA has allowed 1,116 yards rushing this season, the second-most in the NFL. Over 218 attempts, the Chargers have given up 5.1 yards per carry, the most in the NFL.
Rushing yards allowed the last three games:
- Cleveland: 230
- Baltimore: 187
- New England 141
For comparison, the Lions have allowed 1,076 yards and 4.3 YPC after Sunday’s game. The only issue is the high-powered Chargers offense could negate that long drive ability. Teams like the Falcons and 49ers did this against Philadelphia earlier this season.
But with the Falcons, it was successful until the Eagles scored on a few big plays, forcing Atlanta to hurry up and throw the ball. LA is only ahead of Kansas City in rushing defense grade with a 38.6, according to PFF.
The change at linebacker could help negate Justin Herbert, but it likely won’t do much. Their best way to attack will be just like last week, sending pressure and forcing him to make timely throws. Teams don’t have the amount of film on T.J. Edwards and Davion Taylor compared to Wilson and Singleton, so it can be hard to gameplan against them.
Eagles-Chargers odds via Parx Sportsbook (sign up here using code FLYOVER)
Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
Eagles | +1.5 (-110) | +102 | O 50 (-113) |
Chargers | -1.5 (-110) | -124 | U 50 (-108) |
It’ll be tough without Miles Sanders, but Jordan Howard and Jalen Hurts did a great job in his absence. If the Eagles want to make a push in the second half of the season, this is a game they need to come away with before facing the entirety of the NFC East in the coming weeks.
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[…] For Hightower and Howard, they are replacing J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and, of course, Miles Sanders. Jordan Howard is bound for another big performance after a dominant showing against Detroit and facing an even worse rush defense. […]