Eagles Beat Chargers 26-24 Good and Bad

Eagles Beat Chargers 26-24 Good and Bad

“Running Game Part 2”

Running game led the Eagles to defeat a very dangerous desperate Los Angeles Chargers team that needed its first win. So let's talk about the good and bad.

Bad

1. Score More Touchdowns: The Eagles offense was on the role with the passing and running game and there were plenty of opportunities to score touchdowns but they failed to make first down in Chargers territory so instead the Eagles settled with field goals. Now I understand getting points on the board is good but the more field goals we make over touchdowns we still keep the other team right there with us.
2. Giving up Huge Plays: If it's one thing that's a huge weakness is the Eagles Secondary. We gave up huge plays on third and long to keep the Chargers from coming back. Corners are the biggest weakest point. Jalen Mills has been playing okay and Rasual Douglas is only a rookie so he’s going through rookie pains but they have to stop the 3rd downs and long.

Good

1. Running Game: The running game was great for the second week in a row was a huge factor that led the Eagles to a win. Wendell Smallwood, Corey Clement and Legarrette Blount all had a great game. Blount ran for 136 yards but the biggest play had to be the 68-yard run when he went full Beast Mode on the Chargers.
2. Jake Elliott: Coming off a great win against the Giants Elliot was 4/4 on all his kicks. It showed that the 61 yard field goal wasn’t a fluke. He showed consistency and that’s we need from him.
3. Left Tackle and Right Tackle: I really have to give the offensive line a huge credit they manage to make holes for the running backs but the tackles Lane Johnson and Jason Peters did really well. Both tackles manage to keep Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram out the game. You barely heard those two guys being called in this game. Peters and Johnson showed that they are possibly the best left and right tackles in the league right now.
4. Carson Wentz: Wentz had another good game. He was 17/31 throwing for 242 yards and no interceptions. This is his second game in a row without throwing a pick. We continue to see growth from Wentz in his second year keeping the play alive and changing the play when he doesn’t like what he see’s. Wentz is only going to get better down the road.
5. Finishing Games: The Chargers scored a touchdown with Hunter Henry to be behind the Eagles by two points. There was about four minutes left in the game and using the clock the Eagles ran the ball down the Chargers throat to ice the game. We see that the Eagles are finishing games. We saw last year that the Eagles were struggling to finish games but we see last week and this week the growth this team is making.
6. Winning Without Big players: This is the second game the Eagles won without their important players. Running Back Darren Sproles is out for the season with an ACL injury and Defensive Tackle Fletcher Cox is still out with his calf injury. Cornerback Ronald Darby is still out with his ankle injury. The secondary is still thin with Jaylen Watkins and Corey Graham out but the Eagles are still finding a way to win games. Darby, Graham, Cox and Watkins are all coming back so the defense will be in full effect.
7. Home Crowd: This had to be one of the first games where I see the away team have more fans than the home team. The Philly fans came to in full effect in Los Angeles. I even saw LB Jordan Hicks told the crowd to bring the noise. Now to be fair this is due to the effect of the Chargers leaving San Diego but overall it was cool to see how so many Eagles fans showing support.

It seems that the Eagles are finding their identity by running the ball and having a very balanced offense. I have to give it to Eagles’s coach Doug Pederson. The last four minutes of the game when the score was 24-26 the Eagles had the ball and Pederson stuck with the run and didn’t panic. We are seeing a different Eagles team finishing games, having a running game and having good receivers. The front seven of the defense is great. They stopped Melvin Gordon on almost every play. The secondary is thin but it's bend don’t break but we will get the whole crew back later in the season. Let me know you liked and disliked about this game.