Is it possible that the Chargers have everything they need to beat the Eagles, even if Justin Herbert doesn't play?
As I sit around, grasping for every potential piece of news that might dictate whether or not Justin Herbert will be able to play with a broken left hand against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night (I suspect we'll learn that he's playing on the day of the game), a thought occurred to me:
The Chargers can win without Herbert.
Now, I don't know that for certain. A big part of what made me think that was that it looks like Omarion Hampton is going to play for the first time in quite some time, and in his absence Kimani Vidal and Jaret Patterson have been pretty good.
Perhaps there's a "ground and pound" version of the Los Angeles Chargers, one that would honestly be very fitting of head coach Jim Harbaugh, that can compete with the Philadelphia Eagles without much of a passing game to speak of.
Eagles Defense
I had assumed, knowing that the Eagles had an 8-4 record and an inconsistent passing attack, that the Eagles had a good running game and a good defense. It turns out that neither of those things is actually true.
The Eagles' rushing attack has been average at best, even with Saquon Barkley, and their defense is 22nd in yards allowed. They are in the top 10 (9th) in points allowed, but that's one of their few good defensive metrics.
Most notably, they've been awful against the run.
- 24th in rush attempts against
- 24th in rushing yards allowed
- 24th in rushing TDs allowed
- 23rd in rushing yards per attempt
If there were ever an 8-4 team that might be susceptible to being run on, it might be this one.
Chargers Offense
The Chargers rushing attack has been about league average (12th in yards & yards per attempt) this season, but it has come with ups and downs due to injuries and Kimani Vidal getting comfortable in the unexpected role of workhorse. I think, right now, it's about as good as it has been all season and it is arguably adding it's most efficient and most dangerous weapon back into the fold in Omarion Hampton.
More than that, though, is how much Trey Lance could potentially help the running game. We've seen Greg Roman deliver some incredible game plans as the offensive coordinator of the Colin Kaepernick 49ers and Lamar Jackson Ravens, where he built rushing attacks that were so difficult to predict that they all but removed the need to have a functional passing game.
I'm not saying this would be an effective long-term plan, but I'm starting to believe that it could work for at least this one game.