The Eagles could put themselves in position to make the playoffs if they can find a way to beat the Los Angeles Chargers. The Birds defense has a tough job ahead because of the offensive talent they will face.
Second-year quarterback Justin Herbert has a magical arm and he can make all the throws. He stands 6’7″, weighs about 240 pounds and can throw the ball about the length of the field. The 2020 NFL Rookie of the Year also has tremendous accuracy with his throws. The young man is also a tremendous athlete, who can escape pressure and scramble or buy time to make big plays.
Working along with Herbert is running back Austin Ekelor, who is both a very ball carrier and just as good at coming out of the backfield and catching the football. Herbert always knows where Ekelor is so he uses him a great deal when nobody is open downfield. Ekelor makes the first tackle miss most fo the time and that keeps the Chargers out of third and longs. The young quarterback gets the ball to his running back and he turns nothing into something.
Wide receiver Mike Williams, who is 6’4″ and weighs about 220 pounds is a big target for Herbert. Williams is adept at going up and catching the ball at the highest point. The other leading target is Keenan Allen, who isn’t quite as big as Williams but he’s faster.
Allen stands about 6’3″ and weighs 210 pounds. He is comfortable catching the football in a crowd, so Herbet loves to throw the ball to him across the middle. Allen can take a big hit and hang onto the football.
I think the biggest weakness the Chargers offense has is in their offensive line. This is why I believe Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat and Fletcher Cox will need to win their battle against the Los Angles offensive line, if the Birds are going to win the game.
They’ve got to get pressure on Herbert. Jonathan Gannon must mix up the coverages because Herbert will pick apart the two-deep zone if they play it too often. Mixing things up with zone, man-to-man and blitzes will keep the young quarterback guessing. The key will still be how much pressure the Eagles defensive line can put on the Herbert.
