Philadelphia Eagles vs. Los Angeles Chargers week four game preview

If we learned anything from week 3, it’s that Jake Elliot is the GOAT and Odell Beckham Jr. still needs to be potty trained.

I’ll just leave this here …

The Eagles head out west for Sundays out of conference match-up with the Los Angeles Chargers, a Chargers team that has looked really competitive but is still without a win. After a gritty win, the Eagles now sit at 2-1 and atop the NFC East. In a uber-competitive division, these out of conference games are the icing on the cake to move ahead in the division. The Los Angeles Chargers have looked eerily similar to the San Diego Chargers in which Philip Rivers throws multiple interceptions, the defense looks good, they go down double-digit points and after a furious 4th quarter comeback, the Chargers still lose. A win Sunday afternoon will go along way in the tight NFC East come December.

Philadelphia Eagles at the Los Angeles Chargers

When: Sunday, October 1st @ 4:05 pm

The injury report as of Thursday:

OUT

• Fletcher Cox (Calf)
• Destiny Vaeao (Wrist)
• Corey Graham (Hamstring)
• Jaylen Watkins (Hamstring)
• Ronald Darby (Ankle)

Questionable

• Rodney McLeod (Hamstring)
• Jason Kelce (Knee)
• Jordan Hicks (Ankle)

What to watch for on Offense

The Eagles come into Sunday’s match-up facing one of the best defenses early on in the 2017 season. The Chargers are allowing 16 points per game (6th best), 315 yards (15th best), and only 70 rush yards per game (5th best). With the Eagles running game STILL up in the air, it looks like another game where the Eagles will rely on Carson Wentz, his arm, and legs. Darren Sproles is done for the year after tearing his ACL and breaking his arm on the same play against the Giants thus leading the signing of Kenjon Barner and ultimately rookie running back Corey Clement getting carries. The usage of LeGarrette Blount has been bizarre, against the Giants, the Eagles used Blount early and he looked great busting off classic 15 yard Blount runs and finding the end zone. I am still not sure why the Eagles signed Blount if they aren’t going to give him the ball, with only 26 carries on the year so far, Blount has looked good and I think all Eagles fans are hoping he gets featured more often in this weeks match-up. This will be another week and another opportunity to see how the Eagles use the running game to help Wentz, and ultimately the Eagles, succeed.

Who to watch on Offense

This week I am watching the receiver group. The Chargers secondary will be without Jason Verrett, their best cornerback which should lead to the receiver core having a good day. Torrey Smith, Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor have been steady this season but haven’t been able to have a great Sunday yet. Another season where Zach Ertz is leading the team in receptions and yards, which isn’t a bad thing per se, but Smith and Jeffery weren’t brought in to play second fiddle to a tight end. One of these games Jeffery is going to end up with 100+ yards and multiple touchdowns and this would be a great game to achieve these numbers as I think it is going to be tough running the ball against the Chargers front 7.

What to watch for on Defense

https://twitter.com/ZSanchez15/status/912466144463867904

The Eagles defense looked great through 2 and a half quarters last week until Sterling Shepard and OBJ got loose. Plays like that are exactly what Eagles fans are afraid of, with a banged up defense coming into Los Angeles on Sunday it will be imperative to keep Keenan Allen and Travis Benjamin in check as both receivers can take the top off the defense. The Chargers offensive line has looked a bit better this season and it will be imperative to keep Melvin Gordon in check while still getting to Rivers with the Eagles front four. This could be the week rookie Derek Barnett makes a splash play, with just 3 tackles so far this year, it could be a great boost to an ailing defense if the first round pick can get in Rivers face.

Who to watch on defense

Jalen Mills came in into the game last week with the tough task of covering Odell Beckham Jr. and he did what he needed to do to keep OBJ somewhat in check. Although Mills was the one covering Beckham on his two touchdown grabs his coverage was spot on and if it wasn’t for OBJ making more one-handed TD grabs, Mills day was great. You cannot fault Mills on any level for OBJ doing what OBJ does, Mills was in position and covered Odell all around the field on Sunday and continued to do his best as the Eagles #1 corner. Mills comes into Sunday leading the Eagles in tackles and passes defended, and will have the task of covering Keenan Allen. I will be keeping an eye on Mills this Sunday as if he has another above-average game the Eagles should have a solid shot of winning.

Fantasy Spin

Thank you for all the readers that checked out my Week 1, 2, and 3 fantasy rankings. If you haven’t checked out my week 4 rankings yet, click on the link!

• I have Carson Wentz ranked as my QB13
• LeGarrette Blount is a low-end RB2
• Corey Clement is a guy to keep an eye on, worthy of an add in a dynasty league
• Alshon Jeffery is a WR1
• Nelson Agholor is a WR4
• Torrey Smith is a WR4 or a Hail-Mary flex option
• Zach Ertz is a TE1
• Eagles DST is my 10th ranked defense

If you are interested to hear more about my fantasy football rankings, enjoy the podcast

Laying Odds

Eagles +1 (+100)   O/U 48.5

Last week I went 1-1 putting me at 10-4 for the season. The Eagles favored by 6 and only won by 3 but I did hit the over. This week I am going to take the Chargers -1 and the over of 48.5

The Eagles just won a huge walk-off divisional win against the Giants last week and now have to fly across the country to face a cagey Chargers team at 4:05 pm.

Next: Philadelphia Eagles: Keys to a victory over the Chargers

The Chargers record isn’t indicative of how they have played this season, I could see this being a shootout type let-down game for the Eagles. The defense is just too banged up and the Chargers have to win one of these games. Give me the Chargers -1 and the over of 48.5.