The Philadelphia Eagles had no reason to come out flat on Friday in their Week 13 matchup against the Chicago Bears. After blowing a comfortable lead over the Dallas Cowboys the week before, Philadelphia fans expected to see the defending champions make a statement in their return to Lincoln Financial Field.
Well, the Eagles certainly made a statement with their play. It just wasn't the statement that anyone in the City of Brotherly Love wanted to see, as the Bears gashed the Philadelphia defense all afternoon long to the tune of 281 rushing yards. With Chicago having so much success just lining up and running it down the Eagles' throats, there was little answer Philadelphia could provide.
With the entire league tuning in to watch D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai have gaping wide holes to run through, it is going to be impossible for Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers not to try to replicate the Bears' success when they host the Eagles to close out Week 14 on Monday Night Football.
Eagles Cannot Allow Chargers to Enjoy Same Rushing Success in Week 14
Philadelphia must win in Week 14. It is as simple as that. While it would take a collapse of epic proportions for the Eagles to miss the postseason, the NFC East title is no longer the mortal lock that it appeared to be just two weeks ago. This means that the defense, especially against the run, has to be at its best against a Harbaugh-led attack that is prone to being run-heavy on its home field.
For the season, Los Angeles averages the 13th-most rushing yards in the league and the 11th-most run attempts at home. This Chargers offense was already going to run the ball early and often; now they have even more reason to do just that given the success that a pair of relative afterthoughts in Swift and Monangai enjoyed on Friday evening.
Not only is Los Angeles a rush-heavy attack, but it is quite successful at it. On the season, the Chargers rank 12th in the league with a team average of 4.5 yards per carry. With Omarion Hampton set to return to the lineup as early as Week 14 against the Eagles, Philadelphia could be squaring off against a motivated and fresh running back as part of Los Angeles' backfield.
The stakes will only get higher with every passing week as we prepare to turn the calendar to December. For the Eagles, issues stopping the run are not something they can be fighting against during the final stretch of the regular season.