Los Angeles Chargers

Picks

With Justin Herbert’s hand leaving him to take more snaps out of the shotgun, he’ll lean on his old reliable receiver Keenan Allen on MNF. Allen’s targets have slimmed in recent weeks but a lot of that has to do with the Bolts being involved in blowouts. Tonight’s game is expected to be tighter and Allen thrives versus man and zone, which the Eagles like to mix in coverage. Projections for the veteran WR all sit above his current receiving yard total with most models north of 40 with a ceiling of 55 yards. 

Kimani Vidal may lose some carries with the return of fellow RB Omarion Hampton, but he’ll get a shot at the end zone, as Hampton works his way back into shape.

The Chargers pass defense has weaknesses over the middle and the Eagles have been very efficient in passing between the numbers which should benefit Dallas Goedert.

Jalen Hurts has rushed for at least 30 yards six times this season, including in each of his last three games.

This is a great matchup for his scrambling ability despite his hand injury. 

The Eagles are giving up the ninth most rushing yards per game, so the Chargers will lean on Kimani Vidal and the returning Omarion Hampton.

Monday’s matchup with the Chargers offers opportunity for Hurts to have a big day on the ground. Los Angeles has allowed plenty of yards to nimble quarterbacks this season, with the likes of Patrick Mahomes (57 yards), Bo Nix (33), Jaxson Dart (54), and Jayden Daniels (39) finding space to run. If Patullo is dedicated to getting that involvement back up on MNF, Hurts should easily eclipse his rushing yards total, which sits south of 30 yards. Player projections for Week 14 range from 32 to 42.5 rushing yards for the Eagles quarterback.

Oronde Gadsden was one of the most productive tight ends in the league for a four-week stretch. However, the rookie has cooled off in recent weeks and has a tough matchup on Monday night against Philadelphia. There are a lot of mouths to feed in the Bolts passing attack and Gadsden is coming off a game where he had one catch on just two targets. He's logged fewer than 3.5 receptions in three straight games and has been held below 30 yards in two of those contests. The Eagles are first in the league in DVOA against tight ends while allowing the second-fewest yards to the position. 

AJ Brown’s production is fully back. He has six red-zone targets over his last three games, with at least one in each. The offense hasn’t been lighting up the scoreboard, but Brown was one of the most heavily targeted players last week with 12 looks, converting them into 10 catches and two touchdowns — giving him three scores over his last two games. He was +155 to score last week, and instead of adjusting his number down, the market has gone the other way. Now he gets an indoor matchup with an offense looking to respond after a holiday letdown. His fair price should be around +150.

The Eagles offense is sputtering, and fingers are pointing everywhere, including the press asking why Jalen Hurts isn’t running the ball as much. This offense is at its best when Hurts gets going on the ground and times are getting desperate. He’s had more than seven carries only once in the past eight games and has topped out at 33 rushing yards in that span. The Chargers zone heavy scheme isn’t allowing anything over the top and we could see Hurts forced to run with limited looks downfield. We’ve seen the Bolts give up gains on the ground to nimble QBs like Mahomes, Nix, Dart and Daniels. Projections for Hurts at 34 yards and higher with a ceiling of 42.