6 winners and 5 losers from the Eagles’ win over the Chargers

The Eagles beat the Chargers 26-24 to win their second game in a row and take sole possession of first place in the NFC East. The Eagles started hot and ended by taking a knee, but in between there were ups and downs.

WINNERS

Eagles fans

When is the last time you saw a road team asking the crowd to get louder?

Running backs

LeGarrette Blount had the slowest 17 touch, 156 yard game you’ll see, but it worked. Wendell Smallwood had 79 yards and a touchdown on 14 touches, and Corey Clement had some nice runs as well. The Chargers run defense remains non-existent, so don’t read too much into today’s game, but beating up a bad unit is still a good day.

Stefen Wisniewski

You can win rotating your offensive lineman--the Patriots did it in 2015--but there’s no need for the Eagles to do that. Wisniewski is clearly the superior player at left guard, there’s no reason for Chance Warmack to get non-garbage time snaps.

Zach Ertz

Another week, another efficient game from Ertz, who caught 5 passes for 81 yards, 3 of which were for first down. With weapons on the outside to open up the middle of the field and Carson Wentz taking a big step forward in his play, Ertz is getting plenty of opportunities to be a factor, and he’s making the most of it: he’s not only been the team’s best pass catcher so far this year, but one of the best tight ends in the league.

Jake Elliott

4/4, all from 40+. It was nice knowing you Caleb Sturgis.

Donnie Jones

It was a nice sunny, mid 70s day in Los Angeles, and Donnie Jones got to spend the afternoon in it watching the Eagles offense not really needing his leg. Most of his work was with his hands as the kick holder, as the Eagles punted just twice and scored on six drives. Nice day at the office.

LOSERS

Isaac Seumalo

From starter to healthy scratch in a month. He might still have a future at center, but the left guard job is gone, and apparently the backup job is too.

Torrey Smith

His speed has been a welcome addition to the offense, but his hands haven’t.

Defense

The Fletcher Cox-less line started off strong, but as the game went on they got pushed around. They got no help on the backend, where the lack of speed from the corners and some miscommunication all around got the secondary burned. Their worst game of the season so far, but a bullet dodged with a win.

Los Angeles

It was a sellout at the StubHub Center with 25,000 fans in attendance, and it sounded like 23,000 of them were Eagles fans. Chivas USA was a bigger draw at the same stadium. Shamefully embarrassing for the Chargers and the NFL.

Dick Stockton

It felt like Stockton mispronounced every player’s name, which rubbed off on the equally bad Mark Schlereth. An unbearable performance.